The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-25

fence around it to keep the people from
plunging in.
From the Boiling sea a continual stream
Of hot water runs down through village
of about 300 people, who are the most
peculiar human beings outside of China.
In the center Of the village is big round
bath of hot water from the sea. In this
bath from ten to twenty-five are con-
stantly to be seen bathing. There are no
screens or coverings, but men, women and
children all battle together In Adamic
simplicity ! saw at one time nine women
and ten men in the bath.
About fifty steps away from this place
is sweat bath" dedicated to one of
their gods. An open shelter is built in
the streets over n cavern in the earth
which they say Buddha built for them
The excavation has door to it similar to
an old fashioned sweet potato house that
southerners build 10 keep to keep their
potatoes from freezing in the winter. The
door is about three feet square, and there
is no way for either person or the steam
to escape except by this door. In the
front were priests selling tickets for half
a cent each, and six persons were admit
ted to the sweat bath at once. Just over
the entrance stands an image of Buddha,
with rice cakes, flowers, and incense Of
ferings. The people worshipped as they
went in, while an old priest stood by tell
ing the people that whose
ever bathed in faith should
be cured Of all maladies The
lame and crippled focked around and lis
tened with eagerness. The priest said
that Buddaa sent down his angel who
met an ancient priest and told him that
he would write the name Of Buddha on
stone and cover it with the earth and
cause the mountains to gush out with hot
water and flow over the name Of Buddha
for the healing of all diseased believers,
This" said the priest, lis the place pre-
pared by the great gods, and if you
would be healed enter in and battle" IL
was amazing to notice the deluded men
and women, in companies Of six, go into
the bath and stay until almost dead from
sutfocatiOn, and come out dripping
with Precipitation and covered with
straw II seems that stream
from the Boiling Sea runs I'M
der the excavation and inside Is
thrown a lot OF straw on which these mon
and women spread themselves and stay
until they fairly roast themselves alive.
From this place they 20 to a hot shower
bath, which consists Of several large BAN
boo poles placed in a waterfall from the
hot sea which fell about ten feet upon
the bodies of the sal IS just from the
sweat bath. From tbs shower bath they
60 to the fountain bath where the course
Is completed The entire process often
takes several hours and is gone terough
with without clothing or towels of any
kind This keeps the streets alive with
men and women walking here and there
as naked as they were born into the
world.
Another regularity of this strange peo-
pie is the way they cook and cat. Every
thing they do has some religious super
stiion connected with it, and their cook
ing and eating are not an exception. [
am safe in saying that no people on earth
cook like the people who live at the
Seven Hclls' ION the Island of Kieushu,
in the marvellous little nation of Japan.
They have arranged 10 run the water
from the Boiling sea in small streams,