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    November 20, 1852.] THE LEADER. 1119 ' ....

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    We should do our utmost to encourage the...

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    {LDmrgaa ®pa ^&®ab©{h®* XL February, 29,...

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    Revelations Of Siberia. Revelations Of S...

    d fish with the Ostiaks . Any active and cunning speculator , with a capital of a hundred to two hundred assignat rubles at the first outset , is enabled in a few on ar 8 t 0 become a rich merchant , the profits from the barter carried on with the Ostiaks being enormous . « The Ostiaks being totally ignorant of money , and still more of the rate of exhange , readily take in exchange for their own articles , any commodities which they want , or which the Russian merchants can supply them with . The latter , however , are in the habit of fixing the value of their own articles at their own rice , before they e xchange them for those brought by the Ostiaks to market . According to the old customary standard , a pud ( forty pounds English ) of rye flour

    d t 0 represent the value of one skin of a white piesak , and at that rate they are usually counted when exchanged against each other . But one pud of rye flour at the m arket at Tobolsk does not cost more than fifty assignat kopeks , and frequently it can be had for half that sum . The cost of transport from Tobolsk down to Berezov is not more than fifteen assignat kopeks per pud , as a number of vessels are yearly dispatched empty from that town to the fisheries on the Oby Sea , and their owners are always anxious to take on board any cargo , even at a most trifling rate . The whole expense for a pud of flour may thus be estimated at from thirty to seventy assignat kopeks ; whereas a skin of a white piesak , which is bought for that same pud of flour from the Ostiak , is sold by the trader to a wholesale merchant of furs at Berezov , at the enormous price of three silver rubles .

    " In order to secure success m trading with these nomade races , several things become indispensable ; namely , knowledge of their language , acquaintance with the usages and manners of the different tribes , with their periodical changes of residence , and , if possible , a personal acquaintance with the principal heads of their widely dispersed families . The entire commerce is founded solely on good faith . Each family of the nomade , whether Ostiak or Samoiede , is in the habit of dealing with only one merchant , and from him everything that is wanted , at all times , is

    taken on credit to the amount of so many skins . The good faith among these wild races is so great , and so deeply rooted , that a debtor will for no sum of money , however great , sell to another what he had once promised to his creditor . There may indeed occur cases in which , on account of an unproductive season in hunting , or the death of the debtor , or of his family , the creditor has not been paid , or the payment postponed to the ensuing year ; but , as long as any member of the family survives , and can take part in hunting and fishing , the creditor may he certain that at some period or other his debt will be faithfully discharged . " So that these Ostiaks are " fair game" to a ' cute commercial Christian ; but how could it be otherwise ? Are they not ignorant , candid , more odoriferous than agreeable , and extremely unfastidious in tlie matter of cuisine ? " Hares exist in great numbers , but nobody hunts them . The Russians have a religious aversion to eatin g them , as unclean ; and their skins are so cheap that they are considered not worth transporting to Tobolsk , the place where they are tanned . The Ostiaks , on the other hand , reject no sort of food , but eat whatever cau be swallowed and digested . In this respect they are not a whit more fastidious than dogs . They eat foxes , crows , bears , and even their entrails ; all meat , fresh or tainted , and stinking fish . They eat their food both raw and boiled , but chiefly in a raw state . " We wind up with this conclusion of the breath-suspending story of a woman LOST IN A SIBERIAN FOREST . " The whole of the following day was spent in seeking to emerge from the forest , but with as little success as the preceding , and the poor creature only penetrated further into its depths . Hunger and exhaustion came on , and wild berries were the onl y sustenance she could obtain . In vain she called for aid ; the wilderness , as if in mockery , echoed her cry on every side , but bore it to no human ear . Her strength was altogether failing , and she considered herself utterly lost , while death , apparently inevitable , presented itself to her imagination in a thousand horrible sh ; ipes . Now she funded herself dying from hungor , as the berries on which she still Rubsisted would soon disappear , or from cold , or under the claws of some- rapacious beast .

