Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-09-16

tov on the Don. One is by steamer,
three hours, to Nicholief and from
there by rail via Kief, making a long,
tedious ride with three changes and
plenty of heat and dust; or by steamer
to Sevastopol and then up through
the Crimea by rail- connecting after
a few hundred miles with the first
route Then there has been a new
branch railroad built to a point on
the east side of the Black sea from
the so-called Kofkas line, by which
one can in time reach ROstOv. Another
way and by far the best if one can
spare the time, is the one by which
/ am now travelling, and that is all the
way by steamer, leaving the Black sea
steamer at Kertch nd taking a small
er one that goes through the straits,
the sea of Azov and the river Don TO
Rostov with but the one change of
stepping from one steamer to another
at Kertch,-nO noise, no dust, and
with many strange and interesting
sights to see.
We leave Odessa at 9 in the evening,
going down to the docks ir a rushing
drosky whose driver, with swinging
whip and harsh shouts, made me think
that he was trying to impress us with
his Importance as a jehu by running
down other droskies or over some Of
the crowd who, with the confusion of
many tongues, had gathered to see the
steamer off. AS our ropes were
thrown off-or, as Capt. Barnes used to
oiu no ND 81,
left our deck and, making a graceful
curve around the end of the break
water, were out in the harbor and
away. The view of Odessa from the
barber at night is a very pretty sight
Odessa is all life along the water front
Thousands of her inhabitants crowd
to the water at night to jostle against
each other, to hear the music and to
get a breath of the fresh air-and
fresh air is a rarity, | can assure
you in Russian town. | would track
an ordinary Russian home in a smell
1Eg contest against anything that
it has ever been my misfortune to come
in contact with in all of my travels
There is dry, sickening, suffocating
and peculiar OdOr to it that tells you
at once that you are in Russia. and
for richness and strength it will out
rank a phosphate factory on the Jer-
sey City flats or the steerage of an
Atlantic liner that had matches but
toned down through a three-days
storm with a thousand emigrants
below.
Seyastonol is our first stop. We
reach there at II a. m. on a bright,
pleasant Sunday, and rounding some
of the old dismantled forts that were
pounded to pieces during the siege of
n any years ago, We enter one of the
safest and prettiest harbors that can
be found on the coast of the Black
sea. | would almost think that this
harbOr, where nature had made the
docks, was the sunken craters of some
old volcanoes. The water is so clear
and deep that the largest ship can
cCme right ZIP near the warehouses
built on the shores, and the shores
wind in and out, making the main har-
hor a succession of little harbors One
can go UP on the streets of the town
and look down on to ship decks that
are lying almost directly below you.
Here floats the Russian fleet of war
ships and here on the shores are enor-
nous supply depots Of munitions
of war for both fleet and army
find great changes have taken place
in the years since I was first here.
hen a large portion of the old town
stood in ruins, with cannOn-shOt holes
gaping in the crumbling walls and the
havoc Of war was visible on every
hand: and high above all on three diff
ferent hills the monuments of dumb
WitueSsCS-the silent dead, many thou
sands Of whom crowd the cemeteries
where during that fearful war of the
Crimea so many English, French and
Russians persisted. Now I find a large
portion of the town rebuilt, fine, large
buildings going up, but few of the
old ruins left and every present indi-
cation that bL siness is lively and that
SevastopOl is richer and stronger than
ever before. On the high land to the
south we can see the white tents where
an army corps is being massed for
the summer manouvers and also the
more available to ship quickly across
the Black sea in case it becomes nee
essary for the Moscovite to smother
the Turk, which they are only waiting
fitting opportunity to do and which
in my opinion the world would profit
by if it was done.
Our next stop was at Yaltah, the
seaside resort of not only Russia, but
of many other posts Of the world. 1t
is small valley or raised portion of
sea bed sheltered on the north by vol
canic hills 1000 or 5000 feet high
north winds. The land lies s1oping
towards the south and these rough,
brown volcanic rocks absorb the bright
heat OF the sun by day to radiate it
gently al night, so that even in winter
the climate is quite enjoyable Fruit
OF all the varieties-berries cherries
pears, apples and grapes--grows in
PERCUSSION and ripens very early in the
season. The bathing in the deep, clear
water OF the sea is fine, while the
views from the winding streets in ter
races, each higher than the other.
makes ideal places for fine homes.
Here are the summer palaces of the
queens of Italy and Spain. the king of
Greece, many of the old nobility of
France and Germany and hundreds of
the dukes and rich of Russia The