Vol. XXIII, No. II 



WASHINGTON 



November, 1912 



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GLIMPSES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE 



By William Wisner Chapin 



Author of "Glimpses of Korea and China;" with 39 Photographs in Coeor^ 



AND "Glimpses of Japan/' with 34 Photographs in Color, in 



THE National Geographic Magazine 



With Photographs by the Author 



THE trip from New York to San 

 Francisco to the majority of peo- 

 ple is about as long a continuous 

 journey as they care to make, even when 

 surrounded by the luxurious appoint- 

 ments with which the trains of the great 

 trunk lines are equipped. It is therefore 

 quite natural that we should have antici- 

 pated with some apprehension the jour- 

 ney from Peking to St. Petersburg, a 

 distance more than twice as great and 

 requiring 11^ days and nights to accom- 

 plish. Our reservations from Harbin, 

 Manchuria, were secured and a large 

 guarantee deposit made three months in 

 advance. Although applying thus early, 

 our entire party of five were unable to 

 get compartments in the same car, so 

 popular is this "Train de luxe," which is 

 the only through express each week. 



The coaches are vestibuled, roomy, and 

 lighted by electricity, with the corridors 

 at one side. A lavatory is placed be- 

 tween and connected with each two com- 

 partments. The berths are clean, and 

 altogether the accommodations are very 

 comfortable. In the baggage cars were 

 two bath-rooms for use of all passengers, 

 and these last-mentioned conveniences 

 are probably the basis for the claim, as 

 advertised, that this is the most sump- 



tuous train in the world. The gauge of 

 the track is 3^ inches broader than that 

 of the trunk lines in America. 



Trunk lines on our side of the world 

 could, with great advantage to passen- 

 gers, adopt the methods practiced by the 

 Transiberian Railway of starting and 

 stopping trains, which is entirely free 

 from all jarring or jerking sensation. 



While 90 per cent of the patrons of 

 this road are English speaking, not one 

 among all of the railroad or custom offi- 

 cials in charge of the train understand 

 our language ; so whatever they say has 

 to go, and arguing on our part is wasted 

 breath. Only 40 pounds of baggage is^ 

 allowed to each passenger, but the com- 

 partments are so roomy that several suit- 

 cases can easily be stowed away. 



Railroad station sign-boards in Japaa 

 and China bear the names of places both 

 in English and in the native language, 

 while those in Russia are only in the 

 Russian characters. 



It is unnecessary to consult a map to 

 discover when we pass from Manchuria 

 into Siberia, since from the car window 

 the mud - walled compounds inclosing- 

 houses of the same material, capped with 

 thatched roofs and of the Chinese type, 

 give way to log houses, with now and 



