Revelations of Siberia. By a banished lady (E. F.) . Edited by Colonel Lach Szyrma

Front matter

VOL. I. BY- A BANISHED LADY. EDITED BY COLONEL LACH SZYRMA, AUTHOE OF "LETTEBS ON POLAND," "ANGLIA I SZKOCTA," &C. 8tC. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: COLBURN AND CO., PUBLISHERS, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1852. LONDON : Printed by Schulze and Co., 13, Poland Street. TO LORD DUDLEY COUTTS STUART, M.P., Sic. &c, WHOSE GENEROUS SYMPATHY WITn THE EXPATRIATED AND OPPRESSED HAS ENSHRINED HIS NAME INDELIBLY IN THE MEMORY OP ALL NATIONS, Kfjcsc Uolumes ARE HUMBLY INSCRIBED BY HIS MOST DEVOTED ADMIRER, THE EDITOR.

Introduction

. The subject of the present work is Siberia ; a region dreary by nature, and not only in name synonymous, but actually identical with a vast prison — a locality associated in our minds with the most poignant of human sufferings. As such, it could only be pro perly described under the influence of those painful impressions, and while the writer is writhing under the most acute mental agony. The Authoress of the present " Revelations" was one of the numerous exiles who are yearly

INTRODUCTION.

. VI sent to that desolate wilderness. She was a lady of quality, who had the misfortune to incur the displeasure of .the Russian Go vernment, and, in consequence, was included in the class of the nestchastri ludi, or " unfor tunates," as the exiles, in pity for their hard lot, are called by the people. With regard to her personal history, we need only say that she is well known in her own country — a lady by birth and position in society — a wife and a mother, torn from her happy home. Her name is Eve Felinska, a name not less noble than honourably distinguished in Polish literature. Her husband's elder brother, who died some years since, was ranked among the most eminent Polish writers and poets. One of his best and most popular productions was the tragedy, named after " Barbara Radziwill," the con sort of King Sigismundus Augustus, supposed to have been poisoned by her step-mother, Queen Bona. Respectable by her family connexions, and a gentlewoman of a cultivated mind,

INTRODUCTION.

. she could not but suffer the more bitterly, when torn on a sudden from her domestic hearth and the bosom of civilized society, and carried off to the wilds of Siberia. Here, among a barbarous population, her very habits of refinement, as may be conceived, rendered her position more difficult and unen durable. As for her crime, it was that which the noblest and most exalted minds of every nation have ever been proud to commit — namely, the crime of patriotism. By her birth, descent, and education, a Pole, she could not but feel deeply for her fallen country and its oppressed people. Possessed of landed property, she established schools in the villages for the education of her serfs, and treated them with more than usual humanity — conduct that made her suspected by the Russian Govern ment, which suffers no educational establishments but those that are sanctioned and carried on according to its own regulations. In addition to this, another incident seems to have rendered her obnoxious to the

INTRODUCTION.

. Government. In the year 1837, some emis saries from abroad made their appearance in Russia, for the purpose, as was stated by the agents of the secret police, of bringing about a new insurrection in the Polish provinces. In this conspiracy, a great number of the first families in Lithuania, Volhynia, and other provinces, became implicated, and among them was our Authoress ; but in what manner and to what extent she was compromised, is not known, such matters never being divulged in Russia. To afford temporary shelter to the emissary on his passage, or simply to receive a letter from him, or from those who may have been in connexion with him ; or the casual sknowledge of a vague rumour of what may have occurred in some other locality, and not reporting it to the authorities, suffices to implicate any one as an accomplice in plotting against the safety of the State. The dungeons of the citadel of Warsaw, and those at Wilna and Kiov, were at that period crammed with these unhappy victims of sus-

INTRODUCTION.

