ON THE WAY HOME 301 



used for carrying horses, but the peasants appeared 

 to consider them good enough. There is a; stove in 

 the centre of the carriage, and seats all round the 

 sides. 



It was spring and everything had blossomed into 

 life. The trees were beautiful. The people seemed 

 brighter and more cheerful at every station, and life 

 appeared altogether different from what it had been 

 when I made the outward journey in the winter. We 

 were passing through the Birmingham of Russia. 

 Not far from here the famous Bakal iron mine is 

 situated, which turns out 6,000,000 tons of ore per 

 annum. The scenery about here is very fine in the 

 spring, particularly after the long stretch of level 

 plain in Siberia. 



It is interesting to notice the difference in the 

 people of the different countries along the line. In 

 this part we pass through Bashkiria, and, as we 

 approached the capital, Ufa, the Bashkirs were easily 

 to be distinguished from the European Russian. The 

 Bashkirs have been known to Russia since the Mongol 

 conquest, but their nearer acquaintance dates from 

 the time when the Muscovite Government was 

 struggling for the possession of the horde of Kazar. 

 Wearied by intense family dissensions, persecuted by 

 Kirgiz-Kasaks, and seeing the growing power of 

 Moscow, the Bashkirs voluntarily submitted to the 

 Russian dominion and paid, in 1557, the first tribute 

 in furs. 



Ufa was the first Russian town established in 

 Bashkiria for collecting furs. As far back as 1760, 

 twenty-eight factories, including fifteen copper and 

 thirteen iron works, were in full operation. In 1798 

 the people were employed as irregular troops, and 

 were noted for being good and very effective shots 

 with the bow and arrow. 



The origin of the Bashkirs is not yet scientifically 



