114 SIBERIA 



quite picturesque. Mazheninovka, the last station 

 before reaching Totnsk, is an important exporting 

 centre, from which 3,500 tons of wheat are 

 dfespatched annually. On arriving at Tomsk our 

 train was delayed for a short time, as a convict train 

 which had come in before us was in process of 

 discharging its living freight. We did not mind 

 the delay, as it gave us a chance of observing the 

 style in which these involuntary pilgrims travel. The 

 carriages had small windows, each covered with a 

 grating, and wooden seats " upholstered with wood." 

 Beyond this there was no furniture, with the excep- 

 tion ot a stove, similar to those on the emigrant 

 trains, which stood in the centre of the carriage. 

 I had already seen the train at Omsk and had taken 

 a photograph of it at the time. I now availed 

 myself of the opportunity to photograph the warders, 

 and sturdy-looking fellows they were. 



We had a drive of some two miles, over rough 

 ground, before we came to Tomsk. The engineers 

 who built the branch line have aldhered to the 

 tradition, according to which towns situated near the 

 line are studiously avoided. It is said of the 

 Emperor Nicholas I. that when the plans for the 

 railway which was to connect the two capitals was 

 submitted to him, with suggestions as to suitable 

 stations at various towns more or less on the way, 

 His Majesty took a ruler and connected St. Peters- 

 burg and Moscow with one straight line. " That 

 is how the line is to be built," he said. How far 

 similar circumstances exist in respect to the Great 

 Siberian railway I am unable to say, but for a dis- 

 tance of 1 5 miles between Tomsk and the Siberian 

 railroad there is a continuous swampy " taiga," which 

 may well have prevented the laying of the line 

 through that part. 



As regards the bribery and corruption alleged to 



