LIBRARY ANNEX Boy ^l^LiWii Thomas W. Knox: djornell Uniocrsity IQihrary JItliara, Kfjo f orh CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023562220 Cornell University Library G 570.K74 The boy travellers in ttie Far East ;adve 3 1924 023 562 220 The Boy Teavellers in the Fae East ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY TO JAPAN AND CHINA BY AUTHOR OP "CAMP- FIRE AND COTTON- FIELD " "OVERLAND THROUGH ASIA'' "UNDERGROUND" "JOHN" ETC. IUu0tvatei> NEW YORK IIAKPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS FRANKLIN SQUARE 1880 ''I! 'I Y V V I t Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by HARPER & BROTHERS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 1 l^'Ol'''^ S M\''''^ PREFACE. To my Young Friends : Not nianj' years ago, China and Japan were regarded as among the barbarous nations. The rest of the world knew comparatively little about their peoples, and, on the other hand, the inhabitants of those countries had only a slight knowledge of Europe and America. To-day the situation is greatly changed : China and Japan are holding intimate relations with ns and with Europe, and there is every prospect that the acquaintance be- tween the East and the West will increase as the years roll on. There is a general desire for information concerning the people of tlie Far East, and it is especially strong among the youths of America. The characters in " The Boy Travellers " are fictitious ; bnt *lie scenes that passed before their eyes, the people they met, and the incidents and accidents that befell them are real. The routes they travelled, the cities they visited, the excursions they made, the observations they recorded — in fact, nearly all that goes to make up this volume — were the actual experi- ences of the author at a very recent date. In a few instances I have used information obtained from others, but only after careful investigation has convinced me of its entire correctness. I have aimed to give a faithful picture of Japan and China as they appear to-day, and to make such com- parisons with the past that the reader can easily comprehend the clianges that have occurred in the last twent}' years. And I have also endeavored to convey the information in siich a way that the story shall not be con- sidered tedious. Miss Effie and " The Mystery " may seem siiperfluous to some readers, but I am of opinion that the majority of those who peruse the book will not consider them unnecessary to the narrative. In preparing illustrations for this volume the publishers have kindly allowed me to make use of some engravings that have already appeared in 10 PREFACE. their publications relative to China and Japan. I have made selections from the volumes of Sir Rutherford Alcock and the Rev. Justus Doo- little, and also from the excellent work of Professor Griffis, " The Mika- do's Empire." In the episode of a whaling voyage I have been under ob- ligations to the graphic narrative of Mr. Davis entitled " JSTinirod of the Sea," not onl}^ for illustrations, but for incidents of the chase of the mon- sters of the deep. The author is not aware that any book describing China and Japan, and specially addressed to the young, has yet appeared. Consecpiently he is led to hope that his work will iind a welcome among the boys and girls of America, And wlien the juvenile members of the family have com- pleted its perusal, the children of a larger growth may possibly tind the volume not without interest, and may glean from its pages some grains of information hitherto unknown to them. T. W. K. New York, October, 1879. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PArn: The Departure 17 CHAPTER II. Overland to Calieornia 30 CHAPTER III. On the Pacific Ocean 48 CHAPTER IV. Incidents of a "Whaling Voyage .58 CHAPTER V. Arrival in Japan 73 CHAPTER VI, First Day in Japan 83 CHAPTER VII. From Yokohama to Tokio . . 101 CHAPTER VIII. Sights in the Eastern Capital of Japan 115 CHAPTER IX. Asakusa and Yuyeno. — First N.itional Fair at Tokio 131 CHAPTER X. Walks and Talks in Tokio 144 CHAPTER XI. An Excursion to Dai-Boots and Enoshima 156 CHAPTER Xll. Sights at Enoshijia - 1 69 CHAPTER XIII. On the Road to Fusiyama 183 CHAPTER XIV. The Ascent of Fdsiyama 197 12 CONTENTS. CHAl'TER XV. PAGE Executions and Hari-Kabi 215 CHAPTER XVr. Amusements.— Wrestlers and Theatrical Entertainments 227 CHAPTER XVII. A Study of Japanese Art 239 CHAPTER XVin. Something about Japanese Women 254: CHAPTER XIX. Erom Yokohama to Kobe and Osaka 26G CHAPTER XX. The Mint .vt Osaka. — From Osaka to Nap.a .\nd Kioto 279 CHAPTER XXI. Kioto and L.ike Biwa 291 CHAPTER XXII. The Inland Sea and Nagasaki. — Caught in a Typhoon 303 CHAPTER XXIII. First Day in China 318 CHAPTER XXIV. A Voyage up the Yang-tse-kiang 328 CHAPTER XXV. The Tae-ping Rebellion. — Scenes on the Great Kiyer 339 CHAPTER XXVI. From Shanghai to Pekin 352 ( CHAPTER XXVII. Sights in Pekin 3G5 CHAPTER XXVIII. A Journey to the Great Wall or China 377 CHAPTER XXIX. Fro,m Shanghai to IIong-kong.— A Stoky or the Coolie Trade 388 CHAPTER XXX. Hong-kong and Canton -iOO CHAPTER XXXI. Sights and Scenes in Canton -408 ILLUSTRATIONS. A Jiipanese vSwimming-scene. Keproduced from PACE [ Mr. Bassett has Decided 17 Mary 18 Mai-y Thinking what she would Like from Japan ]!) Overland by Stage in tlie ( ilden Time 20 Overland by Rail in a Pnllman Car 21 Cooking-range in the ( )lden Time 24 Cooking range on a Pullman Car 24: Change foi' a Dollar — Before and After 25 Kathleen's Expectations for Frank and Fred. 2(i Effie Waiting for Somebody 28 Good-bye 29 Watering-place on the Erie I-{ailway 30 The Course of Empire ol Valley of the Neversink 32 Starncca Viaduct 33 Niagara Falls, f)-om the American Side 34 Entrance to the Cave of the Winds 3(i From Chicago to San Francisco 38 Omaha 39 Attacked by Indians 41 Herd of Buffaloes Moving 42 An Old Settler 43 "End of Track" 44 Snow-sheds on the Pacific Kailway 4') View at Cape Horn, Central Pacific Railway 46 Seal-rocks, San Francisco 47 Departure from San Francisco 48 Dropping the Pilot 40 The Golden Gate -"lO In the Fire-room 51 The Engineer at his Post 53 The Wind Rising 55 Spouts 57 Whale-ship Outward Bound 57 Captain Spoff'ord Telling his Story 58 New Bedford 50 a Painting by a Japanese Arlist. . , . Frontispiece. PAC.E Sperm-whale Oil "There she blows I' 01 Implements Used in Whaling 02 Whale " Breaching" 03 In the Whale's Jaw 04 Captain Hunting's Fight 06 A Game Fellow 67 A Free Ride 08 Captain Sammis Selling Out 70 Siiooting at a Water-spout 71 Frank Studying Navigation 73 Working up a Reckoning 75 View in the Bay of Yeddo 70 -Taiwanese .Junk and Boats 77 A Japanese Imperial Barge 73 Japanese Government Boat 79 Yokohama in 1854 81 A Japanese Street Scene 84 Japanese Musicians 80 Japanese Fishermen 87 " Sayonara" 88 Ja])anese Silk-sliop 89 Seven-stroke Horse 90 Female Head-dress 91 The Siesta 91 A Japanese at his Toilet for a Visit of Cere- mony 92 A Japanese Breakfast 95 Mutsuhito, Mikado of Japan 97 Landing of Perry's Expedition 98 The Last Shogoon of Japan 99 Third-class Passengers 1 02 Japanese Ploughing 1 03 Japanese Roller 104 Manuring Process 104 How they Use Manure 1 05 Mode of Protecting Land from Birds 106 14 ILLUSTRATIONS. Storks, Drawn by a Native Artist Flock of Geese Ports of Sliinagawa A Jin-riki-sha Jajjanese on Foot An Express Kiinner A Japanese Coolie Pity for the Blind View of Tokio, from the Soiitli Japanese Lady Coming from tlie Bath Fire-lookouts in Tokio Too Much Sa-kee Sakuradu Avenue in Tokio Japanese Children at Play The Feast of Dolls ("Hina j\[;iisnri") in a Japanese House A Barber at Work A Transaction in Clothes Ball-playing in Japan Sport at Asakusa Spire of a I'agoda Belfry in Court-yard of Temple, showing the Style of a Japanese Poof Shrine of the Goddess Ku-wanon Piaying-machine Archery Attendant A Japanese Flower-show. Night Scene . . A Christening in Japan A Wedding Party Strolling Singers at Asakusa View from Suruga Dai in Tokio A Child's Nurse Lo\"ers Behind a Screen. A Painting on Silk Exhibited at tlie Tokio Pair Blacksmitli's Bellows A Grass Overcoat A Tligh-priest in Full Costume A Japanese Temple A Wayside Shri ne The Great Kosatsn, near the Nihon Baslii. . Blowing Bubbles Fatlier and Children Caught in the Pain A Village on the Tokaido A Party on the Tokaido Beginning of Kelationsbelweeu Enghnid and Japan Pilgrims on the Koad 106 107 108 109 111 112 113 114 115 IIG 117 lis 119 121 122 1 23 124 12.") 12G 127 128 130 132 134 1 3.-. 137 138 130 140 140 141 142 143 145 14G US I -.0 ir,i I.-, 3 1.-.,-) 1.57 159 IGl 1G2 PAGE Threshing Grain 163 Peasant and his Wife Peturning from the Field 1G4 A Japanese Sandal 1C5 The Great Dai-Boots IGG Salutation of the Landlord ICS The Head Waiter Eeceiving Orders IGS A Japanese Kitclien 1 70 Boiling the Pot 171 Frank's Inventory I 72 How tlie Japanese Sleejj 173 A Japanese Fishing Scene 1 75 '^ Breakfast is ready" 176 Interior of a Tea-garden 178 The Path in Enoshima 170 A Groiij) of -lapanese Ladies 181 Specimen of Grotesque Drawing by a Jap- anese Artist 182 Bettos, or " Grooms," in Full Dress 185 A Japanese Loom 188 Artists at Work 1 89 Coopers Hooping a Vat 190 Crossing the Kiver . , 192 Mother and Son 193 A Fishing Party 194 Tlie Man they Jlet 1 96 Travelling by C.ingo 198 .Japanese Norimon ] 99 Frank's Position 200 Hot Bath in the Mountains 201 A Japanese Bath 202 The Lake of Hakone 203 Antics of the Iloi'ses 206 A Near Vie^v of Fnsiyama 207 In a Storm near Fusiyamn 208 Ascent of Fusiyama 211 The Four Classes of Society 216 Two-sworded Nobles 218 A Samuiai in Winter Dress 219 Beheading a Ci'irainal 221 .lapanese Court in the Old Style 224 .Japanese Naval Officer 225 .Ja])anese Steam Corvette 225 A Japanese War-junk of the Olden Time. . 226 A Japanese Wrestler 228 A Pair of Wrestlers and their Jlanagei- 230 The Clinch 231 Japanese Actor Dressed as a Doctor 233 ILLUSTRATIONS. 15 PAGE The Samisen 231 Playing tlie Samisen 23"i Scene from a Japanese Comedy. — Writing a Letter of Divorce 23G Scene from a Jajianese C!omedy. — Love-let- ter Discovered 237 Telling tlie Story of Bnmbnkii Chagama. . . 238 Frank's Fm-cliase 240 Japanese Pattern-designer 241 Fan-makers at \A^ork 241 Chinese Cloisonne on Metal 242 -Japanese Cloisonne on JMetal 243 Japanese Bowl 243 Cover of Japanese Bowl 244 Chinese Metal Vase 24f, Modern Japanese Cloisonne on Metal 247 Japanese Metal Cloisonne' 24S Chinese Porcelain Cloisonne' 248 Group Carved in Ivory 24'J Japanese Pipe, Case, and I'onch 249 Japanese Artist Chasing on Copper 251 A Japanese Village. — Bamboo Poles Ready for Market 2.'-)2 A Japanese Lady's-maid 2.54 Bride and Bridesmaid 255 Merchant's Family 255 Mysteiios of the Dressing-room . . 256 Lady in Winter Walking-dress 257 A Girl who had never Seen a Dressing- pin • 250 Ladies' Hair-dresser 26(1 Ladies at their Toilet 261 Japanese Ladies on a Picnic 262 Ladies and Children at Play 203 Flying Kites 2C4 A Village in the Tea District 266 Tea-merchants in the Interior 267 The Tea-plant 268 Firing Tea 269 Hiogo (Kobe) 270 The Junk at Anchor 271 The Helmsman at his Post 272 Japanese Sailors at Dinner 273 Junk Sailors on Duty 274 View from the Hotel 27G The Castle of Osaka 277 Vignette from the National Bank-notes. . . . 280 Imperial Crest for Palace Affiiirs 281 PAGE Imperial Crest on the New Coins 281 Old Kinsat, or Money-card 282 Ichi-boo 282 Vignette from Bank-note 283 Vignette from Bank-note 283 Men Towing Boats near (Jsaka 284 Mode of Holding the Tow-ropes 284 The Ferry-boat 285 The Hotel-maid 285 A Japanese Landscape 286 Dikes along the River 287 Night Scene near Fushinii 288 Women of Kioto 289 Ladies of the Western Cajiital 292 Restaurant and Tea-garden at Kioto 294 An Artist at Work 295 Lantern-maker at Kioto 295 A Japanese Archer 297 Temple Bell at Kioto 298 Reeling Cotton 298 Japanese Temple and Cemetery 299 Handcart for a Quartette 300 Horse Carrying Liquid Manure 301 The Paternal Nurse 301 Picnic Booth Overlooking Lake Biwa 302 A Maker of Bows 302 The Inland Sea near Hiogo 303 Approaching Simoneseki 304 Dangerous Place on the Suwo Nada 304 Pappenberg Island 305 Women of Nagasaki 306 A Christian Village in the Sixteenth Cen- tury 307 Monuments in Memory of Martyrs 308 A Path near Nagasaki 309 Hollander at Deshima Watching for a Ship 310 The Rain Dragon 311 The Wind Dragon 312 The Thunder Dragon 312 A Tyjihoon 314 Course of a Typhoon 316 Caught near the Storm's Centre 317 The Woosung Ri\er 318 Chinese Tradhtg-junk on the Woosnng River 319 Shanghai 321 A Coolie in the Streets of Shanghai 322 A Tea-house in the Country 324 Smoking Opium 324 16 ILLUSTRATIONS. Opinm-pipe 325 Man Blinded by the Use of Opium 32G Chinese Gentleman in a Sedan 327 Canal Scene South of Shanghai 328 A Chinese Family Party 330 A Gentleman of Chin-kiaug 331 Chinese Spectacles 332 Ploughing with a Buflalo 333 Thi-eshing Grain near Chin-kiang 333 Carrying Bundles of Grain'. 331 A Kiver Scene in CHiinii 335 A Nine-storied Pagoda 337 Little Orphan Rock 337 Entrance to Po-yang Lake 338 Tae-ping Rebels 340 General Ward 342 The Gate which Ward Attacked 343 General Bnrgevine 344 Fishing with Cormorants 347 A Street in Ilan-kow 349 Wo-chang 350 The Governoi-general and his Staff 351 Attack on the Pei-ho Forts 353 Temple of the Sea-god at Tnkn 355 A Chinese Beggar 355 Signing the Treaty of Tien-tsin 35(; jWode of Iriigating Fields 359 The Doctor's Bedioom 360 Part of the Wall of Pekin 3G1 A Pekin Cab 3G2 A Composite Te;mi 363 A Chinese Dragon 364 A Pavilion in the I'roliibited City 306 Temple of Heaven 367 Pekin Cash 367 Traditional Likeness of Confucius 368 God of War 368 God of Literature 368 God of Thieves 368 A Mandarin Judge Delivering Sentence. . . . 369 Squeezing the Fingers 371 Squeezing the Ankles 371 A Bed of Torture 372 Four Modes of Punishment 373 Standing in a Cage 374 rAGE Hot-water Snake 374 Carrying Forth to the Place of Execution. . 375 Just Before Decapitation 375 Military Candidates Competing with the Bow and Arrow 376 Walking on Stilts 378 Juggler Spinning a Plate 379 Gambling with a Revolving Pointer 379 Fortujie-telling by Means of a Bird and Slips of Paper 380 Fortune-telling by Dissecting Chinese C'liar- acters 381 Chinese Razor 382 Barber Shaving the Head of a Customer. . . 382 Bridge of the Cloudy Hills 383 The God of the Kitchen 384 A Lama 385 The Hills near Chan-kia-kow 386 Specimen of Chinese Wiiting 389 Four Illustrations of the Chinese Vei'sion of "Excelsior" 393 Bari-acoons at Macao 394 Coolies Embarking at Macao 395 Enraged Coolie 396 A Deadly Fall 396 Firing Down the llatch.vay 397 The Writing in Blood 398 The Interpreters 399 Hong-kong 401 Fac-simile of a Hong-kong Blille, Dime, and Cent 403 Fort in Canton River 404 Gateway of Temple near Canton 406 Street Scene in Canton 410 Five-storied Pagoda 412 Horseshoe or Omega Grave 413 Presenting Food to the Spirits of the Dead. 414 A Leper 414 A Literary Student 415 A Literary Graduate in his Robes of Honor 415 A Sedan-chair with Four Bearers 416 A Small Foot with a Shoe on it 417 Peasant-uoman with Natural Feet 417 A Tablet Carved in Ivory 419 ' ' Good-bve ! " 42 1 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTEE I. THE DEPARTURE. WELL, Frank," said Mr. Bassett, " the question is decided." Frank looked np with an expression of anxiety on his hand- some face. A twinkle in his fatlier's eyes told him that the decision was a favorable one. ^^__ " And you'll let me go with them, won't you, father ?" he an- swered. " Yes, my boy," said the father, " you can go." Frank was so full of joy that he couldn't speak for at least a couple of minutes. He threw his arms around Mr. Bassett ; then he kissed his mother and his sister Mary, who had just come into the room ; next he danced around the table on ^ one foot ; then he hugged his dog Nero, who wondered what it was all aboiit'; and he ended by again embracing his father, who stood smiling at the boy's delight. By this time Frank had' recovered the use of his tongue, and was able to express his gratitude in words. When the excitement was ended, Mary asked what had happened to make Frank fly around so. " Why, he's going to Japan," said Mrs. Bassett. MK liAbSl TT H^S DLCIULll IS THE BOY TRAVELLERS. " Going to Japan, and leave us all alone at liome !" Mary exclaimed, and then her lips and eyes indicated an intention to cry. Frank was eighteen years old and his sister was fifteen. Tliey were __^ very fond of each other, and the thought that her brother was to be separated from her for a while was painful to the girl. Frank kissed her again, and said, " I slia'n't be gone long, Mary, and I'll bring you sueli lots of nice things when I come back." Then tliere was another kiss, and Mary concluded slie would have her cry some other time. " But you won't let him go all alone, father, now, will you V she asked as they sat down to breakfast. " I tliink I could go alone," replied Frank, proudly, " and take care of niy- but I'm going with Cousin Fred and self ■ without anybody's help ; Doctor Bronson." " Better say Doctor Bronson and Cousin Fred," Mary answered, with a smile; "the Doctor is Fred's uncle and twenty years older." Frank corrected the mistake he had made, and said he was too much excited to remember all about the rules of grammar and etiquette. He had even forgotten that he was hungry ; at any rate, he had lost his ap- petite, and hardly touched the juicy steak and steaming potatoes that were before him. During breakfast, Mr. Bassett explained to Mary the outline of the proposed journey. Doctor Bronson was going to Japtan and China, and was to be accompanied by his nephew, Fred Bronson, who was very nearly Frank's age. Frank had asked his father's permission to join them, and Mr. Bassett had been considering the matter. He found that it would be very agreeable to Doctor Bronson and Fred to have Frank's company, and as the opportunity was an excellent one for the youth to see something of foreign lands under the excellent care of the Doctor, it did not take a long time for him to reach a favorable decision. " Doctor Bronson has been there before, hasn't he, father ?" said Maiy, when the explanation was ended. " Certaiidy, my child," was the reply ; " he has been twice around the world, and has seen nearly every civilized and uncivilized country in it. GOOD THINGS FROM ABROAD. 19 lie speaks three or foiTr languages fluently, and knows something of half a dozen others. Five years ago he was in Japan and China, and he is acquainted with many people living there. Don't you reinemher how he told us one evening about visiting a Japanese prince, and sitting cross-legged on the floor for half an hour, Mdjile they ate a dinner of boiled rice and stewed fish, and drank hot wine from little cups the size of a thimble ?" Mary remembered it all, and then declared she was glad Frank was going to Japan, and also glad that he was going with Doctor Bronson. And she added that the Doctor would know the best places for buying the presents Frank was to bring home. MARY THINKING WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE FROM JAPAN. "' A crape shawl for mother, and another for me ; now don't you for- get," said Mary ; " and some fans and some ivory combs, and some of those funny little cups and saucers such as Aunt Amelia has, and some nice tea to drink out of them." " Anything else ?" Frank asked. " I don't know just now," Mary answered ; " Til read all I can about Japan and China before you start, so's I can know all they make, and 20 TME BOY TRAVELLERS. then 111 write out a list. I want something of everything, you under- stand." "If that's the case," Frank retorted, "yon'd better wi-ap your list around a bushel of money. It'll take a good deal to buy the whole of those two countries." Mary said she would be satisfied with a shawl and a fan and anything else that was pretty. The countries might stay where they were, and there were doubtless a good many things in them that nobody^ would want anyway. All she wished was to have anything that was nice and pretty. For the next few days the proposed journey was the theme of conver- sation in the Bassett family. Mary examined all the books she could find about the countries her brother expected to visit ; then she made a list of the things she desired, and the day before his departure she gave him a sealed envelope containing the paper. She explained that he was not to open it until he reached Japan, and that he would find two lists of what she wanted. "The things marked 'number one' you must get anyway," she said, " and those marked ' number two ' you must get if you can." Frank thought she had shown great self-denial in makiug two lists ■fe^^;*' OVERLAND BY STAGE IN THE OLDEN TIME. PllEPAKATIONS FOR UEPAKTURE. 21 instead of one, but intimated that there was not much distinction in the conditions she proposed. lie promised to see about the matter wlien he reached Japan, and so the conversation on that topic came to an end. It did not take a long time to prepare Frank's wardrolje for the jour- ney. His grandmother bad an impression that lie was going on a whal- ing voyage, as her brother bad gone on one more than sixty years before. She proposed to give him two heavy jackets, a dozen pairs of woollen stockings, and a tarpaulin hat, and was sure he would need them. She •/ '^ /v (JVEKLAND BY KAIL IN A PULLMAN CAR. 22 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. was "undeceived when the diiTerence between a sea voyage of to-day and one of half a century ago was explained to her. The housemaid said he would not need any thick clothing if he was going to Japan, as it was close to Jernsaleni, and it was very hot there. 8he thought Jaj^an was a seaport of Palestine, but Mary made it clear to her that Japan and Jaffa were not one and the same place. When satisfied on this point, she ex- pressed the hope that the white bears and elephants wouldn't eat the poor boy up, and that the natives wouldn't roast him, as they did a missionary from her town when she was a little girl. "And, sure," she added, " lie won't want any clothes at all, at all, there, as the horrid natives don't wear nothing except a little cocoanut ile which they rubs on their skins." " What puts that into your head, Kathleen ?" said Mar}'-, with a laugh. "And didn't ye jest tell me," Kathleen replied, "that Japan is an isl- and in the Pacific Osliin? Sure it was an island in that same oshin where Father MuUaly was roasted alive, and the wretched natives drissed their- selves wid cocoanut ile. It was in a place they called Feejee."' Mary kindly explained that the Pacific Ocean was very large, and con- tained a great many islands, and that the spot where Father Mullaly was cooked was some thousands of miles from Japan. At breakfast the day before the time fixed for Frank's departure, Mr. Bassett told his son that he must make the most of his journey, enjoy it as much as possible, and briiig back a store of useful knowledge. " To accomplish this," he added, " several things will be necessary ; let us see what thej are." " Careful observation is one requisite," said Frank, " and a good mem- ory is another." " Constant remembrance of home," Mrs. Bassett suggested, and Mary nodded in assent to her mother's proposition. " Courage and perseverance," Frank added. "A list of the things you are going to buy," Mary remarked. "A light trunk and a cheerful disposition," said Doctor Bronson, who had entered the room just as this turn of the conversation set in. " One thing more," Mr. Bassett added. " I can't think of it," replied Frank ; " what is it ?" " Money." "Oh yes, of course; one couldn't very well go travelling without inonev. I'm old enough to know that, and to know it is very bad to be away from one's friends without money." The Doctor said it reminded him of a man who asked another for ten cents to pay his ferriage across the Mississippi River, and explained that A LETTER OF CKEDIT. 23 he hadn't a single penny. The other man answered, " It's no use throw- ing ten cents away on you in that fashion. If you haven't any money, you are just as well off on this side of the river as on the other." " You will need money," said Mr. Eassett, " and here is something that will get it." He handed Frank a donble sheet of paper with some printed and written matter on the first jmge, and some printed lists on the third and fourth pages. The second page was blauk ; the first page read as follows : LETTER OF CREDIT. New York, June ISt/t, 1878. To OnU COERESPONDEN'TS : We have the pleasure of introducing to you Mr. Frank Bassett, tlie bearer of this letter, whose signature you will find in the margin. We beg you to honor his drafts to the amount of two hundred pounds sterling, upon our Loudon liouse, all deductions and conimissions be- ing at Iris expense. We have the honor to remain, Gentlemen, Very truly yours, Blank & Co. The printed matter on the third and fourth pages was a list of bank- ing-houses in all the principal cities of the world. Frank observed that every country was included, and there was not a city of any prom- inence that was not named in the list, and on the same line with the list was the name of a banking-house. The paper was passed around the table and examined, and finally returned to Frank's hand. Mr. Bassett then explained to his son the uses of the document. " I obtained that paper," said he, " from the great house of Blank & Company. I paid a thousand dollars for it, but it is made in pounds ster- ling because the drafts are to be drawn on London, and you know that pounds, sltillings, and pence are the currency of England." " When you want money, you go to any house named on that list, no matter what part of the woi-ld it may be, and tell them how much you want. They make out a draft which you sign, and then they pay you the money, and write on the second page the amount you have drawn. Yoti get ten pounds in one place, ten in another, twenty in another, and you continue to draw whenever you wish. Each banker puts down the amount you have received from him on the second page, and you can keep on drawing till the sum total of your drafts equals the figures named on the first page. Then your credit is said to be ex- hausted, and you can draw no more on that letter." 24 THE BOY TliAVELLERS. " How very convenient that is !" said Frank ; " yon clun't have to carry money around with you, but get it when and where you want it." " You must be very careful not to lose that letter," said Mr. Bassett. " Would the money be lost al- together V Frank asked in return. /■^ COOKING-KANGK IN THE OLDEN TIME. CUOKING-KANGE UN A I'ULLiMAN CAK. " No, the money would not be lost, but your credit would be gone, and of no use. A new letter would be issued in place of the missing one, but only after some months, and wlien the bankers had satisfied themselves that there was no danger of the old one ever being used again." "Can I get any kind of money with this letter, father?" Frank in- quired, "or must I take it in pounds sterling? That would be very in- convenient sometimes, as I would have to go around and sell my pounds and buy the money of the country." " They always give you," was the replj', " the money that circulates in the country where j'Oii are. Here they would give you dollars ; in INCONVENIENT CURRENCY. 25 Japan you will get Japanese money or Mexican dollars, which are cur- rent there ; in India they would give j^ou rupees ; in Ilussia, rabies ; in Italy, lire ; in France, francs ; in Spain, pesetas, and so on. They give you the ecpiivalent of the amount you draw on your letter." This reminded the Doctor of a story, and at the general request he told it. A traveller stopped one night at a tavern in the interior of Minne- sota. On paying his bill in the morning, he received a beaver skin in- stead of a dollar in change that was due him. The landlord explained that beaver skins were legal tender in that region at a dollar each. lie hid the skin under his coat, walked over the street to a trrocerv store, and asked the grocer if it was true that beaver skins were legal tender for one dollar each. CHANGE FOE A DOLLAR — EEPORE AND AFTER. " Certainly," answered the grocer, " everybody takes them at that rate." " Then be kind enough to change me a dollar bill," said the stranger, drawing the beaver skin from under his coat and laying it on the counter. The grocer answered that he was only too happy to oblige a stranger, and passed out four musk-rat skins, which were legal tender, as he said, at twenty-iive cents each. " Please, Doctor," said Mary, " what do you mean by legal tender f The Doctor explained that legal tender was the money which the law declares should be the proper tender, or offer, in paying a debt. " If 26 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. I owed jour father a hundred dollars," said he, " I could not compel him to accept the whole amount in ten-cent pieces, or twenty-five-cent pieces, or even in half-dollars. When the government issues a coin, it places a hmit for which that coin can be a legal tender. Tims the ten-cent piece is a legal tender for all debts of one dollar or less, and the half-dollar for debts of five dollars or less." Mary said that when she was a child, ten cherries were exchanged among her schoolmates for one ajiple, two apples for one pear, and two pears for one orange. One day she took some oranges to school intend- ing to exchange them for cherries, of which she was'very fond ; she left them in Katie Smith's desk, but Katie was hungry and ate one of the oranges at recess. " Not the first time the director of a bank has appropriated part of the funds," said the Doctor. " Didn't you find that an orange would buy more clierries or apples at one time than at another ?" "Why, certainly," Mary answered, "and sometimes they wouldn't buy any cherries at all." "Bankers and merchants call that the fiiictuation of exchano-es," said KATHLEEN S E.Xl'ECTATIONS FUR FKANK AND EHE1>. STARTING FROM HOME. 27 Mr. Bassett ; and with this remark he rose from tlie table, and the party broke up. The next morning a carriage containing Doctor Bronson and liis nephew, Fred, drove np in front of Mr. Eassett's house. Tliere were farewell kisses, and hopes for a prosperous journey; and in a few minutes the three travellers were on their way to the railway station. There was a waving of handkerciiiefs as the cai-riage started from the house and rolled away ; Nero barked and looked wistfully after his young master, and the warm-iiearted Kathleen wiped her eyes with the corner of lier apron, and flung an old shoe after the departing vehicle. " And sure," she said, " and I hope that wretched old Feejee won't be in Japan at all, at all, and the horrid haythens won't roast him." As they approached the station, Frank appeared a little nervous about something. The cause of his anxiety was apparent when the carriage stopped. He was the first to get ont and the first to mount the platform. Somebody was evidently waiting for him. Doctor Bronson followed him a minute later, and heard something- like the following: " There, now, don't cry. Be a good girl, and I'll bring yon the nicest little pigtail, of the most Celestial pattern, from China." " I tell you, Mr. Frank Bassett, I'm not crying. It's the dust in tlie road got into my eyes." " But you are ; there's another big tear. I know you're sorry, and so am I. But I'm coming back." " I shall be glad to see you when you come back ; of course I shall, for your sister's sake. And you'll be writing to Mary, and she'll tell me where you are. And when she's writing to you she'll — " The bright little face turned suddenly, and its owner saw the Doctor standing near with an amused expression on his features, and, perhaps, a little moisture in his eyes. She uttered a cheery " Good-morning," to which the Doctor returned, " Good-morning, Miss Effie. This is an unexpected pleasure." " You see. Doctor" (she blushed and stammered a little as she sjioke), "you know I like to take a walk in the morning, and happened to come down to the station." " Of course, quite accidental," said the Doctor, w'ith a merry twinkle in his eyes. " Yes, that is, I knew Frank — I mean Mr. Bassett — that is, I knew you were all three going away, and I tliouglit I might come down and see you start." 28 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. " Quite proper, Miss Effie," was the reply ; " so good-bye : I must look !r the tickets and the baa-a'age." " Good-bye, Doctor Bronsou ; good-bye, Mr. Fred. Bon voyage /" EFFIE WAITING FOR SOMKBObV. GOOD-BYE, SWEETHEART ! 29 Frank lingered behind, and the rest of tlie dialogue lias not been re- corded. " She's a nice girl," said Fred to the Doctor as they made their way to the ticket -office. "And she's very fond of Mary Bassett, Frank's sister. Spiteful people say, thongh, that she's oftener in Frank's company than in Mary's ; and I know Frank is ready to pnnch the head of any other boy that dares to look at her." " Quite so," answered Dr. Bronson ; " I don't think Frank is likely to be forgetful of home." Soon the wldstle sounded, the great train rolled into the station, tlie conductor shouted " All aboard !" our friends took their seats, the bell rang, and the loco- motive coughed asthmatically as it moved on. Frank looked back as long as the station was in sight. Somebody continued to wave a delicate handkerchief until the train had good-bye. disappeared; somebody's eyes were full of tears, and so were the eyes of somebody else. Somebody's good wishes followed the travellers, and the travellers — Frank especially — wafted back good wishes for that somebody. 30 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTER II. OVERLAND TO CALIFORNIA. OUR three travellers were seated in a Pullman car on the Erie Rail- way. Frank remarked that they were like the star of empire, as thej^ were taking their way westward. Fred replied that he thought the star of empire had a much harder time of it, as it had no cushioned seat to rest upon, and no ])late-glass window to look from. WATERING-PLACE ON THE ERIE RAILWAY. WESTWARD, HO! 31 THE COURSE OP EMPIEE. "And it doesn't go at the rate of thirty miles an honi," the Doctor added. "I'm not sure tliat I know exactly what the star of empire means," said Frank. " I nsed the expression as I have seen it, but can't tell what it comes from." He looked appealingly at Doctor Bronson. The latter smiled kindly, and then explained the origin of the phrase. "It is fonnd,"said the Doctor, "in a short poem that was written more than a hundred and fifty years ago, by Bishop Berkeley. The last verse is like this : "Westward the coiiise of empire takes its way ; The first four acts ah-eady past, A fifth shall close the drama witli the day : Time's noblest offspring is the last." ■?,">, T?IE BOY TRAVELLERS. " You see the popular qnotatiou is wrong," he added ; " it is the covrse of empire that is mentioned in the poem, and not the 6/«?'." "I suppose," said Fred, "that the Bisliop referred to the discovery of America hj Columhus vhen he sailed to the West, and to the settlement of America which began on the Eastern coast and then went on to the West." " You are exactly right," was the reply. Frank added that he thought " star of empire " more poetical than " course of empire." "But course is more near to the truth," said Fred, "than star. Don't you see that Bishop Berkeley wrote before railways were invented, and before people could travel as they do nowadays ? Emigrants, when they went out West, went with wagons, or on horseback, or on foot. They travelled by day and rested at night. Now — don't you see ? — they made their course in the daytime, when they couldn't see the stars at all ; and when the stars were out, they were asleep, unless the wolves or the Indians kept them awake. Tliey were too tired to waste any time over a twink- ling star of empire, but they knew all about the course." Tliere was a laugh all around at Fred's ingenious defence of the au- thor of the verse in cpiestion, and then the attention of the party was turned to the scenery along the route. Although living near the line of VALLEY OF THE NEVEESINK. THE VALLEY OF THE NEVERSINK. 33 the Erie Kailwa}', neitlier of tlie boys had ever been west of his station. Everytliing was therefore new to the youths, and they took great interest in the panorama that unrolled to their eyes as the train moved on. They were particularly pleased with the view of the valley of the Neversink, with its background of mountains and the pretty town of Port Jervis in the distance. The railway at one point winds around the edge of a hill, and is far enough above the valley to give a view several miles in extent. Frank had heard much about the Starucca Viaduct, and so had Fred, and they were all anxiety to see it. Frank thought it would be better to STAKnCCA VIADUCT. call it a bridge, as it was only a bridge, and nothing more ; but Fred in- clined to the opinion that "viaduct" sounded larger and higher. "And remember," said he to Frank, "it is more than twelve hundred feet long, and is a hundred feet above the valley. It is large enough to have a much bigger name than viaduct." Frank admitted the force of the argument, and added that he didn't care what name it went by, so long as it carried them safely over. When they were passing the famous place, they looked out and saw the houses and trees far below them. Fred said they seemed to be riding in the air, and he thought he could understand how people must feel in a balloon. Doctor Bronson said he was reminded of a story about the viaduct. 3 34 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. " Oil ! tell it, please," said the two boys, in a breath. " It is this," answered the Doctor. " When the road was first opened, a countryman came to the backNvoods to the station near the end of the bridge. He had never seen a railway before, and had much curiosity to look at the cars. When the train came along, he stepped aboard, and before he was aware of it the cars were moving. He felt the lioor trem- iNlAGAKA FALLS, niOM TUL AMERICAN SlIJL. A DAY AT NIAGARA. 35 bling, and as he looked from tlie window the train was just coming upon the viaduct, lie saw the earth falling away, apparently, the tree-tops far below him, and the cattle very small in the distance. lie turned pale a.'< a sheet, and almost fainted. He had just strength enongli to say, in a tronbled voice, to the man nearest him, " Say, stranger, how far does this thing fly before it lights ?" "I don't wonder at it," said Fred; "you see, I thought of the same thing when the train was crossing." The railway brought the party to I^iagara, where they spent a day visiting the famous cataract and the objects of interest in the vicinity. Frank pronounced the cataract wonderful, and so did Fred; whereupon the Doctor told them of the man who said ISfiaffara was not at all wonderful, as any other water put there would run down over the Falls, since there was nothing to hinder its doing so. The real wonder would be to see it go up again. Tliey looked at the Falls from all the points of view. They went un- der the Canadian side, and they also went under the Central Fall, and into the Cave of the Winds. They stood for a long time Avatching the water tumbling over Florseshoe Fall, and they stood equally long on the Ameri- can side. When the day was ended, the boys asked the Doctor if he would not permit them to remain another twenty-four hours. " Why so ?" the Doctor asked. " Because," said Frank, with a bit of a blush on his cheeks — " because we want to write home about Niagara and our visit here. Fred wants to tell his mother about it, and I want to write to my mother and to Mary, and — and — " "Miss Effie, perhajDS," Fred suggested. Frank smiled, and said he might drop a line to Miss Effie if he had time, and he was pretty certain there would be time if they remained an- other day. Doctor Bronson listened to the appeal of the bo^'s, and when they were through he took a toothpick from his pocket and settled back in his chair in the parlor of the hotel. "Your request is very natural and proper," he answered ; "but there are several things to consider. Niagara has been described many times, and those who have never seen it can easily know about it from books and other accounts. Consequently what you would write about the Falls would be a repetition of much that has been written before, and even your personal impressions and experiences would not be far different from those of others. I advise you not to attempt anything of the kind, and, at 36 THE BOY TKAVKLLEKS. EXTItANiJL TO Till. CAVE OF THK \\IMt.S. all events, not to stop liere a day for that purpose. Spend tlie evening: in writing brief letters liome, but do not undertake a de.scri])tion of tlie P'alls. If yon want to stay a day in order to see more, we will stay, 1jnt otlierwise we will go on." The boys readilj' aeeepted iJoctor Bronson's suggestion. Thej' wrote short letters, and Frank did not forget iliss EfKe. Then they went out to ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 37 see the Falls by inoonliglit, and in good season tliey went to bed, wLei'e tliey slept admirably. The next day the journey was resumed, and they had a farewell view of Kiagara from the windows of the car as they crossed the Suspension Eridge from the American to the Canadian side. (Jn they went over tlie Great Western Railway of Canada, and then over the Michigan Central ; and on the morning after leaving ^'iagara they rolled into Chicago. Here they sjjent a day in visiting the interest- ing places in the Lake City. An old friend of Doctor Ijronson came to see him at the Trernont House, and took the party out for a drive. L'nder the guidance of this hospitable citizen, they were taken to see the City- hall, the stock-yards, the tunnel under the river, tlie grain-elevators, and other things with which every one who spends a short time in Chicago is sure to be made familiar. They were shown the traces of tlie great fire of 1870, and were shown, too, what progress had been made in rebuilding the city and removing the signs of the calamity. Before they finished their tour, they had absorbed much of the enthusiasm of their guide, and were ready to pronounce Chicago the most remarkable city of the present time. As they were studying the map to lay out their route westward, the boys noticed that tlie lines of the railways radiated in all directions from Chicago, like the diverging cords of a spider's web. Everywhere they stretched out except over the surface of Lake Michigan, where railway building has thus far been impossible. The Doctor exyjlained that Chi- cago was one of the most important railway centres in the United States, and owed much of its prosperity to the network they saw on the map, " I have a question," said Frank, suddenly brightening up. " Well, what is it «" " Why is that network we have just been looking at like a crow call- ing to his mates ?" " Give it up ; let's liave it." "Because it makes Chi-ca-go." "What's that to do with the crow?" Fred asked. "Wliy, everything," Frank answered; "the crow makes ye-caw-go, doesn't it ?" " Kow, Frank," the Doctor said, as he laughed over the conundrum, "making puns when we're a thousand miles from home and going west! However, that will do for a beginner ; but don't try too often." Fred thought he must say something, but was undecided for a mo- ment. The room was open, and as he looked into the hall, he saw the chambermaid approaching the opposite door with the evident intention 38 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. ■^-W •^;5V.tc-, :.;-J^i|^ ^ FLUI.M CHICAGO TO SAN FISASCISCO. CROSSING THE MISSOURI RIVER. 39 of looking throngli the keyhole. This gave him his opjtovtunity , and he proposed his question. " Why are we like that cliambermaid over there V " Tlie Doctor and Frank couldn't tell, and Fred answered, triumph- antly, " Because we're going to Pek-in." " I think you boys are about even now,'' said the Doctor, " and may stop for the present." They agreed to call it quits, and resumed their study of the map. They decided to go by the Northwestern Railway to Omaha. From the latter place thej- had no choice of route, as there was only a single line of road between Omaha and California. From Chicago westward they traversed the rich prairies of Illinois and Iowa — a broad expanse of flat country, which wearied them with its mo- notony. At Omaha they crossed the Missouri River on a long bridge ; and wliile they were crossing, Frank wrote some lines in his note-book to the effect that tlie Missouri was the longest river in the world, and was sometimes called the " Big Muddy," on account of its color. It looked 40 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. like coffee after milk lias been added ; and was once said by Senator Ben- ton to be too thick to swim in, bnt not thick enough to walk on. Now they had a long ride before them. The Union Pacific Eailway begins at Omaha and ends at Ogden, 1016 miles farther west. It con- nects at Ogden with the Central Pacific Railway, 882 miles long, which terminates at San Francisco. As they rode along they had abnndant time to learn the history of the great enterprise that unites the Atlantic and' Pacific coasts, and enables one to travel in a single week from Xew York to San Francisco. The Doctor had been over the rente previously ; and he had once crossed the Plains before the railway was constructed. Con- sequently, he was an excellent authority, and had an abundant store of information to draw from. " The old way of crossing the Plains and the new way of doing the same thing," said Doctor Bronson, "are as different as black and white. My first journey to California was with an ox- wagon, and it took me six months to do it. Now we shall make the same distance in four days." " What a difference, indeed !" the boys remarked. "We walked by the side of our teams or behind the wagons, we slept on the ground at night, we did our own cooking, we washed our knives by sticking them into the ground rapidly a few times, and we washed our plates with sand and wisps of grass. Wlien we stopped, we arranged our wagons in a circle, and thus formed a 'corral,' or yard, where we drove our oxen to yoke them up. And the corral was often very useful as a fort, or camp, for defending ourselves against the Indians. Do you see that little hollow down there?" he asked, pciinting to a depression in the ground a short distance to tlie right of the train. " Well, in that hollow our wagon-tram was kept three days and nights by the Indians. Three days and nights they stayed around, and made several attacks. Two of our men were killed and three were wounded by their arrows, and others had narrow escapes. One arrow hit me on the throat, but I was saved by the knot of my neckerchief, and the point only tore the skin a little. Since that time I have always had a fondness for large neckties. I don't know how many of the Indians we killed, as they carried off their dead and wounded, to save them from being scalped. Next to getting the scalps of their enemies, the most important thing with the Indians is to save their own. We had several fights during our journey, but tliat one was the worst. Once a little party of us were surrounded in a small ' wallow,' and had a tough time to defend ourselves successfully. Luckily for us, the Indians had no fire-arms then, and their bows and arrows were no match for our rifles. Nowadays they are well armed, but there are FIGHTING ON THE PLAINS. 41 ^•^^t^^Mii ATTACKED BY INDIANS. not so many of them, and they are not inclined to trouble the railway trains. They nsed to do a great deal of mischief in the old times, and many a poor fellow has been killed by them.'' Frank asked if the Doctor saw any bntfaloes in his first jonrney, and it he ever went on a bufEalo-hunt. "Of course," was the reply; " buffaloes were far more nnmerons t leu than now, and sometimes the herds were so large that it took an entire day, or even longer, for one of them to cross the road. Twice we were nnable to cro on because the buffaloes were in the way, and so all of us who had rifles went out for a hunt. I was one of the lucky ones, and we went on m a party of four. Creeping along behind a ridge of earth we managed to get near two buffaloes that were slightly separated from the rest of the herd. We spread out, and agreed that, at a given signal from the tore- most man, we were to fire together-two at one buffalo and two at the other We fired as we had agreed. One buffalo fell with a severe wound, and was soon finished with a bullet through his heart; the other turned and ran upon us, and, as I was the first man he saw, he ran at me. Just then I remembered that I had forgotten something at the camp, and. as I wanted it at once, I started back for it as fast as I could go. .. was -1:2 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. a sharp race between the buffalo and me, aud, as he had twice as many legs as I could count, he made the best speed. I could hear his heavy breathing close behind me, and his footsteps, as he galloped along, sounded as though somebody were pounding the ground with a large hammer. Just as I began to think he would soon have me on his horns, I heard the report of a rifle at one side. Then the buflfalo stumbled and fell, and I ventured to look around. One of the men from camp had fired just in time to save me from a very unpleasant predicament, and I concluded I didn't want any more buffalo-hunting for that day." Hardly had the Doctor finished his story when there was a long whistle from the locomotive, followed b^^ several short ones. The sjteed of the train was slackened, and, while the passengers were wondering what was the matter, the conductor came into the car where our friends were seated and told them there was a herd of buffaloes crossing the track. " We shall run slowly through the herd," the conductor explained, '•' and you will have a good chance to see the buffalo at home." The)^ opened the windows and looked out. Sure enough; the ])lain UKKU or BUFFALOES MOVING. AMONG THE BUFFALOES. 43 Mas covered, away to the soutli, with a dark expanse like a forest, but, unlike a forest, it appeared to be in motion. Very soon it was apparent that what seemed to be a forest was a herd of animals. As the train approached the spot where the herd was ci'ossing the track, the locomotive save its loudest and shrillest shrieks. The noise AS OLD SETTLER. 44 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. Lad the effect of frigliteniiig the biiffahjes siitficicntly to stop those which had not crossed, and in the gap thus formed tlie train moved on. Tlie boj's were greatly interested in the appearance of the beasts, and Frank declared he had never seen anything that looked more fiei'ce than one of the old bnlls, with his shaggy mane, his humped shoulders, and his sharp, glittering eyes. lie was quite contented with the shelter of the railway- car, and said if the buffalo wanted him he must come inside to get him ; or give him a good rifle, so that they could meet on equal terms. Several of the passengers tired at the buffaloes, but Fred was certain he did not see anything drop. In half an hour the train had passed through the herd, and was moving on as fast as ever. On and on they went. The Doctor pointed out many places of inter- est, and told them how the road was built through the wilderness. " It was,'' said he, '■ the most remarkable enterprise, in some respects, that has ever been known. The working force was divided into parties like the divisions of an army, and each had its separate duties. Ties were cut and hauled to the line of the road; the ground was broken and made ready for the track; tlien the ties were placed in jiosition, the rails were brought forward and spiked in place, and so, length by length, the road crept on. On the level, open country, four or Ave miles of road were built every day, and in one instance they built more than seven miles in a single day. There was a construction-train, where the laborers boarded and lodged, and this train went forward every day with the road. It was a sort of moving city, and was known as the 'End of Track;' there was a post-office in it, and a man who lived there could get his letters the same as though his residence had been stationary. The Union Pacific Com- '' END OF TRACK. THE PACIFIC RAILWAY. 45 panj' built west from Omaha, while the Central Pacific Compari}' bnilt east from Sacramento. They met in the Great Salt Lake valley ; and then there was a grand ceremony over the placing of the last rail to con- nect the East with the West. The continent was spanned by the railwaj', and our great seaboards were neighbors." Westward and westward went our travellers. From the Missouri River, the train crept gently up the slope of the Rocky Mountains, till it halted to take breath at the summit of the Pass, more than eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. Then, speeding on over the Laramie Plains, down into the great basin of LTtah, winding through the green carpet of Echo Canon, skirting the shores of Cireat Salt Lake, shooting like a sunbeam over the wastes of the alkali desert, climbing the Sierra Nevada, darting through the snow -sheds and tunnels, descending the western slope to the level of the Pacific, it came to a halt at Oakland, on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The last morning of their journey our travellers were among the snows on the summit of the Sierras; at noon they were breathing the warm air of the lowlands of California, and before sundown they were looking out throngli the Golden Gate upon SNOW-SHEDS ON THE PACIFIC RAILWAY. 46 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. iii'"!iffr"'ii Yil^:^V AT CAPB HORN, CI'^NTKAL PACIFIC KAILAVAV. the blue waters of the great Western ocean. Nowhere else in the world does tlie railway bring all the varieties of climate more closely together. San Francisco, the City by the Sea, was full of interest for our jonng adventurers. They walked and rode throngh its streets; they climbed its steej) hill-sides; they gazed at its long lines of magnificent buildings: they went to the Cliff House, and saw the seadious by dozens and hun- dreds, within easy rifle-shot of their breakfast-table; they steamed ovci' the bay, where the navies of the world might find safe anchorage ; they had a glimpse of the Flowery Kingdom, in the Chinese quarter; and they wondered at the vegetable products of the Golden State as they found them in the market-place. Long letters were wi-itten home, and before BY THE WESTERN OCEAN. 47 they had studied California to their satisfaction it was time for tliem to set sail for what Fred called " the under-side of the world." SKAL-RDCKS, SAN FKANUISCO. 48 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTER III. ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN. OFFICERS and men were at tlieir posts, and tlie good steamer Oceanic was ready for departure. It was a few minutes before noon. As the i:rst note was sounded on the bell, the gangway plank was drawn in. "One," "two," "three," "four," "five," "six," "seven," "eight," rang out from the sonorous metal. The captain gave tlie order to cast off the lines. Hardly liad the echo of his words ceased before the lines had fallen. Then he rang the signal to the engineer, and the great screw began to revolve beneath the stern of Dli]'AKIURE FROM SAN FKANCISCO. FAKEWELL TO SAN FRANCISCO. 49 tlie ship. Promptly at the advertised time the huge craft was under way. The crowd on the dock cheered as she moved slowly on, and they cheered again as she gathered speed and ploughed the water into a track of foam. The cheers grew fainter and fainter; faces and forms were no longer to be distinguished ; the waving of hats and kerchiefs ceased ; the long dock became a speck of black against the hilly shore, and the great city faded from sight. DROPPING THE PILOT. Overhead was the immense blue dome of the sky ; beneath and around were the waters of San Francisco Bay. On the right was Monte Diablo, like an advanced sentinel of the Sierras ; and on the left were the sand-hills of the peninsula, covered with the walls and roofs of the great city of the Pacific Coast. The steamer moved on and on through the Golden Gate ; and in less than an hour from the time of leaving the dock, she dropped her pilot, the gangway passage Was closed, and her prow pointed to tlie westward for a voyage of five thousand miles. "What a lovely picture !" said the Doctor, as he waved his hand tow- ards the receding shore. 50 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE GOLDEN GATE. '■', "AVhy do they call that the Golden Gate?" Fred asked. "Because," was the reply, "it is, or was, the entrance to the land of gold. It was so named after the discovery of gold in California, and until the completion of the Overland Eailway it was the principal pathway to the country where everybody expected to make a fortune." "It IS very wide, and easy of navigation," the Doctor continued, "and yet a stranger might not be aware of its existence, and might sail by it if he did not know where to look for the harbor. A ship must get well in towards the land before the Golden Gate is visible." "How long shall we be on the voyage. Doctor*" "If nothing happens," he answered, " we shall see the coast of Japan in abou twenty days. We have five thousand utiles to go, and I understand the ^steamer w:ll make two hundred and fifty miles a day in good weather " VV 111 we stop anywhere on the way ?" "There is not a stopping-place on the whole route. We are not vet mrt of sight of the Golden Gate, and already we are steering for Cape Kmg, at the entrance of Yeddo Bay. There's not even an island or a solitary rock on our course." ' to stcn '' F,?d' ' '"It' '''"' '" "'""' "■'°" '''' ^^^^ -tended to stop, _bred I'emarked. "So you have," was the reply; "an island was discovered son.e years ago, and was named Brook's Island, in honor of its discoverer. It was bought a first tl.t the place might be convenient as a coaling station, but It .s too far from the track of the steamers, and, besides, it has no harbor where ships can anchor. A SHIP FOUND AFTER FIFTY YEARS. 51 " There is a cnrious story in connection witli it. In 1816 a ship, the Canton, sailed from Sitka, and was supposed to have been lost at sea, as she never reached her destination. Fifty years later this island was dis- covered, and upon it was part of the wreck of the Canton. There were traces of the huts which were built by the crew during their stay, and it was evident that they constructed a smaller vessel from the fragments of the wreck, and sailed away in it." " And were lost in it, I suppose?" " Undoubtedly, as nothing has ever been heard from them. They did not leave any history of themselves on the island, or, at any rate, none was ever found." At this moment the steward rang the pireparatory bell for dinner, and IN THE FIRE-KOOM. 52 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. the conversation ended. Half an hour later dinner was on the table, and the passengers sat down to it. The company was not a large one, and there was abundant room and abundant food for everybody. The captain was at the head of the table, and the purser at the foot, and between them were the various passengers in the seats which had been reserved for them by the steward. The pas- sengers included an American consul on his way to his post in Cliina, and an American missionary, bound for the same country. There were several merchants, interested in commercial matters between the United States and the Far East ; two clerks, going out to appointments in China ; two sea-captains, going to take command of ships; a doctor and a min- ing engineer in the service of the Japanese government; half a dozen "globe-trotters," or tourists; and a very mysterious and nondescript in- dividual, whom we shall know more about as W'e proceed. The consul and the missionary were accompanied by their families. Their waves and daughters were the only ladies among the passengers, and, according to the usual custom on board steamers, they were seated next to the cap- tain in the places of highest honor. Doctor Bronson and his young- companions were seated near the purser, whom they found very amiable, and they had on the opposite side of the table the two sea-captains alreadj' mentioned. Everybody appeared to realize that the voyage was to be a long one, and the sooner the party became acquainted, the better. By the end of dinner they had made excellent progress, and formed several likes and dislikes that increased as time went on. In the evening the passengers sat about the cabin or strolled on deck, continuing to grow in acquaintance, and before the ship had been twenty-four hours at sea it was hard to real- ize that the company had been assembled so recently. Brotherly friend- ships as well as brotherly hati'eds grew with the rapidity of a beanstalk, and, happily, the friendships were greatly in the majority. Life on a steamship at sea has many peculiarities. The ship is a world in itself, and its boundaries are narrow. You see the same faces day after day, and on a great ocean like the Pacific there is little to attract the at- tention outside of the vessel that carries you. You have sea and sky to look upon to-day as you looked upon them yesterday, and will look on them to-morrow. The sky may be clear or cloudy; fogs may envelop you ; storms may arise, or a calm may spread over the waters ; the great ship goes steadily on and on. The pulsations of the engine seem like those of the human heart ; and when you wake at night, your first endeavor, as you collect your thoughts, is to listen for that ceaseless throbbing. One LIFE AT SEA. 53 falls into a nionotonons way of life, and the days mil on one after another, till you find it difficult to distinguish them apart. The hours for meals are the principal hours of the da}', and with many per- sons the table is tlie place of greatest importance. They wander from deck to saloon, and from saloon to deck again, and hardly has the table been cleared after one meal, before they are thinking what they will have for the next. The managers of our great ocean lines have noted this peculiarity of human nature ; some of tliem give no less than live meals a day, and if a pas- senger should wish to eat something between times, he could be dated. Our younj accommo- friends THE ENGINEER AT HIS POST. were too much absorbed with the novelty of their situation to allow the time to hang heavy on their hands. Everj'thing was new and strange to them, but, of course, it was far otherwise with Doctor Bronson. They had many questions to ask, and he was never weary of answering, as he saw they were endeavoring to remember what they heard, and were not interrogating him from idle curiosity. " What is the reason they don't strike the hours here as they do on land V Frank inquired, as they reached the deck after dinner. The Doctor explained that at sea the time is divided into watches, or periods, of four hours each. Tlie bell strikes once for each halfdiour, until four hours, or eight bells, are reached, and then they begin again. One o'clock is designated as " two bells," half-past one is " three bells," and 54 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. four o'clock is "eight bells." Eight o'clock, noon, and midnight are also signalled by eight strokes on the bell, and after a little while a traveller accustoms himself to the new mode of keeping time. Fred remembered that when they left San Francisco at noon, the bell struck eight times, instead of twelve, as he thought it should have struck. The Doctor's explanation made it clear to him. The second day out the boys began to repeat all the poetry they could remember about the sea, and were surprised at the stock they had on hand. Fred recalled something he had read in IIarj)er^s Magazine, which ran as follows : "Far upon the unknown deep, 'Mid the billows circling round, Where the tireless sea-birds sweep ; Outward bound. Nothing but a speck we seem, In the waste of waters round, Floating, iioating like a dream ; Outward bound." Frank was less sentimental, and repeated these lines : "Two things break the monotony Of a great ocean trip : Sometimes, alas ! you ship a sea, And sometimes see a ship." Then they called upon the Doctor for a contribution, original or select- ed, with this result : " The praises of the ocean grand, 'Tis very well to sing on land. 'Tis \ery fine to hear them carolled By Thomas Campbell or Childe Harold ; But sad, indeed, to see that ocean From east to west in wild commotion." The wind had been freshening since noon, and the rolling motion of the ship was not altogether agreeable to the inexperienced boys. They were about to have their first accpuaintance with sea-sickness ; and though they held on ixianfully and remained on deck through the afternoon, the ocean proved too much for them, and they had no appetite for dinner or supper. But their malady did not last long, and by the next morning they were as merry as ever, and laughed over the event. They asked the Doctor to explain the cause of their trouble, but he shook his head, and said the whole thing was a great puzzle. PECULIARITIES OF SEA-SICKNESS. 55 THK WIND RISING. " Sea-sickness is a mystery," said he, " and the more yon study it, the less yon seem to nnderstand it. Some persons are never distnrbed by the motion of a ship, no matter how violent it may be, while others cannot endure the slightest rocking. Most of the sufferers recover in a short time, and after two or three\lays at sea are as well as ever, and continue so. On the other hand, there are some who never outlive its effects, and though their voyage may last a year or more, they are no better sailors at the end than at the beginning. "I knew a young man," he continued, "who entered the jSavaL Academy, and graduated. When he was appointed to service on board a ship, he found himself perpetually sick on the water ; after an expe- rience of two years, and finding no improvement, he resigned. Such occurrences are bv no means rare. I once travelled with a gentleman who was a splendid sailor in fine weather ; but when it became rough, he was all wrong, and went to bed." " Were you ever sea-sick. Doctor ?" queried Frank. « Never," was the reply, " and I had a funny incident growing out of this fact on my first voyage. We were going out of New York harbor, 56 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. and I made tlie acquaintance of the man who was to share my j'oom. As lie looked me over, lie asked me if I had ever been to sea. " I told him I never had, and then he remarked that I was certain to be sea-sick, he could see it in my face. He said he was an old traveller, and rarely suffered, and then he gave ine some advice as to what I should do when I began to feel badly. I thanked him and went on deck. " As the ship left the harbor, and went outside to the open Atlantic, she encountered a heavy sea. It was so rough that the majority of the passengers disappeared below. I didn't suffer in the least, and didn't go to the cabin for two or three hours. There I found that my new friend was in his bed with the very malady he had predicted for me." " What did you do then. Doctor ?" "Well, I repeated to him the advice he had given me, and told him I saw in his face that he was sure to be sea-sick. lie didn't recover during the whole voyage, and I never suffered a naoment." The laugh that followed the story of the Doctor's experience was in- terrupted by the breakfast-bell, and the party went below. There was a light attendance, and the purser exj^lained that several passengers had gone ashore. " Which is a polite way of saying that they are not inclined to come out," the Doctor remarked. " Exactly so," replied the purser, " they think they would make the best ap2)earance alone." Captain Spofford, who sat opposite to Frank, remarked that he knew an excellent preventive of sea-sickness. Frank asked what it was. " Always stay at home," was the reply. " Yes," answered Frank, " and to escape drowning you should never go near the water." Fred said the best thing to prevent a horse running away was to sell him off. Everybody had a joke of some kind to propose, and the breakfast party was a merry one. Suddenly Captain Sjjofford called out, " There she blows !" and pointed through the cabin window. Before the others could look, the rolling of the ship had brought the window so far above the water that they saw nothing. " What is it ?" Fred asked. " A whale," Captain Spofford answered. " What he is doing here, I don't know. This isn't a whaling-ground." They went on deck soon after, and, sure enough, several wdiales were in sight. Every little while a column of spray was thrown into the air, WHY DOES A WHALE "SPOUT?" 