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INDUSTRIES  OF  RUSSIA 


SIBERIA 

///  AND 

THE  GREAT  SIBERIAN  RAILWAY 

WITH    A    GENERAL    MAP 

BY    THE 
Department  of  Trade  and  Manufactures  Ministry  of  Finance 


FOR   THE 


WORLD'S  COLUIBM  EXPOSITIOI 


CHICAGO 


EDITOR     OF     THE    ENGLISH     TRANSLATION 


JOHN  MARTIN  CRAWFORD 


U  S   CONSUL  GENERAL  TO  RUSSIA. 


Vol  V 


ST    PETERSBl'lHi 

1893 


t 


Published  by  tlie   Department  of  Trade  and  Manufactures  Imperial  Ministrj'  of  Finance. 


628905 


Printers  E.  A.  Evdokimov,  Great  Italianskaia  11. 


PKEFACE . 


Ill 


PREFACE. 

The  beginning  of  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian  Rail- 
way, which  will  unite  the  most  distant  points  of  Europe  and  Asia 
and  will  draw  the  Old  World  nearer  to  the  Xew,  practically  coincides 
with  the  celebration  of  the  400th  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of 
America. 

The  accomplishment  of  this  magnificent  and  historic  task  has 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  Russia.  Notwithstanding  the  enormity  of  the  ma- 
terial expenses,  Russia  has  cheerfully  and  earnestly  accepted  the 
undertaking,  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  peaceful 
acquisition,  of  knowledge  and  of  labour. 

The  Great  Siberian  Railway  will  benefit  not  only  Russia,  it 
will  do  great  service  to  the  material  and  spiritual  cultivation  ot  hu- 
manity, and  from  this  point  of  view  will  acquire  much  importance 
and  interest  for  the  whole  civilized  world.  Following  this  idea,  Mr. 
S.  J.  Vitte,  Minister  of  Finance,  commissioned  the  Department  ot 
Trade  and  Manufactures,  to  prepare  for  the  World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position at  Chicago  a  description  of  this  great  r-ailroad,  and  also  of 
Siberia,   a  land  little  known  to  the  people  outside  ol  the  Empire. 

The  present  volume  therefore  contains  a  history  ot  the  occupation 
and  colonization  of  this  extensive  territory,  its  geographical  description, 
the  review  of  its  industry  and  trade,  the  description  of  its  land  and  water 
communications,  and  finally  the  history  and  contemporary  state  ot 
the    questions    concerning    the    construction    of   the    Great    Siberian 


IV 


.SIIiCIClA. 


Kailwav.  In  order  to  explain  inoie  clearly  the  <,a-ography  of  the 
laiui,  this  work  is  liiriiishecl  with  a  map  of  the  Russian  Empire 
showiii.^  the  .general  network  of  Kiissian  railways,  together  with  the 
(ireat  Siberian  l\ailwa\  as  well  as  the  principal  deposits  ol  the  noble 
metals,    with   which  the  coiinlrv   is  richly  provieled. 

The  present  edition  has  been  accomplished  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  \'.  I.  Kovalevsky,  Director  of  the  Department  of  Trade  and 
Manufactures,  and  President  of  the  Imperial  Russian  Commission  lor  the 
World's  Columbian  ]:xposition  at  Chicago,  together  with  the  active 
assistance  of  Scnatc^r  P.  P.  Semenov,  Vice-President  of  the  Imperial 
Russian  Geographical  Society,  a  man  well  known  to  the  civilized 
world  through  his  geographical  works,  lliis  volume  is  being  simul- 
taneously translated  into  the  English  language  with  the  kind  assistance 
of  the  Consul-General  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  J.  M.Crawford,  who 
consented  at  the  request  of  the  Imperial  Ministry  ot  Pinance  to 
supervise  and  edit  the  English  translation  of  this  work. 


-^^^ 


PREFACE    TO    THE    ENGLISH    TRANSLATION. 


PREFACE 

TO   THE 

ENGLISH   TRANSLATION. 

Of  that  great  expanse  of  territory  reaching  all  the  way  from 
the  Ural  mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  from  the  Frozen  seas 
to  the  borders  of  the  Celestial  Empire  there  is  perhaps  little  more 
than  the  name,  S  i  b  e  r  i  a,  authentically  known  to  the  general  public. 
Yet  Avith  its  wide-stretching  plains,  its  magnilicent  water  systems  and 
its  unknown  wealth  of  noble  metals  and  other  valuable  mineral  de- 
posits buried  in  its  bosom,  there  is  for  such  a  land  a  future  too 
great  to  be  overlooked  at  the  present  day. 

With  the  steel  rails  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  piercing 
their  steady  way  through  the  vast  country  to  the  Far  East,  thus 
completing  the  great  arc  of  the  circle  that  in  direct  lines,  winding 
about  the  50th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  will  steam  around  the 
world,  the  resources  of  this  great  unknown  become  of  immediate 
importance  to  our  own  Paciiic  slopes,  and  through  them  to  the 
whole  people  of  the  United  States.  It  was  therefore  with  great 
satisfaction  that  I  welcomed  this  the  5th  \-olume  of  the  series  on 
The  Industries  of  Russia,  designed  for  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition,    and    accepted    the    invitation    oi    the    Imperial    Minister 


Yl  j'i;i;iA' i;    im    iiii.    i.m.i  i^ii    1 1;  \\>j.aii<)N. 

of  l-'iiiancc  to  cilii  and  supervise  its  translation  into  l-n_i;lish.  In  lull 
realization  ol  its  unquestionable  interest  and  value  to  tlie  Amer- 
ican i^eople  I  ha\e  labouretl  hard  to  make  this  lidition  as  laithlul 
to  the  ori_i;inal  as  the  \ery  limited  time  and  cxii^cncics  ol  the  case 
wouki  permit. 

Together  with  an  historical  account  ol  tlie  conquest  ol  .Siberia, 
of  the  subjui^ation  ol  the  petty  princedoms  and  nomads,  with  a 
glimpse  of  the  colonization  going  on  up  to  the  present  day,  and 
with  a  re\iew  ol  the  efforts  of  the  Governmcni  to  induce  the  various 
Siberian  tribes  to  adopt  settled  modes  ol  lile  and  engage  in  regular 
industrial  pursuits,  will  be  iound  a  lull  and  scientific  resume  of  its 
flora  and  fauna,  of  its  mineral  resources,  its  possibilities  of  agriculture 
and  trade,  and  oi  its  climatic  and  physical  characteristics. 

This  work  contains  also  numerous  official  tables  and  statistics 
covering  the  several  industries  ol  the  country,  and  is  accompanied 
with  a  general  map,  showing  among  other  matters  oi  interest  the 
various  railway  surveys  that  have  been  made,  examined  and  rejected, 
as  well  as  the  line  which  now,  in  process  oi  construction,  winds  its 
way  along  the  rivers,  over  the  mountains  and  across  the  vast  plains 
on  its  way  to  the  eastern  shores,  thus  to  form  a  tiirough  raihvay 
route  from  ocean  to  ocean  in  the  Old  as  in  the  New  W^orld,  to  the 
mutual  advantage  of  the  two  great  and  friendly  nations,  the  Empire 
of  Russia  and  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

To  His  Excellence,  Mr.  \'.  1.  Kovalevsky,  Director  of  the  De- 
partment of  Trade  and  Manufactures,  Actual  Councillor  ol  State, 
and  President  ol  the  Imperial  Russian  Commission,  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  ably  assisted  by  Senator  P.  P.  Semeno\',  Mce-Pres- 
ident  ol  the  Liiperial  Russian  Geographical  Society,  is  due  the  well- 
earned  credit  and  honour  of  formulating  and  of  carrying  out  the 
original  idea  of  His  Excellence,  Mr.  S.  J.  \^itte.  Imperial  Minister  of 
Finance,  with  reference  to  the  preparation  of  this  work,  and  ol 
editing  and  publishing  the  same  in  the  Russian  language. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    ENGLISH    TKAXSLATION,  VII 

Although  this  volume,  like  all  the  others  ot  this  series,  has  been 
prepared  in  extreme  haste  and  under  very  great  difficulties,  rendering 
it  impossible  to  avoid  errors,  nevertheless,  I  trust  the  reader  will 
find  pleasure  and  profit  in  examining  this  authentic  and  official 
resume  of  the  present  and  future  interests  of  that  enormous  and 
immensely  rich  country,  Siberia,  the  Great  East  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  separated  only  by  pacific  waters  from  the  Great  West 
of  the  United  States,  and  which  are  destined  in  the  near  future  to 
be  in  intimate  commercial  relations  with  each  other. 

J.  M.  Crawford. 
St.  Petersburg,  August  15,  1893. 


CONTENTS.  IX 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Preface Ill 

Preface  to  the  English  Translation      V 

Russian  weights  and  measures ■  .   .   .    .  XI 

CHAPTER    I.  Historical  sketch 1 

Geographical  and  administrative  division  of  Siberia;  its  occupation,  exploration 
and  settlement;  the  first  contact  of  the  Russians  with  Siberia;  their  appearance 
upon  the  Amour;  struggle  with  China;  beginning  of  permanent  colonization: 
surrender  of  Russo-American  possessions  to  the  United  States  Government: 
scientific  explorations  in  the  Amour  country;  occupation  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe; 
annexation  of  Semirechinsk  and  Zailisk;  necessity  of  building  a  great  railway; 
visit  to  Siberia  of  His  Imperial  Highness  the  Grand  Duke  Tsessarevich: 
foundation  of  the  Siberian  Railway  Committee. 

CHAPTER    II.  Geographical  Review  of  Siberia 22 

Western  Siberia:  its  component  parts;  review  of  the  Altai  slopes;  the  lowlands: 
their  division  into  three  zones;  their  climatic  conditions;  flora  of  the  Altai 
slopes  and  valley;  fauna  of  Western  Siberia;  its  population;  distribution  of 
domestic  animals. 

CHAPTER  III.  Eastern  Original  Siberia .  34 

Its  Sayan  borderland;  the  division  of  Eastern  Siberia  into  three  zones;  clima- 
tic conditions  of  each;  the  flora  and  fauna  of  Eastern  Siberia;  its  population; 
distribution  of  domestic  animals. 

CHAPTER  IV.  The  Yakutsk  Frontier  Country 44 

Orographic  and   hydrographic   review;  division   into   two   zones;   their  climatic 

conditions;  vegetation  and  fauna;  composition  of  population;  natives  of  Yakutsk 

borderland;  Arctic  ocean,  its  islands,  flora  and  fauna. 
CHAPTER    V.    The    Amour-Littoral    Borderland '  .  55 

Division  into  four  regions;   the  contours,   climatic   conditions,   flora,   fauna  and 

population  of  each  of  them;  Okhotsk  and  Behring  seas. 
CHAPTER  VI.  The  Kirghiz  steppe  Region 76 

Its  division  into  the  mountain  and  steppe  teiTitories;  orography  and  hydrography 

of   each;    flora;    fauna;    population,   its    composition    and    distribution   in   the 

mountain  and  steppe  zones;  importance  of  cattle  breeding. 
CHAPTER  VII.  Tenure  and  use  of  land 86 

Foundations  of  land   tenure;   dividiug   Siberia   into   districts   and   their  general 

character;    agriculture;   production  of  bi'eadstuffs;   raising  of  cattle;  live  stock 

industry  among  the  Kirghiz. 


X  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

(  ll.\r'J'i;i;    \III.   riic  forosl  w.-allti   of  Siberia 116 

An.'ii  or(iii)i<ti  hy  imcsi;  iioiiln;rii  lull  trco  forests;  bircli  forest  zone;  mountain 
woodlands;  ohstuclos  to  tin!  iiitrodiiftii.ri  of  forr;stry  into  Siberia;  Forest  Adniin- 
istration;  Unv.si  linsbandry  in  lOaslein  Sibfiia;  ('rown  forests  in  tbe  Amour  ref,'ion. 

(]l.\r'n:R  IX.  The  industries  of  the  rural  population 122 

iiniiistrial  oaniiiit;s;  lisbin^,'  and  linntin^';  f/atberiiif,'  of  cedar  nuts;  bee  keeping; 
bowltif^'  (d'  tinihcr  and  wood  fin-i;  kiisiar  industries;  currying  trade;  concluding 
ri'inarlvs. 

(  IIAI'li;!;.   X.   Hiintinij  and   fii.'  fur  industry  in   the   Far  East 129 

Seal  industry;  Kussiun  Anierican  Company;  Hutchinson,  Cool,  Filipeus  and  Co; 
yield  of  seal  skins;  Iraile  in  skins;  piratical  destruction  of  the  seals;  iuterna- 
tioiuil  ugreeuients  for  the  seal  industry;  beaver,  arctic  fox,  morse  and  whale 
trades;  fur  imlustrics;  mammoth  ivory. 

(11 A  ITER  XI.    Industry,  Commerce  and  Ways  of  Communication.     . 145 

Mineral  wealth  and  the  mining  and  metallurgical  industries;  gold,  silver,  lead 
and  copper;  ir6n,  tin,  mercury  and  sulphur;  coal,  graphite,  naphtha,  salt; 
precious  minerals  and  building  materials, 

CHAPTER  XII.  Manufacturing  Industry  and  the  home  trade 194 

Excisable  industries,  spirit,  vodka,  beer  and  mead;  beet  sugar,  tobacco  and 
matches;  non-excisable  productions;  trade  dues;  turnover  and  profits;  trade  in 
towns;  fairs  and  their  importance. 

CHAPTER  Xin.  The  foreign  trade  of  Siberia 206 

The  Far  East;  import  and  export  of  Russian  and  foreign  goods;  trade  with 
China;  ports  of  the  Arctic  Ocean;  tea  trade;  freights;  western  China  and 
Turkestan. 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Water  and  overland   communication 223 

Transport  of  goods  between  European  Russia  and  Siberia  by  the  Volga  and 
Obi;  Obi- Yenisei  canal;  Yenisei  and  Angara;  the  Baikal;  Lena  and  Amour  basin; 
the  Volunteer  Fleet;  overland  communication. 

CHAPTER  X'W  The  Great  Siberian  Railroad;  historical  review  of  the  question  concerning 

the  Siberian  railway 238 

The  first  proposals;  northern,  central  and  southern  directions  of  the  road; 
engineers  Ostrovski  and  Siedcnsner;  construction  of  the  road  in  Vladivostok; 
its  condition  on  March  10,  1893. 

CHAPTER  XYL  Topographical  and    technical    conditions  of  the  Great    Siberian    Railway 

and  its  cost 248 

Cheliabinsk-Obi;  Obi-Irkutsk;  Irkutsk-Mysovsk;  Mysovsk-Sretensk;  Sretensk- 
Khabarovka;  Khabarovka-Gvafskaia;  Grafskaia-Vladivostok;  the   total  cost. 

CHAPTER  XYII.  Importance  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway 260 

Its  importance  for  agriculture,  colonization,  metallurgy,  gold  industry  and  for 
the  home  and  foreign  trade. 


— ^<S- — 


RUSSLVX    WEIGHTS    AND    MEASUEES.  XI 


RUSSIAN  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


The    following  tables   will   serve   to   define    the   Russian    weights    and   measures    in 

terms    of    the    French    Metric    System,    as   also    those    which    are    used   in    the    United 

States. 

I.   Long  measure. 

The   lineal  measures  of  Russia  have  for  a  unit    the  foot,   which,   according   to  the 

laws  of  Peter  the  Great,  is  the  same  as  the  English  foot. 

1  Russian  foot  =  1  English  or  United  States  foot. 

»  =  12  inches  =  120  lines  =  l,2iX)  points. 

»  =  0-304794  metre  =  30-4794  centimetres. 

1  Russian  arshine  =16  vershoks  =  28  inches. 

-  =  2^'3  feet  =  'I'g  or  0*77778  yard  =  0-71118  metre. 

1  Russian  sagene  =  7  feet  =  3  arshines. 

»  z=  2-13356  metres  =  213-356  centimetres. 

»  =  2-3333  yards. 

1  Russian  verst  --=  500  sagenes  =  3,500  feet. 

»  =  1066-78  metres  =  1-06678  kilometres. 

»  =  0-66269  English  mile. 
1  geographical  mile  =  6-956  versts  =  7*420  kilometres. 

»  =  4-601  English  miles 

II.   Square  measure. 

1  square  sagene         =  49  sq.  feet  :=  4-5521  sq.  metres. 

»  =  5-4444  sq.  yards. 

1  dessiatine  (Russian  land  measure)  =  2,400  sq.  sagenes. 

;^  =  1-0925  hectars  =  2-6997  acres. 

1  square  verst  ^=  250,000  sq.  sagenes  =^  104-17  dessiatines. 

»  =  1-1380  sq.  kilometres. 

»  =  0-43916  sq.  English  mile. 

1  square  geographical  mile    —  48*38  square  versts. 

"  =:  55-O6       »      kilometres. 

-■>  =:  21*25       ;>      English  miles. 

III.  Cubic  measure. 

1  cubic  inch  =  16*386  cubic  centimetres. 

1  cubic  sagene  =  343  cubic  feet. 

»  =:  9-7 J  2  metres. 

»  =  12-704  cubic  yards. 


XII 


A(;icirri.TL'R!-   and  fokkstuv  in  hissia. 


1   cliciveit 
J  clit'tverik 


I  vciiro 


1  berkovets 

J  poiul 

1  Russian  poiim 


1  zolotnik 


I)  i;   ^      M   i:  A  s  I'  K  K. 
H  cliftvciiks  —  2WU  heclolilro!?. 
bVblu  Amorlcari  biisliel.s. 
8  quarts  —  1601*22  cubic  inches. 

lilt'  volume  of  G-1  Russian  pounds  of  water  at  iSVa"  R.  temperature. 
20-208  litres  =  0-2G238  hectolitre. 
0'74'l(i  AmiMicaii  bushel. 

L  I  c^  r  I  ii     M  K  A  s  r  K  !•:. 
V<n  of  a  barrel  --  1<»  shtolTs  or  kroiizliki  =  Ty0"57  cubic  inches  = 
volume  of  30  Russian  poun<ls  of  water  at  IS'/a"  R.  temperature. 
: 2-290  litres. 
2-707  English  or  3-249  American  gallons. 

IV.  Avoirdupois  weight. 

10  pouds  =  0-1638  metric  ton  =  163-80  kilograms. 

0-161217  English  ton  =  3-2243  cwt. 

40  Russian  pounds  =  0-0J638  metric  ton  =  16-380  kilograms. 

0-32243  cwt.  or  32-243  Eng.  lbs. 

32  lots  =  96  zolotniks  =  weight   of  25-019   cubic   inches  of  water 

at  13^/3°  R.  in   vacuo. 

0-40951  kilogram  =  409.51  grams, 

0-90282  English  pound. 


T  K  0  Y 
=  90  dolee. 
=  4-2657  grams. 
=  65-830  grains  Troy, 


WEIGHT. 


1  rouble    paper  per  dessiatine 
J       »        gold      ■>  » 

1  kopeck  paper 


gold 

paper 

gold 


poud 

-> 
chetvert 

poud  of. wheat 


ton. 
bushel. 


paper 

gold       ;>  •■> 

1  chervert  per   dessiatine 
1  poud  »  >> 

1  vedro        ->  ■> 

1  kopeck  paper  per  poud  and  verst 
1      »       sold      2       »       s       » 


V.   Complex  table. 

=  19-06  cents  per  acre. 
=  28-59     :>       »      » 
=  31-9        :> 
=  47-88     ;> 
=  0-0863    » 
=  0-1295    »        ;>.        » 
=  1-282      :>       »        » 
=  1-923      ;>        :>         ^ 
=  2-2081  bushels  per  acre. 
=  13-377  English  pounds  per  acre. 
=  1-204  American  gallons  per  acre. 
=  48.15  cents  per  ton  and  mile. 
"  72-225    »       .->     »      »       » 
^<S 


HISTORICAL   SKETCn.  1 

SIBERIA. 

AND    THE 

GREAT    SIBERIAN     RAILWAY. 

CHAPTER    I. 
Historical    Sketch. 

Geographical  and  administrative  division  of  Siberia;  liistorical  review  of  its  occupation,  explo- 
ration and  settlement;  its  subdivision  into  five  large  geographical  regions;  its  administrative 
division;  the  first  contact  of  the  Russians  with  Siberia  by  means  of  the  Stroganovs;  annexation 
of  a  part  of  Siberia  to  Russia  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century;  gradual  occupation  by  the 
Russians  of  the  v^-hole  of  Siberia  in  the  course  of  the  seventeenth  century;  first  attempts  at 
navigating  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  the  Behring  and  Okhotsk  seas;  appearance  of  the  Russians 
upon  the  Amour;  struggle  with  China  for  the  possession  of  the  Littoral-Amour  country;  the 
Xerchinsk  treaty ;  beginning  of  permanent  colonization  of  Siberia  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth, 
and  its  gradual  realization  during  the  eighteenth  century;  establishment  of  frontier  defense 
lines  called  forth  by  the  necessity  of  protecting  colonization;  development  of  colonization 
under  the  shelter  of  these  lines;  scientific  explorations  by  sea  and  land  in  Siberia  in  the 
eighteenth  century;  surrender  of  Russo- American  possessions  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States;  acquisition  of  Sakhalin  and  surrender  of  the  Kuril  Islands  to  Japan;  settlement 
and  exploration  of  Siberia  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century;  annaxation  of  the  Amour 
tract  in  the  beginning  of  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century;  scientific  explorations  in 
the  Amour  Littoral  country;  gradual  occupation  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe  country  in  the  course 
of  the  nineteenth  century;  annexation  to  Russia  of  the  country  of  Semirechinsk  and  Zailisk 
in  the  beginning  of  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century;  significance  and  consequence 
of  this  fact  so  important  to  the,  history  of  Asiatic  Russia;  colonization  of  Siberia  in  the 
second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  the  position  of  the  colonization  question  at  the 
present  time;  recognition  of  the  necessity  of  building  a  great  railway  through  Siberia;  visit  to 
Siberia  of  the  Tsarevich;  and  the  foundation  of  the  Siberian  Railway  Committee. 

UNDER  the  name  Siberia,  in  the  most  widely  accepted  meaning  of  the  word,  are  understood 
all  Russia's  Asiatic  possessions,  with  the  exception  of  Transcaucasia,  the  Transcaspian 
territory  and  the  Turkestan  governor  -  generalship.  Accordingly  the  Ural  chain  and  river 
would  appear  to  be  the  natural  boundary  between  European  Russia  and  Siberia.  But  the 
Ural  chain,  colossal  in  its  linear  extension,  but  not  attaining  any  elevation  and  traversable 
almost  imperceptibly  in  its  lowest  passes,  with  its  mineral  wealth  scattered  chiefly  over  its 
eastern  slope,  was  never  like  other  great  mountain  chains  on  the  earth's  surface,  a  separa- 
ting banler  in  the  etnographical  and  economical  life  of  the  peoples,  but  on  the  contrary,  from 
the  time  of  the  occupation  of  Siberia  by  the  Russians,  proved  as  it  were,  a  line  uniting  Euro- 
pean and   Asiatic  Russia. 

The  Transural  districts  of  the  Perm  govornnient,  in  which  the  mineral  wealth  of 
the  Urals  is  most  abundant,  and  which  ai'c  the  lai'gest  furnishers  of  grain  to  the  Ural  mining 
population,  have  long  been  reckoned  not  to  Siberia  but  to  European  Russia.  In    like   manner 

1 


MIIKKIA 


iilsd  111--  M.).|M  1  ,.M  and  Tiiif/ai  ivt,'ioiis,  \)iisH\nt!  far  bnyoiid  tin-  I'ral  river  and  pc-netrating 
dfM!|)ly  into  111.'  inl.'rior  of  Asia,  an-  not  counti-d  as  bidoiitfing  to  Siberia,  because  tho  centres 
of  Kravity  of  iln'Sf  rf^jons,  tbal  is,  lh<'ir  administrative  fentrr-s,  are  situated  iu  EunjiM^an  Russia. 
'J'iiiis,  Sil).Tia  is  .•oiniM.s.Ml  of  tli.'  followiuK'  parts:  ].  Two  ^'ov•!rn^l<'Ilts  of  the  basin  of  the 
riviTOhi,  naMi<'ly,Tol).dslv  and  Tomsk,  formiiif^  tin- so-raijr-d  Woslcrn  Siberia;  these  governments 
cuten-d  foiinrrly  intu  lli.'  r..in|M,sition  <>{  a  sprdal  (.'ovcrnor-gi-ncralship  now  abolished,  but 
art' at  prt's.-nt  gov.'rn.'d,rarli  s.-parat.-ly,  iip(«n  idmliral  lim-s  with  lli.-  governments  of  Europ<'an 
Russia.  2.  'I'wn  govi-rnnKMils  of  tin'  basin  (d"  lln^  Yt'uissci,  namely  Ycnisseisk  ami  Irkutsk,  f«jr- 
niing  111"'  so-eallrd  Kaslmi  Siberia,  in  llie  slriel  srnse  (d'  Uir  Iitmi,  and  .■nlcring  into  the 
composition  of  the  Kasi  Siberian  g(»vernor-generalship.  These  two  component  parts  of  Siberia 
form  the  original  Siberia,  iliat  is,  that  Siberia  which  was  long  ago  and  constantly  occupied 
by  I{iissian  colonists,  and  where  from  ei(/lity  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  population  belong  to 
tiir  Kussiaii  rae.«.  The  rrinainin^r  parts  of  Siberia  form  those  outskirts  of  the  country,  which 
from  their  very  nature  or  from  their  remoteness  are  yet  very  little  settled  by  the  Russians 
and  either  oeciipird  by  primitive  Asiatic  or  native  peoples  or  arc  deserts  and  even  absolutely 
niiiMliaiiit.'il,  and  may  In'  cniiipaivd  iidt  with  the  states  but  with  the  territories  of  the  United 
States.  To  these  outlying  regions  of  Sitx-ria  belong:  3.  The  Yakutsk  region,  constitutinj/  in 
respect  to  administration  the  Yakutsk  territory  alone.  This,  the  most  vast  of  all  the  Siberian 
territories,  occupies  the  Immense  basin  of  the  Lena  and  the  less  considerable  basins  of  the 
smaller  rivers,  for  example,  the  Yana,  Indighirka  and  Kolyma  falling  into  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
The  Yakutsk  territory  in  administrative  respects  forms  a  part  of  the  East  Siberian  governor- 
generalship.  4.  The  Amour  and  Littoral  region;  this  consists  of  three  teiTitories,  constituting 
the  Amour  governor-generalsliip,  namely  Transbaikalia,  the  Amour  and  the  Littoral.  These 
teiTitories  cover  the  whole  of  the  Russian  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Amour  and  the  whole 
coast  zone  bidonging  to  the  basin  of  tlie  Pacific  or  rather  of  the  Japan,  Okhotsk  and  Behring 
seas,  including  the  vast  peninsula  of  Kamchatka  and  the  island  of  Sakhalin.  5.  The  steppe 
Kirghiz  resioii:  this  consists  of  three  territories,  comprised  in  the  Steppe  governor-generalship, 
namely:  those  of  Akmolinsk,  Semipalatinsk  and  Semirechensk,  in  former  times  known  under 
the  collective  name  of  the  Kirghiz-Kaissak  Hordes  and  Steppes.  Composed  as  above,  Siberia 
occupies  the  immense  area  of  250,000  square  geographical  miles,  being  twenty-five  times  greater 
than  Germany  and  tw'o  and  a  half  times  Euporean  Russia. 

The  annexation  of  Siberia  to  the  Russian  Empire  took  place  at  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  occupation  by  the  Russians  of  this  vast  country  was  effected  without 
any  particularly  bloody  wars  and  hardly  cost  the  Government  an  effort.  The  free  Cossacks 
very  rapidly  conquered  Siberia,  and  after  them  other  intrepid  seekers  of  booty  poured  in 
like  a  wave. 

The  principal  pioneers  in  the  occupation  of  Siberia  at  that  time  were  adventurers, 
such  as  traders,  sable  hunters,  trappers  and  fishermen.  Organizing  artels  or  societies  they 
distanced  by  far  the  Government  colonization,  and  scattered  themselves  over  unknown  wastes. 
In  one  spot  they  collected  yassak,  or  a  tax  on  furs;  in  another  they  destroyed  wild 
animals,  and  looked  for  fish  and  mammoth  tusks;  they  drove  off  or  bartered  the  cattle 
belonging  to  the  natives;  they  established  whole   industries  by  collecting  hops,  cedar  nuts  et 


UISTOKICAL    SKETCH.  3 

cetera.  In  the  steps  of  the  traders  followed  the  inoiind  men  or  excavators  of  barrows  (kur- 
gans)  for  the  precious  objects  contained  in  them.  Under  the  inflneuce  of  searches  for  riches 
the  Siberian  pioneers  became  transformed  Into  vagabonds  and  nomad  adventurers,  S(»  that 
the  Government  had  afterwards  to  make  great  efforts  to  bind  them  to  the  land. 

A  short  history  of  the  conquest  of  Siberia  may  be  marked  by  the  following  facts. 
The  first  raids  upon  the  Yugra,  a  Finnish  tribe,  one  inhabiting  the  present  government  of 
Tobolsk,  were  already  made  in  the  twelfth  century  by  enterprising  traders  from  Novgorod, 
whom  the  Yugra  attracted  by  their  valuable  peltry.  These  raids,  be  it  observed,  had  no 
character  of  conquest  but  always  ended  with  the  taking  of  ransom  in  the  form  of  costly 
furs.  More  definite  relations  of  the  Russians  to  the  Siberian  peoples  began  only  with  the 
sixteenth  century,  namely,  with  the  time  when  Russia,  after  destroying  the  Tartar  kingdoms 
of  Kazan  and  Astrakhan,  took  possession  of  the  whole  extensive  basin  of  the  river  Volga, 
whose  branches  brought  pioneers  of  Russian  colonization  into  the  deptlis  of  the  Urals,  with  its 
abundant  mineral  wealth.  Passing  over  the  easily  traversed  Ural  chain,  these  pioneers  were 
bound  to  come  into  conflict  with  Tartar  tribes,  inhabiting  or  wandering  over  the  region 
across  the  Urals,  and  under  the  powerful  hand  and  protection  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  began 
gradually  to  subject  them,  at  first  to  their  influence,  and  then  to  their  sovereignty. 

In  the  year  1555  ambassadors  came  to  the  Tsar  from  Y^ediger  and  other  Siberian 
princelings,  oppressed  by  their  southern  co-tribesmen,  praying  to  be  accepted  as  his  subjects, 
agreeing  to  the  imposition  of  a  tribute  on  condition  that  he  should  send  them  some  of  his 
people.  The  Tsar  assented,  but  such  allegiance  was  very  unstable  as  Y'ediger  hoped  that  the 
protection  and  help  of  the  Tsar  would  restrain  his  enemies  from  attacking  his  possessions, 
but  these  expectations  were  not  realized.  Xot  receiving  the  desired  protection  and  help,  ami 
as  hard  pressed  as  before  by  his  hostile  neighbours,  he  began  to  pay  his  tribute  irregularly, 
and  on  the  accession  to  the  Khanate,  of  Kuchum  this  tribute  ceased  altogether,  and  the 
Russians  who  came  for  it  were  not  infrequently  killed.  The  firm  allegiance  of  Trausuralia 
only  came  about  in  consequence  of  the  movement  of  the  Russian  population  undertaken  with 
industrial   and   commercial   objects   towards  the  north-east. 

A  great  importance  in  the  history  of  this  movement  attaches  to  the  family  of  the 
Stroganovs.  The  Russian  princes  possessing  vast  tracts  of  unsettled  lands,  very  willingly  assigned 
them  temporarily  to  enterprising  and  rich  people  on  the  condition  that  they  should  settle  them 
and  cultivate  the  land,  the  said  pioneers  being  afforded  every  possible  privilege,  such  as 
freedom  from  taxes,  trade  unfettered  by  duties,  and  the  right  of  administering  justice  to  the 
settlers.  The  Stroganovs  with  their  great  wealth  appear  as  the  chief  settlers  of  the  great  north- 
eastern tracts.  In  the  reign  of  Ivan  the  IV,  these  rich  manufacturers  and  traders  penetrated 
into  the  depths  of  the  river  region  of  the  Kama,  and  in  155S  petitioned  the  Tsar  to  grant 
them  land  along  the  Kama  to  the  Chussovaya  on  condition  that  they  should  build  a  town 
there,  develop  industry,  raise  troops  and  defend  the  region  from  the  attacks  of  wild  hordes. 
It  was  difficult  for  the  Government  to  (h^fend  the  Kama  region  with  its  owft  forces,  on  account 
of  its  remoteness,  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  constantly  being  subjected  to  attacks  and 
forcible  devastations  on  the  part  of  tln'  Cisural  and  Traiisural  tribes.  Therefore,  the  propo- 
sition   made   by    the   Strogonovs   seemed   very  advantageous:    their   prayer   was   granted,  all 

1* 


4  >I1IKKIA. 

l<imls  of  privili'p's  w.-iv  j/ivi'ii  tlif^m  for  20  ycai-.  ..uu  in.-  >.-illers  bound  themselves  to 
build  st(.fkadfs  and  to  inaintiiiii  troops  at  their  own  expense.  A  few  small  towns  quickly 
a|pp';iiv,|  <,ii  the  sput,  iniliisiry  iii<n'asi-d,  the  Russian  population  grew  and  eslahlished  itself 
lirnily  in  places  till  thru  unknown  V>  it.  Thus,  the  Stro^'anovs,  thanks  to  their  vast  resources 
and  ihcir  iiiln'pidiiy,  cntfrpris.-  and  ••rn-rf/y,  not  only  eoiis(didated  the  Russian  sovereignty  in 
the  Crals,  hut  ishm'  Kussiun  settlers  the  possihiljiy  of  passing  over  to  the  Eastern  siile  of 
till'  iiiouniain  range;  so  richly  eiulowed  by  natun'. 

CiMseless  collisicms  with  the  natives  and  the  striving  U>  ileve|ii(i  their  industry  over 
a  widci  ti'nitory  indneed  the  Stroganovs  to  heg  the  Tsar  to  aiithori/e  them  to  scllle 
places  oil  the  nihiT  side  of  till'  Urals  also.  The  lirilliant  example  of  the  settlement  of  the 
Kama  district  hail  denioiistrated  to  the  Ciovernment  the  advantageousness  of  undertakings  of 
this  kind.  The  permissiuii  was  given,  and  the  Stroganovs  bound  themselves  by  the  same  condi- 
tions as  liei'iire,  and  were  even  empowered  to  wage  war  not  only  of  a  defensive  but  of  an 
olTeiisive  nature.  J''nr  nmre  extended  offensive  operations  the  Stroganovs  could  not  at  once 
lind  enough  armed  jiien,  hut  these  were  not  long  forthcoming. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  during  the  reign  of  Ivan  the  Tenible,  a 
mass  of  people  lied  into  Lithuania  while  not  a  few  bent  their  steps  into  the  waste  regions 
forming  the  new  acquisitions  of  Russia.  There  in  those  outlying  regions  the  fugitives  found 
libeity.  ease  and  abundant  space;  whole  bands  were  formed  out  of  chance  associates,  who 
almost  completely  severed  themselves  from  the  State,  paid  but  scant  attention  to  the  latter  and 
lived  their  free  Cossack  life.  But  the  Cossacks,  engaged  In  robbery,  harried  also  the  territories 
which  were  under  the  authority  of  the  Tsar,  and  were  prosecuted  by  the  Government  for 
their  brigandage.  One  of  these  parties  of  Don  Cossacks,  which  had  particnlarly  destinguished 
itself  by  its  freebooting  expedition  on  the  Volga,  and  which  was  being  pursued  by  the  Tsar's 
troops,  proceeded  under  the  leadership  of  its  ataman  Yermak  Timofeev  up  the  Kama  and  so 
reached  tlie  Stroganov  possessions.  The  Stroganovs  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  and 
invited  the  Cossacks  to  enter  their  service.  The  latter  consented  and  in  a  short  time,  equipped 
by  the  Stroganovs  and  with  Yermak  at  their  head,  started  across  the  Ural  mountains  and 
entered  the  limits  of  Kuchum's  kingdom. 

In  1580  Yermak  was  already  on  the  banks  of  the  Tura,  defeated  the  Tartar  princelet 
Yepancha,  then  took  by  storm  the  town  of  Shingi-Tura,  upon  whose  site  stands  at  the  pre- 
sent time  the  town  of  Tinmen,  and  there  took  up  his  winter  quarters.  In  the  spring  of  the 
subsequent  year  Yermak  moved  on  to  the  capital  of  Kuchum,  the  town  of  Isker  or  Siberia. 
Having  navigated  the  Tura,  Tobol  and  Irtycli  in  barges,  the  Cossacks  on  October  26,  1581, 
reached  the  Khaif s  residence,  and  after  a  fierce  fight  took  possession  of  it.  Kuchum  fled 
with  the  remains  of  his  troops  into  the  southern  steppes.  Yermak  immediatety  sent  his  trusty 
lieutenant  and  ataman,  KoHso,  with  the  news  of  this  conquest  to  Moscow,  having  furnished 
him  with  costly  furs  and  commanded  him  <Ao  humbly  salute  the  Lord  Ivan  Yasilevich  the 
Terrible  with  the  acquisition  of  the  new  Siberian  kingdom;).  The  Tsar  forgave  Yermak  his 
foriuer  faults,  presented  him  Avith  a  cloak  and  medal,  and  sent  the  leader  Glukhov  to  his 
assistance.  Yermak  Timofeev  was  however  not  long  fated  to  rule  Siberia.  In  158-1,  enticed 
too  far  by  the  cunning  of  the   Tartars,    he   perished   together  with  his  band  in  a  fight   upon 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH.  i) 

the  bauks  of  the  Irlysli.  In  Moscow,  meanwhile,  nothing  was  known  of  the  destruction  of 
Yermak,  and  in  1586  ariived  on  the  Tiira  a  fresh  reinforcement  of  300  men  under  their 
leaders  Sukin,  Miasnov  and  Chulkov,  who  founded  upon  this  river  the  town  of  Tinmen  and 
thence  began  to  spread  the  Russian  authority  over  the  Siberian  natives.  In  1587  yet  anotlier 
500  troops  were  sent  from  Moscow  into  Siberia,  and  the  order  was  given  to  build  the  11  us- 
sian  town  of  Tobolsk  in  the  place  of  the  ruined  capital  of  Kuchum. 

As  soon  as  the  Siberian  kingdom  was  united  to  the  Russian  possessions  the  Govern- 
ment began  to  concern  itself  about  the  strengthening  of  the  bond  between  the  new  possessions 
and  the  old.  It  could  not  have  the  extensive  countries,  seized  by  the  Russians,  deserted,  and 
was  compelled  to  move  forth  certain  portions  of  its  own  population  to  create  points  of 
resistance,  or  so  to  say,  cadres  of  the  future  natural  colonization.  Such  points  of  resistance, 
founded  beyond  the  Urals  in  the  sixteenth  century,  were  besides  Tiumen  and  Tobolsk,  Yerkho- 
turie,  Pelym,  Beriozov,  Surgut,  Obdorsk,  Narym,  Ketsk  and  Tara.  All  these  little  towns 
served  only  as  centres  from  which  the  conquerors  were  able  to  exploit  the  Siberian  natives 
by  means  of  collecting  from  them  y  a  s  s  a  k  and  trading  with  them  in  furs.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  the  construction  of  rallying  points  continues,  and  Russian  dominion  rapidly  extends 
further  and  farther  to  the  east.  From  the  year  1604  the  following  strongholds  were  gradually 
built,  out  of  which  subsequently  grew  the  towns  of  Tomsk,  Turukhausk,  Kuznetsk,  Yeni- 
seisk, Kansk,  Krasnoyarsk,  Yakutsk,  Olekminsk,  Achinsk,  Barguzinsk,  Irkutsk,  Balagansk, 
Kerchinsk,  Kireusk,  and  thus  the  Russian  power  was  quickly  extended  over  the  basins  of  the 
three  giant  rivers  of  Siberia,  the  Obi,  Yenissei  and  Lena.  Between  1630  and  1640  Russian 
Cossack  parties  reached,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  on  the  other,  to  the  Sea  of 
Okhotsk,  and  to  this  period  belong  their  first  attempts  at  sea  voyages.  In  1636  the  Cossack 
Yellissei  Buza  was  sent  from  Yeuisseisk  with  the  positive  instruction  to  put  to  sea,  and  folli)W- 
ing  along  the  coasts  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  to  impose  y  a  s  s  a  k  upon  its  inhabitants.  Only  in 
1637  did  Buza  succeed  in  descending  the  Lena,  coming  out  by  its  western  arm  upon  the  coast 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  in  making  his  way  along  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  Oleuek.  In  the 
following  year  however,  1638,  having  built  himself  two  vessels,  called  «Kocha»,  Buza  sailed 
into  the  ocean  by  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Lena  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  mouth  of  the 
Yana.  Almost  at  the  same  time  Ivan  Postnik  reached  the  Yana  and  the  more  distant  Inidi- 
ghirka  by  land.  In  1644  the  Cossack  Mikhail  Stodukhin  discovered  the  most  eastern  of  the 
great  rivers  falling  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  the  Kolyma,  and  there  founded  a  winter  station, 
subsequently  transformed  into  Nizhui-Kolpusk, 

From  the  extreme  point  of  resistance  at  that  time  id' the  Russian  dominion  in  the  east, 
Kolymsk,  a  complete  expedition  was  equipped  in  the  year  1647  under  the  command  of  the 
Kholmogorsk  emigrant,  Fedot  Alexeev  and  the  Cossack  Semion  Dezhniev.  In  1647  the  expe- 
dition consisted  of  only  four  vessels;  it  reached  the  Chukotsk  coast  but  did  not  succeed  in 
penetrating  further.  On  the  other  hand  in  the  following  year,  1648,  an  expedition  of  seven 
vessels  with  more  than  ten  men  on  each  vessel,  under  the  leadership  of  Semion  Dezhniev, 
Fedot  Alexeev  and  Gerassim  Ankundinov,  was  more  fortunate.  Quitting  the  Kolyma  on  the 
30th  of  June,  the  intrepid  sailors  found  the  sea  free  from  ice,  and  without  meeting 
with    any   particular   obstacles    weathered  the  cape,  called    in  recent   times   by   Xordeuskjold 


(i  Hill  I.I  \. 

(!apo  Dczlmicv,  sailcl  ilimiij/li  iIk-  wlinlc  of  tin-  straits  tliviilinn;  Asia  from  America  and  subse- 
i|ii('iilly  oallcil  alicr  Hr'n-ml  aiiil  fjiinfil  tjic  Cliiikotsk  Cafio.  Ilfif'  tlio  fX|MMlltioM  fiio<)iiiit<'r«-<l 
a  scvcif  storm,  iliiriii^'  \vlii<li  Ankiiiiiliiiov's  vcssoj  {icrisjicd,  Imt  liis  new  w.ts  <listribul<Mi 
aiMiiii^'  till'  vessels  nf  Itezliiiiev  ami  Alexecv.  Oil  the  ^JOtli  "iC  September  llie  Russians  landed, 
lull  here  hail  a  skirmish  with  the  ('hiik<|iis  in  wliieli  Fedut  Alexeev  was  woimdod.  After  tills 
a  liiL'litriil  storm  separated  forever  tiie  vessels  of  Semi(tn  Dezliiiiev  and  Feilot  Aloxoev. 
I»i/lmirv  hravely  slrll^'fJrled  in  the  open  sea  with  storms  ami  opposing  wimls,  which  bore  him 
away  to  the  soiilh  of  ihc  entiy  into  the  Anadyr  hay,  and  finally  ho  w.ls  ciLSt  upon  the  coast 
rif-'ht  heyoiid  Ciipc  Oliiiinr  near  Ihe  mouth  of  the  river  Oliiitora,  that  is,  upon  the  limits  of 
KaiiK'hatka  heiweeii  61"  ami  60"  X.  L.  I'roiii  there  Dezliiiiev  and  his  twenty-five  eompanions 
made  llicir  way  to  Aiiadyi-  where  he  foiimlcil  a  winter  slalioii,  whieh  afterwards  heeame  the 
Anadyr  slr(lll^!llold,  as  liiiher  arrived  soon  after  by  land  Russians  niider  the  command  of 
Semion  Moloni  from  ilie  Knjyuia.  Dezhniov  liimscdf  returned  to  the  Kolyma  not  earlier  than 
165i!.  In  the  meanwhile  Fedot  Alexeev  parted  from  Dezliiiiev  by  the  storrn,  according  to 
iiildiiiialioii  nilh^cted  subsequently  by  the  dcscriber  of  Kamchatka,  Krasheninnikov,  traversed, 
it  Would  seem,  the  whole  of  Kanichatka  and  perished  on  the  river  Tighiia,  that  is,  on  the 
western  shore  of  the  peninsula. 

Only  in  161)7  Kaiiirhalka  was  discovcreil  afresh  and  occnpied  by  the  Cossack  Vladimir 
Atlassov,  who  startinjLT  from  the  Anadyr  stronghold,  destroyed  four  Koriak  towns  and  having 
founded  on  the  river  Kamchatka  the  stockaded  fort  of  Xizhni-Kamchatsk  reduced  the  whole 
nf  Kaiiu'lialka. 

At  the  same  time  the  inovement  of  the  Russians  towards  the  coast  went  its  course  in 
more  southern  latitudes.  After  the  foundation  on  the  middle  course  of  the  Lena  of  the  Yakutsk 
fort  by  Peter  Beketov,  parties  of  Russians  began  to  ascend  the  Aldan  and  to  reach  the  Sta- 
novoi  range.  It  was  by  this  road,  passing  the  Stanovoi  range,  that  the  Cossack  Ivan  Mosko- 
vitin's  party,  sent  in  1639  to  impose  y  a  s  s  a  k  upon  all  the  Tungus  tribes,  came  out  upon  ]}ie 
river  Ud  and  so  reached  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  After  this,  stockaded  forts  were  founded  at  the 
mouths  of  the  Ud  and  Tuiigura,  and  in  1643  the  Russians  for  the  first  time  appear  upon  the 
Amour.  Equipped  by  the  Yakutsk  v  o  e  v  o  d  e  the  elder  Vassili  Poyarkov  with  130  Cossacks 
ascended  the  rivers  Aldan,  Uchur  and  Gonam,  crossed  the  Stanovoi  range  and  then  came  out 
by  the  Erianda  and  Zeya  upon  the  Amour  and,  descending  the  river,  sailed  into  the  Sea  of 
Okhotsk.  Ill  J 647  the  Cossack  Shelkovuikov  crossed  fruiii  the  mouths  of  the  Amour  to  the 
tnouth  of  the  river  Okhota  and  here  founded  the  fort  of  Okhotsk. 

But  it  was  the  Cossack  elder  Yerofei  Khabarov  who  specially  distinguished  himself 
by  his  exploits  upon  the  Amour.  This  intrepid  Cossack  who  had  formerly  occupied  himself  at 
one  time  with  corn  growing,  at  another  with  salt  boiling,  undertook  at  his  own  costs  to 
subjugate  the  Amour  country.  Having  received  the  authorization  from  the  Yakutsk  vocvoda, 
he  in  1649  and  1650  reached  the  Amour  by  the  rivers  Olekma  and  Tunghir,  destroyed  a  few 
Daur  cities  and  having  personally  convinced  himself  of  the  natural  riches  of  the  country  vis- 
ited by  him,  hurriedly  returned  to  Yakutsk  in  order  to  there  excite  interest  and  attention  to 
the  hitherto  unknown  country  which  was  so  remarkable  in  every  respect.  Having  mustered  a 
party  uf  voliuiieers  to  the    number   of   150  men,  and  having   received   three   guns   from   the 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH.  7 

V  0  e  V  0  (1 0,  in  1651  he  again  made  his  appearance  upon  the  banks  of  the  Amour  and  stopped 
to  winter  in  the  station  of  Albazin  founded  by  him.  During  two  years  notwithstanding  the 
opposition  of  the  Manchuro  who  surrounded  him  on  every  side  he  occupied  the  whole 
course  of  the  Amour  and  reported  his  success  to  Yakutsk. 

The  rumour  of  the  wealth  of  the  river  conquered  by  Khabarov  quickly  spread  not  only 
tlirough  the  Siberian  v  o  e  v  o  d  e  s  h  i  p  s  but  reached  the  Tsar  himself,  so  that  in  1654  Kha- 
barov was  recalled  to  Moscow  to  make  a  personal  report  upon  the  Amour,  and  the  whole  of  his 
brave  company  was  placed  under  the  command  of  the  Cossack  Ouufri  Stepanov.  This  worthy 
successor  of  Khabarov  closely  pressed  by  the  enemy,  was  obliged  to  fortify  himself  in  the 
newly  built  Kamora  stronghold  and  in  1655  withstood  a  severe  siege  at  the  hands  of  a 
numerous  Manchur  army.  Later,  after  three  years  of  obstinate  struggle  with  the  Manchurs, 
he  fell  in  a  skirmish  in  1658. 

Meanwhile,  a  road  to  the  Amour  was  opened  through   Transbaikalia.   The  Yenlsseisk 

V  0  e  V  0  d  a  Pashkov  proposed  to  the  Government,  for  the  expeditious  subjugation  of  the 
Amour,  to  select  in  the  vicinity  of  the  steppes  a  rallying  point,  where  all  the  warlike  force 
might  be  concentrated  and  whence  it  might  undertake  offensive  movements.  His  plan  was 
approved  and  an  expedition  to  the  Amour  was  entrusted  to  him;  at  the  same  time  all  the 
detachments  along  the  Amour  were  ordered  to  place  themselves  under  Pashkov's  orders.   This 

V  0  e  V  0  d  e  then,  from  Yenisseisk,  following  the  Upper  Tunguzka,  Baikal,  the  Selenga  and  the 
Khilka,  reached  the  river  Nerch,  and  at  a  distance  of  four  versts  from  its  mouth  founded  in  1658 
the  Xerchinsk  stockaded  fort.  Here  he  wished  to  gather  all  the  Amour  bands  which  had 
been  under  the  command  of  Stepanov,  but  as  upon  the  death  of  the  latter  these  parties 
scattered,  Pashkov  did  not  venture,  with  the  miserable  remnants  of  those  who  answered  to  his 
summons,  to  undertake  any  decisive  operations  and  thus  his  expedition  met  with  no  success. 

In  1665  a  crowd  of  Russians  under  the  leadership  of  Xikifor  Chernigovski  consisting 
of  fugitive  criminals,  wishing  to  earn  their  pardon,  appeared  upon  the  ruins  of  Albazin,  re- 
newed the  fortress  there,  began  to  collect  y  a  s  s  a  k  from  the  previous  tributaries,  the  Tuuguzes, 
and  founded  some  strongholds.  In  1677  the  fort  Verkhozeissk  was  built  on  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Zeya,  followed  by  forts  Selimbaevsk  aud  Dodonsk.  For  almost  20  years  Albazin  enjoyed 
comparative  tranquillity,  but  in  1685  the  Manchur  troops,  with  considerably  superior  forces, 
devastated  the  environs  of  Albazin  and  from  the  12th  of  June  of  the  same  year  commenced 
the  celebrated  siege  of  this  town.  The  voevode  T  o  1  b  u  z  i  n,  with  a  body  of  500  men  pitched 
against  a  horde  of  15,000  Manchurs-,  was  obliged  to  surrender  Albazin  and  retreat;  but  in 
the  same  year,  reinforced  by  fresh  troops  that  had  come  to  his  aid,  he  returned  and  built  upon 
the  site  of  the  burnt  wooden  fortification  an  eartlioru  entrenchment.  The  Manchurs  observing 
the  restablishment  of  Albazin  undertook  a  second  siege  in  1686,  during  which  Tolbuzin  was 
killed  and  his  successor  Afanasi  Beiton  stubbornly  continued  to  hold  his  earthworks  for  a  whole 
year,  until  at  last  in  1687  the  exhausted  Manchurs  were  themselves  couipelled  to  raise  the 
siege.  In  1688,  a  congress  was  appointed  of  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  warring  sides,  at 
which  the  Chinese  gained  a  diplomatic  victory.  In  August  27,  1689,  the  Xerchinsk  treaty 
was  signed,  confirming  the  Amour  to  the  Chinese,  and  for  160  years  depriving  the  Russians 
of  the  possession  of  lliis  outskirt  of  Siberia. 


b  SIHKklA. 

Only  from  the  oml  of  (lie  .M!vciitr..|iili  (•.•ntmy  wlieii  the  Ijuiiii'lariu-  ul  hiU-ria  in  itie 
lar^'o  soiiMi  1)1'  lln;  term  wort!  alrnmly  imlicatcMl  iikuo  or  les.s  by  the  points  of  ilefeiise,  could  the 
aclnal  ponnancnl  cdloni/atiiMi  \irf\])'r,u>A;  the  Govcnirncnt  hositles  buililiiif(  cities  and  yamas,  or 
postin;,?  .slatimis,  .strove  Id  cnMlo  a  dans  of  peasant  artisans  aii<i  io  spread  corn  growing.  With 
tills  ohjcct,  hy  eoinniaml  of  Ihe  Tsar  J-'eodctr  Ahjxeovich,  volunteer  ploufilinien  were  sent 
Intiii  Solvy('liej,'fH|sk  ami  oilier  (owns  of  Ihe  J'ernila  (d'  that  lime,  wh<»  received  besides  every 
kind  of  privil(';,'e,  aKiieiilliiral  iinplenienis  and  assislaiiee  in  money.  The  road  of  the  first 
setllemenis  lay  by  Ihe  rivers  Tnra,  Tavda,  Tohol,' Irlysh,  Ohi  and  Iheir  tributaries.  The  enii- 
f.'ninls  cnt  into  tlie  very  heart  of  Ihe  native  popnialion;  the  Chuilic  tribes  Ihnisl  back  in  Ihe 
lilii'iiiih  eeiiliiiy  liv  the  Tiiiiks  pe(i|ilc,  themselves  pi'csseil  i'orwai'd  by  the  Moiit.'oliaii  movement 
and  known  by  the  ^a'lieral  name  of 'J'artars,  lemained  in  Iheir  j)laees.  fVoni  the  sonlli  the  greater 
part  of  the  Tartars  had  wandered  away  fiirthor  into  the dopllis  (d' Ihe  steppes,  while  the  Oslyak 
and  Samoye<l  tribes  wei'c  moved  back  to  the  north  and  east. 

The  Government  had  to  concern  itself  with  llie  provisioning  of  the  people  it  had  settled, 
who  reipdred  to  be  supplied  with  everything.  Grain  was  imported  from  Perm,  Viatka  and  Solvycln- 
godsk.  In  consequence  of  the  bad  roads  the  furnishing  of  provisions  was  delayed,  and  hence  Govern- 
menl  servants  siineiv(l  terrible  want.  The  niercliaiits  oceuiiieil  themselves  with  the  furnishing  of  the 
colonists  with  gootls.  But  trade  relations  of  the  new  country  with  its  metropolis  Moscow  \vere  very 
diilirult  and  were  oifected  but  once  a  year.  Corannnncations  were  accomplished  by  means  of 
the  rivers.  Tlit^  wares  were  transported  on  barges  or  plank  levats.  The  Siberian  sledges  called 
<^narta»  were  dragged  over  the  portages  by  men.  The  merchants  sometimes  took  up  winter 
quarters  on  their  way.  The  method  of  trading  was  slow  and  therefore  only  a  few  dealers 
penetrated  into  Siberia,  but  having  reached  there,  from  the  absence  of  competition,  became  at 
ouc(!  monopolists. 

The  spread  of  agriculture  and  the  establishment  of  fixed  settlements  within  the  limits 
of  the  new  country  were  supported  by  the  sending  out  of  ploughmen,  post  drivers,  and  with 
them  girls  to  be  married'to  the  Cossacks,  and  also  by  the  alleviation  of  the  burdens  imposeil 
by  the  vucvodes.  By  the  care  of  the  Government  the  growing  of  grain  was  spread  not 
only  among  the  Russian  population  but  among  the  Tartars  and  Yoguls  of  the  present 
Tinmen  and  Turinsk  districts.  The  agricultural  population  having  dotted  the  country  with 
villages  forined  the  chief  foundation  (d"  roldui/ation  in  the  east.  It  may  be  said  that  the  true 
foundation  of  life  in  the  region  was  laid  when  the  conqueror's  lirst  grain  of  corn  fell  into  the 
soil   of  the  conquered  countries. 

Beginning  with  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  centuiy,  this  permanent  colonization  obtained 
iu  the  eighteenth  a  more  regular  form.  The  Government,  settling  the  unoccupied  spots, 
at  the  same  time  took  care  to  secure  thom  from  the  raids  of  the  nomads,  who  had  been  driven 
back  into  the  steppe  regions  of 'Central  Asia,  and  which  were  so  frequent  and  so  destructive  to  the 
young  colonies.  Such  raids  indeed  arrested  the  development  of  agi'icultural  settlements  in  Siberia 
and  Zavolzhia  not  only  in  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  but  also  in  the  lirst  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  To  protect  the  colonization  as  yet  not  firmly  established,  the  fortresses  of 
Omsk,  Yamyshevsk  and  Petropavlovsk  were  built,  as  well  as  among  others  the  towns  of  Biysk, 
Semipalatinsk  and  L'st-Kamenogorsk. 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH.  9 

As  al  the  very  beginning  of  Russia's  acciuaintauce  witU  Siberia  the  enterprise  of  pri- 
vate persons  had  a  great  significance  in  the  movement  of  the  Russians  eastward,  so  in  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteentli  century  no  slight  services  were  rendered  the  Government  by  the 
rich  trader  Akinfi  Demidov.  In  1723  his  parties  penetrated,  with  trading  and  industrial  objects 
in  the  Altai  mountains  to  Mount  Siniukha  near  lake  Kolyvans,  and  here  found  Chudie  mines 
and  traces  of  ores.  In  1726  artisans  and  clerks  were  sent  here  by  Demidov  from  his  Nevian 
works  in  the  Urals,  and  on  the  small  stream  of  the  Loktevka  falling  into  tlie  AUei  was  built 
the  first  works,  called  Kolyvansk.  Soon  other  mines  were  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
whose  existence  Demidov  presented  a  report  to  the  Government  and  by  an  ukaz  of  the  year 
1747  the  works  of  Kolyvansk    and  Voskresensk   were  taken  over  from  Demidov  by  the  Cruwn. 

"With  the  development  of  mining  in  the  Ural,  Altai  and  at  the  Nerchinsk  works,  there 
was  requii'ed  an  increased  number  of  workmen.  To  meet  this  demand  hundreds  of  families 
were  sent  furth  from  the  interior  of  Russia  to  the  works  ami  attached  to  the  latter,  and  in 
this  way  the  Russian  population  of  Siberia  grew  every  year. 

To  unite  the  limits  of  conquest  already  indicated  by  stockades  and  fortresses  to  inter- 
mediate points  as  also  for  the  defense  of  the  mining  works  from  the  raids  of  nomads,  the 
tracts  or  main  routes  were  settled,  and  Cossack  defense  posts  and  settlements  established. 
In  1744  to  1745  the  tract  between  Tobolsk  and  Tara  was  so  inhabited,  followed  by  those  be- 
tween Ishim  and  Omsk,  and  the  Chauss  stockade  and  Tomsk.  In  1762  to  1780  the  tract  be- 
tween Tara  and  the  Chauss  stockade  was  settled,  and  in  1763  the  Ekaterinburg  road  was 
built.  Among  the  Cossack  defense  lines  in  1720  to  1773  was  constructed  that  of  the  Irtysch, 
in  1755  that  between  Omsk  and  Zverinogolovsk.  Further,  with  the  movement  of  colonization 
Into  the  depths  of  the  Altai,  the  Kolyvan-Kusnetsk,  Novokolyvau-Kusnetsk,  and  in  1780  the 
Bukhtarminsk  lines. 

Parallel  to  the  colonization  patronized  by  the  Government,  at  times  during  the  critical 
moments  in  Russia's  historical  and  economical  life,  another  kind  of  colonization,  namely,  secret 
colonization  was  effected. 

The  government  of  Tobolsk,  as  the  first  zone  lying  on  the  road  to  the  little  kniiwu 
country,  was  more  thickly  populated  with  fugitives  belonging  to  those  groups  of  the  population 
of  European  Russia  who  were  there  faring  ill.  In  Siberia  these  fugitives  nnder  the  protection 
of  dense  forests  and  swamps  raised  their  solitary  dwellings,  made  so-called  «;zaimkas->  or 
enclosures,  cleared  forests  and  introduced  tillage.  The  voevodes  on  discovering  such  settle- 
ments did  not  destroy  them  but  only  levied  upon  them  state  taxes.  Such  emigrants,  settling 
and  at  the  same  time  securing  the  possession  of  an  alien  region,  were  not  without  their  advant- 
ages to  the  voevodes.  Thus  the  acceptance  with  an  amnesty  of  the  allegiance  of  the  so-called 
Bukhtarmin  masons,  the  fugitive  families  of  dissenters  and  criminals  who  had  taken  up  their 
abodes  beyond  the  Kamen,  one  of  the  ridges  of  the  Altai,  spread  the  dominion  of  Russia  to 
one  of  the  best  valleys  of  the  Altai. 

With  the  extension  of  the  settlements  the  people  became  acquainted  with  the  surroundo 
ing  spots  and  finding  more  convenient  places,  built  themselves  new  outlying  hamlets  and 
suburbs.  Each  settled  upon  a  separate  patch  over  which  he  had  arbitrary  control;  when,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  wish  to  remain  any  longer  in  llie  same  place,  he  handed  over  his  land  to 
another  and  sought  a  new  home. 


]  ()  SIBKIfl A. 

Such  sf'frct  otilmiizalioii  at  times  atliiiin'il  lairly  consjilcratjlo  iliiiifii^ioii*;,  so  that  llie 
Stal(!  authority  had  tu  tako  scvcic  uicasun's  to  stop  this  uinh'sirahki  moveiiifiit. 

To^cthfr  Willi  llic  scttlcnu-nt  iil'Sihcria  iti  the  cowrsi;  of  thf  cij/hteonth  century  apju-ared 
tlio  uffossity  lor  its  cxploratiou.  The  l-'-nipfior  Pfter  the  (ircat  heoomos  the  initiat4»r 
in  this  matter,  as  iti  evorylhiti^'  else,  lieco^'ni/.iiif,'  that  the  attempts  to  ostahlish  ic{.'uhir  sea 
lommuiiieation  with  Kamchatka  in  plaee  of  the  distant  and  circuitous  road  throufrli  tlie  nortli- 
ern  tuiMlnis,  iljd  not  siiccceil,  IVom  the  inaliility  to  build  ships,  lie  sent  on  this  aceoiint 
Swedish  inisniiers  acrjuainted  with  ship  huildiii^  to  Okhotsk.  On  a  ship  built  by  Henry 
lliisch  the  lirst  attempt  \vas  made  in  171fi,  and  in  J717  took  place  the  perfectly  successful 
voyajre  (d'  the  Cossack  Sokiilii\,  alter  whiih  re^Milar  communication  between  Okhotsk  and 
Kamchatka  was  established.  Next,  I'eter  the  Great  was  interested  in  the  (piestion  of  whether 
there  is  a  passajje  into  the  Arctic  Ocean  between  the  Asiatic  and  American  continents,  the 
solution  of  this  question  ])y  the  voyage  of  Dezhniev  being  unknown  to  the  Emperor, 
lie  equippeil  Inr  the  purpose  of  deciding  this  question  a  great  Northern  Expedition,  under 
the  commauil  (d'  the  Danish  sailor  in  the  Russian  service,  Vitus  Berend,  Lieutenant  Shpanherg 
and  Alexei  Chirikov.  The  expedition  started  from  St.  Petersburg  in  the  year  of  Peter  the 
Great's  death,  1725,  and  only  alter  tliiee  years  reaehed  Kamehatka  through  Siberia.  Berend 
sailed  out  into  the  sea  from  Xizhni-Kamchatsk  on  the  31st  of  .July,  1728,  on  the  19th  of 
August,  approached  the  Chukot  peninsula  under  64*^  .^,0'  X.  L.,  on  the  21st  of  August  dis- 
covered the  island  (d'  SI.  Lawrence  and  on  the  20111  id'  August  saw  under  67"  18'  X.  L.  the 
north-eastern  extremity  of  Asia,  Cape  Dezhniev,  and  considering  the  question  of  the  existence 
of  a  strait  between  Asia  and  America  completely  solved,  returned  to  Xizhni-Kamcliatsk. 
Berend's  successful  voyage  did  not  remain  without  consequences. 

"The  Russians  commenced  a  whole  series  of  attempts  with  the  object  of  exploring 
the  coasts  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  thus  discovering  a  passage  through  it  to  America.  la 
1739  the  expedition  of  Lieutenant  Proncliischev  fitted  out  for  the  Lena  had  imposed  upon  it 
the  problem  of  exploring  the  seacoast  between  the  mouths  of  the  Lena  and  the  Yenissei. 
But  the  expedition  only  succeeded  in  getting  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Olenek  and  Pron- 
chischev  himself  and  his  wife  died  on  the  desert  shore  of  the  ocean.  The  expedition  of 
Lieutenant  Laptev,  which  followed  next,  succeded  in  reaching  the  Taimir  peninsula,  namely,  to 
Cape  St.  Thaddeus,  but  was  not  able  to  weather  Cape  Cheliuskin  and  Laptev's  companion^ 
Clieliuskiu,  was  obliged  to  survey  it  only  from  the  land  side.  At  the  same  time,  that  is,  in 
1739  to  1740,  Lieutenant  Dmitri  Laptev  was  commissioned  to  describe  the  littoral  to  the  east 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Lena.  Only  after  these  two  years  efforts  did  Laptev,  passing  by  the 
JMedviezhi  Islands,  reach  Cape  Baranov,  but  was  unable  to  make  the  passage  into  Behring 
Strait. 

from  1733  to  1743  belongs  the  remarkable  scientific  land  expedition  fitted  out  to  explore 
the  whole  of  Siberia  under  the  guidance  of  the  best  men  of  science  of  the  time,  the  naturalist 
Gmelin,  subsequently  author  of  the  first  Siberian  Flora,  and  the  historian  iliiller,  the  author 
of  the  History  of  Siberia.  Into  the  composition  of  this  remarkable  scientific  expedition  entered 
also  the  astronomer  Delille,  Professor  Fisher,  assistant  Steller,  several  students  and  geodesists. 
The  expedition  returned  from  Yakutsk,  but  Delille,   Steller   and   the   student   Krasheninnikov 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH.  H 

reached  Kamchatka.  Delille  and  Steller  formed  part  of  the  second  Berend  expedition,  equipped 
by  the  Government  in  1740,  which  on  this  occasion  liad  for  its  principal  object  the  problem 
of  exploring  the  north-western  shore  of  America.  Berend  and  Chirikov  commanded  the  two 
vessels  of  the  expedition.  On  the  15th  of  June,  1741,  both  vessels  left  Petropavlovsk  for  Kam- 
chatka, but  on  the  first  of  July  a  storm  separated  them.  Berend  reached  the  American  shore 
between  68''  and  69",  in  view  of  the  marvellous  giant  volcano  of  St.  Elias.  Then  after  a  long 
and  tiring  voyage  along  the  line  of  the  Alleutian  islands,  Berend,  sick  and  tortured  by  his 
voyage  over  the  stormy  sea,  suffered  ship^Teck  on  the  5th  of  Xovember  at  an  island 
called  subsequently  by  his  name,  and  died  after  having  landed,  on  the  shore  of  the  island. 
Lieutenant  Waxel  and  Steller,  having  built  a  new  ship  from  tlie  fragments  of  the  old,  returned 
to  Kamchatka  after  fourteen  months  voyage.  Chirikov's  vessel  reached  America  much  further 
to  the  south,  under  56°  N".  L.,  that  is,  opposite  the  island  Sitkha;  but  having  lost  two  of  his  boats 
with  their  crews,  destroyed  by  the  natives  on  landing,  sailed  along  the  American  coast,  not 
putting  to  land  anywhere,  ami  with  friglitful  losses  from  scmwy  to  which  Delille  fell  a  victim, 
returned  to  Kamchatka.  The  best  result  of  the  expedition  were  the  splendid  observations  of 
Steller,  who  with  Krasheninnikov  composed  the  first  descriptions  of  Kamchatka.  But  the 
practical  results  of  Berend  and  Chirikov's  expedition  were  the  gradual  discovery  and  occupa- 
tion by  the  Russians  of  the  north-western  part  of  the  American  Continent.  Thus,  in  1743  the 
Russian  trader  Bassov  already  wintered  upon  Behring  Island,  and  from  1745  to  1764  all  the 
Alleutian  islands  were  discovered  and  occupied.  Much  greater  success  attended  the  expeditions  of 
Captain  Shpanberg  and  Lieutenant  Walton  in  1738,  1739  and  1742,  from  Okhotsk  to  Japan 
and  the  Kuril  islands. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  eigliteenth  century,  during  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Catherine  11, 
began  a  new  and  brilliant  era  in  the  history  of  the  geographical  and  scientific  explorations 
oj  Siberia.  The  Yakutsk  merchant  Shalaurov,  one  of  the  prominent  local  Siberians,  having 
equipped  at  his  own  cost  a  sea  expediton,  having  for  its  object  the  passage  into  Behring  sea 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  doubled  in  1761  the  H(dy  Xoss  and  discovered  the  neighbouring 
island  of  Liakhov  one  of  the  new  Siberian  group.  In  the  course,  however,  of  the  three  years, 
1761  to  1763,  he  was  unable  to  penetrate  to  the  east  further  than  Cape  Shelag,  upon  which  he 
met  his  death  during  his  second  expedition  undertaken  in  1766.  At  the  same  time  in  conse- 
quence of  the  indications  of  the  existence  of  lands  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  wliit'h  had  been 
known  from  the  times  of  Dezhniev,  attempts  were  made  to  reach  these  lauds  in  winter  on 
sledges  over  the  ice.  One  of  such  successful  attempts  was  the  journey  of  Sergeant  Andreev, 
who  discovered  in  1763  a  whole  group  of  islands  upon  which  he  found  traces  of  former  habi- 
tation by  people  acquainted  only  with  the  use  of  stone  implements  and  unfamiliar  with  the 
metals.  This  group  of  Islands  in  the  opinion  of  Nordenskjold  was  Wrangel  laud.  In  1770  the 
discoveries  of  the  Russians  touched  the  group  of  the  New  Siberian  islands.  In  ihal  year 
Liakhov  not  only  investigated  the  island  subsequently  called  by  his  uaiuo.  hui  went  as  far  as 
Kotel  island. 

The  particular  altculiou  of  the  enlightened  (iovernmont   o(   the  Empress   Caiherine 
was  directed  to  the  scientific  exploration  of  the  southern  colonizational  zone  of  Siberia.  Among 
the  expediljons  which  marked  an  epoch  in  geographical  science,  equipped  by  the  Academy  of 


1  2  SIBKIUA. 

ScJoiK'Os  al  tlic  (Ir^siio  of  lli<;  l-liiiiufss  CallicriiK!  II,  lni  tlio  iiiuiiy-^iil(;il  invchtitfaliuii  ol  tliL- 
liflli!  known  part's  of  lluj  Enipin.*,  tlio  oxpi-ilitions  into  Sihoiia,  accomplislieii  in  1770  to  1774 
liy  till!  Acaili!ini(;ians  Pallas  and  Lopokliin,  take  ulniost  llio  lirst  |)laco  on  account  of  their 
scientific  vaiiii'. 

Tlio  allcntion  ol  ilio  Empress  was  also  (lir(M;lcil  to  llio  exlrcnie  east  willi  its  Helirint.'  >■  .i  .u,m 
iiorlli-woslcrn  corner  of  Aniorica.  Tlio  cxpoilition  litted  ont  by  the  (jovcninienl  in  1768  to  170!> 
under  Caplaiii  Kriiiil>iM  and  fdi'iilciiaiil  Li'Vasliov,  visited  tin.-  Alleutiaii  islanils  and  gained 
A  I  as  k  a.  In  llH'j  the  trader  riihylov  discovered  the  island,  called  by  his  name,  and  it  has  since 
hecomo  the  contro  of  the  sealin.ir  and  whalini:  ti-ad(^  in  Belirin^'  Sea,  From  1790  to  1794  Captain 
r.illiiiL'sainl  Lieutenant  Sarychev's  exprdiiiim  i|iii.kly  regulated  tlie  devclopini,'  and  too  rapa- 
cious lisiiiiiii:  of  the  l]ellrin^'  Sea.  In  17!)2  a  private  company,  consistinfi:  of  Doliar<jv,  Sholokhov 
and  Golikov  founded  the  Russian  seltlemeul  in  Paul  liarbour  upon  Kadiak  island,  ami  in 
1796  Novoarkhangelsk,  on  the  island  of  Sitkha,  upon  wliich  Russian  authority  was  lirmly  estab- 
lished by  Raranov,  only  in  1799.  Similar  permanent  settlements  arose  also  upon  several  of 
the  Alleiitiau  and  Commandor  islands  and  even  ii|»on  the  peninsula  of  Alaska,  then  con.^istimr 
of  the  Alleutians. 

Ill  1799  a  great  company  was  organized  in  St.  Petersburg  iiiuler  the  name  of  the  Ru>- 
siau  American  Company  with  the  object  of  working  the  Russian  possessions  upon  the  Amer- 
ican Continent,  as  also  the  shores  and  islands  of  Behriug  Sea  and  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk. 
The  company  was  granted  very  ample  privileges,  to  secure  which  the  Government  recognized 
it  as  necessary  to  conclude  a  couventiou  with  the  United  States  in  1820,  and  with  Great 
Britain  in  1825.  The  term  of  the  privileges  was  originally  fixed  for  twenty  years  but  it  was 
subsequently  several  times  renewed,  so  that  the  Russs-Ameiican  Company  continued  lo 
exist  till  1867  and  was  compelled  to  lliiuidate  lis  allairs  only  in  consequence  of  the  surrender 
of  the  Russian  American  possessions  with  the  Pribylov's  islands  to  the  Government  of  the 
Uuitetl  States.  The  Emperor,  as  is  said  in  the  treaty  concluded  on  this  subject  on  the 
3rd  of  May,  1867,  wishing  to  cement  the  good  understanding  existing  with  the  Government 
td"  the  United  States,  surrendered  to  the  latter  the  whole  territory  with  the  sovereign  rights 
thereto,   then  held  by  His  Majesty  on  the  American  Continent,  as   also  the  adjacent  islands. 

Simiiltaneoiisly  therewith  arose  the  question  of  the  inconveniences  of  joint  dominion 
(jver  Sakhalin  with  .Japan,  and  wishing  to  put  an  end  In  misunderstandings  which  arose  in 
reference  to  this  subject,  it  was  recognized  as  advantageous  to  enter  in  1875  into  an  agree- 
ment with  Japan.  The  result  of  this  agreement  was  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  with 
Japan  of  the  25th  of  April,  1875,  upon  the  mutual  surrender  on  the  part  of  Russia  of  the 
group  of  the  Kuril  islands  and  on  the  part  of  Japan  of  the  island  of  Sakhalin  or  Krafts. 
From  this  time  the  whole  island  of  Sakhalin  came  under  the  sway  of  the  Russian  sceptre. 

With  the  nineteenth  century,  when  a  complete  administration  and  civil  government  was 
formed  in  Siberia,  it  became  extremely  diflicnlt  to  wander  freely  over  the  country  or  to  con- 
ceal oneself.  The  passport  system  and  the  prohibition  of  founding  settlements  or  villages,  without 
authorization  lettered  the  emigrational  movements,  keeping  them  within  narrower  limits. 
P)Ul  on  the  niher  hand,  when  the  Government  opened  an  issue  to  colonization  it  poured  in  like 
a  wide  torrent. 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH.  ]3 

In  the  first  half  of  tlie  nineteenth  century,  as  in  the  eighteenth,  much  attention  was 
directed  by  both  the  Russian  Government,  and  by  Russian  men  of  science,  to  the  exploration 
of  Siberia  from  both  a  geographical  and  scientific  point  of  view.  In  the  Arctic  Ocean,  San- 
nikov  in  1805  discovered  in  the  Xew  Siberian  group,  the  Stolbovoi  island,  and  Bielkov,  the 
Bielkov  island  and  New  Siberia.  In  1809  to  1810  the  first  scientific  expedition  was  undertaken 
for  the  exploration  of  the  New  Siberian  islands,  by  order  of  the  Chancellor  Count  Rumiantsev 
under  the  leadership  of  Hedenstrom.  In  1821  to  1824,  expeditions  for  their  exploration  were 
ofitted  out  under  the  command  of  the  best  Russian  navigators  in  two  parts  of  the  Arctic 
•Ocean,  situated  wide  apart  from  each  other.  One  of  them  under  the  command  of  the  energetic 
sailor  Littke,  subsequently  Count  and  Vice  President  of  the  Russian  Geographical  Society, 
attempted  during  four  successive  years  to  reach  the  Siberian  Frozen  Ocean,  at  one  time  trying 
to  double  Nova  Zembla,  at  another  striving  to  force  its  way  into  the  Kara  sea  through  the 
Kara  gates,  but  without  success.  Extremely  valuable  investigations,  on  account  of  their  scien- 
tific results,  were  carried  out  at  the  same  time  by  the  expeditions  under  Captain  "Wrangel  and 
Lieutenant  Anjou  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Siberian  Frozen  Ocean,  between  the  mouths  of 
the  Lena  ami  Kolyma.  Behring  Sea  was  also  circumstantially  explored  by  the  two  celebrated 
Russian  navigators  Kotsebu,  1815  to  1818,  and  Littke,  1826  to  1829. 

The  Russian  Government  was  still  more  concerned  about  the  exploration  of  the  southern 
area  of  colonization.  The  expedition  of  Ledebur,  Meier  and  Bnnge  in  1826  made  an  excellent 
investigation  of  the  peculiar  and  interesting  fl(jra  of  the  Altai  and  the  expedition  under  Hum- 
boldt, Rose  and  Ehrenberg,  fitted  out  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas  I,  did  the  same  for  the  geo- 
logical formation  of  the  Altai  tableland.  Local  .men  of  science  also  and  observers  did  much 
for  the  sciences  ^in  Siberia.  In  the  beginning  of  the  thirties.  Dr.  Gebler  in  the  Altai  and 
Turchaninov  in  Circumbaikalia  made  excellent  studies,  one  of  the  entomology  and  the  other 
of  the  flora.  The  Altai,  town  of  Barnaoul,  the  centre  of  the  government  of  the  Altai  mining 
district,  due  to  the  solid  scientific  foundation  of  the  mining  engineers  living  there,  became 
one  of  the  three  principal  centres  of  culture  of  Siberia,  thanks  to  which  the  metalliferous 
position  of  the  Altai  was  well  explored  in  geological  respects.  Between  1842  and  1845  two 
important  scientific  journeys  were  undertaken  into  Siberia,  that  of  Peter  Chikhachov,  into  the 
least  accessible  parts  of  the  Altai,  and  that  (if  Mitldeiidoif,  to  two  little  known  and  little 
exploreil  outskirts  of  Siberia,  the  Tairair  peninsula  in  the  extreme  north,  and  tiie  coast  of 
the  Okhotsk  Sea  as  far  as  the  Shantar  islands.  Middendorf  reached  the  latter  region  by  fol- 
lowing the  southern  slope  of  the  Stanovoi  range,  which  became  a  Russian  possession  only 
subsequently,  namely  in  the  early  years  of  the  second  half  (d'  the  niueti>enth  century,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  annexation  to  Russia  of  the  whole  Amour  tract. 

This  great  achievement  in  the  history  of  Siberia  owed  its  accnuipllslimeut  to  the  extraor- 
dinary energy  of  the  then  Governor-General  of  Eastern  Siberia,  Muraviov,  afterwards  known 
as  Count  Muraviov  Amoursky.  Immediately  on  his  airival  in  the  region  committed  to  his 
care,  Muraviov  clearly  perceived  that  Eastern  Siberia  willi  its  vast  region  of  Yakutsk,  quite 
unfitted  to  permanent  settlement,  had  very  small  prospect  in  the  futiu'e,  without  the  gigantic 
and  sole  river  in  Siberia,  flowing  its  whole  cuuisi'  I'mm  west  to  east,  which  leads  to  a  sea  not 
eternally  closed  by  ice.  To  seize  the  whide  course  of  this  river  was  the  task  which  ]\Iuraviov 


14 


siiii;i;i.\. 


liiinly  and  caielully  .set  liiiii>ioll  ahuijl  wln-ii  Im-  tjei/aii  lljc  administration  of  the  country 
ontnislod  to  idni.  Tlio  lirst  slcj)  for  tlio  atlaiiinicnt  of  this  ohject  was  to  avail  hinistdf  of  the 
transport  <I5aikai»,  sent  hy  the  (iovciiinicnt  already  in  1848  to  carry  cargoes  from  the  Naval 
Department  to  I'etnipavlovsk  under  the  command  of  Captain  Nevel.skoy.  He  aecordin^-'ly  im|M)>ed 
npon  this  sinrdy  and  enterprising'  sailor  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Allium.  ||;i\iiii/  icicjvcd  lull  an  aiiiliori/aiiiiM,  liniitcd  liy  vaiioiis  ••ondilions,  Muraviov  found 
in  Ncvelskoy  an  fxccllcnt  performer  of  his  plans.  Nevelskoy  having  landed  his  cargo  in  I'elro- 
j)avlovsk  on  tlir^  3]sl  of  May,  1849,  started  with  the  transpoit  Baikal  for  the  eastern 
slioic  of  Sakhalin,  ilicrice  to  begin  his  exi)loralioiis.  II(;  doubled  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  island,  enteic(l  tiic  hay  of  Oimian,  called  it  after  the  name  of  his  transport,  and  making 
lurllicr  investigations  on  tli(!  28lh  of  June,  entered  the  frith  of  the  Amour.  He  soon  found 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  A  few  days  afterwards  Nevelskoy  entered  the  straits  between  the 
Continent  ami  llie  western  shore  of  Sakhalin  at  the  Capes  called  by  him  La/an-v  and  Mu- 
laviov.  'rims,  contrary  to  the  oj)inion8  of  J. a  I'erouse,  Krusenstjern  ami  others,  Sakhalin 
proved  !(i  he  an  island.  After  forty-five  vain  ctforts  to  enter  with  the  transport  Uaikal  the 
iiioiitii  of  the  Anioiii',    he  tinned   back  northwards  into  the  sea  of  Okhotsk. 

From  this  time  the  (juesUon  of  the  auuexatiou  of  the  Amour  obtained  more  serious  significa- 
tion in  Goveiiiment  spheres.  In  1850  the  Amour  expedition  was  formed,  having  for  its  chief  object 
the  roiiiidaiion  upon  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  near  the  frith  of  the  Amour,  at  a  point 
for  the  estahlishiiiciit  of  iclaliniis  and  Hade  with  the  Giliaks,  and  Nevelskoy  was  appointeil 
commander  (d'  the  Amour  expedition.  On  the  29th  of  June  he  founded  in  Fortune  Bay  the 
Peter  winter  station,  and  in  August  he  first  hoisted  on  the  shores  of  the  Amour  the  Russian 
military  flag,  declared  to  the  Ciliaks  that  they  were  coming  under  Russian  protection  and 
founded  at  this  point,  iweiity-live  versts  Irum  the  mouth  the  post  of  Nikolaevsk.  Between 
1851  and  1853  were  founded  the  posts  of  Ilinsk  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Kusnnaya,  Alexan- 
drovsk  in  the  bay  of  De  Castri  and  Mariinsk  near  lake  Kizi. 

In  1854,  thanks  to  his  repeated  requests  and  perseverance,  Muraviov  received  the  Imperial 
authorization  to  <;navigatc  the  Amour».  The  Chinese  government  was  warned  of  the  intended 
first  voyage  on  the  river  ami  without  -waiting  for  any  answer  from  it,  the  small  but  powerful 
flotilla  under  the  coinmaml  of  the  (iovernor-General  himself  solemnly  took  the  waters  of  the 
Amour  on  the  18th  of  May,  descending  to  this  river  from  the  Shilka.  On  tlie  14th  of  June 
the  expedition  already  reached  the  pool  of  Mariinsk,  and  thus  the  road  was  opened  from  the 
Russian  upper  waters  of  the  Amour  to  the  lower  reaches  of  this  great  river  only  just  occu- 
pied by  the  Russians. 

The  success  of  this  first  expedition  marks  an  important  epoch  lu  the  history  of  Siberia. 
The  convenience  and  possibility  of  the  settlement  of  the  shores  of  the  Amour,  on  account  of 
the  sparsely  inhabited  condition  of  the  country,  the  peaceable  character  of  the  natives  and  the 
w^eakness  of  the  Chinese,  were  demonstrated.  The  importance  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Amour 
was  proved  also  by  the  fact  that  thanks  to  the  sending  in  good  time  of  provisions  and  arms 
to  Kamchatka  the  port  of  Petropavlovsk  was  saved.  Near  this  port  the  Anglo-French  fleet 
stood  in  Avvachinsk  bay  with  distinctly  hostile  intentions,  and  even  opened  fire  upon  the  for- 
tifications. Attempts  of  a  simihir  nature  were  made  in  the  following  year  but  also  with- 
out success. 


HISTOEICAL    SKETCH.  1  5 

lu  1855  Governor- General  Moura^^ov  laid  upon  his  successor  General  Korsakov  the 
task  of  the  immediate  and  rapid  realization  of  a  Russian  colonization  along  the  course  of  the 
Ainuur.  Emigrants  were  invited  from  the  governments  of  Irkutsk  and  Zahaikal  and  owing  to 
the  numerous  advantages  offered  in  the  form  of  liberation  from  military  service,  State  provi- 
sion for  two  years  and  the  supply  of  agricultural  implements,  the  number  of  applicants  proved 
far  greater  tlian  was  at  first  thought  necessary. 

The  flow  of  emigrants  and  arms  continued  during  the  following  years,  notwithstanding 
the  expressed  dissatisfaction  of  the  Chinese  authorities  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  diplomatic 
negotiations  led  to  no  results,  due  to  the  voluntary  drlatoriness  of  the  Chinese  officials. 

At  length  a  project  of  a  treaty  was  composed  at  Aigun  in  1857  and  handed  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Chinese  Government.  In  order  to  reserve  himself  the  higher  authority  in 
the  case  of  any  misunderstanding  General  Mouraviov  entrusted  the  ultimate  direction  of  the 
negotiations  to  Perovski  and  thanks  to  the  firmness  of  the  latter  the  treaty  was  signed  on 
the  16th  day  of  May.  The  left  banks  of  the  Amour  from  Argun  to  the  mouth  were  ceded 
to  Russia  and  the  right  banks  as  far  as  the  Ussuri,  to  China;  only  Russian  and  Chinese  vessels 
were  allowed  to  navigate  the  Amour,  Sungari  and  Ussuri;  the  Mandzhurian  inhabitants  of 
the  left  banks  of  the  Amour,  from  the  river  Zei  on  the  south  to  the  village  of  Harmandzin 
were  to  remain  in  their  former  places  of  habitation,  under  the  rule  of  a  Mandzhurian  governor, 
there  was  to  be  free  trade  along  all  three  rivers.  These  were  the  conditions  of  the  Ai- 
gun treaty. 

In  order  to  enjoy  the  full  advantages  of  this  treaty  it  was  necessary  to  colonize  the 
province  of  the  Amour;  to  cultivate  a  Russian  population  in  it  and  to  open  a  steam  navig-a- 
tion  along  the  Amour.  And  hence  the  Government  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  necessary 
to  institute  an  obligatory  Cossack  colonization  of  the  Amour,  Ussuri,  and  of  all  the  region  of 
the  Ussuri.  In  1858  Cossack  stations  were  established  along  the  left  banks  of  the  river  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Little  Hingan  mountain  range  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ussuri,  and  a  Cossack 
colony  was  founded  at  the  junction  of  the  latter  with  the  Amour,  named  after  the  first  con- 
queror of  the  Amour,  Khabarovski;  this  was  followed  by  the  colony  of  Blagoveschensk  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Ze'i,  of  Sophisk  and  others.  And  in  this  manner  the  Russian  rule  over  the 
vast  region  of  the  Amour,  was  ultimately  established.  In  1860  there  were  already  as  many  as 
twelve  thousand  colonists  of  both  sexes  in  the  province  of  the  Amour  and  there  were  61 
Cossack  stations.  In  the  same  year  Count  Ignatiev  after  prolonged  negotiations  with  the 
Chinese  Government  succeeded  in  concluding  the  Pekin  treaty  by  which  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment ultimately  recognized  the  Russian  rule  over  the  river  Anu»ur  and  the  entire  region  of 
the  Ussuri.  This  treaty  also  confirmed  all  the  points  of  the  Aigun  treaty  and  of  the  Tiantsin 
treaty  previously  made  by  Count  Putiatin  with  the  Chinese. 

The  occupation  of  the  Amour  was  tulliiwcd  by  a  scientific  survey  of  the  Amour-Lit- 
toral region.  This  was  inaugurated  by  the  Russian  Geographical  Society,  which  in  1858  had 
opened  an  Eastern  Siberian  branch  at  Irkutsk.  In  1854  the  Society  equipped  its  great  Sibe- 
rian expedition  for  the  exploration  of  the  regions  of  the  Baikal,  and  especially  of  the  Amour 
Littoral  province.  This  expedition  included  the  astronomer  Schwartz,  naturalist  Raddey, 
geologist   Schmidt,  the  envoy  of  the  Eastern  Siheriau  branch,  R.  Maack,  and  also  the  envoy 


]  (',  SIBKKIA. 

Ill'  iIk!  Aciiiloiiiy  of  Sfifjircs,  Slnciik,  zoold^'isi,  who  was  soul  at  tlu-  initiative'  of  ilie  Grand 
I)iiko  Constantin,  tiif-n  Piosidcnt  of  tlif  Aradcmy,  and  lastly  the  onv(ty  of  the  liotanical  Gar- 
ilciis,  Miixiiiinv,  huiMiii^l.  Tliis  expcdiiinii  iciidcrcd  incalcuhible  service  to  the  scientific  knowl- 
cdf/c  of  tlio  nri<»"-  J  he  l-lastfiii  Siiicriaii  iuarich  wliifli  siihs(;f|ii('ntly  bfcame  the  most  prom- 
iiK'iit,  local  centre  of  r-iiltnn'  in  Masleni  Siiieria  and  its  frontiers  ilid  not  cea.se  its  useful 
activity,  and  at  a  later  [leriod  the  distriel  was  explored  in  all  i)arts  hy  lueal  scientists  sent 
under  tli(!  pntteetion  of  the  S<n'iety  ami  at  its  exj)ense.  Anion^^  these  explorers  mention  may 
])('.  made  of  Cliekaiiovski,  Dyhovski,  I'otanin,  Yadrintsev,  Kropotkin,  Cherski,  Dindiir.  K'nr- 
zhinski  and  many  ntliers. 

Ill  L'ciieial,  diiriii^r  the  last  thirty  years,  an  independent  effort  is  already  wbservuble  on 
ihe  part  of  the  local  Siberian  maj-mates  to  investif,'ato  the  prodnctivc  powers  of  their  vast 
country,  Amonp  those  persons  who  have  enriched  themselves  by  a  prudent  exploitation  of  the 
iiaiiiral  wealth  of  Siiieria  there  arc  many  who  have  shown  themselves  the  patrons  of  every 
scientilic  exploralinn  ami  darinf,'  enterprise  which  could  briuiL,'  advantage  to  Siberia.  Some 
of  these  persiiiis,  like  A.  IM.  Sibiriakov  and  M.  K.  Sidorov  have  spared  neither  labour 
nor  nioiiey  inr  the  exploialion  ami  disecvery  of  a  sea  route  to  the  mouths  of  the  Siberian 
rivers,  whilo  others  lik(!  I.  M.  Siiiiriakov  and  lukachev  have  spared  no  expense  for  the 
support  and  even  equipmenl  of  scientific  expeditions  to  the  little  known  Siberian  outlying 
provinces  and  adjacent  parts  of  Central  Asia,  to  the  exploration  of  which  the  Russian  Geo- 
^M'aphical  Society  has  given  particular  attention. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  not  only  Russian,  but  also  Scandinavian,  English 
anil  American  navigators,  have  been  greatly  attracted  by  the  question  of  the  investigation  of 
the  climatic  conditions  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  with  the  object  of  establishing  a  regular  sea  route 
to  the  months  of  the  great  Siberian  rivers.  As  early  as  1868  and  1869  the  first  successful 
endeavours  to  penetrate  into  the  Kara  sea  were  made  by  Swedisli  traders.  The  most  conven- 
ient time  of  year  for  this  was  found  to  be  the  early  autumn,  when  the  Kara  sea  is  most 
free  from  ice.  Xordenskjold"s  scii'uliiic  expiMJition  in  1875  showed  that  the  niuiiih  of  the  Yenissei 
is  accessible  in  autumn,  naturally  for  a  very  short  time,  and  with  the  exception  of  particularly 
unfavourable  years:  and  that  for  trading  purposes  it  would  be  necessary  to  erect  warehouses 
at  tlie  niouth  of  the  river  where  the  unloading  and  loading  of  the  vessels  could  be  effected  in 
a  few  days.  In  1873  to  1879  Kordenskjold's  famous  expedition  was  efpiipped  with  the  active 
cooperation  of  the  Siberian  magnate  Sibiriakov.  This  expedition  was  the  first  to  succeed  in 
navigating  along  the  entire  Siberian  coast  and  passing  through  the  Behring  straits  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  This  expedition  which  extended  over  a  space  of  two  years,  was  naturally  a 
triumph  to  science,  but  as  yet  it  only  proved,  that  although  it  is  possible  under  particularly 
favourable  circumstances  to  navigate  through  the  Arctic  Ocean  along  the  entire  Siberian 
coast,  even  in  one  year,  yet  with  the  exception  of  the  above  mentioned  access  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Yenissei,  this  coast  cannot  serve  for  regular  maritime  or  mercantile  relations. 
The  heroic  endeavours  of  the  last  American  expedition  under  Captain  Long,  whose  vessel  the 
«Jeanetta»  was  lost  on  the  coast  of  the  Xovo-Sibirsk  islands  and  the  survivors  only  saved 
after  the  death  of  Captain  Long  by  Russians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  in  1881,  proved  the 
same  truth.  In  the  meantime  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  entire  Arctic  Ocean  have  now  been 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH.  [  7 

eonsldonibly  enlightened  hy  a  large  internal  idual  enterprise,  namely  by  the  siiiuiltaneoiis 
(thscivaiidns  of  a  series  u[  pular  meteorological  stations  erected  in  1883 to  1884  on  a  common 
}ilaii.  with  the  consent  of  many  Powers  along  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Two  of  iliese 
stations  were  erected  hy  tiie  Russian  Geographical  Society,  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena, 
the  other  at  Xova  Zembla.  The  Russian  Academy  of  Sciences  also  took  advantage  of  tlie 
staff  of  the  Lena  ohservatory,  for  a  new  scientific  exploration  of  the  jSTovo-Sibirsk  islands  in 
1885  under  Bunglie  and  Baron  Toll. 

The  opening  of  the  Tomsk  rinversity  in  1888,  thanks  to  the  large  donations  of  the 
Siberian  magnates.  A.  M.  Sibiriakov  and  Tsibulski,  made  Tomsk  a  third  centre  of  culture 
within  Siberia  proper  and  greatly  aids  the  direction  and  development  of  the  young  scientific 
forces  in  the  depths  of  Siberia. 

The  Russian  rule  has  also  gradually  advanced  into  the  depths  of  Asia  on  the  other 
froutim-  opposite  the  Arcti<3  Ocean,  namely  the  Kirghiz  steppes.  This  movement  was  started 
as  early  as  1731  by  the  acceptation  of  the  Little  Kirghiz  Horde  into  the  Russian  rule.  The 
fall  of  the  r)zhuiigar  kingdom  to  tin,'  Chinese  in  1769  deprived  the  Kirghiz  Kaissacks  of  a 
firm  ally  and  obliged  them  to  ultimately  gravitate  towards  Russia.  The  daring  and  clever 
Jvhan  of  the  Central  Kirghiz  Horde,  Alhai,  managed  to  preserve  the  nominal  ind<»pendence  of 
his  people  by  artfully  playing  between  China  and  Russia.  But  after  his  death  in  178 J,  the 
feeble  character  of  his  successor  Bali-Khan  and  the  constant  disputes  among  the  difl'erent 
Kirghiz  tribes  and  hordes  resulted  in  one  tribe  after  another  seeking  salvation  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  its  neighbours  by  submitting  to  the  sway  and  powerful  prot(!ction  of  Russia.  These 
neighbouring  tribes,  placed,  as  it  were,  between  the  hammer  and  the  anvil.  betwe(ni  tlie  plun- 
dering onslaughts  of  their  still  independent  neighbours,  on  the  oiu;  hand,  ami  the  Russian  pro- 
tection of  its  already  subjected  tribes  on  the  other,  sought  the  Russia  rule,  one  after  another. 
Such  a  gradtial  subjection  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes  obliged  the  Russian  (iovernnii'ut  to  ad\aiice 
its  foreposts  far  beyond  the  Irtysh  into  the  depths  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes. 

BetW'Cen  1824  and  1834  the  first  Russian  settlements  were  founded  in  the  steppes  of  the 
Kirghiz  of  the  Siberian  department;  the  numher  of  these  settlements  afterwarils  inereased.  but 
between  1836  and  1847  the  successes  of  the  Russian  rule  (i\erilic  Kirghiz  steppes,  were  hindered 
hy  a  ten  years  struggle  with  the  energetic  grandson  of  Rhaii  Ablai,  the  sultan  Kenissara,  who 
succeeded  during  ten  years  to  play  between  the  two  neighbouring  Russian  Governor-Generals,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  independent  Tnikestaii  rnlei's  on  the  oilier,  until  at  last  he  fell  in  an  insig- 
nificant dispute  at  the  hands  of  his  noinadic:  neighbouis.  the  Karakirghiz,  in  1847.  Unfortun- 
ately th(!  Russian  settlements  in  the  country  of  the  Ci'iitral  horde  were  founded  in  places 
([uite  inilit  lor  a  settled  agricultiii-al  life,  loi-  e\iini|i|e.  r>ayan-Aoul,  Larkarala,  Akm(dinsk, 
Atbassar  et  cetera,  and  ctmld  not  therefore  serve  as  points  of  support  for  the  Russian  control 
over  the  steppes  of  the  Kiigliiz  limits  (d'  Siberia.  But  as  soou  as  the  beginning  of  the  forties 
tiie  explorations  made  iiy  Russian  naturalists  and  geologists,  sncli  as  Karelin,  Kirilov,  A.  Shrenk 
and  ATangali,  showed  thai  ind  all  of  tin;  counliy  is  nnlitied  i'nv  selilenient,  imt  that  on  the 
contrary,  at  tin;  foot  id'  the  Taibagataia  and  Sendrechinsk  Altai,  there  are  excellent  and 
convenient  lands  for  agriculture  ami  cidouization.  Since  the  subjection  in  1847  of  the  Great 
Kirghiz  horde,  whose  lands  were  situated  abiu.u   the  luMUtiriil  ami    fertile    slopes  of  the  Semi- 


18  SIIIKRI.V. 

iTir-liinHk  and  Zailii>k  Altai,  it  was  luimil  |Mi.ssih|i'  !'•  stail  u  .s«;ttlt»d  ami  a4,'rioijltiiial 
rolftnizatidii  in  tln'  sontli-K.ist  conicr  nf  tin-  Kii^'liiz  laipls.  Thus  in  1h47  tlio  town  of  Koj»al 
was  hiiilt  ill  tli<'  I'uot  of  tlic  Si'mini'liiiisk  Altai,  ari'l  in  \><ol  tin-  lort  of  Vt-nioitj  on  tin- 
slopes  of  III!'  Zailijsk  Altai,  anil  sut)si'r|MiMitly,  a  wliolo  siM-ios  of  ronsidi-rable  st'ttlemcrits  wt'i*' 

fonmli'il  .ijnnt,'  the  loot  of  lliis  inonntain    ••ji.iin. 

Th cniialidn    nf   llir'    /ailii>k    slM|»fs    was  i>f   similar   iin|iorlan<'»'    in    tlii'  history  of 

Asialjc  lliissia  Ut  iliai  t>\'  m'IIIIiil'  iIh'  n-LMcn  of  ilir  Ainoiir.  As  soon  as  Knssian  colonization 
lia«I  set  a  liini  fndt  in  this  fnniticr  laml  of  (Jcntral  Asia,  tli*-  piont'ors  of  Russian  scionoo  pp;- 
cipilatoil  thcnisolvrs  tliiihcT-.  In  ] 855  to  lft57  ami  tho  following  years,  the  Russian  Goographi<.-al 
Society  e(|Mip|)e(l  its  lirst  expiMiitinn  innh'i-  Hk!  direction  of  its  Vice-President  Semenov  to  this 
ri'LTloii,  and  snbs('i|iiciitly  used  eveiy  rndcavDiii-  for  a  scientifif  exploratimi  nf  not  only  tlii> 
ivtrjdii,  liiit  takiiif,'  it  as  a  starting  |)oiiit,  foi-  a  gradual  exploitation  of  the  natural  trea>ur''> 
of  ilir  interior  of  Asia.  The  names  nf  the  most  active  agents  of  the  Russian  fjeographical 
Society  are  connected  wiih  tli(>  e\|)!oiatioii  of  this  region  of  Sibei-ia  and  of  the  adjacent 
countries  of  Central  Asia.  After  Semenuv's  expedition,  Scvortsov,  Veniukov,  Baron  Osten- 
Sacken,  Mousliketov,  Romanov,  Przhevalski,  Potanin,  Berosovski,  Pevtsov,  Groniclievski,  the 
brothers  Groom-Grzhimailo,  Kiasnov,  Bogdanovich,  Obruchev  and  Roborovski  appear  a.s  the 
pioneers  of  scienc(^  not  only  in  tliis  ivgioii  but  in  the  depths  of  the  Asiatic  deserts  and  their 
oases  and  hills.  In  the  interim  Vcrnoie,  with  its  excellently  colonized  area,  not  only  became 
the  lever  point  of  Russian  influence  over  the  neighbouring  nomadic  tribes,  which  soon  voluntarily 
subjected  themselves  to  Russia,  but  it  also  succeeiled  in  binding  such  a  knot  of  relations  witli 
the  long  settled  rulers  of  Turaii  as  could  never  have  been  done  from  the  distant  Orenburg. 

In  the  meanwhile,  in  1858,  the  fort  of  PiMuvsk  was  erected  on  the  lowlands  of  the 
SyT-Daria  on  the  spot  taken  from  the  Kokaml  tiibe  of  Ak-mecheti  and  a  line  of  outposts 
established  along  the  Syr-Daria  from  Perovsk  to  Kasalinsk.  At  the  end  of  the  fifties  the 
Russian  Government  gradually  came  to  the  conclusion  of  the  necessity  of  advancing  the  fron- 
tier to  include  the  tribes  -which  had  gone  over  to  Russian  rule,  and  of  entirely  subjecting 
till'  Kirghiz  hordes  lar  into  the  Kiidiiz  steppes,  witji  the  kingdoms  of  Turkestan,  and  of  occu- 
pying the  slopes  of  the  mountain  chain  limiting  the  upper  cDursc  of  tln^  Syr-Daria  on  tlie 
north  between  the  meridians  of  tlie  already  occupied  limits  of  lake  Issyk-Kule  and  fort  Pe- 
rovsk. This  occupation  which  was  begun  by  Colonel  Tsiinraermaini  in  1860,  and  realized  by 
Colonel  Cherniaev  in  1864,  resulted  in  the  subjection  of  Tashkend,  gradually  brought  the  whole 
of  Turkestan  under  Russian  rule  and  was  completed  in  1881  by  the  occupation  of  the  pre- 
sent Transcaspian  province  to  the  very  frontiers  of  Persia  and  Afghanistan  and  the  laying 
down  of  the  Transcaspian  Railway. 

The  colonization  of  Siberia  proper  has  followed  its  natural  course.  The  emigration  move- 
ment was  very  strong  before  the  Ciimean  campaign;  then  in  1855  it  decreased,  but  after 
the  close  of  the  campaign  it  again  increased.  Before  1861  at  the  time  of  the  liberation  of  the 
serfs  the  number  of  emigrants  again  began  to  decrease,  but  after  the  libm-ation  it  attained 
the  largest  dimensions.  From  the  time  of  their  liberation  the  peasant  population  increased  in  a 
manner  unprecedented  in  the  present  century;  so  that  evident  signs  of  an  over  population 
evinced  themselves  in  many  jiarishes  and  even  districts   of  Russia,  and  emigration  on  a  large 


HISTORICAL    SKKTCn.  ]  Q 

scale  appeared  as  a  natural  necessity.  Between  1860  and  1880  the  emigration  into  the  two 
western  Siberian  governments  was  estimated  at  60,000  souls,  and  if  the  eastern  governments 
and  the  Semirechinsk  province  be  included,  then  the  number  during  that  period  may  be  taken 
as  about  110,000  souls.  The  emigration  returns  for  recent  years  show  that  during  the  six  years 
between  1879  and  1885  over  55,000  people  passed  into  Siberia.  Last  year,  1892,  after  the 
famine  in  European  Russia,  abont  ninety  thousand  were  registered  at  Tinmen.  The  emigra- 
tion to  the  Altai  mining  district  was  particularly  strong,  ami  between  1884  and  18^9  about 
95,500  emigrants  settled  there. 

Since  1861  the  emigrants  to  the  Amour  anil  Littoral  provinces  are  given  special  ad- 
vantages, which  with  certain  modifications  are  in  force  to  the  present  day  and  consist  in  the 
following:  Crown  land  to  the  amount  of  not  over  100  dessiatines  per  family  is  allotted  to 
each  family  or  company  under  the  condition  of  a  free  use  of  this  land  for  the  first  twenty 
years,  with  the  right  of  buying  it,  or  after  the  lapse  of  these  twenty  years,  of  paying  a  rent 
fixed  by  the  State.  Li  those  cases  where  the  emigrant  may  desire  to  acquire  more  land  than 
thai  allotted  to  a  family,  it  can  immediately  do  so  by  paying  three  roubles  per  dessiatine. 
And  in  general  this  is  the  price  fixed  for  the  purchase  of  land  in  the  districts  assigned  by 
the  Government  for  emigration,  the  pioneer  being  given  the  choice  of  his  place  of  settlement. 
Being  freed  from  the  payment  of  taxes  and  State  service  for  twenty  years  the  settlers  were 
freed  from  military  service  for  ten  years,  and  from  the  payment  of  rural  taxes  for  three  years. 
These  advantages  attracted  settlers  to  the  Amour  and  they  gravitated  through  the  whole  of 
Siberia  to  Blagoveschensk  and  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  Zei  and  Bourrei.  Li  1883  the  Goviuu- 
ment  started  the  peopling  of  the  south  Ussuri  region,  whither  the  peasants  of  European  Ilussia 
were  transported  at  the  expense  of  the  Government  by  steamer  from  Odessa  through  tiie  Suez 
canal.  The  result  of  a  three  years  trial  was  the  settlement  of  over  4,500  souls  in  this  region. 
at  a  cost  of  over  a  million  roubles  to  the  State.  Emigrants  to  this  region  were  also  allowed 
to  settle  at  their  own  expense,  with  the  condition  that  each  family  should  have  a  capital  of 
not  less  than  600  roubles,  beyond  the  travelling  expenses,  for  starting  farming  in  tlie  new 
locality;  and  should  they  desire  to  enlarge  their  farms,  they  were  given  advances  of 
600  roubles  per  family  for  a  period  of  33  years. 

In  speaking  of  the  colonization  of  Siberia  it  is  necessary  to  UKMition  also  the  sending 
of  criminals  into  that  region.  It  is  generally  thought  that  such  transportation  forms  one  of 
the  modes  of  colonizing  a  country,  but  this  is  hardly  the  case.  The  distribution  of  the  exiles 
in  the  different  governments  and  regions  is  extremely  uneven.  In  certain  localities  they  are 
crowded  to  the  extreme,  for  instance,  in  tlie  Kainsk  and  Mariinsk  districtsof  the  government  of 
Tomsk,  they  form  alnmst  one-sixth  of  the  i)opulation,  wlii](>  in  olln'r  districts  autl  even  pro- 
vinces there  are  none,  such  as  for  example  at  Semipalatinsk,  Kamchatka,  the  region  of 
Okhotsk,  and  province  of  AkmoJinsk.  There  are  no  accurate  data  respecting  the  increase  of 
exiles  through  marriage,  but  judging  fVoiii  llio  ii'asous  which  hinder  tlie  iniillipiii'ation  nf  the 
exiles  it  may  be  concluded  that  this  increase  is  very  insignificant.  The  pintpie  transported  for 
criminal  offences  are  in  the  majority  of  cases  single,  husbands  without  their  wives,  wives 
without  their  husbands;  and  as,  moreover,  the  number  of  males  (^xihnl  into  Siberia  is  ten 
times  that  of  the  femah's.  tin'  married  ('onplt\s  made  i)('t\veiMi  the  eriminals   must  be    coiunar- 


2Q  SlitKi;iA. 

alivcly  small;  bosidcs  this  the  iridispoMtiiiii  of  iIk-  vaf-'alitiml  cxilfs  to  a  iloiiK-stic  life  and  of 
llic  nativi's  In  enter  into  inama//e  with  the  eiiininals  ami  the  predciminanee  of  prostitution, 
sickness,  sipliilis  et  ecirra,  aiiKiiit.'  Ilii-  fxilfil  population,  all  this  eomhincs  to  pn-Vfiit  th<'  iniil- 
tipliiaiioii  I, I   ihc  fxiji'il  sciilcrs  and   lo  paralyze    it. 

'I  his  historieal  ski'ldi  id'  tlii'  conquest  and  e(doni/alon  of  llic  va^i  aira  known  und<T  ilic 
^'(111  ral  nauH'  of  Sihi-ria  cimics  down  almost  to  the  [)n'sent  lime.  Wlit-n  duriiif.'  the  st-cund 
liall  (d'  the  present  ceiilury  it  was  discovered  that  the  pi)|iidaiion  was  fast  out^Towint/ 
its  terrilory  then  colonization  hecame  one  (d'  ilie  uio-t  important  prol)|ems  of  Iho  State, 
And  thus  ii  is  thai  the  (invernment  has  resid\ed  to  innie  to  the  aid  of  tho  national 
iiiovemi'nt,  and  to  re(.MdaIe  il  hy  a  series  id'  measures.  The  matter  was  hcfinu  by  the  law 
of  18S9,  respeclinj.'  llie  voliniiaiy  emiLTation  of  peasants  and  hiirtrliers  to  State  lands  where 
they  previously  had  not  the  ri^dit  of  settlement.  Accoidinj--  to  this  law  the  Ministry  of 
Stale  Domains  foinis  special  allotments  on  the  State  lands  for  settlers  and  communicates 
concenniiii'  llii'in  to  the  .Ministiv  nl  tlie  Interior,  wlm  alter  investi^aliiii.'  the  local  positinii  of 
tile  families  desirous  of  emijfrali!i,i>-  Includes  those  which  satisfy  the  necessary  conditions  in 
the  emigration  iist  and  excludes  those  wtiicli  are  deemed  unfitted.  Emif-Tation  was  also  allowed 
to  tlic  soutfi-western  Siheiian  jirovinces  peopled  by  the  Kiii-ddz,  and  where  l^issians  were  not 
previt)usly  admitted,  and  in  \b'J2  this  permission  was  extended  to  the  two  govemments  of 
East(>rn  Sibeiia,  those  of  Yenisseisk  and  Irkutsk. 

The  result  of  this  emigration  movement  to  Siberia  was  tlie  settlement  id'  Russian  emi- 
grants over  the  whole  of  the  narrow  southern  band  exiending  f'lom  the  Urals  over  Western 
and  Eastern  Siberia  proper  and  beyond  the  Baikal  over  the  basin  of  the  Amour  to  the  Sea 
of  Japan.  And  this  is  why,  during  the  last  ten  years,  the  nec(^ssiiy  dl'  uniting  all  this  extensive 
and  in  parts  even,  interrupted  colonized  area  of  Sib(M-ia  by  an  nninternipted  railroad  has  be- 
come more  and  more  evident  l)otli  in  Russia  and  Siberia.  But  the  question  of  the  construction 
of  this  line  only  came  to  the  fore  after  the  memorable  journey  of  the  Heir  Apparent  through 
the  whole  of  Siberia.  On  bis  return  to  Russia  from  his  long  journey  to  the  East,  His  Imperial 
Highness  landed  on  Russian  territory  at  Vladivostok,  on  the  lltli  of  May.  189 1.  and  read  there 
the  immemorial  Imperial  rescript  of  the  ITili  of  March,  1891,  published  at  St.  Petersburg  in 
the  name  of  His  Imperial  Highness  the  Tsaiwich  and  Grand  Duke  Nicolai  Alexandrovich. 

«IIaving  now  commanded  the  iminediaie  censt ruction  of  a  railroad  through  the  entire 
length  of  Siberia  with  the  object  of  connecting  these  richly  endowed  provinces  of  Siberia 
with  the  internal  network  of  railways,  I  commission  you  to  aiinou:ice  such  as  my  will  on 
your  return  to  the  Jxussian  territory  al'tei'  having  visited  the  fiiiei^iii  lands  of  the  East.  At 
the  same  time  I  lay  upon  you  the  act  of  inaugurating  the  construction,  at  the  expense  of  the 
Crown,  of  the  Ussuri  section  of  the  (irand  Siberian  Railway  at  Vladivostok. 

v;May  your  auspicious  participation  in  the  inauguration  of  this  truly  national  work  which 
I  have  undertaken,  serve  as  a  fresh  witness  of  my  heartful  desire  to  facilitate  the  relations 
between  Sibeiia  and  the  other  portions  of  the  Empire,  and  in  such  wise  make  known  to  this 
region,  which  is  so  dear  to  my  heart,  my  liveliest  care  for  its  pacific  progress^>. 

This  decided  the  question  of  the  construction  of  tho  Great  Siberian  Railway  which  had 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  Government  and  nation  for  over  a  third  of  a  century:  and  this 
fact  is  one  id'  the  most  important  events  of  the  present  reign. 


HISTOKICAL    SKETCH.  2  I 

His  Imperial  Higluit'ss,  the  Tsarevich,  in  his  voyage  tlirongh  the  whole  of  Siberia 
from  Vladivostok  to  the  Urals,  became  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  the  immediate 
needs  of  this  distant  portion  of  the  Empire  and  from  that  time  the  problem  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  this  colossal  work  took  a  practical  form.  The  construction  was  started  simultaneously 
from  the  two  opposite  extremities  of  Siberia  and  as  its  completion  necessitated  numerous  other 
subsidiary  woiks  having  both  the  oljject  of  facilitating  the  actual  construction  and  the  peopling 
and  industrial  development  of  the  districts  adjoining  the  line,  it  was  therefore  decided  at 
the  end  of  1892  to  institute  a  special  committee  at  St.-Petersburg  under  the  title  of  the 
«Committee  of  the  Siberian  Railway*  and  to  concentrate  the  entire  direction  of  the  matter  in 
this  Committee.  His  Imperial  Highness  the  Tsarevich  named  by  Imperial  decree  the  Presi- 
dent of  this  Committee,  has  already  instituted  a  series  of  practical  measures  for  the  most 
rapid  realization  of  this  line  connecting  the  Russian  railway  system  with  the  Pacific  coasts 
of  Siberia. 


^<^. 


22  SIUEKIA. 


('  II  A  I'Ti'.I!    II. 

Geographical  Review  of  Siberia. 

If  li;is  alrojidy  liccii  .sliowii  (liat  SitKuia  may  Ik'  iliviilod  iiitu  five  component  purls  each 
(1  wliirli,  ill  virtue  not  only  of  tin'  vastnoss  of  its  area,  l»nt  also  from  the  difference  of  its 
Manual  coMililions,  (»f  tlio  coiii|Mi,silinii  of  its  population  ami  of  its  historical  development, 
slMMild  l)c  (•(iMsidcrod  separately.  The  present  review  commences  with  those  two  portions 
which  aiv  known  separately  as  Western  and  Eastern  Siberia,  and  together  as  Siberia  pro- 
per, In  lilt'  limited  sense  of  the  word. 

Western  Siberia. 

Its  component  parts:  the  Altai  slopes  and  the  western  Siberian  lowlands;  geographical 
and  iirographical  review  of  the  Altai  slopes;  the  western  Siberian  lowlands,  their  hydrography 
and  divisit)n  into  three  zones  or  bands;  the  cultivated  agricultural,  the  forest  and  the  polar- 
tundrys  (frozen  marshes);  climatic  conditions  of  those  zones;  the  flora  of  the  Avestern  Siberian 
valley  and  of  the  Altai  slopes;  the  character  of  the  fauna  of  Western  Siberia;  its  population 
and  its  ethnograpliical  composition  and  emigration;  the  distribution  of  domestic  animals. 


WES'J'KKN  Siberia,  in  the  above  sense  of  the  tei'm,  is  in  its  administrative  aspect  composed 
of  the  two  governments,  Tobolsk  and  Tomsk,  and  from  a  geographical  point  of  view  it 
occupies  the  greater  portion,  that  is,  68  per  cent,  of  the  basin  of  the  river  Obi,  or  an  area  of 
41,500  scpiare  geographical  miles,  that  is,  more  than  two-iiftlis  of  the  area  of  the  whole  of 
European  Russia  and  four  times  that  of  Germany. 

With  the  exception  of  its  north-western  limits,  where  the  low  mountain  chain  of  the 
Urals,  from  the  sources  of  the  river  Kara  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  governments  of 
Perm,  form  a  boundary  between  Western  Siberia  on  the  one  hand  and  the  government  of  Volog- 
da and  Archangel  on  the  other,  and  its  entire  south-eastern  corner  composed  of  the  vast  high- 
lands of  the  Altai,  the  whole  of  Western  Siberia  presents  a  vast  plain,  very  slightly  elevated 
above  the  level  of  the  Xortiiern  Ocean  and  plentifully  watered  by  the  numerous  tributaries 
of  the  two  immense  branches  of  the  vast  system  of  the  Obi,  the  rivers  Irtysh  and  Obi. 

The  entire  south-eastern  corner  of  Western  Siberia  is  occupied  by  the  Altai  highlands 
and  lowlands    forming  the   Altai    IMininur   Kesrion.  the  whole  of  which,  to  the    extent  of  over 


GEOGKAl'HIGAL    REVIEW.  23 

380,000  siiuare  verst^,  or  7,800  square  geugrapbical  iiiilrs,  formh  a  inoiintaiuuu.s  coiiiUry  right 
times  as  large  as  Switzerland,  and  belonging  not  to  the  State  but  to  His  Imperial  Majesty's 
Cabinet,  that  is,  forming  the  private  property  of  the  Emperor.  These  lands  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Cabinet  at  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  from  those  of  the  Demidovs, 
tlie  first  occupiers  and  settlers,  and  the  first  to  .•-tari  a  true  mining  industry  in  the  country. 
t»ne-tliiril  of  ihe  area  of  the  Altai  mining  region  is  covered  by  the  high  mountain  masses  of 
the  Altai.  This  is  not  a  mountain  chain  but  an  immense  highland,  situated  at  the  western 
extremity  of  the  long  chain  of  the  Saian  mountains  which  form  ihe  noriliern  boundary  of 
ihe  internal  highland  of  Asia  and  descends  to  the  lowlands  of  Siberia.  The  Altai  highlands 
are  almost  as  broad  as  tliey  are  long  and  consist  of  a  number  of  mountain  ridges  separated 
from  each  other  by  longitudinal  and,  in  places,  transversal  valleys.  The  ridges  extend  in  a 
not  entirely  parallel  east  to  west  direction,  but  slightly  diverge  towards  the  west  after  the 
fashion  of  a  half-opened  fan.  Thus  the  Xarimsk  ridge  which  limits  the  longest  of  the  Altai 
valleys,  the  Bukhtarminsk  on  the  south,  extends  almost  along  the  parallel,  while  the  cor- 
responding Kusnetsk  Alatau,  on  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Altai  highlands,  has  an  almost 
meridional  direction,  while  the  rich  in  ores,  but  low  Salairsk  riilge  extends  to  the  north-east 
in  a  diagonal  direction  between  the  two  above  named  ridges. 

The  high  ranges  of  the  Altai  known  under  the  name  of  «belki;>,  which  exactly  corresponds  to 
the  word  «Alps  >,rise  far  beyond  the  snow  line;  they  extend  for  a  certain  distance  almost  parallel, 
being  divided  from  one  another  by  the  d('ep  ravines  of  Ihe  mountain  streams.  The  highest  of  all 
the  ridges  is  that  known  under  the  name  of  the  Katunsk  Stolby.  or  Pillars  of  Katoun, 
whi(di  includes  the  picturesque  Siberian  Mont  Blanc,  the  Beloukha,  11,500  feet  high.  Many 
other  of  the  mountain  ridges  of  the  Altai  rise  beyond  the  line  ot  eternal  snow,  such  as 
the  Sailughemsk,  Chuisk,  Aigulaksk,  Kholsunsk  and  Turgussuu  belki.  The  height  of  these 
motnitains  in  many  cases  exceeds  nine  thousand  feet,  while  the  snow  line  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  Altai  is  not  more  than  7,000  feet,  while  on  the  southern  aspect  it  is  not  under 
eight  thousand  feet.  In  its  south-eastern  portion  the  Altai  evince  an  ini-liiiation  to  form 
tablelands,  that  is,  more  or  less  wide  highland  plains  exten(^ling  into  the  Alpine  zone 
of  the  steppes,  like  the  Chuisk  ami  Kuraisk.  The  Altai  belkl  chiefly  consist  of  crystalline 
rocks,  such  as  granites,  cianites,  diorites  and  porphyries  and  of  metamori»hic  rocks,  such 
as  crystalline  schists  and  also  of  grauvacke.  The  strata  of  the  sedimentary  rocks  have  been  lifted 
by  the  crystalline  and  belong  to  the  ancient  paleozoic  formations,  such  as  the  upper,  Silu- 
rian, devoniaji  and  caiiioniferous  systems.  Secondary  fonnaiiims  like  the  Jurassic  are  only  met 
with  in  the  most  unrtliern  branches  of  ilie  Altai.  All  the  formerly  ri^di  deposits  of  argentifer- 
ous lead  and  copper  ores,  occur  at  the  juiieiion  id'  ihe  crystalline  and  sedimentary  rocks 
Considerable  glaciers  descend  from  the  lielouklia  and  feed  the  sources  of  the  Katoun,  one 
of  the  two  component  Iiranehes  (d'  the  ri\er  Ubi.  The  other  of  these  branches,  the  Bea 
forms  the  outlet  of  the  wonderful  and  vast  Alpine  lake  Telets  which  in  its  beauty  recalls 
the  lake  of  the  Four  Cantons  in  Switzeiiajid.  Immediately  over  the  lake  rise  the  Telets 
belki,  the  highest  of  wliicli,  lln'  Altyn-Tag,  rises  over  8,000  feet.  At  this  point  the  steep 
declivities  of  the  belki  descend  straight  into  the  lake,  which  is  fed  by  the  mountain  streams 
falling  from  the  Sailughemsk  ridge. 


24  SIBEKIA. 

Tlir     I'.iM  iiml    llir     Kiiloiiii     iiliviiih    iiiiili'    ill     III''     fiiDl    III    till-    Altai    ainl    foiui    tlii- 

lliajolir      Olil.      All      lili-      IIJIjHT     l|llilllailr>      1,11      lllr      l''ll      i>\      t||r      l}\)\     ||ii\i;    lllfir     Mri),Mll    III    tlic 

Altai  higlilaiiiN,  Ini  iii>iaiirr,  ilic  Aiiniii,  Cliaiy.>.li  ami  Ali-i,  wliili-  tliuM-  on  tlw  rigiit  li.iml 
pron-cd  I'll. Ill  llir  KiiMni>k  Aliai,  Inr  cxjiiiiitlf,  llic  Cliiiiiiy>li,  'i'oiii  and  Cliuliiii.  Iliil  ilif 
iipiMT  .stivaiiis  III'  til"'  Iilysli,  llir  (pIIkt  iiiiiiH'iiM'  liiaijfli  of  llic  Obi,  initiUtdU-  mi  tli'* 
sdiillpiii  ili'i'ii\ii\  uf  III.'  Altai  liiKlilaiuls  within  llu-  rruiilicr  of  the  Cliiiieso  Empire.  The  n's- 
('i\uir  (•(illi'ciiii;.'  Ilicsi'  iijipiT  slicaiiis  i.s  lakr  /ai»aii  wliidi  lies  oiitsitli'  the  limits  of  Wi'M<tii 
Silirria  ill  tin'  pioviiii'i-  nl'  Scmipalatiiisk,  wliili'  the  rif/lit  liraiidi  ami  largi;  iippi-r  striMiiis  of 
llir  lilysli  hi'lnw  /ai,>s,iii,  Midi  as  llir  lliiklilaiiiia.  i;i)ii  ami  Tlha,  oii^'iiiat"'  in  iIh-  Siberian 
Altai  lieiki  uml  I'luw  tiiioii/^li  Ilirir  lini'st  valleys.  It  is  in  these  valleys,  as  wi-II  as  ovef  the 
wlinle  ul'  the  mn tli-westeiii  side  nl'  the  Altai  and  of  tablelands  extending  far  into  the  Sibe- 
rian valh'V,  iiiaiiily  the  Salaiisk  ami  Kiisin'tsk  Altiii,  that  the  mineral  wealth  of  the 
eiMiiitiy  iiniirs.  'Jiii'sc  iiiiiit'ials  roiisist  nl'  ai7-^i'iitirenjiis  lead  and  copper  ores,  coloured 
stuii''  I'rniii  the  sii-ralleil  Kni-/zoiisl<  ((Harries,  in  tlie  Korirnnsk  valley,  and  alluvial  gold, 
while  vast  deposits  of  rnal  and  iron  mv  neriii-  In  tlic  sn-callrd  Kusnetsk  coal  basin  br-iweeii 
the  KiisiM'tsk  AlalaiMi  and  Salaiisk  iiiniiniaiii  lidLii's.  AlUiuiigli  the  larger  half  of  llir  Altai  min- 
ing region,  owing  to  its  height  above  the  h'vd  nf  ihc  sea  and  the  chaiacter  of  its  soil,  r-uii- 
sisting  as  it  does  of  rocks  ami  rocky  avalanches,  is  not  habitabh',  still  the  remaining  area 
which  comprises  not  less  than  three  thousand  geographical  square  miles  cd'  the  Altai  lowlands 
is  composed  of  fertile  plains,  hilly  iijilands  ami  spaeioiis  valleys,  and  is  exti'emely  suitable  for 
cultivation  and  colonization. 

The  remaining  vast  plain  of  Western  Sitn'ria  whirh  presenis  one  of  the  most  extensive 
liiwlaiids  in  llie  world  is  covered  wilh  alluvial  soil  and  in  no  portion  of  it  do  any  denuded 
rock  forinalious  occur. 

Only  fresh  water  shells  (d'  the  upper  teiiiai-y  Innaalion  liavr  brm  loinid  in  thr  friable 
strata  whi<'li  foiiiis  the  under-soil.  These  strata  consist  of  sand  and  clay  and  are  chiefly  exposed 
along  the  decli\ilies  (d'  the  right  and  always  slightly  drvated  banks  of  the  rivers.  Xo  point 
oi'  these  lowlands  api)areiiily  rises  over  400  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Nevertheless  the  western 
Siberiau  lowland  is  i)leutifully  watered  by  the  two  high  rivers  Obi  and  Irtysh  and  their  nu- 
merous iiihiitaries  which  flow  together  to  the  far  north.  The  Obi-Irtysh  river  system  com- 
prises one  of  the  most  colossal  basins  of  the  earth  and  can  compete  with  the  river  regions  of 
the  Yellow  and  Blue  rivers  and  the  Nile  of  the  Old  world,  or  the  Amazon  and  the  Mississippi 
of  the  Xew,  besides  the  neiglibouring  river  systems  of  Siberia.  The  area  of  the  river  basin  of 
the  Obi  within  "Western  Siberia  and  the  Chinese  Empire  is  over  60,000  geogTaphical  square 
miles  aud  the  length  of  the  river  course,  counting  its  source  as  either  the  Obi  and  Katoun  or 
the  Irtysh,  Zaissan  and  Kara  Irtysh,  gives  almost  one  and  the  same  lignre  of  4,900  versts. 
Moreover  the  navigable  network  of  the  river  includes  the  whole  of  lln'  Obi  from  its  mouth 
to  the  junction  of  the  Beawith  the  Katoun  and  the  Irtysh  from  its  mouth  to  its  rapids  through 
the  mountain  gorge,  above  Ust-Kamenogorsk  and  the  tributaries  of  the  two  chief  branches 
of  the  system,  the  Tura,  Tavda,  ("liulym  aud  Tom  to  their  lower  courses,  rnfortunately  the 
colossal  water  way  of  Western  Siberia  has  the  great  disadvantage,  that  it  is  locked  by  the 
ice  of  the  gulf  of  Obi  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  aud  is  almost  inaccessible  to  the   sea 


GEOGRAPUICAL    KKVIEVV.  'JO 

for  this  roa:>(>u  and  also  Iliat  llio  two  chief  rivers  intersect  the  main  line  of  the  Siberian  trade 
traffic  at  right  angles.  Although  fortunately  the  junction  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Obi  forms 
an  uninterrupted  and  exc(3llent  navigable  route  between  the  most  important  and  almost  extreme 
points  of  this  line  of  traific  in  Western  Siberia,  the  cities  of  Tinmen  and  Tomsk,  ihis 
route  is  too  circuitous  and  fur  the  greater  part  lies  outside  the  cultivated  and  agricultural 
regions  of  Siberia. 

Western  Siberia  abounds  in  lakes.  Besides  the  picturesque  mountain  lakes  in  the  nar- 
row valleys  and  ciicular  basins  of  the  Altai,  a  very  large  quantity  are  situated  in  the  West- 
ern Siberian  lowlands,  and  especially  in  its  southern  limits,  in  the  Ishimsk,  Barabinsk  and 
Kouloudinsk  steppes.  Among  the  lakes  there  are  some  of  vast  dimensions,  such  as  lake  Chan 
which  covers  over  60  geographical  square  miles.  There  are  also  numberless  small  lakes  which 
have  no  outlets,  although  some  are  fresh  water,  as  well  as  salt  lakes. 

In  order  to  explain  better  the  character  of  the  vast  Western  Siberian  lowlands  and 
their  capacity  for  settlements  and  cultivation,  it  is  necessary  to  subdivide  it  into  three  zones 
presenting  quite  different  types.  The  first  of  these  types  is  the  cultivated  agricultural  zone  of 
Western  Siberia.  It  is  composed  of  all  the  districts  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  except  the  two 
northern,  that  is,  the  Berezovsk  and  Sourgoutsk  districts,  and  also  of  the  lesser  northern  portions  of 
theTarsk  district  and  the  greater  northern  portions  of  the  Tourinsk  and  Tobolsk  districts,  of  the  gov- 
erimient  of  Tobolsk  and  of  all  the  lowland  portions  of  the  government  of  Tomsk  which 
do  not  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  Altai  mining  district,  with  the  exception,  however,  of 
the  so-called  Narymsk  region  which  occupies  fonr-lifths  of  the  area  of  the  Tomsk  district. 
Under  these  conditions  the  cultivated  agricultural  zone  of  the  Western  Siberian  plain  occupies 
an  area  of  8,500  geographical  square  miles,  and  is  characterized  by  the  fact  that  it  is  capable  of 
an  agricultural  and  settled  colonization,  and  at  the  same  time  is  throughout  plentiful  in  forest. 
Naturally  in  this  zone  there  are  also  large  areas  which  are  unfitted  for  cultivation  and  a 
settled  population.  The  must  important  example  of  such  a  locality  are  the  so-called  Barabinsk 
steppes,  where  the  stagnant  water  of  the  fresh  water  lakes  alternates  ^vith  salt  lakes  and  marshes, 
and  the  vast  Vasugansk  bog  which  occurs  on  the  boundary  of  the  cultivated  agricultural 
zone.  But  it  may  be  estimated  that  six  thousand  geographical  s(iuare  miles  of  this  zone  are 
suitable  for  colonization  and  agricultiii-e.  The  second  type  is  represented  by  the  Western  Si- 
berian zone  of  high-stemmed  forests,  which  comprise  thegreat  northern  portions  of  the  Tourinsk 
and  Tobolsk  districts,  the  northern  portions  of  the  Tarsk  aud  the  southern  portions  of  (ho 
Sourgoutsk  and  Berezovsk  districts  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  and  the  whole  of  the  vast 
regions  of  Naryni  in  the  government  of  Tomsk.  This  zmn'  (ic<'ui»ies  an  area  greater  flian  that 
of  the  Altai  niiuing  region  and  the  cultivateil  agricultural  zone  taken  together,  namely,  eighteen 
thousand  geographical  square  miles,  and  it  is  characleriztid  by  the  fact  that  it  consists,  like  the 
greater  part  of  the  government  of  Archangel  and  the  nurth-easlern  iturliuns  id"  the  government 
of  Vologda  in  European  llussia,  of  a  continuous  mass  of  foi-ests  and  bogs,  in  which  there  are 
only  isles  or  oases  in  any  way  suital)le  for  settlement,  scattered  chieHy  on  the  lirm  banks  of  the 
rivers.  And  lastly  the  third  type  comprises  the  portions  of  the  Beresovsk  and  Soin-goutsk 
districts  lying  beyond  the  paralh'l  of  lieresov,  thai  is,  61"  north  latitude,  and  forming  the  [lolar 
marsh  land  zone  which  (.'xtends  over  seven   thousand    geograpliieal    s(|uare    niih^s    of    Western 


2(J  SIBERIA, 

Mhciia.  Ill  lliis  |(iiiliuii  till!  loii'sls  hriDitu;  lliiiiii"'!'  ami  siiiiilliT  aii<l  (.liuii^'c  into  low  biLshes. 
I  lit'  bdf/^'y  iiiar>li  laml  ciivcicil  wllli  iiinssrs  ami  lifln.-ns  is  fioz«.'ii  lor  llii;  giealcr  purl  of  Iho 
\<ni  ami  i>  lutalU  iiiilitliii  Ini  an  a^M'i<'iil(iiral  M-ltlctl  liatjitatioii.  Tin;  iimloi-.soil  of  tlio  mursbes 
iiiv<  r  I  haws  Im^Iow  a  dcptli  nT  oiii-  ami  a  liall  aisliiiios  ami  coiisists  of  jiitfniiiltf'iil  strata  of 
Imzi'ii  cat  111  mill  clay  ami  nl  pun;  i<i',  wliirli  tliiis  i'oniis,  as  it  wen',  lln'  rurk  rDiiijatirni  of 
till-  ili>ll'irt. 

TIm'  cliiiiatic  comlitidiis  of  i;af.|i  nl'  tlicso  llirco  zoinis  an-  iialiirally  v<;ry  «liiri;reril,  and 
ill  iliiiii  i^  alsii  I'liiiml  ilic  r\|ilaiialioii  of  tin;  liiircix'iici.!  in  iIh:  coinparativo  lilm-ss  of  each 
liir  <iilii\iiii(iii  ami  ((ildiii/jiliiiii.  Jn  fjfcmTai,  ronipared  uilli  llic  cJiiMalt.'  of  ili<;  coiTCSponding 
lalilmk's  df  ]Mii(i|i(.'aii  Kiissia,  llie  <liiiial(;  of  Western  Siberia  is  distinguislicd  by  its 
//real  (■iiiiiiiiciilaliiy,  uliirli  is  seen  in  ilie  lower  average  yearly  temperature  coinpareil  with  the 
hiialiiics  lyiiit!;  niider  nm;  ami  the  same  degree  of  lalitutle  in  European  Russia,  in  the  greater 
severily  (d  the  wiiilds  and  roii.sc(|iiciiily  in  I  lie  greater  diirereiice  between  the  average  temper- 
ature id  .MiniimT  and  wiiilec,  and  between  I  he  coldest  and  warmest  iiiuiitlis,  and  lastly  in  the 
somewiial  sinaller  rainrall  and  snowt'ail. 

'J'iius  in  the  eiillivated  agriculinial  zuiie  ul  Wesleiii  Siberia,  the  average  yearly  lem|ter- 
aiiire  is  iiraiiy  zere,  or  fur  tiie  average,  taken  at  eight  points  of  observation  -j-O'SS",  while 
iliat  ul  liii'  saiiii'  laiiiiidcs  in  European  Russia  does  not  exceed  8"  Celsius.  The  average 
winter  leinpiTaiun'  ol  iIk^  ciiliivated  agricultural  zone  of  Western  Siberia  is — 17'\  and  during 
the  culdrst  nidiillis  — 18",  wliih;  in  llie  conespdiidiiig  parts  of  Eurupoan  Russia  it  is  — 11.5' 
and  during  the  coldest  mouth —  12.5"  Celsius.  On  the  other  hand  the  average  summer  temperature 
(if  -)- 17.5"  and  that  of  the  warmest  month  -|-  19.5"  even  exceed,  although  not  more  than  half 
a  degree,  the  similar  lciii[)eraiiires  in  the  corresponding  latitudes  of  European  Russia.  Thus 
the  diil'erence  of  the  average  siimmei-  and  winter  temperatures  in  the  agricultural  zone  of 
WX'Stern  Siberia  is  35",  wliile  in  the  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia  it  is  28".  The 
difference  of  tlie  averagt;  temperatures  oftlie  coldest  and  warmest  months  in  Western  Siberia 
is 39",  and  in  the  currespunding  parts  of  European  Russia  32";  but  there  is  an  entire  simi- 
larity between  the  average  temperatures  of  the  cultivated  agricultural  zone  of  Western 
Siberia  and  tlie  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia  during  the  five  months  of  vegetation, 
that  is,  I'liim  ilie  first  of  May  tu  the  first  cd'  October,  new  style,  when  the  average  temperature 
of  one  and  ihe  oiln'r  is  +  15".  Hence  this  region  of  Western  Siberia  is  not  less  suitable  for 
a  Settled  agricultural  lifi;  than  European  Russia  between  55"  and  58"  of  the  northern  latitude, 
and  indeed  it  is  better  filled,  because  the  soil  (d'  Western  Siberia  is  fresher  than  that  of 
European  Russia,  the  juisiurage  richer  and  vaster,  the  rivers  more  abundant  in  water  and 
there  is  no  want  of  forests. 

The  climatic  conditions  of  the  more  soulhern  lowland  and  of  the  excellently  sheltered 
from  llic  iiorili.  although  more  elevated,  valleys  of  the  Altai  are  still  belter.  But  naturally 
these  conditions  in  the  Altai  mining  region  become  less  favourable  as  the  elevation  increases. 
Thus  at  Barnaoul  at  an  absolute  elevation  of  460  feet  the  average  temperature  din'iug  the 
five  nioiulis  of  vegetation  is  -f-  f5°,  which  is  most  favourable  for  the  development  of  agricul- 
ture, wliili!  at  Salair  at  an  absolute  height  of  1,180  feet  this  temperature  scarcely  exceeds+lS" 
Celsius,  whieh  is  noi  suitable  for  the  ripenini'-  id'  the  more  tender  kinds  of  grain. 


ueo^tKaphical  review.  27 

Tlie  more  ooiiiiiieiUal  cliaracier  ul'  ilie  culiivatt'd  agricultural  zone  of  Western  Siberia, 
as  ruiuparcil  with  the  coiresponiliiig  latitudes  of  European  Russia,  is  also  observable  in  tlie 
amount  (if  rain  and  snow.  In  the  ro/^ion  under  consideration  tlie  animal  rain  and  snowfall 
is  38U  niillinietres,  while  in  the  corresponding  parts  uf  European  Kussia  it  is  as  much  as  500. 
A  still  greater  difference  is  seen  in  the  winter  fall,  which  in  the  Siberian  zone  is  only  50 
millimetres  while  in  tlu;  corresponding  poriions  of  Eiiropfan  Russia  it  is  over  80.  In  summer 
the  difference  is  not  so  great,  namely,  the  fall  in  the  Western  Siberian  zone  is  175  milli- 
metres and  in  the  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia,  185.  Hence  in  the  agricultural 
zone  of  Siberia  the  winters  are  in  general  far  poorer  in  snow  than  in  European  Russia,  so 
that  in  the  southern  limits  of  the  agricultural  zone  the  cattle  scratch  away  the  snow  with 
their  hoofs  and  lind  fodder  under  their  feet  in  winter,  only  the  winds  (bouran)  which  rise  at  a 
temperature  of  not  under  —  10*^  Celsius,  and  meeting  with  no  impediment  in  the  vast  plain,  sweep 
away  the  snow  iniu  huge  drifts  and  snow  ridges. 

