The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-27
aUoNG TUI YUM OF, CoREA.
An Asiatic Merchant Stops an Hour
in 0gden-Taliks of War Bicycles
and "Gensing.v

in Ogden-TaIks of War Bicycles
and "Gemsins."
Saturday evening there came in from
the west distingu ished-looking pas
senger. In appearance he was about
40 years of age, with black, straight
hair, a sparse but somewhat lengthy
moustache, nice-looking eyes and fine
teeth, that showed to advantage when
he smiled as he did quite frequently.
His hat was a. broad, benshaped affair,
| such as Chinese gardeners wear, only
! the material was much finer. His
! shoes, stockings and boomers were
! also of fine material, and also reSem-
l bled those of a Well-dressed Chinaman.
His most conspicuous garment was a
| long, toga-like robe of pale blue silk.
1t fitted the upper part of his body
rather snugly, but the lower or skirt
part was quite loose. His grip was of
American make, but bore evidence of
having been inspected by Japanese,
Hawaiian and American revenue Off
Gals. who is he?" was the general
inquiry. "He is Korean warrior come
to study our military SYSTEM" said
some. He is an envoy from the Chi
nese emperor, sent to deliver a MESA sc
to Ii Hung Chang" volunteered an
other.
HE is a Persian prince"
mo, a mountebank."
Hes the man that broke the bank
of Monte Carlo" chimed in a newsboy,
who had seen him pay Manager Wash
burne for his supper One party in
quired from the parsonage concerning
his identity, home and business, and
received the reply: "Kolea, New Yo-
he was a student bound for New
York to take a business college course,
and large part of the crowd of 90
servers departed, satisfied with this
explanation. A good many, however,
were not satisfied with this interpre-
tation, and more interviewing
was done. He understood English
much better than he spoke it, but was
very ingenious at making signs and
making his meaning clear.
A Herald reporter gathered from him
that he was q, Korean merchant bound
for New York to establish agencies for
the sale of his cornmodity-gens
root. His name was Quong TUT Yum.
Korea he called Kolea, and was not
understood until he said, Much fight"
at the same time putting his hands on
the back of his neck and sweeping it
downward to indicate a queque. Then
he turned his back and mimicked a
hasty retreat. His words and actions
meant, in the language of history, that
he came from the land where the ia
panese and Chinese had a struggle for
supremacy, and that the gentlemen
wearing queques retreated.
AS -kt conversation waxed ami
mated the crowd grew larger, and nu-
merous suggestions from outsiders
were offered the interviewer.
ASK him will he vote for Mckinley"
rs he for Watson and Sewall?, were
among the bits of advice offered by
men fresh from watching the Populist
convention bulletin board.
See gensing?" said the merchant,
and going TO his grip he took out a
box uniquely made and wrapped in
several folds of fine paper. Some clean,
alnbeT-colored roots were contained
therein, which the Korean said was
"gensing'' and good medicine"
You a doctor?" inquired one.
The question was a puzzleT but was
made clear when the questioner Of
fered his pulse to be felt and his tongue
TO be looked at. The Korean laughed
and shook his head, explaining by mo-
nosyllables and gestures that he was
engaged simply and solely in eXchang-
ing gensing for cash-ten pounds of
gensing for $50 was the usual whole
sale rate.
The root grows extensively in Korea,
and, so says Quong TUT YUM, is a
preventative of the opium habit, also
a kind of substitute for opium, as
chewing it checks the appetite for the
more harmful drug. 1t also reduces cor
pulency, which fact the merchant ex-
planned with very expressive gestures.
To thoroughly prove the legitimacy
of his trade, Mr.. YUM showed the re-
porter a letter from the Chinese consul
of San Francisco. When unfolded the
document was about the size of the
Herald, and was covered on one side
with large Chinese characters. On the
other side was an English version,
signed and sealed by the Chinese con-
sui. 1t explained that the bearer, Quong
Tui YUM, was from Korea and was en-
gagged i'm the laudable occupation of
selling genSing to the Chinese, and
should be treated with all respect and
courtesy. The communication was adj
dressed to the Chinese of Los Angeles.
The scriIbe's bicycle reused a train of
"reminiscences in the mind of the gem
tleman from Korea, and as the re-
porter was leaving the foreigner STATED
that in all Korea there were fewer
bicycles tndn ne ndQ fingers ana
thumbs, and that these all belonged to
Americans. They were so unusual that
big crowds would block the streets
when the riders appeared. The first
vehicle of the kind he had ever seen
had been when a year or so ago two
Americans had come through his city.
He illustrated by a circling sweep of
the arm that the two were going
around the world awheel. Doubtless
they were the two who thus made the
trip writing up their experiences for
the Century Magazine. All in all,
though he was not a great warrior or
foreign diplomat, he was a rather in
teresting character, that shrewd Ko
rean merchant in the fantastic Asiatic
dress engaged in selling gensing.
TALKING OF HILL.
What awful Thing has Pickett PevtOn