All the inhabitants of the settlement were in the streets to meet us when we returned; but we were disappointed not to see among them the faces of Macrae and Arnold. Many bands of Chukchis from the lower Anadyr had arrived at the village, but nothing had been heard of the missing men. Forty-five days had now elapsed since they left their camp on the river, and, unless they had died or been murdered, they ought long since to have arrived. I should have sent a party in search of them, but I had not the slightest clue to the direction in which they had gone, or the intentions of the party that had carried them away; and to look for a band of Wandering Chukchis on those great steppes was as hopeless as to look for a missing vessel2 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and far more dangerous. We could only wait, therefore, and hope for the best. We spent the first week after our return in resting, writing up our journals, and preparing a report of our explorations, to be forwarded by special courier to the Major. During this time great numbers of wild, wandering natives—Chukchis, Lamutkis (la-moot'-kees) and a few Koraks—came into the settlement to exchange their furs and walrus3 teeth for tobacco, and gave us an excellent opportunity of studying their various characteristics and modes of life. The Wandering Chukchis, who visited us in the greatest numbers, were evidently the most powerful tribe in north-eastern Siberia, and impressed us very favourably4 with their general appearance and behaviour. Except for their dress, they could hardly have been distinguished5 from North American Indians—many of them being as tall, athletic6, and vigorous specimens7 of savage8 manhood as I had ever seen. They did not differ in any essential particular from the Wandering Koraks, whose customs, religion, and mode of life I have already described.
The Lamutkis, however, were an entirely10 different race, and resembled the Chukchis only in their nomadic11 habits. All the natives in north-eastern Siberia, except the Kamchadals, Chuances, and Yukagirs, who are partially12 Russianised, may be referred to one or another of three great classes. The first of these, which may be called the North American Indian class, comprises the wandering and settled Chukchis and Koraks, and covers that part of Siberia lying between the 160th meridian13 of east longitude14 and Bering Strait. It is the only class which has ever made a successful stand against Russian invasion, and embraces without doubt the bravest, most independent savages15 in all Siberia. I do not think that this class numbers all together more than six or eight thousand souls, although the estimates of the Russians are much larger.
The second class comprises all the natives in eastern Siberia who are evidently and unmistakably of Mongolian origin, including the Tunguses, the Lamutkis, the Manchus, and the Gilyaks of the Amur River. It covers a greater extent of ground probably than both of the other classes together, its representatives being found as far west as the Yenesei, and as far east as Anadyrsk, in 169° E. long. The only branches of this class that I have ever seen are the Lamutkis and the Tunguses. They are almost exactly alike, both being very slenderly built men, with straight black hair, dark olive complexions16, no beards, and more or less oblique17 eyes. They do not resemble a Chukchi or a Korak any more than a Chinaman resembles a Comanche or a Sioux. Their dress is very peculiar18. It consists of a fur hood9, tight fur trousers, short deerskin boots, a Masonic apron19, made of soft flexible buckskin and elaborately ornamented20 with beads21 and pieces of metal, and a singular-looking frock-coat cut in very civilised style out of deerskin, and ornamented with long strings22 of coloured reindeer23 hair made into chenille. You can never see one without having the impression that he is dressed in some kind of a regalia or uniform. The men and women resemble each other very much in dress and appearance, and by a stranger cannot be distinguished apart. Like the Chukchis and Koraks, they are reindeer nomads24, but differ somewhat from the former in their mode of life. Their tents are smaller and differently constructed and instead of dragging their tent-poles from place to place as the Chukchis do, they leave them standing25; when they break camp, and either cut new ones or avail themselves of frames left standing by other bands. Tent-poles in this way serve as landmarks26, and a day's, journey is from one collection of frames to another. Few of the Tunguses or Lamutkis own many deer. Two or three hundred are considered to be a large herd27, and a man who owns more than that is regarded as a sort of millionaire. Such herds28 as are found among the Koraks in northern Kamchatka, numbering from five to ten thousand, are never to be seen west of Gizhiga. The Tunguses, however, use their few deer to better advantage and in a greater variety of ways than do the Koraks. The latter seldom ride their deer or train them to carry packs, while the Tunguses do both. The Tunguses are of a mild, amiable29 disposition30, easily governed and easily influenced, and seem to have made their way over so large an extent of country more through the sufferance of other tribes than through any aggressive power or disposition of their own. Their original religion was Shamanism, but they now profess31 almost universally the Greco-Russian faith and receive Christian32 names. They acknowledge also their subjection to the authority of the Tsar, and pay a regular annual tribute in furs. Nearly all the Siberian squirrelskins which reach the European market are bought by Russian traders from Wandering Tunguses around the Okhotsk Sea. When I left the settlement of Okhotsk, in the fall of 1867, there were more than seventy thousand squirrelskins there in the hands of one Russian merchant, and this was only a small part of the whole number caught by the Tunguses during that summer. The Lamutkis, who are first cousins to the Tunguses, are fewer in number, but live in precisely33 the same way. I never met more than three or four bands during two years of almost constant travel in all parts of north-eastern Siberia.
