These Siberian peasants are said to be men of great strength and capable of resisting the most intense cold, and Russia is said to have no finer subjects than the children of those whom she thus compels to colonize her frozen regions. In addition to the occupation of tilling the soil, a vast number of people are employed as carriers. The great quantities of silver, copper and lead produced by the mines at Nertschinsk, have to be transported across the country to the markets of Russia, and the provisions required by the thousands of workmen have in turn to be carried back to the mines.
Small are the chances of success to the bold man who attempts to escape. Everywhere are the active soldiers, and should he make his way through them, the vast deserts and forests are peopled by a savage race, who are allowed by the Russian government to drive an arrow through any stranger not of their own tribe whom they may find wandering through their territory.
CHAPTER IV.
THE RIVER JOKULSA.