and the haunt of those insatiable and savage creatures which
seem to stand out from all other creatures in being devoid, when in
packs, of all fear or dread of man.

The steppes above Turkestan, which I visited last, are milder in climate
than those of Akmolinsk. Great parts of them are sand, with a sage-like
scrub, dear to the heart of camels; and they have a drier and even more
invigorating air than that of the northern plains. Across these I
travelled my five hundred miles in a Panhard motor-car, with a wild
Russian chauffeur who knew no fear. He dashed across a country which
practically had no roads and resembled a rough Scotch moor, with an
_elan_ that the most daring French chauffeur might envy. He was a fine
fellow, Boroff by name, and carried me on as before, day and night, and
again with sunshine for the one and moonlight for the other. "The
devil's wagon" is the name the wondering Kirghiz have given the
motor-car from the first, but it is the last description it deserves. My
journey of under twenty-four hours from the railhead to the Atbazar
Mining Camp, if I had had to go by camel, as I expected might be
possible until my actual arrival, would have taken me some twelve days,
or even more.

All the transport in these steppes is by camels, and I could not be
satisfied until I had made a small expedition upon one, and shall,
perhaps, have to do the same again; but modern appliances are not to be
despised, and no one can wish for a better experience of the steppes
than to make the journey in the middle of summer and in a good modern
motor-car.

CHAPTER IX

RUSSIA'S PROBLEM

The Social Problem, as it presents itself to thoughtful people in
Russia, really demands a book to itself. No doubt it will come before
long, and from some experienced pen. It is only possible for me just to
touch upon it in this chapter, which one must write; or else even this
very general view of Russia's life of to-day would be utterly inadequate
and incomplete. And, in so doing, I shall have to try and show how
different it is in Russia from the same problem as presented in other
countries in Europe.

It is well known, for instance, that the great question for ourselves
waiting for solution at some early date is the social question. What was
called for us the "Triple Alliance" in the world of labour, the Union of
the Railway, Transport, and Mining Workers was completed just before war
broke out; and, though with a patriotis