The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-02-11

Tho land journey of the accomplished
travellers, DR.. FISscH, Or. BKrHM. and
Count WALDuURG-IEIL, through West Sibc-
ria forms the complement to Prof. Nor
DENsKIoLD's voyage. The discovery by the
.attcr Of u now maritime route from Europe
to Asia, confirmed us il was by repetition
OF the experiment during the past summer.
has prompted inquiry into the resources
and character Of the region thus thrown
open. This j. in fact. the vast watershed OF
the Oh and the icnes,ci, covering an area Of
one hundrci thousand square leagues and
constituting an important fraction Of the
Russian domihion- in Asia. In a report for
warlrd tn the Bremen Polar Society. which
organized the expedition charged with the
exploration Of this country, We find some
noteworthy facts.
In the spring AMI summer Of 1876 these
travellers wcnt over the whole territory
drained by the rivers above mon ionel from
south To- north, from Lake Balkash "a the
Carian Gulf. In the course Of this Journey
they traNer-ed in straight line twenty
three degrees If latitude. an oypau-e equal
to that between Athens and ST. PETERSBURG
in-tituting throughout their route researches
and observations Of many kiul-, ami making
collections Of great value 10 the student Of
natural history. II would appear from their
Investigations that but little commercial i'm
pprtance can De attached to NoRDaNsKIoLDs
discovery. The actual production Of West
Siberia Is too limited, and It's di-iributivc
system too primitive, 10 profit by the new
channel Of communication. A sparse
population and the absence Of any
thing like settled or Industrious habits
have so far left unmprovel rcmlrk-
able natural advantages. On this head
some statements of Dr.. BREHM are well
worth citing He found the steppcs OF north
west siberia covered with a luxurlant vege-
tatiOn which promised the most generous
returns 90 tillage; but the CDssack cllonist
planted in this region, by turns farmer aud
a soldier, Is lar too RESTLESS aniiazy "A fellow
10 appreciate or utilize this soil ana the in
frequent Russian emigrnnt soon learns to
initiate the kirghiz nomal choosing one
year promising locality for his cprnA.ld,
and fOrsakins it the next when he think, h,
has found a better" The Same stupidity
and improvidenee were observed in tho man
agement of the fisheries. which ought to rank
among the most fruitful sources Of wealth.
The finest carp. Sturgeon and salmon, besides
calculabc quantities, but ono fish Ike an.
other Is split up the back AMI driol In the
open air. Exposed to tho sun Of miisum-
mer, tho oil Of course turns rancid, per-
mcatcs tho flesh, and wholly robs it Of the
flavor which fish dried IN ths shade ight
partially retain" Will, thousands of
tons are treated in this fashion, fresh
fish cannot bo had out Of tho season,
and tho tables of w'l-to-do Sibcrnns
are restricted to strliucs from tho Mod
iterranean, which cost almost their weight
in gold. Caviar too, j. imported from the
NOlga, whom enough Of it could he procured
from their own riNers 10 purvey the whole Of
Russia. IN spite. however, Of tho rude and
wl9tefu processes followed, tho fisheries
make all the lc--ees rich. one Of the best
grounds, for example, Lake Sai-ln, belongs
10 the Cos-aeks, aud IS fnrmrl out for an
annual stipend OF i,oo) ruhlcs; but each Of
the suh-coutractols draws from it oyery
yeara profit equal tothe ontlr' rent "GDld,
in short, Dr.. BREHM tolls Va, "lies broad
cast throughout Sibora on lAnl AMI in the
w.tnr, hut the natives only think to win it
by washing slni or rru.hing quartz and
take kindly t. no implement except .4e pick
and shovel"
The final Stages Of tho journey to the
mouth of the river % arc described by Dr.
FlN3cI From I0msl to SamarOv the
travellers found steamer plying, but from
the lattar point they We're forced TO content
themselves with bargr7 On tho eleventh Of
July they reached OblorsS. As no suitable
vessel was here obtalnahlc, the party gayo
W the projected voyage down the broad es-