Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-08-21
CHINA, r
Confirmation Of Captain eesrgs ". ems
Trip from Memphis to China and
Back.
On the Paclhc.-.From San Francisco d
Yekohama.-.Jaban-.-He Government
and Peopls Described.

On the ~Paclfc.-.From San Francisco 10
Observation-Disclosures Government
and People Described.
On the 9TH Of September last, l en-
barked on board the good steamer Japan,
Captain Freeman, for Hong Kong via
Japan, precisely at u o'c'ock, noon. We
went ahead into the stream, tired one gun
and pointed for the blue waters of the
Pacific. It may not be known to many,
that the ships composing this line, are the
/ most splendid vessels now afioat. The
Japan registers 400 tons, has a capacity
for $50 saloon and 1900 steerage passen-
gers, carries $500 tons OF freight and 1900
tons of fuel. l have heretofore remarked,
in regard to the railroad trip to California.
that. a few minutes outlook was sufi-
cient to see all the novelties of the route.
From San Francisco to Japan about the
same may be said. You sail ON q course a
little south of west, until the parallel of
$50 north Is reached (which is nearly the
latitude of Memphis(, and then point due
west across an immense expanse of wa
ter; running the distance of AGA: nauti-
cal Typographical miles "a nautical mile
is the sixtieth part of a degree of lati-
tude), in about % days. No land is
sighted and very rarely a ship. The only
living objects in view outside the ship,
are the never firing ses-fowls, which
follow the ships apparently from one port
to the other, getting at least 1000 miles
from land at one point on the line. On
this route, storms or gales are seldom en-
countered, in fact, you may count on
Gains or light winds during three-fourths
of the time. During seventeen of the
twenty-three days, the Lee would have
made as good weather as her sister sea
going Leviathan, and much better time,
inasmuch as 240 miles in "a hours, Is above
an average run. The ships are construct
ed for capacity and comfort rather than
speed. We had but about forty passeng-
ers in space ample for three hundred and
fifty; each passenger had a whole state
room with double berth ,sslounge n ALI
the conveniences of a hotel. Beef cattle,
sheep, pigs and poultry, to be killed as re-
quired, are carried to sea. Milk cows
furnish fresh milk. You have fish, vege-
tables and fruits preserved ON ice, to the
end of the run. In fact, they lodge you
gorgeously and feed magnificently, where
for you pay $500, specie.
The crossing of 1sOth meridian
Of longitude and losing a day,
is worthy of mention and ex-
PLANTATION. We crossed the meridian on
Monday and the ext day was Wednes-
dayl Which we will explain: Ameri-
cans as well as Englishmen q their
time from the prime meridian of Green
witch. Now an instant before we passed
this line our time was II hours St0l0 OF
that of Greenwich, the instant after we
were over this line our time was IL hours
fast of Greenwich, that Is to say, we had,
by passing over a mere imaginary line,
annihilated "a hours of time-killed a
whole day. But what has become of this
day, is it lost to us7 By no means. We
are now at b lS0th meridian.
Let us start to Greenwich, going
west, and pass through four degrees
of longitude daily. Before leaving the
meridian we set a watch to keep the time
of that place. On observing the sun pass
the meridian of. the first day we find that
our watch marks sixteen minutes past
noon. The sum-, in other words, crosses
the meridian we occupy sixteen minutes
after he has crossed the 1902 which we
left the day before; hence n day has
been sixteen minutes longer than twenty
four hours, and so it is with the next day
until we arrive at Greenwich, when our
watch will show twelve hours in advance.
We have travelled for forty-ive days, with
every day having sixteen minutes in ii
more than twenty-four hour. We have
been chasing the sun, and have Travelled
only -four degrees whilst he crossed 360o
Now let us continue for forty-five days
longer, or until we get back TO the place
I VI w VIII AASA ANN AA@1
ninety days, zach of t~wenty-four hours
and sixteen minutes duration; or will
nave compressed ninety-one days into
ninety, and gained exactly twenty-four
hours; therefore, in order to keep n day
correctly, we must drop one out and take
a fresh start. On the other hand, in re-
turning from China to San Francisco, we
crossed the meridian on Saturday, and
the next day was Saturday alsol Why!
