THE TEANS-SIBEEIAN EAILWAY. 
109 
that may be required for generations upon generations to come. But 
Siberia has other things besides coal, for lead, copper, silver, asbestos, 
potash, and many other valuable resources exist in great abundance. 
Chief among them is gold. Russia stands about fifth on the list of the 
world’s gold producers; her supply comes from Siberia. Yet this in¬ 
dustry, like others in that country, is still in its infancy. The precious 
metal obtained is almost entirely alluvial and even this source of sup¬ 
ply, large as is now the annual output, has scarcely been more than 
tapped. But the quartz reefs, which must exist, since without them 
there could by no possibility be any alluvial gold, still await the 
mining engineer. 
In many parts of Australia the scarcity or absence of water has been 
a prime factor in retarding progress, but this does not apply to Siberia. 
Some of the greatest rivers in the world are to be found there, such 
as the Ob, the Yenisei, the Amur, and the Lena; the last named flows 
out of Lake Baikal, which has a superficial area of about 12,000 square 
miles. Besides the streams just mentioned, there are many others too 
numerous to mention here. 
The three following reasons may be given as explaining why Siberia, 
with her practically unlimited resources, is still in a comparatively un¬ 
developed stage. They are : sparseness of population, the severity of 
the climate and the absence of good communications. 
The Russian Empire is of such an extent, comprising as it does, with 
a total population of about 130,000,000, one seventh part of the 
globe that the actual struggle for existence there has not yet of ne¬ 
cessity made the inhabitants very energetic. The comparatively small 
population has also mitigated against any particular region becoming 
densely inhabited. But the severity of the climate in Siberia has 
likewise been a potent factor in retarding the development of that 
country, although the residents Have adapted themselves to their en¬ 
vironment. In St. Petersburg, for example, people rarely skate if the 
thermometer shows more than 18° Fahrenheit, but, at Omsk, on the 
other hand, I saw young children on the ice when the mercury marked 
45° of cold. 
Either of the two causes just mentioned would suffice to retard the 
opening up of a country, but another one, at least as important, re¬ 
mains to be discussed, viz., the absence hitherto of good communica¬ 
tions. This would be bad enough in a small land, but its ill effects are 
aggravated in Siberia, where the distances are so immense. In those 
places where good roads, railways or steamship routes exist, the Russ¬ 
ians are not slow to take advantage of them, and it is worth while 
going into some detail on this subject. 
Let us commence by taking a case in point: —From Tobolsk to 
Stryetensk the distance is 2,767 miles and recruits drawn at the form¬ 
er place for service at Vladivostok, used, until quite lately, to start from 
there in November and march to Stryetensk, whence they were for¬ 
warded in barges, when navigation opened, to their destination. Now 
it will be conceded that a journey of such a length, even under favour¬ 
able conditions, is a great apprenticeship for a youngster and would 
