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FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS 
 BY LAND. 
 
FROM FEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 First edition, 750 copies, 20s. 
 Second edition, 750 copies, 78. 6(f. 
 
FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS 
 BY LAND 
 
 H. DE WINDT. 
 
 AUTHOB OF "SIBEEIA AS IT IS," "A KIDE TO INDIA ACROSS PBBSIA AND 
 BBLUCiriSTAN." 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP. 
 
 ' PluB Je vis I'etranger, plus J'aimai ma patrie." — Be Belloy. 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 LONDON: CHAPMAN ai«d HALL, Ld. 
 1892 
 
 lAll/nghis reserved.'] 
 

 w / 
 
TO 
 
 THE RAJA OF SARAWAK, G.C.M.G, 
 
 IN EEMBMBHANOE OF MANY 
 
 PLEASANT HOURS OF TRAVEL SPENT IN HIS 
 
 DOMINIONS IN THE ISLAND OF BORNEO. 
 
PEE FACE. 
 
 Thbee are two Bnglislimen at present living in 
 Shanghai who have travelled overland from Europe 
 to China. I was told, when there, that these 
 gentlemen are continually receiving letters from 
 England asking for information relative to the 
 journey from Petersburg to Pekin and vice versa, 
 via the Gobi Desert and Siberia. 
 
 It was mainly owing to this circumstance that I 
 publish these pages, for I fear the general reader 
 will find little of interest in this account of a 
 monotonous pilgrimage through Europe and Asia. 
 I feel that an apology is needed for its publication, 
 and need hardly say that this work does not aspire 
 to the title of a book of travel. It is merely a 
 record of my impressions in the less civilized parts 
 of China, and in that weird and melancholy country, 
 less perhaps from aspect than associations, Siberia. 
 
 Harut de Windt. 
 Junior United Service Club, S."W. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Geavbsend to Pbkin 1 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 Pekin .... 31 
 
 ^CHAPTER III. 
 Pbkin to Kalgan 59 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Kalgan, or Chang- Chi i-Kow 82 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 The Dbsbrt of Gobi ... ,102 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 OURGA TO KlAKilTA ..... . . 163 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 KiAKHTA TO Irkoittsk . . . , . 194 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 Ireoutsk 231 
 
CONTENTS. 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 FA&B 
 
 Iekoutsk {continued) ... .... 25.3 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Iekoutsk to Tomsk 266 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 Tomsk 335 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Pbbm to Calais ... . . _ 357 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 Our Caravan in Gobi .... 
 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 A Street in Tartar City — Pekin . 
 
 
 . 42 
 
 A Mule Litter 
 
 
 
 . 73 
 
 Da-Hun-Go 
 
 
 
 . 98 
 
 My Camel Cart 
 
 
 
 . 105 
 
 Ourouni ...... 
 
 
 
 . 122 
 
 An awkward Moment 
 
 
 
 . 150 
 
 A Street Prayer- wheel at Ourga . 
 
 
 
 . 177 
 
 A Village Ostrog — Convicts on the March 
 
 
 
 . 244 
 
 A Siberian Criminal Convict 
 
 
 
 . 256 
 
 A Siberian Village Street . 
 
 
 
 . 268 
 
 Our Tarantass with " Troika " . 
 
 
 
 . 271 
 
 The Post-house at Easgonnaia 
 
 
 
 . 280 
 
 A Night in a Post-house 
 
 
 
 . 293 
 
 A Prison Barge on the Obi River 
 
 
 
 . 348 
 
 Map. 
 
 
 
 
FI-iOM PEKIN TO CALAIS 
 BY LAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GEAVESEND TO PBEIN. 
 
 " Feom China to France overland ! Why, surely it's 
 impossible. I thought one could only get to China 
 by sea ! " 
 
 Such was the remark made by a young lady whom 
 I had the honour of taking down to dinner a few 
 days previous to embarking upon the voyage of 
 which I am about to narrate my experiences. 
 Although I trust there are not many educated 
 persons who, like my fair friend, are unaware that 
 Pekin and Paris are actually undivided by sea, I 
 imagine there are but few who, if put down at Calais, 
 and told to find their way overland to Pekin, would 
 know how to set about it, fewer still who possess any 
 practical knowledge of that vast but comparatively 
 unknown country separating the Chinese Empire 
 from Russia proper, Siberia. 
 
 It had been a long-projected voyage. Lancaster 
 (a fellow-traveller in many lands), and I had 
 talked it over for at least two years before : in the 
 
 B 
 
2 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 early spring of 1887, -vve finally decided to put 
 our project into execution, and start for the great 
 unknown. 
 
 The best route (we found) was as follows : From 
 Shanghai to Pekin by steamer and house-boat, from 
 Pekin to Kalgan (or the Great "Wall of China) by 
 mule litter, and thence across the Great Gobi Desert 
 to Kiakhta, the Eusso- Chinese frontier, by camel 
 caravan. From Kiakhta to Tomsk, via Lake Baikal, 
 Irkoutsk, and Krasnoiarsk by tarantass or Russian 
 post carriage, and thence by steam communication 
 on the Obi and Irtish rivers to Tobolsk and Tinmen. 
 From the latter place our journey was easy enough. 
 Four days' sail and seven of steam would bring us 
 to Moscow, practically the end of our voyage. As 
 to the time the journey would take, no one, even at 
 the Eussian Embassy, seemed to know. So much 
 in this journey depends (as we afterwards found) 
 upon the weather, the facility of obtaining camels 
 at the Great Wall, and last, but not least, the state 
 of the roads in Siberia. 
 
 Our final preparations completed, we took passage 
 for Shanghai, and the rainy, gusty morning of the 
 7th of April, 1887, saw us steaming down channel 
 with half a gale of wind in our teeth, looking our 
 last on the white cliffs of England, while to our left 
 ■was just visible the low-lying coast of France, the 
 goal we hoped to reach in safety, before the follow- 
 ing winter, and from which we were separated by 
 the length of Europe and Asia. 
 
 I will not inflict a description of the voyage out 
 upon the reader. It would be superfluous in these 
 days of travel, when a man secures his berth for 
 
GEAVESBND TO PEKIN. 3 
 
 Sydney or Yokoliama with much the same indiffer- 
 ence as twenty years ago he took a ticket for Rome 
 or Vienna. The Hfe on board a P. and 0. ship is 
 famiUar to most of us, but there is a very false impres- 
 sion existing among those who have never travelled 
 in one, as to the delights of a voyage in a P. and 0., 
 and the endless gaiety and amusement on board 
 these floating hotels. I have made at least a dozen 
 voyages by this particular line, and must confess 
 that the gaiety and amusement, if they ever existed, 
 have escaped my observation. Perhaps I have been 
 unfortunate, but I must own that I have invariably 
 found the life on board these ships deplorably dull. 
 The mere fact of being cabined, cribbed, confined, 
 with three score of one's fellow-creatures, the 
 majority of whom have not a thought or feeling in 
 common, is surely sufficient to account for a lack of 
 enjoyment. 
 
 Light and favourable winds favoured us to Malta, 
 that shadeless, bustling rock so happily christened 
 by Byron " The little Military Hot-House." A few 
 hours here allowed of a stroll ashore and a visit to 
 the mess of that cheeriest and best of regiments, 
 the " Black Watch." Then, after dinner at the 
 club, and a chat over old Cairo-days, off again in 
 the moonlight to the Bengal and, three days later. 
 Port Said. 
 
 A favourable passage through that exaggerated 
 bugbear the Red Sea, which, by the way, I have 
 found cooler three times out of four than the Indian 
 Ocean. Aden is not touched at, and a quick run of 
 nine days brings us to Colombo, where we bid adieu 
 to the Bengal which is proceeding to Calcutta, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 and embark on board the Verona a vessel consider- 
 ably smaller, but as comfprtable in every respect as 
 the leviathan we have left. 
 
 Twenty-four hours here gave us time for a run 
 out to Mount Lavinia, where we received a hearty 
 welcome from the jovial German Herr (surrounded, 
 as usual, by a menagerie of domestic pets) who 
 manages that picturesque seaside hostelry. A 
 comfortable dinner in the breezy salle a manger in 
 full view of the cool blue sea and yellow sands, 
 coffee and a quiet cigar in the verandah, were a 
 pleasant change from the stuffy saloon of the 
 Bengal. Then back again to Colombo in the moon- 
 light, along the palm-fringed road, heavy with 
 the scent of jungle flowers, refreshed inwardly and 
 outwardly, and ready for the long weary days of 
 sea to Shanghai. 
 
 The remainder of our voyage was uneventful and 
 tedious enough. Hot, sleepy little Penang ; Singa- 
 pore a vision of green hills and red dust, a sickly 
 odour of pepper, cocoa, nut-oil, and drains. Hong 
 Kong, for all the world like some Spanish or 
 Italian town with its white terraces, and coloured 
 Venetians, nestling in masses of dark green foliage 
 at the foot of the bare rugged peak ; all these were 
 passed without incident worthy of mention except- 
 ing the meeting of the fifty-year-old bride w;ith her 
 fiance at the latter port, which was affecting in the 
 extreme. It was a relief to find that, at any rate, 
 the bridegroom was something near her own age. 
 Five days later, on the 21st of May, six weeks to a 
 day since leaving Gravesend, we dropped our anchor 
 in the broad, muddy waters of the Yangzekiang, 
 
GEAVBSEND TO PBKIN. 5 
 
 whence a small tug convej^ed us in six hours up the 
 narrower and still muddier Woosung river to 
 Shanghai. 
 
 Shanghai cannot be called a picturesque place. 
 Vast alluvial plains of rice and cotton surround it 
 on every side, while the view from the bund or 
 esplanade fronting the river, is not unlike the 
 Thames at Blackwall, with its flat banks, forests, 
 of masts, and grey stone wharves and ware- 
 houses. The town itself consists of three distinct 
 settlements, English, French, and American, divided 
 one from another by small tributaries of the 
 Woosung river. These settlements, quite distinct 
 from the native Chinese city, were formed by their 
 respective governments in 1846, and occupy a space 
 of ground rather more than ' a mile square. 
 Shanghai, in 188-3, contained a population of four 
 hundred thousand, of whom two thousand were 
 foreign residents, and an idea of its commercial im- 
 portance may be gained by the fact that its trade in 
 silk, tea, and opium now equals thirty to forty 
 million sterling value of imports and exports. 
 
 It was curious sometimes to cross the iron bridge 
 separating them and take a ramble from the English 
 into the French town. It was like crossing the 
 English Channel — indeed, I doubt if Dover and 
 Calais present a more striking contrast than do tbe 
 settlements of their respective nations at Shanghai. 
 One left the broad regular roads, asphalte pave- 
 ments and severe, business-like architecture that the 
 mercantile Briton takes with him wherever he goes, 
 to emerge the other side of the narrow stream on a . 
 boulevard, that first thought of every colonizing 
 
6 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 Frencliinan — lined wifcb. cafes, gaily striped awnings, 
 and little zinc tables, at which Auguste and Alphonse 
 sat sipping their absinthe or " Mazagran," waited 
 upon by bustling, white-aproned gargons. The 
 sleepy looking Douanier, with baggy trousers and 
 kepi, the grass-grown cobbled streets, the dark blue 
 enamelled plates at the street-corners, with Rue de 
 la Republique, Rue de Paris, etc., thereon in large 
 white letters, the general air of stagnation and idle- 
 ness among the population, seemed to carry one in 
 a moment over leagues and leagues of land and sea 
 to some quiet provincial town in far-away France. 
 
 The native city of Shanghai is walled and 
 separated from the French and English settle- 
 ments by a deep, muddy moat. Some clumsy 
 iron cannon, said to be the oldest in existence, 
 are mounted upon its dilapidated grass-grown 
 battlements. This was our first experience of a 
 celestial city, and we did not, after visiting it, 
 look forward with unalloyed pleasure to the two 
 hundred odd miles of country we were about to tra- 
 verse between Pekin and the Grreat Wall of China. 
 But I did not then know that Shanghai is renowned 
 as being the dirtiest city in the Chinese Empire, and 
 certainly we never afterwards came across one to 
 equal it in this respect. Pekin itself was a paradise 
 in comparison. 
 
 The most important thing we now had to 
 consider was the purchase of stores for our journey 
 over the " Great Hungry Desert," as Gobi is called 
 by the Chinese. It was by no means easy to decide 
 how much or how little to take, for no one in 
 Shanghai seemed to know whether in the eight hun- 
 
GRAVJISEND TO PEKIN. 7 
 
 dred odd miles lying between tlie Grreat Wall of 
 China and Ourga food of any sort or kind was pro- 
 curable. Hearing, however, that everything in the 
 way of provisions was outrageously dear at Tientsin, 
 and unprocurable at Pekin, we decided to lay in our 
 stock at Shanghai, and curiously enough furnished 
 ourselves with exactly the right amount, for our 
 stores failed the very day before we reached Kiakhta. 
 The claret, whisky, and soda-water gave out some 
 time before, but we had plenty of lime-juice, which 
 made the brackish desert water drinkable. 
 
 The operation of packing was by no means easy. 
 As the reader is perhaps aware, the weight on a 
 camel's back must be quite equally distributed on 
 either side, otherwise (in Mongolia at least) the 
 animal lies down and utterly declines to move a 
 step. Eight strong wooden chests, with padlocks, 
 met all our requirements, and having made our 
 adieus to hospitable friends, we embarked, the 31st 
 of May, on the coasting-steamer Tungchow for the 
 port of Pekin, Tientsin. 
 
 The Tungchoiv was more like a yacht than a 
 cargo boat, and the run up coast was delightful ; 
 with bright sunshine and light cool breezes, exactly 
 like Mediterranean weather in early spring, though 
 the nights were very cold, and one was glad of an 
 overcoat. We passed daily numbers of fishing 
 junks, their dark brown mat-sails and bright red 
 and yellow banners standing out in picturesque 
 contrast to the clear blue sea, which was often, for 
 miles around us, dotted with net corks and men in 
 small canoes. A gale springs up rapidly in these 
 latitudes, and during the typhoon season- many 
 
8 JEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of these poor fishermen, unable to get back to the 
 junks, are blown out to sea and drowned. The 
 captain of the Tungchoiv told ns that many lives 
 are lost annually in this manner. 
 
 We reached Chefoo late at night, and were there- 
 fore unable to land, as we were off again at daybreak. 
 Chefoo is the Brighton of Shanghai and Pekin. 
 There is capital bathing here, and many good hotels, 
 which are crowded to overflowing in the summer 
 months by Europeans escaping from the damp, 
 steamy heat of Shanghai, and the no less disagree- 
 able odours, and "dust fogs" (I can call them 
 nothing else) of the capital. 
 
 The coast lying between Chefoo and the mouth 
 of the Peiho river is strikingly like parts of Devon- 
 shire. But for the absence of houses and bathing 
 machines, one might have been off Torquay or 
 Dawlish. Precipitous red cliffs, with smooth green 
 sward growing to their very edges, met by broad 
 smooth yellow sands, while here and there great 
 masses of rock run out for a considerable distance 
 into the clear blue water. Further inland neatly 
 trimmed hedges, clumps of fir-trees, and snug- 
 lookino- farmhouses surrounded with orchards and 
 gardens, recalled visions of clotted cream, and pretty 
 ' peasant girls in that loveliest of all English counties, 
 the true garden of England : Devonshire. 
 
 At daybreak on the 3rd of June we passed the 
 celebrated Taku forts and entered the Peiho river. 
 It was a bright lovely morning, and as a bend of the 
 river hid it from our sight, and we looked at the 
 blue sunlit ocean for the last time, it was not with- 
 out some misgivings at the long land journey before 
 
GEAVBSEND TO PEKIN. 9 
 
 US. The thought that when next we saw the sea, 
 it would be at Calais, made us realize, perhaps 
 more than we had as yet done, the difficulty and 
 ■ length of the voyage we liad undertaken. 
 
 Unlike most rivers, the Peiho seems to widen as 
 you ascend it, being considerably narrower at the 
 mouth than at Tientsin, thirty miles inland. The 
 town of Taku, a wretched-looking place, built for 
 the most part of m-ud houses, is by water inaccessible 
 for five months of the year, on account of the ice in the 
 Peiho and Gulf of Pechili. It is a curious fact that 
 although Taku is so cold in winter, it never snows, 
 and there is usually a bright, cloudless sky and 
 cutting north-easter blowing. Wretched as is its 
 appearance, Taku looks a busy place, and contains 
 a Chinese naval dockyard. The Taku forts com- 
 manding the entrance to the river have been greatly 
 strengthened during the last ten years, the work 
 being carried on under the personal supervision of 
 German officers. 
 
 Although . only thirty miles distant "as the crow 
 flies, Tientsin is ' quite eighty by river from Taku, 
 for the Peiho is, towards the mouth, the most tor- 
 tuous river in the world. You may steam steadily 
 on for an hour, and find yourself, at the expira- 
 tion of that time only a few hundred yards from 
 where you started. The effect produced by the 
 shipping ascending and descending the river is very 
 curious, the intricate bends of the river giving 
 ships the appearance of moving about on dry 
 land. The marshes I have mentioned do not 
 extend for more than about ten miles inland. They 
 are then succeeded by rich fertile plains of rice and 
 
10 FEOM TEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 cotton irrigated in the Egyptian manner by means 
 of " shadoofs " from the waters of the Peiho. The 
 country seemed pretty thickly populated. Some of 
 the mud villages by the water side must have con- 
 tained quite a thousand inhabitants, but in China, 
 where the population is so enormous, this is looked 
 upon as a small hamlet ! 
 
 Tientsin, which has a population of about nine 
 hundred and fifty thousand, stands at the junction 
 of the Grand Canal with the Peiho river. It is not 
 a prepossessing place at first sight, nor did its dusty, 
 bustling quays, warehouses, and noisy, perspiring 
 coolies, make us at all anxious to prolong our stay 
 longer than was absolutely necessary. The trade 
 of Tientsin is not great when compared with the 
 other treaty ports. Nearly all the tea exported 
 thente goes to Eussia and Siberia — occasionally 
 by way of Pekin — but in most cases direct 'vid' 
 Kalgan and across the Gobi Desert to Kiakhta, with- 
 out touching at the capital. Russian merchants 
 are, therefore, nearly as numerous as English at 
 Tientsin. 
 
 The settlement boasted of but two hotels, and 
 these of a very fifth-rate description. Small-pox 
 having broken out in one, our choice was limited, 
 for we did not care to run the risk of being laid up 
 for three or four weeks in the native hospital at 
 Pekin. Bidding adieu to our genial skipper, we 
 made our way, accompanied by a yelling crowd of 
 half-naked coolies bearing our luggage, to the 
 American Hotel, an uninviting, dilapidated-look- 
 ing hostelry enough. In the verandah, reclining 
 on many chairs, and, at intervals, refreshing him- 
 
GBAVESBND TO PEKIN. 11 
 
 self from a liuge beaker of brandy and soda, was 
 an individual pointed out to us as the proprietor (a 
 fat, sleepy-looking Yankee), wliose welcome was 
 hardly encouraging. 
 
 "Can we have rooms here ? " 
 
 " Sure I don't know, you'd better ask." 
 
 " But you're the manager, aren't you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I'm the manager." 
 
 A pause, during which our friend takes a long 
 pull at the brandy, and, emerging considerably 
 refreshed, composes himself calmly to slumber. 
 
 " Who are we to ask ? " 
 
 " Who are you to ask? " half opening his eyes ; 
 " Oh ! I don't know, you will see some of the China 
 boys about. How should I know who you're to 
 ask ? " is his parting shot as we leave him and cross 
 the dirty billiard-room, hung with tawdry prints, 
 and redolent of stale tobacco and spirits, that 
 precedes the entrance to the " bar." 
 
 Here we glean from a dishevelled, greasy German 
 in shirt-sleeves, who looks as if he slept among- the 
 sawdust and empty whisky bottles that litter the 
 floor, that no rooms are to be had that night, or for 
 the next week to come, for love or money. A huge 
 travelling circus belonging to an Italian, one 
 Ohiarini, has taken every available room in the 
 place. " Then could we have the billiard-table ? " 
 " No, we could not possibly have the billiard-table, 
 for the ' gentlemen ' connected with the circus 
 always played till three or four in the morning. 
 Still, we could have it then, if we liked, on payment 
 of a small remuneration to him (the occupant of the 
 bar), but we must keep it dark from the boss." 
 
12 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Our experience of the " boss " did not quite justify 
 our taking this course, and we left the hotel, sadly 
 and slowly followed by our string of sympathizing 
 coolies, utterly at a loss to know what to do till the 
 bright thought struck Lancaster of at once hiring 
 the house-boat which was to take us to Tungchow 
 (the landing-place for Pekin), and living on board 
 her till we left for the capital. We managed this, 
 not without some difficulty, for we had to get the 
 boat through our friend the sleepy Yankee. He 
 woke up a little, however, at the prospect of swind- 
 hng two helpless and friendless fellow-creatures, and 
 by sundown we had everything on board, and the 
 boat snugly moored ofE the hotel wharf. We were 
 alongside a large open drain, with a most abomin- 
 able stench, and there was always the possibility of 
 being run down in the night by a passing ship, but 
 one could not afford to be particular. The sight, 
 however, of a large passenger steamer bound for 
 Japan which passed close to us towards sundown 
 was depressing in the extreme, the cleanliness and 
 luxury on board contrasting so painfully with our 
 own surroundings. For a few moments we almost 
 regretted (by no means for the last time) that we 
 had ever undertaken this voyage, the discomforts 
 and difficulties of which now seemed to increase with 
 every hour. 
 
 Early next day we presented our letters to Mr. S., 
 the Russian tea merchant, who was to provide us 
 with letters of credit for his agents at Irkoutsk and 
 Tomsk in Eastern and Western Siberia. Mr. S. did 
 not give us a very favourable account oEthe journey 
 before us. Like almost every other Russian we met. 
 
GEAVESEND TO PEKIN. 13 
 
 the first question was, " Mais que Diable allez-vous 
 faire en Sibdrie ? " "We got into the way at last of 
 never arguing this question. In the first place it 
 was useless, and only caused waste of time ; in the 
 second we had literally no reason to give, except, 
 perhaps, the one so dear to most Englishmen : 
 " The country had been crossed by so few travellers 
 before ! " 
 
 Among other pleasant and encoaraging items of 
 news, we now heard that we should probably meet 
 with serious delay, not only at Kalgan, the Mon- 
 golian frontier, but also at Pekin. " You had 
 better not think," said Mr. S., " of making any defi- 
 nite plans till you arrive at Kalgan. This is the worst 
 time of year you could have chosen. It is not the 
 caravan season; the camels are all out on the plains. 
 It may be two or three months before you are able 
 to cross the Gobi, and then you will get into Siberia 
 at the very worst time of year, when the roads are 
 next to impassable from rains and floods. Any 
 day you may be detained by a broken bridge or a 
 • landslip, and have to wait in some dreary, wretched 
 village in the wilds of Siberia, till the snow hardens, 
 and enables you to finish your journey in sleighs. 
 You cannot, I feel sure, have rightly estimated the 
 difficulties before you. Why go to Siberia at all, 
 when that earthly paradise Japan is so near ? " etc., 
 etc. 
 
 We at last succeeded in making Mr. S. under- 
 stand that we were determined at any rate to get 
 as far as Pekin ; and, our interview over, had 
 nothing but the purchase of some provisions for 
 our river journey (our Shanghai store was not 
 
14- PfiOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 opened till we reached the desert) to detain us in 
 Tientsin. For were we sorry to get away, for the 
 dust and filth of this city were almost unbearable. 
 We had not then experienced the odours of Pekin, 
 which would accustom one to cheerfully live in a 
 main drain. 
 
 Our second night here was not so pleasantly 
 passed as the first. A shower of rain at sunset 
 brought out legions of mosquitoes, from which, 
 not having brought cartains, we suffered a good 
 deal of annoyance, and the intolerable stench near 
 which we lay was so increased by the rain that 
 we had to smoke incessantly till past 3 a.m., 
 almost regretting we had not accepted the bar- 
 keeper's offer of the billiard-table for a bed. Even 
 the " circus gentlemen" would have been preferable 
 to the sewer. We got to sleep about 4 a.m., 
 only to be awoke at daybreak by a crashing sound 
 and to find the water rushing into the boat, with an 
 unpleasant conviction that our craft was heeling 
 over at a very uncomfortable angle. We had become 
 entangled in the hawser of a large ocean steamer, 
 which, had it not been let go in the nick of time, 
 would have upset us altogether, but we escaped 
 with a ducking, and soon got the boat righted and 
 baled out again. 
 
 The distance from Tientsin to Pekin is rather 
 under eighty miles overland, that by river one 
 hundred and forty, viz. one hundred and twenty 
 miles to Tungchow,. and twenty miles thence by 
 road to the capital. Although it takes two day's 
 longer (sometimes three), we chose the water route 
 in preference to the other. We should, we thought, 
 
GRAVESEND TO PEKIN. 15 
 
 have quite enough land travelling during the next 
 five months ; besides which, the Chinese inns be- 
 tween Tientsin and the capital are even filthier than 
 those between Pekin and the Great "Wall — which is 
 saying a good deal. 
 
 It was about ten o'clock, on a bright, clear 
 morning, that we hoisted the huge mat-sail, and, 
 with a favourable breeze, soon left the bustling city 
 and its high cathedral towers (where the Catholic 
 nuns were so brutally murdered in 1870) low on the 
 horizon. 
 
 The traffic on the Peiho river for some miles above 
 Tientsin is enormous. We must have counted at 
 least four hundred boats and barges in the space of 
 an hour the afternoon of the day we left, while the 
 whole way to Tungchow the river was alive with 
 boats of every description whenever we passed a 
 village, from huge junks to tiny sampans. At times, 
 near Tientsin, one could have crossed the river, or 
 walked three hundred or four hundred yards up it, 
 dry shod on the boats. 
 
 A Chinese house-boat,'though comfortable enough 
 for all practical purposes, must not be confounded 
 with the luxurious, flower-bedecked craft that line 
 the banks of the Thames in summer time. The 
 Chinese house-boat resembles the English only in 
 name, for there is, in the former, no attempt at 
 decoration, and very little at cleanliness. About 
 forty-five feet long, ours was decked completely 
 over, except in the centre, where a sort of well 
 covered with planks, with space enough for two to 
 lie or sit in, formed the cabin. 
 
 Our crew, five in number, slept in a kind of 
 
16 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 liutcli under the deck forward. How they had 
 managed to stow themselves there at once was a 
 mystery to me, for they were great, tall, hulking 
 fellows. We sailed, as a rule, our broad mat-sail 
 sending the old tub along at an incredible speed 
 with the lightest breeze. When the wind dropped, 
 the men rowed incessantly, day and night, till it rose 
 again. The amount of work they got through was 
 simply marvellous. Nothing seemed to tire them ; 
 morning, noon, and night they plied the heavy, 
 awkward sweeps without cessation, except to eat a 
 dish of rice and fish and take a drink of cold tea 
 once every twelve hours. Cheery, good-tempered 
 fellows they were too, considering the small wages 
 they got. The fare, including everything, was only 
 $13, and our Yankee friend must have got at least 
 two-thirds of this sum as his own share of the 
 transaction. 
 
 The first two days of our river journey were 
 enjoyable enough, save for such small annoy- 
 ances as rats and cockroaches, which latter took 
 forcible possession of our cabin at night-time. 
 But the delightful weather and novel scenery amply 
 atoned for such small discomforts as these. The 
 Peiho is a thick, muddy stream. Its banks are con- 
 tinually slipping down and being dammed up by 
 the natives, which accounts in a great measure for 
 the dirty pea-soup colour of the water. These land- 
 slips are not of weekly or even daily occurrence. 
 They occur incessantly, and it was curious to 
 watch, as we ascended the river, the continual 
 dropping away of the land on either side, while, 
 here and there, gangs of men repaired the damage 
 
GEAVESBND TO PEKIN. 17 
 
 by means of cemented bamboos. The riverside 
 villages were like human beehives, so crowded and 
 dense did the population of them appear, even at 
 midday, when so many of the inhabitants must 
 have been out at work in the fields. One could not 
 help wondering how .even such an enormous country 
 as China can support such a dense population, 
 numbering, by the last census, some 400,000,000. 
 And yet, from the time we left the coast till we 
 reached the Mongolian border, there was always 
 vegetation of some kind or other to be seen, and 
 vast fertile plains of corn, barley, and millet 
 stretched away on every side to the horizon. 
 Everything in North China is on such a large 
 scale that for a few days one scarcely realized the 
 population and fertilization of this huge empire, 
 or its enormous resources and demands. 
 
 Our days on the Peiho were amusing enough. 
 There was always something to look at on the 
 bank, and a capital towing-path to walk on when 
 one's legs got tired and cramped in the boat, so that 
 we had nothing to complain of in the way of 
 variety, and the first two days, bright and sunny, 
 wore away as idly and pleasantly as summer days 
 on the Thames or Wye in England. It was plea- 
 sant to sit out in the evening in the cool, clear 
 moonlight, on the little deck, the silence unbroken 
 save by the regular plash of the oars, or twang of 
 Chinese fiddle or guitar, as we passed some lonely, 
 riverside cottage, the arms of the solitary, half- 
 naked musician gleaming white in the moonlight, as 
 he waved a good-night to our crew. When we 
 passed a village after dark it was like some weird 
 
 
 
18 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 transformation scene, for up to midnight these 
 waterside settlements appeared, from the river at 
 least, to be given up to revelry. We never, how- 
 ever, ventured into one, preferring to gaze from a 
 respectful distance upon the flaring torches throwing 
 counter effects of light and shade over the quaint, pic- 
 turesque houses and pagodas, the hurrying crowds on 
 the banks ; while the clashing of gongs and cymbals 
 from the joss-house or theatre heightened the effect 
 of the strange scene. Then on again along the 
 silent moonlit stream, with its low sedgy banks ; 
 nothing to mar the flat, monotonous outline of the 
 moonlit lalndscape, but, here and there, a huge square 
 mound of earth, the tomb of some departed man- 
 darin or village magnate. 
 
 But the morning of the third day looked dull and 
 overcast, and by ten o'clock the rain was pouring 
 down in torrents. There was no keeping dry, for 
 the ramshackle roof leaked like a sieve, and the floor 
 of our cabin was in a very few minutes almost 
 ankle-deep in water. About midday a terrific 
 thunderstorm broke over us. The lightning was 
 so vivid that although every nook and cranny of our 
 dilapidated hutch was tightly closed, and the place 
 in semi-darkness, it almost blinded one. I have 
 never, even in the tropics, heard the thunder so loud 
 and continuous. One peal lasted quite a minute 
 without cessation. 
 
 I have seldom passed a more miserable day 
 than that one moored by the muddy banks of the 
 Peiho, for progress was impossible. Cooking or 
 lighting a fire, too, was out of the question. 
 Everything, including matches and fuel, was 
 
GBAVESBND TO PEKIN. 19 
 
 sopping througli and througli. Looking out of our 
 wooden prison, nothing met the eye but grey, driv- 
 ing mist, and steady, unceasing rain, falling with a 
 persistence and violence that lashed the brown 
 muddy waters around us into a sheet of grey foam. 
 The men forward were battened down, and seemed 
 unconcerned enough, as snatches of song rising 
 from below and occasional whiffs of smoke emerging 
 through the chinks in the deck testified. We 
 almost envied them their warmth, shivering as 
 we were like half-drowned rats. About five o'clock 
 a break in the grey, misty sky appeared, and half 
 an hour later the sun was shining in a sky of cloud- 
 less blue, while we rapidly cut our way through the 
 water before a light but piercingly cold breeze, so 
 sudden and complete are the changes of weather in 
 these latitudes. 
 
 Early the next day a chain of precipitous moun- 
 tains broke the horizon. Beyond them lay our 
 destination, Pekin. We were, however, still two 
 days off, for the river here shallows considerably, 
 and we frequently stuck hard and fast during 
 the day. At these times the whole crew would 
 divest themselves of their clothes, and, fasten- 
 ing a couple of stout ropes to the bows of the 
 boat, tow us off again into deep water. Landing 
 here was impossible, for one could only get within 
 ten yards or so of the bank. Some of the larger 
 junks were being towed by as many as thirty or forty 
 men. On the deck of one a huge deal case bearing 
 the name of Maple and Co., London, in large black 
 letters, looked strangely out of keeping with the un- 
 civilized surroundings. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 • FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 It was only the fiftli morning after leaving 
 Tientsin that we hove in sight of Tungchow, a 
 " village " of something over one hundred thousand 
 inhabitants. This was our first experience of a real 
 Chinese town, far from European influence ; and 
 we were rather agreeably disappointed, for, at a 
 distance, it looked clean and inviting. A closer 
 acquaintance, alas ! somewhat modified first im- 
 pressions. 
 
 Moored alongside the flat muddy banks were a 
 perfect colony of junks, two thousand or three thou- 
 sand in number ; an interval of flat boggy ground cut 
 up by innumerable cesspools, open drains and dust- 
 heaps divided these from the town wall, which, 
 standing back about a couple of hundred yards from 
 the water's edge, hid the town from view, except 
 where, at intervals, a tower or pagoda overtopped the 
 loopholed brick battlements. Although the sun had 
 but just risen, the banks were crowded with people, 
 and the keepers of hundreds of stalls and booths 
 were already doing a brisk trade in the sale of cloths, 
 pigtails, tea, sweetmeats, and fans to the junk 
 population, while here and there a barber plied his 
 trade, which in North China is anything but an 
 appetizing one to look upon. Dirty as the place 
 and people were, the bright, cloudless sky and 
 sunshine lent a gaiety to the scene, which, for colour 
 and animation, I have seldom seen equalled in the 
 most picturesque bazaars of the far Bast. 
 
 We were ready to start at midday, and had all 
 the baggage safely stowed away in Pekin carts, a 
 more dirty or uncomfortable vehicle than which 
 does not exist. As it is of the same construe- 
 
GEAVESEND TO PEEIN. 21 
 
 tion, although smaller than the carts in 
 which we crossed the desert, I will leave the de- 
 scription, of these " torture -boxes " to a future 
 chapter. Seeing with the naked eye whole regi- 
 ments of vermin crawling over the one destined 
 for our reception, we preferred to ride ahead, 
 on donkeys, under the guidance of a small boy, 
 whose powers of conversation were limitless, and 
 who talked incessantly the whole way, frequently 
 interlarding his conversation with the words" Yang 
 Qweitze " (Foreign Devil), the uncomplimentary 
 title bestowed on every European, of whatever 
 nationality, in the less civilized parts of China. 
 Nor was the filthy state of the carts our only 
 reason for riding. We had serious misgivings as 
 to whether the clumsy, heavily-laden conveyances 
 would reach Pekin before nightfall, in which case 
 we should have had to pass the night in the open 
 outside the walls. The gates of the city are shut 
 at sundown, and no human power (short of the 
 emperor's special command) will open them till sun- 
 rise the following day. 
 
 It took us nearly an hour to get clear of Tung- 
 chow and into the open country. The town is (for 
 China) fairly clean, though the streets are narrow, 
 tortuous and ill paved, and in some places there 
 were holes two or three feet deep in the centre of 
 the roadway. 
 
 The natives in this part of China present a 
 striking contrast to their countrymen at Shanghai 
 and further south ; whereas the latter are for the 
 most part puny, pasty-faced creatures, these were 
 fine, strapping, broad-shouldered men, with healthy. 
 
22 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 ruddy faces. The women too were better-looking, 
 though doll-like and thickly painted, with the baggy, 
 shapeless figures, deformed feet, and stoop peculiar 
 to their race. Many of the shops were devoted to 
 the sale of Manchester goods and cheap cutlery, 
 whicn find great favour in this part of China. 
 Here and there a large tea-house, gorgeously 
 decorated, was filled with customers taking their 
 morning draught of the cup that cheers. The tea 
 drunk by the Chinese is as diff"erent to our idea of 
 that beverage as it can well be, and is, to a European 
 palate, utterly flavourless. " Chacun a son gout." 
 Many Russians say that real, unadulterated tea 
 never finds its way to England, nor would the 
 English drink it if it did. 
 
 The road from Tungchow to Pekin lies through 
 a fertile, well-wooded country, and is for the first 
 three or four miles raised some ten feet from the 
 ground on either side, and paved with huge stone 
 slabs, apparently of great antiquity. Although now 
 in a very dilapidated condition, this must in former 
 times have been a splendid thoroughfare. It re- 
 minded one of one of the old Roman roads, some of 
 the slabs being quite ten feet long by five feet broad 
 and two thick. The going was very bad in places 
 where the stones had fallen away. Turning away to 
 admire the scenery,Iwas somewhat suddenly recalled 
 to the situation by finding that my donkey had 
 slipped into one of these chasms about four feet 
 deep. We got out, however, with nothing worse 
 than a few bruises. This road is said at one time to 
 have extended as far as Pekin, but, with characteristic 
 carelessness, the Chinese have allowed it to become 
 
GBAVBSEND TO PEKIN. 23 
 
 SO dilapidated, that after two miles or so it ceases 
 altogether, and our way lay along narrow, raised 
 paths, running through millet and barley fields. 
 Eight li from Tungchow, we passed the picturesque 
 bridge of " Palikao," from which the French general 
 takes his name. Hard by a little tea-house cluster- 
 ing in the shade of willow-trees afforded us grateful 
 shelter for half an hour, and we dismounted and 
 took a few cups of the cool refreshing drink, 
 for the road was dusty, and the sun very power- 
 ful. 
 
 As we sat on mats, enjoying the cool breeze from 
 the river, half a dozen soldiers rode by with a 
 pi'isoner, whom they were taking to Tungchow, to 
 undergo sentence of death by the " Ling Chi." ^ 
 The poor wretch looked ghastly pale, and well he 
 might, for this is perhaps the most barbarous and 
 revolting of all Chinese punishments. 
 
 There are other tortures, however, quite as 
 revolting as the Ling Chi, which do not neces- 
 sarily end in death. A very common one (to be 
 seen almost daily in the streets of Pekin) is the 
 " Cangue," two large pieces of wood, each with a 
 semicircular hole in the middle, which are worn 
 round the neck. The hands are placed at right 
 angles through other holes in the board, which 
 weighs from sixty to two hundred pounds ac- 
 cording to circumstances. This is worn from 
 three days to two, or even three, months accord- 
 ing to the nature of the crime. The " Cage " is 
 another very common punishment^ and is used for 
 
 ' Literally : " To be cut in ten thousand pieces." 
 
24 FROM PBEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 minor offences. The wretched occupant of this 
 can neither sit, stand, nor lie down. Prisoners are 
 kept in this position for a period varying from a week 
 to a month. In the latter case they are usually 
 rendered cripples for life. Another favourite 
 punishment (often used to punish adultery) is pulling 
 out the hand and toe nails, teeth, eye-lashes, and 
 nostrils ; but perhaps the most painful of any is 
 the " Wire Shirt," a thin wire garment made to fit 
 the body so tightly that small pieces of skin are 
 pressed through every aperture. A sharp razor is 
 then passed over these outside, so that when the 
 shirt is removed the victim from head to waist is 
 one piece of raw quivering flesh. 
 
 Many others could I cite, but enough of this 
 unsavoury subject. China is full of contradictions, 
 and none are more striking than the cruelty and 
 kindness of its population, for there exists no 
 kinder-hearted or more liberal being than the China- 
 man. 
 
 We rode slowly on the whole afternoon through 
 fields of grain, pretty villages asleep in the sun, 
 with no sign of life in them but beggars and 
 dogs lying huddled in the dusty road, under the 
 shade of wall or shed, sleeping away the hot, silent 
 hours in indolent content. It seemed at times as if 
 we should never reach Pekin, though the mountains 
 beyond it looked provokingly close in the bright 
 clear atmosphere. The heat was intense, but a cool 
 breeze now and then sprang up, and made it not 
 unpleasant travelling as we rode through some of 
 the prettiest scenery it has ever been my lot to look 
 upon. The golden fields of oats and barley, the 
 
GEAVESEND TO PEKIN. 25 
 
 pretty villages dotted here and there over the plain, 
 the ruddy, healthy-looking peasantry at work 
 gathering in the harvest, and, here and there, the 
 conntry-seat of some wealthy mandarin, with its 
 broad avenues, willow-fringed lake, and deer park, 
 wore a happy ^ civilized look strangely at variance 
 with one's preconceived notions of the remoter 
 parts of the Celestial Empire. Had it not been for 
 the quaint pagodas and temples resplendent in 
 crimson and gold carvings that we passed every 
 mile or so, one might have fancied oneself in some 
 picturesque corner of far-away England. 
 
 One circumstance alone considerably marred our 
 enjoyment of the lovely scenery — to wit, the streams 
 of beggars who towards evening came out by hun- 
 dreds from the holes and corners in which they 
 had been lying during the heat of the day. A more 
 importunate or determined set of wretches I never 
 saw. Ranging from the ages of five to fifty, half 
 naked and covered with sores, the wretches refused 
 to be driven off, and insisted on accompanying us 
 in unpleasant proximity — some of them for miles. 
 Now and anon one would ran forward, and kneeling, 
 beat his head upon the ground — an operation called 
 in China the " Koo-Too." Passing through one of 
 the villages, I fairly lost my temper, and turning 
 round, shook my stick at the yelling, dancing ruffians, 
 who, much to the amusement of the villagers, almost 
 barred our progress. The effect was magical. In 
 a second their demeanour changed, and what had 
 been a crowd of cringing, supplicating wretches 
 turned to a hooting, menacing crowd. Things 
 looked awkward at first, and I thought, for a few 
 
26 FEOM PEKIN TO OAIAIS BY LAJS^I). 
 
 moments, we were in for an ugly row. Mud and 
 stones were showered on us freely, and one gaunt 
 leprous-looking individual, half naked, ran up on 
 his crutches and seized my donkey's bridle. Seeing 
 from the indifferent and half-amused expression of 
 the bystanders' faces that we should get no help from 
 them, I thought discretion the better part of valour, 
 and scattered a handful of cash among our persecu- 
 tors, which had the effect of slowly dispersing them. 
 This contretemps, trivial as it was, showed the 
 danger of ever for a moment annoying the people 
 in the country we were about to travel through. 
 Though good-tempered and hospitable, the Northern 
 Chinaman has but a very poor idea of a European, 
 English or otherwise. Indeed, I doubt if the 
 majority of the peasantry had ever heard of 
 England. 
 
 The approach to Pekin from Tungchow is any- 
 thing but imposing, and we were rather disappointed 
 at our first sight of the celestial city. The country 
 for a mile or so before reaching the gates is so 
 densely wooded that we did not know we had reached 
 the capital till we found ourselves actually under its 
 massive crenellated walls. The latter are sur- 
 mounted by lofty square towers which, with their 
 bright apple-green porcelain roofs and gaudy facades 
 relieve to a certain extent the barren appearance of 
 the sandy waste that surrounds Pekin. Not a roof 
 or tower of the city is visible from here, nothing but 
 the high rugged walls which, notwithstanding their 
 great age, are in good repair. There was nothing 
 but the hoarse, subdued murmur that hangs over 
 every great town to tell one that beyond the 
 
GBAVBSBND TO PEKIN. 27 
 
 ramparts there lay a capital almost as large as 
 Paris. 
 
 A few hundred yards brought us to the gate of 
 the Tartar city, and, ye gods ! what a city ! Upon 
 first entering, it seemed as if a dense fog had 
 suddenly descended upon one, but a look back at 
 the bright sunshine outside the gate soon dispelled 
 the illusion, and explained the mystery : it was 
 nothing but dust, the black, fine and searching 
 dust, for which Pekin is famous. Everything was 
 coated with it. One breathed it in with every in- 
 halation, till eyes, mouth, and nose were choked up, 
 and breathing became almost an impossibility. No 
 one seemed to mind it much, though our donkeys 
 laboured through it nearly knee-deep. 
 
 We rode for some distance along the filthy, dusty 
 streets. There is no rule of the road in Pekin, and 
 it took one all one's time to steer safely through 
 the carts, sedans, mule litters, and camel caravans 
 which thronged the streets. At length we turned 
 into the principal thoroughfare, a broad unpaved 
 street, raised in the centre, on either side of 
 which one saw a long vista of low-roofed houses, 
 scrubby trees, and gaudy shop signs, lost in the 
 distance in a cloud of dust. We were in Pekin at 
 last. 
 
 In Pekin, but apparently a long way yet from 
 our destination, the Hotel de Pekin ; and judging 
 from our small guide's very erratic movements, we 
 were not likely for some time to reach that friendly 
 hostelry, which is kept by an enterprising French- 
 man, M. Tallien. The disagreeable suspicion that 
 our guide had lost his way became a certainty. 
 
28 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 wlien turuiog down a narrow by-lane, he brought 
 us up at the door of a filthy tea-house. It was 
 not a pleasant predicament. Imagine a Central 
 African suddenly turned loose in the streets of 
 London, and you have our position — with this 
 difference, that the African would have had the 
 advantage over us in the shape of a policeman to 
 befriend him. Here, in this city of nearly two 
 million inhabitants, it seemed unlikely enough 
 that we should come across any of the English- 
 speaking inhabitants, who number fifty to sixty at 
 the most. 
 
 Threats of punishment and vengeance on the 
 small boy were useless. He simply seated himself, 
 and calling for a cup of tea, informed us we must 
 find our way ourselves, he did not know it— at 
 least that is what we inferred from his gestures, 
 which were disrespectful in the extreme. With a 
 lively recollection of our escape of the afternoon, 
 we did not care to risk another disturbance, so, 
 resigning ourselves to circumstances, dismounted 
 and called for tea. 
 
 It was not a pleasant half-hour, for we were 
 surrounded in less than five minutes by a crowd 
 of dirty, villainous-looking ruflBans. We had 
 evidently been brought to one of the very lowest 
 quarters of the town, and were not sorry to have 
 left our watches in the carts. With the ex- 
 ception of the revolvers and a few cash they would 
 not have been much the richer for robbing -ns. I 
 should be sorry to have much to do with the in- 
 habitants of the Chinese capital. There is no more 
 obliging and hospitable being than the Chinese 
 
GEAVBSBND TO PEKIN. 29 
 
 peasant, no more insolent, arrogant thief than the 
 lower order of Pekinese, The victory of the im- 
 perial troops over the French in Tonquin is, in a 
 great measure, responsible for the insolence dis- 
 played by the inhabitants of Pekin towai-ds Euro- 
 peans. Insults are perpetrated almost daily, and in 
 the open streets, for which there is no redress, and 
 it is only necessary to go for a very short walk in 
 the streets of the capital to see that the lesson taught 
 the Celestials by the allied troops in 1860 has long 
 since been forgotten. 
 
 We should probably have had to pass the night in 
 this unsavoury den, had not a European passed and 
 by the greatest luck caught sight of us through 
 the narrow gateway. Our deliverer, Mr. P., an 
 American missionary, himself escorted us through a 
 labyrinth of crowded streets and squares to Legation 
 Street. We should certainly never have found our 
 way otherwise, for there were no outward and 
 visible signs even here of European inhabitants, 
 till, just before reaching the hotel, '.we passed 
 the French Embassy, and saw, through an open 
 gateway, a spacious shady garden with smooth- 
 shaven lawns, cedars, and fountains, while over 
 the doorway, in large gold letters on a vermilion 
 ground, were the words " Legation de France." A 
 couple of hundred yards further on we pulled up at 
 the door of our caravanserai. Thanking and taking 
 leave of our friend, we entered the building, and 
 were not sorry to find ourselves in the cool, grey- 
 tiled, flower-bordered courtyard of the hotel ; where 
 a whisky and soda with plenty of ice washed the 
 dust out of our throats and refreshed us not a 
 
30 FBOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 little after our long and somewhat eventful 
 ride. 
 
 The baggage arrived an hour after, and after a 
 bath and change we felt well-disposed to do justice to 
 the excellent dinner provided for us by M. Tallien, 
 the repast being graced by the presence of his 
 pretty wife and her sister. Sitting out after 
 dinner in the little moonlit courtyard redolent of 
 heliotrope and mignonette, one might have fancied 
 oneself hundreds of miles from the dusty, ill- smell- 
 ing city, and its barbaric population. The smells 
 did not, thank goodness, penetrate here; and for 
 the first time since leaving Tientsin, we thoroughly 
 enjoyed an after-dinner cigar, not a little relieved 
 that the starting-point, at any rate, of our long 
 land journey had been safely reached. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PBKIN. 
 
 It was only in tlie year 1421 fcliat Pekin became the 
 capital of the Chinese Empire. It was up to that 
 period merely the chief town of Northern China, as its 
 name "Pe," north, "Ching," city, denotes ; but when 
 Nankin, the ancient capital, was abandoned, the seat 
 of gorernment was transferred to its present situ- 
 ation. A worse site for a capital, both commercially 
 and socially, can scarcely be imagined, for although 
 connected by canal with the Peiho river, and thus 
 in summer with the rest of the civilized world, the 
 ice in winter entirely suspends water communica- 
 tion. It is, therefore, for five months of the year, 
 practically a prison for the fifty or sixty Europeans 
 located within its grass-grown walls, for few are 
 rash enough to attempt a journey overland to Chefoo 
 or Shanghai. 
 
 There is little or no foreign trade with Pekin, 
 and with one exception no European merchants live 
 there. The embassies of various nations, English 
 and American missions, and professors connected 
 with the college form the majority of the 
 European population. A good deal of difference 
 of opinion exists as to the native population 
 
32 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of the capital. Some say it is a million and a 
 half, others not more than nine hundred thousand. 
 
 In the opinion of Professor P , who has resided 
 
 for over twenty years in the place, and is well up in 
 
 Chinese matters, it is considerably over a million, 
 
 of whom two-thirds inhabit the Tartar city. The 
 
 remainder are Chinese, who yearly increase, while 
 
 their Tartar neighbours are diminishing in number. 
 
 In shape Pekin may be roughly described as a 
 
 square within an oblong, the former standing for 
 
 the Tartar city, the latter for the Chinese. The 
 
 outer walls, which are about sixty feet high and of 
 
 immense thickness, stand about a hundred and 
 
 fifty yards from the city itself, the space between 
 
 being occupied by barren sandy waste, along which 
 
 in the season hundreds of caravans may be seen 
 
 daily wending their way to or from the Mongolian 
 
 Desert and Manchuria. Inside this, again, are two 
 
 smaller walls, also, however, of considerable height, 
 
 enclosing the imperial and forbidden cities, that 
 
 enclosing the latter being surmounted with bright 
 
 yellow tiles, the imperial colour, which none but the 
 
 Emperor or Queen Regent are permitted to make use 
 
 of. A Roman Catholic church was built not far from 
 
 the walls of the Imperial Palace two or three years 
 
 since, and, in ignorance presumably, the European 
 
 architect was commencing to roof it over with tiles 
 
 of the sacred colour, when luckily warned of the risk 
 
 he was running by one of the European residents; 
 
 not, however, before it had come to the Emperor's 
 
 ears, and since then the poor priests connected with 
 
 the building are given no peace. The two high 
 
 western towers which flank the building are 
 
PEKIN. 33 
 
 visited night and day by a mandarin, to see that 
 no steps have been built up them by the foreign 
 devils, whence they may survey the, palaces and 
 gardens of the imperial city. Latterly, to make 
 assurance doubly sure, the walls of the latter have 
 been raised to the height of the church towers at 
 the point where the latter face them. 
 
 There are nine gates in all in the outer wall, 
 situated in various parts of the city, and called 
 after the points of the compass at which they stand ; 
 viz., the North Gate, South Gate, North-west. Gate, 
 and so on. These are closed at seven in summer, 
 and six in winter, and woe to the luckless wretch 
 who is locked out, for the guard dare not open 
 under pain of death till sunrise the following morn- 
 ing, be it in the height of summer or the thermo- 
 meter below zero. The inhabitants cannot com- 
 plain of due notice not being given. For full half an 
 hour before closing time there is at every guard- 
 house or gate a beating of gongs and clashing of 
 cymbals that would awaken the dead. Then at the 
 hour to a second the guard give one prolonged yell, 
 and the ponderous iron-bound gates are thrown 
 together with a crash till six or seven the next 
 morning. 
 
 All the walls are built facing the four points of 
 the compass, and the principal thoroughfares and 
 streets run parallel to them. Notwithstanding 
 this apparent regularity and simplicity of construc- 
 tion, the Chinese capital is the easiest place in the 
 world to lose yourself in, as we frequently found ; 
 so much so, that after the first time we always 
 employed a guide when we took our walks abroad. 
 
 D 
 
34 PEOM PBEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Our first impressions of Pekin were not favourable, 
 for a dustier, noisier, dirtier place it has never been 
 my lot to visit. Upon entering the Hat Ta Men 
 Grate the city presents more the appearance of a 
 huge fair than anything else, for the crowded streets 
 are lined with canvas booths and tents as well as 
 houses. The roads are very broad, some so much 
 so as to dwarf the low rickety dwellings, gaudy with 
 gold and crimson signs and waving banners, into 
 insignificance. The streets are unpaved and raised 
 in the centre to a height of three or four feet for 
 carriage traiBc, the space on either side being re- 
 served for foot-passengers, though there did not 
 seem to be any marked distinction, the carts using 
 both ways as they liked. 
 
 In dry weather the streets of Pekin are over 
 ankle-deep in dust, in wet weather are simply a 
 morass. Being worn away in places into holes of 
 two or three feet deep, the effects of the clouds of 
 dust or showers of water that every cart-wheel 
 throws up and around may be imagined. At 
 intervals of about fifty yards along the footway are 
 holes eight or nine feet deep. These are receptacles 
 for every species of filth ; in fact, serve the purpose 
 of stationary sewers (for Pekin is not drained), 
 and are only cleaned out when quite full (about 
 once a week). In very dry weather, when water 
 is scarce, the dust is laid with the liquid filth they 
 contain, an operation hardly tending to cool or 
 purify the atmosphere ! 
 
 If we, in England, must eat, according to the pro- 
 verb, a peck of dirt before we die, I feel convinced 
 that the elderly inhabitants of Pekin swallow at 
 
PBKIN. 35 
 
 least a hundred weigtt before their last hour. Tbe 
 dust of Pelda is, next to its smells, undoubtedly 
 its greatest curse. There is no escaping from the 
 fine, brown powder that chokes up eyes, nose 
 and mouth, and finds its way into everything — 
 your food, your clothes, your very boots. There is 
 a saying among the Chinese, that it will worm its 
 way into a watch-glass. Not only is it pro- 
 ductive of considerable physical discomfort and 
 annoyance, but it gives a depressing, gloomy look to 
 everything, which on a really dusty day makes it 
 impossible to discern objects one hundred yards off^. 
 The sun may be shining brightly outside the city 
 walls, when within all is dark and murky as a 
 thick November fog in London could make it. 
 Indeed it is far worse than the latter, which you 
 can, at any rate, shut out to a certain extent with 
 closely drawn curtains and brightly-lit rooms. 
 
 Pekin is by no means an unhealthy city, not- 
 withstanding the disgusting and uncleanly habits 
 of its population, and its low situation (only 
 one hundred and twenty feet above sea level). 
 Strange to say, the good health of its inhabitants is 
 attributed in a great measure to the dust, which 
 acts as a deodorizer and disinfectant to the heaps 
 of filth and garbage one encounters at every turn 
 bleaching and rotting in the sunshine. The climate 
 is, on the whole, good, the only really unhealthy 
 months being those of July, August and September, 
 when the rainfall is excessive. The extremes of 
 temperature, however, are somewhat trying to 
 Europeans of weak constitution. For instance, in 
 July the thermometer is often up to over 100° in 
 
 D 2 
 
36 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 the shade, while in winter it frequently falls to 
 below zero. When an epidemic does occur, it is 
 severe, for the Chinese are much prone to 
 fright and panic during these visitations. Cholera 
 broke out only four or five years since, and carried 
 off an average of twelve hundred daily. The 
 two greatest scourges are small-pox and diph- 
 theria, and an enormous number of deaths occur 
 annually from the latter disease in early spring. 
 
 As a preventive of the former the native doctors 
 inoculate by blowing a quantity of the virus of the 
 actual disease up the nostrils. I was made un- 
 pleasantly aware of this fact by one of the hotel 
 servants, who spoke a few words of English. 
 Noticing that one of his nostrils was stopped up 
 with a dirty piece of cotton wool, I inquired if 
 he had hurt his nose. " Oh, no," was the reply, 
 "smol-pok!" This habit has, no doubt, a great 
 deal to do with the spread of the disease, which is 
 always more or less prevalent in Pekin ; and I was 
 not sorry we had taken the precaution of being 
 vaccinated in Shanghai. 
 
 All susceptibility and refinement must be cast 
 aside when walking in the streets of Pekin. I 
 could not attempt to describe one quarter of the 
 disgusting sights and outrages on decency that 
 continually met the eye in this unfragrant city, even 
 in broad daylight. I was not surprised to hear 
 that no European resident ever dreams of walking 
 about the streets of the capital if he can possibly 
 avoid it. No lady could possibly do so. 
 
 Being provided with letters of introduction to the 
 British and Eussian ministers, we made our way to 
 
PBK.IN. 37 
 
 the former legation the morning after our arrival. 
 With the exception of Belgium, whose minister had 
 been recalled about two months before we arrived, 
 nearly every nation in the world has its represen- 
 tative at Pekin. The English Embassy is a perfect 
 palace, and stands apart from the other legations 
 on the banks of the Grand Imperial Canal, a stream 
 once fringed by handsome stone banks or quays, 
 which, like everything else in Pekin, have long fallen 
 into ruin and decay. The half-dry canal now pre- 
 sents more the appearance of a dirty ditch of stag- 
 nant water than what it once was, an important 
 waterway. 
 
 It was quite a relief to get out of the dusty, 
 ill-smelling street, as passing a smart, white- 
 clad English sentry, we entered the cool, shady 
 grounds of the Embassy. The building was for- 
 merly the palace of the Duke Liang (a relation of 
 the former Emperor), but was ceded to the British 
 after the campaign of 1860. Probably in no other 
 part of the world does the English Grovernment 
 possess a representative building so thoroughly 
 typical of the country it, is in. The pavilions of 
 Chinese architecture, intricate carvings of roof and 
 cornice, vermilion and gold pillars that form the 
 entrance, contrasted strangely with the interior, 
 where the cool, dimly-lit rooms, fresh with the 
 scent of flowers and replete with every European 
 luxury and comfort, bore witness to the good 
 taste aad refinement of the charming "Ambassa- 
 drice," who, fresh from Paris, and clad in one of 
 Worth's chefs-d'oeuvre, looked strangely out of 
 place in dusty, semi-savage Pekin ! 
 
38 FROM PEKIN" TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 "You will never," said Sir John Walsham, "get 
 through to Kiakhta without an interpreter. I 
 could not allow you to attempt it, so I fear you 
 must make up your minds to remain in Pekin for 
 at least a week. By that time I shall have got 
 you your Chinese passports, and I hope an inter- 
 preter to accompany yoti as far as the Eussian 
 frontier. I must tell you that it is not easy, for 
 the Chinese have an unaccountable aversion to 
 crossing the desert of Gobi." 
 
 Our next visit was to the Russian minister, M. 
 Coumany, to whom we had letters of introduction 
 from M. de Staal, the Russian minister in London. 
 He was (as are most Russians) kindness itself, 
 but met us with the invariable question, " Why 
 Siberia ? " The picture M. Coumany drew of the 
 overland journey was certainly not pleasant or 
 encouraging. "Here are letters," said he, "for 
 the commissioner of Kiakhta and governors of 
 Tomsk and Nijni Novgorod. General Ignatieff of 
 Irkoutsk is now away on leave. But let me ask 
 you to think twice before attempting this voyage. 
 You will experience nothing but annoyance and 
 privation, the whole way to Nijni Novgorod. You 
 will find the monotony and fatigue almost unbear- 
 able, — and with Japan so close ! " he added, using 
 the well-known formula. 
 
 But we managed to convince our host, before 
 leaving, that nothing would deter us from at least 
 making the attempt to reach Moscow by land. 
 "Like all Englishmen," he said, smiling, "you 
 are obstinate; and as you are determined to go, let 
 me give you a word of advice : Get off as soon as you 
 
PEEIN. 39 
 
 can, and out of Asia by October at latest. Siberia 
 in autumn is a hell upon earth." 
 
 We returned to our hotel somewhat discouraged, 
 for we had hoped that three or four days at the 
 most would suffice for our preparations. How- 
 ever, there was no help for it, so to lose no time 
 we set about getting mules and litters for the 
 four days' journey to the Great Wail, the first 
 stage of our voyage, and trusted to Providence 
 that " the Boy " (as every Chinese servant from 
 eighteen to eighty is called in China) would arrive 
 in a week or ten days at the latest. 
 
 There is much to do and see in Pekin, but the 
 heat, dust and smells detract considerably from 
 the pleasures of a walk through the city. Our 
 favourite walk was on the summit of the outer 
 wall, where one coald enjoy the cool evening 
 breeze out of the dust and stenches for a while. 
 The Tartar or outer wall is a wonderful piece of 
 masonry, about sixty feet high by as many broad, 
 and, considering the hundreds of years it has braved 
 wind and weather, in a wonderful state of repair. 
 It is moss-grown on the summit, and the wild 
 tangled herbage grows knee deep. Were it not for 
 the conservatism, to use no stronger term, of the 
 Chinese Government it would make a splendid drive 
 or ride, for it extends unbroken and in an excellent 
 state of repair for upwards of twenty-two miles. 
 To show the jealousy of this strange race, a 
 European minister at Pekin once remarked to a 
 mandarin what a pleasant drive it would make, 
 adding that it was really the only place in Pekin 
 where he could ever walk with any pleasure. " Oh ! 
 
40 FROM P"EK[N TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 you walk there, do you ? " was the reply, and the 
 very next afternoon, on arriving for his daily con- 
 stitutional, he found the gate closed, and an order 
 posted forbidding all Europeans to ascend the wall. 
 
 The Chinese are, indeed, a strange and unac- 
 countable race. It is hard to credit that a nation 
 possessing ironclads and the latest improvements in 
 light and heavy guns at the mouth of the Peiho 
 river still clothes its soldiers at the capital in tiger- 
 skins, and instructs them in the art of making faces 
 to frighten the enemy. ^ Clever and civilized as he 
 is in many things, the Chinaman's forte clearly does 
 not lie in firearms. A German officer of one of the 
 Imperial gunboats told me that a consignment of 
 three hundred Martini-Henry rifles was one day 
 received on board his ship, with one hundred rounds 
 of ammunition to each. A short time after, return- 
 ing from a week's leave, he found that by order of 
 the Chinese commander they had all been thrown 
 overboard. The ammunition was exhausted, argued 
 the latter, what was the use of keeping the rifles ! 
 
 To describe the celestial capital is not difficult. 
 One street is so exactly like another, that when you 
 have seen a bit of the place you have seen the whole 
 of it. The principal street of the Tartar city may 
 be described in very few words. A broad straggling 
 thoroughfare, knee deep in dust, with low, tumble- 
 down houses on either side, hidden at intervals by 
 dirty canvas booths, wherein fortune-tellers, sellers of 
 sweetmeats, keepers of gambling-hells, and jugglers 
 ply their trades. Deep open cesspools at every fifty 
 yards ; crowds of dirty, half-naked men and painted 
 
 A fact. 
 
PEEIN. 41 
 
 women ; mandarins and palanquins preceded by 
 gaudily-clad soldiers on horseback and followed by 
 a yelling rabble of men and boys, armed with flags, 
 spears, and sticks, on foot ; Tartar ladies in mule 
 litters, hung with bells and bright cloths ; dark, 
 savage-looking Mongolians from the desert, leading 
 caravans of camels ; Chinamen in green, or helio- 
 trope silk, oftener in rags ; water-carriers, soldiersi 
 porters, sellers of fruit and ice, the latter 
 coated with dust, like everything else, and looking 
 singularly uninviting ; Chow-chow and sweetmeat 
 sellers ; camels, mules, ponies, osen carts thronging 
 the ruined roadway; a deafening noise of bells, 
 cymbals, shouting and cursing ; indecency and filth 
 everywhere, with a dusty, gloomy glare over every- 
 thing, even on the brightest day, while the air 
 everywhere around is poisoned with the hot, sickly 
 smell peculiar to Pekin. Such was the impression 
 one usually retained of a walk through the capital 
 on a summer's day. We saw many curious sights, 
 but most were af such a nature that I cannot 
 describe them. A Chinese funeral we passed one 
 day is perhaps worth mention. An enormous pro- 
 cession, nearly a mile long, bore witness to the fact 
 that the deceased was a man of some rank. A 
 number of relations clad in white (Chinese mourn- 
 ing), preceded the catafalque, strewing flowers and 
 burning incense before it. Every hundred yards or 
 so a halt was made, and a huge white sheet spread 
 upon the ground on which the mourners lay flat on 
 their breasts and stomachs, repeatedly beating their 
 heads against the ground. Immediately in front of 
 the coffin was the deceased's property, his horse, 
 
42 FEOM PBKIN" TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 hat, pipe, etc., and sedan. The latter startled one 
 somewhat, for seated in it was a figure which, on 
 closer inspection, we discovered to be a waxen efl&gy 
 of the dead man himself, clad in the clothes he had 
 worn just before death. The huge oaken coffin was 
 so heavy that it took sixty or seventy men to carry 
 it. At the end of the procession of relatives and 
 friends came the rabble and " followers " of the 
 deceased. The Chinese custom is to set the coffin 
 down on reaching the burial-ground, with a light 
 layer of earth over it till the wood begins to rot. 
 It is then covered thickly with earth, but not buried. 
 The dead in China are never put underground. 
 
 The quieter and less frequented streets of the city 
 were not so bad; narrow, unpaved byways fringed 
 on either side with high white walls of brick and 
 plaster, enclosing the houses of well-to-do mer- 
 chants, or the better class of tradesmen ; quaint 
 little dwellings, curiously carved and gorgeous with 
 blue, vermilion, and gold facades, having neat 
 flower-gardens in front, and willow-fringed ponds. 
 One occasionally caught a glimpse, through an open 
 porch, of the proprietor, his day's work over, clad in 
 a light and airy costume consisting of a pair of linen 
 drawers, lazily watching the gold fish in the clear 
 lily-covered water, or studying his Pekin Gazette, the 
 oldest daily paper, by the way, in existence. Occa- 
 sionally Madame was visible sharing the joys of her 
 lord and master's leisure hours, but not often ; for 
 when you visit a Chinaman he seldom presents you to 
 his wife, although the latter is not kept at all secluded 
 or under lock and key. A Chinese woman has as 
 much liberty as an English one, maritally speaking. 
 
PEKIN. 43 
 
 though, as I have said, one does not often meet 
 them. Most are said to make very good wives ; for 
 unlike most eastern and other nations, they have not 
 the love of intrigue so inherent as a rule in the 
 female sex. 
 
 The coinage current in Pekin is to a stranger 
 more than confusing, consisting as it does of " cash " 
 and bar silver. With the former, small coins of 
 which about fifty go to a halfpenny, one has little 
 to do. A hole is stamped through the middle for 
 greater convenience, and one frequently sees in 
 Pekin two or three necklaces of these worthless, but 
 weighty, pieces slung round a man's neck, who is 
 struggling along under the value of perhaps eight 
 pence or nine pence, English money. The silver is 
 in bars, and cut off as wanted. The tael is not a 
 coin, but a weight of silver made up in paper packets 
 of one, three, or four taels. A mint has, I believe, 
 been opened in Pekin since our visit, and a proper 
 coinage will be issued in a few months — no small 
 advantage to future visitors, for the difficulty of 
 obtaining " change " at present is somewhat great. 
 
 It is curious how little attention a European 
 attracts when walking in the streets of Pekin. 
 Although there are many probably in that great city 
 who have never seen a white face, the people evinced 
 but little curiosity when we visited the gambling- 
 hells, opium-shops, and other dens of a like descrip- 
 tion, and we passed through them unmolested, if not 
 unobserved. Here and there in the lower quarters 
 of the capital, however, the natives evidently pre- 
 ferred our room to our company. The words " Yang 
 Qweitze " fell with uncomfortable frequency upon 
 
44 FEOM PBEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 the ear, and on one occasion a shower of stones and 
 mud hastened our retreat from a house in the slums 
 which our guide had imprudently allowed us to enter 
 and take stock of. As a general rule, however, the 
 natives were civil and obliging enough, and in the 
 more aristocratic eating and tea-houses we were 
 frequently invited to partake of a cup of tea free 
 gratis by the proprietor. 
 
 Most of our spare time in Pekin was spent in the 
 niimerous porcelain shops with which the city 
 abounds. It was curious to walk out of the squalid, 
 filthy streets, knee-deep in dust and reeking with 
 sewage, into the cool, luxurious rooms with their 
 tesselated pavements, fountains, and flowers, and 
 hundreds of pounds' worth of beautiful wares laid out 
 invitingly before one in cloisonne, jade, and porce- 
 lain. We found it hopeless, as a rule, to think of 
 getting anything at a reasonable price. Japan 
 itself can produce nothing so beautiful and graceful 
 as true Pekin work, though, like everything else, it 
 is imitated, and there has been, of late years, a 
 quantity of worthless trash in the market. 
 
 The present Emperor of China, " Kwang-Su," is 
 eighteen years of age, and by the time these pages 
 are in print will have taken unto himself a wife, 
 or rather one will have been taken for him by his 
 aunt the Queen Regent, who, though her nephew 
 has come to years of discretion, has even now a 
 good deal more to do with the management of 
 affairs than the Emperor. She is an arbitrary, 
 ambitious woman, and, rumour has it, knows con- 
 siderably more about the death of the late Emperor 
 than she cares to own. " Kwang-Su " cannot, like 
 
PEXIN. 45 
 
 the Pope, be said to lead a liappy life. As a matter 
 of fact, it is literally not his own. Everything must 
 be done by rule and under supervision of the court 
 officials, even to eating and sleeping. The poor 
 boy gets little of the latter luxury, as frequent 
 cabinet councils are held at four in the morning, 
 the Chinese ministers averring that the head is 
 clearer at that hour of the day than at any other. 
 I hardly think this plan would always succeed in 
 Europe. 
 
