The Kendrick gazette., 1917-06-01
FLORIDA OF RUSSIA
The Historic Crimean Peninsula
OF the Black Sea.
HORRORS OF ITS GREAT WAR.

In This Famous Conflict Soldiers Died
Like Flies From Disease and Florence
Nightingale Won Her Crown Of Glory
on the Battlefield.
Hanging down into the Black sea
like butchers cleaver, with its handle
pointed east and the near corner of the
blade joined to the mainland Of Rus
sia. the Crimea, where 1t was first
planned to exile the czar when he alb
dicated, is about as near to being an
island as q peninsula well can be, even
though very narrow strait is the
only water that lies between 1t and q
second connection with the mainland.
On the one side-t0 the west-ies the
Perekop gulf, and to the east, shut out
from the Black sea by the handle Of
the cleaver, is the sea Of Azov."
Thus the Crimea is outlined in bull
letin by the National Geographic So
ciety from it's Washington headquar-
ters for geographic research, concern
ing this Florida Of Russia jutting out
into Europe's inland sea.
with an area matching that of New
Hampshire. a population equal to that
Of New Hampshire and Vermont to-
gether and climate that borrows
good features from Florida and south.
ern California and bad ones from
many places. the Crimea is one Of the
most fascinating bits of territory be-
tween Portugal and Cochin China. Its
populace a congress of races. its In
dustries ranging from the growing OF
subtropical fruits and the housing of
Russia's elite as they fee from the
cold. to the herding of sheep and the
growing Of grain. it is place of many
sided activities.
"As the men Of wealth of America
have their winter homes in Florida and
those of western Europe have theirs
along the Riviera, the people of posi-
tion in Russia have their country seats
in the Crimea. And beautiful places
they are, for in Russia the rich are
very rich. The height Of the social sea.
son is from the middle Of August to
the 1st of November.
''The peninsula is occupied by S55, ,OOC
people, according to the last census
mostly Turkish speaking Tartars, with
a scattering Of Russians, Greeks, Ger
mans and Jews. Cleanliness and mo-
rality are said to be proverbial traits
of the Crimean Tartars, who have beer
undergoing the influences Of Russifica
>tion for several generations They have
taken up vine culture, fruit growing
and kindred occupations with a yea
seldom equaled east of the Aegean.
"Of course most interesting Of al
things Crimean are its history, its for
tress and its imperial palace. In the
second century B. c. the Scythian.
founded a kingdom there, and the lant
passed through many changes, now un
der one sovereignty. and now under an
other, finally passing to the Tartars
who in turn were brought under tn,
rule Of the Turks. In 1888 Russia
forced the last khan to abdicate an(
made the Crimea a part of one of hel
provinces. The Grim Tartars, whit
give the peninsula it's name by reason
of their substantial admixture Of Greel
and other bloods, have lost most Of tn,
|
build, possessing aquiline noses. eye
that have lost the oriental slant ant
countenances not quite SO inscrutabl,
as the eastern type.
"In the Crimean war, fought by Eng
land, France and Turkey against Rus
STA, the final test of strength came a
Sebastopol. Here the factors Of un
limited resources operated in the allies
favor. Through their command Of tn
sea they could secure everything need
ed, while the Russians could bring vi
their supplies only across the barrel
steppes, whose highways were marked
at every step by the dead and the dy
ing, both man and beast.
1.-The novels Of Tolstoy give graphi
picture of the Crimean war from tn,
Russian viewpoint. depicting the mis-
cries Of the march, the anguish of tn,
life in the classmates and the nerv,
destroying ordeal of manning the line
under shellfire. there to await the nigh
attack that might or might not come
1t was in this war that Florence Night
fngale rendered services as a nurs,
that made her name a synonym O
ninistering angel on the worlds bat
tledeldS. Then men knew nothing O
the carse Of cholera and such diseases
and the soldiers died like flies. It L
estimated that $4,000 British soldier
lie buried in the cemetery outside o
Sebastopol.
THE imperial large palace. to which
the dethroned monarch was to retire
Is situated at Livadia, surrounded b,
a magnificent park. 1t is Of recen
construction and was completed |,
1910. Hard by is the simply construct
ed small palace. in an upper room o.
which Alexander III. died. In no 9th
er country in the world was the reign
| inS ruler poSSeSSed of 50 manu land,