LEAVING BYSK 276 



To reach the first station we had to cross a frozen 

 marsh about fifteen to eighteen miles in circum- 

 ference and ten miles in diameter, which would have 

 made an admirable skating rink in winter. In 

 summer the people row across it from the village to 

 the ferry. 



iWe reached this station — Beleraska — which lies 

 I oj miles from Barnaoul, in 3f hours, which included 

 the time taken in crossing the river. iWithout much 

 delay, we started for Povolicha on a very narrow and 

 badly worn sledge road seven miles long and through 

 a dense forest. In some places, for three feet below 

 the level of the snow, where there were no forest trees 

 to ward off the rays of the hot sun, the track was half 

 full of water. 



.We found the postmaster at Povolicha reluctant to 

 take us on at so late an hour, but we were determined 

 to cover the next stage before retiring to bed. It 

 was a cold journey of loj miles. For half of the 

 way we had good roads, but after that they were very 

 bad, and it took us two hours and forty-five minutes 

 to cover the distance. 



iWhen we reached Ozjorka we proposed to travel 

 all night, but the owner of the horses, who should 

 have taken us farther, declared that the river had 

 broken up, a sledge having broken through the ice 

 that day, which made it very dangerous to cross at 

 night-time. He induced us to stay by saying he 

 would get up very early to take us on the next morn- 

 ing, and we gave instructions to be wakened promptly 

 at four. As a general rule we found the people 

 fast asleep when iwe awoke in the morning, and on this 

 occasion the rule was not broken, as it took us quite 

 half an hour, by rattling a chair on the floor, to elicit 

 the sleepy answer "seychas." About an hour after- 

 wards we were on the road to Talmanskalyar, i6 

 miles away. 



