OMSK 87 



class, consisting of young Cossack boys enrolled from 

 the age of eighteen for a period of three years ; a 

 second class, which comprises Cossacks enrolled from 

 the age of twenty-one years for a period of twelve 

 years' active service ; and lastly, a reserve, the 

 members of which serve another five years, or till 

 the age of thirty-eight, when they are discharged. 

 The number of troops in the country prior to the 

 war was 16,752, with 192 officers. These men are 

 admirably trained and are the equals of any cavalry 

 in the world. During the early part of the war with 

 Japan the Siberian Cossacks furnished a contingent 

 of nine cavalry regiments of 600 each, or fifty- 

 four sotnias, and three reserve sotnias of 100 men 

 each, in addition to ordinary reserves. 



With a view to opening out the country in the 

 neighbourhood of the Siberian railway, land was 

 selected for the Russian peasants within 350 miles 

 of the line, in the Omsk and Petropavlovsk districts, 

 of a quality most suitable for present and future 

 colonisation, and great progress has been made in 

 that direction since. In 1879 eighteen villages con- 

 tained a population of 1,749, while in 1896, 132 

 villages had increased the number of inhabitants to 

 99>399- The tide of immigration showed a slight 

 diminution in 1897, but increased again in .1898 

 and 1899. 



The vast pastures of the steppe region combine 

 with the favourable conditions of soil and climate 

 to render cattle-breeding a very lucrative occupa- 

 tion, while the nomadic habits of the Kirghiz make 

 it the most suitable business for them to engage in. 

 Cattle is the standard of value, and the Kirghiz, when 

 they meet, hail each other with the inquiry : " How 

 is the cattle thriving?" The stock raised by the 

 Kirghiz are sheep, horses, cattle, goats, and camels. 

 The sheep represent their principal source of wealth. 



