The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-11-04
BILkINS IN JAPAN
The Mo,t Interesting of
The Old. New
Countries.
eastern YANKEEDOOM"

When Commodore Perry Did Mis-
sionary Work-General Descrfp-
ton Of the Country-One Of the
Thickly Populated Countries Of the
Earth-The Gigantic Mountains
and the Tiny Farms.
Correspondence of The Caucasian
Enterprise.)
Toxic, Japan, Oct. AL am now
in the midst ov probably the most in
teresting ov the old-new countries.
for Japan hez a record-not a his
tory-that dates far back. Her real
history only started about the year
1854. Hit wuz then, IL l am not
mistaken az to the year. that Com
modore Perry sailed into enc ov the
Japanese ports with detachment ov
American warships an gave the Jap
anese government jolt that aroused
hit from a long. long sleep. Up to
that time the Japanese had been
very much like their Chinese nabors
two thousand years behind the
times. The people ov the Western
States, California, for instance. wuz
anxious to trade with Japan. But
the japanese finally closed their
ports to awl foreigners. Hit wuz
then that the United States govern
ment got busy. Commodore Perry
wuz ordered to Japan with several
warships. AZ Japan had no navy
there wuz no prospect ov a naval
f1te, though they mite hev put up a
weak fite on land. When Commodore
Perry arrived at Yokohoma he sent
hiz respects to the Mikado ov Japan.
A few hours later he sent another
document to the effect that onless
the Mikado opened the seaports ov
Japan to American trade within the
next twenty-four hours he'd she'll the
city and destroy hit. Hit liz natur-
ally to be supposed that the Mikado
called his advisers together an they
quickly decided that the only thing
to do wuz to open the seaports. And
they did. Since that time Japan an
the United States hev bin jist like
old friends. I do not think that
there IL much In the rumors ov war
between the two countries-the ru-
mors that hev bin afoat durin' the
past two or three years. Japan had
better stop now while her reputation
IL guide. America liz different prop
osition from China or Russia.
The term Japan really means q
collection. am told, hence the name
ov the country IL applied to the four
large islands an the many small ones
which comprise the country. These
islands air near each other an lie In
the form ov a crescent, curving to-
ward the north. I say four islands,
and that IL the number of large ones.
But the japanese flag floats over six
hundred islands In awl. Most ov
them air inhabited, though some ov
them air very small. This cluster
ov islands IL somewhat like our own
island possessions, the philippine Is
lands, which air sed to number about
fourteen hundred In awl, and they
air not far from Japan, lying south
west ov Japan. Japan awlso owns
Korea, small penincula extendin
down from Southern Russia. This
bit ov country. q valuable slice, wuz
secured a few years ago when Japan
established a protectorate over the
Koreans. This wuz the real cause ov
the war between Japan and Russia.
I am glad Japan got Korea.
The real problem in Japan IL tc
feed forthy-seven millions ov people
from such a small area ov land. But
the Japanese long since solved thai
az they do other problems. They
| live on rice an other food-mostly
| rice. Surrounded az she IL by water
water teeming with fish, the othel
end of the food problem-the mea1
end-iz awlso solved. Pork, bacon
beef, mutton, and similar meats all
hardly known on the average Jap
| anese table. Rice an fish, two OF
the best articles ov food, no matter
whar you live, gives them life, brain
health. Ov course they hev much Ii
the way ov fruits and vegetables
| which they raise on the tiny fields
Most ov this land IL cultivated with
out the help ov horses or mules
/ hence the family with neither horses
cattle nor hogs to feed does not hav'
to lay up great barns or cribs ov feet
for man an beast az we do In Ameri
ca, an az liz the case In most ov th'
other sparsely settled countries o.
the world. To make this palmer Il
you, dear reader. IL the United State
had fifty people livin' here to ever.
one livin' there now, our countr.
would still not be az densely popu
lated az Japan L. today. But fer tn
fact that Japan IL especially adapte'
to rice CROWN an that the sur
roundin' water IL fairly alive Wit
fish, japan could not be what she Il
Remember that.
The total land area ov Japan IL
little less than one hundred and six
ty thousand square miles an NOR
than half ov this L. on the island o
Honshiu. The coast line IL broke
by numerous bays, most ov them be
, ing deep water, furnishing a grea
number ov splendid harbors- Tn
principal cities are Yokohoma, Oss
ka. Kobe, Nagasi. Kagoshima ar
Hokodate. Toxic II located tulant
(ConttnusA en- Pass 3.)