The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-29
A YakoOt in New York.

ahOot, pIODdply tne HrSG man OF Unal
race ever in the United States. The
Yakoots are a Siberian tribe of Asiatic
origin they live on the shores of the
Lena, where Captain De Long and his
party found snowy graves. The name
of this Yakoot is Mr. Brakhim. He il
of middle stature, with hardly any
hair on his chin and lip, though he
is twenty-five years old. His prominent
cheek bones and the square contour OF
his face show his Asiatic origin, vet his
eyes are rather those of a white man.
His legs are somewhat bowed, owing to
an apparatus which the Yakoots use in
training their babies. Mr.. Brakhim
speaks his own Yakoot language and
also Russian, though with a peculiar
accent. H-.-
"What induced you, Mr.. Brakhim, to
leave Yakootsk and come to this coun-
try?'' asked the reporter in Russian.
" In 1867 he replied, ''there was a
Congress of Orientalists in St. Peters
burg, and the Russian Government
brought to that Congress number of
Yahoots, Buriats, Ostiaks, Kirkhizes, and
members of other Siberian tribes as sam
pies of Russianization. l was one of the
Yakoot samples. Once in st. Petersburg
l decided to see more of the civilized
world. have been in France and in
England, and now want to see Ameri-
ca. would like to study this country.
its people and its institutions
. Are the Yakoots numerous raceP''
There are about 100000 of them.
They lead a semi-nomadic life along the
Lena and its tributaries. Twice year
they change their abode In summer
they settle on the numerous islands of
Lena and on the shores of the other riv-
ers, where they NOW hay and cultivate a
little barley and still less rye. In winter
they move to their winter quarters,
where they stay for seven long, cold
months"
What is the chief occupation of your
racer"
" We keep cows and mares. We use
the mares milk to make koumiss. The
rich men among us own from 100 to 500
COWS and half that number of mares. The
poor own about dozen cows. A man
who is worth thousand roubles (about
5000 is looked upon as very wealthy.
We supply the gold miners with butter
and meat. We keep a few deer, and
with them make excursions to the Ice
Ocean.
"Our villages consist of number of
tents, built regardless of any ORDER so
that we have no streets. The tents are
square at the base and pyramidal in
shape; they are built generally of rough
posts, put side by side. The rich men,
however, use cut wood, or even make
houses. There are small windows about
foot square, with ice panes during the
winter, and with sheets of mica or small
pieces of broken glass set in birch bark
frames during the summer. Glass panes
four inches square are the largest l ever
saw in the houses of our rich people,
The ice windows last through the winter,
although fire is kept on the hearths night
and day, and when they melt we know
that the time has come for us TO move to
our summer quarters. We do not move
our tents, which are left standing per-
manently in both the summer and win
ter quarters. The stables in winter adj
join the tents, SO that our cattle have the
benefit of the fires. Ample yards, with
high fences, complete the picture of our
village"
"What about your people?''
1.-The Yakoots are of middle stature,
and have straight black hair, broad noses,
prominent cheek bones, and eyes that
resemble somewhat those of the Chinese.
The men cut their hair short and leave
long loose lock on the back of the
LooI caY,,nthinoe lilo (hinocD
The women have rich black hair, which
they always cover with handkerchief.
The Yakoots are not prolific. A family
usually has about three children. They
are friendly and peaceable, and the
women are regarded as equal to the
men in every respect. Monogamy is
strictly observed.
''ln the morning we drink tea-brick
tea. We scrape it with knife, boil il
in clay pot, and drink it with milk
The rich families use also little sugar,
which they bite off in small pieces. We
have no bread at all, for we cannot bake
it on our hearths. Bread is a great lux
ury, and when one of us brings loaf
of it from the city of Yakootsk it is di.
vided into small pieces and distributed
around. We have, however, barley
flour, of which we sometimes prepare a
kind of bun or custard. About noon
we eat butuhaS-that is sour milk mixed
with fresh milk and water and
powder made of soft pine
bark. Sour milk we keep fol
months in large pits dug in the earth.
Of course it is frozen hard, and we cut
it with axes. About three o'clock we
again eat battathas. Before going tc
sleep the well-to-do people eat meat,
while the poor eat more bsttuhaS. Some,
times we have barley cruel and Other
preparations of milk. In winter we oc.
casionally have fish. ~. Y, lSan.