The  Altai  lowlands  differ  but  little  from  the  cultivated  agricuhural  zone  in  respect  to 
the  rain  and  snow  fall,  oidy  the  ([uantity  is  far  greater  on  the  very  slopes  of  the  north  and  north- 
west Altai,  and  especially  in  the  valleys.  Thus  at  the  station  of  the  Altai  clergy  Ulal,  the 
yearly  fall  is  COO  millimetres,  half  of  which  fall  is  during  the  three  summer  months.  This  explains 
the  luxurious  vegetation  of  the  Altai.  The  dews,  for  instance,  in  the  L'lbinsk  and  Oubinsk 
valley  are  so  powerful  that  when  riding  in  clear  sunny  weather  along  the  naiTow  pathway 
the  rider  becomes  quite  wet,  as  his  horse  breaks  through  the  tali  grass,  hint  on  the  other  hand, 
on  the  southern  Altai,  the  slopes  of  the  wide  valleys  facing  the  south  are  so  dry  that  they  are 
quite  void  of  forest  vegetation  and  only  exhibit  the  high  steppe  plants  of  Central  Asia,  The  so- 
called  forest  and  forestry  zone  of  Western  Siberia  presents  quite  other  climatic  conditions, industries 
and  sporadii;  agriculture.  Here  the  average  annual  temperature  is  as  low  as  —  2°,  while  in  the 
corresponding  zone  of  European  Russia  it  exceeds  +  1°;  the  winter  temperature  is  —  20°,  and 
that  of  the  coldest  month, —  22°,  while  in  the'  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia,  the 
mean  winter  temperature  is  —  14'\  and  that  of  the  coldest  month  —  16°.  Even  the  average  summer 
temperature, -f- 14°,  is  lower  than  that  of  the  corresponding  localities  of  European  Russia,  +  16°: 
and  only  the  temperature  of  the  hottest  month  (IB^^),  surpasses  that  in  European  Russia  (17°J. 
Thus,  the  difference,  too,  between  the  mean  temperatures  of  winter  and  summer,  (34°),  and 
in  particular,  between  the  coldest  and  hottest  months,  (40'-'),  is  more  considerable  than  the 
difference  for  the  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia,  the  lirst  being  there  30°  and  the  second 
33°  Celsius.  As  far,  however,  as  concerns  the  temperature  of  the  vegetative  period,  especially 
important  for  agriculture,  it  falls  in  the  zuue  under  consideration  to  12°  and  lower,  and  is 
even  mere  unfavourable  than  in  the  corresponding  parts  of  European  Russia,  where  it  for  the 
most  part  certainly,  stands  higher  than  12°,  and  here  and  there  even,  than  13°,  as  in  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, Bielozersk,  Vologda,  Ustiug,  Slobodskaia  ami  Cherdyn.  Everywhere  where  the  tem- 
perature of  the  vegetative  period  does  not  exceed  on  an  average  12"  Celsius,  agriculture 
reaches,  so  to  say,  its  limit,  and  shows  itself  only  in  a  sporadic  form,  scanty  cultivated  oases 
being  lost  in  vast  areas,  covered  with  forest  and  morass  and  nnsuited  to  tillage.  As  far,  how- 
ever, as  concerns  rainfall,  its  amount  is  very  much  more  ceiisiderable  in  the  forest  zone  of 
Western  Siberia  lliau  in  ilie  uLiriculluial  zone,  fermiiig  470  niilliiuetres  a  year,    which    differs 


28  srnEiMA. 

very  liltli-  (loiii  llin  ifii?ifall  oiviiiririi.'  in  tin-  roiirsc  r>f  Hm-  yi-ar  in  tin*  (•(iin^sp^iiiliiii.'  parts  ol" 
Eiiropfs'iii  Russia,  IRO  iiiiiiiificiivs.  Oiilv  a  Jaii/rT  propdilifni  than  in  Enidpcan  Hn^sia  falls  in 
the  siiiniiirr  nidiitjis,  naiiii'ly  2L'()  iiiilliiiP'ircs,  the  avrra^'i-  lor  Knr<ip<;an  Russia  br-in^  190. 

]'"iMally,  vi'iy  variims  arc  llic  cliniatic  conditions  pn'scritfil  liy  tlic  polar  t  ii  ml  r  a 
/.((lie,  of  wlik'li  nnlorlnnati^ly  \vc  aif  in  a  position  to  jnd^'r  almost  oxclnsivfly  from  tlio  ob- 
servations taki'n  on  tin'  siiiitlnTn  liuril<'i-  of  ilic  /ono  at  Rcriozov,  Jtnlpinf?  from  llioso  obspr- 
vations  till'  MM'an  anniiMl  tciii|ii'i;itiiii'  Falls  lii-ro  as  low  as  —  5",  antl  fvcn  lowor,  tlic  soil  at 
ii  ticptli  of  lliri'r-(|narl('rs  in  oiii'  aisliiiif  lu'infr  porpotually  frozen.  Tin-  winter  tomperatnre  is 
lower  than  —  21",  that  of  the  eoldest  month,  below  —  23",  while  tlii;  snmmer  ttmiperature  does 
not  exceed  4- i;5".  5,  and  thai  id'  the  hottest  month, -j- 18",  formin;/ a  dilToronoo  botwoon  Slimmer 
and  winter  of  34",  and  b(3tweeii  the  hottest  and  cohlost  months,  of  49°  Celsius,  In  Reriozov  the 
nieaii  lemperntnre  oi'  the  live-mnntli  vogelath^e  period  scarcely  oxceods  9°.  and  it  is  there- 
I'me  iiilelliLijhle  iliiit  the  riveis  are  here  ice  lioniid  i'uity  days  lonf2:er than  on  tin'  rioiiiii-r  of  the 
forest  and  afj;riciiltiiral  zones,  that  the  cereals  arc  ([iiitc^  incapable  of  growing  and  that  the  forests 
attain  the  exti'cine  range  of  their  existence.  Domestic  animals  also  reach  their  limit  in  the 
polar  tiiiidia  zone,  with  the  exeepiinn  nf  the  reindeer,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  tundras  of 
this  zone.  To  the  iioitli  nf  Uerinznv.  beyond  the  aictic  circle,  the  rainfall  also  decreases:  in 
Ohdorsk  thi^  annual  aiiiniiiiT  is  nnly  218  inillinieties.  while  in  Beriuznv  it  is  as  ranch  as  407 
millimetres. 

The  I'liiiiatic  rdiidiiiiins  of  a  cnuntiy  appeal-  most  clearly  and  directly  expressed 
in  its  veiietable  covering.  It  follows  IViini  iIh'  aliove  explained  climatic  conditions  that  the 
herbaceous  vegetation  of  the  Western  Siberia  lowland  differs  very  little  from  the  flora  of  the 
corresponding  zones  of  European  Russia,  the  more  so  that  the  comparatively  low  range  of 
the  Ural  is  no  barriei-  to  the  disseiniiuilioii  of  plants  whose  seeds  are  freely  htniw  liillni-  and 
tliitliei-  by  the  wind  over  the  vast  plains  adjacent  to  either  side  of  the  mountain  range  and 
lighting  upon  analogous  conditions  are  sown  and  i-eproiliice  their  kind  without  let  or  liindrtince. 
The  traveller  entering-  Siberia  tlirouaii  ]''katerinl)nrL;-  or  Zlatoust,  crossing  the  wliuji'  Siberian 
plain  as  far  as  Tomsk  and  further  to  the  Yenissei.  is  not  struck  with  any  difference  in  the 
herbaceous  vegetation,  but  very  few  western  species  disappear,  at  times  changing  to  eastern 
varieties,  as  for  example,  the  pale  yellow  heads  of  the  European  crow's-foot  (troUius  euro- 
peus  ],.)  ail'  replaced  by  the  liery  orange  of  its  Asiatic  variety  (trollius  asiaticns  L.).  Only 
very  few  oriental  forms  appear  not  occurring  in  European  Russia,  or  only  here  and  there  cross- 
ing its  frontier,  as  for  example,  some  anemones  (anemone  reflexa  Steph.,  altaica  Fisch.  and 
pennsylvanica  L),  one  beautiful  species  of  paeony  (paeonia  anoraala  L),  a  few  crnciferae 
(dentaria  teniiifolia  Led,  chorispora  sibirica,  D.C.,  hesperis  aprica  poir),  one  species  of  \1olet 
(violla  iiniflora),  araonir  the.caryophyllaceae,  lychnis  sibirica  L,  among  the  compositae,  a  few 
species  of  wormwood  (artemisia  desertorura  Spr.,  turczanoviana  Bess;  macrantha  Led 
latifolia  Led),  the  eastern  forms  of  gentians  (gentiana  auriculata,  Pall.,  aquatica  L, 
halenia  sibirica  Rorkh),  et  cetera.  But  the  general  character  of  the  herbaceous  flora  remains, 
the  same.  llit>  plants  merely  becoming  somewhat  more  sappy  and  fresh,  and  the  flowers  brighter 
coloured  than  in  European  Russia,  It  is  different  with  the  trees  upon  which  not  the  mean 
temperature  of  the  vegetative  period  aloue,  almost  constant  on  that  side  of  the    Lral,  exerts 


GEOGKAPniCAL    REVIEW.  29 

an  iiiHiionco,  but  tlie  comparative  severity  of  the  winters  and  their  relative  dryness.  Of  the 
trees  spread  over  all  European  Russia,  there  disappear,  immediately  on  crossiui:  the  Ural: 
The  oak,  two  species,  (quercus  sessiliflora,  Im.  and  quercus  pediinculataEhr.),  the  hazel  (corylus 
avellana  L.),  the  two  elms  (nlnius  campestris  L.  and  ulmus  pedunculata  Fouq.),  all  species  of 
maple  (acer),  the  ash  (fraxinus  excelsior  L),  and  finally,  the  apple  tree  (pniis  mains  L).  The 
woods  of  the  agricultural  and  forest  regions  of  Silioria  are  composed  of  the  conifers:  the  Si- 
lierian  fir  (abies  sibirica  Led.),  passing  from  Siberia  into  north-eastern  Russia,  and  in  Siberia 
itself  reaching  to  Kamchatka,  the  oriental  or  Siberian  pitch-pine  (picea  orieutalis  L.),  also 
passing  into  the  northern  and  north-eastern  part  of  European  Russia,  and  through  Siberia 
reaching  the  Kuril  ishmds;  two  species  of  larch,  the  Siberian  (larix  sibirica  Led.),  also  pass- 
ing into  the  north-eastern  part  of  European  Russia  and  in  Siberia  spread  as  far  as  Baikal, 
and  the  dahur  larch  (larix  dahurica  Trautv.)  a  purely  Siberian  form,  occurring  in  Western 
Siberia  between  Beriozov  and  Obdorsk;  the  Siberian  cedar  (pinus  cembra  L.),  scarcely  cross- 
ing the  Ural  on  the  European  side,  but  in  Siberia  spread  as  far  as  Behring  Sea  and  cross- 
ing into  the  northern  part  of  America;  finally,  the  common  pine  (pinus  communis  L.).  The 
Siberian  taigas  and  urmans  are  formed  of  these  species.  With  the  conifers  in  these  taigas  are 
associated  certain  foliage  trees,  in  particular  the  aspen,  and  to  some  extent,  the  Inreh  on  the 
skirts  of  the  taiga.  In  the  cultivated  or  agricultural  zone,  with  soils  similar  to  Chernoziom  of 
European  Russia,  foliage  trees  prevail,  and  even  (jver  such  areas  as  are  called  ste|)pes  by  the 
Siberians;  for  example,  on  the  Baraba  steppe,  groves  of  trees  alternate  pleasantly  with  prairie, 
and  in  localities  occupied  by  a  permanent  colonization  with  field  and  fallow.  The  foliage  for- 
ests of  the  Western  Siberian  plain  consist  of  the  following  species:  the  common  birch  (betnia 
alba  L.),  aspen  (populus  trcmula  L. ),  the  abele  (populus  alba  L.)  occurring  only  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  plain;  both  species  of  alder  (alniiis  gluliiiosa  W.  and  alnuis  ini'ana  W), 
linden  (tilia  parvifolia  Ehrh),  the  last  also  confined  h)  the  sdUibiTii  part  df  the  cultivated 
Zone.  To  these  lofty  kinds  must  be  added  two  kinds  of  mwan.  ihe  ordinary  inoiuitain  ash 
(sorbus  aucnparia  L.)  and  the  Siberian  species  (sorbus  tomenlosa.  J,.):  the  common  bird  cherry 
(pruniis  padus  L.)  and  also  many  sorts  of  willow  (salix)  of  wliicli  nioi-i'  than  liliccu  European 
Russian  species  occur  in  the  forest  and  agricnlinral  zones  of  Silioria. 

There  are  very  f(;w  shrubs  thriving  in  the  Western  Siberian  |)lain  wliii'li  are  not  fouml 
in  the  wild  slate  in  l']iU'opeaii  Russia.  Among  such  inusi  however  be  reckoned  the  common 
garden  acacia  (caragana  arborescens  Lam.),  I  he  reil  hawthorn  (Crataegus  sanguinea  Pall) 
the  cornel  (cornus  alba  L.),  so  well  acclimatized  in  the  gardens  of  European  Russia,  and  one 
kiml  of  meadow  sweet  (s[)iraea  liiiticosa  L). 

The  flora  of  tlie  p(dar  tundia  zone  presents  very  little  ilillerenco  from  that  of  the  Eu- 
ropean Russia  tundras  ol'  Lapland  and  Samoyed.  Nearly  all  ibis  zone's  characteristic  low- 
growing,  sluiileil  sbrubs,  for  exaiuple  one  species  ui'  aibulus,  (areto^laphilus  alpiua  Ail.)  the 
heathers  or  aiidrouiedas  (cassiope  tetragona  Don.,  C.  hypnoides  Don.),  phylodoce  saxifidia  Sa- 
lisb..  loiseleiiria  proeuuibeus  Don.,  a  speeies  of  lediiui — latifoliiiiu  Ail.,  also  l)elonging  to 
the  European  floia,  ami  only  one  sjiecies  of  the  jiolar  azalea  (^nMimihamaus  fragrans 
D.    C.)    and    one    polar    willow    (salix    arctica    L.)    are    not    met    within    European    liussia. 


f}0  SIIJEJCIA. 

TIh;  mountain  fliini  of  tin;  Altai  nplaiuls  mm  lli<r  o(ln;r  haml  is  in  r|iiito  a  difft'iont  con- 
dition. Ilfsifi,  bi!f,'innin(^  uliDady  at  a  lioi(,'lil  nf  tliron  tlioiisand  IVft,  tlio  v<((retaliou  is  oxtivmely 
peculiar  and  j^Maduaily  passos  into  llio  alpint;  flora,  proper  to  tho  Asiatic  Alps,  Of  coui-so  this 
flora  contains  not  a  lew  plants  \vlii<li  liiduni.'  In  tlie  arctic  zone  of  Ihf  Old  World,  which 
also  climb  tlio  Europ<;an  Alps,  but  an  enormous  prujiorlion  of  tho  plants  arc  the  typical  and 
p(?culiar  property  of  llie  alpine  and  sulialpine  zones  (d'  the  Altai  Saian  mounl;iiuous  ret'ion, 
wlii'ii  only  a  low  species  cros.s  the  ran^'es  of  (Jruitral  Asia,  sudi  ;is  ibf  Tian-Shan  and  the 
connected  Stiuiirocliinsk  and  Zailisk  Altai.  Anions  the  shrubs  eharacteristic  of  the  subal- 
pino  zone  (d'  tho  Altai  may  be  notieed:  a  few  species  of  acacia  (carapano  mierophylla  Zam.. 
bungei  Led.,  pygmaoa  D.  C,  si)iiiosa  I).  C,  tragacanthoides  Poir),  two  dog  roses  (rosa  platya- 
cantha  Silir.  and  Gebloiiana  Scbr.),  the  galton  troo  (cotoucaster  uniflora  Bgo),  some  species 
of  currant  (ribes  aciculare  Sm.,  saxatilo  Pall,  cunoatum  Kar.,  heterotrichum  Moq.,  procum- 
bens  Pall),  two  species  of  tamarisk  (tamariscenao),  myricaria  aloi)ccnroidos  Sch.  and  daurica 
Elir. ),  three  honeysuckles  (lonicora  humilis  Kai.,  Iiispidii.  L.  and  liiingeana  Led.),  one  species 
of  azalea  (osmothamnus  pallidus  D.C.)  ami  two  rhodudendra  (rhododendron  •■hrysanthum 
J'all.  and  davuricum  L.);  among-  acicular  leaved  shrubs,  ephedra  stenosperma  Schr.,  and  inter- 
media Schr.,  juniperus  pseudosabina  Fiseh.  ami  davurica  Pall.,  and  two  kinds  of  birch,  betula 
mierophylla  Pge,  and  betula  lortuosa  Led. 

Much  more  characteristic  is  the  herbaceous  vegetation  of  the  alpine  and  subalpine 
meatlows  and  slopes,  which  enchant  the  eye  with  the  richness  and  brilliancy  of  their  flowers. 
'J'lie  lollowiiig  may  be  indicated  as  amoncf  the  species  most  eharacteristic  for  the  Altai  Sayan 
mountainous  system,  a  few  beautiful  anemones  (anemone  umbrosa  Mey.,  Fischeriana  D.  C.  and 
Pulsatilla  bungcana  Mey.),  peculiar  kinds  of  crow's-foot  (ranunculus  altaicus  Laxm..  longi- 
caulis,  pulclicllus,  natans,  lasiocarpus,  propinquus.  graiidifolius  Mey.,  and  the  exceptionally 
interesting  oxygraphis  glacialis  Bge.  and  callianhemum  rutaefoliura  Mey),  a  ranuneulus  with 
pale  lilac  flowers  (hcgenione  lilacina  Bge.)  larkspurs  (delphinium  laxiflorum  and  dictyocarpum 
D.  C),  three  fumitories  (corydalis  nobilis  Pers.,  stricta  Pers.  and  inconpticua  Bge.),  as  many 
as  thirty  altaic  species  of  ci-ncifers,  belonging  to  the  high  alpine  zone  (of  the  genera  mathiola, 
arabis,  ])arrya,  macropodium,  psilotrichum,  draba,  holargidium,  chorispora,  dontostemon, 
braya,  (Mitrema,  Hutchinsia)  charming  species  of  violets  (viola  altaica  Pall.,  macrocarpa 
Bge.,  imberbis  Led.  and  acuminata  Led.),  fifteen  or  so  pecidiar  species  of  caryophylleae  and 
stellariae,  altaie  varieties  of  flat  a  (linum  violaceum  Bge),  St.  John's  worts  (hypericum 
gebleri  Bge),  some  forty  beautiful  vaiiegated  sort  of  leguminosae,  among  which  especially 
prominent  are  numerous  species  of  astragalus  (astragalus  and  oxytropis),  whose  extensive 
family  climbs  from  the  Central  Asiatic  steppes  to  the  etenial  snows  of  the  Asiatic 
mountain  ranges.  Xext  follow  the  quaint,  high  alpine  forms  of  rosaceae  (sibbaldia 
adprcssa  Bge.,  dryadantlK^  bimgeana  Led.,-  chamaerodon  altaica  Bge.,  potentilla  altaiea 
Bge.,  comarum  salessowi  Bge.).  Further  there  are  a  few  characteristic  saxifrages,  among 
which  in  particular  the  so-called  Chagyr  tea  (saxifraga  crassifolia  L.),  the  large  leaves 
of  which  serve  as  a  surrogate  to  tea.  There  are  some  twenty  species  of  Altai  com- 
positae,  among  them  several  species  of  saussure  (pygmea  Spr.,  pycnocephala  Led.,  latifolia 
Led.,  acuminata  Tiircz..  foliosa  Led.)  Finally  the  primalaceae  largely  contribute  to  the  adorn- 


GEOGRAPniCAL    REVIEW.  31 

ment  of  tlie  alpine  meadows  of  tlie  Altai  (primula  longiscapa  Led.),  charming  blue  and 
yellow  gentians  (gentiaua  atrata  Bge.,  azurea  Bge.,  tenuis  Bge,  altaioa  Pall,  karelini  Fries., 
frigida  Haenk.,  macrophylla  Pall.),  irises,  (iris  glancescens  Bge.,  hloudowi  Led.  and  tii>iidia 
Bge.)  and  some  bulbous  plants:  tulipa  altaica  Pali.,  lilinin  tennifnliuni  Fisf^h.  and  L.  specta- 
bile  Link,  fritillaria  verticillata  W.  et  cetera. 

The  extraordinary  wealth  and  variety  of  the  Altai  flora  finds  its  explanation  not  oidy 
in  the  circumstance  that  in  the  Altai,  as  in  every  mountainous  country,  within  a  comparitiv.dy 
nan'ow  compass,  various  climates  are  superimposed  one  upon  another,  but  also  in  this 
that  the  extremely  varied  contour  of  the  Altai  mountain  region  presents  very  distinct  ridges, 
cut  off  by  deep  longitudinal  valleys  and  intersected  by  short  transverse  valleys,  anil  at  the 
same  time  extensive  elevated  plateaux  and  low  hummocky  foot  hills.  Over  the  whole  of  this 
vast  mountainous  area  situated  between  the  limitless  and  relatively  moist  plain  of  Western 
Siberia  sloping  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  the  almost  equally  unlimited  parched  steppes  of  Cen- 
tral Asia,  a  struggle  is  constantly  going  on  between  the  north  and  north-west  damp  ai'i-ial 
currents  and  the  southern  and  perfectly  dry  winds  in  the  lower  layers  of  the  atmosplier(\  In 
consequence  of  this,  polar  forms,  or  an  isolated  high  alpine  vegetation,  prevail  upon  the  north- 
ern slopes  of  the  Altai,  while  its  southern  slopes  are  climbed  by  the  flora  of  the  Contral 
Asian  steppes,  which  chancing  as  it  rises  upon  moi-e  favourable  climatic  conditions,  becomes 
differentiated  into  a  whole  series  of  original  high  steppe  varieties.  To  such  forms  bidong,  for 
example,  the  peculiar  species  of  astragalus  and  oxytropis  of  the  Altaic  meadows  of  the 
alpine  zone. 

A  like  dependence  upon  climatic  conditions  is  also  sho^vn  by  the  higher  invertebi-ates, 
namely,  the  insects,  and  especially  such  of  them  as  for  example,  the  majority  of  the  cideoptera. 
not  possessing  any  considerable  capacity  for  flight,  have  not  any  extended  regions  cd"  distri- 
bution and  are  accordingly  dependent  to  a  greater  extent  upon  local  conditions  id'  climate. 
soil  and  vegetation.  But  hero,  as  in  the  case  of  the  flora,  the  insect  fauna  of  the  WesttM-n 
Siberian  plain  differs  little  from  that  of  European  Russia  and  only  the  fauna  of  the  Altai 
mountain  region  is  as  richly  varied  ami  original  as  the  flora.  The  loral  forms  of  coleoptera 
incapable  of  flight,  are  peculiarly  eccentric:  for  example,  species  of  carabns,  some  of  which 
are  exceedingly  rare:  car.  imperialis  Fiscli.,  car.  reffalis  Boeb.,  car.  Gebleri  Fisch.,  cai'.  Leachi 
Fisch;  car.  Loschnikowii  Fisch,  et  cetera,  iind  wingh^ss  wood  cutters  (for  e\anipl(>.  dorcadion 
politum  Dalm.)  et  cetera.  The  vertebrates  have  a  wider  area  of  distribution.  Those  which  are 
hunted  maintain  themselves  best  in  the  vast  uninhabited  regions  of  Eastern  Siberiii.  and  will 
accordingly  be  dealt  with  when  that  ronntry  comes  to  ho  described. 

The  question  of  the  distribution  and  classification  of  the  native  anil  Russian  population 
of  Western  Siberia  will  now  be  considered. 

The  total  population  of  Western  Siberia  amounts  to  2,70(\000  of  imth  sexes,  of  whom 
only  eight  per  cent  are  natives,  the  immigrant  Russian  elenieni  forming  ninety-two  per  cent. 
Among  the  imtive  population  the  first  place  in  point  of  numbers  is  occupied  by  Finiio-turkish 
tribes,  known  under  the  collective  name  of  Tartars.  They  are  a  remnant  of  the  tribes  which 
composed  the  ancient  Kuchum  Siberian  Kingdiun.  Tliore  are  now  calculated  to  be  ninety 
thousand   of   these   Tartars   in    WestiMii  Sil)i>ria.  They  are  distiihiiti'd  in  smdi  a  way  that  as 


;;2  siiinMA. 

iiiiiny  as  i;<>  llmiisiiiMl  «lur||  in  ilir  Altai  IllilliIl^'  tlistrin.  Hall  arc  scitjr'il,  ar-ccpu-il  lon^'  a|,'o 
ilic  (.rilimldx  iaiih  ami  an-  siimif/ly  riissiljcil :  ihc  diher  lialT  ii(tina<li/os,  (ir  niorft  accurately, 
leads  a  vat/al)(iiiil  lil''  ami  Imlds  In  sliaiiianisiii.  In  iIk-  fultivalfd  or  a^frifiiUural  zone  are 
50,000  Tarlais:  piiii  nj  iln'in  liavr  Iicciiuk;  nissilicd.  Imi  ilic  iiiajuriiy  |»nif<'ss  indhammtMhuiism, 
and  III  a  icriain  rxicnt,  as  loi-  cxainpli',  in  llic  Uaraha  slcppo,  lead  a  mtniad  lif".'.  Finally, 
in  ilii'  zunc  of  lorcst  indnsiri<'s  and  spuradif  atMiciilliirf;  thon'  arc  yr^t  another  2O.f»0O  Tartars, 
iiailly  Willi  lixcd  liaiiilallnns.  |iaiiiy  wandcrint/.  and  mainly  innrrssifii/  i|i«'  nioliawiincdan  rdi- 
;-M(in.  Till'  Tartars  speak  rmlln'  innsl  part  a  Tiurksk  dialect,  rcsemhlinf,'  that  ol'  the  Kazan  Tar- 
tars in  European  Russia,  but  among  some  of  the  Tartar  tribes  of  the  Altai  jninitiL'  district 
l'iniii>li  dialects  are  still  prosorvod, 

Amillier  nali\e  element  consists  of  llie  pniely  l''innisli  iiilies  nj'  the  Voguls  ami  Ustiaks. 
The  iinmlier  of  huih  legether  amounts  to  40,000  souls,  'ilie  inajoiiiy  ol  these  tribes,  namely 
MO.O'K),  inliahir  the  lores  I  zone  of  Western  Siberia  and  belong  to  the  hunting  peoples.  Only  the 
souilieiu  nienilieis  have  acccpteil  luiliodoxy  and  become  rnssiauizi-d:  the  majority  adheres  to 
shauuiaism.  As  many  as  lO.OiX)  Ostiaks  dwell  in  the  polar  tundra  zone,  where  they  occupy 
themselves  wiih  reimleer  breeding  and  li.shing,  and  lia\e  become  largely  assimilated  with  the 
Samoyeds. 

The  ihiiil  native  element  is  the  polar  iiibe  of  the  Samoyeds.  They  are  reckoned  to 
number  20X)0o  smils,  id  whom  Hit!  Jiiajority  still  inhabit  the  forest  zone;  the  minority,  the 
polar  tundra  zone,  wlieiv  ibey  are  engaged  in  rearing  reindeer  and  in  fishing. 

Finally  the  roiiiih  native  element  is  formed  by  the  Mongol  tribe  ofKalmycks,  inhabit- 
ing the  Altai  mining  region  lo  the  number  of  20,(K)0.  The  riissiiication  of  the  natives  only 
proceeds  in  ilie  cultivated  zone  and  in  the  Altai  foothills.  In  the  forest  region,  and  still  more 
in  the  polar  tundra,  region  and  in  the  inteiiuil  valleys  of  the  Altai,  the  natives  preserve  their 
national  trails.  On  the  whole  iliere  is  no  eviileiice  ol'  the  eMinciion  of  the  natives  in  Western 
Sitieria. 

'I'lie  most  considerabli'  part  of  the  [lopulaiion  of  AVesteru  Siberia  is  composed  of  Rus- 
sian emigrants,  who  are  very  uiioveuly  distributed  over  tin'  tlilferent  zones  or  regions  of 
Western  Sibeiia.  In  the  cultivated  zone  of  Western  Siberia  dwell  1,80)0,000  persons  of  both 
sexes,  that  is,  L>12  iiduibitaiits  to  the  square  geographical  mile,  out  of  whom  less  than  three 
per  cent  belong  to  the  native  non-Russian  population.  Considerable  also  is  the  population 
of  the  Altai  mining  ilistrict.  amounting  to  600,000  souls  of  both  sexes,  or  78  per  square 
geographical  mile,  id'  whom  the  native  tribes  form  not  more  than  seven  per  cent.  The  popu- 
lation scaiiered  in  small  oases  among  an  unbroken  stretch  of  forests  and  swamps,  namely  that 
of  the  zone  of  high  growing  trees,  forest  industries  and  sj»ora<lic  agricnlture,  is  much  thinner. 
Its  eMeiii  does  not  cxcced- 270,000,  or  15  inhabitants  to  the  s(iuare  geographical  mile,  among 
whom  the  native  tribes  form  15  per  cent.  Fiiuilly  in  the  polar  tundra  zone  the  population 
does  not  i-xceed  30,0<J0  of  both  sexes,  the  natives  here,  however,  constituting  moi-e  than  95  per 
cent,  wli'ich  i-learly  demonstrates  that  the  Russian  settled  population  cannot  live  in  this  zone, 
the  Russians  here  appearing  not  as  settlers  but  only  as  proprietors  and  exploiters  of  the  country. 
It  is  evident  that  in  Western  Siberia  the  idation  borne  by  the  town  inhabitants  to  the 
total  popnlaiiou  is  even  lower  than  in  European   Russia,  where  in  its  turn,    the  proportion  of 


GEOGRAPHICAL    REVIE\V.  33 

the  town  population  is  low  enough  compared  with  the  same  proportion  in  Western  Europe  and 
America.  In  European  Russia  the  proportion  of  the  inhahitants  of  the  towns  to  the  total 
population  is  13  per  cent,  in  Western  Siheria,  less  than  eight  per  cent. 

Of  the  towns  of  any  importance  in  Western  Siberia  possessing  at  the  same  time  a  really 
urban  character,  there  are  only  seven:  Tomsk,  with  a  population  of  about  40,000;  Tobolsk, 
with  20,000  inhabitants;  Barnaoul  and  Biisk  each  with  17,000;  Tiumen,  with  14,000;  Mariinsk 
and  Kolyvan,  each  with  13,000  inhabitants. 

In  immediate  connection  with  the  density,  distribution  and  manner  of  hfe  of  the  popula- 
tion is  the  distribution  and  apportionment  of  the  domestic  animals,  of  which  the  nearest  to 
man,  at  any  rate  in  country  life,  is  the  horse,  serving  as  it  does  not  only  for  field  work  but 
for  travelling  from  place  to  place  and  for  the  conveyance  of  goods.  The  population  of  Western 
Siberia,  occupying  as  it  does  a  vast  and  thinly  inhabited  territory,  upon  which  agiiculture, 
working  a  virgin  soil  without  steam  motors,  leaving  extensive  wastes  covered  with  a  luxu- 
riant herbaceous  vegetation,  has  a  particular  need  for  tlie  horse  and  is  in  a  position  to  feed 
it  from  the  abundance  of  fodder.  Therefore,  while  in  the  thickly  populated  and  most  highly 
industrial  countries  of  Europe  like,  for  example,  Belgium  and  Great  Britain,  the  proportion 
of  horses  per  100  inhabitants  hardly  exceeds  the  figure  five;  in  the  inore  agricultural 
countries  of  France  and  Germany,  does  not  surpass  eight;  in  those  still  very  rich  in 
natural  meadows  and  pastures,  such  as  Hungary  and  Denmark,  it  reaches  twelve  and  seventeen, 
and  in  European  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America,  twenty-two;  in  Western  Siberia 
the  number  of  horses  per  100  inhabitants  reaches  sixty-three,  the  absolute  number  being 
1,700,000,  in  other  words,  to  each  man  of   working  age  there  are  two  to  three  horses. 

Under  such  circumstances,  as  might  be  inferred,  the  number  (»f  the  other  domestic 
animals  is  also  proportionately  very  high.  To  every  100  inhaliitants  in  Western  Siberia  there 
are  fifty-two  head  of  horned  cattle,  the  absolute  number  being  1,400,000,  that  is,  from  two 
to  three  head  per  mairied  couple.  Finally  there  are  eighty-five  sheep  and  goats  per  100  in- 
habitants, the  absolute  number  being  2,300,000.  The  northern  reindeer  is  the  domestic  animal 
of  the  polar  tribes,  inhabiting  the  polar  tundra  zone  which  might  in  Western  Siberia  be  called 
the  region  of  reindeer  breeding.  The  absolute  number  of  these  animals  in  Western  Siberia 
extends  to  240,000  head.  As  the  population  employed  in  rearing  reindeer  in  the  polar  tundra 
zone  and  in  the  northern  part  of  the  forest  zone,  Samoyeds  and  a  portion  of  the  Ostiaks,  does 
not  exceed  40,000,  it  follows  that  there  arc  600  reindeer  to  every  100  inhaliiiauis:  and  as 
long  as  such  a  proportion  per  man  of  domestic  animals  in  the  far  north  can  be  maintained, 
so  long  the  polar  tribes  of  Western  Siberia  will  not  exhibit  any  tendency  to  become  extin- 
'guished. 


— ^<$^- 


34  SIHKKIA. 


en  A  I'TKK  iji. 

Eastern  Original  Siberia. 

Its  Sayan  hmdi'i  laiiil:  llii'  livilinLiraiiliy  dI'  l'ja,>lciii  Sihi'ii.i  ami  ils  division  iiitn  tlin-i^  zoiii!> 
or  Iracls,  iIh'  ciiltivalfd  ur  amirnlimal.  iiiiiiMiinii-  with  tlio  Suyari  I'ooliiills:  tlic;  zoiie  of 
lii^li  stciiiiiiril  livfs  and  fnivst  iiidiistiirs,  ;iiid  tile  polar  liMidia;  llic  cliiiiatir  foiiditioiis  of  ('ar-li 
of  tiicsc  zones:  till'  NcL'ctatiM'  rovrrin.i.^  of  Kastciii  Siiicria  and  its  fauna:  inaniinalia  of  tlir 
polar  ,ind  Inivst  zinn's;  the  popniation  of  I'^astci-n  Siljf.'ria,  its  rllnio^'-rapiiii'al  (;oia|)osition  and 
disposition;  the  distrilMition  of  Ilic  tloincstir  animals. 


EASTMliX  Sihciia  in  tiir  iiaiiuw  sense,  that  is.  the  eastern  half  of  tlio  original  pari 
of  Silieria  inlialiiled  |)rineipally  l»y  a  llnssian  pujiulation,  in  administrative  relation 
is  made  np  of  two  governments,  those  (d'  Yenisscisk  and  Irknlsk,  and  in  geoirraphical 
respects  occupies  the  Lircater  jtart  of  the  hasin  of  the  twin  river  Yenissei-Aiigara,  and  farther 
(>mbraees  the  liveiine  regions  of  the  polar  streams,  Piassina,  Taimyr,  ami  Khatanga,  the 
small  ii|ii)ei-  pari  id'  the  basin  of  tln'  liver  fj'iia  ami  jjarts  of  the  frontier  basins  (d'  the  rivers 
Taz  on  the  iKuth-wi'si.  and  Anabeia  on  the  north-east.  Even  thus  limited.  Eastern  Siberia 
coviMs  an  immense  area  of  si\ty-t\vi>  thonsand  square  geographical  miles,  exceeding  twice  the 
ext(Mil  ill'  (iermaiiy,  Austria,  and  France  taken   together. 

The  sonlherii  bordeiland  of  Eastern  Siberia  is  formed  by  the  noi'thern  chain  of  the 
long  and  lofty  Sayan  laiige,  which  for  a  considerable  i)art  of  its  exteut  bears  the  name  of 
Erghik-'I'aigak-Taiga  and  selves  as  the  frontier  between  Iliissiaii  territory  and  the  Chinese 
possessions.  'J'liis  chain  lollnws  roughly  a  direction  from  west  to  east,  but  ileparts  from  tiie 
paralhd  by  a  wide  bend  to  the  north.  South  of  this  chain,  between  it  and  one  further  to  the 
south  bearinu  the  name  of  Tannu-Ola  and  connecled  at  both  its  extremities  with  the  Sayan 
by  mouiitaiii  spurs,  spreads  a  very  wide  valley  shut  in  on  all  sides  by  mountains  known  in 
the  most  ancient  tinn's  ])y  the  name  of  Ergheue-Koii  or  Iigana-Kon,  and  cidebrated  in  history 
for  having  accoiding  In  tradition  served  as  the  ciadle  of  the  Tinrk  tribe,  which  it  is  said 
expanded  itsidf  IVoin  this  point  ov(!r  all  Asia.  In  this  valley  mingle  the  two  great  constituent 
branches  (d'  the  Yeniss(d,  flowing  IVom  the  southern  slope  (d'  the  Sayan,  the  rivers  riukem 
and  IJeikem.  Alter  its  confluence  with  three  tiibutari(>s,  the  rivei-  Rem  so  reinforced  receives 
the  Kemchik  on  the  left  or  western  side  of  the  valley,  and  taking  the  name  of  Yenissei, 
bursts  throiiiih  the  narrow  defile  of  the  Sayan  and  comes  out  on  the  Sayan  slope  of  Eastern 
Siberia.  'Within  the  limits  of  the  Yenisseisk,  and  in  the  western  part  of  the  Irkutsk 
government  the  Sayan  range  proceeds  without  subdivision,  merely  sending  off  a  few  spurs 
penetrating   deeply    into   the  .southern    part    (d'    the    Yenisseisk   government    on    the    north. 


EASTEKN  ORIGINAL  SIBERIA.  35 

Soniowhat  more  complex  is  the  coustriietion  of  the  Sayan  in  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the 
Irkutsk  government,  beginning  with  its  most  elevated  mass  situated  between  the  head  waters 
of  the  Beikem  and  Ulukem,  on  the  one  hand,  and  tliose  of  the  ji'ft  tributaries  of  the  Angara, 
Oka,  Belaia  and  Irkut,  on  the  other.  Here  this  range  shows  a  tendency  to  break  up 
into  chains,  or  ridges,  parallel  to  each  other  and  separated  by  longitudinal  valleys,  here 
united  by  projections  of  the  main  ci'est,  there  cut  asunder  by  transverse  dales  through  which 
the  nunii'rous  rivers  struggle  out  the  slope  of  Eastern  Siberia  and  form  the  left  tributaries 
of  the  Angara. 

In  the  midst  of  the  main  crest  of  the  Sayan,  at  the  MMilh-eastern  corner  of  the  Irkutsk 
government,  the  highest  mountain  mass  of  the  Sayan  range  lifts  itself  far  above  the  limits  of 
eternal  snow  in  its  highest  point,  the  Munku-Sardyk  peak,  lying  on  the  Chinese  frontier, 
reaching  an  elevation  of  11,430  feet  above  the  sea  level.  This  mountain,  as  also  some  other  sum- 
mits in  its  neighbourhood  sitiiateil  on  the  projectiDns  of  the  Sayan  range  crossing  into  Russian 
territory  and  called  hi're  not  belki  as  in  the  Altai,  but  «golets>>,  feeds  more  or  less  consider- 
able glaciers  and  ice  fields,  occurring  on  a  somewhat  greater  scale  in  this  part  of  the  Sayan 
than  in  the  Katun  Pillars  of  the  Altai.  A  little  lower  than  those  golets  rise,  parallel  to  the 
main  crest  of  the  Sayan,  the  forward  ridges,  among  which  the  most  remarkable  is  the  Tuuka 
range  lying  close  to  Irkutsk.  In  another  of  these  ridges,  at  a  distance  cd'  120  versts  to  the 
south-west  of  Irkutsk,  is  the  mountain  Khamar-Daban,  reaching  an  elevation  of  8,940  feet 
above  the  sea  level.  In  connection  with  this  Khamar-Daban  are  two  ridges  stretching  almost 
parallel  to  each  other  in  a  north-easterly  dinM/tion.  In  the  wide  and  very  long  valley  separat- 
ing them,  is  situated  one  of  the  largest  lakes  on  the  world's  surface,  Baikal,  whose  area  of  640 
square  geographical  miles  is  equal  to  the  extent  of  the  Kingdom  of  Holland  with  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Luxemburg:  its  breadth  exceeds  the  huigth  (d'  Lake  Geneva,  and  its  length 
is  670  versts.  Lake  Baikal  is  fed  mainly  by  rivers  flowing  over  the  Transbaikal  region,  the 
Upper  Angara,  Barguzin  and  Selenga.  Its  outlet  is  the  colossal  right  branch  of  the  vast 
river  system  of  Eastern  Siberia,  the  Angara,  bursting  first  through  the  tlefih^  of  the  Baikal 
range,  confining  the  lake  on  the  north-west,  and  afterwards  intersecting  the  extremities  of  sev- 
eral of  the  spurs  of  the  Sayan  extending  far  over  its  slo|).>.  It  is  at  these  points  of  inter- 
section that  the  Angara  forms  its  celebrated  rapids. 

All  the  cliief  summits  of  the  Sayan  range,  and  even  of  its  oil'spurs,  consist  of  crystalline 
rocks,  granites,  sienites,  more  seldom  diorites,  porphyrirs  and  diabases,  and  also  of  gneiss  and 
crystalline  schists.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  Sayan  range,  and  also  in  the  low  ridges  intei"secting 
the  Eastern  Siberian  plain  between  the  Angara  and  thePodkamennaia  Tunguzka,real  plutonic  rocks 
are  met  with,  sucii  as  bazalts,  dolerites  and  even  lavas,  fiom  the  long  since  extinct  volcanoes,  with 
vulcanic  tufas,  oljsidian  and  pumice.  The  sedimentary  rocks  upon  the  slopes  of  the  Sayan 
ridg(^s  consist  of  sandstones,  schists  ami  limesloiK^  b(diniging  to  the  paleozoic  formations,  Si- 
lurian, devoiuan  and  I'arbonil'erous,  but  furtlirr  to  tin'  north  in  the  di'umled  |>ai'ts  (d  the  low 
ridges,  intersecting  the  Eastern  Siberia  plain,  sei'ondary  I'oruiations  also  ari'  met  with,  such  as 
triassic  and  Jurassic. 

The  mineral  resourc(\s  of  Eastern  Siberia  are  considerable.  I'pou  thi' inuthcru  aeclivity  or 
the  Sayan  in  the  Yi'insseisk  goveiiiinont,  mines  of  argentiferous  leail  and  coppei- aie  found,  and 


3G  SIBKRIA. 

in  tlio  rc'^Mon  ol'  tlir  l<i(ii  lulls  an'  xalk-R-il  hen*  and  tlicro  seams  of  coal  and  iron  ores.  De- 
posits ol"  oxfudlcnl  |/ra[diit('  arc  found  njion  one  (tf  the  offsets  of  the  Sayan  range,  and  lapis 
lazuli  has  l)rcn  discovered  alon^'  tin'  rivT  Sliudianka,  also  in  thai  rej/inn.  Kaslern  Siberia, 
however,  is  ridiest  ai'  all  in  iJiM  l)(•arin^'  sands,  situated  not  only  on  ibe  slopo  of  tb<' 
Kiizneisl<i  Altai  and  u|i(ui  the  spurs  of  the  Sayan  range,  but  to  a  yet  greater  degree  upon  the 
extensive  aiea  hitweeu  the  Angara  and  the  Podkaniennaia  Tnngiizka. 

I'lastern  Siberia  is  watered  as  alHindanily  as  Western.  The  great  river  Yenissei,  con- 
sisting like  the  Obi  of  two  almost  (Mjiial  branches,  the  Yenissei  propr-r  and  the  Angara,  has 
a  Icngtli  of  3,H00  versts,  if  the  I'lukem  be  reckoned  as  its  beginning;  and  of  4,800  versts,  if 
its  hi'ail  waters  be  taken  as  the  Cpper  Angara  or  th(!  Selenga.  The  wai  watershed  of  this 
river  covers  an  area  of  54,00()  s(iuart.'  geographical  miles. 

As  a  water  way,  the  Yenissei  has  the  same  inconveniences  as  the  Ubi;  it  intersects 
the  great  Siberian  tract  at  right  angles,  flows  northwards,  almost  without  swerving,  and  falls 
into  the  inhospitable  Jvara  Sea,  ice-bound  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  However,  the  expe- 
rience of  the  last  twenty  years  has  shown  that  the  mouth  of  the  Yenissei  is  more  accessible 
to  communication  by  sea,  than  that  of  the  (Jbi,  and  that  for  the  most  part  ships  penetrating  in 
late  auiimiii  into  the  Kara  Sea  through  the  narrow  straits  dividing  the  two  islands  of  Nova 
Zembla,  the  so-called  Matochkin  Sliar,  or  through  the  Kara  Gates,  cannot  only  reach  the 
Yenissei  bay  without  encountering  any  obstacle,  but  having  unloaded  and  reloaded  at  the 
wharf,  constructed  near  the  entrance  to  the  frith  previously  to  the  closing  of  the  navigation, 
may  I'etuni  to  Europe. 

'ihe  Angara  and  Yenissei  mingle  their  waters  precisely  as  do  the  Obi  and  Irtysch, 
but  the  curve  ioimed  by  them  is  not  thrust  so  far  to  the  north,  passes  through  localities  less 
desert  in  their  character,  and  with  the  existing  hydrographic  communication  between  the  Obi 
and  Yenissei  by  means  of  the  Ket  ami  ]\oss.  the  Angara  might  serve  as  an  excellent  water 
way  to  iJaikal  and  Transbaikalia,  were  it  nut  intersected  by  a  whole  series  of  cataracts  and 
falls,  which  are  however  now  being  gradually  cleared  away.  Besides  the  Angara  both  the 
tributaries  of  the  Yenissei  falling  Into  that  river  below  the  Angara,  the  Podkaraennaia  and 
Lower  Tunguzka,  are  navigable,  flowing  however  through  regions  almost  absolutely  deserted. 

'J'he  great  expanse  of  Eastern  Siberia  may  be  subdivided  into  three  tracts  or  zones 
ililfering  very  much  from  each  other.  The  first  and  most  southeni  of  them  is  that  which 
is  called  the  cultivated  or  agricultural,  but  which  properly  corresponds  to  the  two  regions  of 
Western  Siberia  characterized  above,  namely,  the  Altai  mining  and  low-lying  agricultural,  as 
the  foothills  of  the  Sayan  range  audits  offshoots  occupy  the  whole  cultivated  zone  of  Eastern 
Siberia,  and  as  it  is  impossible  to  draw  a  definite  boundary  between  the  agricultural  and 
the  mining  zones  of  Sayan.  The  cultivated  agricultural  zone  is  composed  accordingly  of  the 
four  southern  districts  of  the  Y^enissei  government,  namely,  Minussinsk,  Achinsk,  Krasnoyarsk 
and  Kansk,  and  all  the  districts  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk,  but  Kerensk.  This  zone  of 
Eastern  Siberia  so  defined,  includes  an  area  of  J0,500  square  geographical  miles,  but  as  the 
greater  half  of  this  area,  partly  on  account  of  its  high  absolute  altitude,  partly  on  account  of 
its  mounlainous  and  rocky  couditiou,  stouy  or  swampy  soil,  is  entirely  unsuited  for  agricultural 
purposes;  the  whole  zone  hardly  counts  above  5,000  square  geogi'aphical  miles  for  colonization. 


EASTERN  ORIGINAL  SIBERIA  87 

The  very  climatic  conditions  of  the  cultivated  or  agricultural  zone  of  Eastern  Siberia 
are  less  advantageous  than  in  the  corresponding  region  of  Western  Siberia.  The  mean  annual 
temperature  here  and  there  approaches  zero,  hut  in  the  eastern  zone  it  is  a  negative  quantity 
(—  2-3),  and  therefore  0-5"  colder  tlian  in  the  western.  The  average  winter  temperatures  are 
—  18°  Celsius,  and  that  of  the  coldest  month  —  20°,  or  1°  and  2-5°  below  the  corresponding 
temperatures  of  Western  Siberia.  The  average  summer  temperature  is  IG-S*^,  and  that  of  the 
hottest  mouth  19°,  which  also  fall  short  of  the  corresponding  temperatures  of  Western  Siberia 
by  1°  and  0-5°;  only  the  differences  between  the  temperatures  of  summer  and  winter,  35°,  and 
between  those  of  the  hottest  and  coldest  months,  39°,  remain  approximately  identical.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  the  most  important  factor  in  the  capacity  of  the  country  for  agriculture,  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  five-month  vegetative  period,  amounting  in  the  zone  under  conside- 
ration to  only  14°,  is  in  this  part  of  Eastern  Siberia  less  advantageous  than  in  the  correspond- 
ing zone  of  Western  Siberia. 

And  as  regards  the  quantity  of  rain  and  snow  falling  during  the  whole  year,  the 
cultivated  or  agricultural  zone  of  Eastern  Siberia  is  placed  in  less  advantageous  circum- 
stances than  the  same  zone  of  Western  Siberia,  namely,  the  total  precipitation  is 
360  millimetres  instead  of  380;  the  summer  rainfall  is  150  instead  of  175,  and  only  tln' 
winter  shows  a  certain  preponderancy,  56,  or  in  other  words  is  more  snowy.  The  more 
elevated  foothills  of  the  cultivated  or  agricultural  zone  are  placed  in  incomparably  less 
advantageous  climatic  conditions,  situated  as,  for  example,  Kultuk,  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  Baikal  at  an  absolute  height  of  1,600  feet,  at  the  very  foot  of  the  Sayan,  or  as  the  mine 
of  Preobrazhensk  on  the  Biriussa  at  an  elevation  of  3,800  feet  in  a  mountainous  valley.  Here 
the  mean  annual  temperature  is  on  an  average  less  than  —  8°,  the  winter  almost  the  same, 
but  the  summer  colder,  the  mean  temperature  being  12"5°,  that  of  the  hottest  month  14°. 
in  consequence  of  which  the  average  temperature  of  the  five-month  vegetative  period  is  so 
low,  10'2°,  that  it  is  an  obstacle  to  agriculture. 

The  second  zone,  like  the  corresponding  one  in  Western  Siberia,  'may  be  called 
the  zone  of  tall  trees,  forest  industries  and  spdradic  agriculture.  It  includes  the  Kerensk 
district  of  the  government  of  Yenissei  and  part  of  the  Yenissei  district  as  far  as  66°,  or 
the  limit  of  the  high-stemmed  forests.  The  area  occupied  by  this  zone  in  Eastern  is 
still  more  extensive  than  in  Western  Siberia,  namely,  about  27,000  square  geographical 
miles,  and  consists  of  a  continuous  mass  of  forest  and  morass,  with  only  here  and 
there,  and_  that  mainly  in  its  southern  part  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  rivers,  islets  of 
small  extent  and  luirrow  strips  of  land  in  a  slight  degree  fit  for  the  establishment  of  a 
settled  population.  The  climatic  conditions  of  this  zone  are  also  less  favourable  than  in  the 
corresponding  zone  of  Western  Siberia.  The  average  temperature  here  is  lower,  —  3  instead 
of  —  2°  Celsius,  the  winters  are  more  severe,  having  a  mean  temperature  of —21°  instead 
of— 20°,  the  coldest  month  being— -25°  iusteail  of  —  23°.  Only  the  summer  is  somewhat 
warmer,  15°  instead  of  14°,  the  difference  between  sunmier  and  winter  being  therefore  36° 
instead  of  33",  and  that  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  mouths,  43°  instead  of  40°.  From  all 
this  it  appears  that  the  climate  presents  a  still  more  continental  character  than  in  the 
coiTesponding   tract    of  Western   Siberia.    As    for    the    mean    temperature  of  the    five-month 


3S  SUIKIMA. 

vc^M'iiiiivc  jxTiod  it  is  licio  only  IV  iiiid  inovcs  <'Xlri')iic|y  iiii(av()iiiali|«-  lo  lln-  i|i-v<'l<i|imeiil 
of  {igrioiiltinf,  wliicli  Ikti-  ciiniiot  lie  tlic  muiti  oc(^ui|)iiiir>ii  (,i  iIm-  inliahiianis.  Ijiii  diily 
a  lijiiilcil  ami  fifcasional  siipjiorl  lo  llic  lorcst,  iiidiislrie.s.  i'liithiT,  in  ri-t-'anl  to  tli<' 
aiiiinal  alinosjdicric,  pit'cijjiiation  iailin;/  lu  its  stiaic,  ijif  lon-sl  '/oik;  of  Kastf-ni  is  \v(irs<' 
situated  than  that  in  Wcslcrn  Siticiia:  il  Imic  dcics  nut  cxrccd  40f)  iiiilliincln's,  ol  which 
rrioreov(!r.  iiall'  or  L'OO  inillinn'iirs  lalls  in  ihc  conrsc  of  tin-  llircc  sntiinnT  inonihs, 

Tlic  iliiiil  nr  [Mihir  inndra  zon<'  is  I'ai'  inoic  dcvi'Inpcd  in  Kaslorn  than  in  Wi'Sii-ru 
Sitx'iia,  occupying''  as  il  dues  in  tin;  IdrnnT  an  an-a  3.5  linn's  that  \vlii<di  it  covi-is  in 
the  latter.  With  an  cMmt  nl  2  l/XK)  sipian;  ^a'o^M'apliifal  niilrs  it  yields  a  wiilo  f'ielil  lor  the 
invcstif^Mlion  (d'  all  llir  (•(niilitinns  (d  lilc  upon  llic  erjntincnls  nl'  \\\r  cartli  sitnatcfj  bi-yoMii 
tlic  arciic  rirclr.  As  a  saiii})lc  of  the  climatic  conditions  ol'  this  cxticino  nortli  ol'  tin-  fonti- 
iK'nl  <d  Ilic  Old  World,  are  llie  nieteorolojrical  observations  in  one  of  the  lartliest  liahitable 
pdiiils  en  111!'  Ycnissci,  the  si'tllcineiit  called  Tolsty  Xos,  lyin^  in  laiiinde  70"10'X.  Hero 
Ihe  mean  ainnial  lemperalnre  is  (ndy  —  13",  and  ilir  mean  w  inter  tempei'atnre  —  30°.  The 
cohUiSt  montli  siuiws  almost  — 31':  ilie  mean  summer  temperature  is -|- 5",  and  that  ol'  the 
hottest  month -f  9".  Tlicre  can  tic  no  (piestion  of  the  mean  temperature  of  the  vegetative  period, 
as  that  is  so  liriid'  thai  it  excludes  all  possibility  of  even  ilie  ilioiight  of  agriculture.  L'nder 
such  circumstances  all  this  country  can  be  exploiied  only  by  polai-  leindeei-  breeding/  tribes 
or  by  native  or  immigrant  liunters  or  fishermen. 

In  Easieni  as  in  W'esieiii  Sibeiia,  the  [Una  of  the  country  is  extremely  sensitive  and 
reflects  to  a  nicely  its  climatic  c(mditions.  The  alpine  and  subalpine  flora  of  the  Sayan 
lange  has  a  great  resemblance  to  thai  of  ilie  Allai,  while  at  the  same  time  exhibiting 
ceriain  ilepariures  from  it.  Thus  in  ihe  Alpine  Sayan  flora,  appear  certain  polar  forms  not 
mel  with  in  ihe  arctic  zon(>  of  iMiidpe  and  Western  Siberia,  but  peeuliar  to  ihe  arctic  zone 
of  Eastern  Siberia  and  America;  many  Altaic  species  vanish,  which  rise  high  on  the  Altai 
slop(>  Iroin  tlie  steppes  id'  Central  Asia,  adjacent  to  that  region,  and  on  the  other  hand 
vegetable  forms  appear  wliieh  do  ik,i  oecni-  ai  all  in  the  Altai,  but  are  either  entirely  local 
or  coninion  lo  the  Sayan  and  ihe  Stanovoi  ranges,  and  even  lo  the  more  remote  Tian-Shan. 
To  the  laller  forms  belongs  ihe  prickly  shrub  with  gray  foliage  and  yellow  flowers  character- 
isiic  (d'  the  Alpine  zone,  known  under  ihe  name  of  the  camel's  tail  among  the  Tiurk  tribes 
Tiiiek-iiiriuk,  (<;aiagaiia  jubata  P(dr). 

The  flora  of  the  Sayan  slope,  that  is,  of  the  cultivated  or  agricultural  tract  of  Eastern 
Siberia  also  possesses  essential  distinctions  from  that  of  the  Western  Siberian  lowland, 
(iiiieliii  ali'eady  noticed  iliai  on  crossing  the  Yenissei  ihe  flora  considerably  alters.  And  in 
fact,  lo  the  east  of  the  Yenissei  noi  a  few  characteristic  Siberian  plants  occur,  not  to  be 
luei  with  in  ihe  "Western.  Siberian  lowland.  But  this  is  explained  not  so  much  by  any  sharp 
change  in  the  climatic  conditions,  which  really  does  not  exist,  as  by  the  circumstance  that 
the  slope  of  the  Sayan  ridge  where  il  is  intersected  by  the  great  Siberian  tract,  does  not 
exhibit  a  flat  low  lying  expanse  like  Western  Siberia,  but  is  scored  by  more  or  less  elevated 
ofl'shoots  of  the  Sayan,  by  Mhich  its  mountain  flora  pushes  its  way  deep  into  the  cultivated 
or  agricultural  zone  of  Eastern  Siberia.  Examples  such  as  struck  the  eye  of  such  an  expe- 
rienced naiiiralisi  as  (imelin  might  be  quoted  in  large  number.  Thus,  of  the  family  of  crow's 


EASTEKN    ORIGINAL    SIBERIA.  39 

tdi.is  (laiimiciilaceao)  beyond  tin."  Yi'nissoi  mv  met  wiili  i'or  ilie  I'irsl  limc:  tlmliciiiim 
coiiiortuin  L..  aiieijioiie  sibiiica  L.,  caltlia  nataiis  Pall.;  ol' ilie  I'liniitories  (fiunariaeeae): 
corydalis  ambigua  Cliain..  curydalis  gracilis  Led.;  (,[  ilie  criicifers  (orucifereae):  two  species 
n{  doiitosteinon,  sisymbrium  humile  Mey. ;  of  tlie  violels  (violarieae):  viola  dissecta  Led.: 
(d'  the  pea  iamily  (Irgmuiiioseae):  some  astragalus  (oxytropis  muricata  D.C,  brevirostre 
D.C,  ammophila  Turcz.,  grandistore  D.C,  leiicantba  Pers.,  caepitosa  Pers.,  ainpuUata  Pers. 
These  latter  are  merely  mouiilainnus  loiins  of  the  Altai-Sayau  system,  which  have  descended 
into  the  Siberian  lowlaml  ou  the  light  hilly  bank  id  the  Yenissei  by  means  of  the  Sayan 
si)urs. 

Least  difference  of  all  is  noticeable  between  the  flora  of  the  forest  zone  of  Eastern  and 
AVesterii  Siberia.  The  woody  races  are  absolutely  identical.  Of  the  coniferous  families  the  piui' 
(pinus  sylvcstris  L.),  and  tiie  Siberian  larch  (larix  Ledebourii  Endl.)  do  not  cross  the  boun- 
ilary  of  the  forest  zone;  but  the  remaining  forms  also  pass  over  into  tin'  polar  zone,  becom- 
ing of  course  stunted,  crooked  and  gradually  losing  their  proper  character  (d'  high-stemmed 
trees.  Thus  the  Siberian  fir  (j)inus  sibirica  Led.),  attains  on  the  Yenissei  a  heiglit  of  GT'S"  nortii 
latitude,  the  Siberian  cedar  ({linus  cenibra  L.),  OS'S",  the  pitch  pine  (picea  orientalis  L.),  fiQ-o"; 
finally  the  (hiur  larch  (larix  duviirica  Fisch.)  is  found  on  the  river  Boganida  as  far  north  as 
72"5°.  As  far  as  regards  the  lierbaceons  plants  of  the  forest  zone,  it  is  not  distinguished  by 
any  special  differences  from  tln'  like  flora  <d'  the  corresponding  zone  of  Western  Silteria.  and 
is  on  the  whole  pool-;  in  the  thick  bjrest  growths  there  is  no  herbage,  the  s(dl  l)(dng  mainly 
carpeted  with  mosses  and  lichens. 

Particularly  typical  on  the  other  liand  is  the  very  limited  flora  of  the  far  north  of  the 
judar  tundra  tract.  Middeiidorf  found  on  the  Taimyr  peninsula  124  plants,  among  which  were 
the  very  lowest,  it  might  be  said,  ilwarf  shrubs  of  the  arctic  species  of  birch  (betula  nana 
Ti.);  willow,  (salix  polaris  Wahl,  laiiala  L.,  glauca  L.,  arctica  Pall.,  taimyrensis  Trautv.). 
and  also  a  ledum,  (ledum  paliistre  L.)  and  an  aiulromeda  (cassiope  tetragona  Don.):  and  of 
herbaceous  plants,  17  species  of  crucifereae,  14  compositeae,  7  stellarieae,  (alsine,  st(dlaria, 
cerastium),  12  stonecrops  (saxifraga),  6  species  of  pediciilaris,  5  astragals  (of  the  geiiea  phaca 
and  oxytropis),  5  rosaceae  (dryas,  sieversia,  potent  ilia)  and  G  I'low's  foots  (ranunculus,  caltha, 
delphinum).  Of  the  124  jdaiiis  nieiiiioned.  ;'0  do  not  belong  to  the  polar  types,  but  are  common 
to  the  whole  of  Siberia  and  tor  the  most  part  cross  over  on  the  one  side  into  Europe,  and  on  the 
other  into  America.  The  remaining  94  jdants  are  completidy  arctic  typi's.  Miudi  more  than 
ball'  of  tlieiii  (54)  are  met  with  o\cr  the  wlnde  pdjar  zone,  alike  of  the  Old  and  (d'  the  New 
World,  and  in  pari  come  [dith  upon  the  alps  (d  the  Altai  Sayan  range;  but  some  are  pecul- 
iar to  Siberia  alone  (12),  or  only  ap|)ear  outside  in  Europe  (10),  or  more  frequently  in  Amer- 
ica (18  spe<'ies).  To  ihe  lallei',  for  example,  bcdong  of  the  crow's  I'oois  (raniinculaceae):  ra- 
nunculus alTinis  U.  Uv.:  of  ilie  cnndfers,  (ciiicifereac):  draba  pauciflora  K.  Br.,  dralia  glacialis 
Ad.,  drat)a  algida  Ad.,  draba  rupestris  11.  \k.,  hesperis  llookeri  Led.,  sisymbrium  soplii(ddes 
Hook.;  of  the  caryophyllac(>ae  (alsineae):  alsine  macrocarpa  Eetizl.,  alsine  arctica  Fisch.;  of  the 
pea  family  (leguminoseae):  oxytropis  nigresceiis  Fis(di.:  of  the  rosaceae:  sieversia  glasialis 
Iv.  Ifr.;  (d'  the  stone  crops  (saxifragaceae):  saxifraga  serpyllifolia  Pursli.  punctata  L.;  of 
the  scrojihnlariaceae:  pediciilaris  [.angsdoiffi   Fisidi..  pediciilaris  capitala  Ad. 


40  SIHKIMA, 

Tli(!  iusoci  Imiiiii  lulluw'.s  oil  I  111!  wlioli!  thii  saini)  laws  a.s  tbo  Hora,  but  in  tlio  Sayau 
raiij.'('  it,  is  soinowiiat  pdonT  than  in  llie  Altai,  and  on  the  slope  presents  less  difference  from 
the  fauna  of  Die  Altai  slope  than  does  the  llora.  Highly  eccentric  arctic  forms  are  met  with 
amoiif,,'  the  coleoptora  devoid  of  lli^'lit,  as  for  <;xarnpln  the  carabidae:  carabus  Baerii  Men., 
lypcroplioriis  rribelliis  Men.,  lyperoplionis  costatiis  Men.,  j)latysina  borealis  Men.  Xoi  lt;ss 
peculiar  are  the  lulinwiiij,'  arctic  fornis  (d'  other  categories  of  insects,  of  the  mollis  (lepidoptera): 
amphiiliisis  iiidiisciata  Men.;  of  hyinenoptera:  ichiieiinioii  Middendoi-fii  Er.,  ichneumon  lit.'ulii> 
I'll-.:  Ill'  the  di|)tera:  miisca  buganidae  Er.,  anlhoinya  wrsiila  l-^r.,  lisjie  fiiL'iii;i  Er.,  neplnotoma 
cii|iiiliiiiia  Va:.  Ill  I  lie  iH'iiniptera:  hemorobius  algidus  Er. 

As  the  forest  and  polar  tiimlra  zones  in  Eastern  Siberia  reach  their  full  tlevelopnuMit 
the  questions,  having  reference  to  the  distribution  of  the  vertebrates  over  Siberia,  are  most 
clearly  answered  by  the  study  of  these  zones.  At  first  sight  it  might  be  expected  that  in  such 
deserted  spots  as  are  the  forests  and  tundras  of  Siberia,  where  there  is  no  reguhir  In-wing  of 
timber,  where  llnM-e  are  not  more  than  seven  men  living  per  square  geographical  mile, 
the  fauna  should  be  extraordinarily  rich,  if  not  in  the  variety  of  species,  as  in  more  southern 
countries,  here  opposed  by  climatic  conditions,  tiien  at  least  in  numbers.  Unfortunately  even 
in  the  forest  zone  the  fauna  of  Siberia  is  very  poor  in  both  respects,  and  if  the  spoilsman 
with  gun  in  hand  should  traverse  the  whole  forest  zone  of  Siberia  to  its  very  heart,  for  example, 
to  about  60"  north  latitude,  he  would  be  very  much  disenchanted  by  the  fact  that  at  time> 
whole  days  would  pass  without  his  making  any  bag.  In  the  uiit)nikeii  and  thick  forest  gi-owths 
of  Siberia,  there  are  hardly  any  wild  animals.  They  keep  gladly  to  the  skirts  of  the  woods, 
the  forest  glades,  to  areas  devastated  by  fon^st  contiagTations,  nay,  even  to  the  clearings  wrought 
by  man,  near  to  his  habitat  inn.  luit  not  in  the  forest  depths,  and  not  in  tin;  forest  thicket. 

Such  spots,  free  from  trees  and  also  convenient  fords  across  rivers  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year,  serve  the  wild  animals  as  phices  of  assembly,  and  the  whole  skill  of  tlie  native 
trapper  is  confined  to  watching  for  them  here  at  the  right  time,  knowing  these  spots  and  the 
season  of  their  IVeiiueuting  by  animals.  This  nietlnnl  nf  liunting  explains  also  why  the 
sparse  ])opulation  of  the  forest  regions  of  Siberia,  unable  to  exhaust  its  woody  wealth,  is 
gradually  exhausting  its  animal  life.  This  circumstance  leads  to  the  thought  that  the  establish- 
ment of  vast  forest  clearings  or  glades,  hunters  lands  and  the  preservation  of  the  animals 
assembling  upon  them  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  might  not  only  conduce  to  the  preser- 
vation from  destruction,  but  also  to  the  increase  of  valuable  races  of  animals. 

Generally  speaking  in  the  forest  and  polar  tundra  zones  of  the  whole  of  Siberia, 
which  are  comparatively  so  poorly  endowed  by  nature,  the  natural  liches  are  so  scattered  over 
the  enormous  surface  in  a  thin  and  sparse  layer,  altogether  wanting  in  some  parts,  that  it  is 
as  difficult  to  collect  them  as  it  is  to  amass  the  separate  grains  of  gold  in  auriferous  strata, 
such  work  being  only  feasible  when  they  have  been  agglomerated  by  accident  or  by  nature  or 
else  by  the  ingenuity  id"  man. 

Passing  on  to  the  mammalia  of  the  forest  and  polar  tundra  zones  of  Siberia,  the  few 
animals  peculiar  to  the  tundra  region  may  be  first  of  all  described.  The  most  arctic  animal 
is  the  white  bear,  (ursus  niaritimus  L),  properly  an  iuhabiiaut  of  the  islands  of  tlie  Arctic 
Ocean:  it  is  carried  by  the  floating  ice  to    the    arctic   shores   of   Siberia    and    is   found,    for 


EASTERN    ORIGINAL    SIBERIA.  41 

instance,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yenissei  where  it  was  tlie  liist  living  creature  seen  hy  Noi- 
denskjold's  oxpeiiition  on  the  Siberian  sho^'e  at  the  entrance  of  the  gulf  of  Yenissei;  it  some- 
times even  reaches  the  settlement  of  Tolstyi  Nos,  which  is  the  first  inhabited  spot  on  the 
Yenissei  from  the  ocean,  but  it  does  not  penetrate  further.  Xext  come  those  arctic  wild 
animals  which  almost  oxclusively  inhabit  the  polar  tundra  region:  the  arctic  fox,  (canis  la- 
gopus  L),  found  in  the  Taimyi-sk  peninsula  under  75"  northern  latitude,  and  the  small  striped 
or  Obi  lemings,  (myodes  torquatus  and  inyodes  obensis).  There  was  formerly  another  large  ani- 
mal contemporaneous  with  mankind  existing  in  the  polar  tundra  region  corresponding  to  the 
musk  ox,  (bos  moschatus),  which  is  found  in  the  polar  regions  of  America,  but  has  now 
entirely  disappeared:  this  Siberian  ox  (bos  pallasii)  was  distinct  from  the  American  variety,  but 
is  only  known  by  the  skulls  and  bones  found  in  the  TaimjTsk  tundras.  Finally  as  character- 
istic animals  of  the  tundras  the  northern  hare,  (lepus  variabilis  Pall.)  and  the  reindeer,  (cervus 
tarandus  L),  may  be  mentioned,  although  they  spread  far  do\Mi  into  the  forest  zone.  The  latter  is 
found  in  the  mi)untatnous  parts  of  South  Siberia;  on  the  Urals  it  goes  down  south  as  far  as 
52°  northern  latitude,  on  the  Altai  to  49",  on  the  Sayan  and  Stauovoi  chain  to  53",  and  in 
the  Amour  region  it  reaches  the  mouth  of  the  Ussuri  under  49°  north  latitude. 

The  rest  of  the  mammalia  dwelling  in  the  Siberian  plains  may  be  regarded  as  animals 
of  the  forest  zone,  although  many  of  them  penetrate  into  the  polar  tundra  region.  These  are 
the  glutton,  (gulo  borealis  Nilss.),  the  common  bear,  (ursus  arctus  L),  the  very  rare  sable, 
(mustella  zibellina  L),  the  ermine,  (inustolla  erminea  L),  the  Siberian  weasel  (mustella  sibirica 
Pall.),  the  common  weasel  (mustella  vulgaris  Ertl.)  the  otter,  (Intra  vulgaris,  Erkl.)  although 
rare,  the  wolf,  (canis  lupus  L),  the  fox,  (canis  vulpes  L),  the  black  variety  being  only 
peculiar  to  the  extreme  north,  the  lynx,  (felis  lynx  L),  the  elk  (cervus  alces  L),  the  flying 
squirrel,  (pteromys  volans  L),  the  comninn  S([uirrel,  (sciurus  vulgaris  L),  thr  striped  squirrel, 
(tamias  striatus  L)  and  some  small  species  of  rodents.  Finally  on  the  low  mountain  ridges  inter- 
secting the  polar  and  forest  regions  of  Easttn-n  Siberia,  for  instance,  on  the  Severma  chain  east  of 
the  Yenissei  under  67"  north  latitude,  and  on  the  mountains  following  the  current  of  the 
lower  Tnnguzka  there  are  animals  belonging  to  the  mountain  fauna,  namely  the  mountain 
sheep,  (aegoceros  montanus  Desm.)  and  the  musk,  (mosclius  moschiferus  L.). 

On  the  Altai-Sayan  elevations  in  Eastern  and  particularly  Western  Siberia,  there  are 
naturally  species  of  such  mammals  as  are  not  found  on  the  Siberian  plains.  These  are 
the  Alpine  wolf,  (canis  alpinus.  Pall),  two  races  of  large  cats,  (felis  irbis  Miill  and  felis  manul), 
the  chtonoergus  alpinus,  spermophylus  Eversmanni,  the  alpine  hare  (lagomys  Alpinus  Pali),  the 
stag,  (cervus  elaphus)  and  others. 

Birds,  being  \mvo  widely  spread  than  any  other  vertebrates,  are  fairly  plentiful  in  all 
three  zones  of  Easteiu  and  Western  Siberia.  The  birds  of  prey,  which  are  found  as  far  as  the 
Taimyr  peninsula,  iw:  one  of  the  eagle  tribe,  probably  aquila  albicilla  Bris.  and  a  buzzard 
(buteo  lagopiis),  two  sorts  of  falcons,  (falco  iivrlalco  L.,  falco  tinuncula  St.)  and  some  bats,  (stryx 
brachyotus  F(n-st,  stryx  nictea  L.,  stryx  funeroa  Lath).  The  small  birds,  [lasseres,  which  nest  far 
north  in  Siberia  are  some  varieties  of  larks,  (alauda  alpestris  L.,  plectroph  nivalis  L.,  plectroph 
lapponica,  emberiiiza  i)olaris  Mid.,  fringilla  liuaria  L.,  parus  sibiricns  Pm.,  motacilla  alba  L).  The 
fowls  which  are  found  [»artly  in  the  polar  zone  and  especially  in  the   forest    zone  are  partic- 


42  SIBERIA. 

iiliiily  tlif  la{.'<i|»iJ.s  iilhiis  I,  hihI  lu^'opiis  iilniniis  N'ilss.,  iln'  licaili  rock,  (t<-ii.ii>  iiiu;.miiii-  I,,  i-u.io 
U'Ai\\  l,..iiiiil  tctnid  iMinasiii  I,.). 'riii'if  arc  iiniiK'roii.s  lon^:-l»•^'^.'^•^l  hinl.s  in  Sitx-ria.  Imt  piiiM-ijially 
of  ihc  saiiir  kinds  as  llMtsc  in  IjiiDpi'.  Siliciia  is  liuurvfr  |»arti(;iilai'ly  ri<-|i  in  wutr-r  lowl.s 
wiiicii  iii'sl  ill  (•oiiiillcss  iiiiiiiIh'Is  ciii  liic  shoirs  (if  llic  Arctic  (JccuM  ami  also  on  tin-  liaiiks 
of  the  livi'is  anil  lakes.  On  I-akc  IJaikal  llic  fjriills  arc  so  niiiiHToiis  llmt  ilic  cra^/s  ami  rocks 
ovciliaiif/in^'  il  air  cdvcivil  wiih  a  liiirk  layer  nl'  f/uano  wliiili  |u|-  a  Inn^'  linic  will  sfrve  as 
nianiiic  In;  tlic  rniiiiv  j/cncialions  of  Siberian  I'aruiers.  The  lemarkablc  SCX'Jth  froo^rapliical 
liJii'iiDMieniin  III  Lake  I'aikal  is  tlic  exisleiicc  nl'  a  species  ol'  seal  (pli.ica  haicalcnsis),  in  the 
ualiT  i.r  ihis  iiilaml  sea. 

'i'lic  idtal  piipulalidii  urKastcrn  Siberia,  niniiiin^';  tlio  Yakutsk  region,  is  about  IKX)  thousami 
(i[  both  sexes,  of  w  liuin  not  8  per  ccni.  as  in  W(!sterii  Siberia,bnl  2.3  per  rent  are  natives,  the  rejnain- 
in^f  77  per  cent  lieiii^  arrivals  I'lom  Russia.  Tlie  Mon^'-nlian  tribe  ol'lJiiriats  is  tlie  most  nnnieroiis 
inili^'i'imns  race,  seiili'il  here  since  ilie  iliiiieenili  eeiiliiry.  when  tin'  woijil-renowneil  Kingdom  of 
Chengis-Klian  nriginated  in  Mongolia.  The  first  liiissian  .settlers,  when  first  taking  possession  of 
the  pafi  they  were  about  to  colonize,  during  the  seventeenth  century,  wagetl  desperate  war  with  the 
liiiriais.  whiili  ended  in  their  being  completely  subdued  at  the  end  of  that  century.  At  present 
flieie  are  about  1G0,0'I0  Burials  of  iinih  sexes,  exclusively  inhabiiing  the  agricultural 
ziiue  of  Eastern  Siberia.  Their  principal  occupation  is  cattle  breeding;  they  are  of  the  Budd- 
hist faith  and  are  only  partly  engaged  in  auricnlture.  The  space  covered  by  the  Buriat  camps 
is  liniileil,  and  lliey  aie  in  leality  tint  half-nuinadic,  whilst  part  of  them  already  lead  a  settled 
life.  About  20  per  cent  of  Ihern  have  been  converted  to  Christianity  and  have  become  to  a  great 
extent  russiaiuzcd.  The  must  uortliern  Buiiats  still  adhere  to  shamanism.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  Burials  do  not  exhibit  any  temlency  to  die  out,  but  on  the  contrary  increase 
at  almost  the  same  rale  as  the  Uussian  population. 

The  Turco-Fiiuiish  tribes  form  another  indigenous  element,  known  by  the  collective 
nauu'  of  Tartars.  They  luimber  about  22  tliousaml  and  dwell  exclusiv(dy  at  the  foot  of  the 
Sayan  mountains  in  the  Yenisseisk  goveinnienl.  The  celebrated  Russian  savants  and  authorities 
nil  I'^innish  and  Tiurks  dialects,  Kastren  and  Radlov,  studied  their  language  and  proved  that 
it-  was  uiidoubledly  allied  to  the  Finnish.  The  Finnish  tribes  were  at  one  time  spread 
over  all  the  contiuent  froui  ilie  Sayan  chain  iliiuiiijli  Western  Siberia,  the  Urals  and  the 
plains  of  Russia  in  Europe  as  far  as  the  (julfs  of  Finland  and  of  Bnthnia  and  the  Baltic 
Sea.  In  the  country  at  the  foot  of  the  Sayan  mountains  the  subjection  of  this  race  to  the 
Tiurksk  tribe  in  Erghene-Koua  has  transformed  them  into  the  so-called  Tartars.  The  Tartars 
of  Eastern  Siberia  have,  however,  already  adopted  a  settled  mode  of  life;  ih(>  majoiity  of 
them  have  been  converted  to  Christianity  and  become  russianized:  the  gi-adual  progress  of 
their  assiinilaliou  is  still  fiiiihei-  facilitated  by  their  decreasing  nuinbers,  wiiich  were  never  very 
huge.  The  third  indigenous  element  is  composed  of  a  mixed  collection  inhabiting  the  forest 
and  p(dar  zones  of  Eastern  Siberia  cimsisting  of  3.W0  Tungues,  ],000  Jakuts  and  about 
4,0110  Ostiak-Samoyedes,  forming  a  ualive  popnlaiiou  of  8.000  leading  a  nomadic  life  in 
the  forest  and  polar  tundra  zones. 

The  greater  [)art  of  the  population  of  Eastern  Siberia,  over  770  thousand  of  both  sexes 
inhabit    the    cullivated    zone    at    the    foot    of  the  niouniains  where  the  density    of    population 


EASTERN    ORIGINAL    SIBERIA.  43 

amdiints  to  73  per  square  mile,  being  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  Altai  minini?  district  with 
which  it  has  the  greatest  similarity.  The  indigenous  population  is  however  much  larger  and 
aiiiounis  to  21  per  cent,  as  this  region  was  inhabited  by  the  Mongolian  tribe  of  Buriats  as 
early  as  the  thirteenth  century.  Tlie  population  of  those  districts  comprising  the  wood  indus- 
try zone  of  Eastern  Siberia,  excepting  the  Touroukhansk  district,  the  southern  part  of  which 
may  be  annexed  to  the  forest  zone,  amounts  to  120  thousand  of  both  sexes,  or  about  7  per  square 
mile,  which  is  comparatively  still  less  than  that  of  the  forest  zone  of  Western  Siberia  and  is 
due  to  unfavourable  conditions.  The  wliole  of  the  Touroukhansk  region  does  not  contain  more 
than  9,00()  inhabitants,  and  of  these  over  90  per  cent  are  natives,  which  is  sufficient  to  sliow 
that  the  polar  tundra  zone  is  entirely  unsuitable  for  a  settled  population. 

In  Eastern  Siberia  the  relative  population  of  the  towns  is  souiewliat  higher  than  in 
the  west,  and  amounts  to  10.5  per  cent;  this  clearly  shows  that  agricultural  colonization  is 
less  developed.  The  population  of  the  regular  towns  is  as  follows:  IrkiUsk  44  thousand,  Krasno- 
yarsk 15  thousand,  Miiuissinsk  10  thousand  souls. 

The  distribution  of  domestic  animals  depends  upon  the  density,  mode  of  life  and  tlisiri- 
biition  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  this  respect  the  conditions  of  Eastern  and  Western  Siberia 
are  very  similar.  In  the  former  there  are  72  horses  for  every  100  inhabitants,  or  3  to  4  horses 
for  every  grown  man,  in  all  640,000  lun'ses,  or  more  than  in  Western  Siberia.  There  is 
a  still  gi-eater  proportion  of  large-horned  cattle,  namely,  70  head  for  every  100  inhabitants, 
or  630,000  head  of  cattle  in  all,  which  amount  to  no  less  than  3  cows  per  every  married 
couple,  whilst  in  Western  Siberia  there  are  only  52  per  lOt)  inhabitants.  The  proportion  of 
small  cattle  is  still  more  favourable  in  the  east  being  135  per  100  inhabitants,  or  over 
1,200,000  head,  and  in  Western  Siberia  it  is  only  85  per  100  inhabitants.  This  difference  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that  cattle  raising  is  in  a  high  slat(>  of  development  among  the 
Buriats  who  number  18  per  cent  of  the  total  populaliim  of  Eastern  Siberia.  As  regards  the 
reindeer,  the  total  number  of  head  of  this  species  does  not  exceed  34  thousand  in  Eastern 
Siberia,  as  there  are  very  few  breeders,  not  more  than  about  6  thousand.  The  innnber  of 
reindeer  is  about  the  same  as  in  Western  Siberia  or  600  for  every  100  inhabitants.  The  draught 
dogs  are  of  great  use  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  polar  tundra  zone.  These  animals  are  sharp- 
nosed,  with  elevated  ears  and  downy  hair;  they  are  of  dilferent  ccdours,  white,  black,  spot- 
ted, gray  and  brown;  they  never  bark,  are  very  hardy  and  slmnu,  with  a  fine  scent,  and  are 
satisfied  with  a  very  small  amount  of  inost  unappetizing  food.  They  are  harnessed  in  numbers 
from  3  to  11,  without  any  reins  or  bridles,  with  one  dog  as  an  outrunner  to  show  the 
way,  the  driver  being  only  provided  with  an  iron-[)oiiited  rod  which  serves  as  a  break.  Each 
dog  will  draw  a  load  of  3  ponds;  they  run  in  harness  at  a  speed  of  10  to  15  versts 
per  hour.  The  outrunning  dogs  are  the  most  highly  prized  and  they  cost  from  60  to  70  roubles 
apiece. 


— ^<$- 


44  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Yakutsk  Frontier  Country. 

Orognipliic  ami  liydrogfapliic  review;  divi.sioii  iiitu  two  regiou.s  or  zones,  tlie  region  of 
liigli-slonimed  trcc^  and  forest  indu.stries  witli  a  mixture  of  cattle  raising  and  the  polar  tundra 
zone:  the  climatic  conditions  of  each  of  these  regions;  vegetation  and  fauna;  composition  and 
distribution  of  tlie  population:  the  natives  of  the  Yakutsk  border  land;   the  Arctic  Ocean,  its 

islands,  flora  and  fauna. 


TO  the  east,  south-east  and  south-west  of  Siberia  proper,  which  has  just  been   described, 
stretch  enormous  tracts  of  land  which  have  as  yet  been  but  little  touched   by  Russian 
civilization,  and  which  may  be  termed  the  border  lands  of  Siberia. 

The  most  extensive  of  these  is  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country.  It  consists  exclusively  of 
tlie  Yakutsk  region  which  is  under  the  aihuinistration  of  the  Governor-Generalship  of  Irkutsk, 
formerly  that  of  Eastern  Siberia.  With  regard  to  its  geographical  position  the  Yakutsk  bor- 
der land  occupies  a  largo  part  of  the  country  watered  by  the  gigantic  river  Lena  and 
also  the  basins  of  some  of  the  smaller  tributaries  of  the  Northern  Ocean,  such  as  the  Ole- 
nek,  the  Yana,  the  Indighirka,  the  Alazea  and  the  Kolyma.  Its  surface  covers  the  enormous 
area  of  70  thousand  square  geographical  miles;  this  considerably  exceeds  that  of  the  govern- 
ments of  Yenisseisk  and  Irkutsk  taken  together,  or  that  part  of  Siberia  proper  called  Eastern 
Siberia.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south-east  and  east  for  more  than  3,000  miles  by  the  Stanovoi 
or  Yablouoi  mountains,  which  throughout  the  whole  of  their  length  serve  as  a  barrier  between 
the  waters  flowing  from  the  north-western  side  into  the  Xortheru  Ocean,  and  those  flowing 
from  the  south-east  and  east  into  the  Okhotsk  and  Behring  Sea  of  the  Pacific.  The  Stan- 
ovoi or  Yablouoi  chain  is  not  very  elevated,  the  summits  of  Kogahin,  Gonam  and  the  road 
leading  to  the  prison  of  Udsk  have  an  altitude  of  2,500  to  4,000  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  whilst  some  of  the  highest  peaks  have  an  elevation  of  5,000  to  7,000  feet.  On 
the  Stanovoi  chain  and  the  mountains  adjoining  it,  as  for  instance  the  Yerkhnoyarsk  chain, 
not  only  do  the  numerous  branches  of  the  large  straight  tributaries  of  the  Lena,  like  the 
Olekma  and  Aldan,  take  their  rise,  but  also  those  of  the  ocean  rivers,  the  Yana,  the  Indi- 
ghirka and  the  Kolyma.  The  Lena  itself  rises  in  the  borders  of  Eastern  Siberia  in  the  Baikal 
mountain  range,  the  summits  of  which,  as  for  instance  the  Yetkin  peak,  are  not  more  than 
4,200  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  outlying  mountains  of  the  Stanovoi  chain,  stretch- 


TBE    YAKUTSK    FKONTIEK    COUNTKY.  45 

ing  into  the  Zabaikalsk  region  between  the  Vitim  and  the  Olekma,  have  some  summits  as 
high  as  this.  Generally  speaking,  the  whole  of  the  Yakutsk  region  is  not  such  a  continuous 
plain  as  a  large  portion  of  Western  Siberia,  and  is  even  far  less  level  than  the  forest  and 
tundra  belts  of  Eastern  Siberia.  The  whole  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Yakutsk  region,  south 
of  the  latitude  where  the  Lena  blends  with  the  Aldan,  is  indeed  fairly  mountainous,  and  north 
of  this  latitude  there  are  also  many  chains  of  mountains.  Those  to  the  east  of  the  Lena, 
such  as  the  Yerkhnoyansk  chain,  which  seperates  the  Aldan  from  the  sources  of  the  Yana 
and  Indighirka,  the  mountains  of  Kolymsk,  Alazeysk,  Tak-Tayakhtakh  are  all  more  or  less  con- 
nected with  the  Yablonoi  chain,  whilst  those  chains  stretching  to  the  west  of  the  Lena,  like 
the  Yiluisk  range  and  the  summit  dead  levels  of  tlie  Vilui  and  the  Olenek,  are  distinct  inde^ 
pendent  upheavals. 

The  geognostic  composition  of  the  mountains  of  the  Yakutsk  region  is  principally 
made  up  of  crystalline  formations,  granites,  syenites,  diorites,  diabases,  gneiss,  crystalline 
schists  and  sometimes  porphyries  and  even  trichytes,  whilst  in  the  Aldansk  range,  besides  these 
crystalline  formations,  there  are  also  volcanic  rocks  such  as  basalts  and  dolerites.  The  slopes 
and  outlying  parts  of  the  Stanovoi  chain  and  other  ranges  in  the  Y'akutsk  region  like  the 
Yiluisk  mountains  are  principally  composed  of  upheaved  sedementary  strata,  partly  belonging 
to  the  paleozoic  formations,  upper  siluriau,  devonian  and  carboniferous,  but  more  especially 
to  the  secondary  formations,  particularly  the  Jurassic  and  partly  to  the  tertiary.  The  Yakutsk 
region  is  well  endowed  with  mineral  wealth. 

The  silver-lead  ores,  iron  and  coal,  found  iu  the  Stanovoi  mountains,  are  well  diffused 
over  the  Yakutsk  region  but  the  auriferous  sand  is  the  only  substance  worked,  particularly 
the  rich  deposits  near  the  river  Olekma  and  some  other  tributaries  of  the  Lena. 

The  Yakutsk  region  is  abundantly  watered  by  magnificent  full  rivers  which  are  iu 
summer  the  only  means  of  communication.  The  gigantic  Lena  is  4,300  versts  long  and  with 
its  tributaries,  the  Yitim,  Olekma,  Aldan  and  Vilui,  forms  one  of  the  richest  river  systems 
of  the  Old  World,  watering  an  area  of  over  43  thousand  square  geographical  miles.  Unfortun- 
ately the  Lena  system  possesses  even  to  a  greater  extent  the  same  disadvantages  as  the 
systems  of  the  Yenessei  and  Obi,  as  they  all  flow  to  the  north  and  fall  into  the  Arctic  Oceau, 
which  cannot  be  navigated  with  any  regularity.  It  is  also  maile  up  of  two  enormous  com- 
ponent branches,  the  Lena  and  the  Aldau,  wliicli  nu'ct  still  farther  nurtli  than  the 
branches  of  the  Obi,  in  a  country  quite  unsuitable  to  settled  cultured  life.  Besides  this  the 
mouth  of  the  Lena  does  not  form  a  wide,  open  estuary  like  the  mouth  of  the  Yenessei,  or  a 
large  gulf  like  the  Obi,  but  an  enormous  delta,  projecting  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  which  with 
its  labyrinth  of  islands,  intersected  by  numerous  channels,  makes  (lie  mouth  of  the  Lena  far 
less  accessible  from  the  sea  than  that  of  the  Yenessei.  The  other  large  rivers  falling  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  the  Yana  and  Indighirka,  also  have  a  tendency  to  form  deltas. 

The  climate  of  the  Yakutsk  region  is  the  most  continental  of  the  Arctic  and  suh-Arctic 
zones  of  the  Old  World.  It  may  be  divided  into  two  regions  or  belts,  the  one  corresponding 
to  the  region  of  high-stemmed  trees,  forest  industries  and  sporadic  agriculture  of  Eastern 
and  Western  Siberia,  and  the  other  to  the  polar  tundra  belt  of  reindeer  breeding  and  dog- 
conveyance.  The  first  region  comprises  the  districts  nf  Yakutsk,  Olekminsk  and  a  large  southern 


46  KIHKKIA. 

iMiilinii  of  that  f;f  Viliiisk,  and  tin'  sccijuil  i:(»iisisLs  of  tlii-  ilistricis  of  Vorkiioyari.sk,  Kolyiii.sk 
iiinl  till'  hasins  of  llio  (Jli'iirk  ami  Loiia  holow  Zlii^'ansk  in  the  Vihiisk  and  Yakutsk  distiifts. 
Till-  liisl,  sonlli-w'i'sloiii  ZMMi',  lias  an  an^a  of  38  tliousarnl  sr|nan'  f/orj^rapliioal  inilfs,  \ho 
.scconii,  Murili-castcni  znni',  covi-r.^  .'52  tlniusand.  Taken  Ironi  loin  |Miints  id' observation  silnatfd 
in  till'  lir>l  part  of  tin-  Yakutsk  n•^'ioIl,  tin-  mean  yearly  teni|)i'ratiire  is  about  — 8"  Cel.,  the 
mean  winter  tciniieraliiic  is  — 33",  that  id"  the  eoldest  month  — 36".  tlie  mean  snmtner  temjK'- 
ratiiro  +15",  that  of  the  hoitest  month  -}-\l":  the  ilillerenn.-  between  the  temperatnres  of 
winter  and  siimima'  is  48",  the  dilfereiiee  bi;tween  the  e.oldi^st  and  hottest  months  is  53";  that 
is  to  say,  the  climato  is  far  moie  enntinental  than  that  of  the  nei^'iibonring  forest  zone  of 
Eastern  Siberia.  I'ndei- these  eliniatic  conditions,  the  soil  wliifli  the  snn's  rays  do  not  i)eiietrato 
to  a  j,neater  ileplli  than  iliiee-joinths  of  an  arsliine,  is  always  frozen.  Nevertheless  the  mean 
temperature  of  the  livi'-months  period  of  vegetation  is  -j- 11",  and  even  -|- 12"  in  Olekminsk 
anil  Yakutsk,  whilst  the  high  summer  temperiiliire  of  -\-lb°  during  the  powerful  insolation  of 
the  short  summer  period  permits  (d'  sporadic  agrieultnre  in  some  parts  of  this  portion  of 
the  Yakutsk  region. 

One  of  the  cold  poles  of  the  northern  hemisphere  is  situated  in  the  north-eastern  polar- 
tuiulra  pait  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country.  Thus,  in  Yerkhoyansk  under  67"  34'  north  lati- 
tude ilu^  iiieaii  yearly  temperature  falls  to  — 17"  Cel.;  the  mean  winter  temperature  is  — 47'*, 
that  of  the  coldest  month  — 49"  Cel.,  whilst  the  mean  summer  temperature  hardly  exceeds 
-|-13"  and  that  of  the  hottest  month  +15";  the  difference  of  temperature  betw"een  winter  and 
summer  is  60'\  ami  between  the  hottest  ami  coldest  months  G4";  this  is  a  type  of  the  most 
continental  climate  in  the  Old  A\'orld.  Three  and  a  half  degrees  farther  north  at  Ustiansk, 
nnder  70"  53'  north  latitude,  the  climate  is  already  milder.  The  mean  yearly  temperature 
exceeds —16"  Cel.;  the  winter  temperature  is— 37"  Cel.;  that  of  the  coldest  month  is  — 41°; 
the  summer  temperature  is  +9",  and  that  of  the  hottest  month  -fl3:  the  difference  between 
the  temperatures  of  winter  and  summer  is  only  47**,  and  that  between  the  hottest  and  coldest 
months  54",  On  the  other  hand  the  mean  temperature  of  the  five-months  period  of  vegetation, 
which  in  Yerkhoyansk  hardly  exceeds  8",  does  not  amount  to  inore  than  3"  at  Ustiansk,  or 
in  other  words,  the  mean  temperature  of  9"  lasts  about  five  months  at  Yerkhoyansk  and  only 
three  months  at  Ustiansk. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  at  Sagastyr,  where  there  was  for  nearly  two  years  a 
meteorological  station  of  the  Russian  Imperial  Geographical  Society,  the  climatic  condi- 
tions are  still  more  unfavourable.  The  mean  temperature  (below  — 17"),  the  winter  temperature 
(—36")  and  that  of  the  coldest  month  (—42")  at,  Sagastyr  are  closely  approximate  to 
those  of  Ustiansk,  but  the  mean  summer  temperature  of  less  than  -{-3",  and  that  of 
the  hottest  month  of  lessUhan  +5°,  place  all  organic  life  under  the  most  unfavourable  condi- 
tions of  existence,  especially  as  at  a  depth  of  0.8  metre  the  soil  never  thaws  and  in  winter 
has  a  temperature  below  —20"  Cel.  Under  these  circumstances,  cultured  life  in  the  polar 
tundra  zone  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  is  rjuite  impossible.  At  Yakutsk  in  the  forest 
zone  the  Lena  is  clear  of  ice  during  160  days  in  the  year,  whilst  at  Ustiansk  the  Yana  is 
only  clear  during  100  days.  The  climate  of  the  south-western  forest  pai't  of  the  Yakutsk  region 
is  also  less  favourable  than  that  of  East   Siberia,    with    reference  to  the  amount  of  rainfall 


THE  YAKUTSK  FRONTIER  COUNTRY.  4:  / 

(luring  the  year,  wiiich  only  amounts  to  310  millimetres  compared  to  360  millimetres  depos- 
ited in  the  forest  zone  of  Eastern  Siberia.  The  winters  are  also  less  snowy  (38  millimetres 
against  56):  the  summer  rainfall  is  however  almost  the  same  in  both  places.  According  to 
observations  made  at  Sagaslyr  near  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  there  is  very  little  moisture  de- 
posited iu  the  polar  tundra  zone,  not  more  than  86  millimeters  in  the  year,  45  millimeters 
of  which  fall  during  the  three  summer  months,  which  clearly  shows  the  extremely  continental 
nature  of  the  climate  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country,  and  especially  of  its  north-eastern  portion. 

The  vegetation  of  the  south-western  part  of  the  Yakutsk  region  differs  in  general  but 
little  from  that  of  Eastern  Siberia.  The  trees  are  the  same  as  those  of  Siberia  proper  and 
only  outside  the  borders  of  the  Yakutsk  region  on  the  south-western  slopes  of  the  Staiiovoi 
range  there  exist  certain  varieties  which  disappear  in  Siberia  as  soon  as  the  Ural  mountains 
are  reached.  Generally  speaking,  the  zone  of  forests  of  full  grown  trees  and  forest  industries 
In  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  is  completely  covered  with  continuous,  dense  and  often  impen- 
etrable forests  and  extensive  morasses  above  which  rise,  in  some  places,  little  islands  from 
the  surface  of  the  sea,  barren  mountain  heights  either  connected  in  chains  or  standing  isolate 
and  bare. 

The  flora  of  the  grasses  in  the  forest  zone  is  naturally  poor  in  the  thick  of  the  woods 
where  grass  hardly  grows  at  all,  but  in  the  forest  glades  and  clearings  and  on  the  open 
marshes,  river  banks,  mountain  slopes  and  rocks,  the  flora  is  rich  and  characterized  by  local 
plants  which  make  their  appearance  beyond  the  Yenessei  along  the  mountain  slopes  of  the 
Sayan  chain  and  spreading  over  all  the  mountain  ranges  intersecting  the  Yakutsk  frontier 
country.  These  plants  include,  for  instance,  some  of  the  spear-wort  family,  namely,  three  varieties 
of  thallchtrum,  (petaloideum  T.,  rufinerve,  L.  et  sparsiflorum  Turcz),  two  anemones  (anemone 
Sibirica  L.,  and  Pulsatilla  davurica  Spr.),  chickweed  (calthanataus  Pall),  isopyrum  fumarioides, 
L.  two  aquilegiae  (aquilegia  sibirica  Lm  and  parviflora  Led.),  one  variety  of  larkspur,  (d(^lph- 
inium  grandiflorum  L.),  three  kinds  of  aconites  (aconitum  volubile  Pall.,  villosum  Rch.,  Kus- 
netzovi  Turcz.);  some  of  the  plants  found  here  only  grow  within  the  borders  of  the  Yakutsk 
frontier  country,  like  delphinium  crassicaule  TiOd  and  others,  and  are  American  types  like  ran- 
nunculus  Purshii  Hook  and  afl'inis  Pi.  Br.  and  otlu-r  numerous  families  of  plants.  The  polar 
tundra  zone  is  of  a  very  different  character;  in  summer  the  tnudraS' are  free  from  snow  but 
the  soil  is  always  frozen  to  a  depth  of  half  an  arshino  below  the  surface  and  consists  of 
alternate  layers  of  earth  and  ice.  Li  these  strata  besides  the  semi-fossil  sea  shells,  of  types 
still  existing  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  bones  and  skeletons  and  even  bodies  of  extinct  animals  of 
Northern  Siberia  are  found,  such  as  the  mammoth  and  rhinoceros,  often  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation. 

The  surface  vegetation  of  the  tundras  consists  principally  of  moss,  of  the  poly- 
trichum,  bryum  and  hypnum  varieties.  From  underneath  the  dai-k  brown  surface,  grass  crops 
up  in  places,  here  and  there  forming  grass  plots,  but  more  oftet  growing  in  seperate  patches 
on  the  bare  clay  sitil.  This  kiml  of  grass  flora  nut  (uily  closely  resembles  that  of  the  corres- 
ponding parts  of  Siberia  proper  but  is  also  much  like  the  flora  of  Western  Europe.  Thus, 
out  of  92  distinctly  flowering  plants  collected  by  Xordenskjold's  expedition,  at  their  winter 
quarters  beyond  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country,  but  still  on  the  shore 


48  SIBERIA. 

of  the  Arctic  Ocfan,  iriorc  tliaii  iwo-tliinls,  namely  63,  were  varieties  comiuon  to  the  Arctic 
/one  of  Europe  hut  not  liesccntiing  inio  Russia  in  Europe;  17  were  American  varieties  also 
common  to  the  arctic  zone  (if  Siheria.  but  not  known  in  European  Russia,  whilst  12  were  exclu- 
sively Siliciiaii  arctic  lornis.  Very  lew  ol'  these  latter  are  peculiar  only  to  the  north-cistern 
corner  oC  Siberia.  The  first  vernal  plant  wliieh  tlowered  near  Nonlenskjolil's  winter  quarters 
was  the  s[)(i(inwort  (cochlearia  fenestrata  K.  I'.r. I.  This  happened  on  the  23nl  of  June,  new 
style,  ami  duly  a  week  after  this,  about  July  1,  ilid  nalurc  thoroughly  awake,  the  tundras 
became  green,  Howers  blossomed  and  insects  made  their  appearance,  first  of  all  Hies  and  then 
coleoptera,  amongst  which  there  were  two  rather  large  kinds  of  cockchafers  (carabus,  C. 
truncatipeniiis  Esch).  The  local  flora  is  characterized  by  the  large  amount  of  gramineous 
plants,  wiiicli  in  some  place  form  a  continuous  sward.  There  were  in  all  i;j  dilTeront  kinils 
found  and  amongst  these  the  original  varieties  were  glyceria  vilfoidea  Th,  Fr.,  Gl. 
vaginata  I.  I.ge,  arctophylla  elTusa  I.  T^ge.  There  are  plenty  of  bushes  of  different  kinds 
of  low  [)olar  willows,  the  rarer  vaiirties  being  salix  chamissonis  And.,  salix  cuneata  Trautv., 
and  salix  boganidensis  Trautv. 

The  fauna  of  both  zones  of  the  Yakutsk  region  also  closely  resemble  that  of  the 
corresponding  zones  of  Eastern  Siberia,  but  the  fur  animals  are  more  abundant  and  of  a  bet- 
ter (lualily,  pnd)ably  because  the  outline  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  is  more  varied  and 
the  mountains  and  rocks  which  rise  above  the  forests  afford  more  free  spaces  for  the  species 
of  this  region.  In  describing  the  animals  which  at  present  inhabit  the  forest  and  tundra  zones 
of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  those  varieties  which  are  now  extinct 
in  these  zones  of  Siberia.  The  genus  elephant  (elephas  primigenius  Bl)  at  a  recent  geolog- 
ical epoch,  when  man  already  existed,  inhabited  the  Avhole  of  the  palearctic  zone  of  the  northern 
hemisphere  and,  in  contrast  to  the  southern  Indian  elephants,  it  was  covered  with  thick,  long, 
red  hair.  A  splendidly  preserved  specimen  of  a  whole  mammoth  with  perfect  skin  and  hair 
was  lately  found  in  the  polar  tundra  zone  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country,  and  in  1892  a 
special  expedition  was  sent  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  to  examine  it.  The  two  varieties 
of  the  rhinoceros  (rhinoceros  anticjuitatis  Blumb.  and  rhinoceros  MaerckiiJag.),  which  flourished 
here  at  the  same  period,  are  no  less  interesting.  They  are  discovered  under  the  same  conditions 
as  the  mammoths;  a  fine  head  of  one  of  these  animals,  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Yakutsk  region,  is  preserved  in  the  Academy  of  Sciences  having  been  presented  by  the  .Si- 
berian Section  of  the  Russian  Geographical  Society. 

As  regards  the  population  of  the  Yakutsk  region,  which  has  been  iu  the  possession  of 
the  Russians  since  the  seventeenth  century,  the  number  and  composition  of  the  inhabitants 
clearly  show  how  little  this  country  is  suitable  for  settled  colonization.  The  total  population  does 
not  exceed  250  thousand^  of  both  sexes,  of  which  the  Russian  element  only  numbers  15  thous- 
and or  about  6 . 5  per  cent,  the  remaining  93 . 5  per  cent  being  made  up  of  other  tribes.  The 
greater  part  of  these  are  the  Yakuts,  numbering  about  220  thousand;  they  are  of  Tiurksk 
origin,  their  language  is  a  Tiurksk  dalect  with  a  mixture  of  Mongolian  words.  They  have 
preserved  all  their  ethnographical  features  to  a  remarkable  extent,  type,  language,  manners 
and  customs  and  even  dress.  This  Tiurksk  tribe  was  driven  to  the  far  north  by  the  Mongo- 
lians at  the  time  when  their  rule  in  Central  Asia  was  supreme.  Whilst  preserving  a  nomadic 


THE    YAKUTSK    FRONTIER    COUNTRY.  49 

form  of  life  the  Yakuts  however  adapted  themselves  to  the  hard  conditions  of  life  of  the 
northern  forest  zone  and,  exchanging  the  grassy  steppes  of  Central  Asia  for  the  forests  and 
tundras,  they  hecame  a  race  of  hunters  and  cattle  breeders.  Cattle  rearing  is  however  their 
chief  occupation,  after  which  come  hunting  and  iishing  and  lastly  agriculture,  which  is  but 
little  developed.  The  Russians,  being  weak  in  numbers,  have  not  had  an  influence  upon  the 
Yakuts,  except  in  converting  the  greater  part  of  them  to  Christianity,  but  even  this  conversion 
is  more  apparent  than  real  as  the  Yakuts  are  still  to  a  very  great  extent  addicted  to  shaman- 
ism, and  their  former  faitli.  The  Tungues  lead  almost  the  same  form  of  life  as  the  Yakuts 
and  number  over  10  thousand  of  both  sexes.  The  other  races  inhabiting  the  Yakutsk  frontier 
country,  counting  about  3,000  men,  consist  of  polar  tribes  like  the  Lamuts,  Ukagirs,  Tchuktchis, 
Tchuvantsis  and  Koryaks.  These  tribes  principally  occupy  the  north-eastern  polar  tundra  por- 
tion of  the  country. 

The  population  is  very  unevenly  distributed  between  the  two  zones  of  the  Yakutsk 
frontier  country:  whilst  the  region  of  high  forest  trees,  forest  industries  and  sporadic  agricul- 
ture has  230  thousand  inhabitants  of  both  sexes,  or  about  6  men  per  square  geographical 
mile;  the  population  of  the  polar  tundra  region  does  not  exceed  20  thousand,  or  about  6  men 
for  every  10  square  geographical  miles,  and  is  entirely  composed  of  other  tribes,  as  the  Rus- 
sian population  principally  dwells  in  the  forest  zone  and  the  towns.  The  people  of  the 
towns  do  not  however  exceed  8,000  of  both  sexes,  or  rather  more  than  3  per  cent  of 
the  total  population  of  tliis  region,  and  indeed  all  the  towns  with  the  exception  of  Yakutsk, 
which  has  6,000  inhabitants,  are  nothing  more  than  small  Russian  settlements  serving 
as  points  of  support  for  the  Russian  rule  in  the  country.  In  these  settlements  in  the  zone  of 
high  forest  trees  the  Russians  occupy  themselves  to  some  extent  with  agriculture  and 
partly  with  cattle  breeding,  but  their  occupations  in  the  polar  tundra  zone  do  not  dllTor 
from'  those  of  the  natives.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  whilst  the  Russian  population  of  Si- 
beria proper,  living  under  conditions  of  life  approaching  those  of  its  native  land,  has  not  only 
gradually  increased  in  numbers,  far  exceeding  the  native  tribes,  but  has  succeeded  to  a  great 
extent  in  assimilating  them  and  even  in  the  Amour-littoral  and  Kirghiz  steppe  regions  has 
preserved  intact  all  the  national  qualities  and  appearance,  here  in  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country 
under  the  heavy  yoke  of  nature  the  Russian  settlers  seem  to  have  deviated  from  their  na- 
tionality. Placed  under  the  most  unfavourable  conditions  fur  civilizatidu,  they  have  in  some 
places  assimilated  themselves  with  the  native  tribes  and,  adopting  their  mode  of  life,  have 
descended  to  their  level.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  population  of  Yerkhoyansk,  Us- 
tiansk,  Zashiversk,  upper,  middle  and  lower  Kolymsk,  and  naturally,  mixed  marriages  with  the 
natives  have  greatly  contributed  to  this  state  of  things. 

The  distribution  of  domestic  animals  is  closely  connected  with  that  of  the  inhabitants 
over  the  surface  of  the  country,  and  with  their  mode  of  life  and  their  relation  to  the  ground 
upon  which  they  dwell.  In  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  there  are  more  than  50  horses  per 
every  100  inhabitants,  or  130  thousand  horses  in  all,  or  about  the  same  quantity  as  in  West- 
ern Siberia,  but  the  quantity  oC  large-horned  cattle,  260  thousand  beasts  in  all,  exceeds  100 
head  per  100  inhabitants  or  more  than  double  the  quantity  in  AVestern  Siberia,  and  one  and 
a  half  times  more  ihaii  in  Eastern  Siberia:  this  amounts  to  5  head  of  horned  cattle  per  every 

4 


50  SIUKUIA. 

rnimied  couple,  ami  clearly  sliows  that  the  Vakuts  are  a  cattle  reariiij,'  people  of  the  steppes 
oi'  Central  Asia,  accitlentully  driven  to  the  forest  zuuc  of  the  cruel  north.  The  trari.sition  of 
the  most  northern  Yakuts  to  reindeei-  breeding  in  a  region  unsuited  to  horned  cattle  and  horses, 
confirms  this  llioory.  The  reindeer  in  the  polar  tundra  zone  number  about  50  thousand  head, 
or  about  200  head  lor  every  100  inhabitants  of  reindeer  breeding  population.  Small  animals 
are  not  raised  in  llic  Yakutsk  region  except  the  tlogs  used  for  travelling  in  the  polar  tundra 
zone,  wliii'li  are  kepi  by  the  indigenous  tribes  in  even  greater  numbers  than  in  JCa^t'TU 
Siberia. 

All  that  has  been  said  about  tin'  Yakutsk  frontier  country,  where  there  is  no  regular 
agricultural  zone,  clearly  shows  that  this  region  has  but  very  little  importance  for  settled 
Russian  colonization  and  that  this  most  extensive  portion  of  Siberia  is  destined  by  nature 
itself  to  be  inhabited  by  wandering  or  nomadic  tribes  or  by  those  who  from  time  immemorial 
have  been  aborigenes  of  polar  countries,  hyperboreans  or  nomads,  who  have  found  their  way 
hitlicr  from  the  plains  of  Central  Asia  and  succeeded  somehow  in  acclimating  themselves  in 
the  forest  zone  of  the  north.  This  region  can  be  of  only  one  use  to  Russia,  on  account  of 
the  impossibility  of  peopling  it  by  means  of  settled  agi'icultural  colonization,  which  was  effect- 
ed under  such  favourable  circumstances  in  the  agricultural  zone  of  Siberia  proper  and  in 
the  country  round  about  the  Altai  mountains;  the  Yakutsk  region  might,  like  British  Amer- 
ica, excepting  Canada,  be  organized  for  w'orking  the  natural  riches  of  the  country  which, 
without  doubt,  exist  there  but  they  are  distributed,  as  has  been  already  mentioned,  in 
scanty  and  scattered  layers  over  the  enormous  surface  of  the  coldest  land  of  the  Old  World. 

There  is  no  positive  evidence  to  show^  that  the  stranger  tribes  of  the  Yakutsk  region 
are  decreasing  in  numbers,  or  in  other  words  dying  out;  but  of  late  years  this  opinion  has 
been  expresseil  by  people  well  acquainted  with  Siberia.  If  this  only  referred  to  the  small 
polar  tribes  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country,  such  as  the  Lamuts,  Ukagirs,  Koryaks,  Tchou- 
vans  and  Tchuktchis  it  would  be  highly  probable.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Yakuts  these 
tribes  were  spread  much  more  to  the  south  and  occupied  a  far  greater  expanse  of  country, 
and  on  being  driven  from  their  former  place  of  habitation  by  the  Yakuts  they  congregated 
about  the  north-east  polar  tundra  part  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  and  the  Chukotsk  penin- 
sula. Every  country  has,  however,  a  limit  of  capacity  in  relation  to  the  population  inhabiting 
it,  depending  upon  the  conditions  of  climate  and  soil  and  the  state  of  culture  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  frozen  tundras,  inhabited  only  by  hunters  presents  the  most  limited  accomo- 
dations for  population  in  all  the  continent  of  the  Old  World.  When  once  this  limit  was  reached, 
which  happened  as  soon  as  the  numerous  Yakuts  who  occupied  the  laud  drove  the  aborigenes 
to  the  north-east  into  the  polar  tundra  zone,  these  aborigenes  ought  to  evince  symptoms  of 
dying  out,  as  the  country  in  which  they  were  congregated  was  not,  with  their  means  of  pro- 
curing food,  capable  of  nourishing  them.  There  is  yet  another  argument  in  favour  of  the 
Yakuts.  The  forest  zone  affords  far  greater  capacity  for  population  than  the  tundras,  and 
this  capacity  was  considerably  further  increased  when  the  Yakuts  arrived,  in  virtue  of  the 
difference  of  their  state  of  culture  from  that  of  the  former  aborigenes  of  the  country,  as  every 
country  has  greater  capacity  for  a  race  of  cattle  breeders  than  of  hunters.  The  Yakuts,  there- 
fore,  having   driven   out   the   natives    into   the   polar  tundra  zone,  had  ample  space    in   the 


THE    YAKUTSK    FRONTIER    COUNTRY.  '51 

forest  zone  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  and  their  dying  out  could  only  arise  from  their 
being  unable  to  accomodate  themselves  with  the  conditions  of  the  country  and  acclimate 
themselves.  But  this  was  not  the  case,  as  they  became  indigenous,  and  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  country  by  the  Russians  did  not  in  any  way  deteriorate  their  position.  The 
Russian  settlers,  whose  number  does  not  exceed  6  •  5  per  cent  of  the  indigenous  pop- 
ulation, congregated  together  in  a  few  spots  of  this  region  and  could  not  in  any 
way  oppress  the  Yakuts  who  have  up  to  late  years  shown  a  natural  increase.  But  the  lives 
of  nations,  living,  not  as  cultured  people,  but  as  children  of  nature  (naturvolker)  are  some- 
times visited  by  scourges  of  nature  which  they  are  not  in  a  condition  to  withstand.  Epidem- 
ics like  small  pox,  epizootic  which  destroys  the  principal  means  of  existence  of  cattle  breed- 
ing races,  or  temporary  scarcity  of  wild  animals  or  fish  can  all  tend  to  decrease  the  pop- 
ulation during  certain  periods,  and  when  these  evils  are  removed  it  again  shows  signs  of 
increasing.  However  the  question  as  to  whether  a  temporary  decrease  in  the  population  has 
brought  about  the  idea  that  the  natives  of  the  Yakutsk  frontier  country  are  dying  out,  or 
whether  a  cattle  breeding  race  inhabiting  a  forest  country,  not  entirely  corresponding  to 
their  pursuits,  has  attained  the  limit  of  capacity  of  the  country,  can  only  be  decided  by  the  future. 

To  the  north  of  the  shore  of  Siberia  proper  and  the  borderland  of  Yakutsk  stretches 
the  boundless  surface  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  This  cannot  be  regarded  as  being  perfectly  smooth, 
not  only  because  in  many  places  more  or  less  elevated  islands  or  gi'oups  of  islands  rise  out 
of  it,  but  also  because  during  nearly  the  whole  year,  except  short  and  irregular  periods,  the 
surface  of  the  ocean  is  covered  with  ice.  If  it  were  not  for  this  ice,  which  is  an  insurmount- 
able barrier  against  navigation,  and  if  the  plains  of  Siberia  as  they  gi'adually  approach  the 
ocean  were  not  transformed  into  ban'en  tundras,  from  wliich  not  only  is  forest  vegetation 
banished  but  even  all  forms  of  organic  life,  and  if  the  mouths  of  the  Siberian  rivers  were  not 
ice  bound  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  then  the  geographical  position  of  Siberia 
would  be  most  brilliant  for  ocean  communication  and  universal  trade. 

Unfortunately  the  whole  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  along  the  coast  of  Siberia  is  blocked 
with  ice  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  It  is  true  that  along  the  whole  of  the  Asiatic 
from  the  Yugorsky  Sound  to  Cape  Dezhnev  at  the  entrance  to  the  Behring  Sea  there  are 
no  glaciers  descending  into  the  sea,  so  that  there  are  but  very  few  icebergs  on  the 
coast  of  Siberia  and  those  which  are  formed  are  very  small,  rarely  more  than  100  or  150 
feet  high;  but  in  winter  the  surface  of  the  sea  is  covered  with  ice,  and  there  is  hardly  an 
open  space  to  be  found  along  the  whole  of  the  Siberian  coast.  In  winter  the  ice  is  often 
more  than  9  feet  thick  and  the  pressure  of  ice  forms  heaps  of  blocks  piled  up  to  a  height  of 
60  or  70  feet.  When  the  wind  is  fri^sh  the  falling  snow  causes  fearful  snowdrifts  and  snow- 
storms. During  such  snowstorms  tongue-shaped  crests  are  formed  upon  the  surface  of  tlie 
snow  running  parallel  with  the  direction  of  the  predominating  winds  from  west-north-west  to 
east-south-east  and  thus  serve  as  a  compass  to  guide  travellers.  During  hard  I'rosts  numerous 
chasms  are  formed  in  the  ice  through  whicli  water  penetrates  in  spring  and  promotes  the 
thawing  and  breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  an  astonishing  degree. 

On  the  coast  of  Siberia  the  ice  begins  to  break  up  at  the  end  of  .liuie,  but  further  out 
at   sea   it   often   lasts    until    the   end  of  July.    During   the   rest   of  the   summer,   however, 

4» 


52  SlIiKKIA. 

Docks  of  ice  of  various  sizes,  partly  ilic  reiric'iins  of  the  winter  covering  of  the  sea,  and 
partly  carried  do  \  n  by  ilu;  lilr^'o  Siberian  rivers,  arc  carried  by  the  winds  and  the 
currents  over  tlie  ocean  iuid  collect  sometimes  in  one  place  and  sometimes  in  another 
willioiit  li.isiii^'  any  regular  egress  to  the  southern  waters.  The  pressure  of  water  car- 
ried by  the  (liiHstrnam  doubling  Nova  Zcmbla  forms  a  contrary  current  in  th<.'  Sea  of 
Kara,  carrying  llif  ice  of  this  sea  tlirougli  llic  Kara  Straits  and  Waigach  Sound  and  thus 
coiiiplctely  clcuriii^'  it  bdnre  the  autumn.  'Ibis  cnablrs  sliijis  t(j  jicnetrate  tbrougb  .Ma- 
toctikin  Sliai,  a  narrow  sound,  separating  tlu;  two  islands  of  Nova  Zembla,  into  the  Sea 
of  Kara,  and,  if  it  bi;  clear  of  ice,  to  reach  the  gulf  of  Yenesseisk  and  make  a  return  voyjige 
the  same  autumn.  This  however  is  not  always  possible  and  ships  cannot  rely  upon  reaching 
and  leaving  the  gulf  of  Yenessei  the  same  autumn.  The  ice,  covering  the  enormous  expanse 
of  ocean  between  the  mouth  of  the  Yenessei  and  Cape  Dezhnev,  has  no  other  outlet  than  through 
some  of  the  sounds  of  the  unknown  polar  lands  to  the  shores  of  Greenland,  and  then  along  this 
coast  to  the  south.  At  all  fvents  this  was  the  course  taken  by  the  ice  upon  which  the  crew 
of  the  lost  American  ship  Jeanette  accidentally  left  the  things  they  had  cast  away  and 
which  were  eventually  found  oil  the  coast  of  Greenland.  Naturally  this  circuitous  route  does 
not  completely  ensure  the  egress  of  the  ice,  formed  off  the  Siberian  shores,  into  more  southern 
latitudes  where  it  would  be  quite  melted.  For  this  reason  the  route  through  the  Arctic  Ocean 
from  European  seas  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  and  especially  to  the  Behring  Straits  is  by  no 
means  sure,  and  although  Nordenskjold's  expedition  on  the  Vega,  for  the  first  time  In  the 
history  of  navigation,  penetrated  through  the  ice  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  from  the  seas  of  Europe 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  this  can  at  present  be  only  regarded  as  a  stroke  of  luck,  the  difTiculty 
of  the  undertaking  being  shown  by  the  fact  that  through  a  few  days  delay  on  the  road  the 
Vega  was  still  obliged  to  pass  the  winter  on  the  coast  of  the  Chukotsk  Peninsula,  and  was 
only  able  to  leave  winter  quarters  and,  doubling  Cape  Dezhnev,  get  out  Into  the  adjacent 
Behring  Straits  by  the  20th  of  July  of  the  following  year.  In  the  same  way  Dezhnev  who  dis- 
covered the  sound  dividing  Siberia  from  America,  called  after  him  In  1647,  was  unable  to 
ilouble  the  Cape  in  that  year  and  only  succeeded  in  doing  so  In  1G48. 

There  are  not  many  islands  along  the  Siberian  coast  to  the  east  of  the  large  double 
island  of  Nova  Zembla.  It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  such  islands  as  the  White,  Siblriakov 
and  Taimur.  and  likewise  those  formed  by  the  deltas  of  the  Lena,  Yana  and  Indlghirka, 
all  of  which  are  adjacent  to  the  continent,  but  those  which  are  further  from  the  coast,  like 
Wrangel's  land  and  the  group  of  New  Siberia  Islands,  are  quite  worthy  of  mention. 

Wrangel's  land  Is  an  island  quite  uninvestigated  by  the  Russians  and  only  a  little 
known  by  the  American  whalers.  The  Americans  have  doubled  it  from  the  north  and  shown 
that  its  dimensions  do  not,  exceed  those  of  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  and  from  which  it  does 
not  apparently  iliffer  in  its  physical  conditions. 

The  New-Siberian  group  is  well  known  to  the  Russians  and  consists  of  three  large 
islands,  Kotelnoi,  Fadievskoi  and  New  Siberia  lying  in  the  open  sea  to  the  north-east  of 
the  delta  of  the  Lena,  and  a  few  smaller  ones  situated  like  Liakhov  Island  and  others  near- 
er to  Cape  Sviatoi.  Further  to  the  north  beyond  the  islands  of  Nova  Zembla,  the  Ameri- 
can expedition  of  the  lost  Jeanette  discovered  some  other  small  islands,  but    the  three  large 


THE  YAKUTSK  FRONTIER  COUNTRY.  53 

New  Siberians  are  the  only  ones  visited  by  Russian  traders  and  inhabitants  of  the  polar 
tundra  zone.  These  islands  are  generally  reached  in  spring  before  the  thawing  of  the  ocean 
ice,  and  the  traders  drive  over  the  frozen  surface  of  the  sea  on  light  sledges  drawn  by  reindeer 
or  dogs  and,  passing  the  short  summer  on  the  islands,  return  home  in  antumn  when  the  ice  has 
again  set  on  the  surface  of  the  sea.  The  Siberian  traders  are  generally  drawn  to  these  islands 
by  the  quantity  of  mammoth  bones  found  there.  The  New  Siberian  Islands  are  of  gi-eat  impor- 
tance from  a  scientific  point  of  view  as  they  form  a  vast  and  interesting  cemetry  of  the  whole 
organic  world,  as  it  at  one  time  existed  under  75°  and  76°  of  north  latitude.  This  organic  world 
not  only  consisted  of  the  large  extinct  animals  like  the  mammoth,  two  varieties  of  the  rhinoce- 
ros, buffalo,  muskox,  three  varieties  of  deer  and  even  a  breed  of  horses,  but  also  of  the 
numerous  trunks  of  extinct  trees  belonging  to  the  middle  tertiary,  mioceue  formations,  allied 
to  the  genus  of  deciduous  trees  peculiar  to  the  temperate  zone  and  not  gi'owing  at  present  in 
any  part  of  Siberia,  like  the  elm  and  hazel. 

The  unusual  abundance  of  skeletons  and  remains  of  extinct  animals  and  plants  in  the 
New  Siberian  Islands  is  due  to  the  conditions  of  the  soil  consisting  of  post-tertiary  strata 
with  intermittent  layers  of  pure  ice,  spread  over  such  an  enormous  area  that  if,  for  example, 
the  temperature  of  the  air  upon  the  island  of  New  Siberia  rose  for  a  prolonged  period  above 
zero,  except  the  four  mountains  forming  its  framework,  consisting  of  masses  of  granite  that 
have  abruptly  raised  the  rocky  strata  of  the  Jurassic  formation,  the  whole  island  would  become 
converted  into  a  liquid  paste,  which  together  with  the  fossil  remains  included  in  it,  would 
become  the  prey  of  the  waves.  At  the  present  time  the  flora  and  fauna  alike  of  the  New 
Siberian  islands  are  extremely  meagre.  In  the  whole  summer  passed  during  the  years 
1885  and  1886  by  the  members  of  the  Academy  Expedition,  Doctor  Bunge  and  Baron  Toll, 
upon  the  New  Siberian  islands,  there  were  but  few  days  when  it  was  possible  to  make  any 
collections  of  flowering  plants  or  live  insects.  One  or  two  clear  and  comparatively  warm  days 
alternated  with  cold  and  cloudy  weather,  and  the  living  vegetable  covering  again  disappeared 
beneath  a  layer  of  snow.  Upon  the  rocks  of  the  lesser  New  Siberian  islands,  Stolbovoi  and 
Liakhov,  past  which  Nordenskjold's  expedition  went  in  the  second  half  of  August,  the  weather 
being  fine  and  the  sea  perfectly  free  from  ice,  comparatively  few  birds  were  nesting  and  the 
neighbouring  sea  shewed  no  traces  of  large  marine  animals. 

But  however  unfavourable  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  Siberian  littoral  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  it  cannot  be  said  that  its  depths  are  absolutely  devoid  of  life.  The  deep  ocean  flora 
consists  of  seaweeds  (algae),  of  which  in  the  whole  of  the  shore  waters  of  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
thanks  to  the  careful  investigations  of  Nordenskjold's  expedition,  35  species  were  found,  among 
them  16  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  fucoideae  and  12  to  that  of  llie  florideao.  At  the 
same  time  the  seaweeds  of  the  Siberian  shore  are  far  from  attaining  the  luxuriant  develop- 
ment and  the  vast  dimensions  which  are  as  a  rule  proper  to  the  algae  of  the  polar  seas.  On 
the  other  hand  seaweeds  are  almost  entirely  absent  from  the  iuiniediale  coast  zone  of  the  Si- 
berian sea.  The  marine  flora  attains  its  highest  development  at  some  distance  from  the  shore 
in  the  sub-littoral  zone,  and  only  there  in  some  few  spots,  as  for  example  around  the  island 
of  Taimyr  are  to  be  found  localities  rich  in  seaweeds. 

The  Siberian  coast  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  has  no  lack  of  marine  animals.  Of  the  lower 
animals,  Nodenskjold's  expedition  found  near  the  mouth  of   the  Kolyma   cup-shaped  sponges, 


54  siiiJ.uiA. 

Hiunnil  tlie  shoros  of  the  Taimyr  peninsula  and  cape  Cheliii.skin.  .mkhhis  iiimikiiim  lorms 
of  marine  star-fisli,  antiMlou  l^selirielitii  J.  Miiil.,  an«]  uphiacantlia  biilenlata  Iletz,  and  near 
tlie  winter  (iiiiuicis  oi  tin'  cxpiiiitioii,  tlie  star-fish  (opliioglypha  nodosa  Liilaen).  The  Arctic 
Ocean  is  incoinparahly  riclicr  in  species  of  molluscs  and  crustaceans.  The  species  of  the  latter, 
as  for  example,  idothea  entomon  L.  and  idothoa  Sabinei  Kr.,  are  met  with  in  large  quantities 
even  wliere  organic  life  in  gen(!ral  is  poor,  as  for  example  near  the  delta  of  the  Lena.  Further 
to  the  east  and  nearer  to  Behring  Straits  small  crayfish  (sahinea  septemcarinata  Seb.)  and 
species  of  crabs  (chionoccoetos  opilis  Kr.)  are  met  with. 

As  regards  v(!rtcbrates,  the  Arctic  Ocean  is  fairly  rich  in  iliilerenl  kinds  of  fish,  ascend- 
ing the  riill-stivainnl  rivers  cd"  the  ocean  basin.  The  Siberian  rivers  possess  a  particularly 
large  niinilier  (d'  kinds  of  gwiniad  (corregonus),  among  which  are  the  nelma  (corregonus  leu- 
ciclitis),  i)eliad  (corregoinis  pclcd),  chir  (corregonus  nasutus),  omul  (coiTegonus  omul), 
niuksun  (corregonus  inuksun),  pechora  gwiniad  (corregonus  polkur),  et  cetera.  The  dorse 
(gadus  navaga  Kocrl.)  and  smelt  (asmerus  eperlanus)  breed  in  considerable  quantities  in  the 
Arctic  Ocean.  But  special  interest  is  attached  to  the  black  fish  (dallia  delicatissima  Sm.) 
newly  discovered  by  Nordenskjold's  expedition  and  possessing  an  exquisite  taste,  with  which 
the  Chukches  have  been  ac(|uainted  from  the  earliest  times.  As  for  the  marine  mammals, 
they  are  of  course  the  same  as  in  all  the  polar  seas,  namely  various  kinds  of  seals  (phoca 
barbata,  hispida,  cristata,  leporina,  groenlandica,  foetida),  the  dolphin  (delphinus  leucas),  the 
morse  (tricliecus  rosmarus),  the  ork  (phocacna  orca),  and  finally  whales,  which  while  rarely 
approaching  the  Siberian  shore  waters  are  very  frequent  to  the  north  of  the  oceanic  islands, 
Wrangel  Land  and  New  Siberia.  They  however  fall  as  booty  not  to  the  Siberians  but  to  the 
American  whalers,  and  indeed  it  may  be  said  that  the  resources  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  are  little 
worked  I'mni  the  Siberian  side. 


—^<$^- 


THE     AMOUR-LITTOKAL    BOEDER    LAND.  0  0 


CHAPTER   V. 
The  Amour-Littoral  Border  Land. 

Division  into  four  regions;  Transbaikal  region;  its  contour,  climatic  conditions,  flora,  fauna 
and  population ;  the  Amour  region,  its  orography,  climate,  vegetative  covering,  fauna  and  pop- 
ulation; the  Ussuri-Llttoral  region,  its  orography,  hydrography,  climate,  fauna  and  flora: 
the  island  of  Sakhalin;  the  population  of  the  country;  the  Okhots-Kamchatka  region,  and 
its  component  parts;  the  Okhotsk  shore,  Kamchatka  and  the  Chukot  country;  their  orogi-aphy, 
flora    and    fauna;    scantiness    of    the    population,   and   its   disposition;    the    Okhotsk   and 

Behring  seas. 


AFAR  greater  importance  than  is  possessed  hy  the  above  described  regions  belongs  to  the  Amour- 
Littoral  border  land  of  Siberia,  consisting  from  an  administrative  point  of  view  of  three 
territories,  the  Transbaikal,  Amour  and  Littoral,  forming  together  the  Littoral  Governor-Gen- 
eralship. Geographically,  the  Amour-Littoral  region  occupies  the  whole  Russian  part  of  the 
Amour  basin,  the  Transbaikal  part  of  the  Yenissei  watershed,  the  whole  Russian  coast  zone 
of  the  Japan  Sea,  the  island  of  Sakhalin,  the  whole  shore  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  up  to  the 
Stanovoi  or  Yablonovol  range,  the  whole  peninsula  of  Kamchatka  and  the  whole  north- 
eastern extremity  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  beyond  the  Yablonovoi  range,  with  the  river  re- 
gion of  the  Anadyr  and  the  Chukotsk  peninsula.  The  Amour-Littoral  country  thus  extends  over 
an  area  exceeding  iifty-two  thousand  square  geographical  miles.  This  expanse  is  divided  on 
account  of  its  natural  conditions  into  four  sharply  contrasted  regions,  the  Transbaikal,  Amour, 
Ussuri-Littoral  and  Okhotsk-Kamchatka. 

The  first  of  these,  the  Transbaikal  country,  coincides  with  the  Transbaikal  territory, 
and  covers  eleven  thousand  square  geographical  miles.  It  is  intersected  diagonally  through  the 
very  centre  by  the  Stanovoi  range,  which  is  the  watershed  between  the  waters  flowing  from 
its  north-western  side  into  Baikal  Lake,  namely  the  Selenga,  Barguzin  and  Upper  Angara, 
and  into  the  Vitim,  the  right  tributary  of  the  Lena,  and  for  the  streams  (lowing  from  the 
south-east  into  the  Shilka,  one  of  the  two  upper  rivers  of  the  system  of  the  Amour.  In  an 
offset  of  this  range  which  nowhere  attains  the  limit  of  eternal  snow  but  serves  to  divide  the 
longitudinal  valleys  of  the  Ingoda  and  Onon,  component  branches  of  the  river  Shilka,  rises 
the  highest  mountain  of  the  whole  region,  Chokondo  8,200  feet  above  sea  level.  Its  summit 
is  in  the  Alpine  zone  but  nevertheless  does  not  reach  the  snow  line.  The  whole  Transbaikal 
country   with   the   exception    of  the  steppe  tract  passing  along  the  Chinese  frontier  between 


56  SIHKKIA, 

tin;  (Jiioii  uiul  llio  Argun,  tin;  siDiitliorii  coiistiliKMit  of  the  Amour,  Is  more  or  less  mouulaiuous. 
'J'lie  |)iivailiiig  trend  (jf  the  mountain  ridges  of  the  Transbaika!  country  is  from  the  south- 
west to  tlir  imiili-easl.  Tills  (Jinjction  is  not  only  ftjllowed  by  the  Yablonovoi  range  itself,  but 
also  by  the  lidgi;  wliifh  is  detached  from  the  Khamar-Daban  in  the  south-western  corm-r  of 
the  territory  and  Ixjumls  the  longitudinal  valley  occupied  by  Jiake  I'jaikal  on  tiie  south-ea.st, 
as  also  by  the  rlilg(!  above  mentioned  separating  the  longitudinal  valleys  of  tin;  Uiion  and 
Ingoda,  and  by  the  Nerchinsk  range  which  serves  as  the  watershed  between  tiie  Shilka  ami 
the  Argun  as  far  as  their  conlluence,  and  finally  by  the  ridge  accompanying  the  Shilka  on 
its  left  bank.  None  of  these  mountains  attain  any  great  absolute  altitude;  the  height  of 
the  passes  of  tin-  Vaiiloiiov(d  range  between  A'crkhneudinsk  and  Chita  does  not  exceed  3,4t/J 
feet,  and  the  loftiest  points,  4,000  feet.  The  Jvhamar-Daban  ofllset  contains  mountains  which 
reach  G,000  and  even  (i,700  feet.  There  is  no  lack  of  outcrops  of  rocky  strata  in  this  region; 
the  majority  of  the  mountain  riilges  exhibit  <'rystalline  rocks,  granite,  gneiss  and  mica  schLsts. 
Iferc  and  tliere  diorilc  is  met  with,  as  also  true  volcanic  rocks  such  as  trachyte  and  basalt. 
The  stratified  rocks,  in  their  upheaved  crystalline  layers,  disclose  the  presence  of  paleozoic 
formations,  especially  the  silurian  and  carboniferous,  and  also  secondary  such  as  Jurassic,  and 
tertiary.  Such  a  variety  in  the  geological  constitution  of  the  Transbaikal  country  ensures  mineral 
wealth  of  the  first  order.  Here  there  are  to  be  found  not  only  gold  bearing  sands,  argentiferous 
lead  and  copper  ores,  but  also  deposits  of  tin  and  mercury.  There  is  no  want  of  iron  ores. 

The  'i'ransbaikal  is  oxticnu'ly  rirh  in  mineral  springs.  The  country  is  well  watered  in  spite 
of  its  continental  situation.  The  Selenga  and  its  tributaries,  the  Chikoi,  Jvhilok,  and  Uda,  as  also 
the  head  streams  of  the  Amour,  the  Ingoda,  Onon,  Sliilka,  and  Argun,  water  beautiful  valleys 
and  plains,  excellently  adapted  to  cultivation  and  settled  life.  Not  less  well  irrigated,  but  less 
fertile  on  account  of  the  greater  severity  of  the  climate,  are  the  valleys  of  Barguzinsk  the 
most  northern  distiict  in  the  Transbaikal  territory,  namely  those  of  the  Vitim,  its  tributary 
the  Tsypa,  of  the  Jiarguzin  antl  the  Upper  Angara.  In  the  Transbaikal  country  there  are 
also  plains  although  of  not  any  great  extent,  as  for  example  the  tableland  along  the  Uda  known 
under  the  name  of  the  Khoriusk  and  Bratsk  steppes,  and  in  the  southern  part  of  the  territory 
near  to  the  Chinese  frontier,  the  Tareisk,  Kydara  and  Argun  steppes.  At  a  rough  estimate,  more 
than  a  third  of  the  area  of  the  Transbaikal,  or  4,000  square  geographical  miles  may  be  re- 
ferred to  lands  suitable  for  cultivation  and  permanent  settlement. 

The  climatic  conditions  of  the  Transbaikal  country  differ  widely  from  those  of  the 
other  constituent  parts  of  the  region  under  consideration.  The  climate  of  Transbaikalia  is 
purely  continental.  The  moan  annual  tomperatui'e  ( — 2^/i°  Celsius),  approaches  the  average 
temperature  not  of  the  cultivated  or  agricultural,  but  of  the  forest  zone  of  Eastern  Siberia. 
From  its  winter  temperature  (—25°)  and  that  of  the  coldest  month  (—28°)  the  climate  has 
a  severer  character  than  even  in  the  said  forest  zone,  but  from  the  temperature  in  summer 
(17°)  and  during  the  hottest  month  (19°)  Transbaikalia  shews  better  conditions  than  the  agri- 
cultural zone  of  Eastern  Siberia.  Thus,  the  difference  between  the  winter  and  summer  tem- 
peratures (42°)  and  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months  (47")  indicates  the  highly  conti- 
nental character  of  the  climate  compared  with  that  of  Eastern  Siberia.  As  for  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  vegetative  period,  although  it  is  '/2°  below  that  of  the  cultivated  zone  of  East- 


THE     AMOUK-LITTOKAL    BORDER    LAND,  57 

ern  Siberia,  amoimtiiig  to  only  13°.5,  yet  the  cereals,  notwithstanding  the  constantly  frozen 
soil  in  some  places  of  this  country  at  a  depth  of  Vh  arshine,  ripen  well,  thanks  to  the 
more  powerful  action  of  the  sun's  rays,  depending  not  only  on  the  southerly  situation  of  the 
Transbaikal  but  also  on  the  cloudless  and  transparent  atmosphere,  as  compared  with  the  culti- 
vated regions  of  Eastern  and  Western  Siberia. 

