sition. Of course we returned their
salutation.

Unlike the aboriginals lower down the river, the Manjours till the
soil and make it their chief dependence. I saw many fields where the
grain was uncut, and others where it had been reaped and stacked. The
stacks were so numerous in proportion to the population that there
must be a large surplus each year. Evidently there is no part of the
Amoor valley more fertile than this. Horses and cattle were grazing in
the meadows and looked up as we steamed along. We passed a dozen
horses drinking from the river, and set them scampering with our
whistle.

The horse is used here for carrying light loads, but with heavy
burdens the ox finds preference. Along the Chinese shore I frequently
saw clumsy carts moving at a snail-like pace between the villages.
Each cart had its wheels fixed on an axle that generally turned with
them. Frequently there was a lack of grease, and the screeching of the
vehicle was rather unpleasant to tender nerves.

Near the village we met a Manjour boat, evidently the property of a
merchant. The difference between going with and against the current
was apparent by comparing the progress of this boat with the one I saw
in the Buryea mountains. One struggled laboriously against the stream,
but the other had nothing to do beyond keeping where the water ran
swiftest. This one carried a small flag, and was deeply laden with
merchandise. The crew was dozing and the man at the helm did not
appear more than half awake.

Villages were passed in rapid succession, and the density of the
population was in agreeable contrast to the desolation of many parts
of the lower Amoor. It was a panorama of houses, temples, groves, and
fields, with a surrounding of rich meadows and gentle hills. There
was a range of low mountains in the background, but on the Russian
shore the flat prairie continued.

In the middle of the afternoon we passed the town of Yah-tou-kat-zou,
situated on the Chinese shore where the river makes a bend toward the
north and east. It had nothing of special interest, but its gardens
were more extensive and more numerous than in the villages below. Just
above it there was a bay forming a neat harbor containing several
boats and barges. When the Chinese controlled the Amoor they occupied
this bay as a dock-yard and naval station. Had my visit been ten or
twelve years earlier I should have seen several war junks anchored
here. When the Russians obtained t