Evening star., 1898-12-16
SIBERIAN BOYS.
Their Powers of Endurance Are
Sometimes Very Remarkable.
From st. Nicholas.

rom NlcnOds
L have often witnessed the brave en-
dUrance of the Siberian boy, but never to
such extent as while on sledge jour
rey from krasnoyarsk to Minusnsk. The
road between these two points during the
winter is nothing more than the frozen sur
face of the Yeniscl river; for the ice is over
a yard in thickness. and although the swift
current of the river crowds it up into small
hummocks during the early winter, yet,
with the packing of snow and the constant
wear of the sleGge caravans. it affords a
comparatively smooth and solid roadbed
The Ice is considered so safe that il is
even used as a bridge for the trains of the
trans-Siberlan ranWay. The lies are laid
directly Upon the ice, and the locomotive,
win a loaded tram, SteamS across. Fancy
a thousand tons weight crossing one of the
largest and deepest rivers in Siberia merely
on frozen water,
The incident / am going to tell occurred
on one of the coolest nights | have ever eX-
perienced. for the thermometer stood at -
degrees below zero. In order to prepare for
the long ride to the next station. / had
swallowed three or four glasses of hot tea
at the yemSkie quarter, or station, and
strapped on q heavy reindeer pelt over my
huge Russian overcoat- On reaching the
Sledge or tarantass, which was waiting,
1 saw on the drivers box what appeared to
De a solid ball of FUR; but on closer inspec-
ton | found that the bundle contained
boy, not more than fourteen years of age.
His extreme youthfulnesS surprised me, and
1 Immediately returned to the keeper of
the quarter to demonstrate with him
against detailing a mere boy for such an
arduous DUTY On such cold night. He
sured me that the boy referred to had made
the same journey many times before, and
was, indeed, a full-fledged yems tchick. or
tararatass driver. Although inwardly pro-
testing. L could do nothing but accept the
situation.
| gave the word to start Crack! went the
little fellows whip, and away dashed the
troika (team of three horses. Our horses
We're already impa .ient with the cold. The
night was black and threatening and the
roadway among the hummocks of ice on
the river was almost indistinguishable As
the darkness increased We frequently
missed it altogether. and the ponderoue
sledge went humping and toppling over the
icy humnocks, while our poorly fed peas
ant horses strained every nerve to keep il
in motion. Two hours passed by. when
suddenly the sledge stopped. half-tilted on
a huge hummock of ice. The horse is
down, barin' (masteD shouted the little
yemstchick. | leaped out at once. and ran
to the horses head to assist him to rise,
but he did not move. There was not even
sound of breathing. l placed my hand over
his heart. There was not beat. The
horse was dead. The poorly nourished ami
NAL had succumbed to the excessive cold
and strain. We took off the harness, backed
the sledge out of the way. and then started
of again with the Two nOrSeS remaining
The .IsctIe fellow on the box / could see,
was shivering with the cold. as / myself
vas by this time. for the exposure necessi-
tated by the accident had chilled me
through. I offered to take, and even in
sisted upon taking, his place for time. so
that he might warm up; but he resented
this intrusion as almost an indlgnity to his
calling Not a murmur of discomfort passed
his lips On we rode through the darkness;
but how long / know not. for. exhausted by
twenty-four hours constant travelling, fell
into a doze. From this I was finally reused
by a sudden shock. We seemed to have
collided with something. l looked out. and
saw that we had reached the next village.
and that our steaming. frest-covered horses,
eager to get into shelter. had run the shafts
of our vehicle headlong into the gate.
Whats the matter?" I called out to the
yemstchick.
please. BARN. I couldn't hold EN- came
the reply, in a chattering voice.
That admission was sufficient: / knew
that the little fellows hands must be either
numbed or frozen. and for that reason he
could not pull on the reins. ] jumped out
opened the gate, and led the horses in: but
he did not mcve from his box; his legs