The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-30
ITINERATINC IN
KOREAN CHARIOT
Blackfoot Pastor Recalls
Odd Experiences in
the Orient
By J. D. GILLIAN

After an all-night existence in {
compartment of one of the funn!
sleeping-car arrangements on tn,
trunk line railway that runs from
Fusan at the extreme south to An
tung on the Yalu on the border O.
Manchuria we arrived at the way
side station of Sin-anju New ANU
near to ANU proper, where the frs
battle occurred between the Rus
slams and the Japanese in their grea
war. Here we took the smalles
car l ever saw and on a diminutivt
railway went inland twenty-five
miles or so to the terminus, Kun
mort, a coal mine region. My com
panion and I were on our way to 9
city many miles farther away among
the naked hills of north Korea tc
visit missionary station.
Reaching Kunmori we expected
to take the jinricksha method Of
travel and as that is so nearly the
universal way of passenger accom-
/ mediation there is nothing else east
ly available; but it had rained hard
during the night and the mud was
an element to be reckoned with.
Jinrickshas and men were plentiful
but they were not anxious to ne
gotiate a mud trip fifteen miles
deeper into the hills. We discov-
cred that we could obtain the ma
chimes and men at double the usual
| rate with two men to a jinricksha,
also adding twice the common price;
but even then they we're not anx-
ious to undertake the job. My COM
panion then essayed the attempt to
obtain ponies for our company which
by this time had been increased by
two, a Japanese woman with babe
in arms. She was en- route TO Yeng-
pyeng also, the town toward which
we were travelling. She had two big
boxes, semi-trunks really, cumber-
some but not heavy. Visiting an inn
my missionary friend and interpreter
found some ponies of the Korean
sort; this kind is small like Shet-
land and stubborn as donkey. On
the tops of these were built some
square platforms of blankets and
quilts (no saddles available at ALL
and on these superimposed arrange
ments we were expected to stiff we
could, astride, backwards, 'front.'
wards, sidewise or in any wise. My
pony came only to my waist line and
the others were no better; but the
woman could not we'll travel thus,
and we. did not care to leave her
to manage for herself among GCIang-
ers, altho she could speak the Ko-
rean sufficiently well to make her
self understood to the people and to
my interpreter.
That plan was abandoned as i'm
practicable. The ever resourceful
innkeeper came to our happy rescue
by saying he would furnish us with
a cart and a Japanese horse which
would fare us safely over the way,
also he would include driver. We
were pleased at the prospect and
waited till the animal was produced.
The cart we saw at once. It was a
springless, solid affair with two i'm
mense wheels, platform about five
feet long with no sideboards or end
gates. 1t was not promising of ease
or rapidity. The horse was produc-
ed. He was possessed of many fine
points-all bony ones. His harness
was all ropes and strings-not a
piece of leather in it's whole arrange
ment, or rather disarrangement. He
was placed between the shafts which
were but combinations Of the side
pieces of this platform on wheels;
to these the beast was tied and tan
gled in some manner unexplainable
and unrepeatable. The names had
no collar for them and they were
two pine sticks hastily improvised
for our triumphal entry in the city
of Yeng-pyeng in company with the
lady of Japan.
When the last attaching knot ha
DCCh IlCu VIC Vic Cldll Ot
we'll loaded and speotacularly be-
decked. One Of the woman's boxes
was at the front end, the other at
the rear, as retaining walls, and we
had ours anywhere we could stow
them. At the sides we had tenn
ported some pieces of plank as
right and left supporters of our
Noble grand, for my missionary COM
panion's name was DR.. Noble, and |
his grandeur surely shone that day,
as he was the one who managed to |
get us over the road.
Now between these bags and |
crowded into so small a space sat |
we three grown-ups and the wee
babe. The driver plodded along the
slippery highway while the broad
tired wheels slid about over the
road at all angles, jostling us until
we were well mixed. Once in pull
ng out of steep-banked stream one
If the pine hame-sticks came in two
md up went the shafts, tumbling
Is and our baggage down the incline,
;ho happily we did not reach the
water. After a while it began to
threaten rain, and DR.. Noble in or