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Show 'III? WU I 'II!m lpf IN THE SWAMPS OF I tilt RUSSIA. I jjj The autumn rains are beginning to I fill aid the Ru83lans In their retreat 'llll through the swamps east of Brest- I I M Litovsk. jJ I One of the most important places in I'l'ISI that TQsion ot malarla is Plnsk, the Hill PreBent objective of the central Ger- I fill riVGr' wIthIn the swamp and marsh I IJII Tegion, it is described in a bulletin IH l" from the National Geographic Society, I as the center of great waterway con- - nectionB: "A lino drawn east from Brest-Lito- vsk, through PInBk, marks tho lowest depression of the vast, unhealthful marsh tract In the direction of this I line, the Pripet flows east, and num. liili erous tributaries flow to the Pripet I HI ?.0n north and from o south. It PSfkJ8 Incd by a canal to tne weBt liJfii ? , tbe Bug' and thufl. with the VfB- I 8!l i wnd German Danzig. The Orgln- I ' lSl ,L CaunaI.t, the north. connects It liHl vi. Ul NIenicn. while the Pripot Hll! brings it Into connection with the rich lands of Little RuBsla. The Russian 111 government has been conducting 111 workB fr the draining of tho swamps around Plnsk slnco 1872, and somo S.000,000 acres have been reclaimed. To tho east of Plnsk, however, lies a great stretch of land about hopelessly water-logged. "Whilo the introduction of railways have diverted some of tho water-borno traffic of Plnsk, it still enjoys a considerable con-siderable commerce, and, before the war, there was overy promise that Its river and canal carried trade would lncreaso enormously. Grains, moats and other farm products, leather, timber tim-ber and timber products form the bulk of Its commerce. The town has a number of factories which .turn out matches, leather goods, soap, beer and woodwork. It has a population of about 30,000, more than two-thirds of which is JewlBh. Tho hand of Mars has borne heavily upon the town, and it has been razed to the level of Its own swamps several times In the fierce passage of invaders." |