YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

FORMED BY
James Abraham Hillhouse, B.A. 1749
James Hillhouse, B.A. 1773
James Abraham Hillhouse, B.A. 1808
James Hillhouse, B.A. 1875
Removed 1942 from the
Manor House in Sachem's Wood
GIET OE
GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR

A RIBBON OF IRON

Statue of Yermak.

A RIBBON OF IRON
BY ANNETTE M. B. MEAKIN

" One of the chief delights and benefits of travel is
that one is perpetually meeting men of great abilities,
of original mind, and rare acquirements, who will
converse without reserve. In these discourses the
intellect makes daring leaps and marvellous advances.
The tone that colours our after life is often caught
in these chance colloquies, and the bent given that
shapes a career." Lord Beaconsfield

WESTMINSTER
ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON & CO

TO
MY DEAR MOTHER
WHOSE COMPANIONSHIP
WAS THE CROWNING PLEASURE
OF A DELIGHTFUL TOUR

PREFACE
WITHIN twenty days of our visit to
Blagovestchensk,1 that town was the
scene of a massacre, the descriptions of which
were received with horror throughout the
civilized world. As we returned to St. Peters
burg by way of America it was not until
after this book was written that I succeeded
in getting from eye-witnesses a reliable
account of what actually took place. While we
were at Blagovestchensk (we left on June 28,
just four days before the first shot was fired)
all its troops were being mobilized for China,
and every boat except the post boat had
been chartered to carry soldiers across the
water. So little did General Gribsky and the
police dream of danger near at hand that
only one reserve battalion and one battery
were left to guard the town. The rumour we
had heard of a Chinese force stationed near
Aigun was a true one. Having waited for their
1 See chapters xvii. and xviii.
5

PREFACE
opportunity, the Manchu insurgents were pre
paring to take advantage of the defenceless
state in which the Russians had been left.
They had actually fixed upon a night on which
to surprise the town, and each man had been
provided with a rope to strangle a Russian in
his bed. A few hours before the time arranged
they caught sight of what they took to be a
band of Russian soldiers preparing to cross
over and attack them. These were in reality
a company of raw recruits who, being very
dirty, had received orders to bathe in the river.
This mistake saved Blagovestchensk. On July
2, shots fired from Aigun upon a passing
steamer raised the alarm. General Gribsky
at once marched his remaining battalion out
of the town to the bank of the river opposite
Aigun and opened fire. In the meantime
the terror-stricken inhabitants, feeling them
selves utterly helpless and dreading lest the
Manchus in the town itself — whose numbers
far exceeded their own — should rise and murder
them, fled in crowds to the neighbouring woods.
Some women even ran the distance of fifteen
versts. General Gribsky then sent word to
the Cossacks that they were to turn all the
Chinese out of the town and make them cross
6

PREFACE
the river. Unhappily the order was given to
men who could not be trusted to act humanely.
The Cossacks, who were little better than
savages, threw themselves upon the helpless
Chinese — among whom there were fortunately
very few women and children — and drove them
to the water's edge. Those who could not get
across in rafts were either brutally massacred
on the banks or pushed into the water and
drowned. The scene which followed was horrible
beyond description, and the river was black
with dead bodies for weeks afterwards. I have
this from no less than five eye-witnesses. The
innocent had suffered for the guilty. There
was not a Chinaman left in Blagovestchensk
on the arrival of the forces which the Governor
had summoned to his aid from Western Siberia.
Crossing over to the Chinese towns of Sakhalin
and Aigun, the Russian soldiers now burned
them to the ground and then proceeded to drive
the rebels into the interior. I call them rebels
advisedly, for this was no war with China ; it
was the beginning of Russia's campaign in
Manchuria, which other countries have watched
with so jealous an eye.
I will here take the opportunity of thanking
7

PREFACE
those kind friends who have helped me in the
preparation of this volume. My especial thanks
are due to Miss L. Kukol- Yasnopolsky * to whose
able translation of the Ministerial Guide to the
Great Siberian Railway I am indebted for many
useful pieces of information.
To Miss M. Mitchell, to Prince M. Dolgorouky,
and to one other friend who wishes to be name
less, I should like to express my gratitude for
many of the drawings and photographs with
which my book is illustrated.
A few weeks ago, when reading that interest
ing book, The Heart of a Continent,2 I was
pleased to find the following passage. "I like to
record these little acts of kindness which I have
received from Russians individually because I
believe there are no two nationalities that would
take to each other more than the Russians and
ourselves if the opportunity were forthcoming ;
and that the more the members of each nation
learn to know one another the better it will be
for us both." A. M. B. M.
Interlaken, August 10, 1901.
1 This lady is a niece of His Excellency Prince Hilkof,
Minister of Ways and Communications.
2 By Captain Frank E. Younghusband.

8

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I Starting  11
II The Siberian Express  20
III Omsk— A Visit to the Kirgiz ... 32
IV The Post Train— Taiga— Tomsk ... 49
V The Prisons of Tomsk— The Mysterious
Hermit  69
VI Krasnoiarsk— The Yenisei .... 82
VII Minusinsk— The Age of Bronze ... 96
VIII Emigrants— Lady Doctors— Krasnoiarsk 110
IX Scenery after Krasnoiarsk— Irkutsk . 121
X A Model Convict Settlement . . . 134
XI Travelling Fourth Class— Lake Baikal
Convicts  156
XII Transbaikalia  166
XIII Stretinsk  184
XIV On the Schilka  200
XV The Amur— Smoking Cliffs .... 213
XVI A Chinese Gold Mine— Russian Mines—
Blagovestchensk  224
XVII The Silver General  237
XVIII AiiGUN  251
XIX Khabarovsk— The Ussuri Railway . . 264
XX Khilkovo— Vladivostok . . . .278
XXI On a Cargo Boat— Fallen from the Sky
—Sapporo  293
XXII At Nikko— Startling News . . . .310

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

and

Statue of Yermak
Kirgiz Types  To
The Mosque at Omsk .
Kirgiz Travelling in Winter
The University at Tomsk .
Prince Hilkof, Minister of Ways
Communications
Market Place at Minusinsk
Masks found near Minusinsk .
Church Railway Carriage
Bridge over the Yenisei .
Irkutsk 
House for Visitors, Alexandrovsk
Ice-breaker on the Baikal .
Stretinsk 
Boats going to the Gold Mine,
Tributary of the Amur .
Gold Washing, near the Amur
Village of Sakhalin, after it had been burnt
Ainu Woman, with ingrained Moustache
Photograph taken on landing at Otaru,
North Japan  ,, 308
Map of the Siberian Railway System at end
10

Frontispiece
face page 3240466690
102104 112
122
130 136158
188
226234 256304

A STBEET IN SIBERIA.

Chapter I
STARTING
The longer I live the more I am certain that the great
difference between men, between the feeble and the power
ful, the great and the insignificant, is energy, invincible
determination — a purpose once fixed, and then death or
victory.
Sir T. Fowell Buxton.
T T was during a visit to Russia in the summer
of 1896 that my attention was drawn for
the first time to the " Great Siberian Railway."
It existed then only as far as Omsk and had
not yet been thrown open for passenger traffic.
People still travelled by tarantass, and no one,
with the exception of one or two travellers
following in the footsteps of Dr. Lansdell and
11

A RIBBON OF IRON
Mr. Kenan, went to Siberia from choice, for
travelling there was monotony itself.
" We hope to complete the railway in four
years," said Prince Hilkof when asked how
long it would be before Japan could be reached
by rail. " The journey will be an easy one,
and the buffets will be excellent," he added.
As he spoke I was seized with a desire not
merely to take the journey, but to be the
first Englishwoman to travel by that route to
Japan. On my return to England friends smiled at
this desire of mine and thought it so mad that
I ceased to mention it ; but when the time
drew near I unfolded my plan to my mother
*
and asked her to accompany me. This she
readily agreed to do, being quite as fond of
travelling as myself.
We accordingly left London for Paris on
March 18, 1900, without having explained our
intentions to any one outside our immediate
circle. Our friends were thus spared a great
deal of needless anxiety. For the anxiety they
did eventually suffer on our account we are
12

STARTING
truly sorry. That Chinese Boxers should make
their way to the banks of the Amur almost
simultaneously with our own appearance there
was a fact that could have entered into no
one's calculations.
A halt of six weeks in the French capital
enabled us not only to brush up our French for
the journey but also to study the excellent
maps and models illustrative of our proposed
route which occupied several rooms in the
Siberian section of the Exhibition. Throughout
the month of April the weather was so hot
that we, like every one else, resorted to summer
clothing, and packing up our winter garments
left them behind us.
Every traveller knows that the less luggage
you have with you the better, and we were
delighted to have reduced our luggage to a
valise, a hold-all, and a tea basket. So far
so good ; but when, on May 2, we reached the
Russian frontier our delight began to cool.
Hotter and hotter grew the carriages, colder
and colder the air outside, till at last we looked
out upon a dreary snow scene. Bitter winds
13

A RIBBON OF IRON
were blowing in St. Petersburg and snow lay
on the sides of the streets as we drove to our
destination. It was no wonder that a violent
attack of influenza kept me in bed four out
of the six days we spent there. Thanks to
the great kindness of Prince Hilkof we had
very little to do ; it was he who had our tickets
prepared, who provided us with letters of in
troduction, the latest guide books, and a splendid
map of our route. It was indeed a fortunate
thing for us that the man of all others who
had it in his power to help us could and did
sympathize so thoroughly with our project.
The Czar held his annual military review on
May 7. All Petersburg turned out to see the
troops pass, and the Nevsky was brilliant with
flags and red draperies hung from the windows.
It was interesting to compare these decorations
with those we had seen at Berlin three days
earlier when we had found the townspeople
wild with excitement about the coming of age
of their young prince, and with those of Paris
when the Exhibition of 1900 was declared open,
and again with those of our own Regent Street
14

STARTING
and Oxford Street after the relief of Lady-
smith. We thought the Russian decorations
the most effective ; there was more bright colour,
chiefly scarlet.
The Nevsky, a bright and handsome street
at all times, looked gay indeed as the mounted
troops passed down it to the Russian Champs
de Mars. Cuirassiers in white and gleaming
gold were followed by a regiment all in what
we call " Prussian blue," but far brighter than
any blue worn by the Prussian army. Then
came a regiment in red and black, each man
carrying a flag, followed by others equally
striking. It took four days to get our luggage through
the customs, as it had not been examined on
the frontier. When I grew impatient at the
delay, my friends said, " You cannot hurry a
Russian. Never show that you are cross, that
only makes them worse ; the safest thing is
to laugh ; it helps you best in the end." So
I laughed and waited.
The last afternoon I started out in a sharp
snowstorm to buy some luggage labels, taking
15

A RIBBON OF IRON
an old one with me as a pattern. After trying
three shops I found a man who could speak
German. " Oh, you will never find those things
here ! No one uses them in Russia," he said.
So our belongings travelled all the way to
Yokohama without labels.
The night express from St. Petersburg to
Moscow is the best train in Russia ; it carries
only first-class passengers and is always full
no matter what the season of the year.
We had secured a sleeping coupe* by telephone,
but a gentleman had bribed the conductor to
give it to him instead. A dispute which took
up an hour and a half of our journey had
to be gone through before we could get posses
sion of it and retire for the night. As it was
we owed our victory to a gaily dressed officer
who spoke French and came to the rescue.
He asked if he might introduce to us a friend
of his from St. Petersburg, who was also on
the train, " an Englishman, and very rich."
After the introduction had taken place the
Englishman came and chatted with us in our
cowp6; he had seen from our official letter
16

STARTING
that we were going to Siberia, and his interest
was aroused.
" Siberia is a dreary place," he said. " Are
you sure it is wise to go there — two ladies
alone ? " And then turning to me he said, " It
is a venturesome thing under any circumstances,
but to start in your state of health is mad
ness. You ought to be shut up in a warm
room and not leave it for a week." I felt
the truth of these remarks, but it was a case
of " a purpose once fixed," and we were already
a week late in starting.
Our coupS was cold and draughty, but about
midnight it began to get warmer, and was
too hot to be pleasant when we woke at about
five the next morning. Pulling up the blinds
we looked out on the most exquisite snow scene
it had ever been our lot to witness. Snow
was falling in large flakes and must have been
coming down steadily for hours. The branches
of fir trees, intermingled with those of others
still more yielding, were loaded with snow and
drooped gracefully under its weight, whilst
every few seconds we saw some branch bent
17 B

A RIBBON OF IRON
right downward and its load scattered and
dropped through the lower branches like soft
powder. I felt as if I must be Hans Andersen's
little girl in the Ice Queen travelling through
forests of snow ! One breath of ice-cold air
in that heated carriage would have made it
a reality, but this was not to be had, and I
fell asleep again with the feeling that I had
seen some fairy panorama.
We found Moscow enjoying a regular April
day of alternate sun and drenching rain, and
people were quite surprised to hear us speak
of snow. Moscow is a typical city of the old
times and a more picturesque one I never saw.
From our hotel windows we looked out on a
vast array of coloured roofs, red and green
predominating, whilst above all towered many
glistening golden cupolas. "These cupolas are
always bright and shining," said an English
resident, " and yet I never see any one polishing
them." Those who are interested in Moscow should
read the late Dean Stanley's beautiful letters
written on the occasion of the Duke of Edin-
18

STARTING
burgh's wedding. We all appreciate the wonder
ful charm of the old Russian capital, but it was
Dean Stanley who had the power to bring its
beauties before the eyes of those who could
not come so far.
Farewell, dear Moscow ; I shall come again
When I have traversed half the earth and more.
'Tis time to hasten now, for summer's heat
Too soon might pass, and ice, which half the year
Doth bind the rivers wide, impede my course.
Farewell.

— i»»ki»

19

Chapter II
THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
We don't often know in this world sometimes whether
we are turning off along a road where we shall never come
back from, or whether we can go just a little way and look
at the far off hills and new rivers, and come home safe.
Robbery Under Arms.
r I ^HE Siberian Express, or Train de Luxe as
it is called, leaves Moscow for Irkutsk
every Saturday evening, whilst the ordinary
post train leaves daily at 3 p.m.1 There is no
difference in the speed of the two trains, but
by stopping less time at the stations the express
gains two days on the entire journey.
We took up our abode in the express on
Saturday, May 12, and did not emerge from
it till the following Wednesday evening, when
we alighted at Omsk station after a journey of
four days and four nights. We shared a luxuri
ous coup4 with two other ladies. I retired at
1 Since the above was written other trains have been added.
20

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
once to my comfortable bed and remained there
for three days, after which time I was well
enough to get up. Had I taken that journey,
ill as I was, in a " sleeper " on the so highly
praised Canadian Pacific, I might never have
lived to tell the tale. Every morning I should
have been forced to rise at an early hour and
sit upright for the rest of the weary day on
the seat into which my bed had been trans
formed. Above all, privacy, the luxury that a
tired traveller covets most of all, would have
been absolutely unattainable. The Siberian
express is a kind of " Liberty Hall," where you
can shut your door and sleep all day if you
prefer it, or eat and drink, smoke and play
cards if you like that better. An electric bell
on one side of your door summons a serving-
man to make your bed or sweep your floor, as
the case may be, while a bell on the other side
summons a waiter from the buffet. Besides the
ordinary electric lights you are provided with
an electric reading lamp by which you may read
all night if you choose. Time passes very pleas
antly on such a train, and it is quite possible to
enjoy the scenery, for there is none of that fear-
21

A RIBBON OF IRON
ful hurry that makes railway travelling so risky
for body and nerves in Europe and America. Our
average speed was about sixteen miles an hour.
At one end of the cheerful dining car was a
Bechstein piano, and opposite to it a bookcase
stocked with Russian novels ; doubtless it will
contain plenty of French and English books in
time. On the fourth day we had an agreeable
concert. Amongst the performers were a
gentleman with a good tenor voice and two
lady pianists of no ordinary merit. Three por
traits adorned the dining car walls — those of
the Emperor and Empress and that of Prince
Hilkof — while ferns and flowers gathered by the
way gave a homelike appearance to the whole.
We stopped at a great many stations ; indeed
on some parts of the route we seemed to get
into a chronic state of stopping. At large
stations there was often a halt of twenty
minutes or half an hour. Passengers anxious
for a change of fare seized such opportunities to
dine at the station buffet. Card playing went
on all the time and small sums of money were
played for. If a Russian sits down to a game
of cards, nothing but a matter of life and death
22

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
will induce him to stir from it till it is finished.
"You have yet to learn what a Russian is
worth when he's playing cards,'' said a German
fellow traveller after I had waited two hours
to get the name of an hotel from a young
officer. As it was already midnight I gave up
in despair and retired. The next day I got my
information from the card player, but it was
accompanied by no apology. There is a strange
superstition among the lower classes that if a
man can manage to get into his possession a
piece, however small, of the rope with which a
criminal has been hanged, he will always have
luck at cards. A few weeks before we arrived
there a man was hanged at Irkutsk, and a
peasant, after endless trouble and exertion,
secured a little bit of the rope, much to the envy
of his relatives and friends.
The train was quite full. One lady about
thirty years of age, who spoke French, told me
she hated Siberia, and was only going to
Irkutsk to sell some property. She intended to
return to St. Petersburg by the next train but
one ; that is, in less than a fortnight, which
meant twenty days of railway travelling and a
23

A RIBBON OF IRON
journey of 8,000 miles within a month. Dis
tance, like time, counts for nothing in Siberia.
This lady thought us bold, if not rash, to travel
without a revolver. " I always carry two," she
said. Later on the Mayor of Vladivostok, who
shared the next coup4 with the manager of the
Amur Steamer Company, took out his little
pocket pistol and handled it fondly. " It saved
my life once," he said. "You had better get
one in Omsk if you haven't brought one with
you." The Mayor told my mother a woeful tale
of a fall he had had just before leaving
St. Petersburg.
" I broke two ribs," he said, " and now I hear
them crack every time I rise on the cushions
of the train, which are too springy under the
circumstances." The conductor was a good-looking man in
uniform. His position on the train seemed to be
something like that of a purser on a steamer.
We tried to find out from him whether there
was any hotel at Omsk, and what sort of a
place it was, but the only information we could
extract was that it was warmer at Irkutsk
than at Moscow. He knew nothing of Omsk,
24

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
and could not even tell us when we might
expect to arrive till we were within a few hours
of the place.
After a day and two nights of steady travel
ling we came in sight of the Volga. All were
eager to see something of the famous bridge
over which we were to cross. Some, who
feared they might not wake at 4 a.m., got up
before daylight. I myself saw nothing of it
then, but on another occasion when we passed
at four on a lovely autumn afternoon I had
a splendid view standing, while we crossed
the water, on the platform between two car
riages. The Alexander bridge was named after
Alexander II. It has thirteen spans of fifty
sazhens each, a total length of six hundred and
fifty sazhens and a distance of more than six
hundred and seventy-four sazhens between its
abutments. A sazhen is equal to seven English
feet. It is built with stone piers on the double
girder system with parallel chords and a road
way upon the lower chord. The rails are laid
on metal beams. To us it was a bridge of
delicate iron lace work closing over our heads
25

A RIBBON OF IRON
at regular intervals, with quite a fragile look
when seen from a distance. It bore a remark
able testimony to the beauty of proportion.
The Volga too was most picturesque at this
point, and the passengers got a fine view both
up and down the river, as the train slowly
crossed the bridge,
Samara, the first town of interest after
Moscow, has a population of ninety-one thou
sand. I once spent a few days there, and was
much impressed by the frightful dust storms in
the streets, the worst I have met with outside
Siberia. Here I made the acquaintance of a
lady whose father has a large Kumys Sana
torium not far from the town. She told me
that people suffering from chest complaints
throng to it from all parts of Russia. The best
caviar in the world comes from the Volga ; it
can be had in boxes at Samara station, but is
very expensive when bought in that way.
Immediately outside the town there is a large
cemetery filled with the graves of those who
died of the terrible plague which visited that
part of Russia after the famine some years ago.
26

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
There are many people in Samara now who
lived through that awful time, and it was
touching to hear them speak with loving
gratitude of the English Quakers who collected
money and sent doctors to the poor sufferers.
Many of the ignorant peasants had a super
stitious dread of the doctors, and often attacked
them so fiercely that it was at the risk of their
lives that they attended the sick. After the
train has left the cemetery it runs between
wide melon fields. Passing this spot in August
I saw the smooth skins of hundreds of water
melons glistening in the sunshine.
The next place of interest is Ufa. This was
formerly the central town of the Bashkirs, a
dark Mohammedan race, who, in their days of
independence, were renowned for their skill in
shooting arrows. So much did they excel in
this art that during the campaign of 1813 the
French gave them the nickname of "The Cupids
of the North." One still finds them in their
old haunts, peaceful enough now, though for
many years after they had sought the pro
tection of Russia against the persecution of
27

A RIBBON OF IRON
other neighbours they continued to give the
Russians a good deal of trouble. The country
round Ufa is called Baskiria, having derived its
name from these ancient inhabitants. The town
was founded by the Russians towards the end
of the sixteenth century. It has now twenty-
three churches, with many schools and charitable
institutions, including a home for the blind.
Zlatoust in the Ural Mountains is the last
Russian town through which the train passes.
The situation is most picturesque, with fir-clad
mountains as a background. This is the point
at which travellers should break their journey
if they wish to spend a few days in the Urals.
Pleasant excursions can be made in the neigh
bourhood, and there are interesting mines to
be visited, mines whence come so many of our
precious stones. In Zlatoust itself is a large
iron foundry. When the Emperor Alexander I.
came here in 1824 he forged a nail with his own
hands, and this treasure is still to be seen in
the local museum.
As the train comes into the station the pas
sengers take out their purses and make a rush
28

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
for the stall at which pretty black ornaments,
knives and forks, snuff-boxes, and many other
useful things made of cast iron are temptingly
displayed by the native traders. The knives
and forks have a renown of their own ; on the
blades of the knives are engraved quaint pictures.
I saw one on which an old woman feeding her
geese was depicted. Upwards of three thousand
men are employed in making knives alone.
I have travelled through this part of the
Urals three times, but only once had the good
fortune to do so by day. On that occasion I
stood for hours at the open window enjoying
not only the beautiful scenery, but also the
fresh and invigorating mountain air, very dif
ferent from that of the steppe into which the
wild mountains merge only too soon. Gradu
ally the landscape becomes more and more in
significant till there is at last nothing for the
eye to rest on but a wide stretch of grassy
plain. This is the steppe.
The appearance of the steppe varies very
much according to the time of year. With the
exception of solitary groups of birch trees few
29

A RIBBON OF IRON
and far between, nothing will grow there but
grass and herbaceous plants of a hardy nature ;
there is too much salt in the soil.
You can hardly look out of the windows
without seeing water somewhere, for lakes,
large and small, are numerous. This part of
the steppe alone is said to contain more than a
thousand ; in most of them the water is salt.
In some cases a channel connects a fresh water
lake with one in which the water is brackish.
A flower which grows on their margin is called
the salt-wort (Salicornea herbaria). Salt is
obtained from these lakes by private persons
who hold them on lease.
In early spring the grass grows so high that,
as a lady described it to me, " you can hide
yourself in it." Many kinds of flowers grow
there, such as the hyacinth, a dwarf iris with
a fine scent, and a wild lily. In August the
grass has disappeared, and all is brown and
bare, but after the first rains of September
fresh young blades and flowers cover large
patches, and offer a pleasing variety to the eye.
From Cheliabinsk there is a branch line
30

THE SIBERIAN EXPRESS
through the Urals to Ekaterinburg. I travelled
by it just after it was opened in 1896, and was
much amused to see the passengers get out
and pick flowers as the train moved along.
Ekaterinburg is the border town through which
all travellers crossing Siberia used to pass
before there was a railway. I visited an in
teresting convent there where the nuns are
employed in preparing ikons, candles and holy
bread for the churches. They paint the ikons
in a regular artist's studio, sitting at easels as
" to the manner born." For the candles there
is a manufactory ; the wax is separated into
shreds and laid out in large trays to bleach in
the sun, after which it is melted in tubs. It
was a most entertaining sight to see the nuns,
with their sleeves tucked up, rolling the candles
into shape, or rather giving them a final polish
with their elbows, using the forearm as a kind
of rolling pin. These enterprising ladies ac
tually started horse-breeding, but the priests
put a stop to it. Ekaterinburg is now a flourish
ing modern town with electric lights, tram
ways, and many fine public buildings.
31

Chapter III
OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
TT was quite dark long before we reached
¦*¦ Omsk, and feeling rather timid we made
anxious inquiries as to whether any one else
was stopping there. The conductor took pity
on us as we were nearing our destination. He
had all the tickets and knew where every one
on the train was going. " There is one lady in
the second class," he said, " who is bound for
Omsk." " For pity's sake," I said, " introduce me to
her." " I am a stranger myself," she told me after
the introduction had taken place, " but my
daughter and her husband are coming to meet
me ; perhaps they could tell you about an
hotel." 32

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
In the meantime our other fellow passengers
did their best to persuade us to abandon the
idea of seeing Omsk, and go on with them to
Irkutsk. Horrible things had happened, they
said. "Remember you are now in Siberia,"
said the conductor warningly.
The lady going to Omsk was met by several
friends at the station. They very kindly sug
gested that a gentleman of their party should
drive us to the town, and we were only too glad
to avail ourselves of the offer. Our cavalier
was a square, strongly built man, with a kindly
red face and twinkling dark eyes. He helped
us both to climb into his little Siberian droshky,
and telling an " izvoschek " to follow with
our baggage took his seat in front. We were
soon jolting along in the dim moonlight over
very uneven, but stoneless, ground. The only
buildings in sight looked like barns and cattle
sheds. I learnt afterwards that many of these
were temporary shelters for emigrants who
were obliged to halt there on their way fur
ther east. Our new friend, who only spoke
about three words of German, turned round in
33 c

A RIBBON OF IRON
his seat to reassure us. " I am a Jew," he said
proudly, " I am a Jew ! "
Omsk is about four miles from the station,
and the drive seemed an endless one that cold,
dark night. We were very glad to find our
selves at last in the sheltering inn. To all ap
pearances it was the most comfortless place on
earth, but a stove gave genial warmth to the
air of our room, and a samovar soon hissed on
our table. The Jew did not leave us till all
our wants had been supplied ; he was really
kindness itself. As soon as he was gone we
laid our own sheets, rugs and pillows on the
bare mattresses. There was no need of Keat-
ing's powder, for the weather was still cold
enough to keep the pest of Siberia in its winter
hiding place.
The chief street of Omsk is lined on one side
with thriving shops, and on the other with a
succession of tea gardens. Each shop has large
pictures of its wares painted outside in true
Russian fashion, a most convenient one for
foreigners ignorant of the language, as well as
for the peasant population, who cannot read,
34

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
there being no display of the goods them
selves. Before our first morning was over we had
been kindly welcomed at more than one hos
pitable house. Invitations to dinner quickly
followed, and we soon felt quite at home
amongst so many kind friends. No one
seemed to know anything of our Hebrew
cavalier. " Jews are not admitted into society here,"
we were told. The fact is, as I afterwards dis
covered, that there is a large community of
Jews in the town, but they are all more or less
of the industrial class.
Driving through the streets we were struck
with the evident fondness for colour displayed
by the inhabitants. The log houses, square,
and mostly of one storey, have either apple
green roofs or brick-red, with here and there
a lively blue. We noticed also that the wooden
frames of the quaint old-fashioned street lamps
were blue.
The wife of the German pastor introduced
us to a gentleman who had lived there for
35

A RIBBON OF IRON
thirteen years. He was curious to know what
had brought us so far.
" We have come to see something of Siberian
life," I said, " for we know very little about it
in England." " Quite so," he replied quickly,
"and what you do know is wrong."
Omsk was once a fortress town, and bits of
the old fortifications are still to be seen. They
date back to the year 1765. We are told that
Lieut. -General Springer, who in 1763 was ap
pointed chief of those who guarded the Siberian
frontier, had the fortress built to instil awe
into the hearts of the neighbouring Kirgiz and
all other Asiatics who might prove trouble
some. Close to the German Pastor's house are some
Underground passages said to be used as a
habitation by loafers who have no home of
their own.
" It must be rather unpleasant to have such
neighbours," I said.
" Oh ! they are all right as long as you leave
them alone," replied the Pastor's wife.
I asked what those crying sounds were that
36

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
we heard every evening as we sat in our room
after dark.
" It is the camels you hear," was the reply ;
" they cry just like children at night."
" So you have camels in Omsk ! " cried my
mother ; "I have long wished to mount a
camel." "Intelligent people do not mount camels,"
replied the lady. " They are beasts of burden.
You would see a great many if you were here
in winter, for the Kirgiz use them to carry
their goods to market. The legs of these
animals are tied up in wool and rags to protect
them from the cold."
" The Kirgiz are good horsemen," she added ;
" they often come into the town four on one
horse." " Our churchyards are in a bad state," said
the Pastor. " I have seen a coffin swim as it
was being lowered into the ground ; and as for
trying to decorate a grave it is useless, for
everything that can possibly be carried away
is stolen."
The cadet school is a fine building, with quite
37

A RIBBON OF IRON
an imposing appearance. Groups of merry
cadets at the street corners remind you that
you are not yet outside the pale of civilization.
There is a boys' gymnasium and also one for
girls. Young people from all the country
round come to Omsk for their education.
Every year some new building is added to the
town, or some garden laid out. The present
governor, Lieut.-General Sannikof, has done
a great deal for the place by persuading private
individuals to plant trees and to have an eye
to external appearances. The old wooden
bridge over the Om is soon to be replaced by
an iron one, and the streets will be paved in
time. In short it is clear that Omsk, with its
rivers, its railway, and its growing population,
has a grand future in store in spite of the fact
that it lies in the centre of so vast a steppe.
The river Irtish supplies the inhabitants with
many kinds of fish unknown in England. We
were particularly advised to ask for " nelma,"
and found it excellent.
The Empress is not forgotten in Omsk. Her
name day was the occasion of a great holiday.
38

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
Church bells woke us in the early morning with
their peals. We found all the government
buildings decorated with flags. Madame Sanni
kof gave a dinner at which we were present.
Conversation was carried on briskly in Russian,
French, German and English. Afterwards,
when coffee was served in the garden, Madame
Sannikof showed us some exquisite lace made
by the little girls in her orphan school; specimens
of it had been sent to the Siberian section of
the Paris Exhibition.
Every one laughed heartily over the warn
ings we had received about coming to Omsk ;
and the Governor himself, to whom every evil
deed has been reported by the chief of police
for the last ten years, assured us that we could
not have come to a safer place, or a more
peaceful one.
The winter season is the most agreeable.
Crisp cold weather with plenty of snow and
sunshine, and an absence of those biting winds
we know in Europe, make life a pleasure
here. " It would take very little wind to blow that
39

A RIBBON OF IRON
away," said one lady, looking at my mother's fur
cloak ; and then she showed me hers, lined with
what looked like the back of an unshorn sheep
in spring time.
" How can you move with such a weight on
you?" I asked in surprise.
" Oh, that is nothing ; one does not notice it,"
she replied.
During the coldest days the thermometer
often stands at 38° Reaumur, while in summer
35° of heat is not unusual. With so few trees
and hardly any rain for weeks together the
country gets very much dried up and the return
of winter is hailed with delight.
Close to our hotel was the Tatar mosque, so
prominent that I at first mistook it for a
Russian church. When a " Mullah " appeared
upon the little round balcony on the tower and
began to give the Mohammedan call for prayer,
I discovered my mistake. Then, too, I noticed
the golden crescent glittering in the sunlight
above the "Mullah's" head. After all, the Tatars
are the oldest inhabitants of Siberia, and it
seems only fair that they should be allowed
40

a
o

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
a respectable place of worship in their native
land. The Kirgiz, who are Mohammedans, also
come to the mosque. They, like the Tatars,
belong to the Turki race, and speak a Turkish
dialect. According to the latest statistics they
number about a million souls.
There are many native tribes in Siberia of
whose origin, manners and customs very little,
if anything, is known to the civilized world.
Archaeological research, which was begun in
the eighteenth century, has wellnigh proved
that Central Asia was their original home.
Tumuli, ruins of ancient towns and other traces
have been found along the course of the great
Siberian rivers, all starting from Central Asia
and extending northward.
The present Emperor takes a personal interest
in all the different types of humanity to be
found in his vast domains, and this is saying a
great deal, for their name is legion. When, as
Czarowich, the Emperor visited Omsk on his
way through Siberia, he gave an order to the
chief photographer there, a German settler,
41

A RIBBON OF IRON
to prepare him an album with photographs of
Kirgiz, Ostiacs, and other types that are to
be found in western and northern Siberia.
The photographer undertook the work with
enthusiasm. He visited the Ostiacs of the
Tobolsk government and returned with many
fine photographs of great interest, showing not
only the types of face but also the customs of
the country, marriage feasts, religious festivals,
and such like. He then visited the Kirgiz
living on the steppe stretching southward from
the Omsk government, of which Omsk is the
chief town. The album was unquestionably
appreciated by His Imperial Majesty, for the
photographer showed us with pride a letter of
thanks which his royal visitor had sent him on
receipt of it. This letter is framed and hangs
as the chief ornament of his studio walls. At
my earnest request the man made a search
among his packed away photographs and
brought to light several copies of those in the
album. In order to see anything of real Kirgiz life
one must drive far out into the steppe and -visit
42

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
the houses of families who have not yet become
" Russianized." Our Hebrew friend kindly
offered to drive us out to a farm of his that
was close to a Kirgiz village. We accepted
gladly, for this gave us a chance of making a
closer acquaintance with the steppe and the
Kirgiz at the same time.
After a drive of several miles we came to a
cemetery, in the centre of which stood a white
washed saint's tomb with a green roof. The
graves round it were modest mounds covered
with grass. Very soon we came upon herds
of cattle grazing far and wide at their own
sweet will, with no hedge or boundary to stop
them. Wild looking Kirgiz boys rode fiercely
among them on small hardy-looking horses.
One of them who was in want of a match
rode up to us and asked for a light for his
cigar. We first drove to the farm to ask for a
samovar, which was brought out to us as we
rested under the shade of a group of white
birch trees which formed an oasis in the desert.
Happily for us it was not midsummer, for the
43

A RIBBON OF IRON
tiny leaves afforded little shade from the sun.
The slender stems of these graceful trees are
covered with a delicate white bark resembling
the kid of a lady's glove.
After tea, or rather after a picnic in the
lovely fresh air of the steppe — for our friend's
daughter, who made one of the party, had
brought with her a basket of home-made
dainties, we started on foot for the Kirgiz
village. On the way we passed some fields
of what I took at first to be tobacco. On closer
inspection I discovered that it was vermuth, or
absinth, an herb which grows to perfection
on the peculiar steppe soil.
The Kirgiz live in a kind of hut, much the
shape of our beehives, with a round hole in the
centre, which serves both as a chimney and an
air hole. If it rains, a skin is thrown over this
opening. The " yurta," as these dwellings are
called, are made partly of wood and a kind of
trellis work covered with hides and felt, and
can be taken to pieces at short notice. When
their nomadic possessors wish to follow their
herds to fresh pastures they pack up their huts
44

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
and transport them with the greatest ease.
Each " yurta " is placed so that its entrance
faces the east. The price of a poor man's
" yurta," covered with grey felt, is estimated at
about £5, or even less, whilst one of the richer
class, variously ornamented inside and out, will
sometimes cost £15, or even more.
The Kirgiz are acknowledged by all who
come in contact with them to be the best-
natured people on the face of the earth. The
only sin of which I have heard them accused
is horse stealing ; they have a great weakness
for other people's horses. I am afraid they are
not always as kind to their own as they should
be. Their women plait horsehair into ropes ;
as they do not rot they find them very useful
for their tents, and even use them as reins for
their horses.
Kirgiz horses fly like the wind, and are
restrained with difficulty. They can journey
for ten hours without food; they bear every
severity of climate, and have been known to
cover a distance of twenty versts at the rate
of half a mile a minute. We heard a vivid
45

A RIBBON OF IRON
description of how, when the Governor of Omsk
was travelling over the steppe in a tarantass
drawn by Kirgiz horses, it took several persons
to hold them in while the driver mounted to
his seat. Then, when all was ready, the men
on either side let go the reins at a given signal
and bounded to right and left as the horses
flew from their control to continue their wild
career for miles without a break.
We entered several " yurta," and found them
all very much alike. There was always an iron-
bound box containing the household treasures,
an old woman mending clothes or washing
dishes, a child or two, clad or otherwise, and a
young calf tethered by a rope to the inside of
the "yurta." I was particularly, interested to
find each home had also its own musical in
strument, a roughly made and very primitive
guitar, to the accompaniment of which the
young people were taught to sing.
The younger women wear a strange white
linen headdress covering the greater part of the
face, with openings for eyes, nose and mouth,
the forehead and chin being entirely covered.
46

OMSK— A VISIT TO THE KIRGIZ
The greater part of their cooking is done out
of doors. Approaching a hole, which at first
sight I took to be a freshly dug child's grave,
I found that in one end of it a wood fire
had been built, while the other end was used
as an oven.
They make a great deal of Kumys from mares'
milk and keep it in goatskin bottles. Russians
buy it from them and drink it as a tonic in
spring time.
The men wear heavy-looking sheepskin hats
at all seasons of the year : in fact, they wear a
heavier kind in summer than in winter, with
flaps to protect them from the sun. They spend
their lives in cattle breeding, and their herds are
their one interest in life. When a man meets
a friend he inquires first, not after the health
of his wife and family, but after that of his
cattle !
Returning to our hotel in the evening, we
were struck with the picturesque appearance of
the town, especially by the river Irtish, whose
banks were lit up with a thousand twinkling
lights. The train crosses it by a fine bridge a few
47

A RIBBON OF IRON
minutes before steaming into Omsk station, and
one has a good view of its waters. The Irtish is
a noble river ; rising in China, it flows northward
into the Arctic Ocean. This fact alone gives
some idea of its importance. All along its banks,
from Tobolsk in the north to the mountains
bordering on Turkestan, it has the wild Kirgiz
steppe. The mountains of the steppe contain
almost every kind of precious metal, gold
included. All this treasure has as yet been
untouched by the hand of man.

