42 SIBERIA 



after crossing a bridge over the Belaya river, nearly 

 half a mile across. It is a pretty little town with 

 a population of about 52,000, and is situated on the 

 right bank of the river. It is well provided with 

 religious and educational establishments. Ufa is the 

 capital of the Government of the same name, which 

 is two -thirds the size of Great Britain, and is one 

 of the most fertile of the central Volga Governments 

 and rich in forest land. Mining is the principal local 

 industry, as it is situated within easy distance of 

 the Ural range of mountains and on a river which 

 flows into the Volga and therefore serves as a 

 convenient means of traffic. The town is also, a 

 forwarding station for grain cargoes, helping to swell 

 the ever-flowing transports down the Volga. 



Between Ufa and Zlatoust we passed through the 

 chief centre of the iron and steel industry of the 

 Empire. Zlatoust is the Russian Sheffield, and the 

 cutlery runs that of Sheffield very closely in point of 

 quality. I bought a set of chased knives, the work- 

 manship of which was as skilful as it is possible to 

 find anywhere else in the world. Three thousand 

 men are employed in this industry. 



After leaving the pretty town behind us we com- 

 menced to ascend the Ural. The town is visible 

 nearly two miles from the station. The prospect of 

 seeing the Ural Mountains appeared to elate the 

 passengers as much as if the spectacle they were 

 about to behold was as sublime as that of the Swiss 

 Alps. In point of -fact, however, the scenery is not 

 unlike that of the Derbyshire Peak district. After 

 several curves we reached the station at the summit, 

 called Urzhumka, remote from all habitation, where 

 the Ural ridge opens into a cavity among the wide 

 and lofty rocks of the principal chain. A stone 

 monument bearing an inscription marks the boundary 

 line between Europe and Siberia. Here the engine 



