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T HE C L A Y
W E AR E
M A D E OF
CRITICALSTUDIES IN NATIVE HISTORY
ISSN 1925-5888

fARVISBROWNLIE,SERIESEDITOR
20 The day We Are Made Of Haudenosaunee Land Tenure on the Grand River,
by Susan M. Hill
19 Sounding Thunder: The Stories of Francis Pegahmagabow, by Brian D. Mclnnes
18Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder,
by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer
17Elder Brother and the Lawof the People: Contemporary Kinship and Cowessess
First Nation, by Robert Alexander Innes
16Indigenous Women, Work, and History: 1940-1980, by Mary Jane Logan
McCallum
IS Life Stages and Native Women: Memory Teachings, and Story Medicine,
by Kim Anderson

GERALDFRIESEN. SERIES EDITOR

14A VeryRemarkable Sickness: Epidemics in the Petit Nord, 1670-1946,
by Paul Hackett
13Preserving theSacred: Historical Perspectives on the Ojibwa Midewiwin,
by Michael Angel
12Muskekowuck Athinuwick Original People of the Great Swampy Land,
by Victor P.Lytwyn
11A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School
System, 1979to 1986.by John S. Millay
10Night Spirits: TheStoryof the Relocation of the Sayisi Dene, by Ua Bussidor
and Ostun Bilgen-Reinart
9 Women of theFirst Nations: Power, Wisdom, and Strength, edited by Christine
Miller and Patricia Chuchryk, with Marie Smallface Marule. Brenda
Manyfingers, and Cheryl Deering
8 The Ojibwa of Western Canada, 1790to 1970, by Laura Peers
7 Severing the Ties that Bind: Government Repression of Indigenous Religious
Ceremonies on the Prairies, by Katherine Pettipas
6 Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada: Historical and Legal Aspects, edited by
Kerry Abel and Jean'Friesen
5 The Dakota of the Canadian Northwest: Lessonsfor Survival, by Peter Douglas
Elias
4 77iePlains Cree: Trade, Diplomacy and War, 1790to 1870, by John S. Milloy
3 The Orders of the Dreamed George Nelson on Cree and Northern Ojibwa
Religion and Myth, 1923, by JenniferS.H. Brown and Robert Brightman
2 Indian-European Trade Relations in the Lower Saskatchewan River Region
to 1840, by Paul Thistle
1 The NewPeoples: Beingand Becoming Metis in North America, edited by
Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown
THE CLAY W E ARE M A D E OF
HA U D E N O S A U N E E LAND TENURE ON THE GRA N D RIVER
Its publicationprogramprovidedby the Government of Canada through
 CONTENTS

List ofIllustrations.................................................... til

Introduction: The Clay HiAreMade O f 1

Part I: Haudenosaunee Cultural History and Relationship to Land

Chapter 1: Karihwa’
onwe—TheOriginalMatters....................... 15
Chapter 2: Kontinonhsyonni—The Women WhoMake theHouse......... S3

Part II: Haudenosaunee Land Tenure: From Iroquoia to the

Grand River Territory
Chapter 3: Teyohah4:ke—Two Roads..................................19
Chapter 4: Shotinonhsyonnih—TheyBuilt the LonghouseAgain......... 132
Chapter S: Skanata Yoyonnih—One Village Has Been Made............. 186
Chapter 6:Te Yonkhi'nikinhare Tsi Niyonkwarihotenhs—TheyArt
Interfering in OurMatters....................................... 212
Conclusion: Tetitewennonhtonhstha Tsi Niyonkwarihotenhs—WeAre
Causing Ourselves to Have ControlAgain, the Way WeDo Things..... 239

Appendices......................................................... 243
Notes 251
Glossary 289
Bibliography........................................................291
Index 301
 ILLUSTRATIONS

List of Illustrations
Figure 1.Haudenosaunee Sty Dome Design. Source: Deyohaha:ge Indigenous
Knowledge Centre, Six Nations Polytechnic / 24
Figure 2/Ihe Ayenwahtha Belt. Source: Deyohaha:ge Indigenous Knowledge
Centre, Six Nations Polytechnic / 33
Figure 3. Grand Council Seating Pattern. Source: Barbara Barnes, ed.,
TtadilionalTeathmgs, 37/ 34
Figure 4. Circle Wampum. Source: Raymond R. Skye.Tuscarora Artist, Six
Nations of the Grand River/39
Figure 5. Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt. Source: Deyohaha:ge
Indigenous Knowledge Centre, Six Nations Polytechnic / 43
Figure 6.Haudenosaunee Societal Spheres / 80
Figure 7. Kaswentha. Source: Deyohaha:ge Indigenous Knowledge Centre,
Six Nations Polytechnic / 85

List Of Maps
Map 1.Map of 1763 Royal Proclamation and 1768 Fort Stanwix
Boundaries /126
Map 2.Hie Settlement of the Six Nations along the Lower Grand River
/140
Map 3.Map of the Lower Grand, Haldimand Grant, Showing Indian
Settlements, 1783-1849/141
Map 4.Town Plot of Brantford and Surrounding Area, 1833/171

List of Tables
Table 1.Haudenosaunee Nation Names / 5
Table 2. Haudenosaunee Nation Council Names / 36
Table 3.1677 Observations of Haudenosaunee Villages from Wentworth
Greenhalgh/92
Table 4. Documented Land Priccs/Assessmcnts, 1902-1917/ 206
Table 5. Examples of Six Nations Council Complaints against Provisions of
the Indian Act. 1887-1919/216
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would not have been possible without the assistance and support of
many people, and to each of you 1am forever grateful.lhesc include librarians,
archivists, students, fellow researchers, and members of the Six Nations and
other Haudenosaunee communities. In particular, I would like to acknowledge
the following:
StaiTfrom the University of Manitoba Press, expressly Glenn Bergen and
Jill McConkey. Your patience and persistence have made all the difference.
The Woodland Cultural Centre, most notably Keith Jamieson—your
assistance in accessing the Council records was invaluable, in addition to your
historical knowledge of our community.

Marade, David Kanatawakhon,Jordan Brant,Winnie Thomas, and particu­

larlyTom Deer.
For assistance with editing and other contributions: M. Sam Cronk, Evan
Habkirk, Aroha Harris, Mary Jane Logan McCallum, Sabrina Saunders,
Raymond Skye, and Danielle Soucy.
My most trusted teachers and advisors: Paul Williams,John Milloy, Kiera
Ladner, Rick Hill, and especially Carol and the late Norman Jacobs. Your
guidance and belief in my abilities made all the difference.
My family, particularly my parents Wilfred and Anita Hill, my sister Billie
Spencer, my brother Bill Hill, and my husband, Rick Powless—each of you
has contributed to my ability to do this work.
Finally, I dedicate this book to my children, Spencer and Anita Powless,
and for all those yet unborn.
 IN TRODUCTION

THE CLAY W E ARE MADE OF

Akwekon enskat enlilewowenonni ne Onkwanikonhra.

Tahnon oner) teyelhinonhweraton ne Yelhinihslenho
Onhwenlsyo akwekon skennen akenhake. Tho niyolonhak ne
Onkwanikonhra.
All of us, we will make our minds as one. And now we send
greetings lo our Mother, the Earth, all is peaceful and well.
And our minds are one.

Ibis passage from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, the Ohenton

by traditional Haudenosaunee to greet the rest of the natural world, to address

all of creation.' It is also spoken before and after all ceremonies and official
government meetings. In addition to recognizing our dependence as humans

which humans could survive without—in group settings, it serves to unify the
|.*It also con-
te before
and all those who mil come after and recalls the lessons of Haudenosaunee
cultural history.

Haudenosaunee Historical Consciousness

This inheritance was meant to guide the Haudenosaunee for all time, as es­
tablished at the time of creation.The lessons contained within our historical
consciousness constitute the roadmap for a sustainable, balanced life for the
 THE ClAY WE AftE MADE OF

current generation 2nd the "coming faces’of our future. But our historical
consciousness—andcultural base—suffered gready in the process of European
colonization of the Americas, the land we knowasTurde Island. Our lifestyles

and territorial encroachment. Our traditional processes for conveying historical

knowledgewere impeded as a result.And,for many,the once effective roadmap
seemed to lack the necessarydirection for handling the drastic changes of the
colonial period.
Many Haudenosaunee people drifted away from honouring the knowl­
edge and lessons of our collective past; however, they often did try to preserve
and perpetuate pans of it. But others were still able to see the paths to the
future contained within the original map.They took on the taskof perpetuat­
ing the historical knowledge of our ancestors and showed others how those
lessons provided a means to survive in the face of colonial onslaught. In the
spirit of those who have perpetuated the historical consciousness of the
Haudenosaunee, this book seeks to honour that knowledge and use it as a

it serves two purposes. First, it is a call to those Haudenosaunee people who

have drifted awayfrom the collective knowledge of our ancestors to reconsider
theircurrent direction and regain an understandingof our shared past.Second,
it provides a window for non-Haudenosaunec to reconsider the history they

with Europeans and other peoples who have come to our territory.

under the framework of our cultural history. Western history has typically
painted Native history through the eyes of explorers, conquistadores, mis­
sionaries,and traders.Native peoples in North America (andother colonized
lands) are typically depicted as background scenery to the “real"history of the
continent.'Ihe only exception to this depiction is the ‘Big Chief’ method of
analysis, wherein one Native man (or a few) is represented as the sole Native
worthy of historical discussion. In short, these depictions focus on individu­
als or small groups of male leaders and their interactions with Europeans.
In many cases, these “ chiefs' are only marginal leaders, and the chroniclers
fail to comprehend the larger collective leadership of the community or na­
tion in question. Instead, they focus on one man, and often discuss ideas of
nobility or evidence of acculturation. The Western historical depiction of
the Haudenosaunee often falls into this category, with the representation of
Haudenosaunee men such as the Four Kings,Joseph Brant, and Red Jacket.
Like many‘ others,"women and internal events and relationships have been left
out of these histories, leading to agross misrepresentation of Haudenosaunee
society and history. In their defence, if one is to rely on written historical
sources it is difficult to construct any alternative to the ‘
Big Chief*depiction.
However, that is reason enough to move beyond those limitations and consider
other ways to write about Native history. Furthermore, while Haudenosaunee
history has always been in the hands of the Haudenosaunee people, the pub­
lished history of the Haudenosaunee has rarely been in our control or informed
by our thought and philosophy.
Haudenosaunee historical knowledge does record the names of important

placed on the constant elements of the Haudenosaunee world. A human

lifespan is extremely limited, not to mention self-centred, but other parts of
the natural world provide a better guide and better perspective for examining
the past. For the Haudenosaunee, land is possibly the best point of reference
for considering history. Historical knowledge and lessons embodied in the
Haudenosaunee cultural history demonstrate land and territory as the prime
determinants of Haudenosaunee identity. So if one seeks to understand
Haudenosaunee history one must consider the historyof Haudenosaunee land.
Therefore, in this written account of Haudenosaunee history, the focus has been
placed upon the land and awayfrom individual persons.With the understand­
ing that we are bom from the land and our bodies will return to it when our
time on the earth is done, land serves as the primary focus of our identity. In
this, if we are to understand where we have been as a people—to understand
our history—we must look to the history of our land and our relationship to
her. In characterizing the Haudenosaunee relationship to our territory, we
can also point to the perpetuation of original thought and philosophy despite
drastic changes in physical lifestyle.