«nvwi

A TARANTASS

48

Chapter IV
THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
T T 7"E had not been long in Siberia before we
* knew from experience that the only
way to enjoy life was to give ourselves over
entirely to a state of blissful uncertainty about
everything in the future. If people told us
when a train would arrive or when a steamer
would start, they invariably told us wrong. Any
information gleaned in one town about another
to which we were going was sure to be flatly
contradicted on our arrival. Of course this
could be partly accounted for by the great dis
tances. When a town is separated from its
nearest neighbour by a railway journey, say, of
two nights and three days, it certainly has
some excuse on its side. Still, after having
made your home for several days in a comfort
able railway carriage, or a yet more comfortable
49 D

A RIBBON OF IRON
house boat, it is somewhat trying to arrive
without warning at your destination several
hours before the time you expected to get there,
or to have to unpack and spend another night
in a carriage you had expected to leave at mid
day. We left Omsk by the post train which ought
to have started at 9.30 p.m., according to the
time table. It was only four hours late, a mere
nothing in Siberia, where time is not money.
As we sat waiting at the station the good news
was brought us that Mafeking had been relieved.
The bearer of these tidings was the Finnish
Pastor, who had only an hour before received
word by telegram from Finland. The Finns
have all along shown great sympathy with the
English with regard to the Transvaal war.
Pastor Erikson met us with a hearty hand
shake and a beaming face. A burst of military
music close at hand seemed very opportune to
our English ears. We looked out and saw a
pretty sight. Under the bright electric light on
the platform from which we were to start
gleamed the white hats and jackets of some
50

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
thirty bandsmen. Their music was in honour
of the colonel of their regiment, who, after a
period of twenty-four years' service at Omsk,
was leaving with his family for a better appoint
ment at Irkutsk.
The train seemed to carry music with it as it
glided into the station, and the crowded plat
form was a whirl of gaiety and excitement. All
this in the middle of the night ! We found our
coupS on the post train not less comfortable than
the one we had occupied on the express. The
cushions were all covered with neat washing
covers, and looked tolerably clean. Under the
window was a little folding table which was
most useful for reading and writing. I speak of
the window because there was only a window at
one end of the carriage. Like the express, the
post is also a corridor train. The door opening
into the corridor had a mirror in place of a
window ; it opened outwards and could be
fastened back against the outer wall when we
wished to travel with it open. The mirror was
useless when the door was shut, as one stood in
one's own light when looking into it. We
51

A RIBBON OF IRON
occasionally went out into the corridor to com
plete our toilette when a glass was indispens
able. This however was not so bad as in
Canada, where I have seen a gentleman shaving
in the public " sleeper." The corridor was so
wide that the stoutest traveller could promenade
in it with ease. On wet days we could get a walk
here of about twenty-five paces ; seats could be
opened out from the walls between the win
dows as in the express, and passengers used to
congregate here in the evenings when it was
too dark to read.
The post train has no dining car, and we were
obliged to keep a sharp look out for stations
where there was something to eat. The first
day after leaving Omsk we passed a buffet
station about 11 a.m., but, being asleep, did not
take advantage of it.
" You must be hungry," said a fellow passen
ger pityingly about seven in the evening ; " but
we shall reach Kainsk in about an hour, and
there is a good buffet there." Just then the
train began to pull up. It soon came to a dead
stop. There was no human habitation in sight.
52

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
" The engine has smashed up," said a jolly
Russian sailor in broken English, (he was bound
for Port Arthur). " She is sixty years old," he
continued. " She was made in Glasgow. She is
no use any more."
The conductor had got out. He came along
the line and confirmed what the sailor had said.
The other passengers did not seem to mind ; they
were soon exploring the neighbourhood. The
children from the fourth class began to paddle
barefoot in a muddy stream not far from the
line. The poor old engine was now " towed to
her last berth." I had whipped out my "Kodak"
and taken her photograph thinking of Turner's
" Fighting Temeraire."
After a delay of two hours a fresh engine
arrived from Kainsk and we reached the buffet
at last. Never again, we vowed, would we be
subject to such pangs of hunger as we suffered
that day ; in future we took care to have some
food always with us, if it was only a loaf of
bread. The serving man was willing for a few
kopeks to fetch us hot water at the stations,
so that with the help of bread and tea there
was no need to starve. 53

A RIBBON OF IRON
After a journey of fifty hours we alighted at
Taiga, from which station runs the branch line
to Tomsk. Here we were told we should have
nine hours to wait. Entering the waiting-room
we found it filled with weary travellers who had
been waiting twenty-four hours for a train !
We whiled away part of the time with drinking
coffee and writing. Then, just as we had got
out our pillows and were preparing to have a
sleep, the Tomsk train was announced. All our
precious belongings had to be bundled into
the carriage packed or unpacked. It was now
9 p.m. At 1 a.m. we reached Tomsk.
We thought Taiga one of the prettiest
stations in Siberia. It is only a few years old,
built something after the style of a Swiss
chalet. The country round is covered with
forest, from which ("taiga") the place derives
its name. The wife of an engineer who
superintends part of the line told us that she
would not exchange her little log home in the
wild forest for any other in the world. From
her description it must be a paradise in spring
time. Where the trees cover the ground less
54

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
thickly lovely flowers spring up, and, if I may
trust my authority, the rarest orchids grow
there in wild profusion.
Before the days of the railway, Tomsk,
conveniently situated on the river Tom, was the
great centre of all Siberian trade. Immense
quantities of corn still pass through its markets
every year and the wealthiest merchants reside
there. After a long drive from the station we
reached Hotel Europe about 2 a.m., very cold
and very tired. Our train being expected,
the waiters had not gone to bed. There were
plenty of them, but a more untidy set I never
saw. The room they gave us was large but
very dirty. During the night a mouse ran
about the floor ; it was nibbling something under
the table while we were still sitting by it,
and there was an unpleasant sound of gnawing.
" We keep twelve cats," said the head waiter
apologetically when we complained of the
disturbance, but they seem rather afraid of
the mice themselves."
In spite of the discomfort of our hotel we
stayed several days in Tomsk, for there was
55

A RIBBON OF IRON
much to see. Professor Kruger kindly promised
to take us over the University, and driving to
meet him there we got a good idea of the
general appearance of the town. There are
many large stone buildings, amongst which we
noticed an Academy of Music and a newly built
gymnasium for girls ; but the private houses are
built of logs and have generally one story.
The woodwork in front of the windows and
doors is often carved very prettily ; it has the
appearance of a kind of fretwork. There are
no old wooden houses, for these dwellings, if they
escape fire, fall into decay before they have
stood many years, and fresh ones have to be
built in place of them, as they are seldom
thought worth repairing. High buildings of
this kind would be most unsafe to live in, for a
house once on fire burns to the ground in no
time. Every town has its fire station with a
high turret surrounded by a balcony. In
Tomsk there are several. Here watchmen
stand day and night with field glasses ready to
spy out the first gleam of fires and give the
alarm to the men in the stable beneath, where
56

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
horses stand always in harness, ready to dash to
the rescue. These horses are specially chosen
for the purpose. " They only know how to
galop," I was told, when I visited one of the
stations. As we spoke about them the in
telligent creatures waiting there so patiently
looked up into our faces with an expression in
their dark eyes which seemed to say, " Yes, we
are quite ready."
Only a week before our arrival there were six
fires in one day. Several poor women had gone
to the river to do their household washing. On
their return they found nothing but ashes
where their houses had stood. A year ago
there was a very sad case. A widow returning
home after an absence of a few hours found
that not only her house but also her only child
had been burnt. The unhappy mother's brain
could not stand the shock ; she became a helpless
idiot. She has never had a settled home since
that day, but wanders through the streets with
a staff in her hand and a wreath of flowers
round her unkempt head. When people speak
kindly to her she gives a wild laugh and says
57

A RIBBON OF IRON
she is the happiest creature in the world. One
is reminded of the old song, "When sorrow
sleepeth, wake it not."
The pretty young wife of a German photo
grapher told me that when she and her husband
first came to settle in Siberia four years ago,
they "did not want to insure their property, for
of course people have to pay in proportion to
the risk, and it comes very expensive. How
ever, one day, not long after their arrival, the
wife looked out of her window and saw several
houses burning ; she ran to the other side of the
house, but only to see more houses on fire in
that direction. This was too much for her
nerves, and she became quite hysterical in spite
of her husband's efforts to reassure her. They
soon discovered that the houses had been set on
fire by a set of good-for-nothing people, such as
abound in Siberian towns, in order that they
might steal what they could during the panic.
When the photographer discovered in addition
that there were signs of an attempt having been
made on his own back door, he hesitated no
longer, but went the very next morning to pay
58

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
in his insurance money. It is no uncommon
thing for a whole village to be burnt down by
vagrants wishing to plunder.
We saw several buildings of red brick in the
course of construction. There were many
women among the bricklayers ; they were
working as busily as any of their male com
panions. None of the streets were paved.
Indeed I never saw a paved street in Siberia.
Every droshky raises a cloud of smoke-like
dust. If you are within fifty yards of it, you get
smothered. I found my " khaki " blouses were
invaluable ; there is no material that bears dust
and mud so well. I say mud, because that was the
natural alternative. As soon as it began to rain
there was mud, and after a wet night it was not
unusual to find a pond several feet deep in
the centre of one of the chief streets. Your
driver never flinches, but takes his droshky
through the shallows at a headlong gallop.
We used to hold on to the sides and shut our
eyes in anticipation of a cold bath. Wherever I
went my military dress caused great interest.
More than one Russian officer observed its red
5y

A RIBBON OF IRON
facings and asked if it was really an imitation
of the British soldier's dress. One gentleman
became quite excited : " Ah," he said, " I have
just been reading an article about that in my
paper; but have you not also a khaki hat?"
"No," I replied, "I unfortunately left England
before they came into fashion."
The best streets in Tomsk have side walks
made of boarding, but the wood is so roughly
nailed together that there are plenty of gaps to
twist an unwary foot. If in an absent fit you
happened to step from the side walk into the
road without waiting till you came to a stepping
place, the drop of half a yard would not be
agreeable, even if you missed breaking your
ankle. In the poorer streets men and women sat
lazily smoking at their doorways. The poor of
Siberia are the laziest in the world. For six
months of the year whole families shut them
selves into their hovels and go to sleep on top
of the kitchen stove. Too idle to work they
prefer sleeping to the expensive luxury of
eating. A man who sleeps all day naturally
60

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
needs far less food than one who spends his
time in manual labour.
The University stands in its own grounds
and has an imposing though not beautiful
appearance. The very thought of a University
in Siberia is impressive. The building was
inaugurated on July 22, 1888, the name day of
the Empress Maria Feodorovna.
The teaching faculty is divided into two
branches — that of law, and that of medicine. Of
the five hundred students now studying there,
about three hundred and fifty are medical.
Unlike other Russian Universities Tomsk
receives by far the greater number of its students
direct from ecclesiastical seminaries, and a
comparatively small proportion from public
schools. Twenty poor students receive three
hundred roubles each yearly from a special
Government fund till they have completed their
course. Sixty-four scholarships for the whole
course have been created through private
donations, and in 1899, in addition to these, two
hundred and forty-two pupils were supported
by private individuals. 61

A RIBBON OF IRON
Government scholars have a residence allotted
to them in the University grounds. Here the
sum of twelve roubles a month is paid for each
inclusive. The rooms are built to accommodate
some one student, some two.
The uniform worn by the students consists of
a double-breasted coat of thick grey cloth with
two rows of military-looking brass buttons in
front, and a blue cloth collar. No linen collar
is worn, and the young men whose heads are
not closely cropped wear their hair long
and shaggy. Many have beards and altogether
discard the use of the razor. Their appearance
is not prepossessing.
The lecture rooms on the first and second
floor respectively open out upon wide corridors
which run along the entire length of the build
ing. These are heated throughout the winter,
that is from October to June, and being
furnished with double windows are entirely
free from draughts.
There is a well stocked library of some
2,500 books. Here we found rare treasures
hardly to be met with elsewhere — exquisite
62

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
pastels of Herculanean frescoes from the
collection of Count Strogonof — a choice col
lection of pictures showing the different styles
of dress worn by ladies of the French and
English Courts from the time of Charlemagne
onwards (the price of this collection was 3,000
francs) ; a translation of Lucretius into French
by Le Grange, entitled La Nature des Choses,
printed on parchment with beautiful engrav
ings opposite every page (for this book, pub
lished in 1768, Count Strogonof paid 2,730
francs), and a collection of copies of the most
famous cameos of classical times done in silver.
There are only three in existence : one is in
the possession of the Duke of Marlborough.
These are only a few of the literary treasures
that were displayed before our eyes by the
kindly professor who acts as chief librarian.
The museum of mineralogy contains much
that is of interest to travellers. Models of
the largest nuggets of gold that have as yet
been taken from Siberian mines — gold crystals
in all manner of shapes, preserved in tiny
glass bottles ; fossil fish and leaves of trees
63

A RIBBON OF IRON
essentially Siberian ; a set of huge mammoth
bones almost complete, found quite close to the
town — fine ammonites ; specimens of minerals
still unsought, from the Altai mountains ; more
than I can attempt to enumerate here.
In the museum of zoology we saw a remark
able collection of native birds interesting both
to the naturalist and to the sportsman.1
It was impossible to see all in one visit, so
Professors Kruger and Sapoznikof kindly gave
us their help on the following day, when we pro
ceeded to explore the Botanical Gardens and the
hothouses. It was curious to see our English
plants and trees nursed and cared for as rarities
in this far off land. We noticed a plant or two
of rhubarb struggling against the diversities of
climate. There was a bed of firs, such as we
use for Christmas trees in Europe, all dwarfed
and stunted like so many sickly children pining
for their native land. Of course these must
1 Professor Kruger, who was our guide here, is himself
an enthusiastic sportsman ; he gave us an entertaining
account of some of his expeditions, and of the sport to be
had among the thickly wooded hills by which Tomsk is
so picturesquely surrounded. 64

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
not be confounded with the many kinds of fir
which, while they grow to the greatest perfec
tion in Siberia, are in their turn unknown in
Europe. From Professor Sapoznikof we gleaned much
interesting information. This gentleman has
considerable repute as a botanist, and his
account of his travels in the Altai is one of
the most valuable works on the flora of that
district. We saw and plucked a leaf of the
Allium, victorialis, a kind of bulbous herb whieh
the peasants use medicinally; they call it
" Colba." Lime trees do not grow further east
than Tobolsk except in a small space in the
Altai, and in the Amur region ; neither is the
oak to be found between the Urals and the
Amur. The tree above all others which abounds
in Siberia is the white birch (Betula alba).
You can hardly describe a landscape without
mentioning it.
In one of the fern houses I noticed a specimen
of our rhododendron ; it and the peony grow
wild in some parts of the Altai. The ranunculus
abounds in Central Siberia and grows to per-
65 e

A RIBBON OF IRON
fection ; its colouring is much richer here than
with us.1 Pliny gave the ranunculus its name
" because some grow where frogs abound." We
saw no frogs. Violets also are plentiful ; but
they have no scent.
Fruit does not thrive in Siberia ; in fact, with
the exception of wild strawberries and one or
two kinds of berries, there may be said to be
none. From the 9th of May till the 3rd of July
we neither tasted nor saw any fruit except
oranges and lemons. These had been brought
by train from Sicily. The price of an orange
was sixpence, of a lemon threepence. A lady
whose home is on the Amur told me she had
not seen a cherry or any such fruit for thirty
years. In winter there is very little rain,
always snow, snow, snow ; and as the long
winter merges suddenly into a hot summer,
fruits have no chance. The only month that
is entirely free from frost is July.

1 We heard an amusing story of an Englishman who
travelling in Siberia on business, noticed these flowers
from the train windows. " Are they the same kind of
primrose that we get in England ? " he asked.
66

THE POST TRAIN— TAIGA— TOMSK
The flower beds in front of the University were
still empty. Professor Sapoznikof explained to
us that flowers would be killed by frost if put
out before the end of the first week in June.
Last winter a woman in Tomsk summoned
another for having knocked her with the corner
of a block of frozen milk which she was carry
ing to the market. This story gives some idea
of the temperature. There are many months of
the year during which milk has to be dealt
with as a solid rather than a liquid. It is
even customary to deliver it at the houses in
blocks. Before leaving the University we visited
Professor Kruger's chemical and physical
laboratories. Many students were at work
there, and they almost elbowed each other
for want of space. As the Professor pointed
out to us, more space is sadly needed. It is to
be hoped that this want will be met ere long
by the help of those Siberian millionaires who
have shown such splendid generosity in the
past. No less than ten of these gentlemen
are said to be now residing in Tomsk. It
67

A RIBBON OF IRON
is interesting to note that the most liberal
contributor to the University funds so far has
been an exiled Pole. There is yet another
difficulty that students in this department
have to cope with. Sometimes, when engaged
in making important experiments, they are
brought to a dead stop for the want of
some trifle that, owing to the long distances,
it will take them months to procure. This
is very disheartening to a man whose heart
is in his work.
In 1899 there was yet another obstacle to
steady work among the students. In common
with those of other Russian universities they
were " on strike " from February till June ! Let
us hope that they are behaving more sensibly
during the present crisis.

68

Chapter V
THE PRISONS OF TOMSK— THE
MYSTERIOUS HERMIT
¦ j"1 NGLISH people are always ready to hear
"^^ ' about the Siberian prisons. They expect v
something weird, horrible and thrilling. When
I returned home after my first visit to Siberia,
the editor of a well known magazine returned
an article I had written on the prisons of Tobolsk
because it was " not sufficiently thrilling " ; and
a young German who has business in Tomsk,
when he heard that I had been over the prisons
there, said, " There is nothing interesting about
them, they are too well managed. It would be
much more to the point if you went over the
prisons in Germany ! "
The first person we called on after our arrival
in Tomsk was Baron Aminof , to whom we had

A RIBBON OF IRON
brought an introduction. He was not at home,
but returned our call the following day, and in
the course of conversation we mentioned that
we should like to see the prisons. He replied
that it could be easily managed, and kindly
drove with us then and there to the house of
the Procuror — M. Nenarokonof. That gentle
man received us in a most friendly manner, and
hearing what we wanted and that our time was
short, put on his military hat and coat and
escorted us direct to the criminal prison.
The warders, keys in hand, received the pro
curor with low obeisance, and he began a round
of inspection, we following. We walked in
upon the prisoners just as they were. Every
thing was in the most beautiful order, and the
deal boards of the floors were spotlessly clean.
Ea.'v man had his own bedding, with the board
which served him as a bedstead chained neatly
back to the wall, and every one had his own
stool to sit on.
The men in each compartment, hearing foot
steps, arranged themselves quickly into two
lines, and saluted the Procuror with a unani-
70

THE PRISONS OF TOMSK
mous " good-day sir." There they stood, young
and old together, some white-headed, some
mere youths. Every eye was fixed on the
Procuror ; the lady visitors raised only a
secondary interest. Many of the men had pink
papers in their hands, which they eagerly held
out for inspection. The Procuror looked at
each carefully, and listened patiently to all they
had to say to him. With some he had quite a
long conversation. There was never a sign of
hurry, and each criminal looked into his face
as into that of a friend who had the power and
the wish to help him.
After we had passed through five or six
common "baraks," we came to the cells for
solitary confinement. " You had better not
come in here," said the Procuror as the warder
unlocked one of the cells. " The man is a bad
character ; he was condemned to penal servitude,
escaped, and killed two families." We remained
outside watching the prisoner's face as he talked
earnestly with the Procuror. He was quite a
young man, and there was nothing in his
appearance to indicate the enormity of his
71

A RIBBON OF IRON
crime, except the fact that he was heavily
chained. When we had been all round, and were
returning across the courtyard to our droshkies,
we saw this man again. Though he was still in
fetters the chain between his ankles was caught
up to his belt, and he seemed to walk as freely
as we did. I started back involuntarily as he
came quickly up to us and again talked
earnestly to the Procuror.
"It is touching to see how these poor men
confide in you and tell you their grievances,"
said my mother, when the man had left us. " I
have heard of people being hard with them, but
hardness would not create trust like this."
" Hard ! " replied the Procuror, and there was
a tender ring in his voice as he spoke — " how
could any one be hard with poor creatures like
these ? "
Passing down one of the passages I suddenly
started back at the sight of a man's face which
appeared unexpectedly at what looked like a
dark hole in the wall. A smile on the Pro
curer's face reassured me as a volume of words
72

THE PRISONS OF TOMSK
unintelligible to us issued from the apparition's
mouth. " That is a prisoner in his cell" he explained.
" It is the only cell that has no windows. When
a man breaks prison rules, quarrels with the
other prisoners, or is difficult to manage, we
shut him up there for a day or two.
The warder now unlocked the door, and the
vociferating occupant of the cell walked out as
quietly as a lamb. He had a great deal to say,
and he had time to say it, for the Procuror,
putting his hand on his shoulder, waited till he
had quite finished. Then of his own accord he
walked back into the dark cell, and the door
was again locked.
" Are the prisoners allowed to sing ? " my
mother asked.
" There is no rule against their singing,"
replied the Procuror, looking rather puzzled at
the question.
We went into the church attached to the
prison and saw that its interior was bright with
coloured windows, gilded ikons and all the other
orthodox decorations of the Greek church. The
73

A RIBBON OF IRON
prisoners are marched into it for worship on
Sundays and holy days. The Greek church has
innumerable holy days, as we learned to our
cost. How often after days of travelling did we
arrive at our destination to find all the shops
shut, and the people out for a holiday !
A suite of rooms on the top floor of the prison
was set apart for the sick. Here we found a
trained nurse, in a clean white cap and " over
all," attending to the patients.
In the wide corridors were long deal tables,
where the men had their meals. They assem
bled for their evening meal just as we were
leaving. " Listen," said the Procuror : " you asked if
they were allowed to sing ; they are singing now
before their meal."
We drew near and heard the deep voices of a
hundred men as they chanted their evening
hymn. "It is ' Our Father ' they are singing," said
the Procuror. " There is One Father for us all."
The next day we went over the forwarding
prisons. Prince S  , who is at the head of the
74

THE PRISONS OF TOMSK
Tomsk police, kindly* acted as the guide, as the
Procuror was prevented from coming. Unlike
the criminal prisons, which are of stone, these
are constructed of logs.1 Begun in 1891 they
took three years to build, and their total cost
was five hundred thousand roubles. Since the
railway to Irkutsk has been opened there has
been no need of them, for the bulk of the
prisoners are now taken by rail direct, and do
not go through Tomsk at all. Formerly they
were brought in prison barges, by way of
Tobolsk. The prisons consisted of a number of square
log houses with a good space between each (a
precaution against fire) and a high wall enclosing
the whole. It was not unlike a group of alms
houses. We found very few prisoners.
" You do not see it as Mr. Kenan saw it," said
Prince S  . It was crowded in his days.
" Now that there is no need of forwarding
prisons, we are going to turn them into a
hospital for the town.
1 Log buildings have been proved to be healthier than
stone ones for many reasons. 75

A RIBBON OF IRON
As I wanted to photograph some of the
prisoners Prince S  kindly allowed several of
them to come out into the sunshine and stand
in front of their prison. This made a nice
break in a long morning for them, and they
evidently relished it. The warder, at my
request, placed himself obligingly before the
door to complete the picture.
As all the inmates eventually move on to
more distant spots the arrangements of a for
warding prison differ from those of one in
which the prisoners remain till their release.
In some rooms we saw the wives of criminals
who were accompanying their husbands of their
own free will. Many had three or four children
round them, and often a baby in arms. The
babies looked sickly, and there were several
little ones on whose faces we saw the stamp
of death. " These long journeys," said Prince
S  , are very hard for small children. They
cannot stand the severities of the climate and
the sudden changes of temperature."
We went down into the ice house and saw
huge blocks of ice that are never allowed to
76

THE PRISONS OF TOMSK
melt, no matter how powerfully the sun may
shine upon the turf which covers them. Food
to be kept cold is lowered by a kind of i lift into
the centre, round which there is a passage wide
enough for a man to pass easily. The outer
wall of this passage is composed of ice blocks.
Then we went to see the disinfecting rooms.
The prisoners' clothes are taken in at a door and
pushed through a hole in the wall. After the
process of disinfecting has taken place, they are
removed from the inner compartment through
a hole in its opposite wall.
The weight of the chains worn by the pris
oners differs considerably : the ordinary weight
is from six to ten pounds. Every prisoner is
allowed to bring baggage with him up to the
weight of thirty pounds, but it all has to be
disinfected — a rule which must meet with the
heartiest approval from all who know anything
of the state in which Russian peasants five.
The cleanliness of their prisons must seem
strange to them at first.
One of the pleasantest memories we have of
Tomsk is that of an evening spent at the
77

A RIBBON OF IRON
Procurator's house. Madame Nenarokonof is
a great reader, speaks English perfectly, and is
well acquainted with the best novelists of our
country. She is quite young, good-looking, and
full of energy. In the summer evenings she
cycles with her husband outside the town where
there is less dust and no traffic. We thought
that if Tomsk could boast of many such ladies,
its society must be charming indeed. It was
with this agreeable companion, and an old nurse
who had been with Madame Nenarokonof from
her birth, that we went to see the house of the
mysterious hermit.
The peasants say that this old man was
no other than the Emperor Alexander I.
Alexander I. resigned the throne in favour of
his brother the Grand Duke Constantine, who,
in his turn, having contracted a morganatic
marriage with a Polish lady, resigned in favour
of a third brother Nicholas. Alexander I. died
at Taganrog, a town on the shores of the Sea
of Azof, where he accompanied his wife, the
Empress Elizabeth, who was sent there by her
doctors on account of her health.
78

THE MYSTERIOUS HERMIT
The story runs that another man was buried
in the Emperor's place, and that Alexander
disappeared from that time and ended his life
as a hermit in Siberia.
However this may be it is quite true that
a mysterious hermit did live for many years
in Tomsk, and that he finally died there.
During his latter days there was a good deal
of curiosity as to who he might be. When the
house was searched after his death a mother-
of-pearl crucifix was found amongst his effects.
On examination it was proved to open and
reveal a carved letter A. There is also a legend
that this crucifix contained correspondence
proving the hermit's identity. It still hangs on
the wall, and there is an enlarged photograph
of the letter A beside it for visitors to look at.
The diminutive house, with its tiny garden, was
sold to the town quite recently for the sum of
thirty thousand pounds. The hermit certainly
did not give so much for it! The interior is
fitted up as a church, and pious women decorate
the walls with wreaths of bright-coloured paper
flowers. The old lady in charge was terribly
79

A RIBBON OF IRON
nervous lest I might set one of these flowers on
fire with the candle I held in my hand.
" If one flower catches fire," she said, " the
whole place will burn to the ground in no time."
The idea was too horrible ! I gave up the
candle, but not before I had had a good look
at a picture representing the old man in his
last days, and at another of Alexander I. at the
time of his coronation. The former represents
the hermit as very old indeed. They say that
Alexander habitually walked about with the
thumb of one hand tucked into his girdle, and
the other hand on his breast. The hermit
seems to have had the same habit. Alexander,
in the other picture, is represented as a fair
young boy, with an innocent, girlish face, and
waving, golden hair, on which rests the crown
of all the Russias. The present Empsror
visited the hermit's house when he passed
through Siberia, and it has also been visited
by other members of the Royal Family.
The peasants say that whoever the hermit may
have been, he came there to expiate his sins.
Indeed, so firm was their belief that he had
80

THE MYSTERIOUS HERMIT
succeeded in becoming a saint that as soon as
he died they stole as many of his poor belong
ings as they could lay hands on. These they
shared with their friends in the full belief that
anything that had once belonged to a saint
must inevitably bring prosperity with it. Be
the story what it may, this hermit was cer
tainly some great personage who, for reasons
of his own, wished to end his days in quiet
and concealment.

