Tobolsk is the handsomest.
Irkutsk is the pleasantest.
Yarkutsk is the coldest.
It is not surprising that Tobolsk should be the handsomest, for there the
governor of Siberia resides.
A great many Chinese come to Irkutsk to trade, and they bring quantities
of tea.
Yarkutsk is the coldest town in the world; there may be others nearer the
north, but none lie exposed to such cold winds. The inhabitants scarcely
dare admit the light, for fear of increasing the cold; and they make only
one or two very small windows in their houses. Yet in summer vegetables
grow freely in the gardens.
The Ostyaks live near the Oby.
The Buraets live near lake Baikal.
The Yakuts live near the Lena.