Norwich bulletin., 1916-09-05
THE WAR PRIMER
By National Geographic Society

changeI.-Following the news of
the arrival of the sixth contingent of
Russian troops in France, the Nation
al Geographic Society has issued a war
geography bulletin on Archangel as
the probable port of embarl1ation for
these subjects of the Gar and for any
others who during the next two months
may be sent to join the French in the
trenches at Champagne
Supposed to be open to navigation
fro nlMay to October, but actually
free of ice for barely three months of
that time, ATChangeI could not have
been the starting point for Russian
troops which reached AarseilIes early
IN April. These more recent arrivals.
however, probably avoided the long
trip overland from European Russia
to Manchuria and thence through the
Sea of Japan, the China Sea, the In
dian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez
Canal, and the Mediterranean, a jour
ney of 1850 miles. The Archangel
voyage is simpler, shorter and safer
"a town of less than 10000 inhabi-
tants at the outbreak of the war,
ArchangeI is Russia's most accessible
European port of communication with
her allies. 1t has increased enormously
in Importance since the declarations
of war in August, 1914.
'Archangel first came in touch with
the outside world in 1853 when the
English sailor, Sir Richard Chancellor,
while attempting g Northwest passage
to India, arrived at the black haven
on the sea appropriately called White
Ivan the Terrible summoned the stran-
ger to Moscow, 700 miles othe South,
and welcomed him to Russia. Thirty
years later a town was established at
this harbor and for the next hundred
years it was the Nusccvite Kingdom s
only seaport, the chief doorway of
trade with England and Holland
When Peter the Great began to
build ana beautify his new capital, st.
Petersburg, he diverted much of Arch
angels trade to the Baltic, but there
was consolation for the White Sea
port in being designated the capital of
| the province of the same name, a
province eQualling in square miles the
aggregate areas of France, Belgium,
Holland, Denmark, Scotland and Wales
but with less than half q million pop
ulatlon. OF all this territory the area
of arabic land is less than 1900 square
miles, three-fourths of which is given
owed to pasturage. Considerably more
than half Of the province consists of
extensive tundras, swanps, lakes and
barren, rocky plains. while a third of
the land is OvergrOwn with forests, the
property of the Crown. On the tun-
dras, which are covered with Iichens,
reindeer find excellent pastUrage, while
the richer grazing land supports the
| splendid Holragor cattle, a breed at
crossed the native herds with cattle
imported from Holland. The only veg
ctables grown in this part of the Rus
sian empire are turEips and potatoes.
THE city of Archangel stretches for
| five miles on the right bank of the
| Dvina River, which at this point,
nearly so miles from it's mouth, IS two
miles wide. In recent years the i'm
portance of the porte has been mag
nified by the Duke Alexander of Wurt-
| tenn berg Canal which connects the
Dvina with Petrograd via the River
| Neva, and also with the vast basin of
| the Volga, the Mississippi River of
| Europe. The Dvina is itself q consid-
cradle waterway, being a hundred miles
| with its tributary, the SulIhcna, more
| than twice the length of that famous
| American waterway Its flow is very
slow, as the average fall per mile is
| not more than nine inches.
! "Archangel gets its name from the
Convent of Archangel Michael, at the
south end Of the town. In the principal
cathedral of the city is a wooden cross
fourteen feet high, carved by Peter the
! Great, it will be remembered learned
the use Of the mallet and chise1 while
working as a shipwright in Holland
| after he assembled the throne.
"a famous religious institution
| reached by way of Archangel IS the
Solovetzki Monastery, one Of the 1arg
est and wealthiest in Russia. Every
year from 10, 600 to 5000 pilgrims pass
Through the port or their way to this
retreat situated 1S6 miles distant, on a
| small island in the White Sea. The
nnonastry is enclosed by lofty walls
dating back to the sixteenth century
while the institution itself was estab-
lished more than fifty years before
Columbus discovA~~a America"