The Red Cloud chief., 1888-12-14


after the Russian fashion.
Arc there horsesF'
where TO gog' responded sleepy voic'
| from the interior.
ITO the fair at lrbit."
There are horses"
"A pairF
"Yes, . pair"
'How much the verst"
"Eight kopeks."
81 can not give 30 much; six koreks"
TOO little-but-yOu can have them"
In Q few minutes the horses were ready
| and 'harnesscd to the sledge.
''Where do o come fromr' said the
landlord, As I took my place in the sledge.
"FrOm TOmsk; I Am the clerk Of Nessrs
N. Ny master has gone on to the fair,
and I am very late; he will b angry; and II
you will reach there In time, I will give you
. ponrboire."
Tho peasant whistled to his horses. and
| they set OF 1t full speed. Suddenly the
sky clouded owe the snow began to fall,
| the wind rose: We were in . whirlwind OF
light, fino snow. Ny peasant lost his way,
q then lost heart, and confessed that he
had done 30. l will not attempt TO describe
| the terrible agony of tina night passed in q
StCukCv uOt IWCiNO ltsCO " Auat
ski ZovOd, in the midst Of . tempest OF
snow.
At last day began to break.
"let US return to Tara" I said: ~ viii
engage some one who knows h road. anil
you shall be given up to the police for hsv
ing made me lose % much time"
But with daylight my conductor recovered
himself and found the road. From that
moment he made every effort to make up
for the time already lost, and drove with
lightning speed. But I va not satisfied.
What fugitive ever Is so! A horrible
thought haunted me. l remembered the
fate of our poor Colonel WysOcki, who, after
having been delayed for . night in the fOrcs,
BY his guide. WAS delivered in the morning
to the gendarmes. Was l to be 20 treated
and I graspcd my poniard. Vain fears
Unjust suspicious! My peasant drove me
TO an inn. where I drank some tea and
changed horses. In this way I drove on all
through that day and far into the night,
where. At my last halting place. the village
Of SOldatskaia. I was, while drinking tea In
Q crowded cabaret. robbed OF forty rubles in
paper (abOut eighty ~francs) and Of the en-
velOpe In which they were contained, which,
alas! also contained . list Of tho villages
through which I had to pass on my journey
to Archangel. and also my passport.
One thing sustained mi in the face Of this
terrible loss, and that was the utter i'm
possibility Of doing any thing but so on. |
continued my journey, therefore and on the
third day Of M flight found myself 1t the
gates of Irbit. and u thousand kilometres
from Ekaterininski- ZovOd. ''Ha.ti and
show your passport" exclaimed the guard
ut the city gate. Fortunately for me. he
added in u whisper: Give me- ten kopeks,
and be OF with you"
FASTENED to comply with his demand,
and soon after found myself In u crowded
inn Of the poorest class and among q swarm
Of peasants from all parts Of Siberia. al
nOunced that I had left my passport with
the authorities. and the x morning after
breakfast l slipped out, avOwcdly TO get it
and show it to the landlord, but really fer
the purpose of leaving lrbit, which I did ut
once, and uuchallenged. by the northern
gate. During the night, while apparently
asleep. I had reviewed my resources. and
had come to the conclusion that l could no
longer proceed in s!edges nor sleep in even
the poorest inns. but must husband to the
utmost the rs francs which remained. I
walked therefore all through the day, from
time TO time muuching the frozen bread and
dried fish which I carried In my bag, and
auenching nv thirst ut the holes cut by the
peasants in the ice for the purpose Of water
ing their cattle. When night began to
draw in, I reaolved to prepare IN Ostiak
burrow to sleep in.
Where the snow Is deep and dry it 10 not
By any means impossible 70 sleep warmly in
the very heart Of Q forest provided always
that one knows how 70 prepare IN Ostiak
burrow. This IL done by following . sort
Of horizontal cave in the snow. Into this
the Ostiaks creep. aud after piling up the
snow ut the entrance Of the burrow. 50 as to
exclude the cold air, they lie down and sleep
in perfect security and warmth. succeeded
perfectly in preparing my Ostiak bed. but I
wasimprudent enough to cover myself with
the furred side Of my pelisse turned inward.
and slept 90 warmly in consequence that the
snow melted ut the door OF my burrow and
let In the cold air, 30 that woke ut DAY.
break with my feet almost frozen, and had
to rise and begin my journey at once. 1t was
q terrible day. The work Of toilingthrough
the snow was ard enough. but toward moor
rose the terrible icy wind Of Siberia. which
drove in my face with binding force, and
whiried masses Of dry light snow before II.
Still. I toiled on. The short day was closing
in when l had to confess to myself that I
must rest or die. Fortunately I was near .
small solitary hut and I knocked 1t the
door. 1t was 1t once opeoed BY . young
woman. who motioned me 70 enter. I salutcd
her and her mother in the Russian fashion.
and In reply to the usual inquiry where
was going, and where the good God was
leading me-" I answered that I WAS . work
man from the g0vSEument Of Tobolsk. and
Was going northward to thei iron founderie s
Of Bohotsk. The woman ave mea hot sup
per, and I had the infinite relief Of being able
to take Oh and dry my clothes. I thsn
stretched myself on . bench and fell asleep.
with IN Undesirable sensation Of relief
| md contentment Thought that I had neg
lected NO p~recaution, nevertheless The NO
| men began 70 suspect me. had four shirts
TOO great luxury for . Siberian. was
| sinking into . deep s3eep whom I Was awak.
ened b. . rude grasp on my shoulder. aad
eaw myself ~surroEnoed By four peasants.
vho demanded my passport
And what RIGHT have you - demand NJ
~u.suotr'l exclaimed in Seigned anger.
s.Ia one Of you . govoen0ent o0csrT
..Ncne Of -. il u trua. bat wo - a
home"