Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-12-24

cushioned seat which was fastened
in the back part of the box. 1t will
forever remain a mystery to me how
1 performed the exploit of arranging
myself and my packages in this no,
very roomy wagon-but I certainly
accomplished the feat, saw man
step into the shafts, and then had an
oilskin curtain let down in front OF
me, to keep out the driving rain, and
while was still striving to compre.
hend the situation, and to imagine
whereunto all this wouldlead, l found
myself moving off at good round
pace, drew long breath, and con-
cluded that l was certainly in Japan
at last, and taking my first jinrikisha
ride. BY peeping out at the sides
of my curtain l caught glimpses OF
narrow streets, with low, open
shops on either side, and strangely
clad people moving about in the rain
with uncovered heads. / felt a
strong inclination to inquire why they
had left their hats at home, but was
restrained from doing so by one or
two considerations; first fiom fear of
wounding their feelings, and second
because l thought they might not un-
derstand me, which would be embar-
assing for them. But strangest ofall
was to look ahead and see that l was
being drawn, not by a horse, but by
a man. Notwithstanding is very
common in Japan; indeed 1t is almost
the only way by which you can trav-
ell about here. The literal meaning
of the word jlnriklsha is man power
carriage, or as some wag has we'll
named them, Pullman cars of Japan.
1t seems to me that no class in Japan
is so much to be commisserated as
these jinrikisha men; travelling in all
sorts of weather, at best only half
clad, becoming over-heated by their
violent eXertions, and then standing
out in the cold, they thus contract
severe colds; many Of them have
hacking coughs, and l am told that,
as class, they are very short lived.
1t would be strange if they were not,
but 1t is difficult to imagine any hope
or joy In their existence which could
make them desire to prolong it.
There is something distressing be-
yond measure in seeing men, human
beings like ourselves, thus degraded
to the level Of the brute, and COM
PEELED by circumstances to perform
the labor of beast. These reflec-
tions did not all pass through my
mind, however, while riding from the
shore to Mr.. Maclay's house; on the
contrary, was chiefly occupied in
taking care of my bundles, and won
dering how I could extricate myself
from the "uap" into which l had so
rashly placed myself. But getting
out proved less than I feared, and a
cordial greeting from Mrs. DR.. Ma
clay soon made me forget the dis
comforts of my first jlnrikisha ride.
I should have said while on the sub
ject of jinrikishas, that some of these
vehicles are very expensive, and in
their way are quite elegant to look at,
and not uncomfortable for riding
The whole of the first day it rained
almost steadily, but the next morning
rose fair and clear, the sun shone
brightly, the birds sang, the air was
soft and warm, the gardens gorgeous
with various-colorede enrysantheniums
and many other bright hued flowers;
altogether 1t was more like an Illinois
June morning than one in the last of
October. But no words can do JUS
tice t, the vivid, fresh green of the
foliage; it was unlike and far sur
passed anything of which our Amer
lean forests can boast, even at their
best estate. In the afternoon of the
second day some friends proposed a
long jinrikisha ride, in order to show
me some of the beautiful scenery
about Yokohama. Nothing could
have been more agreeable, and, al
though l was prepared when we
started to see much to greatly admire,
l did not anticipate anything like the
loveliness which everywhere present
ed itself, and before we reached home
made me fully agree with the traveller
who said that Mature had done all
for Japan that she does for any coun-
try" One must not talk of grandeur,
however, when speaking OF japanese
scenery, SO far as l have yet seen it,
for everything is gotten up on a
miniature scale, and exquisite,
''lovely," s'truly beautiful" with the
school girls favorite adjective -
"spendid''-these, say, are the words
to apply to the views about Yoke
maha, and, indeed, to those about
Yedo. But, if you will pardon this
poor attempt at displaying rhetorical
knowledge, l will try briefly to de-
scribe something Of what we saw
during that afternoon ride. Imagine
yourself, then, seated in a jinrikisha
and closely following, for we may
not have our vehicles run side by
side, as we are law-abiding citizens
now of this great empire, and there
exists statute forbidding two jinrik-
ishas running abreast.
What a glorious afternoon it is;
but the heat OF the sun is far too great
for comfort unless you have a sun
shade. Our jinrikisha men are no
longer attired in the fanciful straw
suits and enormous rain hats, which
we saw yesterday. These are slowed
away for the next storm. And they
wear very close fitting neither gar
ments, reaching only to the knees,
and a short sack thrown back, from
the throat, confined at the waist by a
rag which does duty as belt. This
garment may be claimed to be short
sleeved at least the sleeves are
scarcely perceptible. The whole is
of some thin blue material. BY the
way, blue, a dull dark shade OF it,
may be SAID to be the national color.
Every one wear it, men, women and
children, from the lowest grade to
the highest. Now, that the rain has
disappeared we can see that the heads
of these men have a streak shaven
from the forehead to the crown of the
head; that the remainder of the hair
= l..o...l H.,