Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-01-03
In and Around Japan.

wv "a ~ A<Outldn, NJ. A.,
VINO Is now a medical missionary
to Cheng Chow, China. Mr..
Louthan is native of Clarke
county, and has many friends who
will remember him as a student at
Berryville High School. l.-ED.l
Before we have seen something
of the world, we do not appreciate
our own land. Her mountains.
valleys, plains, fruits, and flowers
are all dear to the traveller, far
away. sthe train plungedthr
the Alleghanies, and hurried over
the blue grass section of Kentucky.
bearing us toward the far East. we
did not feel as cheerful as Ichabod
Crane, going to the froIic in Sleepy
Hollow.
81. Louis, with its richly orna-
mcnied depot; the great plains, the
foothills of the Rockies; the Great
Salt Lake, with its railroad trestIe
twenty miles long; the Grand Can
yon, lifting its mighty columns in
the moonlight hundreds of feet
above us; the mountains and snow
capped peaks; the irrigated valleys.
beautiful with fruits and flowers:
Denver, the cleanest city in the
United States, with It's magnificent
homes; San Francisco. with its
Chinese quarters, and Golden Gate:
the choppy sea and white caps; the
anxious passengers leaning over
the ship rail, waiting for returns:
nothing but sea and sky: all like a
panorama passed rapidly before us.
Hills and mountains are very at
tractive,after long voyage though
one has been amused with games
upon deck, the smiles Of the laSsieS
and the comforts of seasickness.
We were pleased to see terra firma
once more. Hawaii appeared like
Paradise, with the most varied and
beautiful natural cOloring. seen in
sky, with the rainbow tint; in the
sea, with the phosphorescent flashes
like thousands of lightning-bugs.
sparkling in the waves; in the
mountains, with its many shades.
and leaping cascades; in the valleys
in plumy palms and scenic beauty
of fora and fauna. A voyage of
3,40O miles brought us to Japan.
Whatever the source of their in
spiration, the courage and patriot
ism of the japanese and admired
by the world. We, therefore. APP
preached with pleasure the little
country, not simply because sea-
sickness would be ancient history,
but chiefly since we wished to study
the now famous people in their
own homes. We looked, many
times, in the direction of land, be-
fore the mountains could be seen
rising from the sea. As they first
appeared, they reminded us of the
Blue Ridge, and we recalled the
time when the world, as far as we
were concerned, was confined to
the Shenandoah Valley, but unlike
RasselaS, no country is more beau
tiful or attractive to us than that
section of Virginia. The mountain
sides are frequently terraced. So
steep are they that they must have
been ploughed by the earthquake
and planted with the shotgun" ."
Yokohama is the leading port of
Japan. When we reached the city
we felt we were in a new world.
4 party of small, half-dressed men
crowded about us, with jinrikshas,
eager to pull us over the city.
Here men are beasts of burden,
and from constant running there
muscles are as prominent as those
of Ben Hur, after his service on
the galleys.
Many of the natives wear the
European dress, great changes hav'
ing been made in their fash
ions in the last few years. Japan
reminds one of GuIliver's visits tC
LilIiput; everything appears to bC
made upon Il small model, noun
tainS, houses, people, railroad en-
gines and cars. The latter are quite
small and appear insignificant wher
compared with the great engines
that cross the Rockies.
From Yokohama we went 10y
rail to Tokyo, the capitol city. The
land is highly cultivated. Fields
of rice, vegetables, and flowers art
seen. Numerous cemeteries also
appeared. The tombs are very
close, as the bodies when buried