Iron County register., 1892-07-14
ROUGH SPOR1-
Corean Amusement That Is More Dan
gerous Than Football.

A Corean Amusement That Is More Dan.
gerous Than Football.
The Corean correspondent of a Japan
paper gives an account of a curious
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 in
teresting fights.
One section of the city is pitted
against another, but anyone can take q
hand on either side at pleasure. There
are no recognized leaders, but the mass
of fighters readily follow the lead of
anyone who shows himself 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 between them. There
is an incessant shower of stones, and
each mans business is to hit as many
men as he can, and especially 20 avoid all
the stones directed at him. From ten
to twenty men on each side are armed
with stout clubs, and wear thick wadded
helmets. These form the skirmjshing
line. They sally out from their re-
spective sides, and, meeting in mid.
career, strike out viciously at each
others heads, each man holding up his
cloak with his left hand as shield to
ward off the blows of his adversary.
~. u 1, ~
thirty seconds one side or the other be.
gins to give way, which is the signal
for rush of the others. Almost inva-
ably the other side breaks and runs,
and sometimes are chased into their
houses, but generally some of the pur.
suing party press too closely upon the
fugitives. Then the latter suddenly
turn and deal few staggering blows,
which check the pursuers, and in a sec
ond the tables are turned, and those
who moment ago were flushed with
victory are now in full flight with their
enemies.
Thus the battle goes back and forth
across the fields, while the neighboring
embankmentS are crowded with spec
tators. The effect of the laundering
cheers of the spectators is marvellous.
They charge upon each other as if ir
actual Battle, and show what would
be brav cry if exerted in some useful
cause. Near the river there are nu-
merous villages, numbering from one
hundred to five hundred houses each.
They are situated along the banks at
intervals of about half a mile. These
keep up a continual series of fights
among themselves 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 enter
after them, seizing anything on which
they can lay their hands-iron, files,
doors-to mark their victory. 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 present season was rather
more disastrous than usual. It is re.
ported that six men were killed; but
this is probably an exaggeration.
company of soldiers was ordered out to
stop it, which they found some diff
Guilty in doing, even with fixed bayon.
ets.-Galignani's Messenger.