ernment made a settlement
there in 1853, but subsequently abandoned it for Olga Bay, six degrees
further south. Vladivostok, or Dominion of the East, was occupied in
1857, and a naval station commenced. A few years later, Posyet was
founded near the head of the Corean peninsula, and is now growing
rapidly. It has one of the finest harbors on the Japan Sea, completely
sheltered, easily defended, and affording superior facilities for
repairing ships of war or commerce. It is free from ice the entire
year, and has a little cove or bay that could be converted into a dry
dock at small expense.

In 1865 Posyet was visited by ten merchant vessels; it exported
fifteen thousand poods of _beche de mer_, the little fish formerly the
monopoly of the Feejees, and of which John Chinaman is very fond. It
exported ten thousand poods of bean cake, and eleven times that
quantity of a peculiar sea-grass eaten by the Celestials. Ginseng root
was also an article of commerce between Posyet and Shanghae. Russia
appears in earnest about the development of the Manjourian coast, and
is making many efforts for that object. The telegraph is completed
from Nicolayevsk to the new seaport, and a post route has been
established along the Ousuree.

From San Francisco to the mouth of the Amoor I did not see a wheeled
vehicle, with the exception of a hand cart and a dog wagon. At
Nicolayevsk there were horses, carts, and carriages, and I had my
first experience of a horse harnessed with the Russian yoke. The
theory of the yoke is, that it keeps the shafts away from the animal's
sides, and enables him to exert more strength than when closely
hedged. I cannot give a positive opinion on this point, but believe
the Russians are correct. The yoke standing high above the horse's
head and touching him nowhere, has a curious appearance when first
seen. I never could get over the idea while looking at a dray in
motion, that the horse was endeavoring to walk through an arched
gateway and taking it along with him.

The shafts were wide apart and attached by straps to the horse's
collar. All the tension came through the shafts, and these were
strengthened by ropes that extended to the ends of the forward axle.
Harnesses had a shabby, 'fixed up' appearance, with a good deal of
rope in their composition. Why they did not go to pieces or crumble to
nothing, like the deacon's One Horse Shay, was a mystery.

Before leaving Nicolayevsk I enjoyed a ride in one of its