The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• A Defence of the People of England, In Answer to Salmasius’s Defence of the King. *
• A Treatise of Civil Power In Ecclesiastical Causes; Showing That It Is Not Lawful For Any Power On Earth to Compel In Matters of Religion.
• Considerations Touching the Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings Out of the Church. Wherein Is Also Discoursed of Tithes, Church-fees, and Church-revenues; and Whether Any Maintenance of Ministers Can Be Settled By Law.
• A Letter to a Friend Concerning the Ruptures of the Commonwealth.
• The Present Means and Brief Delineation of a Free Commonwealth, Easy to Be Put In Practice, and Without Delay.
• The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence Thereof, Compared With the Inconveniencies and Dangers of Readmitting Kingship In This Nation.
• Brief Notes Upon a Late Sermon, Titled, the Fear of God and the King.
• The History of Britain, That Part Especially Now Called England, From the First Traditional Beginning, Continued to the Norman Conquest:—collected Out of the Ancientest and Best Authors Thereof.
• The First Book.
• The Second Book.
• The Third Book.
• The Fourth Book.
• The Fifth Book.
• The Sixth Book.
• Of True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration; and What Best Means May Be Used Against the Growth of Popery.
• A Brief History of Moscovia, and of Other Less Known Countries Lying Eastward of Russia As Far As Cathay.
• The Preface.
• Moscovia: Or, Relations of Moscovia, As Far As Hath Been Discovered By English Voyages; Gathered From the Writings of Several Eye-witnesses: and the Other Less Known Countries Lying Eastward of Russia As Far As Cathay, Lately Discovered At Several Time
• Chapter I.: A Brief Description.
• Chapter II.: Of Samoëdia, Siberia, and Other Countries North-east, Subject to the Muscovites.
• Chapter III.: Of Tingoësia, and the Countries Adjoining Eastward, As Far As Cathay.
• Chapter IV.: The Succession of Moscovia Dukes and Emperors, Taken Out of Their Chroniles By a Polac, With Some Later Additions. †
• Chapter V.: The First Discovery of Russia By the North-east, 1553, With the English Embassies, and Entertainments At That Court, Until the Year 1604.
• A Declaration of Letters Patents, For the Election of This Present King of Poland, John the Third, Elected On the 22d of May Last Past, A. D. 1674.
• Letters of State to Most of the Sovereign Princes and Republics of Europe, During the Administration of the Commonwealth and the Protectors Oliver and Richard Cromwell.
• Letters Written In the Name of the Parliament.
• Letters Written In the Name of Oliver the Protector.
• Letters Written In the Name of Richard, Protector.
• A Manifesto of the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland, &c.
• The Second Defence of the People of England, Against an Anonymous Libel Entitled “the Royal Blood Crying to Heaven For Vengeance On the English Parricides.”
• Familiar Epistles, Translated From the Latin, By Robert Fellowes, A. M. Oxon.
• I.: To His Tutor Thomas Jure.
• II.: To Alexander Gill.
• III.: To the Same.
• IV.: To Thomas Jure.
• V.: To Alexander Gill.
• VI.: To Carolo Deodati.
• VII.: To the Same.
• VIII.: To Beneditto Bonomattai, a Florentine.
• IX.: To Luke Holstein, In the Vatican At Rome.
• X.: To Carolo Deodati, a Florentine Noble.
• XI.: To Hermann Milles, Secretary to the Count of Oldenburgh.
• XII.: To the Renowned Leonard Philara, the Athenian.
• XIII.: To Richard Heth.
• XIV.: To Henry Oldenburgh, Aulic Counsellor to the Senate of Bremen.
• XV.: To Leonard Philara, the Athenian.
• XVI.: To Leo of Aizema.
• XVII.: To Ezechiel Spanheim, of Geneva.
• XVIII.: To Henry Oldenburgh, Aulic Counsellor to the Senate of Bremen.
• XIX.: To the Noble Youth, Richard Jones.
• XX.: To the Accomplished Youth Peter Heinbach.
• XXI.: To the Accomplished Emeric Bigot.
• XXII.: To the Noble Youth Richard Jones.
• XXIII.: To the Illustrious Lord Henry De Bras.
• XXIV.: To Henry Oldenburgh.
• XXV.: To the Noble Youth Richard Jones.
• XXVI.: To the Illustrious Lord Henry De Bras.
• XXVII.: To the Accomplished Peter Heinbach.
• XXVIII.: To John Badiaus, Minister of the Church of Orange.
• XXIX.: To Henry Oldenburgh.
• XXX.: To the Noble Youth Richard Jones.
• XXXI.: To the Accomplished Peter Heinbach, Counsellor to the Elector of Brandenburg.

