The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-24

streets. The roads were as muddy as
those of the Black Swamp, and our two
drove through the main street of the
city. This is about two miles long. and
the town runs around the hills on the
edge of the harbor. The houses are OF
two stories, with wide porches in front
of them, and there are some substantial
business blocks. The biggest houses Of
the place outside of the barracks are
those of the governor-general, the police
station and the new railroad depot.
My first call was, of course, upon the
police You can do nothing in Siberia
without passport, and / knew would
be In danger of arrest until / had had
an interview with the chief of police.
I had letters of introduction to Mr.. J.
Bryner. wealthy Swiss. who had mar
ried Russian lady, and who has one
of the largest houses in Siberia. He has
large interests in timber and mines, and
he is one of the most influential men in
the country. 1t was with him that /
went to call upon the high military
officer who governs all police matters
of this port. The police station is big
two-story red brick building, which
looks for all the world like a county
courthouse, and which is surrounded by
soldiers and policemen. We took off our
coats and our rubbers and combed our
hair with our fingers before we went
in to call upon the officials. We went
through room after room filled with
pompous soldiers until we came into the
presence of short, stocky man with
a head like a cannon ball, and with
eyes as sharp as a shoemakers awl.
This was Col. #. Peteroff, the chief of
police, without whose assistance you
can do nothing in eastern Siberia.
Every permit has to pass through him,
and my passport vised by the Russian
minister in Corea, was laid before him,
while Mr.. Bryner introduced me as a
respectable American citizen and as his
friend. Nothing was said about my be-
a cOrreSnOndPnf.
chief was told that / wanted permit
to go over the transsiherian railroad.
He received me very politely, and after
some time. which / suppose was spent
in looking. up my record, I was told
that my credentials were good, and
that I would have permit issued to
me to pass over the road.
THE SIBERIAN METROPOLIS.
The chief of police told me that
could not start on my railroad journey
before the next day, and I spent the
meantime travelling about the city of
Vladivostock. 1t is one of the queerest
places I have ever visited. The hills
are as steep as those of Kansas City.
and the houses are built at all sorts
of angles upon them. Back of the town
found three Asiatic settlements. One
was japanese quarter. with buildings
just like those yous find in Japan. An
other was made up of Chinese houses.
and a third was collection of dugouts
and huts. which were occupied by the
Coreans The town proper looks more
like officers quarters than a commercial
settlement. 1t has one pretty Russian
church, which was built, / think, when
the present Emperor made his trip
through Siberia several years ago and
dug the first spadeful Of earth that was
thrown up for the first transsiberian
railroad. found one large German
business house known as Kunst & AL
bers, where / was able to gel my letter
of credit cashed, and was thus supplied
with plenty of money for the rest of
my trip. This firm does business all
over Siberia 1t has ships which go a
thousand miles northward to the mouth
OF the Amoor river. and which sail a
long way up that mighty stream. 1t
does a banking business and all kinds
of exporting and importing, and it Is a
type Of the big business houses OF ST.
IBERIA, of which there are perhaps a
score. / met all sorts Of people who
had had all kinds of adventures. My
friend Bryner. for instance, had come
out to Japan as boy from Switzer-
land. He had been in business in differ
ent parts of China. He had travelled all
over Corea and Siberia, and he spoke
tluently Chinese, Japanese, Russian, En-
glish, Italian, French and German. He
was only forty years old, but he had
made a fortune in trade and mines. He
told me of the wonderful resources of
| Siberia, and said that the world knew
nothing about them. He referred to
| one gold mine of which he knew, two
| hundred shares of which sold not long
| ago for $4,000, and which were now
worth $1,000 per share. He has wonder
full stories to tell about the coal iron
and timber resources of the country
| and 1 will give some of his statements
| further With him / went to the
| Marine Club of VIadivostock and met
| many of the officials. found that the
| hag rx-y,zr, ue.i,,
| good schools and a college. 1t has fair
| ly good society, and the people who live
| in it seem to be well satisfied with their
EASTERN SIBERIA
| In connection with MIR. Bryner l made
| gome inquiries into the resources of
| eastern Siberia and the possibilities of
the great transsiberian railroad Few
| people have an idea of the enormous
| extent of the possessions of the Rus
slams in Asia. They number all told
more than six million square miles, or
about twice the area of the whole
| United States. Siberia alone is twenty
| five times as big as Germany 1t con-
tairs forty-eight hundred thousand
| square miles. or nearly one and a half
| times the area or the United States 1t
| has a population of less than one to
| the square mile, and is one of the rich
| est countries in mineral wealth on the
| globe. Eastern Siberia alone is almost
| as big as the United States, and it's re-
| sources are practically unexplnrad. All
| along the line of the tranSsiberian road
| there are rich gold mines, some of which
| produce nuggets weighing a quarter of
a pound, and the grains of gold there
| average as large as they do anywhere
| in the world. Mr.. Bryner told me that
The government of Russia insisted that
| all gold found in Siberia should be sold
to it. and he told me that many men
| were making fortunes out of the gold
mines. The mining is done in a curious
| way. The soil of all Siberia is frozen
| for more than half the year, and the
! gold-bearing rock is often i'm per-
| petually frozen state. A hole is dug and
| a fire is built on top of 1t, and when the
soil is melted it is Graded out or shaken
| out in IRON barrels, which are made for
the purnose- These iron barrels have
| sleeves within them. They are made
| of boiler plate, and they are from ten
| to seventeen feet long. They are so ar
| ranged that they can be whirled about
| by machinery and steam, and they are
| laid upon an inclined plane and a sluice
| of water run through them. The water
is introduced into the barrel by means