Chapter X: Part II: Containing (1)

THE CONQUEST OF SIBERIA, AND

THE HISTORY OF THE TRANSACTIONS AND COMMERCE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA.

CHAP. I.

First irruption of the _Russians_ into _Siberia_--Second inroad--_Yermac_ driven by the Tzar of _Muscovy_ from the Volga, retires to _Orel_ a _Russian_ Settlement--Enters _Siberia_ with an army of _Cossacks_--His progress and exploits--Defeats _Kutchum Chan_--conquers his dominions--cedes them to the Tzar--receives a reinforcement of _Russian_ troops--is surprized by _Kutchum Chan_--his defeat and death--Veneration paid to his memory--_Russian_ troops evacuate _Siberia_--re-enter and conquer the whole country--their progress stopped by the _Chinese_.

[Sidenote: First Irruption of the Russians into Siberia under the Reign of Ivan Vassilievitch I.] Siberia was scarcely known to the Russians before the middle of the sixteenth century[68]. For although an expedition was made, under the reign of Ivan Vassilievitch I. into the North Western Parts of that country, as far as the river Oby, by which several Tartar tribes were rendered tributary, and some of their chiefs brought prisoners to Moscow; yet this incursion bore a greater resemblance to the desultory inroads of barbarians, than to any permanent establishment of empire by a civilized nation. Indeed the effects of that expedition soon vanished; nor does any trace of the least communication with Siberia again appear in the Russian history before the reign of Ivan Vassilievitch II. At that period Siberia again became an object of attention, by means of one Anika Strogonoff, a Russian merchant, who had established some salt-works at Solvytshegodskaia, a town in the government of Archangel.

[Footnote 68: S. R. G. VI. p. 199-211. Fis. Sib. Ges. Tom.
I.]

[Sidenote: Anika Strogonoff trades with the People of Siberia.] This person carried on a trade of barter with the inhabitants of the North-Western parts of Siberia, who brought every year to the abovementioned town large quantities of the choicest furs. Upon their return to their country Strogonoff was accustomed to send with them some Russian merchants, who crossed the mountains, and traded with the natives. By these means a considerable number of very valuable furs were procured at an easy rate, in exchange for toys and other commodities of trifling value.

This traffic was continued for several years, without any interruption; during which Strogonoff rapidly amassed a very considerable fortune[69]. At length the Tzar Ivan Vassilievitch II. foreseeing the advantages which would accrue to his subjects, from establishing a more general and regular commerce with these people, determined to enlarge the communication already opened with Siberia. [Sidenote: Second Irruption of the Russians into Siberia in the Reign of Ivan Vassilievitch II.] Accordingly he sent a corps of troops into that country. They followed the same route which had been discovered by the Russians in the former expedition, and which was lately frequented by the merchants of Solvytshegodskaia. It lay along the banks of the Petschora, and from thence crossed the Yugorian mountains, which form the North Eastern boundary of Europe. These troops, however, do not seem to have passed the Irtish, or to have penetrated further than the Western branch of the river Oby. Some Tartar tribes were indeed laid under contribution; and a chief, whose name was Yediger, consented to pay an annual tribute of a thousand sables. But this expedition was not productive of any lasting effects; for soon afterwards Yediger was defeated, and taken prisoner by Kutchum Chan; the latter was a lineal descendant of the celebrated Zinghis Chan; and had newly established his empire in those parts.

[Footnote 69: S. R. G. VI. p. 220-223. Fis. Sib. Ges. p.
182.]

This second inroad was probably made about the middle of the sixteenth century; for the Tzar Ivan Vassilievitch assumed the title of Lord of all the Siberian lands so early as 1558, before the conquests made by Yermac in that kingdom[70]. But probably the name of Siberia was at that time only confined to the district then rendered tributary; and as the Russians extended their conquests, this appellation was afterwards applied to the whole tract of country which now bears that name.

[Footnote 70: S. R. G. VI. p. 217.]

For some time after the above-mentioned expedition, the Tzar does not appear to have made any attempts towards recovering his lost authority in those distant regions. But his attention was again turned to that quarter by a concurrence of incidents; which, though begun without his immediate interposition, terminated in a vast accession of territory.

[Sidenote: Strogonoff forms Settlements upon the Kama and Tchussovaia.] Strogonoff, in recompence for having first opened a trade with the inhabitants of Siberia, obtained from the Tzar large grants of land; accordingly he founded colonies upon the banks of the rivers Kama and Tchussovaia; and these settlements gave rise to the entire subjection of Siberia by the refuge which they not long afterwards afforded to Yermac Timofeeff.

This person was nothing more than a fugitive Cossac of the Don, and chief of a troop of banditti who infested the shores of the Caspian sea. But as he was the instrument by which such a vast extent of dominion was added to the Russian Empire, it will not be uninteresting to develop the principal circumstances, which brought this Cossac from the shores of the Caspian to the banks of the Kama; and to trace the progress which he afterwards made in the distant regions of Siberia.

By the victories which the Tzar Ivan Vassilievitch had gained over the Tatars of Casan and Astracan, that monarch extended his dominions as far as the Caspian Sea; and thereby established a commerce with the Persians and Bucharians. [Sidenote: Yermac is driven from the Shores of the Caspian Sea. A. D. 1577.] But as the merchants who traded to those parts were continually pillaged by the Cossacs of the Don; and as the roads which lay by the side of that river, and of the Volga, were infested with those banditti; the Tzar sent a considerable force against them. Accordingly, they were attacked and routed; part were slain, part made prisoners, and the rest escaped by flight. Among the latter was a corps of six thousand Cossacs, under the command of the above-mentioned Yermac Timofeeff[71].

[Footnote 71: S. R. G. VI. p. 232. Fis. Sib. Ges. I. p. 185.]

