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;^ 3

//N

MY CIRCULAR NOTES,

■^■■B

,1 ai'Anim; ti;\ maiih.n at mianm-hts

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) 1

, ,,MILI.AX AN \> ^•"

IHTl-.

.^'i.

.•■•i?v.

MY CIlUT'LAll NOTES.

i;XTI!A(TS I'lKiM .K >l" l!N M.S. I.K'n'KIIS SKN T lluMK.

(iKOlJMilCM. AND oTIIKi; NnTKS,

WIIITTKN WIIILK 'll!AVi:i,l,INt I

WKS'l'WAIIliS

ItOCNI) Til H WOIMJ),

FItnM .ICI.Y i;. ISTI. Tn .II'l.V I'.. l^^T."..

IIV

.1. F. (A M IM5 K LL,

M IMiill (IK ■• I'lin-iT \Mi lll'.l

IX TWO VOMMKS. V(tl.. 1

Xontion -.
MAC MILL AX AND CO.

1 STt!.

\TIir lUilht (if TmiisJillinn mul Rrjirohirlioil is Rrtrrrri/.]

-. ' .*»

,•(

« •••

MtifxtixWan.

IT 18 THE CUSTOM OF PAINTEKS TO PRESENT A DIPIOMA
PICTURE TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY WHEN THEY RISK
TO THE DIGNITY OF II. A.

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ATHEN^.UM CLUB. WHO
DID ME THE HONOUR TO PLACE MY NAME ON THKIR
LIST WHILE I WAS AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
WORLD, I DEDICATE TillS CONTRIBUTION TO THEIR
LIBRARY.

J. F. CAMPBELL.

NiDDKY LODOE, KENStNOTON,

July 6lh, 1876.

Pacific N. W. History Dept.

PROVINCIAL LIBRARY
VICTORIA, B. C.

:^^^(I20

!»

CONTENTS OF VOLUME

LETTKK OF INTHODl* T1(<N.

Ars lipiigii. Vita hievis I'st

. P'l'jfs 1 — G

LETTKU I.
Mciiniiig (igai after Hn-iikfiist J'aij>:s 7, !^

LI'/ITEI! II.

N:.tllill:

I'lllJCS ^, \>

LLTTKU IV.

Thr Wrathii — The DagK'iT ami the Drink -Artii'lioki'.s and Oceaii.s — The
i;iivssiiij,'ot' Kye.s— Tlie IIu})of the Woria . . . /%-'s 9— 'Jo

LETTER V.

< 'hinii|iaf,'nc and Sham Spirits — Crows aiul ('anipbells -Biark .Men and (liec n
Aryans and Afriearyaiis J'i"j,:-i -Jd- J>

•LETT Eli VI.
W'atir ('(liours — Conroy — .Mare power to him

I'litjis -JS- :i-J

CONTENTS.

LETTER VII.

Luiiunous Vagrancy- " (io fetch the Engines "— Celtic Canadian.s — Tlie Rcii
Rurncrs-Johii is a good Indian — Live Stock and Ijandscapc — A Difliculty

PagM 32 4.")

LETTKl! VI II.
Hocky Mountain Scutch Highlanders

Pn<is !.■. (K

LETTER IX.
Salt Water ami Seedy Saints Rcii Rocks, Men and Beasts -Vagiants and
Tourists — Down Hill The first Chinaman — Steam Trains and Cattln
Trains — 'Cute Tribes, and Salted Claims The Eaters and the Eaten —
Dust and Dryness -The Struggle for Life -Going ahead too fast— Where
are the Amerieaiis ' Natives .ind Vagrants --('alilornians. Paijin 48 — 7;")

LETTER .\'.
.\ryan Diggers . . . . . . J'lrgcs 7i) 77

LETTER .XL

A(ricaryiiii DHncis

. Ptujis 78 SO

LETTER XII.

'I"he Trees of NomIi's Ark Tlimi<h'r and T'lison Oaks A Whoj>i)er, and a
I'latl'orm Puycn 80- S<i

LETTER XIII.
old Ways and New Lights .\ Dream .

. /'ffjr.s St) S'.i

LETTER .XiV.

< 'urions Creatnns .

/•iitji-x 9(1 SO

LETTER XV.
Oregon Webfiots Noliaiiic ' 'ones— Eden in On^gon —Water Colours- Dr\
Colo;iis . . /*«(/«!»] —lii'J

! i

CONTENTS.

LKTTEH XVI.
A I'ow-wow- Washington Territory— I'ligi-t Sound -Tho Terminus -(blonr -
The Fashions— The Shadow of the Worhl— Keat and be Thankful.

/»«(/« 102 -11. s

LKTTER XVII.

\agi'ant8 in Council-Counsel for Vagrants-Thn (jreen Isle in the Oreat
Deep— A Terrier's Talo— Nomenclature -Republican Revolutions— Frost
and Fire— Gold, Trees, and Water— Work and Wages— Leather and
Humbug Sea Lions, and " Seeing the Elephant " /%••« 119 -13«

LETTER XVill.
lri,sh and African Tro-ip^rity -Crops, Capital, and Inlere.st . /Vfif^ 139 14:'>

LETT El! XIX.
A Cle<;kiiigof Salmon Land ami Livestock C.ime Here , /'(I'jf^ 144 l.')"

LETTER XX.

(ionies and Seals- Fire Drill The Quiet I'acilic -The Chinese at Sea.

Page^ 150 L'lft

LETTER XXL

IVy-and-Can-Do— Kant, Can Do, and Cannot— Have Done, Must, and \V.>ii i

- Go Ahead and Law— Head.s, Helps, and Hands -Head over Heels

rages 158-1711

LLTTER XXII.

Antipo-ies-Men and liirds at Sea -" Wings ! to bear me over"

Pages 171 1 7 •"•

LETTER XXI 11.
Kurusia -The Heart of .Japan- -Comparisons

Pages 175 l>-.i

^" CONTENTS.

LETTER XXIV.

A (•lui.sc oil Wheels— A Secoiid-siglit Viuw— Tliijikinj,' about Tl.iiikii.g--
Japaiiesc Thoughts— Clothes and no Clothes— Cairns and Customs— Hot
Water and Fire— The Luxury of being Craeked— The Seu-si.ake Maiden
—Hurry and Kest— The Races of Men and Horses -The Man who was
not Afraid- Old Boots and New Ways-My Old I'laid and New People
— Siwodoin and Second Sight— Heels over Head — Diiik Angels

Pages 18-2- •_>!()

LETTER XXV.

Fine Howcrs

. Pages '111 —21%

LETTER XXVI.

llunihlf Historical Drama — " And he put on his Kilt " Pajcs 21s 221

LETTER XXVI 1.

Ka^t.rii Ways and Western— Mine Ease at Mine hu. The Road to Nikk..
Nikko Kekko— Thunder and Wind , \ . . Pages 221— 2:i;{

LETTER .X.Win,
t'hiinli Plunder — Teinpora Mutantur .

. /'.',7'.'s 233- 2:'..")

LETTER XXIX.

I'asl.ions Change— Rlo,sson.s, Ik-auties, and Buds-Duck-liunting and Draw-
ing—The Editor and the Tories-A Leading Article— Gralloeh and
^*"*'''' /Vr,(7c,-( 236— 248

LETTI'K .\.\X.

Rococo — .\strononiy .

Pmjf 249— 2.')-2

CONTENTS.

Xlll

LETTER XXXI.

Xiiisery Tiilos— A Pwp at Venus— Bnef and Stars— Eveiywliori' Look Alioiu
—The Press Gang-St.irt iind " Wo "—The Army— Names and Weiglils
— Ombres Cliinoises — Squeeze — Money Cliaiif;ers— Legal Torture— A
Japanese on Torture— Silk — The North Star and the Plougli— Sinbiid's
Iron Mountain — Usui Tonge — Winter and Fire — Idols— Religion?- A
Hronze Myth — Pilgrim passes Pagan — Myths— Shrines, Altars, (iroves —
r.autaina, 15uddha, Pope and I'agan— Rest and Go-ahead — Hatcliinian
out in the Gold— Engines with Drivers — Mills and Millers— Sohu
Eoree — Uada Tonge— Men and Houses— Fire, Tent, House— Arts and
Arehiteeture- Masonic (.'arjientry — Tune and Keynote — Christniav.
1874— The Dragon— The Myth— A Theory— Mythology— A Day of R.'si
—Seven-leagued Boots -Our ('ards— Priests and Temples— The Hidgr nf
Japan -A Halt at a Stage —Weaving "Runio Knots"- New- Year
Customs— East and West — New- Year OlFeriiigs- Hunting and Spooring.

Pages 2f>2—':>,T<i\

* .

O-A

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

JaPANESK TkA ^fAIDE^f AT MtANOSHTA
NiAOAKA FROM GOAT lsl,AND .

Indian Man of the Plains

Mushroom Rock ....

Red Rock, Coi-orado Sprinq-s .

Indian with a Wild Goose— Thou.san'I) Si-kimj V

Indi.\n Woman, Cui* and Ball, Car.son Citv

Noon in the Forest, California .

A Bio Trek, Makm-osa . . .

El Caiitan, a Bkj Rock, Yoskmitk

Mount Rainier, a Volcano, Puoet Souno

Clouds and SiiASTAiiUTE, California

An Opium Den, San Francisco

Samoyedes at Archanoel . .

The Fire Brioadb at Yokohama

Rainy Weatukr on tuk Road to Mianohuta

VI,I EY

Fron/.

111

187

149

181

189

190

XVI

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

lU'i)iin;sT Boys at Mianosiita
Ti'Mi'i.E AND Touui, Mianosiita
TiiK Racks, Yokohama . . . ■
L'aii.v.-ay TiMK TAni.r, Yokohama .

A GAUDEnCH AT ToKIO ....

ThEATUE AKD I'l.AY AT ToKl" . . f

Mills— rorNniNi! and (Ikindino

Dragon Fointain ai- Suimonosih a

Ancient Pictuhe of 1)i(A.!on Myth ai Siii»niSHsiic.\. Jai'.vn

r-AtiK

. 193

. 196

. 203

. 205

. 217

. 219

. ^2:>

}

MY CmCULAE NOTES.

Z^O,

/^<^^^.^.<^ ^(j

LETTER OF INTROPUCTIOK.

Jnhj 2G, 1875.
The mental matters upon the following pages w'ere
dressed in paper between this date and July C, 1874. The
writer on these ])apers — a briefless barrister, and public
servant out oi' place, "took tlie world for his pillow,"
like the hul in the story, and set out to amuse himself
in that long vacation which ho hopes will last for many
years, and his life. He might have been wearing out arm-
chairs in London, well-paid and housed for doing very
little ; he prefers to please himself, and ramble with some
object in view, "it's better to wetr slioou than sheets,"
according to the old saw ; " It's better to hear the lark sing

VOL. I.

MY CIRCULAH NOTKS.

than tlic mouse s(iiieak," as tlio ])ou<,'las said. Ono
object tlii.s liine was to visit places to -wliielj tlie writer
once thou<j,lit of luigratinj,', l)a<^ and l)af;ga,Lre, lior.sc, loot,
and dragoons. He wanted to see liow it I'elt : to judge
wliat tlie past iniglit, could, should, or Mould, have been
like, after 1S4H, if it had been done; to visit old i'riends
who went and did it then honestly and manfully, li';e
men and llritons. In these regions this idh; vagi'ant w:u
asked what tradt; he worked at, and whether he was a
"bug collector," which is contemptuous Californiau for a
naturalist. On the main route he was classed " glo])e-
trotter," which name is antijiodean — Yokohamese — Yankee
pigeon-Scotch, i'nr the " One])ieceydamfoolsteamboatpas-
senger " of the Chinese. It means an idle, aindess, rush-
ing, rich, gullible, s(iucezable being, wasting money; usefid
only to tiaders who lleece globe-trotters all ritund the
world.

"Scotland is all s]»oiled," said a great man one day,
about 3 848 or 1841). "I'll never go there again. It's all
full of disma.l creatures, rushing about lieie and there
seeking for an excitement." These are " globe-ti otters." A
friendly polite French steward, who knew Alexandre Dumas,
and had seen him writing on board of a steamer in the
]>laelc Sea, or somewhere else, warned this writer, whom he
took for a writer of fiction, to lock up his papers, " Ces
gens-la sont capables de les imprimer; ils sont tres-voleurs,
les voyageurs," so he said.

Tlie ])apers continued to kick aliout the cabin. Nol)ody
read them ; the stewiU'ds tram])led on them when they
swept up the dust in tiie nujrning. Yagrancy does make

LKTTKK OF INTIKJDUCTIOX.

iiu'ii ac(|uaiiite(l witli rough niglit ({uartors ; Imt there's
lioiiour amongst thieves, and fun aiuongst jolly beggars.

" Les giu'ux, les gueux, soiit des gens heureux ! Vivent les
gueux ! " I'ajH'r writings are the last things that vagrants
pick out of tlie dust-hole, unless they are stamped ; then they
are apt to he annexed. The "circular letters" of Coutts
and Co. were eaiefully hidden in separate jtlaces according
to orders. They got home safe, so did my worthless "circular
notes" and ])a])er writings, which were stamped, only by
Postmen, Stewards, iJodts and Co.

The letters were jjosted when a post couhl be found, witii
tl; design of making friends at home see and hear with the
vagrant writer. Many kind friends saw and heard, and
said that they were amused. Some of the letters are Avan-
dering still. After a long jjarting the writer met his rough
family of rude, ugly, bodiless beings neatly copied, well-
dressed, like other rough fulhjw-travellei's, adorned in new
garments by town tailors. lEe was reminded by them of
l)leasant places, and people, sights and sounds. Uut after
some weeks it became a bore to answer the question,
"Where have you been since 1 saw you?" The letter
writer took to pointing downwards and answering gravel}'
" TiiKitE." That seemed to be taken as the revival of tlie
tenant of a condbrtable coffin by some, who glared with
scared eyes, and presently said, " We heard that you had
been burned in the Jai)an." Some of the letters were in
" the Jajmn," but their writer was on the Japanese hills
amongst the snow. Matter-of-fact friends mani''^'^ Jy thought
of the cellar, and suspected wine. Faces can be read like
books. The ease suggested printing in self-defence, for all

B 2

MY CinrULAR NOTES.

who qncstionod rould not read ono pnppr writinrr, and wonld
not 1)0 content with ono word. Friends openly asked for "a
liook." A fellow-conntryinan odbred lo cash my circnlar
notes, and he ^ot the pa]i(>r stani])ed hy Bools and Co., to
float on liis stock exchange. The anthor of the hodiless
beings road the letters in which tlioy wer(> lod^^ed, and was
ratlier anni.sod hy their prattle. They had travdhni in l»a,Lts
with oil-well shares, Knuna ^line, Conistock L(Mli^e, hills of
exchange, and tea Ljodown rich mercantile papers, till they
had taken the infection of trade, like their elders and betters.
Small blame to them if they earn money honestly, and share
their <fains with their jiarent. He for their fjood corrected
them. He cut names and ))assa.^es and letters ont of ;i
mannscript copied by a very neat-handed scribe, I'or home
readiii,^ only. The family of im])ersonal ])ersons, with scarce
a change, now sl;ind in order ol' a,^e to be reviewed as they
Avere delivered by the postman. That is the true story of
the lettei's. They were written to anmse the writer and
his riends. A journal was kept also. From it matters
hav^ been extended. A <,freat many sketches as roui^h as
the tters wv.vc stuck into the journal, with ]ihoto,!4raphs
selec' d to illustrate various subjcjcts. Of these ])ictures
the s illed hands who make books have had as many as
they leased to jait into their work, on this condition, that
no artist, however skilled, is to improve or alter that which,
in fact, is the best copy from nature which a va<frant amateur
artist was able to make with his niaterials, in the lime which
he had to spare; ut the place which he wished to repi-esent.

That is the tnu' story of this book so far. It is a cor-
])oration aji^refriite of impersonal ])ei'sons and bodiless bein<TS,

AliS LONCA, VITA lUiKVIS EST.

■I

lay, not ecclesiastical, or clccinosynary ; not created for the
advancement ».- regulation of nianufactnres and cnnnnerce,
l)ut for special jjurposes and divers ends, lilie a club. It lias
a name and rights, for which see "Commentaries on the
Laws of Kngland," hy Sir William I'lackstone, Knight.

The geological paper was foaled on the way by one of
the hobbies or neddies on which this vagrant rides when lie
is lired (tf driving the lior.se in a mill that grinds daily
breiul. It was got by Induction out of Observation. The
dam and sire are old stagers : this dark horse may turn
out a flyer, a screw, or a slug. Other hobbies helped on
the trail. One skittish brute was that long-tailed tiery
drag<m which hannts the world and iairyland. lie Mas
hatched by Germans, Mr. Fergusson, and other comjuxra-
tive mythologists out of a ser])ent's egg formed by Shesha
Naga, Yormundgandr, an<l a knot of other snakes long ago.
Ethnology drew the Jinrikisha and carried the Cago in
-lapan. Many-voiced Philology cried " with voice ijiside
him month, all the same gong. Tojiside gcjlah ! " Many
cheery young human voices also cried " Excelsior " whcti
they passed towards hill-tops; and helped an older boy all
ihey knew, liright old climbing days for climbing sakt;
were gone. " Wait till you come to forty year," you cheerv
Yankee praerie birds of Pike's Peak; and you strong Scotcli
and Irish climbers of Ceylon. If you have to sit in chairs
and grind your brains to make your bread long enough, you
too will ride when you can find a horse to carry you.
Climber, hunter, and tisher have found that sedentary work
and years weigh heavier than flesh and bones on " the
hill." This .sportsman at his bloodiest never awoke daily

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

exclaiming, " Wliat shall T kill ? " This time he made
acquaintance with many curious creatures, wild and tame,
tailed and uutailed, brutal and human: some tending to-
wards angels of the Zenith and Nadir. But he did not
shoot anything or anybody, and nobody hurt him. He
carried nothing more deadly than pens and pencils ; um^
no .shield but a civil tongue, a big stick, and a steady eye.
Natural history can be studied from life in the wilds witli-
out turning " bug collector." A houseless vagrant does not
want u wiiiseum and scalps. On this trail Y'leasant human
society abounds. Amusement and " Ologies " were motive
powers abroad, they were comrades and companions where
wliite men were not, and art; so wliere liooks and men
are crowded together at home. In short, long art helped
a short-lived son of Earth to get round his olil mother.

Letters home and lessons learned in a year and a day
are the mental matters sent to be printed on the pages
ill' a bi)<)k. Tliat readers may be ainusud by tliat wliifli
amused the writer is the hoix; oi a ( eltic Nonuul who hiis
w()ik(!(l liard for his holiday. He is known in his own

land still as

l.VIX I LEACH

MoKMNC ('ICAi; AFTF.i; nkKAKFAST.

Xo. T.

AliF.M'HI IIiiTKr, LlVF.Kl'liiiI,,

//(/// 7th, 1871.

My I)i:au Motiiki;,

K(M'i) lay letters, and they will niiike a series for i
journal, and save me trouble.

i\[y first adventure was within half an hour of startin;^.

I was quietly runiiiiatiii!4 when a severe hump roused me;

II lurch to the r;,L;ht folloucil, then one to the left, and
tlien a bump ri^ht duwii in the middle. A Hansom had
l,;dvcn off my hind wheels, and th'src 1 sat, in a sli'd-'e,
■didiii" over the stones of Lmidon. I oiH-ned the door,
jumi)ed out with that ability whiih remains to hie, and
stopped the horse. The driver h.id ([uite fm^ot to do that
in his anxiety to cateh the Hansom's number. A swarm «if
eabs, ami of butcher boys and others, clustered round us,
and uU stared at me as if I had hjst my hind wheels. 1
bundled my goods into another cab, and in live lUiiiutes
I was off aj^ain, leaviiij^ the wreck.

At the slutiou I met a very i;ood fellow, aiid we had
a plea.saiit drive to Crewe. There he went to Manchester,
and I to sleep. In the carriage was an old Herman who
resides cliielly at Wiesbaden, and is visited by the Emperor.

•,

MY CITU'IU.AR NOTES.

His son had just been ronnd tlic world. I asked how
much it had cost liim. He opened Ids liands and liis eyes
and spread his arms, and shni.^ged liis shoulders, and said,
" About ten thousand pounds."

Here I slei)t, and now I have lireakfastod and inspected
the other travellers. One last ni,L;lit wiis very drunk. He
ate cream cheese with two knives. With his ri'dit knife
lie cut a slice, with his left he scraped it oft' the right,
and then with his tongue he wiped the cheese oft' the
knife into his mouth. After this he thrust a lettuce leaf
endwise after the cheese, and bit it oft", and then he began
again with the knife exercise for half an hour at least.

I hope he is not my chum. I have spotted a man in
a blue shirt, with a clean face. 1 hope he is going my
way. J. V. (1

No. II.

" Batavia," off Tuia.ANi),

Wtdiiisdaii, July Sl/i, 1874.

My divvr Motiikh,

I have got o? to GO, a roomy cabin, with leave 1o
keep my po^-t o])en. All my bngs are hung about on pegs,
all my cloaks are in one berth, and I roll into the other,
and am at rest. The wind is S.K, the sea smooth, th(ir-
mometcr 00°, barometer .^O-ord)", clouds quiet, and all 's well.
This will be landed at Queenstown, where we are to .stop
four hours for the mails as usual.

(ioing round the world all alone at this rate will be
easy, quiet work, and my journal fhin. For lack of some-
thing to draw, I have been drawing the gulls, who have
lollowed ever since daylight, waiting for the cook's contri-
butions, on which they pounce, yelling, to rise again, and

NOTIIlN'd.

follow on. That I have fixed and fastened into niv Li"
book, and there 1 mean to fix this letter, wlien you return
it to me. I cannot be bothered writing rubbish for myself
to carry and show to fellow-j)assengers.

J. F C.

No. IV.

" Batavia," at Sea,

Thursihty, July Qth, 1S74.

My dear Mother,

The last thing that left the ship yesterday was a
bag with No. 3 in it. [N'ow dcmoiUhcd.)

The excitement was to see the mails come on board.
The Jackal came off, and got alongside, and tlien both ships
together, with a gangway between, steamed out, plunging.
Sailors ran like a stream of ants loaded and light, out and
in, over tiie gangway, and bags full of thoughts on ])aper
come tumbling in heaps on board. Then at the buoy we
separated. Then a frantic man slipped down a rojie into
a little boat, somebody knocked him down with his own
valise ; somebody else put in the post-bag, and ofl' we went
after the setting sun seawards. We are thirty cabin pas-
sengers and 51*0 to 30 emigrants ; 100 of crew and other
peo]>le ; and, so far as I can see, 1 am the only pa.ssenger
on board that is doing anything but feed the fishes. It
is fine and broozy from the luirth, with a considerable ])itch
and heave. There is absolutely nothing to do, and I am
doing it. From the smell of whisky I reckon that the
])assengers are having a drain in their berths.

Fridaif, 10. — Swell and fog. A lot of French-speaking
people from Verviers and Liege, singing the IMarseillaise,
and other songs, very well in ])arts. I discoursed them and

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

found tliat one at least wa.s in Paris with me during the
Commune. I gave him a cigar. He is bound for Calit'ornia,
and hopes that we may meet again. I hope it' so, that it
may be daylight.

In the evening we were dismally howling in a thick
cloud, rolling and pitching.

i:iaturday, 11. — Polling and pitching. Spent my time in
reading and inventing contrivances.

A little girl, aged 10, propounds the riddle, " What ship
has two mates and no captain?" An.sircr: Courtship!
"That's a crushing little girl," (pu)lli the fourth oflicer.

Sunday, 12. — lUue sea and white liorses, confused cross
sea; ship wriggling in a strange fashion. Service at lU.oO
read by Captain Mouland. He is a very good fellow. All
the evening a lot of Bostoniiins and a Yankee Lancashire
parson sang hynnis. They did it rather \v(!ll.

Mondity, V.\. — North-west. Clear sky. Th(! lirst fh'ar
ilay since we started. Thr Irish lut, h;i\iiig I'lpiiii'l a (lub;
autl a jiliiyer, took to dancing jigs, old and ynuiig. 1 lu\iiid
the Norseman. He conies from Telemarkeii, and s[icaks no
Kiiglish,

He looks a Norseman ill over, and T mean to get at liis
story. Now with reganl to weather.

The Captain says the Atlantic has been veK foggy all
tiiis year. He, like me, holds our Government Mt'tcorido-
gical Department very chea[). He holds that weatiair
prognostics might be made by telegraphs li'oni IJoston
and Newfoundland ; together with the logs of steamers
ruiniing westwards, telegra[)hed from Queenslowu to head-
([uarters.

THE VVEATIIEU.

In America tliey telegraph western weather to tlie east
coast, and find that tracts of weather move northwards and
eastwards. That is reasonable and jjrobable. It is true
experimentally. Our system is to tell people what the
weather was : which does not help to prepare tliem for tlie
morrow. All that I have to say about the world's weather
I put into my log.

Tumlinj, 14. — Fine, bright, small waves ; north-west breeze ;
getting on fast. Last night I M'atched the comet till near
midniglit. Tlie tail was more than twenty degrees long,
and the head was very bright. It was just abrea.st of my
port ; so I rested my glass on it, and watched and wondered.
It was vt!ry liki; a I'alling rocket, some ten degrees above
the dark horizon, plunging into the sea. I made a rude
sketch in the morning. Jig.s are going on to a Ihite played
by a native ; cards in the saloon.

Odours of driidvs and lemonade pervading the atmosphere.
" Yi)U an- the first lord I ever met," sjiid a Yankee boy to
me. " P.ut 1 ain't, a lord," said I.

Wcdiuxiliiji, 1,"). — After dinner last night we saw \i cloud
ahead on the sea, and presently dived into it, and howled
dismally with the ibg-luiru f(U' the rest ol' tlie uighi. The
air was fifty-out' degrees. We luul got to a streak of the
ar('ii(; current. 1'his morning we liad got to a lane of the
Guli' Stream. The wind south-west and the glass sixty
degrees.

The steerage people ai'e all aiive ; little Bi'lgian girls
and babies pay me the compliment of fraternizing with me.
The Irish lot have so far recovered as to be love-making
in the most demonstrative fashion in all sorts of strange

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

places. Ill tlie intervals of courtship they dance jigs. Tliis
is reguhir yacliting.

I have good Ibod, and 520 people to amuse me M'itli
Irish antics, and French and (Jernian, and Norse and Danish,
and Swedish on whom to practise tongues. So far, av ell. " In
good time he it spoken."

Thnrfichty, IG. — Last night the stars shone overliead,
and the coinet glowed like a puiar of light through the liaze.
This morning the sun shine.s, and the sea is covered by a
thin haze. Strong west wind ; thermometer G4°.

The Captain produced a pocket revolver and a dagger
which were taken from an irate steerage passenger. They
took to pelting each other with potatoes ; one got angry and
threatened to use his arr s, so he was disarmed. The pistol
was loaded.

Friday, 17. — Fog and fog-horn, thermometer 64", wind
west. We are here about the latitudes of Tillis, Xaples,
Madrid, Lisl)on, and other hot countries. P)Ut in conse-
quence of ocean circulation the climate at sea is very
different.

Tlie cold stream which comes down by Grcenhmd,
Labrador, Newfoundland, and over the banks, crosses the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and coa.sts Nova Scotia and the States,
hugging the .shore westwards. Outside, the warm stream
crosses tlie cold at the banks of NevvfoundLand.

Where the damp air of the wai'in sti'eam comes to coUl
water, there mists condense, and we have l)een in clouds of
this kind, and we are in a wet cloud now. (/onsequently
the Captain is fenced in with ropes, and inaccessible ; the
fog-horn is howling, and we have just stt)pped to sound in

THE DAGGER AND THE DRINK.

order to avoid tlie fate of the Atlantic, Mdiicli ran ri.ulit
nshoro, in a similar inist. Passenj^ers are ]»e,i,'innin,ff to pack
up, and sailors to brin;^- n]> nioorinfrs and coil them on deck.
We live in hojies of landin.L? to-morrow, Satnrday, the 18th.
After a run of 2,900 miles frr.m Liveri»ool to Boston, add
220 to Liverpool, and I sliall have made .".,180 since Ave
parted.

f>o iar 1 have been neither sick nor soriy I'or myself.
I have read an amnsinj,' bof)k about La Salle, who dis-
covered the :Mississi])])i ; a .Lireat bit of Kinnlake's Crimea ;
and of Tom Hughes on AliVed the dront. T have had all
my comforts and dodges about me, and a steward to act
valet and l)ring my morning tub. Aly wine bill will be
covered liy two ])ottles (-f sherry in ten days, one uroo',
and some lemonade.

I wish I could l)e amusing, Imt this (piiet, idle life gives
nothing to say, and so ] say it. 1 try to make you travel
with me.

Snfniuhnj, 18. — Very fine, hot day; bright sun. It .seems
that we have narrowly escaped cholera, but we have escaped;
and there is America, iind I'.o'^ton will be along.side in a few
liours.

The coast has notliing rcmarkalilc but llatness and .'=!and.
"The walrus and the c!iri)enter wept like anything to see
such quantities of .sand." It is not a cheerful coast. The
most remarkable thing on the voyage is the water's tem-
]H'ralure, which I have copied from the log. While we
were sailing frojii clou<l lo cloud off Newfoundland, we
were crossing lanes of hot and cold water, turn about, and
that accounts for the coiulen.sation. "What is teetotalers'

MY cmCULAll NOTES.

gvo>x ? " said a Yiinkee. " Animal spirits and water, Sir, I
tfui'ss," lie added, and i>iinned. A lot of them were drinking
lartie tumblers of cocktails and other decoctions lonu: before
breakfast. Oli tliat I could tell you the stoiy of an arti-
choke as it was told tiiis morninj^' by a jolly old man!

" Me and Joe, and my wife and his, was diniiii,' in Paris;
and Joe, he ordered an artichoke. ' WHiat's that ? ' I said.
'It's an artichoke,' siiid he; 'will you take some?' 'No,'
says I. 'Mother told me to be sure to eat artichokes; I'll
liave one for myself.' .So when it came we looked at each
other, for we was green. We didn't know which end of
the animal to attack. So Hrst we began at the hard end,
and that pricked our mouths; and we didn't thiidc much
of artichokes. 'That can't be right,' says Joe. So we
began at the other end, and scraped out the middle and
ate that. ' My,' said the wife, ' 1 was tliat ill, that \ had
to leave the table. It's all prickles and hairs, and they
stuck in my throat.' Well, we did not think anything id.
all of artichokes that time, but next time we got a man
that knew how to li.\ it, and then we liked them well
enough, I guess. Ye.s Sir, that's so 1 "

And now^ I shall close this letter with love to every-
body from

J. F. C,

Vagrant.
P.S. — A York man on board has £4,000 in gold ; so there
are greater fools than me in this ship. I have only j8200
in gold for emergencies.

Lo(/. — Friday, 17. — Cold, wet, misty, thick, and disagreeable
dirty weather. In cold water. The fourth ollicer says that

ATITICIIOKES AND OCEANS.

the arctic current sweeps round Newfoundland and d(jwii
1 lie wliolo American coast to Florida. In winter ships f,'et
so froz(Mi that tlicv liave to turn hack into tlie milf stream
to thaw. They often come into X(!W York with their sails
adrift, l»cin,tf unahle to furl them. This ahout lat. 40, south
of Tillis, Naph^s, Madrid, Lishon, i^v.

Saturdnij, 18. — Very line, hot, hrij^lit day. ( Mit of tlic cnld
water. Last ni,L;lit tlie comet's head was under the lan'izon,
and his tail nearly reached the Cireat I'jcar about eleven
when 1 looked at him. The sky was very clear, and the
stars l)rig]it. AVe had got out of a cloud, Avhich was rest-
ing npon cold water. We had passed through a st- ak of
a local glacial period.^

Discoursed tlie doctor on matters sanitary. It seems
that we have had I-'ngiish cholera. It broke out suddeidy
amongst the steerage passengers in the fog banks, fifty
cases at once, and ceased as suddenly as it came. When
the cholera was in London in ISoi-o,"), and I Assistant
Secretary to the General Uoard of Health, medical theories
abounded, but the most sagacious of the men who had
studied the art of preventing disease admitted, behind the
scenes and off the stage, that they did not Icnoiv how to
account fur outbursts of cholera. There are many things
that nobody knows, and those who knov,- most know it
best. Our doctor did not know, so he tested the water,
tasted the i'ood, and routed everybody out to dance in the
air and sing. That was a sagacious medical student, but

' The results of oli.scrvati"ns aiul renuuks on tliis Inaneli of geolojjy wore
put into tlio .sli.i]H' wliicli they now wear in .'.lusu volunu's. Those who caru
i;iu skip thu IctU'r.s, or the iiaper ; nuJ either, neither, or botli.

MY CIRCULAIl NOTKS.

why should health smUIoiily rolurn as wo [xissed from
cold sea water and chilly fogs in summer to In-ight sky
and a -warm climate ? I don't believe in curiu;,' cholera
with " rosa crina " or " drops o' l)randy," or a dance of death ;
and there was nothing wrong in this well-found ship with
food or water.

The pilot, a neat, well-shavc-n, polite man, politely
touched his hat and asked leave to try my aluminium hino-
cular. He gave it back without remark. I saw what ho
said to himself as well as if ho had a pane in his stomach.
"The field is small and the clearness middling, but that
Tiritisher nuist be very proud of that shining thing, and I
won't hurt his feelings." 1 hope he saw inside of me, for
I thought the pilot a very good gentlemiin, who would
neither tell a lie nor speak disagreeable truths needlessly.
The aluminium binocular was made for magnifying small
objects, to wit, hn- looking at a horse in a race, or at a
pretty face in a large theatre. It was mado bright to
attract pretty dears by shining. It would have scared all
the deer out of a highland forest, and it did not suit the
pilot at sea. He wanted a largo tidd and low power, and
much light, by which to find a ship or a light in dark-
ness. I knew all that, but those who make aluminium
glasses to sell for lifteen guineas, and those who buy them,
don't seem to study optics for vagrants.

Great lots of ships and three large black whales set
everybody to look through binoculars. When I had found
my whale 1 could sec him very well with tlie handsome
gift that was given to me to sec the world with. lUit while
I was looking for my whale ho dived and I often missed

TIIU lU.KSSING OF EYKS.

Uic sight which others saw with cheaper f^hisses, mudo fur
roii<,fh work. There is a phice for everything, and inatter
out of place is a deruiition of dirt. ])ut that which we hoM
dirt clieap is dear to others who know the use of it. Every-
body wlio owns an optical instrument hohls it to be tlve
best that ever was made or used by man. Long-sighted
boast that they can sciC birds far away ; short-sighted that
they can read small print. It's a blessed provision of nature,
for everybody is pleased and blesses his owu ayes, and his
opticians, if he wears spectacles.

Presently a lot of tugs came poking about us, asking
questions and news. They were Press-boats, I believe,
carrying the " Press-gang," as one of the fraternity
calls the fourth estate. I don't know a more amusing fra-
ternity to fraternize with. Then the sun grew so furiously
hot that we crept under boats for shade and longed for
an awning.

Then came the quarantine boat and stopped us. We had
a clean bill, thanks to the doctor's prescription of jigs in
air or to the healing art of nature, and we went on. "We
passed forts and islands, and rounded hills of rolled drift
cut into by man's hand and by the sea. Then we went to
the elevator and turned the ship round for the dock. Ulsie
and E)iulij, who hiid followed \is for a long way, got side by
side and stuck their noses against our port quarter, and
then, like a couple of amiable whales or dragons, they snorted,
and pushed, and panted, and went ahead full speed like
their country, till they got our stern round, and the head
the right way, and then we, too, went ahead and into the
Boston dock, about noon. Then everybody warmly shook

VOU L C

MV CITICULAR NOTES.

hands with ovovylioily, and wv. scattered. This corporate
hody, ten days ohl, was dissipated.

The custoni-lionsc! ofiicer in tlic cahin made us sij^ni a
dechiration. Tlien he asl<ed nie, solemnly, " Will you
swear to it?" "Yes," said I, "and kiss the hook if you
have one." Ihit he liad not got a J>ilik' handy. Then wc
were searched, and I passed free, heing too old a hird to
carry anything worth hrihing for. It so fell out, as I was
tohl, that a passenger hy this same ship landed at this
same port smoking a long cigar, lie had signed all the
declarations. He entered into agreeable air}' converse wit'.i
this same custom-house otlicer, or some other as 'cute, and
he offered him a magnificent cigar. The other accepted it
and said, "Will you favour me with a light?" He took the
long cigar, and held it fast, and ripped it up with a pen-
knife as sharp as he was, and out of the mouth end of
the hurning roll of haccy rolled contraband diamonds worth
unt(dd do.'Iars. The miseralde owner who tried to cheat
these autliori<-es was detected and disgraced, nay, worse,
he was fwir J. Now, the best and cheai)t'3t plan is to have
a clear conscience, and then you clear your boxes without
bribing very clever men. If y(ju have a wcsak i)lace in
your inside, custom-house officers sec it, even through blue
spectacles, and they go for you at once. I never snuiggle,
fo*" it is of no use, xudess 1 bril)e, and that is costly and
unsafe. Some clever nu'u are honest. Once upon a time
I tried an experiment at Southampton. I had nothing
wort taxing, and little worth anything to anybody by way of
personal property, but I was arriving from lands of bi'andy
and cheap cigars, and I had a pair of wooden shoes. Tiiese

THK lien ov rnn world.

T ])nt into my pockets, and ovor my face T spread a mask
of guilty consci()usnes55. I walk(;d to the side, nervously
jerkinj,' towards the place where these sabots were coneealed.
A custom-house oftieer aecidentally touched my clothes,
" TFave you anything,' to declare?" said the man in authority.
"No," I said. "Ifave you anything contraband about your
person?" he said, with emphasis. "No," I said. "Will you
allow me to see what you have in your i)ockcts ?" " Yes,"
1 said, and produced a pair of sabots, with sheepskin covers,
fit for a small French child. " Tass ox, Siu," said the
officer.

As I passed liim, so I passed the customs at Boston
without paying a red cent, because not one red cent was
due by me to Uncle Sam. A friend who landed elsewhere
with much property had to pay several pounds to escape
heavy duty. All Uncle Sam's children are 'cute, but all
are not quite so honest as those who dwell at Boston, the
" ITuJ) of the world." Let me explain, as some American
writer said. " The world revolves on its own axis once in
twenty-four hours, subject to the constitution of the United
States." Boston, according to Bostonians, is the pivot on
which the whipping-top revolves. Britishers whip the
world, we whip the Britishers. I')Oston whips the United
States, and is the ITub of the world.

I got into a coach on C springs, with luggage strapped
on behind, and recognized the conservative element of
Americti in this curious old family coacli. A drunken cad
of an Iviglishman was drunk within. I would not be seen
in his company, so got on the l)ox in the sun and felt it.
1 also felt the jolting of the family coach on exceedingly

c '2

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

bad pavements, and wondered how the luib stood it. Bos-
tonians are proud of crooked streets and old houses, as they
are of their old families, the oldest in the States. But this
old family coach on C springs had to get its hubs and
v/heels into floating stages and to go ahead with its load,
and it went ahead. Somehow the old thing runs upon all
fours, with the rest of these United Stat( s. It ran me into the
Parker House, where I borrowed a ilolkir and paid like an
honest citizen of that world which is subject to the consti-
tution of these United States, which I left fighting like
fiends in the fall of 18G4. Tltey failed to upset their
family coach then, and it is numing with drawing-room
cars now. It did me good to see that old English lord-
mayor':-; coach upon C springs, but it shook my bones till
my teeth rattled. A hack is a thing like the old London
hackney coach, which I can just remember. It was dear
to me as an old friend : too dear ; for the fare asked and
often paid is about 19s. for a couple of miles. I'our dollars
and fifty cents to the Parker lIoU;!.

