R U S S IA N C E N T R A I A S IA . F R OM S EM IP O L A T IN S K TO SERGIO PO L .
it might be n ew ; but we could find only one baker of
white bread, a German, who inveighed against the
badness of the local flour, and said that he should
leave the place. He could promise no supplies till
next morning, and thus we were prevented starting
on Thursday night. The incident tended, however, to
evoke a well-known trait of Russian character. The
Governor-General’s telegram commended me not only
A KIRGHESE CAMEL-CART.
to the good offices in general, but also to the “ hospitality”
of the authorities, and this proved to be no
empty form, for when in the evening, after a call from
Mr. Michaelis, General Protzenko did me the honour
of a visit, and I mentioned that we were delayed for
lack of bread, his Excellency expressed his regret that
his own cuisine was already packed and started, and
asked Colonel Ilyinsky, chief of the staff, to come to
the rescue. We had already tried to purchase from
one or two private persons, but they had only sufficient
bread for the day. Early next morning, however,
good things were showered upon us in abundance.
Not only did the baker bring his tale of loaves, but
Mr. Michaelis added to their number, and Colonel
Ilyinski himself brought us bread, butter, cakes, and
jam, and wished us bon voyage !
A t half-past nine, therefore, with a full commissariat,
we started for Sergiopol, a distance of 180 miles, comprising
11 stations and 10 changes of horses, being
accompanied by a subordinate sent by the police-
master to see us safely over the Irtish.*
I had heard dismal complaints of the road south of
Semipolatinsk, owing to the paucity of horses. Even
in the official report for 1881 it appeared that 136
complaints had been lodged at the stations by passengers,
and it was said that General Kolpakovsky himself
had found the posting accommodation in the southern
Steppe not to his liking. This, no doubt, was partly
owing to the increased traffic consequent upon the
breaking down of the postal service from Orenburg to
Tashkend, which caused the post to be brought all
round by the Irtish, and necessitated an increase in the
number of horses, f
* The stations between Semipolatinsk, Sergiopol, and Kopal, with the
distances between in versts, are as follows :
Semipolatinsk Razy 1-Mulinsk 26 Altyn-Kalat • 23
Uluguzsk . 25 Arkadskiy 27 Sergiopol . . 26
Arkalyksk . 22 Alchan-adyrsk 24
Ashchikulsk • 27 Uzun-Bulak 24 273
Djertatsk . 21 Enrekeiskiy 27
t In the province of Semipolatinsk the 1,327 miles of post-roads (of
which 601 miles were highways to the Akmolinsk, Semirechia, and
Tomsk provinces, the remainder being communications with the interior)
were served from 85 stations and pickets, at which were maintained
174 pairs of post and 10 pairs of farm horses, a “ pair ” being used, I
suppose, in the Russian postal sense of a troika or three animals. For