In  reference  to  the  amount  of  rainfall,  the  climate  of  Transbaikalia  is  also  incompar- 
ably more  continental  than  that  of  the  agricultural  zone  of  Eastern  and  Western  Siberia. 
Tbe  quantity  of  moisture  precipitated  here  in  the  course  of  the  whole  year  does  not  exceed 
290  millimetres,  instead  of  the  360  and  380  of  the  agricultural  zones  of  Eastern  and  Western 
Siberia,  while  the  winters  are  almost  entirely  snowless,  with  13  millimetres  during  the  whole 
season.  Eortunately,  the  summer  rainfall,  as  much  as  200  millimetrus,  is  considerably  higher 
not  only  than  that  in  Eastern  but  than  that  in  Western  Siberia,  and  the  conjunction  of  these 
conditions  explains  the  I'act  that  the  Transbaikal  country  may  even  to-day  be  considered 
the  chief  granary  of  the  whole  Amour-Littoral  region. 

The  vegetable  covering  of  Transbaikalia  reflects  all  the  minutest  features  of  its  cli- 
matic peculiarities:  In  that  half  of  the  country  which  is  situated  between  the  north-west 
slope  of  the  Yablonovoi  range  and  the  Baikal  Lake,  the  flora  still  bears  completely  the  char- 
acter of  the  mountain  flora  of  the  extremity  of  the  Altai-Sayan  system.  Among  shrubs 
this  flora  includes  rhododendra  (rododendron  chrysanthum  Pall,  et  dahuricum  Pall.),  the 
Siberian  berberry  (berberis  sibirica  Pall.),  species  of  meadow-sweet  (spiraea  trilobata  L.,  alpina 
Pall,  digitata  W.),  clothing  the  mountain  steeps  with  their  snow-white  flowers,  a  species  of 
tamarisk  (myricaria  davurica  Ehr.),  species  of  currant  (ribes  fragrans  Pall.,  et  procumbens 
Pall.).  Alpine  herbs,  exclusively  peculiar  to  the  Altai-Sayan  system  grow  in  profusion  in  the 
Transbaikal;  but  on  crossing  to  the  other  side  of  the  Yablonovoi  range  the  flora  becomes  greatly 
changed,  and  plants  appear  belonging  to  the  far  east  of  the  temperate  zone  of  the  Asiatic 
continent.  Thus,  of  the  woody  races,  trees  are  here  to  be  met  with  belonging  to  those  general- 
ly thriving  in  Siberia  from  the  very  Ural,  the  oak  (quercus  mongolica  Fisch.),  the  elm  (ulmus 
campestris  L.  var.  pumila  L.),  the  hazel  (corylus  heterophylla  Fisch.)  and  the  wild  apple 
(pyi'us  baccata  L.). 

It  is  remarkable  that  but  few  of  the  shrubs  flrst  appearing  beyond  Lake  Paikal,  as 
for  example  the  daur  blackthorn  (rhamnus  davurica  Pall.),  of  the  leguminosae  lespedeza 
juncea  Pers.,  one  species  of  meadow-sweet  (spiraea  angustifolia  Turcz.),  one  species  of  cur- 
rant (ribes  diacantha  Pall.),  the  daur  snow-ball  tree  (viburnum  davuricum  Pall.),  a  small 
shrub  belonging  to  the  spurge  family  (geblcra  suifruticosa  Fisch.),  and  one  of  the  low  grow- 
ing birches  (betula  fruticosa  Pall.)  belong  to  the  Amour  flora.  The  rest  are  peculiar  to  the 
so-called  daur  flora  and  common  to  the  Transbaikal  and  the  neighbouring  Mongolia. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  traveller's  joy  (clematis  davurica  Pall,  et  atragene  macropetala 
Led.),  one  blackthorn  (rhamnus  eiythro-xylon  Pall.),  among  the  leguminosae  (lespedeza 
trichocarpa  Pors.  et  hedysaruin  IVuticosum  L.),  auiong  the  rosaccae,  the  local  wild  almond 
(amygdalus  pedunculata  Pall.),  tln'  wild  apricot,  widely  spread  on  the  mountain  sides  (prunus 
sibirica  L.),  a  species  of  dog-rose  (rosa  al|»iua  L.).  a  gattentree  (cotoneaster  acutifolia 
Lindl.),  tli(^  shruliby  pulcutilUi  glabra  L.,  a  species   of   tamarisk    (myiicaria    lougifolia   Ehr.), 


58  SIlfKIJlA. 

two  species  of  currant  (ribes  trisle  Pall,  and  piilcheiliini  Tiircz.),  honey-suckle  (lonicera 
chrysantlia  Turcz.),  two  species  of  shrubby  birch  (belula  divaricata  Led.  an<l  Gmelini  Bi-'c.) 
and  the  willows  (salix  berberifolia  Pers.  et  divaricata  Pall.),  the  remaining  willows  found 
here  belonging  to  the  Eiiiopean  kimls. 

To  the  kinds  dissominatod  over  the  whole  of  Siberia  belong  not  only  all  the  coniferous 
trees  of  Transbaikalia,  namely,  the  pine  (pinus  sylvestris  L.),  the  Siberian  and  daur  larches 
(iaiix  sibiricii  lii'il.  and  daviiiica  Fiijch.),  the  Siberian  lir  (allies  sibirica  Led.),  the  Siberian 
pitch  pine  (picea  orientalis  L.)  and  the  cedar  (pinus  cernbra  L.),  but  also  many  of  the 
deciduous  trees,  the  white  and  daur  birches  (betula  alba  L.  and  davurica),  the  aspen  (po- 
puhis  tremula  L.),  et  cetera.  The  fine-scented  pojilar  (poplns  suaveolens  Fisch.)  is  met 
with  on  both  sides  of  Lake  Baikal. 

As  for  the  herbaceous  floia,  of  112  .species  of  them,  first  met  with  beyond  Baikal, 
only  46  pass  over  to  the  Amour,  the  rest  belonging  to  the  local  so-called  daur  flora,  which 
serves  as  the  connecting  link  between  Siberia  and  Mongolia,  whither  indeed  many  plants  cross 
over.  Among  the  latter  are,  for  example,  of  the  crow's  foot  family  (ranunculaceae)  two  spe- 
cies of  hollcboie  (eranthis  sibirica  Dc.  and  uncinnata  Turcz.)  and  actinospora  davurica  Turcz.; 
5  crucifeiae  draba,  mongolica  Turcz.,  tetrapoma  barbareaefolium  Turcz.,  dontostamon  eglan- 
diilosus  Led.  and  oblongifolius  Led.;  of  the  leguminosae  10  species  of  oxytropis  (a  genus 
characteristic  of  the  mountain  steppos  of  Central  Asia,  entirely  unknown  on  the  Amour),  two 
astragals;  of  the  rose  family  (chamaerhodos  grandiflora  Led.  and  trifidaLed.);  of  the  stonecrops, 
(saxifraga  inultiflora  Led.);  6  unibelliferae,  6  compositae;  of  the  corolliflorae.  pinguicula  spa- 
thulata  Led.;  three  species  of  bindweeds  (ipomea  sibirica  Pers,,  calystegiapellitaLed.  and  cal- 
ystegia  subvolubilis  Led.);  4  borragincae,  3  scrophularieae,  3  labiatcae  and  3  species  of  statice 
characteristic  of  the  salt  steppe;  of  the  family  of  moiioclihuuydae,  two  species  of  rhubarb 
(rheum  undulatura  L.  et  campcstre  L.),  one  of  sorrel  (rumex  Gmelini  Turcz,),  passerina 
Stelleri  Wickstr.  and  a  spurge  (euphorbia  Pallasii  Turcz.);  of  the  monocotyledons,  sparganium 
longifolium  Turcz.;  two  orchids  (orchis  salina  Turcz.  gymnadenia  pauciflora  Lindl.),  iris  vent- 
ricosa  Pall.,  panlanthus  dichotomus  Led.,  polygonatum  sibiricum  Led.,  two  sedges  and  two 
grasses. 

Corresponding  to  the  striking  change  in  the  vegetable  covering  of  the  Transbaikal 
country  is  that  of  the  fauna:  of  the  invertebrates.  Very  many  of  their  forms,  entirely  absent 
from  Siberia,  as  for  example  among  the  articulate  animals  the  river  crayfish,  appear  upon  the 
upper  streams  of  the  Amour  system,  of  course  with  specific  distinctions  from  the  European 
(astacus  amourensis).  The  approach  to  the  sea  makes  itself  felt  in  the  appearance  of  such 
forms  of  insects  also  as  serve  as  transitional  forms  from  the  continental  to  the  littoral.  Thus, 
for  example,  in  the  genus;  carabus  of  the  family  of  the  coleoptera,  not  possessing  true  wings 
under  their  brilliant  elytra,  the  local  elongated,  comparatively  narrow  forms  of  the  subgenus 
coptolabrus  (species  coptolabrus  smaragdinus  Fisch),  serve  as  the  transition  to  the  still  more 
elongated  forms  of  the  Japanese  subgenus  of  carabs  damaster. 

As  regards  the  vertebrate  fauna,  with  the  more  extensive  regions  of  distribution  of 
these  animals,  the  Transbaikal  fauna  naturally  shews  incomparably  more  resemblance  to  the 
remaining  fauna  of  Siberia.  Nevertheless,  to  the  animals  occurrinc  over  the  whole  forest  zone 


THE     AMOUR-LITTOKAL    BORDER    LAND.  59 

of  Eastern  Siberia  (v.  supra),  are  added  a  few  mountain  forms  of  the  Altai-Sayan  system, 
steppe  forms  of  Mongolia,  and  finally,  animals  breeding  in  the  Amour  Territory  and  in  Man- 
churia. To  the  first  belong,  the  musk  deer  (moschus  moschiferus  L.),  roebuck  (cervus  capreo- 
lus  L.),  badger  (meles  taxus  Schr.),  polecat  (mustela  putorius  L.),  Eversmann's  marmot 
(spermophilus  Eversmanni  Br.)  and  the  rat  hare  (lagomys  alpinus  Pall.).  To  the  second  belong, 
the  korsak  (canis  corsac  L.),  steppe  cat  (felis  manul  Pall.),  baibak  (arctomys  bobac  Schr.), 
lagomys  ogotona  Pall.,  the  jerboa  (dipus  jaculus  Pall.),  tolai  (lepus  tolai  Pall.),  two  species 
of  saiga  (antilope  gutturosa  Pall.,  antilope  crispa  Temm.)  and  finally,  the  kulan  or  dzhigetai 
(equus  hemionus  Pall.).  To  the  third  belongs  the  Amour  raccoon  (canis  procyonoides  Gr.),  a 
species  of  dur  (cervus  elaphus  L.)  and  wild  boar  (sus  scropha  L.). 

The  fauna  of  the  birds  which  from  the  very  nature  of  their  mode  of  locomotion  aie 
capable  of  having  the  most  extensive  region  of  distribution,  also  here  includes  both  northern 
and  southern  forms.  To  the  first,  for  example,  belong  the  capercailzie  (tetrao  urogallus  L.), 
blackcock  (tetras  tetrix  L.),  hazel-hen  (tetrao  bonasia  L.),  white  and  alpine  ptarmigan  (lago- 
pus  albus  Gm.  and  alpinus  Xilss.);  to  the  second,  the  steppe  blackcock  (syrrhaptes  paradoxus 
Pall.),  black  crane  (grus  monachus  Tem.),  and  two  more  southern  species  of  crane  (grus 
leucogrammus  Pall,  and  grus  virgo  L.),  the  blue  magpie  (pica  cyanea  Pall.),  et  cetera. 

In  regard  to  snakes  and  other  reptiles,  on  the  whole  occurring  so  rarely  in  northern 
Siberia,  the  Transbaikal  country  is  comparatively  rich.  Besides  the  harmless  snake  (coluber 
rufodorsatus  Cant.)  and  elaphis  dione  Pall.,  there  are  here  to  be  met  with  the  extremely 
venomous  varieties,  trigonocephalus  intermedius  Strauch  and  trigonocephalus  BlomhofTii  Boje. 
Finally  the  piscino  fauna  on  crossing  the  Yablonovoi  range  into  the  system  of  the  Amour 
completely  alters  its  character  (v.  infra). 

Thanks  to  comparatively  favourable  climatic  conditions  and  the  early  colonization, 
which  began  here  already  from  the  end  of  the  XVII  century  (in  1692  there  were  already 
7,000  Russians,  in  1720,  10,000,  in  1740,  20,000  and  in  1760,  40,000)  the  Transbaikal  terri- 
tory has  now  as  many  as  570,000  inhabitants,  that  is,  above  five  souls  to  the  square  geog- 
raphical mile,  of  whom  the  natives,  mainly  Buriatsand  to  a  small  extent  Tungus,  count  170,000 
or  about  30  per  cent  of  the  total  population.  These  Buriats  of  Mongol  race  and  Buddhist 
faith,  nomads  within  narrow  limits,  have  here  preserved,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  and 
communication  with  Mongolia,  their  national  characters  in  a  greater  degree  than  In  the 
government  of  Irkutsk.  They  are  here  occupied  chiefly  in  cattle  rearing,  while  agriculture 
occupies  the  first  place  among  the  Russian  population.  The  proportion  of  the  to^Mi  population 
in  the  Transbaikal  country  is  insignificant;  it  does  not  exceed  ffvo  per  cent;  indeed  there 
are  no  collections  at  all  considerable  of  town  population  except  in  Chita  whose  inhabitants 
have  now  attained  13,000  souls. 

The  preponderance  of  the  rural  over  town  industries  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  rela- 
tion of  the  numbers  of  the  population  to  the  domestic  animals  reared.  There  are  here  70  horses 
per  100  inhabitants,  with  an  absolute  number  of  400,000  head,  that  is,  as  many  in  proportion 
as  in  Eastern  Siberia.  As  for  the  relative  number  of  horned  and  other  cattle,  the  Transbaikal 
is  in  this  respect  in  the  most  favourable  conditions  compared  with  early  colonized  Siberia. 
There  are  here  over  100  head  of  horned  cattle  per  100  inhabitants,  tlie  absolute  number  being 


60  SlIiKKlA. 

570,000,  thai  is,  5  head  por  nianiiMl  couple,  \vhil<!  of  othi-r  ciUtli;  tht'ie  are  350  h'.-ad  per 
100  iiiliahitarits,  the  a?),si)liit(!  iiiiiiihfr  Iji-iii^'  as  many  ;i.s  2,000,000,  whicli  directly  lieijujaslrates 
till'  liii-'li  pi(i|ioi  lidii  jiiiiouj,'  till!  jMipiihitioii  of  tli(j  rattli!  bn.M'diiif,'  class,  and  the  wealth  of 
pastures  possessed  liy  IIm'  roiiiiiiy. 


The  Amour  Country. 

This  couiitiy,  the  second  part  of  iIhj  Aiuoiir-Littoriil  region,  piesents  in  all  its  physical 
conditions  a  type  absolutely  diflerent  linm  that  of  Transbaikalia,  By  the  Amour  country  is 
understood  all  the  vast  area  occupied  by  the  basin  of  the  Amour  along  its  left  bank  from 
the  conlluence  of  the  Shilka  with  the  Argun  to  the  Stanovoi  range  and  the  Dzhugdyr  ridge, 
dividing  the  Amour  basin  from  that  of  the  river  Uda.  Thus  into  the  country  of  the  Amour 
enters  the  whole  Amour  territory  and  the  expanse  between  the  eastern  frontier  running  along 
the  ineridian  and  the  course  of  the  Amour  to  its  mouth.  In  tlus  way  the  Amour  country  occu- 
pies, just  as  Transbaikalia,  not  less  than  11,000  square  geographical  miles. 

Mention  has  been  already  made  above  of  the  Stanovoi  or  Yablonovoi  range,  serving  for 
a  long  distance  as  the  northern  boundary  of  the  country,  as  this  range  separates  the  Yakutsk 
and  Amour-Littoral  regions  of  Siberia,  But  independent  of  this  range,  descending  less  abruptly 
into  the  Amour  territory  than  into  that  of  Yakutsk,  a  considerable  part  of  the  country  is 
mountainous  and  filled  with  the  spurs  of  the  Stanovoi  range  and  by  such  ofl'sets  as,  like  the 
Little  Khingan  or  Bureiu  range,  have  an  almost  meridional  direction  and  fling  back  the 
Amour  by  their  prolongations,  forcing  it  to  take  a  wide  curve  to  the  south.  The  con- 
necting link  between  the  Little  Khingan  and  the  Stanovoi  range  is  the  Dzhugdyr  ridge,  form- 
ing the  watershed  between  the  basins  of  the  Amour  and  the  Uda,  falling  into  the  sea  of 
Okhotsk  in  the  Littoral  Territory.  The  Little  Khingan,  with  an  average  altitude  of  2,500  feet 
reaches  as  much  as  4,C00  and  oven  6,000  feet  at  its  summits  near  the  head  waters  of  the 
Bureya.  The  crest  of  the  Khingan  and  especially  its  peaks  are  formed  of  «golets^>  sprinkled 
on  their  slopes  with  stone  heaps.  The  rocks  prevailing  in  the  mountain  ridge  are  crystalline 
and  consist  mainly  of  granites  which  are  also  discovered  on  the  Amour,  where  the  mountains 
approaching  the  bed  of  the  river  nowhere  rise  higher  than  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river. 
Upon  the  mountain  slopes  of  the  Stanovoi  range  and  the  Little  Khingan  and  their  offshoots 
arc  developed  stratified  rocks  of  paleozoic  formations,  especially  the  devonian,  upon  the 
southern  incline  of  the  Stanovoi  range:  secondary,  namely,  Jurassic,  upon  the  lower  reaches 
of  the  Oldoi  and  Zeya  and  upon  the  upper  waters  of  the  Bureya,  and  finally  tertiary  along 
the  Amour,  Zeya  and  Bureya. 

The  country  is  abundantly  watered.  Its  chief  stieam  the  Amour  is  one  of  the  three  co- 
lossal rivers  of  Asia  falling  into  the  Pacific,  Its  length,  counting  the  rivers  Argun  and 
Keruleu  as  its  head  waters,  amounts  to  not  less  than  4,600  versts.  Having  described  its  great 
arc,  whose  southern  part  crossed  48"  N.  lat.,  and  having  embraced  with  this  arc  on  the  south 
the  whole  Russian  region  of  the  Amour,  it  turns  to  the  north-east  and  after  reaching  51*5° 
X.  lat.,  approaches  so  closely  to  the  part  of  the  Tartar  stiait,  forming  the  northern  extremity 


THE     AMOUE-LITTOKAL    BORDER    LAND.  61 

of  the  Sea  of  Japan,  that  Lake  Kizi,  a  lateral  enlargement  of  the  ted  of  the  Amour  on  the 
right  side  is  only  separated  by  a  twelve-verst  isthmus  from  the  Tartar  strait,  a  little  to  the 
north  of  the  beautiful  hay  of  De  Kastri.  Here  meeting  with  an  impossible  barrier  to  its 
exit  towards  the  sea,  the  Amour  swerves  to  the  north,  and  only  about  53"  X.  lat.  finally  turns 
to  the  sea  and  falls  into  that  part  of  the  Tartar  strait  which  forms  a  part  of  the  cold  and  inhos- 
pitable Sea  of  Okhotsk.  The  left  tributaries  of  the  Amour,  the  Zeya  and  Selimdzheya,  the  Bureya 
and  the  Argun  are  after  the  Amour  the  chief  arteries  of  the  Amour  country.  It  is  only  in 
the  lower  reaches  of  these  streams  that  more  or  less  extensive  plains  spread  out  on  either 
side;  nearest  the  Stanovoi  range  and  the  Little  Khingan  the  region  is  mountainous. 

The  climate  of  the  Amour  country,  although  still  continental,  is  yet  characterized  by 
a  greater  humidity  than  in  original  Siberia.  Li  Blagoveschensk  the  mean  annual  tempara- 
ture  is  — LS"  Celsius,  but  the  mean  winter  temperature  is  —  24°,  that  of  the  coldest 
month  — 27°,  that  of  summer  19°  and  that  of  the  hottest  month  21°.  This  yields  a  difference 
between  summer  and  winter  temperatures  of  43°,  and  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months 
of  48°,  almost  the  same  as  in  Transbaikalia.  But  the  mean  temperature  of  the  five-months 
vegetative  period,  15°'6,  is  still  more  favourable  than  in  the  Transbaikal  country,  and  perfectly 
admits  of  the  free  development  of  agriculture,  while  upon  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Amour, 
in  Nikolaevsk,  where  the  average  temperature  of  the  year  is  —2*6°,  the  temperature  of  the 
winter  — 22°,  that  of  summer  15°  and  the  climate  is  less  continental,  with  differences  of  37° 
and  40°,  the  free  development  of  agriculture  is  very  difficult,  as  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
five-months  vegetative  period  only  amounts  to  11*6°. 

In  the  quantity  of  the  annual  rain,  over  500  millimetres,  of  which  290  fall  during  the 
three  summer  months,  the  Amour  country  has  not  only  a  more  humid  climate  than  Transbai- 
kalia with  290,  and  the  agricultural  zones  of  Eastern  and  Western  Siberia,  360  and  380  respec- 
tively, but  even  more  than  their  forest  zones  which  have  400  and  470  millimetres.  The  excess 
of  moisture  in  the  Amour  country  exercises  an  unfavourable  influence  upon  agriculture,  which 
is  still  further  intensified  by  the  character  of  the  vegetable  covering  of  the  region.  All  the 
lower  slopes  of  the  mountain  ridges  and  their  offsets  are  overgrown  with  weeds,  and  the  upper 
declivities  with  trees  which  so  powerfully  arrest  the  moisture  that  the  soil  does  not  dry  up. 
In  consequence  of  this  the  greater  part  of  the  area  is  covered  with  imbroken  swamps  and 
forests,  above  which  rise  only  the  denuded  «golets»  of  the  rocky  crests  covered  with  stony 
talus  upon  their  slopes.  Cereals  sown  upon  clearings  run  to  straw  reaching  an  incredible 
height,  but  frequently  yield  a  poor  grain  sometimes  not  ripening  completely.  An  exception  to 
this  is  shewn  by  a  few  spots  situated  partly  along  the  Amour  in  places  not  drowaicd  by  its 
inundations,  partly  near  the  lower  course  of  the  Zeya.  There  are  at  present  few  such  spots 
suitable  for  agriculture,  and  of  its  area  of  11,000  square  geographical  miles  not  more  than 
2,000  can  as  yet  be  recognized  as  fit  for  agricultural  settlement. 

Fortunately,  experience  has  shewn  that  the  struggle  with  the  excess  of  moisinre  which 
is  an  impediment  to  tho  cultivation  and  colonization  of  the  Amour,  which  is  to-day  in  the  posi- 
tion of  Germany  in  the  days  of  Tacitus,  is  possible.  The  settlers  in  the  Amour  territory  blaze 
over  large  areas  the  growths  of  reeds,  the  damp  soil  gradually  dries  and  becomes  converted 
into  fertile  arable  laud.  In  the  course  of  38  years,  which  had  expired  between  the  geograph- 


62  SIUMUIA. 

iciil  and  botiiiiical  f!X|)loialion.s  of  tin;  acadfiiiiciaii?*  Maximov  (1854)  ami  Korzliinsky  (Ii92), 
tlu!  climatic  coinlilions  of  tlio  coiiiitiy  liavfi  alroady  manifestly  cliangod  for  lli<;  haWiV  and  tlio 
giadnal  progress  of  tiio  country,  oxcooding  Germany  in  extent,  in  the  sense  of  its  gradual 
passage  from  the  condition  of  the  Germany  of  Tacitus  to  its  present  state,  has  already  begun. 
Hut  of  conrsf  much  time  will  still  pass,  before  Russian  colonization,  now  capable  of  occupying 
not  more  than  (jiie-fiftli  of  the  ci^nntry,  wrests  step  by  step  fnnn  a  stern  nature  even  half  of 
tiie  area  fur  I'liJlivntiipn  ami  civilizutiDii,  and  so  far,  wilhuiit  the  spots  which  are  accessibh: 
to  cultivation  ami  colonization,  the  Amour  country,  in  the  mountainous  region  of  which  thep' 
is  still  nmch  gold  to  be  found,  is  condemned  only  to  sporadic  and  partly  rapacious  cultivation. 

The  vegetative  covering  of  the  Amour  country  is  luxuriant  and  peculiar,  and  display- 
a  great  dill'erence  from  the  floras  of  the  other  parts  of  Siberia.  Even  the  woody  vegetation 
exhibits  striking  differences  from  the  similar  vegetation  of  not  only  Siberia  but  also  Transbai- 
kalia. With  the  onlinary  Siberian  races  of  conifers  are  here  associated  the  Manchurian  cedai- 
(piniis  laandslmrica  Riipr.),  the  ayau  pitch-pine  (picea  ajanensis  Fisch.)  and  an  ally  of  the 
conifers,  the  yew  (taxus  baccata  L.)  peculiar  to  the  mountains  of  the  Caucasus.  The  ymv 
nowhere  else  is  to  be  met  with  in  Siberia,  and  shews  by  its  appearance  on  the  lower  Amour 
the  nearness  of  the  sea.  The  flora  of  the  foliage  trees  and  shrubs  is  both  richer  and  mon^ 
varied,  here  going  to  meet  the  beneficent  marine  influences  of  the  Eastern  Ocean.  The  lime 
genus  is  here  represented  by  two  peculiarly  eastern  forms,  tilia  cordata  Mill,  and  tilia  mandshu- 
rica  Rupr.  et  Max.  The  maple,  a  stranger  to  the  whole  of  Siberia,  has  here  four  representa- 
tives, of  which  the  acer  mono  Max.  is  the  characteristic  local  kind,  the  acor  ginnala  Max., 
a  species  closely  allied  to  the  eastern  European  acer  tataricum  L.  and  the  Semirecheusk 
acer  Semenowii  Reg.;  the  acer  tegmentosum  Maxim,  bears  a  resemblance  to  the  American 
kind  (acer  pensylvanicum  L.);  finally,  the  acer  spicatum  Lam.  is  undoubtedly  an  American 
variety.  The  apple,  already  appearing  in  Transbaikalia  in  the  shape  of  a  very  small  fruited 
variety  (pyrus  baccata),  is  here  represented  by  a  beautiful  new  species  (pyrus  ussuriensis 
Max.),  and  the  bird  cherry  by  two  local  varieties,  (prunus  Maackii  Rupr.  et  Maximo wiczil 
Rupr.).  Two  local  species  of  walnut  embellish  the  forests  of  the  Amour,  juglans  mandshurica 
Max.  and  juglans  stenocarpa  Max.,  as  also  the  local  species  of  the  ash  unknown  to  the  whole 
of  Siberia,  fraxinus  mandshurica  Rupr.  With  the  European  and  Transbaikal  varieties  of  the 
elm  is  associated  the  local  ulmus  montana  Winckl.  Further  alongside  the  species  of  hazel 
already  appearing  in  Transbaikalia,  corylus  heterophylla  Fisch.,  is  found  a  new  species,  co- 
rylus  mandshurica  Max.  Finally,  among  the  birches  reappear  a  Kamchatka  variety  (betula 
Ermanni  Cham.)  and  one  local  timber  tree  (betula  costata  Trautv.).  The  third  local  variety  of 
birch,  (betula  Middendorfii  Trautv.)  is  a  shrub.  The  charming  little  tree  of  the  Amour  country 
with  a  palmy  crown,  (dimorphantus  mandshuricus  Rupr.)  is  far  removed  from  the  character  of 
the  Siberian  trees.  It  belongs  to  the  family  of  araliacea?  which  loves  a  moist  climate  and  is 
nowhere  to  be  met  with  in  Siberia.  Xot  less  remarkable  is  the  cork  tree  of  this  country  (phello- 
dendron  amurense  Rupr.),  belonging  to  the  family  of  zanthoxylea?  nowhere  to  be  met  with 
in  the  whole  of  Russia. 

The  shrubs  of  the  Amour  country  are  still  more  peculiar  than  the  trees.  Not  less  than 
24  varieties  of  shrubs   here    met   with   are   entirely   new  for  any  one    arriving  from   Siberia 


THE     AMOUR-LITTOKAL    BOEDER    LAND.  63 

and  Transbaikalia.  Of  these,  three  climbers  are  the  lianas  of  the  woods  here.  They  are  first  of 
all.  a  beautiful  plant  belonging  to  the  rare  family  of  schizandraceae  with  pale  rose-scented 
flowers  and  red  berries,  (maximoviczia  chinensis  Rupr.),  spread  from  northern  China  through 
Manchuria  to  the  Amour  country ;  a  species  of  vine,  very  slightly  distinguished  from  the  true 
vine  (vitis  amurensis  Rupr.);  and  iiually  the  wild  vine  (cissus  brevipedunculata  Max.).  The 
species  of  clematis  appearing  here  for  the  first  time,  clematis  mandshurica  Rupr.  and  aethus- 
aefolia  Turcz.,  belong  to  the  non-climbing  shrubby  varieties  of  this  genus.  Of  the  two  species 
of  local  berberry  one  is  also  peculiar  to  northern  China  (berberis  sinensis  Desf.);  another, 
local  (berberis  amurensis).  The  very  curious  shrub  of  the  Amour  country,  actinidia  kolomikta 
Rupr.,  covered  with  large  Avhite  scented  flowers,  has  not  yet  found  a  strictly  definite  position 
in  systematic  botany,  it  being  now  referred  to  one  now  to  another  of  the  exotic  families.  Of  the 
four  local  varieties  of  spindle-tree  there  is  one  Japanese  (evonymus  alatus  Th.)  and  three 
local  (evonymus  pauciflorus  Max.,  evonymus  Maackii  Rupr.  and  evonymus  macropterusRupr.). 
Of  the  leguminosae  the  small  shrub  found  here  lespedeza  stipulacea  Max.,  also  grows  in  the 
environs  of  Pekin.  Of  the  rose  family,  the  local  species  of  cherry  (prunus  glandulifolia  Rupr. 
and  meadowsweet  (spiraea  amurensis  Max.)  are  shrubs.  Two  local  species,  belonging  to  the 
same  genus  as  our  so-called  garden  jasmine  (philadelphus)  are  a  conspicuous  adornment  of  the 
forests,  philadelphus  tenuifolius  Rupr.  and  philadelphus  Schrenkii  Rupr.  The  beautiful  local 
shrub  of  the  same  family  Deutzia  parviflora  Bge.  is  a  Chinese  plant,  spread  by  cultivation. 
To  the  family  of  araliaceae  not  to  be  met  with  in  Siberia  belong  two  shrubs  common  to  this 
flora  and  that  of  northern  China  (panax  sessiliflorum  Rupr.  and  eleutherococcus  senticosus 
Max).  Of  the  honeysuckles  there  are  here  one  Chinese  species  (lonicera  chrysantha  Turcz.) 
and  two  local  (lonicera  Maackll  Rupr.  and  lonicera  Maximowiczii  Ptupr.).  Common  to  northern 
China  is  a  species  of  lilac  occurring  here  on  the  skirts  of  the  woods  with  somewhat  minute 
whitish  flowers  (syringa  amurensis  Rupr.).  A  vaiety  of  laurel,  met  with  on  the  lower  Amour 
Is  that  called  after  Kamchatka  (daphne  kamtchatica  Max.). 

Among  the  herbs  of  the  Amour  country,  not  less  than  110  species  are  exclusively  pe- 
culiar to  this  region,  the  rest  are  common  to  the  Amour  with  China,  Japan,  Kamchatka  and 
even  America,  but  especially  with  Transbaikalia  and  Siberia.  The  whole  flora  of  the  Amour 
has  340  plants  common  with  that  of  European  Russia,  that  is,  38  per  cent,  while  with  Trans- 
baikalia it  has  527,  or  more  than  58  per  cent. 

Equally  peculiar  with  the  flora  of  the  Amour  country  is  its  Invertebrate  fauna  and 
particularly  the  insects  which  are  dependent  on  the  same  climatic  comlltions  as  the  plants. 
Not  less  than  GO  per  cent  of  all  the  species  of  insects  occurring  in  the  Amour  country  are 
unknown  to  Europe,  although  the  general  character  of  the  fauna  is  palearctie,  that  is, 
proper  to  the  whole  sub-polar  and  temperate  zones  of  the  Old  World. 

As  for  the  vertebrata,  in  Amourla  associated  with  the  mammals  occurring  in  the  for- 
est zone  of  Siberia  are  not  only  those  animals  which  were  mentioned  in  the  survey  of  the 
fauna  of  Transbaikalia,  but  also  some  others.  There  belong  the  maral  (cervus  elaphus  L.), 
whose  horns  are  so  highly  prized  by  the  Chinese,  the  tiger  (fells  tigris  L.),  the  Irbis  (felis 
iibis  Pall.),  the  mountain  wolf  (canis  alpiuus  Pall.)  and  the  thibetan  bear  (ursus  tibetanus). 
The  fish  of  the  Amour  country  are    in  the  highest  degree  interesting,   the  river  and  its  trib- 


64  SIBKKIA. 

iitarios  being  oxtmonliiiarily  rich  in  tlicin,  Ul  ilic  stuig'-on  family.  ih<,'  lucal  spocios  of  bie- 
luga  attains  cnonnoiis  diinonsions  (huso  oiicntalis  Pall,  iiml  arnurcnsis  Pall.),  weighing  some- 
limes  from  30  to  50  pouds.  The  sturgeon  of  this  region  (slurio  Sdm-nkii  Br.)  likewise  differs 
from  the  Russian  type,  hut  tlie  sterlet  belongs  to  the  Ciuspiau  speries  (acipencer  ruthenus  L,). 
Two  species  of  salmon  which  ascend  the  Amour  and  Ussuri,  to  the  present  day  in  countless 
numbers,  have  a  great  significance  for  the  country,  the  gorbusha  (trutta  proteus  Pall.)  and 
ket  (trutta  lagocephalus  Pull.).  Of  the  other  fish  c(jmmon  to  Siberia  are  the  delicious  taimen 
(salmo  [liiviatills  Pall.),  the  char  (salmo  coregonoides  Pall.),  the  smelt  (salmo  eperlanus),  the 
carp  (cypriiuis  carpis)  and  eelpont  (lota  vulgaris  Cus.).  But  there  are  also  a  few  fish 
wliicli  are  extremely  characteristic  of  the  Amour  basin.  Among  these  are  to  be  reckoned 
the  Amour  fish  (pristidion  Scmenovii  Dyb.),  the  daur  silarus  (silurus  asotus  Pall.),  the 
barbodon  locustris  L.,  plagiogratlius  Yelskii  Dyb.,  the  white  fish  (culter  abramoides  Dyb,),  the 
vcrkhogliadka  (cutter  Sieboldi  Dyb.),  the  verkhobriushka  (culter  lucidus  Dyb.)  and  the  local 
variety  of   pike   (csox  Reicborti  Dyb.),  the    latter  attaining  an  enormous  size. 

The  population  of  the  Arnouv  country  consists  of  only  90,000  inhabitants  of  both  sexes, 
among  whom  are  3,000  wandering  natives.  The  majority  of  these  natives  (Orochons,  Mang- 
(iiiiitsi,  liirars)  belong  to  tlie  Tuiiguz  tribes,  and  only  the  minority  to  the  Ghiliaks,  who  have 
nothing  do  with  them  ethnographicully,  and  speak  a  language  of  their  own.  The  latter  are  more 
numerous  only  on  the  Amour  frith  and  on  the  seacoast  of  the  Littoral  teiTitory,  as  also  on 
the  island  of  Sakhalin.  The  Ghiliaks  together  with  the  Ainos,  Kurils  and  ancient  aborigenes 
of  Kanicliatka  belong  to  a  special  coast  tribe  which  once,  occupied  the  whole  shore  of  the 
Eastern  Ocean  inclusive  of  the  Japanese  islands,  at  least  the  northern  islands,  the  Kuril  line 
and  the  peninsula  of  Kamchatka.  They  were  driven  out  from  their  places  of  aboile  on  the  Jap- 
anese series  of  islands  by  the  Japanese,  and  on  the  coast  by  the  Manchurian  tribes. 

The  Ghiliaks  are  principally  fishermen  and  are  engaged  in  sea  industries,  while  among  the 
Manchurian  tribes,  as  ancient  cattle  breeders,  the  polar  form  of  this  occupation,  the  rearing 
of  reindeer,  is  in  a  state  of  more  or  less  equilibrium  with  trapping  and  fishing.  Much  more 
numerous  than  these  weak  and  it  may  be  said  dying-out  tribes  of  Tunguz  in  the  Amour 
country  is  the  settled  agricultural  Tunguz  tribe  of  Manchurians.  These  Manchurians,  now 
numbering  14,000,  occupied  in  the  times  preceding  the  Russian  dominion  an  excellent  area 
for  colonization,  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  Amour,  opposite  the  Chinese  tomi  of  Aigun 
and  by  the  terms  of  the  Aigun  and  Pekin  treaties  remain  established  upon  Russian  terri- 
tory, but  upon  their  own  lands,  as  Chinese  subjects,  and  are  occupied  mainly  with  agri- 
culture. To  this  settled  native  population  must  be  added  further  about  1,000  Coreas  now 
established  in  the  country. 

Russian  immigrants -still  form  SO  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  country.  They  have 
settled  in  more  or  less  considerable  villages  along  the  whole  course  of  the  Amour  with  the 
exception  of  those  portions  adjacent  to  its  banks  where  constant  inundations  impede  the  set- 
tled and  agricultural  mode  of  life  of  the  Russian  colonies,  as  also  upon  the  extensive  and 
excellent  area  for  purposes  of  colonization  stretching  along  both  sides  of  the  lower  reaches 
of  the  Zeya  and  its  lower  tributaries.  Another  area  adapted  to  colonization  is  mo\ing  grad-, 
ually   into    the  heart  of  the  country,    along   the   river   Bureya    and    the    neighbouring   minor 


THE    USSURI-LITTOIIAL    TRACT.  65 

liibiitaries  of  the  Amour,  and  may  in  time  occupy  the  Avhole  space  between  the  curve  of 
the  Amonr  and  the  Vanda  tableland,  which  extends  in  the  direction  of  the  chord  of  the 
arc  formed  by  the  Amour,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Bureya  and  the  Khabarovka.  In  the 
few  and  scantily  populated  towns  of  Amouria,  among  which  Blagoveshchensk  alone  has  9,000 
inhabitants,  lives  a  little  more  than  11  per  cent  of  its  population,  which  clearly  shews  the 
predominance  in  the  country  of  the  rural  population  and  of  rural  industries.  The  development 
of  the  latter  is  also  demonstrated  by  the  number  of  domestic  animals  in  the  country,  although 
this  number  is  comparatively  lower  than  in  the  neighbouring  Transbaikalia.  Thus,  in  the  Amour 
country  there  are  55  horses  per  100  inhabitants  (instead  of  70),  that  is,  a  little  more 
than  in  Western  Siberia.  Horned  cattle  give  70  head  (instead  of  100),  but  still  more  than 
in  Western  Siberia,  and  almost  as  many  as  in  Eastern  Siberia.  Only  the  number  of  sheep 
and  goats  is  as  yet  insignificant,  30  head  per  100  inhabitants,  instead  of  380  as  in  the 
Transbaikal  country.  This  is  explained  not  merely  by  the  recent  settlement  of  the  region  but 
by  the  absence  of  a  cattle  breeding  population.     , 


The  Ussuri-Littoral  Tract. 

The  third  type  in  the  Amour-Littoral  region  is  the  Ussuri-Littoral  tract,  occupying  the 
whole  southern  portion  of  the  Littoral  Territory,  lying  on  the  right  side  of  the  Amour,  between 
its  right  tributary,  the  Ussuri,  and  the  Sea  of  Japan.  Including  in  the  Ussuri  country  the  island 
of  Sakhalin  lying  opposite  it  in  the  Sea  of  Japan,  an  expanse  of  7,000  square  geographical 
miles  is  obtained.  The  greater  part  of  this  space  is  occupied  by  the  right  sides  of  the  basins 
of  the  Ussuri  and  of  the  lower  part  of  the  course  of  the  Amour  from  its  confluence  with 
the  Ussuri.  The  long  but  low  and  very  wooded  range  of  Sikhete-Alin,  stretching  more  or 
less  parallel  to  the  coast  line  of  the  Japanese  Sea,  separates  a  narrow  shore  land  from 
the  basin  of  the  Ussuri,  which  has  not  sufficient  room  for  the  formation  of  any  considerable 
rivers,  excepting  the  southern  ])art  of  it  turned  directly  to  the  south,  which  has  both  deeply 
indented  bays  with  fine  harbours  and  a  few  tributaries  of  more  importance  than  in  the  coast 
zone,  as  for  example  the  river  Suifun.  The  whole  of  the  extonsive  hollow  turned  in  the 
south  of  the  coast  line  of  this  part  of  the  littoral  of  the  Ussuri  country  has  received  the 
name  of  the  Bay  of  Peter  the  Great.  Upon  the  peninsula,  separating  the  Amour  and  Ussuri 
bays  penetrating  deep  into  tlie  Continent,  somewhat  to  the  south  of  43"  north  latitude  is  situated 
the  town  and  port  of  Vladivostok,  from  which  a  railway  is  now  being  carried  through  the 
Ussuri  country  to  Khabarovka,  situated  at  the  junction  t)f  the  Ussuri  ami  the  Amour  upon 
the  right  bank  of  the  lattei',  the  residence  of  the  Governor-General  of  the  three  territories 
constituting  the  whole  of  the  Amour-Li tloia I  region  of  Siberia. 

The  height  of  the  Sikhete-Alin  is  inconsiderable;  in  the  case  of  the  passes  it  amounts 
to  from  1,270  to  2,370  feet,  and  in  that  of  the  highest  of  the  mountain  peaks  yet  measured, 
Mount  Camel  (Khuntami),  it  reaches  3,600  feet.  In  the  crest  of  the  Sikliet(^-Alin  crystalline 
rocks  such  as  granit(!  are  laid  bare,  and  in  its  northeni  part  which  throws  the  lower  course 
of  the  Amour  back  from    De    Castri    Bay    to  the  north,  volcanic  rocks  such  as  trachyte  and 


0(3  SIBERIA. 

basalt  are  to  bo  met  willi.  At  tlio  contact  of  the  crystalline  with  tin;  siiiUui'Mi  ioi-k,  m  Up; 
h>ikhot(;-AIin,  argontiifrous  lead  deposits  occur,  and  twenty  vcrsts  from  St.  Olga  Bay,  rich 
deposits  of  iron  ores.  The  (!astem  slope  of  llx' Sil<hi't<:-Alin,  in  its  offspurs,  sometimes  descends 
in  sheer  preci|)ices  into  the  sea,  and  at  others,  leaves  a  certain  space  for  the  streams  run- 
ning along  short  parallel  valleys  to  fall  into  tlie  sea.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  their  moutlis 
there  are  at  times  very  convenient  bays  and  bights,  as  for  example,  the  bays  of  St.  Olga 
and  St.  Vladimir  in  ihi'  soutliem  part  of  the  country  and  of  Do  Kastri  in  the  northern  part. 
Upon  ilie  wide  space  dividing  the  Sikhctc-Alin  from  the  course  of  the  Ussuri,  run  the  impor- 
tant riiiht  tributaries  of  this  river;  in  the  south-western  corner  of  this  country  the  Russian 
possessions  cross  over  in  the  Id't  side  df  the  Ussuri  and  I'nihrace  the  extensive  lake  Khanka. 
The  whole  of  this  expanse  includes  the  areas  of  colonization  belonging  to  the  country,  which 
are  only  embaiTassed  by  the  abundance  of  swamps  and  forests  ami  the  extraordinary  humid- 
ity of  tlu!  climate. 

The  s(^^shorc  range  of  the  Sikhete-Alin,  in  spite  of  its  slight  elevation,  serves  how- 
ever as  an  extremely  important  climatic  line  of  division.  The  coast  zone,  situated  upon  the 
eastern  acclivity  of  the  Sikhete-Alin,  wrapped  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  in  impene- 
trable fogs,  differs  extremely  from  the  wide  Ussuri  zone,  incomparably  more  continental  in 
its  climate,  whose  more  favourable  climatic  conditions  are  also  extended  to  the  seacoast 
strip  of  the  southward  trending  Bay  of  Peter  the  Great.  This  difference  comes  out  most  clearly 
on  comparing  the  climates  of  points  placed  at  no  great  distances  from  each  other,  Vlad- 
ivostok, situated  in  the  depths  of  the  Bay  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  Bay  of  St.  Olga, 
situated  200  versts  behind  the  cape  which  forms  the  turning  point,  separating  the  southern 
littoral  of  the  country  from  the  south-eastern,  upon  the  foggy  and  damp  south-eastern  shore. 
The  mean  temperature  for  the  year  in  both  [xtiuts,  differing  in  latitude  by  only  V2*',  is  the 
same,  namely  4*5°,  but  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Olga  the  mean  winter  temperature  is  — IC  Celsius, 
that  of  the  coldest  month  —13°,  the  summer  temperature  IS*^,  that  of  the  hottest  month  20°; 
accordingly,  the  difference  between  summer  and  winter  is  28'',  that  between  the  hottest  and 
coldest  mouths  33°;  while  the  mean  winter  temperature  in  Vladivostok  is  —12°,  that  of  the 
coldest  month  — 16°,  the  summer  temperature  18°,  that  of  the  hottest  month  21°;  accordingly, 
the  difference  between  summer  and  winter  is  30°,  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months  37°, 
so  that  the  climate  of  Vladivostok  is  more  continental  than  marine.  In  Khabarovka  the  mean 
annual  temperature  is  of  course  lower  than  in  Vladivostok  and  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Olga,  it  is 
equal  to  0°,  but  the  remaining  elements  of  the  climate  are  favourable,  notwithstanding  the 
severity  of  the  winters.  With  an  average  winter  temperature  of  — 22°  and  coldest  month  of 
— 25°,  the  summer  shews  19°,  the  hottest  month  20°;  the  difference  between  summer  and  winter 
is,  41°,  and  that  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months  45°.  As  might  be  expected,  the  mean 
temperature  of  the  five-months  vegetative  period  throughout  the  Ussuri  country,  in  the  Bay 
of  St.  Olga  15°,  in  Vladivostok  16°,  and  in  Khabarovka  17°,  is  distinctly  favourable  to  agri- 
culture, but  the  climatic  discrepancy  between  the  two  points  shews  itself  most  strongly  in 
the  quantity  of  moisture  precipitated  in  the  course  of  the  year.  In  Vladivostok  the  annual  rain 
fall  is  336  millimetres,  of  which  158  belong  to  the  three  summer  mouths,  while  in  the  Bay  of 
St.    Olga  it   is  1,024  millimetres,  of  which  452  millimetres  fall  to  the  summer  months.  Thus, 


THE    USSURI-LITTOEAL   TEACT.  67 

compared  with  the  Bay  of  St.  Olga,  which  represents  the  type  of  the  most  humid  marine 
climate,  the  climate  of  Vladivostok  appears  to  be  far  more  continental,  indeed  even  more  so 
than  that  of  Khabarovka,  where  560  millimetres  of  moisture  is  precipitated  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  of  which  312  falls  during  the  summer  months.  Under  such  comparatively  excellent 
climatic  conditions,  the  port  of  Vladivostok  remains  open  and  accessible  at  almost  all  seasons 
of  the  year,  with  the  exception  only  of  an  extremely  short  winter  period,  lasting  here  as  in 
Odessa  not  more  than  VJ2  to  2  months. 

Further,  upon  the  western  slope  of  the  Sikhete-Alin,  in  the  broad  zone,  covered  to  a 
considerable  extent  with  woods  and  morasses,  between  the  coast  range  and  the  river  Ussuri, 
the  climate  is  far  moister  than  in  Vladivostok  and  in  particular  is  more  rainy  in  summer.;  The 
humidity  of  the  climate  and  the  dampness  of  the  soil,  which  never  dries  up  owing  to  the  dense 
vegetation,  have  determined  the  method  of  sowing  grain  in  rows  or  beds,  to  allow  the 
free  passage  of  streams  of  air  to  prevent  the  rotting  of  the  crop  at  the  root.  But  however 
this  may  be,  it  has  become  evident  that  certain  localities  of  the  country  are  so  damp  that  in 
them  such  a  development  of  sporiferous  plants  or  micro  fungi  takes  places  on  the  ears  that 
bread  baked  from  the  flour  of  grain  stiiukcn  ^vt^fa-t'hoijO .  t>li§bte  becomes  intoxicating,  producing 
in  fact  such  symptoms  in  those  who  eat  it.  This  inconvenience  called  forth  by  climatic 
conditions  sometimes  even  causes  immigi'ants  to  abandon  the  «spots  which  produce  intoxica- 
ting bread»^ 

Absolutely  different  and  far  less  favourable  are  the  conditions  (as  far  as  agriculture  is 
concerned,  as  a  consequence  of  its  geographical  situation),  of  the  island  of  Sakhalin,  which 
has  acquired  latterly  a  world-wide  notoriety  as  a  Russian  convict  settlement.  This  island,  severed 
from  the  Ussuri  country  by  the  most  northern  part  of  the  Sea  of  Japan,  the  Tartar  or  Xe- 
velsky's  straits,  stretches  exactly  along  the  8  dergees  of  latitude,  between  54°  and  46*^,  and 
projects  with  its  northern  extremity,  Cape  St.  Elisabeth,  into  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  and  with  its 
southern  extremity,  bending  round  the  extensive  bay  of  Aniva  in  the  shape  of  a  horseshoe, 
approaches  Japan,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  straits  of  Laperouse.  Somewhat  to  the 
norths  of  the  bay  of  De  Castri,  the  straits  dividing  Sakhalin  from  the  Ussuri  country  are  so 
narrow  and  shallow  that  they  are  inaccessible  to  large  ocean-going  ships,  and  in  conse- 
quence rather  separate  than  unite  the  mouth  of  the  Amour  with  the  Sea  of  Japan.  The 
skeleton  of  Sakhalin  is  formed  of  a  fairly  elevated  range  with  steep  summits,  consisting  of 
volcanic  rocks,  such  as  basalt,  which  have  lifted  beds  of  stratified  rocks  belonging  to  the 
rare,  in  Siberia,  cretaceous  formation.  It  is  here  rich  in  shells,  ammonites  of  great  size,  inoce- 
ramus,  patella,  rhynchonella  et  cetera.  There  also  occur  layers  of  middle  tertiary  or  miocene 
formation,  in  which  many  remains  of  vegetation  are  to  be  met  with,  consisting  of  the  leaves 
of  the  beech  (fagus),  walnut  (juglans),  and  salisburia,  now  no  longer  thriving  in  Sakhalin.  To 
the  north  of  parallel  52"  the  Sakhalin  range,  attaining  in  its  loftiest  points  (Three  Brothers, 
on  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island  and  Engys-Pal,  somewhat  nurth  of  52"  X.  lat.)  2,000 
feet  upon  sea  level,  falls  abruptly  on  the  eastern  side  to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  and  on  the  west, 
on  the  side  of  the  Tartar  straits,  forms  a  low  and  marshy  coast  land  between  its  foothills  and 
the  shore  line.  To  the  south  of  52"  the  range  is  cleft  into  two  crests  by  a  longittidinal  valley, 
along   which    from    their  jinictiou   nui  in  tlii'  line  of  the  meridian  in  opposite    directions  the 

5* 


OS  SIBERIA. 

two  principal  streams  of  the  islaml,  the  Tym  and  the  Poronai.  Th<!  extremity  of  the  eastern 
ridge,  altainiiij,'  in  Mount  Tiara  a  hei^dit  of  3,000  f(.'et,  decliuing  a  little  from  the  meridiiin 
line  to  the  south-east,  beyond  the  month  of  the  Poronai,  forms  the  hroad  Bay  of  Patience. 
The  western  crest  as  far  as  the  very  extremity  of  the  island  falls  abruptly  into  the  Sea  of 
Japan,  risinji  above  it  to  3,00f)  ami  even  4,000  feet,  and  does  not  present  on  this  side  any 
convenient  harbours,  but  exhibits  near  Due  splendid  deposits  of  coal.  Those  coal  fields,  as  also 
the  pclrdlciiin  springs  discovered  recently  in  Sakhalin,  together  with  the  fine  fisheries  of  the 
Bay  of  Aniva,  the  bottom  of  which  is  luxuriantly  covered  with  weeds  going  by  the  name  of 
sca-cabbaf:e,  promise  an  economical  futuie  to  this  otherwise  inhospitable  island. 

In  what  uiiravdurahlc  climatic  conditions,  notwithstanding  a  comparatively  not  very 
northerly  situation,  the  island  of  Sakhalin  is  placed,  thanks  to  the  current  flowing  down  from 
the  bleak  Okhotsk  Sea  along  the  eastern  littoral,  bringing  with  it  huge  masses  of  ice,  is  evident 
from  the  following  data.  The  mean  temperature  in  the  principal  settlement  of  the  island,  Due. 
abuiil  5P  nortli  latitude  upon  the  western  and  warmer  coast,  isO.S^.the  winter  temperature  —  15", 
that  of  the  coldest  month  — 16",  of  summer  +  14",  of  the  hottest  month  16.5".  Moreover  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  five-months  vegetative  period,  less  than  12",  is  insufficient  for  the 
development  here  of  permanent  agricultm-t'.  Little  better  is  the  climate  in  the  Muraviov  post 
lying  4"  furtlier  south  in  the  extreme  south-eastern  corner  of  the  island.  Here,  it  is  true, 
the  mean  annual  temperature  is  higher,  2.3°,  the  winter  more  moderate;  the  mean  temperature 
is—  11",  coldest  month —  12";  but  on  the  other  hand  the  summer  is  colder,  the  mean  summer 
temperature  being— 13",  tliat  of  the  hottest  month -|- 16",  so  that  the  average  temperature  of 
tlie  five-months  vegetative  period,  less  than  12",  is  equally  unfavourable  to  the  raising  of  grain. 
This  is  explained  by  the  circumstance  that  the  eastern  coast  of  Sakhalin,  along  which  polar 
glacial  currents  descend  to  the  south  is  in  summer  considerably  colder  than  the  western.  As 
for  the  rainfall,  it  is  much  less  considerable  on  the  western  littoral  of  Sakhalin  than  on  the 
Bay  of  St.  Olga,  and  amounts  during  the  year  to  a  little  more  than  509  millimetres,  of 
winch  only  184  fall  to  the  tlu'ee  summer  months,  while  the  autumns  are  almost  as  rainy  as 
the  summer.  In  a  word,  Sakhalin  is  unfit  for  agricultural  colonization.  Eijually  unfit  is  the 
whole  nortliern  half  of  the  Sikhete-Alin  and  the  corresponding  part  of  the  littoral,  so  that 
there  can  hardly  be  found  more  than  3,000  square  geographical  miles  as  an  area  for  coloni- 
zation in  the  whole  Ussuri-Littoral  country,  after  deduction  is  made  of  the  too  swampy  ami 
too  damp  spots,  which  so  severely  hamper  the  development  of  colonization  in  the  Ussuri  zone. 

In  the  vegetable  growth  of  the  Ussuri  country  little  difference  is  observable  from 
that  of  the  Amour.  The  greater  part  of  the  characteristic  plants  of  Amouria  cross 
over  into  Ussuria.  It  is  however  noteworthy  that  the  proportion  of  European  Russian  forms 
is  higher  in  the  Ussuri  country  than  in  the  Amour,  namely  47  instead  of  38  per  cent,  which 
is  a  direct  indication  of  the  less  continental  nature  of  the  climate.  The  species  of  trees  are 
identical  with  those  in  the  Amour  country.  Only  one  new  tree  appears,  a  hard-beam  (car- 
pinus  cordata  Bl.)  and  two  shrubs,  the  wild  vine  crossing  from  North  China  (cissus  humuli- 
folia  Bge.)  and  the  common  European  berberry  (berberis  vulgaris  L.).  Only  a  little  over  80 
species  of  herbaceous  plants  are  found  in  the  Ussuri  Country,  and  not  met  with  in  Amouria, 
among  them  being  species  common  to  North  China,  Japan  and  America.  Only  17  local  plants 


THE    USSURl-LITTOKAL    TRACT.  g  9 

are  known  which  have  been  found  nowhere  except  in  Ussuria.  Among  them  is  the  celebrated 
ginseng  (panax  ginseng  Reg.),  whose  root  is  so  prized  as  a  remedy  by  the  Chinese.  Prob- 
ably many  of  these  plants  will  be  subsequently  found  in  the  Amour  Country  also,  but  some 
of  them  bear  undoubtedly  a  more  southern  character.  To  the  latter  are  to  be  referred,  from 
the  pea  family,  the  beautiful  climbing  glycine  ussuriensis  Reg.,  of  the  exotic  family  ponte- 
deriaceae,  the  very  showy  marsh  plant  (monochoria  Korsakavii  Reg.);  of  the  family  of  erio- 
caulaceae,  eriocanlon  ussuriense;  finally,  of  the  ferns,  with  a  subtropical  appearance,  pleopeltis 
ussuriensis  Reg.  The  flora  of  the  LTssuri  country  has  many  forms  common  to  Xorth  America; 
25  per  cent  of  the  whole  Ussuri  flora  is  met  with  in  North  America,  but  of  course  the  ma- 
jority of  these  species  belong  to  those  equally  existent  over  the  whole  northern  zone  alike 
of  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  and  only  32  species,  entirely  foreign  to  European  Russia, 
cross  from  America,  14  through  the  Yakutsk  region  and  18  direct. 

Almost  the  same  may  be  said  in  reference  to  the  invertebrate  fauna,  and  especially  of 
the  insects,  as  to  the  flora.  The  majority  of  the  species  here  are  met  with  also  in  the  Amour 
country,  while  the  proportion  of  peculiar  forms  is  very  high,  but  approaching  the  Sea  of  Japan 
on  the  one  hand  a  few  forms  appear  not  found  in  the  Amour  Country  and  bearing  a  subtrop- 
ical character,  and  on  the  other,  the  proportion  increases  of  purely  European  species  or  their 
analogues,  a  fact  particularly  noticeable  in  those  orders  of  insects  possessing  a  highly  developeil 
power  of  flight,  as  for  example  the  butterflies  and  moths  (lepidoptera).  On  the  whole,  both 
the  flora  and  the  fauna  of  the  Ussuri  country  as  also  of  the  whole  Amour-Littoral  region 
bears  a  completely  palearctic  character,  that  is,  the  character  of  the  northei'u  zone  of  the 
Old  World,  here  reaching  right  as  far  as  the  Eastern  Ocean,  while  in  the  more  southern  zone 
the  palearctic  fauna  crossing  the  whole  tableland  of  Central  Asia  and  Tibet  together  finds 
its  limit  in  a  more  western  meridian  upon  the  frontier  of  the  warm  subtropical  plains  of 
China,  falling  far  short  of  the  Eastern  Ocean. 

The  vertebrate  animals  of  the  Ussuri-Littoral  country  are  the  same  as  those  in 
Amouria ;  only  one  species  of  deer  (cervus  axis),  a  few  small  rodents,  and  fish  in  the  Sea  of 
Japan  appearing  in  its  bays  like  the  herrings  and  pilchards  in  countless  numbers  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year,  constitute  the  difference  between  the  fauna  of  the  Ussuri-Littoral  region 
and  that  of  the  Amour. 

The  population  of  the  Ussuri-Littoral  region  together  with  the  island  of  Sakhalin  at 
present  already  amounts  to  90,000  souls.  Li  this  number  are  only  6,500  wandering  aborigones 
of  the  country  belonging  to  the  Tunguz  tribes  of  Manguns,  Golds,  Oroks,  and  also  to  the  Ghil- 
iaks.  There  are  13,000  Coreans  with  fixed  abodes,  and  8,000  Chinese.  The  Russian  immi- 
grants amount  to  more  than  60,000,  or  67  per  cent,  so  that  contrary  of  the  Yakutsk  re- 
gion, the  Ussuri-Littoral,  Amour  and  Transbaikal  districts  may  be  considered  completely 
Russian.  In  the  towns  of  the  Ussuri-Littoral  country  live  about  18  per  cent  of  its 
population,  and  only  one  of  these  towns,  Vladivostok,  with  13,(X)0  in  hahiiants.  has  the  char- 
acter of  a  true  town  population.  It  is  not  then  astonishing  that  in  the  Ussuri-Littoral  country  the 
rural  predominate  over  the  town  industries,  a  fact  appearing  in  the  number  of  domestic  animals 
reared  by  the  population,  although  this  figure  is  lower  than  in  Transbaicalia  and  Amouria 
on  account  of  the  recent  settlement  of  the  0(unitrv.    Thus,   there  are  about  4j  horses  in  tiie 


70  SlUEklA. 

Ussnri-Jjittoial  coiuitry  to  IfX)  inhabitants,  55  hoad  of  horned  cattle,  anil  a  little  nioie  than 
30  iihci'.\)  and  ^'oat.<.  But  of  comso  tlii'se  {Vniios  are  rapidly  growing  with  the  extremely  no- 
ticeahlc  iiK'irasc  nC  ludsperity  oi'  thi'  iimnigranls  in  the  Ussuri  country,  who  latterly  have 
even  begun  to  pay  oil  all  at  once  the  loans  ol'  money  given  them  on  their  immigration. 

Completely  different  is  the  character  of  the  I'onrlh  district  of  the  Amour-Littoral  region 
wlii'li  may  bo  called  the  Okhotsk-Kamchatka.  This  iioi1,h-ea.stem  part  of  the  region  under 
consideration,  embracing,  beginning  with  the  basin  of  the  river  Qda,  the  watersheds  of  all 
the  rivers  falling  into  the  Okhotsk  and  Behring  seas,  occupies  an  area  of  more  than  27,000 
square  geographical  miles.  The  Okholsk-Kanichatka  country  is  geographically  composed  of 
the  somewhat  narrow  iKirth-wcstcrn  liitdtal  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  the  districts  of  Udsk, 
Okliotsk  and  Ghizhiginsk,  the  peninsula  of  Kamchatka  or  district  of  Petropavlovsk,  Chukot 
land  and  the  islands  of  the  Okhotsk  and  Behring  seas.  In  the  first  part  the  Stanovoi  range, 
with  not  more  than  an  average  height  of  3,000  feet,  divides  the  Littoral  Territory  from  that 
of  Yakutsk,  sending  forth  considerable  offshoots,  more  or  less  filling  up  the  shore  zone,  which 
is  on  the  whole  mountainous  and  in  some  places  descends  abruptly  to  the  sea,  especially 
between  the  basins  of  the  Uda  and  Okliota.  The  basin  of  the  Uda  and  the  whole  of  the 
extensive  bay  of  that  uam(\  penetrating  between  Cape  St.  Alexander  and  the  port  of  Ayansk 
deep  into  the  mainland  by  its  inlets  of  Udsk,  Tugursk,  Ulbansk  and  St.  Nicholas,  in  front  of 
which  lie  the  uninhabited  but  elevated  and  fairly  extensive  Shantar  islands,  are  nevertheless 
the  best  part  of  the  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  country,  while  the  wide  and  roomy  northern  littoral 
of  the  Okhotsk  Sea,  with  its  Ghizhiginsk  and  Penzhinsk  inlets  entering  deeply  into  the  main- 
land to  the  north-east,  represents  the  most  unsuitable  spots  in  the  country  for  the  purposes 
of  settlement  on  account  of  its  climatic  conditions.  The  geological  composition  of  the  north- 
western coast  land  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  is  very  various.  Along  it  crystalline  rocks,  gi^anite, 
diorite,  porphyry,  and  even  labrador,  are  met  with,  as  also  volcanic  rocks,  such  as  trachyte 
and  basalt,  as  for  example  in  the  Marekan  mountains  at  Okhotsk,  upon  the  peninsula  of 
Segneka  and  on  the  littoral  of  the  Uyanon  inlet  in  the  Udsk  district.  Among  stratified  rocks, 
paleozoic  formations  were  found  in  Cape  Karaul  in  the  same  locality. 

A  great  scientific  interest,  but  of  very  little  economical  future,  is  afforded  by  the  penin- 
sula of  Kamchatka  stretching  to  the  south  almost  as  far  as  50°  north  latitude.  The  skeleton  of 
Kamchatka  is  formed  by  the  middle  Kamchatka  range,  the  southern  half  of  which  consists 
of  crystalline  schists,  and  also  of  granite,  syenite  and  porphyry,  while  the  northern  is  composed 
of  tertiary  sandstones  and  volcanic  rocks.  Upon  the  boundary  between  these  halves  rises  the 
extinct  volcano  Icha  to  a  height  of  16,900.  Parallel  with  the  main  Middle  Kamchatka  range, 
along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula,  stretches  a  whole  row  of  active  and  extinct  volca- 
noes, forming  as  it  were  the  fiery  wreaths  of  Kamchatka.  The  most  southern  of  the  perma- 
nently active  volcanoes  is  the  small  Avacha,  wiiose  coue  in  the  year  1848  fell  quite  in,  but  in 
which  the  extensive  crater  which  was  formed  after  the  catastrophe  kept  constantly  smoking 
from  1852  to  1855.  The  crown  of  the  system  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Avacha  bay,  upon 
which  is  situated  the  chief  town  of  Kamchatka,  is  formed  by  the  cones  Povorot  (7,900  feet), 
Viliucha  (6,750),  Strelka  or  Koriak  (a  marvellously  beautiful  cone,  scored  with  longitudinal 
ribs,  10,630  feet;,  Avacha  (8,700  feet)  and  Zhupan  (8,800  feet);  the  last  two  are  always  active. 


THE    USSUKl-LITTOEAL    TKACT.  71 

Avacha  produced  frightful  eruptions  in  the  years  1825  and  1855.  Traces  of  the  first  of  these 
eruptions  were  left  in  the  gullies  deeply  cut  in  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  washed  away  hy  the 
torrents  of  hot  water  proceeding  from  the  mass  of  melted  snows.  Further  to  the  north,  volcanoes 
are  grouped  round  Lake  Kronotskoe.  The  highest  of  them,  the  Kronotsk,  is  9,940  feet  high. 
Still  further  to  the  north,  in  view  of  the  Gulf  of  Kamchatka  and  the  mouths  of  the  river 
Kamchatka,  the  principal  stream  on  the  peninsula,  are  collected  other  volcanoes  still  active, 
of  which  the  Kliuchevsk  is  the  highest  of  all  the  active  volcanoes  of  Kamchatka,  and  consid- 
erahly  exceeds  in  height  not  only  Mont  Blanc  hut  even  Kazhek,  rising  from  16,000  and 
17,000  feet  above  sea  level.  The  stream  of  lava  which  descended  from  the  Kliuchevsk 
at  the  eruption  of  1843  almost  reached  the  river  Kamchatka.  The  other  active  volcanoes  of 
this  group  also  attain  colossal  altitudes,  namely  the  Krestovsk  11,000  feet,  and  Siveliuch  10,500 
feet.  Kamchatka  reckons  in  all  12  active  and  over  26  extinct  volcanoes. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Chukot  land  is  occupied  hy  the  hasin  of  the  Anadyr,  hut  the 
Chukot  or  Behring  peninsula  proper,  forming  the  extreme  north-eastern  extremity  of  Asia, 
separated  from  America  by  Behring  Straits,  is  mountainous  and  deeply  indented  with  iiords. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  Kamchatka  in  the  Behring  Sea  are  the  somewhat  elevated  and  inhabited 
Commander  Islands  partly  composed  of  volcanic  rocks,  enjoying  a  world-wide  reputation  on 
account  of  their  seal  fisheries  and  other  marine  industries. 

The  climatic  conditions  of  the  whole  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  country  are  extremely  unfa- 
vourable. The  Okhotsk  Sea,  notwithstanding  it  does  not  reach  as  far  north  as  the  Baltic, 
its  most  northern  entrances  being  on  one  line  of  latitude  with  the  Channel,  has  the  char- 
acter of  a  thoroughly  polar  sea,  frequently  visited  by  whales.  In  the  most  southern  ports  of 
the  Okhotsk  Sea,  Udsk  and  Ayan,  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  about  4",  the  winters, 
notwithstanding  the  nearness  of  the  Sea,  are  severe,  the  mean  winter  temperature  in  Ayan 
being  —  20^,  and  in  Udsk  with  its  more  continental  climate,  —  28°.  The  summer  is  cool;  in 
Ayan  11°,  in  Udsk,  13.5°.  If  agriculture  in  Udsk  with  an  average  temperature  during  the 
five-months  vegetative  period  of  about  12°  is  extremely  precarious,  in  Ayan  with  8°  it  is 
impossible.  In  Okhotsk  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  even  lower,  —  5°;  the  winters  are 
colder  than  in  Ayan, —  19.5°,  the  summer  the  same,  11".  The  same  also  is  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  five-months  vegetative  period,  8",  completely  excluding  the  possibility  of  the 
development  here  of  agriculture.  Somewhat  differently  situated  is  Petropavlovsk,  in  Kam- 
chatka on  Behring  Sea,  which  is  subject  to  a  purely  marine  climate.  The  average  annual 
temperature,  2°,  is  here  higher  than  in  the  Okhotsk  Sea,  the  winter  much  more  moderate,  — 
8°,  the  summer  almost  the  same  as  at  the  Udsk  penal  settlement,  13°,  but  the  mean  temper- 
ature of  the  five-months  vegetative  period,  10. 6°,  is  less  favourable  to  agriculture  than  in 
Udsk.  As  to  the  dampness  of  the  climate  and  the  annual  rainfall,  the  Okhotsk-Kam- 
chatka country  presents  in  this  respect  two  sharp  contrasts.  The  larger  southern  part 
of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  and  the  southern  extremity  of  Kamchatka  are  constantly  wrapped 
in  fogs,  drenched  with  rain  or  smothered  with  snow,  so  that  in  Ayan  the  quantity  of 
the  annual  rainfall  amounts  to  1,113  millimetres,  in  Petropavlovsk  to  1,240  millimetres,  in 
Ayan  summer  precipitation  526  millimetres,  and  autumn  452  predominating,  while  in  Pe- 
tropavlovsk summer  has  the  smallest  precipitation,  which  is  however  very  great   in    autumn, 


72  SIIIEICIA. 

winter  ami  .spriiii^.  On  tlic;  cfjiilraiy,  on  tin;  wliol<^  iiurlhuru  littoral  of  tijo  Sea  of  Okhotsk, 
from  Okhotsk  to  Ti^jiiiil.sk,  in  the  northern  j)ait  of  Kamchatka  and  in  Chukot  laud,  there  i.s  a 
very  small  rainfall^  reachin^'ln  Oklliotsk  in  the  course  of  tho  year  (jnly  IIX)  millimetres,  and  the 
\viiil(!rs  are  almost  ah.solnli-ly  snowless,  uilli  liiil  !t  inillinielres.  The  climate  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk 
i>  liii  ilni  characli'rized  hy  monsoons,  that  is,  winds  hlowing  in  summer  fiom  the  sea  and  in  winter 
inmi  111!'  hunl.  In  winUu'  tin;  aerial  cuirent  of  llie  monsoons  pours  across  the  crest  of  the 
Stanovoi  lan^e'  with  such  I'orci;  that  men  and  pack  animals  cannot  go  a^'ainst  it.  In  the  lali; 
autumn  ships  avail  themselves  id'  these  winds  on  the  voya^'e  from  Okhotsk  to  Kamchatka.  In 
siiiMiiiri-,  (in  till'  contrary,  strong  winds  blow  from  the  sea  into  the  Okhotsk  shore;  they  bring 
Willi  iliciii  cold,  impenetrable  fog  and  <;bus/>,  a  fine  cold  misty  rain.  These  monsoons  are 
explained  by  the  strong  heating  of  the  land  compariMl  with  llie  sea  in  summer  and  its  cortling 
iu   winter. 

The  llora  of  the  whole  u[  the  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  country  is  poor  in  the  number  of 
species  and  exhibits  but  small  variety,  but  ilie  vegetable  growth  over  the  whole  of  its  damp 
part  upon  the  western  littoral  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  and  iu  southern  Kamchatka  is  luxuriaui. 
The  forests  of  southern  Kamchatka  consist  only  of  the  two  coniferous  species,  the  Siberian 
fir  (abics  sibirica  Led.)  and  of  the  Siberian  cedar  (piuus  cembra  L.),  and  of  a  few  deciduous 
trees,  a  birch  (betula  pubescens  Khr.),  an  alder  (alnus  incaua  W.),  a  poplar  (populus  suave- 
olens  Kisch.),  a  rowan  (pyrus  sambucifolia  Ch.),  a  willow  (salix  peutandra  L.),  to  which  must 
be  added  further  a  few  shrubs  belonging  to  the  genera  of  clematis  (atragene  ocholensis  Pall.j, 
dog-rose  (two  Siberian  species)  honeysuckle  (loniccra  nigra  L.),  birch  (betula  Ermanni  Ch.)  and 
willow,  several  species,  not  counting  the  smallest  bushes  of  the  family  of  heathers  (ericace*). 

The  herbaceous  plants,  while  very  poor  in  the  number  of  species,  grow'  luxuriantly, 
far  exceeding  a  man's  height.  Ljifortunately  among  such  is  a  species  of  nettle  with  divided 
leaves  (urtica  cannabina  L.),  which  has  latterly  increased  here  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
literally,  over  large  areas,  completely  crowds  out  all  other  vegetation  and  will  be  fatal  to 
Kamchatka  until  its  fibre  finds  some  practical  application. 

The  western  coast  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  presents  a  great  resemblance  in  its  vegetation 
with  Kamchatka.  Some  plants  however  cross  over  into  its  southern  portion  from  the  Cssuri- 
Littoral  region,  as  for  example  is  the  case  with  the  tree,  picea  ajanensis.  As  for  the  northern 
coast  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  and  the  perfectly  treeless  tableland,  occupying  northern  Kamchatka, 
and  Chukot  land,  their  flora  bears  a  greater  resemblance  to  that  existing  under  similar  cli- 
matic conditions  in  the  polar  tundra  zone  of  the  Yakutsk  region. 

The  laud  fauna  of  the  Ochotsk-Kamchatka  country  differs  little  from  the  Siberian. 
Its  marine  fauna  has  an  incomparably  greater  importance  for  the  district,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  uow^here  does  ".the  marine  fauna  of  the  polar  seas  come  so  far  south  as  in  Beh- 
ring  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  whither,  together  with  marine  currents  and  icebergs,  the 
mammals  and  fish  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  penetrate  in  large  numbers. 

The  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  occupying  an  extensive  area  between  the  coast  of  the  Asiatic 
continent  and  the  peninsula  of  Kamchatka,  and  shut  in  on  the  south-east  by  the  Kuril  ridge, 
which  leaves  as  many  as  20  convenient  entrances  into  it  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Sea 
of  Japan,  is  placed  in  quite  exceptional   climatic  conditions.  Notwithstanding  its  geographical 


THE    USSURI-LITTOEAL    TRACT.  73 

situation  in  the  temperate  zone,  between  44^  and  62"  north  latitude,  it  possesses  the  t^-pe  of  a 
polar  sea  like  Hudson's  Bay.  The  greatest  depth  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  in  its  centre  is  apparently 
not  more  than  1,400  to  1,500  feet.  While  towards  the  end  of  the  summer  in  July  and  August 
the  temperature  of  the  water  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea  rises  to  7"  and  even  10",  that  at 
a  depth  of  over  100  feet  is  below  0"  C,  and  deeper  thanTOOfeet  it  is— 1"5".  Low^er  than  1 ,350 
feet,  the  water  being  salter,  the  temperature  again  rises,  reaching  2'4''  and  remains  so  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  But  however  this  may  be,  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  has  all  the  appearance  of 
what  might  be  called  a  «tundra»  sea,  from  the  valleys  of  the  northern  shore  of  which  are 
carried  to  the  south  the  so-called  «scum»  or  ice  masses  floating  almost  the  whole  summer  on 
the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  In  summer  the  floating  ice  collects  especially  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
sea,  off  the  coast  to  the  east  of  Sakhalin  and  around  the  Shantar  islands  and  even  in  the 
Amour  frith.  In  Udsk  Bay  the  ice  clears  out  only  in  July,  in  Tugursk  Bay  it  holds  till  Au- 
gust. The  marine  currents  of  the  Okhotsk  sea  on  its  eastern  Kamchatka  shore  flow  apparently 
on  the  whole  in  a  northerly  direction,  and  from  its  north-eastern  Ghizhiginsk  and  Peuzhinsk 
extremities  swerve  to  the  west,  and  afterwards  following  the  change  of  direction  of  the  coast- 
line turn  to  the  south,  passing  by  the  eastern  shore  of  Sakhalin.  These  cuiTcnts  it  is  that 
fill  the  whole  south-western  part  of  the  sea  in  summer  with  floating  ice,  in  some  places  form- 
ing an  obstacle  to  ships  entering  it  from  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Both  the  subaqueous  flora  and  the  invertebrate  fauna  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  are  extremely 
rich  in  comparison  with  not  only  those  of  the  Northern  Ocean  coast,  but  even  with  those 
of  Behring  Sea.  As  many  as  53  species  of  seeweeds  (algae)  have  been  found  in  this  sea. 
The  algae  here,  moreover,  bear  a  much  greater  resemblance  to  the  flora  of  the  Artie  Ocean 
than  to  that  of  the  Pacific.  The  majority  of  the  seaweeds  of  the  European  Arctic  Ocean  are 
also  to  be  found  in  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  while  the  flora  of  this  sea  presents  very  few  species 
common  to  the  Pacific,  possessing  however  not  a  few  peculiar  species.  The  Sea  of  Okhotsk  is 
extraordinarily  rich  in  mollusks.  As  many  as  70  species  of  shellfish  have  been  found  there, 
of  which  31  species  belong  to  the  general  polar  or  circumpolar  forms,  15  to  the  polar  forms 
of  Behring  Sea,  14  to  the  Pacific  fauna,  also  met  with  upon  the  Aniericau  coasts,  and  finally 
10,  peculiar  to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  itself.  Twenty-one  species  of  crustaceans  have  been  found, 
5  of  these  circumpolar,  5  Pacific,  and  11  peculiar  to  Okhotsk.  There, is  scant  information  on 
the  fish  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  but  the  pisciae  wealthof  this  sea  is  very  considerable.  In  partic- 
ular the  «keta»  (salmo  lagocephalus)  and  «malma»  (salma  callaris)  are  met  here  in  count- 
less shoals.  It  is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  wealth  of  the  marine  flora  and  fauna  of  the 
Sea  of  Okhotsk  and  of  its  polar  character,  that  this  sea  has  ever  been  the  chosen  hunting 
ground  of  large  marine  mammals,  swimming  hither  from  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Among  these  must 
be  counted  not  only  several  species  of  seal  (phoca  barbata,  groenlandica,  leouina,  nautica,  numu- 
laria  and  ochotensis),  dolphins  (phocaena  orca,  delphinapteros  leucas);  but  three  species  of  whale 
of  which  only  one  has  been  identified  with  certainty  (balaenoptera  longimana).  The  whal- 
ing industry  began  to  be  developed  here  in  the  forties  of  the  present  century,  and  since 
1847  the  American  whalers  have  not  given  these  creatures  one  single  year's  rest,  and  have 
carried  away,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  American  ship  owners,  in  the  14  years  between 
1847  and  18G1,  blubber  and  whulr   bone    lo    ilu'    amuuul    of   130,000,000   dollars,   employing 


74  SIRERIA. 

firiniially  for  tlio  piiifioso  200  vossols,  Urnlcr  scunowliat  (linoroiit  conflitions  is  Bohring  Sea, 
since  the  surremlcr  to  the  United  States  of  the  Russian  possessions  in  America,  enjoyed  in  com- 
mon hy  the  States  and  Rnssia,  It  is  boimded  on  the  south,  that  is  on  the  side  of  the  Pacific 
by  Ihe  r'uliir  of  thi'  Aleutian  islands,  and  on  the  north  rommiinicates  with  the  Frozen  Ocean 
hy  means  of  Bcliriiif,'  Straits.  Situated  in  more  northern  hititndes,  between  52"  and  04"  N. 
lat.,  and  separated  from  tlie  Pacific  Ocean  only  hy  a  ridge  of  islands  interrupted  hy  sea 
channels,  Behriiig  Sfa  is  a  type  not  of  a  close  meiliteiranean  sea  liki;  that  of  Okhotsk,  but 
of  an  ocean  sea  open  at  both  emls,  whose  climate  is  still  more  marine  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year  than  that  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  It  is  enough  to  state  that  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
sea  with  a  moan  annual  temperature  of  3",  the  average  temperature  of  the  coldest  month  is 
a  little  below  zero,  and  that  of  the  hottest  7°,  to  understand  why  all  the  islands  of  Behring 
Sea  are  devoid  of  trees.  Xo  agriculture  is  possible  upon  them,  and  both  these  islands  and  the 
shores  of  Behring  Sea  are  incapable  of  settled  colonization,  and  arc  for  ever  doomed  to  be 
rostrictod  to  the  working  of  their  marine  resources.  The  water  flora  of  Behring  Sea  is  poorer 
than  that  of  Okhotsk,  but  it  cannot  be  called  alsolutely  poor,  and  it  is  at  any  rate  incom- 
parably richer  than  the  flora  of  the  Siberian  coast  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Thanks  to  this  circumstance  and  to  the  abundance  of  mollusks,  crustaceans  and  fish, 
this  sea  like  that  of  Okhotsk  has  always  been  a  splendid  feeding  gi-ound  for  marine  animals, 
which  once  used  to  visit  these  shores  in  countless  numbers,  in  particular  the  islands  of  Behring  Sea. 
The  most  interesting  of  these  visitors  was,  till  the  commencement  of  this  century,  the  huge  ani- 
mal. 35  feet  in  length  and  weighing  50,000  pounds,  known  by  tlic  name  of  the  seacow  (rytina 
Stelleri),  first  described  by  the  highly  talented  follow  traveller  of  Behring,  the  Russian  natur- 
alist Steller;  this  enormous  beast  has  now  entirely  vanished  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  like 
tlie  mammoth  of  the  prehistoric  age  and  the  gi-eat  birds  dodo  and  moa  in  more  recent  times. 
The  last  seacows  were  killed  on  Behring  island,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  islands  in  the 
world,  alike  from  a  geographical  and  from  a  natural  history  point  of  view,  in  1780.  According 
however  to  information  gathered  by  Nordenskjold  the  half-castes  of  Behring  island  saw  sea- 
cows  last  as  late  as  1855.  Another  visitor  of  the  islands  of  Behring  Sea,  the  so-called  sea 
lion  or  «sivuch»  (eumetopias  Stelleri  Less.)  has  now  become  so  rare  that  it  is  only  seen 
in  individual  specimens.  On  the  other  hand  Behring  Sea  and  especially  Behring  islands  are 
still  rich  in  seals  (otaria  ursina),  of  which  annually  from  10,000  to  50,0<X)  are  taken.  One  other 
very  valuable  visitor  of  the  Behring  islands  is  the  so-called  Kamchatka  or  sea  beaver  (enhydris 
lutris  L.),  which  in  zoological  respects  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  genus  beaver  (biber)  or 
otter  (Ultra),  but  belongs  to  a  genus  of  animals  analogous  to  the  morse  (trichecus  rosmarus). 
Of  the  remaining  marine  mammals  the  same  occur  in  Behring  Sea  as  in  that  of  Okhotsk, 
namely  species  of  seals,  dolphins  and  whales.  Behring  Sea  is  also  extraordinarily  abundant  in 
fish.  Some  kinds  of  fish  as  for  example  herrings,  cod  and  gwyniad,  appear  periodically  off  the 
islands  and  shores  of  Behring  Sea  from  April  to  July  in  countless  numbers.  Finally,  upon  the 
shores  and  islands  of  this  sea  breed  several  kinds  of  land  fur  animals,  as  for  example  river 
heavers,  otters,  arctic  foxes,  foxes,  sables  and  muskrats. 

Possessing  such  extremely  unfavourable  conditions,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  geo- 
graphical situation  as  of  Its  climate,  the  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  region,  being  included   among 


THE    USSURT-LITTORAL    TRACT.  75 

the  hyperborean  countries,  has  a  quite  insignificant  population.  Its  35,000  inhabitants  makes 
a  little  more  than  one  to  the  square  geographical  mile,  the  number  of  the  Russian  contingent 
not  exceeding  1.000,  or  20  per  cent  of  the  total  population.  Half  of  the  Russian  people 
are  distributed  through  small  towns,  containing  11  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
The  native  tribes  consist  of  wandering  Chukches,  Koriaks,  Kamchadals,  Lamuts,  and  reindeer 
Tunguz.  Evidently,  the  whole  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  country,  like  the  neighbouring  Yakutsk  region 
of  Eastern  Siberia,  is  absolutely  unadapted  to  premanent  agricultural  colonization  and  possesses 
the  very  smallest  capacity  for  settlement,  which  can  only  be  enlarged  by  the  development, 
protection  and  regulation  of  the  sea  industries. 


'^<^- 


76  SIUEUIA. 


CIl  A  i'Ti:i{  VI. 
The  Kirghiz  Steppe  Region. 

Its  division  into  the  mountain  and  steppe  territories;  orography  and  hydrography  of  each:  climatic 

conditions;  vegetable  covering;   fauna;  composition   and   distribution  of  the  population  in  the 

mountain  and  steppe  zones;  importance  of  cattle  breeding  to  the  native  population. 


THE  Kirghiz  steppe  region  in  an  administrative  sense  forms  the  steppe  Governor-Generalship 
and  is  composed  of  three  territories,  Akmolinsk,  Semipalatinsk  and  Semirechensk.  In 
a  geographical  sense  it  occupies  the  southern  part  of  the  river  region  of  the  Irtysh  and  the 
basins  of  several  central  Asiatic  rivers,  not  possessing  sea  communication,  but  either  falling  into 
Lake  Balkhash,  as  the  III  and  other  rivers  of  Somirechia,  Lake  Issyk-Kul  and  Ala-Kul  or 
losing  themselves  in  the  sands  or  steppe  marshes. 

The  whole  Kirghiz  region  occupies  a  space  of  25,000  square  geographical  miles  and 
may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  mountain  and  steppe.  The  former  consists  of  the  whole 
Semirechensk  territory,  except  the  Sergiopol  district,  and  of  the  Zaissan  district  of  Semipala- 
tinsk, and  occupies  7,000  square  geographical  miles,  the  latter  comprises  the  whole  remaining 
space  of  18,000  square  geographical  miles. 

To  the  mountain  zone  belongs  the  gigantic  Russian  western  Thian-Shan  with  the  exception 
of  its  western  prolongations,  which  cross  over  into  the  Turkestan  Governor-Generalship.  Like 
the  Sayan-Altai  mountain  system,  the  Thian-Shan  at  its  western  extremity  branches  into  sep- 
arate mountain  ridges  partly  parallel  to  each  other,  partly  spreading  out  like  the  feathers 
of  a  slightly  opened  fan.  In  the  main  range  of  the  Thian-Shan  on  the  Chinese  fron- 
tier a  little  north  of  42°  N.  lat.  is  the  highest  peak,  mount  Khan-Teugi-i,  lifting  itself 
above  a  whole  group  of  gigantic  snow-clad  summits  and  reaching  an  altitude  of  24,000  feet. 
The  glaciers  descending  from  the  Khan-Tengii  group  feed,  on  the  one  hand,  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Tekes,  that  is,  the  head  stream  of  the  chief  river  of  Semirechia,  the  Hi,  faUing  into 
Lake  Balkhash,  on  the  other  hand,  tributaries  themselves  feeding  the  hollow  of  lake  Issyk-Kul, 
and  yet  again,  the  head  waters  of  the  Sary-Dzhaz,  which  has  its  source  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Thian-Shan,  but  breaks  through  a  defile  in  that  range  on  its  southern  side  and 
falls  into  the  river  Parim,  belonging  to  the  system  of  lake  Lob-Xor.  At  the  same  time,  a 
little  further  to  the  west,  the  river  Xaryn,  the  head  waters  of  the  Yaxartes  or  Sn--Darya 
springs  from   the  lakes   lying   on   the    extensive    alpine  tablelands   or  «sazas»  of  the  Thian- 


THE    KIRGHIZ-STEPPE    REGION.  .  77 

Slian,  at  a  height  of  13,000  feet.  From  Khan-Tengti,  the  Thian-Shan  range  already 
shews  a  tendency  to  branch  into  ridges,  lying  almost  parallel  to  each  other.  The 
southern  of  these  forms  the  Chinese  frontier  and  is  separated  from  the  more  northern 
by  longitudinal  valleys,  in  which  flow  the  rivers  Sarydzhaz  and  Naryu.  The  crests 
of  these  separate  ridges  consist  of  an  uninterrupted  series  of  snow-clad  summits,  the  passes 
between  which  attain  an  absolute  height  from  10,000  to  13,000  feet,  and  are  very  rugged. 
Finally,  the  northernmost  ridge  of  the  Thian-Shan  descends  into  the  long  deep  valley  stretching 
from  west  to  east  of  the  large  and  beautiful  lake  of  Issyk-Kul,  situated  at  a  height  of 
5,300  feet.  But  still  further  north  than  lake  Issyk-Kul  rises  also  above  the  limits  of  eternal 
snow  a  double  range,  that  is  split  into  two  parallel  ridges  by  a  longitudinal  valley,  the  chain 
of  the  Zailisk  Altai,  which  is  connected  with  the  Thian-Shan  by  mountain  spurs  at  its 
northern  depressed  extremity.  At  its  very  centre  it  reaches  a  height  of  15,000  feet,  and 
over  a  considerable  part  of  the  Zailisk  Altai  the  passes  over  both  its  ridges  attain  an  altitude 
of  9,000  feet  and  are  very  difficult  to  climb.  The  splendid  northern  acclivity  of  the  Thian- 
Shan  descends  to  the  broad  steppe  valley  of  the  Hi,  but  upon  its  northern  side  the  Semirecheusk 
range  or  Dzhungar  Altai  rises  again  to  the  snow  line,  and  at  its  eastern  extremity,  within 
Chinese  territory,  is  in  immediate  connexion  with  the  Thian-Shan.  Finally,  still  further  to  the 
north,  in  parallel  47°  N.  lat.,  stretches  the  Tarbagatai  range  also  clad  in  eternal  snows,  and 
parallel  to  the  general  direction  of  the  Thian-Shan,  reaching  an  extreme  limit  of  10,000  feet. 
The  deep  hollow  of  Lake  Zaissan  lying  at  a  height  of  1,356  feet,  and  of  the  Black  Irtysh 
which  falls  into  it,  divides  Tarbagatai  from  the  Narym  range  of  the  southern  ridge  of  the 
Altai  system.  The  mountains  of  the  Thian-Shan  and  of  the  two  Altai  consist  mainly  of 
the  crystalline  rocks,  granite,  syenite,  gneiss,  diorite,  porphyi-y,  and  of  the  metamorphic  rocks, 
crystalline  schist;  but  volcanic  rocks  have  so  far  not  been  seen  in  the  Thian-Shan.  Cpon 
the  mountain  slopes  are  also  found  rocks  in  beds  lifted  up  by  the  crystalline  formations.  Wherevei- 
fossils  were  met  with  in  the  stratified  rocks  they  betray  the  fact  that  the  latter  belong  to 
the  paleozoic  formations  of  the  devonian  '  and  carboniferous  systems.  Secondary  formations, 
namely  Jurassic,  are  found  in  the  continuations  and  offsets  of  tin;  Thian-Shan  range  in 
the  Turkestan  territory.  At  the  foot  of  all  the  mountains  described  extend  zones  excellently 
watered  wherever  there  are  snow  peaks,  and  covered  with  a  fertile  soil  by  the  torrents,  de- 
scending from  them  and  extremely  convenient  for  agriculture  and  settled  colonization,  but  not 
otherwise  than  with  the  aid  of  artificial  irrigation.  Unfortunately,  these  zones  are  narrow; 
they  occupy  a  submountainons  tract  of  an  elevation  of  1,800  to  5,000  feet  above  sea 
level,  in  the  Issyk-Kul  valley  even  attaining  7,000  feet,  above  which  the  cultivation  of  grain 
reaches  its  limit,  ceasing  also  wherever  the  mountains  descend  below  the  snow  line  and 
accordingly  do  not  feed  any  torrents.  Moreover  these  streams  lead  away  into  «aryks»  or  irri- 
gation canals,  become  quickly  exhausted,  and  passing  over  into  the  hot  and  arid  zone  lying 
below  2,000  feet,  being  absorbed  by  the  sands  or  rapidly  evaporating,  fall  it  might  almost  be 
said  into  the  atmospheric  ocean.  Therefore  of  the  rivers  of  Semirechia  only  the  full  flowing 
Hi  reaches  as  it  should  the  extensive  Lake  Balkhash,  bounding  this  region  on  the  north- 
east, the  other  quite  insignificant  streams,  Koksu,  Karatal,  Bien,  Aksu,  Baskan  and  Lepsa, 
either  become  lost  in  shallow  washes  among  the  sands,  or  like  the  last  nanieil,  in  the  impene- 


78  SIULKIA. 

liable  reeds  of  llio  shore  of  Lake  Balkliasli.  This  lake,  gradually  dryiug  up  and  retreating  from 
the  submountainous  region,  has  left  between  the  latter  and  its  south-eastern  shore  line  a  desert 
and  unfruitful  space  at  least  1,000  square  geographical  miles  in  extent.  Thus,  that  part  of 
the  foothill  zone  wiijcji,  rnmi  its  absolute  height,  irrigation  and  soil,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
area  suitable  to  colonization,  scarcely  amounts  to  more  than  ],000  square  geographical  m'iUi<, 
oven  reckoning  in  the  valleys  adapted  to  cultivation. 

The  submountainous  zone  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region,  extending  between  the  Thian- 
Shan  and  Altai,  is  almost  the  best  part  of  Siberia,  and  is  remarkable  also  on  account  of  th'- 
fact  that  it  played  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  the  great  migration  of  peoples,  beginning 
with  the  movement  of  the  Huns  to  the  west  already  in  the  second  century  before  Christ  and 
ending  with  the  great  Mongolian  in'uplion  of  the  thirteentli  ciTilury.  All  the  national  migra- 
tions starting  from  the  interior  of  Asia  were  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  nomad  population 
of  Central  Asia  gradually  increasing  reached  the  limits  of  the  capacity  of  the  country,  and 
then  was  compelled  to  seek  an  exit  either  to  the  far  oast  into  the  rich  and  fertile  plains  of 
the  Chinese  Empire,  or  to  the  far  west,  at  first  into  the  Aral-Caspian  plain,  and  later,  turn- 
ing the  Si-Khai,  the  «dislant  west»,  that  is,  the  Caspian  Sea,  on  the  north  or  south,  into 
Europe.  But  as  the  elevated  region  of  Central  Asia  between  the  Thian-Shan  and  the  Hima- 
laya range  on  the  side  of  the  Aral-Caspian  depression  is  shut  in  by  such  lofty  mountains, 
whose  passage  is  entirely  impossible  for  nomads  moving  with  all  their  herds,  the  importance 
in  the  history  of  national  migrations  of  those  three  wide  and  convenient  intervals,  which  are 
situated  between  the  Thian-Shan  and  the  Altai  in  the  region  under  consideration,  is  evident. 
These  gaps  are,  the  wide  valley  of  the  Hi  between  the  two  Altai,  the  depression  surround- 
ing Lake  Alacul,  between  the  Semirechian  Altai  and  Tarbagatai,  and  the  Circumzaissan 
plain  between  Tarbagatai  and  the  Altai.  These  three  intervals  in  the  mountains  served  as 
wide  gates  for  the  exodus  of  the  nomads  with  the  low-lying  plain,  now  called  the  Kirghiz  steppe. 

The  steppe  district  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region  differs  entirely  from  not  only  the  zone 
just  considered,  but  also  from  the  neighbouring  Western  Siberian  plain.  The  Kirghiz  steppe  is 
unlike  the  latter  in  that  it  does  not  present  an  absolute  level.  On  the  contrary  it  is  for  a 
considerable  extent  intersected  by  low,  but  very  prominent  mountain  ridges  and  masses,  con- 
sisting for  the  most  part  of  granite,  diorite,  diabase,  porphyry  and  other  crystalline  rocks. 
Granitic  mountains  rear  themselves  above  the  steppe  in  the  form  of  crests,  while  the  porphy- 
ritic  are  arranged  for  the  most  part  in  groups  of  cupola-shaped  summits,  the  resulting  effect 
being  a  very  varied  contour.  The  steppe  character  of  the  Kirghiz  country  appears  in  the 
extreme  scantiness  of  its  watering  and  in  the  almost  complete  absence  of  forest  vegetation, 
which  only  occurs  in  the  north-western  corner  of  the  steppe  in  the  Kokchetavsk  district  of 
the  Akmoliusk  Territory.  Only  the  uoilh-eastern  portion  of  the  steppe  is  watered  by  the 
Htysh,  while  through  the  north-western  flows  a  large  tributary  of  the  same  river,  the  Ishim. 
All  the  other  rivers  of  the  steppe  as  for  example  the  Nura,  Sary-Su,  and  Chu  bear  the  character 
of  sluggish  prairie  streams,  disappearing  in  ovei-flows,  which  rapidly  evaporate  in  the  sandy 
waste.  The  low  mountain  ridges,  intersecting  the  steppe,  contain  various  minerals,  such  as  cop- 
per and  argentiferous  lead  ores.  In  the  Kokbekta  district  of  the  Semipalatinsk  territory  occur  . 
deposits  of  gold.  But  the  absence  of  fuel  places  mining  industry  here  under  unfavourable  conditions. 


THE    KIRGHIZ    STEPPE    KEGIOX.  79 

The  greater  part  of  the  steppe  is  ouly  suited  to  the  existence  of  uomads,  as  it  contains  very- 
few  oases  adapted  to  cultivation  and  colonization.  The  climate  of  the  steppe  portion  of  the 
Kirghiz  steppe  region  is  considerably  warmer  than  in  the  neighbouring  cultivated  or  agricul- 
tural zone  of  AVestern  Siberia,  but  still  more  continental.  The  mean  annual  temperature  in 
Akmoliusk  and  Semipalatinsk  lying  in  51°  and  50^/2°  X.  lat,  is  from  2°  to  2.5  Celsius,  that 
is,  2'^  higher  than  in  Siberia.  The  temperature  in  winter  is  —  16",  that  of  the  coldest 
mouth  —  18.5°,  almost  identical  with  the  Western  Siberia  agricultural  zone.  But  the  average 
summer  tempeiature,  rising  as  high  as  20"  and  of  the  hottest  month  22°,  is  more  considerable 
than  in  Western  Siberia.  The  difference  of  temperature  in  summer  and  winter,  36°,  as  also 
that  between  the  hottest  and  coldest  months,  40°,  are  greater  than  in  Western  Siberia.  The 
mean  temperature  of  the  five-months  vegetative  period  (18°)  considerably  exceeds  that  of 
Western  Siberia.  On  the  other  hand  the  amount  of  atmospheric  precipitation  in  the  course  of 
the  year  in  Akmolinsk  only  reaches  229  millimetres,  of  which  166  fall  to  the  three  summer 
months,  and  in  Semipalatinsk  186  millimetres,  of  which  80  are  in  summer.  Still  less  moisture 
falls  in  the  southern  part  of  the  steppe,  of  which  an  idea  may  be  formed  from  the  observations 
taken  in  the  Turgai  bordering  on  this  country.  There  the  fall  in  the  course  of  the  year  is 
122  millimetres,  of  which  only  16  millimetres  belong  to  the  summer.  In  the  Ilungry-Steppe 
or  Bed-Pak-Dala,  lying  on  the  southern  frontier  of  the  steppe  on  the  river  Chu,  there  is  no 
rain  at  all  in  summer.  Evideutly  there  being  no  possibility  of  irrigation,  as  the  river  Chu 
is    very  shallow,  this  zone  is  nothing  but  a  dead  wilderness. 

Incomparably  more  favourable  are  the  climatic  conditions  of  the  submountainous  region. 
According  to  the  averages  derived  from  the  observations  made  in  Alerny  and  Kuldzha,  thai 
is,  in  the  foot  hills  of  the  Transilian  Altai  and  the  Thian-Shan  about  44°  X.  lat.,  the  annual 
temperature  is  9°  Celsius,  that  in  winter  only  —  6°,  that  of  the  coldest  month  —  10°,  of 
summer  22°,  and  of  the  hottest  month  26".  The  difference  between  summer  and  winter  is  28", 
that  between  the  coldest  and  hottest  months  36°.  Almost  as  mild  is  the  climate  of  Kopal, 
situated  2°  further  north  in  the  submountainous  region  of  the  Semirecheusk  Altai.  Here  the 
mean  annual  temperature  is  7*5°,  of  winter  —  5°,  of  the  coldest  month  —  6",  of  summer  20", 
of  the  hottest  month  21°.  The  difference  between  winter  and  summer  is  25°,  and  between  the 
hottest  and  coldest  months  27°.  The  average  temperature  of  the  five-months  vegetative  period 
is  21°  in  A'ierny  and  Kuldzha,  and  1«"  in  Kopal.  The  mild  winters  afford  a  sufficient  explan- 
ation why  in  this  country  not  only  is  gardening  possible,  which  does  not  exist  anywhere  in 
Siberia,  but  even  grape  growing.  Vierny  has  a  precipitation  of  more  than  560  millimetres 
a  year,  of  which  most  falls  in  spring,  namely  226  millimetres,  and  in  summer  115  millimetres. 
Such  a  climate  may  be  counted  among  the  best  in  lUissia. 

The  vegetable  covering  of  the  submountainous  region  is  luxuriant  and  extremely  varied, 
the  more  so  that  the  climatic  zones  are  there  disposed  in  layers  one  above  another  and  exhibit 
perfectly  different  types  of  vegetation.  The  greatest  resemblance  to  the  flora  of  Russia  is 
presented  by  that  of  the  foothills  at  an  elevation  of  2,000  to  7,500  feet,  that  is,  that  part 
which  is  most  capable  of  development  in  reference  to  civilized  and  settled  life,  and  in 
which  are  placed  all  the  Russian  coloiues  of  the  country.  At  7,500  feet  the  forest 
vegetation  ceases;  above   spreads   the   zone  of   alpine  meadows,  while    below  2,500  feet  the 


80  SIBERIA. 

scantily  walerod  country  lakes  the  cliaiiictcr  of  the  sk-jipo  poriion  of  tli-  ,.|^,.,ii  iimler 
consideration. 

TIio  forest  ^Mowili  ol'  tlif  siihiiioiiiitiiinoii^  and  mountainous  zones,  from  2,000  to  7,500 
feet  in  iiltitudc  is  not  very  viiricij.  Among  tlin  fonilcrs  upon  tlif  slopes  of  botli  the  Altai 
and  llic  Tliian-Shan  ocenrs  a  fine  kind  of  fir,  whifh  Russian  botanists  have  name<l  picea 
Schrenkiana  Fisch.,  Imt  wlii'h  has  proved  to  be  the  same  as  one  of  tlic  Himalayan  speeios 
(abies  Smithiana  Bed.).  iMiillier  the;  cliaracter  of  a  tree  is  possessed  by  thr;  kiml  of  juniper 
{.JMiiiperiis  pseudosabiiia  Fisch.)  more  often  adhering  to  the  rocks,  but  at  times  rising  in  the 
Joiiii  of  iliiek  and  lofiy  but  very  crooked  trees,  as  for  example  in  the  Buam  defile. 

Of  the  deciduous  species  hcie  occur  the  common  birch  (betula  alba  L.),  the  scented  poplar 
(populus  suave(dens  Fisch.),  a  low  kind  of  maple  (acer  Semenovii  Reg.)  almost  identical  with 
that  fd"  the  Amour  (acer  ginnala),  the  common  rowan  (pyrus  aucuparia  L.)  the  wild  apple 
not  iiiei  Willi  ill  Siberia  (pyrus  mains)  and  tlu^  apricot  (pruniis  armeniaca  L.)  producing  even 
ill  the  wild  state  very  good  fruit.  The  shrubs  are  somewhat  more  varied.  Among  them  there 
aie  common  European  species,  as  for  example,  sallow-thorn  (rhamnus  catharticus  L.),  a  bramble 
(rubus  caesius  L.),  two  wild  roses  (rosa  pimpinellifolia  D.C.  and  rosa  cinamomea  L.),  the  snow- 
ball tree  (viburnum  opulus  L.),  honeysuckle  (lonicera  xylostcum  and  coerulea  L.),  species  of 
willow  (salix  nigricans  Sm.  and  salix  purpurea  L.),  and  of  the  conifers,  ephedra  vulgaris  Rich, 
and  juniporus  sabina  I;.  There  aio  also  Caucasian  species,  a  cherry  (prunus  prostrata  Lab.), 
gatten  tree  (cotoneaster  iiuniularia  Fisch.),  currant  (ribes  petraeum  ^Yulf.),  and  one  species 
occurring  in  Finland  and  the  extreme  north  of  Russia  and  Siberia,  bipophoea  rhamnoides  L. 
The  Siberian  altaic  species  include,  rosa  alpina  L.,  crateaegus  sanguinea  Pall.,  lonicera  nii- 
crophylla,  W.,  lonicera  liispidaL.,  salix  sihirica  Pall.  But  most  interesting  of  all  are  a  few  local 
forms,  a  traveller's  joy  (clematis  soongorica  Bge),  berberry  (berberis  heteropodaSchr.),  spindlc- 
trce  (evonymus  Semenovii  Reg.),  a  rose  (rosa  platyacantha  Schr.).  Of  the  herbaceous  plants 
of  the  cultivated  mountainous  zone  70  per  cent  belong  to  species  also  found  in  European 
Russia.  Of  Asiatic  species  half  occur  in  the  Altai-Sayan  upland  or  in  the  Siberian  plain; 
three  species,  dracocephalura  heterophyllum  Benth.  and  two  rhubarbs  (iheum  Emodi  Wall, 
and  rheum  spiciforme  Royl.)  belong  to  the  Himalayan  flora  and  more  then  50  species  are  pecul- 
iar to  the  local  flora.  Especially  among  these  are  a  few  crow's  foots  (ranunculus  soongoricus 
Schr.  and  a(|uilegia  lactiflora  Kar.),  astragals  (astragalus  leucocladus  Bge.  and  oxytropis  mer- 
kensis  Bge.),  compositae  (cousinia  Semenovii  Reg.  and  cousinia  uncinuata  Reg.),  of  the  calyci- 
floreae  (pedicularis  Semenovii  Reg,,  eremonstachys  Sewertsovii,  Herd,)  and  finally  some  beautiful 
bulbous  jdants,  as  heningia  robusta  Reg,  It  is  remarkable  iliat  in  this  zone  a  few  European 
cultivated  plants  are  met  with  growing  wild,  as  for  example  rye  (secale  cereale  L.)  and 
hemp  (cannabis  sativa  L.),, 

Quite  different  is  the  character  of  the  vegetation  on  the  luxuriant  meadows  of  the 
Alpine  zone,  Plere  there  is  no  forest  growth,  only  a  few  shrubs  forcing  their  way  in,  reaching 
here  their  highest  limit.  Among  them  especially  remarkable  are  two  strange  forms  of  acacia 
(caragana  jubata  Pall.)  and  a  second  species  undescrlbed,  which  with  their  thickly  clustered 
foliage  and  hard  woody  stalks  sticking  upright  and  furnished  with  long  needles,  resemble  the 
tails  of  some  large  animals,  such  as  the  camel.  Their  dense  pale  grey  leaves  beautifully  divided  as 


THE    KIRGHIZ    STEPPE    REGION.  SI 

in  all  acacias  and  papilionaceous  flowers  tender  yellow  in  the  case  of  one  species  and  pale 
rose  in  the  other  are  a  strange  charm  to  these  bushes  so  characteristic  of  the  Alpine  zone 
of  the  Thian-Shan.  Of  the  other  bushes  the  following  Siberian  Altaic  species  attain  the  alpine 
zone:  two  meadow  sweets  (spiraea),  potentilla  fruticosa  L.,  one  species  of  gatten-tree  (coto- 
neaster),  and  one  of  tamariks  (myricaria  Davurica  Ehr.),  currant  (ribes),  willow  (salix  Sibirica 
Pall.)-  The  local  forms  are  two  species  of  honeysuckle  (lonicera  humilis  Kar.  and  L.  Karelini 
Bge.)  and  one  currant  (ribes  heterotrichum  Mey.).  The  Alpine  herbaceous  flora  attains  here  a 
peculiar  luxuriance  and  variety,  with  only  15  per  cent  of  general  European  and  15  per  cent  of 
Caucasian  plants.  Of  the  remaining  70  per  cent  of  Asiatic  species  more  than  half  are  met 
with  on  the  Altai-Sayan  «bieloks»  and  «golets»,  7  species  on  the  Himalayan  range,  while  not 
less  than  70  species  form  a  speciality  of  the  local  flora  and  probably  will  be  found  again  only 
in  the  Alps  of  Central  Asia.  The  7  species  are:  anemone  Falconeri  Th.,  anemone  micraniha  Kl., 
corydalis  Gortchakovii  Schr.,  oxytropis  Kashemiriana  Camb.,  sedum  coccineum  Royl.,  carum 
iudicum  Lindl.,  gentiana  Kurroo  Royl.  Among  the  70  species  referred  to  the  most  remarkable 
are:  one  species  of  aconite  (aconitum  grandiflorum  Kar.),  a  beautiful  species  of  fumitory,  re- 
cently adopted  for  cultivation,  (corydalis  Semenovi  Reg.),  22  new  species  of  astragals,  mostly 
of  the  genus  oxytropis  su  characteristic  of  the  Asiatic  Alps,  several  thick-leaved  plants  (umbilicus 
alpestris  Kar.,  umbilicus  Semenovi  Reg.,  sedum  gelidum  Schr.),  umbelliferae  (for  example, 
peucedanum  transiliense  Reg.  and  Semenovia  transiliensis  Reg.),  ten  new  species  of  compos- 
ite cotton-thistles  (as,  cirsium  nidulaus  Reg.  and  cirsium  Semenovi  Reg.,  sanssurea  glacialis 
Herd,  and  sorocephala  Schr.,  alfredia  nivea  Kar.,  jurinea  sufFruticosa  Reg.),  a  beautiful  species  of 
primulaceae  (cortusa  Semenovii  Led.),  species  of  gentians  (gentiana  Olivieri  Oris.,  swerlia  margi- 
nata  Schr.)  and  some  beautiful  bulbous  plants,  as  crocus  alatavicus  Sem.,  orithya  heterophylla 
Reg.,  intillaria  pallidiflora  Schr.,  fritillaria  Severtzovii  Reg.  and  5  species  of  onion  (allium), 
of  which  one  (allium  Semenovii  Reg.)  covers  the  <;sazas;>  or  elevated  Alpine  meadows  of  the 
Thian-Shan  with  its  largo  golden  yellow  flowers.  It  is  from  this  characteristic  species  that 
the  Thian-Shan  received  its  Chinese  name  of  Tsun-Liu  or  Onion  Mountains. 

The  vegetation  of  the  lower  steppe  zone  of  the  submountainous  region,  below  2,000  feet, 
approaches  the  type  of  the  flora  of  the  whole  steppe  territory  of  the  Kirghiz  region,  in  other 
words,  to  that  of  the  Aralo-Caspian  depression.  This  vegetation  in  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region  is 
in  the  highest  degree  peculiar  and  distinct,  compared  not  only  with  that  of  European  Russia 
and  Siberia,  but  with  that  of  their  steppes.  In  it  are  clearly  reflected  the  climatic  conditions; 
the  intensity  of  the  summer  heats,  the  severity  of  the  winters  and  the  absence  of  moisture. 
As  already  stated  there  are  no  forests,  particuhirly  no  conifers  in  the  Kirghiz  steppe,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Kokchetav  district,  but  trees  grow  along  the  courses  of  the  rivers.  Here  be- 
long: a  particular  kind  of  ash  '(fraxinus  potamophylla  Herd.)  and  four  kinds  of  poplar,  populus 
laurifolia  Led.,  populus  nigra  L.,  populus  euphratica  (01.  and  p.  pruinosa  Schr.),  as  also  three 
European  sorts  of  willow  (salix  fragilis  L.,  s.  purpurea  L.,  s.  viniinalis  L.)  and  a  very 
tall  species  of  barberry  with  roundish  rose-coloured  berries  (berberis  integerrima  Rge). 

Much  more  characteristic  for  the  steppe  flora  are  its  low  growing  shrubs,  frequently 
prickly,  often  covered  with  a  gray  or  silvery  foliage  and  not  seldom  characterised  by  their 
crookedness.  They  belong  to  the  families  of  rues  (rutacea"),  haplophyllum  Sieversii  Fiscli.  and 

6 


82  SIBKIUA. 

lutifolinm  Kar.;  li.'gumino.sfc,  lialimodondron  aigi'iitomii  Lain.,  sphai-iujjliysa  salsiila  Pali., 
aininodondroii  SiovtMsii  Fiscli.;  iusk.s  (losacoii^),  Iliilthoiniia  btiiborifolia  Pall.;  tamariks  (lama- 
riscinea?),  tamarix  liispida  W.  and  myiicaiia  alopcciii'oidcs  Sclir.;  cuirants  (ribesiaceae), 
ribes  discantlia  Pall.;  solamim  (solanciB),  lyciura  tiircomaiiiciim  Fiscb.;  buckwboat  (poly- 
gonoae),  tlueo  new  spocios,  a  cal!if,'(jiium  and  two  atiaphaxis. 

Yet  rnori!  cliaracteristic  are  the  steppe  herbaceous  plants.  Among  tlp-in  aie  not  lumn 
tliau  40  per  ci'iit  of  Enropcan  .species,  ami  tliey  lor  the  most  part  belong,  like  the  two  spe- 
cies of  featlicr  grass  (stipa  pennata  L.  and  capillata  L,),  to  the  steppe  forms  of  European 
Russia,  or  like  the  curious  plant  of  the  sandy  (l(!serts  belonging  to  the  exotic  family  of  ba- 
lanophoreae  (cynomorium  cocciiH'iini  L.)  are  mot  with  on  the  sandy  shores  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea.  Further,  besides  plants  occurring  all  over  the  Aralo-Caspian  depression,  Russian 
explorers  of  the  steppe  flora  of  the  Kii'ghiz  region,  such  as  Karelin,  Shrenk,  Semionov,  Sie- 
vertsev,  and  Baron  Osten-Saken,  have  discovered  here  as  many  as  150  new  species,  charac- 
teristic of  this  tlora,  among  them  30  species  of  astragals  alone,  and  10  salicornias  (salso- 
laceae).  The  following  forms  are  particularly  worthy  of  mention,  leontice  vesicaria  Bge., 
mcgacarpEea  laciniata  D.,  physolepidium  repens  Schr.,  acanthophyllum  spinosum  Mey,  and 
p.uiiculatuHi  Ri'g.,  orobus  Semenovi,  Reg.,  alhagi  camfdoruni  Fisch.,  eryngium  macrocalyx  'SL, 
dipsacus  azureus  Schr.,  karelinia  caspica  Led.,  acanthoceplialus  amplicaulis  Kar.,  saussurea 
Semenovi  Kar^,  and  corouata  Schr.,  echenais  sieversi  Fisch.,  streptorhempus  hispidulus  Reg., 
non-climbing  bind-weeds  (convolvulus  Semenovi  Reg.  and  subsericeus  Schr.),  physochlaena 
Semenovi  Reg.,  eioniostachys  sanguinea  Jaub.  and  rotata  Schr.);  4  species  of  statice  (Seme- 
novi Herd,  otolepis  Schr.  etc.);  5  new  species  of  spurge  (euphorbia),  irises  (iris  soongorica 
Schr.),  bulbous  plants,  rhinopetalum  Karelini  Fisch.  and  4  species  of  onions;  finally  some 
characteristic  grasses  (gramineae),  as  elymus  lanuginosus  Fr.,  nephelochloa  soongorica  Gris., 
aelorupus  intermedins  Reg.  et  cetera. 

The  fauna  of  the  invertebrates  in  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region  is  as  peculiar  and  original 
as  the  flora.  The  difference  between  it  and  that  of  Western  Siberia  and  European  Russia 
is  striking.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  heyond  doubt  that  this  fauna  differs  very  little  from 
that  of  the  deserts  and  steppes  of  the  Aralo-Caspian  depression.  The  fauna  of  the 
submountainous  zone  presents  quite  a  different  character,  bearing  a  close  resemblance 
tit  that  of  Turkestan  and  the  Pamir.  Among  the  coleopterous  insects  not  only  of  the  sandy 
desert  of  the  steppe  zone,  but  throughout  the  whole  of  it,  the  sluggishly  moving  tene- 
brionidae,  without  wings  under  their  hard  coherent  elytra,  predominate.  On  the  contrary,  in 
the  mountainous  zone  of  the  Thian-Shan  and  Alatau  the  tenebrionidae,  who  like  the  dry 
steppe,  are  met  with  in  smaller  numbers,  while  here  occur  numerous  kinds  of  carabidae, 
among  which  are  very  rare  mountain  forms  characteristic  of  the  Central  Asiatic  mountain- 
ous zones. 

Of  the  vertebrates  a  gi-eat  number  of  birds  come  during  winter  from  the  far  north 
and  nestle  in  the  steppe  and  submountainous  regions.  The  ornithological  fauna  of  this  region 
is  especially  rich.  In  the  warm  valleys  exist  different  species  of  fowls,  as  also  the  most 
heautiful  sorts  of  Asiatic  pheasants;  on  the  rivers  and  lakes  is  found  a  great  variety  of 
birds,  native  of  the  Mediterranean  basin,  among  which    are    covies   of  pelicans;    and   on   the 


THE    KIRGHIZ    STEPPE    REGION.  83 

Alpian   zone,  numbers   of  mouutainous   birds,   the  greater  part  of  which  are  natives  of  the 
Asiatic  mountains. 

Even  the  fauna  of  the  mammals  is  much  richer  and  more  varied  than  in  Siberia.  The 
tiger  and  the  irbis  (felis  irbis)  reach  the  northern  limit  of  their  distribution  in  the  reeds 
of  Balkhash,  but  occasionally  stray  northward  into  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Alatau.  Wild  boars 
occur  in  all  the  submountainous  zone,  in  the  Thian-Shan  and  Transilian  Alatau.  There  are 
two  species  of  bear  belonging  to  the  Pamir  and  the  range  of  the  Himalai  (ursus  thibetanus 
and  Isabellinus).  Besides  the  <;arkhar»  (ovis  argali),  extremely  common  in  the  alpine  and  sub- 
alpine  zones  of  the  Thian-Shan  and  both  Alatau,  the  kochgar,  a  mountain  sheep  first  des- 
cribed by  the  celebrated  traveller,  Marco  Polo,  and  subsequently  called  in  his  honour,  ovis 
Polii,  from  the  bonis  and  skeletons  found  in  abundance  on  the  Pamir,  breeds  in  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  Thian-Shan.  This  species  was  long  considered  extinct,  until  discovered  by  the 
most  recent  Russian  travellers,  Semionov,  Sievertsov  and  Przhevalsky.  In  the  mountainous 
zone  of  the  submountainous  region  also  breed  the  cervus  pygargus,  capra  sibirica,  several  species  of 
<csaiga»  (for  example  antilope  subgutturosa)  and  the  porcupine  (hystrix),  while  the  steppe 
zone  contains  «kulans»  (eguus  hemionus). 

Passing  next  to  man,  it  must  be  observed  that  the  whole  population  of  the  Kirghiz 
steppe  region  amounts  to  1,860,000  souls,  of  whom  the  immigi-ant  Russians  form  only  l-t 
per  cent  (260,0C0),  and  the  remainder,  86  per  cent,  belong  to  the  native  tribes  of  Central 
Asia.  Of  the  latter,  the  Tartars  and  Sarts  (35,000)  live  principally  in  towns  and  per- 
manent settlements,  the  Dungans  and  Taranch  (86,000)  employed  in  agriculture,  may  also  be 
reckoned  to  the  settled  population  of  the  country,  while  the  Kirghiz  (146,000)  and  Kalmyks 
(25,000)  are  nomads,  living  almost  exclusively  by  cattle  breeding.  The  Kirghiz,  in  number  the 
predominating  tribe  of  the  region,  speak  a  Tiurk  idiom,  but  in  effect  in  their  origin  form  a 
motley  amalgamation  of  various  tribes,  who  were  attracted  hither  in  the  Xlllth  century  by 
the  last  mass  migi-ation  of  Mongols  and  who  squatted  here,  on  the  road  taken  by  the  great 
migration,  on  the  first  spots  suitable  for  a  nomad  life  met  with  by  the  wanderers  from  the 
mountainous  region  of  Asia.  As  among  the  people  who  entered  into  the  composition  of  the 
Kirghiz  alliance,  the  Tiurk  tribes  had  a  numerical  preponderance,  all  the  Kirghiz  adopted 
their  language,  but  the  various  clans  and  tribes  have  preserved  to  this  day  their  clannish  and 
tribal  names,  thus  betraying  their  true  nationality.  The  total  number  of  the  Kirghiz  exceeds 
3,000,000  souls,  of  whom  1,470,000  dwell  in  the  steppe  Governor-Generalship,  760,000  in  the 
Turgai  and  Ural  territories,  740,000  in  Turkestan,  and  over  140,000  in  the  home  Kirghiz 
Bukeev  horde  in  European  Russia. 

In  the  two  component  parts  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region  the  population  is  unequally, 
divided.  In  the  steppe  part  of  the  region  live  1,000,000  inhabitants,  making  55  to  the  square 
geographical  mile.  Russians  form  here  20  per  cent,  or  210,000,  of  the  population,  merely 
because  the  former  Siberian  Irtysh  colony,  except  three  large  towns,  Semipalatinsk,  Omsk 
kud  Petropavlovsk,  is  wholly  settled  by  them,  as  well  as  a  whole  string  of  Kossack  camps  or 
«stanitsas»  and  hamlets  which  served  formerly  as  the  fortifiications  of  the  frontier  line. 
"Within  the  steppe  zone  there  are  very  few  permanent  Russian  settlements,  as  suitable  spots 
for  agricultural  colonies  occur  hero  only  as  rare  and  limited  oases,  and  if  the  Siberian  Irtysh 

0* 


84  sibi:kia. 

ine  be  left  out  of  ilic  accouni,  ilie  proportion  of  llio  perinanoiit  Russian  population  in  the 
Kirghiz  stoppe  will  not  oxceeil  2  or  :J  per  cent.  On  the  whole  the  towns  of  the  steppi-  zone 
contain  KXVKX)  souls  or  10  per  cont  of  the  total  population.  Of  the  towns,  actual  importance 
as  centres  of  trade  ami  imlnstry,  possess  only  Omsk  (34,rKK)  inhabitants),  Semipalatinsk 
(18/X)f)  inhabitants)  and  Tctropavlovsk  (IfijfKJO  inhabitants). 

The  subinoiiiitainous  zone  of  tho  Kirghiz  region  is  situated  under  different  circumstances. 
Here  860,fX)0  inhabitants  find  a  place,  there  being  over  120  to  the  square  geographical  mil"-. 
Russians  form  7  per  cent  of  the  total  population  or  00,000.  Adding  to  them  the  Tartars  and 
Sarts  which  have  their  permanent  abodes  in  the  Russian  settleuKints,  as  well  as  the  agricultural 
Dungans  and  Tarandi,  the  number  fd'  the  fixed  jxtpiilation  forms  18  per  cent,  while  in  the 
towns  alone  dwell  less  than  6  per  cent  of  the  total  population  (50,000).  Among  all  of  them 
Vierny,  with  its  25,000  inhabitants,  alone  possesses  the  importance  of  a  true  town,  and 
which  enjoyed  a  flourishing  existence  until  its  destruction  by  an  earthquake. 

Tlie  distribution  of  the  population  in  the  subniountainous  zone  and  in  particular  the 
relation  of  the  fixed  population  to  the  nomad,  can  be  made  quite  clear  by  dividing  the  whole 
submountainous  zone  according  to  absolute  altitude  into  vertical  zones  or  levels.  The  lowest  or 
steppe  zone,  the  liottest  and  driest,  and  in  winter  the  freest  from  snow,  occupies  the  portions  of 
the  foothills  lying  below  2,500  feet,  and  is  taken  up  with  the  winter  quarters  of  the  nomafls, 
who  here  find  abundant  fodder  for  their  herds  under  the  snow.  This  fodder  is  formed  of  grasses, 
such  as  schismus  minutus,  crypsis  schoenoides,  small  species  of  triticum  and  the  like  which 
rapidly  dry  up  on  the  approach  of  the  summer  heats.  The  true  submountainous  zone,  following 
with  an  elevation  of  2,500to  something  over5,000  feet,  includes  all  the  fixed  settlements  and  arable 
laud  of  the  country  and  represents  a  level  occupied  almost  exclusively  by  a  permanent  population, 
through  wliich  the  nomads  pass  without  stopping  by  definite  roads  or  tracts,  proceeding  in 
summer  from  the  wintin-  quarters  to  their  beautiful  cool  mountain  pastures.  Before  the  airival 
of  the  Russians,  the  Kirghiz  were  employed,  although  to  a  limited  extent,  with  agriculture  in 
this  cultivated  level,  and  had  here  their  fields  which  they  sowed  with  the  aid  of  irrigation  on 
their  way  to  their  summer  grounds.  With  the  coming  of  the  Russian  settlers,  the  Kirghiz 
suiTended  to  them  the  whole  of  the  second  level  of  the  country,  but  lost  nothing  by  this, 
as  the  abandonment  by  theip  of  inconsiderable  tracts  of  arable  land  was  fully  compensated 
by  the  sale  to  Russian  agriculturalists  of  the  produce  of  Kirghiz  cattle  breeding;  the  former 
supplying  them  in  turn  with  grain.  The  third  level,  from  5,<300  to  8,000  feet  in  altitude,  is 
the  forest  zone,  providing  a  subsidiary  industry  to  the  Russian  permanent  settlements  of  the 
submountainous  zone.  Finally,  the  fourth  level,  upon  which  the  Kirghiz  have  their  excellent 
summer  pastures,  extends  from  8,000  to  11.000  feet,  that  is  to  the  limits  of  eternal  snow. 
This  is  a  zone  of  alpine  meadows,  occupied  only  in  summer  almost  exclusively  by  Kirghiz 
nomad  camps. 

The  pastoral  life  of  80  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  country  is  reflected  in  the 
number  of  domestic  animals  bred  in  the  Kirghiz  steppe  zone,  the  proportion  of  which  to 
every  100  inhabitants  here  attains  the  maximum  dimensions  for  the  whole  of  Siberia.  To 
each  100  inhabitants  fall  100  horses,  the  absolute  number  being  1,800,000,  60  large  horned 
cattle  of  a  total  1,050,000,  and  580  goats,    the   absolute  number   being   10,400,000.   Finally, 


THE    KIEGHIZ    STEI'PE    REGION.  85 

even  the  quota  of  camels  is  15  bead  to  each  100  inhabitants.  This  is  a  direct  proof  of  the 
fact  that  the  Kirghiz  steppe  region  is  preeminently  a  cattle-rearing  country  and  that  only  its 
foothills  are  capable  of  affording  all  the  conveniences  albeit  of,  a  nan-ovv,yet  almost  the  best 
area  for  colonization  in  all  Siberia.  And  this  same  area  of  colonization  having  already  done 
its  service  to  Russia,  as  only  thanks  to  its  development  did  the  Russians  become  masters  of 
Turkestan,  has  even  to-day  an  immense  importance  for  Russia,  as  the  most  solid  and  inde- 
structible connecting  link  between  the  genuine  Russian  possessions  in  Siberia  and  Russia's 
Turkestan  region. 


^♦-~ 


86  SIUEUIA. 


CHAPTEK  VII. 
Tenure  and  use  of  land. 

The  foundations  of  land  teniiio  and  the  forms  of  land  usufruct;  the  dividing  of  Siberia 
into  districts  and  their  general  character:  the  northern  borderland,  the  transition  zone,  the 
agricultural  region,  the  steppe  districts,  the  Amour  tract;  agriculture;  sketch  of  the  conditions 
of  the  soil,  systems  of  field  culture  and  rotation  of  crops;  tillage  and  cost  of  production  of 
breadstulfs;  proportion  of  seed  for  different  crops;  sale  of  grain  and  grain  prices;  agriculture 
in  the  steppes  and  the  Amour  tract;  raising  of  cattle  among  the  peasants,  its  extent  and 
importance;  kinds  of  animals,  diseases;  live  stock  industry  among  the  Kirghiz. 


THE  whole  of  Siberia,  alike  that  which  is  completely  uninhabited  and  that  which  is 
settled  by  peasants  of  Russian  origin  or  by  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  natives 
belonging  to  various  tribes  and  classes,  is  reckoned  as  crown  land.  Exceptions  to  the  general 
rule  are,  first  of  all,  the  southern  part  of  the  Tomsk  government  which  forms  under  the  name 
of  the  Altai  mining  district  the  property  of  His  Majesty's  Cabinet,  and  next  a  series  of 
small  parcels  granted  and  sold  in  the  fifties  to  various  private  persons,  the  lands  of  the  monaster- 
ies, of  the  town  communes,  et  cetera.  But  all  forms  of  private  land  holdings  are  completely  lost  in 
the  vast  mass  of  Crown  lands,  both  on  account  of  their  insignificant  extent,  and  as  regards 
their  economical  importance.  Private  owners  have  nowhere  started  regular  management  of 
their  property;  some  exploit  their  estates  by  means  of  leasing  their  land  to  the  peasants,  and 
others  have  utterly  neglected  them,  drawing  from  them  no  revenue  whatever. 

In  Western  Siberia  the  sale  of  lands  to  private  persons  continued  until  recent  years 
when,  with  the  abolition  of  the  west  Siberian  Governor-Generalship,  an  Imperial  order  was 
given  to  discontinue  the  sale  of  Crown  lands.  Private  owners  in  Western  Siberia  do  not 
possess  more  than  300,000  dessiatines,  exlusive  of  course  of  the  Cabinet  lands. 

A  very  considerable  portion  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  Crown  and  to  the  Cabinet, 
almost  exclusively  forests  or  regions  not  adapted  to  cultivation,  is  under  the  immediate 
control  and  disposition  of  the  Government  and  the  Cabinet  which,  where  there  is  a  possibility 
of  so  doing,  draw  an  income  from  them  by  felling  the  timber  and  leasing  the  meadows  and 
pastures,  fishing  rights  et  cetera.  Another  part,  enormous  in  extent  but  insignificant  in 
respect  to  the  number  of  inhabitants  living  thereon,  and  its  capacity  for  cultivation,  namely, 


TENUKE  AND  USE  OF  LAND.  §7 

the  whole  of  the  far  north,  consists  entirely  of  ur mans,  taigas  (uninhabited  expanses 
of  forest),  tundras  and  wildernesses,  a  part  being  absolute  desert,  and  a  part  being  at  the 
disorderly  disposition  of  tribes  of  wandering  natives.  Finally,  all  the  lands  best  fitted  for 
agriculture  and  cattle  raising,  are  in  the  usufruct  of  the  peasants  and  of  the  more  civilized 
natives.  The  latter  use  the  land  either  on  the  basis  of  mere  actual  prescription,  or  on  that  of 
ancient  documents  existing  in  a  great  many  native  communities.  The  foundation  of  the 
peasants  usufruct  is  extremely  varied  in  its  nature.  The  activity  of  the  Government  in  intro- 
ducing order  into  the  use  of  the  land  by  the  peasants,  which  has  already  continued  during 
several  decades,  is  even  now  far  from  showing  complete  results.  There  still  remain  not  a 
few  peasant  communities,  and  even  whole  volosts,  in  which  the  existing  enjoyment  of  the 
land  is  restricted  within  no  definite  limits.  The  peasants  dwell  upon  the  Cro>vn  lands  and 
use  them  to  the  extent  permitted  by  their  working  powers  and  the  amount  of  their  capital. 
They  plough,  mow  and  harvest,  cut  timber,  catch  fish,  as  the  expression  is,  wherever  only 
<^hatchet,  scythe  and  plough  may  go».  But  the  greater  part  of  the  peasant  population  use 
the  land  within  definite  limits,  although  these  limits  are  without  complete  legal  force. 

Siberia  has  not  yet  seen  a  final  land  survey,  like  that  which  has  established  the  surface 
relations  of  European  Russia.  Land  has  been  allotted  to  the  greater  part  of  the  peasants  in  the 
proportion  of  eighteen  dessiatines  per  caput  of  the  male  population,  according  to  the  returns  of 
the  tenth  census  of  1859,  with  the  addition,  whenever  possible,  of  three  dessiatines  for  convict 
settlers.  In  some  cases  the  provisions  of  land  were  made  for  a  whole  volost  with  a  population 
ranging  from  4  to  15  thousand  souls,  in  others  separately  for  each  settlement;  in  yet  other 
cases,  for  small  groups  containing  each  a  few  villages.  In  the  first  case,  the  territory  of  the 
whole  volost  was  surrounded  with  one  common  boundary  line,  within  which  the  peasants  of 
all  the  settlements  were  given  the  right  at  their  discretion  either  to  use  the  land  in  common 
or  to  confine  themselves  by  mutual  agreement  to  separate  subdivisions  thereof.  In  the  second 
case,  such  estates  were  laid  out  for  the  settlements  by  Government  surveyors,  and  the  volost 
consequently  lost  completely  its  territorial  unity  and  preserved  only  an  administrative  impor- 
tance. Finally,  in  the  third  case,  both  the  volost  and  the  settlement,  remained  only  adminis- 
trative units,  while  the  group  of  settlements  became  the  territorial  unit. 

The  use  of  the  laud  within  each  separate  territorial  unit,  more  or  less  extensive,  was 
also  organized  in  extremely  various  ways.  It  is  true,  the  Russiau  peasant,  at  all  times  and 
in  all  places,  at  any  rate  in  the  explored  parts  of  Siberia,  brought  with  him  the  communal 
principle  and  even  ingrafted  it  upon  the  natives.  But  this  single  principle  was  clothed  in 
the  most  various  forms.  This  is  indeed  comprehensible,  for  the  forms  of  land  tenure,  if  not 
entirely,  yet  to  a  considerable  degree,  are  conditioned  by  the  density  of  the  population  and 
the  relative  supply  of  land;  and  in  this  respect  Siberia  presents  an  extraordinary  variety. 
Side  by  side  with  localities  where  there  is,  even  till  now,  much  more  land  than  the  popula- 
tion can  till,  there  are,  especially  in  Western  Siberia  and  in  particular  in  the  Tobolsk 
government,  not  a  few  places  where  there  arc  not  more  than  six  to  eight  dessiatines  of 
land  really  fit  for  agriculture,  per  male  inhabitant.  There  are,  finally,  even  localities  where 
the  tillable  land  has  to  be  created  by  means  of  artificial  irrigation,  or  on  the  contrary,  by 
the  removal  of  the  superabundance  of  water.    "While  furthermore,  some  places  rich  in  arable 


88  SIBKIUA. 

liiiid  siiirer  Iroiii  a  lack  nf  niftadows  or  from  an  abseiK-u  ol  troes;  otlicrs,  on  iIil-  <uiiiiary, 
present  an  unbroken  dense  forest  or  are  cxci'eilinf,'ly  rich  in  meadows  and  pastures,  but  little 
suited  to  af,Tieiiltiiial  indiisny.  It  is  evident  then  thai  all  these  and  similar  distinctions 
could  not  fail  to  he  lellccted  in  tin;  forms  of  land  tiMUire.  These  forms  in  Siberia  exhibit 
an  nninteriiii)leil  series,  allowing  the  observation  of  tlie  development  of  land  usufruct  under 
the  inllnence  of  the  increasing  density  of  the  population.  Under  such  circurastauces  the  liigh 
interest  all'orded  liy  tlie  investigation  of  Siberian  institutions,  that  living  spray  from  the 
history  of  the  j)riniitive  forms  of  land  enjoyment,  is  perfectly  intelligible.  Here  of  course 
it  is  impossible!  to  refer  to  these  institutions  otherwise  than  in  the  most  gentiral  terms,  to 
characterize  the  most  important  types  of  the  use  of  land,  corresponding  to  the  principal 
stages  through  which  the  people  of  the  country  are  gi-adually  passing. 

In  loralitiivs  eomparatively  recently  and  very  sparsely  settled,  mainly  in  Eastern  Si- 
beria and  on  llie  Anionr,  there  predominates  a  form  of  land  use  which  externally  presents 
much  resemblance  to  homestead,  personal  land  tenure.  The  commune  here  has  not  yet  had 
time  to  form,  or  if  it  exists,  has  no  need  to  show  its  power.  There  is  so  much  land  that 
each  may  plough,  mow,  put  under  garden  or  hedge  in  as  pasture  lands,  any  space  he  likes, 
without  incommoding  any  one  else  thereby.  As  a  result  of  such  enclosures,  zaimka,  or 
farmsteads  are  formed.  Each  peasant,  even  if  he  have  a  home  in  the  village,  builds 
liimself  structures  in  the  field  or  forest  wherein  he  lives  in  the  summer  and  sometimes 
all  the  year  round,  all  the  land  surrounding  such  a  building  becoming  his  zaimka, 
his  sole  property,  where  he  alone  plouglis,  mows  and  pastures  his  cattle.  Zaimka,  in  the 
sense  of  actual  land  enjoyment,  is  moreover  perfectly  possible  without  any  buildings.  The 
rights  of  the  owner  to  the  zaimka  are  almost  unlimited.  He  owns  within  its  bounds  not 
only  the  land,  which  he  is  actually  tilling  at  a  given  time,  but  that  which  lies  waste  and 
no  one  has  the  right  to  molest  him  thereon.  Such  land  passes  by  inheritance,  may  be 
sold  and  leased,  although  the  right  in  consequence  of  the  abundance  of  free  lands  has  rarely 
an  opportunity  of  being  realized.  No  one  interferes  with  the  occupant  in  his  acts  or  dispo- 
sitions referring  to  his  land.  The  extent  of  the  zaimka  depends  exclusively  upon  the 
degree  of  prosperity  of  each  given  owner.  The  zaimka  of  a  rich  man  embraces  500  to 
1,(X)0  or  more  dessiatines,  the  average  owner  occupies  50  to  60  dessiatines,  and  a  poor 
peasant,  5  to  10  dessiatines;  the  poor  man  caiuiot  have  any  grudge  against  the  rich  man, 
as  no  one  prevents  him  from  seizing  1,000  dessiatines  or  more  of  the  free  land,  if  he  wishes. 

