If by some magic the Amoor could be transferred to America, and change its mouth from the Gulf of Tartary to the Bay of New York, a multitude of fine mansions would soon rise on its banks.

Among the islands that stud this portion of the river we passed the steamer Constantine with two barges in tow.  She left Nicolayevsk twelve days before us, and her impediments made her journey a slow one.  Her barges were laden with material for the Amoor telegraph, then under construction.  About the same time we met the Nicolai towing a barge with a quantity of cattle destined for the garrison at the mouth of the river.  The Nicolai was the property of a merchant (Mr. Ludorf) at Nicolayevsk.

The village of Poyarkof, where we stopped for wood, impressed me very favorably.  It was carefully laid out, and its single street had a wide and deep ditch on each side, crossed by little bridges.  The houses were well built and had an air of neatness, while all the fences were substantial.  Very few persons visited the boat, most of the inhabitants being at work in the fields.  We walked through the settlement, and were shown specimens of wheat and rye grown in the vicinity.  Four or five men, directed by a priest, were building a church, and two others were cutting plank near by with a primitive ‘up-and-down’ saw.  The officer controlling the village was temporarily absent with the farm laborers.  All around there were proofs of his energy and industry.

This village was one of the military colonies of the Province of the Amoor.  When in proper hands the military settlement is preferable to any other, as the men are more accustomed to obeying orders and work in greater harmony than the peasants.  What is most needed is an efficient and energetic chief to each village, who has and deserves the confidence of his people.  With enough of the fortiter in re to repress any developments of laziness and prevent intemperance, such a man can do much for the government and himself.

If His Imperial Majesty will take nine-tenths of his present military force on the Amoor, place it in villages, allow the men to send for their families, and put the villages in the hands of proper chiefs under a general superintendent, he will take a long step toward making the new region self-sustaining.  We have ample proof in America that an army is an expensive luxury, and the cost of maintaining it is proportioned to its strength.  The verb ‘to soldier’ has a double meaning in English, and will bear translation.  On distant stations like the Amoor, the military force could be safely reduced to a small figure in time of peace.  Less play and more work would be better for the country and the men.

As we proceeded up the river there was another change of the native population.  The tents of the Birars disappeared, and we entered the region of the Manjours and Chinese.  The captain called my attention to the first Manjour village we passed.  The dwellings were one story high, their walls being of wood with a plastering of mud.  The chimneys were on the outside like those of the Goldees already described, and the roofs of the houses were thatched with straw.