The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-10-25

ruK STRANGE COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES
HE SAW.
rBos,op Traveller, Oct. C.i

boston Traveller, Oct I'll 1
The discoveries of Prof. Nordebsk-
iold in the Arctic regions are full OF
interest from geographical and com
mercial point of view. The explorer
in a recent letter states that the coast
of Siberia west of the Lena river Is
vast, trecless plain. There are no;
islands to prevent the wind from dr1v-
ing the ice foes down upon the shore
and the points where rivers empty mo
the Polar ocean, and with'their warmer
currents.maintaining open spaces, are
separated usually by enormous dis
tances. For several hundred miles IN
the vicinity of the LENA, however, there
are several great rivers, and chain OF
islands acts as barrier to the ice. To-
ward Behring's strait the frozen tloes
crowd closer to the shore, and are liable
in the autumn and winter to bar the
way to shipping. The most important
of Prof. Nordenskjold's discoveries,
from scientific standpoint, is that OF
a group of islands off the Siberian coast.
These islands, the new Siberian, open
the book of the history of the world
at new place. The ground there Is
strcwn with wonderful fossils. Whole
hills are covered with the bones of the
mammoth, rhinoceros, horses, uri, BIZ
son, oxen, sheep, etc. The sea washes
up ivory upon the shores. In this
group is possibly to be found the solu-
ton of the question of the ancestry OF
the Indian elephant and important facts
with regard to the vertebrates which
existed at the time of mans first ap-
pearance on earth. How came horses
and sheep in region now locked in
the letters of eternal winter, uninhab-
tied by man, not now supporting ami
NAL life in any form, and almost i'm
possible of access? Prof. Nordensk-
jold was unable to solve the question
himself, and he suggests that 1t is of
the utmost Importance TO science to
send light draught steel steamer to
those islands for thorough explora-
ton. The natives seen along the coast
belong to hardy, jovial race, dressing
in fnrs, keen at barter, but ignorant of
the valne of money. They live in double
tents and expose themselves to very
low temperatures with little clothing.
There is great resemblance between
the people and the Esquimaux or the
North American Indians. Though |
armed with stone and bone weapons,
and though wild and itinerant, they
evidently have a history. They drove
off the original inhabitants of the re-
gion 200 years ago, the Onkilons,
whose houses, places of sacrifices, Cir
cles of moss-grown bear skulls and
weapons arc still to be found almost
everywhere on the coast.
There is no trace of any religious
belief in their customs. East of the
Lena the explorers found scattered
blocks of stone, bearing evidence of
glacial action and pointing plainly to
the presence of land TO the north.
Another popularity of the Siberian
coast is the gradual elevation of the
land above the level of the sea, so that
the inhabitants have been obliged to
shift their villages nearer to the waters
edge, which is gradually receding.
Prof. Nordenslljold's explorations when
published in full will undoubtedly ex-
cite much interest and lead to the an
ticipation of possibly more valuable
on the part of the Jeanette.