 One can scarcely wonder that . " Kwang- Su " is 
 ill-tempered, morose, and subject to fits of passion, 
 during which he defies • his aunt, destroys every- 
 thing within his reach, and declares he will not be 
 Emperor, but will escape and go and work in the 
 fields, anything rather than be shut up like a dog 
 in the Forbidden City. And truly it must be a 
 wretched existence. Every day is planned out 
 beforehand. Not a detail is omitted, even to the 
 very clothes he wears. It must be more than 
 annoying to be given, say a mutton chop, when one 
 particularly wants a beefsteak, champagne when 
 you know it disagrees with you, and you much 
 prefer claret, or a thin suit of clothes when you 
 feel cold and require a thick one. The Emperor's 
 studies take up about nine hours of the day. His 
 great joke when we were at Pekin, was to beg his 
 tutors, the constant relays of whom annoyed him to 
 desperation, to let him look at their watches. No 
 sooner were they handed to him, than they were 
 violently dashed on the ground and stamped upon. 
 By^this means, Kwang-Su argued, they would not 
 know what time to come another day. Since his 
 
46 PEOM PEKTN TO OALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Majesty's new " game," however, most of the pro- 
 fessors sent to Shanghai for Waterbnry watches. 
 Gold and silver ones became expensive. 
 
 Eiding or walking, hunting in the green fields 
 and shady forests, or fishing in the blue willow- 
 fringed lakes of the Forbidden City, although as 
 far removed from the turmoil and foul smells of 
 Pekin as the desert of Gobi itself, the Emperor is 
 never alone. There is always a retinue following 
 him to tell him what to do and when to do it ; to 
 remind him, for instance, when at four o'clock he 
 is enjoying his favourite pastime of fishing,aand has 
 forgotten for a brief period the carking cares of 
 monarchy, that half an hour later he must abandon 
 the pursuit for a deer-hunt, or a walk (always accom- 
 panied by a suite), in a specified part of the grounds 
 of the city. The latter must be a curious place, for 
 theeye of the white barbarian is never allowed to look 
 within its walls, save when, at very rare intervals, 
 the European ministers are admitted to audience in 
 a particular part of the palace. 
 
 The Emperor has very little notion of what his 
 capital is like. When he is taken for a drive, it 
 means weeks of careful preparation, the sums of 
 money devoted to patching up the streets through 
 which he passes are fabulous. Were one half of 
 the millions which are supposed to be expended on 
 the keeping in order of the city honestly laid out, 
 Pekin would be a very different place to what it is. 
 But so long as the filching and robbery carried on 
 by the mandarins and others in office continue, the 
 Chinese capital must always remain the dirty dust- 
 heap it now is. A case in point came under my 
 
PBKIN. 47 
 
 notice while in Pekin, and is one illustration of the 
 enormous sums that yearly find their way into the 
 pockets of the mandarins. A drain had to be built 
 from the French Embassy to the Imperial canal, a 
 distance of about three hundred yards. For this 
 the Government was charged twenty-three thou- 
 sand taels, the European contractor being paid 
 three thousand five hundred taels. The mandarins 
 pocketed the balance ! 
 
 When Kwang-Su takes an airing all European 
 residents are warned by their ministers to remain 
 within doors, or at any rate away from that part of 
 the city through which the Emperor is to pass, and 
 the mqst stringent precautions are taken that no 
 man, European or native, may look upon the features 
 of the sovereign. The doors and windows of the 
 houses are closed, and rich silks and tapestries hung 
 from their walls, the streets are carefully swept and 
 watered, every hole carefully filled up, every scrap 
 of litter or offal carried away far from where, at a 
 stated hour, and punctual to the moment, the royal 
 train rolls slowly along through the empty, deserted 
 streets. The Emperor must, therefore, have very 
 different ideas of Pekin from the ordinary run of 
 mankind. Save for the dust, which is of course 
 unavoidable, it must seem a fair place enough to 
 Kwang-Su. Could he but see it as we did, I doubt 
 if he would ever again wish to leave the palaces and 
 gardens, the deer-parks and lakes of his beautiful 
 prison. 
 
 The long suuny days dragged wearily by. A 
 week, a fortnight elapsed, and still no " boy." Our 
 passports for China and Mongolia were in order, 
 
 E 
 
48 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 mules and litters procured for the journey to the 
 Great Wall — everything in readiness for a start, 
 which, however, Sir John Walsham would not hear 
 of our making without an interpreter. It was tedious 
 work waiting. We seldom left the hotel after the 
 first week, except to dine at the Embassy, or spend 
 the afternoon in its cool, shady grounds, where one 
 could while away the weary hours with books and 
 papers from the well-stocked library. We did not 
 often dine out, but when we did, preferred plough- 
 ing through the dust or mire, on foot, to going in 
 a Pekin cab, a circumstance our neighbours at 
 dinner ought to have been grateful for, for these 
 vehicles are crawling with vermin. It was necessary 
 to take lamps on these occasions, for the less 
 frequented streets of the city are unlit, and to be 
 well armed with thick sticks for protection against 
 the dogs, whose name is legion, and who prowl 
 about the city at night in large numbers in search 
 of food. Although of great size, they are mangy, 
 wretched-looking creatures. In gangs they are 
 dangerous, and frequently attack solitary and un- 
 armed wayfarers ; but, like the Turks at Constanti- 
 nople, the Pekinese do not harm them, for they are 
 capital scavengers, though the din they make at 
 night is somewhat trying to a nervous constitution, 
 and sleep in Pekin for the first two or three nights 
 is almost an impossibility. 
 
 I have said much against Pekin, enough, 
 perhaps, to deter the reader from ever wishing to 
 pay it a visit. I must at the same time give it its 
 due, for it is undoubtedly exempt from many of 
 the pests and annoyances of other Eastern cities. 
 
PBKIN. 49 
 
 There are no mosquitoes, nor does that most 
 irritating plague of all, the common house fly, 
 torment one day and night as in other hot 
 climates. Indeed, it is not, on the whole such a 
 bad residence for Europeans as many places I could 
 name in India and other parts of the Bast. The 
 life is, of course, frightfully monotonous during the 
 summer months, when those connected with the 
 Legations, who can spare the time,betake themselves 
 to the hills, some fifteen miles distant, where some 
 old temples have been fitted up to form rough though 
 comfortable summer retreats for those who are 
 compelled to inhabit the dusty, stench-ridden 
 capital in the hot season. 
 
 The European population of Pekin is, as I have 
 said, a very small one, probably not more than sixty 
 or seventy in all. It consists exclusively of the 
 various Legations, Missionary Houses and College. 
 There is but one mercantile establishment : the 
 agency of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 
 
 In winter there are many worse places in the 
 world than this. It is only then, indeed, that the 
 European community ever make any effort to rouse 
 themselves. Sleighing and skating-parties, lawn- 
 tennis, by day — and theatricals, dances, and dinner- 
 parties by night, are the order of the day. 
 
 Pekin is fairly healthy, even in summer, for 
 Europeans, except for those inclined to be nervous. 
 In such cases the extremely rarified atmosphere 
 often precludes sleep and induces insomnia and 
 other nervous diseases. The sun, too, is more 
 dangerous here than in any place (including Borneo) 
 that I have ever visited in the East. It knocks you 
 
 E 2 
 
50 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 over in a second, and deaths from sunstroke, even 
 among the natives, are frequent. 
 
 Living in Pekin though dear is excellent, and 
 our host gave us little dinners that would not have 
 disgraced a Paris restaurant. Although not manu- 
 factured, that greatest luxury of the Bast, ice, is 
 cheap and abundant. It is cut (out of the canals) 
 in winter in huge blocks and stored in early spring 
 in large caves just outside the city walls. Presh 
 fruit is also stored and preserved in the same 
 manner, and I have eaten a bunch of grapes in the 
 month of July that had been stored the previous 
 October as fresh as if they had jnst been cut from 
 the vine. 
 
 We resolved, after a weary fortnight of waiting, 
 to take matters more philosophically. It was useless 
 chafing and worrying, either the "boy " would come or 
 he wouldn't. " Tout vient a point a celui qui sait 
 attendre," was a proverb we were always qiioting 
 with an assumed calmness we were far from feeling. 
 It was no great hardship waiting with such com- 
 fortable quarters, we argued, but the time, that 
 seemed to crawl nnless our thoughts turned to 
 Siberia, when it flew with the speed of lightning, 
 was what daily and nightly harassed and worried 
 us. Our host and his wife, however, did all they 
 could to make us comfortable, and thoroughly 
 succeeded. Sitting out after dinner with a cigar in 
 the cool moonlit courtyard, staring up at the patch 
 of starry heaven overhead, and listening to the 
 distant and soothing tinkle of Madame's piano, things 
 would have seemed pleasant enough had we not 
 known that every day, every hour was of the 
 
PEKIN. 51 
 
 utmost importance. The Russian minister's words, 
 too, would keep cropping up, spoiling one's diges- 
 tion and upsetting patience and equanimity : " Get 
 off as soon as you can ; Siberia in early autumn is 
 a hell upon earth." Alas ! we now began to realize 
 that another month of delay would land us there 
 at this very season. 
 
 We spent Jubilee Day at Pekin. A full-dress 
 reception was held at the British Embassy in the 
 afternoon, while at night the gardens were illu- 
 minated with hundreds of coloured lamps, the 
 two entrance pavilions turned into reception-rooms, 
 and a ball given to the European community. It 
 was hard to realize that one was really in this 
 hidden corner of the earth. With so many smart 
 gowns and pretty faces around, one might have been 
 in a London or Paris ball-room, and though the 
 number was limited, the evening was none the less 
 agreeable. 
 
 The dancing wound up with a display of fire- 
 works (Pekin made) in the grounds, and though of 
 native manufacture the most loyal English subject 
 could not have found fault with the excellent por- 
 trait of her Majesty (in fireworks) that drew forth 
 enthusiastic applause from the crowd of natives at 
 the gates and wound up the proceedings. Though 
 day was dawning, dancing was still in full swing 
 when we left the Embassy and took leave of our 
 host and charming hostess, without whose kindly 
 aid and hospitality we should indeed have felt lost 
 those long weary days of delay and ennui in the 
 dusty capital. 
 
 Though adevisd not to attempt it, we resolved to 
 
52 PEOM VEKIN TO CALAIS BZ LAND. 
 
 ride as much as possible across the Gobi Desert. 
 We had not yet seen a camel cart, but had heard 
 quite enough of its miseries to determine us never 
 to occupy it longer at a time than was absolutely 
 necessary. So having taken the trouble to bring 
 saddles out with us, we resolved to chance the loss 
 of the ponies, and managed to get two strong 
 wiry-looking Mongolian ones, about fourteen hands 
 high, for 8/. English apiece. We tried many before 
 pitching on the right sort. Lancaster's first attempt 
 at a purchase was not a lucky one. The brute lay 
 on its side the moment he mounted, and resolutely 
 refused to move, much to the delight of the crowd 
 who had assembled to see what the " Foreign devils" 
 were about. However, after many and varied ex- 
 periences he managed to pick up a smart-looking 
 bay pony only four years old. Mine was consider- 
 ably older, but they were both sturdy, plucky little 
 beasts ; looked up to any amount of fatigue — and, 
 as we afterwards found, by no means belied their 
 appearance. 
 
 Our host rushed in one bright sunny morning 
 with a beaming countenance, before we were out of 
 bed. " Courage, messieurs, your ' boy ' has arrived," 
 at the same time handing me a blue envelope 
 containing a note from the Embassy. " ' Boy ' will 
 arrive to-day from Tientsin." This was welcome 
 news indeed, and I turned round for another 
 snooze with a blessed feeling of relief and gratitude. 
 All would now be well. To-morrow morning would 
 see us en route for the Great Wall. We had 
 saved, by the skin of our teeth, detention in Siberia. 
 With any luck November would see us in Moscow. 
 
PEKIN. 53 
 
 At 6.30 the "boy" arrived; a tall, forbidding- 
 looking Chinaman, with a sullen, hang-dog expres- 
 sion that inspired but little confidence. I saw in 
 five minutes the kind of gentleman we had to deal 
 with. Sulky, obstinate, and as sly as a fox, with a 
 shifty, restless eye that could not look you in the 
 face for two seconds together. 
 
 " Well, so you've come at last ! What has kept 
 you so long at Tientsin ? " 
 
 " Jubilee ! " 
 
 The bare idea of this human scarecrow assisting 
 at a festival of any sort was too funny. But I knew 
 the man lied. 
 
 " Will you come with us to Eiakhta ? " 
 
 " All depend what get. Wo can go for less than 
 $300. If no take me, master get no one. All 
 afraid go desert. Afraid Mongol man." 
 
 The insolent, swaggering tone of the man annoyed, 
 nearly as much as the exorbitant price he asked 
 surprised, me. I knew it was out of all reason. 
 But the wretch was well aware of our helpless 
 position, and all my hopes of a speedy start for the 
 desert sank below zero. To give the price he named 
 would have been not only absurd but fatal. We 
 should have been mercilessly swindled at every 
 village we came to, if not attacked by robbers, 
 when the news of our liberality and wealth became 
 known, as things do in China in an incredibly short 
 space of time. We had besides this reason, a far 
 better one : we could not afford it. 
 
 " It is for you to accept an offer, not to make 
 one," I replied, placing $6 on the table. " Here 
 are |6 for your fare back to Tientsin if you do 
 
54 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 not come to my terms ; and you must decide at 
 once. I will give you exactly |120, and not one 
 cash more, to accompany us to Kiakhta and find 
 your own way back. Accept or refuse." 
 
 My sulky friend's only reply was to carelessly 
 take up the money, pocket it, and without another 
 word calmly leave the room. I watched him slink 
 slowly down the little courtyard and out of the 
 gate, half hoping he would think better of it ; but 
 no ! He never once looked behind him, and as I 
 watched his tall, gaunt form vanish slowly in the 
 dusk, I felt that now, indeed, our last hope was gone. 
 To reach Siberia by way of the Grobi Desert was 
 obviously impossible, for, judging by past expe- 
 rience, we could not reasonably expect to find an- 
 other English-speaking" boy," under another month 
 or so. It would then be too late to attempt the 
 journey via Mongolia, that is, without risking im- 
 prisonment of a couple of months in some lonely 
 Siberian village — hardly a pleasant prospect, judg- 
 ing from all we had heard of that melancholy 
 country. 
 
 There was now but one course; to return to 
 Tientsin, and embark thence on the first vessel for 
 Nicolaiefsk at the mouth of the Amour river, thus 
 altogether avoiding the Mongolian desert, and gain- 
 ing Irkoutsk by way of Khabarofka, Stratensk, and 
 Chita, instead of Urga and Kiakhta. 
 
 It was a great disappointment. We had looked 
 forward to the desert journey far more than to any 
 other part of the voyage. There would have been 
 some novelty and excitement in crossing the wild 
 desolate plains lying between the great Wall of 
 
PJEKIN. 55 
 
 China and Siberia, but none whatever in the cut- 
 and-dried route from Nicolaiefsk. 
 
 Dinner that night was a sad meal; even the 
 champagne, which our host insisted upon pro- 
 ducing, failed to enliven it. Our party was in- 
 creased by three Russians from Shanghai, who were 
 on their way to Manchuria for a month's shooting. 
 One of them had done the Amour journey, and 
 devoutly hoped he might never have to do it again. 
 For monotony and lack of interest that great river 
 was (according to his account) unrivalled. But 
 we had made up our minds, and it must be done. 
 Fortunately enough, a vessel would be leaving 
 Tientsin for jSTicolaiefsk in four or five days' time, 
 which would give us plenty of time to retrace our 
 steps to Tientsin and embark. To bemoan one's 
 fate under such circumstances is worse than useless, 
 and we retired to rest resigned, if not absolutely 
 cheerful. 
 
 But the proverb that it is ever " darkest before 
 dawn," was exemplified next morning when, about 
 ten o'clock, and on the eve of departure for 
 Tientsin, the welcome news was brought us that 
 a " boy" had been found ! and by whom but our good 
 angel, M. Tallien, who, moved to compassion 
 by oar woe-begone faces the previous evening 
 had himself searched Pekin high and low, and run 
 the article to earth within the very walls of the 
 Russian Embassy. No ordinary "boy" was this 
 either, but an excellent cook, speaking English, 
 Russian, and Mongohan fluently, and who, best 
 of all, was willing to go to Kiakhta and find his 
 own way back again for $100 all found. I 
 
56 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 could have fallen into Tallien's arras and em- 
 braced liim. Perhaps, being a Frenchman, he 
 wonld have taken such a proceeding as a matter of 
 course. 
 
 Our new acquisition, Jee Boo by name, a nice 
 quiet-looking fellow of about thirty years old, had 
 
 been cook and servant to Prince , one of the 
 
 Russian attaches, for some time. Under ordinary 
 circumstances, we should perhaps have asked for 
 his character, but dreading another delay we deter- 
 mined to chance it, take him as he was, and ask 
 no questions. We were armed, and he was not, 
 which is always satisfactory in case of disagree- 
 ment. He was, at any rate, a very different stamp 
 of man to our Tientsin friend, who, it now appeared, 
 had taken the trouble to find him out and advise 
 him to have nothing to do with us, for if he did 
 he would never get paid. We should be sure to 
 repudiate our debt on arrival at Kiakhta, and leave 
 him stranded in a foreign land without friends or 
 money. 
 
 We soon convinced Jee Boo, however, of the 
 honesty of our intentions by making M. Tallien his 
 banker for the amount of $80, the remaining $20 
 to be paid him on arrival at Kiakhta, with an 
 additional $20 if he behaved himself. Having thus 
 arranged things to everybody's satisfaction, we gave 
 Jee Boo leave to absent himself for the day, and 
 (not without misgivings of another disappointment) 
 made preparations for a start early the following 
 morning. 
 
 It was past seven o'clock, and the sun was high 
 in tbe heavens before we had completed our pre- 
 
PEKm. 57 
 
 parations, saddled the ponies, and packed the 
 luggage and provisions into the htters. Our party 
 consisted of but three mule-litters, and our two 
 ponies. The heavy baggage had preceded us the 
 day before, and we did not expect to come up with 
 it till we reached Kalgan, the last Chinese city on 
 the borders of Mongolia. Two Chinese muleteers 
 accompanied us, also Jee Boo, who bustled about 
 and made himself generally useful in a way that 
 augured well for the future. 
 
 A final cafe au lait and " chasse " with our host, 
 who was almost as keen about the expedition as we 
 were (indeed, where should we have been, had it not 
 been for his timely aid ?), and we were ready to start. 
 Early as it was, madame and her sister were at the 
 gate to bid us farewell and wish us a prosperous 
 journey. One could not help thinking, as one 
 looked at their pretty French faces and neatly clad 
 figures, how long it might be ere we should look 
 upon their like again ! 
 
 A few moments more and we had taken leave of 
 our friends, and were riding down the narrow dusty 
 street for the last time, half sorry (so perverse is 
 man) to leave the place we had been for three long 
 weeks moving heaven and earth to get away from. 
 The feeling of regret did not last loDg, however, 
 and before we had crossed the stone bridge over the 
 Imperial canal no one would have recognized in 
 us the despairing wretches of two days ago. 
 For three hours we skirt closely along the sandy 
 plains that bound the city walls. Here we 
 pass some three or four hundred camels, a 
 caravan inward bound from the desert, going at 
 
58 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 a pace of about a mile and a half an hour. The 
 Tartars in charge are all asleep, but the camels 
 seem to know their way ; indeed the track here is 
 pretty clearly laid down, being in the direct route to 
 and from Kalgan. An hour later we enter a 
 fertile plain of millet, corn, and rye, interspersed 
 with huge fields of pasture, and bounded on the 
 horizon by a rugged, precipitous chain of hills, 
 partly covered with forest, from which brightly - 
 coloured temples and pagodas stand out here and 
 there in bright relief, glittering in the sunshine. 
 All is life and animation ; our very ponies seem 
 to rise in spirits, and plunge and dance about under 
 the influence of the keen air and bright sunshine, to 
 say nothing of the unusually large feeds of corn they 
 have been given of late. 
 
 An hour later we stop to look back across 
 the emerald green plain to where, on the horizon, 
 a thin brown line, faint and indistinct, breaks the 
 bright blue sky-line. We are looking our last 
 on the walls of Pekin : the long land journey 
 across Europe and Asia has commenced in real 
 earnest. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PEKIN TO KALGAN. 
 
 Fob fatigue and discomfort, amounting at times 
 to sheer physical pain, commend me to a Chinese 
 mule litter, which is simply a kind of box or 
 covered chair, hung on two long and slender poles. 
 To it are harnessed, before and behind, two mules 
 gaily caparisoned with feathers, highly-coloured 
 trappings and bells. The latter, which keep up a 
 loud and incessant jingle, are supposed to relieve 
 the monotony of the journey. To the Chinese 
 mind, perhaps they do. The motion, to those not 
 subject to sea-sickness, is not disagreeable, nor 
 would it be tiring, had not the occupant to keep 
 constantl}' in the sanie position, as in a canoe or 
 outrigger, for the slightest movement to the right 
 or left overturns the whole concern. Also, should 
 the leading mule fall, a not unfrequent occurrence, 
 the passenger is almost certain to get a nasty fall ; 
 should the hind one make a false step, he finds' 
 himself helpless, with his feet in the air, and 
 at the mercy of the leader's heels, for the front 
 and sides of the litter are open. With these 
 trifling exceptions, the mule litters have no dis- 
 comforts, always excepting the vermin that infest 
 them. 
 
60 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 We halted about two o'clock in the afternoon, at 
 a wayside inn, on the banks of a clear pebbly 
 stream. In front of the inn, under the shade of 
 some willow-trees, where some twenty or thirty 
 men and women, seated at marble tables, drinking 
 tea and a kind of white compound, in which 
 floated huge lumps of ice, out of pretty transparent 
 porcelain cups. Curiosity prompted me to taste the 
 latter, which I found simply delicious, and not un- 
 like French "orgeat " or barley water. A troop of 
 cavalry passed while we were discussing our frugal 
 meal, a little way apart from the noisy, chattering 
 crowd, who, after the usual inspection of our clothes 
 and arms, left us in peace. On the arrival of the 
 soldiers, tall, swarthy fellows, clad in dark blue 
 uniform, flat round hats, with streaming peacock 
 feathers, and armed with rusty old flintlocks, we 
 prepared to start without delay. We had been 
 warned at Pekin and Shanghai against the Chinese 
 military, had been told that they invariably in- 
 sulted and sometimes outraged Europeans, when 
 out of the protection of their legations. If so, 
 these were a decided exception to the rule, for not 
 only would they not hear of ovir proceeding on our 
 journey till we had " chin-chind " with their oflELcer, 
 a cheery, nice-looking lad of eighteen or twenty, 
 but as we left, all shook hands, Chinese fashion 
 (clasping the hands and lifting them up and 
 down in front of the breast), and gave us rendez- 
 vous at Kalgan, whither they were bound. 
 
 We were away again before four o'clock, by which 
 time the heat had lessened and the fierce heat of 
 the sun somewhat decreased in power. A ride of 
 
PEKIN TO KALGAN. 61 
 
 half an hour in the litters had convinced us that 
 anything, even walking, was preferable to those 
 cranky conveyances ; though, thanks to our sturdy 
 little steeds, we were never driven to take to Shanks's 
 mare. One of the pleasantest recollections I have 
 retained of that weary journey is that of the little 
 beast who carried me so pluckily across a third of 
 Asia ! I verily believe, had it been a question of 
 stamina and endurance, and not of time, I could have 
 ridden him to Moscow in eight months, or even less. 
 Good as " Karra " ^ was ia other ways, however, 
 he was not what is called a pleasant hack, having, 
 like most Mongolian ponies, but two paces : a walk 
 and a canter, or rather gallop, for the instant he 
 broke into a canter he would take the bit in his 
 teeth and bolt. It was sheer fun, however, for un- 
 like most of his breed, he had not an atom of vice 
 in his composition. 
 
 I have seldom seen lovelier scenery than we rode 
 through that day. The dark wooded mountains in 
 the distance standing out in striking contrast to 
 the green plains of maize and barley, the clear 
 sparkling streams, spanned by picturesque bridges 
 glittering with enamel and porcelsiin. The park-like 
 domain of some mandarin, fringed with belts of 
 dark forest, and relieved by patches of light green 
 sward, on which deer and cattle were browsing, 
 composed a very different picture to that with which 
 we had always associated these so-called uncivilized 
 regions. The country in ISTorth China is densely 
 populated. The whole way from Pekin to Kalgan 
 
 ' Mongol for black. 
 
62 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 one was never out of sight of human beings. We 
 must have ridden through at least twenty villages 
 the first day — villages only in name — for each must 
 have contained quite four or five thousand souls, 
 though deserted when we passed through them, for 
 the men and women were out at work in the fields, 
 and the narrow streets given up to dogs and naked 
 children rolling about together promiscuously in 
 the dusty roadway. It was only towards sunset 
 that we passed through avenues of happy, contented- 
 looking peasants, sitting at their doorways discussing 
 tea and iced drinks, and dreaming the hours away 
 till bed-time, after the heat and labour of the day. 
 The agricultural labourer in China is better off than 
 his European brother. 
 
 The natives evinced but little surprise at our ap- 
 pearance the first day. All seemed good-tempered, 
 friendly fellows, but (at the same time) not at all 
 the kind of people to stand any nonsense. They 
 were the finest-built men, physically speaking, I have 
 ever seen, excepting perhaps, in parts of European 
 Eussia. 
 
 It was past seven o'clock and nearly dark when 
 we reached " Koo-ash," our first-resting-place, a 
 pretty Alpine-looking village nestling under a chain 
 of hills, about four hundred feet bigh, bare of trees 
 and vegetation, and composed of huge granite 
 boulders. The heat of the day and fatigue of a ten 
 hours' ride made the shelter of even a Chinese inn 
 acceptable, though the stench of the place was 
 awful, and the flies positively maddening. (The 
 latter, thoiigh of the common household kind, were 
 the largest I have ever seen.) Floor and walls 
 
PEKIN TO EALGAN. 63 
 
 were black with them, and one crushed them as one 
 turned on the stone slab that did duty for a bed. 
 It may be as well to give the reader a brief descrip- 
 tion of the hostelry in which we took our first night's 
 rest — for one native inn is precisely like another 
 throughout the Chinese Empire. The inn at " Koo- 
 ash " was, luckily for us, the best that exists on 
 the road to the Grreat Wall. Had it been as bad 
 as the one we reached the next night at " Kwi 
 La Shai," I verily believe we should have turned 
 tail, and returned without setting eyes upon that 
 euphoniously named city. Coming, so to speak, 
 into shallow water before we tried deep, saved us 
 from ignominious defeat. 
 
 A Chinese inn, then, is usually coustructed of 
 dried mud, whitewashed, and built round three 
 sides of an open courtyard, as a rule knee deep in 
 filth and garbage, in which pigs, sheep, cows, and 
 poultry roam about at leisure. An open cesspool 
 usually occupies the centre. The buildings on the 
 right and left are the kitchen, innkeeper's room, 
 cart-shed, stables, etc., that at the farthest end, and 
 facing you on entry, is that set apart for the guests. 
 It is usually a bare dirty room, about eighteen feet 
 by eighteen, a third of which is separated by a 
 bamboo screen or partition, four or five feet high, 
 for more favoured guests who wish to be separated 
 from the common herd. Sometimes the screen is 
 dispensed with, and the partition made by a chalk 
 mark on the floor ! This cheerless apartment is 
 devoid of furniture save for a "K'ang" or stove 
 bed, a broad ledge of brick covered with matting. 
 In winter a fire is lit under the " K'ang," which is 
 
 F 
 
64 PROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 built to accommodate ten to twelve sleepers. The 
 flooring of the room is of uncarpeted brick, and 
 there is no furniture of any kind. At Koo-ash, 
 however, there were two inlaid chairs of the most 
 delicate and beautiful workmanship I have ever 
 seen. They would have fetched 50^. or 60Z. in 
 England. Most of these gruesome apartments 
 swarm with rats, a circumstance that annoyed me 
 more than all other discomforts put together, for I 
 have always had a loathing for this animal. But I 
 had not then been to Siberia. 
 
 We had our own food, of course. No European 
 stomach could stand the cuisine in these parts. 
 Tea was the only thing drinkable — sweet, washy 
 stuff, as unlike our idea of that beverage as can 
 well be, and drunk out of tiny cups holding about a 
 couple of tablespoonsful. Our greatest difficulty 
 was to obtain permission to use the kitchen in these 
 caravanserai to cook ourselves a tin of soup or 
 preserved meat. It was somewhat disheartening to 
 have to put up with a biscuit smeared over with 
 a spoonful of jam after a hard day's work in the 
 blazing sun — but this was often the case. There 
 is no race in the world so obstinate as the northern 
 Celestial ; and in these parts, unlike in the southern 
 districts, even filthy lucre will not tempt them. 
 
 Still we had nothing to complain of on this score 
 at Koo-ash. The proprietor, a big, burly China- 
 man, clad in a pair of short white drawers (and 
 nothing else), superintended our culinary arrange- 
 ments himself, and turned us out a smoking dish of 
 Irish stew in no time, served upon plates that would 
 not have disgraced a dinner-table in the height of 
 
PBKIN TO KALGAN. 65 
 
 the London season. I tried to buy one of them, of 
 transparent, violet porcelain of the most delicate 
 tint imaginable, but mine host would not part 
 with it on any consideration. It was an heirloom. 
 " Drop it on the floor and break it," whispered Jee 
 Boo. " He will sell it to you then, and you can get 
 it mended in England." I admired the astuteness of 
 the Pekinite, but did not feel justified in risking the 
 experiment. To say nothing of moral scruples, we 
 were no longer within reach of English protection! 
 
 A couple of glasses of whiskey and water revived 
 the inner man, and we clambered into the " K'ang," 
 where, in spite of the hardness of this novel kind of 
 bed, we were soon in oblivion and back again in 
 our dreams to less desolate regions. I was some- 
 what startled in the middle of the night by a dark, 
 cold mass being thrust into my face, until, by the 
 dim light of the moon struggling in through the 
 paper window, I realized what the intruder was — a 
 calf from the cattle-shed next door, who was making 
 a nocturnal expedition in search of food. I lay 
 awake the remainder of that night, for the enemy 
 were upon me, and had evidently been for some hours, 
 judging from the intense irritation and itching of 
 my face and hands. Had it not been for them, how- 
 ever, I should have been equally wakeful; for the 
 cheering spectacle of a couple of large rats disport- 
 ing themselves on the further corner of the 
 "K'ang" successfully murdered sleep till the 
 morning. 
 
 Splendid weather favoured our journey. Though 
 the heat at mid-day was intense, and the fierce sun 
 compelled us to seek shelter in the litters, the 
 
 ¥ 2 
 
6G PROM PEKIN TO GALAFS BY LAND. 
 
 mornings and evenings were cool and delicious. 
 We left Koo-asb. the following day at five a.m. 
 Our bill for the night was certainly not ruinous, 
 eighty cash, or something under 7d., for the whole 
 party. 
 
 The road ceases after leaving Koo-ash, and our 
 way the second day lay through a succession of 
 small paths or raised footways running in all direc- 
 tions through rice and cotton-fields. How the 
 muleteers kept on the right track is a mystery to 
 me, for there was apparently nothing to guide them. 
 The paths or boundaries of the fields seemed, like 
 the maze at Hampton Court, to have been con- 
 structed with a view to leading wayfarers astray. 
 
 "We reached the city of Nankow at mid-day, but 
 did not halt there, preferring to go straight through 
 and take our mid- day meal (if a piece of chocolate 
 and a biscuit can so be called) in the open country. 
 A large wall runs through Nankow, often regarded 
 by tourists as the Great Wall of China. Many 
 Europeans are brought here from Pekin, and 
 return thoroughly satisfied that they have seen 
 the Great Wall, when, in fact, they have done 
 nothing of the kind. The wall at Nankow is 
 simply an offshoot of the real thing, and runs at 
 right angles to it ; moreover, the former is not so 
 high, and its stones are cemented, which those of 
 the Great Wall are not. I trust I am not a kill-joy 
 to those who, reading these pages, have seen the 
 Nankow wall, but, as a matter of fact, the two are 
 as different, both in construction and appearance, 
 as black to white. 
 
 We were forced to take refuge in our litters 
 
I'BKIN TO KALGAN. 07 
 
 traversing the city (which is one of some fifty- 
 thousand inhabitants), for the unwonted sight of 
 Europeans in their midst appeared to give the Nan- 
 kowites great umbrage for some reason or other. 
 Indeed, this was the sole instance of our being 
 treated with anything but courtesy and good temper. 
 The streets were so crowded as to make our progress 
 extremely difficult, for it was market-day, and half 
 the roadway was taken up with canvas booths and 
 stalls for the sale of silks, tea, crockery, and hard- 
 ware, or fish, vegetables, and fruit, while every 
 fifty yards or so the fumes from " Kabob " stalls 
 poisoned the air with a sickly, greasy odour. We 
 were not sorry to get within sight of the outer 
 gate. Near here was an open-air theatre in full 
 swing, adding its quota of drums, clashing cymbals, 
 and squeaky reed-pipes to the general din. Some 
 two or three hundred struggling men and women 
 occupied the partition in front of the stage, meant 
 to hold about half the number. No attempt had 
 been made to shelter the audience from the blazing 
 sun, and the smell that arose from this human 
 cattle-pen beggars description. Some six or seven 
 performers in grotesque garments and hideous 
 masks were twisting their bodies about, singing 
 through their noses, and endeavouring by their 
 united efforts to drown the instruments at the back 
 of the stage, in which they were only partly suc- 
 cessful. The play, Jee Boo informed us, had been 
 going on for a week, and was only half over. We 
 stopped for a few minutes to watch the perform- 
 ance, the audience being too much engrossed with 
 it to pay any attention to us. Most of the action 
 
68 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 seemed to consist of figlating and love-making. 
 The scenes dealing with the latter were certainly 
 more realistic than refined. There was no scenery, 
 and apparently no dressing-rooms. One of the 
 performers, after being slain by his adversary, got 
 up again in a few seconds, and retiring to the 
 back of the stage, changed all his clothes in full 
 view of the audience, an operation that necessitated 
 his appearing in a state of complete nudity, after 
 which he calmly returned to the front to im- 
 personate another part. There is, apparently, no 
 Chinese Lord Chamberlain. 
 
 It took us nearly two hours to get clear of the 
 city. Shortly afterwards we entered the Nankow 
 Pass, one of the most beautiful bits of scenery we 
 passed through. The going was terribly rough, so 
 much so that we had to dismount and lead the 
 ponies, while the mule-litters plunged and rolled 
 about among the boulders like ships in a storm. The 
 road is simply formed by a kind of water-bed, about a 
 hundred and fifty yards across, which is in summer 
 rendered almost impassable by the huge rocks and 
 boulders that bar the way at every step. In winter it 
 becomes a raging torrent, sweeping all before it, and 
 after heavy rains does considerable damage to life and 
 property. The pass (which is a gradual ascent the 
 whole way, and about thirteen miles long) compares 
 very favourably with some of the grandest scenery 
 in Switzerland or the Tyrol. Rugged, precipitous 
 rocks overhang the defile on either side, great crags 
 of granite that look as if a touch would send them 
 crashing into the valley a hundred feet below. 
 Although not a leaf or tree is visible, the different 
 
PBKIN TO KALGAN. 69 
 
 shades of colour taken by the rocks are even more 
 beautiful than any vegetation could make them. 
 As "we neared the end of the pass, little bits of 
 verdure became visible : oases of rich grass and 
 cultivated flower-gardens banked round with bam- 
 boos, looking almost as if they were hanging per- 
 pendicularly on the steep grey walls ; while tiny 
 streamlets seemed to spring up from under our very 
 feet to lose themselves a few yards lower down 
 among the crevices formed by the huge rocks and 
 boulders. After two hours' hard work, we emerged 
 on a vast plain again, a plain of waving corn and 
 bai'ley, relieved here and there by brown villages 
 and gaily-coloured temples, Avhile a glance behind 
 showed us the city of Nankow spread out like a 
 map at our feet, the rice and cotton plains we had 
 passed through, and the distant village of " Koo- 
 ash," its temples and pagodas sparkling like 
 diamonds on the far horizon. 
 
 A strange apparition appeared as we ate our soli- 
 tary meal by the roadway. A tall, gaunt European 
 bestriding an attenuated-looking mule, an individual 
 who, from his dress, might have been anybody. A 
 rough grey coat with yellow facings, a red hand- 
 kerchief tied round the head, a pair of short thin 
 cotton drawers reaching to the knee, and bare legs 
 and feet, is hardly the costume with which we are 
 wont to associate a courier of the Czar ! but such 
 the stranger proved to be. He eyed our whisky 
 bottle wistfully as he passed us, and reined up the 
 melancholy mule with a jerk. "Kouda?" 
 (" whither ? ") he asked. " Moscow," we replied, 
 at the same time filling him a bumper of Glenlivat, 
 
70 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 a proceeding tHat seemed to interest him far more 
 than our probable destination. " Franzouski ?" 
 (French). " JSTiete : Anglis-ki." " Ah," he replied, 
 with a shrug of the shoulders, and, tossing ofE the 
 tumbler of raw whisky without a wink, rode ofE 
 again, with the remark, " Ya Pekin " (I am for 
 Pekin), but not a word of thanks. This was our 
 first experience of the Russian Cossack, and I was 
 afterwards glad to find this rude boor an exception 
 even to the lowest orders of that cheery, hospitable 
 race — better fellows than whom it would, as a rule, 
 be hard to meet. 
 
 The country towards evening became flatter; 
 the rice and cotton having given way to a bare 
 sandy plain, stretching away on either side as far 
 as the eye could reach without a break. 
 
 The people, too, seemed very different in appear- 
 ance and manner to those we had left in the plains 
 below Nankow. Instead of the cheery " good- day " 
 and smile with which many of the latter had greeted 
 us, we were now looked upon only with a sullen 
 stare : a kind of ocular " What do you want here ? " 
 
 This was perhaps the hardest day's work we ex- 
 perienced throughout the whole voyage. Leaving 
 Koo-ash at 5 a.m., we travelled incessantly, save for 
 a halt of twenty minutes at mid-day, till eight at 
 night. Over fourteen hours' hard v.ork on a stick 
 of chocolate and a glass of whisky and water is 
 not calculated to raise one's spirits under ordinary 
 circumstances ; but had we known what was before 
 us we should have been even more depressed than 
 we were, when, towards seven o'clock, the towers 
 and battlements of Kwi-La-Shai appeared on the 
 
PEKIN TO KALGAN. 71 
 
 horizon, and we knew that our day's journey was 
 nearly over. 
 
 The sun was setting as, crossing the river that 
 flows past the walls of Kwi-La-ShaT, we drew up 
 at the eastern gate of the city and awaited the 
 permission of the guard to enter. But for fatigue 
 and stiffness, I could willingly have remained out- 
 side the walls till the sun had disappeared, for I have 
 seldom seen a lovelier picture. It was like a scene 
 from fairy- land. The broad, swift stream at our feet 
 had caught the reflection of the western sky, which, 
 one glow of rose colour, brought out the frowning 
 walls and battlements of the city, black and distinct 
 as a pen-and-ink drawing. The whole vault of 
 heaven was one flush of ever-changing hue, varying 
 almost imperceptibly from the faintest shades of 
 pink and gold in the west to where, in the east, stars 
 were already glimmering on the steel-blue horizon. 
 The black, frowning walls, the desolate landscape 
 around us, the confused and indistinct murmur of 
 the huge population of which one could see nothing, 
 made one almost wonder whether one was not 
 dreaming and would not presently awake in a com- 
 fortable bed, resolving never again to commit the 
 imprudence of a late supper. It was not without a 
 weird feeling that we rode into the city and heard 
 the heavy iron gates close with a crash behind us. 
 One felt so utterly at the mercy of the inhabitants 
 of these remote cities, who, as they have so often 
 shown, are angels one minute and devils the 
 next. 
 
 The streets were, as usual, crowded, for the 
 night was hot, and the population had apparently 
 
72 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 turned out en masse to take the air. And what air ! 
 Like many other beautiful things in this world, Kwi- 
 La-Shai is best seen at a distance, for we found 
 it on closer acquaintance worse even than Pekin 
 in point of stenches and filth. It is called in China 
 a " village," which means a place rather larger 
 both as regards size and population than Birming- 
 ham. Though the streets were unlit, we managed 
 to get to the inn by the aid of a guide, and once 
 there, found no lack of light — indeed, the court- 
 yard was one blaze of Chinese lanterns — nor of 
 society either, for there must have been at least fifty 
 men crowded into the small guest-room, to say 
 nothing of camels, oxen, ponies, and carts that 
 crowded the muddy courtyard. 
 
 We rode into the yard and waited while Jee Boo 
 went to interview the proprietor of this den, which 
 for squalor and filth I have never seen equalled in 
 the lowest slums of London or Paris. We soon 
 saw by the light of the lanterns that our fellow- 
 lodgers were not Chinamen. Their quaint bar- 
 baric dress, to say nothing of swarthy flat faces 
 and beady black eyes, at once proclaimed them 
 Mongols. Twenty or thirty of them were round 
 us in less than five minutes after our arrival, 
 squatting on their hams in the mud and pass- 
 ing their opinions on our appearance. Many of 
 them, Jee Boo said, had never seen a European 
 before. They annoyed us not a little, too, by con- 
 tinually feeling our clothes, boots, and even faces, 
 with their hot grimy hands, a proceeding that, 
 tired and hungry as we were, with no prospect of 
 rest or food, did not tend to improve the temper. 
 
PEKIN TO KALGAK. 73 
 
 A pair of velvet cord breeches that Lancaster wore 
 came in for the greater share of their attention, 
 which I was (selfishly, I own) not sorry for. 
 
 Two half-naked men, who had been attending 
 to a couple of large cauldrons in a kind of out- 
 house, now summoned our inquisitive friends, much 
 to our relief. We saw them enter the shed, where 
 each man having produced a wooden platter, they 
 set to and left us in peace, at any rate, for a time. 
 
 Jee Boo returned soon after. " Big caravan 
 from Mongolia. No can have room," was his 
 first remark. "Money no good," he added, on 
 my suggesting a few dollars as bribery ; any- 
 thing for a fairly clean place to lay our weary 
 bones. What was to be done? We could not 
 sleep in the courtyard, that was very certain, 
 when a bright thought suddenly struck me — the 
 litters. 
 
 Alas ! they, too, were gone, and the muleteers 
 with them, in quest of lodgings elsewhere. They 
 had fortunately omitted to take our box of provisions 
 with them. Jee Boo had meanwhile disappeared, 
 but soon after returned with the information that on 
 payment of $8 we could have the room of the chief 
 of the caravan. "A very good place," urged our 
 interpreter, who was evidently standing in with the 
 Mongol. However, we should have been only too 
 glad to pay double the price for a dog-kennel that 
 night. Anything to lie down upon, and get away 
 from the attentions of the Mongols, who had by 
 this time finished their meal, and were again issuing 
 from the kitchen, lighting their pipes, and preparing 
 for another examination of the " Foreign Devil." 
 
74 FROM PKKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 It was only after a good deal of demur that the 
 good gentleman I have mentioned turned out of his 
 lair — a place about nine feet square, with a raised 
 wooden platform upon which he had been reclining, 
 and upon which he was thoughtful enough to 
 leave us several souvenirs which I need not 
 mention. To say the place was dirty conveys but 
 a very poor impression of the filth that lay thickly 
 on the walls, and the nameless abominations that 
 strewed the sleeping-place — half a dozen rough 
 boards about a foot from the floor. There 
 were luckily two large holes in the rafters 
 which would give us, at any rate, some 
 ventilation, for the glazed paper window was 
 not made to open. Cooking was, of course, out 
 of the question, but we managed to boil some 
 water in the spirit-lamp, and get a basin of 
 Liebig. Our Valentine meat-juice had, un- 
 luckily, gone on with the other stores. It 
 would have been priceless that night, and never 
 again will I embark on a journey of this kind with- 
 out it. 
 
 We had reckoned without our host when we 
 thought that bolting and barring the door would 
 ensure us privacy. First a finger, then a thumb, 
 then a whole hand was pushed through the paper 
 window, notwithstanding all our protestations. 
 We did not like to use threats, or show firearms, 
 for an Englishman more or less would have been 
 of little moment to the good people of Kwi-La-Shai. 
 So we had to sit and suffer in silence, until one of 
 our tormentors, more pushing than the rest, who had 
 climbed upon the roof to obtain a bird's-eye view. 
 
PEKIN TO KALGAN. 75 
 
 came crashing througti the rickety rafters on to 
 our heads. We certainly did bundle him out with 
 scant ceremony, and banging the door after him, 
 blew out the light and composed, or tried to com- 
 pose ourselves, to slumber. 
 
 But no sooner was the light out than we were 
 attacked by vermin in myriads. A quarter of an 
 hour of it nearly drove us mad, and we resolved to 
 strike a light, rising only to find that we had no 
 matches, and that all in the yard was now dark and 
 silent as the grave. So, resigned to our fates, we 
 lay still, and, like the shipwrecked mariner, prayed 
 for dawn ! Tired and worn out as we were, five 
 minutes' sleep was out of the question. Wehad good 
 cause to remember Kwi-La-Shai ; indeed, it was a 
 good three weeks before we were entirely free from 
 the nocturnal visitors of that unsavoury city. 
 
 The caravan had already started on its way to 
 Pekin when we set off at six the next morning. 
 Our mule-driver and Jee Boo had evidently made 
 a night of it on the pi'oceeds of their bargain, for 
 the former only arrived on the scene five minutes 
 before the hour fixed for departure, and our inter- 
 preter turned up hopelessly fuddled just as we were 
 getting the mules in and ponies saddled. We were 
 amply avenged, though, for the day was the hottest 
 we had yet experienced, and Jee Boo suffered the 
 tortures of mal de mer in a litter for the greater part 
 of it! 
 
 Tchuan-Ha-Ho is the only place I retain a pleasing 
 recollection of, lying between Pekin and the Great 
 Wall of China. The inn was fairly clean, and the 
 proprietor not only suggested, but cooked us a dish 
 
76 FROM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of poaclied eggs. Rarely have I enjoyed a meal 
 as I did that. One must have fasted for nearly 
 thirty-six hours as we had to really appreciate 
 food. Hard physical work is worth all the tonics 
 in the world. We felt much tempted to stay 
 here the night, but our mule-drivers were inexor- 
 able. They had contracted to get us to Kalgan by 
 a certain date, and at Kalgan, on that date, dead or 
 alive, we paust be ! 
 
 The sandy desert ceased after leaving Tchuan- 
 Ha-Ho, and we again entered a fertile country, set 
 apart apparently for the exclusive cultivation of the 
 poppy. White, red, and blue — poppies were every- 
 where — the plain presenting a sucession of waves of 
 colour as far as the eye could reach. Beyond this 
 lay Ching-Ming-Ying, lying under a perpendicular 
 rock about 800 feet high. This village, which con- 
 tains seven thousand inhabitants, is strongly walled 
 and fortified. The rock or mountain is on three 
 sides sheer precipice. Notwithstanding this, there 
 are some twenty or thirty houses on the extreme 
 summit, built so near the edge that their sides 
 actually form part of the precipice. Seventy or 
 eighty human beings live on this eminence, though 
 the path up is dangerous to any but experienced 
 mountaineers, and the area of the summit but three 
 hundred yards square. This was undoubtedly one 
 of the most interesting and curious sights of the 
 whole voyage, for there are men and women over 
 forty years of age living upon this mountain that 
 have never descended to the plains below. Supplies 
 and stores are taken up by men kept specially for 
 the purpose. 
 
PBK.m TO KALGAN. 77 
 
 Coal is worked out of the base of tlie Ohing-Ming- 
 Ying Mountain by the Chinese Government, to 
 whom the mines belong. It seemed to be put out 
 in a very desultory sort of way. Some thirty men 
 only were engaged in the mines, though with their 
 usual contradictory spirit the Grovernment had pro- 
 vided the manager or overseer with a palatial resi- 
 dence at the foot of the mountain, embowered in 
 bright flower-gardens and willow-trees. 
 
 The weather, which had up till now been bright 
 and clear, now grew overcast, and shortly after 
 leaving Ohing-Ming-Ying the rain came down in 
 torrents, rendering travelling very unpleasant, not 
 to say dangerous. Our way now lay along a road 
 hewn out of the solid rock, by the banks of a foam- 
 ing torrent some hundred yards broad, which we 
 followed the course of till we reached our destina- 
 tion for the night — Tsiang-Shui-Poo. Here we 
 rode along now a foot or so above the water's edge, 
 anon at least fifty feet above the water, in places 
 where a false step or slip would have sent one flying 
 into the torrent below, for there was no guard-rail, 
 and the path, broken and rugged, was at times 
 scarcely three feet wide. I thought discretion the 
 better part of valour after a time, and led Karra till 
 we got on to terra firma again in the shape of a 
 broad stretch of sand, which brought us to the 
 village of Tsiang-Shui-Poo, wet through, and with- 
 out any means of changing, but at the same time 
 relieved that the next day with any luck would see 
 us at Kalgan. 
 
 The village of Tsiang-Shui-Poo was really avillage, 
 for it boasted only of some hundred inhabitants 
 
 G 
 
78 PEOM PEKIN TO OjiLAIS BY LAND. 
 
 and thirty or forty houses. The inn (an open shed 
 in which cattle and men slept promiscuously) was 
 at any rate clean, and we managed to get a good 
 sleep on a wisp of straw free from the stench of 
 sewage that had annoyed us so much everywhere 
 else. Some of the inhabitants came to look at us as 
 we discussed the evening meal. The men were 
 cheery, good-looking fellows, and the women far 
 prettier than any I had yet seen, for their faces 
 were devoid of paint — and they had almost Euro- 
 pean complexions. Tsiang-Shui-Poo was] to us 
 an Elysium — a haven of rest — which reminded me 
 much of the lovely Kentish village of Farningham, 
 which is no doubt known to many of my readers. 
 There was the trout stream at the bottom of 
 the garden, the clover meadows with their fresh, 
 sweet scent, the corn ripening for the sickle on the 
 hill behind the inn — although, to be sure, two 
 stunted willows had to do duty for the famous 
 chestnut-tree in front of that cosy old inn, the 
 " Lion ; " and, I fancy, even the genial host 
 of that celebrated hostelry would have lost his 
 temper at the fare set before him by Boniface of 
 the " Cattle-Shed Hotel" at Tsiang-Shui-Poo ! 
 
 By next morning the rain had entirely disap- 
 peared, and with a blue sky and cool breeze we left 
 Tsiang-Shui-Poo, invigorated in mind and body by 
 a good long sleep. I cannot pronounce, much less 
 write, the name of the village we halted at at mid- 
 day. It was evident we were nearing Kalgan, for 
 we passed at least a dozen large caravans during 
 the morning, to say nothing of carts, litters, and 
 stray horsemen. The poppy-fields were now super- 
 
PEKIN TO KAL&AN. IQ 
 
 seded by rice-plains, irrigated as before by " sTia- 
 loofs," and interspersed with enclosures of corn and 
 maize. 
 
 We lunclied in a fairly clean room of tlie inn at 
 the town with the unpronounceable name. Many 
 Eussians appeared to have visited it, for their 
 names (in Russian characters) were scrawled all 
 over the place. In one corner, in small capitals, 
 we read : — " Bordeaux a Pekin par terre. Sep. 4th, 
 1870." 
 
 Shortly before five o'clock a low chain of hills 
 appeared on the horizon. Had it not been specially 
 pointed out to me, I should never have noticed the 
 thin serpentine thread winding its course along 
 their summit — an irregular white line lost to sight 
 at times, in places where it was broken into by 
 forest or undergrowth ; a very different edifice from 
 one's preconceived ideas of the Great Wall of China. 
 
 We entered Kalgan at half-past six o'clock. It 
 will give the reader some idea of the size of the 
 place when I say that it took us nearly two hours 
 to ride from the southern gate to the suburb of 
 Yambooshan, where the Russian tea-merchants 
 lived to whom we were provided with a letter of 
 introduction. The population of Kalgan is esti- 
 mated at over one hundred and fifty thousand. 
 
 Our mule-drivers suggested an immediate ad- 
 journment to the inn, for the Russians, they said, 
 lived outside the gates of Kalgan, at Yambooshan. 
 The gate was shut at seven, after which hour no 
 one, European or otherwise, was permitted to enter 
 or leave the city ; but we stuck to our determination 
 of seeing M. Batouyeff before nightfall. Riding 
 
 G 2 
 
80 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 out of the southern gate, we emerged on to a dry 
 river-bed, on either banks of which stood several 
 substantial and well-built houses of Chinese archi- 
 tecture. At the head of the valley stood, apart 
 from the others, a single dwelling a I'Europeenne — a 
 pretty two-storied house with verandah and gaily 
 coloured Venetians, standing in a spacious garden, 
 down the centre path of which, as soon as we came 
 in sight, two white-clad Europeans hurried to meet 
 us. 
 
 One of these proved to be M. Ivanoff — partner of 
 M. Batouyeff, who was, he explained, at that time 
 away at Chefoo for a couple of months, enjoying the 
 sea breezes after a residence of five years here with- 
 out a break. Luckily for us M. Ivdnoff spoke 
 English fluently, having spent several years at 
 Tientsin. He laughed outright when we asked him 
 to direct us to the inn. " Ah, gentlemen, I hope 
 you have not such a poor opinion of Russian hospi- 
 tality as that," said our friend, as he led the way up 
 the neat gravel walk, lined with rose and geranium 
 beds, to the house — where we found two large airy 
 bedrooms, a sitting-room, and, best of all, a large 
 bath-room placed at our disposal. " I do not live 
 here myself, but my clerk will do anything for you. 
 You have but to call ' Michailof.' He lives next 
 door. Dinner will be served at eight o'clock. 
 Grentlemen, I wish you good evening, and will do 
 myself the pleasure of calling upon you again to- 
 morrow." 
 
 Here was luxury indeed. The sight of the bed 
 was almost too much for me. I felt inclined to 
 forego dinner altogether, jump in, and revel in its 
 
PBKIN TO KALGAN. 81 
 
 clean, soft sheets and white dainty curtains ! A 
 delicious -warm bath, a change of clothes, and we 
 found ourselves seated at an open window, looking 
 down upon the moon-bathed valley of Yambooshan, 
 enjoying an excellent dinner a la russe, washed down 
 by a still more excellent bottle of Chateau Lafitte. 
 " Here's to the Russians," said Lancaster, as we 
 tossed off for the first time a " chasse " of that 
 insidious, but delicious liqueur " Vodka." " How 
 the English do misunderstand them," I echoed : a 
 sentiment I have since had occasion to repeat more 
 than once, when travelling through the Asiatic 
 realms of the Great White Czar. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 KALGAN, OB CHANG-OHIA-KOW. 
 
 We had intended making a stay of four or five 
 days, at the most, at Kalgan. This, tve thought, 
 would give us ample time to get carts, camels, and 
 men for the crossing of the Grreat Gobi Desert; 
 for, we had been led to believe, when at Tientsin, 
 that there would not be the slightest necessity for 
 remaining more than a day or so at the frontier 
 city, unless we particularly wished to do so. But, 
 alas ! as at Pekin, fresh difficulties cropped up 
 hourly ; and when we broached to M. Ivanoff our 
 intention of leaving for Ourga in three or four days' 
 time, he simply laughed in our faces. 
 
 " You must recollect you are not in Europe, " 
 said the hospitable Russian, " and also that Mongols 
 are worse even than Chinamen in the matter of 
 delay. Moreover, I shall have to get your carts 
 built, a question of ten days at the very least. 
 The camels, too, are all out on the plains. No, 
 gentlemen; I fear you must make up your minds 
 to at least a fortnight's imprisonment in Kalgan ! " 
 
 There was nothing for it under the circumstances 
 but to smile and look pleasant, thanking Providence, 
 meanwhile, for giving us such comfortable quarters. 
 
KAIiGAN, OR CHANG-CHIA-EOW. 83 
 
 The house of our host was by no means the kind 
 of dwelling one would expect to find in this out-of- 
 the-way corner of the earth. We had pictured to 
 ourselves a rough wooden shanty — we found a well- 
 built stone house with cool, lofty bedrooms, a pretty 
 drawing-room, with grand piano and bright chintzes, 
 singing-birds, and flowers ; and French windows 
 opening on to the creeper-covered verandah, whence 
 one looked on to the beautiful valley of Kalgan. At 
 one's feet a shady garden wherein roses, Eucharis 
 lilies, jasmine, mignonette, and other flowers grew 
 in wild profusion, though untended and uncared for ; 
 while in the far distance the Great Wall of China, 
 now towering on a summit, now lost in a valley, 
 wound like a huge serpent, its course of two thousand 
 miles. Nor were the more substantial things of life 
 uncared for, for our host had an excellent cook, and 
 in this land of milk and honey there was no lack 
 of material for his culinary efforts. The Kalgan 
 mutton is excellent, and potatoes, cauliflowers, 
 cabbages, peas, lettuce, even asparagus, thrive there, 
 all imported from Russia, to say nothing of Chinese 
 vegetables with unpronounceable names, and still 
 more curious taste. Our host's cook was an artist ; 
 his claret undeniable; his cigars good. We had 
 certainly fallen upon our feet at Kalgan. 
 
 The latter is built on the banks of a broad, swift- 
 flowing river. Running at right angles to this, 
 between two precipitous mountains, is the narrower 
 gorge of Yambooshan, the houses thereof standing 
 outside the gates of the city, and built close into 
 the side of the hills, portions of which in some 
 cases had been blasted away to admit them. There 
 
84 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 is a reason for this. The dry, shingly road, which 
 in summer serves as highway to thousands of cara- 
 vans, becomes in winter a roaring torrent, which 
 sweeps down the valley with terrific force to join 
 the larger stream, at times occasioning great loss of 
 life. At the time of our visit, the river-bed was 
 absolutely dry, though the preceding winter had been 
 a severe one, and much damage had been done in 
 the spring. 
 
 We spent a good deal of our time watching the 
 caravans as they jingled and rattled along the stony 
 river-bed to or from Pekin. Many were laden with 
 wood cut into logs and brought from the mountains 
 near Ourga, across the desert, for wood is scarce 
 in Northern China, and I do not think we passed 
 more than a dozen trees in all the whole way from the 
 capital to the Great Wall. Between Yambooshan 
 and the city of Kalgan is the " Gap," where the 
 road narrows to a width of about nine feet. It is 
 frora this the city takes its name, the word " Kalga " 
 signifying in the Mongolian tongue a gap or gate. 
 It has been estimated that three hundred and fifty 
 thousand chests of tea pass through here annually, 
 for every caravan is bound to pass Kalgan on its 
 way east or west. There is no other road. Thus 
 about forty million chests of tea pass through 
 annually to Mongolia and Siberia, and Ivdnoff (who 
 has much experience in these matters) was of 
 opinion that when the projected line from Irkoutsk 
 to Tomsk is completed, there will be a further 
 increase of a hundred and fifty thousand chests, 
 making in all the enormous total of five hundred 
 thousand chests annually. No railway can ever be 
 
OR CHANG-CHIA-KOW. 85 
 
 made across Gobi. The means of transit must 
 always remain wliat it has ever been, i.e. by the 
 " Ship of the Desert." 
 
 ' The best tea never leaves China, and nearly all 
 the next best in quality goes to Eussia. Few people 
 in England know what good tea really is. An 
 immense trade in Asiatic Russia is done in what 
 is known as brick tea, an article I shall describe 
 later on, and which is drunk chiefly by the Mongols 
 and lower classes in Siberia. This is pressed into 
 oblong cakes, about two pounds in weight, and is 
 made of tea dust, stalks, and refuse, mixed with 
 bullocks' blood, to give it a flavour. I never tasted 
 a viler concoction in my life. 
 
 " You English boil your tea," Ivdnoff would say, 
 when on his favourite topic. " How can you expect 
 to get it good ? " And there is no doubt much in 
 this. I got into a habit in Siberia and Russia of 
 drinking tea at all hours of the day and night, and 
 learnt to make it a la Busse — two teaspoonfuls to 
 each cup ; then pour boiling water into the pot, so 
 as just to cover the leaves, and at once pour it out 
 again, afterwards adding the requisite amount of 
 liquid. Let it stand for two or three minutes at 
 most, and drink. The Russians never drink their 
 tea twice over, as we do, but change the leaves and 
 the pot every fresh brew. This makes a good deal 
 more difference than some may thinks I have heard 
 English people deny that overland tea is any better 
 than that sent by sea, but I do not think there 
 can be any real doubt about it. As a matter of fact, 
 genuine overland tea very rarely finds its way to 
 England. 
 
86 PROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 The city of Kalgan proper, reminded one more 
 of an Egyptian or Arab town than a Chinese one. 
 The dwellings are of baked mud, unwhitewashed, 
 and flat roofed. Some are ornamented with 
 arabesques, and gaily-striped awnings, many of 
 their facades being half hidden with clustering 
 vines. The " Yamen," or court-house, is the only 
 building of pure Chinese architecture in the whole 
 place, and one felt, when taking a stroll through its 
 busy streets and covered bazaars, as if one had 
 been suddenly transplanted from the heart of the 
 Chinese Empire to some town in Central Asia. 
 There is more colour, too, than in most Chinese 
 towns, the eternal dark blue or white dress of the 
 natives being relieved by the gaudy dresses and 
 barbaric trappings of the Mongolian Tartar. The 
 very smell of the place, too, was different to those 
 we had passed through, the half fishy, half spicy 
 odour with which every traveller in Northern China 
 is familiar, being superseded by the sickly smell of 
 argol-smoke, old rags, and general filth that clings 
 to the Mongol wherever he goes. They were not 
 reassuring to look at, these Mongols. It was not 
 pleasant to think that a fortnight more would 
 see us consigned to the tender mercies of this wild, 
 nomad race, two solitary Europeans, alone and 
 unprotected in the great desert of the Cobi. At 
 first sight the Mongol Tartar decidedly inspired us 
 with respect, not to say mistrust. 
 
 Here, as in Pekin, the dust acts as a disinfectant, 
 and Kalgan is by no means an unhealthy place, 
 though the heat in summer is as severe as in 
 winter the cold is intense. I know no place so in- 
 
EALGAN, OR CHANG-OHIA-KOW. 87 
 
 spiriting on a fine day, so depressing on a dull one, 
 as Kalgan. In the former case all was animation, 
 life, and colour. The sky of a Mediterranean blue, 
 and the verdant, smiling hills and gaily-coloured 
 verandahs and dresses of the natives, coupled vrith 
 the keen, inspiriting air, enlivened the spirits like a 
 glass of champagne ; but on a dull or rainy day every- 
 thing around looked dark and depressing. A kind 
 of fog hung over everything, over the mountain 
 tops wreathed in dank, white mist, the grey, lower- 
 ing sky, and brown, mud-coloured dwellings, while 
 the white crosses in the Russian cemetery, just 
 to the right of our house, stood out with uncom- 
 fortable prominence. It was on days like this that 
 one realized how far one was from England, how 
 many leagues of unknown country lay between us 
 and home. 
 
 Dull days were in the minority, however, and our 
 time passed pleasantly enough, if somewhat unevent- 
 fully, at Kalgan. There were but eleven European 
 residents in all, five of them belonging to the two 
 Russian tea firms, the remainder to an American 
 Mission established here ten years ago. " We ai'e 
 like the rival editors in Peek-Veek," said Ivanoff one 
 day, alluding to himself and his confrere in the tea- 
 trade. " We do not speak ; and have not for some 
 years." I was not a little surprised to find our host 
 so well up in English literature, till I heard that 
 Dickens, as well as many other standard authors, has 
 been largely translated into Russian, and has an 
 enormous sale at Irkoutsk (our friend's native place), 
 and other parts of Siberia. 
 
 We called on the mission one day, whose head- 
 
88 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 quarters are in a substantially stone-built house 
 standing in beautiful gardens on the outskirts of 
 the city. One might almost have imagined oneself 
 in some country parsonage in England, drinking 
 tea in a cool, pretty drawing-room, while a fresh, 
 sweet smell stole in through the French windows 
 from the hay and clover fields. Four were lady 
 missionaries, two of whom were certificated doctors, 
 who had, Ivanoff told us, done wonders in the 
 epidemic of typhus that had visited Kalgan two 
 years previously, and by their untiring efforts and 
 wonderful cures had made many converts. We 
 were welcomed, on entering the house, by a pretty 
 little Chinese lady, unaccountably so, as we thought, 
 for one of her race. The mystery was explained 
 ■when she invited us to be seated, in our own language, 
 and further told us that although she had adopted 
 
 Chinese costume, she was an American. Mrs. S 
 
 had only been married three months, and had come 
 straight from ISTew York to Kalgan, to share her 
 husband's fortunes in the wilds, for she was about 
 to leave for a mission four hundred miles from 
 Kalgan, situated in one of the most dangerous dis- 
 tricts of the Chinese Empire. Her husband came 
 in shortly after, also in Chinese costume, with the 
 addition of a pigtail ! It is a rule that every one 
 connected with this society shall wear native 
 dress ; and when at their posts in Central China 
 the missionaries are expected to eat like the 
 natives. I could not help pitying the pretty, 
 delicate-looking little woman vfhen I thought of 
 the trials and dangers she was embarking on. 
 She seemed quite undismayed, however, and 
 
KALQAN, OR CHANG-CHIA-KOW. 89 
 
 laughed and prattled away about tte career she 
 had choseu like a child — indeed she was little more 
 than one in years. 
 
 We stayed to dinner, and bade adieu to our hosts 
 at sundown, having to be outside the city gates 
 before seven o'clock. 
 
 Arrived at the Great Gate of the city, on our 
 homeward way, we found ourselves, together with 
 some dozen other unfortunate beings, locked out, 
 or rather in, for the night. All our efforts to 
 induce the gate-keeper to let us out were fruitless, 
 for he simply responded to our frantic signs and 
 gestures with a grin and shrug of the shoulders, 
 and crawled back into his foul- smelling den, to dis- 
 cuss the mess of pigs' entrails, slugs, or some 
 Chinese delicacy of a like description, which con- 
 stituted his evening meal. The position was awk- 
 ward. To climb the walls was out of the question. 
 Their height precluded that, for the city walls of 
 Kalgan are at this point actually part of the Great 
 "Wall of China itself. The only way out of the 
 dilemma was to drop a distance of thirty feet or so 
 on to some rocks at a point about three hundred to 
 four hundred yards from the gate, but we preferred 
 even a night in a tea-house, to a sojourn of a month 
 or two at Kalgan, tied down with a broken leg. 
 There was nothing for it but to sit down patiently 
 and trust to Ivanoff's coming to release us, though 
 that seemed unlikely enough, seeing that he lived 
 some distance from BatouyefE's house, and never 
 visited it after nightfall. Matters were not im- 
 proved by a thin drizzling rain which began to fall 
 after we had waited nearly an hour, and drove us 
 
90 MOM PBKIN TO OALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 to seek refuge in a crowded tea-house close by the 
 gates, the resort of the gay dogs of Kalgan who are 
 locked out of their homes for the night. The stench 
 and smoke, though, soon drove us out again, to say 
 nothing of the aggressive curiosity of the inmates, 
 the greater part of whom were Mongols. Nine 
 o'clock, ten, eleven o'clock passed, and yet no 
 Ivanoff, or signs of a rescue from our awkward 
 situation. "We should long before have tried an 
 expedient that seldom fails in any country, never 
 in China, but alas ! we had no cash. At one o'clock, 
 a.m., we gave it up as a bad job, and had resolved 
 to get what sleep we could on the ground, wet and 
 miry as it was, when, in searching for a light, I 
 came upon a hard round siibstance in my waistcoat 
 pocket, and found a dollar that had reposed there 
 ever since the day I last wore the garment, six 
 weeks ago, in Shanghai. Armed with this, I 
 entered the old janitor's den. He was still awake, 
 smoking and crooning over the dying embers of an 
 argol fire. The effect was instantaneous. In less 
 than five minutes the mercenary old wretch had 
 summoned help from the tea-shop, which was still 
 blazing with light, and crowded with people. After 
 much difl&culty and labour, unbolting and unbarring, 
 the heavy gates, guided by the efforts of six men, 
 swung slowly back upon their hinges and let us out, 
 stiff, cramped, and in a fiendish temper, but free, 
 and followed by the ragged rabble who had been 
 our fellow-captives, and who luckily for us led us 
 direct for Batouyeff's house, for we should never 
 have found our way alone. An excellent supper 
 soon made amends for our discomfort. All had 
 
KALGAN, OE CHANG-CHIA-KOW. 91 
 
 retired to rest, thinking we had slept at the Mission- 
 house. 
 
