The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-05
THE KING OF COREA.
Remarkable Country Described By a
Traveller.


of It's People-Its Curious Govern
ment-The Kings sanctity-The Law
Courts.
A. c. Bond. in the Mail and Express.
Why an army should fight for the pos
session of Corea can never be guessed at
by the unlucky American who has tried
to travel through that Incompatible
country. 1t is the most remarkable ma
tiOn in the wOrld-for its inconvenience,
and the most original in its administra-
tion. For eccentricities of government
Tammany is an ideal in comparison, and
the duped Debsites are happy capitalists
beside the population of this somnolent
peninsula.
Not only is the most searching and ex-
asperating examination made by the Gus
tom officers, but the pedigree of the anna
BILE visitor is taken, a record of his life
and his intentions, where he is going and
how long he has money enough TO remain.
Naturally, when they see any one come
voluntarily to such country it arouses
their suspicious.
In the treaty ports on the coast where
strangers land, If they land at all, wealth
AAltAhto us ELcdLtSb ulSll4dY. Az SuCn places
japanese and Mexican silver dollars are
circulated with a limited freedom that
almost amounts to familiarity. One of
these silver dollars is worth 50 cents in
the coin of the United States realm, but
it has the dignity of being the largest
piece of money in circulation. The gov
eminent goes to very little expense in its
treasury department, the only coinage
being small copper disk called "kash, :"
eXchangeable for silver at the rate of 10
pounds for kash for one Jap or Mexican
dollar.
THE TRIALS OF A TRAVELLER.
Away from the coast this kash is the
only money that circulates. The natives
have no confidence in anything else, and
consequently refuse to accept anything
else. This necessitates the purchase of a
! few hundred pounds of copper disks at
| the seaport, and then the traveller must
hire half dozen ponies-there are no
| horseS-tO carry sufficient money TO meet
| the expenses of his trip. The other i'm
| pediment Is transported by pOrters, and
| these pOrters are the most extravagantly
| paid of any laborers in COrea. This is
| probably done so as to put them in such
an independent financial position as to re-
| lieVe them OF the necessity of killing their
| employer to get his money. Each porter
! receives one Japanese dollar per day.
| ANOW IL Is lDt CuSlOlu III AJOIGd 10 paw
| everybody for all work done every night
a custom that has doubtless grown out of
| the universal distrust each individual
| has for each other individual But what
| ever may have been its origin, the incon-
| yenience to strangers is pleasant TO CON
! template. Nightly the unfortunate tray
| eler with his string of copper ponies is
| forced to unload his affiuence and weigh
| out ten pounds of metal for every man in
his train.
| Then the balance of the night he has to
| sit up in the midst of firearms and see
| that his faithful attendants don't steal
| what is left. So, taking one considera-
tion with another, travelling in Corea has
| its trials
For many years no stranger was able to
get beyond five hours travel away from
the coast, and the interior was, therefore
| a terra inCognita. The reasons for this
were various 1t had not then occurred
| to the COrean public to use ponies to
carry baggage, and all the carrying was
done by men; no porter will carry more
| than ten pounds; a days work is ten
hours. When the caravan was started
each man was loaded down with ten
pounds of kash. After they had marched
five hours they would wait on the
traveller and deliver themselves some
what TO this strain: I'VE are
i've hours journey from home; If we turn
| around now and go back our DAYS work
| of ten hours viii be completed by the time
we get home, and we have ten pounds of
| kash to pay US. If we go on another five
| hours we will be an entire days Journey
! from home, and as we only have money
| enough for one day with US, how shall we
| get pay for tomorrow" Being unable to
| answer this query satisfactorily, they
would all turn about and retrace their
steps.
These local peculiarities interfered
slightly with free intercommunication.
As TO NATURAL DISADVANTAGES.
! The climate, if one remains long enough
! to test it, will be found uncertain II NAV
| be balmy and delightful at sunrise and
| halllng like a cyclone at noon: it rains
| when it feels like it, and nature never
! takes the trouble TO warn by as much as
! a cloud it just turns the water on and
| foods everything, while there is apparent
! ~ clear sky and a cloudless horizon.
! Where the rain comes from no one but q
native Of the country is sufficiently ia
miliar with its resources to tell. At times
the rain is freezing cold and this occa-
/ sionally occurs Oh the same day, always
| during the one season.
! Nature joins the rulers to make life as
much OF burden as possible for the popu-
lation. In such climate fancy garden
ing is out of the question, and the delica-
! cleS OF the season are entirely unknown
! Only the hardest, commouest vegetables
aud plants can be grown, as in addition
10 this climatic uncertainty the soil is
coarse, barren and pebbly. The people
! grow tobacco, wheat, rice, ginseng. bernp.
millet and cotton and were it not for n
provision in the constitution they could
raise potatoes, but it seems that about
the time the wise men built the grand
structure Of laws under which
| this nation has remained quiescent
| for about 5000 years the potatoes
acted badly; they failed in some manner
TO meet the views Of the ruling classes
and so they were boycotted. 1t was sol
! EMMY announced that the devil had a
| hand in their misconduct, and the una
voidable deduction was that anyone who
/ encouraged them by raising or eating
| them was in sympathy with the evil. and
| therefore should be promptly put out Of
| the way. 1t is impossible to say that
| this happened 5000 years ago, but il did
/ happen at some time, and at this dav NOT
a potato is raised in the whole peninsula.
The supply Of cattle, ponies, dogs pigs
| sheep and goats is very large; every
native is the possessor Of some of these
/ creatures, but what the practical pur-
! pose OF the possession is 1 never was able
| to see. The cattle and pigs are TO be
eaten by the ruling classes only and
there are a string of frantic laws on this
] ars, "a b. .