CHAPTER XXV. 



Through thi': Siukrian Forests to the Trans-Siberian 

 Rah.wav. 



Siberia is undoubtedly a country with a great future, and in 

 this respect the mineral wealth it holds will play a prominent 

 part. The latter is distributed throughout the country, the 

 region east of the Baikal Lake being prolific in gold, whilst that 



KAZAKS WATCHING OUR DEPARTURE FROM A POST-HOUSE. 



portion of the Altai Range lying within the boundaries of the 

 Russian Empire is known to contain the precious metal in large 

 and payable quantities. 



The Altai Mountains offer a favourable field for the gold 

 miner, but the difficulty experienced in obtaining concessions 

 has acted as a deterrent to mining enterprise, though there are 

 at the present time a few companies engaged in the industry 



416 



