Our dinners with Madame Furnhjelm were excellent--some strange Russian dishes, intended for our edification, but everything in English style. In the evening some ladies dropped in, mostly speaking English, and we had singing and music. The days were long, and between dinner and tea Madame took me a drive in her carriage, ponies rough, but strong and fat. [Sidenote: The Amoor, July 30.] A small iron steamer about sixty feet long, and drawing only two feet water, was placed at our disposal for a trip up the Amoor. Some hopes of wild fowl were held out. We started a large party; two Russian officers speaking French accompanied us. The vessel was named the Russian for “Courier,” and attached to the telegraph department, the line taking the right bank of the river. She was kept with the apparatus on board ready for repairing accidents to the wire. She could go 1500 miles up the Amoor, which river was of a red muddy colour, rendering the contrast great as the white, silvery backs of the fish showed above as they tumbled over. We kept up the right bank, which rose precipitately, except at the ravines, which occurred every quarter of a mile, where there was a rivulet, a small Russian hut, a settlement, a place for drying fish or the cutting up of timber for fire or building purposes. About 12 miles up we came to a Russian village; a picnic being the principal object, a shady spot was selected, and fire lighted. After the songs were expended, only three sportsmen could be found to proceed up the river in a canoe in search of wild fowl, while none could be found to face the wood, so well guarded by mosquitoes. Grouse were said to abound, but in all probability looking after their young broods. The remainder of us proceeded in the steamer, another mile up, to a Gilak village called Kaki. It was the season for drying fish, and anything more offensive than the smell could not be. There were bears in different parts of the village: one, an immensely powerful brute, confined in a log-hut, from whom it took three men to draw a stick one of them had thrust through the bars, which Bruin had seized in his paw. There were two smaller ones in separate cages, and in one of the houses we saw two young ones, which had been caught as cubs, and with the natives were quite tame, although fully aware of the presence of strangers. Dogs for winter sleighs were innumerable, all apparently in good condition, and with few exceptions secured in irons. The inside of the houses had fires in the centre for cooking, and a raised platform about five feet wide attached to the wall. The interiors were not inviting; the drinking and cooking utensils were of the most primitive description, made out of the bark of the white beech.