[Sidenote: He retires to Orel, one of the Russian Settlements.] That celebrated adventurer, being driven from his usual haunts, retired, with his followers, into the interior part of the province of Casan. From thence he directed his course along the banks of the Kama, until he came to Orel[72]. That place was one of the Russian settlements recently planted, and was governed by Maxim grandson of Anika Strogonoff. Yermac, instead of storming the place, and pillaging the inhabitants, acted with a degree of moderation unusual in a chief of banditti. Being hospitably received by Strogonoff, and supplied with every thing that was necessary for the subsistence of his troops, he fixed his winter quarters at that settlement. [Sidenote: Determines to invade Siberia.] His restless genius however did not suffer him to continue for any length of time in a state of inactivity; and from the intelligence he procured concerning the situation of the neighbouring Tartars of Siberia, he turned his arms toward that quarter.

[Footnote 72: S. R. G. VI. p. 233.]

[Sidenote: State of Siberia.] Siberia was at that time partly divided among a number of separate princes; and partly inhabited by the various tribes of independent Tartars. Of the former Kutchum Chan was the most powerful Sovereign. His dominions consisted of that tract of country which now forms the South Western part of the province of Tobolsk; and stretched from the banks of the Irtish and Oby to those of the Tobol and Tura. His principal residence was at Sibir[73], a small fortress upon the river Irish, not far from the present town of Tobolsk; and of which some ruins are still to be seen. Although his power was very considerable, yet there were some circumstances which seemed to ensure success to an enterprizing invader. He had newly acquired a large part of his territories by conquest; and had, in a great measure, alienated the affections of his idolatrous subjects by the intolerant zeal, with which he introduced and disseminated the Mahometan religion[74].

[Footnote 73: Several authors have supposed the name of
Siberia to derive its origin from this fortress, soon after
it was first taken by the Russians under Yermac. But this
opinion is advanced without sufficient foundation; for the
name of Sibir was unknown to the Tartars, that fort being by
them called Isker. Besides, the Southern part of the province
of Tobolsk, to which the name of Siberia was originally
applied, was thus denominated by the Russians before the
invasion of Yermac. This denomination probably first came
from the Permians and Sirjanians, who brought the first
accounts of Siberia to the Russians.
S. R. G. VI. p. 180.]

[Footnote 74: S. R. G. VI. p. 180.]

Strogonoff did not fail of displaying to Yermac this inviting posture of affairs, as well with a view of removing him from his present station, as because he himself was personally exasperated against Kutchum Chan: for the latter had secretly instigated a large body of Tartars to invade the Russian settlements upon the river Tchussovaia; and had afterwards commenced open hostilities against them with a body of forces under the command of his cousin Mehemet Kul. And although both these attempts had failed of success, yet the troops engaged in them had left behind traces of havock and devastation too lasting to be easily effaced[75].

[Footnote 75: Fis. Sib. Ges. I. p. 187.]

[Sidenote: Marches towards Siberia.] All these various considerations were not lost upon Yermac: having therefore employed the winter in preparations for his intended expedition, he began his march in the summer of the following year, 1578, along the banks of the Tchussovaia. The want of proper guides, and a neglect of other necessary precautions, greatly retarded his march, and he was overtaken by the winter before he had made any considerable progress. [Sidenote: Returns to Orel.] And at the appearance of spring he found his stock of provisions so nearly exhausted, that he was reduced to the necessity of returning to Orel.

But this failure of success by no means extinguished his ardour for the prosecution of the enterprize; it only served to make him still more solicitous in guarding against the possibility of a future miscarriage. By threats he extorted from Strogonoff every assistance which the nature of the expedition seemed to require. Besides a sufficient quantity of provisions, all his followers, who were before unprovided with fire-arms, were supplied with muskets and ammunition; and, in order to give the appearance of a regular army to his troops, colours were distributed to each company, which were ornamented with the images of saints, after the manner of the Russians.

Having thus made all previous arrangements, he thought himself in a condition to force his way into Siberia. [Sidenote: His second Expedition.] Accordingly, in the month of June, 1579, he set out upon this second expedition. His followers amounted to five thousand men; adventurers inured to hardships, and regardless of danger: they placed implicit confidence in their leader, and seemed to be all animated with one and the same spirit. [Sidenote: Arrives upon the Banks of the Tura.] He continued his route partly by land, and partly by water: the navigation however of the rivers was so tedious, and the roads so rugged and difficult, that eighteen months elapsed before he reached Tchingi, a small town upon the banks of the Tura[76].

[Footnote 76: S.R.G. VI. p. 243-248-262.]

Here he mustered his troops, and found his army considerably reduced: part had been exhausted by fatigue, part carried off by sickness, and part cut off in skirmishes with the Tartars. The whole remaining number amounted to about fifteen hundred effective men; and yet with this handful of troops Yermac did not hesitate a moment in advancing against Kutchum Chan. That prince was already in a posture of defence; and resolved to guard his crown to the last extremity. Having collected his forces, he dispatched several flying parties against Yermac, himself remaining behind with the slower of his troops: but all these detachments were driven back with considerable loss; and worried in many successive skirmishes. Yermac continued his march without intermission, bearing down all resistance until he reached the center of his adversary's dominions.

These successes however were dearly bought; for his army was now reduced to five hundred men. Kutchum Chan was encamped[77] at no great distance upon the banks of the Irtish, with a very superior force, and determined to give him battle. Yermac, who was not to be daunted by the inequality of numbers, prepared for the engagement with a confidence which never forsook him; his troops were equally impatient for action, and knew no medium between conquest and death. The event of the combat corresponded with this magnanimity. [Sidenote: Defeats Ketchum Chan. 1581.] After an obstinate and well fought battle, victory declared in favour of Yermac: the Tartars were entirely routed, and the carnage was so general, that Kutchum Chan himself escaped with difficulty.

