Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1912-10-09

Silent as the grave ana very Qepf6SS'
ing. There were no birds, except red
headed black woodpeckers as big as
pigeons and no animals, despite the
luxuriant vegetation. l had not been
in the country long before l heard
talk that three big rivers were on the
mountains, the descriptions of which
convinced me they were lakes Korea
was supposed to be lakeless.
1t took an immense amount of per-
suasion upon the part of the Japan.
ese gendarmes to get my horsemen to
go into the forest with me, and after
we got there they we're forever want
ing to leave me. Finally had to
threaten to shoot anybody that tried
to steal a horse. The ground was full
of springs. One day in ten or twelve
hours work we made only five miles.
We came out of the forest upon one
of the lakes suddenly. They are upon
the summit of mountain about 1000
feet high. l found that the lakes were
known by report to the Koreans as
Sam Che-ung (Three Bodies of Wa
teri, and l did not attempt to rechris-
ten them. The largest is about three
miles in circumference, the next is
about a mile around, and the third
about two miles The shores are en-
tirely of volcanic ash. There is no
outlet or inlet.
Il camped three or four days there,
built raft and made soundings The
water in the lakes ranged from six to
eighteen feet in depth, and as near as
l could figure out the bottoms are of
volcanic ash. There are numerous de-
pressions in the top of the mountain.
and l figure out that the water in the
lakes comes from melting snow, rains,
and perhaps some springs on the bot
toms. There seemed a probability
that the volcanic ash came from Paik-
tu-san, though the latter is 65 miles
distant. The ash along the shores OF
the lakes is loose, and you sink into
it up to your shoe tops. The trees
Whereabouts are only about 80 feet
tall
Down the YaIu to Antung.
Even when we left the lakes my
Koreans were still in fear of the rob-
bers. but we got out into the Yalu
country after an uneventful trip. We
soon came to where the Japanese had
been cutting lumber, and then l got
raft at the Yalu for my staff and
small boat for myself and went down
the river 375 miles to Antung, near
which the battle of the Yalu was
fought. There a railroad connects
for
est six weeks.
Most of the people in that northern
country had never seen white man.
AS my eyes were not brown, they
would not believe that l could see.
In every village they would hold
up things in front of me to prove
my eyesight.
AT another village l arrived very
tired late one afternoon. Toward twi'
light the interpreter awakened me
with the intelligence that a crowd
wanted the strange looking man to
show himself. l was wearing beard
at the time Most Koreans never
shave. The most they can raise in
the way of hirsute adornment is few
strands. When l took a pair of scis-
sors and began to trim my beard, they
we're shocked, and when took out my
safety razor and began to shave off a
perfectly good set of whiskers they
were struck dumb.
Except in Seoul, the Korean wom-
en- are not supposed to be seen by
a man who is not a member of their
own family. They seemed to be afraid
of me in that north country. One aft
ernoon a delegation of two women
came to my tent and asked If 1 would
not exhibit myself the next morning
to all the women in the village at
once
In one place l saw man eleven
years old and boy of forty-Seyen.
You see, in Korea male is not
man until he marries Then he can
wear the national hat The boy OF
eleven had a wife and wore hat.
The other, who was single, had to
part his hair and wear it down his
back