The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1926-04-22
prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washing ton. d. CO

x~Yv ITH the coming of spring,
Nv life takes on new aspect
Nv in Arctic Siberia where hui
man activity is still largely
confined TO hunting, trapping, and fish
ing. Yet it is only in winter that the
little villages of this most isolated re-
gion can be reached. Then the riv-
ers, marshes, and innumerable lakes
are frozen and may be traversed, while
in spring, summer, and autumn this
part Of Siberia is entirely cut off from
the rest of the world by countless i'm
passabIe swamps.
The distances are almost unbeliev-
able in Siberia. The Siberian start
ing point for most of the Arctic coast
is Irkutsk, metropolis of the Trans
Siberian railway. From there to
Yakutsk, little more than the half
way house, is nearly 1900 miles by
air line; but by the route that must
be traversed, partly by steamer along
the winding Lena, the distance is over
1900 miles, From Yakutsk to Russ
koe Ustye, one of the most remote of
the Arctic coast villages, is an addi-
tional thousand miles or more.
To Yakutsk and a little beyond,
horses are used, even in winter; but
then one enters the realm of the rein
AIdeer and makes a large part of the
Remainder of the journey on sledges
lawn by those animals. The last go
Hes must be covered by dog-sledge.
he trip is through the still primeval
rests (the taiga), such as are found
lly in Siberia. The way leads through
: .sseesRy rqE.sines; -psia1oing channels, snow
filed beds Of rivers, and over tall,
rocky, forest-clad mountains.
On such winter journey the mer-
curry never rises beyond 20 degrees be-
low zero centigrade, and usually how
ers about so degrees Verkhoyansk,
supposed to be the coolest spot on
I, earth, is on this route. and at times
the mercury there sinks to III de-
grees centigrade and lower.
The primeval forests are left behind
when the Yabloni mountains are
passed, and the traveller enters the Arc
tic tundra. Northward the vegetation
grows scanter and scanter The tall
bushes of willow become lower and
lower, finally disappearing entirely.
All about is limitless snowy expanse,
with no features on which the eye may
rest. 1t is in such stretch of tundra
that, the settlement Of Russkoe Ustye
is situated.
Throughout the whole course of the
Indigirka river, probably not less than
$50 miles in length, Russkoe Ustye is
considered the largest settlement. But
1t consists of six dwelling houses only.
The Russian word dom (house) has
here become dym, which means smoke.
And this metamorphosis is perfectly
justified, for in this land of polar frost
and billiards. house without fire. or
Smoke is not considered a house.
Population Small.
The population of the settlement
numbers only about twenty souls. All
the colonies on the Indigirka river,
scattered along its course in settle
ments of from two to four cottages
each, do not comprise more than 400
persons.
These Russians represent, as it
were, foreign islets in the sea of the
aboriginal Yukaghirs, fungus, Yakuts,
and Chuckchi. who surround them ev-
lerywhere. The aborigines live as nom
ads, raising reindeer, while the. Rus
SLAMS have a settled mode of existence
along the banks of the river. and use
dogs instead of reindeer.
This is a most peculiar and isolated
little world The inhabitants cling
tenacIously to their ancient customs
and national characteristics.
For this reason, therefore, the Rus
slams along the Indigirka are undoubt-
eddy of immense interest to the eth
nographer TO begin with it is curl
GUS how they ever got to the banks
of the Tndigirka, so remote are they
from the city of Yakutsk, the center
from which emanated the historical
progress Of the Russian conquest and
settlement of this territory. Appa-
rently the first Russians had already
reached the Indigirka in the Sixteenth
century. during the reign of Ivan the
Terrible, perhaps even before the con
quest of Siberia by Yermak.
There is good reason for assuming
that these pioneers came by boat from
European Russia over the Arctic
ocean, and not by land. from Yakutsk,
AZ Russkoe Ustye the nearest points
= Of s'clvilizatlon" are Ust-Yansk. a viii
age Of about 30 dwellings, not less
pan 800 miles in an airline TO the
sst. and in the east, Nizhne Kolymsk,
Is houses about the same dis