 As I have said, a bitter feud existed between 
 Ivanoff and his confrere ; but the postmaster, M. 
 Kolestnikoff, and our host were firm friends. Both, 
 too, were ardent sportsmen, and invited us one 
 morning to join them in a day's shooting in the hills 
 and ravines round Kalgan. Ivanoff's costume was 
 somewhat singular, consisting of a suit of spotless 
 white canvas, silk socks and dancing-pumps, while 
 round his neck was slung an enormous field-glass. 
 Politeness forbade my making inquiries till we got 
 to the shooting-ground. I imagined, at least, that 
 we were going deerstalking, judging from the 
 caution our Russian friends displayed in climbing 
 about the crags and peaks. It was terribly hard 
 chmbing, and our hands were torn and bleeding 
 when we reached the summit of the mountain, about 
 a mile from the house, where the day's sport was 
 to commence. Here I was somewhat surprised to 
 see Ivanoff lay down his gun, and gravely unsling- 
 ing his huge pair of glasses, intently scan the rocks 
 of a mountain separated from us by a narrow ravine. 
 Evidently they are after deer, I thought, thankful 
 that I had brought some bullet cartridges with me, 
 when suddenly our host dropped the glasses and 
 seized my arm. Following the direction in which 
 he was pointing, I made out, with some difficulty, 
 what looked like a covey of partridges sunning 
 themselves on the plain eighty or a hundred feet 
 below us. " "Will you shoot first ? " said Ivanoff", 
 cocking a huge muzzle-loader almost the size of a 
 duck gun. " But are we not going to walk them 
 
92 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 up ? " asked Lancaster, who, like myself, was some- 
 wliat bewildered at their strange proceedings. 
 " "Walk them up ? " inquired the Russian, with a 
 puzzled look, " walk them up ? what do you mean ? 
 No, no, shoot from here, I will show you," and 
 lying flat on his stomach, he took deliberate aim at 
 the unconscious victims. Bang went the old field- 
 piece with a report that woke a thousand echoes 
 from the hills around, and must have been heard 
 distinctly at Kalgan, over a mile oflP. When the 
 thick white smoke cleared away, but one little 
 brown body lay extended on the ground, a sight 
 which was received with rapturous applause by 
 the postmaster, who was watching the proceed- 
 ings from a rock higher up. We shot, or rather 
 climbed and fell about, till mid-day, but saw no 
 more birds. If the sport was not first-class, the 
 excitement was intense. In some of the places we 
 literally had to hold on by our eyelids, and squeeze 
 past sheer falls of two or three hundred feet, on to 
 the sharp, rugged rocks below. Ivanoff" afterwards 
 told us that a brace is accounted a good bag at 
 Kalgan, which seems curious when the desert hard 
 by teems with game of all kinds. Perhaps, though, 
 the method practised by our Kalgan friends had 
 something to do with the small bags. 
 
 We crossed the Great Wall of China on our way 
 home, or rather a portion of it that had broken 
 away and left a mass of shapeless stone and rubble. 
 Its height is wonderfully deceptive. Seen from the 
 valley it looked five or six feet high at the very 
 most, but on taking the trouble to measure its 
 dimensions, we found it to be twenty -three feet in 
 
KALGAN, OR OHANfi-CHU-KOW. 93 
 
 height, about twelve feet wide at the base, and 
 seven at the top. It has a tumble-down, dilapidated 
 appearance, for, saving the square battlemented 
 towers that are built in it at every four hundred 
 yards or so, it is uncemented, and composed of huge 
 loose stones gradually decreasing in size as they 
 near the coping. Though the stones have rolled 
 away in places and left great gaps in the structure, 
 one only realizes on approaching it close — at 
 Kalgan no easy matter — what a herculean work 
 the building of this barrier two thousand miles long 
 must have been. The stones of which it is com- 
 posed are so time-worn and moss-covered that it is 
 almost impossible to say ta what species they 
 belong ; they seemed mostly of one kind, and 
 extremely heavy. I managed to secure three small 
 ones for paper weights, while Ivanoff and Kolestni- 
 koff "kept cave," the Mongols and Chinese being 
 very jealous of any interference with their property 
 or institutions. At the same time no one ever 
 dreams of repairing the gaps, though it would be 
 easy enough. As the reader is probably aware, 
 the Great Wall of China was built about 300 B.o. 
 by the Chinese, as a defence against the Tartar 
 hordes who were then ravaging the countries 
 bordering on their frontier. 
 
 We had now been at Kalgan nearly ten days, 
 and our carts were approaching completion, but 
 there were as yet no signs of the camels. Two 
 suspicious-looking gentlemen (a Mongol and a 
 Chinese) called on us one evening with a plausible 
 tale of being able to bring us eight camels on the 
 morrow, and, that we might be delayed no longer, 
 
 H 
 
94 FROM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 themselves undertook to guide us across the desert 
 to Ourga. IvAnoff was then away for two days, 
 and on my replying that I could give no definite 
 answer without consulting him, the faces of our 
 visitors lengthened considerably. Their intention 
 was probably to rob and desert us, for on seeing 
 that we were determined to await our host's return 
 before closing with them, they vanished to return 
 no more. A more villainous-looking couple I have 
 seldom seen, and if appearance goes for anything, 
 there is no doubt they meant mischief. 
 
 The camels arrived on_ the tenth day, four days 
 sooner than expected, and we set about making 
 preparations for a start without further delay. The 
 caravan was, according to Ivanoff's arrangement, 
 to consist of sixteen camels, three carts, and three 
 ponies, under the escort of three Mongol guides. 
 "We found it quite hopeless to attempt to pronounce 
 their names, so christened them, for purposes of 
 identification, Moses, Aaron, and Sylvia, the latter 
 from his striking, though somewhat grotesque, like- 
 ness to a burlesque actress of that name who graces 
 the boards of the Gaiety Theatre in London. 
 Though Sylvia was a pleasant-looking, good- 
 tempered boy of about twenty, his companions were 
 positively repulsive. Each wore the Mongol cos- 
 tume, a loose, long gown, thickly coated all down 
 the front with mutton fat, grease, and other abomi- 
 nations, for a Mongol's coat is his dinner -napkin. 
 All were armed with short, ugly-looking knives, 
 while Moses, in his capacity of leader, carried a rusty 
 horse-pistol which looked as if it had been made 
 about the same date as the Great Wall, and which 
 
KAtiGAN, OR OHANG-OHIA-KOW. 95 
 
 if discliarged, would probably have done him far 
 more injury than his opponent. 
 
 The transit of the Desert of Gobi is accomplished 
 by the regular heavy Russian post (established 1860) 
 in something under twenty-five days from Kiakhta, 
 but we expected to take considerably longer. The 
 post caravans are under the direction of experienced 
 Mongol mail-men and Cossacks, who know the road 
 to an inch, although there is, of course, no beaten 
 track to guide them. Our guides were of a somewhat 
 primitive order, and, as we afterwards discovered, 
 often considerably out both as to time and distance. 
 Some Chinese tea-merchants strolled into the yard 
 the day before we left, while we were getting the 
 packing-cases settled evenly on the camels' backs. 
 They evidently did not think much of our caravan, 
 and more than one of them, Jee Boo told me, 
 openly expressed an opinion that we should never 
 get across with such weak camels and inexperienced 
 men. Truly we could not have chosen a worse time 
 to start so far as the strength of the camels was 
 concerned. As to the men, T felt we must take our 
 chance, but I was somewhat uneasy, and did not 
 enjoy the excellent dinner (our last civilized meal 
 for some time) that Ivanoff provided for us so much 
 as I should have done under ordinary circumstances. 
 It was too late now, however, to make any altera- 
 tions, and we retired to rest earlier than usual, so 
 as to make an early start in the morning for Da- 
 Hun-Gro, the last settlement or hamlet on the Chinese 
 side before the desert city of Ourga (600 miles dis- 
 tant) is reached. 
 
 Iv4noff was to accompany us as -far as our first 
 
 H 2 
 
96 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 halting-place, about twenty miles distant. The 
 carts had already started when, at 10.30 (on the 
 morning of the 8th of July), we set out for Da- 
 Hun-Cxo. 
 
 It was a bright and lovely morning. The first 
 hour or two of our journey lay through the dry 
 river bed — or caravan road — on which we passed 
 many strings of bullock-carts, but few camels. 
 About nine miles from Kalgan, and half-way to 
 Da-Hun- Go, we passed " Tutinza," a Mongol word 
 signifying " Cave Town." Tutinza, which contained 
 about eight hundred inhabitants, could not have 
 been better named, as the houses are literally built 
 into the sides of the hill, and are roofless, although 
 they belonged to well-to-do Chinamen, and were 
 well and even luxuriously furnished inside ; while 
 here and there among them were pretty flower- 
 gardens and clustering vines. Seen from a distance, 
 the appearance of the blue and white clad figures 
 moving about among the pathways intersecting the 
 caves was very curious. It looked like a huge ant- 
 hill. Nearly opposite the village is " The Target of 
 Tamerlan," a mountain about three or four hundred 
 feet high, the summit of which is perforated by a 
 clean-cut circular aperture about thirty feet in 
 diameter, plainly visible from the road below. A 
 freak of nature, no doubt ; but the Mongols say that 
 this hole was made by an arrow shot by the Tartar 
 hero. Jee Boo derisively remarked to Moses that 
 Tamerlan must have had a very large bow, which 
 only elicited a grunt in reply, and made our leader 
 look, if possible, more ill-tempered and villainous 
 than ever. 
 
KALGAN, OE CHANG-CHIA-KOW. 97 
 
 The long rest at Kalgan had put our ponies in rare 
 trim, and when we had left the rocky valley and got 
 on to the grass plains that bound the valley of Da- 
 Hun-Go, they tore away with us at such apace that 
 it took Ivanoff, who was riding an antiquated steed 
 purchased from a Cossack courier, all his time to 
 keep up with us. Before reaching the plains, we 
 ascended for the last time the ridge of mountainous 
 rocks separating China from the plains of Mongolia. 
 There is a gradual rise of about fifteen hundred feet 
 from Kalgan to Da-Hun-Go, from which point the 
 desert extends, flat and unbroken, with the excep- 
 tion of gentle undulations, and a few ridges of rock, 
 to the borders of Siberia. So steep was the ascent 
 that we had to get ofE and lead our ponies, and 
 though only three hundred feet high, it took the 
 carts nearly two hours to accomplish it. Halfway 
 up we met a caravan of bullock-carts, each with 
 three or four men hanging on behind with ropes to 
 act as breaks. Even with these precautions two or 
 three lay smashed to pieces on the road-side. It is 
 a curious fact, seeing the rough work they go through, 
 that these vehicles are built entirely of wood, and 
 have not a scrap of iron or other metal in their 
 construction. About four o'clock we came to a 
 dilapidated, crumbling wall about fifteen feet in 
 height, a branch of the Great Wall of China, which, 
 running at right angles to it for about thirty miles, 
 forms the boundary between Inner Mongolia and 
 China. A kind of gap or gate fifteen to twenty 
 feet broad, marked the caravan road. Passing 
 through this, we turned and looked our last on the 
 Chinese Empire, and by five o'clock had reached 
 
98 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 our camping-ground, a green stretch of meadow - 
 land, watered by a clear running stream, on the 
 borders of which cattle, sheep, and ponies were 
 grazing. 
 
 Half a dozen brick and wooden houses composed 
 the village of Da-Hun-Go. While the tents were 
 being struck, we strolled out with our guns, but 
 though we saw plenty of game, duck, snipe, and a 
 species of moor-hen in plenty, we could get nowhere 
 near them. "We would willingly have stayed here a 
 day, but that the Mongols when once off are as 
 hard to stop as a switchback railway until they have 
 reached their destination, long or short as the 
 journey may be. On our return we found the fires 
 lit and a comfortable meal prepared for us by Jee 
 Boo. Ivanoff stayed the night, and slept in the 
 tent, but we preferred doubling up in our carts, 
 the night being so cold, that one was glad of a thick 
 sheepskin even in the close, stuffy vehicles. "We 
 slept soundly, lulled by the murmur of the brook, 
 and were rather loth to move, when Jee Boo brought 
 us the matutinal cup of cocoa and a biscuit. But 
 the camels were already packed, and although it was 
 then only six, the indefatigable IvanofE had been up 
 an hour superintending everything and giving final 
 instructions for our comfort and safety to the 
 Mongols, an utterly useless proceeding, I afterwards 
 thought, when I got to know this unique race better, 
 for whatever is said to them, except for their own 
 benefit, invariably goes in at one ear and out of the 
 other. 
 
 We left Da- Hun-Go at seven o'clock, taking leave 
 of our kindly host with much the same feeling that 
 
'J-^' 
 
KALGAN, OE CHANG-OHIA-KOW. 99 
 
 a man experiences when embarking for the first time 
 on a long sea voyage, with the difference that we 
 had but a very faint notion of when we should reach 
 poi-t, and but a very vague idea of the hardships 
 and fatigue to be undergone before we regained 
 comparative civilization at Kiakhta. At length all 
 was ready. The tent and water-barrels packed, 
 carts harnessed, and ponies saddled. Moses, mount- 
 ing a wiry little beast about twelve hands high, led 
 the way, while Aaron took the lead on the foremost 
 camel, Sylvia bringing up the rear and hunting up 
 the stragglers, who were continually breaking loose 
 from the line as they stopped to gather the sweet 
 fresh pasture through which we travelled, A final 
 squeeze of the hand to IvAnoff, a crack of Moses' 
 heavy whip, and the caravan slowly moved away to 
 the deep boom-booming of the camel bells, a music 
 which, though it sounded musical and pleasing 
 enough at first, we were heartily sick and tired 
 of long before reaching Ourga. As we turned 
 a corner of the road and took a last look at the 
 vanishing figure of our friend and host, it was with 
 a feeling of loneliness and depression, hardly won- 
 derful, perhaps, when we realized that for nearly 
 one thousand miles in distance and more than a 
 month in time we should see no other Europeans, 
 and very few natives. ISTor was it reassuring to 
 think that we were for the next month entirely at 
 the mercy of the three ragged, disreputable indivi- 
 duals who constituted our escort, and who might, if 
 they so pleased, murder, rob, or desert us with 
 impunity, so far as any fear of punishment was con- 
 cerned. Siberia, to say nothing of Russia and 
 
100 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 France, seemed very far away that bright July 
 morning as we slowly started off, on the first im- 
 portant stage of the long land journey from Pekin 
 to Calais. 
 
 We were nearly four hours getting out of the 
 valley of Da-Hun-Gro, one of the prettiest bits of 
 scenery we passed during the whole of our voyage. 
 The ravine itself is a little over a mile broad, with 
 low undulating green hills on either side. Flocks of 
 sheep dotted their sides, and an occasional crimson 
 and gold Buddhist temple flashed in the sun on their 
 summits and broke the sky-line. Through the 
 centre of the valley ran a tumbling, foaming brook 
 alive with trout, its banks fringed with sweet -smell- 
 ing flowers, and about fifty yards from its brink the 
 brown, well-trodden caravan road, which from here to 
 the borders of the desert proper is clearly defined. 
 One might have been in one of the loveliest parts of 
 England. Wild hyacinths, cowslips, wild dog-roses, 
 periwinkles, and daisies grew on all sides in the long, 
 sweet grass through which our ponies almost 
 laboured knee-deep, while in the distance the low 
 sweet notes of a cuckoo heightened the illusion, and 
 recalled lovely bits of scenery in Devonshire or 
 Wales. 
 
 We entered, later in the day, a sterile, burnt-up- 
 looking country, thickly covered with clumps of 
 thick, wiry grass, over which the camel carts 
 plunged and rolled in a very painful manner. I 
 retired to my cart about five o'clock for a rest, and, 
 tired out with my long ride in the sun, fell asleep. 
 The sun was low in the heavens when I awoke, 
 and looked out of the little window. All traces of 
 
KALGAN, OE CHANG-OHIA-KOW. 101 
 
 vegetation had vanished, while straight in front of 
 us rose a low range of yellow sand-hills, through 
 which stunted wisps of light green grass struggled 
 at intervals. On the near side of these were a couple 
 of circular tents, some dogs, and ponies standing 
 hard by ; on the far side of the sand-hills the sea, or 
 what appeared so exactly like it, that I had to rub 
 my eyes to make sure I was not dreaming. There 
 it was ; the great level waste looking exactly as it 
 does when lit up at sunset, by the rays of the setting 
 sun after a hot summer's day in England, Low 
 yellow sand-hills, too, heightened the illusion, and 
 stood out clear and distinct against the grey 
 expanse and unbroken horizon. At this moment 
 my ruminations were rudely broken in upon by 
 Moses. Appearing suddenly at the side of my 
 cart, he thrust his flat, ill-favoured face in at the 
 window, and extending a long, skinny forefinger, 
 pointed to the darkening waste. " Shamo," ^ he 
 muttered in a hoarse, guttural voice. Then I knew 
 we had reached the confines of the " Great Hungry 
 Desert." 
 
 ' Mongol name for Gobi Desert. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DESERT OP GOBI. 
 
 The population of Mongolia, an elevated plateau 
 lying about four thousand feet above sea-level, is 
 roughly estimated at between three and four millions, 
 but the diflBculties of obtaining anything like an 
 accurate census of the tribes inhabitating this vast 
 tableland are obvious. Of this number, over thirty 
 thousand inhabit Urga, the capital and residence of 
 the " Kootookta," or living God of the Mongol reli- 
 gion, "Buddhism." The power of this human deity 
 is purely nominal. He is allowed to reign on suffer- 
 ance by the Emperor of China, who governs, more 
 or less nominally, the whole of Mongolia, from 
 the Siberian frontier to the mountains of Tibet. 
 The Mongol Tartars pay tax, though somewhat 
 irregularly, to the Pekin Government, the native 
 khans or princes being responsible for the revenues 
 of their several " khanates " or districts. 
 
 The name " Gobi " is given by the Mongols to any 
 district more or less destitute of water, but the 
 desert, where we crossed it, presents but few of the 
 characteristics with which we usually associate the 
 name. It may better be described as a vast plain 
 or steppe, extending from the northern side of the 
 
THE DBSBET OP GOBI. 103 
 
 Great Wall of China to the Russian frontier-town of 
 Kiakhta, a distance of over eight hundred miles. 
 With the exception, however, of about fifty miles 
 of sandy waste midway across, the north-western 
 portion is seldom entirely devoid of vegetation of 
 some sort or another, be it rich, luxuriant pasture, 
 or dry, withered scrub. Perhaps the most curious 
 thing about this so-called desert is, that although 
 grass is so plentiful, and in many places wild flowers 
 grow in profusion, water is very scarce. In the 
 summer months frequent and heavy rain storms do 
 much to lessen this evil, but the Tartars suff"er 
 terribly at times from the drought, which sometimes 
 lasts a year or more. Notwithstanding, the climate 
 is healthy, and serious epidemics, such as cholera or 
 typhus, unknown. 
 
 There are three caravan routes from the Great 
 Wall to Urga. Along each of these wells have 
 been dug eight to ten feet deep, and at intervals of 
 twenty to thirty miles ; but we found the water 
 in most of them thick and brackish, in many un- 
 drinkable, and had every reason to be sorry, long 
 before we reached Urga, that we had not laid in 
 a larger stock of soda-water at Shanghai. 
 
 Our guides were not cheerful companions. 
 Moses seldom spoke, Aaron never. Sylvia, how- 
 ever, was the life and soul of the caravan. His 
 spirits never flagged for an instant, and when- 
 ever he could talk to no one else, he would hold 
 long conversations in a loud tone with the camel 
 he bestrode, occasionally bursting into song. The 
 Mongols do not squeak when they sing, as the 
 Chinese do, but their voices are as harsh and in- 
 
104 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 harmonious as tiieir songs, "whicli are generally in 
 tlie minor key, and very doleful and depressing. 
 
 I will not weary the reader with a daily descrip- 
 tion of the scenery passed between Kalgan and 
 Urga. It may be described in very few words : 
 Fourteen days of undulating grass plain, mono- 
 tonous and unbroken, save byan occasional" Yourt" ' 
 or encampment, four days of deep, sandy desert 
 interspersed with two ridges of rock, one hundred 
 and fifty to two hundred feet high, so steep as to be 
 almost impracticable for the carts. Five more days 
 of green plain with intervals of gravel, thickly 
 covered with the brightly coloured transparent 
 stones, for which Gobi is famous. Such is a brief 
 but sufficient description of the twenty-three days 
 we occupied in reaching Urga. But for the tract 
 of sandy desert half-way, nothing meets the eye, 
 day after day, week after week, but one long dreary 
 succession of waves of plain, which reminded me of 
 nothing so much as the ocean. Not a solitary 
 object, animate or inanimate, broke the dull, desolate 
 landscape, save when at rare intervals we sighted a 
 Tartar tent, gleaming white in the sunshine, and 
 looking in the far distance like some white sea-bird 
 asleep on the billows of this huge sea of verdure. 
 Beyond the capital, however, the country becomes 
 more accentuated, and there are woods, mountains, 
 and rivers, to gladden the eye after the long, 
 monotonous desert journey, of which we were 
 heartily sick long before we reached the sacred city 
 of the Kootookta. 
 
 I fondly imagined I had reached the acme of dis- 
 ' A Mongol tent or encampment. 
 
THE DESUBT OE GOBI. 105 
 
 comfort and misery in a mule-litter, but the latter 
 is a bed of roses compared to the boxes of human 
 suffering in which we crossed Mongolia. Imagine 
 a kind of oblong vehicle, eight feet long by three 
 wide, and four feet high, the body of the cart of 
 rough unpainted wood, the roof or covering of 
 canvas, thickly smeared with Chinese varnish, which 
 in wet, or very hot weather, exuded the most in- 
 tolerable smell. Two doors with small square holes 
 therein, let in the air and light (also occasionally 
 the rain), while a mattress and a couple of large 
 feather pillows acted as a buffer, without which 
 one's body and head would in a very short time 
 have been one mass of bruises. To say that these 
 somewhat' primitive vehicles shake would be in- 
 correct. They leap and bound even on a fairly good 
 road, beating and pounding the wretched inmate 
 into a jelly; over stony ground it is next to impos- 
 sible to remain in them for any length of time 
 without a splitting headache, and a feeling as if 
 every individual bone in one's body had been torn 
 from its socket and put back again. I do not wish 
 my bitterest enemy a worse fate than a night of 
 rough caravan work in Mongolia. We often walked 
 till one in the morning, in preference to the in- 
 tolerable shaking, which affected the nerves and 
 mind almost as much as it injured the body. 
 
 With the exception of a forty-eight hours' rest at 
 Urga, the day's work never varied, from the time 
 we left Kalgan till we rode through the Russian out- 
 posts at Kiakhta. At daybreak (between five and 
 six a.m.) Sylvia would gallop off on a pony and 
 bring in the camels which, turned loose at the halt, 
 
106 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS J3Y LAND. 
 
 had strayed away in search of pasture, till, at sunrise, 
 some of them wave mere specks on the horizon. 
 Breakfast (a cup of cocoa and a biscuit) over, the 
 caravan was usually well under weigh by half-past 
 six. The pace was not exhilarating, it seldom 
 attained the rate of three miles an hour, never 
 exceeded it. We then travelled on, riding or 
 walking, till two o'clock p.m., when tents were 
 pitched, and, if near a well, the water-barrels 
 filled. The midday meal consisted of a tin of 
 preserved meat and rice, or, if in a game district, a 
 duck or sand-grouse sometimes enlivened this some- 
 what sad meal. At five o'clock we were on the move 
 again till one or two in the morning, only halting 
 about nine o'clock for a quarter of an hour, to un- 
 saddle the ponies and swallow a cup of Valentine's 
 meat juice. I do not know what we should have 
 done withotit this preparation. On a journey of 
 this kind, where the fatigue is so great and cooking 
 impossible, it is simply invaluable. 
 
 We thus got about four hours' actual rest in the 
 twenty-four, for in the carts, while in motion, sleep 
 was out of the question. I have often since wondered 
 how the ponies stood it. Camels are, of course, 
 used to such long, exhausting journeys, though, 
 strangely enough, the loss of a camel was our only 
 casualty. 
 
 We got on fairly well for two or three days, but 
 after the first week experienced a sense of oppres- 
 sion and weariness very hard to shake off, and the 
 dull, dead monotony of the eternal green steppes 
 began to tell upon the mind and spirits. We met 
 but once a day as a rule, and even then, like the 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 107 
 
 parrot, spoke little and thought mucli ; indeed we 
 had nothing to talk about, for with the exception of 
 an occasional yourt there was not one solitary object 
 to distract the mind for a moment, or interrupt the 
 depressing aspect of the waves of plain that extend 
 between Kalgan and TJrga. We even welcomed the 
 region of sand in mid-desert. It was a change, at 
 any rate, and there were rocks to look at, though, 
 on the other hand, the work was harder and the 
 distance accomplished each day considerably less. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking peculiarity about Gobi 
 is the dead silence that reigns over its vast surface. 
 At night the bright, unwavering lights of the 
 Great Bear, and soft glimmer of Cassiopeia and 
 the Pleiades stood out with a distinctness rarely 
 seen in other latitudes. I often lay awake and 
 watched them, too tired to sleep, till the lightening 
 horizon heralded the dawn of another dreary, un- 
 eventful day, and warned one that another hour at 
 most would see us off again on our weary journey. 
 1 had never, till I spent a night out on the waste, 
 thoroughly realized the words of the poet : — 
 
 And round me all in utter darkness lies, 
 No sound, no form, no message, and no sign, 
 
 Only the silence of the far-off skies 
 And stars that thro' the darkness calmly shine. 
 
 It was not till the morning of the fifth day out 
 from Saram Bolousar that we sighted a yourt on the 
 horizon, and encamped within a mile of it at dinner- 
 time. There were but half a dozen tents in all, 
 containing the filthiest and most repulsive beings I 
 have ever beheld. 
 
 The majority were, unfortunately for us, not the 
 
 I 2 
 
108 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 least troubled with shyness, and took forcible pos- 
 session of our tent and carts, notwithstanding the 
 indignant protestations of Jee Boo. Kemonstrance 
 was useless. It would have been contrary to the 
 rules of desert etiquette to turn them out, and might 
 have got us into trouble. It was a hot day, and so 
 closely were they packed about the tent-doorway 
 that not a breath of air could reach us, yet we 
 suffered in silence, though the smell from the 
 greasy rags in which the poor wretches were clothed 
 was well-nigh unbearable. "We must have seen from 
 first to last about a hundred natives, but I was sadly 
 disappointed, I must own, in the Mongolian Tartar. 
 I had pictured him a wild, fierce-looking fellow 
 bristling with knives and firearms, and leading a 
 wild, romantic existence, of which privation and 
 danger formed a daily part. 1 found him a mild, 
 stupid-looking individual, lazy, good-tempered, dirty 
 — not to say filthy — in appearance and habits, and 
 addicted to petty theft when there was no fear of 
 being found out. 
 
 The men are of middle size, muscular and stoutly 
 built, with thick lips and small beady black eyes. 
 Naturally fair, the combined effects of sun, argol 
 smoke, and last, but not least, dirt give to most of 
 them the hue of a negro. Their women are plain, 
 and, as a rule, virtuous. Infidelity is rare in 
 Mongolia, and when it does occur the injured hus- 
 band is easily consoled by payment of a few sheep 
 or a camel or two. The Mongolian woman's lot is 
 not a happy one. Unlike their Kirghiz brothers, the 
 Mongolian Tartars have, no respect whatever for 
 their wives, of which they are allowed any number 
 
THE DESERT OF GOBI. 109 
 
 thougli the first married takes precedence over the 
 others. They are treated more as slaves than com- 
 panions, and do all the real hard work of the yourt, 
 from catching the camels to disembowelling a sheep ! 
 The men, as a rule, live longer than the women. 
 The latter suffer more from disease, although, with 
 the exception of a kind of influenza prevalent in 
 summer, epidemics are unknown in Mongolia. 
 
 The Mongol Tartar is essentially a nomad, and 
 seldom stationary for more than a year at a time, 
 but for ever on the move, roving hither and thither 
 over the great plain in search of pasture and water 
 for his flocks and herds. His " yourt " or tent is 
 admirably adapted to his wild, erratic life, being so 
 constructed that it can be taken down and packed 
 on a camel's back in less than an hour. The 
 " yourts " are circular in shape, and simply consist 
 of two layers of thick felt stretched over a wooden 
 framework secured by stout leather thongs. They 
 are about five feet high, and eighteen feet in dia- 
 meter, A hole cut in the centre of the conical roof 
 lets out the smoke of a fire, which day and night is 
 kept alight for cooking purposes. The Mongol 
 has no fixed time for his meals. He eats when he 
 feels hungry, and as often in the middle of the 
 night as the day. In winter the roof aperture is 
 closed, and the smoke allowed to escape as best it 
 may through the chinks and crannies in the felt. 
 The fuel used is not wood (for no wood grows in 
 Gobi), but " argol " or dried camels' dung, the 
 smoke of which is much more dense and pungent, 
 and most of the Mongols suffer from sore eyes in 
 consequence. The furniture of a yourt is simple 
 
110 FROM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 enough ; half a dozen sheepskin rugs, a flat iron pan 
 to cook in, a large box containing the goods and 
 chattels of the family, surmounted by an image of 
 Buddha and two or three prayer-wheels ; there is 
 little or no room for more. Some of the yourts are 
 better furnished than others, those for example be- 
 longing to the khans or princes. The latter are 
 resplendent inside and out with gold, silver, and 
 costly silks ; but these are rarely met with by the 
 casual traveller. 
 
 With the exception of gluttony the Mongol has 
 few vices. Drunkenness is rare. It is only when 
 the mares are milked and " airak " brewed that 
 they exceed in this respect ; but when they do, it is 
 with a will, a whole yourt being given up to drunk- 
 enness and debauch for two or three days together. 
 " Airak " is the only intoxicant known to the 
 Mongols, if we except the strong fiery whisky 
 sometimes imported among them by Chinese traders. 
 Dirt is their other failing. I can safely say I have 
 never seen or even read of a race so loathsome in 
 their appearance and habits as the Mongols. Men 
 and women alike seem to revel in it, and most of 
 them present more the appearance of perambulat- 
 ing bundles of filthy rags than human beings. It 
 was not till we reached Urga, and met some of the 
 better class, that we were able to distinguish what 
 the Mongol costume really is, viz. a kind of loose 
 dressing-gown reaching just below the knee, 
 secured by an ornamented silver belt, a pair of 
 baggy breeches stuffed into a pair of Chinese half- 
 boots with felt soles, the whole surmounted by a 
 broad-brimmed black felt hat, not unlike a Sailor's 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. Ill 
 
 hat in shape, with long silk streamers. In -winter 
 the poor Mongol is smothered in sheepskins, the 
 rich in furs from Siberia. At a distance the women 
 are indistinguishable from the men, the only per- 
 ceptible difference being that the former wear no 
 belt (the Mongol name for woman signifies literally 
 the " unbelted one "), while all wear a head-dress, 
 a kind of tiara of Chinese manufacture, made of 
 silver and red and blue stones, which look like, but 
 are not, turquoises and coral. A Mongol lady 
 never does her hair more than once every two 
 months or so. It is kept in position by a kind of 
 thick glue, and dressed so as to stand out two or 
 three inches on either side of the head at right 
 angles. The result of this practice in dwellings so 
 infested with vermin as the Mongol yourts may be 
 left to the imagination. 
 
 The wealth of a Mongol Tartar consists exclu- 
 sively of camels, sheep, and ponies, for there is no 
 industry, no manufacture of any kind in Mongolia. 
 The ponies are wonderfully well suited to endure 
 the long, distressing voyages their owners are con- 
 tinually making. Though small and slightly built, 
 the amount of fatigue these little beasts will under- 
 go is something incredible. Nothing seems to tire 
 them, and our own, " Ohow " and " Karra," arrived 
 at Kiakhta as fit and sound as when we left the 
 Great Wall, although they had but five hours' rest 
 out of the twenty-four for over a month, and for 
 nearly a quarter of that time were on a short allow- 
 ance of water. The worth of a pony in Gobi varies 
 from 81. to lOZ., or its equivalent in brick tea, for 
 money is unknown in Mongolia, and the currency at 
 
112 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 present consists solely of this somewhat cumber- 
 some article. We passed two or three droves of- 
 400 or 600 ponies each on our way across, which 
 were being sent to Kalgan for export to Pekin, 
 Shanghai, and other parts of China. A-Ccompany- 
 ing one of these was a " Mongolized " German, Herr 
 
 R , who twenty years ago settled in Mongolia, 
 
 and has made a large fortune buying and exporting 
 ponies. We should never have known him for a 
 European, dressed as he was a la Tartare, and the 
 " QuUn Tag" with which he greeted us, sounded 
 strangely out of place. 
 
 The Mongols never shoe their ponies, nor do they 
 groom them. The mane and tail is allowed to grow 
 so long as to almost trail on the ground, the Tartars 
 saying that the length of these appendages keeps 
 them warm in winter, and wards off flies in the hot 
 season ; also, in case of a broken bridle or stirrup- 
 leather, there is always the horse-hair handy to 
 mend it with ! 
 
 The ways of these little beasts are at first some- 
 what confusing to a stranger. It took me some 
 time to get used to " Karra's " favourite tricks, such 
 as stopping to scratch his ear with his hind-leg, 
 sitting down like a dog, and occasionally rolling 
 without a moment's warning, when we came to a 
 more than ordinarily tempting bit of grass. He was- 
 certainly the cleverest pony I have ever seen out of 
 a circus, and as sweet-tempered as he was mis- 
 chievous. I shall never forget when, the first day 
 a fter antelope, I attempted to guide him through 
 t he rat-holes and mole-hills that thickly cover the 
 central parts of the desert. We had not gone te n 
 
THE DBSEET OF GOBI. 113 
 
 lengths before, getting his head well down, he set 
 to kicking and bucking with such a will, that I ex- 
 pected every instant to see the girths snap and the 
 saddle sent flying ! Moses, galloping alongside, 
 motioned me to drop the reins on his neck. The 
 effect was instantaneous, for he immediately became 
 as quiet as a lamb, and bounded away again with a 
 snort and shake of his game little head, as much as 
 to say, " The idea of this idiot trying to teach me 
 Taj way over the desert!" "Karra" never once 
 gave me a fall, nor made a mistake, although this 
 novel mode of riding at full gallop over rough 
 ground, with one's hands in one's pockets, required 
 some nerve at first. 
 
 We were later than usual in getting away the 
 evening of our halt in the Tartar encampment, for 
 a sheep was given us by our unwelcome guests in 
 exchange for a couple of soda-water bottles. These 
 are especially prized by the Mongols, probably on 
 account of their, to them, strange shape. The task 
 of slaying the animal was relegated to Sylvia, who 
 proceeded to his work in true Tartar fashion. First 
 making a huge gash in its side with his large clasp- 
 knife, he thrust in his hand, and seizing the heart, 
 stopped its movements. The animal was then 
 skinned, and the entrails, after being washed, care- 
 fully put aside ; nothing was wasted. We reserved 
 the legs for ourselves, and Moses and Co. proceeded 
 to devour the rest. From the time it was killed to 
 when they were licking the last remnants from the: 
 bones took them just two hours ; they ate it half 
 raw. The sheep oh Gobi are small and pure white, 
 with long pendent black ears, and an enormous tail 
 
114 FBOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 ■weighing eight to ten pounds. This lump of fat 
 is considered a delicacy, and always given to the 
 favoured guest in a "yourt." The mutton was 
 excellent, not unlike Southdown. 
 
 We got but little rest that night. Our guests 
 had left us a souvenir in the shape of certain 
 nameless animals that stuck to us faithfully the 
 remainder of our journey to Kiakhta. We had 
 hitherto congratulated ourselves on there being no 
 mosquitoes, but soon realized that a whole army of 
 the latter would have been preferable to the noisome 
 insects that, two or three days afterwards, swarmed 
 in the carts, and gave us no peace, night or day. 
 Their smell was worse than their bite, and I think 
 this was, perhaps, the greatest discomfort we had to 
 put up with on the desert journey, always excepting 
 the fatigue and semi-starvation. 
 
 We passed and saw nothing for the following 
 three days, although it was interesting to note the 
 curious waves of vegetation and animal life that we 
 crossed at intervals. For a couple of miles the 
 ground would be a perfect network of rat-holes, 
 to give place, in turn, to a district covered with 
 bright black and yellow lizards. Then thousands 
 of beetles covered the plain — large, long-legged 
 things, with bodies as big as a cockroach, and 
 striped with red and black bars ; then rats again 
 and so on, but the rats were in the majority. In 
 many places the plain was alive with them ; you trod 
 on them as you walked. The Gobi rat is peculiar 
 to Mongolia. He is a soft, pretty little animal, 
 with a feathery tail, and has none of the disgusting 
 attributes of the common Norwegian or English rat. 
 
THE DESEET OF GOBI. 115 
 
 It was the same with the vegetation. Each flower 
 or herb seemed to have its own district, though one 
 kind of weed was noticeable everywhere, in the 
 barren as in the most fertile parts. Not being a 
 naturalist, I cannot give its name, but in appearance 
 it is exactly like the weed that grows in such 
 luxuriance at the bottom of our fresh-water ponds 
 and canals in England, where it is called " Babing- 
 ton's curse," from the fact that it was originally 
 imported by a person of that name in America. 
 When crushed it emits a sweet scent like thyme, 
 and on clear, cool nights the scent was almost over- 
 powering when the carts and camels had passed 
 over it. 
 
 Another flower very common in Gobi is the white 
 convolvulus, which grows almost everywhere, like 
 the herb mentioned above. Among the rarer sort 
 were a pretty lilac-coloured flower with a yellow 
 centre, the common dandelion, and in some parts 
 the English daisy. Rarest of any was a pink flower 
 growing on a prickly bush about a foot high, 
 exactly like a miniature hawthorn-tree in full 
 bloom. It had a sweet but rather sickly perfume. 
 
 The seventh day out we met the heavy Russian 
 mail — five camels in. charge of two Cossacks and a 
 Tartar. The latter were cheery, good-tempered 
 fellows, and seemed to be taking it easy, each astride 
 a camel, with red flannel shirts, bare legs and feet, 
 and nothing to show they were Russian soldiers 
 but the flat, white, peakless cap with which 
 Vereschagin's pictures have made us familiar. 
 We gave them a drink a-piece, and sent them on 
 their way rejoicing, but with an expression of 
 
116 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Wonder on their jolly, sunburnt faces — wonder, not 
 unmingled with pity, for the poor, mad Englishmen 
 who were doing this journey for pleasure ! 
 
 "We entered at sunset a part of the desert literally 
 covered with enormous mole-hills, some as much as 
 two or three feet in height. Being pitch-dark, 
 we had a rough time of it in the carts, for the 
 feeble glimmer of the paper lantern attached to each 
 only sufficed to make darkness visible, and it was 
 almost impossible to steer clear of the huge mounds. 
 After several narrow escapes of an upset, we got 
 out and walked, about ten o'clock, and had an un- 
 comfortable night of it, for about 10.30 a fine, 
 drizzling rain commenced to fall, which lasted till 
 we encamped at midnight. Walking was little 
 better, and resulted in some terrible croppers, for 
 we could not see an inch before us. A good stiff 
 glass of whisky and water and a rest of six hours 
 soon put things right, though we felt a good deal 
 beat the next morning, when at 6.30 we were 
 roused by the inexorable Sylvia. 
 
 We encamped the next day near a yourt of coq- 
 siderable size. Moses having informed us that the 
 chief or head-man was a Lama of some importance, 
 we sent up to his tent, a gaudy-looking edifice, sur- 
 mounted by half a dozen red and yellow prayer- 
 flags, to ask if we might call and pay our respects, 
 a request that was immediately granted. This was 
 the largest yourt we saw, and was composed of over 
 twenty tents. 
 
 We rode off after dinner, accompanied by Jee 
 Boo, who, on the way, instructed us how to behave, 
 for the forms and ceremonies that have to be gone 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 117 
 
 through when visiting a Tartar domicile are, to a 
 stranger, somewhat confusing. For instance, a 
 MongoHan never dreams of walking up to a strange 
 yourt. Not only is it contrary to custom, but 
 dangerous on account of the huge dogs kept about 
 every tent for the protection of the women and 
 children when the men are from home. A Russian 
 Cossack, ignorant of this, went up to a yourt on 
 foot a few years since, and was torn in pieces by the 
 savage brutes, which are, in size and appearance, 
 very miich like an English mastiff. 
 
 Arrived within earshot of the yourt, we renied 
 up, Jee Boo shouting out loudly, " Nohai Harai," or 
 " Tie up the dogs." Several women then emerged 
 from the Lama's tent, and secured the brutes, after 
 which we rode up, and handing our ponies over to 
 the care of a rather pretty, dark-eyed Tartar girl, 
 entered the tent in somewhat undignified fashion 
 on all fours. The door was too low to admit us in 
 any other fashion. Our sticks, revolvers, and knives 
 were laid on the ground outside. It would be as 
 great a breach of good manners to enter a Mongol 
 tent armed or with a stick in your hand as a 
 drawing-room with your hat on ; the idea being, 
 that, while under his roof, your host is responsible 
 for your safety. You do not require to defend 
 yourself. There were, save the Lama, no men 
 about, and we afterwards heard they were away on 
 a hunting expedition in quest of antelope. It was 
 some time before we could make out the Lama, for 
 the sunshine outside was dazzling, and the interior 
 of the tent in almost total darkness. The great 
 man, who was lying on a kind of divan, and sur- 
 
118 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 rounded by four or five womfen, did not rise when 
 we entered, but lazily extended a moist and dirty 
 hand as a sign that we might shake hands with 
 him, which having done, we seated ourselves on 
 his right and left. He was a fat, pasty-faced in- 
 dividual, clad in a long gown of faded yellow silk, 
 the front of which was stiff with the grease and 
 dirt of years. His bullet head was, after the 
 manner of Lamas, shaved; and round his neck 
 was hung a huge brass ornament of rough work- 
 manship. 
 
 Having motioned us to a seat, the Lama made a 
 long speech, of which we could understand nothing, 
 nor could, I believe, Jee Boo, although he told us 
 it was replete with good wishes and compliments. 
 The Mongol language is a diflficult one, and even our 
 interpreter, who had studied it for years, could only 
 speak it in a very rudimentary way. One peculi- 
 arity of the Mongol tongue is that, unless you say 
 a word exactly as it is pronounced, you might as 
 well address them in Greek or Sanskrit. As an 
 instance of this, an American missionary at Kalgan 
 was good enough to teach me a word of the greatest 
 importance in the desert : " Tie up your dogs." 
 He pronounced it " K'o high, Haru " {sic), but when 
 I tried this, it failed signally, and the Mongols could 
 make nothing of it for a long time. At last a light 
 dawned on them. " ISTohoi Hare, oh, we understand 
 that ! " I could not help thinking, after this, that 
 the Gospel must have rather a poor chance in 
 Mongolia ! 
 
 The interior of the tent was comfortable enough, 
 though the argol smoke got into one's eyes and made 
 
THE DESEET OE GOBI. 119 
 
 them smart for days after. The floor was strewn 
 with thick, soft Chinese rugs and tapestries, 
 apparently of great value, while round the sides of 
 the tent were hung large pieces of bright silk, 
 covered with Chinese and Tibetan characters — 
 probably prayers. Directly in front of the entrance 
 was a kind of altar, painted I'ed, upon which reposed 
 a huge gilt image of Buddha surrounded by half a 
 dozen prayer-wheels, to which, whenever they passed 
 them, the inmates of theyourt gave a vigorous turn* 
 The amount of prayers they must have got through, 
 even during our short visit, was something marvel- 
 lous, for the wheels were incessantly on the go, from 
 the time we entered the tent till we left it. In the 
 centre, and directly opposite the entrance, a huge 
 copper cauldron, three-parts full of a dirty, yellow- 
 coloured liquid, simmered on a brazier of argol, the 
 only fuel used in this part of Mongolia, where no 
 wood grows. 
 
 Having smelt and returned the inevitable snuff- 
 bottle, we murmured " mendu " " good-day, " and 
 relapsed into silence, waiting for the Lama to 
 recommence the conversation. The snuff-bottle is 
 an infallible sign of a Mongol's wealth and position. 
 No conversation is ever carried on without a pre- 
 liminary sniff, which is more a matter of form than 
 anything else, as they often contain nothing. .From 
 the head Lama to the poorest Mongol no Tartar is 
 ever without one. Most are of Pekin manufacture, 
 ranging in value from a few cash to two hundred 
 taels or more, the best ones being of gold or jade 
 encrusted with precious stones, the commoner sort 
 of glass or china. Attached to the stopper is a small 
 
120 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 bone or ivory spoon with which the snuff (when 
 there is any) is ladled into the nostrils. 
 
 A good ten minutes elapsed before the Lama 
 showed any desire to enter into conversation, and 
 we were about to take our departure when a pretty 
 Tartar girl came bustling into the tent and brought 
 us some tea (or a concoction of that name) out of 
 the copper cauldron. Seeing that we looked at the 
 greasy-looking stuff rather askance, the Mongol 
 gave a sort of grunt and held his thumb up, an 
 operation that was repeated by the women around 
 him. This I learnt from- Jee Boo means "good," 
 holding it down in the manner of the Romans when 
 they desired the death of a gladiator " bad." So 
 we were forced to drink it, though with reluctance, 
 especially as I had noticed that the Mongols, as a 
 rule, follow Jack Sprat's example and lick the plat- 
 ter clean ! The shallow wooden cups out of which 
 we drank were literally encrusted with dirt, but it 
 would never have done to refuse, so we gulped 
 down the nauseous mixture of brick tea, millet, 
 and mutton-fat. Never shall I forget it. That was 
 the only cup of real Mongol tea I ever tasted, but 
 it was some days before I got the flavour out of my 
 mouth. The Lama seemed to enjoy it, though, 
 and put away quite a dozen cups during the inter- 
 view. 
 
 The beverage had one good effect; it loosened 
 his tongue, and the following somewhat erratic 
 dialogue, through the medium of Jee Boo, now 
 took place between us : — 
 
 Lama : " Who and what are you, and where do 
 you come from ? " 
 
THE DESEET OP GOBI. 121 
 
 Jee Boo : " They are Bnglisb, and come from a 
 great country far away beyond the seas." 
 
 Lama : " What are you ? " 
 
 Jee Boo: "English!" 
 
 Lama: " You mean they are Russian (Rooski)." 
 
 Jee Boo : "No ; English" (roaring). 
 
 Lama: "What nonsense; they are white, and 
 all white men are Russians, so they must be." 
 Silence ; then, after a pause : " What do you say 
 you are?" 
 
 Jee Boo : " English. A country " (he adds paren- 
 thetically) "ruled over by a woman." 
 
 " Indeed ! " replies the Lama, opening his little 
 pig's-eyes in astonishment ; then thoughtfully, and 
 after a very long pause : " How many sheep has 
 she got ? " 
 
 This involved a mental and mathematical cal- 
 culation rather beyond me, so I merely replied 
 that her Majesty's wealth was so great, it 
 could not be gauged by the domestic animal in 
 question. My response was only met with a quiet 
 smile of incredulity, and a remark that elicited loud 
 laughter from the women. We inferred, as Jee 
 Boo did not join in the merriment, and would 
 not tell us what it meant, that it was not com- 
 plimentary. 
 
 Seeing the Lama smoking, I lit a cigarette, and 
 was about to replace the case in my pocket, when 
 our merry old host took it from my hand, and after 
 carefully examining it, transferred it calmly but 
 firmly into his own breeches' pocket. Presuming 
 he would return it when we left, I thought no 
 more of the matter, but at the close of our visit 
 
 K 
 
122 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 found he had every inteution of keeping it as, he 
 explained to Jee Boo, a souvenir of me. ' In vain 
 I expostulated. " You can't possibly ask for it 
 back," said Jee Boo ; " it is the custom." The case 
 vras but a cheap leather one. Had it been of 
 value, I should have rebelled, even though in mid 
 desert. At any rate, I determined in future to 
 make afternoon calls in Gobi with empty pockets. 
 The name of this place, as far as I could gather, 
 was " Ourouni." It is very hard in the desert 
 to get at the right name of even a permanent 
 yourt. The Mongols have a superstition that if 
 they tell a stranger the name of their habitation, 
 it will bring bad luck to the place. I have fre- 
 quently asked three or four of the inmates of a 
 yourt its name, and been answered a different 
 one by each. I gave it up at last as a bad job. 
 The only name I was sure of throughout the desert 
 journey was Toogoorook, and that was on our 
 maps. 
 
 The sun was low in the heavens when we bid 
 adieu to the Lama and took our departure. We 
 were rather surprised to find on arriving in camp, 
 the baggage on the ground, the ponies still un- 
 saddled, the camels scattered about the plain in 
 all directions, and Moses and Aaron clearly under 
 the influence of " arak." As for Sylyia, he had 
 taken up a position behind one of the carts t^te- 
 a-tHe with the pretty Tartar, who was plaiting 
 his pigtail, and carrying on in a way that would 
 somewhat have disconcerted her spouse had he 
 suddenly arrived on the scene. Benedick would 
 probably, however, not have minded much, for, as 
 
\\ 
 
 ' v 'I' 
 Ml 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 123 
 
 I have said, the Mongols are not jealous of their 
 women. They greatly differ in this respect from 
 the Kirghiz Tartars, who will not allow a stranger 
 even to look upon their wives. Their respective 
 religions, Mahometanism and Buddhism, of course, 
 account for this. The Kirghiz woman is always 
 more or less under supervision ; the Mongol may do 
 as she pleases, go where she likes, and alone. Never- 
 theless, there is but little immorality among the 
 latter. As much cannot be said for the followers 
 of the Prophet further west. 
 
 Our faithful little henchman's face expanded 
 into a broad grin as soon as he saw us. He was 
 no bad judge of female beauty. The face and 
 figure of the object of his affections would not have 
 disgraced a European ball-room ; while a fascinating 
 half-savage half naive manner enhanced her at- 
 tractions not a little. It was only with great 
 difficulty and by threats of complaining to the 
 Lama that we separated the love- sick camel-driver 
 from his lady love. But, even then, she would not 
 forsake him. Jumping on a pony as soon as we 
 started, she rode alongside the caravan till the moon 
 had fairly risen, and we were some miles from her 
 home. It was not till nearly ten o'clock that she 
 left us, after a tender parting with Sylvia (during 
 which the caravan was left to its own devices), 
 to gallop home alone in the moonlight to her yourt 
 and lawful master. 
 
 Moses' pony showed such evident signs of 
 breaking down that he exchanged it for a new one 
 to-day. We witnessed the operation of selecting 
 the animal from a drove of one hundred or so that 
 
124 FROM PEKTN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 were feeding within about a quarter o£ a mile of the 
 yourt. Armed with a long slender pole with a noose 
 at the end, one of the men rode out and, after a 
 smart gallop, succeeded in lassoing a wiry-looking 
 little chestnut and bringing it back to camp, when 
 it was at once saddled. It was scarcely three years 
 old, and had never been backed, yet in less than 
 half an hour from when Moses mounted it was 
 walking alongside the caravan as quietly and 
 demurely as its predecessor. The facility and 
 rapidity with which the Mongols break in their 
 horses is something marvellous. 
 
 The Mongols, men, women, and children, are 
 passionately fond of riding, and almost tkeir sole 
 pastime is horse, or rather pony racing, which the 
 women, who sit cross-legged, join in as well as the 
 men. That they are splendid riders is hardly to be 
 wondered at, for they are in the saddle from morn- 
 ing till night. A Mongol never dreams of walking, 
 even when going the shortest distances, as from one 
 tent to another in camp. To th.eir animals they are 
 kindness itself, and 1 never once saw them strike a 
 pony. Their seat is peculiar and ugly. Most of 
 them ride crouching, like monkeys, leaning well 
 over their pony's withers, and riding entirely with 
 the left tand, while the right arm is waved wildly 
 about at full extent when th.ey wish to increase 
 their speed. As a rule, though, tbey are very 
 merciful in this respect, and let their ponies take it 
 easy, the ordinary pace being a sort of amble. "We 
 fortunately took the precaution of bringing our own 
 saddles, for those used by the Mongols are made 
 entirely of wood, and are hard, uncomfortable 
 
THE DESEET OF GOBF. 125 
 
 things, in shape something like a Turkish demi- 
 pique, but about half the size. The bit used is 
 something like oui" English ring-snaffle, the reins 
 being made of thin leather thongs. 
 
 The following day was without incident except 
 that, about sunset, we passed a series of cairns 
 stretching away at intervals of about four hundred 
 or five hundred yards to the horizon on either side 
 of us. These are about fifteen feet in height, and 
 formed of stones of various sizes, bleached camel- 
 bones, feathers, and bits of rug, while at the top of 
 each a dilapidated prayer-flag fluttered. "We took 
 them (as we afterwards discovered, rightly) for the 
 boundary between Inner and Outer Mongolia. Al- 
 though they are not marked on any Russian or 
 English map, Ivanoff had told us to look out for 
 them, as we should then be getting about half-way 
 to Ourga. As we passed them, Moses and ^Co. 
 each cast a stone upon them as an offering to their 
 divinity. No Mongol ever dreams of omitting to 
 do this. Nothing else occurred to break the mono- 
 tony of the day's march, but an occasional shot at 
 a duck or sand-grouse, for we were now approach- 
 ing the game country. There was little cover at 
 first, but the next and three following days the 
 desert was covered for miles around with thick, 
 prickly bushes somewhat resembling furze, and here 
 it fairly swarmed with sand-grouse, a pretty fawn- 
 coloured bird with a black ring round the neck, and 
 hairy legs. Most were plump and in excellent con- 
 dition, and we found them excellent eating. "We 
 must have seen thousands, and managed to bag nine 
 brace in a couple of hours with no difficulty, merely 
 
126 FEO-M PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 walking a few yards away on either side of the carts, 
 for they were not at all wild. "We saw no other 
 game except the largest hare I have ever seen, 
 which I shot. Her size was explained when on pre- 
 paring her for the pot, we found she was about to 
 present the hare population of Grobi with an addition 
 of five ! The game was a welcome change to the 
 tinned meats we had had to subsist on since leaving 
 Kalgan, especially as the smart Yankee storekeeper 
 from whom we had procured our stores at Shanghai, 
 had managed to palm off a number of old and use- 
 less tins, some dating as far back as the year 1862, 
 which were carefully packed away under the others, 
 so that we did not open them till in mid desert. I 
 can only trust, for his sake, that the wishes we ex- 
 pressed regarding his future state may never be 
 realized. 
 
 With the exception of a kind of small antelope, 
 there is no big game in Mongolia proper, although 
 hard by, in Manchuria, there are tiger and lion in 
 plenty. The Gobi antelope is called by the Mongols 
 literally, " Gooroosh," by the Chinese " "Wang 
 Yang," or yellow sheep. It is of a light fawn 
 colour with white legs. We saw several herds of 
 some hundreds each, but were only once able to get 
 within shot, for owing to the flat nature of the 
 ground they nearly always saw or heard us long 
 before we could get near them. The only occasion 
 on which we did so was by the aid of a ridge of 
 rocks. Our ponies, too, were not up to much 
 galloping, although Karra was always ready, and 
 keen as mustard for a hunt. But the Mongols 
 declined to stay for us a moment, and the operation 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 127 
 
 of keeping one eye on the game and the other on 
 the caravan was somewhat fatiguing. With a 
 properly organized] expedition a sportsman could 
 have any amount of fun in the Gobi, though I doubt 
 if even the good sport would repay him the expense 
 and discomfort. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st patches of bright 
 golden sand broke the green horizon, and on the 
 evening of the same day we passed our first night 
 en plein desert. The next morning showed us 
 nothing but sand, drift upon drift, as far as the eye 
 could see, in an unbroken horizon, save where to 
 tbe north- west, in the middle distance, a ridge of 
 abrupt, precipitous rocks glowed pink in the rays 
 of the rising sun. By midday we encamped at their 
 base after a hard morning's work, for the sand was 
 axle-deep, and the camels, at times, were unable to 
 move the carts alone. We did but little more than 
 a mile an hour all day. Although the ridge of rocks 
 was little over two hundred feet high, the ascent and 
 descent occupied nearly four hours. There was no 
 path or track of any kind, and the ridge as rough 
 and uneven as a heap of stones. Every moment I 
 thought the carts would go to pieces. As for the 
 ponies, taking off their bridles and saddles, we left 
 them to their own devices. Chow was rather awk- 
 ward, and got two or three nasty falls, but Karra 
 scrambled about like a wild cat, and was not in the 
 least put out. Five o'clock saw us encamped on the 
 deep sandy plain the other side, where there should 
 have been a well, but it was, alas ! quite dry, and we 
 had to put ourselves and the ponies on short allow- 
 ance. All were thoroughly done up, when at eight 
 
128 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS MY LAND. 
 
 o'clock p.m., the inexorable Moses made a fresh start. 
 We then found that one of the camels was dead lame. 
 The usual Mongol remedy of patching up the sole 
 with small tin tacks and a piece of leather, much as 
 a boot is cobbled, was found ineffectual, so his pack 
 was removed, and he was untied and left to get on 
 with the caravan as best he could. The poor brute's 
 struggles to keep up with us were painful to witness, 
 for a camel will go on till he drops and dies sooner 
 than be left alone in the desert. I would have put 
 a bullet through him, but that the Mongols are in- 
 tensely superstitious, and have a belief that killing 
 one of these animals brings bad luck on a caravan. 
 The poor brute was still with us when we encamped, 
 but died about half an hour after we started in 
 the morning. Looking back a few moments after, 
 I saw his carcase black with crows and carrions 
 though a moment before there was not a bird to be 
 seen in the sky. 
 
 The Mongolian camel is peculiar to the country. 
 It is two-humped and very much smaller than camels 
 found in other parts of the world. The average 
 load of a caravan camel is 4 cwt., or four chests of 
 tea of 1 cwt. each. It was often a source of wonder 
 to me how these animals can exist as they do with- 
 out water — indeed, they were supposed never to 
 want it, and it was given them only when very plen- 
 tiful. They ate the whole day, however, while on 
 the plains, and the amount of food they got through 
 en route was surprising. Curiously enough they 
 seemed to prefer dry scrub to good sweet grass. 
 In winter a long, shaggy coat protects the Mon- 
 golian camel from the keen, icy blasts that sweep 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 129 
 
 over the Gobi, but in gummer tbis is sbed, with the 
 exception of a few coarse tufts on the head, neck, 
 and legs. Our camels appeared to suffer terribly 
 from the heat, and perspired profusely on hot days. 
 On these occasions we found it impossible to remain 
 in the carts. Indeed, at all times the stench was 
 so bad that we had to lie with our heads at an 
 angle that no amount of pillows would rectify. 
 Any one with apoplectic tendencies would stand a 
 poor chance crossing Gobi. The Mongolian camel 
 is led in the ordinary way, i.e. by a thin plug of 
 wood sharp at one end, and thrust through the 
 nostril, and fastened to a string, which in turn is 
 fastened to the camel or cart in front. The opera- 
 tion of drilling the hole through a young camel's 
 nose is painful in the extreme. I witnessed it once, 
 and not being aware that nature has provided these 
 beasts with a kind of reservoir of a green, mucous 
 substance, presumably for purposes of self-defence, 
 stood close to it during the operation, and received 
 a quantity of the stuff full in my face, much to. 
 Sylvia's delight, who ducked just in time to avoid 
 it. Beyond this, save on one occasion, I never saw 
 a Mongolian camel show signs of temper. They 
 are gentle, stupid creatures for the most part. 
 
 We suffered a good deal from heat and thirst our 
 second day in the sandy desert. The work too was 
 harder — so hard that at times we had to hitch an 
 extra camel on to each cart, and even then could 
 hardly get them through the deep, clinging sand. 
 About 11 a.m. we overtook five Mongols, wild rugged- 
 looking fellows, on their way to Ourga. Moses 
 discovered, after a few minutes' conversation, that 
 
130 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 it was thanks to them and their ponies that the well 
 of yesterday was dry. They had a sheep-skin half 
 full of water with them, but resolutely refused to 
 spare us a drop. I do not think I ever realized 
 what the word thirst really meant till that moment, 
 for it was now a case of share and share alike, our 
 supply of claret and soda-water having become ex- 
 hausted three days before this. Bach of these men 
 had a bundle of heavy wooden rods fastened to his 
 saddle-bow, and trailing on the ground, thus scoring 
 a deep trail or wake in the sand behind him. It is 
 only by these means that in this part of the desert 
 the Mongol is able to find his way from yourt to 
 yourt, for there are no landmarks to steer by. They 
 had no tent or travelling conveniences whatever, 
 save a large brass pan for cooking purposes, and 
 a supply of argol in a canvas sack, though what 
 they could find to cook was a mystery to me. They 
 accompanied us for a time, but, seeing that we had 
 no bottles or anything else to give them, soon left 
 us and struck off in a south-westerly direction, 
 directly contrary to the place they told us they were 
 bound for, Ourga. I did not inquire why, knowing 
 that the ways of the Mongol are inscrutable, and 
 not to be judged as are those of the ordinary run of 
 mankind ! 
 
 So the day wore heavily away, and we plodded 
 on, nearly up to our knees in sand, by the side of 
 the caravan till four o'clock, when Sylvia sighted a 
 large herd of gooroosh in the distance; but the glimpse 
 we caiight of them was only momentary, and the 
 hurrying, indistinct brown mass had in a very few 
 seconds disappeared below the horizon. 
 
THK DESERT OP GOBI. 
 
 131 
 
 About half an hour later a loud scream attracted 
 my attention, and, turning, I found Jee Boo flat 
 on the ground in a dead faint, the effect, as I 
 rightly guessed, of the sun. Moses even then was 
 very loth to stop, and it was only by a judicious 
 exposure of my revolver, of which Mongols have a 
 wholesome dread, that I succeeded in halting the 
 caravan. Pitching the tent, I soon had the 
 wretched Chinaman inside, and made as comfort- 
 able as circumstances would permit. I found him 
 quite unconscious, while the eyelid when opened 
 disclosed a broad expanse of white, which was far 
 from reassuring. Apart from the mere fact of losing 
 the poor fellow, I could not help wondering what 
 would become of us, in the event of his death, for 
 we knew but half a dozen words of Mongol, and 
 without an interpreter were helpless as the babes in 
 the wood ! The atmosphere of the tent soon became 
 so stifling that I had to leave it for a few minutes, 
 feeling quite sick and faint. We all know the value 
 of water in such cases, but of this we could ill spare 
 a drop, having but half a gallon left. The next 
 well, it was true, was but seven miles distant, but 
 who could tell that it, like its predecessor, might 
 not be dry and empty ? Altogether the situation 
 was about as awkward as it could well be, and I 
 cursed (not for the first time) the unlucky fate that 
 had ever brought me to the desert of Gobi ! But 
 something had to be done and quickly, so for the 
 first time I opened our small medicine-chest, the 
 furnishing of which I had carelessly taken but little 
 trouble about. Of course, as usual, everything not 
 required was handy. Rolls of diachylon plaster, 
 
132 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Cockle's pills, clilorodyne, menthol, Dover's and 
 seidlitz powders, came tumbling out in glorious con- 
 fusion; but we fumbled about in despair for a re- 
 medy, while Jee Boo's heavy, stertorous breathing 
 warned us that not a moment was to be lost. I was 
 determined that if he did die, I should not be the 
 only one responsible for his demise, and insisted 
 upon Lancaster's giving his opinion as to treatment ! 
 If poor Jee Boo had known the state of doubt his 
 medical advisers were in, I think he would have 
 suffered even more than he did ! But the course of 
 treatment was at last decided upon, though we 
 differed materially for some time, Lancaster insisting 
 upon it that we should open a vein. As (when I 
 pressed him) he seemed uncertain which vein, I felt in 
 the interest of Jee Boo's possible widow and orphans 
 that this course was somewhat risky. Even my 
 small experience in surgery told me that there are 
 some veins the opening of which will kill the strongest 
 man in under five minutes. So this treatment was 
 (by Lancaster) reluctantly abandoned, and a huge 
 dose of sal volatile and water administered. I shall 
 never forget that moment, or my state of mind 
 during the working of the medicine. However 
 (and no one was more surprised than myself) it had 
 the desired effect, and at the end of about ten 
 minutes we had the satisfaction of seeing our 
 patient slowly open his eyes. In half an hour he 
 was quite conscious again. I can scarcely recom- 
 mend this treatment to my readers as an infallible 
 one for sunstroke. Indeed, I have since been told 
 by a physician, that had not my patient been a 
 Chinaman, it would have killed him right off ! 
 
THE DESERT OF GOBI. 133 
 
 "We were not sorry to get out of the tent, for the 
 temperature therein registered over 100°. As the 
 flimsy structure was only intended to hold three 
 at the most, and as every one assisted at our 
 medical consultation, this was hardly surprising. 
 When we emerged again into the open air the 
 changed appearance of the sky and desert some- 
 what puzzled, not to say alarmed, us. The heat 
 was still oppressive, but whereas half an hour 
 previously the sky had been bright and cloudless, it 
 was now darkened, while the sun like a huge ball of 
 fire glowed, red and angry, in the misty heavens, 
 which had changed within the last ten or fifteen 
 minutes from deep mtense blue to a uniform 
 leaden colour. Nor was the appearance of the 
 desert the same, the glassy yellow expanse of sand 
 had disappeared. Beyond a distance of thirty or 
 forty yards, one saw nothing but a moving yellow 
 mass swaying to and fro, and producing the effect, 
 against the dark masses of cloud, of a huge field of 
 ripe corn waving wildly about in a heavy gale of 
 wind. 
 
 The coup-d'oeil would have been peculiar and 
 interesting anywhere else. In the desert it was 
 weird and alarming, so much so that I returned to 
 the tent, and, calling Moses out, drew his attention 
 to it, and not a moment too soon. In less time than 
 it takes to write, Sylvia was scouring the plain in 
 search of the camels, which had fortunately not 
 strayed far out of reach, while Aaron busied him- 
 self in firmly hammering in the tent-pegs, which had 
 only been lightly fixed during our temporary halt. 
 In less than ten minutes the camels were in and 
 
134 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 tethered in a line next the carts, to which the ponies 
 were firmly fastened. Moses then led or rather 
 pushed us into our carts, and slammed the door in 
 our faces. Looking out of the window a moment 
 after, I saw the Mongols disappear one by one into 
 the tent ; Sylvia, who entered last, firmly fastening 
 the aperture behind him. During these mysterious 
 preparations it had become darker and darker, 
 while the wind, which had suddenly risen, was 
 driving thick woolly masses of white cloud across 
 the black, lowering sky. We were not long in 
 suspense. A few seconds only elapsed when a 
 perfect tornado burst upon us. I managed with 
 some diflBculty to open my door on the lee side and 
 look out, but could see nothing but one whirling 
 mass of sand or vapour, I could not tell which, in 
 appearance very much like a thick London fog. 
 jS^or could we hear anything but the howling of the 
 wind, the wild, unearthly cries of the camels, whose 
 shadowy forms I could just distinguish huddled 
 together a few yards from me, and the neighing of 
 Chow and Karra, the latter of whom had, with his 
 usual sagacity and forethought, broken his bridle 
 and crawled under my cart. Then for the first 
 time the truth dawned upon me — we were in a 
 sandstorm. 
 
 It was not an agreeable sensation, for I was in 
 a pleasing state of uncertainty as to how it would 
 all end. One might as well have tried, during the 
 storm, to attract the attention of the man in the 
 moon as to make oneself heard. Luckily it did not 
 last long. In five minutes it was over, and the sky 
 blue and clear again. The sight on looking out of 
 
THE DESEET OF GOBI. 135 
 
 the carts again was a queer one. The camels' heads 
 were invisible, each being burrowed under the body 
 of his neighbour. As for the tent, it had disap- 
 peared, and it was only after a time that I made 
 out a heap of sand with a moving mass underneath 
 to show where it had been. It had blown down 
 early in the proceedings, and Moses and Co., to say 
 nothing of the wretched Jee Boo, narrowly escaped 
 suffocation. In half an hour everything had re- 
 sumed its wonted appearance, and the air was as 
 cool and pleasant as before it had been sultry and 
 oppressive. The inside of our carts, though, were 
 an inch deep in sand, and our nostrils, hair and 
 eyes full of it. Save for a hot, feverish feeling that 
 banished sleep, and gave one an uncomfortable 
 feeling in the head like influenza, we felt no ill 
 effects, and were not altogether sorry when it was 
 over that we had experienced the strange pheno- 
 menon. Sandstorms are rare in Gobi, but when 
 they do occur are dangerous to solitary travellers. 
 Many mysterious disappearances in this part of the 
 desert are put down to them ; for, the sand-drifts 
 obliterating the marks of the Mongol's guiding rods, 
 he is unable to retrace his steps to the yourt he 
 started from. 
 
 We reached the wells at about 4 a.m. next morn- 
 ing, and were relieved to find them nearly full, and 
 the water drinkable. The rain came down in torrents 
 shortly afterwards. "We would have given a good 
 deal for a shower the day before, but could now 
 have gladly dispensed with it, for the carts leaked 
 badly, and we were wet through before the weather 
 cleared at daybreak. We -got a couple of hours' rest 
 
 I; 
 
136 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 thougli, and by ten o'clock were away again, re- 
 freshed if not rested. It is astonishing what little 
 amount of sleep a man can do with when put to it. 
 
 The morning of this (the 23rd of August) was 
 bright and clear, and the rain and cool air seemed 
 to have given a new lease of life to man and beast. 
 Jee Boo, though complaining of slight headache, 
 had otherwise quite recovered from his attack, so 
 that with the bright sunshine and crisp, clear air, 
 our spirits rose, and all went merry as the tradi- 
 tional marriage-bell. Towards midday we had a 
 somewhat exciting chase after an antelope, and one 
 that might have resulted somewhat disagreeably. 
 The ever-watchful Jee Boo having sighted a herd 
 near a ridge of rocks some three miles distant, we 
 saddled the ponies, and, with our rifles, galloped 
 towards them under the guidance of the little 
 Tartar, taking care to keep the ridge between us. 
 When within about three hundred yards of the spot, 
 we dismounted, Lancaster, accompanied by Sylvia, 
 making for the right of the rocks (which were about 
 a mile in length and two hundred feet in height) 
 while I took the left hand. Though less pre- 
 cipitous than the ridge we had crossed two days 
 before, the ascent was too steep to be pleasant, 
 especially when laden with a rifle in one hand, and 
 having to lead a wilful and obstinate pony with the 
 other. 
 
