The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-07-15
Chicago Tribune.
A Go-Ahead American in Japan.

When the japanese Embassy came to
this country, five or six years ago, its
members inquired for some was who was
competent to serve Japan rs a Commits
sioner of Agriculture, not exactly for the
whole Empire but Tor the large island of
Yezzo, which is about the size Of Indiana
or Ireland, lies due north of the main land
and was then inhabited only by fishermen
whose villages formed a fringe OF settle
ment around the coast. tradition pre-
vailed that the interior OF the island was
an inhospitable desert Nobody tried to
climb the high volcanic mountains which
formed a ring about the interior, or even
to ascend one of the rivers that poured
down from the unknown interior region,
The Acknowledged Orientals were perfectly
passive Their remotest ancestors thou
sands of years ago had believed YeZzO to
| be cold and uninhabitable, and they re-
| ligously clung to the ancestral faith.
| One of the flood of new ideas that poured
| in upon Japan between 1868 and 1870
was a notion that Yezzo's 30 600 square
miles might perhaps have been msrepre-
sented, and that the crowding population
of the rest of the Empire might be advan-
tageously transferred to this vast solitude,
| IlNN NV" WV ~ PNi'" VI ioo N'o9oi''iN"
should prove upon investigator not 10 be
| true he sclentllc resources OF the EN-
pre-, however, were insufficient To prop
cry conducl inns investigation. 80 IL
came to pass that the Embassy asked me
President at Washington tor the man VINO
could best explore, survey recN'ihi' COZ
onlze, and cultivate lezzo. The reply 10
the request came IN 'he shape OF "eheri'i
| Horace CApron, lhen lhlled states oolii-
missioner OF AgrlrulIule' an IN "e''ei' ~,
| eN-Pltlllef OF MARY lahd, ANA Il laiihel oi
Illinois General Caplon was a man emf
nently htted to the task, lie was III u
measure detailed ny our ''oNefhlhrhl 10
| 90 I" Japan. ms services lhefe uufin%
! ihe P'7t i"uf years h;tN' zee" iSi'2
! przed by the japanese '"VeriihenI' ana
ne ltllre5 from ms post now 'iial ms "orN
mas peeh c"hlplttNn' WIN tht ihi"hS 81
lhe Ehil' ana Oh lnt ,'N'"''''' VI wv
A@a i.l, h""I" 81 inc i'"'l'l''
lhe 'l'tiiha nave "'''l "Vii '''i il'''
American ingenuity '1" energy NV
| pfafiIcailN flude" "-'V"" squire iiilleN'
m'lfh on Ii "i %re'' ier'iIily' l" ''P''''
W hen ''eNefai 'apr"n Stllei lof ms new
nome ne c''rllcu out WIN MN Il son "i
Noah ark OF animals, museum o. looiS
ana implements. 'h""S'ilhS" Oh Young lr",'-
trees. anu u large assortment "l Se'"N,
HIS ilfSt task was 10 set ool ms trees anu
put m cattle. horse. Shccp' goats ,af'
|" pastnf" meal thtt 90 'ilal, 'ndo. he''
ne carefully eAplored ana SurN"Ae" me
Island "l le~zo' TIC "lSf"N'Ieu ihaI lilt
MOUNTAINEERING lht!oSed great ana elI'lr
FaiieH lll$'t flcil ana vast "ePoS't9 ~ e,''i
anu ron I'y Wllllin reA,h "i '''F '9'D ~.
WAieIS' an" lh"t tl'e ci'lli'lc "a9 Su gym
Clehliy "ir'h' pheasant "'i" I''i'ns y
WIN 'pt'ilu;'hV Et'oi "'" ii'e'''lS ~ NJ
cohlillthd, "eileftl apron pfo're"eo 70
clear portions Oh the interior rom me
heavy forest that roTered IT, ne ha4
good roads constructed lie liahSplllttd
about 10000 OF ms young trees from ms
nursery near eddo. lie brought over