The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-09-15
THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY.
An American Impressed with Their
Remarkable Ignorance and Super
stitiOn.
Sketches OF Their Homes and Their
Daily Liyes-Tilling the Soil.
Some Strange Customs.


rural portion of the country is found
quite three-fonrths of the population, st.
Petersburg and Moscow being the prin
cipai cities and therefore the bone and
sinew is with this class of people. Only
about D per cent. of the peasants can
read and write, and few have the ordin-
ary instincts OF man and woman.
They are uperstitious, ignorant and stu
pid. But this is not a wonder. They
have been Il free people scarcely longer
than the blacks OF America, it being dur
ing the rrou5lOus slavery times in the
United States that Alexander III issued an
ukase giving the white s!aves of Rnssia
freedom. They were not slaves in the
sense of being owned, body aud soul, by
their landlords. The Land which they oc-
cupled was the properly ot the mobility,
and none were perm !tted, when once To-
Gated on farm. to leave 1t permanently
or to go beyond certain distance, even
temporarily.
No schools were provided for the peas
ants during the time of slavery, none are
provided now, and then, as at the present
time, the design of the czar, influenced by
the mobiles, was to keep them in the
densest condition of servitude and ignor-
ance. Their earnings on the farm are
gagged by the landlords, so they have
just enough Oh which tn live. AS no
msars were provided for the elevation Of
the slaves when they became serfs,
| they have remain ID exactly where they
were found, and for all practical pur-
posea they might just as well have re-
mained slaves. It Is generally believed
| that the cZar's act in emancipating them
| was to gain diplomatic favor abroad.
A PEASANTS HOUSE
| is a very rude structure and contains
none of the elements of comfort, health
| fulness, or cleanliness. Frequently the
| stables are under the same roof with the
| tenant. His allowance of furniture, food,
! and clothing being fixed by the landlord,
| he lives scantily. The building il usually
of pine or cedar logs about ten inches in
diameter, barked and set neatly together.
1t is C one story in height, with one
room, generally has three or four win
dows, with one sash in each, and they arc
protected from the outside by rude board
shstters, which, when closed at night,
make complete darkness within aud ven
tilation miserable. The fioor are of logs
or earth, and the beds are on the floor.
There are no stoves in peasants
house. 4 stick-and-clay chimney fire
place sufiices. Here warmth is secured
and the food is cooked in kettles. The
tar.ily meal is spread on the floor, and
the repast is partaken of while sitting on
folded legs, tailor style. IN front of
many of these houses, which are covered
with hay and poles-a rough sort of
thatch-the traveller frequently sees q
drosky frona the city, the vehicle OF the
Eu l1sI. .s-st h
peasant has very crude agricultural i'm
plements. He generally makes them al
his own furnace, and gives them finish
and polish on his own grindstoue.
The peasants grindstone il a huge af-
fair, Is turned by one man, while another
sitting up on frame almost above it
msnipulstes the implement. Axes, plow
shares, scythes, wagon tires, portions oi
harness, horseshoes, and everything used
about q fac.a or stable is finished OIL
the grisdstone. crude little furnac,
heated with peat or pine chips aud tht
grin istone comprise the manufacturing
appliances of the peasant. His plow is !
simple pole with handles on q dead leve
with the tongue, which has an offshoo
downward on which the share is nailed oI
tied.
A FLOWING SCENE IN RUSSIA,
with the rough old frame, the crude tri
angular or diamond shaped share, anG
the tiny little furrow made, would be dis
gusting as well as pitiable to- the Ameri
can farmers eyes The draft or weigh
of the pillow comes directly from the high
bowed hame, which extends two fee
abovs the horses neck, and which ii
fastened TO the collar. Instead OF traces
the tongue or shafts do the pulling. The
Russian n no walk OF life has yet learned
tho philosophy of direct draft from the
collar of the horse. All vehicles are
drawn by the shafts or tongue, and these
are fastened to the high hame or bow
which in turn are fastened To the solar
There is no sucn thing rs trace straps or
chains. Carriages are thus drawn.
The women in Russia do two.thirds OF
| the work in the country. There are i'm
| nlansa wheat, oats, and hay fields every
where, and in August there is great ac-
tigity III the country. The large maj ority
of persons at work are women. They
wear short dresses, plain and straight, and
a long piece of cloth over their heads like
Arabs. The wheat is sown brosdcast, and
il net cut by the women with sickles is
harvested with the old fashioned scythe,
which has a two pound snead and y
broad, sSors handle. From the suead up
to the handle there is a wooden bow
something like, in appearance, the half
o. q heavy barrel-hoop. This bow keeps
the wheat, etc, from falling back over
| the scythe handle and scattering. | have
ue 'er yet seen man who would deign TO
gather up, bind, aud stack the wheat or
oats when oEceit was fel!ed. The women
must do :his while the men do the ''geu
tlemanly" work, although L have seen
many women cutting grain with the
scythe. The ueighbors club together in
harvest and help one another.
RUSSIAN HARVESTING RENDEZVOUS
is quite lively, and is the scene of q
motely crowd. The old men and young,
boys and girls, with their mothers, grand
mothers and aged women, assemble at
daybreak. There are q number of horses,
on which are carried water, food and ex-
ira implements. The horses the boys and
men ride, while the old women waik.
They always carry the scythes, forks and
rakes back and forth every day, and work