CHAPTER XVI.

IRKUTSK TO KRASNOYARSK.

Leave Irkutsk--Roads and rivers--Capacity for sleep-- Bridges--Break-neck travelling--Endurance of Russian ponies--Verst-posts--Appalling distances--Irregular feeding--Tea _versus_ grog--River Birusa--Boundary of Irkutsk and Yenisei--Stoppage--The telegraph wires-- Improved roads--River Kan--The ferrymen--Kansk--A new companion--Prisoner of war--Advantages and disadvantages of travelling in company--Improved cultivation--A snow-storm--Cold wind--Absurd arrangement of stations-- The river Yenisei--Mishap at the ferry--The approach to Krasnoyarsk--The town--Population--Hotel--Travellers' accounts--Confusion at the station--The black-book--The courier service 262