ptain
(_kapitan_), but generally master (_hosain_). After the steamer, or
floating commercial store, there was towed one or two _lodjas_,
which served as magazines, in which meal and salt and other heavy
goods were stored, the purchased fish were salted and looked after,
fresh bread baked for the numerous crew, &c. And as there was not a
single jetty to be found the whole way between Yenisejsk and the
sea, both the steamer and the _lodjas_, in order to be able to load
and deliver goods at any point, had a large number of boats and
lighters in tow. No place was set apart for passengers, but
travellers were received in a friendly and hospitable manner when
they came on board, where they were then allowed to look out for
themselves as best they could. The nautical command was held by two
mates or pilots of a stately and original appearance, who, clad in
long caftans, sat each in his watch on a chair at the wheel,
generally without steering, mostly smoking a cigarette made of
coarse paper and, with the most careless appearance in the world,
exchanging jests with those who were going down the river. The
prohibition of taking away the attention of the steersman from his
work by conversation was thus not in force hereabouts. A man stood
constantly in the fore, uninterruptedly testing the depth with a
long pole. For in order to avoid the strong current of the main
stream the course was always shaped as near the shore as possible,
often so near that one could almost jump ashore, and my own Nordland
boat, which was towed by the side of the steamer, was occasionally
drawn over land. It will be seen from this of how light draught the
steamer was.

Siberia, especially the river territory of the Yenisej and the Lena,
possesses rich coal seams, which probably extend under considerable
portions of the Siberian plain, but are yet unworked and have
attracted little attention. The river steamers accordingly are
fired, not with coal, but with wood, of which, if I remember right,
180 fathoms went to the voyage of the steamer _Alexander_ up the
river. As the vessel could carry only a small portion of this
quantity of wood at one time, frequent halts were necessary, not
only for trading with the natives, but also for taking fuel on
board. In addition to this, the weak engine, _although the safety
valves were overloaded when necessary with lead weights_, was
sometimes unable to make head with all the vessels in tow against a
current which a