VLADIVOSTOK

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4292, 27 February 1901, Page 7

VLADIVOSTOK

A RUSSIAN OUTPOST. Probably few spots in the world of equal fertility have (I. C. Hannah writes in .’‘Travel”) been so neglected by the human race as the densely wooded district of northern Manchuria. During the thirteenth century a few thousand Tartar fugitives, driven from their comfortable homes in China by the irrestible hordes of Kublai Khan, entered the country from the south,: and, gradually recruiting their strength in its remote valleys, formed a new race, one of the most hardy and warlike in Asia. It was these people—the famous Manehus—who gave their name to Manchuria, though they never penetrated to the north verv •far beyond Kriin.

During the seventeenth century, bursting out from their fastnesses and breaking through the Great 'Wall, the Manchus conquered the whole of China, and, setting up a dynasty of their own, introduced a period of almost unparalleled .prosperity and splendour. Their house still bears rule over the Celestial Empire, but its fortunes are in a most shattered state. Thus Manchuria (like Mongolia in earlier days) was added to the Chinese Empire by conquest, not because ; the Chinese conquered the Manchus. but because the Manchus conquered the Chinese. Large numbers of the Chinese found their way into the magnificent territory thus thrown open to their enterprise, but they penetrated very little into the northern districts, which remained a land of virgin forests, swarming with wild animals and game. ° This was all changed when, after the second Anglo-omnese war, the Russians, taking advantage of the disorganised condition of China, seized the whole of Maritime Manchuria, bringing their out. Siberian frontier down to Corea and shutting out Chinese Manchuria from the sea, except on the Gulf of Pechili. Near the southern end of the new province is a magnificent inlet of the sea. formerly known as Victoria Bay, but rechristened by its new owners Peter the Great Bay, and on its shores the Russians have built their great Pacific stronghold. Vladivostock, or “The Dominion of the East,”' the terminus of the Siberian railway. It was in the summer of IS9S that the present writer visited the place, travelling thither by a Japanese steamer with about a dozen other passengers, representing almost as many different nationalities. Warm sunshine and clear blue seas day after day rendered the voyage a delightful one, while the scenery round the coasts of Japan and Corea was certainly all that could possibly have been wished. Rocky shores, with frequent villages, backed by granite mountains, wooded in places almost to- their summits, aud blue - is-land-strewn waters dotted with the white or brown sails of innumerable junks are the usual features of the coaats of Japan. The aasteca ihpre of Gare*, is wilder.

and its rocky mountains, rising almost without foothills from the sea, are very sparsely wooded, while, owing to the great desire all Coreans have to live inland, seaside villages are few and far between.

Peter.the Great Bay is many miles in extent; its smooth waters are diversified by numerous islands, and its indented shores consist of low hills covered with forests. On one of the peninsulas jutting into it stands Vladivostook, and historical associations alone are wanted to make; the site almost equal to that of Athens or Naples; Tho harbour would bo almost an ideal one were it not for tiie ice in winter, and the, constant mists in summer, which, however, are heavy drawbacks. It was difficult to believe in the almost tropical heat of June that the whole place was ever frozen up, but being on the east coast of a continent Vkichvostock is exposed to the full force of the Arctic currents in winter. ’ The ■i. tiding channel, which leads among islands and promontories into the sheltered bay which forms the harbour, is, needless to say, guarded by a bristling array of forts, but both English and Japanese war vessels have succeeded in passing right up into the inner port during fogs, unnoticed by the military auth-orities-—feats which aro said to have ■'really lessened the confidence of the Russians in the impregnability of the stronghold, and which have certainly led to the most stringent regulations as in Hie number of foreign ships of w»r winch may anchor off’ Vladivostock at tno same time. •

As our own vessel glided up to her moorings (in tho absence of fogs) a little incident occurred, which was in the highest degree gratifying to th© English and Americans we had on board. One of the passengers was a French professor, and a Russian official canto’off to meet him. I lie official bowed and began talking Russian; the Frenchman also bowed and began speaking French They both shook their heads, and. then the official said, ■'Spoakey The Frenchman at once brightened up and said “Yes, sir,” and the conversation (about the great merits of each other’s countries) was continued in tlio most execrable English. ; ; ; ’ ,

Landing has to be effected in Chinese sampans. The water is almost viscous with jellyfish, who do not seem to be in tha least inconvenienced by the shipping. The pier is of the most primitive type. Tlio town extends right across the end of the peninsula, but the best streets aro built facing tho harbour. The site is very hilly, but the woods in the immediate neighbourhood have been somewhat recklessly destroyed, and stepping ashore —as in so many Eastern ports—is apt to bo a disenchantment. The streets are straight and broad, but sn:idy, and tho whole place has a very unfinished look, almost as many houses being in process .of erection as are completed. The sidewalks are neatly paved with wood, but the roads aro badly kept and there aro not very many carriages. Some streets have a decidedly'European wok, and Russian soldiers are very much in evidence, but the Chinese are more numerous than any other nationality, ili the manual work being done by them, and most of the trade being in theirhands. In point of numbers the Russians come next, after them the Japarieso! Except the’Hussians, there are not manv Europeans in the place, though the Gentians are sufficiently numerous to maintain a little Lutheran chapel.

