Publisher's Synopsis
A long, long time ago, long before the railroads, the stage-drivers- both government and private- used to live, from generation to generation, at the very farthest confine of a large southern city. And that is why the entire region was called the Yamskaya Sloboda- the Stage-drivers' Borough; or simply Yamskaya, or Yamkas- Little Ditches, or, shorter still, Yama- The Pit. In the course of time, when hauling by steam killed off transportation by horses, the mettlesome tribe of the stage-drivers little by little lost its boisterous ways and its brave customs, went over into other occupations, fell apart and scattered. But for many years- even up to this time- a shady renown has remained to Yama, as of a place exceedingly gay, tipsy, brawling, and in the night-time not without danger.
