Page:Siberia and the Exile System Vol 1.djvu/306

284 in exploring this picturesque sheet of water, but we finally decided that we could not spare the time. We crossed the river Ob on a curious paróm, or ferry-boat, consisting of a large platform supported upon two open hulks and propelled

by a paddle-wheel at one end, the crank of which was turned by two ragged-bearded old muzhiks. Most of the Siberian rivers are crossed by means of what are known as "pendulum ferries," in which the boat is anchored by a long cable made fast in the middle of the stream, and is