Abstract
THE travellers left Saissan on May 31, and arrived in Maiterek on June 4, in the company of his excellency the governor-general of West Siberia, General Pottaratzki, whom they met two nights previous to their arrival. Three tarantassas drawn by artillery horses conveyed them from Saissan on to the shores of the black Irtisch. Their way led again through the steppe mostly covered with Dschi, a kind of short, thick grass, with here and there patches of white alkaline soil; but after some time their eyes were refreshed by the appearance of a few trees, their number increased until the country became wooded, and therefore they hoped soon to reach the river. In the evening they saw before them the banks of the stream, swelled by the recent rain into a majestic river, its waters of a yellowish brown colour. For 200 versts into China the stream is navigable for steamers, but up to this time it is not used as a means of communication. Beautiful trees bordered the river, and it was a pleasant change for the travellers, who had seen no trees since the Ala Tau, to find magnificent poplars, asps, and many other trees and bushes. Though the steppe is grand yet it becomes tedious after a while. The travellers continued their journey in a lotka (a sort of boat) belonging to a rich Kirghiz, who is one of the fishers of the Saissan Nor (Saissan Lake). The lotka was propelled by two enormous oars worked in turn by eight Kirghiz or eight Cossacks. The journey down ihe Irtisch was rendered delightful by the beautiful vegetation near its banks, and the abundance of birds made it a perfect eldorado for the naturalist. They were tempted to stay here, but “heida” (Kirghisian for “on”) was the call, which they had to obey. Gradually the strength and width of the river decline as it gets narrowed in by dense masses of reeds. In the evening they reached the settlements of some fishermen, resembling those seen in Norway—here as there frames for drying the fish, here as there the same disagreeable smell, so attractive for the black Milans, of which they shot a specimen of the Indian variety. A quantity of fish was caught, amongst them splendid specimens of a kind of Coregonus, carp, barbel, and sturgeon, the roe of which is prepared as caviare. Towards evening they landed amidst dense reeds.
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The German Expedition to Siberia 1 . Nature 14, 579–580 (1876). https://doi.org/10.1038/014579a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/014579a0