suits of grey. The crew were deck hands, roustabouts, or firemen, by
turns, and when we took wood most of the male deck passengers were
required to assist. On American steamboats the after cabin is the
aristocratic one; on the Amoor the case is reversed. The steerage
passengers lived, moved, and had their being and baggage aft the
engine, while their betters were forward. This arrangement gave the
steerage the benefit of all cinders and smoke, unless the wind was
abeam or astern.

Steam navigation on the Amoor dates from 1854. In that year two wooden
boats, the Shilka and the Argoon, were constructed on the Shilka
river, preparatory to the grand expedition of General Mouravieff.
Their timber was cut in the forests of the Shilka, and their engines
were constructed at Petrovsky-Zavod. The Argoon was the first to
descend, leaving Shilikinsk on the 27th of May, 1854, and bringing the
Governor General and his staff. It was accompanied by fifty barges and
a great many rafts loaded with military forces to occupy the Amoor,
and with provisions for the Pacific fleet. The Shilka descended a few
months later. She was running in 1866, but the Argoon, the pioneer,
existed less than a decade. In 1866 there were twenty-two steamers on
the Amoor, all but four belonging to the government.

The government boats are engaged in transporting freight, supplies,
soldiers, and military stores generally, and carrying the mail. They
carry passengers and private freight at fixed rates, but do not give
insurance against fire or accidents of navigation. Passengers contract
with the captain or steward for subsistence while on board. Deck
passengers generally support themselves, but can buy provisions on the
boat if they wish. The steward may keep wines and other beverages for
sale by the bottle, but he cannot maintain a bar. He has various