Chap. IL Northern Coafts of Europe. 48 j 
them ; for it is a robuft Animal, and will efcape them^ 
fometimes, though he be fhot quite through the Body. 
The River 0 ^ runs through this Province ; it is very 
broad, and falls into the Mare Glaciale \ it is ftored with 
Sturgeons and Belugas. The latter is a Filh, twelve or 
fifteen Feet long, refembles a Sturgeon, but is not fo 
pleafant , tafted when it is faked, as the former. The 
Meat is 'v/hiter than Veal, and as delicious as Marrow, 
while it is frefli. 
The Volga is ftored with that Fifti, and with Stur- 
geon, moft of all the Rivers in the North. When the 
Flood comes down thv Mountains, by the melting of 
the Snow, and the Stream grows the more rapid, thefe 
Fifh fwallow great Stones to make them the heavier, 
that they may ftem the Torrent the better. They throw 
them up again w'hen the Waters abate, and the Current 
is not fo ftrong. It is out of the foft Roes of thefe Be- 
luga’s and Sturgeons, mingled together, that the Peo- 
ple of Jftracan make Caviare, in this Manner : They 
put their Roes in a heap of Salt, and when they have 
fermented a little, they fqueeze them, and barrel them 
up. There are fome who. will not fqueeze them at all. 
That Caviare is the moft delicious, but will not keep 
fo long as the other. The Turks make it with the Eggs 
of the Sturgeon, which are black and clammy. This 
the Ruffians call Fekra. There is another Sort, which 
is nothing but the Roe of a Beluga. The Armenians.^ 
who I believe firft made Caviare, do it after another 
Manner. They begin with cleaning the Roe, and throwing 
away all that is ufelefs in them, then fait and lay them on 
crooked Planks, that the fat oily Parts may be drained 
off ; after which they pack them up in Barrels, and beat 
them down till they are hard. The Beluga has one hun- 
dred and fifty Roes, and two hundred weight of Eggs, 
which Armenians call Arminjko Fekra. 
The Northern Part of Siberia is called Samojedia., or 
Tafambeida, which fignifies Canibals or Men-eaters, be- 
caufe the Inhabitants are laid to eat all the Prifoners they 
take in War. I'hey live in round Tents, covered with 
Mats and Stags-Skins. They make their Fires in the 
Middle, and lie about them. There is but one Hole 
to a Tent, befides the Door, and that is on the Top, to 
let out the Smoak. In Summer-time they remove to 
the Banks of Rivers, for the Conveniency of fifiiing. 
They live altogether upon Fifh, which they often eat 
raw. In Summer they dry it, to keep for their Winter 
ftore. Young Dogs are accounted one of their niceft 
Difhes. Their Cuftoms, Language, and Religion, are 
entirely barbarous. They worfhip the Sun and Moon. 
Both Men and Women are dreffed in Cioaths made of 
Stags-Skins, the Hair outwards, which they fancy is the 
warmeft Way of wearing it. The Men have no Beards. 
TheWomen are abominably ugly, and fo hard-favoured, 
that they can fcarce be diftinguifhed from the Men, the 
one being often taken for the other by Strangers. Yet 
as deformed as they arc, they do well enough for the 
Canibals, who like them better than thofe we think 
handfome. The Riches of the Samojedas confift in 
Stags. There are fome' of them fo tame, that they 
graze in Troops, ftand ftill to be harneffed, and draw 
Sledges fourfeore Miles a Day, fo incredible fwift are 
thofe Creatures. 
Before the Inhabitants go a hunting of Stags, they 
confult a Prieft, who tells them the Place where they 
ihali find their Game *, and it is rare that they are out in 
their Gueffes. Young Girls are a confiderable Part of 
their Father’s Wealth •, they are never feen till they are 
betrothed in Marriage, and that is frequently done when 
they are fix or feven Years old ; for at that Age, home- 
body or other will buy them for a certain Number of 
Stags, that they may be fure to have their Maidenheads. 