57 surface to breathe. and indicated there was a whale beneath it. Frank asked wliy it was the whale " spouted," or blew up, the coluuui of spray. Captain Spofford explained that the whale is not, pi'operly speak- ing, a fish, but an animal. " He has warm blood, like a ,g cow or horse," said the Cap- tain, " and he must come to the He takes a certain amount of water into his lungs along with the air, and when he throws it out, it makes the spray you have seen, and which the sailors call a spout." It turned out that the Captain was an old whaleman. The boys wanted to hear some whaling stories, and their new friend promised to tell them some during the evening. A¥hen the time came for the narra- tion, the boys were ready, and so was the old mariner. The Doctor joined the party, and the four found a snug corner in the cabin where they were not likely to be disturbed. The Captain settled himself as comfortably as possible, and then began the account of his adventures in pursuit of the monsters of the deep. WHALE-SHIP OUTWAKD BOU.ND. 58 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. CHAPTER IV. INCIDENTS OF A WHALING VOYAGE. /^APTAIN SPOFFORD was a weather-beaten veteran who 2:ave little V-^ attention to fine clothes, and greatly preferred his rongli jacket and CAPTAIN Sl'UrrOKD TELLING HIS STOKV. DECLINE OF THE WPIALE FISHERY. 59 soft hat to what he called " Sunday gear." He was much attached to his telescope, which he had carried nearly a cjuarter of a century, and on the present occasion he brought it into the cabin, and held it in his hand while he narrated his whaling experiences. lie explained that he could talk better in the company of his old spy-glass, as it would remind him of things he might forget without its aid, and also check him if he went beyond the truth. " There are very few men in the whaling business now," said he, " compared to the number twenty-five years ago. Whales are growing scarcer every year, and petroleum has taken the place of whale-oil. Con- sequently, the price of the latter is not in proportion to the difficulty of getting it. New Bedford used to be an important seaport, and did an enormous business. It is played out now, and is as dull and sleepy as a cemetei'y. It was once the great centre of the whaling business, and made fortunes for a good many men ; but you don't hear of fortunes in whaling nowadays. " I went to sea from New Bedford when I was twelve years old, and kept at whaling for near on to twenty-seven years. From cabin-boy, I crept up through all the ranks, till I became captain and part owner, and it was a good deal of satisfaction to me to be boss of a ship, I can tell you. When I thought I had had enough of it I retired, and bought a small farm. I stocked and ran it after my own fashion, called one of my oxen ,<1jX/ JiJJ/ii.i ')J) '.^, 60 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. 'Port' and the other ' Starhoard,' liad a little mound like mj old yuar- ter-deck built in my garden, and used to go there to take my walks. I had a mast with cross-trees fixed in this mound, and used to go wp there, and stay foi' hours, and call out ' There she blows !' whenever I saw a bird tly by, or anything moving anywhere. I slept in a hammock under a tent, and when I got real nervous I had one of my farm-hands rock me to sleej^ in the hammock, and throw buckets of water against the sides of the tent, so's I could imagine I was on the sea again. But 'twasn't no use, and I couldn't cure myself of wanting to be on blue water once moi'e. So I left my farm in my wife's hands, and am going- out to Shanghai to command a ship whose captain died at IIong-Kong five months ago. " So much for history. Now we'll talk about whales. " There are several kinds of them — sperm-whales, right-whales, bow- heads ; and a whaleman can tell one from the other as easy as a farmer can tell a cart-horse from a ^-^»»4- Shetland pony. The most valuable is the sperm-whale, as his oil is much better, and " "- " ~ brings more money ; and "■ T .^^ then we get spermaceti from "^ him to make candles of, which we don't get from the others. He's a funny- looking brute, as his head is a third of his whole length ; and when you've cut it off, there doesn't seem to be mnch whale left of him. " I sailed for years in a sperm - whaler in the South Pacific, and had a good many lively times. The sperm-whale is the most dangerous of all, and the hardest to kill ; he fights with his tail and his mouth, while the oth- ers fight only with their tails. A right-whale or a bow-head will lash the water and churn it up into foam ; and if he hits a boat with his tail, he crushes it as if it was an egg-shell. A sperm-whale will do all this, and more too ; he takes a boat in his mouth, and chews it, wliich the others never do. And when he chews it, he makes fine work of it, I can tell you, and short work, too. Sl'ER.M-AVHALE. LOSS OF THE "ESSEX.' 61 " Sometimes he takes a shy at a shij), and ruslies at it, head on. Two ships are known to have been sunk in this way ; one of tliem was the Essex, which the whale ran into three times, and broke her timbers so that she filled. The crew took to tiie boats, and made for the coast of South America. One boat was never heard from, one readied the coast. "THEKE SHE blows!" 62 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. and the third was picked np near Valparaiso with everybody dead but two, and tliose barely alive. Provisions and water had given out, and another day would have finished the poor fellows. Another ship was the Union, which was stove right under the bows by a single blow from a sperm-whale, and went down in half an hour. " I was fifteen years old when I pulled my first oar in a whale-boat ; I was boat-steerer at eigliteen, and second mate at twenty, and before I was twenty-one I had known what it was to be in the mouth of a sperm-whale. It is hardly necessary to say that I got out of it as fast as I could, and didn't stop to see if my hair was combed and my shirt- collar buttoned. A man has no time to put on frills under such circum- stances. " The way of it was this. The lookout in the cross-trees — we always keep a man up aloft to look out for whales when we're on cruising ground — the man had called out, ' There she blows !' and everybody was on his feet in an instant. " ' Where away V shouted the first mate. " ' Two points on the weather bow.' " And ■ before the words had done echoing he called out ' There she blows ' again, and a moment after again. That meant that he had seen two more whales. " We put two boats into the water, the first mate's and mine, and away we went. We pulled our best, and the boats fairly bounced through the waves. It was a race to see who could strike the first whale ; we had a good half mile to go, and we went like race-horses. "Each boat has six men in her — a boat-steerer, as he is called, and five at the oars. The boat-steerer handles the harpoon and lance and directs the whole movement ; in fact, for the time- he is captain of the boat. " The first mate's boat headed me a little, and made for a big fellow on the starboard. I went for another, and we struck almost at the same instant. With- mPLEME.NTS USED IN WIIALINO. STRIKING A WHALE.. 63 in three boat-lengths, I stood up, braced my feet firmly, poised my har- poon, and made ready to strike. The whale didn't know we were about, and was taking it very easy. The bow of the boat was about ten feet from liis black skin when I sent the iron spinning and whizzing away, and buried it deep in his flesh. Didn't he give a jump ! You can bet he did. " ' Starn all ! starn all ! for your lives !' I yelled. " There wasn't a moment lost, and the boat went back by the force of the strong arms of the men." " The whale lashed about and then ' breached ;' that is, he threw his great body out of the water, giving me a chance to get in a second har- poon. Then he sounded — that is, he went down — and the lines ran out so fast that the side of the boat fairly smoked when they went over. He ran off two hundred fathoms of line before he stopped, and then we felt the line slack and knew be would soon be up again. " Up be came not a hundred yards from where be went down, and as be came up he caught sight of the boat. He went for it as a cat goes for a mouse. " The sperm-whale can't see straight ahead, as his eyes are set far back, and seem to be almost on his sides. He turns partly round to get a glimpse of a boat, then ports bis helm, drops his jaw, calculates bis distance, and WHALE "breaching.'' 64: THE BOY TRAVELLERS. goes ahead at full speed. His jaw is set very low, and sometimes he turns over, or partly over, to strike his blow. " This time he whirled and took the bow of the boat in his mouth, crushing it as though it had been made of jJaper. We jumped out, the oars tlew all around us, the sea was a mass of foam, and the whale chewed the boat as though it was a piece of sugar-candy and he hadn't seen any for a month. " We were all in the M'ater, and nobody hurt. The first mate's boat had killed its whale inside of ten minutes, and before he tried to sound. They left the whale and came to pick us up ; then they hurried and made fast to liim, as another ship was coming up alongside of ours, and we might lose our game. It is a rule of the sea that you lose your claim to a whale ■when you let go, even though you may have killed him. Hang on to him and he's yours, though you may hang with onlj' a trout-line and a minnow- hook. It's been so decided in the courts. " The captain sent another boat from the ship, and we soon had the satisfaction of seeing my whale dead on the water. He got the lance right in his vitals, and went into his 'flurry,' as we call it. The flurry is IN THE WH.VLE S J.4.\V. SIZE OF WHALES. 65 tlie whale's convulsive movements just before death, and sometimes he does great damage as he thrashes about." Frank wished to know how large the whale was, and how large whales are generally. " We don't reckon whales by their length," Captain Spofford answered, "but by the number of barrels of oil they make. Ask any old captain how long the largest whale was that he ever took, and the chances are he'll begin to estimate by the length of his ship, and frankly tell you lie never measured one. I measured the largest sperm-whale I ever took, and found him seventy-nine feet long; he made a hundred and seven barrels of oil. Here's the figures of him : nose to neck, twenty-six feet ; neck to hump, twenty-nine feet; hump to tail, seventeen feet; tail, seven feet. His tail was sixteen feet across, and he was forty-one feet six inches around the body. He had fifty-one teeth, and tlie heaviest weighed twenty -five ounces. We took nineteen barrels of oil from his case, the inside of the head, whei'e we dipped it out with a bucket. I know one captain that captured a sperm- whale ninety feet long, that made a hundred and thirty-seven barrels, and there was another sperm taken by the ship Monhx, of New Bedford, that made a hundred and forty-five barrels. I don't know how long he was. " There's a wonderful deal of excitement in fastening to a whale, and having a fight with him. You have the largest game that a hunter could ask for ; you have the cool pure air of the ocean, and the blue waters all about you. A thrill goes through every nerve as you rise to throw the sharp iron into the monster's side, and the thrill continues when he plunges wildly about, and sends the line whistling over. He sinks, and he rises again ; he dashes away to windward, and struggles to escape ; you hold him fast, and, large as he is in proportion to yourself, you feel that he must yield to you, though, perhaps, not till after a hard battle. At length he lies exhausted, and you approach for the final blow with the lance. An- other thrilling moment, another, and another; and if fortune is in your favor, your prize is soon motionless before you. And the man who cannot feel an extra beat of his pulse at such a time must be made of cooler stuff than the most of us. " But you don't get all the whales you see, by a long shot. Many a whale gets away before you can fasten to him, and many another whale, after you have laid on and fastened, will escape you. He sinks, and tears the iron loose; he runs away to windward ten or twenty miles an hour, and you must cut the line to save your lives ; he smashes the boat, and perhaps kills some of his assailants ; he dies helow the surface, and when lie dies there he stays below, and you lose him ; and sometimes he shows 5 GO THE BOY TRAVKLLEHS. such an amount of toughness tliat he seems to bear a charmed life. We light him M'ith harpoon and hmce, and in these later days they have an in- vention called the bomb-lance or whaling-gun. A bomb-shell is thrown into Iiim with a gun like a large musket, and it explodes down among his vitals. There's another gun that is fastened to the shaft of a harpoon, and goes off when the whale tightens the line ; and there's another that throws a lance half-way through him. Well, there are whales that can stand all these things and live. '■ Captain Hunting, of Xew Bedford, had tlie \vorst figlit that I know of, while he was on a cruise in the South xVtlantic. "When he struck the fellow — it was a tough old bull that had been through fights before, I reckon — the whale didn't try to escape, but turned on the boat, bit her in two, and kept on thrashing the wreck till he broke it np completely. An- otlier boat picked up the men and took them to the ship, and then two other boats went in on him. Each of them got in two irons, and that made him mad ; he turned around and chewed those Ijoats, and he stuck closely to business until there wasn't a mouthful left. The twelve swimmers LAl'TAIN HL'NTI.\(j.s FIUUI. STOUY OF CAPTAIX HUNTING. 07 A GAME FtLLOW. were picked up Ijy tlie Ijoat wliicli had taken the first lijt to the skip ; two of the men liad climbed on liis Ijack, and he didn't seem to mind them. He kept on chewing away at the oars, sails, masts, planks, and other frag- ments of the boats ; and whenever anything touched his body, he turned and munched away at it. There he was with six harpoons in him, and each harpoon had three hundred fathoms of line attached to it. Captain Hunting got out two spare boats, and started with them and the saved boat to renew the figlit. He got alongside aiid sent a bomb-lance charged with six inelies of powder right into the ^\-hale"s vitals, just back of his fin. When the lance was fired, he turned and tore through the Ijoat like a hurricane, scattering everything. The snn was setting, four boats were gone with all their gear and twelve hundred fathoms of line, the spare boats were poorly provided, the men wore wearied and dis- couraged, and Captain Hunting hauled off and admitted himself beaten l>y a M'liale." The nondescript individual whom we saw among the passengers early ill the voyage Iiad joined the party, and heard the story of Captain Hunt- &8 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. iiig's wliale. When it M-as ended, lie ventured to say soraetliing on the subject of whaling. " That wasn't a circumstance," he remarked, " to the great whale that used to hang around the Philippine Islands. He v.'as reckoned to he a king, as all the other whales took off their hats to him, and used to get down on their front knees when he came around. His skin was like leather, and he was stuck so full of harpoons that he looked like a porcu- pine under a magnifying-glass. Every ship that saw him used to put an iron into him, and I reckon you could get up a good history of the whale- iishery if you could read the ships' names on all of tliem irons. Lots of whalers fought with him, but he always came out first best. Captain Sammis of the Ananias had the closest acquaintance with him, and the way he tells it is this : " 'We'd laid into him, and his old jaw came u]) and bit off the bow of the boat. As he bit he gave a fling, like, and sent me up in the air; and when I came down, there was the whale, end up and mouth open waiting for me. His throat looked like a whitewashed cellar-door ; but I saw his teeth were wore smooth down to the gums, and that gave me some con- solation. When I struck his throat he snapped for me, bnt I had good headwa}', and disappeared like a piece of cake in a family of children. When I was splashing against the soft sides of his stomach, I heard his jaws snapping like the flapping of a mainsail. " ' I was rather used up and tired out, and a little bewildered, and so I sat down on the southwest corner of his liver, and crossed my legs while I got ni}' wits together. It wasn't dark down there, as there was ten thou- A FKKE RIDE. CAPTAIN SAMMIS'S ADVENTURE. 69 sand of them little sea jellies sliiiiin' there, like second-hand stars, in the wrinkles of his stomach, and then there was lots of room too. By-an'-by, while I was lookiu' round, I saw a black patch on tlie starboard side of his stomach, and went over to examine it. There I found printed in injey ink, in big letters, "Jonah, B.C. 1007." Then I knew whei'e I was, and I be- gan to feel real bad. " ' I opened my tobacco-box to take a mouthful of hue-cut to steady my nerves. I suppose my hand was a little unsteady; anyhow, I drojjped some of the tobacco on the floor of the whale's stomach. It gave a con- vulsive jump, and I saw at once the whale wasn't used to it. I picked up a jack-knife I saw laj-in' on the floor, and cut a plug of tobacco into fine snuff, and scattered it around in the little wrinkles in the stomach. You should have seen how the medicine worked. The stomach began to heave as though a young earthc[uake had opened up under it, and then it squirmed and twisted, and finally turned wrong side out, and fio]iped me into the sea. The mate's boat was there picking up the men from the smashed boat, and just as they had given me up for lost they saw me and took me in. They laughed when 1 told them of the inside of the whale, and the printin' I saw there ; but when I showed them the old jack-knife with the American eagle on one side and Jonah's name on the other, they stopped laughin' and looked serious. It is always well to have something on hand when you are tellin' a true story, and that knife was enough.' "That same captain," he continued, " was once out for a whale, but when they killed him, they were ten miles from the ship. The captain got on the dead whale, and sent the boat back to let the ship know where they were. After they had gone, a storm came on and drove the ship away, and there the captain sta3'ed three weeks. He stuck an oar into the whale to hang on to, and the third week a ship hove in sight. As he didn't know what she was, he hoisted the American flag, which he hap- pened to have a picture of on his pocket-handkerchief; and pretty soon the ship hung out her colors, and her captain came on board. Captain Sam mis was tired of the monotony of life on a whale, and so he sold out his interest to the visitor. lie got half the oil and a passage to Honolulu, where he found his own craft all right." " You say lie i-emained three weeks on the back of that whale," said one of the listeners. " Yes, I said three weeks." " Well, how did he live all that time?" " How can I tell V was the reply ; " that's none of my business. Probably he took his meals at the nearest restaurant and slept at home. 70 THE BUY TRAVELLERS. CAi'l'AlN SAJIMIS SELLING OUT. And if you don't believe my story, I can't help it — I've done the best I can." With this remark lie rose and walked away. It was agreed that there was a certain air of improbability about his narrations, and Frank vent- ured the suggestion that the stranger would never get into trouble on account of telling too much truth. They had a curiosity to know something about the man. Doctor Bronson questioned the purser and ascertained that he was entered on the passenger-list as Mr. A. of America ; but whence he came, or what was his business, no one could tell. He had spoken to but few persons since they left port, and the bulk of his conversation had been devoted to stories like those about the whaling business. In short, he was a riddle no one could make out ; and veiw soon he I'cceived from the other passengers the nickname of " Tlie Mystery." Fred suggested that Mystery and Mr. A. were so nearlj' alike that the one name was as good as the other. While they were discussing him, he returned suddenlj^ and said : "The Captain says there are indications of a water-spout to-morrow; and perhajDS we may be destroyed by it." WATEK-SPOUT. 71 SHOOTING AT A WATER-SPOUT. With these woixls he withdrew, and was not seen any more that even- ing. Fred wished to know what a water-spent was like, and was proniptly set at rest hj the Doctor. "A water-spont," tlie latter remarked, "is often seen in the tropics, but rarely in this latitude. The clouds lie quite close to the water, and there appears to be a whirling motion to the latter; then the cloud and the sea beneath it become united by a column of water, and this column is what we call a M'ater-spout. It is generally believed that the water rises, through tills spout, from the sea to the clouds, and sailors are fearful of coming near them lest their shijis may he deluged and sunk. They usually en- deavor to destroy them by tiring guns at them, and this was done on board a ship where I was once a passenger. When the ball struck the spout, there was a fall of water sufficient to have sunk us if we had been beneath it, and we all felt thankful that we had escaped the danger." 72 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTEE V. ARRIVxVL IX JAPAN. TPIE great ship steamed onward, Any after day and night after night. There was no storm to break the monotony ; no sail showed itself on the horizon ; no one left the steamer, and no new-comers appeared ; nobody saw lit to quarrel with any one else ; and there was not a pas- senger who showed a disposition to quarrel with his surroundings. Sto- ries were told and songs were sung, to while away the time; and, finally, on the twentieth day, the captain announced that they were approaching land, and the voyage would soon be over. Our young travellers had found a daily interest in the instruments by which a mariner ascertains his ship's position. Frank had gone so far as to borrow the captain's extra copy of " Bowditch's ISTavigator" and study it at odd intervals, and after a little while he comprehended the uses of the various instruments employed in finding a way over the trackless ocean. He gave Fred a short lecture on the subject, which was some- thing like the following : "Of course, you know, Fred, all about the mariner's compass, which points towards the north, and always tells where north is. ISTow, if we know where north is, we can find south, east, and west without much trouble." Fred admitted the claim, and repeated tlie formula he had learned at school : Face towards the north, and back towards the south ; the right hand east, and the left hand west. "Now," continued Frank, "there are thirty-two points of the compass; do you know them V' Fred shook his head; and then Frank explained that the four he had named were the cardinal points, while the other twenty-eight were the divisions between tlie cardinal points. One of the first duties of a sailor was to "box the compass," that is, to be able to name all these divisions. "Let me hear yon box the compass, Frank," said Doctor Bronson, who was standing near. BOXIXG THE COJIPASS. 73 FRANK STUDYING NAVIGATION. " Cei-tainly, I can," Frank answered, and tlien began: "Nortli, north by east, north-nortlieast, northeast by north, northeast, northeast by east, east-northeast, east by north, east — " "That wiU do,'' said the Doctor; "yon liave given one quadrant, or a quarter of the circle ; I'm sure you can do the rest easily, for it goes on in the same way." "You see," Fi-ank continiied, "that you know by the compass exactly in what direction you are going ; then, if you know liow many miles you go in a day or an hour, you can calculate your place at sea. "That mode of calculation is called ' dead -reckoning,' and is quite simple, but it isn't verj' safe." " Why so «" Fred asked. 74 Tin? BUY TUzVVELLERS. "Because it is impossible to steer a sliip with alisolute accuracy when she is rolling ami pitching about, and, besides, the winds make her drift a little to one side. Then there are currents that take her off her course, and sometimes they are very strong." " Yes, I know," Fred replied ; " there's tlie Gulf Stream, in the Atlantic Ocean, everybody has heard of; it is a great river in the sea, and flows north at the rate of three or four miles an hour." "There's another liver like it in the Paciiic Ocean," Frank explained; " it is called the Japan Current, because it flows close to the coast of Japan. It goes through Behring Strait into the Arctic Ocean, and then it comes south by the coast of Greenland, and down bj- Newfoundland. That's what brings the icebergs south in the Atlantic, and puts them in the way of the steamers between New York and Liverpool. "On account of the uncertainty of dead-reckoning, the captain doesn't rely on it except when the fog is so thick that he can't get an observa- tion." " What is that «" "Observing the positions of the sun and moon, and of certain stars with relation to each other. That is done with the quadraait and sextant ; and then they use a chronometer, or clock, that tells exactly what the time is at Greenwich. Then, you see, this bot>k is full of figures that look like multiplication-tables; and with these figures they 'work out their posi- tion ;' that is, they find out where they are. Greenwich is near London, and all the tables are calculated from there." " But sup23ose a sailor was dropped down here sudden!}', without knowing what ocean he was in ; could he find out where he was without anybody telling him ?'' " Certainly ; with the instruments I have named, the tables of iigures, and a clear sk}^ so as to give good observations, he could determine his position with aljsolute accuracy. Lie gets his latitude l)y observing the sun at noon, and he gets his longitude by the chronometer and by obser- vations of the moon. When he knows his latitude and longitude, he knows where he is, and can mark the place on the map." Fred opened his eyes with an expression of astonishment, and said he thought the science of navigation was something wonderful. The others agreed with him ; and while they were discussing the advantages which it had given to the world, there was a call that sent them on deck at once. " Land, ho !" from the lookout forward. " Land, ho !" from the officer near the wheel-house. LAND, HO! 75 I 'I |l I "i T /- '^~"^-' "fnirql ^ "^f'<^ If - rf^ i u _ f iV WUHKING Ul' A KECKUNISG. "Land, lio!" from tlie captain, as he emerged from liis room, just aft of the wheel. " Wliere away ?" " Dead ahead, sir," replied the officer. " 'Tis Fnsiyama, sir." Tlie Ijoys looked in the direction indicated, bnt could see nothing. This is not surprising, when we remember that sailors' eyes are accus- tomed to great distances, and can frequently see objects distinctly long before landsmen can make them out. But by-and-by they could distinguish tlie outline of a cone, white as a cloud and nearly as shadowy. It was the Holy Mountain of Japan, and they recognized the picture they liad seen so many times upon Japanese fans and other objects. As they watciied it, the form grew more and 76 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. more distinct, and after a time tliey no longer doubted tliat they looked at Fusiyama. " Jnst to think," Fred exclaimed, " when we left San Francisco,^ we steered for this mountain, five thousand miles away, and here it is, right before us. Xavigation is a wonderful science, and no mistake." As the ship went on, the mountain grew more and more distinct, and by-and-by other features of Japanese scenery were brought into view. The western horizon became a serrated line, that formed an agreeable con- trast to the unbroken curve they had looked upon so many days ; and as the sun went dowu, it no longer dipped into the sea and sank beneath the waves. All on board the ship were fully aware they were approaching land. During the night they passed Cape King and entered Yeddo bay. The great lightdiouse that watches the entrance shot its rays far out over the waters and beamed a kindly welcome to the strangers. Slowly they steamed onward, keeping a careful lookout for the numerous boats and junks that abound there, and watching the hundreds of lights that gleamed along the shore and dotted the sloping hill -sides. Sixty miles from 1* rVi -H*! \1 -J/flJ ('-^— a<\a^ VliiAV IN THE BAY UF YEDDU. SIGHTS IN YEDDO BAY. 77 Cape King, they were in front of Yokoliania ; tlie engines stopped, tlie anchor fell, the chain rattled through the hawse-hole, and the ship was at rest, after her long journey from San Francisco. Our young adventurers were in Japan. With the first streak of dawn the boys were on deck, where they were joined by Doctor Bronson. The sun was just rising when the steamer dropped her anchor, and, conserpiently, their first day in the new country was begun very early. There was an abundance of sights for the young eyes, and no lack of sulijects for conversation. Hardly was the anchor down before the steamer was surrounded by a swarm of little boats, and Frank thought they were the funniest Ijoats he had ever seen. JAVANESE JUNK AND BOATS. " They are called ' sampans,' " Doctor Bronson explained, " and are made entirely of wood. Of late years the Japanese sometimes use copper or iron nails for fastenings ; but formerly you found them without a par- ticle of metal about them." " They don't look as if they could stand rough weather," said Fred. "See; they are low and square at the stern, and high and sharp at the bow ; and they sit very low in the water." " They are not in accordance with our notions," replied the Doctor ; " but they are excellent sea-boats, and I have known them to ride safely where an American boat would have been swamped. You observe how easily they go through the water. They can be handled very readily, and, certainly, the Japanese have no occasion to be ashamed of their craft." 78 THE BOY TRAVELLKKS. FIRST VIEW OF YOKOHAMA. 79 Frank had his eye on a- sampan that was darting about like an active tisli, iirst in one direction and then in another. It was propelled by a single oar in the hands of a brown-skinned boatman, who was not encuni- l>ered with a large amount of superfluous clothing. The oar was in two pieces — a blade and a handle — lashed together in such a way that they did not form a straight line. At first Frank thought there was something- wrong about it ; but he soon observed that the oars in all the boats were of the same pattern, and made in the same way. They were worked like sculls rather than like oars. The man kept the oar constantly beneath the water; and, as he moved it forwards and back, he turned it partly around. A )-ope near his hand regulated the distance tlie oar could be turned, and also kept it from rising out of the water or going too far below the surface. Nearly every boat contained a funny little furnace, only a few inches square, where the boatman boiled his tea and cooked the rice and fish that composed his food. Each boat had a deck of boards which were so placed as to be readily removed ; but, at the same time, were secured against be- ing washed away. Every one of these craft was perfectly clean, and while they were waiting around the ship, several of the boatmen occupied them- selves by giving their decks a fresh scrubbing, which was not at all neces- sary. The Doctor took the occasion to say something about the cleanli- ness of the Japanese houses, and of the neat habits of the people gener- ally, and added, "You will see it as you go among them, and cannot fail to be impressed by it. You will never liesitate to eat Japanese food through fear that it may not be clean ; and this is more than you can say of every table in our own country." The steamer was an- ^ chored nearly half a mile - - ~ _ - ^^ from shore. English, ^ =^ French, German, and oth- _ ^_ _ — er ships were in the har- bor ; tenders and steam- launches were moving about ; row - boats were cominir and o-oino-; and, altogether, the port of Yokohama presented a lively appearance. Shore- ward the picture was interesting. At the water's edge there was a stone quay or embankment, with two inner harbors, where small boats might JAPANESE GOVEUN5IENT BOAT. 80 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. enter and find shelter from occasional storms. This qnay was the front of a street where carriages and pedestrians were moving back and forth. The farther side of the street was a row of buildings, and as nearly every one of these buildings had a yard in front filled with shade-trees, the effect was pretty. Away to the right was the Japanese part of Yokohama, while on the left was the foreign section. The latter included the row of buildings mentioned above ; they stood on a level space which was only a few feet above the level of the bay. Back of this was a i-ange of steep hills, which were covered nearly everywhere with a dense growth of trees and bushes, with little patches of gardens here and there. On the summits of the hills, and occasionally on their sides, were houses with wide ve- randas, and with great windows capable of affording liberal ventilation. Many of the merchants and other foreigners living in Yokohama had their residences in these houses, which were far more comfortable than the buildings near the ^^-ater. Doctor Bronson explained that the lower part of Yokohama was called the " Bund," while the npper was known as the '' Bluff." Business Mas transacted in the Bund, and many persons lived tliere ; but the Bluff was the favorite place for a residence, and a great deal of money had been expended in beautifying it. The cpiarantine officials visited the steamer, and after a brief inspec- tion slie was pronounced healthy, and permission was given for the pas- sengers to go on shore. Eunncrs from the hotels came in search of pa- trons, and clerks from several of the prominent business houses came on board to ask for letters and news. Nearly every commercial establishment in Yokohama has its own boat and a special uniform for its I'owers ; so that they can be readily distinguished. One of the clerks M'ho visited the ship seemed to be in search of somebody among the passengers, and that somebody proved to be our friend. The Mystery. Tlie two had a brief conversation when they met, and it was in a tone so low that nobody could hear what was said. When it was over. The Mys- tery went below, and soon reappeared with a small satchel. "Without a word of farewell to anybody, he entered the boat and was rowed to the shore at a very rapid rate. There was great activity at the forward gangway. The steerage ]ias- sengers comprised about four hundred Chinese who were bound for llong- Kong ; but, as the steamer would lie a whole day at Yokohama, many of them were preparing to spend the day on shore. The boats crowded at the foot of the gangway, and there was a great contention among the boat- men to secure the patronage of the passengers. Occasionally one of the GOING ASHORE. 81 men fell into the water, owing to some unguarded movement ; but lie was S0071 out again, and clamoring as earnestly as ever. In spite of the excitement and activity, there was the most perfect good-nature. Nobody was inclined to fight with any one else, and all the competitors were en- tirely friendly. The Chinese made very close bargains with the boatmen, and were taken to and from the shore at prices which astonished the boys when they heard them. The Doctor explained that the tariil for a boat to take one person from sliip to shore and back again, including an hour's waiting, was ten cents, with five cents added for every hour beyond one. In the present instance the Chinese passengers bargained to be taken on shore in the morning and back again at night for five cents each, and not more than four of them were to go in one boat. Fred thought it would require a long time for any of the boatmen to become millionnaires at this rate. Our travellers were not obliged to bargain for their conveyance, as they went ashore in the boat belonging to the hotel where tliey intended to stay. The runner of the hotel took charge of their baggage and placed it in the boat ; and when all was ready, they shook liands with the captain and purser of the steamer, and wished them prosjDerous voyages in future. Several other passengei's went ashore at the same time. Among them was Captain Spofford, who was anxious to compare the Yokohama of to-day with the one he had visited twenty years before. He explained to the boys that when the American fleet came to Japan in 1854, there was only a small fishing village where the city now stands. Yoko-hama means " across the strand," and the city is opposite, or across YOKOHAMA IN 1854. 6 82 THE BOY TRAVELLERS, the strand from, Kanagawa, wliicli was established as tlie otiicial port. Tlie consuls formerly had their offices in Kanagawa, and continued to date their official documents there long after they had moved to the newer and more prosperous town. Yokohama was found much more agreeable, as there was a large open space there for erecting buildings, wliile the higli bluffs gave a cooling shelter from the hot, stilling air of summer. Com- mercial prosperity caused it to grow rapidly, and made it the city we now find it. They reached the shore. Their baggage was placed on a large hand- cart, and tliej jDassed through the gateway of the Custom-house. A polite official, who spoke English, made a brief survey of their trunks ; and, on their assurance that no dutiable goods were within, he did not delay them any further. The Japanese duties are only live per cent, on the value of the goods, and, consequently, a traveller could not perpetrate much fraud upon the revenue, even if he were disposed to do so. "Here you are in Japan," said the Doctor, as they passed through the gate. " Yes, here we are," Frank replied ; " let's give three cheers for Japan." " Agreed," answered Fred, " and here we go — Hip ! hip ! hurrah !" The boys swung their hats and gave the three cheei's. " And three more for friends at home !" Fred added. " Certainly," Frank responded. " Here we go again ;" and there was another " Hip ! hip ! hurrah !" "And a cheer from you, Frank," remarked the Doctor, "for somebody we saw at the railway station." Frank gave another swing of his hat and another cheei'. The Doctor and Fred united their voices to his, and with a hearty shout all around, they concluded the ceremony connected with their arrival in Japan. SERVANTS IN JAPAN. 83 CHAPTER yi. FIRST DAY IN JAPAN. TIIEY had no difBculty in reaching the hotel, as the)' were in the hands of the runner of the establishment, who took good care that they did not go astray and fall into the clutches of the representative of the rival concern. The publicans of the open ports of Japan have a watchful eye for their interests, and the stranger does not have to wander long in the streets to find accommodation. The Doctor had been there before, and took great pains to have his bargain made with the utmost exactness, lest there might be a mistake at the time of his departure. " In Europe and Asia,'' he remarked to Erank, " a traveller soon learns that he cannot be too explicit in making his contracts at hotels ; if he neglects this little for- mality, he will often find that his negligence has cost him something. The last time I was in Yokohama I had a very warm discussion with my land- lord when I settled my bill, and I don't propose to have a repetition of it." The hotel was much like an American house in its general character- istics, both in the arrangement of the rooms and the style of furniture. The proprietors and managers were foreigners, but the servants were na- tive and were dressed in Japanese costume. The latter were very quiet and orderly in their manners, and made a favorable impression on the young visitors. Frank was so pleased with the one in charge of his room that he wished he conld take him home with him, and liave a Japanese servant in America. Testimony as to the excellent character of servants in Japan is nearly universal on the part of those who have employed them. Of course there will be an occasional lazy, inattentive, or dishon- est fellow, but one finds them much more rarely than in Europe or Amer- ica. In general, they are very keen observers, and learn the ways and peculiarities of their masters in a remarkablj' short time. And once hav- ing learned them, they never forget. " When I was last here," said the Doctor, " I was in this very hotel, and had one of the regular servants of the establishment to wait on me. The evening after my arrival, I told him to have my bath ready at seven o'clock in the morning, and to bring a glass of ice-water when he 84 THE ROY TRAVELLERS. A WALK THKOUGH THE STREETS. g5 waked me. Exactly at seven lie was at my bedside with the water, and told me the bath was waiting ; and as long as I remained here he came at precisely the same hour in the morning, offered me the glass of watei', and announced the readiness of the bath. I never had occasion to tell him the same thing twice, no matter what it was. Occasionally I went to Tokio to spend two or three days. The first time I went, I showed him what clothes I wished to take, and he packed them in my valise ; and after- wards I had only to say I was going to Tokio, when he would immediate- ly proceed to pack up exactly the same things I had taken the first time, or their equivalents. He never made the slightest error, and was a trifle more exact than I wished him to be. On my first journey I carried a bottle of cough-mixture to relieve a cold from which I happened to be suffering. The cold had disappeared, and the bottle was empty before my second trip to Tokio ; but my faithful servant wrapped it carefully in paper, and put it in a safe corner of my valise, and continued to do so every time I repeated the excursion." The boys were all anxiety to take a walk through the streets of Yoko- hama, and could hardly wait for the Doctor to arrange matters with the hotel-keeper. In a little while everything was determined, and the party went out for a stroll. The Doctor led the way, and took them to the Japanese portion of the city, where they were soon in the midst of sights that were very curious to them. They stopped at sevei'al shops, and looked at a great variety of Japanese goods, but followed the advice of the Doctor in deferring their purchases to another time. Frank thought of the things he was to buy for his sister Mary, and also for Miss Etfie ; but as they were not to do any shopping on their first day in Japan, he did not see any occasion for opening the precious paper that Mary had confided to him previous to his departure. They had a walk of several hours, and on their return to the hotel were cpiite weary enough to rest awhile. Frank and Fred had a whis- pered conversation while the Doctor was talking with an old acquaint- ance ; and as soon as he was at liberty they told him what they had been conversing about. "We think we want to write home now. Doctor," said Frank, "and wish to know if you approve of our doing so to-day." " By all means," replied the Doctor, with a smile ; " it is time to begin at once. Yoa are in a foreign country and there are plenty of things to write about. Your information will be to a great extent now and inter- esting to your friends, and the reasons that I gave you for not writing a lona; letter from Niagara do not exist here." 86 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. '' 1 thought you would say so," responded Fred, his eyes sparkling with animation, " and I want to write while everything is fresh in my mind. I am going to write at once." " And so am I," echoed Frank ; " here goes for a letter to friends at home." Off the boys ran for their writing materials, and in a little wliile they were seated on the balcony of the hotel, and making their pens fairly fly over the paper. Here is the letter from Frank to his mother : " YoKoiiAjiA, August 4/h, 1878. " My Deae Mother : " I wish you could see me just now. I am sitting on the veranda of the hotel, and Fred is at the table with me. If we look up from our paper, we can see out upon the bay, where lots of ships are at anchor, and where a whole fleet of Japanese fishing-boats are coming up and dragging their nets along after them. Down in the street in front of us there are some funny-looking men with trousers as tight as their skins, and making the JAPANKSl^ MUSICIANS. GROUPS OF MUSICIAX8 AND FISIIERMliN. 87 men look a great deal smaller than they are. They have hats like small mnbrellas, and made of plaited straw, to keep the sun off, and they have them tied down under the chin with cords as big as a clothes-line. Doc- tor Bronson says these are the lower class of Japanese, and that we liaven't seen the tine people yet. There are three musicians, at least they arc called so, but I can't see that they make much that I should call music. One of them has on one of those great broad hats, another has his head covered with a sort of small cap, while the third has his skull shaven as smooth as a door-knob. The man with the hat on is blowing a whistle and ringing a small bell, the second is beating on a brass plate with a tiny drumstick, while the third has a pair of clappers which he knocks togeth- er, and he sings at the same time. Each of them seems to pay no atten- tion to the rest, but I suppose they think tliey are playing a tune. Two of them have their legs bare, but they have sandals on their feet, held in place by cords or thongs. The man with the hat must be the leader, as he is the only one that wears trousers, and, besides, he has a pocket-book hung to his girdle. I wonder if they make much money out of the music they are playing * " A couple of fishermen just stopped to look at the musicians and hear the music. One had a spear and a net with a basket at the end, and the other carried a small rod and line such as I used to have when I went out for trout. They didii't have much clothing, though — nothing but a jacket of coarse cloth and a kilt made of reeds. Onlj^ one had a hat, and that didn't seem to amount to much. The bareheaded one scowled at me, and I think he can't be very fond of foreigners. Perliaps the foreigners deserve to be scowled at, or, at any rate, some of them do. J.^r.VNESE FISHEUMEN. 88 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. " We have seen such lots of tilings to-da}' — lots and lots. I can't be- gin to tell 3'ou all in this letter, and there is so much that I don't know where to commence. Well, we went into some shops and looked at the things they had to sell, but didn't buy anything, as we thought it was too soon. One of the shops I liked very much M-as where they sold silk. It wasn't much like a silk-shop at home, where you sit on a stool in front of a counter and have the clerks spread the things out before you. In this shop the silk was in boxes out of sight, and they only showed you wliat you asked for. There was a platform in the middle of the shop, and the clerks scpiatted down on this platform, and unrolled their goods. Two women were there, buj'ing some bright-colored stufE, for making a dress, I suppose, but I don't know. One man sat in the corner with a yardstick ready to measure off what was wanted, and another sat close by him looking on to see that everything was all right. Back of him there were a lot of boxes piled up with the goods in them ; and whenever anything was wanted, he passed it out. You should have seen how solemn they all looked, and how one woman counted on her fingers to see how much it was all coming to, just as folks do at home. In a corner opposite the man with the yard- stick there was a man who kept the accounts. He was squatted on the floor like the rest, and had his books all round him ; and when a sale was made, he put it down in figures that I couldn't read in a week. " Then it was ever so funny to see the men bowing to each other; the}' did it with so much dignity, as if they had all been princes, or something of the sort. They rest their hands 0!i their knees, and then bend the body forward ; and sometimes they bend so low that their backs are level " .SAYUNAUA." JAPx\NESE SILK-SHOP. 89 90 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. enough to set out a tea-service on and nse tiiem for a table. When they want to bid good-bye, they say ' Sayonara,' just as we say ' Good-bye,' and it means exactly the same thing. They are not satisfied with one bow, but keep on several times, until you begin to wonder when they will get thi'ough. Everybody says they are the politest people in the world, and I can readily believe it if what I have seen is a fair sanjple. " There have been several men around the hotel trying to sell things to us, and we have been looking at them. One thing I am going to get and send in this letter is a box of Japanese pictures. They are not photo- graphs, but real drawings by Japanese artists, and printed on Japanese paper. You will see how soft and nice the paper is ; and though the pict- ures look rough, they are very good, and, above all things, they are truth- ful. I am going to get as many different ones as I can, and so I think you will be al)lo to get a good idea of the country as the natives see it themselves. They have these pictures showing all their ways of life — how they cook their food, how they eat it, how they work, how they play — in fact, how everything is done in this very curious country. The Japanese make their drawings with very few lines, and it will astonish you to see how much they can express with a few strokes of a pencil. Here is a SEVEN-STltOKE HOUSE. A JAPANESE PILLOW. 91 FEMALE HEAD-DEESS. l)ictnrc of a horse drawn with seven strokes of the artist's finger-nail dip- ped in ink, and with a few touches of a wide brush for the mane and tail Do yon think my old drawing-master at home could do the same thing ? "The pillows they sleep on would never do for us. A Japanese pillow is a block of wood with a rest for the head, or rather for the neck, as the head doesn't touch it at all, except just below tlie eai'. It is only a few inch- es long and high, and is perfectly hard, as the lit- tle piece of paper tliey put on it is intended for cleanliness, and not to make the pillow soft. You can't tui'n over on one of them, and as for doubling them up to throw at another boy, it is quite out of the cpies- tion. I shall put in a picture of a Japanese woman l^'ing down with her head on one of these curious things. The women have their hair done up so elaborately that they must sleep on something that does not disturb it, as they can't afford the time and trouble for fixing it every morning. You'll find a picture of their liead-dress in the lot I send with this ; but it is from a sketch by a foreigner, and not by a native. " Perhaps you will want to know something about the weather in Japan. It is very warm in the middle of the day, but the mornings and evenings are delightful. Around whei-e Ave are the ground is flat, and the heat is greater tlian back among the hills. People re- main as cpiiet as possible dur- ing the middle of the day ; and if you go ai'ound the shops at that time, you find nearly ev- erybody asleep who can afford to be so. The Japanese houses are all so open that you see evei-ything that is going on, and they think notluTig of lying down in full sight of tlie street. Since the foreigners came to Yokohanui, the natives are sonie- TIIE SIESTA. 92 THE BOY TKAVELLEltS. what more particular about their houses than they used to be ; at any rate, it is said so by those wlio ought to know. Tlie weather is so warm in summer that the natives do not need to wear mucli clothing, and I sup- pose that is the reason why they are so careless about their appearance. In the last few years the government has become very particular about having the people properly dressed, and has issued orders compelling them to put on sufficient clothing to cover them whenever they go out of doors. They enforce these orders very rigidly in the cities and large towns ; but in the country the people go around pretty much as they used to. Of course, you understand I am sjjeaking of the lower classes only, and not of the aristocracy. The latter are as careful about their garments as the best people in any other part of the world, and they often spend hours over their toilets. A Japanese noble gotten up in fine old style is a sight worth going a long distance to see, and he knows it too. lie has a lot of stiff silks and heavy i-obes that cost a gi-eat deal of money, and they must be arranged with the greatest care, as the least displacement is a serious affair. I haven't seen one of them yet, and Doctor Bronson says we may not see any during our stay in Japan, as the government has abolished the old dress, and adopted that of Western Europe. It is too bad that they have done so, as the Japanese dress is very becoming to the people — ever so much more so than the new one they have taken. JapaTi A .JAPANESK AT IMS TOILET FOU A VISIT OF CI-MtEMONY. AN IMPOKTANT DISCOVERY. 93 is fast losing its national characteristics, through the eagei'ness of the government to follow Western fashions. "What a pity ! I do hope I shall be able to see one of those old-fashioned dresses, and won't mind liow far I have to go for it. "Now, mother, this letter is addressed to yon, but it is intended for everybody ; and I know 3'on'll read it to everybody, and have it lianded round, so that all can know where I am and what I have told you aljout Japan. When I don't write to each one of you, I know you will under- stand why it is, — because I am so busy, and trying to learn all I can. Give my love to each and every one in tlie family, and tell Mary she knows somebody outside of it that wants a share. Tell her I often think of the morning we left, and how a handkerchief waved from the railway station when we came away. And tell Mary, too, that I haven't yet opened her list of things I am to get for her ; but I haven't forgotten it, and have it all safe and right. There are lots of pretty things to buy here ; and if she has made a full catalogue of Japanese cm-iosities, she has given me enough to do for the present — and the presents. " Good-night, dear mother, and look for another letter by the next mail. " Your loving son, « Feaxk." Fred finished his letter almost at the same moment that Frank affixed the signature to his own. By the time they were through it was late in the evening, and the hour for retiring to bed. Their sleeping-places wei'e exactly such as they might have found in any American hotel, and they longed for a view of a Japanese bed. Frank Avas inclined to ask Doctor Bronson to describe one to them, but Fred thought it would be time enough when they went into the interior of tlie country and saw one. They were ujj early the next morning, but not as early as the Jap- anese. "I tell you what," said Fi-ank, "I have made a discovery." " What is it ?" "I have been thinking of something to introduce into the United States, and make everybody get up early in the morning." " Something Japanese V "Yes. Something that interested us yesterday when we saw it." " Well, we saw so many things that I couldn't begin to guess in half an hour. Wliat was it?" " It was a pillow." Qi THE BOY TRAVELLERS. "You mean tliose little things the Japanese sleep on?" " 1 es ; they are so uneouifortahle that we couldn't use them with any sort of pleasure. Nobody would want to lie in bed after he liad waked lip, if he had such a pillow under his head. He would be out in a minute, and wouldn't think of turning over for another doze. " Now, if our Congress will pass a law abolishing the feather pillow all over the United States, and commanding everybody to sleep on the Jap- anese one, it would make every man, woman, and child get up at least an hour earlier every day. For forty millions of people this would make a gain of forty million hours daily, and that would be equal to forty-five thousand years. Just think what an advantage that would be to the country, and how much more we could accomplish than we do now. Isn't it a grand idea V Fred thought it might be grand and profitable to the country, but it would be necessaiy to make the pillows for the people ; and from what he had heard of Congress, he didn't think they would vote away the public money for anything of the sort. Besides, the members of Congress would not wish to deprive themselves of the privilege of sleeping on feather pil- lows, and therefore they wouldn't vote away their liberties. So he ad- vised Frank to study Japan a little longer before he suggested the adop- tion of the Japanese pillow in America. This conversation occurred while the boys were in fi'ont of the hotel, and waiting for the Doctor, whom they expected every moment. When he came, the three went out for a stroll, and returned in good season for breakfast. While they were out they took a peep into a Japanese house, where the family were at their morning meal, and thus the boys had an opportunity of couiparing their own ways with those of the country they were in. A dignified native, with the fore part of his head closely shaven, Avas squatted on the floor in front of a little box atiout a foot high, which served as a table. Opposite was his wife, and at the moment our party looked in she M'as engaged in pouring something from a liottle into a small cup the size of a thimble. Directly under her liand was a bowl filled with freshly boiled rice, from which the steam was slowly rising; and at the side of the table was another and smaller one, holding some plates and chopsticks. A tiny cup and a bowl constituted the rest of the break- fast equipment. The master was waited upon by his wife, who was not supposed to attend to her own wants until his had been fully met. She sat with her back to the window, wliich was covered with paper in small squares pasted to the frame, and at her right was a screen, such as one A CUP OF SA-KEE. A JjU'ANESH BREAKFAST. finds in nearly all Eastern countries. < )n her left was a cliest of drawers M'itli curions locks and handles, which doubtless contained tlie family wealth of linen. As they went on, after their view of a Japanese interior, Frank asked what was the name and character of the liquid the woman was pouring into the glass or cup for her husband. " That was probably sa-kee," replied the Doctor. " And what is sa-kee, jDlease ?" "It is," answered the Doctor, " a sort of wine distilled fi-om rice. Foreigners generally call it rice wine, but, more properly speaking, it is rice whiskey, as it partakes more of the nature of spirit than of wine. It is very strong, and will intoxicate if taken in any considerable C|uantity. The Japanese usually drink it hot, and take it from the little cups that you saw. The cups hold so small a quantity that a great many fillings are necessary to produce any unpleasant effect. The Japanese rarely drink to intoxication, and, on the whole, they are a very temi^erate people." Fred thereupon began to moralize on the policy of introducing Japan- ese customs into America. He thought more practicable good could be done by the adoption of the Japanese cup — which would teach our people 96 THE BOY TIIAVELLEKS. to drink more lightlv than at present — than by Frank's plan of introduc- ing the Japanese pillow. He thought there would be some drawbacks to Frank's enterprise, which would otiset the good it could do. Thus a great number of people whom the pillow might bring iip at an earlv hour would spend the time in ways that would not be any benetit to society, and they might as well be asleep, and in many cases better, too.' But the tiny drinking-cnp wotild moderate the quantity of stimulants many per- sons would take, and thus a great good might be accomplished. While thus talking, and trying to conjure up absurd things, they reached the hotel, and soon were seated at breakfast. During breakfast Doctor Bronson unfolded some of the plans lie Lad made for the disposal of their time, so that they might see as much as pC'Ssible of Japan. ■• TTe have taken a look at Yokohama since we arrived." said he. " but there is still a great deal to see. TTe can study the place at our leisttre. as I think it best to make this our headquarters while in this part of the empire, and then we will make excursions from here to tlie points of in- terest in the vicinity. To-day we will go to Tokio." •• Can't we go first to Yeddo ;" said Fred : " I want so much t<;' see that city, and it is said to be very large." Doctor Bronson laughed slightly as he replied, •• Tokio and Yeddo are one and the same thing. Tokio means the East- ern capital, while Yeddo means the Great City. Both names have long been in use : but the city was tirst known to foreigners as ^ eddo. Hence it was called so in all the books that were written prior to a few years ago. when it was othcialiy announced to be Tokio. It was considered the capital at the time Japan was opened to foreigners : but there were polit- ical complications not understood by the strangers, and the true relations uf the city we are talking about and Kioto, wliieh is the "Western capital. were not explained until some time after. It was believed that there were two emperors or kings, the one in "i eddo and the other in Kioto, and that the one here was highest in authority. The real fact was that the Sho- goon. or Tycoon las he was called by the foreigners! at Yeddo was subor- dinate to the real emperor at Kioto ; and the action of the former led to a war which resulted in the complete overthrow of the Tycoon, and the establishment of the Mikado's attthority through the entire country." ■• Then the emperor is called the Mikado, is he not ;" •■ Yes : that is his official title. Formerly he was quite secluded, as his ]ierson was considered too sacred to be seen by ^irdinary eyes: but since the rebellion and revolution he has come out from his seclusion, and takes THE JAPANESK EMPEROK. 07 MUTSUHITO, MIKADO OF JAPAN. part in public ceremonials, receives visitors, and does other things like the inonarchs of Eurojiean countries. He is enlightened and progressive, and is doing all he can for the good of liis country and its people. "The curious feature of tlie revolution whic/li estal)lished tlie Mikado on his throne, and made him the ruler of tlie wliolc couuti'y is this — that 7 98 THE BUY TUAVELLEKS. the movement was undertaken to prevent the very things it has brought about." "How M-as thatf Frank asked. "Down to 1S53 Japan was in a condition of exclnsiveness in regard to other nations. There was a Dutch trading-post at Nagasaki, on tlie west- ern coast; but it was eoniined to a little island, about six hundred feet square, and the people that lived there were not allowed to go out of their enclosure except at rare intervals, and under restrictions that amounted to practical imprisonment. In the year I mentioned Commodore Perry came here with a fleet of American ships, left some presents that had been sent LANDING OF PEKKY S EXPEDITION. by the President of the United States, and sailed away. Before he left he laid the foundation for the present commercial intercourse between Japan and the United States ; and on his i-etiirn in the following year the priv- ileges were considerably enlarged. Then came the English, and secured similar concessions ; and thus Japan has reached her present standing among the nations. "Having been exclusive so long, and having been compelled against her will to open her ports to strangers, there was naturall}' a good deal of (ipjiosition to foreigners even after the treaty was signed. The govern- ment endeavored to carry out the terms of the treaty faithfully ; but there OVERTHROW OF THE TYCOON'S GOVERNMENT. D'J ■was a large party opposed to it, and anxious to liave the treaties torn up and the foreigners expelled. This party was so powerful that it seemed to include almost a majority of the nation, and the Kioto government took the Yeddo section to task for what it had done in admitting the foreign- ers. One thing led to another, and finally came the war between the Mi- kado and the Tycoon. The latter was overthrown, as I iiave already told you, and the Mikado was the supreme ruler of the land. " The Mikado's party was opposed to the presence of foreigners in the country, and their war-cry was 'Death to the strangers!' When the war was over, there was a.general expectation that measures would be adopted looking to the expulsion of the hated intruder. But, to the surprise of many, the government became even more progressive than its predecessor had been, and made concessions to the foreigners that the others had never granted. It was a curious spectacle to see the conservative government doing more for the introduction of the foreigner than the Yevj men they had put down because of their making a treaty with the Americans. " The opponents of the Mikado's government accuse it of acting in bad faith, but I do not see that the charge is just. As I understand the sit- \iation, the government acted honestly, and with good intent to expel the foreigner in case it should obtain power. But when the po^ver was obtained, they found the foreigner could not be expelled so easily ; he was here, and intended to re- main, and the only thing the government could do was to make the best of it. The for- eign nations who had treaties with Japan would not tear the)n up, and the government found that wliat it had intended at tlie time of the revolution could not be accomplished. Foreign in- tercourse went on, and the Jap- anese began to instruct them- selves in Western ways. They sent their young men to Amer- ica and other countries to be the last shogoon of japan. 100 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. educated. They hired teachers to take charge of schools in Japan, and in every way tried to turn the presence of the foreigner to their advan- taij;e. There is an old adage that what can't lie cnred must he endured, and Japan seems to have acted upon it. The foreigner was here as an evil, and they eonldn't cure him out. So they set about finding tlie best way of enduring him. " But it is time we were getting ready for a start for Tokio, and so we'll suspend our discussion of Japanese political history. It's a dry sub- ject, and I hesitate to talk to you about it lest I may weary you." Both the boys declared the topic was interesting, and they would con- sider their study of Japan incomplete without some of its history. The Doctor promised to return to the subject at some future occasion ; and with this iTudcrstanding they separated to prepare for their journey to the capital. THE KAILWAY IN JAPAN. 101 CHAPTER VII. FROM YOKOHAMA TO TOKIO. ONE of the innovations in Japan since tlie arrival of the foreigners is tlie railway. Among the presents carried to the country by Commo- dore Perry were a miniature locomotive and some cars, and several miles of railway track. The track was set up, and the new toy was regarded with much interest by the Japanese. For some years after the country was opened there was considerable opposition to tlie introduction of the new mode of travel, but by degrees all hostility vanished, and the govern- ment entered into contracts for the construction of a line from Yoko- hama to Tokio. The distance is about seventeen miles, and the route fol- lows the shore of the bay, wdiere there are no engineering difficulties of consequence. In spite of the ease of construction and the low price of labor in Japan, the cost of the work was very great, and would have astonished a railway engineer in America. The work was done under English supervision and by English contractors, and from all accounts there is no reason to suppose that they lost anything by the operation. Doctor Bronson and our young friends went from Yokohama to the capital by the railway, and found the ride a pleasant one of about an hour's duration. They found that the conductors, ticket -sellers, brake- men, and all others with whom they came in contact were Japanese. For some time after the line was opened the management was in the hands of foreigners; but by degrees they were removed, and the Japanese took charge of the business, for which they had paid a liberal price. They have shown themselves fully competent to manage it, and the new system of travel is cpiite popular with the people. Three kinds of carriages are run on most of the trains; the first class is patronized by the high officials and the foreigners who have plenty of money ; the second by the middle- class natives — official and otherwise — and foreigners whose purses are not plethoric; and the third class by the peasantry, and common people gen- erally. Frank observed that there were few passengers in the first-class carriages, more in the second, and that the third class attracted a crowd, 103 THE BOY TRAVELLEllS. TUIED-CLASS PASSENGERS. and was evidently j^opular. The Doctor told liiin that the railway had been well patronized since the day it was first opened, and that the facili- ties of steam locomotion have not been confined to the eastern end of the empire. The experiment on the shores of Yeddo Bay proved so satis- factory that a line has since been opened from Kobe to Osaka and Kioto, in the West — a distance of a little more than fifty miles. The people take to it as kindly as did those of the East, and the third-class carriages are generally well filled. At the station in Yokohama the boys found a news-stand, the same as they might find one in a station in America, bnt with the difference against them that they were unable to read the papers that were sold there. They bought some, however, to send home as curiosities, and found them very cheap. Newspapers existed in Japan before the for- eigners went there ; but since the advent of the latter the number of pub- lications has increased, as the Japanese can hardly fail to observe the great influence on public opinion which is exercised by the daily press. They have introduced metal types after the foreign system, instead of jjrinting from wooden blocks, as they formerly did, and, but for the difference in the character, one of their sheets might be taken for a paper printed in Europe or America. Some of the papers have large circulations, and the newsboys sell them in the streets, in the same way as the urchins of New VIEWS I'-ROM THE CAR WINDOWS. 