However  there  comes  a  time  when  there  are  no  more  free  lands  left,  at  any  rate  of 
good  (juality.  Every  convenient  plat  of  ground  has  entered  into  the  general  total  of  the 
zaimka  s,  but  nevertheless  the  growing  population  and  immigrants  require  land  for  their 
use  as  well.  Then  the  occupation  form  loses  its  r  a  i  s  o  n  d'e  t  r  e,  and  gradually  a  new 
form,  the  v  o  1  n  a  i  a  or,  free  form  of  land  usufruct  is  introduced.  The  essence  of  this  form, 
observed  principally  in  the  governments  of  Tomsk  and  Tobolsk,  consists  in  this,  that  everyone 
has  the  right  only  to  that  land  into  which  he  puts  his  labour,  and  only  so  long  as  he  con- 
tinues to  till  it.  The  peasant  owns  arable  land  so  long  as  he  ploughs  it  and  sows  it,  but  the 
moment  he  leaves  it  to  rest,  the  land  becomes  free  and  the  first  comer  may  occupy  and 
plough  it  afresh.  Upon   meadow   lands  the  grass  wliicli  has  grown  without  individual    labour 


TENUEE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  "'  89 

is  free.  Everyoue  mows  where  he  will,  and  the  hay  becomes  the  property  only  of  him,  who 
cnts  and  preserves  it.  Free  and  accessible  to  all  is  the  forest  also,  and  only  he  may  seize 
for  his  own  exclusive  use  a  given  portion  of  wood,  who  has  enclosed  it  with  a  ditch,  cleared 
it  of  dead  wood,  and  in  general  expended  his  labour  upon  it  to  protect  it  from  tire.  Finally, 
the  pastures  are  also  free;  every  member  of  the  community  may  feed  his  cattle  over  the 
whole  area  appointed  by  the  community  for  this  purpose,  but  no  one  may  enclose  a  single 
plat  of  pasture  for  his  own  exclusive  use. 

The  occupation  and  free  forms  of  enjoyment  of  land  till  to-day  prevail  in  the  greater 
part  of  Siberia;  but  with  the  increasing  density  of  the  excess  of  land,  compared  with  the 
standard  of  labour,  the  free  form  begins  to  become  as  oppressive  for  the  immigi-ant  population 
as  the  occupation  form  had  once  appeared  to  be.  Then  gradually,  at  the  cost  of  a  severe 
struggle  between  the  different  groups  of  peasantry,  entering  into  the  composition  of  the 
community,  a  passage  is  accomplished  to  a  communal  form  of  enjoyment  of  the  land  in 
the  narrow  sense  of  the  term,  accompanied  with  a  redivision.  This  passage  begins  ordinarily 
with  that  group  of  lands  of  which  in  each  given  place  there  is  felt  comparatively  the  gi'eatest 
lack.  The  free  and  occupation  forms,  on  the  contrary,  are  preserved  longest  of  all  in 
regard  to  those  lauds,  of  which  there  is  an  abundance  in  the  given  commune  and  to  those 
whose  bringing  under  cultivation  demands  particularly  a  great  expenditure  of  labour.  The 
passage  to  a  re-deal  begins  sometimes  with  the  ploughed  land,  sometimes  with  the  meadows, 
and  sometimes  with  the  forests  or  cedar  groves. 

The  very  forms  of  repartition  met  with  iu  Siberia  are  exceedingly  various.  In  regard 
to  meadows  everywhere,  and  when  there  is  comparatively  much  arable  land,  forms  of  redis- 
tribution prevail  which  are  completely  distinct  from  those  elaborated  by  the  commune  of 
European  Russia.  The  principal  distinctive  peculiarity  of  Siberian  repartitions  is  the  striving 
to  avoid  the  breaking  up  of  the  laud  into  small  lots;  the  latter  are  seldom  less  than  a 
dessiatine.  Another  not  less  characteristic  feature  is,  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  area  which 
is  taken  as  the  basis  for  the  distribution  of  the  land  among  the  commoners,  as  the  productive- 
ness and  other  qualities  of  the  soil,  which  determine  its  value  for  each  given  owner.  Each 
commoner  is  allowed  to  take  at  his  discretion  a  greater  quantity  of  poor  land  remote  from 
the  homesteads  or  inconveniently  situated,  or  on  the  contrary,  a  smaller  quantity  of  good 
land  or  that  which  is  situated  near  the  liouse.  In  the  localities  where  there  is  little  arable 
land,  principally  the  northern  region  of  the  agricultural  part  of  the  government  of  To- 
bolsk, on  the  contrary,  methods  of  repartition  have  been  established,  on  the  whole  agreeing 
with  the  Great  Russia  methods  and  characterized  by  a  strict  quantitative  and  qualitative 
equalization  which  is  attained  by  breaking  up  the  allotnieiil  per  head  into  a  large  luimber  of 
small  lots. 

The  lands  belonging  to  the  Crown,  peasant  or  native,  occupied  or  waste,  cover  in 
Siberia  vast  areas  measured  by  millions  of  square  versts  ami  hundreds  of  millions  of  dessia- 
tines.  Compared  with  the  few  millions,  now  forming  the  population  of  Siberia,  these  expanses 
seem  iuQnite  and  the  thought  involuntarily  arises  that  Siberia  can  make  room  for  many  tens 
of  millions  more  of  iidiabitants,  and  for  many  tens,  if  not  hundreds,  of  years  guarantee 
European  Russia  from  over  pupiilaliDU  and  serve,  as  it  were,  as  a  reserve,  capable  of  taking 


90  SIBERIA. 

I'rom  the  goveniinerits,  suiroring  liom  u  hick  ot  land,  all  ilioir  Mirjjlu.-  jioj/uluiioii,  JJiii  if  it  be 
remembered  that  alrnust  all  Siberia  lies  in  the  same  latitude  with  the  expanse  of  Britisli 
North  America  iinsuitcd  to  agiucultiire,  and  only  its  southern  borderlands  are  in  the  same 
latitude  with  the  northern  borders  of  the  United  states;  if  it  be  further  remembered  what 
arc  the  climatic  and,  in  general,  the  natural  conditions  of  the  greater  part  of  Siberia,  it  will 
be  clear  that  only  a  part  of  Siberia  is  destined  by  nature  for  civilized  life.  The  vast  regions 
of  the  iiorili  of  Siberia  are  doomed  for  all  lime  to  remain  entirely,  or  almost  entirely, 
uninhabited  and  inaccessible  to  cultivation.  Xor  is  this  all;  even  where  this  cultivation 
already  exists  along  the  rivers  at  the  present  time  or  may  develop  in  the  more  or  less 
near  Jiiture,  the  interrivcrine  sjiaces  present  vast  swamps,  tundras  or  mountainous 
regions,  absolutely  unadaptcd  to  cultivation.  Such  a  character  is  possessed  by  the  central 
part  of  the  Tobolsk  and  the  northern  part  of  the  Tomsk  governments,  almost  the  whole  of 
the  Amour  country,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  three  steppe  territories  where  but 
insignificant  patches  are  suitable  for  agiiculture,  and  all  the  remainder  presents  an  expanse 
of  salt  marsh,  probably  doomed  forever  to  remain  the  scene  of  Kirghiz  nomad  life. 

The  proper  arable  part  of  Siberia  embraces  at  the  present  time  four  governments  of 
the  original  Siberia,  western  and  eastern,  with  the  exception,  however,  of  their  northern 
regions,  namely,  in  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  the  Berezov  and  Surgut  districts,  and  the  north- 
ern halves  of  those  of  Tobolsk,  Tourinsk  and  Tarsk;  i'rom  Tomsk  must  be  excluded  the  Xarymsk 
country;  from  the  government  of  the  Yenisei,  the  Yeniseisk  district;  in  Irkutsk  the  districts 
of  Kirensk  and  Verkholensk.  Besides  this,  almost  the  whole  of  Transbaikalia  has  a  culti- 
vable character,  and  the  banks  of  the  Amour  and  the  Ussuri  in  the  far  east,  although  here 
as  will  be  scon,  cultivation  exists  rather  in  the  future  than  in  the  present.  Finally,  in  the 
steppe  territories  agriculture  exists  and  is  capable  of  development  only  in  a  few  parts  of  the 
following  districts:  Kokchetavsk,  Atbasarsk  and  Petropavlovsk  in  the  Akmolinsk  territory  and 
in  Semlpalatinsk  and  Pavlodar  in  that  of  Semipalatinsk.  Furthermore,  are  to  be  named  the 
regions  of  artificial  irrigation  in  the  Zaisan  district  of  the  latter  territory  and  in  the  foot- 
hill tracts  of  the  territory  of  Scmirctchensk. 

Next,  the  whole  north,  namely,  the  above  enumerated  districts  of  the  four  govern- 
ments of  original  Siberia,  the  whole  Yakutsk  territory,  with  the  exception  of  the  insignifi- 
cant riverine  zones,  Kamchatka  and  the  littoral  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea;  all  this  consists  of 
millions  of  square  versts  of  tundras  ami  wildwoods  growing  on  a  swampy  soil.  The 
llussian  population  is  here  confined  to  the  officials  of  the  local  government,  and  to  mer- 
chants and  their  agents,  engaged  in  barter  with  the  native  nomads.  The  remaining  popu- 
lation, the  density  of  which  moreover  does  not  exceed  three,  and  in  the  tenitory  of  Yakutsk 
even  less  than  one  inhabitant  per  square  mile,  consists  of  native  Samoyeds,  Ostiaks,  Tun- 
guz,  Yakutsk,  Kamchadals  and  others,  who  live  exclusively  by  hunting  and  fishing.  The 
produce  of  these  industries  partly  serves  for  their  own  consumption,  but  mainly  goes  in  bar- 
ter for  bread  and  other  provisions  furnished  by  the  Russian  traders.  Between  this  north- 
ern, absolutely  uncivilized  portion  of  Siberia  and  its  purely  agricultural  regions  stretches 
as  it  w'ere  a  zone  of  a  transitional  character.  To  it  belong,  in  the  government  of  To- 
bolsk, the  southern   half  of  the  Turinsk  and  the  central  part  of  the  Tobolsk  district,  as  also 


TENURE  AND  USE  OF  LAND.  91 

the  northern  volosts  of  the  Tarsk  district;  in  the  government  of  Tomsk,  the  northern  border- 
lands of  the  Tomsk  and  Marinsk  districts;  in  Yeniseisk,  part  of  the  district  of  the  same  name; 
in  Irkutsk,  the  Tunkinsk  country  and  some  other  places.  This  transitional  zone  is  character- 
ized by  the  circumstance  that  agriculture  there  attains  at  last  a  more  or  less  considerable 
development,  while  dividing  its  part  as  the  main  source  of  prosperity  with  several  other 
industries.  Along  the  rivers  everywhere  extend  great  reaches  of  lands  suitable  to  cereals  but 
their  extent  is  insufficient  to  occupy  the  whole  labour  of  the  population  and  completely 
secure  its  well-being.  At  the  same  time  the  forests  and  waters  open  a  wide  field  to  the 
development  of  trapping  and  fishing,  the  cedar  nut  industry,  the  cutting  of  fuel  and  the 
felling  of  timber  and  a  few  household  trades.  In  the  population  of  this  transitional  zone  the 
Russian  peasants  are  mingled  with  more  or  less  russified  natives,  and  in  the  mode  of  life 
of  both  races  no  substantial  difference  can  be  observed. 

Natives,  in  the  main  Buriats,  still  compose  a  considerable  part  of  the  population  in 
those  portions  of  the  cultivated  zone  proper  of  Siberia  lying  further  to  the  east,  and  whose 
settlement  by  Russians  was  accomplished  comparatively  recently.  In  the  agricultural  districts 
of  the  Irkutsk  government  the  natives  still  form  about  17  per  cent,  in  the  Thansbaikal  ter- 
ritory, 30  per  cent  of  the  population ;  in  the  cultivated  region  of  the  governments  of  Yenis- 
seisk  and  Tomsk  the  number  of  natives  is  already  quite  insignificant,  while  in  the  purely 
agricultural  districts  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk  they  are  almost  non-existent. 

The  chief  characteristic  feature  of  the  cultivated  tract  of  Siberia  consists  in  the 
considerable  dimensions  attained  by  agriculture  and  in  its  predominating  importance,  as  the 
fundamental  source  of  the  prosperity  of  the  population.  The  average  extent  of  the  sown  area 
per  household  of  the  rural  population,  including  under  this  term  peasants,  natives  aud  con- 
victs, according  to  the  latest  statistical  data,  is  as  follows: 

In  the  southern  districts  of  the  Tobolsk  government    .    .    5.4  des. 
»    »    central  part  »     »    Tomsk  *  .   .    5.8    » 

»    »    agricultural  region  »     »    Irkutsk  »  .   .    5.4    » 

and  to  every  100   souls   of  the    actual   population  there   is   an    area  sown   with   grain,    as 

below : 

In  the  southern  districts  of  the  Tobolsk  government  .   .    .  104  des. 
»     »    central  part           »     »    Tomsk           »          ...      87    » 
»    »    agricultural  region  :>     ->    Irkutsk          »           .    .   .      97    ;> 

The  relation  between  the  production  and  consumption  of  grain  varies  of  course  for  every 
volost,  and  not  unfrequently  for  an  individual  settlement,  in  dependence  upon  the  quantity  of 
lands  suitable  for  grain  growing  and  their  conditions  of  soil.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  agri- 
cultural region  not  only  supports  its  population,  but  yields  very  considerable  surpluses  of 
grain.  The  sale  of  these  surpluses  is  the  chief  source  whence  the  population  pays  its  taxes 
and  satisfies  its  principal  wants.  According  to  the  latest  data  the  people  of  the  agricultural 
districts  of  the  Irkutsk  government  consume  on  an  average  crop  not  more  than  about  59 
per  cent  of  the  grain  raised;  that  of  the  north-eastern  corner   of  the    agricultural   region  of 


92  SIBERIA. 

tlie  Tomsk  govenmiont,  about  GG  per  coiil;  41  jji-i  >  i-ni  m  im-  lirst  of  llie  said  localities,  ami 
34  per  cent  in  tlio  socoinl,  loriii  saleable  surplus.  And  yet  llie  regions  in  question  are  far 
Iroiii  l)(;lonf,Mng  to  tlio  uunibrr  of  tiic  most  fertile  areas  of  agricultural  Siberia.  In  such  local- 
ities as  the  Altai  mining  district,  the  Minusinsk  district  of  the  Yenisei.sk  government,  the 
best  volosts  of  the  south-westi'rn  districts  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  the  proportion  borne 
by  the  produce  dH  grain  to  its  consumption  is  yet  considerably  more  favourable  and  the  sale- 
able surplus,  on  average  harvests,  forms  not  less  than  half  of  the  whole  yield.  The  expoil 
of  grain,  principally  spring  wheat  from  Western  Siberia,  reached  in  recent  years  10,000,000 
to  12,00<),000  ponds  ainiually.  The  total  (piantlty  therefore  of  grain  raised  in  this  part  of 
SibiTia  forms  not  los;,  than  85,0Of),0<JO  pomls  a  year.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that 
in  the  i)alo  of  the  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia  occur  such  patches  where  the  land,  on  account 
of  the  ba<l  conditions  of  soil  and  climate,  cannot  feed  the  population.  But  such  .spots  are 
very  small  and  their  population  exists  upon  the  surplus  grain  of  the  nearest  more  fertile 
localities. 

However  this  may  be,  the  whole  economical  fate  of  the  population  of  the  cultivated 
zone  of  Siberia  is  entirely  determined  as  a  general  rule  by  the  condition  of  agriculture  and 
of  cattle-breeding  so  closely  connected  therewith.  "Where  the  land  is  good  the  population 
attains  a  high  degree  of  wealth  and  gi'ows  alike  by  natural  increase  and  by  the  tide  of 
immigrant  elements;  when  the  land  is  poor,  the  population  ordinarily  lives  In  poverty  and  not 
unfrequeutly  dwindles  away  in  search  of  better  places   of  settlement. 

Trades  and  industries  speaking  in  general  terms,  play  the  least  considerable  part 
in  the  economical  life  of  the  population  of  the  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia.  But  there 
are  within  the  agricultural  zone  such  regions  also  where  agriculture  loses  its  position  as 
the  sole  source  of  prosperity  and  either  shares  it  with  other  earnings  or  even  altogether 
yields  it  to  the  latter.  Thus,  first  of  all  may  be  pointed  out  many  localities  lying  along 
the  banks  of  great  rivers  where  a  very  essential  part  in  the  economic  life  of  the 
pcipulation  is  played  by  fishing,  service  on  vessels  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  fine  forests, 
the  raftage  of  timber.  In  localities  nearly  approaching  uninhabited  taigas  and  urmans  great 
importance  is  possessed  by  hunting,  the  gathering  of  cedar  nuts,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  good 
market,  the  felling  of  timber.  The  volosts  bordering  on  such  great  town  centres  as  Tomsk, 
Tinmen,  Krasnoyarsk,  Irkutsk  have  the  character  usual  for  suburban  regions.  Agriculture  is 
little  developed  in  Ihem  or  nou-existont,  and  the  population  lives  by  market-gardening,  dairy 
farming,  the  furnishing  of  hay  and  wood  fuel,  the  letting  in  summer  of  \"illa  residence, 
works  in  connexion  with  the  cleansing  of  the  streets  and  other  similar  occupations,  directly 
serving  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the  town  population.  There  are  furthermore  a  few  regions 
engaged  in  household  industries.  The  largest  of  these  suiTounds  the  town  Tinmen  stretching 
therefrom  to  the  north-west;  the  second  is  situated  around  the  town  of  Tomsk;  other  such 
small  industries  occur  in  all  the  governments  of  the  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia.  In  all  these 
regions  articles  of  wood  are  principally  manufactured,  as  also  the  results  of  wood  distillation. 
These  products  are  destined  partly  for  the  needs  of  the  local  true  peasant  population,  partly 
to  furnish  the  caravans  moving  over  the  great  Siberian  and  other  tracts.  But  the  importance 
of  all  the  enumerated    non-agricultural   earnings   in   the  general  economy  of  Siberia  and  in 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  93 

particular  in  its  agricultural  zone  is  absolutely  insignificant  compared  with  the  part  which  the 
great  Siberian  tract  plays,  and  still  more  in  former  years.  Formerly  when  yet  there  was 
no  communication  by  steamer,  this  tract  was  the  sole  aftery  uniting  European  Russia  with 
Siberia,  and  through  it,  with  China.  The  traffic  over  the  tract  both  summer  and  winter  was 
enormous.  The  conveyance  of  travellers  and  goods,  posts  and  prisoners,  local  officials  and 
bodies  of  troops,  absorbed  almost  the  whole  working  power  of  the  population  along  the  tract. 
Comparatively  few  were  engaged  in  agriculture  along  the  tract  and  even  they  did  not  see 
in  it  their  principal  occupation.  The  mass  of  the  population  lived  exclusively  or  almost 
exclusively  by  the  trade  of  carriers  or  innkeepers.  At  the  present  time  the  importance  of  the 
tract  is  far  from  being  what  it  was.  The  steamer  communication  on  the  Irtysh  and  Obi  has 
almost  completely  killed  the  summer  traffic  upon  the  section  of  the  tract  between  Tinmen 
and  Tomsk,  the  steamer  communication  on  the  Chulym  has  absorbed  a  considerable  part  of 
the  traffic  between  Tomsk  and  Achinsk.  The  tract  here  only  wakes  up  in  the  winter,  and 
even  then  the  traffic  now  is  much  less  than  formerly,  and  is  far  from  yielding  the  former 
profits  to  the  tract  population.  The  latter  has  therefore  thrown  itself  into  agriculture,  the 
cultivated  patches  have  everywhere  been  increased,  and  will  be  still  further  enlarged  in 
future,  and  the  population  of  the  tract  have  alreaiiy  lost  a  considerable  part  of  their 
former  peculiar  character. 

Here  the  general  description  of  the  agricultural  zone  of  Siberia  may  be  closed.  As 
far  as  concerns  the  outlying  regions,  mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  territory  of 
Yakutsk  as  a  district  absolutely  uncultivable  and  inhabited  by  native  trappers  and  fishermen. 
Here  it  may  be  permitted  to  indicate  only  the  importance  of  the  Lena  tract,  along  which 
almost  all  the  Russian  population  of  the  territory  is  gathered  and  which  furnishes  thereto 
its  chief  source  of  existence.  The  three  steppe  territories  as  already  intimated  contain  cultivable 
oases  where  agriculture  both  exists  and  is  capable  of  further  development.  Beyond  these  the 
whole  expanse  of  these  territories  serves  but  as  the  wandering  grounds  of  the  Kirghiz,  who 
live  exclusively  by  the  products  of  their  cattle  raising  and  do  not  promise  at  any  near  future 
date  to  pass  over  into  the  agricultural  or  industrial  state.  The  attempts  at  such  a  passage  to 
agriculture  met  with  among  the  Kirghiz  are  as  a  rule  quite  isolated  and  devoid  of  any 
serious  importance.  Even  the  Kirghiz  settled  in  separate  households  in  the  peasant  colonies 
of  the  southern  part  of  the  Tobolsk  government  and  who  have  not  unfrequently  accepted 
orthodoxy  are  also  employed  exclusively  in  cattle  raising,  th(^  pasturing  of  cattle  on  land 
hired  from  the  peasants,  not  seldom  in  horse-stealing;  only  the  more  wealthy  among  them 
sow  oats,  in  order  to  feed  their  numerous  horses.  The  only  exception  to  this  general  charac- 
terization are  the  Kirhgiz  living  in  a  part  of  the  Zaisan  district  and  upon  the  foothills  of  the 
Scmirechensk  territory,  the  so-called  Kirghiz  of  the  Great  Horde  and  the  Dikokamenny,  whose 
life  is  woven  of  a  very  curious  combination  of  nomad  existence  with  very  intensive  irrigat- 
ional  agriculture.  Tliese  Kirghiz  too,  like  the  others,  have  their  places  for  winter  and  summer 
roaming,  but  from  the  latter  they  wander  otf  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  summer  to 
their  lands  under  tillage  in  order  to  water,  plough  and  sow  them,  and  to  harvest  the  grain. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  Russian  population  the  Kirghiz  not  only  taught  them  their  own  agric- 
ultural methods,  but    surrendered  to  them  a  considerable  part  of  their  irrigated  lands,    while 


94  SIBERIA. 

themselves  tninsreirin^  tin;  centre  of  f,nuvily  of  tln-ir  economy  to  cattle  laisiiif.'.  By  <loiag  so 
they  lost  nothliif,'  as  the  profitable  sale  opened  to  the  produce  of  their  cattle  breeding,  which 
a|)|)eared  with  iln;  arrival  nf  ili.-  Russians,  fully  compensated  tlii-m  for  the  contraction  in  the 
extent  of  their  agricullnic 

Passing  at  last  the  Amour  border  huul,  it  appears  that  Amouria  may  bii  split  up  into 
three  pjiits,  the  lirst  of  which  is  situated  above  the  confluence  of  the  Zeya  with  the  Amour, 
the  second  hdow  the  coidliience  of  the  Bureya,  the  third  between  the  lower  reaches  of  these 
two  streams.  In  the  lirst  tracts  the  only  lauds  at  present  suitabh;  for  cultivation  are  those 
situated  on  the  second  terrace  of  the  AiiiDiir  valley,  the  lir.st  terrace  is  inundated  several 
times  every  summer  and  therefore  is  unsuited  to  either  settlement  or  agriculture.  Outside  this 
valley  the  region  presents  partly  mountain  ranges,  partly  tablelands  scored  with  gullies  and 
valleys,  whose  summits,  thanks  to  the  dense  forest  covering  them,  never  dry  up  properly  and 
therefore  have  to  a  considerable  degree  a  swampy  character.  With  the  gradual  felling  and 
bMniing  of  the  forest,  the  soil  of  the  tablelands  is  slowly  drying  and  becoming  suitable  for 
cultivation,  so  that  in  time  the  latter  will  undoubtedly  take  in  a  wider  and  yet  wider 
tract.  But  this  question  is  incapable  of  rapid  settlement,  and  at  any  rate  at  the  present 
time  the  whole  mountainous  part  of  the  locality  under  consideration  is  absolutely  desert  ami 
affords  only  an  arena  for  the  industry  of  the  trappers  of  the  Amour  population.  The  main 
occupation  of  the  latter  is  agriculture.  Sowing  on  an  average  four  to  five  dessiatines  per 
household  the  local  population  on  the  whole  secures  its  own  provision  but  has  no  surplus 
grain  for  sale.  The  chief  supplementary  earnings  are  the  carriage  of  goods  and  the 
furnishing  of  hay  to  the  gold  mines,  fishing,  trapping  and  the  supply  of  wood  fuel  to 
the  steamers.  Upon  section  between  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Zeya  and  Bureya  the  zone 
adapted  to  cultivation  is  much  wider,  here  not  only  is  the  second  terrace  of  the  Amour 
valley  suited  to  agriculture,  but  also  the  watershed  of  the  Zeya  and  Bureya,  which  has  earned 
the  name  of  the  «prairie  of  the  Amour»,  The  population,  partly  Russian,  partly  Manchurian, 
is  here  much  denser  than  in  the  rest  of  Amouria,  the  extent  of  the  arable  land  much 
greater,  and  grain  is  produced  not  only  for  home  consumption,  but  for  sale.  But  in  this 
district,  as  in  the  whole  of  Amouria,  climatic  conditions  stand  in  the  way  of  the  development 
of  cultivation;  there  is  in  effect  an  excess  of  moisture.  The  beyoml  measure  damp  and  rainy 
climate  has  a  sinister  effect  upon  both  the  quality  of  the  grain  and  upon  the  raising  of  live 
stock.  The  latter  industry  so  far  brings  hardly  any  profit  to  the  local  population.  For  the 
development  here  of  cultivation,  there  is  wanted  either  a  change  in  the  climatic  conditions, 
of  which  there  is  a  hope  in  the  future,  or  the  elaboration  of  methods  of  agriculture  and 
cattle  raising  more  suitable  to  these  conditions.  Such  a  change  in  the  climate  was  observed 
by  the  latest  explorer  of  the  country,  the  Academician  Korzhinsky,  as  a  result  of  the  com- 
parison of  his  own  observations  with  the  statements  made  by  the  academician  Maximovich, 
who  travelled  in  the  Amour  region  thirty  years  earlier. 

A  still  greater  excess  of  moisture  is  met  with  in  the  most  eastern  borderland  of 
Amouria  and  indeed  of  the  whole  of  Siberia,  namely  in  the  Ussuri  country.  Here  it  is 
impossible  to  sow  grain  otherwise  than  in  ridges  leaving  between  them  trenches  for  the 
drainage  of  the  water  and  the  free  movement  of  the  air.    The  development  of  cultivation  is 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  95 

hero  still  less  possible  than  in  the  rest  of  Amouria  otherwise  than  after  a  preliminary  drain- 
age of  the  country,  or  by  the  adoption  of  some  other  measures  for  combatting  the  excess  of 
moisture. 

With  this  may  be  closed  the  general  economical  appreciation  of  those  regions  into 
which  Siberia  falls  according  to  the  degree  of  development  of  the  practice  of  agriculture, 
and  the  transition  may  now  be  made  to  the  survey  of  the  separate  sources  of  prosperity  of 
the  population  of  Siberia.  In  consequence  of  the  predominating  importance  of  agriculture 
for  the  main  mass  of  this  population  the  largest  share  of  attention  must  be  devoted  to  its 
description. 

The  fashion  and  character  of  agricultural  production  are  determined,  on  the  one  hand, 
by  the  deuseness  of  the  population,  the  conditions  of  sale  and  other  similar  economical  ques- 
tions, and  on  the  other,  by  the  natural  and  physical  conditions,  mainly  those  dependent  on 
soil  and  climate.  The  density  of  the  population  and  the  climate  have  been  discussed  in  the 
preceding  descriptions.  The  discussion  of  the  conditions  of  sale  and  of  the  general  economical 
situation  will  appear  below.  Here  then  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  general  characterization  of 
the  Siberian  soils.  Unfortunately,  the  data  existing  upon  this  subject  are  far  from  complete. 
An  exact  scientific  exploration  of  the  soils,  accompanied  by  chemical  analyses,  has  hitherto 
been  carried  on  only  in  two  limited  regions,  in  one  district  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk 
and  in  the  Barabinsk  steppe  in  the  Tomsk  government.  Further  descriptions  of  the  soil  exist  in 
reference  to  a  few  districts  of  the  Tobolsk  and  Tomsk  governments  and  to  the  Amour 
country.  These  are  founded  upon  mere  surveys,  connected  with  measurements  of  the  depth 
of  the  soil  and  in  a  few  cases  only  with  the  determination  of  samples  of  it,  based  upon  a 
superficial  inspection,  more  rarely  by  means  of  the  method  of  subsidence,  the  determination 
of  the  humus  contained,  and  other  more  exact  methods.  In  reference  to  many  localities  there 
exist  no  published  indications  v^hatever  upon  the  conditions  of  the  soil.  It  may  thus  be  said 
that  the  soil  of  Siberia  still  awaits  a  serious  investigation.  A  great  step  will  be  made  in 
this  direction  in  the  near  future  when  fruit  shall  be  borne  by  the  expedition  now  projected 
by  the  Ministry  of  State  Domains,  having  for  its  object  the  exploration  of  the  conditions 
of  the  soil  of  the  whole  expanse  of  Siberia,  traversed  by  the  line  of  the  Great  Siberian 
Eailway.  Till  then  it  is  only  possible  to  present  the  most  general  sketch  of  these  conditions, 
only  a  superficial  characterization  is  possible,  far  from  satisfying  the  demands  of  a  strict 
scientific  description. 

The  greatest  variety  and  at  the  same  time  the  fullest  account  are  met  with  in  the 
case  of  the  soil  conditions  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk.  That  portion  of  the  latter  possess- 
ing agriculture  may,  in  respect  to  the  situation  of  its  arable  lands  and  of  the  conditions  of 
the  soil,  be  divided  into  three  zones,  the  northern,  lying  approximately  between  the  parallels 
58"  and  59°  and  embracing  the  northern  parts  of  the  districts  of  the  Turinsk  and  Tobolsk; 
the  middle  zone,  lying  between  56'^  and  58V2°,  and  including  the  southern  halves  of  the  above 
named  districts,  the  whole  Tiumen  district  and  the  northern  parts  of  those  of  Tarsk,  Ishimsk 
andYalutorovsk;  and  the  southern,  taking  in  the  southern  portions  of  the  last  named  three 
districts,  the  whole  of  Knrgausk  and  Tiukaliusk,  and  the  strip  of  the  Akmolinsk  territory 
adjacent  to  the  frontier  of  the  govenunent  of  Tobolsk. 


96  SIliEKlA. 

The  iiortlioniiiioht  ot  the  zrtnoH  just  describeil  is  a  region  where  tigriculture  exists  but 
sporadically.  It  consists  ol'  unbroken  urinans  or  expanses  of  forest  and  swamp,  for  the  most 
part  wholly  unsuiteii  to  tillage  and  brought  under  the  plough  only  in  narrow  strips,  on  the 
margins  of  the  larger  rivers  and  owing  their  conversion  to  a  condition  fit  for  cultivation  to 
their  influence  on  the  drainage.  The  arable  lands  are  disposed  partly  on  portions  of  the 
river  valleys  roinparatively  elevated,  and  so  not  subject  to  being  drowned  by  the  ordinary 
overflow  of  the  rivers;  partly  ou  Ihe  inclined  banks  calleil  u  v  a  I  s,  uniting  the  bottom  of  the 
valley  with  the  flat  interriveriiie  space;  and  partly  in  places  where  the  valley  is  not  bounded 
by  gently  sloping  sides  but  by  abriijil  precipices  or  yars;  in  such  cases  the  narrow  strips 
of  the  plateau  bordering  these  yars  are  cultivated,  behind  whicli  again  commence  the  untilled 
expanses  of  the  swampy  urman.  As  reganls  the  soils,  in  the  lields  belonging  to  the  first  grouj) 
prevail  very  sticky  clayey  soils,  partly  gray,  slightly  tinged  with  humus,  partly  black,  con- 
taining from  ]0  to  15  per  cent  of  this  substance.  The  black  soils  present  two  varieties;  the 
lirst  is  an  argillaceous  chernoziora  upon  the  localities  with  a  raised  contour,  the  most  fertile 
of  all  the  soils  met  with  in  the  given  region.  The  second  shows  black  earth  upon  the  spots, 
which  are  depressed  and  sull'er  from  an  excess  of  inoisturo;  it  is  a  very  poor  and  baiTen 
soil  of  a  peaty  character  unable  even  to  yield  satisfactory  crops  of  winter  rye  and  only 
atlapted  to  sowing  oats.  Upon  the  sloping  valley  sides,  or  uvals,  soils  of  a  more  friable  nature 
predominate,  although  for  the  most  part  of  a  clayey  character,  fairly  rich  in  humus  and  stained  dark 
brown,  upon  a  reddish-yellow  clayey  subsoil.  These  soils  together  with  the  clayey  chernoziom 
of  the  river  valleys  are  reputed  to  be  the  best,  Uval  fields  are  valued  the  more  that  owing 
to  their  situation  they  are  better  secured  than  the  others  from  unfavourable  atmospheric  influ- 
ences. Finally  tlie  lands  tilled  along  the  yars  on  the  skirts  of  the  interriverine  plateaux  have 
a  soil  very  poor  in  humus  and  capable  of  yielding  harvests  only  by  the  liberal  application 
of  manure.  They  are  partly  crumbly  sandy  tracts  in  the  regions  nearest  to  the  Ural  with  an 
appreciable  admixture  of  small  stones  or  g  a  1  k  a  s,  partly  sour  clayey  soils  of  the  type  pre- 
vailing in  the  localities  lying  further  to  the  south. 

The  whole  central  zone  of  the  Tobolsk  government  presents  a  perfectly  flat  plain  in- 
tersected more  or  less  by  wide  valleys  belonging  to  difl'erent  rivers  and  streams.  Like  the 
northern  zone,  it  has  for  the  most  part  a  forest  character.  But  in  contradistinction  to  the 
northern  zone,  forests  of  deciduous  trees,  principally  birch  predominate  instead  of  conifers.  More- 
over, the  morasses  although  very  extensive  yet  here  occupy  much  less  of  the  total  area 
than  in  the  northern  zone.  Hence  it  is  that  in  the  localities  situated  in  the  middle  zone  not 
only  are  the  river  valleys  suited  for  agricultural  operations  together  with  the  bordering  lands, 
but  more  or  less  considerable  portions  also  of  the  inteniverine  plateaux.  The  lands  suitable  for 
raising  grain  are  here  at  times  spread  over  more  or  less  extensive  tracts,  at  others  in  small 
patches  between  woody  or  swampy  lauds  unfitted  for  cultivation.  The  soil  conditions  of 
these  forest  fields  are  >  very  monotonous,  they  are  almost  exclusively  so-called  b  i  e  1  i  k  s, 
characterised  by  a  very  thin  layer  of  turf,  a  vershok  or  vershok  and  a  half  thick,  under 
which  lies  a  stratum  five  or  six  vershoks  thick  of  almost  unproductive,  light-gray,  sour, 
clayey  soil,  superimposed  upon  a  reddish  yellow  clay.  These  bieliks  fairly  useful  to  the  farmer 
when  manured,   without   it   are   very   illsuited   to   agriculture   on  account  of  their  properties 


TENUEE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  97 

ami  are  very  stingy.  Cereals  only  derive  nourishment  from  the  superior  turf  layer,  and 
when  the  latter  becomes  exhausted,  which  ensues  after  three  or  four  crops,  it  is  necessary  to 
abandon  the  field  for  twenty  to  twenty-five  and  more  years,  until  a  new  turf  layer  is 
formed.  It  is  clear  under  these  circumstances  why  agriculture  upon  soils  of  this  kind  is  only 
capable  of  a  feeble  development.  It  is  concentrated  in  the  whole  of  the  central  zone  along 
the  rivers  where  the  conditions  of  soil  are  much  more  favourable.  It  is  principally  the  sloping 
uvals  near  the  rivers  that  are  brought  under  the  plough;  these  extend  in  some  instances  along 
both  banks,  in  others  along  one  only,  attaining  in  the  case  of  more  considerable  rivers  a 
breadth  of  several  versts  with  a  height  above  the  valley  of  thirty  to  forty  sagenes.  The  soil 
conditions  of  the  uval  lands  show  little  variation;  is  everywhere  a  dark  brown  and  clayey, 
pretty  friable,  not  seldom  with  an  admixture  of  large  gi'ains  of  quartz  visible  to  the  eye; 
the  subsoil  is  reddish  yellow  clay.  The  thickness  of  the  workable  layer  varies  ordinarily 
from  five  to  eight  vershoks.  The  soil  is  the  richer  in  vegetable  mould  and  therefore  more 
fertile,  the  greater  the  depth  of  the  tillable  layer.  Above  the  uvals  on  the  tracts  of  the 
interriverine  plateau  bordering  on  the  same,  the  soil  frequently  passes  into  a  black  friable 
form  of  great  thickness,  10  to  12  vershoks  and  more,  and  rich  in  humus,  as  much  as  15  to 
17  per  cent  but  of  little  fertility,  possessing  an  undoubted  peaty  character.  Little  ploughing 
is  done  within  the  river  valleys,  for  the  most  part  presenting  meadows  subject  to  inundation 
or  so  narrow  that  they  leave  no  room  for  agricultural  operations.  Where  however  the  valleys 
are  tilled,  tenaceous  clayey  soils  prevail  of  the  same  types  as  were  described  in  speaking  of 
the  soils  of  the  northern  zone. 

But  the  greatest  interest  and  the  greatest  variety  are  afforded  by  the  soil  conditions 
of  the  southern  zone  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  which  enters  into  the  composition  of  the 
so-called  Ishimsk  steppe.  The  contour  of  this  steppe  is  remarkable  in  the  highest  degree. 
On  the  whole  absolutely  level,  it  is  scattered  over  with  a  number  of  lakes,  between  which 
extend  small  elevations,  ridges  or  islands.  Always  long  and  narrow  in  horizontal  section, 
their  length  sometimes  reaches  many  versts,  while  their  breadth  at  the  level  of  the  horizon 
is  measured  by  hundreds  of  sagenes  and  never  exceeds  a  verst,  they  always  trend  in  the 
direction  of  their  long  axis  from  W.S.W.  to  E.X.E.  and  are  not  more  thai  three  to  four 
sagenes  in  height.  They  have  extremely  sloping  sides  and  are  distinguished  by  the  predomi- 
nance of  dark  brown,  friable  clayey  soils  with  a  heavy  admixture  of  white  sand,  upon  a 
reddish  clay  subsoil.  In  appearance  closely  resembling  the  uval  soils  of  the  middle  zone,  the 
soils  upon  the  islands  of  the  Ishimsk  steppe,  characterized  by  the  thriving  upon  them  in  the 
unploughed  state  of  the  wild  cherry,  are  much  more  fertile  and  are  particularly  adapted  to 
the  raising  of  wheat,  with  which  they  are  accordingly  chiefly  sown.  As  for  the  flat  spaces 
lying  between  the  islands,  they  are  partly  naked  salt  marsh,  absolutely  stripped  of  all  vege- 
tation or  clothed  with  a  typical  flora  such  as  salsola  et  cetera,  partly  feather-grass  steppe  over 
wtdch  are  scattered,  in  scarcely  perceptible  hollows,  spinnies  of  birch  and  aspen  called 
«k  0  1  k  a  s;>.  The  soil  conditions  of  the  two  classes  are  absolutely  different.  Upon  the  open  steppe- 
the  soil  is  so-called  podsolonok,  that  is,  dark  grey,  very  tenacious  clay,  covered  with 
a  thin  layer  of  turf.  In  the  kolkas,  it  is  black,  very  deep,  but  at  the  same  time  very  barren, 
with  a  decided  peaty  character. 

7 


98  SIBERIA. 

Jiotli  till)  f4.,'iiera!  appcaiunco  and  tlie  soil  comlitions  of  llin  I>liinisk  steppe  chauge  a 
littlo  (Ml  moving  from  the  west  to  the  east.  Upon  its  western  border  in  the  Knr},'ansk  dis- 
trict and  the  soiitii-wf.'-li'ni  part  of  tiiat  of  Ishinisk,  Ihi^  islands  are  small,  but  vi-ry  thickly 
sot,  so  that  they  occupy  the  j,'n^ater  part  of  the  expanse,  and  communicate  to  the  latter  a 
rolling  character.  The  soil  upon  the  islands  is  very  darkly  stained  and  the  wild  cherry,  tli" 
sign  of  its  excellent  quality,  is  evrywhere  to  be  i\v\  with.  I'lirther  to  the  east,  in  the  .south- 
eastern corner  of  the  Ishimsk  district  and  in  that  of  Tiukalinsk,  the  cherry  vanishes,  th'* 
soil  on  the  islands  has  on  the  whole  a  paler  tinge  and  is  much  le.ss  fertile.  The  island> 
themselves,  each  by  itself  much  longer,  are  scattered  over  the  steppe  .somewhat  thinly,  so 
that  llir  latter  here  assumes  rather  a  Hat  than  a  rolling  character. 

A  contour  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Ishimsk  steppe  is  possessed  by  tlie  Harabinsk 
steppe  lying  to  the  east  of  it,  embracing  in  the  Tobolsk  government  the  eastern  half  of  the 
Tiukalinsk  district  and  in  that  of  Tomsk,  the  south-western  half  of  the  Kainsk  ilistrict. .  Here 
also  the  horizontal  surface  of  the  steppe  is  sprinkled  on  the  one  hand  with  lakes  ami  on  the 
other  with  oblong  elevations,  ridges  or  islands.  Here  as  in  the  Ishimsk  steppe,  the  dependence 
between  the  contour  and  the  soil  is  so  close  that,  as  one  of  the  latest  explorers  remarks, 
<; knowing  the  contour  of  this  or  that  site,  it  is  easy  to  determine  the  soil  itself,  lying  there ». 
Upon  tbe  broad  and  sloping  ridges  chernoziom  is  everywhere  deposited;  upon  the  nan^ow 
and  more  abrupt  ridges,  a  clayey  soil.  Some  broad  ridges  possess  sloping  northern  and  more 
precipitous  southern  sides.  In  such  cases  chernoziom  is  to  be  found  on  the  northern  incline 
and  clayey  soil  on  the  southern.  As  for  the  flat  space  between  the  ridges  the  more  low  lying 
plots  are  composed  of  saltmarsh,  partly  white  or  covered  with  a  saline  efflorescence  and 
deprived  of  all  vegatation,  partly  black,  covered  with  a  herbaceous  growth  but  equally  unsuit- 
ed  to  the  raising  of  grain.  Upon  the  more  elevated  parts,  lying  nearest  to  the  foot  of  the 
ridges,  the  soil  is  p  o  d  s  o  1  o  n  o  k  of  the  same  type  as  in  the  Ishimsk  steppe  and  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  cereals. 

In  respect  to  the  fertility  of  its  arable  lands  the  Barabinsk  steppe  is  placed  in  the  same 
conditions  as  the  eastern  Ishimsk  borderland,  and  in  worse  than  the  western  part  of  the 
latter.  In  the  Barabinsk  steppe,  as  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Ishimsk  steppe,  the  wild  cherry, 
characteristic  of  the  best  wheat  lands  of  the  western  part  of  the  Ishimsk  steppe,  does  not 
occur.  Within  the  Barabinsk  steppe  itself  the  general  level  of  fertility  is  not  without  variation. 
Least  fertile  is  the  northern  borderland  of  Barabinsk,  where  the  steppe  gradually  passes  over 
into  an  expanse  of  urman  and  swamp.  Most  fertile  is  the  southern  borderland,  embracing  a 
part  of  the  liarnaul  and  Bisk  districts  and  reaching  to  the  foothills  of  the  Altai. 

From  the  eastern  frontier  of  the  Barabinsk  steppe  right  up  to  lake  Baikal,  including  the 
eastern  districts  of  the  Tomsk  government  and  the  whole  cultivated  portion  of  those  of  Yeni- 
seisk and  Irkutsk,  stretches  a  tract  showing  great  uniformity  both  in  its  general  character 
and  in  its  soil  conditions.'  A  certain  peculiarity  is  presented  only  by  the  southern  border- 
lands of  the  Yeniseisk  and  Irkutsk  governments,  especially  the  Minusinsk  district,  which 
possess  a  steppe  character,  with  a  predominance  of  chernoziom  soils  of  good  quality,  yielding 
excellent  harvests  of  wheat.  The  whole  remaining  space  has  the  appearance  of  what  may  be 
called  the  central  Siberian  p  o  1  e  s  i  e  or  forest  region. 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  99 

On  the  south,  tlie  whole  of  central  Siberia  is  bordered  as  is  known  by  lofty  mountain 
ranges,  the  Altai,  Alatau  and  Sayan.  But  the  mountain  systems  of  these  ranges  fill  up  a 
locality,  almost  uninhabitable  and  in  no  way  belonging  to  the  composition  of  the  cultivated 
zone  of  Siberia.  Only  here  and  there  the  last  offshoots  of  the  mountains  having  the  form  of 
small  hills  enter  into  the  limits  of  this  zone.  Further  the  whole  cultivated  part  of  the  cen- 
tral Siberian  polesie  presents,  speaking  generally,  a  typical  flat  elevation,  and  the  considerable 
inequalities  to  be  found  upon  its  susface  proceeded  almost  exclusively  from  the  fact  that 
the  rivers  have  washed  out  in  it  more  or  less  deep  valleys.  "Where  the  rivers  are  well  filled 
and  their  beds  situated  near  to  each  other,  there  the  general  plain  character  of  the  locality 
is  completely  masked.  Flat  expanses  are  hardly  to  be  seen,  the  whole  contour  is  composed 
of  the  uvals  bordering  the  river  valleys,  and  the  locality  produces  the  Impression  of  a  hilly 
district,  where  the  interriverine  watersheds  seem  to  be  as  it  were  low  mountain  ranges. 
Where  the  rivers  are  less  close  together  and  not  so  full,  the  flat  character  of  the  locality 
s.hows  itself  quite  manifestly,  and  the  narrow  river  valleys  occupy  only  an  insignificant  part 
of  the  space  compared  with  the  flat  watersheds.  As  will  immediately  appear,  such  a  flat 
contour,  on  account  of  the  soil  conditions  connected  therewith,  is  much  less  favourable  to 
the  successful  development  of  agriculture,  than  a  more  rolling  contour. 

As  far  as  regards  soil,  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  central  Siberian  forest  region, 
at  any  rate  of  its  cultivated  portion,  (in  the  taiga,  tenacious  gray  clayey  soils  prevail)  is  the 
predominance  of  chenioziom,  and  in  general,  dark-coloured  soil.  At  the  same  time,  in  distinction 
to  the  soils  of  the  Tobolsk  government  rich  in  humus,  the  chernozioms  of  this  locality  do  not 
possess  a  brownish  tinge  but  are  dyed  a  perfect  black.  As  in  the  localities,  described  earlier, 
the  character  of  the  soil  is  here  also  in  the  closest  dependence  upon  the  contour.  The  high- 
quality  soils  with  a  dry  land  flora  are  situated  exclusively  upon  spots  with  a  high  relief, 
affording  a  free  drainage  to  the  water,  and  consequently  mainly  on  the  uvals  bordering  the 
river  valleys.  Where  the  uvals  are  more  gently  sloping,  the  soil  is  deeper  (from  6  to  8  ver- 
shoks)  and  richer  in  humus,  (10  to  12  per  cent).  It  has  a  perfectly  black  colour  and  while 
preserving  its  clayey  character,  is  yet  faiiiy  friable.  Both  in  lespect  to  its  physical  ijualities 
and  the  degree  of  abundance  of  nutritious  substances,  this  soil  is  very  favourable  for  the 
cultivation  of  grain  and  especially  for  rye.  Where  the  uvals  are  more  abrupt,  the  percentage 
of  humus  is  less  (from  5  to  6  per  cent),  the  thickness  of  the  soil  does  not  exceed  4  to  6 
vershoks,  its  colour  instead  of  black  becomes  gray,  the  soil  itself  is  much  more  tenacious, 
and  its  productiveness  perceptibly  lower  than  that  of  the  black  soils,  earlier  characterized.  As 
for  the  flat  interriverine  plateaux,  there  black  soils  with  a  vegetable  character  prevail.  More 
often  tenacious,  muddy,  clayey  soils  are  met  with,  more  rarely  friable  soils  composed  of  huuius 
and  peat.  Notwithstanding  the  considerable  depth  (12  to  16  vershoks  and  more)  and  the  rich- 
ness in  humus  (15  to  17  per  cent),  the  soils  of  both  types  are  little  adapted  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  grain.  Not  to  speak  of  wheat,  even  rye  grows  badly  on  them,  so  that  the  lands  with 
a  vegetable  soil  are  principally  sown  with  oats. 

It  is  now  clear  why  the  rolling  contour  of  the  locality  in  the  central  Siberian  forest 
region  is  more  suited  to  raising  grain  than  the  flat  relief.  Where  slopes  prevail,  there  black 
and  grey  soils  of  good  quality  preilominate,  so  that  in  localities  ploughed  up  in  all  directions  by 


100  SIHKKIA. 

rivers  and  .streams,  uoarly  ilic  \vfiol(j  groiiml  is  not  seliiom  occupied  with  arable  land  with 
go(xl  chernoziom  soil.  Where  Hat  {dateaux  prevail,  there  soils  of  good  quality  occupy  but  nar- 
rovf  strips,  h(jiiridiiif,'  the  banks  ol'  rivers,  and  there  predominate  partly  wet  lands  unsuited  to 
agriculture,  [)artly  arable  lamls  with  a  bad  soil,  of  a  swampy  and  vegetable  nature. 

With  this  the  sketch  of  the  soil  conditions  of  the  Ji^ricultural  zone  of  primitive  Si- 
beria may  be  terminated.  In  conclusion  it  is  necessary  to  say  still  a  few  words  on  the  soil 
conditions  of  one  of  the  borderlands  of  Siberia,  in  reference  to  which  more  precise  information 
exists,  namely  Amouria. 

The  three  sections  into  which  Amouria  was  divided  above  are  sharply  distinguished  in 
reference  to  soil.  Above  the  mouth  of  the  Zeya  and  below  that  of  the  iJureya  prevail  dark 
brown,  clayey  soils  lying  on  stony  fundamental  rocks,  in  some  places  covered  with  a  thin 
turfy  layer  of  liumus,  in  others  entirely  free  from  a  tinge  of  mould.  In  the  inundated  meadows 
of  the  Amour  the  clayey  soils  yield  place  to  coarse-grained,  sandy,  much  less  fertile  soils, 
and  in  the  thick  woods,  to  a  sour  soil  with  a  pale  gray  tint  in  the  upper  layer,  and  a  whitish 
in  the  lower.  Over  the  expanse  included  between  the  valleys  of  the  Zeya  and  Bureya  the 
whole  area  as  stated  by  Professor  Korzhinsky  <ds  composed  of  sandy  clays  fairly  tenacious 
in  ilie  upper  levels.  They  are  covered  witii  a  layer  of  dark  mould,  having  a  depth  of  4  to  6 
veishoks  on  the  sloping  uvals,  and  one  and  a  half  arshines  on  the  bottoms^.  Upon  dry  ele- 
vated places  this  soil  in  its  physical  properties  and  structure  recalls  the  Russian  cheraoziom; 
in  the  lower  places  it  is  manifestly  of  a  half-swampy  origin,  recalling  in  all  respects  the 
black  vegetable  soils  of  Western  Siberia  and  neither  in  its  origin  nor  significance  in  farming 
having  anything  in  common  with  true  chernoziom. 

W^itli  the  extraordinary  variety  of  climatic  and  soil  conditions  ami  population  sketched 
in  the  preceding  pages,  it  is  impossible  to  look  for  any  uniformity  in  the  methods  of  farming 
employed  in  Siberia  and  especially  in  the  system  of  field  culture.  And  in  fact  the  systems 
and  types  of  field  culture  and  the  rotations  of  c¥eps  are  very  varied. 

In  those  of  the  Siberian  governments  which  comprise  the  mass  of  the  agricultural  pop- 
ulation and  lands  suitable  for  farming  operations,  Tobolsk,  Tomsk,  Yeniseisk  and  Irkutsk 
the  Transbaikal  territory  and  the  cultivated  portions  of  the  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk,  a 
peculiar  system  of  agriculture  prevails  which  is  absolutely  unknown  in  European  Russia.  It 
bears  the  name  of  the  resting  and  fallow  system.  Agriculture  is  in  this  case  founded  exclu- 
sively upon  the  exploitation  of  the  productive  forces  of  the  land,  unsupported  by  any  ma- 
nuring, and  renewed  by  the  combination  "of  two  means,  the  abandoning  of  the  land  to  waste, 
and  the  rotation  of  crops  with  fallow.  The  land,  whether  cleared  from  forest  or  ploughed  up 
in  the  open  steppe,  is  sown  two  or  three  years  consecutively  with  grain,  and  then  left  a 
year  in  fallow.  It  is  then  sown  one  or  two  years  with  gi'ain  and  then  again  goes  under 
fallow.  Such  a  rotation  is  continued  until  the  severe  falling  off  in  yield  and  the  choking 
with  weeds  compel  the  land  to  be  abandoned  to  rest,  and  a  new  patch  to  be  broken  up.  The 
land  is  allowed  to  rest  until  definite  signs,  which  are  well  known  to  the  peasants,  show  that 
its  productiveness  has  been  sufficiently  renewed.  Then  it  is  again  ploughed  up  and  the  same 
process  is  gone  through  from  the  very  beginning.  At  the  same  time  it  may  be  said,  as  a 
general  rule,  that  in  the  beginning  of  the   period   of  cultivation    and   on   the   fallows   more 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  101 

exhausting  gi'aiiis  are  sown,  such  as  wheat,  winter  and  spring  rye;  towards  the  end  of  the 
period,  and  upon  the  stubble  fields,  such  gi-ains  as  barley  and  oats.  Moreover,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  period  of  tillage  the  land  is  more  seldom  left  fallow;  at  the  end,  more  often; 
thus,  at  first  after  every  two  crops,  at  last  after  every  single  crop  harvested.  Finally,  the 
duration  itself  of  the  periods  of  tillage  for  freshly  broken  lands,  that  is,  such  as  have  never 
been  under  cultivation,  is  in  general  longer  than  for  lands  which  have  been  ploughed  before 
and  again  broken  up  after  a  prolonged  rest,  as  such  rest  seldom  completely  renews  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil. 

Such  is  the  general  character  of  the  rest  and  fallow  system.  As  for  its  varieties,  they 
are  extremely  numerous.  Siberian  farming  is  distinguished  by  the  absence  of  all  pedantry. 
Not  only  every  volost  or  commune,  but  each  farmer  independently  determines  the  rotation  of 
crops  for  every  patch  of  land  which  he  is  using,  adapting  himself  to  its  soil  and  situation, 
to  the  climate  and  conditions  of  the  market,  finally,  to  his  personal  means.  The  number  of 
crops  taken  from  the  land  during  the  period  of  tillage  fluctuates  between  3  and  4,  for  poor 
sour  lands,  and  25  to  30  for  the  best  chernoziom,  and  there  even  exist  lands,  especially  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  which  have  been  under  the  plough  more  than 
100  years  and  have  never  yet  been  left  to  rest.  The  duration  of  the  period  of  rest  varies 
between  5  and  10,  and  25  and  30  years,  depending  on  the  one  hand,  upon  the  soil  conditions, 
and  on  the  other,  upon  the  degree  of  exhaustion  to  which  the  land  has  been  brought  by 
previous  sowings.  In  some  places  and  on  some  lands,  sowing  on  the  stubble  field  is  a  normal 
occurrence,  so  that  the  rotation  of  crops  approaches  the  rest-three-field  type;  in  other  places 
and  upon  other  lands  such  sowings  form  an  exception,  or  are  not  carried  out  at  all;  the  land 
is  fallowed  after  each  crop  and  the  rotation  approximates  to  the  rest-two-field  type,  and 
so  on.  As  to  the  predominating  sorts,  in  each  locality  the  more  exacting  grains  are  to  be 
found  on  the  best  lands,  and  the  coarser  kinds  on  the  worst.  But  however  this  may  be,  whole 
districts  are  characterized  by  the  prevalence  now  of  one,  now  of  another  kind  of  grain. 
Thus  upon  the  splendid  sandy  chernoziom  of  the  steppes  of  the  south-western  part  of  the 
Tobolsk  government,  and  of  the  agricultural  localities  of  the  Akmolinsk  territory,  as  also  in 
the  Altai  raining  district  and  the  southern  part  of  the  Yenisei  government,  wheat  predomin- 
ates, in  some  places  occupying  as  much  as  half  of  the  whole  area  sown,  and  more.  In  the 
central  agricultural  part  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  distinguished  by  the  prevalence  of 
sourish  soils,  the  crops  are  mainly  barley  and  spring  rye.  Over  the  whole  expanse  from 
Tomsk  to  Irkutsk  the  forests  and  friable  chernoziom  soils  favour  winter  rye,  which  only 
yields  place  to  spring  rye  in  the  places  stripped  of  forest.  Along  the  whole  line  of  the  Siber- 
ian tract  the  largest  areas  are  sown  with  oats,  which  here  have  a  certain  and  profitable  sale. 
Besides  the  cereals  enumerated,  there  are  further  sown  here  and  there,  millet,  buckwheat, 
peas  and  potatoes,  while  of  the  industrial  plants  flax  is  almost  universally  sown,  hemp  in  the 
chernoziom  localities,  and  sunflower  in  the  Altai. 

The  system  of  agriculture  prevalent  in  Siberia  exhibits  the  greatest  variety  not  only 
in  space,  but  in  time.  With  the  growing  density  of  the  population  and  the  contraction  of  the 
land  space,  the  periods  of  rest  of  the  land  are  gradually  reduced,  and  the  periods  of  tillage 
increased.  The  rapidly  progressive  exhauslion  of  the  land,  resulting  from  this,  it  is  attempted 


102  SIBEIUA. 

to  arrest  by  more  J'requent  fallow,  ihe  rest-ihree  field  rotation  is  gradually  abandoned  for  a 
rest-two-field.  At  the  sann!  time  the  exhaustion  of  the  land  makes  it  ever  less  capable  of 
yielding  satisfactory  harvests  (d'  the  more  valuable  grains  and  c(jm|i*'ls  their  replacement  by 
coarser  kinds.  Wheat  and,  where  the  forest  luis  been  most  cut,  winter  rye,  are  expelled  by 
spiing  rye;  Ihe  latter,  by  barley.  At  the  same  tim(,'  the  lowering  of  the  crops  gradually  brings 
the  iioj)ulalion  to  tli(!  coiiviclion  of  the  impossibility,  under  the  changed  conditions,  of  carrying 
on  farming  in  the  old  way  and  of  the  necessity  of  passing  to  new  methods,  namely  with  the 
use  of  manure.  Part  of  the  population  however  does  not  wish  to  reconcile  itself  to  this 
necessity  and  prefers  to  leave  for  new  places,  where  there  is  still  plenty  of  land  and  where 
its  freshness  permits  farming  by  the  customary  rest  method.  The  other  part,  the  majority, 
remains  and  continues  in  spite  of  everything  to  carry  on  the  old  methods.  Finally,  the  moix' 
energetic  minority  begins  by  degrees  to  pass  over  to  the  manuring  system.  As  first  individual 
laint-hearted  and  frequently  unsuccessful  attempts  at  manuring  the  lanil  lind  more  and  more 
imitators,  and  littl<>  by  little  agriculture  with  manure  from  being  a  rare  exception  becomes 
the  general  rule. 

Some  localities  of  Siberia,  in  the  main,  the  northern  borderland  of  the  agricultural 
zone  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  that  is,  the  Turinsk  district  and  the  middle  of  the  Tobolsk 
district,  have  already  passed  through  that  critical  period.  In  these  localities,  in  some  places 
as  regards  all  the  lands  under  the  plough,  in  others  as  regards  only  those  nearest  to  the 
farmsteads,  this  system  has  become  firmly  established.  It  is  precisely  of  the  form  of  the 
three-field  system  as  it  has  long  existed  in  the  central  governments  of  European  Russia,  that 
is,  with  a  predominance  of  rye  in  the  winter  Held,  oats  and  barley  in  the  spring,  and  with 
green  fallow.  As  for  the  manuring,  the  extent  to  which  it  is  carried  is  very  different,  in 
dependence  on  the  relation  of  the  quantity  of  meadow  land  to  that  of  the  land  under  crops. 
In  the  comparatively  southern  localities,  where  there  is  a  fairly  large  amount  of  arable  land, 
and  few  meadows,  a  part  of  the  fallow  field,  equivalent  to  ^h  to  ^'2,  is  manured.  Further 
to  the  north  where  there  is  very  little  arable  land,  and  much  meadow  land,  the  whole  fallow 
field  is  manured,  and  as  a  consequence  in  spite  of  the  comparatively  unfavourable  natural 
conditions,  larger  and,  what  is  particularly  important,  more  constant  crops  are  obtained  than 
anywhere  in  Siberia.  Finally,  still  further  to  the  north  near  the  60th  parallel,  at  the  very 
northernmost  limit  of  agriculture,  even  a  heavy  application  of  manure  does  not  make  it 
possible  to  carry  on  the  three-field  system.  Here  two  fields  are  used,  with  winter  rye  predom- 
inating on  the  best  lands,  and  barley  on  the  rest.  With  heavy  manuring  agriculture  even 
here  yields  excellent  results,  but  is  incapable  of  attaining  any  considerable  development,  in 
consequence  of  the  extremely  limited  supply  of  lands  suitable  for  sowing  grain. 

The  cultivation  of  the  arable  lands  in  Siberia  is  on  the  whole  very  satisfactory,  far 
better  than  on  the  peasant  farms  in  central  Russia.  Such  a  superiority  of  the  Siberian  peas- 
ant farming  is  determined  mainly  by  the  abundance  there  of  w^orking  cattle,  possible  on 
account  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  in  hayland  and  pasture,  and  secondly  of  the  compara- 
tively good  construction  of  the  agricultural  implements. 

The  implements  used  in  Siberia  for  ploughing,  to  wit,  ploughs,  here  bear  various  names, 
kolesianka,   saban,    rogaliukha,   et   cetera;    but   their   fundamental     construction   is 


TENUEE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  ]  Q)^ 

everywhere  the  same.  They  consist  of  a  broad  triangular  ploughshare  (more  often  made  in 
two  parts)  whose  left  angle  is  bent  forward  and  plays  the  part  of  the  weh,  a  w^ooden  mould- 
hoard,  a  lifting  screw  or  a  system  of  wedges  regulating  the  depth  of  ploughing.  The  work  of 
this  plough  has  no  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Great  Russia  plough  (s  o  k  h  a)  but  is  very 
like  that  of  the  p  1  u  g.  The  depth  ploughed  may  he  carried  to  four  and  even  six  vershoks, 
the  breadth  of  the  clod  being  also  six  vershoks.  The  latter  is  cut  off  very  cleanly  and  a 
field  ploughed  by  aSiberiansokhahardly  differs  in  appearance  from  one  ploughed  by  a  plug.  In 
the  regions  where  agriculture  is  most  developed  the  sokha  is  fastened  to  a  two-wheeled  car- 
riage and  furnished  with  two  or  three  horses.  In  localities  lying  near  to  the  northern 
limit  of  agriculture,  the  shafts  are  fastened  directly  to  the  mouldboard  and  the  plough  is 
harnessed  to  one  horse.  The  harrows  used  in  Siberia  belong  to  the  half-heavy  type.  Thy  consist 
of  a  wooden  frame  with  iron  teeth,  in  number  from  16  to  20.  In  the  purely  agricultural  zone 
of  Siberia,  the  average  farmer  harrows  with  three  harrows,  while  the  rich  farmers  send  one 
after  another  up  to  six.  In  the  north,  where  the  strips  are  not  large,  usually  one  harrow  is 
used,  but  they  here  have  very  many  more  teeth.  The  other  implements,  sickles,  scythes, 
both  simple  and  with  fingers  (cradles),  flails  for  thrashing,  shovels  for  winnowing,  present  no 
differences  from  those  employed  in  European  Russia.  Until  lately  there  were  no  machines  in 
Siberia.  Recently  small  hand  winnowers  of  the  Grant  system  have  been  largely  adopted  in  the 
Altai  and  in  localities  lying  to  the  east  of  Tomsk,  and  horse  thrashing-machines  have  begun 
to  appear  among  the  rich  peasants. 

The  chief  object  that  the  Siberian  peasant  places  before  himself  in  preparing  the 
land  for  sowing  is  the  struggle  with  weeds,  which  with  the  freshness  of  the  soils  and  their 
richness  in  organic  substances  grow  up  in  great  abundance  and  are  one  of  the  worst  enemies 
of  grain  crops.  Another  problem,  the  bringing  of  the  soil  into  the  I'equisite  condition  of  fria- 
bleness,  in  the  mind  of  the  Siberian  peasant,  yields  to  that  of  destroying  the  weeds.  The 
degree  of  their  abundance  mainly  determines  in  each  case  the  greater  or  less  extent  of 
ploughing  and  harrowing,  the  time  for  these  processes  and  for  sowing  and  a  mass  of  other 
less  essential  details. 

The  normal  type  of  .the  cultivation  of  fallow  in  Siberia  is  twice  ploughing,  with  har- 
rowing after  the  first.  All  these  operations  are  carried  out  in  the  interval  of  time  between 
the  beginning  of  June  and  the  end  of  July.  An  additional  third  ploughing  is  added  in  the 
case  of  many  weeds  or  heavy  soil,  especially  if  the  later  has  been  washed  with  snow  water 
and  threatens  to  become  covered  with  an  impenatrable  hard  crust.  Upon  such  heavy,  clay 
soils  the  third  ploughing  of  the  fallow  is  effected  in  spring,  upon  friable  soils  in  late  autumn. 
Stubble  fields  are  ploughed  once  only,  usually  in  spring,  and  only  rarely  on  very  crumbly 
soils  in  autumn.  Before  ploughing  the  remaining  stubble  is  burnt  and  the  ash  serves  in  some 
sort  as  a  manure.  The  sowing  of  winter  grain  begins  from  the  very  last  days  of  July  and 
where  possible  is  concluded  in  the  middle  of  August,  although  in  the  case  of  poor  men  it 
not  seldom  drags  on  to  the  beginning  of  September.  The  spring  grains  in  the  southern  local- 
ities of  agricultural  Siberia  are  begun  to  be  sown  at  the  end  of  April,  in  the  northern  re- 
gions, in  the  beginning  of  May,  wheat  being  sown  earliest  of  all,  and  latest  oats  and  espec- 
ially barley.  The  time  of  sowing  has  on  account  of  the  Siberian   climatic   conditions  a   vt>ry 


104 


SIBr-PJA. 


groat  importance.  Willi  lu..  raiij  sowing:  "'"'  .^'^'I'l  >iiiii,T.>  liom  I'pnn;^'  lnj>i>;  with  iw  late, 
from  weeds  and  autumn  hoar  frosts.  A  day's  diflerence  in  the  time  of  sowing  often  deter- 
mines a  good  or  a  had  harvest. 

Tlio  liold  once  sown  is  not  attended  to  any  more.  Only  youug  spring  crops,  in  the 
main  wheat  and  spring  lye,  have  to  he  very  frequently  weeded,  as  often  neither  ploughing 
iini  JKuidwing  aie  capahli'  of  stopping  the  growth  of  weeds.  The  harvesting  of  winter  grain 
begins  ordinarily  at  the  end  of  July;  of  spring,  at  the  beginning  of  August.  The  har- 
vesting of  all  grains  is  concluded  under  ordinary  circumstances  at  the  beginning  of  September, 
l)ut  when  the  weather  is  unfavourable,  is  frequently  delayed  much  later,  sometimes  to  the 
beginning  of  October.  The  grain,  cut  with  sickle  or  scythe,  after  drying  is  gathered  into  heaps 
on  the  lield  and  on  the  arrival  of  winter  is  carried  on  sledges  into  the  farmsteads  or  to  the 
zaimkas.  It  is  then  kiln-dried  in  out-houses  or  barns,  thrashed  and  winuowed.  Next  the 
grain  intended  for  sowing  is  subjected  to  a  final  cleansing  by  means  of  special  instruments, 
so-called  podsievs,  cylinders  turning  about  a  horizontal  axis,  made  of  sheet  iron  with 
holes  of  various  sizes.  That  which  is  intended  for  food  or  sale  is  subjected  to  no  further 
treatment. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  any  data  on  the  cost  of  production  of  grain,  in  consequence 
of  the  considerable  variety  in  the  level  and  the  violent  fluctuations  in  wages,  which  should 
apply  to  the  whole  of  Siberia  or  even  to  its  agricultural  region  only.  The  cost  of  separate 
operations  and  of  the  whole  together,  in  the  production  of  gi-aiu  whether  per  dessiatine  or 
per  poud  in  different  localities  presents  very  wide  variations.  The  figures  below,  showing  the 
cost  in  some  parts  of  agilcultural  Siberia  of  the  more  important  operations  in  the  raising 
of  grain,  may  give  some  idea  thereof. 


Per  dessiatine. 

Soutlicru  part  ofTobolsk. 

Central 
Tomsk. 

Agricultu-j 

ral  parts  of 

Irkutsk. 

Best 
localities. 

Worst 
localities. 

Rouble      s. 

i 

j  Ploughing  (ouce) 

Harrowing     »        

Reaping     i                             .    .    .    .    < 

1  ^,      ,        >  average  crop.                    < 

Thrashing  '            ^         ^       ....    I 

2.00 
1.20 
7.50 
4.50 

1.25 
0.75 
3.75 
2.00 

2.00 
1.00 
7.00 
4.00 

2.00 

1.00 

G  to  10 

4.0<3     ; 

The  entire  cost  of  the  cultivation  of  a  dessiatine   of  land   together  with  the  harvest- 

iug  of  the  crop   and  the  cleansing  of  the  grain  is  expressed  for  the  same   localities   by   the 

following  figures: 

•  Fallow.       Stubble. 

Best  localities    |  ^  23  —  27  roubles  14  — 18  roubles 

>  southern  Tobolsk 

Worst      »  f  15  — 20      »        8—    9      » 

Central  Tomsk 22  —  27      »       13  —  15       » 

Irkutsk 25  —  27       »  14  » 


TENUEE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  105 

Thus  22  to  25  roubles  per  dessiatine  for  spring  grain,  sown  ou  fallow,  and  12.to  15  roubles 
per  dessiatine  ou  stubble  field,  are  the  approximate  standards,  around  which  the  entire  cost 
of  the  production  of  grain  in  agricultural  Siberia  fluctuates,  and  in  particular  in  such  parts 
of  it  where  farming  is  carried  on  according  to  the  rest-fallow  system.  In  those  localities  of  the  To- 
bolsk government,  where  the  passage  has  already  been  effected  to  farming  with  manure  and  a 
necessary  three-field  or  two-field  rotation  of  crops,  the  total  cost  of  the  operations  per  dessiatine 
is  as  follows: 

Three-field  region  with  manuring  of  part  of  fallow  32  to  34  roubles  t  2  gi'ain  crops  in 
»       »        »        .■>           »        »  whole »      »  43  •!>     f     rotation. 

»       »        » 19  to  20      »         per  crop. 

Before  passing  to  the  question  of  the  yield,  it  is  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
thickness  of  sowing.  Here,  as  in  what  has  preceded,  it  is  impossible  to  cite  any  figures  having 
au  application  to  the  whole  of  Siberia.  The  thickness  of  sowing  per  dessiatine  in  different 
localities  varies  as  follows: 

For  winter  rye  between  ....    6  —   7  and  14  — 16  chetveriks. 

»    spring    i>  »  ....    5 —    7     »     11  — 12  » 

»        »        wheat  »  ....    6  —   8  »    14  — 16  » 

»     oats  »      »  ...    .12— 16    »    23  —  32  » 

»    barley        »      »  ....    8  —  12    »    20  — 24  » 

But  the  lowest  of  these  figures  now  are  very  rarely  met  with,  namely  only  upon  freshly 
cleared,  very  fertile  lauds.  The  highest  refer  exclusively  to  the  northern  border  land  of  agri- 
culture, to  localities  with  two-field  farming,  and  also  three-field  with  manuring  of  the  whole 
of  the  fallow.  In  the  case  of  the  region  of  greatest  development  of  agriculture  the  limits  of 
variation  are  much  narrower.  The  amount  sown  per  dessiatine  is  ordinarily: 

Rye,  winter  and  spring from    8  to  10  chetveriks. 

Wheat »     10   »  12          » 

Barley »     12   »  14  » 

Oats »     16   »  20  » 

The  sowing  is  the  thinner  the  more  southern  the  locality;  the  better  and  fresher  the 
soil,  the  earlier  the  given  land  is  sown;  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  thicker,  the  further  to  the 
north,  the  more  the  land  is  exhausted  and  the  poorer  in  organic  matter.  A  mistake  in  the 
thickness  of  the  sowing  threatens  the  farmer  with  very  lamentable  consequences.  If  the 
sowing  has  been  carried  out  too  tliinly,  the  young  plants  are  threatened  with  danger  from 
weeds;  if  too  thickly,  with  a  rich  soil  and  moist  weather,  the  grain  may  easily  over  tiller 
and  the  ears  fill  badly. 

The  extremely  treacherous  nature  of  the  harvests,  their  violent  fluctuations  from  very 
high  figures  to  zero,  form  an  important  and  characteristic  feature  of  Siberian  agricultural 
economy.  An  exception  is  only  formed  by  the  localities  lying  near  the  northern  limit  of 
agriculture,  those  localities  where  the  transition  has  already  been  accomplished  to  manuring  and 
the  three  or  two-field  system.  Thanks  to  the  influence  of  manure  and  the  treading  of  the  fallow 


lOG  SlUEKIA. 

field  by  caltle,  and  also  lo  the  ravouiable  natural  conditious,  the  abt^ence  of  droughts  and 
hailstorms  et  cetera,  complete  crop  failures  here  hardly  ever  occur,  and  in  general  very  bad 
harvests  are  rare.  Xot  often  rising  very  high,  the  harvests  ordinarily  keep  near  the  average 
standard,  which  is  hero  very  fair.  In  hjcalities  where  part  of  the  fallow  field  is  manured  the 
averiige  yi(;ld  of  rye  lluctuates  between  70  and  80  pouds  per  dessiatine,  only  on  the  very 
worst  fields  falling  to  fiO  pomls.  Tin-  yields  for  t)ats  and  barley  vary  within  about  the  same 
limits.  J-'urtlicr  to  the  north  where  the  whole  fallow'  liebl  is  manured,  rye  gives  on  an  average 
80,  oats  and  barley,  from  90  to  100  pouds  per  dessiatine.  On  the  region  of  two-field  farming 
the  yields  of  rye  also  flactuate  from  70  to  80  pouds,  but  spring  crops  give  considerably  more. 
Oats  give  on  an  average  110  to  120,  barley  100  or  110  pouds  per  dessiatine.  Thanks  to 
such  high  yields  the  population  of  some  localities  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  lying  near  the 
very  northernmost  limit  of  husbandry,  lives  notwithstanding  the  insignificant  extent  of  the 
arable  land,  on  its  own  grain. 

Very  dillerent  is  the  case  in  localities  where  the  rest-system  still  prevails.  The  average 
figures  of  the  productivity  are  here  also  fairly,  and  in  some  places,  very  satisfactory.  Thus, 
the  average  figures  of  the  harvests  for  w^heat  fluctuate  in  the  above  indicated  wheat  regions 
between  60  and  80  pouds,  and  only  where  wheat  reaches  its  extreme  northern  limits,  or 
encounters  unfavourable  conditions  of  soil,  fall  to  50,  40  pouds  and  lower.  Winter  rye  in 
localities  abounding  in  forest  and  having  suitable  soils,  gives  on  an  average  also  from  60  to 
80,  sometimes  even  as  much  us  90  ponds  per  dessiatine,  and  only  on  the  very  worst  soils 
does  the  average  yield  sink  from  40  to  50  pouds.  Such  are  also  the  limits  of  fluctuation  and  the 
average  figure  for  the  yield  of  spring  rye  in  the  localities  where  it  is  most  grown.  As  for 
oats,  two  figures  representing  the  average  yield  must  be  noted :  when  sown  on  fallow,  and 
when  sown  on  stubble  fields.  In  the  first  case  oats,  even  upon  comparatively  bad  lands,  yield 
on  an  average  not  less  than  80  to  100  pouds  per  dessiatine.  When  the  sowing  is  on  stubble, 
even  the  best  lands  do  not  reach  this  average  standard,  while  bad  lands  yield  not  more  than 
40  to  50  ponds  per  dessiatine.  Finally,  barley  in  the  region  of  the  rest-system  of  farming  is 
only  sown  on  bad  and  exhausted  lamls,  where  it  gives  better  crops  than  any  other  breadstuff. 
Where  rye  either  does  not  grow^  at  all,  or  yields  some  30  to  40  pouds  per  dessiatine,  barley 
with  an  average  harvest  gives  50  to  60  pouds. 

But  the  figures  quoted  are  far  from  affording  material  for  drawing  true  conclusions  in 
reference  to  the  economical  position  of  the  Siberian  agriculturist.  The  extremely  violent  and 
W'ide  fluctuations  deprive  these  averages  of  almost  all  significance.  The  upper  limits  of  these 
fluctuations  are  very  high,  180,  200,  240  pouds  of  wheat,  180  to  200  pouds  of  rye,  200  to 
250  pouds  of  barley,  250  to  350  pouds  of  oats  per  dessiatine;  such  yields  without  irrigation 
or  manuring  have  excited  the  wonder  of  travellers  and  created  for  Siberia  the  reputation  of 
a  country  of  fabulous  fertility.  But  such  harvests  occur  once  in  several  dozen  years,  and 
then  only  upon  the  lands  which  are  best  in  respect  to  conditions  of  climate  and  freshness. 
Of  course,  a  much  less  yield,  100  or  120  pouds  of  wheat  or  rye,  150  to  180  pouds  of  oats, 
and  so  on  is  sufficient  to  enrich  the  argiculturist.  Such  harvests  formerly  happened 
pretty  often,  and  it  was  they  that  created  the  prosperity  of  the  Siberian  peasant  farmer. 
During   the   last   decades    there   have  been  not  seldom  more  or  less  complete  crop   failures. 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND.  107 

This  is,  be  it  remembered,  true  only  as  regards  spring  crops.  The  yields  of  winter  rye  in 
places  suited  to  it  never  fall  to  zero;  a  complete  failure  only  occurs  on  separate  strips, 
and  therefore  bad  harvests  in  the  forest  rye  region,  lying  to  the  east  of  Tomsk,  never  place 
the  population  in  such  a  difficult  position,  as  in  the  region  of  spring  crops,  and  particularly 
in  the  wheat  steppes.  Here  occur  complete  failures,  and  very  bad  harvests  not  unfrequently 
follow  each  other  three  and  four  years  running. 

The  chief  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  crops  in  these  steppe  localities  are  drought  and  the 
k  0  byl  ka,  an  insect  belonging  to  the  order  of  orthoptera, similar  to  the  locust  and  applied  to  several 
species  of  grasshopper.  In  forest  localities  these  causes  yield  place  to  the  baneful  conse- 
quences of  unfavourable  winters,  which  react  destructively  upon  the  winter  crops,  but  these 
circumstances  never  here  attain  such  a  character  as  the  droughts  in  the  steppe  localities. 
Not  less  essential  causes  of  crop  failures,  operating  equally  in  the  forests  and  steppes,  are 
the  spring  frosts  and  autumn  hoar  frosts,  of  which  the  former  damage  the  sprouting  grain 
the  latter  injure  It  when  filling.  According  to  the  soil,  situation  and  time  of  sowing,  the  hoar 
frosts  and  frosts  sometimes  destroy  the  grain  without  leaving  anything,  sometimes  destroy  or 
spoil  only  part  of  the  crop.  The  influence  of  frosts  is  different  in  different  localities.  In  some 
they  injure  the  crops  once  in  several  years,  in  others,  much  more  frequently.  There  are  even 
spots,  as  to  the  north-east  of  Tomsk,  where  the  spring  crops  freeze  every  year.  Oats  in  such 
places  are  sown  for  straw  and  feed;  the  seeds  are  always  brought  from  without.  Further  men- 
tion must  be  made  of  the  fogs  and  especially  of  the  appearance  of  microscopic  fungi,  such  as 
smut  and  ergot.  At  times,  continuous  rains  prevent  the  grain  from  ripening  and  hinder 
harvest  operations;  at  others  hail,  laying  the  crop,  are  the  cause  of  failure. 

It  is  stated  above  that  in  localities  forming  part  of  the  zone  where  the  rest-system 
is  practised  agriculture  is,  if  not  the  only  at  any  rate,  an  essential  source  of  the  peaple's  pros- 
perity, and  the  sale  of  the  surplus  produce,  the  principal  source  of  its  money  income.  Such 
grain  surplus  finds  a  market  in  different  directions.  The  wheat  from  the  Altai,  the  steppe  re- 
gions, and  the  southern  part  of  the  Tobolsk  government,  goes  partly  in  a  raw  state,  partly  in 
meal,  to  the  west,  namely  to  European  Russia.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  surplus  of  oats  is 
consumed  by  the  great  Siberian  tract.  The  same  traffic  over  the  tract  swallows  up  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  grain  produced  in  its  neighbourhood.  Lastly  a  large  part  of  the  grain 
surplus  of  the  agricultural  region  contributes  to  the  food  supply  of  the  population  of  the  non- 
agricultural  borderlands  of  Siberia,  or  is  bought  up  by  the  gold  mines  for  the  needs  of  their 
miners.  There  still  remains  a  large  quantity  which  goes  to  the  distilleries  to  be  converted 
into  spirits.  All  these  outlets  for  the  grain  produce,  in  spite  of  their  apparent  variety,  have  one 
common  feature,  namely  they  all  absorb  the  surplus  from  good  harvests  and  do  not  return  it 
when  there  is  a  crop  failure. 

Siberia  does  not  yet  possess  a  properly  organized  local  grain  trade,  capable  of 
equalizing  surplus  and  deficit  according  to  good  and  bad  seasons,  and  regularizing  the 
prices  of  grain.  Neither  does  there  exist  such  a  regulator  of  the  fluctuations  in  harvests 
and  prices  according  to  locality.  In  consequence  of  the  immensity  of  the  distances  in 
Siberia  and  the  insufficiency  of  the  ways  of  communication  grain,  grown  in  abundance 
for   example,    in    the    Yenisei   and   even    Tomsk    governments,    cannot    supply    the    deficit 


]  08  SIBERIA. 

in  Unit  or  Tubol.sk.  The  cost  of  caniage  would  hn  too  yieat,  aud  accoidiugiy  extieiuii  want 
Kiiiy  b(!  oxporieiiceil  in  one  t'oveniment  simultanfjously  with  an  extraordinary  .surplus  iu  another. 
Add  lo  tills  till!  complete  absence  of  organized  credit  in  Siberia,  whether  for  general  purposes 
or  in  releronce  to  grain,  and  tlii;  fact  that  the  peasant  makes  his  chief  outlays  in  antumn 
wlion  grain  is  cheap,  while  in  years  of  scarcity  he  must  buy  it  in  spring  when  it  is  dear, 
it  follows  tlial  tile  peisant  is  obligeil  to  throw  the  more  grain  on  the  market  the  cheaper  it 
is,  and  to  buy  in  propoition  to  its  dearness.  From  all  this  results  one  more  charateristic  fea- 
ture of  Siberian  farming,  tlie  extraordinary  want  of  fixity  in  the  prices  of  grain,  rising  iu 
times  of  scarcity  higher  than  anywhere  in  European  Russia,  and  falling  in  good  years  to 
an  extremely  low  level. 

In  the  sketch  made  in  the  preceding  pages  of  the  position  of  agricultural  production, 
original  Siberia,  or  the  four  governments  with  the  adjacent  teiritories  of  Yakutsk  and  Trans- 
baikalia to  the  east,  were  mainly  in  view.  Ol'tlif  two  lust-named  territories  the  former,  as  far 
as  the  beginnings  of  agricultiiie  exist  there,  presents  a  complete  agreement  with  the  pails 
of  the  Tobolsk  government  adjacent  to  tlie  northern  boundary  of  grain  raising.  Transbaikalia 
with  insignificant  differences  resulting  from  its  more  steppe  like  character  and  better  climate, 
approaches  tlie  conditions  of  the  conterminous  Irkutsk  government.  No  special  account  is  required 
of  the  conditions  of  agriculture  in  those  districts  of  the  territories  of  Akmolinsk  and 
Semipalatinsk  where  grain  is  raised  without  artificial  irrigation;  they  present  complete  accord- 
ance with  the  conditions  obtaining  in  the  wheat  regions  of  the  Siberian  governments,  with 
but  one  difference,  that  the  lands  are  here  fresher,  and  therefore  their  yield  is  higher  and 
crop   failures  occur  more  seldom. 

To  complete  the  picture  of  agriculture  it  is  however  necessary  to  add  a  few  words 
on  its  position  in  localities  where  it  is  placed  in  conditions  absolutely  different  from  those 
tlescribed  above,  In  the  Zaisan  district  of  the  Semipalatinsk  territory  and  in  Semirechia,  as 
well  as  in  the  Amour-Ussuri  region. 

Alike  in  the  Zaisan  district  and  Semirechia,  agriculture,  as  was  indicated  above,  is 
only  possible  with  artificial  irrigation.  The  fields  are  here  intersected  by  great  irrigating 
ditches,  aryks,  from  which  when  ploughing,  little  runlets  are  led  in  all  directions  by  the 
s  0  k  li  a,  thus  distributing  the  moisture  equally  over  the  whole  field.  In  the  Zaisan  district 
the  irrigated  fields  are  sometimes  also  manured,  and  the  water  is  let  on  first  before  ploughing, 
and  then,  during  the  growth  of  the  plant,  according  to  the  weather,  from  twice  to  four  times 
more.  As  a  rule  the  crops  are  watered  first  thirty  days  after  sowing,  again  fifteen  days 
later,  and  a  third  time  after  the  lapse  of  forty  days  more.  After  eight  crops  the  field  requires 
either  a  three  years  rest  or  manuring.  During  the  whole  eight  years  however  it  is  sown  with 
one  and  the  same  kind  of  grain,  wheat,  rye,  millet  or  oats.  An  alternation  of  crops,  aud 
even  a  mere  change  to  another  kind  of  grain,  are  not  practised  here,  because  the  seed,  falling 
during  the  operation  'of  harvesting,  springs  up  and  would  only  spoil  the  next  crop.  In  the 
Semirechensk  territory,  the  irrigated  laud  in  consequence  of  the  hot  climate  yields  two  crops 
a  year;  the  winter  field  sown  with  wheat  and  barley  ripens  at  the  end  of  May,  and  when 
harvested  is  sown  with  a  second  crop  mash,  a  small  pea,  millet  or  carrot,  more  rarely 
kunzhut,   poppy  or  lentil.   The  second  crops  ripen  and  are  removed  in  the  autumn  of  the 


1 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF   l.AND.  109 

same  year.  Then  the  lield  is  sown  for  the  next  spring  with  spring  plants,  mainly  rice  and 
sorghum,  and  also  in  small  quantities,  cotton  and  lucerne.  The  harvests  in  the  irrigated  lands 
both  of  Semipalatinsk  and  Semirechensk  produce  very  heavy  yields,  and  crop  failure  are 
unknown.  The  grain  raised  on  the  Irrigated  lands  not  only  suffices  for  the  uses  of  the  farmers, 
hut  a  portion  of  it  goes  for  sale  to  China  and  the  nearest  Kirghiz  nomads. 

In  the  Amour  territory  a  strict  distinction  must  he  made  between  the  farming  of  the 
Russian  population,  peasant  and  Cossack,  and  that  of  the  natives.  Coreans  and  Manchurians. 
The  Russians  practise  an  extremely  extensive  system  of  farming,  the  newly  cleared  arable 
land  is  ploughed  over  several  times  during  a  whole  year,  and  is  then  annually  sown  with 
grain  without  fallow  or  manure  until  it  is  completely  exhausted.  The  best  clayey  soils  thus 
are  made  to  yield  as  many  as  fifteen  crops,  one  after  another,  poor  soils  not  more  than  seven 
or  eight.  During  the  first  years  after  the  clearing,  wheat  or  spring  rye  is  sown,  next  a  passage  is 
made  to  oats,  and  then  for  a  year  or  two,  buckwheat.  After  the  last,  a  crop  which  somewhat 
reestablishes  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  they  again  sow  wheat  or  spring  rye,  followed  by  oats, 
until  the  latter  ceases  to  produce  satisfactory  crops.  Fields  once  abandoned  are  very  seldom 
ploughed  up  afresh,  although  they  might  after  a  rest  yield  very  fair  crops.  It  is  the  custom  to 
break  up,  almost  exclusively,  fresh  hitherto  untouched  lands,  of  which  up  till  now,  on  account 
of  the  recent  settlement  of  the  country,  there  is  no  lack.  The  yields  of  grain  are  in  a  quanti- 
tative respect  very  high,  but  the  quality  of  the  Amour  grain  is  far  from  satisfactory.  The 
excess  of  moisture  prevents  the  regular  ripening  of  the  grain,  which  is  dark,  of  light  weight 
and  of  low  nutritive  value. 

The  same  character  on  the  whole  attaches  to  Russian  agriculture  in  the  Ussuri  region 
except  that  in  order  to  avoid  soaking,  sowing  is  here  carried  on  in  rows  in  the  form  of 
small  ridges,  the  furrows  remaining  between  them  serving  as  drains  and  for  ventilation. 

As  far  as  concerns  the  Coreans  and  Manchurians  living  in  Amouria  their  farming,  in 
opposition  to  the  Russian,  is  distinguished  by  great  intensiveness.  The  size  of  the  cultivated 
plots  is  not  great,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  fields  are  most  carefully  tilled,  the  sowing  is 
in  rows  by  hand  or  machine;  the  young  plants  are  weeded  several  times  during  the  summer,  so 
that  weeds  are  hardly  to  be  seen  on  the  fields  of  the  Coreans  and  Manchurians.  while  they 
are  such  a  dangerous  enemy  of  the  crops  of  the  Russian  population.  The  chief  crop  among 
the  Coreans  and  Manchurians  is  buda  (setaria  Italica);  next  follow  various  other  cereals  and 
garden  plants;  buda  is  also  their  chief  food.  An  expenditure  of  eighteen  to  twenty  pounds  of 
seed  on  a  dessiatine  gives  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  ponds  or  more,  so  that  the 
yield  of  one  dessiatine  provides  a  whole  family  for  a  year,  or  a  year  and  a  half. 

Having  finished  the  description  of  the  principal  systems  of  agriculture  existing  in  Si- 
beria, it  is  necessary  to  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  statistics  of  its  present  position. 
«The  Chernoziom  constitutes^,  says  Erehm  «the  true  gold  of  Siberia->.  And  in  fact  agriculture 
is  now  the  chief  and  safest  occupation  of  the  settled  Siberian,  and  in  it  consists  the  whole 
future  of  the  country.  It  may  be  assumed  that  from  the  whole  territory  of  Siberia  there  is, 
on  an  average,  harvested  about  160,000,000  pouds  of  various  grains,  of  which  approximately 
20  per  cent  fall  to  Tobolsk  and  Tomsk,  as  the  most  densely  populated,  12  to  15  per  cent  to 
Yeniseisk   and  Irkutsk  and  Semirechia,    3    to  5  per  cent  to  each  of  the  territories  of  Semi- 


]  ]  0  SIBERIA. 

palatinsk,  Akruoliii.sk  iiinl  'J  ratisbaikulia.  TIhj  nMiiainilei  is  divided  bot\vet;u  Yakutsk,  the  Lit- 
toral and  tlic  Anioiii-  tonitories.  As  regards  the  two  latter  temtones  and  certain  localities  of 
steppe  n.'gions  it  must  Ix;  observed  that,  thanks  to  successful  colonization,  th<;  agricultural 
productivity  of  tln;s(!  hjcalities  has  latti.Tly  grown  extraordinarily  rapidly,  and  that  there  is  no 
doiiht  hut  that  in  lli<!  near  I'liture  they  will  occupy  a  very  prominent  place  in  the  ranks  of  grain 
jJiodurjML'-  couiiiiii's.  'J'urning  to  the  kind  of  trrain  cultivated  in  Siberia,  it  must  be  observed 
that  about  00  i)er  cent  of  llii-  whole  production  consists  of  spring  wheat  and  oaLs,  about  20 
per  cent  winter  rye,  while  tiu^  remaining  20  per  cent  represents  all  other  kinds  of  grain. 

The  instability  of  the  prices  is  the  most  striking  feature,  as  also  the  uncertainty  of 
the  harvests,  in  the  wheat  area,  and  lliis  is  particularly  the  ease  in  the  southern  part  of  tho 
Tobidsk  govcrnniciit.  The  average  prices  for  this  locality  are  as  follows: 

Kye  In  kernel      .     .    .    .20  —  25  kopecks  per  poud 

Wheat 50  —  60        »  »      » 

Oats 1.20  — 1.30  roubles  per  chetvert 

or  20  —  22  kopecks  per  poud 

The  miniiiiiiin  prici'  to  which  rye  has  fallen  during  the  last  20  years  was  8  to  10  kopecks  a 
poud;  the  maxinuun  limit,  in  1870,  80  kopecks  to  1.20  roubles;  in  1884,  1.50  roubles,  and  1892, 
over  2  roubles  per  poud.  The  rapid  change  of  prices  may  be  seen  for  example  from  the  fact  that 
between  the  autumn  of  1887  and  that  of  1888  the  price  of  rye  in  the  southern  part  of 
Tobolsk  enhanced  almost  fivefold,  namely  from  12  to  15  kopecks  to  60  to  70  kopecks  per  poud. 
In  localities  situated  to  the  east  of  Tomsk,  which  sow  for  the  most  part  rye,  the  fluctuations  of 
grain  prices,  as  also  those  of  the  harvests,  are  somewhat  less  severe.  The  average  grain 
prices  rise  in  moving  from  west  to  east.  Thus,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  government 
of  Tomsk  the  prices  during  a  twenty-five  years  period  were  as  follows: 

Rye  Hour.    .    .    .  4S  kopecks  per  poud 
"VMieat  flour.    .    .  76       »         »       » 
Oats 41       »         »       » 

In  the  Irkutsk  government  the  stan<iard  average  prices  for  the  last  seven  years  were: 

Rye   flour   about 1.  20  roubles  per  poud 

Wheat  !> 1.  90      »         »      » 

Oats 1.  10      »         »      » 

The  fluctuations  for  the  Tomsk  market  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  fall  between  the 
following  limits: 

Maximum.  Minimum.     Ratio  of  max.  to  miu. 
Rye   flour .    .    .  1.  45  roubles  23  kopecks  6.  3 

Wheat  »    ...  1.  80      »  30        »  6.  0 

Oats 1.  10      »  17        »  6.  5 


TENURE    AND    USE    OF    LAND. 


Ill 


Thus,  the  fluctuations  in  the  prices  of  grain  in  the  Tomsk  government  although  considerable 
are  far  from  reaching  the  intensity  attained  by  the  fluctuations  in  the  wheat  localities  of 
the  Tobolsk  government.  In  the  agricultural  governments  of  Eastern  Siberia  the  fluctuations  in 
prices  exhibit  approximately  the  same  character.  In  such  localities  of  the  Tobolsk  govern- 
ment, where  farming  with  the  application  of  manure  has  already  become  established,  the 
prices  and  harvests  are  distinguished  by  great  stability,  which  naturally  has  a  very  good 
influence  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  population.  Thus,  at  the  extreme  northern  boundary  of 
agricultural  operations  in  the  Tobolsk  government  the  prices  for  grain  during  the  last  ten 
years  were : 

Maximum.        Minimum.      Average. 
Per  poud  of  rye  flour.    .    .    .  1.30  roubles  55  k.  80  k. 

»      »      »    oats    .....  1.0()       »  40  k.  55  k. 

Thus  the  maximum  price  exceeds  here  the  minimum  2'/^  times.  Independently  of  the 
fluctuating  niovemont,  the  prices  of  grain  in  all  the  agricultural  localities  of  Siberia  have 
further  a  tendency  to  rise,  which  is  explained  among  other  causes  by  the  expansion  of  the 
sale  of  Siberian  grain  for  distilling  and  export  to  European  Russia.  The  prices  of  the 
Tomsk  market  may  give  a  perfectly  clear  idea  of  this  rise.  These  prices,  during  a  twenty 
years  period,  taken  for  each  five  years,  give  the  following  increasing  series: 


Y    e    i 

I    r    s: 

Average  price  per 

poud.               j 

Rye  flour.    |  Wheat  flour. 

Oats.       1 

Five  years    .    .    . 

.     .    .  1870  —  1874 

31  k.               66  k. 

33  k. 

j      »        »       ... 

.     .     .  1875-1879 

32  » 

54  » 

34  » 

1      »        »        ... 

.    .    .  1880-1884 

58  ;> 

86  » 

43  » 

/>        »       ... 

.    .     .  1885  —  1889 

60  » 

88  » 

44  » 

In  proportion  to  the  progress  made  by  the  works  on  the  Siberian  railway,  the   rise  in 
the  prices  for  grain  in  the  agricultural  regions  will  doubtless  proceed  still  faster. 


Live  Stock  Industry. 

Cattle  raising  in  the  localities  containing  the  main  mass  of  the  Siberian  population, 
tluit  is,  in  the  whole  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia,  plays  only  a  secondary  part  in  the  eco- 
nomical life  of  the  population.  Its  dimensions  and  relative  importance  change  in  dependence 
mainly  upon  the  relation  between  the  quantity  ami  quality  of  arable  lands,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  the  lands  adapted  to  the  purpose,  namely  meadows  and  pastures,  on  the  other.  Siberia 
is  on  the  whole  very  rich  both  In  meadows  and  pastures,  although  the  low  nutritive  value  of 
forest  herbage  makes  it  necessary  in  the  greater  part  of  Siberia  to  expend  much  more  hay 
and  grazing  space  upon  rearing  cattle  than  is  re(iuireii  under  similar  circumstances  in  European 
Russia.    Siberia  nevertheless    is  capable  of  sustaining    mucli    more  cattle    than    it    does    at 


]  1  2  SIBERIA. 

pjoscnt.  iJut  us  the  main  luass  of  pt-a-sant  labour  is  expornkil  upon  agriculture,  cattle 
breeding  actually  attains  largo  dimensions  only  where  there  exsists, on  the  one  hand,  an  abund- 
ance of  meadows  and  pastures,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  lack  of  arable  land  liberates  in 
summer  time  tli(!  giealrr  part  of  tin;  working  capacity  of  the  peasantry,  and  where  at  the 
same  time  the  bail  ((iiality  of  the  ploughed  land  forces  the  peasants  to  seek  some  supplement- 
ary source  of  existence.  Thus,  in  the  Tobolsk  government  cattle  raising  is  especially  devel- 
oped ill  the  steppi!  localiti(!s  of  the  Tiukalinsk  district,  in  llie  Tomsk  government,  in  the  steppes 
of  the  Kuinsk  district  and  in  the  Clnilym  part  of  the  Tomsk  district,  all  of  them  being  localities 
where  agriculture  is  placed  in  comparatively  bad  rundiiions.  Jiut  in  these  places  even  th-; 
importance  of  cattle  breeding  can  nowhere  be  placed  above  that  of  agriculture.  The  latter 
still  yields  the  main  support  of  existence,  it  feeds  the  population,  while  cattle  breeding  only 
serves  to  satisfy  its  comparatively  secondary  necessities,  and  to  make  good  those  deficits 
which  appear  in  the  peasant  economy  in  consequence  of  bad  harvests. 

The  extent  of  live  stock  breeding  is  very  various  both  for  whole  locatities  and  for  in- 
dividual homesteads.  There  are  well  to  do  farmers  who  have  from  10  to  15  farm  horses,  25 
to  30  head  of  large-horned  cattle,  40  to  50  sheep.  There  are  again  wealthy  men  who  have 
40  to  50  horses  and  a  hundred  or  more  head  of  cattle.  Finally,  some  men  are  so  poor 
that  they  possess  either  no  live  stock  at  all,  or  only  one  horse  or  a  cow.  Turning  then  to 
averages  it  appears  that  there  are  volosts  where  the  household,  leaving  out  of  account  young 
animals,  owns  5  or  G  farm  horses,  5  to  6  cows,  and  15  to  20  sheep.  Others  again  on  an 
average  per  household  have  not  more  than  two  horses,  one  cow  and  3  or  4  sheep,  or  even  less. 
Summing  up  for  the  whole  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia,  the  standard  allowance  of  live  stock 
per  household  may  be  taken  at  3  to  4  working  horses,  2  to  3  milch  cows,  with  the  corres- 
ponding number  of  young  cattle,  and  6  to  8  sheep. 

Horses  in  the  agricultural  tract  of  Siberia  are  kept  mainly  for  farm  work,  but  in 
many  localities  besides  this  for  the  conveyance  of  goods.  Upon  the  tract  a  considerable  part 
of  the  horses  are  kept  specially  for  the  passenger  traffic,  the  post  et  cetera.  The  Siberian  horse 
is  on  the  whole  small,  is  easily  satisfied  as  regards  food  and  water,  and  supports  alike  heat 
and  cold.  He  is  fast  but  not  strong,  so  that  the  normal  load  of  the  ordinary  peasant  horse 
on  a  good  road  docs  not  exceed  20  to  25  pouds.  Only  the  better  sort  of  dray  horses  draw 
28  to  30  pouds  and  for  short  distances,  35  pouds.  The  types  of  horses  in  different  localities  of 
Siberia  are  not  imiform.  Thus,  in  the  southern  steppe  portion  of  the  Tobolsk  government 
the  horses  are  a  cross  with  the  steppe  or  Kirghiz  strain,  and  are  distinguished  by  extraor- 
dinary speed  and  staying  powers.  In  the  region  around  Tomsk  the  horses  are  somewhat 
bigger  and  do  not  possess  the  speed  of  the  steppe  or  Kirghiz  breed,  but  are  on  the  other 
hand,  very  good  for  heavy  draught  and  farm  work,  for  which  the  Tomsk  horses  are  famous  and 
fetch  a  high  price  over  all  Eastern  Siberia  and  Amouria.  The  Transbaikal  horse  on  the  other 
hand,  is  short  and  thin' and  is  not  distinguished  either  by  its  pace  or  capacity  for  draught. 
The  prices  of  horses  are  everywhere  subject  to  ^^^de  fluctuations.  In  the  steppe  districts 
of  the  Tobolsk  government  and  in  the  localities  of  the  Tomsk  government  remote  from  the 
tract,  the  average  peasant  horse  Is  not  worth  more  than  12  to  15  roubles.  In  the  northern 
districts  of  the  Tobolsk   government   and  in  the  tract   localities  of  that  of  Tomsk,  it  fetches 


LIVE    STOCK    INDUSTKY. 


113 


20  to  25  roubles.  A  horse  fit  for  post  service  costs  In  either  government  50  to  60  roubles. 
In  Eastern  Siberia  horses  are  considerably  dearer;  in  the  Irkutsk  government  the  average 
price  of  a  working  horse  is  not  less  than  35  to  40  roubles;  on  the  Amour  a  small  Transbai- 
kal  horse  fetches  from  50  to  80,  and  a  Tomsk  horse,  100  to  150  roubles. 

The  horned  cattle  over  all  Siberia  belong  to  the  ordinary  Russian  breed.  They  are  small; 
a  full-grown  cow  has  a  carcass  weighing  5V«  to  7  pouds,  rather  lean  and  gives  little  milk.  In 
summer,  on  usual  feed,  a  cow  gives  about  V*  to  ^/h  vedro,  and  only  when  fed  on  oil  cake, 
from  ^2  to  ^,8  of  a  vedro.  In  winter,  the  yield  is  much  less  and  does  not  on  an  average 
exceed  Vs  vedro  a  day.  Most  of  the  milk  obtained  from  the  cows,  as  well  as  such  products 
as  curds  and  buttermilk,  are  used  by  the  peasants  at  home,  and  only  localities  near  the 
towns  sell  their  milk.  On  the  contrary,  butter  forming  an  important  article  of  Siberian  export 
is  sold  from  every  household  possessing  more  than  one  or  two  cows.  Here  too  the  butter  does 
not  all  go  to  market;  the  greater  part  is  consumed  by  the  peasants,  only  the  surplus  being 
offered  for  sale.  The  quantity  sold  therefore  depends  not  only  on  the  number  of  cows,  but  on  the 
composition  of  the  family.  Taking  the  average  family  as  containing  5  to  6  members,  it  can  with  two 
to  three  cows,  in  the  localities  most  favourable  to  cattle  raising  in  the  agricultural  zone,  sell 
not  more  than  10  to  15  pounds  per  cow;  with  5  to  7  cows,  25  to  30  pounds;  with  8  to  10  cows, 
a  poud  for  each  milch  cow  or  somewhat  more.  The  butter  is  made  from  sour  cream.  It  is  not  sold 
in  the  fresh  state  but  salted  down  and  kept  till  certain  dates,  occurring  once  or  twice  in  the  year, 
when  it  is  bought  up  by  factors  who  supply  it  to  large  merchants  who  melt  it  down  and  clarify  it. 

The  sale  of  milk  and  dairy  produce  has  a  prime  importance  for  the  peasant  only  in  a  few 
localities,  principally  in  the  neighbourhood  of  towns  or  in  the  steppes.  For  the  most  part  horned 
cattle  are  kept  for  slaughter.  The  meat  is  consumed  mostly  by  the  peasants  themselves,  only  a 
small  quantity  being  sold  in  the  towns;  the  tallow  and  hides  are  as  a  rule  sold;  they  go  from 
Western  Siberian  to  European  Russia,  while  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  h'des  from  Eastern 
Siberia,  of  which  come  from  Transbaikalia  alone  150,000  skins  a  year,  is  used  to  cover  tea  boxes. 

Dairy  farming,  and  even  so  very  badly  organized,  is  carried  on  only  by  peasants  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  more  important  towns,  Tomsk,  Irkutsk,  and  a  few  others.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  source  of  revenue  from  cattle  is  the  sale  of  the  live  beasts,  the  more 
well  to  do  peasants  selling  them  at  a  later  age  than  their  poorer  brethren.  The  cattle  are 
bought  up  by  a  special  class  of  traders,  who  slaughter  them  and  either  sell  the  produce  in 
the  towns  or  export  the  same  to  Europeaii  Russia. 

The  average  prices  for  cattle  for  some  parts  of  Siberia  appear  in  the  following   table. 


Region  s. 

Cows. 

Bullocks, 
3  yrs. 

Bullocks, 
l*/3  yrs. 

R      0 

u       b      1 

•  '       s. 

Southern  part  of  Tobolsk  gov 

9  —  12 

6-   8 

3-    4 

Middle        >       ;>        3>          s       .    .   .    . 

10  —  12 

7-    9 

4-    5 

Tomsk  gov.  near  capital  and  on  the  tract 

12  —  15 

5  —    7 

Remote  parts  of  Tomsk  gov.   ... 

10—12 

8—   9 

4—    5     1 

Irkutsk  government 

25-30 

20  —  25 

5  —  10 

]  11  SIBERIA. 

Cattlo,  likt;  horsiis,  bocomo  dearer  tliu  further  uasl.  At  the  same  lime  the  prices  are 
subject  to  extremiily  .sharp  fliictiiatioris  in  <iopen<ience  upon  the  harvest  ami  the  cattle  plague. 

"Wlii'ii  tliei'e  is  u  bail  harvest  tin;  j)oor  larim-r  si-lis  his  cattli;  Id  mak"!  up  tin;  deficit  iti  his 
commissarial.  On  tli')  ap|)roa(;li  of  an  (.'pidemii;  all  try  to  sell  fh"!ir  cattle,  preferring  to  do  so 
oven  lor  a  sdiik  than  to  risk  the  [)lat,'n(!.  In  both  cases  a  (|uaiitlty  of  cattle  is  thrown  up<)u 
llic  market,  and  the  juicus  fall  to  almost  half,  in  ordnr  to  risri  mor*!  or  less  considerably 
after  the  lirst  good  harvcist,  or  after  the  subsidence  of  the  plague. 

The  sheep  bred  in  agricultural  Siberia  belong  for  the  most  part  to  a  vt;ry  bad  br^ed. 
They  yii'Id  little  meat;  a  three-year  old  sheep  gives  a  carcass  of  30  to  40  pounds,  very 
littli!  tallow,  and  woo!  of  inf(MMor  (juality  and  of  small  (|nantity,  namely  from  25  to  40  pound > 
per  ten  shw\).  The  prodncn  of  sheep  farming  is  almost  entirely  consumed  by  the  peas- 
ant at  home.  Tht;  Ix'St  breeds  of  sheep  are  raisiMl,  on  tlin  one  hand,  on  the  southern  bordtr-r- 
laiids  of  the  governments  of  Tobolsk  and  Tomsk,  adjacent  to  the  Kirghiz  steppe,  and  on  tli" 
other,  in  the  Minusinsk  region  and  in  Transbaikalia.  In  the  former  a  considerable  part  of  the 
sheep  belong  to  the  Kirghiz  Kurdiuk  or  fat-tailed  breed,  kept  for  its  tallow;  a  yearling 
yields  20  pounds,  a  three-year  old,  a  poud  or  more;  in  the  latter  place  a  degenerated  race  of 
merinos  is  bred  chiefly  for  its  wool. 

Cattle  breeding,  although  as  already  remarked  only  a  secondary  source  of  the  prosp'-rity 
of  agricultural  Siberia,  affords  an  essential  help  in  bad  years.  A  terrible  calamity  for  the 
people,  hardly  less  so  than  a  bad  harvest,  is  the  plague,  whether  the  Siberian  or  c  h  u  m  a.  Both 
forms  of  disease  are  particularly  destinctive  in  the  Barabinsk  steppe  and  the  localities  adjacent 
to  the  Kirghiz  steppe,  which  are  the  chief  foci  of  the  Siberian  plague  for  the  whole  of 
Western  Siberia.  The  propagation  of  epizootic  diseases  is  here  facilitated  by  the  careless 
treatment  of  the  cattle,  although  they  are  on  the  whole  very  well  fed.  The  standard  feed  in 
the  majority  of  places  in  agricultural  Siberia  is  150  to  200  and  more  pouds  of  hay  per  work- 
ing horse  with  an  addition  of  10  to  15  pouds  of  oats,  50  to  100  pouds  of  hay  with  a  cor- 
rospon<ling  (juantity  of  straw  per  cow,  and  25  pouds  of  hay  per  sheep. 

For  the  Kirghiz  of  the  steppe  regions  and  in  part  for  the  Transbaikal  Bu- 
riats,  cattle  raising  is  no  longer  a  secondary  but  the  chief  source  of  livelihood.  In  the 
steppes,  horses  and  sheep  are  the  principal  live  stock,  there  being  but  few  cattle.  The  horses 
are  bred  for  transport  and  for  food  in  the  form  of  meat  and  k  u  ra  y  s,  and  for  sale  to  the 
neighbouring  settled  population,  sheep  for  slaughter  for  their  meat  and  tallow,  of  which  the 
steppe  variety  produces  a  large  quantity.  The  surplus  flocks  are  sold  alive  to  cattle  drivers 
who  take  them  to  the  tallow  works,  where  they  are  slaughtered.  The  Kirghiz  also  keep  cam- 
els which  they  employ  in  summer  as  beasts  of  burden  and  in  \nuter  harness  to  common 
peasant  sledges. 

The  Kirghiz  scarcely  prepare  any  hay  for  winter,  but  leave  the  cattle  to  wander  over 
the  snow-clad  steppe  and  pick  up  whatever  food  they  can.  When  the  snow  is  soft  and  does 
not  lie  thick,  large  cattle  easily  dig  down  to  the  dry  herbage,  and  are  then  followed  by 
the  sheep.  But  when  the  first  snows  are  succeeded  by  rain  and  then  by  frosts,  and  the  ground 
is  covered  with  a  crust  of  hard  ice,  a  consequence  of  such  a  glazed  frost  is  a  lack  of  fodder 
during  the  continuance  of  which  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  large  and  especially  small 


LIVE    STOCK    INDUSTRY.  115 

cattle  perish.  No  small  number  also  perish  from  blizzards  or  b  u  r  a  u  s,  lasting  in  the 
steppes  several  days  in  succession.  Herds  of  horses  and  flocks  of  sheep  caught  by  the  storm 
are  unable  to  stand  against  the  force  of  the  wind.  Driven  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  bliz- 
zard they  fall  into  gullies  and  ravines  covered  up  with  snow   and  there  perish  in  masses. 

In  the  northern  uncultivated  borderland  of  Siberia  the  wandering  native  population 
keep  reindeer  and  harness  dogs.  The  former  are  indispensable  companions  of  the  wandering 
native.  The  extreme  indifference  in  the  matter  of  food  allows  of  their  being  kept  in  places 
where  no  other  domestic  animals  could  live,  and  their  services  to  man  are  most  various.  As 
long  as  the  reindeer  is  alive  he  is  a  beast  of  draught;  killed,  his  flesh  goes  as  food,  his  skin 
furnishes  warm  clothing,  and  his  sinews  yield  thread. 


><3^— 


3* 


ll(i  SIIIEKIA. 


I 


Cll  A  I'TKIi    VIII. 
The  forest  wealth  of  Siberia. 

The  area  occupied  by  forest;  the  division  of  the  forests  into  zones;  the  northern:  zone  of  tall 
conifers  and  its  boundaries;  the  prevailing  kinds  of  trees;  the  birch  zone  and  its  limits;  the 
importance  of  this  zone  for  the  agriculture  and  economy  of  the  inhabitants;  the  zone  of  mountain 
forests  and  its  significance;  causes  serving  as  an  obstach;  to  the  introduction  of  forestry  into  Si- 
beria; measures  of  the  Government  for  the  regulating  of  the  forests  of  Western  Siberia: 
establishment  of  a  Forest  Administration;  results  attained  in  a  short  time:  the  position 
of   forest    husbandry    in   Eastern    Siberia;    measures    for    ascertaining    Crown    forests    in 

the  Amour  region. 


SIBERIA  belongs  to  the  number  of  countries  abounding  in  forests.  In  Western  Siberia  alone- 
the  area  of  forests  belonging  to  the  Crown  is  estimated  at  110,000;000  dessiatines.  In 
Eastern  Siberia  the  area  so  occupied  is  considerably  gi-ealer,  but  is  there  not  exactly  ascer- 
tained. The  Littoral  Amour  region  is  also  rich  in  forest  consisting  of  very  various  and 
valuable  species. 

The  vast  forest  resources  are  however  distributed  unequally  over  the  extensive  terri- 
tory of  Siberia.  The  greatest  expanse  of  forest  is  situated  in  its  northern  part,  and  it  is  al- 
most entirely  absent  in  the  south.  According  to  the  density  of  its  tree  covering,  the  whole 
of  Siberia  may  be  divided  into  three  zones,  of  which  each  is  distinguished  by  characteristic 
features  and  situated  in  a  direction  from  west  to  east. 

Northern  tall  tree  Forests. 

The  zone  of  the  northern  tall-stemmed  woodlands  stretches  uninterruptedly  through, 
all  Siberia  from  the  Ural  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Kamchatka.  This  is  the  zone  of  the  Sibe- 
rian urmans  ar.l  taigas.  To  the  north  it  borders  on  the  tundras  which  is  the  limit  of 
the  growth  of  the  larger  vegetation.  The  southern  side  of  this  forest  zone  is  determined  by 
the  line  of  the  greatest  development  of  corn  raising  and  settled  life.  Beginning  with  the  Tu- 
rinsk  district  it  passes  through  the  northern  part  of  that  of  Tobolsk  and  abruptly  rises  along, 
the  right  bank  of  the  Irtysh  to  the  river  Tara,  embracing  the  northern  parts  of  the  districts 
of  Kainsk,  Tomsk  and  Mariinsk.  thence  passes  through  the  whole  of  Eastern  Siberia  almost 
parallel  to  the  main  Siberian  tract,  and  in  the  Transbaikal  territory  becomes  confounded 
with  the  southern  zone  of  the  mountain  forests  upon  the  Stanovoi  or  Yablonovi  range.  These 
forest  expanses  are  interrupted  only  by  large  marshes  and  impassable  bogs  wherefore  many 
parts  of  this  immense  northern  taiga  have  an  undisputed  right  to  be  called  virgin  soil,  as  so 
far  they  have  not  been  penetrated  by  the  most  fearless  trapper.  These  localities,  inaccessible- 
to  man,  will  yet  long  be  subject  to  only  the  elemental  forces  of  nature.. 


FOKEST     WEALTH.  1  1  7 

The  prevailing  arboreal  forms  in  this  zone  are  the  conifers,  the  pine,  larch,  pi'fch  pine, 
lir  and  so-called  cedar.  A  complete  enumeration  of  all  the  species  of  trees  occurring  in  the 
Siberian  flora  with  their  systematic  names  has  been  made  already  in  Chapter  II,  on  the  Geo- 
graphy of  Siberia.  In  forestry  it  is  not  trees  that  grow  solitarily  but  those  that  grow  in  gi-eat 
masses  that  are  of  importance.  The  deciduous  trees  possess  in  this  zone  an  insignificant  import- 
ance; the  swamps  show  an  occasional  admixture  of  aspen  and  willow,  and  birch  occurs  on 
the  skirts  of  the  taiga.  In  Western  Siberia,  chiefly  in  the  urmans  of  Tarsk,  Tobolsk  and  Tu- 
rinsk,  a  lime-tree  is  met  with  in  the  form  of  underwood,  which  supplies  bark  and  bast  which 
serve  as  a  source  of  income  to  the  local  population. 

The  northern  forest  zone  occupies  all  those  regions  of  Siberia  where  agriculture  is 
impossible  from  the  deficient  quantity  of  heat  during  the  five  months  vegetative  period.  The 
fixed  population  in  this  zone  is  insignificant  and  grain  raising  is  met  with  sporadically,  here 
and  there,  in  small  patches  on  its  southern  border.  The  forest  reaches  of  this  vast  zone  have 
up  to  the  present  time  been  abandoned  exclusively  to  the  forces  of  nature  and  cannot  present 
a  pleasant  spectacle  to  civilized  man,  but  preserve  within  themselves  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  splendid  building  material.  There  are  many  localities  where  for  tens  and  hundreds 
of  versts  in  every  direction  stand  clean  plantations  of  pine,  which  with  their  interlaced  sum- 
mits hide  the  sky.  The  absolutely  naked  trunks  rising  perfectly  straight  to  an  enormous  height 
are  so  monotonous,  that  a  man  who  once  chances  into  such  a  part  of  the  Siberian  taiga,  or 
even  a  wild  beast,  cannot  find  his  way  out  again.  Experienced  native  trappers  are  afraid  to 
penetrate  into  these,  in  their  opinion,  enchanted  spots,  and  they  record  every  step  they  take  by 
scoring  the  trees.  Access  to  such  places  is  difficult,  and  the  timber  contained  in  them  is  so  far 
without  value,  but  with  the  growth  of  the  population,  the  improvement  of  the  roads  and  the 
destruction  of  the  forests  in  the  inhabited  parts,  means  will  be  found  to  make  use  of  the  now 
remote  forest  resources.  They  form  indeed  the  wealth  of  the  future  and  are  merely  awaiting 
their  turn.  The  scourge  of  the  forests  of  this  zone  at  the  present  time  is  only  the  forest  fires, 
not  unfrequently  devastating  hundreds  of  versts.  The  burned  timber  is  however  rapidly  replaced 
by  young  underwood  growing  up  under  the  influence  of  natural  selection.  It  must  be 
observed  however  that  the  southern  limit  of  the  zone  of  high-trunked  trees  is  gradually  retreat- 
ing to  the  north,  yielding  place  to  the  raising  of  grain. 


Birch  forest  zone. 

The  zone  of  birch  forest  covers  the  whole  low  lying  or  so-called  steppe  portion  of 
Siberia.  This  area  is  occupied  by  a  settled  population  and  nearly  coincides  with  the  so-called 
cultivated  or  agricultural  zone  of  Siberia.  The  principal,  it  may  almost  be  said,  the  only  forest 
growth  of  this  zone  is  the  birch  with  a  slight  admixture  of  aspen  and  t  a  1  (salix)  upon  the 
damper  spots  and  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers.  Coniferous  trees  are  entirely  absent.  Merely 
a  few  plantations  of  these  species  occur  on  the  outskirts  of  the  birch  zone,  namely  those  of 
Borovliansk  and  Yelets-Ikovsk  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tobol,  and  Pavlodarsk  and  Semipala- 
tinsk  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Irtysh.  The  two  latter  estates  are  outside  the  birch  zone. 


1]S  ^^lUElClA. 

Tbi'  bucii  iiiiivcs  on  a  chernoziiuu  -oii  ainl  iberefore  this  zone  Is  the  most  populated 
and  particularly  characteristic  of  Western  Siberia,  between  the  middle  course  of  the  Tobol 
and  ibe  upper  waters  of  the  Obi.  This  space  embraces  the  so-called  steppes- of  Ishimsk,  Akrao- 
linsk,  Kurudzbinsk,  and  iJarabinsk.  Altb(Mif,'h  it  is  usual  to  und*,'rsland  by  the  word  steppe  an 
absolutely  treeless  space,  in  Siberia  with  the  exception  id'  the  whole  Kirghiz  steppe  region, 
which  also  produces  over  large  areas  shrubs  used  a,s  fuel  in  the  mining  works,  all  the  remain- 
ing plains  are  covered  more  or  less  thickly  with  birch  patches  or  spinnies,  in  local  languiige 
k  0  1  0  k  s,  giving  the  locality  a  very  peculiar  appearance.  These  birch  copses,  mingling  when 
viewed  at  a  distance,  produce  the  effect  of  an  unbroken  forest.  Traversing  hundreds  and  thous- 
ands of  vcrsls  by  the  Western  Siberian  tract,  the;  traveller  sees  everywhere  on  the  horizon 
as  it  were  uninterrupted  forests.  Where  here  and  there  these  birch  spinnies  are  absent,  it 
is  in  the  majority  of  cases  due  to  their  destruction  by  the  axe  and  fire  and  the  subsequent 
pasturing  of  cattle.  Thus  the  nomad  population  of  the  Akmolinsk  territory  with  its  numerous 
herds  is  gradually  thrusting  back  towards  the  north  the  line  of  forest  vegetation  in  the  steppes, 
on  which  account  the  barren  desert  is  ever  advancing  more  and  more  from  the  south. 
The  care  of  preserving  these  groves  in  the  steppes  should  be  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  the 
local  authorities,  especially  now  that  a  railway  is  being  carried  through  this  locality.  The 
distribution  of  birch  patches  over  the  steppe  surface  may  for  the  most  part  be  called  ideal, 
constituting  precisely  that  combination  of  wood,  arable  land  and  pasture  which  is  everywhere 
and  at  all  times  desirable  in  the  interests  of  agriculture.  Thanks  alone  to  this  happy  dispo- 
sition of  the  forests  in  this  part  of  Siberia,  notwithstanding  the  not  wholly  favourable  atmos- 
pheric conditions  and  the  mediocre  soil,  crops  and  grass  thrive  well.  The  population  of  this 
zone  would  not  know  bad  harvests,  were  it  not  that  the  grasshopper,  always  laying  its  eggs 
in  the  treeless  Kirghiz  steppe,  creeps  thence  into  the  rich  crops  of  the  cultivated  fields.  In 
this  the  most  densely  inhabited  zone  the  birch  furnishes  the  peasant  with  everything,  timber 
and  fuel  and  wood  for  every  purpose.  All  the  huts  and  farm  buildings  in  the  villages  are  made 
of  it,  even  the  roofs  are  of  birch  bark.  Birch  is  the  exclusive  fuel  in  towns  and  settlements 
as  in  works,  and  furnishes  the  sole  material  for  all  farming  implements.  The  consumption  is 
enormous,  and  the  birch  spinnies  are  melting  away  like  spring  snow.  This  zone  is  now  being 
cut  through  by  the  chief  artery  of  the  railway,  which  will  call  forth  a  still  greater  consump- 
tion of  birch  fuel. 

The  predominance  of  the  hirch  in  the  middle  low  lying  cultivated  zone  is  manifested 
over  the  whole  extent  of  Siberia  from  the  Obi  to  the  east.  Here  the  birch  zone  continues 
however  with  some  interruptions  caused  by  the  contour  of  the  locality.  It  shows  a  more  char- 
acteristic appearance  in  the  Achinsk  district  and  in  Transbaikalia. 


Mountain  Woodlands. 

The  zone  of  mountain  forests  embraces  the  whole  of  Siberia  from  the  south.  FromSemi- 
rechia  to  Vladivostok  lies  an  almost  uninterrupted  chain  of  mountains,  under  various  names, 
Thian-Shan,   the   two    Alatau,   Tarbagatai,   Altai,   Sayan,   Stanovoi   range,  Yablonovy,   and 


FOEEST     WEALTH.  J  ]  9 

others.  The  northern  slopes  of  these  mountains  are  almost  everywhere  covered  with  forest. 
Here  the  forest  vegetation  Is  very  various,  but  conifers  prevail,  such  as  the  larch,  pitchpine, 
pine,  cedar.  They  yield  a  timber  of  excellent  quality,  but  the  exploitation  of  mountain 
forest  presents  gi-eat  difficulties.  Such  plantations  are  remote  from  inhabited  spots,  the  felling 
of  the  timber  upon  the  steep  slopes  is  accompanied  with  no' small  risk.  Xot  seldom  the  trees 
grow  upon  cones  with  such  abrupt  sides  that  the  felled  tree  falls  down  below  and  is  broken 
into  shivers,  damaging  at  the  same  time  all  the  small  saplings  it  meets  with  on  its  way. 
The  rivers  in  the  mountainous  places  are  full  of  rapids  and  do  not  permit  of  raftage.  In  the 
territories  of  Semipalatinsk  and  Semirechensk  the  Kirghiz  transport  logs  from  the  defiles  upon 
camels.  The  mountain  forests  have  an  extremely  great  importance  in  the  economy  of  the 
country.  Independently  of  the  fact  that  with  the  carrying  through  of  the  railway  there  will 
appear  private  initiative  in  the  exploitation  of  the  forest  wealth,  the  forests  covering  the 
steep  sides  of  the  mountains  serve  as  a  mighty  regulator  of  the  flushing  of  rivers  and  of 
the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere.  Hence  the  proper  management  of  the  mountain  forests  and 
their  defense  from  destruction  constitute  a  pressing  need  of  Siberia. 

The  forest  ai-eas  of  Siberia  which  have  brought  in,  and  in  many  places  even  where  they 
do  not  bring  in  any  revenue  to  the  Crown,  were  for  a  long  time  free  from  any  surveillance.  Even 
now  there  is  a  direction  in  the  law  to  the  effect  that  «the  inhabitants  of  Siberia  are  allowed  the 
free  use  of  the  forests  for  all  their  needs  and  for  the  construction  of  vessels,  without  payment  (Art. 
411,  Forest  Code,  ed.  1876).  The  law  regarding  the  Siberian  forests  as  a  «gift  of  God», 
according  to  the  expression  of  the  peasants,  or  as  a  free  gift  like  air  and  water,  it  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  local  population  should  take  any  trouble  to  preserve  them;  the  heap- 
ing up  of  windfalls,  frequent  fires,  unsystematic  felling,  the  pasturing  of  cattle  upon  the 
nearest  clearings,  have  brought  the  majority  of  timber  estates  to  a  chaotic  condition,  while 
in  the  more  inhabited  parts  of  Siberia  even  a  lack  of  forest  has  made  itself  felt. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  sixties  the  Government  began  to  trouble  itself  about  the 
introduction  of  some  order  into  the  use  of  the  timber  of  Western  Siberia.  In  1863  in  the 
governments  of  Tomsk  and  Tobolsk,  and  in  the  territories  of  Akmolinsk  and  Semirechensk, 
temporary  regulations  were  introduced  establishing  a  tax  per  stump  and  sagene  for  the  use 
of  wood.  The  preservation  of  the  forests  in  "Western  Siberia  was  imposed  by  the  said  rules 
exclusively  upon  the  rural  population,  allowing  them  in  return  the  right  of  free  use  for  their 
own  needs,  but  not  for  sale.  The  looking  after  the  fulfilment  of  the  rules  was  imposed  upon 
the  volost  administrations.  This  measure  however  did  not  bring  the  expected  advantage.  The 
population  was  burdened  with  a  natural  service,  timber  was  cut  for  the  works  and  towns,  but 
the  Crown  received  nothing.  Nor  was  this  all,  in  1869  a  law  was  promulgated,  granting  a 
certain  company  the  unlimited  right  of  making  use  of  Siberian  timber  for  industrial  purposes. 
This  company  was  permitted  to  cut  timber  free  on  the  banks  of  the  Obi  and  Yenisei  and 
their  tributaries  for  the  building  of  ships  and  the  export  of  lumber.  (Art.  412,  Forest 
Code,  ed.  1876).  Apparently  this  company  made  a  generous  use  of  the  right  granted  it,  as 
timber  trees  have  almost  entirely  disappeared  from  the  shores  of  these  chief  rivers  of  Siberia. 
It  must  however  be  remarked  that  the  term  of  the  priveleges,  granted  the  company,  has 
expired. 


120 


SIBERIA. 


Witli  a  viuw  tu  Uiu  proper  administiatiuii  of  tlio  forests  of  Wosluni  Siberia  siuco  Iho 
year  1884  it  lias  been  placed  upon  tlie  same  footing  as  that  by  which  the  Crown  forests  of 
European  Russia  an-  rnana^.-d,  ;i  paid  forest  guard  being  introduced.  The  peasants  are  required 
to  look  after  the  funist  piaeed  at  their  disposal.  In  the  course  of  its  eight  years  existence, 
the  Administration  has  eJTocted  not  a  little  for  the  organization  of  the  Crown  forests  of 
Western  Sibeiia.  'I'ln'  tiinldT  estat(!S  have  been  <iscerlaiiii'd  and  described,  every  year  only 
that  pait  is  api)oinleil  to  be  cut  which  is  permissible  according  to  the  conditions  of  each 
estate;  the  dues  have  been  regulated,  control  over  the  raftage  of  the  timber  has  been 
established,  as  well  as  over  the  conveyance  of  it  to  the  stea:ner  wharves  and  the  works 
anil  inanufactories.  By  means  of  such  measures,  without  any  i)urdening  of  the  local  ru- 
ral population,  which  as  before  enjoys  the  timber  for  its  own  domestic  uses  free, 
it  has  been  found  possible  to  bring  the  revenue  of  the  Crown  from  its  property 
in  Western  Siberia  to  500,000  roubles  a  year.  This  figure,  considerable  for  tin;  present 
time  with  the  existing  very  low  prices  for  wood,  cannot  give  even  an  approximate  idea  of 
that  enormous  revenue  which  the  forest  resources  of  Siberia  promise  in  the  near  future,  when 
the  railway  now  being  earned  through  the  country  increases  the  consumption  of  wood  from 
the  northern  timber  zone,  and  when  in  the  south  a  regular  sale  of  the  same  is  organized  to 
the  conterminous  and  absolutely  treeless  regions  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

In  Eastern  Siberia  all  the  inhabitants  are  allowed,  as  before,  free  use  of  the  State 
foiests  for  all  their  needs,  and  all  forest  control  is  entirely  absent.  To  the  present  time  only 
one  forest  estate  has  been  declared  exclusively  belonging  to  the  Crown,  and  this  only  in 
consequeuce  of  a  petition  of  the  Irkutsk  Hunting  Company,  who  took  upon  itself  the  pres- 
ervation of  this  estate.  The  law,  although  it  requires  that  payment  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Crown  should  be  exacted  for  all  wood  received  from  the  free  Government  forests  by  the 
various  works,  and  this  payment  be  determined  by  tlie  quantity  of  wood  consumed  by  the 
works,  yet  as  the  superintendence  of  this  is  imposed  upon  the  Crown  courts  and  the  local 
authorities  (Art.  415  Forest  Code,  ed.  1876)  the  amount  of  revenue  obtained  is  extremely 
insignificant.  According  to  the  returns  furnished  by  the  Irkutsk  and  Yeniseisk  Crown 
Courts,  the  revenue  received  from  the  sale  of  timber  and  the  fines  for  the  breach  of  the 
forest  code  were  as  in  the  following  table. 


1 


Governments: 

1889. 

1890. 

1891.        1 

R      0 

n      b      1 

1 
e     s. 

Irkutsk 

3,550 
2,327 

5,812 
2,421 

3,543 
2,375 

1     Yeniseisk 

At  the  present  time  in  consequence  of  the  Increase  of  the  population  and  of  the  activity 
of  the  works,  and  also  of  the  contemplated  building  of  the  Siberian  Railway  and  the  settlement 
and  industrial  development  of  the  adjacent  localities  expected  to  ensue  therefrom,  the  adoption 
of  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  most  important  forests  of  Eastern  Siberia  is  recognized 


FOREST      WEALTH.  121 

to  brook  no  delay.  The  Ministry  of  Crown  Domains  is  now  despatching  a  party  of  forest 
officials  to  carry  out  the  law  of  removing  the  best  and  most  important  Crown  forests 
from  the  free  use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  of  their  preservation  for  future  time  by  means  of 
the  formation  of  closed  forest  estates,  and  also  for  the  protection  of  the  State  forests  attached 
to  various  industries,  works  and  manufactories. 

In  the  Amour  country,  steps  have  been  taken  since  188S  towards  ascertaining  the 
Crown  forests  and  the  setting  aside  of  the  best  of  them  as  closed  estates,  but  the  results  of 
the  efforts  of  the  forest  officials  sent  into  this  country  have  not  yet  been  made  clear,  the 
dues  on  the  sale  of  timber  are  not  yet  established  and  the  State  so  far  receives  no  revenues 
from  its  vast  property  iu  this  part  of  Siberia. 


— ^<$^ — 


122  SIflEKIA. 


CIIAPTKR   IX. 
The  Industries  of  the  rural  population. 

Indiiytriiil  oarnin{/s;   tisliiiig   and    iiuriiirig;    ilie   galhoring   oi   Cf'dar   nuts;    boo   koeping;    th*; 
hewing  of  limbor  and  wood  fuel;  knstar  industries;  the  carrying  trade;  conchiding  remarks. 


AFTER  the  sketch  of  agricuUine,  cattle  raising  and  forestry  presented  in  the  preceding 
account,  which  constitute  the  cliief  sources  of  the  prosperity  of  the  mass  of  the  Siberian 
popuUition,  theie  remains  now  to  pass  to  a  survey  of  the  other  and  secondary  sources.  In 
consequence  of  their  merely  auxiliary  importance,  it  is  only  possible  to  set  apart  a  much  less 
space  than  was  necessary  to  devote  to  agriculture,  so  that  the  pages  here  following  will  form 
not  so  much  a  description  as  a  short  survey,  a  catalogue  raisonne  of  those  industries  in 
which  the  Siberian  people  are  occupied. 

Most  prominent  on  account  of  the  number  of  hands  employed  must  be  placed  the 
fishing  and  hunting  industries. 

The  internal  waters  of  Siberia,  both  the  large  rivers  and  the  greater  part  of  the  steppe 
lakes,  were  once  very  rich  in  fish.  In  the  lakes  there  chiefly  bred  perch,  crucian  carp,  pike, 
dace  and  such  coarse  fish;  in  the  rivers,  the  most  various  species  of  white  and  red  fish, 
beginning  with  the  same  perch  and  pike  and  ending  with  n  e  1  m  a,  sturgeon,  sterlet,  eel  pout, 
trout.  The  abundance  of  fish  was  fabulous.  There  exist  credible  evidence  of  a  mass  of  fish, 
which  completely  filled  the  bed  of  the  river  from  its  bottom  to  its  surface,  and  which  even 
leaped  into  the  windows  of  passing  steamers.  At  the  present  time  the  supplies  of  fish  in  the 
Siberian  waters  have  become  considerably  exhausted.  In  the  limits  of  the  purely  agricultural  zone 
thickly  populated  with  Russians,  fishing  already  almost  exclusively  serves  the  wants  of  the 
population  along  the  banks  for  their  own  consumption,  and  in  but  few  locaUties  provides 
them  with  more  important  earnings.  Fisheries  are  now  principally  concentrated  in  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  great  Siberian  rivers,  outside  the  limits  of  the  cultivated  zone.  Thus  in  West- 
ern Siberia  there  are  the  districts  of  Berezovsk,  Surgutsk  and  Tobolsk,  and  the  Xarymsk 
country;  in  Eastern  Siberia,  the  lower  waters  of  the  Yenisei,  the  Yakutsk  territory,  Kam- 
chatka, et  cetera.  The  fisheries  in  these  parts  are  partly  without  owners,  partly  belong  to  the 
bank  population  consisting  of  peasants  or  natives.  The  grounds  belonging  to  the  peasants 
are  for  the  most  part  exploited  by  themselves  individually  or  on  the  artel  principle.  On  the 
contrary,  the  natives  work  but  insignificant  portions  of  the  immense  fisheries  which  actually 
belong   to   them.   The   remainder   they   let,    as  a  rule  for  a  mere  trifle,  to  the  neighbouring 


KUKAL    JNDUSTEIES.  1  23 

peasants,  or,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  to  capitalists  who  conduct  the  industry  on  commercial 
principles  with  the  assistance  of  numerous  parties  of  hired  labourers. 

The  catching  of  fish  is  carried  hoth  summer  and  winter,  the  most  various  means  being 
made  use  of.  According  to  the  habit  of  this  or  that  fish,  nets  of  the  most  various  sizes, 
lines,  seines  with  several  scores  of  hooks,  with  bait  and  without,  are  employed.  In  winter,  some 
rivers  are  fenced  right  across,  and  traps  are  placed  in  gaps  left  in  the  weir.  At  the  end  of 
the  winter  when  the  water  in  the  rivers  goes  bad  and  the  fish  rushes  for  fresh  water  into 
the  small  spring  streams,  they  are  caught  at  such  points  through  holes  in  the  ice  in  bag- 
nets,  ladles,  and  even  by  hand.  But  the  wholesale  fishing  on  commercial  lines  in  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  rivers  is  carried  on  exclusively  in  summer,  with  the  aid  of  huge  drift  nets 
250  to  300  or  more  sagenes  in  length.  In  their  choice  of  means  for  catching  the  fish,  peas- 
ants and  natives  and  the  traders  on  a  large  scale  trouble  themselves  very  little  about  the 
future  and  do  not  disdain  to  use  the  most  rapacious  methods,  to  which  in  a  large  measure 
must  be  attributed  the  exhaustion  of  the  supply  of  fish  in  the  Siberian  waters. 

The  fish  once  got,  if  not  consumed  on  the  spot,  goes  on  the  market  either  frozen  or 
salted.  But  salting  in  Siberia  is  carried  out  very  badly  so  that  the  fish  acquires  a  bad  taste 
and  quickly  spoils.  This  circumstance  is  a  great  obstacle  to  the  proper  development  of  the 
Siberian  fishing  trade. 

This  industry  also  exists  in  the  Littoral  territory  in  the  waters  of  the  Northern  Pacific. 
Besides  fish,  seals  and  morses  are  caught.  The  meat  and  fat  of  the  latter  are  eaten  by  the 
natives,  the  tusks  alone  being  sold.  Whales  are  taken  in  the  same  waters,  and  fur  seals  on 
the  Commander  Islands.  This  industry  will  be  described  in  the  next  Chapter. 

Hunting  and  trapping  form  the  employment  mainly  of  the  population  of  the  northern 
uncultivated  borderland  of  Siberia,  as  also  of  the  transition  zone,  separating  this  region 
from  the  cultivated  tract.  As  a  secondary  occupation  they  exist  also  in  a  fair  number 
of  localities  of  the  agricultural  zone,  situated  near  enough  to  the  uninhabited  forest 
areas. 

