New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-04
THE ROADS OF COREA.
ALMOST IMPASSABLE EXCEPT FOR PONIES
AND BEARERS.

Nothing indicates tho material prosperity OF
country moro forcibly TO the outward eye than
The condition of its public highways we /"
America are so accustomed To the railway, the
steamship the streetcar and the ferryb0at that we
seldom stop 10 think of the days wHeh the ,ui"-
pike and stage-coach system were in vogue no"
much less, then, do we appreciate the STATE Vi d,
fairs in a country where even a stage-codch wouiu
be nine-days' wonder. Imagine that De'"ech
New-Ycrk and Wa ihington. or between any "
our cities, the only way Of transit were prl"ie-
path so narrow and rough that no vehicle Oh any
kind could possibly pass over 1t, that therc was
not single bridge over rivers ten Narcs "lue VI
more, and that for two months III summer ."c
rains were so continuous as to make uaNeihis
in any way a simple impossibility mat "ouio
give YOU a fair and unprcjudlced ldea OF roauS III
Corea.
In all this country there is net road on winch
even a light carriage could go distance OF lVe
miles without an inevitable smash-up. The best
road in the country is between Seoul and It's por'
Chemulpo, twenty five miles distant, and yet eN-
perience has shown me that not even japanese
jinriksha, light hand-carrage, can traverse IL
without being lifted bodily and carried for longer
or shorter distances every mile or two were you
to start out on the great road on when the EN-
bassy goes every year from the Corean TO thc
Chinese Court. you could not 90 a mile from the
city wall without coming to a pass or canon ~
narrow, steep and rocky that not only cannot
n vehicle of any kind pass through 1t, Dut one
cannot ride an animal through il without cruelty.
Were the Corcan horses rot small and hardy,
could not lead one Of them through it without
feeling guilty If abuse. Setting out in the other
direction toward the southern provinces you would
ford several small streams before coming To inc
large river Han, which can bc crossed only In
miserable ferryboats into which carts ana oxen
can be put only with great difficulty.
Small streams and brooks have bridges where
the principal roads them. hut they are very
unsubstantial affairs made by driving few fore!
sticks in the ground and putting some crosS-stickS
on these ard covering the whole with a thick
mat Of brush and turf These are all destroyed
in the rainy season and have 70 be rebuilt every
fall Loaded oxen or travellers on horseback sell
dom use Them prcf"rring 10 foId tho stream rather
than run the risk % breaking their bones by
falling through the bridge. have followed the
wiser course ever since an escapade which hau
between Seoul AMI Chemulpo was mounted on
stout pony and nearing the bridge saw mar
the stream was too deep 10 ford with comfort, 50
rsked the bridge II arched IN the centre, 50
that from one end the other could not he seen
When | reached the middle, I saw at the other
end great hole whore the covering Of the bridge |
had given way. As the bridge was only two and
a half icet wide, ! could neither turn round nor
dismount, SO ! decided to make my pony Jump tie
hole if could Cor Corean ponies are up 10 any |
thing in the way Of adventure. AS ! reached the !
edge of the hole / gave him Sharp thrust with !
the spur and he took" the obstruction beauti |
fully. but We had counted on finding solid footing |
an the other side As it happened the further
edge gave way beneath the pony's hind feet and |
| had Just time 10 roll of over his neck and seize
the side Of the bridge before he fell backward into
the water. Ii took me minute to get my bear |
lngs; but when | looked around expecting 70 |
see ny horse with limbs or back broken. | saw |
him standing u1 20 hi belly in tho |
water, cropping the fresh grass beside |
the stream. Such trilos cannot disturb the |
equanimity Of a Corean pony. II is significant |
fact that nearly all the Chinese ponies that are
imported go lame within year or two after their |
arrival owing, without doubt. TO the roughness OF |
the roads In winter il is extremely difficult to |
climb the mountain passes because of the ice. ana |
in summer the rain makes the plains impasSabe
What. now are some of the effects of such OBJ
stacles? The first and most important is that it
is impossible for one part of the country TO relieve
another in time of famine In country where
single failure If the crop entails thousands of
deaths and untold suffering rapid transmission OF
grain ought 10 be possible, but it is in just such
countries that we find a total lack OF such apph- |
anccs 4 year ago there was great want in the
,oufhcrn provinces Men were digging up the !
barley which they had planted and were eating 1t
in order to sustain life. There was plenty of rice
in the north, but the cost of getting 1t TO the
famine district WAS greater than the cost OF
what little rice already there. II cost two
bags of rice to get one 10 the scene Of suffering.
II is the rapility Of transportation that makes
famine impossible in civilized countries. In Cor'a
merchandise i, generally carried on the backs Of
monies or Of bulocks. Oxen are never seen in
Corea \ bag Of rice is slunS on either side In the
case Of pony or one on either side and ore on
top in the case OF a bullock Ponies 20 in long
Ines always in single file Foreigners in using
Corean ponies find it difficult to make them 20
side by side and often the laughabe sight is seen
of n lady and gentleman bringing mp the rear OF
"a long line of pack ponies. absolutely unable 10
make the beast understand that he is loaded not
with a couple of bags OF rice hut with human
being These pack ponies are all stations, and
this accounts for the smalluesS of the breed All
the mares are kept In the north and are used only
for breeding purposes
The magnificent bulOcks are one Of the features
IF Corea L would do a Brahmns heart good TO
see them although he would doubtless take eN-
rcption to the ring through the nose and the load
on the back The method of shoelng bullo IL
cruel in the extreme. The feet are firmly roped
together and the bullock Is cast on his side
hen the head is pulled around until ii lies flat
dong the side and in this painful attitude he has
TO lie until the slow Corean blacksmith concludes
the torture.
Therr is one kind of wheeled vehicle in Corea,
heavy cart, novelty in its llnc-the wheels
and an axle. surmOunted by long frame Ike
! short but broad ladder. with four or six
rounds. the front one of which rests on the neck
Of the bullock. The load is balanced in the
middle When the load Is heavy two bnllocks
ire used. but always tandem. The cartwheels
are huge. ungany things without tire but
the spokcs mortsc into heavy curved blocks of
wood which form the fcllor, and these blocks are
wood i'm such "A way that the pressure tends 10
fastcn them more firmly. These carts used
,lmost exclusively between Seoul and Chemulp0.
No, hing that is brcakablc can he carried on them
with any degree of safety.
Besides these means of transportation there re-