Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-08-05

Korean roil. This land has been the pgnt-
lnu.xruund Of these two nations In times
mast. and IL a war occurs now u wiz
he the bloodiest Of Asiattc history. The
Koreans have a few 0atling-guns and
sorne cannon. The Japanese and Chinese
ran supply their troops with all sorts OF
modern munitions Of war. They have
rnI,I,ons OF dollars invested IN war mate-
rial and their soldiers and marines are
rned with the newest and latest inven-
t,ons. AS IL II now II looks as though
china would, In such o case, have the
friendship and support OF the King; but
there Is much dissatisfaction with the
government here IN seoul. and the Japa-
nese would not lack friends or Followers.
THE King in fact. can't help himself. as
regards CHINA. He has borrowed money
from the Chinese Government, and all
NJ his customs receipts have been mort
ysSed TO pay the interest on the debt.
The King Is 10 much In debt and so hard
nres.ed for money that whether war
occurs or not he Ii bound TO open up
Korra 10 foreigners. He has a wonderful
Kingdom. filled with enormous resources,
and IL will pay American spectators 10
kecn rheir eyes on the mining and rail-
road possibilities Of this land.
A WONDERFUL COUNTRY.
Korea is. perhaps, the least understood
land In Asia. and II Is one OF the most
wonderful countries on the face OF the
eIobe. I paid my first visit TO IL six
wears ago. only a short time after IL hsd
been opened up to the world. About
fifteen wears ago no foreigner could land
ON its coasts, and shpwrecked sailors
were forced to stay In the country, Tor
fear they might carry news Of II TO the
barbarous people OF Europe and Ameri-
ga During my stay in II / have ira
yelled many miles over Its mountains
and valleys, and l expect to push my
way. II possible, right through the IN
terror OF the country to the west coast
have visited many OF the countries OF
the world. but this Is the queerest ana
the least known. There II little Informal
ton I'm the books of travel concerning II.
There are no gu!de-books whatever. IL Is
ike no other country and every day l
hear new and strange things about 1t and
its people 1t is going to be very inn
portant country In the eyes OF the world.
Its people are of their own kind. and
General Clarence Greathouse, the Ameri-
can adviser OF the King. tells me that
the land contains between sixteen and
twenty millions. This Is about one fourth
OF the population OF the United States.
IL Is. in fact. more people than there are
In Spain. 1t is half again as many as
there are In Mexico. and three times as
many people as can be counted In the
State Of New York. These people are
scattered over a territory OF about one
hundred thousand square miles. Take
your map of Asia. Look at the north
eastern part OF It, and you will see the
peninsula of Korea hanging down like
nose from the lower corner OF Siberia ana
the Chinese province OF Manchuria. Thls
peninsula Is OF about the same shape as
Florida or Italy. and 1t has something
like the area of the latter country. Ii Is
between four and five hundred miles long.
and from its extreme north to the SOUTH
ern coasts the distance IL about the same
az that between Cleveland and New York.
At no place is 1t much wider than be-
tween New York and Washington. The
sea surrounding It is peppered with rocky
islands, and It's lower coasts are only
days sail from Japan.
THE KOREAN GOLD MINES.
Whatever be the outcome Of this trouble
with Japan and China, IL Is bound to re-
suit in the opening up of the country,
and the character of the land and It's
resources will be matters OF interest I
have travelled over much of Korea, and
have asked questions about all parts of
1t. 1t is made up of mountains and val
leys. There are q few large plains, but
the valleys are as fat as the lOwlandS
of the Nile, and the mountains are filled
with all sorts of minerals. The gold
mines Of Korea turn out from two TO three
million dollars worth of dust and mug
gets every year. and practically nothing
but placer mining IL done. All OF the
gold belongs to the King, and l hear IL
whispered that his Majesty has a great
quantity OF bullion stored away in his
palaces. Not long ago 1T was a necessity
that some money he raised at once to
complete the electric plant, which Is now
being put into the palace, and there was
practically nothing In the Treasury.
Forty-seyen thousand dollars had 10 be
gotten, or the work could not go on. The
King was especially anxious that there
should be no delay, and he sent to Mr..
Power. the American who has charge OF
the electrc-lighting. two boxes OF gold
dust and nuggets. These came from the
palace to Mr.. Powers house, the diSISnee
of at least a mile. without guard, and
1t is a question whether the porters who
carried them knew what they were bring
ing. The gold was packed In pine boxes,
and these were hung upon pole, which
y
who carried them. The only man who
went with them was the Korean inter-
prefer of Mr.. Power. They were opened
when they reached the house, and were
found packed full OF gold dust and mug
gets. The nuggets were of all shapes ana
sizes. from that OF the head OF pin TO
humps as big as your fist. There were
two Jumps OF solid gold of this size, and
another was as thick as the palm OF
mans hand. and of about the same shape.
II was OF such u nature that II could not
have been rolled far by the water and
Ii must have been found very near the
site Of the original lode. This gold was
sent by Mr. Power TO the mint at Osaka,
Japan. There was 175 pounds OF ii, and
1t assayed 81 per cent gold and about 10 per
cent. silver. 1t was sold 10 the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank for $4,000, and
the money was applied TO the part pay
ment of the electrical machinery. which
is now supplying his Majesty with light.
MOUNTAINS FULL OF 1T.
There is little doubt but that the noun
tains of North Korea are full Of gold,
and a great deal more Is probably gotten
than is generally supposed. The Korean
citizen has no security of property. and
the possession of money always brings
the officials down upon him, and they
suck at his vitals til the money Is
squeezed out of him. Every now and then
a native w.!l come into the establishment
OF the American firm at Chemulpo and
will pay for what he wants with gold
dust which he takes out of a pipe-stem
or from belt which he has bound about
his body under his clothes. Often men
want TO turn the gold into Korean cash,
and 1t Is by no means safe for them 10
have it found upon them. The mines are
worked under a superintendent, VINO pro-
badly gets big slice of the output. BY
the aid of modern mining machinery
there is no telling what they Will produce.
AT present not even blasting powder Is
used TO get at the quartz. and the rock IS
broken by building fire against 1t, and
then when it has become hot, water Is
thrown upon It, and this cracks the
quartz. Such bits as can be gotten out
are laid on a fiat stone. and big round
rocks are rolled over them again and
again TO crush them. and at least 80 per
cent OF the gold Is lost. There are no
pumps. no quicksilver. and no chemicals.
Such of the gold as is gotten comes from
washing the sand and crushed rock with
water in hand pans. and in the winter
the rock Is crushed and boiled TO free it
of gold.
COPPER AND COAL.
There are large copper mines in different
a