Works of A.P. Chekhov, Vol. 10: Sakhalin Island

There is no harbor here and the shores are dangerous, as evidenced impressively by the Swedish steamer Atlas, which was shipwrecked shortly before my arrival and now lies on the shore. Steamers usually stop a verst from the shore and rarely closer. There is a wharf, but only for boats and barges. It is a large cribwork of several sazhens Russian unit of measure, approx. 7 feet, extending into the sea in the shape of the letter T; thick larch piles, firmly driven into the seabed, form boxes which are filled to the top with stones; the flooring is made of boards, and rails for trolleys are laid along the entire length of the wharf. On the wide end of the T stands a pretty little house—the wharf office—and right there is a high black mast. The structure is solid, but not long-lasting. During a good storm, it is said, the waves sometimes reach the windows of the house, and spray even reaches the mast's yard, causing the entire wharf to tremble.