What is the Obi?—“One of the most melancholy1 rivers on earth,” say the few European travellers who have ever seen it roll its turbid2 waters through the wilderness3, “its monotonous4 banks a dreary5 succession of swamps and dismal6 pine-forests, and hardly a living creature to be seen, but cranes, wild ducks, and geese.” If you address the same question to one of the few Russians who have settled on its banks, he answers, with a devout7 mien8, “Obi is our mother;” but if you ask the Ostiak, he bursts forth9, in a laconic10 but energetic phrase, “Obi is the god whom we honor above all our other gods.”
To him the Obi is a source of life. With its salmon11 and sturgeon he pays his taxes and debts, and buys his few luxuries; while the fishes of inferior quality which get entangled12 in his net he keeps for his own consumption and that of his faithful dog, eating them mostly raw, so that the perch13 not seldom feels his teeth as soon as it is pulled out of the water. In spring, when the Obi and its tributaries14 burst their bonds of ice, and the floods sweep over the plains, the Ostiak is frequently driven into the woods, where he finds but little to appease15 his hunger; at length, however, the waters subside16, the flat banks186 of the river appear above their surface, and the savage17 erects18 his summer hut close to its stream. This hovel has generally a quadrangular form, low walls, and a high pointed19 roof, made of willow-branches covered with large pieces of bark. These, having first been softened20 by boiling, are sewn together, so as to form large mats or carpets, easily rolled up and transported. The hearth21, a mere22 hole inclosed by a few stones, is in the centre, and the smoke escapes through an aperture23 at the top. Close to the hut there is also, generally, a small store-house erected24 on high poles, as in Lapland; for the provisions must be secured against the attacks of the glutton25, the wolf, or the owner’s dogs.
Although the Obi and its tributaries—the Irtysch, the Wach, the Wasjugan—abundantly provide for the wants of the Ostiaks, yet those who are exclusively fishermen vegetate26 in a state of the greatest poverty, in indolence, drunkenness, and vice27. The wily Russian settlers have got them completely in their power, by advancing them goods on credit, and thus securing the produce of their fisheries from year to year. During the whole summer Russian speculators from Obdorsk, Beresow, and Tobolsk sail about on the Obi, to receive from their Ostiak debtors28 the salmon and sturgeon which they have caught, or to fish on their own account, which, as having better nets and more assistance, they do with much greater success than the poor savages29.
The Russian Government has, indeed, confirmed the Ostiaks in the possession of almost all the land and water in the territories of the Lower Obi and Irtysch, but the Russian traders find means to monopolize30 the best part of the fisheries; for ignorance and stupidity, in spite of all laws in their favor, are nowhere a match for mercantile cunning.
At the beginning of winter the Ostiaks retire into the woods, where they find at least some protection against the Arctic blasts, and are busy hunting the sable31 or the squirrel; but as fishing affords them at all times their chief food, they take care to establish their winter huts on some eminence32 above the reach of the spring inundations, near some small river, which, through holes made in the ice, affords their nets and anglers a precarious33 supply. Their winter yourt is somewhat more solidly constructed than their summer residence, as it is not removed every year. It is low and small, and its walls are plastered with clay. Light is admitted through a piece of ice inserted in the wall or on the roof. In the better sort of huts, the space along one or several of the walls is hung with mats made of sedges, and here the family sits or sleeps. Sometimes a small antechamber serves to hang up the clothes, or is used as a repository for household utensils34. Besides those who live solely35 upon fishes and birds of passage, there are other Ostiaks who possess reindeer36 herds37, and wander in summer to the border of the Polar sea, where they also catch seals and fish. When winter approaches, they slowly return to the woods. Finally, in the more southerly districts, there are some Ostiaks who, having entirely38 adopted the Russian mode of life, cultivate the soil, keep cattle, or earn their livelihood39 as carriers.
In general, however, the Ostiak, like the Samoïede, obstinately40 withstands all innovations, and remains41 true to the customs of his forefathers42. He has been so often deceived by the Russians that he is loth to receive the gifts of187 civilization from their hands. He fears that if his children learn to read and write, they will no longer be satisfied to live like their parents, and that the school will deprive him of the support of his age. He is no less obstinately attached to the religion of his fathers, which in all essential points is identical with that of the Samoïedes. In some of the southern districts, along the Irtysch, at Surgut, he has indeed been baptized, and hangs up the image of a saint in his hut, as his Russian pope or priest has instructed him to do; but his Christianity extends no farther. Along the tributaries of the Obi, and below Obdorsk, he is still plunged43 in Schamanism.