Land as Mother or Land for Sale

Ycthi'nihstcnha Onhwentsya is the Kanyen'keha (Mohawk) name for the
earth.“She-to-us-motherprovides-[forour]-needs” describes the relationship
between Onkwchonwe (humans) and the earth.The name for the earth,along
with the history of how that name came into being, explains Haudenosaunee
land philosophy. Everything a person could possibly need to know is there.
Yet sometimes our minds wander and fancy ‘ knowing more." We convince
ourselves that it is possible to discover deeper meaning. But, really, what
deeper meaning can there be than the realization that humans cannot survive
without the earth and what she provides for us?This book does not attempt to
reach a higher understanding of the Haudenosaunee relationship to the earth.
Instead, it is ajourney through historical records related to the Grand River
Haudenosaunee and their territory. It contemplates how a SS,000-acre plot
of land along the banks of the Grand River came to be known as Sue Nations.
And it considers the legacy of the past generations and that legacy’ s impact
on the contemporary relationship between the Grand River Haudenosaunee
and our territory.
Despite the belief in a familial relationship with the earth, the
Haudenosaunee—as groups and individuals—have participated in land­
sharingdeals,initiallythrough treaties and later through leases and direct sales,
for over four centuries—actions that appear to contradict the philosophical
understanding of responsibility to the land.This book examines that apparent

established by the Haudenosaunee of Ohswe:ken, that is, the Grand River

Territory. It draws upon the written record of the Confederacy Council
from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century, including
the speeches and decisions of this governing body.lheir words, as the official
spokesmen of their respective clan families and nations, demonstrate the
collective values of the community in regard to land, treaty obligations, and
sovereignty.Ihis book seeks to retell Grand River Haudenosaunee history in
a manner that privileges Haudenosaunee knowledge and records in order to
fill in many of the gaps within the existing published record.
The records of the Confederacy Council illustrate how the Grand River
Haudenosaunee used their traditional teachings to develop land tenure poli­
cies in the face of their interactions with European peoples.Ihe policies they
created flowed out of the beliefs that land was intended to provide for the
people, as a mother does for her child. Coupled with that belief, people have
an obligation to respect the earth and to maintain a sustainable relationship
with their land.The Haudenosaunee land tenure policies were framed within
the parameters of land providing for the people, especially children, and people
not being allowed to over-harvest the resources of the territory, including the
individual holdings they had been allocated.While many of the land policies
for the Grand RiverTerritory were developed in reaction to negative interac­
tions with their non-Native neighbours, they were structured in a manner
consistent with original Haudenosaunee teachings.Thesepolicies demonstrate
a continuity of thought and philosophy and a persistence of Haudenosaunee
values regarding land that stem from the time of creation.
 Introduction

Studying Haudenosaunee Land Tenure

In order to examine the history of land tenure on the Grand River
Territory, several questions must be considered. First, how did we get from
Yethi’ nihstenha Onhwentsya—that is, continually recognizing our respon­
sibility to and dependence upon the land—to “ Land for Sale” ? Is this the
complete contradiction that it appears to be, or is there another way to look at
it? What do our traditional teachings say about our relationship to the land?
What effect did migration have on our settlement on the Grand River? How
has the political relationship with Canada changed the process of land tenure
as well as the way the people view land? In order to examine these questions,
an approach different from previous scholarly studies of the Haudenosaunee
was necessary.
One of the Kanyen’ keha words for clan is Otara; when one asks another
what clan they belong to, the question literally translates to “ what clay are
you made of?”1*Many Indigenous knowledge holders talk about the idea that
the land does not belong to Native people, but rather Native people belong
to the land.4The Haudenosaunee share in this philosophy. Examples of this
can be found in the names the Haudenosaunee nations call themselves within
their languages, all of which refer to a specific characteristic of their original
national territory (seeTable 1).

Onkwahonwoneho English Translation

Konyen'kohoko Mohawk People of the flint
Onyoto'oiko Oneida People of the standing stone
OnoAdo'gego' Onondaga People of the hills
Gayogohono Cayuga People of the marshy area
Onondowdga' Seneca People of the great hills

I do not believe that it is only by chance that we identify ourselves in

relationship to the land we come from, the land we belong to.The land—the
territory—defines who we are and how we relate to the rest of the world.
James Sdkij Youngblood Henderson has described this aspect of Indigenous
philosophies as ecological contexts, wherein Indigenous peoples are integrally
connected to the territory from which they originate and their interactions
with that territory define their relationship to the rest of the world.’In dis­
cussing Haudenosaunee philosophy, many people have explained ecological
contexts through the teachings of the Ohenton Karihwatehkwen.*In this,they
have asserted that this expression of thanksgiving links the Haudenosaunee

Changes in territory have changed the day-to-day Haudenosaunee inter­

actions with their land, but despite these changes the philosophical basis of
how the Haudenosaunee see their relationship to land has persisted. Despite
enormous territorial change, there are important elements of continuity that
have persisted and resisted great pressures to conform to Western views of
land relationships.
The writing herein builds upon theworkand theories put forward byseveral
Indigenist thinkerswithin the field of decolonization. I havedrawn particularly
from Indigenous theory, postcolonial theory, Amerindian autohistory, and
decolonizing methodologies. Each of these theories or methodologies really .
comprises a multitude of approaches to research and lakes on different forms
depending on the research topic and the researcher.The general commonality
found across the theories is a basis within Indigenous thought and research
goals related to Indigenous autonomy and sovereignty. In this vein, this book
looks at how these theories relate to the concepts of territory and Indigenous
knowledge. In order to do this, territoriality and Haudenosaunee knowledge
are combined as a means of examining the history of the Grand RiverTerritory.
LindaTuhiwai Smith writes that this combination is essential
scholarship (and more importantly for Indigenous peoples):

Coming to knowthe past has been part of the critical pedagogy of

decolonization.To hold alternative histories is to hold alternative
knowledges.lhe pedagogical implications of this access to alterna­
tive knowledges is that theycan form the basis of alternativeways
of doing things. Transforming our colonized views of our own
history (as written by the West), however, requires us to revisit,
site by site, our history under Western eyes. This in turn requires
a theory or approach which helps us to engage with, understand
and then act upon history... .Telling our stories from the past,
reclaiming the past, giving testimony to the injustices of the past
are all strategies which are commonly employed by indigenous
peoples struggling for justice.1
Using a similar approach, I have revisited the historical record and identified
key aspects of the Haudenosaunee record that have been dismissed in the
published literature in order to re-present Grand River Haudenosaunee land
history. Our cultural history documents how the Haudenosaunee developed
philosophies about their land based upon their experiences. Furthermore,
Onkwehonweneha (Haudenosaunee languages) and the visual records of the
Haudenosaunee Confederacy document the connection between identity, land,
and responsibilities of the Onkwehonwe to the earth.
In developing my analysis of the history of Indigenous land relationships,
George Sioui’ s jlmerinJian^utoAitlery—which is both a theory and a method­
ology of how to reconstruct Native history through themes of continuity—was
especially relevant. Sioui describes this approach as “ a technique that aims,
through a varied set of sources and categories of informers, to establish the
constant cultural traits of one or more culturally relatedpeoples.**I use the tools
of autohistory to examine the historical relationship of the Haudenosaunee
and the Grand River Territory. Some people might look at the Grand River
community today and think the people are very assimilated.On the other hand,
within the Confederacy, Grand River is recognized as the strongest repository
of traditional Haudenosaunee knowledge. In reconstructing the history of the
territory that produced the people of Grand River of the twenty-first century,
I attempt to reconcile the contradictions that exist within the truths of both
of these assessments. Sioui refers to this process as *anewhistory to match the
image of themselves that people have always had, or should have."* I believe
the themes of continuity—as articulated in Sioui’ s AmerindianAutohistory—
regarding relationships to land are a means of finding that reconciliation.
An eclectic mixture of methods is necessary to conduct this type of research.
Similar to the representation of the Circle Wampum (see Figure 4),we need
to look from many angles in order to get a better picture of what has happened
over time.The first step in achieving these multiple views is taken by placing the
research within Haudenosaunee epistemology—the way the Haudenosaunee
understand the world. In that vein, history begins with creation and unfolds
from there. I have drawn from the teachings about land found within four epics
of the Haudenosaunee: the Creation Story, the Kayeri Niyorihwai:ke (Four
Ceremonies), the Kayaneren’ kowa (Great Law of Peace), and the Karihwiyo10
(Good Message of Handsome Lake).These represent some of the most critical
aspects of Haudenosaunee cultural history and inform the Haudenosaunee
world view.They are often referred to collectively as the ‘ Original Instructions,*
but this designation is also used to describe the Creation Story in solitary
form as well. While many other epic-like stories exist within Haudenosaunee
cultural history, these four are typically referred to as the major accounts that
have shaped critical aspects of Haudenosaunee philosophy. They also all have
important messages about land and the intended relationship that the Creator
expected to exist between humans and the land.To examine these teachings,
I chose sources for their respect and integrity as viewed by Haudenosaunee
knowledge holders, including those sources originally gathered from Grand
River Haudenosaunee knowledge holders. I also chose sources that were pub­
lished in both English and Haudenosaunee languages. These tend to have a
more direct translation into English, and while they are often difficult to read
for an English speaker they retain much of the spirit of the words from their
original languages.
In an attempt to ground this research within Haudenosaunee thought,
I have used aspects of Onkwehonweneha to discuss the philosophical re­
lationship with land. These languages are the products of Haudenosaunee
interaction with their lands, with the other beings of creation, and with hu­
man beings. They hold the key to understanding the Haudenosaunee mind
(skanikonhra). Kanyenlceha examples are usually given (I am most familiar
with that Haudenosaunee language) and when possible Cayuga language
examples are also noted, as Cayuga and Mohawk are the two most widely
spoken Haudenosaunee languages in the Grand RiverTerritory. While there
are six distinct Haudenosaunee languages, they are similar in terms of basic
word structure patterns,with many words sharing a common root among two
or more of the languages.
In order to discuss the impacts of contact between the Haudenosaunee and
Europeans, one needs to consider what Haudenosaunee life was like before
contact.The sources consulted in this endeavour were numerous. First, I re­
viewed available Haudenosaunee historical records.Thcse include oral sources
such as (recorded) stories and aspects of the Great Law, as well as wampum
documents recorded in strings and belts. Because these sources were recorded
mostly by non-Haudenosaunee scholars, decolonizing lenses had to be ap­
plied in many instances to discern what was actually being said rather than
simply accept aWestern interpretation. For example, in his article on Iroquois
women,J.N.B. Hewitt translates the name of Jigonsaseh11to mean ‘ The Most
Pure Person.’ ln reality,the name translates as “
the one with a fresh, new face."
There is nothing in the name that states that her face is ‘more’ or the “
most"
of anything.While Hewitt's meaning is close to the actual translation of the
name, it infers something quite different about Haudenosaunee names and
the historical legacy of this particular woman. This type of reinterpretation
is necessary in order to get a more accurate representation of history and
Haudenosaunee philosophy.
 The next uea I explored in regard to “
pre-contact”
times was archeological
evidence.While much of the archeological discussion of this era focuses upon