[Footnote 77: The place where the Tartar army lay encamped
was called Tschuvatch: it is a neck of land washed by the
Irtish, near the spot where the Tobob falls into that river.
Fis. Sib. Ges. I. p. 203.]

This defeat proved decisive: Kutchum Chan was deserted by his subjects; and Yermac, who knew how to improve as well as gain a victory, marched without delay to Sibir, the residence of the Tartar princes. He was well aware, that the only method to secure his conquest was to get possession of that important fortress. He expected therefore to have found in that place a considerable garrison, determined to sacrifice their lives in its defence. But the news of the late defeat had diffused universal consternation, and Sibir was entirely deserted. [Sidenote: Seats himself upon the Throne.] A body of troops whom he sent before him, to reduce the fortress, found it quite deserted: he himself soon after made his triumphant entry, and seated himself upon the throne without the least opposition. Here he fixed his residence, and received the allegiance of the neighbouring people, who poured in from all quarters upon the news of this unexpected revolution. The Tartars were so struck with his gallant intrepidity and brilliant exploits, that they submitted to his authority without hesitation, and acquiesced in the payment of the usual tribute.

Thus this enterprising Cossac was suddenly exalted from the station of a chief of banditti to the rank of a sovereign prince. It does not appear from history whether it were at first his design to conquer Siberia, or solely to amass a considerable booty. The latter indeed seems the more probable conjecture. The rapid tide of success with which he was carried on, and the entire defeat of Kutchum Chan, afterwards expanded his views, and opened a larger scene to his ambition. But whatever were his original projects, he seems worthy, so far as intrepidity and prudence form a basis of merit, of the final success which flowed in upon him. For he was neither elated with unexpected prosperity, nor dazzled with the sudden glare of royalty: on the contrary, the dignity of his deportment was as consistent and unaffected, as if he had been born a sovereign.

And now Yermac and his followers seemed to enjoy those rewards which they had dearly purchased by a course of unremitted fatigue, and by victories which almost exceeded belief. Not only the tribes in the neigbourhood of Sibir wore the appearance of the most unreserved submission; but even princes continued flocking in from distant parts, to acknowledge themselves tributary, and to claim his protection. [Sidenote: Precarious Situation of Yermac.] However, this calm was of short duration. Insurrections were concerted by Kutchum Chan; who, though driven from his dominions, yet still retained no small degree of influence over his former subjects.

Yermac saw and felt the precariousness of his present grandeur; the inconsiderable number of his followers who had survived the conquest of Sibir, had been still further diminished by an ambuscade of the enemy; and as he could not depend on the affection of his new subjects, he found himself under the necessity either of calling in foreign assistance, or of relinquishing his dominion. Under these circumstances he had recourse to the Tzar of Muscovy; and made a tender of his new acquisitions to that monarch, upon condition of receiving immediate and effectual support. The judicious manner in which he conducted this measure, shews him no less able in the arts of negotiation than of war.

One of his most confidential followers was dispatched to Moscow at the head of fifty Cossacs. [Sidenote: Cedes his Conquests to the Tzar of Muscovy.] He had orders to represent to the court the progress which the Russian troops, under the command of Yermac, had made in Siberia: he was artfully to add, that an extensive empire was conquered in the name of the Tzar; that the natives were reduced to swear allegiance to that monarch, and consented to pay an annual tribute. This representation was accompanied with a present of the choicest and most valuable furs[78]. [Sidenote: 1582.] The embassador was received at Moscow with the strongest marks of satisfaction: a public thanksgiving was celebrated in the cathedral; the Tzar acknowledged and extolled the good services of Yermac; he granted him a pardon for all former offences; and, as a testimony of his favour, distributed presents for him and his followers. Amongst those which were sent to Yermac was a fur robe, which the Tzar himself had worn, and which was the greatest mark of distinction that could be conferred upon a subject. To these was added a sum of money, and a promise of speedy and effectual assistance.

[Footnote 78: S.R.G. VI. p. 304.]

Meanwhile Yermac, notwithstanding the inferior number of his troops, did not remain inactive within the fortress of Sibir. He defeated all attempts of Kutchum Chan to recover his crown; and took his principal general prisoner. He made occasional inroads into the adjacent provinces, and extended his conquests up to the source of the river Taffda on one side, and on the other as far as the district which lies upon the river Oby above its junction with the Irtish.

[Sidenote: Receives a Reinforcement of Russian troops.] At length the promised succours arrived at Sibir. They consisted of five hundred Russians, under the command of prince Bolkosky, who was appointed wayvode or governor of Siberia. Strengthened by this reinforcement, Yermac continued his excursions on all sides with his usual activity; and gained several bloody victories over different princes, who were imprudent enough to assert their independence.

In one of these expeditions he laid siege to Kullara, a small fortress upon the banks of the Irtish, which still belonged to Kutchum Chan: but he found it so bravely defended by that monarch, that all his efforts to carry it by storm proved ineffectual. Upon his return to Sibir he was followed at some distance by that prince, who hung unperceived upon his rear; and was prepared to seize any fortunate moment of attack which might occur; nor was it long before a favourable opportunity presented itself. The Russians to the number of about three hundred lay negligently posted in a small island, formed by two branches of the Irtish. The night was obscure and rainy; and the troops, who were fatigued with a long march, reposed themselves without suspicion of danger. [Sidenote: Surprised by Kutchum Chan.] Kutchum Chan, apprised of their situation, silently advanced at midnight with a select body of troops; and having forded the river, came with such rapidity upon the Russians, as to preclude the use of their arms. In the darkness and confusion of the night, the latter were cut to pieces almost without opposition; and fell a resistless prey to those adversaries, whom they had been accustomed to conquer and despise. The massacre was so universal, that only one man is recorded to have escaped, and to have brought the news of this catastrophe to his countrymen at Sibir.

