"These Siberian names really assist the memory in a geographical way," the Doctor answered, "as they tell us where the town is located. Selenginsk is on the Selenga River; Irkutsk is on the Irkut, where it empties into the Angara; Yeniseisk (province) is in the valley of the Yenisei, and the town of that name is on the river's bank. In the same way Omsk is on the Om, Tomsk on the Tom, Tobolsk on the Tobol, Irbitsk on the Irbit, and Kansk on the Kan. The list could be extended to great length."
"I must make a note of that," said Fred, "as it will be of use to students of geography in the schools at home. But what hard words they are to pronounce!"
"They are not as difficult as they seem at first sight," said the Doctor. "The chief difficulty comes from our knowing they are Russian, and expecting they will twist our tongues. Three consonants together are terrible—in Russian; in English they are easy enough."
"I quite agree with you," said Mr. Hegeman. "After I went to America, on my return from Siberia, many of my friends complained of the jaw-breaking names of the places I had visited, and declared they never could speak them. A lady of my acquaintance tried in vain to pronounce Irkutsk; its three consonants, t, s, and k, were too much for her, but she had not the slightest difficulty in asking me about the fasts and feasts of the Church. The s, t, and s of 'fasts' and 'feasts' are consonants, and just as difficult of pronunciation as the others; but the one set is Russian and the other 'English, you know.'
"Let me suggest an easy way of wrestling with the Russian terminals tsk, nsk, msk, and the like:
"If you're struggling with Irkutsk take the word 'coot,' which is perfectly familiar to you. Put an s to it and make 'coots,' and then a k to that and make 'cootsk' or 'kutsk.' With the prefix er you have the capital of Eastern Siberia before you.
"In the same way dispose of Kansk by building up the word 'can' till you have reached the end. The other terminals which seem so difficult may be rendered perfectly innocuous to the organs of speech if kindly and intelligently treated.
"To return to Krasnoyarsk and its snowless district.
"A description of the place, its buildings, markets, and other features would be nearly a repetition of that of Irkutsk, but on a smaller scale. In the market I was particularly interested in the character and abundance of the fish offered for sale. Among them were pike, sturgeon, perch, and others with which I was familiar, and there was one fish which closely resembled the smelt. Another that I had never before seen had a bill resembling that of a duck and a long and thin body. All these fishes came from the Yenisei or its tributaries; some of them dwell permanently in the river, and others ascend in the summer from the Arctic Ocean.