The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-02-19
PRICE 5 CENTS.
RussIAs RAILWAY IN ASIA.
a Marvel OF Engineering skiiI--The Sand
storm of the Desert Work Done.

n
storm of the Desert-EYOrlx Done.
David Kar ia New York Times,I
But apart from its military and polit-
zeal significance the Mikhailoosk Bay &
Askabad railroad merits attention as q
marvel Of engineering skill which has
successfully Withstood the formidable
'tebbGd or sandstorm of the desert,
the terrific force OF which can never DO
fully appreciated By any one who has
not actually experienced 10 The
storm which I encountered On my
way across the kaca-koum desert
TO ioin poor MacGahan before
khiya in 1873, though slight ooGG AIRED
with those which sometimes occur there,
would have been quite enough to satisfy
any ordinary traveller. 1t Was drawing
toward midnight, and the moon had
Just risen over the gray amending desc
lation Of the great waste upon which no
living thing was 20 be seen bat our
selves, when our cameis suddenly
stopped Short, snIffed the air uneasily,
aud then lay down with their long 'leckS
fat upon the sG.nG. AT the sal mo-
tnent q strange dimness obscuced the
ghostly splendor Of the moonlight While
a weird, unearthly sound, half whisper
and dGf moan, arose lar away - the
silent distance.
"Tebbad" shouted our Kirghiz guide,
aiNging himself on t1o ground under
the lee CT the nearest camel and hastily
muIing himself in his huge Furcoman
shawl My Tartar servant and / had
barely time TO follow his example and
To throw ourselves down in the bottom
OF the wagon, whoa there came
q rush a roar, mingled with a sound
Ike the rattle OF 4 furious ha!lstorm.
- II,
against tho sides f our wagon, which
rocked TO and fro a. # about 70 capsIze
altogether. Against the whirl OF that
sandy tempest our thick>st wrappingS
we're OF no avail. It smarted in our
eyes. it cracked between our teeth, il
made our Skins gritty from head TO foot
as We covered in the rocking wagon
listening TO the whooping Of the storm,
and wondering whether IL would pass
over before We were choked outright
ct last inc bowling and rafting died
away, and we cCept forth gaspiag and
half sti ed to ind ourselves to alt ap-
pearances IN the midst OF a stormy sea-
FAR as eye could reach the smooth sur
face o. the desert was hurled up Il non
strous ridges or plowed into deep hol-
oWs, bearing fearful testimony TO the
might of tempest which could thus
i.nt even these dreaded storms in tho
full height of their September wrath
have mover been able TO delay the desert
trains more than a very few hours at
time The hostllity of untamed nature
has been met and parried with singular
dexterity. Light shields of wickerwork,
such as are used in other parts of Russia
to protect the railway track from the
snow, protect it here from the still mcHN
formidable sand. The loose powderly
drifts have been bound together with
mud from the neighb0ringg swomps,
while the half liquid mire of the after
has in its turn been solidifed by
plentiful mixture Of sand. IN this way
tho work has been carried forward with
. speed which, though far behind he
exaggerated reports spread concerning
it by Russia for her own purposes dur
ius the late Afghan difficulty, has never
theIess carried the line TO a point
within easy reach Of the Persian
frontier.
a very slight expenditure of labor
will now suffice to bring it right up to
AsAabad, the capital Of the new prov
ince transferred to Russia few years
ago by Skobeloff's murderous victory
over Turcomans of Geok-Tepe. From
AsG&bad to Sarakhs, the nearest point
of the Afghan frontier, is a distance of
barely $3.50 miles, $50 of which viii re-
Quire Just tie same amount of earth
work as any ordinary railway in Euro
! pean Russia, while the remaining 100
| will need none whatever. The work on
the line, being done entirely by Russian
| soldiers, will not cost the government a
cent beyond the actual expense of the
material, while the example Of the rail
way constructed by England in 1880
| across the deserts OF northern BcloO-
chistan 70 the Afghan border, at a rate
| OF one and a half to two and half
! miles a day, has shown with what rapid
ity railroad may be pushed forward
! over a Lowell surface where neither tun-
uels, bridges nor cuttings are required