98 SIBERIA 



questions we put to him he led us to understand that 

 he would have been highly offended with any burglar 

 who failed to complete his little job before he came 

 upon the scene ; and I really believe he would have 

 apologised to any burglar whom he had chanced 

 accidentally to disturb in the act of carrying off the 

 " swag." 



My friend's wife, who is an English lady, was ex- 

 ceedingly pleased to see some, one from England. 

 Being the only Englishwoman irt a district larger than 

 the whole of Great Britain, she felt very lonely at 

 times. She had accompanied her husband as an 

 emigrant some time back, and they had been very 

 successful. My friend, who has lived in Kainsk for 

 two years, informed me that the people are born 

 thieves, although they are supremely pious, and cross 

 themselves fervently whenever they pass a church, 

 an ikon, or any other holy picture. 



Kainsk is very hot in the summer, the thermo- 

 meter rising as high as loo degrees Fahr. In winter 

 it falls to I ID degrees below freezing point. Being 

 320 feet above sea level it is exposed to strong winds, 

 which make it much colder, and snow-drifts are deep 

 and frequent in the winter. In summer, dust storms 

 make the place unendurable. It is certainly the 

 most desolate place I visited in Siberia. Besides 

 the town, there are seventeen settlements, having a 

 total population of 8,000, and engaged in agriculture, 

 about 1 5,000 tons of various goods, including large 

 quantities of butter, grain, meat, tallow, poultry, and 

 fish, being exported, in addition to spirits, wine, and 

 beer, which are sold to the East. Fish are caught 

 in the rivers Om and Kainka. The town is situated 

 principally on the batiks of the Kainka, at the junction 

 of the two rivers, hence its name of Kainsk. The 

 letters sk at the end of the name of a Russiani 

 town, always indicate that it is situated oij a 