. IX picion. Our Authoress, and other ladies simi larly compromised, were sent to a convent of Russian nuns at Kiov, where they remained many months, undergoing the most rigorous discipline that a fanatical sisterhood, especially if authorized by the Government, can inflict on their sex. After a protracted investigation, conducted with a barbarity peculiar to Russian courts, the whole affair ended, by the two emissaries who had arrived from abroad — Konarski and Zawisza — being shot. They were both young men, pupils of the Uni versity of Warsaw. The rest of the accomplices in the alleged plot were sent into banishment to Siberia, and had their estates confiscated. Their lives were spared, but each was subjected to the penalty of a death long drawn out, and to a fate from which all human beings shrink — death far from home, country, and friends.

Among those who were thus banished from Kiov, was our Authoress, together with two other gentlewomen — one an elderly matron, the other, a young lady in her tenderest age, X

INTRODUCTION.

. of a delicate frame, impaired by pining in prison, but, as described in this work, of a most amiable disposition, capable of the most generous devotedness. These three gentlewomen had to make a most tedious and wearisome journey, during the inclemency of a Russian winter, to Siberia. On arriving at Tobolsk, they met a number of other exiles, their acquaintances and former neighbours, who had preceded them thither — indeed, a whole colony of their countrymen, who had been exiled at different periods. The Emperor Nicholas appears, in this instance, to have proved faithful to the threat pronounced by him after the close of the Polish war of 1831, that he would make a Siberia of Poland, and a Poland of Siberia. From Tobolsk, the exiles were distributed, in accordance with the supposed culpability of each, among the different penal settlements in Siberia. The guilt of our Authoress appears to have been great in the eyes of the authorities, as she was sentenced to be

INTRODUCTION.

. XI sent to Berezov, a town in the farthest north ; while the two other ladies, companions of her journey, were located in a much milder climate in the south. This arrangement, however, did not meet the views of the youngest lady, who had become exceedingly attached to her friend ; and, in order not to be separated from her, she besought the authorities to send her to Berezov ; with which request, though not without great reluctance, they eventually com plied. It is after her arrival at Berezov, that the remarks of the Authoress acquire an increasing degree of interest. While sojourning there for a period of more than two years, when she was removed to another penal settlement, nothing escaped her penetrating eye in her intercourse with the inhabitants, whether Rus sian or native. She describes their manner of living, their hunting and fishing expeditions, and their amusements at home ; their religious rites, festivals, popular traditions and preju dices ; their articles of export and import ; their trade, and the mode of carrying it on

INTRODUCTION.

. XII by barter; the animals of the forest, and the birds of the air; the scanty vegetables of the soil, and its minerals; the temperature, and the phenomena of the sky ; in a manner at once pleasant and instructive. There is throughout a certain freshness about her observations and remarks; and the picture she draws of the customs, opinions, and habits of savage life, as contrasted with those of our civilized communities, will be perused with peculiar interest. Never does she allow a single murmur to escape her lips against the author of her banish ment. Of the Emperor Nicholas, not a syllable is said ; his name occurs but once in the book, and then is mentioned indirectly, in connection with his son Alexander, the heir apparent. Even on that occasion, there is no term used either of eulogy or disparagement.

Neither good nor bad is allowed to be said of the reign ing family in Russia. This she knew, and strictly adhered to the established rule. Of the Government measures, she found many that were wisely conceived, tending to ameliorate the

INTRODUCTION.

. condition of the people ; but she could not, at the same time, help deploring that they should be completely nullified, and prevented from producing any of the intended results, by the incapacity of the Russian officials, and especially by those of the inferior grade. Some of these, whose flagrant delinquencies came under her notice, she does not scruple to denounce. With regard to the higher functionaries, she gives them great credit for intelligence and humanity. In so far the book may be considered as per fectly impartial, containing nothing to excite the susceptibilities even of the admirers of the Russian Government — if any can be found in this country. The Polish original issued from the press under the rigorous domination of the imperial censorship, without the sanction of which it could not have been printed ; and it has since — which is rare in Russia — passed through two editions.

It is altogether a useful publication, both for the native and foreign reader ; and certainly it is creditable to the censorship in Russia, that permission was given

INTRODUCTION.

