ding, but the deficiency was atoned
for by a large number of hungry and industrious fleas. Of my blankets
and pillow I made my own bed, and slept in it as on the Ingodah. My
only chair was a camp stool I carried from San Francisco with the
design of giving it away on reaching the end of my water travel.

Going on board the steamer I met a drunken priest endeavoring to walk
to the pier, and in the cabin I found another lying on a sofa, and, as
I supposed, very ill. Borasdine observed my look of compassion, and
indicated by signs the cause of the malady. The priest going ashore
had been saying farewell to the one on board, and their partings were
such as press the life from out young hearts and bottles. Our holy
passenger did not feel himself again until the next day.

There are many good men among the priests of the Eastern church in
Siberia, but it must also be admitted there are many bad ones. In a
country where the clergy wields as great power as in Russia the
authorities should take care that the representatives of the church
set a good example. The intemperance so prevalent among the peasantry
is partly due to the debaucheries of the priesthood. Where the people
follow their religious leaders with blind faith and obey their
commands in all the forms of worship, are they not in danger of
following the example of drunkenness? Russian officers frequently
spoke of the condition of the church in Eastern Siberia, and declared
with emphasis that it needed reformation. "Our priests," said one,
"have carried our religion wherever our armies have carried conquest,
and their efforts to advance Christianity deserve all praise. But
abuses exist and have grown up, and the whole system needs to be
arranged anew."

We had much freight on board, consisting chiefly of muskets for the
province of the Trans-Baikal. There were many passengers that lived
literally on deck. They were aft of the engines and above our cabin.
On deck we had the forward part of the boat as on the Ingodah. The
deck passengers were soldiers, and Cossacks in their long grey coats,
and peasants of all ages in garments of sheepskin. There were women
with infants, and women without infants, the former being the more
numerous. They were on deck day and night, unless when opportunity
offered to go on shore. They did their cooking at the galley or at a
stove near the stern of the boat. They never made any noise or
disturbance, beyond the usual confusion where many