The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1899-11-02
CHARLEY MATHEWS
Writes Enteitainingly of His Trip Over the
Ocean and Japan,
September 81, 1909.


Yakahoma, and what time we had.
We left the Warren about Il a, m. and
went ashore in "Sampan, which is q
boat about like those we had on the
lake, only they are a good deal larger
and stronger. Two Japs propel them
with long oars. The motion is like that
OF gondola.
The city is very large and there are
some very nice business houses like we
have at home. The principle means OF
carriage in the city is iinkrisha, which
is pronounced rickshaw. 1t is a little
2-wheel dog cart, and is pulled by a
Jap. They charge 90 sen per hour,
which is 10 cents in our money, and
they make very good time, You ought
to have seen the boys drive them, We
went up to the depot of the railroad
that runs to TAXA. Takio is the capt.
tol of the Jay country. The railway is
all 0. K. The engines are of the French
type, and the cars are the general
European kind. Some have end and
some side door entrances.
The trains are light, but make very
good time, The city has electric lights
and good system of water works.
Sergeant Reynolds and myself started
out to see the town. We went around
to see the real Japs. The girls are just
too nice, they have rather santing and
dark eyes. Az a race they are smaller
than we are. Cora is about as large as
good sized Jap woman. The old
women are horribly ugly; they black
their teeth, which makes them horid.
The men wear almost no clothing at all.
The women wear more clothing; they
wear wooden shoes.
This is a very healthy country no sick
people at all. l honestly believe they
die Of old age, and they are very in
dustrious, always doing something, aud
wonderfully clever, especially at carv-
ing. / saw some Of the mostwondeiful
wood carving, and am sure some of the
pieces would have taken the prize at
the Chicago Exposition. We wentinto
a Japanese restaurant and ate dinner
/ THE bill of fare was rice with sugar,
and the way they cook it is all 0. X.
We had fish about like a sardine, and
then plate of raw oysters, which were
about the size of penny. Then we
had pie, which is made OF some kind of
vegetable, and is rolled about one
half of an inch thick, then they lay it
on broiler and as it commences to
warm up they paint it with some kind
of liqid, and it pu6s up and is pretty
good. With this mess we had a quart
bottle of very good beer made here in
Yakahoma, and all the real Japanese
tea we could drink. This bill for three
of us was so sen, 40 cents in American
money, and / think the old man who
run the joint gave us each Manila
cigar. But the quality of the cigar
could not be recommended. He had
been in the Ohina-Japan war, and could
talk English. He said the Japs like
the Americans because theyIspend three
dollars where the English, who are the
next only spend one. There are q
great many foreign residents here, and
they have some beautiful homes in the
American style. The streets are very
narrow, being from Is to 90 feet wide,
and are in avery good condition. They
have the finest base ball ground I ever
saw A club owns it and they were
playing cricket, which is game / an
not stuck on as yet They have bike
track around the ground, and it is al
green as Ireland. In fact, this is a
present an evergreen country.
Sunday we went ashore again. Tht
ship was being coaled up by Japs, whC
hand the coal up in baskets. It is
dead slow way but gets there in thu
end. L did not go to church, although
we we're invited to do SO by some fellow
But struck out by myself and walked
! out in the country to where the trucl
farms are. The land is very hilly, bu
they have terraced the steep hill
wherever possible and are producin,
: good crops. They grow rice, mile
and good many vegetables, the name
of which / don't know. There is som
bottom land that is very level and rich
and all the work is done by hand, 8
there is very little waste land. A hi
. here like the one Bob Burrows hous
} is on would be terraced to the top an
would be like garden. The market
, are we'll stocked with vegetables, ifs
and chickens. The houses are buil
like the boats-without a nail, but ar
pinned together with wooden pins. Som
: of the better ones have tile roofs am
! the common ones have very heav
} thatch roof. On entering house the
! remove their wooden shoes and leay
them on the outside Of the door, the
bow very low and enter. The fool
} are very clean, the better ones bein
covered with mating. There are n
: chairs; all sit on the floor. The littl
4 furnace where the food is cooked an
the water heated for the tea is low o
. the floor.
= At meals the family gathers arount
: and the rice is served in small dishe
D Each one has a pair of chop sticl
, with which he feeds his face, and do'
Z it with great liberality and skill. "