81

Chapter VI
KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
T3 ETURNING to Taiga, we proceeded by the
main line to Krasnoiarsk. The scenery
had quite changed, and our route lay through
many miles of thick forest. We passed patches
of ground where hundreds of trees had been
destroyed by fire, and occasionally saw the
lurid glare of what looked like huge bonfires
through the trees. Smoke darkened the
atmosphere just like a London fog. Such fires
have been particularly frequent in 1900 owing
to the fact that an insufficient amount of snow
fell during the winter. The ground had become
too dry. We also passed many spots where the
hand of man had been at work. I photographed
one tall tree that had been left to mourn its
fellows. About every three-quarters of an hour we
82

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
pulled up at a station where, availing them
selves of a six or ten minutes' halt, most of the
passengers turned out for a whiff of fresh air
and a brisk promenade on the platform. Many
carried large tin kettles which they filled with
boiling water from steaming samovars, always
ready. Russians are tremendous tea drinkers.
They did not when travelling pour boiling water
on the tea as we do, but dropped the tea into
the water, often after it had ceased to boil.
Peasants from the country round used to bring
the produce of their farms and carry on a brisk
trade with passengers from the fourth class.
They displayed their goods sometimes on the
ground and sometimes on the counter roughly
made of boards for the purpose. The articles
sold were, for the most part, bottles of milk,
bread, boiled chicken, pieces of bacon and
strange-looking sausages.
We found Krasnoiarsk a flourishing Russian
colony. It is situated in a hollow, surrounded
by picturesque hills of red sandstone, from which
its name is derived. The word krasni means
" red," and iar " a cliff." We saw from a long
83

A RIBBON OF IRON
distance the red soil which covers the hill sides.
Before we reached the station we caught sight
of two large churches overtopping conspicu
ously the low buildings around them, and of
a chapel perched high up on a hill close by,
which, as we afterwards learned, was placed
there in the year 1855 by the inspector of some
gold mines.
The town is nine hundred and thirteen feet
above the sea level. It was originally a for
tress built to protect the Russians in Yeniseisk
from the neighbouring Tatar tribes, and dates
from 1429. We noticed many well dressed
people in the streets as we drove to our hotel,
and, altogether, the place struck us as being
more Russian than Siberian. The Russia was a
fairly comfortable hotel, the best we had seen
since we left Moscow, and the cooking was
good. Many of the townspeople had found
this out, and dined there regularly.
The Vice-Governor kindly took us to see the
printing office where a local paper is printed
three times a week. Eighty persons, six of
whom are women, are employed there. They
84

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
also undertake the printing and binding of
books. We next visited the museum. Here, as
at Tomsk, were some wonderful mammoth
bones, found in the immediate neighbourhood.
We also saw models of gold washing machines,
which had originally been intended for the Paris
exhibition, and lastly a collection of dresses once
worn by priests of the Shamanist religion. The
headdress was a bunch of cock's feathers ; the
upper part of the robes was decorated with
cowry shells ; while from the belt hung a
number of imitation snakes with beads for
eyes. " Those are Satans," said the old man in
charge. " All those Satans have been conquered
by the priest, and he wears them at his belt
in triumph."
Krasnoiarsk is proud of its public gardens,
they are the best in Siberia, for in most towns
it has been difficult to make the trees grow.
Towards evening, as we strolled in the shade,
we might well have fancied ourselves in some
German town on the Rhine, for the beautiful
Yenisei ran alongside of the gardens, and we
85

A RIBBON OF IRON
could hear the river steamer whistling to warn
intending passengers of its arrival.
The next day a pleasant surprise awaited us.
We were introduced to some charming English
people who have lately taken up their residence
in Krasnoiarsk. We remember with pleasure
the kind hospitality shown us by Mr. and Mrs.
Keighley, and their name will always be
associated in our minds with that of the town
in which they have made their home.
The Vice-Governor had taken a box for us in
the opera. We "must go," he said, "pour voir
les mceurs du peuple " : so to the opera we went.
It was really the circus, the theatre proper
having been destroyed by fire, and there was
an unpleasant odour of horses ; but we had to
try and forget that. The opera was one that
was then being performed in St. Petersburg and
Moscow with great' success. The music is by
Tchaikofsky and the verse by Poushkin.
In the first scene an old woman is represented
as making strawberry jam under the trees in a
country garden. The Russians, I am told, do
all their jam making in the garden.
86

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
Then two young ladies come out, peep into
the stew pan and sing a duet. One of these
is the heroine. An unsophisticated country
girl, she falls in love with the first man she
sees, writes a letter to tell him so, and they
meet in the garden, the jam having disap
peared. The man, who is a sort of Don Juan,
does not reciprocate her feelings. Politely, but
firmly, he tells her that, " more than her friend
he ne'er can be." Finally she marries an
old general and becomes a woman of the
world. In the last scene her first hero meets
her once more at a ball. This time he falls
desperately in love with her, but our heroine
passionately explains to him that he has come
too late. The ball scenes and the duel in a
snow forest are said to be " absolument
magnifique " as performed in St. Petersburg,
but in Krasnoiarsk they bordered on the
ridiculous. One of the duellists carefully dis
charged his pistol into the ceiling, and at the
same moment his opponent fell dead at his feet —
from surprise — probably ! Still it was all won
derful in a town in the heart of Siberia, in the
same longitude as Calcutta. 87

A RIBBON OF IRON
The following morning we found the streets
impassable owing to volumes of dust blowing
through them accompanied by showers of rain.
The Vice-Governor, who was obliged to venture
out on business, got so much dust in one of
his eyes that he was half blind for the rest
of the day. In the evening the air was calm
and, the dust having been turned into mud
by a heavy downpour, we took a walk in the
town. One shop interested us particularly ; it
was kept by Chinamen, and the chief article
for sale was tea done up in pretty boxes, for
which they asked a fabulous price considering
how near we were to the land of tea. But
besides tea there were lovely Chinese silks and
embroideries and beautiful china. While we
were admiring their wares, a Russian gentleman
of our party began to tease these solemn-faced
celestials. " If you are not sharp," he said, putting on
a serious air, " the Japs will be getting ahead
of you before long."
" Never," replied one of the Chinamen with
unmoved face as he displayed a delicate cup
88

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
and saucer to our admiring gaze. "The Japs are
our subjects, and our subjects they will remain."
Poor man ! How little he, or any of us,
dreamed of the trouble that was coming upon
him and his companions before many weeks
had passed. I heard afterwards that when
news of the disturbances in China penetrated
as far as Krasnoiarsk these unfortunate men
were compelled to close their shop, for a mob
threatened to attack their house and made it
dangerous for them to venture out. While
waiting till the Governor could find them a
safe escort back to China they were glad to
sell off their goods at a dead loss ; valuable
silks and costly china went for a mere song.
On May 31 we embarked on the comfort
ably fitted up house boat that was to take
us up the Yenisei to Minusinsk. There was
a nice deck for passengers, and the dining
saloon, where meals were ordered a la carte,
had windows down both sides and at the
further end, so that in bad weather we could
sit there and enjoy the view all round us as
we glided along. 89

A RIBBON OF IRON
It was very cold as we went on board, and
before long snow fell so fast that we were
obliged to go below. We did not go down
however before we had passed under the famous
bridge. I tried to get a photograph of its
entire length as it receded from our view,
but my camera was too small.
The bridge is about three-quarters of a mile
long, and has six gigantic arches. Each arch,
when building, was completed on the bank and
then drawn into its place on the river by means
of a special kind of crane invented for the
purpose and used on this occasion for the first
time. The piles are of grey granite brought
from Birussa, a village about sixty versts
distant. The whole was completed in the year
1899. People travelling to Irkutsk before that
time had to cross the river by sleigh in winter,
and by boat in summer.
The Yenisei is one of the largest rivers in
Siberia. It rises in Mongolia and is formed
by two streams, the Khakema and the Bikema.
The name " Yenisei " is derived from a Tungus
word meaning " great water." Breaking through
90

sm WSM

Prince Hilkof, Minister of Ways and Communications.

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
the mountain chain it forms rapids over which
it flows at the rate of sixty versts an hour.
Twelve versts above Minusinsk another river,
the Abakan, joins it on the left, and yet an
other, twenty-five versts above that, on the
right, the Touba.1 The width varies consider
ably in the neighbourhood of Krasnoiarsk ; in
some places it is more than a verst wide, and
in others less than half a verst. After reaching
the district of Yeniseisk the river receives its
great tributary the Angara. At this point it
is one verst and a half wide. After this it
receives still other tributaries and becomes yet
wider. Its entire length is three thousand one
hundred versts.2 It is so deep that steamers
of a medium size can navigate it as far as
Krasnoiarsk. Several ships have already made
their way here, having come through the Kara
sea from London. When the difficulty of
getting through the ice has been overcome by
means of ice breakers, as it certainly will be
1 The rapidity of its flow makes it a most dangerous
river for rafts, and it is not safe for bathing.
2 A verst is a little less than an English mile.
91

A RIBBON OF IRON
sooner or later, London and Krasnoiarsk, for
purposes of trade, will seem much nearer to
each other than they do at present.
After passing under the bridge we were able
to get a good view of certain mountains which
had from the first attracted our attention on
account of the weird formation of their rocky
summits. One of these is known by the name
of Black Vulcan (Chernaia Sopka). Soon after
this we came to a low-roofed monastery,
built close upon the water's edge, and cut off
utterly from the rest of the world as it seemed.
Travellers have compared the scenery of the
Yenisei to that of some parts of Switzerland.
For myself I think it has a beauty of its own,
and find it hard to draw any comparison, especi
ally as the scenery changes so frequently,
though it reminds one somewhat of the Italian
Lakes. First we saw great rocks and boulders
sloping down to the water's edge, and some
times overhanging it. Then we passed moun
tain streams which flowed between fir-clad hills
with a winding course that was soon hidden
from our view. There is good fishing in these
92

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
streams, graylings abound ; but what is more
important, the mud contains gold.
Every inch of the land through which these
streams flow has already been divided up into
claims. There is no room for the adventurer
here, he must go farther inland to wilder parts.
If he goes far enough, he will find plenty of
treasure for which no claim has been made.
But an endless supply of patience and persever
ance is required if one would have success of
any kind in Siberia, and above all in gold-
mining. For the sportsman, there are bears
in abundance, and sables with their costly furs
are plentiful in the mountains.
Our steamer stopped at one point where there
was no sign of a landing-stage to land a party
of miners with their wives and children. The
hill side was steep, and one child, a little girl
of about six years, after bravely trying to
scramble up the bank, stood still in despair,
till a man, probably her father, turned back
and pulled her up. A woman followed carrying
a baby on one arm and a basket on the other ;
much to our surprise she managed to climb up
93

A RIBBON OF IRON
without any assistance. A man came next
carrying bundles of bedding and heavy pieces
of perforated sheet iron to be used at the
mine for which they were bound. In the
distance — between the trees — there was a rough
conveyance coming to meet them. It was a
picture worthy of Klondyke.
On and on we glided, curving in and out
with every bend of the river and drawing
nearer every hour to the borders of China.
The second day the scenery became less rugged,
there were still mountains all around us, but
they stood further back from the river and
left room for agriculture. Here vines were
being cultivated and cornfields were gleaming
yellow in the sunshine. Then the river grew
wider and wider till we could hardly distinguish
its further bank from the many islands covered
with tall grass which floated between it and
us. We now seemed to be no longer on a
river, but continually passing from one lake
into another, surrounded all the time by a
glorious changing panorama of mountain
scenery. The very distance between the moun-
94

KRASNOIARSK— THE YENISEI
tains on either side of us gave an invigorating
feeling of freedom to the whole scene. After
several hours of continued winding there was
another change ; once more we had steep bare
mountains close to us on the left with their
massive sides disappearing into and reflected
in the clear water, a stretch of flat country
covered with low shrubs on the right, and
mountains closing in in the distance, about a
mile away at first, then further and further off.
The shadows grew longer with the setting
sun, and then, as they gradually disappeared
altogether in the soft evening light, we watched
the crescent moon rise above a steep rock
that grew more gloomy and black every minute.
Again the mountains closed in, weird and gaunt
now, and the water, but for a slight ripple
that was always there, looked like a lake of
glass. A shower of wood sparks had been
falling all day from the funnel of the steamer.
They had looked like large smuts in the sun
shine, but now they glowed in the twilight
and fell into the water like a shower of
rockets. 95

Chapter VII
MINUSINSK
This desert soil
Wants not her hidden lustre, gems and gold.
Paradise Lost.
TT was our original intention to break our
jouney to Minusinsk at a spot on the left
bank of the Yenisei from which, by the aid of
horses, we could proceed to Lake Tschuro. This
lake is famed for the medicinal quahties of
its water, and the village on its shore is fast
becoming a popular health resort.
" Many thousands of Siberians go there every
year for their health," said a lady from Irkutsk.
" It is well worth your while to see it."
"Yes, you must see Lake Tschuro," said a
high official to whom we applied for further
information, " and I will give you an introduce
tion to the manager of a large gold mine a few
miles further on than the lake."
96

MINUSINSK
" If thousands of people land here every year,
they leave remarkably few traces behind them,"
I remarked to my mother as we neared our
proposed landing place. It was growing dusk,
rain was falling, and we fervently wished that
some of the other passengers were going in our
direction. Before us a gigantic boulder loomed
over the water and near it a tiny path wound
its way up the bank, but no other trace of
humanity was in sight. A rough man from
the second class had got his bundles together
and was perparing to land. " It would not be
pleasant," we reflected, " to spend the night on
that bank waiting for a droshky ! " The nearest
village, we knew — for we had seen its church
cupola as we passed — was quite two miles off.
We decided to give up the pleasure of seeing
Lake Tschuro, and the letter to the manager of
the gold mine was never used.
The landing-place at Minusinsk is not pre
possessing ; the ground is flat, and grass grows
close up to the water's edge, but the place
where we landed was bare with the tread of
passengers. Close by a party of gipsy-like
97 g

A RIBBON OF IRON
peasants were engaged in chopping up the
trunks of several gigantic pine trees that
had evidently been floated down the river
from mountain forests.
There is nothing that can be called an hotel
in Minusinsk. We got our baggage into a large
open basket on wheels and sitting on the top
drove to the best inn in the town. Droshkies
are to be had, but must be ordered before
hand. The inn was roughly built of logs in
true Siberian style, and adorned inside with
fir trees which had been cut from their roots
just above the ground and stuck into rough
pots, or simply placed leaning against the wall.
There was no washstand in our room, but at our
particular request a tin washbasin and a jug of
water were brought by a woman and placed on the
floor in one corner of the apartment. Our food
was brought by the same woman, who seemed
to do all the work of the house. The proprietor
apparently had no bedroom for his own use ; he
slept on a bench in the passage at the head of
the stairs.
We had brought a letter of introduction to
98

MINUSINSK
the Curator of the Museum, and, as it was not
yet dark, I started out to find him. By dint of
showing the address on the envelope to several
people who could read a little, I managed at
length to find the house. It was an apothecary's
modest shop. Entering by the shop door, which
stood open, I confronted a man, who, with his
coat off and his shirtsleeves tucked up, was
arranging bottles, and handed him my letter.
It never entered my head for a moment that he
could be the curator, and when he suddenly tore
open the letter and began to read it I was very
much surprised. " No ! No ! " I cried, waving
my hands and using the few words of Russian
I could muster. " The letter is for the curator
of the Museum, not for you. Please give it
back to me and tell me where to find him." But
he held the letter fast, and pointing to himself
and laughing as though he thought it a very good
joke, he finally made me Understand that he
was the curator of the Museum we had come so
far to see. Not a word of anything but Russian
could he speak, but by signs and gesticulations
we managed to understand each *other. Then I
99

A RIBBON OF IRON
sat down in his little sitting-room while he
sent for some one to interpret. Presently the
assistant curator arrived. He was an exiled
Pole, who had spent ten years of his life in a
hard labour prison. He had had a university
training in his youth, spoke French and German,
and was a most interesting man to talk to. "I
shall be very pleased to come with you to the
Museum and interpret for M. Martianof," he
said kindly, and I was only too glad to accept
his offer. M. Martianof had an interesting
face and most intelligent eyes. I was anxious
to converse with him as well as to see the
results of his patient labour. We arranged to
meet at the Museum at an early hour the next
morning. Nicolas Mikhailovitch Martianof is both
botanist and apothecary by profession. He
settled in Minusinsk in 1877, some say as an
exile, and began at once to collect botanical
specimens. He soon found it impossible how
ever to confine his attention to botany in a
neighbourhood rich indeed in its flora, but
richer still — with untold wealth — in those
100

MINUSINSK
treasures which delight the heart of the
mineralogist, the archaeologist, and last but
not least the anthropologist. Bit by bit he
gathered interesting collections around him,
and so it was thus that the Museum came
into existence. For twenty-five years it has
been steadily growing, and today it is, of
local museums, perhaps the most interesting
in the world.
The present town of Minusinsk is simply an
overgrown Siberian village. Most of the houses
are in a state of great dilapidation. The grey
wood of which they are so roughly put together
looks painfully rotten, and large families live
in dwellings which, to an outsider, seem to have
no roof at all ; how they keep warm in winter
I cannot imagine. Our inn was in the chief
street, which strangely resembled a farmyard.
Cocks and hens strutted about in front of our
windows. Yet there were stone houses and
even shops to be found here and there, if one
only knew where to look for them. So much
for the Minusinsk of to day. The land, however,
has a history. It is now an accepted fact that
101

A RIBBON OF IRON
as far back as the year 2,000 B.C. the country
round was peopled by a wealthy and prosperous
race of white men, who came originally from
India, and are alluded to in the ancient annals of
the Chinese. Later on, when these had either
died out or been driven away by more powerful
neighbours, other races flourished in turn on
the same ground. Through the wonderful dis
coveries that are continually being made, the
story of each distinctive race is coming to light,
and a lost chapter is thus being added to the
earth's written history.
With the enthusiasm of a boy M. Martianof
took us from case to case and from room to
room. He would allow nothing to be looked at
out of its turn ; there was a regular order in
which everything had to be seen. The cases
were greatly in want of repair, and, considering
the value of their contents, it seemed incon
gruous when the curator opened them by stick
ing the end of a lucifer match into their broken
locks. Where a lid would not keep shut of
itself a bit of old newspaper was jammed in.
All the questions wre cared to ask were patiently
102

MINUSINSK
answered through our kind interpreter. There
was a touching modesty about these two men ;
self was utterly forgotten. Their whole soul
was in the treasures they were displaying.
Beginning with mineralogy we saw specimens
of precious metals, marbles, and stones brought
from the neighbouring mountains, including the
model of a nugget of gold weighing seventy-two
pounds. Then our attention was directed to a
collection of stones^ the surfaces of which had
been polished by exposure to mountain blasts
during a long succession of centuries ; and from
these we passed to others on which water had
had a similar effect. Next came a fine assort
ment of fossils. " The chalk of these fossils,"
said M. Martianof, pointing to one particular
kind, " is used in South China for medicinal
purposes." We now passed on to a collection of
local birds, each with a nest full of eggs at its
side. Here we recognized many of our feathered
friends, including the domesticated pigeon, a
bird common to nearly every part of Siberia.
The pigeon is looked upon by Russians as an
emblem of the Holy Spirit, and is therefore
103

A RIBBON OF IRON
sacred. An Indian pheasant was also pointed
out to us, and a grouse that had made its
way from Mongolia. Interesting specimens of
asbestos, or "mountain leather," as our inter
preter called it, next attracted our attention.
Several rooms were devoted to the art of farm
ing, and agriculture in general. There were
all kinds of fascinating -fungi illustrating the
diseases of trees. I remember one species which
spreads itself out like a thin skin under the
bark and slowly but surely sucks away the
life of gigantic trees that might have flourished
on for ages but for this fell enemy. Our eyes
had rested on the summit of many a forest-clad
mountain as we glided up the wide Yenisei, and
now we turned with special interest to that
section of the Museum which contained speci
mens of the wild animals that roam these still
little explored regions. There were the bear, the
fox, the sable, the ermine, the musk-deer, the
lynx, and many another; but suffice it to say that
the abundance of costly furs to be obtained from
these wilds has already attracted the attention
of traders. Some of the finest and rarest skins
101

Masks found near Minusinsk.

MINUSINSK
displayed in Regent Street have been brought
from the mountains of Minusinsk.
In another department we were shown plaster
masks of great antiquity, which had been found
in recently discovered graves. The masks had
been taken after death. Several are in a state
of perfect preservation. We did not see all of
them, for archaeologists had already transferred
a number of them to the museums of St.
Petersburg. " It is true they have taken away some of my
most valuable treasures," explained M. Martianof,
but the collection is still complete in a way, for
exact models of all the things taken have been
left me. Here you see is a copy of a massive
gold bracelet found in one of the tombs ; the real
bracelet could not be left here without risk ; the
same with the lump of gold, the cast of which
you saw just now."
We passed through rooms in which were dis
played countless arrowheads and other relics
belonging to the ages of Stone and Ice ; but we
did not linger here, for we knew it was the age of
Bronze that had furnished the Museum with its
105

A RIBBON OF IRON
richest trophies. The first of the rooms devoted
to the Bronze period contained no less than
4,000 bronze knives. Here there were numerous
shelves on which were displayed handsomely
worked vases, cups, helmets, horses' bits,
mirrors, and suchlike. Speaking of mirrors,
I bought an ancient mirror at Nikko in
Japan two months later, which is not at all
unlike those that have been dug up in the
Minusinsk district. " The people who inhabited
the country during the age of Bronze are sup
posed to have been of Finnish origin," said the
Curator. " The presence of so many knives
and helmets is an indication of their warlike
temperament. They spread themselves over a
wide area, and must have been a wealthy and a
powerful race. I am convinced that the collec
tion you see here is nothing to the one we shall
have in time if we persevere."
The Curator's enthusiasm was infectious. One
longed to go out into the fields and, with one's
own hands, dig up another delicate vase or
another carved knife all green with age ; but,
once carried away from the spot to which
106

MINUSINSK
it belonged, a treasure of this sort would,
to my mind, be bereft of half its interest.
Do the treasures of the Parthenon displayed
in the British Museum charm us like those we
look up to from the heights of the Acropolis?
Facing the chief staiircase are glass cases
containing two hundred skulls, every one of
great value, dating back to prehistoric times.
The Assistant Curator, M. Felix Cohn, is at
present engaged in writing a book on this
unique collection. Taking several of them
from the shelves he explained to us wherein
lay the distinguishing marks between these
skulls and those belonging to a later date.
Professor Virchow, of Vienna, has one or two
like them in his collection, but very few if any
are to be met with elsewhere. So far I have
only mentioned the contents of the room on the
ground floor. Having mounted the staircase we
were confronted by startling apparitions — life-
sized models of men and women from the various
tribes of the district. Each figure was attired
in brightly coloured native dress.
Passing through to another section we found
107

A RIBBON OF IRON
several rooms fitted up with bookshelves, and
packed to the ceiling with books of every
description and language, from Chinese works
on art to volumes of our own Tennyson and
Browning. Noticing our astonishment at the
sight of these latter, the Curator explained that
they had been sent him by the few English
and American travellers who had visited
Minusinsk. Professor F. R. Martin, a French archaeologist,
visited Minusinsk in 1891. He had planned
to stay one week, but the attractions of the
Museum proved too strong, and he remained
a much longer time, took away many photo
graphs of the bronzes, and has since published
them in an album, a copy of which is now in
the Museum. This gentleman could not speak
highly enough of M. Martianof's collection.
To Englishmen Minusinsk is scarcely known
at all, or only as a land rich in the gold mines of
the future. M. Martianof told us that we were
the first Englishwomen to whom he had shown
his Museum, " but they will come in time," he
added with a prophetic smile.
108

MINUSINSK
Before leaving Minusinsk we made the
acquaintance of a highly educated Polish exile,
Count Richeski, to whom we had brought an
introduction. He spoke English fluently. Much
of his time is devoted to astronomy. He has a
telescope of his own, and is a member of the
" Societe Astronomique de France," to which
he has contributed valuable observations on
the fissures in the moon. He told us that on
account of the purity of the atmosphere during
the winter months he had had exceptional
opportunities for studying the moon's surface.
Selenologists have been much interested in these
observations. From Count Richeski we learned
that in winter the thermometer often stands
for several days in succession at 43° Reaumur,
whilst 30° for six weeks together is not at all an
uncommon occurrence.

109

Chapter VIII
EMIGRANTS— LADY DOCTORS—
KRASNOIARSK AGAIN
Tr* MIGRANTS meet you at every turn on
-*~"/ the Siberian railway and on the river
steamers. Indeed I might almost say that we
had them with us wherever we went. Russians
are emigrating at the rate of 200,000 a year,
and Minusinsk is one of the districts to which
they are being sent in shoals. In cold weather
we used to see them lying in " heaps " at the
railway stations, sleeping away the time and
keeping one another warm. When there was
nothing better to do we amused ourselves by
trying to guess to whom that pair of legs
belonged, or whether this head belonged to a
man or a woman. Wrapped in their winter
sheepskins, to lessen their baggage, they would
110

EMIGRANTS
sleep sweetly while the powerful midsummer
sun poured down upon their upturned faces.
Yet these poor creatures are by no means
uncared for. To begin with, when, of their
own free will, they make up their minds to
emigrate, the Government allows them to send
delegates ahead to inspect the land that is to
be their new home. When these men return
a final decision is made. On the frontier, at
Cheliabinsk, all their passports are carefully
examined before they are allowed to proceed.
Whenever they have to wait more than a cer
tain number of hours temporary shelters are
provided. Those at Omsk are huts such as the
Kirgiz live in. I was greatly mystified at
first to see Russians going in and out of such
dwellings. Returning from Minusinsk to Krasnoiarsk we
had for our companion on the steamer a young
medical lady who had just accompanied a batch
of emigrants from Moscow to Minusinsk. She
had with her a large wicker basket in which
she carried medicines, bandages and other
articles that might be wanted. Her duties con-
Ill

A RIBBON OF IRON
sisted in going a round of inspection every day.
On the steamer she had to see that the babies
got proper food, taste their milk, and see that
they were fed with white bread, the ordinary
black bread being too coarse for very young
children. On one of her rounds she had dis
covered that a man was developing typhus. It
had then been her duty to have him landed at
the nearest spot to a hospital, and give him
over herself to the care of the nurses. She
expected to spend the following summer
months in attending various batches on their
journeys from Krasnoiarsk to Minusinsk.
Another lady doctor was stationed in Kras
noiarsk to attend to the welfare of emigrants
halting there.
The Government allows each man a certain
amount of land, and this he is free to cultivate
for ten years free of taxes. After that he
becomes a regular citizen and pays his taxes
like the rest. If he is very poor to start with,
he may borrow thirty roubles, or some such sum,
from the local official who has charge of Govern
ment money for that purpose. This he pays
112

Church Railway Carriage.

EMIGRANTS
back by instalments as his worldly goods increase.
There are some families who do not take
kindly to the new life ; they pack up their
bundles once more and return to Russia. I
wondered at first how it was that so many
seemed to be travelling the wrong way. " Those
are people who have changed their minds," I
was told ; " they are going home again." Now
that they can travel by rail perhaps there are
some who take the return trip for mere pleasure.
Who knows ? The carriages in which they
travel are suited specially to these long journeys.
Wooden flaps are arranged to form upper
berths, and these they cover with their own
bedding. So comfortable do they make them
selves that they sleep the greater part of the
way, and only wake for meals. Making my way
through the central corridor of one of these
carriages I felt as if I were walking between
great cupboards, the shelves of which were
packed with grimy humanity.
As for the souls of the emigrants, their wel
fare is also looked after by the Government. A
church-railway carriage is hooked on to the end
113 H

A RIBBON OF IRON
of the train when required, and a long-haired
priest officiates. The church being very small
the air soon becomes vitiated from the presence
of such dirty people ; none but an emigrant
could stand it.
Great care is taken that those who have
been neighbours in the old country shall con
tinue to be neighbours in the new, and fresh
arrivals are not allowed to interfere with those
who were there before them.
At Omsk we made the acquaintance of a
gentleman who is styled " Head of the Peasants."
His business is to arrange with foreign markets
for the purchase of their salt butter, corn and
other agricultural produce. A large amount of
the butter consumed by our London poor is
made by Siberian peasants.
We found it a difficult matter to get away
from Minusinsk, not because of the attractions
of the place, but on account of the irregularity
of the steamers. Hearing that one was due at
five in the afternoon, and that after only an
hour's delay it would start immediately for
Krasnoiarsk, we drove down to the bank — there
114

EMIGRANTS
is nothing that can be called a wharf except a
barge moored to the side — and, having dismissed
our droshky, sat on some rough planks to
await our steamer. It never came. After
several hours had passed and the evening was
getting dark and chilly, a peasant woman came
and persuaded us to go back to the inn for the
night. She managed to convey her meaning by
shutting her eyes and leaning her head on her
hand. The people who had seen us leave the
inn smiled knowingly as they saw us return.
Their faces seemed to say, "I told you so."
This was very aggravating, but worse was still
to come. The innkeeper came out to meet us
just as calmly as if we had been new comers.
He showed us, by pointing to the clock, that
the steamer would start at five o'clock the next
morning. We did not pay our droshky man,
lest he should forget to call for us in good time.
Lying down in our clothes, we spent a restless
night and were thankful to hear the whistle of
a steamer soon after daybreak. " There she is,"
I cried, and in another minute the droshky man
was thumping at our door. I went out into
115

A RIBBON OF IRON
the passage. The innkeeper lay there snoring,
and did not seem inclined to wake. I roused
him, however, and paid our bill. Then once
more he and his wife bade us adieu. This time
I said dosvi danie x very politely, and gave the
woman a larger tip, for I had a presentiment
that we should meet again.
There lay the steamer ; but how much smaller
she looked than the one by which we had come !
We began to have misgivings ; but when we
said " Krasnoiarsk ? " in a questioning tone, to
the men on the bank, they smiled and nodded.
Thinking all was right, we told the droshky man
to take our things on board. All at once the
people shook their heads and tried to stop us.
" Krasnoiarsk ? " we said again, and again they
nodded, but they would not let us go on board.
As the steamer now showed signs of starting I
grew desperate, and seizing my umbrella drew
a line on the sand, and making a mark for
Minusinsk and another for Krasnoiarsk, showed
them where we wanted to go. Then an old
peasant took the umbrella from my hand and
1 Russian for au revoir.
110

EMIGRANTS
added a branch line to my sand picture. At
the end of the branch line he put a mark,
pronouncing at the same time the name of a
place I had never heard of. Then he turned
and pointed to the steamer. At last we under
stood. The steamer's name was Krasnoiarsk,
but she was bound for quite a different place, a
a village on the Abakan ! This time we felt
painfully self-conscious as we drove back to
the inn.
The following evening, at five o'clock, our
steamer came at last. We went on board at
once, but she did not start till five the following
morning, thirty-six hours after the appointed
time. The name of this steamer was Scotia. She
was originally a sea-going pleasure yacht, built
in Scotland, but we found her a dirty, second-
rate passenger boat. Still she was a tough
little ship, for she was one of the two that
braved the Kara sea and made their way from
England to Krasnoiarsk. It rained a good deal
going back, but we borrowed mackintoshes, and
sat on deck most of the time. At one of the
117

A RIBBON OF IRON
stopping places a pig ran swiftly down the
bank and began swimming towards us ; every
one laughed to see its business-like air. Sud
denly, when close to the steamer, after taking
a good look at us all, it turned round and swam
back to the bank as fast as it had come.
" Ah ! " said a peasant who was leaning over
the side, "he only travels first class!" (There
were no first cabins on the Scotia, all were
marked " second.")
What a nice change it was to get back to
Krasnoiarsk and have eatable food once more !
At Minusinsk there had been so little one could
eat. The eggs were peculiar, bread, milk, and
cream were sour, while a strange taste in the
water spoiled the flavour of the tea we had
brought from England.
At Krasnoiarsk we wrote our letters, and I
took them to the post-office to be registered.
The man insisted that the addresses must be in
Russian, and as the only name I had learned
to write in Russian characters was my own,
I was obliged to register them to myself. The
plan succeeded, and I can recommend it to
118

EMIGRANTS
others who may find themselves in a similar
difficulty. If you do not register in Siberia,
there is every chance that the stamps will
be taken off and the letter destroyed long
before it reaches the border. You cannot
register after 2 p.m., in which case it is advis
able to use a black-edged envelope. Super
stition will then prevent its being tampered
with. " Do you see that white house standing in
its own grounds ? " said a friend just before we
started for Irkutsk.
"Yes," I replied, looking in the direction
indicated. " That house contains the best library of
which Siberia can boast," was the reply. " It
is the private collection of Genade Basilivitch,"
continued our friend. "It contains a copy of
every book that has been written on the
country." We were sorry not to have an
opportunity of seeing such a collection of books ;
but, after all, we should not have gained much
by looking at their covers.
It was at Krasnoiarsk that we were enter-
119

A RIBBON OF IRON
tained with stories of an adventurous American
who undertook, about three years ago, to cross
Siberia on foot. He accomplished the feat in
two years, and is now in the States, where he
publishes occasional articles on his journey. In
one house on the route, where he was hospitably
received, he obtained some large screws, and,
screwing them into the soles of his boots,
proceeded to try them on his hostess' parquet
floor, much to that lady's consternation. Our
pedestrian carried all his luggage himself. It
included a frock coat. He wore a hat which
was telescopic, and could be used as an um
brella if required. A gentleman who saw him
when he had accomplished about half his jour
ney told me that his hair had become so bleached
and so coarse that it was more like sheep's wool
than human hair.

120

Chapter IX
SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK.
IRKUTSK
A FEW minutes after leaving Krasnoiarsk
station our train crossed the wonderful
Yenisei bridge. We found it much narrower
than it had appeared as we glided beneath it
in the steamer. There is only one line of rails,
and barely room for a foot-passenger to stand
on either side as the train passes over. We
were surprised to find several men and some
women and children calmly gazing up at us,
squeezing themselves into as little space as
possible against the sides. Such a thing would
hardly be feasible if the train moved at a
greater speed.
After we had crossed over we took a sharp
turn to the left and kept close to the river
for a short distance. We now had a fine view
121

A RIBBON OF IRON
of the town across the water. Very soon it
had disappeared, and in its place was lovely
scenery, not at all unlike that of some of the
Harz mountains. Grass-clad hills rose one
after another before our eyes. They were like
the peaks that wind sometimes forms on sand
hills, only higher. Their fresh green slopes
seemed to melt before our eyes and spread
themselves into verdant meadows. These
meadows soon appeared to reflect the blue sky
above them, for they were carpeted with for
get-me-nots. Then we passed a clear stream
such as the forget-me-nots had led us to expect,
and a horse that was drinking the water as
it gurgled over the stones, fled at a gallop as
the train approached. How little our friends
at home could dream that we were enjoying
this beautiful and home-like scene so far away
in the heart of Siberia ! Soon the forget-me-
nots were out of sight and the meadows shone
a fiery orange red, for such was the effect of
the ranunculus in the afternoon sunlight.
We leaned our heads out of the carriage
windows that we might listen to the larks
122

Bridge over the Yenisei.

