The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-19

ers being involved IN the war is very great,
The Baltimore and the Monoeacy, our two
gun boats. are at Chemulpo. The French
man-of-war Inconstant the German gun
boat Hits. the English warshio Archer
and the Russian man-ot-war Koreatz are
also in this same harbor. and the o her
ports of Korea contain warships. The
British are very much afraid of the Rus
SLAMS. There is said to be man-of-war
at Port Hamilton. which is, you know.
some distance below Vladivostock, in
Siberia. It is put there to watch the Rus
siau movements. The Russians are said
to sympathiZe with the japanese. while
England, which sells tens upon tens Of mil
lions of dollars worth of goods every
year to China, favors her. II the trans
Siberian railroad was completed there is
little doubt but that the Russian troops
would already be in Korea Il may be so
now, for Russia will not tolerate any coali-
ton between China and England without
coming 10 the assistance of the japanese.
At any rate, great part of the war has
to be fought On Korean soil, and Seoul will
be ground between the upper and the
neither milIstones. 1t may be wiped cut of
existence. If so, the most curious city on
L
visited it six years ago. and my visit of the
present year included more than month
of hard work. l have spent days in wan
dering through its streets. L have been In
side of it's prisons, and have walked
through Its palaces. | have talked with
all classes and have seen all sorts of new
things at every turn. There are no guide
books of Asia. You will not find accu-
-
books of travel. The tourist who comes
here without i0troductions could not find
a lodging place. There are no hotels,
and / am indebted to my friends among
the missionaries, among the diplomats,
and with some of the high Koreans
for my entertainment through these
many days. despair of giving you an ac-
curate idea OF the Korean capital, it is SO
different from any other city on the face OF
the globe. 1t is such a mass of the beauti-
full and the ugly. of civilization and bar
oarism, of the old and tie new, that |
don't know how to describe It, Take its
situation. IL lies in a great basin sur
rounded by mountains, which in some
places are as rugged as the widest peaks
OF the Rockies, and which in others have
all the beautiful verdure of the Ale
ghanies or the Catskills The tons of
these 10 ountains oft rest in the clouds and
masses of vapor hang in their recesses
above the green plain upon which the city
is built. They change in their hues with
every change of the heavens. and thew
give Seoul setting more gorgeous than
jewels.
The basin below is just about large
enough to contain the town, and great
gray wall from 90 to 40 feet high rims
along the sides Of these hills. boundipp
the basin and mounting here and there
almost to the tops of the lower mountains.
1t scales one hill of at least 1000 feet in
height. and this wall incloses the whole
city. 1t was built in nine months bv an
army of 100000 wOrkmen, about 500 wears
ago, and it is piece of solid ma sonry. com
sisting of two thick walls OF granite packed
down in the middle with earth and stones.
Its top is so wide that TWO carriages could
easily be driven about ii, and it has, on the
side facing the country, crenellated bat
Element, with holes large enough for IL.
defenders to shoot through with arrows.
There are no cannon upon it, and IL will
be no means Of defense against the bat
teries of the Chinese or the Japs in the
present struggle. Its only use in late years
has been 70 keep out the tigers and Loop
ards. This wall is more than six miles in
length. 1t is pierced by eight gates, the
arches OF which are as beautifully laid and
cut as those of any stone work in the
United States. Each of these great
arches has curved roof of black
tiles. This rests upon carved wooden
pillars, which rise above the tops of The
walls and which form watch-towers for
the soldiers. Over the great south gate.