Milford chronicle., 1889-05-31

den and startling change than that brought
about by a walk Of 200 yards from Kiakhta
to Maimachin. One moment you are In a
Russian provincial village, with its charac-
teristic shops, log houses, golden domed
churches, droshkies ldrosh-keesl, soldiers and
familiar peasant faces; the next moment you
pass behind the high screen that conceals the
entrance to the Monaghan town and find
yourself apparently In the middle Of the Chi
nese empire You can hardly believe that
you have not been suddenly transported on
the magical carpet Of the ARABIAN Nights
over distance of n thousand miles
The town in which you find yourself is no
more like the town that you have just left
than a Zuni pueblo is like village in New
England, and for all that appears to the con
trary you might suppose yourself to be sepa-
rAted from the Russian empire by the width
Of a whole continent The narrow, unpaved
streets are shut in by gray, one story houses,
whose windowless walls are made Of clay
mixed with chopped straw, and whose roofs,
ornamenced with elaborate carving, show a
tendency to turn up at the corners; clumsy
two wheel OK carts, loaded with boxes OF tea
and guided by swarthy Mongol drivers, have
taken the places of the Russian horses and
telegas; Chinese traders in skull caps, loose
Tapping gowns and white soled shoes appear
at the doors Of the court yards instead Of the
Russian merchants in top boots, loose waist
coats and shirts worn outside their trousers
whom you have long been accustomed to see;
and wild looking sunburned- horsemen in
deep orange gowns and dishpan shaped hats
ride in now and then from some remote en-
campment in the great desert of Cobb, fol-
lowed, perhaps, by a poor Mongol from the
4.a1 a
slow pacing OK. Wherever you go, and in
whatever direction you look, China has taken
the place of Russia, and the scenes that con
front you are full of strange, unfamiliar de-
tails.
We drove with a Russo-C Chinese interpreter
to the residence Of the 'surguhce" tsoor-goo-
chay) or Chinese governor-which was dis
tinguished from all other houses by having
two high poles tipped with gilded balls erected
in front Of it-and after being introduced t.
his exceIency by Mr.. Sullfofsld were invited
to partalle of tea, sweetmeats and 'maigalo'
lmy-ga-lo), or Chinese rice brandy. We ex-
changed with the governor number of cere-
monious and not at all exciting inquiries and
replies relative to his and our health, affairs
and general well being, drank three or four
saki cups of maigalo. nibbled at some can
died fruits, and then, as the hour for his de
votions had arrived, went with him by invi-
tation to the temple and saw him say his
prayers before large wooden idol to an ac-
compartment made by the slow tolling Of big
deep toned bell The object of the bell ring
ing seemed to be to notify the whole popula-
ton of the town that his excellency the gov
ernor was communing with his JOSS When
we returned to his house Mr.. Frost drew a
portrait of him as with an amusing air of
conscious majesty he sat upon tiger skin in
his chair of state, and then, as we had no ex-
cuse for lingering longer, we took our leave,
each of US receiving a neatly tied package, in
which were the nuts, sweetmeats and candied
fruits that had been set before us but had not
been eaten.
We wasted the rest Of the afternoon in try
ing to get photographs of some Of the strange
types and groups that were to be seen in the
Maimachin streets. Again and again we
were surrounded by forty OF fifty Mongols,
Buriats and nondescript natives from the
great southern steppes, and again and again
we set up the camera and trained it upon a
part of the picturesque throng. Every time
Mr. Frost covered his head with the black
cloth and took it off the brass cap that con
cealed the Instruments Cyclopean eye, the
apprehensive Celestials vanished with as
much celebrity as if the artist was manipu-
lating Gatling gun. We could clear whole
street from one end to the other by merely
setting up the camera on its tripod and get
ting out the black cloth, and | seriously
thought of advising the Chinese governor to
send to America for a Photographic outfit to
be used in quelling riots. He could disperse
a mob with it more quickly and certainly
than with battery of mountain howitzers
If remember rightly, Mr.. Frost did moi
succeed in getting pictures of any animated
objects that day except few Mongol OK
teams and two or three blind or crippled beg
gars who could not move rapidly enough to
make their escape.-George KEENAN, in The
Century.