CURIOUS CONTRIVANCES. 445 



three days I was in Sredne. Unfortunately there is no 

 thermometer in any of these towns north and east of 

 Yakutsk, where' observations of the weather would be so 

 interesting. 



The dwellings in Sredne, as well as throughout that part 

 of Siberia, consist usually of three rooms, and are heated by 

 an open fireplace, built of poles, which extend up through 

 the roof and form a low chimney. The poles are covered 

 with mud to protect them from the flames, and the wood is 

 stood on end in the fireplace, resting against the back. 

 There is plenty of wood, and it makes a brilliant flame and 

 an abundance of glowing coals. On this same fireplace the 

 cooking for the establishment is carried on apparently with 

 equal skill by the men and women. The culinary arrange- 

 ments are, however, of the simplest character, the staples 

 of food being fish, rye-bread, and tea. All the lakes and 

 rivers abound with most excellent fish, and the poorer 

 classes eat nothing else. I can attest the excellent quality 

 of the fish, especially raw and frozen. 



Breakfast here consists of bread and tea, with, perhaps, 

 frozen or dried fish, and later in the day meat, soup, and tea, 

 and in the evening meat or fish and tea. It is impossible to 

 imagine what these people would do without tea. It is the 

 universal beverage and they drink from four to fifteen cups 

 at one meal, sometimes with milk and sometimes with 

 sugar. The sugar is not put into the cup with the tea, it is 

 too precious for that, but a lump is served to each person, 

 and as he sips his tea he nibbles at the lump which is his 

 portion for the meal. 



At Sredne Kolymsk, I saw several political exiles, social- 

 ists, nine in all, who are sentenced for various terms. There 

 were also two at Nishne one a socialist, and the other a 

 Pole who had been implicated in political intrigues inimical 

 to the imperial government. His sentence had originally 

 been for twenty-five years at Ahlokminsk, between Yakutsk 

 and Irkutsk, but one day, in a fit of indignation at the gov- 

 ernment, he gave expression to his anger by spitting on a 