The  taigas  and  urmans  form  the  arena  of  the  hunter's  industry,  these  boundless  forest 
lands  everywhere  lying  adjacent  to  the  inhabited  zone  of  Siberia  on  the  north.  This  industry  is 
conducted  partly  with  firearms  or,  in  the  case  of  some  natives,  with  bows  and  arrows,  partly 
with  traps  of  the  most  variable  construction.  The  most  widely  spread  form  of  sport  is  squirrel 
shooting,  after  which  come  the  killing  of  various  wood  and  water  birds.  Fur  animals,  formerly  bre- 
eding in  abundance  throughout  Siberia,  have  now,  with  the  exception  of  the  squirrel,  common  fox, 
ermine  and  bear,  almost  disappeared  from  Western  Siberia,  so  that  in  that  country  but  very 
few  hunters  are  now  occupied  in  catching  either  the  sable  or  the  marten.  The  chief  supply 
of  valuable  peltry  now  proceeds  from  the  northern  regions  of  Eastern  Siberia,  where  the 
destruction  of  wild  animals  has  not  yet  assumed  such  dimensions.  Large  animals,  such  as 
bear  and  elk,  ai'e  hunted  over  all  Siberia,  but  this  kind  of  sport  is  not  open  to  every  hunter 
but  only  to  the  more  skilful  and  courageous.  In  the  tundras  of  Eastern  Siberia  the  native 
Tunguz  and  others  hunt  the  northern  reindeer;  in  the  southern  mountainous  parts  of  the  East- 
ern Siberian  governments  and  Amouria,  various  kinds  of  animals,  among  others  the  m  a  r  a  I, 
or  Siberian  stag,  whose  horns  fetch  a  high  price. 


]  24  8HJKHIA. 

Tho  exci!.isivf  hiiiiiiiiL.'  (it  viiiiiatii'-  wild  ,iMiiii;u>,  iiiid  in  particular,  extensive  forest 
lircs  in  Wostorn  Silx^riu,  compel  (hem  to  emit^rate,  drivinf,'  tlicm  mainly  eastwards  into  the 
vir^Mn  tliirk<!ts  of  tin-  Yakutsk  forests.  Here  the  precious  sable  is  fairly  abundant,  but  hunters 
are  rare.  Ilnntinf,'  the  arctic  fox  also  forms  a  not  inconsiderable  addition  to  the  livelihood  of 
the  Yakutsk,  I)olf,'ans  and  other  natives.  During.'  his  mit,Mation  from  the  sea  up  the  river,  the 
latter  is  barred  across  with  nets  or  fences,  and  this  animal  is  sometimes  cau^'lit  with  the  aid 
of  special  traps  in  considerable  quantities.  Thus,  in  1860,  during'  a  great  micration  of  arctic 
foxes  on  the  Yenisei  some  7,fXX)  of  them  were  cautrht. 

The  earninf,'S  of  the  inhabitants  from  hunting'  and  trappiuL'  belonL'  to  the  number  of 
the  most  variable.  A  less  accidental  character  is  attached  to  sriniri'-I  hnntiiiL',  but  even  this 
animal,  in  dependence  upon  the  harvest  of  fir-cones  formini.'  its  chief  food,  srimetimes  retires 
into  the  most  distant  forests  least  accessible  to  the  hunter,  at  others  comes  out  upon  the 
more  nearly  situated  spots.  In  the  latter  case  the  sport  yields  frood  results.  Good  hunters  pet 
durin^^  a  winter  in  the  Tobolsk  fjovernment  200  to  300  head,  while  further  to  the  east  they 
kill  as  many  as  500  squirrels  per  iiun.  When  the  majority  of  the  squiirels  retire  to  the 
remote  parts  of  the  forest,  the  best  hunter  will  not  shoot  even  a  fifth  part  of  this  fi^rure. 
The  hazel  hen  or  riabchik,  shot  in  tho  Tobolsk  goveiiiraent  mainly  for  the  European 
Russian  market,  yields  a  fairly  constant  oarninirs,  the  bag  in  one  winter  reaching  50  to  100 
brace,  and  if  very  successful  much  more.  The  shooting  of  other  birds  such  as  blackcock, 
wildgeese,  and  ducks,  has  not  much  importance  in  Siberia.  Such  birds  are  mostly  shot  for 
sport,  and  but  small  quantities  are  offered  for  sale.  As  to  the  pursuit  of  fur  animals,  as 
well  as  bears  and  other  such  wild  animals,  all  here  depends  on  chance.  With  luck  such  a 
chase  produces  earnings  of  hundreds  of  roubles.  With  bad  luck  it  happens  that  the  hunter, 
after  wandering  through  the  forest  half  the  winter,  returns  either  with  nothing  at  all  or  with 
a  booty  which  does  not  cover  the  cost  of  feeding  himself  and  his  dogs.  The  main  fur  animals 
taken  in  Eastern  Siberia  are  the  sable,  fox,  marten  and  k  o  1  o  n  o  k  or  Siberian  weasel. 
Ermine  for  the  lack  of  demand  are  hardly  shot  at  all.  The  chief  fur  traders  are  the  natives, 
both  because  they  own  by  prescription  all  the  best  grounds,  and  because  they  possess  as 
regards  this  industry  much  greater  knowledge,  skill  and  endurance  than  the  Russian  peasant. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  natives  of  the  northern  region  of  the  goveniments  of 
Tobolsk  and  Yeniseisk  and  the  territory  of  Yakutsk,  for  whom  luinting  forms  if  not  the  only, 
at  any  rate,  one  of  the  chief  means  of  existence,  the  Government  in  many  places  makes 
them  loans  of  powder,  shot  and  lead.  For  this  purpose  the  native  grain  stores  are  constantly 
provided  with  the  necessary  supplies  of  these  articles,  and  the  natives  very  eagerly  avail 
themselves  of  the  privilege  in  order  to  avoid  being  indebted  to  private  traders. 

The  same  boundless  Siberian  forests  are  the  centre  of  another  industry  also  very  im- 
portant in  the  economy  of  pretty  considerable  portion  of  the  population,  the  gathering  of 
cedar  nuts.  This  industry  exists  in  all  the  Sibeiian  governments.  The  cedar  forests,  sometimes 
of  small  size,  but  not  seldom  extending  to  tens  and  hundreds  of  square  versts,  are  scattered 
through  all  the  urmans  and  taigas,  and  are  for  the  most  part,  as  mentioned  above,  left  by 
the  Government  to  the  free  enjoyment  of  all  who  wish  to  make  use  of  them.  People  collect 
to  gather  these  nuts  from  settlements  situated  thirty  and  fifty  versts  from  the  grove,  and 
sometimes  over  one  hundred  versts. 


RURAL    INDUSTRIES.  125 

They  assemWe  from  the  more  extensive  regions  according  to  the  greater  size  of  the 
cedar  plantation  itself  and  the  tetter  the  crop.  Crops  do  not  happen  every  year.  On  an  aver- 
age the  nut  ripens  once  in  two  years,  hut  frequently  the  harvests  are  so  insignificant  that 
cedar  groves  that  are  at  all  remote  do  not  attract  any  traders.  Good  harvests  generally  do 
not  occur  more  often  than  once  in  four  or  five  years,  and  excellent  harvests  happen  once 
in  ten  to  filteen  years.  In  the  gathering  of  the  nut  a  division  of  labour  is  commonly  practised. 
The  fir  cone  is  plucked  from  the  cedar  by  the  strong,  skilful  workmen  called  1  a  z  o  k  s  or 
climbers.  They  throw  the  fir  cones  on  the  ground  where  they  are  picked  up  by  others,  mostly 
youths  and  women.  With  a  good  harvest,  a  lazok  and  his  two  or  three  helpers  will  gather  thirty 
to  fifty  pouds  of  nuts,  or  when  the  harvest  is  exceptional,  one  hundred  pouds  or  more.  la 
the  Tobolsk  government  the  harvests  are  not  so  great  as  further  to  the  east.  But  as  the  nut 
sells  in  the  government  of  Tobolsk  much  dearer,  the  earnings  are  about  the  same  in  all  the 
Siberian  governments,  the  relative  crop  being  the  same  also.  A  lazok  gets  50  to  100  roubles 
from  an  average  harvest,  and  200  to  250  roubles  and  more  from  an  exceptional  one.  One 
such  harvest  sometimes  leads  to  the  prolonged  improvement  of  the  economical  condition  of 
that  part  of  the  population  which  has  chanced  to  avail  itself  of  it. 

Among  the  forest  industries  in  Siberia  must  also  be  referred  bee  keeping,  which  is  fairly 
developed  throughout  the  Altai  mining  district  and  in  the  nearest  parts  of  the  remaining  dis- 
tricts of  the  Tomsk  government.  Bee  keeping  in  Siberia  is  carried  on  with  the  help  of  hives 
of  very  simple  construction  called  b  o  r  t  s,  hollowed  out  of  thick  trees.  The  bees  are  bred  in 
the  woods,  and  receive  no  artificial  food,  but  feed  themselves  en  the  plants  and  bushes  flour- 
ishing in  the  taiga.  The  dimensions  of  these  bee  farms  are  very  various.  Some  beemasters 
own  not  more  than  three  to  live  hives  while  others  possess  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand,  and 
more.  The  average  size  of  a  peasant's  bee  garden  in  the  localities  where  the  industry  is  most 
highly  developed,  namely  in  the  groups  of  settlements  lying  on  the  very  edge  of  the  taiga, 
may  be  taken  as  seventy-five  to  a  hundred  hives.  In  such  places  the  number  of  beemasters 
forms  a  third,  half  or  more  of  the  total  householders.  The  extent  of  bee  keeping  has  now  con- 
siderably diminished  compared  with  what  it  was  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago.  Not  a  few  bee 
gardens  have  ceased  to  exist,  and  in  those  that  remain  the  number  of  hives  has  diminished 
by  half  or  more.  Two  causes  lie  at  the  root  of  this  state  of  things,  bad  harvests  of  bee  food, 
and  diseases  of  the  insects  themselves.  Numbers  of  hives  perished  altogether,  while  others 
began  to  yield  much  less  honey.  Formerly  each  hive  gave  not  less  than  an  average  of  one 
pond  of  honey,  while  half  the  quantity  is  now  considered  a  very  good  yield. 

The  forest  again  is  the  arena  of  a  whole  series  of  industries,  where  nature  gives  man 
not  a  finished  or  almost  finished  product  as  in  the  cases  above,  but  only  a  material,  upon 
which  he  must  expend  his  labour.  Here  first  and  foremost  comes  the  hewing  of  timber  and 
especially  the  cutting  of  wood  fuel.  The  regions  where  these  industries  are  most  developed 
are  scattered  over  all  Siberia,  being  concentrated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  more  consider- 
able towns  and  along  the  navigable  and  raftable  rivers.  Thus  Tomsk  is  surrounded  with  a 
region  containing  about  fifteen  thousand  souls,  where  the  preparation  of  wood  fuel  for  the 
town  population  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  livelihood.  Similar  districts  encircle  Tinmen, 
Krasnoyarsk,  Irkutsk,  although  these  towns  receive  the  greater  part  of  the  timber  and  wood 
they  require  by  ral'tage  froui  comparatively  distant  localities. 


126  fJintiiiA. 

As  to  the  rivorsido  localities,  tLoro  tLc  priucipal  activity  is  connectad  with  the  fiiru- 
ishirif,'  tlu3  stoaiuor.s  with  wood  fuel  ariuiiaiiy  consuming  on  the  Obi  alone  enormous  quantities. 
Some  spots  situati,'i|  u|)  stnium  ahovt;  the  more  considerable  towns,  hew  and  make  up  into 
lal'ls  both  tiiiilier  nwl  I'ui'l  foi  iIk'  latter.  Thus  'J'iiimen  gets  nearly  ail  it.->  timber  from  the 
soutli(!ni  part  of  the  Tiirinsk  district,  'J'obol.sk  from  volosts  of  the  .same  district  and  from 
that  of  Tobolsk,  lying  along  the  rivisr  Tavda. 

Every  peasant  hews  for  himself,  while  the  large  orders  are  undertaken  by  more  or 
less  extensive  firms.  'J'lie  latli;r  employ  a  mass  of  worknuMi  eithei  on  hire  or  by  special 
contracts. 

Household  industries  in  Siberia  do  not  pniseut  any  great  variety.  The  most  important 
branch,  employing  the  greatest  niimliei  of  bauds  and  alTonling  the  population  the  largest 
eandngs,  comprises  various  forms  of  wood  industry,  partly  in  satisfaction  of  the  needs  of  the 
local  peasantry,  partly  of  those  of  the  carrying  trade  occupying  such  a  prominent  position 
in  Siberia.  Individual  ku  stars  are  met  with  everywhere.  More  or  less  extensive 
groups  of  kustar  population  are  concentrated  mainly  in  spots  where  there  is  easy  access 
to  the  raw  material,  and  a  ready  sale  for  the  manufactured  articles.  The  largest  of 
these  groups  are  situated  around  the  towns  of  Tinmen,  Tomsk  and  Irkutsk.  The  first  embra- 
ces a  considerable  part  of  tlu;  Tiiimensk  and  Turinsk  districts.  The  articles  here  made  are 
carts,  shovels,  wooden  vessels,  simple  furniture,  and  other  things  used  in  the  life  of  the  peas- 
antry, to  which  must  be  added  wood  fibre,  mats,  wheels,  trade  sledges  and  appliances  used 
in  fitting  out  caravans.  Articles  belonging  to  the  first  class  are  hawked  about  the  villages 
and  sold  to  the  peasants,  while  those  belonging  to  the  second  class  find  a  market  in  Tinmen 
among  the  carriers  employed  in  the  inland  trade.  The  needs  of  the  latter  traffic  employ  most 
of  the  energies  of  the  kuslars  in  the  Tomsk  region.  They  make  sledges,  carts,  wheels,  axies, 
yokes,  thills,  horse  collars,  tar,  troughs  for  the  horses,  charcoal  for  the  smithies,  all  of  which 
are  sold  in  the  bazaar  in  Tomsk.  The  same  goods  predominate  in  the  kustar  industry  of  the 
Irkutsk  region.  Here,  as  in  the  Tomsk  region,  various  kinds  of  wooden  vessels,  furniture, 
articles  made  of  birch  bark  and  some  kinds  of  turned  goods  are  produced,  all  constituting 
objects  of  every-day  use  among  the  peasantry. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  forest  yields  the  Siberian  peasant  the  most  varied  earnings, 
and  is  the  chief  source  whence  deficits  on  account  of  agi'iculture  and  cattle  rearing  are  made 
good  and  the  peasant's  budget  balanced.  Unfortunately  however  the  forest  wealth  of  Siberia 
is  in  a  lamentable  state.  The  exhaustion  of  the  supplies  of  game  and  fur  animals  was  re- 
ferred to  above,  but  the  forests  themselves  in  Siberia  are  being  destroyed  exceedingly  rapidly, 
considerably  more  rapidly  indeed  than  might  be  expected  with  the  actual  insignificant  density 
of  the  population.  Of  fine,  actually  virgin  forests,  at  any  rate  in  the  cultivated  part  of  Siberia, 
very  little  has  remained, -while  the  southern  districts  of  the  Western  Siberian  governments 
are  already  to  a  considerable  extent  stripped  of  trees  and  are  experiencing  a  deficiency  not 
only  in  timber,  but  not  seldom  also  in  wood  fuel.  The  cause  of  this  phenomenon  lies  in  the 
immoderate  and  disorderly  fellings,  destroying  many  times  more  than  the  annual  addition 
permits,  and  in  the  forest  conflagrations  extending  over  hundreds  and  thousands  of  square 
versts. 


RURAL    INDUSTRIES.  127 

The  importance  of  the  industries  not  connected  with  the  exploitation  of  the  forests  in 
regard  to  the  general  economy  of  the  country  is  not  great.  Attention  must  here  in  the  first 
place  be  directed  to  hand  spinning  and  weaving,  converting  flax  and  wool  into  linen  and 
coarse  cloth.  Weaving  has  an  almost  exclusively  domestic  character;  but  small  quantities  of 
linen  and  cloth  are  oifered  for  sale,  the  main  mass  being  consumed  in  the  form  of  clothing 
by  the  peasantry.  Further,  in  many  localities,  particularly  those  near  the  towns  or  the  tract, 
home-spun  linens  and  cloths  are  driven  out  by  imported  manufactured  fabrics.  Next,  notice 
must  be  taken  of  the  leather,  sheepskin,  wool  beating  in  coiniection  with  the  making  of  felt 
shoes,  hat,  girdle,  worsted  glove,  and  other  industries,  all  of  which  are  of  universal  occurrence. 
Ordinarily  those  employed  in  these  industries  live  isolated  in  different  settlements,  occupying 
themselves  with  their  particular  industry  as  an  aid  to  agriculture,  and  working  in  their  own 
or  the  neighbouring  villages  at  piece  work  upon  material  not  their  own.  In  some  places 
however  sheepskin  dressers,  makers  of  felt  shoes,  and  tanners  live  in  whole  communities, 
specialize  to  a  greater  extent  in  their  trade  and  work  for  the  population  of  more  consid- 
erable regions  lying  around.  The  second  of  these  trades  is  established  on  a  large  scale  in  the 
Kurgan  and  Tinmen  districts  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  which  supply  not  only  the  neigh- 
bouring localities,  but  also  the  Eastern  Siberian  market. 

Other  trades  are  carpentry  and  joinery,  brick  making,  and  similar  branches,  which 
while  existing  everywhere,  here  and  there  form  small  industrial  communities.  Of  the  more 
refined  industries  may  be  mentioned  the  making  of  metallic  sieves,  carpet  weaving  and  sign 
painting  in  the  Tinmen  district,  the  construction  of  mills  in  Ishim,  the  dressing  of  hare 
skins  neai'  Tomsk,  the  winnowing  fan  industry  in  the  Mariinsk  district  and  in  the  Altai,  as 
well  as  some  others.  All  these  industries  exist  only  in  distinct  settlements  or  groups  of  set- 
tlements, but  are  somewhat  highly  specialized  in  the  region  of  their  distribution  and  provide 
the  population  employed  in  them  very  considerable  wages. 

To  complete  the  description  of  the  peasant  industries,  there  still  remains  to  say  a  few 
words  upon  the  carrier  trade  and  the  occupations  connected  with  it.  The  conveyance  of 
goods  constitutes  the  chief  form  taken  by  this  industry,  and  with  it  is  occupied  not  only  a 
considerable  part  of  the  population  dwelling  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  tracts,  but  a 
large  number  of  peasants  living  at  a  distance  from  the  latter  in  the  sphere  of  attraction  of 
one  or  other  of  the  leading  depots,  that  is,  mainly  Tiuraen,  Tomsk  and  Irkutsk.  The  principal 
branch  of  this  trade  is  that  along  the  great  Siberian  tract,  including  the  carriage  of  goods 
between  the  different  localities  of  Siberia  and  European  Russia.  Next  in  order  comes  the 
conveyance  of  provisions  of  all  kinds  to  the  gold  mines  and  the  grounds  of  the  native  nom 
ads,  situated  without  tht;  pale  of  the  cultivated  zone  of  Siberia;  after  this,  follow  the  rest. 
But  by  far  the  most  important  of  all  is  the  traffic  ovox  the  great  Siberian  tract  of  which 
it  is  necessary  to  speak. 

The  chief  articles  of  export  fioni  Eiiro|)ean  Ilussja  into  Siberia  are  the  most  varied 
productions  of  manufacturing  industry,  beginning  with  ladies  fashions  and  confection- 
ery and  ending  with  machinery  and  bar  iron.  From  Western  Siberia  into  European  Rus- 
sia are  conveyed  grain  and  the  produce  from  the  slaughter  of  cattle,  such  as  hides  and 
tallow,    while    from    Eastern  Siberia  goes   almost   exclusively  tea    with    which    many  Ihous- 


128  SIBEKIA. 

arids  ol  ciui.-i  mv  amiuiilly  loaded.  iii(;  luiiil  >.'ui*dft  iraffic  over  Iho  Siberian  tract  fvi'ij 
Jiow  cnifdoys  hundreds  of  tliousainis  ol'  horses  and  tens  of  thousands  of  people,  alihoii(:li 
as  was  said  nhove  its  dimensions  at  the  |iies(;Mi  liuie  liavt;  considerably  shrunk,  compared 
with  loriner  times.  At  the  sauio  time  tin;  revenue  tlifMeliom  has  notably  fallen  off.  While  the 
average  payment  lor  carriii^'e  formerly  fni  examidi;  helween  Tomsk  and  Irkutsk,  about  1,500 
versts,  was  from  2.50  U)  :',  roiildes  per  pond  id  lieij/lit,  it  does  not  now  ordinarily  exceed 
1.60  roubles  to  1.80  roubles,  and  sometimes  falls  short  of  this  li^jure.  The  expenses  of  tho 
road  on  the  other  hand  have  not  only  not  diminished,  but  rather,  thanks  to  the  enhancement 
in  the  price  of  ^rain,  have  even  increased.  Thus  in  former  times  a  man  with  live  horses  dui- 
iiig  a  tiip  Iniin  Tomsk  to  Irkutsk  and  back  lastin^'  two  months  earne<l,  after  covering  all 
expenses,  from  200  to  250  roubles.  Now  the  net  jtroiit  uiidei-  avi'ra^'e  conditions  does  not  exceed 
40  to  50  roubles,  and  in  case  of  misfortune,  especially  embezzh-ment  of  goods  for  which  thi; 
carriers  are  bound  to  answer,  not  seldom  huye  losst;s  ar<;  incurred.  The  peasants  continue  to 
occupy  themselves  with  the  business  of  carriers  under  these  circiimstanc(.'s  only  because,  on 
the  one  hand,  it  is  important  for  them  to  receive  at  one  time  in  the  form  of  earnest  money 
comparatively  large  sums,  and  on  the  other,  they  count  as  pur<.'  prolit  the  maintenance  during 
the  journey  of  man  and  beast  wlinm  it  wouM  utliei  wise  be  ni,'cessary  to  kei-p  during  tin,' 
course  of  the  winter  with  no  return. 

In  any  case  the  carrier  trade  on  the  h>iberian  tract  is  at  ihe  pn'sent  day  far  frjjii 
being  what  it  was  formerly  ami  together  with  it  all  the  earnings  of  the  population  of  thi- 
points  situated  along  the  tract  have  fallen  into  decline.  Among  such  earnings  were  the  baiting 
of  the  caravans,  the  conveyance  from  station  to  station  of  fast  traffic  goods,  which  went  by 
changes  of  horses,  the  replacement  of  tired  horses  in  the  trains  of  carts,  the  unloading  and 
transhipping,  ensuing  on  the  freezing  of  rivers,  or  the  damaging  of  roads,  passenger  traffic  of 
the  most  various  kinds  and  various  occasional  earnings.  All  this  now  does  not  yield  the 
fourth  part  of  the  former  income,  and  the  population  of  the  tract  is  forced  to  occupy  itself 
ever  more  and  more  with  agriculture. 

The  preceding  diS(iuisition  has  not  exhausted,  nay  had  not  in  view,  the  exhaustion  of 
all  the  kinds  of  non-agricultural  earnings  falling  to  the  peasant  population  of  Siberia.  The 
review  of  these  earnings  had  to  keep  in  view  only  the  most  important  and  to  indicate  their 
place  in  the  economic  life  of  the  population.  This  place,  speaking  of  non-agricultural  earnings 
on  the  whole,  is  at  the  present  time  considerable  only  for  those  parts  of  Siberia  which  lie 
without  its  cultivated  zone  or  on  the  borderlands  of  the  same.  In  the  agricultural  zone  non- 
agricultural  earnings  now  too  play  a  secondary  part.  The  future  of  the  Siberian  peasantry  is 
inseparably  bound  up  with  the  future  of  agriculture  and  is  therefore  In  close  dependence  on 
the  improvement  of  the  technical  and  especially  of  the  economical  surroundings  of  the 
latter. 


— ^x5>— 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR    INDUSTRY.  129 


CHAPTER  X. 
Hunting  and  the  fur  industry  in  the  Far  East. 

The  seal  industry;  cursory  sketch  thereof  from  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century;  the 
Russian-American  Company;  Hutchinson,  Cool,  Filipeus  and  Co.;  statistics  of  the  yield 
of  seal  skins;  the  preparation  of  the  fur;  the  trade  in  skins  in  London;  activity  of  the 
firm  of  Hutchison  and  Co.;  formation  of  the  Russian  Association  of  Seal  Traders;  new  con- 
ditions of  the  lease;  piratical  destruction  of  the  seals;  international  agreements  for  the  reg- 
ulation of  the  seal  industry;  heaver,  arctic  fox,  morse  and  whale  trades;  fur  industries; 
total  dimensions  of  the  yield  of  furs  for  all  Siberia;  mammoth  ivory. 


THE  hunting  of  fur  and  other  animals  in  the  Far  East  has  formed  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  State.  In  consequence  of  the  remoteness  of 
this  region,  the  Government  always  farmed  out  these  industries  to  private  undertakers,  reserv- 
ing to  itself  the  sovereign  right  of  controlling  the  regular  carrying  on  of  the  industry  and 
preserving  the  animals  from  extermination. 

The  most  considerable  of  the  industries  named  is  the  catching  of  the  sea  fur  seal 
(otaria),  that  bear-like  seal  yielding  an  exceedingly  valuable  fur,  while  its  capture  is  com- 
paratively easy.  The  Russian  name  m  o  r  s  k  o  i  k  o  t  i  k,  or  sea-cat,  is  far  from  answering 
to  its  appearance.  The  fur  seal  is  a  fairly  large  animal,  attaining  a  length  of  seven  feet,  its 
average  length  being  about  an  arshine.  Extremely  lively  and  quick  in  its  movements  in  the 
water,  on  land  it  is  exceedingly  clumsy  and  therefore  exceedingly  helpless.  This  animal  has 
several  varieties,  of  which  the  best  known  is  the  otaria  ursina  or  calorhinus  ursinus,  breed- 
ing in  the  northern  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  between  California,  Japan  and  Behring 
Straits.  Another  variety,  otaria  australis,  breeds  in  South  America  on  the  Galopagos  Islands; 
A  third  variety,  otaria  pusilla  or  arctocephalus  antarcticus,  breeds  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
a  fourth  variety,  otaria  Forsteri,  upon  the  oceanic  islands  near  Tasmania,  and  others.  Possessing 
splendid  fur  the  otaria  early  attracted  the  attention  of  sea  hunters,  who  long  sought  the  spot 
where    this    animal    comes  out  upon    dry  land    to  breed. 

It  was  only  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  that  the  celebrated  navigator.  Commander 
Behring,  succeeded  in  discovering  a  group  of  four  islands,  called  in  his  honour  the  Commander 
Islands.  One  of  them,  upon  which  subsequently  the  navigator  himself  perished,  was  called 
Behring  Island,   and  another  Miedny.  The  two  others,  on  account    of  their  small  dimensions, 

9 


1  BO  SIUKltlA. 

li;iv(.'  no  iiii|)oiiiiiii".  J I  was  asceitaiiidl  lliat  upon  Bobriug  Island  at  a  particular  Stiasoii 
of  Iho  year  tin;  fur  soals  appiiai-  in  (3norraous  numbers.  However  the  hunters,  intimately 
acquaintfid  with  tin;  soal  industry,  wore  convinced  that  hosidos  the  said  group  of  islands  th- 
seal  must  have  otlit-i'  asylums,  in  the  si-arch  for  which  much  time  and  trouble  were  ex- 
pended. A  daring  skipper,  Prihylov,  in  a  small  sailing  craft,  the  tSt.  George*,  sp<int  two 
years  in  such  (|ii(!sls,  i'ortuuatoly  crowned  with  complete  success  by  the  discovery  of  a  group 
of  islands  in  the  sauje  Bt.'hring  Sea,  and  called  in  honour  of  this  navigator,  Ihe  Piibyl(tv>. 
One  of  those  islamls  was  named  after  the  ship  St.  George;  another,  St.  Paul.  Inde|)endently 
of  the  two  ahovc-nami'il  navigiiiors,  in  tin'  part  of  the  Pacific  between  the  north-western 
shore  of  America  ami  the  north-eastern  shore  of  Siberia,  there  constantly  hovered  a  crowii 
of  ditferent  adventurers,  hunters  of  fur  animals,  who  not  seMom  succeeded  in  discovering  new 
lands  and  planting  there  the  Russian  flag.  Thus,  the  sailor  Nevodchikov,  in  charge  of  the 
merchant  Guprov's  expedition,  discoverd  in  1745  the  Blizhni,  Attn  and  Agatu  islands.  In  175(t 
the  trader  Glotov  discovered  the  Lisi  Islands.  In  1760  the  trader  Tolstykh  discovered  th'- 
Androanovsk  islands,  called  after  his  Christian  name,  and  others  belonging  to  the  Aleutian 
anil  Kuril  groups. 

On  close  examination  of  the  matter  it  proved  that  the  main  mass  of  fur  seals  came  out 
on  the  Pribylovs  Islands.  Not  so  very  long  ago  there  appeared  upon  tbem  annually  five  million 
seals,  while  the  number  on  the  Commander  Islands  was  not  more  than  two  millions.  Judging 
however  from  the  latest  information  these  figures  must  be  considerably  diminished  especially 
for  the  Pribylov  Islands,  for  the  animals  scared  by  the  piratical  traders  have  of  late  year- 
begun  to  appear  more  frequently  upon  the  shore  of  the  Kamchatka  peninsula,  upon  the  north- 
eastern shore  of  Siberia  and  the  north-western  shore  of  North  America,  and  apparently  the 
animal  is  becoming  more  marine,  rarely  coming  out  on  land.  Again  the  seals  are  already 
appearing  in  diminished  numbers  upon  Tiuleu  Island  near  Sakhalin,  about  10,000  only,  upon 
the  Kuril  Islands  forming  part  of  Japan,  at  the  Cape  of  Corinth  in  the  Argentine  Republic, 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  upon  the  Falkland  Islands,  in  Tasmania  and  many  other  places 
of  the  southern  hemisphere,  where  it  would  seem  the  animal  in  question  in  former  times  was 
met  with  in  countless  numbers.  Thus  it  resulted  that  not  far  back,  only  twenty-five  years 
ago,  Russia  was  the  only  country  in  whose  territories  the  highly  valuable  seal  industry  was 
carried  on.  But  since  1867,  when  the  Russian  possessions  in  North  America,  together  with 
some  islands  from  the  Aleutian  archipelago,  were  ceded  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  the  advantages  of  this  trade  are  shared  with  the  latter  country. 

In  order  to  explain  the  economical  importance  of  the  seal  industry  to  the  State  and 
to  define  its  dimensions,  it  is  necessary  to  say  something  on  the  life  of  the  animal  itself  and 
the  value  of  its  fur. 

Of  the  favourite  haunts  of  the  seal  in  the  Behring  and  Okhotsk  seas,  the  Pribylov  Islands, 
St.  George  and  St.  Paul;  are  now  the  property  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Commander 
Islands,  Behring  and  Miedny,  and  Tiulen  are  within  the  limits  of  the  Russian  dominions. 
The  Commander  Islands,  lying  at  a  distance  apart  of  30  miles,  and  100  miles  from  the 
nearest  point  of  the  continent  of  Kamchatka,  are  deprived  of  all  vegetation,  covered  with 
rocky  mountains  and  in  part  with    marshy   tundras.    The   damp   sea   air   yielding   abundant 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR    INDUSTRY.  131 

atmospheric  precipitation  makes  the  climate  of  these  islands  extremely  unhealthful,  and  it  is 
exceedingly  probable  that  but  for  the  existence  there  of  seal  rookeries  they  would  remain 
uninhabited.  The  Tiulen  Island  adjoins  the  eastern  shore  of  the  island  of  Sakhalin  and  is  as 
inhospitable  as  the  Commander  Islands. 

At  the  end  of  April  or  the  beginning  of  May  the  seals  approach  these  islands;  the 
males  come  out  on  the  shore,  choosing  spots  for  the  establishment  of  the  family  and 
defending  them  form  being  seized  by  others.  By  the  end  of  May  the  females  approach  the 
shore,  and  are  enticed  upon  the  selected  locations  by  the  males,  each  male  absorbing  ten  to 
fifteen  females. 

A  male  that  has  reached  full  physical  development  is  called  on  the  islands  s  i  e  k  a  c  h, 
corrupted  from  the  English  «sea  catch»;  a  young  siekach  with  small  withers  is  called  a  half-siekach, 
one  without  withers,  a  kholostiakor  bachelor,  and  so  on.  The  chief  constituent  of  the 
catch  is  the  kholostiak,  two  and  three  years  old,  which  is  taken  at  the  time  preceding 
moulting,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  beginning  of  June  to  the  middle  of  July,  although  the 
slaughter  of  the  seals  continues  not  unfrequently  to  September.  According  to  Colonel  Vo- 
loshinov,  who  was  sent  by  the  Government  to  investigate  the  position  of  the  seal  industry,  the 
seals  are  killed  as  follows.  Having  found  the  spot  upon  which  the  flock  of  kholostiaks  has 
taken  up  its  position,  the  inhabitants  early  in  the  morning  run  out  to  the  seashore  thus  cut- 
ting off  the  animals  retreat  and  drive  them  with  sticks  further  to  the  point  where  it  is  pro- 
posed to  slaughter  them.  The  seals  are  so  helpless  that  ten  to  lifteeu  men  can  drive  at  once 
almost  the  same  number  of  thousands  of  the  animals,  and  then  even  one  or  two  men  are 
sufficient  to  hold  a  herd  of  five  or  six  thousand  seals  in  the  drive.  A  group  of  twenty  to  thirty 
head  are  cut  out,  and  when  those  which  are  suitable  as  to  sex  and  age  have  been  ascertained, 
they  are  killed  by  a  blow  on  the  head  with  a  stick.  The  head  bones  of  the  fur  seal  are  so 
weak,  that  with  one  slight  blow  with  a  stick  the  animal  may  be  killed  on  the  spot.  In  a 
few  minutes  on  the  place  chosen  for  their  slaughter  a  heap  of  slain,  among  which  the  mor- 
tally frightened  animals  left  alive  on  account  of  their  unsuitability  are  seen  writhing,  with 
difficulty  finding  their  way  to  the  sea.  After  finishing  with  one  heap,  a  second  party  is  di- 
vided off,  and  then  a  third,  and  so  on.  In  a  short  while  thousands  of  bodies  fill  the  place 
of  slaughter.  Twenty  men  can  easily  drive  off  and  kill  a  thousand  seals  in  the  twenty-four 
hours.  Simultaneously  with  the  carrying  on  of  the  slaughter,  another  party  of  workmen 
is  employed  in  removing  the  skins  and  salting  and  packing  them  in  rows  in  sheds.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  Commander  Islands  occupied  in  killing  seals  consists  of  extremely  various 
elements.  It  was  formed  from  the  workmen  who  were  brought  thither  by  the  traders  partly 
from  the  continent  of  Asia,  partly  from  that  of  America,  while  others  chanced  here  accident- 
ally. There  are  thus  to  be  met  with  here  together  with  Kamchadals  and  Aleuts,  Yakuts, 
Cossacks  and  others. 

On  Behring  Island  the  conditions  of  life  are  less  severe  than  on  Miedny,  and  therefore 
the  population  on  the  former  is  twice  that  on  the  latter.  The  total  population  of  both  islands 
does  not  exceed  six  hundred  souls.  On  Tiulen  Island  there  are  no  fixed  inhabitants,  men 
coming  there  from  Behring  Island  for  the  slaughter  of  the  seals  and,  the  work  done,  returning 
home.  During  nearly  half  the  year  the  island  is  thus  left  unprotected  and  then  foreign  vessels 

9* 


]  32  SIBEUIA. 

|jc(|ueiilly  call  and  rheir  crews  compiole  Uio  slaughler  of  those  uuiirials  siill  left  ou  tLe 
island.  The  population  ol'  both  the  Commander  Islands  has  an  organization  based  on  the 
commune,  the  whole  earnings  being  divided  among  all  the  workmen  on  certain  principles,  a 
small  sum  beiii(.'  annually  set  apart  as  reserve  capital.  In  consequence  of  the  exceptional 
conditions  under  which  fho  seal  industry  is  carried  on,  only  the  ships  of  the  lessees  come 
near  the  Commander  and  'i'iulcti  islands,  and  consequently  the  liirnisliiiif.'  of  the  jiopulalion 
with  the  necessary  supplies  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Crown  contractors.  The  latter  here 
are  afforded  the  right  of  free  trade,  and  although  by  agreement  the  company  is  obliged  to  sell 
its  goods  at  a  lixed  price  confirmed  by  the  authorities  of  the  islands,  this  point  has  always 
called  forth  a  number  of  misunderstandings.  In  the  same  vv^y,  from  the  absence  of  compe- 
tition, the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  were  compelled  to  sell  beaver,  arctic  fox,  and  other 
furs  which  were  not  included  in  the  company's  rights,  at  prices  fixed  by  the  agents  of  the 
latter.  On  concluding  the  agreement  with  the  lessees  of  the  industry,  the  Government  held 
only  the  seal  industry  to  be  the  properly  of  the  Crown,  not  touching  the  question  of  the 
beaver  and  arctic  fox.  At  the  same  time  the  two  latter  together  yielded  the  company  enor- 
mous gains,  without  in  any  way  proliting  not  only  the  State,  but  even  the  inhabitants  them- 
selves, from  whorh  the  company  obtained  the  skins  at  an  incredibly  low  price.  The  fishing 
was  also  free  from  any  control  on  the  part  of  the  State,  and  beyond  providing  the  inhabitants 
with  food  brought  the  latter  very  little  advantage,  although  they  expended  no  little  labour 
upon  it.  Now  with  the  new^  contract  these  conditions  have  been  considerably  changed  for 
the  better,  and  the  relations  between  the  aborigenes  of  the  islands  and  the  lessees  of  the 
industry  are  more  clearly  defined.  To  render  clear  the  present  position  of  these  industries  in 
the  Far  East,  it  is  necessary  to  throw  a  hurried  glance  at  the  relation  of  the  Government  to 
this  matter. 

In  the  XYIIIth  century,  as  has  been  already  said,  the  fishing,  fur  and  other  industries 
upon  the  Siberian  shore  of  the  Pacific,  and  in  the  Russian  possessions  in  North  America, 
as  well  as  on  the  Pribylov,  Commander,  the  Kuril  and  other  islands  lying  in  Behring  and 
Okhotsk  seas,  occupied  many  individual  traders  and  companies,  who  possessed  no  regular  organi- 
zation. This  latter  fact  led  to  constant  misunderstandings  among  them  in  the  settlement 
of  which  the  Government  was  forced  to  interfere.  To  put  an  end  to  the  disputes  among  the 
hunters  and  traders  in  furs  and  to  sstablish  a  regular  order  for  the  exploitation  of  the 
business,  the  largest  representatives  of  it,  the  merchants  Shelekhov  and  Galikov,  in  1780 
formed  a  company  with  the  object  of  despatching  small  expeditions  «to  Alaska,  called  the 
American  land,  to  islands  known  and  unknown,  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  fur  industry  and 
all  explorations  and  the  establishment  of  free  t)-ade  with  the  natives».  The  energetic  initia- 
tors personally  visited  all  the  nearest  islands,  crossed  over  to  the  American  continent  and 
having  become  acquainted  with  the  local  conditions  were  easily  convinced  of  the  advantages 
of  the  undertaking.  However  to  guarantee  success  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  further  ensure 
themselves  from  the  Government  the  exclusive  right  of  carrying  on  the  industry,  which  Shele- 
khov and  Galikov  succeeded,  in  1788,  in  doing,  without  any  particular  trouble,  as  the 
Government  at  that  time  had  not  its  owti  representatives  in  the  Far  East.  Soon  the  new 
company  was  completely  reorganized;  new  workers  with  fresh  capital  entered  it,  and  in  1798 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR    INDUSTRY.  133 

it  was  Imperially  confirmed  under  the  title  of  the  United  American  Company.  The  Emperor  Paul 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  fate  of  this  company;  by  an  ukase  of  the  8th  .June,  1799,  he  took  it 
under  His  protection  and  ordered  it  to  be  called  the  Russian-American  Company,  at  the  same 
time  granting  «in  reinforcement  of  the  undertakings  of  the  company  all  possible  assistance  ou 
the  part  of  the  military  authorities  with  land  and  sea  forces  on  demand  made  by  the  same». 
In  virtue  of  this  ukase  the  Russian- American  Company  was  granted,  among  other  things,  «the 
right  to  make  use  of  the  fisheries  and  establishments  upon  the  north-western  shore  of  Amer- 
ica, north  of  55"  north  latitude  in  Behring  Sea,  and  further  on  the  Aleutian,  Kuril  and 
other  islands;  to  discover  and  occupy  lands  to  the  south  of  55°  north  latitude,  if  these  lands 
are  unoccupied  by  any  nation;  to  enjoy  the  use  of  all  that  has  yet  been  discovered  or 
shall  in  the  future  be  discovered  in  these  places,  both  .on  the  surface  and  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  without  any  claim  on  the  part  of  others;  to  navigate  to  all  the  neighbouring 
peoples  and  to  can-y  ou  trade  with  all  the  powers  lying  around» 

Thus  the  Russian-American  Company  did  not  limit  its  activity  to  the  fur  trade  aloue, 
but  set  itself  a  wider  scope  and  even  had  a  political  character.  Thanks  to  its  exclusive 
position,  during  the  first  term  of  its  privilege,  namely  twenty  years,  it  earned  20,024,698 
roubles,  paying  its  shareholders  a  dividend  of  30  per  cent.  The  continued  progress  of  the 
company  was  still  further  assured  when  in  the  beginning  of  the  twenties  of  the  present 
century  the  Government  recognized  the  necessity  of  limiting  the  rights  of  foreigners  to  trade 
in  Behring  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  as  also  on  their  shores.  With  varied  fortune  the 
company  at  the  expiration  of  one  term  renewed  its  privilege,  enjoying  without  competition, 
if  not  the  sole,  at  any  rate  the  richest  fur  seal  fishery  in  the  world,  namely  that  of  the 
Commander  and  Pribylov  Islands,  as  also  on  the  less  important  points  of  the  Pacific  coast  of 
North  America  and   Siberia  within  the  limits  of  Behring  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk. 

The  demand  for  seal  skins  was  then  very  small,  and  it  was  apparently  declining  from 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  as  in  1817,  60,000  seals  were  caught  on  the  Pribylov 
islands  alone,  while  twenty  years  later  the  Russian  American  company  took  on  the  same  islands 
only  7,000  skins.  In  the  same  year,  1837,  about  4,000  seals  were  caught  on  the  two  Com- 
mander Islands,  so  that  the  total  quantity  of  skins  got  by  the  American  Company  in  the 
thirties  did  not  exceed  11,000.  These  skins,  dressed  like  any  others,  and  even  rather  roughly, 
found  a  sale  almost  exclusively  in  Russia  and  China,  in  the  former  country  fetching  about 
six  roubles  apiece.  In  Kiakhta  these  goods  until  March  30,  1861,  were  bartered  for  silk 
goods,  tea,  and  other  productions  of  China.  In  the  thirties  a  sharp  change  took  place  in  the 
sealskin  trade.  Instead  of  merely  preparing  the  skin  as  heretofore,  the  fur  itself  was  sub- 
jected to  treatment,  the  long  hair  being  all  plucked  out  and  the  remaining  down  dyed  a  dark 
brown  colour.  An  exceedingly  elegant  article  was  thus  obtained  and  quickly  a  large  demand 
for  it  arose  in  England.  But  in  consequence  of  inability  to  salt  the  skins,  they  spoiled  in  the 
prolonged  voyage  in  sailing  vessels  from  the  Pribylov  and  Commander  islands  to  London 
past  Cape  Horn. 

Notwithstanding  however  this  inconvenience,  sealskin  furs  began  to  be  more  highly 
valued  in  England,  than  in  Russia  and  other  places,  so  that  the  whole  of  these  goods 
began    to    gravitate    to    London,  and  .soon    the    latter   became   the    centre    of    the   world's 


134 


PIBKHIA. 


InuJe  in  sealskins.  The  business  was  so  profitable  that  already  in  1849  a  special  manufactory 
was  founded  in  London  which  to  this  day  turns  out  false  sealskin  materials.  The  decision 
taken  in  1867  by  the  Russian  (jovernmcni  in  regard  to  the  cession  of  its  North  American 
possessions  with  fiarl  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  nai/idy  thi.'  Pribylovs,  to  the  United  States, 
put  an  <'nd  to  the  nionupoly  of  the  Russian-Anicncan  Company.  Dc|irived  of  its  best  fishery 
upon  the  Pribylov  Islands  it  could  not  count  on  its  former  profits  and  therefore  resolved  to 
wind  up  its  allairs,  making  various  claims  against  the  (jovernment  for  breach  of  contract 
before  its  termination.  In  satisfaction  of  these  the  Government  was  obliged  to  buy  all  the 
company's  shares,  while  A,  Filipeus,  carrying  on  trade  in  the  Far  East,  acquired  the  latter's 
property  in  the  ports  of  Kamchatka  and  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk. 

The  Russian-American  Company  during  the  lirst  peri(jd  of  its  activity  from  1799  to 
IHU!,  that  is,  23  years,  took  upon  the  Commander,  and  other  islands,  1,232,374  fur  sealskins; 
during  the  second  period  from  1822  to  1841,  that  is,  20  years,  458,502  skins;  and  during  the 
llnrd  period  from  1842  to  1861,  that  is,  20  years,  the  catch  was  338,600  skins. 

During  the  last  years  of  its  existence  the  company  considerably  increased  its  activity, 
and  finally  in  the  last  year,  1868,  the  slaughter  of  seals  reached  unheard  of  dimensions. 


Y.';us. 

Piibylov     : 
Islands. 

Commander 
Islands. 

Years. 

Pribylov 
Islands. 

Commander 

Islands. 

1862 

34,294 

4,000 

1867 

75,000 

4,000 

1863 

25,000  (?) 

4,500 

1868 

242,000 

12,000 

1864 

26,000  (?) 

5,000 

1869 

87,000 

21,000 

1865 

40,000  (?) 

4,000 

1870 

23,773 

27,500 

1866 

42,000  (?) 

4,000 

— 

— 

—          i 

On  the  termination  of  the  activity  of  the  company,  the  seal  industry  and  trade  in 
furs  in  those  remote  localities  remained  without  Government  control,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Commander  Islands  were  left  without  regular  supplies.  Interesting 
himself  in  their  fate,  the  local  Governor-General  Korsakov  proposed  to  M.  Filipeus  to  under- 
take to  provide  the  islands  in  question  with  the  necessary  provisions.  At  the  same  time  in 
St.  Petersburg  lively  negotiations  were  being  carried  on  in  reference  to  the  concession  of 
the  seal  industry  in  the  Far  East  to  a  new  lessee.  There  was  no  lack  of  candidates,  but 
the  choice  fell  to  the  American  house  of  «Hutchison,  Cool  and  Co»  which  half  a  yctir 
before,  on  the  3rd  of  August,  1870,  under  the  title  of  the  ^Alaska  Trading  Company*  had 
concluded  a  contract  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  Xorth  America  for  the 
right  of  caching  fur  seals  on  the  islands  of  St.  George  and  St.  Paul,  forming  part  of  the 
territory  of  Alaska.  On  the  whole  the  contract  with  America  consisted  in  this  that  the  com- 
pany paid  the  treasury  55,000  dollars  a  year,  and  in  addition  two  dollars  per  skin,  under- 
taking at  the  same  time  to  engage  in  catching  the   seals  only  during  certain  named   months 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR    INDUSTRY. 


135 


of  the  year,  to  the  number  of  not  more  than  100,000  skins  In  the  season  on'  both  islands 
The  contract  was  concluded  for  20  years  till  the  1st  of  May,  1890.  For  the  same  term  the 
company  on  the  18th  February,  1871,  concluded  a  contract  with  the  Russian  Government  for 
catching  seals  on  the  Commander  Islands,  Behring  and  Miedny,  and  on  Tiulen  Island.  They 
bound  themselves:  1.  to  lake  into  their  body  a  Russian  subject;  2.  to  pay  5,000  roubles  a 
year  and  two  roubles  for  each  fur  seal  skin  taken  from  the  said  islands,  and  further  to  pay 
50  kopecks  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  for  each  full-grown  and  perfect  skin  received 
from  them.  In  1877  these  conditions  were  subjected  to  substantial  alterations  in  respect  to 
the  payment  per  skin,  so  that  the  inhabitants  were  paid  at  the  rate  of  one  rouble  instead 
of  50  kopecks  for  the  first  30,000  skins,  and  the  Crown  received  at  the  same  time  instead  of 
two  roubles  only  one  rouble  75  kopecks. 

The  new  company  without  delay  set  about  placing  the  trade  in  seal  skins  on  a  more 
regular  footing,  to  which  contributed  in  particular  the  opening  not  long  before,  in  1869,  of 
the  Paciiic  Railway  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  that  ocean.  Thanks  to  this  new  communi- 
cation the  Alaska  Company  was  in  a  position  to  forward  its  fur  goods  from  the  Pribylov  and 
Commander  Islands  to  London  in  a  shorter  time.  Independently  of  the  shortening  of  the 
route,  it  was  then  recognized  as  advisable  for  the  convenience  of  the  preparation  of  the  skin 
and  its  preservation  from  damage  during  the  voyage,  to  salt  it  without  previously  removing 
the  fat,  which  with  the  former  method  of  transport  oxidised  and  spoiled  the  goods.  Soon  the 
Alaska  Company  began  to  put  on  the  London  market  a  large  quantity  of  skins,  striving  at 
the  same  time  to  improve  the  quality  of  their  goods  and  to  attain  uniformity  of  selection. 

The  Company  introduced  order  and  system  into  the  selection  of  the  sort  of  skins 
and  in  their  preparation  for  transport,  attaining  in  this  respect  the  very  best  results.  Its 
goods  became  exemplary.  During  the  time  of  its  existence  from  1871  to  1891  the  Alaska 
Company  got  skins  to  the  following  amounts. 


Years. 

Commander 
Islands. 

Pribylov 
Islands. 

Years. 

Commander 
Islands. 

1 
Pribylov    I 
Islands. 

1871 

3,412 

97,002 

1881 

43,522 

101,734 

i       1872 

29,3i8 

101,698 

1882 

44,620 

101,736 

1873 

30,396 

101,555 

1883 

28,696 

77,063 

1874 

31,272 

107,932 

1884 

52,652 

101,013 

1875 

36,274 

101,249 

1885 

41,737 

101,509 

1876 

!       1877 

26,960 

21,532 

89,478 
77,956 

1886 
1887 

44,500 
46,754 

100,772 
100,795 

1878 

31,340 

101,394 

1888 

45,000 

100,450 

1879 

42,752 

106,908 

1889 

55,493 

100,135 

1880 

48,504 

100,634 

1890 

55,727 

20,995 

Judging  by  these  data,  the  catch  of  seals  on  the  Commander  Islands  is  systematically 
increasing,  while  in  the  figures  for  the  yield  on  the  Pribylov  Islands  a  certain  diminuticii  seems 


130 


SIBERIA. 


to  be  noticoablo,  Aiin'riciui  iiivcsiigjiiuii  ot  tiiu  >ijal  iiiilnsiiy  plaoo  tlii,>  ';ucuin>iaiic<i  in 
(lopondcncc  upon  tht;  oiiliaiicoil  destruction  of  tini  animal  on  the  Pribylov  Islamls,  in  couse- 
qu(!nc(3  of  which  tlio  soals  iin;  bof^iiiiiiiif^  to  avoid  i,hi;ni,  prefcininj,'  the  Commander  Islands 
and  the  remotest  parts  (»f  Kamchatka.  But  however  it  may  be,  during  recent  years  .seals  have 
begun  to  app(;ar  more  freijueiitly  on  Russian  possessions,  the  quality  of  the  skins  it  would  seem 
at  the  same  time  becoming  bettor.  The  cause  of  such  a  change  is  as  yet  not  sufficiently 
elucidated,  hut  the  fact  ils(;lf  only  is  established. 

Although  do  jure  the  Alaska  Company  was  the  only  firm  possivssing  ricli  seal  fisli-.-i- 
ies,  yet  do  facto  the  London  market  was  furnished  with  the  goods  in  question  from  othei 
sources.  Skins  wen;  obtained  from  various  parts  of  the  Southern,  Indian  and  Pacific  oceans. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  however  the  goods  proved  to  be  contraband,  that  is,  they  consisted 
of  seal  skins,  taken  without  distinction  of  seX  or  age,  on  every  convenient  opportunity  on 
land  and  sea.  In  consequence  of  sucli  piratical  character  of  the  industry,  the  goods  could 
not  only  not  bo  prepared  properly,  but  couKi  not  even  be  kept  in  good  condition.  They  came  on 
the  London  market  in  the  majority  of  cases  in  a  very  bad  shape,  and  there  had  to  be 
elfected  the  diiricult  task  of  sorting  and  dressing  them.  Of  the  best  quality  were  consid- 
ered the  skins  from  the  Scottish  Islands,  in  the  Antarctic  Sea,  next  the  product  of  the  Prib- 
ylov, Commander,  Tiulen,  and  lastly,  those  obtained  near  the  shores  of  Victoria,  upon 
the  Kuril  Islands,  and  near  Cape  Horn. 

The  dressing  of  the  fur  consisted  of  three  processes,  the  plucking  of  all  the  long  hair, 
the  tanning  of  the  skin  and  the  dyeing  of  the  short  down  that  was  left.  The  last  operation 
was  considered  the  most  difficult  and  the  secret  of  the  process  was  long  the  property  of  one 
firm  only.  The  whole  treatment  of  the  skin  cost  from  5  to  15  roubles,  according  to  its  siz^- 
and  ([uality.  The  selling  piices  were  subject  to  great  fluctuations,  but  on  the  whole,  Amer- 
ican skins  were  valued  higher  than  Russian,  the  former  fetching  30  to  45  roubles  apiece, 
the  latter  only  20  to  25  roubles.  According  to  the  data  of  1882,  skins  from  the  Pribylov 
Islands,  vsrith  an  average  weight  of  s.2  pounds,  were  valued  at  41*62  roubles;  those  from 
Tiulen  Island,  weighing  9.3  pounds,  23.50  roubles;  and  from  the  Commander  Islands,  9.5 
pounds,  23  roubles,  that  is,  little  more  than  half  the  American.  When  finished,  sealskins  from 
London  find  a  sale,  mainly  in  America,  namely  about  100,000  skins  per  annum;  next  in 
England,  80,000;  France,  15,000;  Germany  ;ind  other  counties,  7,000;  and  Russia,  1,000. 

Thanks  to  the  measures  referred  to  as  taken  by  the  Alaska  Company  the  London  fur 
market  became  more  lively;  in  1860,  some  20,000  skins  were  sold  there;  in  1867, 
52,000;  in  1869,  108,000;  in  1872,  129,000;  in  1875,  136,000;  in  1830,  148,000:  in 
1885,  141,000. 

Almost  the  whole  of  this  quantity  of  furs  was  furnished  by  the  Pribylov  and  Commander 
Islands. 


Year.                Pribylov  Islands.         Commander  Islands. 

1875 

1880 

99,634 
100,161 

34,479 
38,900 

HUNTINU    AND    THE    FUR    INDUSTRY 


137 


Yeaf. 

Pribylov  Islands. 

Commander  Islands.    1 

1885 

99,874 

48,929                          1 

188G 

99,947 

41,750 

1887 

99,949 

54,584 

1888 

100,037 

46,296 

1       1889 

100,031 

47,411. 

1890 

20,994 

52,765 

1891 

17,652 

59,724 

1871  — 1891 

1,883,897 

730,539  (1873  —  1891) 

Thus  the  success  of  the  sealskin  trade  is  due  in  a  considerable  degree  to  the  Alaska 
Company  having  been  able  to  organize  on  a  sound  basis  the  commercial  and  the  industrial 
part  of  the  undertaking.  And  yet  at  the  same  time  it  acted  upon  the  islands  leased  by  it  so 
rapaciously,  and  reduced  the  scanty  population  to  such  a  hopeless  position,  that  it  excited  just 
reproaches  both  in  America  and  in  Russia.  Making  use  of  its  privileged  position,  the  Alaska 
Company  furnished  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  with  all  the  necessary  supplies,  but  fixed 
the  prices  so  high  that  notwithstanding  the  high  earnings  of  the  inhabitants  from  the  seal, 
beaver,  arctic  fox  and  fishing  industries,  they  always  remained  in  debt  to  the  Company,  and 
were  constantly  in  want  of  every  necessary.  During  the  first  fifteen  years  Messrs.  Hutchinson, 
Cool,  Filipeus  and  Co.  paid  the  treasury  annually  5,000  roubles,  and  in  addition  to  this  a 
payment  per  skin  to  the  extent  above  stated,  which  on  an  average  amounted  to  64,420  roubles 
per  annum,  assuming  the  average  yearly  catch  in  Russian  fisheries  at  34,200  fur  seals. 
Independently  of  the  said  payment  to  the  Crown,  the  Company  paid  the  inhabitants  on  an 
average  37,588  roubles  per  annum.  The  same  Company  for  the  same  15  years  caught  on  the 
Pribylov  islands  on  an  average  95,930  seals  per  annum,  that  is,  about  two  and  a  half  times 
as  many  as  in  the  Russian  waters,  but  paid  the  Government  of  the  United  States  much  more 
in  proportion.  The  lease  cost  110,000  roubles,  that  is,  22  times  that  paid  in  Russia;  the  royalty 
payments  amounted  on  an  average  to  504,000  roubles,  that  is,  8  times  as  much,  and 
finally  the  inhabitants  received  77,000  roubles,  that  is,  quite  twice  as  much,  although  their 
number  on  the  Pribylov  and  Commander  Islands  was  approximately  the  same.  In  consequence 
of  this,  in  order  on  the  one  hand,  to  somewhat  increase  the  revenue  to  the  Crown  from  the 
seal  industry,  and  on  the  other,  as  far  as  possible,  to  regulate  the  relations  between  the  lessee 
from  the  Crown  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Commander  Islands,  the  question  arose  of  the 
renewal  of  the  contract  with  the  firm  of  Hutchinson,  Cool,  Filipeus  and  Co.  before  the  expiration 
of  the  lease,  with  the  cundition  of  the  immediate  increase  of  the  payment  per  skin  in  favour 
of  the  Government. 

The  company  expressed  its  readiness  to  increase  the  piece  payment  to  7  roubles,  during 
the  course  of  both  a  new  10  years  lease  and  the  three  years  unexpired  of  the  action  of  the 
old  contract.  Under   these   conditions,   the    increase  of  the  rent  came   out    approximately  at 


1  :^,,S  siBi:i:iA. 

oW^W)  roubles  per  arinurn.  However,  iiotwiUi^iainJiiig  Uie  obvious  ailvanta^/eousuess  of  thi-^ 
proposition,  nearer  acquaintance  with  tlie  matter  showed  the  necessity  of  deferrinf:  for  some 
lime  the  solution  of  ilie  (luestidii  of  retaxinj/  the  seal  industry,  in  consequence  of  the  question 
raised  in  1887  of  an  international  agreement  for  the  adoption  of  measures  ai^ainst  the  pirat- 
ical destruction  of  seals  in  Behring  Sea.  The  result  of  this  agreement  determined,  to  a 
considerable  degree,  the  prolitableness  of  the  undertaking.  Moreover,  it  was  borne  in  mind  that 
the  renewal  (if  the  rating  of  the  Pribylov  Islands,  immiiifiit  in  18!/',  must  afiv-ct  the  issue  of 
the  lixing  of  the  rent  of  the  Commander  Islands. 

The  subsequent  circumstances  fully  justified  all  llic  above  stated  presup|)OSitions  and 
at  the  new  auction  a  mass  of  candidates  appeared  fmrn  among  the  n.-presentatives  of  Russian 
industry  with  more  advantageous  propositions.  Out  of  many  competitors  the  Government  gave 
the  preference  to  the  firm  «The  Russian  Seal  Fisheries  Association ;>,  founded  by  (jriinwaldt, 
Lepeshkin,  Prozorov  and  Savich,  and  concluded  a  contract  with  it  on  the  following  princi- 
pal bases:  Section  1.  Tiie  terra  of  the  lease  is  for  10  years,  till  February  19,  1901;  the  asso- 
ciation is  to  receive  from  the  administration  of  the  Commander  Islands  the  skins  of  seals, 
beavers,  and  arctic  foxes.  Section  2.  The  quantity,  season,  place  and  method  of  killing  the 
animals  is  determined  by  the  local  authorities.  Section  4.  The  association  pays  to  the  Crown 
per  sealskin  10.38  roubles;  per  first  class  beaver,  115.33')  roubles;  per  second  class  beaver. 
57.6675  roubles;  per  first  class  blue  fox,  11 .  535  roubles;  per  second  class  blue  fox,  5.77  roubles, 
and  per  white  fox,  2.31  roubles,  all  in  gold.  Section  8.  The  association  is  bound  once  a  year  to 
furnish  the  islands  with  all  necessaries  with  an  addition  of  only  20  per  cent  to  the  purchase  price. 
Section  11.  The  association  must  employ  ships  exlusively  under  the  Russian  flag.  During  the  first 
year  of  its  existence,  1891,  the  «Russian  Seal  Fisheries  Association;)  took  from  the  administration 
of  the  islands  30,689  sealskins,  one  first  class  and  one  second  class  beaver.  In  the  following 
year,  1892,  there  were  handed  over  to  the  same  association  31,315  sealskins,  to  the  amount 
of  325,049.70  roubles  gold;  beaver  skins  of  the  first  class,  88,  for  10.149.40  roubles,  of  the 
second  class  108,  for  6,228.9  roubles;  arctic  foxes  of  the  first  quanlity  1,601  for  18.467.535 
roubles;  of  the  second  807, for  4.656.39  roubles,  and  finally,  9  white  foxes,  for  20.79  roubles, 
or  a  total  of  364,571.95  roubles  gold,  which  is  equivalent  to  half  a  million  paper 
roubles. 

Thus  the  new  lessee  from  the  Crown,  notwithstanding  a  considerable  diminution  in 
the  number  of  animals  killed,  gave  the  Government  fully  five  times  as  much  as,  in  the  course 
of  20  years,  was  received  from  Hutchinson,  Cool  and  Filipeus. 

The  falling  off  in  the  number  of  animals  killed,  above  referred  to,  is  explained  by  the  acti- 
vity of  the  piratical  schooners  in  Russian  waters,  which  is  increasing  with  every  year.  This  is 
caused  by  the  increased  protection  of  the  American  waters  on  the  part  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  The  question  of  the  preservation  of  the  seal  industry  from  destruction 
by  persons  occupied  in  the  illegal  catching  of  these  animals,  possesses  an  extremely  great 
international  Importance  and  therefore  it  is  necessary  to  elucidate  it  as  fully  as  possible.  Already 
in  the  lime  of  llie  Russian  -  American  Company,  which  acted  almost  without  control  in  Behr- 
ing Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  foreign  vessels  were  sometimes  observed  to  appear  off  Russian 
shores  with  the  object  of  secretly  bartering  various  goods  for  furs  with  the  local  inhabitants,  or 


i 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR   INDUSTRY.  139 

even  of  secretly  killing  seals,  but  the  said  company  on  its  part  took  energetic  .  measures 
against  such  piracy,  thanks  to  which  the  latter  was  not  ahle  to  assume  large  dimensions. 
When  the  company's  affairs  were  wound  up,  in  1868,  and  particularly  during  the  time  pre- 
ceding the  concession  of  the  seal  industry  to  another  company  in  1871,  according  to  the 
evidence  of  the  Russian  Consul  General  in  San  Francisco,  the  regular  organization  of  the 
illegal  exploitation  of  both  the  seas  commenced  at  first  by  the  Americans  and  Canadians 
and  then  by  all  other  lovers  of  gain  at  other  people's  expense. 

In  particular,  Anadyr  Bay  with  the  Holy  Cross  and  Anadyr  gulfs,  not  being  protected 
by  Russian  authorities  and  little  visited  by  cruisers,  became,  thanks  to  their  convenient 
anchorage,  the  favourite  ground  of  those  occupying  themselves  with  the  illegal  industry. 
They  systematically  depraved  the  uncivilized  native  population,  intoxicating  them  with 
brandy  and  receiving  from  them  valuable  furs  for  almost  nothing.  Besides  this,  several 
considerable  fishing  firms  in  San  Francisco  openly  caught  cod  and  other  fish  between 
Sakhalin  and  the  Kuril  chain,  in  the  bays  of  Penzha,  Gizhiga,  Tauisk  and  Udsk.  This 
they  practised  unpunished,  due  to  the  absence  of  Russian  cruisers  in  those  waters.  In 
Kamchatka,  and  on  the  nearest  islands  also,  a  considerable  quantity  of  fur  animals 
were  killed,  such  as  arctic  foxes,  beaver,  bear,  red  and  black  foxes,  Siberian  gray-chested 
foxes,  sable,  martens.  All  these  valuable  furs  were  sold  by  the  natives  to  var- 
ious piratical  traders  for  brandy,  powder,  shot,  guns  and  all  kinds  of  rubbish.  From  this 
cause  the  sea  beaver  particularly  suffered,  their  number  beginning  to  rapidly  decline  from 
the  irregular  way  in  which  they  were  hunted.  This  circumstance  compelled  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment to  take  measures  against  such  injurious  trade  and  with  this  object,  in  1875  it  first 
despatched  to  the  Far  East  the  clipper  «Gaidamak»  to  suppress  the  illegal  trade  in  spirits  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Russian  coast.  Afterwards,  more  than  once,  other  vessels  were  detached 
from  the  Pacific  squadron  with  the  same  object,  and  since  1884  a  military  guard  has  been 
maintained  on  the  Tiulen  Island  during  the  summer  and  autumn  months.  The  occasional  des- 
patch of  Men  of  War  to  protect  the  fur  industries  did  not  always  attain  its  object,  and 
therefore  since  1891  the  transport  cYakut»  has  been  sent  to  cruise  constantly  in  Behring 
Sea.  The  result  was  the  confiscation  of  the  piratical  schooners,  employed  in  the  prohibited 
catching  of  fur  seals,  the  crew  being  always  set  at  liberty  without  the  exaction  of 
any  fine. 

The  Americans  on  their  part  took  a  series  of  more  energetic  measures  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  coast  from  the  piratical  catching  of  marine  fur  animals.  For  the  regulation  of 
this  matter,  and  the  establishment  of  a  close  season  for  seals,  in  1887  arose  the  question  of 
the  necessity  of  an  agreement  between  the  governments  of  Russia,  Great  Britain,  and  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  conferences  however  appointed  to  deliberate  the  subject,  at 
first  in  London  and  then  in  Washington,  with  the  participation  of  the  countries  interested,  did 
not  lead  to  any  deiinite  results;  and  meanwhile  the  piratical  activity  of  foreigners  not  only 
continued,  but  apparently  even  increased.  Fur  seals  were  killed  not  only  on  land,  but  in  the 
water  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex  in  consequence  of  which  a  quantity  of  animals 
perished  without  profit  to  anyone,  as  the  wounded  retired  to  sea  and  there  died  in  large 
numbers.  The  destruction  of  the  females  led  to  the  death  of  the  young  seals  still  dependent  on 


I   jO  SIBERIA. 

Ih<;ir  inoUier.sKuik.  (Jii  tin-  Iiiih'M  i^iaii'i  iin'  iiii->.'5iaii-,  on  ii;tuiiJiiit.'  tint  Iter  iii  iii''  >j>iiiiu',  li'-ijijt.'iniy 
round  tlioijsuml  of  ItniJios  of  various  a^e.s,  iho  traces  loft  of  tliu  preseuce  there  of  the  pirates 
ill  th(!  late  aiitnniii,  ami  of  llieir  slaughter  of  all  the  animals  still  remainin((  up^m  the  islaml. 

The  chief  ohstacle  to  the  establishnieiit  of  an  international  agreement  was  the  ileclaratiou 
ol  tiiL- Canadian  minister  of  navigation  and  lisheries,  T<!nner,  that  the  multiplication  of  fur  seals 
is  not  harmed  by  hunting  them  in  the  open  sea  but  by  the  piratical  attacks  to  which  certain 
islands  are  subjecteil  which  possess  seal  rookeries,  and  that  for  the  preservation  of  the  fisheries 
it  is  perfectly  sufilcient  to  protect  the  rookeries.  Great  Britain  demanded  preliminarily  to  the 
decision  of  the  question  of  preservation,  the  collection  of  the  results  of  supplementary  inves- 
tigations upon  the  mode  of  life  of  the  fur  seal,  but  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
energetically  opposed  the  further  postponement  of  the  question  of  the  establishment  of  the 
necessary  agreement  and  succeeded  in  winning  the  point.  In  1891  the  United  States  of 
America  concluded  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  by  which  the  killing  of  seals  was  tempor- 
arily prohibited  for  the  subjects  of  both  the  said  states  in  the  waters  of  Behring  Sea, 
situated  to  the  east  of  a  line  of  demarcation  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  1867  between  Russia  and 
the  United  States.  This  agreement  had  a  peculiarly  fatal  effect  upon  the  Russian  seal  industry, 
as  the  Anglo-American  pirates  incommoded  in  the  limits  of  the  Canadian  and  Federal  possessions, 
directed  their  criminal  activity  mainly  to  Russian  waters.  According  to  information  afforded  by 
the  New- York  Russian  Consulate  in  1891, 8J  schooners  were  employed  in  the  clandestine  catching 
of  seals  by  whom  more  than  50,000  skins  were  taken,  of  which  about  9,500  were  in  Russian 
waters.  According  to  the  same  authority,  in  1892, 62  vessels  were  employed  in  this  trade,  two 
of  which  being  steamers,  and  they  took  45,000  skins,  15,000  of  which  were  from  Russian 
waters.  Notwithstanding  the  considerable  character  of  the  figures  quoted  there  Is  reason  to 
think  that  they  are  far  below  the  fact.  The  returns  of  the  London  market,  which  is  the  centre 
of  the  sealskin  trade,  lead  to  the  same  conclusion.  According  to  the  communication  of  the 
Governor  of  the  Commander  Islands,  60  schooners  were  observed  in  their  neighbourhood  in 
1892,  which  occupied  themselves  with  killing  seals  on  land  and  on  the  water,  one  party  of 
the  pirates  carrying  out  the  slaughter  while  the  other  returned  the  fire  of  the  guard  protecting 
the  fisheries.  Their  audacity  reached  such  a  height,  that  the  slaughter  of  the  seals  was 
carried  on  in  the  rookeries  themselves.  This  piracy  is  growii>g  more  and  more  every  year 
and  as  it  is  the  interests  of  Russian  subjects  that  suffer  most  from  it,  this  Government 
could  not  but  direct   attention  to  such  an  abnormal   state  of  things. 

The  consent  of  Russia  to  the  above  mentioned  Anglo-American  agreement  of  1S91 
would  only  have  a  value  for  her  in  case  of  the  extension  of  the  prohibition  mentioned  to 
the  waters  of  Behring  Sea  also  lying  to  the  west  of  the  line  of  demarcation  of  1867.  How- 
ever the  Government  of  Great  Britain  has  declined  such  a  statement  of  the  question  and 
from  that  time  Russia  has  taken  no  further  part  In  the  negotiations.  But  protecting  her  own 
interests  she  has  found  it  necessary  to  pass  a  new  law  by  which  the  seal  industry  on  the 
sea  is  absolutely  prohibited,  the  killing  or  catching  of  seals,  or  in  general,  the  seal  industry 
on  land,  is  only  allowed  with  the  permission  of  the  Government,  according  to  regulations 
established  by  it  for  the  purpose.  For  carrying  on  the  sea  industry,  as  well  as  for  the 
unauthorized  killing   on   land,   the   guilty    parties    are    subject    to    imprisonment    from    two 


HUNTING    AND    THE    FUR   INDUSTRY.  141 

months  to  a  year  and  four  months,  their  appliances,  catch  and  vessels  used  in  the  industry 
with  cargo  and  everything  on  board  being  confiscated.  To  make  the  protection  still  more 
effective,  the  number  of  special  cruisers  occupied  with  enforcing  them  will  soon  be  increased 
by  two  new  vessels. 

The  beaver  and  arctic  fox  industries  continue  to  remain  in  the  same  unfavourable  con- 
ditions in  which  the  seal  industry  was  till  the  promulgation  of  the  last  law.  Beavers  appear 
not  only  on  the  Commander  Islands  but  also  on  the  coast  of  Kamchatka,  especially  near 
Yellow  Cape  where  they  have  their  dams.  However  the  predaceous  persecution  to  which  they 
are  subjected  is  forcing  the  animals  to  constantly  seek  new  sites  for  their  dams,  more  remote 
from  man.  Latterly  beavers  have  begun  to  come  out  on  the  land  between  Capes  Kamchatka 
and  Stolbovy.  The  fur  of  the  Kamchatka  beaver  is  peculiarly  highly  esteemed,  fetching 
from  300  to  400  roubles  per  skin,  while  the  Commander  beaver  is  sold  at  a  third  of  that  price. 
Thanks  to  the  high  value  of  the  fur,  beaver  are  hunted  very  energetically,  in  consequence  of 
which  their  destruction  is  taking  place  very  fast  and  they  are  becoming  more  and  more  rare. 

The  morse  industry,  like  the  last,  is  gradually  declining,  this  circumstance  being  a 
direct  consequence  of  the  development  of  the  piratical  catching  of  sea  mammals  by  English 
and  American  filibusters  who  shoot  them  with  guns.  The  flesh  of  the  morse  is  used  as  food, 
the  skin  for  making  the  covering  of  the  y  u  r  t  a  s  of  the  aborigenes  in  the  Far  East,  The 
tusks  form  the  subject  of  a  lively  trade.  The  filibusters  further  clandestinely  distribute  to 
the  Chukches  guns  and  powder  for  hunting  the  morse,  and  then  barter  the  tusks  for  rum, 
brandy  and  tobacco. 

The  whale  trade,  as  is  already  mentioned  above,  never  possessed  a  regular  organi- 
zation and  large  commercial  development  in  the  Russian  territories  of  Behring  Sea  and  the 
Sea  of  Okhotsk.  The  whale,  proceeding  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  collect  in  con- 
siderable numbers  near  the  Chukotsk  peninsula,  especially  between  the  Providence  Bay  and 
East  Cape.  This  industry  annually  attracts  here  a  crowd  of  American  and  English  whalers, 
who  partly  are  themselves  employed  in  killing  thera,and  partlyin  obtaining  the  whalebone  from 
the  Chukches.  Judging  from  the  accounts  in  the  American  papers,  specially  devoted  to  this 
industry,  it  may  be  assumed  that  foreign  whalers  annually  carry  away  from  the  Pacific  coast 
of  Siberia  from  100,000  to  150,000  pounds  of  whalebone,  valued  at  about  6  roubles  a  pound, 
not  less  than  100,000  pounds  of  morse  tusks  at  about  one  rouble  and  fifty  kopecks  a  pound,  and 
a  quantity  of  blubber  and  other  products.  Thus  the  whole  industry  in  the  Russian  waters  of 
the  Pacific  yields  various  products  to  the  amount  of  one  and  a  half  million  roubles  per 
annum;  but  this  trade  escapes  Government  control  being  always  carried  on  in  a  contraband 
manner. 

There  have  been  several  attempts  to  organize  the  whale  industry  in  the  Ear  East  of  Russia, 
but  not  one  has  met  with  success.  The  credit  of  the  last  attempt  of  the  kind  belongs  to  the  retired 
Captain  of  the  second  rank  A.  G.  Dydymov,  to  whom  the  Ministry  of  Finance  granted  in 
1887  a  loan  of  50,000  roubles  for  three  years,  for  the  equipment  of  a  steam  whaler,  but 
this  officer  having  made  an  excellent  beginning  to  his  enterprise  in  the  Sea  of  Japan  perished 
somewhere  on  the  coast  ot  Korea  at  the  very  commencement,  leaving  the  killing  of  whales 
in  the  Russian  waters  of  the  Pacific  still  an  open  question.  The   said  industry  requiring  the 


]42  SIHERIA. 

prcliriihiary  expenditun!  of  a  consideiabli!  capital,  and  presenting  great  danger,  at  the  same 
lime  is  ceasing  to  bo  profitable;.  Tlie  last  circumstance  is  in  connexion  with  the  progress  of 
the  Russian  petroleum  business.  With  tin*  appearand;  of  Russian  cheap  kerosene  in  the  Far 
East,  the  price  of  animal  illuminating  oil  began  to  fall  fast,  and  was  of  course  unable  to 
stand  the  coin|)i;lition  of  mineral  oil.  In  consequence  of  this  the  most  valuable  article  of 
the  vvliali!  industry  at  the  pn-^eiit  time  is  whalebone,  from  which  extremely  .solid  and  lino 
libres  an;  prepareii  wliicli  aiimiral)ly  replace  horsehair  in  various  plaited  goods. 

Indepeiidt.'ullY  of  these  two  industries,  there  are  yet  others  neeiling  protection  from 
piratira!  oi'  nipacinus  exi)Ioitation,  whether  by  foreigners  or  Russian  subjects.  The  necessary 
information  is  being  coll(;cted  by  the  Government  on  the  basis  of  which  at  no  distant  date 
the  required  rules  will  be  drawn  up. 

The  Okhotsk  Sea,  long  celebrated  for  its  abundance  of  fish  of  every  kind,  always 
attracts  a  crowd  of  fishermen  who  carry  away  out  of  Russian  waters  great  quantities  of  fish, 
the  most  important  being  cod.  This  fish  is  caught  most  of  all  between  Sakhalin  and 
the  Kuril  Islands,  and  in  particular  between  capes  Olotersk  and  Stolbovy. 

For  completeness,  the  sketch  of  the  fur  industries  in  the  Far  Fiast  carried  on  in  the 
sea  and  on  the  coast,  must  be  supplemented  by  an  account  of  the  condition  of  analogous  industries 
on  laud.  Great  forest  fires  started  partly  intentionally  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  land  for  til- 
lage, partly  arising  accidentally  from  the  careless  handling  of  fire,  and  most  of  all  the  rapacious 
destruction  of  timber  accompanying  the  construction  of  bamers  when  hunting  fur  animals,  all 
these  causes  have  combined  to  thin  the  forests,  which  circumstance  has  again  affected  the 
diminution  of  such  animals  in  the  forests.  Among  the  most  valuable  species  the  foremost 
place  is  taken  by  the  sable  which  not  so  long  ago  occurred  in  vast  numbers  in  all  the 
forests  of  the  Littoral  Territory.  Now  comparatively  smaller  numbers  are  caught,  namely 
abont  10,000  skins  valued  at  about  100,000  roubles.  Next  come  the  ordinary,  and  the  excess- 
ively rare  black  foxes,  blue  foxes,  gluttons,  ermine,  raccoon,  polecats,  squirrels,  otter,  the 
brown  and  white  bear,  Siberian  weasel  et  cetera. 

The  main  mass  of  the  peltry  of  the  Far  East  on  account  of  the  insufficiency 
of  the  ordinary  communications,  is  sold  for  almost  nothing  to  Chinese  factors,  who 
export  this  class  of  goods  principally  to  their  own  country.  For  example,  in  1891  there 
passed  through  Kiakhta  into  China  22,590  roubles  worth  of  otter,  beaver  and  bear  skins, 
112,000  roubles  worth  of  wolf,  lynx  and  fox  skins,  and  other  kinds  not  specially  named 
to  the  amount  of  130,774  roubles.  Thus  organized  the  fur  trade  brings  the  country  compar- 
atively little.  And  yet  undoubtedly  this  industry  has  a  gi'eat  importance  especially  in  a 
country  where  nature  has  placed  impassable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  development  of  agri- 
culture. In  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Far  East,  particularly  in  the  northern  zone, 
the  nomad,  nay  even  the  settled  population,  is  placed  by  climatic  conditions  in  the  regrettable 
necessity  of  contenting  itself  with  hunting  various  animals,  and  with  fishing.  In  many  cases 
the  Government  comes  to  the  aid  of  the  helpless  aborlgenes,  furnishing  them  with  powder  and 
shot  for  hunting,  and  in  those  places  where  fishing  is  the  sole  source  of  existence,  Govern- 
ment stores  are  always  ready,  with  hemp,  horseh  air  and  other  articles  required  in  the  prep- 
ration  of   nets,   and  other   fishing   tackle.    These   things   are  distributed  to  the  remotest  re- 


HUNTINti    AND    THR    FUR    INDUSTRY.  143 

gions,  being  supplied  to  the  well-to-do  at  the  cost  price  to  the  Government  and  being 
issued  to  the  poorer  classes  according  to  the  resolution  of  the  rural  societies  by  way  of 
loans  with  obligatory  payment  next  year.  Without  such  Government  aid  the  population, 
in  consequence  of  its  extreme  poverty  and  its  not  being  able  to  acquire  the  tackle  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  of  due  quality,  would  in  many  places  suffer  frightful  want  of  food, 
even    although  the  rivers  abound  in  fish. 

As  has  been  explained  before,  not  only  the  aborigenes  of  the  Far  East  but  the  inhab- 
itants of  many  places  of  the  original  Siberia  have  converted  the  chase  of  wild,  mainly  fur 
animals,  into  an  industry  providing  them  with  the  necessities  of  life.  And  as  nature  has 
endowed  Siberia  with  an  enormous  quantity  of  valuable  fur  animals,  the  said  industry  has 
a  great  importance  to  the  country,  the  more  so  that,  as  already  said,  the  Far  East  is  the 
chief  centre  of  the  Siberian  fur  industries,  where  virgin  forests,  affording  asylum  to  every 
wild  beast,  are  yet  preserved. 

There  unfortunately  exist  no  exact  statistics  of  the  fur  industry,  but  summing  up  the 
information  in  the  hands  of  the  Government  and  of  private  institutions  interested  in  the  fur 
trade,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  dimensions  of  the  former  for  the  whole  of  Siberia  are 
approximately  given  in  the  following  table: 

1879.  1886.  1887.  1888.  1889.  1890.  1891.  1392. 

Black  foxes —  2  45  34           33  30  29  24 

Grey-chested 2,684  1,812  1,694  813         436  1,694  1,913  2,321 

Ermine ■    ...  18,454  26,313  34,254  24,536  21,618  19,011  7,306  12,416 

Arctic  foxes  and  cubs   .   .  116  294  2,495  2,891  2,927  2,866  4,099  2,986 

Sable  of  all  kinds  .   .   -   .  22,752  7,317  7,441  9,825  18,610  18,176  20,149  31,312 

Otters 165  168  3,295  2,706  3,866  4,246  3,508  2,300 

Red  foxes —  4,111  23,758  12,218  22,0*00  19,405  22,334  16,«)59 

White  (arctic)  bears.    .    .  3  —  10  9            3  38  28  45 

Bears 314  526  1,643  1,389  1,118  432  1,114  218 

Wolves  and  dogs    ....  1,456  —  5,008  2,664  19,840  23,916  31,932  7,803 

Mink 449  3,423  4,689  1,956  1,867  2,624  1,108  6,215 

Siberian  weasel 3,432  19,431  4,3G7  12,257  5,634  11,367  4,612  10,123 

Squirrels On  an    average    a  million  skins. 

Lynx 75  -  3,597  5,206  3,109  2,489  3,485  3,395 

Martens —  4,860  6,256  1,364  9,244  4,684  2,492  6,384 

Siberian  tigers 6  8  4  11           21  15  9  4 

leopards   ....  32  38  39  24          29  28  26  23 

Pyzhiks 1,109  1,364  1,684  1,573  1,932  1,917  716  1,223 

Cats      9,681  13,412  18,450  16,486  31,434  29,318  26,415  15,773 

In  explanation  of  the  liguros  quoted  it  may  be  observed  that  heroin  are  not  included 
hares,  as  this  small  animal  is  everywhere  caught,  and  on  account  of  its  little  value,  does 
not  form  an  article  of  export,  but  is  confined  to  local  consumption.  Moreover,  herein  are  not 
included  the  furs  taken  in  the  lands  belonging  to  the  Cabinet  of  His  Majesty. 


144  8IBERIA. 

From  the  f^arrio  table  it  is  clearly  to  be  seen  bow  rich  Siberia  is  in  every  kind  of 
lur,  which  is  far  Irdm  being  absorbed  by  the  local  consumpticn.  A  large  amount  is  sent 
through  the  Pacific  ports  of  Siberia  abroad,  partly  to  America,  partly  to  Europe,  or  more 
strictly  to  Lond(in.  Part  of  the  goods,  offered  for  sale  in  the  markets,  is  despatched  over- 
land through  Irbit  and  Nizhni-Novgorod  to  Moscow,  whence  it  is  distributed  to  the  whole 
of  Russia  and  finds  its  way  in  considerable  quantities  to  Leipzig.  Thus  the  Rus-sian  fur  trade 
is  concentrated  mainly  not  in  Russia  but  in  London  and  Leipzig,  the  more  valuable  furs 
being  collecti^d  in  London. 

In  concluding  this  review  of  llic  industry  in  fur  and  fither  wild  animals  in  the  Fai 
East  it  will  not  be  superfluous  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  gathering  of  niiimmoth  ivory  in 
supplement  to  what  is  stated  above  on  the  same  subject.  This  business,  although  not  organ- 
ized into  a  regular  industry,  but  having  rather  a  casual  character,  altogether  furnishes  the 
population  a  pretty  considerable  source  of  income.  From  the  Yakutsk  territory  alone  in  1891 
about  100  pouds  of  mammoth  ivory  valued  at  15,000  roubles  were  exported.  This  article 
and  morse  tusks  annually  appear  on  the  Yakutsk  market  to  the  amount  of  30,000  to 
40,000  roubles. 


— ^<§-— 


I 


IXrtUSTEY.    COMMERCE    AND    WAYS    OF    COMMUNICATION. 


145 


CHAPTEK  XI. 
Industry,  Commerce  and  Ways  of  Communication. 

The  mineral  wealth  and  the  mining  and  metallui'gical  industries  of  Siberia;  general   items  of 

the  mining  and  metallurgical  industries  of  the  Urals;  the  mining  and  metallurgical  industries 

of  Sibei'ia;    gold,   silver,   lead,   copper,    iron,   tin,   mercury,  sulphur,  coal,  graphite,  naphtha, 

salt,  rare  minerals   and  building  materials. 

THE  Great  Siberian  Railway  enters  upon  the  borders  of  Siberia  after  having  traversed  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Urals,  that  metallurgical  treasure  house  of  Russia.  The  numer- 
ous iron  and  copper  works,  the  gold  diggings  and  coal  fields  situated  along  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Urals  are,  speaking  strictly  in  a  geographical  sense,  already  within  the  limits  of  Asia, 
although  in  an  administrative  sense  they  are  included  in  the  governments  of  European 
Russia.  Without  touching  upon  the  details  of  the  mining  and  metallurgical  industries  of  the 
Urals,  it  is  however  impossible  not  to  mention  them  in  an  article  devoted  to  Siberia,  all  the 
more  as  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  is  of  very  great  importance  to  the 
works  of  the  Urals  as  a  means  of  extending  their  market.  During  the  last  five  years  the 
works,  mines  and  gold  diggings  of  the  Urals  have  yielded  as  in  the  following  table. 


Gold 

Platinum  .  .  . 
Copper .... 
Pig  iron.  .     .    . 

Iron 

Steel  .... 
Manganese  ore  . 

Coal 

Salt 

Sulphur  pyrites. 
Chrome  iron  ore. 


1887. 


1888. 


1889. 


1890. 


1891. 


649^ 

269 

163,045 

23,425,846 

13,302,405 

2,328,231 

50,000 

9,972,089 

14,113,100 


665^A 

166 

156,777 

24,039,236 

13,360,047 

2,401,104 

82,700 

12,757,123 

17,655,800 

676,582 

440.868 


641'/* 

161 

157,949 

24,725,521 

14,888,720 

2,583,283 

179,100 

16,040,023 

18,210,050 

s96,076 

253,732 


642V2 

173^/* 

173,307 

27,703,679 

14,716,722 

2,716,238 

143,500 

15,223,649 

19,224,590 

358,285 

144.667 


705 

258^'2 

174,403 

29,923,510 

15,184,924 

3,464,918 

117,596 

14,917,361 

20,408,482 

481,550 

189,047 


10 


]  46  ilHEKlA. 

The  value  ol'  the  chief  products  ol'  the  iniuiiig  and  metalhirgical  industries  is  estimated 
at  Irom  twenty  to  iwonty-live  million  metallic  roubles. 

The  southern  portion  of  Siberia  contains  considerable  deposits  of  every  kind  of  mineral, 
and  a  milling'  imliistry  has  existed  in  its  iliU'erent  regions  for  about  two  centuries.  But  greai 
mineral  wt-alth  still  lies  untouched  in  the  bowels  of  Siberia,  and  its  exploitation  will  become 
possible  when  tli(!  oxistinf,'  economical  Cdiiditions  will  be  modified  by  the  construction  of  th"- 
Great  Siberian  llaihvay. 

The  chief  mineral  riches  of  Siberia  include,  among  metals,  gold,  silver,  copper  and 
iron.  There  are  also  deposits  of  mercury  and  tin  ores.  Among  the  carboniferous  and 
combustible  substances  there  are,  coal  and  lignite,  graphite,  sulphur  and  naphtha;  and  amon(/ 
salts,  cominuM  and  glauber   salts;   besides   which,  Siberia  is  rich  in  all  kinds  of  rare  stones. 

Gold. 

At  the  lime  when  the  gold  industry  of  the  Urals  was  extending  more,  and  penetrat- 
ing to  their  utmost  northern  limits,  the  existence  of  gold  was  not  known  in  Siberia  and  it 
was  only  in  J831  that  it  w^as  found  by  private  individuals  in  the  mountains  between  the 
rivers  Toma  and  Yenisei  in  the  system  of  the  river  Kiya.  And  for  a  certain  period  all  thf 
endeavours  of  the  gold  workers  were  concentrated  in  this  district.  In  1836  they  transferred 
their  prospectings  further  to  the  east  in  the  spurs  of  the  Sayansk  mountain  chain,  to  the 
borders  of  the  governments  of  Yenisei  and  Irkutsk.  There  rich  deposits  of  gold  were  found 
in  the  wildest  and  most  inaccessible  places  along  the  river  Birusa.  But  the  activity  of  the 
gold  miners,  whose  number  was  constantly  increasing,  did  not  long  restrict  itself  to  the  gold 
bearing  system  of  the  Birusa.  It  was  enough  for  one  daring  gold  miner  to  push  tow^ards 
the  north,  to  the  rivers  Toungousk,  to  be  followed  by  many  others,  and  in  1840  and  1811  a 
large  number  of  rich  and  very  durable  gold  deposits  were  discovered  between  the  Verkhnaya 
and  Podkamenuaya  Toungouski,  which  presented  a  vast  store  of  gold  exceeding  all  those 
known  at  that  time.  The  prospectings  were  pushed  further  and  further  to  the  east,  and  in 
1849  the  gold  deposits  of  the  Olekminsk  system  in  the  government  of  Yakutsk  were  put 
under  exploitation.  In  1854  the  gold  industry  was  established  in  the  Bargouzinsk  region  of 
the  Transbaikal  province.  In  the  Xerchinsk  mining  region  the  exploitation  of  gold  has  been 
carried  on  by  the  State  since  1832,  and  private  individuals  were  first  permitted  to  prospect 
for  gold  in  1864,  and  in  1865  the  exploitation  of  gold  by  private  individuals  was  started.  In 
the  Littoral  province  prospecting  for  gold  was  permitted  in  1866,  and  in  1868  it  was  begun 
in  the  Amour  province.  And  lastly  the  discovery  of  gold  deposits  in  the  tributaries  of  the 
river  Boureya,  which  fall  into   the  Amour  from  the  left  side,  was  only  made  in  1875. 

At  the  present  time  the  Siberian  gold  industry  extends  over  a  vast  area,  and  gold  is 
exploited  in  the  basins  di  the  Obi,  Yenisei,  (with  the  Baikal)  Lena  and  Amour,  within  the 
limits  of  all  the  governments  and  provinces  of  Siberia.  The  gold  bearing  localities  along 
the  Obi,  Yenisei  and  Lena  are  situated  in  the  basins  of  rivers  flowing  from  the  east 
that  is,  along  the  western  declivity  of  the  mountain  chains  which  descend  into  the  north- 
ern Siberian  lowlands  from  the  mountains  which  border  the  Arctic  Ocean  on  the  south. 
There   are    rare    exceptions;   the  gold  deposits   in  diiferent   parts  of  Siberia  lie  at   different 


GOLD.  147 

altitudes  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  but  as  a  rule  they  do  not  rise  above  2,000  feet,  the 
height  of  the  mountain  chains  being  twice  and  three  times  greater.  In  the  Kousnets  Alatau 
the  height  of  the  mountains  is  from  five  to  six  thousand  feet  and  the  gold  deposits  become 
smaller  and  poorer  as  the  mountain  chain  rises  towards  the  south. 

The  geognostic  character  of  the  gold  deposits  of  Siberia  also  varies  in  different  local- 
ities. The  gold  bearing  rock  of  the  Kousnets  Alatau  is  greenstone ;  on  the  eastern  declinity 
of  this  mountain  ridge  the  extreme  slopes,  down  to  the  openings  of  the  valleys,  are  composed 
of  clay  slate,  which  higher  up  the  current  changes  into  metamorphic  and  calcareous  clay  slates, 
which  change  into  jaspers  and  hornblendes  near  their  contact  with  the  gi-anites  and  diorites. 

The  predominating  rocks  of  both  the  northern  and  southern  parts  of  the  Yenisei  region 
is  made  up  of  various  kinds  of  metamorphic  slates  among  which  clay  slate  predominates  and 
in  some  instances  passes  into  mica  schist.  The  northern  system  also  presents  gi-auites, 
gneisses,  diorites  and  porphyries,  which  appear  more  rarely  in  the  southern  system.  In  the 
northern  system,  limestones,  sandstones  and  conglomerites  are  also  found  in  places.  The  gold 
bearing  strata  lie  in  various  kinds  of  slates,  near  their  contact  with  gi-anites  and  diorites; 
and  wherever  this  combination  occurs  gold  is  sure  to  be  found.  The  predominating  rocks  in 
the  southern  regions  of  the  government  of  Yenisei  in  the  spurs  of  the  Sayansk  mountains 
are  granite,  cyanite,  limestone  and  metamorphic  slates. 

In  the  province  of  Yakutsk  the  chief  rock  of  the  gold  bearing  systems  of  the  rivers 
Olekma  and  Yitima  is  a  granitic  cyanite,  which  changes  in  places  into  a  more  laminated 
structure,  passing  into  gneiss,  which  imperceptibly  passes  into  micaceous,  chloritic  talc  and 
clay  schists.  All  these  rocks  are  distinguished  for  their  being  gold  bearing,  especially  the 
clay  schists.  The  general  character  of  the  rocks  of  the  valleys  of  the  Nerchinsk  region  is  the 
same,  consisting  as  they  do  of  granite,  gneiss,  cyanite,  greenstone,  diorite  and  dioritic  cyanite 
and  felspar  porphyries.  The  geological  structure  of  the  gold  bearing  region  of  the  Amour 
province,  along  the  river  Zei,  is  composed  of  micaceous  and  hornblend  gneisses  and  slates.  The 
characteristic  feature  of  the  presence  of  gold  is  the  passage  of  the  one  class  of  rocks  into  the  other. 

The  composition  of  the  gold  deposits  themselves  depends  upon  the  rocks  surrounding 
them.  The  thickness  of  the  deposits  varies  greatly,  from  two  feet  to  three  sagenes  and  more ; 
but  generally  it  varies  between  two  and  seven  feet.  The  upper  strata  of  the  deposits 
contain  bones  of  mammoths,  rhinoceros,  and  other  extinct  and  existing  animals.  All  the  deposits 
are  covered  by  a  layer  of  earth,  known  as  peat.  The  length  of  the  deposits  varies  from 
one  to  fifty  versts  and  more,  sometimes  with  a  layer  of  gold  bearing  sand,  extending  along 
their  entire  length  of  sufficient  thickness  for  profitable  working.  As  a  rule  the  richness  of  the 
gold  bearing  strata  varies  in  each  deposit;  the  upper  portion  generally  contains  a  small 
accumulation  of  coarse  particles  of  gold  mixed  with  quartz,  magnetic  iron  and  pyrites;  in 
the  middle  portion  the  gold  is  finer  in  its  particles  and  the  sand  poorer  in  gold,  and  lastly 
ill  the  tail  of  the  deposit  there  remains  a  floating  gold  dust  which  only  gives  traces  of  gold. 
The  soil  of  nearly  all  the  northern  portion  of  Eastern  Siberia  is  perpetually  frozen.  The  frozen 
state  of  the  soil  and  the  dense  forests  which  subsequently  covered  the  deposits  have  favoured 
the  preservation  of  the  gold  in  them,  from  the  wearing  and  denuding  action  of  the  water. 
Many  of  the  Eastern  Siberian  gold  deposits  show  undimbted  traces  of  the  influence  of  glaciers. 

10* 


48 


SIUKRIA. 


'riiiuiks  to  tlio  cold  climate  wiiich,  lulluwiiij,'  iIk-  glacial  jM.-riod,  many  ol  tli<-  t,'(dd  d.'p<i>it> 
have  been  proserved  to  the  present  ilay  in  their  original  form,  so  that  tlioy  present 
an  inslructivo  example  and  tiaci-s  of  a  (,'eological  period  partially  contempoiaiy  with  man, 
who  has  even  I'di  indiiljitable  traces  of  his  presence  in  the  form  of  arrow  h"ad>  mad  • 
of  Jasper   and  i|uailz,  liammer  heads,  ornaments,  coins,  bones  et   cetera. 

The  following'  table  gives  comparative  data  for  the  general  production  of  gold  in 
Jlussia  (hiring  the  last  ten  years  together  with  its  vain*-,  an<l  th'-  pr-idnrii,,ii  in  Wi-stf-in  and 
Eastern  Siberi.i. 


1 

Total    prodnr,- 

Vain.' 

I 

n 

C        1        1 

1      -l      i 

n 

■>■ 

o 
>-* 

tion  of  go 
llussii 

(1  in 

ill 
roubles 
(gold). 

la  Weastern 
Siberia. 

Per  cent  j 
of  total 
produc- 
tion. 

In  Eastern 
Siberia. 

Per  cent 
of  total 
produc- 
tion. 

Ponds. 

e 

3 

p 

Pouds. 

13 

e 
s 
o 

Pouils. 

e 
p 

1882 

2,207 

11) 

L'1,277,<H)() 

i_'ti 

30V* 

:k2u 

J, 621' 

3i 

73.52 

1883 

2,182 

14'/-i 

24,CH)2,(X)0 

134 

6 

6.14 

1,554 

12 

71.23 

1884 

2,178 

12^'^ 

23,958,(XJ0 

131 

7 

6.01 

1,561 

25'  2 

71.70 

1885 

2,015 

22'/< 

22,165,000 

134 

36^//. 

6.68 

1,349 

13 

66.96 

1886 

2,042 

4 

22,462,CXJ(J 

136 

22Vx 

6,68 

1,345 

1 

:     65.86 

1887 

2,128 

2'/. 

23,408,000 

149 

28 

7.03 

1,328 

6^-2 

62.41 

1888 

2,146 

27 

23,606,000 

154 

6'/* 

7.17 

1,3?6 

1V4 

61.77 

1889 

2,274 

19V4 

25,014,000 

169 

19V* 

7,45 

1,462 

9V* 

64.36 

1890 

2,403 

25 

26,433,000 

KiO 

39V* 

6.69 

1,599 

V'< 

66.52 

1891 

2,386 

l()'/2 

26,240,500 

170 

283/4 

7,15 

1.510 

17* 

1      63.32 

The  number  of  men  employed  in  the  extraction  of  gold  in  Western  and  Eastern  Siberia 
during  the  same  period  is  shown  in  the  following  table. 


Y  e  a  r. 

X  u  m  b 

e  r    of    m 

1 
n  e  r  s. 

Western 

Eastern 

Total  in    ; 

1 

Siberia. 

Siberia. 

Siberia. 

!     1882 

6.653 

26,768      ' 

33,431 

'     1«S3 

7,148 

26,252 

33,400 

]>^84 

8,094 

27,441 

35,535 

'J  ^85 

8,624 

27,442 

36,066 

1886 

9,158 

25,593 

34,751 

1887 

11,616 

23,203 

34,H19 

18^^8 

11,460 

24,803 

36.263 

1889 

10.585 

26,697 

37,282 

1      1890 

9,512 

28,242 

37,754 

1S91 

9,454 

27,521 

36.975 

GOLD.  149 

On  compariiig  these  two  tables  it  is  seen  that  although  Eastern  Siberia  employs  only 
three  times  as  many  men  as  Western  Siberia  yet  its  production  is  nine  or  ten  times  as  great. 
This  is  due  to  the  greater  richness  of  the  deposits  worked  in  the  former  region.  Owing  to 
the  dearness  of  provisions  and  forage,  and  consequently  of  labour  and  horses  in  Eastern  Si- 
beria, the  exploitation  of  the  poorer  deposits  is  impossible  with  the  methods  now  in  use  for 
treating  the  gold  bearing  sand. 

When  in  1829  the  Siberian  gold  industry  was  made  free  to  private  individuals  a 
great  number  of  enterprising  men  and  large  capital  found  their  way  to  this  remote  region. 
The  gold  miners  became  rich  themselves  and  aided  the  development  of  the  region  with  a 
generous  hand,  laying  down  roads  to  inaccessible  places,  establishing  a  steam  navigation 
along  the  abundant  Siberian  rivers,  and  sacrificing  considerable  sums  to  the  erection  of 
national  institutions,  such  as  schools,  churches  and  every  kind  of  charitable  and  pious  work. 
The  development  of  the  gold  industry  reflected  itself  upon  the  towns  of  Tomsk,  Krasnoyarsk, 
Irkutsk,  Chita,  ^Nerchinsk  and  Blagoveschensk. 

Beyond  the  40,000  miners  employed  at  the  mines  themselves,  the  Siberian  gold  in- 
dustry gives  occupation  to  a  considerable  population  in  the  transport  of  goods  to  the  mines 
and  other  auxiliary  works.  Indeed  it  indirectly  aids  the  development  of  agriculture  in  the 
neighbouring  agricultural  districts    and  it  presents  a  profitable  market  for  their  produce. 

The  extent  of  the  sums  acquired  by  the  country  from  the  gold  industry  is  seen  from 
the  following  example.  During  the  three  years  1887  to  1889,  the  wages  of  the  men  employed 
in  the  gold  mines  of  the  Olekminsk  and  Vitimsk  systems  amounted  to  6.789,000  roubles, 
while  the  cost  of  the  chief  objects  of  consumption  at  those  mines  was  12,268,000  roubles. 
These  figures  give  an  excellent  idea  of  how  vast  an  amount  of  money  the  gold  industry 
distributes  over  the  entire  region  and  how  it  supports  its  population,  trade  and  industry. 

Passing  from  these  general  data  respecting  the  Siberian  gold  industry,  its  individuci! 
features  according  to  the  systems  of  the    chief   Siberian  rivers  may  be  considered. 

In  the  vast  basin  of  the  Obi  the  gold  industry  has  been  established:  1.  On  the  steppe 
land  extremity  of  Siberia  in  the  provinces  of  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk,  along  the  rivers 
belonging  to  the  system  of  the  left  branch  of  the  Obi-Irtysh  system  of  the  river  Irtysh: 
2.  On  the  western  side  of  the  Kouznets  Alatau  in  the  Mariinsk  region  of  the  government 
of  Tomsk.  3.  In  the  Altai  mining  region;  4.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Kouznets  Alataou 
in  the  Achinsk  region  of  the  government  of  Yenisei. 

Owing  to  the  difl'erence  of  the  natural  conditions  in  the  different  gold  bearing  regions, 
the  modes  and  processes  of  extraction  also  differ.  In  the  steppe  region  the  fiiiniug  is 
exclusively  open  workings,  so  that  deposits  with  deep  lying  strata  are  not  worked  owing  to  the 
great  expense  of  the  timber  required  for  supporting  underground  minings.  Thanks  to  the  warm 
climate  the  washing  of  the  sand  is  carried  on  from  April  to  October,  that  is,  during  about 
seven  months.  The  workings  are  surrounded  by  a  nomad  Kirghiz  and  Cossacks  population, 
who  work  in  the  mines  partly  for  so  much  per  cubic  sageue  of  earth,  and  partly  at  so  much 
per  zolotnik  of  gold  extracted,  and  besides  this,  they  serve  as  the  providers  of  provisions  to 
the  mines.  Hence  the  gold  industry  in  the  steppe  region  is  not  hampered  by  great  preliminary 
expenses.  Moreover,  the  wages    and   living  of  the  ininers    is    far    less    in    the    steppe    than 


15(1 


SlHKTdA. 


Ill  iIk;  I'orcst  region,  ami  ihtiriDir  h  i>  imi»iI.1i-  i.j  exploit  coiiipanilively  very  poor  deposits, 
ill  wiiicli  Uie  amuunt  of  <,'old  docs  not  in  .some  cases  exceed  8  doleys  per  Inindred  jtouds,  ol 
sand,  or  0.00002  per  cent. 

In  tlie  I'ornst  region  which  embraces  the  Altai  mining  region,  the  .Mariinsk  rt;giou  ol 
the  government  of  Tomsk,  and  tlie  Achinsk  region  of  the  goveinment  of  Yenisei,  tlie  climate 
is  more  severe  and  the  washing  (d'  the  gold  can  only  be  carried  on  during  live  or  at  most  six 
months.  The  population  is  more  sparse  and  the  conditions  of  the  industry  begin  to  aci|uiri! 
aiiollicr  aspect,  more  like  that  which  predominated,  in  general,  in  Eastern   Siberia. 

In  the  Achinsk  region  the  gold  industry  is  concentrated  at  the  sources  of  the  Chiilyma 
aloiiu'  the  livers  Bdaya,  Cheniaya  ami   Saiahi-Use. 

In  the  Altai  mining  region  the  gold  mines  are  exploited  l)f)tli  by  His  Imperial  Majesty■.>^ 
(Cabinet  and  by  private  individuals. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  gold  mines  worked  and  their  yield  during  th*- 
last  ten  years  both  in  the  difTcreiil  provinces    and   in  the  various  regions  of  the  Obi  system. 


Akmidinsk 
province. 


Cm    i 


Semijial- 

atinsk 

province. 


(iovernment  of  Tomsk. 


Mariinsk 
region. 


^ 


Altai  mining  region. 
Alluvial  gold.!  Quartz  gold. 


>H 


a  -s 


6 


v.  of  Yenifi'i. 


Achin>k 
region. 


-2  !  "5' 


1882 

1883 

1881 

1885 

1886 

188 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 


10 

12 

20  !  7 

29 

28 

30 

29 

ae 

25 
25 


2 

24 

29 

5 

31 

31 

7 

37^'4 

27 

t 

39Vi 

27 

6 

17 

26 

G 

197^ 

32 

7 

14 

35 

4 

28'/2 

38 

2 

19^V4 

o/ 

2 

37\'i 

43 

11 

vu 

8 

2974 

/ 

2'^/i 

6 

167-' 

7 

3474 

12 

474 

14 

2574 

14 

33Vs 

13 

3272 

16 

2572 

71 

70 

86 

95 

104 

116 

112 

118 

105 

103 


34 
38 
33 
(  32 
36 
36 
37 
40 
33 


8V' 
23V 
3/4 
3OV4 
297 
217 
197 
25V 
25 
35 


6^4 


77  11 
8213972 
79  14VJ 


87 


102 


36V2 

1 
4972 


77    105   6 


77    II3IOV4    2 


233/4 
97i 

287* 

31 
872 

27 

267'4 
271 

34 

31 


31 

1 
22 

33 

17 

40 

18 

3/ 

19 

36 

17 

42 

18 

37 

20 

36 

23 

35 

21 

33 

25 

lev* 

347'4 
15 
21 
9 

29Vi 
1374 

24 

38 


Thus  the  gold  industry  is  very  feebly  developed  in  the  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk 
provinces.  In  the  Mariinsk  region  the  production  of  gold  is  subject  to  very  slight  fluctuations, 
notwithstanding  the  increased  number  of  deposits  under  exploitation  and  the  larger  amount 
of  gold  bearing  sand  treated  in  them.  This  shows  that  the  richer  deposits  have  been  exhausted 
and    that    the    exploitation    of    the    poorer    can   be    carried   on   profitably    owing   to  the 


GOLD. 


151 


low  price  of  labour  and  provisions  al  the  gold  mines  of  this  region.  The  amount  of  gold 
obtained  in  the  Altai  region  is  constantly  increasing  owing  to  the  gold  bearing  sands  being  of 
very  uniform  richness  while  the  number  of  deposits  worked  is  on  the  increase.  This  also  proves 
that  the  stores  of  gold  ,in  the  deposits  of  the  Altai  region  are  not  yet  exhausted.  Gold  quartz 
is  worked  at  two  mines  in  the  Altai  but  the  amount  produced  is  still  inconsiderable.  During 
the  last  ten  years  the  production  of  the  Achinsk  region  has  varied  very  slightly.  Of  all  the 
gold  deposits  in  the  Obi  system,  those  in  the  Mariinsk,  Altai  and  Achinsk  regions  are  the 
most  profitable  for  exploitation,  owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  railway:  and  there  is  reason 
for  thinking  that  the  extraction  of  gold  will  be  further  developed  in  these  districts. 

The  foilowing  table  gives  the  number  of  men  employed  at  the  gold  mines   duriug'  the 
last  ten  years. 


Year. 

Akmolinsk 

'.Semipal- 
atinsk 

Gov.    of 

Tomsk.      i 

Gov.  of 
Yenisei. 

1 

province. 

province. 

Mariinsk 
region. 

Altai 

region. 

Achinsk     | 
region. 

■     1882 

431 

1,785 

1,877 

2,560 

1,028 

1883 

884 

1.637 

2,053 

2,577 

922 

1884 

1,537 

1,601 

2,093 

2,863 

825       1 

!     1885 

1,897 

1 ,565 

2,068 

3,094 

857 

;     1886 

2,135 

1,544 

2,203 

3,274 

S76 

1887 

3,210 

1        ],928 

2,490 

3,988 

1,055 

1888 

2,899 

2,408 

2,185 

3,968 

916 

1889 

2,228 

1        2,114 

2,137 

4,070 

935 

1890 

1,536 

;         2,045 

1,890 

3,931 

1,061 

1891 

400 

i        2,688 

1,858 

4,407 

952 

The  great  river  province  of  the  Yenisei  compiises  four  gold  bearing  regions,  the  Mi- 
uousinsk,  Krasnoyarsk,  Yeniseisk  (which  subdivides  itself  into  two  parts  or  systems,  the 
northern  and  southern),  and  Nizhneoudlnsk. 

The  Minousinsk  region,  where  gold  was  first  prospected  for  in  1832,  enjoys  a  compar- 
atively moderate  climate,  an  abundance  of  pasture  and  corn,  and  yet  the  gold  industry  of 
this  region  developes  very  slowly.  This  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  distance,  300  to  350  versts,  of 
the  deposits  from  the  centres  of  population.  The  amoimt  of  goiil  produced  in  the  Minousinsk 
district  remains  nearly  stationary. 

In  the  Krasnoyarsk  I'cgion,  whore  the  exploitation  of  gold  was  started  in  1847,  only 
three  deposits  are  worked  at  the  present  day.  The  amount  of  gold  washed  in  1884  was 
nearly  six  ponds,  while  in  the  remaining  years  it  varied  between  one  and  four  ponds. 

In  the  Yeniseisk  region  the  most  important  gold  producing  localities  are  the  valleys 
of  the  rivers  Sevaglikone,  Ogiie,  Kalami  and  Enashirao,  belonging  to  the  system  of  the  Pod- 
kameimaya  Toungouska,  and  also  of  the  Aktolika  and  Bangash  boloiniing  to  the  basin  of  the 


]52  SIBERIA. 

Pita,  <ill  in  lilt'  iiurtliciii  sysicm;  the  basin  of  tlio  river  Ouden-i  which  falls  into  the  tributary 
of  thi'  Angara,  the  Kainenka  and  tlio  bivsins  of  the  rivers  Bolshaya  Mourozhnaya  ami  Pita, 
all  in  the  southern  system.  In  the  majority  of  instances  the  rivers  of  both  systems  have  a 
rapid  current  owing  to  the  sharpness  of  their  fall.  During  tiie  heavy,  spring  rains,  they  rap- 
idly become  swollen  and  overflow  their  courses,  and  although,  owing  to  the  steapness  of 
their  beds,  Ihcy  do  not  overflow  to  any  great  extent,  nevertheless  they  frequently  cause 
groat  damage  to  the  gold  workings.  On  the  other  hand  during  the  prolonged  summer  droughts 
some  of  them  become  so  shallow  that  it  is  necessary  to  stop  washing  the  sands. 

'J'iic  rivcis  ill  ihc  Yenisei  region  are  not  navigable,  with  the  exception  of  th"'  lower 
portions  of  the  Yenisei,  Podkamenaya  Toungouska  and  liolshaia  Pita.  The  more  consider- 
able tributaries  of  these  rivers  are  only  navigable  to  small  boats  and  rafts. 

The  gold  extracted  in  the  Yeniseisk  region  is  generally  finely  granular,  tabular  and, 
as  it  were,  rubbed;  a  coarsely  grained  gold  of  high  purity  is  found  along  the  rivers  Ogne 
and  Enashimo. 

In  the  northern  system  the  thickness  of  the  gold  bnaring  deposits  varies  from  two  to 
eight  feet,  although  there  aie  some  which  are  as  much  as  15,  20  and  even  35  feet  thick. 
In  the  southern  system  the  thickness  of  the  deposits  generally  varies  between  two  and  twelve 
feet.  The  superficial  covering  of  peat  is  in  both  cases  between  5  and  30  feet.  The  average 
richness  of  the  gold  bearing  sand  in  the  northern  system  is  about  31  dolias  of  gold  per 
hundred  pouds,  but  in  the  southern  system  it  is  somewhat  less.  However,  in  both  system- 
there  arc  workings  in  which  the  quantity  of  gold  reaches  one  zolotnik  per  poud. 

In  the  Y^eniscisk  region  the  first  deposits  were  discovered  in  the  present  southern  sys- 
tem, along  the  rivers  Ouderei  and  Mamona,  in  the  year  1838.  At  that  time  the  workings 
of  the  Birusinsk  system,  in  the  Xizhneoudinsk  region  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk  were  of 
great  importance,  owing  to  the  abundance  of  gold  they  yeilded.  As  however  the  newly  discovereil 
deposits  in  the  Y^eniseisk  region  were  found  to  excel  those  of  the  Berusinsk  system  in 
richness,  numerous  prospecting  expeditions  were  dispatched  to  this  region,  and  in  1839  the 
deposits  of  the  northern  system  were  discovered  in  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  Aktolik  and  Van- 
gash,  while  in  the  beginning  of  the  forties  all  the  present  gold  districts  were  covered  with 
claims,  although  their  exploration  is  being  carried  on  to  the  present  day.  In  the  Yeniseisk  re- 
gion, as  everywhere,  the  richest  deposits  were  discovered  first,  and  therefore  the  yield  of 
gold  from  this  region  attained  its  maximum  soon  after  its  discovery,  and  then  began  to  grad- 
ually decline.  By  the  amount  of  gold  produced,  the  Y^eniseisk  deposits  stand  among  the  richest 
in  Russia.  In  the  first  year  after  the  gold  washing  was  begun,  and  when  only  one  mine 
was  under  exploitation,  with  190  miners,  the  yield  exceeded  TV-i  pouds  of  gold.  Subse- 
quently the  number  of  mines,  and  the  yield  of  gold  increased  year  by  year;  the  maximum 
yield  coincides  with  the  year  1847  when  1,212  pounds  12V2  pounds  of  gold  were  produced  by 
12,100  miners.  This  amount  formed  about  65  per  cent  of  the  production  in  Russia  during 
that  year.  After  1847  the  amount  of  gold  extracted  began  to  lessen,  notwithstanding  the  increased 
number  of  miners,  which  in  1854  amounted  to  20,567,  and  also  the  increased  number  of 
mines  and  the  quantity  of  sand  washed  therein.  The  exploitation  of  the  gold  no  longer  formed 
an  attraction  for  large  companies  and  gradually  began  to  fallinto  the  hands  of  small  enterprises. 


GOLD. 


153 


In  1882  the  exploitation  of  veinous  gold  was  started  in  the  Yeniseisk  region,  but  it 
developes  very  slowly,  and  as  yet  the  production  has  never  exceeded  eight  pouds,  and  in  recent 
years  has  even  been  under  one  and  one-half  pouds. 

The  gold  workings  of  the  Nizhneoudinsk  region  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk  and  of 
the  Kansk  region  of  the  government  of  Yeniseisk,  are  situated  along  the  system  of  the  river 
Birusa.  Only  the  upper  courses  of  this  river  pass  through  the  Nizhneoudinsk  region,  after 
which  it  flows  through  the  Kansk  region  of  the  government  of  Yeniseisk.  At  the  present 
time  these  region  occupy  almost  the  last  place  among  the  Siberian  gold  producing 
regions,  although  formerly  the   Berusinsk   system   was  among  the  richest  in  Eastern  Siberia. 

The  first  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Birusinsk  system  was  made  in  1836.  The  richness 
of  the  deposits  of  this  system  attracted  numerous  prospecting  parties,  and  already  in  1839 
the  Kansk  and  Nizhneoudinsk  regions  yielded  about  41V-'  pouds  of  gold,  out  of  a  total  of 
48V3  pouds  extracted  in  Eastern  Siberia.  The  maximum  yield  of  gold  from  these  regions 
was  in  1842  when  it  equaled  204  pouds  6  pounds,  or  about  20  per  cent  of  the  total  production 
in  Ptussia.  Since  then  the  production  of  gold  in  these  regions  has  gradually  decreased, 
and  in  some  years  has  even  fallen  below  15  pouds.  However  this  decrease  should  not  be 
ascribed  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  mines  but  chiefly  to  the  discoveries  of  gold  in  other 
systems,  and  there  is  reason  for  thinking  that  if  more  detailed  explorations  were  made,  ami 
the  exploitation  of  the  deposits  more  scientifically  carried  out,  then  the  Berusinsk  system 
would  once  more  stand  to  the  fore. 

The  following  table  gives  the  production  of  the  gold-bearing  regions  of  the  Yeniseisk 
system  during  the  period  1882  to  1891. 


t 

1 

Mlnousinsk 

Kr 

isnoyarsk 
region. 

Yeniseisk  region. 

Kansk  and 
Nizhneoud- 
insk regions.    1 

region. 

Northern 

Southern 

system. 

system. 

§) 

cc    1 
to 

CO 

CO 

5P 

c 

s 

•S    i 

-^ 

3      •          --                     1 

3 

— 

.^ 

— 

s 

o 

^    1 

5 

2    ;      0     _; 

^ 

0 

.li 

c 

" 

o 

ducti 
gold 

0 

3 

0 

0 

0     0 

0 

II 

1 

C£       "3 
— .        it 

U-l 

O           =4-( 

u-i    I 

p 

U-i 

U-i 

"o     't:; 

Cm 

c       ■_ 

«J-I 

C        :— 1 

o 

t-i        o 

0    1 

0 

0 

■—I       0 

"-"                —         C 

o- 

S-t         3 

o 

OJ 

Ph 

a:> 

(5 

0 

Ph 

S 

0   1 

Ph 

.o 

,Q 

,Q 

rO               .               ,A 

rQ        ' 

7          [^ 

^ 

g 

3 

a 

3 

"3 

a 

spur 

spn 

3             CO       i 
1              =       ' 

n3 

c 
g 

e 

spn 

:^ 

^         - 

tl 

0 

0 

^ 

0                 c 

PL,      1        CI. 

l-H 

S, 

i^ 

0        ,- 
P-(        ^ 

1882 

41 

30 

37V3 

1 

2 

72 

86 

95 

36^4 

134 :  115 

Wh 

26 

17     317* 

1883 

41 

30 

37. 

3 

3 

32 

95 

93 

1372 

135    125 

30 

29 

22 

u.. 

1884 

42 

34 

391/2 

3 

5 

38^4 

89 

106 

36V2 

130  j  126 

7V* 

33 

29      9^/4  i 

j    1885 

40 

32 

13-74 

2 

4 

11 7* 

105 

106 

21^/4 

149 

118 

3272 

27 

27 

231/*; 

j    1886 

41 

31 

101/4 

2 

4 

67'" 

91 

97 

39V* 

151  ;  115 

26 

34 

22 

4«;4 

1887 

41 

30 

24-7.1 

4 

2 

34-^/4 

110 

100 

167* 

153  1 125 

271/4 

31 

21  '27-^4' 

j    1888 

43 

32 

2 

3 

1 

29 

109 

97 

197'» 

145    123 

22V* 

27 

23  j22V-i; 

i    1889 

46 

26 

2472 

3 

2 

272 

104 

83 

34 

148 

105 

3572 

32 

28      7V* 

24  |33V-.> 

1890 

45 

28 

87i 

3 

1 

14 

113 

88 

36 

143 

123 

272 

33 

,    1891 

24 

34 

Wh 

0 

1 

8'/4 

106 

78 

5 

139 

117 

3'/2 

31 

24 

18Vv 

54 


SIBKIUA. 


Tlio  iiiiiiiliLT  (d  iiH'ii  I'tnployi'd  in  tin-  ^idd  iiiiin.'S  of  tin-    same  reylori>  is  sliowii  in  the 
helow  table. 


Yeniseisk 

^ 

'A 

0  '5b 

1  ^ 

1     '1 

rej-'ioii. 

II         -Si 

■  ^ 

§    2 

JHSI' 

1,12- 

tit/ 

\,r,-            i.-"."7 

•  it)-^ 

iRs;; 

1,102 

ls2 

1,117                 l,(ils 

591 

]R8l 

'.117 

Hi;; 

l,(i9s                3,(i2G 

L599 

18^5 

1,128 

12;:; 

4,5;;;;             1,9-^9 

1,078 

I88(i 

1,167 

i;-5s 

;;;,8<)7       1           5,177 

OOl 

1887 

1  ,;J  i:-) 

121 

;i,G24                 4,751 1 

.")  i:; 

188s 

l,;:i79 

51 

;j,732      1         4,4;JG 

7ti2 

1889 

1,187 

95 

3,88;j 

4,441) 

i,;;;;2 

1890 

1,242 

85 

4,18;3               4,47(i 

1 ,» )7(; 

1891 

1,111 

71 

;;..37(i 

4,408 

1,089 

Tlio  Yerklineoudiiisk  region  of  tlie  Trausbaikal  province  is  situated  along  the  rivers  tlouiug 
into  Lake  P>aikal,  and  from  it  through  tlie  Angara  into  the  Yenisei.  The  gold  deposits  of 
this  region  are  situated  in  its  south-eastern  portion,  near  the  Chinese  frontier,  along  the 
tributaries  of  the  river  Chika,  which  falls  into  the  river  Selenga.  These  deposits  lie  in  narrow 
valleys,  surrounded  by  high  mountains  covered  vvitb  forests.  Although  the  number  of  deposits 
under  exploitation  is  gradually   increasing,  still  the  yield  of  gold  remains  very  limited. 

The  following  data  refer  to  the  Yerkhneoudinsk  region. 


<- 

Number 

of 
workings. 

Production 
of  gold. 

Number 

of 
mines. 

0 
>-* 

Numlier 

of 
workings. 

Production 
of  gold. 

Number 

of 
miners. 

Pouds. 

Pounds. 

Pouds. 

Pounds. 

1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 

18S() 

12 
6 
9 
f| 

11 

b 

3 
1 
2 

14'/ 2 
6V2 
36'/2 
31V4 
27 

285 
200 
245 
235 
211 

1>^^S 
1889 
1890 
1891 

12 
15 
12 
17 
15 

1 
3 
0 

4 

32^4 
20 

2P/4 

35^'2 
36^/4 

iMi 

179 
192 
319 

173 

The  gold  workings  belonging  to  the  system  of  the  rive)-  Lena  are  situated  in  the  regions 
of  Yerkholensk  and  Ivirensk  in  the  government  of  Irkutsk,  in  the  region  of  Bargouzinsk  in 
the  Transbaikal  province  and  in  the  region  of  Olekminsk  in  the  province  of  Y^akutsk.  Although 
the  upper  courses  of  the  Lena  abound  in  gold  deposits,  they  are  generally  poor, 
and  therefore  the  number  of  deposits  under  exploitation  and  the  amount  of  gold  produced  in  the 
Yerkholensk  and  Kirensk  regions  is  inconsiderable.  The  gold  workings  of  the  Bargouzinsk 
region  are   situated  to  the  east  of  Lake    Baikal   along  the  upper  courses  of  the  river  ^'itima 


GOLD.  155 

which  flows  into  Lena  from  the  right  side.  Although  during  tlie  last  ten  years  the  number 
of  deposits  under  exploitation  has  more  than  doubled,  yet  the  number  of  men  employed  has 
scarcely  varied,  and  the  amount  of  gold  produced  has,  if  anything,  decreased. 

Of  all  the  above  cited  regions  appertaining  to  the  system  of  the  Lena,  the  most 
important  in  respect  to  the  yield  of  gold  and  number  of  men  employed,  is  the  Olekminsk 
region,  situated  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the  Yakutsk  province.  All  the  gold  deposits 
of  this  region  are  included  between  53  and  60"  north  latitude  and  between  l30  and  138°  east 
longitute  from  Paris,  and  are  bounded:  to  east  by  the  river  Olekma,  to  the  north  and  north- 
west by  the  river  Lena,  to  the  west  and  south-west  by  the  river  Vitima,  and  finally  to  the 
south  by  the  Yablonovoy  mountain  chain,  which  is  here  the  watershed  of  the  tributaries  of  the 
Lena  and  Amour.  This  region  is  intersected  in  all  directions  by  the  spurs  of  the  Mouisk  and 
Yablonovoy  mountains,  and  has  quite  an  Alpine  character.  One  of  the  chief  spurs  of  the  Mouisk 
mountains  extends  parallel  to  the  river  Vitima  and  this  divides  the  Olekminsk  region  into 
two  systems,  the  Yitimsk  and  the  Olekminsk.  The  Yitimsk  system  lies  to  the  north-east  of 
L'kutsk  at  a  distance  of  1,700  versts  from  it.  The  Olekminsk  s^'stem  extends  in  the  same 
direction  still  further  across  the  watershed  of  the  Lena  and  Yitima,  so  that  in  reality  this 
watershed  forms  the  true  boundary  between  the  two  systems.  Both  systems  are  at  an  equal 
altitude  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  nor  is  there  any  geological  difference  between  them,  as 
the  same  rocks  predominate  in  both.  The  gold  deposits,  known  up  to  the  present  time,  almost 
blend  into  one  another  and  the  distance  across  the  intermediate  mountain  chain  does  not 
exceed  fifteen  versts. 

Among  the  rivers  along  which  the  gold  deposits  of  the  Yitimsk  system  are  situated, 
the  river  Bodaibo  deserves  particular  attention,  as  all  its  system  is  exceedingly  rich  in  gold, 
and  the  richest  deposits  are  situated  over  a  comparatively  small  area  In  this  system.  There 
are  also  rich  deposits  near  the  upper  courses  of  the  gold  bearing  tributaries  of  the  Yitima, 
beyond  the  watershed  along  the  tributaries  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Lena.  Among  the 
tributaries  of  the  Lena  which  water  the  Olekminsk  system,  the  most  noteworthy  are  the 
systems  of  the  Great  and  Little  Patomo:  and  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Olekma,  the  most 
notable  are  the  rivulets  of  Zhuya.  Bogolonak,  Khomolkho  and  Yacha. 

The  gold  obtained  from  the  Olekminsk- Yitimsk  deposits  is  distinguished  for  the  size 
of  its  grains,  so  that  nuggets  of  \/i  pound  and  more  in  weight  are  frequently  found.  Besides 
this,  the  gold  from  these  deposits  is  distinguished  for  its  somewh.at  regular  crystalline  form. 
With  respect  to  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  gold  bearing  strata,  it  should  be  mentioned 
that  the  gold  of  the  Olekminsk-Yitimsk  deposits  has  the  peculiarity  of  being  distributed  in 
alluvial  deposits  in  two,  and  not  unfrequently  even  in  three  layers.  The  average  ricliness  of 
the  gold  bearing  sands  during  recent  years  has  been:  in  the  Olekminsk  system  from  l"i  to 
VI i  zolotniks,  and  in  the  Yitimsk  system  from  3  to  4^//.  zolotniks  per  100  pouds  of  sand. 
However,  in  some  workings  the  amount  of  gold  is  as  much  as  b'l-2  zolotniks  and  more  per 
100  pouds  of  sand.  The  thickness  of  the  gold  veins  is  from  2  to  15  feet  and  the  thicks 
iiess  of  the  superincumbent  dirt  or  peat  varies  between  half  a  sagene  to  20  sagenes. 
The  largest  workings  are  chiefly  concentrated  in  the  deposits  situated  at  a  greater  depth 
below  the  surface;  as    in  the  Olekminsk  and  ^"itinlsk  systems  these  deposits  are  the  richest. 


15  (i 


SIUKUIA 


The  greater  jiari  of  iln-  peal  and  g(jld  bearing  sand  is  in  a  jujipetualiy  frozen  stale, 
but  soinetinios  the  gold  bearing  rock  siulf  is  unfrozen,  and  lastly  a  combination  of  the  one 
and  the  other  is  sonielinies  met  with,  but  this  phenomena  has  not  been  sufncieutly  investi- 
gated for  it  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  the  exploitation  of  the  ileposits  in  which  it  occurs.  There 
are  frequent  instances  where  the  frozen  state  of  the  soil  is  taken  advantage  of  for  sinking  shafts 
In  those  deposits    which  lie  at  some  depth  and  which  are  exploited  by  underground  workings. 

The  gold  workings  of  the  Vitimsk  and  Olekminsk  systems  have  their  stations  or 
chid  depots  on  the  banks  of  the  Lena  near  the  moullis  uf  the  river  Vitima.  The  workings 
of  tilt!  Olekminsk  system  are  situated  at  a  distance  uf  about  350  versts  from  the  dejiMis, 
and  vehicular  communication  can  only  be  carried  on  in  the  winter  over  the  ice;  and  in 
summer  the  goods  have  to  be  transported  on  the  backs  of  camels.  For  working,  the 
Yitimsk  system  is  much  more  advantageously  situated,  as  in  summer  there  is  a  steamer 
communication  from  the  mouth  of  the  Vitima  to  a  distance  of  .300  versts  up  the  river 
I'.odaibo,  where  the  gold  workings  of  this  system  begin;  moreover  the  mines  are  con- 
nected by  a  carriage  road.  The  miners  of  the  Olekminsk  diggings  are  chiefly  hired  from  Irkutsk, 
whence   also  all  the  provisions  and  articles  necessary  for  the  workings  and  miners  are  bought. 

Xotwithstaniling  the  comparative  infancy  of  the  gold  industry  in  those  regions,  and 
the  diliiciilties  which  are  encountered  in  the  severity  of  the  climate,  dearness  of  labour 
and  liie  distance  from  any  inhabited  place,  still  the  production  of  gold  has  developed  rapidly, 
and  in  the  Olekminsk  region,  reached  a  maximum  of  939  pouds  in  1880;  indeed  since  1868 
this  region  has  stood  first  among  all  the  gold  regions  of  Siberia  in  respect  to  its  yield  of 
precious  metal. 

The  following  table  gives  the  production  of  the  gold  regions  belonging  to  the  Lena 
system,  during  the  last  ten  years. 


^ 

Verkholensk  and 
Kirensk  regions. 

Bargouzinsk  regions. 

Olekminsk  region. 

Number  of 
workings. 

Production  of 
gold. 

:5  i 

Production  of 
gold. 

Ponds.    ,      1 

Number  of 
workings. 

Production  of 

,-m1,1. 

Pouds.         = 

Ponds. 

_o 

1882 

1 

— 

4 

25 

34         l';-^ 

62 

759             1',;. 

18ft3 

1 

4';. 

24 

29       18^'4 

58 

686         5V'2 

1884 

2 

— 

4 

24 

24       38^4 

57 

704       13      i 

•          1885 

0 

— 

i4i;2 

24 

24       15^4 

65 

538       39 

1886 

2 

1 

18 

3i 

25       10 

64 

466       32''/4 

1887 

2 

— 

22  V2 

29 

34       llV'c 

75 

451     i     7^2 

1888 

4 

;      3 

14V4 

41 

25         9^'4 

78 

464         3r4  : 

1889 

5 

rr 
1 

30 

55 

34     !  26'/4 

1 1 

495       29' /t  ! 

1890 

4 

4 

19 

GO 

3]     '     8^'4 

79 

575     !  33'/j 

1891 

4 

/ 

34 

64 

27         35 

87 

545       27V 2  ' 

GOLD. 


157 


The    following   table  gives  the  mniiber  of  miners  employed  in  these  regions  during  tlio 
same  period. 


-li  -li 

.lA 

■^  -1^: 

^ 

_  . „„ 

-/. 

X  x 

2 

.^ 

-/. 

'/^  v: 

:j. 

'> 

c3  S 

.^ 

r. 

_3  I! 

.— 

y: 

^^ 

-^  i- 

n: 

^ 

*"* 

':>; 

~ 

:i 

_s  •>  — 

§=• 

'5  — ■ 

ri 

—  5  = 

0  =" 

'5  — ■ 

-r^  """  2 

!5D  O 

•>  0 

,, 

-^    c 

5d  c 

'^  — ' 

^  "^  '5p 

53 '5b 

_r:  ic 

~ 

c;  "S  '5: 

^'  '5f- 

1      ^ 

i>  S  ;:; 

=q  2 

C  C 

'~ 

^i*  =  i 

—  - 

o  C 

1882 

10 

940 

4,558 

ls87 

20 

862 

5,073 

!    1883 

6 

839 

3,529 

1888 

21 

1,225 

5,638 

1884 

20 

482 

5,421 

1889 

199 

1,036 

5,880 

1885 

11 

789 

5,278 

1890 

120 

995 

6,464 

1886 

53 

643 

4,910 

1891 

119 

738 

6.772 

In  1889  the  workings  of  both  systems  of  the  Olekminsk  region  employed  2,340  horses 
and  2,100  reindeer.  The  native  Tungiiz  and  Yakuts  transport  the  building  timber  and  pit 
props  reguired  at  the  mines,  by  reindeer.  Passing  now  to  a  review  of  the  gold  deposits  in  the 
vast  river  province  of  the  Amour,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the  Nerchinsk  mining  region 
is  in  the  uppermost  courses  of  this  system,  along  the  tributaries  of  the  Shilka  and  Argouna. 
The  gold  deposits  of  the  Nerchinsk  region  are  subdivided  into  four  administrative  regions:  the 
Chitinsk,  Akshinsk,  Nerchinsk  and  the  Nerchinsk  metallurgical  regions,  situated  between  128 
and  137"  east  longitude  and  49  and  53°  north  latitude.  Yeinons  gold  was  discovered  in  the 
Nerchinsk  region  so  far  back  as  1777,  but  owing  to  the  poorness  of  the  ore  it  was  not  worked. 
In  1838  promising  alluvial  deposits  were  discovered  in  the  valley  of  the  river  Kara,  the 
left  hand  tributary  of  the  Shilka.  These  workings  which  are  exploited  to  the  present  tlay, 
long  remained  the  only  ones  of  any  consideration  in  the  district.  In  1853  the  Shakhtalinsk 
deposit  was  opened  out,  and  in  1865  the  deposits  along  the  rivulet  Chernaya  Ougruma  were 
discovered;  the  latter  remain  the  richest  to  the  present  time.  Since  1865  when  the  Nerchinsk 
region  was  opened  to  private  enterprise,  the  production  of  gold  has  grudually  increased.  At 
present,  gold  is  extracted  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Transbaikal  province,  in  the 
Akshinsk  region  along  the  systems  of  the  rivers  Onon,  Ingoda  and  Nercha,  and  in  the  Ner- 
chinsk region  along  the  systems  of  the  rivers  Ougruma,  Gazimoura,  Ounda,  Nercha  and  Shilka. 
Yeinons  gold  is  also  worked  in  the  Chitinsk  and  Akshinsk  regions.  The  alluvial  deposits  of 
the  Amour  and  Littoral  provinces  are  situated  in  the  basins  of  the  left  tributaries 
of  the  Amour,  within  an  area  lying  approximately  between  52  and  56°  north  latitude  and 
120  to  138"  east  longitude  from  Paris. 

From  their  geographical  position  the  gold  deposits  of  the  Amour  may  be  divided  into 
several  groups,  lying  in  the  following  order  from  west  to  east.  The  gold  bearing  district 
of  the  first  group  is  situated  on  the  watershed  between  the  Amour  and  Zea,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Albazine  at  a  distance  of  100  versts  from  the  Amour.  The  deposits  of  this 
group  were  the  first  discovered  in  the  Amour  province,  in  1866,  by  the  well  known  raining 
engineer    Annsov,    who    during    12  years  endured  every  privation   in    an  untiring  exploration 


158  SIBERIA. 

ol  the  iniiioiul  wcalili  ol  in.  i.pi.iu  .,,  ,i,.  Aiiunir.  At  tliai  lime  this  region  was  entirely 
uriknovvii  to  iniliistry,  ami  was  at  a  tjisiaiice  (»('  500  versts  lioin  the  inhabitnl  localities  of  the 
TiHiisbaikal  proviiiee.  Diiiiii^.^  iIh'  liist  y<'ai-,  1^0^,  rollowiii^/  ilic  institiilion  (if  inM  wuikinfrs  in 
this  ilistrict,  50  pinids  nf  ;/u|(|  were  exiraeteil  ami  the  avcraj^i-  riehnoss  of  the  ileposiis  was 
found  to  he  over  tiiroe  zolulniks  per  hundred  ponds  of  sand.  The  second  ^rroiip  of  deposits  in 
tlic  ijiM  hearing  region,  is  comprised  hy  Iho  tributaries  id'  tin.'  rivers  Giliii  and  Rrianta  which 
lull  int(j  tli(!  river  Zea  from  the  light  side.  This  group  comprises  some  of  the  richest 
ili-posits  now  known,  and  was  also  discovered  by  Anosov.  The  exploitation  of  the  gold  depos- 
its in  this  district,  where  over  the  whole  area  between  the  rivers  Giliii  and  Brianta  there  is 
no  stream  which  is  not  in  somi;  degree  gold  i)caring,  was  bi-giin  in  JhTi;.  and  in  IBi^S  a  vein 
dejtosit  was  also  discovered. 

The  third  group  of  deposits  is  siluati'd  along  the  system  of  the  river  Selendzha,  the 
left  tiibiiiiiiy  ol'  tlii^  liver  Zea.  In  1874  a  whole  series  of  deposits  was  discovered  here  after 
the  indication  of  Anosov.  The  fourth  group,  comprising  the  system  of  the  upper  courses  of 
tlie  river  Niinan,  the  right  tributary  of  the  river  Bouroya,  was  also  discovered  after 
the  indication  of  Anosov,  in  1875.  A  scries  of  deposits  was  disclosed  here  at  a  distance  of 
six  hundred  versts  from  the  junction  of  the  Boureya  and  Amour.  These  deposits  proved  to 
be  exceedingly  ricli  in  gold,  and  the  fame  of  their  discovery  soon  penetrated  into  industrial 
spheres  and  attracted  numerous  prospecting  parties  to  this  perfectly  desert  region.  The  same 
niduiitain  cliaiii  that  gives  rise  to  the  Selendzha  and  Nimaii,  also  forms  the  source,  only  on  its 
eastern  siilo  in  the  Littoral  province,  of  the  river  Amgoun  which  falls  into  the  Amour 
from  the  left  at  about  90  versts  distance  from  its  mouth.  In  1868,  the  fifth  and  most 
eastern  group  of  the  deposits  of  the  Amour  gold  bearing  region,  was  discovered  in  the 
system  of  the  river  Amgoun.  The  gold  bearing  beds  in  the  Amour  deposits  are  under  very 
favourable  conditions  for  exploitation.  They  lie  at  an  inconsiderable  depth;  the  average  thick 
ness  (d'  the  peat  is  about  one  sagene  and  the  thickness  of  the  gold  bearing  bed,  half  a 
sageiio.  Hence  all  the  deposits  are  exploited  by  open  workings,  and  only  in  certain  of  those 
along  the  river  Nimau,  where  the  thickness  of  the  peat  exceed  20  feet  and  of  the  gold  bearing 
bed  9  feet,  are  underground  minings  carried  on.  Besides  the  actual  localities  belonging  to 
the  system  of  the  Amour  within  the  borders  of  the  Littoral  province  in  its  southern  portion, 
numeinus  gold  deposits  have  been  found  in  many  parts  of  the  continent  and  also  on  the  island 
oi  Ask(jlda,  near  Vladivostok,  where  the  goM  bearing  seam  forms  the  bottom  nf  the  S(>a  ami 
whenc(!  a  gold  bearing  sand  is  extracted. 

