"It is the largest city in Siberia," said Mr. Hegeman, "and has a population of about thirty-five thousand. The Governor-general of Eastern Siberia lives there. He has many officers attached to his staff. There are many wealthy citizens. The houses are large, well built, and furnished, and the style of living is liberal.
"The winter opens with a long list of balls, parties, dinners, concerts, and other festivities, which are kept up until the coming of the Lenten season. Every family keeps open house through the winter, and it is customary to drop in whenever one chooses, and take tea at eight o'clock. There is no formality about the matter. One of the ladies of the house presides at the samovar, and the others of the party are scattered around the parlors wherever it is most convenient or agreeable to be. My recollections of Irkutsk are of the most pleasant sort, and I greatly regret the place is so far away that one cannot easily revisit it.
"Since I was there Irkutsk has suffered by a fire that destroyed more than half the buildings, and caused a vast amount of distress. For a time it was thought the city would not be rebuilt, but I hear that it is being restored very rapidly, and in a few years will be more attractive than it was before the conflagration.[1]
"When the winter roads were reported in a condition for travelling I began my preparations for leaving Irkutsk on a sleigh-ride of thirty-six hundred miles. The thermometer went to twenty degrees below zero soon after the first fall of snow, and my Russian friends told me to prepare for forty below. Under their advice I employed a tailor who knew his business, and when his work was completed my room resembled a clothing store of modest proportions. Here is what I bought: A sheep-skin coat with the wool inside; the garment fell below my knees, was without a collar, and buttoned tight around the neck. It was intended for wearing outside my ordinary suit of clothing. Outside of this was what the Russians call a dehar; it was made of deerskin, with the hair outward, and as I walked it swept the floor like a lady's ball-dress. The sleeves were six inches longer than my arms, and very inconvenient when
- ↑ The fire occurred on July 6th and 7th, 1879. About thirty-six hundred buildings were destroyed, of which one hundred and more were of stone or brick, and the rest of wood. Six Russian churches were burned, and also two synagogues, one Catholic and one Lutheran church; five bazaars, the meat-market, museum, club-house, custom-house, and other public edifices were consumed. The loss was about fifteen millions of dollars, and many persons formerly in good circumstances were rendered penniless. The wealthy inhabitants who escaped loss or ruin gave liberally to relieve the general distress, and the Government made substantial provision for the unemployed.
