122 SIBERIA 



and a commercial Exchange for ascertaining the 

 general conditions of Siberian trade. Tomsk is, be- 

 sides, the chief manufacturing town in Siberia. There 

 are 210 factories, while four banks testify to its 

 extensive commercial operations. The latter are, the 

 branch of the Imperial Bank, the Siberian Trade 

 Bank, the Russian Bank for Foreign Trade, and the 

 Siberian Public Bank. Tomsk possesses three hotels 

 —the " Russia," the " Europe " and the "Siberian 

 Hotel." There is not very m'uch to choose among 

 them, and the traveller is strongly recommended to 

 be generous with Keating's. 



I was introduced here to the chief partner of an 

 American Gold Mining Company, and I thought I 

 should like to get his experience in gold mining, 

 so I asked him a few questions. " What do you 

 think of the future of Siberian gold mining? " I 

 asked. He replied, " Siberia will in the future be a 

 tremendous njiining country, and although in the best 

 days of California you might have been lucky enough 

 to strike an occasionally very rich mine, the Siberian 

 gold is finer and more widely distributed. The 

 working of vein ore is not frequent, the systemi 

 cominonly worked being known as the ' placer ' 

 system. The Siberians are very primitive in their 

 Methods and machinery, and the Russians cannot 

 work under 2s. iid. per cubic yard to get an appre- 

 ciable profit ; but with the machinery my company 

 are placing down they will be able to work as cheaply 

 as any other mining district in the world. If you get 

 a permit from the Governor at Tomsk, or the district 

 where you are working, you can bring machinery 

 into the country free of duty. This is a. privilege 

 not allowed in a;ny other gold mining country, but 

 there is a string tied to that arrangement, for you 

 have to pay the duty at the frontier and your bill 

 of lading specifies wha,t you have brought in. The 



