A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 289 



down the river from Krasnoyarsk. They had originally 

 been brought through the Kara Sea from Europe 

 in 1905, and were of the type that is used for 

 trade on the Rhine. Two of them lay on either side 

 of the Ragna all day long ; and as fast as one was 

 emptied, it was towed away and another took its place. 

 It was a never- failing interest to see the hatches taken 

 off, and look right down into the hold of the ship 

 whence dusty cement casks coupled together were 

 drawn by rattling donkey engines, and swung over the 

 side into the lighter. The greater part of the cargo 

 consisted of cement for use on the Siberian railways. 

 But 15,000 casks of cement cannot be handled in a day, 

 especially as the stuff is spoiled by the damp ; and a 

 shower of rain means that hatches must be closed until 

 the skies are clear. The cargo that replaced the 

 cement was more varied, and consisted chiefly of timber, 

 hides, and tow. At the eleventh hour Mr. Christensen 

 had shipped twenty tons of butter, which, considering 

 the price of provisions during the first days of the war, 

 was expected to fetch a good price in Europe. The 

 timber was Siberian cedar, and the history of the great 

 logs that bumped and banged their way into the hold 

 of the Ragna is one of the romances of commerce. 

 They came from the heart of the forest, some hundred 

 and fifty versts south of Yenesiesk, where a Government 

 concession has been obtained to cut timber. The wood 

 that grows close to the waterside is apt to be rotten at 

 the core, and therefore these trees were felled two or 

 three miles inland. Sixty horses, and more than a 

 hundred men, are employed at this lumbering station, 

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