The Nevada journal., 1858-01-29

valley OF the Amoor covers from west
to east about 40 deg. of longitude and
Is deg. of latitude from north to south,
having for its northern and western
boundaries the mountains of Altai and
Toblonoy, which divide the waters of
Siberia proper from it all of the Sibe-
rian waters falling into the Frozen
Ocean. The head branches of the
Amoor interlocking with the land, with
Lake Baikal, the feeder of the Angara
and Yenisaisk west and south of Baikel,
far into Mongolia. On the south, the
head waters of the Hon gah-ree, the
Ou-su-ree, the Son -gar-ree, the Albasin,
and the Argoon pushing in different di-
rections reach towards Corea and SEQ
toong, including nearly the whole of
southern Mandshuria, and westward and
southwest a large slice of Mongolia,
being, in fact, situated relative to south
ern Asia as the ST. Lawrence and its
waters is to southern North America !;
admitting that the Hudson, the OHIO
with its tributaries, the Wabash and the
Illinois emptied into the lakes instead of
running up to the south and west.
Within this vast area, sufficient for
one of the first empires of the globe,
will he found every natural requisite for
the habtation of fifty millions of human
beings, with climate, soil, production,
minerals and forests proper to their
wants. Game is found in the greatest
abundance, and the most valuable of fur
animals are found amid its wids; the
rivers TEEN with fish and fowl, while its
mountains yield silver, gold, copper and
IRON
The whole course of the Amoor with
its tributaries, as recently explored,
reach to about four thousand versts, the
whole of which is susceptible of steam
navigation: boats of proper construc-
tlon can, by its most considerable south,
ern branch, reach to within six hundred
versts of Pekin, from which point Pc
kin could be united by a railroad, bring
ing it within ten days of the mouth of
the Amoor; from whence to San Fran
cisco could be accomplished with steam
ers touching at JAPAN in fifteen days
more, whence Shanghae and Honkong
would be reached in five to seven days
Hakodadi (Japan) in three days.
From Chetah at the head Of steam
navigation on the waters of the Amoor,
Il railroad will connect with Kvachta
and Miamat-tschin to Irkoutsk the cap
ital Of eastern Siberia; at which point
the overland trade to Nijni-Novogorod,
Moscow and st. Petersburg will be con-
centfated; opening up country the
wealth and natural resources of which
have heretofore been unknown to Amer
lean enterprise. This extensive coun-
| try, if united under the government of
Russia, with liberal commercial sys-
TEN, and open to emigration on proper
and iudicious basis, would soon become
one Of the most interesting in Asia, and
of great and rapidly increasing import
ance TO the commercial world and open
up to Russia a field; an epoch in her
history, worthy the present century.
Let her forget Sebastopol, and by this
greatest stroke of po.icy-if she will
checkmate her late foe in Indian annex
alton.
The Amoor, or Sack -hah-lin, as it is
universally called by the natives inhab-
iting its shores, as well as by the Mand-
schurs and Chinese, is river of great
beauty, though probably not unequalIed,
because all rivers, to some extent, have
a certain sameness of beauty if they
traverse mountainous districts; but the
Amoor proper, in distance of two
thousand miles combines, many, if not
| all, of the varieties of the picturesque,
the beautiful, and the grand of such
streams as the Hudson of New York,
the Connecticut, the Ohio, and the Mis-
sissippi, with San Joaquin and Sacra-
mento of California. As to its size and
navigable qualities. it may be compared
with the Mississippi Qeaving out the
Missouri), Red, and Arkansas rivers,
with their waters. The Amoor is form
ed by the union of the Argoon and the
Scilkah, in about tifty-three deg. thirty
min. north latitude, and longitude east
from Greenwich one hundred and twen-
;y-one deg. forty min. The Argoon
flows from the south and west, and forms
the boundary for six or seven hundred
versts between Russia (Siberia, and
| OHlua \hIouS oildJ, HuiIc tHc CCHllhdI
and Ingodah pass more directly to the
west, through the great silver region of
Ner-schinsk, draining that portion of
the province of Traus- Baikal east of the
mountains.
The main course of the Amoor is
nearly cast, but in its middle or central
section it makes an immense sweep to
the south where the comparative mild
ness Of the climate is evidenced by the
production of Indian corn and the indi-
genous growth of the grape. From the
Ham ga-res to its entrance into the
straits of Tartary in about E l.. IS deg.
and f. l.. lao deg. its course is nearly
north; all the generally received maps
of the Amoor are Incorrect The cur
rent of the river will average in its
whole occurs about three and a half
miles per hour; in many parts it is ex-
trenely sinuous, and contains hundreds
of islands, with many lakes, bays, and
island clusters. The rcachers are often