This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ... Chapter X A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT II n'y a ni mauvaises herbes ni mauvais hommes; il n'y a que de mauvais cultivateurs. Victor Hugo. N Friday morning we started on our first journey by tarantass. The Governor of Irkutsk had kindly provided us with a letter to the Director of the hard labour prisons ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ... Chapter X A MODEL CONVICT SETTLEMENT II n'y a ni mauvaises herbes ni mauvais hommes; il n'y a que de mauvais cultivateurs. Victor Hugo. N Friday morning we started on our first journey by tarantass. The Governor of Irkutsk had kindly provided us with a letter to the Director of the hard labour prisons at Alexandrovsk, and we were impatient to make use of it. Alexandrovsk is situated about fifty miles north-west of Irkutsk and a little more than a hundred miles from the Chinese frontier. As the road is not good and the hills are steep one has to allow at least seven hours for the journey and change horses three times on the way. Fresh horses often have to be fetched from the fields, and there are only dilapidated and dirty post houses to rest in, which swarm in hot weather with the most unpleasant of insects. Nothing but hot water can be got at these places, not even a glass of milk or an egg, though cows and poultry roam at large in the village streets. The men who come out to change your horses look like veritable ruffians; their clothes are ragged and dirty, while their hair hangs over their eyes like matted tow; yet for all their wild appearance they are duly appointed servants of the State, and may be trusted even by ladies travelling alone as we were. "I cannot promise you an elegant conveyance," said a Russian officer who kindly acted as our interpreter when we were ordering a vehicle, and indeed it was simply a mudbespattered cart with a wooden hood at one end, like a huge barrel. It had no springs and no seats, except that of the driver; the bottom was covered with straw, and upon this we placed large pillows taken from our beds at the hotel. The jolting of a tarantass is something that must be experienced in order to be...
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