The Iola register., 1902-02-14

HHT1M.MNH ulll Os SOllu IOChs ShlllluS
V&0WSGeU the right bank of the An
CARA, serves as n splen-
did position for its churches, crowned
by n high cathedral, and for its houses,
built in picturesque disorder along its
slopes.
Seen from n certain distance, from
the top OF the mountain which runs
along the great Siberian route at dis
tance of some twenty versts, with its
domes and belfries, its graceful spires,
like those of minarets, Its spiral domes,
1t has n somewhat oriental appearance.
But that oriental appearance vanishes
from the eyes of the traveller from the
moment he enters the town. The town,
half Byzantine, half Chinese, becomes
at once European by its macadamized
streets, bordered with sidewalks, with
their rows of gigantic birch trees, by
its brick and wooden houses, some Of
which have several stories, by its many
splendid equipages-in fine, by the
whole body Of its inhabitants being
very advanced In the progress of civ
ilization, and to which the latest fash
lOllo VI al 10 ilt NV tN ull hhSNlos
At that epoch Irkutsk, refuge for the
Siberians of the province. was crowded.
1t abounded in resources of every kind.
Irkutsk is the emporium for all that
countless merchandise which Is eN-
changed between China, central Asia
and Europe. They did not fear to
draw there, the peasants from the val
low Of An IN Mnnnnls II "a l.
kaS, people from Toungouze and Bou-
ret, and to allow the wilderness to
stretch out between the invaders and
the town.
Irkutsk is the residence of the gov
ernor general of eastern Siberia. I'M
der him is civil governor, in whose
hands is concentrated the administra-
tion of the province, head OF the po-
lice, who has great deal to do in n
town where eXlles aOound, and lastly
a mayor, one of the leading merchants,
an important parsonage by his inn
mense fortune and by the influence
which he has over his fellow citizens.
The garrison of Irkutsk was then
| composed of n regiment, OF foot Cos
sacks, which numbered about 1000
men, n body of foot gendarmes, who
wore the helmet and blue uniforms
striped with silver,
Besides, it Is known that on account
of particular circumstances the brother
of the czar had been shut up in the
town since the commencement of the
invasion.
That situation must be given in de-
tail.
1t was journey of political impor-
tance that had led the grand duke into
those distant provinces of eastern Asia.
The grand duke, after having visited
the principal cities of Siberia, travelling
In militMy rather than princely style,
without any retinue, escorted by de-
tachment Of Cossacks, had gone even
as far as the countries beyond the Bal
kan mountains. Nicholaevsk, the last
Russian town which is situated on the
shores of the sea of Okhotsk, had been
honored by his visit.
Having reached the boundaries of the
immense Muscovite empire, the grand
duke was returning to Irkutsk, from
whence he would soon return to Eu-
rope, when the news reached him of
that invasion, which was as sudden as
1t was menacing. He fastened to re-
enter the capital, but when he arrived
there communication with Russia had
been cut off. He still received few tel
grams from st. Petersburg and Mos
cow. He could even answer them.
Afterward the wire was cut under the
circumstances already known to the
reader.
Irkutsk was isolated from the rest of
the world
! The grand duke could do nothing but