 We reached the summit in safety after a stiff 
 climb. To any pony but Kai"ra the ascent would 
 have been impossible. Securing his bridle to a 
 sharp edge of rock, I lay flat upon the ground, and 
 crawled to the edge of the precipice, but there was 
 
THE DESEET OP GOBI. 137 
 
 notliingto be seen but bare sandy plain. Having 
 watclied for about five minutes, I was about to rise 
 and take up a fresh position, when the crack of 
 Lancaster's rifle rang out some distance to the 
 right. In another moment the whole herd, some 
 sixty or seventy in number, came bounding by just 
 underneath me. Picking out a fine buck, I took 
 steady aim, fired, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 him drop on his forelegs. I thought for a second 
 he was badly hit, but he only reeled to and fro once 
 or twice, then with an effort regained his feet, and 
 galloped on after the others, who were already 
 almost out of sight. Seeing that he got Over the 
 ground but slowly and with difliculty, I determined 
 to give chase, and, loosing Karra, we made our way 
 helter-skelter down the cliff-side. Though the 
 climb had taken us quite half an hour, the descent 
 did not take more than three minutes. Some of 
 the ledges were quite four feet high, with a landing 
 on smooth slippery rock, but little Karra never 
 once made a mistake. Arrived at the bottom of 
 the cliff, I jumped on his back, and away we went 
 full gallop after the wounded antelope, now just 
 disappearing out of sight over a high ridge of sand 
 a good distance off. My pony was even keener than 
 I, and I never knew till that day what a little 
 wonder he was. Fifteen days had we been in the 
 desert, travelling day and night, and two days of 
 that on short allowance of water and food, and yet 
 here he was galloping as strong as a steam engine, 
 and pulling and tearing at his bridle as if he had 
 been in the stable for a month. What would he 
 not have been worth in England ! But quickly as 
 
 L 2 
 
138 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 we covered the distance to the ridge which had 
 hidden the antelope from view, we were too late. 
 No trace could we discover of him. The desert was 
 here covered with innumerable sandhills and de- 
 pressions, and it is more than likely that he suc- 
 ceeded in hiding himself in one of these. We 
 hunted about for some time, but without success. 
 I dared not stop too long, for fear of losing the 
 caravan, which I knew had not stopped during our 
 absence. So, somewhat disappointed, I dis- 
 mounted, and led Karra slowly back to the rocks 
 where, as I thought, Lancaster and Sylvia were 
 awaiting me. No trace of the caravan was now 
 visible. 
 
 I took my time returning to the ridge, imagining 
 that by this time my companions had seen me, and 
 would not move till I came up to them. It seemed 
 strange too that they should have abandoned their 
 position, for on coming up to the right side of the 
 rocks I found them gone. When, on riding the 
 whole length of the ridge, shouting as I went, I saw 
 no signs of them, the disagreeable truth flashed 
 across me that they had departed altogether — a 
 surmise which proved correct. In vain I searched 
 every cleft and ravine, thinking they might have 
 penetrated thither in search of wounded game ; in 
 vain I yelled myself hoarse, and blew the whistle 
 which we always carried in view of this contingency, 
 till I was black in the face ; not a sound came in 
 answer, but the echoes, which the innumerable creeks 
 and gullies which riddled the place flung back to 
 me. In one of the ravines, curiously enough, I 
 came upon a tree, the first and only one we saw in 
 
THE DESEET OF GOBI. 139 
 
 the desert, or indeed since leaving Tsin W'hni Poo ; 
 it was but ten or twelve feet high, a kind of wild 
 olive with gnarled trunk and scanty foliage. At 
 Anj other time I should have stopped to examine it 
 more closely, but that my mind was then running 
 on matters very far removed from natural history. 
 Every moment the awkwardness of my position 
 grew more apparent. A thousand doubts and fears 
 crowded on my mind, which the surroundings of 
 the lone, desolate-looking place did not tend to re- 
 assure. At one moment I was for remaining where 
 I was, but the next brought the reflection that Lan- 
 caster, having seen me riding for dear life in a S.W. 
 direction, would probably direct the Mongols in that 
 quarter, and never dream of returning to this bleak 
 barren rock. One thing was certain, if the caravan 
 did not rescue me, no one would, for this part of 
 Gobi is as uninhabited and desolate as the interior 
 of the Sahara itself. 
 
 Of a sudden the thought struck me to climb to 
 the summit of the rocks, and as a last resource to 
 scan the horizon from that altitude with the glasses 
 I had fortunately brought with me. Securing Karra 
 to the old tree, I again ascended to the top, this 
 time not without some hard knocks and scratches, 
 while the perspiration poured off me in my anxiety 
 to lose no time. I was never without a compass in 
 the desert, and had luckily taken the bearings 
 of the rocks before we set out that morning. 
 Allowing for time and distance, I found the cara- 
 van should now be l^.'N.W. from where I stood, and 
 turning my glasses to the spot, discovered it, to my 
 great relief, on the very edge of the horizon, and 
 
140 FEOM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 hardly visible, even through the powerful glasses. 
 To the naked eye it was invisible. First taking care 
 to get my bearings right, I scrambled down, and, 
 loosing Karra, galloped after it ventre a terre. In 
 twenty minutes it was well in sight, and we were 
 safe. 
 
 It was all owing to Sylvia, who had persuaded 
 Lancaster to return, saying that ] should without 
 doubt join the caravan farther on. A Mongol fail- 
 ing is to think that strangers know their way about 
 the desert as well as they do themselves. Lan- 
 caster had had no better luck than myself, 
 so our day's sport was hardly a success. We 
 were a good deal disappointed, though not so much 
 as our men, who had been looking forward to a 
 meal of fresh roast meat, the gooroosh being excellent 
 eating. 
 
 Towards evening of the same day we traversed a 
 tract of sand about a mile across, so deep that we 
 had to hitch three camels on to each cart. Even 
 then they could hardly get the heavy, clumsy vehicles 
 through it, and we had to literally put our shoulders 
 to the wheel. The sand was nearly up to our 
 knees, and so fine that it actually worked its way 
 into our boots through the sole and the leather. 
 Just beyond this the sand is succeeded by hard 
 gravelly soil of a deep red colour, covered so thickly 
 in parts with transparent stones and crystals, that 
 the ground looked here and there like inlaid mosaic. 
 Quantities of these stones are sent to Pekin,to be con- 
 verted into buttons, snuff-bottle-stoppers, etc. They 
 are also much sought after by the ladies of Ourga 
 for head ornaments. Most of the pebbles were a 
 
THE DESEET OE GOBI. 141 
 
 species of yellow or red agate, and I picked up a 
 couple of very pretty violet ones — presumably 
 amethysts. 
 
 There is not a blade of grass or vegetation in this 
 part of the desert, nor are there any rocks or hills 
 to break the dead-level of the plain, as flat and 
 smooth as a billiard-table or well-kept garden-walk, 
 for miles and mxiles. It therefore struck us as 
 curious to come, while walking a few yards in front 
 of the caravan, upon the letters " A. L." formed in 
 capitals three feet long, by a kind of creeper which 
 had firmly taken root in the hard, gravelly soil. 
 Had the letters been irregularly or fantastically 
 formed, they might have suggested a freak of 
 nature, but they vrere clear, distinct, and as well 
 formed as any on this page. How they came there 
 must remain a mystery. They could not have 
 been the work of Russians (for their L is totally 
 different to that of other European languages) 
 much less that of a Mongol or Chinaman. I must 
 own that I am superstitious, and hoped that the 
 mysterious characters might bode no evil to one of 
 my greatest friends bearing the same initials in 
 England. 
 
 Just after sunset three mounted Mongols rode 
 out of the dusk, and, galloping furiously past the 
 caravan, disappeared in the direction we were 
 going. They seemed to have started out of the 
 ground, so suddenly did they make their appearance. 
 An event of this sort always creates excitement in 
 the desert, for as a general rule every one stops and 
 exchanges words when meeting a caravan on the 
 lonely highway. For this reason perhaps our 
 
142 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LANP. 
 
 Mongols did not like the look of the strangers, and 
 Jee Boo, at the request of Moses, begged us to load 
 our revolvers. We did so, but saw nothing more 
 of the mysterious horsemen, who Sylvia positively 
 assured us were robbers, who would have attacked 
 us had they not found us too strong for them, and 
 on the defensive. 
 
 We passed a couple of yourts shortly afterwards, 
 smoke-blackened, shapeless dwellings, about half 
 the size of an ordinary Mongol tent, with a small 
 hole for a door, out of which a man and a woman 
 crawled and offered us argol for sale. More revolt- 
 ing specimens of the human race I have never seen. 
 We saw no sheep or ponies about ; indeed there was 
 nothing to feed them upon. Hard by lay a dead 
 camel, the stench from which nearly knocked us 
 down fifty yards off, and on which the poor 
 wretches had been subsisting for several days. 
 Other food they had none, though there was a well 
 brimful of clear cold water a quarter of a mile 
 farther on, at which we filled the barrels, and, for 
 the first time for ten days, washed our hands and 
 faces. 
 
 We managed to get some sleep in the carts, for 
 the first and only time that night, for the ground 
 was as smooth as a billiard-table, and there were no 
 stones or boulders to distui^b our slumbers. Nor 
 did I wake till past one o'clock, when the caravan 
 halted. 
 
 Looking out of the cart window, T at first 
 imagined that we had arrived at Ourga, for we were 
 encamped, apparently, under the walls of a city. 
 At the same time it struck me as strange, that a 
 
THE DESERT OE GOBI. 143 
 
 silence so dead should reign over sucli a large place. 
 The illusion was complete, and I was never more 
 astonished to find that what I had taken for walls, 
 towers and roofs of houses, were in reality nothing 
 more than a group of enormous blocks of granite. 
 Some must have measured quite fifty feet high by 
 twenty broad, the space of ground they occupied 
 being considerably over a square mile. Had I 
 thought for a moment, I must have known that 
 stone buildings in Mongolia are extremely rare, al- 
 most unknown. A Mongol Tartar has the greatest 
 objection to living in a permanent dwelling of any 
 sort or kind, and even Ourga, the capital, is com- 
 posed almost exclusively of tents. Notwithstanding, 
 one could scarcely realize that it was an optical 
 delusion, that the mimic domes and minarets 
 standing out clear and distinct as a pen-and- 
 ink sketch against the starlit sky, were but masses 
 of unhewn stone, and the work of nature, not of 
 man. 
 
 Our Mongols were asleep, and Lancaster ; but 
 late as it was, and at the sacrifice of my remaining 
 rest, I could not resist the temptation of exploring 
 the place, first taking the precaution of arming my- 
 self. It looked just the kind of spot that robbers 
 or marauders would have selected for an encamp- 
 ment. 
 
 I found the interior as curious as the outside, 
 for the rocks were placed as regularly, and the ways 
 as well defined, as the streets and squares of a 
 modern city. The deathlike stillness, and queer 
 fantastic shadows, thrown by the bright moon-rays, 
 gave one an uncanny feeling, and I took care to keep 
 
144 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 the caravan fires in sight. Although, outside the 
 desert was hard and gravelly, the sand here was 
 knee-deep. Suddenly while walking down one of 
 the smaller paths my foot struck sharply against a 
 small square stone sunk deeply into the sand. On 
 examining this more closely, I found that on 
 it was rudely carved a Russian character and a 
 cross. It was a grave. Having no desire to 
 prolong my investigations after this, I was about 
 to rise and return to the caravan, when an 
 indefinable impression stole over me that some- 
 thing, and something human and living, was near 
 me. The feeling may have been produced by 
 liver, perhaps by instinct. At any rate, it was 
 correct, for on turning I found myself next to 
 one of the most repulsive and hideous creatures 
 I have ever beheld. It was impossible to tell in 
 the dim light whether it was a man or a woman, 
 for its body was covered with shapeless rags, its 
 head with a mass of grey tangled hair that hid 
 the features. I have seldom felt more uncom- 
 fortable, and would at that moment have given 
 much to be back safe and snug in my cart. At 
 any rate, I thought, the sooner out of this the 
 better, so, seizing my opportunity, I dodged 
 past the figure, and walked quickly away in the 
 direction of the camp fires. Guessing my intention, 
 the figure pursued me for a few yards, struggling 
 with difficulty through the deep sand, but I soon 
 distanced it, and only breathed freely again when I 
 had got out of the place, and was once more in 
 the open. 
 
 The caravan was in a state of commotion when I 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 145 
 
 returned, for I liad been away quite an hour, and 
 having told no one of my intention, the men were, 
 on waking, at a loss to know where I had got to. 
 When I related my adventures to Moses, his face 
 was a picture. "Moo chim " (bad men), he kept 
 repeating, wliich meant that the place, according 
 to Mongols, is haunted, and that no one who can 
 avoid it ever penetrates into its silent, mysterious 
 depths by day or night. Whether the creature I 
 saw was a ghost, I know not. If so, it was a 
 very dirty one. It would have needed the pencil 
 of a Dore, the pen of a Eider Haggard, to de- 
 scribe the place, which was certainly the most 
 marvellous freak of nature I have ever come 
 across. 
 
 I made enquiries at Kiakhta, but could never 
 find out anything to explain, geologically, the 
 presence of these stones, and their peculiar position. 
 All the Russian merchants could tell me was that a 
 Cossack in charge of the mail had been buried there 
 seven years ago, and that the place ever since 
 was said by the Mongols to be infested with evil 
 spirits. It seems strange that no efforts have 
 ever been made by the professors belonging to the 
 College of Kiakhta to unravel the mystery, but the 
 latter appeared to give more of their leisure hours 
 to cards, vodka, and flirtation with their neighbours' 
 wives than to scientific research. 
 
 The morning of the next day (July 25th) was 
 cold and cloudy. We crossed, an hour after start- 
 ing, a large salt-marsh, with tufts of half-withered 
 grass growing here and there. The ponies fared 
 badly, but the ca,mels managed all right, as I verily 
 
146 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 believe they would do in a crater. Though this 
 marsh is deep in rainy weather, and very difficult 
 to get over, there had, luckily, been no rain for 
 some time, and we crossed it without difficulty, the 
 ground being hard, and covered with evaporated 
 salt, giving the desert the appearance of a huge 
 snow-field. Beyond this, vegetation again ceased, 
 and we entered on a tract of gravelly country. 
 Some low green hills now appeared on the horizon 
 — the plains and rich pastures of Too-goo-rook, at 
 which yourt the hardest part of our desert journey 
 would be virtually over. 
 
 We encamped midday at the foot of a steep and 
 barren rock, about one thousand feet high, on the 
 banks of a large lake of dirty, brackish water, as 
 wild and desolate a spot as can well be imagined. 
 Huge vultures and other carrion birds flew hither 
 and thither about the rocks and ravines, while the 
 dismal and incessant croaking of the frogs among 
 the withered sedges that fringed the black, melan- 
 choly-looking water made the place anything but 
 a cheerful spot for an encampment. The further 
 end of the lake swarmed with wild fowl, and we 
 succeeded, after dinner, in bagging a couple of 
 sheldrake, though they were so shy, it was only 
 with great difficulty we could get near them. "We 
 also shot an enormous vulture, seven feet broad 
 from one wing-tip to the other ; but he smelt so, 
 we had to have him carried some distance away 
 from the caravan. This was explained by the par- 
 tially devoured remains of a camel we afterwards 
 passed a few hundred yards from camp. The brink 
 of the lake was strewn with the bleached bones of 
 
THE DESEET OP GOBI. 147 
 
 these animals, which did not contribute to make 
 the coup-d' ceil move cheerful. 
 
 Towards evening we sighted a large herd of 
 antelope on the horizon, but they saw us, and were 
 off long before we could give chase. 
 
 About five o'clock it came on to rain and blow 
 as it only can in Grobi. I do not think I 
 ever spent a more wretched night. The storm 
 became so bad that the camels would not face it, 
 and we had to stop and pitch tents at ten o'clock, 
 three hours before the usual time. Several 
 attempts were made to light a fire, but without 
 success, for the wind not only blew it out, but 
 the wretched, flimsy tent down on top of it, 
 Mongols and all. We consoled ourselves as best 
 we could with a nip of whisky (of which we had 
 one bottle left), and turned into our carts to make 
 the best of it. But even our sheepskins were 
 next to useless in the keen wind that whistled 
 through the rents and chinks of the canvas cart 
 roofs as if they had been sieves. About midnight 
 the rain came down again in sheets, and in less than 
 half an hour was streaming in upon us like a 
 shower-bath. We were wet through in less than 
 ten minutes, and then abandoned the idea of rest 
 or sleep altogether. 
 
 If the night had been miserable, the morning was 
 far worse. We were perfectly willing to start ; 
 anything was preferable to sitting in our carts, 
 listening to the ceaseless pattering of the rain and 
 looking out of the narrow window at the misty, 
 dreary landscape ; but the Mongols were ob- 
 durate. Nothing upsets them like rain or getting 
 
148 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAKD. 
 
 wet, presumably because they never wash, and 
 Moses steadfastly refused to move till the weather 
 cleared, which it showed no signs whatever of 
 doing. Our men had managed to rig the tent up 
 again, and all three lay inside, packed like sardines, 
 with every aperture tightly closed. I tried to read, 
 but soon had to give it up, my head shook so with 
 the cold. Worse still, we had exhausted our last 
 scrap of tobacco, and could not bring ourselves to 
 venture on the hay-like filth that Sylvia oifered 
 us. Still, it showed the little Tartar's unselfish- 
 ness, for he had but a pipeful left to last him on 
 to Ourga, and there is no race in the world so 
 devoted to the fragrant weed. 
 
 About two o'clock it mended a little, and the 
 sun, which had all the morning been invisible, 
 began to struggle through the grey, watery clouds. 
 So sudden are the changes of temperature and 
 weather in the desert that by 3 p.m. the sky 
 was blue and cloudless, and the sun too hot to be 
 pleasant. We were not sorry to get out again, and 
 dry ourselves in the warm rays which took the 
 stiffness out of our cramped and aching limbs. 
 We suffered but little from vermin, which up till 
 now had been one of our greatest annoyances, after 
 this. "It's an ill wind that blows nobody good ; " 
 and perhaps they were all drowned ! 
 
 Starting at 7 p.m., we travelled all night, and by 
 morning every trace of sand and gravel had disap- 
 peared, and we were in the grass plains again — 
 where our ponies fairly revelled in the fresh, rich 
 pasture. Sylvia was despatched to a yourt some 
 five miles distant to buy a camel in place of the 
 one we had lost, and as he was not expected back 
 
THE DESERT OF GOBI. 149 
 
 till six o'clock, we enjoyed a good sleep all the 
 afternoon, not before we wanted it. We had had 
 none for two nights. 
 
 The camel arrived in due course. He was 
 a snow-white one, of mild and benign appearance. 
 Lancaster took a great fancy to him, and insisted 
 in having him harnessed to his cart. I noticed a 
 look in the beast's eye, whenever he was pushed 
 about or touched more roughly than usual, that boded 
 no good. However, we were assured that he was 
 all that could be desired, and took Sylvia's word for 
 it. "We started again that evening, with our new 
 purchase in Lancaster's cart. Although the night 
 was fine and starlit, with a lovely moon, I turned 
 into my cart early, for the plain was as smooth and 
 unbroken as a lawn-tennis ground, and I did not 
 despair of getting a really good night's rest, and 
 probably should have had one, but for an unforeseen 
 accident that, ridiculous and laughable as it now 
 seems, might have had a very serious, if not fatal 
 result. I was rudely awoke about 2 a.m. by Jee 
 Boo, who, bursting open my door, entreated me to 
 come out at once. One is easily unnerved in the 
 desert, and apt to fancy things, so much so that 
 for a moment -I thought a mutiny had broken 
 out among the Mongols, and, seizing my revolver, 
 jumped out on to the moonlit plain. The sight 
 that greeted my eyes caused me at first to burst 
 into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, in which, how- 
 ever, the Mongols, who were helplessly assembled 
 round my cart, did not join. Like them, I soon 
 realized how seriously the affair might end. Lan- 
 caster's camel had run away, and was scouring over 
 the desert in a way that plainly showed if we ever in- 
 
150 PBOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 tended seeing him again we had better catch him 
 at once. The ponies were all unsaddled, but 
 Sylvia and I jumped upon ours barebacked, and 
 galloped away as hard as we could lay legs to the 
 ground after the refractory beast, whose white body, 
 followed by the cart swaying madly to and fro, was 
 rapidly disappearing in the dim, shadowy distance. 
 It had happened in a second. Sylvia, having left 
 his carb for a moment, which was leading, the 
 cunning brute had taken advantage of his absence 
 to break with one jerk the string that fastened 
 his cart to the next camel. When our driver 
 returned, he found the caravan halted and his 
 new purchase making tracks across the plain in, 
 strange to say, the direction of the yourt we had 
 bought him from. 
 
 The best description I have ever read of a camel's 
 pace when at full speed is given by the late Colonel 
 Burnaby, in " A Ride to Khiva," where he says : 
 " A camel's gait is a peculiar one. They go some- 
 thing like a pig with the fore, and like a cow with 
 the hind, legs." This does not sound like speed, 
 but the pace at which these brutes get over the 
 ground is something more than remarkable, and 
 it took us all our time to get up to Lancaster's 
 cart, who was, to use a sporting expression, 
 " going strong ! " The frantic bounds the cart 
 was taking beggars description. I thought every 
 second it would overturn, for the brute whirled 
 it about as if it had been a match-box. I could 
 see Lancaster in the moonlight at the open door, 
 evidently meditating a jump, so shouted to him 
 to remain where he was. The ground was rough 
 

THE DESERT OF GOBI. 151 
 
 and stony, and a fall might have meant a broken 
 limb, which would have placed us in an awkward 
 predicament. It was some time before we managed 
 to stop the runaway by each getting one side of, and 
 riding into, him. I never could have believed a camel 
 had such a turn of speed. Sylvia caught the nose 
 string, and we secured him at last, and got him back 
 to the caravan without further mishap. He was 
 relegated to the water-barrels in future. It was 
 thought the weight might steady him, and it did, 
 for we were troubled with no more of his pranks. 
 
 The plains next day were more thickly in- 
 habited and the pasture more luxuriant than in 
 any part of the desert yet traversed. "We passed 
 several yourts, from which the inhabitants rode 
 out to meet us with presents of milk and a kind of 
 cheese made of mare's milk. They seemed cleaner 
 and better-mannered than the Mongols the other 
 side, and did not (for a wonder) ask us for any- 
 thing. Their yourts, too, were cleaner, their 
 sheep and ponies better-looking than others we had 
 seen. 
 
 This portion of the Gobi swarms with a curious 
 animal, of which I ignore the name. It is in 
 colour like a hare, in size something between that 
 animal and a rabbit, with short thin legs, and stiff 
 wiry hair like that of a badger. The ground was 
 in many places literally honeycombed with their 
 burrows, which are enormous for so small an animal. 
 Many of the holes would for a short distance admit 
 a good-sized man. They are neatly and beautifully 
 constructed, the earth being carried and thrown 
 away some distance off, though hoiv has not been 
 
 M 2 
 
152 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 ascertained. We must have seen thousands, but 
 could never get near enough to shoot one, and so 
 examine it closely. Unlike the smaller species of 
 rat on the other side, they are shy and wary, 
 and bolt into their holes on the slightest noise. It 
 is said that Mongols eat them, but I am rather 
 doubtful as to the truth of this assertion. Few 
 would have the patience or take the trouble to 
 catch them. 
 
 We sighted, on the 28th of August, a huge en- 
 campment of some fifty tents, on the horizon, 
 evidently the yourt of some chief or Lama of 
 importance, en voyage. On passing it at the 
 nearest point (some two miles distant), Lancaster 
 and I were riding off to inspect it more closely, 
 but were recalled by the frantic gesticulations of 
 Moses, who begged us on no account to go. His 
 reason I never could ascertain, but he led us to 
 understand, through Jee Boo, that we might meet 
 with an unpleasant reception, by which I con- 
 clude some religious ceremony was being per- 
 formed. We could distinguish through the glasses 
 crowds of people moving about the encampment, on 
 foot and on horseback, and these with the white 
 tents gay with gaudy prayer-flags, against the bright 
 green sward, gave it more the appearance of a 
 huge fair than a desert camp. The plains for miles 
 around were dotted with flocks and herds, but none 
 of the people, though they saw us distinctly, rode 
 out to the caravan. 
 
 The country on the 28 th became more accen- 
 tuated and undulating. We passed to-day two 
 large lakes (fresh) teeming with wild fowl, duck, 
 
THE DKSEET OF GOBI. 153 
 
 and -wild geese, of whicli latter we bagged a 
 brace, and ate for dinner, washed down by a 
 bottle of champagne specially kept for tlie day 
 when the neck of our desert journey should be 
 broken. The plain to-day was full of huge edible 
 mushrooms as large as soup plates. "We gathered 
 a quantity, and had some for dinner, although as 
 we ate them solely on Jee Boo's assurance that they 
 were not poisonous, we were somewhat uneasy 
 for a couple of hours after. We encamped to-day 
 in a kind of oasis, of wild, sweet-smelling flowers, 
 pink heather and long grass through which ran a 
 delightfully clear cold stream of water over a gravelly 
 bed. It was like nectar, after the filth we had been 
 drinking, and yet so improvident are the Mongols, 
 that had we not insisted upon it, they would have 
 left without filling the barrels. It was lucky we did 
 so, for the two succeeding wells were stagnant and 
 brackish, and one, having the remains of a dead sheep 
 in it, undrinkable. The next day at mid-day we 
 camped in sight of the high and partly wooded hills 
 that surround Ourga. 
 
 A Lama, e??, route to the capital, now joined us. 
 This is an invariable custom in the desert, a 
 Tartar never travelling alone if he can possibly 
 help it, perhaps more for the sake of companion- 
 ship than from fear of robbers or marauders, who 
 are said to infest the more lonely parts of Gobi. 
 He (the Lama) was a fat, good-tempered old fellow, 
 his enormously fat carcase clad from head to foot in 
 bright yellow silk. The grey pony he rode was so 
 tiny that looked at from behind its body was in- 
 visible. One saw nothing but a huge balloon-like 
 
154 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 mass of yellow silk, supported by four thin, very 
 shaky-looking wliite legs. I noticed, throughout 
 Mongolia, that the fattest men invariably rode the 
 smallest ponies, perhaps on the same principle that 
 in Europe the largest instrument in a German band 
 is almost invariably played by a diminutive child 
 of tender years. 
 
 We visited a yourt after dinner by the invitation 
 of our newly made fat friend. The tent was cleaner, 
 both inside and out, than the ones we had passed 
 here on the Chinese side, indeed all the yourts 
 had a prosperous, well-to-do look about them, very 
 different to the smoke-blackened, dirty-looking 
 dwellings on the southern side of the sandy desert. 
 This was probably due to their being in the close 
 vicinity of the capital, and also in a great measure 
 to the fuel used being wood instead of the sickly- 
 smelling, stifling " Argol." 
 
 The reader may or may not believe in Palmistry, 
 but it can scarcely fail to interest him to hear that 
 this ancient science is as well known among the 
 Mongols as the gipsies, and has been for hundreds 
 of years. T found this out quite by accident, on 
 examining the hand of a young girl who brought 
 us milk and cheese, and otherwise did the honours of 
 the yourt. To my surprise she at once guessed my 
 intention, and insisted on my reading it all through 
 and explaining the lines to her. Nor did my work 
 end here, a dozen greasy palms being eagerly thrust 
 forward as soon as I had completed " Tsaira's." 
 
 The latter, a bright-looking girl of about sixteen, 
 was evidently the belle of these parts, and not un- 
 justly so, for her dark eyes, comely features, and 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 155 
 
 pearly teetla were a. pleasing contrast to the ordinary 
 stolid, flat-faced females of the desert. She was with 
 one exception the first (and last) really pretty Mon- 
 golian woman we saw, and unlike most of her sex 
 (in the desert) not the least shy. The operation of 
 shaving (which I now went through preparatory to 
 meeting the Russian Consul at Ourga) astonished 
 her a good deal, but the sight of a looking-glass much 
 more so. She had never heard of such a thing, or 
 seen her own pretty face, except dimly reflected in 
 water or tea. It was the only one we possessed, or I 
 could not have had the heart to refuse it her, for she 
 was not backward in asking. However, a few sticks 
 of chocolate consoled her, though she tried very hard 
 for a ring I wore. It was only by impressing on her 
 that it was given me by a " Boosooge " ^ almost as 
 pretty as herself, who would never forgive me if I 
 returned without it, that she allowed me to depart 
 in peace, which we did at sunset, all the inhabitants 
 of the yourt turning out to bid us good-bye, and 
 load us with parting gifts of milk and cheese. 
 
 The next day (August 30th) we entered a green 
 and fertile valley, about three miles broad, with 
 lofty, partially wooded hills on either side. The 
 plain was in parts thickly inhabited, and we con- 
 tinually passed Mongols, both men and women, and 
 during the day three large caravans, two of bullock- 
 carts one hundred to one hundred and fifty strong, 
 laden with wood and hides for China, to return with 
 tea. The third was composed exclusively of camels, 
 sixty in number. About twenty men accompanied 
 it. On one of the leading camels was a poor Mon- 
 
 ' Woman. 
 
156 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 gol, evidently in a dying condition. Our own men 
 were far behind, and the ones we questioned by 
 signs, only laughed and walked on when we pointed 
 to the poor wretch, lying on his back with the fierce 
 sun beating down on his ghastly, upturned face. 
 About a quarter of a mile behind the caravan came 
 the Chinaman in charge, gorgeous in yellow and 
 lavender silk, and bristling with arms. I felt very 
 much inclined to kick him out of his cart, and put 
 the dying Mongol there instead. Although white 
 men of any kind are so rare here, they never deigned 
 to look at us, nor reply to our question, addressed 
 in Chinese, as to how many days they had left 
 Ourga. By getting them into conversation, we 
 might, we thought, have accompanied them as far 
 as the caravan, and by Jee Boo's help got something 
 done for the poor Tartar, but it was no use. I 
 could not get the latter out of my head the whole 
 day, and shuddered when I thought of how his 
 sufferings might end. The Mongols never bury 
 their dead, at any time, and often on a voyage leave 
 their sick to themselves, very much as they do a 
 camel, alone in mid-desert. 
 
 The queer custom prevalent among the Mongol 
 Tartars of leaving their dead on the surface of the 
 ground was brought to my notice in a forcible 
 though somewhat unpleasant manner the next day, 
 a couple hours before we reached the river Tola, 
 which lies about two miles from Ourga. Upon this 
 occasion our baggage-camels had, contrary to 
 custom, started first. The caravan road here is 
 clearly defined, so we started off alone and on foot 
 in advance of our party, and had barely gone three 
 
THE DESERT OF GOBI, 167 
 
 hundred yards when an object lying in the middle 
 of the road arrested my attention, a small, oblong 
 j)arcel about two feet long, done up in Chinese 
 paper, and secured with twine. " Something Moses 
 has dropped," I remarked casually; and the con- 
 tents feeling soft and shapeless, I put it down to 
 some of his wearing apparel, and returned to the 
 caravan to give it to Sylvia, who had just started 
 and was, as usual, softly crooning to himself in a 
 semi-state of slumber on the leading camel. But 
 catching sight of what I held, he nearly fell off with 
 fright, and shrieking " Moo-moo " with all his 
 might, pulled, his camel away from me with such 
 force that the cart nearly turned over. " Moo- 
 moo," he repeated, hurriedly dismounting, and, 
 leaving the caravan to itself, put a respectful 
 distance between us. His face was a picture of 
 terror, and as pale as a ghost. I was not alto- 
 gether easy myself, thinking the packet might be 
 infected with some virulent disease, so I yielded to 
 the little Tartar's vehement gestures, threw it on 
 the ground and walked on, followed slowly by 
 Sylvia muttering to himself and smoking furiously, 
 a sure sign that a Mongol's equanimity has been 
 seriously upset. 
 
 It was not till we reached the others at mid-day 
 that I found out what the mysterious packet con- 
 tained, and that what I had innocently been carry- 
 ing about was a dead babt/ ! Sylvia had by this 
 time recovered himself, and affected to laugh at the 
 occurrence, though, at the time, I have never seen 
 a human being in a state of more abject fright. 
 The Russian Consul, when I told him of the occur- 
 
158 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS Bf LAND. 
 
 rence, remarked tliat all Mongols have an almost 
 ridiculous fear of death and everything connected 
 with it. This seemed the more curious as every 
 step you take in their capital reminds you of it. 
 Ourga might justly be called " a dead city," so grim 
 and weird are the customs of its strange, uncanny, 
 population. 
 
 We sighted the Tola at about nine o'clock on the 
 morning of the 31st of August, and must have 
 passed at least a dozen caravans of fifty or sixty 
 camels each, before we reached its banks, from the 
 time we started, about sis a.m. The reports we 
 got as to the state of the river were not encourag- 
 ing. Heavy rains had made the ford impassable, 
 and all traflBc was now being carried on by means 
 of the ferry, some five miles lower down the stream. 
 It was not reassuring either to hear that this 
 ramshackle contrivance had broken down , twice 
 within the last twenty-four hours, precipitating three 
 bullock-carts and two men (one of whom was 
 drowned) into the water. However, we made up 
 our minds for the worst, and, hoping for the best, 
 gave ourselves up to enjoyment of the really beauti- 
 ful scenery we were passing through. 
 
 One might have been in the most picturesque 
 parts of Switzerland or the Tyrol. A broad, 
 gravelly road runs from here right into Ourga, and 
 along this a continual stream of caravans, inward 
 and outward bound, was hurrying. The whole 
 plain was alive with movement, and the bright sun- 
 shine, gay dresses of Mongol horsemen, and tink- 
 ling of caravan bells, gave an air of gaiety to the 
 scene, welcome enough after twenty-three days of 
 
THE DESEET OF GOBI. 159 
 
 uninterrupted, monotonous desert. On our right 
 hand a clear, brawling stream swirled along, an 
 outlet of the swollen, tumultuous Tola, to lose itself 
 in the large freshwater lake we passed yesterday. 
 On our lefi; a range of low, green hills, wooded at 
 the summit, their green hill-sides, dotted with 
 countless sheep and ponies at pasture, stretched 
 away to where the Tola, a thin thread of silver, 
 wound its course through this lovely valley, literally 
 a " land of milk and honey ! " We arrived at the 
 riverside about one o'clock. The foaming, turgid 
 river, the banks lined on either side, as far as eye 
 could see, with bullock-carts and camels, the row 
 and hubbub, where each man (and there must have 
 been some hundreds) tried to shout louder than his 
 neighbour ; it was a strange, picturesque sight. 
 
 A smart dapper-looking Cossack, in grey coat 
 with yellow facings, and white linen, peakless cap, 
 had charge of the ferry, a clumsy-looking arrange- 
 ment enough, worked by a dilapidated-looking rope 
 stretched across the stream, here about three 
 hundred yards wide, and secured to two small trees 
 on either side of the river. It did not need much 
 calculation to see where the ferry would go in the 
 event of this breaking, for about two hundred yards 
 down stream was a chain of rocks, against which 
 the torrent foamed and dashed in a manner any- 
 thing but cheering to non-swimmers like Lancaster 
 and myself. The result of an accident had been 
 pretty well shown, for this was the third boat used 
 during the last twenty-four hours, the others having 
 been engulfed, with the loss, however, of only one 
 human life. 
 
160 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 The Cossack was politeness itself, and I luckily 
 knew a little Russian. " Are you the Englishmen 
 expected from Pekin?" " Yes." How they knew 
 of our advent at Ourga was, and has ever since 
 been, inexplicable to me. " M. ShishmarofiF has 
 been expecting you. Please take a seat, and I will 
 send you and the ponies over, the carts can follow." 
 And offering us a cigarette, our friend hurried off 
 to see our steeds safely embarked. Though only a 
 private soldier, the man's manner was as courteous 
 and polite as could be. It was, however, only a 
 forerunner of what we were to experience, for 
 seldom have I experienced in any country so much 
 genuine kindness and hospitality from the lower 
 orders as in Asiatic Russia. 
 
 Our friend the Cossack returned in under half 
 an hour. " Your boat is ready, Gospodin, and you 
 can get in, but please sit tight. I will cross 
 with you. In case of accident," he added coolly, 
 as he politely handed us in, "jump out and hold 
 on to the rope. The Mongols will pull you 
 ashore." 
 
 It was not a pleasant sensation, crossing that 
 stream, in fact I do not know that I have ever 
 passed a much more mauvais quart-d'heure. The 
 clumsy craft, although containing only the Cossack, 
 our two selves and the ponies, lurched over midway 
 across, so suddenly and at such an angle that the 
 water came pouring in over the side. This 
 frightened the ponies, who set to plunging and 
 kicking with such a will that I thought every 
 instant their heels would go through the side of the 
 rotten old tub. We were then, luckily, consider- 
 
THE DESERT OP GOBI. 161 
 
 ably more than half-way over, each holding on like 
 grim death to the rope, for to let go would have 
 meant a certain upset. Never have I heard such a 
 babel. The Mongols on the bank (in whose minds 
 the death of their drowned companion was stillfresh) 
 raised a yell that would have awoke the dead, and 
 that must have disturbed the Kootookta's mid-day 
 siesta three miles off. It was only by dint of sheer 
 hard work that we succeeded in pulling ourselves 
 across, our fingers nearly cut to the bone by the 
 fraying of the rope. I have seldom felt more 
 relieved than when we stood once more high and 
 dry on terra firma. The thought of how our carts 
 were to be got over did not concern us in the least. 
 We were only too glad to have escaped with our 
 lives, for an upset, even to a good swimmer, would 
 have meant certain death. 
 
 It was nearly three o'clock by the time we were 
 across, and as the carts were not to be brought over 
 till the ferry was repaired, a work of three or four 
 hours, we resolved to ride on alone. The way was 
 simple enough, for a broad gravel path or road runs 
 right into the city. Having got minute directions 
 from the Cossack how to find the Consul's house, 
 we set off at a gallop across the plain to Ourga. 
 
 So ended our voyage over the desert proper. 
 What we had always imagined would be the hardest 
 part of our journey was now over. We had never 
 thought of Siberia. That seemed feasible enough. 
 Our bugbear, before starting, had been Gobi, the 
 terrible Chinese desert, against which we had been 
 so often warned before leaving England. "You 
 will never get across," said one. " The Tartars will 
 
162 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 murder you for a certainty," said another. Even in 
 Pekin itself we heard blood-curdling stories of the 
 wild tribes said to inhabit the lonely waste lying 
 between the Great Wall of China and Russian 
 frontier. As a matter of fact, few Europeans, even 
 those living in China itself, know anything whatever 
 of Mongolia. Danger there may be, but we never 
 experienced it, nor do the three or four Englishmen 
 who preceded us make mention of ever having been 
 attacked. I would, personally, very much sooner 
 spend the night unarmed and alone in the (so-called) 
 most dangerous parts of Gobi, than walk through 
 the lonelier suburbs of London or Paris after dark 
 on a winter's evening. 
 
 We skirted for a time the precipitous mountain 
 that lines the left bank of the Tola. Presently 
 we came to an abrupt turn in the road ; a glorious 
 panorama of plain and wood, mountain and river, 
 lay at our feet, and a couple of miles away a com- 
 pact mass of red and -white dwellings, golden domes, 
 and snowy tents, surmounted and surrounded by 
 thousands of brightly coloured prayer-flags, which 
 flashed and waved in the sun with every breath of 
 the pure morning air. We had reached the sacred 
 city of Ourga. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 
 
 OuEQA can scarcely be called a city in tlie true 
 acceptance of tlie term. Its Mongol name, " Ta 
 Huren," or " The Great Encampment," better 
 describes the huge cluster of tents that compose 
 the Mongolian capital, dwellings precisely similar 
 in shape and size to those in the desert, save that 
 here they are surrounded by rough wooden pali- 
 sades, eight to ten feet in height, as a protection 
 against the thieves and marauders who in the 
 caravan season nightly infest the streets. 
 
 The population of Ourga, which is estimated 
 at about 40,000, fluctuates a good deal. This is 
 owing in a great measure to the nomad disposition 
 of the inhabitants, who are here to-day and gone 
 to-morrow, taking not only their goods and chattels, 
 but also their house with them. With the excep- 
 tion of the Kootookta's palace, an imposing edifice 
 of Tibetan architecture, all white, gold and ver- 
 milion, like an ornament off the top of a twelfth- 
 cake, there are but three brick houses in the place, 
 residences of Russian tea-merchants, of whom, when 
 we passed, there were seven residing in Ourga. 
 These, with the half-dozen Europeans stationed at 
 the Consulate, mid-way between Ourga and Mai- 
 
164 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LANP. 
 
 machin, formed the entire European population of 
 the capital of Mongolia. 
 
 Ourga is the Mecca of the Mongol, and the dis- 
 tances travelled by the faithful for the privilege of 
 gazing upon the features of their living god, the Koo- 
 tookta, are sometimes incredible. Pilgrimages are 
 made from Manchuria, nine hundred miles away, and 
 a man arrived, while we were there, from the borders 
 of Tibet, having accomplished the distance across 
 the desert, a great part of it sandy waste, alone and 
 on foot. The journey from Ourga to Lassa (Tibet) 
 is made in great state by the Grand Lama of Mon- 
 golia on the death or transmigration of a Kootookta, 
 to procure another from the " Dalai Lama " of Tibet. 
 There are but two living deities in Mongol Budd- 
 hism. The Dalai Lama of Lassa, and the Koo- 
 tookta of Ourga. Thus the Mongolian capital is 
 looked upon as the second sacred city of the world, 
 Lassa, the capital of Tibet, being the first. 
 
 The present Kootookta is about eighteen years of 
 age, lives, like the Emperor of China, a life of the 
 strictest privacy, and is only exhibited to the faith- 
 ful by the Lamas or priests in charge on very rare 
 occasions. Though worshipped as a god, he is 
 allowed no voice in the government of the country, 
 which is entrusted to two viceroys, a Mongol prince 
 and a Manchu Tartar from the court of Pekin. 
 The latter keeps an eye on the sacred youth, and 
 sees that he does not meddle with state affairs. 
 Presumably also (as no Kootookta has ever been 
 known to live over the age of twenty) attends to 
 other little matters when the proper time comes. 
 
 We had left the caravan at nine o'clock. It was 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 165 
 
 past ten wlien, passing tlie Chinese town of Mai- 
 machin, the green roof and gilt balls and crosses of 
 the Russian Consulate came in sight, a liandsome 
 stone building, in a spacious garden, just outside 
 the tented city. The day was bright and beautiful ; 
 as we galloped through the crisp, clear air, our 
 ponies' feet rattling along the sound and springy 
 turf, our spirits rose at the thought that the desert 
 journey was really over, that the neck of the voyage 
 was (as we thought) broken. Ignorance, in this 
 case, was indeed bliss ! 
 
 At a short distance, Ourga presents the appear- 
 ance of some huge fair. The white tents, blue and 
 gold temples, and gaudy prayer-flags, gave us at 
 first sight a pleasing impression of the place, which 
 was, however, speedily dispelled on closer acquaint- 
 ance with its dismal-looking streets, deserted save 
 by beggars and dogs, and the hideous customs 
 practised day and night by its strange population. 
 
 "We soon reached the gates of the Russian Consu- 
 late, and I pulled the heavy, clanging courtyard bell 
 with a sense of relief, thinking that a few minutes 
 more would see us consoled for the discomforts of 
 our thirty days' journey with a brandy-and-soda, or 
 its Russian substitute, in the cool, shady reception- 
 room, a glimpse of which we had caught while riding 
 past the front of the house. A stalwart Cossack 
 answered our summons. He was a rough, surly 
 fellow. My knowledge of the Russian language is 
 limited, but I knew enough to understand that M. 
 Shishmarofi" was away — that no one knew when he 
 would return — and that he should have the letter 
 (which in despair I was holding out) when he did. 
 
166 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 "Witli this information, given with scant courtesy, 
 the miHtary janitor calmly proceeded to shut the 
 door in our faces. Luckily for us, however, the 
 arrival of a third party on the scene completely 
 changed the aspect and position of affairs, the new 
 comer being no less than our sulky friend's wife, a 
 burly, rosy-cheeked female of some forty summers, 
 whose face it did one good to see after the bilious, 
 yellow-cheeked dames of China and the Gobi. 
 There was no mistaking this one — Russia — and 
 i^orthern Russia too, was written in every line 
 of it. She was indeed a friend in need. It was 
 fortunate for us that the altercation at the gate had 
 become loud enough to attract her attention, caus- 
 ing her to desist from the occupation she was 
 engaged in (of washing her last-born at the pump), 
 and to hasten to the gate to see what was the 
 matter. "Whether our personal appearance or the 
 prospect of sundry copeks did it, I know not, let 
 us hope the former. The fact remains that in less 
 time than it takes me to write it, she had hurled 
 her lord and master on one side, flung wide open 
 the gates, and led our ponies in. She then signed 
 to us to dismount, and, taking us each by the hand, 
 led us into a cottage situated in the centre of 
 the courtyard, about fifty yards distant from the 
 Consulate. 
 
 The lady evidently, to use a vulgar term, wore 
 the breeches, for the partner of her joys and sorrows 
 offered no resistance whatever when she ordered 
 him, after unsaddling and watering our ponies, to 
 set off at once with my card and the letter of intro- 
 duction to where M, Shishmaroff was staying on a 
 
OUEGA TO KIAEHTA. 167 
 
 shooting excursion some thirty versts ^ off. The 
 poor man went like a lamb, and I must own it 
 was with some satisfaction that we saw our quon- 
 dam enemy ride through the green gates and into 
 the blazing sun while we sat in the cool red-tiled 
 cottage, comfortably discussing a dish of ham and 
 eggs and home-made bread, washed down by copi- 
 ous libations of quass, and topped up by a bowl of 
 rich thick cream, which the good soul insisted on 
 our drinking, whether we liked it or not. Think 
 of this, dyspeptics, and ponder when I add that 
 we felt no ill effects. Such are the practical results 
 on the human frame and digestion of a month in the 
 Gobi desert. 
 
 The long sunny day wore slowly away. As we 
 knew some hours must elapse ere the sergeant could 
 possibly return, Lancaster and I extended ourselves 
 on many chairs, and with a box of excellent 
 cigarettes (the sergeant's) between us, settled down 
 to a thoroughly lazy afternoon. The sensation of 
 absolute quiet and rest was little short of delicious 
 after the wear and tear we had experienced for nearly 
 a month — days of dirt and discomfort, nights of 
 sleeplessness and misery. It was worth all the hard- 
 ship to experience the sense of relief and rest that 
 long, still summer's day in the Russian Consulate 
 at Ourga, but hard to realize that one was still 
 in the Chinese Empire. The clean cottage, with 
 its cool red-brick floor, bright copper saucepans, 
 chintz window-curtains, and flower-bedecked win- 
 dow-sills of to-day were such a contrast to the 
 grimy smoke-discoloured yourts, stuffy, vermin- 
 A verst is three-quarters of a mile. 
 N 2 
 
168 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY lAND. 
 
 infested camel-carts of yesterday. I caught myself 
 more than once wondering if the past voyage was 
 not all a dream, from which I had awoke in some 
 solitary wayside cottage in far-away England. 
 The illusion was but slowly dispelled when waking 
 from a somewhat heavy nap (for which the mixture 
 of quass and cream was no doubt answerable), I 
 found the goodwife bustling about among her pots 
 and pans, two curly-haired, rosy-cheeked brats 
 clinging to her skirts, and the kettle singing merrily 
 on the hob. 
 
 The sergeant returned about six o'clock with a 
 note from M. Shishmaroff, written in French, and 
 begging us make ourselves at home in the Consu- 
 late till his arrival on the morrow, an invitation we 
 were not slow to avail ourselves of. 
 
 Though luxuriously furnished and fitted up with 
 every modern appliance and comfort, the house of 
 the Russian Consul at Ourga is a plain-looking 
 stone building, with wings on either side, the one 
 serving as a chapel, the other as quarters for the 
 half-dozen Cossacks forming the Guard. The 
 windows of the drawing-rooms looked on to a 
 spacious garden. Roses, geraniums, heliotrope, 
 mignonette, and other flowers grew in pro- 
 fusion along the borders of the neat gravel 
 paths, and round the little green wooden kiosk, 
 where, after dinner, Lancaster and I drank 
 coffee and smoked cigarettes as we watched the 
 sun set behind the sacred hills, and the white city 
 grow grey in the dusk. A more picturesquely situ- 
 ated one can scarcely be imagined than Ourga, in 
 the midst of a fertile green plain watered by the 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA, 169 
 
 blue waters of the Tola, and surrounded by an 
 amphitheatre o£ undulating wooded hills, conspicu- 
 ous among them being the " Sacred Mountain," 
 with its dark fir-trees and little temples, where the 
 buddhist hermit, forsaking the pomps and vanities 
 of the world, retires to spend his last days morti- 
 fying the flesh and turning prayer-wheels. 
 
 We went out before it grew quite dark, and had 
 a look at the ponies. Both were enjoying the 
 sweet fresh grass, and seemed as contented with 
 their comfortable quarters outside as their masters 
 were in. Little Karra, as soon as he saw us, gave 
 a shrill neigh of welcome, and bucked away from 
 us in a manner that speedily set my.mind at rest on 
 his account; while the gluttonous Chow never 
 desisted for a second from the occupation that he 
 was best fitted for, that of filling his inside. We 
 passed the European cemetery on the way back, 
 eight or ten roughly made graves, mere mounds of 
 earth, with huge stones heaped on them to keep 
 away the dogs. The crevices between were riddled 
 with holes where rats had tried to get at the dead. 
 Only one grave boasted the smallest attempt at 
 adornment, a white wooden cross with black letters, 
 bearing the name and age of a young Russian girl 
 who had died in Ourga a few weeks back. I could 
 not help wondering if the poor child ever realized, 
 during lifetime, that this lonely, neglected spot 
 would ever be her last resting-place. The graves 
 looked weird and uncanny in the dusk, and one 
 was glad to leave the place and return to the Con- 
 sulate, where, as we entered, we heard in the 
 courtyard the sharp, shrill words of command in 
 
170 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Russian, as our friend the sergeant set the watch 
 for the night. Even in the cosy, well-lit drawing- 
 room it was hard to shake off the uncomfortable 
 feeling of depression and undefined apprehension 
 that never quite left one in Ourga. Whether it be 
 the climate or surroundings of the place, I know 
 not, but every European traveller who has visited 
 the Mongolian capital has experienced the same 
 sensation. 
 
 M. Shishmaroff arrived next day, a spare, wizened 
 little man about sixty years of age, clean-shaved, 
 with long, wiry grey hair, and a complexion the 
 colour of a walnut-shell. Colonel PetroflF, the com- 
 mander of the Guard, a red-faced, burly Cossack 
 officer, accompanied him. They had been away 
 for a three days' fishing expedition, and their 
 baskets were laden with fine trout from the Tola. 
 Our hosts gave us a true Russian welcome; 
 and though the colonel spoke but few words of 
 French, we mutually supplied by signs, what 
 we lacked in language. The Consul himself spoke 
 Trench fluently. Although he had held the post 
 he now occupied for more than twenty years, 
 much of his early life had been spent in Central 
 Asia, in the service of the Russian Government. 
 
 The Cossack colonel was a character. I verily 
 believe he slept in his uniform, spurs and all. His 
 duties appeared light enough. It is not a great tax 
 on a man's energy to command and drill six men, 
 yet was he by no means content with his lot. Often 
 (after dinner) when the good old Consul had 
 exhausted his Central Asian anecdotes, and retired 
 to his books and fishing flies, our military friend 
 
OUEGA TO EIAKHTA. 171 
 
 would fling open liis tunic, and, throwing himself 
 at full length on an easy chair, bewail his fate, 
 and curse the ill-luck that had ever brought him to 
 Ourga. " What a place ! What pigs, these 
 Mongols ! " he would cry in execrable French, at 
 the same time pouring down draughts of fiery Vodka 
 that would have made any one but a Russian 
 purple in the face. "Ah! mes amis! you are 
 fortunate, you go to Kiakhta ! Beautiful Kiakhta ! 
 What fun ! What gaiety ! What women ! Ah ! mon 
 dieu ! Would that I could accompany you ! " 
 Occasionally, very late in the evening, he would 
 pull out of his tunic and kiss with much effusion a 
 tawdrily-coloured miniature of a lady with a coun- 
 tenance as of the rising sun, and what looked like 
 two large black holes for eyes. " I shall marry 
 her some day," he would say, gazing pensively at the 
 portrait, while his eyes filled with tears^and Vodka. 
 " Some day, my little Glga, you will be mine." I 
 never interrupted our military friend's rhapsodies, 
 or inquired as to her stature, but, judging from 
 length of face and size of feature, Olga must have 
 been misshapen if she stood anything under six 
 foot high in her stockings. 
 
 We rode through Ourga next day, and found it a 
 dull, unpicturesque city. There are no shops or 
 stalls in the streets, none of the colour and move- 
 ment that make most Oriental places so picturesque. 
 A more melancholy, depressing place I have seldom 
 seen ; one sees nothing on all sides but palisades 
 about nine feet high, rough pine-tree stems, stuck 
 into the ground close together, and thickly plastered 
 together with clay. The dwellings of the inhabi- 
 
172 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 tants are almost entirely hidden by these rough 
 wooden walls . The thousands of brilliantly coloured 
 prayer-flags, covered with Mongolian and Tibetan 
 characters, give a spurious look of gaiety to the 
 place, which is soon dispelled upon looking around 
 again at the silent, desolate-looking streets. The 
 latter, though unpaved, were clean and regularly 
 laid out, debouching frequently into open spaces of 
 waste land or squares. Erected in most of the latter 
 were a number of open sheds, with what at first ap- 
 peared to be huge wooden barrels inside them, but 
 which we afterwards discovered were prayer- wheels, 
 hollow cylinders filled with prayers and petitions to 
 Buddha. We must have seen over a thousand of 
 these scattered about Ourga, for public use. They 
 varied considerably in size, from those ten to twelve 
 feet high, great ponderous things that took three or 
 four men to turn them, to others not longer than a 
 man's hand affixed to the street corners. These 
 wheels are never at rest, men and women pause as 
 they hurry along the streets, to give a turn to each 
 as they pass them, and as one encounters one every 
 twenty yards or so, the amount of prayers turned 
 out during the day in Ourga must be something 
 enormous. Prayer in Mongolia is all done by 
 motive power, and we noticed water-wheels and 
 wind-mills thickly covered with sacred characters. 
 None of the people dreamt of passing one in the 
 street without giving it a turn. Some seemed to 
 make up praying parties ; for we once saw two 
 women and three men, grinding away at a big wheel 
 near the Kootookta's Palace, for at least half an 
 hour without cessation. Some of the more devout 
 
OUEGA TO KTAKHTA. 173 
 
 turned miniature wheels in tlie left hand, while 
 they pushed round the bigger ones with the 
 right. 
 
 Thoughts of death and of a future state are the 
 chief topics of conversation in this weird city, and 
 religious ceremoniesand duties form thechief occupa- 
 tion of the inhabitants, who go about their business 
 in solemn silence and with long faces that contrast 
 strangely with the gaudy dresses and ornaments 
 in which they are clad. A Mongol may be as cheer- 
 ful and boisterous as he pleases in the desert, but 
 once in the capital he must put on his best clothes, 
 and observe a reserved, silent manner in accordance 
 with the solemn surroundings. Many of the women 
 were beautifully dressed and covered with hand- 
 some gold and silver ornaments, and had (in Ourga) 
 a curious way of dressing the hair. A head-dress 
 of solid silver, studded with coral and turquoise, 
 fits flat and closely to the head. From under this 
 the hair is brought out at' right angles to the head 
 in a solid band about six or seven inches broad. 
 This is kept stiff by a plentiful application of 
 mutton fat and other substances, and kept out by 
 three broad wooden bands. At the shoulders it is 
 gathered up and allowed to fall down in front of 
 each shoulder in a single plait. Their painted faces, 
 flat noses, and beady black eyes, in conjunction 
 with this strange head-dress, gave the ladies of the 
 capital a most grotesque appearance, and utterly 
 spoilt any pretensions to good looks they may have 
 had. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most curious characteristics of 
 Ourga is the silence that reigns. There is here 
 
174 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 none of the hum or bustle usually found in a 
 place where some thousands of human beings are 
 gathered together. No sound, even at mid-day, 
 breaks the solemn stillness but the eternal creak 
 of prayer-wheels and tolling of deep-toned gongs, 
 save when a discordant blast of horns announces 
 the celebration of some ceremony at the Kootookta's 
 Palace, or a tea-caravan jingles and rattles noisily 
 through the quiet streets and squares on its way 
 to Siberia or Cliina. The chief products of 
 the city appeared to be beggars and dogs. 
 The latter are exceptionally large and ferocious, 
 so much so that Europeans always ride when 
 obliged to go into Ourga. On foot one stands 
 a very fair chance of being torn to pieces by the 
 huge, savage brutes, who do not, however, harm 
 or take any notice of the natives. The beggars 
 fairly swarm — loathsome, abject wretches, many of 
 them covered with sores, and quite naked. Wet or 
 dry, hot or cold, they live in the open, subsisting on 
 alms, or whatever offal they can pick up. We saw 
 two or three lying dead by the roadway. No 
 one seemed to take any notice of the corpses 
 save dogs and vultures. Thousands of the latter 
 perpetually hover over Ourga, the largest I 
 have ever seen, and as bold as brass. It is a 
 common thing to see people returning from market 
 have their provisions snatched out of their hands 
 and carried off by the huge birds. I could not 
 believe this till I saw it myself. No one 
 harms them. The first precept of Buddhism is 
 "Thou shalt not kill," and although this rule is 
 sometimes broken in the desert, an infringement of 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 176 
 
 it in the city of the Kootookta would meet with 
 summary punishment. 
 
 The palace of the Kootookta and Lamasery or 
 Buddhist monastery are the only buildings of any 
 size or importance in Ourga. "We managed to get 
 permission, through M. Shishmaroff, from the Grand 
 Lama of Mongolia to visit the temple attached to 
 the palace. We were curious to see the Kootookta 
 himself, but one might as well have tried to gain 
 admission to the presence of the Emperor of China. 
 He was, moreover, absent on a pilgrimage to 
 a mountain shrine, some hundred miles off, during 
 our stay. 
 
 The temple itself is a whitewashed, wooden 
 building, with a pink and blue striped dome, sur- 
 mounted by a huge gilt ball. There are no 
 windows. It was some time on entering before we 
 could make out the huge figure of Buddha, for two 
 guttering oil wicks only just made darkness visible. 
 The idol, which is of gilt bronze, is represented 
 seated, and is one of the largest in the world. I could 
 not ascertain its exact height, but we measured one 
 of the hands, and found it six feet long, while the 
 rest of the body is in the most perfect proportion. 
 Surrounding it were five life-sized wooden figures in 
 Mongol dress, which startled one not a little at first, 
 they looked so like human beings in the dim light, 
 their faces and hands being made of wax and 
 painted flesh colour. Ranged round the walls from 
 floor to roof were a thousand small gilt idols, 
 each in its own glass-covered niche, while from 
 the dome hung some twenty or thirty large silk 
 prayer-flags beautifully worked with Tibetan and 
 
176 FKOM PBEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Mongolian characters in gold. Some were fairly- 
 rotting with age. At the right of the figure stood 
 the Kootookta's throne, a tawdry-looking light green 
 erection thickly covered with ill-painted flowers and 
 landscapes, like a shooting-gallery at an English 
 fair, which detracted not a little from the beauty of 
 the place. We could not distinguish the face of the 
 idol, which was lost in the darkness high up in 
 the dome, but M. Shishmarofl: told us it is of great 
 beauty. Where this huge figure was cast or how 
 it ever got to Ourga, does not transpire. It is 
 of enormous antiquity, and was placed there long 
 before the " White Barbarian " ever set foot 
 in these regions. 
 
 Two yellow-clad Lamas, with shaven heads and 
 bare feet, came in as we were leaving, to trim the 
 lamps and collect the alms and offerings that had 
 been left at the feet of Buddha during the day. 
 They seemed rude, ill-conditioned fellows enough, 
 and by no means pleased to see us, nor did the 
 rouble which Petroff gave them elicit anything 
 but a sulky grunt of thanks. " Canaille va ! " 
 said the Cossack, with a fierce twist of his 
 moustache, as we emerged into the open air, 
 " we shall teach you a lesson some day." 
 There is probably no race so jealous of its religion 
 and customs and so intolerant of a stranger's 
 interference as the Mongols. It was with the 
 utmost difficulty that I managed to procure a 
 small prayer-wheel about five inches long (although 
 there were probably thousands of such in Ourga), 
 and then only through the mediation of the Consul, 
 to whom it was given, not sold, by the owner. 
 
'"^'^i(?i 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 177 
 
 Though there are five or six of these miniature 
 wheels in every tent, one never sees them exposed for 
 sale, all being made in the Lama monasteries. 
 
 It was getting dusk as we mounted our ponies to 
 return to the Consulate. This seemed to be the 
 favourite hour for prayer in Ourga, for the thirty 
 or more large prayer-wheels in front of the temple 
 were all in full swing, three or four men and 
 women to each. The creaking and grinding of 
 the spindles was deafening, while the two 
 sloping wooden platforms in front of the palace, 
 used for the purpose of public worship, were 
 covered with prostrate forms at evening prayer. 
 On the way home we rode past some tents pitched 
 on the open space in front of the palace, an 
 encampment of pilgrims which had arrived in Ourga 
 the week before from Manchuria. One tent, that 
 of their chief, was of green silk, and richly 
 ornamented with gold hangings inside and out. 
 They seemed cheery, good-tempered fellows, and 
 gave us a pleasant "good night" as we passed 
 them, seated outside their tents discussing the 
 evening meal round their camp fires. Half a 
 dozen camels and a couple of ponies formed their 
 caravan. They had taken more than three months 
 to do the journey, and were setting out again to 
 return home the following day. 
 
 The day had been close, and a shower of rain 
 towards sundown had made the atmosphere 
 steamy and depressing, as we rode slowly home 
 through the twilight to the Consulate. It was 
 Petroff who first called my attention to a faint 
 sickly odour I had noticed on and off all the after- 
 
178 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 noon during our peregrinations, a hot, pungent 
 smell as of decaying matter, which I had detected 
 in my bedroom at the Consulate the day before, and 
 which seemed to pursue one everywhere in and 
 about Ourga. "You had better light a cigarette," 
 said the colonel, offering me his case. " It is always 
 worse on these damp evenings." 
 
 " Do you mean to say the Consul has not told 
 you of our Golgotha ? " he continued, as soon as we 
 were fairly alight, in reply to my innocent query of 
 how " it " was occasioned. " Why, it is the sight of 
 the place. There is just time before dinner ; we 
 will ride home that way." 
 
 I was no longer surprised after my visit to 
 " Golgotha," as Colonel Petroff facetiously termed 
 the place where hundreds of corpses lay rotting 
 above ground, that the city of Ourga did not smell 
 as sweet as one could wish. My only surprise 
 is, after visiting the spot in question, that plague 
 is not always raging in a city where the inhabitants 
 never dream of burying their dead, but carry them 
 to a spot not three hundred yards from the gates, 
 and there let them slowly decompose in the open 
 air. It would be impossible to imagine a more 
 horrible spectacle than met our eyes on arriving at 
 Golgotha, an open space or cleft between two low 
 green hillocks just outside Ourga, a valley literally 
 crammed with corpses in every stage of decomposi- 
 tion, from the bleached bones of skeletons that had 
 lain there for years, to the disfigured, shapeless 
 masses of flesh that had been living beings but a 
 few days or hours ago. The slowly rising moon 
 shed a pale, unearthly light over the grinning skulls 
 
OOEGA TO KtAKHTA. 179 
 
 and grey, upturned faces of the dead, some of whom 
 lay stark and stiff just as they had been left by their 
 friends, others with their blue shrouds ragged and 
 torn, with disfigured faces and twisted limbs, lying 
 in the horribly grotesque positions in which the dogs 
 or wolves had dragged them. Near us was the 
 body of a woman that had lain there but a few 
 hours, PetrofF said, judging from the clean and 
 untorn appearance of her shroud. A little further 
 off a number of huge dogs were fighting and 
 snarlino' over the remains of a child. Overhead 
 great carrion birds were flapping their huge black 
 wings, occasionally swooping down, with a hoarse 
 croak, to bury beak and talon in some newly arrived 
 corpse. The very ground we trod was composed of 
 human bones which crunched under our ponies' feet 
 as we rode a short distance up the narrow, ghastly 
 defile. The stench was awful. 
 
 I had not much appetite for dinner that evening, 
 a meal we always partook of strictly a la Busse, 
 which means, literally speaking, any amount of rich, 
 greasy food, but no drink to wash it down with. 
 However thirsty one might be, wine, beer, and water 
 were tabooed from the dinner and breakfast table. 
 Bach guest had his small liqueur-glass, but no 
 tumbler, or wine-glass. In front of the Consul 
 stood a miniature battery of Vodka, Kiimmel, and 
 brandy bottles, and on these he rang the changes, 
 replenishing our glasses with the contents of one or 
 the other till the close of the meal, when the hissing 
 Samovar was brought in and tea brewed. Our 
 mouths by this time resembled a burning fiery 
 furnace, and one was glad of a draught of the cup 
 
 
 
180 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 that cheers, hot and unrefreshing as it was. Some- 
 times " Koumiss," or fermented mares' milk, was 
 handed round, a drink of which the colonel and 
 Consul partook largely, but the violent attack of 
 indigestion that half a glass brought on deterred 
 me from ever drinking the stuff, which tastes 
 exactly like butter-milk gone bad. Thirst is a 
 sensation apparently unknown to Russians, and I 
 never saw either the Consul or Petroff drink wine 
 except when once, after a more than usually late 
 night, the latter opened a bottle of champagne the 
 following morning in our honour, and to drink to 
 his speedy union with the fair Olga. 
 
 Moses and Co. had only contracted to bring us 
 as far as Ourga, so we now set about getting fresh 
 camels for the journey to Kiakhta, a distance of 
 over two hundred miles. We were not anxious to 
 prolong our stay in Ourga. One walk through 
 the city had more than satisfied our curiosity, and 
 the unsavoury whiffs that came in at our open 
 windows whenever the wind was blowing from 
 the direction of Grolgotha, only made us the more 
 anxious to hasten our departure, notwithstanding 
 the kind and pressing invitation of our good-natured 
 friend and guide, Petroff, to stay a few days longer. 
 
 We procured camels with less difficulty than T 
 had anticipated, though not without a good deal of 
 haggling and discussion as to price with the greasy 
 old Mongol whose property they were. The old 
 robber insisted on payment beforehand, and insisted 
 on its being made in brick tea, which gave ns an 
 enormous amount of trouble and annoyance. We 
 managed it at last, with the aid of M. Shoolingin, a 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 181 
 
 Russian tea-merchant, but the calculation entailed 
 a consumption of tea. Vodka, and cigarettes that 
 gave us a headache for two days afterwards ! It 
 took us nearly three hours to convert our Kalgan 
 bills into the requisite amount of the awkward 
 cumbersome material that passes current for coin 
 in Ourga and throughout Mongolia. The tea is of 
 the coarsest kind. After being submitted to a 
 pressing and drying process, it is cut up into bricks 
 of 25 cents, 50 cents, and $1 value. The latter are 
 nearly two feet long. The cost of the camels for 
 our journey to Kiakhta was $35, so the old Mongol 
 had to call in two others to help him carry away 
 his spoil, under which he staggered away with a 
 leer that made us doubt whether he had not 
 swindled us, which we afterwards discovered he had 
 to the amount of some $15. Bank-notes have lately 
 been introduced by the Russian tea-firms in Ourga, 
 representing so many bricks of tea each. These 
 would do away with much of the difl&culty attending 
 the carting about of the present heavy, clumsy 
 currency, but the natives will have nothing to do 
 with them. 
 
 We left Ourga at 5 a.m. on the morning of the 
 3rd of August. Our caravan was now considerably 
 reduced in size, for it needed but four camels 
 (besides the two for the carts) to carry our few 
 remaining stores. Early as it was, the Consul and 
 Petroff were at the gate to bid us good-bye. The 
 poor colonel looked sad and down in the mouth. 
 He was thinking, no doubt, of Olga, for whom he 
 gave me innumerable tender messages. As they 
 were confided verbally, and in Russian, it is per- 
 
 2 
 
182 FEOM PJBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 haps as well that I nevev made the acquaintance 
 of the belle of "Beautiful Kiakhta." She would 
 have been somewhat confused at my interpretation 
 of her fiance's messages, and might have taken his 
 declarations of undying love and devotion for my 
 own. As the caravan moved slowly out of the gate 
 on the second stage of our weary journey, the guard 
 gave us three hearty cheers, and we drank a final 
 Vodka with Petroff, arranging to meet, if all went 
 well, the following year in Petersburg, a place the 
 gay, light-hearted soldier seemed far more suited to 
 than the dreary desert-city in which we left him. 
 Pleasing indeed was this our first experience of 
 Russian friendship and hospitality, nor had we ever 
 cause to alter our opinion. With all our vaunted 
 hospitality, I doubt if even the English are not 
 behind the Russians in these two qualities, which I 
 have never seen so general as in Russia and Siberia. 
 
 A caravan of three hundred ox-carts laden with 
 timber and furs passed the gates as we were leaving, 
 going in a contrary direction to ourselves. They 
 were bound for Dolonnor in Manchuria, a town, Pet- 
 roff told us, they would be entering about the same 
 date as that upon which we hoped to be nearing 
 the English Channel at Calais. 
 
 Three separate ranges of mountains lay between 
 us and Kiakhta, one, the " Bain Gol" pass, so steep 
 as to necessitate the using of bullocks to drag the 
 huge unwieldy carts across, for the Mongolian camel 
 has the greatest objection to pulling weights up- 
 hill, be it ever so slight a gradient. Two broad and 
 swift rivers, the " Kharra " and "Irul," have also 
 to be crossed, the former forded, the latter by ferry. 
 
OURGA TO KIAKHTA. 183 
 
 ShistmarofE specially cautioned us not to attempt 
 the passage of tlie Irul after dark, for the stream is 
 dangerous owing to sunken rocks, and the ferry old 
 and insecure. 
 
