I doubt if they ever heard of him.

Remember, the interior of North-Eastern Siberia is hidden in the polar gloom, a terra incognita, where few men have gone and none has returned." "But you--" "I chance to be the exception.

Why I was spared, I do not know.

It just so happened.

At first I was vilely treated, beaten by the women and children, clothed in vermin-infested mangy furs, and fed on refuse.
They were utterly heartless.