. XIV for its appearance. In this respect, it contrasts most favourably with the censorship exercised over the press by other continental govern ments, being not only indulgent, but, to a certain extent, liberal ; and if the same spirit is followed up, it will not be without its advantages. Still the Polish original cannot be said to bear no marks of the pen of the censor. All compositions written under constraint are worded with caution and reservation, and ne cessarily contain many phrases capable of a double meaning. These can scarcely be per ceived, and never fully comprehended, by foreign readers, as by the natives, who, initiated in the history of events, can, as is commonly said, " read many things be tween the lines." Moreover, in some cases, many things have been but lightly touched upon by the Authoress, and may not be clear, while others are so novel as to appear scarcely credible. In illustration, therefore, of the text, as well as the matter contained in it, the Editor has

INTRODUCTION.

. XV thought fit to subjoin some annotations, for which (as they have not met the eyes of the censorship, and might perhaps offend the Russian Government) he alone, and not the Authoress, ought to be held responsible. The Authoress is a perfect stranger to the Editor. All his knowledge of her is derived solely from her work, and he has never had any communication with her whatever. All he has been able to learn is that she is still living, and that after her return from exile she published other productions of her pen ; this being her first work. We should indeed be extremely grieved if our publication of her book in England should in any way interfere with her peace and comfort, and should not rather be an encouragement to her to resume her pen, for the benefit of her country and the information of other nations.

The Polish original from which these volumes have been translated, comprises a narrative of events that took place between the years 1839 and 1 84 1 ; but, owing to the delay caused by the long exile of the writer, it has but

INTRODUCTION.

. for its appearance. In this respect, it contrasts most favourably with the censorship exercised over the press by other continental govern ments, being not only indulgent, but, to a certain extent, liberal ; and if the same spirit is followed up, it will not be without its advantages. Still the Polish original cannot be said to bear no marks of the pen of the censor. All compositions written under constraint are worded with caution and reservation, and ne cessarily contain many phrases capable of a double meaning. These can scarcely be per ceived, and never fully comprehended, by foreign readers, as by the natives, who, initiated in the history of events, can, as is commonly said, " read many things be tween the lines." Moreover, in some cases, many things have been but lightly touched upon by the Authoress, and may not be clear, while others are so novel as to appear scarcely credible. In illustration, therefore, of the text, as well as the matter contained in it, the Editor has

INTRODUCTION.

. XVII thought fit to subjoin some annotations, for which (as they have not met the eyes of the censorship, and might perhaps offend the Russian Government) he alone, and not the Authoress, ought to be held responsible. The Authoress is a perfect stranger to the Editor. All his knowledge of her is derived solely from her work, and he has never had any communication with her whatever. All he has been able to learn is that she is still living, and that after her return from exile she published other productions of her pen ; this being her first work. We should indeed be extremely grieved if our publication of her book in England should in any way interfere with her peace and comfort, and should not rather be an encouragement to her to resume her pen, for the benefit of her country and the information of other nations.

The Polish original from which these volumes have been translated, comprises a narrative of events that took place between the years 1839 and 1841 ; but, owing to the delay caused by the long exile of the writer, it has but

INTRODUCTION.

. recently left the press. Still this delay does not in the least detract from either the im portance or the novelty of the work. Siberia is not a country of progress ; transformation and changes are not effected there with the same rapidity as they are in Western Europe; but for ages everything is stationary. Genera tion after generation may pass away, but the opinions, habits, and usages of the people con tinue immutable. Desolate and dismal, unexplored and unex plorable, as Siberia may be, it is not, as will be seen from this work, without its peculiar lineaments of sublimity, amidst all its dreariness and solitudes ; and a day will come when its ice-bound territories will be opened to civilization, and its forests vanish before the advances of freedom. We cannot conclude better than by quoting Sydney Yendys* lines on the Polar regions : " The earth is rock — the heaven The dome of a greater palace of ice, Russ-built. Dull light distils through frozen skies Thickened and gross. Cold Fancy droops her wings,

INTRODUCTION.