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
singing in the clouds above us and watch the
setting sun as it flashed golden beams through
the dark fir-trees. The ground now became
more cultivated ; it was like a piece of coloured
patchwork, bright yellow where it was covered
with the stubble of last year's corn, green
where fresh grass was growing, and black as
ink where the peasants had recently turned
up the rich dark earth. That earth, as agri
culturists would tell you, is of more value to
Siberia than all her mines of gold.
Presently we passed hills entirely covered
with trees ; the white- stemmed birch mingled
its pale-green foliage with that of the gloomy
larch, whose ruddy bark shone like copper in
the evening sun. A group of men at work
on the line stood still to watch us pass. Their
cotton blouses represented all the colours of
the rainbow ; or, if any one tint was absent,
we certainly saw it too, a little later, when
we passed a village all in grey, and espied — the
only colour in the picture — a line of gay blouses
hanging out to dry. The effect of these bright
colours was unique. 123

A RIBBON OF IRON
Now came hills and vales covered with park
like sward, soft as the grass of an English
lawn. An old English mansion would not have
seemed out of place here, in spite of the fact
that no oak, elm, or copper beech was visible.
Here and there we saw a slender fence of
white birch gleaming like silver filigree between
the trees, or a skeleton birch stripped of its
leaves and lying like a branch of white coral
on the rich sward. And all the time our engine
panted slowly on like some huge animal labour
ing for its breath. When nearing a station
it would give, in place of our ordinary train
whistle, the scream of a steamer approaching
land. Night closed in at last, and when we
looked out the next morning we found that
the scenery had changed again. The hills had
quite disappeared, and forests of pine surrounded
us on all sides.
The heat had become intense. We lay still
with closed eyes for several hours, too ex
hausted to stir. Towards the close of the day
it grew deliciously cool, and a refreshing breeze
blew into our carriage windows with such
124

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
violence that it knocked over a bottle of milk
and carried off a sheet of paper on which I
was making notes.
We now came to a scene of desolation, a
forest of dead and leafless trees standing gaunt
and stiff like sentinels burnt to death at the
post of duty. This pitiful sight continued for
several miles. The cruel fire that had been
the cause of all this destruction must have
done the mischief some time back, for here
and there an undergrowth had begun to spring
up round the cracked and charred poles ; they
were trees no longer ; their very branches were
gone. Further on we saw the fire at its fiendish
work. Blue smoke curled through the forest
to our right, and a strong smell of burning
permeated the air. Blackened trunks lay
smouldering on the ground, and now and again
the stump of what must have been once a
king of the forest was blazing and crackling
like a log fire.
It was early on Whit-Sunday morning, by
Russian reckoning, when the train steamed into
125

A RIBBON OF IRON
Irkutsk — or rather smoked in — for its funnel
sent forth volumes of black smoke.
The hotel in which we stayed was called the
M6tropole. We had been advised to go there
rather than to any other " because it is the
cleanest." We noticed throughout our tour
that people comparing the respective merits of
Siberian hotels invariably designated the dif
ferent establishments as " clean," " cleaner,"
or " cleanest," unless indeed they were obliged
to use the words " dirty," " dirtier," " dirtiest."
There were some fair-sized rooms in the
Metropole, and sheets and pillows could be
had for the beds by paying extra for them,
but the service had better be passed by in
silence. There was a " commissioner " attached
to the hotel who understood German ; but he
was invariably out, or asleep in bed when we
wanted him to interpret. When surrounded
by six gaping waiters I asked for a spoon they
brought me a glass of vodka !
Our bedroom had windows on two sides and
a sort of turret in one corner with windows
all round it like a lantern. It opened with
folding doors into a large sitting-room with a
126

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
balcony. For the two rooms we were asked
six roubles1 a day. Food we paid for separately,
and ordered a la carte.
Irkutsk was enjoying a lovely April day
when we saw its streets for the first time.
Taking a stroll through the town we gazed
with delight on the Siberian crab trees, whose
branches were covered with snowy blossom.
These trees seemed to be in every garden and
at every street corner.
As it was Whit-Sunday, and church time,
men and women, dressed in their best, were
hurrying to church with branches of apple-
blossom in their hands. Bright green grass,
wet with the night's rain, flourished in the
less trodden parts of the unpaved streets. We
looked at the windows of the houses as we
went along and saw that the spaces between
the double panes of glass were still packed
with cotton wool. On top of the cotton wool
blossoms of everlasting flowers had been laid
as decoration. They had lain there the whole
long winter, and that winter was hardly over
yet, while with us it was the 10th of June,
1 A rouble is equal to 2s. Id.
127

A RIBBON OF IRON
Irkutsk, as we find it today, is one of the
most Russianized towns of Siberia, and therefore
one of the least interesting to the superficial
traveller. He who looks more deeply sees that
the town is passing through a crucial point in
its existence and that it must be considered
with regard both to what it was a short time
ago and what it will be in the near future.
Today, with all its handsome stone churches,
its public buildings, its schools and its shops,
it has not a single paved street ; it has neither
water works nor electric light. Yet these
blessings of civilization are not far off. A
scheme for their introduction, involving an out
lay of some three and a half million roubles,
has already been set on foot.
The Great Siberian Railway has done wonders
for Irkutsk. Its inhabitants no longer feel
themselves isolated from the rest of the world.
A pleasant journey of nine days now brings
them to Moscow without the ordinary fatigue
of travelling. They have simply to get in and
out of their moving hotel.
The chief gold melting establishment in
128

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
Siberia is here. Gold is received straight from
the mines, melted and weighed. According to
its weight cash is paid down in roubles to
those who have brought it. The surrounding
neighbourhood is rich in silver and copper ore,
which only await enterprise and capital. Coal
mines are already being worked, and their
owners have lately made a contract with the
Government to supply so many tons of coal
regularly for the railway. At present a great
deal of wood is used.
More than two hundred thousand roubles
were spent in building the theatre. It is a
handsome edifice entirely of stone. Some years
ago, when the churches were almost the only
stone buildings in existence, a terrible fire broke
out and destroyed half the town. Such a
disaster could not now occur in Irkutsk, as
the chief streets contain only a small proportion
of wooden houses, and a law has been passed
that no more are to be built there.
A similar disaster did however occur in
Tomsk only a few days after we had left it.
This we learned from the Irkutsk journal
129 I

A RIBBON OF IRON
which a friend translated to us. The fire broke
out at eleven o'clock in the morning and the
wind carried sparks from one house to another
till several streets were in flames. While all
the firemen were using their efforts to stop
the flames from spreading, and to save the
women and children, signals were made to them
that another part of the town was also burn
ing ; but they had their work cut out for them
where they were, and concluded that the signals
referred to the quarter in which they were
already engaged, so they went on with their
heroic task, holding back frantic mothers as
they tried to dash into the flames to save their
children, and stopping those who, crazy with
fear, were spreading the fire in attempts to
rescue their burning furniture. Thus whole
streets were left to their fate. When at last
the fire was extinguished it was found that
six entire streets had been destroyed. It is
estimated that about seven hundred thousand
roubles worth of property was reduced to
cinders in a few hours.
Irkutsk spreads over a great deal of ground.
130

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
The station is about two miles from the centre
of the town, and you have to pass over the
Angara. As you cross the bridge a toll of
eight kopeks is demanded for each carriage.
The beautiful river Angara will, in times to
come, be an additional source of wealth. At
present nothing is being done to make it more
navigable, but thousands of roubles have been
spent in fruitless attempts to clear away the
stones in its bed which obstruct the passage
of large vessels. Tea merchants have been
especially interested in these efforts, knowing
well that if they could only bring their tea
straight from China by means of the river, they
would be able to make their millions. Besides
being more rapid in its flow than any other
river in Siberia, the Angara has the purest
water. It can safely be drunk without boiling,
and is so clear that, looking down into it from
the bridge, you can see the bottom as distinctly
as if there were no water there.
As soon as the railway was brought to
Irkutsk, half the inhabitants were thrown out
of work, for they had hitherto gained their
131

A RIBBON OF IRON
livelihood by the transport of travellers. They
are now slowly beginning to turn their energies
in the direction of agriculture, but the crisis
can hardly be said to be over.
A few capitalists have so far had everything
their own way, for in a new country, poor men,
however energetic they may be, can do nothing
without capital. " Millionaires," as they are
called, of forty thousand roubles or thereabout,
live in the utmost simplicity far out in the
country. They have travelled and seen some
thing of the world, and now an occasional visit
to Irkutsk is all the change they require. Any
one who had not heard of their comparative
wealth would take them for well-to-do farmers.
Prices are very high ; ground rent is simply
enormous considering it is Siberia. The oats
used to feed the horses are very dear ; conse
quently a drive in a droshky costs double the
amount one is accustomed to pay in St. Peters
burg. Hotels, too, are expensivo considering
the lack of comfort.
The schools are large and well managed ; their
teachers are from Russia. French and German
132

SCENERY AFTER KRASNOIARSK
are taught, but English has not yet penetrated
so far. Those who have learned it elsewhere
have forgotten the little they knew for want
of opportunity to practise it. Many Siberians
bring their children to town for the winter and
return to their country houses when the summer
holidays begin.
Here, as elsewhere, a strict line is drawn
between those who are and those who are not
"in society," but there is, notwithstanding, a
kindly feeling between the classes, and a Ge-
miithlichkeit that other spots on this earth might
do well to imitate. Taking all in all, Irkutsk
has its favourable points ; and there is certainly
" a good time coming."

133

Chapter X
A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
II n'y a ni mauvaises herbes ni mauvais homines ; il
n'y a que de mauvais cultivateurs. Victor Hugo.
/^\N Friday morning we started on our first
^-^ journey by tarantass. The Governor of
Irkutsk had kindly provided us with a letter
to the Director of the hard labour prisons at
Alexandrovsk, and we were impatient to make
use of it.
Alexandrovsk is situated about fifty miles
north-west of Irkutsk and a little more than
a hundred miles from the Chinese frontier.
As the road is not good and the hills are steep
one has to allow at least seven hours for the
journey and change horses three times on the
way. Fresh horses often have to be fetched
from the fields, and there are only dilapidated
and dirty post houses to rest in, which swarm
134

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
in hot weather with the most unpleasant of
insects. Nothing but hot water can be got at
these places, not even a glass of milk or an egg,
though cows and poultry roam at large in the
village streets. The men who come out to
change your horses look like veritable ruffians ;
their clothes are ragged and dirty, while their
hair hangs over their eyes like matted tow ; yet
for all their wild appearance they are duly ap
pointed servants of the State, and may be trusted
even by ladies travelling alone as we were.
" I cannot promise you an elegant convey
ance," said a Russian officer who kindly acted
as our interpreter when we were ordering a
vehicle, and indeed it was simply a mudbe-
spattered cart with a wooden hood at one end,
like a huge barrel. It had no springs and no
seats, except that of the driver ; the bottom was
covered with straw, and upon this we placed
large pillows taken from our beds at the hotel.
The jolting of a tarantass is something that
must be experienced in order to be understood ;
the first hour or so of it brings you to the
conclusion that you will be a mass of bruises
135

A RIBBON OF IRON
by night time. But there is an art in tarantass
travelling as there is in everything else. Officers
who have constantly to make long journeys in
them say that you should sit with your heels
drawn up under you, and your chin resting on
your knees. This brings you into the position
in which the spine is least affected by the motion.
It was quite dark before we reached Alexan
drovsk, but there was a cheerful look about the
chief street as we drove through it, for bright
lights shone from many a window, and gave one
the impression that there was comfort within.
At last we stopped at the door of the visitors'
house, as it is called. There is no hotel in the
place, for none go to Alexandrovsk except to
visit the prison like ourselves, or to transact
business with its Director. A man came out
and asked if we had brought a letter of intro
duction ; then, seeing one in my hand, he at once
offered to help us out of the tarantass. We were
shown into a sparely furnished, but beautifully
clean, guestchamber, and our wraps, which were
full of straw, were carried away to be shaken.
Not wishing to lose any time, we sent the
136

House for Visitors, Alexandrovsk.

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
letter at once to the gentleman to whom it
was addressed. Hardly ten minutes had elapsed
when we were told that the Director was wait
ing to speak to us in the next room.
As we entered two gentlemen came forward
to welcome us with a kindly greeting that was
quite refreshing after our long and solitary
drive. We knew at once which was the
Director ; he was an elderly man of marked
personality. His grey hair was long like that
of a musician. He had the face of a Sarasate,
but his dress was military, and a row of medals
adorned his breast. When he spoke he had a
queer little way of putting his head close to
yours and peering into your face with his twink
ling eyes, as though he wished to read your
thoughts rather than listen to your words. At
first I attributed this to a desire to surmount
the difficulty of having no common language
in which we could converse, but I noticed later
on that he behaved in the same way with every
one he spoke to, even the criminals in the
prison. His companion had come to see if he
could help us understand one another, but we
137

A RIBBON OF IRON
found that though he had learned German at
school he could neither understand nor speak it.
The Director brought out a book containing
the names of all the people who had visited the
prison for the last ten or twelve years ; there
was not a woman's name among them, so it
was no wonder if our visit caused some interest.
I do not think there were thirty names in all,
and only four or five were English.
While we were talking supper was brought
in, and we were pressed to eat. Our host kept
up an animated conversation all the time ; I
cannot call it a fluent one, for every word had
to be repeated many times, and illustrated by
action before we could get to an understanding.
When the man who was waiting on us had
left the room the Director told us that he and
all the other servants were convicts.
" They will take every care of you during
your stay here," he continued, " and do all in
their power to make you comfortable. You
are perfectly safe in their hands."
He then went on to explain that the villagers
of Alexandrovsk were all people who had, for
138

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
some crime or other, been condemned to penal
servitude. After passing the allotted number
of years in close confinement they had been
allowed to settle down in homes of their own
with their wives and children, still under the eyes
of the Director though outside the prison walls.
Just then a man who had been sent for by
the Director entered the room.
" Here is one of them," he added ; "he is a
German, and can interpret for us." Then turn
ing to the man he bade him tell us about
himself and his work. He was quite young, and
would have been good-looking but for his very
prominent ears ; his eyes were bright, almost
unnaturally so, and there was something
pathetic in the expression of his face. It was
the face of one whose spirit had been broken,
but not crushed.
" I am a criminal," he said simply, " just like
those you will see in the prison tomorrow.
My conduct pleased the Director, so he let
me out before my time. I may not leave
Alexandrovsk, but the restraint placed upon
me is now only a moral one. There are many
139

A RIBBON OF IRON
like myself ; the Director trusts us implicitly.
We all have our own handicraft ; I am an
upholsterer. For a certain number of hours
each day we work for the Government, the rest
of our time is our own to earn what we can.
The regulation of our compulsory work is in
the hands of the Director ; if he is pleased with
us, he gives us less to do ; but if he is dissatisfied,
he gives us more. I have my wife and children
with me, and in a few weeks' time I am to
receive my papers from Russia. I shall then be
a free man, but I shall not go back to Russia.
I have made my home here now."
" The room we are now in," said the Director,
when the convict had finished his story, " is
used as a concert hall for the prisoners, and
now and then we have theatricals. You see
there is a raised platform at one end."
Then he took us into another room and
showed us a plan of part of the Siberian railway.
" Our prisoners laid all the rails from Malta to
Telma," he said proudly, "a distance of thirty-
six versts. The prisoners are from Russia and
Poland," he continued. "Including the four
140

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
hundred who live in the village we can take a
hundred thousand. At present there are six
hundred and fifty in the prison itself, besides
those employed outside."
We asked why this distant spot had been
chosen for the settlement.
" For reasons of economy," was the Director's
reply. "It is much easier to provide food out
here than near a town ; land is much cheaper,
and farm produce more easily obtained."
We next asked if there were any political
offenders at Alexandrovsk.
" Yes, we have some from the nobility," was
the reply, "but you will not be able to distin
guish them from the rest, for all are treated
exactly alike."
We slept splendidly after our long drive, in
spite of the fact that we were surrounded by
criminals, and felt ready for anything when the
Director came at eight o'clock the next morn
ing to escort us through the prison. He had
brought with him the prison doctor, a quiet
elderly man who spoke a little French, and the
young man who had learned German. The
last-mentioned carried a dictionary this time.
141

A RIBBON OF IRON
On the way we passed a pretty church built
of red brick.
"That church was built by prisoners," said
the Director. " You will not find another in
Siberia built of red brick."
At this moment a respectably dressed man
came up with a paper roll in his hand.
" You said you would like to buy some photo
graphs of Alexandrovsk," said the German
convict, who was again acting as interpreter.
" This man, a prisoner like myself, is a photo
grapher and an artist by profession. He has
brought you some photographs."
On entering the church the Director drew
our attention to some mural paintings ; one of
them, representing Christ rising from the tomb,
was particularly well executed. They were all
the work of the photographer to whom we had
just been speaking. The prison buildings and
a spacious courtyard were enclosed by a high
brick wall. As we entered the German left us.
A prisoner himself, it would not have done for
him to accompany us further.
We went into the prison, and visited first the
142

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
store rooms, in which new clothes for the
inmates were arranged in piles. These gar
ments were the work |of the prisoners, who
supplied wearing apparel not only for the
whole of Alexandrovsk, but also for the inmates
of all the prisons in the Irkutsk Government.
Prison-made boots and shoes were also shown
us ; even the leather for them had been pre
pared on the premises.
The rooms opened into wide well lighted
corridors, the floors of which were sprinkled
with sand. The first was set apart for bread
cutting. Here we found men cutting up great
loaves into regulation shares. Each worker
was allowed three pounds, each non-worker
two and a half.
Next we saw the prison shop where prisoners
who had any money of their own were allowed
to purchase such things as cigars, sausages,
milk, potatoes, white bread and sugar. I also
saw small looking-glasses for sale.
Then we went to look at the prisoners' beds.
Behind each was a recess in the wall which
served as a cupboard in which the prisoner
143

A RIBBON OF IRON
could keep his things ; the bed was made to
shut back against the recess in the daytime,
and so form the door of the cupboard.
" All the men in this room are Jews," said
the Director, opening another door. " They are
not kept together, but we have allowed them
to meet today, because this is one of their
religious festivals. One of them is an English
man. He shall come and speak to you."
The man came at once when called, and the
Director waited patiently while we spoke with
him in English.
" What part of England do you come from ? "
we asked.
" I am from Glasgow," he answered, " but I
lived in Whitechapel for some years. Do you
know Whitechapel ? "
" Yes," we replied, and then we asked him if
he had any friends to whom he would like to
send a message.
" No, I don't want to send any messages," he
replied in rather a sullen tone.
" How long have you been here ? " we asked.
" Ten years," he answered. " I was a soldier
144

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
in Riga, so I can't return to England ever
unless I run away."
" Are you comfortable here ? " we asked.
"Yes, fairly," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
" So we are the first Englishwomen you have
seen for ten years ? "
" Yes," he replied, " you are the first. Please
give me a little money. You know we have a
shop here at which we can buy things."
We gave him a trifle, and went away much
impressed. We had not expected that our first
encounter with a fellow countryman would take
place under such circumstances as these.
The Director now took us to see the school.
" How do you punish a man if he tries to
escape?" I asked on the way.
" He is sent to the Island of Sakhalin," x replied
the Director. I asked no more, for I knew that
there was hardly a punishment more severe
than this. Sakhalin is the furthest point in the
Czar's dominions to which a subject can be
banished. Its climate is remarkable for its
1 Not to be confused with the town of this name in
Ma nchuria. 145 K

A RIBBON OF IRON
severity, it is ice-bound during the greater part
of the year, and there are seldom as many as
fifty days in the whole year that are entirely
free from rain or mist. Until the end of the
eighteenth century it belonged to China, and it
was only in 1875 that the whole island came
under Russian sway. Russia is now colonizing
it slowly and steadily with transported crimi
nals of the worst character. They are em
ployed in working the coal mines, and in
general agriculture under Government super
vision. Even here life is not without hope,
for a man who has satisfied the authorities by
his good conduct for a certain number of years
is rewarded with semi-freedom and a little plot
of land which he may call his own. Should he
wish to marry, there are plenty of female
criminals amongst whom he can make his
choice, for female convicts from Russia are sent
there by steamer from Odessa.
School was being carried on in a cheerful
room with two long tables, and benches for the
pupils. At one end near the window was a
blackboard on a stand. A teacher stood in
front of it explaining some simple arithmetical
146

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
problem to a group of rough men from the
lowest peasant class. In another part of the
room sat an old man with a white beard. He
was poring over a book with large print, but
looked up as we entered.
" That old man is learning to read," said the
Director ; " he is sixty-three."
We asked if they had a Bible, and one of
the pupils was ordered to fetch one. He
opened a cupboard in the wall and brought out
a large-printed Russian Bible. Round the walls,
besides maps, were a series of prints illus
trating the horrible fate of drunkards, from a
little boy drinking beer, to a man suspended
from the gallows. There were also a number
of picture books on the table.
" We use this as a reading room as well as a
schoolroom," explained the Director. " Some of
the men you see here have simply come to have
an hour's reading ; and that raised desk is used
by the teachers when they lecture to a roomful."
As we were passing out our eyes fell upon an
uncouth countryman, who, with a pen in his
great clumsy hand, was bending over a child's
copybook. In his younger days, spent in civil-
147

A RIBBON OF IRON
ized Europe, he might have ignored the art of
writing, but out here — far away in Siberia —
he was doing his best to learn.
"You must see our bathrooms," said the
Director, opening another door. " Every man
has a bath and clean linen twice a week."
We went in, and saw a number of large zinc
baths with taps for water at the side. Then
we proceeded to the courtyard, and crossing
it observed that the prison walls were of red
brick, while the roofing was painted green.
This bright colouring corresponded well with
the cheerfulness of the interior.
The bakehouse opened into the courtyard.
Here dough had been put into large tubs to
rise. The ovens were flat like those of Eastern
countries. We tried some bread that had just
been baked and found it very good.
Next came the kitchen where soup was being
prepared in seven immense boilers ; on the
table was a framed " menu " tablet showing the
fare provided for the day's dinner. The
Director insisted on our tasting the soup, and
took some himself. It was made with meat
148

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
and vegetables and was most palatable. We
also tasted a drink called " Kwas," which was
also being prepared in large quantities. It is
made from bread and is a favourite drink with
Russian peasants.
We were now taken to see the prisoners at
their work ; carpenters, cabinet makers, book
binders, tailors, upholsterers, shoemakers, were
all busily employed in their respective work
shops. Besides these some were engaged in
straw work, and others in making cigarettes.
There was also a blacksmith's forge where a
pair of bellows worked away furiously.
"Now you must come and hear the choir sing,"
said the Director, and he led us into a large
empty room. After we had waited a few
minutes the singers came in ; there were eleven
of them. They took their stand at the further
end of the room and sang, first a church choral,
then a serenade, and finally, when we entreated
for more, a light piece which they called a
polka. The leader stood facing his companions,
and kept time with his right hand. Before his
prison days he had been a singer by profession,
149

A RIBBON OF IRON
and the beautiful music to which we now
listened was a result of his careful training.
The rich deep voices filled the empty room. It
was like listening to the rolling strains of an
organ. A tenor took the solo part in the second
piece, and sang it with so much taste and feeling
that we could hardly find words to express our
delight. If only free, those men could have
made their fortunes over and over again in
England or America ; but what were they when
we looked at them as the last faint echo of
their beautiful singing died away? A row of
grey-coated criminals in a Siberian prison !
The Director's own carriage was waiting for
us when we came out of the prison gates. " If
you will allow me," he said as he handed us in,
"I should like to take you to my house for a cup
of coffee before we see anything more."
We accepted the invitation with pleasure,
so the gentlemen took their seats in another
carriage, and we were soon on our way through
the village. All the villagers we passed stood
still and saluted the Director with the utmost
respect. He was like a king amongst them.
Yet his home, when we reached it, was surpris-
150

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
ingly simple and unpretentious. Madame L 

came forward to welcome us on the threshold,
and we found that a repast had been especially
prepared for us under her direction. It was a
very pleasant meal. Talking, it is true, was a
difficult matter, but many smiles were exchanged,
and by dint of mixing Russian, French, and
German all up together we had no dearth of
conversation. Later on the Director played us
a violin solo, while his daughter accompanied
him on the piano ; but this was not before he
had gallantly escorted me to the piano and
insisted on my playing something. As the old
man stood there shouldering his violin, and
wrapt in his music, he looked far more like a
Sarasate than the Director of a convict
settlement. What a wonderful power was his,
we thought, as we watched him play — the power
of ruling by love.
" La force n'est pas dans la force ; la force est
dans l'amour."1
Under the personal supervision of such a man
even the most degraded criminal has the chance
1 See chapter xv. p. 222.
151

A RIBBON OF IRON
of beginning again. Hope is set before him
from the outset ; he is surrounded by every
influence that can raise him, and the implicit
trust that is reposed in him brings back his
self-respect and helps to start him afresh. If a
rebellious spirit does show itself here or there
in some hardened breast, it is with his fellows
that such a man has to cope, not with the
Director. " We will not let you shake the
Director's confidence in us," say the others, and
thus the rising evil is quickly stopped. Three
hundred convicts worked on the railway line
outside Irkutsk at the time I have already
alluded to, but never a man tried to escape.
Had one wished to do so, the others would have
prevented him.
When visiting the prisons of Tobolsk, I had
noticed that every convict had all the hair
shorn from either the left or the right side of
his head according to the class of convicts to
which he belonged, and as a rule they were
heavily chained. At Alexandrovsk, chains are
never used and the hair is never shorn ; there is
nothing to distinguish the prisoner except his
152

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
prison uniform of grey cloth ; and as soon as he
leaves the prison to take his place among the
villagers even that is abandoned.
After lunch we drove to the schools where
the prisoners' children are educated. There
were classrooms for boys and girls respectively.
In one we found a class of tiny girls standing in
a row ; they were having a knitting lesson, and
worked as fast as their little fingers could go.
In another writing was being taught. A little
Jewish girl from the Baltic provinces who under
stood Hebrew was called out to speak to us, but
as we did not know that language we chatted
with her in German, which she spoke very nicely.
" We have two schools," said the Director :
"one has its regular terms and vacations, but the
other is always going on. The children of new
comers are put into the latter as soon as they
arrive; later on they are drafted into the former."
Not far from the schools were a number of
miniature workshops, where we saw little boys
of ten and twelve being taught the various
trades that were to be their life work. It was
pretty to see those little fellows so happy over
153

A RIBBON OF IRON
their tasks, and their teacher patiently showing
the small fingers how to turn a lathe, make a
shoe, or bind a book, as the case might be.
Each child received careful attention, for there
were seldom more than four with one teacher.
The hospital buildings stood apart. We went
into two of them, and were pleased to find open
fireplaces in the wards with cheerful fires
burning. The nurses were all men, convicts
like the rest ; they attended the patients attired
in long white aprons. There were beds for a
hundred and sixty, but only eighty-eight were
occupied. Each hospital had its baths, supplied
with hot and cold water, and special white
bread was baked in the hospital kitchen for
those who could not manage prison diet. One
hospital was set apart for contagious diseases ;
it also had its own kitchen and baths.
The last places we had to visit were a creche
for the young children and the public pleasure
grounds. In the creche we found a bright
motherly woman feeding little babies with
bread and milk. The mothers were out work
ing in the fields. The Director tasted the food
154

A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT
and asked us to do so too, after which we went
on to see the gardens. In the centre was a
fountain, surrounded by carefully laid out
flower beds, and seats for the people were
scattered about under the trees. At one end
was a tiny chapel such as one so often sees in
Russia ; at the other, was a tea house built of
light brown wood something like a swiss chalet.
" We have an orchestra," said the Director.
"Sit down under the trees and you shall hear it."
The band now played a lively tune in the tea
house, standing before a large open window.
We sat down and pictured the prisoners stroll
ing about amongst the flowers or drinking tea
with their wives and children while they listened
to the music.
" We must be going now," said the Director
presently, as he looked at his watch. " I have
ordered horses for you, and you must start at
once if you are to sleep at Irkutsk to night."
We all returned to the visitors' house together,
and a few minutes later the three gentlemen
and the convict servants stood on the steps to
watch us depart. 155

Chapter XI
TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS— LAKE
BAIKAL CONVICTS
" /^\NE thing I must tell you," said a gentle-
^^^ man of Irkutsk as we sat at his hospit
able board. " Your difficulties are only just
beginning." " We heard that in Moscow," I replied,
laughing, " and it has been repeated to us in
every town on our way."
" It is all very well thus far," continued our
friend, shaking his head, " but now you will
have to travel fourth class. There are no
other carriages on the line ; you will have to
spend four nights and three days in the com
pany of filthy emigrants, in very close company,
alas ! for the train will be crowded."
At the post office I met a Dutchman who
was going the same way. 156

TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS
" It will be very rough travelling," he said.
" I hope you have brought a letter from St.
Petersburg ? "
" Yes, we have a letter," I replied, " but how
can that help us?"
" You had better take it at once to the
station-master," was the reply ; " he may be
able to prevent your compartment from being
overcrowded." I at once took a droshky and drove to the
station, a distance of two miles, for we were to
leave at twelve that night for Lake Baikal, and
there was no time to lose. Not a soul at the
station understood anything but Russian. How
ever the station-master read the letter and
reassured me with bows and smiles.
When the evening came we had kind friends
to see us off, and just before starting had
the good fortune to be introduced to some
agreeable German-speaking tourists. These
gentlemen were going no farther than to the
other side of the Lake. Like every one else
they did their utmost to discourage us. " There
will be no porters to carry your luggage,"
157

A RIBBON OF IRON
they said. " You will have to carry it your
selves." " We are taking no heavy luggage," I re
plied. We passed the night in pleasant conversation,
forgetting the hard seats in thankfulness that
there were no emigrants in our division. At
5 a.m. we saw the Baikal. Then, in their efforts
to help us, the tourists seized our baggage
and lifted it out as soon as the train stopped,
declaring that we might look in vain for porters
at such a spot. At that very moment several
of these useful personages hurried up and
relieved our " Job's comforters " of their self-
imposed task.
There lay the far-famed ice-breaker, puffing
dark smoke from its three huge funnels, and
standing so high above the water level that
we shuddered to think how it would roll if
caught in a storm. Of the storms that are
to be met with on the Baikal we had heard
enough.1
i "They say at Irkutsk," wrote Dr. Lansdell, "it is
only upon the Baikal in the Autumn that a man learns to
pray from his heart." 158

|£5 :±U

Ice-breaker on the Baikal.

TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS
Like the model we had seen at the Paris
Exhibition, the ice-breaker had a great door
in its stern with rails laid down to receive
goods in their trucks direct without unloading.
As this part was not yet in working order
we found men busily unloading and disappear
ing with their burdens through the cavernous
opening. Passengers who had hurried ahead
to secure the best berths were returning with
downcast faces ; they had been told that they
could not be admitted for an hour or more.
Just as we were preparing to sit down on
our baggage and wait with the rest, a ship's
officer came out inquiring for the English
ladies. He told us that a first-class cabin
had been reserved for us and proceeded
at once to conduct us thither. The other
passengers looked curiously after us as we
disappeared within the great portals. Passing
through the body of the ship, a large ware
house-looking place, supported on either side
by elephantine pillars of iron, we ascended a
skeleton staircase at the further end and found
ourselves in quite another world. Here was
159

A RIBBON OF IRON
a luxurious saloon fitted up with every comfort,
and a buffet at the inner end. A passage
round the outside of it — reached by descending
a few steps to right or left — opened into first-
class cabins on the right and second on the
left. Ours was delightfully airy, with a nice
square window instead of a porthole, and two
comfortable velvet-covered couches. We crossed
the lake in about four hours and a half. The
ice-breaker might have been on rails so steadily
did it move along.
The neighbourhood round Lake Baikal is of
a volcanic nature. I heard from a doctor in
Irkutsk that an earthquake was felt there
about a year ago which disturbed the sick
people in their beds. In winter the ice on
the lake has the peculiarity that it closes
together after having been cut through. This
is the result of the continual pressure of water
from the sides and of the many currents. 1
The Angara flows through the whole length
of the lake. In addition to this cause of dis-
1 Of the 336 rivers that flow into the Baikal the Angara
is the only one that flows out of it.
160

TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS
turbance there are volcanic forces working
below ; hence the tradition that a drowning
man is thrown out, rather than sucked in, as
would be the case in other waters.
There are only four lakes larger than the
Baikal — Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake
Huron and Lake Nyanza. In shape and length
it has been compared to the Tanganyika. The
greatest depth that has been measured as yet
is three thousand one hundred and eighty-five
feet ; its height above the sea level is one
thousand five hundred and sixty-one feet ;
hence its bottom is much below the sea level.
While its length is six hundred versts it is in
parts only twenty-seven wide. Some of the
mountains in its neighbourhood are very
beautiful, but they do not rise more than four
thousand five hundred feet above the water.
The surrounding scenery is compared by some
to that of certain parts of Scotland. The
mountains form more than eighty capes, most
of which have received their names from some
particular plant, tree or fish, that happens to
be found there. 161 L

A RIBBON OF IRON
The island of Olkhon is considered sacred by
the Bouriats, who believe it to be the home
of an infernal deity called Begdozy, in whose
keeping are the souls of the wicked. To this
deity they offer innumerable sacrifices. The
Mongolians also have a story about this island.
They believe that it was once the home of
Genghis Khan.
In Irkutsk we heard a report, which has
since been confirmed, that the land on the
further side of the Baikal was rich in naphtha
springs. To a lover of nature who has seen
the desolation wrought by naphtha wells on
the Caspian this news cannot fail to cause a
feeling of regret. We shuddered at the thought
that the beautiful shores of the Baikal might
one day be polluted by the presence of a " black
town," and the sweet country air be rendered
noxious by the smell of petroleum.
The way in which the presence of naphtha
was discovered is curious. Near the mouth of
the river Tourka a substance like wax is fre
quently to be found floating on the water.
The natives call it baikerit or "sea wax,"
162

TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS
and employ it as an external remedy for
rheumatism ; it burns quickly, with a clear flame,
and forms much soot. M. Chamarin, of Irkutsk,
collected some of this substance and finally
distilled from it a yellow oil containing all
the properties of an excellent petroleum.
In June and July one may generally count
on having a calm passage. It is during these
months that a quantity of wrack is thrown
up from the bottom of the lake, and the natives
call this "its flowering time."
In winter, when the lake is crossed by sleighs,
the ice becomes three and a half feet thick ;
but, owing to the continual and violent move
ment of the water, it freezes slowly and the
surface is not completely covered with ice till
the end of December. Throughout the winter,
in spite of the great thickness of the ice,
immense fissures and heaps of broken ice are
continually forming. The fissures are often
as much as six feet wide and more than a
mile long. Their formation is accompanied by
a loud cracking sound like thunder. Water
at once fills them and forms a kind of river.
163

A RIBBON OF IRON
In about a week or a fortnight this river
freezes, but at the same time new fissures are
formed in other directions. In spring the ice
takes two months to melt.
There is a remarkable kind of fish said to
be found only in the Baikal, — it is called
" Golomianka " (Comephorus baicalensis), and is
to be found in the deepest parts of the lake
very far below the surfaee. It has never been
seen alive, for when it rises to the sunlight
it expires. It does not lay eggs, so say the
fishermen, but gives birth to two young ones
at a time.
There are also several kinds of sponge
peculiar to this lake ; one is of a rich green
colour and contains chlorophyll. The natives
use it, just as it is, to clean the copper of their
samovars, while jewellers in Irkutsk use it in
a dry state to polish silver.
The railway round the end of the lake will
hardly be completed before 1905, on account
of the numerous tunnels required.
While we were having our lunch in the
saloon of the ice-breaker we could see from
164

TRAVELLING FOURTH CLASS
the windows a group of exiled criminals, squat
ting on the deck, picnic fashion, with their
wives and children around them. AU looked
perfectly happy and contented. One family
sat on their heels in a ring, each child held
a saucerful of tea in one hand and a piece
of bread and butter in the other. Presently
the father rose to pour out more tea, and we
saw that a heavy chain was fastened to each
foot above the ankle and caught up to his
leathern belt. Sad indeed their lot might be ;
but certainly, as we saw them then, they looked
as happy as any gentleman's family on their
own yacht. When we had landed, and were
waiting for our train, we suddenly heard a
great clanking of chains, and turning our heads
in that direction saw a band of criminals march
out of the great doorway, and deposit, one
after another in a large heap, the regulation
sacks in which they carried their worldly goods.

165

Chapter XII
TRANSBAIKALIA
A TRAIN composed of fourth-class carriages
¦*• ^ stood waiting for the passengers as they
came off the ice-breaker. We got into a com
partment and tried to keep it to ourselves, but
there was no sign of starting, and more and
more people kept coming in. Those who got
there first took the lower places, and the rest
clambered up on to the shelves above, which
were three deep. At last those above us
became an object of desire to two men of so
dirty and unkempt an appearance that we
became desperate. I put up my hands to ward
them off, and cried " Conductor " in the most
threatening tones I coidd muster. It was no
use ; they had gone into the next division, but
only to climb quietly over into our shelves when
they thought we were not looking. The sight
166

TRANSBAIKALIA
of a wretched pair of feet hanging out over my
head was too much for me. I rushed on to the
platform, and addressed the first man in uni
form I came across. This happened to be an
engineer who had charge of that part of the
line. As he spoke French I was able to explain
what was the matter. He came with me at
once to our compartment. The two men seeing
him approach slid stealthily back the way they
had come.
" This is not a fit place for ladies," said our
new friend, looking round at our grimy com
panions — " and English ladies too ! Oh, this
will never do. I will arrange something better
for you." Then he hurried off. In a few
minutes he came back to say that he had
ordered an engineer's private carriage to be put
on the train for us. " You will have sleeping
berths and a little room with a samovar, where
you can make tea," he added ; "but it will not
be ready for two hours. I fear you must wait
here till then."
The two hours seemed as though they would
never pass, and the dirty men had climbed
167

A RIBBON OF IRON
above us once more. At last, when it was
getting quite dark, the engineer came again.
" I am very sorry," he said, " but a telegram
has come ordering us to keep the carriage I
promised you for an official from St. Petersburg,
who is expected shortly. His Excellency,
M. Iswolsky and his family, who passed through
last week, took all the other carriages. What
I can do for you I will. A captain and six
soldiers have got a luggage van to themselves.
If you don't mind sharing it with them as far
as Stretinsk, I will have part of it curtained
off for you."
"Anything, anything but this," we cried.
Once more he left us and we waited on. The
night was getting chilly and rain began to
come down in torrents. At length two men
appeared with a lantern. They were the
engineer and the conductor. The engineer
gave my mother his arm, and they escorted us
out into the rain and along the line to the last
carriage on the train. The step was very high,
but we clambered in.
How we blessed that kind engineer ! With
168

TRANSBAIKALIA
curtains from his own house he had partitioned
off one corner of the luggage van for our use.
The deal boards that had been put there for the
soldiers were all we had to sleep on by night,
or to sit on by day. But that was nothing so
long as we had it all to ourselves. The size
of our coupe was ten feet by eight. In the
centre of the van was a stove with a chimney
going through the roof.
" The captain thought you might be cold, so
he made the soldiers light a fire," said the
engineer, and we were most grateful for the
genial warmth, for we had got wet as well as
cold in coming across.
With heartfelt thanks we bade our deliverer
good night, and the train started. It was just
midnight. Of course there was no going to bed for us
that night, or for the three that followed.
We lay down just as we were on our rugs,
which we had folded as thickly as possible to
take off the hardness of the eighteen inch
boards. Oh, how our bones ached after ten
minutes in one position !
169

A RIBBON OF IRON
My mother had the side nearest the curtain ;
a soldier slept on a similar board to ours on
the other side of it, and she occasionally felt
his elbow. We had a tiny window in the corner,
so high up that to look out we had to stand
on the seat. Still, ive had it all to ourselves:
Three days and four nights we spent in that
luggage van. The soldiers and their captain
were kindness itself. They fetched us hot water
and milk at the stations, and when we came
short of bread gave us some of their own,
which was brown, with sour lumps of uncooked
dough hera and there.
As the line was not yet open to the general
public there were no buffets ready. We lived
on bread, milk and tea. We washed our faces
every morning with some of the water brought
for tea. Happily we had neither dust nor
extreme heat to contend with ; for there was a
gentle and continuous rain nearly all the time.
The next two vans to ours were prison vans.
The windows were strongly barred, and instead
of ordinary doors they had a sliding one in the
side with a special lock. 170

TRANSBAIKALIA
Four of our soldiers sprang out the moment
the train stopped, no matter whether there was
a station or not, and stood with shouldered
bayonets one on either side of each of the
prison vans. Whenever I looked up at the
prison bars I saw a cluster of children's faces
peering out — hardly ever a man's face. The
prisoners must have spent their time in sleep.
There certainly did not seem much danger of
their escaping. Once one of the soldiers picked
some flowers and handed them in to the
children. They stretched out their hands
eagerly, and looked so pleased to get them.
For at least thirty-six hours heavy raindrops
pattered unceasingly on the roof of our carriage.
Every bit of low-lying ground had become a
marsh, and the trees and bushes were heavy
with water. The many streamlets that we
passed were overflowing their banks. It was
evening when the weather at last showed signs
of change. Ahead of us the rain clouds had
become a bright blue, which contrasted strangely
with the brilliant green of the landscape.
Early on the morning of the third day we
171

A RIBBON OF IRON
reached Chita, and found it „to be a flourishing
town picturesquely situated among wooded hills.
Many of the best houses, as I afterwards learnt,
were hidden from view, and it was really a
larger place than it looked from the station.
We had introductions to people in Chita, and
had fully intended to spend a few days there,
but the thought of leaving our cosy corner and
having to travel for the rest of the way with
emigrants was too appalling. We decided to
go on in the luggage van, to which we had
become quite attached, and not to break our
journey again till we got to Stretinsk.
We were now travelling through the region
known as Transbaikalia, which covers more
square miles than the whole of the German
Empire. Lying between Lake Baikal and the
Upper Amur, it is bounded on the north by
Yakutsk, a country of reindeer, frozen marshes,
and unfriendly climate, and on the south and
south-east by China.
The entire surface of this territory may be
characterized as mountainous, with the excep
tion of one narrow strip of country in the
172

TRANSBAIKALIA
neighbourhood of the river Onon. Its highest
peaks, many of which are covered with snow
throughout the whole year, belong to the
Yabloni chain, which, commencing in Mongolia,
crosses the frontier and divides Transbaikalia
into two great terraces of almost equal size.
These terraces again are divided by other and
lower chains of mountains separated from one
another by narrow valleys and occasional pla
teaux covered for the most part with dense
forests, many of which have never been
penetrated by human foot.
The land is watered by many rivers, a number
of which are navigable and afford valuable
ways of communication. Their most important
basins are those of Lake Baikal and the rivers
Lena and Amur. The Selenga, which, rising in
Mongolia and crossing the frontier in the
vicinity I of Krachtka, waters the most fertile
part of the country, flows at length into Lake
Baikal, and forms a waterway between Russia
and China, whose importance, great as it is at
present, is likely to increase rather than dimin
ish as the years go on. Until the year 1894 the
173

A RIBBON OF IRON
navigation of the Selenga was in the hands of a
steamship company. Today no such company
exists, and the whole of this extensive water
traffic is a source of untold wealth to one
private individual !
To men with capital Siberia is indeed a land
of promise, and the case in point is a remark
able instance of that truth. When the Selenga
Company dissolved, a Siberian merchant, M.
Niemtchinof, stepped in and bought up all its
steamers and barges. As no competition exists
this gentleman has it in his power to impose
the most extravagant freightage, which often
exceeds the value of the goods themselves.
Besides a large quantity of other merchandise,
it is estimated that upwards of 80,000 puds of
tea pass annually from China into Russia by
way of the Selenga.
Another river of extreme importance to this
territory is the Shilka ; it is formed by the
confluence of two smaller streams, the In-
goda and the Onon. So far the Ingoda has
not been navigated ; it is, however, of great use
to the inhabitants of the interior, who float
174

TRANSBAIKALIA
their goods upon its waters by means of rafts,
which, on arriving at their destination, are
usually broken up and used for firewood.
From the interior the Shilka flows in a north
easterly direction till, widened by the waters
of several important affluents, it empties itself
into the Amur, to which it has become equal
in size if not in length. Thus it forms a con
tinuation of the great waterway of the Amur.
Steamers belonging to the Amur companies
proceed up the Shilka to Stretinsk and about
two hundred miles beyond. It is more than
probable that within the next few years a
special flat : bottomed steamer will be intro
duced, such as is now being used so success
fully in Canadian rivers with water only one
foot deep. It will th§n be possible to navigate
not only the whole length of the Shilka, but
also the greater part of the Ingoda. It must
be remembered, however, that these Siberian
rivers are not merely covered with ice, but
frozen to their lowest depths for more than
half the year, and can be navigated only
between the months of April and October.
175

A RIBBON OF IRON
During that time another hindrance is often
met with in the shape of dense white mist,
which makes it impossible for steamers to pro
ceed, and consequently keeps them stationary
till eight if not ten o'clock in the morning, when
it is finally dispersed by brilliant sunshine.
The temperature of Transbaikalia is peculiar.
Sudden changes from great heat to intense cold
are frequent, and July is the only month of
the year that is entirely free from frost. It is
here that the earth is in many places frozen
all the year round to the depth of several
feet beneath the surface. Yet in spite of this
phenomenon the country is in the main wonder
fully fertile, and well adapted to the several
branches of agriculture. Healthful rains in
springtime, cloudless sky in summer, and a
transparent atmosphere coupled with the
strength of the sun's rays, all work marvels,
and within an almost incredibly short space
of time the wintry scene is transformed to
one of verdant beauty.
It was not till the year 1664, that is more
than sixty years after Yermak had conquered
176

TRANSBAIKALIA
Western Siberia, that Russians first penetrated
as far as Transbaikalia. Before that time the
country was inhabited by Tungiis, Daurians, and
Mongols. From the last-named people we learn
that it was here, on the banks of the Onon, that
their great chieftain, Genghis Khan, first saw
the light of day. Even now native tribes
venerate the name of that celebrated hero,
and recount to their children those wondrous
legends of his prowess that have been handed
down to them from generation to generation.
The present population may be divided into
three principal groups : peasants, Cossacks, and
aborigines ; while colonists, soldiers, convicts
and exiles form only a very small part of
the whole.
The peasant population is composed chiefly of
men who have left Russia for Russia's good ;
but there are voluntary emigrants among them,
and there is also a large proportion of families
who have been exiled on account of their
religion. The Cossacks of Transbaikalia occupy the
fourth place among the eleven branches into
177 m

A RIBBON OF IRON
which the Cossack race may be divided, viz. :
those of the Don — of Kouban — of Orenburg —
of Transbaikalia — of Tersk — of Siberia — of the
Urals — of Astrakhan — of Semir^tchensk — of
the Amur — and lastly of the Ussuri district.
According to the latest statistics they number
in Transbaikalia as many as two hundred thou
sand souls. In return for their military services
they are exempt from taxes, and enjoy certain
other privileges which are not granted to the
ordinary Siberian settler.
When Russia wished to colonize the Amur
Province after its conquest in 1854, she carried
off five thousand Cossacks from this district and
posted them at various points along the Amur
river. It was by the descendants of these men,
wild, untaught, and savage to the backbone,
that upwards of six thousand helpless Manchus,
some of them women and children, were
brutally massacred outside the town of Blago
vestchensk in July, 1900.
The aborigines of Transbaikalia are repre
sented by two tribes, the Tungiis and the
Bouriats. The former are Shamanists ; they
178

TRANSBAIKALIA
lead a nomadic life like other mongol tribes,
and are to be found from the Yenisei to
the Pacific Ocean. They spend most of their
time in hunting and fishing. The latter — the
Bouriats — are Buddhists, and have for their
religious worship in different parts of the
country a building called a " datsan." There
is a famous one about twenty-five versts from
the town of Selenghinsk on the Selenga. The
architecture of the " datsan " is decidedly
Chinese, as also are the pigtails of the men.
Living as they do, so close to the frontier of
China, these people have probably borrowed
many of their customs from that country.
With the help of wide pasture lands they
breed not only cattle, but camels, horses,
sheep, goats and pigs. The animals are turned
out to graze in great herds and find their own
food during a good part of the year, apparently
unaffected by the severity of the climate. A
large trade is carried on in the skins of their
cattle, which are sent in great quantities to
Irkutsk, where they are used for packing tea.
Like most regions of Siberia, Transbaikalia is
179

A RIBBON OF IRON
rich in minerals. Its silver mines are already
famous, but its gold, copper, lead and coal
mines have hardly begun to be exploited.
In July, 1900, that section of the great
Siberian railway, which runs through Trans
baikalia as far as Stretinsk, was declared open.
It has in all thirty-four stations. The first,
Myssova, is situated close to the eastern land
ing stage of Lake Baikal, and takes its name from
the neighbouring town, or rather village, whose
population is composed for the most part of
exiled criminals of the worst type. Robbery,
theft, and even murder, are here the order of
the day. Every respectable Russian must be
able to produce his passport when required,
and escaped convicts having no papers of their
own are anxious to possess themselves of those
belonging to their neighbours. Many a foul
murder is the result.
From Myssova our train passed through
Verkne-Oudinsk, Chita, and Nertchinsk to
Stretinsk, which is at present the terminus of
the railway.
Verkne-Oudinsk, on the Selenga, is one of the
180

TRANSBAIKALIA
oldest Russian towns in Transbaikalia. Its chief
church, which goes by the name of a cathedral,
dates as far back as the year 1745. There are
three other churches, a number of chapels, a
Jewish synagogue, and flourishing schools for
boys and girls respectively. An annual fair
held in the month of January has an important
effect on the trade of the country, and numerous
factories, chiefly of soap and candles, with a
brewery and seventeen tanneries, keep the
lower classes of the population well employed.
The town of Chita, to-day the most important
in Transbaikalia, is reached, starting from Lake
Baikal, after a journey of three days and three
nights, the train moving at the rate of ten to
seventeen miles an hour. With the exception
of Verkne-Oudinsk no towns of interest are
passed on the way. The stations all along the
line at regular intervals are hardly worthy of
the name ; a tiny log cottage and a water tower
are often the only signs of life visible when the
train pulls up, and it is well for the comfort
of travellers that they have a buffet on board.
In the year 1827, when Chita was chosen as a
181

A RIBBON OF IRON
place of banishment for certain political offen
ders, the Decabrists, it was still an insigni
ficant village with scarcely three hundred in
habitants. The men who were sent there
belonged to the highest aristocracy of Russia.
On their arrival the prison house was found
to be absolutely unfit for habitation. A new
prison had to be built, and the exiles were
ordered to take part in the work. Thanks
to their energy, the new building was com
pleted before winter set in. The wives of
many of these noblemen followed their hus
bands into voluntary exile, and, after under
going untold hardships succeeded in reaching
Chita, where they remained till the period of
banishment was over. The brave conduct of
these heroic women moved every heart. The
poet Nekrasof has immortalized their names
in a beautiful poem, which opens with a father's
lament at his daughter's determination to brave
unprotected the unknown horrors of a journey
into the heart of Siberia. The poem has
been translated into French ; it is entitled " Les
Femmes Russes." Up to this day there is a
182

TRANSBAIKALIA
street in Chita called " the Street of the Ladies "
in their memory.
During the three years and seven months of
their self-imposed banishment these ladies did
much to improve the state of the poor around
them. Their influence and their money gave
new life to the place. From that time it began
to improve rapidly, and the improvement has
been going on ever since. When the Manchurian
war broke out in the autumn of 1900 Chita
became a halting-place; for officers and troops
on their way to Manchuria. In September the
town was described to me as " quite gay " with
ladies who had accompanied their husbands and
brothers as far as they could on their way to
the front.
Chita is becoming an important commercial
centre. Its industries are developing rapidly
and its annual revenue is 100,000 roubles. In
1897 the first number of a Siberian journal
appeared here under the title of Life in the
Orient. Exempt from censorship, it is published
both in Russian and Mongolian. There is also
a daily paper. 183

Chapter XIII
STRETINSK
If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this
thing that disturbs thee, but thy judgement about it, and
it is in thy power to wipe out this judgement now.
M. Aueelius.
r I AHE next town of interest through which
we passed was Nertchinsk. It is a very
old town compared to Chita, for it dates back
to the year 1658. Dr. Lansdell (in refer
ring to the inaccessibility of the place when
there was no railway) wrote : " Nertchinsk is
five thousand two hundred and fifty miles east
of St. Petersburg, seven hundred miles nearly
due north of Pekin, about four hundred and
eighty miles north of the Chinese wall, and
one thousand miles west of the Pacific."
At such .a distance the horrors of convict
prisons could be safely magnified. As for
ourselves, our intention to inspect, on our
184

STRETINSK
return from Japan, the mines of which we had
heard so much, was frustrated, the insurgents
having set up batteries along our route. I can
not therefore speak from personal observation.
Convicts certainly do work in the mines up
to the present day, but they receive regularly
a tenth of the sum gained by their work. It
is also true that all the work that has to be
done in connexion with the prisons is done by
the prisoners. When the time of their sentence
has expired they leave the prisons to join the
ranks of those who have been transported for
life. The number of men in Transbaikalia
alone who have been transported for life is no
less than seventeen thousand. Many of them
are both very poor and very lazy and their
presence is by no means agreeable to their more
respectable neighbours. When a number of
these lawless men plot mischief it is in their
power to do a great deal of harm. Only as
far back as ^the beginning of September 1900
a band of these desperadoes lifted the rails in
front of a train that was on its way from Lake
Baikal to Chita. They had noticed that it was
185

A RIBBON OF IRON
composed of luggage vans, and were prepared
for plunder. The train smashed up. It was
not carrying luggage, but soldiers bound for
Manchuria ! No less than eleven of these un
fortunate men were killed on the spot, while
thirty others were seriously wounded. As for
the wreckers, they disappeared as soon as they
discovered their mistake.
I am thankful that the van in which we
travelled was not considered worthy of being
thus wrecked.
There was a young topographer, with his
newly married wife, on another part of our
train. They were bound for Khabarovsk. I
used to see them get out at the stations.
While the devoted husband ran with a big
tin kettle to fetch water, the wife would pick
flowers or glance at me with a supercilious air
as though she wondered where on earth I
had come from; and well she might wonder
to see me regularly disappear in the direction
of the convict vans, while the rest of the
passengers were taking their seats in the fourth-
class carriages. 186

STRETINSK
Three days and three nights had passed since
we crossed the Baikal, and we were half
through our fourth night in the van when the
captain woke us with the words " Stretinsk,
Stretinsk ! "
The train had stopped, but there was no need
for haste, for we had reached the terminus of
the railway, and could go no farther. We
strapped up our rugs by the light of a candle
with which the captain provided us, and were
just wondering where we should find an hotel,
when a man of the Hebrew race in ship's
uniform appeared on the scene. He told us
in broken German that he was the captain of
a steamboat, bound for Blagovestchensk, and
would take us there for I forget how many
roubles each.
" My boat starts at 8 a.m. tomorrow," he
said. " You will not need to go to an hotel ;
you can come on board at once."
This sounded very tempting, but I replied :
" We are going by the post steamer."
" Ah, then you must wait five days and
perhap? longer," he replied, " for the post
187

A RIBBON OF IRON
steamer is not in yet, and when she comes she
will stay here several days before starting."
Seeing me obdurate, the man departed some
what crestfallen to try his luck with the other
passengers. The doors of the convict vans were
now slid back and the convicts stepped out one
by one, their chains clanking as they walked.
Each carried a white sack such as I have
already described. One by one they walked to
the river side and deposited their sacks in a
heap. How each knew his own sack again, I
never knew. I suppose they were numbered.
This done they were marched into a large ferry
boat that lay waiting. Then our things were
carried down. We had not the faintest notion
what was going to happen next, till the captain,
who understood that we wished to go to an
hotel, pointed across the river to where the
town lay, and explained by signs that we too
must go across in the ferry. He next pointed
to a soldier who had come to meet the train,
and made us understand that he had given him
orders to find us an hotel. We were not sorry
to have a protector, for day was only juslr
188

STRETINSK
beginning to break, and the river looked very
weird. As for the town, we could not see it,
for its lights were out. All the convicts had
to be packed into their end of the ferry boat
and then we went on board. The soldier had
bought us tickets at two kopeks1 each; we were
then ferried across. It was difficult to find a
droshky, and when we found one the man
refused to take any baggage, so we had to look
for a second. At last we were started, and
drove to an hotel. After we had waited an
age, a man, who had evidently been roused
from a deep sleep, came to the door and told us
that every room was engaged. Just then we
caught sight of a tall priest in a long brown
coat with loose sleeves, and a straw hat over
his long curly hair, who walked past our
droshky. We had seen him on the train ; he
too was looking for a room.
We now drove in the direction of a second
hotel. I confess that I felt glad that the priest,
being on foot, would not be able to get there
1 A kopek is equal to J of a penny.
189

A RIBBON OF IRON
first. But my selfishness was well rewarded,
for the second hotel was also full. The priest
must have walked fast, for here he was again.
Our third attempt was, however, crowned
with success. There was a room that we could
have. While our things were being brought in
the priest again put in his appearance. I felt
generous now, and was quite pleased when he
also got accommodation.
The droshky man would take nothing less
than three roubles, the most exorbitant price
we had ever paid, considering that all the hotels
were fairly close together.
Our soldier now left us, and we retired, not
for the night, for that was gone, but for the
short time that remained before it was broad
daylight. The room contained a wretched bed
and a worse sofa ; the springs of the latter were
broken and rose in lumps with pointed corners,
as I soon discovered. I lay still till I could see
my way about, and then went to look for the
kitchen in the hope of getting hot water for a
bath. It was no use trying to sleep. A few
planks with great spaces between them, and
190

STRETINSK
a sheet hung over the whole, was all that
separated us from our next neighbour, who
snored loudly. Two sides of the room had
windows without shutters, and the fourth side
a door with cracks. In one corner of this cow
shed, for it deserved no better name, was a
Japanese screen. This article of furniture
rejoiced my eyes, not only because it was the
first sign to remind us that we were nearing
Japan, but also because, by standing behind it
in the corner of the room farthest from the
door, I could just manage to escape the obser
vation of the people who were already passing
the blindless windows. I do not quite know
why, but I was in a towering rage. Thinking
it might be partly due to hunger, I made some
tea from the water that was left in the
samovar after I had had my bath.
"What makes you so cross?" said my mother,
who had slept in spite of the snoring.
" Let us leave this wretched hole," I cried ;
"nothing would induce me to spend another
hour in it. I will go out and explore while you
take your bath." 191

A RIBBON OF IRON
At the door I met a party of travellers who
had just arrived from somewhere. The first
was a Russian officer. I addressed him in
French, then German, then English, but to no
purpose; he simply pointed to two little girls
who were behind. I was just trying German
on the little girls, who looked greatly bewil
dered, when a lady came up. I turned to her
in desperation and asked if she spoke French.
" Of course I speak French," she replied, and
she tossed her head with a look of astonishment,
as much as to say, " Pray what next?"
" They have put us to sleep in a cowshed,"
I cried. " Oh, when will the post steamer
arrive? This is beyond endurance."
" We have just come by the post steamer,"
replied the lady, gradually thawing. " It will
remain here two days, after which it will start
for Blagovestchensk. You can go on board at
once. It is not a steamer, but a barge drawn
by a rope. You will have to change into a
steamer at Pokrovskaya, where the Shilka joins
the Amur. I will come with you to the agent
and intrepret." 192

STRETINSK
Most gratefully I accepted the offer, and we
were soon on our way to the wharf. The agent
was very polite. He showed much commisera
tion when he heard how we were situated.
"By all means go on board at once," he
said. Returning to the hotel I ordered a droshky to
wait at the door, and went to fetch my mother
and pay the bill. I had to stamp my foot
before the man would bring it. He thought it
too early in the day. When he did bring it
I found that he had charged three roubles for
all that misery, besides food and attendance.
Just as our baggage was being brought out the
lady who had gone with me to the boat came
to see if our room was any better than the one
they had given her.
" This is as bad as mine," she said. " I may as
well stay where I am."
" Are you travelling for pleasure ? " was her
next remark.
" We are travelling to see, but not to suffer,"
I replied, and then I asked if she was travelling
for pleasure. 193 n

A RIBBON OF IRON
" My husband is a colonel," she answered.
"We have been stationed for three years at
Blagovestchensk, and are now only too thank
ful to leave it. But there is an Englishman in
our party, so you can talk your own language,"
and she turned to a young artillery officer who
stood near. It had never entered my head that
a Russian officer could be an Englishman. He
came up looking rather shy.
" I have lived so long in Blagovestchensk
without hearing a word of English," he said,
"that now I find it difficult to speak."
" We will come and see you on the boat," said
the lady as we drove off. When they came,
they found us comfortably ensconced in a little
first-class cabin with three berths.
" Ah ! you were wise to come here," they said ;
"the hotel is indeed dreadful. Our train does
not start till midnight."
I expressed a hope that they would enjoy
travelling with the emigrants.
"We are a large party," the lady replied.
"We shall get a whole carriage to ourselves,
so it won't be so bad." 194

STRETINSK
During the two days and a half that we were
obliged to wait in Stretinsk we made a home of
the cabin and went to the Station Hotel for
our meals. The Station Hotel, notwithstanding
its grand name, was but little better than the
one I have already described. When entering
it for the first time we turned back on the
threshold, thinking we had got into the kitchen
quarters by mistake. Such was the best hotel
in Stretinsk.
Stretinsk is a Cossack town extending for
nearly three quarters of a mile along the east
bank of the river Shilka. A range of pictur
esque hiUs rises abruptly behind the narrow
line of houses, and prevents the town from
spreading in that direction. Houses are rapidly
springing up on the other side of the river ; but
behind them also there are hills, so that by the
very nature of the place it must always increase
lengthways along the river.
Our spirits rose when we looked at the river
Shilka for the first time, for it was wider and
deeper than we had been led to expect.
" The water is rising," we were told ; " there
195

A RIBBON OF IRON
will probably be enough water to enable you to
start at the appointed time."
" What do you think of Stretinsk ? " asked the
Colonel's wife when she came to see us. " It is
not a town at all you know, but just a big
Cossack village, and it will never be anything
else while it is in the hands of the Cossacks.
They are great riders, great drinkers and
great sleepers, that is about all."
There was a bitter ring in her voice as she
spoke, which found an echo in my own heart ;
and our feelings towards the Cossacks did not
become more friendly when, as we went
shopping together, she was charged a rouble
and a half (three shillings) for a piece of soap
worth threepence, and I a shilling for a tiny
bottle of methylated spirit.
Until I arrived at Stretinsk and had personal
dealings with them I had cherished a secret
admiration for the Cossacks. Was not the
brave Yermak, the first conqueror of Siberia, a
Cossack ? And what would be Russia's position
in the far East today but for the services that
have been rendered to her by these brave
^196

STRETINSK
pioneers, half soldiers, half brigands though
they be?
Our Cossack laundress never thought of iron
ing the things she washed for us. She spread
them out to bleach in the sun, and brought them
back rough-dried. Considering this, her price
was exorbitant, being twice what we should
have paid in Paris to have them properly done.
But how could we be angry with her when she
was the most beautiful woman of her class we
had ever seen ! Lithe and tall as a young larch
she held her head like a queen, and looked at us
so innocently from her lovely grey-blue eyes
that we were quite overcome. Her clear gipsy
complexion was set off by strings of many
coloured beads, which she wore round her bare
neck. Amongst them was a handsome amber
necklace, which hung down over her oriental
looking kerchief, and added greatly to the
general effect. A mass of rich golden hair was
tied up loosely in two plaits at the back of her
neck. She took a seat in our cool cabin without
being asked, and gave a sigh of relief as she
pushed back a stray curl from her hot forehead.
197

A RIBBON OF IRON
The interpretation we put upon her words was,
" Ah, you have no idea how hot it is up there on
the hillside, where there is no shade." She was
very grateful for a cup of tea, which happened
to be ready on the table. As for the bill, we
paid her all she asked, just because she was so
beautiful, and were quite sorry when she rose
to go.
Some of these Cossacks are very good natured.
One man, of whom I bought a large bag of
walnuts, a nut so plentiful in these parts, took
the trouble to crack each nut separately with
a pound weight before he put them into the
bag. And all this time his other customers
looked on with laughing faces but not a sign of
impatience. The predominant colour in the
Cossack uniform is bright yellow. It is by this
that they can easily be distinguished from the
peasants around.
Half the people we passed in the streets were
Manchus, wearing wide brimmed hats, long pig
tails, and bright blue cotton blouses, over loose
pantaloons of the same material. To me their
appearance was quite girlish, and I actually
198

STRETINSK
thought at first that some of them were women.
These people strutted about with an air of great
assurance, as though the place belonged to them,
and squatted at the street corners in true eastern
fashion. Their hats were the first straw ones
we had seen since leaving Moscow.
There was something else that reminded us
how far east we had come, the sight of English
and American pickles, tinned meats and biscuits
in the shops. The high prices asked for these
articles were not extravagant considering that
they had come all the way round by Vladivostok.

