Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-07
Price Three Cents
tourists because tourists frequently make

tourists because tourists frequently make themselves odious.
 Behind a naked coolie took ride through
 this city and the outlying country the other afternoon. A mere statistical enumeration of the remarkable things which I saw would fill several columns of your paper, ard 50 shall just shut my eyes and go it b!ind- Most of the buildings were composed of teak or bamboo, roofed with straw, or with tile in case the owner wants to be tony. The highways were lined with the cast of straw sandals of tinrikisha runners. These san- dals are light and cheap, costing only about a cent pair, and are fastened to the feet by
 means of cords. It is noteworthy fact that the Japanese ponies are also shod with straw shoes. The city policemen, queer looking manikins uniformed in summer in white,
 were as ubiquitous and as useless as in Amer ican cities. The streets in the foreign part of the town are well paved and lighted by gas, and the displays made by the stores in
 the main part of the town are just what are to be encountered in the business portion Of
 any American city. The Bluffs is the Euro pean residence district and consists of attrac- tive, often elegant homes, in hedge encircled grounds that are very pleasing to the eye. In general, however, it cannot be said that Yokohama contains much of oriental n1Sgnif icence; there is no room for argument on this point. If it were not for the Bluffs; which are really very picturesque, and com- mand a view of the great bay which I have seldom seen surpassed, it might be said that the scenic attractions of the place mea- gre,-thougb even then it could not be said that life here is commonplace, for it never can be commonplace to the traveleg in any Japanese city.
 But was about to describe some of the anomalous sights which I witnessed in the
 native settlement. My course lay for time along one of the streams that empty into the n Of anese fishers ranging in age from three four years up to full three-score and ten.
 Their ambition in the way of piscatorial sport seemed to be very easily satisfied, for did not see fish caught that would measure
 more than six inches in length. At first I thought the fish which they were triumphant ly pulling out of the water were mere bait
 for larger fish but l soon discovered that the bait was tiny worm, and the miniature fishes real game. The fish were all unlike anything had ever seen in America, being of diverse shapes. The largest one caught
 WAS nearly six inches long, and created tremendous sensation. All the other fisher men gathered around, green with envy, and stood for some time eyeing the monster.
 I was much interested in the children whom I espied on every hand in great num- bers. Fer the most part they were brighS and attractive, even when befouled with dirt. There were great many little girls of three or four years with babies strapped to their
 backs. pitied both parties to these trans actions. The child that was loaded down with such burden at such tender age,-a burden in some cases almost as large as tho child itself,-was certainly to be pitied, d. though not seeming to mind the trouble. The infants were asleep in many cases, and as the child gamboled about at play the head of the precious infant would wobble about shockipgly. Some of the children were playing upon pipes, and contrived to make ho
 ''small boy" Others were spinning tops. and still others aping their superiors with all the coquettish and pert ways of the most precocious civilized children. Some were eating persimmons. They had my sympathy. Anyone who eats persimmons has. At one place I noticed 8 fond mother shaving the head of her obedient infant according to the national custom. The Japanese mother seems to pride herself upon the originality which she is able to display in the way of devices for her children's hair. This Is done often at tho expense of the child, for it is liable to give rise to frightfUl scalp sores. How the children, or even the people them selves, can manage te get about on tue wood en stilts with which their feet are shod is past nay comprehension. Yet it is fact that the children may be seen rushing along on them at @ furious rate.
 Leaving my 'rickisha at the public cricket grounds, I proceeded in the direction of the general market for I had been given to un- derstand that l might see something there thet would be worth looking at. It was the time of the day when the streets are crowded, and the universal activity was most interest ing to my unaccustomed eyes. The groceries were especially bewildering. Here were fruits, nuts, bulbs, flowers, and other farm products which I had never seen before, ana which stimulated my curiosity wonderfully. Here was fish market, with great baskets of all kinds of fish, except such as I had formed the acquaintance of in America. Some were so small that I doubted for some time that they were fish. I suppose a common teaspoon would hold several hundred of them. Then there were places where lily bulbs were being encased in sacks Of mud for shipment to the poor benighted denizens of the United States while near by gravel would be drying in the sun for use in packing the lilies.
 It seemed to be washing day, or else the women wash nearly every day in Japan But such an arduous way was employed in doing the business, looking at it from an American standpoint. The tubs were only six or eight inches high, and rested on three wooden legs about three inches high And those Japanese women would squat there beside their tubs for an hour at 8 time, just aS though that way was as com- fortabIe as any other. I suppose it was, to them. Beside most of these native laundry women would be seen tailless cat, oftenest AAA1AAA OOS@5 NANASS@A ~~~ Japanese language-as I inferred. If these cats have'nt any tails, the fishes make up for it with two or three. I saw some goldfish of g very strange, double-tailed species. The people have their novelties in every line here.
 There were curio stores, bronze stores, chi na stores and screen stores, where by judi cious haggling you could get beautiful bric-a- brac in all these lines at fabulously low prices; but what could you do with it? There were bronze lions there ten feet high, that just coveted; but I did not deem it prudent, all things considered. to carry them around the world with me. There are certain limitations that travellers have to be governed by. As for the smells that ema- mated from many of the cooking and fish es- it makes me hold my nose now to think of them. Some of the compounds on the way were enclosed by very simple bamboo fences, while others were surrounded by plaster walls the top of which was made dangerous to intruders by means of irregular pieces of sharp stout glass.
 Everybody was good natured. l was free to look or handle and pleasant nod and the salutation ''Ohaio' were the only reply to my impertinence. There was not in single case the rude laughter at my expense which Japanese would frequently encoun- ter were he travelling in America.
 EMILE.