The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1884-10-15
LIFE AMONG THE YAKUTS.
DESCRIPTION OF TRAVEL. ON THE
UPPER LENA
Among the Natives of Northern Siberia
Curious Habits and Customs
HetrOthals i'm the High North.


BetrOthaIs i'm the High North.
/ had a thousand miles to go before
should reach the Arctic ocean. found
some difficulty in first examining myself
into my deer sled, and few hours after
ward quite as great in getting out of it.
The deer sled is a long narrow affair,
placed on high wooden runners; it is
made extremely light, of frame work
of slender bKch, and is covered with a
hood ih order to protect the head and
face of the occupant from the biting
blasts. It is, in fact, in appearance a
heightened out cradle and l think about
as comfortable At night one sleeps in
it very comfortably. l remember the
first night we were in the forest, the
moon shone brightly, the road was good
and Yakut horses are trained to follow
one another faithfully, and only the
leading driver has any serious work to
do. When | was awake, however, |
found the journey strangely weird and
interesting. You see before you nothing
but mass VI trees and slender under
wood-no opening in which you can
imagine that a road exists. But the
leader enters the gloom of the forest fear
lessly; he darts on first to the right and
then to the left, between trunks of trees
scarcely more than foot wider apart
than is needed through which your sled
is to pass. Now and then you lose sight
of the sled in advance of you. but your
horse knows the road, if you do not at
tempt to drive, and he follows. Strange
forms then the sled takes on in the
whitened gloom. The Yakuts do not
put sleigh bells on the harness, and you
pass on so silently, and the fitting things
in front of you, of which you catch
glimpses occasionally, seem to form pars
Of some strange, weird and ghostly pro-
cessiop.
So you pass on for hours through the
forest Then a white, bleak space opens
in front of you over which you pass in
the moonlight. 1t is the frozen surface
of a lake, of which there are scores
among the forests. Suddenly, when you
have passed the crest of a hill, you look
down toward the valley that seems mile
away. You imagine that rockets are
being fired high into the sky by some
unknown friends. They seem to be shot
up one after the other with great regu-
larity, and you can imagine for the
moment that a company of Cossacks has
been sent in advance to point out your
resting or camping place. But this is an
Illusion. The valley is not a hundred
yards away, and the rockets are nothing
more than the sparks from the blazing
hearth Of Yakut yourte. A welcome
sight, nevertheless, and you are glad to
escape from the cold night frost, and to
warm yourself at the blazing fire. The
accommodations offered by the Yakuts
are not very grand, but the people share
with you all they have, and would quite
as soon sleep inside the hut of Yakut
or a Tonguse as in the fctid atmosphere
and on the uncleanly lounges of Russian
post house on the Siberian post road.
The Yakut is at least kindly and respect
full, which cannot always be said of the
Russian post station keeper.
Outside the Yakut youret looks a
very insignificant affair. 1t is very low,
covered with layer of mud and in win
ter of snow, and has slabs of ice prop
ped up from the outside for windows,
and doorway just large enough for a
COW to squeeze through, and much toe
low for a man. Enter the hut and you
feel the grateful warmth of the blazing
logs piled upon the raised hearth, and
feel at once well disposed to the inhabi
tants, whoever they may be. Once inside
and you see that the yourte is built OF
stems of larch trees, the sides sloping up
ward toward the roof, which latter il
also made of larch stems laid side by sidt
and supported by pillars rising from tht
floor. In the centre of the yourte is thu
huge raised hearth, slender stems o.
trees plastered with mud forming thu
smoke conductor or chimney The log
for the fire are placed in an upright 20
sition, so that they burn quickly anC
throw out comfortable warmth around
the room, which may be fifteen to TWEEN
ty yards square; close beneath the slop
ing sides are built rude benches, divided
off into compartments, each about sil
feet long. These are the sleeping hunks
privacy being only possible when yol
have a shawl or rug to hang up befor
your division. On these benches you al
sleep, Yakuts and travellers, the yem
schiks taking the floor, and you sleel
comfortably enough in the blaze anC
warmth of the fire. There is an inne
apartment to the yourte, kind of anne,
or dependence. This is not given up t,
the family, or even the ladies of tn
house, but is an unrestricted domain 0
the COWS, which, however have to pas
through the living department to get
their own. But they are well trained
these Yakut cows, and know where the
belong.
In such Yakut youret family affair
are made very apparent to the traveller
The curtained partition in the corne
cannot prevent you from hearing tn
puny cry of the newly-born Yakut, an,
if the curtain is opened for a momen
and another female member of the famil
carries off young two ,year-old who ha
just been enjoying his natural supper
and the cry still continues, you cannC
but come to the conclusion that tn
Yakut mother has a busy time on han
in providing for the latest before the on
preceding has been weaned from tn
natural mode of gaining its food. The