Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1889-06-06
AROUND THE WORLD.
The Wedding Tour of DR.
Fl. G. Ledyard.
1T TAKES HIM TEN YEARS
An Entertaining Story of Wander
ings Through Many Lands and
Study of Many Peoples.

Otuuy vi many ISVpIcc.
DIR. II. 9. Ledyard, of San Jose, who
has been staying in the city for few
days visiting with Mr.. David K. Ed
wards at 105 Court street, is very en-
pertaining man to talk with. He has
Just returned from trip around the
world, made in a slow, but steady, pro.
gression toward the setting sun. 1t is,
perhaps, hardly the right expression to
call the Doctors method of quitting a
girdle round the earth" a "trip" for it
took him ten years to accomplish the
undertaking. This is not to be regarded
as proof of his slowness of disposition,
but rather an earnest of the thorough
ness with which the work was done.
When the Doctor sailed from the port of
San Francisco for China it was in the
year of 1879, and he had just been mar
ried. When he returned to his home in
San Jose it was in the year 1889, and he
was the possessor of good-sized family
of three children. This is probably the
longest wedding tour on record.
DR.. Ledyard is dentist by profession,
and as he travelled he practiced his dis.
agreeable but necessary art. He has
pulled or filled the teeth of Cinnamon,
Siberians, Russians, Turks, Greeks and
various other nationalities, including the
globe-trotting Englishman and the cos
mopolitan American. His object in
travelling was to see the world, and as he
is q good observer of men and morals,
the knowledge which he has gained is
very we'll placed.
'fWe went first to Shanghai" said the
Doctor, "and we lived there about two
years. l travelled great deal over the
neighboring country, up the Yangtsi as
far as the ports were open in the tea dis
trict. The Biographies call that the
Yangtsi Kiang, but the word Kiang means
merely river. An American dentist is
considerably in demand everywhere, but
my practice in China was largely among
the Americans and English who live
there. A few of the higher-clsss China
men, who are accustomed to associate q
little with the foreigners in their coun-
try, sometimes came to see me. The
Chinese are painfully slow about taking
up anything new, especially in the
mechanical line. There was railroad
twelve miles in length, from Shanghai to
the port at the mouth of the Yangtsi,
and it had been running some time when
/ came there, but the prejudice against it
was 80 strong that it finally was taken up
and carried over to the island of For
mosa. did not learn much of the Ian
guage; it was not necessary. Trained
servants, speaking English, are to be had
in plenty and at rates at which those in
this country would turn away in disgust.
We left Shanghai to make long and
slow trip through Siberia. l intended at
first to 60 by way of Pekin through the
Great Wall, but was turned back by a
pestilence that prevailed among the
camels which we expected to use in
crossing the desert. We finally went by
boat to the mouth of the Anoor river,
and up as far as We could before it froze.
When it was hard enough to bear
Bledges we went on into the heart Of
eiberia AT Irkoutsk we made long
stay, and naa o god Opportunity to
see something of the Life Of in1 eau.-
with whom that country is colonized.
From what I saw both there and in
Russia, am inclined to think that we in
this country are apt to get an exagger-
idea of the severity of the punishment.
Siberia is cold country, it is true, but
not more 30 than the former home of
most of those who are ex-
lied thither. They are under
police surveillance; that is, they have
to report their presence to the authorities
from time to time, but otherwise their
daily life is not much hampered. Of
course our sympathies go out to those
who ara transported for political reasons,
and from our standpoint there is cruel
abuse of power by the government.
Articles like those of George Remnants
in the Century while they may be
true in every detail, are likely to be a
little misleading, for the reason that they
narrate individual instances, which the
average reader will look upon as the
general rule.
SIT was while we were at Irkoutsk that
the Jeanette exploring expedition-or,
rather, what remained of it-got back
into civilization in that locality. We were
among the first Americans ttat they met,
and they devoured the San Francisco
papers which I sent to them when 1
heard they were coming, with great
eagerness.
From Irkoutek we went on in car.
rage over the Ural Mountains into
Russia. After visiting Nijni-Novgorod
while the fair was in progress, and Mos
COW, where there was also an exhibition
ofthe arts, / went to st. Petersburg to live
for winter. The next place where we
made long stop was at Constantinople,
and We lived there about six years.
During our stay there we Travelled about
over most of the adjacent country, visit
ing Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt
and the islands of the Archipelago. AL
though Greece is not very much in the
beaten line OF travel, it is delightful
country to visit. The people are inter-
esting to study, and there is charm
about the scenery scarcely equalled in
any place that ever visited.
The winter climate is very much like
that of Southern California, though
a little colder. The summers are too
hot for comfort. The fact that the soil
and climate SO much resemble those of
this country mode, we think at the time
that olive growing, which is the staple
agricultural industry, there. will in all
probability be a great feature of this
State some time in the future. There is
no danger that the market will ever
suffer from oyer-production. The
Turkish Government is exerting itself to
the utmost to keep out the cotton seed
oil which is imported from this country
In large quantities and used there for
adulterating the oil which we bring over
to this country, supposing it to be the
genuine article. 1t is q sort OF blind