199

Chapter XIV
ON THE SHILKA
Vollig fremde und gegen einander gleichgultige Men-
schen, wenn sie eine Zeitlang zusammen leben, kehren ihr
Inneres wechselzeitig heraus, und es muss eine gewisse
Vertraulichkeit entstehen.
Goethe.
/^\N Monday, June 18, we began our river
travelling in good earnest. A lady, whose
husband was director of a boys' gymnasium at
Blagovestchensk, had come on board the previous
night. She had a little boy three years of age
with her. These two shared the third berth in
our cabin. Opposite our door was that of the
dining saloon. There was a long table down
the centre and a wide velvet seat like a sofa
running round the walls. Here we had lunch,
dinner and afternoon tea. The first meal was
served just as we were moving away from
Stretinsk. 200

ON THE SHILKA
The director's wife spoke a little French, and
there were two young men from Riga who
spoke German. A number of gentlemen pas
sengers came on board just as we were about to
start. One of these was elder brother to the
little boy in our cabin. He wore the uniform
of a medical student and, as we afterwards
learned, was returning home to Blagovestchensk
for the summer vacation. The priest in the long
brown coat was also there.
I was greatly puzzled to know where all these
people were going to pack themselves for the
night. Besides our cabin there was a small one
for two people in the very front of the boat,
but this was already occupied by a gentleman
and his manservant. When night came how
ever the mystery was solved, for all the men
squeezed themselves into the dining saloon, and
after drinking beer and smoking for some time,
stretched themselves out upon the velvet sofas.
As many of them did not rise till midday
we ladies had to breakfast in our cabin.
" We have great luck," said the director's wife
when we were well started. " The water rose
201

A RIBBON OF IRON
fourteen feet during the night ; but for that we
should have been unable to proceed."
It was very hot ; the sun shone each day with
intense power between the hours of eleven and
four. Then the air became steadily cooler till sun
set, when we were glad to put on warm wraps
and even to draw our heaviest rugs around
us. The cool fresh nights came as a refreshing
boon ; they brought new life and sound sleep.
When we awoke in the morning the air was
still cold and bracing, and it was hard to be
lieve that at midday we should again be prostrate
from the heat. There was no awning under
which we could sit, and only a very narrow deck
on which to walk or stand. We used to take
chairs up from the saloon and sit wherever we
could get the least bit of shade ; but about
10 a.m. the sun was too high to be kept off in
this way. The centre of the boat, or rather the
roof of the house part of it, was covered with a
large piece of tarpaulin. Some of the passengers
used to climb on the roof and lie under it, but
that was hot work. The only way to escape
the sun was to go below, and then you were
202

ON THE SHILKA
deprived of the life-giving breeze, and tormented
to distraction by two kinds of flies. There were
small ones, such as we have in every house at
home, and large ones with green heads, larger
than bluebottles. These latter have an unpleasant
way of pricking you as if with a needle. They
come very quietly, and the first intimation you
receive of their presence is that merciless prick.
Before trying to get an afternoon nap we used
to flick every fly that was visible out of our
cabin window and then hang a wet towel over
the opening. When the heat was at its worst
we sat with wet handkerchiefs on our heads and
basins of cold water at hand, into which we
could dip them as they began to dry. There was
one happy couple who did not seem to mind
either the flies or the heat so much as other
people. They sat out in the sun for hours clasp
ing each other's waists and looking the picture
of contentment. It was clear that this was
their wedding trip. But what a honeymoon !
And where could they be going to ? The young
man had a shock of uncombed hair, but the lady
was a picture of neatness. 203

A RIBBON OF IRON
Before the end of the second day I saw the
faces of quite a number of people I had not
observed before. Who could they be ? and
where did they come from, I wondered. We
had certainly stopped at no town to pick them
up. It was not until days after, when I made
the acquaintance of some of them on the Amur
steamer, that I discovered that they were in
reality first-class passengers who, rather than
wait for another steamer, were travelling third
class, as first and second were full up.
The scenery on the Shilka was very beautiful.
Almost immediately after leaving Stretinsk we
had high granite rocks on both sides of us, some
rising bare and jagged, others covered with
short thick fir trees. Once in a ravine we saw a
large patch of unmelted snow. Happy snow, to
keep cool while we were so hot !
It was considered dangerous to proceed in the
dark, so the little steamer that tugged us along
used to bring us to a convenient resting place
about ten each night, and then, dropping the
rope, by which we were drawn, into the water,
wheel quickly round and attach itself to the
204

ON THE SHILKA
shore for the night. In the meantime our
boatmen unwound the anchor on our boat and
dropped it into the river. At 5 a.m. we used
to be off again.
All our passengers were exceedingly gratified
when we came upon the Jew's boat that had had
nearly three days' start of us firmly stuck on a
sandbank. The first thing I noticed was a party
of boys bathing at the water's edge. Then a
little farther on I saw a large motley crowd of
people walking about like a swarm of bees.
What they could all be doing on that bank, so
far from any human habitation, I could not
imagine. A few minutes later we were along
side of the Jew's boat, the Ural, and then I
perceived that the people on the bank were the
passengers who had turned out for a stroll or a
bathe. They had been there a day and a half al
ready. How pleased and self satisfied we all felt,
as we swept past, to think that the captain of
the Ural had not persuaded us to go in his boat !
This was our third day on the Shilka, and
we hailed its close with delight, for we were
heartily tired of our shadeless barge.
205

A RIBBON OF IRON
We had anchored for the night as usual, and
with the exception of two young men had all
retired to our cabins. About midnight hurried
steps along the deck led us to open our window
and look out. Some one, it was whispered,
had fallen into the water. The excitement
increased. Men and women could be seen whis
pering mysteriously in the semi-darkness and
peering into the dark water. The halfmoon
shone red in the sky but gave little light to the
weird scene. A gentleman presently recogniz
ing my face at the window, stooped down and
whispered in broken German the words " Student,"
" Mutter." The director's wife could not possibly have
heard the whisper for she was in her berth at the
other side of the cabin. It must have been her
mother's instinct that made her get up quickly
and rush on deck before I could speak a word.
I followed her and soon gathered from those
around that the student and a young German
had gone out in a small boat to have a mid
night bathe, and that the latter had plunged
into the river and been carried rapidly down
206

ON THE SHILKA
stream. Feeling himself powerless to resist the
current, he had cried for help, and a boatful of
men had put off to the rescue.
The poor mother stood wringing her hands
and moaning piteously. She felt quite sure that
both were drowned. Some dreadful minutes
passed. Then we heard a shout through the
darkness ; it was a shout of joy ; and the words
" All's well ! " rang out clearly, first in Russian,
then in German, and lastly in French. After a
time the boat came alongside, and the student,
leaping on board, sprang to where his mother
stood. " Mother ! mother ! " he cried, " it is all right."
But the poor woman stood speechless. She
strove to speak, but the effort ended in a
gasp. " Mother ! dearest mother ! " cried the youth,
putting his arms around her. But she could
not speak. I fetched some brandy and poured
it down her throat. A doctor now came for
ward ; he had been attending to the German
who had been carried in in a state of great
exhaustion. Taking the poor lady's hand he
207

A RIBBON OF IRON
led her back to the cabin, and her son followed
in an agony of terror lest his mother's reason
had been affected by the shock. They made her
lie down, and after a little while, as they sat by
her side, she fell asleep. When she awoke in
the morning the power of speech had returned,
to our immense relief, for we had shared the
fears of her son. Sitting up in her berth she
crossed herself many times, and then bowed her
head in a prayer of thankfulness.
As for the German, he looked very pale for
some days, and spoke no more of river bathing.
We heard later that his last thought in the
moment of danger was for his aged mother,
who had begged him so hard to find employ
ment nearer home and not to go to Siberia.
He knew, he said, that a telegram announcing
his death would kill her. The other German
with whom he was travelling had stood with a
cigarette in his mouth and a look of impene
trable calm during the whole of that painful
scene. I was petrified by what I took to be his
horrible callousness, and vowed inwardly that I
would ignore his existence from that time forth.
208

ON THE SHILKA
This vow I kept until about four days later,
when we were on the Amur, and a lady doctor
who had been with us on the Shilka — travelling
third class — said to me, " I feel a kind of rever
ence for those natures that can bear the most
acute mental torture with such outward calm
ness and such apparent indifference that on
lookers are deceived. Did you notice the
behaviour of that German on the Shilka
when he thought his friend was drowned?"
Several of the people on board had come
direct from Moscow by the last post train.
For them the drowning incident was neither
the first unhappy occurrence nor the most
tragic. Soon after passing the Urals their
train had pulled up so suddenly that those
who happened to be standing were thrown off
their feet. A woman in the third class had seen
a young man throw himself on the rails, from
the platform between the carriages. A stream
of blood along the line guided those who went
in search to the spot where the young man lay.
A ghastly sight awaited them, for the train had
passed over his body and cut off both legs, while
209 o

A RIBBON OF IRON
his head had received such frightful injuries
that death must have been instantaneous.
When the train moved on a cloud seemed to
have fallen on the passengers. All merriment
had been checked, and gloom had taken the
place of smiles. This state of things lasted
more or less till they reached Irkutsk. Here
one of the passengers, entering a church an hour
or two after his arrival, found an old man weep
ing piteously in a secluded corner.
"What is your trouble, sir?" he ventured to
ask. " My trouble ? " answered the old man be
tween his sobs. " I have just received news of
the death of my son ; he was to have arrived by
the post train today. Alas ! I know too well
how it has all happened. He telegraphed to me
from Moscow to say that he had got into the
company of gamblers and lost all his money —
two thousand roubles. I sent him money for
the journey home, and told him to come at once,
but the poor boy could not endure his disgrace,
and — I have lost him."
One long day on the Shilka was enlivened by
the presence of two new passengers — ladies who
210

ON THE SHILKA
came on board at one of the stopping -places
early in the morning and left us after dark in
the evening. The elder, who might have been
forty years of age, had a jolly sunburnt face, a
careless style of dress, and a straw sailor hat.
The younger was a handsome girl of about
twenty-five, dressed in a well fitting grey travel
ling dress, with a coquettish-looking pink ribbon
round her throat and a dainty summer hat.
Hearing us speak English she soon addressed
us in that language, much to our surprise.
" I have come all the way from Switzerland,"
she said with a pretty accent, " to visit this lady,
who is my cousin. Her husband has gold mines
on the Amur, and I am going to stay with them.
Just think of it ! — when we get off this boat we
shall have to take a four hours' drive in a spring-
less cart, through a country without roads ! That
will be the worst part of the whole journey."
Then she went on to tell us that she too had
travelled in a luggage van. She had bought
herself a mattress in Irkutsk and slept on the
floor. She had travelled under the protection of
a Russian count who was bringing his wife a
new maid from St. Petersburg. 211

A RIBBON OF IRON
" We used to wash our faces every morning
from a large tin mug," she said. "First the
count washed his face, leaning out of the door
way, then he refilled the mug with water, and I
had my turn ; the maid came next. Before we
had got half way to Stretinsk a lot of Jews
came in. They also had mattresses — so that the
van was quite full."
I told her that I had been asked by the editor
of a lady's paper to write some letters about
those subjects connected with my journey that
were most likely to interest women.
"How can I tell what will interest women?"
I asked. " Every girl ought to be interested in a journey
like this," she replied, " no matter what part of
it you describe. When I am tired of the gold
mines I shall take the route you are now taking.
It is intensely interesting."
We parted with many regrets in front of a
most romantic looking little landing stage on
the river's bank. Some day I hope we may
meet again.

212

Chapter XV
THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
T7*ARLY on Thursday morning, June 19, we
^~~* reached Pokrovskaya, a village on the
banks of the Amur, just where the Shilka
joins it. The word " Pokrovskaya " is one that
I shall never forget, for it was on everybody's
lips from the moment they stepped on to the
barge till the moment they left it. It was
always " At Pokrovskaya we shall change into
a steamer " ; " At Pokrovskaya the river will
be wider " ; or, "After Pokrovskaya we shall get
food that we can eat," and so on.
The day had begun with a mist all round
us, so thick that we could hardly see the banks
of the river, but it cleared up as the sun began
to shine and the weather became hot and
sultry. 213

A RIBBON OF IRON
The water in the Shilka was so shallow that
there was a delay of several hours before we
could come alongside of the steamer for Blago
vestchensk. For our comfort we were told
that the boat which preceded ours had been
delayed for want of water for three whole
days at that very spot. A gentleman who
followed in our track a week later informed
me when he caught us up that matters had
grown worse after we had passed through.
" There is only a foot and a half of water
in the Shilka now," he said.
It was 11 a.m. when we changed into the
steamer. The sun's rays were cruel as we
crossed the bridge of planks that had been laid
down for our benefit. How can I describe
the scene ? Passengers from the steamer were
as anxious to secure places on the barge as
we were to leave it. Both parties made a
rush for the bridge and met in the middle.
Then it became a case of " dodge past who
can." Third-class passengers carrying their
own bedding squeezed past porters carrying
the baggage of other people, whilst sclitary
214

THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
individuals, who had neither bedding nor bag
gage to hinder them, ducked between. Every
body was afraid that everybody else would
secure the best place. That was the trouble.
However there was plenty of room for all who
wished to travel first class. There was a
pleasant saloon across the prow, and a passage
running down the centre of the ship opened
into the middle of it. Cabins, each containing
two wide berths, opened into the passage on
both sides. The other end of the passage led
up some steps to a higher deck, and here was
a buffet where you could buy wine, beer or
lemonade at any hour of the day.
The previous passengers had not yet moved
their things out when we took possession of
our cabin. On my berth was a large round
bundle tied up in a rug. I leaned against it,
for I was quite exhausted. All at once the
door opened and a Russian officer bounced in.
He looked anxiously from me to the bundle
and from the bundle back to me, said a few
words in Russian and disappeared. A few
minutes passed. Then he came again and be-
215

A RIBBON OF IRON
haved in the same way, but this time I told
him in French that I could not understand
Russian. " Ah ! " he said, speaking French now, " I
only wanted you to be careful, because there
is a loaded revolver just where you are sitting
and I was afraid it might go off. I will take
it away as soon as I have had my lunch."
As he spoke he rolled the bundle aside and
showed me a large revolver. After that I
rested on my mother's berth until the other
passengers had removed their baggage.
The steamer lay there all day till 6 p.m.
" We shall be six days late," said the director's
wife in tones of despair. " We are going to
tug that great barge which you see being
loaded. I telegraphed to my husband to meet
us on Friday, but we shall not get to Blagoves
tchensk before Sunday now," and then she
added still more emphatically, "I blush for
the impunctuality of my country. Yes — I blush
for Russia." But she did not blush for all
that. A number of peasant women, who were
216

THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
evidently going only a short distance, got into
the barge just before we started and stood
together in a closely packed crowd. Every one
of them had a brightly coloured cotton hand
kerchief tied over her head, and there were
hardly two shades alike. Red, pink, yellow,
orange, blue and green — all were there.
"Look at that bunch of flowers," said one
of our passengers as we watched them from
the upper deck. And truly the comparison was
not a bad one.
My memory of that day at Pokrovskaya is
anything but pleasant. We had to fan our
selves incessantly to keep off swarms of those
horrible green-faced flies. One pricked my
hand while I was pouring out tea, and the
pain was so sharp that I dropped the teapot.
A gentleman who came into the saloon a
minute later was quietly filling his glass with
boiling water from the samovar when he sud
denly gave a frantic jump and only just escaped
a severe scalding.
The Amur is not a wide river as compared
with the Yenisei or the Angara, and there is
217

A RIBBON OF IRON
not much that is remarkable about its scenery
after the first few miles. For hours together
we saw nothing but undulating hills covered
thickly with fir-trees. These would often
change after a time to green pasture land
without a sign of human life to relieve the
monotony. " Which side is China ? " said my mother as
she came on deck. "I want to sit with my
face towards China so that I can see as much
of it as possible."
So we turned our chairs to the right and
gazed upon the Chinese frontier.
Here, as on the railway, we experienced great
changes of weather and of temperature. The
intense heat of the first day was followed by
autumnal cold and heavy rain. The very
sailors we had seen at their posts in cotton
blouses were now going about in fur-lined
ulsters. During the day there was always a sailor at
the prow with a measuring pole. He called out
the depth in a sing-song tone as he dropped
the pole into the water and drew it out
218

THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
again. There were so many sand-banks and
small islands that it would have been impossible
to proceed by night. Happily for us we con
tinued to have plenty of water.
Here and there we passed a scattered Cossack
village and stopped to take the letters of the
priest, the schoolmaster, or the doctor, if there
was one. The people themselves could neither
read nor write. It was a pretty sight to see
women and children hastening to the bank
in their coloured dresses with bottles of milk
in their hands ; the milk was eagerly bought
by the passengers, especially by those of the
third class who carried their own food with
them and were glad to replenish their stores.
First-class passengers paid two roubles a day
per head for meals provided on board, and
there was always a flourishing business carried
on at the buffet.
There were few signs of life on the Chinese
frontier. Sometimes however we passed close
enough to a village to distinguish the peculiar
shape of the Manchurian houses, or the junk
like canoes tied up on the bank.
219

A RIBBON OF IRON
On the second day we came to a part of
the river called Tsagaian, where there were
sandy cliffs on both sides. The peculiarity of
these cliffs was that smoke was curling out
of their sides in many places. Something that
looked like ashes had streamed out of the holes
from which the smoke issued and lay in heaps
on the yellow sand at the river's edge. I had
heard that the phenomenon was caused by
strata of ever-smouldering coal running through
the cliffs ; but, from a fellow passenger who
had made a study of the matter, I gathered
that the so-called " coal " was a layer of wood,
the roots of ancient trees, and that its smoulder
ing was brought about much in the same
manner as that of a damp hay-stack in summer.
The nearest village is also called Tsagaian.
The following account of this locality is so
interesting that I cannot refrain from inserting
it. " At this spot the river bank rises abruptly
like a steep wall to the height of two hundred
and fifty feet. The whole of the top of this
wall is covered with moss, and because of its
220

THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
resemblance to the closely shaven head of a
Lama Manegr, it has received the name of
Lama - Khadar which signifies the ' Lama's
rock.' " The locality which goes by the name of
Tsagaian (Tsag-aian, i.e. White Mountain) is
venerated as a holy place by all the races of
the Amur, the Chinese included. It extends
for a verst and a half from Lama Khadar and
terminates with steep and overhanging rocks.
The whole of the Tsagaian is composed of
yellow sandstone lying in horizontal strata,
interspersed with strata of brownish coal which
is in a state of perpetual combustion. Travel
lers on the Amur, who pass this spot at night,
have before them a magnificent spectacle in
the shape of these ever-burning cliffs."1
A few hours later we passed the mouth of
the river Koumara opposite which there is a
very steep rock with a stretch of level ground
above. On this level ground stands a great
cross decorated with iron and painted white.
It bears a copper plate with the inscription,
1 Guide to the Great Siberian Railway.
221

A RIBBON OF IRON
La force n'est pas dans la force, la force est
dans Vamour. The cross was erected by Baron
Korf, the first Governor- General of the Upper
Amur. The words above quoted were used
by him on the occasion of the first meeting
at Khabarovsk, " des gens comp^tants," who
were making a special study of the country's
needs. The cross, which is surrounded by a
railing of cast-iron, can be distinguished at a
distance of fifty versts.
At certain points the river curves round in
a most remarkable manner. There are times
when you see no opening in front of you at
all. In one place our steamer twisted in and
out between the rocks almost forming the
figure 8 ; and it seemed that in another minute
we should run ashore.
" We are completely shut in now," said the
lady doctor, "but there must be an opening
soon. Let us guess on which side it will be.
I think we shall turn to the left."
We stood watching in silence for some
minutes. All at once the steamer made an
abrupt turn to the right. 222

THE AMUR— SMOKING CLIFFS
"You see I was wrong," said she. "It was
really impossible to tell."
The land here became two peninsulas, one
of them belonged to Russia, for it was formed
by the right bank. The other, formed by the
left bank, was Chinese territory.

1VJ.ll

A POST HOUSE WHEBE WE CHANGED H0ESES.

223

Chapter XVI
A CHINESE GOLD MINE— RUSSIAN
MINES— BLAGOVESTCHENSK
r | "'HE Russian territory stretching from the
left bank of the Amur, as far north as the
southern boundary of Yakutsk, is known as the
Amur Province. In size it has been compared to
Sweden, for its surface covers the same number
of square miles. Its character is decidedly
mountainous, some peaks in the north rise to a
height of 7,000 feet above the sea level, and
there are ravines with a depth of 2,000 feet.
The mountains that are seen from the river are
of no great height ; but they have the appearance
of being gloomy and inaccessible. Thick forests
of fir trees cover them so densely that one almost
wonders how their branches have room to grow.
The luxuriance of vegetation, so different from
that of other regions through which we had
224

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
passed, struck us very forcibly. Frequent rain
falls keep the country so green that it resembles
the " Emerald Isle." In fact there is a great
deal more rain than is wanted, and the dampness
and moisture of the land are a drawback with
which emigrants and settlers find it hard to cope.
This state of things is caused by west winds
which blow from the Pacific Ocean and carry
water with them.
The mineral wealth of the Amur region is
inexhaustible. Iron has been discovered in great
quantities, yet up to the present day no mines
have been worked. Coal too is abundant, and
numerous seams of the very best quality have
been found. But the precious metal which has
already attracted the attention of all the world,
and affected by its presence the very life of the
country, is gold.
Of all the gold districts within the Russian
Empire those of the Amur Province are second
in importance only to those of the Urals in the
amount of gold found in the sand of their rivers ;
and to those of Yakutsk in the wealth of metal
in their mines. 225 p

A RIBBON OF IRON
From mines discovered in 1866 in the river
systems of Dyalinida and Oldoi, by an engineer
of the name of Anossof, and worked by a
company, 2,500 puds of gold were extracted
during a period of twenty years. These mines
were then abandoned by the company, but
private individuals who had been in its service
continued to work them, and are still able, after
paying the wages of the miners, to reserve for
themselves an annual amount of sixty puds.
The river Amur may be a natural boundary
between two vast territories, and Russians may
shoot across it, or vice versa, but for all
that a description of the left bank is also a
description of the right, especially as far as
mineral wealth is concerned, and few people stop
to consider their nationality when gold is in the
question. The power of attraction that this metal has
for human beings is exemplified in the story of
the Jeltughinsk mines on the Manchurian
frontier, not far from Pokrovskaya. They were
discovered in the year 1883, and before the close
of 1885 they had attracted a population of 10,000
226

Boats going to the Gold Mine, on a tributary of the Amur.

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
souls ! The sequel to the tale has its amusing
side. Manchurian troops fell upon these greedy
gold diggers the following year, and driving them
away burnt up all the apparatus they had
brought together.
The greater number of the workmen employed
in the Amur mines are Russian peasants. About
2,500 are employed in the mines worked by the
Upper Amur Company, the oldest company in
existence. It exploits as many as ten mines a
year. The work is done by means of open
canals ; sand is carried to the washing machine
in trucks placed upon rails, or by a kind of lift.
Some of the machines are most elaborate ; there
is a fine model of one in the museum at
Khabarovsk.1 The Company has its own steam
boats and there is telegraphic communication
between the various mines. In the neighbour
hood there are churches, hospitals and two
schools for the children of the miners. Other
large companies have similar arrangements.
One point in favour of the Amur gold mines is
that the gold lies near the surface and is conse-
1 None of these are very modern.
227

A RIBBON OF IRON
quently more easily obtained than that of other
districts. It is often quite impossible to work
the mines during the month of August owing to
the fact that the soil is turned into mud by a
superabundance of rain.
The Director's wife had spoken truly. We
did not reach Blagovestchensk till Sunday
morning. Blagovestchensk, or " The town with
the swear name " as I have since heard it called,
unrolled itself with tantalizing slowness to our
impatient eyes. We were all on deck, and there
was a mustering of field glasses. Six whole days
had passed since we left Stretinsk. We might
have crossed the Atlantic in that time. No
wonder we were all impatient.
First came a few straggling " isbas " or
peasants' huts, then some pleasant-looking villas,
far apart, with their front windows looking out
upon the river ; then an avenue of trees, and
finally several solid-looking business houses of
red brick, and an hotel.
" You have missed the post steamer," was the
first piece of news that greeted our ears, you
will have to wait four days for the next.
228

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
As there was now no need for hurry on our
part we decided to let the other passengers land
first. Accordingly we remained on deck and
amused ourselves with watching them scramble
ashore. A crowd of people had come down to
meet their friends. The Director of the
gymnasium was there, a fine old man in uniform,
quite soldier-like in appearance, and a daughter
who had married one of the masters of the
school. The daughter was sobbing as if her
heart would break, and all for joy. They pushed
across the crowded bridge and made their way
into the cabin, where the mother and her little
boy were waiting for them, and a few minutes
later we saw the child • riding triumphantly on
his father's shoulder as they all recrossed the
bridge with beaming faces. It was a pretty
scene, but ah ! how different it might have been.
That mother, so happy now, had, as we heard
from one to whom she had confessed it, actually
meditated suicide when she thought her son was
drowned that terrible night on the Shilka.
" I should have jumped overboard myself," she
had said, " and left the English ladies to take my
229

A RIBBON OF IRON
little one to his father. I have lost one son, and
could not live through another sorrow like that."
One of the passengers who had landed now
came back very kindly to tell us that we had no
time to lose. " The captain has received orders
to return at once to Pokrovskaya," he said.
Not wishing to see Pokrovskaya again so soon
I hurried on land to find a porter. The bridge
was still crowded with emigrants and their
baggage, or bundleage, if I may be allowed to
coin such a word. Returning with a porter I
confronted an unhappy emigrant with a big
bundle of family bedding under his left arm, and
a kettle and an open purse in his right hand.
As he tried to make his way through the throng
tea began to pour out of the kettle and rouble
notes to flutter out of the purse. I wish I could
have taken a photograph of that poor man's
face !
Having been advised to stay at the Grand
Hotel we drove there at once, and wTere glad to
find more comfortable quarters than we had
dared to expect. The manager spoke English,
French and German, besides Russian, but his
230

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
English was shaky from want of use. We were
told that the owner of the hotel, a young man
residing in Paris, was worth two millions Stirling,
though some say that it is worked by a
company. I have heard since that this hotel is
famed all over Siberia as the best throughout the
length and breadth of the land. It has not been
open two years and is not mentioned in any guide
book. The cooking would certainly have been
excellent but for the fact that every dish tasted
of bad butter. We tried eggs, but they were
absolutely uneatable, and, worst of all, the bread
was sour. If ever I meet that young man,
" worth two millions Stirling " I will talk to him
about the ice creams and the coffee, for these
were irreproachable.
It was now three weeks since we had left
Irkutsk. As we had been travelling with the
post all the time no letters or newspapers had
caught us up, and we literally thirsted for
European news.1 Early on Monday morning I
1 In fact no letters did reach us till we got to New York,
where we received some by way of the Atlantic. We had
telegraphed to London from Vancouver,
231

A RIBBON OF IRON
inquired for the manager, and asked him if there
was any fresh news from South Africa.
" News from South Africa ! " cried the manager,
looking surprised. " Why, the papers have done
with that part of the world ; it's all Russia and
China now. There will be a war between the
two countries as sure as fate."
It was now my turn to be surprised.
" This must be something quite new," I replied.
" There was not even a rumour of such a thing
when I left St. Petersburg."
" Yes, it has all come about very quickly," was
the reply, and then we heard about the trouble
in Pekin and Taku.
"There seem to be as many Chinamen as
Russians in this town," I remarked. " What will
happen to them if there is a war ? "
" The moment war is declared they will all
have to leave," he replied, " every one of them." 1
After this conversation I took a walk in the
town, and made one or two purchases. Most of
the people I met in the shops and in the streets
were Chinamen — that is, Manchus. Many of
1 They numbered more than 6,000.
232

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
them carried poles balanced across their
shoulders with swinging baskets of vegetables or
fruits, just as you see them in Chinese pictures.
I had never seen so many of the yellow race
in my life, and was much interested in studying
their faces as they passed me. They struck me
as being very ugly indeed. I tried to feel kindly
towards them, and even went so far as to picture
myself a missionary in a Chinese town. But it
was no use. I returned to the hotel with a
feeling of thankfulness that I was not a mission
ary, at least not to so unattractive a people.
Alas ! at that very hour hundreds of poor
missionaries in China were escaping for their
lives, while many others were being cruelly
murdered ; and, what is more, the days of many
a Manchu into whose face I looked that morning,
were numbered.
The force and brilliancy with which the sun
shone reminded me of the tropics. I returned
to the hotel in a state of exhaustion, although it
was not yet ten o'clock in the morning, and did
not venture out again till the evening. In the
night rain poured down in torrents, but the next
233

A RIBBON OF IRON
morning the sun's rays were as fierce as ever. I
believe that the great clearness of the atmosphere
had much to do with the peculiar effect of the
sun. That evening we sat in the dining hall of the
hotel reading the papers and watching the people
who came and went. Presently a party of
Russians and a Chinaman came in ; they ordered
beer, and sat down. The Chinaman was
evidently of high rank. He was beautifully
dressed and looked fat and sleek. Every time
they raised their glasses to their lips the whole
party got up, bowed, and shook hands. The
Chinaman looked across at us occasionally as
much as to say, " I wonder what those foreign
ladies think of it all."
The next morning I was surprised to find
The Life of Tennyson for sale in a book shop
close by. It seemed strange that they should
have English books for sale if there was no one
to read them.
The chief occupation of the place is gold
mining. Men who have made a little money at
the mines in summer come to Blagovestchensk
234

Gold washing, near the Amur.

A CHINESE GOLD MINE
to spend it during the winter. They come with
the determination to have a good time, and spend
their money very freely. But for such people
the shops would not flourish as they do, for there
is practically no one else to buy.
On Wednesday I was utterly incapacitated
owing to the heat and the food. I remained in
my room till about 3 p.m., when the manager
suddenly appeared at the door.
" May I come in ? " he asked, and before we
could answer in he walked.
"You will be obliged to stay here, ladies," he
said, in excited tones. " War has broken out,
and all the steamers except the ' post ' have been
chartered to carry soldiers to the seat of action.
All the horses are being taken. I doubt if you
will find one to take you to the boat. If you do
go on under the present state of affairs you will
run the risk of being shot at, if not stopped
altogether. Take my advice and make up your
minds to wait here until the war is over. It
will all be finished in a month, and then you can
go on in safety."
"But the Chinese have not begun to go," I
235

A RIBBON OF IRON
said ; " there are as many of them in the streets
today as there were yesterday."
The manager shook his head. "Mark my
word," he said. " In three days' time there will
not be a Chinaman left in Blagovestchensk.
Only twenty versts from here there is a Chinese
army of 30,000 men. But the Russians are
ready for them ; they will be the first to strike."
As soon as the manager had left us I drank a
glass of strong tea to settle my nerves. My
mother had not caught the whole of the con
versation, as we had spoken in German. It was
quite clear that Russian troops were being
mobilized. We could see that with our own
eyes from the window.
In the dining hall I found groups of people
talking earnestly in low tones. The towns
people, I gathered, were under the impression
that Russia was about to surprise and take by
storm a Chinese town called Aigun, situated on
the banks of the Amur, only twenty versts from
Blagovestchensk.

