The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-05-21

Russia, the land of Cossack u
Kirghiz, Stephen Graham found
much of interest, and in Country
Life he thus tells some OF his ex'
p%eriences:
issued forth from Kopal on a broad
moorland road, and after several
hours upland tramping came to the
Cossack village of Arazan-a typlcal
willow.shaded settlement with irriga-
ton streamlets rushing along the
channels between the roadway and the
cottages. In the pleasant GOODNESS OF
five o'clock sunshine l passed out at
the other end of the only street OF the
village and climbed up into the hills
beyond. l turned a neck in the u
tains, descended by little green gorges
into strange valleys and climbed out
of them to high ridges and cold, /
swept heights. All about me gre"
desolate and rugged. 1t was touching
to look back at the little collection
of homes | had left-the compact little
island of trees in the ocean OF moor
land below me and behind me-and
to look forward to the pass where all
seemed dreadful and f%orbidding IN
front of me. In such a view | spread
my bed and slept.
Next morning, with great dlfnculty
I collected roots and withered grass
enough to boil a pot and make my
morning tea. While sitting there, the
large raindrops came, and they made
deep black spots in the dust OF the
road, the lightning flashed across my
knife, the thunder rolled powders
about the mountains and l sped to a
cave to avoid a drenching shower.
In a Celebrated District.
was in a somewhat celebrated dis
trict. The Pass and Gorge of Abakum
are among the sights Of Seven Rivers
land and are visited by Russian holl-
day.makers and picnickers. All the
rocks are scrawled with the names OF
bygone visitors, and by that fact alone
YOU know the place has a name and is
accounted beautiful. When the rain
ceased and l ventured out Of the cave
again I saw a Russian at work writing
his name. He had a stick dipped In
the pitch with which the axles OF his
cart were oiled, and the wheels OF
the cart were nearly off for him to get
it. For the first time l saw how these
intensely black scrawls we're written
on the rocks.
!, It was a pleasant noontide along
the narrow road between crumbllns
indigo rocks and heaped debris. The
stony slopes were rain-washed, tn
air fresh, and all along the way wer'
dwarf rose bushes, very thorny blu
covered with scores Of bright yellow
blossoms on little red stems. INT
Jagged highway climbed again higl
up-to the sky, and gave me a Vlsiol
Of a new land, the vast dead plall
y of Northern Semiretchie and OF South
t ern Siberia. Northward to the horizon
J. Law deserts, salt marshes and vas
+ lakes with uninhabited shores, witt
a cred moors and wilted lowlands.
r. From that height, which was eV
6 IDENTIFY the famous pass, descende
J.. into the pretty gorge of Abakum. In
/. road wal steep and narrow, the clln
on each side sheer. A little foamln
stream runs down from the cliffs, owe
rubbish heaps Of rocks, and accom-
It panies the highways in an ARTIFICIAL
devised channel. A strange gateWa
has been formed in a thin partitio
n OF rock, and through this runs tn
e stream below and the telegraph VIII
Is overhead-there is a footway, bl
carts are obliged to make a detou
At this gateway l saw the first I'M
IL nation Of Siberia and a reflection
the American spirit. Commercial ira
L. elers had scrawled: BUY PROVOl
NIX GALOSHES AT OMSK ar
BUY INDIAN TEA AND GET RICl
On the Road to Sarkand.
- It is a green and joyous road fro
Abakum eastward to Sarkand, kee
= ing to the mountain slopes and n
~ faring forth upon the scorched pla
- that lies away northward. l did n
repent that the crossroads tempt
me to go eastward, hugging the mou
tains. Long green grass waved
each side Of the road, and in t
grass blue larkspur and immense y
p low hollyhocks. l was in the la
where the Kirghiz has his SUNNI
~ pasture, and often l came upon who
IT. clans that had just pitched their ten
no It was q many-colored picture
81 camels, bulls and horses. of she
swarming among children, of kite
in playing with n another's tails,
tents whose framework only was
Or. yet put up, of heaps of felt carl
Is. on the grass, Of old wooden che
he and antediluvian pots and jugs Of s.
it, ging leather lying p~romiscuously
gether while tho new home was