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National Geographic : 1920 Dec
Contents
GLIMPSES OF SIBERIA, THE RUSSIAN "WILD EAST" boats, and on the highways and caravan routes camels and oxen are passed by modern automobiles, mostly of American make. One gets wonderfully attached to Si berian life. There is something charming and fascinating about it. I was evacu ated to Manila with more than a thou sand American troops, and during my three months' stay in the Philippines I repeatedly heard the men express a long ing to be back in "dear old 'Vladi'." The natives, in spite of the scourges of typhus and cholera, in spite of the hunger and cold which they have experienced so fre quently during the last six years, are de voted to their home land; yet apparently they are indifferent to the rich opportu nities of their country. Siberia is a land of rich agricultural potentialities, in spite of the shortness of the summer season, and even American tables have been served with Siberian cheese and butter. But the most alluring opportunities of the country are pre sented in its mineral wealth-gold and silver and precious stones. A REMINDER OF OUR WEST OF EARLIER DAYS There is so much in Siberia that re minds an American of our "Wild West" of earlier days, whether it be lawlessness, freedom, opportunity, a place to live life over again, great distances, vastness and gloriousness of scenery, or barrenness such as is seen on the Gobi Desert, where the camels graze. And there are many features that may be described in typical American superla tives ! Vladivostok has the finest harbor in the world; the railroad connecting Vladivostok with Petrograd is the long est in the world-thus the Siberians rave, and not altogether madly. But they can not rave about their roads. The Russian word, "doroga," meaning "road," liter ally means, "bad road," and it would be redundancy to speak of a bad "doroga." It merely means a place where you may get through. But what an amazingly wealthy people they will be when they get roads suitable for automobile trucks and some lines connecting with their al readv wonderful transcontinental rail way The cities of the Russian "Wild East" are not particularly populous, but each one boasts of sufficient beautiful churches. government and private edifices to give it a noble aspect. First comes Vladivostok. a combination of Gotham and Chicago. At the other end of the country is Omsk. the capital. In between and top and bottom are Tomsk, Ekaterinburg, Chelia binsk, Chita, Xabarosk, Irkutsk, Harbin. and Nikolsk. One of the most objection able features about these beautiful cities is their filth and the attendant odors. I once mentioned this deprecatingly to a Russian woman who had traveled much. She sharply reminded me that the varie gated stenches of the Chicago stock yards. the smoke of Pittsburgh, and the pun gent gasoline stench of New York's Fifth Avenue still held first places in her su perlatives of city smells. VLADIVOSTOK, THE LARGEST AND MOST IN TERESTING CITY IN EASTERN SIBERIA Tomsk has an unusually beautiful ca thedral and a great university, that has produced more than one famous name. Metchnikoff, the great bacteriologist, be ing one of them. Vladivostok, the largest and most inter esting city of eastern Siberia, owes much to Russia's loss of Port Arthur, for that misfortune increased the Tsar's interest in the more northerly seaport until he had made it worthy of its name, "Ruler of the East." The one disadvantage of Vladivostok is that its harbor is frozen during several months of the year. In spite of this drawback, I believe it is con ceded that Vladivostok possesses the sec ond finest harbor in the world, and it is claimed that from a military standpoint the city was second only to the Darda nelles. Whatever lessons the Tsar learned from the Russo-Japanese War, Vladi vostok proves that he had determined not to be caught napping again. Bat teries of large defense guns and concrete emplacements for many more guard the mouth of the harbor. From the water front to a point many miles inland are numerous lines of defense. Many of the hills are full of ammunition, and aerial railways were constructed to carry it to the guns. The harbor is equipped with machine-shops, floating dry-docks. stationary dry-docks, a naval base, hoist- )21
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