The town. dess not contain any t eiy striking buildings. Long lines of red ■ barracks Arc very conspicuous ; trie oidiriary houses are of brick, plaster, or nopdi and of oomonplace European etc- , sriri There is a large church in the ■ usual Russian style, with, sax octagonal, cupolas. The Museum—a substantial! building near tha -gateway, .erected to., commemorate the Cesaroyitch S visit— j Contains a most interesting collection, of Siberian antiquities, mostly: stone implements, idols, ’weapons, etm, besides a few models of: .sledges b-its All the labels being in Russian im'lf, it is rather difficult for a foreigner , to make things out very exactly. But by far the most interesting thing ■•brint Vladivostock is, the famous rail- , wa y which it is hoped will ouo.driy’mjke I, A "possible to travel from the Daitic totho Pacific in something well under a fortnight, the distance being very much DTepter than the total length of our own 'projected Cape to Cairo .line. The sta- - tion is a brick tod stone building, standincr close to the harbbuy, and hearing the date at which th© Asiatic end of the.hue j was begun—lß9ll. Tho engines arc American, turned out at the Baldwin works, in Philadelphia, and arranged to burn wood. The carriages are painted ; different colours, according to classes— ; first, dark blue; second, yellow; third, j green. Their inside arrangements i are extremely comfortable, th© backs of the soft-cushioned, seats ’.bending up .- to ! form beds, and racks. , being provided ; above them for clothes. .Against tho windows are little card-tables, which also ■ form steps to th© beds. . [ Having only a few days at vladivostock, I contented myself with going: about 30 miles up the Tine. No one in , the whole place could speak English or French, and I knew no Russian, except one word, which I never ©ould pronounce correctly. Consequently, my only hope of taking a ticket was to. copy out the name of th© station to which I proposed : travelling from the time-table and hand-1 ing it in at the office. The line is j single, arid the rails are merely spiked to the-sleepers without chairs. Th© track runs from tho harbour across trie peninsula, and then along trie shore on the other side towards the interior. The gradients are extremely steep, though much of the line is eithef in cuttings or on embankments.

In many places a second engine is required, and th© train laboriously climbs hills like a hearse, then, rushes down them like a fire-engine, causing a sensation to the passengers which recalls one’s experience at sea wheri the vessel is pitching violently. The first 20 miles or so are close to the sea-shore, the line being for some distance within 200 yards or 300 yards of high-water mark. The country is hilly-, and covered with forests. The trees, on the whole, are very English-looking—oaks, alders, ashes, hazels, willows, birches, limes,' and so on.) Very few of them are well grown. In seme valleys the larger trees are all dead, and stand up like naked, white skeletons above the rest, giving a very weird ,and curious look to the woods. I could not ascertain the cause.

Thor land seemed extremely fertile, ferns, spircea, and long grass form, a tangled undergrowth, while bright, coloured wild flowers are fairly numerous, a lovely purple iris being conspicuous among them. The soil cut through is mostly, clay, sand, or rotten rock (l| only notiped. a single blast-hole), ofi which a considerable part is a conglom-j orate, largely composed of round peb-i Ides. The course is very winding, and the country, with constantly changing! views over timbered hills and an island-] dotted sea, is extremely pleasant. We! passed a few brick-kilns, and some very| imperfect coal, rather like peat, lying close to tho surface. Horizontal shafts, 1 shored up with timber, are driven into; the hill-side in order to mine it, and! in one place the railway cutting is dug! through it. A few cottages are passed,; and some tolerable roads have been] out through the forest, but the country is very thinly yooploi, «lau»t tb* only

inhabitants being tie navvies employed on the line, both Russian and Chinese'.

I had expected to find ray destination quite a fair-sized vilage atleast, _ as it was printed in elaborate capitals in the time-table, but on arrival I discovered it to consist of one railway station, one water-tower, one engine - bouse, ouo wooden cottage, two log cabins, and I eight graves among- the forests. There was no train back the same evening (though I thought I had found out a most convenient so there was nothing. for it but to spend the night where I was. It was very pleasant in tho cool night air to stroll through the fragrant woods, watching the lights of lumber-trains through the trees, and studying the stars in the clear atmosphere. In the station I found a bench to rest on. though, ’as the_room was full of rough Russian peasants, it seemed hardly safe to go to sleep. As a matter of fact, however, I received nothing but the utmost courtesy at their; hands. . . , .. i Soon after five til© next morning 1 got a train back to Vladivostock, and went I on board the steamer (which I made my home during her stay in port) in time for breakfast. One of the first persons I met was a fellow-passenger, who announced his intention of spending the night on shore, but who had coUie on board again late at night 'after he had made fin inspection of the accommodation provided by the hotels. Vladivostock is at present rapidly increasing in population, but it is probable that the St. Petersburg Government attaches less importance to it now than it formerly did, as its position as tho terminus of the railway is likely to be usurped by the recently acquired Port Arthur, an ice-free port on the Gulf of Peohili, to which a branch is being laid down with all possible speed. In spite of the fertility of the district round Vladivostock, the city is still dependent on Japan for almost all its supplies,‘and its exports are confined to. salt fish and timber in very small quantities. There seems no, very immediate prospect of the immense natural resources of this part of the Russian Empire being developed,' and, in fact, the enterprise and intense desire for progress which form the chief charm of a young British fit American city seem to be conspicuous by their absence in this outpost of Muscovite oivilisation in the East,