Geographic Literature 



2 37 



to examine the project for the Russian 

 Government. M.von Ruckteschell says 

 that a waterway large enough for ves- 

 sels drawing 31.5 feet could be built for 

 $180,000,000 between Riga and Cher- 

 son. Of actual canals only 66 miles to 

 connect the western Dvina and Dnieper 

 rivers will have to be excavated. The 

 length of this interior waterway will 

 be 1,468 miles. The Dvina is used for 



330 miles and the Dnieper for 1,072 

 miles. Such a canal would permit war- 

 ships to go from the Baltic to the Black 

 seas in seven days, while vessels now 

 require several weeks for the voyage 

 via Gibraltar. An interesting descrip- 

 tion of the proposed waterway is given 

 by Ethelbert Watts, Consul General to 

 St Petersburg, in Daily Consular Re- 

 ports, No. 191 1, March 26. 



GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



Greater Russia. By Wirt Gerrare. 



Illustrated. Pp. viii -f 337. 6x9 



inches. The Macmillan Company. 



New York : 1904. $3.00. 



This volume, reprinted from the edi- 

 tion of 1902, makes an excellent sup- 

 plement to Senator Beveridge's "The 

 Russian Advance;" Mr Gerrare goes 

 considerably more into detail in his de- 

 scriptions of Siberian towns, life, and 

 commerce. 



' ' There has been a great awakening 

 of Russia. The people, debarred gen- 

 erally from active participation in poli- 

 tics, have directed their energies toward 

 the commercial and industrial exploita- 

 tion of their native land. They are 

 active, strenuous, and persevering ; 

 they have advanced in civilization as 

 well as increased their wealth and 

 power. ' ' 



"East of Baikal is Russia's greater 

 and better half, because that land has 

 been influenced from the west by way 

 of the cosmopolitan Far East." The 

 book contains a fine map of Manchuria 

 and Korea and nearly a hundred illus- 

 trations. 



Early Western Travels, 1 748-1 846. By 

 Reuben Gold Thwaites. Vol. I. Il- 

 lustrated. Pp.328. 6}4 x 9 % inches. 

 Cleveland, Ohio. Arthur H. Clark 

 Company. 1904. 

 The first volume in this valuable series 



includes: The journals of Conrad Weiser 



in 1748, giving an account of the first 

 official journey undertaken by the Eng- 

 lish colonists west of the Alleghenies ; 

 the journals of George Groghan (1750- 

 I 765), giving an epitome of the Indian 

 history of the period ; the journals of 

 Capt. C. F. Post of two trips from Phil- 

 adelphia to the Indians of the Ohio, 

 and the journal of Capt. Thomas Morris, 

 who accompanied General Bradstreet 

 (1764) on the latter' s expedition toward 

 Detroit. Professor Thwaites and the 

 Arthur H. Clark Company, publishers, 

 are doing a great service in bringing to 

 light these personal narratives of early 

 American exploration. 



From Paris to New York by Land. By 



Harry De Windt. With 2 maps and 

 90 illustrations. Pp. 310. 5^x9 

 inches. New York : F. Warne&Co. 

 1904. $3.00 net. 



The 90 illustrations of this volume 

 form the best part of it and are alone 

 Worth the price of the book. The nar- 

 rative is superficial and becomes tire- 

 some because of the monotony of 

 "hunger and filth" which the author 

 endured and which he is constantly de- 

 scribing. As the journey from Paris 

 to New York by land has been accom- 

 plished by no one else, and as it re- 

 quired much pluck and perseverance, it 

 is unfortunate that Mr De W T indt has 

 not given the world a more valuable 

 record. 



