I was introduced as an American who had come a long distance purposely to see Igoon.  The governor was absent, so that it was not possible to call on him.  We were shown to a temple near at hand, a building fifteen feet by thirty, with a red curtain at the door and a thick carpet of matting over a brick pavement.  The altar was veiled, but its covering was lifted to allow me to read, if I could, the inscription upon it.  It stood close to the entrance, like the screen near the door of a New York bar-room.  There were several pictures on the walls, a few idols, and some lanterns painted in gaudy colors.  Outside there were paintings over the door, some representing Chinese landscapes.  The windows were of lattice work, the roof had a dragon’s head at each end of the ridge, and a mosaic pavement extended like a sidewalk around the entire building.

Our guide, who lived near, invited us to his house.  We entered it through his office, which contained a table, three or four chairs, and a few account books.  Out of this we walked into a large apartment used for lounging by day and sleeping at night.  Its principal furniture was a wide divan, at one side, where the bed clothing of three or four persons was rolled into neat bundles.  It turned out on inquiry that the man lived in two houses, the principal part of his family being domiciled several squares away.  As time pressed we did not stop longer than to thank him for his attention.

The streets of Igoon reminded me of New York under the contract system four or five years ago.  We walked through one street upon a narrow log fixed in the mud, and steadied ourselves against a high fence.  On a larger thoroughfare there were some dry spots, but as there were two logs to walk upon we balanced very well.  Chinese streets rarely have sidewalks, and every pedestrian must care for himself the best way he can.  The rains the week before my visit had reduced the public ways to a disagreeable condition.  Were I to describe the measurement of the Broadway of Igoon, I should say its length was two miles, more or less, its width fifty feet, and its depth two feet.

Our captain carried a sword cane which confused him a little as the lower part occasionally stuck in the mud and came off.  This exposition of weapons he evidently wished to avoid.  On the principal street I found several stores, and, true to the instinct of the American abroad, stopped to buy something.  The stores had the front open to the street, so that one could stand before the counter and make his purchases without entering.  The first store I saw had six or seven clerks and very little else, and as I did not wish a Chinese clerk I moved to another shop.

For the articles purchased I paid only five times their actual value, as I afterward learned.  The merchants and their employees appeared to talk Russian quite fluently, and were earnest in urging me to buy.  One of them imitated the tactics of Chatham street, and became very voluble over things I did not want.