Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-03
LAKE BAlKAL AND WAR
PART IT PLAYS IN HAMPERING
THE RUSSIAN FORCES.
The Weakest Link in the Chain Form
ed by the Trans-Siberian
Railway.
rom the New York Evening Post.

same principle the Transporting power Of
the Trans-Siberian railway is limited by
the number Of men and the bulk of supplies
| which II is possible to move across Lake
| BaikaL That large and stormy body of
| water Is the weakest of many weak links, In
/ the Immense chain OF steel that stretches
| from Moscow to Port Arthur and vladivos-
| tok.
1t was all very well for the car TO order
railway line to be run from Europe to
the Pacific as nearly as possible In a bee
| line, but Lake Baikal stood in the way
From an engineering point of view Il pre-
scented greater difficulties than all the rest
| OF the line, and the Russian engineers
| frankly confess that they do not yet see
now they are going to get over those diff
Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water
lake In the old world, with the sole excep-
ton OF Lake Victoria Nyanza, In Central
erica, and 1t Is only surpassed in America
| by Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron
Its superficial area is 34l79 square kilo-
| meters ne8rly 1900 square miles), and It's
surface is over 10000 feet above sea level,
| ringed around by a chain OF rugged moun-
| tains
The Trans-Siberian railway runs up
| against the shore of this lake at a point
where it is about forty miles wide. and to
get around II means a detour of nearly two
| hundred miles over ground which makes
| railroad engineers tear their hair In de-
| spair.
Cost Of Going Around the Lake.
Several schemes have been proposed for
continuing the line around the shore of
the lake: but the cheapest of them which
Is now being carried out is estimated to
| cost over S,OOo,OOO rubles. If ii is like the
| rest or the Trans-Siberian railway IL will
| cost twice as much as the estimate Sew
erai tunnels have to be cut through the
sond rock OF the mountains, and one Of
| them is nearly four versts long
| Many contradictory statements have been
! mace recently as to the value of Lake Bat
kal as means of transportation. some
.laveiers asserting that the lake is so
thoroughly frozen that 1t can always be
| crossed in winter without danger and
| others contendins that it is nothing better
than death trap. Probably the most
| trustworthy statement on the subject is
| that made by the Russian ministry of WAYS
| or communication. in one of its official
publications. which is to the following eff
! feet:
THE lake begins to freeze In November.
put is never frostbound before the middle
| OF december or the beginning of January.
| Ibis Iact cannot be explained by the abb
sence or cold but only by the unsteadiness
| and agitation of the water surface Being
| frost bound for a period of from four to
-FOUR and half months, the lake has an
! deep.
| There is no stormler body of water I'm thu
| world than Lake Baikal Its extra ordinary
unsteadiness is partly explained by the
| great depth of the water. Strong north
| western winds called "sorma" spring nm i'm
moment, like tropical squalls, and pro-
| duce short, high waves that speedily en-
! gulf small vessels sailed by unskilled hands
| storms occur constantly, excepting during
June and July, when the lake is almost
| calm. During this lull. numerous aquatic
| plants grow on the surface of the water
| and the dwellers along the shores call this
| time the poisoning of Baikal"
he tafr 10
peculiar shapes. and. protruding into the
| water, form numerous capes. Eighty of
| these capes, more characteristic than the
others, have received names according to
| their shapes or color some other Pc
| culiarity. The native tribes living along the
| shores attach superstitious legends TO many
of these cliffs and capes, and thus 1t comes
| about that many points on the shores of
| stormy Baikal and its islands are venerated
as sacred spots even in the present day.
| Legends of the Lake.
| The shamans and lama priests OF the
Buriat tribes consider the island of Olkhon
in the lake. the dwelling place OF the evil
spirit Begdozi, and they offer frequent sac
| rifices to him. The Russian Academician
| Georgi, who visited the island In 1112. said
| that the number of sacrifices made there
was astounding They were human
| rifices in his day, but, of course, these
are forbidden by Russian law, though
/ it is said they are still offered up OCCASION
| ally In secret. This same Island IL con-
nected in Monaghan folklore with many
| tales of the Mongol hero 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 Sha-
| manka which only rises a few feet above
! water level, is considered by their shamsns
! and lamas to be the dwelling place OF
their invincible White God. the principal
| parsonage in their mythology. They Of
| fer sacrifices to him on the cliff, and pray
| for prosperity in time of peace or Tor VIC
| TORY in time of war
| One of the cliffs of Holy Cape. on the
eastern shore, is in the form of an i'm
mense head, with a huge nose and big
| holes instead of eyes. The crevice which
represents the mouth shelters 1ocks OF
sea cormorants. This sinster-looking cliff
| is much feared by the Buriats and Tun-
| guses, who say that it harbors an evil
! spirit. A neighboring cape, with three
| cliffs. called Khamanrl. is worshiped by
! the Tunguses They say that the first
! cliff is the god Dianda, and the other
two cliffs are inferior deities subject 10
| him Their shamans render worship TO
| Dianda in order that he may forbid the
waves to drown any of their tribesmen who
may happen to fall into the sea, and that
| he may order the waves to drive shoals
| of fish to the shore where they can be
| easily caught The lake is surrounded by
so many places held in veneratlon by one
| tribe or the other that the name Holy
| and the Russians
Fish of Baikal.
The Baikal swarms with fish. which are
| caught in great quantities to supply all
| the surrounding districts. The queerest Of
these fish is the dracunculus, which is AL
| most unknown to science, for the excel
lent reason that no specimen of Ii can
ever be preserved. II inhabits the deep
/ est places of the lake, living under the
| Of ami hOdV
| When 1t is brought to the surface, II falls
! to pieces in the fresh air and melts In
| the sun. This is why nobody ever saw q
| living specimen. 1t is about three feet
| long, the head occ lpying third of its
| entire length The eyes are uncommonly
! large and protrudng, and fins are attached
| to each side of the body from the gills to
| the tail.
But the dracunculus is only one of the
| many queer things connected with Lake
| Baikal which make II one of the strangest
bodies of water in the world. Although
1t is situated over 1900 feet above sea
level its bottom in the deepest places Is