 We had now nothing to complain of with regard 
 to excess of energy and activity on the part of our 
 drivers. Oar difficulty -with the new Mongols was 
 not to get them to stop, but to go on. The leader, 
 a fat, stumpy old fellow, with eyes like an owl, 
 slept calmly and peacefully on his camel's back 
 throughout the day, only to awake at the midnight 
 halt, from which hour, till we started again at six, 
 he would devote himself to gorging, smoking innu- 
 merable pipes, and saying, or rather singing, his 
 prayers, an operation that kept us awake the greater 
 part of the night. I verily believe we went quite 
 double the distance we should have done, owing to 
 this old wretch's sleepiness and idiotcy. Something 
 was always going wrong. Water running short, 
 packs falling off, the caravan filing quietly away in 
 a direction totally dififerent to that it should have 
 taken, while the old fellow partook of nature's 
 sweet restorer, blissfully unconscious of our cries 
 and threats. No amount of shouting would wake 
 him — indeed, nothing short of pulling him off his 
 camel. At such times he would look at one with 
 an injured stare, shake himself into his seat, and go 
 off again, only to fall asleep a few hundred yards 
 further on, when the operation of ptiUing off had to 
 be repeated. The second driver was, luckily, a 
 bright intelligent boy of about twenty, who saved 
 things from going utterly to the bad. Had it not 
 been for him, we should probably even now be 
 
184 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 vainly endeavouring to reacli the Russo-Chinese 
 frontier. 
 
 I do not think we got more than twelve hours' 
 sleep in all during the journey from Ourga to 
 Kiakhta, and this was the greatest discomfort with 
 which one had to contend. Even when, after an 
 uninterrupted spell of hard work for twelve hours, 
 the caravan halted at midnight till daybreak, sleep 
 was often impossible from the very knowledge that 
 in five hours at most one would have to be on the 
 tramp again. Besides the hammering in of tent- 
 pegs, and chopping of firewood, the prayers of 
 our somnolent driver often lasted till four or 
 half-past, and put sleep out of the question. A 
 Mongol is never so wakeful and active as at night, 
 and if he is musically inclined, always indulges 
 this propensity in the darkness, when all right- 
 minded people are courting the drowsy god. 
 Expostulating was useless, as any one who has 
 ever been brought in contact with this strange 
 race will understand. 
 
 We were now a good deal bothered by mosquitoes 
 and sandflies, an annoyance from which we had been 
 free throughout Northern China and the desert pro- 
 per. Now,however, these pests attacked usnight and 
 dayin myriads, and we suffered a good deal from their 
 bites, which were unusually severe and poisonous. 
 
 Our younger camel -driver carried a very original 
 prayer-wheel, a sort of miniature windmill let into 
 the butt-end of his thick, heavy whip. When set 
 going and held against the wind, this ingenious 
 contrivance would spin away without cessation for 
 hours together. He was a devout youth, and it was 
 
OUEGA TO KIAKHTA. 185 
 
 a long time before I could induce him to part with 
 it, but love of filthy lucre finally overcame religious 
 scruples, and I managed to buy it of him on arrival 
 at Kiakhta for a couple of roubles, under the strict- 
 est injunctions not to tell the " Old Sheep," as he 
 irreverently termed the sleepy Lama. 
 
 We reached the banks of the Kharra at nine 
 o'clock on the morning of the 6th of August. This 
 river is a tributary of the Khon River, which has its 
 source near the Kara Korum Mountains in central 
 Mongolia, and after winding its course of nearly 700 
 miles, flows into the great inland sea of Lake Baikal, 
 after watering the towns of Kiakhta and Selen- 
 ginsk, where, however, it is not navigable. There 
 was no ferry, but we managed to ford it pretty easily. 
 
 Four o'clock the following morning saw us at the 
 foot of the mountain, to cross which we were to 
 abandon the camels and take to oxen. Sjlvia was 
 despatched in quest of the latter, but did not return 
 with them till nearly three o'clock the following 
 afternoon. We thus had a delay of nearly twenty- 
 four hours, but were not. altogether sorry, for the 
 shaking and jolting of the past two days made one 
 glad of a rest. We encamped close to a limestone 
 mountain, about five hundred feet high, from the 
 summit of which a huge piece of rock, quite a hun- 
 dred feet in height, had become detached, and 
 crumbling away as clean as if cut with a knife, had 
 fallen on to the caravan-track immediately below. 
 It was six o'clock by the time we had got the 
 bullocks in and commenced the ascent of the pass, 
 which, gradual at first, became very difficult long 
 before we reached the summit. One bullock was 
 
186 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 harnessed to the shafts, the other to the axle of the 
 wheel, but so severe was the strain the ropes con- 
 tinually broke on the way up. The cart and pack 
 camels were in readiness to take us on when we 
 reached the other side. Though a distance of only 
 five miles from where we encamped, tliey took 
 nearly eight hours to do the journey. 
 
 The way lay at first through a narrow ravine 
 thickly grown with pine and silver birch. Through 
 the centre ran a clear running brook, plashing over 
 limestone rocks and boulders, and almost hidden 
 by ferns and wild flowers. Above us towered the 
 almost perpendicular wall of rock that must be 
 conquered before nightfall, if we wished to avoid 
 camping out all night on some rocky ledge — not a 
 pleasing prospect — for it was already bitterly cold 
 out of the rays of the sun. I noticed here, growing 
 in great luxuriance, a bright yellow poppy — a colour 
 in which I had always imagined that flower was un- 
 known. This part of the mountain also swarmed 
 with enormous hares. We must have seen some 
 thirty or forty, and could easily have bagged half a 
 dozen, but Moses would not hear of it, or of our de- 
 laying the caravan for a moment to get out our guns. 
 As the ascent was getting harder every moment, we 
 did not argue the matter. 
 
 I think that was quite the worst bit of mountain 
 work we did the whole journey. Every moment I 
 thought the bullocks would give in, or the carts go 
 to pieces. The boulders they had to get over, holes 
 and water-courses to get out of, would have seemed 
 incredible to any one unacquainted with Mongolian 
 travel. On foot it was bad enough, and we were 
 
OURQA TO KIAKHTA. 187 
 
 glad we had sent on the ponies, for it would have 
 been impossible to clinsb and lead them as well. 
 Every ten minutes or so a halt was made for a 
 quarter of an hour. Thus we toiled on, till half- 
 past eight o'clock, when we found ourselves on the 
 summit, after four hours of as hard, physical work 
 as I ever experienced. 
 
 The moon had now risen, which made the view 
 from the summit very picturesque. Round us on 
 every side stretched away chains of lofty mountains, 
 their limestone peaks gleaming white in the moon- 
 light, while a grey, flaky mist half hid the deep 
 gorges of pine and fir-trees at our feet, A bright 
 light shining out of the darkness in the distance 
 showed where our camels awaited us on the plain — 
 twelve hundred feet below. We rested for an hour, 
 to give the bullocks breathing- time, and then com- 
 menced the descent. It was a weird scene. A 
 Chinese lantern just sufficed to make darkness visi- 
 ble, and show that We had halted by the side of a 
 huge cairn, about twenty feet high, formed 
 of stones, bits of stick, mutton bones, and strewn 
 here and there with bits of red, yellow, and white 
 cloth covered with Tibetan and Mongol characters. 
 As we left the spot, our Mongols, unable to find a 
 stone, each picked up a branch of fir, and placed it 
 reverently on the heap. These are looked on as 
 offerings to the " God of travellers," who protects 
 the faithful from peril while on a journey. 
 
 Our road was now clear to Kiakhta, and there 
 were no further difficulties to be got over, excepting 
 the Irul river — a broad, swift stream, the crossing 
 of which is dangerous at certain seasons. Jee Boo, 
 
188 FEOM PEKIN TO CAMIS BY LAND. 
 
 ever a Job's comforter, told us that the natives 
 reported heavy rains, and if such was the case, we 
 should certainly have a tough job of it. But he had 
 so often cried " "Wolf," we paid no heed to his state- 
 ment. 
 
 We travelled on all night, halting at nine the next 
 morning for tea and biscuits. Part of the work was 
 very fatiguing, as we had to cross several miles of 
 country thickly covered with huge molehills, over 
 which the carts jolted terribly, for there was no 
 beaten track. The shaking at last became so un- 
 bearable that we left the carts at 4 a.m., tired as 
 we were, and walked till the morning halt. We 
 passed, just after sunrise, a large wooden building, 
 a monastery of Tibetan architecture, its white 
 facades gaudy with blue and red stripes and a gilt 
 cupola. As we passed, two or three Lamas came 
 out and blessed the caravan in the usual manner, 
 an operation which necessitated a stoppage of half 
 an hour. 
 
 Nearly the whole of this day's work was through 
 deep, drifting sand — in many places over the axles. 
 At mid-day there was not a blade of grass or vege- 
 tation to be seen. This part of the country was, in 
 fact, far more like one's idea of what a desert 
 should be than anything we had come through in 
 Gobi. In the midst of this sandy waste (about fif- 
 teen miles in length), we came to a green valley or 
 oasis, fresh and beautiful. The descent to it (for it 
 lay in a hollow whence not a particle of sand was 
 visible) was about fifty feet deep. Grass grew 
 luxuriantly here, and a clear brook of running water 
 springing from Heaven knows where, ran the whole 
 
OUllGA TO KIAKHTA. 189 
 
 length of the defile into a small lake or pond at the 
 end — a dark, shady pool fringed with willows, and 
 covered with white, broad-leaved water-lilies. Wild 
 flowers of all kinds covered the roadway, among 
 them the forget-me-not and marguerites of a deli- 
 cate mauve colour. Although the sun had been 
 hot and scorching out on the sand, the air struck 
 like a cold bath the moment we entered this fertile 
 valley, but so damp was the atmosphere, that our 
 clothes were wringing wet when we emerged at the 
 other end. The mosquitoes and sandflies, too, were 
 the largest and most venomous I have ever seen or 
 felt, and our faces and hands so inflamed that we 
 had to stop the caravan and bathe them with am- 
 monia, which, however, did little good, for we got 
 no sleep for twenty-four hours after. The bites 
 took days to heal. Game of all sorts, duck, teal, 
 and widgeon, appeared to abound in this " sleepy 
 hollow," and we managed to bag a duck, which 
 made a welcome addition to the usual menu of pre- 
 served meat and sardines. 
 
 The morning of the 8th August broke dull and 
 lowering, and about mid-day a thin rain commenced 
 falling, which by degrees increased to a steady 
 downpour at 4 a.m. We were to reach the Irul 
 river at about sunset, and, if possible, cross before 
 dark, but felt, if Jee Boo's prediction were true, 
 that we should indeed have our work cut out. The 
 woolly, grey clouds and leaden sky gave but little 
 promise of a break in the weather. Our only 
 prayer was that the wind might not rise, but in 
 this we were also disappointed, for by the time we 
 had reached the banks of the river, or rather the 
 
190 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 margin, for it Had overflowed for a considerable 
 distance, the sky was as black as ink, the rain com- 
 ing down in sheets, and the wind blowing in violent 
 gusts that threatened every moment to blow the 
 carts clean over. To think of crossing that night 
 would have been madness. To say nothing of the 
 fact that another caravan was waiting to be ferried 
 over before us, the ferryman would not answer for 
 the strength of the rope holding out against the 
 current and gale combined. Still, if the Gospodins 
 liked, and did not mind risking it, the head man 
 (who was a Bouriatte, and spoke Russian well,) 
 would do what he could to get them over. The 
 Gospodins, however, strongly objected to risking it, 
 and determined to make themselves as comfortable 
 as circumstances and the last half-bottle of whisky 
 would permit, till morning. 
 
 The stream, next morning, was still swollen from 
 theincessant rain; but the caravan that had encamped 
 next us had crossed at daylight in safety, with the 
 exception of the loss of one bullock. Our camels 
 were taken to a ford about a mile up stream, and 
 we preferred accompanying them to trusting our- 
 selves to the rickety old boat and frayed, rotten- 
 looking rope, for the new one had not yet arrived. 
 The ferry itself did not look capable of carrying 
 half a dozen men, much less a heavy, clumsy camel- 
 cart. Arrived at the ford, however, the spectacle of 
 the leading camel suddenly disappeaidng from view 
 in a deep hole made us change our minds and return 
 to the boat. The first cart had just been got in, 
 and we leapt on board just as they were shoving off 
 into the stream. 
 
OUECJA TO KIAEHTA. 191 
 
 Little more than half way across, a huge snag or 
 tree trunk got entangled with the rope and impeded 
 our passage. I thought it quite time to say my 
 prayers, for, had the cart tilted over, we must have 
 followed it. It was a trying moment. The deafen- 
 ing roar of the torrent, pale, scared faces of the 
 Mongols, as they rushed to and fro screaming and 
 yelling to each other, but doing nothing to lessen 
 the strain on the rope, which, stretched to its ut- 
 most, threatened to snap every moment. At last 
 one of the men, wiser and pluckier than the rest, 
 rushed to the bows, and with a superhuman effort 
 dislodged the heavy mass, and sent it tumbling 
 away down-stream, and we forged slowly ahead 
 again, with a sigh of relief, for I fully expected our 
 last hour had come. 
 
 We left the Irul at mid-day. Travelling was 
 now easier, and the jolting scarcely perceptible on 
 the hard, gravelly track that leads from the banks 
 of this river right into the town of Kiakhta. Al- 
 though the country is uncultivated, the scenery we 
 passed through would have compared favourably 
 with the lovelier parts of Switzerland and the Tyrol. 
 Green fertile plains surrounded by chains of undu- 
 lating fir-clad hills, occasional belts of forest with 
 flowers and ferns in profusion, bubbling waterfalls 
 splashing down the hillsides, through the moss- 
 grown, ivy-clad boulders, then through vast plains 
 of pasture again — such was the scenery we passed 
 through the day before reaching Kiakhta. There 
 grew, also, throughout this region (I saw it no- 
 where else) a long-stalked, star-shaped, violet 
 flower, with a strong scent of heliotrope. The air 
 
192 FEOir PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 was full of tlie scent for miles around, and one could 
 see great violet patches of it on the green plain, 
 stretching away at intervals to the horizon on every 
 side. I doubt if there is a country in the world 
 where wild flowers grow so luxuriantly as in parts 
 of Mongolia. 
 
 The succeeding day (August 10th) we got into a 
 sandy region again, with intervals of grass plain. 
 Some of the drifts being of great depth, the camels 
 had a bad time of it, and suffered severely from the 
 heat. Poor little Karra could scarcely stagger 
 along, and had Kiakhta been a couple of days 
 further, I doubt if he would ever have reached 
 Siberia. Lancaster's cart seemed under a curse ; 
 for to-day, the driver being, as usual, asleep, the 
 near wheel ran up a high sand-hillock and upset 
 the whole machine, Lancaster being asleep inside 
 at the time. It was luckily deep sand, or it must 
 have been a nasty fall. It was fortunate, too, our 
 journey was over, for the camel, falling under the 
 shaft, had split it clean in two. I firmly believe 
 the Mongol would have been sent to his fathers, 
 had a revolver been handy, and I had the greatest 
 difficulty in preventing my friend from going for 
 him with the broken shaft. 
 
 About four o'clock a glittering speck on the 
 horizon attracted our attention, which an hour later 
 proved to be the spire of Kiakhta Cathedral. By 
 six o'clock we were full in sight of the town of 
 Maimachin, the Chinese settlement, its pagodas and 
 quaint architecture standing out in striking con- 
 trast to the Russian cathedral, with its golden dome, 
 the European stone-built houses, and regular streets 
 
OUBGA TO EIAKHTA. 193 
 
 and squares of Kiaklita. Skirting the wooden walls 
 surrounding Maimachin, we find ourselves on a 
 broad, level piece of ground about six hundred yards 
 broad, with, on the right hand, a guard-house and 
 high wooden gates, surmounted by the Imperial 
 Eagle, while to our left the Chinese flag, hoisted on 
 to a long red pole, floats in front of the governor 
 of Maimachin's residence. We are standing on 
 neutral ground, and in another minute have passed 
 the Cossack, who from the depths of a black and 
 white sentry-box, eyes the caravan with a stolid, 
 indifl'erent expression, but, curious to relate, does 
 not ask for our passports. The first stage of our 
 journey is over. We are in the Eussian Empire. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 
 
 A SQUAKB, whitewashed room, its walls and un- 
 carpeted floor reeking with filth, and devoid of all 
 furniture save a table and two hard, straight-backed 
 chairs, and an overpowering smell of sewage from 
 a cesspool beneath the open window, through which 
 a crowd of shock-headed Siberian boys watch our 
 every movement. An old man, in greasy rags and 
 redolent of garlic, who resolutely refuses to allow us 
 to enter even this fetid den unless the lodgiug- 
 money is prepaid. No bed, no food, no drink, 
 no "washing appliances — such are the comforts 
 awaiting us at the " Hotel Glembodski," Kiakhta, 
 the only inn in the place. 
 
 It was disappointing, to say the least of it. We 
 had passed well-built, luxurious-looking houses on 
 our way through the town, and expected to find, at 
 any rate, the bare necessaries of life. Nay, more ; 
 when we saw the almost palatial houses of the tea- 
 merchants surrounded by gardens and conserva- 
 tories, neat, well-kept public gardens, smart car- 
 riages of every description, and men and women 
 dressed in the latest European fashion, visions 
 appeared of a really well-cooked dinner washed 
 
KTAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 195 
 
 down witli iced cliampagne ; but, alas ! not for 
 long. Ice there was, certainly, but we drank it in 
 " quass ; " while for food we had to fall back on 
 our own stale provisions. 
 
 "Can we have anything to eat?" was our first 
 question, when, having failed in getting any water 
 to wash in, we made up our minds to " pig it " that 
 night, and present our credentials to the governor of 
 Kiakhta in the morning. But there was no food 
 in the house, the old man said, and all the shops 
 were shut. To-morrow they would be open at six, 
 " and we could breakfast early," he added, by way 
 of consolation. 
 
 A pleasant welcome after a journey of eight 
 hundred miles, I thought that night as I lay down 
 in my sheepskins on the grimy floor, wondering 
 whether it would be as bad as this throughout 
 Siberia. The stench, rats, and vermin, kept us 
 awake more than half the night. I would have 
 given a good deal to be back in mid-desert. There, 
 at least, one had fresh air. 
 
 It poured with rain all next day. Our ill-luck did 
 not desert us, for on calling at the governor's house in 
 the morning, we were told he was away, and would 
 probably not return for a fortnight at lea,st, by which 
 time we hoped to be many miles from Kiakhta. M. 
 Gribooshin, a tea-merchant, on whom I had a letter 
 of credit, was also away shooting in Mongolia ; but 
 his clerk provided us with the necessary funds, and 
 we left his luxurious mansion with a sigh of regret 
 to return wet and dispirited to our squalid room 
 at the inn, and settle our plans for getting out of 
 the dismal, inhospitable place as quickly as possible. 
 
196 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 I have seldom passed a more miserable day. No 
 fire (for it vras cold and damp), no books, no food 
 excepting some greasy soup, the ingredients of 
 which T shudder to think of ; and when night came 
 on, no light but that from a flickering oil wick 
 which just sufficed to make our wretched surround- 
 ings visible. I managed to glean from our host 
 that he was a Polish exile, and had been sent here 
 after the insurrection of 1864. If all his country- 
 men have the same notions of comfort, I thought, 
 banishment to Liberia can aSPect them but 
 little. 
 
 The town of Kiakhta is divided into two parts, 
 Kiakhta, the town proper, where the governor or 
 frontier commissioner lives, and where are situated 
 most of the tea-warehouses and offices, and Troitz- 
 kosavsk, a suburb about half a mile distant, almost 
 entirely composed of private houses belonging to the 
 merchants. The population of Kiakhta, with Troitz- 
 kosavsk, is a little under six thousand, but this does 
 not include the Chinese settlement of Maimachin, 
 containing four thousand souls, all of whom are men. 
 There is not a woman nor child in the place, the 
 Chinese law forbidding wives to accompany their 
 husbands beyond the Great Wall of China. "We 
 visited Maimachin, and found it far cleaner than 
 most Chinese towns. There were but eight streets, 
 all wide and well-drained. The houses are of wood 
 and brick, and some of them gorgeously decorated 
 with vermilion and gold. Many of the population 
 spoke Russian, and all the wealthier merchants. I 
 visited the house of one while he was employed in 
 " tasting tea," by driving a hollow piece of metal 
 
KTAEHTA TO IRKOUTSK. 197 
 
 into the chest like a cheese scoop, and drawing out 
 a small sample. 
 
 Our so-called hotel was situate in the main street 
 of Troitzkosavsk, which is a sad, dreary-looking 
 place. Most of the houses are of unpainted wood, 
 which give it a sombre look; though the college, 
 church, and principal merchants' houses are built of 
 whitewashed brick, with bright green roofs, and 
 detract somewhat from the depressing aspect around. 
 Kiakhta is a terrible place for bells. They were 
 eternally going, morning, noon, and night — not a 
 lively, cheery peal, but a slow, solemn tolling, like a 
 continual passing-bell. But for this Troitzkosavsk 
 is the sleepiest and most dead-alive town imaginable. 
 Except, towards evening, when the population turn 
 out en masse for a breath of fresh air, there is 
 seldom a sound to break, the dead silence that 
 reigns in the uupaved, dusty street that con- 
 stitutes its main thoroughfare, from morning till 
 night. 
 
 Kiakhta is not unhealthy. It is not subject to 
 the violent and sudden changes of temperature found 
 further south in Mongolia. It seldom rains or 
 snows. Travellers in winter have, as a rule, to drive 
 out a distance of eight or ten miles before they can 
 get into the sleigh which is to bear them to Irkoutsk, 
 Tomsk, Yakoutzk, or other parts of Siberia. The 
 coldest and hottest weather expei'ienced in Kiakhta 
 summer and winter are 95° and 33° below zero 
 respectively, figures that may sound startling to the 
 reader, but nothing compared to Yakoutzk, where 
 in mid -winter the temperature sometimes drops to 
 68" below zero. The earth at the latter place is 
 
 p 2 
 
198 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 said to be always frozen below the surface to a 
 depth of over thirty feet, sunjmer and winter. 
 
 Five o'clock in the afternoon is the. busiest part 
 of the day in the frontier-city. Then it is that 
 the whole population turns out, the wealthier part 
 for its evening drive, the poorer to listen to the 
 military band which plays every day throughout the 
 summer in the public gardens. Had it not been for 
 the motley crowd of Russians, Chinese, Mongolians, 
 Bouriattes, and other queer races in their bright, 
 gaudy costumes, one might have been in the gardens 
 of some garrison-town in Prance or Germany, so 
 civilized were air but the human surroundings. It 
 was amusing to watch the female elite of Kiakhta, 
 the wives and daughters of wealthy tea-merchants, 
 dressed in the latest Paris fashions, flirting, talking 
 scandal, and ruining their neighbours' reputations, 
 just like their more civilized sisters ten thousand 
 miles away in London or Paris, Equally interest- 
 ing was it to stroll about among the crowd of 
 Cossack officers, resplendent in white and gold, 
 Mongol Tartars, in rags and silk, Siberian peasants 
 in Eussian dress, Chinese soldiers from Miamachin, 
 Russian soldiers from Kiakhta, nursemaids with 
 children and perambulators, and men in frock-coats 
 and tall hats. The gardens at Kiakhta were a sight 
 worth seeing. It was hard to realize that the desert 
 of Gobi is but a stone's throw from this scene of 
 almost European civilization. 
 
 Yf e took an affectionate farewell of Jee Boo two 
 days after our arrival. The carts were returning to 
 Kalgan, and as Chinamen have an innate horror of 
 crossing the desert with strange Mongols, he had 
 determined to go with them, though we offered him 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 199 
 
 a good round sum if he would wait and see us out 
 of Kiakhta, for I knew but a few words of Eussian, 
 certainly not enough to complete the purchase of 
 our tarantass or travelling-carriage satisfactorily. 
 He was obdurate, however, also the Mongols, so we 
 had to make the best of it, trusting to find some 
 one who could speak a few words of English, though 
 that seemed improbable enough in Kiakhta. 
 
 But we found a friend in need, and when 
 we least expected it. The town of Troitzkosavsk 
 boasts a college, established and maintained by a 
 private individual — an enormously wealthy gold- 
 miner. One must have lived in a place where not a 
 soul understands your native language to appreciate 
 
 our delight when we met Professor R , a German 
 
 by birth, but professor of English at the college, who 
 had, by the way, only just arrived here, and who 
 greeted us in our own tongue, one morning with a 
 familiar " Good morning, gentlemen. I think I am 
 addressing the two travellers from Pekin." x^ever 
 did the English tongue sound so sweet to my ears, 
 for we were now out of our dilemma, and accepting 
 the professor's invitation, followed him home to his 
 rooms for breakfast. 
 
 The world is small indeed, for Professor R 
 
 and we had many mutual friends, whose names 
 sounded odd in the mouth of a stranger at what 
 might well be called the uttermost ends of the earth. 
 Our new acquaintance had had a strange career 
 before drifting to this remote part of Asia. By 
 birth a German, and a gentleman's son, he had left 
 home when a lad, and enlisted in the 22nd Regi- 
 ment, where he was promoted to the rank of ser- 
 geant. Leaving the service in 1870, he was 
 
200 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 appointed teacher of the Grermari language at 
 Southsea Naval College, a post he afterwards left 
 to assist Mr. F , of Storrington, Sussex, a well- 
 known private tutor. Professor R had left 
 
 Storrington to take up an appointment as professor 
 of German at the Royal Naval College, Petersburg, 
 from whence he had been promoted to Senior Pro- 
 fessor of English at the College of Kiakhta. A 
 
 born linguist, Herr R was proficient in English, 
 
 French, Russian, Italian, and last, but not least, 
 Mongolian. The latter, however, he had only taken 
 up for a few months, and was compelled to admit that 
 the mastering of it was hardly worth the candle. 
 
 " We will go for a walk after breakfast," said 
 our host. " But I must first introduce you to the 
 lions of Kiakhta, after which we will see about the 
 tarantass." Breakfast over, we set out with our 
 friend for a ramble round the place. 
 
 The professor was, like all Germans, no friend of 
 Russia. "What are they but pigs, these Siberians?" 
 said he, as we walked down to Kiakhta. " The 
 men are all thieves, do nothing all day but smoke, 
 drink, and play cards. As for the women, you can 
 easily imagine what becomes of them under such 
 circumstances. There is nb rational amusement 
 of any kind here, no sport among the men, no 
 music or dancing among the women, nothing but 
 vodka, vodka, vodka, cards, cards, cards, all day 
 long. Ah ! mon cher, n'e^i parlons plus. Qe sont des 
 canailles .' " 
 
 The cathedral of Kiakhta, which was entirely 
 built by tea-merchants, is a beautiful building of 
 Byzantine architecture. The cost is said to have 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 201 
 
 been 150,000Z. sterling, and after seeing the gor- 
 geous decorations of the interior, one had no 
 difficulty in believing this. The altar alone, of 
 solid gold, silver, and platinum, cost 30,000L, while 
 the principal doors of the building are of solid 
 silver, and weigh 200 lbs. A huge candlestick and 
 chandelier studded with emeralds, rubies, and 
 diamonds, and several beautifully executed oil 
 paintings from Europe, together with some Ikons 
 or sacred pictures, thickly encrusted with precious 
 stones, completed the decoration of the interior of the 
 building, which though, like most Russian churches, 
 of a florid style, was exceedingly beautiful. A peal 
 of eight bells, made in Moscow, and of great weight, 
 must have added not a little to the general cost, for 
 they had to be dragged two thousand miles through 
 the deep, muddy roads of Siberia. There are two 
 smaller churches in Kiakhta besides a large ceme- 
 tery, lying between that town and Troitzkosavsk. 
 
 " They are perfect Rothschilds in their way," 
 said the professor, as walking home I noticed what 
 palatial buildings some of the tea-merchants and 
 gold-miners had erected, " but with no more 
 manners than their own bullocks — in fact they are 
 a class of themselves, and Siberia is the very best 
 place for them. No one would stand them in 
 Europe." 
 
 There are, the professor told us, about fifteen of 
 these men living in Kiakhta, one of them worth at 
 least a million sterling. Walking back to Troitzko- 
 savsk that day, we passed a huge building on the 
 roadside, erected by M. Nempshinof — the millionaire 
 in question — for a mausoleum for himself, at a cost 
 
202 FEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of 40,000Z. sterling. But all this is done more for 
 vanity than anything else. Their donations to the 
 poor, their gifts to the church, their building of 
 churches, is not done from charity so much as a desire 
 to show that they can spend more money than their 
 
 neighbour. In Kiakhta, Herr E • told us, their 
 
 daily life consists in rising about mid-day, winter and 
 summer, going down, if in the tea-season, to inspect 
 the tea-bags and chests which sometimes burst or 
 break in transit across Gobi, after which they visit 
 each other's houses and settle down to cards and 
 champagne (at Rs. 13 [IZ. lOs.j a bottle), with short 
 intervals for refreshment, till four or five the next 
 morning, when, helplessly drunk, they reel home 
 to bed, or rather to a chair or sofa, for there are 
 no beds in Kiakhta, even in the best regulated 
 families. The favourite game in Kiakhta is nap, at 
 which these men gamble for tremendously high sums, 
 sometimes playing lOOOL a trick. Intellectual 
 amusements they have none, indeed the majority 
 cannot even read ! But I shall have more to say 
 of these strange creatures anon, and must now give 
 the reader a full and graphic account of an evening 
 party a la SiMrienne ! 
 
 " M. Wormoff, my colleague, has deputed me to 
 invite you to dine this evening," said the professor, 
 as we were about to bid him good evening. " Will 
 you come ? Do not let me persuade you against 
 your will, but I think you will be amused at 
 our, or let me rather say their, manners and 
 customs." 
 
 We gladly accepted, and presented ourselves at 
 M. Wormoff's residence at nine o'clock, the hour 
 mentioned. Eather late, we thought, but no doubt 
 
KIAKHTA TO IKKOUTSK. 203 
 
 the Siberian custom, though having tasted no food 
 since breakfast, Glembodski having (as usual) no- 
 thing in the house, we would willingly have dined 
 an hour or two earlier. 
 
 The guests were already assembled when wo 
 arrived, including our German friend, who intro- 
 duced us to all present ; Professor Wormoff, his 
 newly married wife, a pretty little woman from 
 Tomsk, in "Western Siberia, Captain Cherkoff, of the 
 Cossacks, who evidently thought Madame Wormoff 
 a pleasant addition to Kiakhta society, a Russian 
 professor of music, of mathematics, and chemistry 
 (the last a German), the post-master, and ourselves. 
 Of these Cherkoff and the chemist spoke French, the 
 others not a word of anything but Russian. 
 
 Wormoff had a charming house, and evidences of 
 his wife's good taste could be everywhere seen in 
 the drawing-room, into which we were shown. 
 Introductions over, everybody sat solemnly down 
 without a word, and Madame Wormoff left the 
 room. I confess I hoped she had gone to see about 
 dinner, but half-past eight, nine, half-past nine 
 came, and no signs of moving. About this time 
 Cherkofl' offered me a cigarette, which, more to 
 stave off the pangs of hunger than anything else, I 
 accepted and lit. There was a magnificent grand 
 piano (by Erard) in the room, upon which I was 
 asked to perform, and played, with as much spirit 
 as I could muster, the Russian Hymn and other 
 patriotic airs, but they fell flat, and no wonder. 
 Everybody appeared to me to be getting gradually 
 paler and paler with hunger, nor could I, with any 
 propriety, get anywhere near R , who was sitting 
 
204 PEOM PEKIjST to CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 next our host, to ask him if we were ever going to 
 have anything to eat. 
 
 At last, about 11.30, the door opened, and a 
 servant entered, bearing a tray with two large 
 bottles of vodka. This, I thought, looked like a 
 preliminary to food, at any rate the spirit kept 
 faintness off ! A quarter of an hour later Madame 
 Wormoff returned to announce that dinner (dinner 
 at 11.30 ! !) was ready, and we adjourned gravely to 
 an upstairs apartment, where the repast awaited us. 
 In a corner of the room stood a small table set out 
 with smoked herrings, salmon, cheese, caviar, and 
 flanked by half a dozen huge bottles of vodka, 
 cognac, cura9ao, kiimmel, and other liqueurs. 
 Here every one took a morsel of cheese or fish in 
 his fingers, and gravely drank our health one by 
 one, turning their glass up, if we did not drain ours 
 to the dregs, to show that it was empty. By the 
 time supper was served my head began to swim, 
 for I had had to imbibe in this way, and on an 
 empty stomach, seven or eight glasses of vodka, 
 a liquid to which I was totally unaccustomed, and 
 which is, I need not say, extremely potent. 
 
 One diminutive chicken and half a dozen small 
 cutlets do not go far among half a dozen hungry 
 men, but that was literally the only food there was. 
 There was plenty to drink ; but what drink ! 
 Brandy, vodka, and white port (English made). 
 Beer, claret, or sherry, there was none, or even 
 water, for after devouring salt fish like so many 
 Esquimaux, one would gladly have put up with the 
 latter had there been any. 
 
 Madame Wormoff retired to rest shortly after 
 
KIAEHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 205 
 
 midnight. Strangely enough, we missed our friend 
 the Cossack at the very same moment. Such a 
 proceeding would have seemed somewhat strange 
 anywhere else, especially as the gallant Captain 
 returned in half an hour, after a prolonged tite-a-tete 
 with Madame. But nobody, even Wormoff, seemed 
 the least surprised. 
 
 The lady's departure was the signal for real hard 
 drinking to commence, though, indeed, our com- 
 panions had lost no time before she left. In vain 
 I protested that I never drank port, that strong 
 liquor disagreed with me ; my hosts either would 
 not or could not understand, and insisted on my 
 drinking with them separately and in turn. " Do 
 not refuse, or they will pick a quarrel with, you," 
 
 whispered R ; and not wishing to be mixed up 
 
 in a Tnelee with these giants, not one of whom was 
 under six feet high, I made a virtue of necessity. 
 It reminded me of the scene between the celebrated 
 Mr. Jorrocks and his huntsman, who, when they 
 had exhausted all other toasts, drank the healths of 
 all the hounds separately. When our friends liad ex- 
 hausted the Czar, the Russian army, and navy, the 
 Queen of England, and all reigning potentates, in- 
 cluding the Emperor of China, they fell back on them- 
 selves. I must have drunk at least three bottles of 
 port that night, to say nothing of vodka, and by the 
 time we left the table to adjourn to the piano and 
 wind up the evening, or rather morning, with song, 
 my throat was like a lime-kiln, and my head spinning 
 like a teetotum. 
 
 All at the table were the worse for liquor ; but 
 the scholastic representatives of mathematics and 
 
206 FKOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAXD. 
 
 cliemistiy were, to say the least of it, very drunk 
 indeed. I was the innocent cause of a severe and 
 sanguinary combat between them. Earlier in the 
 evening, our conversation having turned upon 
 duelling, I had related to the Cossack captain, 
 much to his amusement, the story of the three- 
 cornered duel in "Mr. Midshipman Easy," which is 
 probably familiar to the reader. The mathema- 
 tical professor insisted on the joke being translated 
 to him by the professor of chemistry, which, with 
 no little difficulty, the latter did, but it instantly 
 led to a wrangle. No three men, said the mathe- 
 matician, could fire at each other. The thing was 
 absurd, unfair, preposterous ; one of them must be 
 at a disadvantage. The discussion became so heated 
 at last that Wormoff had to put a stop to it, think- 
 ing every instant the pair would come to blows, and 
 peace was, for a time, restored. 
 
 We then adjourned to the drawing-room, where 
 all sang and shouted at the top of their voices, 
 regardless of time or tune, till past 4 a.m. If poor 
 Madame Wormoff slept anywhere near, she must 
 have had a bad time of it. Suddenly, while at the 
 p iano, a low, choking sound attracted my attention, 
 and I looked underneath to find Eussia (represented 
 by the mathematician), lying on the top of Germany 
 (represented by the chemist), and slowly but surely 
 throttling her. The thing had been done so quietly 
 that neither Lancaster nor myself had noticed it, and 
 the others had returned to the dining-room and their 
 vodka. Quickly summoning Wormoff, we managed 
 to get them apart, but not without' difficulty. The 
 Eussian had decidedly the best of the combat, for 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 207 
 
 the chemist was half dead, his face purple, arid eyes 
 protruding. It took at least half a bottle of vodka 
 to bring him rouad again, and enable him to inform 
 us that the casus belli was still the triangular duel ! 
 The Cossack was all for blood, and wanted them 
 to fight it out with pistols in the morning. Nothing, 
 he said, would settle the question but practical de- 
 monstration, and he would be charmed to make a 
 third, but this was fortunately averted. 
 
 It was broad daylight when we separated, 
 English bottled stout being handed round as a 
 finale to the entertainment. It costs about a guinea 
 a bottle in "Kiakhta, and we drank it out of small 
 wine-glasses. Then every one kissed every one else 
 (this we found one of the most trying ordeals in 
 Siberia), and we separated, having accepted an 
 invitation to dine next evening with the post- 
 master, but dearly hoping by that time to have left 
 Kiakhta, little knowing that our would-be host 
 alone had the power to grant us a Podardjna, and 
 horses to take us to Irkoutsk. Oherkoff insisted on 
 seeing us home to the door of the hotel, where, after 
 affectionately kissing me on the forehead, he left us, 
 and tacked up the street, his sword rattling between 
 his legs, to morning parade at 5.30. So ended our 
 first evening party in Siberia ! 
 
 We bought a tarantass next morning, and were 
 lucky enough to get a very good one, though it had 
 just done a long journey, and necessitated a delay 
 of a couple of days to have the wheels, axles, c&c, 
 thoroughly overhauled before setting out on the 
 two thousand miles of rough and trying road that 
 lay between us and Tomsk. There was little trouble 
 
208 FROM PBKIN" TO CAF^AIS BY LAND. 
 
 about stores. A small box of tea, a bag containing 
 sugar, two or three loaves of white bread, and half 
 a dozen lemons are all the Siberian travels with, and 
 we resolved to do the same, indeed there would have 
 been no room for more, for the tarantass was 
 already full to overflowing with our portmanteaus 
 and gun-cases. It may here be as well to give the 
 reader a brief description of the vehicle, which in 
 summer replaces the sleigh in Siberia, and which is 
 admirably adapted for long journeys and rough 
 roads. 
 
 A tarantass resembles a large cradle on four 
 wheels. The body of our vehicle was -about seven 
 feet in length by five feet broad, and the bottom 
 being concave, gave us plenty of room wherein to 
 pack our portmanteaus and other luggage impedi- 
 menta. There are neither seats nor springs, the 
 occupants lying at full length on a mattress placed 
 over the luggage or bottom of the carriage. A 
 hood, capable of being folded back, covers the 
 occupant partially, and from this hood to the driver's 
 seat in front can be spread an apron to serve as a 
 further protection. The body of the tarantass rests 
 on poles,- and these rest in turn on the axletrees and 
 wheels. The poles are generally springy, and much 
 longer than the body of the vehicle, the fore and 
 hind wheels are placed as far apart as the length of 
 the poles will allow, and the body is placed mid-way 
 between the wheels, so the want of proper sprino-s 
 is partially compensated for, inasmuch as the 
 occupant does not feel the force of the jolting as he 
 would do if he were seated directly over the wheels. 
 Such is a brief description of the vehicle in which 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 209 
 
 we travelled a distance of considerably over a 
 thousand miles, from Kiakhta to Tomsk. The 
 price we paid for ours was 280 roubles, which, con- 
 sidering all things and the distance we were from 
 civilization, was not out of the way. The next 
 thing was to get rid of our ponies, Ohow and 
 Kharra. I knew the kind of life they would lead 
 had we sold them to our Kiakhta friends, so we 
 gave them away to a party of Mongols setting out 
 for the desert. Poor little Kharra ! He has, at 
 any rate, a better time of it on his native breezy 
 steppes, than in the streets of hot, dusty Pekin ! 
 
 Nearly the whole day was spent in preparations 
 for departure ; packing the tarantass, obtaining our 
 Podarojna, and so forth. For the latter we had to 
 apply to our friend of the evening before, the post- 
 master, who was most reluctant to give us the 
 document, and begged us to make a longer stay in 
 Kiakhta. Seeing we were determined, however, he 
 gave it us at last, reminding us that dinner would 
 be on the table at ten o'cloch sharp that evening. 
 
 We were to start for Lake Baikal at nine next 
 morning — at least horses had been promised us for 
 that hour, yet when we arrived at the post- 
 master's with R , it was getting on for 10.30, 
 
 and there were no signs of dinner. The party was in 
 point of fact nothing more nor less than a repetition 
 of the night before, with the addition of about a 
 dozen male and half a dozen female guests. We 
 saw, with a shudder, that the postmaster had 
 resolved to make a night of it, and our hopes of 
 getting away anything like early on the morrow 
 vanished into thin air. 
 
'210 ' FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS Br LAND. 
 
 The company was ratlier more orderly, however, 
 at first, and we had, for a wonder, something to eat. 
 Among the guests was a young " Bouriatte " lady, 
 who had just returned from a finishing school in 
 Irkoutsk. The Bouriattes are an aboriginal tribe 
 inhabiting the country north and east of Irkoutsk, 
 and were but a short time since very little removed 
 from the Mongols in point of civilization. This 
 young lady had the queer physiognomy peculiar to 
 her race, the flat nose, high oheek-bones, thick lips, 
 and narrow, twinkling eyes, which made a strange 
 contrast to a European gown of the latest fashion 
 that she wore. Still more curious was it when she 
 sat down at the grand piano and gave iis Mendels- 
 sohn's " Lieder," and one of Lizst's •' Ehapsodies," 
 with an execution and feeling that I have seldom 
 heard surpassed by an amateur. Classical music 
 was evidently not appreciated in Kiakhta, and the 
 bright jingling music of the " Cloches de Corneville " 
 and " Le petit Due " were much more enthusiasti- 
 cally received when Madame B , a pretty little 
 
 woman, the wife of the military doctor, sat down to 
 the instrument and rattled them off. 
 
 Our friend, Captain Cherkoff, came in rather late, 
 having been out with his men at target practice by 
 moonlight — the order for this practice had only just 
 been promulgated from Petersburg, and it really 
 seems a very sensible proceeding. Three times a 
 week, wet or dry, the troops were exercised at this 
 manoeuvre from ten o'clock till midnight. 
 
 The first part of the evening was pleasant enough, 
 though the manners of some of the guests were to 
 say the least of it, curious. Many had never been 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 211 
 
 fifty miles from Kiakhta in their lives, so were to be 
 pardoned, thougli it did not make their behaviour 
 any the less unpleasant to their neighbours. The 
 women, poor things, noticed this, and kept apologiz- 
 ing for the behaviour of their male relatives. We 
 took leave of them at about two o'clock, on the plea 
 that we should have to be leaving early. I noticed 
 at the time a covert smile pass over the face of the 
 post-master, but attributed no importance to it, and 
 sought my hard couch with a feeling of relief that 
 to-morrow would see us fairly off for Irkoutsk. 
 
 The horses were to be in by nine, we were told, 
 but we waited till eleven o'clock, without a sign of 
 their arrival. Losing all patience, I walked up to 
 the post-master's, and found him still sleeping off 
 the effect of the night's debauch on two chairs. 
 I knew that the slightest show of temper would 
 only have made matters worse, so waking him as 
 gently as I could, asked politely why the horses 
 had not arrived. Tor some minutes his fuddled 
 brains could not grasp my meaning, till a sudden 
 light burst on him : " Ah, to be sure, the horses. 
 Alas ! my friend, there are none for you : besides, 
 you cannot go to-day. After you had left, our 
 mutual friend Oherkoff commissioned me to ask you 
 to breakfast with him at the barracks, and I took 
 upon myself to accept for you, and gave your 
 ' Troika ' to some one else. There is no hurry. 
 You shall go to night. In the meantime I will 
 dress, and we will go up to the barracks together. 
 It is already past twelve." 
 
 I could have shaken the little wretch with 
 vexation. While he was dressing, however (an 
 
 Q 
 
212 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 operation thafc consisted of putting on his boots 
 and coat), I came to tlae conclusion that it was 
 better to appear pleased, a Russian post-master 
 being as omnipotent in his small way as the 
 veriest African tyrant. I was beginning to think 
 that Siberian travel is not unlike African. The 
 difficulty is not so much getting to a place as 
 getting away from it ! 
 
 The barracks contained two or three hundred 
 men, a company of Cossacks under the command 
 of Cherkoff, who, like all captains of the Russian 
 army, had obtained his brevet colonelcy on crossing 
 the Ourals into Siberia. The garrison of Kiakhta 
 is over eight hundred strong, but this is mostly 
 made up of militia. Several of the men were 
 standing about the barrack-yard as we entered, 
 broad, swarthy, sunburnt fellows in white linen 
 aniforms, who looked physically fit to go through 
 anything, but had not a trace of smartness about 
 them. 
 
 On arrival at the barracks we were ushered into 
 a large, bare, whitewashed room crowded with 
 people, who had apparently just risen from a table 
 covered with the usual salt fish and other thirst- 
 hroducing comestibles. One could hardly see 
 across the room for cigarette-smoke. ISTor did it 
 take us long to discover that most of the party, 
 some twenty in number, had already breakfasted 
 not wisely but too well. All our old friends were 
 there. The ladies (in low dresses) had wisely retired 
 into an inner apartment, where they sat alone. "You 
 
 are late," said Professor R , "but will not miss 
 
 anything, unless you care for salt fish. This is a 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 213 
 
 true Siberian breakfast," he added, with a smile at 
 our astonishment. 
 
 Never shall I forget that afternoon. The place 
 reeked with the fumes of tobacco and spirits, 
 mingled with a sickening smell of fresh and salt 
 fish. Though barely three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 half the men were intoxicated, alternately singing, 
 fighting, and drinking. OherkofF, I am bound to 
 say, looked ashamed of his guests, as well he might. 
 The bright sun streaming in on their drink-heated 
 faces and disordered dress was not a pretty spectacle. 
 
 Little Madame B , a native of Moscow, confided 
 
 to me, with tears in her eyes, what a dog's life it 
 was for a woman. I sincerely pitied her. It seemed 
 hard that one of her refined taste and ideas should 
 be condemned to live in such a human Zoological 
 Grarden. 
 
 The tarantass arrived about four o'clock, much 
 to our relief, and we commenced to take leave of 
 our hosts. I say commenced, for the operation 
 lasted quite three-quarters of an hour, we having 
 to drink a glass of vodka • separately with each 
 man. 
 
 This ordeal over, we descended on either side 
 of Oherkoff, the entire party following, to the 
 barrack-sqaare, where the whole company of Cos- 
 sacks was drawn up in line. Upon our appearance 
 all struck up a hymn which, upon any other occasion, 
 I could have listened to with pleasure, but which, 
 now that I felt it made another hour of delay, 
 bored me beyond measure. The song finished, a 
 sergeant approached us, bearing in each hand a 
 huge tumbler of vodka. " One of you must drink 
 
 Q 2 
 
214 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 it off," whispered our guide, philosopher, and friend, 
 
 Herr R . " This is considered a great honour." 
 
 Handing me one glass, the captain took another, and 
 facing me in front of his men, cried out, " A la Reine 
 d'Angleterre ! " to which I replied, " A I'Bmpereur 
 de Russie ! " tossing off at the same time the 
 whole of the vodka at a gulp. It was like liquid 
 fire ! but I was not allowed much time for thought, 
 for in a second, at a sign from Cherkoff, the Cos- 
 sacks had seized Lancaster and myself, and sent us 
 whirling ten feet into the air, catching us again in 
 their hands and arms as we alighted. Once, twice, 
 three times I was sent up ; and then, giddy and 
 out of breath, we returned to the balcony. By 
 this time, what with the shouting, the tossing, and 
 the vodka, I hardly knew whether I was on my head 
 or my heels ! A dance among the men followed this 
 performance, a dance favourite with the Cossacks, 
 accompanied on a kind of tom-tom, with much 
 shouting and clapping of hands. Having watched 
 this for a few moments we first quietly took leave 
 of R., then bidding good-bye to Cherkoff, we jumped 
 into the carriage and drove off while the remainder 
 of the guests were looking the other way. 
 
 It was growing dusk, and the cool night-air, rapid 
 motion, and exhilarating jingle of the bells as the 
 three sturdy little horses tore along the hard, level 
 road, soon cleared the cobwebs from our brain, and 
 made one forget the scenes of debauch of the 
 past three days. The entertainments we had 
 attended left the same impression on my mind as a 
 head-feast I once witnessed in Central Borneo — a 
 kind of wonder that human beings, however uncivi- 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 216 
 
 lized, could become so animal, not to say bestial, in 
 their minds and habits. I have not exaggerated 
 • the state of things at Kiakhta, though must, in 
 justice, add that it was the most dissolute and 
 drunken place we came across. Some excuse, too, 
 must be made for people living in a land with such 
 squalid, depressing surroundings, and having abso- 
 lutely no intellectual pursuits. 
 
 There are two roads from Kiakhta to Lake 
 Baikal ; one the old post-road, the other a private 
 one, made and used by the tea-merchants, or by those 
 having their permission. The latter is a hundred 
 and eighty versts shorter than the old government 
 post road. By the intervention of Herr R., we were 
 permitted to use the private road, and luckily, for 
 we had but three days before us to catch the steam- 
 boat at Moushafskaya, on the eastern shore of the 
 lake. We reached the first stage, twenty versts from 
 Kiakhta, just before midnight. Here we first began 
 to taste the delights of Siberian posting, for there 
 were no horses, nor would there be till next morning. 
 The post-house was, however, bran new, and as clean 
 as a new pin inside and out ; and we were not sorry 
 for the rest afforded by the delay. I may add that 
 had all the post-houses in Siberia been as clean and 
 comfortable as those in the Trans-Baikal, we should 
 have had little to complain of. 
 
 We reached the Selenga river about midday, a 
 deep, swift stream about half a mile broad, and 
 crossed by a ferry. This was our first experience of 
 a Siberian ferry, but we were not allowed to examine 
 it long, for, turning on to the wooden landing-stage, 
 our yemstchik shaved the side so close that the 
 
216 FROM PEK.1N TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 bank gave way, and the off-side of the tarantass 
 fell bodily over almost into the stream. Luckily, 
 one of the posts of the bridge caught the axle of 
 the wheel, and we jumped out quick as lightning, 
 only to see that our vehicle was hanging, saved only 
 by a thread from utter destruction. Had not the 
 post been of the strongest pine, it must have given 
 way. The yemstchik stood by whimpering, evi- 
 dently expecting what he would have had if his pas- 
 sengers had been Eussians, a sound thrashing, and 
 I felt sorely inclined to give it him, except that it 
 would have lost time, and every moment the strain on 
 our sole hope, the wooden post, was getting more 
 severe. It took us some time to get the horses out, 
 for they were plunging and kicking so that I ex- 
 pected every moment to see them dislodge the heavy, 
 cumbersome carriage, and send it plunging into the 
 river. There was but one thing to do, cut the 
 traces, and as soon as this was done Lancaster and 
 I set to work and got all the luggage out to 
 lighten it as much as possible. The yemstchik, 
 delighted to find his skin whole, worked away 
 like a Trojan, and with the aid of some men from 
 the ferry, we managed to get two or three planks 
 from the stage. These we placed under the car- 
 riage, and I breathed again. Our tarantass was 
 saved. But though all actual danger of losing it 
 was over, it was by no means an easy task to hoist 
 it on terra firma. There were but two peasants in 
 charge of the ferry— a very old man and a very 
 small boy, and our united efforts never made it 
 budge an inch. There was nothing left but to send 
 for help to a village about three miles off, and 
 
KIAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 
 
 217 
 
 patiently sit down and wait with the pleasing con- 
 viction that we had for a certainty lost the steamer 
 at Monshafskaya. 
 
 It was not till nearly four o'clock that the 
 men arrived, and past five before we had got the 
 things in again, rigged up some traces, a simple job 
 enough in Siberia, where they are made of rope, 
 and got our carriage safely hoisted on to the ferry. 
 We then crossed safely, and proceeded on our 
 journey. 
 
 The ferry across the Selenga is constructed on 
 the same plan as over every other Siberian river we 
 crossed. A large barge is moored mid-stream about 
 two hundred yards above the ferry. To this is 
 attached a stout chain, connected by means of a 
 number of smaller boats, to the bows of the ferry. 
 On being cast off from the shore, the mere force of 
 the stream is sufficient to propel the ferry from bank 
 to bank. This seemed a simple and effectual plan, 
 •particularly in Siberia, where the rivers are mostly 
 of great size and swiftness. 
 
 There were no horses to be had till midnight at 
 the next stopping-place, so we made ourselves com- 
 fortable and got the post-master's wife to give us 
 some supper, a delicious meal of black bread, eggs, 
 and thick clotted cream, with some berries of her 
 own preserving. All was excellent but the black 
 bread, a substance not unlike suet mixed with soot 
 and treacle. The postmistress herself brought us 
 supper, but her lord and master was terribly jealous, 
 and never let her out of his sight for a moment, a 
 circumstance that seemed to afford her the greatest 
 amusement. She was a true Russian from Mjni 
 
218 FROM PBKIN TO CAIAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Novgorod, she told us, and not a Siberian. Her 
 name was Olga, and she'd just had a baby, and 
 RTOuld, I believe, have told us the whole particulars 
 of its birth, had not Benedick, who scowled in a 
 corner the whole time, sent her off to bed. We 
 carried on the conversation by means of a dialogue 
 book, and she laughed till she cried at my attempts 
 at Russian. The walls of the post-house were 
 covered with pictures cut from illustrated papers. 
 Among others one of Mrs. Langtry out of the 
 Graphic. " Krasivia Dama Ingliska," ^ said pretty 
 Olga, as she pointed it out. I have' often wondered 
 how it ever drifted to this outlandish place, and 
 whether Mrs. Langtry is aware that her fair fame 
 has spread as far as the Russo-Ohinese frontier. 
 
 The country became more mountainous after this 
 and less cultivated, though one passed every now 
 and again fertile valleys well stocked with rye, corn, 
 and barley, and prosperous-looking, fair-sized vil- 
 lages nestling in the hills. The roads were ex- 
 cellent, far better than any others we met with 
 throughout Siberia. Their comparative newness 
 and the small amount of traffic that goes this way 
 compared to the other, no doubt accounts for this. 
 We were fairly lucky too in obtaining horses, and 
 were only detained twice, once on the occasion I 
 have mentioned, and the other the night before we 
 reached Moushafskaya on the Baikal at Abukansk. 
 As, however, we made the acquaintance of a 
 charming fellow-traveller on the second occasion, 
 who was in the same plight as ourselves, we did not 
 mind the delay. Had it not been for this chance 
 ' A pretty English, lady. 
 
KIAKHTA TO IRKOUTSK. 219 
 
 friend, we should have been quite ten days reaching 
 Irkoutsk instead of five. M. Eadovitch was a 
 Russian in Grovernment employ, on his way to 
 Irkoutsk. He had already been at Abukansk some 
 hours when we got there, and when we entered the 
 post-house addressed us in excellent French, much 
 to our delight. We spent quite a pleasant evening, 
 for the post-house was clean and comfortable, and 
 next morning at 4 a.m., the horses being ready, 
 started off together for Moushafskaya, Rado- 
 vitch in a telega or public travelling- carriage, a 
 vehicle built on the same lines as a tarantass, but 
 having the great disadvantage, that the traveller 
 must change into another at every station. 
 
 The approach to Lake Baikal lies through a valley 
 or gorge with steep rocky mountains, pine-clad 
 almost to their summits, on either side. So narrow 
 is the road in parts that there is barely room for two 
 vehicles abreast, while a precipitous torrent about 
 fifty feet below dashes along amid huge rocks and 
 boulders to fall into the lake just below Moushafskaya. 
 A great part of the road is cut out of the solid rock 
 and must have cost a fabulous sum to make. We 
 arrived at this, the most difficult and dangerous part 
 of the road,iust before sunset. It was rather nervous 
 work, for there was no guard-rail or attempt at protec- 
 tion, and the slightest shy or false step of the horses, 
 who were not of the steadiest, would have precipi- 
 tated one on to the rocks below. Presently we left 
 the ravine to ascend a steep hill, so steep indeed that 
 four horses could hardly get us along. Luckily 
 it was barely a quarter of a mile to the summit. 
 Resting here awhile for our tired horses to regain 
 
220 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 breafh, we heard a sound as of waves beating on a 
 rocky shore. Walking on a few yards, we came to 
 the edge of a cliff. The thick undergrowth and 
 dense forest had up till now hidden it from view, 
 for, suddenly, there at our feet, the snow-clad sum- 
 mits of its coasts glowing in the sunset, a sea of 
 sapphire flecked with white waves, lay fathomless 
 Lake Baikal. 
 
 Moushafskaya is but a small village consisting 
 of the rest-house, half a dozen cottages, and a 
 prison. A sentry, with loaded rifle, stood at 
 the gate, and, eyed us rather suspiciously when 
 we approached to look closer at the faces that, 
 pressed against the iron bars of the small square 
 windows, were watching our every movement. 
 Most of them were, Radovitch told us, on their 
 way to the gold-mines of Nertchinsk, and were of 
 the lowest order of criminals, the sweepings of 
 Moscow and St. Petersburg. More villainous faces 
 I have seldom seen. The four large windows 
 of the cells reserved for political prisoners showed 
 us but one, a young and good-looking man, who, 
 when we looked at him, instantly averted his 
 gaze, " He is for Karra," said the sentry to 
 Radovitch. None but Black Nihilists, of which he 
 was one, and murderers are sent to this place, which 
 is, except Sakhalin, the most dreaded prison in 
 Siberia. 
 
 Moushafskaya is surrounded by dense pine 
 forest, through which runs the great post-ro,ad 
 fringed by high banks, on which were hedges 
 of hops and wild raspberries in full bearing. 
 The fruit was quite equal in flavour to the real 
 
KIAXHTA TO lEKOTITSK. 221 
 
 thing, though much smaller. The soil round here 
 seemed wonderfully adapted for fruit-growing. 
 Raspberries, currants, strawberries, and gooseberries 
 grew luxuriantly in all the cottage gardens, and the 
 natives preserve them largely for sale at Irkoutsk 
 and other towns of Eastern Siberia. The place 
 has rather a depressing appearance, nevertheless, the 
 houses of unpainted wood giving a sombre look 
 at first sight, for the only spot of colour against the 
 dark forest was the rest-house, with its white walls 
 and bright green roof. Turning seaward, or rather 
 lakeward, however, the view was very different. 
 It was a clear, though rather cold day, with 
 a strong north-wester blowing, just sufficiently 
 strong to cover the bright blue waters with curling 
 white waves, and show one that if the wind rose 
 any higher, things might be unpleasant before we 
 reached Listvenitz, for Radovitch gave us lamentable 
 accounts of the steamer. It was just like being at 
 the seaside in England. One almost fancied one 
 smelt the ozone, while the sound of the waves 
 beating on the beach heightened the illusion. 
 The opposite coast was quite invisible, clear 
 day though it was, while to the left and right 
 of us extended broad stretches of shingly beach 
 alternating with patches of bright golden sand 
 standing out bright and distinct against the dark 
 green pines growing down to the water's edge. 
 To complete the resemblance, a wooden jetty, with 
 a lighthouse at the end, ran out for a distance 
 of fifty yards into the lake, forming a small 
 harbour in which lay moored a number of small 
 fishing-boats and two large black hulks, prison 
 
222 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 barges, waiting to be towed back to Listvenitz for 
 a fresL. convoy. Such was the scene from our rest- 
 house on the hill. Has the reader ever seen the 
 village of Clovelly, in Devonshire ? If so, let him 
 substitute pines for oak and beech-trees, unpaved 
 paths for cobbled streets, wooden huts for stone 
 houses, and he has seen Moushaf skaya as I saw it 
 that bright August morning, when for the first 
 time I looked on the waters of the Holy Sea of 
 Siberia, for by this name alone is Lake Baikal 
 known by the natives inhabiting its shores. 
 
 M. MenshikofF, an Irkoutsk tea-merchant, was the 
 first to introduce steamers on Lake Baikal. The 
 passage, as it was made forty years ago, in open 
 boats, was very dangerous, and travellers were 
 frequently obliged to remain for days exposed to 
 great hardships, without being able to approach the 
 land. The cost of the steamer was of course enor- 
 mous, the engines having to come over four thousand 
 miles from St. Petersburg. But the diflficulty was 
 at length surmounted, and rather more than twenty 
 years ago bi-weekly steam communication between 
 the eastern and western shores of the lake was 
 established, which has been kept up ever since. There 
 were, at the time of our visit, two steamers on the 
 lake, and another building at Listvenitz. The 
 navigation of the Baikal is suspended about the end 
 of October, sometimes earlier, according to the 
 severity of the season. Although there has been a 
 road within late years round the southern side of 
 the lake, it is rarely used, and the usual mode 
 of crossing in winter is by sleigh. The ice is 
 over seven feet thick, so there is no danger of 
 
KIAKHTA TO IRKOUTSK. 223 
 
 immersion, although I must confess I should not 
 care to do the journey myself. In mid-winter, when 
 the ice is in good condition, the distance of thirty 
 miles across is frequently done in two to three 
 hours, but in the spring, huge cracks appear 
 in the track, which impede the horses a good deal. 
 There were also formerly rest-stations at intervals 
 of every seven or eight miles, but on one 
 occasion, the ice melting suddenly, one of -them 
 was found missing, since which the traveller 
 embai-ks upon the frozen waters with no prospect 
 of rest or refresment till he gets to the other 
 side. 
 
 The steamer hove in sight about mid-day with a 
 large convict barge in tow. By two o'clock she 
 was alongside the jetty, and we walked down to 
 see the prisoners land. Thirty or forty Cossacks, 
 with loaded rifles, stood in a double row at the 
 gangway, and as soon as the huge, unwieldy barge 
 was safely moored, some three hundred convicts 
 stepped on to the landing-stage. All wore the 
 prison dress, a long loose grey cloak covering a 
 coarse drab suit, and some wore leg-irons. There 
 were no political prisoners or women among this 
 batch, though pretty nearly every race of Asiatic 
 or European Russia was represented. Swarthy 
 Caucasians, Kirghiz Tartars, Jews from Odessa, 
 thieves from Moscow and St. Petersburg, every 
 race and age, from beardless boys to decrepit old 
 men, were represented. One got callous to it after 
 a time, but my first meeting with a gang of prisoners 
 671 route to the mines was one I shall never forget. 
 One old fellow especially excited sympathy : a man 
 
224 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of sixty or seventy years old, with a refined, aristo- 
 cratic face, who had evidently seen better days, 
 and who could scarcely stagger along under his 
 heavy chains. It would have been ridiculous, had 
 it not been pitiable, to see the little luxuries the old 
 fellow had provided himself with : a little brass tea- 
 pot, a bag of tea slung round his neck, a loaf of 
 white bread in his arms, and a huge umbrella ! At 
 length the hulk was empty, the officer gave the 
 word, " Quick march," and the long grey proces- 
 sion filed off up the hill and into the drab-coloured 
 prison, which the gang we had seen in the morning 
 had just vacated for their use. The incident cast 
 a gloom over our spirits, and I remembered for many 
 days the sad, wistful look the poor old fellow gave, 
 as he entered the prison-gate, at the bright blue 
 waters of the lake, beyond which lay the home 
 he would never see again — for his crimes were 
 many — his sentence, life at the mines of 
 Nertchinsk. 
 
 It was nearly six o'clock before we got away, for 
 there were three tarantasses besides our own to be 
 hoisted on board. The fare across was not ruinous 
 eight roubles first, and five roubles second class, the 
 freight of the tarantass being twelve roubles. I was 
 rather relieved at this, for funds were running 
 uncomfortably short, and I did not relish the idea 
 of being stranded on the road. Counting our com- 
 bined purses, we found the amount was under forty 
 roubles, and we were still more than thirty miles 
 from Irkoutsk, and a night's lodging to pay. Our 
 course was an oblique one across the lake about 
 W.S.W. to Listvenitz, near the mouth of the river 
 
KIAKHTA TO IEK0I7TSK. 225 
 
 Angara. Some distance froih the shore the water 
 became marvellously transparent. From the bows, 
 before the ripple had disturbed the surface, one 
 could distinguish large fish swimming about at 
 least thirty feet down, so clear was the water. 
 The steamer, though crowded with people, was 
 clean and well appointed. There was no food 
 on board, though a huge samovar hissed in the 
 cabin, for the use of those who wished to make 
 tea. 
 
 We arrived at Listvenitz about 1 a.m., having 
 taken about eight hours to do the passage, a little 
 more than the distance from Dover to Calais ! On 
 landing we were ushered into the Custom-House, a 
 long, bare room, where our luggage was minutely 
 examined, two Oossa,cks being on guard the while 
 to see that no one escaped inspection. It was not 
 the brief examination we are accustomed to in 
 Europe. A Customs' officer, gorgeous in green and 
 gold, stood in the centre of the room, and called out 
 our names one by one, each having to bring up his 
 luggage as best he could, for there vrere no 
 porters. As there were over one hundred pas- 
 sengers, this performance lasted some hours, no one 
 being allowed to leave till every box in the place 
 had been opened and carefully searched. By the 
 time we got to the rest-house it was nearly three 
 o'clock in the morning. It was a dirty, ill-smelling 
 place, and we were devoured by vermin, but 
 managed to get something to eat before we turned 
 in, the only food we had tasted the whole day being 
 a couple of eggs and some black bread at mid- 
 day. 
 
226 FROM PBEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 But another difficulty now arose. The duty that 
 we had paid on tobacco, &c., had dwindled our 
 little store of money down to ten roubles and a 
 few kopeks. The bare posting-fare to Irkoutsk was, 
 we ascertained, six roubles, and there would 
 be our night's lodging to pay, which would come to 
 five roubles more at the very least. ]Funds were 
 awaiting us at Irkoutsk, but how to get at them ? 
 There was but one way out of the dilemma ; one of 
 us must remain at Listvenitz while the other posted 
 on to Irkoutsk and procured the needful. Eado- 
 vitch entering while we were discussing the subject, 
 overheard part of our coversation. " You are short 
 of cash ? " said the friendly Russian ; " why did 
 you not ask me before ? " at the same time produc- 
 ing a fifty rouble note. " Here, take this ; you 
 can pay me back at Irkoutsk, or where you like. I 
 am off now. We shall meet again to-morrow. I 
 suppose you will go to the "Moskovskaya Hotel," 
 and he had gone, and we heard him jingle away 
 in his tarantass before we could stammer out a 
 word of thanks. 
 
 A message came shortly after from the Chief of 
 Police, to say that he would call at eleven o'clock, 
 and that we must not leave Listvenitz till our 
 tarantass had been searched. This was vexing, as, 
 the Customs' examination over, we had replaced all 
 our luggage, and any one who has ever packed one 
 of these vehicles knows what a weary, heart-break- 
 ing job it is. However, it was no use grumbling, 
 and we set to work and laid the things open on the 
 ground, pending the great man's arrival. 
 
 He turned up about mid-day, a tall, strapping 
 
KrAKHTA TO lEKOUTSK. 227 
 
 fellow, with long Dundreary whiskers, accompanied 
 by his interpreter, a Polish exile. The examination 
 took over an hour, for he looked at everything, 
 more, I soon saw, from curiosity than any- 
 thing else. My journal especially attracted his 
 attention. 
 
 " Read, some of it out," he said to his attendant, 
 settling himself comfortably on the steps of the 
 rest-house and lighting a cigarette. On being told 
 there was nothing offensive in the MS., our friend 
 became quite jocose and friendly, insisted on our 
 drinking with him, pumping me the while as much 
 as he was able on the subject of India. What area 
 was it ? what population ? were there many rail- 
 ways ? Did we allow Russians to enter ? &c. 
 " Tell him," he said as he rose to go, and I had 
 answered, as best I could, his somewhat vague 
 questions, " that we shall take it from them some 
 day," with which polite remark he bade us good 
 day, swaggered away down the street, and we saw 
 him no more. 
 
 Listvenitz is built in a sort of lagoon, or land- 
 locked harbour. It is used by the people of 
 Irkoutsk as a watering-place in summer, and there 
 were many pretty villas and lodging-houses built 
 about on the beach, which is of hard sand, and 
 affords capital bathing, though it shelves in a few 
 feet to a depth of twenty or thirty fathoms. "We 
 were to have horses at six that evening, and took 
 a stroll after the mid- day meal to a low hill about 
 a mile distant, whence there was a picturesque view 
 of the little cluster of pretty villas nestling in 
 woods and gardens. It was a lovely day, with a 
 
 R 
 
228 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 blue, cloudless sky ; and the civilized surroundings, 
 picturesque peasantry, and great sheet of water 
 sparkling in the sunshine, reminded one not a little 
 of Swiss or Italian lake scenery. 
 
 The Polish interpreter called on us in the 
 afternoon, bringing with him a book of photo- 
 graphs, the portraits of brethren who were 
 suffering in the cause of freedom. His story was, 
 if true, a remarkable one. Sent to Vologda in 
 European Eussia in 1867 for a trifling offence, he 
 managed to escape to Odessa, and thence to New 
 York, retiirning to Paris in 1870 to take a 
 prominent part in the Commune. He again 
 managed to escape when the Imperial troops entered 
 Paris, and luckily, for himself, for if caught he 
 would assuredly have been shot. After a short 
 residence in Geneva, he was sent by his society on a 
 secret mission to St. Petersburg ; but this time his 
 luck deserted him, and he was captured and sent to 
 Siberia, first to the mines of Kara, then to Listvenitz 
 for life. Among the photographs was one of a young 
 and pretty girl about eighteen or twenty years old. 
 " That," said the Pole with pride, " is Vera Figner, 
 who was implicated in the murder of a chief of police 
 nt Odessa. She is my sister-in-law," he added. 
 " This is my wife, who was concerned in Alexan- 
 der's assassination. Would you like to know her ? 
 My house is but a stone's throw from here." But 
 we politely refused the invitation, and, to our great 
 relief, he shortly afterwards left us, with the remark, 
 " Well, good-bye, gentlemen, you have been a ray 
 of sunshine in my life. It is dark enough, Grod 
 knows, but I do not despair. I hope to do some 
 
KIAKHTA TO IKKOUTSK. 229 
 
 good tvorh yet ! " He was a mean-looking, insig- 
 nificant little fellow, bnt we heard afterwards at 
 Irkoutsk that he was one of the most dangerous 
 characters in Siberia. 
 
