s weak
knees and muddy brain. After struggling with a persistency that would
have been commendable had the object to be attained been commensurate
to the effort, he became inextricably tangled, and I left him in the
loving embrace of a decayed tree-top.

The boat came with four shaggy ferrymen, who had some difficulty in
reaching land. It was a kind of large skiff, high at both ends and
having a platform, like that of a hay-scale, in the center. The
platform projected a foot or more beyond the sides of the boat, and
had no railing to prevent a frightened horse or drunken man going
overboard. This is the general style of river ferry boats in Siberia.
The boatmen do not appear very skillful in handling them, but I
learned that serious accidents were very rare.

We piled our baggage and left the shore, running upon two rocks and
colliding with a sandbar before getting fairly away. I fell asleep
during the crossing, satisfied that the crew did not need my
assistance. We landed where the road is cut into the rocky bank, and
were obliged to lift the baggage over a pile of stony debris. The
boatmen said it was impossible to go to the regular landing, but I
suspect they wished an extra gratuity for handling our impedimenta.
Before the work was finished they regretted their manoeuvre.

As we touched the shore one man went to the station to bring horses
and a vehicle. Borasdine and I scrambled over the rocks to the road
fifteen feet above the water, and by the time the crew brought up our
baggage the conveyance arrived. It was what the Russians call a
_telyaga_, drawn by three horses.

This carriage is of Quaker simplicity. There are four wheels on wooden
axles, with rough but strong 'reaches.' A body, shaped something like
an old-fashioned baby-cart, rests upon the reaches or on poles fixed
over them. The hood protects against wind and rain from behind, and
the best of the vehicles have boots buttoned in front and attached to
the hoods. The driver sits on the bow directly behind the shaft-horse,
and one part of his duty is to keep from falling off. The traveler
spreads his baggage inside as evenly as possible to form a bed or
cushion. Angular pieces should be discarded, as the corners are
disagreeable when jolted against one's sides. Two shafts are fixed in
the forward axle, and a horse between them forms a sort of _point
d'appui_. Any number from one to six can be tied on outside of him.

The fault of our baggage was that