[Sidenote: Death of Yermac.] Yermac himself perished in the rout, though he did not fall by the sword of the enemy. In all the hurry of surprise, he was not so much infected with the general panic, as to forget his usual intrepidity, which seemed to be encreased rather than abated by the danger of his present situation. After many desperate acts of heroism, he cut his way through the troops who surrounded him, and made to the banks of the Irtish[79]. Being closely pursued by a detachment of the enemy, he endeavoured to throw himself into a boat which lay near the shore; but stepping short, he fell into the water, and being incumbered with the weight of his armour, sunk instantly to the bottom[80].

[Footnote 79: Many difficulties have arisen concerning the
branch of the Irtish in which Yermac was drowned; but it is
now sufficiently ascertained that it was a canal, which some
time before this catastrophe had been cut by order of that
Cossac: Not far from the spot, where the Vagai falls into the
Irtish, the latter river forms a bend of six versts; by
cutting a canal in a streight line from the two extreme
points of this sweep, he shortened the length of the
navigation. S. R. G. p. 365-366.]

[Footnote 80: Cyprian was appointed the first archbishop of
Siberia, in 1621. Upon his arrival at Tobolsk, he enquired
for several of the antient followers of Yermac who were still
alive; and from them he made himself acquainted with the
principal circumstances attending the expedition of that
Cossac, and the conquest of Siberia. Those circumstances he
transmitted to writing; and these papers are the archives of
the Siberian history; from which the several historians of
that country have drawn their relations. Sava Yefimoff, who
was himself one of Yermac's followers, is one of the most
accurate historians of those times. He carries down his
history to the year 1636. Fis. Sib. Ges. I. p. 430.]

His body was not long afterwards taken out of the Irtish, and exposed, by order of Kutchum Chan, to all the insults which revenge ever suggested to barbarians in the frenzy of success. But these first transports of resentment had no sooner subsided, than the Tartars testified the most pointed indignation at the ungenerous ferocity of their leader. The prowess of Yermac, his consummate valour and magnanimity, virtues which barbarians know how to prize, rose upon their recollection. They made a sudden transition from one extreme to the other: they reproached their leader for ordering, themselves for being the instruments of indignity to such venerable remains. At length their heated imaginations proceeded even to consecrate his memory: they interred his body with all the rites of Pagan superstition; and offered up sacrifices to his manes.

[Sidenote: Veneration paid to his Memory.] Many miraculous stories were soon spread abroad, and met with implicit belief. The touch of his body was supposed to have been an instantaneous cure for all disorders; and even his clothes and arms were said to be endowed with the same efficacy. A flame of fire was represented as sometimes hovering about his tomb, and sometimes as stretching in one luminous body from the same spot towards the heavens. A presiding influence over the affairs of the chace and of war was attributed to his departed spirit; and numbers resorted to his tomb to invoke his tutelary aid in concerns so interesting to uncivilised nations. These idle fables, though they evince the superstitious credulity of the Tartars, convey at the same time the strongest testimony of their veneration for the memory of Yermac; and this veneration greatly contributed to the subsequent progress of the Russians in those regions[81].

[Footnote 81: Even so late as the middle of the next century,
this veneration for the memory of Yermac had not subsided.
Allai, a powerful prince of the Calmucs, is said to have been
cured of a dangerous disorder, by mixing some earth taken
from Yermac's tomb in water, and drinking the infusion. That
prince is also reported to have carried with him a small
portion of the same earth, whenever he engaged in any
important enterprize. This earth he superstitiously
considered as a kind of charm; and was persuaded that he
always secured a prosperous issue to his affairs by this
precaution. S.R.G. V. VI. p. 391.]

With Yermac expired for a time the Russian empire in Siberia. [Sidenote: The Russians quit Siberia.] The news of his defeat and death no sooner reached the garrison of Sibir, than an hundred and fifty troops, the sad remains of that formidable army which had gained such a series of almost incredible victories, retired from the fortress, and evacuated Siberia. Notwithstanding this disaster, the court of Moscow did not abandon its design upon that country; which a variety of favourable circumstances still concurred to render a flattering object of Russian ambition. Yermac's sagacity had discovered new and commodious routes for the march of troops across those inhospitable regions. The rapidity with which he had overrun the territories of Kutchum Chan, taught the Russians to consider the Tartars as an easy prey. Many of the tribes who had been rendered tributary by Yermac, had testified a cheerful acquiescence under the sovereignty of the Tzar; and were inclined to renew their allegiance upon the first opportunity. Others looked upon all resistance as unavailing, and had learned, from dear-bought experience, to tremble at the very name of a Russian. The natural strength of the country, proved not to be irresistible when united, was considerably weakened by its intestine commotions. Upon the retreat of the garrison of Sibir, that fortress, together with the adjacent district, was seized by Seyidyak, son of the former sovereign, whom Kutchum Chan had dethroned and put to death. Other princes availed themselves of the general confusion to assert independency; and Kutchum Chan was able to regain only a small portion of those dominions, of which he had been stripped by Yermac.

[Sidenote: The Russians re-enter Siberia.] Influenced by these motives, the court of Moscow sent a body of three hundred troops into Siberia, who penetrated to the banks of the Tura as far as Tschingi almost without opposition. There they built the fort of Tumen, and re-established their authority over the neighbouring district. Being soon afterwards reinforced by an additional number of troops, they were enabled to extend their operations, and to erect the fortresses of Tobolsk, Sungur, and Tara. [Sidenote: Re-conquer their antient Territories.] The erection of these and other fortresses was soon attended with a speedy recovery of the whole territory, which Yermac had reduced under the Russian yoke.

