32 
THROUGH ASIA 
in time of peace each six regiments serve for three years. 
Sometimes the men of the other twelve till the land which 
the Crown grants them in exchange for their services. As 
a rule the Government provides them with nothing more 
than a rifle ; horse and uitiform they have to furnish them- 
selves. The six regiments on service are usually quartered 
at Tashkend, Margelan, Petro-Alexandrovsk, Kieff, War- 
saw, and Kharkoff The Cossacks of Orenburg always 
amount to a considerable force, and are only exceeded 
in numbers by the Cossacks of the Don and by the 
Kuban Cossacks. The Ural Cossacks, at the time of 
my visit, had only three regiments on duty, one in 
Samarkand and two on the Austrian frontier. The men 
are well-to-do, as they own the exclusive right of fishing 
in the lower Ural river, while above their chief town, 
Uralsk, they have built dams to prevent the sturgeon 
from going up to Orenburg. The Cossacks’ chief bears 
the title of “Ataman.” The Ataman of the Orenburg 
Cossacks was at that time General Yershoff, the governor 
of Orenburg. 
In conclusion, if 1 add, that Orenburg is situated on 
the threshold of Asia, at the extreme east of Russia ; 
that it can boast of barracks, a hospital, a poor-house, 
schools, and hotels, of which the best was significantly 
called “ Europe ” ; that it has a theatre, in which the plays 
of Turguenieff and Ibsen have the best “runs”; that it 
is the seat of the governor and vice-governor of the 
government of Orenburg, and that the military governor 
of the province of Turgai (between the Ural river and 
Lake Aral) also resides there, — I think I have mentioned 
all that is of importance with regard to this town. 
Its climate is essentially continental. In summer the 
heat is dry, close, and oppressive, and the atmosphere is 
filled with dust. In winter the thermometer often falls 
forty degrees (Fahr.) below zero; the cold, however, is not 
particularly noticeable, as the atmosphere is usually still. 
From time to time snowstorms choke the streets, and as 
the snow, which falls in vast quantities, is not cleared away 
with any great expedition, it is often impossible to go out 