236

Chapter XVII
THE SILVER GENERAL
^IfE had been planning a trip to Aigun, as
the most profitable way of passing the
time till we could get a steamer to carry us
farther ; but the thought of meeting thirty
thousand Chinamen in arms was not attrac
tive. "Let us go to the office of the Amur Company
and see if they confirm these rumours," said my
mother. It had again been raining heavily, and the
street in front of the hotel was completely
flooded. Leroy-Beaulieu tells of a cow having
been drowned in front of a gentleman's house.1
I am inclined to believe that the scene of that
1 La Renovation de VAsie.
237

A RIBBON OF IRON
tragedy was Blagovestchensk. It required a
good deal of nerve on our part to drive through
the water in a droshky.
We were shown into a room full of clerks-
sitting at desks. They were all mounted on
high stools. Lo and behold ! the first face
that caught my eye was no other than that of
the happy bridegroom with the uncombed hair !
We had " run him to ground," as an American
lady remarked when I told her the story.
" Is there any one here who can speak French
or German ? " we asked. There was rather a
sheepish look on the bridegroom's face ; he
could only speak Russian, so remained silent.
" Can I assist you ? " asked a gentleman who
was standing there in a long coat and a wide
awake. As he spoke he came forward and took
off his hat. One glance told us that he was an
actor. His head was a mass of tight little curls.
His features, his bright twinkling eyes and his
every gesture reminded us of the stage. Hear
ing what we wanted, this gentleman came with
us to the manager's private office, and was kind
enough to act as interpreter. 238

THE SILVER GENERAL
The manager remembered having travelled
on the express with us as far as Omsk. He
came forward and shook hands. My mother at
once inquired sympathetically after the Mayor
of Vladivostok and his broken ribs.
" He was much better when we parted," said
M. Letchetsky smiling. " I think his ribs are
all right now."
We spoke about the rumours we had heard,
and asked if war had been declared between
Russia and China.
" We know nothing," replied our friend, " it is
impossible to tell."
" Is it true that all the horses are being taken
to fight the Boxers ? " we asked ; " and is it true
that there will not be a horse left to bring our
droshky to the steamer?"
"It is true that all the horses of any value
are being taken," replied M. Letchetsky ; " but,
though I cannot promise you a good horse,
there will be plenty of decrepit ones left."
The actor came out with us and gallantly
helped us into our droshky, after which he
stood, hat in hand, till we were out of sight.
239

A RIBBON OF IRON
We spent the rest of that day at the house
of the military governor, General Gribsky.
Madame Gribsky was away in Moscow, but the
daughter made an excellent hostess in her
mother's absence. As for the general, he was,
in truth, one of the handsomest men we had
seen for a long time. I can see him now, with
his fine martial figure, his silvery hair, his
patriarchal beard and eyes that shone with
kindly feeling from under his dark expressive
eyebrows. How I wish that our English
writers who describe the Russian commanders
as men with harsh stern faces — who live for
war and show no mercy — could meet with a
few men like General Gribsky !
"Some years ago," said Mademoiselle Gribsky,
as we were speaking about her father, " when
we lived in Warsaw, my father used to wear a
uniform with silver facings, and the governor
used to call him ' my silver general.' His hair
turned grey when he was quite a young man."
The governor's house is a charming old place,
with as many as twenty-five good-sized rooms
all on the ground floor and opening into one
240

THE SILVER GENERAL
another. A new house is very soon to take the
place of the old one. Better built it will be,
no doubt, but it can hardly be more picturesque.
The pretty garden runs right down to the
river bank, and the verandah built on to the
back of the house overlooks both, so that one
can see right away into Manchuria.
After tea Mademoiselle Gribsky took us for a
drive to see first the town and then the soldiers'
quarters. The coachman on the box was a
Cossack, with a black velvet waistcoat and full
sleeves of bright orange yellow, with a sash to
match. One of the houses that attracted our attention
was that of a wealthy Chinaman ; it was very
large and built of red brick. In one of the
upper windows sat a Chinese lady, busily
sewing. This was the wife, a lady with tiny
feet, who never allowed herself to be seen in
the streets, we were told.
The soldiers' quarters stretched out along the
river side for quite a long distance. They
formed a little town by themselves. There were
pleasant looking summer quarters too, built
241 q

A RIBBON OF IRON
amongst thickly growing oak trees, little villas
for the married officers, a nice club house and a
church. The different regiments had their
respective flags stuck in the ground, with
soldiers told off to guard them day and night.
The soldiers stood with shouldered bayonets,
and their faces were turned towards the Chinese
frontier. A number of cannon also pointed in
the same direction. Farther on still an artillery
regiment, lately sent from Russia, had camped
out in tents. At the door of one tent there
were signs of merriment— some one was playing
the banjo, and we caught a glimpse of a soldier
inside dancing a sort of jig. As the Governor's
carriage passed by laughing faces became serious,
and we were respectfully saluted. We drove
on till we came to the monument of Count
Moravioff Amoursky. It had a railing round it,
enclosing a piece of ground on which tall grass
was growing. Thick-leaved oak trees grew on
three sides of the monument, while the fourth
faced the river. There was a cuckoo in the
lower branches of one of the nearest trees as
we approached. Instead of flying away it
242

THE SILVER GENERAL
remained where it was and called out "Cuckoo !
cuckoo ! " I had never seen one of these birds
so close before.
The monument stands on the very spot where
the count's horse stood as he proclaimed to his
soldiers the joyful news that the Amur province
had become Russian ground. It was on May 31,
1858, that Count Moravioff arrived at the
military post station of Oust-Zeisk, at the con
fluence of the Amur and the Zeia, and sent
word home to the Emperor of the treaty that
had been concluded at Aigun between China
and Russia. That very day Archbishop Inno
cent laid the foundation stone of a church in
honour of the Virgin Mary, and the station of
Oust-Zeisk received a name which no English
man will ever be able to pronounce, the name
of Blagovestchensk. I am told that this unpro
nounceable word means " good news."
" Comrades ! " cried the count, " I congratulate
you. It is not in vain that we have worked so
hard. The Amur belongs to Russia ! May the
holy orthodox Church pray for you. You have
the thanks of your country. Long live our
243

A RIBBON OF IRON
Emperor Alexander II, and may the new terri
tory prosper under his protection. Hurrah ! "
Count Moravioff died in Paris, but his body is
eventually to be buried on this spot. We drove
on and on, beyond the garrison and beyond the
monument, till we came to some stone quarries
on the hillside. These were being worked by
Chinese quarrymen. They had little fires on the
ledges of the cliffs, and some were cooking food.
They were only semi-clad, and looked like savages
in the gathering twilight.
" So few people come out here to disturb
them," said Mademoiselle Gribsky, " that they
often discard clothing altogether in hot weather."
The situation of Blagovestchensk, so close to
two navigable rivers, has been most favourable
to its growth. Manchus came across in great
numbers and helped to people the place, while
emigrants and Cossacks formed the bulk of the
Russian population. After the year 1880 there
were rapid changes. Gold mines in the neigh
bourhood were exploited, and another class of
men was attracted. There is no beauty about
the town. It has very few trees besides a
244

THE SILVER GENERAL
pleasant avenue along the river side, and the
Governor's garden is the only one worthy of
the name. The shops are good and the prices
reasonable. Kunst and Albers, the Hamburg
merchants, have one of their branch establish
ments here, and I have heard that they supply
the ladies of the town with the latest Paris
fashions brought from San Francisco. Their
latest novelty while we were there was a
"chapeau boer," with a long feather trailing
behind. Returning to the Governor's house we sat in
the balcony till it grew dark, and were joined
by the Vice-Governor with his wife and two
nice little children. Some other little girls
came in later. They were prettily dressed in
pink, with light straw hats, and played amongst
the trees in the garden like butterflies. All the
children were devoted to the General ; they ran
up to him as trustingly as if he had been their
own father. The Vice-Governor's little daughter
had lately returned with her mother from St.
Petersburg. " The child gave me no trouble,"
said her mother. "When it was hot and she
245

A RIBBON OF IRON
complained of thirst I had only to say, " Mother
is thirsty too, dear," and she never complained
any more.
There was something fascinating to us about
the fact that we were sitting within a few yards
of Chinese soil. While turning over some photo
graphs in a shop that morning I had come across
one of the Governor of Aigun.
" That button on his cap is a sign of his rank,"
said the man. He did not himself think the
picture of any interest, and seemed surprised
when I said I would buy it. How little either
of us dreamed that Aigun would be burned to
the ground before three weeks were over ! But
so it was.
As we sat in the verandah looking across the
water, Mademoiselle Gribsky gave us an in
teresting account of a visit that she and her
father had paid to Aigun.
"We were there several days," she said. "I
took notes of many curious Chinese customs
during that time. They entertained us with
wonderful dishes," she continued, " and put
chop-sticks before us instead of knives and
246

THE SILVER GENERAL
forks. Of course I could not eat anything,
much as I should have liked to please the
Chinese Governor by so doing. Think of it —
one dish was composed of worms, quite ordi
nary ones, but most tastefully arranged."
All at once our conversation was interrupted
by a sound of bugle notes across the river.
" The Chinese soldiers wish us to know that
they are there," said the Vice-Governor. " They
have been treating us to that music four times
during the night for the last three weeks, and
it was our soldiers who gave them their music
lessons," he added with a smile.
At dinner we noticed that General Gribsky
was in excellent spirits in spite of the fact that
his night's rest had been spoiled by the arrival
of telegrams at all hours.
We were halfway through dinner when a
marine officer from St. Petersburg joined us.
He had been out to Vladivostok with
M. Iswolsky's party and was on his return
journey, when he received orders to stop at
Blagovestchensk and superintend the shipping
of soldiers for Taku. All were merry as could
247

A RIBBON OF IRON
be, and Prince D  began chaffing the ladies
present on their admiration — as he called it —
of the Chinese officials. He put up his hand
and made a sign of cutting off his head.
" I don't understand Russian," I said. " Pray
what is all this fun about?"
" There is a very handsome Chinaman," said
Prince D  , turning to me and speaking in
English, " who often comes to see General
Gribsky on political business, and the ladies
here admire him so much that I think it high
time his head was off."
Here all the ladies protested in a chorus, but
to no purpose.
The next morning, when Prince D  called
on us at our hotel, he told us that before retir
ing to rest on the previous night he had received
a document drawn up with all formality and
sealed with the Governor's seal, to the effect
that not a single Chinese head was to be cut
off. " I was not going to be done by the ladies in
this manner," he said. " I sent one of my
sailors to a barber's shop for a Chinese pigtail
248

THE SILVER GENERAL
— the largest he could find. When it came I
had it done up in a parcel and sent a servant
with it to Mademoiselle Gribsky. " Put it in the
young lady's hand yourself," I said, " but do
not betray the sender."
We all three laughed heartily over the joke,
and wondered what the sequel would be. In
the afternoon Mademoiselle Gribsky came down
to the steamer to see us off.
" Oh ! " she said, " I had such a fright this
morning. A parcel was put into my hand by a
man I had never seen before, and he left me
without a word of explanation. I found no
writing on it, and felt sure it contained some
explosive, and had been sent by the Boxers."
"Did you open it?" we asked eagerly.
" Yes," she said, " I did muster courage at
last, and what do you think I found ? — A
horrible Chinese pigtail ! "
" You don't seem to appreciate your present,"
I said. " Give it me for my museum in
London." " No, indeed ! I shall keep it for ever ! "
was the laughing reply. 249

A RIBBON OF IRON
I have often wondered since whether that
handsome Chinaman escaped with his life.
As we were steaming down the Amur I took
the photograph and wrote on the back,
" Governor of Aigun, Chinese town on the
Amur." Today there is no Aigun, and no Governor !

250

Chapter XVIII
AIGUN
"QO you will write an account of your
^ journey," said Prince D  just as we
were starting for Khabarovsk. "Well, if you
take my advice, you will believe nothing that
is not confirmed in St. Petersburg, otherwise
your book will be full of travellers' mistakes.
One Siberian traveller describes the delightful
shade afforded by — a plant which never grows
more than a foot above the ground ! Another
tells us that a certain kind of dog peculiar to
some parts is called Sobaka — blissfully ignorant
of the fact that this word is not the name of a
special breed, but the ordinary equivalent for
the English word " dog."
Just as our steamer was starting, the manager
of the Grand Hotel came down to the wharf
251

A RIBBON OF IRON
with a letter which he had written to his little
daughters in Yokohama.
" I shall be so grateful, ladies," he said with
tears in his eyes, " if you can find time to go
and see the children. They are in a convent
school on the Bluff. Their mother has just
taken the youngest there, and the eldest I have
not seen for seven years. The separation is
becoming unbearable, but what can I do?
Blagovestchensk is no place for little girls.
The climate, and the tone of the place — all is
against them."
We took the letter and promised to do our
best. The steamer on which we now travelled was
certainly the finest we had yet seen. There
was a pleasant dining saloon with cabins open
ing into it on both sides, and another saloon at
one end, with plenty of comfortable easy chairs
and a piano.
As the people began to come on board we
noticed the faces of many passengers who had
travelled with us as far as Stretinsk, and then
disappeared from our view. The actor with
252

AIGUN
short curls was there also, and the brown-coated
priest with long ones.
" Where have all these people come from ? '
I asked, as the actor came up smiling.
" They arrived on the Ural yesterday morn
ing," replied the actor. " I also came on the
Ural ; we had just arrived when you saw me in
the office yesterday. We started from Stretinsk
two days and a half before you, and got here
three days later. Do you not remember seeing
us walking on the river side when the Ural was
stuck on a sandbank ? "
One and another now came up, all smiles
as they recognized the English ladies.
" You have become famous," said one.
"So you are going to the island of Sakhalin !"
said another.
"I am glad you like Siberia," said a third.
Then, seeing us look perplexed, they told us
that an article about us had been published in
the Amur Gazette the day before. One gentle
man fetched his copy and translated part of it
to us. We kept it as a memento ; but it was
not till October, four months later, that we got
253

A RIBBON OF IRON
it translated. The translation is literal, and
runs as follows : —
"Two English ladies, a mother sixty years
old, with her young daughter, travel on board a
steamer leaving Blagovestchensk. Both passen
gers have accomplished a long journey across
Russia for instruction's sake only, having visited
Tashkent and the Caucasus, and being now on
their way to the island of Sakhalin, wishing
evidently to have the personal experience and
feel the charms of our ways of transportation.
"Leaving Sakhalin they will probably visit
Vladivostok, and then proceed to England, thus
finishing their journey around the old world.
Having crossed a good part of Siberia the ladies
are surprised at our civilization and culture, and
say that they never expected to meet with such
good order in this distant borderland.
" But two years ago they had read in a book that
bears were freely walking in the streets of Moscow.
"In reply to the inquisitiveness of some of
their fellow passengers, who wished to ascertain
whether the motive of their journey was the
collection of ethnographical materials regarding
254

AIGUN
the Russians, the Miss stated modestly that her
mother was taking a few notes for her editor
in London."
It was too hot to be on deck, but we would
not go in till we were fairly off, as we were
anxious to get a good view of Sakhalin, a
Manchurian village situated exactly opposite
Blagovestchensk, on the river bank. From this
village begins the Chinese road that passes
through the valley of Aigun, and then leaving
the river, branches off into the interior of
Manchuria in the direction of Tsitsikar.
Twenty versts farther on we passed Aigun.
The river was much wider at this point, and our
steamer kept well to mid-stream to avoid dan
gerous sandbanks, so that our view of the place
was a distant one. Still we could make out the
Chinese roofs. We saw here and there a roof
raised as it were on four posts above the lower
part of a dwelling, and its corners curled up
outwards just as one sees them in Chinese
pictures. There was not a sign of life stir
ring as we passed, and we laughed to think of
all the rumours we had heard, and felt very
255

A RIBBON OF IRON
glad we had not allowed ourselves to be
frightened into staying at Blagovestchensk.
The latest and most authentic description of
Aigun that has been published is as follows J : — •
" The town has a citadel which is the residence
of a Chinese governor; the admiralty of a
Chinese flotilla is also to be found here. The
houses (phanzas) are of one story; they are
small, and built either of brick or of clay, with
thatched roofs. There are upwards of fifteen
thousand inhabitants, some of whom are Mussul-
men, these have a mosque and a school of their
own. The chief commercial products are wheat,
mustard, tobacco and oil."
We had expected this to be the hottest part of
our journey, but it was, on the contrary, delight
fully cool and fresh, for we had no sooner
passed Aigun than there was a violent thunder
storm with pouring rain. At night, when we lay
at anchor, swarms of tiny flies began to flutter
round us. They had transparent white wings
and pale green bodies, so small that when
they were flying one could only see their wings,
1 Guide to Great Siberian Railway.
256

Village of Sakhalin, after it had been burnt.

AIGUN
and when we put out our hands to ward them
off, it was like brushing away so much chaff.
Firs and larches still continued to cover the
hillsides, and there was very little alteration in
the scenery, though we descried several new
kinds of flowers. There was one that looked
like a peony ; it had large white petals fringed
with pink, and grew in quantities close to the
water's edge. At some of the landing stages,
peasants brought bunches on board for sale. A
Russian lady, seeing that I was interested in
them, purchased a lovely bouquet and begged
my acceptance of it.
This was only one of the many graceful acts
of courtesy which the presence of foreign ladies
called forth, and it is impossible to relate half the
little kindnesses of which we were the recipients
during that long Siberian journey. I remember
one lady bringing to our cabin a plate of pre
served pineapple ; she had bought it for us at
the buffet, thinking that we might not know
how to ask for such a delicacy in Russian. I
need hardly add that her surmise was correct.
On another occasion an officer, at a spot where
257 R

A RIBBON OF IRON
fresh caviar was obtainable, ordered a dish to be
set before us, and absolutely refused to let us
pay for it.
Most of the first-class passengers were officers
in white uniform with gold buttons. There was
also a gaily dressed lady, whose home was at
Khabarovsk. She told us that she knew St.
Petersburg, Moscow, and many other fine cities,
but that, for her part, she preferred Khabarovsk
to them all. Life there, she said, was so
thoroughly gay.
"What is the chief amusement there?" I
asked. " Dancing," she replied. " We have any
number of balls, and there are always plenty
of partners."
" Yes," put in the actor, who was our inter
preter, " there are more men than women, for
the place is nothing but a garrison full of
officers. There is certainly plenty of dancing,
but nothing else."
His tone was sarcastic.
" You are very brave to take this journey,"
he said to me. " Nansen had a far better time
258

AIGUN
of it, I assure you. As for me, I have an en
gagement in an opera at Vladivostok, but I
shall need quite two days' rest before I can
sing." I thought two days a very moderate time for
rest after such a five weeks' journey.
" I have just been reading the Russian trans
lation of an English book," he continued. " I
can't remember the name, but it is about a
young abbot who was very religious. He fell
in love with a beautiful young girl, and his love
for her conflicted with his religion."
" Was the girl called ' Glory ' ? " I asked.
"Yes," he replied. "It is a fine tale and
cleverly written, but the abbot was not quite
right in the head, and his sentiments, on which
the whole story turns, were those of a sick
brain, not a healthy one. But all novels are
like that nowaday," he added. " There is
something abnormal and unhealthy in them
all, which lessens the value of these so-called
' psychological studies.' "
Another passenger was a young student from
a commercial college in Moscow. He was on
259

A RIBBON OF IRON
his way home to Vladivostok for the summer
holidays. " As it takes me ten weeks there and back,"
he said, " I can only go home once in three
years ; even now there is a railway. I shall only
get a month with my people."
This youth spoke French well. He often
translated for our benefit the conversations of
the officers at the other end of the table.
" They are talking about the Boxers," he said
one day. "According to the Blagovestchensk
journals, the present trouble with China seems
to have arisen through certain Manchurians
having found some bones buried near the un
finished railway line. They at once flew into a
rage, and declared that a Manchu had been
murdered. They persisted in attributing the
death of their supposed brother to Russian
cruelty, and so the rebellion began. The Rus
sian engineers explained to the natives that
the bones found were not human at all, but
those of a bear. In order to convince the
Manchus of their folly, they had a bear killed
and skinned. Then they laid its bones beside
260

AIGUN
the ones in question, but still some were not
convinced." We were three days and three nights travel
ling from Blagovestchensk to Khabarovsk. On
the third day we passed the village Blagosla-
venny ; it is not a Russian, but a Corean village.
In the year 1871 some Corean emigrants settled
there ; they had come from the Ussuri district,
and, while they became members of the ortho
dox Church, retained their own language, their
own way of life, and their own system of agri
culture. The appearance of this village is different
from that of the Russian ones. Its houses are
small — phanzas — all separated from one another
by little plots of cultivated ground. Between
the trees are narrow roadways. The houses are
built with plaited branches of trees, and covered
over inside and out with clay. Each phanza
is surrounded by a little courtyard and out
houses. Everything is kept beautifully clean
and in the best of order. The Coreans culti
vate their fields with great care, and are most
successful with all kinds of vegetables. Amongst
261

A RIBBON OF IRON
the cereals they cultivate are millet, wheat, oats
and maize. Owing to their great industry and
thrift these people make enough money to live
in comparative comfort, though the land allotted
to them is not extensive.
The village of Mokhanko, which we passed a
few hours later, is just opposite the spot where
the river Sungari joins the Amur. Here there
are numerous islands formed by collections of
alluvial soil, thrown up where the waters meet.
Some of them are bare, others are covered with
vegetation. Instead of extending in the direc
tion of the current, as one would expect, they
spread across the river. This phenomenon is
attributed to the fact that the waters of the
Sungari flow with greater force than those of
the Amur. The Manchus consider the Sungari
to be the largest branch of the Amur ; in fact,
the Sungari has more water than the Amur, and
steamers travelling on it are not obliged to
anchor at night, which means a great economy
of time. The water of the Sungari looks muddy.
This is owing to infinitesimal particles of clay
that are mixed up with it. For some distance
262

AIGUN
the two currents run side by side, but the Amur
eventually loses its clearness and becomes muddy
like its companion.
No less than sixty-three kinds of fish have
been found in the Amur, and there are probably
many more. Carp and salmon are there in such
abundance, that supplying the markets with
them bids fair to become an important industry
at no very distant date. One kind of salmon, salmo
proteus, comes down the river in such shoals
that no less than three thousand may be caught
at a time. At Nikolaevsk upwards of a hundred
and ninety-three thousand puds of a salmon
called "keta" — salmo lagocephalus — are salted
annually. It is for local markets only that
they are so prepared at present. In addition to
these, four million are dried in the sun, and five
hundred and forty thousand are prepared as
dogs' food^

263

Chapter XIX
KHABAROVSK— THE USSURI
RAILWAY
TT was towards the close of the seventeenth
¦*¦ century that the Amur province began to
figure in the annals of Russian history. In the
year 1643 a man named Basil Poiarkof was sent
from Yakutsk with a company of one hundred
and thirty Cossacks to explore its rivers. He
travelled by boat as far as the mouth of the Amur,
(having reached it by the Zeia), and returned
to Yakutsk three years later without having
left any trace of his expedition behind him.
A second expedition was set on foot in 1649
under Erothee Khabarof, who passed down the
Amur and laid waste all the Daurian villages
that lay in his way. The natives appealed to
the Manchus for help, and this was the begin
ning of a long struggle between Russia and China
for the possession of the Amur Province.
264

KHABAROVSK — USSURI RAILWAY
I have already spoken of the bravery of the
Cossacks. It was through their bravery, per
severance, and self-sacrifice that Russia was en
abled finally to annex the Amur. They were
the first emigrants, and the difficulties they had
to encounter were almost insurmountable. The
country was unknown to them, the forests were
impenetrable, and the distances extreme. Both
men and domestic animals fell victims to various
maladies, and there was a terrible mortality
among their children. Sometimes the river
flooded its banks and destroyed the houses they
had planted there with so mu ch difficulty. ' ' Many
a brave Cossack died without a murmur," says a
Russian writer. " History has passed them over
in silence, poets have not sung their fame, but
Russia knows to whom her thanks are due."
It was Count Moravioff Amoursky who im
mortalized the name of Khabarof by giving the
name of that hardy Cossack to a military station
which he established in the year 1858.
Khabarovsk is now a rapidly growing town
perched on undulating hills that slope down to
the water's edge just where the Amur is joined
265

A RIBBON OF IRON
to the Ussuri. In the year 1893 its name, for
some reason or other, was changed to Khaba
rovsk, and that is the name it goes by today.
It is now the administrative centre of the Mari
time Province, and the Governor-General resides
there. The town is so essentially military in its
character that it can hardly be called anything
else but a garrison. There is a legend to the
effect that its name ought by rights to be " The
Town of the Seventeen Generals," for, says the
legend, " since a Governor-General first settled
there with his retinue— no one knows why —
the place has never been of use to any one but
Governor -Generals, and these have succeeded
one another in quick succession." I do not my
self think that there have been quite so many
as seventeen, but legends always exaggerate.
The chief street is called " Moravioff Amour-
sky," in memory of its founder, and there is
also a monument in his honour which stands on
the steep wooded cliff overlooking the river,
and can be seen for a great distance.
One side of the cliff is bare and has huge
boulders on its ledges. There is a sad story
266

KHABAROVSK — USSURI RAILWAY
told in connection with one of them. A young
lady, who was on a visit to some friends living
near the cliff, put on her hat one afternoon
and ran out to take a little stroll, saying, " I
shall be back in half an hour." Her friends
never saw her again alive, for a few minutes
later a boulder, which must have been getting
gradually loose for some time, rolled down the
side of the cliff and crushed her to death. We
heard about it from the Moscow student who
had known the young lady intimately.
We had been told that there were no hotels
in Khabarovsk, so we obtained permission from
the agents to spend the night on the steamer
that had brought us, and leaving our baggage
in the cabin, we started off to see the Museum.
There were very few droshkies, and we had
to walk up a steep hill before we could get
one. Close to the landing-stage is a crescent of
Chinese booths. Looking at the backs of them
from the steamer we had wondered whatever
those dilapidated wooden sheds could be ; but
when we reached the inner side of the crescent
the sight was extremely picturesque. Every
267

A RIBBON OF IRON
booth was well stocked with vegetables and
other agricultural products, and a crowd of
Manchus, all in bright blue, as I have described
them elsewhere, stood eagerly waiting to sell
their wares. These people, we found, all lived
together in their own part of the town, where
they were quite at home, and even had a Chinese
temple to worship in. I was beginning now to
get accustomed to the sight of their prominent
cheek-bones and yellow skin, and my antipathy
to them was not so strong as it had been.
The Museum door was locked, but we hunted
up the old man who had charge of it and got
him to show us round. Here we found a great
deal to interest us, in spite of the fact that some
of its rarest treasures had been sent to the Paris
Exhibition. There were models of the various
kinds of houses in which the different tribes of
the Amur country pass their lives. Figures re
presenting the men and women of each tribe
were also there, with specimens of the food
they live on and everything striking about
them that could possibly be represented.
A large part of the Museum was set apart
268

KHABAROVSK — USSURI RAILWAY
for similar models of Chinese and their houses,
temples and gods, and even the Japanese were
not forgotten. One of the Chinese articles of
food was a kind of seaweed, in large bundles, of
which the Celestials are very fond. Downstairs
was a room devoted to stuffed seals of every
kind and description, mostly from the island of
Sakhalin and Kamschatka. The eye of the seal
is known to resemble that of human beings, but
I was never so much struck with this fact as on
the present occasion. With the exception of
the Government building, all the houses of
Khabarovsk are of wood, and while there is
one stone church there are two built of wood.
The present Governor-General, whose name
has so often appeared in our papers of late,
though hospitably inclined, is a bachelor, and
his dinner parties are naturally less charming
in the absence of the fair sex. The host is of a
silent disposition they tell me, and after showing
his hospitality by pointing to a dish and saying
" Eat ! — eat ! " relapses into silence.
Returning to the wharf before dark we found
a crowd of gaily dressed ladies and gentlemen
269

A RIBBON OF IRON
who had come down to see their friends off.
We made our way through them and went on
board. But when we opened our cabin door
there was no baggage to be seen ! Our feelings
were not pleasant. Very soon, however, con
sternation was turned to smiles, for we dis
covered that we were on another steamer, the
very counterpart of our own. We had turned
to retrace our steps when a new thought crossed
our minds : " Perhaps ours had returned to
Blagovestchensk with all our things on board ! "
I made a rush for the agent's office. Alas !
he could only speak Russian ; but he soon
understood our position, and pointing down
the river, showed us our steamer safely
anchored, and giving no signs of preparation
for a return journey. The one we had mis
taken for it was to start in half an hour for
Blagovestchensk, after which ours was to re
turn to the wharf, and we should be able to
go on board for the night.
We fetched two chairs out of the office and
sat down to contemplate the tender farewells
that were taking place. Champagne was plenti-
270

KHABAROVSK— USSURI RAILWAY
ful it seems on board, for the departing friends
drank freely to the health of those they were
leaving behind. Most of the people were bound
for St. Petersburg, and this parting was no light
matter. But for the champagne I fancy there
would have been more tears visible.
Inside the low roof above our heads were
several swallows' nests. Each nest was full of
young birds which put their little heads over
the side and twittered unceasingly while the
parent birds fluttered round and fed them. The
confidence of these little creatures was wonder
ful to see. The agent kept his eye on them and
they seemed to know that they were under his
protection. If an English cat had been there
she would have had them all at a spring.
At last the steamer for Blagovestchensk
moved slowly away, and handkerchiefs were
waved furiously. Then our steamer came
alongside, and we went on board to find our
baggage safe, and everything just as we had
left it. We spent the rest of the evening walk
ing on the deck and listening to the band that
was playing in the public gardens.
271

A RIBBON OF IRON
All at once a swarm of flies came across from
the wharf and covered the deck. They were
the white kind I have already referred to with
wings like chaff. It was just as if a sack
ful of chaff had been scattered over us. I had
to put a handerchief to my face to prevent
them from fluttering into my mouth and eyes.
The flies were followed by a sharp thunder
storm and heavy rain which drove them into
the saloon. While we were at supper they flew
into the candles on the table, and getting burnt,
fell in heaps on the cloth. We had to move all
the candles to one end to prevent their falling
into the food we were eating.
We were just retiring to rest, the only pas
sengers left, when a young man in ship's
uniform came to tell us that we must be sure
to get up at 3 a.m. if we stayed on board, as we
should otherwise be taken back to Blagoves
tchensk. The steamer was to start punctually at
4 a.m. He advised us strongly to go at once to
an hotel, and promised to get us a droshky while
we packed our things. When we heard that
there really was an hotel to which we could go,
272

KHABAROVSK— USSURI RAILWAY
we agreed to his proposal, and had just finished
strapping up our rugs when the young man
returned bringing with him one of the officers
who had travelled with us. With some diffi
culty they made us understand that after all
we could stay on the steamer if we preferred
it. The first alarm had been a false one. They
were not leaving till 6 a.m. Once more we
unpacked for the night, for the idea of a
droshky drive in that pelting rain was any
thing but agreeable.
Our train was to start for Vladivostok at
7 a.m., and it was a long drive to the station. I
shall never forget the state of the roads : it was
like driving over ploughed fields after rain.
At the station we recognized many familiar
faces, amongst which were those of the brown-
coated priest, the Moscow student and the
actor. When people have been travelling
together for weeks and weeks they meet more
or less as old friends even if they have never
exchanged a word.
As we walked up and down the platform we
were struck with the great number of national-
273 s

A RIBBON OF IRON
ities represented on it. Coreans dressed all in
white with strange white headdresses, that
made a striking contrast to their jet-black hair
and dark yellow skins, were squatting on the
ground in rows. Servian gipsies were walking
about amongst the crowd and telling fortunes ;
Chinese and Japs were everywhere. One well-
dressed Chinese lady stood quietly by the ticket
office while her husband got the tickets. How
she could balance herself on her tiny feet was
a mystery.
There was a Circassian family from Tiflis all
very good looking. The beautiful mother wore
her thick black hair down her back in long
natural curls, while on her head was a velvet
cap, covered with a lace handkerchief which
floated over her shoulders. Her handsome son-
in-law was a priest. He had a bush of curly
black hair and wore a long grey coat with loose
sleeves. It was lined with bright purple silk.
The express train by which we travelled to
Vladivostok was not so luxurious as the " train
de luxe " by which we had travelled to Omsk.
It was like an ordinary post train with a rough
274

KHABAROVSK — USSURI RAILWAY
kind of dining car attached. At one end of the
dining car was a buffet behind which stood two
Jap boys always alert for orders. Down the
middle ran a long table which was occupied
half the time by passengers drinking beer.
I observed that the train seemed to be
managed by soldiers rather than by the usual
railway men, and that the stations were many of
them quite military in appearance ; whereupon
I was told that this was because in time of war
the Ussuri railway would become a military one,
and it was necessary that the soldiers should
have some practice in the management of it.
Both at Khabarovsk and at Viasemska stations
there were barracks and a railway battalion.
The country through which we now passed
was very beautiful. There were hills and
valleys and meadows all following one another
in quick succession. The grass in the meadows
was high, and amongst it were many kinds of
lovely flowers that we had never seen growing
wild before.
We stayed in the dining car till all the
passengers except ourselves had had their lunch
275

A RIBBON OF IRON
and gone back to their respective carriages.
Then we drew our chairs close to one of the
windows and passed several delightful hours
feasting our eyes on the scenery and looking
out for all the new kinds of flowers that were
to be seen. We got quite excited over it as we
pointed out each fresh blossom to one another.
There was the purple, and the white iris, such as
we afterwards saw to greater perfection in Japan ;
there were big yellow, red, and white lilies such
as grow in our gardens at home, and there was
a brilliant red flower, with clusters of blossom
not unlike our common geranium. Some one
got out and picked a bunch of them at one of
the stations, and as they were placed in a vase
on the buffet table we were able to examine
them more closely ; their petals were firmer
than those of the geranium, and more waxlike.
Later in the afternoon, when we were refresh
ing ourselves with coffee served in glasses, the
first we had tasted for nearly a week, we made
the acquaintance of a Russian officer who spoke
English. He turned out to be a military agent.
Colonel D  was travelling with his adjutant,
276

KHABAROVSK— USSURI RAILWAY
Lieutenant K  , and a Chinese servant. They
had come by land from Port Arthur to Charbin
in Manchuria, where they had crossed the un
finished railway and then proceeded by steamer
down the Sungari to Khabarovsk.
" All was perfectly quiet," said the Colonel,
" when we left Port Arthur, and we preceded
the rebellion in each town by a few hours. At
Mukden there was not the faintest indication of
the approaching trouble, but at the very next
town we stopped at, news reached us by telegram
that Mukden was in arms."
" Things are looking very grave at Pekin," he
continued, " and if I may be allowed to criticize
the action of the English, French and Germans
in the matter, I would say that it is nothing
short of impertinence to send a small handful of
men to set things right in the very heart of a
country so powerful in men and arms as China !
" I repeat it," he cried, getting quite excited.
"It is impertinence, and the Chinese will look
upon it as such and act accordingly."
That night we were, for the first time,
attacked by mosquitoes. They were merciless.
277

Chapter XX
KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
/^\UR train was due at Vladivostok at 1 p.m.
^-^ on the day following that on which we
had left Khabarovsk, and at 12.30 we caught
sight of the waters of the Amur Gulf, an arm
of the Bay of Peter the Great. The train ran
close to the water's edge and a delicious sea
breeze blew in upon us. Then came the last
station we had to pass — Khilkovo. I need
hardly say that it had a special interest for us
as having received its name in honour of our
kind friend Prince Hilkoff, the Minister of
Ways and Communications. It was at this
spot that the people of Vladivostok assembled
to bid " God-speed " to their beloved Czarowich,
the present Emperor, when in May, 1891, he
started on his journey across Siberia.
We now found ourselves speeding through
278

KHILKOVO — VLADIVOSTOK
the very centre of Vladivostok. Hills sprinkled
with houses rose on all sides of us. There is
only one street of any length in the place and
this we crossed over before reaching the station,
which is situated on the eastern side of the
beautiful bay called "The Bay of the Golden
Horn." The latitude of Vladivostok is only a
quarter of a degree further north than that
of Florence and Nice, nevertheless it is ice
bound during several months of the year, and
an ice-breaker has to be used in order to bring
ships into the harbour. Our first view of the
town was pleasing. Its semi-European houses
seemed to spring up in the most unexpected
places, while the bay of the Golden Horn curled
itself round the undulating hills, and pretty
boats on the water added life to the scene. This
" Paris of Siberia," as it has been called, we
found in a state of unusual stir and excitement,
owing to the mobilization of its troops, not — as
rumour had it — in preparation for war with
China, but for the quieting of a rebellion which
the Chinese government was itself unable to
quell. Officers in full uniform were driving
279

