Year: 1872

A traveller journeying through Siberia
gives an interesting description of hotel
in Barnaool, which is situated at the foot
of the Altai Mountains in Western Siberia.
He described the rooms as large enough
for half dozen persons. The walls were
bare, and the only articles of furniture
were table and two or three chairs, and
large stove that stood between the rooms
IN such way as to project into BOTH
They give no beds, as travellers are ex-
pected to furish their own. Most of the
hotels In Siberia have bedsteads with
wooden Stats or they have sofas where
one can make up very comfortable
couch by using his furs and Blankets
But the hotel at Barnaool had no bed
steads, and he was obliged to sleep on the
floor, where he might be run over and
eaten by the rats. The rats troubled him
some in the night, and one of them tried
to make himself comfortable by nesting
in his hair, which was little curly, and
long enough to make a cozy nest. The
hotel was not very comfortable, so far as
its table was concerned. The kitchen
was out in the yard by itself, and when
they wanted anything they pulled rope
that rang bell large enough for small
church then Russian woman, wearing
sheepskin cloak, would come to the
door, and hold it open long enough to
chill everything in the rooms. It was
no use to ask for anything except tea
and cakes, and few plain things such as
outlets, potatoes and bread. They were
generally long time coming, and some
times when the meats arrived, they had
been cooked so long that they were near
ly frozen. There is no public table in
Siberan hotel. Meals are served In the
rooms of those who order them, and there
is no regularity about the hours. There
is no fixed time for breakfast, and the usual
way breakfasting is to take few cups Of
tea, and some little cakes. Dinner NAV
be had at any time between two o'clock
in the afternoon aud midninght. He has
frequently known persons to take their
dinners after what would be considered
bedtime in an American community bua,
as they sat up very late, their digestion
was not injured. But the stove was the
greatest novelty, being made of brick
instead of iron. 1t is four or FIVE feet
equ6iS, duu dUOut uSe IceG HlS0. ne
ordinary way Of using Russian stove is
to fill it with wood in the morning and
let it burn down to bed of Goals. There
is sliding door about two inches square
on each side of the stove, and when the
Goals are formed these doors are opened
and the heat comes into the room. The
sides of the stove throw of a great deal of
heat, so that the rooms of Russian houses
are kept very warm, and remain SO ell the
time. But their ventilation is bad, and
consequently many of the inmates are pale
and frequently complain of headaches.
The top of the stove makes very good
bed, though it is not always long enough
to allow one to lie at full length and the
traveller says that very often when he
reached the stations on the Siberian roads
he would find the drivers asleep on the
top of the stove, where they were enjoy
ing temperature of eighty or ninety
degrees. 1t is quite necessary to be very
careful about opening the door before the
wood burns down into Goals Sometime
when green wood is used, and the ser
wants are careless, persons have been
suffocated by the carbonic acid gas that
accumulates while they are asleep.