The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-08-17
THE REFoRMER BRATTLEBoRosvT FRIDAY. AUGUST II. 1894

and 1t must have been found very near thu
site of the original lode. This gold was sem
| by Mr. Power to n mint at Osaka. Japan
There were 10 pounds of 1t and it assayed 81
per cent gold and about 10 per cent. silver
II was sold to the Hong Kong and Shanghai
| to the part payment of the electrical mach in
cry which is now supplying his majesty with
| light.
There is little doubt but that the mountains
of North COrea are full of gold and II great
deal more Is probably gotten than is generally
supposed. The COrean citizen has no secllr-
ity of property. and the possession of money
they suck at his vitals till the money is
squeezed out of him. Every now and then n
native will 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 Il pipe stem or from Il belt which he
has bound about his body under his clothes.
Often men want to turn the gold into Corean
cash, and it is by no means safe for them to
have it found upon them. The mines are
worked upon Il superintendent, who probably
gets n 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 Il fire
against it. 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 flat stone, and big round rocks are
rolled over them again and again to crush
them, and at least fifty per cent of the gold is
lost. There are no pumps, no quicksilver and
no chemicals. Such of the gold as is gotten
rock with water in hand pans, and in the WIN
ter the rock is crushed and boiled to free it of
gold.
There are large copper mines in different
parts of COrea, and great deal of this is dug
out, smelted and used in the manufacture of
brassware. Brass is more uset perhaps than
any other metal. The eating utensils, includ-
ing dishes, spoons and chopsticks. are made
of it, and all of the wash basins of the coun-
try are of this material. The quality of the
brass is superior to that which have seen in
any other part of the world. 1t takes polish
like gold, and it is wonderfully bright and
pure. None of the copper is, believe, eXpor-
ted, and the same is true of coal. The COrean
coal mines, which lie near the big city of
Ping Yam, about 100 miles north of Seoul, SO
DR.. Appenzeller, one of the best posted miss
ionaries of the country, tells me, are rather
coal quarries than shafts. The coal ID dug
from the top of the ground and it is taken
out at the minimum of expense.
Alphabetically considered, the country is
very rich. Not one-twentieth of it is cultivat-
ed, and the fact that the officials take the
SIcutCl pulb VI tuC ClOpS ICihoN % tii ihNCu-
tive to work, and the people farm only enough
to keep them alive. Almost anything that
can be raised in the United States can be rails
ed here, and rice is grown side by side with
wheat and barley. There is plenty of good
grazing land, and the cattle are very fine and
form the beasts of burden of the country. !
don't think the people are naturally lazy.
a fair idea of justice and right, and their civ
iliZation is by no means barbarous one.
With security of property and incentive to
work they could easily be taught to accuma-
late money, and if the foreigners are allowed
to take hold of the mines and build railroads,
Corea will be in short time approximate
Japan in its progress. 1t has been several
and only a short time ago the
king had agreed to such a proposition. An
American, James r. Morse, who had spent
years in COrea, and who is the chief partner
of the American firm now doing business
here, was called from New York to Seoul to
see the king about the matter He was a
responsible man in every re-
spect, and he had at his back some millions
of American capital. He came to Seoul, and
after time got the promise of such conces-
sions as would have given him the exclusive
right to build railroads over the country, to
have opened up the gold mines and to have
in schemes for the general develop
LlCllu VI SolSu. HC pttpCIs W all lCuuN W
be signed, and the American left the palace
with the assurance that the next day all
would be settled and he could begin work at
once. During that night, however, either
through the Chinese or some other influence,
the kings mind was changed, and message
was sent to the American legation that his
majesty had decided to grant no concessions
at present, and that Mr. Morse was at liberty
to leave as soon rs he chose. As to just how
this change came about no one knows, but
China probably had her fingers in the pie. 1t
is said that one of the foreigners connected
with the court demanded that he be paid
big percentage of the profits of the scheme
for the influence which he claimed to have
exerted in getting the king to accede to it.
This was refused, and he probably got his
revenge through the Chinese. In all this
rouble which is going on in Corea it must
ne remembered that the Chinese are the emf
mics of progress. They are not true friends of
he Corean people. They have their upper
land, and they are doing all they can to keep !
he country back. The falling through of this
cheme was very unfortunate thing for
Jorea. Had the papers been signed both the
King and the American capitalists would now
re on the road to wealth. The people would
lave Il large amount of their taxes RENTED,
or the kings treasury would have been full,
nd there would have been no rebellion. As
t is now, no one can tell what will happen
nut sooner or later this land will be one of
he most prosperous on the globe.