The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-21

is produced by the ebb and flow, but this is still insuffieiently proved by science. The breaking of the ice sur face, as in the Alpine glaciers, is ac- companied by a loud crash. recalling an explosion. followed by a long rolling noise. The ereyice is instantly filled with water to the level of the ice, form ing a kind of river. In from to 14 days it freezes again, and a new crevice appears at another place. The ice melts slowly. and this process lasts nearly two months"
 Some scientists assert that the lake, which is really a huge cup in the een- ter of a vast mass of mountains, was formed by volcanic eruptions, and that it's present extraordinary unrest IS caused by a continuance of slight seis- mic disturbances in no other way, they Eighty of these caps, more character ice in such intense cold be completely and satisfactorily accounted for. There is no stormier body of water in the world than Lake Baikal. Its ex- traordinary unsteadiness is partly ex- plained by the great depth of the water. Strong northwestern winds called ''sor- ma" spring up in moment, like tropi- cal squalls and produce short, high waves that speedily ingulf small ves- sels sailed by unskilled hands. Storms occur constantly, excepting during June and July, when the lake is almost calm. During this lull numerous aqua tic plants float on the surface of the water, and the dwellers along the shores call this time ''the blossoming of Baikal.''
 The mountains bordering the lake as- sume peculiar shapes and, protruding into the water, form numerous capes. Eighty Of these caps more character istic than the others, have received names according to their shapes or col or or some other peculiarity. The na- tive tribes living along the shores at tach superstition legends to many of these cliffs and capes, and thus it comes about that many points on the shores of stormy Baikal and it's islands are venerated as sacred spots even in the present day.
 The shamans and lama priests of the Buriat tribes consider the island of Olkhon, in the lake, as the dwelling place of the evil spirit Begdozi, and they offer frequent sacrifices to him. The Russian Academician Georgi, who visited the island in 1772, said that the number of sacrifices made there was astounding. They were human sacrl- fees in his day, but, of course, those are now forbidden by Russian law, though it is said they are still offered up occasionally in secret. This same island is connected in Mongolian folk lore with many tales of the Mongol he- TO. Ghengis Khan, whose camp is said to have been pitched there
 The shaman Cliff, at the western edge of the lake, is venerated by the Buriats and a submerged granite cliff, called shananka, which only rises few feet above water level, is considered by their shamans and lamas to be the dwelling place of their invincibe white god, the principle parsonage in their mythology. They offer sacrifices to him on the cliff and pray for prosperity in time of peace or for victory in time of war.
 Che of the cliffs of Holy Cape. on the eastern shore. is in the form of an im- mense head, with a huge nose and big holes instead of ayes. The crevices which represents the mouth shelters fiocks of sea cormorants. This sinister looking cliff is much feared by the Blu riats and Tunguses who say that II harbors an evil spirit. A neighborine cape, with three cliffs, called Khaman- rll is worshipped by the Tunguses they say that the first cliff is the sea ! god Dianda, and the other two cliffs are inferior deities subject to him. Thei, shamans render worship to Dianda in order that he may forbid the waves tc crown any of their tribesmen who may happen to fall into the sea, and that he may order the waves to drive shoals of lHsh to the shore where they can be easily caught. The lake is surrounded ny so many places held in veneration py one tribe or the other that the name l Holy Sea-" has been given to it bv thf Mongols and the Russians
 The Baikal swarms with fish whior are caught in great quantities to sun. ply all the surrounding districts Tb, queerest of these fish is inc dra o,,,o,, l -----------