COLONISTS AND EXILES IN SIBERIA. 515 



greatest and most exalted Lord of the Empire, not half-slaves of a 

 master who, powerless himself, demands the most absolute subjec- 

 tion; one can also assure oneself in many ways that the lack of 

 landed property has in no wise hindered them from becoming pros- 

 perous, that is, from earning more than enough to supply their 

 necessities. 



From the time that the Altai was declared the property of the 

 Czar, the lot of its inhabitants was comparatively fortunate, not to 

 say happy. Until their release from serfdom, they had all been 

 employed either in mining, or in some work connected therewith. 

 Those who were not actually in the mines were occupied, some with 

 the felling and charring of trees, others with conveying of the 

 charcoal to the smelting-houses, and others again with the transport 

 of the metal. With the increase of the population the burden of 

 compulsory service became lighter. In the fifties, there were so 

 many able-bodied men available, that the compulsory service to 

 their lord, the Czar, was limited to one month in the year, with the 

 condition, however, that each serf -workman should furnish a horse. 

 The distance which a workman had to cover with his horse was 

 taken into account according to its length. As compensation for 

 absence from home, each serf -workman received 75 kopeks for 

 the period of his work, but, in addition to this nominal pay, he had 

 the right to cultivate as much of the Czar's land as he could, and 

 to till it as he pleased, as well as to cut down as much wood in the 

 Czar's forests as he required for building his house, and for fuel, 

 and he was burdened with no taxes or tribute whatever. The 

 number of workmen which a village was obliged to furnish was in 

 proportion to the number of its inhabitants; the distribution of the 

 burden of service among the different heads of families was left to 

 the members of the community themselves. 



The work of the miners was less easy. They were drawn from 

 the towns and villages of the crown-estate, instead of the soldiers 

 levied elsewhere, were treated like soldiers in every respect, and 

 were only freed after twenty-five years of service. They were 

 divided into two classes: the miners proper, who worked in regular 

 relays, and the workers connected with the mine, who were obliged 