 Our horses arrived about seven o'clock, and after 
 a final examination of the tarantass, we rattled 
 away from Listvenitz, hoping to reach Irkontsk by 
 midnight. The country west of Baikal is densely 
 wooded, but not mountainous. There is a good 
 deal of cultivated ground between the mouth (or 
 rather source) of the Angara and the city, and 
 the country is fairly populated. The road, too, was 
 in better order than any we had yet experienced, 
 and we dashed along merrily to the end of the 
 second stage, Patrone, where our high spirits 
 underwent a slight check. We could have no 
 horses till 5 a.m. It was now ten o'clock, and 
 though only eighteen versts from Irkoutsk, we were 
 compelled to sleep, or rather wait in the filthy post- 
 honse till morning. It is curious that we invariably 
 found, throughout our journey, the nearer the town 
 the dirtier the post-house. The one or two first 
 stages from Irkoutsk, on the other side, were simply 
 uninhabitable. 
 
 The road follows the banks of the Angara all 
 the way to Irkoutsk. The river, rather more than 
 a mile wide at the mouth, rolls down a tremendous 
 volume of water, a steep incline at the inlet, and 
 forms a huge rapid nearly three miles long. Half- 
 way across is the " Shaman Kamen," or Spirit Stone, 
 a bare rock nearly hidden in the seethmg mass 
 of foam and breakers. There is a legend among 
 the peasantry, that were this island washed away. 
 
230 EEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY" LAND. 
 
 Lake Baikal would overflow, destroy the capital, 
 and turn the whole AngarA Valley into one huge sea. 
 
 We called for the samovar, and beguiled the weary 
 hours with " chi " ^ till past midnight. The post- 
 house swarmed with vermin, and we here made the 
 acquaintance, for the first time, of a small white 
 bug, peculiar to Siberia. Its bite is very poisonous, 
 and sets up a state of intolerable irritation and 
 inflammation, for it burrows under the skin. 
 Nothing but copious applications of ammonia gave 
 relief, and our clothes and bodies swarmed with 
 these when we reached Irkoutsk a few hours later. 
 I give these details, which may seem repulsive to the 
 reader, to show exactly the amount of discomfort one 
 has to go through in th^ shape of minor annoyances 
 as well as greater ones on the great Post-Road. 
 
 About daybreak the jingle of collar-bells 
 announced the arrival of the horses. The landscape 
 now became less wooded, the broad blue river 
 running through fields of rye and barley, while 
 the banks on either side of the road were covered 
 with lilies of the valley and violets, which deliciously 
 perfumed the clear morning air. Presently we 
 left the river, to emerge on a sandy plain. Here 
 our driver alighted, and removed the yoke-bells, 
 for a law prevails in Siberia which forbids their 
 being used in cities. A few minutes more and we 
 were well in sight of the white buildings, golden 
 domes, and green roofs, of the capital of Eastern 
 Siberia, Irkoutsk. 
 
 ' Tea. 
 
CHAPTER VIIT. 
 
 lEKOUTSK. 
 
 Theee is probably no country in the world of 
 which the generality of English people ai^e so 
 ignorant as Siberia. The very word conveys to the 
 mind visions of frozen steppes and lonelypine forests, 
 with nothing to break the monotony of the white 
 and dreary landscape but an occasional gang of 
 prisoners or pack of wolves. Many asked, on my 
 return to England, if I had not suflFered terribly 
 from the cold, and seemed quite surprised to hear 
 that the Siberian climate is, in summer, often too 
 warm to be pleasant, that the country itself is in 
 many parts one of the most fertile and beautiful in 
 the world. 
 
 The city of Irkoutsk, which has a population of 
 over 50,000, was founded in the year 1680, and is 
 situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of 
 two rivers, the Angara, which, rising in Lake Baikal, 
 joins the river Yenisei just below Yeniseisk, and 
 falls with it into the frozen ocean, and the small and 
 less important Irkout River. In spring, when the 
 Angard is swollen by the breaking of the ice in 
 
232 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Lake Baikal, inundations at Irkoutsk are frequent, 
 and cause great destruction to life and property. 
 
 The great proyince or Grovernment of Irkoutsk is 
 bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the 
 north by the Frozen Ocean, on the west by the 
 province of Tomsk (Western Siberia), and on the 
 south by the vast chain of mountains known as the 
 Altai range, which divide Siberia , from the Chinese 
 possessions in Mongolia. The Government is 
 divided into four districts, viz. Irkoutsk proper, 
 Nertchinsk, Yakoutsk, and Okhotsk. A great pro- 
 portion of the inhabitants of this enormous area 
 are Toungouses and Yakouts, wandering semi- 
 savage tribes who live by hunting and fishing, 
 and of which the Toungouses are the most 
 numerous. The residence of the Governor-General 
 of Eastern Siberia, who at the time of our visit was 
 General Ignatieff, a brother of the famous diplomat, 
 is at Irkoutsk. 
 
 My ideas of Siberia were, before I left England, 
 extremely vague. It is a country in which, before 
 I undertook this voyage, I had taken but little or 
 no interest. There are but few works written 
 bearing upon the region we passed through. The 
 only ones I had ever read on the subject were 
 "Michel Strogoff" and "Called Back"! The 
 reader will judge for himself how faithfully these 
 authors have portrayed Irkoutsk, the scene of the 
 " Courier of the Czar's " triumph, and the meeting 
 between " Dr. Ceneri," and " Gilbert Vaughan " ! 
 
 It was a bright sunny morning, when, about 8 
 a.m. on the 12th of August, we dashed into the 
 city, and, after a longish drive through its broad 
 
IRKOUTSK. 233 
 
 and deserted streets, drove up with a flourish at the 
 door of the " Moskovskaya Podovorie," the principal 
 hotel. Let not the reader imagine a dilapidated 
 wooden hut, such as I myself had conjured np 
 visions of, but a handsome, four-storied stone 
 building, with gorgeously furnished apartments, a 
 lift, electric bells, and " Tahle-d'hote a 6 heures " ! 
 As we ascend the broad, well-carpeted stairs, with 
 a polite and white- waistcoated manager leading the 
 way, while a gold-lace-capped porter follows with 
 our luggage, it is hard to realize that we are still 
 on the borders of China, and over four thousand 
 miles from a railway. 
 
 Irkoutsk presents, at first sight, an untidy, un- 
 finished appearance. Like most Siberian towns, its 
 buildings are a strange mixture of squalor and 
 grandeur. The majority are of brick, for since the 
 great fire of 1879 a law has been passed forbidding 
 the construction of any more wooden dwellings. 
 The consequence is that the greater part of the city 
 presents a patchwork appearance, the lofty mansion 
 of a millionaire gold-miner, with its conservatories 
 and gardens, often standing next door to the di- 
 lapidated wooden hovel of some peasant, with half 
 its roof off, which has been partially saved from the 
 flames. One's first feeling on walking through the 
 streets is one of intense depression, for a more 
 melancholy-looking city does not exist. The streets, 
 though wide and regular, give one the idea of being 
 continually up for repair. One looks instinctively 
 for the " Ko Thoroughfare" board.- Although so 
 much care is lavished on the architecture and de- 
 coration of buildings, the streets are apparently left 
 
234 PEOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 to look after themselves. Unpaved and uneven, 
 one comes across holes that would play sad havoc 
 V7ith a springed carriage, which article, however, 
 does not exist here, at least among the public 
 vehicles. The pavements, which are of rough pine 
 with light wooden guard-rails, are barely three feet 
 wide. 
 
 The " Grande Rue " is the principal street ; a 
 thoroughfare nearly a mile long, which would not 
 disgrace a European city, so far as buildings are 
 concerned. It is the only street whence the old 
 wooden dwellings have entirely disappeared, to give 
 place to fine, well-built houses and Government 
 offices. The principal shops are situated here, but, ^ 
 though one may buy almost anything in this far- 
 away corner of the globe, from an English steam 
 plough to a Parisian bonnet, there is no outward 
 or visible sign in any of the windows of the goods 
 sold within. Merely a roughly painted board over 
 the doorway indicating the name and business of 
 the proprietor, and a notice to the effect that from 
 twelve o'clock mid-day till three p.m. he is not at 
 home. To the nakedness of the shop-windows, 
 perhaps, among other reasons, may be attributed 
 the dismal appearance the place presents. Perhaps, 
 too, the black roads, total absence of trees or 
 gardens, or indeed of colour of any kind, has much 
 to do with the sense of depression that fastens on 
 one after ever so short a residence in any Siberian 
 town. I cannot say exactly why, but one's only 
 thought, after a couple of days was invariably, 
 " When shall I get away?" and this though the 
 sun was shining brightly at the time, and the day 
 
IRKOUTSK. 235 
 
 in any ordinary country would have been one to 
 raise and enliven the spirits. Here the sunshine 
 only served to reveal more plainly the dirty, un- 
 washed appearance which everything, including the 
 natives, presented. 
 
 You can seldom tell a Siberian (so-called) gentle- 
 man apart from the lower orders, though the income 
 of the wealthier gold-miners would enable them to 
 live in luxury in London or Paris. It should, one 
 would think, also provide them with an occasional 
 collar and clean shirt once a week, but it doesn't. 
 Wealth in Siberia apparently makes no difference 
 to the garb of an individual. All, high or low, 
 wear the same suit of rusty black ; all have the 
 same dirty, unkempt look. A pair of high boots, 
 with square toes and very high heels, and small, 
 narrow-peaked caps, complete the costume. All 
 look as if they slept in their clothes, which, by the 
 way, they probably do, for sheets are unknown in 
 Siberia (except at the Moskovskaya Podovorie), 
 and in many houses, beds also. I heard, when at 
 Tomsk, of a gold-miner, worth some thousands 
 sterliijg a year, who always slept on two chairs, but 
 at the same time imported his horses and carriage, 
 grapes and hothouse pines from St. Petersburg, and 
 had had a grand piano sent out to him from Paris. 
 The women in Irkoutsk dressed well as a rule, and 
 some, but not many, were good-looking. A Siberian 
 lady seldom wears a hat in summer, but a black or 
 white silk handkerchief twisted round the head. 
 Nor is this head-dress (with a pretty face beneath it) 
 by any means unbecoming. 
 
 We were not sorry to turn in to bed and enjoy 
 
236 FfiOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 a good ten lioiirs' rest after the fatiguing journey 
 from Kiakhta, and slept none the less soundly for 
 the knowledge that when we woke what the 
 Americans call a good square feed would be awaiting 
 us, a luxury we had not enjoyed since leaving Pekin. 
 The hasty snatches of food we got at Kiakhta were 
 too frequently interrupted by pugilistic encounters 
 and toasts in " Vodka " to be dignified by the name 
 of meals ! 
 
 A slight disappointment awaited us, though, on 
 waking, at the scanty washing appliances this gor- 
 geous hostelry provided. Baths there were of 
 course none. We did not expect it, but we had at 
 any rate looked forward to a wash-hand basin. 
 But the only appliance furnished was a small tin 
 vessel holding about a pint of water, and nailed up 
 against the bedroom wall. On turning a small tap, 
 a thin trickling stream of water ran out, so that by 
 holding your hands under it for half a minute or 
 so, you could just manage to wet them all over, and 
 with this we had to manage. One had at any rate 
 the advantage of privacy, and could wash (so to 
 speak) in one's own bedroom. It was better than 
 at Tomsk, where the hotel only boasted one of these 
 tin abominations, and it was fixed up in the passage, 
 p7-o bono publico. 
 
 We strolled out in the evening to the public gar- 
 dens, gardens in name only, for the stunted shrubs 
 are not worthy of the name of trees, and there were 
 no flowers and very little grass. The lovely night 
 had brought out all the elite of Irkoutsk, to listen 
 to the band of a Cossack regiment, which performed 
 in a brilliantly lighted kiosk in the centre of the 
 
lEEOUTSK. 237 
 
 square. But our light tweed suits and high brown 
 boots attracted so much attention and created such 
 consternation among the rook-like garments of the 
 inhabitants, that we nearly beat a hasty retreat. 
 The temptation of good music and a cigar in the 
 moonlight, however, was too much for us, and we 
 remained, undeterred by the searching and not alto- 
 gether complimentary glances of those around us, 
 who seemed to look upon the appearance of any 
 stranger in their midst as an unwarrantable intrusion 
 and insult. I am bound to say that for downright 
 rudeness and vulgarity, the Siberian male, pur et 
 simple, is unequalled. It seems the more strange 
 that their countrymen west of the Ourals are un- 
 doubtedly, next the French, the most courteous and 
 polite nation in the world. 
 
 There are three distinct classes of society in 
 Irkoutsk : the Government officials, millionaire gold- 
 miners, and tradespeople. It is probably the only 
 city in the world where the latter are in reality the 
 most aristocratic portion of the community, for the 
 simple reason that they are most of them pohtical 
 exiles who, in Russia or Poland, were of good birth 
 and position till they lost name and individuality in 
 a prison number. The Government officials and 
 military stationed in Irkoutsk form a clique of their 
 own, from which they rigidly exclude the gold- 
 mining millionaire, a class of men the like of 
 which I have never met, thank Heaven, out of 
 Siberia. 
 
 Most of the latter commence life as common 
 miners, and gradually rise, more by luck than any- 
 thing else, to a position of affiuence ; indeed many 
 
238 FEOM PEKIN TO OAIAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of them make colossal fortunes. In summer 
 they live at the mines, working like the very- 
 labourers nature intended them to be ; but the 
 early part of November sees them back in 
 Irkoutsk or .Tomsk, as the case may be. Then 
 commences a life of unbridled debauchery and 
 dissipation, which only ends with the return of the 
 spring. 
 
 Vanity and snobbishness are the chief failings of 
 these men, who will not notice you, though you may 
 have dined Avith them the preceding evening, if you 
 happen to be walking, not driving, in the street, or 
 wearing astrakhan instead of beaver. I asked one 
 why he did not go to St. Petersburg or Paris and 
 enjoy his enormous income instead of burying him- 
 self in the wilds of Asia. The reply was character- 
 istic : " Here in Irkoutsk I am a great man, what 
 should I be in Paris or St. Petersburg ? " 1 think 
 I knew, but did not tell him. 
 
 The find of gold is yearly increasing in Siberia. 
 It is found in lai^ge quantities at Fertchinsk and 
 Kara in the Trans-Baikal districts, but the most 
 productive mines are those lying around Yeneseisk. 
 Kansk, and the sources of the great Lena Eiver, 
 Yuz and Abakansk in Southern Siberia. Any one 
 (being a Russian subject) may work the gold, but 
 all that is found must be sold to Government only, 
 a private individual discovered with nuggets or gold 
 dust in his possession is severely punished, be he 
 owner or the lowest workman in the mine. At first 
 sight the rent of a mine in Siberia seems absurdly 
 ■ low. .For instance, the Yuz Gold-field in Southern 
 Siberia, a tract of land five versts long by four broad. 
 
IRKOtJTSK. 239 
 
 is leased to the workers at 300 roubles^ per annum. 
 On the other hand, the royalty is high, and the cost 
 of labour enormous. The commonest miner earns 
 his 1800 to 2000 roubles during the season, which 
 lasts from April to the middle or end of Octo- 
 ber, according to the severity or mildness of the 
 weather. 
 
 But the outlay is well worth it. Two mine- 
 owners round Krasnoiarsk made, in less than ten 
 years, over two million pounds sterling, and there 
 is now in Irkoutsk a M. Trapeznikoff who is worth 
 his four millions at the very least. The latter, a 
 bachelor under fifty years of age, hardly ever leaves 
 his palace at Irkoutsk, except for a few weeks in 
 the summer to visit the mines. He is, unlike the 
 majority of his confreres, an educated man and a 
 gentleman. Here is a chance for mothers with 
 marriageable daughters. The journey to Irkoutsk 
 will be easily made in another year or so by railway 
 from Tomsk. 
 
 It seems a pity that millions of money should be 
 thrown away on such savages. Though there is 
 plenty of sport in the immediate neighbourhood, 
 good deer and .bear shooting, and excellent salmon 
 fishing in the Angara, they never dream of taking 
 out a gun or rod. The millionaires of Irkoutsk 
 have, with few exceptions, but little idea of real 
 comfort. You call upon one of these Siberian Van- 
 derbilts at 11 a.m., and he will produce champagne, 
 and be off"ended if you refuse to drink with him. 
 
 ' The word " Rouble " is derived from the Eussian word Roupit 
 " to cut," so called because up to four hundred years ago the 
 Eussiaiis used bar silver as coinage. 
 
240 FBOM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Dine with him, and though you may be raging with 
 thirst, you will only get Kiimmel, Chartreuse, or 
 sticky messes of a like nature, to wash down your 
 dinner, though it be prepared by a " Chef" from 
 Paris, in receipt of a higher salary than many an 
 English rector. Stay the night with your host, 
 and you will be shovi'n to a bedroom gorgeously 
 furnished, and a chef-cVavtvi-e of the upholsterer's 
 art, replete with every luxury that money can buy, 
 with one exception : you will search in vain for a 
 bed, and must turn in, as you are, clothes and all, 
 on the sofa. Look under the thick Turkey carpets, 
 and you will find the flooring an inch thick with 
 dust, and, behind the curtains, the plate-glass win- 
 dows coated with dirt ; comfort and cleanliness 
 everywhere given up to ostentation and swagger. 
 In one house that I dined at, an enormous gold 
 nugget was placed on the table, and used as an ash- 
 tray, our host announcing in a loud voice that its 
 use in this capacity lost him annually 300Z. sterling 
 in interest ! 
 
 The ladies of Irkoutsk are for the most part lazy, 
 indolent creatures, with no ideas beyond immoral 
 intrigues, dress (on which they spend thousands), 
 and Zola's novels, which, translated into Russian, 
 have an enormous sale in the towns of Siberia. 
 The greater part of the day is spent in sleeping and 
 smoking cigarettes, for in winter they seldom 
 retire to rest till five or six in the morning. Though 
 most of their houses boast a grand piano, the 
 instrument is solely kept for ornament, and seldom 
 opened. Two schools for girls have, however, 
 lately been established, and many of them now 
 
lEKOUTSK. 241 
 
 speak French and German, and are well educated 
 in other ways. Morality, however, at Irkoutsk is at 
 a very low ebb. One can scarcely wonder at it, 
 considering the frivolous, excitable lives of the 
 women, and drunkenness and sensuality of the 
 men. 
 
 One was constantly being assailed in Irkoutsk by 
 mysterious individuals with documents which they 
 wished delivered to their friends in Europe. I was 
 asked to do this by at least a dozen suspicious- 
 looking characters, who forced their way into our 
 room at the hotel without knocking, and often de- 
 clined to leave. The mention of the word " Police," 
 though, usually had the desired effect. One of these 
 letters was, I remember, addressed to a house in 
 Grreek Street, Soho. I passed the latter only the 
 other day, and was sincerely glad that I had not 
 undertaken the commission. Judging from the 
 look of the place, one would have stood a good 
 chance, even in the day-time, of being robbed and 
 murdered, to say nothing of the danger of being 
 caught by the Russian police with a compromising 
 paper in one's possession. 
 
 The Siberian exiles do not have such a bad time of 
 it as we, in England, are generally led to believe. 
 Their term of imprisonment over, they are free to 
 come and go as they please, and enjoy absolute 
 freedom so long as they behave themselves, and 
 do not give vent to political opinions too freely. I 
 met many, of good birth and position, but from 
 none did I hear the harrowing tales of persecution 
 and cruelty that in England seem inseparable from 
 the very name of Siberia. Cruelty may, and no 
 
242 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 doubt does, exist in the convict settlements of 
 Kara and Kertchinsk in the Trans-Baikal districts, 
 where the worst characters are sent, — Black nihilists, 
 for instance, or those who have attempted the life 
 of the Czar. The latter do not, like the minor 
 political offenders, get their ticket-of-leave, but 
 remain in the mines for life. There is a prevailing 
 impression at home that " in the mines " means 
 literally what the words convey, that prisoners are 
 sent down a pit to work all day and a greater part 
 of the night, never again to see daylight till they 
 have become reduced to a dying state by the poison- 
 ous exhalations of quicksilver. As a matter of fact, 
 there is not a quichsilver mine in the ivhole of Siberia, 
 those at Kara and Nertchinsk being of gold and 
 silver. Quicksilver may exist in small quantities, 
 but is not, and never has beeu, worked. 
 
 In former days exiles made the journey from 
 European Russia to Irkoutsk, or whatever district 
 they were sentenced to, on foot, but nearly half the 
 journey to Kard, (the most remote penal settlement 
 excepting Yakoutsk and Sakhalien) is now done by 
 steamboat and railway. Prisoners are sent from all 
 parts of Russia to Moscow, where they are divided 
 into gangs of three or four hundred. From Moscow 
 they travel by rail to Nijni Novgorod, and thence 
 to Perm in a prison ship or barge. From Perm the 
 railway conveys them to Tiumen, whence another 
 prison barge carries them down the Obi River, dis- 
 tributing en route all those destined for places in 
 Western Siberia, until at Tomsk the remainder are 
 disembarked, and the long tramp across Asia 
 commences. No travelling is done in winter. The 
 
lEKOUTSK. 243 
 
 transportation season commences on the 15th of 
 April and ends on the 7th of October. As for the 
 march itself, it is a very different thing to what I 
 pictured it before I saw with my own eyes how well 
 Russian prisoners are treated. I shall perhaps 
 hardly be believed when I say that crimes are some- 
 times committed by the lower orders in European 
 Russia on purpose to be sent to Siberia. The 
 criminals know that iheir term of imprisonment 
 over, they will (if well behaved) have a grant of 
 land and a house given them, and begin life afresh 
 in a new country. 
 
 We passed many hundreds of prisoners on the 
 post-road between Irkoutsk and Tomsk, but in no 
 single instance did I see a case of cruelty, and, 
 as a rule, the exiles appeared contented and well 
 nourished. 
 
 Whenever we passed a gang, once a day on an 
 average, the prisoners seemed to be the last thing 
 the Cossacks were thinking of, as, at intervals of 
 about twenty yards, the latter lounged slowly along, 
 picking berries and smoking cigarettes, while the 
 convicts in the roadway chatted, laughed and joked 
 among themselves (and sometimes with their guards) 
 in a very different frame of mind from that described 
 by the author I have mentioned. The women, it is 
 true, marched with the men, but the bare idea of 
 " nihilist conspirators " being " mixed up and tramp- 
 ing together " with the criminals is as absurd as it 
 is incorrect. Political prisoners are allowed in 
 Siberia to " mix up " with no one, but sent alone in 
 charge of two gendarmes to whatever town or 
 village they are destined. Not only are they kept 
 
244 FE03I PEEIN TO CALAIS J3T LAND. 
 
 apart in the prisons, where separate cells are pro- 
 vided for them, but also on the road. Nor are they 
 sent with gangs of criminals, or in the prison 
 barges, but taken by passenger-steamer to Tomsk, 
 and thence in a four-wheeled cart or telega, to their 
 destination. Should it be indispensable to send 
 them with a gang, they travel in carts at an interval 
 of one or two miles from the main body. The 
 gendarmes never let them out of sight, and allow 
 them to speak to no one, though thej'' may retain 
 and wear their own clothes till they arrive at the 
 mines, if condemned there. Many are simply sent 
 to reside at some town or village till their term of 
 punishment is over. 
 
 The usual marching is two days' work to one 
 day's rest, travelling, on an average, about eighteen 
 to twenty miles a day. There are about four hun- 
 dred prisons in all in Siberia, in fact every village 
 we passed on the road from Irkoutsk to Tomsk had 
 its " ostrog." All, from the shores of the sea of 
 Okhotzk to the Oural mountains, are built exactly 
 alike of wood painted a ligh*:, yellow, the roof being 
 of a dull brick-red colour. In each prison are four 
 or more cells for the politicals. The criminals, 
 men and women, are herded together in one large 
 room, round the sides of which are inclined wooden 
 planks to sleep or lounge upon. The town prisons 
 are built of stone, and are, of course, very much 
 larger. The Alexandreffski prison, for instance, 
 about thirty miles from Irkoutsk, contains over 
 twelve hundred convicts. 
 
 The number of exiles sent to Siberia during the 
 past few years has been on an average 15,000 to 
 

 m 
 
 I " ,^\ C', ■• 
 
 \i S: '' 
 
 'mm. 
 
 ' 'r f .^ 
 
lEKOUTSK. 245 
 
 18,000 per annum, including women and children. 
 As a rule, the lesser criminals are sent to settle- 
 ments in Western Siberia, nihilists and murderers 
 to Kar4 and Saghalien, some of the former even as 
 far as Yakoutsk, which is said to be the hottest 
 place in summer, and coldest in winter, in the world. 
 From Kara there is no escape. Few ever try to get 
 away, for the uninhabited regions on the north, and 
 desert of Gobi on the south, effectually cut off all 
 chances of escape, while east and west a prisoner 
 stands the chance of being shot down by the Bouri- 
 ates and other wandering tribes, a reward of three 
 roubles a head, living or dead, being offered by Gov- 
 ernment for runaways. On the whole, there is no 
 doubt that the Russian Government treats its 
 prisoners far better than we in England are inclined 
 to give it credit for. Even nihilists are fairly well 
 treated, though, of course, the majority of them are 
 educated men, and feel their captivity far more 
 keenly than the hardened, low-born criminals. 
 
 As for the latter, they have no complaint 
 whatever to make as to food and clothing ; each 
 man has two pounds of black bread, three- 
 quarters of a pound of meat, and a small allow- 
 , ance of quass daily. This, it must be remembered, 
 is what Government actually allows him. He 
 may make what he can on the road in addition 
 to this, by soliciting alms from travellers and 
 caravans. The prison-gates present a curious 
 sight of an evening, half an hour before the arrival 
 of a convoy. It is a miniature market, where 
 huge baskets of berries, jam, kalaohi or rolls, 
 quass, new milk, are spread out in tempting 
 
246 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 array on snow-white tableclotlis, for the benefit 
 of the fortunate ones who have succeeded in 
 obtaining a few kopeks from compassionate travel- 
 lers. Imagine a convict travelling from Portland 
 to Dartmoor being allowed to beg at the railway 
 stations ! 
 
 Every village prison, too, has its recreation- 
 ground, where there are trapezes, parallel bars, and 
 other gymnastic appliances, for the amusement 
 of prisoners during the long winter months. 
 On arrival at the mines, a prisoner's food 
 is increased to four pounds of black bread, one 
 pound of meat, a quarter of a pound of buckwheat, 
 and tea instead of quass. Convicts at the mines 
 do not as a rule complain of overwork, but of not 
 having enough to do ! 
 
 The summer costume is a linen shirt, pair of 
 trousers, coat of coarse grey camel's hair, and flat 
 peakless cap. Yellow cloth diamonds on the back 
 of the coat indicate, by their number, the length of 
 the wearer's sentence. On his release from the 
 mines, a plot of land and a house is given to every 
 convict of good character. Many thus live with 
 their wives and families, in as great a state 
 of freedom as any ordinary English labourer, 
 excepting that they are bound to do a certain 
 amount of work per day (for which they are 
 paid), and to be indoors by a certain hour at 
 night. The punishments inflicted are far less 
 severe than they used to be. The " knout " has 
 been abolished for some years, so also in a great 
 measure has flogging, which is still practised 
 occasionally, but with rods. 
 
lEKOUTSK. 247 
 
 We found living in Irkoutsk fairly cheap, with the 
 exception of wine and beer. Light claret (called 
 Lafitte) is sold at nine roubles a bottle, while 
 English beer was still dearer. Champagne is drunk 
 in enormous quantities by Siberians, but it is sweet, 
 mawkish stuff. It was half as cheap again as the 
 claret, and bore the most extraordinary brand I 
 have ever seen — the English and American flags 
 crossed over a horse and jockey ! However, it suited 
 the consumers, who, like Russians, dislike dry 
 champagne. Poultry, fish, and eggs are absurdly 
 cheap. Two hundred of the latter can be bought 
 for one rouble. The Siberian has tastes some- 
 what akin to the Chinese in the matter of eggs. I 
 was once asked at a post-house whether I would 
 like mine old, straw flavoured, or fresh ! 
 
 There was no lack of amusement in the 
 evening. Two theatres (French and Russian), 
 a circus, and several open-air concerts were 
 always open to us. I witnessed one evening a 
 performance of the " Cloches de Corneville," most 
 creditable both as regards artistes and orchestra. 
 Opera bouffe at Irkoutsk ! Had I been told a year 
 before that it existed there, I should have set down 
 my informant as a lunatic. 
 
 The streets were far from safe at night, and 
 two men were stabbed during the short time we 
 were there. Being unlit, they present great 
 facilities for the exercise of their profession to the 
 gentlemen who take up their residence in the 
 lower quarters of the town after a sojourn at Kara 
 or Nertchinsk. No one in Irkoutsk ever walks 
 abroad after dark unarmed. 
 
248 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 There was little to do in the daytime but flatten 
 one's nose against the hotel windows and look out 
 on to the dreary market-place opposite, watching 
 the busy crowds of buyers and sellers. It was 
 the only market-place in Siberia where I ever 
 saw flowers exposed for sale, but they were 
 faded, scentless things. It always struck me 
 as curious that, although wild flowers are so 
 plentiful in Siberia, it is hopeless to try and 
 grow roses or garden flowers. The market was 
 the only place in Irkoutsk which showed any signs 
 of life or animation. Even at mid-day the place 
 looked as if everybody was either dead or asleep. 
 The only signs of life visible were when a squad of 
 soldiers, returning from drill, marched past with a 
 cracked trumpet at their head, or a tea-caravan 
 rattled and jingled across the square. Our sole 
 amusement consisted in watching the cab-stand 
 opposite the hotel, and speculating as to whether 
 the dozen drivers asleep on their boxes would ever 
 get a fare. We were there a week, and indoors the 
 greater part of the day, — and when indoors looking 
 out of window, for we had no books to read,^ — but 
 never saw one hired. 
 
 The " droshki " or cab of Irkoutsk cannot be 
 called a comfortable vehicle. It is springless, and 
 only built to hold one person besides the driver. 
 In shape it is not unlike a bath-chair without the 
 hood. There is no guard-rail to hold on by, or any- 
 thing to prevent one being hurled out as it bumps 
 and bounds along the rough, uneven streets. 
 As the drivers always went at full gallop, it 
 was sometimes no easy matter to keep one's seat. 
 
lEKOUTSK. 249 
 
 On a fine day one saw many smart turn- 
 outs at Irkoutsk, thougt the carriages with 
 springs, were, I was told, in a constant state 
 of repair. The chief object of the drivers 
 seemed to be to tear along the streets as fast 
 as they could without breaking down. Many of 
 the horses had the near fore-legs fastened to the 
 hind for this purpose, a method peculiar, I imagine, 
 to Siberia. 
 
 There was but one pleasant walk in Irkoutsk, 
 a kind of boulevard situa-ted on the banks of the 
 Angara. It was a relief to find one's way down 
 here on a sunny afternoon. The sight of a bit of 
 green foliage was refreshing, though the trees were 
 withered, scrubby-looking things [at best. There 
 was, at any rate, a certain amount of life and 
 animation in the broad and rapid river, alive with 
 merchandise craft plying to and from Lake Baikal, 
 and ferry-boats carrying passengers to public tea- 
 gardens on the opposite bank. On fine afternoons 
 the boulevard was the favourite haunt of nurses 
 and children, and as a natural consequence soldiers, 
 and reminded one (with a stretch of the imagi- 
 nation) of bits of the Champs Elysees or Tuileries 
 Grardens in far-away Paris, an illusion very soon dis- 
 pelled on looking back at the black roads and dismal- 
 looking, unfinished city. From here we walked 
 homewards, as a rule, past the Porte de Moscou, a 
 whitewashed brick building on the banks of the 
 Angara, containing two small rooms with barred 
 windows on either side. This arch was built in 
 1817, and was destined by the Russians to become 
 the permanent prison of ISTapoleon I. when they 
 
250 FEOM PEKJN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 should take him prisoner ! Although he was in 
 those days such an enemy of their country, Russians, 
 and especially Siberians, now have the greatest 
 respect for the memory of " Le Petit Caporal." 
 It may indeed be called adoration, for there is a 
 sect at present existing in Siberia, which actually 
 worships the spirit of the Great Emperor. They 
 are called " Napoleonists," and look upon the Czar 
 and Greek Church with contempt, worshipping only 
 the bust of their divinity, which is done with closed 
 doors, and in strict secrecy. The supporters of this 
 strange doctrine maintain that the Emperor still 
 lives, that he escaped from St. Helena after his 
 death, and crossed the seas in spirit to the shores 
 of Lake Baikal, where he resumed his mortality, 
 and now lives in the flesh. In time Napoleon will 
 again raise a huge army, put the Czar and his 
 Government to flight, and himself reign over Russia, 
 after which the world is to be subjected to the 
 Muscovite yoke ! 
 
 The time at Irkoutsk hung so heavily on our hands 
 after the first three days, that we resolved to cut 
 down the fortnight's rest we had originally intended, 
 taking to one of a week. There was literally nothing 
 of interest to see or do after the first twenty-four 
 hours, and we had no incentive to prolong our stay. 
 One fine morning, however, an apparition made its 
 appearance on the balcony, where we were wont to 
 smoke our morning cigar, that of a young and 
 extremely pretty woman, distinctly not an Irkout- 
 skian, but who looked, with her neat figure and 
 tailor-made gown, as if she had just walked out of 
 Bond Street. The meeting with a countrywoman, 
 
lEKOUTSK. 251 
 
 as we imagined her to be, lightened considerably the 
 prospect of the four long weary days that must 
 elapse before we pushed on to Tomsk. Madame R., 
 however, was not an Englishwoman, as we had 
 surmised, but a Dane, who had pluckily braved the 
 danger and discomfort of the roads to accompany 
 her husband (a telegraphic engineer) to Eastern 
 Siberia. Our introduction to the lady was followed 
 by one to Mr. E., and the cheery dejeuner a quatre 
 that followed it, soon made us forget Irkoutsk 
 and its depressing monotony; indeed to Mr. and 
 Madame R. are due all the pleasing recollections 
 I have retained of that gloomy city. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 lEEOUTSK [continued). 
 
 The sliock-lieaded youth wtio fulfilled tte duties of 
 chambermaid awoke me one morning at the Mos- 
 kovskaya with the news that that day (the 19th of 
 August) was to witness in Siberia a total eclipse of 
 the sun. I did not learn till afterwards that 
 scientific men had been sent from London, Paris, 
 Berlin, and Petersburg, to Krasnoiarsk, a town 
 about six hundred versts west of Irkoutsk, to witness 
 and report on the eclipse, but the expedition was a 
 failure, the weather at these places being dull and 
 overcast. At Irkoutsk, however, a bright sun and 
 cloudless sky ushered in the eventful morning. The 
 eclipse was to take place at 11.30, but for quite half 
 an hour previously a perceptible change took place 
 in the temperature, which, though it had been close 
 and sultry up till eleven o'clock, now became quite 
 cool, while the light breeze that had been blowing 
 dropped as if by magic. About eleven o'clock the 
 bright sunshine became obscured by a mist something 
 like the lurid glare that precedes a thunderstorm 
 on a summer's day in England. Up till now nothing 
 was observable on the sun's surface as it shone 
 out, like a ball of fire, from the woolly sky, but at 
 
lEKOUTSK. 253 
 
 11.20 one could discern, by the aid of an opera- 
 glass, a thin black line creeping from right to left 
 over the great fiery disc, increasing in size to a 
 semicircular blotch, till, at a quarter to twelve, the 
 sun presented the appearance of an apple with a 
 large piece bitten out. Ten minutes more, and 
 nothing was visible but a thin streak of brilliant 
 light surrounding a circular patch of black, while 
 darkness crept over the city, and the stars, one by 
 one, appeared in the heavens. 
 
 One could see, in the square below the hotel, a 
 crowd of eager, upturned faces, many of whom had 
 never even heard that the eclipse was expected, and 
 were much disconcerted in consequence. Droshki 
 drivers pulled up their horses and stared open- 
 mouthed; market-women left their stalls, to kneel 
 and cross themselves; everyone's face wore an 
 anxious, concerned look, which added not a little to 
 the weirdness of the scene. The effect produced on 
 the animal creation was extraordinary. Horses 
 neighed, dogs howled, while birds in great flocks 
 flew silently across the starlit sky, bewildered 
 and alarmed at the sudden fall of night. About 
 ten minutes past twelve the black veil over the 
 sun diminished in size, and the darkness com- 
 menced to clear away, as, almost imperceptibly, the 
 light of day once more crept slowly over the earth, 
 while one by one the stars faded in the brightening 
 heavens. The air, too, grew gradually warmer, till, 
 at half-past twelve, not a trace of the phenomenon 
 was visible, except in the dense, excited crowds 
 discussing it in the market-place. The fall of the 
 temperature during the eclipse was twelve degrees. 
 
254 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Eain fell in torrents, shortly after. This did 
 not, however, prevent us from walking out 
 to the drill-plain, and witnessing a review of the 
 troops. Walking in Irkoutsk on a rainy day is, to 
 say the least of it, unpleasant. The streets are un- 
 drained. Great pools of water lie in the roadway, 
 rendering it almost impassable, while the thick dust 
 .converts the streets into morasses of deep black 
 mud. We had to wade nearly knee-deep more 
 than once before reaching the parade-ground. 
 The garrison of Irkoutsk numbered about 10,000. 
 The troops were not taking to look at, their 
 dingy drab uniforms and dirty white linen caps 
 rendering them far from smart in appearance, 
 though as regards drill and steadiness they 
 appeared perfect. All were armed with the 
 " Berdan " rifle. 
 
 We now set about making preparations for the 
 journey to Tomsk. Our tarantass was again over- 
 hauled, a very necessary proceeding after our rough 
 journey through Trans-Baikalia, or what we then 
 thought rough. It was a mere trifle to what was 
 in store for us. Embarking on a journey in Siberia 
 means a preparation of at least three days. One 
 cannot, as in England, pack up a portmanteau, and 
 be ofE at a few hours' notice. There is firstly the 
 permission of the police required to enable one to 
 leave a town or city at all ; secondly that most im- 
 portant item in Siberian travel, horses ; and thirdly 
 a document authorizing the holder to procure them. 
 This is called the " Podarojna," and is of two 
 kinds. 
 
 The " Kasiomne " or Imperial Podarojna is used 
 
IRKOUTSK. 255 
 
 only by government officials of all classes, who, 
 though, they pay nothing for horses, are always 
 served first at a post-station, even though the luck- 
 less holder of a privatne or second-class podarojna, 
 may have been waiting for his two or three days. 
 We found this to our cost on several occasions, 
 notably on one, where, though our horses were 
 already harnessed, and we were about to start, a 
 Grovernment engineer dashed up, and producing 
 his kasiomne, had them taken away from us and 
 proceeded calmly on his way, leaving us to curse 
 him and our fate, and wait another twenty-four 
 hours. In urgent cases, such as an imperial 
 messenger with despatches from Moscow or 
 Petersburg, the kasiomne is written in red 
 ink, and marked " Courier," when, though there 
 may be no horses available in the station, the 
 inhabitants of the village are bound to provide 
 them. 
 
 The ordinary podarojna is called the " Privatne," 
 and costs twenty-five roubles. This entitles the 
 holder to horses at any station where they may be 
 available, but they must always be taken out and 
 handed over to the fortunate possessor of a first- 
 class podarojna, should the latter make his appear- 
 ance before the tarantass has actually started. To 
 obviate this difficulty a private company has lately 
 been started at all the stations on the Great Post- 
 Road, to provide the holders of second-class poda- 
 rojnas with horses. They charge exorbitant fares, 
 however, and we always preferred to wait even two 
 or three days for the regular Government horses. 
 In some cases we found that the Government post- 
 
256 FEOM PBKISr TO CALAIS BY LAND, 
 
 master and manager of the private company were in 
 league to rob travellers. 
 
 Provisions also had to be thought of, and those 
 of the most portable kind — sardines, Liebig's 
 Extract, a small chest of tea, sugar, and half a dozen 
 pots of jam constituted our commissariat department, 
 together with two bottles of cognac, and half a 
 dozen flasks of vodka, for with the exception of 
 milk, black bread, and eggs, nothing is to be got as 
 a rule at the post-stations. We invariably found a 
 menu with prices affixed on the walls of every 
 waiting-room, even in the smallest villages, but on 
 inquiry, the tempting list of cutlets, beefsteaks, 
 &c., &c., usually dwindled down to the homely but 
 unappetizing egg and black bread ! Indeed, with 
 the exception of Krasnoiarsk, Nijni-TJdinsk, and 
 Kansk, this constituted our sole fare from Irkoutsk 
 to Tomsk, with one exception, where, delayed for a 
 couple of days at Soukovskaya, we were regaled 
 with a basin of broth at the village ostrog, or prison. 
 I think that plate of soup did more towards dis- 
 pelling any wild notions I may have had anent the 
 ill-treatment of Siberian exiles than pages of 
 writing ! Many a time, when delayed on the road, 
 have I smelt the savoury fumes from the ostrog 
 cook-house with envy, as I slunk back disgusted 
 to my stale egg "and black bread at the post- 
 house. Sad though their lot may be, the Sibei-ian 
 convicts are not only well clad, but in many cases 
 better fed than our own criminals in England. 
 
 Personally, I would very much sooner undergo a 
 term of imprisonment for a criminal offence in 
 Siberia than in England. The work in summer is 
 
A SIEERTAN CRIMINAL CONVICT. 
 
IRKOUTSK. 257 
 
 undoubtedly harder, but during the winter months, 
 when mining is suspended, convicts at Irkoutsk are 
 employed for the most part in cigarette-making, or 
 work of a similar light nature, while they are treated 
 with more laxity, and enjoy far more liberty, than in 
 our convict-prisons at home. Smoking is not for- 
 bidden, card-playing and other games allowed, and 
 free conversation, for in Siberia solitary confinement 
 among criminals is unknown, while, as a rule, their 
 friends, if they have any in the neighbourhood, are 
 permitted to see them once a month, and on these 
 occasions are allowed to bring the prisoner tobacco, 
 food, and many other luxuries, excepting alcoholic 
 liquors. Even in this respect, however, the rules 
 are by no means stringent. 
 
 I am. now writing of what came under my own 
 personal observation at Irkoutsk and Tomsk, for 
 save on one or two occasions we were never allowed 
 to enter a village ostrog, and but seldom to exchange 
 words with political prisoners while in confine- 
 ment. As, however, a considerable portion of the 
 population at Irkoutsk consisted of political exiles 
 living under police surveillance, I was able to gather 
 some interesting and reliable details from this class 
 relative to their life while in prison and at the 
 mines. 
 
 One hears little of Nihilism in Irkoutsk. It is a 
 sealed subject, and, except on rare occasions, never 
 broached. Here, as throughout Siberia, however, 
 we took care not to mix in any political discussions, 
 a piece of advice I would tender to anyone intending 
 to make this journey. Russians, and especially 
 Siberians, are quick to take offence, and on one 
 
 T 2 
 
258 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 occasion we were nearly being embroiled, though 
 quite ianocently, in a serious " Fracas." 
 
 It was in a cafe on the outskirts of the town. 
 In every public room, be it post-house, hotel, 
 restaurant, or government office, there is a portrait 
 of His Majesty the Czar, flanked in a corner by the 
 " Ikona," or Sacred Image. Ignorant of the custom 
 of the country, Lancaster and I one evening en- 
 tered one of these places without removing our hats. 
 The room was crowded, for it was a public holiday, 
 and all were more or less under the influence of 
 copious libations of vodka and other drinks they had 
 imbibed during the day. Seating ourselves at a 
 small table in their midst, I was not a little surprised 
 to feel, the moment after, a violent blow at the 
 back of my head, and at the same moment to see 
 my hat whizzing through the air to the other side of 
 the " Salle." We were both armed, but luckily for 
 ourselves had the presence of mind to keep our 
 revolvers in our pockets. Had they been produced, 
 I doubt if either of us would have left the place 
 alive. Fortunately the owner of the cafe spoke 
 French, and apologizing for the conduct of his 
 guests, explained that the sole cause of their annoy- 
 ance was that we had omitted to doff our hats to 
 the Czar's picture. The affair was soon settled, 
 for the gentleman who had assaulted us came up 
 and profusely apologized for his conduct in not 
 knowing that we were unacquainted with the cus- 
 toms of the country ! There must have been fifty 
 or sixty Siberians (all more or less drunk) in the 
 place. Had there been a third that niimber, or even 
 half, I should have felt sorely tempted to go for the 
 
IKKOUTSK. 259 
 
 swaggering bully, who was meek enough when, 
 peace being restored, we showed him our newest 
 patent in American " six-shooters." 
 
 The morality of Irkoutsk is, as I have said, 
 at an exceedingly low ebb. Our Danish friend, 
 Madame K., was on her arrival called upon by a 
 young and handsome woman, beautifully dressed, 
 with whom in less than a week she had struck 
 up a violent friendship, for both had tastes in com- 
 mon, and were fond of music and art. A few days 
 afterwards, Madame R., to her great delight, found 
 another friend, the Baroness Podorski, who had 
 spent many months at Copenhagen. But it was 
 somewhat disappointing, said Madame R., to find 
 soon after, tliat tlie baroness had done five years at 
 the mines for murdering her niece, a rich beiress, 
 by slow poison at Moscow, and was now living on 
 the proceeds as a queen of society at Irkoutsk. 
 Calling to see her other friend one afternoon, 
 Madame R. found her gone. "It is sad," said her 
 host, " but we have quarrelled, and she has gone to 
 live witb B — — , of the Cossacks. You know we 
 were not married." The state of things in the 
 country is little better. When a peasant is about 
 to be married, he lives in a state of single blessed- 
 ness witb his fiancee for six months. If at the end 
 of that period she is found to be enceinte, the wed- 
 ding takes place ; if not, they separate and form new 
 liaisons. But this custom exists only in Siberia, 
 and even there is gradually dying out in the more 
 civilized districts. 
 
 One morning, about five days before our depar- 
 ture, we were seated at breakfast, when a stout and 
 
260 FEOM PEKIK TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 portly old gentleman was sliown in. The stranger 
 must have weighed at least sixteen stone, and was 
 broad in proportion. After a deal of palaver, we 
 elicited that this good gentleman desired to become 
 our fellow-traveller as far as Tomsk, proposed in 
 other words to use our tarantass, eat our provisions, 
 and do the journey for exactly a third the amount 
 it would otherwise have cost him. In vain we 
 pointed out that our vehicle was already full, that 
 there was no room for a third. " No matter," he 
 said, smiling blandly, " I will lie between you." The 
 prospect of arriving at Tomsk as flat as a pancake, 
 to say nothing of being asphyxiated by the fumes of 
 garlic and tobacco, were too much, and we there- 
 fore intimated to our visitor politely but firmly that 
 ■we declined his company. He, however, as firmly 
 declined to take a refusal or leave our room till 
 about 5 p.m., having sat in a chair and watched our 
 every movement for three mortal hours without 
 uttering a syllable. We had at last to ring the bell 
 and insist on his being shown out. " Then you 
 will not take me ? " he said with a sigh. " Ah ! you 
 are wrong. Eead that. I will call again to- 
 morrow," and leaving a slip of paper on the table, he 
 slowly left the room. 
 
 Translation from the Irlwutsh Gazette of July 7th, 
 1887 :— 
 
 " The roads between Tomsk and Irkoutsk are 
 infested with runaway convicts, so that travelling 
 in this region, especially at night, is extremely 
 dangerous. Lately, a whole family was murdered 
 at the distance of a few versts from Irkoutsk, and 
 we hear of such cases frequently enough." 
 
IRKOUTSK. 261 
 
 So ran the paper. I did not at first pay mucli 
 heed to what I imagined was a scheme of our fat 
 friend to make us take him as an additional pro- 
 tection. It was not pleasant news, though ; so I 
 
 took it to R , who, good Russian scholar, would 
 
 be able to enlighten us as to whether it ever had 
 appeared in the Irkoutsk paper. The file was soon 
 found, and, somewhat to my disappointment, the 
 paragraph in black and white, with an additional 
 piece of advice from the Police Department not to 
 travel on the Great Post-Road, except in urgent 
 cases, at night. 
 
 Our fat friend called again next day, but we were 
 obdurate. " Ah ! you will be sorry for it, my 
 friends," he said. " This," producing a horse 
 pisto], apparently some centuries old, "this would 
 have been no mean help in a skirmish. News has 
 come to-day by telegraph that a party of merchants 
 have been attacked by escaped convicts near 
 Krasnoiarsk, two killed and the others severely 
 maltreated and robbed. Wei], gocid-day, and may 
 you reach Tomsk alive." 
 
 We found on inquiry that the roads, so far as 
 robbers were concerned, were in a highly dangerous 
 state. Nor was this the only difficulty with which 
 we had to contend. Heavy rains had flooded the 
 country and made it almost impassable between 
 Nijni Udinsk, and Kansk, a couple of hundred versts 
 from Irkoutsk. Of this we had practical proof, for 
 the last mail from Petersburg had been delayed five 
 days. We hoped, all being well, to reach Moscow 
 by the 1st of October; but in no country, as far as 
 travel is concerned, is the old proverb so clearly 
 
262 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 demonstrated of " Homme propose, et Dieu dis- 
 pose," as in Siberia. If by any chance we were 
 detained in Eastern Siberia till after the 1st of 
 October, we should have to wait at Tomsk for the 
 snow to set, and sleigh on to Nijni Novgorod, not a 
 pleasant prospect. We had seen quite enough of a 
 Siberian city to know that a residence therein of a 
 week or ten days is more than enough. Irkoutsk, the 
 
 R s said, was far pleasanter in every way than 
 
 Tomsk, a circumstance that made us all the more 
 dread an enforced residence of two, or perhaps 
 three, months in the latter city, in the worst season 
 of the year — autumn. 
 
 We were luckily well armed, and took pains to- 
 show it to the servants of the hotel, for in nine 
 cases out of ten the latter and the yemstchiks (or 
 drivers) are in league with the thieves, who rarely 
 attack in the day-time, which was a comfort. Still 
 the prospect of a journey of over a thousand miles 
 through a country infested with bandits and vaga- 
 bonds did not sound cheering, especially as, in the 
 case of the murdered family, the robbers were armed 
 with revolvers. 
 
 We now had but two things to purchase, litera- 
 ture and furs. We commenced by ransacking the 
 bookshops, but, alas ! found nothing but the works 
 of Jules Verne, with an occasional book of Zola's. 
 English books there were absolutely none, but of 
 German works, ancient and modern, there was no 
 lack. The latter, however, were no use to us, 
 and we were forced to be content with a copy of 
 Jules Verne's " Voyage dans la Lune," " Michel 
 Strogoff,'" ^y the same author, and Zola's " Assom- 
 
IKKOUTSK. 263 
 
 moir." I verily believe I could say any of the three 
 off by heart, for we got no other books till we 
 reached Nijni Novgorod. ' I do not know what I 
 should have done without Reiff's Russian Glrammar 
 and Dictionary, with the help of which I managed 
 to scrape up a little Russian, which on more than 
 one occasion stood me in good stead. Contrary to 
 general belief, a superficial knowledge of this lan- 
 guage is very soon learnt. In less than a month I 
 was able to converse fairly well, and ask for what 
 I wanted, though T cannot vouch for my grammar. 
 Furs were the next consideration, and I was 
 surprised to find how dear they were ; but the fact 
 that all, even the commonest, have to be sent to 
 Moscow to be cured and made up, explained this. 
 A pelisse of the cheapest kind, reindeer skin out- 
 side and sea-bear in, cost me nearly 221., and then 
 
 R told me that I had not paid too dear. The 
 
 same skins unmade would have cost about 121. 
 My friend the Polish barman attempted to dissuade 
 me from buying one at all, saying we should find 
 fur clothes useless, the weather would be so hot, 
 but I was very glad of my " shouba" and seal cap 
 on more than one occasion before we got to Tomsk. 
 The most costly fur procurable in Siberia is the 
 silver fox, or rather the paws of that animal. No 
 comme-il-faut person ever thinks of wearing any 
 other part, for the whole skin is only worth one- 
 tenth part of one of the tiny, velvety paws. The 
 next in value is the beaver, then the sable, the 
 marten, and astrakan, the last being bear, elk, and 
 reindeer, which latter are, however, only worn by 
 the lower orders. 
 
264 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 At length, on the 23rd of August, our final pre- 
 parations were completed, and we now only needed 
 the permission of the Inspector of police to embark 
 upon our journey. In this we were singularly 
 lucky, receiving it two days after application, though 
 not before a police agent had called and thoroughly 
 searched our boxes and effects. " You are taking- 
 no letters, I trust," said the official suspiciously. 
 " I presume you know the penalty of being found 
 in the Czar's dominions with compromising papers, 
 no matter what your nationality." I assured him 
 that no being existed more loyal than myself to his 
 Imperial master, mentally thanking Providence at 
 the same time that I had not acceded to the prayer 
 of my dirty friend with the letter for Greek Street, 
 Soho. 
 
 Our good friends the R s insisted on enter- 
 taining us to a dinner in honour of our departure 
 the night before we left, a banquet in which the 
 chef of the " Moskovskaya " excelled himself, and 
 to which we did ample justice. Poor little Madame 
 
 E alone cast a gloom over the entertainment 
 
 by her sad face, and indeed considering she was 
 doomed to two years' exile in Irkoutsk, it was not 
 to be wondered at. After dinner we adjourned to 
 the opera, where the poor little woman soon forgot 
 her troubles in the pretty, sparkling music of 
 " La Grande Duchesse " and the antics of a 
 well acted Eritz. It was difficult to imagine one- 
 self in this far-away corner of the earth. The 
 brightly-lit theatre, gold and crimson boxes, and 
 stalls, crowded with well-dressed men and women, 
 were different, indeed, from one's preconceived 
 
IRKOUTSK. 265 
 
 notions of the capital of Eastern Siberia. R 
 
 insisted on our supping after the play, and it 
 was daylight ere we sought our couch, the last 
 soft bed we were destined to enjoy for many days 
 to come. 
 
 All was ready by eleven o'clock the next morn- 
 ing (24th August). A little crowd had assembled 
 in the market-place to witness the strange sight of 
 a couple of Englishmen about to cross Siberia ! 
 Madame R witnessed the start from the bal- 
 cony, and her neat little grey-clad figure and 
 pretty face is the last fair vision of the city that 
 I can recall, as, haying seated ourselves in the 
 tarantass, the yemtschik cracked his whip, the 
 game little horses dashed into their collars, and 
 we rattled away with a loud jangle of bells, past 
 the sunny deserted streets and into the open 
 country. Half an hour later and Irkoutsk, a 
 glittering speck on the dark green horizon, was 
 barely discernible. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 [EKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 
 
 Let the reader picture the neighbourhood of Alder- 
 shot with its undulating pine-clad hills suddenly- 
 transplanted into the depths of the black country 
 lying around Newcastle-on-Tyne. For stone build- 
 ings let him substitute filthy, tumble-down houses 
 of unpainted wood, almost undistinguishable at a 
 distance from the dark, greasy soil around them. 
 People these villages with dirty, wild-looking men 
 clad in sheepskins and gaudy-coloured rags, and 
 still dirtier, half-naked women. Conceive a sickly 
 smell (peculiar to Asiatic Eussia) of old skins, 
 wood, smoke, turpentine, and sewage, and a Siberian 
 landscape is before you. lu fine weather a fine 
 grey dust that creeps into your hair, chokes up eyes 
 and nostrils, and renders life almost unbearable ; 
 on a wet day thick, greasy, black mud that is every- 
 where. In the post-house, in the tarantass, there 
 was no keeping it out. I do not know which was 
 worse — the dust or the mud — perhaps the latter, 
 for it smelt abominably, and stained like ink. 
 
 We had looked forward to fine scenery in Siberia, 
 lofty,picturesque ranges, wooded valleys, and glorious 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 267 
 
 panoramas of forest and plain, but were grievously 
 disappointed, for the scenery between Irkoutsk and 
 Tomsk is, with one or two exceptions, intolerably 
 monotonous and depressing. My recollections of 
 that weary journey are neither pleasant nor inter- 
 esting. Eastern Siberia, as I remember it, is 
 simply one long and varying succession of three 
 colours : Dark gi'een, brown, and yellow — pines, 
 mud, and occasional cornfields. Of the fifty odd 
 villages lying between the capitals of Eastern and 
 Western Siberia, not more than a dozen contained 
 over 400 inhabitants. Save in these villages we 
 saw no signs of life but occasional gangs of 
 prisoners, or a stray tarantass or telega. The 
 poet's lines — 
 
 " Miles, on miles, on miles, of desolation, 
 Leagues, on leagues, on leagues, without a change," 
 
 fitly describe the countiy through which we 
 travelled for three weeks after leaving Irkoutsk. 
 
 A description of one Siberian village will sufiice 
 for all. The houses, for the most part of rough 
 nnpainted wood, have an untidy, unfinished appear- 
 ance, the majority of them being dangerously out 
 of the perpendicular. The effect produced by their 
 appearance was exactly like that of ships rolling and 
 tumbling about in a high sea, some with their sterns 
 high up out of the water, others with their bows 
 buried in the waves. This phenomenon is caused 
 by the depression of the ground in spring, when the 
 snow melts, and when their foundations being very 
 insecure, the houses fall about in all directions. I 
 saw one at Kloutchefskaya, near Kansk, that had 
 
268 FROM PEKIN TO' CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 sunk to sucli a degree that the inmates had to enter 
 it on all fours. The entire absence of colour in 
 these villages was fearfully depressing. I do not 
 think I saw a single flower-garden throughout the 
 whole journey. In some of the larger villages faint 
 attempts at decoration were made by cutting down 
 a fir-tree and sticking it (rootless) into the ground 
 on either side of the road ; but as this had been 
 done in early summer, the dark green of the firs had 
 usually faded, scorched by the sun into a dirty 
 drab, making the surroundings, if possible, more 
 desolate and cheerless than before. In every 
 Siberian village, however small, are three Govern- 
 ment buildings ; the church, prison, and post- 
 house ; also, situate at one extremity of the place 
 a huge wooden barn, in which a quantity of grain 
 is stored annually by the villagers as a precaution 
 against famine. 
 
 We found the post-houses (which are situated at 
 intervals of every twenty or twenty-five versts) vary 
 considerably in comfort and cleanliness, the best 
 being about on a par with a decently kept labourer's 
 cottage in England. All are built on the same 
 model, and of wood, two black and white pillars at 
 the door, and the Imperial arms over the gateway 
 alone distinguishing this building from the other 
 rough wooden huts. Two rooms, or partitions, 
 each about twenty feet by eighteen feet, are set 
 apart for the use of travellers, a huge brick stove 
 in the wall heating them equally. The floor was 
 invariably carpetless, while the sole furniture con- 
 sisted of a small table and two hard wooden chairs, 
 sometimes, but not often, an equally hard wooden 
 

 
 /Mr 
 
 A SIBERIAN VILLAGE STREET. 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 269 
 
 sofa ; and for ornament a few woodcuts from the 
 newspapers, or cheap tawdrily coloured portraits of 
 the Czar and Czarina were pinned on the greasy, 
 whitewashed walls. In one corner on a shelf is kept 
 the " Black Book," a volume in which travellers 
 are invited to write any complaints, immediately 
 over this a gaudy brass " Ikon," or picture of the 
 Holy Virgin or Saviour, which no Russian's room, 
 from Czar to peasant, is ever without. There were 
 usually two windows— double ones — kept hermeti- 
 cally sealed eveu on the hottest day. Washing 
 appliances were, of course, nil. I should hardly 
 like to own how often I washed my face and hands 
 between Irkoutsk and Tomsk ! Ablutions were 
 almost entirely dispensed with except for a hand- 
 kerchief dipped into a tea-glass from the " Samo- 
 var," and passed over the face and hands. With 
 this "lick and a promise," one had to be satisfied. 
 The post-houses differed a good deal in comfort and 
 accommodation, some being as clean and well found 
 as those east of Lake Baikal, others little better 
 than human pig-styes. As I have said, the 
 dirtiest were invariably situated near the large 
 towns, and while we met with nothing but civility 
 and kindness froin officials in the wilder districts, 
 those within forty versts or so of Tomsk and 
 Irkoutsk were as arrogant and extortionate as only 
 a Siberian post-master can be. 
 
 The Great Post-Road from Irkoutsk to Tomsk 
 would scarcely be called a road in any other 
 country. In wet weather it becomes a morass, 
 in dry seasons the thick grey dust is up to the 
 axles, while in early autumn the centre track is 
 
270 EEOM PEKIN TO 0ALA.1S BY LAND. 
 
 often so cut up by caravans as to make wheel traffic 
 quite impossible. The yemstchiks then diverge to 
 the right or left, where, though the going is not so 
 heavy, the numerous tree-stumps, watercourses, 
 felled logs, &c., render it anything but safe. I often 
 wondered our tarantass did not come to pieces 
 altogether long before reaching Tomsk. No Euro- 
 pean carriage would have stood the work twenty- 
 four hours. A triple telegraph wire runs the entire 
 length of the road, and is carried on eastwards from 
 Irkoutsk to "Wladivostok, a town of about 2000 
 inhabitants, and the headquarters of the Russian 
 jSTaval Squadron in Siberian waters. There is no 
 telegi^aph direct toPekin. 
 
 We dashed along gaily the first two stages out 
 of Irkoutsk, passing, a few versts out, the monastery 
 of St. Innocent, a huge stone building erected at the 
 cost of many million roubles by the gold-merchants 
 of the capital. This saint is supposed to protect 
 travellers, and none of the wealthier mine-owners 
 ever dream of taking a journey without first making 
 a substantial offering at his shrine. Such voyages 
 are necessarily frequent enough, and the sum total 
 at the end of the year is considerable. It was 
 almost like a glimpse of Italy or Southern France 
 to peep in through the open gateway, the priests 
 in their brown and white robes, strolling bareheaded 
 about the sunny, vine-clad gardens, and shady 
 cloisters. The tower at the eastern side of the 
 building, is lofty, and of graceful architecture, but 
 the fine effect is entirely spoilt by a large sham 
 clock, just beneath the steeple, its painted hands 
 pointing eternally to half-past twelve. The 
 

 sH?Ke||:; 
 
lEKODTSK TO TOMSK. 271 
 
 Siberians apparently have a mania for these, for I 
 afterwards noticed them on many pablio and 
 Government buildings at Tomsk, Krasnoiarsk, and 
 Tobolsk. 
 
 We reached Bokovskaya, the first post-station 
 out of Irkoutsk, a little after two o'clock, and were 
 lucky enough to obtain horses at once, a circum- 
 stance that did not then strike one as out of the 
 way, but we had as yet but little experience of 
 Siberian post-masters and their ways. It was 
 getting dusk as we reached the little village of 
 Tielminskaya, where our first check occurred. 
 Though we had covered but little ground, bright 
 sunshine, a comfortable tarantass, and good horses, 
 made our first day's posting so pleasant that we 
 began to think the discomforts of Siberian travel 
 had been exaggerated by our Danish friends. To 
 be sure we had only come thirty versts, and over 
 one thousand five hundred lay between us and the 
 good city of Tomsk ! 
 
 The waiting-room at Tielminskaya had just been 
 vacated by a Siberian family en route for Irkoutsk. 
 Its appearance was, to say the least of it, unin- 
 viting, and did not give one a very high opinion of 
 the cleanliness of the Siberian en voyage. No 
 horses were obtainable till four o'clock next 
 morning, so we spread our furs and rugs on the 
 floor, resolving to sleep in the waiting-room, filthy 
 as it was. One might, to use a slang expression, 
 have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Though it 
 had been oppressively warm all day, every window 
 was tightly closed, while a huge fire roared in the 
 brick stove. The dirty, worm-eaten floor, strewn 
 
272 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 as it was with mud, straw, scraps of paper, fish- 
 bones, egg-shells, and other abominations, was any- 
 thing but appetizing to look at, to say nothing of 
 the stench of stale cigarette smoke, furs, and salt 
 fish, but we managed to make a good meal notwith- 
 standing, and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh-laid 
 eggs, clotted cream, and preserved berries that the 
 post-master's wife provided. We little knew then 
 that a time was coming when even eggs and milk 
 would be unobtainable luxuries. 
 
 A " Pope " (as priests of the Greek Church are 
 called) made his appearance about ten o'clock, just 
 as we were thinking of turning in — a noisy, bustling 
 fellow, who put further rest out of the question ; 
 for he was of a communicative turn of mind, and 
 would talk, whether one answered him or not, so I 
 made the best of a bad job, and got out my dic- 
 tionary, with a view to picking up a little Russian. 
 The conversation was somewhat laboured, and 
 consisted chiefly of pantomime. Lancaster did 
 not join in, but slumbered, away peacefully in a 
 corner. 
 
 By dint of hard work I managed at the end of an 
 hour to glean that, firstly, the road between Kou- 
 toulik and Nijni Udinsk was infested with robbers ; 
 secondly, that on no account must we travel at 
 night through these districts ; and, thirdly, that a 
 whole family on their way to Irkoutsk from Kras- 
 noiarsk had been murdered by thieves (escaped con- 
 victs) but a week previously. 
 
 This was scarcely encouraging our first day out. 
 Referring to the Posting-book, I found that 
 Koutoulik lay fifty versts further on, which 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 273 
 
 would probably land us tbere about 2 p.m. tlie 
 following day, always supposing there was no delay 
 at Maltinskaya or Polovilnaya, the intervening 
 stations. We were well armed, as I took care to 
 sliow the clerical stranger, who, for all I knew, might 
 himself be in league with the thieves. Siberia 
 makes one very suspicious. At any rate we resolved 
 to travel as little as possible by night, and when 
 doing so to keep a good look-out, sleeping only one 
 at a time while on the road. 
 
 It was past 2 a.m. before the loquacious " Pope " 
 allowed me to snatch a few hours' rest. The wind 
 had now risen, and the rain, which had threatened 
 at intervals through the day, was pouring down in 
 torrents, and rattling against the window-panes 
 with a force that boded ill for our next day's jour- 
 ney. Griven fine weather and average luck in 
 obtaining hoises, I had not the slightest doubt of 
 being able to reach Tomsk in time for the last 
 steamer to Tinmen, but a week of steady rain would 
 upset all our plans, and probably result in our being 
 kept prisoners at Tomsk through the mists and 
 fogs of early autumn, until the roads set for sleigh- 
 ing. To post through Siberia in October is next 
 to impossible. 
 
 We had already been two hours on the road 
 when day broke. By eight o'clock the thick woolly 
 clouds had rolled away, and the sun burst forth clear 
 and cloudless, which soon dried our wet, shivering 
 frames, for the tarantass hood leaked badly, and we 
 had been lying in a pool of water all the morning. 
 'About mid-day we sighted the Angard for the last 
 time. The river here presents the appearance of a 
 
274 FROM' PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 vast lake (so broad is the distance from shore to 
 shore), its blue waters fringed with massive rocks 
 and boulders of grey granite, while further inland 
 a fertile plain of hay and corn fields stretched away 
 to where On the horizon a low dark green line 
 marked the recommencement of forest. Men, 
 women, and children, were working in the fields, 
 and it seemed strange to a European eye to see the 
 peasantry gathering the harvest and making hay 
 at the same time. This part of the country teems 
 with game, wild fowl, and a very large species of 
 hare. 
 
 Being detained for five hours at Polovilnaya, we 
 did not reach Koutoulik until nine o'clock, p.m 
 The post-house being fairly comfortable, we resolved 
 to sleep here, and make a start at daybreak next 
 day. We had the place to ourselves till about 11 
 p.m., when a loud cracking of whips and jingling of 
 collar-bells announced a fresh, arrival, and one of 
 no little importance, to judge by the bustle and 
 confusion displayed by the yemstchiks. 
 
 " The gospodin will perhaps kindly vacate the 
 bed," whispered the old post-master. " It is an 
 officer of high degree and his lady." The " bed " 
 being composed of hard planks and about two feet 
 broad, I took the floor without demur ; for there 
 was little difference ; and a few moments after the 
 new arrivals entered the waiting-room, one a tall, 
 handsome man in uniform, his companion a pretty 
 little woman of the true Russian type, with violet 
 eyes and finely cut features. 
 
 " You are English, the post-master informs me," 
 said oar new acquaintance in French. " Will you 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 275 
 
 do my wife and myself the pleasure of supping 
 with us ? I conclude, you, like ourselves, are de- 
 tained here till to-morrow morning." 
 
 I have seldom enjoyed a meal more than that 
 supper in the wilds of Siberia, for, apart from the 
 fact that we had tasted no solid food for two days, 
 our new friends were capital company. Madame 
 had left school in Paris only seven short months 
 before, to marry the gay soldier, whose military 
 duties called him to the dreary convict settlement 
 of Nertchinsk, in Trans-Baikal. " Un drole de 
 voyage de noces, n'est-ce pas, messieurs," said he, 
 laughing heartily, while his poor little wife, who 
 looked tired to death, tried hard to screw up a smile 
 at the joke. A good supper and two or three 
 glasses of KUmmel, however, worked wonders, and 
 a merrier party could scarcely be found than we 
 were that night. It was such a relief to meet a 
 fellow-creature with whom one could converse 
 without racking the brain over Reiff's dictionary and 
 dialogue-book, and we chatted away far into the 
 early hours. While the Cossack enlarged upon 
 Petersburg and its delights to Lancaster, little 
 Madame V. and myself had a long talk over the 
 delights of Paris, the opera, the " Bois," Sara Bern- 
 hardt, and a thousand other subjects connected with 
 the beautiful city so far away. She was a bright, 
 plucky little thing, though worn to a shadow, and 
 haggard from constant travel and fatigue. I could 
 not help wondering how long that pretty face and 
 expression would last in dreary, desolate Nert-' 
 chinsk. 
 
