The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-04-02

Says the Neio Iork Tunes: The weekly
" free lecture to the people : was delivered
last evening in the large hall OF Cooper
Institute. BY George KEENAN,. OF Melina,
n. Y. The subject chosen was " lie in
Siberia and kamtschatka.'' The lecturer
was enc of AN exploring party sent ou in
1850 TO select the best rout. Tor connecting
~. Petersburg with the United States by
telegraph. He commenced 10y humorous
ly and briefly narrating the voyage of the
party from San Francisco Il the Russian
shores. and then driineatcd IN a graphic
manner the life and occupation OF the
Russian peasantry. The marriage rela-
tons, he said, were peculiar. A Russian
could obtain a wife for a sum equivalent
10 10 cents In currency, and from that up
ward. After the ceremony was performed
at the church a feast WAS usually provided
al the residence of the parents of the bride.
al which the felicity of the newly-wedded
pair was manifested by ~partaking OF food
from the same dish. During the banquet
he said IL was customary for some person
10 exclaim " sour in the Russian Lam
guage, at which exclamation the bride
groom would drop his knife am fork.
and, throwing his arms around his wife.
would salute her with hearty kisses. The
frequency with which this ceremony was
repeated often interfercd sadly with their
supper. The speaker next narrated his
experience while j%ourneying on horse
back through kamtschatka IN autumn.
The scenery at this season. he said. was
delightfully."- picturesque. The deep gorges
intervening between the snow-capped
mountains, the glowing tints Of the foil
age Of decaying vegetation, were all better
calculated TO remind the traveller Of Cali
fornia than of that frozen country. The
temperature for a short time al that sea-
son. he said, was mild and genial. Short
ly after the beginning of the month
of October, however, the weather
grew cold very rapidly. and increased
in severity at the end Of the
year. There were in kamtschatka a large
number Of colonists from Central Asia
who had become thoroughly identified
with the Russian population. having dept
ed not only the dress and manners OF the
natives OF the country, but also the Ian
guage and religion. They We're honest.
truthful and hospitable TO strangers. and
subsisted chiefly on the products Of sable
trapping and fishing. At one time the lit
tie party was reduced TO the lowest ex-
tremity, all their provisions had been con-
sumed and they were compelled for two
days 10 subsist upon a piece of blubber.
originally intended for the purpose of oil
ing their guns Atlength a wandering tribe
of ko-atZ was encountered. and. after their
fright had been assuaged, they placed be-
fore the halffamished party the best az
commodations AT their disposal. which con-
sisted Of a mixture of blubber. moss. and
reindeer meat. boiled 10 the consistency Of
a pudding. which, though not of a nour-
ishiRg tendency. sustained life. The relig-
ion Of b tribe was generally the worship
Of the evil spirit, manifested by a species
of sorcery. After delineating the customs
of the Inhabitants Of Siberia. the lecturer
wildly described the aurora borealis a.
witnessed in that country. The thermom-
eter, he said, frequently indicated from 80
to 80 degrees below zero, bur the intensity
of the cold was lessened by the heavy suits
OF fur in which the natives envelop them
selves. The lecturer withdrew for a mo-
ment and arrayed himself in a fur costume
which he said he had worn during has so
journ in the Arctic region. The only evil
dences of civilization 10 be found i'm that
country were pictorial papers. He had
seen in one instance a portrait Of ex-Gov.
Dix, cut from HdrpeT's Weekly, framed
and hung as a saint, and before which
prayers were daily said by the Russian
.peasantry. The speaker closed by relating
the disappointment of the party on learn
ing that all their labor had been fruitless.
owing TO the successful laying Of the At
lantic cable.