Note 12 — Chapter X · IRKOUTSK TO TOMSK.
Reading edition
Extract from the Volga Messenger, of October 16th, 1887:——
“The entire tract of country between Tomsk and Irkoutsk is infested with runaway convicts, so that travelling in this region, especially on dark autumn nights, is extremely dangerous. Lately a whole family was murdered at the distance of a few versts from Irkoutsk, and we hear of such cases frequently enough. So bad is the state of the roads in this respect, that the Government is about to put a stop to it by abolishing exile to Siberia, and a proposal to this effect is now under the consideration of the Imperial Council.”