26 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



a few native Kalmuk matrons. As for ladies' saddles, 

 they seemed to think that they were entirely out of 

 question. This was confirmed by the Ispravnik 

 (chief police officer) of the Barnaoul district, to 

 whom I was then introduced, and who was appointed 

 by Genera] Lomatchevsky to accompany us to the 

 Siberian frontier. Being" a true Siberian citizen and 

 native of the Altai, the Ispravnik gave us a deal 

 of information on the country, and strongly urged 

 us not to proceed into Mongolia, where, he said, 

 our Kalmuk staff would probably refuse to follow 

 us, fearing that their horses might be stolen by the 

 native Mongols and Kirghiz. He was an honest, 

 straightforward man, but somewhat rough with his 

 subordinates, a failing which later on caused not a 

 few misunderstandings. 



The Governor of Tomsk was as civil as possible to 

 us, and told us that he was, at that moment, working 

 out a plan of converting the Tchouia path into a road 

 for the tea caravans, which would undoubtedly in that 

 case adopt this route from China, through Ulias- 

 soutai and Kobdo, in preference to the ancient road 

 through Kiachta, which was much longer. In fact, 

 one of the leading Russian tea merchants said he 

 had already received great quantities of tea through 

 Kosh-Agatch, and had found it far more profitable, 