descriptions of Haudenosaunee villages as a means of looking at the actual

in Chapter 3).I have used pre-contact archeological sources sparingly,as many

of these are not direcdy relevant.
Finally, I looked at early historical sources that addressed life before
European presence, based upon statements made by Haudenosaunee people
to the European newcomers. Some of these are found within travel narratives;
others are in early missionary accounts. Again, many of these sources need to
be reinterpreted in order to get a clearer picture of what was being told, but
there is a great deal of useful information to be found in these records.
As one could expect, there are many more sources available to examine
the “ post-contact” world of the Haudenosaunee than that of the “ pre-contact*
era. In studying this aspect of Haudenosaunee history I reviewed a variety of
sources, including Haudenosaunee records (oral, wampum, etc.), travel nar­
ratives and other written sources, treaty records, the papers of various colonial
officials, and written Haudenosaunee documents.Again 1applied decolonizing
approaches to the sources such as “ reading between the lines’ in travel narra­
tives. For example, Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert mentions Oneida12
women trading salmon in a Mohawk village he was visiting in 1634.u Several
things can be inferred from this occurrence beyond his commentary, including
the fact that women were actively participating in the trading economy of the
day, not only on the home front but also across territorial borders.
Using sources such as travel narratives and missionary journals presents
a very slippery slope in historical research. Oftentimes the authors embellish
their “ observations’ in order to fit their own personal agendas. In the case of
missionaries, therewas a need to ‘ demonize’ Native spiritual practices in order
tojustify their imposition of Christianityatevery turn.Furthermore, theyoften
portray resistant nations,villages,and individuals as“ evildoers"who tookevery
opportunity to brutalize the faithful followers of the Church. Sources such as
theJesuitRelationsare full of such biased portrayals,written to helpjustify the
presence of the missionaries in New France as they waged a spiritual battle
against“ pagan” beliefs of the unconverted (especially the Haudenosaunee).As
a result, these references have to be used very carefully and preferably in the
context of critical analysis.
 THE CLAY WE ARBMADE OF

Similarly, the collections of government officials such as Sir William

Johnson (the first imperial superintendent general of Indian Affairs for the
northern superintendency of North America) present awealth of information
but must take into account the political desires of their authors as well. Related
to that, the official records of treaty councils also contain critical informa­
tion but require the application of cultural lenses to interpret the events they
chronicle. For example, treatycouncil records often report that meetings began
"with the typical pageantry.’ This “
pageantry"would regularlytake several days.
When the recorders made such comments theyfailed to recognize the critical
openings of the treaty councils, which typically centred on the principle of
condolence—essential in the Haudenosaunee mind for respectful relations
and decision making.
An examination of the move from the Haudenosaunee homelands to the
ancient hunting grounds along the Grand River in 1784brings the researcher
to additional sources. In this period we find the first examples of written politi­
cal records that were created by and for the Haudenosaunee.While the written
treaty council records of the previous era represent Haudenosaunee political
history, they were recorded by Euro-Americans who viewed events through

the Haudenosaunee began writing more extensively in this time period. The
most active of these chroniclers wasJoseph Brant. His letters (many of which
were written long before the migration to the Grand River) typically served
as calls to action for the Crown to uphold their promises and responsibilities
to their staunch allies, the Haudenosaunee.Die writings of other leaders such
as John Norton, Isaac Hill, and John Brant often had a similar purpose. The
Grand Council also began keeping written minutes of some of their meetings
at this time.It appears that most of these records were made of meetings with
external bodies (usually Crown representatives), but they exist as a window
into the political workings of the Confederacy in the early nineteenth century.
It is important to note, however, that clearly there were internal meetings,
which happened regularly, that were not recorded in written form.This is true
throughout time, to the present day.
Starting in the 1870s, the Confederacy Council at Grand River began
employing their own secretary to keep the records of their meetings. The
minutes were written in English, although the council proceedings were
held in the Haudenosaunee languages. Die purpose of these written records
was to support the memories of the chiefs regarding the numerous decisions
required of them during that time. Die secretary also had the responsibility
of providing a copy of the minutes to the visiting superintendent (Indian
agent) for the purposes of his reports to the Department of Indian AITairs.
Notations within the minute books show what sections were included in the
superintendent’ s copy and what was left out. Corresponding records from
the Department of Indian Affairs (held by Library and Archives Canada)
match up with the notations found within the minute books. I was able to
gain access to microfilmed copies of all the minute books from 1880to 1924,
the majority of which were written by Chief Josiah Hill (Nanticoke and
Tuscarora14representative to the council), who served as secretary from 1876
until his death in 1915.These sources provide the majority of information for
Chapters 5and 6 and were especially useful in examining the development of
community land policies as well as providing evidence of continuity in regard
to land philosophy and the assertions of land claims and sovereignty.
Other sources from this rime period include aspects of legal history such as

squatter cases.The sources for this era are primarilyarchival in nature,requiring

typical research methods. My analysis of such records is not typical, however.
Instead, I employ techniques such as those of Sioui to determine themes of
continuity in philosophy and relationships to land and teiritoiy.
Finally, in assessing the current relationship of the Grand River
Haudenosaunee to our territory, I employ key aspects of our cultural thought
and historic relationships with the Crown. First, the Haudenosaunee have a
responsibility to future generations,‘ the coming faces.'I analyze the current
land tenure practices and land situation within that framework of future

to the Crown and Canada within our historic relationship,utilizing the analogy
of‘ polishing the Covenant Chain'as laid out in the treaty agreements of the

treatyrights accorded to the Haudenosaunee and citizens of the British Crown

in accordance with the Two Row Wampum Belt and the Covenant Chain.
These principles represent those aspects of the relationship created by the
ancestors of the Haudenosaunee and Canadians. As a conclusion, I consider
the contemporary Crown-Haudenosaunee relationship within the Canadian
calls for reconciliation.
 PART I
Haudenosaunee Cultural History and
Relationship to Land
 CHAPTER 1