103 York engage in the kindred business. There is this difference, liowever, that the' Japanese newsbo)'s are generally men, and as they walk along they read in a monotonous tone the news which the jjaper they are selling contains. The train started promptly on the advertised time, and the boys found that there were half a dozen trains each way daily, some of them running through, like express trains in other countries, while others were slower, and halted at every station. The line ran through a succession of fields and villages, the former bearing evidence of careful cultivation, while the latter were thickly populated, and gave indications of a good deal of taste in their arrangement. Shade-trees were numerous, and Frank readily accepted as correct the statement he had somewhere read, that a Japanese would rather move his house than cut down a tree in case the one inter- fered with the other. The rice harvest was nearly at hand, and the fields M'cre thickly burdened witli the waving rice-plants. Men were working in the fields, and moving slowly to and fro, and ever3'where there was an activit}' that did not betoken a lazy people. The Doctor explained that if they had been there a month earlier, they would have witnessed the proc- ess of hoeing the rice-plants to keep down tlie weeds, but that now the hoeing was over, and there was little to do beyond keeping the fields properly flooded with water, so that the ripening plants sliould have the JAPANESE rLOUGHIKG. 101 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. necessary nourishment. He pointed ont an irrigating-machiiic, wliieli was in operation close to the railway, and the boys looked at it with much interest. A wheel was so fixed in a small trough that when it was tnrned the water was raised from a little pool, and flowed over the land it was desii-ahle to irrigate. The turning process was performed l.)y a man who stood above the wheel, and stepped from one float to another. The machinery was very simple, and had the merit of cheapness, as its cost could not have been large at tlie price of labor in Japan. In another place a man was engaged in ploughing. lie had a primi- tive-looking instrument with a blade like tliat of a large hatchet, a beam set at right angles, and a single handle which he grasped with botli hands. It was propelled by a horse which re- quired some one to lead him, but he did not seem to regard the labor of dragging the plough as anything serious, as he walked ofi^ very much as though nothing were behind him. Just beyond the ploughman there \vas a man with a roller, engaged in covering some seed that had been put in for a late crop. Tie was using a common roller, which closely resembled the one we employ for smoothing our garden walks and beds, with the exception that it was rougher in construction, and did not appear as round as one naturally expects a roller to be. JAPANIOSE ROLLER. JIANUKING PROCESS. FARMING PKOCESSES IN JAPAN. 10£ Fred saw a man dipping something from a hole in the ground, and asked tlie Doctor what lie was doing. Tiie Doctor explained that the hole was a cask set in the ground, and that it probably contained liquid manure. Tlie Japanese use it for enriching their fields. They keep it in these holes, covered with a slight roof to prevent its evap- oration as much as possible, and they spread it around where wanted by means of buckets. The great drawback to a walk in a Japanese field is the frequency of the manure deposits, as the odor arising from them is anything but agreeable. Particularly is this so in the early part of the sea- son, when the young plants re- quire a great deal of attention and nourishment. A nose at such times is an organ of great inconven- ience. The Doctor went on to explain that the Japanese farmers were very watchful of their crops, and that men were employed to scare away the birds, that sometimes dug up the seed after it Avas planted, and also ate the grain while it was ripening. The Avatchmen had pieces of board which they put on frames suspended in the air, and so arranged that they rattled in the wind, and performed a service similar to tliat of the scare- crow in America. In addition to this mode of making a noise, the watch- men had whistles and clappers, and sometimes they carried small bells M'hich they rang as they walked about. It was the duty of a watcliman to keep constantly on tlie alert, as the birds were full of mischief, and, from being rarely shot at, their boldness and impudence were Cjuite aston- ishing to one freshly arrived from America, where tlie use of fire-arms is so general. Wliile Doctor Bronson was explaining about the birds, Fred suddenly gave an exclamation of delight. " Look, look !" said he ; " Avliat are those beautiful white birds ?" HOW TUEY CSli MANUUE. 106 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. MUDL i.i 1 i.ulH,n.\t. LASD i KU.M illKUo. " Oh, I know," answered Frank; STORKS, DICAWN BY A NATIVIi AHTI8T. ■they are storks. I recognize them from the pictures I have seen on fans and screens. I'nj sure they are storks." The decision was appealed to Doctor Bronson, who decided that the birds in question were storks, and nothing else. There was no mistaking their heantif ul figures; whether standing in tlie fields or flying in the air, the stork is one of the handsomest birds known to the ornithologist. " You see," said Doctor Bron- son, "that the stork justifies the homage that is paid to him so far as a graceful figure is concerned, and the Japanese have shown an eye for beauty when they se- lected him for a prominent place in their pictures. You see him everywhere in Japanese art — SKILL OF JAl'ANESE ARTISTS. 1U7 in bronzes, on costly paintings, eni1.)roidered on silk, printed on fans, and on nearly every article of household nse. He has a sacred charactei-, and it would not be easy to tind a Japanese who wonld willingly inflict an injurj' upon one of these birds." There are probably no other artists in the world who can equal the Japanese in drawing the stork in all the ways and attitudes he assumes. These are almost countless ; but, not satisfied with this, there are some of the native artists who are accused of representing him in attitudes he was never known to take. Admitting this to be the case, it cannot be disputed that the Japanese are masters of their profession in delineating this bird, and that one is never weary of looking at his portrait as they draw it. They have nearly ecpial skill in drawing other birds, and a few strokes of the brush or pencil will accomplish marvels in the way of pictorial representation. A flock of geese, some on the ground and others in flight, can be drawn in a few moments by a native designer, and the most exacting critic will not find anything wanting. FLOCK or GEESE. The train sped onward, and in an hour from the time of leaving the station at Yokohama it was nearing Tokio. It passed in full view of the forts of Shinagawa, which were made memorable during the days of Perry and Lord Elgin, as the foreign ships were not allowed to pass them, and 108 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. SHINAGAWA. 109 there was at one time a prospect that they would open tire npon tlie in- truders. Kear one of tlie forts, a boat containing tliree tislierinen was pull- ing slowly along, one man handling the oar, while the otlier two were lift- ing a net. Whether any fish were contained in it the boys did not ascertain, as the train would not stop long enough to permit an investigation. The fort rose from the water like a huge warehouse ; it might resist a Chinese juuk, or a whole fleet of the rude craft of the East, but could not hold out an hour against the artillery of the Western nations. In recent years the forts of Tokio have been strengthened, but they are yet far from what an American or English admiral would hold in high respect. The Japanese have made commendable progress in army organization ; but, so far as one can learn generally, they have not done much in the way of constructing and manning fortifications. On their arrival in Tokio, our young friends looked around to discover in what the city differed from Yokohama. They saw the same kind of people at the station that they had left in Yokohama, and heard pretty nearly the same sounds. Porters, and others who hoped to serve them and thereby earn something, gathered around ; and they found in the open A JIN'-IUKI-SHA. 110 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. space in front of the station a liberal number of conveyances ready to take them wherever they wanted to go. There were carriages and jin- riki-shas from which they could choose, and it did not take them long to decide in favor of the jiu-riki-sha. It was a novelty to them, though not altogether so, as they had seen it in Yokohama, and had tried its qualities in their journey from the hotel to the station in the morning. " What is tlie jin-riki-sha *" the reader naturally asks. Its name comes from three words, " jiu," meaning man ; " riki,'' power; and "sha," carriage: altogether it amounts to "man-power-carriage." It is a little vehicle like an exaggerated baby-cart or diminutive one-horse cliaise, and has comfortable seating capacity for only one person, though it will hold two if tliey are not too large. It was introduced into Japan in 1870, and is said to have been the invention of an American. At all events, the first of them came from San Francisco ; but the Japanese soon set about making them, and now there are none imported; It is said that there are nearly a hundred thousand of them in use, and, judging by the abundance of them everywhere, it is easy to believe that the estimate is not too high. The streets are full of them, and, no matter where you go, you are rarely at a loss to find one. As their name indicates, they are car- riages drawn by men. For a short distance, or where it is not required to keep up a high speed, one man is sufficient; but otherwise two, or even three, men are needed. They go at a good trot, except when ascending a hill or whore the roads are bad. They easily make four and a half or five miles an hour, and in emergencies can do better than the last-named rate. Frank and Fred were of opinion that the jin-riki-sha would be a slow vehicle to travel in, but asked the Doctor for his experience of one in his previous visit to the countrjr. " On my first visit to Japan," replied Doctor Bronson, " this little car- riage was not in use. We went around on foot or on horseback, or in )io- rimons and cangos." "And what are norimons and cangos?" " They are the vehicles in which the Japanese used to travel, and which are still much employed in various parts of the country. We shall see them before long, and then we shall have an excellent opportunity to know what they are. We shall probably be travelling in them in a few days, and I will then have your opinion concerning them. "As to the jin-riki-sha," he continued, "my experience with it in ray last visit to Japan since its introduction gives me a high opinion of the Japanese power of endurance. A few days after my arrival, I had occasion to go a distance of about forty miles on the great road along the coast. TRAVELLING BY JIN-RIKI-SHA. Ill from yokoliama to Gdiwara. I had three men to draw the carriage, and the journey was made in twelve hoiirs, with three halts of fifteen minutes each. You could not have done better tlian this with a liorse and carriage in place of the man-power vehicle. On another occasion I went from Osaka to Nara, a distance of thirty miles, between ten in tlie morning and five in the afternoon, and halted an hour for lunch at a Japanese inn on the road. Part of the way the road was through fields, where it was nec- essary to go slowl}^, and quite frecpiently the men were obliged to lift the vehicle over water-courses and gullies, and a good deal of time was lost by these detentions." Both the boys declared that the travel under such circumstances was excellent, and that it was fully up to what the average horse could accom- plish in America. JAPANliSE ON FOOT. " The next day," said the Doctor, " I went on from K"ara to Kioto, which was another thirty miles, in about the same time and with a similar halt for dinner. I had the same men as on tlie day before, and they raced merrily along without the least sign of fatigue, although there was a pour- ing rain all day that made the roads very heavy. Frequently there were steep little hills to ascend where the I'oad passed over the water-courses or canals. You will find, as you travel in Japan, that the canals are above the general level of the countiy, in order to afford tlie proper fall for irri- gation. Where the road crosses one of these canals, tliere is a sharp rise on one side, and an equally sliarp descent on the other. You can manage the descent, but the rise is difiicult. In the present instance the rain liad softened the road, and made the pulling very hard indeed ; and, to add to the trouble, I had injured my foot and was unable to walk, so that I could not lighten the burden of the men by getting out of the carriage at the bad places. 112 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. " I was able on this journey, and partly in consequence of my lame- ness, to have an opportunity to see the great kindness of the Japanese to each other. I had my servant with me (a Japanese boy who spoke Eng- lish), and he was in a jin-riki-sha with two men to pull it, the same as mine. When we came to a bad spot in the r<.iad, the men with his carriage dropped it and came to the aid of mine ; and as soon as they had brought it tlirough its troubles, the whole four went back to bring up the other. I did not hear a single expression of anger during the whole day, but every- thing was done with the utmost good-nature. In some other countries it is quite possible that the men with the lighter burden would adhere to the principle that everybody should look out for himself, and decline to as- sist unless paid extra for their trouble. " You will find, the more you know the Japanese, that they cannot be excelled in their kindnesses to each other. They have great reverence and respect for their parents ; and their afEection for brothers and sisters, cous- ins, aunts, and all relati^■es, is worthy of admiration. If you inquire into the circumstances of the laboring-men, whose daily earnings are very small, and with whom life is a most eai-nest struggle, you will find that nearly every one of them is supporting somebody besides himself, and that many of their families are in- conveniently large. Yet they accept all their bur- dens cheerfully, and are always smiling, and ap- parently happy. "Whether they are really so has been doubted ; but I see no good reason to call theircheerfulness in ques- tion. "Butl will tell you a still moi'e remarkable sto- ry of the endurance of these Japanese runners. While I was at Kioto, an English clerg3'man came there with his wife ; and after they had seen the city, the}' were very anx- ious to go to Xara. They AN KX1'HI:;SS liUNNKK. TRAITS Ol-- JAPANESE CHARACTER. 113 ]iad only a day to spare, as tliey were obliged to be at Kobe at a certain date to meet the steamer for Shanghai. They made arrangements to be taken to ISTara and back in that time — a distance, going and coming, of sixty miles. They had three men to each jin-riki-sha, and they kept the same men through the entire trip. They left the hotel at Kioto at four o'clock in the morning, and were back again at half-past eight in the eveuing. You couldn't do better than this with a horse, unless he were an exceptionally good one." Frank thought that he should not enjoy the jin-riki-sha, as he would be constantly thinking of the poor fellows who were pulling him, and of how mucli they were suffering on his account. lie could not bear to see them tugging away and perspiring while he was reclining in a comfortable seat. " I readily understand you," Doctor Bronson answered, " as I had the same feeling myself, and every American has it wlien he first comes to the countrj'. He has a great deal of sympathy for the men, and I have known some strangers to refuse to ride in a jin-riki-sha on that account. But if you will apply reason to the matter, you will soon get over tlie feeling. Kemember that the nran gets his living by pulling his little carriage, and that he regards it as a great favor when you patron- ize him. You do him a kindness wlien you employ him; and the more you employ liim, tlie more will he regard you as his friend. He was born to toil, and expects to toil as long as he lives it as a hardship, but cheerfully accepts liis lot ; and tlio more work he obtains, the lietter is lie satisfied. And when you pay liim for his services, you will win his most heart-felt affection if you add a trifle by way of gratuity. If you give only the ex- act wages prescribed by law, he does not complain, and you have only to add a few cents to make his eyes glisten with grat- itude. In m}^ experience of laboring-men in all parts of tlie world, I have found that the Japanese coolie is the most patient, and has the warmest heart, the most thank- ful for honest pay for honest work, and the most appreciative of the trifles that liis employer gives him in the way of presents." He does not recrar( A JAPANESE COOLIE. Hi THE BOY TRAVELLERS. When the Doctor had finished liis eulogy npon the Japanese, tlie boys clapped their hands, and were evidently touched M'ith his enthusiasm. From the little they had seen since their arrival in the country, they coin- cided with him in opinion, and were ready to endorse what he said. And if they had been in any doubt, they had only to refer to tlie great majority of foreigners who reside in Japan for the confirmation of what the Doctor had declared. Testimony in this matter is as nearly unanimous as it is generally possible to find it on any subject, and some of the foreign resi- dents are ready to go much further in their laudations of the kindly spirit of the natives than did Doctor Bronson. rITY FOR THIS BLIND. THE EXTENT OF TOKIO. 115 CHAPTER Vin. SIGHTS IN THE EASTERN CAPITAL OF JAPAN. ^I"^0 see the wliole of Tokio is a matter of no small moment, as the area -L of the city is very great. There seems to have been no stint of gronnd when the place was laid out, and in riding through it you find whole fields and gardens so widely spread that you can readily imagine yourself to be in the rural districts, and are rather surprised when told that yon are yet in the city limits. The city is divided into two unerpial portions by the Sumida Kiver, and over this river is the Nihon Baslii, or VIEW OF TOKIO, FROM THE SOUTH. Nihon Eridge, which is often called the centre of Japan, for the reason that all the roads were formerly measured from it. It has the same rela- tion to Japan as the famous "London Stone" has to England, or, rather, as the London Stone had a hundred years ago. From the railway station our travellers went to the Nihon Bashi, in order to begin their journey fi-om the centre of the empire. A more 116 THE BOY TRA\'ELLEES. practical reason -was a desire to see tlie river, and the great street leading to it, as tliey would get a good idea of tlie extent of the city by taking this route, and would obtain numerous glimpses of Japanese street life. They found the streets full of people, and it seemed to the boys that the whole population must be out for an airing. But tlie Doctor informed them that the sight they were witnessing was an every-day affair, as the Japanese were essentially an outdoor people, and that many of the indus- tries which in other countries would be conducted under a roof were here seen in progress out of doors. The fronts of the Japanese houses are rpiite open to the view of the public, and there is hard- ly anything of what we call privacy. It was formerly no uncommon sight to see people bathing in tubs placed in front of their door-steps ; and even at the present time one has only to go into the villages, or away from the usual haunts of foreign- ers, to see that spectacle which would be unknown in the United States. The bath- houses are now closed in front in all the cities, but remain pretty much as before in the smaller towns. Year by year the country is adopting Western ideas, and coming to understand the "Western views of propriety. As the boys rode along, their atten- tion was drawn to some tall ladders that JAPANESE LAUY COMING FJiU-M THE BATH. rose above the buildings, and they eager- ly asked the Doctoi' what those ladders were for. They conld not see the use of climbing up in the air and then coming down again ; and, altogether, the things were a mystery to them. A few words explained the matter. The ladders were nothing more nor less than fire-lookouts, and were elevated above the buildings so that the watchmen could have an unobstructed view. A bell was attached to each ladder, and by means of it a warning-signal was given in case of a threatened conflagration. Fii-es ai'c frequent in Tokio, and some of them have done immense damage. The city is mostly built of wood ; and when a fire breaks out and a high wind is blowing, the result is often disastrous to an enormous extent. After the great tires of the last twenty years, the burned districts have THE JAPANESE LOTOS l'L(^\VEK. 117 FIRE-LOOKOUTS IX TOKIO. been rebuilt of stone, or largely so ; and precautions that were hitherto unknown are now taken for the pre- vention of fresh disastei's. Some of the new quarters are quite substan- tial, but the}'' resemble too strongly the edifices of a city in Europe to be characteristic of Japan. A portion of the way took our friends through the grounds of some of the castles, and the boys were rath- er astonished at the extent of these residences of princes. Doctor Bron- son explained that Tokio was former- ly a city of princes, and that the resi- dences of the Daimios, as these great men were called, were of more con- sequence at one time than all the rest of the city. The palace of a Daimio was known as a yashiki, and the yashikis were capable, in some instances, of lodging five or ten thousand men. Under the present government the power of the princes has been, taken away, and their troops of retainers have been disbanded. The gov- ernment has converted the most of the yashikis into ofiices and barracks and schools, and one at least has been turned into a manufactory. The original plan of Tokio was that of a vast camp, and from that the city grew into its present condition. The best locations were occupied by the castles and yashikis, and the principal castle in the centre has the best j)lace of all. Frank observed as they crossed the bridge leading into the castle-yard that the broad moat was full of lotos fiowers in full bloom, and he longed to gather some of them so that he might send them home as a souvenir of the country. He had heard of the lotos as a sort of water- lily, similar in general appearance to the pond-lily of his native land. He was surprised to find a flower, eight or ten inches in diameter, growing on a strong stalk that did not float on the water, but held itself erect and far above it. The Doctor explained the matter by telling him that the Japanese lotos is unlike the Egyptian lotos, from which our ideas of that flower are derived. But the Japanese one is highly prized by the peo- ple of all ranks and classes, and it grows in abundance in all the castle- moats, and in marshy ground generally. 118 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. TOO RIUCII SA-KEE. Near tlie entrance of one of tlie castle -yards tliej met a couple that attracted their attention. It was a respectable -appearing citizen who had evidently partaken too freely of the cup that cheers and also inebriates, as his steps were unsteady, and he would have fallen to the ground had it not been for the assistance of jiis wife, who was leading him and guiding him in the way he should go. As the strangers went past him he raised his hand to his liead ; but Frank could not determine whether it was a movement of salutation or of dazed incjuiry. The Doc- tor suggested that it was more likely to have been the latter than the former, since the Jap- anese do not salute in our man- ner, and the man was too much under the influence of the " sa-kee '' he had swallowed to adopt any foreign modes of politeness. Sights like this are not unknown in the great cities of Japan, but they are far less frequent than in New York or London. The Japanese say that drunkenness is on the decrease in the past few years, owing to tlie abolition of the Samurai class, who have been com- jielled to work for a living, instead of being supported out of the reve- imes of the state, as formerly. Tliey have less time and money for dis- sipation now than they had in the olden days, and, consequently, their necessities have made them temperate. For an Oriental city Tokio has remarkably wide streets, and some of them are laid out witli all the care of Western engineering. In the course of their morning ride the party came to Sakuradu Avenue, ■which Fred recognized from a drawing by a native artist, who had taken pains to preserve the architecture of the buildings on each side with complete fidelitj'. The foundations of the houses were of irregular stones cut in the form of lozenges, but not with mathematical accuracy. The boys had already noticed this form of hewing stone in the walls of the castles, Avliere some very large blocks were piled. They \vere rejJorted to have been brought from distant parts of the empire, and the cost of their transpor- A STRKET IN THE JAPANESE CAPITAL. 119 120 THE BOY TRAVI-XLERS. tation must have been very great. Few of the houses were of more than two stories, and the great majority were of only one. Along Sakuradu Avenue they were of two stories, and had long and low windows with paper screens, so that it was impossible for a person in the street to see what was going on inside. The eaves projected far over the upright sides, and thus formed a shelter that was very acceptable in the heat of sum- mer, while in rainy weather it had many advantages. These yashikis were formerly the property of Daimios, but are now occupied by the Foreign Office and the War Department. Inside the enclosure there are many shade-trees, and they make a cooling contrast to the plain walls of the buildings. The Japanese rarely paint the interior or the exterior of their buildings. Nearly everything is hnished in the natural color of the wood, and very pretty the wood is too. It is something like oak in appearance, but a trifle darker, and is susceptible of a high polish. It admits of a great variety of uses, and is very easily wrought. It is known as keyaki- wood ; and, in spite of the immense quantity that is annuall_y used, it is cheap and abundant. Some of the Daimios exjjended immense amounts of money in the decoration of their palaces by means of bronzes, embroideries on silk, fine lacquer, and the like. Art in Jajian was nourished by the Daimios, and we have much to thank them for in the way of household adorn- ment. Since the adoption of "Western ideas in decoration and household fur- niture, the Japanese dwellings have lost somewhat in point of attractive- ness. Our carjjets and furniture are out of place in a Japanese room, and so are our pictures and statuary. It is a pity that the people should ever abandon their domestic customs for ours, wdiatever thej might do in the matter of military equipment, machinery, and other things that are more or less commercial. Japanese men and women are far more attractive in their native dress than in ours, and a Japanese house loses its charm when the ueat mattings give way to European carpets, and chairs and tables are spread around in place of the simple adornments to which the people were accustomed. After an interesting ride, in which their eyes were in constant use, the boys reached the Temple of Asakusa, which is one of the great points of attraction to a stranger in Tokio. The street wliich led up to the temple was lined with booths, in which a great variety of things were offered for sale. Nearly all of these things were of a cheap class, and evidently the patrons of the temple were not of the wealthier sort. Toys were numer- ous, and as our party alighted they saw some children gazing wistfully at SPORTS OF JAPANESE CHILDREN. 121 a collection of dolls ; Frank and Fred suggested the propriety of making the little people happy bj' expending something for them. The Doctor gave his approval ; so the boys invested a sum erpial to about tweut}' cents of our money, and were astonished at the num- ber of dolls they were able to procure for their out- lay. The little Japs were delighted, and danced around in their glee, just as any children might liave done in another, country. A few paces away some boys were endeavoring to walk on bamboo poles, and evidently they were having a jolly time, to judge by their laughter. Two boys were hang- ing by their hands from a pole, and endeavoring to turn somersets ; while two others were trj'- ing to walk on a pole close by them. One of the walkers fell off, and was laughed at by his compan- ions ; but he was speedily up again, determined not to give np till he had accomplished his task. Japanese children are well supplied with dolls and other playthings, and there are certain festivals in which the whole family devotes itself to the prep- aration or purchase of dolls to amuse the little ones. The greatest of these festivals is known as the " Hina Matsuri," or Feast of Dolls, hiria mean- ing doll, and matsuri being applicable to any kind of feast. It occurs on the third day of the third month, and for several days before the appointed time the shops are filled with dolls just as they are filled among ns at Christmas. In fact, the whole biisiness in this line is transacted at this period, and at other times it is next to impossible to procure the things that are so abundant at the Matsuri. Every family that can afford the outlay buys a Cjuantity of images made of wood or enamelled cla}^, and dressed to represent varions imperial, nolJe, or mythological characters, either of the present time or of some former period in Japanese history. In this way the children are tanght a ffood deal of his- 'T' "i X'^S*"** tory, and their delight at the receipt of their pres- ents is quite equal to that of children in Christian lands. Not only dolls, bnt a great variety of other things, are given to the girls ; for the Sf* iti 122 THE W)Y TRAVELLERS. Hina Matsnri is more particularly a festival for girls rather than for boys. The presents are arranged on tables, and there is general rejoicing in the household. Miniature tea and toilet sets, miniature bureaus and ward- robes, and miniature liouses are among the things that fall to the lot of a Japanese girl at the time of the Ilina ]\[atsuri. Fred thought the Japanese had queer notions when compared with ours about the location of a temple in the midst of all soi'ts of entertain- SIGHTS NEAR A JAPANESE TEMPLE. 123 iiients. He was surprised to find the temple surrounded Avitli booths for singing and dancing and other amusements, and was very sure that such a thing woukl uot be allowed iu America. Doctor Bronson answered that the subject had been discussed before by people who had visited Japan, and various opinions had been formed concerning it. He thought it was not unlike some of the customs iu Europe, especially in the more Catholic countries, where the people go to church in the forenoon and de- vote the afternoon to amusement. A Japanese does not see any wrong in going to his worship through an avenue of entertainments, and then re- turning to them. lie says his prayers as a matter of devotion, and then apjjlies himself to innocent pleasure. He is firmly attached to his re- ligious faith, and his recreations are a part of his religion. What he does is all well enough for him, but whether it would answer for us is a y hand. Then there are several agricultural machines, platform scales, pumps, and a wood-woi"king apparatus from American makers, and there are two nv three of Englisli production. In the Agricultural Hall there are horse-- LOTEKS EEHIXD A SCREES'. A PAISTIKG ON SILK EX- HIBITED AT THE TOKIO FAIR. 142 THE BOy TRAVELLERS. rakes, mowers, reapers, and ploughs from America, and there ai'e also some well-made ploughs from Japanese hands. In the Eastern Hall there are some delicate balances for weighing coin and the precious metals ; they were made for the mint at Osaka, and look wondei-f ully like the Ijest French or German balances. The Jajianese have been quite successful in co|iving these instruments, more so than in imitating the heavier scales from America. Fairbanks's scales have been adojjted as the standard of tlie Japanese postal and customs departments. Some of the skilful work- men in Japan thought they could make their own scales, and so thej set about copying the American one. They made a scale that looked just as well, but was not accurate as a weighing-machine. As the chief use of a scale is to weigh correctly, the}' concluded to quit their experiments and stick to Fairbanks's. ULACKSMITH S BELLOWS. "There is an interesting display of the natural products of Jap")an,and it is exceedingly instructive to a stranger. The Japanese are studying these things M-ith great attention, and the fair will undoubtedly prove an excellent school for the people by adding to tlieir stock of information about tliemselves. Each section bears over its entrance tlie name of the city, province, or district it represents, and as these names are displayed in English as well as in Japanese, a stranger has no difhculty in finding out the products of the different parts of the empire. Tlie result is that many articles are repeated in tlie exhibition, and you meet with tliem again and again. Such, for examjJe, are raw silks, which come from various locali- ties, as likewise do articles of leather, wood, and iron. Poi'celain of various kinds appiears repeatedly, and so do tlie woods used for making furniture. There is an excellent show of porcelain, and some of the pieces are of enormous size. Kaga, Satsuma, liizen, Kioto, Nagasaki, and other wares are in abundance, and a student of ceramics will find enougli to interest him for many hours. " In cordage and material for ship-liuilding tliere is a good exhibit, and tliere are t^yo well-made models of gun-boats. Wheat, rice, millet, and JAPANESE PRODUCTS. 143 'J.M/'. other grains are represented by numerons samples, and there are several sjjecimens of Indian-corn, or maize, grown on Japanese soil. There is a goodly array of canned fruits and meats, mostly tlie former, some in tin and the rest in glass. A'^inegars, rice-whiskey, soy, and the like are aljun- dant, and so is dried fish of several kinds. There is a good display of tea and tobacco, the former being in every form, from the tea-plant np to the prepared article ready for shipn:ent. One has only to come here to see the many uses to which the Japan- ese put fibrous grasses in making mats, overcoats, and similar things : and there are like displays of the serviceability of bamboo. From the north of Japan there are otter and other skins, and from various points there are models of boats and nets to illustrate the fishing business. The engineering department shows some fine models of bridges and dams, and has evidently made good prooTess since its oru-anization." A GRASS OVERCOAT. 144 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTER X. WALKS AND TALKS IN TOKIO. TTTPIILE the Doctor and liis companions were at table in tlie res- ' ' taiirant at Uyeno, they were surprised by the presence of an old acquaintance. Mr. A., or " The Mystery," who had been their fellow-pas- senger from San Francisco, suddenly entered the room, accompanied by two Japanese officials, with wlioin he was evidently on very friendly terms. They were talking in English, and the two natives seemed to be cpiite fluent in it, but they evidently preferred to say little in the presence of the strangers. Mr. A. was equally disinclined to talk, or even to make himself known, as he simply nodded to Doctor Bronson and the boys, and then sat down in a distant corner. When the waiter came, he said some- thing to him in a low tone, and in a few minutes the proprietor appeared, and led the way to a private room, where the American and his Japanese friends would be entirely by themselves. As P'rank expressed it, " something was up," but what that something was they did not see any prospect of ascertaining immediately. After a few moments devoted to wondering what could be the meaning of the movements of the mysterious stranger, they dropped the subject and re- sumed their conversation about Japan. Fred had some c[uestions of a religious character to propound to the Doctor. They had grown out of his observations during their visits to the temples. " I noticed in son:e of the temples," said Fred, " that there were statues of Buddha and also other statues, but in other temples there were no statues of Buddha or any one else. What is the meaning of this T' " It is because the temples belong to different forms of religion," the Doctor answered. " Those where you saw the statues of Ihuldlia arc Bud- dhist in their faith and form of worship, while the rest are of another kind which is called Shinto." " And what is the diifereuce between Buddhism and Shintoisni V Frank inquired. AN ESSAY ON JAPANESE RELIGIONS. 145 " The difEereiicc," Doctor Bronson explained, " is about the same as that between tlio Iloinan Catholic faith and that of the Protestants. As I xmderstand it — but I confess that I am not quite clear on the subject — Shintoism is the result of a reforma- tion of the Buddhist religion, just as our Protestant belief is a reforma- tion of Catliolicism. " Kow, if 3'ou want to study Buddhism," he continued, " I luust refer you to a work on the relig- ions of the world, or to an encyclo- pedia, as we have no time to go into a religious dissertation, and, besides, our lunch might be spoiled while we were talking. And another reason why we ought not to enter deeply into the subject is that I should find it impossible to make a clear exposi- tion of the principles of the Bud- dhist faith or of Shintoism ; and if you pressed me too closely, I might Ijecome confused. The religions of the East are very difficult to com- prehend, and I have known men who had lived twenty years in China or India, and endeavored to study the forms and principles of the relig- ions of those countries, who t-onfessed their inability to understand them. For my own part, I must admit that when I have listened to explanations by Japanese, or other people of the East, of their religious faith, I have lieard a great deal that I could not comprehend. I concede their sinceri- ty ; and when they say .there is a great deal in our forms of worship that they do not understand, I believe they are telling the truth. Uur ways of thought are not their ways, and what is clear to one is not at all so to an- other. " I have already told yoir of the overthrow of the Shogoon, or Tycoon, and the return of the Mikado to power as the ruler of all the country. The Shogoon and his family were adherents of Buddhism, while the ]\[ika- do's followers were largel}' of the Shinto faith. When the Mikado's pow- er was restored, there was a general demand on the part of the Sliintoists that the Buddhist temples should be destroyed and the religion effaced. A good number of temples were demolished, and the government took 10 A HlGII-PRIE.Sr IN FULL COSTUiME. 14G THE BOY TKAVKLLERS. A JATANE-Si: 'I'EMl'LE. away much of tlie i-cvenue of those that remained. The temples are rap- idly going to decay, as there is no money to expend on them for re- pairs, and it is (piite possible that the beginning of the next century may see them overthrown. Sonie of them are magnificent specimens of archi- tecture, and it is a great pity that they should thus go to ruin. Adherents of the old religion declai'e that the goverunieut had at one time deter- UESEMBLANCES BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN RELIGIONS. 147 mined to issue an order for the demolition of every Buddhist temple in the country, and only refrained from so doing throngh fear that it would lead to a revolution. The Shiba temple in Tokio, one of the finest in Japan, was burned under circumstances that led many persons to accuse the government of having had a hand in the conflagration, and I know there are foreigners in Tokio and Yokohama who openly denounce the authorities for the occurrence. " As you have observed, the Buddhist temples contain the statue of Buddha, while the Shinto temples have nothing of the sort. For all practical purposes, you may compare a Buddhist temple to a Catholic church, with its statues and pictures of the saints ; and a Shinto temple to a Protestant church, with its bare walls, and its altar with no ornament of consequence. The Buddhis'ts, like the Catholics, burn a great deal of in- cense in front of their altars and before their statues; but the Shintoists do not regard the burning of incense as at all necessary to salvation. Both religions have an excellent code of morals ; and if all the adherents of either should do as they are told by their sacred teachers, there would not be much wickedness in the country. As for tliat matter, there is enough of moral precept in nearly every religion in the world to live by, but the trouble is that the whole world will not live as it should. Bud- dhism is more than five hundred years older than Christianity. The old forms of Shintoism existed before Buddhism was brought to Japan ; but the modern is so much changed from the old that it is virtually, as I told you, a reformation of Buddhism. At all events, that was the form which it assumed at the time the Shogoon's government was overthrown. " You have only to see the many shrines and temples in all parts of the country to know how thoroughly religious the whole population is, es- pecially when you observe the crowds of devout worshippers that go to the temples daily. Every village, however small and poor, has its temple ; and wherever you go, you see little shrines by the roadside with steps lead- ing up to them. They are invariably in the most picturesque spots, and always in a situation that has a view as commanding as possible. You saw them near the railway as we came here from Yokohama, and you can hardly go a mile on a Japanese road without seeing one of them. The Japanese have remembered their love for the picturesque in arranging their temples and shrines, and thus have made them attractive to the great mass of the people. " Since the opening of Japan to foreigners, the missionaries have de- voted much attention to the country as a field of labor. Compared with the result of missionary labors in India, the cause has prospered, and a 148 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. A W \^SU)L SIIKINE. i^-reat deal of good lias l)een aceoinplisliod. The Japanese ai'e not an un- thinking people, and tlieir faculties of analysis are very keen. They show more interest in the doctrines of fUn'istianity than do the Chinese and some other Oriental people, and are quite willing to discuss them when- ever they are properly presented." The discussion came to an end, and the ]5arty ])repared to move on. They wei'e uncertain Mdiere to go, and, after a little time spent in del)ate, the Doctor suggested that they might as well go once more to the Nih(.)n Bashi, or Central Bridge, and enjoy an afternoon view of the i-iver. Off they started, and in due time were at the famous bridge, and in the mitlst ()f the active life that goes on in its vicinity. The view up and down the river was an animated one. Many hoats were on the water, some of them lying at anchor, or tied up to the bank ; wliile others were slowly threading the stream in one way and another. The lianks of tlic river were lined with gay restaurants aiul other places t>f pid)lic resort, and fi-oni some of tjiem came the stmnds of native music, indicating that the patrons Avere eujoying themselves. The gi'eat moun- tain of Ja]>an was in full view, and was a more welcome sight than the crowds of beggars that lined the bridge and sliowed altogether too much attention to tlie strangers. The bridge itself is not tlie magnificent struct- ure that one miglit expect to iiiul when he reuiembers its national impor- AN OFFICIA]> BULLETIN-BOAUD. 14!) tance. It is a rickety affair, built of wood, and sliowing signs of great an- tiquity ; and its baelv rises as tliongli somebody had attempted to lift it up by pressing his shoulders l)eneath and had nearly succeeded in his effm't. I^car the southern end of the bridge the boys observed sometliing like a great sign-board with a railing around it, and a roof above to keep the rain from injuring the placards which were painted beneath. The latter were in Japanese, and, of course, neither Frank nor Fred conld make ont their meaning. So they asked the Doctor what the structure was for and why it was in such a conspicuous place. " That," answered the Doctoi-, " is the great kosatsn." Fi'ank said he was glad to know it, and he would be more glad when he knew what the kosatsu was. " The kosatsu," continued Doctor Bronson, " is tlie sign-board where the official notices of the government are posted. You find these boards in all the cities, towns, and villages of Japan ; there may be several in a city, but there is alwaj's one which has a higher character than the rest, and is known as the great kosatsu. The one you are now looking at is the most celebrated in the empire, as it stands near the JSTihon Bashi, whence all roads are measured, as I have already explained to you."' "Please, Doctor," said Frank, "what is the nature of the notices they put on the sign-board ?" " Any public notice or law, any new order of the government, a regula- tion of the police, appointments of officials ; in fact, anything tliat -would be pul)lished as an official announcement in other countries. There was formerly an edict against Christians which was puljlislied all over the em- pire, and was on all the kosatsus. The edict appeared on the kosatsu of the Nihon Bashi down to the overthrow of the Siiogoon's government, in 1808, when it was removed." " And what was the edict ?" "It forbade Christianity in these words: 'The evil sect called Chris- tians is strictly prohibited. Suspicious persons should be reported to the proper officers, and rewards will be given.' Directly under this edict was another, which said, 'Human beings must carefully practise the principles of the five social relations : Charity must be shown to widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and sick. There must be no such crimes as mur- der, arson, or robbery.' Both these orders were dated in the month of April, 1868, and consecpiently are not matters of antiquity. The original edict against Christians was issued two hundred years ago, and was never revoked. St. Francis Xavier and his zealous comrades had introdncetl the religion of Europe into Japan, and their success was so great that the 150 THE BOY TUAVELLEKS. government became alarmed for its safety. Tliey foiuid proofs that the new religionists intended to subjugate the country and place it under the dominion of Spain ; and in the latter part of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century there was an active persecution of the Chris- tians. Many were expelled from the country, many more were executed, and the cause of Christianity received a blow from wliich it did not recover HOW CHILDREN ARE AMUSED. 151 until our day. Now the missionaries are at liberty to pi-eaeli tlie Gospel, and may make as many converts as tliey please." As tliey walked away from the kosatsu they saw a gronp engaged in the childish amusement of blowing soap-bubbles. There were three persons in the group, a man and two boys, and the youngsters were as happy as American or English boys would have been under similar cir- cumstances. While the man blew the bubbles, the boys danced around him and endeavored to catch the shining globes. Fred and Frank were much interested in the spectacle, and had it not been for their sense of dignity, and the manifest impropriety of interfering, they would have join- ed in the sport. The jslayers were poorly clad, and evidently did not be- long to the wealthier class ; but they were as happy as though they had been princes ; in fact, it is very doubtful if princes could have had a quarter as much enjoyment from the chase of soap-bubbles. BLOWING BUBBLES Evening was approaching, and the i^arty concluded to defer their sight- .seeing until the morrow. They returned to the railway station, and were just in tin]e to catch the last train of the day for Yokohama. There was a hotel at Tokio on the European system, and if they had missed the train, they would have patronized this establishment. The Doctor liad spent a week there, and spoke favorably of the Sei-yo-ken, as the hotel is called. 152 THE BOY TP.xWEIXKRS. It is kept by a Japanese, and all the servants are natives, hut tliey manage to meet very fairly the wants of the strangers that go there. It was some time after the opening of Tokio to foreigners before thei'e was any hotel there, and a visitor was put to great inconvenience. lie was compelled to accept the hospitality of his conntry's representative. As he generally had 110 personal claims to sucli hospitidity, he was virtually an intruder; and if at all sensitive about forcing himself whei'e he had uo business to go, his position could not be otherwise than enibai-rassing. The American ndnis- ters in the early days were often obliged to keep free boardingdiouses, and even at the j^resent time they are not entirely exempt from intrusions. Our diplomatic and consular representatives abroad are the victims of a vast amount of polite fraud, and some very impolite frauds in addition. It is a sad thing to say, l)ut nevertheless true, that a disagreeably large proportion of travelling Americans in distant lands make pecuniary I'aids on the purses of our representatives in the shape of loans, wdiich they never repay, and probably never intend to. Another class uianages to sponge its living l)y quartering at the consnlar or diplomatic residence, and making itself as much at home as though it owned everything. There are many consuls in Europe and Asia wdio dread the entrance of a strange countryman into their ottices, through the expectation, born of bitter ex- perience, that the introduction is to be followed by an appeal for a loan, which is in reality a gift, and can be ill afforded by the poorly paid repre- sentative. The next day the party returned to Tokio, but, unfortunately for their plans, a heavy rain set in and kept them indoors. Japanese life and manners are so much connected with the open air that a rain}- day does not leave much opportunity for a sight-seer among the people. Finding the rain was likely to last an indefinite period, they returned to the hotel at Yokohama. The boys turned their attention to letter-writing, while the Doctor busied himself with preparations for an excursion to Ilakone — a summer resort of foreigners in Japan — and possibly an ascent of Fusiyama. The boj's greatly wished to climb the famous mountain ; and as the Doctor had never made the journey, he was quite desirous of undertaking it, though, perhaps, he was less keen than his young companions, as he knew it could onl}' be accomplished with a great deal of fatigue. The letters were devoted to descriptions of what the party had seen in their visit to Tokio, and they had a goodly number of comments to make on the manners and customs of the Japanese. Frank declared that he; had never seen a more polite people than the Japanese, and then he added that he had never seen any other people outside of his own country, and A TALE OF TAILLESS CATS. 153 therefore liis judg-iiient might not be worth much. Fred had been greatly impressed with his discovery that tlie babies of Japan do not cry, and ho suggested tliat the American babies would do well to follow tlie example of the barbarian children. Then, too, he was much pleased with the respect the children showed for their parents, and he thought the parents were very fond of their children, if he were to judge by the great number of games that were provided for the amusement of the little folks. He de- scribed what he had seen in the temple at Asakusa, and in other parts of Tokio, and enclosed a picture of a Japanese father seated with his children, the one in his arms, and the other clinging to his knee, and forming an in- teresting scene. FATHER AND CHILDREN. Frank had made a discovery about the cats of Japan, and carefully recorded it in his letter as follows : " There are the funniest cats in this country that you ever saw. They have the shortest kind of tails, and a good many of them haven't any tails at all any more than a rabbit. You know we expect every kitten in America to play with her tail, and what can she do when slie has no tail to play with ? I think that must be the reason why the Japanese eats are 154 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. SO solemn, and why tliey won't play as our cats do. I have tried to find out how it all liappeTis, but nohody can tell. Doctor Bronsou says the kit- tens are born without tails, and that is all he knows about it. I think they must be a different kind of cat from ours ; but, apart froni the absence of tails, they don't look any way dissimilar. Somebody says that an American once took one of these tailless cats to San Francisco as a curiosity, and that it would never make friends with any long-tailed cat. It would sjjit and scratch, and try to bite off the other cat's tail ; but one day, when they put it with a cat whose tail had been cut oft' by a bad boy, it was friendly at once." Fred wanted over so much to send home a goldfish with a very wide and beautiful tail. The fish didn't seem to be much unlike a common goldfish, except in the tail, which was triple, and looked like a piece of lace. As it swam around in the water, especially when the sun was shining on the globe, its tail seemed to ha\e nearly as many colors as tlie rainbow, and both the boys were of opinion that no more beautiful fish was ever seen. But the proposal to send it to America was rather dampened by the statement of the Doctor that the experiment had been tried several times, and only succeeded in a very few instances. Almost all the fish died on the voyage over the Pacific ; and even when they lived through that piart of the trip, the overland journey from San Francisco to the At- lantic coast generally proved too much for tliem. The Japanese name for this fish is kin-giyo, and a pair of tlieni may be bought for ten cents. It is said that a thousand dollars were offered for the first one that ever reached Kew York alive, which is a large advance on the price in Yoko- hama. The Japanese dogs were also objects of interest to our young friends, though less so than the cats and the goldfish. They have several varieties of dogs in Japan, some of them being cpiite without hair, wdiile others have very thick coats. The latter are the most highly prized, and the shorter their noses, the more valuable they are considered. Fred found a dog, about the size of a King Charles spaniel, that had a nose only half an inch long. He was boasting of bis discovery, when Frank pointed out one that had less than a third of an inch. Then the two kept on the hunt for the latest improvement in dogs, as Frank expressed it, and tliey finally found one that had no nose at all. The nostrils were set direct!}' in the end of the little fellow's liead, and his under-jaw was so short that the operations of barking and eating were not very easy to perform. In spite of tlie difficulty of barking, he made a great deal of noise when the boys attempted to examine liim, and he gave Frank to understand in the most JAPANESE UMBRELLAS. 155 practical way that a noseless dog can bite. As they walked away fi'om the shop where they found him, he kept up a continual snarling, which led to the remark by Fred that a noseless dog was very far from noiseless. As they had been kept in b}' the rain, Frank thought he could not do better than send to his sister a Japanese picture of a party caught in a rain-stoian. lie explained that the rain in Japan was C[uite as wet as in any other country, and that umbrellas were just as necessary as at home. He added that tlie Japanese umbrellas were made of paper, and kept the rain off very well, but they did not last a long time. You could buy one for lialf a dollar, and a very pretty one it was, and it spread out farther than the foreign umbrella did. The sticks were of bamboo, and they were covered with several thicknesses of oiled paper carefully dried in the suu. They were very much used, since nearly everybody carried an umbrella, in fair weather as well as in foul ; if the umbrella was not needed against the rain, it was useful to keep off the heat of the sun, which was very se- vere in the middle of the day. The letters were ready in season for the mail for America, and in due time they reached their destination and carried pleasure to several hearts. It was evident that the boys were enjoying themselves, and at the same time learning much about the strange countrj^ they had gone to see. CAUGHT IN THK EAIN. 150 THK BOY TKAVELLERS. CHAPTER XL AN EXCUIiSION T(.) DAI-BOOTS AND ENOSIIIMA. A FAVORITE resort of the foreign residents of Yokoliama during the summer months is the island of Enoshima. It is about twenty iniles away, and is a noted phlce of pilgrimage for the Japanese, on ac- count of certain shrines tliat are reputed to liave a sacred cliaracter. Doc- tor Bronson arranged that his party should pay a visit to this island, as it was an interesting spot, and they could have a glimpse of Japanese life in the rural districts, and among the fishermen of the coast. They went thither by jin-riki-shas, and arranged to stop on the way to see the famous bronze statue of Dai-Boots, or the Great Buddha. This statue is the most celebrated in all Japan, as it is the largest aud finest in every way. Frank had heard and read about it ; and when he learned from the Doctor that they were to see it on their way to Enoshima, he ran straightway to Fred to tell the good news. "Just think of it, Fred," said he, " we are to see a statue sixty feet high, all of solid bronze, and a very old one it is, too." " Sixty feet isn't so very much," Fred answered. " There are statues in Europe a great deal larger." " But they were not made by the Japanese, as this one was," Frank responded, "and they ai-e statues of figures standing erect, while this rep- resents a sitting figure. A sitting figure sixty feet high is something you don't see every day." Fred admitted that there might be some ground for Frank's enthusi- asm, and, in fact, he was not long in sharing it, and thinking it was a very good thing that they were going to Enoshima. and intending to see Dai- Boots on the way. At the appointed time they were oif. They went through the foreign part of Yokoliama, and through the native cpiarter, and then out upon the Tokaido. The boys were curious to see the Tokaido, and when they reached it they asked the Doctor to halt the jin-riki-shas, and let them press their feet upon the famous work of Japanese road-builders. The JAPANESE RURAL SCENE-HULLING RICE. 157 158 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. halt was made, and gave a few minutes' rest to the men that were drawing them, and from whose faces the perspiration was running profusely. The Tokaido, or eastern road, is the great highway that connects Kioto with Tokio — the eastern capital with the western one. There is some ob- scurit}' in its history, hut there is no doubt of its antiquity. It has been in existence some hundreds of years, and has witnessed many and many a princely procession, and many a display of Oriental magnificence. It was the road by which the Daimios of the western part of the empire made their journeys to Tokio in the olden days, and it was equally tlie route by which the cortege of the Shogoon went to Kioto to render homage to the Mikado. It is a well-made road ; but as it was built before the days of wheeled carriages, and when a track wdiere two men could ride abreast was all that was considered recpiisite, it is narrower than most of us would expect to find it. In many places it is not easy for two carriages to pass without turning well out into the ditch, and there are places on the great route where the use of wheeled vehicles is impossible. But in spite of these drawbacks it is a fine road, and abounds in interesting sights. Naturally the Tokaido is a place of activity, and in the ages that have elapsed since it was made many villages have sprung into existence along its sides. Between Yokohama and Tokio there is an almost continuous hedge of these villages, and there ai-e places where you may ride for miles as along a densely tilled street. From Tokio the road follows the shore of the bay until near Yokohama, when it turns inland ; but it comes to or near the sea again in several places, and affords occasional glimpses of the great water. For several years after the admission of foreigners to Ja- pan the Tokaido gave a great deal of trouble to the authorities, and figured repeatedly in the diplomatic history of the government. The most noted of these affairs was that in which an Englishman named Richardson was killed, and the government was forced to pay a heavy indemnity in conse- (juence. A brief history of this affair may not be without interest, as it will illustrate the difficulties that arose in consequence of a difference of national customs. Under the old laws of Japan it was the custom for the Daimios to have a very complete right of way whenever their trains were out upon the Tokaido or any other road. If any native should ride or walk into a Daimio's procession, or even attempt anything of the kind, he would be put to death immediately by the attendants of the prince. This was the invariable rule, and had been in force for hundreds of years. Wlien the foreigners first came to Yokohama, the Daimios' processions were fre- quently on the road ; and, as the sti-angers had the right to go into the now MR. RICIIAllDSON WAS KILLED. 153 A l'.\RTY ON THE TOKAIIJO. country, and consequently to ride on the Tokaido, tlierc was a constant fear that some of them woukl ignorantly or wilfully violate the ancient usages and thus lead the Daimios' followers to use their swords. Things were in this condition when one day (Septeniber lith, 1862) the procession of Shimadzu Saburo, father of the last Daimio of Satsuma, was passing along the Tokaido on its way from the capital to the western part of the empire. Through fear of trouble in case of an encounter with the train of this prince, the authorities had previously recpiested foreign- ers not to go upon the Tokaido that day ; but the request was refused, and a party of English people — three gentlemen and a lady — embraced the opportunity to go out that particular afternoon to meet the prince's train. Two American gentlemen were out that afternoon, and encountered the same train ; they ])olitely turned aside to allow the procession to pass, and were not disturbed. When the English party met the train, the lady and one of the gentle- men suggested that they should stand at the side of the road, but Mi'. Tlichardson urged his horse forward and said, "Come on; I have lived fourteen jeavs in China, and know how to manage these people." He rode into the midst of the procession, and was followed by the other gen- tlemen, or partially so ; the lady, in her terror, remained l)y the side of the road, as she had wished to do at the outset. The guards construed the movements of Mr. Richardson as a direct insult to their master, and fell upon him with their swords. The three men were severely wounded. Mr. Richardson died in less than half an hour, but the others recovered. The lady was not harmed in any way. On the one hand, the Japanese 100 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. were a proud, lianghty race who resented an insult to their prince, and punished it according to Jaj^anese law and custom. On the other, the foreigners had tlie technical right, in accordance with tlie treaty, to go Tipon the Tokaido ; but they offered a direct insult to the j^uople in whose country they were, and openly showed their contempt for them. A little forbearance, and a willingness to avoid trouble by refraining from visiting the Tohaido, as requested by the Japanese anthorities, would have pre- vented the sad occurrence. As a resnlt of this affair, the Japanese government was compelled to pay a hundred thousand pounds sterling to tlie family of Mr. Richardson, or submit to the alternative of a war with England. In addition to this, the city of Kagoshima, the residence of the Prince of Satsuma, was bom- barded, tlie place reduced to ashes, forts, palaces, factories, thrown into ruins, and thousands of luiildings set on hre by the shells from the British fleet. Three steamers belonging to the Prince of Satsuma wore captured, and the prince was further compelled to pay an additional indemnity of twenty-five thousand pounds. The loss of life in the affair has never been made known by the Japanese, but it is certain to have been very great. It would not be surprising if the Japanese should entertain curious no- tions of the exact character of the Chri.stian religion, when such acts are j^erpetrated by the nations that profess it. The blessings of civilization have been wafted to them in large proportion from the muzzles of can- non ; and the light of Western diplomacy has been, all too frequently, from the torch of the incendiary. But we must not forget our boys in our dissertation on the history of foreign intervention in Japan. In fact, they were not forgotten in it, as they heard the story from the Doctor's lips, and heard a great deal more l)esides. The Doctor summarized his opinion of the way the Japanese had been treated by foreigners somewhat as follows : " The Japanese had been exclusive for a long time, and wished to con- tinue so. Tlie}^ had had an experience of foreign relations two hundred years ago, and the )-esult had well-nigh cost them their independence. It was unsatisfactory, and they chose to shut themselves up and live alone. If we wanted to shnt up the United States, and admit no foreigners among us, we should consider it a matter of great rudeness if they forced themselves in, and tlireatened to bombard us when we refused them ad- mittance. We were the first to poke our noses into Japan, wlien we sent Commodore Perry here with a fleet. The Japanese tried their best to induce us to go away and let them alone, Init we M'ouldn't go. We stood there with the copy of the treaty in one hand, and had tlie other resting LORD ELGIN AND THE JAPANESE COMMISSIONERS. 161 ii 162 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. Oil a cannon charged to the muzzle and ready to tire. We said, ' Take tlie one or tlie otlier ; sign a treaty of peace and good-will and accejJt the blessings of civilization, or we will blow 3'on so high in the air that the pieces won't come down for a week.' Japan was convinced when slie saw that resistance would be nseless, and Cjuite against her wishes she entered the family of nations. We opened the way and then England followed, and then came the other nations. We have done less robbing and bullying than England has, in our intercourse with Japan, and the Japanese like ns better in conseqnence. But if it is a correct principle that no man should bo disturbed so long as he does not disturb any one else, and does no harm, the outside nations had no right to interfere witli Japan, and compel her to open her territory to them." This conversation occurred wliile they were halted under some ven- erable shade-trees by the side of the Tokaido, and were looking at the people that passed. Every few minutes they saw gronps varying from two to six or eight persons, very thinly clad, and having the appearance of wayfarers with a small stock of money, or none at all. The Doctor ex- plained that these men were pilgrims on their way to holy places — some of them were doubtless bound for Enoshima, some for Ilakone, and some for the great mountain which every now and then the turns in the road revealed to the eyes of the travellers. These pil- grimages have a religious charac- ter, and are made by thousands of persons every year. One mem- ber of a party usually carries a small bell, and as they walk along its faint tinkle gives notice of their religious character, and prac- tically warns others that they are not commercially inclined, as they are without more money than is actually needed for the purposes of their journey. They wear broad hats to protect them from the sun, and their garments, usually of white material, are stamped with mystic characters to symbolize tlie particular divinity in whose honor the journey is made. Village after village was passed by our young adventurers and their PILGKIMS ON THD KUAD. JAPANESE HARVEST SCENE. 