 Madame having retired to rest (tucking up on 
 
276 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 the hard, cushionless sofa in the most matter-of-fact 
 "way), Colonel V. did not attempt to conceal his 
 satisfaction at having come unscathed through the 
 Katorgi infested district. " There have been two 
 more murders since the ones you speak of," he said 
 in a low tone, on our telling him of my conversation 
 with the priest at Tielminskaya. " One that of a 
 Jew pedlar from Kansk, the other, T., the con- 
 tractor at Krasnoiarsk, who was found dead in his 
 tarantass two days ago, near Touloung, his throat 
 cut from ear to ear. I saw the body myself, and it 
 was not a pleasant sight, I assure you. His yem- 
 stchik and the horses have since disappeared, which 
 proves to me that the drivers have a good deal to 
 do with it. No, well armed though you be, take my 
 advice and travel only by day, till you have left the 
 town of Nijni Udinsk far behind you." ^ 
 
 " Their mode of attack is simple," said V., in 
 answer to my inquiry, and pouring himself out a 
 huge tumbler of vodka (his fifth). " Travellers are 
 never molested in the day-time. It is only at 
 night that these blackguards (of whom there are 
 sixty or seventy) attack wayfarers. The most 
 dangerous hours are between 3 and 6 a.m., 
 when travellers who have been on the qui-vive all 
 night, somewhat relax their vigilance. A couple 
 
 ' Extract from the Volffa Messenger, of Ootober 16th, 1887 : — 
 " The entire tract of country between Tomsk and Irkoustk is 
 infested with runaway convicts, so that travelling in ihis region, 
 especially on dark autumn nights, is extremely dangerous. Lately 
 a whole family was murdered at the distance of a few versts from 
 Irkoutsk, and we hear of such cases frequently enough. So had is 
 the state of the roads in this respect, that the Government is about 
 to put a stop to it by abolishing exile to Siberia, and a proposal to 
 this effect is now under the consideration of the Imperial Council." 
 
lEKOUTSE TO TOMSK. 
 
 277 
 
 of the ttieves are told off to cut the traces, 
 two more to seize and bind the yemstchik 
 (accomplice or not), and three or four others 
 at the same moment to climb over the back 
 of the tarantass, and, falling suddenly in front 
 of the hood, despatch the passengers with a blow 
 from a heavy bludgeon. According to report, they 
 have no firearms. Most of the victims are first 
 stunned, and then their throats are cut. In no case 
 of late has a traveller's life been spared." But, 
 as Y. remarked, it was a significant fact, that not 
 a single yemstchik had lost his life, while no less 
 than twelve travellers had been brutally murdered. 
 
 The sun was high in the heavens when we rose 
 the next morning, V.'s entertaining conversation 
 having kept us up till past five o'clock. Yet we 
 woke to find them both gone, for they had left, the 
 post-master informed us, a little after seven o'clock. 
 For staying powers in the sitting-up line, commend 
 me to a Russian Cossack. It is my firm belief that 
 many never sleep at all. Perhaps vodka is the 
 secret. 
 
 We were anxious, if possible, to reach Tiretskaya, 
 fifty versts distant, before sundown, and make the 
 latter our sleeping-place. It would not be a 
 difficult task, the post-master said. There was but 
 one relay at Zalarinsk, twenty versts off, and unless 
 we fell in with the mail from Petersburg, then 
 about due, we were sure to be able to get horses 
 without delay. The troika was therefore put in at 
 once, and we were hastily swallowing a couple of 
 glasses of tea, preparatory to a fast of twelve hours, 
 when a shouting and cracking of whips was heard 
 
278 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 in the village street, and in another minute in 
 galloped the mail, four mud-splashed carts, followed 
 by a tarantass, in which, armed to the teeth, and 
 resplendent in green and gold, reclined the courier 
 in charge. 
 
 " Lochade scorei " (horses quickly), shouted the 
 latter, as he leapt from the tarantass, and brushed 
 past us into the waiting-room, where a few 
 moments after, we saw him pouring down tumbler 
 after tumbler of scalding tea. To appeal to his 
 finer feelings was, we knew, useless. Sadly we 
 watched, as our troika was ruthlessly taken out 
 and harnessed to a mail-cart, to the evident satisfac- 
 tion and amusement of the courier, who, having 
 finished his tea, was smoking a cigarette and 
 watching our discomfiture with no little amusement. 
 " Sibiri, gospodin ! " he said, as he climbed into his 
 tarantass, and the cortege dashed ofE again on its 
 way to China. It was indeed Siberia ! and we 
 realized to the full that patience is a virtue, when 
 the post-master told us that under no circum- 
 stances could we hope to get horses till five o'clock 
 that evening. 
 
 The long sunny day wore slowly away. There 
 was absolutely nothing to do, or look at, and time 
 hung fearfully heavy on our hands. Towards mid- 
 day we strolled up to. the prison, situate as usual 
 about a hundred yards outside the village. 
 
 The village prisons, or temporary resting-places 
 for prisoners on the road to the mines, are square or 
 rather oblong wooden buildings, three sides of which 
 form quarters for the convicts and their guards, 
 while the remaining wing, a little detached from 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 279 
 
 the main building, is used for washing and cooking 
 purposes. The open courtyard in the centre of the 
 building is used for exercise. It is rough and unpaved, 
 and in wet weather often knee- deep in mud and 
 slush.. This yard is entered by a pair of high gates, 
 the only entrance to the building, the whole being 
 surrounded by a high palisade, at every corner of 
 which is posted, night and day, a sentry with a 
 loaded rifle. This vigilance, however, is only main- 
 tained during the summer months. From April 
 to October it is a very different matter ; and as the 
 sentries often sleep upon their posts, and the bars 
 and gratings of the windows are so rickety and 
 insecure that a cbild could dislodge them, escape 
 becomes comparatively easy. An escape or 
 attempted escape does not increase the length of 
 a prisoner's sentence. There is a chance of a 
 sound flogging with rods if the runaway is brought 
 back, but that is all. Without the connivance 
 of their guards, I doubt if prisoners would ever 
 attempt to break out at all, and were the prison 
 officials more careful, not to say conscientious, in the 
 discharge of their duties, the Siberian roads would 
 be comparatively safe, instead of being, as they now 
 are, infested with thieves and desperadoes of the 
 worst description. 
 
 Though I visited three " ostrogs," it was only 
 with considerable difficulty and a lavish expenditure 
 of roubles that I succeeded in doing so. It seems 
 strange that the Russian Government should show 
 such a strong dislike to strangers visiting their 
 convict establishments, for I must confess to being 
 most agreeably disappointed by what I saw. Not- 
 
280 FROM PEKJN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 withstanding all the blood-curdling and revolting 
 accounts so vividly set forth hj the authors of 
 " Called Back," " The Russians of To-day," and 
 similar works, I found the prisons of Siberia clean 
 and comfortable, though perhaps not so sweet- 
 smelling as our convict establisbments at Chatbam 
 or Dartmoor. It would be hard to keep them so, 
 considering that every twenty-four hours brings in 
 a fresh batch of prisoners, each in wet weather, 
 with a pound or so of black, stinking mud on his 
 feet. At one village only (Rasgonnaia) along tbe 
 whole post-road from L'koutsk to Tomsk was the 
 ostrog (a very old one) almost uninhabitable. It 
 swarmed with rats, the post-master told us, and 
 convicts, in winter, were sometimes severely bitten ; 
 while they were forced to sleep in the daytime, rest 
 at nigbt being rendered impossible by the swarms 
 of vermin. Let me in justice add that tbis was 
 the only really bad ostrog I heard of or saw during 
 the whole journey, and the authorities were on the 
 point of pulling it down and building a new one. 
 We hear a deal in England of wretched hovels, 
 where convicts are housed together like sheep in a 
 pen, human pigstyes reeking witb filth of every 
 description, where not a day passes but a prisoner is 
 carried off by typhus or some other malignant fever. 
 As a matter of fact I have seldom seen neater build- 
 ings. But for the black and white sentry boxes, 
 the barred windows, and imperial eagle over the 
 gate, one would never take them for prisons at all, 
 and they were often, with their bright yellow walls, 
 red roof, and neatly kept gardens, the only 
 cheerful-looking building in the squalid villages 
 

 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 281 
 
 througli which we passed. The ostrog at Koutouhk 
 was empty, but a gang was expected that afternoon, 
 a Cossack told us. Preparations for their arrival 
 were already being made in the shape of cakes, 
 cream, eggs, apples, sweetmeats, and cigarettes 
 spread out on snowy linen cloths for the delectation 
 of lucky convicts who had made a few kopeks on 
 the road. 
 
 We strolled back to the post-house after our 
 inspection, and called in sheer desperation for the 
 Samovar. Tliere was literally nothing else to do. 
 Seven long hours must be got through before we 
 could hope to get horses and proceed on our 
 journey. It is this eternal delay, this irksome 
 waiting that makes Siberian travel so monotonous 
 and dispiriting. The fatigue and privation were 
 trifling compared to the long weary days of 
 boredom and inaction. We got into a habit at last 
 of calling mechanically for tea at every station, 
 rifteen or twenty glasses were, after the first week, 
 our daily allowance, and I verily believe I drank 
 tea enough during the two months I was in Siberia 
 to keep a dozen old maids going for a year. 
 
 Koutoulik consists of some eighteen or twenty 
 houses and presented a depressing appearance 
 enough even that bright sunny afternoon, for the 
 village was deserted by all save women, children, 
 dogs, and pigs, the men being busy in the 
 fields gettiug in the harvest. Under the guidance 
 of the post-master, a Pole who spoke a few 
 words of French, I visited one of the cottages. 
 Most of the women were dirty, bedraggled crea- 
 tures, but some of the younger girls were good- 
 
 X 
 
282 FROM PJEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 looking, and the children many of them beautiful, 
 with fair flaxen hair and light blue eyes that made 
 one wonder how such thoroughly northern types of 
 beauty could have been born and reared so far east. 
 The mistress of the cottage we entered (a young and 
 rather pretty woman) apologized for her costume, 
 which consisted simply and solely of a thin and 
 almost transparent muslin nightgown reaching a 
 little below the knee; the only garment worn 
 indoors by peasant women in the brief but tropical 
 Siberian summer. We begged her not to apologize, 
 assuring her that the costume, though scanty, suited 
 her remarkably well. 
 
 The interior of the cottage was, though primitive, 
 scrupulously clean. In one corner hung the sacred 
 " Ikon," or image of the Holy Virgin, a huge brick 
 stove immediately facing it. Half a dozen wooden 
 chairs aud a rough pine table comprised the fur- 
 niture, the flooring of the room was at an acgle of 
 about forty-five degrees, which made sitting down 
 a somewhat dangerous experiment. From the 
 centre of the roof hung a Siberian cradle, a kind 
 of linen bag secured by a long rope to a hook in. 
 the ceiling, to which our hostess gave a swing 
 every twenty minutes or so, the length of the cord 
 keeping it (and her last born) iu motion for quite 
 that length of time. 
 
 While we were smoking a cigarette and regaling 
 ourselves with a glass of iced " Quass," ^ the pretty 
 housewife, who soon lost her shyness, produced a 
 Russian guitar, and sang to us (in a sweet, 
 clear voice) two or three national airs. One, 
 A kind of spruce beer. 
 
IIIKOUTSK 'J'O I'OMaK. 283 
 
 a Volga boat-song, seems an especial favourite, 
 for we beard it continually the whole way from 
 Kiakhta to Nijni Novgorod, sung by peasants, 
 prisoners, and yemstchiks alike. The Siberian 
 peasantry appear to have a good ear for music, 
 but their airs are nearly all in minor, and in- 
 tensely depressing, after a time, to a European 
 ear. 
 
 The Siberian peasant cannot be called over-taxed, 
 all that the imperial Government exacts being a 
 poll-tax of seventeen roubles. Those living on the 
 Great Post- Road are exempt from this even, if they 
 breed and provide horses for the postal service, of 
 course receiving a remuneration for the same. The 
 men are cheery, good-tempered fellows enough, with, 
 as a rule, but one vice, drunkenness ; when they do 
 take too much, it is done in a good-tempered way, 
 and they become more urbane and benevolent than 
 when sober. I have never once seen a Siberian 
 quarrelsome in his cups, though I met many the 
 worse for vodka in every town we passed through. 
 As regards the women, they are clean, thrifty, and 
 very religious, but at the same time rather lax in 
 their morals, a mixture of qualities not peculiar, T 
 imagine, to Siberia. 
 
 It was nearly seven o'clock before we left Kou- 
 toulik, so we had to abandon all hopes of getting 
 further than Zalarinsk (the next station, twenty- 
 eight versts distant) that night. We looked to our 
 pistols before starting, and took care to let the 
 yemstchik see we were armed, for it was a desolate, 
 cutthroat-looking road, and the forest so thick, one 
 could hardly see a foot either side of the tarantass, 
 
 X 2 
 
284 
 
 FROM PElvf-N TO CALAIS BT liAND. 
 
 but we kept a bright look-out, with revolvers at 
 half-cock, and had we been attacked, our assailants 
 would have met with a warm reception. About ten 
 o'clock some twinkling lights ahead heralded the 
 approach of Zalarinsk, and by half -past ten we were 
 safe for the night. 
 
 The succeeding two days were, as regards weather, 
 perfect, a blue cloudless sky and bright sun, which 
 at mid-day was sometimes too hot to be pleasant ; 
 on more than one occasion the thermometer rose to 
 over 90° Fahr., although the instant the sun set it 
 sometimes dropped to only a few degrees above zero, 
 so rapid are the changes of temperature. On the26th 
 of August the country became more cultivated, and 
 the thick forest gave place to large clearings of corn, 
 maize, and mustard. This was on the eastern side of 
 Tiretskaya. The latter village passed, the landscape 
 again changed, and we returned to dull, monotonous 
 pine forests, varied by occasional silver-birch- trees 
 or bushes with bright red and white berries. 
 
 "We rarely passed more than two or three con- 
 veyances in a day, and this is what makes posting 
 in Siberia so irksome and monotonous. Between 
 the villages there is absolutely nothing to look at 
 but the dreary sand-coloured road — the endless 
 vista of dark green forest. A cottage is never 
 found alone in Siberia or outside a village enceinte. 
 Except in the villages, usually twenty to thirty 
 versts apart, one sees no dwelling of any sort or 
 kind. The monotony, after a week or so, becomes 
 absolutely maddening. 
 
 We reached Tiretskaya at sunset. A large river 
 just beyond this station was swollen by the rains to 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 285 
 
 a considerable, not to say dangerous, extent. Only 
 that evening the ferry had been carried away, and 
 washed down-stream, the Petersburg mail having 
 to wait out in the open, on the river-bank, till it was 
 repaired. This was not pleasant news, but we 
 derived some consolation from the fact that the 
 weather was fine and the glass rising. We had the 
 waiting-room to ourselves till midnight, when a 
 telega clattered into the yard, and out clambered an 
 enormously fat man, and a small, wizened woman, 
 who informed us, before they had been in the room 
 five minutes, that they were newly married, and had 
 come straight through from Irkoutsk. Divested of 
 their furs, I discovered that the man was clad in a 
 bran-new suit of shining broad-cloth, the woman in 
 what had evidently been her bridal array, a white 
 muslin dress, covered with sprays of orange 
 blossom, but terribly soiled and creased by travel 
 and the amorous advances of her bridegroom, to 
 say nothing of the mud and dirty straw of the 
 telega. When the partner of his joys and sorrows 
 had retired to rest (on two chairs), the unhappy 
 bridegroom became confidential, and confided to 
 me, in a low tone, that he would much rather have 
 remained quietly in Irkoutsk, that he did not like 
 this sort of thing at all, and was only doing it to 
 amuse his bride ! I could not help, like Mr. 
 Pickwick, envying the facility with which the lady 
 was amused. " I shall take her as far as Mjni 
 TJdinsk, if her strength holds out," he said, resign- 
 edly, " if not, we shall return to Irkoutsk." What 
 a honeymoon ! Next morning, when I woke, they 
 were gone. 
 
286 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 I shall never forget ray first night in a Siberian 
 post-house. Unless the traveller falls asleep at 
 once, it is long odds against his getting any rest at 
 all, for tarantasses and telegas are arriving and 
 leaving at all hours of the night. There is (by 
 order) a lamp kept burning till morning, and the 
 jingle of bells, shouting of yemstchiks and stamping 
 of heavy feet on the carpetless floor, that goes on 
 at intervals through the night, would awaken the 
 dead. There is another powerful antidote to sleep 
 in every Siberian post-house, be it ever so clean — 
 vermin — to say nothing of cockroaches and rats, who 
 subsist on the scraps of food dropped on the 
 floor by travellers, and who run about the floor 
 and over one's face and body with supreme in- 
 difference during the quieter moments of the night. 
 Till 1 went to Siberia, I had the most unutterable 
 loathing for rats ; but now, like the Yankee and 
 the snake, I almost feel lonely without them. 
 
 About 2 a.m. the cocks commence crowing, and 
 are promptly answered by the dogs of the village. 
 Long before daylight the inhabitants of the post- 
 house are astir and bustling about, cleaning up, 
 lighting fires, chopping wood, etc. I usually rose 
 about 4 a.m., and, lighting a cigarette, amused my- 
 self by studying the strange types of humanity 
 around me till the samovar made its appearance. 
 Men and women lying about pell-mell, and looking, 
 in the weird half-light between night and day, like 
 a lot of corpses in a fosse comimme. One could 
 always tell at a glance, the new hands at the game ; 
 the Russian official's wife travelling the post-road 
 for the first time in smart, tailor-made gown, beaver 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 287 
 
 toque, and costly furs, or the Siberian with her 
 awkward, ill-cut dress in the fashion of thirty years 
 ago. It was second nature to the latter to remain 
 unwashed for a couple of weeks, and sleep on the 
 filthy floor, with, perhaps, a greasy, ragged Jew 
 pedler for a neighbour ; but one could not help pity- 
 ing the better class,^ travelling from St. Petersburg 
 or Moscow to rejoin their husbands in Eastern 
 Siberia or the Amour district, sitting, if they could 
 get them, on the hard, stiff-backed, wooden chairs 
 all through the night, and almost falling ofi^ them 
 at times from sheer weariness. The prettiest looked 
 hideous in the early morning hours, with tangled 
 hair, disordered dress, and pale, pasty faces, while 
 their diamond rings only served to show off the 
 blackness of their hands and nails, which they had 
 probably been unable to wash for days. Few 
 women look well, even in England, at six in the 
 morning after a ball. Imagine their appearance 
 after a dozen nights and days of Siberian travel. 
 Many of the post-houses are worse than that I have 
 described, but few are better. I have seen sights 
 in these waiting-rooms that will not bear "descrip- 
 tion. They are better left to the reader's imagina- 
 tion ; for in matters of decency the Siberian, j^t et 
 simple, is almost inferior to the Chinese. 
 
 ' Such a one is the beautiful Countess Ignatieff, wife of 
 the late Governor of Irkoutsk, who, it would seem, is as much 
 at home in the frozen forests of Eastern Siberia as in the salons 
 of Paris or Petersburg. One of her latest exploits was to accom- 
 pany the general to Yakou.tsk — a voyage of three months from 
 Irkoutsk — the greater part of which had to be accomplished in 
 small bircli-bark canoes. 
 
288 FROM PEKFN TO CALAIS BY L^ND. 
 
 I date the commencement of our mishaps and 
 difficulties from the morning of the 27th of August, 
 when I awoke, in the dirty, little waiting-room of 
 Tiretskaya post-house to find the rain pouring down 
 in torrents, the sky one mass of grey, woolly clouds. 
 It had evidently been raining some hours, for the 
 road in front of the post-house was one pool of 
 water, almost half-way up to the axle of our taran- 
 tass, on the roof of which the rain was pelting down 
 unmercifully. Instinct told me that the water 
 inside was quite an inch deep by this time. Men- 
 tally thanking Providence that we had taken out 
 the mattress, I rolled myself in my furs and went to 
 sleep again. It was hopeless to think of starting 
 with a dangerous river to cross and the next post 
 twenty-five versts distant. 
 
 Although the river Oka is situated only a mile or 
 so from the village of Tiretskaya, it i ook us nearly 
 an hour to reach the ferry. Parts of the road were 
 entirely submerged, and our yemstchik had to find 
 his way by guesswork. As we knew there was a 
 broad, deep ditch on either side of the road, the 
 work was, to say the least of it, exciting. It was 
 impossible to go out of a walk, and even then it 
 was as much as our five game little horses could do 
 to drag the heavy, clumsy carriage along. We 
 stuck fast twice, and all hands had to get out " to 
 shove her off," knee-deep in icy cold water. We 
 were wet through by the time the ferry was reached, 
 and shivering with cold, a somewhat unpleasant 
 condition in which to embark on a stage of twenty- 
 five versts, which it would in all probability take us 
 several hours to accomplish, supposing we ever sue- 
 
IBKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 289 
 
 ceeded in reaching Ziminskaia at all. There were, 
 the ferryman said, four bridges to cross before we 
 reached it, and one or two, at least, would probably 
 have been washed away by now, for the floods were 
 worse there. 
 
 The appearance of the Oka was highly picturesque, 
 but scarcely reassuring. A broad, swiftly flowing 
 stream at any time, continuous rains had widened 
 its waters to double the ordinary width, the torrent 
 now being quite a mile across. The rotten and in- 
 secure ferry looked as if a touch from one of the 
 snags or tree-trunks which were whirling madly 
 along the surface of the stream would send it to the 
 bottom in a second, and the ferryman was for some 
 time inexorable, but the temptation of a ten rouble 
 note was too much for him, and with much muttering 
 about " it would be our own fault if we were 
 drowned," we got the tarantass and horses aboard, 
 and shoved off for the opposite shore. Scarcely 
 were the chains let go when a loud shout from the 
 bank attracted my attention. The crowd were 
 shouting and gesticulating, running backwards and 
 forwards on the bank like madmen, and pointing to 
 a splashing, indistinct mass in the water which I 
 presently made out to be a man and a horse. The 
 latter had been brought down to water, but the 
 bank, rotten with perpetual rain, gave way, precipi- 
 tating the animal and its rider into deep water. I 
 have seldom experienced a moment of more intense 
 excitement. It quite took our thoughts away from 
 our own danger — for all this time we were forging 
 slowly ahead. The ferryman dare not stop, nor 
 could we have rendered the poor fellow any help, 
 
290 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 for the current was rapidly carrying him further 
 and further into the centre of the river. He was 
 evidently a good swimmer, but could, we saw, do 
 nothing against the terrific force of the current. 
 Three times we saw him rise to the surface, when 
 his screams were pitiful to hear, but the third time 
 • he was silent, and throwing up both arras, sank for 
 the last time, in full view of us all. He was only 
 twenty — the ferryman told us — a tall, good-looking 
 fellow, who had assisted us in getting our tarantass 
 on board but three or four minutes before he met 
 with his sad fate. 
 
 Crossing the river without mishap, we found the 
 road on the other side in better order than tlie one 
 we had left. At any rate it was not flooded, the 
 yemstchiks could see where they were going, and 
 there was not so much danger of being stranded ten 
 miles from anywhere with a broken wheel or axle. 
 Zirainskaia was reached at 3 p.m., and with a fresh 
 relay of seven horses in (for which we had not to 
 wait more than ten minutes), we continued our 
 journey, hoping to reach Listvinskaya, fifty versts 
 further on, some time that night, or the next morn- 
 ing. 
 
 Listvinskaya was reached at 11 p.m. The post- 
 house was full of soldiers, who had been out all day 
 in the rain, searching for runaway prisoners, with no 
 result, and no wonder. It was, indeed, a case of 
 looking for a needle in a bundle of hay, to expect to 
 find fugitives in these thick, impenetrable forests. We 
 were not sorry when they had finished their vodka 
 and departed, leaving us at 2 a.m. to snatch a few 
 hours' sleep, before again taking the road. The 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 291 
 
 rain had now ceased, and the night was bright and 
 starlit. 
 
 Our anticipations of a fine day were not dis- 
 appointed, for we were awoke by the bright sun 
 streaming into our faces, and the voice of our host 
 inquiring how much longer we were going to sleep. 
 And sure enough, worn out with fatigue and the 
 anxieties of the previous day, we had slumbered on 
 undisturbed by the noise of arrivals and departures, 
 till past mid-day, or at least so the station clock 
 said. But one was never quite sure about the time 
 in Siberia. Every post-master has a time of his 
 own. It seemed strange at first to leave, say, 
 Tiretskaya station at nine in the morning, and 
 arrive at Ziminskaia, twenty versts off, at half-past 
 eight ! But we soon got used to it, and after the 
 first week never troubled our heads about the hour. 
 It was but a minor detail. 
 
 "We made good way that and the following day, and 
 on the evening of the 29th of August reached the 
 village of Touloung. But alas ! good luck as regards 
 weather was not destined to last. Just before sun- 
 set, the sky became overcast, and two hours before 
 reaching our destination for the night the rain was 
 falling in torrents. The hood was, as usual, worse 
 than useless, and in a few minutes we were wet 
 through to the skin. There were fortunately no 
 more rivers between us and Nijni Udinsk, which 
 town, all being well, we hoped to reach on the 
 morrow. 
 
 Had we known that night that we were destined 
 to be imprisoned in the filthy room in which we 
 slept for two days, T doubt if we should have retired 
 
292 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 to rest in such good spirits, "We had come to the 
 end of our provisions, and should now have to sub- 
 sist entirely on the meagre fare provided by the post- 
 houses. I could stand everything well enough but 
 the bread. Oh ! that Siberian bread. My stomach 
 recoils at the mere recollection of the sour, greasy 
 substance, as black as ink, as heavy as lead, and in 
 consistency so soft and damp, that one could pull it 
 out like a piece of unbaked dough. 
 
 Swallowing a glass of tea, we rolled up in our 
 furs, wet through as we were. Such a proceeding 
 in England would probably have resulted in an 
 attack of rheumatic fever, but a special providence 
 seems to watch over one's health in Siberia, and we 
 never had a day's sickness, hard though the work, 
 and short the supply of food and (with the exception 
 of tea) drink. We did not get much sleep that 
 night, but lay awake, listening to the howling of the 
 wind and pattering of the rain on the window-panes. 
 About two in the morning I dropped into an uneasy 
 doze, from which I awoke about an hour after, to 
 find the old postmaster replenishing the stove. " A 
 terrible night, gospodin," he muttered, tossing a 
 huge pine log into the flame. " One almost pities 
 the Katorgi, with no roof over their heads. Poor 
 devils, they must be like drowned rats ! " Too 
 tired to answer, I was about to turn on my side, 
 when a loud knock startled me into a sitting position, 
 and brought the old man shuffling back from the 
 kitchen in double quick time. It was no tarantass 
 or teMga. There had been no bells or sound of 
 wheels. Whoever the nightly visitor was, he had 
 come on foot. The old man displayed no desire to 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 293 
 
 open the door, and showed signs of such uneasiness, 
 that then, for the first time, flashed across me the 
 words of our Oossack friend at Koutouhk, " Keep 
 a good look-out about Touloung. They are worse 
 there than anywhere." 
 
 A second knock, louder than the first, cut short 
 my reflections, and induced me to make signs to 
 the Pole that my revolver was loaded, and that 
 Lancaster (who was still slumbering peacefully) 
 had a similar weapon. Apparently reassured, he 
 then went to the door, unbolted it, and let in the 
 mysterious visitor. 
 
 A tall, spare man with reddish grey beard and 
 moustache, apparently about sixty years of age, 
 pushed rudely past the Pole and entered the room.; 
 and divesting himself of a huge bearskin pelisse, 
 sank into a chair with a sigh of satisfaction. 
 " Bnfin ! " he muttered in French, adding'in Eussian 
 sharply, " I thought you were going to keep me out 
 there all night. Why did you not open sooner ? 
 Come ! quick, the samovar, and some eggs and 
 bread. Don't stand staring there like a fool." 
 
 That the stranger had no earthly right to order 
 provisions in a Government post-house, without a 
 podarojna, I was well aware. This fact, however, 
 did not seem to occur to the post-master, who slunk 
 away without a word of remonstrance to get the 
 refreshments. In the meantime, being unobserved, 
 I had a good opportunity of taking stock of the new 
 arrival from behind my dacha. 
 
 It was not a pleasing or reassuring countenance. 
 One thing especially struck me as curious ; he had 
 not i-emoved his cap on entering the room, and had. 
 
294 FROM fBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 apparently, no intention of doing so. It is, as I 
 have said, an unwritten law, that on entering an 
 apartment in Russia the head shall be uncovered, 
 more out of respect to tlie sacred Ikon, wliich 
 always stands in one corner, than out of politeness 
 to the occupants of the compartment. I had never 
 yet seen the rule departed from, and felt sure that 
 the man had some hidden motive in remaining 
 covered. His dress was unique if not becoming : 
 a pair of grey tweed trousers, surmounted by a 
 Siberian peasant's caftan, secured by a broad red 
 saah round the waist, and a pair of high-heeled, 
 buttoned boots. Save for a thick wooden cudgel, 
 which lay on the table beside him, the stranger was 
 apparently unarmed. Who could the man be ? and 
 where in Heaven's name had he dropped from this 
 wild stormy night, or rather morning ? for I 
 noticed with satisfaction that day was beginning to 
 dawn. 
 
 Who he was, must remain a mystery. He left 
 about 5 a.m., as suddenly as he had come, and the 
 old post-master was either too frightened or too 
 lazy to send up to the prison for a couple of Cos- 
 sacks. One circumstance convinced me that my 
 suspicions were well founded. Having made a hearty 
 meal of tea, black bread, and sardines, he pushed 
 his chair back, and resting both feet on the stove, 
 lit a cigarette. While so doing his cap slipped oflP, 
 and I distinctly saw that one half of his head -was 
 'partly shaved, the distinguishing mark of the Siberian 
 convict. That he was an " ostfojnik " I do not for a 
 moment doubt. He never once caught sight of me, 
 lying as I was in the shadow of the table ; but Lan- 
 
TRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 295 
 
 caster, who slept calmly through the whole business, 
 lay close to him, and my only wonder is that he did 
 not take a fancy to the gold watch-chain lying so 
 temptingly across my friend's chest. He left the 
 post-house very quietly without paying for his food, 
 nor did the old post-master make any further 
 remarks anent his strange visitor. It might have 
 got him into trouble with the authorities. 
 
 The poor wretch had probably been starving for 
 the past two or three days, afraid to show his face 
 in the village near which so. many brutal murders 
 had been committed. Judging there would be few 
 travellers abroad a night like this, he bad made for 
 the post-house, and seeing, as he thought, its only 
 inmate the old Pole, had summoned up courage to 
 enter. It seemed odd that with the dirty and 
 ragged dress he wore, a large diamond ring sparkled 
 on the first finger of his left hand. We afterwards 
 heard that the contractor had been robbed of one of 
 unusual size and brilliancy. 
 
 Any hopes we had of pushing on to Nijni Udinsk 
 the next day were soon dispelled, for at about ten 
 o'clock the Imperial post clattered in, and every 
 available horse was harnessed to the mail-carts. We 
 were not altogether sorry, for the rain was coming 
 down as hard as ever. Even the dirty, dreaiy post- 
 house was preferable to a long drive of eighty odd 
 versts, wet to the skin and chilled to the bone, with a 
 filthy post-house and no food at the end of the 
 journey. 
 
 What a day that was ! I have experienced many 
 miserable- hours in the course of my travels, but 
 never a day so wretched, and unspeakably depres- 
 
296 EEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 sing as that 30th of August in Touloung post-house. 
 Save the mail, nothing paosed the whole liveloug 
 day, not even a telega. Having read all that the 
 rain had left us pf our books, we simply sat down 
 and looked at each other in sheer despair. The 
 situation would have been laughable had it not 
 seemed, at the time, so serious. 
 
 The main street of an Eastern Siberian village is 
 not an inspiriting sight, even on a fine and sunny 
 day. I have never looked upon a more dismal spectacle 
 than met the eye fram the post-house windows at 
 Touloung. There were four, two looking on to the 
 village street, the others on to a lonely barren 
 stretch of common, at the end of which, through 
 the grey mist, loomed the red roof of the ostrog. 
 It was hard to say which depressed one most, the 
 dirty village street, knee-deep in mud and filth, the 
 dirty, dilapidated houses ; the only signs of life half 
 a dozen mangy-looking ducks splashing and wallow- 
 ing in the rain, and a couple of shivering post- 
 horses crouching under shelter of our tarantass ; — 
 or the lonely, drab-coloured road, winding away 
 like a great snake over the common, past the prison, 
 and into a green mass of forest just beyond ; the 
 tall, gaunt telegraph poles and black and white 
 verst posts almost undistiuguishable in the dense 
 grey mist, dispelled, ever and anon, by driving 
 showers of rain and sleet. The interior was no 
 better than the look-out. Our amusement became 
 at length reduced to killing the flies which swarmed 
 in thousands over the dirty walls, and drinking tea, 
 that never-failing solace of the Siberian traveller. 
 There was no food in the house to speak of. The 
 
IBKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 297 
 
 unwelcome visitor of last night had exhausted our 
 old friend's stock, and reduced the contents of his 
 larder to some salted " omuli " * and a couple of 
 loaves (or rather " lumps ") of black bread. This 
 constituted our evening meal. A buxom female, 
 who appeared as if by magic from the innermost 
 recesses of the kitchen, waited on us. We would 
 willingly have dispensed with her services, for she 
 was not only disgustingly dirty, but was afflicted, 
 in addition, with a loathsome skin disease. Nor 
 was it reassuring when our host explained the 
 cause. "Poor girl," he said pensively, "she has 
 suffered much the last three weeks. You would 
 hardly think, to see her bustling about so cheer- 
 fully, that she only rose for the first time to-day 
 from a bad attack of small-pox, caught from one of 
 those beastly tea-caravans from China. Curse 
 them ! they spread it all over the country." Under 
 any other circumstances I should have felt uneasy,, 
 but we were becoming so desperate that had violent 
 symptoms developed themselves, I believe we should 
 have taken it quite as a matter of course. For this 
 very reason, perhaps, neither of us caught it, for the 
 fair " Liouba " had undoubtedly arrived at the most 
 infectious stage of the disease. 
 
 Towards sunset the rain abated a little. About 
 seven o'clock, some women emerged from the 
 houses opposite, each carrying a basin and a slice 
 of black bread, which, having placed under shelter 
 of the eaves, they left and returned within doors.. 
 A Siberian woman's out-door costume on a rainy 
 day is even more peculiar than that in which she 
 receives her guests in summer, for, from the waist 
 * Fish caught in Lake Baikal. 
 
 Y 
 
298 FEOM PBKISr TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 downwards, with tlie exception of a pair of high, 
 boots reaching to the knee, there is no attempt at 
 clothing of any description, the linen skirt being 
 fastened apparently round the neck. The appear- 
 ance of these worthy dames all at once at the gates 
 of their courtyaxds was curious in the extreme, nor 
 did they appear the least disconcerted when they 
 caught sight of our faces at the window. On 
 inquiry, it is the custom, throughout Siberia, for 
 the peasants of every village and town to place out- 
 side each house refreshment of some sort (which 
 usually takes the shape of bread and milk) for the 
 use of any convict that may make his escape. The 
 rule is an old one, nor has it ever been interfered 
 with by the Imperial Government. It is also under- 
 stood that the bowl and plate holding the provisions 
 shall not be tampered with or taken away, china 
 utensils being rather valuable in Eastern Siberia. 
 Whenever this code of honour has been infringed 
 the next convict who escapes is bound, should he 
 come across him, to kill the thief. A sentence of 
 this kind was carried out near Tomsk while we 
 were staying there. Both convicts had made their 
 escape from the ostrog at Kolinskaya, about ninety 
 versts from Tomsk, the first escaping about three 
 weeks before the second. As usual, both made 
 what they could upon the road, till the latter acci- 
 dentally heard of the theft committed by the former, 
 and never rested till he had hunted him down, and 
 after a severe struggle beaten him to death with a 
 bludgeon. His body was found in the forest some 
 days later. 
 
 But iC.the day at Touloung had been depressing 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 299 
 
 the night was infinitely more so. The remains of 
 our scanty meal having been carried away by the 
 small-pox patient, the post-master appeared with 
 two guttering tallow dips, which just sufficed to 
 make darkness visible, and, bidding us good night, 
 retire to the depths of his ill-smelling den, whence, 
 a few moments after, there issued sounds of music 
 in the shape of a groaning, wheezing concertina. 
 We were given the benefit of this inspiriting music 
 from a little past eight o'clock till far into the night. 
 I used to think the Russian National Anthem a fine 
 and stirring composition, but can scarcely hear 
 it, even now, without a shudder. It was the only 
 tune he knew. It was past 1 a.m. when I got to 
 sleep. The howling of the wind, and rattling of 
 the rain and sleet against the window-panes, made 
 one feel thankful one was under shelter, even in such, 
 a den as this. A huge grey rat, squatting near me 
 on the floor, his eyes gleaming in the semi- darkness, 
 appeared to share my opinion. Two months before, 
 I could not have slept a wink with the knowledge 
 that such an animal was in the room, biit I now 
 composed myself to slumber quite unconcernedly, 
 although with the firm conviction that when asleep, 
 he, and probably many others, would be scrambling 
 over my body and face. An excellent school is 
 Siberia for the fastidious, and I know many a 
 London " masher " who would derive incalculable 
 benefit (both physical and mental) from a short 
 residence at Touloung, 
 
 Awakening at five o'clock, I sprang eagerly to 
 the window, to see how the weather was. Alas ! it 
 was pouring harder than ever. Still the same 
 
 Y 2 
 
300 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 sodden grey sky of yesterday, with sooty-coloured 
 clouds driving over it, still tlie same desolate land- 
 scape, dripping houses, and distant forest shrouded 
 in white mist. Another day at Touloung ! Cursing 
 Siberia and everything connected with it, I wrapped 
 myself in my pelisse, and lay down again on the 
 filthy worm-eaten floor, nor did I awake again till 
 past ten o'clock, to find a new arrival seated, in 
 front of the hissing samovar, and the rain coming 
 down harder than ever. 
 
 The new comer was a Jew, and a very dirty one 
 into the bargain, though evidently a man of means, 
 as his private tarantass and fat podgy hands, 
 covered with enormous diamond rings, testified. 
 Like_ most of his race, he was as curious as a 
 monkey, and no sooner had I opened my eyes than 
 I was assailed with the usual bevy of questions. 
 "What was my nationality?" "Where had I 
 come from?" "Where was I going?" "What 
 was my income ? " and finally, " What had brought 
 me to Siberia?" My answer, "Pleasure," was 
 invariably met with shouts of laughter on these 
 occasions. Nor, now that I have crossed that 
 dreary country, can T blame my fellow-travellers 
 for what at the time I looked upon as a somewhat 
 rude and unnecessary display of mirth. The Jew 
 spoke a little French, and was a welcome addition 
 to our melancholy party, for besides being a cheery, 
 talkative fellow, full of fun and anecdote, he had a 
 large stock of provisions. We were almost starv- 
 ing, and accepted with alacrity his invitation to 
 join him in a tin of preserved mutton, washed down 
 by a couple of glasses of vodka. 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 301 
 
 Our Hebrew friend was, it transpired, a bagman 
 "travelling" in gunpowder, and a native of 
 Irkoutsk. He was now on his way to Tashkent, in 
 Central Asia, having come the whole distance from 
 Nicolaievsk, on the Sea of Okhotsk, without a break, 
 save a rest of a couple of days in his native city. 
 Such a voyage as ours paled before the prodigious 
 length of this journey, which must at least be four 
 thousand miles from end to end. The Jew had 
 already done it four times, once in winter, an ex- 
 periment, he added, he would not care to repeat. 
 " In summer," said our talkative friend, " it is 
 charming. Like what you English would call one 
 great Picque-Nicque." How I envied the little man 
 his cheerful disposition ! 
 
 He made a start by five o'clock, when the weather 
 cleared a little, and by nine o'clock the sky was 
 cloudless and covered with bright stai's. Dreading 
 a rainy morrow, we almost decided to have the 
 horses put in and push on at once. The next 
 station could not, at any rate, be worse than 
 Touloung, and might be better ; but the post- 
 master begged us not to attempt it. The floods 
 were out in places, and he had but a young and in- 
 experiencedyemstchik to give us, who would probably 
 lose his head, should anything go wrong. We were 
 not sorry next day that we had taken the old man's 
 advice. Morning broke bright and clear, though 
 the roofs of the houses were still wet and gleaming in 
 the sunshine, as with six horses m, we slowly made 
 our way up the miry street, and said good-bye, with 
 a sigh of relief, to the grimy post-house in which 
 we had passed so many dreary, comfortless hours. 
 
302 FEOM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 A newly steam-ploughed field in the boggiest 
 parts of Cambridgeshire after a week's steady and 
 incessant rain, but faintly describes the condition in 
 which we found the road. In many places it was 
 entirely submerged, and we had to trust to Pro- 
 vidence and the yemstchik's knowledge of the road 
 for safety. At one place the water was well over 
 the hind wheels. "We were not sorry to emerge on 
 dry land again, for we had to cross a broken-down 
 bridge during this aquatic interlude, when a false 
 move to the right or left would have precipitated 
 us into a ditch about ten feet deep and broad in 
 proportion. For the first eighteen versts it was 
 quite impossible to attempt a faster pace than a 
 walk, and several times we stuck altogether. It was 
 anzious work, for a loosened bolt or screw, a broken 
 axle, may, in Siberia, detain one for a week or more. 
 We had not much confidence in our yemstchik, who 
 could not at the most have been more than twelve 
 or thirteen years old, and should have fared badly 
 had we adhered to our original intention and started 
 over-night, for the horses did exactly as they liked. 
 What the little imp lacked in strength, however, he 
 made up in assurance, and waved his whip about, 
 alternately cursing and praising his team after the 
 most approved style. 
 
 The utterly inadequate number of horses kept at 
 each station may be said to have been one of our 
 chief drawbacks. Whenever, on the road, one has 
 the misfortune to meet the post, it is impossible, 
 although the mail consists, as a rule, of four or six 
 tarantasses at the most, to procure horses, and a 
 long weary wait is the result. Sometimes, when 
 
lEKOaTSK TO TOMSK. 303 
 
 we had the post-house to ourselves, it was bearable 
 enough, but on most occasions our sufferings were 
 shared by a number of other travellers. Sitting or 
 standing in a bare, whitewashed room for half a 
 dozen hours together, is not conducive to good 
 temper or conversation, and on these occasions the 
 waiting-room reminded me of nothing so much as 
 a cage of wild beasts, each eyeing the other with 
 envy, hatred, and malice, the women especially 
 looking as if they would like to tear each other's 
 eyes out. The peculiarities of men too came out at 
 such times, some taking the matter coolly and philo- 
 sophically, alternately drinking tea and smoking 
 cigarettes, till their horses were ready ; others 
 pacing restlessly up and down the room, cursing the 
 post-master, yemstchiks, and everybody connected 
 with the establishment ; others, again, subsiding 
 into a state of dull apathy, and staring straight 
 before them for hours together. I often thought at 
 such times of men I know in England, to whom a 
 wait of a couple of hours in a snug waiting-room, 
 surrounded by papers and books, food and drink, i s 
 an excuse for a good British grumble. I thought 
 of what they would say to a detention of three days, 
 or so, in one of these post-houses, with nothing but 
 tea for nourishment, nothing to look at but four dirty 
 whitewashed walls, nothing to do but to pace up 
 and down for hours together, to try and keep the 
 circulation going in one's tired, hungry frame, a 
 thousand-mile journey before them, and probably a 
 dozen such delays ere they reached their final 
 destination ! 
 
 I will not weary the reader with an account of 
 
304 FBOM PEEIN TO CALAIS BT LAND. 
 
 every stage. Suffice it to say that we reached 
 Nijni Udinsk, after some delay and trouble, on the 
 31st of August ; and with the exception of the 
 desert, I do not think I have ever made a rougher 
 or more uncomfortable journey than that from 
 Touloung to this town. The last stage was a 
 terrible one, and I thought more than once we 
 should have to abandon all hope of reaching Nijni 
 Udinsk that night at any rate. About half-way the 
 horses, of which we had seven in, shied while cross- 
 ing a rickety wooden bridge, both near wheels went 
 over the edge, and for a few moments things looked 
 ugly. Though the team plunged a good deal, how- 
 ever, no harm was done, and by the aid of two 
 young fir-trees that our yemstchiks cut down, we 
 got the clumsy vehicle hoisted on to terra firma 
 again. Although well broken into jolting and 
 shaking by camel-cart experiences, I do not think I 
 ever made a more fatiguing journey. Our bodies 
 and bones ached for days after. 
 
 We were detained some time at the ferry over 
 the River Uda, on which river the town of Nijni 
 Udinsk is situated, for a caravan of over 200 carts 
 was being taken across, and it was quite an hour 
 before we managed to persuade the ferry- man to 
 take us on board. In the meantime we amused 
 ourselves watching the busy scene and the frantic 
 efforts made by men and horses to drag the heavy 
 tea-carts up the steep river-bank. Not a hundred 
 yards off, a young and pretty woman was bathing 
 in the stream, stark naked, a proceeding which 
 seemed to amuse not a little the ragged, wild-look- 
 ing fellows in charge of the caravan. Some, bolder 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 305 
 
 than the rest, ventured to embark in an interchange 
 of chaff with the fair bather, who, far from being 
 dismayed, only laughed and showed her white teeth 
 derisively, giving her assailants back as good as they 
 gave. Siberian women are certainly not troubled 
 with shyness. 
 
 It was dusk when we reached the post-house, a 
 large brick building, with a good garden and shady 
 courtyard. The waiting-room was taken possession 
 of by five Japanese youths, who, after a course of 
 study at St. Petersburg, were returning to Japan 
 via Wladivostok and the Amour. But the inn- 
 keeper's wife (a pretty flaxen-haired Swede), would 
 not hear of our sharing the big room with the Japs, 
 but laid us a table in her own private sitting-room, 
 where, at the open window, looking on to the 
 garden, redolent of sweetbriar and honeysuckle, we 
 enjoyed the first comfortable meal we had made for 
 nearly a fortnight. Our little hostess prepared it 
 with her own hands, and took quite a motherly 
 interest in us. 
 
 That all post-houses were like this, I thought, as 
 I turned in on a comfortable (and stuffed) sofa. A 
 slight touch of frost in the air made a couple of 
 blankets, that our little friend insisted on giving 
 us, very acceptable, and a last look at the night 
 having shown us a bright moon and cloudless sky, 
 we slept soundly without any fear of rain on the 
 morrow. 
 
 Had we consulted our own wishes, we should 
 have stayed at least a couple of days at this friendly 
 oasis, but time would not allow us more than a few 
 hours' rest, and bidding farewell to our kind little 
 
306 TBOM PBEIN TO CALAIS. BY LAND. 
 
 hostess, we had left Nijni Udinsk far behind us ere 
 the sun had fairlj risen. The town is neatly and 
 regularly built, and contains about four thousand 
 inhabitants. Though the pavements are of wood, 
 many of the houses are of whitewashed brick, which, 
 with their bright green roofs and shutters, somewhat 
 relieve the melancholy effect which in every Siberian 
 town is produced by the sombre colour of the roads, 
 and unpainted wooden houses. There were but one 
 or two shops, however, for the sale of stores of all 
 kinds ; and the streets, though broad and regular, 
 were unlighted. 
 
 All went " merry as a marriage bell " for two 
 days after leaving Nijni Udinsk, the weather, though 
 cold and frosty at nights, remaining bright and fine. 
 The aspect of the country, too, was more picturesque 
 and cheerful than any we had passed through since 
 leaving the Trans-Baikal. The roads were smoother 
 and wider. By the side, wild roses, convolvuli, 
 bluebells, and wild hyacinth grew luxuriantly — 
 while a kind of high, red-leafed fern, common in 
 this district, gave a pleasant and bright relieving 
 spot of colour to the dull, monotonous pine and 
 larch. 
 
 Scarcely a day now passed that we did not meet 
 prisoners, in gangs of two or three hundred each, 
 on their way to Irkoutsk, Chita, and other parts of 
 Eastern Siberia. The appearance of our tarantass 
 was invariably the signal for stragglers to fall in, 
 and as we passed through the crowd, the exiles 
 pressed in eagerly on either side and begged for 
 kopeks, cigarettes, and food, though, as regarded 
 the latter necessary, we were usually as badly off as 
 
lEKOUTSE TO TOMSK. 307 
 
 they ttem selves. We noticed ttat the further west 
 we got, many moi'e of the men wore chains, probably 
 on account of the facilities for escape being easier. 
 Also that, while the ostrogs east of Tomsk are old 
 and somewhat insecure buildings, those to the west 
 are nearly all new and substantial-looking, 
 surrounded by a double guard of cossacks, and 
 protected in many cases- by a brick wall surmounted 
 with high chevaux de frise. 
 
 "We reached Biriousinsk, a town of five thousand 
 inhabitants, about mid-day on the 3rd of Septem- 
 ber. Gold has lately been discovered near here in 
 lai-ge quantities. This event caused some surprise 
 amongst the gold-workers of Tomsk and Irkoutsk, 
 for until just lately this district had been looked 
 upon as almost barren of mineral productions, the 
 richest gold-fields being situated to the north of the 
 province of Yeneseisk, Nertchinsk, in the Trans- 
 Baikal, and Yuz, near the Altai chain, on the borders 
 of China. The whole of Siberia, however, may be 
 said to teem with the precious mineral, and, as a 
 Russian once remarked to me, "Where it has not 
 been found, it has not been looked for ! " Silver, 
 copper, and iron, are also found in large quantities 
 in certin districts of Russian Asia, as many as 
 40,000 lbs. of the first-named metal being annually 
 sent from the district of Barnaul, in South-Western 
 Siberia to Petersburg. On arrival, the silver is 
 refined, and about three per cent, of gold extracted 
 from it. 
 
 We were not detained long at Biriousinsk, and 
 after a substantial breakfast of tea and boiled eggs, 
 took the road again, and by seven o'clock that even- 
 
308 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 ing had rolled off nearly fifty versts. At Ilinskaya, 
 however, we were brought to a sudden check. Our 
 off wheel had caught fire, and it was only on dis- 
 covering this that we remembered that in our eager- 
 ness to push on, we had for the last half-dozen 
 stages neglected to oil the axles, an operation that 
 should be performed at the very least every other 
 stage. 
 
 We made up our minds therefore to stop the 
 night, and push on to Kansk early the next morning, 
 for clouds gathering to windward looked anything 
 but reassuring. 
 
 The rain came on a few versts from Ilinskaya 
 •with every appearance of settling in for a steady 
 downpour. The landscape to-day was less wooded 
 and more cultivated than any we had passed 
 since leaving Irkoutsk. A couple of post taran- 
 tasses passed us a few versts from Kansk, return- 
 ing to Ilinskaya. Their drivers were fast asleep 
 inside, coiled up out of the rain. Our yemstchik 
 did not attempt to wake them. Although we 
 were on the summit of a steep hill, he gave the 
 horses a cut over the quarters and sent them 
 careering away down the decline full gallop. 
 I did not see what happened. This is thought a 
 good joke in Siberia. 
 
 Perhaps the most trying time to a beginner 
 on wheels in Siberia is getting on board the river 
 ferries, when each yemstchik vies with the other 
 who shall gallop the quickest on board and pull up 
 the shortest without going over the other side. As 
 the ferries were invariably approached by a steep 
 road cut down the river-bank, there was no lack of 
 
lEKOTJTSK TO TOMSK. 309 
 
 excitement on these occasions. I remember once, 
 just before reacting Krasnoiarsk, our driver, who 
 ■was somewhat intoxicated, overshot the mark, one 
 of his horses tumbling over the side, and only being 
 got back with great diflBculty. Rarely a day passed 
 that one of our outside horses did not fall, once or 
 twice at least, but no yemstchik ever pulls up 
 for anything under a broken rein or wheel. 
 
 We spent the night at Kansk. A mysterious and 
 seedily dressed individual here begged to be allowed 
 to share our tarantass and expenses as far as Kras- 
 noiarsk, but we declined with thanks. He was a 
 cutthroat-looking villain, and probably up to mis- 
 chief, for he seemed much less keen about accom- 
 panying us on seeing we were well armed. Though 
 we were now past the so-called " robber district,'' 
 we did not relax our vigilance when travelling 
 by night, till we reached Tomsk. 
 
 Kansk is a neat, well-built town of ten thou- 
 sand inhabitants. In appearance it is an Ir- 
 koutsk in miniature, though there is more attempt 
 at ornamentation here, some of the streets being 
 planted with trees on either side like boulevards. 
 The post-house, too, was comfortable, and there 
 was a sofa stufEed with horsehair. The night's 
 rest we looked forward to was, however, somewhat 
 marred by a party going on in the next apartment, 
 and given in honour of his birthday by the post- 
 master ; a party which, commencing at 9 p.m., 
 did not break up till nearly eight the next morning, 
 when it was time to think of getting up and being off 
 again. 
 
 The aspect of the country between Kansk and 
 
310 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Atchinsk was, if not so picturesque, much more civil- 
 ized than any we had as yet passed, the dense, thick 
 forest being superseded by large tracts of cultivated 
 land and fields of corn and mustard. It had 
 frequently been a source of wonder to me that 
 the timber of Siberia is not more largely worked ; 
 but I ascertained at Tomsk that this is forbidden 
 by the Imperial Government. 
 
 We rattled off the two hundred odd versts 
 separating Kansk from Krasnoiarsk with but little 
 delay, being only detained twice on the road, once 
 at Ribinskaya, where, meeting the post, we were 
 delayed for nine hours, and at Balanskaya, our 
 axle having caught fire and worn down to a 
 dangerous extent, without our being aware of 
 the mischief. Had we known the trouble in store 
 for us owing to this apparently trifling incident, 
 we should not have felt so light-hearted as when, 
 having repaired the mischief, we set off again, 
 after a delay of seven hours, on our journey. 
 
 At four o'clock, on the afternoon of the 7th Sep- 
 tember, we caught sight of the blue waters of the 
 Yenisei, winding through a fertile landscape of 
 plain and forest, and beyond it the red cliffs of 
 Krasnoiarsk standing out sharp and clear against 
 the sky-line. We reached the ferry about nine 
 o'clock that evening. The town was brightly 
 illuminated in honour of Greneral Ignatieff, Grovernor 
 of Eastern Siberia, who was passing through 
 from Petersburg en route to Irkoutsk; and I 
 have seldom seen a prettier spectacle than the 
 illuminations presented, the lights reflected in the 
 dark, swift waters of the Yenisei, as we crossed it. 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 311 
 
 Darkness lent encliantment to the view, however, 
 for as we drove through the slushy, ill lit streets to 
 the filtliy hotel, we were almost sorry we had not 
 remained over-night at Botolskaya, and gone right 
 tlirough the following day. 
 
 A good scrub in a bucket of water, however, 
 
 worked wonders, and though the apartment given 
 
 us was dirty and entirely devoid of furniture, we 
 
 did ample justice to the supper of cold sterlet soup, 
 
 beefsteak, and caviare, and bottle of claret that 
 
 our host (the dirtest man, without exception, 
 
 that I liave ever seen) set before us. The 
 
 luxury of a change of clothes after wearing the 
 
 same for a fortnight must be experienced to be 
 
 appreciated. Our bodies were literally covered 
 
 with bites, and the sensation of a rest for a while 
 
 from the intolerable itching and irritation of the 
 
 past ten days, was worth the discomfort and 
 
 annoyance one had gone through, though it was 
 
 not till we were well over the Urals, and after 
 
 repeated applications of carbolic acid soap, that we 
 
 entirely got rid of that most pertinacious and 
 
 venomous of insects, the Siberian bug. 
 
 A visitor was announced wliile we were at supper. 
 This, I may mention, is one of the chief drawbacks 
 of Siberian travel. No matter how late the hour, 
 or how tired he may be, every traveller is bound 
 by the custom of the country, to receive any one 
 who chooses to call upon him, often enough from 
 idle curiosity. I was told in Moscow, that such 
 persons are often spies, employed by Government. 
 If so, the individual who now made his appearance 
 had a peculiar way of pursuing his calling. 
 
312 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. , 
 
 M. Dombro"wski was, according to his own account, 
 a Pole, who had been banished to Tomsk for a short 
 period, on account of an article written in a Warsaw 
 paper. He was a tall, pale young man, with washed- 
 out features, clad in a long black cloak about three 
 sizes too large for him, which he wrapped loosely 
 about him in the fashion of a Roman toga. His 
 official cap, with green band and button, pro- 
 claimed him a servant of the Russian GrOTernment ; 
 as we afterwards discovered, a clerk in the court- 
 house at Tomsk. 
 
 We were both tired to death, and I felt strongly 
 inclined to get up and kick the stranger down-stairs, 
 when, having taken off his cap, he took his seat 
 at the table without invitation, produced a dia- 
 logue book, and calmly helped himself to a glass of 
 claret. But the cool impudence of the man was 
 amusing, too, so we made the best of it, and ordered 
 up another bottle of wine, and a cutlet for the 
 poor devil, who looked half starved, and as if he 
 had lived on wood shavings for a month or two. 
 The kindness was misplaced, for he utterly declined 
 to leave till about 6 a.m., when we were compelled to 
 eject him by main force, not a very difficult operation 
 after the repeated libations of kiimmel and vodka 
 of which he had partaken at our expense. Under 
 their influence the wretch confessed that he had never 
 really had an idea of accompanying us to Tomsk ; 
 but the news had spread in less than half an hour, 
 that two Englishmen had arrived in Krasnoiarsk, 
 and always having had an intense admiration for the 
 English nation, our friend had determined on making 
 our acquaintance. 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 313 
 
 On leaving the hotel, our strange and now some- 
 what drunken acquaintance presented us with his 
 card, and, by the aid of a dialogue-book, essayed to 
 convey how much he had enjoyed his evening, and 
 morning, for the sun was now high over the house- 
 tops. His card (a half-sheet of note-paper), bore 
 the following inscription scrawled upon it with a 
 lead pencil : — 
 
 " Monsieur le Gentilhomme," 
 " (Noble) Dombrowski, 
 
 " Eau (sic) Palais de Justice," 
 "Eau" Tomsk— 
 " La Siberie de Russie." 
 
 I did not think it necessary to inquire whether it 
 is customary for polish noblemen to wear no 
 shirt, eat meat with their fingers, expectorate freely 
 during dinner, and perform various other little 
 feats too numerous to mention. These harmless 
 eccentricities may have been born of exile. The 
 " Gentilhomme Noble " gave one, at any rate, a 
 favourable idea of the capacity of his race for 
 drinking, his share being five bottles of claret, a 
 bottle of kiimmel, and two of vodka ! 
 
 Krasnoiarskj which stands on a plain fringed by 
 the precipitous cliffs of red earth, from which the 
 town takes its name, is neither picturesque nor 
 interesting. Wooden hovels here, stone palaces 
 there, wooden pavements, oil lamps, open drains by 
 the roadway, deep mud in raiuy weather, blinding 
 dust in dry ; dirty, greasy men, frowsy, ill-dressed 
 women, Cossack soldiers, and occasional gangs of 
 prisoners ; such is the visible population. For one 
 thing only is Krasnoiarsk famous : its fire brigade. 
 
314 PROM PEKm TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 There are at least thirty watch-towers in the town, 
 and the stations are models of smartness and clean- 
 liness. Though so frequent at Irkoutsk, Tomsk, 
 and the other smaller towns, a bad fire here is 
 rare. 
 
 The morning of the 9th of September saw us 
 once more en route. The road, after leaving the 
 town, skirts for some distance the banks of the 
 Yenisei river, that huge volume of water which, 
 rising on the borders of China, traverses half Asia 
 to discharge itself into the Gulf of Yenisei in the 
 Arctic Ocean, its entire length being computed to 
 be something over three thousand miles. It is, of 
 course, unnavigable throughout the winter, though 
 that intrepid explorer. Captain Wiggins, has satis- 
 factorily demonstrated that, during the summer 
 months, water communication between England 
 and Central Siberia is by no means impossible. 
 
 Our axle now gave us a good deal of anxiety, 
 for before we were many miles out the tarantass 
 was leaning over at a most uncomfortable angle. 
 The road, too, was worse than it had been since 
 leaviug Lake Baikal, and every roll the carriage 
 made gave us the greatest anxiety, for there was 
 no blacksmith procurable nearer than Atchinsk, 
 nearly two hundred versts off. It put us out of 
 our suspense at Kosoulskaya by snapping in two 
 altogether, although we were going at a most 
 gingerly pace, precipitating the yemstchik into the 
 road, where, had it not been for the hood of the 
 tarantass, Lancaster and I should have followed 
 him. 
 
 Here was a pretty predicament. Luckily the 
 
lEKOTJTSK TO TOMSK. 315 
 
 horses were quiet, and stood still while we scrambled 
 out to ascertain the extent of the damage. 
 Luckier still, we were only four versts from the 
 post-house — the last before Atchinsk. Lopping off 
 a couple of stout fir boughs, our yemstchik prised 
 the carriage up straight, and, mounting one of the 
 horses, galloped off to Chernoyechinsk in quest of 
 another axle and pair of wheels, by the aid of which 
 we might, at any rate, reach Atchinsk. 
 
 However, the day was fine, and though the 
 mosquitoes were troublesome, we had plenty of 
 cigarettes and half a dozen bottles of claret, 
 which we had purchased at Krasnoiarsk, to while 
 away the weary hours. Being a lonely part of the 
 road, we loaded the revolvers, and kept them ready 
 in case of need. Nothing passed us, however, the 
 whole long, weary day, from eight in the morning, 
 when the accident occurred, till 5 p.m., but a 
 couple of hay carts and a gang of three hundred 
 prisoners, most of them in chains, followed by six 
 telegas with political prisoners, four women and two 
 men, the latter on foot. Two of the women were 
 young and pretty, and laughed heartily, as they 
 passed, at our woe-begone condition, and, indeed, 
 we must have looked somewhat ridiculous, seated 
 in the middle of the road in our tarantass, with the 
 hind-wheels and axle gone, propped iip on a couple 
 of fir-trees, solemnly discussing a bottle of claret ! 
 A casual observer might have taken the political 
 exiles for a pleasure-party, to judge from the shouts 
 of merry laughter that rang through the forest long 
 before they came in sight. The smart tweed gowns 
 and scarlet Tam-o'-Shanter caps (this seems to 
 
 z 2 
 
316 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 be the uniform of Nihilist ladies) looked strangely 
 out of keeping with the rough wooden telegas and 
 dirty straw on which they were seated. And yet 
 the youngest and prettiest girl of them all was, 
 we afterwards heard, on her way to Irkoutsk for 
 life. She could not have been more than eighteen, 
 and was as neatly turned out, with gants de Suede 
 and neat grey dress, as if she had come from a 
 walk in the Bois de Boulogne or Hyde Park, instead 
 of a long twenty-days' march from Tomsk. The 
 men, too, were well dressed and respectable look- 
 ing, though their high spirits were evidently 
 assumed for the occasion, while those of the women 
 were perfectly natural. 
 
 The yemstchik returned about four o'clock, ac- 
 companied by two villagers carrying an iron axle. 
 It was a clumsy affair enough, having been taken 
 off one of the Post telegas ; but as it was only a 
 temporary affair, this did not much signify. We 
 arrived at Taoutinsk, the next station to Atchinsk, 
 at ten o'clock that night without further mishap. 
 At times, though, the tarantass wobbled about 
 terribly, and we constantly expected to find our- 
 selves in the old position — feet upwards. The 
 yemstchik who drove us the last stage could not 
 possibly have been more than twelve years old. 
 The stage was only sixteen versts, luckily, and I 
 luckily kept an eye on the proceedings of our 
 youthful Jehu ; for about half way, being about to 
 descend a long and very steep hill, he got down 
 from his box, and gravely proceeded to put the 
 skid behind the front wheel instead of before the 
 hind one ! 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 317 
 
 Atchinsk is, if not the largest, decidedly the most 
 taking town we saw in Siberia. It has a popu- 
 lation of about ten thousand, and is built on the 
 summits of five or six low hills. The grassy 
 hollows between these are used as common land, 
 where cattle, pigs, and geese roam about at will. 
 The cheerful aspect of the place, when compared 
 with other Siberian towns, is partly due to the 
 fact that the soil is of a much lighter colour, 
 and nearly all the wooden buildings are painted 
 white or grey, picked out with bright colours. 
 The immediate neighbourhood of Atchinsk, too, 
 is free of forest. The town stands in the middle 
 of a large grass plain watered by the Chulim river 
 — a plain composed of large enclosed grass meadows, 
 where, as we drove by that bright sunshiny morn- 
 ing, cattle and sheep were browsing, knee deep in 
 rich, luxuriant pasture, and wild flowers. Atchinsk 
 is the one bright spot of that weary journey — an 
 oasis of flowers and sunshine in the dark, dreary 
 desert of gloom and monotony lying between Tomsk 
 and Irkoutsk. The post-house was clean and 
 roomy, the waiting-room boasting a carpet, plenty of 
 chairs, and a sofa, while the snowy, whitewashed 
 walls hung with bright engravings, and the windows 
 filled with flowers, gave a cheerful look to the place 
 that up till now I had thought impossible to find in 
 a Siberian dwelling. We were glad of a rest of 
 twenty-four hours here (the time necessary for the 
 completion of our repairs), and after an excellent 
 breakfast of caviare, fried eggs, and beefsteak, 
 sallied out refreshed in body and mind to find a 
 blacksmith. 
 
318 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 The town was en fete for some reason or other. 
 Bells were ringing, the houses decorated with flags 
 and evergreens, and people all turned out in their 
 Sunday best. It was not reassuring, on reaching 
 the principal square, to find that all the shops were 
 shut, save the public houses, where crowds of 
 natives were refreshing themselves with vodka and 
 other spirituous liquors, preparatory to the mid-day 
 meal. Some were drinking at the bar, others seated 
 at the little tables by the doorway, others rolling 
 about in the bright sunshine outside, but all, men 
 and women, were even at this early hour — 11.30 
 a.m. — more or less drunk. 
 
 The blacksmiths' quarter was, I found, at the 
 other end of the town, and we had to walk nearly a 
 mile before reaching the forge. Like "many oriental 
 towns, each trade in Atchinsk has its own street, 
 and we found a regular colony of smithies, but all, 
 alas ! closed, and their owners either inside their 
 houses sleeping off the effects of the previous day's 
 debauch (the fete lasted two days), or laying in a 
 fresh stock of vodka and brandy in the town. We 
 knocked at and entered at least a dozen houses 
 before we found a man sober enough to undertake 
 our job. Nor would he till we had promised to pay 
 him a ridiculously large sum in proportion to the 
 work, and to keep him well provided with liquor till 
 it was finished. We regarded the wheel with some 
 uneasiness for two or three days after, but our 
 friend, drunk as he was, had made a good job of it, 
 and we arrived at Tomsk without further mishap. 
 
 Leaving Atchinsk on the morning of the 11th of 
 September, we passed the same day between 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 319 
 
 Bogotolsk and Bolslioi-Kosoul, the two high brick 
 pillars that mark the boundary of Eastern and 
 Western Siberia. We had now entered the Govern- 
 ment of Tomsk. 
 
 The tedium of the journey now palled on one 
 terribly. No one can thoroughly understand the 
 meaning of the word " monotony," who has not 
 visited Siberia, and travelled for hour after hour, 
 day after day, week after week, along its dark, pine- 
 girt roads. Along the whole of the post-road from 
 Irkoutsk, distances are marked by wooden posts, 
 painted black and white, placed at every verst, while 
 at every post-station a large board indicates the 
 distance from the chief towns. My heart sank when- 
 ever I looked at these and saw the word Peters- 
 burg, with the appalling number of oughts under it. 
 The few versts from station to station were bad 
 enough, but when it came to the six thousand odd 
 separating us from Petersburg, one almost gave up 
 all hope of ever seeing Europe again. However 
 bright the sunshine or blue the sky, a sense of de- 
 pression and loneliness hung over one, impossible to 
 shake oflF. I have never, even in the depths of a 
 Bornean forest, felt so utterly lonely and cut off 
 from the rest of the civilized world as when crossing 
 Siberia. It is rightly named by Russians, the land of 
 exile and sorrow ; and the dreariest days I have ever 
 experienced were those spent in traversing the wild 
 tracts of forest and steppe land between Irkoutsk 
 and Tomsk. One chafed and fretted at first at the 
 daily diflQculties, the hours of delay passed in waiting 
 for relays that never arrived — hours that seemed 
 endless by day, but became maddening by night. 
 
320 FROM PEEIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 After a time, however, one saw the folly of attempt- 
 ing to fight against fate, and fell into a state of 
 reckless apathy, a condition of mind I should re- 
 commend any traveller adopting who intends cross- 
 ing Siberia, I will not say with comfort, for that is 
 impossible, but without being positively driven out 
 of his mind. 
 
 Two stations after Atchinsk, the weather changed, 
 and the second day out the rain was pouring down 
 in sheets, with the usual result, that of wetting us 
 through and through, after the first hour. The post- 
 houses about here were the filthiest we had as yet 
 come across, and saving stale eggs and sour milk, 
 there was absolutely nothing to eat. Yet with all 
 these contretemps, we could not grumble, for rain as 
 it might, we were now safe as regards the steamer, 
 which would soon, we thought with relief, be bear- 
 ing us out of this cursed country for good and 
 all! 
 
