The National tribune., 1902-02-20


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of our Western doomed cities in the very
hight OF its prosperity. An extensive
naval station is being established there
Large dry-docks for the construction and
| leLair Of the fleets of the Pacific are be-
ing built. Its wharves were filled with
shipping. and everybody seemed to be
prosperous and full of business. New
| hotels. a new railroad station, extensive
! buildings for a new naval academy. aud
a college for the study of Oriental Ian
| guages are all under construction. and its
streets are being regarded and adapted tn
| the city as it will he in the future. The
| city is built on the southern slope Of a
| high bluff stretching around a branch Of
the harbor. which is appropriately named
the Golden Horn. Good curbs and gut
| tiers in the main streets and plank side
walks throughout the city manifest a
| proper public spirit. and a most excellent
opera, which we had the pleasure OF at
tending. proved that the esthetic side of
| life is not neglected. Indeed, as a peo-
| pie, the Russians are passionately fond Of
| music Few things are more inspiring
than to see Russian regiment march at
swinging step to the music OF their own
songs, and | shall never forget the grand
chorus Of the evening prayers. in which
the crew and passengers daily joined on
| the River Amur. or the glorious even
song of the choir of monks at the Alex
| ander Monastery at St Petersburg.
The wearing of a uniform is almost
| universal in Siberia, in civil as well as
military life, and from the common labor
Of to the Governor at least seven-tentbS
Of the men wear upon their cap or belt a
badge which indicates their occupation.
and respect is paid acco dinghy. Wher-
ever the picture of the. Emperor is seen.
the cap must be doffed, and always in
the presence of an eiknn the cap re-
moved and the sign of the cross made.
The marvellous frequency of both Of these
objects. indoors ar well as ont. and the
continuous bowling and pOsturing of the
sepEle becomes comical rather than Sc
rious to the stranger, and he wonders
whether they are as pious and reverential
as they seem.
I presume the Governor in Vladivostok
outranked the Postmaster. but his epaulets
were not 40 large nor his uniform so gor-
geOus. My first purchase in Siberia was
a postage stamp. and living in a country
where officials are public servants; and
wi here p0StmaSters take off their hats to
;he people. it seemed strange to NE to
stand with hat removed before counter,
behind which man sat with his cap on,
dressed like Major -GeHerdl,- and gra-
ciouSly consented To sell me one Scent
stamp. and | was then permitted to with
draw and recover when at the door.
Rut great as the Postmaster is. he is
nothing compared to the army officer. On
one extremely hot day on the Amur
wealthy merchant was lying on sofa
in the cabin. He had removed his coat
in order that he might enjoy comforta
bic nap. A Lieutenant in the army. trav-
cling third-clasS as a deck passenger. hap
pened to 90 by the door, and seeing him
in his shirt sleeves. and just above his
head a picture of the Emperor hanging
on the wall. awoke him and ordered him
to put on his coat in the presence of the
Emperor The man objected, and ap-
Pcaled to the Captain of the steambnat.
but to no effect. for the Captain decided
that the order must he Obeyed. although
he admitted it was arbitrary and absurd.
There are times when a despotic Gov
ernment is a good thing. if you are lit,
but one needs to be ION the inside" to
enjoy it. When our passports Were viSed
~ Toxic by the Russian Ambassador he
sent hack with them personal letters TO J
each of the Governors of the provinces |
through which we were to pass. On pre-
Spnting the letter TO Gen. Tchitaguff. at |
Vladvostnk. he at once told us that he |
would telegraph to KhabarOvsk and have |
our rooms mt the hotel and State-room on |
the steamer reserved. and also have the |
Chief OF Police assist us while there.
The traffic on the Amur under any con-
iitions is enormous, but with navigation |
almost suspended by reason of very low |
water, both Stretensk and KhabarOvsk |
had been crowded for weeks by paSsen-
gers waiting to go up or down the river
We were told by others who had engaged |
rooms weeks ahead that no frst-class ac-
could be secured. but we
went on in faith and hope, and when the
rain stopped at Khabarovsk an Inspec
or Of the Police met us. engaged our
lisvorshiks. or cabs, looked ont for our
baggage. escorted us to the best hotel.
where excellent rooms had been secured
md advised us that a good state-rOOm
vas reserved on the steamer for the next
lay. On the following day he came to
he hotel again cared for our baggage. es-
orted us to the boat and put us in first
lass State-room, and the gentleman who
lad so kindly advised us not to 90 went
ecopd-class. A call on Gen. GrOdeknff
It Khabarovsk, and the presentation of
ur letter to him, secured the same atten-
ion. so that when we arrived. at Blago,
-estchcnsk, at II o'clock at night and
wo days behind time, an Inspector was
here waiting for at the wharf, our
arriage was secured, and we were sent
o the Grand Hotel where excellent
Ooms had been engaged.
W = ltu l'sil ii't III 4NdSdSdhl lnil ITdN- |
lers through Russia must carry their bed -
l0thing with them. and had provided our
elves there with pillows. pill0w-cases
heets and blankets: hut the hotel at VIrd !
rOStOR and the dining car on the railroad
0 KhaharOvSk thoroughly convinced us
hat Russia cooking did not appeal to
-ankee appetitcs. The Siberians are good
eeders and stiff drinkers, but vodka,
'hch is principally alcohol. and quass.
rhich is a red beer distilled from rye
read. and strong tea served FIVE times n
ny and taken by the tumblerful as freely
S water, were none of them any use to
10. For food, cabbage soup, favored with
MONS and garnishcd with sour milk was
he prinoipal dish. and. with black bread
'as invariably served at noon and night.
% one who neither ate nor drank any of n
hese things the prospect did not appear
orefui or joyous: but we had been told :
f q Yankee from Maine who was the only
ian in Khaharavsk that could speak I
'ngiisi.. and. as good luck would have s
he was the manager of a large depart
lcnt store. There we outtitted for the
ampaign and laid in supplies OF crack
rs, jams and Mineral water to last us
trough to Blagovestchensk, as we sup
osed.
When our steamer, the Cesarewitch. I
arted, she had two large steel freight I
argos in tow. The first right one ran
ito the bank. The second one ran into
ie first, and its back was broken 1t
as abandoned, and on we went. The