Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-09-17
RUSSlA'S OIL CENTRE.
British Made Strike BY Getting &c
Baku First.


The National Geographic Society is
sues the following war geography bull
lctin on Isaku. ltussia's great oil city
occupied recently by the British
forces:
THE city of Isaku. built in the
form of an amphithcatcr on the south
side of the Apsheron peninsula. which
juts far out into the Caspian sea, is the
Tampico of the Slav empire. Two vast
oil fields. containing more than 2,IOu
wells. make it the chief oil center in
Europe. Had the Teutonic powers
succeeded in reaching 1t before the
British forces occupied it, the blow
would have been even more serious IL
the Allies cause than was the seizure
of the Roumanian oil fields Of the Ger
man army Of occupation many months
ago.
According to the census the year
before the outbreak Of the war, Baku
was il city about the size Of Oakland,
Cal. Providence. r. l., or Toledo, Ohio
1t is the chief city of the Russian pro-
vince Of the same name, it is situated
in the midst of unattractive. treeless
plain which stretches along the west
crn shores of the Caspian. The Cas-
plan is 81 feet below sealevel, and Ba-
ku rises only 80 feet above the great
inland sea, so that 1t is more than SO
feet below the ocean level.
Many centuries ago the Persian
fire worshippers discovered that the
natural gases issued from the Rssoror
in the rocks near Baku would burn.
and there may be seen, few miles
from the city, the remains Of one Of
their temples. The city itself was In
existence as early as the sixth CEN
tury. 1t did not become a Russian
possession until little more than n
hundred years ago.
"The upper part Of the city, corre-
spending to the back rows of an am
phithcatrc, is the picturesque Tartar
quarter. with its many narrow lanes
and oriental baZaars. \ fifteenth
century palace of tho khans is in a
very dilapidated condition, and has
been used for many years by the Rus
slams as Il military magazine. The most
characteristic structure in the town is
the massive Kis kalc. or Maidens'
Tower. which rises to height of 147
feet and which is now used as a light
house. 1t dates from the Byzantine
period.
"Four-ffths of all the oil that is
produced in the Russian empire comes
from the Baku fields. The high-wat-
cr-mark Of production was reached II
years ago when the output OF the dis
tract was nearly ten million tons OF
crude petroleum. In 1905, however,
there was Il disastrous fire which con-
sidcrably curtailcd production for a
time. The latest authentic figures on
production are those OF 1915 when
n little more than seven tons were
produced. Much of the output of the
wells. which vary in depth from 500
to 1000 feet. is transported by pipe
line to Batum on the Black Sea,but
Baku is also connected by rail with
this seaport as well as with Rostov-
n-thc-Don. The former city lies $50
miles TO the west. by the Tiflis. and
the latter is SIS miles to the north
west.
In addition to its oil interests Baku
has drydocks. flour mills. sulphuric
acid works and tobacco factories,
while it is the chief cntrepot for raw
cotton. silk. fruit. wines and rice pro.
duced in Persia and the Transcaucasus
territory.
"The town derives its name from
the squalls (badkubc) which are fire.
quently very violent on this part o.
the Caspian sea-"