No. V.

Boston, U.S.,

Juhj IVIh, 1874.

My dear Moth Kit,

This is a change, and T am not sure that it is all
pleasant. From fog and 5.T, and the howling of fog-iioriis,
to fierce sun and 85° in the coolest place I can find. ^ . n.
not recogniz; the place at all. Since I was here nine years
ago the town has been burned and built, a bay and a marsh
have been fdled with gravel and built on, trees have giown,
and public parks and gardens have come into being. Further,
this is Sunday, and 1 can't get into anywhere. 1 have been

]

CHAMPAGNE AND SHAM SPIRITS.

to clmrcli ; and I have been to fetch a walk with an
unilirella over uiy head. I hear French and German,
various Irisli accents and some Yankee ; the majority seem
Europeans.

I drink lemonade and read ruhhish in the papers. As
soon as I can I shall be off to Niagara to bathe and draw.
I don't exjioct to hear from anybody till I get to San Fran-
cisco, if then. The ways of this house an; to pay two
dollars for a small room on the third floor, and pay for any-
thing oaten at any hour. I paid tvo dollars for a very
moderate dinner, and eighty cents for a moderate breakfast.
Ciieapness is not the peculiarity of these States, but every-
body seems bent on champagne, so prosperity ought to
abound. I am going to a s])iritual seance, if I can find it
later. Viy my lack of employment yo\i gain letters, and
my lirains repose, and now I am going to sprawl in my bed,
and ruminate.

\\y tlu' way, I found a whole fleet of small CoRtalias
care ring about on ponds. Tliey are double boats with a
wheel between. Th(; man sits in a chair, with a leg on each
f id'.\ and drives the wheel like a bicycle. In all essentials
till ])lan is the same as the Casfalia and the boats rocked
consuinedly.

1 did find the seance. Tt was free, in a public lecture room.
A pretty girl, who was ilirting a godd deal with one of the
men on tlie IVont seats, got up and went to a piano. Three
others joinetl her, and wheji the T.ady ^fedium, and a man
came in they solenndy sang ii hymn rather well. Then the
lady recited a kind of extempore prayer from the platform,
and ilien lIk; fcMir sang a /aiu.

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Xcxtly the lady delivered an oratiiui \vith extreme volu-
bility and wordy tautoloj,'y. She repeated for an liour
phrases which meant, " Set a good example to your little
children," and I nearly slumhered. The peroration awoke
me, and a hymn.

Then the male person announced that ihc ^" .'-il" ^^erson
was prepared to answer questions. Nobo'iy sp'..i.(. for some
time. At last an old party, with a liald head and gold spec-
tacles, a typical development of wonder, whoui I noticed at
first, asked, " Do spirits of those who have committed crimes
ever return ?" The lady answered at length, "They d(j re-
turn." ^Nfanifestations quoted from the si>iritual telegraph
were mentioned in proof. Cards with (questions were handed
in, and while the choir sang the lady wrote, acting thought,
and putting her pen to her ear, as if ihat spoke to her. Tlien
she got up, and in a crying voice uttered oracular nonseu:-!ci,
of which I could not catch the drift, not knowing the <|ue3-
tions. In the midst I got up and bolted. Another siv;;eo ol
the same kind was going on on the ojiposite si('e of '» u- km^
street. Now T am puz/led I I don't (piite know wiseti.'r i' is
woman is crazy and "run" by rogues, or a rogue hersclt'.
The amlience seemed grave and earnest, not at all dis-
posed to answer my bantering (pieslion "who may the old
])arty in spectacles be?" If tlie woman is a humbug, she
is the most blasphemous specimen of the kind 1 ever
encountered. She nuikes her money by private con . Uations,
I suppose. Anyhow that was a. common lJosto.i prituul
meetinif, and somethiii'' new to you and to me.

Monday, Juli/ 20. — This is dcsDevate heat. The sky is
clouded and there is a bree- o from the west, but 70' is the

CROWS AND CAMPBELLS.

coldest that I have found, and now it is 80" in my press.
I have got coin and I have been to tlie Natural Historj-
^luseum. It stood in a wide open space, strewn with
bricks and deceased cats nine years ago ; now it stands be-
tween a large church and a large institution of some kind,
and long streets of grand Lrick houses file off in all
directions, while tall trees, ponds and deer paddocks make
15oston common beautiful.

I read the account of ^Montana and its geysers, and
studied the Californian State map, and nearly fell asleep
amongst the skeletons and stuffed birds and rocks and books
where I read for Frost and Fire, when I was last here. A
lady assistant clerk sat working at her desk and papers all
the while. I came hack in a 'bus, and sprawled about till
dinner time, and now I am going to feed. There are, and
there will be, no secrets in my letters, and you may as well
read my journal at home. Tiiat will save me the trouble of
carrying it, and reading it as I go along, and so I wish you
all good-bye, and hope to hear from you when I get to San
Francisco. J. F. C.

r.S. — Ixoused by tin; enclosed card, 1 went to the parlour
expecting to find Alicia and lier brotlier. Found instead a be-
nevolent \\hite-liair(!d man, with gold eyeglasses, and a pretty
little daughter, who askt'd nie liow I liked I'eru. Explanation:
It seems tliat tliercMs another .iDhn Campbell in the house,
whom they had never seen. Told them that crows and
Cami)bells are in all (quarters of the globe, and went to
dinner ; now I am going to bed.

Wednesday, July 22. — Niagara Falls. Here I am again
af'.er ten years, more charmed with the place than ever. Vide

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

" A short American Tramp." Yesterday at seven the thermo-
meter was 75° on a marble slab in a window at Boston, and
the heat was ojipressive. At 8.30 we started in a Drawing-
room Oar, and the change was instant and marvellous. It
was just as l)ot, but the air was fresh and moving instead
of star.nating in a hot, low-built, datnp town.

In the Eepublican coimtry, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class carriages
woald never do, so tliey run drawing-room cars for which
those who will can pay and be happy ; mine this turn cost
21 dollars extra. It is a long lofty room, set on four pairs of
wheels, of which two pairs are on a bogy at each end, con-
sequently the long beams take off all jar and rattle. All
down the sides are velvet-covered chairs, with spring seats,
each on a bronze pillar turning any way. Tlic sash Avin-
dows are largo plate-glass affairs, into which, when open, an
attendant nigger fits wire blinds to keep out the dust. Green
sun-blinds draw down, so there we sit at ease, each in his
own hired chair, and look at the country as we whirl along
at great speed. Truly the Yankees know how to travel by
rail. Those who want to smoke find a cal)in in tlie fore part
of the car, those wlio want to drink find iced water, and
those who want to wash their dusty faces and " slick their
harr down " can do that to their hearts' content. The cabin
of a small Clyde steamer is about the thing.

Now and then as we ran up the Green IVfountain glens
the tiYiin slowed. Curious to see the reason, I went out on
the platform, and looked down into a rocky gorge. We
were passing over a scaffold. A coui)le of rows of upright
trees supported us, and a network ol" narrow laths bound
them togetlier, but if wc swung that structure, down it

ULACK MEN AND GREEN.

would certainly go. Tliercfore "we went slowly over these
bn(l,!j;cs. The workmen offered us mint as we passed them
slowly.

From Boston to Springfield we crossed hills 400 feet high.
i"^>en we crossed the (Jreen Mountains 1,500 feet, and ran
down to Albany on the Hudson. There, at three, I dined in 1 5
minutes, waited on by cheerful neat damsels, who gave me ice
creams and ginger ale. Then ve ran up to the IMohawk by
Utica and Syracuse to Rochester, where I changed cars at
about 10 P.M. Vtv two I was in this cool charming room
with the rush of the river to hush me to sleep, and so I slept,
in a draught with the glass at 6G°. That's pleasant!

A collogian on the cars fraternized with me, and he was
the oidy fraternal being. The rest were absorbed in absorbing
oranges, in knitting, iind n'^thing at all. IJke loafers at the
hotels, the populace seem to enjoy sitting in chairs, doing
nothing, at an open window where the wind blows. In
this weather I understand it. Mv friend wanted to know
about titles a good deal. He seemed to be a good green
gentleman. At Saratoga there has been a grand University
boat-race, and athletic games of all sorts. The papers are
full of the meeting, and of murders and scandals and sensa-
tions. My friend, wlio had been to Saratoga, described a
mob.

The nox*. nofeworthy personal matter that I can think
of is the difference between races of men. At the Parker
House all the servants were Irish. Some were green as
the Emerald Isle, and none were like French and German
waiters, but if thev were lacking, it seemed to be want of
education for the work. Left to himself, one always

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

brouglit me potatoes. I wrote down tlic name of a .soup,
but lie brought me goose and potatoes. That was tlie
result of education, I su])pose. Here arc niggers and no
Irish, and they seem to be born waiters without much
brains. Pat may inlhience elections and rise to be I*resident;
Saml)o never will. "^ly name, sir, is Lloyd," said a young
darky last niglit, "call for me and I will look out for you."
I bade him call me at six. About eiglit he came. " I
told them to call me at six," lie said, " but they forgot, so I am
come at eight." " Xow go and brush my clothes and bring
them back." He went and came. " I did not hurry myself, you
see," quoth Lloyd, "I just took my time and brought them
right square oil'." I never am in a hurry, least of all here,
80 I did not mind. Next we got to a bath : it is down in the
basement, a large square room with a watersjKJut dashing
into the bath in the corner. I got hold of a rope and held
my back in it, and the spray Hew ten yards into the room,
a fountain. One feels as if bones wwn ilag-poles, and llesh
fluttering bunting in a gale of wind. " It's awful whole-
some," as the black Welshman said when he shut the door
and left me. But the born waiter forgot to give me a towel,
which was not intelligent. A wIkjIu army of them were
drawn up sunning themselves at the breakfast-room door,
and very neat and clean they looked in white, livery shade
of black and brown, every variety of cross, shines tiirough
their queer, quiet faces. The olive-green ones sell liooks ami
papers, the sepia men wait at table, the blackest black boots
and brush coats, and bear burdens. But no amount of
dilution seems to make a blacky white enough to keep
a hotel, or own a shop, or do anything that an Aryan docs.

ARYANS AND AFRICAIIYAXS.

I am quite sure tliut no Africaryan ■will ever run an Emma
mine or an Erie rin;^'. But the potato man may in time, for
he has brains to be educated, wliile darky's head is like that
of the Neander-thal man who was like a monkey. It is so
precious liot and l)right outside tliat here I have sat smoking
and journaliziuff, and thinking' about Celts and Niggers,
enjoying the cool and the sound of the waters, instead of
going out to see the E;dls. Tliat is the one gi-eat advantage
of travelling alone. If I liad some energetic person to
lionize, or somebody always in haste to get on, I never could
have dawdled away a whole sunny morning in tliis idle
fashion. I fancy I hear my best travelling chums rushing
about with letters of introduction, or C. Cr. charging about
after the next trains for the west, so as to get somewhere
else in a hurry. T never was in a hurry, and I always have
been huriied till now, and now I have got over 550 miles in
perfect ([uiet and repose. I was more hurried between home
and the station. Xow I am 4,730 miles from that station,
and I have never been hurried or worried since I set out.
If this goes on I sliall become a peripatetic philosopher.
" Air you going on the St. Lawrence, sir ? " said a human
olive to me. " T, sir, am travelling circumperand)ulatori-
cally," I said, gravely. The olive gaped, and a white timber
nutmeg of a Yaidceo grinned intelligently. Xow I shall go out
to Goat Island, and do something for a bait to catch curious
creatures. I never fiiil to trap somebody, if I only sit down
and draw, or look tlirougli a glass at something. By tlie
way, you nray like to introduce a domestic notion which is
in full swing under my window. An upright post with four
long arms is turned by a small water-wheel ; from arm to

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

arm arc clothes lines many, and on eacli are many towels
revolving cilgeways in the snn. They dry and Meac'li in no
time. The machine has heen click, clickinj^ ever since
I came. What an almij^hty fine water-power tliis little
dam at Niagara is, to he sure.

T went to Goat Island and found 07° rather too much.
The ]ilace was crowded with excursionists, so I wandered
hack and dined, and then in the cool of the evening wan-
dered down and sketched.

Thursday, 23. — I have l)een hack to fetch my cup which
I left hehind me, and there I found it at the feet of a man
who had not seen it. That's luck ! I have heen making
ruhbings, and buying photographs, and sketching from the
suspension bridge, and fixing and mounting the result of my
morning's work. A Briton witli a very strong accent of
Yankee-English joined me, and we fraternizijd. He is going
my way, and we may fraternize more. Surely this is one of
the pleasantest places I ever was in ! That morning water-
spout is worth the journey. Now I shall post this and go on
with the journal when the fit takes me.

J. r. c.

No. VI.

NiAfiARA,

Afim'Id.i, July 27th, 1S74.

My dear Mother,

Here I am still. I cannot tear myself from these
baths and this beautiful place, but to-ni(trrow I must onwards,
80 I write my log. I have made nine sketches and three
rubbings, and 1 have bought a lot of i)liotographs. lUit
nothing can give the faintest idea of the beauty of these
falls. The water is a sort of Prussian-blue emerald-green

)\vcls
n no
since
littlo

nuch.
lercd
wan-

vliich
man

living
11 tlic
f my
rit of
going
lie of
I'ater-

go on

874.

these

rVards,

tliroo

But

tliese

-green

WATER CO LULUS.

colour wlicic it is clcui' dl' ;iii' Inihlilns tuul deej). WlRTe it
comes over tlic lI(irscslio(i it is like iiotliin;^ else in tlie
world. Tt is ii j^rcat 'lyww waviiii;- water curtain, edi^eil with
dai'k jiiirple, \vli(!rt! the red rock ed,ne is seen tlirougli lulling
water luui' nr live Teet ilce]) at least. Nearer and thinner and
more hroken, a })riiniiinliuy ol' I'allinL,' watei' tells warm jairplo
ai^ainst the ^I'eeii Ilmseshue ^yidf. Great stones helow
glinniK'i' thrllu^ll the spiay, and clian,ne IVoni hLudv to purple,
and pal(i I)lue, and \anisli as the clouds oF spray go and
come. J)aik ureen and warm purjile waves helow fade into
tht! cliiud like the stones. The white Canadian fall shines
white through the cloud like silver gauze, while the cloud
itself changes like a dim lainhow of purjde, and green, and
blue, and ytdlow. Last night the setting sun lit up a great
orange cloud hdiind tiie dark baidv of trees in Canada, and
the contrast made the falls like licj^uid jewels. 1 sketched,
but Turner cnuld not have imitat(!d this. I defy all painters
to copy NiagaiM. I have got the route from a Manchester
man. I have inviteil him to your house, of course.

Now for some of the legends of Niagara from the bar-
man. " You see, sir, these hackmeu will \.\\\ you a lot of
lies; I'll t(!ll j^iu some true stoi'ies. There was a d( tag, and
quite a many people see liim go out into the river on the
Canadian side, and tliey see him canied over the falls. They
never thought to sei^ more; of inm, but that sana; (evening
^Ir. doag comes hoani, he ran u]) the path down there by tho
suspension bridge, and he was none tho worse. That's tho
only living ci'ealure that ever went over tho hdls and lived.
There was anolhei' doag, and whether ho went over tho falls
or not 1 don't know, hut ho swam ashore down by the old

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

suspension brid^'o, under the rock where no man eouhl ^'et at
him, and there ho liv'ed for two years. Of course lie had
plenty of water down tliere, and tlicy uscmI to tln'ow him
down food. Tliey call the jthicc the Doaj,' Kock now. Tiierc
was a party of ei<fht ]tco])h', wont out in a boat at Buffalo.
Tlicy upset the boat and live were drowned ; one was a <,firl,
a dish-washer in one of the hotels. "\Val, sir, her body was
found under the Cave of the Winds, without a stitch of
clothes, and awfully knocked about, and "ho was buried
there on Goat Island ; that was quite latel

"There was another girl came all the wa} x^om Chica<fo to
commit suicide here. She jumped over the susj)ension bridge
to Goat Island and she was washed over tlio American fall,
and her body was found without a stitch of clothes on, and
with an arm off.

" There was a man rowing over the river above the rajiids ;
he broke one of his oars and he was helpless. lie went over
the falls and he was found in five pieces. Tiiero was an
Indian, too, who went over the falls in his canoe, and never
was found at all.

" About six weeks ago an old man called j\IacCulloch was
painting the bridge at the Sisters' Islands, and he over-
balanced himself and fell into the rajjids. lie did not know
where he was or what he was doing, but he saw a rock and
threw his arms round it and held on. Tliei'e he was for two
h nirs ; but Conroy, the guide at the Cave of the Winds, got a
rope. lie did not tie it round his body, but wound it round
his arm. He went in above the old man and came round
above him and so got to him and gripjied him, and the ])eople
on shore hauled in the rope and got them landed. Unless

CON ROY.— MORE POWKR TO II TM.

tliat old man had cauj^lit that rock nothing' could lia/e s<aved
liim ; he must liave },'oiie over the falls, for ho could not swim
and lie had no chance. And 3'ou may see the man over
there ioi- thirty-live cents, and th(! jiictun; which Bierstadt
painted of him and Conroy in the rajiids; there he is, a-
holding on with one hand, and holding his putty-knife in the
other, .stuck into the rock. Yes, sir, that's so. ]}randy smash ?
Yes, sir. Soda cocktail ? Ye . .sir. There's a man going to
walk over the river on a rope to-mon-ow — he's like a cat on
the rope. lie lives ju.st over there, and he M'as a hackman
here hefore he took to rope-walking. He will do it every
day for five or six dollars. Th'' distance is nigh ahout a
quarter of a mile, and the lunght to the river is ahout 180
feet. The man that did it fir.st jumped off the rope three
times. The boatman says that he drank a i)int of brandy
each time he took him out of the water. That man was
drunk, but he walked the rope. He was a Frenchman."

I have stayed a day longer to see the cat-like hackman
walk the rope where Pdondin did it, just below the new
suspension bridge. After that I shall go to Chicago and see
the ruins of the last fire which took jdace some six weeks
ago. To be continued if I see the man walk. Fire and
water must be gone through in studying the works of frost
and fire in Yankeedoodledom.

Yesterday it rained, and to-day the sky is clouded and the
temperature cool and jdeasant at 70^ with a nice breeze. I
have been roasting at 93'' and 95°, and I am giadually
melting away.

After dinner I saw Professor Fear walk over the river on
a slack rope very well. " The rope is very bad, sir," he said,

MY CIKCULAR NOTKS.

"it creaks just like a fellow in creaking shoes walking after
you. My name is Fear, sir — Professor Fear." " There ain't
mucli fear about you," ([uotli I ; " there's a dollar for you."
" Wal, that's the first dollar I've seen to-day. Thaidc you,
sir. I'm a young Canadian," said the Professor. He had on
a fancy Indian dress, aii'l carrieil a tin can for contributions.
There was not a sign of nerve about him. Hinulreds of
excursionists sat about the clilTs who had been picnicking all
over the place all day. Nobody cheered, only two or three
clapped their hands. Very few clapped their hands into
their pockets, and there w;is a general tendency to walk away
from the terror of the tin can. That is not peculiar to
America. It's a kinder human natur'.

" It's a very good world tliat wo live iu,
To give, or to siiciid, or to lend ;
Dut to Vjcg, or to borrow, or to a.sk lor your own,
It's such u world a.' never was known."

Adoo,

J. F. C,

I am off to-morrow.

No, VII. Tiir.MONT lIoL'si',, Cimwco,

ii^cdncsdaij, July '2V!h, 1874.

My dea!' :}.ioTiii:K,

Since I ]i()sted my last at Niagara I have macU; 500
miles, and I have made acquai-.tance with a Pullman CiU-
and a Canadian Scotchman — both very agreeable. The t-ne
wa;: long and the other short. It rained like Niaga'M all
yesterday morning, and I smokud and looked at the lain
till one. Then I got into a 'bus and drove to the depot.

LUX''RIOUS VAGRANCY.

' *■ 1 wlieie 1 found an old Kn^disli stiu^'e-coaclimau esla])li.shed

as ]ui,f;j,aire -master. He cliooked my lii,!.fga!:fe, and I never
saw it a^^ain till I. found it in this roitni. At the suspen-
sion hrid.Lje I changed cars, and i)aid three dollars (say 12,s.)
extra for the Tullnian car. Mine was named "Tho
Favourite." It is a Ion?.,' and lolly room, with seats in
]iairs to hold two ])airs of jjcopU' hy day; red velvet seats,
Willi lar<i;e (Excellent windows to look out of on either side.
Smoke-rooms and dressin.u-rooms are at each end, and all
ma,;,fnificent with marhle and mirrors. At one end was the
(h'nin,t,' car witli a kitchen and Mack waiters in white jackets.
^Vhen 1 ^iTot in I had to j)ass ihriin;.,di a whole carriaj.feful
of pcojile, each ])aii' with a tahh:- let down ami food thereon,
and ti'a and coffee and all niauiier dl' luxuries. T was very
iiun^u'ry, but liad tn wait. Piesently the sati'-'liud returned
^ to ihcir seals. I went riulit intu tlie dra\vinii;-roi»m, which

was a box near tlie kililien, lined wilii red velvet and
niirioi's, and st'l dut with a table and <^lasses. There I ate
an excellent bccrsleak, jxitatoes and jj;reen corn, jieach ]iie,
bread, butter, and Imt edfrce, with iced water to iinish with.
I miL,dit have bad clams and beii'ies, and goodness knows what
else, but 1 had eiiouuh. and i»aid live shillinj^s. All this
time it was rainiiiLr and we were travelliiiLT •' -I to Uanu'lton
on Lake Onlaiio, passin^n' nvei' Xia^ai'a L'a])ids, and rushing,'
throujfh farms and forest, which would have cost a tiaveller
a week to ]iass a few years a,L;'o. (llcii! make sa^e rellec-
tions about steam as 1 did. Wni can make them better
than i can write them.) Dine',, I walked tlirou;ih the cars,
and smoked in tlu^ ...-v,i provided with chairs, matches,
spittoons, and iced water, and there fraternized with ;i
vol,, r. I)

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

countryman. Wlieii five years old lie nii<;rated from
the Duke of Arifyll's estate in Ceantiie. "I am t'lK! Duke's
cousin," quoth I, "and ray name is Cany)bell." "Bless me !"
said a Yankee, and olTered me a cigar, which T accejtted and
smoked ".dadly. Thenceforth we all colloj^ued and smoked,
while 1 studied the; barometer and the ])assin_tf geoloj^ical
section, of which I have made notes for ray own ])rivate lo{;.
V>y ten we had passed Paris and London and Win<lsor, and
then we went afloat and crossed to Detroit, seven-ei;..5hths
of a mile, in the glorious moonlight. I'lie train broke in
two. The tail went lirat into a barge and the head fol-
lowed on a second set of rails. Then the l»arge steamed
down stream till all was right, and then up stream till it
hit the other end of the railway on the American side.
Then the head went ashore and ho(jked on the *iil, and
the whole train roared and rang itself into the dejiot and
panted a little, and whistled and hissed, and subsided into
repose, while the attendants oiled the joints of the monster
and ra]>])ed its bones in the usual mtinner. Then it took
a tit tit' going, grunted, and ^et off without warning, as is
th(! fasliion of American trains. I .scrand)led in and went
to bed. The sloping roofs on either side of the cars had
come down as shelves. The seats had somehow turned
into a hnver sludf, a foot-board and head-board divided
each compartment from its ;;ighbour, and i\w.r(.\ I I'oimd a
bed broad enough for two, with ])il]()ws to match, and
strijx'd curtains hung up, and shecits and lilaid'Cets; so 1
dolled my coat and shoes and turned in. Presently 1
tbund tliat we were many and the air frowzy, so I opened
my window and pulled down the l)lind, and shipt like u
top till uunshine told me to get up.

"flO FKTCII THE ENGINES."

3/,

I "

Now because tlie curs are long ami springy and because
tbcy are exceedingly well luaile, tlie Tiiotiou is utterly un-
like railway inntidu in i'lngland. 'I'here is no sideloriL;
rattle and roll, no jar and little noise. With an easy swing-
ing, seesaw tnovenient on I went, feet foremost, sleeping
;is if I wei'e at home in my own bed. So that is my first
('.xi)erience of a Pullman sleeping-car. While \ was wash-
ing my face, the attendant Nigger had clumged two beds
into a roof and iuur seats, ami I sat on one, and looked at
my neighbours, male and feiuah,', iiiid thought how cixceed-
ingly uninteresting we all are when half dressed. And so I
got to Chicago as fref^h as jiaint, fed and washed, Ibund
my luggage in my r(»om, and wrote this letter, my journal
and my meteorological log; and then [ went out to smoke
and see the ruins. This town, which is not so old as I
aiu, wlii(di was utterly destroyed about three years ago,
now is like Talis i'or size and bustle, with wider streets
and shops nearly as giand. This house is a small j)alace.
with gas and water everywhere, red velvet and marble, and
mosfjuito cui'lains, walnut pi'esses, and room to dine many
hundreds of guests. The old house demolished l»y the fire
was hoisted bodily out of tlm mud after it was first built.
This is a go-ahead countiy for railways and city building,
and that's a fa(t, I guess.

Thursday, Jnhj .'id. — Al)out <lawn this morning I was
awakened by an unusual soutul below, so got up, and found
that a lire was going (ui over the way. The .sound was thai
of an engine arriving. Presently it was spouting vigorously.
Fronj time to time nu)re steamers arrived ; they came lei-
surely trotting with a ]iair of horses, hissing and sj)uttering;

I) 2

liHil

;jr,

y\Y ('[R.'cr.An xotks.

.111(1 as each caino ii)» ihe dragons a.l worl; opciu'd Ihoir
.shiniiiLi oyes and slioiic at tlie new comer and squeaked a
.shrill welcome. Then each in (urn IicLjaii to lilow oil' ;i
column >>f steam and sparks half as hij;ii as the houses, and
t,he whol,. Hock spouted water into the fire. It ,grcw till (he
flames came out of the roof, and they .uot (lie hc!tcr ol' it.
More steam dragons came u]) and were wcliM)m('(l. niiil then
l.hey sto{)])eil and went away again, as they were n()( wanted.
Three or four ri'inained woi'king, hut they had heat ihclii'o,
and so 1 went to hcd again, and sle[)t. Theiv was n.i crowd,
not a dozen sjieetators in the streiit, and m.hddy seeiai'd to
'Uire a jot fur the lliv. The steam watcr-diMguiis had (he
whole to (hi'iiiscl vcs. Ahnut eight, three great roars from a
liassing train or iVom (]h> shining di'agons of (he hrillian!
eyes awoke me agiiin. I looked out, and tlierc was tic
street looking as it looked ovcrnighi — hiisv and careless.
The jilace hui'iieil seems to be a warehouse ''or pipes, leaf-
tobacco, and carpets. Only (wo or three of the o]»posiie
neighbours lit theii' gas in the heat of the seriiiim:ige.

I have got my tickets for San Francisco (lis dollai's), and
mean to start to-moi'i'ow, and stop at a gi'cat nianv places
by (he way. J exi)ect to lind Ie(ters when I arriv(>. I
hardly cxjiect (o havi' tiiia' to wri(e more of ihis kind, l)n(,
wjien I have (inn; for (ha( i)ur|iosi' I will tell you my tale.
l\Tean( ime good-bye.

d. J'. C.

Lo;/. — Dne of my fellow-travellers heivabmUs was a (imlni'
and S(|uared oak merehaid redirning from s(ar(ing a raft
about T'JOO feet long for the St. I/iwnMicc?, and bound for
^lilwaukie and eLsi!V her- in fdl r.iow. Ibrest.i. Oaks "ww

CELTIC CANADIANS.

;(11 over this tract and farther north and west. INFy ue-
(juaintance came froui a land wliere the forests are chieily
lieather, and the oaks are underground in peat Ijog.s. ]{('
buys land and cuts timber " right away." The soil is dee[>
and rich — black loam over strong clay. When they sink
wells thry get to lime and oil. Geologists say that coal is
lower down, but no one has tried as yet. T,ake St. Clair is
a grand jilace for ducks; one man killed eighty-two brace
in one day at a place on Lake Erie. That belongs to a
.Joint Stock Company ; men go there and pay some dollar.^
j)er day ; a punt man is servant and included in the rent of
this shooting. Sjiortsmen pay, and slay ducks in September
and October.

" If you come back in the fall," said my Canadian Gael.
" 1 will get you plenty of good duck-shooting." •' Thank
you," said I, " I am going on westwards till I get home IJ.V.''

From all that I hear, Highlanders make excellent farmers
and lumberers. The Scotch generally flourish. So do Nor-
wegians in Minnesota. The Norse girls are famous to bind
wheat. A girl will earn three dollars a dav : they are as
good as men. No wonder that men marvel at the strength
of Sa'tar Pigas when they live amongst Aveak womeu
whom I see hereabouts, One ^lacLellan, a Canadian about
twenty-five or thirty years of age, beat Dinnic (piite
lately, and all Canada is proud of the athlete. In 1847.
MacLellan from Islay beat all Inverary and all comers.
Islay men about Itowmore are nourishing greatly. The
way to IJowmore was the way to church when I was
young. Tlu! way to go there now is to go to Toronto and
then North-AVest.

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

" And how do you account for tlio fact that trees grow
in these parts and do not grow elsewliere west?"

" Well, sir, the only way that 1 can account ibr it is, that
within some late period the country was submerged," said
the feller of oak forests. " Some jiart of tlie prairie is low(!r
tlian Lake Michigan. They dug a little, and now tlie water
runs out mi iward to the CJulf of i\Ie.\ico instead of running
eastwards, as it used to do, iuto Lake Michigan on its way
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence." 1 wonder how many practical
men I should iind in tlie old country able to tell nu; so much
that 1 wanted to know wln'le wldrling ])ast London, I'aris,
Windsor, and otlier towns wliose namesalces are here in tlie
wilds. This is a grand country for men with brains to
migrate to. But it's not .all velvet. 1 heard of the proud
bearing of trains of Highlanders passing through this land
suffering the pangs of liunger and thirst, dusty and footsore
and travel-stained, too ])0()r to buy the food for which they
were too proud to ask, and fed by th(jse of their kind wIkj
had gone before and had enough to spare for kindred souls
and bodies. The fact remains, emigrants have a rough time;
of it unless they carry enough for their needs. Natural
selection of the strongest and lltte.st nas made this strong
population by slaying the weak.

All the people wiio conu^. out hen; are not quiet, sober,
industrious sons of toil. After writing my letter home 1
went to see the burned town. I wanted something to carry
me, for the heat was terrible, and hailed a hack, as men hail
a hansom. The fai-e was live dollars for two hours — say
aboiit one pound one. I took the cars instead, and paid five
cents (about 2^d.) for leave to drive all over the town, for

THE KED BUrtNEHS.

the wliole day, I believe. That is Republican. If anybody
chooses to be an " Ari.sto" and hire a fiacre, he must pay for
a hack. I drove Kepublican fashion, and walked to the water-
works and 133 steps up to the top of a tower 200 feet higii.
Tlie tower rocked in the strong westerly breeze. The view-
over the town on the flat shore, with the blue lake in a heat
haze, was curious and strange. Why, 1 know not, but it took
ine back to Kuopio in Finland and to the to[) of a tower on
a hill there. This tower is the highest jjoint between these
American lakes antl the Mississi]»)ti. Tlie engineer in the
])ump-room asked tenderly after tlie welfare of Liverpool.
He had traded there as steam-boat engineer. "There's three
or four fires burning now," he said. " There's a lot of darned
rascals in tliis town. They do it on ])urj)Ose. They tele-
graph here about (ires, and they have not rung them out
yet." I know very well why that shoit speech took me back
to l^iris and to Easter 1871; nnd showed me the crowd of
faces about the Porte Maillot, where all the rogues in the
world appeared by dej)uties and rcijircsentatives from luirope
and from America. I beg'an to realize that Eed liejjublics
are possible in older liej)ublics. I noticed that an American
lly-wheel was cast in many bits. " I would not like to see
it make thirty revolutions," said the engineer. If Boston be
the Hub of the world and steady, Chicago seems to be at the
circumference ; and the wheel may go off at a tangent if it
goes too fast, and makes red-hot revolutions. A little of the
frost of Scandinavia and Scotland may be useful where there
is so nmch petroleum, and where there are so nuiny petro-
leuses. " That tower of yours is rocking," I said. " I should
not wonder if it came down some day." " I'lease (lud it

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

don't come tliis ^vily," Siiid the t'ligineer. " Aiiu'ii."
said I.

I look tli(> curs ng-ain. and drove up State Street to see
the ruins of last tire. Tliey are ruins. Those of ]\iris
whicli I saw at the end of 187o were notlnn;^ to them, and
yet tliey were "some puin])kiiis." Here and there a tent
or a shanty sheltereil tlie ground-landlords, and Gernuins
were sellinu; lairer heer from sheds. Directions of the
hurned-out citizens — doctors, dentists, merchants, ])arsons,
and all the classes who own ])roperty, and wish for u
quiet lie[)ul)lic that Iniilds waterworks to extinguish lied
tires — were stuck about on lioanis. The black ground under
them was strewed with glass and a tangle of pi])es, of all
kinds, sorts, and sizes, and yet fresh fii'es were still red-hot,
with water ])layiiig on them to e,\tinguish them, pumped
out of the blue lake l)y that tly-wh(!el in many bits, which
the engineer would not like to see make thirty revolutions.
1 went home to my own room, and read the daily papers, to
my great discontent. If the American people keep their
j)re.ss-gang going at such speed in such a mess, they have
need of a steady old Hub at Boston to act l)i'ake for the
flying-wheels of their old family coach, and some autocrat
at their bi'eakfast-ta])le to give them wholesome mental food.
All the ])eo)de who come out here are not sober, indus-
trious, hard-handed sons of toil. 'J'he Ouvrier of 1348 and
the Fenian of 1875 are here in Ibrce, stirring tij) strife and
poking fires in the engine-room. Angcs d'en has.

I saw a great deal between Chicago and Cheyenne which
has gone into the geological pigeon-hole. At the Missouri
I fell in with my fii'st Indians. I stalked, and tried to trap

.inllN IS A (lOOl) INDIAN.

;iu did riiwiicc winiiiin. As soon as she l\vi,LrL!;('(l what I wiis
iiboiit slio covered up hev towsy lilaek liair and skedaddled,
it was all in \"ain to hiile behind posts and inside cars. She
A\as very wihl and ]ii(tures(jue, and far t<io qni(,'k to be
caught flying with a ])encil unawares. She came fruiu the
leservations to the North. A still more jiicturesque boy, in
red tights, with a bow and blunt arrows, wanted to shoot
coiu.s, and so far as I know continues to want. Neither
understood English. At Frennjiit more; Indians came about
tlie train with ])a])ers, begging: "John is a good Indian;
'jive him a dinu'." As none of them would let me draw
them, I got old Jolm, an<l wrote the numerals. Here they
are, as near as 1 can spell by ear.

1. Ask.

2. lietku (very soft).

3. Towet.

4. Schiete (soft and sibilant).

0. Si(ju.\'. This explains the name of the tribe o{' five
nations.

G. .Sioux aufen. (Very soft) o and 1=G.
. 7. Betku sioux aufen, 2 + o = 7.

8. Towet sioux aiU'en, 3 + 5 = 8.

U. luxidewan.
JO. Ti luxide.

Now here is a rimiish numt'ral, and a Norwegian. 2'i = 10.
Juxi is nearly the sound of one — de 1 do not know wliat to
make of, but the word k)oks like Ten the first.

I pointed at Jolni and said " Sh-qii((," which I knew of old.
He looked very indignant and grunted "No." "Fapoose?"
1 said. John gatheretl his draperies and snorted. He Avas

4-J

MY CIRCULAR N'oTKS.

neitliiir a woman nor a child, and ho would linve nothin<j;
more lo say to a imiiil who insiillod his niasLci'. llo ^ot his
dime, that was all he cared aluail, unless it was tliti diam
that he lioun'ht with it.

I tried to catch a Sh-(p(ri, who was nearly black and very
striking. Init on went the train into the region of the Platte
river. At tea time, at (.Irand Island, many Indians came
ab(jut. I saw their camp. One L;nt talkiuLf to a knot of
passeniicrs, so I managed to hook him. He looked like a
noble li'oman scnatnr, with his bhuk scalji locks, and reil
blaidcet drajied ab(jut e.xceedin.nly well-madi'. le,L;s, and a li^dit
active body, carried by neat feet, M'ith hi.uh instejts. His
bow and arrows were in a Iijl;' of deerskin, w ith numerous
iianging tags and ends. The geneial colour was wai'm yelhnv.
Blanket red, shirt blue, hair black an<l coarse, skin vtuy dark
(dive, sepia and Vandyke brown, no/ red Leggings, deer-
skin with tags below, like the tails of two fashiijnable gowns
trailing. Deerskin mocassins litted his i:eat i'eet like a
stocking. The crowd, as is the wav of ci'owds, called him
to look at me, just when I most wanted to lodk at him. He
came, stuck his tluunb on his portrait, gazed hard, graspetl
hard, looked amused and amazed. Then he exchumed and
laughed, and bore himself in a very frivolous maimer, exceed-
ingly unlike the Indians of my reading, and oil' >ve went
fizzing over the ])lains. 1 saw my lirst jirairie dog sitting at
the mouth of his rulillcial volcano. It can't rain much where
beasts live in o])en funnels. I saw herds of black cattle in
the di.stance. All the tame kye are coloure(l, so these wore
my iirst buffaloes. I saw great numbers of ant-hills, ])iles of
gravel half-a-foot high, amongst small cacti, some with small

INDIAN MAN OK llli: PLAINS

].. 4J. \i>\. i.

LIVE STOCK AND LAXDSCAPK.

4:5

round fliit loaves, otliors nnind as u rihlicd (traii;j;(;. 'I'liti ,L,M'ass-
li(t|»l)er.s, which liiivo devaHlalcd Mijine.S(tta and liidds of
Indian corn all n\) this line, were in shinin^f clouds all the
way to the lioeky Mountains. AVlieii we .stei)j)ed oil' the cars
at a halt, they rose whirrin;,', a i^litterin^' cloud. The corn-
stalks where they hail been were hare slicks. I'raiiie larks
and hawks and antelojtes made the li.st oi' live stock noticed
on this trail. Now it really was curious to <^t) whizzinjj;
through the wildei-ness in a drawiiiLj; room, lookin;..^ at these
wild creatures from j)late-glass windows. As 1 lay do/iuLj in
my bed I could often fancy myself (^n a well-known High-
land seashore, watching a burn digging in sand. Tiie burn was
the I'latte river, the sand was the bed of tlu; stream, when the
snow by melting sends a rolling flood over these dry sands.

An old fellow at Omaha, finding that I could speak French,
look a liking lo nu', and asked wheic 1 was going. "To
(Jheyennc," I said. "Don't go there," he said ; "all the men
are murderers and thieves; you will have your throat cut and
lose your money." " r>ut," said T, " there nnisl bo a station
and a hotel there." " Xon, monsieur, there is nothing of the
kind." r»ut neverlheless I went to Cheyenne and found an
excellent hotel, anil a good statiini, and very good food, and
nobody seemed to have the smallest wish to cut my ])urse
or my throat.