. And cannot range. In winding-sheets of snow Lies every thought of any pleasant thing. I have forgotten the green earth ; my soul Deflowered, and lost to every summer hope, Sad sitteth on an iceberg at the Pole ; My heart assumes the landscape of mine eyes, Moveless and white, chill blanched with hoarest rime. The sun himself is heavy, and lacks cheer ; Or on the eastern hill, or western slope, The world without seems far and long ago. 0 VOL. I. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Chapter I

Journey from Kiov to Tobolsk — Departure — Prostration — Government instructions — Tula — Veteran soldier — Iron-works — Russian currency — Murom Forest — — Nijny Novgorod — Its fair . . .1

Chapter II

Russian fare — Companions in exile — Arrival at Kazan — Discomforts at lodgings — Visit from the Police Director — Visit from a Russian matron — Recollections of Easter-day — Invitation from the landlady — Obstacles at departure — Aspect of the city — Variety of races — Costumes — A Tartar chief and his wife . . . . . 18 b CONTENTS.

Chapter III

Perm— New villages — Ural Mountains — Ekaterinburg — A roguish innkeeper — Post-carts — Defects of female education — Tumen — A national relic — Tobolsk — Compatriots in exile — Devotedness of a young lady — Departure — Inundation — Bronikov — Counter-order to return . . . .44

Chapter IV

Sojourn at Tobolsk — Lower and Upper Town — Edifices — Interview with an exiled Colonel — Walks on the Irtish — Tobola — Public garden — Visit from the exile — Advance of spring — Breaking of ice on the Irtish — Argali, deer . . . . .66

Chapter V

Preparations for departure — Spring — The Upper Town — Ceyzik's house — Prince Gortchakoff — His removal to Omsk — Roman Catholic missions — A real solitude — Embarkation — Cabin — Farewells . . 80

Chapter VI

Journey to Berezov — Mournful train of thoughts — Kutchum Khan and Yermak — Steward — Passengers — Samovar — Boating — Perilous adventure — Gale of wind — Demiansk — Increase of cold — Expanse of the desert — Grandeur of primitive nature . CONTENTS. XXIII

Chapter VII

Confluence of the Irtish and the Oby — Lowland and upland plain — The Tartar and the Ostiak boundary — Storm — Wild scenery — Stones of various colours in rivers — Kondisk Monastery — Soswa — Distant view of Berezov — Disembarkation — Aspect of the town . . . . .114

Chapter VIII

The bay — Lodgings — Want of market — Sour ducks — Nights with day-light — Breakfast on water — New Lodgings — Supper — Arrangement of the rooms — Superfluous gifts — The hostess — Sudden summer heat . . . . . .128

Chapter IX

Rapidity of vegetation — Preparations for the fisheries in the Oby Gulf — Performance of a religious rite — A family farewell — A touching scene — Site of Berezov — Streets — Structure of the houses — Churches — Burial places — Menzikov's corpse — His grave — Graves of other exiles — Classification of the inhabitants — Provisions — A Siberian school . . .139

Chapter X

Mosquitoes — Visits — Bashfulness of a hostess — A merchant widow's house — Objects of luxury and CONTENTS. European taste — Not at home — Summer heat — Courtesy of the Berezovian maids — Flight — Arrival of Madame X A Berezovian Bloomer — A Polish maid -servant . . . .153

Chapter XI

Inland navigation — The Berezovian district — Population — Scantiness of cultivation — Manners and customs of the inhabitants — Berezovian women — Origin of the Berezovian Cossacks — Causes of their degeneration — Their military services and emoluments — Their mercantile spirit and traffic with the natives . 1 68

Chapter XII

My child — Visits of guests — The Nizegorodtyow family — Parental authority — Ladies' dresses — Costumes peculiar to each class — Evils arising from change of class . . . . .181

Chapter XIII

Failing health — A Siberian merchant — Attempts at agriculture — Hostility to improvement — System of trade — Articles of barter — Character of the natives — The culinary art — Young bride's first dinner-party — CONTENTS. Female education — Facility of marriage — Landed property — Prospects of Berezov . .190 190

Chapter XIV

St. Peter's festival — Waygulka pic-nics — Sudden cold — Traces of a road — Government magazines — An Ostiak encampment — Description of an Ostiak yourta — Smell peculiar to the Ostiaks — Their diet — Ostiak beggars . . . . .211

Chapter XV

Terrific storm — Thoughts of home — A Siberian soiree — Sumptuous supper — The stirrup cup . . 223

Chapter XVI

Marriage ceremony — Death of Colonel Krzyzanowski — News from home — Paulina's letter — Impressions during a walk .... 236

Chapter XVII

Early Autumn — Water excursion — Sand-banks — High tides — Autumnal aspect of Berezov — Solitary walk in the forest — Shamanic worshippers of larch-trees — Account of a woman who lost her way in the forest . . . • .251 CONTENTS.

