Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/25

SIBERIA 17 live K of lat. 55. The domestic sheep are of two species, the Russian and the broad-tailed Kirghiz; the latter are chiefly kept by the no- madic tribes, single herdsmen of whom some- times possess flocks of 1 0,000 head. The horned cattle of Russia degenerate in size in Siberia. The horses are good, and generally white, but sometimes they are singularly marked. Fish are very numerous. Ducks, geese, swans, wood- cocks, partridges, and other fowl abound in the S. part of the country. The population of Siberia is composed of various tribes and races. More than half are Russians or their descendants, some of whom came to the coun- try as volunteer immigrants, but the greater part were sent as exiles. These exiles consist of three classes, criminals and political and re- ligious offenders. The worst class are con- demned to the mines, and those whose offences have not been so great are employed at less laborious work, while the rest are formed into settlements under the supervision of the police, and receive grants of land for cultivation. None except the worst criminals are sent to Siberia without their families. In 1874, from May to October, 16,889 persons were banished to Siberia. Of these 1,700 were sentenced to hard labor, and 1,624 were drunkards and va- grants. They were accompanied voluntarily by 1,080 women and children over 15 years of age, and 1,269 younger children. Among the native tribes are the Samoyeds in the N. W., and the Ostiaks, who occupy the country S. of them as far E. as the river Yenisei ; these peo- ple live by fishing and hunting, and but few of them have been converted to Christianity. In the S. "W., besides some hordes of Bashkirs, are the Kirghiz, occupying the steppes of the Ishim and Irtish, commonly called from them the Kirghiz steppes ; they are still in a barba- rous state. Among the inhabitants of the W. parts of the Altai mountains the most numer- ous are the Calmucks, who have become par- tially civilized and have laid aside many of their national peculiarities ; they manufacture iron and gunpowder, and cultivate some grain and tobacco, but their chief subsistence is drawn from their flocks and herds. Their re- ligion is made up of various superstitions. On the slopes of the E. part of the Altai chain are several tribes known as Beruisses, Beltirs, Sagai, and Katchins. The Buriats are of Mon- gol origin, bear a strong resemblance to the people of N. China, and are the most numer- ous native tribe in Siberia; they are found chiefly about Lake Baikal and E. to the river Onon, a tributary of the Amoor. Most of the nations of N. E. Siberia may be referred to one or the other of three classes, the Yakuts, the Tunguses, and the Tchuktchis and Koriaks. The Yakuts, settled chiefly along the Lena, from its source to its mouth, are of Tartar origin, speaking a language said to resemble closely the Turkish. They are all more or less civilized by Russian contact, many having adopted the Greek faith, and are the most thrifty and industrious of the nations of N. Asia. The Tunguses, and the allied tribes, the Lamuts, the Monzhurs, and the Gilyaks of the Amoor river, all of Mongol origin, are found as far W. as the Yenisei and as far E. as Ana- dyrsk in Ion. 169. They are amiable, and easi- ly governed and influenced. Their original re- ligion was Shamanism, but they now profess almost universally the Greek faith. They train reindeer for riding and pack-carrying (the oth- er nations using them only in sledges), and pay a regular tribute in furs to the government. The Tchuktchis and Koriaks, inhabiting the extreme E. part of Siberia, between the 160th meridian and Behring strait, strongly resemble the North American Indians in general appear- ance, and are tall, vigorous, and athletic. A part of them are settled along the seashore, but most are nomadic. The latter own large herds of reindeer, numbering frequently several thousand, and their wandering life is a neces- sity to provide food for them. The Tchuktchis and Koriaks are independent of civilization, impatient of restraint, and bold and self-reliant. They are the only Siberian tribes that ever made a successful stand against Russian inva- sion. Nearly all the Siberian nations eat a species of toadstool, called by them mulc-a- mur, which in small doses produces all the effects of alcoholic liquor, but when eaten in large quantities is a violent narcotic* poison. Its habitual use shatters the nervous system, and its sale to the natives by traders is made a penal offence by Russian law. In respect to religious belief the inhabitants are divided as follows : Orthodox Greeks, 2,875,533 ; Ras- kolniks, 65,505 ; Armenian Greeks, 9 ; Ro- man Catholics, 24,754; Protestants, 5,722; Jews, 11,400; Mohammedans, 61,083; pagans, 283,621. The population in towns numbers 113,236. Although the manufactures of Si- beria are not extensive, a remarkable spirit of enterprise among the people is rapidly devel- oping the industrial resources of the coun- try. In most of the chief towns there are manufactories of cotton and woollen cloths, linen, glass, iron, earthenware, and leather; and others are springing up all over the coun- try. The internal commerce is of great im- portance, consisting principally of skins, furs, cattle, fish, both dry and salted, caviare, soap, and tallow. The transit trade between Chi- na and European Russia is also largely carried on across Siberia. The sole entrepot of this commerce was formerly at Kiakhta, S. E. of Lake Baikal, but trade is not now restricted to it. The principal exports to China are cot- ton and woollen cloths, linen, furs, gold and silver articles, and leather; the imports, tea, both leaf and compressed in cakes, sugar, silks, cottons, wool, cattle, leather, furs, grain, dried fruit, and colors. This trade has been chiefly carried on by means of the rivers which flow into Lake Baikal, thence through the Upper Tunguska to Yeniseisk, thence after a land carriage of about 40 m. passing through