The third great class of natives is the Turkish. It comprises only the Yakuts (yah-koots') who are settled chiefly along the Lena River from its head-waters to the Arctic Ocean. Their origin is unknown, but their language is said to resemble the Turkish or modern Osmanli so closely that a Constantinopolitan of the lower class could converse34 fairly well with a Yakut from the Lena. I regret that I was not enough interested in comparative philology35 while in Siberia to compile a vocabulary and grammar of the Yakut language. I had excellent opportunities for doing so, but was not aware at that time of its close resemblance to the Turkish, and looked upon it only as an unintelligible36 jargon37 which proved nothing but the active participation38 of the Yakuts in the construction of the Tower of Babel. The bulk of this tribe is settled immediately around the Asiatic pole of cold, and they can unquestionably endure a lower temperature with less suffering than any other natives in Siberia. They are called by the Russian explorer Wrangell, "iron men," and well do they deserve the appellation39. The thermometer at Yakutsk, where several thousands of them are settled, averages during the three winter months thirty-seven degrees below zero; but this intense cold does not seem to occasion them the slightest inconvenience. I have seen them in a temperature of -40°, clad only in a shirt and one sheepskin coat, standing quietly in the street, talking and laughing as if it were a pleasant summer's day and they were enjoying the balmy air! They are the most thrifty40, industrious41 natives in all northern Asia. It is a proverbial saying in Siberia, that if you take a Yakut, strip him naked, and set him down in the middle of a great desolate42 steppe, and then return to that spot at the expiration43 of a year, you will find him living in a large, comfortable house, surrounded by barns and haystacks, owning herds of horses and cattle, and enjoying himself like a patriarch. They have all been more or less civilised by Russian intercourse44, and have adopted Russian manners and the religion of the Greek Church. Those settled along the Lena cultivate rye and hay, keep herds of Siberian horses and cattle, and live principally upon coarse black-bread, milk, butter, and horse-flesh. They are notorious gluttons45. All are very skilful46 in the use of the "topor" or short Russian axe47, and with that instrument alone will go into a primeval forest, cut down trees, hew48 out timber and planks49, and put up a comfortable house, complete even to panelled doors and window-sashes. They are the only natives in all north-eastern Siberia who can do and are willing to do hard continuous work.
These three great classes, viz., American Indian natives, Mongolian natives, and Turko-Yakut natives, comprise all the aboriginal50 inhabitants of north-eastern Siberia except the Kamchadals, the Chuances, and the Yukagirs. [Footnote: There are a few Eskimo-like natives living in permanent habitations near Bering Strait, but we did not see them.] These last have been so modified by Russian influence, that it is hard to tell to which class they are most nearly allied51, and the ethnologist will shortly be relieved from all further consideration of the problem by their inevitable52 extinction53. The Chuances and Yukagirs have already become mere54 fragments of tribes, and their languages will perish with the present generation.
The natives of whom we saw most at Anadyrsk were, as I have already said, the Chukchis. They frequently called upon us in large parties, and afforded us a great deal of amusement by their na?ve and childlike comments upon Americans, American instruments, and the curious American things generally which we produced for their inspection55. I shall never forget the utter astonishment56 with which a band of them once looked through my field-glass. I had been trying it one clear cold day out-of-doors, and quite a crowd of Chukchis and Yukagirs had gathered around me to see what I was doing. Observing their curiosity, I gave the glass to one of them and told him to look through it at another native who happened to be standing out on the plain, at a distance of perhaps a hundred yards. The expression of blank, half-incredulous surprise which gradually came over his features as he saw that native brought up, apparently57 within a few feet, was irresistibly58 comical. He did not dream for a moment that it was a mere optical illusion; he supposed that the wonderful instrument had actually transported the man physically59 from a distance of a hundred yards up to the place where he stood, and as he held the glass to his eyes with one hand, he stretched out the other to try to catch hold of him. Finding to his great astonishment that he could not, he removed the glass, and saw the man standing quietly as before, a hundred yards away. The idea then seemed to occur to him that if he could only get this mysterious instrument to his eyes quickly enough, he would surprise the man in the very act of coming up—catch him perhaps about half-way—and find out how it was done. He accordingly raised the glass toward his face very slowly (watching the man meanwhile intently, to see that he took no unfair advantage and did not start too soon) until it was within an inch of his eyes, and then looked through it suddenly. But it was of no use. The man was right beside him again, but how he came there he didn't know. Perhaps he could catch him if he made a sudden dash, and he tried it. This, however, was no more successful than his previous experiments, and the other natives looked at him in perfect amazement60, wondering what he was trying to do with all these singular motions. He endeavoured to explain to them in great excitement that the man had been brought up apparently within arm's length, and yet he could not touch him. His comrades of course denied indignantly that the man had moved at all, and they engaged in a furious dispute as to whether this innocent and unconscious man had been anywhere near them or not. The native who maintained the affirmative appealed to me; but, convulsed with laughter, I could make no reply, and he started off at a run, to see the man and find out whether he had been brought up or not, and how it felt to be transported over a hundred yards of space in an instant of time! We who are familiar with these discoveries of science can hardly realise how they appear to a wholly uneducated savage; but if a superior race of beings should come from the planet Mars and show us a mysterious instrument which enabled a man to be in two different places at the same time, we should understand the sensations of a Chukchi in looking through a field-glass.
