Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-10-17
RATS, CATS AND SNAKES.
SOME OF THE SUPERsTiTloNs BE.
LIEvED BY THE CoREANS.

l'EVeD BY THE COREANS.
Defereuce Paid to Reptiles-Tabby Not
Held In High Esteem-Rodents Exceed.
ingly Troublesome--The Legend of the
Farmer and the Snake.
Corean houses are usually more than SUD.
piled with rats. They gambol about on the
paper ceilings, If the room is supplied with q
ceiling, IL not they burrow In the mass of
mud and mortar between the rafters and the
tiles. In case the room is furnished with a
ceiling the rats become very disagreeable in
deed, for the thick paper is like a drumhead.
and being made up of several layers held to.
gether by rice paste, the rats pull up strips of
this paper and eat it. The noise is like that
of an amateur brass band, and never fails to
arouse foreigner from the soundest slumbcr.
be he ever SO used to it, while upon the
new conner the effect is quite exaggerated.
BY species of drum practice upon this drum.
head ceiling the rats may be SO frightened
that they will stay away for the rest of the
night.
The natives do not like rats and endeavor in
various ways to get rid of them, as, for in
stance, by placing written character on the
ceiling, or many characters at times, under
the popular supposition that rats, like people,
20 respect the written characters that they will
not desecrate it by walking over it. Some
rats, however, are said to be like some people.
and the charm does not always work satisfac-
torily.
FREEDOM FOR SNAKES
Snakes are allowed free liberty in and upon
Colean house. They usually live in burrows
in tire mud under the tiles These burrows
are doubtless used by tae rats during the win
ter time, and they are noticeably absent dur
ing the summer, after the proper occupants
have tlawed out. The snakes doubtless make
it lively for the rats, but their principal food
is the eggs and young of the swallows, which
live under the caves. One can always tell
when the snake is visible by the excited chat
tering of the birds. Hundreds Of them con-
gregate about where be may be summing him.
self on the hot tiles, and jabber away at him
with all their might, Others fly away and
enlist the services of the impudent magpies,
who come screaming in their shrill tones and
give Mr.. Snake sharp dig in some unpro-
tected part. The snake usually gets the worst
OF the encounter and runs to cover.
The people will not kill the snakes: they
have superstition based on fear. They trace
killed poisonous snake and afterward was
killed, together with his whole family, by the
mate of the dead reptile. The house snakes
are some three feet in length, fat, lazy and
practically harmless.
One cannot help but note the absence of
cats i'll Corea, and as the rats become more
and more troublesome an occasional feline
serenade becomes an appreciated favor. Cats
are sometimes kept. but they are seldom seen,
while dogs are everywhere and weasels are
not rarity. The latter are always wild and
confine their raids mostly to chickens
The cat is considered an uncanny animal
and never occupies tho place it does in O
European household. The superstition con-
corning the cat is also traced back to a story,
and is as harmful to the descendants of the
hero (or heroine) of the story as it was bene-
fetal in the case of the snake.
A LEGENDARY TALE.
1t is reported that once upon a time
farmer working in the field felt q sense Of
vacuity which frequent Tightening of his
belt would not relieve. He went on till he
could wait no longer and from wondering
why his spouse had not brought him his GUS
toInary meal he worked himself up into q |
rage at her negligence. He decided to so
and investigate the matter, and on the way
he took the precautioi Of selecting a good |
club for any necessary use such as clubs may
be put to- Searching h.i house, he espied his
wife lying on a mat with her baby in her
arms, apparently both asleep. "Ah hal" he
cried, "this is the way you loiter around
while l work in the field till my belly has
vanished. I'll teach you thing OF two
With which he struck her sound blow,
which only resulted in jolting the babe from
the breast and disclosing drop of blood |
where milk should have been.
The enraged farmer was startled. He
forgot his anger as he saw that his little
family lay dead before him. He went to c.
amining the apartment and under chest ilo
found a lot of blood and the half of a snake, |
with cat still eating at the living head and
upper portion of the body. The snakes head
5ss.l jumped about and the fangs darted out,
keeping the cat busy to keep outOf the way.
But the jumping bead had struck the sleeping
mother and NJ l-adiy fangs had pierced her
desh. sending the poisoned blood into tire
nursing infAps, .kixe,s them both. Since
that time catslare nor kept in the country,
nd are but SELDOM seen in the cities. When
seen they appear wad and run as if afraid OF
their iives-~H N a." in San Francisco
Chronicle.
Tite women or Barba1oes
The women dress i'll in Barbados, fOr they
lnitate English ladies; but no dress can con
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