The San Francisco call., 1896-01-11
He Is Busy With Many Schemes
and Has Numerous
Callers.
A BIG SYNDICATE PROPOSED.
He Says He Is Charmed With the Cali.
fornia Ladies and May Stay
Till March.

who for over year has been building g.
section of the Russian railroad in Siberia,
has been holding a sort of levee at the
Gailhard House for the last day or two.
The nobleman is so glad to be out of ST.
IBERIA, where, as he expresses it, t ere are
none of the beautiful femm es to be found.
that his Joy is fairly bubbling over.
He brought back loads of gold with him,
which he made by throwing dirt up in
heaps along the Russian line, but he
thinks he earned it all.
The Count has lot of big schemes on
hand. AT first he thought he would go on
to Paris and put them through there, but
now he doesn't know but he can make
them win in California. He will give the
matter try here, anyway.
Several railroad contractors have called
on the Count. They had understood from
him that there were snaps in the building
line in Siberia, and desired to participate
in them, if the statement could be veri-
fed.
81 want to induce all the Californians
possible to 60 over and take contracts"
said the Count. II do this in a purely
philanthropic spirit, believing they can
make lots of money.
II am also trying to form syndicate, of
which | shall be one. to take larger con-
tract than the one 1 have had, which was
for but 120 miles. There is plenty of profit
in building the road. If / can accomplish
my purpose in forming syndicate here l
won't go TO Paris.
Everything is very high in Vladivos-
tok and elsewhere in Siberia. You can
ship all your olo things over there and get
money for them. One thing we need in
railroad grading is some of the improved
machinery you have here. In Siberia all
the work is done by hand. We pay for
Russian labor so cents day and for Chi
nese 40 cents.
81 am now in correspondence with
houses at st. Louis, Chicago, Boston and
other places in regard to American ap-
paratus for grading purposes. l have re-
celved a number of kilograms in reply.
With these modern appliances much more
rapid work can be made in building the
road and it will be more profitable to those
who do the work.
II shall not leave here for Siberia till
March. By the time [ get there a good
deal OF the frost will be out of the ground
and l can resume my contract.
"All kinds of manufactured goods there
are very high. The country is very fertile,
and on the route of my contract, between
Vladavostock and Chabarowski, it is very
fertile. Grapes and other products, which
thrive so well in California, do almost
equally well there.
THE people are mostly Russian peas
ants. There are very few aborigines, and
they are not exactly TartaIs, as might be
expected. They are not at all inclined to
be industrious, and therefore do not cut
much of figure.
"Some of the wealthiest people are the
descendants of the old convicts. They are
good citizens. There are a good many
Russian capitalists over there. AS for the
mines, they are quite undeveloped. There
is good opportunity there to secure them,
or. at least, to work them and make money
II am not an experienced mining man.
l am by profession an engineer OF bridges
and roads"
DIR. Maximilien Schumann, the Belgian
explorer and naturalist, who is to explore
Thibet, and the Count were old acquaint-
ances in Europe. DR.. Schumann and he
have had several long talks. The latter is
anxious to get all the information he can
of the French nobleman relative to the
wild regions OF Asia.
+. Erickson, one of the contractors on the
Pacific Coast Railroad below Guadaloupe
is in the City, and has conferred with
Count de Toulouse in regard to going to
tSiberia and taking a contract there. If he
should decide to take contract he would
so he said yesterday, ship all his scrapers
and apparatus of various sorts to Nladi-
vostok, thence to the interior on the
division to be graded.
Count de Toulouse is meantime ENJOYING
himself largely while things develop. The
nobleman is 6 feet inches in height and
has mustache which is much admired by
the ladies, for whom the Count has such
winning words.