Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1900-07-22
AN ANTARCTIC OASIS.
4 Queer Discovery Made During the
 Recent Expedition.

Recent Expedition.
 Recent antarctic discoveries by the Belgian expedition, are described in the Century for January by Mr. Fred erick A. Cook of Brooklyn, whose arti- cle is very fully illustrated. An oasis in a snowy wilderness" is the phrase he employs in characterizing a certain bit of the antarctic land. Being still unwilling to advance into the unknown region before us while enshrouded in mist, we drew near prominent noun tain peak to make debarkment.= The cliff was a perpendicular cliff, free of snow to the seas aore. It was one of 6 number extending far into the south east, as we learned on the following day. We made a debarkment at it's base. Here was life in profusion, as indeed there was on every rock where life could gain footing. The noise from the birds, which re-echoed from cliff to cliff, was deafening The lower rocks were lined with snoring and grunting sea-leopards. Columns Of yapor rose above the water, followed by hiss like that of a steam engine, and a second later the blue back of whale, with it's long fin and ponderous tail, lashed the water into foamy whirlpool. The great wall of land-ice rose to each side of the black cliff, which gave us a shelf as landing place. From this wall came frequent sounds like the explosion of a cannon, which were followed by splash and a eommotion in the water. With such reports parts of the wall would con- stantly break away and fall into a mil- lion pieces, strewing the water with small fragments of ice, but not with icebergs. Above us rose cliff to an altitude of about 2,000 feet; out from this were projecting mantel-like rocks, which served as resting places for the cormorants and sea-gulls. Here the young ones, dressed in gray down, eoaxed their mothers for food. We ex- peeted to see the little things drop from their narrow resting places, to be de- stroyed on our heads or on the rocks below, but such an accident rarely hap pened. Our greatest surprise here was the discovery of large quantities of moss and lichens, which gave the spot an unexpected appearance of yegeta- ble life and color. After seeing neth- ing but ice and black rocks for so many days, this sight of green and brown and red amid an endless expanse of icy desert was great relief. It was Q oasis ina a~o-s~ ..5iiI-
 Guardiag the Trans-siberian Railroad.
 The Trans-Siberian railroad is very closely guarded, the management feel ing personally responsible for the peo- ple they carry on their trains. The road is divided Into sections of one yerst, or five-eighths of mile. In neat little log house, usually in gar den, live the guard and his people. The average family is wife and five 4ow-headed children. The houses were built by the company and evidently with a view to meeting the demands of increasing families. The guard or member of his family must patrol his section night and day. He steps to the side of the track as the train ap- breaches and after 1t has passed steps back into the middle of the track, holds small green flag in the air, at night lantern, and stands like a statue until the train has entered the next section. Several guards do duty in the heavy curves and frequently they are only few hundred feet apart. Much of the track patroling is done by women, who have proved fully as re- liable as the men. The women are nearly always barefooted, and as they stand cn the track holding the flag aloft, Siberian breeze toying with their short skirts, they are fine sub- jects for a sculptor after a unique model