mines did not produce half as much silver as they ought. As an illustration of the existing state of affairs he referred to two gold placers in his district, which had been carefully examined by engineers of the Tsar's cabinet[1] and had been pronounced worthless. They had subsequently been sold or granted by the Tsar to private individuals, and had then produced 600 puds, or more than 27,000 pounds of pure gold. The isprávnik intimated, although he did not explicitly say, that the Government engineers who examined the placers and declared them worthless were in league with the private individuals who desired to obtain title to them; and that the proceeds of this robbery of the Crown were shared by the parties to the corrupt agreement. I have no doubt that such was the case. The Tsar himself is constantly robbed and defrauded by the officials to whom he intrusts the management of his Siberian property.
After a good dinner of soup, fish, roasted grouse, vegetables, and compote of fruits, with vódka and two or three kinds of wine, which Mr. Fomin set out in honor of his guests, the isprávnik, the warden, Mr. Frost, and I started with two tróikas of horses for the mine of Akatúi, which was distant about twelve miles. This mine had long before been abandoned by the Government and had filled with water; but I was particularly anxious to see how it was situated, partly because it once had been the most dreaded place of punishment in all Siberia, and partly because the Government was then making preparations to transport to it all of the political convicts at the mines of Kará. The road ran across the desolate steppe to the foot of a low mountain range six or eight miles northwest of the Zavód, and then entered a shallow valley between rounded and perfectly barren hills, about a thousand feet in height,
- ↑ Nearly all the mines in this part of the Trans-Baikál belong to the Tsar in person and are known as the "cabinet mines." How the Tsar acquired title to them I do not know. An educated Russian gentleman of my acquaintance began the compilation of a work that he intended to publish abroad under the title, "The Origin of the Wealth of the Románofs," but he was sent to Siberia before he could complete his investigation.
