6 When there is love between two, the man, among other trifling gifts, sends to the woman a whip, to signify, if she offend, what she must expect; and it is a rule among them, that if the wife be not beaten once a week, she thinks herself not beloved, and is the worse; yet they are very obedient, and stir not forth, but at some seasons. Upon utter dislike, the husband divorces: which liberty no doubt they received first with their religion from the Greek church,' and the imperial laws. Their dead they bury with new shoes on their feet, as to a long journey; and put letters testimonial in their hands to St. Nicholas, or St. Peter, that this was a Russe or Russes, and died in the true faith; which, as they believe, St. Peter having read, forthwith admits him into heaven. They have no learning, nor will suffer to be among them; their greatest friendship is drinking; they are great talkers, liars, flatterers, and dissemblers. They delight in gross meats and noisome fish; their drink is better, being sundry sorts of meath; the best made with juice of a sweet and crimson berry called Maliena, growing also in France; other sorts with blackcherry, or divers other berries: another drink they use in the spring drawn from the birch-tree root, whose sap after June dries up. But there are no people that live so miserably as the poor of Russia; if they have straw and water they make shift to live; for straw dried and stamped in winter time is their bread; in summer grass and roots; at all times bark of trees is good meat for them; yet many of them die in the street for hunger, none relieving or regarding them. 2 When they are sent into foreign countries, or that strangers come thither, they are very sumptuous in apparel, else the duke himself goes but meanly. In winter they travel only upon sleds,3 the ways being hard, and smooth with snow, the rivers all frozen one horse with a sled will draw a man four hundred miles in three days; in summer the way is deep and travelling ill. The Russe of better sort goes not out in winter, but on his sled; in summer on his horse: in his sled he sits on a carpet, or a white bear's skin; the sled drawn with a horse well decked, with many fox or wolf tails about his neck, guided by a boy on his back, other servants riding on the tail of the sled. 6 Hack. 322. 7 Ibid, 314. Ibid, 241, 314. 1 Ibid. 323. 8 Ibid. 242, 254, 323. The Russian sea breeds a certain beast which they call a morse; who seeks his food on the rocks, climbing up with help of his teeth; whereof they make as great account as we of the elephant's tooth. CHAP. II.-OF SAMOEDIA, SIBERIA, AND OTHER COUNTRIES NORTH-EAST, SUBJECT TO THE MUSCOVITES. NORTH-EAST of Russia lieth Samoëdia by the river Ob. This country was first discovered by Oneke a Russian; who first trading privately among them in rich furs, got great wealth, and the knowledge of their country; then revealed his discovery to Boris protector to Pheodor, shewing how beneficial that country gained would be to the empire. Who sending embassadors among them gallantly attired, by fair means won their subjection to the empire, every head paying yearly two skins of richest sables. Those messengers travelling also two hundred leagues beyond Ob eastward, made report of pleasant countries, abounding with woods and fountains, and people riding on elks and loshes; others drawn on sleds by rein-deer; others by dogs as swift as deer. The Samoëds that came along with those messengers, returning to Mosco, admired the stateliness of that city, and were as much admired for excellent shooters, hitting every time the breadth of a penny, as far distant as hardly could be discerned. The river Ob is reported by the Russes to be in breadth the sailing of a summer's day; but full of islands and shoals, having neither woods, nor, till of late, inhabitants. Out of Ob they turn into the river Tauze. The Russians have here, since the Samoëds yielded them subjection, two governors, with three or four hundred gunners; have built villages and some small castles; all which place they call Mongozey or Molgomsay. Further upland they have also built other cities of wood, consisting chiefly of Poles, Tartars, and Russes, fugitive or condemned men; as Vergateria, Siber, whence the whole country is named Tinna, thence Tobolsca on this side Ob, on the rivers Irtis, and Tobol, chief seat of the Russian governor; above that, Zergolta in an island of Ob, where they have a customhouse. Beyond that on the other side Ob, 4 Hack. 252. 5 Purch. part 3. p. 543, 540. Ibid. 524, 526. Narim, and Tooina, now a great city.7 Certain churches also are erected in those parts; but no man forced to religion; beyond Narim eastward on the river Telta is built the castle of Congoscoi, and all this plantation began since the year 1590, with many other towns like these. And these are the coun tries from whence come all the sables and rich furs. . The Samoëds have no towns or certain place of abode, but up and down where they find moss for their deer; they live in companies peaceably, and are governed by some of the ancientest amongst them, but are idolaters. They shoot wondrous cunningly; their arrow-heads are sharpened stones, or fish bones, which latter serve them also for needles; their thread being the sinews of certain small beasts, wherewith they sow the furs which clothe them; the furry side in summer outward, in winter inward. They have many wives, and their daughters they sell to him who bids most; which, if they be not liked, are turned back to their friends, the husband allowing only to the father what the marriage feast stood him in. Wives are brought to bed there by their husbands, and the next day go about as before. They till not the ground; but live