158 SIBERIA 



expression, " the strong arm of the law," was 

 certainly not applicable to this particular limb of the 

 executive. I expect it is his business to keep an 

 attentive eye on whatever transpires in the village 

 and report to the chief of police when he makes 

 his annual visit. I am certain he was not good 

 for anything else. Probably if a disturbance were 

 to arise he would be missing, as it is currently main- 

 tained the English policeman, to whom he presented 

 so marked a contrast, is on such occasions. My 

 interpreter and myself owe this police-officer a hearty 

 laugh, for I never saw a better caricature of a police- 

 man on the stage. Our lunch over, we presented him 

 with half a small tin of jam, which he gratefully 

 accepted. We made a careful examination of our 

 luggage, as I felt certain that our last driver would 

 repay watching to make sure that he had loaded 

 our sledge with all our belongings. Turning over 

 the hay at the bottom of his sledge I found a gun-case 

 in one corner, which may have been left there by 

 accident. However, it is wise to watch your luggage 

 carefully . 



The next stage to Tavourack was a short one of 

 14 miles. The owner of the sledge asserted that 

 the road was in a very bad condition and refused 

 to take us except for double the ordinary money. 

 This we consented to pay, and were rather thankful 

 that we had been able to persuade him to take us at 

 all. The journey was exceedingly difficult. In one 

 narrow valley particularly the horses had a very 

 severe struggle. At another place the moujik, 

 pointing to a hole in the snow, informed us that 

 a peasant from the next station had started with 

 a load of hay for Barancha, and that horse, sledge, 

 and load had capsized in the snow and been lost, 

 the peasant himself escaping with great difficulty. 

 By the time he could procure help to extricate the 



