OMSK 89 



Cossack centre. The ruins of the old fort serve as 

 a reminder of the fact that Russia did not [take 

 possession of the land without considerable trouble 

 with the native tribes, whom she is now gradually 

 raising to the level of a civilised nation. 



The town consists largely of wooden houses. The 

 principal building is the cathedral, with its magnifi- 

 cent domes. There is also a smaller Cossack church, 

 in which the banner of the pioneer Yermak is pre- 

 served. A nurnber of the descendants of the hero 

 live at Omsk and are proud of the history of the 

 conqueror of Siberia. 



Much has been written about the prison at OnSsk 

 towards the end of the eighteenth century, when, 

 from the number of deaths that took place there, 

 it was named the " dead-house." At one time it 

 accommodated, or was made to accommodate, as 

 many as 800 prisoners at a time, and, when ;t is 

 remembered that the intense cold of the Siberian 

 winter rendered it almost impossible to ventilate the 

 place without dangerously lowering the temperature, 

 the extraordinary mortality will be understood. All 

 over Siberia the ventilation is sadly inadequate, as 

 it is impossible to introduce the cold air from outside 

 and maintair the requisite temperature within the 

 building. A contrivance which would admit of the 

 air being thoroughly wairmed before it is introduced 

 into the houses would be an inestimable boon and 

 the death-rate, which is now so high, would be re- 

 duced very appreciably. At present the traveller 

 entering from' the open air is almost overpowered 

 by the thick, poison-laden air of the dwelling-houses 

 in winter. 



Omsk possesses twenty-nine educiational establish- 

 ments, one of which is a military training school. 

 Among the scientific institutions the chief is the West 

 Siberian branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical 



