The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1892-10-15
A Remarkable Manner ot Amusement
That SupcrscdcS kite FLYING.

That Supcrscdcs kite Flying.
The Corean correspondent of Il ia.
pan paper gives an account of a curl
Gus popular practice in Corea, Kite
flying, which is universal in that
country, ceases suddenly ON the 18th
of the first Corean month, and the
next day stone fights take its place
as the chief public amusement. In
the eastern part of Seoul, the capital,
there are large open spaces that
have not been built upon, and here
occur the most serious and interest
ing fights
One section of the city is pitted
against another, but any one can take
a hand on either side at pleasure.
There are no recognized leaders, but
the mass of fighters readily follows
the lead of any one who shows him
self to be little more reckless than
the rest. Two mobS, consisting of
fifty, seventy or a hundred men each,
are drawn up against each other with
an interval of perhaps fifty yards be-
tween them. There is an incessant
shower of stones, and each mans
business is to hit as many men as he
can and especially to avoid all the
stones directed ut him.
From ten to twenty men on each
side are armed with stout clubs and
wear thick wadded helmets. These
form the skirmishing line They
sally out from their respective sides
and, meeting in mid career, strike
out viciously at each others heads,
each man holding up his cloak with
his left hand as a shield to ward off
the blows of his adversary. After
the club fight has lasted about thirty
seconds one side or the other begins
to give way, which is the signal for
a rush of the others. Almost invari-
ably the other side breaks and runs,
and sometimes are chased into their
houses, but generally some of the
pursuing party press too closely upon
the fugitives. Then the latter sud
denly turn and deal a few staggering
blows, which check the pursuers, and
in a second the tables are turned and
those who a moment ago We're flushed
with victory are now in full fight
from their enemies.
Thus the battle goes back and forth
across the fields, while the neighbor-
ing embankments are crowded with
spectators, The effect of the thun-
dering cheers Of the spectators upon
the combatants is marvellous. They
charge upon each other as if in actual
battle, and show what would be
bravery if eXerted in some useful
cause. Near the river are numerous
villages, numbering FROM 100 to 500
houses each. They are situated
along the banks at intervals of about
half mile. These keep up con-
tinual series of fights among them
selves during the season, one village
being arrayed against another.
The defeated party fly across the
marshy fields to their own village,
followed by their enemies, who en-
ter after them, seizing anything on
which they can lay their hands
iron, files, doors-to mark their vic
tory. Then the whole village rises
against the invaders and they fly,
glad if they can get back without
broken heads. The first stone fight
of the season was rather more disas-
trous than usual 1t is reported that
six men were killed, but this is
probably an exaggeration. A COM
pany of soldiers was ordered out to
stop it, which they found some diff
Guilty in doing, even with fixed bayo-
nets