Reverse the course and travel at the
same rate, put instead of going west
more east. 1t will be perceived that we
are now meeting h sun instead o.
running away from him. On the first
day when the sun is on the meridian, and
it is noon, our watch will show. that il
lacks sixteen minutes to twelve, and sc
on we go having our days each short six
teen minutes, until we come back TO the
point of beginning, when it will be found
that we have lost exactly twenty-foul
hours by having ninety days. each six
teen minutes short; therefore it is mani
fest nat we must make it all up again as
soon as we leap across the line by addins
a day. In the first instance you have
gradually gained q day. In the second
you nave lost it. An anecdote is related
of a party who bought a new watch il
China before sailing for San Francisco
Every day the ships clock was turned
ahead fifteen or twenty minutes, and the
| 16llOW BurD6U up Ills WHICH, anu, LOuCuSl
the regulator toward fast. At length ht
went to the captain in despair and told
him that he had pushed the thing as ia
as it would go, and yet it wouldn't keeI
up.
To write an account of a voyage at sea
would be repeating a bore. Who cares
whether you vomlted your boots up o,
not? We had some very pleasant people
on board, who did many silly things K
a,raa Fhan,galuoa and fa1lnW naCSannarc
We wrote up a silly newspaper abOu
silly things. We ate five times a day
; pitched quaits, ran foot races, played base
PLAYED cards (seven-upl drank whisky
smoked pipes, slept until one morning
at daylight we discovered ourselve!
steaming up the Bay or Gulf of Yeddo
mot spelled with a u to the anchorag,
of Yokohama. At the first glance, ant
upon closer inspection, the country show
itself to be in a very high state of cultiva
tion-much superior to anything W
know of in North America, or even il
Europe. Wherever a hill is composed o
soil it is terraced and put under tn
spade. If it will not produce foo
crops, it is left and planted witt
landscape. Anchored at Yokohama
we seek the shore in q Japanese Sau-pG,
boat, propelled by a couple of natives
: who use their oars to ScRLL with insteaI
of row. The boats are rough and uncom
Portable, and if the weather is warm tn
men are sadly deficient in clothing;
piece of cloth two yards long and fou
inches wide, skillfully arranged, is all
laborer wears. We land on the bum
| (same as our levee) and at once procee
to look at things curious. b Europeai
part of the town claims u attention
first. We find three or fou pretty goo
hotels (sll EnglishG where you may b
much better lodged, fed, and attends
than in Memphis. You see shops dis
, playing very handsome goods, corne
, groceries, drug stores, banks, insuranc
Offices, butcher shops, bar rooms, and a
infinite number of naked natives. NeN
: houses are going up, and we stop to Sc
!, the native mechanics work. One fellow
: is squsring a stick of timber. The log !
! IA or Is inches in diameter, and he is pull
ing a short whipsaw through it, an
: making pretty good headway- One sid
is finished, and we are astonished at tn
: smoothness and accuracy of the work
? equal TO the performance of any ssw-mil
Another chap is planning the surface of
plank. He draws the plane IA Japanes
one) TO him, instead of showing it. Thei
chisels we're much like ours. The adj
is different, being only a short chisel O.
a crooked handle. The temper of all thei
j tools seemed excellent. The bricks wer
2 much like ours in shape and size, bu
q were blue instead of red. After putin
the sheeting on the ~rafters, in roofing
they lay on shingles not thicker than tn
thirty-second part of an inch, which ar
literally tucked. On these they put
light tile and cement all cracks. / nc
ticed some bricklsyers at work on a ne'
Masonic Hall building. They were bot
: skillful and quick. The mortar was cor
Q yeyed to the higher walls in rather
7 novel manner. Men are stationed at il
~teryals of six or eight feet apart on Lad
ders reaching to the top of the wall, an
= one man at the mortar heap. The morta