The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-13
Tn the yenisei,

All diCIfHt ueNlCe Oh merchant NON1R-
ing-the seas were far broader then and
one voyage safely home to port made
the successful adventurer a merchant
prince-was the annual voyage. There
| comes into mind the yearly sailing OF
the 1ndiamen from the Hugh, a fleet
compact of wandering ships from the
Spice Islands and Cathay and still more
distant Xipangu, all getting under way
for the narrow seas to breast the waves
in company and with the help of num-
bers to combat the rover Across the
lonely waste Of the Pacific, in these
days scarcely less lonely, the great
galleon made her annual voyage from
Manila to Acapulco On the Rialto An
. tonic wagered his Hesh pledge on the
return of one Of the annual argosics of
Venice. Even savage navigators have
the annual voyage. the fleet of ldkdt0i
In New Guinea sets out once every year
on it's voyage from Port Moresby laden
with pots to the still ruder folk across
| the Gulf OF Papua. whence ii may return
with a freight of sage. In these later
times of the ocean ferries and the tramp
steamer and the bill of lading and ocean
insurance We have somewhat forgotten
the more leisurely habit of the sea, the
3
claiming the act of God and the King =
enemies" and for the rest showing n
/ pious vein in the doxology of these bust
ness papers and so may God send the
good ship quick deliverance."
New commerce returns to the habit of
the old. the annual voyage is once
again proposed in hope of profit II
was to establish the possibility of such
! "a animal % n
passed into the Arctic last year on an
exploration whose results he has set
forth in Through Siberia, the Land OF
the Future New York: Frederick A.
. Stokes Company.
The object of this proposed new way
/ of commerce is to exploit the products
of that region in Siberia which is tapped
by the great Yenisei and whose market
centre is found at Yenlseisk at the
head of barge navigation on that great
river. South OF the tundra in that re-
/ gion of Asia IL "A vast amount Of rich
land which may become arabic when
settlement goes further into the wild.
| At present it is pastoral and IS special
-izing in dairy farming. I, promises TO
become one of the great beef producing
regions of the world when capital es-
tablishes canneries Just now its staple
| product is butter. The market for this
butter is Cope nhacen for the great and
| well established British trade and Ham
burg for more distant export. Between
| Yeniseisk and Copenhagen the freight
! charge on the long rail route is pro-
| hibitory. Against that fixed charge a
shipment of butter from Siberia can be
/ no more than a gamblers wager on
/ the condition OF the worlds demand for
/ butter. either a great profit or a total
| loss. Now. Of course. the Siberian rail-
way is blocked to such peaceful traffic
toward Europe and Yeniseisk has begun
shipping its butter to a rapidly rising
market by the longer eastward route
| along the rail to the Pacific termni of
the Siberian railway and thence by sea
| to Europe The project with which
,Nansen was associated last year was to
] cut down this high overhead charge by
| opening an all water route from Yenise
/ isk to the ports Of the Baltic and of the
/ North Sea. II could he no more than
an annual voyage. quite of the ancient
/ type. for while the Yenisei $ navigablc
! for half the wear the Kara Sea is
] never wholly free Of ice and it, naVi-
gability is restricted to less than n
month. Nansen was invited Ia the VEN
/ ture by reason Of his familiarity with
Arctic conditions and his profound
knowledge NJ oceanography. His re-
searches while aboard the steamer Cor
rect and the tug with which he as
| cended the Yenisei deal with tho ice of
the Kara Sea and the navigation Of the
river. From Yeniseisk he travelled In
tarantass to Krasnovarsk and made a
hurried trip to the Pacific and thence
back by rail to Europe. This portion
Of the Journey proves Interesting. but
the region has been reported at greater
! length by others who have devoted more
time to il, We shall therefore confine
our attention to the less known themes
of the Kara Sea and the Yenisei River.
! The Kara Sea is the first gulf of 81