Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-08-16
Natives Who Never Saw a White
Man-The Country and PeO-
pie.
San Francisco Chronicle.

san HfAholboO OnrOntcle. .
The steamer Arabic, which arrived
from China on Friday night, brought
to this city Commodore Shufeldt and
his daughter on their return home. A
Chronicle reporter called on him yes.
terday at the Palace Hotel. Commo-
dore Shufeldt lisa typical man of war,
worthyto ornament a more ~pretentious
naval establishment than the one Se-
cor Robson proposes to rebuild.
lie stands fully six feet, weighs per-
haps two hundred pounds, and al.
though nearly sixty years Of age is
as straight as an arrow and walks
with youthful energy. His hair and
beard are literally streaked with T a
his forehead high and broad, and his
complexion Drowned with the sun
shine of the Eastern seas.
"Ofcourse you know began the
Commodore, that Oorea is a country
that has long been inaccessible to ohe
world. | believe | am the first white
man who has ever trod the soil of the
interior, and therefore, perhaps, | am
a curiosity. So far as | saw, the peo-
pie OF Corea are greatly at
tached to their country, have no dis.
position to emigrate-which accounts
for their exclusiveness heretofore
but are possessed of a lively curiosity.
On landing in Corea to meet the two
Ministers appointed by the King to
negotiate this treaty, two officers &C
companied me for some distance into
the interior. We were unarmed, but
not molested. The roads over which
We travelled were lined with people
for miles, attracted probably by their
first opportunity to look upon the face
of a white man. In some instances
they crowded around us, and / suppose
commented upon our strange dress
and appearance, but they made DO at
tempt to modest US. We pardoned
their obtrusiyeness, because we were
probably a great mystery to them"
In what respect do the Coreans
resemble the Chinese?"
II could see but little resemblance.
The Chinese OF different localities
look very different, as you know. The
Mongolians Of the North do not very
much resemble the Mongolians Of the
South, who mostly come to California,
and the Corean looks much unlike
either class. Their complexion is
light, their hair dark, long and wiry
and their eyes black. They remind
me of the North American Indian
and | believe the resemblance is sufi 4
GENTLY close to justify the belief that
COrea furnished the material to popu.
late this country. All the difference
between the two races could have
been produced by climate and mode of
living after the immigration here.
Owing to the fact that naturalists
have never had an opportunity to in
vestigate Corea, this resemblance has
not been carried out to its logical
conclusion.
"All the occupation the Coreans
have is agriculture, and the products
Of the soil are mostly consumed at
home. They export a little rice and
a few beans to Japan, but they have
no commerce and no marine. All
their carrying is done on animals or
by means of imperfect boats on the
rivers. They appear i~noffensive, and
not disposed to 60 to war with any
body, aud yet the mass of the people
are said to be curious in regard to
outside affairs. The country is ruled
by a King, who, ia his own dominion,
is an absolute despot, having complete
control over the lives and prop
erty of the most noble of his subjects.
lie is assisted in governing bya council
selected from the nobility, who have
charge Of the various departments
Judicial, war, financial and interior
departments. The person of the King,
for centuries, has been absolutely in
accessible, and no person of his own
race, much less a foreigner, has been
able to get into his presence. 1t is
sacrllege to utter the name he has
received from his s~uzerain, and that
by which he is known in history is
only given him after his death. It is
high treason to touch his person with
a WeapoA Of iron. Notwithstanding
the ~monarch's exclUsiveness however,
ip theory, his ear is always open to
the people. aud an appeal to him in
all grave matters is nominally permit
ted. The interference Of the nobility
in politics is also high treason, and
the princes Of the blood are excluded
wholly from power. About a year
since a plot to gain control Of the
government was discovered among the
mobiles, and every person in any way
connected with it was beheaded. The
treatment Of the participants in the
imbroglio was a Ealutary lesson. Al.
though the King Yields such power,
there are two political parties among
the mobiles of Corea. One party 10
called the ProgTessionists the other by
a name which implies their antipodes
those opposed to progress. The
former party is at present in power, a
fact which rendered the negotiation of
our treaty possible.
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