Y A K Y A N 727 they abandon their wooden dwellings and encamp in conical tents, consisting of a few poles covered with prepared birch bark. Their food is chiefly flesh, and their drink koumiss. Though nearly all are nominally Christians, they retain much of their original Shaman ism. Their settlements, which formerly were limited to the valleys of the Lena and its northern tributaries, are now steadily advancing southwards into the hunting domains of the Tunguses, who give way before the superior civilization of the Yakuts. "Wherever they penetrate, even in the valleys at the base of the Vitim plateau (Muya, Tchara), they always cultivate some barley, and carry on some trade. 1
- cuja- Both the Russians and the Yakuts cany on some agriculture
ms. wherever possible in the southern parts of the province ; it wag estimated in 1879 that 40,000 quarters of barley, summer rye, wheat, and oats were cropped in Yakutsk (23,000 quarters by the Yakuts). But cattle-breeding is the chief means of support ; in 1879 there were in Yakutsk 130,400 horses of an excellent small, but most hardy breed, 260,900 cattle, 49,000 reindeer, and several thousands of dogs, which are used for travelling purposes. The hunting of the wild reindeer affords the chief means of subsistence iu the tundras ; wealth or famine depends upon its success or failure. The herds are attacked on the routes they pursue during their migrations, especially where they have to cross a river. Farther north the pursuit of water-birds, which come in innumerable flocks to breed on the lakes of the tundras and the shores of the ocean, is a most important resource. Fishing also is carried on even in winter from beneath the ice. The mountains between the Lena and the Yitim have, during the last thirty years, become a most important centre of gold- washings, and, notwithstanding the diffi culties of communication, and the necessity of bringing every thing from Irkutsk or Transbaikalia, the population of the gold mines of the Olekma and Vitim numbered more than 13,000 in 1882. Thousands of workmen go every spring down the Lena to work at the mines and return to their villages in autumn, torn- The principal channel of communication in Yakutsk is the Lena, aunica- As soon as the spring arrives, scores of boats are built at Katchug, ion and Yerkholensk, and Ust-Ilga, and the goods brought on sledges in rade. winter from the capital of Eastern Siberia, including considerable amounts of corn and salt meat, are shipped down the river. Steamers ply all along its course, and enter its tributary, the Vitim, which is navigated almost to the gorges beneath Lake Oron. A few steamers descend to the delta of the Lena, and return with cargoes of fish and furs. There are very few overland routes. A new one, available for the transport of live stock from Transbaikalia to the gold-mines of Olekma, was opened in 1869, and cattle are brought every year from Transbaikalia, notwithstanding the hardships of the 700 miles route across the plateau and the wild mountain tracts. Two other routes, also mere footpaths, on which travellers and goods are transported on horseback, radiate from Yakutsk to Ayan and to Okhotsk. Manufactured goods and groceries, chiefly tea, rice, and sugar, were imported to Yakutsk by the former route to the amount of some 1000 cwts. in 1883 ; these goods cross the Stanovoi Mountains and the plateau on sledges as far as the Maya, whence they are shipped to Yakutsk. The province is divided into five districts, the chief towns of which are YAKUTSK (see below), Sredne-Koiymsk (560), Olek- minsk (500), Verkhoyansk (290), and Viluisk (390). Except Yakutsk, these "towns" are but miserable villages. (P. A. K.) YAKUTSK, capital of the above province, situated in 02 2 N. lat. and 129 44 E. long., 1800 miles to the north-east of Irkutsk, was founded by Cossacks in 1622. It stands on a branch of the Lena, Khatystakh, between which and the main river, five miles distant, lie several low islands. During the break-up of the ice the water of the Khatystakh, finding no outlet into the Lena on account of the huge masses of ice, rises and floods the lower parts of the town, leaving after its subsidence great pools, which, as well as Lake Tatoye close by, become a source of infectious disease. The town is, however, pro tected to some extent by a wooden embankment. The old fort is now destroyed, but its five wooden towers, erected in the 17th century, are still standing. The streets are xinpaved, and the wooden houses are built upon high base ments to protect them from the