St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-02-16
Tfte TaIedumian.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF JAPAN.
Extracts from Letters by Miss Martha j.
Clark Formerly of Peaeham.

ly this morning, packed our goods ant
got ready to leave the vessel. | am 90
glad the shores of Japan are rugged
as they surely are, with green trees up
on them. Full Yama was clOuded ear
~, but came out later into full view
is snow capped, and when we first saw
it it seemed to hang between til,
clouds.
The funniest time was when we an
chored some distance out in the bay
there being no wharf to which vessels
can come. Passengers all have to bt
landed in boats. The hotels run steam
small compared with that shown toward
the Japanese boats that fairly swarm
ed around us. They call them sam
pans (but ! don't know as that is the
way to spell it) and are worked with
two curious oars, one on the side and
one behind to steer, requiring two men
look very clean and nice and are I'M
painted. The men stand up to work
them and succeed in getting through
the water pretty fast. Nearly all were
bare headed and many of them not
very well clothed. Their straight
black hair flying in all directions, the
scuffiing and screaming to get each one
his boat nearest to the ships ladder,
made n scene grOtesque enough. Inn
agine, if you can, my surprise and de-
light, too, when in the midst of all this
noise | received note by Especial
messenger" from Miss Kidder, saying
she would come to YOkohOma to meet
gram saying that the ''Garlic" had ar
rived. Meantime the boy would take
me to Mrs. Browns until she could
come to find me. The boy could speak
no English and | don't know what |
should have done without Miss Gulick.
She cOnversed with him and learned a
| confess felt little funny startin G
off alone in a sampan with ii Japanese
boy who could speak no English, leav-
ing Miss Gulick and Miss Shedd on the
steamer.
When we reached the shore the
wharf was lined with jinrikshas wait
ing for customers. But my boy passed
them all and took me to Il Mrs. Near
thur, who is a daughter of Mrs. Brown.
CThey are not missionaries but help
along the work in various ways.) A
pleasant ride through some of the prin-
cipal business streets in Mrs. McA.' s
pony carriage with her Japanese foot
man running beside, brought us to Mrs.
Browns where Miss Kidder soon ar
rived. Miss Kidder is a daughter of
Benjamin Kidder of Peacham and has
been twelve years in Japan missiOna
~ of the Baptist board.)
TOXIC, Nov. %.
Here | am in the very centre of the
Mikado's empire sitting by an open fire
in Miss Kidder's new house. She and
Miss Whitman live together and have
a boarding and day school here. AS
left Mrs. BIS had my first jinriksha
ride, from there to the K. r. station.
One misses here the big drays and
heavy express teams such as we see i'll
American cities. In place of them are
small hand carts, and men carrying
burdens suspended on the ends of a
pole balanced ON the shoulder. A few
English carriages were driving about.
L saw any number of little girls with
baby strapped on their backs, exactly
like the pictures Miss Gulick had, some
of the babies SO small that they could
not hold up their heads. [ must say
think the japanese girls are anything
but graceful in their dress and gait, but
many of them have decidedly pretty
faces.
We left Yokohama at 5:15 p. M, and
reached the house here about seven the
same evening. 1t was a beautiful
night and the ride in
double jinriksha through the streets of
Toxic was very delightful. Miss KS
house has nice high posted rooms for
their own apartments. Connected with
it is a genuine Japanese house nicely
built for their girls school. They can
thirty two boarders and
are now full. The girls live on Japan
csc food and keep up their own Gus
insists upon two things, sheets for their
beds and white Undertaking for them
selves. In the afternoon they have
large class of day pupils who come for
English instruction. Miss X. seems
very we'll and is very CHEEKY and APP
parently happy. This evening we
ters and parcels, and [ took one of my
first lessons in waiting. Remember
that this was in the principal post of
fee in the capital of the empire. Miss
K. had several parcels she was sending
home for Christmas, many of them
alike, but each one had to be weighed
and passed back to be stamped. The
stamps for those came quite readily, |
but for the letters we waited and wait |
ed till we supposed they must have
had to go to the mint to have some |
struck off especially for us. They did
come at last and we started for home,
having been gone an hour and half
20 mail fifteen letters and dozen pack
ages. But Miss Gulick assures us that |
'uch experiences are "good discipline"