Like the Samoïedes, the Ostiaks, whose entire number amounts to about 25,000, are subdivided44 into tribes, reminding one of the Highland45 clans46. Each tribe consists of a number of families, of a common descent, and sometimes comprising many hundred individuals, who, however distantly related, consider it a duty to assist each other in distress47. The fortunate fisherman divides the spoils of the day with his less fortunate clansman, who hardly thanks him for a gift which he considers as his due. In cases of dispute the Starschina, or elder, acts as a judge; if, however, the parties are not satisfied with his verdict, they appeal to the higher authority of the hereditary48 chieftain or prince—a title which has been conferred by the Empress Catherine II. on the Ostiak magnates, who, from time immemorial, have been considered as the heads of their tribes. These princes are, of course, subordinate to the Russian officials, and bound to appear, with the Starschinas, at the fairs of Beresow or Obdorsk, as they are answerable for the quantity and quality of the various sorts of furs which the Ostiaks are obliged to pay as a tribute to Government. Their dignity is hereditary, and, in default of male descendants, passes to the nearest male relation. It must, however, not be supposed that these princes are distinguished49 from the other Ostiaks by their riches or a more splendid appearance; for their mode of life differs in no way from that of their inferiors in rank, and, like them, they are obliged to fish or to hunt for their daily subsistence.
On entering the hut of one of these dignitaries, Castrén found him in a ragged50 jacket, while the princess had no other robe of state but a shirt. The prince, having liberally helped himself from the brandy-bottle which the traveller offered him, became very communicative, and complained of the sufferings and cares of the past winter. He had exerted himself to the utmost, but without success. Far from giving way to indolence in his turf-hut, he had been out hunting in the forest, after the first snow-fall, but rarely pitching his bark-tent, and frequently sleeping in the open air. Yet, in spite of all his exertions51, he had often not been able to shoot a single ptarmigan. His stores of meal and frozen fishes were soon exhausted52, and sometimes the princely family had been reduced to eat the flesh of wolves.
The Ostiaks are excellent archers53, and, like all the other hunting tribes of Siberia, use variously constructed arrows for the different objects of their chase. Smaller shafts54, with a knob of wood at the end, are destined55 for the squirrels and other small animals whose fur it is desirable not to injure; while large arrows, with strong triangular56 iron points, bring down the wolf, the bear, and188 sometimes the fugitive57 exile. For, to prevent the escape of criminals sentenced to banishment58 in Siberia, the Russian Government allows the Ostiaks to shoot any unknown person, not belonging to their race, whom they may meet with on their territory. Although well aware of this danger, several exiles have attempted to escape to Archangel along the border of the Arctic sea; but they either died of hunger, or were devoured59 by wild beasts, or shot by the Ostiaks. There is but one instance known of an exile who, after spending a whole year on the journey, at length reached the abodes60 of civilized61 man, and he was pardoned in consideration of the dreadful sufferings he had undergone.
The Ostiaks are generally of a small stature62, and most of them are dark-complexioned, with raven-black hair like the Samoïedes; some of them, however, have a fairer skin and light-colored hair. They have neither the oblique63 eyes nor the broad projecting cheek-bones of the Mongols and Tungus, but bear a greater resemblance to the Finnish, Samoïede, and Turkish cast of countenance64. They are a good-natured, indolent, honest race; and though they are extremely dirty, yet their smoky huts are not more filthy65 than those of the Norwegian or Icelandic fisherman. As among the Samoïedes, the women are in a very degraded condition, the father always giving his daughter in marriage to the highest bidder66. The price is very different, and rises or falls according to the circumstances of the parent; for while the rich man asks fifty reindeer for his child, the poor fisherman is glad to part with his daughter for a few squirrel-skins and dried sturgeon.
