Prof. Jfilne — Across JSurope and Asia. 
463 
work of this edifice was made of rougli pine sticks. These were 
stuck in the ground, and over tkem a covering of bircli bark was 
laid, whicb was kept in its place by a second row of sticks. The 
roof was covered in a manner similar to tbat in wbicb the sides 
were covered, tkere heilig, so to speak, two rows of rafters witb 
bircb bark in between them. Along the line of the ridge-pole a 
long narrow opening is left for the purpose of allowing the smoke 
from the interior to escape. Some of the birch bark was doubled 
and sewn together to form sheets six feet square. Along the edge 
of these sheets an extra strip of bark was doubled over and stitched 
on as a border, for the purpose, I presume, of preventing any 
Splitting taking place. Many of the Utensils in the house were 
also made of birch bark. With the exception of this method of 
using bark, and also the neatness exhibited in the building of boats, 
so far as I saw, the remainder of tlieir works were coarse, clumsy, 
and untidy. 
This portion of the Obi appears to form their soutkem boundary, 
and in it they have their Capital called Isarim. 
In many places along the borders of the river there were peaty 
marshes, covered with moss and occasionally with trees. 
Thus far along these rivers I do not rememher seeing a single 
pebble or stone, the only hard substance which I could pick up 
being a few small nodules of sand cemented together by iron. Every- 
where the banks showed sections of sand, sandy-mud, and a bluisk 
clay, the sand, however, always predominating. As we passed small 
creeks which masked the mouths of tributary streams, the beds of 
sand were usually capped with beds of mud, which had probably 
been deposited by the stream which now ran over them. 
On the 4tk of Octoher we stopped at a place called Kolpashovoe. 
At this place one bank of the river forms cliifs 70 to 80 feet in height. 
These cliifs are nearly wholly composed of white sand, but near 
their base they suddenly merge into a bluisli clay. In the lower 
part of these clayey beds I saw some fine lines of black eartky 
matter from £ to ^ inch in thickness. An examination of these 
showed them to consist of yellowish green particles of vegetable 
matter resembling a flat-leaved grass. 
Next day, the oth of October, we reached the moutk of the river 
Tom. As this river was very shallow, we had to leave our large 
steamer and join a smaller one. Along the shore there were many 
bushy trees, on whicb a few autumnal leaves yet fluttered. Beyond 
these trees came an open flat country. In all places the water of 
the river was rippling and eddying along with a current that proved 
itself far too strong for our little steamer and the bargeload of 
convicts which we had to tow behind us. 
The bottom, like the skores on either side, was pebbly, whilst the 
water, unlike that of the Obi, was quite clear. 
On several points along the shore, and noticeably along those parts 
where the water rises and falls slowly, there was a red deposit of 
iron. Upon those parts up to which the waters rapidly reached and 
afterwards rapidly receded from, as would happen during flood 
