446 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



portrait of his late Imperial Majesty, and was sent to the 

 most distant outpost of the government in Siberia. I found 

 him a very pleasant old gentleman of polished manners and 

 education, entirely distinct from the people with whom he is 

 at present thrown ; but he has grown gray and aged since 

 he left his home in Warsaw, and says he feels almost equally 

 at home in Siberia. It was rather difficult to talk with him, 

 as he only remembered a few words of French, though he 

 spoke German fluently, but I didn't. 



I visited the socialists at their houses in Sredne, and 

 found most of them pretty much the kind of keople I had 

 imagined a sort of intelligent lunatic. But there were 

 exceptions. There were gentlemen whom I could not imag- 

 ine guilty of an evil thought, and these I found were held 

 in high esteem by the officers of the government who have 

 them under their charge. They were all interested in the 

 American stranger and seemed to imagine an affinity be- 

 tween my countrymen- and the socialists. They were much 

 surprised when I told them that their party was but poorly 

 represented in the United States and that such as we had 

 were foreigners, that I did not personally know of a single 

 native American socialist. 



I never saw religion so universal as the Greek religion in 

 Siberia. Not only the Russian inhabitants, but the Yakuts, 

 Tunguses, Amoots, and Chukches who reside near the settle- 

 ments are all equally religious. It seemed to me to be a 

 most convenient religion, for it consisted, as far as I could 

 see, in crossing one's self and bowing before the pictures, 

 and in fasting upon a fish diet when there was scarcely 

 anything but fish to eat. The most pious old man I saw 

 among them could scarcely restrain his anger at some in- 

 fringement of his orders one day until he had finished his 

 prayers. He then turned and opened upon the offending 

 head such a volley of well, if not oaths, they sounded as if 

 they would have been when translated. It is a beautiful 

 religion at any rate, and abounds in affectionate salutes. 

 All these forms are particularly dear to the Yakut, and 