A RIBBON OF IRON
about in all directions and there was not a
droshky to be had. Happily for us we had
fallen into good hands. One new friend Colonel
D  ordered his Chinamen to look after our
baggage, and sent some one else in search of a
droshky. In the meantime we sat in the waiting room
and watched our fellow passengers dispersing on
foot to their new homes, having finished at last
their five weeks' journey. The actor was fat, and
averse to walking ; I felt quite sorry for him.
As for the Moscow student, he was the picture
of happiness, surrounded by father and mother
and younger brothers and sisters. They were
all brought up and introduced to us, whereupon
we shook hands and agreed to meet again.
Besides, as the young man was, like ourselves,
to make the return journey in a few weeks'
time, there seemed every probability that we
might again be travelling companions.
The search for droshkies proved successful
at last, and the faithful Chinaman packed our
luggage into one of them. We had just got in
ourselves and were commenting on the extreme
280

KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
youthfulness of the man on the box, who could
not have been more than twelve years old, when
the Colonel came up and insisted on our taking
the other droshky.
" I will not trust you to that little boy," he
said, " especially as you cannot speak the
language." The thought of being turned over at an angle
of one of those hills, and not being able to make
strong language understood, was too much for
us. We got out meekly and did as we were told.
At last we were off. I shall never forget that
first drive in Vladivostok. It was nothing
but a series of ups and downs and twists and
turns. We blessed the Colonel for not trusting
us to the little boy.
The manager of the Moscow came out to
meet us with a telegram, which we had sent
him from Khabarovsk, in his hand. I took it
from him and nodded when I saw our name
upon it. We had learned by this time to talk
as easily by action and dumb show as people do
who have been deprived of speech from their
birth. If we wanted a key for our door we had
281

A RIBBON OF IRON
only to imitate the action of turning a key, and
so on. Gradually and almost unconsciously we
had picked up the Russian for a few such words
as were the most useful and at the same time
the most difficult to describe by action.
We were shown into two fairly large rooms
opening one into the other. The hotel stood on
the side of a very steep road running up the hill
from the chief street which skirted the water,
and as our rooms were on the ground floor we
had a good view of the bay.
All the work in the hotel was done by China
men. They moved about very quietly, and
waited on us with a stately deference which
pleased us much, though just at first they
could not conceal their astonishment when
they found us unable to speak either Russian
or Chinese.
Early the next morning I started out to post
our letters, and walked most of the way, not
being able to find a droshky. Chinamen literally
lined the streets on both sides. They wore
their loose blue cotton jackets open in front,
and exposed so much of their yellow chests
282

KHILKOVO — VLADIVOSTOK
to view that they gave one the idea of people
reduced to the last extremity from heat
and suffocation. The military element had
practically disappeared, and, as a lady residing
there told me afterwards, Vladivostok was not
itself as I saw it.
" Now that all our gay officers are gone," she
added, "a stranger might well think that the
town was in the hands of the Chinese."
At the post office I found a woman who spoke
French. She informed me that every steamer
that came into the bay was chartered to take
troops to Taku, and that there was no knowing
when our letters would go.
After lunch Colonel D  came to see us,
also the Moscow student and his father. All
were most kind, but the news they brought was
not favourable.
"You cannot get a steamer to take you to
Japan for ten days or even longer," they said.
We knew well that a week longer in
Vladivostok meant a week less in Japan, so
the prospect of such a delay was extremely
aggravating. 283

A RIBBON OF IRON
"I am as anxious as you are to get to Japan,"
said the Colonel; "my people are there and I
wish to see them before I join my regiment at
Taku. If I find even a cargo boat that will take
me I shall go."
" If you do find a cargo boat tell us," I cried,
" for we will come too."
" Yes," said my mother. " We will come with
you, and sleep on deck if there are no cabins."
The Colonel looked surprised, but he promised
to do his best.
The Governor's house was only a few steps
from the hotel, and that of the Mayor
just opposite. When calling on Madame
Tchitchagoff, the Governor's wife, we remarked
a business-like green baize table in the centre
of her elegant drawing room.
" That table does not belong here," said our
hostess, following the direction of our eyes. " It
was brought in this morning for my committee
meeting. I have formed a committee of ladies
to help me to take care of the wives and
children of our soldiers who are being so hur
riedly taken to China," and then she went on
284

KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
to tell us how, one after another the men
kept coming to her with anxious faces to beg
her to befriend the dear ones they were leav
ing. "I am as busy as my husband," she added
smiling. " While he looks after the men and
sends them to China I look after the women
and children. You must come and lunch with
me to morrow, and then you will meet my
husband." That was an interesting lunch party, and
one we shall never forget. I found myself
sitting next to a closely-shaven military man
of remarkably fine appearance ; this was the
Governor, General Tchitchagoff, resplendent in
full uniform. He chatted gaily in French, and
kept filling my plate with every delicacy, and
pouring out wines which he never could have
expected me to drink. I found wood straw
berries, pineapple, and bananas all on my plate
at once when we got to the dessert.
Opposite me sat Admiral A  — who was on
his way to take command of the Russian forces
at Taku. He talked little and was anxious to
285

A RIBBON OF IRON
be off, so we hurried through the meal on his
account. A man of war was waiting in the bay
ready to start the moment he came on board,
and General Tchitchagoff was to take him out
in his own launch. Champagne was drunk in
his honour, and every one wished him success in
his undertaking.
Ten minutes before they started General L 
was announced. He had just arrived from
Khabarovsk, and was going on at once with
Admiral A  .
Two more glasses of champagne were brought.
We were now sitting in the verandah overlook
ing the bay, and the ship that was to take
the generals lay before our eyes. General
Tchitchagoff carried the newcomer off to a
quiet corner where they talked earnestly for
a few minutes ; afterwards they drank each
other's health and rejoined us.
Every one tried to be gay those last moments,
but there was an undercurrent of sadness felt
by all. Those veteran warriors knew what
war meant, and we English knew also — only
too well. 286

KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
" So you have actually come through Siberia,"
said General L  looking at us with interest ;
" right through Siberia ! You are very brave ! "
Then, as we rose to go, he shook hands
heartily with all present except the Governor's
wife, whose hand he gallantly kissed. In the
meantime General Tchitchagoff, who had
stepped into the garden, returned with a
lovely rose and presented it to my mother.
It was the first rose that had crossed our path
in Siberia.
" I will keep it," said my mother, " in memory
of the brave generals I have met today."
Madame Tchitchagoff brought out some field
glasses, and we watched the launch with the
three generals on board, as it made its way to
the man of war. Then the great ship moved
slowly away to join the allies at Taku.
" The soldiers are delighted to go," said one of
the ladies.
" How is it men are so ready to face death ? "
I said, almost thinking aloud.
"On ne meurt qu'une fois," replied Madame
Tchitchagoff. 287

A RIBBON OF IRON
Afterwards, as we were walking in their lovely
garden, Mademoiselle Tchitchagoff described how,
with her mother and sisters, she also had come
through Siberia.
" We travelled in winter," she said. " It was
delightful to skim over thousands of miles of
untrodden snow, in a comfortable sledge, with
the clear frosty air blowing in your face, and
warm furs all round you.
" One of my sisters caught cold on the way,"
she continued, " and as we could not keep her in
a warm room we made her tuck her head under
the cover till she got better. We took with us
a cook, a dressmaker, and a maid, besides other
attendants. At Irkutsk they did their best to
make us comfortable by putting us all into
one immense room for the night." (Here she
laughed heartily at the remembrance.) " The
windows and doors were draped with the
grandest of curtains," she went on to say, " but
it never entered the landlord's head that we
should have preferred separate rooms, however
simple, to all that magnificence. As it was, we
settled down with the help of a few screens, and
288

KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
left a corner to the cook, so that she was
able to prepare our supper in comparative
peace." When Mademoiselle Tchitchagoff had finished, I
told her about our journey, and the two accounts
sounded so different that it was hard to believe
that we had both travelled by one and the
same route. A journey by sledge in winter
is naturally very different from one by train
in summer. Yet as we compared notes we
came to the conclusion that the one was as
pleasant and as enjoyable as the other.
Later on in the afternoon we called on the
Mayor. His wife was an Englishwoman. She
welcomed us kindly, and after we had chatted
for a few minutes the Mayor himself came in.
After mutual greetings he handed my mother
a pair of pocket scissors she had left in the
train at Omsk, thousands of miles away.
" These are trying times," said Madame
V  ; " nearly all the servants in the town
are Chinese, and yesterday they all with one
consent gave notice to leave. Some one spread
a report that the Russians intended to shut them
289 t

A RIBBON OF IRON
up in a large building, and put lighted kerosine
underneath. Happily the Governor was able to
persuade them that the report was false, other
wise I don't know what in the world we should
have done. General Tchitchagoff sent for some
of the most influential Chinese merchants," she
continued, " and told them to try their powers
of persuasion with the lower classes. He also
told his own servants that they could find no
safer place than his house, whatever complica
tions might arise."
Another lady to whom I spoke about the
Chinese servants told me that they were much
more satisfactory than the Japs or Russians. >
"To begin with," she said, "they are satisfied
with lower wages, for their way of life is so
simple ; they have wonderful memories too. If
you tell a Chinaman to place a chair in any
particular part of the room he puts it there,
not only when you give the command, but
every day and always, till you give him further
instructions. However," she added, " it is more
a case of blind obedience than of thoughtful
service." 290

KHILKOVO— VLADIVOSTOK
The history of Vladivostok dates from 1860.
On June 20 in that year, a Russian man of
war called the Manchour, under Lieutenant-
Captain Chefner, brought into the bay a party
of soldiers. On the spot where they landed they
built themselves barracks, and the place became
a military station. In 1861 the stone of the
first church was laid, and in 1865 Vladivostok
was declared a free port.
A Hamburg firm has a large store in the
chief street — " a place where you can buy
everything." Americans and French also do
business there, but Russian merchants are
scarce. " We made a great mistake from the first," I
heard a Russian say, " in not sending merchants
here when we sent soldiers. Now, other countries
are stepping in and taking the trade out of our
hands." When talking to the Mayor's wife I said, " Do
you not feel a little nervous now that so many
of the Russian soldiers are being sent away ?
Surely the Riissian inhabitants would be help
less if this swarm of Chinamen rose in arms.
291

A RIBBON OF IRON
Their numbers alone would be overpowering,
and then too you are so close to China."
" I have lived here for the last twenty years,"
replied Madame V  , " and during the whole
of that time we have been constantly preparing
for a siege. Once we went so far as to get in
special provisions ; but here we are still you
see!

292

Chapter XXI
ON A CARGO BOAT— FALLEN FROM
THE SKY— SAPPORO
t-J OTEL Moscow was full of people waiting
like ourselves for a steamer to Nagasaki,
the Japanese port to which, in times of peace,
there is a regular and frequent service. We
resigned ourselves to the inevitable. I arranged
to pay some calls with Mademoiselle Tchitchagoff
on the following day, accepted an invitation to
supper with other friends, and sent ovly clothes
to the Chinese laundry. In the evening Colonel
D  looked in.
" I have come to say ' good-bye,' " he said.
"I shall probably start either for Taku with
the soldiers before daybreak, or cross to Otaru
in the north of Japan by a cargo boat leaving
at 9.30 a.m." 293

A RIBBON OF IRON
" If you go to Japan take us with you," we
both cried in a breath.
The Colonel looked very much surprised this
time. " I fear there will be no accommodation for
ladies," he replied, "and, besides, you would
need Japanese money, and there is very little
to be got here."
" Please take these," said my mother, handing
him some rouble notes, " and secure our pas
sages on the cargo boat. Once in Japan we
will find some way of changing our money.
If you don't come back this evening to say
that the captain refuses to take us we shall
consider it settled and be ready to go at 9 a.m.
tomorrow." "I will do my best," said the Colonel, and
he hurried off. He did not return that evening,
so we wrote notes of explanation to all our
friends, promising to let them know when we
returned. At the appointed hour the following morning
the Colonel appeared.
" I have taken your passages," he said, " and
294

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
we shall be a party of six, including my
Chinamen, for Lieut.-Colonel S  of the
Russian Legation at Tokio is coming too.
He is impatient to be at his post, and
asked permission to join our party directly
he heard we had found a boat. The captain
is going to let you have his own cabin, so
you will not have to sleep on deck, and there
is one other cabin into which we three men
will squeeze. I have been all over the place
trying to get Japanese money, but have only
seventy ' yens.' That will not go far among
so many people."
We then sent for the manager of the hotel
and got the Colonel to tell him that he was
to keep the things we had sent to the laundry
till our return.
Just as we were starting, one of the ladies
in the hotel, who spoke French, met me in
the hall.
" I am off to Japan," I said.
" That cannot be, Mademoiselle," she replied.
" I have been waiting to go myself for more
than a week. There is no steamer going, I
295

A RIBBON OF IRON
assure you, and what is more, there will not
be one for nearly a fortnight," and she swept
past me with her head in the air.
"If you don't see me again you will know
I'm gone," I answered.
The chief of the police, who was a friend of
Colonel D  's, took us out to the boat in
his own steam launch.
The captain of the Erica was a pleasant
man and jolly, as most sea captains are. He
came from Riga and spoke German and English.
" I hope you will excuse our rough ways,"
he said, shaking hands with my mother. " This
does not profess to be a passenger ship you
know." We found ourselves the occupants of a com
fortable cabin with two berths, over one of which
was placed a framed motto worked by hand,
In alien Sturmen, in aller Noth,
Mog' er dich beschirmen — der treue Gott.
Hanging from the ceiling was a cage with
a canary, which sang sweetly. There was truly
nothing more to be desired but a calm pas
sage. 296

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
The rest of our party came on board just
before we started, and Lieut. -Colonel S  was
introduced to us. He proved a most agreeable
addition, for he spoke French and was musical.
In the evenings, as we sat watching the water
in the bright moonlight, he and Lieutenant
K  sang Russian duets. He had brought a
treasure with him in the shape of a Murray's
Guide to Japan, in English, just the very
book we wanted. After lunch the three gentle
men disappeared into their cabin and returned,
one after the other, in civil attire. They chaffed
one another without mercy, and we too smiled
at the change that had been so speedily effected.
We studied the maps and found that we were
to land in a little bay on the west coast of
Hokkaido, the island which used to be called
Yezo. What added romance to the whole was
the fact that not a soul on board had ever
been to Japan before. The captain had never
seen even the coast of Japan when he received
orders from head-quarters to fetch a cargo
of coal from the mines of Otaru and take it
to Singapore. 297

A RIBBON OF IRON
" I had a narrow escape last night," said
Colonel D  as the shores of Siberia began
to grow faint in the distance. " I had put my
baggage on board the steamer for Taku, so
went out late in the evening to fetch it back.
I was very tired, for I had been scouring the
town for Jap money, besides making many
other necessary arrangements. I lay down on
the berth that was to have been mine, in
tending to take a few minutes' rest, and fell
fast asleep. At length the sound of military
music awoke me at 4 a.m. The steamer had
begun to move. I rushed on deck with my
baggage and just had time to scramble into
the last boat that was putting ashore. If I
had slept a few minutes longer I should have
been now on my way to Taku with your rouble
notes in my pocket ! Who knows how long
it would have been before I could have let you
know what had happened ! "
We had left Vladivostok on Friday, July 6,
and it was 7 p.m. on Sunday evening when
we arrived at Otaru. As the captain did not
know the rocks he would not approach land
298

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
till daylight, so we anchored well outside the
bay. Before we were on deck the next day another
steamer passed us and anchored inside the bay.
This turned out to be one of a regular line
between Hokkaido and Yokohama. After
breakfast all of us, except my mother, went
across to her in a little boat rowed by Jap
boatmen. We found the captain to be a genial Scotch
man. He said he would be pleased to take
us to Yokohama, but was not starting till
Wednesday afternoon. He also told us that
we must get our tickets at the agent's office
in Otaru.
As we had two days and a half at our dis
posal we decided to see all we could of the
northern Japs and their ways ; we began by
sending a Jap guide ahead to order us a native
dinner. Then we fetched my mother, and all
came ashore together, while the Chinese boy
followed with cloaks and umbrellas. How we
were to find the ticket office no one knew.
As we were nearing the landing place we
299

A RIBBON OF IRON
espied a group of Japanese men, amongst whom
was a man in European clothes.
" It is an Englishman," said Colonel D 
" He will be able to help us," and he asked my
mother and me to go forward and speak to him.
"Good-morning," I said, approaching him.
"Do you speak English?"
" Rather," replied the gentleman, lifting his
hat. " I am an American missionary."
" Would you kindly tell us," said my mother,
"how far it is to the ticket office?"
"About two blocks, M'am," replied the mis
sionary. "I am afraid I don't know how much a
block is," said my mother.
" Well, it's about eight squares," was the
reply. " Pray, what is a square ? " said my mother,
and we both looked in the direction of the town.
It was nothing but a mass of straggling houses.
There was nothing square about it.
The three Russian officers who stood by were
surprised to find us so slow to understand
our own language ; hearing the missionary reply
300

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
in English they had thought our difficulties at
an end.
" Would you mind coming with us ? " I said
at last, as the missionary seemed at a loss
how to explain further.
"Not at all," he replied. "I shall be glad
to assist you in any way."
" Allow me to introduce these gentlemen,"
I said ; " they are Russian officers on their way
to Yokohama."
" Ah ! Russian officers," said the missionary,
shaking hands. " The Japanese were in a great
state when they saw the Russian flag on your
ship. You were very wise to come in civil
dress." At the ticket office we had a long interview
with the Jap agent, who was also in European
dress, with gold spectacles. This gentleman
refused to change any Russian money, but
offered to let us have our tickets if wo would
pay a certain sum on each to him, and the
rest to the purser on our arrival at Yokohama.
" That we cannot do," said the Colonel, " we
have only very httle Japanese money with us,
301

A RIBBON OF IRON
and we shall need it all here before starting."
He was thinking of the Japanese dinner, to
which we were all looking forward, but did
not say so.
At last we decided to return to the Erica
and consult our friend the captain.
As we were leaving the office the missionary,
the Rev. R. Pearson, gave us his card and
begged us to come to Sapporo, where he lived,
the next day.
" The place is well worth seeing," he said ;
" my wife will be delighted to show you every
thing. She speaks French and German."
" Please tell the guide how to bring us, and
by what train," I said, " for he hardly knows
three words of any but his native tongue.
Please tell him also to take us to a photo
grapher's." The guide listened attentively to all that
Mr. Pearson told him, and then we parted.
Arrived at the photographer's we arranged
ourselves into a group, and a little old man,
looking almost as much like a monkey as a
human being, took a photograph of our party.
302

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
How the captain laughed when we got back
to the Erica and told him of our dilemma.
" So you are not going to miss your Jap dinner,"
he said ; " well, I can give you all the money
you want."
That Jap dinner was a great success. We
took off our shoes and sat on soft white mat
ting round a very low table. The room had
only three sides, the fourth opening into a
veritable Jap garden.1 Dainty Jap women
served us on bended knee, and danced to us
when we had finished our repast. The first
course consisted of tiny plates of cherries. Then
came a kind of fungus which few of us had
courage to attack. Fish soup followed, then
chickens boiled with peaches. There were a
great many courses.
It was quite dark when we rowed back to
the Erica ; bright stars shone above us and
danced upon the water, while the lights of
the town twinkled to us from the shore.
1 This garden, though very small, contained a miniature
lake, upon the surface of which there floated a miniature
steamer. 303

A RIBBON OF IRON
The next day we reached Sapporo about 12.30,
after a train journey of nearly three hours.
Lunch over, Mr. and Mrs. Pearson took us to
see all the points of interest. Not wishing to
enter the museum on such a lovely day, we
looked through the keyhole and saw some
storks. " There is a bear in there which swallowed a
baby," said Mrs. Pearson. But even that did
not tempt us.
Mrs. Pearson was a charming American full
of life and fun.
" You could not have come upon us more
unexpectedly if you had fallen from the skies,"
she said. "No travellers ever land at Otaru.
Where have you come from ? "
Her excitement increased when she heard that
my mother and I had come through Siberia.
" Why we Americans think it a fair railway
journey to cross the States," she said, " and that
only takes five days. How I envy you ! "
In the afternoon we visited some Ainu
families. The Ainus are the original inhabi
tants of Japan. Once spreading all over the
304

Ainu Woman, with ingrained moustache.

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
country they are now only to be found in
Hokkaido. The government has lately been
trying to prevent their extinction. The men
are terrible drunkards, and spend half their
time in pouring libations to the gods. At the
commencement of the ceremony they lift up
their heavy moustaches with long sticks called
" moustache lifters." The women have imita
tion moustaches, the result of careful tattooing
with lead in infancy. Both the men and the
women had a wild unkempt appearance.
Their matted hair hung over their foreheads,
and partially concealed their features, while
there was a look in their eyes such as one sees
in cases where the mind is slightly unhinged.
The Rev. J. Bachelor, who has for the last
twenty years devoted his life to these people,
has published an interesting book aboutr them.
He has also prepared a grammar in their
language and translated the New Testament.
As we were passing the church that has been
built at Sapporo by the Church Missionary
Society the Chinaman suddenly grew quite
excited, and, turning to his master, the Colonel,
305 u

A RIBBON OF IRON
said, " Look ! there is a saying of our Confucius
inscribed above the door."
Mrs. Pearson was much disturbed that the
words written on a Christian church should be
taken for those of a heathen philosopher. She
got out of her " rickshaw," and stopping a Jap
student, who happened to be passing, asked
him to explain the writing to the Chinaman.
He did so, and the latter appeared convinced ;
but on the way back to Otaru he said to the
Colonel, "I know it was Confucius all the same."
The next morning we had to stay in our
cabins to escape the coal dust with which the
deck was black. Coal was being handed up
the side of the ship in small covered baskets
by women with white handkerchiefs tied round
their heads and large mushroom hats on top.
They seemed to enjoy their work, and laughed
merrily all the time. Indeed, their peals of
laughter were so contagious that we laughed
too, and peeped out occasionally to see what
it was all about.
The guide came on board about noon with
the photograph of our group.
306

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
" One of us forgot to do his hair," said Colonel
D  as he examined it critically.
When we were leaving the Erica the captain
said : " Ladies and gentlemen, it will be a long
time before you see this boat again. I hope
no one has left any property behind."
I thought of this afterwards, when, on unpack
ing at Yokohama, I discovered that we had
brought away a pair of the captain's boots,
wrapped in paper just like ours. Poor man,
he certainly never saw them again, for we
gave them to a waiter at the Oriental. If the
captain ever reads these lines I trust he will
forgive. On the steamer for Yokohama we might
have had pleasure all the time, for here also
the captain, a Scotchman, was pleasantness
itself, and the first mate quite anxious to be
agreeable. Added to this the deck chairs were
luxurious. But, alas ! we were now on the
Pacific and it tossed us about most cruelly.
At Hakodate we were to have been delayed
at least one day, but news from China was so
threatening that the captain received orders
307

A RIBBON OF IRON
to leave at once for Yokohama that he might
take Japanese soldiers to Taku.
" So these gentlemen are going to the front,"
said Captain Campbell one calm day when we
were all on deck together.
" Yes," I replied, " and we ladies shall not
be far from the front ourselves, for we have
ten days' travelling on the Chinese frontier to
look forward to."
" You must write to each other and compare
notes of your experiences," said the captain.
" Whoever lives to tell the tale must tell it,"
I replied. We reached Yokohama on the 14th of July.
Flags were flying and streamers fluttering in
honour of the fete day. Arriving at the
Oriental Hotel, we were told that in the even
ing there was to be a grand dinner there, and a
dance, for which the best band in Japan had
been brought from Tokio.
A few hours after our arrival my mother
and I ordered " rickshaws " and called at the
convent on the Bluff to see the daughters of
the manager of the hotel at Blagovestchensk.
308

•pry /^m

—

Photograph taken on landing at Otaru, North Japan.

ON A CARGO BOAT— SAPPORO
We found only one child. The mother and
the younger one had not arrived, though they
had left Blagovestchensk a week before us.
They were still waiting in Vladivostok for a
steamer. Just as we were leaving the convent we met
Colonel D  and Lieutenant K  They had
come after us to say " good-bye," for they were
to go on by train that night to Nagasaki.
" The news from Pekin grows worse and
worse," they said. " We must join our regi
ment with the least possible delay," and with
a hearty handshake they were gone.
It was thus that our pleasant party broke
up, exactly a week from the day we had left
Vladivostok. How strange it seemed without
the kind Colonel and his merry Adjutant, and
how we missed that useful Chinaman who had
looked after our interests so faithfully !
The other gentleman, Lieut.-Colonel S  ,
remained at the Consulate in Yokohama. He
called to see us several times during our stay
there.

309

Chapter XXII
AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
Donde una puerta se cierra, otra se abre.
Cervantes.
A S the Amur begins to freeze in September,
passengers wishing to travel by steamer
must leave Vladivostok in August. We could
not therefore allow ourselves more than three
weeks in the " Land of the Rising Sun." After
a pleasant stay at Tokio we went on to Nikko,
and it was there that we made the acquaintance
of the new Russian Minister and his family.
When in St. Petersburg we had heard from
Prince Hilkoff that His Excellency M. Iswolsky
was arranging to travel by the same route that
we were taking, and our own Ambassador, Sir
Charles Scott, had also mentioned him to us.
" You will be sure to meet them somewhere
on the route. I will send them your cards and
310

AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
ask them to look out for you," Prince Hilkoff
had said just as we were starting.
Madame Iswolsky was staying at the
Kanaya Hotel, where we also had arranged
to stay, and we sent her our cards as soon as
we arrived. When we had had a little rest
after our five hours' railway journey, Madame
Iswolsky's maid came to say that her lady
would be pleased to receive us in her own
apartment. " So you have accomplished that long, long
journey in safety," said Madame Iswolsky,
giving us a kindly welcome. "My husband
was most anxious about you ; he carried your
cards in his breast pocket all those weeks.
How is it we never heard anything of you ? "
" You started just a week later than we did,"
I replied, " but you passed us while we were
exploring the Steppe, and we never caught you
up." Then we related how we had met two gentle
men who had travelled with them — M. T  at
Krasnoiarsk, and Prince D  at Blagoves
tchensk. 311

A RIBBON OF IRON
" Prince D  showed us a photograph he
had taken of your party, and we heard of you
at nearly every stopping place," I said.
" Yes, we were a party of twenty," replied
Madame Iswolsky. " Besides my husband and
myself and my two children there were the
governess, the valet and his wife, and a Cossack
soldier. I could not bear to think of my
precious children falling ill in that wild country
and no medical aid at hand, so I took a doctor.
Happily he was never needed. Prince Demidoff
from London, and his wife, also travelled
with us and took a photographer with them.
Then there was an English friend of theirs,
Mr. L  , besides several other gentlemen, two
of whom you met on the way. Prince Demi
doff and Mr. L  have gone to shoot bears in
Sakhalin." "I wish you could have seen the provisions
we took with us," said the governess, an
attractive young lady, whose name I forget.
" We had a hundred and fifty bottles of
Apollinaris water and any number of jams
and preserves. They were most acceptable,
312

AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
for there were days and days when we could
get no butter."
"There were, indeed," I replied.
" How did you arrange about a laundress ? "
asked Madame Iswolsky.
" I wore my blouses rough dried," I answered,
and often felt ashamed of my appearance.
Then I told them about the beautiful laundress
at Stretinsk.
"We did not go to an hotel there," said
Madame Iswolsky ; " we went straight on board
a government boat which was waiting for us."
We now spent a pleasant half hour looking
at photographs they had taken on the way,
and Madame Iswolsky gave me several for
my book, including one of the Russian legation
at Tokio.
" I hope we shall have the pleasure of meet
ing His Excellency," said my mother.
" Oh, yes, you will see him ; he is to join us
tomorrow," replied Madame Iswolsky ; and
here he is in the group we had taken outside
our Siberian train. Here, too, you see our
Cossack soldier. He was a useful man and I
313

A RIBBON OF IRON
should have liked to keep him with us here,
but his appearance so alarmed the Japs that
we had to send him back.
M. Iswolsky arrived from Tokio the following
morning. He was quite relieved to think the
two poor English ladies had come safely through
Siberia. " I was afraid you might have got into some
difficulty," he said, "as we heard nothing of you."
" The fact that we were ladies alone seemed
to make people specially kind to us," I said,
" and we met with good hearts under even the
roughest exteriors. We have certainly no cause
to complain."
I showed them the photograph taken at Otaru,
and M. Iswolsky at once recognized Colonel
D  in spite of his civil dress. " I have met
him in St. Petersburg," he said.
"You will have proper first-class carriages
all the way from Stretinsk now," said M.
Iswolsky. " I have received news that they
are already on the line. It has just been
opened to the public."
We were to leave Nikko at an early hour
314

AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
on Friday morning, and had already posted
letters to our friends at home telling them that
we were on the eve of our return journey
through Siberia, when suddenly all our plans
were changed.
At dinner on Thursday evening just as soup
was being served M. Iswolsky appeared with
a telegram in his hand. Instead of going to
his own table he walked straight to ours, and
said in a low voice to my mother, while all the
other visitors looked on with curious eyes, " I
fear it will hardly be safe for you to return by
Siberia. I have just received a telegram to
the effect that Blagovestchensk has been shelled
by the Chinese."
Neither of us will ever forget that moment.
After consultation we decided to stay another
day at Nikko in hope of further tidings.
M. Iswolsky left for Tokio on Friday after
noon. In the evening Madame Iswolsky ^came
to our room for a last chat.
" If you call at the Legation to-morrow, on
your way through Tokio, you will see my
husband and get the very latest news," she said
315

A RIBBON OF IRON
kindly. " I shall telegraph to him saying when
he is to expect you."
Such a pretty and gentle lady was Madame
Iswolsky — a countess born, and a countess every
inch of her.
" I wrote to mamma every day," she said,
" all the way from St. Petersburg to Tokio, and
never once missed."
We could not help thinking what an interest
ing book these letters would make, and how
different it would bo from mine.
At the Legation we found M. Iswolsky
expecting us.
" Here is an old friend," he said, and at that
moment Lieut. -Colonel S  made his appear
ance. There was also another gentleman present.
He was no less a personage than Father
Nicholas the Russian missionary bishop, who
has been labouring for so many years amongst
the heathen in Japan.
He told Lieut.-Colonel S  that there must
be peace between the two countries if his good
work was to prosper, for the mere presence of
310

AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
military men was a hindrance to his peaceful
labours. "There is no fresh news from the Amur,"
said M. Iswolsky, but I will telegraph today to
the Governor of Vladivostok and let you know
the result."
The reply came several days later and was
forwarded to us on our return from Fugiama.
It ran as follows : "All passenger traffic on the
Amur suspended." At the same time it was
stated in the Japanese newspapers that all the
foreigners in Pekin had been massacred, and
that four Russian steamboats had been sunk by
Boxers on the Amur.
Not wishing to run needless risks we decided,
with much regret, to give up all thought of
returning through Siberia, and took our
passages in the first steamer leaving for
America. We sailed from Yokohama on July
27 in the Empress of Japan.
Most of the passengers were missionaries
escaping for their lives from China. Many of
them had brought away nothing but the clothes
they wore. It was a quiet and uneventful
317

A RIBBON OF IRON
voyage of thirteen days. Once indeed some of
us caught sight of six whales spouting in a
row, an acceptable break in the monotony of
the horizon.
"What little things please people on board
ship ! " a lady remarked, as she came on deck
and swept past us scarcely turning her head in
our direction.
One day while I was playing the piano in
the saloon a fond parent approached with his
little boy of five. Placing a chair beside me
he said to the child, " Now you can play softly
in the treble while the lady plays in the middle."
The duet was a short one.
The stewardess was a woman who had seen
better days. On one occasion she invited me
into her pretty cabin, and entertained me with
an amusing tale.
" During one of my voyages," she said, " a
widow lady of high rank was particularly kind
to me. Wishing to make her some little return,
I bought a few white flowers, when I went on
shore at Victoria, and laid them on the table
in her cabin." 318

AT NIKKO— STARTLING NEWS
" Oh thank you so much ! " replied the widow,
with tears in her eyes. " You have placed
them upon my dear husband ; he is in that
little Japanese box on the table. I had him
cremated just before leaving Shanghai."
The chief sights of interest that we passed on
our rapid journey through Canada were the
glorious giant trees of Vancouver and the
magnificent peaks and canons of the Rocky
Mountains. We spent a night at Banff, but
mosquitoes and an overcrowded hotel were a
drawback to that lovely spot.
We were much struck, amongst other things,
with the feeling of equality that prevails in the
Dominion. Once, at a large hotel, when we
had ordered some tea in our bedroom, " Excuse
my sitting down," said the waiter, seating him
self comfortably in an armchair, "but is there
anything else I can do for you ? "
At Toronto we bought a daily paper and
read thrilling speeches on the trouble in China,
that had been delivered by some of the mission
aries in whose company we had crossed the
Pacific. But it was not until several days later
319

A RIBBON OF IRON
that we were relieved from our anxiety as to
the fate of Pekin.
Crossing Lake Ontario we spent a couple of
days at Niagara. The beautiful falls surpassed
our wildest expectations.
In order to appease the growing anxiety
of friends at home, whose letters had just
reached us, I had my mother's photograph
taken at our hotel in New York, from which
city we sailed for Liverpool on August 22.
On the 31st of the same month we arrived in
London, our journey through Siberia having
developed into a tour round the world.

THE END.

Butler & Tanner, Tlio Belwood Fi-iuting Works, Frame, and London,

Fold out

3 9002 04055 2706