trees and bushes, grass and sand, just as on the opposite shore.
In the region immediately above the Ousuree there are no mountains
visible from the river, but only the low banks on either hand covered
with trees and bushes. Here and there were open spaces appearing as if
cleared for cultivation. With occasional sand bars and low islands,
and the banks frequently broken and shelving, the resemblance to the
lower Mississippi was almost perfect.

Mr. Maack says of this region:

"In the early part of the year when the yellow blossoms of the
Lonicera chrysantha fill the air with their fragrance, when the
syringas bloom and the Hylonecon bedecks large tracts with a bright
golden hue, when corydales, violets, and pasque flowers are open, the
forests near the Ousuree may bear comparison in variety of richness
and coloring with the open woods of the prairie country. Later in the
year, the scarcity of flowers is compensated by the richness of the
herbage, and after a shower of rain delicious perfumes are wafted
towards us from the tops of the walnut and cork trees."

A little past noon we touched at the Russian village of Petrovsky. At
this place the river was rapidly washing the banks, and I was told
that during three years nearly four hundred feet in front of the
village had been carried away. The single row of houses forming the
settlement stands with a narrow street between it and the edge of the
bank. The whole population, men, women, and children, turned out to
meet us. The day was cool and the men were generally in their
sheepskin coats. The women wore gowns of coarse cloth of different
colors, and each had a shawl over her head. Some wore coats of
sheepskin like those of the men, and several were barefooted. Two
women walked into the river and stood with utter nonchalance where the
water was fifteen inches deep. I immersed my thermometer and found it
indicated 51 deg.

Walking on shore I was nearly overturned by a small hog running
between my legs. The brute, with a dozen of his companions, had pretty
much his own way at Petrovsky, and after this introduction I was
careful about my steps. These hogs are modelled something like
blockade runners: with great length, narrow beam, and light draft.
They are capable of high speed, and would make excellent time if
pursued by a bull-dog or pursuing a swill-bucket.

[Illustration: RECEPTION AT PETROVSKY.]

A peasant told us there were wild geese in a pond near by,
and as t