Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VI. Spring Scenes in Samara
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belated seven hours! In stoic calm, he spread his cloak on the
tloor and joined the company of sleepers, and after a cup of tea
we did the same. At nine the coming of the train was
announced for mid-day; it proved to be two p.m. The cold was
30° Réaumur (about 35-36° Fahr.). On the way a priest told
us that in his village, which contained 1,600 people, there was
only one horse left; all the rest were starved or killed.
At Bagatoye we left the train, it being then dusk. We
found that one of our cases of canned goods had been stolen,
and that the express telegram, despatched from Samara twenty
hours before, had not yet been forwarded. We had, in
consequence, to send for conveyances to the nearest village, Sani, each
drawn by two small shaggy horses, tamdem fashion. On the
way the Count beguiled the time by telling me stories of the
nomadic races who had lived on these steppes, and fought
heroically for their freedom.
We lodged that night with a mushik acquaintance of the
Count’s, who seemed to be considerably above the usual run.
Not only was his place much cleaner than was common, but it
had a plank flooring. We slept on the floor in thick blankets,
the lamp overhead burning all night. In the morning our
hostess poured water over our hands as we washed, a Russian
custom of hospitality. After a breakfast of tea and bread we
pushed on, and soon arrived at Pakovka, the village which
Count Lyeff used as his centre. His headquarters consisted of
a one-storied izba, divided by partitions into three small
rooms; one for sleeping, one for entry, reception-room, and
kitchen, and one for dining-room, parlour, and office. The
second was constantly crowded with mushiks. No sooner had
we arrived than we were besieged. The Count went to work
at once, and all the time I was with him he took but few hours
of rest by night or day.
That was Saturday. One of our drivers had been a fine,
neatly-dressed youth, who had told me of his connection with
the Molokhan sect, and on my expressing a wish to be present at
one of their meetings had offered me a hearty welcome. Birukoff
and I went next day, at 9 a.m., and found in a large izba about two
hundred people collected; the women and children were
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