1936 On the Continent

which was taken over in 1918 with a view to improving the deplorable conditions then prevailing there. Since then considerable progress has been made. Carpathian Ruthenia is a mountainous district without any great natural resources except its forests. The peasants here make use of primitive farming implements which are mostly of wood and home-made. His methods of tilling the soil are also very primitive and he leaves the bulk of the task to nature. What crops he does produce must be protected from the wild boars which come from the forests in search of food and have to be scared away by means of watch-fires and shouting.
    The new administration has done a great deal for these backward peasants by providing them with small holdings and agricultural equipment, as well as schools for their children.
    The chief industry from which the local population canobtain a livelihood is that of timber. Besides this, in some villages fine sheepskin carpets are produced, similar in colouring and ornamental design to those found in Serbia and Bosnia. The most important mineral found here is salt, which is obtained direct from the earth. Small supplies of naphtha have also been discovered here and there.
    The scenic beauty of Carpathian Ruthenia is provided by the Carpathians, which form three parallel zones from west to east, that on the northern frontier being the highest. The mountains increase in height towards the east, and the Hoverla peak, which is in the extreme east, exceeds 6,000 feet. The lower slopes are covered with forests, above which are bare expanses which can be explored for many hours and even days at a time. From them the wayfarer has an uninterrupted outlook across vast spaces above a world which seems to consist of petrified waves and clouds. I hasten to add that this fascinating territory has not yet been developed for the convenience of travellers and I do not recommend it for a holiday except to those who are willing to put up with hardships. Those, however, with a taste for wandering in places off the beaten track will find all they need in the regions of the Eastern Carpathians. They should begin their tour at Užok and make their way as far as Jasina. Between these two points they will spend ten days among the mountains in almost complete solitude.
A Mixed Lot
    The population of Carpathian Ruthenia amounts to about 500,000, half of whom consist of a Slav tribe closely akin to the Ruthenians. That branch of them living in the mountain areas are called Hutsuls, who are distinguished by their fine physique and their picturesque costumes. There are close upon 100,000 Magyars in this region, and about the same number of Jews. The rest of the population consists of Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and Roumanians, the result being that Carpathian Ruthenia is a very polyglot territory. It contains also at least half-a-dozen religions, and accordingly the traveller is struck by the numerous places of worship there. Altogether it is a picturesque region with a strong appeal to the students of folk-lore and race.
    The capital of Carpathian Ruthenia is the town of Užhorod, which is the seat of the regional administration. It contains a castle which is partly inhabited and partly in ruins. The general aspect of the town is distinctly eastern, but it is rapidly becoming westernised. Next to it in point of importance is Mukaevo, chiefly remarkable because nearly half its inhabitants are Jews who here live their own lives and follow their own trades. Mukaevo is also rapidly developing into a modern town.
    This eastern part of Czechoslovakia provides an outstanding example of the great contrasts which, at the outset, I mentioned as being so typical of the Republic. After having seen the western areas, with their factories and up-to-date cities, it is hard to believe that we are still in the same country here among these primitive people whose lives seem to have stood still for many centuries. And this impression becomes even stronger if we venture into the lonely mountain regions where a human being is a rare sight, and the only signs of life are wild animals and birds whose home is here.
Spas and Watering-places
    The greatest gift which nature has bestowed upon Czechoslovakia is the vast quantity of healing springs, deposits of curative salts and other medicinal resources for which the country has long been famous, and in addition to these miraculous wells which gush out of the earth as the remains of former volcanic activity,