Photo. by Beato.          (Frontispiece.)
PAGODA AND GARDENS OF THE EMPEROR'S SUMMER PALACE,
YUEN-MIN-YUEN.

THE
SIBERIAN OVERLAND ROUTE
FROM PEKING TO PETERSBURG,

THROUGH THE DESERTS AND STEPPES OF MONGOLIA,
TARTARY, &c.

BY ALEXANDER MICHIE.

TOMB AT THE DEPOT, PEKING.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1864.

PREFACE.

The following work has but moderate claims, I fear, topublic attention; and it would probably not have seen thelight at all but for the urgent request of friends, who thinkbetter of it than the author does. It has no pretensions toany higher merit than that of being a plain narrative of thejourney, and an impartial record of my own impressions ofthe people among whom I travelled.

Although some portions of the route have been eloquentlydescribed by Huc and others, I am not aware that any continuousaccount of the whole journey between the capitalsof China and Russia has appeared in the English languagefor nearly a century and a half. Important changes haveoccurred in that period; and, if I may judge of others bymyself, I suspect that many erroneous notions are afloatrespecting the conditions of life in these far-off regions, andmore especially in Siberia. Observation has modified myown pre-conceived opinions on many of the subjects touchedon in the following pages, and I am not without a hope thatthey will be found to contain some information which maybe new to many people in this country.

If I have indulged in irrelevant digressions, I can only saythat I have limited myself to those reflections which naturallysuggested themselves in the course of my travels; and thesubjects I have given most prominence to are simply thosewhich happened to be the most interesting to myself.

My thanks are due to various friends for useful hints, confirmingand correcting my own observations; but I amespecially indebted for some valuable notes on Siberia, itssocial phenomena, gold mines, &c., to Edwin E. Bishop, Esq.,whose long residence in the country, and perfect acquaintancewith the language and customs of the people, constitutehim an authority on all matters connected with that part ofthe world.

22, Berkeley Square,
    October 28th, 1864.

CONTENTS.