16.3 older companion, and many scenes of Japanese domestic life were un- folded to their eyes. At one place some men were engaged in removing the hnlls from freshly gathered rice. The grain was in large tubs, made of a section of a tree hollowed out, and the labor was performed by beating the grain with huge mallets. The process was necessarily slow, and re- quired a great deal of patience. This mode of hulling rice has been in use in Japan for hundreds of years, and will probably continue for hun- dreds of years to come in spite of the improved machinery that is being introduced by foreigners. Rice is the principal article of food used in THRtSlUNG GRAIN. Japan, and many people have hardly tasted anything else in the whole course of their lives. The opening of the foreign market has largely in- creased the cost of rice ; and in this way the entrance of Japan into the family of nations has brought great hardships upon the laboring classes. It costs three times as much for a poor man to support his family as it did before the advent of the strangers, and there has not been a corresponding advance in wages. Life for the coolie was bad enough under the old form of government, and ho had much to complain of. His condition has not been bettered by the new order of things, according to the observation of impartial foreigners who reside in Yokohama and other of the open ports. About ten miles out from Yokohama the party turned from the To- kaido, and took a route through the fields. Tiiey found the track rather narrow in places; and on one occasion, when they met a party in jin-riki- shas, it became necessary to step to the ground to allow the vehicles to be lifted around. Then, too, there had been a heavy rain — the storm that cut short their visit to Tokio ; and in some places the road had been 164 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. washed out so that they wei'e obh'ged to walk around tlie breaks. Their journey was consequently somewhat retarded; but they did not mind the detention, and liad taken such an early start that they had plent}' of tinje to reach Enoshima before dark. They met groups of Japanese peas- ants returning home from their work ; and in every instance the latter made way for the strangers, and stood politely by the roadside as the man- ])Ower carriages M'ent rolling by. Frank wanted to make sketches of sonie of the groups, and was particularly attracted by a woman who was cari-y- iiig a teapot in one hand and a small roll or bundle under her other arm. By her side walked a man canying a couple of buck- ets slung from a pole, after the fashion so prevalent in Japan and Cliirja. lie steadied the pole with his liands, and seemed quite in- different to the presence of the foreigners. Both were dressed in loosely fitting garments, and their feet were shod witli sandals of straw. The Japanese san- dal is held in place by two thongs that start from near the heel on each side and come together in front. The wearer inserts the thono; between the g-reat toe and its neighbor. When he is barefooted this oper- ation is easily performed ; and, in ordei' to accommo- date his stockinged feet to the sandal, the Japanese stocking lias a separate place for the " thnmb-toe," as one of tliem called the largest of his " foot-hngei's." Tlie foot of tlie Japanese stocking closely resembles the mitten of America, which young Avomen in certain locali- ties are said to present to discarded admirers. Tlie road wound among tlie fields where tlie rice was growing luxu- riantly, and where now and then they found beans and millet, and other I'EASANT ANlJ UlS WIFIi llETUHNING FROM THE riELI>. RURAL SCKNERY IN JAPAN. 165 A japanesl; sandal. products of Japanese agriculture. The cultivation was evidently of the most careful character, as tlfe fields were cut here and there with little channels for irrigation ; and there were frequent de- posits of fertilizing materials, whose char- acter was apparent to the nose before it was to the eye. In some places, where the laborers were stooping to weed the plants, there was little more of them visible than their broad sun-hats ; and it did not require a great stretch of the imagination to believe they were a new kind of mushroom from Brol)- dingnagian gardens. Hills like sharply rounded cones rose from each side of the narrow valley they were descending ; and the dense growth of wood with which the most of them were covered made a marked contrast to the thoroughly cleared fields. Tlie bo}'s sa\v over, and over, and over again the pictures they had often seen on Japanese fans and boxes and won- dered if tliey were realities. They had already learned that the appar- ently impossible pictures we find in Japanese art are not only possible, but actual; but they had not yet seen so thorough a confirmation of it as on this day's ride. Several times they came suddenly upon villages, and very often these discoveries were quite unexpected. As they rode along the valley nar- rowed, and the hills became larger and more densely covered with trees. By-and-by tliey halted at a wayside tea-house, and were told to leave the little carriages and rest awhile. Frank protested that he was not in need of an}' rest ; but he changed his mind when the Doctor told him that they Ijad reached one of the objects of their journey, and that he would miss an interesting sight if he kept on. They were at the shrine of Dai- Boots. They went up an avenue between two rows of trees, and right before them was the famous statue. It was indeed a grand work of art. Frank made a careful note of the figures indicating the height of the statue. lie found that the whole structure, including the pedestal, meas- ured sixty feet fi'om the ground to the top of the head, and that the figure alone was forty-three feet high. It was in a sitting, or rather a squat- ting, posture, with the hands partly folded and turned upwards, with the knuckles touching each other. The eyes were closed, and there was an expression of calm repose on the features such as one rarely sees in statu- ary. There was something very grand and impressive in this towering statne, and the boys gazed upon it witli unfeigned admiration. 166 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE C.ltEAT DAI-BOOTS. Fred asked if the statiio was cast in a single piece. But after asking tlie question, lie looked up and saw that the work was evidently done in sections, as the lines where the plates or sections were joined were plainly visible. But the plates were large, and the operation of making the statue was one that required the handling of some very heavy pieces. In manv A DISAGKEEABLE TASSAGE. IBT- places the statue was covered with inscriptions, wliich are said to be of a religious character. The figure was hollow, and there was a sort of chapel inside where de- vout pilgrims were permitted to worship. On the platform in front there were several shrines, and the general surroundings of the place were well calculated to remind one of a sanctuary of Roman Catholicism. Thou- sands and thousands of pilgrims have come from all parts of Japan to worship at the feet of the great Buddha; and Avhile our friends stood in front of the shrine, a group of devotees arrived and reverently said their prayers. A little way off fi-om Dai-Boots are the temples of Kamakura, which are celebrated for their sanctity, and are the objects of much veneration. They are not unlike the other temples of Japan in general appearance ; but the carvings and bronze ornamentations are unusually rich, and must have cost a great deal of money. There was once a large citj^ at Kama- kura, and traces of it are distinctly visible. The approach to the temples is over some stone bridges, crossing a moat that must have been a formi- dable defence in the days before gunpowder was introduced into warfare. After their sight-seeing in the grove of Dai-Boots was over, the party proceeded to Enoshinia. When they arrived at the sea-shore opposite the island, they found, to their dismay, that the tide was up ; and they were obliged to hire a boat to take them to their destination. At low tide one can walk upon a sand-bar the entire distance ; but when the sea is at its highest, the bar is covered, and walking is not practicable. The beach slopes very gradually, and conserpiently the boats were at some distance out, and the travellers were compelled to wade to them or be carried on men's shoulders. The boys tried the wading, and M'ere successful; the Doctor, more dignified, was carried on the shoulders of a stout Japanese, who was very glad of the opportunity to earn a few pennies. But he came near having a misadventure, as his bearer stundjled when close to the edge of the boat, and pitched the Doctor headlong into the craft. He was landed among a lot of baskets and other baggage, and his hat came in unpleasant contact with a bucket containing some freshly caught fish. Luckily he suffered no injury, and was able to join the others in laughing over the incident. On their arrival at the island, it was again necessarj' to wade to the shore. Frank found the slippery rocks such insecure footing that he went down into the water, but was not completely immersed. The others got ashore safely, and it was unanimously voted that the next time they came to Enoshima they would endeavor to arrive when the tide was out. An 168 THE BOY TUAVKLLKR3. involuntary bath, before one is properly di-ei5sed, or nndi'essed, for it, is no moi'e to be desired in Japan than in any other eonntry. A street leads np from the water towards the centre of the island, and along this sti'eet are the principal houses of the town. The most of these houses ai'e hotels for the accommodation of the numerous pilgrims that come to the sacred shrines of Enoshima ; and, as our party approached, there was a movement among the attendants of the nearest hostelrv to invite the strangers to enter. They halted at the door of a large building on the left. The proprietor was just inside the entrance, and bowed to them in true Japanese style, with his head touching the iloor. He not only bowed to the party in general, but to each one of them separately, and it took two or three minutes to go through with the preliminaries of politeness and begin negotiations for the desired accommodations. In a little while all was arranged to the satisfaction of everybody con- cerned, and our friends were installed in a Japanese inn. What they did there, and what they saw, will be made knowm in the next chapter. SALUTATION Ol" THK LANDLORD. THli HKAD WAITElt KiiCElVlNG OKDEKS. INTJiRlOK OF A JAPANESE HOTEL. 1(J9 CHAPTER XTI. SIGHTS AT ENOSHIMA. THE party was shown to a large room at the rear of the house. Frank suggested that a front room would be preferable ; but the Doctor told him that in a Japanese hotel the rear of the establishment was the place of honor, and that in a hundred hotels of the true national type he would probably not be located half a dozen times in a front apartment. The room where they were was very speedily divided into three smaller ones by means of paper screens, such as we find in every Japanese house, and wdiich are known to most Americans in consecpience of the large num- ber that have been imported in the last few years. They can be shifted with the rapidity of scenes in a theatre, and the promptness with which the whole appearance of a house can be changed in a few minutes is an approach to the marvellous. There is very little of what we call privacy in a Japanese house, as the paper screens are no obstructors of sound, and a conversation in an ordi- nary tone can be heard throughout the entire establishment. It is said that this form of building was adopted at a time when the government w-as very fearful of conspiracies, and wished to keep everybody under its supervision. Down to quite recent times there was a very complete sys- tem of espionage all over the country ; and it used to be said that when three persons were together, one of them was certain to be a spy, and the other two were pretty sure to be spies as well. At the time Commodore Perry went to Japan, it was the custom to set a spy over every official to observe what he did and report accordingly. The system has been gradu- ally dropped, but it is said to exist yet in some cpiarters. It was rather late, and our party were hungry. Consequently the Doc- tor ordered dinner to be served as soon as possible, and they sat down to wait for it. The kitchen was near the entrance of the hotel, and in full view of the strangers as they came in. Fred could not help contrasting this arrangement with that of an American hotel, where the kitchen is quite out of sight, and not one visitor in a thousand ever gets the faintest 170 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. glimpse of it. He tlioiiglit tlie plan was well calculated to insure cleanli- ness in the management of the house, since the kitchen, being so promi- nently placed, wonld ruin the prosperity of the house if it were not prop- erly kept. As there seemed to be no objection to their doing so, the boys went there and watched the pi'eparation of the meal for which their ap- petites were waiting. They found a large and well -lighted I'oom in the centre of the house; and, as before stated, near the entrance. In the middle of this room there was a raised platform, with some little furnaces set in the floor. On this floor the cooking of some flsli was going on under the supervision of a woman, who was watching to see that evei'ything progressed satisfac- torily. A few pots and pans were visible, but not a tenth of the number A JAPANESE KITCHEN. that would be found in the kitchen of a hotel of similar capacity in Amer- ica. The Japanese cookery is not elaborate, and therefore only a few articles are required for it. A small fire in a brazier that could be carried in the hand is all that is needed to offset the enormous ranges with which we are familiar. From the roof two or three safes are hung for the pres- ervation of such things as the dogs and cats might take a fancy to. At first glance they are frecpiently taken for bird-cages, and this mistake was made by Fred, who innocently remarked that he wondered what kind of birds they kept there. At one side of the kitchen there was a lone; table, where the food was DINNER AT ENOSHIMA. 171 prepared previous to its introduction to tlie cooking-pot, and near this table there was a series of slielves wliere the plates, cups, saucers, and other articles of the dinner- service -were kept. The kitchen could be shut off at night, like the other rooms, bj means of paper screens, and it was here that the cook and her assistants slept when the labors of the day were over. The bedding, what little there was of it, was brought from a cup- board in one side of the room, and was altogether out of sight in tlie day. When not wanted, it was speedily^ put away, and a few minutes sufficed to convert tlie kitchen iuto a sleeping-room, or the sleep- ing-room into a kitchen. boiling the pot. In due time the dinner or supper, whichever it was called, was brought to our travellers, and they lost no time in sitting down to eat it ; or, rather, they squatted to it, as the hotel contained no chairs, or any substitute for them. The floor was cov- ered with clean mats — in fact, it is very difficult to find dirty mats in Ja- pan — and our travellers had followed the universal custom of removing their boots as they entered the front door. One of the complaints that the Japanese make against foreigners is that the latter often enter their houses without removing their boots, no matter if those boots are covered Avith mud and bring ruin to the neat mattings. It is always polite to offer to remove your foot-covering on going inside a Japanese dwelling, and a rudeness to neglect the offer. If the weather is dry and your shoes are clean, the host will tell you to remain as you are, and then you will be quite right to do so. There was a laugh all around at tlie oddity of the situation in which the boys found theniselves. They tried various positions in front of the little table that had been spread for them, but no attitude they could as- sume was thoroughly' comfortable. They squatted, the}' knelt, and then 172 THE BOY TRAVKLLERS. tliey sat fiat on the floor, but all to no purpose. Tliej were nnconjfort- able, and no mistake. But they had a merry time of it, and both Fred and Frank declared they wonld not have missed this dinner in Japan for a great deal. It was a jiovelty, and they thought their schoolmates would envy them if they knew where they wei'e. The dinner consisted of stewed lisli for the first course, and it was so thoroughly stewed that it resembled a thick soup. Tlien they had cold fish with grated I'adishes, and, finally, a composite dish of hard-boiled eggs, cut in two, and mixed with shrimps and seaweed. The table was cleared after each course lieforc the next was brouglit, and the food was served in shallow bowls, which were covered to retain the lieat. At the side of each person at table there were two cups. One of these contained soy, a sort of vinegar flavored with spices of different kinds, and in which each moutliful of food was dipped before it was swallowed. It is said that our word "sauce" conies from the Japanese (or Chinese) word wliich has just been quoted. The other cnjJ was for sadcee, a beverage wliich has beeTi already mentioned in the pages of this book. They were not inclined to sadvce ; but the soy was to their taste, and Frank was esp)ecially warm in its praise. Not liking sa-kee, they called for tea, and in a moment the servant ap- peared with a steaming teapot. The flavor of the herb was delicious, and the boys partook liberally of the preparation. While they were en- gaged in tea-drinking, Fi-ank made an inventory of the furniture of the room for the benefit of his sister and Miss Etfie, in case they should wish to fit up a room in Japanese style to welcome him home. Here is what he found : -nothing but the rush matting to sit FIJANK 8 INVENTORY. No chairs, no sofas, no Vienches- upon. No clocks, no pictures on tlie walls, no mirrors; in fact, tlie room was quite bare of ornament. Two small tables, about twelve inches high and fifteen inches square. A JAPANESE SLEEPING-ROOM. 173 These tables held the dinner and tea service, and were removed wlieu the meal was over. A little low stool, on wliich was a broad and ver^' flat pot for holding hot water to pnt in the tea. Another stool for holding anything that was not wanted at the mo- ment. A lamp-stand with three lamps. One was octagonal, and on the top of an upright stick ; tlie othei-s were oval, and linng at the ends of a hori- zontal bar of metal. Each lantern bore an inscription in Japanese. It was painted on the paper of which all the lanterns Mere composed ; and as the light shone through, the letters were plainly to be seen. They were more visible than readable to our friends, as may be readily inferred. This completed the furniture of the room. When it was removed after diimer, Frank remarked that the only furniture remaining was Doctor Bronson, Fred, and himself. And, as they were rpiite weary after their ride, they were disposed to be as quiet as well-regulated furniture usu- ally is. When it was time to go to sleep, the servant was called and the beds were made up. A thickly M'added quilt was spread on the floor for each per- son, and another was used for the covering. The ei'or, and wished them welcome to his roof and all beneatli it. Then he straightened up to the very highest line of erectness, and rested his gaze upon Doctor Bronson. For fully a minute he stood without moving a muscle, and then struck an attitude of astonishment. THE MAN FllOM OHIO. 1S7 "Can it be? Yes! No! Impossible !" he exclaimed. " Do my eyes deceive me? No, they do not; it is; it must be he! it must! it must!" Then he shook hands with the Doctor, struck another attitude of aston- ishment, and with the same Macbethian air turned to a servant and told him to put the steaks and the chicken on the table. It is said by the residents of Yokohama, with whom the hotel at Tot- sooka is a favorite resort, that George Pauncefort stirs an omelette as tliougli he were playing Ilamlct, and his conception of Sir Peter Teazle is manifested when he prepares a glass of stinjulating fluid for a thirsty patron. Various industrial processes were visible as our party rode along. Some women were weaving cotton at a native loom, and they halted the jin-riki-shas a few moments to look at the process. The loom was a very primitive affair, and the operator sat on the floor in front of it. A man wlio appeared to be the chief of the establishment was calmly smoking a pipe close by, and on the other side of the weaver a woman was winding some cotton thread on a spool by means of a simple reel. After looking a few moments at the loom, and the mode of weaving in Japan, the party moved on. The boys had learned to say " Sayonara '' on bidding farewell to the Japanese, and they pronounced it on this occasion in the most ap- proved style. The Japanese salutation on meeting is " Ohio," and it is pro- nounced exactly like the name of our Western state of which Columbus is the capital. Everywhere the Japanese greet you with " Ohio," and a stranger does not need to be long in the country to know how exceedingly polite are tlie people we were accustomed only a few years ago to consider as barbarians. There is a storj' cnri'ent in Japan of a gentleman from Cincinnati who arrived one evening in Yokohama, and the following morning went into tlie country for a stroll. Everywhere the men, women, and children greeted him with the customary salutation, " Ohio, ohio," and tlie word rang in his eai's till he returned to his hotel. He immediately sought the landlord and said, "I wish to ask if there is anything in my personal appearance that indicates what part of the States I am from." The landlord assured him tliat there was no peculiarity of his costume that he could point out as any such indication. " And yet," answered the stranger, " all the Japanese have discovered it. They knew me at a glance as a native of Ohio, as every one of them invariably said ' Ohio ' when I met them. And I must give them the credit to say that they always did it very politely." 18S THE BOY TUAVELLEUS. NATIVE ARTISTS AND COOPERS. 189 He was somewhat astonished, and also a trifle disappointed, when lie learned the exact state of affairs. They passed a honse where some ai'tists were at work with the tools of their trade on tlie floor before them, forming a neat and curious collection. There were little saucers filled with paints of various colors, and the ever- present teapot with its refreshing contents. There were three j^ersons in the group, and they kept steadily at their occupation without regarding the visitors who were looking at them. They were engaged upon pictures on thin paper, intended for the ornamentation of boxes for packing small articles of merchandise. Larger pictures are placed on an easel, as with us, but the small ones are invariably held in the hand. AETISTS AT WOKK. In front of a house by the roadside some coopers were hooping a vat, and Frank instantly recognized the fidelity of a picture he had seen by a native artist showing how the Japanese coopers performed their work. They make excellent articles in their line, and sell them for an astonish- ingly low price, when we compare tliem with similar things from an American maker. The fidelity of the work is to be commended, and the pails and tubs from tlieir hands will last a long time without the least necessity of repairs. Near the end of the first day's journey the party stopped at a Japanese inn that had been previously selected by their conductor, and there they found their baggage, and, what was cpiite as welcome, a substantial dinner from the hands of the cook that had been sent on ahead of tliem. They had sharp appetites, and the dinner was very much to their liking. It was 190 THE BOY TRAVELLKRS. COOPEUS HOOPING A VAT. more foreign than Japanese, as it con- sisted largely" of articles from Amer- ica ; but there was a liberal supply of boiled rice, and the savoi'y stew of fish was not wanting. The boys were rather surprised when they sat down to a dinner at which stewed oysters, green corn, aTid other things with which the)' were familiar at home were smoking be- fore them ; and Fred remarked that the Japanese cooking was not so un- ike that of America, after all. Doctor Bronson smiled and said the cooking was done in America, and all that the \y.^ Japanese cook had to do with the ar- ticles was to warm them up after opening the cans. " And so these things come here in cans, do they?" Frank inquired. "Certainly," the Doctor responded, " these things come here in cans, and a great many other things as well. They serve to make life endurable to an American in a distant land like Japan, and they also serve to keep him patriotic by constantly reminding him of home. "No one," he continued, "who has not been in foreign lands, or has no direct connection with the business of canning our fruits, meats, and vege- tables, can have an idea of the extent of our trade in these things. The invention of the process of preserving in a fresh state these products which are ordinarily considered perishable lias enabled us to sell of our abun- dance, and supply the whole world with what the whole M'orld could not otherwise obtain. You niay sit down to a dinner in Tokio or Cairo, Cal- cutta or Melbourne, Singajjore or Rome, and the entire meal may consist of canned fish, canned meats, canned fruits, or canned vegetables from the United States. A year or two ago the American consul at Bangkok, Siain, gave a Christmas dinner at which evei'ything on the table was of home production, and a very substantial dinner it was." " I wonder what they had for dinner that day," said Fred, with a laugh. " As near as I can remember," the Doctor replied, " they began with oyster and clam soup. Then they had boiled codfish and fresli salmon, and, as if there were not fish enough, they had stewed eels. For meats they AN AMERICAN DINNER AP.ROAD. 191 had turkey, chicken, ham, a goose that had been put up wliole, stewed beef, i-oast beef, tongue, sausages, prairie chickens, ducks, and a few other things ; and as for vegetables and fruits, you can hardly name any product of our gardens aud orchards tliat the^^ did not have before them. For drinks they had American wines, American beer, American cider, and, besides, they had lioney just out of the comb that astonished everybody with its freshness. All who were present pronounced the dinner as good as any they had ever eaten, and it made them feel very patriotic to think that everything came from home. " Yon can hardly go anywhere in the world where there is an approacli to civilization without finding our canned goods, as the merchants call them. They are widely' known and appreciated, and well deserve the reputation they bear." This conversation went on while the party were engaged in the con- sumption of the dinner, and the presence of many of the tilings named gave it an additional point. When they were through dinner, they took a short period of lounging on tlie veranda, and soon retired to rest. We can be sure they slept well, for they had had a long and weary ride. They were off again early in the moi-ning, and in a little while came to the banks of a river wliich tliey were to cross. Frank looked for a bridge, and saw none ; then he looked for a ferry-boat, but none was visible. "Well," he said, half to liimself, " I wonder how we are to get over to the other bank." " There are the boatmen, but no boats," said Fred, as he pointed to some stalwart men who were sitting on the bank, and evidently waiting for something to turn up. Tlie mystery was soon solved. The river was neither wide nor deej), and the men they saw waiting by the bank were porters who carried peo- ple across, and also carried merchandise. The stream was said to rise very rapidly, and owing to the nature of the bottom it was difficult to maintain a bridge there for any length of time. The porters took the party across very speedily : they carried the servants by what the boys called " pick-a- back," while Doctor Bronson and tlie boys were borne on chairs resting on poles, with six men to each chair. Some horses belonging to another party were led tlirougli the river at tlie same time, and evidently Avere not pleased wdth the bath they were receiving. Frank wondered if accidents did not happen sometimes, and asked their conductor about it. The latter told him that the Japanese law protected tlie traveller by recpiiring the liead of the porter in case a person should 192 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. INCIDENTS IN ODIWARA. 193 be di'owned in his charge. He said the law allowed no excuse, and the porter must pay with his life for any accident. Frank thought it would be a good thing to have the same system in the management of railways in America ; but then ho remembered that Miss Etfie's uncle, who lived in New York, was a director in a railway, and perhaps it would be just as well to say nothing about his new discovery. It might bring trouble into the family and lead to unpleasant remarks. Since the party made their excursion to Fusiyama a bridge has been built over the river, and the occujjation of the porters is gone. Some of them cling to the hope that the river will one day rise in its might, and protest against this invasion of its rights by sweeping away the structure that spans it, thus compelling travellers to return to the methods of the olden time. From the river they proceeded to Odlwara, where they had a rest of several hours, as the town contained certain things that they wished to see. They found that foreigners were not very numerous at Odiwara, and there was considerable curiosity to see them. Whenever they halted in front of a shop, or to look at anything, of interest, a crowd was speedily collected; and the longer they stood, the greater it became. But there was no im- pertinence, and not the least insult was offered to them ; there was a man- ifestation of good-natured curiosity, and nothing more. Men, women, and children were equally respectful ; and whenever they pressed too closely it was only necessary for the guide to say that the strangers were being in- convenienced, when the crowd im- mediately fell back. E\'ery day and hour of their stay in Japan confirm- ed our friends more and more in the belief that there are no more polite people in the world than the Japanese. Fred tried to open a conversation with a boy who was evidently out for a walk with his mother. The little fellow was somewhat shy at first, but very soon he became entirely con- fident that the stranger would not harm him, and he did his best to talk. They did not succeed very well in >iji JH)THER AND SON. 13 194 THU BOY TRAVELLERS. their interchange of ideas, as neither could speak the language of the other, and so they attempted an exchange of presents. Fred gave the young native an American lead-pencil that opened and closed with a screw, and received in return the fan which the youth carried in his hand. Both appeared well pleased with the transaction, and after several bows and "sayonaras" they separated. Frank had several fish-hooks in his pockets, and was determined not to be behind Fred in making a trade. His eye rested on a family group that was evidently returning from a fishing excursion; the man was carry- ing some fishing-tackle and a small bag, wliile the woman bore a basket of fish on her head and held a child to her breast. A boy six or eight years old was dragging a live tortoise by a string, and it occurred to Frank to free the tortoise from captivity. So he produced one of his fish-hooks, and intimat- ed that he would give it for the captive. There was a bi'ief conversation between father and son, which re- sulted in the desired ex- change. Frank handed the tortoise over to the guide, with instructions to set it free at a favorable time and place. The latter complied by delivering the jirize to the cook as an agreeable ad- dition to the bill of fare for the next meal. So the free- dom of the tortoise was not exactly the kind that his liberator had intended. But there was an unforeseen residt to this transaction, for it was soon noised about among the small boys that the foreignei's were giving fish- hooks for tortoises ; and as there was a good supply of the latter, and not a good one of the former, there Avas a public anxiety to benefit by the newly opened commerce. In less than lialf an hour there was a move- ment in the market that assumed serious importance, and Fi-ank found A FISHING TARTY. INNOVATIONS IN JAPAN. 195 himself in the cliaracter of a merchant in a foreign land. He became the owner of neai'l}' a dozen of the kindred of his first purchase, and would liave kept on longer had not his stock-in-trade given out. The guide took the purchases in charge, and they followed the fate of the pioneer in the business in finding their way to the cooking-pot. AVhen the traffic was ended, and the Japanese urchins found that the market was closed, they pronounced their ''sayonaras" and withdrew as quietl)' as they had come. From Odiwara the roads were woi'se than they had found them thus far. They had come by jin-riki-shas from Yokohama, and had had no trouble ; but from this place onward thej' wei'e told that the roads were not every- where practicable for wlieeled carriages. The Japanese are improving their roads ever}' year, and therefoi'e a description for one season does not exactly indicate the character of another. Anybody who reads this story and then goes to Japan may tind good routes where formerly there were only impassable gorges, and hotels and comfortable lodging-houses where, oidy a 3'ear before, there was nothing of the kind. In no countiy in the world at the present time, with the possible exception of the Western States of North America, are the changes so rapid as in the land of the Mikado. Wheeled carriages were practically unknown before Commodore Perry landed on Japanese soil, and the j-ailway was an innovation un- dreamed of in the Japanese philoso])liy. Now wheeled vehicles are com- mon, and the railway is a popular institution, that bids fair to extend its benefits in many directions. Progress, progress, progress, is the motto of the Japan of to-day. Besides tlie natural desire to see Odiwara, the party had another reason for their delay, which was to give the conductor time to engage cangos for their transport in such localities as would not admit of the jin-riki-sha. We will see by-and-by wliat the cango is. The boys liad been much amused at the appearance of a Japanese they met on the road just befoi'c reaching Odiwara, and wondered if they would be obliged to adopt that mode of riding before they finished their journey. The man in question was seated on a horse, not in the way in which we are accustomed to sit. but litei-ally on the liack of the animal. His baggage was fastened around him behind and on each side, and he was rather uncomfortably ci'ouclied fat least, so it seemed to Fred) on a fiat pad like the one used by a circus-rider. A servant led the horse, and the pace was a walking one. Altogether, the appearance of the man was decidedly ludicrous, and the boys were somewhat surprised to learn that this was the ordinary way of travelling on horseback in the olden time. 196 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THU MAN TlUiV MET. Before the arrival of foreigners in Japan it was not the fashion for a traveller to be in a hurry, and, even at the present time, it is not alwaj's easj' to make a iiati^'e understand the value of a day or an hour. A man setting out on a journey did not concern himself about the time he would consume on the road ; if the weathei' was unfavorable, he was peii'ectly willing to rest for an indefinite period, and it mattered little if he occu- pied three weeks in making a journey that could be covered in one. In matters of business the Japanese have not yet learned the importance of time, and the foreign merchants complain greatly of the native dilatori- ness. A Japanese will make a contract to deliver goods at a certain date ; on the day appointed, or perhaps a week or two later, he will in- form the other party to the agreement that he will not be ready for a month or two, and he is quite unable to comprehend the indignation of the disappointed merchant. He demurely says, "I can't have the goods ready," and does not realize that he has given any cause for anger. Time is of no consequence to him, and he cannot understand that anybody else sliould have any regard for it. The Japanese are every year becoming more and more familiarized with the foreign ways of business, and will doubtless learn, after a while, the advantages of punctuality. TKAA'ELLING BY CANGO. 197 CHAPTER XIY. THE ASCENT OF FUSIYAMA. THEY did not get far from Odiwara before it was necessary to leave the jin-riki-shas and take to the cangos. These were found waiting for them where the road ended and the footpath began, and the boys were dehghted at the change from the one mode of conveyance to the other. Doctor Bronson did not seem to share their enthusiasm, as he had been in a cango before and did not care for additional experience. He said that cango travelling was very much like eating crow — a man might do it if he tried, but he was not very likely to " hanker after it." It rec[uired some time for tliem to get properly stowed in their new conveyances, as they needed considerable instruction to know how to double their legs beneath them. And even when they knew how, it was not easy to make their limbs curl into the proper positions and feel at liome. Frank thought it would be very nice if he could unscrew his legs and put tliem on tlie top of the cango, where he was expected to place his boots ; and Fred declared that if he could not do that, the next best thing- would be to have legs of India-rubber. The cango is a box of light bamboo, with curtains that can be kept up or down, according to one's pleasure. The seat is so small that you must curl up in a way very uncomfortable for an American, but not at all inconvenient for a Jap- anese. It has a cushion, on which the traveller sits, and the top is so low that it is impossible to maintain an erect position. It has been in use for hundreds of years in Japan, and is not a great remove from the palanquin of India, though less comfortable. The body of the machine is slung from a pole, and this pole is upheld by a couple of coolies. The men move at a walk, and every few hundred feet they stop, rest the jiole on their staffs, and shift from one shoulder to the other. Tliis resting is a ticklish thing for the traveller, as the cango sways from side to side, and gives an intimation that it is liable to fall to the sTOund. It does fall sometimes, and the principal consolation in such an event is that it does not have far to go. to 198 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. TRAVELLING IN A NORIMON. 199 A more aristocratic vehicle of this kind is the norimon. The noriinon is larger than the cango, and is completely closed in at the sides, so that it may be taken as a faint imitation of our covered carriages. The princes of Japan used to travel in norimons; and they are still employed in sonje parts of the empire, though becoming less and less common every 3'ear. The norimon has four bearers, instead of two, and, consequently, there is much more dignity attached to its use. The rate of progress is aljout the same as with the cango, and after several hours in one of them a foreigner feels very much as if lie were a sardine and had been packed away in a can. It was always considered a high honor to lie the bearer of a princely personage ; and when the great man came out in state, with his army of retainers to keep the road properly cleared, the procession was an impos- ing one. The style and decorations of the noi'imon were made to corre- spond with the rank of the owner, and liis coat-of-arms was painted on the outside, just as one may see the coats-of-arms on private carriages in Lon- don or Paris. When a prince or other great man expected a distinguished visitor, he used to send his private norimon out a short distance on the road to meet him. \ \ -^-^^^ C^n. \\! ri ..- \^lfefi;'< -V'n?''i0\ JAl'ANESE NORI.MON. The boys tried all possible positions in the eangos, in the hope of finding some way that was comfortable. Frank finally settled down into what he pronounced the least uncomfortable mode of riding, and Fred soon followed his example. They had taken open eangos, so as to see as much of the country as possible and have the advantage of whatever air was in circulation: and but for the inconvenience to their lower limbs. 200 THE BOY TRxVVELLEIW. FKANK S POSITION. they would liave found it capital fun. Frank doubled himself so that his feet were as high as his liead ; he gave his hat into the care of the con- ductor, and replaced it witli a cloth covering, so that he looked not much unlike a native. His bear- ers found him rather un- wieldy, as he frequently moved about, and thus dis- turbed the equilibrium of the load. To ride prop- erly in a cango or a nori- mon, one should not move a muscle from the time lie enters till he leaves the vehicle. This may do for the plilegmatic Oriental, but is torture for a foreigner, and especially for an American. Doctor Bronson was a tall man, and could not fold jiirnself with as much facility as could the more supple youths. lie rode a mile or so and tjien got out and walked ; and he continued thus to alternate as long as they were travelling in this way. He was emphatic in declaring that the way to ride in a cango and enjoy it thoroughly was to walk behind it, and let somebody else take the inside of the vehicle. Their journey brought them to llakone, which has long been a favor- ite summer resort of the Japanese, and of late years is nmch ])atronized by foreigners. Those who can aiford the time go there from Yokohama, Tokio, and other ojDen poifs of Japan ; and during JUI3' and August there is quite a collection of English and Americans, and of other foreign nation- alities. The missionaries, wlio have been worn down and broken in health by their exhaustive labors in the seaports during the winter, tind relief and recuperation at llakone as the summer comes on. There they gather new strength for their toils by breathing tlie pure air of the mountains and climbing the rugged paths, and they have abundant opportunities for doing good among the natives that reside there. Before reaching llakone it was necessary to traverse a mountain pass, by ascending a very steep road to the summit and then descending an- other. In the M'ildest part of the mountains they came to a little village, which has a considerable fame for its hot springs. The boys had a fancy to bathe in these sjjrings, and, as the coolies needed a little rest after their toilsome walk, it was agreed to halt awhile. There were several of the A JAPANESE HOT SPRING. 201 202 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. spi'iiigs, and the water was gathered in pools, which liad a very inviting appearance and increased the desire of our friends to try them. Tliey went into one of the small rooms pi'ovided for the purpose, removed their clothing, and then plunged in simultaneously. They came out instantly, and without any request to do so by the Doctor, who stood laughing at the edge of the pool. For their skins the water was almost scalding-hot, though it was far otherwise to the Japanese. The Japanese are very fond (if hot baths, and will bathe in water of a temperature so high that a for- eigner cannot endure it except after long practice. The baths here in the mountains were just suited to the native taste ; and Frank said they would be suited to his taste as well if they could have a few blocks of ice thrown into them. A JAPANESE BATH. Public and private batlis are probably more numerous in Japan than in any other country. The qualities of most of the natural sources are well known, and thousands flock to them every year to be cured of real or imaginary maladies. The country contains a great number of these springs ; and, since the ari-ival of foreigners, and a careful aiuilysis of the waters, certain ]3roperties have been discovered that were not known be- fore. In some cases the curative powers of the Japanese spi'ings are re- markable, and it has been predicted that patients will one day come t(.i Japan from distant lands to be healed. The Lake of Ilakone is a beautiful sheet of water, not unlike Lake FUSIYAMA FROM TOE LAKK. 203 -20i THE BOY TRAVELLERS. Talioe in California — an arjiiatic gem in a setting of nigged mountains. These are not lofty, like the mountains of the Golden State, so far as tlieir elevation above the lake is concerned ; but the,)' rise directly from the ■water, and present nearl}' everywhere a bold frontage. The surface of the lake is said to be more than six thousand feet above the level of the sea; and the water is clear and cold. Our young friends tried a bath in the lake, and found it as inconveniently cold as the springs had been in- conveniently warm. " Some people are never satisfied," said Fred, when Frank was complaining about the temperature of the water in the lake. '• You wouldn't be contented with the springs because they boiled you, and now you say the lake freezes you. Perhaps we'll find something by- and-by that will come to tlie point." The boys had observed that the farther they penetrated from Yoko- hama and Tokio, the less did they find the people affected in their dress and manners by the presence of the foreigners. Particularly was this the case with the women. Tliey had seen in the ojien ports a good many women with blackened teeth ; and the farther they went inland, the greater did they find the proportion of the fair sex who had thus dis- figured themselves. So at the first opportunity they a.sked the Doctor about the custom. "I know," said Frank, "that it is the married women that blacken their teeth; but how does it happen that there are so many more married ones here than on the shores of Yeddo Bay ?" " You are wrong there," answered the Doctor ; " there is probably as large a proportion of married women in the one region as in the other. The difference is that the custom is rapidly falling off." " Is there any law aliout it ?" Fred inquired. "Xot in tlie least," Doctor Bronson explained. ''It is an old custom for married women to blacken their teeth, and formerly it was most rig- idly observed ; but of late years, since the foreigners came to Japan, it has not been adhered to. The Japanese see that a married woman can get along without having her teeth discolored, and as they are inclined to fall into the customs of Europe, the most progressive of them not only permit, but require, their wives to keep their teeth white." " That is one jjoint," said Frank, " in which I think the Japanese have gained by adojDting the European custom. I don't think it improves their ap])earance to put on European clothes instead of their own ; but when it comes to this haljit of blackening the teeth, it is absolutely hideous." From this assertion there was no dissent. Tlien the question naturally arose, "How is the operation performed *" FEMININE CUSTOMS IN JAPAN. 205 Doctor Bi'onson explained that it was done by means of a black paint or varnisli, peculiar to Japan. The paint was robbed on the teeth with a rag or stiff brush, and made the gums very sore at first. It remained quite bright and distinct for tlie first few days, l)ut in the eonrse of a week it faded, and by the end of ten or twelve days a renewal was neces- sary. If left to itself, the coloring would disappear altogether within a month fronr the time of its application. Frank wished to know if the women were desirous of liaving the cus- tom abolished, but on this point it was not easy for him to obtain jjrecise information. The Doctor thought it was a matter of individual ratlier than of general preference, and that the views of the women were largely influenced by those of their huslninds. "The Japanese wives," said he, " are like the wives of most other countries, and generally wish to do ac- cording to the tastes and desires of their husbands. As you grow older you will find that the women of all lands endeavor to suit their modes of dressing and adornment to the wisiies of the men with whom they come mostly in contact ; of course, there are individual exceptions, but they do not weaken the force of the general rule. In America as in England, in China as in Japan, in India as in Peru, it is the fancy of the men that governs the dress and personal decoration of tlie other half of the race. As long as it was the fashion to blacken the teeth in this countrj^, the women did it without a murmur ; but as soon as the men showed a willingness for them to discontinue the practice, and especially when that willingness became a desire, they began to discontinue it. Twenty years from this time, I imagine, the women with blackened teeth will be less numerous than those at present with white ones. " The abandonment of the custom began in the open ports, and is spreading through the country. It will spread in exactly the same ratio as Japan adopts other customs and waj's of the rest of the world ; and as fast as she takes on our Western civilization, just so fast will she drop such of her forms as are antagonistic to it.'' The party rested a portion of a day at Hakone, and then went on their wa3^ Travelling by cango had become so wearisome that they engaged a horse-train for a part of the way, and had themselves and their baggage carried on the backs of Japanese steeds. They found this an improvement on the old plan, though the horses were rather more unruly than tlie cango coolies, and frequently made a serious disturbance. Occasionally, wlien the train was ready to start, the beasts would indulge in a general kicking- match all aronnd, to the great detriment of their burdens, whether ani- mate or otherwise. The best and gentlest horses had been selected for 206 THE BOY TRAVELI.ERS. ANTICS OF THE HORSES. riding, and consequently the greatest amount of circus performances was with the baggage animals. The grooms had all they wished to attend to to keep the beasts under subjection, and not infrequently they came out of the contest with gashes and other blemishes ou their variegated skins. But they showed great courage in contending with the vicious brutes, and it is said of a Japanese betto that he will fearlessly attack the most ill-tem- pered horse in the country, and not be satisfied till he has conquered him. There are several populous towns between Hakone and the base of Fusiyama. Among them may be .mentioned Missimi, Noomads, and Harra, none of them containing any features of special importance after the other places our friends had seen. Consecjnently our party did not halt there any longer than was necessary for the ordinary demands of the journey, but puslied on to the foot of the Ilolj' Peak. As they ap- proached it tliey met many pilgrims returning from the ascent, and their general ajipearance of fatigue did not hold out a cheering prospect to the excursionists. But they had come with the determination to make the journey to the summit of tlie mountain, and were not to be fi'ightened at trifles. They were full of enthusiasm, for the great mountain showed more distinctly every hour as thej approached it, and its enormous and symmetrical cone was pushed far up into the sky, and literally pierced the clouds. At times tlie clouds blew away; tlie sunlight streauied full upon tlie lofty mass of ever-during stone, and seemed to warm it into a tropical lieat. But the snow lying unmelted in the ravines dispelled the illusion, and they knew that they must encounter chilling winds, and perhaps biting frosts, as they ascended to the liiglier altitudes. There lay the great Fusiyama, the holy niountain of Japan, which AT THE MOUNTAIN'S BASE. 207 208 THE BOY TRAVELLEES. they had come so many thousand miles to see. In tlie afternoon the clouds rolled at its base, bnt the cone, barren as a hill in tlie great desert, was uncovered, and all the huge furrows of its sloping sides were dis- tinctl}' to be seen. Close at hand were forests of the beautiful cedar of Japan, fields of waving corn, and other jDroducts of agriculture. jSTot far oS were the waters of the bay that sweeps in from the ocean to near the base of the fanuius landmark for the mariners who approach this part of the coast. Kow and then the wind brought to their ears the roar of the )reak ers, as t)i th ey rashed uijon the rocks, rolled alontr thi ope n stretches of sandy beach. Hitherto they had been favored by the weather, hut now a rain came on that threatened to detain them for an indefinite period. It blew in sliai-p gusts that Sometimes seemed ready to lift the roof from the house where ^'-¥-.^- IN A STOKM NEAR FUSIYAMA. they were lodged. The conductor explained that these storms were fre- cpient at the base of the mountain, and were supposed by the ignorant and superstitious inhabitants of the region to be the exhibition of the displeas- ure of the deities of Fusiyama in consequence of something that had been done by those who professed to worship them. "AVhen the gods are angry," said he, " we have storms, and when they are in good-lmmor we have fair weather. If it is very fine, we know they are happy ; and when the clouds begin to gathei', we know something is wrong, and, it depends upon the amount of sacrifices and prayers that we offer whether the clouds clear away without a storm or not." BEGINNING THE ASCENT. 209 Near the foot of tlie mountain there are several monasteries, where the pilgrims are lodged and cared for when making their religious visits to the God of Fusiyama. Some of these are of considerable importance, and are far from uncomfortable as places of residence. Our party spent the night at one of these monastic settlements, which was called Muri- yama, and was the last inhabited spot on the road. And as they were considerably fatigued l)y the ride, and a day more or less in their journey would not make any material difEerence, they wisely concluded to halt until the second morning, so as to have all their forces fully restored. Frank said, "This day doesn't count, as we are to do nothing but rest; and if we want to rest, we must not see anything." So they did not try to see anything ; but the Doctor was careful to make sure tliat their con- ductor made all the necessary preparations for the ascent. Early on the second morning after their arrival, they started for the final effort. Tlie}^ rode their horses as far as the way was practicable, and then proceeded on foot. Their baggage was mostly left in charge of the grooms to await their return, and such provisions and articles as they needed were carried by " 3'amabooshees," or " men of the mountain," whose special business it is to accompany travellers to the summit, and to aid them where the way is bad, or in case they become weary. If a jDerson chooses, he may be cai'ried all the way to the top of the mountain and back again ; but such an arrangement was not to the taste of our robust advent- urers. They were determined to walk, and walk they did, in spite of the entreaties of the coolies who wanted to earn sometliing by transporting them. In addition to the yamabooshees, they had an escort of two "yoboos," or priests, from one of the tempiles. These men were not expected to carry burdens, but simply to serve as guides, as they were thoroughly familiar with the road and knew all its peculiarities. The first part of their way was through a forest, but, as they ascended, the trees became smaller and fewer, and their character changed. At the base tliere were pines and oaks, but they gradually made way for beeches and birches, the latter being the last because the hardiest. From the for- est they emei'ged upon the region of barren rock and earth and the frag- ments left by the eruptions of the volcano. The last eruption took place in 1707, and there have been few signs of any intention of returning activity since that date. But all ai'ound there are abundant traces of what the mountain was when it poured out its floods of lava and cover- ed large areas with desolation. In some places the heaps of scoriiv, appear as though the eruption, whence they came, had been but a week ago, as they are above tlie line of vegetation, and their character is such that 14 210 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. they iiiulergo hardly any cliaiige fi-oi]i the elements from one century to anothei'. This part of Japan, and, in fact, the wliole of Japan, has a good deal of volcanic lire pent up beneath it. Eartlnjuakes are of frecpient occur- rence, and sometimes they are very destructive ; whole towns have been destroyed by them, and as for the little ones that do no material damage, but simply give things a gene]-al shaking-np, they are so frequent as to be hardly noticeable. That there is an undei'ground relation between the disturbances in different parts of the country' is evident, and the tradition is that at the time of the last eruption of Fusiyama the ground rose con- siderably in the vicinity of the mountain, while there was a corresponding depression of the earth near Kioto, on the other side of the island. Oc- casionally there are slight rumblings in the interior of Fusiyama, but none of them are serious enough to excite any alarm. From the pdace where our friends left their horses to the summit the distance is said to be not far from twenty miles, but it is not exactly the efjuivalent of twenty miles on a level turnpike or a paved street. Frank said it reminded him of a very muddj' road somewhere in California, which a traveller described as nine miles long, ten feet wide, and three feet deep ; and he thought a fair description of the way up the mountain would in- clude the height and roughness as well as the length. The path wound among the rocks and scoria?, and through the beds of lava. Altogether they found the ascent a most trying one, and sometimes half wished that they had left the visit to Fusiyama out of their calcula- tions when they were planning how to use their time in Japan. But it was too late to turn back now, and they kept on and on, encouraging each other with cheering words, stopping frequently to take breath and to look at the wonderful panoj'ama that was unfolded to their gaze. The air grew light and lighter as they went on, and by-and-by the periods when they halted, panting and half suffocated, became as long as those devoted to climbing. They experienced the same difficulty that all travellers en- counter at high elevations, and Fred j-emendjered what he had read of Flumboldt's ascent of the high peaks of the Andes, where the lungs seem- ed ready to burst and the blood spurted from the faces of himself and his companions in consequence of the rarity of the atmosphere. About every two miles along the way they found little huts or caves, partly dug in the mass of volcanic rubliish, and partly built up, with roofs to protect the interior from the rain. These were intended as refuges for tlie pilgrims for passing the night or resting during storms, and had no doubt been of great service to those who preceded them. At one of these CLIMBING THE GREAT MOUNTAIN. 211 ASCENT or rUSIYAMA. -212 'i'lIE BOY TRAVELLERS. they lialted for Innclieoii, wliicli they took from the pack of one of their bearers, and later on they lialted at another to pass the night. It is con- sidered too great a journey to be made in a single day, except by persons of nnnsiial vigor and long accustomed to mountain-climbing. The cus- tomary plan is to pass a night on the mountain wlien little more than half way up, and then to finish the ascent, and make the whole of the descent on the second day. It was cold that night in the upper air, and there was a strong wind blowing that chilled our young friends to the bone. The sleeping accom- juodations were not of the best, as there were no beds, and the}- had noth- ing but the rugs and shawls they had brought along from the foot of the mountain. Vred asked if there was any danger of their being disturbed by tigers or snakes, and was speedily reassured by Frank, who thought tliiit any well-educated beast or serpent would never undertake a pilgrimage to tlie top of Fusiyaraa ; and if one should have strayed as far as their resting- place, he would be too much played out to attend to any business. But th(jugh largo game did not abound, there was plenty of a smaller kind, as they found before they had been ten minutes in the huts. Previous vis- itors had left a large and well-selected assortment of tleas, for which they had no further use, and their acti\'ity indicated that they had been for some time without food. They made things lively for the strangers, and what with chilling winds, hard beds, cramped cpiarters, and the voracit}' of the permanent inhabitants of the place, tliere was little sleep in that hut during the time of their stay. They were up before daylight, and, while the coffee was boiling, the boys watched the approach of morning. They looked far out over the waters of the Pacific, to where a thin line of light was curving around the rim of the horizon. At first it was so faint that it took a sharp eye to dis- cover it, but as they watched and as the day advanced it grew more and more distinct, till it rounded out like a segment of the great circle engird- ling the globe. The gleam of light became a glow that seemed to M'arm the waters of the shimmering ocean and flash a message of friendship from their homo in another laud ; the heavens became purple, then scarlet, then golden, and gradually changed to the whiteness of silver. Far beneath them floated the fleecy clouds, and far beneath these were the hills of Ila- kone and the surrounding plain. Land and sea wore spread as in a pict- ure, and the ^vorld seemed to be lying at their feet. The boys stood spell- bound and silent as they watched the opening day from the heights of Fusiyama, and finally exclaimed in a breath that they were doubly paid f(ir all the fatigue they had passed through in their journey thus far. ON THE SUMMIT. 213 The light breakfast was taken, and the adventurers moved on. At each step the way grew more and more difficult. Every mile was steeper than its predecessor, and in many instances it was rougher. The rare- faction of the air increased, and rendered the work of bi'eathing more and more severe. The travellers panted like frightened deer, and their lungs seemed to gain little relief from the I'est that the Doctor and his young- friends were compelled to take at frequent intervals. Tlie last of the huts of refuge was passed, aud it seemed only a short distance to tlie summit. Tint it required more than an hour's etfort to accomplish this final stage. The boys refused all offers of assistance, and struggled manfully on; but Doctor Bronsoii was less confident of his powers, and was glad of the aid of the strong-limbed and strong-handed yamabooshees. All were glad enough to stand on the summit and gaze into the deep gulf of tlie crater, while their brows were cooled by the clear breezes from the Pacific. They were at the top of Fusiyama, 14,000 feet above the level of the ocean that lay so far below them, eighty miles from their starting-point at Yokohama, and their vision swept an area of the surface of the earth nearly two hun- dred miles in diameter. East and south lay the broad ocean. West and north Avas the wondrous land of Japan, a carpet of billowy green, rough- ened here and tliere with wooded hills and small mountains, indented with bays and with silver threads of rivers meandering through it. It was a picture of marvellous beauty which no pen can describe. They remained an hour or more on the mountain, and then began the descent. It was far easier than the upward journey, but was by no means a pleasurable affair. The boys slipped and fell several times, but, luckily, received no severe hurts ; and in little more than three hours from the top they were at the spot where the horses were waiting for them. Altogether, they had been through about twelve hours of the hardest climbing they had ever known in their lives. Frank said he didn't want to climb any more mountains for at least a year, and Fred quite agreed with him. As they descended from their saddles at Muriyama, they were stiff and sore, and could hardly stand. They threw their arms around each other, and Frank said : " The proudest day of my life — I've been to the top of Fusiyama." " And it's my proudest day, too," Fred responded ; " for I've been there with you." As they rested that evening, Frank thought of some lines that he had seen somewhere, which were appropriate to the journey they had made, and he wound up the day's experiences by repeating them. They were as follows : 214 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. '"As we climb from the vale to the liigh monntnin's jieak, AYe leave the green fields far below ; \\c go on thi-oiigh the forest, beyond it we seek Tlie line of perpetual snow. Cold and thin grows the air, tiie iigiit dazzles our eves, We struggle through storm-cloud and sleet ; With courage undaunted we mount toward, the skies, Till the world spreads out at our feet. " We are jonrneying now np the mountain of life. The green fields of youth we have passed ; We've toiled through the forest with unceasing strife, And gained the bright snow-line at last. We are whitened by frost, we are chilled by tlie Ijreeze— With weariness hardly can move; But, faithful to duty, in our work we'll ne'er cease Till we look on the world from above." DIVISIONS OF THE POPULATION OF JAPAN. 2U CIIAPTEK XY. EXECUTIONS AND HARI-KARI. ''P^IIE return to Yokohama was accomplished without any incident of J- eonsef|uence. Fred was a little disappointed to think that their lives had not been in peril. " Jnst a little danger for the fun of the thing," he remarked to Frank ; and at one time on the way he was almost in- clined to gloominess when he reflected on tlie situation. "There hasn't been any attack npon us," he said to himself, " when there might have been sometliing of the kind just as well as not. Kot that I wanted any real killing, or anything of the sort, but just a little risk of it to make tilings lively. It's really too bad." He was roused from his revery by the Doctor, wlio told him they were approaching the sjjot where some EngHshmen were set upon by a party of two-sworded Samurai, in the early times of the foreign occupation. The attack was entirely unprovoked, and quite without warning. One of the Englishmen was killed and another seriously wounded, while the natives escaped unharmed. Fred wanted to know the exact character of the Sa- murai, and why they were nearly always concerned in the attacks upon foreigners. " It is a long story," said Doctor Bronson, " and I am not sure that yoii M'ill find it altogether interesting ; but it is a part of Japanese history that you ought to know, especially in view of the fact that the Samnrai exist no longer. With the revolution of 1868 and the consequent overthrow of the old customs, the Samurai class was extinguished, and the wearing of, two swords is forbidden. " The population of Japan was formerly divided into four great classes. The first was the military and official class, and these are what were called Samurai ; the second was the farmer class that rented the lands from the government, and engaged in agriculture ; the third was the artisan class, and included all the trades and occupations of an industrial character ; and the fourth was the merchant class, including all kinds of traders from the M'liolesale merchant to the petty peddler. Of course there were subdi\i- 216 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE FOUR CLASSES OF SOCIETV. sions of these classes, and sometimes several of them in a single class, but the general outline of the s_ystem is as I have stated it. Below these classes, and outside the ordinary scale of huuianity, were the Eta and Ilinin castes, who comprised beggars, tanners, grave-diggers, and, in fact, all per- sons who had anything to do with the handling of a dead body, whether human or of the lower animals. It was pollution to associate with a per- son of the Eta caste, and these people were compelled to dwell in villages by themselves. As they wei'e not respected by others, they had no great respect for themselves, and lived in the most filthy condition. They could not enter a house where other people lived, and were not permitted to sit, eat, or di'ink with others, and they could not cook their food at the same tire. •'Tills was the way society in Japan was made up till tlie revolution of 1868, when the whole fabric was swept away, and the princi])les of our Declaration of Independence were adopted. The Japanese have virtually declared that all men were created equal, by putting the classes on the same level and aljolishing the distinctions of caste. The Eta and Hinin castes were made citizens, tlie Samurai (or gentry) were deprived of their hered- THE ])ANGEROUS CLASS. 