Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1895-06-13

An English Travellers Notes on the Land
of Morning Calm.

An English Travellers Notes on the Land
of Morning Calm.
Talking OF tigers, l may as well
speak Of a strange custom prevailing
in Corea. The corntry, as have al
ready pointed out, Is full of these
brutes, which, besides being Of enor-
nous size. are said TO be very fierce
and fond of human flesh. Even the
walls of the town are not protection
against them. Not unfrequently they
make a nocturnal excursion through
the streets, leaving again early In the
morning. with farewell bound from
the rampant but carrying off inside
their carcasses some unlucly indi-
vidual in a state of pulp II is the be-
lief of the native that when n tiger Is
suddenly encountered he always at
tacks and makes n meal of the last per-
son in the row; for which reason they
always deem IL advisable, when they
have a foreigner in their company, TO
let him have that privilege. |, for my
part, of course, did not regard the mat
ter in the same light, and generally
took pretty good care TO retain a mid
die positit IN the procession, when
out on a country prowl, greatly to the
distress and uneasiness of my white
robed guardian angels"
From somewhat graphic description
OF the physical, intellectual and moral
characteristics Of the people Of the
Land of the Morning Calm, we quote
as follows;
THE Corean, apart, that Is, from
occasional defects, is well proportioned
and of good carriage When he stands
erect his body is we'll balanced and
when he walks, though somewhat ham
pered by his padded clothes, his step
is rational. lie sensibiy walks with
his toes turned slightly in, and he
takes frm and long strides. The gait
is not energetic, but, nevertheless, the
Coreans are excellent pedestrians, and
cover long distances daily, IL only they
are allowed plenty TO ent and permis-
sion to smoke their long pipes from
time to time. Their bodies seem very
supple, and. like those of nearly all
Asiatics, their attitudes are invariably
graceful. In walking, they slightly
swing their arms and bend their bodies
forward, except, should say, the high
officials, whose steps are eXaggeratedly
marked, and whose bodies are kept
upright and purposely stiff.
"The two qualities | most admired
in the Corean were his skepticism and
his conservatism. He seemed to take
life as IL came, and never seemed to
worry much about it. lie had, too,
practically, no religion and no morals
He cared about little, had an instinct
i've attachment for ancestral habits,
and showed a thorough dislike to
change and reform. And this was not
so much as regards matters of state
and religion, for little or nothing does
the Corean care about either of these,
as in respect OF the daily proceedings
of life. To the foreign observer many
of his ways and customs are at first in
comprehensive, and even reprehensi-
BILE; yet, when, by chance, his mode OF
arguing out matters for himself Is
clearly understood, we will almost in
variably find out that he is correct
After all, every one, whether barbarian
or otherwise, knows best himself how
to please himself The poor, harmless
Corean, however, is not allowed that
privilege. He, as IL by sarcasm, call $
his country by the retiring name of
Hermit Realm and the more poetic
one of the Land of the Morning Calm
a coveted calm indeed, which has
been a dream to the country, but never
a reality, while, as for its hermit life,
II has been only too often troubled by
Objectionable visitors, whom he de-
tests, yet whom, nevertheless, he is
bound to receive with open arms, help
less as he is to resist them"
In chapter on Buddhism, spirits,
superstitions, etc, the author says:
THE generality of people in Corea
are not religious, though in former
days, especially in the Korai-an era,
between the tenth and fourteenth cen
| turies, they seem to have been ardent
Buddhists Indeed, Buddhism as re-
ligion seems to have got a strong hold
in Chosen during the many Chinese
invasions; it only passed over Chosen,
however, like huge cloud, to vanish
again, though leaving here and there
traces of the power It once exercised.
There are spirits for everything In
! Chosen. The air is alive with them,
and there are people who will actually
swear they have come in contact with
them. Diseases of all sorts, particu.
larly paralysis, are invariably ascribed
to the possession of the human frame
by one of these unwholesome visitors,
and when a death occurs, TO what else
can it be due than TO their evil and in
visible operation? To old age, to dis
eases, natural and zymotic, the expira.
tion of life is never ascribed; these
everlasting evil spirits have to answer
for II all. From their childhood the
| Coreans are imbued with horrid and
fantastic accounts of the doings OF
these spirits, and SO vividly are the
usual habits of these ghostly creatures
depicted to them that they cannot but
remain forever indelibly impressed on
their minds
Another very common sight besides
the stone heaps are the sacred trees.
These are to be found everywhere. but
especially on hilly ground. Their
branches are literally covered with
rags, bits of glass and other offerings
given by the superstitious and fright
ened passers-by, lest these spirits might
take offense at not being noticed. Wo-
men and men, when compelled TO travel
on the hills, go well provided with
these rags, and when-for the sacred
trees are very numerous-supplies run
short, many a woman has been known
10 tear off a bit Of her silk gown
and attach II TO a branch of the
tree among the other donations "--H.
Landor's ''Corea-"
Rock Splitting.
Az Rau0alora In eoutharp Tudf,