8 
SARYTSCHEW’S TRAVELS* 
It is beyond all doubt, that many of these poor creatures are 
possessed of good hearts, and have been hurried, by some in¬ 
cidental or urgent circumstances, into the commission of atro¬ 
cious crimes. 
Heedless of the remonstrances made me against travelling 
that road farther in the winter season, I set off from Jakutsk 
on horseback, attended with a retinue of Jakuts for my guide, 
and pack-horses to carry my baggage and provisions; having laid 
in a stock for two months, and furnished my sc f r wording to 
the custom of the country, with a coat of rem $er skins as a 
protection against the seventy of the climate. 
The commander had provided me with a Kosak, who could 
speak Jakutish and Tungushish, and who served as my inter- 
jfreter both with the guides and in the different districts through 
which 1 passed; and I found him every where indispensible, the 
Russian being neither spoken nor understood in those parts. All 
my countrymen, without exception, settling here, make them¬ 
selves acquainted with their language for purposes of trade; a 
motive which cannot influence them to learn our’s. 
From Jakutsk to the river Aldan, 350 wersts distant, the 
road led me through Jakutish ulusses, or dwelling-places, 
over plains scattered with woods, lakes, corn-fields, and mea¬ 
dows. The woods, every where, consisted of larch and beech- 
trees. An uluss comprehends a certain number of dwellings, un¬ 
der the government of a Knhsek # , or elder. We generally pass¬ 
ed our nights in the jurts of these Koasks, and were always re¬ 
ceived with great kindness. Hospitality is, in fact, the first vir¬ 
tue among the Jakuts in general. No sooner does a traveller 
arrive at a place, than they hasten towards him, helping him off 
his horse, and conducting him into their jurt, enlarging their fire, 
enforce the execution of the laws against banished criminals; and, under 
Paul, there were very few exceptions, in which the indulgence of staying 
behind was granted to the condemned. u The horridest crimes,” says the 
author, “ are but too often the result of a momentary delusion, or vehe¬ 
ment passion, particularly among uncultivated people.” In corroboration 
of this sentiment, we shall give the following anecdote, as described by a 
person who saw the female alluded to a woman who had murdered her 
husband. He w^as a lad of 14 or 15, imposed upon her by her feudal lord, 
when she was at the age of 23, and was constantly provoking her by blows 
and ill treatment, until impelled by a spirit’of revenge, she seized the op¬ 
portunity of his leaning over a pail of water, to force his head in, and thus 
suffocate him. The person who related the anecdote to the translator 
met with her in a family in Siberia, where she had nursed the children 
from their infancy, and was beloved by them as a mother, notwithstand¬ 
ing the mark on her forehead. She was then advanced in years, hut had 
not gained peace of mind by length of time. The remorse of a wounded 
conscience still clouded her countenance, and frequently filled her eyes 
with tears. 
f Kn’as—the diminutive of this word signifies, in Russian, a prince. 