1 see no ])ossible reason for tiying to fi'ighten me from
('heyenne, so conclude that ]>eo{tle who do not travel in
America, as elsewhere, need instruction. The country is so
vast that diflerent states are as European countries, and their
inhabitants are as foreigners. One very jthnisant fellow-
traveller said that when he first went west, a little bov, none

MY CIRCUr.AI! NOTES.

of t])e otlier little lioys would play with liiiii liecause lie was
a " liliie l)elly." I ivnieiuber that Queen Elizabeth cal1v."i
certain Irislnuen "Yellow bellies" because they woi'e yi-llow
wai.stlielts at a great game, but I ibrget which Aniei'ican statt-
is inhabited by " IJlue l»ellies." It is said that Lincolnsliire
lads are like their fellows the dneks, and have speckled
bellies and wel)bed I'eet. Nova Scolians ai'e " iJlue noses";
every state in America in like manner has a nickname,
and Cheyenne earned a very bad name indeed when my
Canadian French American friend was a little boy.

The little lUne belly bathed and then the other little boys
saw that he was of tiieir kind ami harmless, and jjlayed witli
Iiim thenceforth. So 1 went to Cheyenne and saw that it
was human and rather civili/cnl. It hjoked so, and behaved
well to me. But the west is a wild country, and wild spirits
roam there.

At the station near Colorado Springs two rival drivers had
a difFiciilty. (_)ne was slemler and vicious, and lie jtounceul
down from a 'bus on a big, lilulf, bull-lieaded, })rize-lighting
sort of man in boots and shirtslee\cs, who had been a
captain. lie forthwith tiirew his foe oil' the ]>latl'oi'm down
live feet amongst heels and wheels and sand. If he was
slender he was as vicious as a wild cat, and f:dl of jiluck.
lie rose, clindjcd up, and charged again, bleeding fvom a cul.
Thereu])on the big captain got his knob in chancery and
tap])ed his claret, and reduced his face to <!ie condition of a
beefsteak well beaten.

lie kept on yelling all the time: "Til kill him! biing
me a knife. I'll kill him, give nn; a kiufe, I'll kill him."
'['lie rest, who kejit theii' hands in tlieii' pockets, presently

A DirFU Ti/rv.

suj,^ueste(l tliiit lie li;ul ciionali. The 1)ull(lo,u- (IrofiiKMl tlio
Idiii cat, iiiiil tlii'V(> 1)1' stood (lrii>iiiii,u- ,uoiv, over 1 lie ste])S of
lliL' curs, and sliakiii-'. Hf wa^. IkmU'Ii, l>ut he did iioL want
to uivc in. 1 was looking for tin; ivvolvcr and ])rei)aring to
LTct out of the line of liiv. " Kh '. ln''s liad enou-li," said tlio
captain ; " that will tcadi von to I'M]) down on um a;4ain. ' 8o
t.lu" dilliculty ended. I'lvsently the 'buses started for Colo-
rado Spring-, r.ut for that sava-e yell for a knife, the fi.uiit
was a re;.;ular ^'ood mill. I never saw anybody pit a more

complete tlirashin:4-, even at Klon, when; I saw 15 . thrash

Windsor Clnnnmy, a sweep, and where I ;4ot my own tetlli
(diipped at Windsor fair, and ,i;-ot thrashed l.y one of th(^
" cdods."

Xo. VI IT.

MAN.Tcr, NT. \i; I'lKi'.'s Tkak, and C'oi.oitAiio Si>uiNf;s,

liocKV .MorNl'AINS,

U'rdiii-silaii, Aiiijrmt i/h, 137 J.

Mv uF.Ai; M(vnii:n,

Kroni <"hica;^o at 10 on Friilay last I started an 1 crossed
IJK' plains to the Mississippi, thence to the Missoui'i, and
then up the valley of th" I'latte river to ('heyoniie. I got
there on Suiidav at noon. At midnielu I took a cross train to
Denver and got here ISi) miles south at dinner tinav Two
stage drivers had a good liiiht at the station, C'aiilain ]:og(n's
of the (,'onfederale army got the head of his adversary into
chancery and si>oiled his face awful. This great mountain,
14,0(11) feot nh(»V(> the sea, is a station for state meteorology.
They live uj) there, ami lelegra]ih weather proliahililies, and
the .'esult- i.-' satisfactory, for the weather does accord with jiro-
hahililies eastward. Il'-rc we have rain and thunder daily

4C,

VY rrRf'rr.Ai? notks!.

ill the al'tcriKKiii, mid ;i I'an^'c from flO" lo ".)()'. This is ;i
\vatei'iii;j;-]«l;u\', calknl ^MaiiitdU. Thcic is a lari^o liotcl ami
many small ones, Iicsidc a lirawliiiL!,' inii'ii; Ifiiipcnitinv, HO '.
1 Iiv(! i'i a (k'tachcil cMtUam' amoiiLi'sL sumc Iret'S, and when so
dis])ost'd iill a lodt-pail and halhc. There is a soda sprint,',
wljieli is (K'licidus, and a veiy nice ii'on siifiiiLT, whicli is
healtliy. All the ju'dplc ai'e sick. " What is ymir cDniplaint,
sir?" said a man to mt\ "I liaxf not u'nt one, tliaid^ you,"
said I. "Anno Domini is my cliiel" ailment." Tiiis is (he
queerest jilace 1 eviT saw I'oi' weailieretl r((cks. Nothiu'j,- can
describe (liem ; they arc not e;;sy to draw, and photo^i'ajihs
do not ,i:iv(' the colon?'. 'I'lh^y aix' red and white, and all
shapes. Some arc like i^iatit mushrooms, others like anvih-5
and iii^ures with flat ca]is on. Some are spii'es, and pinnacles,
and towers, and statues, ami lout;' n;urow (Mnnhs, '.',{){) i'uct
iiiu'h, with holes and ca\es t hi'oU'ih tliem. The dark u'i'ecns
and lirilliant reds against tlii! distant hills heat everylhiii:^'
for colour. These are triassic, .u'l'ils, and pehhle-heds, and
ffyjtsuni ami sandstone, all I'anhed and tossed al)out in the
inosfc fantastic, j^eolo^ical fashion. 1 j-.: an to make mor(!
sk('t(dies, and huy jihotoiiraphs. Now I am off to S('(; a
canon nine miles in a hu^L;y, foi- I find walking' iiard work
in this Ljival heat, 1 mean to ,u;o to the top of the peak
helorci I stai't for t'heyeinie a;i-aiii, and jiick up mv tiMps and
_qo on westwards, lli'iv my haroineier s-lands at Hil'lDH. 1
hav(! seen Indians in plenty, deer, hnlfaloes, prairie; do;_;s, and
chickens, all out of a wimlow. 1 sh'pt th(; sleep of the
blessed in the sleepiiiLii-cai's, and lotikeij laii of a drawing-room
on wheels at the wild prairies of the !''ar West. (Here mak(!
mure sage relleetions on steam.) 1 niiL.';ht ttde^rajih to you

>
■a

o
o
a;
a

tmmt

if it

old.

a sl<

lot (

Isa

did

lots

will

lio '

sna

pasi

sho

frat

at t

and

wal

cxc

aili

iVoi

hvo

aiu

loti

tlu-

tak

bel

an(

thi

amt

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SCOTCH IIIOIILANDERS.

if it were Tvurlh while, and yvX this place is not ten years

old.

Tkarsddii, 5.— I went to my Cheyenne canon and made
a sketch, and canu' hack all v'vj}\i. On the way I ]'assed a
lot oC prairie doLi,s. We stopped, and got out the hinocular, and
T saw tlu! lirules as clearly as if I were heside them. They
did nie tlie favour to yelo. My hoy, a Yorkshire Lid, has liad
lots of tlicni as pets, lie drowned them out of their holes
with a jiail of water. 1I(! also slew many rattlesnakes when
he was a shce]) stock-hoy out in the jdains. Do^-s, owls, and
snakes live toj^ether in these holes amicaltly. licturning, we
passed an old fellow ridini^'. "Bheil Gaelic a^ad ? " soon
showed that Mr. JUair was a Perthshire Ilii^hlander, and we
fraternized instantly. He is fifty-four, and yrey as a haih^^er.
He is justice of ]i(!ace, landowner, and general manaj^er here
at the springs. This morning he came to fetch me for a walk,
and we have heen dawdling ahout and drinking quarts of
water. 'i"he springs ai'e all delicious, temperature GO", taste
excellent, boiling up with carbonic acid, and good for vni'ious
ailments, of which I liave none but laziness and weakness
from the heat. AVe l\'ll in with a workman from liairloch,
brother to tlie gamekeeper. Of course we jabbered Gaelic,
and shook hands a good ileal. A Mullman is here, ami
lots of other Scotchiuen, who are all ilourishing. Amongst
these grand hills they seem as hap])y as kings; but tl; y
lake the strongest interest in the old country and all that
belongs to it. " Oli, but I was ])leased when 1 came here
and saw the hills again," said one to me with effusion.

All my own geological speculations are in the log, where
this is to go. The main result is, that 1 believe this to be

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

un ancient seacoast, and the Aveatlici'eil rocks tlie \vf)i'k of
waves. 1 find none al)ove a certain level. I find no marks
of the "Ice Cap," and have ceasi'd to hidieve in it altoj^rether.
Personal adventnres I liave none to tell. The peoi)le ]day at
croqnet, and sing and ride in hahits, ami the wonicn dress in
long-tailed gowns and swell sleeves. Most of them are sick,
and nobody seems to fraternize with me. An Ayrshire man,
who is a good walker, is the only social )le crc^ature I have
found. 80 I spend my time nuich alone — drawing, writing,
and .smoking. I go to bed at dark, rise at daylight, help
myself to fresh water from the l)urn, and enjoy life. The
best pait of travelling is sitting still at a jjleasant ])lace, with
Nature's soda-water to drink, or witii cataract-baths, like
those of Niagara.

And now I shall send off this letter and dine. T have not
dined for two days, having been out all day hmg. I have
druidc nothing stronger than coffee for a wecik. T may sen(.i
von some photograjjlis if they come off the cards. To-morrow
I mean to try the ]ieak, and if I find it too hard \\-ork 1 will
sto]) where the horses sto]>. and ride down again.

J. ]'. C.

No. IX. .S.\i,r Lakf, City,

AikjhM 12//;, 1871.

My DEAll .MoTIIKd,

I gdt in here last night and found gas and all oth(T

lu.xuries. Ladies with long nnislin ti'ains wero sailing and

trailing ahout in the dust arm in arm with niaU; swells.

Some one remarked that single men walked with half-a-dozen

SALT WATER AND SKEDY SAINTS.

of women, and these wq concluded to he tlieir wives. We
heard Norwei^iaii and Enj^lislx of many jirovinces, and all
manner of outlandish ton^mes, all gathered into this queer
mountain basin i'ull of salt water and saints. Something
docs not agree with them, for they all look seedy and waslied
out. It is as hot as a furnace, and yesterday morning we had
a frost. Tliat sort of thing may disagree with the saints of
Utah, or something else may ; but tlie I'act is that tliey look
seedy exceedingly.

I went u)i I'ike's Teak oidy as far as T could ride, or
rather scramble, with an old Imrse. At 90'Fahr., and liily-two
of age and 230 lbs. of weight. I would not face 1,500 feet of
rough ground with seven Yaid<ees in good condition to shame
me or make me walk my best oi' bust. So at 12,500 feet
above the sea I turned tail and studied geology down hill.

Ne.xt day I drank soda spi'ing water and sketched ; and on
Sunday I went 180 miles back to Cheyenne. On Monday
1 started at two, slept in the cars as in a liou.ic, got uj) to
breakfast on Tuesday and fed by the wayside. At about
eiglit I got here yesterday from Ogdeii, and here I am writing,
drawing, smoking, and li\ ing as quietly amongst these ^lor-
inoiis as if I were at home. " Co'Iuni tioii aniimtm mutant ijui
trans mare currtint;" and hert' the; l^nglish iMormons have
carried their houa; ways. r>oots is iVom Yorl-;sliire, anotlier
is I'rom Xotlingham. Half the wives are fi'om Wales. Tlie
master has tliree, and Brigham Young lias hfty. I have none.
]\ry chief atMiiiaintance in the cai's was an ohl general, who
offers to eutei'taiu me il' 1 go soulli. He is a notorious Indian
warrior, ami used to seal]) his slain men himself, so I am told.
He looks ratluu' like Lord Clyde. If 1 i. an, I wdl go see

VOL. I. E

MY CIRCULAIl NOTKS.

his pliico. I also met a good fellow going to New Y(jrk on
the other train, who turned out to be the man to wliom I liad
a letter. AVe shook hands and parted. And now I must go
out and face the sun. I see my shirts drying in the yard,
and rejoice in tlie ])ros])ect of clean linen waslied by women
who are saints. I luive no news, and

1 am, yours affectionately,

J. F. C.

Zo^.— Colorado Springs. Tnesclai/, Aurjud 4. — This is
Eoljinson Crusoe life ; all alone in a cabin, with my bags hung
on pegs, employing myself as if I were at home. The sun
shines through a round hole, and tells me when it is time to go
to breakfast by walking ahjiig the boards. A tourist bragged
that he had been up and down Pike's Peak in twelve hours ;
he rode most of the way. "I walk like a greyhound," said a
slim little man ; " I have little nurscle, but what I have is
good." "I am too old to walk," I said. " You are too fat,"
said the lean man. " You don't look as if there Nsas much
the matter with you," said anothei', "I had dysjiepsia." I
hadn't, so I tinished my breakfast and went back to the Imt.

Ay gust 4. — Walked dowu stream east, and was overtaken
by Dr. Ifayden, U.S. geologist, on the outside of a horse. Tie
had found me out, and we had some jdeasant geological talk
to my great profit, I crossed the river on a plank bridge, and
went over the sandstone hills wondering. I stopped at last
and made a sketch. These red rocks, disturbed by the up-
heaval of the liocky Mountains, are faulted right on c-dge,
and are partially turned over at the Garden of the (lods, and
elsewliere to the north and south. But the remarkable

hi: !) HOCKS, MEN AND BEASTS.

m -

f,'oolo<^fical feature licrc! is tlu; woiitliuriji;^'. The pillar sketched
is one of many hundreds. I only drew it ])eeaus(i it came in
my way. (!reat red and ^'r(>y mu.shrooms of sandstone seem
to j,M'o\v' in the woods Iteside oak trees. Gnjat masts and
scaffolds of rc(l sandstoiie stand heside trees, and hjcjk as if they
formed jiait of the same j,n'ou]>. ]Jed idols sit on pedestals in
the midst of ^Teensward. In short, this is the most fantastic
weatherinif that ever I saw away from a sear(»ast. In
"Something from the j,'old di.u^^inns of Siitlnnland" L tiied to
draw rock mnshrocmis, which there seem to grow in the sea
which carves them. Here they grow in the forest. Gradu-
ally I got to think that this must be the old searoast of the
American houlder period.

Among these quaint dry red rocks, T fell in with a man
and a collie dog driving (;ows. He was Itorn in London, and
is an .\meri(;an. The cows, I take it, were Ayrshires, and
the Collie from the Highland hills, 1 left them and watched
the ants. They arc little hi'own fellows and make a small
mound of sand, which weathers oif the stone images. In the
mound is a hole at one side. It is a heautil'ul structure,
carefully l)uilt and cemented ; I had tlui wickedness to poke
my stick into one round hill, and break the dome. Inside
the mound was all galleiies and chandiers. Out rushed the
Luililers in furious haste, tund)liiig headlong in the chasm
which T had maile, and I'olling stones as big as ihemselvi s
into the breach, woi'king Ibr dear life to rejiair the damage
and keej) out the rain. Left them and got U) the Garden of
the Gods. There the edge is 3U0 feet u]», lifted like ice in a
I)ond, but weathered like the Xeedles in the Lsle of Wight.
One bed is red, the next white, and the contrast of colour ii

f>2

MY CrUCUI.AU NOTES.

cxtranvdiniiry. A lot of .Siinday Scliool diildren out on ii
frolic were ycllinir all about, lioys clinibud to the ti])-toi> in a
rift, which wt)uld he called a chinniey in the Alps; they
stood u]in;j,ht on the to])nio.st jiinnacle, and there san<,' and
shouted. When I was youn<,'er I stood on the maintop of
the Bcnhou; hut "you could not do it now," as u eonipli-
nicntary Hi^'hlandersaid. An old fellow came and discoursed
me |)leasanlly : I like these rou,<i;h friendly ]>eo])le. Then I
walked hack : my pedometer marked eij^ht miles ; the j^lass
was 80° to 00°, and the air nm;4^'y. I had no water to drink
all day till 1 ^^ot hack to the burn, imkI I was thirsty and
tired and too late to dine. I sat m(! down on a ]o^ and
smoked. A trood-lookin,iLf yoiiii^- i'dlow sto[)])ed and said,
"May 1 bej,' a ])ipc of tobacco ? " " That you shall have and
welcome," said I, so we sat there and fraternized. He had
been round the country ,u,dld ])ros])ectinj,' in the south-west.
He pulled out his maj) and described the cafion country as
" the most darned infernal roii;j:h country that man ever saw.
The rocks are every way up on edge, and the mountains higher
than that one up there." 7'he most curious rocks were red rocks,
" like these, only darker red, wiili a eaj) of white granite on the
top, many thousands of feet higli." Tliat is the right sort of
man, frank and free. He has been walking ever since ]\Iay
with a pack team of " Jacks " (nudes), and he can walk as far
as a horse. He and his two mates had a tent, and slept
under three blankets. The water froze in their kettles every
uight. They were high, very high, and in "the most darned
rough country that ever was seen." They ran out oi" grub
once. It seems the climate about latitude 37 on these Rocky
Mountains is something like the climate of liussian Lapland

VAGRANTS AND TOUUISTS.

al)out Lako Kiiare, where I slept in u teiiL under all tlie
\vra]).s I liad, and awoke to find my kettle frozen, and where I
walked with a ])ack team of several Finns and a reindeer, from
the Polar hasin to the head waters of the Kenu. What a
bond of union a ])ii)t! of hacey is between ])eoi)le who lovt^
rou<fhin^ it, and are not dys))e))tic town tourists I'aiihionahly
attired, Avhere homespun onjfht to l)e worn.

WcdncucUn/, '>. — I'jt with the sun, fetdu'd a jiaii of water
and bathed, hired a Iniiij^y and drove otf at ten, nine miles,
to look at a eafion. Up it I wadisd an<l scrambled to tin; fall,
and there sketched. The "canon" is a deep groove cut by
a stream in granite, ab(mt a mile long. It is about 750 feet
deep, where measured by the average height of trees, with u
refracting quadrant of my own contrivance. It may average
1,UI)() feet dee]) and a mile long, and is a gun-shot witle.
The fall is at the end of a corrie, seamed with watercouises.
That half basin is hullowcd out (jf a granite hill. The
granite delta of the river s]ireads from the gidley on the
plain, and overlies newer mcks <listurbed by the granite on the
plain, and is all rolleil. The country is subject to sudden
partial Hoods. One cleared away a lot nf bridges since I came.
Though there was little rain where 1 was, very heavy thunder-
showers were passing all this day, and my boy was on the look
out for showers all the time we were in the canon. All the rain
that falls in the corrie gathers into the central hollow, and
tmnbles into the canon. A sudden Hood sweeps it into the.
fan delta, and then subsides into the purling brook, up which
we scrambled. Cli;ar water runs on course granite sand amidst
granite blocks. The whole is water work like the Kiukau
foss and Voring foss, which arc canons in Norway. The

MV CIRCULAR NOTES.

Upper cuiric! lu.iy liave Iield a glacier, liut 1 could lind no
boulders in the plain l>eyond the delta whose apex is in the
canoii.

Tliursd'ty, (;. — Wandered aliout the si)ring.s a'ld fraternized
with the Highlanders, and drank walei'. This gi'a'ute is all
crumliling in the touch, and Avater makes new canons in a
few hours ; all the glens are Y-shajied.

My Yorkshire driver vim came IVout r,iiicolnshire assured
me that he lav! oi'ien found clams and cockle-shells about the
foot }alls, south about twenty ndh'S, where he used to herd
sheep, and hunt rattlesnakes. Tlu; shells were; in {la; loose
soil, not in the rocks, and were like lancoliishire shells. J
did not see the shells, and I know that cretaceous fossils
weather out (jf rocks in this region. In the; evening I made;
a sketch, to the music of the usual evening thunder. After
the storm parsed eastwards to the plains, the sun shone on
the cloud and made the grandest naasses of light- that I ever
saw. The red rocks tui-ned dark purjile. While I was
working a gleam of suuli'^du made them ghiw like rc(l-liot
iron against the I'alhng rail of the black undcr-surfacc df the
rain-cloud. It swept awi y in the plains, uihI nighl fell codl,
quiet, and ch^ar. "Are n ^t tliese grand liills !• " I said to the
Eoss-shire man. "Ilucii." said he, " liua'c's no heather on
them, and no water." " IaH's liip.ior," ^ nd i ; and we had a
dram all round, and shook hanils, and jabbiTcd (iaelic.

Fridiiij, 7. — l']t before daylight, (hit some grub and some
pocket luncheon, and movnted a white steed composed chiefly
of sharp lioiies, with collar Jiiailvs on his neck and signs of
age everywhere. Starteil ludbre six on a curi(ais saildle witli
wooden stirru[)S, rode to the Clilf house, and there joined

DOWN HILL.

seven natives of wJiom some ^ver'• vcj^ulav lii'^M'ty prairif}
birds. AVilliout u '^n'ule or any oik; to mind tlic liorses, we
rode ofT on " tlic trail." We jiassed tlie Ri)rin<,'s, and
turned up a V-j^ailly of rotten <:ranite sand. AVe j:nt io a
ridge and rode alon.L,' a knife-ed<ze to tlie liill face We
turned along that through large tirs and -^n-eat si oik and
rocks of cnnuhling granite, chiefly ]»itd:. AVe got to a gap
with a Ijurn in it, and a hig stone 40 x Jo x 15 j'f*4, 0,000
cubic feet of granite at 105 lbs., about l,48rM*()0 lb.«. This
and other marks convir. ed me that a gli(**ier f-amo down this
way, l)ut did not go far into tlie jilain. It '.\as a local
glacier. We draidc and waten-d our steeds and rode to tlie
half-way house. To the right M'cstwanls wv saw distant hills
over a low "park," in which J)r. Ifayden has found signs ,->f
extensive glaciation. The rocks about, us were weathered
tors, like those in Devonshire and ( 'oniwall. I ro(le with
the rest some way up the I'cak to rj.niMi iVet above the
sea and tlie tindier line, and llieii walked. ]\h ears were
whizzing, the glas^ .-^tood at 85" in the air, at (V.V under a
stone on the grass. T felt Aveak ; I had to kick my horse
and fight with my slipping s.iddk idl tin way up. 1 saw a
cou]>le of thousand I'eet ab ive me, so I ''ave it I'p. These
cheery chicks from the I'Vairit'S oifered aid ..nM ga\i' it, ami
one said, " I want to get you along with us," but lie went
along hoi. ling his horse's tail and 1 sai and fed, and di'ank
fresh snow-water, and gazed out over the vast ]ilaiii, and
niminated all alone, as is my chief delight (ui high liiMs.
Then I wandered slowdy down, hading my <i!d shiw steed,
and sat on a bench at the half-way house and tlnmglit of
manv an old climb and race Mheu 1 was not liie last. I am

MY cnK'ri.AU NOTES.

not sure that I luid not tlio best of it thinkin'j,' all alone in
these Ljranil woods. A small grey ground squirrel came
ski])ping out of ilio wood, jerking his tail. I sat stock still
and he came to my feet, picking crumhs I'rom tlie gi'ound. I
winki'd at him ; lie lan iimler me and my IhucIi and I saw
him no more. I su[ij)ose that he lives in the shanty, nobody
else does Jimv. He wa.s n beautiful briglit-eyed little person.
I would not ha\i' harmed a haii' in his ai'tive tail, nvl ue
setMued to know n ; he wa-; a Ohipmunk. Lower ilowti I met
three stout m"U walking up, with a bag and some gea'' on
tluiir backs. They were emnitry tourists, not cockney swells.
They asked if 1 had bi-en u]) ; " Xo," said ^ " I'm loo dam
oM '' Thereu])on we laughed ;ind parted. >ketchin ' study-
ing stones and the wondrou> landscape^, ])utting glaci rs into
the hollows, and cos-eting t.ic plains with the sea, I led my
o]«l staler slowl\ down to "La fontaiui (pa bouille" and
'Iraijk alxmt a gallon, jawing to old rough workmen who sat
I'lmrid the well. "There's nothing to s(!e on the top when
you get there but stone^ and all (Jod's e iitli under you,' said
an (jld stager to whom hard worl was not ]ilay, who si'emed
to admire my wi-don and huk of eiiergv in tui'iiing tail;
and so end(:d an expedition tweh'e hours hmg, ])leasantlN
if i^nominiouslv.

Hatunhni, Ainj. 8. — .Sd in »ny '-diin with all ojien that
could let in air, writing aiiil working. 'Sr:. lilair was sur-
veying for new buililiiigs and iiliiry W(n'ks, none too .-^non.
I wrot(! him a ]iap( i on th<! hUp' HW-ial geoh. of hi- part of
'' (Jod's earth as I - w n \k\\vu looking down iiom I'ike'.s
Teak. Then 1 gave him a li<.i un- slick from 'amies mt ny
a Koss-shire amaluur y;ar'i;;/j<.T. Wuii.^'d up tu tlic water

TilH FIRST CHINAMAN.

s])riii^-.s and ilnink. They rise cl()S(3 to^^utlier, Imt vary in
coin))()sitioii, S' their sources must l)e dee]) or wiilo apart.
Tliey come ouL near tlu; junction of f^raniti; witli disturbGd
beds which arc dated " Triassic " liy tlie j^feolo^'ists. The
usual tliuiidcrstorm came down and cooh'd thi air, wliich was
S?"" in my cabiu at noon. AVliihi it rained I sat iiiiilcr a
shelter and j'awcd with the natives, wlio are cliicllv natives f)t'
1mii'o]h'. l)iiied and walked to the rocks, and sniokeil, and
sketched, and icstored my mental picture, ly pultiii'^ in t'lt;
sea at tlie notch which seems to mark th(' old sea margin
aloni,' these great liill langes.

Sundiiii, !.). — A ])(dite gentlenjan from St. Louis ;iskcil to see
a £5 note ; he a l)nsiness man, and had never seen one. I had to
change two gold twenly-dollai cuius, having no nKirc green-
backs. All the guests witiuii reach clustered round the bar
to look ai these scaice curiosities of American art. At ten
started in th(^ morning and (hove to " Colorado S])ring3;"
there the (bi\ei- tonk out the hdrses and lel'l mc alone in the
str(!et. Altera lime 1 got out, and found that liie man had
gone to diniiei' and wnidd nn| drive to the .statinu till noon. So
1 made anoi her sketch i)f the old sea margin, and the jiill with
tilt! canon in it o]»])ositc to the house ot' " "\'un l.ee, Washer-
man." 'J'he lung-tailed ( 'hinaman had got sn far on his journey
eaHtward, and there Ik; was in his natiomd clic ^ washing, lie
(laii)|'s linen for ironing by iilling his nmuth wi;li water,
whi •!! he blows out in spray like a grampus. A hit of sharp
civil lail-. I if whom one was a bi'ot her artist, came and lookeil at
my glowing pencil sketch ; one was leading me to liud those
recent shells of which 1 hear so nuicli. The place was
Beverul miles away, 1 had ten minutes to spare : so I never

bfi

MY CIRC ILAR NOTES.

set eyus on llicsc fossils. The irain took me to Denver and
liack to Cheyenne.

Mondaj/, AiKj. 10. — It was envious last nij^lit to look out on
the prairie over the town and listen to the absolute silenec of
a perfectly still niifht. I have heard the sound of steamers,
foy-horns, trains, rail-cars, Niagara, Chicago fires, more cars
and tlie burn at Manitou, all ringing in my ears day and night
ever since July 0. The dead silence was so striking that I
could not slee]). Towards dawn an engine began to howL
Thereupon several dogs of various sizes, at various distances,
howled also in the very same lamentable key till the engine
finished with the usual shout and snort. TJien the dogs
ceased witli a yelp, and there was silence till the cocks began
to ci'ow in slee])y tones because it was getting near dawn,
TliL'u 1 slept in this (piiet silent prairie town, where I was
told to guard my purse from a gang of cut-throats. Tlie
([uaint part of travelling here is the baggage dei)artment.
At Denver a "wagon" and four, loaded high with heavy
tmnks, came to the platform ; an active liltle man leaped down
and tundiled the trunks right out on the ground, anyhow.
Tlien he rolled them on their corners to a place where they
stood on their ends with a large ])ile of theii' kind. The
diivcir, who W(n'ked like the brown ants of Coloi'ado .Springs,
moved a1)out tlii'ce hundred times liis own weight in a few
minutes, then he lightly leaped on to the express of Wells,
Fargo and Co. and gaily drove away. Here tlie liaggage
master is styled tlie Admiral. 1 left my luggage witli him
when I branched olf a week ago — now J wanted it, but could
not get it, for the Admiral did not come on his (quarterdeck
till nine. Nobody seems to care a jot for i»assengei>; or ^«»>\>us.

STEAM TRAINS ANJ1 CATTLE TRAINS.

r,[}

So many peo])le and so iiiucli weiglit, so many tons liavo to
Le carried and landed. That is well done, far better tlian it
is anywliere else, liut for tlie rest a mai: must take care
of his l)ox and lielp liimself. "Have you got my 1 lagtfage ? "
said I to a niu'ger wlio was blacking Loots in tlie l>nr. "No,"
said tli(! nigger. " WIu'M ean I get it?" saiil I. "J guess
you can't get it lil) nine," said darky, polisliiug solemnly
Avhile lie rolled liis eyes and kioked comical. ""Where is
the man who has my checdxs?" "He's aslctp." "Where
are the checks?" said 1, ])ining for my clothes. " Ilight
away there in the money drawer," said my eli(»ny friend:
and there sure enough I fouuil my checks with a ])a]ier
througl] them ilesiring somebody to rail me at eight. The
checks and tlie money wei'e in an ojicn di'awer and
everybody fast asleej), excejit the jiassenger who took his
checks, got his luggage, and carried it to his room, and got
his liar slicked down at last. This may be a vlen of thieves,
but it does not look lik»' it. The rail lollows the emigrant
trail. On 'J'uesday, 11th, we jtassed a caravan moving west.
Tliei-o were thi'ce mounted men, with a herd of wild-looking
cattle, three white tilt( d " wagons " drawn by teams of oxen,
with women, children, and gear on board. They were clustered
in itictures([ue groups about the yellow l)anks of a streamlet
under vellow sandstone clitl's. In the hot glare of the sun
they looked brown, dusty, and tiavel-stained. It used to cost
six months to make this journey, now it is made in seven days.
Hereabouts, only tw(dve miles from the rail, at Fort I'ridger,
American troops are hemmed in by hostile Indians. We
landed a party told olf from some other station to relieve the
l>csiege(l. There were about half a dozen in this army, so the

;

MY riUCl.'LAlt NOTKS.

encniv wow, not slmtiLr. Hereabouts were tin; riinious din-
inond fields in wliicli diamonds, diijr attlic. Cape of (lood Hope
anJ iionglit in Lomlon, wore iilaiilcd in the Liood liojx; of
cheating somebody. A geologist sent out to exnmiiie, at oiic";
exploded tlie sliam. Tlie rocks contain coal, dated Miocene.
There are no pebbles about tlie ]ilac(! at all like ilinmond
gravel, but tliousands of people lost lieavily in "claims"
sold as rich in diamonds. It seems tliat tliey don't grow well
when jiianted. T\\v coal is sulphury and bad. At dinner-time
1 looked at a great block of coal ])lante(l on tlie platfoi'in.
It secnned to lie of excellent (pnditv ; ])ossi])lyit was agenuine
article, ])ossibly it was a l'la(dv diamond impoiteil IVom else-
where and planted on the ilat i>latform by the 'cuite tril>e who
are at war with the natives and ]ircy on the emigrants. A
carriage at Salt Lake City costs tlu'ci; dollars (12s. 6d.) an
hour. 1 Avonder how much it (.'arns in a month. I in(dine to
suspect as nmcli a-i I mean to invent in coacli hire ami dia-
mond ( laims, and iMuma shares. I can't allbrd these luxuri(!S.
I wrote letters at Salt Lake and then walked U]i ;inil down ^oO
feet ovei' twelve steps of rolled gravtd whii'li mark the old
lake levcds. I reckon from renniants of gra\ d on the hilNides
that these benches must be GOO feet higher than the ])resent
lake level. 1 sat and sketched and thought of the Ciispiaii.

The Salt Lake, eighteen mile-; away to the w.st, gleanieil
lilce silver in the evening sun, and th(> \. hole scene was hot
with yellow light. 1 mnci' saw iinylhing quite liki; this
behn'e ; a i)iclure of the lluerta of (Iranada, with the Sierra
Nevada, is most like l:ies(! hills iind hoi plains, in my mental
picture gallery. TlaMiver water pouring from the siiowclad
hills is fresh and excellent. There is not a trace of salt in it.

'CUTE TRIBES, AND .SAI/l'iOI) CLAIMS.

Vov ii'ri,!4ati()ii uiid Idwii i..scs open cuts lend tlu! ■w.iter iiloiic^
the liillside. All ciist jukI west streets are on tlie lake
shelves. All the iKutli ami Sdiitli streets luii ii|i and (hnvu
the terraees. TIh;}' are as clearly marked as the terraces
at Alteii, in Xdiwiiy. Tlu! uhiss here stciod at 'JS' in my
])Ocket, at T")^ in the coldest place 1 could iind. Eva{)oration
was e.xees.sive. Water-colours driei! wjili extraordinary
rapidity. T was ])arched with thirst close to a'lundance of
(excellent water, which T could see and lieai, Imt could not
reach without a sci'and)le down iiit(j a trench cut hy a hum
in the old hench hinds which avr, likc^ lieaches. These saints
are located on the hottom of a drad sea, partially dried
up. ir the old Dead Sea wca'e tn dry nj), it mi^'ht uncover a
eoujile <it' old Lake cities which were drowned for their sins.

Tltnrsdd]!, ].;!. — Drove in the street cars to the Sulphur
Springs. Tlie water i.-, warm, and seems to come I'rom a vein
of red siuff, which looks like a vein of some ilecompnsini,'
sulphuret. Then(,'(! I went tn I lie taliernacle di' the saints.
It has lii'ld M.OIMI peo]ile, and is like the shell of a !j,reat
hhij' I'estiui; on granite jiillars, in tlie m;iinier of m;iny an
old hoat-house that I have setui, with a hoat on to]>. There
are many ways of ^ettin^ u]i a suliject; one favourite plan
is to interview sonu; leader, and iiin>t jicdple avIio come here
interview the ]iresident, lhiL;];;im ^'inini:, or one or more of
liis " t\vtd\ e iipii I les.'' 1 ])iiT('r In inl er\ lew fi iHnwers M"hen
I want to L^ct at the trutli. " I on siill an Mnulisluuan," snid
cue; " Uit lor my rrlij^iou I wmild '^o hack to the old
country. Here, sii', is license, not liherty." I thouj^ht that
laws afleclinj,' hi^amists are the chief impediments to a
general skedaddle of saints from the dry hnllniu of Salt Lake

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

and the Sulpliur Spring's, but I did iK^t venture to say so.
I fraternized witli the Gentile pli(jtu<fra]iher who made rae
ucqnainted witli a very wortliy Professor, wlio is an entliiisiast
and is curator of tlie nuiseuin. His father was sclioohnastcr at
Warwick ; h^^ was born in Warwick Castle ; he is a phrenolo-
t^'ist, and a learned man who believed in the liook of Mormon,
and came here and turned ijeolojfist and "buf,' collector," or
naturalist, and chemist. Avery intellij^'ent man will for<,dve me
if 1 name I'rofessor Ijarfoot. According to him the ^^eology
of the country lias not been ascertained, but these rocks are
lower carboniferous. Tlieir dip has nothini,' to do with the
lake basin. He has failed to discover bromine or iodine in
Salt Lake. He finds To by wei,L?ht of chloi'idc of sodium
(common salt). He does not believe the lake to be ])art of
an old sea, and attributes the saltness to beds of rock-salt to
the soulli. He has specnnens very pure and compact. But
where did tliese beds come from uidess they came from an
old sea? He has bctnes and teeth of Falconer's ElephaA
Americaniis from di'ill. Ho has samples of ore from Enmia,
Comstock, and other famous lodes. From nuich talk' with
him and with others, I ,Lfathered that many peoi)le here knew
that the Ennna Mine could not possibly stand the })rico paid
for it in Knglaud. He has malachite with gold in the green.
The green mines of England have been more sueci'ssfully
worked by the 'cute tril)es of this mining region. He has
large garnets, and a few e(»al formation fossils. He has a live
prairie dog, a little owl, and a couple of rattlesnakes, tribes
who dwell togeth(,'r in social comnnmities, eat, and are eaten.
He has a scor]iion in a seidlitz-jjowder box, tarantulas and
their nest. Even tarantulas fear the enmity of a certain

THE EATERS AND THE EATEX.

c;;

draj^'oii-fly, wliicli ])rey3 on tlieiii so, they iiuiko a li()u.s(! with
a liiiimMl dooi', and hoMs for tlmir claws. Wlicii tlio ciitniiv
coTiies to tlie ca.stl(! they shut tlie door and hold on hy the
lock. Ho has Indian gear, a scalp or two which indicate tlie
hahits of modern warfare ; some crania, some parrots ; pho-
togra])lis, and petrifactions from springs. 'I'1h'S(i he calls
" Tuffa." lie, has deposits on wood, M'ood half turned to
silica, the ri!st still combustible, and wood-o])al entirely
petrified. He is a learned man, and I was glad t(j give him a
letter to the British Museum.

Th(! ^Nformons, who "made tlu! wilderness blossom like h
rose" by irrigating a rich salt plain, W(n'e men of this kind.
The I'resident is very like an old prize-tighter accordiiig to
his photograph. T did not want his blessing. Some who
waited on him were blessed. I went away tVom the saintly,
salt, sul])hurous city of the scorching sun and jtarciiing air.
Tlie place and the peojde who dwell in it are wonderful, and
the most wonderful things in the ])lace are tin; W(Mnen, who
still migrate to it in crowds from Norway, Sweden, Wales,
England, and other parts of the old world. They might be
hap))ier according to my ideas of human blessedness. T do
not envy the owner of one-tiftieth })art of one old sinner.

'fhiiTxdnij, Vo. — From Ogden steamed along the lake shnic,
watching the beach-hu'els and the geology of the hills while
I could se(!. Venus ami ^lars ami the crescent moon close
together slioiu! and glittcn'cd through the. ])ure dry air. At
(Joriiine, as 1 could see no more, I wcMit to bed.

Friihtji, 14. — Awoke at "Wells," in the Thousand-spring
Valley near the head watt>rs of tlie Humbohlt. An Indian of
the Slioshoncs, in tights and a red shirt, leaning on a fence-

fi4

MV cnU'ULAIl XOTKS.

p(il((, M'itli ii (Irad wild yousc in liis li.-iml, \v;is llic, iiii).4 ])!(•-
turusqiKj (iliject visililc, so I skdclicd Iiim. l-'or tlic ivsL of
the day \vc kcj)! (Hi duwii llic IIuiuLoldt Nidlcy. Tliciv was
little water in tlic riviT. There is tiKuc, in (Jhoiaiy. it
winds in a ^reat ]ilain ol' sand and sa^^adtrush, liiniiidi'd on
each side by sandstone sierras. At the base is a niaiked
water-line with a hi_i;her plain, into winch water has cut, so
as to make bluffs. Small side-streams have, cut small canons
from the sierras lhrou;4li the npper jilain to the lower, in
which tlu^ Humboldt winds. The \alley I'or this wliol(! thiy's
run is like that of the lihiiu' alH)ve. liin^eii, bnt "without the
lihine. Ui^ht ami left ojn'U _^reat Hats of the same kind,
Ixainded by hills of the same pattern, reachiuLC as far as the
hoi'izon, and beyond it. CJreat whiilin.u pillars of yellow dust
were inovinu slowly about this stran;4e weird country, which
seems to me a dried lake or part (d" an old s(;a-botloni. 'Jdie
minini,M'e;^ions of California, &c., begin in ciystallinci rocks,
near extinct volcanoes. East of these ai'e disturbed bent
strata of lower carboniferous rocks. East of thesi; are Tin-
distiirbiid coal-fields, dated Miocene, which end at a rid;^e
of pink granite, a<i;ainst which lean both sides of an ante-
cliiial of red sandstone, which extends soutliwards from
near CheyemiG to (Jolorado Sju'lngs, on the east side of tlui
first range of the Kocky ]\Iountains. East of them are plains,
which begin about G,()UO feet iUjo\e tin! sea-lcvel, and slope
down to the great rivers. In these plains are undisturbed
coal-fields which aie disturbed in the Alleghanies. The
superficial part of the geology seemed to indicate late sub-
mergence of all the plains, followed by a gradual lise of the
whole area, which is now North America.

