The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1917-07-05
FLORIDA Of RUSSIA s
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.
changing down into the Black sea
like butchers cleaver, with it's handle
blade joined to the mainland of Rus
STA, the Crimea, where it was first
planned to exile the car when he alb
dictated, is about as near to being al
island as a peninsula well can be, even
though a very narrow strait is the
only water that lies between it and
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 it's Washington headquar-
tiers for geographic research, concern
ing this Florida Of Russia jutting out
into Europe'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 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 a 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 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 list Of November.
''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 it's history, it's for
tress and its imperial palace. In the
second century 3. c. the Scythians
founded kingdom there, and the land
| passed through many changes, now I'M
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 Crimea a part Of one Of her
! provinces. The Grim Tartars, who
give the peninsula it's name by reason
Of their substantial admixture of Greek
and other bloods, have lost most of the
MQngolian features, being slender in
build, possessing aquiline noses, eyes
that have lost the oriental slant and
| countenances not quite SO inscrutable
as the eastern type. s.;sss.:::;s
In the Crimean var, fought by Eng
land, France and Turkey against Rus
STA, the final test Of strength came at
Sebastopol. Here the factors Of un-
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 graphic
picture of the Crimean war from the
Russian viewpoint, depicting the mis-
cries of the march, the anguish Of the
life in the classmates and the nerve
destroying ordeal of manning the lines
under shellire, there to await the night
attack that might or might not come
1t was in this war that Florence Night
ingale rendered services as a nurse
that made her name a synonym of
ministering angel on the worlds bat
tlefelds. Then men knew nothing of
the cause of cholera and such diseases.
and the soldiers died like flies. It is
estimated that $4,000 British soldiers
lie buried in the cemetery outside of
Sebastopol.
1.-THE imperial large palace, to which
the dethroned monarch was to retire,
is situated at Livadia, surrounded BIZ
a magnificent park. It is of recent
construction and was completed in
1910. Hard by is the simply construct
ed small palace, in an upper room Of
| Which Alexander III. died. In no 9th
er country in the world was the reign
| ing ruler possessed of so many lands
! or such extensive properties as was the
! case in Russia
Have the Habit.
Have you any late trains out here?'
| asked tho r,,voho.o~