ONGUDAI 61 



Kalmuks a decree augmenting Government taxes. 

 This news was so unwelcome, and had rendered 

 them so furious, that they would have killed him if 

 he had not succeeded in escaping to Bisk. 



The ground as we proceeded became sandy and 

 barren ; on either side of the road, which was now 

 in good order, were the same low hills covered with 

 larch and cedar woods, the latter being priceless for 

 the inhabitants, who, in autumn, gather large quan- 

 tities of cedar nuts and sell them to merchants who 

 come for that purpose. 



On our way back we found most of the villages 

 empty, everyone being "in the cedars," as the few 

 peasants we met told us. At 4 p.m. we reached 

 Ongudai and found the Littledales in fairly good 

 quarters. As for us, rooms had been prepared in 

 a house belonging to a christened Kalmuk. The 

 baggage had arrived safely with Joseph and the cook, 

 and our next step was to secure ponies, saddle-bags, 

 and stores, such as potatoes, for sugar and flour had 

 been bought at Barnaoul. Here the road ended, 

 and henceforward everything had to be carried on 

 horseback. 



Ongudai is a small village, surrounded on all 

 sides by hills, somewhat higher than those we had 

 passed on our way, and inhabited by a few Russian 