Karihwa'onwe-The Original Matters

My people, the Haudenosaunee, have always shared stories about our land.
We told these stories long before a 55,000-acre plot of land along the Grand
River in present-day southern Ontario became known as Six Nations.We told
them before the Haudenosaunee people moved their homes to that land, part
of our traditional hunting territoiy, in the upheavals following the American
Revolution. And we told them even earlier, before written history recorded
the arrival of Europeans to Turtle Island.
Haudenosaunee thought and philosophy is rooted in these stories. Of
these, there are four major elements, or epics, that express our cultural his­
tory: the Creation Story, the Kayeri Niyorihwa:ke (Four Ceremonies), the
Kayaneren’ kowa (Great Law of Peace), and the Karihwiyo (Good Message of
Handsome Lake).1All four of these epics were recorded through traditional
means, including oral texts (stories),speeches, songs, wampum belts, and other
visual images. They are represented throughout Haudenosaunee culture in a
multitude of ways, including the greetings of the Ohenton Karihwatehkwen
(“the words before all elseYIhanksgiving Address).Through theThanksgiving
Address the speaker reminds all present that the earth is our mother and that
she supports all life as we know it.This echoes the Haudenosaunee Creation
Story,which teaches that the first person born on this earth was buried under
the ground, and from her body the plants that sustain life grew and continue to
grow to this day.The Four Ceremonies recall the gifts of creation and remind
us of our dependence upon the earth.Through the establishment of the Great
Law, the Peacemaker taught the Haudenosaunee how to live in balance with
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a little speech to me. I stood there at a loss what to say and blushed
perfectly scarlet, which was very silly of me. I could not maintain my
dignity at all, and felt for the moment tongue-tied.
On our way we entered the cathedral full of people. The Bishop in
a few hearty words bade us welcome to Vladivostock. Many curious
glances were turned on us and it was a veritable torture to me to be
stared at like that.
At last we arrived at the Governor’s house. Mrs. Unterberger
welcomed me with a bouquet in her hand, and took me to my
apartment. Six rooms had been allotted to the rest of our company
at the house of Mr. Langeletti, a rich merchant from Hamburg.
I hadn’t time to rest and was called down to the dining-room to be
present at a Te Deum of thanksgiving for the happy termination of
our voyage across the treacherous Japanese sea. There were many
people in the room and no end of presentations and exchanging of
greetings, after which my husband went to pay his official call on the
admirals, who received him with cannon-shots when he stepped on
board. At night the town was beautifully illuminated in our honour.
I awoke in the middle of the night with a heavy heart; feeling
myself expatriated and shut up in a golden cage: I cried bitterly.
What would I have not given to be back at St. Petersburg again!
The next day a grand dinner was given by General Unterberger.
About sixty guests sat at a long table richly decorated with flowers
and silver; a band of the Siberian navy played during the repast. The
dinner was very gay; numerous toasts were drunk. General
Unterberger raising his glass drank to my health and the whole
company rose to touch my glass. The Japanese Admiral addressed in
flowery native language a long speech to me, translated rather badly
by his interpreter. I was crimson with the effort to control my
laughter and bit my lips to blood. I did not venture to look at Mrs.
Serebriakoff who was also assailed with a fit of giggling, and kept
my eyes on my plate.
 I got an invitation to a ball given on the cruiser Admiral Nakhimoff,
but found a plausible pretext not to accept it, preferring to slumber
in my bed, lulled to sleep and wafted into the land of dreams by the
soft music of a military band played on the cruiser, which floated
faintly from afar through the night air; there came to me through
the window the faint strains of a waltz which personified to me just
then the sense of my favourite waltz “Loin du Bal.”
The next day I visited the young ladies’ gymnasium of which I am
Honorary President. I was welcomed at the entrance by Mrs.
Unterberger and the Vice-Governor of Vladivostock. The directress of
the gymnasium presented to me all the members of her
administration. After which the pupils presented me with a beautiful
embroidered serviette of their own work.
August 22nd.—To-day Sergy started for Nikolskoe, a large military
settlement above 150 miles away from Vladivostock to review the
troops and be present, at the same time, at the inauguration of the
railway-line which is to join Vladivostock and Khabarovsk. Nikolskoe
is inhabited by Russian colonists, who live well, each family
possessing above 100 acres of land. The troops quartering in the
surroundings of Nikolskoe consist of three batteries of artillery, a
brigade of riflemen, five batteries containing a thousand men each,
and a brigade of cavalry. I was also expected at Nikolskoe and the
officers of the garrison begged Sergy to transmit to me a beautiful
bouquet.
All day long streams of visitors came; I felt a stranger among
them, and so lonely without Sergy! One soon grows old here. One of
the visitors, a colonel with a very wrinkled face, was only forty years
of age but would have passed for seventy easily. I do hope we won’t
make a long stay here, not only because of home-sickness but also
from coquetry.
We had to pay some calls, driving in a beautiful “troika,” belonging
to General Unterberger. We made a great sensation in the streets.
Our cortège was triumphal; the Prefect of the Police drove before us
and a numerous escort of Cossacks galloped behind our carriage.
We were cheered by the crowd on our way; hats and caps flew in
the air. My neck was nearly dislocated, having to bow right and left
all the time.
The town of Vladivostock is scattered about on hillocks; up one
street we went and down another. Half the shops of the town are
Chinese; they are in constant competition with the Russian shops,
taking away all their customers. A Russian tailor came to ask my
husband to remove into another place his Chinese neighbour, who
was a dangerous rival to him on account of his low prices. Certainly
Sergy did not accede to his request.
The climate of Vladivostock is extremely damp; the perpetual fogs
act perniciously upon the nerves; the percentage of suicide is high
and cases of madness are very frequent here. I am very happy that
my desire to help the afflicted poor is beginning to be fulfilled. At my
request the mayor of the town has collected five thousand roubles in
the space of a few days to build an asylum for lunatics. One bed has
already been established bearing my name.
The service of the post leaves very much to be desired. We have
received a letter from Russia dated six months ago; the missive had
arrived first at Khabarovsk, but as at that time there was no
communication between these two towns, on account of the bad
state of the roads, this letter had returned to Russia to be sent back
again to Vladivostock via Japan.
The admirals and the commander of the Nakhimoff came to ask
me to fix a day for the ball that they wanted to give at the marine
club in my honour. In order to make it more attractive to me the
marine officers have decided to open it by a concert. I was received
like a queen at the ball. Admiral Engelm gave me his arm, leading
me across the brilliantly illuminated ball-room. I was loaded with two
enormous bouquets, rather heavy to carry. When I entered the
crowded hall all eyes were turned on me, and I struggled with an
overwhelming inclination towards instant flight. As soon as we got to
our places in the first row, the concert began. It lasted about two
hours, after which I mounted on an estrade, and glued to my chair,
decided to remain as looker-on at the ball, when I saw Admiral
Engelm coming up to me as a spokesman from the marine officers,
to ask if I might accord them a dance, but I declined the invitation,
with thanks, and passed my time in looking at the dancers, eating
bonbons. It was near daylight when we returned home.
Bad news has been received regarding the ship Nijni-Novgorod. A
telegram came from Mascat from the captain of the ship saying that
they had encountered a terrible storm which had driven them out of
their course. They had been forced to take refuge in an Arabian
port, and thus the ship can’t be due at Vladivostock before October,
when the roads are blocked for weeks, and all communication
stopped between Vladivostock and Khabarovsk.
Mrs. Unterberger is awfully nice to me, and full of kind attentions.
She proposes drives and boat-parties, but it was only Mme. Beurgier
who profited by them. She went one day to lay a wreath of flowers
on the tomb of a young officer of the French navy, who had been
murdered recently in the outskirts of Vladivostock by a convict, who
profited by his uniform to run away.
Sergy went in a steam-launch along the Gulf to visit the villages
inhabited by Russian colonists. I had made myself quite ill by this
time with the thought that we could not expect our household and
things before Christmas. I felt awfully discouraged thinking of all the
privations we should have to endure. The path of a General
Governor’s wife is not always strewn with roses. How many thorns
there are for a few flowers! I can never reconcile myself with the life
in this wretched land. I suffered miseries of home-sickness, and had
the desire of a caged bird to fly. I dream only of going back to St.
Petersburg, but it is foolish of me, I may as well ask for the moon. I,
who from my very infancy had only to stretch my hand to gather all
the joys of life, was I going to doubt my lucky star now?
A doctor who had the reputation of making a good diagnosis had
to be summoned to me. After having tapped me here and there, he
said I was a bundle of nerves and prescribed a gayer mode of life for
me, nothing more.
 The day after Sergy’s departure there was a tremendous storm at
sea, destroying innumerable fishing-boats. I passed an anxious night
listening to the roar of the wind outside, threatening to overturn the
house. The windows rattled in their frames, and doors were burst
open. Mme. Beurgier came in the morning with terrible stories of
damage done by the storm. Boats were torn from their moorings
and blown on to the land, and a great number of Chinese junks were
tossed on the shore. A score of soldiers, who were crossing the bay
on a raft to bring hay from the opposite shore, were obliged to drop
anchor not far from the coast, in order to await for the tempest to
abate. They were caught by the storm and their raft was torn away
and shattered to pieces against the rocks. At dawn, eight soldiers
only succeeded in landing, after having swum on the wrecks for
many miles; all the rest had perished. And my husband was out at
sea at that moment! I was beside myself with anxiety.
I didn’t expect Sergy before three days, and taking up a piece of
needlework, sat in a restless mood talking with Mrs. Unterberger,
when suddenly I heard the report of a gun, followed by a second
report. It was my husband who was returning to Vladivostock sooner
than we expected.
On the 30th August, our Emperor’s namesday, my husband
reviewed the troops on the Square, surrounded by a crowd of
officers of all ranks. The soldiers passed before our windows with an
even step. After the review Sergy gave a lunch to all the military and
civil authorities of the town. In the evening we went to a garden-
party given in the Admiralty Grounds, with all sorts of games, and so
on.
 CHAPTER LXXII
OUR JOURNEY TO KHABAROVSK

