Note 2 — Chapter XIX · A VISIT TO A GOLD-MINE.

Any one, indeed, may go into the uninhabited taiga to seek for gold (as the hunter may penetrate the same dismal region in search of game), provided, that is, he have a certificate from the mining officers, which he may get by giving proofs of good citizenship from the local authorities among whom he resides. He is then at liberty, when he has found gold, to hire the land from the Government for the purposes of mining.