en the temperature was lowest. It was not an improvement to
one's personal appearance though very conducive to comfort.

To travel by _peraclodnoi_ (changing the vehicle at every station) is
bad enough in summer but ten times bad in winter. To turn out every
two or three hours with the thermometer any distance below zero, and
shift baggage and furs from one sleigh to another is an absolute
nuisance. Yery few persons travel by _peraclodnoi_ in winter, and one
does not find many sleighs at the post stations from the fact that
they are seldom demanded. Nearly all travelers buy their sleighs
before starting, and sell them when their journeys are ended.

I surveyed the Irkutsk market and found several sleighs 'up' for sale.
Throughout Siberia a sleigh manufactured at Kazan is preferred, it
being better made and more commodious than its rivals. My attention
was called to several vehicles of local manufacture but my friends
advised me not to try them. I sought a _Kazanski kibitka_ and with the
aid of an intelligent _isvoshchik_ succeeded in finding one. Its
purchase was accomplished in a manner peculiarly Russian.

The seller was a _mischanin_ or Russian merchant of the peasant class.
Accompanied by a friend I called at his house and our negotiation
began over a lunch and a bottle of nalifka. We said nothing on the
subject nearest my heart and his, for at least a half hour, but
conversed on general topics. My friend at length dropped a hint that I
thought of taking up my residence at Irkutsk. This was received with
delight, and a glass of nalifka, supplementary to at least half a
dozen glasses I had already swallowed.

"Why don't you come to sleighs at once, and settle the matter?" I
asked. "He probably knows what we want, and if we keep on at this rate
I shall need a sleigh to go home in."

"Don't be impatient," said my friend; "you don't understand these
people; you must angle them gently. When you want to make a trade,
begin a long way from it. If you want to buy a horse, pretend that you
want to sell a cow, but don't mention the horse at first. If you do
you will never succeed."

We hedged very carefully and finally reached the subject. This was so
overpowering that we took a drink while the merchant ordered the
sleigh dragged into the court yard. We had another glass before we
adjourned for the inspection, a later one when we returned to the
house, and another as soon as we were seated. After this our
negotiations