inundations. The shops only are of stone. There are in Yakutsk a cathedral, three churches, a monastery, two gymnasia for boys and girls, and several elementary schools. It is the residence of the 1 Besides the older literature, the bibliography of which is given iu SemenofTs Geogr. Dictionary (Russian), compare RadlotFs Aus Siblricn (Leipsic, 1884) ; F. Miiller s Tungusen und Yakuten (Leipsie, 1882) ; and Vambery s Das Tiirkenvolk (Leipsic, 1885) ; aud several interest ing monographs iii Izvestia of Eu.st Siberian Geogr. Soc. Russian governor and the provincial authorities, as well as of a few wealthy merchants, who carry on trade in furs, mammoth bone, and reindeer hides, which are ex ported to Russia, and in imported groceries and manu factured goods. The arrival of the latter gives occasion to a fair in July, which is frequented by natives from all parts of the province ; the returns are estimated at about 450,000. The population was 5290 in 1885. YAM, a term usually applied to the tubers of various species of Dioscorea. These are plants with thick root- stocks, from which protrude long slender, climbing stems, bearing alternate or opposite, entire or lobed leaves and unisexual flowers in long clusters. The flowers are gener ally small and individually inconspicuous, though collect ively showy. Each consists of a greenish bell-shaped or flat perianth of six pieces, enclosing six or fewer stamens in the case of the male flowers, and a three-celled, three- winged ovary in that of the female flowers. The ovary ripens into a membranous capsule, bursting by three valves to liberate numerous flattish or globose seeds. The species are natives of the warmer regions of both hemispheres, and many of them are important on account of the large amount of starch contained in their tubers. According to Prof. Church s analysis of the Chinese yam, it contains more nutritive or nitrogenous matter, but less starch, than potatoes : in 100 parts there are of water 82 6, starch 13 1, albumen 2 4, fat 2, woody fibre 4, and mineral matter 1*3 parts. D. sativa and D. alata are the species most widely diffused in tropical and sub-tropical countries. D. aculeata, grown in India, Cochin China, and the South Sea Islands, is esteemed one of the best varieties. I), japonica, the Chinese yam, is hardy in Great Britain, but the great depth to which its enormous tubers descend renders its cultivation unpi ofitable ; the tubers of D. alata some times attain a weight of loO lb. Most of the yams contain an acrid principle, which is dissipated in cooking. The only European Dioscorea is that known as D. pyrenaica, found in 1845 in the Pyrenees, a remarkable instance of a species growing at along distance from all its congeners. True yams must not be confounded with the sweet potato, Convolvulus Batatas (see vol. xix. p. 597), as they sometimes are in London markets. The common black briony (2 amus communis) of hedges in England is closely allied to the yams of the tropics, and has a similar root- stock, which is reputed to be poisonous. YAMBO, or YEMBO, more properly YANBO , a town of Arabia on the Red Sea, in 24 4 N. lat. Having the best harbour on this coast, it has taken the place of Al- Jar (which lay to the south and is now ruined) as the port of Medina, and is visited by steamships in connexion with the pilgrim traffic and for the import of grain. The town is surrounded by dilapidated walls, and the fixed population probably does not exceed 4000 (Von Maltzan). The Johaina Arabs are the dominant element, though there is a Turkish officer and guard who maintain a certain authority within the walls. Six or seven hours journey inland at the base of the mountains (Jebel Radwa) is the fruitful valley of Yanbo al-Nakhl, with palm-groves, several hamlets of the Johaina, and country houses of the merchants of the port. This inland town, or group of villages, is the Yanbo 1 of the old Arab geographers, and lies on the route of the Egyptian pilgrim caravan, one night s journey from the famous battlefield of Bedr. The port is sometimes distinguished as Yanbo 1 al-Bahr (Yanbo e on the Sea). YANAON, a French settlement in India, near the mouth of the Godavari on the Orissa coast, in the Goda- vari district, Madras presidency. It is situated in 1G 44 10" N. lat. and 82 12 5" E. long., and has an area of 2258 acres and a population of 4473. Yanaon was founded shortly before 1750, and its fortunes followed the vicissitudes of French history in southern India. With the other French possessions in India it was secured by the treaty of
1814-15.