The  gold  workings  of  all  the  above  cited  groups  of  the  Amour  system,  have  their 
depot  stations  on  the  Amour,  Zea,  Boureya  and  Amgoun.  There  is  a  steamboat  communi- 
cation on  the  three  last  named  rivers,  for  a  distance  up  to  400  versts  from  their  mouths. 
The  remaining  distance  of  200  to  400  versts  Is  partly  traversed  in  boats  and  partly  on  horse- 
back along  paths  leadiiii,^  through  the  midst  of  the  taiga  to  the  gold  workings.  In  winter 
only  is  there  the  possibility  of  a  more  convenient  communication  between  the  mines  and 
ihoir  depot  stations,  whence  they  obtain  all  their  provisions  in  the  winter.  Owing  to 
this  circumstance  the  cost  of  labour  along  the  system  of  the  Zea  amounts  from  1,000  to 
1,200  roubles  per  head,  and  on  the  Niman  it  even  comes  to  l.oQC)  and  1.900  roubles.  Xotwith- 


GOLD. 


159 


standing  these  very  disaOvautageous  economic  conditions  the  gold  workings  of  the  Amour 
province  ai-e  gradually  enlarging  their  production,  and  moreover  the  number  of  deposits  under 
exploitation  is  constantly  increasing.  The  following  table  gives  the  production  and  number  of 
workings  in  the  Amour  river  system;  all  the  workings  in  the  Trausbaikal  province  belonging 
to  this  system,  being  grouped  under  tlie  general  designation  of  the  deposits  of  the  Nerchinsk 
region. 


Nerchinsk  region. 

Amour  province. 

Littoral  province. 

Nuiulier  of 
workings. 

Production 
of  gold. 

Number  of 
workings. 

Production 
of  gold. 

Number  of 
workings. 

Production      j 
of  gold.        i 

Pouds. 

Pounds. 

—3                          T3 

Pouds. 

Pounds. 

1882 

48 

271 

20";. 

15 

254 

16^:'.'. 

3 

16 

'I'li 

1883 

53 

271 

16'/.'. 

19 

248 

3874 

■J 

22 

2(t 

1884 

52 

259 

30-^/4 

22 

323 

241/2 

2 

20 

32^^/4 

1885 

51 

149 

24V* 

22 

302 

131/2 

4 

21 

3774 

1886 

51 

204 

28V2 

19 

345 

1574 

2 

11 

29'/2 

1887 

57 

179 

15^'/.i 

21 

355 

22-74 

0 

6 

3372 

1888 

57 

146 

12V* 

22 

377 

187* 

4 

8 

387* 

1889 

74 

183 

25-7* 

34 

458 

187-'. 

3 

1 

14 

1890 

79 

204 

1 

51 

485 

25^'3 

b 

C) 

•d8\U 

1891 

83 

198 

I ;., 

47 

427 

2274 

6 

16 

35\/2 

During  the  same  period  the  following  number  of  men  were  employed   at  tlie   working. 
uf  these  several  localities. 


0 

Nerchinsk 
region. 

Amour 
province. 

Littoral 
province. 

Nerchinsk 
region. 

Amour 
province. 

i.illoral        1 

province. 

1862 

2,307 

290 

1887 

4,481 

1,132 

140 

1883 

6,773 

2,969 

350 

1888 

4,010 

2,226 

203        i 

1884 

6,796 

2,492 

307 

1889 

4,642 

2,701 

175        1 

1885 

5.683 

2,445 

293 

1890 

5,174 

2,727 

319 

1886 

5.560 

1,997 

14« 

1891 

4,431 

3,400 

551 

The  method  of  exploitation  and  in   general    the  technical  side  of  the  gold  industry  de- 
penils  upon  whether  the  gold    is  extracted    from    alluvial    or  veinous  deposits.  In  the  alluvial 


1  P)0  SIBERIA. 

il'pu.sits  till'  Mi|)i'ilici;il  lay'-r  cuiimnIS  nl  an  alliiMiiiii  kiiuwii  as  piiat.  Tti','  llii<kii''»  nt  thu- 
])•  ill,  varius  considf^iiihly  ami  lip;  idatioii  brtw*'<^ii  the  thickness  of  llie  p<jat  ainl  lliat  I'l 
iIk'  aiiiirfniii>  alliiviiiMi  (liiiTiiiiiii's  tin;  .systnii  (if  wurkiiif,'  I'ollowfid  tor  i- x  tract  in  j.'  tlif  goM. 
Uddrc  entering  upon  tin-  actnal  i-xploitatiuii  of  tlic  auriferous  bods,  cxploiatoiy  workings  ai'' 
Conducted  for  dclerniining  tiic  tliicknoss  of  lluist;  boils  ami  tlioir  liclau'Ss  in  gold.  In  tlios'- 
parts  of  Siberia  where  tin-  soil  is  unfrozfjti,  the  exploration  of  tlif  deposit  is  generally  mad'- 
in  tli(!  wintri'  by  means  «{'  pits  sunk  into  tlif  linzi'n  ground. 'J'li<'  nirthod  adopted  is  as  follows: 
in  antninn  I  lie  pits  arc  laid  out  ami  sunk  to  the  water  level,  when  the  work  is  stopped 
and  the  pits  left  ojxmi  for  a  certain  number  of  days  depending  upon  the  degree  of  coM,  iIm- 
depth  ui  the  pit  ami  tlie  kind  (d'  soil.  The  pits  are  carefully  protected  from  snow.  "Wli-'ii  tli'' 
pit  has  sulliciently  frozen  through,  a  wood  fire  is  lighted  at  the  bottom  and  when  the  bottom  of 
the  pit  has  thawed  to  a  depth  of  about  one  foot,  the  thawed  layer  is  easily  removed  with 
a  pick  and  shovel.  Notwithstanding  the  severe  frosts,  the  freezing  of  the  pits  can  only  be  carried 
on  to  a  depth  of  four  sagenes.  In  those  localities  where  the  soil  is  frozen  the  exploratory 
pits  do  not  present  such  difficulties,  as  they  arc  made  in  hard  ground  and  without  the  inflow 
of  water.  The  specimens  of  the  gi'ound  taken  for  assay  from  the  bottom  of  the  pit  are  washeil 
in  buddies  in  warm  winter  quarters  erected  upon  the  workings.  The  assays  are  taken  at  about 
each  half  foot  through  the  thickness  of  the  deposit. 

In  the  Yeniseisk  region  the  winter  exploring  parties  consist  of  fivemeu  with  one  overseer,and 
cost  about  three  thousand  roubles.  Such  a  party  is  able  to  sink  about  150  pits  three  sagenes  deep. 
The  removal  of  the  peat  is  carried  on  during  the  autumn  or  winter,  or  else  simultaneously  with 
the  extraction  of  the  sand,  or  else  slightly  in  advance  of  it.  If  the  peat  be  removed  in  the 
autumn  or  winter  a  thin  layer  is  left  over  the  gold  bearing  alluvium  to  protect  it  against 
the  influence  of  the  severe  frosts,  and  then  this  layer  is  removed  in  the  spring.  Sometimes 
advantage  is  taken  of  the  spring  floods,  to  wash  away  a  portion  of  the  peal.  Only  in  a  few, 
rare  instances  is  the  peat,  containing  a  very  small  amount  of  gold,  washed  throughout  its  whole 
extent;  as  a  rule  it  is  carried  away  and  thrown  aside.  The  extraction  of  the  auriferous  sand 
is  conducted  in  the  simplest  manner  possible  by  means  of  picks  crowbars  and  shovels.  How- 
over,  in  the  Olekminsk  legion  the  use  of  explosives  in  the  mining  works  is  yearly  increasing, 
and  the  annual  consumption  of  dynamite  at  the  gold  workings  of  this  region  amounts  to 
about  a  thousand  pouds.  The  auriferous  sand  is  transported  to  the  washing  machines  in  two- 
wheeled  carts  drawn  by  horses,  along  a  natural  road  or  along  a  road  made  of  logs.  In  some 
of  the  gold  regions  the  transport  at  certain  workings  is  done  in  trucks  along  a  tram  line. 
The  rare  application  of  mechanical  motors  and  appliances  is  frequently  made  a  subject  of 
reproach  to  the  Siberian  gold  workers,  but  it  is  necessary  to  remember  not  only  the  situation 
of  the  workings  in  the  most  remote  localities,  void  of  any  road  capable  of  transporting  heavy 
w^eights,  but  also  the  entire  absence  of  any  mechanical  machine  or  other  industrial  works  in 
Siberia  which  could  furmsh  the  gold  workings  with  the  requisite  tools,  mechanism,  machines 
or  appliances.  The  carriage  of  such  articles  from  the  Urals  is  exceedingly  expensive  and  some- 
times doubles  and  triples  their  cost.  Nevertheless,  at  some  of  the  workings  in  the  Olekminsk 
region  and  Amour  province,  there  is  a  comparatively  large  application  of  mechanical  ap- 
pliances in  the    place    of   hand    labour.   This   is  particularly   observable   in   the  workings  of 


GOLD.  161 

(he  Amour  system,  where  there  are  hirge  gold  mining  companies  with  sufficient  capital  at 
th(!ir  disposal.  Moreover,  al  many  of  the  workings  in  the  Olekminsk  region  the  sand,  gravel 
and  peat  is  raised  and  transported  by  means  of  chain  gear  along  a  Iram  line.  But  it  should 
he  observed  that  if  tram  lines,  transport  by  endless  steel  ropes,  and  even  Lartig  roads  are 
met  with  in  these  regions,  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  extreme  dearness  of  horses  and 
their  feed. 

The  extraction  of  the  auriferous  sand  is  carried  on  simultaneously  Avith  the  w^ashlng;  but 
in  underground  mines  the  sand  is  prepared  for  washing  in  the  winter.  Experiments  made 
on  the  application  of  the  hydraulic  method  of  exploitation  have  not  been  successful,  and 
there  is  not  much  chance  of  this  method  being  ultimately  adopted  in  the  Siberian  gold  work- 
ings, owing  to  the  irregularity  of  the  distribution  of  the  gold  bearing  properties,  which  ren- 
ders it  impossible  to  erect  large  water  reservoirs  and  hence  of  having  a  sufficient  pressure  of 
water,  AAlthout  w'hich  the  hydraulic  process  is  impracticable.  The  motive  power  required  for 
the  machines  used  in  the  extraction  of  the  gold  is  generally  furnished  by  overshot  water 
wheels.  The  water  is  led  to  the  washing  machines  either  by  canals  or  wooden  conduit?  called 
s  p  1  0 1  k  a.  The  water  supply  is  generally  very  well  constructed  and  the  timber  which  sup- 
ports the  conduits,  in  places  attains  40  and  50  feet  and  is  constructed  with  especial  lightness 
and  strength.  The  supply  of  water  to  the  canals  and  conduits  is  generally  done  by  partially 
damming  the  streams,  and  there  is  no  need  of  accumulating  the  water  in  reservoir  ponds,  as 
there  is  an  abundance  of  running  water  almost  everywhere.  Portable  engines  are  frequently 
used  at  the  gold  mines  of  the  Olekminsk  region  and  of  the  system  of  the  Amour.  These 
engines  are  used  when  there  is  not  sufficient  w^ater  for  the  hydraulic  motors. 

At  the  present  time  in  Siberia,  the  washing  of  the  auriferous  sand  on  a  large  scale  is 
chiefly  done  in  barrels,  and  only  very  clayey  sand  is  treated  in  pans.  In  rare  instances  un<ier 
particularly  favourable  conditions,  when  the  profile  of  the  soil  is  sufficiently  inclined  and  the 
sand  easily  washed,  it  is  excavated  by  hand  and  cast  into  a  trough  in  which  it  is  washed. 
This  method,  known  as  tlie  Pakoulevsk  process,  is  a  modification  of  the  American  sluice 
process.  Mr  K.  Koulibin,  mining  engineer,  has  recently  introduced  the  sluice  method  of 
washing  in  the  Urals,  and  he  has  modified  Wooldear's  system  to  suit  the  local  conditions  of 
Siberia,  a  system  originally  projected  for  the  hydraulic  process.  This  class  of  washing  appliances 
are  coming  into    use    in   Siberia   wliere   they   are   known    as  koulibinki. 

The  first  machines  used  in  Siberia  for  washing  the  auiiforous  sands,  consisted  of  pans 
and  wooden  barrels  with  iron  fixings  inside.  The  first  pans  and  barrels  washed  from  3,000  to 
5,000  pouds  of  sand  per  day;  but  when  the  gold  industry  developed  they  proved  insufficient  and 
therefore  their  dimensions  were  enlarged  and  their  construction  perfected.  All  tlu^  barrels  now 
used  in  Siberia  belong  to  one  type  and  only  differ  in  their  dimensions.  Each  barrel  consists  of  a 
conical  seive  with  one-half  inch  meshes.  These  orifices  are  of  e(}ual  size  down  the  whole  length 
of  the  barrel  and  are  distributed  in  a  chess  board  fashion.  Th<>  barrel  is  made  of  boiler  plate 
iron  about  one-fourth  inch  thick.  The  inside  fitting  of  the  barrels  generally  consists  of  iron  bands 
placed  edgewise.  The  barrels  are  revolved,  by  a  special  gear  put  into  motion  by  hydraulic 
motors  or  portable  engines.  The  dimensions  of  the  barrels  vary  from  10  to  17  feet  in  Ii>ngth. 
The  smaller  diameters  vary  from  ii^a  to  4\'2  feet  and  the  larger,  from  4  U>  7  l'ei>t.  Below  the  barrels 

11 


1(52  SIBEKIA. 

tlicio  is  iiii  iiK-liiH-fl  pl;iiic.  wlidsc  iippi'i-  portion  is  ijiviiicil    by  lont/iliitiiiial   \)<-,un-  into  scvithI 
parts  on  wliidi  llidi'  aiv  transversal   rilllcs  lor  rctaininK  the  pil<l. 

IJcsidi's  lliis,  iitliiT  aiiaii^'i'inrnts  siicli  as  biusliwood  or  cloth  aro  platT'tl  upon  tli<'  in^'lincd 
plane,  ior  retaining,'  llii'  liner  parlicles  ol  pild.  The  lenf.Mh  ol  this  inelined  plane  rji-  sluice  is 
I'roni  yo  to  40  lee  1  ami  it  is  ^/eneially  made  with  a  rather  steep  incline,  'i'lie  watci  lor  washing 
the  sand  is  intKMlnrnl  jnin  tiic  barivl  by  means  of  several  hoses,  sometimes  lonrteen  in  number, 
which  diicH'l  the  watvr  into  various  parts  ol'  the  baiiel.  Tlie  water  and  inside  lilting'  ol  the 
biirnd  Kiiml  the  sand  tof^'elhef  in  the  bairej.  the  graved  pa.ss(!S  (»nfy  through  the  wide  end.  and 
the  slime,  through  tin'  orilires  nl   the  barrel  into  the  sliii(;e. 

'J'lie  waslieil  sand  and  giavel,  the  so-called  tailings  Tail  tlirongli  special  trapdoors  into 
carls  or  trncks  and  are  iliimpe(l  on  llic  ua^le  molinds.  The  bairel  machines  ar<,'  made 
single  or  double.  At  the  present  time,  (jne  luiirel  i  aii  ua^li  Irnin  lorty  to  lil'ty  thousand 
{)ouds  (d'  light  sand  or  twenty-live  id  thirty  llmusaiMl  jKiiids  ol'  pasty,  clayey  .sand  per 
day.  The  gold  is  collected  from  the  sluices  twice  a  day,  and  either  umlergoes  a  pndiminary 
concentration  on  so-called  <.Arneiicans^>  or  else  goes  straight  to  the  buddies  where  it  is 
washed  tree  IVom  all  foreign  matter.  The  more  pasty  sands  cannot  be  satisfactorily  washed 
in  liarivis,  and  thineloro  other  ai langements  are  employed  in  their  treatment,  the  most  common 
being  a  pan  IVoni  8'/^  1o  16  feel  in  diameter  having  an  edge  one  foot  high  and  covered  with  a 
sieve  with  holes  from  V'a  to  V'  ii't'li  in  diameter.  The  sand  tlir(jwn  on  the  sieve  is  rubbed  by  smeral 
rcivolving  rows  of  iron  shoes,  and  washed  with  water.  I'nder  the  coniliiiied  action  (d'  the  >lioes  ami 
streamof  water,  the  sand  is  rubbed  together  and  the  finer  particles  pass  through  the  .seive  and  fall 
upon  a  sluice  in  the  same  manner  as  with  the  barrels.  The  gravel  left  upon  the  seive  is  let 
through  a  special  orifice  from  lime  to  time.  About  lilteeii  to  twenty  thousand  pouds  of  sand 
can  be  washed  on  ilies(>  pans  per  day.  In  liotli  the  barrel  and  pan  machines  a  small  quantity 
of  mercury  is  always  supplieil  near  the  head  nf  the  sluice  in  order  to  collect  the  small 
particles  of  gtdd. 

The  koulit)inka  consists  of  a  system  of  two  parallel  sluices,  on  which  th(,'  sand  is 
washed  by  its  motion  in  a  current  of  watei;  The  sand  and  waters  enter  the  chief  sluice 
together.  The  width  ol  this  sluice  vaiies  from  2  to  3  feet,  according  to  the  amount  of  water 
and  the  extent  of  the  washing;  it  has  an  inclination  of  5  to  7  inches  per  sagene.  The 
bittldin  ol  the  sluici^  is  entirely  covered  with  an  inm  grating,  which  assists  the  washing  of 
the  sand  and  arrests  the  gold,  anialgani  and  schlich.  Transversal  cuts  five  inches  wide  and 
covered  with  an  iron  sieve  with  interstices  of  one  inch  between  the  bars,  are  made  along  the 
length  of  the  sluice  at  distances  of  12  to  14  feet.  The  line  gravel  and  water  fall  througli 
these  sieves  and  pass  along  a  small  inclined  conduit  into  the  seeuiid  sluice,  which  is  parallel 
to  the  first  but  at  a. lower  level.  This  sluice  is  covered  with  a  wooden  grating  for  retaining 
the  gold  and  amalgam.  At  its  head,  this  sluice  is  from  Vli  to  2  feet  wide,  and  it  has  a  uni- 
form incliinilion  cd'  o'/j  inches  per  sagene.  This  second  sluice  widens  out  somewhat  towards  the 
bottom,  as  tlH>  amount  of  sand  falling  through  the  cross  cuts  in  the  first  sluice  increases.  The 
first  sluice  on  the  contrary  is  made  wider  towards  the  head.  In  both  sluices,  a  fresh  supply  of 
water  can  be  added  it  re((uired  according  to  the  statt>  of  the  division  of  the  sand.  The  first 
sluice  terminates  in    a   sieve  inclined  at  45  dt\grees  over  which  the  coarse  gravel  ndls  into  a 


GOLD.  1  63 

liiipper,  whence  it  is  cast  into  trucks  or  carts  and  carried  to  the  dump.  The  smaller  particles 
lull  tlirough  this  sieve  on  the  second  slui(;e  which  here  tends  underneath  the  first  sluice. 
Tlie  second  sluice  terminates  in  a  kind  u{  rake  arrangement  for  collecting  the  fine-washed 
gravel.  The  chief  condition  retiuiri'd  in  this  mod(!  of  washing  is  a  sufficient  supply  of 
water. 

With  respect  to  veinous  or  quartz  gold  in  Siberia,  it  is  oidy  extracted  in  the  Yeni- 
seisk region,  in  very  small  quantities;  in  the  Altai  in  the  exploitation  of  the  silver  ores  from 
the  Zyrianovsk  and  Riddersk  mines,  and  in  the  Transhaikal  province,  where  three  deposits  are 
iiow'  worked,  giving  a  yearly  yield  of  12  to  17  pouds  per  year.  The  gold  ores  extracted 
from  these  deposits  are  crushed  in  stamps  and  washed  in  sluices  covered  with  amalgamated 
copper  sheets;  the  extraction  of  the  gold  is  extremely  imperfect  and  a  large  amount  is  lost. 
As  a  portion  of  the  gold  is  in  a  state  of  chemical  combination,  some  experiments  were  made 
in  1885  to  apply  Mounktells  process  for  the  treatment  of  the  gold  ores  at  one  of  the  deposits 
in  the  Transhaikal  province;  but  they  were  not  successful. 

In  general,  one  of  the  chief  hinderances  to  the  development  of  the  exploitation  of  vein- 
ous gold  ores  in  Siberia,  is  the  absence  of  mechanical  works  where  the  necessary  machines 
could  be  constructed  and  repaired,  as  at  present  such  machines  have  to  be  brought  from  the 
Urals  at  a  great  cost.  An  extended  application  of  the  wet  chlorine  methods  of  treatment  in 
Siberia,  is  hindered  by  the  cost  of  the  materials  requsite  for  the  production  of  chlorine  from 
bleaching  powder.  Apparently  the  extraction  of  gold  by  means  of  electrolysis  would  be  more 
profitable  in  Siberia,  as  the  use  of  turbines  which  is  already  beginning  at  the  gold  mines 
would  give  the  possibility  of  having  a  mechanical  motor  during  the  whole  year  and  of  thus 
treating  a  sufficient  amount  of  ore  to  bring  in  a  profit. 

The  exploitation  of  gold  over  the  whole  of  Russia  is  carried  on  upon  the  basis  of  the 
statute  of  the  private  gold  industry,  published  in  1870.  According  to  this  statute,  the  gold 
miners  working  upon  proprietary  lands  pay  a  tax  upon  the  yield  of  gold  to  the  Government, 
while  those  working  upon  State  lands  or  lands  belonging  to  His  Majesty's  Cabinet,  pay  an 
extra  royalty  to  the  Government  or  the  Cabinet  for  the  land  covered  by  their  workings.  The  tax 
ujion  the  yield  of  gold  is  levied  on  the  amount  of  pure  gold  and  silver  separately  present 
in  the  unrefined  metal.  The  gold  miners  in  the  Olekminsk  region,  as  the  richest,  pay  a  10 
per  cent  tax  and  10  roubles  royalty  per  dessiatine  of  government  huul  ocrupioil  by  the  wor- 
kings; in  the  province  of  the  Amour  there  is  a  5  per  cent  tax  ami  5  roubles  per  dessiatine; 
in  all  the  remaining  parts  of  Siberia  and  in  European  Russia,  there  is  a  3  per  cent  tax  and 
a  rental  of  1  rouble  per  dessiatine  per  year. 

Tlie  gold  workings  on  the  lands  belonging  to  His  JMajesty's  Cabinet  are  divided 
into  three  classes  according  to  their  yield,  and  they  pay  a  royalty  from  5  to  15  per  cent  to 
the  Cabinet  and  a  rental  of  15  kopecks  per  sagene  length  of  the  workings. 

All  the  sclilich  g(dd  itbtaincil  by  private  individuals  in  Siberia  has  to  be  sent  by  them 
to  the  Government  smelting  luiuses,  oi  which  there  are  two,  one  for  "Western  Siberia  at  Tomsk, 
an<i  one  for  Eastern  Siberia  at  Irkutsk.  Besiiles  this,  His  Majesty's  Cabinet,  under  whose 
jurisdiction  are  the  Altai  and  X(>rcliinsk  works,  lias  its  own  laboratory  for  the  treatment  of 
precious  nuMals.    The  gold  is  siueltfd  at  the  smelting  Imiisi^  and  its  degree  uf  pmity  determined 

11' 


164  SIBERIA. 

by  assay.  Tin-  iiutal    i>  loiwanl'-il    to  lli'!    St.  I't'l'iobuig  Mint,  and  \h<:    unld    m.-irhaiits  ai' 
given  bills  by  wbiili  tlM-y  (jbtaiii  .yoliJ  oj  silvm  c<)iti  or  gold  ingots. 


Silver,  lead  and  copper. 

Sibi'iia  was  on«;i;  iiiliabited  by  a  piioplo,  who  according  lu  tli'^  Ilussian  legends,  were  t-alled 
C  h  II  il  (woiidt'f  men).  It  is  iiol  known  wlien  this  people  livi'd,  but  the  chief  monuments  of  their 
fniMicr  oxistcncc  are  ancient  mines,  chieliy  wiiii  uprn  diggings,  only  in  rare  instances,  iindi-i- 
gioiind  workings.  The  antiquity  of  these  works  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  all  the  instrnnifiii^ 
which  have  bei-n  found  in  them  are  made  either  of  copper  or  hard  stone,  which  leads  to  tlf 
supposition  that  this  people  was  entiiviy  iiinUMjiiiiinti'il  with  lion.  The  Cluid  niiiu's,  as  these 
ancient  workings  are  called,  guided  the  Ilussian  jjioneers  in  their  search  lor  metallifi-rous 
deposits,  and  at  first,  all  the  workings  were  begun  in  those  localities  where  the  Chnd  had 
formerly  extracted  their  silver,  lead  or  copper. 

In  "Western  Siberia  the  numerous  remains  id'  Clmd  iiiiiies  luiind  on  the  Altai  and  it> 
very  name  of  caltai*  which  means  the  <>gold  mountaiiis>  inilicate  their  richness  in  met- 
als. The  first  efforts  made  by  the  Russians  to  exploit  these  riches  belong  to  the  close  of  the 
XYIII  centuiy  but,  strictly  speaking,  the  mining  industry  of  the  Altai  was  placed  upon  a  firm 
footing  at  the  beginning  of  the  XVIII  century  by  Akinfia  Demidov  the  son  of  the  Tula 
blacksmith  Nikita  Demidov  (Antoufiev).  In  1723  some  Russian  hunters  found  the  remains  of 
ancient  scoria  in  the  old  waste  heaps  of  Chud  workings,  near  lake  Kolyvan  in  the  Biisk 
region,  and  mentioned  this  fact  tit  Demidov.  The  ore  deposits  discovered  in  this  locality 
proved  to  be  particularly  rich  in  copper  and  hence  Demidov  founded  the  first  cojiper 
smelting  works  in  the  Altai,  as  early  as  1726.  He  called  these  works  the  Kolyvano  A'oskre- 
sensk  works.  In  1739  he  erected  the  Barnaoulsk  works,  which  subsequently,  in  1771, 
became  the  town  of  Barnaoul  and  became  the  administrative  centre  of  all  the  works  of  the 
Altai  region.  In  1744  Demidov  erected  a  third  work  in  the  present  Semipalatinsk  province 
on  the  borders  of  the  Altai  region. 

In  1735  Demidov  discovered  the  Zmeinogorodsk  mine,  but  it  was  left  unnoticed  as  the 
amount  of  copper  in  it  proved  inconsiderable.  Soon  afterwards  however,  namely  in  1742, 
rich  argentiferous  lead  ores  were  found  in  the  Zmein  mountains,  from  wluch  Demidov  in 
1744  and  1745  obtained  2  pouds  25\'4  pounds  of  silver.  Subsequently,  by  an  Imperial  ukaz  of 
the  15th  May,  1747,  all  the  mines  and  works  of  the  Altai  passed  into  the  hands  of  His 
Majesty's  Cabinet. 

From  that  time  the  mining  industry  of  the  Altai  made  rapid  progress.  The  discovery 
and  laying  out  of  new  mines  continued  to  the  close  of  the  XYIII  century.  The  following 
were  the  chief  of  these  Diines:  the  Cherepanovsk  in  1781,  the  Salairsk  in  1781,  the  Riddersk 
in  1784,  and  the  extremely  rich  Zyiianovsk  mine  in  1791.  The  following  works  were 
erected  by  the  Cabinet :  the  Pavlovsk  in  1763,  the  Souzounsk  in  1764,  the  Tomsk  in  1770, 
the  Loktevsk  in  1771,  the  Aleisk  in  1774,  and  the  Ekateriuinsk,  afterwards  called  the  Gav- 
rilovsk,  in  1793.  Two  more    works  were  erected  in  the  present  century,  the  Zmeevsk  in  13<>4, 


SILYEE,    LEAD    AND    COPPER.  165 

aud  the  Gourevsk  in  1816.  Nearly  all  the  works  in  the  Altai  are  silver  smelting  works,  the 
only  exceptions  being  the  Tomsk  and  Gourevsk  iron  works  and  the  Souzounsk  works  which 
smelt  copper  as  well  as  silver.  According  to  their  geographical  position  all  the  ore  deposits 
of  the  Altai  mining  region  may  be  divided  into  two  independent  groups.  The  first  of  these 
groups,  the  so-called.  Zmeinogorsk  region,  lies  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Altai  region, 
in  the  systems  of  the  rivers  Obi  and  Irtysh;  and  the  second  or  Salairsk  region  lies  at  the 
north-eastern  extremity  of  the  Altai  region  in  the  system  of  the  river  Toma.  The  most  im- 
portant difference  in  the  conditions  of  these  two  groups  is  that  the  works  of  Zmeinogoi'sk 
region  exclusively  employ  charcoal  fuel,  while  those  of  the  Salairsk  region  being  in  the 
near  neighbourhood  of  the  Kouznetsk  coal  basin,  work  with  mineral  fuel. 

The  mountains  which  contain  the  ore  deposits  in  the  Zmeinogorsk  region  belong  to  the 
branches  of  the  Sayansk  mountains;  while  those  in  the  Salairsk  region  belong  to  the  branches 
of  the  Altai  mountains.  They  generally  have  the  appearance  of  rounded  volcanoes,  without 
any  rocky  peaks.  As  a  rule  the  height  of  these  mountains  does  not  exceed  4,000  to  4,500  feet. 
The  predominating  rock  in  these  mountains  is  clay  slate,  aud  are  more  rarely  crystaline  schists, 
upheaved  by  porphyries,  which  most  likely  played  an  important  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
ore  deposits.  At  the  foot  of  the  ore  bearing  mountains  there  are  strata  of  sedimentary  for- 
mations of  different  periods  consisting  of  slates,  limestones  and  sandstones.  The  ore  deposits 
belong  to  two  classes,  veins  and  stock  works.  All  the  vein  deposits  bear  the  general  charac- 
ter of  steeply  inclined,  short  and  thick  veins.  They  generally  occur  on  the  borders  of  the 
junction  of  the  clay  slates  with  felsite  porphyries.  The  vein  deposits  of  the  Salairsk  mountains 
are  accompanied  by  veins  of  quartose  felspar  porphyries  which  in  their  zone  rise  to  the  for- 
mation of  ore  bearing  cavities.  As  a  rule,  stock  works  are  rare  in  the  Altai,  and  are  only 
known  for  the  copper  deposits  and  then  they  are  not  of  great  extent. 

As  many  as  eight  hundred  deposits  of  metallic  ores  are  known  in  the  Altai  mining 
region.  Altogether  however  only  about  five  hundred  mines  have  been  exploited,  out  of  which 
only  eight  silver  and  two  copper  mines  are  now  worked.  The  silver  ores  contain  a  smaller  or 
larger  amount  of  various  compounds,  of  copper,  lead,  zinc  and  iron,  which  modify  the  external 
appearance,  properties  and  richness  of  the  ores;  thus  as  a  rule,  those  ores  which  are  rich  in 
lead  or  copper  ai'e  poor  in  silver.  The  copper  ores  have  the  most  uniform  composition.  Gold 
is  found  in  only  two  of  the  silver  mines,  the  Zyrianovsk  and  the  Ridersk,  and  is  distributed 
in  a  very  variable  extent  throughout  the  deposit.  Generally  it  appears  in  dependence  upon  a 
decrease  in  the  amount  of  silver  and  other  metals  and  occurs  sparingly  in  ore  bearing  quartz 
in  poor  ferruginous  silver  ores.  The  metalliferous  ores  are  either  ochre  or  pyritic  ores.  The 
ochre  ores  occur  in  the  upper  level  of  the  deposits  aud  were  formerly  the  chief  objects  of 
exploitation.  As  they  descend  to  a  greater  depth,  the  ochre  ores  gradually  change  into  pyritic 
ores.  All  the  Altai  mines,  at  their  greatest  depth  of  70  to  100  sagenes,  pass  into  a  zone 
of  transition  of  the  ochre  into  pyritic  ores,  and  lioice  the  ore  is  exceedingly  variable  in 
its  composition  and  richness  in  metal.  The  ochre  ores  are  generally  richer  than  ihe  pyritic 
and  this  distinction  is  most  evident  in  the  case  of  silver  ores;  the  transition  of  the  ochre 
into  pyiitic  ores  generally  has  an  extremely  unfavourable  effect  upon  the  richness  of  tlie  ore 
in  silver  ami  lead:    besides  which    ihc  sineliing  of  the  ores  becomes  much  more  difficult,  l-'or 


166  SIBERIA. 

this  reason  llio  cxisljn-,'  miiios  arc  not  in  a  position  to  yifld  llic  ^ann;  amount  of  nifMai  a- 
formerly. 

'I'll!'  iiiiiuimi  i)|'  .silver  and  lead  in  lli<'  ori-s  is  siihjcci   id  lm'^i   tlii.-iuatiun-.  In  Ih In  • 

ores  till'  amount  i.l  silver  varies  JVoni  •/»  ><'  10  zoloiniks  pe,  pi.ud  ul  ore,  and  the  amount  ol 
lead  IVom  (;  to  JL'  poinids  per  pond  of  oie,  or  15  to  30  per  >-<'\i\.  'J'jn-  pyritie  oies  aii;  very 
murli  pduici.  'I'lie  ann.unl  n|  cupper  ill  tlie  ores,  sineltnl  at  the  Soiizounsk  works,  is  I'rom 
5  to  10  |ier  eeiii.  Vei  V  many  id  the  silver  mines  are  aeeDimicd  (|uiti'  exhausted  and  tlii'i'- 
I'ore  their  exploitation  lias  heen  entirely  slopped.  Anions  these  it  is  impossible  to  avoid 
mcntioniiif/  the  Zineino^'oisk  mine,  whiiji  for  a  period  of  some  seventy  years  yielded  over 
50,000  |iuiiils  nl'  silver.  Oiher  mines  were  worked  Im  a  mnrh  sIkhIimI  pi-rind  and  alter  L'iviiiL; 
several  thousand  ponds  of  silver  were  round  to  he  exhausted. 

At  till'  present  time  the  most  prudnetive  mines  are  the  Zyiianovsk  in  the  Znieinoguisk 
re/^iion  anil  the  Salaii'sk  mines  in  another  poiliun  id'  the  Altai  leirion.  The  lii^i  named  now 
yields  alioui  :)00.(X:0  ponds  of  ore,  and  the  jattei  which,  during'  the  (■if,'hties,  yielded  from  7W,000 
to  one  million  ponds  of  ore,  in  1S91  ija\e  uniy  395,400  pouds.  The  Zyrianovsk  deposit  is  now 
coiisicU'red  the  most  productive  id  all  the  deposits  of  the  Altai.  It  lies  in  the  south-eastern 
peitiiin  id'  the  rei^iiiii  on  tin;  river  Maslianka,  12  versts  distant  riuni  llie  leCi  hank  nf  lie 
river  Boukhtarma  and  70  versts  from  the  river  Irtysli.  The  Zyrianovsk  deposit  is  about  3-l''J 
versts  from  the  nearest  silver  smeltinu'  works,  the  Zmeievsk  w'orks.  The  Zyrianovsk  deposit 
has  yielded  mure  than  4;")  million  ponds  of  assorted  ore  containinii  over  45,000  pouds  of  silver 
and  over  2,500,000  pouds  of  lead. 

The  Salairsk  deposits,  which  are  now  exploited  by  two  mines,  the  Salairsk  1st  and 
Salairsk  2nd,  are  very  thick  and  extensive  and  f^uarantee  a  supply  of  ore  for  smeltinu  for 
a  very  louii  tinH\  but  the  ores  of  these  deposits  are  poor  in  silver.  Only  two  eopper  mine- 
are  now  in  work,  the  Souiiatovsk  and  the  Chudak.  These  mines  are  situated  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  region,  not  far  from  the  Irtysh;  but  at  a  distance  of  400  versts  from  the  Soii- 
zounsk copper  smelting  v^'orks.  At  the  Sougatovsk  mine,  besides  ore,  a  cement  copper  is  obtained 
from  the  mine  waters.  The  ores  of  the  Zmeinogorsk  region  were  smelted  at  four  works, 
the  Barnaoiilsk,  the  Pavlovsk,  the  Loktevsk  and  the  Zmeievsk,  but  the  first  three  of  these 
are  now  closed.  The  Salairsk   region  contains  the  Gavrilovsk  silver  smelting  works. 

The  statistics  respecting  the  amoiuit  of  silver  smelted  at  the  Altai  works,  show  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  over  a  thousand  pouds  of  this  metal  were  annually  smelted 
during  a  period  of  many  years.  Such  was  the  position  of  the  works  at  the  time  of  the  liberation  of 
the  serfs,  an  event  which  in  1862  produced  a  complete  revolution  in  the  economic  order  of 
the  country,  and  changed  the  conditions  of  the  mining  industry  in  this  poorly  populated  region. 
During  the  first  years  following  the  liberation  of  the  serfs,  the  production  of  the  Altai  works 
remained  almost  as  bi^fore,  thanks  to  the  energetic  production  of  rich  ores  from  previously 
prepared  workings  in  the  Zyrianovsk  and  Talovsk  deposits.  The  increased  price  of  labour  led 
to  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  amount  of  preparatory  and  exploratory  diggings,  whii'h 
had  the  necessary  censequeuce  oi  gradually  decreasing  the  stores  of  ore  and  of  subsecpiently 
reducing  its  actual  production.  The  abolition  of  obligatory  labour  not  only  raised  the  wages 
at  the  mines,  but  also  considerably    increased    the    cost   of  transporting    the   ore,   and   this 


SILVER,    LEAD    AND    COPPER. 


167 


clearly  proved  the  disadvantages  of  the  great  distances  between  the  mines  and  the  works.  More- 
over, the  rise  in  the  price  of  fuel,  owing  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  forests  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  mines  and  the  feeble  development  of  the  mechanical  parts  of  the  works,  also  influenced 
the  position  of  the  metallurgical  and  mining  industries  of  the  Altai.  And  yet  at  the  end  of 
the  last  and  beginning  of  the  present  C(Mitury,  the  mechanical  portion  of  the  Altai  works  was 
placed  upon  another  footing.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  su  early  as  1766  a  mining  engineer 
Polzounov,  erected  the  first  steam  acting  blowing  engine  for  blast  furnaces  at  the  Barnaoul 
works.  Polzounov  may  justly  be  called  the  forerunner  of  Watt.  In  the  Altai  also  the  first 
experiment  of  laying  down  a  tram  line  was  made  in  1817,  for  transporting  the  ore  from  the 
Zmeinogorsk  mine  and  the  Zmeevsk  works,  along  a  distance  of  2'/2  versts. 

Owing  to  the  above  mentioned  causes,  the  production  of  silver  at  the  Altai  began  to 
decrease  considerably,  especially  since  1868;  so  also  the  amount  of  copper  smelted,  whicii  in 
1872  amounted  to  nearly  40,0(  0  ponds,  subsequently  gradually  fell.  The  following  table 
gives  the  production  of  the  Altai  mining  region  durinif  the  last  ten  years. 


P 

r  0  d 

u  c  t  i 

i 

S  i  1 

V  e  r. 

L  e  a  d.  ' 

C  0  p  p  e  r. 

Pouds.  ' 

Piuinds.  1 

Pouds. 

Pdunds. 

1882 

397 

25^'4 

14,890 

16,800 

1883 

368 

12'/' 

16,385 

14,015 

1884 

446 

29V4 

20,083 

24,000 

1885 

535 

23'/ 2 

16,706 

24,605 

1886 

613 

6^V4 

22,079 

17,800 

1887 

661 

38 

31,117 

16,240 

1888 

682 

41/2 

10,099 

18,200 

1889 

652 

P/4 

6,653 

21,073   i 

1890. 

681 

8 

19,305 

19,337 

1891 

.595 

71/2 

11,188 

13,193 

In  reducing  tlicir  .sinelling  of  silver  and  lead,  the  Altai  woiks  aie  adn]>liiiL;  a  wet 
process  for  the  extractimi  of  silver  from  the  ores  after  a  nietliod  iiivenled  tiy  a  Hungarian 
engineei'  Bittzansky  fur  treating  the  ores  from  the  Zyrianovsk  mine. 

In  Eastern  Siberia  old  workings  of  galena  in  crystalline  limestone  have  been  discovered 
in  the  govei'nment  of  Yeniseisk  in  the  Minousinsk  district  at  the  Irbinsk  estate.  A  large 
numl)ei-  of  Chad  mines  have  been  rouml  dii  llic  eastern  declivity  of  the  Alatau  inoinitains 
and  beyond  in  the  valley  of  the  Yenisei.  These  workings  were  lenewed  in  the  middle  tif  the 
seventeenth  century  and  the  Lougazhsk  copper  sundting  wiuks  wimc  erected  here  at  a  distance 
of  9  versts  IVoni  the  Yenisei  and  25  versts  I'min  the  town  of  Minousinsk.  These  works  not 
only    smelted    ores    linni    the    suniMiiidiiig    mines,   Imt  also  iVoui  uioie  distant  localities;  from 


]68  >lBKIiIA. 

ihe  upper  courses  cil  the  liveis  lalliii;,'  into  tlir-  liver  Aljacan,  hikI  liujii  iIk-  Maiii.">k  uiine  on 
the  Yenisei  at  the  villa^'e  nl  t)/iiaclieiuiyi.  In  1^71  liie  Spassli  copjier  snieltiiif^  woiks  were 
eieclfMJ  (III  iIk;  liver  I'cfiiits.  'J'lieso  woiks  sineltctl  die  liui/i  the  Maiiisk  ami  several  other 
mines.  Tliey  as  lar  as  is  kiKtwii,  only  wmked  between  JW79  and  18H1  and  alt^l^'etller  smelted 
about  l,2r)0  ponds  (d'  copper. 

Deposits  fd'  argentii(!roiis  f:5alena  are  kiniuii  in  tii<!  ^/uvcihiih'IiI  <>[  Yakutsk  at  several 
points  alon;,'  llie  Viiiiu  and  (Indyliahi.  iln-  iiitmlary  (d  tlie  river  Yaiia.  In  j^50  the  latter  de- 
posit was  exploreil,  lint  it,  was  Idiiiid  iniMiilaljle  loi  exphdtalion  owing  to  its  di.stance  from 
populated  localities  and  to  ilie  scaicily  (d  lorests.  In  all  probaTiility  this  was  also  the  reason  why 
the  exploitatiiiii  nl'  the  IJndybalsk  mine,  which  was  carried  on  liuni  ITO.'j  to  1775,  was  after- 
wards stopped.  Tiiere  is  another  deposit  in  the  Yakutsk  province,  on  tin;  river  Batoma.  a  right 
ribulary  id  the  Lena,  wlujre  it  is  said  the  native  Y'akiils  smelt  lead   ami  silver. 

Humours  of  the  occurrence  of  silver  ores  in  the  present  Amour  Govenfii-Cjeneralship, 
at  Daouria  on  the  banks  of  the  Shilku  and  Argouna,  reached  Moscow  during  the  reign  of 
Peter  the  Groat,  and  induced  this  monarch  to  dispatch  a  party  of  Greek  miners  to  Siberia 
under  the  direction  id  one  Levandian,  who  in  1698,  guided  by  the  discovery  of  remains  of 
Chud  workings  on  the  Koultouchnaya  mountain  16  versts  distance  from  Argouna,  dis- 
covered a  deposit  of  argentiferous  lead  ore  in  this  locality  and  began  to  exploit  it.  in  1704 
silver  smelting  works,  called  the  Nerchinsk,  was  erecteil  by  order  of  Peter  I.  At  that 
time  the  whole  id'  this  portion  of  the  Transbaikalia,  which  subsequently  comprised  the  Nerchinsk 
mining  region,  was  a  perfectly  wild  country  only  inhabited  by  nomad  natives.  To  introduce  a 
regular  mining  Industry  into  this  region,  it  was  necessary  to  take  measures  for  the  emigration 
of  Russian  settlers  and  to  overcome  immense  difficulties.  This  explains  why  at  first  the  min- 
ing industry  in  the  Nerchinsk  region  developed  very  slowly.  But  the  production  of  silver 
began  to  increase  considerably  with  the  opening  out  of  new  mines  ami  with  the  growth  of  the 
population  in  the  region. 

The  introduction  of  smelting  by  private  Siberians  also  had  a  beneficial  effect.  The 
maximum  i)roducUoii  of  silver  was,  during  the  period  1763  to  1786,  when  it  attained  629'/2 
pouds.  In  179U  the  yield  of  silver  fell  to  219  pouds,  it  subsequently  periodically  fluctuated, 
and  in  1847  it  even  fell  below  200  pouds.  From  that  time  the  production  of  silver  in  the 
Nerchinsk  region  declined  completely,  and  from  6472  pouds  smelted  in  1850  it  fell  to  7V2  pouds 
in  1863,  and  then  it  temporarily  ceased  altogether.  The  reasons  of  this  fall  in  the  silver  pro- 
duction of  the  Nerchinsk  region  were  the  flooding  of  the  mines,  the  economic  revolution  pro- 
duced by  the  abolition  of  the  serfs  and  of  the  obligatory  labour  at  the  works,  and  chiefly  the 
revolution  which  took  place  in  the  management  of  the  Nerchinsk  works,  with  the  opening  of 
new  and  richer  gold  workings,  when  all  the  force  and  means  of  the  region  were  directed  to 
the  extraction  of  gold,  which  became  the  chief  object  of  production  instead  of  silver  and 
lead.  Thus  there  is  no  fofindation  for  speaking  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  deposits  of  silver  ore 
in  the  Nerchinsk  region,  and  there  is  reason  for  supposing  that  the  production  of  silver  might 
revive  with  fresh  energy,  if  the  economic  conditions  of  the  region  were  improved.  As  regards 
the  deposits  of  silver  ores,  it  can  only  be  said  that  as  many  as  90  different  mines  have  been 
opened  out  in  the  Nerchinsk    region,   that   vein   deposits   predominate   in    the  south-western. 


SILVER,    LEAD    AND    COPPER.  169 

and  pocket  deposits  in  the  north-eastern  portion.  Besides  silver  and  lead,  deposits  of  copper 
ores  are  also  known,  but  although  trials  were  made  to  exploit  and  smelt  them,  the  re- 
sults were  not  favourable.  At  the  present  time  altogether  10  mines  are  worked  and  their 
annual  yield  amounts  to  100,00r)  pouds.  The  only  existing  silver  smelting  works  in  the  Ner- 
chinsk mining  region,  the  Kroutomarsk  works,  smelt  about  50  pouds  of  silver  a  year. 

A  deposit  of  argentiferous  lead  ores  has  been  discovered  in  the  far  eastern  extremity 
of  Siberia,  in  the  valley  of  the  river  Vantsin  at  about  120  versts  distance  from  the  gulf  of 
St.  Olga,  and  37  versts  from  the  gulf  of  Preobrazhensk.  Explorations  of  this  deposit,  made  in 
1872,  showed  the  presence  of  rather  vast,  ancient  workings,  and  in  recent  times  the  exploitation 
of  the  ores  was  carried  on  by  the  Chinese. 

Traces  of  Chud  mines  are  found  scattered  about  various  parts  of  the  region 
of  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  and  in  1815  and  1820,  these  workings  were  the  means  of  the  discov- 
ery of  rich  deposits  of  argentiferous  lead  ores.  A  raining  proprietor,  jMr.  Popov,  guided  by 
the  indications  of  the  natives,  made  the  first  claim  for  deposits  of  argentiferous  lead  and 
copper  ores  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes  and  obtained  a  concession  for  the  acquirement  of  what  lands 
and  forests  he  might  need  for  the  exploitation  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  region  and 
for  the  erection  of  metallurgical  works.  Already  in  1857,  106  copper  workings  and  44  argen- 
tiferous lead  and  copper  ore  mines  were  declared;  and  at  the  close  of  1888,  the  Karkaralinsk 
district  of  the  Semipalatinsk  province,  comprised  121  claims  of  ore  deposits,  both  copper  and 
argentiferous  lead;  while  in  the  whole  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes  up  to  4rX)  ore  bearing  deposits 
are  known.  The  following  are  the  most  important.  The  richest  argentiferous  lead  ore  deposits 
are  situated  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Karkaralinsk  district  between  the  town  of  Kar- 
karalinsk and  lake  Balkhash,  at  a  distance  of  200  to  250  versts  from  the  above  named  town. 
This  locality  is  desert  and  void  of  forest  and  at  a  great  distance  from  the  river  Irtysh  which 
is  the  only  convenient  means  of  communication  in  this  region. 

There  is  another  tract  of  argentiferous  lead  and  partly  argentiferous  lead  and  copper 
ore  deposits,  to  the  north  of  the  above  region  at  a  distance  of  75  to  100  versts  from  the 
town  of  Karkaralinsk  to  the  south  and  south-west  of  this  town.  Among  the  many  vein  de- 
posits of  this  district  which  have  been  opened  out,  the  vast  deposit  of  Ber-Kara  is  particu- 
larly distinguished.  The  Bogoslovsk  mine  w^as  laid  out  on  this  deposit  by  Popov  and  worked 
to  a  depth  of  18  sagenes.  This  mine  yielded  both  argentiferous  lead  and  copper  ores,  which 
were  smelted  at  two  works  erected  by  Popov,  and  also  at  the  Altai  works  to  which  they 
were  temporarily  transported.  Deposits  of  copper  ores  are  particularly  abundant  on  the  borders 
of  the  Karkaralinsk  and  Pavlodarsk  districts.  Many  of  these  deposits  occur  in  the  form  of 
veins  of  greater  or  less  thickness,  and  in  some  instances-  somewhat  considerable  masses  of 
native  copper  have  been  found.  The  copper  ores  extracted  from  this  region  were  smelted  at 
copper  smelting  works  erected  in  the  neighiwurhood.  Oxidized  copper  ores  are  found  in  the 
sandstone  strata, occurring  to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Semipalatinsk  in  the  basin  of  the  river 
Aschi-Sou,  and  in  the  noith-western  corner  of  the  Karkaralinsk  district,  near  the  borders  of 
the  Akmolinsk  province  in  the  lower  courses  of  the  river  Chiderta. 

Copper  smelting  was  first  started  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  at  liie  Blagodato-Stefauovsk 
works,  erected  by  Popov  at  about  80  versts  disianeo  to  tlio  ntirth-oast  of  ilii>   town  of  Karka- 


170 


SIBERIA. 


laliiisk.  TIk'n*'  works  njiiiiuuoil  in  ariiun  iiiiiil  i^Ol^  wlit-n  llicy  wcio  riiuilly  rlu>«:'il  lui  want 
III  liiil.  l'o|ii)v  iil.so  ('i(H'lt'{l  tlir  Inlldwiiit,'  iiielalliirnical  works:  lln-  Alexamlrovsk  wliii-li 
r\r|ii,si\(.|y  siiH'lli'il  al^'t'iiUlcidiis  lead  ores,  arnl  Wde  .siliiali-il  at  a  di^laiice  of  35  vcisls  to 
tin-  iioitli  o|  tlic  Hayaii-Aoiilsk  station:  lln'  Ho^oslovsk  works,  in  tin-  ceiitro  of  the  rifliest 
ilcposits  ()[  arfj;(Mitircioiis  lead  and  cuppiT  on-s,  on  luonni  Ucikaia  at  80  vcrsls  distancf;  to  tlic  sontli 
ol  Karkaralinsk :  and  ilii'  In.uinn-i'icdic.liciisk  works  near  thi- Kyzillavsk  roal  niinc^.  All  tli---'' 
works,  as  well  a«  tlioso  ereiitcd  hy  Mr.  Konznctsov  inNir  tin;  (jraidifvsk  station,  on  tlii-  I'dl 
hank  id  llic  Irtysli,  liad  no  f^naranti'i-  lor  tlndr  snpply  id'  fn<d,  and  oidy  wttiked  inti-rniitt.'ntlv. 
and  llii'ir  animal  yiidd  id  coppn   did  not  rxcecd  H,(X)0  ponds. 

The  Spassk  copper  smrltintr  wurks  wm-  crfrtrd  tiy  the  hi-irs  ol'  .Mi-.  llyazanov  in  iIp 
bcpiimiiifi'  of  tiic  sixtii's,  in  Ilir  distrirt  id  .Xkniuliiisk  ni-ar  the  hordojs  oi  the  Karkaralin^k 
district,  and  from  thai  lime  the  cdppe.i  pruduelinii  id  tin- Kirj:hiz  steppes  coiisiderahly  iiicreasti'l. 
and  in  ls7()  rearlied  its  liiiiliest  iioiinal  id'  3s,Mf)(»  |i(iiiiN.  [(nrini:  llie  entire  peiiud  id  th  ■ 
existence  of  the  Spassk  works,  whieli  weic  riosed  in  J885,  the  jirodnetion  of  copper,  at  tin; 
Kirghiz  mines  varied  hetwcen  1^^,500  and  34,000  ponds  per  year.  After  the  tdosini.'  of  the 
Spassk  works  Imwever,  the  Kiriiliiz  stc|)pes  lost  every  imporlanee  ainony  the  e()|)per  prodm-- 
inf?  ivfiioiis  of  Russia. 

The  production  of  silver  and  lead  at  the  Kirtihiz  woiks  was  carried  on  very  irregularly, 
and  ill  veiy  limited  i|iiaiitiiies  iiiiiil  1883.  In  1882  a  rich  and  alr<'ady  known  deposit  of 
galena  and  oxidi/cd  lead  and  cojiper  oies  was  explored  at  Kyzyl-Espe,  situated  iu  the  Ak- 
chetavsk  district,  at  a  distance  of  about  80  versts  to  the  !ioi1h-north-we.st  of  lake  Balkhash.  An 
expeiimental  smelting  of  these  ores  was  hegiin  in  ]883,  at  the  works  erected  at  the  mine, 
and  also  at  the  Kozmo-Demyanovsk  works  situated  at  18  versts  to  the  south-east  of  the 
town  of  Karkaralinsk,  and  280  versts  from  the  mine.  The  galena  and  lead  ores  extracted 
from  the  Kyzyl-Espe  mine  proved  exceedingly  rich,  with  ahoiii  12  zolotniks  of  silver  per 
poud  of  ore  and  about  50  to  70  per  cent  of  lead. 

In  recent  years  the  production  of  silver  and  lead  has  not  only  increased  at  the  works 
erected  by  Popov,  but  experimental  smeltlngs  have  been  carried  on  at  several  other  mines 
belonging    to  other  persons. 

The  following  table  shows  the  position  of  the  silver  and  lead  production  in  the  Kirghiz 
steppes  since  1883. 


Production 

Production 

Production 

Production 

</J 

of 

(d 

of 

of 

silver. 

lead. 

Pouds. 

>-< 

silver. 

lead. 

Pouds.        !  Pounds. 

•    i 

Pouds. 

Pounds. 

Pouds. 

1883 

33'/* 

— 

1888 

136 

8 

22,544 

1884 

10 

27-7* 

2,693 

1889 

110 

lov* 

10,836 

1885 

35 

2V* 

3,186 

1890 

72 

28' A 

14,693 

1886 

84 

2372 

8,937 

1891 

96 

13'/< 

3,879 

1887 

171 

16 'A 

11,363 

IRON.  171 


Iron. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  only  four  iron  works  in  tlie  whole  of  Siberia.  It  is 
true  that,  thanks  to  the  vast  river  system  offered  by  the  Toura,  Tobol,  Irtysh,  Obi  and  Tomi, 
up  to  the  town  of  Tomsk  nearly  the  whole  of  Western  Siberia  is  in  direct  water  communication 
Avith  the  very  foot  of  the  Urals,  and  can  conveniently  supply  itself  with  metals  from  this 
centre  of  the  Russian  mining  and  metallurgical  industries  where  there  are  most  vast  and 
rich  deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  numerous  iron  works.  On  the  other  hand,  the  system  of 
the  Amour  enables  goods  transported  by  sea  from  Nikolaevsk  to  penetrate  over  3,000  versts 
into  the  interior  of  Siberia.  It  is  certain  however  that  notwithstanding  the  cheapness  of 
transport  by  water,  the  vast  distances  traversed  must  greatly  increase  the  price  of  goods 
carried  in  this  manner.  At  the  same  time  the  population  of  Siberia  are  in  need  of  pig- 
iron  and  iron  as  well  as  of  articles  made  of  these  metals,  not  only  for  domestic  and  agri- 
cultural purposes  but  also  for  the  vast  gold  industry  which  offers  a  more  and  more  urgent 
demand  for  metals  and  metallic  goods.  If  up  to  the  present  time  the  iron  industry  is  still 
very  feebly  developed  in  Siberia,  it  is  not  for  want  of  ore  deposits  but  for  purely  economic 
and  commercial  reasons.  It  should  be  mentioned  however  that  the  deposits  of  iron  ores  near 
the  town  of  Yeniseisk  were  worked  by  the  native  Ostiaks  and  Toungouze  previous  to  the 
Russian  dominion  of  Siberia,  and  afterwards  by  the  neighbouring  peasants.  The  manufacture 
of  iron  direct  from  the  ore,  which  was  carried  on  here  from  ancient  times,  flourished  to 
such  an  extent  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  there  were  as  many  as  forty 
smithies  which  yearly  produced  about  30,000  pouds  of  iron.  The  development  of  the  gold 
industry  however  absorbed  all  the  local  labour  and  put  an  end  to  this  branch  of  industry. 

The  erection  of  iron  woiks  within  the  Altai  mining  region  was  called  forth  by  tlie 
requirements  of  the  local  mining  and  metallurgical  industries.  The  first  iron  w'orks,  the 
Tomsk,  were  erected  in  the  Altai  in  1771,  to  replace  the  Irbinsk  works,  which  were  fur  a 
certain  period  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Altai  mining  management  but  situated  ;it  a  ••diisiil- 
erable  distance  in  the  government  of  Yeniseisk.  After  the  erection  of  the  Gouiievsk  works  in 
the  Kouznetsk  region  of  the  government  oC  Tomsk  on  the  river  Bachata,  for  smelling  the 
silver  ores  of  the  Salairsk  mines,  some  deposits  of  iron  ores  were  discovered  in  the  near 
neighbourhood  of  the  works,  and  a  small  blast  fuinace  was  erected  for  smelting  the  ute.  In 
1846  this  furnace  was  replaced  by  one  of  greater  dimensions  and  in  1747  the  (ioiuievsk 
iron  works  were  erectcnl  on  this  spot.  The  Tomsk  woiks  were  closed  in  1864  and  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  was  then  concentrated  at  the  Gourievsk  works.  The  increased  cost  of  char- 
coal fuel,  owing  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  neighbouring  forests,  induced  the  works,  in 
1873,  to  introduce  coal  and  to  replace  the  bloomery  process  for  puildling.  At  the  same  time 
the  increasing  demand  in  the  region  for  machines  and  steam  engines  led  to  the  erection  of 
special  machine  works,  adjoining  the  (iourievsk  works,  and  the  production  of  this  de- 
partment   is  increasing  every  year.  The  ore  smelted  at  the  Gourievsk  works    is  a  luowii  hem- 


172 


SIBERIA. 


ante,  c.vtract(!<l  liorn  the  deposits,  lying  near  tlie  villages  of  Salair.>k  Kumlnik  and  Ari- 
pichevo;  both  iheso  (loposit.s  are  considiMeil  very  rich.  The  ores  contain  from  38.5  to  44.3 
per  (.fill  of  inm.  Tlic  mnl  coiisiiiiieil  at  the  (joiirievsk  works  is  from  ililTerent  pits  situated 
Hi  H  small  (listanre  from  the  woiks.  Coke  is  made  from  coal  from  the  Hachatsk  deposit.  Lime- 
slone  flux,  fire  clay,  building  stone  and  other  indispensible  materials  for  carrying  on 
works,  are  exploited  in  the  near  neighbonrlidoij.  Nearly  all  ili<-  wdrkmr-ii  employed  at  the 
works  are  local  iidiabitants.  The  lollowing  table  gives  tin;  production  of  tin-  works  during  the 
last  six  yr'ius  in  imml-. 


:/: 

.M  a  II 

u  1  <i  i;   1  u 

(/j 

-Z     o 

■- 

5l 

1  1886 

123,981> 

72,220 

6,570 

5,(jO<i 

'  1887 

133,300 

44,040 

5,500 

4,820 

1  1888 

70,880 

60,825 

5,675 

8,0^" 

1889 

99,010 

50,630 

4,300 

8,9^"' 

1890 

115,960 

60,130 

2,230 

9,3<>  • 

1891 

126,020 

63,230 

6,163 

10,831  • 

The  excellent  quality  of  the  iron  ores  discovered  in  the  Minousinsk  region  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Yeniseisk,  led  to  the  construction  of  two  iron  works  in  this  district.  The  Irbinsk 
iron  works  were  erected  by  the  Government  as  early  as  1740,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Yen- 
isei at  a  distance  of  about  100  versts  to  the  north-east  of  the  town  of  Minousinsk.  In  1774 
the  Irbinsk  works  were  given  over  to  a  private  individual  and  after  passing  from  one  hand 
to  another,  they  became  quite  disorganized  and  were  ultimately  closed.  A  rich  deposit  of 
magnetic  iron  ore  is  known  within  the  limits  of  the  125,000  dessiatines  of  forest  belonging  to 
these  works.  Another  locality,  rich  in  iron  ore,  occurs  in  the  south-western  corner  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Yeniseisk,  where  the  spurs  of  the  Altai  and  Sayansk  mountains  hinder  the  rapid 
course  of  the  river  Abakana,  which  falls  into  the  Y''enisei,  at  several  versts  from  the 
borders  of  the  government  of  Tomsk,    and   80  versts  from  the  northern  frontier  of   China. 

A  Moscow  merchant  Mr.  Kolchougin  was  the  first  to  penetrate  into  this  district,  in  1865, 
and  having  discovered  a  rich  deposit  of  iron  ore  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Abakana,  at  about 
2CXI  versts  distance  from  its  junction  with  the  Yenisei,  he  erected  the  Abakansk  iron  works 
on  the  spot.  The  explorations  made  here  showed  the  presence  of  thick  deposits  of  magnetic, 
and  spathic  iron  ore  and  of  brown  hematite.  The  vast  thickness  of  this  deposit  and  the  huge 
store  of  ore  it  contains  can  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  it  extends  for  a  distance  of  about  a 
verst  and  intersects  an  entire  mountain  about  60  sageues  high  from  foot  to  summit  These 
ores  contain  from  61  to  65  per  cent  of  metallic  iron,  and  give  on  smelting  from  50  to  60 
per  cent  of  pig  iron;  moreover  they  are  very  easily  smelted. 


IRON, 


173 


Tlie  Abakansk  works  smelt  with  charcoal  fuel,  which  it  procures  from  the  117,000 
dessiatines  of  forest  attached.  The  erector  of  these  works  founded  a  village  in  their 
neighbourhood,  which  he  populated  with  workmen  from  the  various  Ural  works.  Besides 
the  people  regularly  employed  there  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  villages  and 
natives  are  attracted  by  the  auxiliary  and  other  labour,  offered  by  the  works.  Owing  to  the 
bankruptcy  of  the  proprietor  these  works  are  now  exploited  by  an  artel  or  company  of  local 
workmen,  who  not  having  sufficient  capital  or  labour  for  carrying  on  the  business  in  a  proper 
manner,  only  keep  it  going  in  a  very  snjall  way.  And  yet  the  technical  conditions  offered  by 
the  rich  stores  of  excellent  ore,  the  possibility  of  applying  water  power,  the  good  quality  of 
the  articles  turned  out,  which  in  no  way  cede  to  those  of  the  Ural  works,  and  also  the 
profitable  economic  conditions  presented  by  a  contingent  of  experienced  workmen  and  a  vast 
region  for  sale  opened  to  the  works  by  means  of  water  communication,  all  this  proves  the 
possibility  of  reviving  the  activity  of  the  Abakansk  works  on  a  perfectly  new  footing. 

The  following  table  gives  the  production  of  these  works  in  pouds,  during  the  last  6  years. 


Yea     r. 

Pig  iron 
smelted. 

M  a  n  u  fact  u  r  e  d. 

a 
1    , 

5 
ib 

=      1      i 

2    1     ! 

1886 
1887 
1888 
!     1889 
1890 
1891 

73,300 
70,530 
41,830 
13,770 
74,160 
124,770 

65,650 
75,800 
17,790 
7,920 
52,250 
82,740 

4,400 
3,095 
1,330 
5,050 
6,940 

3,200 
4,260 
2,020 
8,710 
2,820 
5,900      1 

The  Nlkolaevsk  iron  works  are  situated  in  the  government  of  Irkutsk  on  a  tributary 
of  the  river  Oka,  which  falls  into  Angara,  and  at  a  distance  of  600  versts  from  Irkutsk,  and 
180  versts  by  road  from  the  town  of  Nizhneoudinsk.  These  works  were  erected  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  1845,  and  in  1864  passed  entirely  into  the  hand  of  Mr.  Trapeznikov,  a  merchant.  The 
new  proprietor  devoted  about  a  milliun  roubles  to  this  affair,  and  raised  the  yield  of  the 
works;  but  being  occupied  in  other  niiilters  he  was  obliged  to  sell  tlieia  iu  1870  to  Mr.  Lavren- 
tiev,  also  a  merchant,  who  in  his  turn  after  two  years,  sold  the  works,  mines  and  plant  to  the 
brothers  Boutin,  merchants  of  Nerchinsk.  The  works  own  several  iron  mines  situated  at 
distances  of  4  to  90  versts.  The  ore,  a  magnetic  iron  ore,  gives  from  4.0  to  55  per  cent  of 
pig  iron. 

The  works  have  48,840  dessiatines  of  forest  attached  to  them.  The  motive  power  is 
partly  hydraulic  and  partly  steam.  The  population  of  the  works  now  numbers  3,500,  including 
700  to  800  workmen.  The  production  is  ini'onsiderable  and  does  not  even  suffice  for  the  near 
neighbourino'  deniaud. 


174 


SIBKRIA. 


Tlicir  yii'lil  iluriii^'  ilic  last  six  yoars  was  as  I'ollows,  in  pouds.    In   aililition  lo  lliis  ihe 
Mkdhu'vsk  woiks  niaiiulactnn'  stcfl,  only  in  very  limitoil  rpiantitics. 


A!  ,1  I 

1  U  1  ,1  •   '11 

I  •■  ■!. 

. 

- 

■u    1 

s 

Si 

188(> 

213,900 

82,040 

29,570 

27,570 

1887 

153,(X}0 

70,230 

22,940 

29,050   1 

1H88 

ir)0,470 

96,9r)0 

24,840 

31,250 

1889 

l(i3,4r)0 

10.3,650 

25,0fX) 

38,600 

1890 

204,760 

121,370 

24,870 

35,430 

1891 

203,4S0 

108,630 

28,450 

33,630 

Tlir  priKivsk  wniks,  boloiiging  t(i  His  MajfSty's  Cabiiiol  an-  sitiiati.'il  in  tlic  Tiaiisljaikar 
lndviiKi'  ill  I  III'  \i'ikliiii'ou(linsk  ro^'ion  along  the  river  Baliaga,  a  tributary  of  tin;  Khilok, 
wiiicli  falls  iiiiii  the  Si'Icnga,  ami  al  a  ilistanc<»  of  450  versts  from  tlio  pinvincial  town  of  Cliita. 
The  Pririivsk  works  were  foiimlrd  in  1789  for  supplying  pig  iron  ami  manufacturod  iron  to 
llio  Xcicliinsk  works  and  lor  satisfying  the  demand  (»f  ilii'  Slate  and  private'  individuals  in 
Eastern  Siberia.  The  ore  is  extracted  IVum  the  I'.alyagiiisk  mini',  mi  the  upper  courses  of  the 
river  Balyaga.  It  is  a  magnetic  iron  ore  and  is  very  plentiful.  The  pig  iron  is  smelted  with 
the  aid  of  charcoal  fuel,  furnished  from  80,000  dessiatines  of  forest  attached  to  the  mines. 
The  works  employ  about  300  men.  TIk;  motiv<>  power  is  mainly  hydraulic.  The  production 
of  these  works  is  exceedingly  limited  and  their  produce  can  only  satisfy  the  local  ri'i|uiivments 
of  the  region. 

The  fiilliiwiiig  table  gives  the  piodiictiiin  of  the  Nerehinsk  works  during  the  last  six 
years,  in  ponds. 


~L     ^ 

M  a  n  u  f  a  c  t  u 

r  e  d. 

I  1  II  11. 

— 

5 
o 

I 
1 

I 

1886 

68,860 

5,040 

3,9(K) 

4,890 

1887 

44,640 

7,250 

2.680 

610 

j  1888 

'.   31.920 

10,420 

3.210 

3.240 

1  1889 

36,320 

26,950 

2,770 

2,330   ^ 

1  1890 

43,50(J 

31,050 

2,940 

1,635 

i  1891 

1 

59,085 

30,140 

3,045 

1,830 

i 

TIN,    MERCURY    AND    SULPHUR.  175 

Lastly  it  shouW  be  niontioned  that  iron  ore  deposits  are  kuowii  in  many  parts  ol'  the 
Yakutsk  province,  and  that  the  Tanginsk  iron  works  were  erected  at  30  versts  distance  from 
the  town  of  Yakutsk  as  early  as  the  XYII  century,  and  continued  in  work  until  the  end  of 
the  XVIII  century.  Besides,  the  preparation  of  iron  direct  from  the  ore  was  carried  ou 
at  other  places,  and  there  was  also  an  iron  works  near  lake  Baikal  on  the  river  Anga.  At 
the  present  day  the  exploitation  of  the  ore  and  its  conversion  into  iron  is  only  carried  on  by 
the  Yakuts  as  a  village  industry.  The  inost  important  deposits  occur  on  the  river  Batoma, 
wliicli  falls  from  the  right  side,  into  the  Lena.  The  ore,  a  brown  hematite,  here  lies  in 
a  bed  up  to  three  feet  thick  and  has  been  under  exploitation  since  1750.  Other  deposits  of 
iron  ore,  including  red  and  brow)i  hematite  and  spathic  iron  ore,  are  also  worked  by  the 
Yakuts  in  this  province  but  have  not  been  subject  to  any  detailed  exploration.  The  spathic 
iron  ore  deposits  occur  on  the  river  Vilua. 

Apparently  a  rather  rich  deposit  of  iron  ores  occurs  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Littoral  province  at  20  versts  distance  from  the  gulf  of  St.  Oiga  along  the  system  of  the 
river  Avvakoumovka  which  falls  into  this  gulf. 


Tin,  Mercury  and  Sulphur. 

The  presence  of  tin  ores  was  discovered  in  the  Transbaikal  province  along  the  river 
Onona  in  the  year  1811.  These  ores  had  long  been  exploited  and  smelted  by  the  native  Bou- 
liata.  These  first  discoveries  gave  rise  to  a  search  for  tin  ores  in  other  localities  along  a 
distance  of  100  versts,  along  both  banks  of  the  Onona.  A  mine  was  started,  the  tin  ore 
was  exploited  from  time  to  time  and  the  ore  smelted  on  a  small  scale  during  a  period  of 
about  thirty  years.  In  1843  this  mine  was  ultimately  closed,  but  this  does  not  argue  that 
the  deposit  is  unfit  for  working,  and  there  is  reason  for  thinking  that  if  it  were  more  thoroughly 
explored  it  would  be  possible  to  reestablish  the  exploitation   of  the  ore. 

The  Ildikansk  or  cinnabar  deposits  in  the  Nerchinsk  region  lie  in  the  mountains  on 
the  right  side  of  the  river  Sernyi  Ildekan.  The  cinnabar  occurs  in  a  vein  passing 
through  limestone,  but  its  thickness  rarely  exceeds  two  inches.  The  exploitation  of  this 
vein  was  started  in  1759  and  was  subsequently  renewed  several  times,  but  without  success. 
It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  the  Yakuts  living  along  the  upper  courses  of  the  river  Amga 
which  falls  into  the  river  Aldan,  a  right  tributary  of  the  Lena,  employ  cinnabar  found 
by  them  in  the  system  of  this  river,  as  a  medicine. 

A  deposit  of  native  sulphur  occurs  in  a  limestone  mountain  at  a  distance  of  l'/^  versts 
from  the  above  mentioned  Ildikansk  mercury  deposit.  Between  1789  and  1797,  425  pouds  of 
sulphur  were  extracted  from  this  deposit.  Sulphur  in  the  form  of  sulphur  pyrites  is  extremely 
common  in  the  metamorphic  schists,  covering  vast  areas  in  Eastern  Siberia.  The  pyrites 
are  disseminated  in  the  schists,  or  occur  in  (juartz  veins  intersecting  the  schists,  or  also  form 
cross  veins.  Besides  this,  spheroidal  concretions  of  sulphur  pyrites  are  frequently  found  in  the 
brown  coal  deposits  along  the  river  Kempendzyai,  a  right  tributary  of  the  Viluya.  The 
exploitation  of  pyrites  has  not  yet  been  carried  on  in  any  part  of  Eastern  Siberia.  In  "Western 


176  SIBEKIA. 

Siberia  horn  150,0/J    to   2rX),<//J    pouii.^  ol   pyiilL'S  are  amuially  i-^ti>"l  in-n  il"  ^i.ipj  i.tov-k 
mine  in  the  Altai  mining  region. 

Coal. 

Deposit:?  of  coal  aiv  known  liironglioul  tliij  whole  extent  of  Siberia,  from  the  boniers 
of  the  government  of  Orenburg  to  tlie  mouths  of  the  Lena,  Kamchatka,  island  of  Saklialiu 
and  the  frontier  of  Corea.  At  tin;  pn^sent  time  coal  is  only  worked  in  Konznetsk  basin,  ou 
the  island  of  Sakhalin  and  on  the  Khirgiz  steppes.  It  is  also  proposed  to  exploit  the  recently 
discovered  and  explored  deposits  of  coal  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Littoral  province. 
In  the  mean  time  the  varied  application  of  mineral  fuel  obliges  one  to  think  that  the  Sibe- 
rian Railway  will  give  rise  to  the  exploitation  of  coal  in  various  parts  of  Siberia,  before  it 
iiiaii'rially  ellects  other  branches  of  mining  industry;  and  tlir  laihvay  itself  will  be  in  need 
of  mineral  fuel,  especially  in  those  localities  where  it  passes  through  forestless  steppe  regions. 
The  following  data  treat  upon  the  coal  deposits  in  different  partsof  Siberia.  In  Western 
Sibeiia  there  are  rich  coal  seams  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Altai  mining  region 
in  the  Salairsk  and  Alatau  mountains.  This  is  the  so-called  Kouznetsk  coal  basin.  The 
southern  limit  of  this  basin  lies  at  about  60  versts  distance  to  the  south  of  the  town 
of  Kouznetsk;  its  eastern  boundary  extends  along  the  western  declivity  of  the  Alatau 
m(»iintains;  its  western  boundary  stretches  along  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Salairsk  mountains, 
but  in  places  recedes  from  it  and  approaches  the  river  Ina  which  falls  into  the  Obi.  The 
river  Toma  divides  the  basin  along  its  length  into  two  parts,  and  as  strata,  similar  to  those 
in  which  the  coal  seams  lie  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kouznetsk,  are  also  found  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  Toma  up  to  the  very  town  of  Tomsk,  it  may  in  all  likelihood  be  supposed 
that  the  coal  basin  extends  to  this  town.  Hence  the  entire  basin  should  be  400  versts  long  and 
100  versts  wide,  which  equals  an  area  of  40,0iX)  square  versts.  In  many  parts  of  this  basin, 
thick  seams  of  coal  of  excellent  quality  are  found.  The  coal  formations  belong  to  the  Jurassic 
system. 

The  Telbessk  iron  mine  is  situated  on  the  south-eastern  border  of  the  Kouznetsk  basin, 
on  the  river  Telbes  which  falls  into  the  Kandoma.  This  mine  is, estimated  to  contain  a  store 
of  75  million  pouds  of  magnetic  iron  ore;  and  close  to  it  there  is  another  iron  mine,  the 
Soukharinsk.  Such  an  abundance  of  iron  ore,  capable  of  guaranteeing  a  supply  to 
a  large  iron  works  for  a  long  period,  induced  the  local  mining  management  to  make  a  careful 
survey  of  this  south-eastern  corner  of  the  Kouznetsk  basin,  with  a  view  to  the  discovery  of 
coal  veins  in  the  neighbourhood  of  these  iron  mines.  These  surveys  were  crowned  with  per- 
fect success  and  gave  the  following  results.  A  seam  of  coal  one  sagene  thick  was  found  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Kandoma  at  a  distance  of  5  versts  from  the  village  of  Kaltansk.  This 
seam  was  followed  along  its  strike  for  380  sagenes,  and  it  was  estimated  to  contain  8,300,'  KjO  pouds 
of  coal.  The  first  Kinerkinsk  seam  is  situated  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Kinerka  which 
falls  into  the  Kandoma,  above  the  village  of  Kaltansk.  It  has  been  followed  for  a  distance 
of  163  sagenes,  is  4  sagenes  thick  and  dips  at  an  angle  of  22".  The  store  of  coal  has 
teen  estimated  at  16,400,000   pouds.   The  second  seam  is  ou  the  hanging  wall  of  the  fii-st  at 


COAL.  177 

35  sagenes  distance  from  it.  It  is  one  sagene  thick  and  has  been  followed  for  a  distance  of 
75  sagenes.  It  is  estimated  to  contain  2,250,000  pouds  of  coal.  The  third  seam,  9  feet  thick, 
is  50  sagenes  from  the  hanging  wall  of  the  second. 

The  first  Varlamovsk  seam  is  situated  on  the  southern  declivity  of  thelvirchiaksk  mountains, 
lying  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Kandoma,  near  the  village  of  Kirchiaksk.  The  thickness  of  the  seam 
is  one  sagene,  and  it  dips  at  an  angle  of  18''.  The  seam  has  been  followed  for  a  distance  of  210 
sagenes;  and  is  estimated  to  contain  5,515,000  pouds  of  coal.  The  second  seam  .lies  on  the  hanging 
wall  of  the  first.  Its  thickness  is  4^'i  feet,  and  it  has  been  followed  for  a  distance  of  100 
sagenes;  it  is  estimated  to  contain  2,115,000  pouds.  The  Kirchiaksk  seam  lies  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  western  end  of  the  Kirchiaksk  mountain.  It  is  up  to  7  sagenes  thick  and  has  a  dip 
of  29°.  On  the  northern  declivity  of  the  same  mountain  there  are  seven  seams  of  coal,  known 
by  the  name  of  the  «Ozernyi»  or  lake  seams,  owing  to  their  situation  on  lake  Kirchiak.  All 
these  seams  form  one  series,  lying  in  a  schistose  clay.  They  include  one  seam  4\  2  feet  thick; 
two,  one  sagene  thick;  and  three,  2  sagenes  thick.  They  have  not  been  followed  up  for  more 
than  100  sagenes,  and  have  been  estimated  to  contain  over  12"2  million  pouds  of  coal.  The 
Araldinsk  seam  outcrops  at  the  bank  of  the  river  Aralda,  which  falls  into  the  Kandoma  on 
the  right,  opposite  the  village  of  Kirchiaksk.  This  seam  is  over  6  sagenes  thick  and  has  a  dip 
of  18°.  It  has  been  explored  for  120  sagenes  along  the  strike,  and  it  is  estimated  to  contain 
18  million  pouds  of  coal.  It  is  calculated  that  all  the  seams  situated  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  village  of  Kaltansk  contain  a  store  of  over  65  million  pouds  of  coal. 

Further  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  basin,  coal  seams  have  been  discovered  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  town  of  Kouznetsk,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Toma,  near  the  village 
of  Artamonov   above  the  town,  and  below  the  villages  of  Ilinsk  and  Shorokhova. 

Exploratory  workings  have  been  carried  on  in  the  south-western  extremity  of  the 
basin  near  the  villages  of  Berezova  and  Kostenkova.  The  workings  made  near  the  village 
of  Berezova  showed  that  there  the  coal  seams  appear  in  the  form  of  four  separate  series,  at 
short  distances  from  one  another.  The  first  series  consists  of  four  seams,  from  2V''2  to  11 ','2 
feet  thick.  The  second  is  composed  of  two  seams  SV's  and  7  feet  thick.  The  third  series 
includes  eight  seams  from  2^J2  to  8'/2  feet  thick,  and  lastly  the  fourth  series  consists  of  four 
seams  from  2'/2  to  5  sagenes  thick.  In  exploring  these  seams  four  of  the  thickest  beds  were 
followed  up  for  a  distance  of  70  to  2,(XiO  sagenes  along  the  strike,  and  along  the  dip 
to  the  level  of  the  river  Berezovka  only,  and  over  210  million  pouds  of  coal  were  determined. 
Three  seams  of  coal,  one  of  which  is  2'/2  sagenes  thick,  have  been  discovered  to  the 
east  of  the  village  of  Berezova,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Kandalena.  A  whole  series  of 
seams  closely  resembling  the  four  series  of  the  Berezovsk  veins,  has  been  found  at  two 
versts  distance  to  the  north  of  the  village  of  Kostenkova  on  the  river  Kozlovka.  This 
series  consists  of  nine  seams  from  3  feet  to  4V2  sagenes  thicks.  Four  seams  have  been 
explored  for  a  distance  of  about  400  sagens  and  are  estimated  to  contain  a  store  of  40' /a 
million  pouds  of  coal.  In  general  the  coal  fields  of  the  south-western  extremity  of  the  basin, 
near  the  villages  of  Berezovka  and  Kostenkova,  contain  a  store  of  over  250  million  pouds  of 
coal.  The  Magansk  coal  field  has  been  found  at  five  versts  distance  to  the  east  of  the 
village  of  Prokopievsk,   to  the   north   of   Berezova,   on  the  left  side   of   the  river  ]\Iaganak 

12 


78 


SIBERIA. 


This  deposit  consists  of  ono  vnin   tliroo  sagcnos  thick.  Tho  coal  from  this  seam  gives  a  good 
coke,  which  has  been  siiccossfully  used  in  motalinrgical  operations. 

A.S  thi;  abmt!  estimate  of  tho  stores  of  coal  contained  in  tlni  diflereut  seams  only 
refers  to  the  outerop  of  th(jse  lyint,'  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  the  lower  levels 
of  those  viiins  wero  not  includiid  in  tin;  calculation,  and  as  moii;over.  In  the  majority  of 
cases,  the  strike  of  the  seams  was  mily  fojiuwed  up  for  an  inconsiderable  distance,  .so  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  actual  stores  of  coal  in  this  southern  poitimi  of  the  basin  must 
be  many  times  ^Meati-r  than  the  above  cited  figures,  and  this  portion  of  the  basin  with  its 
inexhaustibli!  stores  of  fuel  lying  in  close  proximity  with  the  richest  deposits  of  magnetic 
iron  ori',  may  suicly  have  a  great  industrial  future. 

'Jlio  Afoninsk  coal  field  lies  near  the  village  of  Afonin  and  at  a  distance  of  6u  versts 
i'loui  tlie  Tomsk  works,  on  the  one  haml,  and  from  the  (jourievsk  and  Gavrilovsk  on  the  other. 
Three  coal  seams  have  been  found,  one  of  which  has  been  destroyed  by  an  underground  fire, 
and  all  tli;it  p'luains  is  a  bed  of  ash  l'/»  sagene  thick.  The  second  seam,  situated  on  the 
hanging  wall  of  the  first,  is  about  IV-'j  sagenes  thick,  consists  of  a  bitumenous  coal  of 
good  quality  and  was  explored  to  a  small  depth  in  1851.  The  third  seam  is  thin  and  has  not 
therefore  been  explored. 

The  Bachatsk  coal  field  is  situated  to  the  north-east  of  the  village  of  Bachaisk  at 
27  versts  distance  from  tho  Gourievsk  works.  This  seam  is  not  of  uniform  thickness  through- 
out, but  narrows  in  some  parts  and  widens  in  others,  and  in  some  places  is  as  much  as 
25  sagenes  thick.  In  some  places  it  is  intersected  by  bands  of  schistose  clay,  which  divide 
it  into  several  separate  seams.  It  has  a  dip  of  65°  to  75"  and  is  sometimes  almost 
vertical.  The  coal  varies  greatly  in  quality  in  different  portions  of  the  seam;  in  the  centre 
It  is  a  dry,  non-caking,  dense,  dull  coal,  which  burns  almost  without  any  flame;  while  towards 
the  roof  and  floor  it  is  a  semi-bitumenous,  friable,  bright,  caking  coal,  burning  with  a  flame. 
Five  coal  seams  have  been  discovered  to  the  north  of  the  Bachatsk  coal  mine,  on  the  river 
Cherta.  These  seam  vary  from  ','2  to  1  sagene  in  thickness  and  have  been  explored  by  work- 
ings for  three  versts  distance.  The  same  seams  which  appear  in  such  abundance  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  basin,  outcrop  in  the  north  along  the  Great  and  Little  Bachat  rivers. 
Deposits  of  coal  were  discovered  along  the  river  Ina  as  early  as  1796.  The  first  of  these 
deposits  was  found  to  contain  two  beds  ^2  and  1  sagene  thick,  and  the  second  deposit  to 
consist  of  one  seam  1  sagene  thick.  In  the  latter,  the  surrounding  sandstone  rock  contains 
portions  of  trees,  and  even  entire  fossil  trees,  1  to  2  feet  in  diameter.  The  Bachatsk  and 
Kalcliouginsk  deposits  are  the  only  ones  which  are  now  under  exploitation.  The  coal  is  couveited 
into  coke  and  consumed  at   the  Salairsk   works. 

The   following   table   gives   the   yield   of  these  mines  during  the  last  five  years. 


Year. 

The  Bachatsk 
mine. 

The  Colchou- 
glnsk  mine. 

1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
j      1891 

485,600 
640.900 
530,750 
547,300 
505,650 

322,200 
369.500 
364,700 
504.300 
642;768 

COAL. 


179 


During  the  last  three  years  the  following  amounts  of  coke  were  produced. 


Year. 

At  the 

Bachatsk 

mine. 

At  the 

Kolchouginsk 

mine. 

1889 

1890 

'      1891 

273,254 
340,900 
328,766 

37,456 
71,750      1 

91,000 

1 

In  Eastern  Siberia,  coal  fields  occur  in  the  government  of  Yeniseisk,  between  Krasno- 
yarsk and  Achinsk,  on  the  one  hand;  and  from  Krasnoyarsk,  through  Kansk  to  the  borders 
of  the  government  of  Irkutsk  on  the  other  hand,  and  lastly,  to  the  south-west  and  south  of 
Krasnoyarsk  along  the  foot  of  the  Alatau  and  uplands  of  the  Sayansk  mountains.  The 
vast  areas  comprised  by  these  deposits  belong  to  fresh  water  formations  of  the  Jurassic 
system.  The  vast  tracts  of  these  deposits  have  only  been  more  or  less  explored  along  the  Siberian 
postal  route  and  along  certain  rivers,  but  even  these  explorations  have  already  shown  the  presence 
of  a  rather  considerable  number  of  spots  with  outcrops  of  brown  coal.  A  seam  of  coal  about 
five  feet  thick  has  been  found  near  the  village  of  Koubekova  at  about  20  versts  distance  from  the 
town  of  Krasnoyarsk  along  the  river  Yenisei.  Two  coal  fields  have  been  recently  explored 
on  the  middle  and  lower  courses  of  the  river  Choulym.  In  the  first  of  these,  the  seams  of 
brown  coal  and  combustible  schist  crop  out  at  the  surface  in  several  localities  along  the 
river  Choulym,  and  were  discovered   at  20  versts    distance  from  the  village  of  Kourbatovsk. 

In  the  second,  the  coal  veins  crop  out  directly  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  Serega  and 
Ourup,  and  of  several  springs  near  the  village  of  Antropova.  A  seam  of  brown  coal  2  sagenes 
thick  has  been  discovered  at  the  village  of  Xazarovsk  on  the  river  Adadyma,  and  a  seam 
5  feet  thick  near  the  village  of  Kadat.  The  formations  of  this  basin  have  been  recognized 
as  belonging  to  the  tertiary  system  and  the  coal  in  them  is  distingiushed  from  that  of  the 
Jurassic  system,  by  its  greater  density.  This  tertiary  coal  basin  deserves  the  greatest  atten- 
tion of  all  the  coal  fields  of  the  government  of  Yenisei,  both  from  the  quality  of  its  coal 
the  character  of  its  seams,  and  by  its  distribution  on  the  navigable  portion  of  the  river  Choulym. 
Mount  Izykh  rises  in  the  Minousinsk  region  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Abakan  at  about  55  versts 
distance  from  its  junction  with  the  Yenesei  and  the  thick  beds  of  sandstone  forming  this  mountain 
contain  seams  of  coal  half  a  sagene  thick  and  more.  Another  locality  in  the  Yeniseisk  government, 
which  is  known  to  contain  beds  of  coal,  lies  much  farther  north,  namely  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nizhnaya  Toungouzka.  The  presence  of  coal  here  was  known  in  the  last  century.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixties  of  the  present  century,  Sidorov  during  his  expedition  for  making  a  detailed 
exploration  of  the  deposits  of  graphite  previously  discovered  by  him  in  this  locality,  also 
visited  the  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka,  where  he  succeeded  in  discovering  vast  beds  of  coal  in 
several  localities,  at  a  distance  of  240  to  400  versts  about  the  mouth  of  this  river.  The 
first  of  these  beds  was  discovered  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Malaya  Scherbachikha  other- 
wise known  as  the  Abramova  Scherbachikha,  which   falls  into   the    Nizhnaya    Toungouzhka 


180  SIBERIA. 

from  the  right  side  al  about  210  vorsts  from  its  moiitli.  Tiic  ihickri'-^^  "f  '!■"  ''tal  seam 
is  3  feet  and  it  is  of  good    quality. 

The  second  deposit  was  discovered  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  river  Troubkina  which 
falls  into  the  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka  from  the  right  side  at  a  distance  of  about  400  versts 
from  its  mouth,  'i'he  coal  scam  is  S'/i  feet  thick  and  extends  for  a  distance  of  one  verst; 
the  coal  is  of  good  ()iiality.  Tin'  third  deposit  of  coal  was  found  at  a  distance  of  40  versts 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Taimour.  which  falls  into  the  Xizhnaya  Toungouzka.  This  deposit 
consists  of  two  seams,  tlie  lower  of  which  is  one  sagene  thick.  A  fourth  deposit  of  coal 
was  fouml  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka  at  185  versts  from  its  mouth  and 
about  5  versts  above  the  moiitli  of  the  river  Koupalnaya.  The  coal  of  these  seams  frequently 
approaches  anthracite  in  its  quality,  and  in  many  places  the  stratification  is  greatly  distorted 
by  trap  rocks  and  the  coal  transformed  into  graphite. 

In  the  government  of  Irkutsk,  coal  which  is  for  the  greater  part  brown  coal,  is  known 
in  many  places  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  government,  where  fresh  water  formations  of 
the  Jurassic  system  occur.  The  coal  seams  which  are  two  feet  and  more  thick  at  the  outcrop, 
lie  among  strata  of  schistose  clay  and  yellow  calcareous  sandstone.  At  the  present  time  up 
to  75  outcrops  of  coal  are  known  in  the  soulheni  half  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk.  ^laiiy 
of  these  seams  deserve  attention,  either  for  their  thickness  or  for  the  quality  of  their  coal. 
I'rospectings  for  coal  have  frequently  been  carried  on  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village  of 
Ousolie,  with  a  view  to  furnishing  the  Irkutsk  salt  works  with  fuel.  In  these  explorations 
coal  seams  up  to  3'/^  feet  thick  were,  amongst  others,  discovered.  But  in  all  probability  the 
greatest  importance  will  be  ascribed  to  the  deposits  of  coal  along  the  river  Oka;  above  the 
village  of  Ziminsk  where  a  whole  series  of  coal  seams  from  1  foot  to  1  sagene  thick  out- 
crop on  the  high  right  bank  of  the  river.  Small  exploratory  works  showed  the  presence 
of  a  store  of  200  million  pouds  of  coal  in  two  places.  It  is  a  brown  coal,  with  a  large 
percentage  of  volatile  matter,  and  it  gives  a  powdery  coke.  After  exposure  to  the  atmosphere 
it,  for  the  greater  part,  disintegrates  into  small  peices,  and  resembles  the  coal  of  the 
Moscow  basin  in  its  qualities. 

In  the  Yakutsk  region,  coal-bearing  deposits  occur  along  the  whole  middle  course  of 
the  Lena  and  its  tributaries  and  beyond,  up  to  the  lowlands  of  the  Lena.  Various  modifica- 
tions of  this  formation  stretch  out  fiom  the  river  Bolshaya  Botama  to  the  village  of  Bou- 
loun,  which  is  at  a  distance  of  about  100  versts  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lena ;  or  for  a 
distance  of  1,800  versts  down  that  river.  These  formations  are  also  observable  on  the  one  side 
of  the  Lena,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Viluya,  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Markha  which  falls 
into  it,  for  a  distance  of  600  versts;  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lena,  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Aldan,  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Maya,  for  a  distance  of  400  versts,  and  from  the 
town  of  Yakutsk  to  the  north-east  within  100  versts  of  the  Verkhoyansk  mountain  chain, 
which  also  forms  over  400  versts.  AVith  respect  to  the  geological  period  of  these  deposits, 
they,  like  those  of  the  government  of  Irkutsk,  are  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Jurassic 
system.  Coal  has  been  found  in  the  far  eastern  extremity  of  Siberia,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Gizhiginsk  and  Penzhinsk  bays,  and  in  several  localities  on  the  western  shore  of  the  penin- 
sula of  Kamchatka. 


COAL.  181 

In  the  Amour  Littoral  region,  coal  deposits  occur  l)eyond  the  Baikal, .  directly  on 
the  south-eastern  shore  of  this  vast  reservoir.  Here  at  eight  versts  distance  from  the  Posolsk 
monastery  there  are  two  coal  seams,  between  the  rivers  Kourkoushevka  and  Pereemua.  The 
upper  seam,  which  is  IV2  sagenes  thick,  is  broken  up  into  thin  seams  and  contains 
the  stems  and  roots  of  fossil  trees.  The  lower  coal  seam,  which  lies  two  sagenes  below  the 
upper,  on  a  level  with  the  water,  consists  of  a  denser  coal.  The  coal  of  this  deposit  is 
worked  for  supplying  the  Baikal  steamboats  with  fuel,  but  the  production  is  very  limited. 
Besides  this  deposit,  coal  has  been  discovered  near  the  Baikal,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Mourin.  The  presence  of  coal  seams  is  also  known  between  Yerkhneoudinsk  and  Selen- 
ginsk  on  the  banks  of  lake  Gousinyi;  and  the  traces  of  their  having  been  burnt  are 
still  in  the  superincumbent  strata  of  sandstone  and  schistose  clay.  The  occurence  of  coal 
was  discovered  in  1858,  on  the  river  Ourya,  which  falls  into  the  Aksha,  a  tributary  of  the 
Onon.  This  is  a  lignite  coal,  which  in  some  places  still  exhibits  a  tree  structure.  The 
Douroisk  and  Chalbouchinsk  deposits  on  the  river  Argouna  are  situated  at  a  distance  of 
160  versts  from  one  another.  The  Chalbouchinsk  deposit  was  discovered  in  1742.  Both 
of  these  deposits  have  been  frequently  explored,  but  the  extent  of  neither  has  been 
accurately  determined.  The  Douroisk  deposit  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Argouna,  15 
versts  below  the  Koulassatouev  frontier  station.  A  seam  of  good  quality  coal  3^2  feet 
thick  is  known  here.  Should  subsequent  explorings  show  that  this  coal  seam  has  a  con- 
siderable extension,  then  it  might  acquire  a  great  importance,  as  it  is  situated  on  the 
very  bank  of  the  river  Argouna,  along  which  the  coal  could  easily  be  transported  to  the 
Amour. 

Numerous  exploratory  workings,  carried  on  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  have  shown 
the  presence  of  several  coal  seams  in  the  Chalbouchinsk  deposit;  but  the  small  thickness 
of  these  seams  and  large  amount  of  ash  and  sulphur  pyrites  in  the  coal,  deprive  it  of  any 
great  importance. 

Besides  these  deposits,  seams  of  brown  coal  of  recent  formation  occur  in  the  Transbaikal 
on  the  upper  courses  of  the  river  Onon,  and  also  on  the  Shilka  below  the  Shilkin  works. 
The  occurrence  of  coal  is  known  on  the  river  Zea  on  the  parallels  of  Albazina  and  on  the 
Belyi  hills  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Silindzha.  From  three  to  four  coal  seams  crop  out  on 
the  river  Boureya.  These  seams  are  vertical  owing  to  the  extreme  distortion  of  the  entire 
stratification.  Each  of  these  seams  is  from  one  to  two  feet  thick,  and  the  coal  is  of  good 
quality.  The  coal  is  interstratified  with  sandstone  and  clay  slate,  the  latter  of  which  bears 
distinct  prints  of  conifer  vegetation,  showing  that  the  formation  belongs  to  the  Jurassic 
system.  The  same  strata  of  sandstone  and  clay  slate  with  interlayers  of  coal  up  to  1  foot 
thick,  are  found  at  a  distance  of  150  versts  from  the  above  mentioned  outcrops,  in  several 
localities  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  Xuman. 

Among  the  very  many  coal  deposits  on  the  middle  courses  of  the  Amour,  the  most 
remarkable  is  that  discovered  at  a  distance  of  9  versts  above  the  station  of  Innokentievsk, 
where  two  seams  of  brown  coal  can  be  followed  up  for  a  distance  of  two  versts.  These 
seams  lie  between  beds  of  sandstone  and  hard,  yellowish  gray  clay.  The  coal  seams  are  from 
3  to  5  feet  thick.  This   coal    consists    of  the   remains   of  conifer  trees,  and  the  superincum- 


182  SIBERIA. 

bent  clay  contains  numerous  remains  of  leaves,  rrmi-  .lu.i  uiljer  portions  of  plants,  which 
often  are  very  like  the  now  existing  plants;  from  which  it  may  be  concluded  that  it  is  of 
very  recent  formation  and  bci<jngs  to  the  tertiary  system.  Seams  of  brown  coal  also  occur 
at  several  points  along  the  lower  course  of  the  Amour  at  a  short  distance  from  its  mouth. 
These  seams  occur  in  strata  of  sandstone  and  clay  slate,  exactly  similar  to  those  in  the 
upper  course  of  the  Amour.  A  dc[)osit  of  brown  c(jiil  has  been  disc<jvered  at  a  distance  of 
IGO  versts  from  the  town  of  Nikolacvsk,  near  the  village  of  Novo-Mikhailovsk,  up  the 
Amour.  The  thickest  of  the  seams  in  this  deposit  is  5' /a  feet.  Seams  of  brown  coal,  u[t 
to  1  foot  thick,  also  occur  at  several  points  along  the  lower  course  of  the  Amour.  The 
South-Oussouryisk  region  also  contains  beds  of  coal  in  many  places.  The  first  discovery  of 
coal  in  this  region  was  made  at  the  time  of  its  occupation  by  the  Russians,  at  the  Possietsk's 
gulf,  where  there  are  three  seams  of  coal,  the  thickest  of  which  is  4  feet.  Coal  was  extracted 
from  these  deposits  in  the  sixties  to  supply  the  Siberian  flotilla.  The  following  coal  beds 
occur  to  the  east  of  Possietsk's  gulf. 

Beds  of  coal  have  been  discovered  in  the  basin  of  the  Amour  along  the  rivers  Sedima, 
Mangougai  and  Ambabira  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Souifouna.  Moreover  coal  seams 
are  also  known  up  the  river  Souifouna,  on  its  right  tributary,  the  Chingoouza,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  village  of  Xikolsk  and  in  the  upper  courses  of  the  river  near  the  stations 
of  Konstantinovsk  and  Fadeevsk.  The  exploitation  of  the  coal  in  various  localities  on  the 
mouth,  Souifouna,  was  begun  in  the  sixties  and  is  being  continued  to  the  present  day.  In 
the  Oussouryisk  gulf,  coal  beds  have  been  discovered  on  the  river  Tsimou-khe,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Kangoouza  and  on  the  river  Shite-khe.  Coal  is  also  known  to  occur  on  the 
island  of  Poutiatin  and  on  the  north-eastern  shore  of  Strelok  bay.  Vast  deposits  of  coal  have 
been  discovered  40  versts  up  the  river  Souchan,  which  falls  into  the  gulf  of  America.  In 
1886  a  special  mining  expedition  was  sent  there  and  the  exploratory  workings  conducted  by 
it  showed  the  presence  of  three  coal  seams  from  V''2  to  1  sagene  thick  and  having  a  consi- 
derable extension.  From  trials  made  by  the  fleet  it  was  foun<l  that  this  coal  is  a  semi- 
antliracitc  resembling  Cardiff  coal  in  its  properties.  A  mine  was  laid  out  there  by  the 
expedition,  and  it  is  proposed  to  offer  the  exploitation  of  this  mine  to  private  enterprise. 
Lastly  a  deposit  of  coal  has  been  found  in  the  gulf  of  St.  Olga  on  cape  Xizmen. 

There  are  rich  coal  fields  on  the  island  of  Saghalin.  The  coal  became  known  to  the 
Russian  sailors  in  1859,  when  they  began  working  it  in  the  bay  between  cape  Zhonkier 
(Doue)  and  cape  Khoindzhe.  From  that  time  the  coal  beds  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  station 
of  Doue  have  been  worked  uninterruptedly.  Since  1875  these  mines  have  been  in  the  hands 
of  a  private  company,  who  has  now  increased  their  output  to  a  million  pouds.  The  coal  lies 
in  a  whole  series  of  beds  from  two  to  live  feet  thick;  it  is  of  excellent  quality  and  quite 
equals  the  best  sorts  of  Welsh  coal.  It  contains  from  74  to  84  per  cent  of  carbon,  a  very 
small  amount  of  ash  and  it  gives  up  to  60  per  cent  of  coke.  The  coal  is  chiefly  consumed 
by  the  Russian  vessels  navigating  the  shores  of  Siberia,  but  it  is  also  used  by  foreign 
vessels  coming  to  the  Russian  ports  of  the  Pacific.  A  number  of  coal  beds  have  been  discov- 
ered to  the  north  and  south  of  the  Done  station,  but  only  one  of  these,  situated  between 
the  mouths  of  the  rivers  Sertounai  and  Xayassi,   has  been  worked.    The    quality  of  this  coal 


COAL.  183 

and  its  mode  of  occurrence  are  exactly  similar  to  those  of  the  Doue  coal.  Several  coal  depos- 
its are  also  known  in  the  interior  of  the  island. 

In  the  region  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  the  search  for  coal  formed  the  special  care  of 
the  Government  for  a  very  long  time.  The  prospectings  were  carried  on  in  the  Orenburg  re- 
gion, adjacent  to  the  Kirghiz  steppes;  and  the  chief  inducement  for  this  search  was  the  entire 
impoverishment  of  the  forests  in  this  region,  necessitating  the  abandonment  of  all  its  mineral 
wealth  for  want  of  fuel.  The  vast  area  of  the  Obschyi  Syrt,  which  80  or  100  years  ago  was 
covered  with  forest,  is  now  transformed  into  a  bare  steppe  without  a  single  twig,  and  where 
the  only  fuel  is  dried  dung.  The  vast  Bashkir  forests,  which  according  to  the  general  survey,  com- 
prised four  million  dessiatines,  have  been  more  than  half  felled.  The  search  for  coal  in  different 
parts  of  the  Orenburg  steppes  was  not  however  crowned  with  success.  Prospectings  conducted 
in  the  Obschyi  Syrt  only  showed  the  presence  of  combustible  schist  of  medium  quality,  be- 
longing to  the  Jurassic  system.  The  deposits  of  brown  coal  discovered  in  the  Troitsk  and 
Cheliabinsk  districts  have  up  to  now  been  considered  unworthy  of  attention,  but  appar- 
ently other  deposits  have  recently  been  discovered  which  might  receive  a  practical 
application. 

Two  vast  coal  fields  have  been  discovered  further  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  in  its  western 
portion  in  the  Tourgai  province.  The  first  of  these  is  situated  at  a  170  versts  distance  to 
the  south-east  of  the  town  of  Tourgai,  formerly  an  Orenburg  fortress,  on  the  upper  courses 
of  the  river  Dzhilanchik,  near  Maidam  Tal.  Two  horizontal  seams  of  brown  coal  are  known 
there.  The  thickness  of  the  upper  seam  is  from  one  to  S'/sfeet,  and  the  lower  seam  is  about 
1  foot  thick;  they  are  separated  by  seam  of  soft,  blue  clay  1  foot  thick.  The  coal  of  these 
seams  is  of  two  kinds,  one  a  dense  bitumenous  coal  with  a  bright  couchoidal  fracture  and 
the  other  a  slate  coal.  This  deposit  has  been  followed  up  by  exploratory  workings  for  a  dis- 
tance of  five  versts  in  length  up  the  river  Dzhilanchik  and  for  a  width  of  100  to  2C0 
sagenes.  Taking  the  mean  thickness  of  the  upper  seam  only  as  2  feet  and  the  weight  of  a 
cubic  sageue  of  the  coal  as  3-40  pouds  the  explored  portion  of  the  upper  seam  would  con- 
tain about  40  million  pouds. 

The  second  deposit  of  brown  coal  is  situated  at  100  versts  to  the  east-north-east  of 
the  town  of  Tourgai,  at  the  Yar-Koue  wells,  on  the  declivity  of  a  height  which  forms,  as 
it  were,  the  mountain  shore  of  the  valley  of  the  river  Tourgai.  Some  ancient  wells  were  found 
on  the  declivity  of  this  height  at  5  versts  distance  from  the  above  mentioned  wells,  and  in 
clearing  them  out,  traces  of  coal  were  found  in  them.  They  were  then  deepened  and  a  seam 
of  coal  about  one  sagene  thick  was  encountered.  This  discovery  was  followed  up  by  extensive 
exploratory  workings,  which  embraced  an  area  of  SV-*  square  versts  of  coal  field.  As  the 
average  thickness  of  the  coal  seam  is  one  sagene,  and  a  cubic  sagene  of  coal  was  found  by 
experiment  to  weigh  nearly  340  pouds,  the  area  explored  contains  over  275  million  pouds  of 
coal.  The  coal  of  this  deposit  is  dark  brown,  has  a  laminar  structure  and  a  conchoidal 
fracture.  It  burns  with  a  bright  flame  and  gives  from  4  to  7  per  cent  of  ash;  some  portions 
contain  sulphur  pyrites.  It  has  been  proved  by  experiment  that  this  coal  is  quite  suitable 
both  for  ordinary  heating  and  for  steam  purposes,  as  on  the  steamers  of  the  Syr-Daria.  and  also 
for  treating  metals  in  reverberatory  furnaces. 


1S4  SIIiKlilA. 

Strveral  coal  .si.'aiu.'s  an;  known  in  ihi-  Akniolinsk  provin<.''i  on  Ih';  U|)pi;r  courses  of  tho 
livers  Ishim,  Sokour  ami  otliors,  which  fall  into  iln;  Xoura.  The  Karaj^andinsk  pit,  belonging 
to  Messrs.  Riazanov,  is  situated  at  2'/)  versts  to  the  north-west  of  Karkaralinsk  near  the 
borders  of  the  Akniolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk  provinces.  Two  coal  seams  are  know,  1  and  2*/i 
sagenes  thick.  Both  are  worked,  and  have  been  shown  by  oxph^ratory  workings  to  extend  on 
both  ,siiii;s  to  the  cast  and  west  lor  a  distance  of  ]1  and  U  viMsts.  Thus  tins  deposit  is  very 
vast,  Tlie  coal  is  a  true  coal  with  8  to  12  per  cent  of  ash  and  semi-caking  coke.  In  former 
times  the  Spassk  works,  situated  at  30  versts  distance  to  the  south  of  tlie  pits,  smelted  their 
copper  to  till'  aMioiiMt  (if  3i),0i;o  pouds  annually,  with  this  coal.  The  yield  of  the  Karagandinsk 
mine  has  been  somewhat  considerable  during  the  last  15  years,  and  in  1^84  it  exceeded 
1,50<),000  i)Ouds  of  coal.  Many  coal  scams  are  known  in  the  Pavlodarsk,  Karkaralinsk  and 
Semipalatinsk  districts,  and  also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town  of  Sergiopole. 

In  the  Pavlodar  and  Karkaralinsk  districts,  the  Taldykoulsk  mine  is  on  the  first  coal 
bod  discovered  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  in  1838.  It  is  situated  at  25  versts  to  the  north-east 
of  the  Alexandrovsk  works  and  at  about  200  versts  from  Pavlodar.  Exploratory  workings  were 
carried  out  at  the  beginning  of  the  forties  which  showed  that  the  deposit  extended  for  a  length 
of  one  verst  and  for  a  width  of  half  a  verst.  As  many  as  eight  coal  seams  were  discovered 
from  1  to  3'ji  feet  thick.  This  coal  was  used  in  the  smithies  and  partly  in  smelting  the  lead 
oi-es  at  the  Alexandrovsk  works.  Altogether  337,000  pouds  of  coal  were  extracted  from  this 
deposit  between  1838  and  1860.  The  Sarykoulsk  coal  deposit  is  sitilated  at  12  versts  distance 
to  the  south-west  of  the  Taldykoulsk  pits  and  50  versts  to  the  north  of  Bayan-Aoula.  The 
coal  here  occurs  in  a  bed  4  feet  thick  at  a  depth  of  16  feet  under  the  surface.  The  Maouko- 
beusk  coal  mine  is  situated  at  a  distance  of  5  versts  from  the  Sarykoulsk  deposit  and  at 
20  versts  to  the  north-west  of  the  Alexandrovsk  works.  The  total  thickness  of  the  three  work- 
table  coal  seams  is  5  feet.  The  coal  seams  have  been  determined  over  an  area  of  six  square 
versts.  The  coal  was  found  by  chemical  analyses  to  contain  50.5  per  cent  of  carbon,  42.10  per 
cent  of  volatile  matter  and  1.4  per  cent  of  ash.  The  coal  is  black,  bitumenous,  burns  with 
a  long  flame  but  does  not  coke.  It  was  used  for  copper  smelting.  This  mine  was  worked 
during  1869  and  1870. 

The  Xikolsk  mine  is  situated  at  a  distance  of  90  to  a  100  versts  to  the  north- 
west of  the  Alexandrovsk  works,  near  lake  Alka-Sor.  There  are  two  seams  of  anthracite 
2.25  and  6  sagenes  thick.  They  lie  between  clay  slates  and  limestone.  This  anthracite  was 
found  by  analyses  to  contain  74  per  cent  of  carbon,  14  per  cent  of  volatile  matter  and  12 
per  cent  of  ash.  It  was  found  by  trials  made  at  the  copper  smelting  works,  that  this  coal 
gives  a  very  powerful  heat.  The  Kysyltavsk  mine  is  situated  at  a  distance  of  about  70  versts 
from  the  Alexandrovsk  works  and  90  versts  from  the  Bogoslovsk  copper  and  lead  smelting 
works.  This  is  one  of  the  best  coal  fields  known.  It  includes  five  seams  from  2  to  4  feet 
thick.  The  loanna-PredtecIiensk  copper  smelting  works  are  erected  immediately  over  the  mine. 
The  Kysyltavsk  coal  gives  a  fairly  good  coke.  In  1873  this  mine  yielded  altogether  2^/2  mil- 
lion pouds  of  coal.  The  Dzhemantouzsk  mine  is  also  upon  one  of  the  thickest  and  best  coal 
beds  yst  found  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes.  It  was  discovered  in  1864,  at  90  versts  to  the 
south  of  the  Alexandrovsk  works.    This  mine  comprises  five  coal  seams  from   ''2  to   3   feet 


COAL.  1S5 

thick,  which  unite  at  a  depth  of  13  sagenes  into  one  ted  which  dips  at  an  angle  of 
32°  to  42".  The  Dzhemantouzsk  coal  is  an  anthracite  of  a  gray  colour.  It  is  dense  and  bright 
with  a  roughly  conchoidal  fracture  and  gives  a  great  heat,  hut  no  coke.  It  contains  a  very 
small  amount  of  sulphur,  pyrites  and  gypsum.  This  deposit  is  situated  at  60  versts  distance 
from  the  river  Irtysh.  In  the  Semipalatinsk  district  coal  was  first  discovered  in  1869,  by 
Mr.  Permikin  a  gold  mine  owner,  at  7  versts  distance  from  the  Grachevsk  station  and  120 
versts  from  the  town  of  Semipalatinsk. 

A  whole  group  of  coal  fields  occurs  in  the  north-eastern  portion  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes 
at  18  to  20  versts  distance  from  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Irtish  and  about  120  versts  to 
the  west  of  the  town  of  Semipalatinsk.  The  presence  of  coal  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Irtysh  was  known  at  au  earlier  period,  as  in  the  sixties  a  gold  mine  owner,  Mr.  Kouznetsov, 
erected  a  copper  smelting  works  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Irtish,  which  consumed  coal  from  a 
mine  situated  near  lake  Dongoulek-Sor.  This  deposit  contains  two  seams  of  coal,  whose  total 
thickness  is  about  one  sagene.  They  are  separated  by  a  layer  or  clay  slate  two  feet  thick. 
The  coal  from  this  mine  is  black  and  very  bright,  rather  dense  and  gives  a  coke  of  good 
quality.  This  coal  must  be  regarded  as  the  best  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes.  The  Ouzouu-Sor 
deposit  is  situated  8  versts  to  the  south  of  the  above  mine,  and  the  Oinak-Sor  at  6  versts 
distance  to  the  south-east  of  the  latter.  The  Oinak-Sor  deposit  includes  several  coal  seams, 
from  two  to  fifteen  feet  thick,  but  the  seams  are  very  distorted.  The  coal  of  these  three 
and  other  adjacent  out-cropping  seams,  can  not  only  furnish  the  inhabitants  of  the  steppes 
with  fuel,  but  could  also  have  an  important  significance  for  the  steam  navigation  of  the  Irtish 
and  for  the  Siberian  Railway,  as  well  as  for  the  metallurgical  works  of  the  Altai  and  Kirghiz 
steppes. 

Deposits  of  coal  have  been  found  in  several  places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sergiopol 
over  a  distance  of  20  versts  along  the  river  Ayagouz  and  its  tributaries.  The  following  four 
are  among  these  deposits:  1.  The  Spassk  mine  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ayagouz,  above  the 
river  Baiboulak.  Several  thin  seams  of  coal  from  IV2  to  3  feet  thick  were  discovered  here, 
the  thickest  of  them  being  over  4  feet.  This  coal  is  not  of  particularly  good  quality; 
it  is  black,  finely  laminar,  disintegrates  in  the  air  into  a  fine  powder.  It  is  only  used  as 
smithy  coal.  2.  The  Krestovsk  mine,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Ayagouz,  in  the  upper 
sources  of  the  Kyzyl-Chilik,  is  at  two  versts  distance  from  the  Spassk  mine.  The  seam  of 
coal,  which  was  found  at  an  inconsiderable  depth,  proved  exceedingly  thin  and  the  coal  was 
found  to  contain  a  large  amount  of  ash.  3.  The  Troitsk  or  Chekartinsk  mine  lies  at  eight 
versts  distance  from  the  Spassk  mine,  near  the  river  Chekarta.  The  coal  seams  are  here  con- 
siderably thicker  than  in  the  Spassk  pit  and  are  as  much  as  1  sagene  thick  in  some  places; 
it  is  of  good  quality  and  is  used  in  smithies  and  for  house  heating.  4.  The  Yoskresensk  de- 
posit is  situated  at  10  versts  from  the  Spassk  pit,  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Ayagouz, 
above  the  river  Chekarta.  The  inconsiderable  exploratory  workings  made  in  this  deposit  do 
not  give  any  idea  of  its  extent  or  quality. 

The  above  concise  enumeration  of  the  coal  deposits  of  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  show  that 
this  region,  which  is  so  in  want  of  fuel  for  the  exploitation  of  its  mineral  wealth  in  silver, 
lead,  and  copper  ores,  may  apparently  be  considered  as  fully  guaranteed  in  this  respect.  But 


180  SIBEKIA. 

ill  Ihc  present  tirno  tho  production  of  coal  has  not  oiil\  jimm.  in  |iiM|/ress  but  Las  even  fall- 
en. Although  the  production  from  ]i<^0  to  1^85  equalled  from  one  million  to  1. 035.000  pouds 
a  year,  it  has  considerably  fallen  in  recent  years,  and  in  lb91  was  only  BG-i^OO  pouds. 


Graphite. 

Deposits  of  graphite  are  known  in  Siberia  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes,  and  in  the  govern- 
laciits  of  Yeniseisk  and  Irkutsk.  In  the  Kirghiz  steppes  several  deposits  have  been 
discovered,  three  of  which,  situated  in  the  Kokpektinsk  and  Sergiopolsk  districts,  have 
been  exploited  and  the  graphite  sent  fiom  there  to  tho  Perm  steel  and  gun  works.  In  the 
government  of  Yeniseisk  deposits  of  graphite  were  discovered  in  1859  and  1803,  by  a  Mr. 
Sidorov,  in  the  Tourankhansk  legion  along  the  rivers  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka,  Bakhla  and 
Koupeika,  the  right  tributaries  of  the  Yenisei.  At  a  distance  of  200  to  500  versts  up 
the  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka  there  are  four  localities  where  graphite  is  found.  This  graphite 
is  sometimes  laminar  and  sometimes  columnar,  and  occurs  in  beds  from  one  to  two  sagenes 
thick,  between  layers  of  clay  slate  which  have  been  metamorphosed  by  the  action  of  eruptive 
rocks;  so  that  it  may  be  supposed  that  this  graphite  has  proceeded  from  the  beds  of  Jurassic 
coal  which  abound  in  this  locality.  The  graphite  contains  from  4  to  0  per  cent  of  clay.  It  is 
estimated  that  this  deposit  contains  a  store  of  10  million  pouds  of  graphite.  The  excellent 
quality  of  this  mineral  has  been  recognized  at  both  Russian  and  foreign  exhibitions.  The 
Touroukhansk  mineral  has  met  with  particular  praise  from  various  scientific  and  practical 
men;  several  foreign  authorities  have  likened  it  to  Cumberland  graphite,  and  in  America  a 
series  of  comparative  experiments  proved  that  it  excels  the  Ceylon  graphite  In  purity. 
In  1877  an  other  deposit  of  graphite  was  discovered  by  Sidorov  on  the  Nizhnaya 
Toungouzka,  and  2,000  pouds  of  picked  graphite  were  extracted  and  sent  abroad.  Seventy 
thousand  pouds  of  graphite  have  been  extracted  from  the  deposits  discovered  by  Sidorov 
in  18G1,  along  the  river  Koureika,  which  falls  into  the  Yenisei  at  a  100  versts  from  the 
town  of  Touroukhansk.  Out  of  this  amount  the  following  parcels  were  dispatched  during  the 
winter  18G3  to  1804:  1.  five  hundred  pouds  direct  along  the  river  Pechora,  over  the  northern 
marshes  by  reindeer  and  thence  by  sea  to  London;  2.  five  thousand  pouds  also  by  the  northern 
route  to  the  river  Taz  by  reindeer  and  thence  by  the  Taz  and  Obi  Bay  to  Obdorsk,  and 
then  by  the  Pechora;  3.  seven  thousand  pouds  by  Yeniseisk,  Tomsk  and  Tumen  to  Perm, 
and  one;  thousand  pouds  by  the  same  route  to  St.  Petersburg;  4.  two  hundred  pouds  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  Hamburg  and  Wurzburg.  In  1891,  ten  thousand  pouds  of  graphite  were  extracted 
from  the  deposit  on  the  river  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka  for  the  recently  formed  Siberian 
Graphite  Company. 

In  the  government  of  Irkutsk  a  deposit  of  graphite  was  discovered  in  1842  by  Mr. 
Aliber  in  Boutogolsk  Golts  in  the  Tounkinsk  mountains  on  the  spot  where  the  rivers 
Irkout,  Kitoi,  Belaya  and  Oka  take  their  source.  Here  the  graphite  apparently  occurs  in 
reniform  masses,  in  druses  and  in  veins  in  alternate  beds  of  crystalline  limestone  and 
laminar  granite  with  quartz  veins.    In  1850  Aliber    laid   out  the    Mariinsk  graphite  mine  on 


GKAPHITE,    NAPTHA    AND    SALT.  137 

this  spot  and  obtained  a  graphite  of  excellent  quality,  and  samples  exhibited  at  the  London 
Exhibition  of  1862  proved  it  to  be  in  many  respects  better  than  the  English.  Aliber 
entered  into  relations  with  the  well  known  pencil  maker  Faber  and  began  to  supply  him 
with  considerable  amounts  of  graphite.  At  the  present  day  however  this  mine  is  only  worked 
to  supply  graphite  for  making  crucibles  at  the  Irkutsk  gold  melting  house. 


Naphtha. 

The  occurrence  of  naphtha  has  long  been  known  on  the  northern  extremity  of  the  island 
of  Saghalin,  and  it  has  now  also  been  found  near  the  gulf  of  Xabilsk,  which  is  accessible 
to  the  largest  ocean  vessels.  According  to  the  researches  of  Mr.  A.  Batsevich,  mining  engi- 
neer, the  naphtha  deposits  of  this  island  extend  in  a  meridional  direction,  towards  the  Sea  of 
Okhotsk,  where  they  occur  at  a  distance  of  5  to  25  versts  from  the  shore.  The  specific 
gravity  of  the  naphtha  extracted  from  wells  up  to  3  sagenes  deep  over  various  areas,  varies 
from  0.890  to  0.895,  and  the  daily  yield  is  several  ponds.  Judging  from  the  specific  gravity 
and  the  results  obtained  by  distillation,  the  Saghalin  naphtha  resembles  the  Caucasian. 
The  occurrence  of  naphtha  springs  over  a  considerable  area,  and  their  abundance,  com- 
bined with  the  thickness  of  the  superficial  and  subterranean  deposits  of  bitumen  (asphalt 
of  recent  formation)  and  the  daily  flow  of  naphtha  in  the  wells,  made  Batsevich  conclude 
that  there  must  be  more  or  less  considerable  stores  of  naphtha  at  a  certain  depth  below  the 
surface. 


Salt. 

In  Western  Siberia  salt  is  exclusively  extracted  from  the  self-depositing  lakes,  which 
occur  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  region,  namely  in  the 
southern  regions  of  the  government  of  Tobolsk,  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Tomsk,  and  in  the  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk  provinces.  This  area,  which  is  in- 
cluded between  47''  and  55"  north  latitude  and  63"  and  73°  eastern  longitude  (from  Paris)  is 
a  low  lying  plane,  which  was  once  the  bottom  of  a  sea  basin.  In  the  northern  portion  of  this 
salt  basin,  which  embraces  the  Barabinsk  and  Kouloundinsk  steppes,  the  salt  lakes  always 
contain  a  more  or  less  considerable  amount  of  other  salts  than  common  salt,  the  chief 
being  sulphate  of  sodium.  There  is  no  lake  in  the  region  of  these  steppes,  which  gives  pure 
chloride  of  sodium,  and  on  the  contrary,  there  are  many  which  contain  rich  layers  of  glauber 
salt  only.  But  in  the  southern  and  south-western  portion  of  this  salt  basin  which  embraces 
the  arid  steppes  of  the  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk  provinces  the  deposited  salt  is  in  the 
majority  of  cases  distinguished  for  purity  of  its  chloride  of  sodium,  and  these  lakes  are  the 
chief  sources  of  its  production. 

The  salt  lakes  of  Western  Siberia  may  be  divided  into  four  groups  according  to  their 
characteristics:    1.  The   lakes   which   contain   more   or   less  considerable  beds  of  chloride  of 


138  SIBKIUA. 

sodium  coveroii  with  a  brino  which  deposits  fresh  i;iyfi^  ol  >,iii  (.-vi-iy  year.  Compared  with 
tlie  others  these  jjikes  are  the  richest  and  are  the  most  important  by  reason  of  the  vast 
stores  of  salt  liiey  contiiin.  Amonj,'  tin-  niiuiy  lakes  of  this  category  belonging  to  the  State 
the  chief  is  the  Karyakovsk  lake  in  the  province  of  Sumipalalinsk  at  20  versts  from  the 
town  of  I'avlodar  and  28  versis  from  the  Cliernoyarsk  lamliiig  stage  on  the  river  Irtysh.  In 
this  lake,  which  covurs  an  an-a  of  about  20  sijuare  versts,  the  surface  Is  covered  by  layers 
of  salt  I'ur  a  space  of  about  'J  S([uare  versts,  and  the  thicknes.s  of  these  deposits  reaches  to 
as  Miuf'li  as  half  a  sagene.  The  annual  yield  of  salt  from  this  lake  amounts  to  one  million 
piHiils.  The  salt  from  the  Koryakovsk  lake  is  distinguished  for  its  high  quality  and  is  consi- 
dcivij  the  hfst  iu  Siberia.  2.  The  second  category  iucludes  those  lakes  which  contain  coaside- 
rabli!  amounts  of  strong  brine,  which  annually  deposit  a  layer  of  pure  chloride  of  sodium, 
varying  from  1  to  4  inches  in  thickness.  Although  these  lakes,  corapareil  with  the  preceding, 
have  only  a  secondary  imiiortance,  nevertheless  they  are  capable  of  yielding  immense  quanti- 
ties of  salt.  To  this  category  belong  the  lakes  exploited  in  the  government  of  Tomsk,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  are  the  Borovya  and  Bourlinsk  lakes. 

The  Borovya  lakes  include  four  lakes:  J.  the  Pechatochuoe  or  Maloe  Lomovoe;  2.  the  Koch- 
kovatoe;  3.  the  Bolshoe  Lomovoe;  4.  the  Malinovoe  lakes.  They  are  situated  on  what  is  called  the 
Salt  steppes.  In  recent  years  these  lakes  have  yielded  up  to  600,000  pouds  of  salt.  The  Bourlinsk 
lake  is  one  of  most  important  sources  of  salt  in  Western  Siberia.  It  resembles  the  Borovya  lakes  in 
the  mode  of  occurrence  of  its  salt  and  is  only  distinguished  for  its  size,  it  being  over  30  versts  in 
circumferance.  The  Bourlinsk  lake  belongs  to  the  number  of  those  which  dry  up  periodically. 
There  are  many  such  lakes  iu  Siberia.  It  has  a  great  industrial  importance,  owing  to  its  situation  in 
proximity  with  the  chief  trading  routes  of  the  steppes,  by  which  the  peasants  of  the  gi-ain  bearing 
regions  of  the  government  of  Tomsk  carry  their  grain  to  Pavlodar  for  sale  to  the  Kirghiz.  The  salt 
from  the  Bourlinsk  lake  forms  a  return  freight  for  these  peasants  who  transport  it  to  a 
further  distance.  Besides  which,  this  salt  is  transported  aloug  the  river  Obi  to  Tomsk  and 
further  to  Achinsk  and  to  Eastern  Siberia.  The  annual  yield  of  the  Bourlinsk  lake  is  about 
Vji  million  pouds.  3.  The  lakes  of  the  third  group  are  full  of  brine  containing  a  greater  or 
less  amount  of  other  salts,  than  chloride  of  sodium.  They  form  a  link  towards  bitter  salt 
lakes.  Owing  to  the  comparatively  little  strength  of  the  brine,  the  lakes  of  this  category  do 
not  as  a  rule  give  a  deposit  every  year  but  only  under  suitable  atmospheric  conditions,  and 
the  salt  then  obtained  is  naturally  of  a  poor  quality.  These  lakes,  which  are  numerous  and 
of  large  dimensions,  now  scarcely  have  any  importance  as  a  source  of  national  provision.  They 
could  only  give  a  pure  salt,  tit  for  consumption,  if  they  were  exploited  by  the  artificial  basin 
system,  which  owing  to  the  number  of  excellent  self-depositing  lakes  cannot  as  yet  thrive  in 
Siberia.  To  this  category  belong  many  lakes  in  the  government  of  Tomsk,  and  all  those  situa- 
ted iu  the  Barabiusk  steppe  besides  a  considerable  number  of  the  Kirghiz  lakes.  4,  Lastly 
the  fourth  group  comprises  the  bitter  salt  lakes,  containing  considerable  layers  of  glauber 
salt  which  are  constantly  increasing  in  thickness  owing  to  the  annual  deposition  of  fresh 
layers  from  the  brine.  The  Bolshoe  Marmyshansk  lake  is  a  representative  of  this  category^ 
and  is  the  only  one  of  this  class  now  under  exploitation.  It  yields  about  100,000  pouds  of 
salt  a  year.  The  Bolshoe  and  Maloe  Marmyshansk   lakes   are   situated   in   the  Kouloundinsk 


SALT.  189 

steppe  at  200  versts  distance  to  the  south-west  of  Barnaoul,  along  the  road  to  the  Borovya 
lakes,  and  present  immense  deposits  of  glauher  salt,  whose  thickness  at  a  distance  of  60  to 
100  sagenes  from  the  shore  is  already  two  feet.  Taking  into  account  that  the  surface  of  the 
Bolshoe  Marmyshansk  lake  is  over  4  and  of  the  Maloe  over  2  square  versts,  the  most  moder- 
ate estimate  gives  a  supply  of  not  less  than  50  million  pouds  in  the  former  and  25  million 
pouds  in  the  latter  lake.  The  Marmyshansk  salt  is  partly  consumed  at  the  soda  works  at 
Barnaoul,  partly  at  the  Altai  works,  which  use  it  as  a  flux  in  smelting  the  argentiferous  lead 
ores,  and  partly  at  the  glass  works. 

Eastern  Siberia  abounds  in  salt,  but  the  richest  deposits  of  rock  salt  and  the  best 
salt  springs,  are  situated  in  poorly  inhabited  localities,  so  that  its  transport  to  the  markets 
owing  to  the  want  of  proper  means  of  communication  is  hampered  by  great  difficulties  which 
render  it  very  expensive.  Therefore  many  of  the  sources  are  not  exploited  and  await 
the  time  when  the  economical  conditions  of  the  region  will  give  the  possibility  of 
working  them. 

In  the  Yeniseisk  and  Irkutsk  governments,  salt  is  extracted  from  saline  springs.  In  the 
government  of  Yeniseisk,  at  the  Toumanshetsk  works  in  the  Kansk  district  and  in  the  system 
of  the  river  Birusa,  the  depth  of  the  well  is  2'/2  sagenes,  the  strength  of  the  brine  4'/2° 
Baume,  and  in  1891,  17,500  pouds  of  salt  were  produced;  at  the  Troitsk  works  in  the  same 
district,  on  the  river  Ousolka,  a  left  tributary  of  the  river  Taseev,  the  production  of 
salt  in  1891  amounted  to  514,000  pouds.  Both  deposits  belong  to  the  Devonian  system  and  the 
brine  flows  from  red  salt-bearing  marls  and  slags.  In  former  days  when  the  amount  of  salt 
mines  and  works  in  the  Yeniseisk  and  Minousinsk  regions  was  very  limited,  the  Troitsk  works 
played  an  important  part  in  supplying  the  local  inhabitants  with  salt. 

In  the  government  of  Irkutsk  there  is  an  abundance  of  salt  springs  in  the  valley  of 
the  river  Lena,  between  the  stations  of  Kachougsk  and  Vitimsk;  and  also  in  the  valley  of  the 
river  Nepa,  a  left  hand  tributary  of  the  Nizhnaya  Toungouzka,  where  brine  springs  from  red- 
dish coloured  sandstone,  marl  and  clay  formations,  apparently  of  the  Lower  Devonian  system. 
The  exploitation  of  the  salt  is  earned  on  at  the  Oust-Koutsk  salt  works,  on  the  river  Kouta 
at  4  versts  distance  from  the  Lena.  The  depth  of  the  well  is  3  sagenes  and  the  strength  of 
the  brine  14—15°  Lamb;  in  1691,  30,100  pouds  of  salt  were  produced.  The  Oustkoutsk  works 
might  considerably  increase  their  yield  but  the  market  is  very  small,  being  limited  to  the 
sparsely  populated  localities  of  the  Yakutsk  province  and  to  the  Olekminsk  gold  workings. 
Apparently  the  same  Devonian  formations  supply  the  brine  which  feeds  the  Irkutsk  works  in 
the  village  of  Ousola  at  70  versts  distance  from  Irkutsk,  down  the  Angara.  The  depth  of  the 
wells  are  2—5  sagenes;  and  of  the  borings,  89  sagenes.  The  strength  of  the  brine  is 
6—7°  Baume,  and  in  the  wells  it  is  7^2— 9^^  Lamb.  In  1891  the  production  of  salt 
was  265,500  pouds.  The  salt  produced  at  the  Irkutsk  works  is  sold  at  the  Irkutsk  govern- 
ment and  Transbaikal  territory,  where  it  is  in  demand  for  salting  the  local  fish  o  m  u  1 
with  which  the  rivers  falling  into  Baikal  abound.  At  the  Ilimsk  works,  near  the  settlement 
of  Shestakovsk  on  the  river  Ilim,  the  right  tributary  of  the  Angara,  the  depth  of  the  shafts 
is  one  to  one  and  a  half  sagenes,  the  strength  of  the  brine  8.73°  Lamb.  In  1891,  85,100 
pouds  of  salt  were  evaporated. 


1  90  SIJll.KIA 

Tlie  bull  ilijposits,  P'pre.si'nting  the  transili(jii  lu  liKnMinK'  ut-jiosit,  where  the  brine  is 
extracted  from  excavations  or  \v<;ll.s  diij,'  in  the  bottom  of  salt  lakes,  occur  in  the*  Yeniseisk 
f^fQveniriK'iii,  at  the  following  works:  1.  Abakansk  in  the  Minousiusk  district,  25  versts  from 
iIk!  Biilzlia  iiliis,  the  depth  of  the  wells  upon  the  bottom  of  the  lake  is  9  feet,  the  strL'ngth 
of  the  brine  9 — 13"  IJonie;  2.  Altaisk,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Yenisei  bt.-tween  the  rivers 
]']rba  and  while  Ins,  now  abandoned,  tin;  lake  having  concentrated  too  much  bitter  salts; 
3.  j\Ianzinsk,  depth  of  wells  12  f'-et,  strength  of  brine  f;"  ]>onie.  The  total  production  of  these 
mini's  in  1891  did  not  exceed  93,800  ponds. 

Besides  the  lakes  mentioned,  in  which  the  cooperation  of  common  salt  is  now  estab- 
lislied,  the  Yeniseisk  governnient  also  contains  a  nuniber  of  lakes  with  bitter  salts,  among 
wliieh  that  of  j\Iinnsinsk  from  its  extent,  2V'4  s<[uare  veists,  and  the  quantity  of  salt  containe-ii 
in  it  belongs  to  tli(!  most  considerable  bitter  lakes  of  Eastern  Siberia.  Formerly,  up  to  1877, 
salt  was  deposited  by  natural  (,'vaiioration  in  tie'  Minousin.-k  lake,  allhoiiLdi  with  a  certain 
intermission,  and  with  it  ahnnst  the  whole  ivjjioii  of  that  name  was  supplied,  there  being  then 
no  salt  works. 

In  llic  Yakutsk  borderland,  rock  salt  oeciiis  in  three  spots  of  the  Yiluisk  district  of  the 
Yakutsk  territory,  along  Ihc  light  tiibiitaries  of  the  river  Yilui.  On  the  right  bank  of  the 
river  Kempendzai  the  deposit  of  rock  salt  forms  a  bed  about  150  sagencs  in  length  and  50 
in  Ihiekiioss.  The  salt  is  contained  in  icd  clay  and  is  everywhere  accompanied  by  plaster  of 
Paris  partly  in  crystals,  partly  in  plates  of  white  or  greenish  hue.  In  some  places  the  projecting 
rocks  of  salt  attain  a  height  of  25  sagenes;  it  is  ordinarily  white,  although  pieces  of  a  rose 
colour  occur.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Kiundai  not  far  from  the  lake  Sikai-Sian,  rock 
salt  forms  two  masses  in  a  mountain  also  consisting  of  red  clay  and  gjTJSum.  Finally,  upon 
the  right  bank  of  the  small  stream  Tabasyngda,  a  tributary  of  the  river  Tongo,  also  in  red 
clay,  at  a  depth  of  SV^  feet,  lies  rock  salt  of  a  dirty  colour.  During  the  spring  inundations 
this  salt  is  washed  out  of  the  banks  in  such  quantities  that  the  water  in  the  stream  acquires 
a  brackish  taste,  as  in  the  river  Kempendzai.  All  three  deposits  apparently  belong  to  the  tertiary 
system.  In  the  Yiluisk  district  of  the  Yakutsk  territory,  salt  is  obtained  in  \\1nter  by  freezing 
the  brine  got  from  the  salt  springs  of  Baginsk  on  the  river  Pusty  Iri,  a  left  tributary  of  the 
Kempendzai,  and  Kempendzaisk  on  the  river  of  that  name  a  right  tributary  of  the  river  Yilui. 
The  strength  of  the  brine  reaches  20  to  25  per  cent.  The  springs  flow  from  a  mountain 
probably  containing  beds  of  rock  salt  of  tertiary  age,  judging  from  the  propinquity  of  the 
above  described  deposits  of  the  mineral.  In  1891,  2,800  ponds  of  salt  were  won  from  the  Ba- 
ginsk spring  and  16,000  from  the  Kempendzaisk. 

In  the  Amour  Governor-Generalship,  salt  is  evaporated  in  the  Transbaikal  territory  at 
the  works  of  Selenginsk  in  the  district  of  that  name,  and  Kiransk  in  the  Troitskosavsk  district 
on  the  frontier  of  Mongolia.  There  the  brine  is  derived  from  shafts,  2  to  3  sagenes  deep,  dug 
in  the  bottom  of  salt  lakes.  The  strength  of  the  brine  is  11  to  12°  Borne.  In  1891,  4,100  pouds 
of  salt  were  got  at  the  Selenginsk  works  and  23,300  pouds  at  those  of  Kiransk.  In  the 
Transbaikal  territory  occurs  also  lake  Borzinsk  where  natural  deposits  of  salt  take  place 
although  not  every  year;  in  1891, 19,800  pouds  were  extracted.  Here  must  also  be  mentioned 
the  Doroninsk  lakes  of  the  Bargouzinsk  district  of  the  Transbaikal  territory,  in  which  Glaubers 


SALT. 


191 


salt  is  obtained  for  the  glass  works.  In  1891,  20,0iX)  pomls  of  it  were  obtained.  Formerly, 
glauber's  salt  was  also  extracted  from  the  Torzhiransk  lake  in  the  Baikal  mountains,  near  the 
Olkhonsk  steppe  d  u  m  a,  or  seat  of  the  local  Tunguz  administration. 

The  total  yield  of  salt  in  Siberia  both  by  natural  evaporation  and  from  salt  works 
does  not  exceed,  even  under  the  best  circumstances,  two  to  three  million  ponds  per  annum,  a 
quantity  which  it  is  obvious  cannot  meet  the  wants  of  the  whole  population  of  Siberia  pos- 
sessing as  it  does    a    considerable    quantity   of  cattle. 

