Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-12-16
KAMCHATKA
Contains Large Swamp Area
Passible Only in Winter
Natives spend Mosquito season Mt Sea
Shore-Diet Is More Rigorous
Than Climnte-"soup Balls,
Made from Reindeer Snusnre

kamchatks and the, ncighboring coun-
try OF northeastern Siberia, reported i'm
news dispatches from Europe to have
been leased by the Bolshevik regime to
a syndicate of Americans for the develop-
ment of its natural resources, is describ-
ed in the following bulletin issued from
the Washington, D. c., headquarters of
the National Geographic society:
The kamchatkan peninsula and the
Siberian country between II and the Arc
tic Ocean is a sort of half-sister 10
Alaska. which was also once Russian
territory Alaska, the more comely sis-
ter. Jared forth, SO to speak. was sold
into the family of the wealthy Uncle
sam, and has had a life rich In excite
+ ment and adventure. Kamchatka. the
more homely sister. remained under the
Russian rooftres on the west side of Ber-
ing Sea and has lived in secluson.
"Kamchatka and the country north t.
Boring Strait contains a large area of
tundra or Arctic plains: soft sporgv
morasses during the few months of sum-
mer; frozen, now-covered wastes IN
winter. In the higher land impenetrable
underbrush springs up in summer. What
little travel is possible at this season is
done on the backs Of sturdy ponies who
must wade up the shallow streams or
plod through the sticky swamps. In
winter travel is easy. Teams of dogs and
reindeer whisk laden slcdges over the
frozen surface Of the streams and across
the. snow OF the tundra at rate, under
favorable circumstances. OF rs miles or
more n day. Trails that are virtually
highways are beaten down by the teams
Of the natives bringing their furs--thc
chief present resource of the country
to the trading posts.
I'm the summer the curse of the moist
regions of the north strikes the KAN
Chatham country; swarms of mosquitoes
and flies thicken the air and make life
miserable for all living things. The
nomadic natives flee with their herds of
reindeer to the sea coast. where the
breezes give some relief.
Though the climate of Kamchatka is
rigorous a Westerner is likely to consid
er the food Of the country more So
Bowls Of boiled fishes eyes are the most
popular delcacy in the lower peninsula
where the silver hordes OF salmon run up
most Of the streams. To the north rein
deer meat in some form Is the universal
piece de resistance. the tongues and
marrow bones being priced in particular.
The greatest of reindeer delcacies. how
ever, Is the meat of unborn fawns.
From the stomach Of slaughtered rein
deer the natives obtain their greens in
winter-half digested balls of moss. When
prepared for the table these moss balls
are somewhat like spinach in appear
ance.
" Cold storage eggs contribute to the
Kamchatkan tables. The eggs are OBJ
tained from the nests of gulls and other
wild fowls and are buried in pits on the
frosty north side of hill until needed.
no nj olFn nut fna Stipta
fare.
Soup balls carried by winter travel
ers are likely to prove n compensation
to Western palates. They are small
balls of reindeer sausage surrounded
by crust Of dough, the whole about the
size of English walnut These balls
freeze and are carried in bags like mar
bles. A handful dropped into kettle of
boiling water produces within few
minutes a delectable and sustaining
dish
The Kamchatkan peninsula proper Is
about $50 miles In length. and the dis
lance from its roots to Bering Strait il
an equal distance. Kamchatka lies in
the same latitude rs the British Isles,
while the country north to the Arctic
Ocean is in the latitude of Norway. The
Kamchatkan region Is bathed by cold
Arctic currents instead of the warm Gulf
Stream, and its climate is therefore
much colder than that of Britain and
Scandinavia"