A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 15 



obliged to cling ignominiously to my seat to avoid 

 lurching out altogether, and envied the composure of 

 my companion, who never even swayed as we banged 

 over the ruts. The people of Yenesiesk do not concern 

 themselves much with roads, for nature has already 

 given them the finest highway in the world, and one, 

 moreover, which needs no cost of upkeep. This is the 

 noble Yenesei, along which, by boat in summer or sledge 

 in winter, they can travel either to the north or to the 

 south. 



In the evening we took coffee with Mr. and Mrs. 

 Vostratine, and while we were at their house, we were 

 introduced to one of the largest merchants of the Yenesei 

 — Mr. Kutcherenkoff. This gentleman took a most 

 good-natured interest in Miss Czaplicka's enterprise, and 

 it was a great deal owing to his kindness that our way 

 was made so smooth for us at Golchika. 



About nine o'clock we went down to the quay, and 

 found most of the town assembled there to see the start 

 of the first northward-bound steamer. The decks were 

 crowded with household goods and children, and down 

 below, the crush was even greater. In the forepart of 

 the ship, and even in the narrow passage on each side 

 of the engine-room, the sleeping-benches were arranged 

 so closely side by side that it was almost impossible to 

 step between them. After much bustle and shouting we 

 swung out into midstream, and amid the flurry of 

 paddle-wheels and cheers from the quay we started on 

 our fifteen-hundred-mile journey to the north. 



The steamer Oryol, in which we travelled down the 

 Yenesei, was owned by a private company, and from 