217 itary rights, and the feudal princes were compelled to turn their posses- sions into the hands of the general government. The change was very great for all, bnt for none more so than the Samnrai. "These fellows had been for centuries a class with extraordinary priv- ileges. Their ideas in regard to work of any kind were like those of their kindred in Europe and some other parts of the world ; it would degrade tliem to do anything, and consequently they were generally addicted to a life of idleness. There were studious and enterprising men among them, but they were the exceptions ratlier than tlie rule. Tlie ordinary Samurai was, more or less, and usually more, a worthless fellow, whose sole idea of occupation was to follow the lord of his province and be present at cere- monials, and, for the rest, to spend his time in drinkiiig-shops and other improper places, and indulge in occasional fights with the men of other clans. They were the only persons allowed to wear two swords ; and it was the constant wearing of these swords, coupled with the drinking of sa-kee, that brought on most of the difficulties between the natives and the foreigners. A group of these men would be drinking in a tavern, and, while they were all heated with the spirits they had swallowed, one of them would propose to kill a foreigner. They would make a vow to go out and kill the first one they met, and in this mood they would leave the tavern and walk along the principal street. They would fall upon the first foreigner they met, and, as they were three or four to one, and were all well armed, the foreigner was generally slaughtered. Mr. Heu.sken, the interpreter of the American Legation, was thus murdered at Yeddo in 1861, and the German consul at Hakodadi met his death in the same way. The Samurai were the class most opposed to the en- trance of foreigners into Japan, and, so long as they were allowed to wear swords and inflame themselves with sa-kee, the life of a stranger was never safe." "If they did no work," said Frank, "how did they manage to live?" " They were supported by the government," the Doctor answered, " in accordance with the ancient custom. Every Samurai received an allow- ance, which was paid to him in rice, the staple article of food, and what he did not eat he could convert into money. His pay was in proportion to his rank, and the great number of Samurai made their support a heavy burden upon the laboring class. It is said that nine tenths of the product of the soil went, in one way and another, for taxes ; that is, for every Imndred bushels of rice that a farnier raised, ninety bushels went to the local and general governments, and only ten bushels remained to the farmer. It was by being tlius saddled on the country' that the Samurai 218 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. were able to live ■without work, and, as the right had been conceded to tliem for generations, they naturally looked with contempt upon all kinds of industry. Their dissipated way of living was very likely to lead them into debt, just as it leads similar men into debt everywhere else. The merchants and tradesmen of all kinds were their victims, as the law allowed no redress for the -wrongs tliey committed. They would some- times enter a shop, select what goods they wanted, hand them over to a servant, and then leave without paying. If the mercliant intimated that he would like to be paid for his property, they became very insolent and threatened to report him to the police as a swindler. Tliey would enter a TWO-SWORDED NOBLES. ABOLITION OF THE SAMURAI. 219 tavern or tea-honse with a crowd of tlieir followei's, and, after eating and drinliing what they wished, walk coolly away. If the landlord asked for payment, he ^¥as not very likely to get it; and if he repeated the recjuest, he not infrequently had his head slashed off by the sword of one of the offended gentlemen. The head of a landlord was not of mnch conse- cpience ; but he was generally quite unwilling to lose it, as, when once taken off, it was difheult to restore it to its place. " If the Samurai had been on the most friendly terms with each other, thej would have rendered Japan too hot for anybody else to live in. But, fortunately for the rest of the popula- tion, there were many feuds among the different clans, and there was rarely an occasion when one clan was not in open warfare with some other. In this way they devoted their energies to cutting each other's throats, to the great delight of the merchants and tradesmen. Where two clans were in hostility to each other, and two oppos- ing groups met in the streets, they used to fall to fighting without cere- mony and furnish occupation for the coroner before the interview was over. They were a terror to all the rest of the populace ; and it is safe to say that there was general rejoicing among the other classes when the Samurai ceased to exist." Fred asked if the government took away the pensions of these men and gave them nothing in return. "Not by any means," the Doctor answered. "The government gave to each man a money allowance, or gift, to take the place of his pension, and let him do with it whatever he pleased. Some of them spent it in dissipation, and found themselves eventually without a pennj^ and with no means of obtaining anything. They were then obliged to go to work like other people, and some of them had a very hard time to exist. I was told in Yokohama that some of the former Samurai were working as coolies in various ways, not only in that city, but all through the empire. A good many of them have found enqDloj'uient among the foreign mer- SAMDKAI IN WINTER DRESS. 220 'i'JIE BOY THAVELLERS. cliants as clerks and sulesinen, and there are many in government employ in the offices at Tokio and in other cities. Tlie officers you saw at tlie customdiouse were probably ex-Samurai, and ten years ago they would have been wearing two swords apiece. The Japanese book-keeper you saw in the office of tlie American merchant on M'hom we called tlie day of our arrival was once a Samurai of high degree. He spent his government allowance in a short time after receiving it, and was tlien conipelled to find employment or starve. lie tried the starvation sj'stem a short time, and concluded he did not like it. lie turned his education to account by undertaking to keep the Japanese accounts of a foreign merchant, and his employer is well pleased with him. " As the Samurai were the military class befoi-e the revolution, they retain the same character, to a large degree, under the present system. They are the officers of the army and navy, and, to a great extent, they fill the ranks of the soldiery. Those who accepted the cliange and remained loyal to the government have received appointments wjiore tljere were vacancies to be filled, and the strength of Japan to-day is largely in tlie hands of the old Samurai. But, as might be expected, there was much discontent at the change, and some of the Samurai went into open rebell- ion against the government. This was the cause of the revolt in 1877, and for a time it was so formidable that many peojjle believed it would succeed. Not a few among the foreigners predicted that the Mikado would be dethroned, and the power of the Tycoon restored ; but the gov- ernment triumphed in the end, and tliose of the leadei's of the insuri'cetion who did not perish in battle were beheaded." Frank asked how tlie Japanese performed the ceremony of beheading, and whether it M-as very frecjuent. "As to that," said Doctor Bronson, "much depends upon wliat you would call frequent. In former times a man might lose his head for a ^■el•y slight reason, or, perhaps, no reason at all. Crimes that we would consider of small degree were punished with death, and there was very little time wasted between the sentence and its execution. As the Jap- anese have become more and more familiar with the customs of Western nations, they have learned that we do not remove the heads of our people for trifles, and tliey show their good sense b}- following our example. Of late years, executions by decapitation are much less fre- quent than formerly, but even now tlicre are more of them than there need be. "As to the manner of performing it, a few words will describe it. Tlie ceremonies tliat ^n'ccede it are somewhat elaborate, but the affair BEHEADING A CRIMINAL. 221 itself is performed in the twinkling of an ej'e, or, rather, in the twinkling of a sword. It is a single flash, and all is over. " When I was in Japan the first time, I was invited to be present at an execution, and, as I had a scientific reason for being there, I accepted the invitation. As a friend and myself approached the prison we met a large crowd, and were told that the prisoner was being paraded through the streets, so that the public could see him. There was quite a procession to escort the poor fellow', and the people seemed to have very little sympathy for him, as they were doubtless hardened by the frecpiency of these oc- currences. In front of the procession there were two men bearing large placards, like banners. One of the placards announced the name and residence of the victim, and the other the crime of which he had been convicted, together with his sentence. Close behind these men was the prisoner, tied to the horse on which he rode, and guaixled by a couple of soldiers. Following him were more soldiers, and then came a couple of officers, with their attendants ; for at that time every officer had a certain number of retainers, who follow'ed him everywhere. We joined the party and went to the prison-yard, where we found the ground ready prepared for the execution. But first, according to the usual custom, the prisoner was provided with a ^.^ hearty breakfast ; and it was rather ^ TsS^^ES^ -^5-_ an astonishing circumstance that he "^s=^==^=si:-2|i ate it with an excellent appetite, though he complained of one dish as being unhealthy. In half an hour or so he had finished, and was led to the spot where he was to lose his head. He was recpiired to kneel be- hind a small hole that had been dug to receive his head ; a bandage was tied around his eyes, and as it was fastened he said 'Sayonara' to his friends and everybody present. When all was ready, the officer in command gave the signal, and the executioner, with a single blow, severed the head fi'om tlie body. It fell into the hole prepared for it, and was immediate- ly picked up and washed. Then the procession was formed again, and tiie UKUEAIIINO A CRIMINAL. 222 THE BOY TKAVELLEUS. head ^vas taken to a ihoiukI by the side of the road, where it was phiced on a post. According to law, it was to remain there six da3's, as a terror to all who were disposed to do wrong. It was the first Japanese execu- tion I ever witnessed, and my last." Frank asked the Doctor if tins execution was anything like the "hari- kari" of which he had read, where a Japanese was said to commit suicide by cutting open his stomach. '' Kot by an}' means," was the answer; "hari-kari is quite another tiling." " Please tell ns how it is performed," said Fred. "It is not altogether a ])leasant subject," remarked the Doctor, with a slight shudder; "but as wc want to learn all we can of the manners and customs of the people we are among, and as we are now among the Jap- anese, I suppose we must give some attention to hari-kari. " To understand the question thoroughly, it will be necessary to bear in nnnd that the (Ji-iental way of thinking is very often the exact reverse of our way. We have one idea of honor and the Japanese have another ; who is right or who is wrong we will not pretend to say, as each party has its own particular views and will not readily yield to the other. Writers on Japan differ eonsidei'ably in their views of Jajianese points of honor, and there are disagreements on the subject among the Jajjanese them- selves ; therefore I cannot speak with absolute exactness about it. Ac- cording to the old code, all persons holding office under the government were I'equired to kill themselves in the way mentioned whenever they had eomnutted any crime, though not till they had received an oi'der to do so from the court. If they disobeyed the order, their families would be disinherited, and none of their descendants would be allowed to hold office ever after ; consequently a regard for one's family required a cheerful submission to the custom. There was no disgrace attached to a death b}' hari-kari, and in former times its occurrence was almost an every- day affair. One writer says, 'The sons of all persons of quality exercise tliemselves in their youth, for five or six yeai-s, with a view to performing the operation, in case of need, with gracefulness and dexterit}- ; and they take as nmch pains to acquire this accomplishment as youth among us to become elegant dancers or skilful horsemen; hence the ju'tifound con- tempt of death which they indjibe in early years.' Curious custom, isn't it, according to our notions *"' Both the boys thought it was, and said they were glad that they were not l>orn in a country where such ideas of honor prevailed. The Doctor told them that an old stcu'v, which he had no doubt A\'as HAKI-KAEr. 223 true, since it accorded witli the Japanese ideas of lienor, -would be a very good illustration of the subject. It was concerning two liigh officers of the court who met one day on a staircase, and accidentally jostled each other. One was a very quick-tempered man, and demanded satisfaction ; the other was of a more peaceable disposition, and said the circumstance was accidental, and could be amplj^ covered by an apology, which he was ready to make. The other tried to provoke him to a conflict, and when he found he could not do so he drew his short-sword and slashed himself open according to the prescribed mode. The otlier was compelled, as a point of honor, to follow his example. It often happened that where one man had offended another the court ]'equired that they should both per- form hari-kari, and they always did so without the least hesitation. And wdieu a man went to another's house, sat down and disembowelled him- self, the owner of the house was obliged by law to do the same thing. There was no escaping it, and it is but fair to the Japanese to say that they did not try to escape it. '' If you are deeply interested in the subject of hari-kari,"' said the Doctor, " I advise you to read Mitford's book entitled ' Tales of Old Japan.' Mr. Mitford lived some time in Japan in an official capacity, and on one occasion lie was called upon to be present at the hari-kai'i of an officer who had given orders for firing on some foreigners. He gives an account of this affair, including a list of the ceremonies to be ob- served on such an occasion, which he translated from a Japanese work on the subject. Kothing could be more precise than the regulations, and some of them are exceedingly curious, particularly the one that requires the nearest friend of tlie victim to act as his second. The duty of the second is to cut off the principal's head at the moment he plunges the knife into his body. It is a post of honor, and a gentleman who should refuse thus to act for his friend would be considered no friend at all. Again I say it is a curious custom all through. "The term hari-kari means 'happj' despatch,' and for the Japanese it was a happy form of going out of the world. It is still in use, the custom as well as the expression, but not so much so as formerly. The Japanese ideas of honor have not changed, but they have found that some of their ways of illustrating them are not in accordance with the customs of Europe. There are cases of hari-kari now and then at the present time, but they are very private, and generally the result of the sentence of a court. At the termination of the i-el)e]]ion of 1S77, several of the officers concerned in it committed hari-kari voluntarily just before the surrender, and others in consequence of their capture and sentence. 224 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. " In tlie administration of jnstiee," Doctor Bronson continued, "Japan lias made great progress in the jjast few years. Formerly nearly all trials were conducted with torture, and sometimes the witnesses were tortured as well as the accused. The instruments in use were the retinement of cruelty : heavy weights were piled on the body of a prisoner ; he was placed in a caldron of water, and a tire was lighted beneath which slowly brought the water to the boiling-point ; he was cut with knives in a variety of ways that indicated great ingenuity on the jDart of the torturers ; in fact, he was put to a great deal of pain such as we know nothing about. Under the old sj'stem the only persons at a trial wore the prisoner, the torturer, the secretary, and the judge ; at present the trials are generally open, aiid the accused has the benelit of counsel to defend him, as in our own courts. •^a&f^^^ JAPANESE COURT IN THE OLD STYLE. Torture has been formally abolished, though it is asserted that it is some- times employed in cases of treason or other high crimes. Law-schools have been established, reform codes of law have been made, and certainly there is a manifest disposition on the part of the government to give the best system of justice to the people that can be found. Japan is endeav- oring to take a place among the nations of the world, and show that she is no longer a barbarian land. The United States have been the foremost to acknowledge her right to such a place, but their action has not been sec- onded by England and other European countries. It will doubtless come in time, and every year sees some additional step gained in the pi'oper oi- I'ection. IMPROVEJIENTS IN NAVIGATION. flo JAPANESE NAVAL OFFICER. " As I liave before stated," the Doctor coii- tinnetl, " the Japanese liave made great progress in military and naval matters. They have ship-yards at several places, and have bnilt ships of their own after the European models ; in addition to these, they have ships that they bought fi'om foreignei's, tint they are entirely commanded and managed by their own officers, and equipped with crews entirely Japanese. The old war-junks of the country have been discarded for the modern ships, and the young Japanese are trained in the Western mode of war- fare ; their schools for naval instruction liave made remarkable advancement, and the teachers who were brought from other countries repeatedly declared that they never had seen anywhere a more intelligent assemblage of pupils than they found hei'e. The Japanese naval officer of to-day is uniformed very much like his fellow-officer in Europe or America, and his manners are as polished as the most fastidious among us could wish. The Japanese ships have made long cruises, and visited the principal ports of Europe and America, and their commanders have shown that they understand the theory and practice of navigation, and are able to take their ships wherever they may be ordered to go. The picture of a Japanese war-junk of the olden time, and that of the war-steamer of to-day do not show many points of resendjlance. They illustrate the difference between the old and the new, very mucli as do the eango and the railway car when placed side by side." The Doctor thought he had gi\-en the boys cpiite as much information as they would l)e likely to remember in his dissertation, and suggested that thejr should endeavor to recapitulate what be had said. Frank thought the discussion had taken a wide range, as it had included the sta- tus of the four classes of Japanese society, had embraced the Samurai and their peculiarities, some of the changes tliat were wrought by the revolu- 15 JAPANJilst: STEAM COliVlOTTE. 226 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. tiou, and had told tlicm Low executions were conducted in former times. Tlien they liad learned something about hari-kari and what it was for; and they had learned, at the same time, the difference between the old courts of justice and the new ones. What with these things and the naval progress of the empire of the Mikado, he thought they had quite enough to go around, and would be lucky if they remembered tlie whole of it. Fred thought so too, and therefore the discussion was suspended, with the understanding that it should be renewed on tlie first convenient oc- casion. A JAPANESE WAK-jnNIC OF THE OLDEN TIME, AMUSEMENT.S IN JAl'AX. CHAPTER XVI. AMUSEMENTS.— WRESTLERS AND THE.VTRICAL ENTEKTAIXMENTS. AFTER the party had reco\-ered from the fatigues of the journey to Fusi\-aina, the boys were on the lookout for something new. Various suggestions were made, and finally Frank proposed that they should go to a theatre. This was quite to Fred's liking, and so it did not take a long- time to come to a determination on the subject. The Doctor agreed that the tlieatre was an interesting study, and so the matter was settled. " What time in the evening must we go," said Fred, " so as to be there in season for the beginning of the performance (" ■• If yoii want to be there in season for the beginning," the Doctor answered, "• you should go in tlie morning, or, at all events, very early in the day." '• "Wouldn't it be well to go the day before f Fi'ank ventured to ask. '• Certainly you could do so," Fred responded, " or you might go next week or last summer."' '"The Japanese performances," Doctor Bronson continued, "do not all begin in the mornino- but the most of them do. and thev last the entire dav. In China they have historic plays that require a week or more for their complete represeutation ; but in Japan tliey are briefer in tlieir ways, and a performance is not continued from one day to the next. They liave greater variety here than in China, and the plays are less tedicjus both to one who understands the language and to one who does not. The Japanese are a gayer people than the Chinese, and consequently their plavs are less serious in character." It was agreed that a day should be given to amusements, and these should include anytliing tliat the boys and their tutor could find. Fraidv went in pursuit of the landlord of the hotel, and soon returned with the information that there was a theatrical performance that very day in the native theatre, and also a wrestling match which was sure to be interest- ing, as the Japanese wrestlers are different from those of any other country. After a little discussion it was determined that they would first 328 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. go to tlie wrestling matcli, and Frank should write a description of the wrestlers and what they did. After the wrestling match was disposed of, they would take np the theatre, and of this Fred should be the historian. Here is Frank's account of the wrestling as it appeared in the next letter he sent houie : A JAPANESE "WRESTLER. WRESTLERS IN THE RING. 229 " I thonglit we were going to a liall, but it was iiotliiug of the sort, as we iinderstaTid a hall. We went into a large tent, which was made by stretching matting over a space enclosed by a high fence; the fence formed the walls of the building, and the matting made tlie roof. We had the ground to sit on or stand on, but soon after we went in a man brought us some chairs, and we sat down. In the centre of the tent there was a cii'cular mound something like a circus ring; it was perhaps two feet high and ten feet across, and there was a flat place outside of it where the master of ceremonies was to stand and see that everything was fair. We paid twenty-five cents to go in, and then we paid about five cents more for each chair ; of coui'se we were in the best places, and only a few others were in that part. I don't know how much the Japanese paid in the poor places, but I don't believe it was more than five cents. "In a little while after we went in, the performance began. A boy came into the ring from a room at one side of the tent, and he walked as if he were playing tlie king, or some other great personage. AVlien he got to the middle of the ring, he opened a fan he carried in his I'iglit hand. He opened it with a cpiick jerk, as though he were going to shake it to pieces; and after he had opened it he announced the names of the wres- tlers who were to come into the first act. If I hadn't l)een told what he was doing, I should have thought he was playing something from Shak- speare, he made such a fuss about it. Then he went out and the wrestlers came in, with a big fellow that Fred said must be the boss wrestler. He looked like an elephant, he was so big. " The wrestlers were the largest men I liave seen in Japan ; and the fact is I didn't suppose the country contained any men so large. As near as I could see, they had more fat tlian muscle on them; but there must have been a good deal of muscle, too, for they were strong as oxen. Doc- tor Bronson says he has seen some of these wrestlers carry two sacks of rice weighing a hundred and twenty -five pounds each, and that one man carried a sack with his teeth, while another took one under his arm and turned somersets with it, and did not once lose his hold. The Doctor says these men are a particular race of Japanese, and it used to be the custom for each prince to have a dozen or more of these wrestlers in his suite to furnish amusement for himself and his friends. Sometimes two princes would get up a match with their wrestlers, just as men in New York get up matches between dogs and chickens. Tlien there were troupes of wrestlers, who went around giving exhibitions, just as they some- times do in America. But you never saw such fat men in all your life as they were ; not fat in one place, like the man that keeps tlie grocery on 230 THE BOY TRAVELLKRS. A I'AIR or 1VEESTLERS AND THEIR MANAGER. the comer of the public square in our town, but fat all over. I felt the back and arms of one of them, and his mnscles were as hard as iron. The flesh on his breast was soft, and seemed like a thick cushion of fat. I tliink you might have hit liiin there with a mallet without hurting him much. " Some of them could hardly see out of their eyes on account of the fat around them ; and when their arms were doubled up, they looked like the hams of a hog. I was told tliat the Japanese idea of a wrestler is to have a man as fat as possible, which is jnst the reverse of what we think is right. They train their men all their lives to have them get up all the fat they can; and if a man doesn't get it fast enough, tliey put him to work, and tell him he can never be a wrestler. It is odd that a people so thin as the Japanese should think so much about having men fat ; but I suppose it is because we all like the things that are our opposites. But this isn't telling about the wrestling match. " After the herald had given the names of the wrestlers who were to make the first round, the fellows came in. They were dressed without any clotlies to speak of, or rather they were quite undressed, with the exception of a cloth around their loins. They came in on opposite sides of the ring, and stood there about five feet apart, each man resting his hands on his knees, and glaring at the other like a wild beast. They THE JAPANESE IDEA OF WKESTLTNG. 231 THE CLINCH. looked more like a pair of tigers than Imman beings, and for a moment I thought it was not at all unlike M'liat a bull-fight in Spain might be. " There they stood glaring, as I told you, and making a noise like animals about to fight. Tliey stamped on the ground and made two or three rushes at each other, and then fell back to watch for a better chance. They kept this up a minute or so, and then darted in and clinched ; and then 3'ou could see their great muscles swell, and realize that they were as strong as they were fat. " They did not try to throw each other, as we do when we wrestle, but they tried to pnsh from one side of the ring to the other. I couldn't understand this until the Doctor told me that it is not necessary for one of the men to be thrown. All that is to be done is for one of them to push the other outside the ring; and even if he only gets one foot ont, the game is up. Only once during all we saw of the match did anybody get thrown down, as we should expect to see him in a wrestling match in America. And when he did get fairly on the ground, it was not very easy for him to rise, which is probably the reason why the rules of the Japanese ring are so different from ours. "They had sevei-al matches of this kind with the two men standing up facing each other before tliey clinched ; and then they tried another plan. One man took his place in the ring, and braced himself as though he were trying to stop a locomotive. When he was ready a signal was given, and another man came out full tilt against him. They butted their heads together like two rams, and tried to hit each other in the breast. In a short time they were covered with blood, and looked very badly ; but the Doctor says they were not hurt so much as they seemed to be. They kept this up for nearly a quarter of an hour, and took turns at the busi- ness — one of them being bull for the other to play railway train against. It was as bad for one as for the other; and if I had my choice which char- acter to play, I wonldn't play either. "After the wrestling was over they had some fencing, which I liked much better, as there was more skill to it and less brutality. The fencers were announced in the same way as tlie other performers had been. They 233 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. ■\\'ore large inasks that protected theii' heads, and their fencing was with wooden swords or sticks, so that no harm was done. The game was for each to hit liis adversary's head, and wlien tliis was done a point was scored for the man who made the hit. Tliey did a good deal of shouting and snarling at each other, and sometimes their noise sounded more as if made by cats than by human beings. In other resjjects their fencing was very much like ours, and was very creditable to the parties engaged in it. One of the best fencers in the lot was a young girl. She wasn't more than sixteen years old, and she had arms strong enough for a man of thirty. The performance ended with the fencing, and then we went back to the hotel. It was determined tliat the evening would be cpiite early enough to go to the theatre, and so the party did not start until after seven o'clock. They secured a box at one side of the auditorium, where they could see the stage and the audience at the same time. When you go to the play in a strange land, the audience is frecpiently quite as interesting a study as the performance, and sometimes more so. In no country is this more truly the case than in Japan. But it was agreed that Fred should give the account of the play, and so we will listen to him. Here is his story : " The theatre was a small one, according to our notions, but it was well ventilated, which is not always the case in America. The man that sold the tickets was very polite, and so was the one who took them at the door. The latter called an usher, who showed us to our box, and brought the chairs for us ; and then he brought a pi'ogramme, but we couldn't read a word of it, as it was all in Japanese. We cared more about looking at the ])eople than trying to read something that we couldn't read at all; and so I folded up the programme and put it into my pocket. " The house had a tloor and galleries like one of our theatres, but there were only two galleries, and one of them was on a level with the parquet. The parquet, or tioor, was divided into boxes, and they were literally boxes, and no mistake. They were square, and the partitions between them were little more than a foot high, with a flat board oti the top for a rail. This Avas about five inches wide, and I soon saw what it was used for, as the people walked on it in going to and from their boxes. The boxes had no chairs in tliem, but they were carpeted with clean matting ; and anybody could get cushions from the ushers by asking for them. Each box was intended to hold four persons ; but it required that the four should not be very large, and that each should stick to his own corner. One box in front of us had six women in it, and there were two or three boxes crowded with children. They had tea and sweetmeats in many of TH KATRICAL COSTUME, 233 JAl'ANESE ACTOit DUESSED AS A DUCTOK. 234 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. the boxes, and I noticed that men and boys were going around selling these things. I asked if we had come to the right place, as it occurred to me that it was only at the Bowery and that kind of theatre in New York that they sold peanuts and such things ; l.)ut the Doctor said it was all right, and they did this in all the best tlieatres in Japan. "Of course, if they come and stay all day, they must have something to eat, and so I saw the reason of their having tea and other refreshments peddled about the house. Then there were men wlio sold books which gave an account of the play, and had portraits of some of the principal players. I suppose these books were really the bills of the jDlay ; and if we could have read them, we should have known something about the per- formance more than we do now. "While we were looking at the audience there came half a dozen raps behind the curtain, as if two pieces of wood had been knocked together; and a moment after the rapping had stopped, the curtain was drawn aside. It was a common sort of curtaiii, and did not open in the middle like some of ours, or roll up like others ; it was pulled aside as if it ran on a wire, and when it was out of sight we saw the stage set to represent a garden with lots of flower-pots and bushes. The stage was very small compared with an American one, and not more than ten or twelve feet deep ; but it was set quite well, though not so elaborately as m'c would arrange it. The orchestra was in a couple of little boxes over the stage, one on each side, and each box contained six persons, three singers and three guitar-players. This is the regulation orchestra and chorus, so the}- say, in all the Japanese tlieati'es, but it is sometimes differently made up. If a theatre is small and poor, it may have only two performers in each box, and sometimes one liox may be empty, but this is not often. "The orchestra furnishes music by means of the guitar, or 'samisen.'' It is played something like our guitar, except that a piece of ivory is used for striking the strings, and is always used in a concert that has any j^i'e- tence to being properly arranged. There are two or three other instru- ments, one of them a small drum, which they play upon with the fingers ; but it is not so common as the samisen, and I don't think it is so well liked. Then they have flutes, and some of them are very sweet, and harmonize well with the samisen ; but the singers do not like them for an accompaniment IHE SAMISEN. THE CHORUS AND SCENERY. 235 I'LAYJNG THE SAMISEN. unless they have powerful voices. The samiseu-pLiyers generally sing, and in the theatres the musicians form a part of the chorus. A good deal of tlie play is explained by the chorus ; and if there are any obscure points, the audience is told what the}' are. I remember seeing the same thing al- most exactly, or, at any rate, the same thing in principle, in the performance =;iji of "Henry V." at a «;^~ theatre in New York 5^?!^^ several years ago, so ^^B that this idea of hav- ^^^J ing the play explain- Sis ed by the chorus "VS cannot be claimed as a Japanese inven- tion. "In the theatre the singing goes on sometimes while the actors are on the stage, and we got tired of it in a little while. I don't suppose the Japanese get so tired of it, or they would stop having it. Some of them admit that it would be better to have the orchestra in front of the stage, as we do; but others say that so long as the chorus must do so much towards explaining the play, tliey had better remain where they are. The Japanese seem to like their theatre as it is, and therefore they will not be apt to change in a hurry. " Just after the curtain was pulled away, they opened a door in the middle of the garden, and the actors who were to be in the play came in. They sat down on the stage and began a song, which they kept up for ten or fifteen minutes, each of them singing a piart that was evidently prepared for himself alone. The music in the little boxes joined them, and it made me think of the negro minstrels in a concert hall at home, where they all come on together. After they finished this part of the performance, there was a pantomime by a woman, or rather by a man disguised as a woman, as all the acting is done by men. They get themselves up perfectly, as they have very little beards, and they can imitate the voice and move- ments of a woman, so that nobody can tell the difference. I couldn't tell what the pantomime was all about, and it was so long that I got tired of it before they were through, and wondered when they would come on with something else. 236 THE PjOY travellers. S-^^Sh^ SCENK FROM A JAPANESE COMEDY. AVRITING -V LlCTTEIi OF DIVORCE. "Then the real acting of the piece began, and I ■wished ever so nmch tliat it had been in English, so tliat I could understand it. The story was a supernatural one, and there were badgers and foxes in it, and they had a woman changed to a badger, and the badger to a woman again. Geutle- raen who are familiar with Japanese theatres say thei'e are man^' of these stories, like onr Little Red Ridingdiood, and other fairy tales, acted on the stage, and that the play we saw is one of the most popular, and is called 'Bnmbuku Chagama,' or 'The Bubbling Teapot.' One gentleman has shown me a translation of it, and I will put it in here, just to show you what a Japanese fairy story is like. " ' (}nce upon a time, it is said, there lived a very old badger in tlie temple known as Morin-je, where there was also an iron teapot called Bumbuku Chagama, which was a precious thing in that sacred place. One day when the chief priest, who was fond of tea and kept the pot always hanging in his sitting-room, was about taking it, as usual, to make tea for drinking, a tail came out of it. He was startled, and called together all the little bour/jes, Ins pupils, that they might behold the apparition. Sirp- posing it to be the mischievous work of a fox or badger, and being resolved to ascertain its real character, they made due preparations. Some of them tied handkerchiefs about their heads, and some stripped the coats from their shoulders, and armed themselves with sticks and bits of firewood. But when they were about to beat the vessel down, wings came out of it ; and as it flew about from one side to another, like a dragon-fly, while they pursued it, they could neither strike nor secure it. Finally, however, liav- STORY OF BUMBUKU CIIAGAMA. 237 SCENE FROM A JAl^lNESE COMEDY. LOVE-LETTER DISCOVERED. iiig closed all the windo'ws and sliding-doors, after hunting it vigorously from one corner to another, tliejr succeeded in coutining it in a small space, and presently in capturing it. " ' While they were consulting what to do with it, a man entered whose business it was to collect and sell waste paper, and they showed him the teapot with a view of disposing of it to him if possible. He observed their eagerness, and offered a much lower price than it was worth ; but as it was now considered a disagreeable thing to have in the temple, they let him have it at his own price. He took it and hastily carried it away. He reached his home greatly pleased with his bargain, and looking forward to a handsome protit the next day, wlien he would sell it for what it was worth. " ' Night came on, and he lay down to rest. Covering himself with his blankets, he slept soundly. " ' But near the middle of the night tlie teapot changed itself into the form of a badger, and came out of the waste paper, where it had lieen placed. The mei'chant was aroused by tlie noise, and caught the teapot while it was in flight. By treating it kind))' he soon gained its confidence and affection. In the course of time it Ijecame so docile that he was able to teach it rope-dancing and other accomplishments. '' ' The report soon spread that Bnmbuku Chagama had learned to dance, and the merchant was invited to go to all the great and small provinces, where lie was summoned to exhibit the teapot before the great daimios, who loaded him down with gifts of gold and silver. In course of time he 238 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. TELLINO THE STOKl' Or BUMEUKU CII.VGAJIA. reflected that it was oi)ly tlirongh the teapot, whicli he had bought so cheap, that he became so prosperous, and felt it Iiis duty to return it again, with some compensation, to tlie temple. lie therefore cai'ried it to the temple, and, telling the chief jH'iest of his good fortune, offered to re- store it, together with half the money he had gained. '' ' The priest was well pleased with his gratitude and generosity, and consented to receive the gifts. The Ijadger was made the tntelary spirit of the temple, and the name of Bnmbuku Chagama has remained famous in Morin-je to this day, and will be held in remembrance to the latest ages as a legend of ancient time.' " This is the fairy story," Fred continued, " which we saw on the stage ; bnt it was varied somewhat in the acting, as the badger at times took the form of a woman, and afterwards that of a badger again, as I have already told yon. A good deal of the acting was in pantomime, and in the scene where they are all trying to catch the teapot as it flies around the room they had quite a lively dance. We enjoyed the plaj' very much, bnt I diin't care to go again till I know something about the Japanese language. And a well-cushioned chair would add to the comfort of the place." A STORY WITH A MORAL. 239 CHAPTER XVII. A STUDY OF JAPANESE ART. FRANK thought it was pretty iietirly time to 1)6 thinlving about tlie purchases he was to make for Mary. So he looked up the jjaper slie gave him before his departure, and sat down to examine it. The hst was not by any means a short one, and on consuUing with tlie Doctor he learned that it would make a heavy inroad upon his stock of cash if he bought everythiug that was mentioned. He was rather disconcerted at the situation, but the good Doctor came to his relief. " It is nothing unusual," said he, " for persons going abroad to be loaded down with commissions that they are unable to execute. A great many people, with the best intentions in the world, ask their friends who are going to Europe to bring back a C|uantity of things, without stopping to think that the purchase of those things will involve a heavj' outlay that cannot be easily borne by the traveller. The majority of people who go abroad have only a certain amount of money to expend on tlicir journeys, f\nd they cannot afford to lock up a considerable part of that money in purchases that will only be paid for on their return, or quite as often are never paid for at all. There is a good little story on this subject, and it may be of use to you to hear it. "A gentleman was once leaving New York for a trip to Europe, and many of his friends gave him commissions to execute ftir them. Some were thoughtful enough to give him the money for the articles they wanted ; but the majority only said, ' I'll pay you when yon get back, and I know how much it comes to.' "When he returned, he told them that a singular circumstance had happened in regard to tlie commissions. 'The day after I sailed,' said he, ' I was in my room arranging the lists of things I was to get for my friends, and I placed the papers in two piles ; those that had the money with them I pat in one pile, and the money on top; and those that had no money with them I put in another pile. The wind came in and set things flying all around the room. The papers that had the money on them were held down by it, but those that had no money to 240 THE BOY TRAVKLLERS. keep thetn in place were carried out of the window and lost in the sea. And so you see how it is that the eoniinissious that my fi'ieiids gave me the money for are the only ones I have been aide to execute.' "But in the present case," said Doctor Lronson, "it is all right, as your father privately gave me the money to Imy the articles your sister wants. So you can go ahead and get them without any fear that you will trench on the amount you have for your personal expenses." The boys went on a round of shopping, and kept it up, at ii-regular intervals, during their stay in Japan. And in their shopping excursions they learned much about the country and people that they would not have been likely to know of in any other way. One of the first things on the list was a silk wrapper with nice em- broidery. Tliis gave rather a wide latitude in the way of selection, and Frank was somewhat puzzled what to get. He went to the store of one of the greatest silk-merchants of Yo- kohama and stated his wants. He was bewildered by the variety of things placed before him, and by their great beauty in color and work- manship. There were so many pret- ty things for sale there that he did not know when to stop buying; and he privately admitted to Fred that it was fortunate he was resti'icted in the amount he was to expend, oi' he would Ije in danger of buying out the whole of the establishment. He found the goods wei'e admirably adapted to the foreign taste, and, at the same time, they ]ireserved the national characteristics that gave them value as the products of Ja- pan. He selected a rolie of a delicate blue, and finely enibroidei'ed with silk of various colors. The cndiroideries represented flowers and leaves in curious combinations; and Mhen the robe was placed on a frame where the ligiit could fall full u])om it, Frank thought he had never seen anything FKAKKS PUKCIIASK. JAPANESE FANS. 2il JAPANESE I'ATTERN-DESIGNER. half SO pretty. And it is proper to add that he bought two of these robes. Why he should buy two, when he had only one sister — and she would not be likely to want two wrappers of the same kind — I leave the reader to guess. Then there were fans on the list, and he went in pursuit of fans. He found them, and he thus had the opportunity of seeing the fan-makers at work. He found that there is a great variety in the fans which the Japanese make, and that the articles vary from prices which are astonishingly low to some which are dear in proportion. There is such a large trade in fans that he expected to find an extensive factory, employing hundreds of hands. He found, instead, that the fan-makers work on a very small scale, and that one person generally does only a small portion of the work, then turns it over to an- other, who does a little more, and so on. Cer- tain low-priced fans are all finished in one shop ; but with the high grades this is not the case, and, from first to last, a fan must 23ass through a good many hands. The fan- makers include wouien as well as men in tlieirguild ; and Frank thought it was by no means an unpleas- ant sight to see the wom- en seated on the floor in front of low benches and gracefully handling the parts of the fan that was approaching completion in consecpience of their manipulations. Mary had been seized with the prevailing mania for Japanese porce- lain, and among the things in her list she had noted especially and under- scored the words " some good things in Japanese cloisonne.''^ Frank had seen a good many nice things in this kind of work, and he set about se- lecting, with the help of the Doctor and Fred, the articles he was to send home. He bought some in Yokohama, some in Tokio, aud later on he IC lAN-MAKEKS AT ^VORK. 242 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. made some purchases in Kobe and Kioto. We will look at what he bought and see if his sister had reason to be pleased when the consign- ment I'eached her and was nnpaeked from its carefully arranged wrap- pings. For hundreds of years Japan has been famous for its produc- tions of porcelain of vai'ious kinds, from the tiny cup no larger than a lady's thimble to the elaborately decorated vase with a capacity of many gallons. Each province of Ja- pan has its peculiar product, and sometimes one is in fashion, and sometimes another. For the last few years the favor has turned in the direction of Satsuma ware, which has com- manded enormous figures, espe- cially for the antique pieces. So great was the demand for old Satsuma that a good many manufacturers turned their at- tention to its production. They offer to make it to any amount, just as the wine-dealers in Xew York can accommodate a cus- tomer with wine of any vintage he rerpiires, if he Avill only gi\e them time enough to put on the proper labels. It is proper to say, on liehalf of the Japanese, that they learned this trick from the foreigners ; and their natural shrewdness has taiight them to improve upon the lesson, so that in some instances they have ac- tually sold to their instructors new ware for old, and convinced the pur- chasers of its genuineness. We have not space enough to go into a full account of ai-t in Japan, as a whole volume could 1)0 written on the subject without exhausting it. Fi-ank followed the dii-ections in Mary's note to find some good things in cloisonne; and, as he did not pay much attention to other matters, we will, for the present at least, follow his e.xaniple and take a look at this branch of art in Japan. CHINKSE CLOISOXXE OS METAL. PROCESSES IN JAPANESE ART. 243 JAPANESE CLOISONNE ON METAL. Frank thoiiglit it would be proper to liave liis sister nnderstaiid the process by which the articles she desired were prepared, and, with tlie assistance of Doctor Bronson, he was able to write her an account of it that she could stud}^ and, if she chose, conld read or tell to her friends. Here is what he produced on the subject : " The term cloisonne comes from the French word cloison., which means !\. field or enclosure, and you will see as you go on how appropriate it is to this kind of work. If you ex- amine the bowl which you will find in the box, you Japanese BOWL. 2ii THE BOY TRAVELLERS. COVER or JAPANESE BOM'L. will see that it has a ground- work of light blue, aiul that on this groundwork there are fine threads of brass enclosing little squares and other figures in colors quite different from the body of the bowl. If you look at the cover, you will find that these squares and fig- ures are repeated, and also that there are three cir- cles, like plates with ser- rated edges, that seem to be lying on the top of the co\'er. These plates, or cir- cles, have pictures of flowers on them, and the designs of the flowers on each one are different from those of the other two. Every leaf and petal is distinct from the others by means of the brass wires, and the colors do not at any time run together. ''In the first place, the bowl of plain porcelain is ground, so that the enamel will stick closely, which it would not do if the surface were glazed. Then the artist makes a design, on paper, of the pattern he intends put- ting on the bowl. When his design is finished, he lays it on a flat surface, and takes little pieces of brass wii-e which has been passed between rollers so that it becomes flattened ; these he bends with pincers, so that they take the shape of the figure he wants to represent. Thus he goes over his wliole design until every part of the outline, every leaf, flower, and stem — in fact, every line of his drawing — is represented by a piece of wire bent to the exact shape. The wire then forms a series of partitions ; each frag- ment of it is a cell, or cloison, intended to retain the enamel in place and keep the colors from spreading or n)ingling. That is the first step in the ^vork. '■ The second step is to attach these flattened threads of wire by their edges to the bowl. This is done by means of a fusible glass, which is spread over the surface of the bowl in the form of paste ; the bits of Avire are carefully laid in their places in the paste, and the bowd is then baked just enough to harden tlie surface and make it retain the threads where they belong. Kow comes the third step. MAKING CLOISONNE PORCELAIN. 2i5 " This consists of filling the little cells or enclosures with the proper enamel, and, to do this correctly, the original design must be carefully followed. The design is drawn in colors, and as the artist proceeds with his work he has the colors ready mixed in little cnps that are ranged before him. These colors are like tJuck pastes of powdered glass mixed with the proper pigments, and one by one the cells of the surface are filled up. Then the groundwork is tilled in the same way; and when all this is done, the bowl is put into the oven and submitted to a strong- heat. " The baking serves to fix tlie colors firmly in their cells, as the fire is hot enough to melt the glass slightly and fuse it to a perfect union with the body of the bowl. For common work, a single coating of enamel and a single baking are sufficient, but for the finer grades this will not answer. Another coating of colors is laid on, and perhaps a third or a fourth, and after each application the bowl is baked again. When this process is fin- ished, the surface is rongh, and the bowl is not anything like what we see it now. It must be polished smooth, and, with this object, it is gronnd and rubbed, first with coarse stones, then with finer ones, then with emery, and finally with powdered charcoal. In this way the bowl w^as brought to the condition in which you will find it, if it comes all right and nnin- jured from the box. A good many pieces of this wai'e are broken in the handling, and consecpiently they add to the price of those that come out unharmed. " The fine threads of brass that run through the surface give a very pretty appearance to the work, as they look like gold, and are perfectly even with the rest of what has been laid on to the original bowl. In some of tlie most expensive of the enamel-work the threads are of fine gold instead of brass; but there is no particular advantage in having them of gold, as the brass answei's all purposes and the gold serves as a tempta- tion to robbers. There is an endless variety of designs in cloisonne work, and you see so many pretty things in porcelain that you are at a loss what to choose. " But the artists do not confine themselves to porcelain ; they do a great deal of enamelling on metal, and some of their productions in this way are quite as interesting as their enamelling on porcelain. They did not invent the art, so it is said, but borrowed it from the Chinese, wdio had in their turn borrowed it from Persia or some other of the Central Asiatic countries. Some of the Japanese artists claim that the art was borrowed from their country, but the most of those who have studied the subject say that this claim is incorrect. But no matter who invented the process, 246 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. it is very beautiful and is of great antiquity ; it is capable of a great many variations, and, although it has been in use for centuries, hardly a year passes without some improvements in it. In making the metal enamels the strips of brass are soldered to the surface and the cavities are filled u}) with the liquid coloring. The whole is then baked as in the porcelain process, and the surface of the work is carefully polished until all the lines are fully developed and the completed article sliines like glass. " I shall send you,'' Fi'ank added, " several specimens of this kind of work, and I am sure that all of you M'ill be delighted with them. In addition to the Japanese enamel, I have been able to pick up a few from China by the help of a gentle- man who has been a long time in the country, and knows where to get the best things. And as I can't get all I want, I shall send you some pictures of very rare specimens, and j'ou can judge by tliem of the quality of what you have. It is very dif- ficult to find some of the vari- eties, as there have been a good many men out here making purchases for the New York and London markets, and they gather up everything that is curious. The demand is so great that the Japanese makers have all the}^ can do to supply it ; but I suppose that in a few years the taste of the public will change, and then you can buy all you want. But 3'ou can't get tired all at once of the pretty things that I liave found ; and I tliink that the more you look at the pictures on the bowls and plates, tlie more you will admire them. You are fond of birds and flowers, and you will find them on the porcelain ; and there is one piece that has a river and some mountains on it, as well defined as if it were a painting on a sheet of paper. Look at the bridge over the river, -t«w->™.i. ^■•i.'. j-.T-^ i--*^? ^^^m CHINESE METAL VASE. THE ARTICLES IN MARY'S LIST. 2i7 MODERN JAPANESE CLOISONNE ON METAL. and the trees on the side of the iiiountain, and then say if vou ever saw anytliing nicer. I am in love with the Japanese art work, and sorry I can't buy more of it. And I think that is the case with most people who come to Japan, and take the trouble to look at the nice things it con- tains." Mary's list included some carvings in ivory and some lacquered boxes to keep her gloves in. These were not at all difficult to find, as they were everywhere in the shops, and it would have been much harder to avoid them if he had wanted to do so. There were chessmen of ivory, and rep- resentations of the divinities of tlie country ; and then there were little statues of the kings and hig-h dignitaries from ancient times down to the present. As it was a matter of some perplexity, Frank sought the advice of Doctor Bronson ; the latter told him it would be just as well to re- strain himself in the purchase of ivory carvings, as there was better work of the kind in China, and a few samples of the products of Japan would 248 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. .JATAXliSE JIETAL CLOISONNE. be sufficient. Frank acted upon this liint, and did not make any exten- sive investments in Japanese ivory. He found a great variety of what tlie Japanese call " nitsehkis,'' which are small pieces of ivory carved in various shapes more or less fanciful. They were prett}^ and had the merit of not being at all dear; and as they would make nice little souvenirs of Japan, he bought a good many of them. They are intended as ornaments to be worn at a gentleman's girdle, and in the olden times no gentleman considered his dress complete without one or more of these at his waist, just as most of the fashionable youths of America think that a scarf-pin is necessary to make life endurable. A large numljcr of carvers made a living by working in ivory, and they displayed a wonderful Ji] amount of patience in completing their 'ffj designs. One of these little carvings with which Frank was fascinated was a I'epresentation of a man mounting a horse with the assistance of a groom, who was holding the animal. The piece was less than two inches in length, and yet the carver had managed to put in this contracted space the figures of two men and a horse, with the dress of the men and the trappings of the horse as carefully shown as in a painting. There CIIINESB POUCELAIS CLOISONNE. riFE AND WAIST ORNAMENTS. 249 Avas a hole in the pedestal on which the gronp stood, and Frank fonnd, on inquiiy, tliat this hole was intended for tlie passage of a cord to at- tach the ornament to tlio waist of the weai'er. And then he observed that all the carvings had a similar provision for rendering them nsefnl. Frank also ascertained that another ornament of the Japanese waist-belt was a pipe and a tobacco-ponch, the two being so inseparable tliat they formed a single article. Tlie pipe was a tiny affair which only held a pinch of tobacco the size of a pea, and he learned that the smoker, in nsing it, took but a single whiff and then found the bowl exhausted. "When not in use, the pipe was carried in a little case, which was made, like the poneh, of leather, and was generally embroidered with considerable care. Many of the pipe-cases were made of shark-skin, which has the double merit of being very durable and also quite pretty. It is polished to a condition of perfect smoothness, and the natural spots of the skin appear to be as reg- nlar as though drawn by an artist. Frank tried a few whiffs of the to- bacco and fonnd it very weak. He was thus informed of the reason why a Japanese can smoke so much as he does without being seriously affected by it. He can get tlirough -with a hundred of these little pipes in a day without the least trouble, and more if the time allows. GKUliP CARVED IN IVORT. JAPANESE PIPE, CASE, AND POUCH. 250 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. Of lacquer-ware, of all kinds and prices, there was literally no end. There were trays and little boxes which could be had for a shilling or two, and there were cabinets and work-stands with numerous drawers and slid- ing panels curiously contrived, that a hundred dollars, or even five hundred, would not buy. Between tliese two figures there was a wide range, so that the most modest purse could be gratified as well as the most plethoric one. Frank found that the dealers did not put their best goods where they could be most readily seeiL Tiie front of a shop contained only the most ordinary things; and if you wanted to look at the better articles, it was necessary to say so. When the merchant knew what his customer wanted, he led the way to the rear store, or perhaps to an upper floor, where the best goods were kept. It was necessary to walk very carefully in these shops, as they were very densely crowded with goods, and the least incaution might result in overthrowing some of the brittle articles. A clumsy visitor in one of these establishments a few days before Frank called there had broken a vase valued at fifty dollars, and while stooping to pick up the fragments he knocked down another worth nearly half that amount. lie paid for the damage, and in future declined to go around loosely in a Japanese store. The Japanese lacquer of the present time is not so highly prized as that of the last or the previous century. It is not so well made, partly for the reason that the workmen have lost their skill in the art, and part- ly because labor is much more expensive now than formerly. The prices obtained for some of the specimens of this kind of work have been very high, but they are not enough to meet the advance that has been made in wages in the past few years. The manufacturers are anxious to turn their money as rapidh' as possible, and consequently they do not allow their productions to dry thoroughly. To be properly prepared, a j)iece of lacquer should dry very slowly ; and it used to be said that the best lacquer was dried under water, so that the process should not be too rapid. The article, whatever it may lie, is first shajied from wood or papier-mache, and then covered with successive coatings of varnish or lacquer : this is made from the gum of a tree, oi', rather, from the juice, and it is said to have the peculiar property of turning black froin expos- ure to the air, though it is of a milky whiteness when it exudes from the tree. It can be made to assume various colors b}' the addition of pig- ments ; and M'hile it is in a fresh condition coatings of gold-leaf are laid on in such a way as to form the figures that the artist has designed. Every coating must be dried before the next is laid on ; and the more elaborate and costly the work, the more numei'ous are the coatings. Sometimes EXCELLENCE OF JAPANESE LACQUER. 251 there may be a dozen or more of them, and pieces are in existence that are said to have received no less tlian tifty applications of lacquer. A box may tlms require several years for its completion, as the drying proc- ess shonld never be hastened, lest the lacqner crack and peel when ex- posed to the air, and especially to heat. Good lacqner can be put into hot water without the least injury ; but this is not the case with the or- dinary article. In ISTi a steamer was lost on the coast of Japan. She had as a ])art of her cargo the Japanese goods from the Vienna Exhibition, and none of them were re- covered for nearly a vear. There they lay under the salt-water, and it was supposed that iiearlv everything would lie ruined. But it was found that the lacquered ware had suffered very little, and some of these very articles were shown at Philadelphia in 1876. A few of the pieces required to be freshlv polished, but there were many of them that did not need even this slight attention. The boys were greatly interested in their shopping excursions, and learned a good deal abont Japanese art and industry before they had end- ed their purchases. By the time they were through they had an excel- lent collection of porcelain and other ware, of ivory carvings, lacqnered boxes, and similar things ; silk robes, wrappers, and handkerchiefs ; and quite enough fans to set up a small museum. They tried at first to get a sample of each kind of fan that they could find, but the variety proved so great that they were forced to give up the attempt. They bought some curious articles of bamboo, and were surprised to find to how many uses this vegetable pi'oduction is put. Frank thouglit it was a pitj' the bamboo did not grow in America, as it could be turned to even more advantage by the enterprising Yankee than by the plodding Oriental, and Fred was inclined to agree with him. They changed their minds, how- JAPAXESE AKIIST CHASIXG OX COPPER. 9,n9, THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE BAMBOO AND ITS USES. 253 ever, when tlie Doctor told tliein Low far the Ijamboo entered into the life of the people of the East, and on the whole they concluded that the American couldn't improve upon it. " The bamboo," said the Doctor, '' is of use from a very early age. The young shoots are boiled and eaten, or soaked in suga.', and preserved as confectionery. The roots of the plant are carved so as to resemble animals or men, and in this shape are used as ornaments; and wljen the bamboo is matured, and of full size, it is turned to purposes almost with- out number. The hollow stalks are used as water-pipes ; rafts are naade of them : the walls and roofs of houses are constructed from them ; and thev serve for the masts of smaller boats and the yards of larger ones. The light and strong poles which the coolies place over their shoulders for bearing burdens are almost invariably of baniboo ; and where it grows abundantly it is used for making fences and sheds, and for the construc- tion of neai'ly every implement of agriculture. Its fibres are twisted into rope, or softened into pulp for paper: e^'erv article of furniture is made of bamboo, and so are hats, umbrellas, fans, cups, and a thousand other things. In fact, it would be easier to say what is not made of it in these Eastern countries than to say what is; and an attempt at a mere enumer- ation of its uses and the articles made from it would be tedious. Take away the bandjoo from the people of Japan and China, and you would deprive them of their principal means of support, or, at any rate, would make life a much greater burden than it now is."' 251 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. CHAPTER XVIII. SOMETHING ABOUT JAPANESE WOMEN. FRANK thought it was no more tlian proper that lie should devote a letter to Miss Etfie. He wanted to make it instructive and intui'- esting, and, at the same time, lie thought it should ajipeal to her personally in some way. He debated the matter in his own mind without coming to a conclusion, and finally detertnined to submit the (piestion to Doctor Bronson, from whom he hoped to receive a suggestion that would be usefuL The Doctor listened to him, and was not long in arriving at a conclu- sion. "You have just written to Mary on the subject of Japanese art," said lie, "and she will be pretty certain to show the letter to her intimate frienil." "Nothing more likely," Frank an- swered. " In that case," the Doctor contin- ued, "you want to take up a subject that will bo interesting t(.i both, and that has not been touched in your let- ters thus far." " I suppose so." "Well, then, as they are both wom- en, or girls, as jon may choose to call theu'j, why don't _you take up the sub- ject of women in Japan ? They would naturally be interested in what relates to tlieir own sex, and you can give them much information on that topic." The proposal struck Fi-ank as an ex- cellent one, and he at once set about A jAi-ANESK LAiiv's-MAii). (ibtainiug tlio ueccssar}' information for AVOMEX IX JAI'AX". I'Ot. BKlLii: AND lililDKb.MAID. the preparation of his letter. lie had already seen and heard a great deal concerning the women of Jajian, and it was not long before he had all the material he wanted for liis purpose. His letter w-as a long one, and we will make some extracts from it, with the permission of Miss Effie. and also that of Mary, who claimed to have an interest in tlie missive. " From wdiat I can learn," Frank wrote. '• the women of Japan are bet- ter ofE than those of most otlier East- ern countries. They are not shut up in harems and never allowed to go about among people, as in Turkey ; and they are not compelled to stay indoors and see nobody, as in many other parts of the world. They have their sliare of the work to dri : Ijut they are not compelled to do all of it, while tlieir husbands are iille. as in some pai'ts of Europe, and among the American Indians. The system of harems is not known here ; or, at all events, if it is known, it is practised so little that we never hear anything about it. The Japanese women do not veil their faces, as the women of all Mohammedan coun- tries are compelled to do; and they are free to go about among their friends, just as they would be if they were Americans. They blacken their teeth wlien they get married ; but tliis custom is fast dying out since tlie foreigners came here, and proba- bly in twenty years or so ^ve shall n(jt hear much about it. Tlie married women dress their hair diiferently from the single ones ; and when yuu know the ways of arranging it. yon can know at once whether a woman is niarried or not. I suppose they .MERCHANT S FAMILY. 