The  production  of  salt  for  the  last  ten  years  from  the  different  governments  was  as  follows. 


Year. 

Tomsk. 

Yeniseisk. 

Irkutsk. 

Transbai- 
kal. 

Yakutsk. 

Semipal- 
atinsk. 

Total. 

'  1881 

1,073,225 

159,660 

393,351 

4,359 

8,064 

— 

1,638,659 

•  1882 

599,913 

181,168 

469,689 

8,797 

3,000 

1,169,510 

2,437,077 

1883 

6(X),000 

177,753 

460,519 

22,341 

— 

400,000 

1,660,613 

1884 

743,989 

147,504 

577,098 

29,021 

I8,rj00 

474,840 

1,991,452 

1885 

1,162,507 

201,596 

468,210 

34,025 

— 

397,108 

2,263,446 

1  1886 

278,122 

194,640 

450,556 

7,599 

— 

353,415 

1,284,332 

1887 

1,001,169 

185,840 

375,524 

— 

— 

470,897 

2,033,730 

1888 

1,756,247 

110,909 

369,886 

23,013 

6,500 

437,926 

2,704,431 

1889 

673,496 

152,927 

359,805 

43,829 

9,0(J0 

914,093 

2,153,150 

1890 

1,848,355 

232,178 

376,567 

39,823 

17,300 

1,099,577 

3,613,800 

1891 

512,692 

194,966 

330,721 

47,244 

18,800 

598,664 

1,753,087    1 

1 

From  the  enumeration  of  the  territories  in  which  salt  is  obtained,  it  is  evident  that 
immense  areas  of  Siberia  are  almost  destitute  of  their  own  salt  and  consequently  must  be 
satisfied  with  the  imported  article.  Such  for  example  are  Semirechensk,  Akmolinsk,  the 
Littoral,  Amour  and  other  territories.  Some  of  these  regions  possessing  more  or  less  conven- 
ient communications  easily  get  over  this  difficulty,  but  others  are  frequently  placed  in 
an  extremely  embarrassing  situation.  For  the  avoidance  of  such  a  state  of  things  the  Govern- 
ment "has  long  since  recognized  the  necessity  of  taking  upon  itself  the  care  of  furnishing  the 
population  with  salt,  mainly  that  of  Eastern  Siberia  and  Amouria,  as  least  favourably  situated 
in  reference  to  the  supply  of  the  mineral.  With  this  view  the  Government  has,  in  various 
places  of  the  territory  mentioned,  depots  of  salt  and  stores  in  which  the  necessary  supplies 
are  always  ready  and  given  out  at  a  very  moderate  price.  Supplies  collected  by  the  Govern- 
ment authorities  are  then  distributed  in  different  directions  as  required.  Independently  of 
this  and  with  the  same  view  of  better  providing  the  people  with  salt,  the  Government  rec- 
ognized the  possibility  of  allowing  the  Kirghiz  of  the  Ural,  Turgai,  Akmolinsk  and  Seniipa- 
latinsk  territories  the  free  use  of  salt  from  the  Crown  lakes  of  the  Kirghiz  steppe.  Moreover  to 
the  Siberian  Cossack  levies  are  issued  5,<X)0  ponds  of  salt  per  annum  from  the  Crown,  free 
from  any  payment.  This  is  taken  straight  from  the  Borovy  lakes,  the  cost  of  carriage  of 
the  salt  from  these  lakes  to  Semipalatinsk    and   Ust-Kamenogorsk   being  covered  by  a  grant 


]92  SIBERIA. 

f'inin  the  Crown  of  l/XM"!  roubles  per    annura.    Foreign    sail    i>  iinjtorted    duty  free  into  the 
Siberian  ports  of  the  Eastern  Ocean.  The  total  expenditure  of  the  Crown  upon  this  operation 

ariKiiirils  unniially  U>  about  ](y»,0(y»  njubles. 


Precious  minerals  and  building  materials. 

The  best  known  place  in  all  Siberia  where  precious  minerals  are  found  is  the  Truns- 
baikal  temtory.  Hero  between  the  rivers  Onon  an^l  Onon-lJorza  rises  the  f.Tanitic  moun- 
tain Adun-Chilon,  celebrated  for  the  frequent  discovery  there  of  precious  coloured  stones, 
such  as  topaz,  beryl,  aquamarine,  Siberian  topaz  and  others.  On  the  Onon,  eighty-five  versts 
from  Nerchinsk  are  found  garnets  in  small  crystals. 

Lapis  lazuli  occurs  in  the  Baikal  mountains  along  the  rivers  Talaya  and  Sliu- 
dianka,  flowing  into  Baikal,  and  along  the  stream  Malaya  Bystraya,  a  tributary,  of  the 
Irkut.  In  the  last  locality  lapis  lazuli  of  good  quality  forms  pockets  in  the  large  crystalled 
dolomitic  limestone,  near  its  junction  with  the  syenitic  granite.  In  the  sixties  pieces  of  la- 
pis were  worked  here  three  pouds  in  weight.  From  these  deposits  was  obtained  the  lapis 
lazuli  which  served  for  the  veneering  of  the  columns  in  the  St.  Isaac  Cathedral  in  St.-Pe- 
tersburg.  and  lor  the  execution  of  a  mass  of  artistic  productions  placed  in  the  Imperial  pa- 
laces. In  the  same  locality  where  occur  the  deposits  of  lapis  lazuli,  dark  red  garnets 
are  met  with  in  crystals  attaining  two  inches  in  diameter,  along  the  Bolshaya  Bystraya 
amazon  stone,  sphene  and  feldspar  of  a  crimson  colour  are  found;  along  the 
Talaya,  mica,  serpentine,  talc  and  other  minerals;  along  the  Sliudianka,  blue  calca- 
reous spar,  white  marble,  rose  coloured  quartz,  garnet,  asphanite  and 
others;  in  the  valley  of  the  Uluntui,  black  mica  in  plates  two  feet  in  diameter.  This  kind 
of  mica  was  formerly  worked  here. 

Pebbles  of  nephrite  are  found  along  the  river  Bielaya  falling  into  the  Angara 
fifty  versts  below  Irkutsk,  and  along  the  Iret  and  Onon,  tributaries  of  the  Bielaya.  Here 
pebbles  of  this  mineral  used  to  be  found  weighing  as  much  as  30  pouds. 

The  Altai  mountains  on  the  other  hand,  have  become  celebrated  for  their  porphyry 
and  j  a  s  p  e  r  of  various  colours,  forwarded  from  the  Korgon  ridge,  from  the  banks  of  the 
Charysh  and  Alei  and  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Ridder  mine  to  the  Kolyvan  polishing  works, 
whence  manufactured  articles  are  despatched  over  four  thousand  versts  to  the  Imperial 
Court  at  St,  Petersburg.  At  these  works  a  mass  of  remarkable  works  of  art  have  been 
turned  out,  which  now  embellish  many  of  the  Imperial  palaces.  Among  them  is  the  jasper 
vase  placed  in  the  Imperial  Hermitage  in  St.  Petersburg,  the  oval  cup  of  which  has  a  long 
diameter  of  twenty  feet. 'At  the  present  time  not  less  than  eight  quarries  are  being  worked 
in  the  Altai,  producing  porphyi'y,  blue  and  green  jasper,  granite,  white  and  coloured  marbles 
breccia,  smoky  topaz,  red,  rose-coloured  and  blue  quartz,  agate  and  chalcedony. 

Besides  lime,  building  stone  of  various  kinds,  mill  stones  and  common  clays,  got  in  many 
parts  of  Siberia,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the   Nicholas  cast-iron 


I 


PKECIOUS   MINEEALS    AND    BUILDING   MATEEIALS.  193 

works  in  the  Irkutsk  government,  and  also  for  the  needs  of  several  works  in  the  Kirghiz  steppes, 
iire-clay  and  fire-resisting  sandstone  are  worked.  The  former  is  also  obtained  in  the  Yeniseisk  go- 
vernment near  the  village  of  Kantat  in  the  Krasnoyarsk  district,  near  the  village  of 
Parilovaya  in  the  Achinsk  district,  as  also  in  the  Irkutsk  government  along  the  river  Bielaya. 
Kaolin  and  white  clay  for  the  porcelain  works  are  worked  in  the  Irkutsk  government  in  se- 
veral places.  Feldspar  and  quartz  for  glass  factories  are  obtained  from  several  deposits  in  the 
Baikal  mountains  of  the  Irkutsk  government. 


— ^<^ — 


194 


SlUEUIA. 


CHAPTKK  XII. 
Manufacturing  industry  and  the  home  trade. 

Rxcisiihle    iiidusliies,    spirit,    vodka,    Leer    and    nn^ad;    beet    sugar,    tobaccu    and    match'js: 

non-excisable   productions;  distribution   of  trade   dues   and   statement   of   the   tuniover   and 

profits  of  commercial  and  industrial  undertakings;  the  exchange  of  wares  between  European 

Russia  and  Siberia;  trade  in  the  towns;  fairs  and  their  importance  to  Siberia. 


NOTWITHSTANDING  the  wealth  of  Sibeiia  in  the  productions  of  the  three  natural  king- 
doms, manufacturing  industry  has  not  been  able  here  to  develop  itself  to  a  coiTesponding 
extent  on  the  one  hand,  in  consequence  of  the  scanty  population  of  this  vast  territory,  and 
on  the  other,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  convenient  and  cheap  communications.  In  view  of 
this,  in  spite  of  the  repeated  attempts  of  the  Government  and  of  pri^'ate  persons  to  establish 
industry  on  a  large  scale  in  Siberia,  manufactories  and  works  have  been  started  there  only 
with  great  difficulty,  and  only  those  of  them  have  had  success  which  served  to  satisfy  the 
local  wants  of  a  small  population,  or  produced  an  article  of  such  value  that  it  might  bear 
the  cost  of  carriage  to  a  great  distance  with  profit. 

The  state  of  spirit  distilling  in  Siberia  appears  from  the  following  table. 


Amount  distilled  from: 

Absolute  alcohol,  degrees  \ 
in  vedros. 

Grain.      ;     Potatoes. 

P      0       u       d      s. 

1891.                1892. 

Eastern  Siberia 

19 

1,213,562 

— 

50,278,500 

52,729,200  \ 

Western      »       

21 

1,408,908 

55,391 

58,866,300 

58,770,000 

Littoral  and  Amour  territory 

1 

33,439 

— 

1,335,700 

1,590,000 

Spirit  in  Eastern  Siberia  is  mainly  distilled  from  rye  and  wheat  flour,  a  poud  of  the 
dry  material  yielding  on  an  average  41  •  12  degrees  of  spirit.  This  industry  is  concentrated 
for  the  most  part  in  the  Irkutsk  government,  where  in  1891,  20,800,000  degrees  were  produced, 
next  in  the  Yeniseisk  with  15,300,000  degrees,  and  in  Transbaikalia,  14,200,000  degrees.  In 
the  Yakutsk  territory  distilling  is  entirely  absent. 


MANUFACTUKING  AND  THE  HOME  TRADE.  195 

Of  21  distilleries  in  Western  Siberia  9  are  in  the  Tobolsk  government,  11.  in  that  of 
Tomsk  and  1  in  the  territory  of  Semipalatinsk.  Here  as  in  Eastern  Siberia  the  material 
used  for  distilling  are  rye  and  wheat  flour  as  well  as  potatoes  whose  introduction  has 
led  to  excellent  results.  On  the  whole  a  poud  of  raw  material  yields  41  •  44  degi-ees  of 
spirit.  Assuming  the  population  of  Western  Siberia  and  the  Kirghiz  steppes  in  accordance 
with  the  above  quoted  data  at  approximately  four  and  a  half  million  souls,  it  results  that  the 
consumption  of  spirit  per  head  in  this  part  of  Siberia  does  not  exceed  13  degrees  per  annum  or 
one-third  vedro  of  vodka,  40°  proof.  It  is  evident  that  the  population  of  Siberia  cannot  be 
satisfied  with  such  an  insignificant  quantity  of  spirit,  and  accordingly  this  defect  is  made  good 
by  the  importation  of  spirit  from  the  eastern  governments  of  European  Russia.  In  Eastern  Siberia 
the  consumption  per  head  of  spirit  is  approximately  the  same  as  in  Western  Siberia  the  deficiency 
being  here  supplied  by  importation  from  Odessa  by  sea.  Yet  if  due  account  be  taken  o 
the  isolation  of  many  points  of  the  Yakutsk  and  Littoral  territories  whither  spirit  penetrates 
only  in  rare  cases,  it  is  impossible  not  to  allow  that  the  consumption  of  spirit  here  per  head 
must  be  distributed  extremely  unevenly,  the  greater  part  of  the  vodka  being  consumed  by 
the  town  population. 

The  vodka  industry  in  Siberia  is  very  feebly  developed  and  is  almost  confined  to  the 
production  of  refined  spirit,  the  manufacture  of  various  vodkas  or  liquors  occupying  a  second- 
ary place.  In  the  22  vodka  distilleries  in  1891  for  the  whole  of  Siberia  only  41,370  vedros 
of  various  liquors  were  made. 

Beer  and  mead  brewing  are  also  but  feebly  developed  in  Siberia.  In  189], 
51  breweries  in  all  were  going,  among  which  19  also  produced  mead.  These  breweries  were 
distributed  as  follows:  in  Eastern  Siberia,  13;  in  Western  Siberia,  24;  and  in  the  Littoral 
and  Amour  territories,  14.  Tbe  total  brew  in  them  was  as  follows: 


Irkutsk    .....  3  breweries 

Yeniseisk 6  » 

Transbaikal    .    •  .  4  » 

Tobolsk 5  »        1 

Tomsk 12  » 

Semipalatinsk    .   .  2  » 

Akmolinsk  .   .    .    .  G  »        ) 


26,600  vedros  beer;   1040,  mead. 
27,000      »  » 

8,500      »         » 

]  200,000  vedros  beer;  41,100,  mead. 


Thus,  the  local  production  of  drinks  subject  to  excise  cannot  satisfy  the  existing  de- 
mand for  them,  and  accordingly  they,  like  spirit  and  vodkas,  are  imported  from  various  parts 
of  the  Empire  by  land  or  by  way  of  Odessa  and  Vladivostock. 

The  excise  from  various  liquors  amounted  in  1891  to  10,841,960  roubles,  of  which 
Eastern  Siberia  produced  4,654,206  roubles  worth,  and  Western  Siberia  4,302,668  roubles, 
the  Littoral  and  Amour  territories  680,090  roubles,  and  the  territories  of  Akmolinsk,  Semi- 
palatinsk, and  Semirechensk,  1,204,996  roubles  worth. 

Tobacco  culture,  although  universally  introduced  wherever  climatic  conditions 
permit,  possesses  no  commercial  importance,  serving  only  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  unexacting 

13* 


106  S)I)ERIA. 

lasto  of  local  consiiiners.  Only  ilio  inlcrior  soils  of  tobacco  are  grown  in  kitchen  garil'-ns 
together  with  vegetables.  During  ilic  htst  few  years  the  crop  of  makhorka,  bakun  and 
similar  qualities  was  as  follows: 

J  880  1^87  1888  188!)         18[K)  1891 

Eastern  Siberia    .    2G,3()8  ;51,5IO  28,730  20,713  28,410  32,758  pouds. 

Western  Siberia  .    3;5,%7  3:5,895  33,121  ;{7,902  ;!5,498  40,872      > 

Total  .    .    00,275  05,105  01,857  04,015  (V.',,\)nk  7;;,0;;<)  pouds. 

Ill  all  Siberia  there  is  but  one  tobacco  niaiiufactory  with  a  section  lor  makhorka,  in 
wliicli,  in  ]891,3,4(X)  pouds  of  tobacco  were  manufactured  and  banderoles  issued  to  the  amount 
of  44,592  roubles.  The  considerable  demand  for  tobacco  goods  is  supplied  by  the  import  of 
tlie  latter  from  other  parts  of  the  Empire. 

The  sugar  industry  is  a  perfectly  new  enterprise  in  Siberia.  It  could  never  arise 
here  independently,  and  accordingly  the  Government  recognized  the  utility  of  olfering  the 
pioneers  in  this  industry  in  Siberia  certain  privileges,  as  was  also  done  in  Turkestan  and 
the  Caucasus.  AVith  this  object  the  following  order  was  promulgated  on  the  first  of 
May,  1884.  1.  Of  the  beet-sugar  bakeries  which  shall  be  founded  in  Turkestan,  in  Siberia,  or  in 
Transcaucasus  and  shall  begin  operations  before  the  1st  August,  1889,  the  first  three  such  in 
each  region  enjoy  in  the  course  of  nine  consecutive  sugar-baking  seasons,  privileges  in  the 
payment  of  excise.  These  privileges  are  offered  to  each  of  the  said  bakeries  from  the  date  of 
its  opening  upon  the  following  bases;  a.  during  the  first  four  seasons  the  sugar  bakery  is  freed 
altogether  from  the  payment  of  excise  on  the  whole  of  the  sugar  made  in  it;  b.  during  the 
three  following  periods  the  existing  excise  is  exacted  to  the  extent  of  one-fifth;  c.  in 
the  course  of  the  two  last  privileged  periods  the  excise  is  collected  in  the  proportion  of 
one-half.  2.  In  the  course  of  the  seasons  of  sugar  baking,  1884  to  1885  and  1^80  to  1887,  author- 
ization is  given  to  extract  sugar,  syrup  and  molasses  from  sorghum  and  other  sacchariferous 
plants  besides,  but  without  the  payment  of  excise  and  license  dues.  The  said  manufacture 
may  be  conducted  both  in  private  sugar  bakeries  specially  arranged  for  the  purpose  and  in 
beet-sugar  manufactories  observing  the  rules  established  by  the  INIinistry  of  Finance. 

Thanks  to  this  measure  in  1890  the  first  beetsugar  bakery  was  opened  in  the  Minou- 
sinsk  district  of  the  Yeniseisk  government.  In  1890  only  8,450  pouds  of  beet  were  treated, 
but  in  1891,  92,(XX)  pouds  from  which  5,850  pouds  of  white  sugar  were  obtained.  The  expe- 
rience of  two  years  completely  convinced  the  initiators  that  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate 
of  the  Minousinsk  district  were  perfectly  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar  beet,  and 
accordingly  the  extension  of  the  undertaking  appears  to  be  extremely  advantageous. 

Match  manufacture  is  little  developed  in  Siberia.  There  are  here  but  8  manufacto- 
ries, 2  in  Eastern  Siberia  and  6  in  Western.  The  output  in  1891  was: 

Eastern  Siberia,  with  phosphorus:  230,287,500  matches;  without  phosphorus  82,336,500  matches. 
Western  Siberia    »  i>        3,614,159,250        »  »  ;>  37,383,750       » 

Of  the  6  manufactories  of  Western  Siberia  2  are  in  Tobolsk,  3  in  Tomsk  and  1  in 
the  Bisk  district,  and  of  the  2  manufactories  in  Eastern  Siberia,  one  is  in   Irkutsk  and  the 


MANUFACTUEING  AND  THE  HOME  TRADE. 


197 


other  in  the  village  of  Ousolie.  The  first  prepares  exclusively  Swedish  matches,  the  second 
only  simple  lucifers.  All  the  Siberian  match  manufactories  get  their  phosphorus  from  Tou- 
pitsyn's  works  in  Perm,  the  other  raw  materials  being  of  local  origin. 

In  all  the  industries  named,  about  3,000  workmen  are  employed  annually,  namely,  in 
distilleries,  1,936;  yeast  manufactories,  14;  vodka  distilleries,  120;  beer  and  mead  breweries 
254;  the  sugar  bakery,  78;  the  tobacco  manufactory,  78,  and  match  nmnufactories,  3.30. 

The  total  receipts  of  the  treasury  from  all  taxes  on  excisable  industries,  including 
therein  excise,  licenses  and  fines  reaches  11,177,423  roubles,  distributed  according  to  different 
localities  and  manufactures  In  the  following  manner. 


Eastern  Siberia  .... 

'    Western      »       .    .    .     , 

Littoral  and  Amouria .    . 

Akmolinsk,  Semiretchensk, 
Semipalatinsk  .... 

Spirits. 

Sugar.  Tobacco.    f^!^^^'\  Matches. 

Total. 

4,654,200 

4,302,008 

080,090 

1,204,990 

95 

93,044 
42,504 
12,398 

11,150 

9,930 

14,700 

121,860 

29,088 

94 

4,762,045 

4,467,032 

731,500 

1,210,240! 

Total.    .    . 

1 

10,841,900 

95 

159,090 

9,930 

165,742 

11,177,423' 

It  is  evident  that  this  sum  is  loo  small  for  such  an  immense  territory  as  Siberia,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  as  a  consequence  of  the  considerable  improvements  in  the 
communications,  latterly,  either  carried  out  or  projected,  the  manufactures  above  named,  as 
ministering  to  the  daily  needs  of  the  population,  must  assume  more  extensive  dimensions. 

The  following  are  the  industries  not  subject  to  the  payment  of  excise,  the  returns 
being  those  for  1890: 


IN'DUSTRIES. 


Hides,  sheepskins, 
and  leather  goods 

Metals    .    .    .    . 

Milling    .    .    .    . 

Tallow   and    soap 
boiling.    .    .    . 

Timber  sawing.    . 


Western  orig- 
inal Siberia. 


A-^  5 


0-3 


Eastern  orig- 
inal Siberia. 


g  g 


I  ==f5  3 


5-^  OT 

.=^§"3 


Amour- Litto- 
ral  border- 
land. 


a  a 


o  ^ 


s  .'^  o 
25  3  ^ 


i,  3  _a3 


Kirghiz 

steppe  border 

land. 


3   ^ 


3    O^ 

,^  :i  s  I  3  j5  o 

>■=  5|;^;  3  s: 


o  ivT.'"' 
2  §"S 


Total. 


3  j5  o 
2;  3  s 


O    CO    "• 

'2  i's 


201 
5 

188 

41 


1,180 

38 

350 

17 

100 

55 

405 

310 

2,047 

187 

5 

338 

2 

40 

— 

12 

571 

2,152 

13 

284 

33 

834 

150 

1,005 

384 

4,275 

330 

4 

29 

3 

31 

56 

380 

104 

781 

— 

3 

27 

— 

— 

— 

3 

27 

198 


SIHKItlA. 


INDUSTRIES. 

Western  orig- 
inal Siberia. 

Eastern  orig- 
inal Siberia. 

Amour -Litto- 
ral  border- 
land. 

Kirghiz- 

steppe  border 

land. 

T  0 

t  a  1. 

pro-  1 
hons- 
ubles. 

fa's 

a  == 

pro- 
hons- 
ubles.  1 

1-2 

=5   es 

pro- 
hons- 
nbles. 

u-> 

i  i  ■/■ 

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O    '^' 

u_—    Oc?'          U-— -o 

o  '■'■•' 

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o   ^' 

**-   ^^    o 

^-'    (-1 

S  'i^     . 

"iz 

^■z 

*-  't? 

J2    O    03 

OJ   o   o 

^    O    t/1 

Qjoo.aOc«    oo® 

.C'     Zi    ijj 

(f   o   o 

ii  ~'fi 

•^    C    C- 

Xum 
ufact 
work 

Vain 
ducti 
ands 

Valu 
ducti 
amis 

Num 
ufact 
work 

Vain 
ducti 
ands 

Num 
nfact 
work 

Valu 
ducti 
ands 

Num 
ufact 
worl 

Vain 
diioti 
ands 

Caiidl('s(ialli)W  and 

wax) 

n 

50 

5 

52 

3  1       2h 

2 

9 

L'J 

i  iO 

Brick     and     liiiu' 

burning    .     .     . 

12 

19 

16 

41 

2 

3 

5 

6 

35 

09 

Porcelain,  faience 

1 

and  glass.    . 

3 

G5 

7 

280 

2 

18 

— 

— 

12 

363! 

Cloth,  wool  washing 

and  fell  .     .    . 

13 

218 

1 

57 

— 

— 

1 

1<» 

]5 

315, 

Saltworks  and  salt 

,  1 

grinding   .    .     , 

— 

— 

10 

330 

2 

20 

— 

-- 

12 

350 

Confectionery,  mo- 

lasses  and  pre- 

serves .... 

/ 

42 

2 

J4 

— 

— 

3 

■:A 

Yl 

I_«j 

Chemical,  vinegar 

1 

44 

1 

6 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

50 

Ropevvalks  .    .    . 

— 

5 

G 

— 

— 

5 

^\ 

Writing  paper.    . 

] 

236 

— 

— 

— 

—         - 

— 

1 

236 

Oil  mills  and  cheese 

making    .    .    . 

30 

52 

— 

— 

— 

— 

5 

9 

35 

61 

Total.   . 

513 

4,598 

109 

1,824 

64 

1,083 

278 

1,888 

963 

9,393 

Small    works,  not 

Included  in  above. 

With   production 

less   than  1,000 

roubles.    .    .    , 

771 

56 

24 

577 

1,428 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  total  production  of  the  Siberian  manufactories  and 
works  does  not  reach  9,500,000  roubles,  and  that  the  first  place  among  the  manufacturing 
industries  belongs  to  milling,  45  per  cent ;  the  second,  to  the  leather  and  sheepskin  trade,  afte 
which  follow  tallow  and  soap  boiling,  metals,  et  cetera.  These  industries  are  very  unevenly  distrib- 
uted over  the  different  regions.  Western  Siberia  is  alone  distinguished  by  a  great  variety  of 
productions,  whose  output  amounts  to  4,600,000  roubles.  The  opposite  position  is  occupied  by 
the  Amour-Littoral  borderland,  whose  production  is  about  one  million  roubles.  On  the  whole 
the  manufacturing  industry  of  Siberia  is  at  present  in  an  embryonic  condition.  Different 
industries  arise  and  develop  merely  for  the  satisfaction  of  local  requirements,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  business  of  industrial  and  commercial  undertakings  of  Siberia  are  extremely 
limited. 


MANUFACTUEINci    AND    THE    HOME    TRADE. 


199 


All  the  trade  dues  of  Siberia  scarcely  amount  to  one  million  roubles,  which  includes 
the  receipts  on  first  and  second  guild  certificates,  retail  trade  and  other  licenses,  market 
carrier  dues,  additional  taxes  to  the  services  connected  with  lodgings,  and  the  supplementary 
dues,  three  per  cent  on  share  undertakings  and  assessed  tax  on  guild  and  non-guild  concerns. 

The  incidence  of  these  taxes  according  to  different  articles  and  governments  in  1889  is 
shown  in  the  following  table. 


T  a  X  e  s: 


First  guild  .  .  . 
Second  »  ... 
Retail  trade  .  .  . 
!  Trade  certificates 
Clerk  » 

Carrier  » 
Peddlar  » 
Fair  dues  .... 

Fines  

Special  taxes    .   . 

Supplementary  dues: 
Three  per  cent 
Assessed  taxes 


>^ 


'S   f^ 

^4 

1^1 

!r> 

t» 

'o 

> 

o 

<-> 

o 

cS-^  H 

-« 

to 

o 

t£) 

H  S 

1— 1 

H 

8,445!  6,435 
9,479  20,631 


2,084 
437 

5,460 
464 
102 

424 


201 


2,908 

209 

9,231 

1,720 

183 

988 


8,428 
46,368 
17,988 

1,036 
17,761 

2,792 
390 
435 

5,01 

7,810 

316 
9,118 


22,915 

23,750 

20,290 

11,257 

1,665 

50,338 

52,872 

50,425 

82,646 

17,780 

6,728 

17,114 

39,829 

25,392 

3,118 

813 

553 

3,125 

2,159 

577 

21,954 

24,435 

25,546 

34,532 

7,994 

2,280 

1,456 

5,224 

8,568 

2,384 

342 

195 

822 

2,955 

372 

1,492 

705 

5,524 

3,557 

4,200 

1,675 

2,119 

5,520 

4,270 

543 

13,009 

10,205 

18,158 

14,032 

3,190 

119 



1,317 

316 

— 

* 

22,298 

23,502 

29,059 

* 

1,005 

22,068 

I 
10,680: 

617 

11,378 

2,8 

294 

28 

2,214 

3 


28,721 


44,772;  119,675,  125,6981  156,927 


198,688  222,327 


43,343 


53,633 


As  the  assessed  tax  is  only  imposed  in  the  four  most  important  governments  of  Si- 
beria, data  on  business  done  and  profits  received  are  only  to  be  had  for  these  governments, 
and,  even  so,  only  in  respect  to  guild,  industrial  and  commercial  undertakings. 

In  the  two  following  tables  is  set  forth  the  distribution  of  guild  undertakings  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  industry  or  trade  in  the  said  four  governments  of  Siberia,  with  a 
statement  of  the  turnover,  profit  and  average  lucrativenoss  for  each  separately  for  1889 


*  Not  collected. 


200 


SIBKRIA. 


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202  SIUKKIA. 

Tilt'  abovo  table  shows  at  a  glance;  what  goods  form  the  subject  of  home  trade,  lu  the 
forefront  appear  woollen  and  cotton  goods  swallowing  up  3G  per  cent  of  the  annual  turnover; 
n(!xt  follow  groceries  ]5  per  cent,  liquors  11  per  cent,  and  others.  Thus  the  chief  strength  of 
Siberian  trade  is  concentrated  in  i)rovisions,  clothing  and  shoes.  Part  of  these  goods  is  prepared 
on  the  spot,  but  a  considerable  proportion  is  imported  ready  made  from  European  Russia. 

To  elucidate  tin;  character  of  the  exchange  between  Siberia  and  Kuropean  Russia,  it 
is  necessary  to  turn  to  the  returns  of  the  Ural  Railway,  or  rather  to  those  of  two  of  its 
stations.  Tinmen  and  Tura,  which  no  freight  escapes  in  whichever  direction  it  is  going.  On 
examining  the  goods  traffic  over  the  said  line,  it  is  not  dill'icult  to  sec  that  the  principal  mass, 
going  in  the  direction  of  the  basin  of  the  Volga,  is  composed  of  raw  materials  and  half 
manufactured  productions  of  agriculture  and  cattle  rearing,  while  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  the  basin  of  the  Obi  go  principally  the  productions  of  manufacturing  industry.  In  the  first 
case  the  chief  articles  are  grain,  Hour,  flax  and  linseed,  tow,  nuts,  tallow,  butter,  hair, 
wool,  hides,  skins,  furs;  in  the  second,  cloth,  haberdashery,  groceries,  dry  goods,  metals,  por- 
celain, glass,  spirit,  sugar,  tobacco,  mineral  oils.  The  goods  of  the  latter  kind  forwarded  to 
Siberia  tmugh  Tiumen  and  Tura  amounted  in  1888  to  2,209,000  pouds,  in  1889  to  2,299,000 
pouds,  in  ls90  to  2,587 ,<XJO  pouds.  In  the  contrary  direction,  that  is,  towards  European  Russia, 
these  stations  forwarded  in  1888,  4,799,000  pouds,  in  1889,  3,676,000  pouds,  and  in  ls90, 
4,787,000  pouds.  The  returns  lor  1891  as  well  as  certain  details  on  the  goods  traffic  are 
given  further  on  under  the  description  of  the  water  ways,  as  up  to  the  present  time  this 
system  of  conveyance  is  almost  the  sole  existing. 

Passing  to  a  review  of  the  most  important  trade  centres,  it  must  be  observed  that 
the  scanty  population  scattered  over  the  boundless  expanse  of  this  country  by  virtue  of 
historical  and  still  more  geographical  conditions  could  not  be  concentrated  in  large  centres 
and  therefore  in  Siberia  to  the  present  day  there  are  hut  28  towns  counting  more  than 
5,000  inhabitants.  Of  these  the  most  largely  populated  are  Irkutsk  44,000,  Tomsk  40,000, 
Omsk   34,000,   Vierny   25,000,    Tobolsk  20,rKX),  and  Semipalatinsk  18,000. 

The  home  trade  is  mainly  concentrated  in  the  towns  named  and  consists  partly 
in  the  barter  of  the  raw  materials  produced  by  the  natives,  partly  in  the  sale  for  cash.  It  is 
everywhere  in  the  hands  of  a  few  persons,  who  availing  themselves  of  the  difficulty  of  com- 
munications and  the  absence  of  competition  in  consequence  of  this,  not  seldom  raise  the 
prices  exorbitantly  upon  all  goods,  especially  woollens  and  cottons.  Some  years  ago  a  comer 
was  arranged  among  several  liquor  merchants,  and  the  prices  of  alcohol  rose  so  high,  that 
the  Government  thought  good  to  despatch  a  considerable  party  of  spirit  from  Odessa  to 
Vladivostok,  for  sale  there  in  the  Government  warehouses  at  a  fixed  price  and  thus  compel 
the  ring  to  return  to  the  normal  course  of  business,  a  result  which  ensued  iu  the  shortest 
possible  time.  What  kind  of  goods  are  for  sale  appears  from  the  trade  returns  quoted  above. 
It  must  be  observed  that  trade  has  not  always  a  constant  character  but  often  becomes  more 
lively  at  certain  times  and  places  during  fairs. 

Fairs  in  Siberia  possess  a  great  importance  and  they  are  there  very  numerous,  hut 
their  business  is  not  great.  The  existence  of  these  institutions  is  dependent  upon  the  inade- 
quacy of  communications,  the  difficulty  of  transport,  the  inconveniences  of  frequent  travelling 


MANUFACTURING  AND  THE  HOME  TRADE.  203 

aud  Other  such    circumstances    which    compel   the   traders  to  assemble  at  a  determined  time 
and  place,  whither  merchants  come  together  from  every  part  with  their  goods. 

The  most  ancient  and  important  Siberian  fair  is  that  of  Irbit,  founded  in  1643,  admin- 
istratively forming  part  of  the  government  of  Perm,  that  is,  of  European  Russia,  but  geog- 
raphically an  integral  part  of  Siberian  territory.  Situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Irbit  and 
the  Nitsa,  tributaries  of  the  Tura,  Irbit  forms  the  half-way  house  for  a  number  of  routes. 
The  fair  there  is  open  from  the  1st  of  February  to  the  1st  of  March,  and  for  this  month  the 
little  town  wakes  up  and  welcomes  12,000  to  15,000  strangers,  doing  a  business  of  40,000,000  to 
50,000,000  roubles  each  time.  In  1868  various  goods  were  brought  to  this  town  to  the 
amount  of  37,311,000  roubles,  of  which  34,359,000  roubles  worth  were  sold;  in  1876,  the  fig- 
ures were  49,029,000  and  45,987,000  roubles  respectively;  in  1891,  45,896,200  and  39,302,700 
roubles.  The  decline  in  the  turnover  of  the  Irbit  fair  here  perceptible  is  in  direct  depend- 
ence upon  the  completion  of  the  Ural  and  Samara-Zlatoust  railways.  The  opening  of  the 
Great  Siberian  Railway  will  undoubtedly  still  further  diminish  the  importance  of  this  fair. 
The  chief  articles  of  trade  there,  after  tea,  are  peltry,  honey,  wax,  nuts,  hardware  and 
cutlery,  woollens  and  cottons.  The  wares  for  sale  here  are  mostly  of  Russian  origin, 
although  foreign  productions  from  both  Europe  and  Asia  are  not  unknown.  In  1891 
Russian  goods  were  imported  to  the  amount  of  39,274,000  roubles,  including  in  this  sum 
6,062,000  roubles  of  Asiatic  wares,  of  which  34,058,000  roubles  worth  were  sold.  The 
corresponding  figures  for  foreign  productions  were  6,622,000  roubles  and  5,245,000  roubles 
respectively. 

The  chief  article  of  commerce  in  the  Irbit  fair,  tea,  will  be  discussed  further  on.  As 
far  as  regards  fur  goods,  it  may  be  observed  that  already  now  with  the  approach  of  the 
general  railway  system  to  the  water  systems  of  Siberia  the  most  valuable  goods  of  this  kind 
are  forwarded  direct  to  Moscow,  without  passing  through  Irbit.  Thus,  in  January  of  the 
current  year,  1893,  a  party  of  sable  of  1,700  skins  was  forwarded  to  Moscow  and  sold  there 
for  100,000  roubles.  Judging  by  the  course  taken  by  fur  goods  for  some  years  past,  it  may 
be  confidently  expected  that  with  the  building  of  the  western  section  of  the  Great  Sibe- 
rian Railway  the  whole  of  the  fur  goods  from  the  basin  of  the  Obi  will  be  forwarded 
direct  to  Moscow.  In  the  current  year  there  were  5,450,000  squirrel  skins  brought  to  the 
fair,  and  1,500,000  hare  skins.  The  sale  of  sable  was  3,600  skins  at  60  to  75  roubles  apiece. 
Light  sable  was  offered  to  the  number  of  30,000  skins.  There  was  further  a  large  show  of 
arctic  fox,  25,000  skins,  krestovatik,  nekliui,  and  other  furs.  A  considerable  portion 
of  the  furs  at  the  Irbit  fair  is  acquired  for  foreign  export,  namely,  all  the  ermine,  k  o  1  o  n  o  k  s, 
krestovatiks,  bears,  marmot,  hares,  squirrel  tails,  black  and  striped  cat  for  Leipzig,  sable  for 
Leipzig,  Paris  and  London,  squiiTel,  wolf  and  fox,  for  Leipzig. 

Combining  the  above  data  with  the  returns  on  the  seal  trade,  it  may  be  seen  that 
the  trade  in  Russian  furs,  and  particularly  in  the  more  valuable  kinds,  is  principally  concen- 
trated in  London  and  Leipzig.  Both  these  markets  receive  from  Russia  the  goods  in  the  raw  state 
and  often  return  them  finished,  although  they  most  frequently  are  disposed  of  in  other  countries. 

Another  fair  in  the  same  government  of  Perm,  but  on  Siberian  territory,  is  Krestovsko 
Ivanovskaya.  By  the  business  done  there  it  occupies  the  next  place  to  that  of  Irbit.  It  opens 


204  SIHKUIA. 

on  tlio2()Uio(Auyu.>it  and  (•unlinucii  15  days,  that  i.s  to  the  Otli  of  Soplember.  In  1^68  goods  to 
iIk!  value  of  4,:-i97,0CXJ  roubles  were  brouglit  to  this  fair,  of  which  3,794,000  roubles  worth 
were  sold;  in  J 870  the  business  doubled,  the  figures  being  respectively  8,050,000  aud 
0,552,00<')  ronbh^s;  in  18'JJ,  the  business  again  declined,  the  g(jods  brought  amounting  to 
5,750,000  roubles;  in  1892,  there  was  a  further  fall,  to  4,942,a>J,  of  which  only  3,7'^:5,000 
1011  bios  worth  wore  sold. 

The  third  considerable  Siberian  fair,  llie  Xikolsk,  takes  place  in  Ishiiu  in  I)ecember, 
Irmii  ilio  1st  to  the  25lli,  and  has  a  special  object.  Hero  is  carried  on  the  trade  in  tln' 
produce  of  slock  breeding,  mainly  tallow,  butter  ami  liides.  The  total  business  of  the  fair 
aiiioiiiits  from  four  to  live  million  roubles  per  annum.  The  Xikolsk  fair  determines  the  prices 
for  tallow  and  the  character  of  the  trade  in  this  article,  although  the  latter  is  for  sale  in 
many  other  fairs.  The  total  offer  in  the  winter  is  as  much  as  one  million  pouds  of  tallow, 
the  greater  part  of  which  is  forwarded  to  the  port  of  St.  I'etersburg  for  export,  chiefly 
to  England.  During  recent  years,  however,  in  conso(|uence  of  the  enlivcnment  of  man- 
ul'actures  based  upon  tallow  within  the  Empire,  the  destination  of  this  article  has  somewhat 
altered.  Tallow  is  not  only  nbtainod  from  the  local  cattle,  but  most  of  all  Irom  cattle  driven 
from  the  Kirghiz  steppes  to  the  fair  near  lake  Toinchi-Kul  in  the  territory  of  Akniolinsk.  At 
this  fair  about  half  a  million  head  of  small  cattle  and  about  lOO.OT'O  head  of  large 
cattle   arc   sold. 

Fully  half  a  million  roubles  worth  of  butter  is  brought  to  the  Ishim  fair,  where  it  is 
bought  up  principally  for  Moscow,  St.  I*cteisburgh  and  Rostov-on-Don.  The  butter  is  taken  from 
the  fair  to  Ekaterinburg,  the  centre  of  this  trade.  Here  it  is  melted,  clarified  and  forwarded 
in  tli(>  Slimmer  per  raft  by  the  Ivama  to  St.  Potersburgh  and  Rostov,  aud  in  winter  it  goes 
to  Moscow  ill  the  form  of  kolobovoe.  Besides  the  three  fairs  considered,  possessing  im- 
portance exclusively  for  Siberia,  several  others  may  be  pointed  out,  in  Perm  and  in  the 
neighbouring  government  of  Orenburg,  in  the  district  of  Cheliabin=k.  At  these  fairs  the  chief 
trade  is  in  Siberian  produce  and  goods  destined  for  Siberia.  Independently  of  this  in  Siberia 
itself  there  are  reckoned  more  than  iOO  fairs,  of  which  in  the  government  of  Tobolsk  95,  in  the 
territory  of  Akniolinsk  30,  in  the  government  of  Tomsk  19,  in  the  territory  of  Semipala- 
tinsk  13.  ill  that  of  Traiisbaikal  11,  in  the  goveriiiiient  of  Yeniseisk  8,  in  that  of  Irkutsk 
9,  et  cetera.  They  last  not  less  than  three  days. 

In  the  small  Aniuisk  fort  in  the  Kolymsk  district  of  the  Yakutsk  territory  there  an- 
nually assembles  the  so-called  Chukche  Fair  which  brings  together  for  the  purposes  of  trade 
and  the  payment  of  y  a  s  a  k,  or  the  tax  in  furs,  natives  belonging  to  the  most  various 
tribes.  Among  them  are  the  three  divisions  of  the  Cliukches,  Olenny,  Xosovy  aud  Anadyr, 
and  represetantives  of  the  Toungouz,  Lasliuts,  Yakutsk,  and  Chuvaus.  The  Chukche  Fair  however 
has  latterly  been  less  frequented,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Coast  finding  it  possible  to  exchan^re 
their  productions  for  American  goods  brought  them  in  the  shape  of  contraband  in  the 
whalers.  This  illicit  trade  is  accompanied  by  frightful  exploitation  of  the  native  population 
and  their  depravemeut  by  drink.  Various  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  local  government 
authorities  to  combat  this  evil. 

In  the  territory  of  Semipalatinsk  the  trade  is  mainly  carried  on  between  the  Cossacks 


-MANUFACTURIXCt    AND    THE    HOME    TRADE.  205 

and  peasants  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Kirghiz  on  the  other.  In  the  first  case  it  .is  on  a  cash 
basis,  in  the  second  on  that  of  barter. 

In  the  Akmolinsk  territory  the  chief  subject  of  trade  is  cattle  and  their  produce.  In 
30  local  fairs  in  1889  business  was  done  in  these  articles  to  an  amount  of  8,000,000  roubles. 

Trade  with  the  natives  in  the  Littoral  territory  is  somewhat  peculiarly  situated. 
Almost  all  the  natives  are  here  in  dependence  on  traders  of  different  nationalities.  Golds 
and  Oroches  have  fallen  under  the  influence  of  the  Chinese.  The  latter  supply  them  goods 
on  credit,  but  secure  themselves  the  whole  of  the  native's  future  take  of  furs,  getting  the 
same  for  a  trifle.  The  Tunguses  are  in  the  same  dependence  on  the  Yakut  traders.  As  regards 
the  shore  tract  and  Kamchatka,  here  it  is  the  Russian  element  that  predominates. 

In  the  territory  of  the  Amour,  chiefly  at  the  confluence  of  the  large  tributaries  Zeya 
and  Bureya  with  the  Amour,  native  fairs  with  barter  take  place.  The  best  known  on  account 
of  the  extent  of  its  commercial  transactions  is  the  Kiman  native  gathering  on  the  Bureya. 
Here  3,000  sables  are  sold  annually  fetching  60,000  roubles,  and  other  furs  to  the  amount  of 
10,000  roubles.  In  the  total  for  1889  the  imports  into  the  Amour  teiTitory  of  Russian  goods 
amounted  to  2,500,000  roubles;  and  foreign,  1,000,000  roubles,  or  in  all,  3,500,000  roubles. 


— ^<S-— 


206  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER    XJII 
The  Foreign  trade  of  Siberia. 

The  Far  East  in  reference  to  customs;   the  import  and  export  of  Russian  ami  foreign  goods; 

Vladivostock   and  Nikolaevsk;  trade  with  China  across  the  land  frontier;  ports  of  the  Arctic 

Ocean;  the  Commandtn-    Islands;    tea  trade  over  the  European  and  Asiatic  frontiers;    Bohea 

and   brick  teas;  freights;  tea  traffic  by  rail;  western  China  and  Turkestan. 


THE  vast  territory  of  Siberia  is  washed  on  the  north  along  an  immense  extent  by  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  and  therefore  on  this  side  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  it  is  closed 
for  navigation,  and  even  during  the  season  of  navigation  nature  in  the  polar  zone  offers  so 
many  inconveniences  to  the  establishment  of  regular  navigation  that  up  to  the  present  time 
the  appearance  of  steamers  on  the  northern  coast  of  Siberia  is  more  or  less  accidental,  not 
yet  possessing  any  industrial  importance. 

The  eastern  zone,  bathed  by  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  possessing  for  the  greater 
part  a  more  moderate  climate,  has  many  advantages  over  the  northern.  Here  indeed,  during 
the  brief  period  since  the  establishment  of  the  Russian  dominion,  an  increased  movement  in 
the  shipping  has  been  observed,  accompanied  by  a  more  lively  traile.  On  the  south,  Siberia  is 
conterminous  with  Manchuria,  Mongolia  and  China.  Here  there  are  several  laud  routes,  by 
which  the  exchange  of  goods  takes  place  between  Russia  and  the  countries  named.  The  de- 
velopment of  trade  relations  with  the  Chinese  Empire  always  formed  the  subject  of  special 
anxiety  to  the  Russian  Government,  striving  to  negotiate  various  privileges  for  this  trade  and 
to  open  to  it  new  markets  within  the  limits  of  the  Chinese  dominions.  In  the  middle  of  the 
present  century,  besides  the  commercial  relations  taking  place  on  the  basis  of  the  Treaty  of 
Kiakhta  (1727)  through  Kiakhta  and  Urga,  trade  was  opened  by  the  Kuldzha  Convention 
(1851)  on  the  side  of  Ilya  aud  Tarbagatai.  Subsequently  the  Aikhun  Treaty  (1858)  authorized 
mutual  trade  to  the  subjects  of  both  countries,  living  along  the  rivers  Amour,  Ussuri,  and 
Sunguri,  while  that  of  Thian-Tzin  (1858)  granted  Russia  the  right  to  carry  on  trade  not  only 
by  land  but  also  by  sea  in  the  ports  opened  to  foreigners.  Finally  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Petersburg 
(1881)  the  districts  lying  on  both  slopes  of  the  Thian-Shan,  as  well  as  Su-Chow,  were  opened 
to  Russia.  Both  in  these  districts  and  in  Mongolia,  Russian  subjects  may  trade  duty  free. 
Upon  goods  forwarded  to  the  provinces  of  the  interior  and  exported  therefrom,  the  Chinese 
authorities  impose  import  and  export  customs  dues. 


FoKEKiX    TRADE.  207 

In  consequence  of  the  sparse  population  of  Eastern  Siberia  and  tlie  inadequacy  of  its 
communications,  on  the  one  hand,  and  witli  the  object,  on  the  other,  of  affording  new  settlers 
certain  privileges  for  getting  necessary  provisions  and  implements  of  labour,  it  was  thought 
best  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  annexation  of  the  Amour  territory  to  authorize  free  for- 
eign trade  in  the  Kamchatka  region  (1855),  and  in  the  ports  of  the  Amour  region  and  the 
Island  of  Saghalin  (1857).  It  was  at  the  same  time  declared  that  foreign  goods  might  enter 
free  of  duty  in  Russian  vessels,  and  ascend  the  Amour  without  any  restriction.  Foreign 
vessels  on  the  other  hand  were  not  permitted  to  navigate  the  Amour  higher  than  the  Mariinsk 
Post,  even  under  the  Russian  flag.  It  was  soon  thought  advisable  to  extend  the  right  to  free 
trade  in  foreign  goods  granted  to  the  Amour  region  to  all  the  ports  of  the  Littoral  territory 
of  Eastern  Siberia,  which  was  done  in  1860. 

On  the  review  in  1862  of  the  statute  on  the  organization  of  the  customs  office  in 
Eastern  Siberia  it  was  defined  that  European  and  Colonial  goods  forwarded  through  the  ports 
of  the  Littoral  and  Amour  territories  on  arriving  at  the  Irkutsk  customshouse  are  subject  to 
the  payment  of  customs  duties  on  the  basis  of  the  general  customs  tarilf  on  European  trade. 
From  goods  however  despatched  by  the  route  mentioned,  and  intended  for  consumption  within 
the  limits  of  the  said  territories,  customs  duties  as  before  were  not  exacted.  Subsequently 
certain  exceptions  were  admitted  in  this  respect,  and  from  1867  the  import  of  intoxicants  was 
made  dutiable,  and  from  1887  tobacco  goods  were  also  brought  under  this  exception.  Next, 
on  nearer  acquaintance  with  the  position  of  the  home  trade  of  Eastern  Siberia  and  in  the 
interests  of  the  normal  development  of  the  national  industry,  it  was  found  necessary  to  impose 
customs  duties  upon  all  imported  foreign  goods  which  are  subject  to  excise  within  the  country. 
This  measure  was  called  into  existence  among  other  things  by  the  abnormal  direction  taken 
by  our  export  trade.  Goods  subject  to  excise  and  destined  for  export  from  European  Russia 
into  Eastern  Siberia  were  declared  as  exported  abroad,  the  exporter  receiving  in  the  shape  of 
drawback  the  whole  of  the  excise  paid  by  him  and  in  some  cases  a  premium  on  the  export. 
These  goods  were  then  imported  as  foreign  into  the  ports  of  the  Littoral.  Thus  in  order  to 
obtain  the  premium  on  sugar  it  was  necessary  to  forward  it  first  to  some  foreign  point,  for 
example  Port  Said,  and  then  import  it  as  foreign  into  Vladivostok.  Something  of  the  same 
kind  took  place  in  the  tobacco  trade.  Hamburg  traders  taking  advantage  of  the  circumstance 
that  Russian  tobacco  goods  on  shipment  abroad  do  not  bear  any  internal  excise  began  to  order 
them  in  St.  Petersburg  and  despatch  them  to  Vladivostok  as  German  productions.  If  these  goods 
were  forwarded  direct  from  the  interior  governments  of  the  Empire  to  Vladivostok  without 
banderole  they  had  to  pay  export  in  that  port.  Approximately  the  same  thing  took  place  in 
reference  to  other  goods,  such  as  petroleum  illuminants,  matches,  et  cetera.  Thus  Russian  pro- 
ductions in  the  Russian  ports  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  were  in  a  depressed  state,  which  of  course 
could  not  be  regarded  as  normal  or  desirable.  To  regulate  the  trade,  and  at  the  same  time 
preserve  to  Eastern  Siberia  its  privileged  position,  as  regards  the  duty  free  enjoyment  of  for- 
eign productions,  from  1888  the  ports  of  the  Eastern  strip  of  Siberia  were  opened  for 
the  duty  free  importation  of  all  goods  with  the  exception  of  the  following:  sugar,  molasses, 
confectionery,  jam,  fruit  in  syrup,  in  liqueurs  et  cetera,  arrack,  rum,  French  brandy,  spirituous 
liquors  imported  in  bottles,   gin,  whiskey,   wines   made    from   grapes,   mead,    porter,    mineral 


208  SIUEKIA, 

illuiijiiiadn;,'  oils,  paralliri  liibricaliiig  oil,  sjdril  and  oil  jiolislies  and  mutcli. -.  iw  .i.e  articles 
named,  wiien  impoiied  into  the  ports  of  the  Littoral  territory,  tlie  actual  customs  tariff  on 
tlie  European  Irontier  is  extended.  Tobacco  goods  of  foreign  origin  imported  by  sea  into 
Vladivostok  and  Nikolaevsk,  as  well  as  Russian,  not  bearing  the  legal  banderoles,  are  made 
to  pay  duty  on  the  basis  of  tin;  general  tarill  at  the  Jiuropean  frontier.  'Ihe  collection  of  the 
duties  upon  goods  inii)f)rted  iiiio  the  ports  of  th^;  I-ittoral  territory,  on  account  of  the  absence 
there  of  customs  institutions,  is  imposed  upon  the  ollicials  of  the  local  excise  control.  On  the 
jiuhlicatioH  (d'  the  law  (pioted,  imposing  import  duties  on  certain  goods,  the  question  arose  as 
to  whether  duties  sh<mld  he  taken  from  the  foreign  goods  enumerated  above  when  imported 
into  the  Commander  Islands,  and  into  Petropavlovsk,  and  other  northern  ports  of  the  Littoral 
territory,  for  which  no  special  exceptions  arc  established.  Taking  into  consideration  the  pov- 
erty of  the  population  of  the  northeni  zone  of  the  said  territory  and  of  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  also  the  total  absence  there  of  excise  officials,  it  was  thought  advisable  in 
1^89  to  limit  the  exaction  of  customs  duties  from  certain  foreign  goods  imported  into  the 
ports  of  the  territory  of  the  Littoral  to  the  ports  of  Vladivostok  and  Nikolaevsk,  with  the- 
condition  that  the  exaction  of  such  duties  should  be  effected  on  the  same  general  basis  from 
the  goods  also  that  may  be  imported  into  the  said  ports  from  other  ports  of  the  Littoral 
territory. 

Thus  up  to  the  present  time  the  immense  territory  of  Eastern  Siberia  continues  ta 
remain  in  tlie  position  of  a  free  port  for  the  mass  of  foreign  goods,  which  however  does  not 
offer  any  danger  for  the  importation  of  duty  free  merchandise  through  Eastern  into  Western 
Siberia  and  further  into  the  interior  of  the  Empire. 

Notwithstanding  the  natural  wealth  of  Siberia  and  the  favourable  climatic  conditions- 
existing  in  many  localities,  its  productivity  in  consequence  of  its  scant  population  and  absence- 
of  communications  is  extremely  insignificant,  and  it  is  in  need  of  the  importation  from  without 
of  many  such  essential  articles,  as  under  other  circumstances  might  be  successfully  produced 
upon  the  spot.  Siberia  is  mainly  furnished  with  the  necessary  productions  by  importation 
from  the  following  countries. 

From  European  Russia  it  receives  cheap  cottons  and  woollens,  tobacco,  spirit,  sugaiv 
illuminants,  articles  of  leather  and  iron,  writing  paper  and  a  small  quantity  of  haberdashery 
and  articles  of  fashion.  From  Great  Britain,  Siberia  receives  chiefly  cotton  and  woollen  yam 
and  fabrics,  iron,  tin-plate  et  cetera.  From  Belgium,  glass  and  yarn,  are  imported:  from 
France,  articles  of  fashion,  preserves,  wine  et  cetera. 

The  United  States  of  America  carry  on  a  pretty  brisk  trade  with  Siberia  through. 
San  Francisco,  furnishing  that  country  with  flour  and  other  articles  of  food,  machinery  and 
agricultural  implements,  leather  goods  and  guns. 

Germany,  thanks  to  the  activity  of  many  German  lirms  in  Nikolaevsk  and  Vladivostok,, 
has  a  predominating  influence  in  the  import  trade  of  Siberia.  It  furnishes  the  most  various 
goods,  although  of  a  very  inferior  quality,  such  as  furniture,  sugar,  wine,  kitchen  utensils,, 
cottons  and  woollens. 

Korea  sends  to  Siberia  the  produce  of  its  agriculture  and  cattle  rearing,  grain, 
vegetables  and  cattle.    Japan  imports  mainly  wheat,  rice,  salt,  fruits,   and  to  a  very  limited 


FOREIGN    TRADE. 


209 


extent,  articles  of  luxury.  China  canles  on  a  large  trade  with  Siberia  in  tea;,  the  import- 
ation of  other  goods  takes  place  on  a  small   scale  bearing  a  more  or  less   casual    character. 

The  chief  articles  of  Siberian  export  through  the  Pacific  ports  are  the  produce  of  the 
whale  and  morse  industries,  furs,  sea  cabbage  and  fish.  The  remaining  articles,  namely  timber,  coal 
from  Saghalin,  trepang  or  sea  slugs  and  ginseng,  have  as  yet  hardly  any  industrial  importance. 

Foreign  goods  enter  Eastern  Siberia  mainly  through  Vladivostok,  Nikolaevsk  on  the 
Amour,  Blagoveschensk  and  Ayan  in  the  Yakutsk  territory.  By  not  one  of  these  four  routes 
can  duty  free  goods  penetrate  into  Western  Siberia  while  avoiding  the  Irkutsk  Customs- 
house.  Merchandise  from  Nikolaevsk  proceeds  to  Sretensk  almost  3,000  versts  by  the  Amour 
only  from  May  to  September;  in  winter  about  four  months  this  route  is  still  by  the  Amour 
over  ice,  while  in  the  remaining  spring  and  autumn  seasons  of  the  year  Nikolaevsk  is  quite 
cut  off  from  the  country,  with  which  accordingly  all  relations  for  the  time  cease.  Other  route 
than  the  Amour  there  is  none.  Goods  from  Sretensk  inevitably  take  the  direction  of  the 
Lake  Baikal  where  are  situated  customshouse  posts.  From  Vladivostok  goods  go  by  sea  and 
land.  In  the  first  case,  they  are  forwarded  to  the  ports  of  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  to  Kamchatka, 
the  Island  of  Saghalin,  the  harbours  of  Possiet  and  St.  Olga,  De  Castri  bay  and  others.  In  the 
second,  the  goods  go  to  China,  Korea,  Khabarovka  and  various  settlements  along  the  Ussuri  and 
again  fall  into  the  basin  of  the  Amour.  As  for  the  route  through  Ayan,  on  account  of  the 
entire  absence  of  population  in  this  locality,  the  importation  of  foreign  goods  through  the  territory 
of  Yakutsk  for  a  long  time  to  come  will  be  unable  to  assume    any  appreciable   dimensions. 

The  subjection  of  articles  paying  excise  to  a  customs  tariff  has  not  so  much  a  fiscal 
character  as  the  object  of  regulating  the  relations  of  importation  of  foreign  and  home  productions. 

The  imports  of  foreign  goods  paying  duty  into  the  Littoral  territory  in  1891  were 
expressed  by  the  figures,  8,000  pouds,  valued  at  J  17,689  roubles,  the  articles  being  as  in  the 
following  table. 


Groods   imported: 

1890. 

1891. 

Tobacco  in  the  form  of  cigars  and  cigarettes  .    . 
Raw  and  refined  sugar 

587 

60 
2,506 

972 
1,804 
4,097 

614 
8,599 
1,416 

1,182 

15  pouds 

6  J        :> 

20      » 
69     » 
2,529  bottles. 
1,522  pouds. 
2,298  bottles. 
5,049      » 

979  pouds. 
24,296  bottles 
104  pouds 
5      :> 
2,370     » 

Confectionery,  jams,  syrups 

Arrack,  rum,  grain  spirit 

Arrack,  rum,  French  brandy 

Wines  made  from  grapes  and  berries 

»         ;>         ;>           ;>          "■>         .->  Still 

»        »        »          :>         »        »  effervescing    . 
Mead,  porter,  beer,  cider 

;>             ;>            ;>             >            

Liquid  products  of  the  (listillatioii  of  naphtha     . 

Spirit,  turjieuline  and  oil  polishes 

Matches 

2J0 


fjIUERlA. 


Only  tilt;  gouiia  naniotl  i»iiyiiig  iluly  are  capable  of  a  ujom.'  or  luss  acr-urale  eslimaliou. 
As  for  oilier  goods,  they  are  accounteil  for  only  in  Vladivostok  and  Xikolaev.sk;  in  tUe  oHkt 
jtorts  of  the  Littoral  they  cscap",'  notice,  so  thai  liie  iuijxjrt  n-'tuins  into  this  territory  are 
iijstricted  to  dutiable  goods. 

(jf  the  iiKMchiindisf,'  imported  Id  \  hull vostok, about  25  pi;r  cent  are  cottons  and  woollens; 
15  piT  criit.  t^iiiiii  .iiid  flour,  and  Kj  pri  cent,  other  provisions.  Xe.vt  in  order  follow,  articles 
juade  of  juelal,  sugar,  spirit,  metals,  el  cetera.  In  the  supply  of  these  goods,  Germany  j)lays  the 
first  part,  jiroviiliug  ab(jut  30  per  cent  of  the  whoh;  imports.  From  European  Russia  come 
25  per  ci.Mit;  lioiii  England,  13  per  ce'iit:  iVoui  China  12,  Japan  13,  America  5  per  cr-nt,  and 
so  on.  After  the  imposition  of  duty  upon  certain  foreign  goods,  Russian  productions  began 
to  be  imjiort'-'d  in  greater  (juantilies,  although  foreign  production  still  preilominate,  as  appears 
from  the  trade  returns  of  Vladivostok  for  the  three  years  given  below. 


Year. 

Goods  imported,  in  roubles. 

Total. 

1                        1 

IJu-Mall.               Fnr."-iL:ll. 

1887 

1888 

i      1889 

1 

5,741.467 

5,s84,5')8 
5,709,544 

2,016,227     '     3,725,240 
2,120,987         3,763.521 
2.-384,722     '     3,324,822 

The  distribution  of  the  imported  goods  among  the  traders  according  to  their  nationality 
takes  the  followiuij  form. 


1889. 

Russian 
subjects. 

Foreign  sub- 1 

'1^^-    J^P---        Chinese. 
American. 

Coreans.  i 

Russiau  good,->   .... 
Foreign 

1 
1.2^4,3%          1,083,61(1                4,995                .-,731            — 
231,765     t     1,660,196     '       182,997         1,24^.997     '      1,310    ' 

1                    •      Tutal  .   . 

1,516,151 

2,743,806     1       187,992     ,     1,257,728 

i 

.  1,310    1 

The  above  table  shows  that  the  trade  in  Vladivostok  is  mainly  concentrated  in  the 
hands  of  foreigners,  namely  73  per  cent:  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  trade  chiefly  in  the  pro- 
ductions of  their  respective  countries. 

The  export  from  Vladivostok  is  on  the  whole  small,  the  principal  articles  being  the 
products  of  the  whale  and  morse  Industries,  to  the  amount  of  one  and  a  half  million  roubles, 
and  various  furs  valiwd  at  one  million  roubles.  Xext  follows  sea  cabbage,  of  which  250,000 
roubles  worth  is  forwarded  to  various  destinations  every  year;  p  ant  a,  35,000  roubles;  timber, 
30,000  roubles;  trepang,  15,000  roubles;  and  other  goods  to  the  value  of  250,000  roubles. 
Thus  the  total  e.xport  of  Vladivostok  may  be  estimated  at  three  million  rouble.?.  Vladivostok, 
forming  the  terminus  of  the  Siberian  Railway,  with  the  lat1er"s  completion,  will  undoubtedly 


FOREIGN    TRADE. 


2J1 


occupy  an  extremely  important  position  in  a  commercial  sense.  Already  during  the  last  decade 
a  considerable  increase  has  been  observed  in  the  annual  arrivals  of  shipping,  while  the 
({uantity  of  freights  has  grown  by  200  per  cent.  Simultaneously  with  the  construction  of  the 
line  a  commercial  port  will  be  built  there,  with  whose  completion  there  will  be  a  brisker 
movement  in  the  shipping. 

The  trade  of  Xikolaevsk  bears  a  somewhat  different  character:  from  this  point  for 
fully  3,000  versts  there  is  a  magnificent  water  way  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  thanks 
to  which  Xikolaevsk  has  greater  reason  to  be  considered  a  point  of  transit  than  Vladivostok. 
Of  the  total  imports  of  Xikolaevsk  35  per  cent  consist  of  tea,  11  per  cent  sugar,  10^  2  per 
cent  various  machinery  and  locomotives,  9  per  cent  manufactured  goods  and  8  groceries. 
The  population  of  Xikolaevsk  being  inconsiderable,  the  whole  mass  of  goods  is  not  consumed 
on  the  spot  but  forwarded  thence  up  the  Amour. 

In  supplement  to  the  data  on  the  importation  of  goods  into  Xikolaevsk  and  Vladivos- 
tok, may  be  quoted  further  the  returns  on  the  number  of  ships  that  visited  these  two  ports 
of  the  Eastern  Ocean. 


V  1  a  d  i  V  0  s  t  0  k. 

Steam.  Sailin.u:  Total. 


Xikolaevsk. 
Steam.  Sailiui 


Total. 


r 

1873  : 

PiUssian  . 
Foreign  . 

3 

1 

18 

10 

19 

/  Russian  . 
t.  r  oreign  . 

4 
3 

3 

12 

7 
15 

1677  ' 

Russian  . 

Foreign  . 

5 
11 

2 
19 

30 

1880  !  ^''''"^  ■ 
'  I:  oreign  . 

5 

1 

6 
14 

1880  : 

Russian  . 
Foreign  . 

17 
25 

29 

17 

• 
54 

^    .   f  Russian  . 
Ib84  ■; 

<.  Foreign  . 

6 

11 

2 

4 

8 
15 

1884  : 

Russian  . 

Foreign 

26 
31 

1 
15 

27 
46 

The  data  on  the  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels  in  the  said  ports  in  1891   appear  in 
the  foUowin.ff  table. 


Vladivostok     .    .    . 
Xikolaevsk  .... 

A    r    r    i    v    a    1    s. 

D  e  i>  a  r  t  u  r  e  s.            || 

Total. 

Sailing.        Steam. 

lotal. 

Sailing. 

Steam. 

0 

Ton- 
nage. 

0     Ton-     -3     lon- 

v.                                    1        (Z) 

,-     nage.     ^a;  1  nage. 

-^              \  *^  \       ' 

-Z     Ton- 
'^     nage. ' 

■3     Ton- 

co 

.0    nage. 

Ton- 
nage. 

111'  48,560 
33    9,347 

9 
6 

658  102 

541     27 

47,911 
8,806 

108|47.6J2 
33    9.347 

7       555, 101 
6l      541 i    27 

47,057 
8,806 

\ 

144 

57,916 

15 

1,199 

129 

56,717 

141' 56,959 

13    1,096 

1 

128 

55,860 

Thus,  from  the  data  quoted  it  appears  that  the  number  of  ships  arriving  at  the  two 
chief  ports  of  the  Siberian  shore  of  the  Eastern  Ocean  is  increasing  every  year,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  but  that  with  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  on  the  Amour  and  the 
opening  of  the  Ussuri  branch  of  the  Great  Siberian   Line  this  growth  will  go  still  fastei'. 


212 


SIBEKIA 


Passing  to  the  rf'Vif:w  of  tlie  Ibroign  trado  of  Siberia  across  the  land  frontier  wiih 
China,  Mongolia  and  Mantchuria,  it  must  be  observed  that  the  trade  in  this  direction,  although 
it  has  boon  carried  on  from  the  earliest  times  but  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  roads  alike 
within  the  limits  of  Siberia  and  in  the  conterminous  states,  has  for  a  long  time  kept  within 
the  same  boumls,  and  with  the  increase  of  trade  in  the  navigations  of  the  Amour  basin 
and  in  the  (ireat  Ocean  the  land  trade  is  aj»parently  iliniinisliint.'.  The  most  important  route 
in  this  direction  is  the  natural  road  connecting  the  industrial  centres  of  the  Celestial  Empire 
through  LTrga  and  Maimachin  with  Kiakhta  and  Irkutsk,  and  consetjuently  with  the  great 
Siberian  tract.  Other  less  important  roads,  two  in  number,  connect  Western  China  with  the 
territory  of  Semipalatinsk.  Along  these  principal  ways  the  export  of  goods  from  Siberia 
does  not  exceed  two  to  three  million  roubles  a  year.  The  import,  on  the  other  hand,  reaches 
fourteen  to  fifteen  millions.  But  if  from  the  latter  figure  be  excluded  the  value  of  the  tea 
imported  through  Kiakhta  into  European  Kussia,  as  this  article  to  a  considerable  extent  is 
merely  in  transit  as  far  as  Siberia  is  concerned,  the  total  value  of  the  imported  goods  will 
be  found  to  correspond  to  that  of  the  exports.  The  chief  subject  of  export  is  the  produce  of 
cattle  rearing,  and  that  of  import,  is  tea. 

The  table  below'  gives  the  total  values  of  imports  and  exports,  while  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  Semipalatinsk  Customs  district  does  not  exactly  con'espond  with  the 
boundaries  of  the  territory  of  the  same  name,  including  as  it  does  part  of  the  Turkestan 
country.  In  conse(|uence    of  this  the  corresponding  figures  will  diUer  somewhat  from  the  faci. 


1891. 
Exported. 

Semipalatinsk' 
('ustoms  di- 
strict (with 
China. 

Trade  with 
UraulTliai. 

Irkutsk  Cus- 
tomhouse 
through  Ki-i 
akhta  (with 
China). 

Littoral 
teiiitory  ^ 

Total.       ' 

Provisions 

Raw   and   half-manufactured 
materials    .   .    •  .    .    .   . 

Animals 

73,063 

190,091 

109,948 

1,119,440 

5,688 
34,439 

58,044 

8,146 

682,473 

6,926 

850,932 

86,897 

907,003  1 
116,874 
2,028,416  • 

Manufactured  goods     .... 

Total     .    . 

Imported  (examined). 
Provisions  '• 

Raw    and   half-manufactured 
materials 

Animals     

2,168,963  1 

50,317 

373,848 
162,457 

111,701 

98,171 

9,813 

13,974 

77,301 

170 

1,548,477 

11,817,795 
169,821 

589,166 

70,594 
880 

46,215 

3,815,611  ! 

11,948,519  ' 

558,523  ' 
239,758  i 
748,252 

Manufactured  goods    

Total     .   . 

762,446  ' 

101,258 

12,576,782 

117,689 

13,558.175 

1 

1.  Including  676,421  roubles  worth  of  goods,  not  accounted  for  in  detail.  2.  Including 
64,123  roubles  worth  of  goods  not  accounted  for  in  detail.  3.  Per  Vladivostok  and  Xikolaevsk, 
in  the  import  only  dutiable  goods  being  shown.  4.  Included  tea. 


FOREIGN    TRADE. 


213 


Almost  all  this  baiter  trade  takes  place  between  Siberia  aud  China,  while  in  respect 
to  export  the  first  place  is  occupied  by  Semipalatinsk  through  which  about  60  per  cent  of 
all  the  goods  exported  pass.  The  imports  on  the  other  hand  took  place  mainly  through  Irkutsk 
and  Kiakhta.  The  export  of  Russian  goods  through  Kiakhta  during  the  last  six  years  appears 
from  the  following  table: 


Goods    exported. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

R 

3           U 

b        1 

e        s. 

;   Provisions 

83,030 

27,623 

7,033 

2,434 

5,532 

8,146 

Raw   and  half-manufactu- 

red materials 

794,400 

999,094 

926,119 

688,361 

601,667 

682,473  [ 

Animals 

5,429 

11,874 

10,392 

11,502 

9,800 

6,926 i 

Manufactnred  goods  .   .    . 

732,315 

1,416,181 

1,560,023 

485,515 

536,458 

850,932 

Total.    .   . 

1,615,174 

2,454,772 

2,503,567 

1,187,8]2 

1,153,457 

1,548,477 

The  value  of  the  exports  under  the  first  article,  foodstuffs,  is  extremely  small,  and  is 
composed  mainly  of  that  of  grain  whose  export  is  subject  to  great  fluctuation. 

The  second  article,  more  important,  is  almost  entirely  formed  of  the  value  of  various 
skins  and  hides,  as  appears  from  the  data  given  below  for   the  same  years. 

1886.         1887.  1888.  1889.  1890.         1891. 
Roubles. 

33,183  7,21)0  _  —             _ 

245,032  300,961  264,012  141,234    112,058 

—  19,319  40,900  22,536       22,590 
159,743 
303,597 


Skins,  sheep  and  goats  ....  65,959 

»      wolves,  foxes  and  lynx  .  205,671 

»      otters,  beaver,  and  bear  .  8,603 

»      various 177,205 

Russia  leather ....    ....  199,921 

Tanned  hides,  except  Russia  lea- 
ther    .   .    • 51,954 

Horns  and  hoofs 51,407 


81,714 

314,278 


75,159       64,965     130,774 
165,290     194,397     261,275 


18,305       26,170       13,020 
102,852      138,370     139,978 


65,346       56,173 
150,089     126,382 

As  for  the  export  of  manufactured  goods,  this  article  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
export  of  cloth,  linen  and  cotton  fabrics,  exported  during  the  period  under  conside- 
ration as  follows. 


Goods    exported. 


1886. 


1887. 


1888. 


1889. 


1890. 


1891. 


Cloth    

Linen  and  hemp  goods 
Cotton  goods 


298,404 


370,681 


695,832 

62,114 

550,929 


637,590 
56,914 

772,788 


85,674   118,587   158,289 

—     31,679  '  16,384 

512,643   540,197  j  897,951 


214 


-^IHEKIA. 


The  imports  to  Rus-mh  lioiu  (  inini  liuongh  ilie  Irkutsk  Custombouso,  corresponding  to 
Kiakhta,  consist  to  tlie  extent  almost  of  9m  per  cent  of  tea.  The  following  gives  a  general 
vi('\v  (tf  the  iiiipoits  across  this  I'lontii'r  for  the  same  years. 


I  III  |)  <i  Its: 


I'lOVisjdli-      .     . 
Raw  and  liall'-iiiaiui- 
factuied  materials 
Manulactured   L'-onds 


L'!i,948,230   30,034,486  ,  17,761,209  i  16,693,746  14,213,274 


6,941 


18,838 !        46,646 


54,364 


41.3.' 


f)S^.176  52.816  93.757  1        ]  13.20';        2r,n.;;2: 


11,817,896 


169,97.5 

591.461 


Total 


30,053,347  ,  .lO.lOG.llO    17,901,612    16,-61,37^  14,520,93(U2,.5>i2,335 


On  examining  the  totals  of  this  table  for  the  last  six  years,  a  diminution  of  the  imports 
from  thirty  millions  to  twelve  million  roubles  will  be  noticed,  which  is  caused  not  only  by  the 
diversion  of  lea  cargoes  to  the  sea  route,  as  will  be  explained  later  in  detail,  but  mainly  by 
a  change  in  the  system  of  valuation  of  tea  adopted  recently,  namely  instead  of  the  value  of 
tea  in  retail  trade,  60  roubles  a  poud,  the  price  of  tea  at  the  frontier  is  taken  before  the 
payment  of  duty,  about  20  roubles  per  poud.  In  fact  this  diminution  is  still  more  considerable 
as  the  sum  shown  includes  goods  not  only  received  by  land  through  Maimachin-Kiakhta  but  also 
by  the  Amour.  It  is  true  that  by  the  latter  route  comparatively  little  Is  received,  but  in  the 
gross  these  imports  prove  to  be  an  appreciable  quantity.  Thus  for  example,  the  value  of 
foodstuffs  passing  through  the  Irkutsk  Customs  in  1891  is  composed  as  follows. 


T  e  a  s. 

Bonds.       i     Roubles. 

Bohea  Tea    .... 
Brick      •>  (kirpich) 
Cake      s>  (plitka)  . 

26<),72>s 

593,806 

32,610 

5,766,323 

5,571,841 

450,321 

Total  .   .    . 

s87,144 

11.788,485    i 

1 

Of  the  quantity  of  tea  shown,  there  were  brought  by  the  Amour  234  pouds  of  Bohea 
tea  or  less  than  ^'lo  per  cent;  21,516  pouds  of  brick  tea,  or  about  4  per  cent.  Thus  through 
Irkutsk  besides  tea  there  passes  about  one  million  roubles  worth  of  other  foodstuffs. 

Speaking  of  the  foreign  trade  of  Siberia  it  is  impossible  not  to  refer  to  one  more 
article,  namely  timber,  which  in  the  near  future  must  become  an  important  item  of  Russian 
export.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  with  the  vastness  of  the  forest  plantations  of  the  Far  East,  and  the 
absence  of  any  attempt  at  using  Ihem  for  industrial  purposes,  these  resources  till  now  are 
lost,  bringing  the  country  no  advantage.    And   yet  the   immense  country   at   the   very   doors 


*  or  which  to  the  value  of  5,553  roubles  were  received  by  post. 


FOREIGN    TRADE.  215 

with  its  four  hundred  million  population  suffers  from  a  deficiency  of  timber,  which  it  might 
obtain  with  the  greatest  advantage  for  itself  from  Siberia; 

In  the  interior  provinces  of  China,  almost  entirely  bereft  of  forest  vegetation,  timber 
is  sold  by  weight  and  extremely  dear,  seeing  that  it  has  to  be  supplied  from  very  remote 
places,  not  seldom  a  thousand  versts  away,  on  the  backs  of  camels.  It  is  true  that  timber 
might  be  furnished  to  China  from  Mantchuria,  the  northern  portion  of  which  is  yet  covered 
with  virgin  forest,  but  it  has  been  preserved  there  in  such  an  inacessible  situation,  that  the 
export  and  carriage  to  the  chief  markets  of  consumption  will  be  very  expensive.  On  some  of 
the  Japanese  islands  there  is  also  still  forest,  but  in  Japan  itself  there  always  exists  an 
unfailing  demand  for  that  article.  Under  such  circumstances  advantage  should  be  taken  of 
the  forest  wealth  of  the  Amour  and  Littoral  territories,  and  yet,  although  since  1863  there 
have  been  not  a  few  attempts  of  the  kind,  the  enterprise  has  not  been  attended  with  success. 
The  timber  was  exported  in  the  green  state,  simply  hew7i  w'ithout  any  shaping,  in  consequence 
of  W'hich  its  transport  came  very  expensive.  On  the  other  hand  the  same  article  was  received 
by  China  from  California  in  a  perfectly  dry  and  seasoned  condition,  sawn  and  cut  up  for 
various  purposes.  Thanks  to  such  foresight  on  the  part  of  the  American  traders,  they  have 
a  predominating  influence  in  the  whole  timber  trade  of  China. 

In  1863  the  first  attempt  was  made  to  facilitate  and  regulate  the  export  of  timber 
from  the  Littoral  territory,  but  it  ended  in  failure.  In  consequence  of  the  placing  of  a  duty 
upon  the  goods  destined  for  export  the  trade  was  unable  to  take  root. 

Passing  to  the  review-  of  the  participation  of  the  separate  territories  of  Siberia  in  the 
foreign  trade,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  most  important  part  in  this  respect,  as  far  as  imports 
are  concerned,  falls  to  the  Transbaikal  territory,  thanks  to  its  direct  relations  with  China  via 
Irkutsk  and  Kiakhta.  Besides  the  last  point  the  foreign  trade  of  the  Transbaikal  territory  is 
carried  on  further  via  the  following  centres:  Tsurukhaitui,  Abagoitui,  Tsagan-Olui,  and  the 
station  of  Verkhneulkhunsk,  through  which  in  1889  there  were  exported  into  Mongolia  ani- 
mals, animal  produce,  manufactured  goods  et  cetera,  to  the  amount  of  112,849  roubles,  while 
In  1890  the  export  fell  to  69,851  roubles.  Through  the  same  centres  there  were  imported 
from  Mongolia  various  animal  produce,  animals  and  tea,  in  1889  to  the  amount  of  93,403 
roubles,  and  in  1890  to  that  of  90,112  roubles. 

The  Siberian  ports  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  reference  to  the  importation  of  foreign  goods 
are  on  the  whole  brought  under  the  Customs  tariff  for  the  European  frontier.  But  in  view  of 
the  special  peculiar  local  circumstances  not  unfrequently  duty  free  importation  of  foreign 
goods  is  authorized  by  a  special  Imperial  order.  And  yet  the  northern  shores  of  Siberia  are 
rarely  visited  by  foreigners.  The  most  important  place  of  importation  is  the  mouth  of 
the  Yenisei,  whither  in  1890  came  the  steamers  of  the  Anglo-Siberian  Company.  These  steam- 
ers were  loaded  with  24,108  roubles  worth  of  provisions,  130,076  roubles  worth  of  raw  and 
half-manufactured  materials,  and  214,000  roubles  worth  of  manufactured  goods.  The  flotilla 
ascended  the  Yenisei,  and  their  freights  reached  the  towns  of  Krasnoyarsk,  Irkutsk  and  Tomsk. 
Although  these  goods  were  freed  from  Customs  duties,  and  the  same  privilege  was  even  extended 
to  the  navigation  season  of  1894  inclusive,  neither  in  1891  nor  in  1892  was  there  any  impor- 
tation by  this  route.  The  English  steamers  on  their  return  cruise  took  on  board  grain  and  meat. 


216 


SIliKUlA. 


Tlie  Commainlor  Islamic  lunuiii^  pait  u\'  Siboria  fiuin  an  a'imiai.slrative  point  of  view 
do  not  present  great  commercial  interest.  Tlie  exports  thence  are  confined  to  skins,  of  which, 
in  1891,  319,CKJ0  rouble-s  worth  were  despatched,  in  1892,  3G5,</J<J  ronbles  wortli  in  gold,  Th<i 
imports  on  tlie  other  liaiid  do  not  exceed  50,000  roubles  wortli,  more  than  half  of  the  goods 
coming  Imm  Ameiica.  'Jhe  figures  given  here  for  the  value  of  the  skins  are  calculated  only 
on  tlir  Ciowii  i;ix  accruing   liom  tiii-m. 

The  tea  trade:  From  the  sketch  just  presented  of  the  foreign  trade  of  Siberia,  it 
appears  that  of  all  the  foreign  goods  imported  by  land  into  Siberia  or  passing  through  in 
truMsii,  tea  deserves  the  greatest  altt-ntion,  forming  as  it  does  by  its  value  fully  98  per 
cent  of  all  the  imports.  And  although,  as  will  appear  further  on,  the  importation  of  tea  into 
the  Empire  via  Siberia  is  declining  with  every  year,  yet  by  its  value  this  article  continues 
even  now  to  occupy  the  first  place  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  examine 
somewhat  more  in  detail  the  routes  by  which  tea  travels  from  China  through  Siberia,  and  to 
elucidate  the  causes  of  the  decline  in  its  transport  through  Siberia. 

The  tea  trade  with  China  has  existed  in  Russia  fully  two  centuries.  In  1802  only 
45,000  ponds  were  imported  of  Bohea  and  brick  tea.  In  1S20  the  amount  was  about  10<),000 
pouds.  In  the  middle  of  the  present  century  this  figure  was  trebled,  and  from  the  end  of 
the  seventies  the  trade  grew  particularly  fast,  thanks  to  the  direct  communication  estab- 
ished  by  the   Volunteer  Fleet  between  Odessa  and  the  Siberian  ports  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  the  last  decade  however  a  certain  steadiness  has  been  observable,  the  figure  of 
the  imports  has  fluctuated  about  two  million  pouds  a  year,  the  direction  of  importation  only 
changing,  that  is,  overland  or  by  sea. 


Year. 

Total,  ponds. 

European 

fi-nntier. 

Irkutks 
Customs. 

1887 

2,021,095 

007,320 

1,429,914 

1888 

1,921,472 

695,367 

1,210,769    1 

1889 

1,914,565 

702,001 

1,188,971 

1890 

1,916,985 

834,720 

1,001,940 

1391 

1,964,790 

743,810 

1,109,698 

1892 

2,142,107 

798,980 

1,217,046 

As  tea  in  some  cases  is  imported  free  of  duty  it  follows  that  the  consumption  is 
somewhat  greater  than  above  stated.  The  data  on  the  importation  from  1377  to  1891  inclu- 
sive show  that  the  imports  across  the  European  frontier  are  increasing,  although  unevenly. 
In  the  quinquennial  period  1877  to- 1381,  748,500  pouds  were  imported;  in  1882  to  1886, 
885,600  pouds,  and  in  1887"  to  1891,  782,900  pouds.  Brick  tea  was  imported  in  the  first  five 
years  to  the  extent  of  843,800  pouds,  in  the  second  five  years  to  that  of  972,100  pouds,  and 
in  the  third,  to  that  of  1,171,200  pouds.  .The  total  quantity  of  imports  changed  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  in  the  first  period,  1,593,00<3  poud,  in  the  second,  1,890,(X)0  pouds,  and  in  the 
third,  1,982,000  pouds. 


forp:ign  trade. 


217 


In  cxplauation  of  the  considerable  importation  noticeable  via  the  Irkutsk  Custom- 
house in  18S7,  it  may  be  observed  that  this  year  was  exceptional,  a  certain  firm  beginning 
to  operate  unsuccessfully  with  brick  tea.  It  imported  an  enormous  quantity  of  this  article, 
which  naturally  did  not  at  once  find  a  buyer  and  which  for  three  years  produced  a  pressure 
upon  the  normal  trade  in  brick  tea.  A  more  just  idea  of  the  course  of  the  tea  trade  through 
the  Irkutsk  Customhouse  may  be  formed  by  the  comparison  of  the  following  figures  upon 
this  question.  They  show  the  quantities  of  tea  cleared  by  the  Irkutsk  Customhouse  during 
the  period  under  consideration. 


Years. 

Bohea. 

Brick. 

Cake. 

Total. 

1 

Thousand     p  o  u  d  s  .         \\ 

1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 

472 
473 
416 
303 
302 
379 

927 
738 
763 
667 

775 

806 

10 
32 
33 
32 

1,42'J 
1,211 
1,190 
1,002 
1,110 

1,217 

1 

Thus  the  large  transport  of  brick  tea  in  1887  produced  a  depression  until  1890,  from 
which  time  the  trade  in  brick  tea  assumes  a  more  normal  character,  and  the  importation  of 
this  article  steadily  increases. 

From  the  figures  quoted  it  is  clear  that  tea  is  imported  into  Russia  mainly,  to  the 
extent  of  one-half  of  the  total  quantity,  overland,  or  through  Siberia  and  the  Russian 
Central  Asiatic  possessions.  The  cause  of  such  preference  of  the  land  route,  although  compa 
ratively  more  expensive  than  the  sea  route,  will  be  explained  further  on. 

The  main  mass  of  tea  is  the  Bohea  which  is  brought  to  every  part  of  the  Empire  and 
is  the  more  valuable  article.  Brick  tea  is  consumed  only  by  the  Siberian,  Kirghiz  and  Cal- 
.muck  natives  of  Eastern  Russia,  in  consequence  of  which  this  sort  of  tea  is  brought  into 
Russia  exclusively  across  the  Asiatic  frontiers  and  knows  not  the  sea  route.  During  the  last 
six  years  there  was  imported  into  Russia  and  cleared  through  the  Customs  brick  tea  to  the 
following  amounts. 


1886 

768,415  pouds. 

1889 

762,807  pouds 

1887 

957,542       » 

1890 

668,659      » 

1888 

737,834      » 

1891 

777,427      » 

Brick  tea  is  imported  almost  exclusively  via  Kiakhta  and  the  Irkutsk  Customhouse, 
very  little  being  transported  through  the  Russian  Central-Asiatic  possessions,  in  some  yeans 
the  quantity  scarcely  reaching  1,000  pouds. 

However  not  the  distribution  alone  of  the  consumers  of  brick  tea  influences  the  direction 
taken  by  its  transport;  the  latter  is  the  result  in  a  much   greater  degree  of  the  tariff  estab- 


218 


SIHiiRIA. 


lished  for  lliis  soil  "i  i.-.i  m  llie  difTorent  customhouses.  According  to  the  cusioiij-  uu.  - 
now  in  operation,  the  duty  on  bri<k  tea  is  levied  at  the  European  frontier  at  the  rate  of  21 
roubles  gold  per  pomi,  that  is,  at  the  same  rate  as  from  Bohea,  while  the  same  tea  passing 
through  the  Irkutsk  Customhouse  pays  only  2.  50  roublfS.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  to 
import  it  into  Odessa  and  tlienco  forward  it  lo  Eastern  Russia  does  not  present  any  ad- 
vantages. 

lirick  tea,  to  lesurae,  is  imported  annually  to  the  amount  of  about  750,('0'»  pouds. 
l"]xclniliiig  this  ([uantity  from  the  total  importation,  it  will  appear  that  the  most  expensive 
or  Uohea  tea  is  despatched  principally  by  sea,  there  being  a  strong  tendency  to  conveyance 
l»y  sea,  evident  at  a  glance  from  the  following  comparison  as  regards  the  importation  of  Bohea 
tea,  paying  duty. 


Y<'ar-. 

Tu,,!. 

Acro!«s 
Kuro|»eaii 
fi'Oiitiei'. 

\i;i  Iiknt^k. 

P<Tcenia^'e 
of  importation 

\ia  Iikntsk. 

18^7 

J  ,005.334 

007,320 

458,014 

43.0 

1888 

1,108,289 

095,307 

472,922 

40.5        j 

1889 

1,117,937 

702,091 

415,840 

37.1 

1890 

1.137,805 

834,720 

303,145 

20.0 

1891 

1,040,305 

743,810 

302,495 

28.8        i 

1892 

1 

1,041,023 

005,070 

370,553 

30.0 

The  quantity  of  Bohea  tea  imported  has  remained  during  the  last  live  years  almost 
without  change,  the  transport  in  the  beginning  of  the  period  being  divided  almost  equally 
between  the  sea  and  overland  carriage,  while  in  the  subsequent  years  the  traffic  across  the 
Asiatic  frontiers  declines,  in  1891  only  29  per  cent  passing  in  this  direction.  Judging  from 
this,  it  might  be  thought  that  the  sea  carriage  is  so  much  cheaper  than  that  l»y  overland  that 
the  privileged  tariff  now  existing  in  respect  to  the  importation  of  Bohea  tea  through  the  Irkutsk 
Customhouse,  namely  13  roubles  gold  per  pood  Instead  of  21  by  the  European  Customs,  is 
insufficient.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  this  is  caused  by  the  steadiness  of  the  freights  by  the 
sea  carriage,  while  the  cost  of  the  overland  carriage  is  sul)ject  to  considei'able  fluctuations 
and  depends  on  many  circumstances.  To  clear  up  this  side  of  the  question  and  ascertain 
the  significance  of  tea  freights  for  the  future  Siberian  Railway,  it  is  necessary  to  indicate 
of  what  elements  is  composed  the  cost  of  carriage  of  tea  overland  and  by  sea. 

Bohea  tea  is  imported  into  Russia  mainly  from  Han-Kow,  whence  it  is  despatched  hy 
sea  through  Thian-Tsin  to  Pekin,  and  thence  to  Kalgan,  Urga  and  Kiakhta  to  Irkutsk. 
Besides  this,  a  small  pgrtion  of  tea  Is  forwarded  to  the  Irkutsk  Customhouse  by  another 
route,  namely  by  water.  'This  route  is  from  Ilan-Kow  by  sea  to  Xikolaevsk,  then  by  the  Amour 
to  Sretensk,  and  thence  overland.  By  this  last  route  the  carriage  to  Irkutsk  costs  two  roubles 
cheaper  than  through  Kiakhta.  But  the  following  circumstances  are  in  the  way  of  the  suc- 
cessful development  of  the  traffic  in  this  direction.  Nikolaevsk  is  accessible  to  steamers  only 
during   four   to  five   months  of  the    year,   from   June  to  October,  and  even  so  only  for  light 


FOREIGN    TRADE.  2  1  9 

draught  vessels  drawing  less  than  fourteen  feet  of  water.  Next  come  the  inconreniences  of 
the  navigation  in  the  stormy  Tartar  straits  and  in  the  mouth  of  the  firth  of  the  Amour. 
Finally  there  is  the  roadlessness  of  Transhaikalia. 

The  carriage  per  pond  of  tea  from  Ilan-Kow  through  Irkutsk  to  Xizhni-Xovgorod.  the 
chief  centre  of  the  trade  in  the  tea  imported  by  this  route,  costs  about  IS  to  20  rouhles. 

Carriage  from  Ilan-Kow  via  Thian-Tsin,  Pekin  and  Urga  to  Kiaklita  7.  2S  rouhles 

Expenditure  at  Kiakhta  and  carriage  to  Irkutsk 3.  00      ;> 

From  Irkutsk  to  Xizhni G.  <i0      » 

Insurance  from  Thian-Tsin  to  Xizhni  (2' '4  per  cent) 0.  90       > 

Percentage  on  capital  invested i.  43      ;> 

Total.  18.  Gl  roubles 

The  goods  sometimes  are  a  year  on  the  road;  they  require  extremely  careful  packing, 
the  sewing  of  the  tea  boxes  into  leather  cases,  and  watchful  supervision  in  transit;  all  these 
circumstances  make  the  tea  traders  prefer  the  sea  route,  even  although  the  freight  should 
somewhat  exceed  the  difference  in  the  duties. 

The  cost  of  the  conveyance  of  tea  via  Nikolaevsk,  Sretensk,  Irkutsk  and  Xizhni,  is 
composed  of  the  following  elements:  from  Han-Kow  to  Nikolaevsk  with  packing,  insurance, 
commissions  and  other  expenses,  2.65  roubles;  from  Xikolaevsk  to  Sretensk,  including  tranship- 
ment and  various  general  expenses,  2.3()  roubles;  from  Sretensk  by  road  to  Irkutsk,  5.55 
roubles,  thence  to  Nizhni  6  roubles;  the  total,  1G.50  roubles. 

The  sea  route  is  considerably  cheaper,  from  Han-Kow  to  Odessa,  including  packing, 
insurance,  freight,  commissions,  customs  duties  in  Odessa,  insurance  and  carriage  further 
by  rail  to  Xizhni,  amounts  in  all  to  about  6  roubles.  Accordingly,  a  poud  of  tea  in  Xizhni 
brought  thither  from  Han-Kow  via  Odessa  costs  12.60  roubles  cheaper  than  that  imported 
via  Kiakhta,  and  this  difference  as  a  matter  of  fact  almost  corresponds  to  the  customs 
difference  of  8  roubles  gold. 

The  customary  route,  along  which  from  old  times  tea  has  passed  in  transit  through 
Siberia  into  European  Russia,  begins  at  Kiakhta  or  more  exactly  at  Irkutsk  and  coincides 
with  the  great  Siberian  tract,  which  runs  from  Irkutsk  through  Tomsk  to  Tinmen.  However 
the  comparative  dearness  of  this  route  not  seldom  made  the  tea  tradeis  forward  their 
precious  freight  by  more  dangerous  roads  in  the  hope  of  a  small  reduction  in  the  cost  of 
carriage.  P'requently  the  tea  caravans  were  arrested  en  route  in  consequence  of  the  early 
freezing  of  the  Ket,  or  Chulym  or  were  damaged  on  the  Angara  and  Yenisei.  But  notwith- 
standing all  this  they  even  not  seldom  avoid  the  great  Siberian  tract,  passing  through 
Bisk  by  the  Chuisk  road  or  from  Kalgan  to  Uliasutai  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Yenisei 
and  thence  are  floated  d(jwn  on  rafts  to  Minousinsk.  Even  when  following  the  great  Siberian 
tract  the  conveyance  of  tea  with  the  same  view  to  economy  has  somewhat  changed  its 
character.  Formerly  tea  took  this  route  entirely  overland,  but  now  a  portion  of  it  from 
Irkutsk  is  conveyed  by  water  on  the  Angara  to  Yeniseisk,  is  thence  carried  in  carts  to 
Makovsk  on  the  river  Ket,  IMeletsk  or  Berlluz  on  the  Chulym,  and  then  by  water  to  Tinmen. 


220  SIIJKRIA. 

Ilonco,  Ml  iiion;  olU'ii  from  the  luimiiiu.s  ol  ih-;  Liai  Railway,  Tura,  the  toa  is  Uiaiuly 
traasmitod  to  Poim.  In  ls!)l  iho  station  Tura  dospatciieiJ  492,261  ponds  of  tea;  arnoni,'  whicL, 
440,91!  to  roijii,  7,5;j2  t(;  I''lxaii;rinhiiij,',  et  crti-ia.  'J'lio  station  of  Tiumi-n  transmited  a  total  of 
J(J5.926  ponds,  including  ]J7,42.{  to  Poini,  42,027  to  Elcatorintjuif,',  et  cot<ira.  Nizlini  Tagil  iu 
tiio  sarno  yoar  despatcliod  4(3,798  ponds,  of  wliicli  4(»,273  wcro  to  Perm.  Tlie  forwaidiuf,'  just 
mentioni.Ml  id'  a  considoiMblo  (|uanlity  of  toa  to  Ekalerinbiirf,'  may  bo  explained,  of  <;oursii, 
not  by  local  consumption  but  by  the  fact  that  part  of  tlio  toa  from  Ekaterinburg'  is  also 
transmitted  to  Perm,  namely  0,9G7  jtouds,  while  part  is  distributed  amontj  llie  other  .stations 
of  the  Ural  Railway,  0,598  pouds,  and  a  still  larger  quantity  is  forwarded  to  Moscow  by  th'i 
Samara  Zlatuonst  railway,  19,709  pouds.  Eroni  Perm  tlio  tea  is  sent  by  the  Kama,  and  thon 
by  the  Volga,  in  the  jiiain  to  Nizhni,  which  in  1891  despatched  1;j;j,(j32  pouds  of  this 
merchandise  by  rail,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  naturally  sent  to  Moscow. 

Moscow  is  the  most  important  centre  of  the  "Russian  tea-trade,  the  tea  being  brought 
there  and  then  distributed  thence  throughout  the  Russian  Empire.  The  tea  which  passes 
through  Siberia  and  the  Russian  dominions  in  Central  Asia  is  conveyed  to  Moscow  by  four 
routes;  the  first  two  have  already  been  mentioned,  namely,  the  Uralsk  and  Samaro-Zlato- 
oust  railways,  and  also  by  the  Orenburg  and  Transcaucasian  railways.  The  tea  which 
comes  by  sea  over  the  Pacific,  Indian  and  Atlantic  oceans  reaches  Moscow  principally  through 
Odessa  and  Graevo,  the  transit  from  London  through  Konigsberg,  ami  partly  through  the  Baltic 
ports.  The  total  amount  conveyed  to  Moscow  in  1890  by  all  these  routes  was  1,109,700  pouds 
or  54  per  cent  of  the  whole  impoil.  Out  of  this  (jiuantity  969,662  pouds  were  despatched  thence 
by  rail  during  the  same  year  and  the  rest  was  used  for  local  consumption  or  distributed  by 
carts  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 

When  the  Siberian  Railway  is  laid  the  overland  transport  will  naturally  be  very  much 
cheaper.  It  will  then  also  be  possible,  and  indeed  when  even  the  Eastern  portion  of  the  line 
is  completed,  to  place  Eastern  Siberia  under  the  same  conditious  as  the  Empire  as  regards 
customhouse  duties,  and  to  stop  the  free  import  of  tea  and  put  an  end  to  those  misunder- 
standings which  arise  from  the  absence  of  customhouses  within  the  borders  of  Eastern 
Siberia.  Until  1888  some  parts  of  Western  Siberia  and  Turkestan  were  also  in  this  privileged 
position,  partly  from  political  and  partly  from  commercial  reasons. 

Between  1860  and  1870  during  the  Dungan  insurrection  which  sprang  up  in  western 
China,  gradually  spread  and  finally  completely  cut  off  the  Chinese  tea  plantations  from 
the  markets  of  Central  Asia,  the  Russians  conceived  the  idea  of  profiting  by  this  circumstance 
in  order  to  take  possession  of  these  markets  and  thrust  out  the  foreign  tea  dealers  from  them, 
as  the  importation  of  Chinese  tea  into  Central  Asia  by  the  former  route  through  Kashgar 
had  at  that  time  become  impossible  and  the  only  available  one  was  through  Siberia,  from 
Kiakhta  to  Irkutsk.  Under  these  conditions  the  Russian  tea  trade  in  Central  Asia  had  only 
to  compete  with  Indian  tea,  imported  from  India  through  Afganistan.  For  this  reason  the 
customhouse  cordon  which  stretched  from  the  Caspian  Sea  from  south  to  north  along  the 
Urals  and  the  eastern  frontier  of  the  government  of  Orenburg  to  the  barrier  of  Zverinogo- 
lovsk,  from  which  point  it  turned  directly  to  the  east  and  passed  along  the  former  southern 
frontier  of  Western  Siberia  as  far   as   Semipalalinsk   and   the   post   of   Boukhtarminsk,  was 


FOREIGN    TKADE.  221 

abolished  in  1868;  and  besides  this,  a  free  import  of  Kiakhta  teas  iDto  the  government  of 
Turkestan  was  granted  with  the  unconditional  prohibition  against  the  import  of  any  kind 
of  tea  thence  into  the  Russian  Empire,  a  duty  being  also  levied  upon  any  tea  imported 
into  Turkestan  from  any  of  the  neighbouring  Khanates.  On  the  same  grounds,  and  also  in 
consequence  of  the  impossibility  of  European  merchandise  penetrating  into  Russia  by  this 
route  and  in  order  to  facilitate  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Khanates  of  Central 
Asia,  the  importation  of  all  kinds  of  goods  from  there  was  allowed  free  of  duty.  Experience 
however,  soon  proved  that  the  free  import  of  Kiakhta  teas  into  the  region  of  Turkestan  did 
not  justify  the  hopes  which  had  been  originally  entertained  as  the  inhabitants  of  Central  Asia 
acquired  the  habit  of  using  Indian  teas  and  cheap  and  harmless  native  substitutes  which 
found  a  ready  sale  among  the  inexacting  consumers.  The  teas  of  Kiakhta,  on  account  of  there 
comparatively  high  price  were  beyond  the  reach  of  inhabitants,  the  majority  of  which  were 
extremely  poor.  At  the  same  time  it  was  discovered  that  a  large  amount  of  Kiakhta  tea 
imported  duty  free  into  Turkestan,  was  not  consumed  in  that  country  but  secretly  conveyed 
from  there  into  Russia,  thus  occasioning  considerable  loss  to  the  fair-trade.  Apart  from 
this,  in  course  of  time,  the  region  to  which  the  free  import  of  tea  had  been  granted  became 
changed;  it  had  originally  consisted  of  the  provinces  of  Syr-Darya  and  Semirechinsk  to  which 
the  province  of  Ferghana,  the  Zaravshansk  district  and  the  department  of  the  Amou-Darya 
were  subsequently  annexed,  and  the  province  of  Semirechinsk  was  incorporated  into  the 
domains   of  the   new   Governor-General   of  the  steppes. 

The  economic  and  political  aspects  of  this  border  land  of  Russia  also  underwent 
certain  essential  alterations;  Kuldzha  which  was  occupied  by  the  Russian  forces  in  order 
to  terminate  the  revolt  of  the  Dungans  and  Taranchlns  was  receded  to  China  and  the 
treaty  of  St.  Petersburg  in  1881  accurately  determined  the  frontier  between  Russia 
and  western  China,  and  also  the  points  for  the  admission  of  goods  and  regulated  the 
interchange  of  merchandise.  The  Insurrection  in  western  China  little  by  little  subsided; 
the  traces  of  it  are  beginning  to  disappear  and  a  regular  and  busy  trade  has  estab- 
lished Itself  between  Russia  and  China.  Russian  manufactured  goods  have  not  only  pen- 
etrated into  Kashgar,  but  have  even  supplanted  the  English  wares,  and  Russia  has  in 
this  way  obtained  a  fairly  lucrative  distant  market.  In  Kuldzha,  in  the  district  of  Tarbaga- 
taisk  and  in  western  Mongolia  Russian  goods  have  competed  with  equal  success  against  those 
of  England.  On  account  of  the  considerations  already  mentioned,  and  also  in  consequence  of 
the  Impossibility  of  establishing  a  customhouse  cordon  between  Turkestan  and  the  Russian 
Empire,  and  also  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  abuses  in  the  free  tea  trade,  it  was  found 
expedient  to  cancel  the  above  mentioned  privelege  in  1888.  In  order  to  attain  the  object  in 
view  a  customhouse  Inspection  was  simultaneously  instituted  on  the  frontier  betw^n  Semi- 
rechinsk and  China,  as  China  teas  might  otherwise  be  Imported  from  Kuldzha  into  that  prov- 
ince free  of  duty  or  hindrance. 

The  high  duty  on  tea  renders  it  profitable  to  convey  it  from  very  distant 
places  so  that  tea  upon  which  no  duty  had  been  levied  could  easily  make  its  way  into 
the  provinces  of  Semirechinsk  and  Semipalatinsk,  and  thence  to  Tomsk  and  even  pe- 
netrate   into    the    interior    of    I^uropean   Russia   and  thus    cover  a   very   extensive    region. 


222  .SIUKUIA. 

I'or  Uiis  ruasoii  in  1890  a  cij.stoffiliou.so  inspeciion  was  establislied  on  the  Inuitier  bet- 
WL'on  Russia  and  westoni  Cliinu  williiii  tin;  liniiis  of  Ihe  f,'ovi,'rnrnenl  of  Toiiisk  and  the 
provinces  of  Soniirechinsk  and  SiMnipalalinsk.  This  extension  of  the  cusloinhousc  line  was 
duo  to  the  desire  of  preventing  Hie  diversion  of  tea  Heights  from  tlie  luakhta  route  to  a 
direction  less  subjected  to  cuslonilmuse  supervision.  It  was  also  discovered  that  the  most 
advantageous  loule  lor  transporting  l<.'a  was  not  tiirough  Urga  and  Kiakhta  but  through  Ulia«!sutai 
and  Kobdo.  'Jliis  rmiti'  is  nnicli  sluirti-r  tlian  that  of  Kiakhta  and  at  one  end  of  it  the  goods 
are  delivered  at  Seini])aluliiisk  and  at  the  other  at  Biisk,  from  both  of  which  towns  there  is 
regular  sleanicr  service  to  Tiinicii,  tin;  freight  by  steamer  or  barge  to  Tiimen  being  about 
2')  kopecks.  Finally,  transiiorting  tea  by  this  route  obviates  the  necessity  of  the  expensive 
l)rocess  of  sewing  up  the  tea  in  skins,  as  the  Chinese  carry  the  packets  in  horsecloths  or 
in  blankets,  which  they  take  back  aftorw^ards,  and  on  the  steamers  or  barges  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  take  i)recautionaiy  measures  for  preserving  the  tea. 

This  is  a  brief  account  of  the  i)art  played  by  Siberia  in  the  Russian  tea  trade;  it  is 
a  very  important,  and  when  the  Groat  Railway  Line  is  opened  even  as  far  as  Irkutsk, 
it  will  assume  far  greater  proportions. 


-^<J— 


I 


WATER    AND    OVERLAND    C05IMUNICATI0N.  223 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
Water  and  overland  communication. 

The  Irausport  of  goods  between  Europoau  Ilu.s.sia  and  Siberia  by  the  Volga  and  Obi;  the 
Obi- Yenisei  canal;  navigation  in  Western  Siberia;  navigation  on  the  Yenisei  ami  Angara; 
steam  navigation  on  the  Baikal:  navigation  on  the  Lena  and  the  Amour  basin:  steamer 
communication  with  the  Siberian  ports  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  oceans;  the  Volunteer 
Fleet;  a  cursory  view  of  the  overland  communications. 


THE  wide  expanse  and  sparse  po])ulation  of  Siberia  combined  with  thai  historical  destiny 
which  has  been  described  in  the  commencement  of  the  present  work,  have  prevented 
its  being  enriched  with  regular  overland  means  of  communication  which  could  have  been 
accomplished  at  the  expense  of  a  vast  amount  of  labour  and  capital.  Xature  has,  on  the 
other  hand,  richly  endowed  this  country  with  water  communication;  washed  on  the  north  and 
east  by  the  waters  of  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  oceans,  it  is  at  the  same  time  intersected  for 
thousands  of  versts  by  large  rivers  connecting  these  oceans  with  western  China,  and  in  general 
with  Central  Asia.  Thanks  to  these  rivers,  whose  basins  cover  several  million  square  versts, 
in  summer  time  it  is  i)ossible  to  communicate  with  far  distant  regions.  This  was  the  route 
taken  by  the  conquerors  of  Siberia  and  the  settlers  who  followed  them.  The  Volga,  Jvaraa 
Chusovaya,  Serebrianka,  Tagil,  Tura,  Tobol,  Irtish,  Obi,  and  other  rivers  and  comparatively 
short  forest  tracts  this  is  the  route  followed  by  Ermak  and  by  the  traveller  of  the  present  day. 
This  is  however  from  the  west,  but  of  late  years  communication  has  been  kept  up  with  Si- 
beria by  sea  from  the  north  and  from  the  east. 

The  hydrographic  sketch  of  Siberia  already  given  has  shown  how  abundantly  the 
country  is  sujiplied  with  water,  but  unfurtunately  the  insufTiciency  of  the  coast  development 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  severe  climate  of  the  arctic  zone  on  the  other  hand,  prevent  the 
sea  navigation  fiom  reaching  that  degree  of  development  which  would  be  possible  under  more 
favourable  conditions.  This  sann'  severity  of  climate  and  the  prolonged  period  during  which 
the  rivers  are  in  consequence  frozen  over,  considerably  hinders  navigation  on  the  principal 
Siberian  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Other  circumstances,  which  will  be  men- 
tionel  hereafter  also  interfere  with  the  progress  of  navigation  on  those  rivers  which  flow  into 
the  Tacific. 


224  SIDKKIA. 

The  most  important  rivers  of  Siberia,  the  Obi,  Yenisei  and  Lena,  flow  from  south  to 
north,  and  aio  for  tlie  greater  jiart  of  iheir  course  navigable;  only  one  river,  the  Amour, 
Hows  to  the  east,  ami,  at  the  junction  with  the  Sungara,  turns  northwards  and  falls  into 
the  Parilic  Oe(;aii. 

The  gifat  Siberian  rivi-r,  ihe  Obi,  rises  in  Mongolia,  carries  vast  masses  of  water  into 
the  Arctic  Ocean  and  gathers  along  its  extensive  course  a  multitudi-  of  large  and  small 
rivers  which  lertilizi"  and  animate  an  expanse  of  more  than  3".'  million  square  versts. 
With  a  total  length  of  5,300  versts  it  has  a  most  extensive  basin  on  which  regular  navi- 
gation is  kept  up  ovci-  an  extent  of  15,000  versts.  There  is  always  a  lively  transport  trade  on 
the  Obi  system  and  the  rivers  composing  it  have  a  transit  character,  as  there  is  but  little 
local  exchange  of  merchandise,  all  freights  being  transported  from  far  distant  regions.  Being 
almost  on  the  borders  of  Europe  and  Asia,  the  Obi  and  its  tributaries  form  the  cheapest 
means  of  communication  between  two  vast  continents  of  the  world.  Asia  only  supplies 
Europe  with  the  raw  products  of  the  soil,  the  animal  kingdom,  the  produce  of  the  fishing 
and  hunting  trades  which  Europe  then  returns  to  her  in  a  finished  state.  Before  the  opening 
of  the  Ural  Railway  these  goods  were  conveyed  in  summer  principally  along  the  Kama  and 
its  tributaries,  then  carried  by  road  across  the  Ural  chain  and  then  again  by  water  on  the 
rivers  of  the  Obi  system.  The  road  is  now  replaced  by  the  Ural  and  Samaro-ZIatooust 
railways,  which  deliver  European  goods  to  the  Obi  system  through  the  Tura,  Mias  and  other 
rivers;  but  the  most  important  route  before  the  opening  of  the  Cheliabinsk  section  was  the 
Ural  line  which  delivers  goods  partly  at  Irbit  and  partly  at  Tumen.  These  goods,  both  from 
Irbit  and  Tumen  are  conveyed  further  into  Siberia  on  the  rivers  Tura  and  Tobol  up  to  the 
point  where  this  latter  falls  into  the  Irtish.  A  considerable  quantity  of  goods  from  the 
Krestovsky  fair  follow  the  route.  Before  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Tobol,  part  of  the  freight 
separates  and  goes  down  the  Tavda  and  southern  Sosva  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  settlements  along  these  rivers  as  well  as  the  Sosvinsk  works  and  those  of  the 
Bogos'lovsk  mining  district. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Tobol  the  European  freights  are  distributed  in  two  direc- 
tions: about  25  per  cent  goes  towards  the  source  of  the  Irtish  and  75  per  cent  towards 
that  of  the  Obi.  The  goods  are  conveyed  along  the  Irtish  principally  to  the  following  popu- 
lated points:  the  towns  of  Tura,  Omsk,  Pavlodar  and  Semipalatinsk;  those  conveyed  along 
the  Obi  are  in  a  small  part  destined  for  the  consumption  of  the  strangers  and  fishmongers 
on  the  lower  parts  of  that  river,  and  the  sparse  population  of  the  towns  of  Berezov  and 
Obdorsk,  whilst  by  far  the  greater  part  is  sent  up  the  Obi  to  supply  the  government  of 
Tomsk  and  the  whole  of  Eastern  Siberia.  The  principal  points  of  destination  are  Surgut, 
Narym,  Barnaoul  and  Biisk,  but  the  most  important  is  Tomsk.  Some  of  the  goods  are  also 
shipped  up  the  Chulim  as  far  as  the  settlement  of  Berluze   and  the  town  of  Achinsk. 

The  Siberian  good's  pass  over  the  same  route  but  in  the  contrary  direction  and  here 
the  lower  parts  of  the  Tura  and  Tobol  form  a  most  important  part  of  the  waterways  of 
Siberia  joining  all  the  streams  which  convey  Siberian  merchandise  to  Russia  in  Eu- 
rope. In  the  same  way  the  Irtish  and  its  tributaries  are  the  most  important  part 
of   the   Obi    1  asin    and  ihen   the   middlle   course   of   the    Obi   itself  but  not   that   portion  of 


WATER    AND    OVERLAND    COMMUNICATION. 


225 


it  which  is  so  abounding  in  water.  The  statistics  of  the  quantity  and  character  of  the  goods 
conveyed  by  the  Ural  Railway  may  therefore  be  taken  to  discribe  the  goods  traffic  on  the 
Tura  and  Tobol;  Tura,  the  terminus  of  the  Ural  line,  situated  on  the  river  bearing  that  name, 
receives  all  the  European  goods  sent  to  Siberia  by  water  and  also  despatches  freight  by  rail 
from  Siberia  to  European  Russia.  The  following  table  gives  these  statistics  from  the  opening 
of  the  Ural  Railway: 


1 

Date. 

I 

European  goods 
received  at  Tura 
station,  in  pouds. 

Date. 

Siberian  goods,  des- 
patched from  Tura 
station,  in  pouds. 

1886 

985,000 

1886 

753,000 

1887 

1,243,000 

1887 

3,028,000 

1888 

1,428,000 

1888 

4,234,000          ; 

1889 

1,504,000 

1889 

2,740,000 

1890 

1,713,000 

1890 

3,516,000 

1891 

2,302,000 

1891 

4,855,000          1 

These  figures  show  that  the  goods  traffic  from  Siberia  to  European  Russia  is  rapidly 
developing  whilst  that  from  European  Russia  to  Siberia  makes  but  very  slow  progress.  This 
proves  that  Siberia  is  capable  of  producing  far  more  that  she  requires,  and  that  the  opening  of  the 
Ural  Railway  was  sufficient  to  draw  goods  from  far  distant  places  in  the  province  of  Semi- 
palatinsk  to  European  Russia.  The  principal  freight  which  Tura  receives  by  water  and  for- 
wards by  rail  is  grain;  in  1891  the  total  amount  of  grain  of  various  denominations  transported  was 
3,930,805  pouds,  or  80  per  cent  of  the  whole  transport;  this  included  2,195,019  pouds  of  wheat, 
571,778  pouds  of  rye,  345,555  pouds  of  oats,  48,365  of  barley,  574,980  of  rye  flour, 
145,835  pouds  of  wheat  flour,  et  cetera;  there  were  1,151,913  pouds  of  this  dehvered  at  Ostrovs- 
kaya  station  and  1,081,995  at  Ekaterinburg.  Besides  grain,  492,261  pouds  of  tea  were  despatched 
from  the  same  station,  of  which  480,941  pouds  were  directed  to  Perm  to  be  sent  further  on. 
Grain  and  tea  therefore  amount  to  more  than  90  per  cent  of  the  Siberian  goods.  Siberia  prin- 
cipally receives  364,000  pouds  of  sugar,  340,000  pouds  of  various  naphtha  products,  270,000 
pouds  of  manufactured  goods,  aliout  100,000  pouds  of  iron  and  iron  wares,  140,000,  of  tobacco, 
36,000  pouds  of  candles,  or  about  63  per  cent  of  the  whole  amount  received. 

The  goods  traffic  along  this  main  water  way  of  the  Tura  and  Tobol  rivers  has  only  ot 
late  years  begun  to  assume  a  lively  aspect.  Before  the  opening  of  the  Ural  Railway  the  yearly 
transport  did  not  exceed  2-5  million  pouds,  and  it  has  now  risen  to  16  million  pouds ;  in  1886 
it  amounted  to  3  millions;  in  1888,  to  7  million,  and  in  1890,  to  8  million  pouds.  This  quantity 
of  16  millidu  pouds  forms  75  per  cent  of  the  whole  goods  traffic  on  all  the  watei-s  of  Western 
Siberia,  as  the  total  amount  does  not  exceed  20  million  ponds.  The  river  Tura  is  the  most 
important  means  of  communication  between  Siberia  and  European  Russia.  It  becomes  navi- 
gable from  Turinsk,  bul  the  briskest  traffic  is  from  Tinmen  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a 
distance  of  169  versts.  The  Tobol  is  iuivigal)h_'  for  about  600  versts,  but  the   only   part    of  it 

15 


226  SIBERIA. 

wliicli  is  ol  riiiifli  iififKirlanof  is  Ir'uii  itic  inontli  ot  rue  J  iiiit  io  tlio  jiiiifiion  «[  tlic-  Triliol 
with  the  Irtish.  'Jin-  Irtish  itself  is  iiavigjihle  I'rom  its  inoulh  to  Semipalaiiiisk,  a  length  nl 
2,620  versts;  in  its  long  fonrse  it  intersects  the  feriili-  jprovinee  of  Semipalatinsk,  llie  Kirghiz, 
Ishirnsk  and  Barahinsk  steppes,  and  ffirtilizes  an  enormous  territory.  This  river  conveys  grain 
freights,  salt,  cattle  and  animal  products  to  Toholsk  and  Tinmen  from  even  the  far  distant  parts 
of  the  province  of  Semireehinsk.  Steam  navigation  was  started  here  in  1862. 

Although  the  Dili  is  a  very  full  stream  from  Samarov  it  flows  through  an  almost 
uninlialiited  region,  so  that  there  is  no  regular  service  of  steamers  flown  its  c<jurse.  There  is 
liowever  a  hrisk  traffic  on  the  upper  part  of  it  as  far  as  Barnaoul,  a  distance  of  about  2,rX)0 
versts.  and  sometimes  as  far  as  Uiisk.  The  Ohi  is  formeil  liy  the  junclion  of  the  Bey  and  the 
Katuiia,  and  its  principal  tributaries  are  on  the  riglit.  The  most  important  of  tliese  are  the 
Tom  which  waters  the  rich  district  of  Kuznetsk  and  the  Chulym  which  is  navigable  although  with 
difficulty  as  far  as  Achinsk,  a  distance  of  1,000  versts.  The  river  Kct  has  also  a  considerable 
commercial  impoitance  as  a  connecting  link  between  the  basins  of  the  Obi  and  Yenisei, 
through  the  Obi-Yenisei  canal,  now  in  course  of  construction.  Steamers  can  go  up  the  Ket  as 
far  a'^  the  settlement  of  ]\Iakovsk. 

'  The  above  mentioned  Obi-Yenisei  canal  is  to  connect  the  Ket,  a  tributary  of  the  Obi, 
with  the  Kass,  a  tributary  of  the  Yenisei.  The  idea  of  connecting  the  basins  of  the  Obi  and 
Yenisei  originated  a  hundred  years  ago  when  a  scheme  was  presented  to  the  Emperor  Paul  for 
joining  these  system  by  the  Tyrn,  a  tributary  of  the  Obi,  and  the  Sym,  a  tributary  of  the 
Yenisei.  Schemes  were  next  proposed  for  joining  the  Ket  with  the  Kem,  a  tributary  of  the 
Yenisei  and  the  Vakh,  a  tributary  of  the  Obi,  with  the  Elagona,  a  tributary  of  the  Yenisei, 
but  none  of  these  projects  were  realized.  Considerably  later,  in  1875,  the  new  idea  of  joining 
the  Ket  with  the  Great  Kass  sprang  up.  A  Siberian  merchant,  Funtusov,  at  his  own  initiative 
and  expense  investigated  the  ground  between  these  two  rivers,  and  finding  that  the  scheme 
was  feasible,  drew  the  attention  of  tlie  Government  to  this  subject.  The  engineers  who  were 
sent  over  to  study  the  question  found  that  it  was  quite  possible  to  carry  out  the  work  and 
it  was  therefore  resolved  to  commence  the  undertaking.  The  river  Ozernaya  falls  into  the 
Ket  at  a  distance  of  550  versts  from  its  mouth.  The  river  Lomovataya  flows  into  the  Ozer- 
naya and  is  connected  with  the  river  Yazevaya  w^hich  flows  out  of  the  lake  Bolshoi.  The 
little  Kass  rises  in  the  vicinity  of  this  lake  and  falls  into  the  big  Kass  which  forms  part  of 
the  Yenisei  system.  The  river  Ozernaya  forms  part  of  the  canal  M'/a  versts  from  its  month. 
The  canal  then  follows  the  Lomovataya  for  47V2  versts  and  the  Yazevaya  for  31''/^  versts  up 
to  lake  Bolshoi.  From  this  point  a  canal  has  been  excavated  TV*  versts  long  and  6  fathoms 
wide  at  the  bottom,  which  enters  the  little  Kass  and  follows  it  for  a  distance  of  89  versts  to 
the  point  where  the  big  Kass  commences  at  a  distance  of  192  versts  from  the  Yenisei.  The 
navigable  Angara  joins  the  Yenisei  near  the  mouth  of  the  big  Kass  and  flows  from  lake 
Baikal  on  the  shore  of  which  Irkutsk  is  situated.  The  Obi- Yenisei  canal  will  therefore  open 
up  an  enormous  water  way  of  5,000  versts,  connecting  Tiumen  with  Irkutsk  and  intersecting 
the  whole  of  Western  Siberia.  This  work  was  commenced  at  the  expense  of  the  Government  in 
1882  and  is  being  earned  on  very  energetically;  a  great  deal  has  been  done,  and  there  is 
every  hope   that   the   undertaking   will   shortly   be   brought   to  a  successful  termination.    In 


WATEE    AND    OVEELAND    COMMUNICATION.  227 

Connection  with  this,  much  dredging  has  been  done  in  order  to  deepen  and  clear  the  connecting 
streams,  so  that  the  result  will  most  likely  be  eminently  satisfactory. 

Thanks  to  the  abundance  of  water  in  the  rivers  of  the  Obi  system,  there  is  a  large 
number  of  steamers  plying  on  them,  belonging  to  private  owners  and  companies,  and  in 
ome  places,  even  a  regular  service  is  kept  up.  The  success  and  progress  of  the  Obi  steam 
savigation  is  due  to  the  Government,  which  always  gi'anted  assistance  to  private  initiative 
whenever  it  was  in  the  interests  of  the  public. 

The  first  steamer  in  Western  Siberia  belonged  to  Poklevski  and  made  its  appearance 
on  the  Obi  in  1843;  in  1854  there  were  3;  in  1860,  10;  in  1870,  20;  in  1875,  32:  in 
1880,  37;  in  1885,  57;  in  ]887,  60;  in  1889,  64;  in  1890,  65;  in  1891,  69;  in  1892,  90: 
and  in  the  present  year  there  are  102  steamers  and  200  barges.  Most  of  the  steamers  do  not 
exceed  100  nominal  horse  power  and  at  present  the  fleet  of  Western  Siberia  consists  of  the 
following  boats: 

1  steamer  of  250  nominal  horse  power. 


1 

» 

:>     180 

4 

•■> 

■>   150 

8 

» 

:>    120 

9 

~> 

:>     100 

18 

» 

>>     80 

11 

» 

»     60 

15 

» 

:>     40 

21  small  steamers. 

The  principal  traffic,  as  already  stated,  is  between  the  sources  of  the  Eey  and  the 
Katuna  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of  the  Irtish  on  the  other  hand,  as  far  as  the  mouths  of 
the  Tura  and  Tobol,  the  freights  being  conveyed  the  enormous  distances  of  2  to  3  thousand 
versts.  The  question  of  rates  for  such  long  journeys  is  of  great  interest.  Notwithstanding  the 
gxeat  progress  made  in  steam  navigation  and  the  competition  between  shipowners,  freights 
on  the  Obi  basin  are  very  high;  for  3,000  versts  the  charge  is  25  kopecks  per  poud,  that 
is  Vi2o  kopeck  per  poud-verst,  whilst  on  the  Volga  for  lo]?g  distances  the  boats  eagerly  take  V^oo 
kopeck  and  even  ^/too  kopeck  per  poud-verst.  This  is  due  to  the  insecurity  of  the  naviga- 
tion in  consequence  of  the  great  risks  in  running  the  steamers  without  the  requisite  auxiliary 
measures.  Scanty  and  incomplete  information  concerning  the  opening  and  freezing  of  the 
rivers,  insufficient  telegraphic  communication  to  give  warning  of  an  unexpected  ice  blockade, 
the  small  number  of  inhabited  points  along  the  principal  rivers,  and  other  circumstances,  are 
the  means  of  causing  frequent  disasters. 

The  measures  lately  taken  by  the  Government  for  improving  the  water  system  of  Western 
Siberia,  which  serves  as  a  feeding  branch  ibr  the  Great  Siberian  Railway,  will  doubtless 
have  the  effect  of  lowering  the  rates;  and  the  surplus  grain,  accumulated  in  the  Tomsk, 
Semipalatinsk  and  Semirechinsk  [districts,  will  not  only  find  an  advantageous  outlet  in  the 
distant  parts  of  Siberia,  but  will  approach  St.  Petersburg  by  water  and  eventually  find  its 
way  abroad. 

15* 


228  SIBEltlA. 

Sonio  of  tlio  most  iiiiporlaiil  ol  these  inea.sur<;.s  are:  that  dredging  will  be  carried  on 
along  tlio  Ijottoni  of  the  river  Tura  l)f!t\vei'n  its  mouth  ami  Tiuraen,  along  the  Tobol  from 
till!  iiioutli^  of  tin;  Tura  till  it  lulls  into  III*-  Irtish,  along  the  river  Tom  Ironi  Kuznetsk  to 
ils  mouth  and  aloni,'  the  river  Chulym  liom  Achinsk  to  its  month.  On  a  <;on>id(,Mal)le  portion 
ol  the  ()l)i  sy.stttm  dilficult  places  lor  navigation  will  he  marked  and  observations  of  the 
watri-  lr\(!  will  lj.'  taken  wliidi  will  be  lidrgraplitMl  to  tlif  i»la<-es  where  the  vessels  usually 
resort.  A  tclegiaph  wiic  will  Iim  laid  from  Tobolsk  to  Samarov  and  from  Samarov  to 
Krivoschekov,  a  distance  of  2,245  versts.  In  order  to  cany  on  these  operations  tlu'  necessary 
dredging  and  earth  roinoving  machinery,  5  steamers  and  3  steam  long-boats  will  be  amongst 
other  things  pioviili'il  by  the  Government. 

Till'  river  Yenisei,  which  rises  in  Mongolia,  is  navigable  alino>i  Irom  the  Irontier  to 
ils  mouth.  For  a  long  lime  however  the  rapids  interfered  with  the  progress  of  navigation, 
but  il  has  lately  been  round  possible  to  go  lound  them.  Steam  navigation  on  the  Yenisei 
really  began  in  1863  when  traffic  was  opened  between  its  mouth  and  Y'eniseisk.  Five  years 
later  a  Dutch  company  ollereil  to  establish  a  regular  steamboat  service  on  the  Angara  to 
IJaikal  and  to  clear  away  the  rapids,  but  the  offer  was  not  accepted.  In  1888  the  number 
of  steamers  rose  to  4  and  tlie  total  amount  of  freight  conveyed  was  129,000  ponds.  In  1890 
there  were  6  steamers,  30  barges  and  about  20  large  boats  plying  between  Y'eniseisk  and 
Karaoul  transporting  2GO,000  pouds  of  merchandise.  Regular  steamboat  service  on  the  Y''enisei 
is  kept  up,  on  the  one  side,  between  Y'eniseisk  and  Krasnoyarsk,  ami  on  the  other,  between 
Krasnoyarsk  and  Minusinsk.  A  similar  service  between  Yeniseisk  and  the  mouth  of  the  river 
could  not  be  established,  partly  on  account  of  insufficiency  of  freights,  and  partly  on  account 
of  the  rapids. 

At  present,  in  order  to  convey  building  materials  for  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  by  sea 
through  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei,  the  Government  has  found  it  expedient  to  investigate  this 
route,  the  gulf  of  Y'enisei  and  the  river  itself.  For  this  purpose  two  steamers  have  been 
ordered,  specially  designed  for  cruising  on  the  Yenisei,  ami  in  1893  an  expedition  will  be 
fitted  out  and  despati;hed  to  the  estuary  of  the  river.  Both  of  these  steamers  were  ordered  in 
England  at  Dunibarlon  and  were  to  be  ready  July  1st,  this  year.  One  of  them  has  a  twin 
screw,  is  of  5(X)  horse  i)ower  and  draws  8  feet  of  water;  it  is  destined  for  service  between 
the  mouths  of  the  Yenisei  and  the  town  of  Y^'euiseisk  and  calculated  to  carry  93,000  pouds ' 
the  other  is  a  paddle  steamer  with  a  draught  of  B'h  feet;  it  is  intended  to  tow  barges  up  to 
60,000  pouds  weight  between  Y^'eniseisk  and  Krasnoyarsk.  In  this  way  the  whole  journey  from 
the  niontlis  of  the  Y'enisei  to  Krasnoyarsk  can  be  effected  without  unloading,  by  simply  changing 
the  barges  in  tow  from  one  steamer  to  the  other. 

From  Y'eniseisk  the  navigation  takes  another  direction,  along  the  river  Angara  which 
is  a  tributary  of  the  Yenisei.  It  flows  from  lake  Baikal  through  a  distance  of  1,705  versts 
and  joins  the  Yenisei  at  Yeniseisk.  For  a  distance  of  600  versts  from  Irkutsk  to  the  prison 
of  Bratsk,  the  Angara  is  quite  navigable  but  the  remainder  of  its  course  of  more  than  a  thous- 
aoid  versts  is  full  of  rapids  and  interferes  with  regular  navigation.  However,  Sibiryakov  thought 
it  worth  his  wiiilr;  in  1885  to  solicit  a  five-years  license  from  the  Government  for  running 
steamers  on  this  part  of  the  rivei',  binding  himself  within  the  space  of  two  yeai's  to   organize 


WATER    AND    OVERLAND    COMMUNICATION.  229 

a  service  of  tug  and  cable  boats  for  carrying  goods,  passengers  and  mails  .by  at  least 
two  steamers.  Sibiryakov's  endeavours  to  institute  cable  steamers  on  the  Angara  may  be 
called  unsuccessful;  in  the  middle  of  1888  he  started  a  caravan  of  two  steamers  and  3  barges 
with  a  load  of  30,000  pouds  of  grain  up  the  Angara,  By  August  15th  the  caravan  had  only 
travelled  400  versts  and  on  account  of  the  shallow  water  had  to  stop  at  500  versts  from  its 
destination,  the  mouth  of  the  Ilim,  and  turn  back  after  having  sustained  considerable  damage. 
Regular  steamboat  service  on  the  Angara  between  Irkutsk  and  Yeniseisk  is  therefore  a  thing 
of  the  future,  but  as  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  will  intersect  both  the  Yenisei  and  the  Angara, 
these  two  rivers  will  serve  to  feed  it  and  deliver  goods  both  from  above  and  below.  Funher 
on,  at  Verkhneoudinsk,  the  line  will  intersect  the  large  river  Selenga  which  rises  in  China 
and  is  within  a  distance  of  1,000  versts  from  the  Chinese  Yellow  river.  Here  steamers  are 
plying  and  the  railway  can  not  only  be  supplied  with  freights  coming  from  lake  Baikal  by 
water,  but  even  with  goods  from  the  borders  of  China. 

The  third  large  Siberian  river,  the  Lena,  occupies  a  more  independent  position  and 
is  neither  connected  with  the  Amour  basin,  nor  with  that  of  the  Yenisei.  The  basin  of  the 
Lena  does  not  directly  come  in  contact  with  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  but  will  in  all  pro- 
bability have  a  considerable  influence  indirectly  in  delivering  goods  from  the  Yakutsk  region. 
There  is  at  present  steam  navigation  on  the  Lena,  but  it  is  more  or  less  of  a  casual  nature- 
Vessels  from  Europe  have  repeatedly  visited  the  estuary  of  this  river  but  the  trade  was  of 
less  importance  than  that  done  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei.  The  Government,  being  anxious 
to  encourage  intercourse  between  Europe  and  the  Siberian  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  has 
several  times  granted  by  an  Imperial  decree  a  free  import  of  goods  through  the  mouths 
of  the  Obi,  Yenisei  and  Lena  to  various  individuals,  including  foreigners.  The  final  term  of 
this    privilegs  expires  next  year,  in  1894. 

The  Kiakhta  Steamboat  Company,  founded  in  1881  by  the  local  merchants,  keeps  a 
regular  steamboat  service  on  lake  Baikal  in  accordance  with  the  Government  regulations  of 
May  1, 1890,  referring  to  mail-passenger  and  steam  tug  service  on  lake  Baikal.  These  regula- 
tions require  that  the  company  should  employ  the  two  steamboats  it  possesses  for  the  following 
work:  1.  three  journeys  a  week  from  the  Listvenich  settlement  to  Mysovsk  pier,  a  distance 
of  80  versts  across  the  lake  from  west  to  east  and  back;  2.  five  journeys  to  and  fro 
per  season  from  the  Listvenich  settlement  to  the  Tourkinsk  mineral  water  springs,  the  mouth 
of  the  Bargouzin,  Krougoulin,  Sosnovka  and  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Angara,  a  distance  of 
700  versts.  These  latter  journeys  were  fixed  in  accordance  with  the  local  requirements  and 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Governor-General  of  Irkutsk;  the  service  is  in  general  carried 
on  according  to  a  time-table  edited  by  the  company,  upon  agreement  with  the  local  authori- 
ties, and  confirmed  by  the  chief  of  the  district.  For  keeping  up  the  above  mentioned  service 
the  company  receives  the  following  Government  subsidies:  1.  for  the  journeys  between  List- 
venich and  Mysovsk,  296  roubles  for  every  double  journey  there  and  back;  2.  for  every  cruise 
from  Listvenich  to  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Angara,  2,170  roubles;  counting  78  of  the 
first  and  5  of  the  second  journeys  per  season,  the  total  subsidy  amounts  to  33,938  roubles, 
and  should  not  exceed  this  sum.  The  concession  has  been  granted  to  the  company  for  a  term 
of  12  years  commencing  from  1890. 


280  SIBERIA. 

This  coucliiilfj.s  Uio  ili.scription  of  the  navigairw.  mIi  ilie  Siberiaa  waters  feeding  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  as  the  hasin  of  the  fourtli  Siberian  river,  the  Amour,  ami  the  lake  Khank 
which  is  in  connection  with  it,  appertains  entinjly  to  the  Eastern  Ocean. 

Navigation  ou  the  Amour  basin. 

The  navjgaiinn  on  \\v)  Aiiioiir  tia>iii  i>  a  iiiaiit-r  ol  <;oiii|iaraiively  recent  (iat*;; 
as  lalijly  as  ]8lO  it  was  imi  known  whcllier  the  rivers  of  this  basin  were  navigable, 
and  very  liilh;  was  known  ol  tin;  Aiiioiir  ii^'ll  ami  its  estuary.  In  1844  loi-  the  first 
time  an  Imperial  edict  was  issued,  emi)owering  the  Russian-American  Cora))any  in  fit 
out  a  vessel  at  the  expense  of  the  Government  lor  exploring  the  estuary  of  tlie  Amour. 
On  May  5,  1846,  the  ship  «Constantiue»,  under  the  command  of  Gavrilov,  entered  the  Amour 
and  this  was  the  first  vessel  that  had  ever  made  its  appearance  on  th<!  waters  of  that  river- 
From  that  time  the  exploration  of  the  country  went  with  more  rapid  strides,  ami  later,  thanks 
to  the  military  expedition  of  Count  Mouraviev,  who  in  1854  descended  the  Amour  with  the 
Government  steamer  «Argun»,  built  at  the  Shilkinsk  works,  Ilussian  rule  in  the  Amour  region 
obtained  a  firm  foothold.  The  formal  annexation  of  the  extensive  basin  of  the  Amour  to  the 
Russian  dominions  later  on  may  be  regarded  as  the  commencement  of  the  civil  developement 
of  that  region.  In  1855  Yice-Admiral  Poutiatiu  went  up  the  Amour  in  the  steamer  cNadezhda> 
and  in  the  following  year  another  steamer,  the  &Shilka»  made  its  appearance.  At  the  end 
of  1856  an  Imperial  edict  was  issued  concerning  the  organization  of  the  Amour  province 
which  includt'd  Kamchatka,  the  whole  of  the  shore  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  with  the  region  of 
Udsk  and  the  places  occupied  by  Russia  in  the  low  country  of  the  Amour  and  the  Straits 
of  Tartary.  In  order  to  keep  up  regular  intercourse  between  the  different  points  of  the  new 
territory  the  Government  acquired  two  more  steamers,  the  «Amour3>  and  «Lena».  Thus  in 
1857  there  were  5  Government  steamers  plying  on  the  Amour;  in  1860  the  number  was  in- 
creased to  8,  and  in  1870  it  rose  to  12.  At  the  same  time  i)rivate  individuals  and  separate 
Government  institutions  also  began  to  provide  themselves  with  steamers;  the  first  private 
steamboat  ou  the  Amour  made  its  appearance  in  1859;  the  telegraph  department  in  1863 
possessed  5  steamers  and  the  Engineering  Department  3,  so  that  in  1870  there  were  altogether 
25  steamboats  on  the  Amour. 

About  this  time  the  idea  originated  of  instituting  a  regular  steamboat  time  service  on 
the  Amour  in  order  to  satisfy  the  increasing  w^ants  of  trade  and  in  case  of  necessity  for 
moving  troops  and  carrying  Government  stores  and  forage.  For  this  purpose,  at  the  end  of  the 
year  1871,  a  20- years  concession  was  granted  to  Benardaki  and  Co.  for  keeping  up  a  regular 
steamboat  communication  on  the  rivers  of  the  Amour  basin.  ;Benardaki  then  formed  the 
company  for  organizing  regular  steamboat'traffic  ou  these  rivers.  The  company  took  upon  itself 
the  obligation  of  maintaining  from  1872  regular  mail  and  passenger  traffic  on  the  Amour  bet- 
ween Nikolaevsk  and  Sretensk,  a  distance  of  2,956  versts,  also  a  mail  steam  tug  service  from 
Khabarovka  to  post  X°  4  near  lake  Khanka,  a  distance  of  630  versts,  on  lake  Khauka  as 
far  as  the  post  of  Kameu-Rybolov,  135  versts,  and  an  occasional  steam  tug  service  from 
Sretensk  to  Xicolaevsk. 


