Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-06-22
THE INNOCENT JAps.
Some OF the Methods They Employ to Take
In the Unwary Traveller.

some OF the Methods They Employ to Take
In the Unwary Traveller.
On landing at Yokohama the steamer
anchors about mile from shore, and
most Of the travelling to and from the
ship is done in boats that are worked
something like gondolas. These crowd
around the steamer in swarms, the
boatmen Offering in fair English to
take you to the shore and back for six
cents. l am now speaking of passen-
gers who only stop at Yokohama en-
route for some other port.
engaged one of these boatmen, who
seemed to understand English we'll,
shortly after my arrival at Yokohama
some few months ago, agreeing to pay
him six cents for the round trip. On
my return / handed him Mexican
dollar and demanded the change, but
he had forgotten his English since leav-
ing the ship.
mo savvy," said he.
Here" said /, II gave you dol
lar, and you owe me ninety-four cents
change" 1t was no use; no amount of
argument could convince the Jap or
make him understand what wanted,
and, singular enough, no other Jap
could act as interpreter, This, /
learned, was an old trick of theirs, as
they we're never known to give any
change to stranger when an excess
of their fare was given them in pay
ment.
Another trick was to lose an oar
overheard and charge dollar to jump
in after it. My experience in this, as
in other matters, was similar to that
of every other stranger" on the ship.
Have the right change, learned, OF
you'll suffer for it.
hired a ''rickshaw' on landing
and the Jap agreed to tote" me about
for twenty cents an hour. After / ha6
ridden for about five minutes another
Jap wanted to help the first one by
pushing the concern. | didn't want
him and said so; but as | couldn't by
any means, including profanity, make
him understand this fact | had to give
in, and, what is more, had four o
them attached to the cart before ha(
finished my ride.
1t wasn't so much the imposition q:
the utterly innocent way in which
every man took my decisive mo" tC
mean yes rode an hour and it cos
me eighty cents, not to mention the
twenty cents change which l couldn't
them give up even with the aid of
policeman, who didn't "savvy" either
/ remained two weeks at Yokohama
before l caught on" for after tina
when another man came up with
.'pushee pushee" proposition | signiie,
assent and then quietly got out an,
walked until the men had settled tn
matter between them. As soon as m,
'rick-shaw" man saw that "knew tn
ropes" | was not further molested.
, got my right change after that, also
as got it in advance or gave them tn
correct amount in the first place.
boatman played the "oar overheard
act with me the second time, but h,
. didn't get his one dollar, as l simpl,
! showed him revolver, as | had bee
5 told to do by one of the initiated II
got the oar quick when he saw tn
9 weapon.
. 1t might be we'll for any one purpoS
3 ing visit to Japan to put in his not
book the fact that Jap understand
every thing that is in his own interes
and nothing that is against it. TIL
: boatmen, as q rule, are powerful fe
lows, so that any physical argumer
might be Improbable, They are afrai
= of firearms, however, and will Away
: give in at the sight of pistol O
shore the police regulations are gooC
but a purchaser who is green at til
business, and who is not taken in b
g the extreme suavity and the apparer
Innocence" of the trades-peopl
l. "'ricl1-shaw men," and hoatmen, is
. man who is, to use popular expire
sion, pretty well up to snuff. Go
N. Y. Herald.