re the
Samoyedes, who are of the same blood as the Turks. The valley of the
Lena is peopled by Yakuts, whose development far exceeds that of the
Samoyedes, though both are of common origin. The latter are devoted
entirely to the chase and the rearing of reindeer, and show no
fondness for steady labor. The Yakuts employ the horse as a beast of
burden, and are industrious, ingenious, and patient. As much as the
character of the country permits they till the soil, and are not
inclined to nomadic life. They are hardy and reliable laborers, and
live on the most amicable terms with the Russians.

Before the opening of the Amoor the carrying trade from Yakutsk to
Ohotsk was in their hands. As many as forty thousand horses used to
pass annually between the two points, nearly all of them owned and
driven by Yakuts.

Most of these natives have been converted to Christianity, but they
still adhere to some of their ancient practices. On the road, for
example, they pluck hairs from their horse's tails and hang them upon
trees to appease evil spirits. Some of the Russians have imbibed
native superstitions, and there is a story of a priest who applied to
a shaman to practice his arts and ward off evil in a journey he was
about to make. Examples to the natives are not always of the best, and
it would not be surprising if they raised doubts as to the
superiority of Christian faith. A traveler who had a mixed party of
Cossacks and natives, relates that the former were accustomed to say
their prayers three or four times on evenings when they had plenty of
leisure and omit them altogether when they were fatigued. At Nijne
Kolymsk Captain Wrangell found the priests holding service three times
on one Sunday and then absenting themselves for two weeks.

South of Krasnoyarsk are the natives belonging to the somewhat
indefinite family known as Tartars. They came originally from Central
Asia, and preserve many Mongol habits added to some created by present
circumstances. Some of them dwell in houses, while others adhere to
yourts of the same form and material as those of the Bouriats and
Mongols. They are agriculturists in a small way, but only adopt
tilling the soil as a last resort. Their wealth consists in sheep,
cattle, and horses, and when one of them has large possessions he
changes his habitation two or three times a year, on account of
pasturage. A gentleman told me that he once found a Tartar, whose
flocks and herds were worth more