The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time

CHAPTER XX.

Chapter 2069 wordsPublic domain

DOWN THE VOLGA AGAIN.--RUSSIAN RECEPTION CEREMONY.--SIMBIRSK, SAMARA, AND SARATOV.--GERMAN SETTLERS ON THE VOLGA.--DON COSSACKS.--ASTRACHAN.--CURIOUS POPULATION.--VOYAGE ON THE CASPIAN SEA.--THE CASPIAN PETROLEUM REGION.--TANK-STEAMERS.--INTERESTING FACTS AND FIGURES OF THE NEW PETROLIA.--PRESENT PRODUCT OF THE BAKU OIL-FIELDS.--EXCURSION TO BALAKHANI, AND VISIT TO THE OIL-WELLS.--TEMPLES OF THE FIRE-WORSHIPPERS.--ANTIQUITY OF THE CASPIAN PETROLEUM REGION.--MARCO POLO AND OTHER AUTHORITIES. 403