The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1889-05-16
a Striking Contrast
hEsssS oHos-f- IRON rIlK Et--IAs
IHf nfSEsK EMPIRE

The following Is from George Kcnnau :
/ illustrated paper in the May Century
On ffday, 0ctober 2, Hr Frost and /
again visited kiakntA aud went With the
+ boundary commissioner, Nr. sulkofski, u
call upon the Chinese governor II
+ Malmachin The Mongolian town u
Maimachin il separated from kiakhta BY
Il hundred and fifty OT two hundred yards
Of neutral ground, through the middle Of
which Is supposed y run the boundary
/ line between the two great empires.
Maimachin il further separated from
kiakhta by a high blank wall and by
screens, or pagOda shaped buildings. thar
mask the entrances 10 the streets 80 that
the outside barbarian cannot look into
the place without actually entering It, and
cannot see anything beyond its wooden
walls after he has entered IT, II would De
hard to imagine a more sudden aud start
ling change than that brought about by a
walk Of two hundred yards from Kiakhta
to Maimaehin. One moment you are N a
Russian provincial village with its char
acteristic shops, log houses, golden
domed churches, d Oehkies, soldiers, and
familiar peasant faces; the next moment
you pass behind the high screen that con
ceals the entrance 70 the MoDgolian town
and find yourself apparently in the middle
Of the Chinese Empire. You can hardly
believe that you have not been suddenly
transported on the magical carpet Of the
of the Arabian Nights over a distance
of thousand miles. The town in which
You lind yourself is no more like the town
that you have just left than Iuni pueblo
is like village in New England, and for
all that appears to the contrary you might
suppose yourself to be separated from
the Russian Empire by the width Of
whole continent. The narrow, uupaved
streets are shut in by gray. one~tory
houses, whose windowless walls are made
of clay mixed with chopped straw, and
whose roofs oruamented with elaborate
carving, show a tendancy TO turn up a.
the corners; clumsy two-wheel ox-carts'
loaded with boxes of tea and guided by
swarthy Mongol drivers. have taken the
place of the Russian horses and telegas
Chinese traders in skullcaps, loose Flap
ping gowns, and whte-soled shoes APP
pear at the doors Of the court-yards in
stead of the Russian merchants in top
boots, loose waistcoats, shirts worn out
side their trousers whom you have long
been accustomed to see and Withholding
sunburned horsemen in deep orange
gowns ahu uisnpau-Snopcu nav i'uo ~
now anu toeh from soule ieili''e eiea'np-
'heht III the great ''eSei. W "2'i, ioi''"
GU perhaps ny pooi -non-p! I'm 'ne
immaculate helSuoorn,oa' ihoungeu "Pon
sio" pacing "a ~ co..
III WnateNer uItectiou spu lpoh' nina
mas taken the place ol russia aui ihe
scenes that confront you are full of
strange. unfamiliar details.
We drove with RllSSp-t Chinese inter-
pretei W eie ie>iueuec Vi WV
vi = hinese SoNeruor'- "ii'n wa "i,e'n
eulsheu IRON all houses ny han'ns WV
n'su pores tippeu wltn sa''eu oaAs eieC w,
III front OF lt,-ahu aitef o+lus Iiiurouuoeu
10 nus EAcelehCN ny WI ouih"iShl "eie
lhNlten 10 partahe Oh YEA s"eetii''i1s' anu ,,1
ila'@aio vi 'u,'ese HUI si'' W
e. "a"SO'' ''fa'i -" s'.-' ''i' H"ln3ei
VI cefeihonlcS anu no. az All eAe''inr tn-
qnlrles aud replies relative u MS ana our
health ahalrs' ana general ~elI-9e,ls'
oiahh tlilee OF iour sah,-euPs VI iia'Iaio'
hip''le9 at some eah,'leo iru''S' anu tieh,
rs Tue nour LOT MS ueNotioiis uau ar Nfeu
went WIN MN ny 'nt'ta'loii " ne .e'hPic
ana sa" nun say MS prayers before
'arSe Wooueh 'uoi " ah COMPARTMENT
haue ny .he $40" toiiipS vi ois ueeP-
Voneu oeii' iue 'oJeet u 'he peii-lln-tus
seemed 10 DC 10 hotiiy tie wiloie Popuid-
ulon Oh the Town that MS EACeiehCs the
governor was collhunlhe Win ms JOSS.
"heh we returned W MS liouSe MI rrost
arew pertI al' OF MN as WIN an anus
ing ar Oh conscious majesty ne SAT upon
S"e"' d. 'te ''''V -'l@ -cna'r Oh STATE, ahu
iohser' we 'ooh our ieaNe' eao" VI US r.
cleVlnS neatly t'eu Paehase III miiei,
were the nuts, s"ee''neatS' anu S.nule9
.ru',s tIlal lau oeen ss' oeioie Us 'u' n''''
NV poop eoe'h'