Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-10-11


Tor tie j. ri. sl.a, which is the great
est blessing travellers in the east enjoy,
we have to bless an American sailor
vino came here ON Commodore Perry's
fiagship in 1853, and then returned
seven or eight years later As mission
airy of the Methodist persuasion. His
name was Jonathan Gobel, and he is
mentioned in Commodore Perry nara
tive as a pious man Of rare intelligence
who-took great interest in the spiritual
welfare Of the Japanese. Gobel was one
Of the earliest members of what is
known Is the Newton mission.
The jinrikisha is another illustration
Of the old adage that necessity is the
mother of invention, for Brother Gobel
was afflicted with rheumatism in his
later years and found it difficult to navi-
gate. The sedan chair, which was used
by the nobility. was too close for him,
and the kago, a vehicle in which the
humber classes We're in the habit of
carrying the lame and the lazy, was
very uncomfortable for his long legs, so
he took packing case, painted it black,
as appropriate 90 his dignity, and set It
upon pair of wheels.
For shelter from the sun he rugged a
canvas awning that conld be raised or
lowered according to his convenience,
and he hired a brawny cody to haul
him about. That was the origin of the
vehicle which takes the place of car
riages and street cars in Japan, Korea,
India and China, for Brother Gobel's
invention has spread all over the coast.
So useful AN invention needed good
name; therefore Brother Gobel called it
jim (man) ricki (power) sha (car-
riage). But the swells prefer TO term it
a kuruma Ii looks like an exaggerated
baby carriage and is very comfortable
for riding.
Jonathan Gobel was a muscular Chris
tian. He feared God and lived right
eous life. He desired every one else TO
| do so, and when moral suasion failed he
! often tried force When he arrived in
Japan, he was stalwart, powerful fell
low, and usually came out uppermost
when be wrestled with sin. He was liv-
ing in Kanagawa when he endeavored
to impress upon the people of that place
the propriety of Sabbath observance.
| The Japanese have no Sunday. They
have no fixed day of rest Their holi-
| DAYS are numerous, and worship contin-
1 uous without interruption in the tenn
| pies There is no particular time for
preaching, and it is always proper to
pray. Therefore every native works
seven days in the week. Brother Gobel
admonished the people of the sinfulness
of Sabbath breaking, but he was unable
| to convince them, and it grieved his
| heart.
Passing from his home to his place of
preaching one Sunday he found dozen
men or more engaged III building a
house. He stopped to talk with them
and entreated them to cease their sinful
labor. They refused to do So. He order
ed them to stop, and they declined.
| Then, seizing heavy bamboo pole, he
smote them hip and thigh. Several were
| laid out senseless, and the next morn
! ing Brother Jonathan was prisoner be-
fore the consul general, charged with
| aggravated assault and battery. This
case appears as one of the first in the
( records of the United States consulate,
! and is set forth with amusing details.
The missionary pleaded guilty, with
| strong provocation, and was put under
| bonds TO keep the peace.
! Mr.. Gobel afterward built himself a
modern house on what is known as the
! Bluff, south of Yokohama, and sur
rounded his grounds with the first fence
that was ever built in this part Of the
world. 1t was made of bamboo palings,
and the boys in the neighborhood used
! to annoy the good missionary greatly by
rafting sticks against it as they ran
along the street. The British admiral
/ lived lust above him and had very
natty Tommy Atkins for an orderly.
! He wore little round cap on the north
east corner of his head and always car
/ ried little cane of rattan in his hand.
| One morning, having been sent with a
message, he appeared before the admiral
with his face bruised to a jelly and his
uniform tattered and torn and covered
! with dust.
mercy on usP' exclaimed the adj
| miral in establishment at the spectacle.
"What has happened to your"
II beg your pardon, sir, :" replied
Tommy, 'but has was coming halong
/ hup the i'll, a-rubbing my stick hagainst
the missionary fence, sir, Q came bout
in is pygamas and said as 'ow g lad
vowed by the grace of God to lick the
'ide hoff the next man who did that,
| and e as done it, sir. T"
The 'rikishas are all made in Japan,
and large number are exported to the
neighboring countries. They cost from
SIT to $40, according to the care bestow-
ed ON their construction, the material
used and the character of their decora-
ton, but they could not be made for
more than twice that money in the
| United States Many of them are owned
by the coolies who draw them, others
by companies or private individuals who
let them to the coolies for share of the
money they make. You can hire them
by the week for yen ($2 50), by the
day for 70 sen (37 q cents), 10 sen 60
| ceDts) an hour for ordinary service. or
10 sen for a trip Of two miles.
The system Of operating them is very
much like that IN use by our hackmen
at home. Each 'rikisha man has his
name and number upon his hat and his
lantern. He is registered at police head
quarters and pays small tax to the
government Those that are attached to