September 2nd.—We leave Vladivostock with its mists and fogs to-
day. I, for my part, shall be heartily glad when we can be
comfortably by ourselves at Khabarovsk.
A great number of officers accompanied us as far as the boat on
the Soungatcha river. We had a brilliant leave-taking. I received so
many bouquets that I almost disappeared amongst the flowers. The
railway-station was decked out with flags. A great crowd had
assembled on the platform which was covered with red cloth; a
special train, with a dinner-car attached to it, was awaiting us. Two
sentinels were placed before our saloon-carriage. Whistles are given
to signal our departure. The train steamed out of the station amid
the ringing cheers of the crowd. Standing at the window we answer
the salutes and hand-wavings. Our train crept along at the pace of a
snail, making only twenty miles an hour. Our way leads along the
sea-shore for some time, and then we enter a wide plain, disturbing
the tiger with the locomotive.
At the first stoppage we are received in pomp. A triumphal arch
has been raised, bearing our initials. A deputation of inhabitants
came up to my husband and presented him with “Bread and Salt,”
and the workmen of the railway-line handed me a bouquet almost
too big to carry.
We move very cautiously and slowly, because yesterday the train
which had been run on trial, went off the rails in this place. We see a
number of mansas, Chinese workmen, repairing the line.
At five o’clock we arrived at the point at which the railway ended
and stopped at Nikolskoe, a large military station. We were four
hours late. Dr. Pokrovski and Mr. Koulomsine take from here the boat
on the lake Khanka. They will await our arrival at a place called the
“Third Post.” We chose to go by way of the carriage road, which will
prolong our journey for at least a day or two.
My husband was received on the platform by General Kopanski,
the commander of the troops, who drove us to his abode, situated
about eight miles distant from the railway station. A group of
peasants were awaiting my husband on the square before the
church to offer up their petitions, very queer ones some of them. An
old woman went on her knees holding her request on the top of her
head, in which she asked Sergy to indicate to her the shortest way
to Jerusalem! Our drive through the village caused a great
sensation. The inhabitants stood on their thresholds and stared at
us. I saw some peer at us from the windows, through opera-glasses.
Before General Kopanski’s house a guard of honour presented arms
to my husband, and a platoon of Cossacks defiled before him.
We are here for three days. Our host, though an old bachelor,
knew how to make us as comfortable as possible.
September 3rd.—General Kopanski gave a grand dinner to-day in
our honour. During the repast a military band played selections from
“Faust.” The music led me to a far-away place; I had closed my eyes
and saw St. Petersburg in vision. I kept back my tears with difficulty.
September 4th.—I did not leave my room until dinner-time,
reading a heap of newspapers which had been forwarded from
Khabarovsk; but the news was two months old. One is obliged to
live behind date in this far-away country.
After dinner we went to the camp to assist at the evening retreat.
The big camp, situated about five miles from Nikolskoe, was
decorated with flags and lanterns of different colours. The soldiers
received us with shouts and cheers. When prayers were ended, the
drums beat the salute and a salvo of twenty-six cannons was fired,
after which the spouse of the chief of the brigade offered us tea in a
big tent.
 September 5th.—To-day we are undertaking the most difficult part
of our journey, and shall have to endure the misery of atrocious
roads. At six o’clock in the morning our tarantass, a rattling post-
chaise, was at the door. An escort of two hundred Cossacks on
horseback is trotting close behind our carriage and on both sides of
it, until our first stoppage where we have to change horses. A third
hundred of Cossacks was sent on before, to be divided into parties
of six men to escort us all the way.
Our cortège consists of seven carriages. Whilst we traverse the
camp the soldiers forming a line on each side of us cheer us loudly;
military bands play marches as we drive along. We plodded on
steadily the whole morning and were shaken a good deal on the
badly-made roads. The two first stations were kept by the post
department, but at the third stopping-place a team of three horses,
belonging to different Russian colonists, harnessed together with
utter disregard to size, breed, and disposition, were awaiting us. The
harness was rusty and mended with strings. The driver was with
great difficulty inspired to action, and totally incapable of
transmitting such inspiration to his animals, by coaxing words or
whip. At last the poor hacks moved on, one pulling to the right, the
other to the left. The road was completely deserted; we didn’t meet
a living creature on our way. I was told that these spots were
frequented by tigers, and when I asked a Cossack of our escort if we
had no risk of meeting one, the man answered coolly that it might
happen very easily. Not much comfort from that Cossack.
The roads were very bad, very hilly and rough. We climbed with
difficulty the steep ascents, and descended with still greater
difficulty. Our driver, a peasant boy of about sixteen, drove
atrociously, cutting corners and racing down steep hills. At a
descent, which he took at a tremendous pace, a part of the harness
gave way and the horses became uncontrollable. I was on the act of
jumping out of the carriage when the Cossack, who sat on the box,
succeeded in holding in the horses.
 At each stage the colonists welcomed us with “Bread and Salt.” My
husband received a great number of petitions from the emigrants,
for the greater part complaints from the new settlers against the
colonists, who demanded one hundred roubles for the right of
settling down with them, and oppressed them in every way.
Towards evening we reached a large village, and passed under a
triumphal arch bearing the inscription “Welcome!” We had an hour’s
stop at the village-inn, where we pulled up for dinner. We did honour
to the frugal repast, consisting of cabbage-soup and roasted
chicken, served by pretty village girls arrayed in their Sunday best.
After a drive of less than an hour, we came to a village where we
stopped to rest for the night at the house of the Commissary of
Rural Police.
September 6th.—We went in the morning to hear mass in the
village chapel. The peasant girls were in their national dress, their
long tresses interlaced with gay-coloured ribbons. After church, we
continued our journey. We have yet many miles before us. At the
next station we found a relay of four powerful horses belonging to
the Prison Department. The Inspector of the Prisons, Mr. Komorski,
was at the station to meet us. Our escort was increased by two
Cossack officers. The horses fretted at standing, and I found them a
bit over fresh; they started at a brisk pace. Our driver is a convict
transported for life to Siberia, who had just terminated his ten years
of penal servitude, and will be made a colonist in a short time. On
the way we stopped at the house of a young engineer who is taking
part in the construction of the railway-line beyond the Lake Baikal,
after the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Aral, the largest lake in Asia. As
soon as the horses were sufficiently rested, we proceeded on a road
which had been growing from bad to worse. It is constructed on
marshy ground and is full of ruts and holes in which we jolted and
tossed about. The shocking roads aren’t like roads at all, more like
ploughed fields, inches deep in mud, and so rough that our vehicle
seemed to be propelled by a succession of earthquakes wallowing in
mud half-way deep. Our horses had hard work, sinking almost to
their shoulders at every step. Our Heir to the throne on his tour to
the Orient, when passing this way, had to be drawn by oxen.
At last we reached the convict settlement where Mr. Kopanski
resides, superintending the work on the railway-line of the convicts
sentenced to hard labour. At the present moment he has under his
command three thousand convicts, and one thousand soldiers to
guard them.
Mr. Komorski’s house stands on a small eminence surrounded by
barracks inhabited by convicts, dressed in long grey coats; the
greater part are in chains. A long line of prisoners had half of their
heads shaved, they were runaway convicts, who were brought back
again to these parts. They cheered my husband gaily. A monk stood
on the threshold of the chapel, where a Te Deum was sung by the
convicts.
Mr. Komorski showed us a great deal of hospitality. He has
contrived to give our apartment quite an air of cosiness. On my
dressing-table I saw a bottle of scent bearing the name of “Bouquet
d’Amour” quite a fitting denomination, for we are now in the
provinces of the “Amour.”
All the servants in the house are convicts, who fulfil their duty
perfectly well, nevertheless these surroundings made me feel so
nervous and miserable, that I did not want to be present at dinner
and went to bed immediately after our arrival, under the pretext of a
bad headache. Oh! how horrid it was to hear the sounds of a gay
waltz played by an orchestra of convicts during the repast! I buried
my head in my pillow and had a good cry. I hated our host
ferociously at that moment.
September 7th.—Early in the morning Sergy visited the prisons,
and at eight o’clock we proceeded on our journey. The road had
recently been laid out specially to transport provisions from the boat
to Mr. Komorski’s abode. After a drive of two hours we arrived at a
spot where a copious lunch awaited us in a pavilion set up near the
railway-line. We suddenly came upon a gang of chained convicts
breaking stones on the road, who worked under the eager eyes of
guards with ever-ready revolvers. Whistles were heard giving the
signal to these wretched men to take off their caps at our approach.
I was told that work was assigned to them for twelve hours of
labour. Their food is good, the daily rations consisting of a plate of
soup with 250 grams of meat and a kilogram of bread. In a group of
convicts we saw the son of a General we had known at St.
Petersburg. That unfortunate young man had belonged to one of the
brilliant Guard regiments, and had been sent to the galleys and put
to hard labour for life, for having shot one of his comrades,
(Cherchez la femme!) His pale, haggard face was so painful to
behold.
The last miles leading to the boat were as bad as bad could be.
We were tumbled about like nuts in a bag. We reached towards four
p.m. the Third Post on the banks of the “Soungatcha,” with aching
bones and stiffened limbs. There were our fellow-travellers on the
quay awaiting us, and whom should I see among them but Mr. Li,
the attaché of the Chinese Embassy at St. Petersburg, my summer
cavalier of Music Halls. I must say I was surprised! And I thought I
should never see him again. The world’s small! Mr. Li passed through
Vladivostock on his way to China, on a holiday. When we met our
companions on Lake Khanka, he decided to come all this long way to
see us. He will return to Lake Khanka to-morrow morning. The
director of the Navigation Company on the Amour-river was also on
the quay to meet us. He presented my husband “Bread and Salt” on
a beautiful silver dish, and I received an enormous bouquet.
We are going to travel now by water as far as Khabarovsk. A
handsome steam-yacht named “Ingoda” was lying alongside the
quay, ordered for our use—a vessel gaily tricked out with flags, with
my husband’s standard floating on the overdeck. The yacht was
apparently quite new, all white and gold, with steam-heating and
electricity. We were to travel luxuriously on that dainty thing. I have
a charming cabin with real windows and bed, not a hard shelf, but
quite a wide, springy bed, and blue silk tapestries on the walls; the
covering of the furniture and the curtains are of the same stuff. I
have a toilet-table adorned with white muslin curtains tied with blue
ribbon. The cookery on board is excellent; the head-cook is a
Chinaman. The captain provided soft-moving Chinese waiters and a
Russian maid for me.
We shall weigh anchor only to-morrow morning, because it is
dangerous to sail on the “Soungatcha” by night, the river being very
narrow and winding. After supper the sailors lighted up the boat
with Bengal fires, and barrels of burning tar were placed along the
banks of the river. I sat up half the night on deck, stretched in a
basket-chair chatting with Mr. Li about St. Petersburg, and
awakening so many far-off memories.
Sept. 8th.—We started at 8 o’clock in the morning. Our boat glided
down the swift river advancing very slowly. Our way wound in cork-
screw curves, and the raftsman had to do some clever piloting to
make the turns. On the left side of the “Soungatcha” was China.
Here and there appeared to sight Chinese thatched huts. Natives,
with long tresses, floated in junks on the river. On our side there is
no vestige of habitation; all around the silence was profound; we
seemed to have the world to ourselves. Now we steam on along
lovely green banks fringed with tall trees bending their branches low
over the water and reflected in it as in a mirror. Wild ducks swept
over us, and long-legged herons came quite near to the edge of the
water.
By the time the moon rose we had come to the first halt, a
Cossack settlement situated in the hollow of a valley, where we cast
anchor for the night. Smoke rose over the thatched roofs of the
village; church-bells were ringing for vespers. Two “atamans”
(Cossack delegates) are standing on the quay, holding their huge
staffs of command. A deputation of Cossacks presented “Bread and
Salt” on a glass dish to my husband, and I received as a gift a wild
kid. We saw two men advancing, carrying between them, across
their shoulders, a long pole upon which hung an enormous sturgeon.
There was scarcely room enough on board for the gigantic fish.
 We took a stroll through the village, where we visited the home of
a rich Cossack inhabitant. My husband signed himself as godfather
to his little son, who lay shrieking in his cot. The wee Cossack was
still unbaptised, as there was no priest in the neighbourhood.
Sept. 9th.—The captain waited for the sun to rise to weigh anchor.
Towards ten o’clock we enter the river “Oussouri,” which is
considerably broader than the “Soungatcha.” An eagle is ascending
high up in the skies. The air is so transparent that mountains which
are scores of miles away are distinctly visible. The freshness of the
vegetation is surprising. The furze attains the height of three yards.
We slide along rich verdant valleys strewn with sweet-smelling
flowers. The fresh breeze brings us a penetrating perfume of new-
mown hay.
The next stopping-place was Krasnoyarsk, a big Cossack
settlement. The inhabitants presented us wine in bottles entwined
with branches of grapes. I remained on deck till midnight, admiring
the large river on which the full moon reflected its opal glimmer.
Sept. 10th.—The wind that had risen in the night brought rain. We
intended pushing on to Khabarovsk for the night, but the fog being
very dense, we dropped anchor before Kasakevitchi, a large village
scattered on a hillock.
Sept. 11th.—We are passing the most shallow part of the
“Oussouri.” The water is so shallow that we advance with great
difficulty. We dropped anchor five miles off Khabarovsk. Two barges
with sails were sent to meet us with an officer and thirty rowers, in
case we could not advance further on our boat, and it came out that
it was the barges that had to be helped, for during the night a squall
arose, followed by a shower, which nearly submerged the barges.
The officer and soldiers had to be taken on board.
Sept. 12th.—We are at our journey’s end. Our next station will be
Khabarovsk. We advance very slowly in order not to arrive at
Khabarovsk before the appointed hour—nine o’clock in the morning.
 CHAPTER LXXIII
KHABAROVSK