Hufbands are there fo jealous of their AVives, that they 
lock them up clofer- than they do in Faly ; and when 
they go a hunting, they have a Device to fecure them 
from making them Cuckolds in their Abfence. The 
Emperor does not think thefe People worthy of livino- 
under his Government ; they are liable to no Impofts*^ 
what they pay is voluntary, and generally is in Stags *, 
which from Time to Time they deliver to the Czar’s 
Officers on the Frontiers. No-body underftands their 
Language, nor their Laws, which they ekbeute with great 
Severity. When they fell a Stag to a Foreigner, they pre- , 
ferve the Entrails and eat them, even the filthieft Part of 
them, after they have fqueezed out the Excrements 
Thofe who underftand Magic, are the moft honourable 
Perfons among theius They are very dextrous in that 
fallacious Art, and exercife it very commonly towards 
Strangers ; but they dare not play the Rujfians any Tricks 
for fear of being feverely punifhed* An Englijh Merchant 
inviting fome of them to Dinner, one of them got fo 
drunk that he could not ftand, fpeak, nor fit ; and his 
Drunkennefs continued fq, till an old Woman touched 
his Forehead, and muttered fome Words in his Ear; . 
after which, if we may give Credit to Eye-witneffes, 
from whom I had it, he grew as fober as ever he Was in 
in his Life. 
24. In the South Part of Siberia there is a Foreft, or§ 
as called .by them, a Step about fix or feVen hundred Wrefts 
long, where there are few Rivers ; and yet the Soil is ex- 
tremely fertile. One may ride there feveralDays Journey in 
vaft Fields full of Cherry-Trees not above two or three Feet 
high; not thatthey won’t grow taller, but they were hinder- 
ed by the Negligence of Travellers, who having made Fires 
in the Middle of the Fields, go their ways without think^ 
ing of putting of them out, and the Grafs of the Foreft 
being very long and very dry, catches Fire, and burns 
up every thing that lies in its way. It is no uncommon 
thing to fee a Fire burn for thirty or forty Wrefts toge- 
ther, and purfae Travellers fo nimbly that often they 
have not time to fave themfelves. Thefe Cherry-Trees 
bear red Cherries fair to look to, but four. The Fruit 
of fome of thefe Trees that have bfeen tranfplanted has 
been very good. I have talked with feVeral Perfons who 
have feen Tulips, red Rofes, Rofes like Damaftc-Rofes, 
Afparagus larger and finer than ours, Onions, Marjoram, 
Thyme, Succory, Sage, Endive or white Succory, and 
other Flowers, Herbs, and Roots in the Foreft, which 
we with a g-reat deal of Care raife in our Gardens. The 
Turnip is very frequently met with there ; they have 
good Carrots and Parfnips in Samojedia., and the Merchants 
of other Nations export a great deal of Nitre and Sal- 
Gemet from thence. Elks are larger there than any where 
clfe. There is a little Animal called Zouricksj and an- 
other whofe Name is Ferivojhicks.^ which are pretty 
Creatures. 
Idle Zotirick is fomething ftiaped like a Badger, but 
different in the Face ; his Skin is of an agreeable Colour ; 
it is black, fleck, and fpotted a little, and his Legs fhort, 
his Back almioft a Foot long ; they live like Coneys in 
Burrows under Ground. The Ruffians tell a great many 
Stories of the Wars of thefe Animals, one with another, 
of their Dexterity in taking Prifoners, and fending the 
Enemy away into Captivity ; that they force their Slaves 
to fetch in Hay and Oats for them to lay up againft 
Winter : It is faid their Burrows are very clean, neat, 
and artfully contrived ; and it one of them dies the others 
carry out his Body and bury it elfewhere. Colonel Craw- 
ford'' s Regiment quartering near the Place where they are 
to be found, thefe Creatures met one Day, to a prodi- 
gious Number, and made fuch a frightful Noife as terri- 
fied the Soldiers and their Horfes fo much that they ran 
away from their Paftu re near the Place ten Miles, with- 
out flopping. The Perivojkicks Skin is brown inclining 
to yellow, being a Mixture of white and black : The 
Riiffiians make Coats of them, but they are not much 
valued becaufe the Fur is not long, nor the Skin warm. 
I have heard, they take a great deal of Pleafure to carry 
Squirrels and Ermines from one Side of the River to the 
other, on their Backs ; from whence they derive their 
Name Perivojkicks., i. e. to carry a Thing from Place to. 
Place. Several Perfons have affured me, that the 
Squirrels in Siberia., when they can get nothing to eat 
on one Side the Water, will pais over to the other on a 
little Piece of Wood, and make ufe of their Tails inftead 
of a Sail. If the Wind fets fair, they get over fome- 
times ; but if it changes they are infallibly drowned. There 
are many more Reports as extravagant, which have been 
averred to be true,, relating to ; but I will not 
impofe farther on the Faitfiof the Reader, 
There 
