UP THE OB 31 



village, owing - to its geographical position, had grown 

 in a few months to considerable dimensions. Where 

 a year ago there were only a few stray huts, nearly 

 20,000 inhabitants, chiefly colonists, had now taken 

 up their abode, and the Government was on the 



BRIDGE OVER THE OB. 



point of converting the place into a town. General 

 Boldyreff and the Ispravnik entertained us most 

 agreeably during the journey to Barnaoul, where 

 we were due early on May 30th. 



The banks of the Ob presented on either side low 

 rolling steppes, mostly bare and cultivated land, but 

 as we entered the vast Altai district pine forests and 



