The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1902-02-01
reared on that side. He knew. be said,


river. and he counselcd the grand duke
to re-ehforce those two points more d.
rectly fnenaced.
The preparations that had been no.
ticed. coming TO the support OF Ivan
Ogareif's recommendations, il was nec-
essary 70 take some account Of them.
THIS after "A council of war which was
held at the palace orders We're given 20
conccutrnte The defense on the right
bank of the Angara and ID the two ex-
tromities Of the town. where the forti-
fed terraces rested on The river.
This was precisely what Ivan Oga-
ren wished. He evidently did not reck-
on that the Bolchaia gate would re-
main without Tenders, but they would
be there only in n small number. Re
sides. Ivan Oglref was about TO give
to the diversion such Importance that
the grand duke would be obliged to Oh.
pose Il with al his disposable forces.
And indeed an Incident OF an excep-
tionable gravity. devised by ivan Oga.
ref. was TO powerfully aid In the &C.
compllshment OF his projects. For even
IL lrkuisl had not been attacked az
points distant from the Bolchaia gate
and along the right bank OF the river
that incident would Lave sutliccd 60
draw the chief body ~ The defenders
to the pace where iNe- Cac~ wish
ed precisely TO bring them IL would
cause az the same time most terrible
catastrophe.
All the chances were then that the
gate. being free at the hour fixed, would
be given up 70 the thousands Of Tar
tars who were waiting under the thick
cover Of the forest Or tie east. During
that Gnythe garrison and population Of
Irkutsk were constantly on the alert
/ All the measures which were required
20 rcpci an attack on points never be
f. featencd were taken
The grand duke and General Voran-
zoff visited the various posts which had
been strengthened by their orders. The
picked corps OF WaSsiii Feodor occu-
pied the north OF the town, but with
the injunction to march 81 once 20
where the danger should be most press
ing. The right bank OF The Angara was
protected by the only artillery a, their
&
disposal.
With these measures taken Ia time
thanks 10 The opportuue recommends
tlons OF Ivan OrafeU there WIS every
reason % hope that Tie prepared attack
would 10, succeed Ia that case tie
Tariars, discouraged FOR the time, with
out doubt would defer tor few days
any new aitack against the town Ee
sides, Vie Us ped by tlo eiHad
duke might au.yi ea. aoun the safe
" or tae loss Of lrkutsk hung on n
thread
on that day the sun which bad risen
81 twenty minute past g. had set AZ
$50. Twilight would SIN have TO stIWg
gle with night FOR two hours. Then
space would bc filled With thick dagk
ness Tor heavy clouds lrng I'm ia the
air. and the moon would not appear
This profound oDseu,ity would favor
more completely tho E'ans of Ivan Oga
ren
Already, for soMp aags. an extremely
keen f.ost had come 1s d prelude To-
the rgors Of the siberian winter. and
ON that uini the cold was atm more
pierciny The soldiers posted on tie
right banla ~ the Augara being forced
to hide their presence bad not kindled
any fires They Therefore suffered
dreadfully from lowering OF the
Temperatures AZ 1i aeC. below them
the ice blocks h1ated psi. following
the currcat OF the ri er
DrNng Oh that day they had seen
them 10 close ranks noatlng rapidly
between the two banks. That clfcuni
stance observed 10y the grand duke ana
his officers, had been considered as for
tunaie q was evident that II the bed
of Che river beuame obstructcd the pas
sage of 81 would becowe altogether i'm
Iprnclic. l'e.
Tie Illr.af8 would not bc able 70
mgnase either RATS or boats AZ for
attempting 90 CROSS the river over the
blocks Is ice when The cold should have
joined them, that was nCt possible. The
lad, neWiy ccmentod, would not have
been strong enough for the passage
over IL Of an attacking column.
But Ivan Cgaren did not regret that
circumstance, although It appeared ~
yofablc 10 the defenders OF lrkutsk, for
the traitor know well that the Tauars
were not seeking TO cross the Angarn
and that at least on that side the at
tempt would only be fcint Never
theless toward 10 O'Clock at night the
state OF the river vlsibly changed. to
the extreme surprise Of the besleged
and now To their disadvantage The
passage. UP to that time lmpracticable,
suddenly became possible. The bed OF
the Angara soon became free. The
boating ice, which for some days had
come down the river IN great quaint.
tics, disappeared, and very little could
be seen between the two banks.
The Russian officers, who had no
tlced this change In the state of the
river. made II known to the grand
duke Besides. Il was explained IN this
way that at some narrow portion OF the
Angara the noating ice had accumu-
In4a1 onI fnnuI I,nr,..o~ W.,