Chapter XVIII

The library at Tobolsk — Popularity of novels at Berezov — Tale-tellers — Samoiedes — Their tents, habits, and religion — Tragic incident at Samarov — Kapustka fete — Anna Piotrowna — Public opinion on seduction — Alarm, at the appearance of a bear . .273 REVELATIONS OF SIBERIA.

Chapter I

Journey from Kiov to Tobolsk — Departure — Prostration — Government instructions — Tula — Veteran soldier — Iron-works — Russian currency — Murom Forest — Nijny Novgorod — Its fair. On the 11th of March, old style, 1839, I left Kiov. The sun was shining in all his brilliancy, yet the cold was intense, and no signs of the approach of spring were as yet visible. We passed the Dnieper which was still ice bound, in a sledge, by the road leading to Orel, and thus I set out on my long journey. No sooner had we crossed the Dnieper, than the post-horses commenced a gallop. I still tried to catch one more glimpse of Kiov, gazing VOL. I. B REVELATIONS towards that ancient city again and again. At last it vanished in the dimness of distance, and then, unconscious of all around me, I could neither see nor hear anything.

The only out ward impressions that I was yet capable of receiving were the continuous ringing of the bells on the post-horses, ceaselessly tinkling in my ear, and the violent jerks and jolts wThen the sledge was tumbling up and down, over ruts and deep snow-holes on the road. These interruptions in some degree aroused me for a time from my state of abstraction and complete torpor ; but at last even they ceased to produce the slightest impression on me. Arrivals at the station-houses, relays of horses, and number less upsettings of the sledge, did indeed remind me at times of external objects ; but then, an excruciating headache, an acute pain in all the joints of my body, and the shortness of time in which post-horses were again fastened to the sledge, did not allow me an instant for observation ; for no sooner had the bells begun to tinkle, than the sledge was again on its rapid breath-stifling course, leaping in and out of holes and hollows, tumbling over ruts, and thus, without interruption, continuing on — on — on — from day till night, from night till day, without a single intermission.

At the commencement, I found my journey quite intolerable, as I could never sleep in travelling. Hence it may be imagined that my weariness was extreme, and that a few hours of rest had become absolutely necessary to recruit my failing strength. After travelling for two days and nights, on arriving at a station for the relay of horses, I alighted from the sledge and entered the post-house. Com pletely exhausted, I sank on the nearest bench, hoping to procure some repose, though it were only for one short hour. But from the agony of my mind, all my endeavours to snatch a little sleep proved ineffectual, for although my body was, from sleeplessness, in a wretched state of prostration, my mind, to my great distress, continued all the while active, and kept me awake. While I was undergoing such indescribable torture, my guard entered the room, and with an authoritative air insisted that I should im mediately rise, as he had no time to lose on my journey, and I might very well take my rest in the sledge.

Irritated at his peremp- B REVELATIONS tory tone — not unlike a steed when made res tive — I refused to obey, and, indeed, from my extreme debility, I could not instantly rise from the place where I had hoped I should be enabled to get a moment's rest. The master of the post, an old superannuated officer of the Rus sian army, and a Russian by birth, looked with pity on my wretched condition, and mistrusting my guard, demanded to see his instructions. On perusing the document, he immediately perceived that the guard was abusing his power, as, on account of my sex and my age, the Government instructions had been framed in a considerate manner, and I, evidently, was not consigned to my escort, without restraint being imposed on them, mitigating to some extent, and as circumstances might require, the seve rity of ordinary regulations.