25 G THE BOY TRAVELLERS. MISTEKIES OF THE DEESSING-EOOM. CLOGS AND SANDALS. 257 do this for the same reason that the women of America wear rings on their fingers, and let follILS H \1U 1)1 Ls^l I but I have not yet learned stay long enough in Japan. "Of course, you will want to know if the Japanese women arc j)retty. !Now, you mustn't be jealous when I say they are. Fi'ed thinks so too, and you know it won't do for me to have a quarrel with Fred wlien we are travelling together, and especially when I think he's ]-iglit. They are all brunettes, and have sharp, bright eyes, full of smiles, and theii' skins are clear and healthy. They look vei'y pleasant and happy ; and they have such sweet, soft voices that nobody could help liking them even if he didn't want to. They have such nice manners, too, that you feel quite at your ease in their company. They may be wishing you ten thousand miles away, and saying to themselves that they hate the sight of a foreigner; but if they do, they manage to conceal their thoughts so completely that you can never know them. You may say this is all deception, and jierhapis it is; but it is more agreeaUe than to have them treat you rudely, and tell yon to get out of the way. A JAPANESE LADY'S TOILET. 261 " There are women here who arc not prett}', just as there are some in America ; but when you are among them, it is!i't polite to tell tlieni of it. 8ome of them paint their faces to make them look pretty. I suppose no- body ever does anything of the kind in America or any other country but Japan, and therefore it is very wicked for the Ja})anese ladies to do so. And when they do paint, they lay it on vei-y thick. JJr. Bronson calls LADIES AT TIIKIR TOILET. it kalsomining, and Fred says it reminds him of the veneering that is some- times put on furniture to make pine appear like mahogany, and have an expensive look, when it isn't expensive at all. The 'geishas,' or dancing and singing girls, get themselves up in this way ; and when they have their faces properly arranged, they must not laugh, for fear that the effort of smiling would break the coating of paint. And I have heard it said that the covering of paint is so thick that they couldn't smile any more than a mask could ; and, in fact, the paint really takes the place of a mask, and makes it impossible to recognize anybody through it. " It is the rule in Japan for a man to have only one wife at a time, but he does not always stick to it. If he has children, a man is generally con- tented ; but if he has none, he gets another wife, and either divorces the first one or not, as he chooses. Divorce is vei'y easy for a man to obtain, but not so for the woman; and when she is divorced, she has hardly any means of obtaining justice. But, in justice to the Japanese, it should be said that the mcTi do not often abuse their opportunities for divorce, and that the married life of tlie peoi3lc is about as good as that of most coun- tries. Among the I'easons for divorce, in addition to what I have men- tioned, there are the usual ones tliat prevail in America. Furthermore, divorce is allowed if a wife is disobedient to her husband's parents, and 262 THE BOY TRAVIiLLERS. also if she talks too nmcL. The last reason is the one most frequently given ; hut a woman cannot complain of her husband and become divorced from him for the same cause. I wonder if Japan is the only country in the world wliere women have ever been accused of talking too much. "Nearly every amusement tliat is open to men is also open to women. They can go to the theatres, to picnics, parties, and anything of the sort, as often as they please, which is not the case with women in Moslem coun- tries, and in some others that are not Moslem. Tliey are very fond of boat excursions, and on pleasant days a goodly number of boating parties may be seen on the waters around Tokio and the other large cities. On the whole, they seem to have a great capaeitj' for enjoyment, and it is pretty certain that they enjoy themselves. ^^, ^" ' JAPANl^SE L.ADIKS ON A riONIC. " Tlie houses in Japan are so o]jcn that you can see a great deal more of the life of the people than you would be likely to see in other countries. You can see the women playing with the children, and there are lots of the little ones everywhere about. I don't believe there is a country in the world where there is more attention to the wants of the children than in Japan, and I don't believe it is possible for a greater love to exist between ]3ai'ents and children than one finds here. There are so many things done for the amusement of children, and the children seem to enjoy them so much, tliat it is very pleasing to study the habits of the people in this re- s])ect. I have already told you about the amusements at the temple of Asakusa, and the sports and games that they have there for the childi'en. They are not only at that temple, but all over Japan, and tlic man must KITE-FLYING IN JAPAN. 26£ LADIES AND CHII.DRUN AT PLAY. be very poor to feel that he cannot afford something to make liis children happy. In return, the children are not spoiled, but become very dutiful to their parents, and are ready to undergo any privations and sacrifices for their support and comfort. Eespect for parents and devotion to them in every possible way are taught by the religion of the country; and, what- ever we may think of the heathenism of Japan, we cannot fail to admire this feature of the religious creed. "It would amuse j'ou if you could see the interest that the Japanese take in flying kites. And the funny part of it is that it is the men who do the most of the kite-flying, while the children look on, which is the ex- act reverse of what we do in our country. They have the funniest kinds of kites, and show a great deal of ingenuity in getting them up. Every- body has them, and they are so cheap that even the beggars can have kites to fly. They are of all sizes and sliapes ; you can buy a plain kite a few inches scpiare, or you can get one as large as the side of a house, and cover- ed all over with dragons and other things that sometimes cost a neat little sum for the painting alone. The Japanese understand the trick of flying a kite without a tail, and they do it by the arrangement of the strings, which is cp;ite different from ours. Dn the other hand, some of their kites will have a whole line of strings hanging down as ornaments, and sometimes it looks as if the kite were anchored by means of these extra cords. They make their kites so large that three or four men are needed to hold some of them ; and there is a story that a nn\n who one day tied the cord of a kite to his waist was taken up in the air and never heard of 2(U THE BOY TRAVELLERS. again. And there is anotlier stoiy of a man in tJio eonntry who had a kite that he liarnessed to a plongh, and when tlie wind was good he nsed to phjiigli his fields by means of it. But tlie story does not explain how he turned tlie furrow when he reached the end of the field. Perhaps he had an accommodatinir wind that shifted at the riijjht time. " The first kite I saw in the air in Japan was so much like a large bird PECULIARITIES OF A KITK. 265 that I mistook it for olie, and tlie delusion was kept up bj a smaller one that seemed to be getting awa^' IVom the other. The large one imitated the movements of a hawk to perfeetii:in, and it was some minutes before I could undei'stand that it was nothing but a combination of sticks and pa- per and cords, instead of a real live bird. It rose and fell, and every few moments it swept down and seemed to be trying to swallow the little one out of sight. I never shonld have supposed such an imitation possible, and M-as thoronglily ci.Mivinced that the Japanese must be very fond of kite- flying if they give it the study necessary to bring it to such a state of perfection. " The more I see of the Japanese, the more I like them, and think them a kind-hearted and happy people. And, from all I can see, they deserve to be happy, as they do all they can for the pleasure of each other, or, at anj- rate, all that anybody ever does."' 266 'llIE BOY TKAVELLERS. CHAPTER XIX. FROM YOKOHAJIA TO KOBE AND OSAKA. TIME was going on, and it became necessary that our ti-avellers should foUow its example. The Doctor engaged places for them by the steamer for Kobe, the port for the western capital of Japan, and at the appointed time tliey went on board. Before their departure, they had an opportunity to visit one of the tea-packing establishments for which Yoko- hama is famous, and the process they witnessed there was of special in- A VILLAGE IN THE TEA DISTRICT. terest to the boys. Here is the account that Frank gave of it in his ne.xt letter home : " The Japanese tea is l)ronght from the counti-y to the seaports in large boxes. It is partially dried when it is picked, but not enough to VISIT TO A TEA -WAREHOUSE. 2(1 'i preserve it for a long sea-voyage. When it gets liere, it is delivered to the large establishments that make a business of shipping teas to America ; and let nie say, by the way, that nearly all tlie -^a i,««,4ia4 tea of Japan that is ox- ported goes to Ameri- ca, and hardl)' auj of it to any other country. When we went into the _ warehouse — they call it a 'go -down,' from a llindostanee word — they showed us a room where there wei'e prob- ably a hundred bushels of tea in a great pile on the floor. Men were at work mixing it up with shovels, and the clerk who showed us around said that they spread all the tea out in layers, one over the other, and then mixed them up. He said it was a very difficult job to have the teas prop- erly mixed, so that the samples should be per- fectly even. " We saw lots of tea in another room where the same kind of work was going on; and then they took us to the liring-room, and it was a firing-room, you may believe. " It was like a great shed, and it had the solid ground for a floor. On this floor there were kettles, or pans, set in brickwork, and each one of them had a little furnace under it, in which there was a charcoal fire. There must have been two hundred of these pans, and the heat from them was so great that it almost took away my breath. I don't believe I could exist there a day, and yet there were people wlio had to spend the entii'c day TEA-MEECHANTS IN THE INTERIOE. 268 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. in the tiring-rooin, and go there day after day besides. Many of tlieni were women, and some of tlieni had little childi'en strapped to their baeks, and there was a wliole lot of children in a little room at one side of the shed, where a couple of women \vei'e looking after them. JJow I did pity the poor things ! Yred and I just emptied our pockets of all the small change we could find in them for the benefit of the babies, and I wish we could have given them more. Eut there was liardly a ciy from any of them, and they seemed as happy and contented as though their mothers were queens, instead of toiling over the tiring -pan in that hot room for ten or fifteen cents a day. " The}' put a pound and a half of tea into each pan, and with it they put a teaspoonful of some col- oring substance tliat they keep a secret. People say that this color- ing matter is Prussian blue, and others say it is indigo, and that a little gypsum is put with it, so as to give the tea a bright appearance. The clei-k told us it was indigo and gypsum that liis house used, and declared that it was all false THE TEA-i-LANT. that any poisonous material w;:s ever put in. He said they only used a teaspoonful of their mixture to a charge of tea, and the most of that little quantity M-as left in the pan in the shape of dust. When I asked him why they put anything in, lie said it was to inake the tea sell better in the American market. It looked so much better when it had been 'doctored' that their customers in New York and other cities would pay more for it, tlnjugh they knew perfectly well what had been done. Then he showed nie some of the tea that had been fired and put side by side with some that had not. I must say that the fired tea had a polished ap]U'arance that the otlier had not, and I could readily understand why it sells better. PREPARING TEA FOR SHIPMENT. 269 "As I have said, tliey put a cliargo of a pound and a lialf of tea into tlie pan with a teaspoonfnl of the mixture, and tliey have a lire of cliarcoal beneath it. The man or woirian tliat does tlie tiring stands in front of the pan and keeps tlie tea in constant motion. It must he l- the roadside VIEW OF LAKE BIWA. 301 HOUSE CAKRYIXO LIQUID MANURE. tliey saw little family groups that were always more or less picturesque; fatliei'S were eariug for their children, and seemed to take great delight in playing the part of nurse. It is very common in all the Japanese cities to see men thus occupied, and the}^ never appear to be weary of their tasks. In summer both parent and child will be thinly clad, while in winter they will be wrapped against the cold. The summer ga]-ments are not always so thick as the rules of polite society require, and even the winter costume is not very heavy. Lake Biwa is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by picturesque mountains and smiling valleys. Steamers ply upon it, so that an excursion may be made on its waters with the utmost ease ; and all around it there are picnic booths where parties may sit and enjoy the view. The time of our friends was limited, and so they had only a glimpse of the lake from one of those pleasure re- sorts, if a couple of hours spent there may be called a glimpse. They returned to Kioto, and proceeded without delay to Kobe. They found the railway journey much more rapid than the one by jin-riki-sha, but it had the demerit of carrying them so fast that very little could be seen of the country. The day after their arrival at Kobe the steamer was ready to take them to Nagasaki and Shanghai, and at the appointed hour they went on board. Pi-actically, they had finished their sight-seeing in Japan, as they M"ere not to break the journey until setting THE PATERNAL NCRSE. 302 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. I'lCNlC BOOTH OVEliLOOKINO I.AKIO UIWA. foot on Chinese soil. Tliey left it with the most agreeable recollections, and the boys, as they stood on the deck of the steamer slowly moving out of the harbor of Kobe, simnltaneonsly asked the question, " Wonder if we shall ever see it again ?" A MAKEIt OF BOWS. THE IXLAXD SEA OF JAPAN. 303 CHAPTER XXII. THE INLAND SEA AND NAGASAKI.— CAUGHT IN A TYPHOON. FROM Kobe westward the route lies tlirongh the famous Iiihmd Sea of Japan, known to tlie Japanese as the Suwo Xada. The Inland Sea is more like a lake than an arm of the ocean ; and there have been trav- ellers who could not readily believe that it was connected with the ocean, and that its waters were salt instead of fresh. The distance is, in round numbers, about two hundred and tifty miles; and through the entire voy- ao-e the land is constantlv in sio-ht, and o-enerallv close at hand. The islands rise sharply from the water, and a large portion of them are denselv wooded and exceedingly picturesque. THE INLAND SEA NEAR HIOGO. During the whole of the voyage, as long as the daylight favored them, our young friends remained on deck, and studied the scenery along the route. Sometimes the sea widened out to fifty miles or more, and at others it contracted so that there was no sign of a passage before them, and it was difficult to say which way the steamer would turn. Now and 304 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. then the islands were so close together that the steamer made Ler course as though she were tracing the sinuosities of the Mississippi Kivei-, and it was necessary to _j:' '^_^ _ ^ keep a sharp lookout — _ ~^ — ^^^ to avoid accidents on the numerous rocks that lie sunken in the channel. Mishaps to the steamers are of rare occurrence, as the channel has been carefully buoyed, and the pilots understand their business fully; but it is otherwise with the unwieldy junks, which are often driven by an adverse wind directly into the dangers their captains are seeking to avoid. The traffic through the Inland Sea is veiy great, both by the steamei-s and by the junks; and sometimes whole fleets of the latter may be seen waiting in some of the sheltering nooks for a favoring wind. The steamers make the passage from one end to the other of tlie Inland Sea in less than twenty-four hours; but the junks are frequently a fortnight in coverin» the same distance. They are never in a hurry, and therefoi'e time is no object. Ari'KMACIIING SIM ONES EKI. I^ANI^EROl'S I'LACE ON THl-: SUWO NADA. THK IIAKBOR OF NAGASAKI. 305 The Inland Sea is entered soon after leaving Kobe, and it terminates at Simoneseki, where there is a narrow strait leading into the open waters. Our friends wanted to land at Siuioneseki, where tlie steamer made a halt of a couple of hours ; but they were informed that the port was not opened to foreigners, and, therefore, tlieir oidy view of it was a distant one. However, they were consoled by the reflection that they could have plenty of time at Nagasaki, where the ship was to remain a day and a half before continuing her voyage. Nagasaki was the first place opened to foreigners, and there are many points of interest about the city. Hardly was the anchor down when our trio entered a boat and were rowed to the shore. Nagasaki is prettily situated in a bay that is complete- ly landlocked, and affords secure anchorage to ships even in the severest gales. Doctor Bronson had been in the harbor of Rio Janeiro, in South America, and said that the bay of Nagasaki was a sort of pocket edition of that of Ilio Janeiro. The hills rise abruptly from the water, and lie in terraces that seem to lose themselves in the distance. Some of the hills are wooded, while others are cleared and cultivated ; and in either case there are evidences of the most careful attention on the part of the inhab- itants of* the country. Looking seaward the hills gradually separate nntil the entrance of the bay is reached ; here the island of Pappenberg stands directly across the mouth of the bay, and, while seemingly obstructing it, serves as a breakwater against the in-rolling waves. PAPPENBEKG ISLAND. 20 306 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. WOaiKN t>F NAGASAKI. "That island has a fearful history," said Doetor Bronson, while the}' were looking at it when the steamer entered the harbor. " Do you mean the island of Pappenbei-g T" Fi'ank asked. "I kni)w," said Fred; "it has a liistor}- connected with the estalilisli- niont of Christianity in Japan more than two hundred years ago." "I think I have already told you something of the attempt to make Japan a Christian country," the Doctor continued. "The island of Pap- penljerg is one of the places that witnessed the extinction of the C'liristian religion in Japan after it had gained a strong footing. Do you observe tl^at one side of the island is like a precipice'^" The boys regarded the point to which their attention was dii'ccted ; and they regarded it more attentively \Alien they were told that from that steep ruck many thousands of men and women were hurled, solely for the offence of being Christians. Those that were not killed by the fall were drowned in the sea, and not one was alloweil to escape. Paj>penberg is known in history as the Tarpeian Pock of Japan. It is now used as a jiicnic resort of the foreign inhal>itants of Nagasaki, and a more delightful spot for a pleasure excursion could not be easily found. According to some writers there were nearly a liundred thousand Christians massacred after the discovery of the conspiracy which was to ])Ut Japan under the control of Portugal, but the Japanese say that these figures are an exaggeratitm. It is ditticult to get at the truth of the mat- tei', as neither party can be relied on for accuracy, or rather the accounts that have come down to us cannot be considered impartial. As nearly as can be ascertained the first Eui-opeau who landed on Jap- WORK OF ST. FRAKCIS XAVIER. 307 anese soil was Mendez Piuto, a Portuguese who combined the occupations of merchant and pirate in such intimate rehitions that it was not always easy for him to determine where the one ended and the other began. He has been greatly slandered, and his name lias an ignoble place in history, as that of a champion liar. The fact is, that the stories he told on his retui'n to Europe, and which caused him to be called "The Mendacious," were substantially correct — quite as much so as those of Marco Polo, and far more than the narrations of Sir John Mandeville. Pinto came with two companions to tlie island of Tanega- shima in 1542, and, as miglit be ex- pected, they were great curiosities. Even more curious were the fire- arms tliey carried : and they were in- vited to visit the Daimio of Bungo, and bring their strange ^veapons with them. The}' did so, and taught tlie natives how to make guns and pow- der, which soon became generally used throughout Japan. To this day fire-arms are frequently called '' Tanegashima," after the island where Pinto landed with the first of these weapons. Christianity fol- lowed closely on the track of the musket. The adventurers returned with a profit of twelve hundred per cent, on their cargo. Their success stimulated others, and in 1549 two Portuguese missionaries, one of tliem being Francis Xavier, landed in Japan, and began the work of converting the heathen. Xavier's first labors were in Satsuma, and he afterwards went to Kioto and otlier cities. Personally he never accomplished much, as he could not speak the language fluently, and he remained in the coun- try only a few years. But he did a great deal to inspire others; numbers of missionaries flocked to Japan, and it is said that thirty years after Xavier landed on the soil tliere were two hundred churches, and a hun- dred and fifty tliousand native Christians. At the time of the highest success of the missionaries it is estimated that there were not less than half a million professing Christians in Japan, and perhaps another hundred thousand who were nominally so, though their faith was not regarded as A CHRISTIAN VILLAGE IX THE SIXTEESTH CENTUKY. 308 THE BOY TKAVELLEES. aiONUMKNTS IN MEMORY OF MAKTVliS. more than "skin deep." Among tlie adherents of tlie new reh'gion thei'e were several Daimios, and a great number of persons occupying high social and official positions. Some of the Daimios were so zealous that the^y or- dered their people to turn Christians whether they wished it or not ; and one of them gave his subjects tlie option of being baptized or leaving the country within twenty -four hours. The Dutch were great traders in tlie East Indies, and they managed to obtain a footing in Japan during the time of the Portuguese success. Tliey received a concession of the island of Deshima, about six hundred feet square, in the harbor of Nagasaki, and here they lived until our day. "When tiie trouljles arose that led to the exjmlsion of foieigners and the extinction of Christianity, the I)utch were excepted from the operations of the edict, as it could not be shown that tliey had had any part in the conspiracy. They had been too busy with their commerce to meddle in religious matters; and, if history is true, it is probable that they hadn't religion enough in their small colony' at Deshima to go ai'ound and give a perceptible C[uantity to each man. This little island was in reality a prison, as its inhabitants were not allowed to go outside for any purpose, except once in three years, when a delegation of them made a journey to Yeddo to make presents to tlie Ty- coon. They were compelled to travel the most of the way in closed nori- THE DUTCH IN JAPAN. 309 A PATH NUAR NAGASAKI. inons, and thus tlieir jonrnej' did not afford them many glimpses of the country. There is a tradition that they were required to go through tlie ceremony of trampling on the cross in the presence of the Tycoon, and also to intoxicate themselves, as a warning to the Japanese to shun the wicked waj'S of the foreigners. Whether either account be true I am un- able to say ; the assertion is very positively made and as positively denied, and therefore I will leave every reader, who has paid his money for the book, to make choice of the side of the story which suits him best. The first move of our friends on landing was to go to Deshima, as they had a curiosity to see the little island, which was so famous in the history of the foreign relations of Japan with the outer world. The drawbridge leading to the island, and the box where the Japanese sentries stood, were still there, and so were some of the buildings which the Dutch inhabited ; but the Dutch were gone, and probably forever. Outside of the historical interest there was notliing remarkable about the island, and the boys won- dered how men could voluntarily shut themselves up in a prison like this. Only one ship a year was allowed to come to them, and sometimes, during 310 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. the wars between Holland and otlier countries, there were several years together when no ship came. They were permitted to purchase certain quantities of fresh provisions daily, and when they ran short of needed ar- ticles they were supplied by the governor of JN^agasaki. But no permission could be granted to go outside their narrow limits. How they must have sighed as tliey gazed on the green hills opposite, and with what longing did they think of a ramble on those grassy or wooded slopes ! HOLLANDER AT DESIIKALA AVATCHIKG FOK A SUIP. The chief use of Deshima, as our friends found it, is to serve as a de- pository of Japanese wares, and particularly of the kinds for which Naga- saki is famous. Nagasaki vases and Nagasaki lacquer were in such quan- tities as to be absolutely bewildering, and for once they found the prices lower than at Yokohama. They made a few purchases — their final transac- tions in Japan — and then turned their attention to a stroll through the city. There was not much to amuse them after their acquaintance with other cities of Japan, and so they were speedily satisfied. On the hill overlook- ing the town and harbor they found an old temple of considerable magni- tude, then another, and another, and then tca-luuises almost withoiit num- ber. In one of the latter they sat and studied the scenery of Nagasaki until evening, when they returned to the steamer. Another ramble on shore the following morning, and they left the soil FAKEWELL TO JAPAN. 311 of Japan for tlje deck of the steamer. At noon tliey wore slowlj moving down the bay ; they passed the island of Pappenbei-g, and, as they did so, Franlv read from a book he liad picked np in the ship's cabin tlie foOow- ing paragraph : "In that same year, wlien tlie last of the Eonian Catholic converts were luirled from the rocky islet of Pa])penl)erg, in the l!ay of Nagasaki, a few exiles landed at Plymouth, in the newly discovered continent, where they were destined to plant the seeds of a Protestant faith and a great Protes- tant empire. And it was the descendants of the same pilgrim fathers that, two centnries later, were the first among Western nations to supply the link of connection wanted, to bring the lapsed heathen race once more within the circle of Christian communion, and invite them anew to take their place in the family of civilized nations." And while meditating on the mutations of time and the strangeness of many events recorded in history, our friends passed fi'om the harbor of Nagasaki into the open sea. '' Sayonara !'' said Frank, raising his cap and bowing towards the re- ceding laud. " Sayonara !" echoed Fred, as he followed his consin's example. "I say ' Sayonara' now, but I hope that some time in the future I may be able to say ' Ohio.' " " xind so do I," Frank added. " It is a charming conntry, and I don't think we shall find a more agreeable one anywhere."' The conversation was cut short by the call to dinner, a call that has suppressed many a touch of senti- ment before now, on laud as well as on the water. It is a voyage of two days, more or less, according to the speed of the steamer, from Nagasaki to Shanghai. Onr friends had hoped to be in Shanghai on the afternoon of the second day from the former port ; but their hopes were not destined to be realized. The Japanese gods of Rain, Wind, and Thunder inter- fered. THU RAIN DRAGON. 512 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THK M'IND DEAGON. THE THUNDEK DRAGON. The morning after their depai'ture from Nagasaki, Frank went on det-k soon after daylight. The wind was so sti'ong that it ahnost took him from his feet, and he was compelled to grasp something to make sure of remain- ing upright. TJie sky was overcast, and ever}- few minutes there came a sprinkling of rain that intimated that the cabin was the better place for any one who was particular about keeping dry. Fred joined him in a few minutes, and soon after Fred's arrival the Doctor made his appearance. The Captain was on the bridge of the steamer, and appeared much dis- turbed about something, so much so that the boys asked Dr. Eronson if lie thought anything liad gone wrong. The Doctor gave a hasty glance at the sky and the water, and then re- treated to the cabin, where a barometer was hanging. A Bioment's obser- vation of the instrument satisfied him, or, rather, it greatly dissatisfied him, for he returned hastily to the deck and rejoined the boys with the observation, " We shall have it very lively in a short time, and are not likely to reach Shanghai in a hurry." " Why ? What do you mean ?" "I mean that we are about to have a typhoon." " I should rather like to see one," Frank remarked. "Well," tlie Doctor replied, "you are about to be accommodated, and CAUGHT IN A TYPHOON. 313 if we get safely out of it I am very sure you will not want to see an- other. "But as we are in for it," he continued, " we must make the best of the situation, and hope to go through in safety. Many a strong ship lies at the bottom of the sea, where she was sent by just such a storm as we are about to pass through, and many another has barely escaped. I was once on a ship in the China seas, when the captain told the passengers that it would be a miracle if we remained half an hour longer afloat. But hardly had he done speaking when the wind fell, the storm abated, and we were safe. The typhoon is to these waters wliat the hurricane is to the West Indies ; it is liable to blow at any time between April and September, and is often fearfully destructive. " The word typhoon comes from the Japanese ' Tai-Fun,' which means 'great wind,' and the meaning is admirably descriptive of the thing itself. There is no greater wind in the world than a typhoon ; the traditional wind that would blow the hair off the back of a dog is as nothing to it. A cyclone is the same sort of thing, and the two terms are interchange- able; cyclone is the name of European origin, while tA'yjhoon comes from the Asiatic. '•' Tlie typhoon blows in a circle, and may be briefly described as a rapid- ly revolving wind that has a diameter of from two to five hundred miles. It is a whirlwind on a large scale, and as furious as it is large. A curious fact about it is that it has a calm centre, where there is absolutely no wind at all, and this centre is sometimes forty or fifty miles across. Nearest the centre the wind has the greatest violence, and the farther you can get from it, the less severe is the gale. Mariners always try to sail away from the centre of a typhoon, and I have known a ship to turn at i-ight angles from her course in order to get as far as possible from the centre of a coming tempest. There is a great difference of opinion among captains concern- ing these storms, some declaring that they have been in the middle point of a typhoon and escaped safely, while others aver that no ship that was ever built can withstand the fury of a storm centre. But I think the weight of evidence is in favor of the former rather than the latter, as I have known captains who liave described their situation in such a way as to leave not the slightest doubt in my mind of the correctness of their statements. " If you have any desire to study the subject fully, I advise you to get 'Piddington's Law of Storms;' you will find it treated very fully and intelligently, both from the scientific and the popular point of view. 31-1 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. A. TYPHOON. "It has never been my fortune," the Doctor continued, "to be fartlier in a typlioon at sea than the outer edge, but that was quite as much as I wanted. One time on land I saw and felt one of these tempests ; it drove ships from their moorings, swamped hundreds of boats, unroofed many houses, tore trees wp by the roots, stripped others of their branches, threw down walls and fences, flooded the land, and caused a vast amount of havoc everywhere. Hundreds of people were drowned Ijy the floods, and the traces of the storm will last for many years. The city that has suffered most by these storms is Calcutta. On two occasions the centre of a ty- phoon has passed over the harbor or witliin a few miles of it, and the whole shipping of the port was driven from its moorings and the greater part completely or partially wrecked." While tliey were listening to the remarks of the Doctor the boys ob- served that the wind was inci-easing, and as they looked at the compass tliey found that the ship's course had been changed. Everything about the vessel that could l)e made fast was carefully secured, and the party M-as notified that they might be ordered lielow at any moment. The waves were not running liigh, and but for the very severe wind there would have been nothing to cause more than ordinary motion on board the steamer. After a time the wa\-es broke into what is called a "choppy sea;" the A RISING BAROMETER. 315 wind was so great tliat their crests were blown away before they could rise to any height worthy of notice. Mariners say that in a severe typhoon the ocean is quite smooth, owing to the inability of the waves to form against the irresistible force of the wind. It is fortunate for tliem that such is tlie case, as they could not jJossibly survive the combined action of the cyclone and the great waves together. For three or four hours the wind continued to increase, and the waters to assume the shapes we have seen. The barometer had fallen steadily. and everything indicated that the arrival of the steamer at Shanghai, or at any other port, was by no means a matter of certainty. The order was issued for the passengers to go below, and our friends descended to the cabin. Just as they did so the decks were swept by a mass of water that seemed to have been lifted bodily from tlie sea by a gust of wind. The order to go below was not issued a moment too soon. The Doctor took another glance at the barometer, and discovered some- thing. The mercury was stationary ! Ten minutes later it had risen a few hundredths of a degree. The rise was small, but it was a rise. In another ten minutes another gain was perceptible. The Doctor's face brightened, and he called the boys to observe what he had discovered. He had already explained to them that the barometer falls at the approach of stormy weather, and rises when the storm is about to pass away. Before a storm like a typhoon the fall is very rapid, and so certainly is this the case that mariners rely upon the barometer to give them warning of impending danger. An hour fi'om the time they went below they were allowed to go on deck again. The wind had abated a little, so that there was no further danger of their being swept from the decks by the water ; the clouds were less dense and the rain was not falling so heavily. In another hour there was another perceptible decline in the wind, and a little later the ship was again put on her course. The captain announced the danger over, and said the centre of the typhoon had passed at least a hundred miles to the west of them. "If we had kept our course," said lie, "we should have been much nearer to it, and then the storm would have lieen more danger- ous for us." "Plow do you know which way to turn?" Frank asked; "it seems to me you are just as likely to run to the centre of the storm as to the cir- cumference." " There's where you don't understand the science of storms,'' said the captain smiling. "In the northern hemisphere typhoons, cyclones, and 316 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. 55" 56° Centre oTf^Harricaiie 2lf COURSE or A TYPHOON. luirricaiies — they are all the same — whirl from left to right, that is, they turn like the hands of a watch, while iu the southern hemisphere their motion is exactly the reverse. When we think we are in the sweep of a typhoon iu these waters, we run with the wind on our starboard, or right hand, and that course will take us away from the centre. In the southern liemisphero we run with the wind on the port, or left hand, with the same result. But we'll go to dinner now and be happj', for the danger is over." Just as they were rising from table they were suddenly called on deck by the announcement of a wreck. An American bark had been dismasted by the gale and lay hel2:)less on the water ; her captain wished to be taken in tow to the mouth of the Yang-tse-kiang, and after some minutes spent in making a bargain, the matter was arranged and a line passed out. " They were less fortunate than we," the Doctor remarked as they jh-o- ceeded with their tow. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 317 ^ V. 1^- CAUGHT NEAU THE STORm's "les," answered the captain, "the poor fellow was nearer the centre of the typhoon than we were. There'll he a job for the ship-carpente.-s and rjggers at Shanghai ; it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good." Frank was looking through the captain's glass at the persons who were moving about the deck of the bark. Suddenly he observed something, and called out to his companions : " Look, look ! here's a familiar face !" The Doctor took the glass and then handed it to Fred ; the latter look- ed steadily for a minute or more before he had a satisfactory view, and then said : "It's our old friend, the Mystery !" 318 THE BOY TRxVVELLEKS. CHAPTEE XXIII. EIKST DAY IN CHINA. IN due time they entered the waters of the great river of Northern China, the Yang-tse. They entered tliem long before they siglited land, as tlie vast quantities of earth brought down by the stream make a change in the color of tlie sea that can be readily distinguished a great distance from the coast. In this respect the Yang-tse is similar to the Mississippi, and the effect of the former on the Yellow Sea is like that of the latter on the Gnlf of Mexico. The coast at the month of the Yang-tse is low and flat, and a ship is faiily in the entrance of the river before land can be seen. The bar can be passed by deep-dranght vessels only at high water, and consequently it often be- comes necessary for them to wait sev- eral hours for the favorable moment. This was the case with our friends, and they walked the deck with im- patience during the delay. Eut at last all was ready, and they steamed on- ward in triumph, dropping their to\v at Woosnng, and waving a good-bye to '' the Mystery," who had recognized them fj'om tlie dock of tlie disabled bark. Shanghai is not on the Yang-tse, but on the Woosnng Eiver, about twelve miles from the point where the two streams unite. The channel is quite tortnons, and it requires care- ful handling on the part of a pilot to take a ship through in safety to her- self and all others. Two or three times they narrowly escaped accidents from TJIE WOOSUNG KIVER. ASCENDING THE WOOSUNG. 319 CHINESE TRADIXG-JUNK ON THE WOOSUNG lilVER. collisions witli junks and other craft, and at one of the turnings the prow of tlieir steamer made a nearer ac- quaintance with a mud-hank tlian iier captain considered desirahle ; but nothing was injured, and the delay that followed tlie mishap was for only a few minntes. The tide was running in, and car- ried them along at good speed; and in less than two hoars from tlie time of tlieir departure from Woosung they were anchored in front of Shanghai and ready to go on shore. They liad not seen anvtliiuii; particularly interesting on tlieir voyage up the river, as the banks were low and not at all densely settled. Ilei'e and tliere a few villages were thrown togetlier, and it occurred to Frank that the houses were hud- dling close up to each other in order to keep warm. The most of the ground was clear of timber; but there were some farm-houses stand- ing in little clumps of trees that, no doubt, furnislied a welcome shade in the summer season. One mile of the river was very much like an- other mile, and consequently the monotoijy of the scenery' made the siglit of Shangliai a welcome one. Crowds of sampans surrounded the ship as the anchor-chain rattled tliroug-h the hawse-hole, and it was verv evident that there was no lack of transportation for the shore. The Doctor engaged one of these boats, and gave the baffffao-e of the riartv into the hands of the lainuer from tlie Astor House, the principal hotel of the American section of Shanghai. They found it a less imposing affair than the Astor House of New York, though it occupieil more griaind, and had an evident determination to spread itself. A large space of greensward was enclosed by a cpiadrangle of one- story buildings, wliich formed the hotel, and consequently it required a great deal of walking to get from one pai-t of tlie house to tlie opposite side. Our friends were shown to some rooms that were entered from a veranda on the side of the court-yard. They found that on the other side there was a balcony, where they could sit and study the life of the street; and as this balcony was well provided with chairs and lounges, it 320 'i'HE BOY TRAVELLERS. was a pleasant resort on a warni afternoon. The house was kept by an American, bnt all Jiis staff of servants was Chinese. Fred regretted that he could not praise the diniiig-table as earnestlj' as he did the rooms, and he was vehement in declaring that a breakfast or dinner in the Astoi' at New York was Cjuite another affair from tlie same meal in the one at Shanghai. The Doctor and Frank were of his opinion; but tliev fou)id, on inquiry, that the landlord did not agree with them, and so they dropped the subject. As soon as they were settled at the hotel, they went out for a stroll through the citv, and to deliver letters to several gentlemen residing there. They had so)ne trouble in finding the houses they were seai'chiug for, as the foreigners at Shanghai do not consider it aristocratic to have signs on their doors or gate-posts, and a good deal of inquiry is necessary for a stranger to make his way about. If a man pots out a sign, he is regarded as a tradesman, and unfit to associate with the great men of tlie place ; but as long as there is no sign or placard about Ins premises he is a mer- chant, and his company is desirable, especially if he is free with his money. A tradesman cannot gain admission to the Shanghai Club, and the same is the rule at Hong-Kong and other ports througliout the East. But there is no bar to the menibershijD of his clerk ; and it not infrecpiently happens that a man will be refused admission to a club on account of his occupa- tion, while his clerk will be found eligible. There are many senseless rules of society in the East, and our boys were great!)' amused as the Doc- tor narrated them. Shanghai is very prettily situated in a bend of the river, and the water- front is ornamented with a small park, which has a background of fine buildings. These buildings are handsome, and the most of them are large. Like the foreign i-esidences at the treaty ports of Japan, tliey have a liberal allowance of ground, so that nearly every house fronting on tlie river has a neat yard or garden in front of it. The balconies are wide, and they are generally enclosed in lattice -work that allows a free circulation of air. Back from the water-front there are streets and scpiares for a long dis- tance ; and the farther yon go from the river-front, the less do you find the foreign population, and the greater the Chinese one. Tlie foreign cpiartcr is divided into three sections — American, English, and Fi-ench — and each has a front on the river in the order here given, but the subjects, or citi- zens, of each country are not confined to their own national quarter; sev- eral Americans live in the French and English sections, and there are French and English inhabitants in the quarter where the American consul has jurisdiction. Tliere is generally the most complete harmony among THE GREAT SEAPORT OF NORTHERN CHINA. 321 21 322 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. the nationalities, and they are accustomed to make common cause in any dispute with the Chinese. Sometimes tliey fall out ; but they very soon become aware that disputes will be to their disadvantage, and proceed to fall in again. There is a great deal of- social activity at Shanghai, and a vast amount of visiting and dinner-giving goes on in the course of a year. The Chinese city is quite distinct from the foreign one ; it lies just beyond the French concession, or, rather, the French section extends up to the walls of the old city. The contrast between the two is very great. "While the foreigners have taken plenty of space for the construction of their buildings and laying out their streets, the Chinese have crowded to- gether as closely as possible, and seemed desirous of putting the greatest number into the smallest area. It is so all over China from north to south. Even wliere land is of no particular value, as in the extreme north, the result is the same ; and there are probably no people in the world that will exist in so small an area as the Chinese. Ventilation is not a necessity with them, and it seems to make little difference whether the air they breathe be pure or the reverse. In almost any other country in the world a system of such close crowding would breed all sorts of pestilence, but in China nobody appears to die from its effect. At the first opportunity our friends paid a visit to the Chinese part of Shanghai. They found a man at the gate of the city who was ready to serve them as guide, and so they engaged him without delay. He led them tlirough one of tlie principal streets, which would have been only a narrow lane or alley in America ; and they had an opportunity of studying the jieculiarities of the people as they had studied in the Japanese cities the p>eo- ple of Japan. Here is what Frank wrote down concerning his first prom- enade in a Chinese city : "We found the streets narrow and dirty compared with Japan, or with any city I evei- saw in America. The shops are small, and the shopkeepers are not so polite as those of Tokio <.>r other places in Japan. In one shop. A COOLIE IN THIO 8TK1':ETS OF SlIANtiHAI. MELON-SEEDS AND TEA. 323 when I told the guide to ask the man to show his goods, tliey had a long talk in Chinese, and the gnide said that the man refused to show anything unless we should agree to buy. Of course we would not agree to this, and we did nothing more than to ask the price of sometliing we could see in a show-case. He wanted about ten times tlie value of the article ; and tlien we saw why it was he wanted ns to agree beforehand to buy what we looked at. Every time we stopped at a shop the people gathered around lis, and they were not half so polite as the Japanese under the same cir- cumstances. They made remarks about us, which of course we did not understand ; but from the way thej' laughed when the remarks were made, we could see that they were the reverse of comjjlimentary. " We went along the street, stopping now and then to look at some- thing, and in a little M'hile we came to a tea-house which stood in the middle of a pond of water. The house was rather pretty, and the balco- nies around it were nice, but you should have seen the water. It was cov- ered with a green scum, such as you may see on a stagnant pool anywhere in the world, and the odor from it was anything but sweet. Fred said it was the same water that was let into the pool when they first made it. The guide says the house is a liundred years old, and I should think the water was quite as old as the house ; or perhaps it is some second-hand water that they bought cheap, and if so it may be very ancient. We went into the house and sat down to take some tea. They gave us some tea- leaves, on which they poured liot water, and then covered the cup over for a minute or two. Each of us had his portion of tea separate from all the others. The tea was stee^^ed in the cup, and when we wanted more M'e poured hot water on again. Then they brought little cakes and melon- seeds, wnth salt to eat with the seeds. Our guide took some of the seeds, and we ate one or two each to see how they tasted. I can't recommend them, and don't think there is any danger they will ever be introduced into the United States as a regular article of diet. " When we rose to go, and asked how much we owed, we were aston- ished at the price. The proprietor demanded a dollar for what we had had, when, as we afterwards learned, twenty-five cents would have been more than enough. We had some words with him through our interpre- ter, and finally paid the bill wliich we had found so outrageous. We told him we should not come there again ; and he said he did not expect us to, as strangers rarely came more tlian once into the Chinese part of Shanghai. He M-as a nice specimen of a Chinese rascal ; and Doctor Bronson says he must have taken lessons of some of the American swindlers at Niagara Falls and other popular resorts. What a pity it is that whenever yon find 3-24 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. A TEA-HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY. something outrageously bad in a sti-ange country, you have only to think a moment to discover something equallj' bad in your own ! " At one place we looked into a little den where some people M'ere smoking opium. They were lying on benches, and were very close to- gether. The room wasn't more than eight feet square, and yet there were a dozen people in it, and perhaps one or two more. The guide told us it was a mistake to suppose that they smoked opium as we smoke tobacco. We stand, sit, or walk while smoking; but when a Chinese uses opium, he always reclines on a bench or bed, and gives himself up to his enjoyment. SMOKING OPIUM. OPIUM-SMOKING IN CHINA. 325 Men go to the shops where opium is sold and lie down on tlie Ijenches for a period of pleasure. Sometimes two persons go together, and then they lie on the same bench and take turns in filling each other's pipe. " The opium must be boiled to tit it for nse, and when ready it looks like very thick molasses. A man takes a long needle and dips it into tlie opium, and then he twists it around till he gets a ball of the drug as large as a pea. lie holds this ball in the flame of a lamp till it becomes hot and piar- tially burning, and then he thrusts it into a little orifice in the top of the bowl of the pipe. He continues to hold it in the flame, and, while it is burning, he slowly inhales the fumes that come from it. A few whiles exhaust the pipe, and then the smoker rests for several minutes before he takes another. The amount required for intoxication is regulated and es- timated in pipes ; one man can be overcome by three or four pipes, while another will need ten, twenty, or even thirty of them. A beginner is sat- isfied with one or two pipes, and will go to sleep for several hours. He is said to have dreams of the pleasantest sort, but he generally feels weak and exliausted the next day. " Dr. Bronson says he tried to smoke opium the first time he was in China, but it made him very ill, and he did not get throngh with a single pipe. Some Europeans have learned to like it, and have lost their senses in OPIUM-PIPE. consequence of giving way to the temptation. It is said to be the most se- ductive thing in the world, and some who have tried it once saj' it was so delightful that they would not risk a second time, for fear the habit would be so fixed that they could not shake it off. It is said that when a Chinese has tried it for ten or fifteen days in succession he cannot recover, or but very rarely does so. The effects are worse than those of intoxicating liq- uors, as they speedily render a man incapable of any kind of business, even when he is tenqjorarily free from the influence of the drug. The habit is an expensive one, as the cost of opium is very great in consequence of the taxes and the high profits to those who deal in it. In a short time a man finds that all his earnings go for opium, and even when he is coinfortably 326 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. MAN BUNDED BY USE OF Ol'ICM. well off he will make a serious inroad on Lis property by liis indulgence in the vice. A gentleman who has lived long in China, and studied the ef- fects of opium on the people, says as follows: " ' "With all smokers the effect of this vice on tlieir pecuniary standing is by no means to be estimated by the actual outlay in money for the drug. Its seductive influence leads its victims to neg- lect their business, and consequently, sooner or later, loss or ruin ensues. As the habit grows, so does inattention to business increase. Instances are not rare where the rich have been reduced to poverty and beggary, as one of the consequences of their attachment to the opium pipe. The poor addicted to this vice are often led to dispose of everything salable in the hovels where they live. Some- times men sell their wives and children to pro- cure the drug, and end by becoming beggars and thieves. In the second place, the smok- ing of opium injures one's health and bodily' constitution. Unless taken promptly at the regular time, and in the nec- essai-y quantit}', the victim becomes unable to control himself and to at- tend to his business. lie sneezes, he gapes, mucus runs from his nose and eyes, griping pains seize him in the bowels, his whole appearance indicates restlessness and misery. If not indulged in smoking and left undisturbed, he usually falls asleep, but his sleep does not refresh and invigorate him. On being aroused, he is himself again, provided he can have his opium. If not, his troubles and pains multiply, he has no appetite for ordinary food, no strength or disposition to labor. lie becomes emaciated to a frightful degree, his eyes protrude from their sockets ; and if he cannot procure opium, he dies in the most horrible agony.' " The government has tried to stop the use of opium, but was prevent- ed from so doing by England, which made War upon China to compel her to open her ports and markets for its sale. It is no M'onder that the Chinese are confused as to the exact cliaracter of Christianity, when a Christian nation makes war upon them to compel them to admit a poison which that Christian nation produces, and which kills hundreds of thou- sands of Chinese every year. " We made all our journey on foot, as we could not find any jin-riki- shas, except in the foreign part of Shanghai. They were only brought into use a few years ago, and they cannot be employed in all the cities of RIDING IN A CHINESE CHAIR. aax CHINESE GENTLEMAN IN A SEDAN. China, because the streets are very narrow, and the carriage could not move about. But we saw some sedan-chairs, and one of these days we are going to have a ride in them. It looks as though a ride of this sort would be very comfortable, as you have a good chair to sit in, and then you are held np by men who walk along very steadily. Ordinai'ily you have two men ; but if 3'ou are a grand personage, or are going on a long course, three or four men are needed. The chair is quite pretty, as it has a lot of ornamental work about it, and the lower part is closed in with light panelling or bamboo-work. It is sui'prising what loads the coolies carry, and how long they will walk without apparent fatigue. They are accustomed to this kind of work all their lives, and seem to think it is all right. " We came back pretty tired, as the streets are not agreeable for walking on account of the dust and the rough places. The}^ don't seem to care how their streets are in China. When they have finished a street, they let it take care of itself ; and if it wears out, it is none of their business. I am told that there are roads in China that were well made at the start, but have not had a particle of repair in a hundred years. They must be rough things to travel on." 328 THE BOY TKAVELLEKS. CHAPTEE XXIV. A VOYAGE UP THE YANG-TSE KIANG. 'T'^IIE plans of the Doctor included a jonrne}' up the great river, the -*- Yaug-tse. There was abundant opportunity for the proposed voy- age, as there were two lines of steamers making regular trips as far as Plan-kow, about six hundred miles from Shanghai. One line was the prop- erty of a Chinese company, and the other of an English one. The Chinese company's boats were of American build, and formerly' belonged to an American firm that had large business relations in the East. The business of navigating the Yang-tse-kiang had been very profitable, and at one time it was said that the boats had made money enough to sink them if it were all put into silver and piled on their decks. But there was a decline when an opprisition line came into the iield and caused a heavy reduction of the prices for freight and passage. In the early days of steam navigation on CANAL SCENE SOUTH OF 8HANUIIAI. UP THE YANG-TSE-KIANG. 329 the 1 ang-tse-kiang a passage from Shanghai to Ilaii-kow cost four Iniiidred dollars, and the price of freight was in proportion. For several years the Americans had a monopoly of the business, and could do pretty much as they liked. When the opposition began, the fares went down, down, down ; and at the time our friends were in China the passage to llandvow was to be had for twenty-four dollars — quite a decline from four hundred to twenty-four. The boys had expected to find the boats in China small and incon- venient. What was their astonishment to find them like the great steam- ers that ply on the North Eiver, or from New York to Fall Eiver or Providence. They found the cabins were large and comfortable, though they were not so numerous as on the American waters, for the reason that there were rarely many passengers to be carried. The captain, pilots, engineers, and other officers were Americans, while the crew were Chinese. The managers of the company were Chinese, but they left the control of the boats entirely in the hands of their respective captains. One boat had a Chinese captain and officers, but she was a small affair, and, from all that could be learned, the managers did not find their experiment of running with their own countrymen a successful one. At the advertised time the three strangers went on board the steamer that was to carry them up the river, and took possession of the cabins as- signed to them. Their only fellow-passengers were some Chinese mer- chants on their way to Nanking, and a consular clerk at one of the Brit- ish consulates along the stream. The captain of the steamer was a jolly New-Yorker, who had an inexhaustible fund of stories, which he was never tired of telling. Though he told dozens of them daily, Frank i-emarked that he was not like historj^ for he never repeated himself. Fred remem- bered that some one had said to him in Japan that he would be certain of a pleasant voyage on tlie Yang-tse-kiang if he happened to fall in with Captain Paul on the steamer Kiaiuj-ching. Fortune had favored him, and he had found the steamer and the captain he desired. Frank observed that the steamer had been provided with a pair of eyes, ■ndiich were neatly carved on wood, and painted so as to resemble the hu- man eye. The captain explained that this was in deference to the Chinese custom of painting eyes on their ships and boats ; and if he looked at the first boat, or other Cliinese craft, large or small, tliat he saw, he would dis- cover that it had eyes painted on the bow. This is the universal custom throughout China; and though a native may have a suspicion that it does no good, he would not be willing to fly in the face of old custom. In case he should leave his craft in blindness, and any accident befell her, he 330 THE BOY TRAVELLKRS. would be told by liis friends, "Serves you right for not giving your ship eyes to see with." The steamer descended the Woosung River to its intersection with the Yang-tse-kiang, and then began the ascent of the latter. The great stream was so broad that it seemed more like a bay than a river. This condition continued for a hundred and fifty miles, when the bay narrowed to a river, and the far-famed Silver Island came in sight. It stands in mid-sti'eam, a steep hill of rock, about three hundred feet high, crowned with a jMgoda, and covered from base to summit with trees and bushes and rich grass. At first it might be taken for an uninhabited spot, but as the boat ap- proaches you can see that there are numerous summer-houses and other habitations peeping out from the verdure. A little beyond the island there is a city which straggles over the hills, and is backed by a range of mountains that make a sharjo outline against the sky. This is Chin-kiang, the first stopping-place of the steamer as she proceeds from Shanghai to ITan-kow. She was to remain several hours, and our friends embraced the opportunity to take a stroll on shore. Here is Frank's account of the ex- pedition : A CHINESE FAMILY J-ARTV. " The streets of Chin-kiang are narrow and dirty, and the most of them that we saw seemed to be paved with kitchen rubbish and other un- savory substances. The smells that rose to our nostrils were too numer- ous and too disagreeable to mention ; Fred says he discovered fifty-four distinct and different ones, but I think there were not more than forty- seven or forty-eight. The Doctor says we have not fairly tested the city, as there are several wards to hear from in addition to the ones we visited in our I'amble. I was not altogether unprepared for these unpleasant SIMILARITY OF CHINESE CITIES. 331 A GENTLEMAN OF CIIIN-KIANG. features of Cliin-kiang, as I Iiad already taken a walk in the Chinese part of Shanghai. " Everybody says that one Chinese town is so ninch like another that a single one will do for a sample. This is nndoubtedly true of the most of them, but yon should make exceptions in the case of Canton and Pekin. They are of extra importance; and as one is in the extreme north, and the other in the far south, they have distinctive features of their own. We shall have a chance to talk about them by -and -by. As for Cliin- kiang, I did not see anything worth notice while walking through it that I had not already seen at Shanghai, except, perhaps, that the dogs barked at us, and the cats rufHed their backs and tails, and fled from us as though we were bull-dogs. A pony tried to kick Fred as he walked by the brute, THE BUY TRAVELLERS. and only missed his mark by a conple of inches. Yon see that tiie dumb animals were not disposed to welcome us l)ospitably. They were evidently put np to their conduct by their masters, who do not like the strangers any more than the dogs and cats do, and are only prevented from sliowing their spite by the fear that the foreigners will blow their towns out of ex- istence if any of them are injured. "We bought some things in the shops, but they did not amount to much either in cost or cpiality. Fred found a pair of Chinese spectacles which he paid half a dollar for; they were big round things, with glasses nearly as large as a silver dollar, and looked ver}- comical when put on. But I am told that they are very comfortaljle to the eyes, and that tlie foreign- ers wlio live in China, and have occasion to wear spectacles, gen- erall}' prefer those made by tiie Cliinese opticians. A pair of really tine pebbles will cost from ten to twenty dollars. The glass- es that Fred bought were only the commonest kind of stuff, colored with a smoky tint so as to reduce the glare of the sun. " We went outside the town, and found ourselves suddenly in the country. It was a complete change. Going through a gate in a wall took us from the streets to the fields, and going back through the gate took us to the streets again. We saw a man ploughing with a plough that liad only one handle, and made a furrow in the ground about as large as if he had dragged a pickaxe through it. The plough was pulled by a Chinese buffalo about as large as a two-year-old steer, and he was guided by means of a cord drawn through the cartilage of his nose. It was a poor outfit for a farmer ; but the man who had it appeared perfectly contented, and did not once turn his eyes from his work to look at us. " A little way off from this ploughman there was a man threshing grain on some slats ; they looked like a small ladder placed on an incline, and the way he did the work was to take a handful of grain and thresli it against the slats till he liad knocked out all the kernels and left nothing liut the straw. Such a tiling as a threshing-machine would astonish them ycrj much, I should think, and I don't believe they would allow it to run. CHINKSE SPECTACLES. RURAL SCENES. 333 PLODGHING WITH A BUFrALO. Labor is so cheap in China that they don't want any machinery to save it; when you can hire a man for iive cents a day, and even less, you haven't any occasion to econ- omize. " Tlie man who brought tiie bundles of grain to the thresher had them slung over his shoulder, as they carry everything in this country ; two bundles made a load for him, and they were not large bundles either. Such a thing as a farm - wagon is as unknown as a threshing-machine, and would not be useful, as the paths among the fields are verj' narrow, and a wag- on couldn't run on them at all. Land is very valuable in tlie neigh- borhood of the towns, and they would consider it wasteful to have a wide strip of it taken up for a road. And, as I have just said, la- bor is very cheap, especially the labor of the coolies who carry burdens. All the men I saw at work in the field were barefooted, and probably TlIHESniNG GKAIN NEAR CHIN-KIANG 334 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CARRYING BDSDLES OF GRAIN. the wages they receive do not leave tliem much to spend on boots, after they liave supported their families and jjaid their taxes. They must have a hard time to get along, but they appear perfectly cheerful and contented." From Chin-kiang the steamer proceeded up the river. The account of vs-hat they saw was thus continued by the boys: " The southern branch of the grand canal enters the river at Chin- kiang ; the northern branch comes in some distance below. The river is plentifully dotted with junks, but this condition is not peculiar to tlie vicinity of the canal. All the way up from Shanghai to Ilan-kovir it is the same, and sometimes twenty or thirty fioats will be sailing so closely together as to endanger their cordage and sides. Perhaps yon have seen New York Bay on a pleasant afternoon in summer when every boat that could hoist a sail was out for an airing? Well, imagine this great I'iver for hundreds of miles dotted with sails as thickly as our bay on the occa- sion I have indicated, and you can have an idea of the native commerce of the Yang-tse-kiang. Nobody knows how many boats there are on the river, as no census of them is taken. The mandarins collect toll at the river stations, but do not trouble themselves to keep a record of the numbers. I asked a Chinese merchant who is a fellow-passenger with us how many boats there are engaged in the navigation of the Yang-tse and its ti'ibu- taries, and he answei's, BOATS ON CHINESE RIVERS. 