WATER    AND    OVEELAND    COMMUNICATION.  231 

The  number  of  steamers  was  not  to  be  less  than  12,  and  when  tlie  company  was 
started  the  Government  made  over  to  it  9  steamers  which  belonged  to  the  Naval  Depart- 
ment. The  passenger  and  goods  freights  were  fixed  by  a  special  tariff  and  the  Government 
besides  guaranteeing  a  fixed  amount  of  Government  freights  also  agreed  to  pay  a  subsidy 
during  the  whole  stipulated  period  of  20  years  in  the  shape  of  a  payment  of  2  roubles 
15  kopecks  for  every  verst  of  each  voyage  on  the  rivers  Shilka^  Amour,  Ussuri  and  lake  Khanka 
during  the  first  10  years  with  a  reduction  of  5  per  cent  per  annum  during  the  next  10  years. 
The  highest  limit  of  this  scale  was  fixed  at  245,000  roubles  a  year.  Without  dwelling  upon 
the  other  details  of  the  agreement  between  the  Government  and  the  Amour  Steamboat  Comp- 
any, it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  latter  pledged  itself  to  erect  engineering  workshops  at 
Khabarovka  for  repairing  the  Government  steamers,  and  to  provide  its  own  boats  with  the 
necessary  means  for  executing  small  repairs. 

Thanks  to  the  institution  of  regular  steam  navigation  on  the  Amour  basin,  the  inter- 
course between  the  various  points  of  Eastern  Siberia  became  so  animated  that  private  individ- 
uals were  able  to  start  their  own  steamers  and  barges  without  Government  assistance.  Fifteen 
years  after  the  formation  of  the  Amour  Steamship  Company,  iji  1885,  there  were  4-4  steamers 
owned  by  various  imlividuals  and  companies  cruising  on  the  waters  of  the  Amour  basin  as 
seen  below: 

1.  The  Amour  Steamship  Company  possessed  17  steamers  of  1,107  aggregate  horse  power, 
and  also  18  iron  and  8  wooden  barges,  carrying  altogether  161,000  pouds. 

2.  The  merchant  Pakholkov  possessed  2  steamers  of  120  horse  power  and  2  barges. 

3.  The  Hamburg  merchant  Dickman  owned  5  steamers  of  265  total  horse  power  and 
4  barges. 

4.  The  Kiakhla  Company  owned  2  steamers  of  180  total  horse  power  and  3  barges. 

5.  The  mercant  Loukine  was  running  3  steamers  of  190  total  horse  power. 

6.  The  merchant  Boutine  owned  5  steamers  of  205  total  horse  power  and  6  barges 
carrying  altogether  57,000  pouds. 

7.  The  Upper  Amour  Gold-digging  Company  had  2  steamers  of  160  total  horse  power. 

8.  The  Telegraph  Department  was  running  one  steamer  of  15  horse  power. 

9.  The  Engineering  Department  owned  one  steamer  of  40  horse  power. 

10.  The  Zeisk  Company  o\vned  3  steamers  with  an  aggregate  of  267  horse  power. 

11.  The  Nieman  Company  owned  one  steamboat  of  12  horse  power. 

12.  The  merchant  Etkine  was  running  2  steamers  of  80  total  horse  power. 

Of  all  the  above  mentioned  shipowners  only  the  Amour  Steamship  Company  and  the 
Kiakhta  Steamboat  Company  received  assistance  from  the  Government;  the  former  during  the 
20  years  of  the  original  concession  received  245,000  roubles  mileage  and  75,000  roubles  guar- 
antee for  can-ying  Government  freights,  altogether  258,750  roubles;  and  after  the  expiration 
of  this  concession,  in  1891.  a  temporary  agreement  was  made  with  the  company  insuring  it  a 
yearly  Government  subsidy  of  183,000  roubles  until  the  present  year  1893.  The  latter  company 
receives  a  mileage  in  the  same  proportion,  amounting  to  33,938  roubles  per  annum,  for  roguhir 
steam  service  on  lake  Baikal  and  the  passenger  and  goods  freights  have  been  fixed  at  a  rathm- 
high  tariff.  For  instance,  the  charge  for  conveying  tea,  furs  and  manufactured  goods  between 


232  SIBERIA. 

tlic  sottlemcnt  of  Lislvonich  .ind  tli«.'  iJoyaisk  \>\rr,  a  distance  of  10  versts,  is  V'  kopeck  per 
poud-veist;  and  imni  Listvcnicli  t»  tlir-  ukmiiIi  of  An^'ara,  a  distance  of  700  versts,  there  is  a 
reduction  (tf  40  pci'  cent  frrim  lliis  poud-verst  chargi-. 

"When  first  started,  the  Amour  Steamboat  Company  was  hardly  piepared  to  execute 
the  obligations  it  liail  taken  upon  itself;  not  possessing  capital,  it  was  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  foreign  loans,  and  tlie  percentages  on  the  sinkintr  luml  of  the  debt  swallowed  u|» 
a  considerable  jtortion  oi  the  revenue,  so  that,  notwithstandiuf/  repeated  assistance  from  the 
(loverninent  in  the  shape  of  loans,  the  company  was  unable  to  keep  its  steamers  in  proper 
repair.  In  (Muisequence  al'  this,  when  the  contract  expired  in  JB92  there  was  a  question  of 
entrusting  the  steam  service  on  the  Amour  basin  to  other  parties.  An  offer  was  made  by 
Messrs.  Sibiriakov  and  Shevelev  who  were  willing  to  umlertake  the  business  on  more  ad- 
vantageous terms  than  the  Amour  Steamboat  Company.  In  making  a  new  contract  it  was 
expedient  to  stipulate  that  the  old  steamers  should  be  replaced  by  new  ones.  In  consequence 
however  of  the  delay  in  concluding  the  contract,  the  new  promoters  were  unable  to  change 
the  old  steamers  at  once  and  tliercfore  the  Government  allowed  the  business  to  remain  two 
years  longer  in  the  liands  <<i'  the  Amour  Company,  especially  as  they  agreed  to  the  same 
terms  as  the  new  contractors.  The  principal  conditions  were  as  follows:  the  contractors 
undertake  to  keep  up  a  regular  steam  service  on  the  Amour,  Ussuri,  Shilka  river  and  lake 
Khanka  for  the  space  of  15  years  with  a  Government  subsidy  in  the  form  of  a  payment  of 
1  rouble  50  kopecks  per  verst  for  every  verst  actually  made  on  these  waters  during  the 
firsts  10  years,  with  a  reduction  of  5  per  cent  per  annum  for  the  succeeding  5  years,  this 
mileage  not  to  exceed  183,532  roubles  per  annum  during  the  first  10  years.  Besides  this  the 
Government  does  not  hind  itself  to  provide  cargoes  or  to  make  extra  payments  for  them. 

Next  year,  therefore  in  1894,  the  new  steamers  of  Sibiriakov  and  Shevelev  will  make 
their  appearance  on  the  waters  of  the  Amour  basin;  their  contract  expires  in  1908.  At  present 
the  Government  is  examining  the  request  of  these  contractors  to  turn  the  Amour  Steamboat 
enterprise  into  a  joint-stock  company  with  a  capital  of  one  million  roubles. 

The  organization  of  regular  and  constant  steam  service  between  the  coast  stations  of 
the  far  distant  Russian  domains  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  has  always  engi'ossed  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Government  as  it  would  provide  a  convenient  and  cheap  sea  route  for  the  local 
population.  In  the  complete  absence  of  roads  in  that  region,  steamboat  communication 
acquires  particular  importance  as  being  the  only  means  of  intercourse  between  the  above 
mentioned  points.  The  efforts  made  in  this  direction  would  also  excercise  a  beneficial  result 
upon  Russian  commercial  intercourse  with  Corea,  Japan  and  China  and  benefit  the  econom- 
ical position  of  the  country.  Whilst  up  to  1880  the  existing  means  of  transport  were  not 
only  insufficient  to  secure  regular  communication  for  the  inhabitants  but  did  not  even  suffice 
for  the  wants  of  the  administrative  establishments  for  the  transport  of  Government  stores  and 
passengers.  For  these  reasons  the  Government  has  repeatedly  taken  measures  for  facilitating 
sea  communication  between  the  Pacific  ports  of  Siberia  on  the  one  hand,  and  between  these 
ports  and  the  principal  ports  of  Japan  and  China  on  the  other,  but  regular  communication 
has  been  effected  only  since  1881,  when  the  matter  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Shevelev.  This 
gentleman  bound  himself  to  keep  up  a  time  service  between  Vladivostok  and  Xicolaevsk  and 


WATEK    AND    OVERLAND    COMMUNICATION.  233 

between  Vladivostok  and  Han-Kow,  touching  at  Shankhai,  Nagasaki,  the  gulf  of  St.  Olga, 
the  Korsakovsk  post,  the  Imperial  harbour,  post  Done  and  the  gulf  of  De  Castri ;  besides 
freights  according  to  a  fixed  tariff,  the  contractor  receives  from  the  Government  a  mileage 
of  3  roubles  during  the  first  10  years,  with  10  per  cent  reduction  per  annum,  for  the 
next  5  years. 

The  voyages  abroad  were  instituted  in  the  Interests  of  commerce  to  maintain  inter- 
course Avith  the  countries  lying  to  the  south  of  the  Russian  dominions.  Iq  consequence  how- 
ever of  the  evident  urgent  necessity  of  increasing  the  communication  between  the  Russian 
ports,  Mr.  Shevelev's  steamer  <'Baikal;>  was  in  188G  exclusively  employed  in  cruising  about 
the  gulf  of  Tartary,  accomplishing  six  journeys  to  Nicolaevsk  to  the  detriment  of  the  foreign 
trade.  Besides  this  steamer,  two  other  vessels  of  the  Siberian  flotilla  and  one  steamer 
belonging  to  the  Naval  Department  were  employed  in  carrying  goods  and  passengers  through 
the  Straits  of  Tartary.  Some  of  the  above  mentioned  Pacific  ports,  such  as  Doue,  the 
Korsakovsk  post,  and  others,  are  also  visited  by  the  vessels  of  the  Volunteer  Fleet;  nevertheless 
the  means  of  transport  available,  about  1885,  did  not  suffice  for  the  increasing  wants  of  the 
Siberian  Pacific  region  and  it  was  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  foreign  vessels  which 
brought  goods  from  Western  Europe  and  the  United  States  to  the  Siberian  ports. 

It  was  naturally  undesirable  that  foreign  vessels  should  take  part  in  the  coasting  trade 
in  Russian  waters  along  the  shores  of  Eastern  Siberia,  and  therefore  the  question  arose  of 
increasing  the  steamboat  service  in  the  Far  East.  Upon  due  consideration  it  was  deemed  most 
advisable  to  allow  Mr.  Shevelev  to  institute  some  supplementary  communication  between  the 
ports  of  the  Pacific,  and  a  contract  was  concluded  with  him  for  15  years  from  September 
17,  1888.  Mr.  Shevelev  bound  himself  to  keep  up  three  lines  of  regular  steamers:  1.  through 
the  Straits  of  Tartary  between  Vladivostok  and  Nicolaevsk;  2.  between  Vladivostok  and 
Shankhai;  3.  in  the  gulf  of  Peter  the  Great,  touching  at  certain  points  along  the  line.  The 
passenger  and  goods  freights  were  charged  in  accordance  with  a  fixed  tariff,  and  besides  this, 
in  order  to  encourage  the  enterprise,  the  contractor  receives  from  the  Government  a  mileage 
at  the  rate  of  three  roubles  paper  for  every  mile  during  the  first  10  years  with  a  gradual 
yearly  reduction  of  10  per  cent  per  annum  for  the  remaining  5  years.  This  mileage  during 
the  first  two  years  was  not  to  exceed  the  sum  due  for  a  distance  of  37,000  mile;,  and  for 
50,000  miles  for  the  following  years.  According  to  the  terms  of  this  contract  Shevelev  is  at 
present  running  steamers  between  the  above  mentioned  port*  of  the  maritime  district  and  also 
to  Han-Kow,  Nagasaki  and  Shankhai. 

There  is  no  regular  service  of  steamers  to  the  other  ports  of  the  Arctic  and  Pacilic. 
But  even  the  establishment  of  a  casual  steam  service  between  the  European  ports  and  the 
ports  of  Siberia  on  the  Northern  and  Ea^^tern  Oceans  has  a  most  important  influence  upon  the 
industrial  development  of  the  country. 

The  determination  of  a  northern  rout(>  from  Europe  through  the  AVliite  Sea  and  the 
Kara  Straits  with  the  mouths  of  the  Obi,  Yenisei  and  Lena  has  been  briefly  described  at  the 
commencement  of  this  article  and  it  now  only  remains  to  add  some  supplementary  information 
on  this  subject.  Thanks  to  the  autority  of  Count  Litke,  the  academecian  Bere  and  other 
northern  explorers,  who  did  not  admit  of  tlic^  possiliility  of  penetrating  from  Europe  into  Asia 


234  sinRRFA. 

tliiY)ijf,4i  tilt;  Aiciio  i>oi;aii,  the  iiorili>-iii  ,-'-.i  moi--.  in  .-^iLeria  was  regardeil  as  aa  uuutiaiuaMij 
vision,  and  M.  K.  Sidorov  did  {^real  !-orvico  when,  in  1853,  he  was  the  fii-st  to  prove  the 
erroneousness  of  tin:  opinions  of  Connt  Litku  and  Mr.  Vynr,  unfortunately  however  he  did  not 
succeed  in  awak^'ninj,'  tin;  synipafhy  of  any  of  the  scientilic  societies.  lie  hased  his  arf^'uni'-'iits 
upon  the  constant  intercourse  l)elween  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  from  the  mouths  of  the 
Pechora  ami  Olii,  Imt  nt;verthele<s,  such  a  strong  conviction  prevailed  that  it  was  impossihie 
to  reach  the  Kara  Sea,  that  the  promise  made  hy  Sidorov  of  a  largo  reward  to  tho  first 
vessel  which  would  enter  the  Yenisei  and  bring  back  a  cargo  of  graphite,  was  not  sufficient 
to  tempt  anybody.  In  1862  he  succeeded  in  persuading  Kruzenstern  to  undertake  an  expedition 
to  the  east,  and  although  it  did  not  terminate  successfully,  still  it  convinced  those  who  took 
part  in  it  that  the  Kara  Sea  was  almost  free  of  ice.  However  no  more  advonturt'S  were  found 
after  Kruzenstern,  >o  Sidorov  was  obliged  himself  to  take  the  initiative  and  determined  to  fit 
out  a  polar  expedition  at  his  own  expense,  but  not  lindiiiii  any  of  his  own  countrymen  de-irous 
of  joining  him,  he  went  to  Sweden  where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Baron  Nordenskjold. 
Next  a  lively  correspondence  was  entered  into  between  them,  Nordenskjold  becoming  ever  more 
and  more  interested  in  Sidorov's  ideas  about  a  sea  route  to  Siberia. 

In  1869  Sidorov  saileil  on  the  steamer  «Georgi»  from  Cronstadt,  but  near  the  mouths  of 
the  Pechora  let  slip  the  favourable  lime  while  saving  the  English  steamer  «NorfoIk».  Resoluttdy 
propagating  his  idea,  Sidorov  applied  to  the  well  known  geographer  Petermann  to  print  in  his 
celebrated  Mittheilungen  an  appeal  to  those  desirous  of  accepting  his  ofier,  namely  a  reward  of 
2,000  pounds  sterling  to  him  who  should  first  make  the  sea  passage  from  Europe  to  the  estuary 
of  the  Yenisei.  Thanks  to  the  wide  circulation  of  Petermann's  magazine,  Sidorov's  appeal  attrac- 
ted the  attention  of  the  Englishman  Wiggins  who  loaded  the  steamer  «Diana»  for  this  expe- 
dition. In  1874,  he  successfully  passed  through  the  Kara  Sea  and  entered  the  mouths  of  the 
Obi  and  Yenisei,  after  which  he  returned  to  England  having  practically  demonstrated  the 
possibility  of  a  north  sea  passage  to  Siberia.  In  1875  the  Swedish  merchant  Dickson  fitted 
out  the  yacht  <;Experiment»  under  the  command  of  Baron  Nordenskjold,  which  also  success- 
fully reached  the  estuary  of  the  Yenisei.  The  vessel  made  the  return  passage,  while  the  Cap 
tain,  ascending  the  Yenisei  in  a  boat  to  Yeniseisk,  went  back  by  land.  In  the  following  year 
Baron  Nordenskjold  on  the  steamer  «Himer»,  and  Wiggins  on  the  steamer  «Famela»  once  more 
safely  sailed  through  into  the  estuary  of  the   Yenisei. 

The  late  Sidorov  having  thus  obtained  the  confirmation  of  the  justice  of  his  idea  did  not 
himself  however  for  a  long  time  have  the  chance  of  making  the  passage.  Only  in  1376  did 
he  succeed  in  fitting  out  the  vessel  ^Northern  Light»  under  the  command  of  Schwanenberg, 
which  unfortunately  suffered  shipwreck  among  the  Little  Bregovsk  Islands.  In  1877  another 
vessel  belonging  to  Sidorov,  built  in  Yeniseisk,  the  «Dawn»  under  the  command  of  the  same 
Schw^anenberg,  sailed  from  the  estuary  of  the  Yenisei  and  safely  arrived  in  St.  Petersburgh. 
In  the  same  year  Trapeznikov's  steamer  the  cLouisa»  sailing  from  Hull,  on  the  18th  of  July 
passed  through  the  Kara  Straits  without  mishap,  and  having  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Obi  pene- 
trated by  the  Irtysh  to  Tobolsk,  with  a  cargo  of  iron  and  olive  oil.  At  the  same  time  Sibi- 
riakov  chartered  the  steamer  cFrazer»  in  Bremen,  which  lauded  safely  on  the  21st  of  August  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei  a  cargo  of  tobacco,  sugar,  machinery,  et  cetera.  In  1878  the  <.Fra- 


WATER    AND    OVERLAND    COMilUNICATION'.  235 

zer»  repeated  her  voyage  with  the  same  success.  At  the  same  time  Baron  Nordenskjold's  se- 
cond expedition  took  place.  This  navigator  in  the  steamer  «Yegav>  made  the  voyage  from 
Transen  through  the  whole  Arctic  Ocean  and  returned  to  Europe  after  circumnavigating  the 
continent   of  Europe-Asia. 

Sabsequeutly  there  were  not  a  few  other  successful  expeditions  of  this  kind.  lu  the 
same  year,  1878,  two  large  European  steamers  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Obi  with  colonial 
wares  and  iron  goods,  in  exchange  for  which  they  took  cargoes  of  wheat  and  hemp.  Knop's 
steamers  the  <?Tsaritsa»  and  the  «Moscow;^  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei,  the  latter  reach- 
ing Yeniseisk.  Nordenskjold's  steamer  the  «:Lena»  entered  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  the 
same  name  and  ascended  as  far  as  Yakutsk  having   thus  sailed  2,700  versts  from  the  mouth. 

In  consequence  of  such  results,  sea  communication  between  Europe  and  Siberia  by  the  Arctic 
Ocean  appeared  to  be  completely  established,  although  there  were  still  not  a  few  accidents  to 
ships  attempting  to  make  their  way  to  Siberia  by  this  new  route.  In  1887  in  Newcastle  a 
company  was  formed  for  establishing  commercial  relations  with  Siberia,  and  with  this  object 
it  equipped  the  steamer  «Phoeuix»  which  successfully  reached  Yeniseisk.  This  first  expedition, 
in  consequence  of  the  unfortunate  choice  of  goods,  was  in  a  commercial  sense  a  failure  lor 
the  company,  but  nevertheless  the  latter  having  become  more  nearly  acquainted  through  its 
agents  with  the  needs  of  Siberia  and  its  productions,  fitted  out  in  the  following  year  the 
steamer  «Labrador»,  which  was  to  carry  its  cargo  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei  and  there  re- 
ceive Siberian  goods  from  the  «Phoenix».  But  neither  of  these  steamers  attained  its  object 
and  the  company  incurred  considerable  losses  and  soon  wound  up  its  affairs.  The  ill  success  of 
this  company  did  not  however  quell  the  desire  of  the  enterprising  Englishmen  to  again 
try  their  luck,  and  with  this  object  once  more  an  Anglo-Siberian  Company  was  formed, 
which  despatched  a  steamer  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei  with  a  cargo  of  assorted  goods.  lu 
consequence  of  an  accidental  concurrence  of  various  unfortunate  circumstances,  notwithstanding 
even  the  gi-anting  of  the  right  of  duty-free  importation  of  goods  into  the  northern  ports  ot 
Siberia  during  five  years,  the  new  company  also  had  no  success  in  a  commercial  sense  and 
was  obliged  to  wind  up  its  affairs. 

Thus,  the  result  of  these  attempts  was  the  positive  establishment  of  the  fact  of  the 
possibility  without  extraordinary  difficulty  of  sea  communication  between  Europe  and  Asia 
via  the  Arctic  Ocean.  But  the  commercial  advantage  of  the  employment  of  this  route  remains 
so  far  a  thing  of  the  future.  In  conclusion  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  remark  in  connexion  with 
the  north  sea  passage  to  Siberia,  that  Sidorov  first  pointed  out  the  importance  of  stoking 
steamers  for  polar  expeditions  with  pertroleum  and  in  1872  inaugurated  this  system  in  Archangel, 
intending  to  employ  the  liquid  fuel  of  local  origin,  but  the  expedition  then  planned  by  him,  as 
was  mentioned,  did  not  take  place. 

The  Pacific  coast  of  Siberia  did  not  present  any  difficulties  in  the  way  of  regular  sea 
communication,  but  here  this  undertaking  could  not  be  developed  in  consequence  of  quite  dif- 
ferent causes.  Till  the  end  of  the  seventies  the  communication  between  European  Russia  and 
Siberia  through  the  Pacific  Ocean  had  a  more  or  less  accidental  character.  The  establishment 
of  steam  communication  with  the  Far  East,  undertaken  in  1870  by  the  Russian  Steam  Naviga- 
tion and  Trade  Company,  did  not  possess  any  serious  commercial  importance.  This  undertaking 


236  SIBERIA. 

also  assumed  laig<!  tiirnonsions  only  from  Iho  momcni  wlnu  ih<'  Volunteer  Fleet  estab- 
lished regular  commiinieutiori  beiwet-n  Odessa  and  Vladivostok,  calling  at  several  Chinese 
polls  oil  the  way.  This  iii^tiiiitioii,  called  into  existence  in  JB78  during  the  last  Eastern  war 
with  the  object  ol'  perlormJng  Hk-  duty  (d  cruisers  in  war  lime  and  having  commercial  ohjects 
in  lime  of  peace,  cerlainly  gave  a  gi'cat  impulse  to  the  coniiecling  of  Euntpean  Russia  with 
the  Far  East,  and  strengthened  the  influence  of  Russia  in  the  waters  of  ihe  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  Volunteer  Fleet,  whose  ships  are  completely  adapted  to  long  ocean  voyages,  is 
oveiy  year  increasing  its  activity  in  the  conveyance  of  passengers  and  goods  from  the  ports 
of  the  Black  Sea  to  Vladivostok  and  Nikolaevsk.  The  number  of  persons  carried  hardly  reach- 
ing 1,300  in  1882,  in  1892  rose  to  7,000,  while  tlie  (niaiitiiy  of  cargo  lor  the  same  period 
rose  from  4,800  to  780,000  pouds.  This  is,  in  no  small  degree,  due  to  the  comparatively  low 
IVeights  for  a  distance  of  over  10,000  English  miles,  a  voyage  taking  about  40  days.  The 
cabin  passenger  pays  5CKJ  roubles,  includiug  food  for  the  voyage  from  Odessa  to  Vladivostok; 
the  deck  passenger,  100  roubles  for  the  same  distance,  also  with  food.  Cargo  is  charged  30 
to  40  kopecks  a  pond. 

Now  the  Volunteer  Fleet  disposes  of  nine  steamers,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  30,000  tons, 
and  nevertheless  it  barely  satisfies  the  demands  maile  upon  it.  Thanks  to  its  activity.  Eastern 
Siberia  now  receives  a  mass  of  necessary  articles  from  European  Russia  and  not  from  abroad, 
and  European  Russia  gets  Chinese  tea  much  cheaper  than  by  land. 

The  survey  of  the  land  communications  must  necessarily  be  short.  In  virtue  of  historic- 
ally constituted  circumstances  but  one  road  passes  through  Siberia,  at  all  deserving  attention, 
this  being  the  so-called  Great  Siberian  Tract,  joining  Moscow  with  Irkutsk,  or  more  exactly 
with  Kiakhta,  as  over  it  more  than  anything  else  are  transported  the  teas  going  from  China 
through  Kiakhta.  Within  the  actual  limits  of  Siberia  it  commences  at  Tinmen  and  passes 
through  Yalutorovsk,  Ishim,  Tiukalinsk,  Kainsk,  Kolyvan,  Tomsk,  Mariinsk,  Achinsk,  Krasno- 
yarsk, Nizhiicoudinsk.  In  this  direction  also  took  place  the  principal- colonization  of  Siberia.  Hence 
one  road  goes  to  Kiakhta  and  contiinies  further  into  the  Celestial  Empire,  while  another  goes 
to  Baikal,  upon  which  in  summer  there  is  steam  communication,  and  in  winter  by  sledge, 
there  is  also  a  road  round  Baikal  passing  through  an  extremely  irregular  country.  Further 
on,  the  post  road  from  Verkneoudinsk  to  Sretensk  traverses  very  difficult  places,  where  some- 
times no  snow  whatever  falls,  in  consequence  of  which  in  winter  the  driver  is  not  seldom  obliged 
here  to  carry  his  sledge  on  a  cart,  or  on  the  other  hand  to  put  the  cart  on  runners.  The 
thinness  of  the  population  in  the  country  along  this  road,  inhabited  mainly  by  vagrants,  makes 
the  conveyance  of  freights  extremely  difficult  and  expensive.  From  this  point  to  Khabarovka 
the  road  follows  the  Amour,  but  few  make  any  use  of  it.  In  summer,  people  prefer  to  take 
advantage  of  the  water  communication,  in  winter  they  travel  in  sledges  over  the  ice,  and 
only  the  break-up  of  the  ice  or  some  other  hard  necessity,  forces  them  to  turn  to  the  nat- 
ural earth  road.  The  further  communication  with  the  terminal  points  of  Siberia.  Nikolaevsk 
and  Vladivostok,  is  carried  on  in  summer  by  water  and  in  winter  on  the  ice.  In  autumn 
and  spring  almost  all  communication  is  stopped  here. 

From  the  route  just  mentioned,  especially  from  the  Great  Siberian  Tract,  at  various 
points  branch  lesser  tracts  serving  as  feeders,  but  not  one  of   them   is   distinguished   by   the 


1 


WATER    AND    OVERLAND    COMMUNICATION  237 

necessary  good  orgauization,  nor  possesses  any  great  commercial  importance.  In  the  latter  re- 
spect, a  certain  interest  is  presented  by  two  routes  leading  from  Western  Siberia  through  the 
Altai  into  Mongolia.  Of  these  the  Chuisk  tract,  serving  as  the  chief  artery  for  the  commer- 
cial traffic  between  Western  Siberia  and  Mongolia,  proceeds  from  Biisk  by  the  valley  of  the 
river  Chuya  near  the  Imperial  frontier  to  Kobdo  and  Ulyasutai,  and  for  a  distance  of  240  versts, 
from  Biisk  to  Angoudai,  offers  a  pretty  fair  carriage  read,  while  beyond  this  point  to  Kosh- 
Agach,  220  versts,  it  is  only  available  for  the  passage  of  beasts  of  burden.  The  second  or 
Bukhtarminsk  tract,  also  terminating  at  Kobdo,  leads  from  the  territory  of  Semipalatinsk 
through  the  Bukhtarminsk  camp,  the  Ulan-Daba  pass  and  Khongo.  This  road  from  Ust-Kamen- 
nogorsk  to  the  settlement  of  Urylsk,  a  distance  of  382  versls,  is  available  for  wheeled  traffic, 
its  continuation  beiug  a  mere  track  for  pack-animals. 


<6><^- 


238  SIBERIA. 


CH  ATT  Ell  XV. 

The  Great  Siberian  Railway. 

Historical    review   ol'  Ibe  question    of    a    Siberian    railway;  first  proposals   in   reference    to 

the  construction  of  the  road;  the  northern,  middle  and  southern  directions;  the  proposals  of  the 

engineers  Ostrovsky    and   Sidensner;    position    of    the    question  in    1890;    commencement  of 

the  line  at  Vladivostok;  position  of  the  railway  works  on  the  10th  of  March,  1893. 


AFTER  the  annexation  of  the  extensive  Amour  and  Littoral  territories  and  of  the  Ussuri 
region,  the  want  was  felt  of  good  \vays  of  communication,  on  the  one  hand  in 
order  to  keep  possession  of  them,  and  on  the  other,  in  order  to  attract  settlers  and  form 
new  centres  of  population.  In  consequence  of  this  a  series  of  schemes  appeared  for  the  con- 
struction of  new  roads  in  Siherla,  and  Count  Mouraviev-AmourSki  himself  was  almost  the  first 
who  conceived  the  idea  of  a  railway  in  this  country.  Upon  the  occupation  of  the  mouths  of 
the  Amour  in  1850,  and  especially  after  the  successful  expeditions  of  Count  Mouraviev  himself 
down  that  river,  the  inconveniences  of  the  estuary  for  the  entry  into  the  river  began  to  be- 
come evident,  and  accordingly  there  arose  the  idea  of  making  use  of  the  splendid  bay 
of  De  Castri  in  the  Tartar  Straits  and  of  uniting  it  with  Sofiisk  on  the  Amour  by  a  carriage 
road  with  the  intention  of  subsequently  converting  It  into  a  railway.  The  surveys  in  this 
locality  and  the  scheme  for  such  a  road  were  carried  out  in  1857  by  Colonel  Romanov,  but 
the  road  Itself  was  not  destined  to  be  realized  for  want  of  means.  Simultaneously  with  this 
appeared  the  proposal  of  the  English  engineer  Dull.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  cariTing  a 
horse  tramway  from  Nizhni-Xovgorod  through  Kazan  and  Perm  to  one  of  the  Siberian  ports 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  this  scheme,  unsupported  by  any  estimates,  was  obviously  of  too 
unsubstantial  a  character,  and  the  Government  accordingly  passed  it  over  in  silence. 

In  the  same  year  another  foreigner,  the  American  citizen  Collins,  petitioned  the  Gov- 
ernment to  authorize  him  to  found  a  stock-company,  to  be  styled  the  Amour  Railway  Com- 
pany, to  unite  Irkutsk  and' Chita.  For  the  realization  of  this  enterprise  Collins  wished  to 
issue  shares  of  100  roubles  calculating  upon  getting  all  the  necessary  capital  subscribed  in 
Siberia  itself.  This  scheme,  although  likewise  destitute  of  any  solid  foundation,  thanks  to  the 
sympathetic  attitude  of  the  then  Governor-General  Count  Mouraviev,  was  examined  on  the  very 
shortest  notice  both  in  the  Ministry  of  Ways   of  Communication  and   in   the   Siberian   Com- 


THE    GEEAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  239 

mittee,  but  in  both  institutions,  albeit  on  different  grounds,  il  was  found  to  be  inopportune  and 
was  rejected. 

The  third  proposal  following  close  upon  the  second  in  1658  aimed  at  uniting  by  rail 
Moscow  and  the  Tartar  Straits  on  the  Pacific  shore  of  Siberia.  The  authors  of  this  scheme 
were  the  Englishmen,  MoiTison,  Horn  and  Sleigh,  who  \vithout  demanding  any  guarantee  of 
Income  from  the  Government  yet  petitioned  for  such  considerable  privileges,  that  their  grant- 
ing would  have  lead  to  the  concentration  of  the  whole  Siberian  trade  and  industry  in  the 
hands  of  foreigners  for  a  very  long  period.  At  the  same  time  they  gave  the  Government  no 
guarantee  for  the  timely  and  successful  accomplishment  of  the  work  contemplated.  On  more 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  said  proposal  it  appeared  that  it  was  founded  upon  no  pre- 
liminary surveys.  On  this  ground  the  Government  did  not  find  it  deserving  of  attention  and 
informed  the  proposers  of  the  scheme  that  the  construction  of  a  railway  from  Kizhni-Novgorod 
to  the  Tartar  Bay  did  not  enter  Into  the  plans  of  the  Government  and  therefore  could  not 
be  accepted. 

The  question  of  the  Siberian  railway  aroused  a  lively  interest  in  official  and  private 
circles,  and  therefore  there  was  no  lack  of  new,  more  or  less  imposing  propositions.  In  the 
same  year,  1858,  appeared  Sofronov's  scheme,  to  carry  a  railway  from  Saratov  through  the 
Kirghiz  steppes  to  Semipalatinsk,  Minusinsk,  Selenginsk,  the  Amour  and  Pekin.  Against  it 
there  then  appeared  in  print  many  objections  in  which  was  pointed  out  among  other  things 
the  necessity  of  taking  the  line  along  the  Great  Siberian  Tract,  which  had  existed  from  time 
immemorial,  crossing  the  Ural  and  connecting  Nizhni-Novgorod  with  Kiakhta.  Sofronov's 
scheme,  like  all  the  preceding  ones,  was  a  paper  scheme  and  not  the  result  of  actual  investigation 
of  the  trading  and  industrial  needs  of  the  localities,  through  which  this  mighty  route  was  to 
pass.  Submitted  to  Count  Mouraviev-Amoursky's  consideration,  it  called  forth  several  corrections 
and  additions,  but  had  no  practical  consequences. 

Of  a  much  more  practical  character  was  the  undertaking  proposed  by  Kokorev  and 
Co.,  who  in  1862,  having  formed  the  idea  of  uniting  the  basins  of  the  Volga  and  the  Obi. 
these  two  giant  streams  of  European  Russia  and  Siberia,  availed  themselves  of  the  scheme 
of  the  mining  engineer  Rashet,  for  a  long  time  head  of  the  Government  and  private  mining 
works  in  the  Ural,  and  perfectly  acquainted  with  that  district.  The  surveys  carried  out  with 
reference  to  this  scheme  pointed  to  the  following  line,  from  Perm  via  the  Nizhni-Tagil  works 
to  Tinmen,  678  versts  with  a  branch  to  Irbit,  13  versts.  This  scheme,  completely  satisfying 
the  demands  of  the  through  route,  appeared  to  be  the  most  desirable  for  the  whole  Ural 
mining  industry,  whose  representatives  received  it  very  favourably.  However,  soon  afterwards  the 
same  men  abandoned  the  direction  indicated  by  Rashet's  schemes  and  adopted  another  pro- 
posed by  Colonel  Bogdanovich. 

The  latter's  plan  was  one  of  the  results  of  his  despatch  in  1866  to  the  government 
of  Vlatka  to  take  measures  against  the  injurious  consequences  of  the  crop  failure  which 
befell  that  country  in  1864  After  only  two  months  from  his  departure  from  St.  Petersburg, 
Bogdanovich  reported  by  telegraph  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  on  the  23rd  of  March,  1866, 
as  follows:  « After  removing  all  difficulties  in  the  provisioning  of  the  governments  of  Perm  and 
Viatka  and  investigating  the  local  conditions,  I  am  of  opinion  that   the   only  sure  means  of 


240  SIBERIA. 

preventing  famine  in  the  (Jral  country  in  the  I'nluie  is  the  buililing  of  a  railway  from  the 
governments  of  the  interior  to  Ki<aterinburg  and  thence  to  Tinmen.  Such  a  line,  being  sub- 
sequently continni'il  through  Siberia  to  the  Chinese  frontier  would  acquire  a  gieat  importance 
both  strategical  and  for  international  trade*.  Afterwards,  on  the  recfipt  from  Bogdanovich  of 
a  nioro  detaili-d  ivpmt  on  the  subject,  it  was  in  April,  ISB*^,  thought  good  to  authoriZ';  the 
s;ii(l  piMson  to  carry  out  detailed  surveys  and  lorni  a  scheme  for  a  railway  Irom  thi-  village 
of  Yershov  through  Ekaterinbuig  to  Tinmen.  Tim  original  project  was  somewhat  ha.stily 
draugliti'd  and  therofore  the  author  subsequently  had  to  make  '^"V*t;iI  corrections  and  ad- 
ditions in  11. 

The  two  schemes  referred  to,  powerfully  affecting  the  interests  of  different  parts  of 
Siberia,  called  into  existence  a  third  in  1869,  that  of  the  trader  liiubimov.  The  latter  carried 
out  surveys  from  Perm  through  the  towns  of  Kungur,  Ekaterinburg  and  Shadrinsk  to  the 
hamlet  of  Bieloozersk,  situated  49  versts  to  the  north  of  Kurgan  on  the  river  Tobol,  a  distance 
of  711  versts.  There  was  at  the  same  time  in  view  to  carry  from  the  main  line  a  side 
mining  branch  in  a  northern  direction  from  Ekaterinburg  through  the  Nizhni-Tagil  works 
to  the  Kushvinsk  Government  works,  over  a  length  of  131  versts. 

The  then  Governor-General  of  Western  Siberia,  Adjutant  General  Khruschov  also 
directed  attention  to  the  carrying  out  of  these  surveys  closely  affecting  the  country 
entrusted  to  his  care,  and  having  become  acquainted  on  the  spot  with  the  direction  of  trade 
and  its  needs,  presented  at  the  end  of  1869  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  Emperor  upon  the 
necessity  of  the  rapid  solution  of  the  question  of  the  building  of  the  Siberian  railway? 
pointing  out  at  the  same  time  the  nearest  route  for  it  through  Nizhni-Xovgorod  to 
Kazan  and  Tiunien. 

Thus  at  the  end  of  the  sixties,  upon  the  question  of  the  construction  of  a  Siberian 
railway  there  were  sharply  defined  the  three  above  mentioned  routes  according  to  the  schemes 
respectively  of  Rashet,  Liubimov  and  Bogdanovich.  All  three  begin  at  Perm,  and  they  end, 
the  first  and  third,  in  the  town  of  Tinmen,  and  the  second  at  Bieloozersk  on  the  river  Tobol, 
which  it  was  proposed  to  make  navigable.  In  the  numerous  discussions  of  these  schmes  in 
scientific  societies  and  in  literature,  the  first  route  was  named  the  Northern,  the  se- 
cond the  Middle,  and  the  third  the  Southern.  Although  no  small  number  of  prelim- 
inary surveys  were  made  in  all  these  directions,  yet  when  in  connection  with  the  above 
mentioned  report  of  Adjutant  General  Khruschov,  this  question  began  to  be  discussed  in  the 
higher  Government  spheres  it  was  found  possible  in  the  first  place  to  build  only  a  part  of 
the  line  projected,  7C)0  versts  in  length,  in  order  to  join  the  Kama  with  the  Tobol. 

In  order  to  form  an  opinion  from  the  mass  of  not  fully  elaborated  and  not  always 
exact  data  collected  during  the  carrying  out  of  private  surveys,  as  well  as  to  determine  the 
most  advantageous  route  for  this  line,  a  special  commission  was  fitted  out  to  the  T7ra!,  for 
whom  the  satisfaction  of 'the  needs  of  the  Ural  mining  industry  was  to  have  the  greatest 
weight,  W'hile  at  the  same  time  it  was  pointed  out  to  them  that  the  road  must,  although  to 
a  slight  extent,  only  answer  to  the  requirements  of  the  Siberian  transit  trade.  However  on 
a  closer  acquaintance  with  the  matter  it  appeared  that  these  objects  are  incompatible  and 
therefore   the   preference  .was    given  to  the  Ural  railway,  the  question  of  the  Siberian  road 


THE    GREAT    SIBEEIAN    RAILWAY.  241 

remaining  open  for  some  time.  The  surveys  afterwards  carried  out  in  1872—1874  ty  the 
(iovcrnment  established  three  principal  routes:  1.  Kineshma,  Viatka,  Perm,  Ekaterinburg, 
933  versts;  2.  Xizhni,  Kazan,  Krasnoufimsk,  Ekaterinburg,  1,172  versts;  3.  Alatyr,  Ufa, 
Cheliabinsk,  1,173  versts.  Thus,  the  first  route  proves  to  be  a  development  of  Mr.  Rashefs 
scheme,  that  is,  of  the  northern;  the  second,  the  altered  scheme  of  Mr.  Bogdanovich,  or  the 
southern;  and  finally  the  third,  a  compromise  for  the  simultaneous  satisfaction  of  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Siberian  and  Central  Asiatic  transit  traffic.  The  Committee  of  Ministers  on 
examining  these  routes  had  its  attention  an'ested  mainly  by  the  first  two,  and  in  1875  it  was 
decided  to  carry  the  Siberian  railway  by  the  route  from  Nizhni-Xovgorod  along  the  hilly 
bank  of  the  Volga  to  Kazan,  Ekaterinburg  and  Tinmen. 

It  will  be  appropriate  to  observe  here  that  the  choice  of  the  direction  for  the  Siberian 
railway  between  north  and  south  everywhere  called  forth  very  lively  discussions.  Various 
pamphlets  appeared  arguing  for  and  against  the  said  routes,  the  constant  subject  of  dispute 
being  not  the  direction  of  the  railway  in  the  Siberian  territory,  but  its  direction  within  the 
limits  of  European  Russia.  From  the  above  quoted  enumeration  of  the  routes  it  is  clear  that 
all  the  proposals  agreed  in  this,  that  whencesoever  the  line  of  railway  begin,  it  must 
necessarily  pass  through  Tiumen.  Further  than  this  point  few  went,  and  few  interested  them 
selves  whether  the  line  led  through  the  southern  steppes  and  traversed  cultivated  centres 
or  extended  through  the  thickets  of  the  north,  while  only  passing  through  the  most  im- 
portant places. 

In  consequence  of  such  being  the  situation  of  a  matter  so  deeply  interesting  to 
Siberia,  the  higher  administrative  authorities  of  the  country  more  than  once  raised  the 
question  of  the  immediate  laying  down  of  railway  communication  between  different  very 
important  points  of  the  country.  Thus  already  in  1875,  a  petition  was  started  to  build 
a  railway  from  Vladivostok  to  lake  Khanko.  which  was  followed  by  a  lively  correspondence 
in  higher  Government  spheres  upon  the  construction  of  railways  by  preference  in  Eastern 
Siberia  within  the  territory  of  the  Littoral  and  the  Ussuri  region,  especially  in  view  of  the 
development  in  all  directions  of  China  and  Japan.  However  the  then  difficult  position  of  the 
Imperial  finances  did  not  permit  of  immediately  proceeding  to  the  realization  of  such 
desirable  propositions. 

Continuing  to  discuss  the  most  advantageous  route  for  the  Siberian  line,  the  Government 
at  the  same  time  did  not  cease  to  occupy  itself  with  the  enlargement  of  the  general  system 
of  railways,  which  in  1877  already  reached  Orenburg.  In  the  following  year,  1878,  the  Ural 
railway  was  opened,  and  in  1880  was  completed  the  imposing  structure  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander  II  bridge  across  the  Volga,  while  finally  in  the  same  year,  ensued  an  Imperial 
command  for  the  immediate  building  of  the  section  of  railway  between  Ekaterinburg  and 
Tiumen.  The  accomplishment  of  the  above  named  constructions  in  connexion  with  the  results 
of  new  surveys  showed  that  the  southern  route  for  the  Siberian  railway,  sanctioned  in  1875, 
on  account  of  altered  circumstances,  could  no  longer  answer  to  its  destination.  Accordingly 
in  1882  the  discussion  of  the  Siberian  main  line  was  begun  afresh,  which  demanded  the 
carrying  out  of  supplementary  surveys  in  several  new  directions,  so  that  in  1884  the  possibility 
appeared  of  presenting  the  three  following  routes  instead   of  the  southern.  Of  these,  the  first 

10 


242  .SIHEKIA. 

was  from  Xizhni-Nuv^'oroi]  tliroiigli  Kazan,  the  Xikolobt;n;zuvhk  wliuil  and  Lkat'.-nnliuig  lu 
Tiiimon,  ihi'  socorid,  froiu  Samara  via  fjfa,  Krasiimifimsk  ami  Ekat'-rinburg  to  Tiumi'ii,  ami 
I  III'  lliinl,  riom  Samara  tliroiii,'li  Ufa,  Zlatoust,  to  (^hellahiiisk.  The  rho'ioi  of  oin'  of  these 
three  flirecti(jiiN  would  i)iedi'ti'rmiiie  to  a  certain  extent  that  of  the  main  Silterian  line  itself, 
ami  at  the  saim;  lime  to  drcidi-  this  question  finally,  without  having  sulficient  data  on  tbe 
route  which  Siberian  fn-igbts  would  taki-  on  the  completion  of  tbe  Ekaterinburg-Tiumen 
line  ilien  under  construction,  joining  the  basins  of  Ihe  Volga  and  the  Obi,  and  also  in  consequenc'' 
(d'  the  imminent  completion  of  tbe  Obi-Yonisci  canal  for  Ihe  uniting  of  the  basins  of  tb''  Obi 
and  Yenisei,  did  not  seem  i)0ssible.  Really  the  realization  of  tliese  two  works  was  openini.' 
over  a  vast  cxti'iit  a  water  route  coiniei'ting  the  basin  of  tiii-  A'olga  with  lake  Baikal,  and 
consequently  must  have  a  serious  influence  upon  the  direction  te  be  taken  by  tbe  railway 
line  right  through  Siberia.  On  the  other  hand  arose  the  question,  was  there  any  necessity, 
with  the  existence  of  excellent  water  communication,  for  the  immediate  construction  of  an 
unbroken  line  of  railway  through  the  whole  of  Siberia,  and  was  it  not  better  to  be  content 
in  the  first  instance  with  the  building  of  isolated  sections  possessing  some  political  strateg- 
ical or  industrial  importance. 

In  this  last  respect  the  schemes  put  forth  by  the  engineers  Ostrovsky  and  Sidensnet 
deserve  particular  attention.  The  former  presented  his  proposal  in  the  beginning  of  1880: 
he  maintaineil  the  idea  that  at  that  time,  for  the  consolidation  and  economical  develop- 
ment of  Siberia  and  its  relations  with  Russia,  it  was  necessary  above  all  things  to  improve 
and  facilitate  the  internal  communications  of  Siberia  and  only  then  complete  the  routes  of 
transit  then  in  existence  upon  this  side  of  the  Ural.  Under  the  existing  circumstances  he  saw 
no  need  for  an  unbroken  line  of  railway  right  through  Siberia.  The  author  saw  the  solution 
of  these  problems  merely  in  tbe  quickest  possible  construction  of  the  following  three  roads: 
Perm-Tobolsk,  to  unite  the  two  large  rivers  Kama  and  Irtysh:  Tomsk-Krasnoyarsk,  to  unite 
the  Obi  and  the  Yenisei,  and  finally  the  third,  Omsk-Barnaoul,  to  unite  the  Irtysh  at  Omsk 
with  the  Obi  at  Barnaoul,  with  its  continuation  to  Biisk,  and  further  to  the  frontiei'S  of  China. 
On  the  creation  of  the  two  first  lines,  for  an  extent  of  800  and  560  versts  respectively,  exten- 
sive communication  is  opened  between  the  basin  of  the  Volga  and  that  of  lake  Baikal,  this 
union  being  effected  not  with  the  aid  of  shallow  and  not  always  navigable  rivers,  but  through 
the  Kama  ami  thi'  Irtysh    which   never    lack  water. 

The  engineer  Ostrovsky  ascribed  special  importance  to  the  Omsk-Barnaoul  line.  This 
line  would  shorten  the  great  water  road  from  the  immensely  rich  mining  district  of  Altai  to 
Tobolsk  and  would  strengthen  the  trade  with  China  through  Biisk,  Kobdo  and  Ulyasutai.  Only 
by  taking  advantage  to  th.e  largest  extent  of  the  water  ways  of  Siberia  would  be  realized  a 
cheap  and  convenieut  communication  between  the  centre  of  Siberia,  Irkutsk  and  the  centre 
of  European  Russia,  Moscow.  The  direct  union  by  an  unbroken  line  of  railway  of  the  two 
centres  referred  to  will  become  urgent  and  realizable  only  in  the  more  or  less  distant  futui-e. 
and  beyond  controversy  only  on  Siberia  attaining  a  higher  degree  of  civilization  than  at 
present.  Having  examined  the  conditions  which  this  imposing  construction  must  satisfy,  the 
engineer  Ostrovsky  indicates  in  general  terms  its  direction  from  Moscow  to  Irkutsk  as  follows: 
<  The  road  should  pass  through  Riazan,  Spassk,  Ufa  and  thence  through  Zlatoust,  Cheliaba,  Petro- 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  243 

pavlovsk,  Omsk,  Kaiiisk,  Tomsk,  Mariiusk,  Achinsk,  Krasnoyarsk,  Kausk,  Udiusk  and  Bala- 
gansk  to  Irkutsk.  It  will  thus,  throughout  its  whole  extent,  meet  all  the  chief  administrative 
and  trading  centres  of  Siberia,  will  nowhere  quit  the  zone  of  densest  population  and  will 
traverse  almost  exclusively  the  fertile  chernoziom  tract,  from  the  Volga  to  the  Yenisei.  The 
constuction  of  the  southern  line  might  he  accomplished  in  separate  sections,  each  of  which 
might  he  completed  independently  of  the  rest,  preserving  its  own  proper  Importance ». 

The  route  quoted  of  the  Siberian  railway  indicated  by  the  engineer  Ostrovsky  deserves 
attention  in  this  respect  that  it  almost  exactly  coincides  with  that  which  is  now  finally 
adopted  for  the  Great  Siberian  Railway. 

The  engineer  Sidensner,  who  took  part  in  the  expedition  for  carrying  out  the  surveys 
in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  Obi-Yenisei  canal,  expressed  the  opinion  that  with 
the  realization  of  this  work  and  the  removal  of  the  rapids  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Angara 
a  vast  water  way  would  be  opened  of  5,000  versts  extent,  from  Tinmen  to  Baikal.  Next  from 
Baikal  begins  the  coast  road  to  Sretensk  of  950  versts;  and  there  again,  a  new  water  way 
by  the  Amour  for  3,000  versts.  Discussing  in  detail  the  cart  road,  Sidensner  draws  the  con- 
clusion that  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  may  be  considerably  shortened,  as  the  first  150  versts 
pass  by  the  shore  of  Baikal  and  the  valley  of  the  navigable  river  Serenga,  and  the  last  350 
versts  along  the  shore  of  the  raftable  river  Ingoda  and  in  part  of  the  Shilka.  Thus,  the  road 
is  reiluced  to  450  versts,  and  even  here,  from  the  happy  direction  of  many  shallow  rivers 
which  can  easily  be  made  navigable,  there  only  remains  the  pass  across  the  Yablonovoi  range 
from  the  Areisk  Lake  to  the  settlement  of  Tangiusk,  a  distance  of  18  versts;  and  only  over 
this  small  section  will  it  l)e  necessary  to  build  a  railway  to  unite  by  a  water  route  the 
basin  of  the  Volga  with  the  Pacific  shore  of  Siberia.  The  proposition  to  carry  out  surveys  in  this 
direction,  although  met  with  favour,  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  means  could  not  be  accepted. 

Yet  many  more  schemes  were  presented,  which  were  discussed  both  in  Government 
spheres  and  in  scientific  societies,  but  the  majority  of  them  suffered  from  a  lack  of  actual 
foundation.  Special  commissions  were  organized  in  the  Imperial  Russian  Technical  Society 
and  in  the  Society  for  Promoting  Russian  Trade  and  Industry,  which  laboured  very  long  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  questions  of  the  route  and  cost  of  the  Siberian  Railway,  but  to  write 
about  all  the  schemes  placed  before  these  meetings,  would  take  up  very  much  time;  they 
fill  books.  The  principal  directions  are  marked  upon  the  map  appended  to  this  work,  omitting 
the  variations  whose  name  is  legion. 

Independently  of  the  schemes  proposed  by  private  persons,  several  Governors-General 
of  Siberia  began  vehemently  to  urge  the  necessity  of  building  different  sections  of  the  line. 
Among  these  petitions,  particularly  noteworthy  are  the  schemes  for  sections  of  the  way  from 
Tomsk  to  Irkutsk  and  from  liaikal  to  Sretensk  put  forth  by  Baruu  Korf  and  Count  Ignatiev, 
intended  to  unite  the  Western  Siberian  navigation  with  that  of  Eastern  Siberia  on  the  Amour. 
To  these  two  sections  a  third  was  soon  added,  from  Vladivostok  through  Razdolnoe,  Ni- 
kolskoe,  and  Anuchino  to  the  Busse  Post.  The  surveys  carried  out  in  these  directions  only 
touched  the  technical  side  of  the  matter,  leaving  the  economical  entirely  aside;  in  consequence 
of  which  in  1887  it  was  not  considered  possible  to  proceed  to  the  preparatory  works  for  the 
carrying  out  of   the    schemes  referred   to.    An    exception  was  made  only  in  reference  to  the 

16* 


244  SIBERIA. 

Ussuri  line,  the  constiuclion  of  wLicIi  was  put  in  tiiu  lirst  rank.  This  question  was  in  1^90 
placed  for  consideration  before  a  Special  Commission,  which  was  also  charged  with  elucidat- 
ing in  what  order  the  different  sections  should  be  built,  in  order  as  far  as  possible  to  lighten 
the  sacrifices  of  the  treasury  and  draw  the  greatest  advantages  from  the  working  of  those 
sections  which  shouhl  be  constructed  first.  In  the  Special  Commission  at  the  end  of  1890,  when 
the  system  of  Russian  railways  projected  eastwards  in  throe  lines  whose  extreme  points  were 
Tiiuiioii  on  tlic  L'ral  line,  Miass  on  tliut  (if  Zlatoust-Miass,  and  Orenburg  on  the  Orenburg 
line,  on  the  discussion  (d'  the  (juestion  of  the  conditions  of  the  construction  of  the  Great  Sibe- 
rian Railway  new  circumstances  cropped  up  which  somewhat  altered  the  former  view  of  the 
matter.  Strategical  views  partly  gave  way  before  considerations  of  an  economical  and  com- 
mercial character,  it  being  at  the  same  time  declared  that  the  aim  of  the  creation  of  the  Si- 
berian railway  should  consist  not  so  much  in  the  opening  in  Siberia  of  new  markets  for  the 
sale  of  the  productions  of  European  Russia,  as  in  affording  Siberia  itself  the  possibility  of 
marching  along  the  roail  of  normal  economical  development  and  placing  that  vast  country,  so 
richly  endowed  by  nature  but  bereft  of  convenient  ways  of  communication,  as  far  as  possible 
in  the  same  conditions  as  those  which  European  Russia  at  present  enjoys.  Only  in  close  eco- 
nomic communion  with  European  Russia  could  Siberia  grow  and  develop.  On  the  other  hand, 
European  Russia  in  economical  relation  with  Siberia  would  draw  upon  new  sources  for  its 
development  and  enrichment. 

The  commencement  of  the  Siberian  railway  from  the  east,  that  is.  from  the  Ussuri 
section  would  not  completely  answer  to  the  objects  laid  down,  and  it  was  therefore  recognized 
as  more  expedient  to  begin  this  great  work  simultaneously  from  the  opposite  ends  in  the  east 
and  west.  The  terminus  of  the  line  at  its  eastern  end  was  one  starting  point,  namely  Vladivos- 
tok, and  about  this  there  were  no  differences  of  opinion  and  no  disputes.  Other  point,  to  the 
slightest  extent  suitable  for  the  purpose,  there  is  none  upon  the  Pacific  shore  of  Siberia. 

The  choice,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  western  terminus  offered  a  more  difficult  problem_ 
which  however  at  last  was  reduced  to  the  selection  of  one  of  the  three  above  mentioned  points 
with  which  the  railway  system  of  European  Russia  terminated  towards  the  east.  From  what- 
ever point  the  Siberian  railway  was  begun,  on  continuing  it  into  the  depth  of  the  country, 
all  three  variants  must  necessarily  join  approximately  at  a  point  near  Xizhneudinsk,  as  is 
shown  upon  the  annexed  map.  • 

Choosing  Tiumen  as  the  point  of  departure  the  line  must  be  earned  to  Yalutorovsk 
and  Kainsk,  leaving  Tomsk  by  the  way,  as  the  taking  of  it  in  a  more  northerly  direction,  to 
Tomsk,  is  excessively  difficult  in  consequence  of  a  desert  region  covered  with  forests  and 
swamps.  Further  on,  the  line  must  go  to  Mariinsk,  Krasnoyarsk  and  Nizhneoudinsk.  The  distance 
from  Tiunien  to  the  last  point  is  3,474  versts.  If  the  starting  point  chosen  be  the  station  of 
]\Iiass,  the  road  will  pass  through  Kurgan,  Kainsk,  Kolyvan,  Mariinsk,  Krasnoyarsk  and  Nizhneou- 
dinsk.  The  total  distance  is  in  this  case  2,683  versts.  Finally,  selecting  Orenburg,  the  line 
must  be  taken  to  Orsk,  Atbassar,  Akmolinsk,  Pavlodar,  Biisk,  Minousinsk  and  Xizhneoudinsk. 
The  total    extent  of  the  road  by  this  route  is  3,400  versts. 

Comparing  ;the  advantages  and  excellences  of  laying  down  the  line  in  these  three 
directions,    the    following  is   the   result.    Uniting   the   Siberian   road   wiih  Tiumen   without 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  245 

connecting  it  with  the  general  system  deprives  it  of  the  importance  of  a  line  of  transit.  But 
if  the  Ural  line  be  produced  from  Perm  to  Xizhni,  then  in  the  first  place,  this  distance  of 
1,000  versts  will  cost  about  71,000,000  roubles,  and  in  the  second,  the  said  line  from  its 
technical  conditions  will  present  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  profitable  through  goods  traffic. 
The  second  route  is  791  versts  shorter  than  the  preceding,  and  besides  this,  embraces  the  most 
populous  parts  of  Western  Siberia  with  a  chernoziom  and  exceedingly  fertile  zone  producing 
much  more  grain  than  is  required  on  the  spot.  The  third  route  traversing  several  large  admin- 
istrative and  industrial  centres  at  the  same  time  passes  through  a  very  unsuitable  region  in 
its  western  half.  For  about  1,500  versts  the  line  goes  through  waterless,  thinly  populated 
steppes  little  adapted  to  civilized  life,  where  in  winter  rage  the  fiercest  winds,  in  consequence 
of  which  there  are  frequent  snow  drifts.  In  its  eastern  half  this  route  intersects  au  extensive 
mountainous  district  and  the  carrying  through  it  of  a  railway  will  require  a  crowd  of  technical 
complications  and  an  increase  in  the  cost  of  construction  connected  therewith.  With  all  this 
the  route  in  question  is  717  versts  longer  than  the  preceding.  Thus  all  the  advantages  proved 
to  be  in  favour  of  prolonging  the  Samara-Zlatoust-Miass  railway  through  Cheliabinsk,  Kurgan 
and  so  on. 

In  consequence  of  all  the  above,  the  question  of  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian 
Railway  was  resolved  on  the  21st  of  February,  1891,  in  the  sense  of  proceeding  in  the  same  year 
to  the  building,  by  direct  order  of  the  Treasury,  of  the  railway  from  the  station  of  Miass  to 
the  completion  of  the  Zlatoust-Miass  line  in  construction  to  Cheliabinsk,  and  to  the  carrying 
out  of  surveys  from  Cheliabinsk  to  Tomsk  or  some  other  point  of  the  middle  Siberian  section. 
Finally,  by  an  Imperial  rescript  given  the  17th  of  March,  1891,  in  the  name  of  his  Imperial 
Highness  the  Tsarevich,  the  question  of  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  was 
finally  and  irrevocably  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

The  Gracious  Will  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor,  clearly  expressed  in  this  rescript,  put 
an  end  to  many  years  of  hesitation  and  doubt  as  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  said  great 
undertaking,  and  now  the  Government  has  taken  all  the  necessary  measures  for  the  most 
successful  realization  possiide  of  this  good  conception,  which  has  a  perfect  right  to  take  one 
of  the  first  places  among  the  most  extensive  and  important  enterprises  of  the  expiring  century, 
not  only  in  this  country  but  in  the  whole  world. 

The  above  quoted  Imperial  rescript  was  promulgated  l)y  the  Grand  Duke  the  Tsarevich 
on  the  12th  of  May,  1891,  in  Vladivostok,  and  then  His  Imperial  Highness  laid  the  first  stone 
of  this  mighty  work.  In  the  same  year  extensive  surveys  were  commenced  from  the  west  and 
the  east,  and  the  possibility  soon  appeared  of  establishing  the  following  order  for  the 
construction  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway.  The  realization  of  the  enterprise  was  divided  in- 
to three  shifts.  To  the  first  was  referred  the  construction  of  the  Western  Sil^erian  section 
from  Cheliabinsk  to  the  river  Obi,  an  extent  of  1,328  versts,  and  of  the  middle  Siberian  section 
from  the  river  Obi  to  the  town  of  Irkutsk,  a  distance  of  1,754  versts,  as  well  as  the  completion 
of  the  section  Vladivostok-Grafskaya,  in  course  of  construction,  and  the  building  of  the  connecting 
line  between  the  Ural  Mines  line  and  the  Siberian  railway.  To  the  second  shift  was  counted 
the  construction  of  the  sections  from  Grafskaya  to  Khabarovka,  3-47  versts  long,  and  from 
the  station  of  Mysovskaya,  tlie  point  of  departure  of  the  line  on  the  other  side  of  Raikal,  to 


246  SIBEKIA. 

Sretcrisk,  ii  (listaiirT-  of  ]/tfO  vorsts.  To  ilif  iliinl  shift  Itdougs  the  building  of  the  Circum- 
baikal  lino,  202  versts  in  length,  atnl  from  Sn-terisk  to  Khabarovka,  about  2,fX/J  versts.  The 
works  of  the  first  shift  aio  to  be  roniplotod  not  later  than  the  year  1900, 

The  order  of  ronstrnction  received  the  Imperial  sanction  on  the  1 0th  of  December,  1892, 
and  on  the  lOth  of  March  of  the  present  year,  1893,  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian 
Hallway  was  in  the  lulluwing  state. 


1.  T  h  f  first   s  ('  (•  t  i  o  ii  o  f  I  li  c  W  e  s  t  e  r  n  S  i  li  e  r  i  a  n  Railway  from  the  to  w  n 
o  I'  C  111' I  i  a  li  i  II  s  k    to   the   town   of  Urnsk,   distance   747  versts. 

a.  The  p('rs(jnal  s;aff  (d"  engineers  completely  organized  and  already  on  the  spot;  b.  The 
alienation  of  land  begun,  and  signed  declarations  obtained  from  the  ouTiers  as  to  the  com- 
pensation required  ])y  them;  c.  The  work  in  connection  with  the  removal  of  earth  given  to 
contractors;  navvies  hired  for  the  whole  extent  of  the  section,  and  excavators  delivered  on 
tire  spot;  earth  removeil  to  the  extent  of  218,000  cubic  sagenes  or  about  20.  per  cent  of  the 
whole  quantity;  d.  Timber  cut  for  the  wooden  bridges,  and  cast-iron  pipes  and  iron  ordered 
for  the  bridges  across  the  rivers  Tobol  and  Ishim;  a  considerable  part  of  the  wooden  bridges 
built  for  a  distance  of  240  versts  between  Cheliabinsk  and  Kurgan;  e.  Four  liundred  thousand 
sleepers  made  and  50  per  cent  of  this  quantity  delivered  on  the  line;  f.  The  laying  of  the 
telegraph  begun,  ami  already  opened  for  use  from  Cheliabinsk  to  Kurgan  for  a  length  of 
240  versts;  g.  Material  in  course  of  preparation  for  the  buildings  on  the  line  and  at  the 
stations;  h.  Twenty  thousand  casks  of  cement  obtained,  and  bolts  ordered  for  the  whole  section. 


2.    T  li  0  s 0  c 0 n  d   section   of   the    Western   S  i  b e r  i  a n  K  a  i  1  w a  y    from   the 
town   of   Omsk   to   the   river    0  b  i,  a  d  i  s  t  a  n  c  e    of    579    versts. 

a.  Personal  staff  of  engineers  organized:  b.  Earth-works  contracted  for  the  first  100 
versts  from  the  town  of  Omsk;  b.  Negotiations  being  carried  on  with  the  works  for  the  supply 
of  cement  and  iron  for  the  bridges  and  with  o\^'ners  of  steamers  for  the  carriage  of  railway 
requisites  by  the  Obi  water  system  from  Tinmen  to  Omsk  on  the  river  Irtysh  and  to  Kri- 
voshchekovo  on  the  Obi. 


3.  F  i  r s  t  section   of  t h  e  ]\I  i  d d  1  e  S  i  b  e r  i  a n  K a i  I  w  a y  f  r o m  t  h e   river   Obi 
to    the    town    of   iv r a s n o y a r s k,    a    distance    of    724    versts. 

a.  Parties  of  engineers  organized  and  despatched  to  the  scene  of  the  works  for  car- 
rying out  final  surveys  and  works;  b.  Earth-works  contracted  for  a  distance  of  65  versts,  the 
amount  of  270,0(t0  cubic  sagenes,  and  navvies  hired  for  carrying  out  the  work  with  the  means 
at  hand:  c.  Twenty-four  thousand  casks  of  cement  obtained;  d.  Negotiations  concluded  with 
owners  of  steamers  of  the  Obi  system  for  the  delivery  at  tie  village  of  Krivoshchekovo  on 
the  Obi  of  the  cement  alreadv  obtained  and  of  the   iron  materials  from  the    Ural  and   other 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  247 

works;  e.  To  ensure  the  works  being  duly  supplied  with  timher  an  order  issued  to.  proceed  to 
the  felling  of  avenues  in  the  forests  and  negotiations  in  course  with  timber  merchants  in 
reference  to  the  building  on  one  of  the  raftable  rivers  of  a  saw  mill  and  the  rafting  from  the 
head  waters  of  the  rivers  Obi  and  Tom  of  the  timber  prepared  partly  by  the  means  at  hand, 
and  partly  by  contract. 

4.   U  s  s  u  r  i    line,    a    d  i  s  t  a  n  ce    o  f    382    v  e  r  s  t  s. 

a.  Earth-works  carried  out  to  the  extent  of  380,000  cubic  sagenes,  or  52  per  cent  of 
the  total  quantity,  and  laying  of  pipes  and  bridges  4,260  cubic  sagenes  or  65  per  cent;  b.  Sleep- 
ers and  rails  with  bolts  ordered  to  the  full  amount  and  20  versts  of  railway  from  Vladi- 
vostok laid  down;  c.  All  the  civil  buildings  in  course  of  construction;  d.  Rolling  stock  ordered 
to  the  full  amount  and  partly  delivered  at  the  scene  of  operations. 

5.  Transbaikal    Railway,    a    distance    of    1,(»09    versts. 

Parties  of  engineers  organized  and  despatched  to  the  scene  of  the  works  to  carry  out 
the  final  surveys.  : 

6.  Siberian    Railway    from    C  h  e  1  i  a  b  i  n  s  k    to    Irkutsk. 

a.  Ordered  7,400,000  pouds  of  rails  from  Ural  and  European  Russian  Works,  of  which 
186,000  pouds  are  received  at  the  works;  negotiations  in  course  for  the  order  of  the  remaining 
400,000  ponds  rec^uired;  b.  Ordered  of  various  works  148  eight- wheeled  engines  and  2,300 
covered  freight  cars,  and  negotiations  in  course  for  delivery  of  the  remaining  1,811  cars  ami 
platform  trucks. 

As  for,  finally,  the  (|uestion  of  the  building  of  the  connecting  branch  between  the  Si- 
berian and  Ural  railways,  for  its  elucidation  and  for  the  determining  the  initial  and  terminal 
points  of  the  said  line  a  careful  survey  will  be  made  on  the  spot  in  the  course  of  the  present 
year.  It  may  be  further  added  that  there  exist  three  variants  of  the  connecting  link,  which 
are  shown  on  the  map,  namely  Ekaterinburg-Miass,  Ekaterinbnrg-Cheliabinsk  and  Ostrovskaya- 
Cheliabinsk.  The  exact  cost  of  this  work  of  course  cannot  be  defined  until  the  final  designa- 
tion of  the  initial  and  terminal  points  of  the  route  is  adopted,  but  it  is  approximately  assumed 
at  7,000.000  to  8,000,000  roubles,  with  the  condition  of  the  completion  of  the  whole  con- 
struction in  1894. 


-— $><3> 


248  .SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Topographical   and  teclinical  features    of  the   Great  Siberian 

Railway. 

The  Cheliabinsk-Obi:  Obi-Irkutsk:  Irkutsk-Mysuvsk;  Mysovsk-Srotensk;  Sretensk-Kliabarovka; 
Khabarovka-Grafsk;    Giaisk- Vladivostok;    the  general   cost   of  the   seven   Cheliabiusk-Vladi- 

vostok  sections. 


FROM  Cheliabinsk  the  line  leads  to  the  town  of  Kurgan  in  the  government  of  Tobolsk, 
only  diverting  from  the  straight  line  in  order  to  avoid  deep  valleys,  lakes,  marshes  and 
bogs.  Further  on,  the  railway  is  projected  to  pass  through  the  town  of  Petropavlovsk  to  Omsk 
with  the  same  indispensable  departures  from  the  straight  line,  and  at  a  distance  of  5  versts 
from  Omsk  it  crosses  the  Irtysh  on  a  bridge  300  sagenes  long.  After  crossing  the  Irtysh  the 
line  enters  the  Barabinsk  steppe,  passing  through  the  governments  of  Tobolsk  and  Tomsk, 
through  the  town  of  Kainsk,  up  to  the  village  of  Krivoschekov  close  to  which  it  crosses 
the  Obi  on  a  bridge  of  400  sagenes  long,  at  verst  1325. 

The  section  of  the  Siberian  railway  from  the  town  of  Cheliabinsk  to  the  Obi,  with 
some  few  exceptions,  runs  through  a  fertile  zone  of  chernoziom  where  climatic  conditions  are 
favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  cereals,  especially  within  the  borders  of  the  Ishimsk  and  Bar- 
abinsk steppes,  where  during  the  whole  length  of  the  line  as  far  as  the  Obi,  a  distance  of  J, 325 
versts,  there  are  hardly  any  obstacles  to  interfere  with  the  laying  dov^^l  of  the  line;  and  only 
the  spanning  of  four  large  rivers,  the  Tobol,  Ishim,  Irtysh  and  Obi,  necessitates  some  large 
earth  works  and  expensive  bridges.  On  account  of  the  level  character  of  the  gi-ound  through 
which  the  line  runs,  the  limiting  gradients  do  not  exceed  0.0074  and  the  radii  of  the  curves, 
250  sagenes  on  this  part  of  the  line.  After  crossing  the  Obi,  the  line  as  far  as  the  town  of 
Achinsk,  a  distance  of  551  versts,  wends  its  way  through  a  hilly  country  and  has  to  cross  five 
considerable  rivers,  the  Obi,  Tom,  Yaya,  Kiya  and  Chulym;  it  was  nevertheless  found  possible 
here  to  limit  the  gradients  to  0.008  and  the  radii  of  the  curves  to  250  sagenes,  without  greatly 
increasing  the  amount  of  earth  work,  further  on,  from  Achinsk  to  the  town  of  Irkutsk,  a 
distance  of  1,191  versts,  the  character  of  the  country  completely  changes  and  assumes  a 
mountainous  aspect.  The  line  is  obliged  to  cross  two  large  rivers,  the  Chulym  and  Yenisei, 
and  also  numerous  tributaries  of  these  rivers.  Most  of  the  Siberian  streams  in   this   part    of 


THE    GKEAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  249 

the  country  nm  from  south  to  north,  whilst  the  general  direction  of  the  railway  is  from 
west  to  east,  and  therefore  the  line  must  intersect  the  whole  of  the  spot  summit  levels  of 
these  rivers,  only  excepting  the  valleys  of  some  small  streams  which  flow  to  the  east  or 
west.  These  spot  summit  levels,  composed  of  the  branches  of  the  Altai,  Gremiachevsk,  Yen- 
iseisk and  Sayansk  chains,  are  very  high  and  sometimes  so  naiTOw  that  there  is  no  possibil- 
ity of  diminishing  the  steepness  of  the  incline.  It  was  therefore  found  necessary  in  the  sec- 
tions of  the  line  from  Achinsk  to  Nizhneoudinsk,  a  distance  of  710  versts,  and  from  the 
station  of  Uktouisk  situated  at  verst  2,822  to  the  station  of  Polovina,  at  verst  2,968,  a  distance 
of  146  versts,  or  856  versts  altogether,  to  plan  the  line  with  gradients  of  0.015,  and  curves 
of  150  sageues  radius,  and  to  allow  curves  of  130  sagenes  radius  in  some  places  on  the  ascent 
from  the  Great  Kemchug  river  from  verst  1,948  to  verst  1,954;  and  on  the  descent  from  the 
spot  summit  level  to  the  Little  Ibriul  and  Little  Kemchug  rivers,  from  verst  1,967  to  verst 
1,982,  the  radius  of  curvature  was  decreased  to  120  sagenes.  At  verst  2,100  it  was  again 
increased  to  130  sagenes  and  on  the  rest  of  the  line  from  Xizhneoudinsk  to  the  Uktouisk 
station  and  from  Polovina  station  to  the  town  of  Irkutsk,  altogether  a  distance  of  335  versts 
the  limiting  gi'adients  do  not  exceed  0.009  and  the  extreme  radii  of  curvature  250  sagenes.  A 
country  of  this  nature  entails  very  considerable  earth  works;  the  height  of  the  embank- 
ments reaches  9  sagenes.  and  the  numerous  ravines  and  streams  necessitate  a  large  amount 
of  constructive  works. 

The  line  crosses  the  Yenisei  at  verst  2,049  at  a  spot  where  the  banks  are  steep  and 
suitable  for  a  bridge,  which  will  be  450  sagenes  long.  The  station  of  Krasnoyarsk,  close  to 
the  town  of  that  name,  is  situated  at  verst  2,047,  before  coming  to  the  river.  The  highest 
point  of  the  earth  works,  marked  201.5  sagenes,  is  situated  at  verst  1,976.  between  the  Little 
Ibruil  and  Little  Kemchug  rivers,  and  is  112  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  river  Chulym 
and  137  sagenes  above  the  Yenisei. 

After  crossing  the  Yenisei  the  line  circuits  the  heights  near  the  town  of  Krasnoyarsk 
and  begins  to  ascend  to  the  spot  summit  level,  first  along  the  valley  of  the  Berezovka  river, 
which  falls  into  the  Sitik,  and  thence  along  the  valley  of  this  latter  stream,  attaining  the 
highest  point  at  verst  2,116.  The  valleys  of  the  Berezovka  and  Sitik  are  enclosed  on  both 
sides  by  high,  steep  and  mostly  rocky  banks,  and  the  bed  of  the  streams  is  very  winding  and 
in  many  places  changes  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  so  that  the  line  must  either  follow  the 
channels  of  the  rivers,  or  else  cross  them  several  times;  in  such  places  it  is  necessary  either  to 
strengthen  the  slopes  of  the  road  with  stone  or  to  lead  off  the  river;  besides  this  the  ravines 
and  the  streams  falling  into  the  Berezovka  and  Sitik  necessitate  numerous  bridges  and  pipes; 
the  length  of  this  ascent  is  67  versts,  and  82  bridges  and  pipes  will  be  required.  The  ascent 
along  the  valleys  of  these  rivers  is  in  continuous  gradients  seperated  by  horizontal  spaces  and 
rises  126  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  railway  bridge  across  the  Yenisei.  At  verst  2,266 
the  line  reaches  the  town  of  Kansku,  near  which  there  is  a  station,  and  then  crosses  the 
river  Kan  on  a  bridge  200  sagenes  long,  which  is  to  be  built  on  caisson  foundations.  The 
highest  point  of  the  spot  summit  level  between  the  Yenisei  and  the  Kan  is  marked  200  sa- 
genes, and  is  127  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  Yenisei  bridge  and  103  sagenes  above  the 
level  of  the  bridge  over  the  Kan. 


250  .SIIJHKIA, 

The  lemaiuing  ilistaricf:"  lo  Nizhnoouilinsk,  whicli  i.s  at  versts  2,584,  gives  a  consider- 
able aradiint  ol'  Wdik  in  suriio  places;  lor  instaiici',  at  versts  2,460  and  2,462  the  em bankaients 
are  10  sagenes  liigli,  and  nn  the  ascent  along  the  valley  of  the  river  Toporka  it  was  found 
necessary  lo  cross  two  dcej)  ravines  over  which  wooden  viaducts  are  designed  with  an  open- 
ing of  115  and  125  sagenes,  and  a  height  of  20  sagene?. 

Frtirn  Xizhneoudinsk  to  Ukloiiisk  station  the  line  passes  over  a  more  level  country  and 
conserjuently  the  limiting  gradients  are  fixed  at  0.fXJ9  ami  the  radii  of  the  curves  at  250  sa- 
genes. Along  this  distance  the  line  has  to  cross  three  large  rivers,  the  L'da,  on  a  bridge 
150  sagenes  long  at  verst  2,5>r8,  the  lya,  on  a  biidge  100  sagenes  long  at  verst  2,7W,  and 
the  Oka  on  a  bridge  125  sagenes  long  at  verst  2,830,  and  intersects  two  large  spot  summit 
levels  between  the  above  mentioned  rivers,  and  several  small  ones  besides.  On  account  of  the 
more  even  character  of  the  country  it  is  not  anticipated  that  there  will  be  any  considerable 
earth  works  in  this  section  of  the  line. 

From  the  river  Oka  the  country  is  again  intersected  until  the  station  of  Polovina 
is  reached,  situated  at  verst  2,9G8,  and  here  therefore  the  technical  conditions  are  those  ap- 
plicable to  a  mountainous  section.  From  Polovina  station  to  Irkutsk,  except  for  the  passages 
across  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  Helaya  and  Maltinka,  the  ground  is  more  level,  and  therefore 
the  line  is  laid  out  according  to  the  conditions  of  a  level  section.  Descending  into  the  valley 
of  the  Belaya  for  a  distance  of  10  versts  down  a  continuous  incline  of  0.009,  only  broken 
by  tme  level  stretch  of  200  sagenes,  the  lino  crosses  this  river  on  a  bridge  125  sagenes  long. 
The  Irkutsk  station  is  planned  at  verst  3,065  at  a  distance  of  4  versts  from  the  ferry  across 
the  Angara,  on  the  post  high  road  from  Moscow  to  Irkutsk,  opposite  the  town  of  Irkutsk, 
situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Angara  where  the  river  Irkut  falls  into  it. 

The  foregoing  short  description  of  the  route  of  the  Siberian  railway  section  from  the 
Obi  to  Irkutsk  shows  that,  starting  from  that  river  near  55°  north  latitude,  the  line  fol- 
lows a  north-easterly  direction  to  the  town  of  Mariinsk,  and  keeping  to  the  57th  parallel  reaches 
the  town  of  Kansk;  at  this  point  the  line  turns  abruptly  to  the  south-oast  and  follows  this 
direction  to  Irkutsk,  situated  on  the  53th  parallel.  The  line  passes  through  the  districts  of 
Tomsk  and  ]\Iariinsk  in  the  government  of  Tomsk,  the  Achinsk,  Krasnoyarsk  and  Kansk  dis- 
tricts in  the  government  of  Yeniseisk  and  the  Xizhneoudinsk  and  Irkutsk  distiicts  in  the 
government  of  Irkutsk,  and  takes  in  the  towns  of  Mariinsk,  Achinsk,  Krasnoyarsk,  Kansk, 
Xizhneoudinsk  and  Irkutsk.  Starting  from  Mariinsk  the  line  passes  close  to  the  Great  Srbe- 
rian  postal  highway,  along  which  the  communication  is  kept  up  between  Siberia  and  European 
Ilussia:  the  railway  in  some  places  crosses  it  and  in  others  diverges  a  short  distance 
from  it,  except  in  the  Krasnoyarsk-Kansk  section  where,  on  account  of  the  difficult  nature 
of  the  country,  it  was  in  some  places  necessary  to  plan  the  line  at  a  distance  of  30  versts 
lro]u  the  higli  road  in  order  to  reduce  the  amount  of  work  re({uired  to  lay  it. 

From  Irkutsk  the  line  leads  to  lake  Baikal  and  follows  the  shore  for  a  distance  of  162 
versts  as  far  as  Mysovsk  station.  Th6  laying  of  this  section  of  the  line  presents  considerable 
difficulties.  From  verst  3,088  to  verst  3,108,  before  crossing  the  river  Irkut,  the  line  passes 
along  the  valley  which  is  flooded  by  the  high  waters  of  this  stream.  Further  on,  at  verst 
3,112,  the  valley  of  the  Irkut  becomes  narrow  and  takes  the  appearance  of  a  mountain  pass 


THE    GKEAT    SIBERIAN    KAILWAY.  251 

bounded  by  steep  rocky  slopes  which  in  some  places  give  way  to  over-hanging  granite  crags, 
in  the  cuttings  of  which  the  line  will  have  to  be  laid,  supported  for  considerable  distances  by 
retaining  walls;  in  many  places  the  slope  of  the  line  will  fall  into  the  Irkut,  which,  like  all 
mountain  rivers,  has  a  very  strong  current;  here  stone  dikes  will  have  to  be  built  and  the 
foot  of  the  slope  strengthened  with  retaining  walls  laid  in  cement.  Further  up  the  river 
the  steepness  of  the  windings  of  the  Irkut  increases,  so  that  at  verst  3.146  it  was  necessary 
to  make  the  line  pass  through  a  tunnel  32  sagenes  long.  From  verst  3,163  to  verst  3,166  the 
line  crosses  the  Zyrkyzunsk  chain  where  it  diverts  the  course  of  the  river  Irkut  far 
to  the  west  and  forces  it  to  make  a  loop  for  a  distance  of  about  30  versts;  in  order  to 
shorten  the  line  by  this  distance  of  30  versts  it  is  proposed  to  build  a  tunnel  1,790 
sagenes  long. 

The  work  of  boring  the  tunnel  will  take  a  long  time  as  it  is  designed  with  one  continuous 
incline,  so  that  it  cannot  be  bored  from  both  ends.  A  no  less  obstacle  will  be  experienced  in 
the  construction  of  the  line  further  on;  great  difficulty  is  occasioned  by  the  gorge  where  the 
river  Ilcha  falls  into  the  Kultushnaya,  as  the  curves  at  the  foot  of  the  almost  vertical  rocks 
50  sagenes  high  are  so  sharp  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring  the  line  round  them  even  with 
curves  o'f  120  sagenes  radius,  so  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  lay  the  line  along  part  of  the 
channel  of  the  rapid  mountain  stream  of  the  Ilcha  which  even  forms  a  waterfall  at  this  point; 
in  addition  to  this,  springs  flow  out  of  the  rocks  and  these  will  have  to  be  led  under  the 
line.  Here  the  height  of  the  embankment  reaches  16.8  sagenes,  and  the  height  of  the  retain- 
ing wall  17  sagenes,  which  on  account  of  the  nature  of  the  locality  must  be  laid  in  cement. 
This  mountainous  character  of  the  ground  continues  from  where  the  river  Kultushnaya 
falls  into  lake  Baikal  to  the  Bystraya  station,  3,212  versts  from  the  town  of  Cheliabiusk. 
Along  the  whole  of  the  mountainous  section  all  the  cuttings  will  have  to  be  made  in  hard 
rocky  ground,  such  as  granite,  gneiss,  sandstone,  and  the  like,  and  in  some  places  the  embank- 
ments will  have  to  be  made  of  stone,  as  there  is  no  soft  soil  at  hand.  The  greatest  depth 
of  the  excavations  in  this  section  is  11  sagenes,  and  15  sagenes  at  the  entrance  of  the  tunnel, 
and  the  largest  embankments  have  a  height  of  16 . 8  sagenes. 

From  verst  3,212  the  line  follows  the  shore  of  lake  Baikal,  and  although  it  loses  its 
mountainous  character,  it  crosses  in  many  places  the  branches  of  the  mountain  chains  leading 
to  lake  Baikal.  In  some  places  the  track  is  close  to  the  shore  and  in  others  at  a  little  distance 
from  it;  sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  lay  the  line  close  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  partly 
taking  advantage  of  the  rocky  shoals  and  partly  holding  on  to  the  rocks;  in  those  places 
where  the  shoals  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks  completely  cease,  the  batter  of  the  road  bed 
slopes  directly  into  the  water,  and  in  such  cases  requires  strengthening  from  the  destructive 
action  of  the  waves  by  means  of  blocks  of  rock  or  cribwork  filled  with  stone.  Finally 
there  are  places  along  the  shore  of  lake  Baikal  through  which  the  line  passes  that  are  of  a 
marshy  character,  overgrown  with  wood.  All  along  the  shore  of  the  lake  the  line  will  have 
to  cross  numerous  streams  with  rapid  currents  forming  small  torrents  in  places  where  stones, 
brought  down  by  tha  current,  have  accumulated:  all  this  will  entail  a  large  amount  of 
constructive  work  and  the  innumerable  spring  which  gush  out  of  the  rocks  surrounding  the 
lake  will  require  a  vast  expenditure  of  labour  to  lead  the  water  off  from  the  road  bed. 


252  siiiKKi.v. 

Ill  coiisefiuenco  of  tlie&e  dillioult  topographical  features  of  the  country,  the  Irkutsk- 
Mysovsk  section  requires  l,rXiO,C0O  cubic  sagenes  of  earth  work,  or  almost  3,G90  cubic 
sagenes  per  verst,  costing  4,772,000  roubles;  in  addition  to  this,  235,000  cubic  sagenes,  or 
about  800  cubic  sagenes  per  veist,  of  cuttings  in  stony  ground  have  to  be  done;  also  24,800 
cubic  sagenes  of  masonry  have  to  be  laiil  in  the  retaining  walls,  and  4,9:jO  cubic  sagenes  of 
this  must  be  built  with  liydraulic  coni(;iit,  and  the  i'<unaiiidi;r,  dry.  The  country  through  which 
this  section  of  the  lino  passes  is  completely  desert,  excepting  the  town  of  Irkutsk  and  some 
small  settlements  on  the  shores  of  lake  Baikal.  Although  the  climate  is  severe,  the 
proximity  of  such  an  enormous  quantity  of  water  causes  a  great  deal  of  moisture  to  be  deposited, 
so  that  the  ground  is  covered  with  a  thick  and  early  layer  of  snow  in  consequence  of  which 
that  eternally  frozen  subsoil,  which  is  found  further  along  the  Siberian  railway,  is  not 
met  with  here. 

I'rom  Mysovsk  harbour  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Baikal  the  line  runs  along  the 
shore  of  the  lake  and  then  follows  the  valley  of  the  river  Selenga;  at  a  distance  of  157 
versts  it  crosses  this  river  on  a  bridge  455  sagenes  long  and  enters  the  valley  of  the  river 
LMa.  The  town  of  Vorkhiieoudinsk  is  situated  near  the  junction  of  the  Uda  and  Selenga. 
The  further  progress  of  the  line  is  determined  by  the  choice  of  the  most  advantageous  spot 
to  cross  the  Yablonovoi  chain,  and  after  much  reconnoitering,  it  was  found  that  the  best  route 
was  first  along  the  valley  of  the  river  Uda  and  then  along  the  river  Pogromnaya  which 
falls  into  the  Uda,  where  the  line  eiiteis  a  plain  covered  with  lakes,  called  the  Vitimsk 
p  lateau,  and  then  along  the  river  Domna,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  system  of  the  river 
Lena.  Passing  the  spot  summit  level  between  the  two  above  mentioned  rivers,  the  line 
continues  ascending  the  eastern  slope  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Yablonovoi  chain,  and  at 
versl  3,838  attains  its  highest  point  529  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  Yablonovoi 
chain  serves  as  the  spot  summit  level  of  the  basins  of  the  Lena  and  Amour,  that  is,  of  the 
Northern  and  Pacific  oceans.  The  pass  across  this  chain  at  the  highest  point,  at  verst  3,943, 
is  490  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  consequently  lower  than  the  pass  across  one 
of  the  branches  of  the  chain.  From  this  spot  summit  level  the  line  gradually  descends  and 
sweeping  round  the  hilly  side  of  the  district  town  of  Chita  by  the  bank  of  the  river  Shilka, 
it  reaches  the  vilhige  of  Matakan,  situated  opposite  the  town  of  Sretensk,  which  stands  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  above  mentioned  river. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  the  line  as  regards  earth  and  constructive  works  is  the 
section  from  the  town  of  Chita  to  the  town  of  Sretensk  along  the  valleys  of  the  Ingoda 
and  Shilka  rivers.  The  valley  of  the  former  is  narrow  and  winding,  the  mountains  surround- 
ing it  are  quite  close  to  the  river,  forming  steep  slopes  or  projecting  headlands,  and  in  most 
places  there  is  only  a  narrow  space  between  the  mountain  and  the  river,  which  is  almost 
always  inundated  when  the  level  of  the  water  rises.  In  a  few  places  the  valley  of  the  river 
is  sufficiently  wide  to  admit  of  the  possibility  of  conveniently  drying  the  track.  In  this 
region  the  line  either  hugs  the  declivities  or  passes  through  submerged  meadows  but  always 
keeps  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Ingoda  river.  The  upper  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Shilka  re- 
sembles the  valley  of  the  Ingoda,  and  its  character  only  somewhat  changes  after  verst  4,24S: 
the    direction  of  the  river  does  not  wind  so  often,  the  curves  have  a  more  open  outline  and 


THE    GEE  AT    SIBERIAN    EAILWAY.  253 

instead  of  separate  headlands,  high  rocky  slopes,  some  10  versts  long,  descend  into  the  river 
these  slopes  are  to  he  used  for  carrying  the  railroad  track. 

On  account  of  the  local  features  which  have  been  described  there  is  a  verv  consider- 
able amount  of  earth  work  to  be  done  in  the  Mysovsk-Sretensk  section.  The  total  quantity 
amounts  to  2,032,000  cubic  sagenes,  or  2,014  per  verst,  and  the  cost  of  it  is  estimated  at 
8,859,000  roubles.  The  deepest  excavagations  are  16.62  sagenes,  and  the  highest  embankments 
10 .  87  sagenes.  Almost  all  the  cuts  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ingoda  and  Shilka  rivers,  and 
many  of  those  on  the  remaining  portion  of  the  line,  will  have  to  be  hewn  out  of  hard,  rocky 
formations,  so  that  out  of  500,000  cubic  sagenes  excavations,  300,000  hav^  to  be  cut  out  of 
rocky  gi'ound.  Furthermore,  the  cuttings  in  the  Yablonovoi  chain  are  saturated  with  water, 
which  can  only  be  drawn  off  with  great  difficulty,  the  soil  is  also  in  many  places  perpetually 
frozen  and  the  excavations  in  such  ground  are  3 .  64  sagenes  deep,  and  therefore,  the  only 
conclusion  to  be  arrived  at  is  that  the  earth  work  in  this  section  will  be  of  an  exception- 
ally difficult  character.  Besides  this,  in  consequence  of  the  steepness  of  the  slopes  of 
the  banks  of  the  Ingoda  and  Shilka  rivers,  all  the  embankments  along  them  will  have 
to  be  supported  by  retaining  walls  to  the  amount  of  56,000  cubic  sagenes  along  a  distance  of 
300  versts. 

The  difficulty  of  laying  this  section  is  further  increased  by  the  exceptional  climatic 
conditions  of  the  locality  through  which  the  line  passes.  The  climate  of  the  region  beyond 
lake  Baikal  is  quite  continental;  on  account  of  its  severity  the  changes  of  temperature  are 
extreme;  thus,  on  the  Yablonovoi  chain  in  June  and  July  the  day  temperature  rises  to  25° 
Celsius  and  during  the  night  falls  to  —  5*^.  The  air  is  characterized  by  its  extreme  dryness 
and  the  amount  of  moisture  which  falls  during  the  year  is  inconsiderable.  There  is  such  a 
small  quantity  of  snow  that  along  the  whole  of  the  line  to  the  lower  part  of  the  river  Se- 
lenga  the  ground  is  hardly  covered  with  it.  Only  there  and  along  the  shore  of  lake  Baikal 
does  the  sledge  road  last  any  considerable  length  of  time;  along  the  rest  of  the  distance  from 
Verkhneoudinsk  to  the  east,  sledge  roads  are  very  rare  and  sledges  are  only  driven  along 
the  ice  on  the  rivers. 

From  meteorological  observations  recorded,  it  was  shown  that  at  Verkhneoudinsk  in  1886 
the  temperature  was  only  above  freezing  point  for  the  three  summer  months;  in  1887  during  one 
summer  month  it  was  above  zero,  and  at  almost  zero  during  two  months;  in  1888  it  was 
above  zero  for  two  months,  and  during  the  three  years  period  from  1886  to  1888  the  highest 
temperature  was  in  July,  -f  37°  Celsius,  and  the  lowest  in  January,  —  47°  Celsius,  whilst  on 
the  Yitimsk  plateau  and  the  Yablonovoi  chain  even  in  summer  a  temperature  of  — 5"  Celsius 
was  recorded.  Furthermore  in  the  upper  part  of  the  river  Uda,  on  the  Yitimsk  plateau,  in 
the  Yablonovoi  chain,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Konda  and  Chita  rivers,  there  is  a  perpetually 
frozen  subsoil.  The  depth  to  which  the  soil  is  frozen,  according  to  investigations  made  in 
the  valley  of  the  Chita  river  at  a  height  of  340  sagenes  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  was  on 
the  average  372  sagenes,  and  in  summer  the  ground  thaws  to  a  depth  of  1 .  83  sagenes,  so 
that  the  remaining  stratum,  1 .  67  sagenes  thick,  is  eternally  frozen.  On  the  Yitimsk  plateau 
and  the  Yablonovoi  chain  the  ground  in  summer  thaws  only  to  the  depth  of  three-tenths  of 
a  sagene.  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Kondyu  river,  to  a  depth  of  six-tenths  of  a  sagone. 


254  siijKuiA. 

Tlio  continuation  of  tlio  Sibf;ricin  railway  from  Sretcnsk  situatod  on  the  Sliilka,  a  trib- 
utary of  tlie  Amoni-,  up  to  tin;  town  of  Khabarovka  standing  on  the  right  bank  of  this  latter 
liver,  a  total  distani;i'  of  2,000  versts,  has  not  beon  thoroughly  investigated  in  detail,  and 
only  some  slight  roconnoitcring  has  been  done,  which  shows  that  from  verst  4,'dbO  to  verst  4,000 
the  line  will  have  to  be  laid  along  the  valleys  of  tho  Shilka  and  Amour.  Further  on,  the  line 
may  be  shortened  by  diverting  it  from  the  Amour  and  crossing  it  at  verst  G,350  on  a  bridge, 
1,200  sagcnes  long.  The  construction  of  the  line  will  be  subject  to  the  same  topographical 
conditions  as  the  line  of  Mysovsk-Srctensk,  besides  which  the  construction  of  the  line  of 
Sretensk-Kliabarovka  will  be  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  completely  desert  nature  of  the 
country  covered  with  dense  virgin  forests,  the  silence  of  which  has  never  been  broken  by  the 
voice  of  man,  especially  in  those  places  where  the  line  diverges  from  the  Amour  where 
there  is  a  total  absence  of  any  habitation  or  means  of  communication,  and  likewise  in  con- 
sequence of  the  necessity  of  conveying  workmen  and  all  ready-made  railway  appliances  from 
European  Russia  by  a  circular  route  across  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

After  crossing  the  Amour  the  line  for  a  distance  of  400  versts  follows  the  valley  of 
the  river  Ussuri  which  falls  into  the  Amour  and  makes  the  boundary  between  the  Russian 
and  {'liiiiese  cnipire.s.  The  valley  of  this  river  is  by  no  means  wide  and  the  numerous  streams 
falling  into  the  Ussuri  separated  by  high  spot  summit  levels,  formed  by  the  branches  of  the 
Sikhotce-Alin  chain,  entail  a  large  amount  of  constructive  works.  The  largest  bridges  are 
planned  at  versts  6,445,  C,585  and  G,697  across  the  Khor,  Bikiu  and  Imau  rivers;  they  will 
be  each  120  sagenes  long.  In  some  places  the  track  approaches  the  edge  of  the  Ussuri  and 
it  will  be  necessary  to  support  the  slope  of  the  earth  work.  At  verst  6,755  the  line  crosses 
the  Ussuri  river  on  a  bridge  120  sagenes  long.  Further  on,  the  line  follows  the  foreland  of 
lake  Khaiika  and  the  valley  of  the  Lefu  river  which  falls  into  this  lake  before  reaching  the 
Xikolsk  station  at  verst  6,982.  Starting  from  this  station  the  line  runs  along  the  valley  of 
the  Suyfun  river,  sometimes  traversing  places  submerged  by  the  waters  of  that  river,  and 
sometimes  crossing  the  branches  of  the  mountain  chains  approaching  it:  in  these  cases  it  is 
necessary  to  lay  the  track  with  an  incline  of  0.015,  whilst  the  gradients  on  the  whole  of  the 
other  part  of  the  line  from  Khabarovka  to  Vladivostok  do  not  exceed  0.008.  The  line  issues 
from  the  valley  of  the  Suyfun  river  and  passes  on  to  the  shore  of  the  Ouglov  aud  Amour 
gulfs,  terminating  at  the  town  of  Vladivostok,  the  station  being  situated  on  the  shore  of 
the  bay  of  the  Golden  Horn.  The  total  length  of  the  Siberian  railway  from  Cheliabinsk  to 
Vladivostok  along  the  main  line  is  7,083  versts,  and  7,112  versts  including  branch  lines  to 
the  principal  rivers  intersecting  the  main  road. 

For  superintending  the  work  of  laying  down  the  railway  aud  in  accordance  with  the 
gradations  to  be  observed  in  its  construction,  the  line  is  to  be  divided  into  seven  sections: 
the  Western  Siberian  from > Cheliabinsk  to  the  river  Obi,  including  branch  lines  1,328  versts; 
the  Central  Siberian  from  tlie  Obi  to  Irkutsk,  1,754  veists;  the  Baikal  circuit  from  Irkutsk 
to  the  pier  of  Mysovsk  on  lake  Baikal,  292  versts;  the  Transbaikal  from  Mysovsk  pier  to 
the  town  of  Sretensk  on  the  Shilka  river,  1,009  versts;  the  Amour  section  from  Sretensk  to 
Khabarovka  on  the  Amour,  2,000  versts;  the  Xorth-Ussurisk  from  Khabarovka  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Grafsk,  347  versts;  and  the  South  Ussurisk  from  Grafsk  to  Vladivostok,  382  versts, 
or  7,112  versts  in  all. 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  255 

In  1891  aud  1892.  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  work  of  laying  the  two  extreme 
sections,  the  West  Siberian  and  the  South  Ussurisk,  was  commenced;  and  in  1893  work  was 
begun  on  the  Central  Siberian  section  from  the  Obi  to  Krasnoyarsk.  The  South  Ussurisk  sec- 
tion will  most  probably  be  terminated  in  1894,  and  the  other  two  in  1891  In  1895  the 
Xorlh  Ussurisk  section  will  be  commenced  and  in  1896  the  rest  of  the  Central  Siberian  railroad 
from  Krasnoyarsk  to  Irkutsk  will  be  begun,  the  first  section  of  which  will  he  finished  in  1898; 
and  the  second,  in  1900.  In  1899  work  will  be  commenced  on  the  Transbaikal  aud  Amour 
sections,  aud  in  1900  the  Baikal  circuit  will  be  begun:  these  will  probably  be  finished  In  1904. 
The  whole  line  across  Siberia,  7,112  versts  long,  will  tlierefore  be  terminated  in  12  years, 
counting  from  1893. 

Considering  the  sparseness  of  the  population  of  the  country  through  which  the  Baikal 
circuit,  Transbaikal,  Amour  and  Khabarovka  sections  pass,  in  consequence  of  which  it  will  he 
necessary  to  send  workmen  mostly  fi'om  European  Russia,  and  also  on  account  of  the  terms 
allowed  for  laying  the  Khabarovka,  Transhaikal  and  Amour  sections,  when  planning  out  the 
Siberian  railway  it  was  decided  that  navvies,  masons  and  other  special  workmen,  and  also 
rails,  fastenings  and  roUiug  stock,  iron  parts  of  bridges  et  cetera,  would  be  sent  a^  follows:  for  the 
Khabarovka  section  by  sea  to  \^ladivostok,  and  then  further  on  by  the  Ussuri  railway;  for  the  Trans- 
baikal section,  also  partly  by  sea  to  Vladivostok,  then  by  rail  to  Khabarovka  and  then  by  the 
Amour  aud  Shilka  rivers  as  far  as  Sreteusk,and  partly  by  rail  to  Irkutsk  and  then  by  the  Angara 
river  and  lake  Baikal  to  Mysovsk  pier;  for  the  Baikal  circuit  section,  by  rail  to  Irkutsk:  and  for 
the  Amour  section,  partly  from  the  east  by  the  same  route  as  that  used  for  the  Transbaikal 
section,  and  partly  from  the  west,  by  rail  to  Irkutsk,  by  water  from  Irkutsk  to  Mysovsk  and 
then  by  the  Transbaikal  line  to  Sretensk.  In  general  the  object  in  view  was  to  establish  as 
quick  as  possible  an  uninterrupted  steam  communication  between  European  Russia  and 
Vladivostok  through  the  whole  of  Siberia  and  to  take  temporary  advantage  of  the  water 
roads.  These  circumstances  determined  the  system  of  gradation  to  be  observed  in  laying  the 
track  in  its  separate  sections.  Thus  the  first  stage  of  the  work  consists  in  laying  the  line  to 
Irkutsk  and  finishing  that  already  begun  from  Vladivostok  to  Grafsk;  the  second  stage 
consists  of  the  sections  between  the  rivers  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  steam  commu- 
nication through  the  whole  of  Siberia,  partly  by  railroad  and  partly  by  water;  finally,  the 
remaining  sections  which  join  up  the  works  of  the  first  and  second  stages  into  one  continuous 
railroad  arc  relegated  to  the  third  stage.  As  regards  however  the  carrying  out  of  the  details 
of  the  plan  of  building  the  Siberian  railway  from  Cheliabinsk  to  Vladivostok,  it  must  be 
observed  tliat  the  order  of  building  the  Western  and  Central  Siberian  sections  from  Cheliabinsk 
to  Irkutsk  can  be  fixed  upon  with  the  greatest  certainty  as  they  have  been  subject  to  more 
detailed  investigation,  this  part  of  Siberia  being  nearer  and  more  accessible  from  European 
Russia,  more  densely  populated  and  its  climatic  and  topographical  conditions  more  favourable^ 
The  plan  of  carrying  out  the  Grafsk-Khabarovka  section  may  also  be  regarded  as  quite 
clear,  as  it  closely  resembles  the  Ussurisk  line. 

With  reference  to  the  Baikal-Circuit,  Transbaikal  and  Amour  sections,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  mention  that  the  proposed  dates  of  the  termination  of  these  lines  may  be  liable  to 
change  on  account  of  the  totally  different  conditions  under  which  they  must  be  built,  compared 


256  SIBERIA. 

with  the  Cbeliabinsk-Irkutsk  line.  The  Irkutsk-Khabarovka  line  has  been  bin  little  invisti- 
gated;  it  is  far  removeil  from  European  Russia,  and  passes  through  a  ilesolale  country  with 
exceptional  climatic  and  topographical  conditions.  The  plan  of  building  these  three  sec- 
tions can  tlierefore  only  be  regarded  as  appioximately  correct,  and  in  all  probability  the 
experience  gained  in  laying  the  western  portion  of  the  Great  Siberian  line  will  determine 
the  order  and  method  to  be  undertaken  in  laying  the  eastern  portion.  In  any  case  it  will  be 
necessary  to  make  a  second,  final  set  of  investigations  from  Irkutsk  to  Sretensk,  and  more 
detailed  observations  of  the  Amour  section. 

The  Siberian  railway,  passing  through  an  enormous  expanse  of  country  under  the  most 
widely  differing  topographical  conditions  could  not  be  all  iiichnled  in  one  general  technical 
type;  and  in  order  to  diminish  the  cost  of  construction  it  was  necessary  to  make  some 
modifications  in  the  technical  conditions  in  general,  and  for  the  mountainous  sections  in 
particular;  the  basis  of  these  modifications  and  simplifications  has  however  been  taken  as  a 
good  and  reliable  construction,  capable  of  being  afterwards,  in  case  of  necessity,  complexed 
and  enlarged,  but  not  in  any  case  requiring  the  reconstruction  of  the  line. 

The  limiting  gradients  on  the  level  country  sections  have  been  fixed  at  0.006  to 
0.008  and  the  radii  of  the  curves  at  250  sagenes;  in  the  mountainous  sections  the  gradients 
have  been  taken  from  0.015   to  0.0174   and  the  radii  at  120  sagenes. 

It  is  proposed  to  make  the  earth  w^ork  for  a  single  track  of  the  ordinary  width,  2.35 
sagenes  wide  on  the  embankments,  and  2.20  sagenes  wide  in  the  cuts.  The  normal 
batter  of  the  embankments  and  cuts,  as  high  as  they  go,  will  be  I'/i  for  ordinary 
kinds  of  soil. 

l"or  the  passage  of  water  under  the  line  and  for  crossing  rivers,  cast  iron  and  stone 
pipes  and  wooden  bridges  will  be  laid,  where  the  force  of  the  moving  ice  or  the  character  of 
the  soil  do  not  present  any  obstacles:  over  the  large  rivers  permanent  iron  bridges  with 
stone  piers  will  be  built.  Rails  of  18  pounds  weight  per  foot  run  will  be  used  along  the 
line  on  a  layer  of  ballast,  (U25  of  a  sagene  thick,  under  the  bottom  of  the  rail.  The  dwelling 
houses  for  the  overseers  of  the  line,  plate  layers  and  watchmen  will  be  built  of  all  kinds  of 
wood  and  of  the  simplest  construction,  adhering  as  much  as  possible  to  the  local  styles  of 
building;  the  wooden  buildings  will  be  without  foundations,  on  wooden  or  stone  columns.  All 
crossings  in  general  will  be  left  unguarded  except  those  in  towns  or  thickly  populated  points. 

The  greatest  distance  allowed  between  the  stations  is  50  versts,  which  corresponds  to 
a  running  capacity  of  3  sets  of  trains;  in  order  to  increase  this  capacity  to  7  sets  of 
trains  per  24  hours  on  the  main  line  horizontal  spaces  have  been  planned  to  admit  of 
intermediate  stations   and  sidetracks  being  made  in  case  of  necessity. 

Separate  passengers  buildings,  built  of  brick  or  w^ood  and  as  small  as  possible,  will 
be  erected  only  at  those  stations  w'here  a  large  number  of  passengers  may  be  expected,  or 
where  it  will  be  necessary  to  provide  refreshment  rooms;  at  all  other  points  some  accommo- 
dation will  be  set  apart  in  dwelling  houses  for  the  requirements  of  the  station  service  or  the 
convenience  of  casual  passengers. 

It  is  proposed  to  acquire  sufficient  rolling  stock  for  the  Siberian  railway  to  be  able 
to  form  3  sets  of  army    trains  per  24  hours,   composed  of  60  axles,  one  set  of  trains   being 


•      THE    GEEAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  25.7 

composite  consisting  of  passenger  and  freight  cars;  the  engines  are  to  be  eight-wheeled:  the 
passenger  cars,  partly  eight-wheeled  and  partly  six-wheeled,  and  the  freight  cars,  four 
wheeled. 

On  account  of  the  importance  of  the  water  supply  to  the  traffic  of  the  line  and  the 
difficulty  of  increasing  it  ultimately,  it  has  been  decided  to  arrange  it  only  at  the  stations, 
that  is,  at  distances  of  59  vcrsts,  but  to  provide  sufficient  water  for  the  passage  of  7  sets 
of  trains.  In  order  to  increase  the  water  supply  when  required  a  supplementary  apparatus  of 
the  simplest  type  may  be  provided  at  points  between  the  stations. 

Based  upon  these  technical  conditions,  a  preliminary  estimate  of  the  cost  of  building 
the  Great  Siberian  Railway  has  been  calculated,  including  rails,  fastenings,  rolling  stock  and 
permanent  bridges  across  the  large  rivers.  The  distribution  of  the  expenses  according  to  the 
class  of  work  is  shown  in  the  table  on  the  following  pages. 

The  estimate  of  the  cost  of  constructing  the  Great  Siberian  Railway,  as  shown  by  the 
following  table,  does  not  however  include  all  the  expenses  which  this  entcu-prise  entails.  In 
order  that  this  undertaking  might  with  greater  ease  fulfill  the  numerous  obligations  which 
devolve  upon  it,  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to  assist  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  number 
of  auxiliary  measures  in  conjunction  with  it,  with  the  object  on  the  one  hand,  of  facilitating 
and  diminishing  the  cost  of  the  line  itself,  and  on  the  other  hand  of  increasing  .the  economic 
and  progressive  influence  which  it  will  excercise  on  the  prosperity  of  Siberia.  The 
first  of  these  auxiliary  works  is  the  construction  of  a  branch  line  between  the  Siberian  and 
I'ral  railways,  in  order  to  make  use  of  the  products  of  the  Ural  metallurgical  works, 
as  much  as  possible,  for  building  the  main  line.  Furthermore  it  has  been  decided  to  build 
some  river  wharves  and  lay  branch  lines  to  them;  to  improve  the  Siberian  rivers  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  transport  of  building  materials;  to  assist  the  development  of  river  steam  navi- 
gation upon  those  river  systems  which  adjoin  the  Siberian  railway,  and  which  are  capable  of  being 
closely  connected  with  it;  to  establish  a  route  through  the  Northern  Ocean  to  the  mouths  of 
the  Obi  and  Yenisei;  to  assist  colonization  on  the  Siberian  land  in  the  region  near  the  line: 
to  encourage  the  iron  woiks  which  may  be  established  in  Siberia  near  the  railway;  to  form 
geological  expeditions  for  continuing  the  geological  investigation  of  the  country  which  has 
already  been  commenced;  to  make  an  exhaustive  description  of  the  Amour  district,  et  cetera. 

To  carry  out  these  auxiliary  enterprises  during  the  time  appointed  for  completing 
the  sections  of  the  first  stage  a  sum  of  14  million  roubles  has  been  put  aside  out  of  the 
Siberian  railway  building  fund.  When  the  work  of  the  second  and  third  stages  is  commenced, 
in  all  probability  special  sums  will  be  in  like  manner  appointed  for  carrying  out  the  aux- 
iliary enterprises,  exclusive  of  the  estimate  of  the  cost  of  building  the  Great  Siberian 
Railway. 


17 


25S 


Sim:  i;  I  A. 


CLASS    0  V    W  i)  11  \\. 

1 
1 

ClM'lial.Jn^ 
1,32b    vi' 

c-(Jhi. 
r.sts. 

Ol.i-likntsk, 
1,754  vci.sts. 

Jrkulsk-Myso\>l. 
202  versl.s. 

•-    :^ 

—    ■/ 

o 

CL, 

II 

—    '{■ 

'{■ 

A. 

J'lxpi'oprialidii  iif  laml      .... 
MakiiiLi  llic  Intel 

{,.'(lll^l^lH■li(lll    Wtll'k.'^ 

Layiiii!   Ilu'  liiu' 

Ap|>lllliMiaiiri'S   III'   the    lilii'    .      .      . 

'I'cli'iiraiili 

liiiiJiliiiLis  aldiiii:  llic  liin' .... 

Slaliiiii  liiiiMiiiL's 

VValiT    Mipply 

Slatidii   appuili'iiaiiccs 

riciirial,    atliiiiiiisjralivi'    ami    uii- 

tnlNiM'il   f\prii.S(;s 

387,857 

5.845,144 

s,932,135 

3,923,854 

170,140 

307,773 

709,300 

2,012,500 

017,840 

059,050 

4,500,570 

292 

l.lKl 

0,720 
2,955 
133 
277 
534 
1,515 
405 
490 

3,389 

299,727 

1 2,909,873 

10,544,912 

4,404,685 

257,701 

358,074 

849,227 

2,707,225 

1,304,195 

748,955 

5,525,115 

171 

7,300 

9,738 

2,545 

147 

204 

484 

1,578 

743 

427 

3,150 

4^^,970 

7,198,844 

7,110,950 

742,049 

30,075 

70,201 

190,800 

557,300 

178,730 

197,150 

1,510,575 

108 
24,054 

24,37  1 
2,5  1 1 

IL'O 

211 
07  1 
1 ,901] 
012 
075 

5,174 

1  ..  1  a  1     .     .     . 

B. 

Ruil.s  and  I'a.sloiiiiigs 

i  Riilliiig  stuck  and  Wdrknicii  inckidi'd 

!  Cairitige    oi'  rails,  l'aslfiiiiit;.s    and 
rulling  slock 

2S,  132,223 

8,583,922 
8,080,7(X) 

2,558,034 

21,184 

0,404 

0,089 

1,920 

40,029,0s9 

11,550,900 
10,091.950 

5,000,359 

20,243 

0,585 
0,090 

2,851 

17,854,304 

1,807,108 
1,071,730 

917,07s 

01,1  r. 

0,394 
5,725 

3,143 

T  M  1  a  1     .     .     . 

19.229,250  1   14,480 

27,243,209 

15,532 

4,450,510 

15,202 

Grand    total   .    . 

47,301,479 

35,003 

73,272,893 

41,775 

22,310,820 

70,407 

THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY. 


259 


Total  rosi    of  the 

Mysovsk-bretensk. 

Sruteiisk-Kliabarovka, 

Khabarovka 

-Grafsk, 

Grafsk- VTat 

livostok, 

7  sections,  7,112 

1,009   versts. 

2,000    v(!rsts. 

347  versts. 

382  versts. 

versts. 

._^ 

;_, 

i^ 

O 

a> 

?i 

;—  , 

£. 

^ 

« 

zz 

^ 

r. 

=    /       '     '^        1 

—      aj 

•1—'         ,-y, 

"-^       i/j 

•^-       y: 

Total 
rouble 

Koubl 

Total 
rouble 

_2  *J 

Total 
rouble 

C3     ^ 

—  "z- 

3  5       ,    "=  ?^ 

H    E       '    ^t 

501,695 

497 

1,000,000 

500 

76,000 

219 

247,640 

649 

2,561,889 

360 

l3,237,fS08 

13,120 

28,0(X),000 

14,000 

4,582,353 

13,206 

1,712,806 

9,724 

75,486,828^  10,614 

9,869,932 

9,782 

30,000,0f;0 

15,000 

3,320,712 

9,570 

2,657,280 

6,960 

78,441,921    11,030 

1 

2,931,002 

2,905 

6,0n0,000 

3,000 

1,344,325 

3,874 

1,189,760 

3,116 

20,395,675;     2,896 

168,523 

167 

320,000 

160 

86,722 

250 

62,270 

163 

2,108,031         156 

242,106 

240 

480,000 

240 

104,252 

300 

118,420 

310 

1,740,880        245 

1 

587,460 

582 

1,000,000 

500 

314,400 

906 

218,375 

572 

3,.'^75,682 

545 

J  ,867,450 

1,851 

3,(i00,000 

1,800 

881,250 

2,542 

1,170,150 

3,065 

12,856,575 

1,80P 

638,200 

632 

1,200,000 

600 

249,660 

720 

316,750 

830 

4,505,375 

633 

734,110 

! 

728 

1,400,000 

7(;o 

248,500 

700 

398,100 

1,04;; 

'  4,385,865 

617 

I        5,410,000 

5,362 

11,000,000 

5,500 

2,002,125 

5,700 

2,90s,336 

7,613 

32,«57,521 

4,620' 

:;(i,lM9,140 

35,866 

84,000,000 

42,000 

13,210,999 

38,073 

12,999,S^S7 

3i,oi:. 

237,116,242 

33,524 1 

6,142,416 

6,3H5 

12,765,52S 

(),o83 

2,254,200 

6,496 

2,443,851 

6,101 

45,907,925 

6,455 

5,614,345 

5,564 

11,223,655 

5,612 

1,917,670 

5,r)26 

1,359,200 

3..563 

40,565,250 

5,703  1 

5,063,91(; 
1 

5,019 

9,566,652 

4,7s3 

1,355,71;; 

.".,9n7 

858,113 

2.21^ 

25,32 1.0(i:> 

3.560 

17,120,677 

16,968 

33,555,835     16,778 

5,527,583 

15,929 

l,6(;i,164 

12.212 

111,794,240 

15,718 

..;i,303,817 

52,^34 

1  ]  7,555.S35 

58,778 

ls,738,6s2 

54.002 

17,6(;  1.051 

16,257 

:;5i,21(»,l>^2 

49,242 

260  SIBERIA. 


CII  Al'TKU  XVII. 
The  importance  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway. 

Tlie    iinportiuice  of  llie  (inial  Sjboiiaii  Uailway  lo  |iruf,'r(j.ss;  its  bcuiiiig  upon  rural  economy, 
colonization,  motaliurgical  industry;   gold   mining,  internal  and  foreign  trade. 


TIIK  I'normoii.s  expenditure  of  35<i  million  roubles  entailed  by  the  construction  of  the  Sibe- 
rian railroad,  which  probably  lor  a  long  time  will  not  prove  remunerative  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word,  is  explained  by  those  numerous  advantages  not  subject  to  arithmet- 
ical computation  which  may  be  attained  by  the  Government  with  the  realization  of  this  grand 
enterprise.  The  previous  historical-statistical  article  has  demonstrated  that  the  principal  bar- 
rier to  the  development  of  culture  in  Siberia  is  the  al)sence  of  regular  communication,  on  the 
one  hand  between  the  most  Important  administrative  and  industrial  centres  of  Siberia,  and 
on  the  other  hand  between  Siberia  and  European  Russia.  Consequently  when  this  principal 
obstacle  is  removed  the  causes  will  disappear  which  have  for  such  a  long  time  retarded  the 
regular  peopling  of  this  extensive  and  richly  endowed  region  and  the  rise  in  the  culture  of  the 
aborigenes  and  settlers.  In  reality  the  Great  Siberian  Railway,  intersecting  the  whole  of  Siberia 
for  ii  distance  of  7,112  versts,  embraces  a  very  wide  zone,  which  cannot  be  taken  at  less  than 
100  versts  on  either  side  of  the  line,  or  about  one  million  and  a  half  square  versts.  This 
enormous  area,  which  exceeds  the  whole  extent  of  central  Europe,  Germany,  Austro-Hungary, 
Holland,  Belgium  and  Denmark,  lies  in  the  mean  geographical  latitudes,  and  as  regards  cli- 
mate and  soil  possesses  all  the  qualities  favourable  to  the  development  of  agriculture,  rural 
economy  and  the  industries  connected  with  them.  It  is  worthy  of  attention  also,  that  accor- 
ding to  the  propitious  choice  of  the  direction  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railroad  which  connects  the 
fertile  lands  of  Western  Siberia  and  the  distant  region  of  Ussuri,  also  embraces  the  richest 
deposits  of  the  noble  metals,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  map  of  the  Russian  Em- 
pire. If  it  be  also  remembered  that  the  chosen  route  connects  the  extensive  basins  of  such 
large  rivers  as  the  Obi,  Yenisei  and  Amour  and  part  of  the  Lena,  it  cannot  be  disputed 
that  the  line  when  once  laid  will  give  a  powerful  impetus  to  the  whole  economical  develop- 
ment of  the  country,  and  will  call  into  existence  many  new  branches  of  industrial  activity. 
Turning  to  the  more  intimate  influence  of  the  Great  Railroad  upon  the  various  features 
of  industrial  and  economic  life  in  Siberia,  it  is  necessary  to  pause  over  the  follovring.  It 
is  first  of  all  evident  that  the  chosen  route  traverses  the  lich  Ishimsk,  Barabinsk  and  Kulun- 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAY.  261 

dinsk  steppes  which  have  always  been  reuowjicd  lor  their  fertility,  aud  serve  as  a  granary 
tor  Siberia.  Figures  have  been  already  quoted  showing  that  even  the  opening  of  the  Ural 
Hue  would  be  sufficieut  to  cause  an  increased  activity  in  these  steppes  and  to  forward  con- 
siderable ([Uantities  of  grain  to  the  west,  partly  to  the  Baltic  seaports.  If .  the  influem^e  of 
the  Ural  line  was  so  great,  connected  with  these  lauds  only  by  water  cominunicatiou,  then 
an  uninterrupted  Hue  of  rails  connecting  them  with  the  general  network  of  lines  in  the  Russian 
Empire  ought  to  elicit  a  far  greater  increase  of  agricultural  development.  Under  favourable 
conditions  of  soil  and  climate  the  productive  power  of  the  earth  will  draw  an  increase  of 
population  and  have  an  indirect  influence  upon  the  regular  colonization  of  the  country. 

Of  late  years  in  many  parts  of  European  Russia  the  increase  of  population  from  nat- 
ural causes  has  brought  about  an  excess  of  the  labouring  contingent,  and  the  systematic 
increase  of  the  number  of  peasants  insufficiently  provided  with  land,  due  to  this  fact,  has 
already  for  some  time  past  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Government.  Being  desirous  as  far 
as  possible  to  regulate  the  distribution  of  farms  among  the  peasants  and  to  provide  the  suf- 
ferers with  the  requisite  amount  of  land,  the  Government  has  found  it  advisable  to  adopt 
certain  measures  tending  on  the  one  hand,  to  people  the  unpopulated  fertile  districts,  and  on 
the  other  hand,  to  give  a  regular  outlet  to  the  energies  of  the  peasants  insufficiently  proviiied 
with  land  who  are  at  present  a  burden  on  the  State,  and  demand  increased  solicitude. 

For  these  reasons  free  Government  lands  in  the  above  mentioned  localities  are  granted 
to  settlers,  and  for  their  benefit  a  cheap  rate  has  been  fixed  for  conveying  them  by  rail; 
in  some  cases  they  receive  loans  of  money  from  the  Government  and  certain  other  privileges 
are  granted  to  ihem  in  order  to  assist  them  in  the  difficulty  of  emigrating,  and  of  acquiring  new 
household  goods.  Thanks  to  the  immediate  connection  by  rail  between  the  «Granary  of  Si- 
beria»  and  those  governments  of  the  Russian  Empire  where  a  lack  of  land  is  apparent,  the 
enterprise  about  to  be  realized  should  become  an  excellent  emigration  regulator  in  the 
interests  of  the  State  in  general.  Taking  into  consideration  the  extent  already  given  of  suit- 
able colonizing  land  in  Siberia,  it  may  be  expected  that  in  spite  of  the  tendency  of  late 
years  for  emigration  to  Siberia,  this  country  will  for  a  long  time  be  able  to  receive  freely 
those  who  are  desirous  of  availing  themselves  of  its  productive  power,  so  great  is  its  size 
and  so  vast  the  amount  of  suitable  land  for  agricultural  purposes. 

When  once  the  newly  populated  regions  show  signs  of  activity,  the  force  of  intellect 
will  gravitate  thither  from  European  Russia  and  capital  will  find  more  advantageous  use  in 
the  wider  enterprises  of  industry.  This  might  be  encouraged  by  granting  certain  privileges 
in  acquiring  Crown  lands  to  Russian  nobles  and  other  individuals  in  the  Government  service, 
who,  as  a  more  educated  and  cultured  element,  would  be  able  to  bring  a  civilizing  influence 
with  them.  Thus  the  Great  Siberian  Railway,  animating  the  uninhabited  fertile  lands  ruled 
by  the  Governor-General  of  the  steppes  and  opening  up  an  extensive  market  for  the  sale  of 
all  products  of  the  earth,  would  at  the  same  time  assist  the  successful  solution  of  one  of  the 
most  difficult  problems  of  the  State,  namely,  the  definite  organization  of  the  economical  con- 
dition of  the  peasants  badly  provided  with  land  in  the  internal  governments  of  European  Russia_ 

The  review  of  the  mineral  wealth  and  mining  industry  of  Siberia  has  shown  how 
enormous  are   the    riches   in    the    bowels    of    the    country,    and   what    little    use   has    been 


262  SIBERIA, 

mad'!  Ill'  lliuiii  lip  to  llie  prc^eiil  liiin'.  Iidii  aiiil  dial,  lln-  Iwo  f^riuit  laclors  uf  irifliistrial  de- 
v<'lopnicnl,  ail!  loiiiiil  nearly  over  all  Sihrria  and  in  vi-iy  rirh  veins.  Tlic  prijpr'r  wnikiii;,'  ol' 
lli<!S<!  liclios  will  ^'ivc  a  poworriil  advanroinont  lo  tin;  dcvolopnninl  ul'  progress  in  Siberia 
TIk!  conlif^iiily  of  veins  ul'  f:oal  and  iron  ore  in  some  places  lias  li-d  to  the  establisliinenl  of 
a:  lew  iidn  woiks,  wliieli  liavi;  liinvever  not  been  in  a  very  iloll^i.^llin^'  comlition  on  acconni  ol 
the  small  demand  and  their  great  distance  lidm  iIh;  markets.  These  obstacles  will  disappear 
when  tlu!  Siberian  railway  is  constructed,  as  tin;  railway  itsell' will  refiuire  such  an  onornions 
iinanlity  of  iron  ami  iidii  goods  that  it  can  easily  rurnisli  enough  work  for  several  large  iron 
works  besides  inrreasing  tlie  output  of  these  woiks  by  bringing  theii'  goods  wiiliin  the  iva<di 
of  more  distant  markets.  In  sj)ite  of  the  enormous  prodiietion  of  the  Ural  iron  works,  they 
will  b<'  unable  to  supply  all  the  rc'iuircments  of  the  Siberian  line  for  iron  goods;  being  compara- 
tively cheap,  thoy  caniKjt  be  coiiV((yed  very  long  distances  by  rail.  The  appearance  of  iron  works 
in  Siberia,  and  more  especially  in  the  centre  or  the  east,  may  be  regarded  therefore  as  a 
very  natural  conclusion;  and  If  in  addition  to  this  it  be  mentioned  that  in  order  to  enliven 
the  native  industry,  the  Government  intends  to  render  some  assistance  to  private  individuals 
in  erecting  such  works,  the  riitiue  of  the  iron  trade  in  Siberia  may  be  considered  quite  assured. 
As  regards  mineral  fuel,  which  is  of  such  great  impoitancc  in  working  a  railway  line,  such 
quantities  of  it  have  been  discovered  in  the  formations  that  have  been  investigated,  that 
the  mad  will  he  well  supplied  for  very  many  years  to  come.  Althongh  coal  is  found  scattered 
along  almost  the  whole  line,  wood  is  in  many  places  so  cheap  that  it  can  successfully 
compete  with  it,  especially  in  those  parts  of  the  route  which  are  intersected  by  navigable 
rivers,  along  which  the  wood  may  be  floated  from  distant  and  wild  places  where  vegetation 
is  so  I'apidly  ivnewed,  and  where  there  is  no  demand  for  it. 

The  Great  Siberian  liailway  will  also  have  a  great  influence  upon  gold  mining.  Placed  in 
very  diHicult  economic  circumstances,  this  industry  has  only  prospered  in  those  places  where 
very  auriferous  formations  arc  worked;  many  of  them  are  now  neglected  only  because  the 
present  price  of  labour  and  machinery  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  credit  upon  easy  terms  do 
not  admit  of  their  being  worked  with  sufi'icient  profit.  In  America  and  in  other  countries,  where 
gold  mining  is  carried  on,  much  poorer  beds  are  worked,  and  therefore  the  output  is  larger 
than  in  Siberia.  The  Siberian  lailway  should  strive  as  far  as  possible  to  facilitate  and 
cheapen  the  carriage  of  stores  and  implements  to  the  gold  inines,  and  also  increase  the  supply 
of  labour  as  many  of  the  mines  are  suffering  from  an  insuH'iciency  of  it.  Under  new  condi- 
tions the  cost  of  gold  mining  would  inevitably  decrease  and  this  would  enable  poorer  deposits 
to  be  worked.  The  output  of  gold  would  also  considerably  be  increased  and  the  industry 
would  acquire  a  firmer  foothold. 

Turning  to  the  question  of  the  influence  of  the  railway  upon  the  extension  of  local 
trade,  it  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  this  influence  will  be  most  considerable ;  many  articles  or  raw 
materials,  for  which  there  is  'at  present  no  local  demand,  will  find  a  ready  sale  at  more 
distant  markets;  the  rapid  fluctuations  in  the  prices  of  necessaries  and  the  exceedingly  high 
prices  current  at  present  will  no  longer  exist,  thanks  to  the  rapid  transport  of  goods. 

All  the  above  mentioned  advantages  which  trade  will  derive  from  the  Siberian  railway 
are  only  the  most  intimate    changes  which    will  result  fiom  the  opening  of  "the  line  and  the 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAX    RAILWAY.  263 

new  position  of   coramercial    intercourse    between   European  Russia    and  Siberia  on  the  one 

* 
hand,  and  within  the  l)orders  of  Siberia    on  the  other  hand.    In  order,  however,  to  grasp  the 

whole  extent  of  the  actual  importance  of  the  Great  Siberian  Railway  for  Russian  trade,  the 
scope  of  vision  must  be  enlarg((d  and  the  probable  consequcncos  of  this  enterprise  musf  be 
examined  in  coimection  with  the  fact  that  uninterrupted  railroad  communication  will  be 
establislK^d  between  Europe  and  the  Pacific  and  the  Far  East.  Thus  the  Siberian  railway  opens 
a  new  route,  and  new  horizons  for  universal,  as  well  as  for  Russian  trade.  This  was  clearly 
understood  by  the  Russian  merchants,  whose  representatives  at  the  fair  of  Nizhni-Xovgorod 
in  1889  expressed  Iheir  hopes  connecting  the  Russian  merchant  class  with  the  realization  of 
this  enterprise  in  an  address  on  the  Siberian  railway  in  the  following  terms:  <:This  railroad 
will  be  of  immense  economic  importance  to  Russia,  and  will  give  a  great  impulse  to  Russian 
industry;  it  will  connect  400  million  Chinese  and  35  million  Japanese  with  Europe  tlirough 
Russia.  The  strenuous  endeavours  made  by  Germany  to  gain  possession  of  the  markets  of  the 
Pacific,  and  llie  ett'orts  which  have  been  made  to  complete  the  Panama  Canal  visibly  sh<iw  that 
the  economic  struggle  already  commenced  will  end  on  the  Pacific  Oc<.'an.  The  Canadian  rail- 
road has  now  appropriated  part  of  the  freights  of  silk,  tea  and  furs  which  previously  reached 
Europe  through  the  Suez.  Tiidoubtedly  part  of  these  goods  will  pass  tlirough  Russia  as  the 
joui-iiry  from  Europe  through  Vladivostok  to  Shanghai  will  be  made  in  18  or  20  days, 
instead  of  45  through  Suez  or  35  days  at  present  by  the  Canadian  railway». 

It  is  particularly  important  for  Russia  that  this  change  in  the  direction  of  the  trattic 
between  Europe  and  the  east  of  Asia  should  be  to  its  advantage,  and  taking  part  in  this 
communication  with  a  contiimous  railroad  more  than  10  thousand  versts  long  it  can  reap 
all  the  advantages  not  only  in  the  conveyance  of  goods  from  the  east  of  Asia  and  west  of 
Europe,  but  also  those  of  a  large  producer  and  consumer  more  closely  coiniecied  than  all 
others  with  the  people  of  the  east  of  Asia.  The  Siberian  line  will  therefore  not  only  have 
the  ett'ect  of  increasing  the  importance  of  Russia  in  the  universal  markets  but  new  sources 
of  national  wealth  will  abundantly  open  around  her. 

It  may  be  added  that  China,  Japan  and  Corea,  whose  uuitcij  populations  anioiuit  tn  uvei' 
4G0  millions  and  whose  international  trade  turnover  exceeds  500  million  roubles  in  gold,  have 
not  reached  by  far  the  limit  of  development  of  their  commercial  intercourse  with  Europe, 
but  are  rather  undergoing  the  elementary  stage  of  it.  The  internal  provinces  of  China,  being 
further  removed  from  the  shore  ai'e  but  little  accessible  to  Europeans:  but  when  once  China  has 
opened  its  ports  to  international  trade,  the  provinces  which  have  as  yet  l)een  but  little  fre- 
({uentod  by  Europeans,  will  in  the  natural  course  of  events  sooner  or  later  enter  the  inter- 
national markets  and  carry  on  intermitional  commerce.  In  any  case  the  commercial  intercourse 
between  Europe  and  China  has  every  reascni  to  extend,  and  it  is  therefore  not  sui'pising  that 
the  nations  of  Europe  are  making  strenuous  endeavours  to  gain  possession  of  the  eastein 
nuirkets  of  Asia  and  do  not  hesitate  before  any  expenditure  likely  to  lead  to  this  object.  But 
in  this  respect,  owing  to  its  contiguity  to  these  above  lucMlioned  rich  countries,  Russia 
possesses  important  advantages  over  all  tbe  other  nations  of  I'liirope.  Thus,  at  a  distance  of 
(udy  1  to  4'/i  thousand  versts  from  the  Volga,  the  Siberian  I'ailway  approaches  so  near  to 
the  Chinese  fronliei',  llial   it   would  he  ([iiile  possihle.    iiy  iueau>  ol  a  lirancli  liue  running  into 


264  SlllKItlA. 

Uio  borders  of  (Jliiiiu,  tu  slait,  (liiccl  roiiiiin  ici;il  inleicliaiige  willi  tin-  lliickly  pupulatud 
internal  pruviiicos  ol  (Jhiiiii;  in  tliat,  <ase  iIh-  Uiissian  trade  with  China  wouhl  extend  very 
rapiiily  ami  tlic  icvcnnc  id'  tlic  main  linr  of  the  Siberian  railway  wouhl  jiiaterially  increase 
as  well  as  the  importance  (d  Russia  in  the  int(;rnalional  trade  with  Cliina.  Takinf:  also  into 
consi(h,'ration  the  prcdominaling  chiss  of  floods  in  the  intfjrnational  tnule  of  China,  it  is 
evidrni  lh;il  Ihf  lallhT  imirt!  expensive  railway  fri'if.^hts  CDmpan'il  with  those  hy  sea,  to  sonn* 
extent  (Miualiz(;d  hy  the  smaller  insurance  chaige-s,  would  not  Ix-  an  obstacle,  hindering  t!ie 
transfer  oi  Chinese  goods  from  the  s(!a  route  to  the  overland:  and  58  pi-r  cent  of  the  Chinese 
export  trade  is  composed  of  two  liii-'hly  expensive  article-^,  namidy  tea  and  silk.  Besides 
i|uickhiss  of  liansport  and  other  conveinences,  assuring  the  preference  to  railway  transportation, 
theie  are  yet  particular  circumslancos,  wliich  in  the  mutual  interests  ol'  China  and  Russia, 
will  conduce  to  the  transfer  ol  the  transport  of  lea  to  the  railway  route.  In  the  present 
export  trade  of  China,  Mutihiml  plays  the  most  iuiportant  pait,  IhiI  at  the  ^aine  time  she  is 
striving  to  compete  with  China  in  the  production  of  tea  and  iia^  met  with  some  success  as 
the  tea  plantations  in  the  Asiatic  colonies  of  l-jigland,  in  India  and  Cisylon,  supply  the 
greatest  amount  nf  tea  to  tlii^  whole  of  (ireat  IJritain.  There  are  many  favourable  conditions 
in  the  English  colijuii^s  which  contribute  to  the  success  of  tliis  competition:  ain(jng  others  the 
network  of  railways  in  India  is  of  great  advantage  in  conveying  the  tea  to  the  ports  which 
are  twice  as  near  to  Eui'ope  as  the  Chinese  ports.  On  account  of  tlie  above  mentioned 
circumstances  the  export  of  Chinese  teas  to  London  and  to  otliei'  countries  is  rapiilly  declining, 
and  this  is  not  only  a  great  loss  to  a  large  part  of  the  population  of  China,  but  for  the 
Chinese  treasury  also,  as  tea  is  subjected  to  a  high  export  duty  in  China.  In  all  probability 
the  continued  decline  of  the  tea  trade  will  be  a  very  serious  question  lor  China,  and  in  this 
respect  the  Siberian  railway  may  serve  as  a  gi'eat  support  to  the  Chinese  tea  trade,  by 
delivering  Chinese  teas  much  quicker  in  Europe,  not  only  compared  with  the  sea  voycige  from 
Cliina  through  London,  but  much  quicker  than  the  transport  of  Indian  teas.  Therefore  not 
only  Russia,  hut  China  also,  is  most  anxious  that  Russia  should  tak(i  an  active  part  in  the 
carriage  and  sale  of  tea  in  Europe,  as  Russia  is  cue  of  the  largest  and  continually  increas- 
ing markets  for  the  consumption  of  tea. 

This  tangible  analogy  of  the  interests  of  the  two  countries  in  the  export  of  tea  can 
but  conduce  to  the  gravitation  of  other  Chinese  exports  towards  the  new  route  to  Europe, 
especially  as  the  other  principal  article  of  the  Chinese  export  trade,  silk,  will  not  only  be 
capable  of  bearing  the  expense  of  a  long  railway  journey,  but  can  also  be  woven  in  Russia. 

Russia  on  the  other  hand,  through  the  agency  of  the  Siberian  railway,  will  be  able 
to  take  a  much  more  active  part  in  supplying  China  with  those  goods  which  are  now  imported 
thither  from  other  countries,  and  in  this  respect  Russia  may  meet  with  particular  success  in 
exporting  cotton  and  woollen  goods,  and  even  metals,  which  together  compose  about  one-half 
of  the  whole  Chinese  import  The  former  on  account  of  their  high  value  compared  with  their 
weight,  may  be  conveyed  from  Moscow^,  or  even  from  bi^yond  Moscow  by  rail,  and  the  metals 
may  be  brought  to  China  from  the  Ural,  or  better  still  from  the  nearer  mining  distiicts  of 
the  Tomsk  and  Yeidseisk  governments,  the  region  of  Transbaikal  and  part  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Irkutsk,  where  the  mineral  wealth  is  but  little  inferioi'  to  that  of  the  Urals  and  pos- 


THE    GREAT    SIBERIAN    RAILWAV.  265 

sesses  all  favourable  (|iialifications  for  the  extensive  development  of  the  mining  industry. 
China  will  be  a  very  near  and  valuable  market  for  these  districts  as  well  as  for  other  Siberian 
wares  such  as  leather  goods,  furs  et  cetera.  The  opening  of  the  Siberian  railway  will  therefore 
enable  Russia  to  profit  by  the  proximity  of  China  for  the  sale  of  its  produce. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  dwell  upon  the  political  importance  of  the  Great  Siberian 
Railway.  Its  significance  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  when  the  line  is  completed  Russia  will 
not  only  nominally  but  actually  occupy  that  position  in  the  east  of  Asia  which  it  holds 
among  its  friends  and  enemies  in  Europe.  As  the  line  shortens  the  distance  from  European 
Russia  to  the  east  of  Asia,  in  a  like  measure  will  the  power  of  Russia  increase  in  the 
East.  In  addition  to  this  undisputed  position,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  favourable  con- 
ditions already  mentioned  occurring  from  the  opening  of  the  line  and  extending  commercial 
intercourse  between  Russia  and  the  nations  of  the  East,  will  undoubtedly  conduce  to  strengthen 
friendly  political  relations  with  those  countries.  These  friendly  relations  will  be  cemented  by 
the  mutual  interests  in  the  field  of  universal  economic  activity.  Finally  the  opening  of  a 
railway  line  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  will  enable  Russia  to  carry  on  more  direct  intercourse 
with  the  United  States  of  America,  which  in  spite  of  being  the  great  competitor  of 
Russia  in  the  grain  trade  of  Europe,  in  consequence  of  the  solidarity  of  its  political  and 
other  interests,  cherishes  sincere  sympathy  for  Russia, 


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