Such a scene of confusion I never saw before in one man’s family.  There were twelve or fifteen children of different ages and sexes, and not one silent.  Some were at table, some quarreling, some going to sleep, and some waking.  Two women were in serious dispute, and the Tartar words poured out freely.  The room was hot, stifling, and filled with as many odors as the city of Cologne, and we were glad to escape into the open air as soon as possible.  I did not envy that Mongol gentleman his domestic bliss, and am inclined to think he considered it no joke to be as much married as he was.

I did not sec any pretty women at Igoon, but learned afterward that they exist there.  The Manjour style of hair-dressing attracts the eye of a stranger.  The men plait the hair after the Chinese manner, shaving the fore part of the head.  The women wind theirs in a peculiar knot, in about the position of the French chignon.  They pierce this knot with two long pins like knitting needles, and trim it with bright ribbons and real or artificial flowers.  The fashion is becoming, and, excluding the needles, I would not be surprised to see it in vogue in Western civilization within half a dozen years.

The men wore long blue coats of cotton or silk, generally the former, loose linen trousers, fastened at the knee or made into leggings, and Chinese shoes or boots of skin.  The women dress in pantaletts and blue cotton gowns with short, loose sleeves, above which they wear at times a silk cape or mantle.  They have ear rings, bracelets, and finger rings in profusion, and frequently display considerable taste in their adornment.  It was nearly sunset when we landed at Igoon, and when we finished our visit to the Tartar family the stars were out.  The delay of the boat was entirely to give me a view of a Chinese-Manjour city.  Darkness put an end to sight-seeing, and so we hastened to the steamer, followed by a large crowd of natives.

[Illustration:  A CHINESE FAMILY PICTURE.]

We took three or four Manjour merchants as passengers to Blagoveshchensk.  One of them spent the evening in our cabin, but would neither drink alcoholic beverages nor smoke.  This appeared rather odd among a people who smoke persistently and continually.  Men, women, and children are addicted to the practice, and the amount of tobacco they burn is enormous.

CHAPTER XVIII.

At daylight on the morning after leaving Igoon, we were passing the mouth of the Zeya, a river half a mile wide, flowing with a strong current.  It was along this river that the first white men who saw the Amoor found their way.  It is said to be practicable for steam navigation three or four hundred miles from its mouth.  At present four or five thousand peasants are settled along the Zeya, with excellent agricultural prospects.  As I came on deck rubbing my half-opened eyes, I saw a well-built town on the Russian shore.