194 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



The subsequent conduct of Yermak proved that he had all the qualities of 

 a general and a statesman, and that his talents were not unequal to his fortunes. 

 Without losing a single moment, he, immediately after this decisive battle, sent 

 part of his small band to occupy the capital of the vanquished Kutchum, for he 

 well knew that a victory is but half gained if one delays to reap its fruits. 

 The Cossacks found the place evacuated, and soon after Yermak made his tri- 

 umphal entry into Sibir. His weakness now became a source of strength, for, 

 daunted by the Avonderful success of this handful of strangers, the people far 

 and wide came to render him homage. The Ostiaks of the Soswa freely con- 

 sented to yield an annual tribute of 280 sable skins, and other tribes of the same 

 nation, who were more backward in their submission, were compelled by his 

 menaces to pay him a tax, or jassak, of eleven skins for every archer. 



It was not without reason that Yermak thus sought to collect as many of 

 these valuable furs as he possibly could, for his aim was to obtain from Ivan a 

 pardon of his former delinquencies, by presenting him with the richest spoils 

 of his victories, and he well knew that it would be impossible for him to main- 

 tain his conquests without further assistance from the Czar. Great was Ivan's 

 astonishment when an envoy of the fugitive robber brought him the welcome 

 gift of 2400 sable skins, and informed him that Yermak had added a new prov- 

 ince to his realm. He at once comprehended that the hero who with small 

 means had achieved such great successes, was the fittest man to consolidate or 

 enlarge his acquisitions ; he consequently not only pardoned all his former of- 

 fenses, but confirmed him in the dignity of governor and commander-in-chief 

 in the countries which he had subdued. Thus Yermak's envoy, having been 

 received with the greatest distinction at Moscow, returned to his fortunate mas- 

 ter with a robe of honor which had been worn by the Czar himself, and the 

 still more welcome intelligence that re-enforcements were on the march to join 

 him. 



Meanwhile Yermak had continued to advance into the valley of the Obi be- 

 yond its confluence with the Irtysch ; and when at length his force was aug- 

 mented by the arrival of 500 Russians, he pursued his expeditions with increas- 

 ing audacity. On his return from one of these forays, he encamped on a small 

 island in the Irtysch. The night was dark and rainy, and the Russians, fatigued 

 by their march, relied too much upon the badness of the weather or the terror 

 of their name. But Kutchum Khan, having been informed by his spies of their 

 want of vigilance, crossed a ford in the river, and falling upon the unsuspecting 

 Russians, killed them all except one single soldier, who brought the fatal intel- 

 ligence to Sibir. Yermak, when he saw his warriors fall around him like grass 

 before the scythe, without losing his presence of mind for a moment, cut his 

 way through the Tartars, and endeavored to save himself in a boat. But in 

 the medley he fell into the water and was drowned. 



By the orders of Kutchum, the body of the hero was exposed to every indig- 

 nity which the rage of a barbarian can think of ; but after this first explosion 

 of impotent fury, his followers, feeling ashamed of the ignoble conduct of their 

 chief, buried his remains with princely pomp, and ascribed miraculous powers 

 to the grave in which they were deposited. The Russians have also erected a 



