along the Straits of Tartary. The officers commanding them are sent
from Russia, and generally remain ten years in this service. At the
end of that time, if they wish to retire they can do so and receive
half-pay for the rest of their lives. This privilege is not granted to
officers in other squadrons, and is given on the Siberian station in
consequence of the severer duties and the distance from the centers of
civilization.

In its military service the government makes inducements of pay and
promotion to young officers who go to Siberia. I frequently met
officers who told me they had sought appointments in the Asiatic
department in preference to any other. The pay and allowances are
better than in European Russia, promotion is more rapid, and the
necessities of life are generally less costly. Duties are more onerous
and privations are greater, but these drawbacks are of little
consequence to an enterprising and ambitious soldier.

The Morje had no accommodations for passengers, and the addition to
her complement was something serious. Captain Lund, the doctor, Mr.
Anassoff, and myself were guests of her captain. The cabin was given
to us to arrange as best we could. My proposal to sleep under the
table was laughed at as impracticable. I knew what I was about, having
done the same thing years before on Mississippi steamers. When you
must sleep on the floor where people may walk about, always get under
the table if possible. You run less risk of receiving boot heels in
your mouth and eyes, and whole acres of brogans in your ribs. The
navigation of the Straits of Tartary is very intricate, the water
being shallow and the channel tortuous. From De Castries to Cape
Catherine there is no difficulty, but beyond the cape the channel
winds like the course of the Ohio, and at many points bends quite