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DUST AND DRYNESS.

In order to convey my own impression of tliis strange
land to otliers, I would say to a Eussian, " The plains are like
your plains, and the hills like small copies of the Caucasus."
To a Greek I would say, " The hills are like the Greek hills."
To a Crimean I would compare them to Crimean hills. To
a Swiss, a Norwegian, a Scotchman, a Welshman, and an
Icelander, I would say, " You never saw anything at all like
this country in your dreams, unless you have been dreaming
about the Israelites in the dry deserts in which they wan-
dered when they were punished for their sins."

At night we passed over the lied Desert and I was sound
asleep. Into this hollow flow the Humboldt and otlier rivers
which have very long courses and drain vast areas. They
spread out in the Ked Desert and return to the sky whence
they fall. Tiiey evaporate, and no wonder. All my seasoned
wooden articles have warped ; my hannner haft has shrunk
so that the head, stuck on by a famous tool maker in London,
is loose. I drink gallons of water ; my paints and gums dry
so fast that I can hardly use them. I hardly see a cloud ; it
hardly ever rains in all this tract. I would not li e here for
all the gold in California — I should dry up and become lilve
one of tlie stuffed fish in the Utah Museum.

Saturdai/, 15. — At one I was called by the black porter
with whom I had smoked several sociable pipes to his great
wonder. I rolled out, got a fresli ticket for a branch line,
l)assed Carson, and at sunrise got to Virginia City on the
('omstock ledge. Hereabouts the struggle for life is going al
full swing. Everyone for liimself is the rule of life ; men will
not answer questions or lend a hand ^o anybody. They do
nothing but their own work. Boxes they toss about, checks

XOU I. 8

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

they work with marvellous accuracy ; they run rails and carry
men and goods, and do business well, to earn dollars ; but
any sign of decent civility I have not seen off the cars for a
long time, unless I happen on a poor I'addy or a new comer,
or an old stager, who wants to " stick me with a claim " or a
"hunting business." All are preying on each other like
tarantulas and dragon-flies ; spiders and flies. One man *lost
heavily in our train at " three-card monte." Gamblers and
" desperadoes " connnonly get into trains, act some part,
pretending to be foolish miners, and trap migratory flies who
are not yet " up to trap." Consequently everybody is armed
and on guard, and in tlie humour depicted 1)y Punch in a
cartoon some time ago. " There's a stranger, heave half a
brick at him." As we steamed into Virginia City the j^as-
sengers amused themselves by firing revolvers at the telegraph
posts. It was a hot tire for a mile. No wonder I had to
carry my own goods.

My general impression of American travel is that a man
in a Pullman car knows as much about it as a man in a
Cunard steamer knows of life in the Atlantic. lie may see
something out of his windows, he may see a buffalo, or a
whale, a gull or a goose, and think he has seen a gi-eat deal ;
but if he gets out of his palace afloat or on wheels he nuist
swim or go down. If he goes overboard in the Thames he
may find somebody to pull him out. If he gets out of his
depth in the mining districts, he may sink or swim if some-
body does not shove him under to rise upon him. This is
pure Darwinian philosophy — the struggle for life in full force
amongst men of Aryan race.

After breakfast at six, walked down to the Virginia Con-

)

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

solidated mine and loft my name for a man in aulhovity.
The same lol'ty, frosty, cliilly mountain air of coldness, and
keep your distance prevailetl cverywliere. I realized tliat 1
might he a Stock-Johher and went away. Every eye said
I>lainly " Yon f/et," which is Californian for the Irish " f let out
of that." " Yvnhet" — you may bet safely that I did. Wlien
secretary to the Mines commission and to tlie Coal commis-
sion I went down enough of deep mines to know that I
should see very little by tlie light of a miner's candle, that I
should sjioil my clothes, and pidbahly hurt my shins and
break my liead in the dark; that I slioidd l»e half suffocat(.'(l
in very ill ventilated " ends," and that I should have to exert
myself in a temperature which here is said to be 140° at tlu;
bottom — 73" in my room was more than ])leasant. I weiit
away and watclied an Indian woman walking iip the streitt
with a small cliild stmpped .qniglit under a sunshade, in a
kind of ark, slung mx her back. The imp looked contented,
and wagged his arms like pendulums.

Tiie town is on tlie side of a steep conical hill, with a dyke
weathered out of it running E.W. or thereabouts. The gi'eat
Comstock ledge seems to run N.S., that is on the strike
They are down 2,000 feet, and attribute the heat in one
level to the decomi)osition of suljihurets. If this temper-
ature of \W is not a shave, it is the highest mining
(emperatuni tliat I know. I armed myself Avith a hammer
and a stone, and went out jirosjiecting for knowledge.
" What (U> you work at ? " said a smith, who put iron wedges
into my hanuner, and diil not want to be paid. "Qn'cd-ccfjiui
rouH arcz dans Ic sad Est-cc qnc cuus avcz qi(cl(/ue fJiosr
fl vendi-e 1 " said a French barber who was sitting at his door

P 2

with a terrier clipped poodle fashion. Here he has been for
twelve years, and he does not know anything about stones.
A foreman politely took me to a new mine, and showed
me the works, and a bucket of dirty water fresh drawn
from the shaft which was full nearly to the In-im. A Welsh-
man discoursed me, a man recoverin*^ from Panama fever,
with a pretty Irish wife and bairns, who was shovelling,' for
pastime in a garden. We fraternized over a spirit-level which
came out of the bag, and I went in and sat in the best chair.
I went up to the " crop," and so far as I can make out fi-om
listening and looking and putting things together, I formed
an opinion about this famcjus lode. Wild horses will not
drag me into print with it. I will sell it if Californians
will buy it. " You bet." I won't buy shares, " You get."
There are The International, Gold Hill, Ophir, Virginia
Consolidated, and a dozen more claims all claiming attention ;
and I paid no sort of attention to any of their claims. I
gave the miner all the knowledge I happened to have gratv<.
I hope that he will make his fortune, for I had nothing to
sell in my bag.

I gathered that minaig here means getting ore enough to
ballast the shares and make them sail into the market for
sale. Enormous fortunes are made chielly by selling buyers,
"You bet." The 140° of temperature fell to 112°, when
tested by miners. They all cracked up IJritish Colund)iii as
a better and richer country in all respects, and wondered wliy
the British government does not push on the railwiiy. I dtjn't
know and can't say. But if Com.stock ledge is such a liuid of
gold it seems odd to go further out into the cold. I did not
seem to want to stop in N'irginia City long, so I went away.

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GOING AHEAD TOO FAST.

Our train wasiimdi' u]t of wiij^-.u'oiis loaded with white quartz
"oiii" t(i lie iHiunded and cleared ol' ''iM with luereury, and
washed. It was a lot of flat eai-s, with one for passeufjers.
The line is a wonderful work; it eurls and Avinds about the
hill sides, in and out of V-shajted hollows, which show the
geological structure. As T. sat the en-^ine and train curled
before me like a snake, and wri,u-;,ded to balance itself. Some-
times the en;j;ine disa]»i)eare(l round a corner, and all the
way it was dangerous to look at. As emblem of jdace and
l)eople, I drew a boy Avho sat in the brake of the gold train,
like a mast-headed midshi])man, while another bold reckless
being sat on the buffer of the engine, swinging his legs over
the edge of tht; track in front of tin- wheels. That is young
America going ahead in the far west. Energetic, heedless,
and reckless.

At Carson City, walkcil about iind fraternized with a fniit-
seller, who was a very good fellow. Tried to draw an Indian
woman, who saw what 1 was about and fled. Lots of French-
men were seated at the door of a. saloon, jabbering, singing.
and drinking- as if they were in Xormandy. French saloons
and all manner of French goods and gear were on all sides.
I heard Spanish, Fortuguese, Cerman, Chinese, and other
liu'-'os. Since tlie Tower of P.abel there was no place like
Carson. At night they all got gloriously drunk. When I
awoke at dawn they were still singing. There was no quar-
relling. One nuin spoke in bloodthirsty tones of " killing "
somebody, but that seemed to be all talk. One rough
character was seized with a generous tit, and cried : " Drinks
all round." All the polyglot crowd about the hotel got
uj) and wiped their mouths and went to the bar, and

MV CIRCITLAU XOTKS.

•suveral politely lie^uod mo to coino in niul "liiinor." I
went to the fniit-si^llev and feasted there.

Monday ^Awjud 17. — As I could not \i,(ii into the State Mint,
I went to the Ca|)itol and was introduced to the Supreme
Judj^e. lie was very civil to a laieiless barrister. J should
reckon his age at thirty years less than ndne. At 10,
mounted the 1m)x of the stage with six in hand, and drove
up a sandy road full of ruts, and crossed the track (<f a late
Hood about whwh I M'ill say more afterwards. Then we
drove up a steep hill, and along the most extraordinary
road that 1 ever j)assed on a coach and six. AIhjvc and
below were sIojjcs of loose sand, angle Ii2°, in which grew
magnificent ])ines singly, with little or no undergrowths.
At 1,G00 feet we crossed the watershed, and there iit a sahjon
[ discovered that a French hnnberer had come from A vranches.
His pals were greatly interested. We went down 450
feet and got to Lake Tahoe at 1,1 oO feet above Carson.
The lake is 1,700 feet dee]», 30 x 12 miles, say 3G0 square
miles in area. It drains by way of the sink of the Humboldt,
and there three rivers evaporate. Lumber carts drawn by ten
mules with 5,450 feet of tiudter on them, nuide driving six
in hand so queer a feat, that I giive the driver a dollar, and
a well-deserved compliment. He graciously accepted both.
The Four-in-Hand clubs of England would denuir to such
driving, but this is a great country. I crossed the lake to
Tahoe City, which consists of a hotel. The clerk is English,
the housemaid a very good-looking jNIayo girl with grey
Celtic eyes; her helj) is a Chinaman with a long pig-tail and
full dress. The Celtic maiden is a hard mistress to Turan-
ian " Johnny." The porter is .i Portuguese from the Azores.

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Wr^UK ARK TIIK AMKRICANS?

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A rir-riiiMii lut.s Itdiits, .'I Xorwoi^iaii fells troos in iioigliboiirinu'
Wdoils, Tliu guests conic from all parts of the world. "Wliat
I want to know is, ailniitting all tlu'i^e to ha citi/ens of tlic
I'nited States, when; an; tlio Americans? 1 imi equally at
sea about the lake. Hei-e are a whole lot of lakes at ahout
0,000 feet al)ovt! till' sea close to the i >i.stiii,'' snow-l''in.
Their ^'ingest axis is on the strike N.S., or ther.'hy At the
soulli end of this Itig lake is an inlet. At the n;uTow mouth
it is iil'ty feet deep; at tlic deepest i)oint, inside, it is r>00,
according to an old Swede who licl|)cd to sound it. The
main hike is 1,04/5 feet deep, according to the mai>. The
only ]iossil)l(! exit from this very dee]t irregular rock
basin iKtw is at th(^ side, down th(f Truckee. That liver has
Cut down about lifty feet, leaving a gravel beach to mark tlie
old lake level all round. I think that this is old local glacial
work enormously weathered. Ibit hot spi'ings are near the
lake, and igneous action is more markc(l in the folding of
rocks than any glacial marks that 1 can find about the lake
shore. I found clear marks of ghiciation near the lake.

Wiilncsday, 19. — After a very jileasant time in this cool
pleasant ]>lace, at three set off in a six-horse stage, heavily
laden, ami drove down the Truckee river to the city
of the same name, whii-h is chiefly remarkable ibr Indians
and Chinese coolit's. There we changed stages, and with
four In uses and a light load set off at a " full run,"' that is as
hard as the hor.ses cnuld go. We pa.ssed Donner lake and
climbed to Sunnnit. TIu' sun set bi'for.' vc got in, and the
imjon and stars shone with (^xtraordinarv liri'^htness in a
very dark sky. At 7,042 feet we were at the snow, and ;V,<°
and 45° felt chill v after the great heat. At Summit are

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

l)arometers, a saloon, and sunchy devices for the entertainment
of tourists who come up to tlie hikes from the ^Californian
plains. There is a bear and a monkey. A man took to
sparring with the bear; he hit round at the man and tore the
shoulder of liis coat with liis claws. If he had boxed liis ears
the blow miglit have done worse damage. A sheet of
sacking hung over a cage had on it in large letters —

A MAMMOTH RED BATH
CAPTURED AFTER A THREE DAYS' SIEGE

IN HELL CAXON.

" Wliat fellows these arc to exaggerate," I thouglit, and
raised tlie sacking veil. A roar of laugliter from the saloon
pronounced me sold. In the corner lay a red brickbat.

Friday 21. — Up at dawn. Hoar frost. The snow lies
lifteen to twenty feet dee]) here in winter. We ran down
tliroxigh snow sheds, and l>y noon my glass was 95 in the
plains of California. I got to Merced in the middle of the
night, after a long delay at Lathrop.

Merced, Saturday, March 22. — With a round ticket for sixty-
three dollars, got up at five and got off at six in a four-liorse
coach. ]\Ir. Sleeper was the gentleman wlio drove. The men
on board were an American, a C'hinaman, and this child. A
young lad, who told me a great ileal that was very interesting,
talked of aerolites and comets' tails, the constitution of the
.sun, and spectrum analysis. I got my glass up to 103° under
the awning, and swallowed enough of Caliibrnian dust to

NATIVES AND VAGRANTS.

make a small farm. My log is full of stuff about the
Yosemite Valley and the big trees, but these are now cockney
places. Digger Lidians had the whole place to themselves ;
now they fish there and i)ound acorns, but all the woi-ld and
his wife go tliere. 'My landlord was a German, his wife,
Miss Dobbs, from Renfrew ; ]\IacAulay from the north of
Ireland was next door ; l*erigord, a Frenchman, has fed
3,000 travellers this year at Ids house on ihe top, which has
become I'arrigoric's, by the confusion of tongues. O'Hara
ia the guide at Clarke's, and Mrs. Clark says she is a Spanish
Moor.

Eeturning from the big trees O'llara rode away from me.
Sauntering (quietly after him, I'arson, my steed, stopped and
started and stared. I stared and saw nothing but a lot of
calves and sheep scampering in a meadow. "We went on
the trail. Parson on tii)toe, or on that part of his hoof which
contains his toes ; he ke])t his ears erect, sto[)i)ed, and started,
and walked slowly ju. We came to a bough whicli looked
Like a snake. Parson started, and T looked for rattlesnakes.
Some mouse or cricket rustled. AVe both started. At last
Parson stopped all four legs at once with a strange jerk and
came to a dead i)oint. Then I sjtied two s(piaws going down
the ti'ack Ijefore us. I could hardly get the horse to go near
tliem ; they looked as scared as deer at me. ^vich carried a
black pnppy in her arms and a big basket. They were bare-
footed and walked in the dust. With their black hair and
wild faces they seemed in keeping with the big trees of
IMai'ipoea, and wliy my steed Parson was so scored by them
remains to be explained. Are Indians a different kind of
men, abhorred of horses ?

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Sunday 30. — Drove to Maripo.sa, and there fraternise
witli a farmer from Donegal. lie mined once, and lie tolil
me a great deal. liufFalo Jim, the driver, mined for many
yeare, and never Avas so liappy, cooking ]>ork and slapjack,
smoking with friends at night, working all day ; no one to in-
terfere with him ; independent, and free as air. A German pas-
senger was a sailor and did the same. Xow lie has a "regiment"
of children and a IJanche. Every man T meet has been a
miner and is something else. Tlie gold bait brought them all
this way ; now they stay to work the country, and those who
have tlie best brains go to the fi'ont. We got down to the
plains in time. The ground next the plain is worn l)y streams
into round bumps that look like ridges and furrows in the
low sun. Tliere .abide in company owls, ground s([uirrel.'!, and
snakes. Tiiere ])a.sture great "bands" of slieep, herded by
Mexicans and others, wlio ride furiously in clouds of dust.

On holidavs they come to "bars," and l)illiard '"saloons," in
shanties, and drink drinks of bad water with tlie farmers. At
"Indian Gulch," whicli used to l)e "(piite a mining camp," I
found a whole lot, and discoursed Avith them in Sj^uiish. Then
we broke out into the plains. The sun set, iind the shadow of
tlie world crept ii]) the sky, and overhead, and down the west,
and closed the eye of day. Stars shop.o (tut more brilliantly
than ever I saw them sliine. The Milky Way was a cloud
of liglit amongr^t them. And so we trotted and I)umpod on
to Merced, and made seventy-five miles with one change.

At dinner we found a lot of " Odd-fellows " giving a part-
ing entertainment to some young men who iin^ emigrating
to Mexico. Th(!y made speeches. They sang '" Laiulloid fill
the ilowing bowl," and they were gbirious on champagne

CALIFORNIANS.

ii>

brewed ill this marvellous State. Fine, tall, hearty fellows
they were, well-dressed, thriving men, a credit to their several
native lands and to their adopted country. But to me, who
can remember the birth of this State, and thouglit of cominj,'
to the christening in 1848, there was something strange and
incongruous in this sentiment addressed to Californian " emi-
grants : " — " ^lay they always act up to the principles of their
State wlierever they go, so that men may say of them, ' They
are good men. They are Californians.' "

The young men were not able to get on their legs, so one
returned suitable tlianks sittinif.

Monday, Avrjud lU. — Stayed in excellent quarters all day,
and wrote log and letters.

TucxiVoj, Srjifciiihrr 1. — Got to San Francisco, delivered my
checks and got my luggage ; got my letters and wrote home.

No. X. San Frakcisco,

Wcdncsdaii, September '2iul, 1S74.

My dear i\IoTiii;it,

My last was from Salt Lake. I got inhere yesterday,
and found quite a pile of letters. From Salt Lake I went to
Virginia City to look at the great Comstock vein where much
mining is done. Thence to Carson City, noted for bugs. A
man who was much bitten by them everywhere^ went to the
liotel there and registered his name in the big book at the
bar as is the custom. A bug crawled over the page. " Well,"
said the man, "T never ,«!aw them come to see where I was to
sleep before." None of them found me out and I .slept sound.
I went over a mountain 1400 feet high in a stage, and six
passing great carts loaded with wood, where there was hardly

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

room. The carts had teams of ten mules, with a wild
man riding one of two shaft horses. The whole land is
granite dust, in which grow giant trees 180 to 200 feet high,
with no under-brush to speak of. How you would have
pinched your neighbour if you had sat on the box, and
looked down the sand slopes and rocks ! I held on by the iron
rails with might and main. Then we got to Lake Tahoe, and
steamed over it in a steam-launch puffing. Then I stopped
and sketched for a couple of days. I set off in another
stage over a worse road and got to Summit. There I joined
the rail again, and spent a day 8000 feet above the sea
sketching and geologizing. Then I set off again and ran to
Merced. Thence I staged for two days over fearful roads,
into the Yosemite Valley, where I stayed four days, sketching
and riding about in a great gorge of granite with vast trees
growing in more granite dust. The place is full of rattle-
snakes, but I saw none. It is filmed for waterfalls, but I saw
the only shower which has fallen there since last April, and
I had to look for the falls with an opera glass. The feature
of this place is dust. Then I rode right up a cliff on a
practicable talus and over a granite hill down to " Clerk's,"
and on Saturday I went to the big trees and sketched there.
I have got a stick for the Doctor, and I have sent seeds to
those of the family who liave ground to plant them in. On
Sunday I staged 75 miles in a cloud of dust. On Monday
I stopped at Merced and made up log and wrote, and rested.
On Tuesday I came here and got my letters. I shall get out
of this as soon as I can. I have no adventures to relate and
nothing to tell. The people seem to be the wild spirits of
1848-9 who came here from all the world to dig gold. They

ARYAN DIGGERS.

dug till every river course was washed clean, and then they
took to mining in quartz veins, sheep-farming in the plains,
growing wheat, and other industries of the ordinary kind.
Few white men are washing gold. The Chinese are at it still
and make wages by hard labour. The geology of the matter is
this. The Sierra Nevada, where I have seen it, is a great out-
burst of Granite, Syenite and other such rocks ; on each side
stratified rocks ai'e on edge striking north and south or thereby.
In these rocks on both sides are Quartz veins which generally
run N.S, or thereby ; with cross courses running all ways. In
these veins are metals — Gold, Silver, Galena, Copper, Alercuiy,
&c. &c. These as a rule are rich near the surface, poor low
down, so deep mining generally has not paid. All the hills
are deeply furrowed by rains. Tlie streams have washed the
d(5bi'is, and the gold being heaviest has stopped in the bottom
of the watercourses.

Nature having done so much, men have carried on the
process by washing the debris in the bottom. There is no
gold, or none has l)eon got above the Granite line. It is all got
out of the watercourses whicli pass the outcrop of the veins.
Tiie best of them are nearest to the Granite range. The
plains are all granite dust, and debris of rocks altered by heat,
washed down and sorted by water and now as dry as a bone
and alkaline. They get water by sinking deep wells. This
may not iulerest you, but it does me, and may others, and it
will do lor my log.

Tills Occidental hotel is a Noah's ark full of people from
Australia and the rest of the world on the path to everywhere,
and a bore. I shall get out of it soon. And now good-bye
for a while. J. F. C.

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

Xo. XI.

Merckd, California,

Aiajml 31, 1874.

]My 13EL0VE1J A. E.,

Since A. would not conic travelling with ine this
way, and you went East to Gainle Xorge, I must send you
both a line .and a present from the West. With pains and
steam I got over the Atlantic, and uj) over one side of
America and down the other, as my letters to your Grand-
mother and otliers more fully explain in detail, and my log
will tell at large. Having some coin left I went off in a
stage driving from this place to see the Yosemite. It is
rather like your Norwegian Romsdal, hut the hills are not so
high, and the forms here are not so quaint. The glen is not
so long, and there is less water in it and generally it is smaller
fish. This Yosemite, or Great Grisly Bear, is not up to the
Norwegian mark as a valley, but it beats all creation for
trees. I measured them 198 and 200 feet high, with stems
eighteen and nineteen feet round. These are the common
sort of pine trees which clothe the Californian hills, and the
liigher I went the bigger the trees seemed to grow in shelter.
So far, Norway may help you to realise tlie Sierra Nevada, but
the driving ! My wigs and old bones, that's something
new. A man tlrives five from the box on a road as wide as
his three leaders, and full of stones ; up you go through the
forest, and when the top of a hill is reached down you go
full tilt, round corners, in and out, bump ; with an angle of
32°, and rocks and trees on one side or the other, or on both
above and below the road. At last you get to the edge of a
cliff, and over you go down a road of the steepest practicable

AFRICAFvYAN DRIVERS.

gradient with cliffs on each side above and below, and no
fence, and very sliarp angular stones at tlie ])ottom. The
Gcmnii pass in Switzerland is a road of this kind, and there
men prefer walking. The worst road that I ever drove a
carriole on in Norway is less dangerous, and liere a nigger
drove five-in-hand rapidly and frightened me horribly for
two days. The Yosemite reminded me of Sindbad the sailor's
Valley of Diamonds. I looked for them and f(jr gold and
found nothing but sand, dust, and granite, and mica glittering
in a hot sun. The snakes had nothing to guard but their
own rattles. I found a lot of Digger Indians going about
their avocations. I met one with a fishing-rod cut out of the
forest, and a string of trouts, 'ticed out of the burn witli
green grasshoppers. I saw their camps and bath-houses, and
recognised the ways of my friends the Lapps and Finns. I
saw the women one morning pounding acorns with a long
stone in rock cups made on the top of a flat granite block by
freciuent blows and nnich pounding of acorns there, to make
jneal and cakes. Anotlier day I saw them cracking acorns
for future pounding with great dexterity and a round pebble.
They are curious creatures, and I was sorry not to get their
ugly raugft drawn. T rode up and down the valley, which is
as flat as Romsdal, and out of it up a wall as steep as the
Troll Tinderne, up by some fallen rocks and talus heaps
on a well-made horse track, which led me to " Glacier point."
If ever you get to " Martin Luther " or the " Bridal pro-
cession," and stand on the edge and look down, you will get a
good notion of my bird's-eye view. The Fjeld seen from
Jerkin is somewhat like the rolling plateau of the Sierra
Nevada as J saw it when I got out of this glen of the burn.

MY CIUCULAU NOTKS.

But the Norwegian tjekl is a garden to this well -drained
roasted granite desert. I went on to the big Marij)osa grove,
the Aristos of the forest, and King of trees. One was ninety-
four feet round and 284 t<t the broken top; another was
seventy-live round and 10") to the first limb. Some were 300
feet high, that is to say, as long as the front of your fatlier's
house, and a good deal wider than the gate. I rode through
one trunk. Thirty feet diameter wijuld let a railway train
pass a tumiel. I send you a ]»arcel of seeds ; nurse them,
and try to live six thousand years to see them full grown
" big trees," and all that time believe in the afl'eetion of your
wandering relative. fH\e my love to your mother, and tell
your lather that when 1 saw trout in the Yosemite I wished
them salmon, and 1 at them in Norway. That's so. Farvacl,
mill Sninka Piya. J. F. C.

No. XII, Mr.KCED, California, Avgust 31.s/, 1874, and

San Fuancisco, Scptcinbi:r 2nd, 1874.

My dear K.,

To-morrow or next day 1 shall look for letters at San
Francisco. ]\Ieantime, 1 send you a pickle seeds of the
"Sequoia Gigantea" otherwise " Wasliingtonia," rire "Wel-
lingtonia" translated by Patriotic Yankees. T was in the
"Marijuj.sa Grove" on Saturday; one tree broken at the top,
where the trunk is thick, and with caverns burned out of the
sides, still is 234 feet high, and niii<'ty-four round the truidc
at three feet from the ground. Another which T measured is
seventy-live feet round, and 105 to the first branch. I believe

\ I'.ii; Tiii:i:. mai;ii'">\.

II. \m| I

tup: tukes of noaips auk.

it to be near three hundred feet hi<,'h, and it is an avera<,'e
sample of some four or five hundred of the sort in this j^rove.
The tree is very shapely, with emerald-f,'recn foliiaj^'e ; light red,
and Indian yellow, and Imrnt sienna, were the colours used t(t
imitate the brilliant colour of the bark, when the sun shone
upon the straiglit thick trunk of this magnificent vegetable.
High up, the best of them branch like some Scotch firs that
I have seen, but the general shape of these big trees
suggested the trees of my youth, which grew in my Noah's
Ark. Of course you know that they are reckoned to be six
thousand years old. The mischief here is, that other little
trees two hundred : jet high or more, sugar-pines, cedars, and
such like, grow so thickly about the big trees that it is hard
to see or measure them from a distance. You cannot see the
trees for tlie forest. I made my measures with a small
optical square, which H. gave me ; and measured the base
with a string, by the help of O'Hara the Irish guide. I
thought he never was going to stop ; he ran out line like a
salmon, and looked like a fly when he got to the root of the
tree. A great many big tree groves have been found of late,
and they range from near, the Pacific Railway down into
Mexico. So far as I can find out, all groups grow on granite,
in the Sierra Nevada, at six to seven thousand feet above the
sea, in deep sheltered gulclies, and near some spring or
streamlet of snow-water, which keeps the whole place damp.
In the general dust and dryness of this high rainless drained
mountain land of canons these trees seem to need shelter from
storms of wind and moisture. The soil is wet granite dust,
and tlie debris of trees " as old as the hills." Deep sheltered
west highland glens, like those which we know in Koss-shire
VOL. I.

MY CIRCULAR NOTRS.

jukI in Arj,f}'llsliirc, seem most like tlie fiirouiid on wliieli I
louml tlu'se tveos growing'. Try your luck with the seeds.
I could hardly fhid a eone iinywlujre. Three thousand "globe
trotters" and the residenters have gathered them this year.
I could not find a single young trei!. 1 was told that an
English Lord, who was a " bug collector " employed by the
Queen ol' England, had carried ofi' two or three seedlings.
I couhl not identity this aristocratic naturalist, and susj)ect
that he was, like you, a gentleman botanist. T got the .seeds
from a car[)enter yesterday at Clerk's, from whom I also got
a coui»le of sticks for the doctor — "The wanderer" who bit
me, and made me a vagrant, and a collector of sticks.

Each bunch of leaves turns ujtwards at the end. Each
leaf is made like an ear of corn, with a bent point at the
end of each section of the leaf, which answers to an car in
ii liead of wheat. It looks like a green plaited fishing-line.
The bark of the twigs is like the shape of the leaves,
but brown, wi<^h the scales on the bark more closely packed
about the wooi The bark on the stimis varies in different
specimens, i- me look smootli, and these have piles of
shreds of she bark below tliom. Others have angular
})lates of bark utside, like " Cedars.'' They all bear small
cones a couple jf inches long. " Cedars " do not, and their
leaves are mo.j palnuited and (^uite different. Sugar-pine
(iones are long and enormous. I do not remember to have
been this big tree leaf on trees in England which purport to
be young specimens. The wood is while outside, pink
within, and very light. It works short, and is brittle. It is
said to last a long time. The fallen logs are sound, and seem
to rot slowly. From tlicse fallen giants chunks are cut to

TIIUNDKH AND POFSON OAKS.

H•^

:h I
(hIs.
lobo
y^car.
riTi
the

lt,'.S.
H'r.t
ueds

make relics for touriHts. TIk- trees belong' to tlic Stutc. The
liliroiis biirk is luiiny lect tiiiek, .mkI out of that they carve
]iiii(iis]iioiis. The seed sells at twelve dollars a pcjuiid. As
you are worthy of bi^' trees, I send you a eoupb; of jihoto-
p'ajdis by \» atkiiis of »Saii Francise(j, who is one of tlie best
artists in this line tluit I know. 1 send you the measure of
the J5()ttle-tree. Jt «;rows at a s]iring wliere tourists lunch,
and anuisi! themselves by throwing emptied bottles into a
hole in tlie trunk. There is a very large ]»ile of broken
jflass in there now, some twenty feet up.

Sun Francidco. — Yesterday I travelled about a hundred
miles out and in, from here to the top of IMount Diablo. 1
drove there from the station, about twenty-two miles, in a
bu<,'.ii:y, and j^ot to the top, 4,000 feet, in a thunder-cloiul.
My driver, unused to thunder, insisted on stopping on the
highest point. I made him drive down about a hundretl
yards, not liking to be a conductor. AVe stopped in a thicket
of thorns and ])rickly oaks. I, unused to I'oison-oaks, began
to cut a switch. The driver, w ho had ])ractical knowledge,
which I lacked, Avarned me that I might easily j)oison myself
by coming near these trees. ]\Liny Californians suffer greatly
and dread I'oison-oaks accordingly, between us we escai»ed
botli dangers. There's nothing like experience to teach fools.
1 coidd see nothing of the view for a low electrical haze
wliicli filled the air. There were some loud peals of thunder
about the city, and people were so unused to such storms
that children screamed in the schools, and there has been a
great talk. .St)me iuuigined that the end of the world liad
come. They don't expect auother shower for the uext three
months. At noon my glass was at 90° in the shade near the

G 2

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

liill-top, at about 4,000 feet aliove the sea. At sundown
came the usual sea-l)reeze and sea-fog, which coTne regularly.
My glass then marked G0°, and the air felt raw and cool.
The piles of wheat sacks and the hills of straw that T saw
on this trip, all out in the open fields, would have made your
farmer's mouth water and ga[)e for envy and wonder. One
man has been threshing with steam for five weeks, and
coining gold faster than miners. This is a wonderful country,
but tlie dust is fearful. The ground S(iuirrels are as numca-ous,
large, and hungry as rabbits. You asked me to look for in-
vestments. If any of your people invest here in land, they will
have to pay for it. Some farm labourei's earn four dollars a
day, about lO.s. 8d., as I am told. They sleep out anywhere,
and eat all that they choose while harvesting ; but they have
to pay in proportion for clothes and shoes and sic like. No-
body cares for anybody. A man is a hand, not a brother.

Fruit, grapes, peaches, pears, plums, and all manner dH
thing.-5 that you gi'ow paini'ully, grow here in marvellous
abundance. I saw an old Irishman at tiie street-corner in
caubeen and frieze, with unbuttoned knees and a dudeeu,
selling his own grapes grown in his own garden. His stall,
at Covent (Jarden, would have been worth about ten pounds,
I reckon. He was asking our price for street apples. I was
raised about a famous Scotch garden, but I never ate better
fruit. I therefore suspect that the big trees will not thrivn
very well in wet Scotland. Jiut try your luck. A friendl\'
fellow-traveller told me tlie other day tbat 1 ouglit to go
somewhere to look at a newly-found group. " There was
me and my mates," he said, " and we found a fallen tree with
a hollow in it. Wal, sir, w(! rode in si.xteen men altreast and

A WHOPPER, AND A PLATFORM.

Mown
larly.

cool.

saw
I your

One

lode out at a knot-hole. Yes, sii", that's so, you bet." ] smoked
and remembered the mammoth red bat at .Summit, li' you
send jjeojile here tell them to " keep tlieir eyes skinned," for all
is not gold that glitters, even about the golden gate of this
golden Suite. It is a big thing in farms, I reckon, but not
(luite so big as the stories told about it to catch Hats.

The hollows in the big trees result from the Indian practice
of burning undergrowth to get at the game. Most of these
very old trees have; great caverns burned in their sides. In
some the fire has smouldered up a trunk so that it stands
liollow, like a chimney. Of these chimneys some have fallen.
1 rode through one at Mariposa. 1 had to stoop jow and 1
blacked my widewake, but 1 rode tlu'ough a fallen tree. I
was told that a man might hold up his rille at aim's length
and ride through another, somewhere. 1 rode from side to
side luider bm-ned arches in one standing tree. There was
stable room there for many steeds. A radius of 15 feet
1 incli describes a circle of U-4 feet (J inches, which lits the
string which measured the " (Irisly Giant." The area of a
circle 'M) feet 2 inches in diameter is 714'74 feet. Allowing two
s(]uare feet for a man to stand on, three hundred and fifty-
seven stump orators might stand on the renmants of that
stump if the tree were sawn over at three feet from the
ground, (.'ut out a circle on your lawn, plant the seeds in it,
and may you live to see trees grow as ])ig as those which
1 saw and sketched and measured at Mariposa.

J. F. C, J lug-collector.

J'.S. — S(ytcmhi'r 15, 187-i. — Seeds sent home in letters ai'e
growing now in GHoucestershire, iu Walmer, in Cheshire, in

MY CIRCULAR XOTKS.

Itoss-shire, at Windsor, and elsewhere. They lay dormant
for a long time, and are now about twelve inches up. My
carpenter was a true man.

No. XIII. San Fuancisco,

Sqilcinher'lnJ, 1874.

My dear v.,

l\Iy intending emigrant cousin's heailquarters arc
seventy-five hours off in another State, and he may be days
off in th(! mountains of Oregon hunting. jNIy chance of
meeting him is small. I have been going ever since I'ostou,
but T have been wandering up and down, geologizing, and
sketching, and enjoying myself alone. I never had so
pleasant a comrade as m3'self. He never is in a hurry, ami
he stops when T want to sketch as long as T likv. It's all
a mistake taking travelling cojnpanions, unless they love,
honour, and obey, as your companion does, T hoj)e. You
write of balls. There M'as one in Yosemite Valley while T was
there. I did not go, but the dancers were several very plain-
headed, middle-aged, liai-d-working Ameri(;an matrons, sonic
Spanish half-breed washerwomen, and, I believt', " ]\lary Anne
the Indian srpiaw." They ai'e all perfet^tly hideous, for I saw
them at different times riding nudes and kicking up fheii'
heels in short snatches of Fandango about tiuiir doors in the
valley. T believe there wiu-e sonui Chinese men, and sonui few
belated and benighted Yankee! tourists, of whom two n^jtorfed
to mo the next day. liall indeed! my dance was with big
trees and rattlesnakes, and tariMitidas, and granite cliifs, and
" Abraham" and " Moses," who are nniles. The last of these
gave me a pretty dance, his back was like a very s^jringy bow

OLD WAYS AND NEW LIGHTS.

IHiint

\7t.

on wliicli I and a Sj)aiiish saddle sprang up and down, till I
tliouglit I was going up a big tree. lie would not walk over
bridges which he smelt dangerous, so he jumped and Ik!
bucked over logs, and generally he made me danoe for a dozen
miles till my back ached.

You talk of heat! my glass begins in the morning with
50° or thereabouts, and rises to 85°, 95° and 103°, while I sit
in clouds of dust. I drink gallons of water, iced when T can
get it, and so I eva})orate till I am as graceful as a grass-
hop})er. I am sure I must be two stone lighter since I
started, antl I feel (juite active and juvenile, and ready to
dance if I could only llnd some l)etter partner than j\Ioses
the mule. You talk of lUixton. Hah ! at Colorado, the
springs at the foot of the Ifocky Mountains, at the edge of
jjlains which begin at G,OUO feet above the sea, at the foot oi"
Pike's Peak, which is 14,000 feet high, T drank " La fontainc
qui bouille." It is 00° and better than seltzer water. When I
came down from I'ike's Peak I got off my horse and sat on the
edge, and di]i[)ed 'and drank from my indiarubber cup till I
thought shame. Then I stoiijjed and began again. T was so
dry from evaporatiini in 85", at 1,200 feet above the sea, that
I mo])ped up the water like a s})onge. Heat forsooth ! lUixtoii
indeed! dry u]> and don't talk to me about these kind of old-
country mattiu's. If you write to my fair cousin, wish her all
the joy she deserves. They had better not come here ti»
practise. "Scotchmen when tliey come this side o' the moun-
tains, think there's nae Clod Almighty to look after them, but
there is," said a venerable party in spectacles to me yesterday
morning. He was going out to shoot liehl rabbits and cotton
tails, and ground squirrels in the plains with a lot of

■i

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

rancheros. They were going to look after slieej), and tliey
all meant to sleep on the ground, with tlie sky for a roof and
a blanket for bed and cover. And no hanlship is tb.at in this
dry land. ]\Iy friend was a schoolmaster.

On Monday I got into a breeze to cool off, and sat smoking

and glowering at the sky at Merced. Tlie stai's did not look

like brass-headed nails stuck into a blue velvet vault as they

do at home. They seemed to float in purple light witli a

great cloudy arch of yellow light beyond them, wliich is the

'Milky Way" of our dim Heaven. A German I'roni Ilulstein

came to " cool off " beside me and leaned his back against the

same post, and spoke English with a Yankee twang, and

Californian })hilosophy. " Wliat is your o])inion of the cause

of this dry climate ? " said he ; " some people here say that's

all Divine Providence, but I'm not one of tliat sujterstitious

sort." And then he went off o)i science, such as lie knew,

and showed intelligence, but he had never noticed that

which 1 showed him, the sequence of sunset colours on the

west, and the shadow of the world creeping up the sky fmm

the east. First a low Ixink of purple rose above tlic hills,

then a great black arch was overliead, with stars glittering on

it, and tl'on a low arch of violet, fringed willi blue, green,

and yellow, and orange, shut down upon the western horizon

where the sun had gone down l)lazing lialf an hour earlier,

tiien it was night. Tliere are very few of " the superstitious

sort" in this land, and it is not good for spliced ])ar.sons.

