The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-10
T<IsHINEFF AS A CITY.
Far from n BAD Place to Live In,
Except for "a jew.


From the New York Times.
So great has been the interest of the
public in the recent massacre in Kish-
ineff that little or no attentian has
been given to the physical Characters
tics of the place. And yet there are
men over in the East Side who have
lived in Kishineff and say that in many
ways it is quite unlike any other city
in the world. One of these men, who
was in Kishineff not great while
ago and who took sufficient interest in
it to learn much of it's history, told
yesterday of some of it's most remark
able features. Judging from the way
he spoke of it, Kishineff is not at all
a bad place to live in-that is, for any
one but a Jew.
Altogether the most attractive part
of the city, according to the description
of the former inhabitants, are the Won
derful gardens in the suburbs. These
gardens occupy no less than 10000
acres, which is about nineteen square
miles The fertility is not excelled any
where, and II is said to be a rare oc-
currence for crop of anything to fail.
The chief product of these rich acres
are fruits and that kind of vegetables
which in America is associated with
the word trucking" Immense guam
titles of wine come from the vineyards
of the gardens of Kishineff. And many
of the expensive foreign cigarettes
smoked by people here in New York
are made of tobacco that was raised
in these same fields.
But of all things for which the Bes-
sarabian capital is noted, said this in
formant with a reminiscent smacking
of the lips, the plums are the most
deserving. They are dried and export
ed, going to Odessa or some Mediter-
ranean port, and are famous all over
Southeastern Europe.
For many months of the year" he
continued, 1.-The climate of Kishineff is
just about like that of Southern Cali
fornia is said to be, but we had some
pretty cold weather, though it didn't
last long. The coolest month has an
average temperature of about 20 or 30
degrees Fahrenheit, and in the hottest
month it is never over rs degrees"
The formation of the city is very
striking and unusual. The old, or low
er town is on the banks of the river
Bky tributary of the SDniester, and
the new, or high town, is on high
crags rising in some places to nearly
500 feet above the level of the river.
1t is doubtful if any town in Russia,
the nation of fairs, has more of them
than has Kishineff Twice a week
they occur, and the yearly returns
from them amount to something like
$1,500,000. Trade is exceedingly ac-
tive and with every year it becomes
more important Kishineff being the
chief center of the Bassarabian COM
merce in tallow, grain, and countless
other. articles Though the recent OUT
RACES perpetrated there inevitably Gre
ate the impression that Kishineff is in
a very primitive stake of civilization,
such is far from true. Whatever may
be the character of many inhabitants,
and however villainous and cruel they
may have proved themselves their
city is very rich in some things that
are usually considered adjuncts of civ
ilization.
For instance, the schools are said to
be very good, and there are several
theaters, magnificent Turkish baths,
large markets especially for cattle and
corn, and eighteen or twenty churches.
The River Byk, winding in and out
among the hills and crossed by several
bridges, with the fertile fields lying in
the low part of the town, presents a
picture, the travellers say, far from I'M
pleasant The population is something
between 10000 and 120, 000 and Is grow
to Jassy, in Roumania, passes through
Kishineff, which is only about 100 miles
northwest of the former city. Kishineff
is the seat of the Archbishopric of
Bessarabia, and has an ecclesiastical
seminary with nearly LOCO students, be-
sides a college and several secondary
schools. Steam flour mills. candle and
soap works, distilleries, tobacco fac
tories-all of these are in the interest
ing city. The streets, however, it is
said, are mostly unpaved, and the
buildings are plain.
Although it is a matter of history
several hundred years old now, the way
in which the immediate vicinity of
Kishineff has been the home of so
many different peoples is particularly
interesting in view of the late race
troubles. Far back almost before his
tory began, the Cymri and Scythaas
lived there. They were ousted by the
Geti, who in turn were conquered by
the Roman Emperor Trajan- In the
third century A. D. came the Goths,
recently become Christians; later the
Huns, then the Avars and Bulgarians,
then Slavonians, then the Bessi. from
whom the name Bessarabia is taken.
And so ii went on, one nation coming
and outsting the other Even now
there are two GYPSY villages in which
about 5000 Gypsies live.
All these names are only part of
those of the nations that came, and
now it would probably take an eth
nologist endowed with supernatural
powers to determine the genealogy of