78. GROUP OF KIRGHIS.
Before taking leave of the Ostiaks, we will still tarry a moment at the small town of Obdorsk, which may be considered as the capital of their country, and entirely owes its existence to the trade carried on between them and the Russians. Formerly67 the merchants from Beresow and Tobolsk used merely to visit the spot, but the difficulties of the journey soon compelled them to establish permanent dwellings68 in that dreary region. A certain number of exiles serves to increase the scanty69 population, which consists of a strange medley70 of various nations, among whom Castrén found a Calmuck, a Kirghis, and a Polish cook,189 who bitterly complained that he had but few opportunities of showing his skill in a town where people lived à la Ostiak. In fact, most of the Russian inhabitants of the place have in so far adopted the Ostiak mode of life, as to deem the cooking of their victuals71 superfluous72. When Castrén, on his arrival at Obdorsk, paid a visit to a Tobolsk merchant, who had been for some time settled in the place, he found the whole family lying on the floor, regaling on raw fish, and the most civilized person he met with told him that he had tasted neither boiled nor roast flesh or fish for half a year. Yet fine shawls and dresses, and now no doubt the crinoline and the chignon, are found amidst all this barbarism. Edifices73 with the least pretensions74 to architectural beauty it would of course be vain to look for in Obdorsk. The houses of the better sort of Russian settlers are two-storied, or consisting of a ground-floor and garrets; but as they are built of wood, and are by no means wind-tight, the half-famished Ostiaks, who have settled in the town, are probably more comfortably housed in their low turf-huts than the prosperous Russian inhabitants of the place. The latter make it their chief occupation to cheat the Ostiaks in every possible way; some of them, however, add to this profitable, if not praiseworthy occupation, the keeping of reindeer herds, or even of cows and sheep.
The fair lasts from the beginning of winter to February, and during this time the Ostiaks who assemble at Obdorsk pitch their bark-tents about the town. With their arrival a new life begins to stir in the wretched place. Groups of the wild sons and daughters of the tundra76, clothed in heavy skins, make their appearance, and stroll slowly through the streets, admiring the high wooden houses, which to them seem palaces. But nothing is to be seen of the animation77 and activity which usually characterize a fair. Concealing78 some costly79 fur under his wide skin mantle80, the savage pays his cautious visit to the trader, and makes his bargain amidst copious81 libations of brandy. He is well aware that this underhand way of dealing82 is detrimental83 to his interests; that his timorous84 disposition85 shrinks from public sales, and frequently he is not even in the situation to profit by competition; for among the thousands that flock to the fair, there are but very few who do not owe to the traders of Obdorsk much more than they possess, or can ever hope to repay. Woe86 to the poor Ostiak whose creditor87 should find him dealing with some other trader!—for the seizure88 of all his movable property, of his tent and household utensils, would be the least punishment which the wretch75 turned adrift into the naked desert would have to expect. The fair is not opened before Government has received the furs which are due to it, or at least a guarantee for the amount from the merchants of the place. Then the magazines of the traders gradually fill with furs—with clothes of reindeer skin ready made, with feathers, reindeer flesh, frozen sturgeon, mammoth89 tusks90, etc. For these goods the Ostiaks receive flour, baked bread, tobacco, pots, kettles, knives, needles, brass91 buttons and rings, glass pearls, and other trifling92 articles. An open trade in spirits is not allowed; but brandy may be sold as a medicine, and thus many an Ostiak takes advantage of the fair for undergoing a cure the reverse of that which is recommended by hydropathic doctors.
190 Towards the end of February, when the Ostiaks have retired93 into the woods—where they hunt or tend their reindeer herds until the opening of the fishing-season recalls them to the Obi—the trader prepares for his journey to Irbit, where he hopes to dispose of his furs at an enormous profit, and Obdorsk is once more left until the following winter to its death-like solitude94.
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1
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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turbid
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| adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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laconic
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| adj.简洁的；精练的 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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12
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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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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18
erects
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| v.使直立，竖起( erect的第三人称单数 )；建立 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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21
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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24
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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glutton
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| n.贪食者，好食者 | |
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vegetate
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| v.无所事事地过活 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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debtors
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| n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 ) | |
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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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monopolize
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| v.垄断，独占，专营 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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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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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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41
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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42
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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43
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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44
subdivided
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| 再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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46
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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48
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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49
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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50
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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51
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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52
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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53
archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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54
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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55
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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56
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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57
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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58
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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59
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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60
abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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61
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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62
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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63
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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64
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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65
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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66
bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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67
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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68
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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69
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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70
medley
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| n.混合 | |
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71
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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72
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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73
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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74
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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75
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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76
tundra
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| n.苔原，冻土地带 | |
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77
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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78
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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79
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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80
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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81
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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82
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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83
detrimental
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| adj.损害的，造成伤害的 | |
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84
timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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85
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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86
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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87
creditor
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| n.债仅人，债主，贷方 | |
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88
seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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89
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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90
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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91
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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92
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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93
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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