Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1907-11-15
Our Let ef From Japan.
Special Correspondence

HONOLULU mas brought me to the
threshold of the Flowery King
dom. am still at the threshold
for write this letter on board the
steamer as we wait in Tokyo bay,
where we ale anchored two miles
from land. One of the tyDonns,
those terrible revolving wind
storms for which this coast is
famous. has been blowing, and we
have been waiting for the heavy
swell to subside so we can land.
There are no wharves at Yokoho
ma, AND VT have To W ashore in
small boats. A swarm oe Sam
pans, clumsy native boats, is
around the sh;o and the men IN
them are clamoring Justify for
passengers. But the captan says
to wait. and we 10 not care to
risk our lives just to get on land.
| was going to tell how these
Japanese boatmen are dressed but
the better word to use is "un.
dressed" They wear a wide
sleeved. scanty garment which
reac"es to the knees, and in
addition to this some of them have
cloth bound around their heads.
The boys are not so we'll dressed
for all they have on is the marc,
or loin cloth which the law CON-
pels them to wear. Most of them
are hideously tatooed. They
keep up a continuous chatter,
interspersed with shouts of hal"
hal" which is a warning for
the other boatmen to get out of
the way. These sampans are so
tightly packed about the ship that
one could walk over them as upon
a Surging floor.
Our trip from Honolulu was
broken by a stop at Midway is
land, a most ,desolate spot in a
desolate ocean, where cable
operators and thousands of sea
birds are the only inhabitants.
The monotony of the lives of
those men must be terrible. and
we're it not for their commnnica \
tion with the world over their
cables they surely would 90 in.
sane The poor fellows we're glad
to talk with the passengers of the
ship, and said they got so lone
some at time that it was only by
the greatest effort of mind that
thev stood the awful isolation Two
OF the operators who we're on the
island went insane, and now they
are changed every three months,
so they can stand the strain.
At Guam, where we also stop
ped, conditions are somewhat
better, for in addition to the
Americans there are natives. and
the island is covered with trees.
The natives of Guam are similar
to those of the Philippines, and
they have learned the value of
international commerce. for they
brought many curios to the essel
to sell to the passengAr- lhey
have learned that people shiDs
are easy victims and they demand
extraordinary prices for their
wares. | am told that when
whites first came to the island
they could buy beautiful tspas,
shields and clubs for whatever
they choose to give, but now you
have to pay more than is asked in
San Francisco for the same arti-
cles. 1t does not take long for
the savage to learn that the tourist
and his money are easily parted.
| have been much impressed by
this trip across the Pacific. In
all the days at sea since we left
San francisco we have not seen q
single vessel of any description
until We entered the harbors Of
Honolulu and Yokohama. | won.
dered what would happen if an
accident should compel Us to take
to the small boats while away out
in the ocean. Our chance Of
rescue would have bean small