The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation
Chapter 57 : August.Sat.u.r.day (1) I went ash.o.r.e, and there I saw three morses that they had kil

August.

Sat.u.r.day (1) I went ash.o.r.e, and there I saw three morses that they had killed: they held one tooth of a Morse, which was not great, at a roble, and one white beare skin at three robles and two robles: they further tolde me, that there were people called Samoeds on the great Island, and that they would not abide them nor vs, who haue no houses, but only couerings made of Deere skins, set ouer them with stakes: they are men expert in shooting, [Footnote: That the Samoyeds were archers is shewn by old drawings, one of which I reproduce from Linschoten. Now the bow has completely gone out of use, for Nordenskiold did not see a single archer.

Wretched old flint firelocks are, however, common.] and have great plenty of Deere.

This night there fell a cruell storme, the wind being at West.

Sunday (2) we had very much winde, with plenty of snow, and we rode with two ankers a head.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Samoiedarum, trahis a rangiferis protractis insidentium. Nec non Idolorum ab ijsdem cultorum effigies. SAMOYED SLEIGH AND IDOLS. After an old Dutch engraving.]

Munday (3) we weyed and went roome with another Island, which was fiue leagues Eastnortheast from vs, and there I met againe with Loshak, and went on sh.o.r.e with him, and hee brought me to a heap of the Samoeds idols, which were in number aboue 300, the worst and the most vnartificiall worke that euer I saw: the eyes and mouthes of sundrie of them were bloodie, they had the shape of men, women and children, very grosly wrought, and that which they had made for other parts, was also sprinckled with blood. Some of their idols were an old sticke with two or three notches, mode with a knife in it. [Footnote: The accompanying _fac-simile_ of a quaint old engraving of a Samoyed sleigh and idols gives an excellent idea of both.] I saw much of the footing of the sayd Samoeds, and of the sleds that they ride in.

There was one of their sleds broken, and lay by the heape of idols, and there I saw a deers skinne which the foules had spoyled: and before certaine of their idols blocks were made as high as their mouthes, being all b.l.o.o.d.y, I thought that to be the table whereon they offered their sacrifice: I saw also the instruments, whereupon they had roasted flesh, and as farre as I could perceiue, they make their fire directly under the spit.

Loshak being there present tolde me that these Samoeds were not so hurtful as they of Ob are, and that they haue no houses, as indeede I saw none, but onely tents made of Deers skins, which they vnderproppe with stakes and poles: their boates are made of Deers skins, and when they come on sh.o.a.re they cary their boates with them upon their backes: for their cariages they haue no other beastes to serue them, but Deere onely. As for bread and corne they haue none, except the Russes bring it to them: their knowledge is very base, for they know no letter. [Footnote: This is one of the oldest accounts of the Samoyeds we possess. Giles Fletcher, who in 1588 was Queen Elizabeth's Amba.s.sador to the Czar, writes, in his accounts of Russia, of the Samoyeds in the following way:--

"The _Samoyt_ hath his name (as the _Russe_ saith) of eating himselfe: as if in times past they lived as the _Cannibals_, eating one another. Which they make more probable, because at this time they eate all kind of raw flesh, whatsoeuer it bee, euen the very carrion that lyeth in the ditch.

But as the _Samoits_ themselves will say, they were called _Samoit_, that is, _of themselves_, as though they were _Indigenae_, or people bred upon that very soyle that never changed their seate from one place to another, as most Nations have done. They are clad in Seale-skinnes, with the hayrie side outwards downe as low as the knees, with their Breeches and Netherstocks of the same, both men and women. They are all Blacke hayred, naturally beardless. And therefore the Men are hardly discerned from the Women by their lookes: saue that the Women wear a locke of hayre down along both their eares." (_Treatise of Russia and the adjoining Regions_, written by Doctor Giles Fletcher, Lord Amba.s.sador from the late Queen, Everglorious Elizabeth, to Theodore, then Emperor of Russia, A.D. 1588. _Purchas_, iii.

p. 413.)

