The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-01-02
AMUSING EXPERIENCES.
Travelling Through the East With
.--o out an Interpreter.
= Tic Many Seemingly Insurmountable oh.
ntacles Encountered by Bicyclist Ste
yens During His Remarkable
Trip Around the World.

-=-Ihc Many seemingly InsurmQuntable OBJ
ttacles Encountered by BIcyclist Ste
yens During His Remarkable
Trip Around the World.
When reached Budapest, during the
= hungarian Exhibition of 1885, / heard
q an interpreter who was said to speak
sixteen. languages and dialects. / had
already gesticulated my way through
France. Germany and Austria. AS my
ignorance Of the languages caused me to
~ make many Small but annoying mis-
takes, envied this lingual prodigy.
One morning | wandered helplessly
about the streets of Elbeuf for an hour
because had neglected to jot down the
name of my hotel and could not make
understand where wanted to go.
TN another occasion attempted to puE
---t-ir1tse' plate Of dried yeast-eakes for
Lunch, and the good market-woman Of a
french town found it, difficult to make
understand that they were not eat
able Again, thrifty confectionneur in
dignantly removed her wares beyond my
reach, because she thought that want
I'd Them for nothing These are speci-
mems of the minor annoyances that en-
eountered when l began to travel on the
continent.
In time | became more expert in pan
tomime, and easily made my ordinary
wants understood. 1t was in dealing
with officials, and in other matters which
require verbal explanation, that found
the greatest trouble.
On the Roumelian frontier l rolled
into little garrison town one day, and
halted at coffee-house for refresh
ments While was seated enjoying a
cup of coffee, in walked an officer with
several soldiers. He salaamed politely
and addressed me in his native tongue, of
which was at that time wholly ignorant.
When he had finished talking, and saw
that had merely shrugged my
shoulders iTrepiy, he placed me under
arrest The soldiers marched me to the
outskirts of the town, took away my re-
volver and placed me in the guard
house.
1t then dawned upon me that perhaps
] had been arrested for the carrying of a
= revolver without a permit. Still / did
not know this, and 1t was plainly a
case which could not be explained by
gestures. had already learned that
English would not be understood, but
remembered that the official language of
Turkey is French, and | brought to
bear on the 'arresting officeraa few words
of that language which ] had picked up
crossing France .Z@=s-zzz
assumed tone of dignity, raised my
forefinger impressively, and assured
him; Hoyageur reeolceur permission nonfr
This was the best. French | could sum-
mon in an effort to convince the officer
that person merely travelling through
the country did not need Government
permit. Poor as it was, hoped that it
- might be understood. The puzzled look
tthatcame over the officers face as he
turned. on his heel and walked of. con-
yinced me that might as well have ad-
dressed him in Volapuk.
: For half an hour / was left to languish
with my own reflections for company,
ard to watch the pacing to and fro of an
armed sentry just outside the little
grated window. At the end of thirty
= u1nutes The door was thrown open, my
revolver restored to me, and, with
wave of his hand, the same
officer who had arrested me. told me in
Turkish to. "haidy (begone1w
Naturally, the first few days in a
country taxed my wits the most. After
had acquired the words and gestures
. necessary to the traveller in one coun-
try single days ride perhaps took me
:. so far into another country as to render
these rccently-acqu accomplishments
quite useless. had to begin learning
- lev. tongue every time ] crossed a 'front.'
--ler-@Indeed,- in some countries the d.
aleets of adjoining districts differ so
wldcfy that they are virtually distinct
languages.
| be first evening in Persia my inabil-
lty To talk to the people who gathered
around with questions and obtrusive
lneddling{ resulted in most unfort-
: innate mistake | had brought letter
OF introduction to the Pasha-Khan Of
OFahlik, town not far beyond the
lnrko-Persan boundary line.
One the most meddlesome persons
among the crowd was young man of
about twenty, who persisted in finger
ing my cyclometer. After had pushed
. ltt1 Twag several times to no purpose
toppEfd him backward into an irrigating
Attfh' This young man proved to be
ne son of the Pasha-Khan, whose hos
:, l.i<y was at that very moment hop
,44g tdenioy for the night!
~ the time reached China had be-
com" 50 accustomed to make myself
understood by sign languages that no
longer had any misgivings on that score.
1 had not then taken fully into account
.he Tact that John Chinaman is as I'M
IKE the rest of mankind as IL he occu-
pred different planet instead Of diff
+ ieFn! country. 1t did not take me long
- hnd this out, however, for ere had
peen many hours on the wretched FOOT
ways that serve the Chinese for roads
receiyed~a rude awakening.
NY route led through the populous
s wy OF Fat-shan to Sam-shin, the first
Jay out from Canton. The boat-wife
VINO had conducted me beyond the IA
nous hoatrcity, that shelters nearly two
hundred thousand people in Canton, and
headed me Alright for Fat-shan, gave mt
~ d gooa start She came ashore with me
ana aitef she had inadu brief inquiry
~e1oha as people, pointsd nvt Z pQustty