ulation a good thread is formed with considerable
rapidity.

A great deal of hemp and flax is raised upon the steppe, and we found
rope abundant, cheap, and good. I bought ten fathoms of half-inch rope
for forty copecks, a peasant bringing it to a house where we
breakfasted. When I paid for it the mistress of the house quietly
appropriated ten copecks, remarking that the rope maker owed her that
amount. She talked louder and more continuously than any other woman I
met in Siberia, and awakened my wonder by going barefooted into an
open shed and remaining there several minutes. She stood in snow and
on ice, but appeared quite unconcerned. Our thermometer at the time
showed a temperature of 21 deg. below zero.

The only city on the steppe is Omsk, at the junction of the Om and
Irtish, and the capital of Western Siberia. It is said to contain
twelve thousand inhabitants, and its buildings are generally well
constructed. We did not follow the post route through Omsk, but took a
cut-off that carried us to the northward and saved a hundred versts of
sleigh riding. The city was founded in order to have a capital in the
vicinity of the Kirghese frontier, but since its construction the
frontier line has removed far away.

In 1834 a conspiracy, extending widely through Siberia, was organized
at Omsk. M. Piotrowski gives an account of it, from which I abridge
the following:

It was planned by the Abbe Sierosiuski, a Polish Catholic priest who
had been exiled for taking part in the rebellion of 1831. He was sent
to serve in the ranks of a Cossack regiment in Western Siberia, and
after a brief period of military duty was appointed teacher in the
military school at Omsk. His position gave him opportunity to project
a rebellion. His plan was well laid, and found ready supporters among
other exiles, especially the Poles. Some ambitious Russians and
Tartars were in the secret. The object was to secure the complete
independence of Siberia and the release of all prisoners. In the event
of failure it was determined to march over the Kirghese steppes to
Tashkend, and attempt to reach British India.

Everything was arranged, both in Eastern and Western Siberia. The
revolt was to begin at Omsk, where most of the conspirators were
stationed, and where there was an abundance of arms, ammunition,
supplies, and money. The evening before the day appointed for the
rising, the plot was revealed by three Polish soldiers, who confessed
all they