In nearly the same way the Samoyeds are described by G. De Veer, in his account of Barents's Second Voyage in 1595.

Serebrenikoff, according to Nordenskold, maintains that _Samodin_ should be written instead of _Samoyed_. For _Samoyed_ means "self eater," while _Samodin_ denotes an "individual," "one who cannot be mistaken for another," and, as the Samoyeds were never cannibals, Serebrenikoff gives a preference to the latter name, which is used by the Russians at Chabarova, and appears to be a literal translation of the name which the Samoyeds give themselves. Nordenskiold, however, considers it probable that the old tradition of man-eaters (_androphagi_), living in the north, which onginated with Herodotus, and was afterwards universally adopted in the geographical literature of the Middle Ages, reappears in Russianised form in the name _Samoyed_. With all due respect for Nordenskiold, I am inclined to agree with Serebrenikoff. In the account of the journey which the Italian minorite, Joannes de Piano Carpini, undertook in High Asia in 1245-47, an extraordinary account of the Samoyeds and neighbouring tribes is given. (See Vol. II. of these Collections, pp. 28 and 95).--I give a very curious engraving of Samoyeds from Schleissing.--Nordenskiold inserts, in his _Voyage of the Vega_, the following interesting communication from Professor Ahlquist, of Helsingfors:--.

"The Samoyeds are reckoned, along with the Tungoose, the Mongolian, the Turkish and the Finnish-Ugrian races, to belong to the so-called Altaic or Ural-Altaic stem. What is mainly characteristic of this stem, is that all the languages occurring within it belong to the so-called agglutinating type. For in these languages the relations of ideas are expressed exclusively by terminations or suffixes--inflections, prefixes and prepositions, as expressive of relations, being completely unknown to them.

Other peculiarities characteristic of the Altaic languages are the vocal harmony occurring in many of them, the inability to have more than one consonant in the beginning of a word, and the expression of the plural by a peculiar affix, the case terminations being the same in the plural as in the singular. The affinity between the different branches of the Altaic stem is thus founded mainly on a.n.a.logy or resemblance in the construction of the languages, while the different tongues in the material of language (both in the words themselves and in the expression of relations) show a very limited affinity or none at all. The circ.u.mstance that the Samoyeds for the present have as their nearest neighbours several Finnish-Ugrian races (Lapps, Syrjaeni, Ostjaks, and Voguls), and that these to a great extent carry on the same modes of life as themselves, has led some authors to a.s.sume a close affinity between the Samoyeds and the Fins and the Finnish races in general. The speech of the two neighbouring tribes, however, affords no ground for such a supposition. Even the language of the Ostjak, which is the most closely related to that of the Samoyeds, is separated heaven-wide from it and has nothing in common with it, except a small number of borrowed words (chiefly names of articles from the Polar nomad's life), which the Ostjak has taken from the language of his northern neighbour. With respect to their language, however, the Samoyeds are said to stand at a like distance from the other branches of the stem in question. To what extent craniology or modern anthropology can more accurately determine the affinity-relations.h.i.+p of the Samoyed to other tribes, is still a question of the future."

At the present day, the Samoyeds dwell in skin tents. They dress princ.i.p.ally in reindeer-skins, and the women's holiday-dress is particularly showy. Their boots, also of reindeer-skin, are beautifully and tastefully embroidered. In summer, the men go bare-headed: the women divide their hair into tresses, and use artificial plaits, ornamented with pearls, b.u.t.tons, &c. Like the man, the woman is small, with coa.r.s.e black hair, face of a yellow colour, small and sunken eyes, a flat nose, broad cheek-bones, slender legs, and small feet and hands. She competes with the man in dirt.

Nordenskiold places the Samoyeds in the lowest rank of all the Polar races.

The women have perfectly equal rights with the men.]

