steamer which she brought was put together
during the winter. It struck a rock and sunk on its first voyage up
the river. The misfortunes of the company in following years did not
come quite as thick, but their number was ample.

The company's dividends were invariably Hibernian. It lost money from
the beginning, and after spending two and a half million dollars,
closed its affairs and went up in a balloon.

The Russian government has been disappointed in the result of opening
the Amoor. Ten years ago it was thought a great commerce would spring
up, but the result has been otherwise. There can be no traffic where
there are no people to trade with, and when the Amoor was opened the
country was little better than a wilderness. The natives were not a
mercantile community. There was only one Manjour city on the bank of
the Amoor, and for some time its people were not allowed to trade with
Russians. Even when it was opened it had no important commerce, as it
was far removed from the silk, tea, or porcelain districts of China.
Plainly the dependence must be upon colonization.

The Amoor was peopled under government patronage, many settlers coming
from the Trans-Baikal province, and others from European Russia.
Nearly all were poor and brought very little money to their new homes.
Many were Cossacks and soldiers, and not reconciled to hard labor.
During the first two years of their residence the Amoor colonists were
supplied with flour at government expense, but after that it was
expected they could support themselves. Most of the colonies were half
military in their character, being composed of Cossacks, with their
families. On the lower part of the Amoor, outside the military posts,
the settlers were peasants. Flour was carried from St. Petersburg to
the Amoor to supply the garrison and the newly arrived settlers. The
production is not yet sufficient for the population, and when I was at
Nicolayevsk I saw flour just landed from Cronstadt. The settlers had
generally reached the self-sustaining point, but they did not produce
enough to feed the military and naval force. Until they do this the
Amoor will be unprofitable.

On the upper Amoor flour was formerly brought from the Trans-Baikal
province to supply the settlements down to Habarofka. In 1866 there
was a short crop in that province and a good one on the upper Amoor. A
large quantity of wheat and rye,--I was told fifty thousand
bushels,--was taken to the Trans-Baikal