CHAPTER II.

Of Samoëdia, Siberia, and other countries north-east, subject to the Muscovites.

North-east of Russia lieth Samoëdia by the river Ob. This country was first discovered by Oneke a Russian; who first trading privately among them in rich furs, got great wealth, and the knowledge of their country; then revealed his discovery to Boris protector to Pheodor, showing how beneficial that country gained would be to the empire. Who sending embassadors among them gallantly attired, by fair means won their subjection to the empire, every head paying yearly two skins of richest sables. Those messengers traelling also two hundred leagues beyond Ob eastward, made report of pleasant countries, abounding with woods and fountains, and people riding on elks and loshes; others drawn on sleds by rein-deer; others by dogs as swift as deer. The Samoëds that came along with those messengers, returning to Mosco, admired the stateliness of that city, and were as much admired for excellent shooters, hitting every time the breadth of a penny as far distant as hardly could be discerned.

The river Ob is reported§ by the Russes to be in breadth the sailing of a summer’s day; but full of islands and shoals, having neither woods, nor, till of late, inhabitants. Out of Ob they turn into the river Tawze. The Russians have here, since the Samoëds yielded them subjection, two governors, with three or four hundred gunners; have built villages and some small castles; all which place they call Mongozey or Molgomsay.∥ Further upland they have also built other cities of wood, consisting chiefly of Poles, Tartars, and Russes, fugitive or condemned men; as Vergateria, Siber, whence the whole country is named, Tinna, thence Tobolsca on this side Ob, on the rivers Irtis, and Tobol, chief seat of the Russian governor; above that, Zergolta in an island of Ob, where they have a custom-house. Beyond that on the other side Ob, Narim, and Tooina, now a great city.¶ Certain churches also are erected in those parts; but no man forced to religion; beyond Narim eastward on the river Telta is built the castle of Comgoscoi, and all this plantation began since the year 1590, with many other towns like these. And these are the countries from whence come all the sables and rich furs.

The Samoëds have no towns or certain places of abode, but up and down where they find moss for their deer;* they live in companies peaceably, and are governed by some of the ancientest amongst them, but are idolaters. They shoot wondrous cunningly; their arrow-heads are sharpened stones, or fish bones, which latter serve them also for needles; their thread being the sinews of certain small beasts, wherewith they sew the furs which clothe them; the furry side in summer outward, in winter inward. They have many wives, and their daughters they sell to him who bids most; which, if they be not liked, are turned back to their friends, the husband allowing only to the father what the marriage feast stood him in. Wives are brought to bed there by their husbands, and the next day go about as before. They till not the ground; but live on the flesh of those wild beasts which they hunt. They are the only guides to such as travel Jougoria, Siberia, or any of those north-east parts in winter;† being drawn on sleds with bucks riding post day and night, if it be moonlight, and lodge on the snow under tents of deer-skins, in whatever place they find enough of white moss to feed their sled-stags, turning them loose to dig it up themselves out of the deep snow: another Samoëd stepping to the next wood, brings in store of firing: round about which they lodge within their tents, leaving the top open to vent smoke; in which manner they are as warm as the stoves in Russia. They carry provision of meat with them, and partake besides of what fowl or venison the Samoëd kills with shooting by the way; their drink is melted snow. Two deer being yoked to a sled, riding post, will draw two hundred miles in twenty-four hours without resting, and laden with their stuff, will draw it thirty miles in twelve.

[§ ]Purch. part 3. p. 543, 540.

[∥ ]Ibid. 524, 526.

[¶ ]Purch. part 3. p. 526, 527.

[* ]Purch. 522, 555.

[† ]Ibid. 548.