Omaha daily bee., 1888-10-28

head. His feet and those Of his horse are
sHOD WITH STRAW,
and the straw shoes are in both cases tied
around the ankles with straw rope and are
made Of ordinary rice straw bi aided so that
they form q sole for the foot about a half an
inch thick. These shoes cost about a cent
a pair, ana when they are worn of they
are thrown AVA Every cart has a stock
Of fresh new shoes tied to the horse or to the
front part Of the cart, and in the country
here 1t was formerly the custom TO measure
distance largely by the number OF horse
shoes it took to make the distance. So many
horse shoes made a days journey, and the
average shoe lasted, il my memory serves
me, for about eight miles of travel. 1t is the
same with the coolies. They throw away
their shoes when they are worn out, and last
night when l was riding in one of these man
power baby carriages, my ostrich-like stecd
stopped, threw away his straw shoes and
went bare footed. AS he did so, l watched
the roadway and counted eight pair Of worn
out straw shoes in a single block.
THE HARNESS
Of the work horses is as queer as their shoes.
The saddle is as big as a lady's side-saddle,
and 1t is fully eight inches high. The crup-
per is bound with cloth, and it Is as big
around as your wrist and 1t raised the horses
tail up as though he had achestnut bur under
it. The carts are as rude as the harness, and
In hot weather there is a sort Of straw mat
ting cover stretched over the horse by means
of two long poles extending out from the
front of the cart TO protect the horse from
the rays of the sun. The same is done with
the oxen, who here work, as q rule, single, or
in single file, and the oxen are shod like the
horses, with straw. Animals, however, are
very few, aid man power runs the country.
They run it very well, too, and Japan is a
land which shows what man can do without
any beasts of burden, to speak OF. Here are
fine bridges, big temples, great meats and
good roads, all made by human labor. Here
is a country which
BLOOMS LIKE THE r OSE
in California, and which is kept as clean as a
market garden, and which does not look less
fertile. 1t is a country with a history run
ning back for tens of centuries, having q
literature, a history. a theater, and a poetry
of its own. 1t is a land which has made such
a stride IN certain branches of art that its
curios a ready sale all over the
world, and its silk worms spin their cocoons
and its maidens weave their product into
silks for the nations. Still. until a very few
years past, it was as bare of outside help rs
Robinson Crusoe on his desert island, and
steam did not tighten it's labors, nor did the
four-footed beast furnish it either muscle,
food or fertilizer.
THE SOIL OF JAPAN.
/ am told that only a small part of Japan
is cultivated, and the authorities state that
twot enths of it has as yet not been brought
into use. Still the land that | have seen is
carefully cared for that this seems almost
impossible. The country about Toxic and
Yokohama is divided into garden patches,
and there is not a weed to be seen anywhere.
The soil is as black as that of the Nile valley,
and it is as deep as the top soil of the state OF
Kansas, which Senator ingalls, says is so
thick that you can push your arm down into
it up to the shoulder and pull out earth
which is as rich as guano, in your fist. The
the water closet Every bit OF
night soil IS saved and the sewerage
is carried in buckets and carts and scattered
over the land. This is done nightly and at
certain hours of the evening Toxic smells
worse than Naples. There is no system OF
sewerage in the city, save that of surface
drainage, and it is a wonder to me that
cholera and typhoid fever are not more Otter
epidemic. The smells from the fields and
the rice paddles are as bad at certain time.
of the year as is the city, and Japan has
much to learn on sanitary matters. With
such conditions no country can nave a pure
healthy water, and in many of the homes
here the water closet and the well are side
by side. Foreigners do not, as a rule, drink
the waters of Japan without having then
first boiled and filtered. carry a filter ant
an alcohol stove with me, and / never touch
the water outside Of my hotel.
THE WATER SUPPLY.
Speaking of water calls attention to watel
works. Here IS a city Of a million inhabi
tants and according to the latest census o.
1885. Of more than 25O,GO0 houses. Still, O
all these houses, not one III a thousand, l
any, have what are called modern improve
ments, and there are no water or gas pipe
running through them. The water of Tokit
is not conducted into the houses, but it exist
in wells along the sides OF the streets. Thes'
wells are of wood or stone above the ground
and there is about one or two to the block
They are as big around as a small hogshea'
sawed off two feet from the top and tn
wator is drawn from them in wooden bucket
attached to long bamboo poles. One of tn
sights constantly before your eyes here is
semi-naked man or woman Juggling at thes
bamboo poles to get the water for the hous
supply, and it is from these wells that tn
supply for the daily baths are taken.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.