, 1890-10-01

I'LL BOICO dllu S0LI1CA Ou VLO oLAOONNOAo -
four OF the sturdy hill men Of the district,
The paths are very steep and narrow and
the foothold often merely the loose stones of
a mountain stream. Yet the sturdy Ninsoku
trlldge along, up hill and Town dale, in their
sandals Of rope, apparently insensible to IA
tigue, or sufficiently refreshed from time to
time by a cup Of pale tea and a sugar biscuit,
and willingly accepting fifty sen, or about
eighteenpence for q tremendous days work.
With a thin blue calico coat, a blue hand
kerchief tied round the close-cropped head,
and their small brass tobacco pipes stuck fl
their girdles, they chatter gaily as they trot
along under the bamboo poles, shifting these
every now and then from shoulder to should
er with q little harmonious murmur of "Go-
issho," which means " at the same honour
able time, . ie." all together boys" Arrived
at the tea-house they patiently pick from
their legs the leeches which have fastened
there in the wet and narrow forest paths,
wipe the profuse perspiration from their
brown necks, smoke a pipe or two, and slow
~ sip a cup Of the" honorable hot tea" and
are then ready to trudge on again for another
~ under their heavy burdens,
Charming and instructive beyond descrip-
ton are some Of the expeditions which may
thus De undertaken from Miyanoshita as a
centre, the hills conta ming all sorts OF natu-
raj wonders, as well as being OF wonderful
beauty in regard of scenery. We made two
out of many favourite explorations yesterday
and the day before, on the first occasion to
the mountain lake of Hakone, on the second
to no less formidably-named a spot than 1.-THE
Great Hello Jlgoku. The general cha
racter Of the country being the same, / will
make one description serve for the impress
sions of the two journeys.
The Hakone mountains are for the most
part intensely green IN aspect, "darkly,
: deep, beautifully green"-of a green to
make an artist despair, it is so magniicently
monotonous and beyond imitation by the
palette. This results principally from the
long bamboo grass everywhere growing over
the highland country, which, though 1t rises
10 .Ao height Of eight or ten feet, presents
i.s t...ra1l Of an uubroken yerdant man
tie Of heritage rolling in light waves before
the wind. The trees-chiehy beech, fir of
various kinds, and oak-grow at one time
s%parsely, at another in extensive groves,
from the Jungle of the dwarf bamboo inter
mixed with which are a few inconspicuous
wild fowers-white andromedas and spireas,
yellow lilies, wild hydrangea, dog roses, and
the Canterbury bell. Little or no animal
life is to be seen the cover seems too dense
for four footed creatures, but on the less
wooded ~mpuntains the fox and badger exist,
and there are deer, wild boar, and monkeys
of a single species to be found not far off.
A lark-almost exactly Identical with the
English spccies-sings the familiar carol as
we pass, and an o%rioIe, which flutes very
sweetly, is seen and heard but the general
silence Of the mountains is remarka lie and
almost unhroken except by the noise of
streams everywhere descending. Some of
these sra2Ge in the cool hillside air and dis
colour the stones with sulphurouS or mineral
deposits, notably IT Ko-ji-go-ku, near to
Ashi-no-yu, where some of US enjoyed the
luxury OF not sulphur baths, and ound them
immensely refreshing in the middle Of a
long walk. The central spot, however, for
witnessing this kind of phenomenon is at the
Great He'll" itself, near to the pass of 0
Toni Toge, from which a glorious view is
obtained of the ever wonderful Fuji-San.
There was nothing to indicate that we we're
approaching a spot to Justify the name given
to this place, except the sudden appearance
of many large dead trees, which had been
kil'e d by the fatal breath emanating from
the S0lfatardS near. The hillside at large
spreads on either hand as fair and green
as before, with waving bamboo grass and
silvery flowers of the d~eutzisG, and white bells
of the Japan anemone. The earliest intima-
ton WIS by the ~nostrils, which become abrupt
ly aware OF odours distinctly Internal and on
reaching a solitary farmhouse you come in
sight of q torrent, running over black and