Terrified, the rest of the
inhabitants swore submission and fidelity to Russia, kissing a sabre
dipped in blood. The present cantons of Ratzin, Karbin, and Turtass
dared oppose no resistance. Farther on began the encampments of the
Ostiaks and the Vogules of the Kuda. There, on the steep bank of the
Irtysh their prince Demian, who had taken refuge in a fort with two
thousand warriors ready to fight, rejected all Icrmak's propositions.
According to the report of the annalist: "This little town possessed
within its walls a golden idol which was supposed to have been brought
from ancient Russia at the epoch when she embraced Christianity. The
Ostiaks kept it in a vase filled with water which they drank to revive
their courage. The Cossack leaders, having driven away the besieged
forces with their artillery, entered the town, but they could not
discover this precious idol."
The conquerers now continued their navigation. They perceived a crowd of
soothsayers who were offering a sacrifice to their famous idol of
Ratscha, conjuring it to save them from these terrible strangers. The
idol remained mute, the Russians advanced with their "thunder," and the
frightened soothsayers ran to hide themselves in the thickness of the
forests. It is there that the colony of Ratscha is found to-day, above
the Demiansk.
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