Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/379

Rh "Then, too, there are many streams to be crossed by fording or ferrying, and often there are long delays at the ferries. Fresh provisions can only be carried for a day or two at most, and a traveller must load his

vehicle with a liberal stock of canned goods or run the risk of a very hard time. The frost seals up the rivers, causes the mosquitoes, flies, dust, mud, and kindred annoyances to disappear, and preserves your provisions for an indefinite period, except when a 'thaw' comes on. If you ever make a journey through Siberia, by all means make it in winter.

"The last hundred miles of our ride, from Irkutsk to Krasnoyarsk, was made over more bare ground than snow. In some places we had five or six horses to each carriage, and even then our progress was slow. Fortunately it became cold again, but the sky was cloudless; we longed for snow to cover the ground and improve the condition of the roads.

"The last morning we took breakfast at a station fifty versts from