228 SIBEltlA. 



Sonio of tlio most iiiiporlaiil ol these inea.sur<;.s are: that dredging will be carried on 

 along tlio Ijottoni of the river Tura l)f!t\vei'n its mouth ami Tiuraen, along the Tobol from 

 till! iiioutli^ of tin; Tura till it lulls into III*- Irtish, along the river Tom Ironi Kuznetsk to 

 ils mouth and aloni,' the river Chulym liom Achinsk to its month. On a <;on>id(,Mal)le portion 

 ol the ()l)i sy.stttm dilficult places lor navigation will he marked and observations of the 

 watri- lr\(! will lj.' taken wliidi will be lidrgraplitMl to tlif i»la<-es where the vessels usually 

 resort. A tclegiaph wiic will Iim laid from Tobolsk to Samarov and from Samarov to 

 Krivoschekov, a distance of 2,245 versts. In order to cany on these operations tlu' necessary 

 dredging and earth roinoving machinery, 5 steamers and 3 steam long-boats will be amongst 

 other things pioviili'il by the Government. 



Till' river Yenisei, which rises in Mongolia, is navigable alino>i Irom the Irontier to 

 ils mouth. For a long lime however the rapids interfered with the progress of navigation, 

 but il has lately been round possible to go lound them. Steam navigation on the Yenisei 

 really began in 1863 when traffic was opened between its mouth and Y'eniseisk. Five years 

 later a Dutch company ollereil to establish a regular steamboat service on the Angara to 

 IJaikal and to clear away the rapids, but the offer was not accepted. In 1888 the number 

 of steamers rose to 4 and tlie total amount of freight conveyed was 129,000 ponds. In 1890 

 there were 6 steamers, 30 barges and about 20 large boats plying between Y'eniseisk and 

 Karaoul transporting 2GO,000 pouds of merchandise. Regular steamboat service on the Y''enisei 

 is kept up, on the one side, between Y'eniseisk and Krasnoyarsk, ami on the other, between 

 Krasnoyarsk and Minusinsk. A similar service between Yeniseisk and the mouth of the river 

 could not be established, partly on account of insufficiency of freights, and partly on account 

 of the rapids. 



At present, in order to convey building materials for the Great Siberian Railway by sea 

 through the mouth of the Yenisei, the Government has found it expedient to investigate this 

 route, the gulf of Y'enisei and the river itself. For this purpose two steamers have been 

 ordered, specially designed for cruising on the Yenisei, ami in 1893 an expedition will be 

 fitted out and despati;hed to the estuary of the river. Both of these steamers were ordered in 

 England at Dunibarlon and were to be ready July 1st, this year. One of them has a twin 

 screw, is of 5(X) horse i)ower and draws 8 feet of water; it is destined for service between 

 the mouths of the Yenisei and the town of Y^'euiseisk and calculated to carry 93,000 pouds ' 

 the other is a paddle steamer with a draught of B'h feet; it is intended to tow barges up to 

 60,000 pouds weight between Y^'eniseisk and Krasnoyarsk. In this way the whole journey from 

 the niontlis of the Y'enisei to Krasnoyarsk can be effected without unloading, by simply changing 

 the barges in tow from one steamer to the other. 



From Y'eniseisk the navigation takes another direction, along the river Angara which 

 is a tributary of the Yenisei. It flows from lake Baikal through a distance of 1,705 versts 

 and joins the Yenisei at Yeniseisk. For a distance of 600 versts from Irkutsk to the prison 

 of Bratsk, the Angara is quite navigable but the remainder of its course of more than a thous- 

 aoid versts is full of rapids and interferes with regular navigation. However, Sibiryakov thought 

 it worth his wiiilr; in 1885 to solicit a five-years license from the Government for running 

 steamers on this part of the rivei', binding himself within the space of two yeai's to organize 