This success was only the fore-runner of still greater acquisitions. [Sidenote: All Siberia conquered and colonized.] The Russians pushed their conquest far and wide: wherever they appeared, the Tartars were either reduced or exterminated. New towns were built and colonies were planted on all sides. Before a century had well elapsed, all that vast tract of country now called Siberia, which stretches from the confines of Europe to the Eastern Ocean, and from the Frozen Sea to the present frontiers of China, was annexed to the Russian dominions.

[Sidenote: Progress of the Russians checked by the Chinese.] A still larger extent of territory had probably been won; and all the various tribes of independent Tartary which lie between the South-Eastern extremity of the Russian empire, and the Chinese Wall, would have followed the fate of the Siberian hordes, if the power of China had not suddenly interposed.

CHAP. II.

Commencement of hostilities between the _Russians_ and _Chinese_--Disputes concerning the limits of the two empires--Treaty of Nershinsk--Embassies from the court of _Russia_ to _Pekin_--Treaty of _Kiachta_--Establishment of the commerce between the two nations.

Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the Russians were rapidly extending themselves Eastward through that important territory, which lies, on each side of the river[82] Amoor. They soon reduced several independent Tungusian hordes; and built a chain of small fortresses along the banks of the above-mentioned river, of which the principal were Albasin, and Kamarskoi Ostrog. Not long afterwards, the Chinese under[83] Camhi conceived a similar design of subduing the same hordes. [Sidenote: Rise of animosities between the Russians and Chinese.] Accordingly the two great powers of Russia and China, thus pointing their views to the same object, unavoidably clashed; and, after several jealousies and intrigues, broke out into open hostilities about the year 1680. The Chinese laid siege to Kamarskoi Ostrog, and though repulsed in this attempt, found means to cut off several straggling parties of Russians. These animosities induced the Tzar Alexèy Michaelovitch to send an embassy to Pekin; but this measure did not produce the desired effect. [Sidenote: Albasin destroyed by the Chinese.] The Chinese attacked Albasin with a considerable force: having compelled the Russian garrison to capitulate, they demolished that and all the Russian forts upon the Amoor; and returned, with a large number of prisoners, to their own country.

[Footnote 82: Amoor is the name given by the Russians to this
river; it is called Sakalin-Ula by the Manshurs, and was
formerly denominated Karamuran, or the Black River, by the
Mongols. S.R.G. II. p. 293.]

[Footnote 83: Camhi was the second emperor of the Manshur
race, who made themselves masters of China in 1624.

The Manshurs were originally an obscure tribe of the
Tungusian Tartars, whose territories lay South of the Amoor,
and bordered upon the kingdom of Corea, and the province of
Leaotong. They began to emerge from obscurity at the
beginning of the seventeenth century. About that time their
chief Aischin-Giord reduced several neighbouring hordes; and,
having incorporated them with his own tribe, under the
general name of Manshur, he became formidable even to the
Chinese. Shuntschi, grandson of this chief, by an
extraordinary concurrence of circumstances, was raised while
an infant to the throne of China, of which his successors
still continue in possession. Shuntschi died in 1662, and was
succeeded by Camhi, who is well known from the accounts of
the jesuit missionaries.

For an account of the revolution of China, see Duhalde,
Descr. de la Chine, Bell's Journey to Pekin, and Fis. Sic.
Ges. tom. I. p. 463.]

[Sidenote: Albasin rebuilt by the Russians, is besieged by the Chinese.] Not long after their departure, a body of sixteen hundred Russians advanced along the Amoor; and constructed a new fort, under the old name of Albasin. The Chinese were no sooner apprised of their return, than they marched instantly towards that river, and sat down before Albasin with an army of seven thousand men, and a large train of artillery. They battered the new fortress for several weeks, without being able to make a breach, and without attempting to take it by storm. The besieged, though not much annoyed by the unskilful operations of the enemy, were exhausted with the complicated miseries of sickness and famine; and notwithstanding they continued to make a gallant resistance, they must soon have sunk under their distresses, if the Chinese had not voluntarily retired, in consequence of a treaty being set afoot between the two courts of Moscow and Pekin. For this purpose the Russian embassador Golowin had left Moscow so early as the year 1685, accompanied by a large body of troops, in order to secure his person, and enforce respect to his embassy. The difficulty of procuring subsistence for any considerable number of men in those desolate regions, joined to the ruggedness of the roads, and the length of the march, prevented his arrival at Selengisk until the year 1687. From thence messengers were immediately dispatched with overtures of peace to the Chinese government at Pekin.

After several delays, occasioned partly by policy, and partly by the posture of affairs in the Tartar country through which the Chinese were to pass, embassadors left Pekin in the beginning of June 1689. Golovin had proposed receiving them at Albasin; but while he was proceeding to that fortress, the Chinese embassadors presented themselves at the gates of Nershinsk, escorted by such a numerous army, and such a formidable train of artillery, that Golovin was constrained, from motives of fear, to conclude the negotiation almost upon their own terms.

The conferences were held under tents, in an open plain, near the town of Nershinsk; where the treaty was signed and sealed by the plenipotentaries of the two courts. When it was proposed to ratify it by oath, the Chinese embassadors offered to swear upon a crucifix; but Golovin preferred their taking an oath in the name of their own gods.

[Sidenote: Treaty of Nershinsk.] This treaty first checked the progress of the Russian arms in those parts; and laid the foundations of an important and regular commerce between the two nations.

By the first and second articles, the South-Eastern boundaries of the Russian empire were formed by a ridge of mountains, stretching North of the Amoor from the sea of Ochotsk to the source of the small river Gorbitza[84], then by that river to its influx into the Amoor, and lastly by the Argoon, from its junction with the Shilka up to its source.