Missionaries in single harness would fiml a grand lield. A

(Jerman had been to a camp meeting; he said that he had so

muclj Holy 8i)irit in him tluit he could not stagger home to

his " Wagon," he met so numy iViends at the preaching, who

■■■IB

I^-'

Kl, t.av;.\N. \ KM. Il'irlv ViiM.Ml | K

t' ■<'. \"1 I

A DUEAM.

PJ|-.'«^J

liiid Lager lieor and wliisky, tliat lie was " druiik," and tlio
]»reacliers was as " ]»ad," said iny Oennan wlio liad lieeii a
Jlaiiilnirg sailor before he came here to mine in l.S4'.t. Now
in 1848 or 1849, I thought of coining here to nunc, and
dreamed a dream in my Lunk in Hanover Street, Hanover
Sijuare, and when I awoke my dream was so vivid tlial I
made a picture of California as 1 saw it in my dreani, and
that you will lind in a big book of old drawings which I left
at home. Last week in 1874, about twenty-live years after
drawing my dream, I made a sketch of El Cai)itan in the
Yosemite Valley, iind if ever my books and y»ju and I get
together I will show you that dream and reality agree wonder-
fully. Perhaps somebody described the reality before I
dreamed. I am not one of the superstitious kind who believe
in dream.s, or in second sight, or in the evil eye which makes
Italians point at mc, but there aw. the drawings twenty-four
years apart or twenty-tive, and they may be compared. And
now let your motlier have the benefit of this nimbling
screed, and tell i)eoj)h! where I am, and what I am doing.

] must go seek coin, for J am reduced to my last Amei'ican
gold, five dollars. Tlien I must mak»i uj) my mind where
to go next.

Accept the blessing of this wanderer. "Sir," .said a man to
me ; " air you travelling for business or for pleasure ? " " Sii',"
said I, " I am travelling circumperandiuhitorically." "Tluit
will do," said the Yank, " you liet."

(Jive everybody my love. I am going out to gamble.

N.l). — 1 tear u]i lunne letters, so take tlie hint and write
Bcandah

' ■'■>. I.. I I

-MY CIUCULAU NOTES.

No. XIV. " A.TAX," Smidoii, Srptanhir G/h, 1874.

My dear Motiiek,

I wrote and posted a line to K. yest(a-day, and I
started in tliis sliip for Portland (G42 miles) at noon. 1
went to the office to take luy ticket on Friday. A man
came in and said that he could not go, so they might let his
berth. " Is it a good one ?" said I. "Well," said the clerk,
"I reckon tliat it is the best that was to be had here four
days ago." I took it. It is less than a foot high, and scarcn
a foot wide, and there is a knee over it which makes it
impracticable. So I went down below to the eating room,
witli two pilkiws and a blanket, and slept in my clothes ou
a narrow bench. I forgot in rny dreams, turned and fell on
the deck, " l)ump." A nice little nigger girl tapped me on
the shoulder and asked me for a match. " Our babies is
sick," she said, "and the lamp has gone out." T had no
matches that would light tlie lamp. " They are twins; and
tliey have been travelling all around (luite well ; now they
are sick," &c., &c. ; tjien I fell asleep, and the little nigger
went prattling to tlie Stewardess, or siune oiu) tdse. Tlu;
twins and the lam}) wens choking ; I, in the open saloon,
had a parched moutli and strangling. When tluiy opened
a skylight sf)mewhere, the fresli air came showering down-
my tliroat, and the babies C(>ased to squall — wliat fools
people are alxnit air! I rose at six, went aft, rigged my bath
aiul pumped salt water into it, and I am as fresh as paint.
The freedom and easiness of tlie whole lot is someth.iiLr

Cl'UIOUS CHEATUKES.

delicious. I upon luy box to write, the wliole crowd stand
round and look at nie ; a man is now reading over my
shoulder, as I writi; ; another is looking at the otlier side of
my paper, ami staring at my pen. Five are trying to reail
my letter, ])ut now they are gone to seats. T sujjpose that
they have road this passage which was written to drive them
away.

Xo. XV.

Oregon, Poutnam),

Seplcmhcr \Wi, 1874.

So fur had I got with my Ajax letter, when a liorrid litt' .'
Yankee boy came and pulled my pons about and bothered
me, so that I had to pack up and quit. I have never beta
(piiet enough to write since.

My lellow-passengers turned c)ut to be chiefly German Jew s
who are freemasons and odd fellows, antl good fellows. I fra-
t<^(rnized greatly with one of the tribe of Aaron, as lu^ tohl me.
They seemed prosperous au<l pleased to l)o treateil willi
decent civility on eipial terms. Ben Aaron is a clothier in
this city. We were near 200 on board, and a Ijaby w,is
born in the steerage. Lots of other passengers in the shajii'
of l)irds came on board by the way. One was a little grouiul
dove with two long feathers in his tail. lie was very tired
and hungry, and went paddling about the deck, picking up
grains of soot. I got him some bread, but he scorned
that and picked soot. I presumed that lie fed on black
seeds on shore, and did not know the use of white bread
— savage lurd. The half-civilized Yankee boy ran after him.
I could have kicked the little brute with pleasure, but 1

Jt2

MY CIRCULAll NOTES.

tamed liim a little by kindness before we landed. On
Monday, 7tli, we saw the coast range all day. At sunset,
near Caj)e Foul Weatlier ; the clouds were magnificent.
Then the Cajjtain concluded tliat he could not get over the
Columbia bar, so he went slow all night, and we rolled
learfully. On Tuesday, 8th, we waltzed about a buoy for
some hours, rolling, while the tide rose slowly and the
rollers broke on the bar. At last we went at it, and
tln-ough tlie passage and got in with eighteen feet water.
Then we stopped at Astoria, and ran U}» the Columbia,
tlirough a flat alluvial i)lain with beds of I'asalt everywhere
for rocks.

I got to bed here at midnight, in the St. Charles Hotel,
and found the boxes of my vagrant cousin in the bar.
He is somewliere between this placi; and San Francisco,
coming up.

Wednesday I spent here, cleaning up and recruiting.
On Thursday I went 100 miles up to the Cascades and
the Dalles — on Friday, I came back again, and here I am
on Saturday writing up log.

This seems to be a kind of earthly paradise waiting to be
j)eopled. Next the sea is forest land and the coast range.
Then comes a wide flat valley lull of trees and towns,
and railways, and rivers, and river-boats, and a stage line
to California. There are forty-eight hours of stage-coacli in
tlie overland route. This valley, about fifty to sixty miles
M'ide, is bounded by the Cascade range, which runs parallel
to the coast, and is continued in the Californian Sierra
Nevada. It seems to be part of that great volcanic American
raiige which begins north, about the Chinese Islands, and

ORKGON WEBFOOTS.

reaches Tierra del Fuego. All that I have seen oi' it in-
dicates tremendous geological disturbance and contortion of
old rucks. In their breaks are Quartz veins, and CJold, and
Ores. Their debris make the Placer washings and diggings,
and these brought men from all parts of the world. In
Calif(jrnia it seems hardly to rain at all. The whole land
is yellow dust. But directly we got out to sea we got
into mist and fog. Here, between the coast range antl
Cascade mountains, it rains "thirteen months in the year."
Consequently in this warm latitude trees grow to 300 feet
high, and they gi-ow in a rank luxuriant carpet of ferns,
and shrubl^ery, and greenery of all sorts. The sky is cloudy
and the landscape blue. I'ut beyond the second range the
land is as dusty as California, and bare as the plains, and
sunny. There grow fruits and Howers, grapes and peaches,
and luxuriant crops. There, near the third range, they wash
gohl and find veins of ore, and mine. Some years ago
there was (juite a gold fever, and the wanderers of the;
earth wandered to Eastern Oregon, over the plains and
mountains north of Salt Lake and the railway. They came
for gold, and stayed to work. I met on the river-l)oat a
Norwegian from llomsdal, who knew all about B. and A.
He is employed in fishing, with a whole colony from Norway.
Another wvr. from Christiania. They both spoke English,
and agreed that their countrymen were great brutes, wlio
get drunk, and light and get into the State I'rison. Next
the steward saw Kensington on my luggage label, and
turned out to be a Kensington Londoner who had been
waiter at the Divan tavern in the Strand. There I used to
dine in 18-i'J when I thought of coming here to dig instead

!I4

MY CIUCULAU NOTES.

of tuniiii'' liiirrisU'r. 1 am unt sure, lliat 1 ini;'ht not havo
made a fortune iii tliis land. ]\Iany who used thuir brains
liave grown enormously rich though they begun as labourers.
I am too old to begin now, Imt I might succeed if I tried.
I), may do it if he tries. X<jthing can ('(jual the l)eauty of
the eountry. I only found it out yesterday when the glass
rctse lialf an inch and the clouds ojjened. Then, towering
above the Casciule range, which is green and lounded, came
out Blount Hood. It is between n,(»0() and 12,000 feet
iiigh, a volcanic cone as perfect in sluipe as one of mylinished
models, and now it is covered with new snow fi'um ])eak
to ]niiic. When I suddenly spied it ove.r the trees from
the Columbia, glittering in the morning sun, with light on
one side and clouds on the other, I was quite startled. I had
no warning of its presence ; it was hidden by clouds as I went
np, and now it appeared when I least expected to see a
mountain. T thought it the grandest hill that I over saw —
a ])erfect Etna. Another of the class is visible 100 miles
soutli. Another, Blount Shasta,, is :ie:r the lioundary of
California, and a whole cluster of tin 'n jan be seen from here
northwards towards I'uget Sound, i juust see more of them.
These old volcanoes account for the enormous sheets of
I'asalt which make this land, and which exteiid half way to
the backbone of America. It was amongst the " lava beds,"
eiist of ]Momit Shasta, that the jModoc war went on. These
volcanic rocks are on the scale of Iceland over a tract far
wider, and along a line that reaches from North to South
Ameriga as I begin to understaL ^Vt Cascade sheets of Ba-
salt rise one over the other for 3,000 to 4,000 feet. Yesterday
I got a boat and found at the river level a bed of yellow

VOLCANIC CONES.

•If.

siuidstoiu!, or possibly asli, lull of putrifiud trees. These ;.,n'e\v
Itefove these liills were made, and th(!y welled uji from some
vent out of which ros(; Mount Hood, and the rci.st of the
volcanic giants of this region. Amongst these sheets of I'asall
they find at various levels old surfaces with fossils in them,
hones, tusks, tnses, shells, nud every .sort of surface thing that
might now he huried if the volcanoes took to spouting a>
they have done over and over again. " Leaf beds " abound
P»ut I have no time to hunt fossils, and I can tind no geolo-
gist to tell mo what has been found. I can but see the
skeleton geology of this great country, and, seeing it, wonder
at tlie vast scale of it all. As for glacial marks there arc
none. I'ossibly there may be some buried ;-),(K)0 or 4,000 feet
deep, but if there be I have seen none ; I saw great trees and
T hear of tropical creatures buried under the Basalt. Every-
where I see the work of streams. Where rain falls abun-
dantly, the main waterways hav(3 sides furrowed by deep
glens and gulches, whose sides are furrowed in like manner.
Wlicre rain does not fall the main waterways run in
" canons " There are steep-sided ditches with falls in them
where the water is digging back as it digs at Niagara, iis it
has dug since I was there ten years ago. I'ecause there an;
few ieeders, there are few side gulches in these canons. But
those who trovel over the country iind rough work. They
ride or drive over waterless plateaux from one deep ditch to
another, which they must cross to reach the next plateau
frngment. In short, this is Caucasian Daghistan on a larger
scale, over which these diggers travelled for months to reach
the gold, and having reached it look to farming, and garden-
ng, coach-driving and gambling, because they could not get

esa

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

back. Vestigia nulla rctrorsum means go ahead. My land-
lord was bred a priest and came here from Dijon in 1849.
He is a most agreeable old man. His runner is a Piedmon-
tese, his waiters Irish, his housemaid is a darky with white
blood, her help is a Chinaman, with a long black tail, in full
costume. He means to go back dead or alive, and the con-
tract is made and signed. A cattle driver was from Stafford-
shire, another is a Kentish man. I saw Spaniards and
Mexicans, and Portuguese lately. In short, here is an epitome
of the world. Jews, Christians, and Infidels, Heathens, and
Africans, and Indians, Caucasians, Aryans, Peruvians, Ameri-
cans, and all other races gathered here like vultures about a
sturgeon, to feast on gold. "Americans " are the rarest class
in this part of America. That's a fact, but a gold fever genes-
rally breaks out in the east where men are more civilized, buy
land and need hands. As for the live stock of the forest and
flood, I find that millions of salmon from GO ll)s. downwards
are caughi and cured, and fetch about a shilling a head (two
bits). The cnrers made 75,000 dollars at one station one
year. They wanted hands to work their nets. Tliere are
forty stations for fishing down the river. Nobody tries to
catch salmon with the rod. If I had my rod I would try at
the first rapids 100 miles from the sea. P)esides salmon, the
river swarms with sturgeon which are wasted. These run
from t'wclvc lumdrrd pounds downwards. There is an epide-
mic amongst them, and I saw many very large fish floating
dead and stranded. M one were five hogs and six or seven
ravens ; at another six eagles ; at another a lot of birds whic li
I was told to call Turkey buzzards. All manner (jf river fish
abound. The cold streams which run from the snows of

EDEN IN OREGON.

seven
wliich
er tisli
s of

Mount Hood, &c., are full of beautiful silver trout which
"bite all winter." The Indians catch them, and the settlers
eat them. I cannot persuade myself that the salmon will not
" bite " also when somebody tries. Meantime they catch fish,
for gold, not for sport, and they will soon spoil their property.
Nobody cares for posterity. The forests are full of game, elk,
bear, deer, beaver. The farmers drained the beaver dams.
The beaver filled the drains, but tlie farmers slew the beavers
and grow crops on the vegetable mould of centuries, which
notliing will wear out. They speculate in beaver dams. Fly-
ing game abounds : I fled and would not settle on the 1)caver
lands. I cannot fancy a pleasanter place for a hermit of
sporting tastes than the rapids of Columbia. A man yester-
day, who lives there, praised his place so highly that I smelt
a wish to sell out and migrate. I did not bid, but if I were
thirty years younger I luiglit. Mount Hood in sight on one
side, Mount St. Helen's on the other, as I was told, both
smoking through snow, and casting up chunks of rocks as
big as your head. An orclunti bearing the linesc fruit in the
world, the finest trees, the finest water, the be.it trout, the
grandest river, and all tluse wild beasts, birds and fishes to
hunt, and slay, and cat ill ; - iM under the sunflowers waiting
forme, sunsliine on one side, rain on tiie otiicr, and perfection
in the middle. What more on earth 'jould a man desire ?
Jkit why did this Athxm want to sell out of Paradise ? Now
I must ■' I'eed and wander about the to^'n.

Let the family see thin, and send it to the chief. He will
be amused by the leaf -beds at all events. Good-bje.

J, F. C.

VOL. I.

MY CIKCULAR NOTES.

Log. — Columbia River Bar. — At 7.30 a.m., air 57", water
58°, mist fog and showers living about in a regular purple
indigo, Scotch sky. After dodging about outside in a heavy
sea, rolling and breaking on the sand-bar, as it used to break
on Laggan Sands, in we went. Each white sea horseman,
with his curved plume of spray blown backwards, rolled in
before us to break. We funked, and turned round a buoy for
the third time. At 7.45 we turned in again towards low
hills, with puffs of mist like smoking fires curling amongst
the trees. A bright line of spray and sunlight was on the
bar. Cormorants and gulls, cranes and eagles, flitted about,
hoping to eat us. We funked, and revolved once n)ore about
our pivot, the jolly sand-lmoy. At 8 we went in, followed
by a schooner which was pursued by a tug, hoping for prey
of 200 dollars, which is the fare. We turned and twisted,
and wriggled and rolled horribly, and got in safe, though we
drew eighteen feet. The schooner followed, and the tug,
having no fear of shoals, rushed madly away through the
breakers, and went out to sea, followed by the galls and
eagle-s. This bad bar-harl)0ur is the best between the Golden
Gate and Victoria. It is but a postern-door ; but through it
vast stores of grain find or force a way down the Columbia
on the way round Cape Horn to Liverpool. The bar is
always shifting, and the channel is worse than the dreaded
banks of the ^Mersey. Tlie secretary to the Light House
Connnission saw nothing that he thought worthy of introduc-
tion " to Hum."

Lo<j. — rurlLdid—TUo marvellous change here to the eye
is the colour. Instead of white granite sand, the trees grow
in a carpet of berries and brush and shrubs. Euiijows and

WATER COLOURS.

clouds, and purple sliadov/s and brilliant gleams of light and
passing showers, make colours on the rank vegetation. In
(.'alifornia everything is yellow in yellow sunlight, except
the dark trees, which look black. Mountain forms here, ore
more varied. Basalt abounds in beds in cliffs by the river,
■ .nd Saddle-mountain and other high points look igneous.
. lie whole reminds me of Norway, near Christiania, in fine
weather. I saw none but igneous rocks, and nothing glacial,
not a boulder. The laundry is run by a Swede from
Gtitheljorg. Rain is very pretty, Imt a bore. Everybody is
armed with an imiljrella. I mounted my waterproof. The
very colour of the people is difrerent. In California men of
all races and complexions were burned nearly black, and
dusted. Here they are fresh and fair and rosy as in Devon-
shire, famous for beauty, and in Scandinavia. " I could tell
an Oregon man anywhere by his colour," said one to me. I
walketl sv'^r a plain of alluvium with stratified sands from
the l.:.nk ( ' the ^Villamette llivcr through the town. It is
wi(. i-; tiy'^i >d, wooden, and afUictcd l)y fires, like others of
iis kind, *-iie! ■ '.here ve ouvriers. These are the diseases of
youth, 'liie wooden side-walks l)ent and creaked under me,
and many boards were broken. 'I'hese I suppose are signs
of premature age. The last pavement of the kind that I
walked on was at Archangel last year. From formed streets
I got to streets blocked out with foundations dug, then to
strnps, and tlien to the hill-side, with a lumber road cut up
i'^ > ;Ue forest. I looked over a " city " with street-cars, gas,
railr^ ; dy, great steamers on the rivers, foundries, steam-works,
wh.arves, corn-ships, commerce, newspapers, and samples of
all Europe in it, all struggling for life, I looked over it all,

II 2

100

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

and over the wide flat alluvial plain of the Coliimhia llivcr,
which reaches a hundred miles from the sea to the tide
ending at the first rapid. Then down came a thunder
plump, and indij, .'londs rolled and poured, and growled and
perched upon the t ps, and hid the low hills. An Irish-

man with an xmibrella, John Dunning, from Leitrim, came
and fraternized under a tree His parents could speak no
English, he said; he could not speak Irish. But he spoke
intelligently and contentedly and very proudly of his
little place, on which grew trees three hundred feet high.
Wlu'n that shower passed he led me to a shanty, to avoid
another which was coming. Then he and his umbrella went
off to work at the road wliich he is making into the forest
for lumberers. I sat and glowered there amidst a gi-eenery
of ferns and shrubbery, amongst tall trees and fallen logs.
The fat town cows came about me, jingling their bells as
they grazed on rich grass and flowers. They carried me off
to Chamounix and to the green hill pastures of the Tyrol.
Then I wandered down by the way 1 came, slipping in mud,
looking out at the damp, misty, blue, beautiful landscape of
forest plains and river banks. This is Devonshire, California
is .Spain in a hot summer, I'^tah was worse than the Sahara
till the saints watered the Desert. In spite of the rain I
would rather live in Oregon than any American place that I
have seen since Ccdorado Springs.

ThiTsdrnj, 10. — l.anded curly at the Dalles, and went out
to seek a subject for a sketch. We had got east of the Cas-
cade Mountains into the dry country in a day's easy journey
by steamboat and rail. I was over the shoes in dust. When
the sun got low it shone on this curious, dry, dusty land of

DRY COLOURS.

101

the Dalles. Winding watercourses came out in streaks of
cobalt on the round orange hills, against which a solitary
stunted wind-beaten young pine stood out in strong contrast.
Ijeneath the tree stood the crumbling pillars of a bed of that
IJasalt whose beds and pilL; s weather and water have worn
into canons and rolling plains. Not one sign of glaciation
have I seen yet.

Friday, 1 1. — Fine chilly air, clear sky, 48° at 5 a.m., hard
!sky to the cast, clouds in the west. When the sun rose,
extraordinary lights came on tlie western sky. A bit of
I'ainbow, almost devoid of blue and green, shone out against
an orange shower behind a black cliif of Dasalt that might
have been part of Staffa or Stapi in Iceland. The foreground
was a sturgeon capsiz"d, floating in green water, with four
Avhite paddh.'s out in the air, and two eagles hovering over the
big fisli. " That hill looks cold," said a man at my elbow. 1
turned, and tlicie was Blount Hood in sunshine in cloud
land, glittering beyond a line of black iir-trees and a dark
beach of yellow sand, liains below had beei' snow above,
and tlierc stood the old volcanic giant, shininii,- in the
morning sun, with light to the east and clouds to the west —
the most wonderful apparition that ever startled me. No
one had ever given me a notion of j\Iount J food. 1 have
been so often told of magnificent snow-mountains rivalling
the Alps, whicli turned out to be mere shams, that a real
beauty suddeidy unveili'd surprised me.

Nothing 1 ever saw in the way of landscape beat the
beauty of the sail down tlie Columbia this fine evening.
The great broad stream Mas smooth as a mirror. Trees at
various distances fae

PGCI

l^o:^a.^^^n t^ DSfcit:

PROVING

C!AL LIBRARY

VICTORIA, B.C.

102

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

dark against the Cascade range. That rose above the forest
rounded soft and bhie, like the Ijest English lake scenery
magnified. Behind, beyond, and far above, towered tlie vast
snow-con 3 of Mount Hood, shining and glittering in the blue
sky like a great luminous cloud. Across it, layer over layer,
sailed grey ilocks of cirro stratus clouds, and parties of cirri
dotted the whole sea of blue air as they broke up for the
evening. It wr s a Euysdael sky, and a Claude landscape,
with something which none of the old painters ever di'canied
of in Mount Hood. Oregon is "the coming State."

No. XVI. ' Pt-GET SnUSD,

Thursday, ticpkmber \Wi, 1874.

My dear i\IOTHEl{,

Yesterday I came from Tacoma, at the end of the
North Pacific line in Washington, to A'ictoria, one hundred and
fifty miles in Tuget Sound. To-day I um going back again
in a fog. Yesterday we sailed out of a fog into fine weather.
About sundown I could see Mount Itainier, distant more
than 200 iniles — a great golden cone of light beyond the flat
drift and forest lands of Puget Sound. Nortli, at a greater
distance, anotlier snow-cone rose above the shining blue sea.
Eastward the sky was all one great haze of light, in which
Mount Baker was entirely smothered up. AVith tlie glass
the luminous eastern haze was a rolling mass of clouds
resting on the Cascade range, o])posite to the Straits of
St. Juan de Fuca. It really was nuignilicent. 1 found
glaciated rocks on the shore, and I was happy in Victoria.
I asked a shopman how I could find a family called .

A PO\V-WO\V.

lo;}

lass

" Why," said he, " you must go up HuuiLolt Street, and turn

to the right. Why, there's one of the iMiss 's over

there." I crossed and introduced myself to a very pretty
girl, and pi*esently I was at tea in the house of my old chum
with the wife and tliree bairns. Tlie lassie who came to visit
you with her father is grown to be a big girl. It was .so
ludicrously like the higliland numse life of old, that I
seemed to roll back a generation. The girls came in and
whispered, and went out witli keys and jingled, and finally,
with smart pink ribbons on, we sat and ate and talked,
while a big, bare-armed Chinaman, cook and factotum, came
in and did some waiting with a plate now and again. It
was a revival of my youth, even to blackberry jam. But at
night the place was alive with Indians, canoes, and gear ;
fires blazed on the rocks, and shrieks and yells and whoops
and howls of druidceji, wild men, made the beautiful niglit
hideous. The stars shone, and the sea shone witli creatures
that rocked and balanced in the swell below. It was warm
and calm and beautiful. And that is the usual climate of
the island tliat I once thought of migrating to, which I have
now seen and departed from, and will not forget or revisit.

It seems that a great Indian chief, who had made money
and grown old, gave a function liere. He bought blankets
in bales, and suits of clothes by the dozen, and set up a
stage, and threw down tlie goods to the Indians below, who
scrambled. Finally he had out a bushel of silver, half-
dollars, and scattered them. Having thus distributed all his
wealth, he will be kept as a chief by the Indians of his tribe.
They came hundreds of miles to share in this live testamen-
tary act, which is called a " I'ow-wow." I thought of an old

104

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Gaelic tale, and of Kinfj Lear, and doubted the wisdom of
the great Indian chief. The clusters of canoes, and swarms
of curious creatures that I saw, were the del)ris of tlie " Pow-
wow." Victoria is the chicken of a great town. J'ut mean-
time it is in a shell made of wood. The future of it depends
on the making of continental railways ; and the interests of
Canada and Victoria seem to clash. Both sides want the
commerce of the interior to pass their ports, and meantime
Quebec has the gate of Nor hern America. This side is not
settled up, and it will be a long time before it is. They are
trying the gold bait, but it won't do. At the river " Stickum,"
they — that is to say, somebody unknown for uidcnown
reasons — got up an excitement : and I have been conversing
with the broken men wlio are going somewlieru else. " Tliey
cus considerable;" they say "fellows salted the grounds;"
they ])ut gold-dust into baccy-quids, and spat it into the
pans when new comers came to prospect. These paid coin
for the salted claims, worked hard at digging and washing,
wore out their clothes, and got their purses emptied. To get
to the place and to get out of it was fc^arful travel. They
found mosquitoes in clouds day and night ; the ground was
bed, and their own backs were commissariat transport. Some
came overland through the wilds, and lava-beds, and parched
canon country, by way of Salt Lake, and all who came were
" stuck "' in " Stickum." ] )ut all agree that gold is to be got
up there, and that llussia did not sell Uncle Sam. Not
knowing I can't say. If there be a good find the rail may be
made, and then I'uget Sound and its bays and harbours must
grow into a great port for the farming land which abound.': in
the interior. The coast-land is no good, they say. I see that

WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

ior>

a little north of Columbia Itiver, and tlicnco to Victoria, the
l.md is made of sands and gravels and rolled stuff sorted in
water, packed horizontally. Amoni^'st this loose stulf are
bods of Lignite from twelve feet thick to less. In these beds
Iree rafts are scarcely altered, and the stuff burns at " volcano
l)oint." in Whitby Island, I'uget Sound, near " Useless
liay," the Lignite caught fire in a cliff, and burned for years.
>Jow the lire is out. Near the Columbia some of these drift-
beds are smothered under Ijasalt. The Cascade range seems
to be made of old and new lavas, and on this range, at
intervals, stand these groat volcanic mountains which I have
been gazing at with mouth agape, '''lioy are all of one
pattern, all covered with sujw^ here, and ■\vilh small glaciers,
from which spring the rivers anil rivulets which water the
drift country and feed the forest. That forest is the feature
of the whole land. Trees oOO feet long are quoted. Logs
were sent to China lately <S0 feet long, 24 inches square,
without pith or a knot. The wliole low country is forest,
and out of it farmers carve farms, on which they grow very
poor wet crops, so far as I have seen them. They grow fruit
and hops, and near rivers they grow hay and feed cattle and
nourish, but they lack men to work the land and to buy tlu^
jn-oduce, and ships to carry it off to distant markets. Here
at Portland, on the Columbia, where I am iinishing my letter
on Sunday, they have men and ships and home and foreign
markets, and, if tlu^y could get rid of the bar, they have a
magniticent river ami harbour made to their hands. I am
writing of Washington territory, and of 300 miles north of
the Columbia, the country which I have just crossed.

Tell K. what 1 say for the bonelit of his emigrants if

106

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

he lifis any. The climate about Victoria is near perfection
they say. In the latitude of the south of England they have
the tail of a warm sea-current in the ocean, and a temperate,
even climate. The snow never lasts many days near the
sea, the rain is not excessive, and the temperature ranges
little, summer or ■vint-er ; so they tell nie, espcciall} those
who have land-lots. Oa good land mngnificent wbeat-crojjs
grow. That is a fact ; and in orchards, apples, plums, and
pears, and all that grows in Devonshire, grows well in Van-
couver's Island. A lad who was always ailing at Xew
York is now growing strong and healthy there — out all day,
shooting and working and enjoying life ; his mother and
sisters are healthy, happy, and well pleased in Victoria, and
tliey are charmed with society thci'e. But working men join
in a choriis of discontent. Tiiey earn a dollar a day, two in
harvest, Init they are paid in bills at sixty days' sight, and
clothes cost fabulous prices. They have to sleep anywhere
out of doors and fight mosquitoes all night; and if they get
good grub gratis they have to woik twice as hard as ever
they did in Europe. So they tell me. Consequently a nnin
who has earned and saved some hundreds of dollars hears of
a gold digging, and goes ol'f and gets " broke." Then he
comes back and works lV)r a couple of years, and has another
start. I never fell in with such desperate Avanderers. They
have been east and west, and south and north, to Colorado
and to Alaska, to Australia, and to all parts of the world,
and they have heard of tSouth African gold-fields, and long
to go there. I get my pipe alight, stick my heels on the
back of a chair, and jaw Avith these wild fellows by the hour.
Most are Irish, some are of Scotch extraction. One Gaelic

PUGET SOUND.

107

man came from Harris to Cape Breton, and is a ship-car-
penter on Puget Sound. Others are Yankees from tlie East.
They are regular C!eltic nomads, with tlieir four bones for
capital, and the wide world for home. If I can miinage it ]
will send a handbook by post, which will give tlie statistics
of this Oregon country. The whole is too rosy, but it tells
some facts. I start to-morrow overland for San Francisco.
I have 300 miles of coach in the journey, and rather fear
that. The rest is rail. I have telegraphed to my wandering
cousin, I. A. E,, and may see him. Good-bye.

J. F. C.
Portland, Sunday, Scptcmlcr 2Wi, 1874.

P.S. Telegram from I. A. E., who is away hunting for wild
beasts and an estate.

Pugct Sound — Log E.dracU. — Monday, Sept. 14, at 6 a.m.,
clouded and still 55" and 65" ; started from Portland in the
Dixie Thomson stern-wheeler down to the Columbia Eiver,
in cloudy, muggy weather, landing at wharves made of chips
and splinters and rafts of great logs. Sometimes we ran
right on shore on the sand-beach ; men with saddle-bags
scrambled over a plank, and walked riglit away into the
forest ; others, Avho came in teams and wagons, scrauiljled in
over the bows. All looked rough and independent, but not
flourishing. Clean shirts and broadcloth prevailed on board,
l)eards and shirt-sleeves on shore. Fraternized with an old
Canadian trapper and voyage iir. lie spoke French with a
Norman accent, and English with a Yankee twang. He
speaks all manner of Indian languages. He has been up to
Sitka, where snow is seven feet deep in winter, and he seems

108

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

to liave Avandercfl far and wide. Tic was up Mount ITood
with the American surveyors, but he could not get to tlie top
lor the wind.

In the matter of glaciers he says that one is on Mount
Hood; hut, on further investigation, he never saw blue ice
there. I saw cremsscs and neve with my glass. I conclude
that small glaciers do exist on these volcanic cones. IVfy
trapper worked for the Hudson Bay Company, and looks
;is hard as nails. He proposed to show me the country. I
said I was too old. Xow this country was entirely given up
to such men not very long ago, and Astoria was the capital
city, and a trading post. It pleased some white men to hold
a meeting, and make the wild country a territory. They
elected state officers, and amongst them a Lord Chief Justice,
or supremo judge. He asked what code of laws he was to
administer. The meeting, after consultation, told him that

" he might do just a.s he d pleased." Now the territory is

a state, and beyond the Columbia liiver is Washington terri-
tory, which touches Puget Sound.

I landed in "Washington territory at Kalama, and waited
while lots of freight landed. Indians with fish on their
shoulders were sloi>iug about the streets, and buying thread
in sho])s, and loating. Their dress was seedy European, and
their faces were American. At 12.30 started on the rail, and
drove up the Cowlitz lUver. This is a forest country, with
savannahs and clearings, and with farms carved out of the
forest. The soil is sandy and shingly, the vegetation dank
and damp and bright green. The crops were poor, and the
hay protected from rain. "We went up GOO feet and down as
nmch in 105 miles, crossing several lai'ge streams wliicli ilow

THE TERMINUS.

109

from the Cascade range. Mount St. Helens is visiljlo in
clear weather, distant seventy-five milen. The stoiy is that
Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens were man and wife.
They quarrelled and pelted each other, but the spitfire wife,
St. Helens, silenced her husband Hood. To-day both were
under a cloud. I saw near the mouths of the rivers largo
rolled stones and flat terraces of gravel and drift, like the
country in the north of Norway and Russia, Sweden and
Finland, but not one glacial mark. The land seems tu Iiave
risen from the sea, and this hollow probably was a continua-
tion of Puget Sound. At G.30 ''got to a wharf on piles.
There found an ex-waiter from the Junior United Service
Club. "Do you know London?" he said. "Yes," said I.
" Were you ever in the West end ? " "I live there when I
am at lionie," I answered. " Do you know the clubs ? " "I
belong to one or two," I said. " I was a waiter in one," said
the Taconia waiter. He came out here to make his fortune,
ran a saloon, and gave credit. His customers went to dig
gold in liritish Columbia, and came back " broke." So ho
broke too, and sohl out, and now he is assistant waiter
at Tacoma, waiting ill pleased, and g<»ing home. The general
air of the termiims is far from flourishing.

Tuesday, Sept. 15. — jNIy glass stands higher than ever I
saw it. A thin, gauzy, brilliant haze is everywhere ; the sky
overhead is bright, and tlie air dead calm. Birds o.u the sea
look like boats, boats like ships. Indians in queer, long-
nosed boats are paddling about ; • white men, with nets, are
returning from fishing salmon, but smelts only appeared
at breakfast. I saw an old fellow trolling for salmon last
night as Celts fished for " cuddies " when I was young.

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Somebody caught a salmon witli a minnow. On this day
last year I was at Astrakhan, on the Caspian. There the
fislung is all for sturgeon, and yet liere sturgeon are despised
fish, and caviare is unknown. As I could not see the oppo-
site coast, I made up log, and loafed from five till nine ; then
I walked up the road to the city, and studied the drift. For
a few moments. Mount Eainiev appeared through rifts in
clouds, which rose gradually as the day warmed. I made a
pencil sketch. My foreground is the "city." It consists
chiefly of black stumps and logs and green fern, and a few
log-houses. Amongst them is the Bon Ton Saloon and the
Eainier Saloon, and one big wooden house, which belong to
the company, and the land-ring. A town lot costs 350 to
450 dollars, 25 feet front, 100 depth. If this grows like
San Francisco, that is cher.p. If it remains as it is, it is dear.
A pound a S(iuare foot for ferns and stumps at the otlier
side of the world would be thought dear to an emig'ant from
I5arra. I interviewed a Yankee of Scotch extraction, whose
father speaks Gaelic, and a Trondhjan Norseman, each in his
mother tongue. The Norseman is not pleased. If he had
2,000 dollars he would return to Gamle Norge. Went on to
the forest and to a fire. Three tall iroes, about twelve feet
in girth, had been set on fire lo bring them down. Holes
bnd been drill' d with augurs, and their poor pine-hearts
were blazing oat )f their sides. Fallen logs had been jointed
with fire, and lay there like vast black reeds. Far off up
stream in a valley are the" Indian reservations. As Mount
Iiainier wouk^ not appear, went down and got a Chinaman
to wash my linen. There is not a washerwoman in ilie
country. In the evening went out trolling, and caught

Tor

^Mm

,,,,, M^S'

! Pi'

III!

iPillh:

!:iii|;!:.''"'

!l!!ll|r:

i;l'jl!lill, ' '

l|!.*:

lii.'i III

iwr,. '.:/!'. lull,;,.

COLOUR.

Ill

iii

nothing. About sumlown the iiiountaiiis cleared. Then
snow ulowed oranyc and vermilion, and the volcano seemed
red-hot from peak to base. Suddenly it cliauged to a pale
ghostly lilue against a red sky. .Seventy-five miles of atmo-
si)]iere and 14,000 feet of ashes, covered with fresli, colour-
less snow, made a grand screen for rainbow colours to pass
over as the shadow of the Pacific Ocean crept up into the
eastern sky.^

Sept. 10. — Up to sec the sun rise. The wind was southerly,
and the air hazy. Tlic mount looked like any other tall
distant grey hill. Copied the form, and tried to put in the
sunset colours from memory. From all that I can make out,
the landowners of this city greatly need customers, ami the
Xorthern Pacific Pailway to bring them here. Meantime this is
a sportsman's paradise. Ducks and geese abound. Salmon and
large sea trout were ^ilaying all about us last night. The lakes
are full of trout. The forests full of large game. The Indians
are (piiet, and the rushing crew of hurrying travellers, bent on
earning money, ru.sh past. A steamer and a train made night
noisy, and ^JiucI: tlui wliole house like an earthquake, and
then came quiet and calm. In the evening, with the General
Superintendent of thi' Pail, and (ieoige O'Kelly, innkeeper,
went out salmon-fi.sliing in the sea. The lish were plunging
idl over the place. We hooked two, and the infamous traile-
hooks broke ^ike glass. "We landed on the opposite shore,
iind went to an Indian camp, and bought a fresh clean seven-
pounds salmon. A wild, picturesque woman, knitting and

1 .\ r-iinous Atii<>ri('iin jiaiiitiT lias niadii a portrait of Mount Kainior from
Tu'oiim. It was liouglitliy Mr. Jolm Fuwlur, who showed it to mo in London
whvn 1 f^ot huniu.

112

MY CIUCULAU NOTES.

nursing a baby in a basket, sat on a log by a cheery wood
fire. Two small children, about nine and six, paddled about,
and a hen and chickens clucked :ind cheeped under a basket.
Fishing-gear and pots and pans, and layers for sleeping,
made a very pretty i)icture on tlu clean gravel beach by the
smooth sea under a steep wooded bank near a great tall briai'
fifteen feet high, and a clear spring. Wishing to be civil and
make friends, I took out a cigar-case and offered the lady a
cigar. Why I know not, but thereupon slie pointed down
the shore with her chin, and said, " Saiwash " (Indian). Then
with a face of infinite terror, she sprang up and made tracks
along the beach witli the baby, followed by the elder bairns.
The eldest little girl stopped, stooped, piVked up a big pcljblc,
and with a face of rage, terror, and wild fury, she lifted her
little arm to shy at me. I stood stock-still with my hands
in my pockets. The wild-cat look faded, the stone dropped, and
the child turned and toddled off after the squab. We marvelled
and embarkcd,and rowed and sailed three miles in the rain back
to Tacoma. This small incident tells ill for the wliite bearded
men of this region. They must be ill neighbours to these
wild critturs of the Puyallop Eiver at the end of Puget Sound
and the beginning of civilization. Several canoes, loaded
with dog-fish oil, salmon, and gear, came to the wliarf. A
dollar a gallon was all that the innkeeper would give. An
old woman, clicking as men click when they talk in the
Caucasus and at the Cape of Good iroj)e, with strange grunts
.and gutturals for language, chattered. The men grinned.
They were the ugliest set of mortals that ever I saw. They
would not let me draw, so I dried my clothes at a stove, and
slept in them till a steamer came at midnight. Then I went

THE FASHIONS.

