formerly the custom to send couriers by way of Lake Keezee and the
Amoor to Nicolayevsk to notify consigners and officials of the arrival
of ships. Now the telegraph is in operation and supercedes the
courier.

In 1855 an English fleet visited De Castries in pursuit of some
Russian vessels known to have ascended the Gulf. When the fleet came
in sight there were four Russian ships in port, and a few shots were
exchanged, none of them taking effect. During a heavy fog in the
following night and day the Russians escaped and ascended the Straits
of Tartary toward the Amoor. The Aurora, the largest of these ships,
threw away her guns, anchors, and every heavy article, and succeeded
in entering the Amoor. The English lay near De Castries, and could not
understand where the Russians had gone, as the southern entrance of
the Amoor was then unknown to geographers.

We reached this port on the morning of September eleventh. The Variag
could go no further owing to her draft of water, but fortunately the
Morje, a gunboat of the Siberian fleet, was to sail for Nicolayevsk at
noon, and we were happily disappointed in our expectations of waiting
several days at De Castries. About eleven o'clock I left the Variag
and accompanied Captain Lund, the doctor, and Mr. Anassoff into the
boat dancing at the side ladder. Half an hour after we boarded the
Morje she was under way, and we saw the officers and men of the
corvette waving us farewell.

The Morje drew eight feet of water, and was admirably adapted to the
sea coast service. There were several vessels of this class in the
Siberian fleet, and their special duty was to visit the ports of
Kamchatka, North Eastern Siberia, and Manjouria, and act as tow boats