    " Soon she lost her voice , and could no longer cull for help , but became with despair prostrate- alike in body and mind . She sat for whole days cooped up and mnnoviible on the same npot , with patience awaiting her end . Want of food , an 11 llu ' l-t ) craving of instinct , was alone able to arouse her for a moment from her torpor . Even when thus urged , she unwillingly dragged her heavy limbs along , " ¦ lid having advanced a few steps from the spot , no sooner appeased her hunger with u ft ! W berries , than she relapsed into her previous apathy . In this condition "licM-enuiined for no less than eight days . "On the ninth day , while snatching some berries from a tree , she heard at a ins tance a rustling sound , like that made by n person making their way among dry "ranches . She listened , and us the sound fell on her ear more and more distinctly , "he ^ began to hope that it drew nearer . How full of moment to hor was the " ¦ I'xious interval , as with each sound u distracting hope of deliverance rose in her iiund .

    Alter souk ! minutes of intense expectation , alternating between hope-and de"l'Mr , the brunches of the thicket parted , and slio behold u bear . Her first emotion V" » mten . se terror . Had she possessed suflicient strength , slie would have taken 'K'l t , bU | , <| , is desire instantly gave way to a diflerent sensation : ' ( Jot I , in His *? ri'ut mercy / K ] lo murmured , ' perhaps sends me a speedy end , instead of a pro-Ia « ' < i'd lin ^ orin . r ( l th , ' mui possessed by this impression , she resigned herself to lll'i' fate . ' l'he lmgo beast of the forest came within u i ' o . w puces of the- spot when ; she llH <' ahn and immovable , agitated by no earthly desire , and nothing daunted , »«> Ntood resigned before him , a perfect statue ' patience . After contemplating * ll'll ) 4 Vllh . t ... 4 Jl ¦ ¦ . V * " J i .. ___ ..., 1 _ --- > mr ¦ h » I - ¦ I I ( 11 L < 1 II t WkJ I IlltJ 11 ment the iinimal with air of turned and resumed his

    . " * .. ** »»<> , an gravity away , l > l >( » tfmsn throng ] , the wood . The consternation which the incident had inspired » m now dispelled , and was succeeded by reflection . The firs I ; idea , that rose in her , ] , ' !! ) VilH ino 1 ) l ! lil > '" prevailing among the natives , that , a bear appearing to a wan-V ) , ! . Nur * ' to lead him in the right path . This Hushed across her bruin with the „!' , ° !' - () f l'Klitniiitf . Hope revived , and with it her courage ; and an the bear all , ' , ° I ' , wi (; ll Hl (> w stops , Mho followed him us close as her debilitated tntnto would hutTl ' Jll ° IU ( "() n < llllU !< l >' rumbling walk , ousting at times bis look behind , At Ul () "Kh ho huw her following , ho neither incrensod nor diminished his puce . «» hU , . . s trength completely f ' uilod , and tho unhappy woman felt that she could 110 iu ithcr , und would bo obliged to relinquish hor guide . Ailcr u low

    tottering steps in advance , she was so overpowered with fatigue as to be compelled to sit down , and at this instant she saw the bear suddenly trot away , and disappear in the thicket . " Grief too keen to describe now overwhelmed her , as she was thus deprived ^ of her last hope . The extreme exhaustion of physical powers was rendered more insupportable by great thirst , and to allay it she was compelled to look round for some berries . As she did so , she perceived through the branches of the trees something shining like water . She drew nearer , and with joy saw a stream of running water at a short distance . She knew well that "by following the course of the stream she would finally arrive at a larger river , and human settlements being always on the banks of rivers , would have a chance of being saved . The hope gave her strength , and gathering a few berries to refresh her , she proceeded onwards .

    " Night once more overtook her in the forest ; but on the morning of the next day she succeeded in reaching the spot where the stream emptied itself into the river . Not knowing now what direction to take , she sate on the shore , hoping that some boat might pass from which she could obtain help . In this expectation , she watched the whole day , but in vain ; no boat was to be seen . " On the following day , the twelfth since she had left home , she heard to her great joy the barking of dogs and occasional vollies of fire-arms . Fain would she have shouted for assistance , but she had altogether lost her voice , and even at a

    few paces distance no one could hear the loudest cry that she could utter . Mustering all her remaining powers , she endeavoured to reach the spot from which the firing seemed to proceed , and which appeared to be near at hand . But she was not so fortunate as to meet any of the hunting-party ; as the hunter , after he has fired , never remains in the same place , but advances to another , and thus , instead of meeting him where she expected , the faint , helpless woman could scarcely detect the scent of the gunpowder , ancl was again perplexed as to -what direction she should pursue in search of him .