113

on board, and slept on a bench till daylight. We ran about
1 r)0 miles to Victoria, passing the famous island of San Juan ;
a man on board was there when the place was surrendered.
The Yankee ofhcer with sixty men and two guns ran his
craft asliore at tlie back of the little island, and ran up the
small hill with drums beating and fifes playing " Yankee
Doodle." British ships, with cannon as many as the others
had muskets, looked on from the other side with telescopes.
If that story be true, that was bunkum and forbearance, and
the man M'ho looked on had a good temper, which may have
saved the war which tiie otliers tried to provoke. The whole
f»f this coast, so far us I could see, is water-drift, with a few
large stones dropped in it. It is glacial marine drift, for it is
stiaHfied. As soon as I spied the rocks at Victoria I recog-
nized the familiar glaciated form. I landed, and in t!ie first
ytreet found a well-grooved rock. The direction of movement
was parallel to the axis of Puget Sound, at right-angles to
the strait, which opens into it from the Pacific Ocean. The
dip is easterly, the strike northerly. It follows that all this
water-drift, with rare glacial boulders in it, rests u[)on glaci-
ated rocks. Ik'cause of shells found in the drift, the glacial
period here was marine. Further north, in Sitka, glaciers
enter the sea, and sounds are dotted with small icebergs.
There the glacial period now is marine.

Sept. 17, 1874. — I dill not come all this way for nothing.

The whole of these settlements were pervaded by Indians
and h;df-l>ree(ls. Some gorgeous with rings, and gloves, and
hats, and feathers, and T'almoral boots, and tartans, came on
board. Tlu^ir hideousiKiSs was portentous, but they were
greatly admired of our sailors. Here has been a clerical row.

VOL. I. i

114

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Tlie ritualist IJisliop has suspeiuled tlie Dean, and the con-
gregation, who love the Dean, tln'oaten to burn tlie cathedral
(they did try afterwards). What wonderful people we are to
enact history over again. At dawn we were off again south-
Avards, diving in and out of fog banks liowling, and now and
then passing over shoals, where I conld see shells strewn on the
new country, there forming by tlie action of waves and tides.
As I could not see I wrote. Here a young lady artist kindly
ran in to tell me that Mount Baker had popped up in a sea
of clouds. I ran out and made a sketch. The young lady
did me the honour to give me her autograph and to ask for
mine. Her brother Avas a circus clown, and is a tem[)eranco
lecturer, starring it. I had a deal of pleasant talk with a
clever man, who told me that he understood that his style of
comic serious discourse would take remarkaljly well in
England, and that he meant to go thei'e to lecture. He made
rather a good thing of it even in Washington territory
amongst lumberers and labourers, sailors and Indians. Tliey
crowded to this entertainment, and feed the lecturer, who
made them laugh and told them the evils of drink, and how
lie was reformed. I hope to meet my acrpiaintance in the
old country. From other jjassengers 1 gathered nmch know-
ledge which bears on coal and glaciation, salmon, the grand
canon of the Colorado, the hot springs, of the Yellow Stone,
the lava beds, and the climate of Alaska. Our ship was full
of wanderers who had l)een exploring, and who were ready
to talk freely about their adventures.

Portland, Sundo.i/, Sept. 2{)th. — Cloudless, clear, warm
sun ; hills magnificent. Went to church, and later walked to
the other end of the town to ship sticks and sundries for

<»i

Di
fel
Tv
till
vc

THE SHADOW OF THE WOULD.

116

round Capo Horn to Edinlair^li. (If (!ver llie captain of that
",'ood grain sliip sliould see tliis my log, I beg liini to accept
my l)est thanks for his kindness. 1 met the sticks in very
simihir weather, ahout tlie same season, out in the western
isles of Scotland.) The evening was perfectly clear. The
sky cloudless. To the north was St. Helens, vvitli Eainier
])ee])ing over lier shoulder. To tlie east was Mount Hood.
The sunset colours were magnificent. The snow cones were
a warm yellow, the sky green sucli as lia])hael saw, and
orange for which there is no name. The green forest plains
were l)athed in yellow liglit, and tlie wliole landscape Mas
smootli and soft and cloudless, like a single even wash of all
the colours in the box, harmoniously Mended. I knew it was
too heautifid to last, so gave it up, and made a pencil outline,
and tlien sat and gazed from a rail fence. The hlue shadow
of the low hills crept eastward, over the forest plains, away
to the Cascade range, nnd tlien up the snow, till a single point
of the great cone glowed like a fire on the to]) of Mount
lI<jod. It lingered there while the world's shadow crept up
the orange sky behind it ; and then the light went out sud-
denly, and I went home to the St. Charles. Fraternized
there with an English gentleman come to settle in Oregon —
one of the right sort.

Sq)t. lU. — Very fine ; bright, clear, hard sky. C i' in the li'ain.
U]) with the dawn and drove 2W nules to lioseburg. At first
the AVillametle valley was rich with orchards, vineyards, corn,
fern, and forest, with a rich shrubbery and undergrowth.
Twenty-five miles \\\) is a small fall over llasalt: gradually
the forest scattered and broke up into clumits, and we got to
very pretty farming prairie land. Mount Jackson was east

I 2

IIG

MY CIKCULAU NOTES.

of us, at the back of a rolling mountain range, which, like the
rest of the Cascade range, ap])ears to he made of igneous
rocks. Skye and Mull, with volcanic cones still entire, rising
to l.S,000 feet or thereabouts, may enable a \v(!st Ilighhmd
geologist to understand Oregon and Mr. Juild's ])aper on
Secondary Hocks. The foreground here was yellow prairie,
which looked like an okl lake or sea bottom. It was fenced
and cidtivated, and grazed by numerous Hocks and herils.
Single trees stood alnjut, and cbim{)s of forest, like a great
English park. Neat white towns come often, and the rail
and river often met. Eighty miles up, the valley narrows to
twelve or tifteen miles. It is still flat as the sea, and the end
of it is only 900 feet above tide-water : at 450 feet the valley
plain ends. I noticed thiit from Eugene City southwards the
southern slo])es of conical hiUs are all fine dry grass, whih^
northern slopes are forest clad. I suppose that there is some
good reason in the climate, but I do not know what it is.

A hilly, basaltic, narrow valley, with hauglis in it, over-
grown with grass, fern, oak, pine, niiiple, sycamore, and a rich
autumnal vegetation, took us over a ridge at 950 ftiet, and
then we ran down fast to the Um([uha river. Tlie trees in
the gulch were very tall and slender, and certainly weri;
fully 200 feet high. It fell dark before we sto])ped at llose-
burg. I walked to the hotel and tumbled into a ditch.
The rest let me tumble out again. The ovei'land coach was
overloaded at the door, so I camped in the Metropolitan
Hotel.

Tucsdai/, Sept. 22.— Cui'\ Very fine; cloudless, bright,
fresh morning, witli a heat haze in the air. This is a very
pretty phu^e on a river, the Umcj^uha, which comes out of

ig
s\

I'
w

REST AND BE THANKFUL.

117

the Cascade; range. Tlie rocks are all igneous decomposing
l)rown stnfi', which niakcs a rod soil. I went 500 feet up
a liill. Tlie wliole country is a network of glens, with
conical hills and hog-hacked ranges, all worked into shape
by the rains. There is not a trace of glaciation. The south
slopes are grassy, the noi'th generally forest, with a richer
and damper soil. I saw oaks and manzaneta, mountain laurel,
l)ines of all sorts, and much unknown shruhbery. A few
twittering birds tried to sing, and a great brown hawk sailed
idiout trying to catch the musicians. lUack ants had small
granaries of grass seeds disjiosed about their holes like a
sunflower. Far away in tlie yellow valley a turn of the
Ilmquha slione like a mirror set in pines. Tlie air was still
and nearly silent. 80 there I sat on a hilltoi), with my back
to an oak, listening for the rare sounds of life and work. I
heard a far-away hammer, an axe, a wheel, a cow's bell, a
sleepy dog, a cock, a donkey, a blue jay, a fly, the whirr of
the hawk's wings, the twitter of the little birds. A series of
sleepy summer sounds made the strange silence of the forest
more striking. It was a day to be lazy and to enjoy life, and
" rest and be thankful." (A year after writing the words I was
very near that j)ass, copying my log, and comparing Oregon
and Argyllshire. Those who like one climate will find some-
Ihing very like it l)y moving half round the wt)rld.) (lot up
and wandtu'cd down to the river. It is a rapid, .aniongst
ign(!ous rocks, with a deep l)road pof)l. Into that I presently
swam, to my great contentment, in water at 71°. As I sat
ptiddling my feet in the warm wiiter and basking in the sun,
with all the seal awake within my body, a shoal of liold little
fishes gathered and nibbled my toes. The little brutes took

hold and shook tlieir hoiulH like a terrier at a rat. They
tickled me so that I left them, donned my human garments,
and went home to lioseluirg. There an old man was
selling beautiful trout and "suckers," nine for two dollars
and a half. About sixpence a pound in these wilds seemed
a long price, but the vendor got it. The landlord of a
saloon, who sold me an excellent drauglit of lager beca*, said,
" I would not now go and jump into that river for live d(jllars,
not I. It's too cold." If T be a seal, T presumes lu; was ii
land dog and died of hydropliobia before he was Ixa-n a man.
He led me te a shop where a very polite man I'xclr.uiged
knowledge. He showed me specimens; T told him all \
knew. The great wants in tliis rich pleasant land arc
markets, cnpital, hands, ami knowledge. There seem to be
plenty of heads, and pockets waiting to be tilled. The whole
ways of the place made me think of England as it was a
hundred years ago. Tlte lumbering stage-coach ami its
passengers, the sleepy sounds of (piietdeliljci'ate labour in the
streets, the shops that sell everythiii;.', tlie dusty men and
beasts, and the general air of content, ami peace, and (piiet,
and plenty, suggest merry England, of the poets andMacaulay.
But down comes a broken miner to tell of the Pacific coast,
and fore^^ts, and M-ilds, and briars, and hard work for nothin;.;,
and merry England gives place to Eoselnirg, capital of
Douglas County, Oregon. At eight, started in the Oregon
coach for California.

VAfi RANTS IN COUNCIL.

119

TO INTENDINO AMERICAN EMIGRANT, ESQUIRE, ANYWHERE.

No. XVIT.
My dear I. A. E.,

I am not a politiinaii : T am a wanderer. The advice
of j\[r. Punch to persons about to marry was " Don't." He
was a bachelor then : I have since dined with him and
Mrs. Judy and tlie olive branches. Unprincipled people
will marry and multiply, and after multiplication Division.
J>irds migrate, men are nomads, and you mean to migrate.
Are yon a nomad ? Will you migrate ? Where to ? Prac-
tice is useful in calculating and subtraction in travelling
gear. Use your brains. Set fancy and common sense to
argue, and test your properties before you start. If you
must migrate, take all you want, and make a pile at
home. Then pack it on your back and carry it a mile.
You will soon learn how much you can do without. Your
luggage will soon go into your purse, and your money
will be turned into circular notes if you are migrating
to wilds where you must carry your own load. One suit
of working clothes and a blanket commonly are a complete
miner's outfit. If fancy will go for digging gold, let com-
mon sense try it at home. I'ack the pile and picks and
shovels on Shanks his mare, and walk to the nearest river.
Wade in it and work ; dig holes and carry sand ; make
leads for water till you are tired and hungry. Then fast
if you liave forgotten to carry grub, or buy food at a shop
and pay double price. Make a fire, cook and eat, and
sleep out wet or dry till you realize life at gold-diggings
If you like it and think yourself able to work and trade,

120

MY CIUCrLAR NOTES,

sell the Siiiul-li(tle or your sliun;, il' the ground is not yours.
J*ut some brass tilings and broken glass in ; salt your claim,
and trade it ofi' to a stranger, and make trucks with the
plunder. If the buyer remonstrates, knock him down and
stamj) upon him. " Cut him " if he desires your acquaint-
ance, that i.s, kill him with a knife; or shoot him down. If
you do all this and get to "Stickum " in fancy, let common
sense put the cute biter in the place of the bitten. Fancy
being " stuck " with a salted claim, and " cut," and " broke,"
and driven to march for several weeks, and " i. .ke tracks
for the settlements " to seek work, through the " darmlest
rough country that ever you see." That portrait was jtainted
from life orally by many autobiographeis, " down on their
luck," in the far West. Others painted in glowing hues.
They showed nuggets and dust and greenbacks to green-
horns, and shares in priceless projierties which were dirt
cheap. Common sense remarked to my Fancy, " Such
generosity is inhuman : heave half a brick at him " is
more like our humanity. That ^lanimoth Itcd Bat on the
frontier was a caution to strangers liound for " these dig-
gins." So common sense and fancy and 1 jogged on to-
gether after the setting sun.

If you must migrate, my brother Vagrants, you must g
somewhere. I owe you a day in harvest for many kind
acts done to me in your own European lands. 1 wish you
well an'^ this is my counsel.

You free, sagacious, hardy Xorscmcn of the Teuto-Celtic-
Icelandic cross-breed have taken the right road. You have
sent people of your own sort from Iceland to look out for
a new American country fit for your needs. You will be

COUNSEL FOR VAORANTS.

121

W(^lc<tinc there. Your own roeks and sands and bogs grow
l";tle but grass. You know about cattle and ])onies, cod-
fish :ind sharks. You have been n»ighty sailors and colonists.
You found America. You arc Nomads by nature, smoked
out of your nests ]>y volcanoes. It is all in the natural
order of things that you should follow leaders and swarm :
take your time and do it well, and go ahead.

You, my amjihibious Scandinavian friends, are fisliers
and hunters, sailors and farmers. You are Northerns ; keep
to the ool north if you wish to keep your health. Join
your kindred in America ; stick together as you have done
thus far. If you meet a Mormon missionary send him to
Utah. The strangest sound 1 heard in that hot basin full
of saints and siilt and sul]»hur was the familiar voice of a
Sa'tar J'iga, who ought to be out with her sisters herding
kye in fresh cool air, by purling sweet snow-streams.

You Finns, Lapps, Russians, and ]*oles, and you North
Germans of the northern plains, keep well to the north.
You will find plenty of elbow room in Canada and about
the lakes, in plains like your own, where snows cover the
ground in winter, and tlie smiimer sun shines hot on lauds
hat are rich and flat. You need wintering, and you are
used to deal with flats and water, cattle and corn. Don't
be flats yourselves. You German vine-dressers of the
llhine, wl • work on steep rocky hill-sides at home, and
brew horrible drinks in Californian plains, where you came
to dig gold, find some rocky hill-side near a big river, and
you may yet give me a glass of wine. You may fit your
new An rican country to your old skill. Your skill is
wasted in dry California.

122

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

You Italians of the plains, go to California and irrigate,
as you learned the art from your IJonian ancestors. You
may easily grow poplars, mulberries, and vines, Indian corn
and pumpkins — four crops at once in the same field, as
you do at home in Lombardy. The Sierra Nevada, like
the Alps, has snow enough to water these plains, which are
rich as your own when properly tilled. Your skill is needed
out in the west, where crops fail for lack of water ; but you
would freeze and sneeze in Canada and Oregon.

You, my English and Normandy friends, go to Oregon or
British Columbia, You will keep your cheeks rosy where
apples flourish ; and you can brew cider to your hearts' con-
tent in this " AvuLi.n." You Cornish and ^Yelsh metal
miners, stick to your trade. Co west and prosper in
Nevada, or in California or in Oregon or in British Columbia
between granite and altered rocks. The minerals of these
lands are not hidf explored. Where sands are golden pros-
pect up stream, and you may strike fortune. Yju need
not go to tlie volcanoes. You don't mind lieat ; go any-
where ; you will be v/elconie if you bring knowledge, whieli
everybod}^ wants out in tlie west. If you are content lo
earn wages, you can earn them easily. You coal miners,
keep east of the liocky Mountains. You French inci'udiaries,
go to Utah, or roast yoiu'selves in any otlier wootk'u town,
as you did in your own pet Paris. You Aristo, keep to the
east if you seek polite liie and fashion. (!(j to the west
if you want to buy land and contiimc to ije an Aristo, and
lord of yourself, that heritage of woe. Bemember one head
is worth two haiuls ; brains are better than four bones. If
yuii have capital, you can lii: ; Chinese cooli(,'S, body and

THE GHKEN ISLE IX THE GREAT DEEP.

12)5

bones aucl pigtail to boot, on the Pacific Coast ; and be head
of a largo clan at small cost. If you have any dignity a])out
you, pack it up with your court dress, and be content witli
a Sunday suit. You who are blessed with brains, use your
wits, and you will float up in the crowd like a cork in the
sea. You mny easily rise as high as Haman if you are too
cute. You, my Celtic friends in Ireland and in the Scotch
Isles, do as your kinsmen of Iceland have done. Listen to
no stranger, for you may be sold. lie may want to " run "
you, and speculate on your properties. Few understand
you and your nature ; biit of these many " stick " you, for
you are easily gulled, and very useful and valuable as liands.
In tlie settled ea.styou serve and make tl;e worst of servants,
for you all want to rule. There the land has landlords who
know you not, and wlm only care lor you as they do for
valued live stock. Hold up your head — there's money bid
for you. "Wlien you have got enough, go west after your
kindred, follow your friends and take their counsel. Many
workmen ai'c ricli landlords, who hire Chinese for themselves.
You may talk Irish all over America; you may talk Gaelic
m the dominion; y<»ur kindred there need y'luv properties,
and will helj) you to rise in preference to other 'hands."
JUit nn'nd this: it's every man for himself "in tlie (Ireen
Isle that is in the midst of the deep." You and your many
good q\uditit\s are wanted over the water. If you are not
wanted here at home, if the cry is "crowdy crowdy ever
mair," and the Sumlay dinner, potatoes and point, go to your
kindred: speak (laelic, learn English, ac<[uire the nasal
twang, and, above all, learn f; -m Yaidcs to go ahead. (lo
to "the (Jreen Isle," after your ancestors, the Fenians, and

124

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

drink beer like Fionn. I speak to you as Oisein did wlieii
he came baek from the Isle of Youtli. You shepherds of
the French Landes and Spanish Llanos, fjo to California and
to Xew Mexico ; take your own breeds of sheep used to
pastures brown, and able to wear their great-coals in hot
weather. Take care of your own fleeces when you ^et
there, and don't drink that sour German wine in billiard
shantie: . I never saw one of your southern breed in tlu;
jiorth. You could not flourish there amongst snows and
rain. Yo\i Southern Furopeans go south. When Greek
meets Gi'eek then comes the tug of war. Let Greeks go to
Wall Street. If Turks go to America they must do as th(^
tnrkies do there — gobble and be gobbled. The s])arrow on
the house top may learn from the swallow under the eaves.
The cuckoo may tell the I)lackbird where to ]iick nj) worms.
If the worm gets up too early, the early bird will eat liini.
Householders who are houseless may learn from tramjis
where to find house room ; and you, my dear I. A. E., miiy
possibly learn something from a landless Vagrant, who has
seen many lands and " niair toons nor Tobermory." 1 n
Chinese fashion I salute you all.

CiriX CITIN.

Exfrncfafro-ni Log, itc. — Overland Orq/on Jiontc. Portland to
Frisco. — At 8. r.M. started in the overland coach with a
man who objected to smoke and took the best jtlace. Jolting
fearfully all night, rattled like a i)ea in a whi.stle on the back
seat. I slept in snatches, but every now and then the coach
jumped on to a log bridge or off it, or over a stone or a
rut, and I was thrown five or six inches u}), to come down

A TEUUIEU'S TALK.

125

on ii inard witli a tearful hump. My hat was crushed flat
uj^ainst the side, and it was liard work to rest. A Chinaman,
with ])icks and shovels, and iron pails, got in with a bundle
(jf blankets. Him I kicked, but that did not help much.
At List I got my legs stretched out of the coach and slept,
l^'rom time to time we crossed the trail of a skunk. The
smell was the concentrated essence of fox. I knew it from
having crossed a trail on the Pacific Railroad, and from
having made ac([uaintance yesterdaj with a terrier. His
master, an old runaway man-o'-war's man of 1849, had just
tramped u]» from Fi'iseo. He was camped in a gulch, with u
^ood fire, when his do'' barked.

" T kiunved there was some'ut up wlien he barked," said
tli(; old siuloi", "so I gets up and looks, and then;, in the
moonlight, I sees a skunk coniin' along. Well, lie gDcs
right at his head, and he, kilh'd him right away. He
swished tince, but l)efore he had time to swish again he
was dead."

Here the dog got u]) and wagged his stump of a tail, and
laid his cropped ears l)ack and sniiied, and picked up a chip
uf woi)d and brought it, and I smelt skunk. The master
had his slioulder i)ut out at the Dalles, and went to Frisco
lo get it ])ut to rights

" I tJKiught they couhl do anything in Frisco, but they said
I was too old, so I .sets off to travel back to Oregon. It's
Iianl work tramping with a load, sir. I was born not far
from Lontlon. 1 went to sea. I was 'prenticed at Lime-
house ; and I was in a nian-(t'-war at the Sandwich Islands."
"And then you ran away to the tiiggings," I said.
" Ves sir, you l)et. 1 ran awiiy for the gold diggings in

12G

\1Y CIRCULAR NOTES.

1849, and I've been in this country ever since. I've made a
power of money. WHien I got it I nscd to go a voyage to
Portland, and then go hack and dig till I was tired of it, and
then take another voyage. Now I'm hroke."

He was peeling laties, having got a job as cook's mate fi'om
the landlord. I gave him half a dollar, and he went and got
a drink of l)eer, and returned with tlic change. He seemed
astoxmded when told to keep it for luck. Tlicre's not much
given away in Oregon, but a good many peo]ile and tilings
are sold there. At nine, we stopped for breakfast at a i'arm
in the forest, about 1,000 feet above I'oseburg, in the cross
hills which here divide the rivers. A general desire to take
care of number one seems to pervade all the i)cople I meet
here. Everybody ate up all he covdd, and Jiobody cared for
the stranger. " Heave 'arf a brick at him " was characteristic
of hospitality to strangers in the black country, "to hinii ; "
the rule here is, " Let the darned cuss take care of lu'mself,
and give him a wide 1)crth ; he may have bricks in In's
})Ocket to heave at me, or something worse." I became ex-
ceedingly polite to strangers in Oregon. Tlie country all day
long was like a shrubbery in a pinetum, with oaks, and liard-
Avood, and grass glades, with occasional o])en prairies, farms,
and orchards. It only wanted "the hall "and "the parson-
age" to make this an English park in a liill-country well
watered. We got over a steep pass called "Grave Crick,"
where somebody was buried near a r.tjvamlet. A young
fellow, at " Jump ofi', Jim," came on board and explained the
topographical names. " Jim " liad to jump off because of the
Indians, so li!s ])lacc got the name. Then wt; got to the
" Piogue Eiver Country " (I was too polite to ask a stranger

NOMENCLATURE.

1-27

to translate that), and to old digyins which once were very
rich, as a stranger told me. Now they are sto})ped for lack
of water, and capital is wanted to dig a lead fi-om the river.
Itogue Piiver is a Ijeautiful stream of clear water full of fish.
1 liavc caught a good many in my day, but I was not fisliing
in Oregon. No doubt tliat river brought gold to these dry
abandoned " placers " before it dug its present bed, in which
there is nothing but suckers, and trout, and green water. "We
dined and picked up a family of four. Of course I had to
give my jilacc to tlie lady. Tlie heat got intense after tlie
cold night, and the dust was fearful We bumped into Jack-
sonville, and there a very pretty, modest, quiet, country girl
got on board iind took my new place wliile I was eating
apples at a stall. 1 had not the heart to nujve her, so I was
shunted into the worst place on the middle bench, with a
strap to lean my back against and my slee])y liead shaking
loose. The Ciiinaman,, who tried to pick my pockets in the
dark last niglit and I'ailed, departed here with his gear. At
"Bear Crick," in the Siskyeoo mountains, about eight, T got
out in the moonlight, stow'jd my goods in a barn, and halted
at "Casey's," because everybody on lioard said that the
charges were terrible, and the man a heathen. I reckoned
that I should have the house to myself, and I was right.
After thirty-six hours on foot and on wheels T kept fresh by
I'ating little and drinking water. On this journey something
was learned about the philosophy of topographical philology.
The tribes of the earth have come here, but for some reason
they selected English as their common speech. All the
settlements, or nearly all, have f^nglish names, pronounced by
various Aryan and Turanian tongues, and all these have a

128

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

meaning still for English cars. The mountains, named by
the Indians, retain something of the Indian sound. The
meaning is forgotten and the nomc only remains. If any
other tribe follows, "Jump off, Jim," altered by Grimm's law,
by Aryan tongues from Europe, and by Chinese from Asia,
may become as incomprehensible as Siskyeoo is to me. Ihit
r suppose that tlie name means something descriptive.

Sept. 24. — ^Ir. Casey came from Georgia, and says that lie
is a heathen. He is a very l)laspliemous old person certainly,
but not much worse than my companions for the last few
weeks. His wife is from Dundalk, and he is very clever and
amusing. A lot of Germans from Jacksonville bad brought
a very stout lady to the stage. She got my place: I got
more room, a welcome, and good q'l.irters. All about
are hills, trees, farms, and fmsh water. This really is a
magnificent country and climate. Mv host and the Germans
were up with the dawn, and after bn^akfast the Teutons
drovi^ off from the Celts in a " wagon." On the heathen's
table is Baker's book on the Kile, 18(58, ])rinted in San Fran-
cisco. Eather gin»d j)rints hang on the walls, with a map of
the States. They rejjresent " The Life of Christ," in eleven
coloured pictures. Looking-gla.sses, clocks, good l)e(ls, good
furniture, carpets, chairs, ])lenty and comfort, are everywhere
in this old Iri.sh American heathen's (l(!n. The wife is a
Christian a})i)arently. A wagun, followed by another, and a
lot of led horses, passed, with women and children and chairs
on board, and men with big beards and wideav/akes. " What arc
these ? " said I. " Oh, they've been on a visit, I guess, or they're
going on a visit." Another team comes up, and there follow
a blast of politics, and a quick fire of jokes from the landlord,

I] KPUBLICAN REVOLUTIONS.

129

followed l)y ready GcnnuM lati^^diter. Tlicn ofTgoeg the team
in tlie sunny dust of tlie road. The team is the Initcher's,
with beef, and tliey hi'ing a petition for reducing the ]»ay of
the State of1icer.s, signed l)y " jMacali.ster Scliumaker," and
names iVom all ])arts of the earth. "Why should English
swani]) the rest in such a crowd ? I could hardly find an
English name in the list. Mere goes old Ireland. " Cur.s !
cuss ! cuss ! Blasphemy ! They sign your death-warrant
if they can get a jury to find you guilty, and we pay them
20,000 dollars for that. Ha ! ha ! ha ! P.las])honiy ! Cuss ! "
" Sign the petition ! You know your fate if you reckon to
run for an ollice. Y(ni won't get nuich salary." And then
a volley of oaths. Oh, my Chartist lecturer and reformed
Atheist, author of Ihe Ftayafori/ of Suicide.'^, admirer of
]\rilton, preacher, schoolmaster, and steady clever clerk in
the General Jioard of Healthsome twenty years ago; were
not such topics your texts in Ould England when you stirred
up a mol) who liui'ued a mill, and you were sent to work out
]»olitical ])roblems in a stone jug for breaking English laws?
You Erench unvricr, whom I saw in force in Paris, what have
you niad(! by your revolutions ? Yovi wise English woi'k-
num, is it worth your while to go to Oi-egon, and hunt that
same old warlock hare over there with Casey and the Eenians ?
How well! remendH'i- the old I'adical cry, •' J'urk the
bisho])S — them pampered ])relates that batten on the fat of
the land and the sweat of the people! " Cut down e.xjiendi-
turi'! cast down the crown! turn heels over head ! down with
(iverything that men have I'aiscd ! burn and destroy! Dises-
tablish and disendow Englaiul iind Ireland ! slujot the laml-
lords ! take the land! Kepeal or rebel! Aboo ! But when
VOL. I. K

130

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

all these radical refunns have coiae tt) lire raisiiii; and red
ruin, I want to know what is the good of goini;' all tlie
way to Oregon to disestablish and disendow your o\\n State
officers in a free repuljlic, and break your own laws. ]\fob,
the first king of Oregon, you are a fit suliject for the author
of the I'artjatorif of Suicides, my Chartist i'riend of 184M. If
there be nobody else to hang you, lynch yourself. I'.iit so tlie
world rolls. ]>utchers, beef, and petition roll off in their
waggon and their shirt-sleeves as if it were an Englisli June
day, roaring and laughing at Casey's jokes and curious cusses.
Xo wonder Germans prefer Oregon to Hanover.

So far as I can count I have made 8,S0() miles in eighty
days, at the cost of £2 12s. 6d. per day ; this is the dearest
and cpieerest travelling that ever 1 did. A jxjund a day has
carried me round Europe. I suppose tljat I pay ibi- seeing
all Europe broke loose in one day in Ui'eg<in.

I spent a very pleasant, lazy, amusing day witli Casey,
watching men and ground-scpiirrels kicking up a dust, and
pondering over men and manners. At night the stage came,
and I went away.

"We crossed a range of hills and the Klaniiilh lliver. At
Yrika, pronounced AVire-ee-ka in order to ])uzzle (ireeks, we
changed stages, and draidc lieer and warmed ourselves at a
stove. At dawn, Shasta lUite, Black lUite, and four othei'
volcanic cones in California, were visiMe against the eastern
sky. They seean-cd close at hand. From our ])oinl, some
5,000 feet above tlie sea, Shasta, which is 14,00(1 feet high,
compared unfavourably with the Oregon hills, ^\hich are near
the sea, and covered with snow, lint my waking view of
Xorthern California was very beautiful.

FROST AND FIRE.

131

The snow lay in patches on Shasta Ihite. I couhl make
out fi'a<>7aents of an avalanclie of frozen snow reachinL^ a
threat distance. My first foi'e^round was a llat of yelhnv
flowers, sage Imisli, and urease wood, extending to a great
many broken liills sliaped like volcanic cones, and craters or
old lava heaps, ranging X. S. along the line of the Cascade
IMonntains and volcanic cones. .Seven miles farther on wo
got to these foot hills and to a finest, and I stopjied at the,
station to look ahout. Tiie coachman wanted to take on
my luggage ; 1 wanted to use it, and there was a dilliculty.
"What confounded unreasonahle cusses these passengers are,"
T said, "they want their luggage; tliey never arc satisfied."
The crowd gTinned and I got my goods. After a bath in a
Imrn at 50°, and a jaw witli the natives, and lireakfast, and
a rest, I walked u]) a hill and ibund l)rown sandstone beds
on edge, striking X. S. Tiiis great line of volcanic disturb-
ance is on tlie strike so far as I have gone. On the hills
are scattered \(rge blocks of igneous rock, each a cart-load,
pummice, and igneous rocks of sorts. I could find nothing
glacial to 1)e sure of I measured the angle of two volcam'c
cones rougldy, and made the slo[)e of Sliasta (u°, of lUack
lUite 4r»\ Tlie latter is a sniidl cone exactly like some ol'
my models, with an open crater and a lake in it. I could
not find a good point foi' a sketch. Trees were in the way,
and the air was full of smoke, so I wandered down from
my dusty hill and drank cli'ar ]iuro snow-water from a
burn. The people say that Shasta ucwy smokes, bul there is a
boiling sulphur spring right uii top where eggs boil rajiidly.
From it steam esciijjes, but the smoke in the air is from
forest tires. I have now seen along a line of aluuit QOV

K 2

1.'12

^lY CIRCULAR NOTES.

miles: 1, an unknown peak; 1', !Monnt rii-ker; r>, IJainicr;
4, St. llolens ; f), Jeflbrson ; 0, Hood ; 7, Jackson ; 8,
Diamond; 0, Shasta; 10, lUat'k liutc; and a f,'rcat many
minor cones -witliout snow. So lav as I can make out, tlio
rule explained in 7'Vo.s/ (did Fire liolds ^ood. The ](»n[fest
slope in a cone of eruption is to the S.AV. in the northern
liemis]ihere. The easiest ascent is on that side. ]n many
cases the hi'oken side of the crater is to tia; noiih-east,
which ought to he the stee])est and weakest part of the
cone. This whole region is pervaded hy " soda springs."
Two were near Casey's, and more are here. "We stopjied
the train to drink fro}n one noith of JJosehnrg. I have tasted
several and iind that they differ greatly in nastiness. One
was E])som salts Ity lingual chemistry. The peo])le here-
abouts are all possessed by the notion that they Avill find true
coal. They are mining at (Vjos ]>ay and e.\ porting. Some say
that the stuff is brown coal, like the stuff found al)i»ui the
lihine and in Mull, and elsewhere, among igneous rocks.
Others declare emphatically that the coal is true coal in sand-
stone, with the right fossils. Xot knowing, I cannot say ;
not caring, 1 was not such a goose as to go to Coos IJay.
" Sir," said a man to me one day, '" the geological survey of
this country was put an end to. The honest nu'ii wlio
wanted to know the truth and tell it Avere in the minority.
The fools did not want to sjiend mone}' on nonsense. The
rogues wanted to speculate, so they dismissed the Slate
Oeologist. Why, sir, there was a man from the east who
went to that coal country and re])orted that it was all lirown
coak He had to cleai' out pretty smart I reckon. They
v.uuld have lynclied him, you Let." In iact, 1 have seen

GOLD, TUKKS, AND WATKi:.

l;5.!

notliiiiL,' hut ij,'iieous rocks and brown coal on this coast. My
hosts wore Irish, with a Chinese cook, bng in tlie tail,
short in the txiinper. The sun was scorchinj,'. ^Fy ,nlass is
71° ill a chisc, dark, cool room. I am not <;ame for nnich
work in sucli weather after a ni^^ht of shaking and joltinu;,
and shivering from cold when dawn began. Made a sketch
from th(! roadside in the cool of the evening. A\'i(liout
knowing it, I saw and sketclied a glacier, of which I after-
wards bought photographs from Watkins at Frisco. TIu'
region of Shasta is Jiaunted by great wild sheep.

Sept. 2(i. — After breakfast, started in the stage, and went
up GOO feet through tlie forest, and down a little to Straw-
berry Vale. Here is an open glen, with JUack P)Ute to tho
left, N.W., and Shasta in front, N. It is a line view, but t
went on. l»lack lUite is a perfect volcanic cone of loose,
angular stones, amongst which great trees grow nearly to tlie
summit. Xo one has ever found the colour of gold in any of
the streams which How from Shasta. We drove on through
a fore,5t of giant trees, over volcanic rocks and dust. In deep
gulches, the trees which grow in the bottom towered far
above ns on the edge. Three hundred feet is saiil to be a
common height here, but the girth is small in proportion.
At " Soda S})rings " found a good house and tourists, and
tasted cool, pleasant, healthy water with sulphuretted hydro-
gen in it. The place is on the head waters of the Sacramento.
The rocks are volcanic, but pebbles in the river seem to be
rolled fragments of old altered strati tied beds, like those
which I saw about the Yosemite country. The river comes
in from the west and from high snowy mountains, part of
the coast range. The water is beautiful, clear as crystal, a

134

MY CIUCULAU NOTES.

bvawliiifj Imni full of sahnoii and trout. I'lioy catch bcdh
•\vitli salmon roe. Amateur lisliermeii came on board, and
we fraterni/ed over hooks and lines. Lower down I fell in
with an Indian who had two .squaws mounted on one horse,
a tishiuLj rod, and a horse loaded with dried salmon heads.
There were more tlian two hundred. TIk; average size indi-
cated seven to eight jjounds. The teeth were formidable, white
and hooked, such as I never saw iu Europe. We came in sight
of Castle llock to the west. It is a great wall like the Yosemite
v.ulls, and aboui a.s high, all peal:s and jiinnacles. A great
stretch of forest, many miles of a slope, lay between the river
and the rock. Went on down the Sacramento to Slate Creek,
where supped with a coloured gentleman and stopped. Went
to the river and bathed, and fancied myself Jigging salmon
again iu Argyllshire. The rocks are black and purple slates,
stiiking X.S., dip E., sjtlintery and burned. A gold digger
ferried himself over the tail of n)y ])oo] on a raft of small fir
poles. He is nu\king two dollars a day, b\it then he has to
pay dear for everything he wants. I fraternized with the
stage-driver and gave him a ci<iar. ]Ie was dead tired ; a
weak-chested, red-eyed, sickly man. I^evertheless he drove
six horses forty-live mihs a day all winter, when he liad to
go a mile an hour at many jtlaces. The heat, dust, and
jolting all this day were terrible. The passengers who had
come through without stopjting looked pale and jaded, and
slept most of the day. The refrain of a workman's song
comes up : —

" Plight houi-s work, ci^^lit hours play,
tight hoxus sk'ip, iiiiil L'ij^ht .shillings a day,"

WORK AND WA(iHS.

i:iy

Ih'AO are tlu; ei^ht sliillinj^s, but I don't seem to see imicli
sleep or play. I luive been takiii},' it very easy, but since I
travelled iVuin Arclian^^el southwards last year in a tarantass
I have not had sueli hard work for my money. £2 l-J.s. ijil.
a day is hij^h wa,!^'es, but I spend tliat sum, and would have
to earn it il" I lived hei-e.

Sunday, Sept. '11. — 48° in my ixkhit. If my barometer is
right, we are still about 2,700 feet above the sea. The fiddle
and the banjo and plate-washing and coflee-grinding went on
till a late hour last night. i\Iy room let in the moonlight
above, and my window was open all night. The air is so dry
and pure that I felt fresh as paint. AVIien the sun got up
the heat was fearful, 70° in a draught. Discoursed an intelli-
gent man, who says that much Porphyry is in this region.
The ((uartz veins are not ricli in gold ; he called them " hcds"
he may be right as to the large leads, ^lost of the gold is in
small " strings " of I'orpliyry, with ([uarti: amongst it in crys-
tals. He was (|uite up to the ii[)]ieaval of rocks, and attri-
buted the movement to sidelong pressure, caused by the
earth's cooling and contraction. He was going up Shasta for
curiosity. His dress was a shirt and trousers. A watch and
chain were the only outward signs of civilized, educated man.
Eastward, in Idaho, under liasalt, they have hit on the bed
of an old river, with rolled stones in it and washed gold. I
had heard of the find Irom others. Manifestly the Basalt
region covers an old surface, with all that was on it. Tiiis
being a day of rest, rested, as did the rest of the people
except the stage-drivers. Wrote a letter, and dawdled till
evening, when the stage came, when I started. It was a very
steep, up-and-down, zig-zag, dangerous, rough road, in the

136

MY CUUJULAll NOTES.

Sacramento Valley fur two stages. Tiieii we struck tlie
" MacLeoU " liiver — a roariu'f mountain stream. Intelli-
gent travellers got on board. One had eaten sterlit ut Vienna,
last year; I ate sterlit last year .:i Archangel. His party
paid four dollars a head for the lish alone. We jolted on in
hright moonlight till '1 A..M., when we struck the rail at
iJedding. Two hundred and seventy-iive miles of stage had
tinisheil men who came through from I'ortland. One, u
•banker, was so done that he could hardly walk'.

Mondaij, 28. — " Can yeu give me a bed ? '" saitl J. " I
reckon I can: but I cannot give you a room to yourself till
the train goes," said the station-master.