 There were no delays to speak of till reaching 
 Haldi^va. But arriving here at four o'clock on the 
 afternoon of the 14th September, we found all the 
 horses engaged. We were now but some thirty versts 
 from Tomsk, so could afford to wait, and change our 
 soaking garments for dry ones. For two days and 
 a night we had been wet through, and were chilled 
 to the bone. 
 
 A roaring fire and three or four glasses of vodka 
 soon put things in a rosier light, and we retired to 
 rest with an assurance from the post-master that at 
 4 a.m. at latest the horses would be forthcoming, 
 and visions of civilization and a luxurious dejeuner 
 a la fourchette at Tomsk next day, mingled with our 
 
IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 321 
 
 dreams, till at about 3 a.m. the sound of wheels a,nd 
 trampling of hoofs brought us back to reahty. 
 Looking out into the yard, I descried a confused 
 mass of telegas andtarantasses. By-and-by a torch 
 flashed on the gold-laced cap of a courier standing 
 up in a tarantass and superintending the proceed- 
 ings. It was the mail! "No horses till fiye to- 
 morrow afternoon, monsieur," said the old post- 
 master, as he and the courier, a smart stalwart 
 young fellow, armed with a long cavalry sabre and 
 brace of revolvers, sat down to a glass of tea and 
 cigarette while the relays were put in. A quarter 
 of an hour more, and they were away again, leaving 
 us to grumble and curse our ill-luck, as the sound 
 of their collar -bells died away on the clear, frosty 
 air. 
 
 We did not get away from Haldieva till past 
 5 p.m. the following day. The clear amber light of 
 the setting sun was flooding the dark green forest 
 of fir-trees when we reached Semiloujnaya, the last 
 station before Tomsk. The journey from Haldieva 
 had been a hard one, for the country was flooded, 
 and the water in parts well over the axles. The 
 last stage was a long one, twenty-nine versts, but 
 we refused to accede to the post-master's pressing 
 invitation to stay the night, and proceed next morn- 
 ing. We had good cause to regret our^ obstinacy 
 ere morning. By six o'clock the relay was in, and 
 a few minutes after we rattled out of the village, as 
 with a loud clashing of bells the wiry little horses 
 tore away on our last stage in Siberia, flinging the 
 mud and stones high in air behind them, as if in 
 derision at the desolate and depressing country we 
 
322 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 were now (thank Heaven !) fast leaving behind 
 us. 
 
 The sky was still grey and lowering, and the 
 wind keen. "We had now left the forest altogether, 
 and were traversing the vast plains that encircle the 
 capital of Western Siberia for some thirty miles on 
 every side. There is practically no road here, the 
 yemstchiks taking their own line, and steering for 
 the city in their own fashion ; evidently, however, 
 our wretched driver had but a poor eye for locality, 
 for after floundering helplessly about for three or 
 four hours, he calmly pulled up in the middle of a 
 huge lake of water, the overflow from a stream hard 
 by, and confessed that he had lost his way. I 
 looked at my watch ; the hands pointed to a quarter 
 before midnight ; we had already been six hours on 
 the way, and the horses were dead beat. 
 
 I resisted the temptation to pull the idiot off his 
 perch and give him a sound ducking. He richly 
 deserved it, but it would have done but little good 
 in hastening our arrival. So we set about making 
 casts, to use a hunting expression, and after four 
 hours of the coldest and most disagreeable work 
 that has ever fallen to my lot, a thin bright streak 
 appeared on the horizon. We led the horses all 
 this time, be it mentioned, and were as often as not 
 up to our waists in the pools of icy cold water that 
 covered the marshy plain. But the longest lane 
 must have a turning, and by three o'clock we were 
 rolling wearily through the dark and deserted streets 
 of Tomsk. 
 
 " Nothing but distance now separates us from 
 England," I thought as we entered the portals of 
 
lEKOUTSK TO TOMSK. 
 
 323 
 
 the comfortable Hotel d'Europe, "and what is 
 distance when steam is at hand to overcome it ! " 
 "We turned into a real bed two hours later (with 
 sheets and pillow-cases), and felt, after an excellent 
 supper, contented, not to say triumphant. Trouble, 
 privation, filthy post-houses, convicts were now 
 things of the past, but as I sank into the deep and 
 dreamless sleep that one can only know who has 
 passed twenty-two days out in the open, half 
 starved, and wet through the greater part of the 
 time, the thought uppermost in my mind was : 
 " Not for a king's ransom would I do this journey 
 again." 
 
 List of Post Stations {loitlt, Distances, Telegraph 
 Stations, and Rivers), between Irhoiitsk and 
 Tomsk, Siberia. 
 
 (G.) Good Post-house, (b). Bad Post-house, (r.) Uninhabitable. 
 
 VERBIS 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 18 
 
 13 Toulouug. "(b) ".' .26 
 
 21 Kourjinskaya. (b) . 25 
 
 27 Shabartinskaya. (g.) . 21 
 
 21 Houdalanskaya. (g.) . 21 
 
 29 Kirgitoulskava. (f.) . 26 
 18 
 
 21 
 
 30 Oukovskaya. (p.)'. . 28 
 
 24 
 
 22 Alzaminskaya. (g.) . 25 
 25 Rasgonnaia. (b.) . . 19| 
 
 25" 
 30 Biriousinsk. (g.) ' . 21 
 
 20 Polovina. . (a.) . 23 
 
 Irkoutsk. (Telegraph Sta- 
 tion. Ferry over Eiver 
 Angara.) Good hotel 
 
 Bokofskaya. (b.) 
 
 Soukovskaya. (b.) 
 
 Tilminskaya. (b) 
 
 Maltinskaya. (g.) 
 
 Polovilnaya. (g.) 
 
 Cheremoffskaya. (g.) 
 
 Koutoulik. (b.) 
 
 Zalarinsk. (b.) 
 
 Tiretskaya. River Oka 
 dangerous. Cross by 
 day. (b.) . 
 
 Ziminskaia. (g.) . 
 
 Kinultinskaya. Telegraph 
 Station, (g.) 
 
 Listvinskaya. (g.) . 
 
324 
 
 FROM PEKm TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Kloutchi'nskaya. (b.) 
 
 VEESTS 
 
 19 
 
 Kasoulskaya. (g.) . 
 
 VEKSTS 
 
 16 
 
 Tinskaya. (g.) 
 
 28 
 
 Chernoyechinsk. (g.) 
 
 . 22 
 
 Nijni-Gatchefskaya. (g.) 
 
 25 
 
 Taoutinsk. (b.) . 
 
 . 16 
 
 Ilianskaya. (b) 
 
 26 
 
 Atchinsk. Telegraph Sta 
 
 
 Kansk. Telegraph Sta- 
 
 
 tion and Ferry, (g.) 
 
 16 
 
 tioii and Eiver. (g.) . 
 
 27 
 
 Bieloyarski. (g.) 
 
 13 
 
 Bolshoiritiskaya. (b.) 
 
 25 
 
 Krasnoiejinska. (g.) 
 
 17 
 
 Kloutchefskaya. (b.) 
 
 22 
 
 Bogotolsk. (g.) 
 
 30 
 
 Borodinskaya. (b.) 
 
 16 
 
 Bolshoi-Kosoul. (b.) 
 
 16 
 
 Eibinskaya. (g.) . 
 
 16 
 
 Itatskaya. (b.) 
 
 18 
 
 Ouyarskaya. (b.) . 
 
 26 
 
 Pomejoutotohnaya. (f. 
 
 17 
 
 Balaiskaya. (b.) . 
 
 24 
 
 Tiajniskaya. (g.) . 
 
 16 
 
 Tertege. (s.) 
 
 17 
 
 Souslofkaya. (g.) . 
 
 28 
 
 Kokinskaya. (g.) . 
 
 14 
 
 Marinsh. Telegraph Sia 
 
 
 Botoiskaya. (b.) . 
 
 25 
 
 tion and Ferry, (g.) 
 
 24 
 
 Krasnoiank. Telegraph 
 
 
 Podielnichnaya. (g.) 
 
 23 
 
 Station. Ferry over 
 
 
 Birikoulskaya. (b.) 
 
 28 
 
 Yenisei Eiver, and Fair 
 
 
 Potchitansk. (p.) . 
 
 27 
 
 Inn . 
 
 29 
 
 Kolinskaya. (g.) 
 
 23 
 
 Zaldievka. (b.) 
 
 21 
 
 Ichimskaya. (f.) . 
 
 22 
 
 Sokofskaya. (g.) . 
 
 18 
 
 Trountaiva. (f.) . 
 
 22 
 
 Malokenichongsk. (b.) 
 
 18 
 
 Haldieva. (b.) 
 
 22 
 
 Ivrulskaya. (b.) . 
 
 21| 
 
 Semiloujnaya. (b.) 
 
 14 
 
 Bolshitiemshimsk 
 
 
 Tomsk. Telegraph Sta- 
 
 
 (Ferry), (g.) . . 
 
 16 
 
 tion. Good Inn. 
 
 29 
 
 Price of posting : Horses three kopeks, a verst each from 
 Irkoutsk to Bogotolsk. From Bogotolsk to Tomsk, 1 1 kopeks a 
 verst. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 TOMSK. 
 
 The city of Tomsk, wticli is situated on the river 
 Tom, a branch, of the Obi, contains over 40,000 in- 
 habitants. Though scarcely as large as Irkoutsk, 
 it is a more imposing place at first sight. The 
 streets are broad and, though unpaved, in good 
 order, notwithstanding the incessant stream of 
 caravan traffic that pours through them in the tea 
 season. The public buildings are fine, without the 
 draggled, unfinished appearance of those at Irkoutsk 
 and Krasnoiarsk, and there are shop-windows to 
 enliven the appearance of the principal thorough- 
 fares. 
 
 The steamer was not to leave for two days, a 
 time we devoted to unpacking and overhauling our 
 clothes. "We found them in a sorry plight, while 
 the leather portmanteaus were swollen like drowned 
 dogs after the pitiless storms of rain. "We also took 
 the opportunity of writing home to announce our 
 safe arrival so far. Posting letters in Siberia is 
 somewhat wearisome. It took us nearly half an 
 hour to despatch them, and then only by the aid of 
 a Polish interpreter called in by the landlord of the 
 
326 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 Hotel. I signed my name at least six times before 
 the necessary formalities were completed. 
 
 Tomsk is built in two parts. The lower portion 
 of the town, consisting nearly exclusively of mer- 
 chants' offices, shops, and warehouses, while on the 
 heights overlooking them are the Grovernor's palace. 
 Government offices, and private residences of the 
 better class of merchants. But although, as I have 
 said, Tomsk is less depressing than other Siberian 
 cities, the absence of trees or gardens gives the 
 place the usual bare, cheerless appearance. The 
 surrounding country is flat and marshy, and a fruit- 
 ful cause of malaria and fever dui'ing spring and 
 autumn. The summer is the busy season, when the 
 tea from China and Trans-Baikalian merchandise is 
 unloaded from the small carts which have brought 
 it from Irkoutsk, Kiakhta, Stratensk, etc., and 
 shipped on the steamers running by the Tom and 
 Obi rivers to Tiumen. Just outside the town is a 
 huge plain cut up in all directions by caravan roads, 
 and at the extremity of which are the wharves where 
 steamers lie to receive their cargoes. A dreary, 
 desolate place it looked, the dull, wintry day we saw 
 it, but in summer the whole place is alive with cara- 
 van carts, while in dry weather an eternal dust-cloud 
 hangs like a pall over the huge plain. The rail- 
 way which is now being projected between Tomsk 
 and Irkoutsk will do away with all this. This line 
 completed, the tea will be sent to "Wladivostok from 
 China by sea, thence to Stratensk by the Amour 
 river, and on by rail from Irkoutsk to Tomsk and 
 European Russia. 
 
 The Hotel d'Europe afforded us very fair accom- 
 
TOMSK. 327 
 
 modation (for Siberia). The cooking was excellent, 
 and we managed to make ourselves comfortable 
 enough. Tomsk is famed for two delicacies, sterlet 
 and caviare. I have seldom tasted anything to 
 equal the former in flavour, and the caviare, fresh 
 from the fish and eaten a couple of hours after it 
 had been taken, was food for the gods, and as un- 
 like the potted abomination sold in England as can 
 well be imagined. In all other respects, however, 
 the hotel was sadly deficient. Our room swarmed 
 with vermin, and there was not a bath to be had in 
 the place for love or money ; the only washing 
 appliance in the hotel being a small tin vessel 
 nailed up against the wall of the corridor, and 
 holding about a pint, a small tap turning on a tiny, 
 trickling stream of water, which ran over one's 
 hands and on to the floor. I asked our host why 
 he did not provide washhand basins for his cus- 
 tomers. " They are so dirty," was the reply, " half 
 the time you are washing your hands in dirty 
 water. By our plan it runs over you fresh and 
 clean ! " 
 
 One is struck at Tomsk by the number of well- 
 turned-out carriages and horses in the streets, 
 though the "droshki" or public vehicles are 
 rough, uncomfortable things, in shape something 
 like an Irish jaunting car, with a seat about half a 
 yard broad, to hold two persons sitting back to back. 
 They are not built high from the ground, luckily, 
 for the yemstchiks are perfectly indifferent as to 
 whether their passengers fall out or not, and whirl 
 round corners in the most reckless way. Although 
 the male population are of the same sulky, hang- 
 
328 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 dog-looking appearance as we saw at Irkoutsk, the 
 women were distinctly pretty, and the majority ex- 
 tremely well dressed. But few affected the Siberian 
 costume, the long cloak and white head-handker- 
 chief, so much in vogue in Eastern Siberia, but the 
 smart gowns and neat figures encountered in the 
 streets pleasantly recalled one to the fact that we 
 were once more nearing civilization. I saw women 
 in the G-rande Rue of Tomsk, who would have been 
 considered pretty and well dressed in Bond Street, 
 but these were only amongst the upper classes. The 
 peasantry, male and female, are, with few exceptions, 
 hideous. 
 
 It says little, however, for the intelligence or 
 civilization of the population of Tomsk, that we 
 were unable to procure a single French or German 
 book in this city. A university has since been 
 founded, and matters may have improved in this 
 respect, but it seemed strange that in a popula- 
 tion of nearly fifty thousand souls (many of whom 
 spoke G-erman) there should have been nothing 
 but Russian works obtainable. Although Art of 
 all kinds is at a low ebb in most of the Siberian 
 towns, there is one thing in which the people 
 certainly do excel — photography. For clearness 
 and finish some of their productions are equal to 
 those of the best photographers in London or Paris, 
 notably those of Bogdanovitch, in Irkoutsk. I was 
 told by the latter that the best are taken in winter 
 time, when the clear, rarefied atmosphere, and 
 dazzling sunshine offer excellent opportunities for 
 obtaining good negatives. 
 
 We were somewhat staggered by the hotel bill 
 
TOMSK. 329 
 
 presented us by the host of the Hotel d'Europe, 
 the total amounting to two hundred and seventy 
 roubles (or nearly ZOl.) for barely four days' bed 
 and board. In vain I protested against the enormity 
 of the items (not one of which, by the way, could I 
 read), in vain threatened sooner thanbethus swindled, 
 to stop in Tomsk and bring the matter before a 
 court of justice. But the old Jew was inexorable 
 and only smiled blandly and rubbed his hands, 
 murmuring now and then, " The gospodin must 
 not lose his temper." He laughed outright at my 
 threat of bringing the matter into court, his 
 amusement being accounted for by the interpreter, 
 who told us that he, being the chief magistrate, 
 would himself have tried the case. To make matters 
 worse, we had that morning sold the old rascal our 
 tarantass for sixty roubles (about one third of its real 
 value), on the express understanding that he would 
 charge as little as possible for accommodation. 
 
 We set out at 4 a.m. on the morning of the 19th 
 of September for the steamer. Our way was 
 fraught with considerable difl&oulty, for it was as 
 dark as pitch out on the plain, which was covered 
 in places with deep holes and pitfalls. Though 
 only four versts, it took two hours to do the 
 distance, and we were right glad when, a little 
 before daybreak, the green and red lights of the 
 Kazanetse shone out bright and clear, while at the 
 same time her steam whistle sounded for departure, 
 recalling us to the fact that we were now no longer 
 at the mercy of drunken drivers and broken-down 
 axles, but well within reach of Europe by means of 
 that blessed invention, steam ! 
 
 A a 
 
330 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 The Kazanetse would have been a fairly com- 
 fortable boat anywhere. To us, fresh from the 
 discomforts of the road, she seemed positively 
 luxurious. The fleet to which slie belonged is one 
 of fourteen vessels, each ranging from one hundred 
 and fifty to two hundred tons, and owned by two 
 private individuals, Messrs.- KourbatofE and Ignatoff, 
 who liave the contract for carrying mails and 
 prisoners. These vessels are built at Tiumen, and 
 on the same model, tlie first-class accommodation 
 forward, the roof of the saloon forming an upper 
 deck, while abaft the funnel the decks are roofed 
 over with iron for deck passengers, of whom, on 
 the Kazanetse, there were some three hundred 
 returning to various parts of the Obi district before 
 the closing of that river for navigation. The mer- 
 chandise is toviTed in lighters of two and three hun- 
 dred tons, though drawing but two or three feet of 
 water, for in parts even this huge stream becomes 
 dangerously shallow in the summer months. The 
 steamers burn wood, carried on the deck of the 
 lighters, the consumption per diem being sometimes 
 as much as eighty tons ! 
 
 It was with a sense of relief that we woke next 
 day to hear the paddle-wheels dashing through the 
 water, and the little steamer shaking with the 
 speed at which she was being driven through the 
 grey misty morning. As usual, washing appliances 
 were nil, but after a steaming glass of tea and two 
 or three " Kalatchi " ^ and preserves, we found no 
 difficulty in dispensing with such minor details, and 
 felt as we had not once felt since leaving Irkoutsk, 
 ' A kind of oatmeal cake. 
 
TOMSK. 331 
 
 thoroughly comfortable. A coal-barge would have 
 been a relief after the incessaat shaking and bumping 
 of those fifteen hundred miles. I thought with a 
 shudder how, liad we been delayed a week later, 
 we should in a few more days have been ploughing 
 through the deep muddy roads and flooded plains 
 to Tiumen, a distance of quite one thousand 
 versts. Though that by river is nearly four thou- 
 sand, we would have chosen it, had it been double 
 or treble the distance, in preference to the leaky, 
 bone-shaking tarantass, a vehicle the very namQ 
 of which I shall ever recall with a shudder ! 
 
 But though one felt thoroughly at rest, the 
 unvarying monotony on board the Kazanetse was 
 trying enough, and the winding stream, flat, 
 muddy banks, and slow-going steamer grew in- 
 tensely depressing after the first two days. The 
 Obi river is neither grand nor picturesque. It is at 
 all seasons a cheerless, dispiriting landscape that 
 meets the eye from Tomsk to Soorgoot, but in late 
 autumn its banks must present the appearance of a 
 howling wilderness. There are few rivers in the 
 world with as many tributaries, or of the same 
 enormous length, as the Obi. The basin of the 
 river contains more than a million and a quarter of 
 square miles, an area nearly two thousand miles in 
 length, and, at the widest part, twelve hundred in 
 breadth. 
 
 A fews days above Tomsk, it presents more the 
 appearance of a succession of large lakes than a 
 river — lakes fringed with low banks of stunted fir 
 and beech trees, varied by occasional stretches of 
 sandy waste. Early autumn is, perhaps, the best 
 
 A a 2 
 
332 FROM PBKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 time to see the Obi, for at this season the varied 
 hues of decaying vegetation give a more or less 
 varied look to the dull landscape of dirty green 
 and drab that stretches away, without hut or habi- 
 tation to mar its solitude, from its shores to those of 
 the Arctic Ocean. The end of October sees the 
 Obi covered with ice, and no longer navigable. 
 For a great part of the year, however, the water 
 flows on under the ice, which, even as far south as 
 Tiumen, is from three to four feet thick. Naviga- 
 tion is sometimes entirely suspended in twenty-four 
 hours, so suddenly does winter come on. It must 
 not, however, be imagined that the frozen rivers of 
 Siberia present the smooth, unbroken surface of 
 glassy ice which one sees depicted in English 
 pictures, presumably by artists who have never 
 been nearer Siberia than Moscow or Petersburg. 
 The Obi, with its impetuous torrent, is, perhaps, 
 the most uneven aud rugged of any; but even on 
 the Yenisei, which is less rapid, it is common 
 enough in winter to see hillocks and miniature 
 cliffs twenty to thirty feet in height, thrown up by 
 the current upon its frozen surface. The effect, 
 with a blue sky and brilliant sunshine, is, I was 
 told, very beautiful ; but on dull days (which, 
 happily for Siberians, are rare), the sight of a 
 frozen, deserted river must be melancholy in the 
 extreme. 
 
 "We passed but two towns worthy of the name 
 between Tomsk and Tiumen — Soorgoot and 
 Tobolsk, The villages touched at were simply 
 a collection of half a dozen log huts, the dwell- 
 ings of the employes of the steamboat company, 
 
TOMSK. 333 
 
 and depots for the firewood used by their vessels. 
 Of the nomadic tribes inhabiting the banks of 
 the Obi we saw but httle, most of them having 
 already struck their birch-bark tents, and migrated 
 north to their winter-quarters and reindeer. Occa- 
 sionally, however, we passed an Ostiak encampment, 
 with its half-dozen grimy-looking, triangalar tents, 
 savage dogs, and fleet of canoes. The Ostiaks 
 inhabit the vast tract of country lying between 
 the Obi and the shores of the Frozen Ocean. 
 Like the Yakoutz, their neighbours, the Ostiaks 
 subsist entirely upon what they kill. Fish in 
 summer, and game in winter. Like the Yakoutz 
 also, scurvy and a still more loathsome disease, 
 introduced by Eussian traders, is slowly, but surely 
 stamping them out. They are a good-tempered, 
 hospitable people, fond of trade, but averse to any- 
 thing like hard work. 
 
 During summer the Ostiaks live entirely upon 
 fish, during the winter months their sole diet is 
 reindeer milk. The costume is not an ungraceful 
 one, and is made of reindeer skin trimmed 
 with bright red or blue cloth and coloured beads, 
 some of the richer ones being hung round with 
 small silver coins, Russian twenty-kopek pieces, 
 &c. It is never safe to approach their encamp- 
 ments alone. I did so once, and had cause to 
 repent it, being attacked by half a dozen huge 
 dogs, who would have made short work of me, 
 had not an old Ostiak woman emerged, from a tent 
 upon 'hearing the disturbance and beaten them 
 off. The Ostiak breed of dog is not unlike the 
 Mongolian. They are sharp -looking, sagacious 
 
334 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS B? LAND. 
 
 creatures of a black and white colour, and are by 
 nature the cleanest that exist, going daily of their 
 own accord to the river and bathing throughout the 
 summer months. 
 
 We anchored one evening off an Ostiak encamp- 
 ment, and paid its inmates a visit. It was a curious, 
 weird scene, the broad, sullen-looking river, the 
 crimson sunset through the dark-green fir-trees, 
 the two or three flimsy, tumble-down tents with 
 columns of thin grey smoke rising into the still 
 evening air, while a number of silent, skin-clad 
 forms flitted noiselessly about, getting in the nets 
 and canoes for the night, on the low sandy spit that 
 ran for some yards into the river. Not a sound 
 broke the stillness, for we were quite half a mile 
 from the steamer, and save for the wash and ripple 
 of the stream, the occasional bay of a dog, or crack- 
 ing of sticks as one of the women gathered fuel for 
 the night, all was silent as the grave. I have never 
 seen a picture of more utter desolation. We in- 
 tended to enter one of their dwellings, but beat a 
 hasty retreat on coming within ten or fifteen yards 
 of them. The stench was overpowering, and I am 
 not exaggerating when I say that one may smell an 
 Ostiak quite a quarter of a mile off with the wind 
 in the right quarter ! It is a smell peculiar to their 
 race, so sickening and overpowering that I cannot 
 describe it. Russians ascribe it to their invincible 
 repugnance to salt. None will touch it, although it 
 has several times, and at great expense, been dis- 
 tributed amongst them by the Government ; and 
 this is no doubt the cause of the majority of the 
 loathsome diseases from which they suffer. Some 
 
TOMSK. 335 
 
 of the men were pleasant-looking fellows, and their 
 women would have been pretty had they possessed 
 any teeth, which, after the age of fourteen or fifteen, 
 usually loosen and drop out from the same cause. 
 Unlike their neighbours the Samoyedes, the Ostiaks 
 are kind to their women. In no race in the world 
 is woman so badly treated as among the former. 
 To be enceinte, even legally, is considered degrading, 
 and the unfortunate mothers are beaten and worried 
 incessantly during the time of pregnancy, and until 
 their child is born. During, this period, too, they 
 are tortured until they confess with, whom they have 
 been unfaithful, very often naming an utterly inno- 
 cent person to escape further torment. When they 
 have done so, there is no great result ; the husband 
 simply claiming a small sum of money (or its equi- 
 valent in fur or brandy) as damages ! I was much 
 struck with the likeness between the Ostiaks, as re- 
 gards their appearance and habits, and the Dyaks 
 of Central Borneo, although of course the latter 
 are a much finer race, both as regards physique 
 and intellect. The dug-out canoes used on the 
 Obi are the same identically in shape and 
 construction, while on the handles of the paddles 
 I found much the same patterns of carving that I 
 had come across among some of the inland tribes 
 in Borneo. This is indeed a case of " extremes 
 meeting." 
 
 The shores of the Obi river teem with game and 
 wild fowl. I must have seen quite a million duck 
 during the journey from Tomsk to Tobolsk, while 
 in the season wild geese, teal, widgeon, and snipe 
 abound; and I was somewhat surprised to see 
 
336 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 quantities of sea-gull at this distance from the ocean. 
 There is no lack, either, of bear and wolf in these 
 regions, and smaller ground game, and for one who 
 cared for sport, I can imagine no better hunting- 
 ground. But he would be a bold man who would 
 pitch his tent among this unsavoury race for two or 
 three months. To say nothing of their filthy habits, 
 the tents are seldom free from smallpox. 
 
 There were but six first-class passengers besides 
 ourselves on the Kazanetse. M. Sourikoff, a painter 
 of some renown in Russia, his pretty wife, and two 
 little girls, Olga and Helena, models in miniature of 
 their mother, who were returning from Tomsk to 
 Moscow, after a somewhat extended tour in Siberia, 
 in search of peasant types for a new historical pic- 
 ture, since completed with great success by M. 
 Sourikoff. It was pleasant, indeed, to make the 
 acquaintance of these charming people, who were 
 true Russians {not Siberians), and the long dull 
 evenings passed quickly enough. Although M. 
 Sourikoff spoke but a few words of French, 
 madame was half a Parisienne, and returned every 
 year for a few weeks to the lovely city she had 
 forsaken for the fogs and mists of Petersburg. We 
 thus had many subjects in common, and this was 
 undoubtedly the pleasantest part of our journey. 
 
 There is no fixed time for meals on board these 
 boats. You order your food when and where you 
 like, so passengers are but little thrown together, 
 and as the two remaining ones never appeared to 
 take nourishment at all, or join the Sourikoff s and 
 ourselves at dinner or breakfast, we did not make 
 their acquaintance. They were a queer couple too. 
 
TOMSK. 337 
 
 one an old gentleman of semi- military appearance, 
 who paced up and down deck all day, wet or dry, 
 smothered up in furs, and seemed to subsist solely 
 on suction. I never saw him eat, but he consumed 
 at least twenty bottles of beer a day, to say nothing 
 of nips of vodka and glasses of tea between whiles. 
 His official cap and numerous decorations gave him 
 the appearance of a general at least. We put him 
 down as retui'ning from an important Siberian 
 military command, and were somewhat surprised to 
 hear at Tiumen that he was a simple government 
 inspector of mines in Siberia, and a civilian. Where 
 he got the medals remains a mystery. Our other 
 fellow-passenger was a lady who might have been 
 any age from twenty to fifty, and whose movements 
 and manner were so singular and weird that Madame 
 Sourikoff christened her " The Sphinx." She 
 usually spent the whole day locked up in her cabin. 
 It was only at night that she emerged, muffled up 
 in furs, and thick veils, to pace the solitary deck till 
 long after midnight. Only once did I catch a 
 glimpse of her face, a pale and determined, though 
 sad one, framed with jet black hair cut short and 
 square over the temples. When alone one moon- 
 light night, smoking a cigar on deck, I ventured to 
 address the mysterious stranger in French, a lan- 
 guage she understood perfectly. Her history was 
 sad enough. She had left her home near Nijni 
 Novgorod " for a political offence " two years ago. 
 Most of her term of exile had been passed at Kras- 
 noiarsk. It was only at Tomsk that she had learnt 
 the death of her mother, and that her fiance, who 
 had vowed to wait for her return, had married 
 
338 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 another. " I have nothing to live for now, mon- 
 sieur," sobbed the poor woman, " for my step-father 
 was the means of my being sent to Siberia. Let 
 me only ask you to keep my secret, and tell no 
 one on board I have spoken to you. I do not 
 wish for society — I cannot stand it." Poor sou] ! 
 I have often since wondered what became of her. 
 
 One is out of it on board a Siberian river-steamer 
 if one does not eat nuts, for every one devours day 
 and night, hour after hour, a small kind of cob-nut, 
 very common in Siberia, which to my taste was 
 extremely insipid and flavourless. But we were 
 told by the Sourikoffs it was the proper thing to do, 
 so purchased a pound or so at the first stopping- 
 place, and followed the example of our fellow- 
 passengers. Every one devoured them, from the 
 captain downwards. Even the melancholy exile 
 had her bag of nuts, and the beer-drinking in- 
 spector furtively produced them every now and 
 then from the depths of his fur-lined " Shouba." 
 When the Siberian is unable to obtain these, he 
 chews a kind of elastic composition, which exudes 
 from the fir tree and tastes strongly of turpentine. 
 The Russians call this " Conversation Siberienne," 
 hardly a compliment to the conversational powers 
 of the inhabitants of Asiatic Russia. 
 
 From the day we left Samarof, our northernmost 
 point, the weather became cold and raw, so much 
 so that furs were a daily as well as nightly neces- 
 sity. Gold and blinding showers of hail and sleet 
 kept us prisoners in the little stuffy saloon of the 
 steamer, and we passed the days sadly enough, 
 staring out of the misty windows at the flat, muddy 
 
TOMSK. 339 
 
 / 
 
 banks, watching tte grey, -woolly clouds as they 
 swept across the desolate-looking plains. We had 
 now entered the river Irtish, where navigation 'is 
 extremely dangerous at this time of the year on 
 account of the dense fogs that prevail between 
 Soorgoot and Tobolsk. Collisions are of frequent 
 occurrence, and it is not to be wondered at. There 
 is no rule of the road as at sea or on most Euro- 
 pean rivers. Upon meeting a vessel a red or white 
 flag was waved from the bridge to intimate that we 
 should pass to the right or left of it. At night the 
 signal was given by a small hand-lamp. On foggy 
 days and dark misty nights the danger of this 
 system may be imagined, and we got but little sleep 
 at nights for fear . of a smash, to say nothing of a 
 deafening fog-horn kept going almost without cessa- 
 tion from sunset till dawn. We only anchored 
 once, however, when the fog became so bad you 
 could literally not see your hand before you. It 
 lasted seven hours, as uncomfortable ones as I ever 
 wish to spend, for eyes, nose, and mouth were choked 
 with the fumes which penetrated even into the 
 saloon. The scenery for a couple of days after 
 leaving Soorgoot was still more desolate and mono- 
 tonous. The forests of birch and beech disappeared 
 altogether, and were replaced by vast plains of 
 sand, varied by an occasional salt-marsh, the only 
 signs of vegetation being the stunted willows and 
 scrub that fringed the banks of the dirty, muddy- 
 coloured river. Not a living thing is seen in these 
 regions, save at long intervals, perhaps, the encamp- 
 ment of some Ostiak, the tiny tents only accentu- 
 ating the huge landscape of desolation surrounding 
 
340 FROM PEKIN TO CAI.AIS BY LAND. 
 
 it. It gives me the blues even now to recall the 
 shores of the Obi and Irtish on a dull day. 
 
 We reached Tobolsk at 5 p.m. on the 25th oE 
 September. The night before, just as we were 
 sinking into a sweet sleep, we were all roughly 
 tumbled out of our berths and ordered on the deck. 
 " It's come at last," said Lancaster, who, like my- 
 self, had made up his mind that an accident had 
 happened, for tliere was a tremendous turmoil and 
 scurrying about on deck, and, looking out of the 
 little port-hole, I made out the red and green lights 
 of a large steamer close alongside. Sourikoff was 
 already on deck. Poor Madame S. and little Olga 
 and HeleDC were sitting on a pile of luggage, their 
 teeth chattering and faces blue with the cold. "Is 
 it not disgraceful ? " said the poor little lady, " we 
 have to chajige steamers." The winter-quarters of 
 the Kazanetze were, it appeared, at Tomsk ; those 
 of the Beutern, the steamer we had just met, at 
 Tobolsk. The latter, having been delayed by the 
 fogs for nearly four days, would not have time to 
 return to her winter port before the closing of navi- 
 gation. " The intention was," said the captain, 
 " to change us at Soorgoot, but these cursed fogs 
 have thrown out all the company's arrangements." 
 
 We certainly got the worst of the bargain. The 
 Beutern was of precisely the same dimensions as 
 the Kazanetze, and whereas we had but eight first- 
 class passengers all told, she carried sixty or 
 seventy natives of Tomsk and other river-side 
 towns, who were hurrying back to their homes 
 before the freezing of the Obi. The saloon of the 
 Beutern was, as may be imagined, in a truly dis- 
 
TOMSK. 341 
 
 gusting state. The tables covered with grease and 
 cigarette ash, the floor strewn with chicken bones, 
 egg shells, pieces of bread, squashed berries, &c., 
 and although it was past midnight, a great many 
 of the passengers must have been indulging in a 
 meal at the time the Kazanetze hove in sight, for 
 the smell of grease and cooking was intolerable, 
 the windows of the saloon had evidently been 
 closed ever since the Beutern had left Tobolsk. 
 The Siberians have queer notions of eating, and 
 their meals correspond very much with their un- 
 finished mode of life. While on their travels they 
 feed anyhow, no matter how great the facility for 
 obtaining food at proper hours. You will see them, 
 men, women, and children alike, subsist through- 
 out the day solely on tea, bread, or sweet biscuits 
 and berries, and then, as if struck by a sudden 
 happy thought, rouse themselves about midnight, 
 and sit down to a heavy meal of two or three 
 courses, washed down by copious draughts of scald- 
 ing tea, and preceded by three or four large glasses 
 of vodka. Cigarettes are incessantly smoked dur- 
 ing meals. Cigars are unobtainable in Siberia. I 
 tried one at Tomsk, but felt the effects for days 
 afterwards. Eussian cigarettes are, in my opinion, 
 better than the Egyptian. They are more aronjatic, 
 and certainly less injurious. Those made by 
 Laferme under the name of " Petits canons," are 
 the best, and are to be bought almost everywhere 
 throughout the Eussian Empire, from Kiakhta to 
 Petersburg, Archangel to Merv. They are a 
 beautifully made cigarette, and the price (one rouble 
 a hundred) is reasonable enough. 
 
342 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS ET LAND. 
 
 Tobolsk is distinctly the prettiest town in Siberia, 
 though perhaps the fact of our being so pleased 
 with it was not altogether unassociated with the 
 thought that it was the last Siberian city (except 
 Tiumen) that we should visit. On first appearance 
 one is reminded not a little of Gibraltar ; one por- 
 tion of the town being built on a steep cliff, the 
 other on the marshy plain, watered by the winding 
 yellow Irtish, and its smaller tributary, the Tobol 
 river. We were to start again at midnight, so lost 
 no time in landing and making an excursion round 
 the city. 
 
 It will give the reader some idea of the size of 
 Siberia, when I say that the district or government 
 of Tobolsk alone is nearly eight times as large as 
 Great Britain and Ireland. The population of this 
 vast province are for the most part Russians, 
 Tartars, Ostiaks, and Samoyedes, the two latter 
 aboriginal tribes. The city of Tobolsk was for a 
 long time the capital of the whole of Eastern and 
 Western Siberia, and is rich in historical asso- 
 ciations. 
 
 It was getting dusk when we landed, and, hiring 
 droshkis, we set out with the Sourikoffs for a drive 
 through tbe town. The Tobolsk droshki is a 
 terrible vehicle, a miniature jaunting car built to 
 hold two, and drawn by a horse three or four 
 times too large for it. There is nothing to hold 
 on by, not even a guard-rail, and as the streets of 
 Tobolsk are anything but smooth, and our yemst- 
 chik drove at full gallop, it became a matter of con- 
 siderable difficulty to stick to the ship, especially as 
 mj companion was a somewhat stout man, and 
 
TOMSK. 343 
 
 took up more than two-thirds of the seat. I was 
 not sorry when, the drive over, we arrived at the 
 summit of the hill whereon stands the governor's 
 and archbishop's palaces, and cathedral, the latter 
 a fine building in the Byzantine style. 
 
 The city of Tobolsk has a population of about 
 30,000,^ and covers an area four versts long by 
 about three broad. Although many stone buildings 
 are springing up in various parts of the city, most of 
 those in the lower town or mercantile parts are of 
 wood. Many of the streets, though narrow and 
 irregular, are paved completely with wooden planks 
 laid crosswise, so that the town presents a tidier 
 and less unfinished appearance than either Tomsk 
 or Irkoutsk. I narrowly escaped being roughly 
 handled when walking in the streets of the lower 
 town, when, all unconsciously, I threw away the 
 lighted end of a cigarette, a proceeding which 
 instantly surrounded me with half a dozen infuri- 
 ated inhabitants. It took Sourikoff all his time to 
 appease them, and assure them that I was ignorant 
 of the ways of the place, and a stranger to Siberian 
 customs and manners, though, as I assured him, 
 I had frequently done the same thing in other 
 towns, and no notice had been taken. As, however, 
 Tobolsk has been totally destroyed by fire no less 
 than thirteen times, one can scarcely wonder at the 
 anxiety shown by the inhabitants. 
 
 Though a rising place so far as art and com- 
 merce is concerned, Tobolsk is very unhealthy, and 
 
 ^ It is curious to note that, in 1761, the Ahhe d'Autroche found 
 the population of Tobolsk to be 15,000 souls ; in 1861, exactly one 
 hundred years later, it was only 16,000. 
 
344 FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 is surrounded with vast stagnant marslies, fruitful 
 sources of malaria and fever. There is no spring, 
 and the summer is hot, dull, and rainy, the sun at 
 this season of the year being seldom seen for more 
 than two days together. Scarlet fever and diph- 
 theria are seldom absent. Cholera is, however, 
 unknown. The winter is perhaps the healthiest 
 season, but even then, when in most parts of 
 Siberia the sun is shining in a cloudless sky, 
 Tobolsk is wreathed in damp mists from the fever 
 swamps surrounding it. It is hard to imagine a 
 more melancholy and depressing place than it must 
 be in the summer months, and prisoners say they 
 would rather be sent to Nertchinsk for ten years, 
 than have to spend two at Tobolsk, although it is 
 so much nearer home and European Russia. A 
 curious discovery was made here in 1862 by the 
 superintendent of police. Some excavations were 
 being made by some woi-kmen in the lower town, 
 when they came upon a number of large subter- 
 ranean passages running in all directions and ob- 
 structed every fifty yards or so by massive iron 
 gates. News of this was at once telegraphed to 
 Petersburg, when, to the surprise of the inhabitants, 
 a message came back, ordering that the places 
 excavated should be closed up at once. As the 
 order came direct from the czar, there was nothing 
 to be said, and the existence of the tunnels, or how 
 they ever came there, remains a mystery to the pre- 
 sent day. The passages are said to exist only in 
 the lower town. There are none under the hiUs 
 where the government buildings are situated, which 
 inclines some to the belief that they were built by 
 
TOMSK. 345 
 
 some former czar, to be used in case of a revolt. 
 Still it must be rather unpleasant for the good 
 people of Tobolsk to live over a possible dynamite 
 mine ! 
 
 The voyage from Tobolsk to Tinmen was pleasant 
 enough. Narrowed to a width of scarcely two 
 hundred yards, the blue river meanders lazily 
 through green fields, past pretty villages, neatly 
 built and prosperous-looking, while the ruddy, happy- 
 looking peasantry at work in the riverside meadows 
 were a contrast to the dirty, sullen-looking popula- 
 tion further east. A few hours before reaching 
 Tinmen, however, all vegetation disappeared as if 
 by magic, and we entered a sterile, sandy desert. 
 " What a paradise for sportsmen ! " said Sourikoff 
 as we watched, from the deck of the steamer, the 
 flocks of geese and ducks, and other wild fowl, 
 wheeling backwards and forwards over the arid 
 plain. The sky was black with them. 
 
 About midday on the 28th of September, a 
 glittering speck appeared on the horizon, which 
 presently developed into a confused mass of stone 
 and wooden buildings, spires and golden domes. 
 Two hours later we had moored alongside the busy 
 quay and crowded wharves of Tinmen, realizing to 
 the full that our journey was now practically over, 
 for there within one hundred yards of us was the 
 railway-station, and just beyond it the luxurious- 
 looking Pullman car, which was to bear us to 
 Ekaterinburg and thence over the Oural Mountains 
 to Pei-m. The whistling and puffing of the loco- 
 motive made one feel almost at home again. "We 
 forgot, in the excitement of the moment, that we 
 
 B b 
 
346 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 ■were still in Asia, and many a weary mile from Old 
 England ! 
 
 The line from Tinmen to Ekaterinburg has only 
 been built two years, and belongs to a private 
 company. The cars are all open to each other, 
 on the American principle, the second class being 
 every bit as good as the first class on the Midland 
 or Great Northern Railway in England, and the 
 fares absurdly low. The stations are of stone, 
 that at Tiumen being built in the centre of a 
 large and beautifully kept garden. It reminded 
 one of a railway station in a Gertuan Spa, so neat 
 and beautifully kept were the gravel-paths and 
 flower-beds, the fountains and iron seats under the 
 lime trees. As for the refreshment-room, it was 
 equal to any in France, and far better than any I 
 have ever seen in England. Marble floors, tables 
 spread with snowy cloths and glittering with plate 
 and china, neat, white-aproned waiters, and a pretty 
 barmaid presiding over the huge sideboard, with its 
 tempting array of caviare, pickled salmon, pates de 
 foie gras, and forests of champagne and liqueur 
 bottles, was a strange scene for Asia. It was 
 certainly one. of the most agreeable disappointments 
 of our voyage, and after a capital dinner a la carte, 
 washed down by an excellent bottle of Medoc, coffee, 
 and kummell, we came to the conclusion that, how- 
 ever behindhand they may be in other matters, the 
 Russians certainly do understand the art of railway 
 travelling. The train was not leaving till 9 p.m., 
 which gave us time for a stroll round the town. 
 Cab fares in these parts are not ruinous. The 
 distance from the railway-station to the town (about 
 
TOMSK. 347 
 
 ttree miles) costing us under one shilling English 
 money. 
 
 Tiumen is a bare, unfinished-looking place, with 
 a population of thirty thousand, and is situated on 
 the banks of the river Toura, a smaller branch of 
 the Irtish. In the centre of the town is a plain, a 
 dusty waste in summer and muddy swamp in winter, 
 about three miles square. This is surrounded on 
 three sides by wooden and brick buildings. In the 
 centre is a cluster of rough wooden sheds and canvas 
 booths, which is dignified by the name of " Bazaar," 
 where vodka, provisions of all sorts, clothes, and 
 agricultural implements are sold. Hard by, a 
 circular building, built of rough planks, and covered 
 with gaudy posters representing impossible men per- 
 forming still more impossible feats, was pointed out 
 to us with evident pride by an inhabitant, as the 
 circus. " There would be a performance that 
 night," said our new acquaintance, who spoke a 
 few words of French. " Why did we not stay for 
 it and go on the next day ? and he would show us 
 round Tiumen after dark." But we declined the 
 offer with thanks. He was a dirty, rough-looking 
 fellow in Moujik kaftan and high boots, and did 
 not inspire confidence. " Then perhaps your 
 excellencies would like to visit a pri?on barge. 
 One arrived this morning, and is empty," was the 
 next suggestion. 
 
 "We accepted this offer, and accompanied our 
 friend, when the mystery was solved. He was a 
 Polish exile, who, having done his time at Kara, had 
 been permitted to return to Tiumen, for the re- 
 mainder of his life. Here he managed to scrape up 
 
 ij b 2. 
 
348 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 a living by doing odd jobs as porter, drosliki-driver, 
 and what not. He had seen better days, he told 
 us, and knew Paris and London well, having once 
 been employed as waiter in an Italian restaurant in 
 the latter city, and had he kept away from Peters- 
 burg and politics, would now be living an honest 
 and comfortable life. 
 
 Most of the convict barges are of the same size, 
 while all are on the same principle. The one we 
 visited, The Irtish, was about two hundred and 
 fifty feet in length, by forty in width, the upper 
 deck being supported by two large deck-houses, 
 one of which formed a hospital and dispensary, the 
 other quarters for the officers of the convoy, and 
 exiles belonging to the noble or privileged class. 
 No objection was shown by the sentry to our going 
 on board. Indeed we were not even asked for our 
 passports. 
 
 I was certainly agreeably surprised. The cells 
 were sweet and clean, though, I must add, they had 
 not been occupied for more than a month, the 
 vessel having been towed back empty from Tomsk 
 in preparation for her next cargo in the spring. 
 " You should visit one of these ships on her arrival 
 at Tomsk," said our guide, with a sinister smile. 
 " I do not think then you would be quite so im- 
 pressed with the cleanliness and comfort. The 
 voyage is seldom made without at least five per 
 cent, dying of typhus, and who can wonder ? 
 Human beings were never intended to be herded 
 together like swine." ^ 
 
 ' For a detailed description of this very barge when occupied by 
 
TOMSK. 349 
 
 The large iron cage on deck amidships, in which 
 the convicts are allowed to take exercise, certainly 
 did give one rather the idea of a menagerie, and 
 more fitted for the reception of monkeys than 
 human beings ; and considering that its dimensions 
 were only seventy-five feet long by forty wide, and 
 that these prison ships carry eight hundred a trip, 
 certainly seemed rather wanting in its arrangements 
 for fresh air. Companion-ladders led down from 
 this into the sleeping-quarters, of which there were 
 three, ranging in length from forty to seventy feet, 
 with a uniform width of forty feet, and a height of 
 about seven. One of these cabins is given up for 
 the accommodation of women and children, the 
 others occupied by the men. Through the centre 
 of each runs longitudinally two tiers of double 
 sleeping-platforms, upon which the prisoners lie 
 athwart-ships in four closely packed rows, with 
 their heads together over the line of the keel. 
 These sleeping-platforms are made of wooden 
 boards. There are not even wooden pillows, but 
 prisoners are not debarred from making use of their 
 great-coats for that purpose, or any linen bags or 
 cloths they may have about them. Indeed, all the 
 prisoners we met seemed to carry exactly what they 
 liked, from a tin saucepan to a gingham umbrella. 
 
 "We got rid of our guide with some difficulty, for 
 he was anxious that we should visit the prison under 
 his auspices. This we thought wise to decline, not 
 relishing the idea of being " detained on suspicion," 
 as we probably should have been, by the Tiumen 
 
 prisoners, see "■' Siberia as it is," by H. de Windt. Chapman & 
 Hall, London, 1892. 
 
350 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 authorities, if seen lurking round the prison gates 
 in the society of a " discharged convict." A couple 
 of roubles, however, consoled him, and we left him 
 standing in the middle of the muddy road, making 
 deep obeisances and calling down numberless bless- 
 ings on the heads of the "Ingliski gospodin." 
 Passing the same spot two hours later, we found 
 him flat on his back by the roadside, dead drunk,' 
 with two empty vodka bottles beside him ! 
 
 Tinmen must be a cheap place to live in, judging 
 from the price of provisions and grain. Beef and 
 mutton are as cheap again as in most parts of 
 England, while wheat, which is always cheap, 
 became in 1887 a veritable drug in the market, 
 and was selling at Semipalatinsk, in Southern 
 Siberia, for eight kopeks a pood. One speculator 
 from that city went to the expense of exporting a 
 quantity to Vernoe, four hundred miles off, on the 
 borders of China, but then only managed to get 
 twenty-five kopeks a pood, the harvests having been 
 equally good. He had only got rid of about half, 
 when the earthquake occurred, which the reader 
 may recollect destroyed the whole city, and more 
 than half the population in September, 1887. 
 
 Many people are under the impression that the 
 Oural Mountains are of great altitude, and the 
 scenery very grand. Though the length of the 
 chain is something over one thousand seven hun- 
 dred miles, its highest peak does not attain to more 
 than six thousand feet, and at the point where the 
 line crosses them, barely two thousand feet above 
 sea-level.. No part of the Ourals is permanently 
 covered with snow. Hard by the town of Bkateni- 
 
TOMSK. 351 
 
 burg, by the side of the Great Post-Road to Siberia, 
 is a large stone pillar, on one side of which is carved 
 the word " Europe," upon the other " Asia," and 
 this marks the boundary between the two quarters 
 of the globe. There is probably no spot in the 
 whole breadth and length of Siberia more full of 
 painful associations than this, for no less than 
 eighteen hundred thousand exiles have passed it 
 since 1878, more than half a million men, women, 
 and children since the beginning of the present 
 century. The base of the pillar is covered with 
 inscriptions, letters rudely carved by those who 
 have here looked their last on their native land. 
 It is the custom to make a halt and allow the exiles 
 to bid good-bye, many of them for ever, to Europe. 
 Travellers no longer pass the spot, now that the 
 railway has obviated the long, lonely drive from 
 Perm to Tinmen. The frontier on the line is 
 marked by three stations, at intervals of ten miles 
 or so, " Asia, Oural, and Europe." At ten o'clock 
 on the morning of the 29th of September, we passed 
 hy rail from one quarter of the globe into another, 
 and reached at mid-day the town of Ekaterinburg. 
 
 "We here bade adieu, with much regret, to the 
 Sourikoffs, who were proceeding direct to Perm, 
 and took up our quarters at the comfortable Ameri- 
 Icanslce Oostinza, or American Hotel, so called, 
 perhaps, because but two Americans have ever set 
 foot in the place. It was evident that we had left 
 Asia. The broad, stone-paved streets and boule- . 
 vardSj the handsome hotels, private houses enclosed 
 in large well-kept gardens, and last, but not least, 
 the well-dressed men and women in the streets, 
 
852 PEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 were signs that we bad done with sombre, sad 
 Siberia for good and all. Ekaterinburg was the first 
 really civilized place we had seen since leaving 
 Shanghai ; it seemed ages ago, and here for the first 
 time since leaving Pekin we enjoyed the unwonted 
 luxuries of a real bath, and a clean bed with sheets 
 and pillow-cases. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Ekaterinburg, which has a 
 population of twenty-five thousand inhabitants, is 
 rich in minerals and precious stones. Among the 
 former iron preponderates ; and there are many 
 Englishmen settled here working it. It seemed 
 strange to hear one's own tongue again spoken in 
 the streets and hotels, and to read in many cases 
 the names of the latter and of shopkeepers written 
 in French over their doors. The jewellers were 
 almost as wearying and importunate as the Oing- 
 halese sapphire-sellers at Colombo. We had scarcely 
 been in our room at the hotel half an hour before 
 we were assailed by a crowd of clamouring dealers, 
 who would not be denied ; but insisted, though we 
 were performing our ablutions in a state of nudity, 
 in laying out their wares on the floor, till the 
 drugget was covered with a glittering mass of gems, 
 among which were beryls, topaz, aquamarines, and 
 chrysolites. Amongst them were also one or two 
 Alexandrites, the recently discovered stone which 
 shows two colours, crimson and green, the former 
 by night, and the latter by day. It derives its 
 name from the Emperor Alexander, and has also 
 been found in Coylon of late years. The stones 
 were of moderate prices, but our funds were too low 
 to permit of our making any investments, perhaps 
 
TOMSK. 363 
 
 luckily for ourselves, for here, as in Oolombo, there 
 are many worthless imitations. 
 
 We left Ekaterinburg on the afternoon of the 30th 
 of September for Perm, whence we were to take the 
 steamer down the Kama and Volga rivers to Mjni 
 Novgorod. Though the railway between the two 
 cities is worked by a different company to that we 
 had come by from Tiumen, we found the comfort in 
 every respect as great as on the other line. Bach 
 car had its lavatory, heating apparatus, and comfort- 
 able sleeping fauteuils. At every third or fourth 
 station we found an excellent buffet, open throughout 
 the night. At one of them, Nijni Tagilsk, where 
 we stopped to dine, the dining-room of the station 
 would not have disgraced a first-class hotel in 
 Paris or London. Down the centre of the 
 brilliantly lighted room ran a long table, covered 
 with snowy table-cloth, and glittering with silver 
 plate and glass. The waiters were all in even- 
 ing dress, with spotless shirt fronts and white 
 ties, and as they served one with an excellent 
 dinner of four courses and dessert, it was difficult 
 indeed to realize that one was yet but a few miles 
 out of Asia. It was the same everywhere. There 
 are twenty odd stations between Ekaterinburg and 
 Perm, at every one of which was laid out, no matter 
 what hour of the day or night, a cold, if not hot, 
 meal, or towards the chilly morning hours steaming 
 bowls of cafe-au-lait or tea, with dainty rolls and 
 tiny glasses of vodka and cognac to cheer the inner 
 man. We passed Neviansk towards sunset, a pic- 
 turesque village embowered in pine forest, and sur- 
 rounded by three large lakes, about two hours out 
 
354 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 of Ekaterinburg. Neviansk is used as a summer 
 resort and watering-place by the inhabitants of 
 the city, when, during June and July, the heat and 
 dust become unbearable. 
 
 On the 1st of October, towards 6 a.m., we woke 
 and looked out of the frost-dimmed windows, to 
 find ourselves in a new world. Wooden rails and 
 enclosures had given way to thick- set hedges and 
 small fields, plank huts to stone houses with cor- 
 rugated iron roofs, a mineral, in this district, as 
 cheap as pine or fir. The pine and birch forests 
 had entirely disappeared. We were now passing 
 large plains of cultivated land, neat farm build- 
 ings surrounded by gardens and orchards, and 
 occasionally a village or town, approached by a 
 poplar-lined road, winding through the deserted 
 fields. The landscape between Nijni Tagilsk and 
 Perm might well be mistaken for that lying between 
 Boulogne and Amiens on the Chemin de Fer du 
 Nord. 
 
 The Oural trains are as punctual as they are 
 comfortable, and we reached Perm to the minute 
 at the appointed time, 9 a.m. The scene at the 
 station was all confusion. The boat was only 
 advertised to leave at noon, and the scurry and 
 excitement to get on board seemed very un- 
 necessary. We here had to encounter an unex- 
 pected difficulty. Men were rushing about the 
 platform with pink and yellow handbills, each 
 advertising a steamer bound for Nijni Novgorod, 
 both boats to leave at the same hour — noon. The 
 question was which to go by, for both, outwardly, 
 looked exactly the same, though flying different com- 
 
TOMSK. 355 
 
 pany flags. There was no one to help us, and my 
 small stock of Russian was absolutely useless in 
 the uproar. In vain I button-holed policemen, 
 railway porters, soldiers — in vain gesticulated 
 and shouted, "Loutchski parohode ? " (Best boat ?) 
 It was no use, so we determined to do as we had 
 always done in the event of uncertainty, toss up. 
 The steamer Perm was the one our coin settled on, 
 and, fortunately for us, the right one. The other 
 boat, the Nijni Novgorod, was a wretched tub, and 
 arrived at its destination only five days after us, when 
 we were already comfortably settled in Moscow. 
 
 Perm is not a prepossessing city, though the 
 day we saw it was perhaps not a favourable one. 
 A dense fog shrouded everything in damp white 
 mist, through which loomed the dome of the cathe- 
 dral, and great, gaunt warehouses lining the banks 
 of the river. A steady drizzle, which had com- 
 menced on our arrival and continued ever since 
 with steady persistency, extinguished all our hopes 
 of visiting the town, and we were glad to take 
 refuge out of the cold and fog in the brilliantly 
 lighted though somewhat stuffy saloon of the 
 steamer, where several of the passengers (of which 
 there were about a hundred) had already settled 
 down to a good square meal of stchi (cabbage soup), 
 sterlet, and beefsteak. A somewhat substantial 
 menu for nine in the morning ! 
 
 It was a relief to find that, by paying a 
 few roubles extra, we could secure a cabin to 
 ourselves, and one considerably roomier than 
 those generally met with in ocean-going ships. 
 At mid-day, punctual to the minute, the bell was 
 
356 PROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 rung, the whistle sounded, and in less than ten 
 minutes the city of Perm was lost in a shroud of 
 mist, and we were steadily ploughing our way 
 through the broad yellow stream to the last stage 
 of our homeward journey, Nijni Novgorod. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PERM TO CALAIS. 
 
 The Perm was a large and comfortable vessel, replete 
 "witli every modern appliance, even to a piano and 
 electric bells, and I doubt whether one would have 
 found a better cuisine on a Cunarder or White 
 Star Liner. But, despite her gorgeous fittings, she 
 was filthily dirty, and her cabins infested with 
 vermin, so much so, that sleep at night was out of 
 the question. This was probably due to the large 
 number of deck passengers she carried, among them 
 a large number of Kirghiz Tartars, fine, well-built 
 fellows, and a striking contrast to their squat, stumpy 
 brothers in Mongolia. Many wore the native dress ; 
 a kind of woollen night- cap, which can be pulled 
 down over the ears and neck in cold weather, and 
 loose baggy trousers, stuffed into short butcher-boots. 
 A loose coat worn over the shirt, open at the neck 
 and wide at the sleeves, with a belt round the waist, 
 completed the costume. In winter a short pelisse 
 of sheep's wool (called Poloushouba), is also worn, 
 the wool inwards. The Kirghiz Tartars are Maho- 
 metans, and their grave, reserved demeanour was a 
 strange contrast to the buffoonery and skylarking 
 
358 FEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 proclivities of our merry little friends of the Gobi 
 Desert. 
 
 We experienced cold and rainy weather all the 
 way to Kazan, which was reached on the 3rd of 
 October. 
 
 The scenery of the Kama and Volga rivers differs 
 little from that of the Obi, and though the latter 
 would be called a fine river in Europe, it appeared 
 dwarfed, in our eyes, into insignificance after the 
 huge lake-like Yenisei and Obi. The navigation of 
 the Volga is in parts extremely dangerous, but the 
 risk small, for dangerous channels are well marked 
 with buoys, and after dark by barges, on board of 
 which huge bonfires are kept blazing all night. 
 On clear nights this had a pretty effect, and the 
 avenues of fire reflected in the dark water, the green 
 and red lights of passing steamers, towing huge 
 shadowy lighters up or down stream, the dark, 
 starlit sky, and voices of distant boatmen, as they 
 trolled out some river-song, was impressive and 
 picturesque. But the nights were getting very 
 cold, and we did not spend much of our time on 
 deck, preferring even the stuffy saloon, with its 
 smoky atmosphere and smell of stale food, to the 
 cutting north-easter outside. 
 
 We stayed at Kazan six hours. This city, which 
 may be called the true boundary between European 
 and Asiatic Russia, is about seven versts from the 
 landing stage, with which there is communication 
 by tramway. As a town, Kazan is unique. The 
 ancient Tartar capital, it has outwardly kept up 
 many of its oriental customs and all its Eastern 
 appearance. The veiled faces of the women, the 
 
PERM TO CALAIS. 359 
 
 fierce, swarthy Tartars in wild, barbaric costume, 
 bristling with daggers and cartridge-belts, the 
 mosques, minarets, and oriental-looking houses, 
 mingling in strange incongruity with the modern 
 stone houses of the Russian population, a la mode de 
 Paris, four stories high, with balconies, parte 
 cocheres, and carved facades, made one almost 
 wonder whether the long journey from China had 
 not turned one's head and indelibly mixed Europe 
 and Asia in our minds, even to the objects around 
 us. But the streets of Kazan are, notwithstanding 
 their varied architecture, regular, well-built, and 
 gas-lit. There is not much trade, the exports being 
 principally hides, tallow, and iron. Costly weapons 
 are made by the Tartars, swords, pistols, and 
 scimitars, with hilts and barrels inlaid with gold 
 and silver. 
 
 We passed, just before reaching Nijni Novgorod, 
 a large white paddle-steamer, built on the American 
 principle, bound for Astrakhan, on the Caspian. 
 She was going full seventeen knots an hour, and 
 churning up the muddy water in a way that made 
 the Perm roll uncomfortably till she was far astern 
 of us. "We also passed at least fifty barges between 
 Kazan and Nijni, laden with petroleum from the 
 Baku oil-wells on the Caspian. 
 
 The Grreat Fair ^ was just over at Nijni Novgorod, 
 and we had no diflBculty in getting rooms at the 
 Hotel de la Poste, an excellent inn, which but ten 
 days before had been crammed from basement to 
 attic with tourists from Moscow and Petersburg. 
 
 2 The transactions at the fair of Nijni Novgorod are said to 
 amount yearly to over four millions sterling. 
 
 C 
 
360 PROM PEKm TO CALAIS BY LAND. 
 
 The city stands on a high hill, at the confluence 
 of the Volga and Oka rivers, and in fair time 
 presents a strange and unique spectacle. The fair 
 is held on the left-hand bank of the. Oka river, 
 being connected with the town by a long floating 
 bridge, but at this season the river itself is so 
 covered with boats and barges, anchored for the 
 sale of goods, as to look like dry land. 
 
 The town of Nijni itself is well built, and its 
 broad, steep streets paved with asphalte in many 
 places. They are lit by gas, and some of the prin- 
 cipal thoroughfares by electric light. Altogether, 
 we were well pleased with the city, the first we had 
 yet seen without a single wooden building to mar 
 the beauty of stone buildings, that would not have 
 disgraced London or Paris, and yet forty years ago 
 there were scarcely a dozen stone houses in the 
 place ! 
 
 Leaving Nijni Novgorod on the evening of the 
 5th October, the following morning saw us in 
 Moscow, and comfortably installed at that luxu- 
 rious but expensive hotel, the " Slavianski Bazar," 
 an establishment almost equal in comfort to the 
 Hotel Bristol in Paris, but about twice as dear in 
 its charges. The restaurant is, perhaps, one of the 
 finest in the world. In the centre of the latter is 
 a large round tank covered with white water-lilies, 
 and fringed by reeds and riverside flowers, in 
 which swim lazily to and fro huge sturgeon and 
 sterlet, brought daily from the Volga, and which 
 are chosen and picked out by divers with a small 
 net a couple of hours before they are eaten, thus 
 ensuring perfect freshness. 
 
PEEM TO CALAIS. 361 
 
 The plan or general panorama of Moscow is not 
 unlike that of Paris, the city having its nucleus in 
 the celebrated " Kremlin," which I was somewhat 
 disappointed in, perhaps because it had so often 
 been thrust down one's throat as a beautiful sight. 
 The word " Kremlin " is derived from the Tartar 
 language, in which it means " fortress," every town 
 of importance in Russia having its " Kremlin," great 
 or small. The walls of the Moscow Kremlin are 
 about seven thousand three hundred feet in circum- 
 ference, and enclose the Imperial palace, arsenal, 
 and treasury, besides three cathedrals, a monastery, 
 a convent, and the tower of Ivan the Great, which 
 latter is about three hundred feet in height, and 
 commands, on a clear day, one of the finest views 
 in the world. At the foot of the tower stands the 
 " Tsar Kolokol," or " king of bells," which weighs 
 nearly two hundred tons, stands twenty-six feet high, 
 and has a circumference of sixty-eight feet. This 
 bell dates back as far as the year 1674, when it was 
 suspended from a wooden beam at the foot of the 
 tower, from which during a fire it fell in 1706. 
 Its fragments lay on the ground until the reign of 
 the Empress Anne, by whose orders it was again 
 recast in 1733. By the falling of some heavy rafters 
 during another fire, in 1737, or, according to some 
 accounts, owing to an imperfection in the casting 
 caused by jewels and other treasures having 
 been thrown into the liquid metal by the ladies of 
 Moscow, a piece in the side was knocked out; and 
 the bell remained buried till the year 1836, when it 
 was placed on its present pedestal by order of 
 Nicholas I. Moscow is essentially a city of bells 
 
362 EEOM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND, 
 
 and churches. Among the former are some of the 
 sweetest toned ones I have ever heard. This is 
 due in a great measure to the large amount of gold 
 and silver used in the alloy. Morning, noon, and 
 night the bells of Moscow are never silent. Wake 
 up at four in the morning, and you will hear 
 at least a dozen churches (there are over four 
 hundred) tolling for some religious service, or the 
 repose of a soul. 
 
 The Kremlin may be described as a town within 
 a city, and a very quiet, dull town, for there is but 
 little life or movement in its cobbled, grass-grown 
 streets. To a student of architecture, however, it 
 must be interesting, for the Byzantine, Gothic, 
 Arab, and even Chinese styles are there mixed in 
 glorious confusion. The palace, though it contains 
 magnificent reception-rooms, and millions of roubles 
 have been spent on its restoration, is an ugly, 
 commonplace building, and detracts a good deal 
 from the picturesque appearance of the churches 
 and buildings around it, while the arsenal and 
 treasury are positively hideous. Ranged along the 
 walls of the former are the cannon taken from the 
 French. There are eight hundred and seventy-five 
 pieces in all, each bearing a name upon their breech, 
 thus: " Le Valliant," " La Ravissante," " L'Eclair," 
 etc. It was then, apparently, customary to christen 
 Cannon like ships in the present day. 
 
 On leaving or entering the Kremlin by the Spas- 
 skoi Gate, every one must uncover. The Russians 
 are tetchy on this point, and a stranger infringing 
 the rule would have a bad time of it. The legend 
 runs that Napoleon 1. is the only man that ever 
 
PEEH TO CALAIS. 363 
 
 dared ride througli the gate with his hat on ; 
 but that, even in his case, a gust of wind sent it 
 flying before he was well through, much to the rage 
 and discomfiture of "Le Petit Oaporal." 
 
 Although this city is, next to Constantinople, 
 the earthly paradise of the sight-seer, I will not 
 trouble the reader with our peregrinations round a 
 city which has been so often and so graphically de- 
 scribed. It may be heresy to say so, but I must 
 confess that the sight which impressed me most was 
 the poorly furnished room, with its camp-bedstead 
 and two rough wooden chairs, in the hotel, where 
 brave Skobelefi" breathed his last, and under what 
 deplorable circumstances ! 
 
 We were not anxious to prolong our stay, for 
 winter arrived with unpleasant suddenness, on 
 the 10th of October. The barometer, which had at 
 2 p.m. been up to 70°, had sunk at 7 p.m. to only 
 two degrees above zero, and by nine o'clock 
 snow was falling in thin white flakes. The' next 
 morning it was nine or ten inches deep, and gangs 
 of men were at work in the streets flattening it down 
 for sledge traflBc. 
 
 I look back on Warsaw as the one bright spot 
 in our journey. .It will be long ere I forget 
 the bright sunny morning that we came upon its 
 white palaces and gardens, its squares and boule- 
 vards, after a tedious railway journey from Moscow. 
 Apart from the cheerful look of the town and popu- 
 lation, one felt one had reached Europe at last. 
 The first thing that strikes one on arriving at this 
 so-called down-trodden city is the preponderance 
 of the female element ; the second, how unusually 
 
364 prom: pekin to Calais by land. 
 
 good-looking that element is. I think one sees 
 more pretty women in five minutes in Warsaw tlian 
 in half an hour in any other European capital, 
 London thrown in. An ill-dressed Warsaw woman 
 is an anomaly. Even the lower orders seemed 
 to know how to put their clothes on, for the 
 Polish woman has a cachet of her own ; has the 
 " chic " of a Parisienne, with the beauty of a 
 Viennese, for nearly all are tall and well made, 
 with good figures and graceful carriage. It is 
 apparently the fashion among the " smart " ladies 
 of Warsaw to let small pieces of metal into the heels 
 of their boots, which make a clear ringing sound as 
 they walk, and the effect (on a pretty woman) is 
 not unpleasing. 
 
 As Moscow follows Petersburg in fashions and 
 customs, so does Warsaw Vienna. The Russian 
 tongue in Warsaw is seldom heard. No longer is 
 the sacred ilcon seen in apartments and bedrooms. 
 Tea is drunk in cups, not glasses ; but coffee is 
 the favourite beverage of all classes. We had 
 evidently done -^rith Russia for good, though the 
 town swarmed with the Czar's troops in their ugly 
 pea-soup-coloured coats and white caps. Here', 
 unlike most Russian and Siberian towns, the soldiers 
 are encouraged to walk about and show themselves, 
 but I do not think I saw a dozen uniforms the 
 whole time I was in Moscow. 
 
 Reaching Vienna the 17th of October, ten days 
 later sees us rattling along in the eleven o'clock train 
 from Paris for London, via Calais. A thick haze 
 hangs over the Chanilel as we approach the coast. 
 The sea is of a dirty grey, and presents a very 
 
r tr-"i 
 
PERM TO CALAIS. 365 
 
 different appearance to when we last saw it, blue 
 and sparkling, in the Grulf of Pechili ! It is with a 
 queer but pleasant feeling of rest and relief that we 
 leave land at last to step on to the broad white deck 
 of the steamer Victoria, at Calais. 
 
 " Would you care to do it again ? " says a casual 
 acquaintance to whom we have narrated our adven- 
 tures, if such they may be called. 
 
 " Not for ten thousand pounds," says Lancaster, 
 emphatically. And yet, as a ray of sun shines out 
 of the mist, lighting up the white cliffs of England, 
 bright augur of the comfort and civilization we are 
 nearing, I cannot help thinking that to experience 
 such a moment as this is well worth even the 
 discomfort and privations that have attended our 
 long, weary voyage from Pekinto Calais by land. 
 
 THE END.