We approach Khabarovsk, which, like ancient Rome, is built on

seven slopes divided by deep ravines. Each slope has its own
principal street, cut by transversal lanes which descend to the
ravines. Khabarovsk stands at the joining of two grand rivers, the
“Amour” and the “Oussouri.” In about ten minutes a large building
came to view. It was the so-called “Castle,” our future residence, an
imposing red-brick house with the General-Governor’s flag waving
from the roof.
We were received at Khabarovsk with much display of military
pomp, and cheered by the entire population, which was on the pier
to see us land. The quay was spread out with red cloth and
decorated with flags. All Khabarovsk appeared to turn out: men,
women, and children. There was a salute of one hundred and one
cannon-shots from the batteries to welcome us. My husband was
received on the quay by the authorities and the Municipality of the
town. After a speech of welcome, they presented him with “Bread
and Salt” on a silver salver. The Mayor of the town, an exiled Pole,
addressed a few flattering words to me, saying that great things
were expected from me. I was very much embarrassed, and stood
there with burning cheeks.
I entreated Sergy, just the same as at Vladivostock, to walk on to
the “Castle.” We made quite an imposing procession. The town was
dressed all over with flags and the balconies ornamented with
draperies. The streets were lined with people all the way down to
the “Castle.” The windows of the houses were full of faces gazing at
us. A double row of soldiers were placed on each side of the road.
All along the way we were loudly greeted by the people, and
showers of flowers fell at my feet when we passed through the
streets. On our way we entered the cathedral. The church was
crowded. The bishop, in full sacerdotal costume, waited to receive us
and to officiate a solemn mass. Baron Korff, my husband’s
predecessor, is buried inside the cathedral. Sergy laid upon his tomb
a large silver wreath which he had brought up from Moscow. The
schools of Khabarovsk stood in a line from the cathedral right up to
our house. The school girls strewed roses in my path. Then we went
into the “Castle.” The first arrival in my new home was not
encouraging, thanks to the awkwardness of one of my husband’s
secretaries, who gave me a very unpleasant piece of information,
breaking to me the news that the boat Nijni-Novgorod with all our
household, had been wrecked on the coast of Aden. I could scarcely
keep from bursting into tears. I departed to the privacy of my room
and fell into a chair without taking off my hat. I sat and wondered
how I would take to this life. Here I was in a foreign land, a fearful
distance from home! I felt utterly desolate in this great strange
house and looked a picture of forlorn misery. I could control myself
no longer, and burying my face in my hands, I wept and sobbed
unrestrainedly. But I must put a good face upon things before Sergy.
I must and I will!
In the evening there was a display of fireworks which we admired
from our verandah. In front of the entrance blazed an immense
shield with “Welcome” in transparencies, and the initials “B. S.”
(Barbara, Sergius) on it. A military band was playing in the pavilion
of the assembly just opposite us. The idea came to me to go for a
stroll incognito as far as the monument of Count Mouravieff-
Amourski, the conqueror of the Provinces of the Amour. The statue
stands in front of the river on a huge pedestal dominating the whole
plain of the “Amour.” My incognito was soon discovered, and people
made way to us as we walked past the row of curious eyes, on the
boulevard all flaming with garlands of fire. I hate nothing so much
as exhibiting myself. It was very creepy to be stared at like that!
On the next day Sergy sent a telegram to Vladivostock to the
agent of the Volunteer Fleet with inquiries about the fate of the
Nijni-Novgorod and received on the same night a reassuring answer
that the boat was safe and sound, and had just left Colombo.
Our house is so large that we can easily be lost in it. One of the
immense halls is decorated with life-size portraits of our Emperor
and the Heir to the throne, under which, on a silver plate, was
engraved that His Imperial Highness had stopped in the house
during his recent visit to the Orient. From my windows I could look
at the “Amour,” flowing along deep and broad. I enjoyed seeing the
ships crowded with tourists go past.
The first days at Khabarovsk were hard to me. I thought nothing
could make me like the country; nothing except duty would make
one come here! My new home put me in mind of a gilt cage. For
everybody I was the wife of the Governor-General, and treated,
therefore with a deference which I abhor. A new life began for me. I
had duties to perform: official dinners, official receptions—a duty
which was not particularly enjoyable to me. I had to follow my
husband everywhere with outward pleasure and inward rebellion—a
martyr to politeness.
In my quality of President of the Committee of Benevolent Ladies,
I had to send invitations to all the members asking them to attend a
meeting in our house. It was for the first time in my life that I had
assisted at a committee, and being new to my work, I began to get
awfully shy, and stupidly got very red. The flush on my cheek was
scarlet when I was called upon to make a little speech. I felt so shy
that I seemed entirely to have lost the use of my tongue, and forgot
all the words I had learnt by heart. It is terrible that feeling when
people are expecting you to do something and you are sure to
disappoint them. The committee lasted three hours at least. Colonel
Alexandroff, the secretary of the Benevolent Society, began by
reading aloud the account of the previous month. It is concerts,
theatricals, and lotteries which form the essential income of the
Society. The lady-patronesses were long in dividing the poor of the
town by districts between themselves; differences of opinion arising,
and the sitting lasted three hours at least. At the second one I was
over my first fit of shyness, and even gave a short discourse when
opening the meeting. I was chosen President of the “musical and
dramatic circles” that day.
My husband works very hard from morning till night; he rarely had
a moment he could call his own, and hadn’t a second for me, except
at meal-times, and then there was always somebody present.
With what impatience we are awaiting the Nijni-Novgorod with all
our household. In the meantime we are served by convicts who, at
the end of their penal servitude in the Isle of Sakhalin, had been
transferred to Khabarovsk, their place of exile. The head-gardener,
who was sent to the galleys for having drowned his sweetheart, lives
here as man and wife with our laundress, who has poisoned her
husband (a pretty couple indeed!) The principal barber of the town,
when shaving my husband one day, tried to raise his pity, calling
himself a poor orphan bereaved of father and mother, and it turned
out that it was the poor orphan who had sent both parents ad
patres. The locksmith who had been called to mend my trunk,
appeared to have been with Sergy at the military school. The man
was deported to Siberia for having strangled his wife.
My husband happening to visit a prison, saw a man who had
stolen a sturgeon. The law-suit had been going on for three years,
and it is only now that he was sentenced to three months’
imprisonment. During this long lapse of time his wife had died,
leaving him as legacy four little children who were wearing away in
the close atmosphere of the gloomy prison cell, which they shared
with their father, having no other shelter. In one of the sittings of the
“Benevolent Society” we found means to give the poor brats a more
comfortable home.
My husband has promulgated a new regulation. The soldiers who
were sent here to serve terms of three years, have the right—after
having ended their terms, to remain at Khabarovsk for another three
years engaged in diverse works—to be sent, after the lapse of this
time, to Russia, on account of the Government. By these means the
convicts and Chinese servants can easily be supplanted.
 The richest shop at Khabarovsk, situated in a street called
“Straight,” which isn’t straight at all, belongs to a rich Chinese
merchant named Tifountai, where you can buy everything necessary
and desirable, beginning with clothes down to furniture, and all sort
of provisions which are of a fabulous price here, milk products
especially: a pint of cream costs two roubles (four shillings.) We had
to buy three cows and grow vegetables ourselves in hot-houses, and
have thus vegetables all the year round.
Settlers who went out to seek fortune in the Far East, were
beginning to arrive at Khabarovsk. Thirty families of emigrants,
coming from the south of Russia, are quartered in barracks a few
miles from the town. My husband wants to stock with inhabitants
the outskirts of Khabarovsk, flattering himself with the hope that
they will supply the town with provisions. In spring portions of
ground will be distributed to them. In Russia the peasants receive
one acre of land and in this country they will get forty acres of good
land.
There is a good dress-maker in Khabarovsk, the widow of an
officer, who after the death of her husband was left absolutely
destitute, and to support herself took in sewing, making dresses for
Khabarovsk belles.
I lead a regular life: music and books fill up my time. In the
evening I played duets with Mr. Shaniavski, who is an accomplished
musician. A young officer of the garrison, playing the violin, comes
frequently to make up a trio. Our performance lasted sometimes till
after midnight, and Sergy assured me that my partners, thoroughly
tired out, were visibly growing thinner and thinner, and became real
spectres at the end of the performance. Mr. Shaniavski offered to
teach me Italian and Spanish; he is a fine linguist, speaking fluently
several languages. I need music and work to drive away my blue
devils, and have decided to keep friends with Mr. Shaniavski without
paying attention to evil tongues. People are so interested in what I
do, that a hundred-eyed Argus would not be enough to look after
me. Wicked things will be said of me, I am sure, but the calumnies
of the world do not trouble me a bit. What are they really worth?
News from Russia arrives only three times a week. As soon as the
mail-post is perceived from the belfry, one flag is hoisted to signal
the mail from Vladivostock (via America), two flags the post coming
from Blagovestchensk (via Siberia) and three flags the courier from
Nikolskoe (the small local mail). It took long for letters to come; by
the time you get an answer to the questions you made, you may
forget what you were asking about. In October I got mother’s letter
written in July. Only far echoes come of what is going on in the
world outside. I hadn’t got the patience to read the belated accounts
that arrive by post weeks after the events. Here is an example of
how long it takes for news from the civilised world to reach
Khabarovsk. Captain Olsoufieff, Baron Korff’s aide-de-camp, had
been sent by the Baron on business to a remote part of Siberia, and
has learnt only now, on returning to Khabarovsk, that Baron Korff is
dead, and that my husband was his successor! In October the rivers
began to freeze, and the mails were delayed for some weeks. We
got our correspondence by land across the snow-covered mountains
by means of pack-horses, and in what a state can well be imagined.
Our letters were all torn and wet, and it was difficult to decipher the
contents.
Sergy received one day a curious letter from Hackenberg, a small
town in Prussia, from an individual named Wilhelm Doukhow, who