!Not liking the idea of a warmed bed, got a night-watch-
man to show me tlu; way to another house. He carried my
bag, and refused a ti^). Camped in a sort of deal box, lined
with <dd sacking, l)Ut clean. A pig started from the porch,
and a dog hunted him. Several hens Hed, cackling througii
the yard. Slept like a top, tuid rose at ninc^ " V, hat can 1
have for breakfast r' said J. " A'most anything you want,"
said a fro wsty boy, half awake. " Steilit soii ) and elephant
steak," 1 said. I got a tallowy mutton chop md n beef-bone
with strings on it. Found a sadtUer, and got iiy bag mendeil.
My leather was his admiration. American rather is abonu-
nable, he says. Sang : —

" Aiiil tiikc IVfim 1110 llu'sf liiii', line sliocs,
Made o' lliu Ani'TicMii IciitluT,
And gii! to iiK! a pair o' l>ro}^iir.s
To walk aiiioug the heatlier. "

" Like many American songs, that's humbug," said the

LKATIIKU AMI IH'.MIU'fi.

siuldlcr. "Tliiit's not Ainericun ; that's Scotcli," .said I,
" iuul it ivin't lull 111 )Ul(."

One of my rcllo\v-i)iiss(Miger.s lust night u.ssiii(;tl me thid
on 111"' ii'ivtli-ivist side ot' Shasta there is a giacii-r wliich
reac' I's down to 'J, ()()() I'ret. It is three or I'our Inindred I'oef
lliick solid ice, a mill' wide, and two or tlmn; long. I g'' a
iihologiaph ol' it al'li-rwards, and thought oj' Anierii;an liMthcr.
' siijiiiosc that [ saw it, and did not recognize! it lo he a
glacier. The n;;tuiali>t asked n;e it' the rook was not the
young of some siK'cics ot' crow. A l>ird so hesung oi' jioets
ought t(j have hi-t II known to the gentleman who snapjjcd
nie short ahouL glaciers. The noniU'scrijit descrihed at
Tac(<nia is the h'ockv ^fountain t/oat. It has a tlee. e nearly
as tine as the Angora goal ; it is white, ami has I'lack polidied
hoi'iis and hoot.> like a clumujis. Hides and horns are in a
riiiiseuin -ii l''riscu. A wandering miner descril>ed the crea-
tures to 111.-. He niei theni ahont the toot of Mount l!ainier.
where they sei'iiied perl'ecliy uiiiised tf) the ?-ight ot' men, and
tame hrough hlissl'iil ignorance. The same authority de-
scrilied the liahits of the iiigJKirn, the nionntaiii .'heep of
which there are two kinds. One sometimes wuiehs L'llO
poiiinl.i. ^Vfter dinner wanderetl dov.ii to the I'ivcr, and suaiii
there. They tell me that Mount I'liiker has Iteeii seen fiom
Sacramento, distani alioiit 7 "> iiiihs, and ll,0()() feet high.
As the visihle horizon i.s disj.uit DI'S.") miles from a height of
• '^Ul)(l |( ct.thcy seem to say the thing which is not. I saw Shasta
lioiii my lialhiiig-[)lace. Ahoiit sundown a curious regiment
of I loads -rcv,\ in tin; clear skv. The nearest was distant
.•iomc lifty miles ajiove Shasta. The rest I suppose were
ahove otliei .-iio\s \ mountains and ahove the lakes to the east

138

^lY CIRCUT.AR X0'IM:S.

of the Cascade vancjc. To I^ainier is about cix doi^froes of
latitude, a cloud far higher than Shasta — say 2S,000 feet or
more — might possibly be visible above Uainier some 430 miles
away. I saw the line of clouds, and drew them. Then came
some movonent in the air, and the line eiirved slowly into
a lx»w, bending eastward away irom the sea breeze. Tlien 1
went to my temperance hotel, carried my luggage to the rail,
and at 3 A,M. awoke, and departed in the traiu.

Sept. 20. — At sunrise there was a line range of volcanic-
looking mountains to the east. In the foreground, corn land
and prairie, and single hardwood trees growing like trees in
an old English park, or like the cork wood near Clibraltar.
The fall of the Sacramento is less than 1,000 feet in 170
miles. The valley of the Sacramento is, like the Wellamette
valley in Oregon, a great plain, which looks like an old sea
bottom. The next valley south is like it so far as I went.
The volcanic range seems to come up in a hollow on the
strike. At Sacramento fell in with a horse-racing crowd,
who were dusty and a bore. (Jot in to the Grand Hotel
and was grandly lodged. Got the Tirncti, Sept. 1, and read
" K. A. E. W. Y. G. all well," »!v:c. I should have got the same
news anywhere for the cost of a short advertisement.

Tlii'rsdai/, Oct. 1. — At Frisco, went to the Chinese rpiarter;
saw an eating house, an opium den, a rag picker's umk-r-
ground den, a theatre, and a gand)ling house. Tlie play was
fun. The audience were numerous, grave, and greatly in-
terested. The actors were magnificently dressed in silks, and
robes, and flags, and gold. They S(iueaked and ran about a
great deal. The phi}- was histoiicjd, and represented the
defeat of i\.i English in the last Chinese war.

SKA IJOXS, AND "SKKIXC TlIK ELKl'II AX F."

l?,0

Friday, Or/. 2. — Prove to llio Clilf House and Sen! rocks,
and tried to sketch the sea lions tlirou^li a tcdescojie. The
hrutes rr-ive ton<j;ne like a ])ack of hounds, and oj).;ned
tluar ^rcat nioutlis at each other, and rolled about and
slept; some scratched their ears witli tlieir hind tlijipers:
<4'enerally they looked like ])aralyzed inastiils. Tiiey ^'ot to
tin; ti])-toj) of the hi,nh rocks. I'elicans, <iulls, cormorants,
and other birds, stood about in clusters. ^Ve hoiked at thcni
from a ,uood hotel, and were greatly diverted. The fresh sea
air was eharminif, and tin' drive tliniuiih the park, race
iiround, and burial ^idund, was }iictty. I )ined in company
with an expert mineralnnist, who told me about th.e g.'ld-
bearin'f rocks i^-c. Cretaceous Ibssils -aiv. rare, but enou'-h
Were I'ound to prove them. Specimens got IVom the slopes
of Shasta, (l/KM) feet n\>, wei'e sent to Professor Ilai.usay.
Tiiey date "^iiasta.

Safitrdnij, Oil. ."). — Sailed soon afternoon. A lot of Chinese
and Ja]>anese women on th(! Lunlii'L;-stage were very pic-
tures(pU'. They pretended to cry, liut I could see dry eyes
with my opera glass.

iSit. W ill. t>i.ATi; (.'ni.iK, Sa« i;ami.nt(i Kivr.n, (Ai.iFoiiNiA,

Suuduij, tScj>liiiibcr 27lh, 1^74.
Mv lUAl! AroTIIKU,

1 i»«»pe that the rorthiiid hin llonl posted my letter

thence. I started by lail (ui Monday, and ran UOo miles

south to ]^os*4'uri; 1 lefi my card lor my I. A. K. cousin at

Eugene. JK' Was off to the hills " hunliiig." 1 saw his chum

at l'«rtlaud ; he .-uggisteil that 1. A. K shouKl iollow my

luituiu'N us his father will nut let him buy land ami .-ellie in

140

UY CinCTLAU N'oTKS.

Oregon. I have left my route for liiiii, ami li(»[)(' tliui we
may start on the .Srd nf Octoljcr iVoiu San Fraiieisco for
Yokoliiima. T stopjied for a (hiy at Kosi'lmi'i^r hecausc th'-
stage was full of nu-n, women, and cliiMrcn, and memlicrs
of the State Parliament. I spent my time in hathinu in
the Uniijuhii iiiver, and in mandiinL;' aljout breaking stones
and runnnating. .\t ciark tame the train, and the stugii
started with mr and one ppssiMiger. He was fat and scllish,
and snored horriiily. Xow a sta<4e in this eountry means ,i
square tray witli little stulfing, a back seat and a fon^ seat,
and a seat in llic middle with a strap for baek. There ai'cf
no springs. The body is hung on leathei'ii stni]is, and these
are made fast to a frame on Ibiir strong eart-wheels. Lug-
gage goes on a liind Ijoot and a front boot. One passenger sits
on the box by the driver, lie drives six horses fi'om the liox,
and managiis the brake with his foot. They carry mails, and
make about six miles an hour. The road is not much wider
than the coach ; it is formeil, not made. I have not seen a
num at work on it since I started. It winds about, uji and
down hills, and I'ound canons, without ;;. rail or stone at
tin; side. Jt really is a wonderfnl driving feat to gel
along safely, and it really is very hard work to sit in the stage.
I got my head down on a bag and my feet curled u]), and 1
managed to slee[) now and then, but my hat was crushed,
and my old body was tossed u[) and let down with a bang ai
short intervals all night long. At o(ld times we erosse(l the
ti'ail of a skunk, and smelt the Virute. At dawn I sat u]),
and all day J held on by my hands and (:X(>rted my stri'Ugth
in saving my spine. V>y dark I was tired. Further, W(!
picked up the women and children, who started last night,

IKISII AM) AFIMCAX I'UOSI'EUITY.

so I got out iiiul ciuiipud Avilli ;i iiiaii culled Ca.si'V. lie was
an old l)laspli('niiii,i:f Jrisliiiiau, who lold iiio that lie was
!i lieaLlieii liefiirc; J liad lieeii ten iniiiulc-i uiidci' his roof.
X(!Vertlioless ho gave ine a tul» nl' cold water and a clean
bed, and 1 sle))t calmly. All next day I dawdled till the
ne.\t C(iacli came along at dusk. 1 scratched my anhle with
a poison oak and I am jidi.soned. I got in ami tiavelied all
night, and slept wnnderlully. ]5ut when we got to the; foot
ol' Shasta and hicakfast 1 hailed again, and cam])ed with
Kavana^h. a llonri-hing irishman, \\itli an mchaid, a shop,
a station, and a mill-race otiniic cold watiM' at his hack door.
Therein I hathed. I sp(!iit the <lay in wa}ideri]!g ahont the
hills and sket>fhing, and the nighl in iieaee and (|uiet.
Next morning we had a grand drive throngh maginlicent
ti'ees round th;' loot of Shasta, 14,444 I'eet high, and down to
Soda 8])rings on the Sacramento. The humour on me was
to go, .so I went all day to this jdace. Mine lajst is a coloui'ed
man IVom Ohio, who came out in JSd'.t, got I'ich and ruined,
and now is conk at this station. He prefers " (!■ /" dishes,"
lie says. I have iVmiid out that he means venison a la nivdc,
and that it is very good. The first thing J did was to get
into the Sacramento and swim, and heat my clothes with a
stick to get rid of th(> dust. 'I'lie liist thing I did this
ninrning was to re]ieat tlu; dose, llolh times an old nniiei'
witii hi',' hoois f.'iritMJ himself o\er m\ pool ('.iatin\ nifl
with a long stick. lie. is raining two dollars a ilii\ liV
washing the stcuies oJ this hcautilul mountain strcain. The
water is pure an. water can hi', and it hrawls down a giand
J'orest-clad gU'ii ovi'r hi'iglit stones on which the 'sun shines
gloriously. This river is fall of trout and of salinon with

U-:

MY CIRCULAll XOTKS.

Great huokeil teetli. These the United States aro bn'odiii'f
and si'udinu- to tlio oast coast. Tlui hriHMliny; station is two
staues lower. FisliiiiL;; Indians, lidint,' on mustangs, prowl
about the wliole country. Tiitiy aie tame and talk Knglisli,
and wear Loots and ragged dotlies and liats. One wanted
to know it' 1 was married yestei'day. " Have ycni g(jt a woman
yet ? " lie said. Last night a stage-driver got a banjo, and a
helper a fiddle, and some half-d(»zen men congregated in the
saloon opposite. That is another wooden shiinty, {ind witji
the stables make this town. 1 joined. Presently they
played a reel, so 1 treated the crowd to drinks all round.
Then the (dd booted miner got up and danee(l a solo.
Then I took the floor, and we tlaneed a duo, "I nidion
you can (hiiiee, nuster," said the miner. Awl that niiiu'r
was ri-'lit.

I have recovered my yontbful grace and agility in a
strange fasliion. I shall begin to forget that 1 am fil'ty-two
if this lil'e lasts much longer, and tlien T may follow the
example of the patriarcbs, about wIkjiu I have been reading
this hot Sunday. Even the nnner has struck work to-day,
so we are not all heathens in r'alifornia. "This is the
Sabbath, and 1 don't like to do much hard work to-day,"
said my idack landlord this morning. After dinner I wwam
to go (jii to "I'edding," where we meet the rail at thiv'e in
the morning. V>y eight or so on ^londay I niay get to
Fri.sco, or 1 may placidly slet^p at Kedding, and get in on
Tuesday. The great beauty <it' tliis kind of tr.ivelliug is that
'■ a fellov.' can. do just as he d pleases."

If you have the chance, write to my mercantile cousin,
and tell him that there seems to be a good opening for a

lie
iMi

Aul
a ti

CIir)PS, CAPITAL, AND IXTEUKST.

li:i

biiiik(!r with some capitul and a, conscience in OrcL,'on. The
country is ricli beyond dt.'scription, and tlie people in it arc
entirely devoid (jf capital. Those who have money lend on
mort^'aj^'o of n-al estate at 12 per cent., paid (quarterly. Some
lend at L'4 or more I Ixdieve. So it' aiiyh(jdy would c(jme
here and lend at G or 7 or even at 10 per cent he mi^ht com-
mand till! market, and hold hall' the Stale in pled^^e. lOvery-
hody wants capital to work rich land, and maki; oiieniuLjs lor
pi'oihici; ol' the most excellent and luxuriant kind which
wants a way to market. Mines and railroads also want
capital, liut tliey iiiiuht whistle for mine. Were I young
and avaricious 1 think I would li'v banldnLr here in * h-etion.
Xow Calif<n*nia and Sun I'rancisco commaml the money-
market, and the hankers i;ro\v rich on mortuaifes at
12 per cent.

]\Iy old heatlu^n Casey saw this, and we ai^n'eed over a
pijic ol' baccy.

Xow T must shut uj), and dine pre[iaratory to a start. I
hav(! had my tlierniometer at 4S', 7o', and lOo", in the sun.
So I am too lazy to go (ait and walk abiait in the dust,
ireiice this Icllei', which will he hillowed by another litjm
l''i;sco. J'Virewell.

.1. F. C.

rs. Sriit :'.(), Fris<o.--\ have letlrrs of 21sl and 22nd ol'
August, and tlie j'Vy//c,'>' of the Isl of September. 1 might have
a telegram in a few hours from London.

144

MY rillOlir.AU XOTRS.

No. XIX.

My I)eat!S,

S\N Kkancisco,

IWIi Srptrmhn:

Forw'iinl this In your ^randinotlu'r. 1 liavc rca'l in
the 7V/??r,s 111' .St']>teiiil)C'r Idlli to-day, I'lij^disli dates 1\v(>ntv
days old. As all ROfins well "to hum " (at home), 1 have
taken my ticket for Yokohama, and sail on Saturday, Ocloher
Mrd, in the (nraf licjiifh/ir, a wooden jiaddle-wheeler ol" larii^'e
size, "which ho])cs to do the Irij) in twenty days. "When I
j^et in 1 shall be half round the world. 1 have ti'avclled a
;,40od deal nioic than !i, ()(((! miles since -iuly 0th, greatly to
my own satisfaction, comfoil, and personal advanta.^e. I
l>ear <if numerous passengers of JJritish oi'igin hound my
wav — " fdolxi trotters," as Me are called in this i^e-'ion.
After I left Slate Creek we drove \\]) ajid down and lound
ahout hills on the right bank of the Saci'amento in a glorious
I'ldl-moon light. I am not very nervous, and hav(> got used
to American staging, so I was not liadjy frightened, but my
reason told inc that it Mas not, strictly s])eaking, .safe to be
whirled doM-n steep ])laces abo\-e a roaring river by six
Oregon horses driven from the box by a man mIio also managed
the brake Mi*h Ins i'o(»t. ]')ut that Mas nothing to driving
feats performed on that road. At one place our near mIiccI
M'ent into llie bushes, and m'c stoj)])ed. A tr^iin of " M^agons "
was coming doMU the liill. An old felloM' sat on one
of tM'o-wheeloi's, and Mith a single rein and his voice he
drove eight mules from the saddle. Further, his lelt hand
held a long rope,M'liich })ulle(l along iron lever M'hich M'orked
the drag. His "wagon was along, i'our-Mheeled, heavily-laden,

fi:
til

S})f_

the

pro

M'i

lloi

A CLF/'KINS OV SALMON'.

145

wooden coiilrivaiico, as big as a small liousc, and at tlio tail
of it trailed a .smaller laden waL:.L,'on without horses, like a
boat astern of a s]ii[). They tell me that all military baj,'-
f,'ago is hauled in this fashion. Here single men go hundreds
of miles with such teams. 1 got one to exhibit: ho gave
one pull to his off leader and said something, and the brute
turned to the right and stopped iit the sound (jf JFo ,' like
a benevolent man in the riddk". Then he gave two jerks
and spoke, and the nnile turned to the left, dragging his
comrade, and followed liy the rest of the team. Then the
old fellow said, " Come up ! " "Clo long, Tike.'" and Tike
the wliccler went, and the whole edifice started up a hill on
a trail of about 200 miles. We had to wait for three such
teams to pass us, iuid then, by some hocus-pocus, our horses
got out of the bushes back into the road, and hauled our
stage away from a steep brink into the narrow slielf, on
which we travelled to the ^MacLeod Eiver. There is the
salmon-breeding place, but 1 did not stop to see it. Two
intelligent men got in. One said that they had five tons of
eggs hatching. Wlien an egg dies it turns white, and a
fungus grows on it, which is apt to spread to the rest of
the decking; so two very 'jjretty S([uaws, with black hair,
spend the day in picking out dead eggs with pincers. After
a time tlie eggs are packed in nuiss witli ieo to stop their
growth, and then they arc sent seven days' journey (ir more
to the east coast to stock the rivers. Tiie Sacramento being
the most southern salmon river on this coast, the learned
professor who has charge of fish culture holies that the breed
will flourish further south in the east than salmon have ever
fiourished before. I was glad to learn from authority that

VOL. I. L

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

{./

ML/..

1.0

I.I

U^|28 |2.5

I '^ IIIM

^ lis IIIIIM

1.8

1.25 111111.4 ii.6

-(^

Pliotogi'aphic

Sciences

Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. M580

(716) 873-4503

146

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

these salmon are not so dogradod as to refuse to take a fly.
They are caught with the lly in tlie upper waters of the
Sacramento early in tlie season, and when tliey come in.
These which I saw wore all small — about eight or nine
pounds. They have enormous white teeth, hooked in the
lower jaw. They are not "salmo salar," but another kind of
salmo with a different name, wliich I fiiiled to catch. Now,

if wants to do something larky, tell him to come out

here. In the Columbia liiver and in Puget Sound they catch
salmon in the sea and in the brackish watin* with spinning
tackle. The Columbians are very large. About 100 miles
up from the sea at Cascade on the Columbia, and for about
fifty miles up to the JJalles, the water looks like fishing, and
the side-rivers swarm with trout, Tliese are fished lor, and
take freely. Salmon-roe is the favourite bait. The Indians
use a live grasshopper. The rivers also swarm with stui'geon,
which run to 1,200 pounds. I saw many very large dead
fish floating and stranded. There is a disease amongst them.
At one fish, which looked as long as a boat, a family of hogs
and a flock of birds were busy. There are lots of means of
locomotion — steamers and railways ; and were it not for
275 miles of stage, the journey from here to Victoria would
be easy. I went by sea to Poitland, and came ba(;k from
Victoria by land and iidand navigation. It is more than
1,000 miles from the latitude of the Land's End to that of
Gibraltar, in which I now am, at San Francisco. A guinier
would find work, and real wild work here, and in Or(\gon
and in Washington territory. There arc great hea])s of birds
of passage and breeding birds, ducks and geese, quail, grouso
and other creatures, which differ from European birds. On

LAND AND LIVKSTOCK.

147

the mountains, tlicre are ^vil(l sliccjp and Paicky Mountain
j,'oats ; in tin; woods, \va])iti and various kiixls of deer.
"Jack raljl»its," \\liicli aro as bif; as haves, are to be found at
some places, and the whole land swarms with " cotton-tails "
(small rabbits), and groat grey ground-squirrels. These last
they }»oison, as they ought to poison Pivitisli rabbits. They
rob the farmers, and dig holvs in tlnnr fields. I smw them
often hopping over each other, running, fighting, and kicking
up a dust everywhere. They iire large, pietty ciitturs, with
giant tails, and the Indians eat them. lint to get at all this
a gunner must rough it ; he must carry his all on his back,
or travel with pack-hor.ses and ciuiij) out. In some districts
the whole land is a forest, M'illi a thick underbrush of fern,
thorn, creepers, and shrubs, as tall as ap])le-tiees and tough
as wire. In other tracts tlie ground is red dust, and the trees
from two to three hundred feet high. Tiienyouget to a desert
as dry as chips, with nothing but alkali-dust, sage-bush, and
grease-wood, on a flat plain. Then ytm get to a country of
shattered laud with raised jilateaux and deep canons, in
which the rivers flow :5,0()() or 4.00(1 feet down below the
j)archcd plains. On them tlu; n ountain-sheep herd with
tame flocks jis they tell me. 1 saw one sheep's head with
curved rough horns two f(;et long on th(> outer curve. The
owner wanted twenty-five dollars (£."»). I dreaded the bother
of carrying them, and grudged the sum.

Then from time to time I canu; in sight of the peaks of
the Cascade range. For more llian 1 ,000 miles these volcanoes
are ranged in a row : they are all of one pattern, and snow-
clad, and the further north the lowt^r the snow comes; it
turns to glaciers in Oregr-ti, and the glaciers reach the sea in

T '>

148

MY CIUCULAIi NOTKP.

Alaska, raiuy a tow of hills 14,000 aii.l 11,000 foct lii^'li,
ten or a dozen of tliciu on a ran<;e 4,000 to 5,000 I'eot liigli,
reaching fronidibraltar to London ! Those I have seen more
or less well. Ueyond, tin; regiment extends all the way up
.America und round to Jai)iin. Say all up England, Norway,
and Iceland. 1 nni getting my mind enlarged and my
mouth opened l)V gaping Monder, and when it does open
wide I fdl it \\'n\\ i)eache3 and grapes and pears, the hest
that ever I ate, which grow here about in great ])ro-
I'usion, and that reminds me that I have not dined. So I
send you my hill of fare, and halt. Even in this Garden of
Eden by the "Golden Gate" it gets dark o' nights, and it
is dark now.

Tkursd((!j Morniixj, Oct. 1, 1S74. — To the great wonder f»f
ever/body there was lightning last night and rain. It had
not rained up rountry since ^lay. In Oregon it rains con-
tinually. They take no precautions against rain in this queer
land of California. I saw great piles of sacks of wheat by
the railroad without even a cover. Some piles had a .sail or
something on top, but most were bare. They do not stack
their crops. They thresh by steam on the ground, and leave
the straw in small hills amongst the yellow dust and stubble
of the plains.

I had my glass at lO.V in the sun a few days ago ; now it
is GO' or thereabouts, and the hard blue sky is covered with
grey clouds for the first time since I left Niagara. I read of
great storms everywhere else. T have not seen one since
July Gth, when T started. Think of that, you miserable
]''nglish people who go to Norway in yachts. I have been
writing what haitpened to be in my head about lish and

i -

■n

'-/
y.

/'.

•/.

C(»MH HKlii;.

149

y.
y.

ciitlur.s, liills iind dales. If you iire bored I am sorry. I
Iiiivo IK) adventures to tell.

Some, years aj.;o, \\\\vn\ there was a ,uold ('(.'ver in the uorlh
and L;()ld-dust was earried in Ihe sta,L;'es, smuc livi,' or six
lirula'U t^anililcrs stretehed a rojte over the road, stopjird the
eoach and six hors(!s, put a L;un to the (hivcr's head, and
demanded tho treasure. On the f((llowin',f and prc'cedini;'
nijfht there were heavy hoxes ; on Ihi.s particular ni^ht they
,UnL little. Some were run down a.nd caught then and there.
One was cau,ghl, tried, and coiivjcted a l"r\v days a-o up in
Xorthern L'alilbrnia. Ahout ten days a.u'o some fellows liuilt
u hedge of stones and bushes on \\\v roan. The leaders
stopped, and the passengers br.ike down the hedge. Wlule
they worked, disconsolide voiei'S in the forest roared, " Come
here;' they did not go there, but went on in haste.

.Such adventures do occur on the rond, but none such
happened to me. I saw lots of nu n with long ju'stols stuck
in belts. I carried a penknife myself, and sonieliow it never
occurred to me that I jiet'ded arms. ^\y baggage and desk,
with a lot of gold inside, have been standing about the road-
side in .sheds and shanties and coiieh-ollices and stations.
Nobody has noticed the luggage of which the owner took so
little heed. " 1 )o you sell dry goods '. " said a worthy woman
to me at Kedding. She meant silks, and took me for a pack-
man. Another lady asked if I sold my ]uclures; another
in(piisitivG party asked nu' what I worked at. The idea of
any idle body travelling to .spend coin for the sake of know-
ledge never seems to occur to these (Jalifornians and " A\'eb-
foots" of Oregon. I am going to see the Chinese town and
the opium dens before 1 start. 1 am to cross with TOti

ir>o

MY CmCULAU NOTKS.

Chinese on Saturday. Most of them are waslieriiien. I saw
one at work the other clay ; he projected liis Ion;.' lips into
a howl of water, and then he spluttered a spra> all over a
table-cloth, and ironed it smooth and nice. So they treat
bread when they are cooks and bakers.

Now, good-by. Make peoples write to me in Ceylon.

J. F. C.

No. XX. TirKsnAY, October m, 1874.

" (JuKAT Ri-rxnuic," at Ska,

Lot. 186° 36' N., Long. 133° 15' irenf.

jMy DKAii Mother,

On this day last year I was within a short drive of
Tiflis, about 4" further north and 25;")" east of this place.
This is not my former experience of October weather. My
thermometer is at 75°, and the barometer at 308()0, sea
smooth and quiet, clouds in the sky. If only this will last,
we shall do. This ship is 400 feet long. The saloon is forty
yards measured. My cabin is a little room with a two-foot
square .I'indow opening on the deck and looking over the
.south sea. I awake to look at the long-winged birds wlio
have followed ever since Saturday, and are backed to follow
us to Japan. ITow they would i-ejoice the heart of the presi-
dent of the flying society I Tell him or send him this to read
if you are too lazy to repeat my chatter. These critturs are ii
brownish •;,;-ey all over, with Idack tips to their wings, and
white about their cheeks and whiskers. Their wings are
long and very narrow. They look like swifts in some
positions, but they must spread near four feet ; they give
three or four easy strokes and then sweep and sail about,

OONIKS AND SKAI.S.

151

crossing our wul<e at a wide swinf; to return, sink and rise,
and wheel like a man doin<,' outside edf,'e. They have long
legs, which reach far beyond the tail. When some tit-bit of
fat catches the eye of a bird and temjits liim, out tly the
webbed feet as a rudiler, the tail spreads, the bird turns short
on Ids pivot, then down he stoops, out go the legs to stop his
way on the water, up go the long wings to keep them dry,
and then it is all gobble and sciueak. More join the first, and
we go pounding on, while they dwindle to specks on the blue
S(!a and vaidsh. There seems to be an end of their travels, but
in ten ndnutes there they all are again, some within a couple
of fathoms looking me right in the eyes over the stern, the
rest swinging and wheeling as if they had not ilown a Uiile.
They had flown 4:' I miles with us to-day at noon, and they
must have flown a thousand at least on their own devious
course.

The sea lions and seals also amu.sed me greatly. They haunt
a rock outside of the Golden Gate opi)Osite to a bar-room and
hotel called "Cliff-house." The State of California has passed
a law for their protection. They bark like a pack of foxhounds,
and look like great mastiffs with paralysed hind-([uarters.
They have long flippers in front, and they walk up the rocks
growling and howling and barking at each other with open
jaws well armed. One favourite pose is to get astride of an
edge of jagged rock with flippers on each side, and point the
Bnout at the zenith. That rolls up the fat behind the neck
into a pleasant head-rest, and there the big brutes rest till
eome other comes near, when there is a row. Meantime
their wives and families lie at length and sleep like logs or
hogs, or sacks or pillows or leches, or anything else that is

162

MY CIHf'TJLAll NOTKS.

Lluck and soft, nnd fat and sliiiiy, and still and slccjiy.
There is a great herd of \hcfie protiycn of ('alifurnia, and lords
of these ,<?eas. On the tojis of the rocks fjan^^s of pelicans
coTiLcreprate, lo(tkinj,' stranj^e and grey, and in other jtlaces
lilack iloeks of cormorants and uhite gnlls sleep under the \no-
tection of the sea lions and the State. So near a great town
T never saw such a eongregatioii of wild creatures till last
Friday. I drove to soe them with four luiglishmcn, one is
on hoard — "a glohe-trotter" like nie ; the other thre(^ have
gone east. There are Clerinans, a Dane, a rrcnchman, a
(.'hinese, Scotchmen and Americans, Irishmen, .Ta])anese, and
a lot of pleasant quiet people, who seem to enjoy lifo placidly
now that they cannot rusli ahout and worry themselves and
their neighhours in ])ursuit of rapid gold.

We have a inimher of fair ladies on board, iind our society
is a kind of marine chili. The Mhole crew and waiters are
(Chinese. They are st(;ady, quiet, cleanly jieople, active and
husy, and all the oflicers are loud in their pi'ai^es. They
never get drunk or give ti'ouhle, and they never shirk woi'k.
ri'actically this ship is a niodtd ol' cleanliness, order, and
discipline. "What she may turn to in had weather remains to
be seen, and I hope I shall not see it, ]\Iy chief ailment is
that I scratched my ankle with a "Toxieo dendron," or
poison oak, some davs nm hefore I left Oregon. I took no
heed, hut the scratch grew to a thing as big as a dolhir. it
is curing, and Mill be all right in a couple of day.s. ])Ut
some people get liadly poisoned by coming near this poison
oak. It grows all over the States, chiefly in California. 1
never heard of it till T came luere, and now that it has
scratclied me T sliall give it a wide herth if ever we meet

FIUK DRFLL.

]r>:\

aifain. Tlio hriito looks like an iiniocent holly, nnd is said to
l>e M-<.rs(3 tliaii llic Upas tree. My cure is a liatli tliat is in
the i)a(l(lle-]»ox Avith a window a ;>ard stjtiaiv. It is filled
with IVesh I'acilio watnr, ajid I roll tliercin liko the sea-lions
y of Clifr-house while I walch the hirds. Xow and th.-u a

whale lilows. None of thcin can enjoy tin; air and water
mure than 1 do in the early niornin.L,'. That mixture of
sunshine and freshness and ccxd warmth is not my ex-
licricnce of October wenthcr, and I dduht if it is yours
over yonder in misty Enj,dand by the firesiile.

Xow I must go, walk the deck and snuike, for the third
dinner of the day will s<joii be on the table, and 1 must eat
curry and rice and ];ond)ny ducks. ,My walk on deck was
varied by fire-drill. The steams whisth'<l a roarinij blast,
and two Chinamen, griiinin^i,^ ^vilh excitement, <^ot out a hose
and j-unip and i)umped hard at the stern. ^Meantime greasy-
faced cooks — l)lack, yellow, and white— and gangs of Chinese
sailors and Yaidvcc ollicers swarmed all over the place. The
engineers oi)ened valves, the steAvards hoisted extinguishers
on their liacks, and in a i'nw minutes a whole ''an" were
spouting sea-water into the sea over the starboard bow.
Then an ollicer with a big ])istol slung to his waist, trotted
to the wheel-house and blew a steam-blast. Pails of water
were re[)hiced, hose and extinguishei's were carried off at
a trot, and all hands went to the boats. In ten minutes
more these were olTtlie chucks, slung to the davits ready foi
lowering, crews seated, with oars tossed and provisions on
board. Then the armed odicer blew another steam-blast,
and all Avas replaced, and we A\eut to dinner. 'J^ie (|ueer
mortals of that crew I shall not forget. There are not boats

MY rilJCULAIl N'OTKS.

enough to hold the half of us, and the nearest land is in
the Sandwich Islands, so all this i)arade was bosh ; 1 know
that, but it looked well. To-day, Wednesday, the sea is
smooth and the sun hot; the barometer is at ;iO'U()0 and
thermometer at 7^>^ in my cal)in with door and window
open. We have been snK)king and fratcniiisinL,' and ex-
chanj^ing knowledj^e, and truly we know a good deal amongst
us. The Irishman knows a good deal about oil, and he is
communicative. The Frenchman was director, or agent, or
manager of a fur company ; one is a banker. One tJerman
is an Austrian baron, related to everybody and overworked.
He is bled regularly once in three months. Yesterday he
lost twenty-four ounces, and to-day he is much ludter and
nearly white ; he smokes and is quite cheerful and proud of
his headaches. Wo have three pretty, young Ainia'ican girls
bound for China to bi missionaries ; two female doctors, of
whom one is younj, and pretty ; a couple of missionaries
with wives, w'ho speak ditrerent dialects of Chinese. Since
the tower of Isabel went to sea in the ark, there never was
such a lot of globe-trotting polyglots afloat.

Now I must go and do something. Latitude oG" ]:'.' 50" N.
longitude 13G° 51' 2-i" W. Iiun since last noon 17-1 miles,
eight revolutions to the minute. All serene. O. K.

Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 19, 20, 1874. — Perdidi diem. — I
have lost a day. Yesterday was Sunday, 18th. About the
middle of the night we passed the meridian of Greenwich,
180° W, It was noon to-morrow morning then with you.
In order to get right when wo get to China, and keep right
as we go on round, we drop a day. Unless I go round the
other way I shall nevxT have another birthday. Amen. I

TIIK QUIKT PACIFIC.

155

can nitbnl to drop our, having so many. We have been out
sixteen days, and (" in good time be it written ") I never had
so pleasant a cruize. The sea was rough enough once or
twice to show what a good steady vessel we sail upon. The
roughness was (jueer, cross;, and lou.il, and seemed to mean
gales to the north ; so our captain got .south a couple of
degrees gradually, and here we h'^ve been in summer weather
ever since. A Thames outrigg^. sailing boat might navigate
the Pacitic hereabouts, it is so rpiiet and still. Every
morning the English crowd batlith in the paddle-box estab-
lishment ; an occasional Dutchman takes a plunge now and
again, but we are regular bathers. Every morning the decks
are washed and the brass is polisiied, and the ship is brought
to a state of shining neatness by the Chinese crew. When
a sail is to be set or changed it seems to be done with the
engine. One night all the sails in the .shij) were furled at
once while we were smoking in the room on deck. Not a
a sound was heard. There was no swearing, or whistling, or
stamping of feet, or "Yo ho." A lot of silent Chinamen
quietly furled and stowed all the sails without our know-
ledge. No yacht that ever I saw can boat this Great Ri'imhlic
for neatness and comfort, and this Pacific October weather i3
a fine English July. Thermometer 75", fresh cool breeze
blowing, latitude about 33°, corresponding to ^ladeira and
the Delta of the Nile. I believe that wo have got 700
Chinamen forward. I am going to look at their quarters
with the captain. Is^w and then a couple of hundreds are
sent on deck to be aired. They instantly form groups and
gamble. I sit and watch them with great interest. One of
these steerage passengers is a very rich merchant ; he ha.s

I.IG

MY CIRCUI.All NOTES.

got a heavy pile of doUnvs hclmv in tlie steerage-room.
Anotlior couple of curious creatures came on lioard to die
.iTid to bo carried homo to China and there buried. Iwery
coolie midces a contract that he is to be carried liome
dead or alive. Two poor fellows acting on this principle
came on l)oard very ill and died soon after ve got to sea.
The doctor projiosed to one of the female doctors to come to
the embalming, but she Avould not. A third Chinaman has
gone crazy; he tried to jump overboard, and now he is in
irons forward. Tliere are three She-Chinese forward who
came on dock, sat together and played dominoes by them-
selves. There's a Avhole family below. The first-class ladies
will not appear in the saloon because they cannot have their
hair properly done. 1 see them down a hatchway sitting
alone in chairs. The man who is very intelligent shows it
I)y not appearing where knives and forks are used. He
feeds below, and does not appear on deck. The Japanese,
on th(! contrary, act and dress, and eat and behave like
western people. Tliey speak good Kngli.sh, and I have taken
a liking to them. T have begun Japanese, and have got as
far as 1,000 and "give me." The birds are with us, and a
constant amusement. According to the wind, so are their
manceuvres. AVhen it is calm they have to fly hard, when it
blows they progress by falling and rising. AVhen the wind fol-
lows us, they sweep down wind, tiu'n and rise crossing our wake
where they hope f(ir food. "When the wind heads us, they
head the wind and swing. Manifestly it would need very
little power to fly if tjie cai)tain could manage his engine as
well as these birds Ho theirs.

We are in the Sargossa Sea — thai is to say, we ought to

THE CIIINKSE AT SF:A.

157

see lots of drift-weed. Except a tiny morsel wliicli joined nie
in the bath one morning I have seen no weed at aU. Some-
body saw a llying-fish this morning. Nobody pretends to
have seen a sail since we started, except about the Golden
Gate.

I have just returned from inspection. I have seen the
dens of 700 Cliinese and as many yellow men and women.
"VVe have forty ladies in the steerage it appears ; all that I
saw were like black-haired brown baboons. They would
spend all their time in their bunks but that they are smoked
out witli red pepper daily. The whole ship was as clean as
a new pin, with all ports open, and fresh air in abundance
everywhere. In one place made of batons and sail-cloth
we saw the opium-smokers of our crew. They were in the
usual state — brown bundles of humanity, with legs and
arms sprawling about in helpless drunkenness. One or two
were awake, roasting their opium in the flame of a lamp to
get it into the bowl of a pipe preparatory to a whiff. China-
men never get drunk they say. Some smoke opium instead,
and I guess they are not pretty when they do.

The majority were gambling l)usily and as bright as bees.
r)Ut after inspection I find that we are under charge of about
a dozen of white olHcers and ])etty oflicers. Of these the most
important is a Scotch Canadian, with whom I fraternize at
dinner. He is very like the governor of the Isle of Man.
He was very ill at first. Another officer fell down a hatchway
and broke some ribs ; so two are off duty. The captain himself
was off duty for two day.s with Pananui fever. So we are
chiefly under the care of " heathen Chinee." In this weather
it is all right. In bad weather I should prefer Jack Tar

158

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

" Kule Britannia," &c., " ]3ritons never," &c., " Shall bo slaves."
I am gettin<^ patriotic as I get round this world after losing
a whole birthday in the dec]), deep sea. I have been spending
my days in writing a paper on Glaciation. Tlie subject is
getting old like the author, but! have tidcen in a lot of know-
ledge since I started. Everybody is hard at the pens and
paper, so I shall stop and post this thus. It is about half-
past eleven on Monday night with you. It is about noon on
Tuesday morning here, and yesterday was Sunday. Good

night or good morning.

J. F. C.

No. XXI.

To a Scientific travelling Chum. From the Antipodes.

My dear

I am not quite clear which of us is standing on his
head or on his heels. The land T have left and the land you
live in still are ({uivering with spiritual and s])irited scientific
telegrams ; and the land I am steei-ing for is vibrating with
the same thoughts which quiver here through this "(Ireat
Kepublic " and you and me. We are very far out at sea.
Here is an epitome of t^iu world. Here we have mischief
and missionaries, men and women, peace and war, o])ium and
water and grog, dreams drunk, and sober senses, male doctors
and female, mind a'ld matter and delirium tremens, physic,
pliysics, and metaphysics, dead men and alive, and ghosts,
queer Christians and heathen Chinee. We iiavc sacred
music and very j)rofaue, sermons and stories, lots to eat and

TRY-AND-CAN-DO.