The document containing these instructions, the humane officer read aloud in my presence, that I might under stand my position. Thus accidentally, and for the first time, I was informed exactly what were my obligations, and how far I was protected. Henceforward I could travel more comfortably, and more at my ease; and as often as I felt much fatigued, I made my escort halt, to allow me re pose. This was but the beginning of my journey ; yet when I retraced in my mind the distance I had traversed, and the fatigue I experienced on the route — when I looked back, and on ward, comparing the distance already completed with the immense space that still lay before me, 1 felt despondent beyond expression. I thought of the trials which might be awaiting me on the road, and my courage sank. Yet there is nothing to which man may not, in the end, be accustomed ; nothing which he may not be brought to endure.

Ere a week had elapsed, my ardent imagination had considerably cooled, and become more hopeful. My frame, also, had lost much of its former susceptibility, and I could easily bear up against fatigue. Now I calmly resumed my seat in the sledge, without betraying the least sign of impatience, without fretting, without any aversions ; but, as if such was my daily business, and had long been the ordinary routine of my life. I had no curiosity respecting the country through which we passed, or impatience to change one spot for another — peculiarities pos- REVELATIONS sessed generally by travellers, but absolutely unfelt by me. In the extraordinary situation in which I was, I could experience no kind of pleasurable emotion, and I viewed all things with utter indifference. I found nothing to hurry me on — nothing that was worthy to en gage my attention, or to stimulate my curiosity.

I felt no desire, whatever, to see any of the places or the scenery on the road. My wishes were never outstripping — were never in advance of my sledge. My hours were quite at liberty to pass by as they pleased ; my will had no share, no interest in them. In this frame of mind, I had traversed a great part of the territory of the government of Tcherniechov, and crossed the extensive steppes of the government of Orel, so called from the city of that name, situated on the river Oka, and at length arrived at Tula. While the horses were being changed at this town, I entered the post-house, driven in by the cold, from which I was suffering severely. Here I happily found an old soldier of the Minsk regiment of infantry, who some time back, when that regiment was stationed in our province, had his quarters in a village belonging to myself.

This circumstance, trifling as it may appear, made us consider each other in the light of old acquaintances ; such as had seen the same objects and places, or, at least had some reminiscences in common, which alone speaks volumes to those who, removed from their native place, happen to meet in a distant land. I shall for ever remember the few moments of conversation I had with the veteran soldier. In the reception room, at the same post house, my attention was not a little attracted by various articles from the iron manufactory of Tula, admirable for their polish and lustre. They formed an agreeable exhibition, and were evidently exposed to view as a bait to tra vellers — such, at least, they were to me. Charmed by the display, I experienced a strong desire to make a choice of some of the more useful of the articles, and take them with me as souvenirs from Tula.

I thought, too, they would be of service to me, as I was going to a country which scarcely possessed any manufactures ; and having but little luggage, they would be no incumbrance. I made a selection of such as I considered REVELATIONS would prove most serviceable for female work, as knives, scissors, bodkins, and such other trifling articles, and a seal, bearing a well known larch tree for its symbol.* After I had duly settled my account, and was left alone, I was examining my purchases, and admiring their exquisite workmanship, when I fancied I heard a cautious step behind me, as though somebody was approaching, and suddenly felt a small roll of paper thrust into my hand. I instantly turned round, and beheld the veteran soldier, but he had already glided away, and now stood at a distance.

He cast a significant glance at me, but was silent. " There is some mystery in all this," thought I ; but 1 made no remark. Curiosity is never more alive or more acute, than when it is stimulated by secrecy. I thrust the roll of paper in my pocket, waiting for some favourable opportunity when I could read it unobserved, without running the risk of compromising the giver of it. I longed for this opportunity, and as soon as I saw my- * The larch-tree is symbolical of Siberia; and, in this place, identical with banishment to that country. self alone, I unfolded the crumpled paper, and read in Russian characters, traced some what clumsily, as follows : " In paying bills, attend to the paper currency, which is different in this country. You paid two roubles more than you ought. To prevent your being cheated in other places, I enclose for you ' Tables of the currency.' ' After perusing the scrawl, I signified with a grateful look my thanks to the kind-hearted veteran.