After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . neobserves a stronger spirit of independence and senseof personal freedom. Labour and intelligence arethe striking features ; common people do not kneeldown before officials or noblemen, but consider itmore natural to shake hands. Carefully tendededucation, and residence at a distance from all-centralising authorities have done more to civilisethe country than any efforts on the part of theGovernment. Further colonisation, however, ofthese parts has been stopped, and emigrants fromRussia are now being directed eastwards, wherelarge tracts of land s
After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . neobserves a stronger spirit of independence and senseof personal freedom. Labour and intelligence arethe striking features ; common people do not kneeldown before officials or noblemen, but consider itmore natural to shake hands. Carefully tendededucation, and residence at a distance from all-centralising authorities have done more to civilisethe country than any efforts on the part of theGovernment. Further colonisation, however, ofthese parts has been stopped, and emigrants fromRussia are now being directed eastwards, wherelarge tracts of land still await human hands andcultivation. Another reason for the welfare of thecountry is, I believe, the absence of commonproperty which exists in most parts of European 42 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI Russia, where peasants arc only tenants oi theland, and are shifted by decisions of the communityfrom one hit of ground to another ; the result beingthat they never care to improve ground which nextyear may be taken away and allotted to someone. else. Here every peasant is a small proprietor,and the Government land tax is cheerfully paid. In one of the villages our tarantass wheels atlast succumbed to the overwhelming mud, andcaused a long delay. The mud, indeed, was sodeep that all traffic was stopped, and the inhabitantshad great difficulty in wading from one side of thestreet to the other. We reached Bisk in the dark,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1900
