The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-12-27
A sLBlGH-RIDB IN SIBERIA.


BILE, and I determined to depart. From
the Amoor to Irkuisk Travelled with =
wheeled carriage. changing horses at the
Government stations. At Irkutsk, ]
bought sleigh. and bad it carefully pre-
pared for Winter travel The cold was
xpscted to be 40 or so degrees below zero
and provided myself accordingly. The
: vehicle was about seven feet long. and
wide enough to hold two persons without
crowdiBg. II had a thick and strong
hood. and there was q boot that could be
5utOned and strapped to the hood TO sx
clude the wind. By day, when the wealth.
er was agree able. we kept the sleigh open,
and closed it at night or during storms
The driver sat on the forward part of the
sleigh, with his feet hanging over the
side. The Russians explained that this
was the best position for him, as be
could not go 10 sleep there without fall
ing off.
To exclude cold l was protected with
furs. On my feet 1 had fur socks 10
closing the ankles, fur stockings reaching
to the knee, and fur boots that asceuded
as high as b pOts could possibly go Over
my ordinary suit of clothing l wore a
sGeepskin coat, reaching to my feet, and
buuoniDg tightly around The neck. Out
side of this there was a coat Of deerskin,
wide enough for Daniel Lambert and long
enough for The Nova Scotian giant. With
a fur cap on my head, and this coat wrap
ped and fastened around me, it was not
easy for an outsider to ascertain my iden
tily. In the sleigh l had an enormous
robe of sheepskiD, and few miscellane
Gus articles 10 fur, for cases of necessity
l was not to be easily touched by frost
; through my covering. and did not suffer
at all from the cold. The principal in
convenience was the congelation of my
breath on the fur near my face. Beard
and fur occasionally froze into solid mass
and were nos always readily separated.
When prepared fer the road l found my
furs great incumbrance. Wrapped for
the coolest nights, l walked from the
stations TO my sleigh about as easily as
Baruum's Fat Boy INDUCES in a prom
euade.
, Much the greater part OF the distance
the track was good, and l DO not think
found more than 800 or 900 miles of pos
itively bad road. travelled day and
night. stopping twicein each "a hours to
dine and take tea At the stations in ST.
IBERIA one can generally procure eggs,
milk, bread and hot wa; er; Other articles
of food he must carry with him. Win
; ter is the best season for travel, az it al
mits of carrying any desired provisions
in frozen state. had very good sup
ply of edjbles that onIy needed thawiug
. when l wished 10 use them. A bottle OF
champagne that friend placed in my
. sleigh became a lump of ice three hours
i after l started, and remained 50 until il
. was warmed before FIRE. a bottle OF
brandy made very good thermometer,
/ as the liquid frequently crystalized though
il did not become old. The colder the
weather the more numerous were the
crystals.
The stations where We changed horses
and drivers were frem 10 TO 90 miles apart
J Our progress averaged 100 miles a day,
with about 10 changes. With a good
road it was not usual TO make 10 miles an
hour. Sometimes we travelled l2. and
once nearly ) miles 10 50 minutes. The
, Governor General of Western Siberia is
j. said 10 have travelled on one occasion 400
miles in 40 hours, including all changes
/ A Russian driver devotes his entire ener-
gies TO reaching the station as soon as
possible, and pays no attention to The
jolting of the vehicle. The comfort oil
his passengers does not come under his
notice after he ascert4rns they are seated,
D.. ard The carriage follows the horses. II
: descending hills at a gsllop, where the
j road was none of the smootbest, have
frequently known the sleigh TO jump tour
t or six feet from the crest of cradle, .
and come down with terrific thump
!. 90 such occas .ons the driver does noteveI
trouble himself to look around.
In crossing the great steepe of West
ern Siberia, 1 encountered two snow
storms which caused some detention. Il
one ofthem we lost the road and speu
some hours in fading it again. How vi
= ever recovered the track in the darkness
and binding snow am unable to say
;. We had 6ue prospect of being thorough
ly showed up. and our visions of Wolve
were not of comforting character. /
sometimes happens that people starting
across this steppe never reach their des
,, tnation. All travellers in approaching
/, look upon this part Of the journey as tn
most dangerous.
L Ny exR from Siberia Was over the Yrs
Mountains. At the dividing line Their
is a stone obslisk bearing the word
EUROPE and ASIA on opposite sides.
reached this place about the middle of
III frosty night in January. Throwing O
o my outside furs and leaving The sleigh
walked through a snow-drift to the monu
meat where stood moment in two COZ
tinents at once. The temperature va
= too low to encourage prOlongalion of tn
experiment.
Ny sleigh-rids ended At Mini Nevgo
b. rod. the eastern terminus of the TailWa
from Moscow. rode 3 800 miles in on
sleigh, changing horses and drivers go
: times. The actual travelling time Was
days and nights. During many of ii
h nights that slept in the sleigh the thsr
ck mometsF stood from IS 10 40 degrees b.
Low zere. Before my winter travel roc
in wheeled vehicle nearly 1900 mills
from the Amoor to Irkutsk. The Ru:
IS. sian Empire can boast of longer roac
and more magnificent distances than az
I'd other couatry on the face OF the globe
d THos. w. KNOX.
CHAPPED HANDS AND FACEs.-P
three to six drops of glycerins into q
,ks water before washing The hands aud fac
l. -.