J 046 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



GREAT STEPPES AND WINDING RIVERS 



The early impressions of Siberia, 

 formed from the very limited informa- 

 tion contained in school books of not 

 very long ago, in which luckless inhabit- 

 ants of this country were pictured riding 

 in peculiar-shaped sleds drawn by horses 

 running at the top of their speed, and 

 just about to be devoured by a great pack 

 of hungry wolves, while those not fleeing 

 from this awful fate were either con- 

 demned to hopeless servitude in the mines 

 or exiled, eking out a bare existence in 

 this land of perpetual winter and limit- 

 less forests, have not been entirely elimi- 

 nated from the minds of many. What- 

 ever the conditions may be in other parts 

 of this great Empire, the country through 

 which the railway passes, as well as the 

 appearance of the people gathered at the 

 stations, would entirely dispel such ideas. 



Great steppes, winding rivers, stretches 

 of woods, and undulating meadows are 

 the characteristics of the country as seen 

 on both sides of the track. The soil is 

 very fertile; wild flowers are of enor- 

 mous growth, and although the season is 

 short, the appearance of vegetation gen- 

 erally indicates a rapid growth and early 

 maturity. Of course, like other new 

 countries, some unfavorable conditions 

 exist which will require time and experi- 

 ence to overcome. In the distribution of 

 forests and rivers, large tracts were left 

 devoid of either ; and in districts on Si- 

 berian steppes artesian wells often bring 

 up only salt or bitter water, and wells 

 furnishing sweet water sometimes sud- 

 denly change to salt and become useless. 



RAILROAD RATES OE ONE CENT A MILE 



What a wonderful achievement the 

 building of this splendid Siberian rail- 

 road has proven. Its benefits are not 

 confined to Russia alone, for its advan- 

 tages are felt the world over, as this rail- 

 way is an important factor in reducing 

 the time required to encircle the globe. 



It is cause for just pride to reflect that 

 while credit is given an Englishman for 

 first suggesting the building of this road, 

 the first plans for its construction were 

 submitted by an American. The present 

 Tsar, who has always been deeply inter- 

 ested in the project, wheeled the first 



barrel of earth and laid the first stone 

 May 19, 1 89 1. So numerous are the 

 rivers over which this railroad passes that 

 thirty miles of bridges form part of its 

 line. 



To bring the benefits of the road within 

 the reach of the people, the government 

 reduced the rates of through tickets to' 

 $59.00, being about one cent per mile. 

 It is very noticeable to tourists how few 

 large cities are entered by this road. The 

 cause of this may be similar to that of 

 the line connecting Moscow with St. 

 Petersburg, which is said to have been 

 brought about by the ofiicials commis- 

 sioned to determine the route, who were 

 influenced to make long detours to con- 

 nect with favored localities. When the 

 map was submitted to his Imperial High- 

 ness the Emperor, with a ruler he drew 

 a straight line between the two cities and 

 ordered the road built in accordance with 

 that line ; and the order was carried out. 



A very unusual custom elsewhere pre- 

 vails on this railway, which we observed 

 from the rear end of our train. At all 

 crossings the flagman stands by the side 

 of the road until the train has passed, 

 when he at once walks to the center of 

 the track, still holding the flag extended, 

 and stands like a statue until the train 

 is out of sight. This we were informed 

 is to enable the railroad ofificial, who keeps 

 tabs from the rear car, to note on his 

 report that the flagman is on the job. 

 As a train draws into a station a railroad 

 official strikes one stroke on a bell, sim- 

 ilar to a locomotive bell, which hangs out- 

 side the depot building; and about three 

 minutes before time for the train to de- 

 part, two strokes are sounded, as a warn- 

 ing to passengers to get aboard. At the 

 sound of the third and last signal of 

 three strokes, the train-starter blows a 

 policeman's whistle, when, if the engineer 

 has completed oiling and taking on water, 

 he replies with a steam whistle and the 

 train moves ofT. 



Unmistakable evidences of the pres- 

 ence of the festive mosquito are seen as 

 our train proceeds through forest dis- 

 tricts. Toward evening the people have 

 their heads enveloped in black netting, 

 and many are sitting on the lee side of 

 smudge fires in front of their homes, 



