The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-05-21
FLORIDA OF RUSSIA
The Historic Crimean Peninsula
of the Black Sea.
HORRORS OF ITS GREAT WAR.


Nightingale Won Her Crown of Glory
on the Battlefield.
Hanging down into the Black sea
Ike butchers cleayer, with its handle
pointed east and the near corner of the
blade joined to the mainland of Rus
STA. the Crimea. where it was first
Planned TO exile the ear when he alb
dicated, Is about as near 10 being al
island as a peninsula well can be, even
though very narrow strait Is the
only water that lies between 1t and n
second connection with the mainland
On the one side--to the west-lies 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 its Washington headquar-
tiers for geographic research, concern
ing this Florida of Russia jutting out
into Europc'S inland sea.
with an area matching that of New
Hampshire. population equal to that
OF New Hampshire and Vermont to-
gether and a 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 congress of races. its In
dustries ranging from the growing of
Subtropical fruits and the housing of
Russia's elite as they flee 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-
ton in Russia have their country seats
in the Crlmea. 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 LIST of November.
1.-THE peninsula is occupied by $4,000
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 been
undergoing the influences of Russifca-
ton for several generations. They have
taken up vine culture. fruit growing
and kindred occupations with zeal
seldom equaled east of the Aegean
"Of course most interesting of all
things Crimean are its history, its for
tress and It's imperial palace. In the
second century b. c. the Scythians
founded a kingdom there, and the land
passed through many changes now nm
der one sovereignty, and now under an
other. finally passing to the Tartars,
who in turn were brought under the
rule Of the Turks. In 1888 Russia
forced the last khan to abdicate and
made the Crimca 4 part of one of her
provinces The Grim Tartars. who
rive the peninsula its name by reason
Of their substantial admixture of Greek
ana other bloois, have lost most of the &,
features, being slender in
build, possessing aquiline noses, eyes
that have lost the oriental slant and
not quite so inscrutable
as the eastern type.
Sin the Crimean war, fought by Eng
land, France and Turkey against Rus.
sia, the final test OF strength came at
Sebastopol. Here the factors OF I'M
limited resources operated in the allies
favor. Through their command of the
sea they could secure everything need
ed. while the Russians could bring up
their supplies only across the barren
steppes, whose highways were marked
at every step by the dead and the dy
ing, both man and beast.
THE novels of Tolstoy give a graphic
picture OF the Crimean war from the
Russian viewpoint, depicting the mis-
sries of the march, the anguish of the |
life in the classmates and the nerve |
destroying ordeal of manning the lines |
mder shellHre. there to await the night |
attack that might or might not come.
L was in this war that Florence Night |
ngale rendered services as nurse
hat made her name a synonym of |
angel on the worlds bat |
lelields. Then men knew nothing OF |
he cause of cholera ana such diseases, |
md the soldiers died like flies. 1t IS |
estimated that $1,000 British soldiers
ie buried in the cemetery outside of |
THE imperial large palace, to which
he dethroned monarch was to retire
$ situated at Llvadia, surrounded by
/ magnificent park. 1t is OF recent
AID was completed in
$40. Hard by is the simply construct
u small palace, in an upper room of
which Alexander III. died. In no 9th
r country in the world was the reign
ng ruler possessed of so many lands
r such extensive properties as was the
ase in Russia
Have the Habit.
Have you any late trains out here?"