335 " ' P'raps Ininder tousand, p'raps million ; nobody don't know.' " Another says, 'Great many big million,' and he may not be far ont of the way, thongh his statement is not very specific. " I have heard a curious story of how the foreigners have secured more privileges than are allowed to the native merchants. Every district has the right to ta.x goods passing through it. At each district there is a 330 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. barrier, commanded b_y a petty official, with a military guard, and here each native boat must stop and pay the transit tax. For long distances these taxes amount to a large sum, and frequently are a great deal more than the goods cost originally. These taxes are known as 'squeezes,' and the barriers where they are paid are called 'squeeze stations.' But the foreigners have secured a treaty with China, or, rather, there is a clause in one of the treaties, which exempts them from the payment of the tran- sit ' squeezes;' they only pay the customs duties, and the local tax at the place of destination. Transit passes are issued by which goods belonging to foreigners, though carried in native boats, are exempt from squeezing, but these passes can only be obtained by foreigners. '' Since the law went into operation, many Chinese merchants have gone into partnership with foreigners ; the former furnishing the capital and attending to all the business, while the latter obtain the transit passes and give the name to the firm. A s-entleman whom we met in Shano-hai o o o is associated with some wealthy Chinese ; they put in the money, and he furnishes his name and gets the passes, 'SA'hich none of them could do. " The native junks will always give a free passage to a foreigner who will pretend to own the cargo, since they can escape the squeeze if he plays his part successfully. The captain says that last year a sailor who wanted to join an English gun-boat at a place up the river was cari'ied through for nothing by a junk M'hose cargo he pretended to own. He passed as a ' foreign merchant,' but the fact was he had never bought anything in his life more valuable than a suit of clothes, and had sold a great deal less than that. " The river above Chin-kiang is in some places very prett}', and the mountains rise out of the water here and there, making a great contrast to the lowlands farther down. There are several large cities on the way, the most important (or, at all events, the one we know the most about) be- ing Kanking. It was famous for its porcelain tower, which was destroyed years ago bj^tlie rebels. Every brick has been carried away, and they have actually dug down into the foundations for more. There is only r. part of the city left ; and as we did not have time to go on shore, I am not able to say much about it. But there are several other cities that were more fortunate, since they were able to save their towers, or pagodas, as they are generally called. These pagodas are always built with an odd num- ber of stories, usually five, seven, or nine ; but once in a great while there is an ambitious one of eleven stories, or a cheap and modest one of only three. "We saw one handsome pagoda of nine stories that had bushes and climbing-plants growing from it. I suppose the birds carried the seeds A ROCKY ISLAND. 337 there, and tlieu tlioy sprouted and took root. Tliej make the pagoda hjok very old, and cer- tainly that is quite pn.iper, as they are all of au age that young- people should respect. " There is a funny little isl- and — and not so little, after all, as it is three hundred feet high — that stands right iu the mid- dle of the river at one place. They call it the Little Orphan Eock, prohahly because it was never known to liave an)^ father or uiother. There is a temple in the side of the rock, as if a niche had been cut to receive it. Fred thinks the people who live there ought not to complain of their ventilation and drain- age ; and if they fell out of the front windows by any accident, they would not be worth much when picked np. Away np on the top of the rock there is a little temple that would make a capital light-house, 4. M>b STJI ILt 1 vroi \ LITTLE URI'IHN KOCK. 338 THE BOY TKAVELLEKS. lint I suppose the Chinese are tofi far Lehiiid the times to tliink of tni-niug it to any practical use. Great (Jrphaii lujck is farther np the river, or a little out of the river, in what they call Po-yang- Lake. " Around the shores of Poyang- Lake is where they niake a great deal <:if the porcelain, and what we call 'China ware,' that they send to Aniei'- ica. Tlic captain says he lias frequently taken large quantities of it down the river to Shanghai, and tliat it was sent from there to our country. They dig the clay that they want for making the porcelain on the shores of the lake, and they get their fuel for burning it from the forests, not far away. The entrance to the lake is very picturesque; there is a town in a fortress on a hill that overlooks the river, and then there is a fort close clown by the water. Probably the fort wouldn't be of nuich use against a fleet of foreign ships; but it looks well, and that is Mliat pleases the Chinese." ENTl;AXCE TO rO-TANG LAKE. THE GREAT REBELLION. 339 CIIAPTEE XXA^. THE TAE-PING REBELLIOX.— SCENES ON THE GIJEAT RIVER. u ''r^HE evidences of a large population along the Yang-tse were easy t -L see ; but, nevertlieless, Frank and Fred were somewhat disappointed. They had read of the overcrowded condition of China, and they saw the great miniljers of boats that navigated the river, and consequently they looked for a proportionately dense mass of people on shoi'e. Sometimes, for two or three hours at a time, not a house could be seen ; and at others the villages wei'e strung along in a straggling sort of way, as though they were thinly inhabited, and wished to make as good a show as j^ossiljle. There were many places where the land did not seem to be under cultiva- tion at all, as it was covered with a dense growth of reeds and rushes. In some localities the country appeared so much like a wilderness that the boys half expected to see M'ild beasts running about undisturbed ; they began to speculate as to the kind of beasts that were to be found there, and finally questioned Dr. Bronson on the subject. The Doctor explained to them that this desolation was more apparent than real, and that if they should make a journey on shore, at almost any point, for a fe\v ujiles back from the river, they would find all the people they wanted. " About thirty years ago," said he, "they had a rebellion in China ; it lasted for a long time, and caused an immense destruction of life and property. The rebels had possession of the cities along the Yang-tse, and at one period it looked as though they would succeed in destroying the government." " Did they destroy the cities that we see in ruins?" Fred asked. " Yes," answered the Doctor, " they destroyed several cities so com- pletely that not a hundred inhabitants remained, where formerly there had been many thousands ; and other cities were so greatly injured that the traces of the rebel occupation have not been removed. I believe ther is not a city that escaped uninjured, and you have seen for yourselves how some of them have suffered. "The rebellion," he continued, " is known in history as the Tae-ping e 340 THE BOY THAVELLEES. iusnrrection. The words ' t;ie in'ng' mean 'general peace,' and were in- scribed on the banners of the rebels. The avowed intention of the leader of tlie revolt was to overthrow tlie imperial power, and deliver the coujitry from its oppressors. Tliei'e were promises of a division of jn-operty, or, at all events, the rebels were to have free license to plunder wlierever they went; and as there are always a great man^' people who have every- thing to gain and notliing to lose, the rebellion gathered strength as time went on. The leaders managed to convince the foreigners that they were inclined to look favorably on Christianity, and tlie idea went abroad that the Tae-pings were a sort of Chinese Protestants, wlio wanted to do away with old abuses, and were in favor of progress and of more intimate rela- tions Avitli foreign nations. Many of the missionaries in China were friendly to the rebellion, and so were some of the merchants and others estaljlished there. TAK-rlXG ItEBEI.S. THE TAE-PINGS AND THEIR LEADER. 34-1 "So powerful did the rebels becouie that they had nearly a third of the best part of the empire under their control, and the imperial author- ities became seriously alarmed. City after city had been captured by the rebels, and at one time the ovei'throw of the government appeared almost certain. The rebels were numerous and well officered, and they had the advantage of foreign instruction, and, to some extent, of foreign arms. The imperialists went to war after the old system, which consisted of sound rather than sense. They were accustomed to beat gongs, tire guns, and make a great noise to frighten the enemy; and as the enemy knew perfectly well what it was all about, it did not amount to much. The suppression of the rebellion was largely due to foreigners, and the most prominent of these was an American." "What! an American leader for Chinese?" "Yes, an American named Ward, who rose to lie a high-class mandarin among the Chinese, and since his deatli temples have been erected to his honor. lie came to Shanghai in 1860, and was looking around for some- thing to do. The rebels were within forty miles of the city, and their appearance in front of it was hourly expected. They were holding the city of Soon-keong, and Ward proposed to take this place by contract, as one might propose to build a house or a i-ailway line." The boys laughed at the idea of carrying on war by contract, but were reminded that they M'ere in China, where things are done otherwise than in Europe and America. " The conditions of the contract were that Ward should raise a force of fifty Malays, and undertake the capture of a walled city having a gar- rison of four thousand rebels. If he succeeded, he was to have a certain sum of money — 1 tliink it was ten thousand dollars — and was then to raise a force of one thousand Chinese with twenty-live foreign oiBcers, and was to have command of this army for the purpose of suppressing the rebellion. "Soon-keong has four gates, and they were opened at a certain hour in the morning. Ward went there secretly one night, and sent fourteen of his men to each of tln-eo of the gates, while he himself went with the re- mainino- eitrht men to the fourth irate. The rebels suspected nothing, and at the usual time the gates were opened. Ward's men rushed in simul- taneously at the four gates, made a great noise, set fire to several build- ings, killed everybody tliey met, and pushed on for the centre of the town. In less than ten minutes the enemy had tied, and the battle was over. Ward was in full possession of the place, and a force of the impe- rial army, which was waiting near by, was marched in, to make sure that the rebels would not return. 342 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. GICNEliAL ^VAKI'. ''Ward raised tlie army that he bad proposed, and from one tlioiisaiid it soon fjrew to tliree thousand. It was armed with foreign rifles, and had a battery of Enropean artillery. The officers were English, American, French, and of other foreign nationalities, and the men were drilled in the European fashion. So nniforndy were they successfnl that tliey received tlie 7iame of 'the Invincibles,' and retained it tbrongh all tJieir career, Tlie American adventurer became ' (Tcneral ' Ward, was naturalized as a Chinese subject, was made a red-button mandarin, and received from the gdvernnient a present of a largo tract of land and a fine house in Shang- hai. Tie was several times wounded, and finally, in October, lS(i'2, lie was killed in an attack on one of the rebel strongliolds. " Wai'd was succeeded by an American naiued Ilnrgevine, who had been BURGEVINE AND GORDON. 343 THE GATE WHICH WARD ATTACKED. one of liis subordinates. Biirgevine was quite as successful as Ward liad been, and at one time with his army of 5000 ti'ained Chinese he defeated 95,000 of the Tae-ping rebels. This made an end of the rcliellion in that part of the country, but it was floui-ishing' in other localities. Bur- gevine had some trouble with the autliorities, whicli led to his retirement ; and after tliat the Invincible army was commanded by an English officer named Gordon, who remained at the head of it till the downfall of the Tae-pings and the end of the rebellion. The success of this little army against the large force of the rebels sho'\vs the "'rcat advantaires of disci- THE BOY TRAVELLERS. OKNKKAL BUKGKA'lNIi. pline. In all time and in all eonnti'icp tin's advantage lias been aiiparcnt, l.)nt in none more so than in C'liiiia. If the power of Ward and his men had been with the rebels instead of against them, it is highly iirobalile that the government wonld have been civerthrowii. A few lumdred "well- trained soldiers conkl have decided the fate of an empii-e."' The conversation about the Tae-ping rebellion and its teianination oc- curred while the steamer was steadily making her wa\' against the mnddv waters of the Yang-tse. The party were sitting on the forwai'd deck of the boat, and just as the closing words of the Doctor's remarks were pro- nonnced, there was a new and nnexpectcd sensation. Tlie day was perfectly cleai', I)ut snddenly a clond appeared to be fiii-ming like a thick mist. As they came nearei- to it thev discovered what it was, and made the disc(i\-ci'v tlimngh their sense of feelino-. It A FLIGHT OF LOCUSTS. 345 was a cloud of locnsts moving from tlie southern to the northern bank of the river ; they had devastated a large area, and were now hastening to fresh woods and pastures new. They tilled the air so densely as to obscni-e the sun, and for more than an hour the steamer was enveloped in them. Tliese locusts are the scourge of China, as they are of other countries. They are worse in some years than in others, and in several instances they have been the cause of local famines, or of great scarcity. Of course many of the locusts fell on the deck of the steamer, and found their way to the cabins. The flight of the cloud was from south to north, and Frank observed a remarkable peculiarity about the movements of individual members of the immense swarm. He captured several and placed them on the cabin table. No matter in what direction he turned their heads, they immediately faced about towards the north, and as long as they were in the cabin they continued to try to escape on the northern side. After the boat had passed through the swarn], the bojs released several of the captives, and found that, no matter how they were directed at the moment of their release, they immediately turned and flew away to the north. "They've one consolation," Fred remarked — ''they have their com- passes always about them, and have no need to figure up their reckoning with ' Bowditch's Navigator' to know which way to steer." " Don't you remember,'' Frank retoited, " our old teacher used to tell us that instinct was often superior to reason. Birds and animals and fishes make their annual migrations, and know exactly where they are going, which is more than most men could begin to do. These locusts are guided by instinct, and they are obliged to be, as they would starve if they had to reason about their movements, and study to know where to go. Just think of a locust sitting down to a map of China, when there were millions of other locusts all doing the same thing. They w'ouldn't have maps enough to go around ; and when they got to a place they want- ed to reach, they would find that others had been there before them and eaten up all the grass." Frank's pi-actical argument about instinct received the approval of liis friends, and then the topic of conversation was changed to something else. Both the boys were greatly interested in the various processes of work that were visible on shore. Groups of men were to be seen cutting reeds for fuel, or for the I'oofs of houses, wliei'e they make a warm thatch that keeps out the rain and snow. Other groups were gathering cotton, hemp, millet, and other products of the eartli ; and at several points there M-ere men with blue hands, who were extracting indigo from the plant which 34:6 THE BOY TKAVELLEliS. produces it. The plant is bruised and soaked in water till the colorin^^- niatter is drawn out; the indigo settles to the bottom of the tub, and the water is poured off; and after being dried in the sun, the cake forms the indigo of commerce. In many places there were little stages about thirty feet high, and just large enough at the top for one man, who worked there patiently and alone. Fi-ank could not njake out the emploj'ment of these men, and neither could Fred. After puzzling awhile o\'er the mat- ter, they referred it to Doctor Kronson. " Those men," the Doctor explained, "are engaged in making ropes or caliles out of the fibres of bamboo." " Why don't they work on the ground instead of climbing np there?" Fred asked. '■ Because," was the reply, " they want to keep the cable straight while they are braiding it. As fast as they braid it it hangs down Ijy its own weight, and coils on the ground beneath. No expensive machineiy is needed, anRANTS. " The birds dive off from the raft, and can swim under water with great rapidity. Sometimes they ai'e not inclined to fish, and rerpiire to be pushed oli, and, ])erhaps, beaten a little by tlieir niastei'. If they have been well trained, they swim directly towards the raft, when they rise to the surface ; but sometimes a cormorant will go off the other way, in the hope of being able to swallow the fish he holds in his mouth. In such case tlie fisherman 348 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. follows and captures tlie rnnaway, punishing liini soundly for liis niiscon- duct. Wlienever a bird catches a fish and brings it to the raft, he is re- warded with a mouthful of food. In this way he soon learns to associate his success ^vith something to eat ; and a cormorant that has been well trained has a good deal of fidelity in his comj)osition. I am uncertain which to admire most, the dexterity of the fisherman in handling his raft, or the perseverance and celerity of the cormorants." On her arrival at Han-kow, the steamer was tied up to the bank in front of the portion of the city occupied by the foreigners. Ilan-kow is on a broad tongue of land at the junction of the Ilan with the Yang-tse. On the opjiosite side of the Ilan is the city of Han-yang, and over on the other bank of the Yang-tse is Wo-chang. Here is the brief description given by the Doctor in a letter to friends at home : "A hill between IIan-ki;)W and Ilan-yang rises about six hundred feet, and affords one of the finest views in the world, and, in some re- spects, one of the most remarkable. We climbed there yesterday a little Ijefore sunset, and remained as long as the fading daylight and the exigen- cies of our return permitted. At our feet lay the Yang-tse, rolling tow- ards the sea after its junction with the Ilan, which we could trace afar, like a ribbon of silver winding through the green plain. Away to the west was a range of mountains, lighted l)y tlie setting snn, and overhung with golden and purple clouds ; while to the south was an undulating- country, whose foregi'ound was filled with the walled city of Wo-chang. The crenelated walls enclose an enormous sjiace, much of which is so des- olate that foreigners are accustomed to hunt pheasants and hares within the limits. They say that at one time all this space was covered with buildings, and that the buildings were crowded with occupants. The three cities suffered terribly during the rebellion, and more than three fourths of their edifices were levelled. Looking from the hill, it is easy to see the traces of the destruction, although twenty years have passed since the insurrection was suppressed. The populatiou of the three cities was said to have been foui' or five millions; but, even after making allow- ance for the density with which Chinese cities are crowded, I should think those figures were too high. However, there is no doubt that it was ■\'ery great, and probably nuiro people lived here than on any similar area any- where else in the world."' Ilan-kow is a great centre of trade. Frequently the mouth of the Ilan is so crowded with junks that the river is entirely covered, and you may walk for hours by merely stejiping froiu one boat to another. The u]iper Yang-tse and the Ilan ijriug down laig'o (puintities of tea, fui's, sillc, wax. PREPARING BKICK TEA. 349 A STREET IN IIAN-KOW. and othei products, both for lionie use and for export. There are heavy exports of tea from Ilandvow direct to England, and every jea.r steamers go there to load with cargoes, which they take to London as rapidly as possible. Onr friends were told that there was a large trade in brick tea, which was prepared for the Ilnssian market ; and as the boys were anxious to see the process of preparation, a visit to one of the factories was ar- ranged. Frank made a note of what he saw and wrote it out as follows : " The dry tea is weighed out into portions for single bricks, and each portion is wrapped in a cloth and placed over a steamdjoiler. "When it is tlioroughly steamed, it is poured into a mould and placed beneatli a ma- chine, wliich presses it into the recpiired shape and size. Some of the macliines are worked by hand, and othei's by steam. Eoth kinds are very rapid and efficient, and we could not see that the steam had much advan- tage. Five men working a hand machine, and i-eceiving twenty cents each for a day's lal)or, were able to press six bricks a minute, as we found l)v timing them with our watches. The steam press worked only a little faster, and the cost of fuel must have been about ecpial to that of human muscle. " Only the poorest kind of tea is made into bricks, and each brick is 350 THE B(JY TKAVELLERS. iibont six inches wide, eiglit iiielies long, and one incli thick. After it has been pressed, it is dried in ovens; and when it is thoroughly dried and ready for packing, it is weighed, tu make sure that it is np to the required standard. All Ijricks that are too light are thrown out, to he mixed up again and done over. Nearly all of this business is in Russian hands, for the reason that this kind of tea is sold only in Kussia." Doctor Bronson arranged that the J)'"''-.)' should visit ^Vo-chang and see a famous paguda that stood on the bank of the river. There was not a great deal to see after they got there, as the place was not in good repair, and contained very little in the way of statues and idols. The stairways were narrow and dark, and the climl) to the top was not accomplished without difficulty. Afterwards the}' went through the principal streets, and visited the shops, which they found much like those of Shanghai and Chin-kiang. The people showed some curiosity in looking at the stran- gers — more than they had found farther down the river — for the reason, doubtless, that fewer foreigners go there. ^'^ Wo-chang is the capital of the province of Iloo-peh, and the governor- general resides there. Our friends were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of this high official as he was carried through the streets in a sedan-chair, followed by several members of his stafE. A Chinese governor never goes out without a numerous following, as he wishes the whole world to be ira- ItETUUN TO SHANGHAI. 351 pressed with a sense of liis importance; and the rank and position of an official can generally be nnderstood by a single glance at the nnmljer of his attendants, though the great man himself may be so shut np in his chair that his decoi'ations and the button on his hat may not be visible. In a couple of days the steamer was ready for the retui'u to Shanghai. The time had been -well employed in visiting the streets and sliops and temples of Han-how, and learning something of its importance as a centre of trade. Tlie return journey was begun with a feeling of satisfaction that they had taken tlie trouble and the time for the ascent of the Yang-tse and ]nade themselves acquainted with the internal life of tlie country. THli (iOVLUNOU-UliNEIlAL AiND HIS STAFF. 352 THE BOY TKAVELLEES. CHAPTEE XXVI. riiOlI SHANGHAI TO PEKIX. OX tlieir return to Shanghai, the Doctor informed his _V0Ting compan- ions that tliey -wonld take tlie lirst steamer np tlie coast in the dii-ee- tion of Pekiii. They had only a day to wait, as the regnlar steamer for Tien-tsin was advertised to leave on the afternoon following their retui'n. She was not so large and comfortable as the one that had cai-ried them to Handvow and hack; bnt she M'as far better than no steamer at all, and they did not hesitate a moment at taking passage in her. They found that she had a Chinese crew, with foreign othcers — the same as they had found the river- boat and the steamers from Japan. The captain was an American, who had spent twenty years in China, and knew all the peculiarities of the na^•igation of its waters. He liad passed through two or three shijowrecks and been chased by pirates. Once he was in the hands of the rebels, who led him ont for execution; but their attention was diverted by an attack (.)n the town where they were, and he was left to take care of himself, which you can be sure he did. Another time he saved himself by crawl- ing through a small window and letting himself fall about ten feet into a river. The night was dark, and he did not know where to go; but he thought it better to take the chance of an escape in this way, as he felt sure he would have his head taken off the next morning if he remained. Luckily he iloated down to where a foreign ship was lying, and managed to be taken on board. lie thought he had had cpiite enough of that sort tif thing, and was willing to lead a rpiiet life for the rest of his days. They descended the river to the sea, and then turned to the northward. Xothing of moment occurred as the stea\ner moved along on her course, and on the morning of the third ilay from Shanghai they were entering the month of the Pei-ho River. The I)octor pointed out the famous Taku forts through the thin mist that overhung the water, and the boys natu- rally asked what the Taku forts had done to make themselves famous. •• There is quite a history connected with them," the Doctor answered. SCENE IN THE ANGLO-CHINESE WAR. 353 354 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. " Tlicy were the scene of the repulse of the Britisli fleet in 1S59, when an American connnander came to its relief, with the remark, whicli has be- come historic, 'Blood is thicker than water!' In tlie following year the English returned, and had better success ; they captured the forts and entered the river in spite of all that the Chinese could do to stop them. Do you see that low bank there, in front of a mud-wall to the left of the fort?" " Certainly," was the reply. " Well, that is the place where the sailors landed from the small boats for the purpose of storming the forts, while the gun-boats were shelling them farther up the river." " But it looks from here as if there were a long stretch of mud," Fred remarked. " You are right," the Doctor responded, " there is a long stretch of mud, and it was that mud which partly led to the failure at the time of the first attack. The stonning force was compelled to wade through it, and many of the men perished. The fire of the Chinese was more severe than had been exj^ected, and the shi^is of the fleet were badly injured. But when the attack was made the following year, the muddy belt was much narrower, and the sailors passed through it very quickly, and were at the walls of the fort before the Chinese were ready for them. "The navigation is difficult along the Pei-lio River, and the steamers of the attacking fleet found the passage barred by cables stretched across the stream. They had considerable trouble to break through these ob- structions, but they final!)' succeeded, and the rest of the voyage to Tien- tsin was accomplished far more easih' than the capture of the forts." As the steamer moved on against the muddy curi'cnt, and turned in tlie veiy crooked channel of the Peidio, Frank esjiied a double-storied building with a wide veranda, and asked what it was. He was interested to learn tliat it was known as the Temple of the Sea-god, and had been at one time the residence of tiie Chinese command- er of the Taku forts. It had a handsome front on the river, and a fleet of junks was moored directly above it. Each junk appeared to bo staring with all the power of the great e3'es painted on its bows, and some of the junks more distinguished than the rest were equipped with two eyes on each side, in order that they might see better than the ordinary craft. Flags floated from the masts of all the junks, and in nearly every instance they ■were attached to little rods, and swung fi'om the centre. A Chinese flag- twists and turns in the breeze in a manner quite unknown to a banner hung after the ways of Europe and America. ASCENDING THE I'EI-HO. 355 TEMPLE OF THE SEA-GOD AT TAKU. The river from Takii to Tien-tsin was crowded witli junks and small hoats, and it was easy to see that the empire of China has a large com- merce on all its water-ways. The Grand Canal begins at Tien-tsin, and the city stands on an angle formed by the canal and the Pei ho River. It is not far from a mile square, and has a wall surrounding it. Each of the fonr walls has a gate in the centre, and a wide street leads from this gate to the middle of the city, where there is a pagoda. The streets are wider than in most of the Chinese cities, and there is less danger of being knocked down by the pole of a sedan-chair, or of a coolie bearing a load of merchandise. In spite of its great commercial activity, the city does not appear very prosperous. Beggars are numerous, and wherever our friends went they were con- stantly importuned by men and women, who appeared to be in the severest want. The usual way of going to Pekin is by the road from Tieii-tsin, M'hile the return journey is by boat along the rivei'. The road is about a chine.se beggar. 356 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE ROAD TO PEKIN. '357 iiinet}^ miles long, and is one of tlie worst in the world, when we consider how long it has been in use. According to Chinese history, it was built about two thousand yeiivs ago. Fraidc said he could readily believe that it was at least two thousand years old, and Fred thought it had never been repaired since it was tii-st opened to the public. It was paved with large stones for a good portion of the way, and these stones have been worn into deep ruts, so that the track is anything but agreeable for a carriage. The only wheeled vehicles in this part of China are carts without springs, and mounted on a single axle ; the body rests directly on the axle, so that every jolt is conveyed to the persun inside, and he feels after a day's jonrney very much as though he had been run through a winnowing- machine. The Chinese cart is too short for an average-sized person to lie in at full length, and too low to allow him to sit erect ; it has a small window on each side, so placed that it is next to impossible to look out and see what there is along the route. Altogether it is a most uncomfortable vehicle to travel in, and the boys thought they would go on foot rather than ride in one of them. But it was not necessary to go on foot, as they were able to hire ponies for the journey, and it "was agreed all round that a little roughness on horseback for a couple of days would do no harm. So they made a con- tract with a Chinese, who had been reconnnended to them by the consul as a good man, to carry them to Pekin. It was arranged that they should take an early start, so as to reach a village a little more than half way by nightfall, and they retired early in order to have a good night's sleep. They had time for a little stroll before they went to bed, and so they em- ployed it in visiting the " Temple of the Oceanic Influences," whei'e the treaty of Tien-tsin was signed after the capture of the Takn forts and the advance of the English to the city. The temple is on a jdain outside of the walls, and contains a large hall, which was very convenient for the im- portant ceremonial that took place there. At the time the treaty was signed the British oflBcers were in full uniform, and made a fine appear- ance, while the Chinese were not a whit behind them in gorgeousness of apparel. Contrary to their usual custom, the Chinese did not thiidv it necessary to hang up any elaborate decorations in the hall, and the atten- tion of the spectators was concentrated on the dignitaries who managed the affair. There is another way of travelling in China, which is by means of a mule litter. This is a sort of sedan-chair carried by mules instead of men ; one mule walks in front, and another in the reai', and the litter is 35S THE BOY TKxVVELLERS. supported between tliem on a couple of long shafts. Tlie pace is slow, be- ing always at a walk, except at the times when the mules run away and smash things generally, as happens not nnfrequeiitly. The straps that hold the shafts t(.) the saddles of tlie mules have a way of getting loose, and leaving the box to fall to the ground with a heav_y thud, which inter- feres materially with the comfort of the occupant. For invalids and la- dies the mule litter is to be recommended, as well as for ]iersons who ai-e fond of having the greatest amount of comfort; but our young friends disdained anything so effeminate, and determined to make the journey on hoi'seback. They took as little baggage as possible, leaving everything superfluous at Tien-tsin ; six horses were sufficient for all the wants of the party — four for theniselves and the guide, and two for the baggage. It was nec- essary to carry the most of the provisions needed for the journey to Pekin, as the Chinese hotels along the route could not be relied on with any certainty. No rain had fallen for some time, and the way was very dust}' ; but this circumstance only made it more amusing to the boys, though it was not so pleasing to the Doctor. Before they had been an hour on the road, it was not easy to say which was Fred and which Frank, until they had i-endered themselves recognizable l:>y washing their faces. Water was scarce, and not particularly good, and, besides, the operation of washing the face was an affair of much inconvenience. So they contented themselves with the dust, and concluded that for the present they wouldn't be particular about names or identity. At noon they had gone twenty-five miles through a country which abounded in villages and gardens, and had a great many fields of wheat, millet, cotton, and other pi'oducts of China; the fields were not uidike those they had seen on their voyage up the Yang-tse ; and as for the villages, they were exactly alike, especially in the items of dirt and gener- al repulsiveness. The modes of perfoi'ming field labor were more inter- esting than the villages: the most of the fields were watered artificially, and the process of pumping water attracted the attention of the boys. An endless chain, with floats on it, was propelled through an inclined box by a couple of men who kept up a steady walk on a sort of treadmill. There were spokes in a horizontal shaft, and on the ends of the spokes there were little pieces of lioard, with just sufficient space for a man's foot to rest. The men walked on these spokes, and steadied themselves on a horizontal pole which was held between a couple of upright posts. Labor is so cheap in Chiiui that there is no occasion for employing steam or wind machinery ; it was said that a pump coolie was able to earn from IN A CHINESE TAVEKN. MODE or lEKIGATING FIELDS. live to ten cents a day in the season when the fields needed irrigation, and he had nothing to do at other times. The night was passed at a vilhige where there was a Chinese tavern, but it was so full that the party were sent to a teaiple to sleep. Eeds were made on the floor, and the travellers managed to get alono- very well, in spite of the fleas that snpped and breakfasted on their bodies, and would have been pleased to dine there. The boys were in a corner of the tem- ple under the shadow of one of the idols to whom the place belonged, while the Doctor had his conch in front of a canopy where there was a deity that watched over him all night with nplifted hands. Two smaller idols, one near his head and the other at his feet, kept company with tiie larger one ; but whether they took turns in staying awake, the Doctor was too sleepy to inquire. They were up very early in the morning, and off at daylight, somewhat to the reluctance of the guide, who had counted on sleeping a little longer. The scenes along the road were much like those of the day before, and they were glad when, just at nightfall, the guide pointed to a high wall in front of them, and pronounced the word "Pekin." They were in sight of the city. " I'm disappointed," said Fred. " Pekin isn't what I thought it was." 360 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THL LcielURS Ll-DKOOM " Well, what did you expect to find ?" queried Frank. " Why, I thought it was on a hill, or something of the sort ; I had no reason to think so, of course, hut 1 had formed that picture of it." "Nearly every one who comes to Pekin is thus disappointed," said Doctor Bronson ; " ho expects to see the city from a distance, wliile, in re- ality, it is not visihle till you are quite close to it." The walls were liigh, and there was nothing to be seen inside of them, as none of the buildings in that quarter were equally lofty. But the ef- fect of the walls was imposing; there were towers at regular intervals, and the most of them were two stories above the level of the sun-ounding structure. For nearly a mile they rode along the base of one of the walls till they came to a gate that led them into the principal street. Once in- side, the_y found themselves transferred very suddenly from the stillness of the country to the bustling life of the great city. " I'm not disajqiointed now," Fred remarked, as they rode along in the direction indicated by the guide; "the streets are so wide in comparison with those of the cities we have seen that they seem \Qvy grand, in- deed." " You've hit it exactly, Fred," Doctor Bronson replied, "Pekin is called the 'City of Magnificent Distances' on account of the width of its streets. FIRST DAY IN PEKIN. 301 I'AHT or THE WALL OF l-EKIS. the great extent of the citj, and the long walks or rides that are necessary for going about in it." "Evidently they took plenty of room when they laid it out," said Frank, " for it isn't crowded like Shanghai and the other places we have seen." It was dark when they reached the little hotel where they were to stay. It was kept by a German, who thought Pekin was an excellent place for a hotel, but would be better if more strangers would visit the city. His establishment was not large, and its facilities were not great, but they were cpiite sufficient for the wants of our friends, who were too tired to be particular about trifles. They took a hearty supper, and then went to bed to sleep away the fatigues of their journey. Next morning they were not very early risers, and the whole trio were weary and sore from the effect of the ride of ninety miles on the backs of Chinese ponies. Frank said that when he was sitting down he hesitated to rise for fear he should break in two, and Fred asserted that it was dangerous to go from a standing to a sitting position for the same reason. They determined to take things easily for the first day of their stay in Pekiu, and confine their studies to the neighborhood of the hotel. With this object in view, they took short walks on the streets, and in the after- noon ventured on a ride in a small cart ; or, rather, they hired two carts, as one was not sufficient to hold them. These carts are very abundant at Pekin, and are to be hired like cabs in European or American cities. They are not dear, being only sixty or seventy cents a day, and they are so abun- dant that one can generally find them at the principal public places. The carts, or cabs, are quite light in construction, and in summer they liave shelters over the horses to protect them from the heat of the sun. 362 THE BOY TKAVELLERS. A PEKIN CAD. The driver walks at the side of liis team ; and when the pace of the horse quickens to a run, he runs witli it. No matter how rapidly the horse may go, the man does not seem troubled to keep alongside. Tlie carts take the place of se- dan - chair.s, of which very few are to be seen in Pekin. Another kind of cart which is nsed in the North to carry merchandise, and also for passengers, is much stronger than the cab, bnt, like it, is mounted on two wheels. The franae is of wood, and there is generally a cover of netting to keep oft the lieat of the snn. This cover is supported on posts that rise from the sides of the cart ; bnt while useful against the sun, it is of no conse- sequence in^ a storm, owing to its facility for letting the water run through. The teams for 23ropelling these carts are more curious than the vehicles themselves, as they are indifferently made up of what- ever animals are at hand. Oxen, cows, horses, mules, donkeys, and sometimes goats and dogs, are the beasts of burden that were seen by the boys in their rambles in Pekin and its vicinity, and on one occasion Fred saw a team which coi'itained a camel harnessed with a mule and a cow. Camels come to Pekin from the Desert of Gobi, where great numbers of them are used in the overland trade between China and Pussia. They are quite similar to the Arabian camel, but are smaller, and their hair is thicker, to enable them to endure the severe cold of the northern winter. In the season when tea is ready for export, thousands of camels are em- ploj'ed in transporting the fragrant herb to the Russian frontier, and the roads to the northward from Pekin are blocked with them. Walking was not altogether a pleasant amusement for our friends, as the streets were a mass of dust, owing to the carelessness of the authorities about allowing the refuse to accumulate in them. There is a tradition that one of the emperors, in a period that is lost in the mazes of antiquity, attempted to SM'cep the streets in order to make himself popular with the peo|)le ; but he found the task too large, and, moreover, he had serious SCENE IN NORTHERN CHINA. 363 ' i wiiiK'ii 'ililil doubts ttbont its being accomplislied in bis lifetime. So lie gave it np, as he did not care to do something that would go luoi'e to the credit of his successor than of iiimself, and no one lias had the courage to try it since that time. The amount of dirt that accumulates in a Chinese city would 304 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. Lreed a pestilence in any other part of the world. Not onl}- do the Chinese appear nninjnred by it, but there are some who assert that it is a necessity of tlieir existence, and they wonld lose their health if compelled to live in an atmosphei'e of cleanliness. One of the most interesting street sights of their tirst day in Pekin . was a procession carrying a dragon made of bamboo covered with painted paper. There M'as a great noise of tom-toms and drnins to give warning of the approach of the procession, and there was the nsiial rabble of small boys that precedes similar festivities everywhere. The dragon was carried by five men, who held him aloft on sticks that also served to give his body an undulating motion in imitation of life. lie was not pretty to look upon, and his head seemed too large for his body. The Chinese idea of the dragon is, that he is something very hideous, and they certainly suc- ceed in representing their conception of him. Dr. Bronson explained that the dragon was frecpiently carried in procession at night, and on these occasions the hollow body was illuminated, so that it was more hideous, if possible, than in the daytime. A Clil^^ESt: LtKAOON. GENERAL APPEARANCE OF PEKIN. 365 CHAPTER XXYII. SIGHTS IN PEKIN. FROM their own observations and tlie notes and acconnts of travellers who had preceded them, the boj's made tlie following description of Pekin : " Pekin stands on a great sandy plain, and has a population of about two millions. It consists of two parts, which are separated by a wall ; that towards the south is called the Chinese city, and that on the north the Tartar city. The Tartar city is the smaller both in area and population ; it is said to measure about twelve scjuare miles, while the Chinese city measures fifteen. There are thirteen gates in the outer walls, and there are tliree gates between the Tartar and the Chinese city. In front of each gate there is a sort of bastion or screen, so that you cannot see the en- trance at all as you approach it, and are obliged to turn to one side to come in or go out. The Chinese city has few public buildings of impor- tance, while the Tartar city has a great many of them. The latter city con- sists of three enclosures, one inside the other, and each enclosure has a wall of its own. The outer one contains dwellings and shops, the second includes the government offices, and the houses of private persons who are allowed to live there as a mark of special favor ; while the third is called the Prohibited City, and is devoted to the imperial palace and temples that belong to it. ISTobody can go inside the Prohiljited City without special permission, and sometimes this is very hard to obtain ; the wall enclosing it is nearly two miles in circumference, and has a gate in each of its four fronts, and the wall is as solid and high as the one that surrounds the wliole city of Pekin. " We had no trouble in going to see the imperial palace, or such parts of it as are open to the public, and also the temples. We could readil}- be- lieve what was told us — that the temples wero the finest in the M'hole countrjr, and certaiidy some of them were very interesting. There are temples to the earth, to the sun, the moon ; and thei'e are temples to agri- culture, to commerce, and a great many other things. There is a very 366 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. fine strncture of mai'ble more than a Imndred feet liigli, which is called "The Gate of Extensive Peace." It is where the emperor comes on great public occasions ; and beyond it are two halls where the foreign visitors are received at the beginning of each 3'ear, and where the emperor ex- amines the implements nsed in the 02:)ening of the annual season of ploughing. The ploughing eei'emony does not take place here, but in another part of the city, and the emperor himself holds the plough to turn the first furrow. There are some very pretty gardens in the Pro- hibited City, and we had a fine opportunity to learn something about the skill of the Chinese in landscape gardening. There are canals, fountains, bridges, flower-beds, groves, and little liillocks, all carefully tended, and forming a very pretty picture in connection with the temples and pavil- ions that stand anions' them. A I'AVU.IOX IN TUL rROllIUlTED CITV. " ATe have seen many temples — so many, in fact, that it is difficult to remember all of them. One of the most impressive is the Temple of Heaven, which has three circular roofs, one above another, and is said to be ninety-nine feet high. The tiles 011 the top are of jjorcelain of the color of a clear sky, and the intention of the builder was to imitate the vault of heaven. On the inside there are altars wliei'e sacrifices are offered to the memory of former emperors of (Jliina, and on certain occasions the em- ]ieror conies here to take part in the ceremonies. " Then we went to see tlie great bell, which is one of the wonders of the world, though it is not so large as the bell at Moscow. It is said to TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS. 367 TH.MI'LE OF HEAVEN. weigh 112,000 pounds, but liow they ever weighed it I don't know. It is a foot thick at tlie rim, about twenty feet higli, and fifteen feet in diameter ; it was cast more than two hundred years ago, and is covered all over, inside and outside, with Chinese characters. There is a little hole in the top of it where people try to throw copper cash. If they succeed, it is a sign that the}^ will be fortunate in life ; and if they fail, they must leave the money as an offering to the temple. All of us tried till we had thrown away a double-hand- ful of cash, but we didn't get a single one of them through the hole, if we fail now in anything, you will know the reason. "The Chinese have a great many gods, and pretty nearly every has a temple in some paif of Pekin. There is a fine temple to Confucius, which is surrounded l)y some trees that are said to be five hundred years old ; the tem- ple has a high roof which is very elaborately carved, and looks pretty both from a distance and when you are close by it. But there are no statues in the temple, as the Chinese do not worship Confucius throngh a statue, but by means of a tablet on which his name is inscribed. The other deities have their statues, and you may see the god of war with a long beard and mustache. The Chi- nese have very slight beards, and it is perhaps for this reason that they frequently represent their divinities as having a great deal of hair on their faces, so as to indicate their superiority to mortals. Then they liave a god of literature, who is represented standing on the head of a large iish, and waving a pencil in his right hand, while he holds in his left a cap such as is worn by the literary graduates after they have received their degrees. god TEIUN C.\SH. 368 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. TRAUITIONAL LIKENKSS 01' CONFUCIUS. GOD or WAH. The god of literature is worshipped a great deal b}^ everjliod}^ who is studying for a degree, and by those whose ancestors or other relatives have been successful in canning away the honors at an examination. Think what it would be to have such a divinity in our colleges and schools ,-.^-^■^^1 GOD OF LrrERATUr.E. GOD OF THIEVES. THE BOAKD OF PUNISHMENTS. 309 in America, and tlie anionut of worsliip lie would got if the students really believed in him ! "The Chinese have a god of thieves; but he has no temple, and is generally worsiiipped in the open air. All the thieves are supposed to worship liira, as he is a saint who made their business successful ; and, be- sides this, he is worshipped by those who wish to become wealthy in hon- est ways. He is said to liave been a skilful thief, and very pious at tiie same time. lie was kind to his mother, and the most of his stealing was done to supjDort her. " One of the interesting places we have visited is the office of the Board of Punishments, which corresponds pretty uearly to our courts of justice. But one great point of difference between tlieii' mode of admin- istering justice and ours is tliat they employ torture, while we do not. Kot only is the prisoner tortured after condemnation, but he is tortured before trial, in order to make liim tell the truth ; and even the witnesses, under certain circumstances, are submitted to the same treatment. We saw some of the instruments that they use, and there was not the least at- tempt to keep us from seeing them. It is customary to have them piled or hung up at the doors of the courts, so that culprits may know wliat to expect, and honest persons may be deterred from wickedness through fear. It is the same principle that is followed by some of the scliool-teachers in America when they hang up in full view the stick with which they intend to punish imruly boys. " Wlien we went into the court-room, a man had just been sentenced to receive twentj' blows of the bamboo, and the sentence was immediately car- ried out. He was ordered to lie down with his face to the floor ; Jiis back was then stripped, and while his legs and arms were held by attendants, the execu- tioner laid on the twenty blows with a bamboo stick about six a mandarin judge deliterixg sentence. 2i 370 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. feet long and two inches wide. One side of the stick was rounded and the other was fiat ; tlie flesli was blistered at every stroke, or raised in a irreat pnff, and it is certain that the man must be some time in s'ettino' well. He did not scream or make the least outcry, but took his punish- ment patiently, and was raised to his feet at its end. He bowed to the judge, and, perhaps, thanked him for the attention he had received, and was then led away to make room for some one else. " The Chinese don't seem to have any nerves compared with what we have. They do not suffer so much as we do under tortures, and tliis is perhaps one of the reasons why they are so much more cruel tlian the people of Europe and America. For example, it would nearly kill a Euro- pean to travel a week in carts such as we saw on the road from Tien- tsin to Pekin. The Chinese don't seem to mind it at all ; and the best proof that they do not is that they have never invented any better or more comfortable way of travelling, or tried to improve their roads. And it is the same with their punishments in the courts. They don't care much for whippings, though it is not at all probable that they like them, and the only things that they appear to fear vcj-y much are the punish- ments that are prolonged. There are a good many of these, and I will tell you about some of the most prominent and best known. "Several times we have seen men with wooden collars three or four feet square, and with a hole in the centre, where the poor fellow's neck comes through. It is made of plank about two inches thick, and you can see that the load is a heavy one for a man to carry. He cannot bring his arms to liis head ; and if he has no friends to feed him, or no money to pay some one else to do so, he must starve. On the upper surface of the plank is painted the name of the criminal, together with the crime he has committed and the time he has been ordered to wear the collar. This in- strument is called a 'cangue,' and is said to be in use all over China from line end of the country to the other. " There is a mode of torture which is chiefly used to extort confessions from persons accused of crime, and the result of its use is said to be that many a man has been induced to confess crimes of which he was entirely innocent, in order to escape from the terrible pain which is produced. Tlie victim is compelled to stand against a post, and his cue is tied to it so that he cannot get away. His arms are tied to a cross-beam, and then little rods are placed between his fingers in such a way that every finger is enclosed. Tlie rods are so arranged that by ptiUing a string the press- ure on the fingei's is increased, and tlie pain very soon becomes so great that most men are ituable to endure it. If you want to know just how a MODES OF TOKTURl-:. 371 SQUEEZING THE FINGERS. little of it feels, I advise you to put one of j-our fingers be- tween two lead -pencils and then squeeze the pencils to- gether. You won't keep do- ing so very long. " They scpieeze the ankles in nnich the same way, by making the man kneel on the ground, with his ankles in a frame of three sticks that are fastened together at one end by a cord like that of the tinger-squeezer. Then, when all is ready, they pull at the cord and draw the sticks nearer to each other, so that pressure is brought on the aidiles. The pain is intense, and the most demure Chinaman is not able to stand it without shrinking. This mode of torture, like the other, is used to make prisoners confess the crimes of which they are ac- cused, and they generally confess them. It is said that witnesses may be subjected to the ankle torture, but with the modification in their favor that only one ankle can be squeezed at a time. Verj' kind, isn't it? " We went near the prison while we were in the Tartar city, and so it was proposed that we should see what there was inside. It was the most horrible place I have ever seen, and the wonder is that men can be found inlniman enough to condenm people to be shnt up there. Tliere was a large cage so full of men that there was imt room on the floor for them all to lie down at once, even if they had been as close together as sardines in a can. We could see through the bars of the cage, as if the captives had been wild animals instead of hnnian beings, and tliey looked so worn and wretched that we all pitied them very Tiiuch. SQUEEZING THE ANKLES. If a uiau Is scut to prlsou in China, THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. y/ - A liED OF TORTURE. and Las no money to pay for liis food, lie will die of starvation, as the jail- ers are not required Ly law to feed the prisoners under their chai'ge. There were men chained, with iron collars around their necks ; and others tied, with their hands and feet brought close together. The suffering was terrible, and M'e were glad to couie away after a very few minutes. It is positive that we do not want to see another prison as long as we stay in this country. ''In the Chinese prisons they torture men to make them confess, and also to compel them to tell if they have money, or any relatives or friends who have it. One of these cruelties is called 'putting a man to bed,' and consists in fastening him on a wooden bedstead by his neck, wi-ists, and aidvles in such a way that he cannot move. He is compelled to pass the night in this position ; and sometimes they give him a coverlet of a sin- gle board that presses on his body, and is occasion- all}' weighted to make it more oppressive. The next morning he is released and told that he can be free until night, when he will be again tied up. Generally a man is willing to do anything in his power rather than pass a second night on such a bed. If he has mone}', he gives it up ; and, no matter how reluc- tant he may be to call on his friends, he does so, sooner or later, and throws himself on their generosity. " They suspend men by the wrists and ankles ; sometimes by one wrist and one ankle, and at others by all four brought closely together. Then they place a victim in a chair with his arms tied to cross-sticks, and in this position he is compelled to sit for hours in the most terrible pain. An- other mode is by tying a man's hands together beneath his knees, and then jjassing a polo under his arm and susjjending him from it. This is called 'the monkey grasping a peach,' and it is frequently employed to compel a rich man to pay heavily to escajje punishment. How it got its name no- body can tell, unless it was owing to a supposed resemblance to the posi- tion of a monkey holding something in his paw. " Just as we were coming out of the prison-yard wo saw a man stand- ing in a cage with his head through a board in the top, while his toes just touched the bottom. Unless he stood on tiptoe, the weight of his body fell on his neck ; and evei-ybody knows how difficult it is to remain on HOW KOBBEKS ARE PUNISHED. I'ODR MODES OF I'CXISHMENT. tiptoe for ail}' length of time. Sometimes men are compelled to stand in this way till the)' die, but generally the punishment is confined to a fe^v hours. It is the form most frecpentl)' employed for the sentence of crim- inals who ha^■e been robbing on the public highway, and are convicted of using violence at the time of committing their offences. "I could go on with a long account of the tortures in China, but they are not very pleasant reading, and, besides, some of them are too horrible for belief. I will stop with the torture known as 'the hot-water snake,' which consists of a coil of thin tubing of tin or pewter in the form of a serpent. One of these coils is twisted around each arm of the victim, and another around bis body, in such a way that the head of the snake is higher than any other part. Then they pour boiling water into the mouth of the snake, and the llesh of the prisoner is burned and scalded in the most teri'ible manner. This punishment is said to be used rarely, and only THE BOY TKAVELLERS. STANDINU IN A CAGE. on persons accused of ci-iines against the government. It is too liorrible to be pop- ular, even among the most cokl- blooded people in the world. "A good many of these punishments precede a much more nieix-iful one, that of decapitation. The victim who is to suf- fer tlie loss of his head is carried to the place of execntion in a sinall cage of bam- boo, with his hands tied behind him, and the crime for which he is to suffer -written on a piece of stiff paper and fastened to his hair. In one cornei- of the cage is a bucket, which is to hold his head after the executioner has cut it oft'; and frerpieutlv the pail with the head in it is hung near one of the gates of the city or in some other public place. "When he reaches the execu- tion-ground, he is required to kneel, and the executioner strikes his head off with a single blow of a heavy sword. The poor fellows who are to suffer death rarely make any opposition, and some of them seem C[uite willing to meet it. This is said to be due partly to the calmness of the Cliinese, and partly to the fact that they have been so tortured and starved in their im- prisonment that it is a relief to die. In most of the Chinese priscms the men condemned to death are usually kept until there are several on hand ; then a general execution is ordered, and the whole lot of them are taken out to the place of decapitation. During the time of the rebellion they used to have executions by wholesale, and sometimes one or two hundred heads were taken off in a single morning. " Very great crimes are punished liy cutting the body into small pieces before decapitation, or, rather, by cutting it in several places. All the tlesliy parts i:)f the body are cut with the sword of the executioner before IlOT-AVATtU SNAICli. A CHINKSE EXECUTION. 375 CAKEYING FOKTH TO THE I'LACE OF EXECUTIOS. the final blow; and sometiiues this species of torture goes on for an hour or two before the siiffeiing of the victim is stopped by decapitation. There is a story that they have a lottery in which the executioner draws a knife from a basket. The basket is full of knives, and they are marked for various parts of the l;»ody. If lie draws a knife for the face, he pro- ceeds to cut off the cheeks ; if for the hand, he cuts away one of the hands, and so on for all parts of the victim. If lie is kindly disposed, or has been properly bribed, he will draw the beheadingdvnife first of all, and then he M'ill have no occasion to use anv other. JUST BEFORE DECAPITATION. 370 'i'lIE BOY TRAVELLERS. " Well, wo liave liacl enoiigli of these disagreealjle tilings, and will turn to something else. We passed b)' the place where the candidates for niil- itary honors compete for prizes by shooting with the bow and arrow. At the first examination they are re(piired to shoot at a mark with three ar- rows, and the one who makes the best shots is pronounced the winner of the prize. At the second examination they must practise on horseback, with tlie horse standing still; and at the third they must shoot three ar- rows from the back of a running horse. Afterwards the^' are exercised in the bending of some very stiff bows and the handling of heavy swords and stones. There is a certain scale of merit they must ])ass to be successful; and when they succeed, their names are sent up for another examination before higher officials than the ones they have passed before. It is a curious fact that a man who does well as an archer is entitled to a degi-ee among the literary graduates, though he may not be able to cari-y away a single prize for his literary accomplishments alone." MILITAKl CAM>IDATLS COMFLTINt, V, iTH lUL EOW AhD AliIvUW. CHINESE HORSE-DEALERS. 377 CTIAPTEE XXVni. A JOURNEY TO THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA. PEKIN is not very far from the famous wall tliat was bnilt to keep the empire of China from the hands of the Tartars. It is commonly mentioned as " The Great Wall," and certainly it is clearly entitled to the honor, as it is the greatest wall in the world. To go to Pekin without visiting the Great Wall would be to leave the journey incomplete ; and, therefore, one of the first things that our friends considered was how they should reach the wall, and how much time they would require for tlie excursion. We shall let the boys tell the story, which tliey did in a letter to their friends at home. It was written while they were on the steamer between Tien-tsin and Shanghai, on their i-eturn from Pekin. " We have been to the Great Wall, and it was a journey not to be for- gotten in a minute. We found that we should have to travel a hundi-ed miles each way, and that the roads were as bad as they usually are in most parts of China. We went on horseback, but took a mule litter along for use in case of accidents, and to rest ourselves in whenever one of us should become weary of too much saddle. There are no hotels of any conse- quence, and so we had to take the most of our provisions from Pekin. We did the same waj' as when we went from Tien-tsin ; that is, we hired a man to supply all the necessary horses and mules for a certain price to take us to the wall and back; and if any of them should fall sick on the road, he was to furnish fresh ones without extra charge. We were ad- vised to make the bargain in this way, as there was a danger that some of the horses would get lame ; and if there were no provision for such a case, we should have to pay very high for an extra animal. The Chinese horse- owners are said to be great rascals — almost equal to some American men who make a business of buying and selling saddle and carriage aniuials. Doctor Bronson says he would like to match the shrewdest Chinese jockey we have yet seen with a horse-dealer that he once knew in Washington. He thinks the Yankee could give the Chinese great odds, and then beat him. 3tS THE BOY TRAVELLERS. ''It was a feast-da}' wlieii wc loft Pekiii, and there were a good many sports going on in the streets, as we tiled out of the city on our way to the north. Tliere was a funny pi'ocession of men on stilts. They were fan- tastically dressed, and waved fans and cliojJsticks and other things, while they shouted and sang to amuse the crowd. One of them was di'essed as a woman, who pretended to hold her eyes down so that nobody could see CHINESE JUGGLERS. 379 tlieiii, and she danced around on her stilts as tliongli she had been accus- tomed to tlieni all her life. In fact, the whole party were (juite at homo on their stilts, and would have been an attrac- tion in any part of America. Whenever the Chinese try to do anything- of this sort, they are pretty sure to do it well. " Then there were jugglers spinning plates on sticks, and doing other things of a char- acter more or less marvellous. One of their tricks is to s])in the plate on two sticks held at right angles to each other, instead of on a single stick, as with ns ; but how they manage to do it I am unable to say. They make the plate whirl very fast, and can keep it iip a long time without any apparent fatigue. " We passed several mien who had small establishments for gambling, not unlike some that are known in America. There was one M'ith a revolving pointer on the top of a horizontal table that was divided into sections with different marks and numbers. The point- er had a string, hanging down from one end, ^ 1,1 ''.i 1 il 1 • 1 JOGGLER SPINNING A PLATE. and tne way they made the machine work M'as to whirl the pointer, and see where the string hung when it stop- ped. The game appeared to be ver}' fair, as the man who paid his money had the chance of M'hirling the pointer, and he might do his own guessing as to where it would stop. If he was right, he would win eight times as much money as he had wagered, since the board was di- \ided into eight spaces. If he was wrong, he lost all that he put down, and was obliged to go away or try his luck again. The temptation to natives seems to be very great, since the}' are constantly gambling, and sometimes lose all the money they have. Gambling is so great a vice in China that a good many of its forms GAMBLING -WITH A REVOLVING POINTER. ha\'e bceu forbiddcu by the govern- 380 Till': B(JY TRAVELLERS. Hient. The case is not iiimsnal uf a man losing everjtliina; lie possesses, even to his wife and children, and then being thrown naked into the sti-eets by the proprietor of the place where he has lost his money. "We stopped to look at some fortune-tellers, who were evidently doing a good business, as they had crowds around them, and M-ere taking in small sums of money every few minutes. One of them had a little bird in a cage, and he had a table which he folded and carried on his back when he was moving from one place to another. When he opened business, lie spread his table, and then laid out some slips of paper which were folded, so that nobody conld see what there was inside. Xest lie let the bird out of the cage, which immediately went forward and picked up one of the slips and carried it to his master. The man then opened the paper and read what was written on it, and from this paper he made a predic- tion about the fortune of the person who had engaged him. " There was another fortune-teller who did his work by writing on a plate. lie had several sheets of paper folded up, and from these he asked his customer to select one. When the selection was made, he dissected the writing, and showed its meaning to be something so profound that the cus- tomer was bewildered and thought he had nothing but good-fortune cijiii- ing to him. We tried to get these men to tell oui- fortunes, but they preferred to stick to their own counti-ymen, probably through fear that the}' would lose popularity if they showed themselves too friendly with the strangers. "The Chinese are great believers in fortune-telling, and even the most intelligent of them are often calling upon the necromancers to do some- thing for them. They rarely undertake any business without first ascer- taining if the signs are favorable ; and if they are not, they will decline to have anything to do with it. When a merchant has a cargo of goods on its way, he is very likely to ask a fortune-teller how the thing is to turn out; and if the latter says it is all right, he gets liberally paid for his in- formation. But in spite of their superstition, the Chinese are very shrewd merchants, and can calculate their profits with great accuracy. FOr.TnSli-TELLING EY JIKASS OF A BIRD AND SLIPS OF PAPER. DISCOMFORTS OF PONY-RIDING. 