    " At last even the report of fire-arms grew more and more faint . Prom fear of losing sight of the river , she did not venture to go any farther , but returned to her former resting-place . Finally , all around elapsed into deep silence , and hope seemed to vanish for ever . In this painful condition , mourning bitterly that fate should so tantalize her , holding out a prosp ect of rescue , and then destroying it , her eyes , languid and faint , involuntarily turned to the river , as if from that quarter alone she could hope for succour . How great , how unspeakable was her joy , when she

    descried a boat . She made an effort to shout , to apprise its inmates of her forlorn condition , but without success , as her voice was powerless . Her despair was now indescribable , as she thought that the last opportunity of deliverance would pass by , and leave her to a most horrible death . In this dilemma she tore branches from the trees , and flung them in the water , hoping to attract attention by the splash ; but thrown by so feeble a hand , this was not to be expected . She would have readily flung herself into the stream , if she had thought that the sp lash would have been heard , but a moment ' s reflection convinced her that the boat was at too

    great a distance for this to be possible . " The boat was now nearly abreast , and in another minute would pass by , when an idea struck her , which she instantly proceeded to realize . She had a red silk kerchief on her head , and this she immediately pulled oft " , and tying it on a long stick , waved it in the air . Most fortunately , the signal was perceived . The boat made for the shore , and took her on board . "

    November 20, 1852.] The Leader. 1119 ' ....

    November 20 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 1119 ' . . — . ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ' ' ' ¦¦¦ — - ¦¦; - ¦ _—"_ - . ' ' ~ .... __________ ————___¦_¦¦¦_——«¦ - —_¦

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    We Should Do Our Utmost To Encourage The...

    We should do our utmost to encourage the ; Beautiful , for the Useful encourages ltsClf . — GoKTIIIi .

    {Ldmrgaa ®Pa ^&®Ab©{H®* Xl February, 29,...

    { LDmrgaa ® pa ^&® ab ©{ h ®* XL February , 29 , 1852 . @^ ££ pIORGIO , mio caro , —Tell the fair and sweet Helen that I have fA 0 ; i received her most esteemed letter , the which has given me new ll ^ lT ^ courage to sustain niy prolonged absence ; and although the sight t ^ r ^ of the writing that recalled her fair hand , —which 1 can so well see resting like si warm and brig ht ; piece of sunshine on the cold paper made me faint with affect ion and the desire to see onee more the smile sculptured in her lips , mu \ falling upon what she so kindly wrote ; yet , nevertheless , that impulse of life-blood to my heart reinvigorated the life within me , insomuch that precisely because she is of such enduring kindness , and her blessed countenance stands towards me unaltered from the distance , 1 can the better support this intolenible exile . For truly it is intolerable . The more I understand that society in which 1 find myself , the more I am able to seer what it . means when it says , " I am not as they are in foreign countries ; " the more I sec what it costs to keep up the appearances of " moral England "—costs not only of ssierifiee ami jibnegution , but of crime sind depravity , hideously covered with the universal disguise of " respectability "—the more my mind , as that of an Englishman , is moved with humiliation and hatred ; and the more , as u Vagabond , 1 long to be quit of si neighbourhood which outrages all that I have h arnetl to prize of truth and life . These English whom , sifter so many years , I have returned to uilnnre , as ( iioigio bus taught me , have mad *; great , " reforms "' since I was among them—they sue more humsme , more free , more great , more intelligent . At least they say so . Hut what is their intelligence ? It lies in knowing what tt > «]<> , and not doing it . No people , for example , ho well understands whut ought to be done to prevent ; the dead from poisoning the living , in the arrangement of their towns ; mid yet to adop t any really eilicicnt plan for euring the diseu . se at onee—oh , that is what any Englishman will laugh at . 1 do not say this from myself ; hut ; they me the English that say it . They me free—but the working man must work sill dsiy , sind long sifter twentyfour o ' clock , or be starved ; for his muster will not have about him u uiau

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 20, 1852, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20111852/page/19/