Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-23


eastern coast IL still terra incognita,"
though it is reputed to abound in surpass-
ingly fine scenery. game Of all kinds in
GLIDING tigers. leopards and other beasts Of
prey. Corea has not yet recovered from her
air OF bewilderment at sight Of the treat
outside world. and those who have visited
her; either as newspaper correspondents or
travellers. seem to have shared in this same
bewildered condition of mind
When one first comes in sight Of this
east coast. instead Of beholding a country
clothed with beautiful forests Of maple.
black walnut. cherry. oak. varnish trees.
red mahogany and every other common and
uncommon wood, as has been represented,
there Is presented a panorama Of mountains.
whose rugged outlines. excessively steep
slopes and severe. wild aspect, produce a
grand but melancholy and inhospitable ex-
preston 1T seems a forssken land. given
over to solitude" For the most part IL is
utterly treeless. nude and barren. though
here and there are growths Of unthrifty.
crooked, weather-beaten pines. From the
lofty mountain SUBMITS, which tower to the
Clouds to where the foot hills meet the sea.
scarce human habitation is to be seen:
but on searching more closely. In unex-
pected valleys that stretch far into the hills,
we find many villages and hamlets. sur
rounded by fertile fields of rice, millet and
other productions. that give q comfortable
support to the Inhabitants.
The Corean towns are composed OF unat-
tractive collections Of houses. low and ugly.
These dwellings are small straw-thatched
mud novels OF one or two rooms. devoid Of
furniture. where the people sit. eat and
sleep on the floor. The streets are only mar
row. filthy alleys. The mud floors of the
Corean houses. heated by nues from be-
meath. are called hangs. They are heated
In summer and winter to a degree that
would be intolerable to one not used to IL
from infancy. Fuel CATERERS scour the
country to ind means to feed these PRINT
tive furnaces. All the hillsides are shayen
every autumn with short. strong iron sick
les. They are stripped Of every growing
thing; every stock and branch Is taken on:
every little bush that has sprouted from the
old. old roots that lie buried in the rich.
oiack SOIL; every chrysanthemum and blue
bell. every coarse blade Of grass, they cut
down and bind in bundles for fuel. This a.
all they have. The impression prevailed
until recently, that northern Corea was
Fich ia timber, but II is now known that
eASepl ia temple grounds, or PAGES sacred
s 70 some deity. or TO the memory OF some
great person, there exists very little timber
OF any value. Everything ike q stick Of
TIMBER Is very precious and costly,
building Materials From japan,
we are told that the telegraph poles.
which have recently been carried past our
house. were brought from a remote part of
the country. and the coolies who brought
them. all the way on their shoulders. look
ed as though they had come from a far
country. SO pitifully exhausted were they.
Every plank for building. every timber of
our houses. is brought b. ship from japan.
There Is not, there need not be- a saw
miII IN all the country, for there il 40 wood
10 saw. All bricks for building are also
brought on steamers from Japan or China;
though clay is abundant. and coolies are
waiting to make brick, there Ii no wood to
burn them. No Yankee enterprise will
avail here to tide over these hard places
We have to take things A. We ind them.
III age nils one with veneration. then you
VIII ma enough here to impress You most
profoundly, for everything your eyes fall
upon look SO old The ROCKS are crumbling
SO. you can break them with your fingers
AND when the rainy season comes. in sum-
mer. the mold Of ages gathers on every
thing, even to your gloves and shoes, II
you drop out Of them for a few days. The
very air you breathe at such times seems
to be charged with malaria and old age.
1t is all made plain when you are told that
this is one Of the oldest countries in the
world; that some Of its walled cities date
back to King David's time; that most of
u
The Coreans are proudly conscious of
their antiquity. They say they have nearly
lived out their allotted time. as q people.
Their slow sensibiities. ancient customs.
grave language and inert manner OF life,
all befit the aged. They speak Of Europe
and America as just beginning life; and In
a stately way they show they have no in
tenton Of yielding any of their venerable
ideas to such frivolous youth. No influence
can move them to change their slovenly
fitting white cotton garments for anything
of darker color or better shape. They in
sist on squatting on their heels when they
work in your garden, while they use the
short-handled, awkward Corean hoe of the
past ages, instead Of the civilized impls-
ment Of today. This squatting posture is a
favorite one with them. They assume II
when they call on US. We see long lines Of
sqratting men by the roadside. In the hot
sunshine, resting; they seem to be perfect
ly happy, in q half-comatose condition. with
watery eyes. after surfeit of rice and
pickle dog chops and soup of garlic strings
of meat and dough. and some indescribable
white Jumps, neither flesh nor fish, bread
nor fat, that cause a gagging sensation
when you feel them upon your tongue, and
they slide down your throat as though they
might be lizard or snake. This leaves q
fierce burning behind II. and your eyes fill
with tears; you plunge a brass spoonful Of
rice into your mouth to put out the fire Of
red pepper.
Fond of the Old Ways.
So welded is the Corean to his ways that
any change, even in the smallest detail Of
life, seems to MIN perfectly absurd. With
as much hope might you interfere with the
rising and setting of the sun or try to
change the stars in their courses. All his
ancestors have sewed UP their fearfully
and wonderfully made trousers. queer stock
ings, long, flowing white outer garments in
Just the same painstaking way, and there
fore the Corean of today refuses our offer
to stitch the long seams on the sewing ma
chine rather choosing to sit up OF nights
and rip and sew according to the good old
custom They will tell you that some
strange appearance and movement in the
water is caused by dragon. You need not
take the trouble to deny the existence OF
the winged serpent. for they will adhere to
every old superstition.
When all our scissors are lost, and sus-
pecting the house boy, We inquire II he has
seen them or has any idea where they may
be- he will tell you in the most serious and
polite way that he thinks the spirit that
steals scissors has been in the house. and
we shall not ruffie his serenity in the least
II We express our contempt for his explana-
ton by using epithets. He will possess his
soul in perfect peace. and evidently pity
our ignorance and impiety. Our pretty little
Corean bride, who has been educated in a
mission school, could not endure the thought
or foregoing the custom of brides, SO she