Soon after this I happened to be encamped one night on a great plain near Anadyrsk, with a party of these same natives; and having received a note from Dodd by a special messenger, I was engaged in reading it by the camp-fire. At several humorous passages I burst into a loud laugh; whereupon the natives nudged one another with their elbows and pointed1 significantly at me, as much as to say, "Just look at the crazy American! What's the matter with him now?" Finally one of them, an old grey-haired man, asked me what I was laughing at. "Why," said I, "I am laughing at this," and pointed to the piece of paper. The old man thought about it for a moment, compared notes with the others, and they all thought about it; but no one seemed to succeed in getting any light as to the cause of my incomprehensible laughter. In a few moments the old man picked up a half-burned stick which was lying by the fire and said: "Now suppose I should look at this stick for a minute and then laugh; what would you think?" "Why," said I candidly61, "I should think you were a fool." "Well," he rejoined with grave satisfaction, "that's just exactly what I think of you!" He seemed to be very much pleased to find that our several opinions of such insane conduct so exactly coincided. Looking at a stick and laughing, and looking at a piece of paper and laughing, seemed to him equally absurd. The languages of the Chukchis and Koraks have never-been reduced to writing; nor, so far as I know, do either of those tribes ever attempt to express ideas by signs or pictures. Written thought is to many of them an impossible conception. It can be imagined, perhaps, with what wonder and baffled curiosity they pore over the illustrated62 newspapers which are occasionally given to them by the sailors of whaling vessels63 which visit the coast. Some of the pictures they recognise as representations of things with which they are acquainted; but by far the greater number are as incomprehensible as the hieroglyphics64 of the Aztecs. I remember that a Korak once brought to me an old tattered65 fashion-plate from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper containing three or four full-length figures of imaginary ladies, in the widest expansion of crinoline which fashion at that time prescribed. The poor Korak said he had often wondered what those curious objects could be; and now, as I was an American, perhaps I could tell him. He evidently had not the most remote suspicion that they were intended to represent human beings. I told him that those curious objects, as he called them, were American women. He burst out into a "tyée-e-e-e!" of amazement, and asked with a wondering look, "Are all the women in your country as big as that at the bottom?" It was a severe reflection upon our ladies' dress, and I did not venture to tell him that the bigness was artificial, but merely replied sadly that they were. He looked curiously66 down at my feet and then at the picture, and then again at my feet, as if he were trying to trace some resemblance between the American man and the American woman; but he failed to do it, and wisely concluded that they must be of widely different species.
The pictures from these papers are sometimes put to curious uses. In the hut of a Christianised but ignorant native near Anadyrsk, I once saw an engraved67 portrait, cut from Harper's Weekly, of Major General Dix, framed, hung up in a corner of the room and worshipped as a Russian saint! A gilded68 candle was burning before his smoky features, and every night and morning a dozen natives crossed themselves and said their prayers to a major-general in the United States Army! It is the only instance, I believe, on record, where a major-general has been raised to the dignity of a saint without even being dead. St. George of England, we are told, was originally a corrupt69 army contractor70 of Cappadocia, but he was not canonised until long after his death, when the memory of his contracts was no more. For Major-General Dix was reserved the peculiar privilege of being at the same time United States Minister in Paris and a saint in Siberia!
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1
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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walrus
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| n.海象 | |
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favourably
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| adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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nomadic
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| adj.流浪的；游牧的 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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nomads
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| n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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philology
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| n.语言学；语文学 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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thrifty
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| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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gluttons
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| 贪食者( glutton的名词复数 )； 贪图者； 酷爱…的人； 狼獾 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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hieroglyphics
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| n.pl.象形文字 | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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