[Footnote 84: There are two Gorbitzas; the first falls into
the Amoor, near the conflux of the Argoon and Shilka; the
second falls into the Shilka. The former was meant by the
Russians; but the Chinese fixed upon the latter for the
boundary, and have carried their point. Accordingly the
present limits are somewhat different from those mentioned in
the text. They are carried from the point, where the Shilka
and Argoon unite to form the Amoor, Westward along the
Shilka, until they reach the mouth of tha Western Gorbitza;
from thence they are continued to the source of the
last-mentioned river, and along the chain of mountains as
before. By this alteration the Russian limits are somewhat
abridged.]

By the fifth article reciprocal liberty of trade was granted to all the subjects of the two empires, who were provided with pass-ports from their respective courts[85].

[Footnote 85: S.R.G. II. p. 435.]

This treaty was signed on the 27th of August, in the year 1689, under the reign of Ivan and Peter Alexiewitch, by which the Russians lost, exclusively of a large territory, the navigation of the river Amoor. The importance of this loss was not at that time understood; and has only been felt since the discovery of Kamtchatka, and of the islands between Asia and America. The products of these new-discovered countries might, by means of the Amoor, have been conveyed by water into the district of Nershinsk, from whence there is an easy transport by land to Kiachta: whereas the same merchandise, after being landed at Ochotsk, is now carried over a large tract of country, partly upon rivers of difficult navigation, and partly along rugged and almost impassable roads.

[Sidenote: Rise of the Commerce with China.] In return, the Russians obtained what they long and repeatedly aimed at, a regular and permanent trade with the Chinese. The first intercourse between Russia and China commenced in the beginning of the seventeenth century[86]. At that period a small quantity of Chinese merchandise was procured, by the merchants of Tomsk and other adjacent towns, from the Calmucs. The rapid and profitable sale of these commodities encouraged certain Wayvodes of Siberia to attempt a direct and open communication with China. For this purpose several deputations were sent at different times to Pekin from Tobolsk, Tomsk, and other Russian settlements: these deputations, although they failed of obtaining the grant of a regular commerce, were nevertheless attended with some important consequences. The general good reception, which the agents met with, tempted the Russian merchants to send occasional traders to Pekin. By these means a faint connection with that metropolis was kept alive: the Chinese learned the advantages of the Russian trade, and were gradually prepared for its subsequent establishment. This commerce, carried on by intervals, was entirely suspended by the hostilities upon the river Amoor. But no sooner was the treaty of Nershinsk signed, than the Russians engaged with extraordinary alacrity in this favourite branch of traffic. The advantages of this trade were soon found to be so considerable, that Peter I. conceived an idea of still farther enlarging it. [Sidenote: Caravans allowed to trade to Pekin.] Accordingly, in 1692, he sent Isbrand Ives, a Dutchman in his service, to Pekin, who requested and obtained, that the liberty of trading to China, which by the late treaty was granted to individuals, should be extended to caravans.

[Footnote 86: S.R.G. VIII. p. 504, & seq.]

In consequence of this arrangement, successive caravans went from Russia to Pekin, where a caravansary was allotted for their reception; and all their expences during their continuance in that metropolis defrayed by the Emperor of China. The right of sending these caravans, and the profits resulting from them, belonged to the crown of Russia. In the mean time, private merchants continued as before to carry on a separate trade with the Chinese, not only at Pekin, but also at the head quarters of the Mongols. The camp of these roving Tartars was generally to be found near the conflux of the Orchon and Tola, between the Southern frontiers of Siberia and the Mongol desert. A kind of annual fair was held at this spot by the Russian and Chinese merchants; where they brought their respective goods for sale; and continued until they were disposed of. This rendezvous soon became a scene of riot and confusion; and repeated complaints were transmitted to the Chinese Emperor of the drunkenness and misconduct of the Russians. These complaints made a still greater impression from a coincidence of similar excesses, for which the Russians at Pekin had become notorious.

Exasperated by the frequent representations of his subjects, Camhi threatened to expell the Russians from his dominions, and to prohibit them from carrying on any commerce, as well in China as in the country of the Mongols.

[Sidenote: Embassy of Ismailoff to Pekin.] These untoward circumstances occasioned another embassy to Pekin, in the year 1719. Leff Vassilievitch Ismailoff, a captain of the Russian guards, who was sent embassador upon this occasion, succeeded in the negotiation, and adjusted every difficulty to the satisfaction of both parties. At his departure he was permitted to leave behind Laurence Lange, who had accompanied him to Pekin, in the character of agent for the caravans; for the purpose of superintending the conduct of the Russians. [Sidenote: Russians expelled from Pekin.] His residence however in that metropolis was but short; for he was soon afterwards compelled, by the Chinese, to return. His dismission was owing, partly, to a sudden caprice of that suspicious people, and partly to a misunderstanding, which had recently broke out between the two courts, in relation to some Mongol tribes who bordered upon Siberia. A small number of these Mongols had put themselves under the protection of Russia, and were immediately demanded by the Chinese; but the Russians refused compliance, under pretence that no article in the treaty of Nershinsk could, with any appearance of probability, be construed as extending to the Mongols. The Chinese were incensed at this refusal; and their resentment was still further inflamed by the disorderly conduct of the Russian traders, who, freed from all controul by the departure of their agent, had indulged, without restraint, their usual propensity to excess. This concurrence of unlucky incidents extorted, in 1722, an order from Camhi for the total expulsion of the Russians from the Chinese and Mongol territories. These orders were regorously executed; and all intercourse between the two nations immediately ceased.

