The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-11-13
A FAMOUS HORSE PASTURE.

DIR. ii. Lasham, of California, con-
tributes to The Record Union, of Sacra-
mento, an account of the imperial
horse-pasturing establishment in
Japan. He states that it was founded
by the continental conquerers of the
island where it is situated more than a
thousand years ago. The country con-
quered embraced the peninsula be-
tween the Bay of Yeddo and the Paci-
fic ocean. The country is a table-land,
with an altitude above tide water of
three hundred feet. 1t is seventy miles
long and fifty miles wide. 1t is of ir-
regular shape, with serrated borders,
conforming to the irregularities of the
bay and ocean. A portion OF its north
ern boundary Is formed by the beauti-
full fresh-water lake of ~Imbannuma.
1t is drained by innrmerable clear
streams, some flowing west into the
bay, some east into the ocean, and
others north into the lake. IL has
thousands of beautiful groves of oaks
and evergreens, and the country pre-
sents much the appearance of the oak
openings of Michigan and Kentucky.
1t is covered with clover, fecue and
rye grasses. IL was determined by the
government TO reserve all this region
as a pasture in which to breed horses
for the imperial armies. 1t could have
been easily fenced from the groves of
timber, but that would have left it ex-
posed to the attacks of the hostile
Amos, who were still only a hundred
or two miles further Forth.
An edict was issued. and thousands
of villagers were transported ihither
from all parts of the empire. To these
settlers the land along the streams,
near the borders Of the table-land. was
given on which 10 grow iow-land rice.
Then this vast force was put TO work
to construct an immense embankment
around this pasture. 1t was sixteen
feet high and sixteen feet ut the base.
In order TO leave out the rice land along
the streams, and to conform also to
the serrated edges Of the table7lands,
1t required many curves and windings.
For this reason il was fully twice as
long as would have been required if it
could have been a perfect circle or
square. AS it was built it was five
hundred miles in length. II was con
structed entirely by manual labor.
without the aid of plows, scrapers, or
carts. The earth vas shOveled into
hemp sacks or mats, and was then car
ried swinging on a pole, by two men
up on to, the embankment. This was
the work of years, but where labor has
little value and the word of the ruler
is absolute. anything can be done.
After this fortified fence was finished,
the work of ~subdividing it into fields
was commenced. The subdivision en-
bankments were twelve feet high and
twelve feet ut the base. The whole
area was surveyed into circles. In the
center the corral was located. From
the corral triangular fields were sur
veyed; each corral and the surround
ing fields we're in the form of u wheel,
the corral in the place OF the hub. the
fields occupying the spaces between
the spokes and the subdivision embank-
ments representing the spokes. The
corrals were formed by building m
bankments thirty and even forty feet
high. The fields varied in area from
five hundred TO fifteen hundred acres.
Each corral division had its official in
charge. and over all was q high imper-
ial officer. The aggregate length of
these subdivision entertainments vas
more than two thousand meters. The
tycoon who ordered all this labor did
not live to see its completion, but his
son and successor did.
When this fortified pasture was
ready for occupation, officers were
sent to every province in the empire,
n.l A. bot .u.,. ,. on ..A
bought. Ambassadors were sent to
China, Corea and Manchuria, and the
best equine blood of those countries
was purchased. In thirty or forty
years after the pasture was occupied
there were &c, 600 horses p~asturing
there. At a later time it is said that
the number reached was 100, 600.
Some years since the writer vas in
vited to visit this great pasture and
witness the annual horse gathering.
Upon that occasion we left Toxic,
the capital, in company with h min
lister OF the interior, and a large retinue
of other officials, early on a beautiful
spring morning. We travelled in jim
ickshas, the ordinary c~onveyances of
that country. These are exaggerated
two-wheeled ba~by-wagons, we'll built,
fancifully painted, and nicely uphols-
tered. We had two men TO each car
riage, and we travelled at a rate that
would have troubled some California
teams to have equaled. The distance
was 47} miles, and we made it in nine
hours, including one hours stop for
dinner. Our road was around the bay
of Yeddo, and is known as the Martha
KaIdo. 1t is a wide, military highway,
and has immense rows of trees on both
sides several hundred years old, form
ing a magnificent avenue. 1t is used
by the streams Of pilgrims that visit
the great temples and shrines at Mar
rita. l was told that hundreds Of
thousands annually go to these shrines
to worship. Judging from the num-