The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-08-05

NhsteFer De tue outcome OF this trouble
with Sapau and China il II bound 70 result
IN the opening NJ Of re country, snd the
character Of the land and its resources viii
be oaatters OF interest. I have travelled
over much Of Korea and ihzys asked onss-
tons aoout al parts of a. liz is made up
OF mountains and valIeYs. There are a
lew large Pains, bat the valleys are as fat
as the log lands OF the Nils. and the
mountains are filed With all sorts Of min
eFals- ne gold mines OF Korea turn out
rom two TO three million dollars worth Of
aust and nuggets every wear. and prac-
tlcsily zothing bat placer mining is done
All OF TIE gold belongs - che king, and /
near " hfspered that his majesty has
great quantity Of bullion stored away IN
ms palaces Not long agoit sas a neces-
SHY That some money be raised az once 20
complete the electric plant which is nov
being put into the palace, and there was
prachesliy nothing in the treasury.
Forty-seyen thousand dollars had TO be
gotten. or the wotk could not go on. The
king vas especially anxious that there
snouid be no delay. and he sent to Mr.
rover. the American, Yko has charge of
the electric lighting, two boxes Of gold
dust and nuggets These came from the
palace to Mr.. Powers house, the distance
OF NJ least mile. without q guard, and il
Is question whether the porters who car
RED them knew what they were bringing.
ne gold was packed in pine boxes, and
these were hung upon q pole which rested
on the shoulders OF the two men " DO car
RED them. The only man who went with
them was the Korean interpreter OF Mr..
Power. They were opened when they
reached the house and were found packed
fun Of gold dust and Nuggets. The mug
gets were of all shapes and sizes
from that of the head OF pin TO Jumps as
big as your nat. There were two Jumps
OF solid gold of this size and another
was Is thick as the palm of a mans hand
and OF about the same shape. IL was of
such nature that il could not have been
rolled far BY the water. and il must have
been found very near the site of the origi-
nal lode This gold was sent by Mr. Power
to the mint st Osaka, Japan. There was
175 pounds OF il. and IL assayed So per
cent. gold and about 10 per cent. silver. Ii
Was sold 10 the Hongkong and Shanghai
bank for $1,000. and the money was APP
piled 20 the part payment Of the electrical
machinery which Is now supplying his
majesty with light. There is little doubt
that the mountains of North Korea are
full of gold, and great deal more is prob
ably 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,
is squeezed out OF him. Every now and
then native will come into the establish
ment of The American firm at Chemulpo
and VIII pay for what he wants
with gold dust, which he takes out of a
pipestenl or from a belt which he has
bound about his body under his clothes.
Often men want to turn the gold into Ko-
rean cash, and ii is by no means safe for
them to have it found upon them. The
mines are worked under a superintendent,
who probably gets q big slice of the out
put By the aid of modern mining ma
chlnery there 10 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 a tire
against it, aud then when it has become
hot water is thrown upon il and this
cracks the quartz. Such bits as can be
gotten out are laid on hat stone and
big round rocks are rolled over them again
aud again to crush them, and at least 30
per cent. of the gold is lost. There are
no pumps, no quicksilver and no chem
icals. Such OF the gold az is gotten comes
from washing the sand and crushed rock
with water in hand pans, and in the win
ter the rock is crushed and boiled to free
it of gold.
Agrlcnlturally considered the country is
very rich. Not one-twentieth of it Is cu-
tivated, and the fact that the officials take
the greater part of the crops removes ali
incentive to work, and the people farm
only enough to keep them alive. Almost
anything that caA be raised in the United
States can be raised here, and rice Is
grown side by side with wheat and barley.
There Is plenty of good grazing land. and
the cattle are very tine and form the beasts
of burden of the country. / don't think
the people are naturally law. They are
strong and well meaning. They have a
fair idea of justice and right and their
civilization Is by no means a bArbarous
one. With security Of property and In
centive to work they could easily be taught
20 accumulate money. and II the foreign
ers are allowed 10 take hold of the mines
and build railroads kOres will IN Short
time Approximate Japan in its pro-
gress. liz has been several times
on the verge OF giving concessions TO
foreigners, and only a short time ago
the king had agreed 10 such proposition.
An American. Mr.. James X. Morse. who
had spent years IN k0res. and who Is shs
chief partner OF the American firm now
doing business here, As called from New
York 20 seoul 10 see the king about The
matter He was thoroughly responsible
man in every respect and he had al bis
back some millions Of American capital.
lie came 10 seoul, and after n time Got
the promise OF sucn concessions rs would
have given him the exclusive right TO build
railroads over the country, to have opened
up the gold mines and 10 nave engaged Ia
s. hemes Tor The general Development Of
Korea The pApers we're all ready TO be
signed and the American left the pa ace
With the assurance that the next day al
would be settled and lie cou begin Work
a. once. During that night however.
either through the Chinese or some
other influence, the kings mind was
changed aud a message Was sent 20 the
American legation that mis- majesty had
decided 70 grant no concessions At present
and that M Morse vas at liberty 10 leave
a. soon as he chose. As TO Just how
this change came about no one knoSs,
bat China probably bad her fingers
IN the pie. Ii IS sa'l thai one Of the tor
eigners connected with the court demanded
that be be paid = BIZ percentage OF the
proits Of the scheme Tor the iuhaence
which he claimed 10 have exeFted IN get
ting The king 10 accsde % ~. THIS vas re-
fused, and be probably GOT his revenge
through the Chinese. Ia all this trouble
which Is going on an Korea % must lie re-
mem bered that the Chinese are the enc
mics of progress They are not the true
friends OF the Korean people. They have
the upper hand aud they are doing al they
can TO keep the country back The fal1ng
through OF thFs scheme was very aBtofta-
nate thing for Korea Had the papers
been signed both the king and the Amer
can capitalists would nos be on the road
Is wealth. The people would save had
large amount OF their taxes RENTED Tor
the k{agis treasury would have been TAU
an3 thAr~ Neusd have been no rebellion.