381 FORTUNE-TELLING BY DISSECTING CHINESE CHARACTERS. " Well, tills is not going to the Great Wall. "We went ont of Pekin by tlie north gate, and into a country that was flat and dusty. Fred's pony was not very good-natured, and every little while took it into his head to balance himself on the tip of his tail. This was not the kind of riding we had bargained for, as it made tlie travel rather wearisome, and interfered with the progress of the whole caravan. We thought the pony would be- have himself after a little fatigue had cooled his temper ; but the more we went on, the worse he became. When we were about ten miles out, he ran away, and went tearing through a cotton-field as though he owned it, and he ended by pitching his rider over his head across a small ditch. " Then we found how lucky it was we had brought along a mule litter, as Fred rode in it the rest of the day. Next morning he made our guide change ponies with him. In half an hour the guide was in a mud puddle, and saying something in Chinese that had a very bad sound, but it didn't help dry his clothes in the least. On the whole, we got along very well with the ponies in the north of China, when we remember the Ijad reputation tliey have and the things that most travellers say about them. " We stopped at the village of Sha-ho, about twenty miles from Pekin ; and as Ave had started a little late, and it was near sunset, we concluded to spend the night there. There was not much to see at the village, except a 382 THE B(JY TRAVELLERS. couple of fine old bridges built of stone, and so solid tliat tliej will evi- dently last a long time. A barber came around and wanted to shave us, but for several reasons we declined his proposal, and satisfied ourselves by seeing him operate on a native customer. The Chinese razur is a piece of steel of a three-cornered shape, and is fastened to a handle about four inches long. It is kept very sharp, as any well- regulated razor siiould be, and a barber CHINESE RAZOR. Will haiidlc It wlth a great deal of dex- terity. The Chinese haven't much beard to shave ofl^, but they make up for it with a -^-ery thick growth of hair, which is all removed every ten or twelve days, with the exception of a spot on the crown about four inches in diameter. The hair on this spot is allowed to grow as long as it will, and is then braided into the cue or pigtail that everybody knows about. BARBER SHAVING THE HEAD OF A CUSTOMER. " After we left Sha-ho the country became rough, and the road grew steadily worse. Our pi.mies were pretty sure-footed, but they stumbled occasionally, and Frank narrowly escaped a bad fall. The pony went down all in a heap and tlirew Frank over his head. Tie fell on a soft spot, and so was not injured ; but if tlie accident had happened six feet farther on, A CHINESE BRIDGE. 383 or six feet fartlier back, it would have thrown him among the rough stones, where there were some very ngly points stieliing up. " We found anotlier tine bridge on tliis part of the road, and our guide said it was called the ' Bridge of the Cloudy Hills,' because the clouds fre- tpiently hung over the hills in the distance. The Chinese are vei'y fond 384 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. of faueiful names for tlieir bridges and temples, and fi'equently the name lias very little to do with the structure itself. I am told that there is a bridge in the south of China with exactly the same name as this, and not far from it is another called the ' Bridge of the Ten Thousand Ages.' We have seen the 'Temple of Golden Happiness' and the 'Bridge of Long Eepose.' "We shall be on the lookout for the ' Temple of the Starry Firma- ment,' and probably shall not be long in finding it. Strange that a people so practical as the Chinese should have so much poetry in their language ! "We came to the village of Nan-kow, at the entrance of the Nan-kow Pass, and stopped there for dinner. Our ride had given us a good ap])etite, and though our cook was not very skilful in preparing our meal, we did not find fault with him, as we did not wish to run the risk of waiting while he cooked the things over again. The Chinese inn at Nan-kow is not so good as the Palace Hotel at San Francisco ; in fact, it is as bad as any other hotel that we have seen. They don't have much pleasure travel in this part of the world, and therefore it does not pay them to give much attention to the comfort of their guests. " The jS'andvOW Pass is about thirteen miles long, and the road through it is very rough. The mountains are steep, and we saw here and there ruins of forts that were built long ago to keep out the Tartar invaders of China. Our animals had several falls, but they got through without acci- dent, aTid, what was more, they brought ns to a village where there was an inn with something good to eat. " What do you suppose it was? It was mutton, which is kept boiling in a pot from morning till night ; and as fast as any is taken out, or the sonp boils down, they till the kettle up again. Mutton is very cheap here, as sheep are abundant and can be bought at the purchaser's own price, provided he will keep himself within reason. Great numljers of sheep are driven to Pekin for the suppl}' of the city, and we met large flocks at several points on the road. Their wool has been exported to England and America ; but it is not of a tine quality, and does not bring a high price. "We passed the ruins of forts and towers every few miles, and our guide pointed out some of the tow- ers that were formerly used for conveying intelligence bv means of signal -fires. They are now falling to pieces, and are of no further nse. "This is the road by which the Tartars went to the conquest of China, THE GOD OF THli KITCHEN. HKSULT OF A WOMAN'S FANCY. 385 and tliere is a story that tlie empire was lost in consef|nenee of a woman. The Chinese were verj' mnch afraid of tlie Tartars, and tliey built the Great Wall to keep them out of the country. But a wall would be of no use without soldiers to defend it, and so it was arranged that whenever tlie Tartars were approaeliing, a signal should be sent along the towers, and the army would come to Pekin to defend it. " One day a favorite lady of the emperor's palace persuaded the em- peror to give the signal, to see how long it wonld take for the generals and the army to get to Pekin. He gave the signal, and the arm}' came, but the generals were very angry when they found they had been called to- gether just to amuse a woman. They went back to their homes, and the affair was supposed to be forgotten. "By-and-by the Tartars did come in reality, and the signal was sent out again. But this time no army came, nor did a single general turn his face to Pekin. The city fell into the hands of the invaders, and they are there to-day. So much for what a woman did ; but it sounds too much like the story of 'The Boy and the Wolf to be true. "At the last place where we stopped before reaching the Great Wall we found the people very insolent, both to iis and to the men in our em- ploy. They said I'ude things to us, and perhajjs it was fortunate that we did not understand Chinese, or we might have been disposed to resent their impudence, and so found ourselves in worse trouble. Gur s-uide said something to a lama, or priest, and he managed to make the people quiet, partly by persuasion and partly by threats. Some of the men had been drink- ing too freely of sam-shoo, which has the same effect on them as whiskey has on people in America. It is not unusual for strangers in tliis part of China to be pelted with stones ; but the natives are afraid to do ninch more than this, as they would thereby get into trouble. " At the place where we reach the Great Wall there is a Chinese city called Chan-kia- kow ; but it is known to the Russians as Kal- gan. It is the frontier town of Mongolia, and _ the Russians have a great deal of commerce with ^ l\m\ it. It stands in a valley, and so high are the mountains around it that the sun does not rise until cpiite late in the fore- noon. Doctor Bronson said there is a town somewhere in the Pocky 25 386 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. THE HILLS NEAR CHAN-KIA-KOW. Mountains of America wliicli is so shut in tliat the sun does not rise there until about eleven o'clock next day ; and wo thought it might pos- sibly bo a relative of Chan-kia-kow. There is an odd sort of population here, as the merchants who trade with the Iliissians are from all parts of China; and then there are Mongols from the Desert of Gobi, and a very fair number of I'eal Russians. " One curious article of trade consisted of logs from the country to the north. They are cut in lengths of about six feet, and are intended for coffins for the people of the southern part of the empire. Wood is scarce in the more densely inliabited portions of China, and must be carried for great distances. It is six hundred miles from the C4reat Wall to where these logs are cut, and so they must bo carried seven hundred miles in all before they reach Pekin. Tlie carts on which tliey are loaded are very strong, and have not a bit of iron about them. " We are now at the Great Wall, which comes straggling over the hills that surround the city, and foi-ms its northern boundary. It is very much in ruiTis, but at the town itself there is a portion of it kept in good repair, and one of the gates is regularly shut at night and ojiened in the morning. Some of tlie old towers are still in their places ; but the weather is slowly wearing them away, and in time they will all be fallen. " The Great Wall is certainly one of the wonders of the world, and it was very much so at the time of its construction. It was built two thon- A DAY AT THE GREAT WALL. 387 sand years ago, ami is about twelve lumdred miles long. It j-nns west- ward from the sliores of the Gulf of Pe-eliidi to what was then the west- ern frontier of the Chinese Empire. For the greater part of tlie wa}' it C(jnsists of a wall of earth faced with stone or In-ick, and it is paved on the top M'ith large tiles. It is about twenty-five feet wide at the bottom, and diminishes to fifteen feet wide at the top, with a height of tliirty feet. In many places it is not so substantial as this, being nothing more tlian a wall of earth faced with brick, and not more than lifteen feet high. At vary- ing intervals there are towers for watchmen and soldiers. They are gen- erally forty or fifty feet high, and about three hundred feet apart. "The wall follows all the inequalities of the surface of the earth, winding over mountains and through valleys, crossing rivers by massive archways, and stretching straight as a sunbeam over the level plain. " Tliink wliat a work this Mould l)e at the jiresent day, and then re- member that it was built two thousand years ago, when tlie science of engineering was in its infancy, and the various mechanical appliances for moving heavy bodies were unknown ! " We spent a day at the Great Wall. We scrambled over the ruins and climbed to the top of one of the towers, and we had more than one tumble among the remains of the great enterprise of twenty centuries ago. Then wo started back to Pekin, and returned with aching limbs and a general feeling that we had had a hard journey. But we were well satisfied that we had been there, and would not have missed seeing the Great Wall for twice the fatigue and trouble. They told us in Pekin that some travellers have been imposed on by seeing only a piece of a wall about thirty miles from the city, which the guides pretend is the real one. They didn't try the trick on us, and probably thought it would not be of any use to do so. "We did not stay long in Pekin after we got back from the Great Wall, as we had to catch tlie steamer at Tien-tsin. Here we are steaming down the coast, and having a jolly time. We are on the same ship that took us up from Shanghai, and so we feel almost as if we had got home ao-ain. But we are aware that liome is yet a long way off, and we have many a mile between us and the friends of whom we think so often." oSS THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CHAPTER XXIX. FROM SHANGHAI TO HOXG-KOXG.— A STORY OF THE COOLIE TRADE. THE party reached Slianghai without accident, and on their arrival at that port the boys had a welcome surprise in the shape of letters from home. Their first letters from Japan had been received, and read and reread by family and friends. To judge by tlie words of praise tliat they elicited, the efforts of the youths at descriptive composition were em- inently successful. Frank's mother said that if they did as well all through their journey as they had done in the beginning, they would be qualified to write a book about Japan and China ; and a similar opinion of their powers was drawn from Fred's mother, who took great pride in her son. Mary and Ettie composed a joint letter to Frank, to tell liow much pleasure he had given them. They were somewhat anxious about the purchases, but were entirely sure evei'ything would be correct in the end. Fred began to be a trifle jealous of Frank when he saw liow much the latter enjoyed the communication from the girl who came to the rail- way station to see them off. He vowed to himself that before he started on another journey he would make the accpiaintauce of another Etfie, so that lie would have some one to exchange letters with. The letters were read and reread, and their perusal and the prepara- tion of answers consumed all the time of the stay in Shanghai. The delay, however, was only for a couple of days, as the weekly steamer for Ilong-kong departed at the end of that time, and our friends were among her passengers. Another of the ship's company was our old friend "'the Mystery," who told Doctor Bronson that he had been travelling in the interior of Japan, and had only recently arrived from there. He was going to Canton, and possibly farther, but could not speak with certainty until he had arranged some business at Hougdvong. Tlie steamer on wliich our friends were travelling was under the French flag, and belonged to the line popularly known as " the French Mail." The service between Europe and China is performed alternately b}' two companies, one of them English and the other French ; and by PIDGIN ENGLISH. 389 le means of these two companies there is a weekly ship each way. T French steamers are preferred by a great many travellers, as they are gen- erally larger than the English ones, and are admirably arranged for com- fort. They make the voyage from Shanghai to Marseilles in about forty days, calling at the principal ports on the ■way, and going through the Suez Canal. The English steamers follow very nearly the same route as the French ones, as long as they are in Eastern waters ; but when they reach the Mediterranean Sea, they have two lines, one going to Venice and the other to Southampton. The othcial names of the two companies are " The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company " (English), and "La Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes" (French). There were not many passengers, perhaps a dozen in all, and they were mostly merchants and other residents of Shanghai on their way to Europe or to some of the southerly ports of Asia. Two of the passengers were accompanied by their Chinese servants, and the boys were greatly amused to hear the efforts of the latter to speak English. They had already heard the same kind of thing during their movements in China, but had not paid much attention to it in consequence of their occupation with other matters. ISTow, however, they had some leisure for investigation, and Fred suggested that the^^ had better take a glance at the Chinese language. A few glances were all they wanted, as Frank was not long in ascer- taining that it would require years of study to acquaint himself with enough of the language to be able to converse in it. Fred learned, about the same time, that there was a written language and a spoken one, and the two were so unlike that a man can read and write Chinese without being able to speak it, and can speak without being able to read and write. They found that very few for- eigners who came to China to stay for j^ears ever troubled themselves to learn the language, but were contented with " pidgin English." Then the question very naturally arose, " What is pidgin English ?" specimen of chines^ writing. In a small book entitled " John, or Our Chinese Relations," Frank found something relating to pidgin English, which he copied into his note-book for future reference. When he had done with the volume, it was bori-owed by Fred for the same purpose, and the boys gave a vote of thanks to the author for saving them the trouble to hunt up the information by asking questions of their friends. What they selected was as folloM's: 3;iO THE BOY TKAVELLEliS. "In iitlemptiiig to pronounce the word ' business,' the Chinese were fortnerly unalile to get nearer to the real sound tlian ' |)iilgin ' or 'pigeon;' hence the adoption of that word, wliich means nothing more nor less than "business.' Pidgin Englisli is lheret"ore !)nsiness I'alglish, and is the language of commerce at the open jtorts of China, or whei"e\'er else the native and foreigner come in contact. A pidgin French has made its apjiearance in tsaigon and at other places, and is steadily increasing as Fiench commerce has increased. On the frontier line between Russia and China there is an important trading-point — Kiacbta — where the commerce of the two empires was exclusi\ely conducted for a century and a half, A pidgin Russian exists there, and is the medium of commercial transactions between the Russian anil Chinese merchants. " Long ago the Portuguese at Macao had a corresponding jargon for their intercourse with the Chinese: and it may be safely stated that wherever the Chinese have estahlislied ])ermanent relations with any country, a language of trade has iinmetliately sprung into existence, and is de- veloped as time rolls on and its necessities muliiply. *'TIie decline in Portuguese trade \\ith China \^-as accompanied with a corresponding decline in the language, but it left its impress upoit the more recent ])idgiu p]nghsh, wliicb contains many Portuguese words. Pidgin English is a language by itself, with yQyy little inflection either in noun, pronoun, or verb, and with a few words doing duty for many. Tlie Chinese learu it readily, as tliey have no gramtnatical giants to wrestle with in mastering it, and the foreigners are quite ready to meet them on the road and adapt their plu-aseology to its requirements. The Chinese has onlv to commit to memory a few hundred words and know their meaning; the foreigner (if he be Englisli-speaking) has less than a hundred foreign words to learn, together with the pecidiar construction of plirases. The C'hiuese liave ]>rinted vocabidaries in which the foreign word and its meaidng are set forth in Chinese charactei's, and thus they have no occasion to troid)le them- selves with the alphabet of the stranger. These books are specially inteiuled for the n.se of com- pradores and servants in foreign eniplo}", and are so small that they can be readily carried in the pocket. ''In pidgin English the pronouns lie^she, it, and t/iet/ are generally exjtressed b}' the single proiroun he. A]\ the forms of the first jierson aie included in na/. and those of the second person in }/n?j. When we come to the ^erhs, we find that action, intention, existence, and kindred con- ditions are coveretl by //ah, he/uiij/fi/, and can do. Vai'ious forms of possessirjn are expressed by catchee (catch), while can do is particulariy applied to ability or power, and is also used to imply affirmation or negation. Thus: 'Can do walkee?' means 'Are you able to walk?' If so, the re- sponse would be ' Can do,' while ' No can do ' would imply imihility to indidge in pedestriaiusm. Belonqcy coines from ' belong,' and is ofien shortened to a single syllable, h'long. It is very much employed, owing to the many shades of meaning of wdtich it is ca|ialile. 'Thus : ' I live in Hong- kong' would be rendeied 'My belongey Ilong-kong side,' and 'You are very large ' would be properly traiislated 'You belongey too muchee big piecee.' " The Chinese find great diflicidty in pronouncing r, which they almost invariably convert into /. Tliev have a tendency to add a vowel sound (n or c) to words ending with a consonant. Bearing these points in mind, we readily see how ' drink ' becomes dlinko, and ' brown ' blownee. Final rf and t are awkward for them to handle, and tli is to their lips an abomination of first-class dimensions. 'Child' becomes cliilo, and 'cold' is transformed to coIo, in pidgin linglish. 'That.' and other words beginning with lli, generally lose the sound of A, though sometimes they retain li and drop the t bel'oie it. ' Side ' is used for position, and the vocabulary contains inside, outside. Iiottam-side (below), anil toji-side (above). 0/iop-clai/) means 'fast,' 'quick,' ' inimedi- atclv ;' nain-iiinn means ' slowly,' ' slowei-,' ' gently,' in the south of China ; while at Han-kow, on the Yang-tse, it means exactly the i-evei'se. At Canton or Swatow, if you say viin-man to your boatmen, they will cease rowing or will pniceed very lightly; say the same thing to your boalmen at Han-kow or Ichang, ami they will ]iull aw:iy with redoubled energy." PROVERBS IN PIDGIN ENGLISH. 391 " As we have learned the principles of this new language," Frank re- marked, "we ought to be able to understand some proverbs in it. For instance, here are four that contain whole heaps of good advice, besides showing lis how to read pidgin English : ' Wlio man swim best, t'hiit mun most gettee diowii ; Wluj lidee best ]ie most ciitcli tumble down.' ' One piei'ee blind man healee best, maskee ; One i)iecee deaf man makee best look-see.' ' One man who never leedee, Like one dly inkstand be ; You turn he top-side downev, No ink lun outside he.' * Suppose one man mucli bad — how bad he be, One not her bad man may be flaid of he.'" " Tliose will do," Fred answered, "and liere is Longfellow's fanions poem ' Excelsior,' whieli every sehoolbo}^ knows, or onght to know. It was done into pidgin English by somebod}' who lived in the country and evidentl}' know what he was about : 'TOP-SIDE GALAII! ' T'hat nightee teem he come chop-chop One young man walkee, no can stop ; Maskee snow, maskee ice ; He cally flag with chop so nice — Top-side Galah! ' lie muchee solly ; one ]iiecee eye Lookee sharp— so fashion — my : He talkee large, he talkee stlong, Too mncliee culio ; allee same gong — ■ Top-side Galah ! ' Insidee house iie can see light. And ev]y loom got fire all light ; He lookee plenty ice more high, Insidee mout'h he plenty cly — Top-side Galah ! 'Olo man talkee, "No can walk, Bimeby lain come, velly dark ; Have got water, velly wide!" Maskee, my mirst go top-side — Top-side Galah ! 392 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. ' " Man-mnii," une girlee talkee he: *' What for you go top-side look-see ?' And one teem raoie he plenty cly, But alia teem walk jilenty high — Top-side Galah I '"Take care I'hat spilum tlee, yoLing man, Take care t'hat ice, must go man-man." One coolie chin-chin he good niglit ; He talkee, "My can go all light" — Top-side Galah I 'T'hat young man die: one large dog see Too mnchee bobbly fiudee he. He hand b'long coldee, all same like ire. He holdee flag, "v^it'h chop so nice — Top-side Galah !' " "But does every Chinese who goes to a foreign country understand how to talk pidgin English V Frank asked of Doctor Brouson. "Not by any means," M-as the reply; "thousands of them are not able to speak a word when they go abroad, but the}^ gradnallj pick up the lan- guage of the country to wdiich they go. Not all of them go to America or other English-speaking lands ; many have gone to Cuba, Peru, and Bra- zil, where there was no need of a knowledge of English. Spanish and Por- tuguese are the only tongues in use there, and many an emigrant never took the trouble to learn a word of them." Their old acquaintance " the Mystery " had joined the part}' while tlie conversation just recorded was going on. When the Doctor made allusion to the emigration to Cuba and Peru, " the Mystery" opened his eyes a little wider than was his custom,- and said he was •well aware that many had gone to those countries who knew nothing but Chinese, and never learned a word of any other language. As the boys showed a desire to hear more on the subject, he proposed to tell them something about the coolie-trade; and it was arranged that they should assemble in the smoking-saloou after din- ner, wliere they could talk at their leisure. After dinner they met as agreed, and "the Mystery" seated himself comfortably for the story he was about to tell. " The coolie-trade," said he, " does not exist any more. It was very much like the slave-trade, of which you have read ; in fact, it was nothing more than the slave-trade with the form changed a little. In the African slave-trade the slaves were bought as one might buy sheep and cattle. In the coolie-traffic the men were hired for a term of years at certain stipu- T'liat nif;-litee teem he come chop-chop One young man walkee, no can stop. ' Take care tliat spilum tlee, young man, Take care that ice, must go man-man." ' Man-man," one ghiee talkee he : ' What for yon go top-side look-see ?" T'hat young man die: one large dog see Too muchee bobhly llLidec he. ■S9i THE BOY TRAVELLERS. lated wages, and were to be returned to their homes at the end of that term, provided all tlieir debts had been discharged. The plan was all j'ight on its face, but it was not carried out. When the period for which he was engaged was up, the coolie was always made to bo in debt to liis employer; and, no matter how hard he might work, he was not allowed t(.) free himself. Ho was a slave to his master just as much as was the negro from Africa, and not one coolie in a thousand ever saw his nati\-e land again. '"Not only were the men liired on contracts that they could never can- cel, but they were stolen, just as slaves are stolen in Africa. Boats were sent np the rivers in the sonthei'n part of China to bring back loads of coolies. They Would land an armed party at a village, seize all the men in the place, and bring them to the port, where they would be transferred to the dealers, who would send them to the places where their labor was needed. Macao was the great port for the coolie trade, and the Portuguese had large sheds there, which they called harracoons, for holding the coolies in prison till they were ready to ship them away. These barraeoons were some- times so crowded that thousands of coolies died there in the course of a single year. The natives called them ' chu-tze-Jcuan.' or 'pig-pens,' and they were so filthy that they richly deserved the name. 1 «' . -. -i^^ BAHKACOONS AT MACAO. PECULIARITIES OF THE COOLIE TKADE. 395 " Tlie name ' coolie' belongs prop- erly to a tribe of natives on tlie north- ern coast of Africa, bnt it is applied to a laborer of anj- part i.jf the East, and this is its meaning in Japan and China. " The laborers who were to be taken to Cnba or Pern were received on board the ships, and connted as they came over the side, like so manv boxes or bales of merchandise; in fact, they were nothing bnt merchan- dise, and the receipts were made out for a certain number of coolies with- out tlie least record of their names and residences. I was once in a ship that took a cargo of these people to Pern, and I don't Ijelieve tliat anv- body on board felt otherwise than if he had been in the slaA'c-trade. And we had a narrow escape from having our throats cut by our cargo and our bodies thrown into the sea." 396 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. ENRAGED COOLIE. " Please tell ns about that," said Fi'ed. Frank echoed the request, and their informer nodded his consent. " The ship had taken its cargo at Macao, and we went out to sea with a line breeze. We had over a thousand ' passengers ' in the hold, and onl)' a small number were to be allowed on deck at one time, as several ships had been captured by the coolies, and we did not intend to be taken if we could help it. Two days after we started there was trouble among the coolies, and several of them ran about the space below-deck and threatened to set the ship on fire. They did build a fire of some of the dry boards used for mak- ing their sleeping-berths; but we cov- ered the hatches with tarpaulins, and held the smoke down there, so that the coolies were nearly snjothered and compelled to pnt the fire out themselves. " The hatchway's were covered with gratings to admit of a free circu- lation of air, and they were so firmly fastened that the coolies could not disturb them. Several men were on deck when the trouble began, and one of them tried to get through the grating to join his companions. He managed to squeeze his body through the opening, and then discovered too late tfiat he had a fall of nearly thirty feet before him, as the hatch of the lower deck was open. He struggled a moment, then dropped to the lower hold, and was killed by the fall. " It became necessary to fire on the mutineers, and for this we raised the tarpaulins over one of the hatch- es. The smfike poured out in a dense mass and almost sujothered ns, and we could only see the forms of the men veiy dimly, like a ship in a fog. We fired, and continued to fire till A 1>EAL>LV F.VLL. A FIGHT FOR LIFE. 397 Y .'■-'-' «^ HKING IJOWN THE HATCHWAY. several of them had been shot down, and all their efforts to get at ns were of no avail. There were about sixty men in the crew, and, as we had over a thousand coolies on board, we had numbers against ns fearfully. Bat they liad no fire-arms, while we had a good supply of rifles and pistols, with plenty of ammunition. At the time of the outbreak there were not far from a hundred coolies on deck ; but we drove them forward, and kept so large a guard over them that they could not have done anything to help their friends below if they had been disposed to do so. " We got out of water, and the only Avay to reach wliat we had on board was by going down througli the hold. Uf course anybody who ventured there would be killed instantly ; but we had tlie consolation of knowing that tliey could not get water any more than we conld, as the place where it -was stowed was fastened too securely for the coolies to open it with any tools they had on hand. We had a small condenser in the cook's galley, and with this we procured enough water to save us from death by thirst ; but we refused to give a drop to the mutineers. " They held out for two days, and during all that time hardly a man of us slept more than a few minutes at a stretch. Many of the coolies were suffering terribly with thirst and hunger, and they asked to have their wants supplied while they were making negotiations for peace. The captain refused anything but the most unconditional surrender, and the only concession he would grant was to have the dead bodies passed up to be thrown overboard. Of course the coolies were very glad of this, as they were suffering fi-om the fearful condition of the narrow space where they were confined. When this work ^^-as completed, they asked for half 398 THE BOY TUAVELLERS. THB WKITISG IN BLOOD. ail hour's time to make a proposal for surrender, wliicli Avas allowed tlieiii. '■ Looking tlirongli the hatch, we could see them grouped together and engaged in earnest conversation. Two were dead or dj'ing, and from one of them there was a stream of blood slowl)- oozing. A coolie who ap- peared to be a ringleader among tliem dij^ped his pen in the blood and wrote on a sheet of paper : " 'We want tliiee hundred coolies to be allowed on deck at a time. Tlie sliip must go back to tlie coast, and allow ns to land at Wbampoa, below Canton, ^\'e pion)ise to make no trouble if lliis be done, but will burn tlie ship at once unless the captain agree to it.' " We knew that any promise they made would not amount to anything when they were once in possession of the deck, and, besides, to go back to Cliina would be a coni])lete surrender of the voyage. The captain did not liesitate a moment in his answer to tin's demand. "He opened one of tlie hatclies just enough to allow one man to de- KKSTORAl'ION OF rEAriC. scend at a time, and tliroiigli this hole lie eoinpelled all the coolies who were then on deck to pass. Then he told the interpreters to say that they might burn the ship as soon as they liked, and the crew would leave in the boats. The boats were made I'eady for lowering; and, as we were not far from the coast, and the wind was fair, thei'e was not much doubt of our getting safe to llongdcong. Not a coolie would escape, and we should take good care that the lire would be so far advanced before we left that it could not be put out. "In an hour we received another message, written in blood, like the first. It promised to deliver the ringleaders of the mutiny, to bo kept in irons till we arrived at our destination, and also promised that there should be no more attempts to set tire to the ship. The captain was to fix the number of men to be on deck at one time, and they were to obey his orders without question. In fact, the surrender was complete. " We had no troulde after that ; but we only allowed fiftj' men on deck at one time, and those under a strong guard. You can be sure we were in a hurry to finish the voyage, which \vc did without accident. I had had all I wanted of the coolie-trade, and ue\'er went on another voy- age like that." THb IVTEKPRETIlRS 400 'i'HE Bur TEAVELLERS. CHAPTEE XXX. HONG-KONG AND CAXTON.-CUIXESE PIRATES. ''I'^HE story of tlie eoolie-trade and soiiie of the conversation tliat fol- -L lowed cleared the mystery that surrounded the nan-ator and had given him the name by which he was known. lie had been an active participant in the peculiar commerce of the East, which includes the vio- lation of laws whenever they prove inconvenient, such as the smuggling of opium and the shipment of coolies to the countries where they are in demand. His latest venture M'as one that required considerable secrecy, as it involved the purchase of arms for the rebels in Japan. For this reason he had been very cautions in his movements around Yokohama and during his whole stay in Japan, and he had found it judicious to leave the country on the vessel that came so near being wrecked in the typhoon that overtook our fiiends. Pie was safely away from Japan now, and the arms that he had purchased for the rebels were in the hands of tlie gov- ernment. He had made money by tlie operation, and was on the lookout for something new. " That man belongs to a class which is not at all rare in the far East,"' said Doctor Bronson to the boys when the subject of the conversation had left them. " A great many adventurers find their way here, some of them being men of ability which borders on genius, while the others are not far removed from rascals. "Ward and Burgevine were of the better sort ; and there are others whom I could name, but they are not so numerous as the other and worse variety. They are very often men of good manners, and not at all disagreeable as travelling companions, but it is not advisable to be intimate with them. Travelling, like poverty, makes us some strange acquaintances. We can learn a great deal from them if we proceed prop- erly; and if we know where the line of familiarity should be drawn, we are not in any danger of suffering by it." The morning after the above conversation the steamer arrived at Ilong-kong, and dropped anchor in tlie harbor. She was immediately suri'ouuded by a fleet of small Ijoats, which competed eagerly among ARIUVAL AT IIONG-KONG. 401 themselves for the patronage of the passengers. Our friends selected one which was rowed by a coiiple of women, and had a group of children in a little pen at the stern. Doctor Eroiison explained to the hoys that in Southern China a great deal of the boating is done by women, and that entire families live on board the little craft on which they earn their exist- ence. The boat population of Canton numbers more than sixty thousand persons. They are not allowed to live on shore, and their whole lives, from birth to death, are passed on the water. The most of the boatmen and boatwomen at Ilong-kong come from Canton, which is only ninety miles away ; and as they liave privileges at the former place which are denied them in the latter, they are quite satisfied to stay wliere they arc. HONG-KONG. Ilong-kong is a rocky island on the coast of China, and has an excel- lent harbor, sheltered from most of the winds that blow. The town of Victoria is built at the edge of this harl:)or, and the streets tliat lead back from the water are so steep that the effort of climlMug them is liable to throw a stranger from the North into a violent perspiration. Fortu- nately, there is an abundance of sedan-chairs, and any one wlio wishes to take a promenade may do his walking by hiring a couple of cliaii-- coolies to do it for him. The chairs are everywhere, and it is genci-allj' desirable to hire one in order to be rid of the continual applications from those that are unemployed. At tlie wharf where they landed the Doctor 20 4U2 THE BOY TRxVVliLLElJS. engas;ecl porters to carry tlie baggage to the liotel, and tlien took cliairs for the transportation of Iniuself and the boys. As they bad the after- noon before them, tlie chairs were kept for making tlie ascent of the mountain just back of tlie town, and as soon as the rooms were secured, and a sliglit bineli had been served, they started on tlieir excui'sion. At the liighest point of the mountain — about eighteen liundred feet above the water-level — there is a signal-station, where all vessels coming into port are announced by means of flags. Our friends were carried along a zigzag road to this station, the coolies stopping every few niinutes to rest from the fatigue of ascending a steep road with a burden on tlieir shoulders. At the station they had a view e.xtending a long distance out to sea and over the coast of China, and the mountain was so nearly per- pendicular tliat it seemed as if they could toss a penny on the town or into the harbor. Fred tried it, and so did Frank; but after throwing away several ounces of copper, and finding they only went a short dis- tance, they abandoned the experiment. They returned well satisfied with the excursion, and agreed that no one who visits llong-kong should omit the journey to the top of the mountain. Hong-kong, being an English colony, is governed after the English form, and consecpiently the laws enforced in Cliina do not necessarily pre- vail on the island. The population includes four or five thousand English and other European nationalities, and more than a hundred thousand Chi- nese. The number of the latter is steadily increasing, and a very large pai't of the business of the place is in their hands. The money in circulation is made in England for the special use of the colony. It lias the head of the Queen on one side, and the denomination and date on the other ; and, for the accommodation of the Chinese, the denomination is given in Chinese characters. The smallest of the Ilong-kong coins is made to correspond with the Chinese cash, and it takes ten of them to make a cent, or one thousand for a dollar. It has a hole in the centre, like the Chinese coins generally, to facilitate stringing on a wire or cord, and is so popular with the natives that it is in free circulation in the adjacent parts of the empire. There was not a great deal to be seen in the town, and so the next morning the three travellers started for Canton. There is a boat each way daily, and the journey is made in seven or eight hours; the boys found that the boat in which they went was of American construction, and had an American captain, and so they felt at home, as they had felt 011 the Yang-tse under similar circumstances. Soon after they left the dock, Frank observed that the gangway lead- ing to the lower deck was covered with a grating fastened with a padlock, AN ADVENTURE WITH I'lRxVTES. 403 Obverse. Rtvi-rsi;, Obverse. Reverse. FAC-SIMILE OF A HONG-KONG MILLE. FAC-SIMILE OP A HONG-KONG DIME. PAG-SIJIII.E OF A HONG-KONG GENT. and that a Malay sailor stood over it with a sword in his hand and a pistol at his belt. lie called Fred's attention to the arrangement, and as soon as the}' found the captain at leisure they asked what it meant. " It's a very simple matter," said Captain B , " when yon know about it. The fact is, that we wei'e once very near losing onr lives by Chinese pirates, and we don't propose to have another risk like it.'' " Why, what could pirates have to do with this boat, I wonder?" said Frank. " We didn't know at the time," was the reply, " but we found out." " How was that »" " Well, it seems that some Chinese pirates determined to capture this boat, murder all the foreigners on board, rob the Chinese passengers, and then get away on a junk that was to be ready to I'eceive them. They made their plans, and on a certain day fifty of them took passage from Canton to Hong-kong. When about half way, they were to meet a junk with more men ; and as the junk hung out her signal and came near, the fellows were to fall upon us with their knives, and captui'e the boat. They intended to kill us all, but their scheme failed, as there were four ships at anchor that day close by tlie spot where the junk was to meet them, and so the junk took the alarm and left. Tliere was no disturbance, and we did not have a suspicion of anything wrong. Finding they had failed with us, they went the next day and cajitured the steamer SparA; which runs between Canton and Macao. They killed the captain and officers and the only European passenger who happened to be on board, 404 THE BOY TRAVEI>LE1!S. plumlered all the native passengers, and got away. Some of tliein -n-ere afterwards captured, and confessed to their part in the affair, and then the whole story came out that they liad intended to rol) this boat. Since tlien we always have tlie gratings down, so tliat the third-class passengers can- not come on deck ; and we keep plenty of rifles and revolvers in the pilot- house and captain's cabin ready for use. They may never try it on us again, and we don't intend to give them a chance to do so.'' FORT IN CANTON RIVER. The captain went on to say that there were many pii'atos in the waters around Canton, and all along the southei'n coast. The govern- ment tries to suppress them, but it is not easy to do so, and hardly a day passes without the report of a robbery somewhere. All trading-junks are obliged to go heavily armed, and out of this fact comes a great deal of the pii-acv, as a junk may lie a peaceful trader at one o'clock, a pirate at two, and a peaceful trader again at three. It takes very little to induce a Chinese captain to turn pii-ate when he sees a rich prize before him, and he has no trouble in winning over his crew. It is impossible to distiii- amish the pirate from the trader ; and as the coast is seamed with island passages and indented with bays, it is easy for a junk to escape after she has committed a robber^'. FIRST VIEW OF CANl'OX. 405 The voyage from Ilong-koiig to Canton is pai'tly among islands and tliroiigli a bay, and partly on the Peai-l Kiver. The navigation is easy in the first part of the course, hut after the steamer has reached the narrower portion of the I'iver the great number of juuks and other craft con^pels a sharp lookout on the part of the pilots, to avoid accidents. Tliey passed the famous Whampoa Anchorage, where the ocean-bound ships used to receive their cargoes before Ilongdvong assumed its present importance. A few miles farther on, the great city of Canton was brought into sight as the steamer swung around a bend in the river. In front was the island of Tlo-nan, with its temple bowered in trees, and on the surface of the river there were thousands of boats of many kinds and sizes. The boys remembered what they had heard of the boat population of Canton, and now they realized that they had reached a city where sixty thousand people make their homes on the water. Before the steamer stopped she was surrounded by dozens of the smaller boats, and, as soon as they could do so, many of the boatwomen came on board. The captain recommended one of them who was known as " American Susan," and the trio were confided to her care for transfer to the hotel on Ilo-nan Island. Susan and her attendant women shoulder- ed the valises which the travellers had brought from Hong-kong, and led tlie way to her boat. The gallantry of the boys received a shock when they saw their baggage carried by women, while their own hands were empty; but the Doctor told them it was the custom of the country, and by carrying their own valises they would deprive the women of an oppor- tunity of earning a few pennies. To this view of the matter they yield- ed ; and before they had recovered their composure the boat was gliding across the river, propelled by the powerful arms of her feminine crew. Susan proposed to be in their employ during their stay at Canton, and a bargain was speedily concluded ; for fifty cents at day, the boat was to be at their disposal from morning till night to carry them over the river, or to any point they wished to visit along its banks. Frank thought tliey would be obliged to look a long time to find a boat with two men at the oars for a similar price in New York, and Fred thought they would have to look still longer to find one rowed by two women. They had three or four hours to spare before sunset, and at once set about the business of sight-seeing. Their first visit was to the temple on the island, and they were followed from the landing by a crowd of idle people, who sometimes pressed too closely for comfort. There was an avenue of trees leading up to the temple, and before reaching the build- ino' they passed under a gateway not unlike those they had seen at the 40G THE ROY TRAVFXLERS. GATEWAY or TEMI'LB NKAR CANTON. temples in Kioto and Tokio. The temple was not particularly impressive, as its arcliitectnral merit is not of mncli consequence, and, besides, it was altogether too dii'ty for comfort. There was qnite a crowd of priests at- tached to it, and they were as slovenly in appearance as the building they ()cen])ied. In the yard of the temple the strangers were shown the furnaces in wliich the bodies of the priests ai'e bnrned after death, and the little niches whei'e their ashes are preserved. There were several pens occupied by the fattest pigs the boys had over seen. The guide explained that these pigs were sacred, and maintained ont of the revenues of the temple. The priests evidently held them in great reverence, and Frank intimated t1iat he thought the habits i>f the pigs were the models which the priests had adopted for their own. Some of the holy men were at their devotions when tlie party arrived, but they dropped their prayer- l)Ooks to have a good look at the visitors, and did not resume them until they had satisfied their curiosity. From the temple they proceeded to a garden, where they had an op- portunity of seeing some of the curious productions of the Chinese gar- deners in the way of dwarfing trees and plants. There wei'e small bushes in the shape of animals, boats, houses, and other things, and the resem- blance was in many cases quite good. They do this by tying the limbs of the ]ilants to little sticks of bamboo, or around wire frames shaped like the objects they wish to represent; and by tightening the bandages eveiy ARTIFICIAL EGG-HATCIIIXG. 407 morning, and carefully watcliing tlie development of the work, they event- ually accomplish their purpose. If the}- represent a dog or other animal, they generally give it a pair of great staring eyes of porcelain, and some- times tliey equip its mouth witli teeth of the same material. Many of the Chinese gardens are very prettily laid out, and there are some famous ones near Canton, helonging to wealthy merchants. On their return from the garden they stopped at a place where eggs are hatched hy artificial heat. They are placed over brick ovens or fur- naces, where a gentle heat is kept up, and a man is constantly on watch to see that the fire neither burns too rapidly nor too slowly. A great heat would kill the vitality of tlie egg by baking it, while if the temper- ature falls below a certain point, the hatching process does not go on. AVhen the little chicks appear, they are placed under the care of an arti- ficial motlier, which consists of a bed of soft down and feathers, with a cover three or four inches above it. This cover has strips of down hang- ing from it, and touching the bed below, and the chickens nestle there cpiite safe from outside cold. The Chinese have jn'actised this artificial hatching and rearing for thousands of years, and relieved the hens of a great deal of the monotony of life. On the river, not far from the hatching establishment, they saw a man engaged in the novel occupation of herding ducks. A hundred or more ducks were on the water, and tire man was near them in a small boat and armed with a long pole. The ducks were very obedient to him, but occa- sionally one would show a little opposition to the herder's wishes, and en- deavor to stray from his companions. A rap from the pole brought him sfieedily to his senses, and back to tlie herd, and he was pretty certain not to stray again till the blow had been forgotten. Geese were herded in tlie same way, and both they and the ducks managed to pick up a good part of tlieir living from the water. Ducks are an important article of food among the Chinese, and the rearing of them gives occupation to a great many persons in all parts of the empire. 408 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. CIIAPTEE XXXI. SIGHTS AND SCENES IN CANTON. THE party remained three days at Canton. They rose early every morning, and went on excursions through and around the city, and it is fair to say tliat they did not liave a single idle moment. Each of the boys made careful notes of what he saw and heard, and by the end of tlieir stay both had enough to fill a small volume. They returned to Ilong-kong on the fourth day, and on the morning after their return they sat down to write the stor}^ of their adventures. But befoi'e they began writing the projected letter a discussion arose between them, which was about like this : They expected the steamer to arri\'e from America in a day or two, and it would doubtless bring letters for them, which would determine their future mo\ements. They expected to return home by way of San Erancisco, as they had come ; but it was by no means improbable that they would keep on to the west\rard, and so go around the world by way of India and Europe. "What is the use of writing up our Canton experiences," said Erank, "till we know what we are to do? If we go home by San Francisco, we will have plenty of time on the steamer; and if we go on to the west, we will have to go hj steamer too; and then we will have time enough be- tween ITongdvong and the iirst port we stop at. Why should we be in a hurry to write up our account, when, in any case, we shall have the time to do so while we are at sea?" Fred admitted the force of the argument, but thought there would be an advantage in wj'iting while the subject was fresh in their minds. While they were debating the pros and cons of the case, the Doctor came into the room, and the question was appealed to him. After careful de- liberation, he rendered a decision that covered the case to the perfect sat- isfaction of both the disputants. " It will be several days, at any rate," said he, " before we can leave Ilong-kong, whether we go east or west. Kow, I advise you to take an SHORT HISTORY OF CANTON". 409 hour each clay for writing up j-onr story of Canton, and you will then liave plenty of time for sight-seeing. You will have euded your writing before wo leave, and then can devote your time at sea to other things wliicli the voyage will suggest." His suggestion was adopted, and they at once set about their work, determined to write two hours daily till they had described Canton so fully that their friends would know exactly what was to be seen there. They divided the work, as they had done on previous occasions, one of them making a description of a certain part of their route, and the other taking another portion of it. "When they were tiirough with it, they put the two stories together, and found that they fitted to perfection. Here is what they wi'oto : "Canton is tlie capital of the province of Kwang-tnng, and its name in English is a corruption of the Chinese one. The peujilo who live there call it ' Kwang-tung-sang-shing,' and the Portuguese call it Kam-tom, and they write it that way. It is called the City of Kanis, just as Florence is called the Beautiful City, and Genoa the Haughty; and the Chinese who live there are very proud of it. The climate is warm, tlie thermometer rising to 85° or 90° in the summer, and rarely going below 50° in winter. Occasionally ice forms to the thickness of heavy paper, and once in five or ten years there will be a slight fall of snow, which astonishes all the children, and many of the oldei- people. "The jiopulation is said to be about a million, on land and water. Those who live in boats are about sixt}^ thousand. Tlie city was founded more than two thousand years ago, according to the Chinese historians, but it was not surrounded with a wall until the eleventh century. Tlie wall to-day is the same that was first built, but it has been repaired and changed a good deal in the time it has stood, and some new parts have been added. The circuit of the walls is about seven miles, but there are suburbs that now form a part of the citj-, so that it is a journey of not less than ten miles to go around Canton. " There are sixteen gates to the city, and each has a name that desig- nates its position. There are two pagodas near the West Gate, and there are a hundred and twenty -four teuiples, pavilions, and halls inside tlie Avails of Canton. Then there are four prisons, and there is an execution ground, where many a poor fellow has lost his head. The prisons are like all such establishments in Cliina, and a great many men would prefer death to in- carceration in one of these horrible places. "We don't know positively whether there are a million people in Can- ton or not. We took the figures from the guide-book, just as everybody 410 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. else takes them, and we want to acknowledge our indebtedness to it. The guide-book is very useful in a strange country, as it tells yon in a few minutes what you might spend hours or days in learning. It gives yon an outline which you must till in for yourself by practical observation ; and A CHINESE PAWNBROKER. 411 unless you have it witli you, there is a groat deal that you may miss, if your time is limited, and you are compelled to do your sight-seeing rapidly. " Wlien we came in sight of Canton, we saw some buildings that rose far above all others, and very naturally we asked what they were. We M-ere somewhat taken aback when told that they were pawnbrokeis' estab- lishments, and of course they were among the things we went to look at. They were filled from top to bottom with clothing and other things, and our guide explained to us that the Ciiinese are in the habit of pawning everything they are not using, for tlie double reason that they get money which they can use, and at the same time they save the trouble of taking care of the property. At the beginning of winter they pawn their sum- mer clothes, and at the beginning of summer they pawn their winter clothes. All other things on which they can borrow money they take to the pawn-shop, even wiien they are not obliged to have the cash. It saves the trouble of storing the goods themselves, and running tlie risk of hav- ing them stolen. " We went through one of the pawn-sliops, climbing stairway after stairway, and being almost stifled in the narrow and musty places we were obliged to go through. Tlie goods were done up in packages, each one of tliem being labelled and ticketed, and there was a register down-stairs, so tliat any desired package could be found when wanted. Diamonds and other articles of great value were kept in safes near the basement, and the least costly goods were near the roof. There must have been many thou- sands of things stowed away in this pawn-shop. Tlie building was said to be tire-proof, and its great lieight was intended to secure it against thieves. " Close by the door of this establishment there was an opium den, wjiere a dozen or more men were intoxicating themselves witli opium, or sleeping off the effects of what they had already taken. We just looked in for a moment ; it was so much like the place of the same kind that we saw in Shanghai tliat we did not care to stay, and, besides, the smell was very bad and the heat almost stifling. The Cantonese are said to be just as inveterate smokers of the deadly drug as the people of the North ; in fact^ it is about the same all over China, and with all classes that can af- ford to indulge in the vice. Only the middle and poorer classes go to the shops to smoke opium. The rich people can enjoy the luxury at home, and some of them liave rooms in their houses specially fitted up for it. "We saw a good n:any temples, and went tlirougli some of them, Imt, on the whole, they were rather disappointing, as they were not so fine as those at Pekin, and far behind those of Japan. The most interesting of the pagodas is the one known as the 'Five-storied Pagoda,' so called be- 412 THE BOY TRAVELLEKS. -FIVIi-STOIilliD I'AGODA. cause it is five stories liigli. It stands on a liill tliat overlooks tlie whole city on one side, and a lai-ge cemetery on the otlier; and ■\vlien von have climbed to the top, the view is vei-y tine. The roofs of the houses are of all sha]}es and kinds, and the streets are so narrow that yon can see very few of tliem as you look down from the top of the pagoda. On the one hand you have a densely ],)eopled city of the living, and on the other an equally densely peopled city of the dead. Our guide said the cemeterj' had more inhabitants than the city; and when we asked him how many people lived there, lie said ' Many millions.' You have to come to China to learn that the people in a cemeterj' ai-e supposed to live there. "And yet the guide Avas not so far ont of the way, according to the Chinese idea. The Chinese bring food to the graves of their friends, and leave it there as an ofEering. The spirits of the dead are believed to linger around the spot and to eat this food, but it is really devonred by the priests and others who stay around the cemetery, and what tliey do not eat or carry away is consumed by the birds. At certain seasons they have grand festivals, when many thousands of people go to the cemeteries with offer- ings for the dead, and good things for themselves. The affair is more like a picnic tlian a ceremony of mourning ; and when it breaks up, tiie mourn- ers go to the theatre or some other place of amnsement. The best burial- jilace is on a liill-side, and the tomb is made in the form of a terrace, or I'ather of three terraces, with steps leading up to them. As you look at it CEREMONIES IN MEMORY OF THE DEAD. 41.-? IKIKSESHUE UK OMEGA GlIAA'E. from a little distance, the totnb has the shape of a horseshoe, or, better still, of ' Omega,' the last letter of the Greek alphabet. " Our guide said that not only do they make offerings in the cemeteries to the spirits of the dead, but they have shrines in their houses where the dead are worshipped. To prove what he said was trne, he took ns into a house and showed one of these shrines with bowls of rice and frnit, cups of tea, and other things, on a table. He explained that when the offerings were made tliey sent for a priest, who came with two men to assist him ; and while the priest stood behind the table and repeated his prayers, one of his attendants ponnded on a drum, and the other rang a bell. There w^as a fire in front of the shrine, and during the time the priest was per- formino- the man who save tlie feast knelt before the fire and burned some mock money, made out of silver paper in imitation of real coin. When the affair was over, the priest took all that he wanted from the table, and the remainder was eaten by the company who had been invited. "K"ot a great distance from the five-storied pagoda we saw tlie leper hos- pital, where the unfortunate pco]ile who suffer from leprosy are compelled to live, and soon to die. The sight was a hoi-rible one, and we did not w^ant to stay long among the sufferers. We had expected to find a large il4 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. .'^ -. '=?■ -^"Ar^~ PKESENTING FOOD TO THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD. building, like a liospital in America, but instead of this there were several small buildings, grouped togetlier in a little village, some of the houses having garden patches near them. The people were Ijing or sitting around in the sun, and some few of them were at woi'k in the gardens. Tlie most were not able to do anything, as they were suffer- ing from the disease, which was slowly killing or crippling them. " The guide said there were two kinds of leprosy, the 'wet' and the 'dry.' In the wet leprosy the body of the victim abounds in running sores, while in the dry there is nothing of the sort, and the ap- pearance of the skin is not greatly differ- ent from what it is in health. The disease generally attacks the joints of the hands or feet, particularly those of the former, and the sufferer loses the first joint of the lingers and thumbs at about the same time. Then, in a few months, he loses the second joints, and in two or A LhlLK. HALL OF EXAMINATIONS. 415 three montlis more the tliird joints go. We saw lepers in all the stages of the disease — some with the first joints of tlie hands gone, others who had lost the second joints, and others the third ; while others, again, had lost the hands at the M'rists. There seems to be no cure for most of the forms of the lep- rosy ; and when a man is attacked with it, he must go at once to the hospital, no matter whether he is rich or poor. And when he has gOTie there, he generally remains till death re- lieves him from his sufferings. " One of the curious places we saw was the Hall of Examinations. This is a large enclosed space, having rows on rows of little cells, where the candidates for the literary degree are ex- amined once in every three years. There are eleven thousand of these cells, and each cell is just large enough for one man to occupy. The candidates are put in these cells, and each njan is furnished with a sheet of paper and a pen. He must write on the paper any given page of the Chinese boohs called A LITER.IKY STUDENT. •The Class assies without mistake or alteration, and he is not allowed to try a second time until the next examina- tion comes round. There are men who keep) on trying all their lives for the degree, and they tell of one man who succeeded after he was eighty years old. The candidates try all sorts of tricks to smuggle in co2>ies of the books on which they are to he examined, and also extra sheets of ]iaper ; but they are carefully search- ed, and everything of the sort is taken awa}' from them. "There is a story in Pidgin-Eng- lish verse of how a Chinese student befriended an American, who was a ])hotographer by profession. Tlie American believed that one good tni'u deserved another, and so, wdieu the A I.ITEltAUY GEADUATK IN HIS ROBES OF HONOR. 416 THE BOY TRAVELLERS. i,^^^:^rl^r2s5^esc_= A SEDAX-CIIAIH WITH FOUK ISEAItEES. examination time came round, he pliotographed 'The Classics' on the finger-nails of his Oriental friend. The student was allowed to wear spec- tacles during his examination, and so he bought a pair of inagnifying- glasses that enabled him to read every word that he wanted. He came out at the head of his class, and was no doubt verj' thankful that he had done a kindly action towards a stranger. "But the great sights of Canton we have not )'et mentioned. These are the sti'eets, and tliey are by all cidds the finest we have seen in the coun- try. They are very narrow, few of them being more than six or eight feet wide, and some of them less than the former figure. Isot a single wheel- ed carriage can move in all Canton, and the only mode of locomotion is l)y means of sedan-chairs. We had chairs every day with four bearers to each, and it was strange to see how fast the men would walk in the dense crowds witlmut hitting any one. They kept calling out that they were coming, and somehow a way was always made for them. Several times, when we met other chairs, it was no easy matter to get by, and once we turned into a side street to allow a mandariirs chair to pass aloTig. Wo did knock down some things frc>m the fi'onts of stores, and several times the tops of our chairs hit against the perpendicular sign-boards that hung from the buildings. There arc great numbers of signs, all of them perpendicular, and they are painted in very gaudy colors, so that the effect is brilliant. SoTnetimes, as you look ahead, the space between the two sides of the street is fpiite tilled with these signs, so that you cannot see anything else. '■ The streets are not at all dii-ty, and in this respect are vastly different from those of any other city we have seen in China. The authorities evi- dently pay some attention to keeping them clean and preventing the ac- cumulation of dirt. The fronts of many shops are fully open to the street, and the merchants know how to arrange their wares in the most tempting- manner. You see li)ts of pretty things, and are constantly tempted to buy, and it was very well for us that we agreed not to buy anything till the last day, which we were to devote to shoj>ping. SMALL-FOOTED WOMEN. ill A SMALL FOOT AVITII A SHOB ON IT. " Nearly all the vast ca'owd in tlie streets con- sisted of men ; now and then a woman was visi- hle, Ijnt only rarely, except near the river-side, where there were some of the class that live on tlie water. We met some of the small-footed women, and it was really painful to see them stiunping abont as if they were barely able to stand. Double your tist and put it down on the table, and you have a fair resemblance of the small foot of a Chinese woman; and if you try to walk on your lists, yon can imagine how one of these ladies gets along. Some of them have to use canes to balance themselves, and rnnning is cpiite out of the (juestion. The foot is com- pressed in childhood, and not allowed to grow much after five or six years of age. The com- pression is done by tiglit bandages, that give great pain at first, and sometimes cause severe intlammation. " We were rather impatient for the last day, when we conlcl do our shopping and l)uy the things for our friends at home. There are so many fine things for sale in Canton that it is hard to determine where to begin and where to leave off. A great many people keep on buying till their money is all gone, and some of them do not stop even then. 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