A Trip Through Siberia 



49 



were none of them any use to 

 me. For food, cabbage soup, 

 flavored with onions and gar- 

 nished with sour milk, was the 

 principal dish, and, with black 

 bread, was invariably served at 

 noon and night. To one who 

 neither ate nor drank any of 

 these things the prospect did 

 not appear hopeful or joyous ; 

 but we had been told of a Yan- 

 kee from Maine who was the 

 only man in Khabarovsk that 

 could speak English, and, as 

 good luck would have it, he 

 was the manager of a large de- 

 partment store. There we out- 

 fitted for the campaign and laid 

 in supplies of crackers, jams, 

 and mineral water to last us 

 through to Blagovestchensk, as 

 we supposed. 



When oursteamer, the Cezsare- 

 witch, started, she had two large 

 steel freight barges in tow. The 

 first nieht one ran into the bank. 



A Business Corner in the Heart of Siberia 



Mohammedan Tatars at Taiga Railway Station 

 Awaiting the Arrival of a Turkish Delegation 



The second one ran into the 

 first, and its back was broken. 

 It was abandoned, and on we 

 went. The river is admirably 

 lighted and buoyed, and great 

 sums have been spent on its im- 

 provement ; but, like the Mis- 

 sissippi, it is uncontrollable, 

 having one channel today and. 

 another tomorrow. There was 

 not a day when we did not 

 run aground. We were due in 

 Blagovestchensk in five days, 

 and were provisioned for that 

 time. On the fifth day meat 

 and white bread gave out, and 

 it meant cabbage soup or noth- 

 ing. On the sixth day our 

 boat, which drew four feet of 

 water, stuck fast on a three-foot 

 bar, and late in the day we trans- 

 ferred to a twenty-two-inch- 

 draught, stern-wheel-working 

 boat which had been sent to 

 our assistance, and, taking off 



