394 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
hundreds of poods which one or another yearly reaped from 
the sand-beds, and the fast reckless life led by those to whom 
fortune dealt out the great prizes in the gold-digging lottery, 
still form a favourite topic of conversation in the region, A 
rise in the value of labour and a diminished production of the 
noble metal have, however, since led to the abandonment of a 
large number of the diggings that formerly were most produc¬ 
tive ; others now scarcely pay the expense of the working. 
Many of the gold-diggers who were formerly rich, in the 
attempt to win more have been impoverished, and have dis¬ 
appeared ; others who have succeeded in retaining their '^pood 
of gold ”—that is the mint unit which the gold-diggers prefer 
to use in their conversation—have removed to Omsk, Krasno- 
jarsk, Moscow, Petersburg, Paris, &c. The gold-diggers’ resi¬ 
dences stand, therefore, now deserted, and form on the eastern 
bank of the river a row of half-decayed wooden ruins surrounded 
by young trees, after which in no long time only the tradition 
of the former period of prosperity will be found remaining. In 
one respect indeed the gold-diggers have exerted a powerful 
influence on the future of the country. For it was through 
them that the first pioneers were scattered in the wilderness, 
the first seed sown of the cultivation of the region. 
In 1875 there were only two steamers on the Yenisej. These 
were neither passenger nor cargo boats, but rather movable 
commercial stores, propelled by steam. The fore-saloon formed 
a shop provided with a desk, and shelves on which were to be 
seen cloths, iron wares, guns, ammunition, tobacco, tea, matches, 
sugar, brightly coloured copper eogravings or lithographs, &c. 
In the after-saloon was enthroned, among brandy casks, pur¬ 
chased furs, and other precious or delicate wares, he who had 
the command on board, a kind and friendly merchant, who evi¬ 
dently did not concern himself much with the work of the 
sailors, but rather with trade and the making of bargains, and 
who was seldom called by the crew captain (kapitan), but gene- 