on the flesh of those wild beasts which they hunt. They are the only guides to such as travel Jougoria, Siberia, or any of those north-east parts in winter; being drawn on sleds with bucks riding post day and night, if it be moonlight, and lodge on the snow under tents of deer-skins. in whatever place they find enough of white moss to feed their sled-stags, turning them loose to dig it up themselves out of the deep snow: another Samoëd, stepping to the next wood, brings in store of firing: round about which they lodge within their tents, leaving the top open to vent smoke; in which manner they are as warm as the stoves in Russia. They carry provision of meat with them, and partake besides of what fowl or venison the Samoëd kills with shooting by the way; their drink is melted snow. Two deer being yoked to a sled, riding post, will draw two hundred miles in twenty-four hours without resting, and laden with their stuff, will draw it thirty miles in twelve. 7 Purch. part 3. p. 526, 527. 8 Ibid. 522, 555. 9 Ibid. 518. CHAP. III.-OF TINGOESIA AND THE COUNTRIES ADJOINING EASTWARD AS FAR AS CATHAY. BEYOND Narim and Comgoscoi1 the soldiers of those garrisons, travelling by appointment of the Russian governor in the year 1605, found many goodly countries not inhabited, many vast deserts and rivers; till at the end of ten weeks they spied certain cottages and herds, or companies of people, which came to them with reverent behaviour, and signified to the Samoëds and Tartars, which were guides to the Russian soldiers, that they were called Tingoësi; that their dwelling was on the great river Jenissey. This river is said to be far bigger than Ob, distant from the mouth thereof four days and nights' sailing; and likewise falls into the sea of Naramzie: it hath high mountains on the east, some of which cast out fire, to the west a plain and fertile country, which in the spring-time it overflows about seventy leagues; all that time the inhabitants keep them in the mountains, and then return with their cattle to the plain. The Tingoësi are a very gentle nation, they have great swoln throats, like those in Italy that live under the Alps; at persuasion of the Samoëds they forthwith submitted to the Russian government: and at their request travelling the next year to discover still eastward, they came at length to a river, which the savages of that place called Pisida, somewhat less than Jenissey; beyond which, hearing ofttimes the tolling of brazen bells, and sometimes the noise of men and horses, they durst not pass over; they saw there certain sails afar off, square, and therefore supposed to be like Indian or China sails, and the rather for that they report that great guns have been heard shot off from those vessels. In April and May they were much delighted with the fair prospect of that country, replenished with many rare trees, plants, and flowers, beasts and fowl. Some think here to be the borders of Tangut in the north of Cathay. Some of those Samoëds, about the year 1610, travelled so far till they came in view of a white city, and heard a great din of bells, and report there came to them men all armed in iron from head to foot. And in the year 1611, divers out of Cathay, and others from Alteen Czar, who styles himself the golden king, 3 Ibid. Purch. part 3. p. 527. 2 Ibid. 527. 551. 546. 527. 6 came and traded at Zergolto, or Surgoot, on the river Ob, bringing with them plates of silver. Whereupon Michael Pheodorowich the Russian emperor, in the year 1619, sent certain of his people from Tooma to Alteen, and Cathay, who returned with embassadors from those princes. These relate, that from Tooma in ten days and a half, three days whereof over a lake, where rubies and sapphires grow, they came to the Alteen king, or king of Alty; through his land in five weeks they passed into the county of Sheromugaly, or Mugalla, where reigned a queen called Manchica; whence in four days they came to the borders of Cathay, fenced with a stone wall, fifteen fathom high; along the side of which, having on the other hand many pretty towns belonging to Queen Manchica, they travelled ten days without seeing any on the wall, till they came to the gate; where they saw very great ordnance lying, and three thousand men in watch. They traffic with other nations at the gate, and very few at once are suffered to enter. They were travelling from Tooma to this gate twelve weeks; and from thence to the great city of Cathay ten days. Where being conducted to the house of embassadors, within a few days there came a secretary from King Tambur, with two hundred men well apparelled, and riding on asses, to feast them with divers sorts of wine, and to demand their message; but having brought no presents with them, they could not be admitted to his sight; only with his letter to the emperor they returned, as is aforesaid, to Tobolsca. They report, that the land of Mugalla reaches from Boghar to the north sea,' and hath many castles built of stone, foursquare, with towers at the corners covered with glazed tiles; and on the gates alarm-bells, or watch-bells, twenty pound weight of metal; their houses built also of stone, the cielings cunningly painted with flowers of all colours. The people are idolaters: the country exceeding fruitful. They have asses and mules, but no horses. The people of Cathay say, that this great wall stretches from Boghar to the north sea, four months journey, with continual towers a slight shot distant from each other, and beacons on every tower; and that this wall is the bound between Mugalla and Cathay. In which are but five gates; those narrow, and so low, that a horseman sitting upright cannot ride in. Next to the wall is 6 Purch. part 3. p. 797. 7 Ibid. 799. |
