Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-18
DERING STRAIT
TUNNEL NOT NEW
INCORPORATION OF COMPANY
TO BUILD 1T IS
However, Russia Doesn't Think It
Likely to Be Done-Summer Re-
sort on Black Sea to Which
No Guests Come
BY ADELBBRT THOMAS

Special Cable to The Herald.
ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. H.-The
scheme for a railway between North
America and Asiatic Russia is no new
one, although 1t has reached new
point of departure in the incorporation
of a company in the state of New Jer-
sey to construct railway tunnel under
Bering strait. At first sight is does not
strike one as probable that a capital or
ss .ooo 900 will go far towards carrying
out the design originated several years
ago by a French engineer and approved
b ythe czar of Russia. Nor does the
idea of q submarine tunnel seem much
more feasible than that of a bridge
across Bering strait, which once found
some favor among armchair engineers.
Anyhow Russian engineers agree that
1t will be some time before through
trains between New York and st. Pc
tersburg will be announced.
A god story is told regarding Gaghri,
O. story which illustrates the Russian
way of doing things. Two or there
years ago one of the grand dukes came
y
with the charm Of the situation. He
saw what a nice thing 1t would be to
have watering place on this side of
the Black sea, to be in time, maybe q
rival to Yalta, in the Crimea. Also, as
he bought ground, he saw a means Of
enriching himself. Next to the emperor,
the wish of a grand duke is a thing to
be obeyed. Six million roubles of pub
lie money were spent in hotel building,
mo q " of OD
When it was all finished the climate
was discovered to be unhealthy. There
are constant rains, and the whole coun-
try reeks with malaria. Invalids at
tracted to this new health resort fled
in o much worse state than they came.
There is no railway accommodations,
no harbor, and as the sea is often rough,
and ships dare not anchor there, there
is no knowing, when you land at
Gaghri, when you are going to get away
again.
Hotels; No Guests
Each summer the hotels are opened,
the walters come, the band plays. Half
a million of roubles out of the public
chest are spent each year keeping
Gaghri on it's legs.
A Russian official named M. Loktieff,
on returning home with his wife about
o'clock in the morning, was attracted
by strange noise in the drawing room,
as if chair was being pushed. An ex-
animation by candle light revealed
nothing amiss and search in the other
rooms had the same result.
e They returned to the drawing room,
where a large portrait of Mime. Lok-
tieff's grandfather, in the uniform of a
& Uhlan officer, was standing against the
wall. The young wife glanced at the
portrait, and, utering scream, rushed
out of the room.
Whats the matter?" asker her hus-
band, graetly surprised.
II just thought the portrait was look
ing at me with real eyes," answered his
wife, who was trembling violently.
Her husband laughed at her childish
fears. Half an hour passed before Nine.
Loktieff came to herself, and then re-
membering that she had left her purse
in the drawing room with $25 in it, she
took a candle and bravely entered the
drawing room on her search. A wild
shrek followed. Her husband rushed
in and found his wife lying in dead
faint on the floor With the cooks help
he carried his wife to bed. While he
was nursing her he told the cook to
search the room carefully, but she did
not find anything suspicious.
The next morning M. Eoktieff, look
ing more closely at the portrait found
portrait had been moved little from
hte wall. Further investigation showed
that many valuables were missing. The
thief had hidden himself, it seems, be-
hind the portrait, and was watching the
couple all the time through the eye
holes of the portrait.
New Account of Battle
A letter never before published, and
written by Lord Tredegar shortly after
Balaklava, is now printed. The follow
ing is an extract descriptive of the
charge of the Light brigade on the
Russians at Balaklava:
I'VE, the Light brigade, were drawn
up at the other end of the valley, facing
their position, distant about three-quar-
ters of mile, waiting, had imagined,
for infantry to come to our support.
when suddenly an aide-de-camp (poor
Nolan) galloped up with an order. The
Light brigade will attack; the Seven
teenth and Thirteenth will advance sup
ported by the Eighth and Eleventh and
Fourth Knowing the strength of their
position and our want of proper support,
/ felt it was a critical moment, but,
grasping our horses by the head, away
we went. We had not gone many yards
before we were under fire of the first
heavy battery on our left, the first shot
of which killed poor Nolan, a splinter
going right through his heart, and his
horse carried him back to us. On we
went, the pace increasing, amidst the
thickest shower of shell, shot, grape,
canister and mimic, from front and
fank-horses and men dropping by
scores every yard. The whistling and
cracking Of. shells was beyond all de-
scription. Under this we went for three
quarters of mile, the enemy's guns
firing in front of us until we were within
a yard and half of them. Just as
came close to one 1t went off, and nat
urally, round went my horse | turned
him round and put him at it again, and
got through, the cavalry retreating the
other side. Not more than a dozen of
the Seventeenth and the same number
of the Thirteenth were to be seen, so we
turned to come back, knowing we could
not hold the guns we had taken. The
Eighth, Fourth and Eleventh followed
us in and suffered nearly as much as
w.. r.