informed Sergy that his grandfather had entered the Russian military
service in 1812, during the retreat of Napoleon, and had
disappeared without vestige. Having learnt by the papers that the
family name of the newly appointed General-Governor of the Amour
provinces was Doukhovskoy, he begged my husband to inform him if
he was not a descendant of his ancestor.
The agents of the Volunteer Fleet gave us constant news of the
Nijni-Novgorod. The last news were rather alarming. The boat had
left Hong-Kong on the 28th September and hadn’t arrived at
Nagasaki at the end of October. Days rolled on and nothing further
was heard of the missing ship. At last we had a satisfactory telegram
from Vladivostock, announcing that our household and trunks had
arrived in safety. The unloading of the boat was done at once, and
our servants took the train to Nikolskoe. A boat named the Khanka
was waiting for them on the “Oussouri” river. Our servants must
hurry as fast as possible in order to arrive at Khabarovsk before the
“Amour” was frozen. In the beginning of November our trunks had
not yet reached Krasnoyarsk, and the “Amour” was beginning to get
covered with ice; in a short time all communication with this Cossack
settlement, which is three hundred miles away from Khabarovsk, will
be interrupted. Sergy wired to the captain of the Khanka offering the
sum of one hundred roubles to his crew, if they managed to arrive at
“Novo-Michailovsk” before the river was altogether frozen, but the
captain did not manage it however, and we got news that the
Khanka with its thirty-five passengers, was caught by the ice within
a few miles of a small village called Kroutoberejnaia, where the boat
will be obliged to winter. Some of the passengers, a travelling
dramatic company going to act at Khabarovsk among them,
managed to make their way to that village. The passengers could
find only one cottage to shelter them all. My parrot, who travelled
with our household, helped to keep everybody in good temper,
repeating his favourite cry “stuff and nonsense!” And thus, thanks to
“Polly” good-humour was re-established, but not for very long, for
no supplies could be got in the surroundings of Kroutoberejnaia, and
the provisions on the boat coming to an end, the passengers had the
prospect of starvation, as well as the danger of being attacked by
“hounhouses” (Chinese bandits.) My husband sent a dozen Cossacks
to protect them. It was with great difficulty that these men got to
the village where the passengers of the Khanka were sequestered,
the roads being almost impracticable. However my husband
succeeded in sending a hundred carts to bring over our luggage.
The first transport had arrived at last, but instead of our pelisses, for
which we waited with such impatience, the trunks contained only
our summer things, and in what a lamentable state! The band-boxes
containing my hats were completely turned into pancakes. On the
29th November the last transport arrived with 120 big cases. All day
long the unpacking was going on, the work of convicts, while joiners
and upholsterers were busy mending our furniture. Many valuable
things were completely ruined.
Every year in October, during the full moon, the Chinese
aborigines of Khabarovsk feasted that planet. They thrust into the
“Amour,” from the top of a mountain, lanterns of all the colours of
the rainbow. Bands of Chinamen walked about the streets perched
on high stilts, shouting and gamboling, to the great joy of the
populace.
Every Sunday I go to church, where I try to hide myself behind
one of the pillars, having the uncomfortable sensation of being
stared at. The deacon of the cathedral is a legendary personage. He
was born in America from a Russian colonist and a negress. In his
early youth he embarked as ship-boy on board an American vessel
which was wrecked on the shores of Vladivostock. One day, as the
boy sat on the beach-seat overlooking the sea, forming plans for his
future, dressed in rags and famished, he attracted the attention of a
rich Austrian merchant, who took him to his house and employed
him as aid to his cook. But the castaway, hearing the silent call of
the sea, ran away to America, where he became a sailor and
ultimately an officer. His second escape from shipwreck was still
more romantic. The current sent him with two comrades on a block
of ice on which they passed eight days. Being famished, they began
by eating their boots, and then decided that one of them should be
sacrificed to be devoured by his companion, they drew lots and that
terrible fate fell upon the poor castaway who offered up a prayer for
preservation, and vowed that if this miracle was vouchsafed, he
would become a priest. He had given himself up for lost and was
about to blow out his brains, when they perceived, quite close, a
black mass. It was an enormous seal which they killed on the spot,
and which served as a sumptuous feeding-ground until they were
rescued by a passing ship. The future deacon, in gratitude, carried
out his promise.
 One Sunday morning, before Mass, a group of strange wild
people, belonging to the “Golde” tribe, dressed in seal-skins
presented my husband with a stag’s head. These “Goldes” are a
curious tribe—pagans to the bottom of their hearts. They are
baptised twice sometimes, because it is the custom to give them a
shirt and a small sum of money when they pass through the ritual of
Christianity. The priests, therefore, have to make minute inquiries to
be quite sure that the new candidate had not been baptised before.
The “Goldes” have prominent cheek-bones, a broad nose, and very
coarse and straight hair. Their faces long remain hairless, a scanty
beard grows only in their old age. They are dirty people like all
nomads, and smell awfully bad; the atmosphere in our apartments
was filled with the perfume of their persons. These malodorous men
examined everything with great curiosity; the parquet-floors,
especially, attracted their attention. We offered tea to the “Goldes,”
who carried away the remains of the bread and sugar; it is lucky
they didn’t take away the tea-things. I saw from my window two
pairs of dogs, harnessed to sledges, being driven at full gallop across
the ice to the other side of the Amour. It will be a difficult task for
my husband to tame these savages, who camp in winter in the
woods, and live on what they hunt, killing the animal with their
arrows. As the “Goldes” have no ready-money in their commerce
they pay with sable-furs instead of coins.
On the following day the “Goldes” were celebrating their “Feast of
the Bear.” They bring up all the year round a young bear and devour
it on that day. After lunch a “Golde” brought his two wives to be
presented to me. They offered me a model of their national
costume, richly embroidered.
Mme. Beurgier has invented a new pastime. Having become a
strong adept of spiritualism, she occupies herself with table-turning,
and is always discovering some new occult genius, who promises to
show her some wonderful manifestations from spirit land. At night
she frightens out of her wits poor Mrs. Serebriakoff, whose
apartment was next to hers, by conversing with the spirits of the
defuncts, who guide her in every smallest action of her life. She had
been very sulky and cross for some time past, and said that the
spirits advised her to leave Khabarovsk as fast as possible. I did not
try to detain her, most certainly. Her luggage was already sent to the
railway station, when she came up to bid me good-bye, and when I
asked her if she would write to me from time to time, she replied
“No,” curtly. And that was her last word to me. Nevertheless I rushed
after her, racing downstairs and kissed her warmly, which softened
the poor old lady. She began to weep and went to announce to
Sergy that it was beyond her power to leave me. She left us for
good, however, a week afterwards.
We have now been three months at Khabarovsk. I can’t get
accustomed to this life. If I could but follow the example of Mme.
Beurgier and fly away from here! All my brightness has gone and my
nerves are put out of order. I don’t know what is the matter with me
at all; for no reason on earth I suddenly burst into tears and cry for
hours. Sergy tried to rouse me from the apathy into which I was
falling deeper and deeper every day. I shook myself at last, and am
getting back my spirits and my colour. I certainly was not going to
let myself grow into a moping misanthrope.
The winter is splendid at Khabarovsk; the sky always clear of
clouds and no wind whatever, and for that reason one does not feel
the cold so much, though the thermometer shows over twenty
degrees of frost every day. The snow falls only once, in the
beginning of winter, and keeps white until spring. But the weather
has no effect whatever upon me, and very often when the sky is of
azure blue, black thoughts overwhelm me; and vice versa. The air in
the apartments is excessively dry. I am often awakened at night by
the creaking of the furniture. We have to suspend wet blankets in
our bedroom as it is impossible to sleep otherwise.
We have learned by a newspaper-telegram from St. Petersburg
that an earthquake, preceded by a formidable underground noise,
had shaken Khabarovsk. It is very strange that nobody had felt it
here. It comes out that it is from a writing in a local paper,
describing an earthquake at the distance of 800 miles from
Khabarovsk, but the correspondent of St. Petersburg had omitted
the 800 miles, and it is thus that the false report spread out.
Every Sunday we give a grand dinner with a military band playing
during the meal. Our head-gardener is a veritable artist in the
arrangement of the dinner-table. There were always pretty bunches
of flowers before each plate. At the sound of a drum the gentlemen
offered their arms to their respective ladies and marched to the
dining-room. One Sunday my cavalier was a Chinese General, who
had just arrived from Pekin. He watched the way his neighbours
were eating but made, nevertheless, fearful blunders, and did
everything wrong with his knife and fork. The French proverb that
“Nul n’est prophete dans son pays,” has no hold over that important
personage of the Celestial Empire, who is reckoned as an oracle in
Pekin. He has learnt thoroughly the mystic sciences from Indian
fakirs. When drinking my health he congratulated me, through his
interpreter, at the forthcoming birth of a son. He said he could read
it in my eyes. Foolish man! The mandarin gave me his visiting-card
printed on a piece of red paper on which was stated, in Chinese
hieroglyphics, that he was the bravest man in the army, and his wife,
the most important lady in the land. He was not very modest, the
maggot.
Another day we had to dinner Mr. De Windt, an English writer, who
came for a few days to Khabarovsk, after having visited the Island of
Saghalien. In remembrance of our short acquaintance, he sent me
his last work from London, a very interesting novel.
A great Charity Bazaar was planned for Christmas. The biggest
prizes were to be a horse, a cow, a baby-bear, twelve suckling pigs
and a couple of rabbits. We made a great deal of money at the
bazaar. I was doing splendidly, and in about an hour or two there
were no more tickets in my wheel.
On the third day of the Christmas week, the Goldes organised
dogs’ races on the ice. Five pairs of dogs dragged the sledges. The
fancy took me to experience that mode of polar locomotion. I
established myself sideways on the shaft with my legs projecting
over the sledge, and was afraid all the time of the dogs who ran
behind me biting at my heels; they really looked as if they
contemplated making their lunch off my legs.
I have been starved of music for long, and was enchanted when
