166 SIBERIA 



house which he had abandoned for the winter. The 

 place was infested with tarakans to such an extent 

 that it was no longer possible to live in it. He 

 intended, therefore, to see what exposure to the frost 

 of a Siberian winter would do towards killing off 

 the pests. He told us some astonishing stories of 

 the havoc these insects work with food stores in 

 a house, 'which represented the tarakan as the most 

 formidable insect in the world; but as I have only 

 this man's authority for their truth, I refrain from 

 inflicting them on the reader. A little farther along 

 the road "we passed five Kalmucks, on horseback and 

 artned with very primitive guns. They were also 

 provided with " lyzhy " (skis). Our driver, who 

 spoke their language, asked them' what they were 

 going to shoot, to which they piously replied, 

 " Whatever God may send us." 



Bears and game of all kinds are plentiful in this 

 neighbourhood, but, to our disgust, the bears were 

 hibernating when we paid our visit to the country. 



We had to take to the river presently, 3.3 fhe 

 snow became too deep for the horses. In many 

 places we drove through Water, fervently trusting 

 that the ice underneath would prove strong enough 

 to support us. The climax came when we reached 

 the River Abbi, a tributary of the Koksa, where the 

 river flows between steep mountain slopes. Here the 

 ice was so broken up that we had to take it in turns 

 to go in front of the sledge and test it before we 

 ventured upon it. Judging from the speed of the 

 water, as seen in holes in the ice, the current of 

 the Koksa is very swift. At this part the river is 

 about 20 feet deep and beautifully clear. We left 

 the river shortly afterwards and took a road to the 

 left to Koksa. In the afternoon we were informed 

 that . Belukha could be seen, but found that such 

 was not the case. The peasants were supremely 



