The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-01-15
A RELIGIOUS SPREE.

From George Remnants adventures
in Eastern Siberia" in the Century we
quote the following: 1--WE had no diff
ficulty in getting post horses until just
before dark Monday evening, when we
reached the station of Turinopovorot-
maya Too-rin-o-po-vo-rote nah-yah),
about fifty miles from Cita and found
the whole village in state of hilarious
intoxication. Sleighs filled with young
men and boys were careering hither
and thither with wild whoops and hal
loos; long lines of peasant girls in
bright-colored calico dresses were uu-
steadily promenading back and forth
in the streets with their arms around
one another and singing khoroved
songs; the stationhouse was filled with
flushed and excited people from neigh
boring settlements, who had evidently
been participating in a celebration of
some kind and were about starting for
their homes; the station-master, who
perhaps had not finished his celebra-
ton, was nowhere to be found; there
was not a driver about the stables; and
the 'starosta' (stah ro-stah), a short,
fat old man, who looked like burgher
from Amsterdam, was SO drunk that
even with the aid of cane he could
hardly stand on his feet. In vain we
tried to ascertain the reasons for his
surprising epidemic of inebriation.
Nobody was sober enough to explain
to US what had happened. From the
excited and more or less incoherent
conversation of the intoxicated travel
ers in the station-house, / learned that
even the village priest was so drunk
that he had to be taken home in a
sleigh by the soberest of his parishion-
ers. Ii the station-master,t the starosta,
the village priest, the drivers, and all
of the inhabitants were drunk, there
was evidently no prospect of our being
able to get horses. In fact we could
not find anybody who seemed sober
enough to know the difference between
horse and his harness. We therefore
brought our baggage into the crowded
station-house and sat down in an un-
occupied corner to study intoxicated
humanity and await further develop
ments. Every person in the house was
drunk, except ourselves and one small
baby. =.
about nine clock the noise, tumult,
and shouting in the village streets be-
gan to subside; the station-master,
whose intoxication had taken the form
of severe official dignity, suddenly ap-
peared, and in tone of stern menace
wanted to know where the post drivers
were and what all this disorder meant
-. finally, when we had almost
abandoned the hope of ever getting
away, a really sober man in a ragged
sheepskin coat emerged from the dark
ness and reported in business-like
manner to the station-master that the
horses were ready for us. The drunken
and irate official, who seemed desirous
of vindicating his dignity and authori-
ty in some way, overwhelmed the un-
fortunate driver with abuse, and ended
by tining him fifty kopecks-whether
for being sober or for having the
horses ready, 1 do not know. We
piled our baggage into the sleigh,
climbed in upon it, and rode out of the
intoxicated settlement with thankful
hearts. As the last faint sounds of
revelry died away in the distance be-
hind us, said to the driver: What s
the matter with everybody in this Will
agep The whole population seems to
be drunk"
'''They we been consecrating a new
church, said the driver, soberly.
'"Consecrating a churchr I exclaim-
Ou III dHldZeueHG. Is IIdC Inc way you
consecrate churches?'
az don't know he replied. Some
times they drink. After the services
they had gulainia Ia sort of holiday
promenade with music and spirituous
refreshments, and some of them
crooked their elbows too often
'"Some of themr repeated. All of
them, you mean. You re the only
sober man I've seen in replace. How
does it happen that you re not drunkp'
's'I IN not christian he replied,
with quiet simplicity, I m a Buriat.
LAS Christian-if not a member of
the Holy Orthodox Church. was sill
enced by the unconscious irony of the
reply. The only sober man in village
of three or four hundred inhabitants
proved to be pagan, and he had just
been fined fifty kopecks by Christian
official for not getting drunk with other
good citizens and thus showing his re-
spect for the newly consecrated edifice
and his appreciation of the benign in
Auence of the Holy Orthodox Faith!"