The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1888-08-18


STAGING IN RUSSIA.
From George Remnants contribution
10 the Century we quote the following:
The Imperial Russian Post is now per-
haps the most extensive and perfectly
organized horse-express service In the
world. From the southern end of the
peninsula of Kamtchatka 10 the most
remote village in Finland, from the
frozen wind-swept shores OF the Arctic
Ocean 10 the hot, sandy deserts OF CEN
trial Asia, the whole empire is one vast
network of post routes. You may
pack your portmantcau in Nizhni
Novgorod, get padorozhnaya from
the postal department, and start for
Petropaylovsk. Kamtchtka, seven thou
sand miles away. with the full assur-
ance that throughout the whole OF that
enormous distance there will be horses.
reindeer. or dogs ready and waiting to
carry you on. night and day. 10 your
destination. Ii must however, be
borne in mind that the Russian post
route is very different thing from the
old English post route. and that the
Russian horse express differs widely,
not only from our western ''pony ex-
press" but from the horse expresses OF
most other countries. The characters
istic feature of the west European and
American systems is the stagc-coach
or diligence, which leaves certain
places ut certain stated hours. or. in
other words. runs upon a prearranged
time schedule. 1t is precisely this fea-
49,. f.k hn 3sfs tor. do ~
have. There are, generally speaking,
no stage-coach lines in Russia; the
vehicles which carry the males do not
carry passengers, and, away from
the railroads. there is no such thing rs
travelling upon Il fixed time schedule,
You are never obliged. therefore TO
wait for public conveyance which
leaves Mt certain stated hour. and
then go through to your destination in
that conveyance, stopping when il
stops and starting when IL starts, with
out regard to your own health, COM
fort, or convenience. On the contrary.
YOU may ride in your own sleigh or
carriage, and have il drawn by post
horses. You may travel at the rate Of
l75 miles in "a hours, or "a miles in
l75 hours, just ms you feel inclined.
You may stop when you like, where
you like, and for as long time rs you
like, and when you are ready to move
ON. you have only TO order out your
horses and get into your vehicle. 1t
makes no difference in what part of
the empire you may happen To be, nor
TO what part you may wish TO 60. Send
your padorozhnaya To the nearest sta
ton. and in twenty minutes YOU will
be riding away ut the rate of ten miles
an hour, with your postal order in
your pocket and hundred relays of
fresh horses distributed ut intervals
along your route.
The established rate OF payment for
transportation over the post route Of
western Siberia seems To an American
absurdly low. 1t amounts. including
the compensation of the driver, to 1-S
cents per mile 10 every horse. or 3-S
cents per mile for the usual "troika,"
or team Of three. In other words, two
persons can travel in their own car
riage with team of horses distance
of 20 miles for So cents, or 81 cents
each. used 10 feel almost ashamed
sometimes TO wake up the driver at u
post station. in the middle OF stormy
night, compel him to harness three
horses and drive us 30 miles over u
dark, miry, and perhaps dangerous
road, and then offer him for his SER
vice the pitiful sum Of GO cents. Tri-
fling and inadequate, however, rs such
compensations may seem, IL is large
enough to tempt into this Hello of en-
terprise hundreds Of peasant farmers
who compete with the Government
post by furnishing what are known as
s'volni' or free horses, for the trans
portation Of travellers from one village
10 another. AS these free horses are
generally better fed and in better con-
dition than the over-driven animals at
the post stations, IL is often advantage
Gus 10 employ them; and your driver,
as YOU approach village. will almost
always turn around and inquire wheth-
en- ne shall take YOU 10 the Government
poststation or to the house of a friend. !"
Travelling with "drushki," or "friends."
cost no more than travelling by post,
and IL enables one TO see much more
OF the domestic lifo Of the Siberian
peasants than one could see by stop
ping and changing horses only Mt reg
slar post stations.