Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-11-19

"From Tomsk."
~ els the wire cut BE-
EBUv yond that cityr
8DI "Yes, sire. since yee.
terday."
Telegraph hourly to Tomsk, gener-
al, and let me be kept informed Of all
that occurs."
'Sire, 1t shall be DONE" answered
General Kissoff.
These words were exchanged about
two hours after midnight, at the mo-
ment when the fete given at the New
palace was at the height Of Its splen-
dor.
An hour later General Kissoff, who
had Just re-entered, quickly approached
his majesty.
"WellT' asked the latter abruptly, as
he had done the former time.
kilograms reach Tomsk no longer,
sire"
"A courier this momentw And, leav-
ing the hall, his majesty entered Q
large antechamber adjoining.
The car had not so suddenly left the
ballroom Of the New palace when the
fete he was giving to the civil and mill
tary authoritieshnd principal people Of
Moscow was at the height Of its bril-
lfancy without ample cause. for he had
lust received information that serious
events were taking place beyond the
frontiers Of the Ural. 1t had become
evident that a formidable rebellion
threatened to wrest the Siberian prov
inces from the Russian crown.
Asiatic Russia, or Siberia, covers q
superficial area Of 1.790.20S square
miles and contains nearly 100000 OF
inhabitants. Extending from the Ural
mountains, which separate 1t from
Russia in Europe. to the shores Of the
Pacific ocean, 1t is bounded on the
south by Turkestan and the Chinese
empire, on the north by the Arctic
ocean, from the sea Of Kara to Be-
ring strait. It is divided into several
governments or provinces, those OF To
bolsk, Yeniseisk, Irkutsk, Omsk and
Yakutsk; contains two districts, Ok
hotsk and Kamchatka, and possesses
two countries, now under the Musco-
vite dominion-that Of the Kirghiz and
that Of the Tshowktshes.
Two governor generals represent the
supreme authority Of the czar over this
vast country. One resided Mt 1rkutsk,
the capital Of western Siberia. The
river Tchonna, tributary Of the Yeni-
sci, separates the two Siberias.
No rail yet burrows these wide plains,
some of which are In reality extremely
fertile. No iron ways lead from these
precious mines which make the Sibe-
rian soil far richer below than above its
surface. The traveller journeys IN sum-
mer in q kibick or telga; In winter. In Q
sledge.
An electric telegraph, with q single
wire more than 5000 versts in length.
alone afroids communication between
the western and eastern frontiers OF
Siberia. On issuing from the Ural 1t
passes through Ekaterenburg. Kasi-
NOV, Tionmen, Ishim. Omsk, Elamsk,
Kalyvan. Tomsk, Krasnoiarsk, Mini
Udinsk, Irkutsk, Verkne- -Nertsckink.
Strelink, Alkaline, Blagowstenks, Rad
de, Orlomskaya, Alexandrewskoe and
Nikolaevsk. and 6 rubles and 10 CO.
pecks are paid for every word sent
from one end to the other. From Irkutsk
there Is a branch to Kiatka, on the
Mongolian frontier, and from thence,
for 80 copecks q word, the post conveys
the dispatches to Peking in q fort
night.
i It was this wire, extending from Eka-
terenburg to Nikolaevsk. which had
been cut, first beyond Tomsk and then
between Tomsk and Kalyvan.
This was the reason why the car. to
the communication made to him for
the second time by General Kissoh.
had only answered by the words, "A
courier this moment?
The car had remained motionless at
the window for q few moments when
the door was again opened. The chief
Of police appeared on the threshold.
Enter, general" said the czar brief
ly, "and tell me all you know OF Ivan
Ogareff."
HE Is an extremely dangerous man.
sire" replied the chief Of police.
"He ranked as colonel did he notY'
Eyes, sire"
"Was be an intelligent 0fticerr
every intelligent, but a man whose
spirit it was impossible to subdue and
possessing an ambition which stopped
at nothing. He soon became involved
in secret intrigues. and 1t was then that
he was degraded from bis rank by bis
highness the grand duke and exiled to
siberia"
"How long ago was thatT
1.-TWO years since. Pard0ned after
six months Of exile by your majesty's
favor, he returned to Russia"
"And since that time has he not re-
visited Siberian"
Eyes, sire. but he voluntarily return
ed there" replied the chief Of police.
adding and slightly lowering his voice.
There was time. sire. when none re-
turned from Siberia"
"Well, while l live Siberia Is and
shall be a country whence men can re-
turn"
The car had the right to utter these
words with some pride. for often by his
clemency he had shown that Russian
justice knew how to pardon.
"Dld not Ivan Ogareff," asked the
car, return to Russia a second time
after that journey through the Siberian
provinces, the object Of which remains
unknown"
"He did"
"And have the police lost trace Of
him SINGER
mo, sire"
"where was Ivan Ogareff last heard
off,
"In the province Of Perm"
"In what town.