88 SIBERIA 



They are of great size, frequently weighing 8 to 12 

 cwts., and are very fat. The sheep in the extreme 

 south cost twice as much as those ia the north. In 

 1897 there were 6,500,000 head of cattle in the_ 

 Akttiolinsk and Semipalatinsk territories together. 



Hunting and other forms of the chase are the 

 only amusements the Kirghiz indulge in. They have 

 so little respect for the wolf that they consider it 

 bad form to shoot him, preferring to ride after him 

 and kill him by striking him on the head with the 

 butt end of a whip. A wolf's run is generally from 

 10 to 12 miles. The Kirghiz only resort to poison 

 or the gun when the wolves become too numerous. 

 They tame hawks and train them to hunt foxes. 

 Bee-keeping yields about 50 tons of honey annually. 

 There is, however, room for a skilled and enterprising 

 fish-curer in the region, as the industry is spoiled 

 for want of knowledge how to cure the fish properly. 

 Butter is produced in increasing quantities in the 

 district, and, in the more mountainous south, some 

 very fine qualities are obtained, with a good, waxy 

 body. 



I welcomed the view of the bridge over the Irtish 

 at Omsk, which is 2,100 feet long. We reached the 

 old fortress town of Omsk at last. It has a popula- 

 tion of more than 50,000 and is situated at a distance 

 of about two miles from the station of the Same 

 name, and 1,870 miles from Moscow. The climate 

 of Omsk is not all that could be desired. The air 

 is very dry and the temperature uncertain, fluctuating 

 between extreme cold and extreme heat. Winds and 

 storms are frequent in the summer, raising clouds 

 of dust on the unpaved thoroughfares. The forest 

 zone begins two miles to the north of Omsk. Omsk 

 itself is almost denuded of vegetation. Siberian 

 troops are stationed here, but not in the same 

 numbers as formerly when it was a most important 



