The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-20
and the whole land stern Beyond my sx-

and the whole land stern Beyond my ex- perience.
 In the blond bearded peasant faces with straight hair I felt the force of a prIml- tive race. These people are at the same time simple and shrewd with a capacity for contrasts. They are like an immense piano, with. all the keys of civilization, all the notes of humanity. The men are superb in physical harmony, and their features of Greek regularity are without expression. In contrast the women of the bourgeois classes, with their slightly Or iental profiles. are vulgar. the nose strongly marked protruding from the su- perabundant Kalmuck flesh.
 The Russians have preserved the tradi- tions of their ancestors. who, in the nomad days across the steppes, had but sheepskins as protection against the night. Sheepskins always exist in the habits of the modern Russians, but there to they have added a few coverings and a samovar with all of which material they pursue their journeys. All these bundles obstruct the aisles and overflow the benches to such an extent that travelling students often prefer to sleep on tho floor, leaving the benches to the baggage. of which the abundance scarce permits them to find room. And yet the coaches are much larger than those usual in Eu- ropean trains.
 Longest Railroad in the World. The Siberian Railway is at once the l longest and best known railroad in the world. Russia commenced to build her great railway early in the seventies. The work of construction was pushed with all possible despatch. By the year 1877 the great line had been constructed as far as l Orenburg, It was not until 1880, however, that the great bridge was completed over the Volga, The section connecting the ] Volga and the Obi River basins was then 1 begun. The first work on the real Trans Siberian Railway was commenced May g. 1891
 The difficulties encountered in building the great line have been enormous. There have been a number of rivers to be bridged each offering a problem of. it's own to the engineers. Several of these streams have been a mile or more in width with shores of shifting sand in the summer season and ice fields in the winter. In addition, there have been miles of hills which could only be passed by tunnellinR. The greatest problem, however, has been presented by Lako BaikaI the Holy sea of Siberia It IS S90 miles long, and has an area or lo'OOO square miles. On all sides hills rise ao- ruptly to a height of from 5000 to 6 OOO feet. The depth of the lake, moreover Is so great that bridging is impossible.
 The lake is also swept frequently Oy frightfuI storrrs. Tn order to ooviate this eifacultv it has been necessary to bulld road around the lake distance ol more than a hundred miles. This road in places has been cut through rock at enormous expense. The cost of thl3 section alone Is nearly $3OOO0.O0O. It will besides. take four or five years to com piete the line.
 Crossing the Lake
 In the meantime the trip across the lake Is made by boat To cut through the thick, Arctic fee an ice breaker has been constructed at an expense Sof $4,- 504oOo. The boat. which is naniedk the Baikal. is designed to.a,As aenro3igff ice four feet thielssFE tie seces5d largest Ice hreskeEslE ehs ytsslds The ialli 65t the gFeat 4oaIti is made sf sseef. shS3s form cd on the lines of Nansan's Fran. with her stem and stern equally suited for battling with the ice.
 A steel belt an inch thick runs con- pletely around the hull The boat meas ures 20 feet in length. with a beam Of