Photo by A. W. Greely 

 SIBERIAN IMMIGRANTS IN REAR OF OMSK STATION 

 About one-half million immigrants are pouring into Siberia each year 



gineeriiig of the Siberian Railway, which 

 left to the north Tomsk, the capital of 

 Siberia, now reached by a branch line 

 of 46 miles. Time failed in which to 

 visit this city, the center of the well- 

 known mining district of the Altai, to 

 the south, and of the vast and unique 

 hunting grounds to the north, from which 

 come the renowned Russian furs, the 

 martin, ermine, otter, etc. Tomsk prov- 

 ince bids fair to be in the near future 

 one of the leading gold-producing centers 

 of the world, as the gold mines of the 

 Altai are now supplemented by extensive 

 and wide-spread placer deposits in the 

 forest regions. 



As we passed there were seen thou- 

 sands of pioneers who had come to 

 Tomsk province to seek their fortunes. 

 Some were joining the bands of trappers, 

 but most were augmenting the hordes of 

 gold-seekers who are fast invading this 

 region. 



THE SIBERIAN STEPPES 



To the west the gloomy Taiga grad- 

 ually fades away, and one comes into the 

 bright, open steppes or great Siberian 



plains, which strikingly resemble the 

 prairies of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and 

 Nebraska. Extending 1,000 miles north 

 and south, and as far from east to west, 

 the vast watershed of the Obi (nine- 

 tenths the area of the Mississippi and 

 Missouri combined watersheds), despite 

 its long winters in the north, is unsur- 

 passed in its suitableness for stock-rais- 

 ing, dairy farming, and other agricul- 

 tural pursuits. Its level and well-watered 

 plains, dotted here and there by light 

 growths of birch, alder, willow, and Si- 

 berian cedar, are covered by vigorous 

 growth of nutritious grasses. The soil 

 is fertile, stock of all kinds thrives, trans- 

 portation facilities are good, coal is abun- 

 dant, modern agricultural methods 

 largely obtain, markets are accessible, 

 and the population is rapidly increasing. 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY OF SIBERIA 



The capital, Omsk, on the Irtish, a 

 tributary of the Obi, is now the largest 

 (about 100,000) and commercially the 

 most important city in Siberia. Here 

 centers the river transportation of west- 

 ern Siberia, an interior system elsewhere 



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