634, Cochrane' 8 Journt!/ to the Frozen Sea and Kamtchalka. 



limited peiiofl, amuially auiouni to at 



least one liaif that iiiiinljcr. As to the 

 cilncation and moral habits ol' the 

 natives of Siberia, Ihe}' are certainly 

 equal, if not superior in lliese respects, 

 to that of the European Russians. 

 Tliey have not tlie ia:ne incitement, 

 nor the same means of con)mittiiig 

 crimes. " 'I'lie v.hole popniatioii does 

 not exceed two millions and a half, 

 about one lialf of wijich are aborig-iiies, 

 scattered over a tract of (country whicil 

 pfives to each person three sfjiiare miles. 

 Provisions and clothiiiij; are cheap, 

 taxes are not known, the climate is 

 healthy — and what can man more 

 desire? 1 looked ac:airi to the East, 

 and hade adieu, thankful lor the many 

 marks of cstci'in and kindness I had 

 received from the hands of its hospitable 

 people. 



Descending llic western branch of 

 the I'ra! Mountains, I soon found 

 myself again in Europe : the land of 

 malt, llie fire-side home, a^ain had 

 charms for the traveller. The sen^ 

 salions I expericntied upon rpiillin;^ the 

 most favoured quarter of the globe, 

 were nothing when cctnpared to the 

 present. Then I thonghl 1 was going 

 only to the abode of misery, vice, and 

 cruelty, wiiile now 1 knew 1 iiad come 

 from that of hnmajiity, liospitalily, and 

 kindm-ss. i looked back to the hills, 

 which are, as it were, the barrier 

 between virtue and viee, but felt, in 

 sjiite of it, a desire to relmii, and en<l 

 my jjays. And so strong is still that 

 desire, that I siioiild not hcsilate to bid 

 adieu to polities, w,ir, and other refined 

 pursuits, to enjoy in Siberia those 

 comforts which may be had withont 

 fear of foreign or domestic dislmhance. 



In the evening of my entry into 

 Enro|)e, T reached t!ie village of 

 Bissertskaya Krcpost, situate on the 

 Bissert stream. 1"he road was bad, 

 and over a hilly country, nor was my 

 dissafisl'aclioa at all allayed by the 

 Permians. Inliospiiality, incivility, 

 and genera! distrust evry when^ pre- 

 vailed, and itifluenced ihe conduet of 

 the iidinbitaitts ; even the last copeck 

 is insisted njiorr in payment for the 

 horses, before they aro jiermiited to 

 commcfKje the journey, a eirijunisfance 

 which in many cases occasions iilnch 

 hicoMvenienee and loss of lime. In 

 Siberia the tra^eU^r may pay forward 

 or ba-ckward three or fonr sfations, 

 and evfery'Bort of ' aceommodation is 

 given; ■ • 



m ■: 



HOLMAN THE !5LIND TRAVELLER. 



Among the most conspicuous person- 

 ages in i\Ioscow was Lieutfnant 

 Holman of the royal navy, a poor blin(t 

 knight of Windsor. 1 passed several 

 pleasant days with liim, and considered 

 the accomplishment of my design of 

 penetrating through Siberia as nothing 

 when compared to his determination of 

 proceeding also. He related to mo: 

 niiny anecdotes of his travels and 

 second sight. What object he can have, 

 without a servant, in going to Siberia 

 I know not. He, indeed, may go 

 tlicre as well as any where else, for he 

 will see just as mucli; but there is so 

 little to be seen by those who have 

 even the use of their eyes, that I cannot 

 divine what interest he can have, to 

 iitlcmpt it without even a knowledge 

 of the Russian language. If hi.-i 

 journal which may be madeiiiteresting^ 

 be composed of hearsay, as it certainly 

 can'iot be of ocular evidence, he will 

 indeed have enongli to do to record the 

 inlornialion he may receive, and uliicli 

 can only proceed from exiles or 

 criminals, and consequently not im- 

 plicitly to be relied upon, pirticularly 

 situated as he is, possessing hardly suf- 

 ficient knowledge of the Russian 

 language to duly appreciate the value 

 of such hearsay information. His 

 manuscript must become voluminous, 

 and, of course, too bulky to be sent by 

 private hands; it can only, therefore, 

 be foivrnrded by the post, where, with- 

 out doubt, it will be subject to the ex- 

 amination of those whose duty it is to 

 insj)ect documents of such a nature as 

 this is likely to be, and will be treated 

 according to its merit. 



In every eountiy, even in England^ 

 we find that foreisners should be care-i 

 ful of uhat they do, as well as of what 

 they write, if they wish their packets a 

 safe arrival to tli( ir destination ; they 

 should take care that nothing offensive 

 to the government be inserted ; (or, fre- 

 (pienlly, as in England, truth is a libel, 

 and the greater tlie truth, the greater 

 the libel. Whether Mr. Holman has 

 already learnt this useful, and, to tra- 

 \eliers, necessary lesson, time will de- 

 ^elope; if so, he- may go where he will, 

 and be received \\\ every person iii the 

 empire' with open arms and warm hearts'. 

 I gave him letters of introduction to all 

 my friends in Siberia, and shall feel 

 •most hap|)y in his return. W ho will then 

 say that Siberia is a \i ild, iDliospitable*, 