Kostia Doumtcheff, a boy violinist, gave a concert at Khabarovsk. He
is only thirteen years old and has already toured the world as a
“Wunderkind.” His execution is quite extraordinary for so young a
performer.
With the Chinese every month begins with the new moon. This
year the 14th January was their New Year’s day. The Chinese quarter
of the town was brilliantly illuminated, and a procession of monsters
made of paste-board, marched through the streets. An enormous
dragon made of paper, a nightmare beast, was carried by Chinamen
hidden from view, giving the complete illusion that it was creeping
along. The monster is so long that a score of men is required to
carry it. Behind the dragon came Chinamen oddly arrayed, carrying
garlands of coloured paper-flowers and chains of fantastical form
hanging on long poles, bearing huge banners with different religious
devices. All this was accompanied by a loud flourish of trumpets, and
the gongs made all the time an infernal noise.
Towards the middle of April, when the weather became milder, a
military band played three times a week in the square. I listened to
it lying back on a rocking-chair on the veranda, feeling quite safe
from observation.
We have a veritable menagerie in our garden. General Kopanski
sent me a pair of beautiful white swans from Nikolskoe; Tifountai
presented me with a deer; and a Golde brought me two sables, very
wicked little animals, who watched for every opportunity to snap at
the legs of the passers-by through the bars of the cage.
At the end of the month of May, Mrs. Kohan, my singing mistress,
arrived from Moscow with her two little daughters. Her husband has
recently been appointed military doctor at Khabarovsk.
 In June Sergy went to inspect the troops beyond the Baikal
mountains. He will be away about two or three weeks. I dreaded to
let him go so far away, and decided to rejoin him on his way back at
Sretensk, a town situated at 2,500 miles from Khabarovsk.
10th July.—Except Mrs. Serebriakoff, who accompanied me on my
voyage to Sretensk, there were only two passengers on our steamer;
one of the directors of the Navigation Companies on the Amour, and
a German pastor from Vladivostock. We started at noon. A brilliant
welcome was given me at our first stopping place, a rich Cossack
settlement; but I didn’t leave my cabin, for I hate to share my
husband’s honours when I am travelling with him, and hate it still
more when I am alone. Directly the darkness came, we dropped
anchor before another settlement, awaiting the rising of the sun.
July 11th.—We started at dawn. The banks are very picturesque.
We are passing the green mountains of Hingan, which are clearly
outlined on the blue sky. Beyond these mountains one comes upon
rich gold mines.
July 12th.—Towards night we dropped anchor on the coast of a
Chinese village on the left bank of the river.
13th July.—Early in the morning we passed Argon, a dirty Chinese
town with big pools of water here and there; one would need stilts
to walk across the unpaved streets full of children, pigs and evil
smells. Towards noon, we arrived at Blagovestchensk, a large and
populous town.
Declining the honours the authorities of Blagovestchensk wished
to bestow on me, I telegraphed to General Arsenieff, the governor of
the town, that I could receive no one on board, having decided to
play the invalid, and was disagreeably surprised to see that a great
crowd awaited me on the quay. Mrs. Arsenieff forced my cabin door
open and transmitted to me three big bouquets tied with broad
ribbons, sent by her husband, the chief of the Cossack regiment
quartered at Blagovestchensk, and the Prefect of the Police.
 July 15th.—The weather is lovely. We glide rapidly on the calm
water. The banks are deprived of life. I have the impression of
travelling in the land of the “Sleeping Beauty,” not a sound around
us.
July 16th.—We stopped at midday before a Cossack settlement.
The steps leading to the quay were covered with red cloth and
strewn with flowers; a triumphal arch was erected, bearing at the
top my monogram. Under the arch stood two “atamans.” A group of
young girls, dressed in their best, came to offer me flowers.
July 17th.—This morning we met a steam-launch carrying on
board the Archbishop of Blagovestchensk, going to inspect his
diocese. Towards night, we saw a raft, twice as large as our boat,
transporting emigrants. A wooden fire was burning in the middle of
the raft, around which horses and peasant-carts were piled. We
came to grief at night, running on the bank in the dark, and had to
drop anchor on the Chinese shore before a small town, having
broken the screw. Navigation is difficult in these parts because of the
strong current.
July 18th.—At dawn my maid came to wake me. She told me that
a Chinese General, the Governor of the town before which we were
anchored, was standing on the quay, sword in hand, waiting to be
presented to me. But our interview didn’t take place. We sent a
rocket by way of compliment to the warrior of the Celestial Empire,
and glided past him. After dinner, we came alongside a large
Cossack village where we were to halt. A number of girls with their
school-mistress and a platoon of Cossacks were standing on the
quay. The chief of the platoon sent up a loud cheer for me, and his
men threw up their caps in the air and shouted themselves hoarse.
July 19th.—We are passing the whole day before the stations
named “The Seven Capital Sins.” Towards night we stopped before
the “Fourth Sin.” These stations have been fitly named: their aspect
takes away every desire to sin. I never saw such God-forsaken
places!
 July 20th.—We glide through districts completely submerged by
the recent overflowing of the rivers. Whole villages disappeared
under the waters. There was great distress and great poverty
everywhere; my heart ached for the poor inhabitants. Steadily the
waters ascended and the raging torrent tore off the trees, breaking
them away. It was a scene of desolation like the deluge. The houses,
the cattle, the fields, all were destroyed. Now a window, now a door
tore past; chimneys, slates, tiles, whirled about like so much paper.
July 21st.—We passed this morning before a Cossack settlement
without stopping. On the quay a platoon of Cossacks was ranged.
The men started running after our boat along the bank, shouting
hurrahs to me as to a queen. Indifferent to all their honours, I only
counted the hours which separated me from my husband.
Towards midday we approached Sretensk. Sergy was waiting for
me on the quay, surrounded by a large suite and a group of ladies,
who came up to greet me. I immediately went over to Sergy’s boat
on which I received many visitors. During dinner we suddenly heard
loud shouts of alarm. It was a big raft full of emigrants which had
broken loose from the shore and was drifted straight on to us. It had
been rather a bad moment. In less time than it takes to write, I had
jumped out on the quay, and just in time, for a collision took place;
the raft struck against our boat and was carried away further by the
torrent. A steam-launch was sent after it, which brought it back safe
and sound to the port. In the evening there were fireworks on the
quay.
July 22nd.—A Te Deum has been performed this morning on the
square before the church, after which my husband reviewed the
troops. Before leaving Blagovestchensk, Sergy gave a grand lunch to
all the military chiefs on board.
We started back to Khabarovsk in the afternoon. A large company
of ladies and officers accompanied us in a steam-launch to the first
stoppage. We landed and walked through the village and visited a
Cossack one hundred years old.
 July 23rd.—We are going swiftly down the “Amour.” Towards
evening we landed at Mokho, a large Chinese town, where we were
invited to dinner by a Chinese General, the chief of the district. We
saw him advancing towards our boat with measured steps,
accompanied by his suite. He greeted us with great dignity, and
when the usual ceremonies were terminated, after much bowing and
scraping, according to Chinese fashion, the Mandarin conducted us
to his abode, a small cottage with a dilapidated-looking roof. Before
the cottage my husband was received by a Chinese guard of honour,
who after having presented arms, threw themselves face downwards
on the ground. At the sound of an enormous drum they stood up,
shouting piercingly, and raising up their halberds in the air, whilst all
around rifles were being fired. Chinese soldiers were standing in
groups, carrying signs of their rank on their back and chest, written
on disks of white stuff. We entered a square room and took our
place at long table set with Asiatic dishes, amongst which a sucking-
pig occupied the first place. I sat on the right of our host, who was
very attentive to my wants; he piled my plate high by means of
small ivory sticks. The table was spread with all sorts of curious
looking foods. This wonderful dinner did not come in courses, but
the whole of it was placed on the table at once—a Gargantuan meal:
soft-shell crabs, sausages of mouse-meat, little fried animals looking
like spiders and other horrid things stood in a long procession. Every
dish was unfamiliar; I didn’t know at all what I was eating. Having at
last discovered a dish to my taste, I helped myself with a fresh
portion of it, and oh, horror! it appeared to be dog’s meat. The
Chinese General clinked his empty goblet with my glass full to the
brim, which signified that I had to drink the whole contents of it. Our
host never cuts his nails as it seems, for they were of phenomenal
length, veritable claws. I was told afterwards that the length of the
nails of a Chinaman are a sign of aristocracy: it means he never
works. Through the half-opened door we saw a crowd of Chinese
soldiers straining their necks to peep over each other’s heads and
satisfy their curiosity. At parting, our host bade us a courteous
farewell, and presented me with several pieces of silk.
 24th July.—We travelled to-day from sunrise to sunset without
stopping.
25th July.—We arrived at Blagovestchensk in the afternoon, and
will leave to-morrow at dawn. The Governor and his family came to
dine on board.
26th July.—It was about three o’clock in the afternoon when we
arrived at Khabarovsk. A great crowd was on the quay to greet us. I
was glad to find old friends and bowed and smiled from right to left,
shaking hands with people as we passed. I received a whole harvest
of flowers.
The railway between Khabarovsk and Vladivostock is opened.
Vladivostock can be reached now in four days.
In September Sergy had to go up to Vladivostock, where he had
some business to attend to. He sent me news regularly. On the 11th
September, the anniversary of our sojourn at Khabarovsk, Sergy
thanked me by wire for having shared his exile during a whole year.
The inauguration of the gymnasium for young ladies took place on
the 30th August. The head-mistress and the architect who
constructed the gymnasium, met us at the door at our arrival,
followed by one of the youngest pupils, a pretty little girl, who
recited an ode composed in favour of my husband, with a little
complimentary address to me, after which the bishop performed a
Te Deum before the image of St. Barbara, my Patroness, which was
painted from my portrait.
There is a museum at Khabarovsk in which, amongst other local
curiosities, I saw horrid busts of different murderers who had died at
Khabarovsk during their penal servitude. The most repulsive bust is
that of a convict who had killed and devoured his comrade. I could
not have believed it possible to put such a thoroughly ferocious
creature into wax.
A steamer has just come in, towing a large barge with about one
hundred women sentenced to penal servitude, who are to be taken