New-York tribune., 1889-12-30

and map. I2mo, PIP. 2o' D. APpe'o" "
~. ;,,roauction 10 Mr.. Gowing's hook sufii-
u,.,,,l, exnlains how two men deliberately agreed
N cross Siberia in winter as a pleasure tlp' Inc
.a,,rorn.rt was made in Shanghai, where
AJ.ssrs Goving and Uren were then residing, ana
:, Yvas the torrid August heat of that eastern
oi,, that gave fascination TO the idea OF siberian
srows As usual in such cases, the intending
travellers were overwhelmed with advice ana
admonition but as most Of this was very cohu"-
dictory. and as the few travellers VINO Id"
actually made the journey were by no means
agreed about il, the companions dld not aho"
,bomeelves 70 be turned from their purpose
Their intention was 10 reach England by crossing
Russia and their route led them from Shahghal
10 Narasaki Japan, thence to Fusan ana "ehsans'
in Corea, and across the Sea OF Japan 10 'Iau'-
wostok whence they were to take n sledse lor 'io
great overland journey They began by laying III
onantitv of mpediments which almost any
veteran traveller would have laughed TO scOrn'
and some of these things they appear TO have
been clad 10 get rid of during the journey. But
so far as their large stock of provisions and warm
clctbjnc was concerned, they found use for the
wbole of IL and at times could probably have pun
oven more and heavier clothing TO good service.
These t,vo travellers started under more thah
one disadvantage They had brought no letters
NJ Introduction TO Russian officials, and conse-
ouently, in applying for the regular posting
license they could not secure a Crown license,
sucb &C all Russian officials are granted, but had
70 no content with the inferior license issued TO
merchants and the public generally. The mis-
fortune of this was that if they should meet an
officer at any of the posting houses he would nave
the first right 10 relay of honor, and they
would have 10 wait perhaps day or two' ne
fore they could 60 on again. As matter oil
fact they were DELAYED many miles by an officer
who had his wife and family with him In huge
covered sledge requiring five horses 10 draw II.
For hundreds of miles they found this officer Just
ahead Of them. and he took all the best horses at
evcrv station So far as observation was con
cerned. the long and fatiguing journey appears
10 have offered surprisingly little reward The
country. largely fiat steppe, was covered win
snow. Travel on the lakes and rivers was often,
though not always. better than on land The
passage across Lake Khanka was decidedly eX-
citing. the moaning Of the water being distinctly
audible under the thick ice. In some of these
lakes the tack takcs the traveller almost ont Of
sight Of land. and il he is AT All nervous the
stories told ny the Shci'.- irvers Of people lost
through holes ratl .f- ~ the ice are NOT
calculated TO sootb, Nv COwinC and his
friend had large ,ec with a hood 10 keep off
the wind and snow. enough when it blew hard
and the mercury was low the cold penetrated
everything and even their heavy furs failed to
protect them. They experienced much as 90
degrees OF frost aud 60 degrees was quite COM
mon.
Yet even at this low temperature it was the
custom for Of them TO sleep in the sledge to
guard il against thieves, and neither seems to
have suffered from this practice. Mr.. Gowlng
expresses some scepticSm TO the stories told
by Arctic travellers Of the effects of intense cold:
but, of course in nearly all cases the effects of
the cold upon these Arctic vOyagers has been in
creased by bad insufficient food alH inadequate
clothing. The siberian travellers were supplied
with everything that could he thought of to com
\ bat the cold and at comparatively brief inter
walls they entered warm houses and were refreshed
by hot tea. Mr.. Gowing speaks enthusiastically
of Russian tea which he declares TO be incompara-
bly better than any other. He is. moreover, in
cned 10 attribute this less 10 the occult inffu-
ences of the overland transport than 10 the fact
that the Russian merchants very careful TO buy
only the choicest teas. The posting arrangements
on the Government highway leave much to be
desired, but they not after all so bad as they
have sometimes been represented. As rule there
are no conveniences in the station. The so-called
guest-room is a bare chamber, the principal fur
niture of which is an immense stove Perhaps
perhaps not Travellers generally sleep com
posedly on the floor. Sometimes the cuest-room is
also the livire-room of the StoIosta and his fam
ily In that case, tie traveller arriving during
the night walks straight in upon a very domestic
scene Nobody cares much about such little in
cidents, however, and If a primitive state exists
in this respect travellers have to congTatu
late themselves that an equal innocence is en-
cOuntered in other particulars. Theft for eX-
ample, seems unknown in the pOstng-hOuses,
though the guests accustomed TO leave their
valuabes exposed quite recklessly much so
that on one occasion Mr.. GOwing took stock"
of the property lying about such a room, and
concluded that thief could have very easily ac
quired pretty little fortune without running the
slightest risk.
Mr. Gowing in his introduction refers TO the |
much discussed question of the treatment Of pO- |
litical prisoners in Siberia. Ills personal expert
ence was confined TO visiting several bands Of |
these prisoners the march under military es
cort He observed that they appeared warmly
clad. and some Of them were singing in concert.
He talked TO several residents of Siberia the
subject, and his resulting impressions favor the
theory of Mr George Kennan rather than that Of
Mr Lansdell who, it will be remembered, in his
Through Siberia denied all the reports Of Gov
ernment cruelty and in fact whitewashcd the
whole pe.al administration. An old resident of
the Province told Mr.. Gowing that it was scarcely
possible for any one to eXaggerate the horrors Of
Siberian imprisonment. and others confirmed this
statement After Mr Remnants researches, how
ever. the world generally will regard the charges
against the Cars Government as substantially
proved. Mr.. Gowing and his friend travelled
5000 miles by sledge, and il took them twelve
weeks to do the journey. though they might have
saved several days if they had been bent upon
making record. Unhappily. Mr.. Uren, Who IL
Illustrated this volume, developed consumptiye :
symptoms toward the close Of the expedition, and
becoming rapidly worse died after reaching
England. Mr.. Gowiug has related his adventures |
in an unaffected, interesting way, and his book
will no doubt be widely read and appreciated |