BARNAOUL 33 



On May 30th, at 8.30, we came in sight of Bar- 

 naoul, and landed safely at nine. General Boldyreff 

 had most obligingly placed his house at our disposal, 

 thus giving us a new proof of Eastern hospitality, 

 and, gratefully accepting his invitation, we drove to 

 his residence. Barnaoul is the largest and practically 

 the only town of the Altai district which belongs 

 personally to the Emperor. It was given to the 

 Empress Elizabeth in the middle of the eighteenth 

 century by one of my ancestors, whose monument 

 stands in one of the squares of Barnaoul, and has 

 been ever since a private estate of the Crown. 



The whole area of the Government is over 200 

 square miles of wooded country, containing silver 

 mines, iron -works, and coal. Madame Boldyreff 

 received us with the greatest kindness, and housed 

 us in most luxurious rooms. Having packed up a 

 few more supplies, we carted our luggage next day 

 (in order not to be delayed by it) for Bisk, a small 

 town lying on the junction of the Ob and Bia rivers, 

 and thence to Ongudai, where we would have to load 

 it on ponies, and sent it on with Joseph and our cook 

 to accompany the twelve heavy cart loads. The 

 Littledales were to start on the following day by 

 short stages. 



We postponed our departure until the 3rd of June, 



