Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-12-28
THE NEW YORK OF SIBERIA.
BIaSOveHtchensk in the Heart
of That Country.

IrkutSk and the waters of the Pacific.
Half a dozen steamers lay moored to
floating wharves, a large one, flying
the mail flag, leaving in a couple of
hours for Khabarovsk, a three days
journey down the river. Through
passengers having to make hurried
transit, babe bon voyage to my &C
quaintances, the Russian and French
women, who were getting a little
tired of Siberia, and eager for the
prettiness of lauded Japan, says a
correspondent of the London Daily
News. They went on. I decided to
stay in Blagovestchensk five days, till
the next postboat went downstream.
Therefore, [ piled my belongings on
a droshki and told the hairy-faced
driver to take me to the Grand ho-
tel,' with much misgiving about the
kind of place it would turn out to be.
And, as L have grumbled about other
hotels, will give this its due. It was
blue and white stucco, much like the
French hotels you find overlooking
Swiss lakes, but it was clean, well
furnished, electric lighted, and its
manager, a Frenchman, could appre-
ciate a Britisher's desire for water,
and plenty of it.
Blagovestchensk is the briskest ST.
berian town 1 have seen. It is proud
of its position, and as it is the fash
ion to compare this new land with
older lands, it has dubbed itself ''The
New York of Siberia" It isn't that.
But again and again have I been
struck with its likeness to an Amer
lean town. 1t is laid out on the
T-square plan, every street running
at right angles. The houses are of
wood, mostly single stored, and yet
in the middle of these stand three
stored public buildings, which you
would cross the street to look at if
you saw them in Moscow or Peters
burg. The roads are in quite a trans
atlantic neglected state, but fringed
with wooden sidewalks, and the main
streets are festooned with wires for
electric lighting, telegraph and teIe-
phone The shops are Stores sell
ing verything-from cigarettes to
reaping machines. All of these stores
are in the hands of Germans or Rus
slams from the Baltic.
The droshki is old fashioned in
Blagovestchensk-all right for slow
moving, s1umbrous old Russia, but be-
midland for bustling Siberian city.
light American rig, three parts
spring, with a horse that can move"
is the proper thing. The youths are
keen cyclists, and go whizzing along
on German and American machines.
Just outside the town are athletic
grounds, with a well banked up cycle
track. On the river front is a prom
enade, with double row of trees and
seats beneath them, where you can
rest and watch the setting Of the sun
over the shoulder of China.
It is what the Americans call "quite
a town. Till 20 years ago it was lit
tie more than Cossack outpost.
Now it has population of nearly 49,
600. There is a public library with
10000 Volumes little museum-not
so much to speak of, however-two
newspapers-one daily and the other
weekly-four banks, two large iron
works, seven tanneries, two soap fac
tories, three breweries, three steam
flour mills, three sawmills and two
rope yards. Also there is a medical
and charitable society, which main
tains hospital for the poor, two dis
pensary rooms and a home for the
aged, cripples and orphans. A fine
brick-built clubhouse has hall adapt
ed for theatricals. Blagovestchensk
is rather too far out of the general
world for touring dramatic COM
panies to call, though last winter an
operate company settled in the town,
and three nights a week performed
more or less successfully all the we'll
known operas. There is an amateur
orchestral society.
Internationally there is what is
called classical gymnasium
ly a secondary school, but Siberians,
like western Americans who call bar
Der shops ''tonsorial parlors,'' are
fond of Understanding names-a gym
nasium for girls, three public schools
for boys and one for girls, a number
of church parish schools-and even
in Siberia the church schools and
board schools are often in conflict
and a special school where grown
ups" neglected in their youth, have
the opportunity of receiving instruc-
ton.
The manual labor of the town is
Chiefly QOHes ny OH1ueS0 cOOli6S. When
John Chinaman has some spare ko-
PEGS it is his delight to get into
droshki, loll back, and have a Russian
under his orders to drive him about.
Indeed, that Saturday evening when
I went out to stroll I saw bevies of
droshkies sweep by, all laden with
grinning Cinnamon, their pigtails
Topping about them, and in some
danger of being caught by the wheel
spokes.
Rich gold mining is in the hills
within a hundred miles of Blagovest-
chensk, and there are plenty of min
ers in the town-Chinamen, as a rule,
but of a distinctly better type than
the coolies. They are men who have
taken to the miners dress, loose
shirts, open at the throat, thick belts
and big slouching California hats,
and, judging from the way they swag-
gered along, full of the Chinese equiv
alent for picturesque though imprint
able California oaths.
Warm Within.
Mercy, see the dog drinki Why,