[Sidenote: Embassy of Ragusinski.] Affairs continued in this state until the year 1727, when the count Sava Vladislavitch Ragusinski, a Dalmatian in the service of Russia, was dispatched to Pekin. His orders were at all events to compose the differences between the two courts relating to the Mongol tribes; to settle the Southern frontiers of the Russian empire in that quarter; and to obtain the permission of renewing the trade with China. Accordingly that embassador presented a new plan for a treaty of limits and commerce to Yundschin, son and successor of Camhi; by which the frontiers of the two empires were finally traced as they exist at present, and the commerce established upon a permanent basis, calculated to prevent as far as possible all future sources of misunderstanding. This plan being approved by the emperor, Chinese commissioners were immediately appointed to negotiate with the Russian embassador upon the banks of the Bura, a small river which flows, South of the confines of Siberia, into the Orchon near its junction with the Selenga.

[Sidenote: Treaty of Kiatchta.] At this conference, the old limits, which are mentioned in the treaty of Nershinsk, were continued from the source of the Argoon Westwards as far as the mountain Sabyntaban, which is situated at a small distance from the spot where the conflux of the two rivers Uleken and Kemtzak form the Yenisèi: this boundary separates the Russian dominions from the territory of the Mongols, who are under the protection of China.

It was likewise stipulated, that for the future all negotiations should be transacted between the tribunal of foreign affairs at Pekin, and the board of foreign affairs at St. Petersburg; or in matters of inferior moment between the commanders of the frontiers[87].

[Footnote 87: This article was inserted, because the Chinese
emperor, from a ridiculous idea of superiority, had
contemptuously refused to hold any correspondence with the
court of Russia.]

The most important articles relating to commerce, were as follow:

[Sidenote: Account of the Treaty relative to Commerce.] A caravan was allowed to go to Pekin every three years, on condition of its not consisting of more than two hundred persons; during their residence in that metropolis, their expences were no longer to be defrayed by the emperor of China. Notice was to be sent to the Chinese court immediately upon their arrival at the frontiers; where an officer was to meet and accompany them to Pekin.

The privilege before enjoyed by individuals of carrying on a promiscuous traffic in the Chinese and Mongol territories was taken away, and no merchandize belonging to private persons was permitted to be brought for sale beyond the frontiers. For the purpose of preserving, consistently with this regulation, the privilege of commerce to individuals, two places of resort were appointed on the confines of Siberia: one called Kiatchta, from a rivulet of that name near which it stands; and the other Zuruchaitu: at these places a free trade was reciprocally indulged to the subjects of the two nations.

A permission was at the same time obtained for building a Russian church within the precincts of their caravansary; and for the celebration of divine service, four priests were allowed to reside at Pekin[88]. The same favour was also extended to some Russian Scholars[89], for the purpose of learning the Chinese tongue; in order to qualify themselves for interpreters between the two nations.

[Footnote 88: The first Russian church at Pekin was built for
the accommodation of the Russians taken prisoners at Albasin.
These persons were carried to Pekin, and the place appointed
for their habitation in that city was called the Russian
Street, a name it still retains. They were so well received
by the Chinese, that, upon the conclusion of the treaty of
Nershinsk, they refused to return to their native country.
And as they intermarried with the Chinese women, their
descendants are quite naturalized; and have for the most part
adopted not only the language, but even the religion of the
Chinese. Hence, the above-mentioned church, though it still
exists, is no longer applied to the purpose of divine
worship: its priest was transferred to the church, which was
built within the walls of the caravansary.]

[Footnote 89: The good effects of this institution have
already been perceived. A Russian, whose name is Leontieff,
after having resided ten years at Pekin, is returned to
Petersburg. He has given several translations and extracts of
some interesting Chinese publications, viz. Part of the
History of China; the Code of the Chinese Laws; Account of
the Towns and Revenues, &c. of the Chinese Empire, extracted
from a Treatise of Geography, lately printed at Pekin. A
short account of this Extract is given in the Journal of St.
Petersburg for April, 1779.]

This treaty, called the treaty of Kiachta, was, on the fourteenth of June, 1728, concluded and ratified by the count Ragusinski and three Chinese plenipotentaries upon the spot, where Kiachta was afterwards built: it is the basis of all transactions since carried on between Russia and China[90].

[Footnote 90: S.R.G. VIII. p. 513.]

One innovation in the mode of carrying on the trade to China, which has been introduced since the accession of the present empress Catherine II. deserves to be mentioned in this place. [Sidenote: Caravans discontinued.] Since the year 1755 no caravans have been sent to Pekin. Their first discontinuance was owing to a misunderstanding between the two courts of Petersburg and Pekin in 1759. Their disuse after the reconciliation had taken place, arose from the following circumstances. The exportation and importation of many principal commodities, particularly the most valuable furs, were formerly prohibited to individuals, and solely appropriated to caravans belonging to the crown. By these restrictions the Russian trade to China was greatly shackled and circumscribed. [Sidenote: Monopoly of the Fur Trade abolished.] The present empress (who, amidst many excellent regulations which characterise her reign, has shewn herself invariably attentive to the improvement of the Russian commerce) abolished, in 1762, the monopoly of the fur trade, and renounced in favour of her subjects the exclusive privilege which the crown enjoyed of sending caravans to Pekin[91]. By these concessions the profits of the trade have been considerably encreased: the great expence, hazard, and delay, of transporting the merchandise occasionally from the frontiers of Siberia to Pekin, has been retrenched; and Kiachta is now rendered the center of the Russian and Chinese commerce.

[Footnote 91: S.R.G. VIII. p. 520.]

CHAP. III.

Account of the _Russian_ and _Chinese_ settlements upon the confines of _Siberia_--description of the _Russian_ frontier town _Kiachta_--of the _Chinese_ frontier town _Maimatschin_--its buildings, pagodas, &c.

By the last mentioned treaty it was stipulated, that the commerce between Russia and China should be transacted at the frontiers. [Sidenote: Russian and Chinese Settlement upon the Brook Kiachta.] Accordingly two spots were marked out for that purpose upon the confines of Siberia, where they border upon the Mongol desert; one near the brook Kiachta, and the other at Zuruchaitu. The description of the former of these places forms the subject of this chapter.

