162 SIBERIA 



iWe started on our next stage in a drosky. Melia, 

 our destination, is about lo miles distant from 

 Chorni-Anni, and the first part of the journey led 

 us along the banks of the river, which were as flat 

 as a billiard-table, until we reached the junction of 

 the Beli-Anni with Chomi-Anni. Two miles out of 

 the village we passed the first Kalmuck settlements. 

 Away to the right a boy was tending three .large 

 bullocks, attached to waigons very similar in their 

 appearance to the familiar bullock-wagons of South 

 Africa. Farther on we passed a party of Kalmucks 

 on their way to market to purchase flour, carrying 

 hides with theHl to pay for it. Chorni-Anni appears 

 to be the centre for the exchange of commodities 

 between Siberians and Kalmucks. Our next en- 

 counter was with a moujik, with whom we entered 

 into conversation. He infonfled us that he was about 

 to be expelled from his village, although he had 

 built a house for him'self. He asked our opinion as 

 to the ethics of the question, and we, being only 

 posted in one version of the dispute, unhesitatingly 

 gave our verdict in his favour. After he had gone 

 on his way rejoicing, our driver told us that the 

 reason he had been expelled from: the village was 

 that he refused to pay any taxes, and that the house 

 he spoke of had been erected by him' on land that 

 had been occupied by the Kalmucks for many years. 

 In answer to my question as to what the Kalmucks 

 did to protect themselves, he replied that it very 

 often happened that a Siberian colonist built his 

 house on land that had been squatted on by the 

 noffiad Kalmucks for ages and simply told the Kal- 

 mucks to move off. This they usually did, as they 

 were under the impression that the land belonged 

 to the colonist. We had been told at Bysk that the 

 Kalmuck was shy and retiring, a description which 

 turned out to be correct. They are a very mild 



