HALT AT RADDE 291 



on every point, yet numerous Chinese marauding 

 parties still scoured the immediate districts of the 

 interior, and strongly dissuaded us from carrying out 

 this hazardous plan. Moreover, he added, it was not 

 impossible that navigation on the river might be closed 

 by our return, involving for us a long journey to 

 Stretensk by land. In consequence we decided to 

 abandon the trip and put it off for another year. 



As we halted next morning at Radde to take in 

 wood, we were met on the pier by Kobosoff, the 

 hunter who was to have accompanied us, and en- 

 trusted to his care half a dozen cases of stores, with 

 instructions to keep them till the following August, 

 and in case of our not turning up, to appropriate 

 their contents. If we had actually returned I quite 

 expect we should have found our supplies ransacked 

 long before the appointed time. Opposite the village 

 Kobosoff showed us the grave of a dozen Russian 

 soldiers lately killed in action, and told us that the 

 inhabitants were still all under arms for fear of in- 

 cursions on the part of the enemy. 



Biddinof farewell to our future ouide, we resumed 

 our course through that most picturesque part of the 

 Amur. Autumn had now set in, with its wonderful 

 variety of colouring, and the woods on either side 

 presented lovely scenery. The evergreen cedars and 