This settlement consists of a Russian and Chinese town, both situated in a romantic valley, surrounded by high, rocky, and for the most part well-wooded, mountains. This valley is intersected by the brook Kiachta, which rises in Siberia, and, after washing both the Russian and Chinese town, falls into the Bura, at a small distance from the frontiers.

[Sidenote: Situation of the Russian Frontier Town Kiachta.] The Russian settlement is called Kiachta from the abovementioned brook: it lies in 124 degrees 18 minutes longitude from the isle of Fero, and 35 degrees N. latitude, at the distance of 5514 versts from Moscow, and 1532 from Pekin.

[Sidenote: The Fortress.] It consists of a fortress and a small suburb. The fortress, which is built upon a gentle rise, is a square enclosed with palisadoes, and strengthened with wooden bastions at the several angles. There are three gates, at which guards are constantly stationed: one of the gates faces the North, a second the South towards the Chinese frontiers, and a third the East close to the brook Kiachta. The principal public buildings in the fortress are a wooden church, the governor's house, the custom house, the magazine for provisions, and the guard-house. It contains also a range of shops and warehouses, barracks for the garrison, and several houses belonging to the crown; the latter are generally inhabited by the principal merchants. These buildings are mostly of wood.

[Sidenote: Suburb.] The suburb, which is surrounded with a wooden wall covered at the top with chevaux de frize, contains no more than an hundred and twenty houses very irregularly built; it has the same number of gates as the fortress, which are also guarded. Without this suburb, upon the high road leading to Selenginsk, stand a few houses, and the magazine for rhubarb.

This settlement is but indifferently provided with water both in quality and quantity; for although the brook Kiachta is dammed up as it flows by the fortress, yet it is so shallow in summer, that, unless after heavy rains, it is scarcely sufficient to supply the inhabitants. Its stream is troubled and unwholesome, and the springs which rise in the neighbourhood are either foul or brackish: from these circumstances, the principal inhabitants are obliged to send for water from a spring in the Chinese district. The soil of the adjacent country is mostly sand or rock, and extremely barren. If the frontiers of Russia were extended about nine versts more South to the rivulet of Bura; the inhabitants of Kiachta would then enjoy good water, a fruitful soil, and plenty of fish, all which advantages are at present confined to the Chinese.

The garrison of Kiachta consists of a company of regular soldiers, and a certain number of Cossacs; the former are occasionally changed, but the latter are fixed inhabitants of the place. It is the province of the commander to inspect the frontiers, and, in conjunction with the president of the Chinese merchants, to settle all affairs of an inferior nature; but in matters of importance recourse must be had to the chancery of Selenginsk, and to the governor of Irkutsk. The Russian merchants, and the agents of the Russian trading company, are the principal inhabitants of Kiachta.

The limits Westwards from this settlement to the river Selenga, and Eastwards as far as Tchikoi, are bounded with chevaux de frize, placed there to prevent a contraband trade in cattle, for the exportation of which a considerable duty is paid to the crown. All the outposts along the frontiers Westwards as far as the government of Tobolsk, and Eastwards to the mountains of snow, are under the command of the governor of Kiachta.

The most elevated of the mountains that surround the valley of Kiachta, and which is called by the Mongols Burgultei, commands the Russian as well as the Chinese town; for this reason, the Chinese, at the conclusion of the last frontier treaty, demanded the cession of this mountain under the pretext, that some of their deified ancestors were buried upon its summit. The Russians gave way to their request, and suffered the boundary to be brought back to the North side of the mountain.

[Sidenote: Maimatschin, the Chinese Frontier-Town.] The Chinese town is called, by the Chinese and Mongols, Maimatschin, which signifies fortress of commerce. The Russians term it the Chinese Village (Kitaiskaia Sloboda) and also Naimatschin, which is a corruption of Maimatschin. It is situated about an hundred and forty yards South of the fortress of Kiachta, and nearly parallel to it. Midway between this place and the Russian fortress, two posts about ten feet high are planted in order to mark the frontiers of the two empires: one is inscribed with Russian, the other with Manshur characters[92].

[Footnote 92: Upon the mountain to the West of Kiachta, the
limit is again marked, on the Russian side by an heap of
stones and earth, ornamented on the top with a cross; and on
the Chinese by a pile of stones in the shape of a pyramid.
Pallas Reise, P. III. p. 110.]

Mainatschin has no other fortification than a wooden wall, and a small ditch of about three feet broad; the latter was dug in the year 1756, during the war between the Chinese and the Calmucs. The town is of an oblong form: its length is seven hundred yards, and its breadth four hundred. On each of the four sides a large gate faces the principal streets; over each of these gates there is a wooden guard-house for the Chinese garrison, which consists of Mongols in tattered clothes, and armed with clubs. Without the gate, which looks to the Russian frontiers, and about the distance of eight yards from the entrance, the Chinese have raised a wooden screen, so constructed as to intercept all view of the streets from without.

This town contains two hundred houses and about twelve hundred inhabitants. It has two principal streets of about eight yards broad, crossing each other in the middle at right angles, with two by-streets running from North to South. They are not paved, but are laid with gravel, and kept remarkably clean.

[Sidenote: Houses.] The houses are spacious, uniformly built of wood, of only one story, not more than fourteen feet high, plaistered and white-washed; they are constructed round a court yard of about seventy feet square, which is strewed with gravel, and has an appearance of neatness. Each house consists of a sitting room, some warehouses and a kitchen. In the houses of the wealthier sort the roof is made of plank; but in meaner habitations of lath covered over with turf. Towards the streets most of the houses have arcades of wood projecting forwards from the roof like a penthouse, and supported by strong pillars. The windows are large after the European manner, but on account of the dearness of glass and Russian talk are generally of paper, excepting a few panes of glass in the sitting room.