Iditarod pioneer., 1915-05-15
EAST PRUSSIA'S CHARACTER
 EMBODIED IN INHABITANTS

East Prussia is one of the sternest re- gions of civilized Europe. From the shores of the Baltic southward there is a great sweep of even sands, flat and dreary, much of it uncheered even by the relieving green of the forest. Finally the sand wastes end and the lake country, covering the southern half of the province begins.
 East Prussia lies beyond the beaten path of the army of tourists who heretofore an nually have invaded Germany. few ir- regulars, among them conscientious students of things German American buyers of such ware as amber, and some who went to rest, filtered through to the curt hospitality of the Prussan plain If they remained long enough to catch somewhat of its spirit, they learned to love its sternness. For nature is coldlv frugal in East Prussia producing bounteous grain and potato yields from her dun-colored sandy soils only in repayment of intense. unremittjng labor and she seems jealous of even the meager variety ot her pine and fir forests few and always the sarne in the north, save where, at rare ln- tervals, they are frightened up by the gls- tening bark of the silver birch.
 Amid such uncompromising surroundings it is but natural that firm jawed men and women, earnest, laborious, unbendlng, and above all, believers in duty, should be found. And, as . rule, the people of East Prussia, peasant and junker (gentleman farmer), are as unyieding and simple as the land in which they live.
 Somewhere around this area, certain scholars hold, the Indo- Germanic race be- gan its conquest of the world, and its task of accumulating an Indian and a western culture. No filter country could be lmag ined for the disciplining of people to sacrifice effort and determination.
 Koeniesberg is the capital of this prov nce It is the central market for the grains, potatoes and commercial alcohol produced in East Prussia, and to an increasing ex tent, it has served as a commission mar ket for the produce of neighborng Rus sian governments This city IS most widely known through the university, and most of that insttution's fame centers around a brilliant teacher of about gentry ago, Inn manuel Kant, author of profound criticisms of reason and conscience
 The treless energy of the German peasant frceholdcr and the scientific effort of the great estate owners have brought 1t about that the bleak steppes of northeasternmost Germany produce rich harvests of grain and potatoes It is mostly the harder grains thet are raised there-rye and oats. The pctsto yield cf the province is largely worked for alcohol for use in the arts and for domestic use, such as cooking lighting and heating; and for power engines. Pc tato distilleries are numerous throughout the country adjacent to Koenigsberg and along the sea.
 East Prussia borders on West Russia. Over its whole extent throughout the Rus sian Baltic provinces Slav and Teuton have mingled pretty thoroughly. The East Prus- sian has in his veins considerable Slavic blood; while the Baltic Russian, on the other hand, possesses strong strain of leu tonic blood. Slavic names are heard on every hand in East Prussia, both folk names and place narnes-al place-names ending in 'itz" and low" being of Slavic origin About 20 per cent of East Prussia's 100000 people speak a Slavic tongue.