Tuesday (4) we turned for the harborough where Loshaks barke lay, whereas before we road vnder an Island. And there he came aboord of vs and said vnto me: if G.o.d sende winde and weather to serue, I will goe to the Ob with you, because the Morses were scant at these Islands of Vaigats, but if he could not get to the riuer of Ob, then he sayd hee would goe to the riuer of Naramzay, where the people were not altogether so sauage as the Samoyds of the Ob are: hee shewed me that they will shoot at all men to the vttermost of their power, that cannot speake their speech.

Wednesday (5) we saw a terrible heape of ice approach neere vnto vs, and therefore wee thought good with al speed possible to depart from thence, and so I returned to the Westwards againe, to the Island where we were the 31. of Iuly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAMOYED ARCHERS. After Unschoten.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAMOYEDS. From Schleissing's Nou-entdecktes Sieweria, worinnen die Zobeln gefangen werden. Zittan 1693.]

Thursday (6) I went a sh.o.a.re, and tooke the lat.i.tude, which was 70 degrees 25 minutes: and the variation of the compa.s.se was 8 degrees from the North to the West.

Loshak and the two small Lodias of Pechora departed from this Island, while I was on sh.o.a.re taking the lat.i.tude, and went to the Southwards: I maruailed why he departed so suddenly, and went ouer the shoales amongst the Islands where it was impossible for vs to follow them. But after I perceiued them to be weatherwise.

Friday (7) we road still, the winde being at Northnortheast, with a cruel storme. The ice came in so abundantly about vs at both ends of the Island that, we rode vnder, that it was a fearefull sight to behold: the storme continued with snow, raine, and hayle plenty.

Sat.u.r.day (8) we rode still also, the storme being somewhat abated, but it was altogether misty, that we were not able to see a cables length about vs, the winde being at Northeast and by East.

Sunday (9) at foure of the clocke in the morning we departed from this Island, the winde being at Southeast, and as we were cleere a sea boord the small Islandes and shoales, it came so thick with mistes that we could not see a base shotte from vs. Then we took in all our sailes to make little way.

At a Southeast sunne it waxed cleere, and then we set our sayles, and lay close by the wind to the Southwards alongst the Islands of Vaigats. At a west sunne we tooke in our sayle againe because of the great mist and raine. Wee sounded at this place, and had fiue and twenty fadomes water, and soft black oze, being three leagues from the sh.o.a.re, the winde being at South and by East, but still misty.

Munday (10) at an East sunne we sounded, and had 40 fadomes, and oze, still misty: at noone wee sounded againe, and had 36 fadome, still misty.

Tuesday (11) at an Eastnortheast sunne we let fall our anker in three and twenty fadome, the mist still continuing.

Wednesday (12) at three of the clocke in the morning the mist brake vp, the wind being at Northeast and by East, and then we saw part of the Islands of Vaigats, which we bare withal, and went Eastsoutheast close by the winde: at a West sunne we were at an anker vnder the Southwest part of the said Vaigats, and then I sent our skiffe to sh.o.a.re with three men in her, to see if they might speake with any of the Samoeds, but could not: all that day was rainie, but not windie.

Thursday (13) the wind came Westerly, so that we were faine to seeke vs another place to ride in, because the wind came a seaboord land, and although it were misty, yet wee followed the sh.o.a.re by our lead: and as we brought land in the wind of vs, we let fall our anker. At a West sunne the mist brake up, so that we might see about vs, and then we might perceiue that we were entred into a sound.

This aftemoone we tooke in two or three skiffes lading of stones to ballast our s.h.i.+ppe withall. It hyeth here four foot water, and floweth by fits, vncertaine to be iudged.

Friday (14) we rode still in the sound, the wind at Southwest, with very much raine, and at the end of the raine it waxed againe mistie.

Sat.u.r.day (15) there was much wind at West, and much raine, and then againe mistie.

Sunday (16) was very mistie and much winde.

Munday (17) very mistie, the winde at Westnorthwest.

