Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-10-22
JAPAN.
Fine 1Eaferfalls-No nging- b rds-N o
Perfumea Flowers.


Fine 7yaferfalls-No Singing b irds-No
Perfumea Flowers.
The Rev. E. W. Clark, of Albany,
New York, now Professor OF Chemistry
in the japanese College at Shidzuooka,
IS writing an interesting series of
letters to the New York Evangelist In
recent number he gives description
of a tour to fine waterfall, about
thirty miles from the college, and
situated near the southwestern base of
Fusiyama, the highest mountain in
Japan. His remarks in regard to the
domestic habits and social life Of the
Japs are not very fattering. We have
only room for his description of the
falls, and few other facts;
We were now approaching the v1cin-
ity of the fall, but from the nature of
the country just about us, you would
hardly have expected that waterfall
of any respectable size could be very
near. But the guide pointed out a
thick growth of underbrush and trees
which skirted deep depression or
break in the surface, only few rods
distant, and said that was the point we
were aiming for.
AS we drew near, the roar of many
waters greeted us, and the sound grew
louder and deeper as we passed under
the dripping foliage and descended the
prec1pitous and rocky path which led
us to the bottom Of wild, romantic
looking canon, which was completely
shut in by steep rocky walls, nearly
hundred feet high.
The main waterfall was situated at
the innermost end of the circular
shaped gorge in which we stood, and
though it's height was not more than
sixty or seventy feet, yet it was very
beautiful, and made, on the whole,
quite respectable fall. The amount
of water was considerable, and it fell
in one solid column which struck with
great force in the oval basin below.
The noise was almost deafening, be-
! cause the sounds reverberated so from
the walls of the gorge which encircled
us with a circumference of not more
than 500 feet. The Japs call this fall
the great "White Rope" and the little
falls close to it they call "Silver
Threads" because they are so
many of them spinning down
over the rocks. The main
fall reminded me somewhat of the
Staubbach, which Byron likens to the
tail of the White Horse in the Apoca>
lypse; and the rest of the gorge is on a
small scale, like the "va]ley of thous-
and springs" in Switzerland, for there
are surely thousand miniature foun-
tains, which leap from the rocky preci-
pice to the right of the main fall, and
these add greatly to the beauty and TO-
nance of the scene. Just to the left,
also, there is what you might call a
Cordial veil !" fall, so thin, smooth and
transparent is it in it's airy descent.
There is rich border of foliage inclos-
ing the whole gorge, and setting off the
falls, the foam. and cataracts to great
advantage It is, on the whole, the
prettiest spot [ have seen in Japan.
Although the country scenes in ia
pan are fresh and green and variegat-
ed, yet there are many things which
you miss in the landscape. You do
not see the birds, nor the flowers, nor
the meadows, nor orchards, nor any
thing of the kind that we associate
with country life in New England at
home. Of birds there are none, except
few little sparrows that came twitter-
ing around now and then; and since I
first came to Japan, have never heard
bird sing. But the crOsUs are horri-
BILE, great creatures, and are so bold
that they come right across your path,
and they make the day hjdeous with
their perpetual cawing.
The flowers are few and far between,
and even then are too small to be no.
tice1. and they have no perfume what
ever. Meadows are entirely unknown
in the country, and every nook and
corner of available land is either
banked off into a rice-feld, Or else cut
up into little vegetable patches. The
general size of a field in Japan, whether
for rice, grain, or other vegetable, is
about the dimensions of an. ordinary
"house lot" at home. Each farmer
has his own little field, or set of fields,
and he attends to these exclusively,
doing all the work with a queer shaped
implement which is half hoe and half
shovel. In this part of the country
they raise two crops each year, for
they have no winter Of any account
whatever. After September they begin
to plant wheat, beans, peas and other
things of like character and then
when spring comes they reap their
winter harvest, and Immediately after
they SOW rice, cotton, indigo, sweet
potatoes, sugar-can and the like So
that now their sumner crops are
coming up, and the hot weather will
Sc on ripen them.
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