Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1917-09-27
LETTER FROM
Minis. G. Q. COMPTON
Karuizawa, Japan, Aug. 90

Karuizawa, Japan, Aug. 90
Dear Folks:
l haven't any idea when wrote
you last, but I'm quite sure it was
more than week ago. We're
busy every minute all day long,
and letter writing is becoming
quite impossible while we're hav-
ing such good time.
The biggest thing to tell you
about this time is our trip up Mt.
Asama. It's effects are still felt,
so we haven't forgotten it yet.
Monday night we left here on our
way to the foot In our party
we're eight men and four women,
besides five guides. Two of the
guides carried our luggage and
the rest led the horses. We had
three horses and the girls took
turns riding. Every person car
ried Japanese lantern. We al
ways carry them if we go any
where at night because there are
no lights. We had to walk or
ride nine miles to the tea house
which was at the foot of Asama.
| We reached there about $3.50 and
had our lunch, which consisted of
Heinz Baked Beans and sand
wiches. Then we all stretched
Yourselves out on the floor and
tried to sleep, but with absolutely
mo success. The Japs kept up a
steady string of talk and in be-
tween sentences drank whiskey.
The stable was in the next room
and the horses were fighting and
kicking most of the night. Be-
sides they closed absolutely ev-
Jerry opening, so that we could
hardly breathe. But we wouldn't
have slept anyhow, because no
one was in the mood for it.
AT 12 sharp we started up
Asama. For twenty minutes we
had a climb equal to climbing
Fourth street hill. Then we be-
gan the real ascent and never
hope to try anything so hard
again. We walked right straight
up in the air, it seemed; and it
took four hours of steady climb
ling to reach the top. thought
we would never get there. And
the higher We went the colder
and windier it became, and our
lanterns burned up or went out.
We went through several layers
IOf fog so our matches were damp
and we had to climb over terrible
places in pitch dark. The soil
was very fine and we sank in up
to our shoe tops. For long
time we had heard the fire roar
ling in the volcano and the steam
and smoke made light for us to
climb by. Finally we reached the
|top, and it was we'll worth all the
agony. Such seething mass as
that crater was! 1t was fifty feet
deep and the bottom was a bright
red, with lots of vicious looking
: |cracks running through it. Vel
low sulphur fumes were steam
ing out everywhere and the roar
and noise were terrible. II
sounded just like about Niagara
Falls or the ocean when it is
|stormy.
| We were frozen nearly to death
and we bundled up in dozens OF
Irugs and coats that the coolies
had carried for us. Then we
waited for the sunrise. The sky
was perfectly clear, but below us
was a sea of clouds. Then the
sun came up, and such colorine
one couldn't imagine. 1t was
perfectly wonderful. Above the
clouds we could look north anC
see the Japanese Alps, which were
snow covered, and toward the
south, nearly a hundred miles
away, was Mt. Full in all he1
|glory. We stayed up there about
two hours and then began to
come down. 1t was harder than
going up, except for one feature
lit was sooner over with. We
came down in one hour. But my
knees are sore yet. We reached
home about II a. M, and were
very tired, but it certainly was a
wonderful experience.
| Last week our crowd was near
ly starved for something good to
eat, SO we decided to have fudge
party. We walked out to the
dairy near here to buy cream and
were much surprised to see how
wonderfully neat everything about
the place was. 1t looks as though
it had been transplanted from
Amac XNo ho,,0bf holf n Mint ~