Tuesday (18) was also mistie, except at noone: then the sunne brake out through the mist, so that we had the lat.i.tude in 70 degrees 10 minutes: the afternoone was misty againe, the wind being at Westnorthwest.

Wednesday (19) at three of the clocke afternoone the mist brake vp, and the wind came at Eastnortheast, and then we weyed, and went South and by East, vntil seuen of the clocke, eight leagues, thinking to haue had sight of the sandie hilles that are to the Eastwards of the riuer Pechora. At a Northwest sunne we took in our maine saile, because the wind increased, and went with a foresaile Westnorthwest, the wind being at Eastnortheast: at night there grewe so terrible a storme, that we saw not the like, although we had indured many stormes since we came out of England. It was wonderfull that our barke was able to brooke such monstrous and terrible seas, without the great helpe of G.o.d, who neuer fayleth them at neede, that put their sure trust in him.

Thursday (20) at a Southsouthwest sunne, thanks be to G.o.d, the storme was at the highest, and then the winde began to slake, and came Northerly withall, and then I reckoned the Westermost point of the riuer Pechora to be South of vs 15 leagues. At a Westsouthwest sunne we set our maine sayle, and lay close by the winde, the winde being at Northwest and by North, making but little way, because the billow went so high: at midnight wee cast about, and the s.h.i.+ppe caped Northnortheast, making little way.

Friday (21) at noone we had the lat.i.tude in 70 degrees 8 minutes, and we sounded, and had 29 fadomes sand, and in maner, stremy ground. At West sunne we cast about to the Westwards, and a little after the wind came vp at West.

Sat.u.r.day (22) was calme: the lat.i.tude this day at noone was 70 degrees and a terce, we sounded heere, and had nine and forty fadomes and oze, which oze signified that we drew towards Noua Zembla.

And thus we being out of al hope to discouer any more to the Eastward this yeere, wee thought it best to returne, and that for three causes.

The first, the continuall Northeast and Northerly winds, which haue more power after a man is past to the eastwards of Caninoze, then in any place that I doe know in these Northerly regions.

Second, because of great and terrible abundance of ice which we saw with our eies, and we doubt greater store abideth in those parts: I aduentured already somewhat too farre in it, but I thanke G.o.d for my safe deliuerance from it.

Third, because the nights waxed darke, and the winter began to draw on with his stormes: and therefore I resolued to take the first best wind that G.o.d should send, and plie towards the bay of S. Nicholas, and to see if wee might do any good there, if G.o.d would permitt it.

This present Sat.u.r.day we saw very much ice, and were within two or three leagues of it: it shewed vnto vs as though it had beene a firme land as farre as we might see from Northwest off vs to the Eastwards: and this afternoone the Lord sent vs a little gale of wind at South, so that we bare cleere of the Westermost part of it, thanks be to G.o.d. And then against night it waxed calme againe, and the winde was at Southwest: we made our way vntill Sunday (23) noone Northwest and by West, and then we had the lat.i.tude in 70 degrees and a halfe, the winde at Southwest: there was a billow, so that we could not discerne to take the lat.i.tude exactly, but by a reasonable gesse.

Munday (24) there was a pretie gale of wind at South, so that wee went West and by South, the lat.i.tude this day at noone was 70 degrees 10 minutes: wee had little winde all day: at a Westnorthwest sunne we sounded, and had 29 fadoms blacke sandie oze, and then we were Northeast 5 leagues from the Northeast part of the Island Colgoieue.

Tuesday (25) the wind all Westerly we plyed to the windwards.

Wednesday (26) the wind was all Westerly, and calme: wee had the lat.i.tude this day in 70 degrees 10 minutes, we being within three leagues of the North part of the Island Colgoieue.

Thursday, (27) we went roome about the Westermost part of the Island, seeking where we might finde a place to ride in for a Northwest wind, and could not find none, and then we cast about againe to the seawards, and the winde came at Westsouthwest, and this morning we had plenty of snow.

Friday, (28) the winde being at Southwest and by West, we plied to the windewards.