GOLD-SEEKING IN SIBERIA

Hokitika Guardian, 25 July 1918, Page 1

GOLD-SEEKING IN SIBERIA

LETTER FROM A NEW ZEALANDER,

' A New Zealander writes to his I wife from Perevov, N.E. Siberia, where lie is eugaged in the arduous ■ and lonely work of abstracting gold ! from that land of vast and wealthy ; mineral resources. i He states that the war and the topsy-turvydom of Russia have caused no serious trouble in his district except that provisions are scarce, and j the people are on rations thereabouts. ! He dismisses that disability in the optimistic statement that he supposed all countries at war wei'e in the same predicament. Clothes, he states, ■ cannot be bought at any price, and it ! is hard to anticipate what will happen iin the summer. At the time of j writing he was working in clothes j that, he would have been ashamed to | give to a Chinaman in New Zealand. ! He intended sending to England for clothes, bub was uncertain if they would reach him safely. The material far a suit of clothes could be bought at Perevoy for 400 roubles (£4O), and a pair of boots for 100 roubles. A friend of the writer’s sent toPetrograd for some articles, and amongst them were some socks, for which he was charged 14/ per pair. The writer bought material to get two pairs of trousers made. The material would not last more than three months with care, and was worth at most 1)0 kopecks, or about !/ an asheen (28 ‘ inches), yet lie had to pay 21/ an j asheen. It took four ashecns to make I the trousers, and 10 roubles was the I cost of their manufacture, making £9 ! the total cost. He bought a pair of ; long-legged boots for the sum of 170 ; roubles (£l7). The previous year be j could have purchased the same boots j for 25 roubles. The writer intended to put in another season’s dredging if the ico would not take away his machine. Dredging would not bo too good next season with the dredge in its present condition—in fact, he did not think the pontoons would hold together for a season’s work. There were a number of repairs to be made and no material to effect them with. In that far away corner of the globe ( they heard very little about the war, ( and for the months prior to January j, 13, when the letter was written, no ! word had been received from England. | Even with Petrograd communication j was possible by telegram only. | Writing in March the same eorres-. j poudent stated that he had left Pere- i voy, and was out in the wild again at ' a property called the Yolotai Yar'j (Golden‘Bank). He had 70 Chinese, j 30 Koreans, and four Hussions working with him. These men had to j pay so much every day, and !is bought their gold ami sold them pro■ isions. j Once evt ry nine days the manager of : the property visited him to take away ! the gold purchased or obtained as • rent. The life was very lon. !y, but one soon became, accustomed to it. , I