Evening star., 1924-05-18
BOOSTING CAUCASUS
AS VACATION RESORT
Soviet Officials Visit Sukhum Dis
trict-Some Americans
Reported.
NOTED AS FERTILE REGION
Circassian Walnut Grown for Fine
Furniture.

Intricately curly, warm toned wood
of a Circassian walnut dinner table
or highly polished dresser are the
closest contacts most Americans have
to lofty Caucasus mountains where
soviet officials now repair for their
health, according to news reports
from Russia
"Sukhum aspires to be not only a
health resort for Russian government
officials, but also vacation paradise
whose salubrity and beauty 'chal-
lenge that of Florida, California, the
Riviera, Switzerland and the lovely
| tropical isles of the South Sea-" says
a bulletin of the National Geographic
! Society from it's headquarters here.
Some American Settlefx.
wealthy Russians are encouraging
| this development by building splen-
| did villas whose verandas command a
magnificent view of the Black sea,
deep forests and lofty Mount Elbruz,
one-third of which is constantly COW
cred with snow. 1t is even reported
| that some Americans, preferring
more Sparsely settled paradise on
earth, have transferred their anec-
| tions to the Caucasus.
'Sukhum (Sukum Kaleh, in fulD is
| 100 miles north from Batum, at the
| eastern end of the Black sea, and is
| the only good port between Batum
| and the Sea of AZov. Mountaineers
| shun the city, fearing malaria, but
| the foothills of the frosty Caucasus,
| back ground splashed against the
of the most delightful climates in the
| world. 1t is natural that Russians
| make this district their vacation cap
| ital. since the Caucasus is the only
great mountain range In all soviet
land and presents a striking relief
to the fiat but fruitful plains. A
famous Alpise guide who went to
the Caucasus by rail, exasperated
by endless horizontal lines in the
Ukraine, finally broke out, saying it
for mountains since it was hourly
becoming more evident that the world
was truly fiat
Home of Circassian Walnut.
Though the Caucasus mountains
as a whole are barren, gaunt, rug
ged to a fault, the western strip
along the Euxine, ancient name for
with forests and almost tropical
underground. Warm winds sweep
ing eastward are robbed Of moisture
by the mountain ridge. What arid
Turk estan loses, Circassia and Alb
khasia use to grow Circassian wal
Observers report the Caucasus for
ests remarkable for their variety.
In addition to walnut, there are oak,
beech, pine and many other va
rieties growing side by side. One
enthusiast declares plums and pears
as he rides down the Kodor valley.
Strawberries, raspberries and cur
rants abound in the glens
"Botanists have found in this noun
tain retreat survivors Of the. vege-
table world when the earth was
young. Common plants, which orii-
narily attain height of one or two
feet, become giants five or six feet
tall. Mountainsides are great bou-
quets. The fireworks of flowers are
said to recall Fourth Of July sky
rocket displays. There are great yell
low ScabouS flowers, azure column
bines and crimson blooms. like Alpins
snakeweed- Beneath these gaudy
canopies are found shade-loving
biooms-geraniums, orchids, forget
me-notS, vOiletS.
Race Has No Written LANGUAGE.
Like the strnage plants, the Alb
khasians, or the remnant Of them, who
inhabit this Caucasian paradise, are
race which seems to have no ties
with the historical world Ethnolo-
gists are said to have worked on
the problem of their origin in vain.
Like northerners. they are tall, fair
complexioned- blue-eyed. have au-
burn hair and love sports and aih-
letics. Yet they have an oriental
regularity 70 feature. Other similari-
ties ally them to Semitic races They
have no written language. Their
fruitful mountain slopes provide an
easy living, and not seldom an ad-
venturer in the hills is reminded OF
old Greek idyls as he comes upon a
picturesque shepherd tending his
flock, grazing in infinite peace on a
solitary mountain meadow.
HerodotuS knew the Caucasus for
the highest mountains with which
the civilized world was acquainted
He reported that the people lived on
fruit, and SO they do to a great ex-
tent even today. Leaves for making
fast dye were obtained in the for
insensible to laws of deoency or
morality. To the Black sea shore of
the Caucasus came Jason in his tiny
ship in search of the golden fleece.
Perhaps the golden fleece was mere
ly an excuse, a business trip which
would permit him to spend a sum-
mer at what the world has rediscov-
cred as an attractive vacation re-
sort.
Setting for Shelly Poem.
'Prometheus was bound by the gods
to the frozen f1anks Of Elbruz, legend
has it He was the god of fire and
cultural progress, a friend of man,
and 1T was for frustrating acts of
despotc deitieS that he was chained
to the highest peak in Europe The
story served as the theme for Shell
lys 'PrometheuS Unbound
Snow Always PrevafIA
E1bruz's monarch mountain top
with king1y ermine snow is con-
stantly clothed, but visitors say It
does not compare in majesty to MANY
other famous world peaks Like
Mount Rainier, Elbruz is a volcanic
cone. Many peaks of the Caucasian
barrier were once volcanoes spewine
lava Though 1t is the highest noun
tain In Europe, it's 1870 feet are
exceeded by some Alaskan peaks.
many in South America and a few in
Africa and Asia.
The Cauca SuS, as a mountain re-
sort. lacks the lakes Of Switzerland.
iheir numerous glaciers do not COM
pare with the ice streams of Alas
ka inland passage. It has not the
diverseness OF the American north
west, but it can depend on Romantic
grandeur of forested valleys and
crystal mountain tops to attract tonr-
| ISIS Near Sukhum Kaleh the tenn
perature seldom falls below freezino
and does not exceed 80 degrees. Pain.
faII Is moderate and r>u,,io. xL--.r