the other to
a belt around his waist. The sound of these chains as the men walked
about was one of the most disagreeable I ever heard, and I was glad to
observe that the Russians did not appear to admire it. The prisoners
at Chetah were laboring on the streets, preparing logs for
house-building, or erecting fences. Most of the working parties were
under guard, but the overseers did not appear to push them severely.
Some were taking it very leisurely and moved as if endeavoring to do
as little as possible in their hours of work. I was told that they
were employed on the eight hour system. Their dress was coarse and
rough, like that of the peasants, but had no marks to show that its
wearer was a prisoner.

[Illustration: PRISONERS AT CHETAH.]

There were between three and four thousand prisoners in the province
of the Trans-Baikal. About one-sixth of them were at Chetah and in
its vicinity. The prisoners were of two classes--political and
criminal--and their punishment varied according to their offence. Some
were sentenced to labor in chains, and others to labor without chains.
Some could not go out without a guard, while others had more freedom.
Some were sentenced to work in prison and others were imprisoned
without labor. Some were exiled to Siberia but enjoyed the liberty of
a province, a particular district, or a designated town or village.
Some were allowed a certain amount of rations and others supported
themselves. In fact there were all grades of prisoners, just as we
have all grades in our penitentiaries.

The Polish revolution in 1863 sent many exiles to the country east of
Lake Baikal. Among the prisoners at the time of my journey there was a
Colonel Zyklinski confined in prison at a village north of Chetah. He
had a prominent part in the Polish troubles, and was captured at the
surrender of the armies. He served in America under M'Clellan during
the Peninsular campaign, and was in regular receipt of a pension from
our government.

The Trans-Baikal Province is governed by Major General Ditmar, to whom
I brought letters of introduction. When Borasdine returned from his
visit he brought invitation to transfer our quarters to the
gubernatorial mansion, where we went and met the governor. I found him
an agreeable gentleman, speaking French fluently, and regretting the
absence of Madame Ditmar, in whose praise many persons had spoken. At
dinner I met about twenty persons, of whom more than half spoke French
a