The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-05-18

worth seeing. The Nicolai arch Is oa
this street east Of the 80 callss park.
Il was built to commemorate the ris.r
Of the present car eleven years ago,
when be was still crown prince. An
other monument farther alcng, reti,sr
graceful In effect, is one recently esect-
ed to Admiral Navelskoll, who discov-
cred the mouth OF the Amur river. The
buildings are rather massive and built
for solidity rather than architectural
beauty. No frame houses are permitted
tn the town, and by law all staircases
are Of ron.
The harbor ts admirably located, with
narrow entrances, bordered on all sides
by hills Of ample height to give excel
lent elevation to batteries and to afford
splendid protection for gun positions.
An the channels from the sea are su-
perbly commanded By mauy batteries
OF modern ordnance. Few ef the guns
are, however, Of greater caliber than
ten inches. Within the last two years
many old guns have been replaced with
new ones.
The city Of Viahvostok IS almost at
the toe Of the MuraVey Amurski PENN
sula, on a harbor which affords excel
lent anchorage for warships as we'll as
merchantmen. There Is here large
navy yard with adequate ny docks
and repair shop facilities Ii an admt-
rabiy formed depression on the Mura-
vey promontory across the harbor
sonth Of the city Is large battery Of
powerful mortars. The entrance to the
harbor and the passages to the sea are
guarded by heavy batteries, and these
channels In a time like the present are
heavily mined.
Within the last two years ship ca
nal was built near the upper end Of the
Sapernui peninsula. The strategical
value Of this Is to permit torpedo craft
from the defenses an opportunity to
sortie against an enemy bombarding
the city from a distance without at
tempting to run the batteries. All these
are connected In the rear By sunken
roads which permit the rapid transpor-
tation Of ammunition from one to an
other without danger from the enemy's
fire.
From land attack, which is posi-
BILE only from the north, the city Is
We'll protected by strings Of land bat
teries connected by sunken roads and
equipped with the heaviest ordnance
in northern Asia. One popularity Of
Vladivostok is the prevalence Of heavy
fogs in the spring. Not long ago two
British warships, coming into Peter
the Great bay, bound for Vladivostok.
were caught In dense fog. They used
the lead, and when the mist raised the
Russian officers were astounded to see
the British ships lying just of the wa
ter front. The English, unknown even
to themselves, had slipped past all the
batteries. This gave the Russian COM
mander severe shock, and an order
was straightway issued that thereafter
not more than two ships Of any nation
altty should be allowed within the bar
Dor at the same time. The ostensible
reason was the harbor was too small.
vladivostok is not city which can
easily be starved out. For the last
twenty months the shipment Of live
domestic animals from China and 10
rea to vladivostok has been extremely
heavy. They are put to pasture in the
vicinity and are permitted to breed,
against the day when the place will be
besieged. The city Is susceptible Of
disastrous bombardment by warships
If they lie of about 1900 yards to the
westward, but there Is little possibility
Of these ships doing much to disable
the batteries. They could only hope to
work havoc in the city.
Russia has patiently tolled by DAY
and by night at the self imposed task
of making this, her fortress on the far
eastern shores Of the Pacific, as nearly
impregnable as science, combined with
the advantages Of nature, could make
the cars first great seat Of power and
prestige in the orient It IS now pro-
claimed as the cars Gibraltar OF the
north. It Is the eastern terminal OF
Tie Transsiberian railroad, and the
Russian government has expended mil
lions Of rubles ON It's harboc defenses
and its countless hidden land batteries.
Vladivostok differentiates itself IN
many ways from other oriental cities.
Russians, japanese, Chinese and Ko-
reans are the predominatng classes,
and they have built a city architec-
turally rude In character, but capable
Of resisting all assaults. The harbor
entrance from Peter the Great bay re-
sembles that Of San Francisco. Not
only are the entrances almost identical
in formation, but also are the names
you pass through the Golden Gate at
San Francisco and enter the Golden
Horn Of Vladivostok.
Matchmaking Telephones.
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