FERRY-BOATS 



39 



Bielukha gla- 

 ciers on the 

 Chinese bor- 

 ders. Though 

 the road was as bad as it could be, we managed to 

 reach Bisk late in the evening-. Soon after quitting 

 Barnaoul we had to cross two branches of the Ob 

 in ferry-boats, there being no bridges in sight. 

 These ferry-boats were worked in the most primitive 

 fashion by horses tied to two cross-posts ; they were 

 made to turn round and round, thus bringing into 

 motion a huge capstan. Planks were placed across 

 so as to enable our tarantasses to embark, which 



