286 A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



yet the last bit of bread will always be offered to the 

 strange object of worship. The steamer by this time 

 in every way resembled a gipsy encampment ; crowds 

 of passengers lay at random across every passage and 

 on the decks, with their dirty pillows and blankets 

 strewn everywhere in a chaotic state of disorder, while 

 their linen huno- in all directions. A disagrreeable smell 

 of fish and garlic invaded our cabins, and we longed 

 to reach Khabarovsk and part with this unpleasant 

 company. 



During the following night we advanced at half- 

 speed owing to pitch darkness, and found ourselves 

 at eight a.m. at Viatskoie, a large settlement within 

 sixty versts of Khabarovsk, which, according to Little- 

 dale, was "an important corner to turn." Here the 

 banks of the rix'er were low and sandy ; mountains 

 had given way to fiat stretches of wooded scenery, 

 where the everlasting fir trees were diversified by 

 occasional oaks. In the afternoon, as we approached 

 our first destination and the river broadened to a great 

 extent, a strong breeze started up suddenly from the 

 south, gradually turning into a regular gale, such as 

 had not been witnessed for years, as the captain told 

 us. The waves on the Amur grew to the size of a 

 heavy sea ; our ship began to pilch, wliile the sj)ray 

 kept sp(juting over the decks and bursting furiously 



