Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-01-24
THE JYNRICKSHA.
How People Travel BY Man Power In
Japan.

Yokohama Correspondence of the Cleveland
Herald.
These jynricksha men are sturdy coolies or
people of the lower class, who undertake the
business merely from exuberance OF spirits and
superabundapce of animal vigor. just as in our
country 1t used to be the thing for the "b'hoys"
''to run with the machine" And truly the poor
devils need all the health and vigor they have.
just imagine one human creature drawing
another at a swift trot for seven or eight and
even more miles on the stretch. Yet these iyn-
ricksha men do this and more Their endurance
is wonderful, but they 10 not last long. They
soon become wheezy, and have to drop out of
the shafts. The majority of them are of mag
nificeut physique. with muscles knotted and
ridged even to the verge of distortion, and with
sturdy limbs and upright carriage, like very
The jynricksha itself is a small two-wheeled
carriage, generally holding but one person, but
sometimes capable of seating two with little
squeezing. Occasionally, indeed, you see a
whole Japanese family, father, mother and
babies, crowded together in one jynrickshs,
dition OF mingled arms and legs and heads, and
jollity, while the whole will be drawn by half
grown boy, whose head reaches hardly above
the cross bars OF the shafts.
The first jynricksha of Japan was m ade about
three years ago in imitation of a two-wheeled
baby carriage, belonging to a European. Since
that time they have increased over the whole
country to such an extent that one city alone,
Eeddo, has seventeen thousand of them, and
over fifty thousand people enga ged in managing
ana manufacturing f them. They are a great
| remember very well one jynricksha ride
that took in company with the ladies'. The
day was beautiful, but somewhat warm; we re-
solved 10 visit the country, and | was deputed
TO order the jynrickshas. Accordingly, picked
out eight men whose legs were not ali bare, and
marshaled the party. Away we went, the
coolies whoopiDg and yelling like so many wild
Indians. The day was warm, as | have said,
and the perspiration soon began TO roll down
our two-legged horses felt comparatively
safe, however, for knew that there was a very
stringent ordinance in Yokohama, forhiddug
coolies to go about in the simple costume "a
very small breech clout,) that had hitherto filled
out their idea of the beautiful and ornate in
know that that ordinance had very little bind
ing force outside of the town limts-that il was
in fact decidedly dead letter when there was
no policemen to enforce it. The actions of
sense of my mistake. First their head
bands went; then one after another they
eased their pace, and drew their right
arms out of the flowing garments that thew
wear for coats; then the other, and then a
twitch; the coats were off, and our steeds were
rushing along in all the freedom of bare backs
and gloriOusly tatooed arms and breasts 1t
was bad enough, but worse was to come. We
were bowling along joking and laughing, when
suddenly an ominous silence fell upon the fe-
male portion of the party. | looked behind,
and ., We Gods! there sat one of the Young
ladies, her jynicksha stuck still in the middle of
the road, and her horses deliberately taking Off
their pants. That was too much The Ameri-
can eagle Mapped his wings and screeched for
vengeance. Two or three of us went back in
quick order, and with the aid of sundry cuffs
ard blows, persuaded those jynrcksha horses
TO resume the normal condition. of bifurcated
yestiture. And yet, poor fellows, they meant
10 wrong. They see no harm IN going about
bare legged, especially since they c an run much
faster and easier that way. SO much for
jynrickshas and jynricksha adventures.