The whole town being of wood it is highly important that the engine should act promptly in case of fire.

The supply of hose was ample for all emergencies.
Several heavy guns were shown me, which were hauled overland from the Ural Mountains during the Crimean war and brought in boats down the Amoor.

The expense of transporting them must have been enormous, their journey by roads to the head of the river being fully three thousand miles.
I spent a morning with Mr.Chase in calling upon several foreign merchants and their families.

The most prominent of the merchants is Mr.Ludorf, a German, who went there in 1856, and has transacted a heavy business on the Amoor and in Japan and China.

Mrs.Ludorf followed her husband in 1858, and was the first foreign lady to enter Nicolayevsk.
The most interesting topic to Mr.Chase and the ladies was that of cooks.