These reindeer they kill very cruelly,
by stabbing them in various parts of their bodies, to please the cruel
gods, or rather cruel devils whom they worship.
Has no one tried to convert the Ostyaks to God? The emperor of Russia
will not allow protestant missionaries to teach in Siberia. He wishes the
Ostyaks to belong to the Greek church, and he has tried to bribe them
with presents of cloth to be baptized; and a good many have been
baptized. But what good can such baptisms do to the soul?
The Russians do much harm to their subjects, by tempting them to buy
brandy. There is nothing which the Ostyaks are so eager to obtain, as
this dangerous drink. On one occasion, a traveller was surrounded by a
troop of Ostyaks, all begging for brandy, and when they could get none,
they brought a large heap of frozen fish, and laid it at the travellers
feet, saying, "Noble sir, we present you with this." They did get some
brandy in return. Then, hoping for more, they brought a great salmon, and
a sturgeon, as long as a man. They seemed ready to part with all they
had, for the sake of brandy.
Thus you see how much harm the Ostyaks have learned from their
acquaintance with the Russians. The chief good they have got, has been
learning to build houses; for once they lived only in tents.
THE SAMOYEDES.
This tribe lives so far to the north, that they see very little of the
Russians, though they belong to the emperor of Russia.
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