We saw just below this rock a Manjour boat tied to the shore, the crew breakfasting near a fire and the captain smoking in apparent unconcern at a little distance.  On the opposite bank there was a Chinese custom-house and military station.  It had the same kind of house and temple and the same number of men and horses as the post farther down.  Had it possessed a pile of rubbish and a barking dog the similarity would have been complete.

There is abundance of water in the Amoor except for drinking purposes.  I was obliged to adopt the plan of towing a bottle out of the cabin window till it filled.  The deck passengers used to look with wonder on my foreign invention, and doubtless supposed I was experimenting for scientific purposes.  I have heard of a captain on the Ohio who forbade water to his passengers on account of the low stage of the river.  Possibly the Russian captains are fearful that too much use of water may affect navigation in future years.

CHAPTER XX.

There is a sameness and yet a variety in the scenery of the Amoor two or three hundred miles above Komarskoi.  The sameness is in the general outlines which can be described; the variety is in the many little details of distance, shadow, and coloring, which no pen can picture.  In the general features there are cliffs, hills, ravines, islands, and occasional meadows, with forests of birch, pine, larch, and willow.  The meadows are not abundant, and the attractions to settlers generally small.  The hills are rugged and, though well timbered, not adapted to agriculture.  The pine forests are dark and gloomy, and the leafless birches make the distant hills appear as if thinly snow-clad.  The willows are generally upon the islands, and grow with great luxuriance.  The large meadows are occupied by Russian settlers.

Many little streams enter the Amoor on both sides, but chiefly from the north.  There is a famous cliff called Sa-ga-yan, where the river has washed and undermined the high bank so that portions fall away every few years.  The current strikes this hill with great force, and where it is reflected the water is broken like the rapids above Niagara.  It is a dangerous spot for small boats, and very difficult for them to ascend.  When the expedition of 1854 descended the Amoor several barges were drawn into an eddy at this cliff and nearly swamped.  Captain Fulyelm and Mr. Collins, in 1857, were in danger and trouble, especially where the current rebounds from the shore.

When our steamer struck this rapid it required all the strength of our engines to carry us through.  I desired to examine the shore, but had no opportunity.  Mr. Collins found the bank composed of amygdaloid sand, decomposed rock and sandstone, with many traces of iron.  On the beach were chalcedony, cornelian, and agate.  Two veins of coal have been traced in the cliff, and it is thought a large deposit exists there.  The natives have a story that the cliff smokes whenever a human being approaches it, but I saw no indications of smoke as I passed.  They consider it the abode of evil spirits, and hold it in great dread.