159

beer, content and discontent, and that ostentation wbicli
gives a French name to tripe ill-boiled by a blackamoor. We
have shams and facts, an engine and a driver, a captain and
a crew. They are making eight revolutions every minute at
your antipodes, taking us all westwards to the far east against
the way of the world, slowly ahead, but faster than the
material world can carry us astern by about ninety miles a
day. We are going to make more revolutions soon. The engine-
driver has just told me : — we are going to make more when we
arrive. I need not tell that to you who fought in the opium
war. We are going to spread the philosophy of " Try-and-can-
do," to run an assorted cargo of nations and notions, of good
and evil, to blow up the Celestials for their sins, and to knock
them down if they will not listen to our young ladies. We are
going to extend the right hand of fellowship, and to lill it —
honestly if possible. We are going to awaken Buddha and
confute (.'onfucius by turning everything eastern, and every-
thing under the sun heels over head if we can. This world
revolves on its own axis eastwards once in twenty-four
hours, subject to the constitution of the United States ; and
this " (Ireat IJepublic" is carrying westwards a small army of
martyrs, nicrc.'hant princes, and republican nionarchs, to meet
the kings of the earth and the autocrat of all the Eussias,
and conquer the universe against the grain. We are going
to look at the transit of Venus in Japan, and to survey the
ports of Northern Asia. But here is Venus in traiisUu—a
passenger and a mediciner and a missionary, and 1 wish that
1 was very unwell or a heathen Chinee.

In letters left at the pastrycook's, Miss Sharp being called
on for a remark, observed, "It is a remarkable thing that

IfiO

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

the tortoise, which provides us with such beautiful comhs,
has itself no back hair." It is a remarkable thiiij,' tliat
many missionaries should be provided by a people lacking in
churches ; it is remarkable tliat male missionaries from Utah
should convert many Cliristian women, while Christian
women pass Utah to convert the heathen Chinee. It lias
often been remarked that young women teach their grand-
mothers. Here is young America going to teach old Asia.
It really is remarkable how pretty a great profusion of fair
hair looks when properly arranged with a tortoise-shell
comb, especially when love and learning look out of the clear
eyes of a young American M.D. It is remarkable that
mediums should be ignorant of the price of gold. It is
remarkable that you and I shoukHvander so nmch and pick
up so little worth having. Do you remember how you looted
a joss-house carried off a pocketful of gold-dust, analysed it
on board of your man-o'-war ship, and found that you had got
yellow iron and sulphur out of the heathen Chinee ? All is
not gold that glitters ; some back-hair is a chignon ; sharp
eyes need spectacles, and mine are very dim here at sea. I
cannot see where we are all going to ; but " I want to know."
We seem to be going ahead to the bad, and coming to the
good round about.

In the clear atmosphere of intermediate American States
on the coast behind us people see further into space than
you do in the old misty world in which you are. They have
the aid of mediums — spiritual, spirituous, and astronomical
— whercwitli to solve problems, and they iire free. Let our
kindred souls vibrate in unison with the free from the anti-
podes into next year. What nuitter time and space to free

KANT, CAN DO, AND CANNOT.

U',\

Tiiinds ? You, ii disciple of the mighty Kuut, will understand
that. Above all, let us be philosophical at sea.

I f kosmus be a fortuitous concurrence of atoms, it would
})e well to study atoms in the al)stract to see how they come
to combine in the concrete. J»ut if the desirable be unattain-
able, the i)o.ssible must suffice. Jf you can't get a thing, you
must do without. Tliere is the philosophy of " Can do " and the
jihilosophy of " Cannot." If abstract atoms, unattainable and
indestructibli! as they are said to be, have fortuitously concurred
in proto])lasm wliich, having nucleated and budded, lived,
and has develoi)ed through seed, plant, and living organism to
that great humanity which from Ego and enemy has evolved
the friend, the family, and society out of chaos. Jf Ave accept
the possible, neglect the unattainable, and admit the unde-
niable, then a study of an intermediate atomic state in Oregon
and of individual entities which have tliere loosely combined
to be firmly joined to a larger concretion of States, is worthy of
a student of the interminable like yourself. 1 know that some
have thought themselves out of their identity ; let us think
together again through the world, though we were unable to
travel round it together as we both desired. May you enjoy
that repose which is denied to nu', txjssed on this ocean by the
sea and by scientilic arguments in the midst of tobacco reek.
That which is patent to the student's eye, eveo in this haze of
obscurity, is iiit an exhibition of Anglo-Saxon energy or
of Celtic fire in America. It is not something divisible by
the tjuarters of the globe, so that a scientist can affix to it
a technical nomenclature appropriate because geographical.
It is neither " Kiirasian," nor " Africarian," nor "Colum-
bian." it is a Cosmopolitan movement. The intermediate

10)2

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Oregonian state is not an ethnological phenomenon. It
does not spring from the special energies of separate races
of men, for it is neither Aryan nor Turanian, though it par-
takes of both, and is also African and Semitic, and abori-
ginal and autocethenal and original. It certainly is not a
religions movement, like the Crusades, which had a motive.
It is exceedingly not religious, and sends Mormon missiona-
aries to make heathens. It is not the ambitious of conquest
monarch's move, like the march of Bacchus, or Alexander the
Great, or of Eussia eastwards, on India or China or Japan.
It is not a march under leaders. It is a general skedaddle of
mankind in the old Scotch sense, which meant the overflow
of fluids from ill-directed energy. It is not a mythologi-
cal result of solar worship, for that ancient form of Aryan
mythology lands us all in the deep sea at sunset. The
teaching of Buddha had nothing to do with restlessness.
His is the philosophy of " Have-done." The followers of
Confucius come eastwards only to earn gold like Christians.
Apparently there is no leader and no guide and no one
master, where all are autocrats. Theirs is the philosophy of
*' Must do." The only ruler is Public Opinion with a revolver,
and the rule of life seems to be the revolt of " Won't " against
" Must." It seems that I am watching the crystallization of
small atomic concretions to form a larger body by the attrac-
tions and repulsions vhicli drag and drive humanity like
other giegarious things, and which tend to combine all men
in one great future coming United State according to some
philosophers here. Theirs is the " Go-a-hcad " philosophy.
If the v;bstruct .atom and its earliest combinations cannot yet
be reached by the combined energy of our united though

HAVE DONE, MUST, AND WON'T.

IG3

parted duality of individual minds, evcu my uucombined
solitary Ego sees with bodily eyes, which are dim, that the
intei mediate Oregonian state is not a fortuitous concurrence
of individual men. I can see them ; though the fortuitous
atom recedes into space and eludes my grasp. " Don Fernando
cannot do more than he can do." Tiiere is law and order in
this human crystallization, and there is design to do. The
laws of England are Iteason, according to Blackstone ; they
are the wisdom of many Anglo-Sa.xon and other generations
who have agreed to obey when they cannot resist. By com-
mon consent of mankind, laws whicli became the laws of
England now are subject to the constitution of the United
States ; and these, thus strengthened, are resisted as much as
possible in Oregon, as they are in London or in Paris, to
which earthly paradise it is here said that all good Americans
hope to go. The law of the strongest everywhere prevails.
That law prevails hi this intermediate state, which I can
examine without a telescope. I need no microscope to see
that law is obeyed when it is stronger than those who
ardently desire to break it and to be free. I notice that the
free carry revolvers and big knives in greater abundance in
proportion to their freedom from those ancient fetters which
eloquent nrators denounce in Chicago, New York, Dublin
Hyde Park, Paris, Petersburg, and elsewhere. I conclude
that the law of the strongest governs early human crystalliza-
tion as it governs material nucleation, and that the force is
atomic and universal in a material sense. An old rock
crystal is harder grit than smashed ore and mercury, water
and sand. An old State is stronger than a new Territory or a
Abstract laws have less power in weakness

M 2

aiiigle man.

1(14

MY CIUCULAR NOTKS.

bocause less matter to acit upon. Therefore, sii)<,f " Kale
Jh'itannia," and "God save the (Juoen/' and stand up for
our old Constitution. Wh.atever be the origin of this funda-
mental law of the strongest, maniiestly it is good for imruly
men and minerals, and it is stronger than either. "Atoms"
want to scatter, but they nuist combine. This is law in
(3regon and on board ship, and all round this world. We
all want to mutiny, but we cannot. T caimot understand a
law without a Law-giver; or the philosoi)]iy which we read
here, and talk by the captain's leave. " No Sabc."

There is deep human design in the making of rich human
amalgam on the shores of the Paciiic. That is patent. That
which is latent I may perceive, but I cannot see. ^leu who
want to buy land cheap and sell it dear need wastes and wilds
and customers ; those who make shoddy need fools. So clever
men come hereaway, and set traps in the wilds for men with
money, and for men witliout much money or brains, wlio are
aptly styled " liands." Those who want roads made cheaply
for their own ends need many hands to tight each other and
struggle for leave to earn small wages by hard work. These
heads of the people set their wits to devise liaits for the grasp-
ing. A great many dollars a day, a diamond-tield, or a
golden river or a mine of coal, or some other bait, is set by
these trappers in the west ; and bulls and bears hungering for
shares, zeliras, which are uncommon asses, lame ducks, and
stags, and human herds, rush to the attraction like iron tilings
to a magnet or horses to halt(!rs when they come for corn.
We rusli to dinner, but we cannot get out of this ship. Our
manners are free, but we must obey the President. Once over
the mountains and into the forest, migratory mortals cannot well

no AIIKAD AND LAW.

lOf)

and

get out, beiii'' in a diloniiiia l)ot\voen the Devil and tlie deep
sea, JJri;4liani Youn;,' and the ocean. Thcsy are trapjjed ; they
are eaiij^ht. Like gnM-(hi.st witii nicicury in a pan, they must
amalgamate, iind tlicy must wdvIc to live. So i^rasjtinj,' hands
enricli other hodiesthan their own who iiave drsiinning heads;
and the "growing State urnws Ijccausc nf the strong '' law" whieh
is stronjicr than tlif strongest. They musf di.|wli:il thry
don't want to, ami they cf/iiio/ do just as they ll'a.sf. Call
it Fate, Xecessity, or Atomic Law. it is :i l;ict tlii na;n liavt'
hfcn drawn to tho '^Vcsi liy haits, ami lli.-n- do whit they di'i
not intt.'iid. Thrrc is no repelling force strong cno^^h toilrivi-
men away ; thci'i' is no c(jual attract i<ni elsewhere. I mlividual.-
may he drawn hack hy lovo of their kind or iheir ( oniitry, hut
the migratory tloeks remain. Weh-innt.s aU'l the ugly duck-
lings of Oregon will lurn out .swans Ipy the praciici; ol lhe"Can-
do"])hilosoiihy, subject to the "Must." The imits werej'<;j;."lled
by starvation, or by a jiolieeman, or by bigamy, oifui injured
.sea-captain, or by (lerman gunpowder, or I'Venni lire.s, or
Italian unity, or Sjianish solution of continuity, or by Scotch
shee]» which are better than Celtii' men, or by negro slavi'ry,
or by overcrowding in Asia or in Iceland or elsewhere.
Somehow men were driven to wander, and drawn into a gooil
])lace ; they had energy enough to gel in, a.nd they lack a
motive h)r escape. Those who have liecii rejielled or expi'lled
by one set of forces and attr.icted by their opjuwites, amalga-
mate, marry, and crystalli/e into families and (congregations,
and then into soc ietii's. Hands make roads an<l Iniy lands
at higli rates from those who baited traps and designed the
schemes of "land-joblH'rs." ]Iands coi le and work. Heads
raise themselves and lick up the i>lu ider. All looks like

16G

MV UlliCULAU NOTES.

selfisli, independent freetloni from law. But that is not so.
Society f^ows here according to ancient hnvs, which came to
he Enghah Laws before they came liere. It grows according
to a law which governs mankind in spite of themselves. The
trai)ped Aryai' Itadicals, whose ca]>ital is their four hones,
hecorae Protectionists, and resist tlie importation of cheaj)
Turanian hones and dust iVom China into America.

Kadical Protectionists, stumping it at tlie Reformers' tree
in Hyde Park, loudly demanded that those pro[trietors whose
capital was in their pockets, or invested elsewhere than in
four hones, should he taxed in IJritain in order to raise the
value of living bone-dust there, and to lower it here by the
exportation of Aryan " hands." Hands here, on the other
hand, })rotected themselves by the strong hand, clenched
themselves, and dashed wildly against the yellow-faced hordes
of China. Hands made for gra.s])ing grip the throats of their
rivals here as elsewhere, and struggle for existence as paws
do in the woods, and beaks and claws. ]>ut we have one
head to prove that it is worth twice as much as two hands,
and four times as much as four bones. Heads here have the
Tippermost, even in tliis state of revolution, but only because
their small schemes are better designed. It all looks heels
over head ; it is " Head " over heels. It looks like a back-
somersault ; but it goes roiuid with the world, and goes
ahead. There is a rising scale of intelligence, and a rising
scale of laws so far as 1 can see and understand. 1 cannot
see why that scale should end with my j)Owers of compre-
hension. Here is a case. Heads who had risen high enough
to rule over the Golden Gate at San Francisco passed a law
to prevent the importation of Coolies in the interest of

IlKADR, HELPS. AND HANDS.

167

Hands. There wus a great deal ol" talk about slavery. Longer
and stronger heads that liad risen higher on benches at
Washington pronounced the State-law illegal ; so the .stronger
law opened the western door just wide enough to let in hands
wanted to open the ^vay Ironi Washington to Yokohama
I'or my especial l)enelit as a globe-trotter, and for the convey-
ance of my mails.

But it was said that Uiese Chinese males wanted mates,
and a cargo of Cliina women arrived a short time ago at
Frisco. A great deal was said of their extreme wickedness,
and the Aryan heads of this people put the yellow ladies in
})rison, tliougli Jhigliam may import Welshwomen and Sajtar
gills f'om Norway freely, according to tliat law which is locally
strongest in liis intermediate vState. There in no lack of
housemaids in Utah hotels, and they have to work. The
Chinese ladies, by their imjiorters' advocates, appealed. The
next revolution of this strange worlil brouuht Eastern wisdom
to the AVest from Washington, and the strongest hanils in
the United States opened tlie prison-doors and let out the
yellow girls to cheapen the work of female hands and helps.
They are ajit to get the upper hand of their employers in this
Ke})ublic, wliere women are scarce. A good-looking Irish
girl gets married to an Irish hodman who has nuide a large
fortune. Is any other good-looking white girl going to sweep
for her? Not if she knows it. "No, sirree, you bet, unless
she is well paid. The wages we liave to pay our helps, sir, is
dreatlful. My wife, sir, does all my c(Joking." A great deal
was said about the wickedness oi' the Chinese, aad female
.slavery ; and about the cruelty of putting the Chinpse girls
into jirison. The bird of I'reedom flapped his uigs and

168

MY CIHCri-AR N()TP:S.

crowed a good deal wIumi they got out. Tliut was "bunkum."
Tluj real (junstion was Free trade or Protection for the
working man i and capital won tree trade in the interest of
society. Ileneeforlh ("hincso men, Women, and babies, will
help to cheapen the labour-market unless the Kastmii wisdom
(»f the Scoto-Irish Egyptians drowns them. I5ut still there is
u remnant of protection left. (Jiiinese wares, like opium, are
forbidden. Only those who are citizens of the United States,
or Europeans or Africans, may fertilize their new country
with their liones. Dead China^nen must l)e e.\i)orted to
China under l)oiul, and we have a cargo on board. There are
wheels within wlieels in this .ship, and laws over laws on
shore ; but the laws which men call political economy are
stronger than any of them. Those who can buy will buy
what they want if they can, and tiu)se who can sell, will take
their cattle to market.

llich American masters want .servants, and mistresses
maids; China can su]t]ily the market, and all tiie hands in
California cannot sliut thi' (Jo]<Jen Gate against the law of the
.strono 'st. The heathen Chinee is awake, and very wide
awak'^ to his own interests, and his fate sends him to meet
the m ning, and those wliose lot it is to follow the setting sun.
The AV :tern States grow like a grove of big ti'ces, heads U])per-
most, 1: ils on the I'ock, in s[)ite of themselves and in .spite of
storms Men may rebel against the fetters of law, ])iey on
each other as much as they can, and struggle for the
freedom of the Oi'cgon trapper to do just as tliey please.
Each free man seems to be triumphantly singing in his
own key —

FIKAI) OVER [IKKI.S.

" 1 iiiii niDiiarch of all I .survey,

My rji^lit there is none to ilispiito,
From tlie eontre, all roiiml to the ".say "
1 i;*'! lord of tlie fowl and tho hnile."

JUit sotneliow I soc tliiit " Law," wliich i.s .said to bi; " licasoii,"
ina,sters iinrea.sonal)l(3 heads, ami niUis unruly hands, not by
goneral consent ot'niankind, but in sjdte of their united eflorts.
Grej,'arious men join hands and lay (heir heads t(\^fetlier; tliey
anialifamate and cry.stalliy.(! like hiw-abidin;^' chemicals, and
States n^ow here according to law like trees, or like Shasta
and IJainier out of stn'ming chaos. In s])ite of unruly
human entities evolved out of fortuitou.s [)roto])lasm and
atoms by philosopher.s at .sea with me, the great Kepublie
gi'ow.s, and thi.s l)it of it .steers under command of a captain.
Here they are, black spirits and white, I'cd nu'n, y(;llow and
grey, mingling as they may, making themselves into a new
body in spite of themselves, mider laws which govern the
growtii of nations even here out in the far West, and out at
sea. The battle for life, the struggle for selfish ends, goes on
between Ego and enemj', man and man, State and State, East
and West, Foe and I.iiw, under the Hag of the great l^>public.
Iicpublic ami L'ival struggle i)olitically, and they all .seem to
ain> as we do at Ja[)an. Hands grasp I'ound tin; world, and
heads scheme for their own corporations, and the strongest
gobble up all they can gra.sp. But somehow, they all do work
which they did not design. " The world revolves on its own
axis once in twenty-four houi's subject to the constitution of
the United States." Under that law, a "hand" with a head
grew to be a millionaire, and forthwith lie provided funds
for a bigger telescope than ever was made, to be set on a

170

MY CIRCULAIl NOTES.

liigher hill, in clearer air, to try to see out of this State to the end
i»t" infinity. It needs but eyes here to see that this sky, aglow
Avith stars, has deep de])ths, and more in them than atoms and
astronomy. " Men who are not of the superstitious sort, who
Lelieve in])ivine Providence, think in California that there's
iiae God Almighty to see them west o' these mountains ; but
there is." So one said to me who had tiiught that lesson in
a Scotch school. I see that human is law here at work,
and seliish human design. Above it all I see a grand
gi'owing human growth which has become a community
of westeru otatcs on tlie I'acific since 1 was a grown man.
I have not second sight, and cannot imagine what that
sapling will grow to, but it is a big thing: — and Ciod's law is
bigg(M'.

I'eripatetics needs must have son:e kind of knowledge
driven into tlieir heads, unless they be hands ilevoid of
understanding. It has been driven into me that law proves
some lawgiver, design a designer. But no human being
ever designed a sequoia gvjicalca, ]>righam Young and UUdi,
or the intermediate State of Western America, and no man
or medium can divine what it will grow to under strong laws
which never were designed by man.

Now, my dear , I never doubted my own existence

and denied that of matter over a g(/od meal, as you commonly
did when we were young, JJecause I eat, I live, and so do
you. Co(jito ayo, 1 am yours in the fraternity of MacFarlan's
geese, who lilted their play better than their meat, and were
migratory fowls like you and me.

" You get." Farewell.

JACK FllOST.

«! ^. E- - P c C S t: .

171

No. XXII. "Gkeat KKPum.ic," at Ska,

Sunday, October 2!)l/i, 1874.

!My DEAii Mother,

It is Saturday tit San Francisco, and somewhere altout
early Sunday morning witli you. Here we have just had our
third church, and we are about to have our lunclieon at noon,
on our Sunday. We are al.out latitude 32° 3' 0", and in the
Japan stream. When I ,^et into my sea-bath of a morning 1
can hardly persuade myself that it has not l)een warmed on
board. It is about 80° ; so is the air, and tliis morning the
wind is southerly and dam]). 8(.> here I sit in a kind oi' hot-
house damp mist, writing to a land where people are
shivering in cold fog. I am not used to this sort of October
weather, and I cannot (luite get rid of wonder yet. Our
friends and followers, the long-winged Conies, are with us
still. If they !>e the same birds they nmst have flown 40,000
miles. We have sailed near 4,000, and they lly ten tunes
as far at least. Further, some flying-tish have begun to
a])pear. 1 have not seen tlieni, Imt others have. With these
excej»tions, not one living thing have Ave seen since we left
tlie American coast, and not one solitary sail on this great
blue ocean in three Meehs. There's notliing to write about,
unless 1 describe the peo])le, and about them there is little to
tell. My chief interest is in the Japanese students, who
sjieak English more or less well. From them I strive lo
gather insight of stories. I find that my favourite " dragon
myth " is known in Japan ; and, please the pigs, I'll get it
before I leave the country. Ihit striving is vain in tliis
climate; my exertions end in another cigar and another

172

^n CIIJCULAK NOTHS.

ineal, and tlieii at nine 1 go to \m\ and get rockcl to sleep
l>y the Pacific and the (heat IJepnltlie. A very charniini^
lady saw me somewhere on shore, and to her son she said,
"jNIy dear Tommy, y<ni hav(> ol'ten wished to see a trappei',
There is a trapper." ]5ut she ai'lerwards did me the honour
to make my ac([uaintanee.

Our miss^'onaries have a daily UiMi'-elass, well attendml.
and one of them ])reaches really well, and is a gentleman.
" Xumher one Joss-man."

" I'y the Jimm hill ! " said one jiassonger, " when I was at
Sitka a set of fellows nsed to come into a place there, and
tell yarns fit to make a pig sick." Feebleness, idleness, sloth,
and good manners, all failed and Mcnt with a run, and
everybody there present roared and laughed and yelled in
chorus. The passenger stared. Then it dawned on him ; and
then he laugheil and roared like Ilcic:is his protolyj»e. I was
quite tired with my exercise, and went to bed. The woithy
inan had dune nothing but tell new and old stories fur three
weeks; and they were not sermons.

Last night it was proposed to celebrate our last Saturday on
board by a glass of grog " to Sweethearts and Wives." The liijuor
was horrilile, so I escaped. The rest, or some of them, sat u]>
and enjoyed themselves till the lights were doused at (deveii.
Then two agreetl to lia\-e a parting "cock-tail," .so they
reached down glasses IVoni the rack, and Idled and drank.
Then, as it seemed to one, the other was taken with a dread
sickness. He had taken a tootli-[iiek glass l)y mistake, and
his throat was full. A I'orcupine is to be tiie emblem of
that passenger's "co( 'itail " hencefoith. " (li'og a cure dents "
is not jjfood for the inside. One day at dinner the missiouaric-i

MKN AND BIRDS AT SKA.

17.".

loll foul of an incredulous luau, and lie fought : at last they
cauie down on him, male and i'emale, in such force, that he
had to get up and esca])C on deck. He came to the smoking-
room, and I got a hlast of his doctrine, lint these are rare
incidents. AVith few exceptions we are too lazy to do any-
thing but eat and smoke and sleep. So now that I have
written these four pages 1 must go and recruit exhai tetl
nature with soup and a cigar.

2'iu'sdai/, 27. — We have signed a lettei', which I drew up,
thanl ing captain and ollicei's for distinguished courtesy.
What a place for tittle-tattle and rows a sliip would become
if the voyage were long and passengers human.

I aiul my pipe have placidly passed the time, avA I really
begin to think thai I shall be sorry to land and begin active
life and the hard work of anuising myself. 1. wonder if I
shall iiud another Tones of Octc/oer 1st when I get to Yoko-
hanui, or even a letter or two at the Oriental l>ank. If all
goes as well as it has gone I hope to know in another day.
So now to finish ofi' my various jobs, and pack uj) and make
ready for land as soon as I see it to sketch.

Weilnmlaij, 2S. — Last night about sundown a bird came
on board and perched on the crosstrees. We were L'(JO miles
I'rom the nearest land. A boy and a boatswain shook a rope
and the bird Hew olf, — he was a strong llyer, a hawk. The
captain fired a revolver at him, he took a turn or two and
came back. Then a Dutchnuin got a Spencer rille, whicli
tires seventeen shots in succession, and he missed the hawk.
The hawk was the better s[)ortsman ; next tui'ii he had
a long-winged bird about as big as a swallow, with webbed
feet clutched in one claw, and with that prize he sat on the

174

MY CIRCULAU NOTES.

gaff, where tlie Dutclimau missed him again. I left them at
it when dinner was served. Accomits vary ; some say that
the hawk was slain. I have not seen his feathers in the cap
of anybody. But how Mr. Wallace can hold that a narrow
strait will account for different tribes of birds separated by
geological Darwinian periods of time beats me. Here are
two birds 200 miles from land. I have met shore-larks on
the Atlantic between Shetland and Fariie, and I don't believe
Wallace. As the f lerman said " I do not agree with Paulus."
The mail closes at one. Breakfast is ready. The weather
is cloudy and cool and blowy, but fine ; and we hope to land
to-night or to-morrow morning. I will send another letter
from land. This has to go east, and will take 40 days.
Good-bye.

r.S. — Wcdnrschii/, Oct. 28. — Finished eoi)ying the surface
temperatui-es taken at 4, 8, noon, 4, 8, midnight, 4th
and 28th October. Made a diagram, and co]»ied it for the
captain. About lunch time came another hawk. A German
Californian hunter i)ut a bullet through him, and he fell
from the crosstrees on deck ; he was a fine, strong, ash-
coloured brown falcon, measuring three feet from tip to tip.
When he fell, two pretty little birds, like finches, perched
on tiie rigging, and I'ested, and looked down on the prostrate
foe. More came later. So the land " battle for life " is fought
out at sea by birds, and men being stronger slay the slayers.
Soon after the Japanese ciied out the name of their country,
and there it was a long way off on the hori/on. Run at noon
ninety-one miles, 4,787 in all. Went to the engine-room and
fraternized with Tain Stiubhard, wliose father is in Canada,

"WINGS! TO BEAR ME OVER."

nr,

and speaks Gaelic. He is a very clever chief enjifineer, a
Californian, and remarkably like the governor of the Isle of
Man. If we Scotchmen joined hands, I believe we miglit
dance ronnd the world. We passed an island smoking in the
sea, and made ont Fuji in a sea haze. In shape and size it
closely resembles the Oregon cones. Anchored at Yokohama
about eleven at night,

Thursday, October 29. — Heavy rain all day. Landed and
VTote letter home. Lat. 35-26 N.; Long. 139-29 E.

APT?:iax.

No. XXI I L Yokohama,

October 29(h, 187i—'Mth, Friday.

My dear Mother,

Since I first landed in a foreign town, to wit, at Vigo,
in 1841, I have not been so much amused. We got in by
fine moonlight the day before yesterday, and I slept on l)oard.
Tlie harbour is full of men-of-war, English, American,
Russian, and I believe French.

The French and English have a camp and barracks, and
the sentries meet in their walks, and converse in Japanese.
All night long we were sending out cargo from the Greaf
Hqmhlie. I could hear the song of the Japanese boatmen.
As soon as I could see I was out, and then I found a regular
deluge falling. It fell all day yesterday, and consequently
all the world were in waterproofs. The boatmen looked like
aniinated sheaves of corn. Their rain-clothes are rushes,
and their hats straw. Ten or a dozen, singing, swung like an
irregular pendulum, with action as hard to catch as the walk

170

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS,

of ^liss Tliomson's horse in the " Eoll-call." Their oars, l)ent at
an angle, never rose from the water but sculled under it, so
that the 1)oat looked like some hairy, rouj^di sea dragon swim-
ming with a dozen arms. " Hon hai, hou hai, hou hai ! "
and on they went tlirongh the rain and the waves towing
loaded liarges. After breakfast, and a good long wait for
the others, an Irishman and I hailed a small hairy dragon
with two legs, and down we scrambled into a " fune." The
bowman was like a brown ape, and sang, " Imir su, Imir
su," which was very like Gaelic. The stroke was a brown
.Ta[)anese man with marvellous muscles, and a " rashen
(ioatie," and off we went into a considerable sea. We got
through that, and got our goods on a j)ier, and then we got
coolies who trotted oft' to the custom-house, and after that to
the Grand Hotel. Gas, and jiavements, and English grates,
and French dishes met us, and we feasted high and merrily.
Then for the rest of the day I wandered aliout in the rain
gaj)ing like a greenhorn. Every man, woman, and child,
and tree, and lish, and dog, and house, and fowl, Avas new
and strange. Tliey carried ])aper umbrellas, like those which
you have from G. \V. It., but grander and bigger, and gor-
geous with colours. They walked on wooden pattens, their
heads were shaved into })atterns, their hair was twisted into
horns and devices, and stuck full of pins and ornaments.
ITiey grinned and I grinned, and we got friends. Two-
wheeled carriages with hoods of yellow jjaper drawn by
coolies were everywhere. Sometimes a fine lady, sometimes
a Jack-tar, sat inside; sometimes a bearded Ihiton, sometimes
a Jai)ancse, but everywhere these marvellous coolies went
trotting at a fast run through the rain, showing legs that

KUHASIA.

177

would have iiia.lo a clmirmau .stare. Sevouteeu of tli(.Mu
cliarged our j.arty at oue place, all -nnning. Then we got
into the curiosity shops, and I began to use my slender st.uk
of words with success. Then I got out my pencil, and
presently T had an audience of shop-people gri.niing, chatter-
ing, and charmed. Then we got to a biidge and watched the
hsher-hoats going out to sea. Two men in a boat were casting
a net after the Thames fashion, but In^tter and bigger. Then
we heard the railway whistle, and then the bugles of the
marines. There never was such a strauge mixture of East
and West as is to be found in this strange port. Since Viuo,
I have not been so much diverte.1. I went to the bank with'
a pipe in my cheek ; I pointed t(» it and looked for leave.
"Can do," said a Chinese clerk, so I "did"— smoked on. 1
produced my letter of in.lication, but there were no letters
ibr me. :N^ow I am waiting for - to go to the Embassy. I
believe that somebody was to write to Sir H. Parkes. We
shall see ; anyhow, I am content. No theatre ever was half
so amusing as the street. The sun has con.e out, and it is
Imght as sunnner, and warm. Camellias are blooming in
tlie gardens. Men are selling breakfasts. Men as naked
as Adam are rowing off to fish, pun.piug water in tlie back
yard, and going about their work unc.ncei'uedly. The house-
maid is a man in bhick tights, all over curious worked
•les.gns, for all the world like a demon in a i.antomi.ne
I be waiters are all imps like him. " r>etits Diablotins "
the Frenchman calls them ; and here I sit writing amongst
thett. as pleased as a child at his first play. Now I must go
stare and make pictures mentally.

Snnda^, Xoc. 1, 1874.-After my Friday letter I wandered
VOL. I.

178

MY CIHCUI.AR NOTES.

al)out with a good Scotcli lad who has pnt our names to the
chib. I left my card on Sir Harry I'arkes, and now lie has
left me his, and asketl mc to dine on Wednesday. Athletic
sports were going on somewhere, Imt I d(» not care alioiit
them here, so we wandered on the racecourse and looked at
horses. 1 Avas jnore amused by the natives. Sometimes we
got to a garden with dwarf trees and Japanese plants, and pots
and rocks and dragons ; then to a shrine hung with strips of
inscribed paper; tlien a crow croaked in a strange voice;
then a duck's wings whistled ; and then the sim set behind
Fuji-no- Yama, and we wandered back in the dark amongst
pfiper lanterns, and curious peo])le seen by their dim light.
They were buving and selling and eating fish fried and
strang(i fruits served in .T;ii)iuiese dishes, chattering like
baboons under the eavas of curious brown wooden houses.
There M-e "dincul" instead of feeding. On Saturdiiy L. led
me and 8. to a rising ground named MTherson's Hill. "We
walked sixteen miles through rich market-gardens and rice-
fields. AVe got down to a shore where were strange boats ;
their wild boatmen were diying cargoes of sea-weed for
market. Lots oi' our garden-flowers were growing wild, and
lots of queer 1)1 rds were singing amongst the trees, which all
were strange and new and <|uaint. If I couhl only talk to
these good-humoured, grinning, brown lieings, I should enjoy
this place beyond measure, and stay in it for a long time.
To-dav I have been to church and to Curio Street, asking
the prices of bronzes and vases and lacquered goods.
and buttons and papers, buying nothing. I mean only
to buy when I hit U})on something that I fancy. J
have got an old man with a toad on his shoulder, made of

THE TIEART OF JAPAN.

179

ivory, unci tliat is all. The rest of the crowd have gone to
the racecourse. Three went off in "jinrikisha "—that is to
say, gigs drawn by running coolies. At least a dozen of them
hunted me down a street, but I came here to write, and did
not go to stare. To-morrow we go to Yedo by rail, led by
the consul, " Eussell liobertson." How many I know not,
but we are to drive in a procession of coolies, and do tourist
work. I have asked for a Ja[»anese master, and mean to
work hard for some days before I go anywhere. They tell
me this letter had better go back vid America, and that it
will not start before Thursday. September 5th is the latest
ncM'spaper date here as yet.

Tuesday, Kov. li— Yesterday nine of us went to 1 jdo—
Consul liussell liobertson leading. We went by rail, and each
mounted a jinrikisha at the station. A man ran in the shafts,
and a leader dragged a rope ahead. So we were twenty-seven
mortals all going at score along the streets of Yedo. So we
went for about twelve miles at least, the men running all day
without apparent fatigue. I marvelled at them, and was
ashamed to pay about three shillings to my coolies. We
were taken to the sanchm. sandoram in the midst of the
castle within three moats. AVhen we got there we found
something like a miniature Virginia Water, with rockwork
bridges, ponds and trees, but with very little gardening. It
was more like a park. The palace was burned, so we saw
nothing but stones on which posts used to stand. Then we
drove oft' full tilt to a garden and palace in which distin-
guished foreigners are lodged. It is European in furniture
and fashion, but Japanese in nuiterial. The garden seemed
to be devoid of flowers. The trees were trained, and the

ISO

MY ClllCULAU NOTKS.

wliole thing was rather like the willow-pattern plate. Then
we drove to " So you Can," as the English call the Japaneso
hotel, and there we fed our Government guide on champagne ;
he took it kindly. Then we drove about three miles to the
Temple of the Goddess of Purity. It was beautiful and
quaint, and strange an<l foreign. The lion of the place is a
collection of carved wooden Jigures repivisoiiting legends, for
which see the Ycdo Guide, which I mean to place with
this letter when they come together. These figures arc; life-
size, and really wonderful works of art. I never saw any-
thing so life-like before. I could hardly bidieve that they
were not dressed-up people. Then we went into a garden
and saw water and stones and ponds as before. Then we
drove off to Shiba, another (piarter, and looked at the tombs
of the Tycoons (Shoguns). They are crimson and black
lacquer, bronze, gold, and etianud — strange, queer, magnifi-
cent buildings, which 1 hope to see again. Then we drove to
the tombs of the forty-seven Konins, for whose story read
Mitford's Talcs of Old Japan. All the coolies knew all about
it, and by pantomime explained the chief events. The well
where the head was waslied, the place where it was placed
and all the rest of it. l^)y that time it was dark, so we went
to the nearest railway station, and came home in tlie same
carriage with Sir Harry Parkes.

The impression left on me by a double panorama twelve
miles long and very deep is that of wooden sheds inhabited
by tribes of Lapps and Indians and Tartars crossed with
\vhite men. If I wrote for a month I never could trans-
fer to you the picture which is in my own noddle, so I
will not try. I have been scribbling figures all over a

<
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COMrAllISONS.

181

slietl of paper all morning for my log. And now I shall
go post this.

J. V. ('.
Sal\n'au.\ Dama.

«;

a
<

■r.

To show tlic vc><cml)l!inoe bc'twoon Japnncso and Samoycdcg
a conplo of portraits arc plarod as illustrations. My sketches
Irom life have been ]>lioto^ra]ihed on the wood for the
engraver. One is a portrait of the waiting-girl at the tea-
house at ]\rianoshta, with her name written in Jiipane.se by
one of the servants. It was a])pi'oved as a likeness, but the
sitter pointed out that the nose was too broad. Here are the
usual Japanese numerals which an; derived from Chinese: —

1 Itchi, 2 Xi, :; San, 4 Shi, ^Co, G Koku, 7 Stchi, 8 llatchi,
!» Koo, 10 Joo.
There is another set which T did nut l"ari).

'J'he followin-r extract from the log for 187-"' tells where the
second portrait was taken. In many respects the sitters were
like each otiier. The colour and texture of their hair was
alike, and tlie set of their eyes and ears ; both had buttons at
the end of their broad noses ; and generally the Japanese
and Samovede s-irls might have been cousins or sisters.

Lo[/ Extract — Auf/i/st 20, iS/o, Arrlianfjcl. — Sketched as
well as I could seated on ;>. lilock of wood surronnded by
children and big men, all chattering and scratching their
hides to windward and to leeward. The Samoycde girls' eyes
■were unlike those of any other human creature that ever 1
saw, but when they were opened wide to laugh, they remiiKled
me of a niuwr's eves. The set of her ears was peculiar, they
were place<l very high. The wmuen generally could stand

182

M\^ CIRCULAR NOTES.

Tipriglit under my arm. Tlie men looked like griifT bears,
and they were very silent, except one who had travelled to
Xovaya Zemlya and elsewhere. Tliey spoke Russian, and
their own Sanioyede tongue amongst tlieinselves. It seems
an easy language with few gutturals or nasal sounds. Here
are the numerals : —

I Apoi, 2 Sid'i, 3 Xjar, 4 Tjert, 5 Samla, G ^NFat-thka,
7 Sioo, 8 Sidet, 9 Have, 10 Vou; 11 Apoi-you-genne, 12
>Side-you-genne, &c. ; 20 Side-you, oO Njar-you, &c.; 100 YoQr,
101 Your apoi, &c.; 1,000 You-your.

Xo. XXIV.

YoKorrA^rA,
JFediusdaij, Xuixmhcr Wlh, 1874.

My dear Mother,

On Wednesday, 4th, we dined with Sir Ilaiiy Parkes
iu state. On the 5th four of us set off in a carriage and three
and in a pour of rain, and drove along the Tokaido road, about
forty miles, to a place called Odewarra. There we got up
a dance, and slept. I never tire of staring at tliese curious
creatures of Japanese. Their rain-coats are ruslies or oiled
paper, and wiien they work hard they wear their birthday
suits. "We meet grave men and sedate old women seated in
jinri/cisk((s, which are two-wheeled carriages drawn liy coolies,
who run. Their legs are the most extraordinary nniscular
supports that ever T saw. Two men ran me twelve miles yes-
terday over deep roails in two hours and three (juarters. Tl"»
biggest came up to my ear, and was less than forty inches rouuv.
the chest. The other was quite a little man, but strong as a
horse. From Odewarra, on the Gth, I was carried seven and a
half miles in a cango by tluee men up 1,700 feet to Jlianoshta.
There are sulphur spring.;, hot baths, and a palatial tea-house.

■■M

■mi

A CRUISE UN WllKELS.

18;j

The lloor is ijiade of mats ; the walls ol' the rooms are sliding
screens of bamboo ami paper; tlie (»iiter walls are sliding
boai'ds with ventilators in them. 'J'he morning performance
is to slide all tlie boards into a box, ami pile all the screens
one over the other, and then the house becomes an open f^hed
of the most distressing cleanliness and coolness. Shoes are
out of the question. We walked barefoot or in stockings, sat
on the floor, and rolled on it, and slept there at night.
Having blistered my feet, 1 spent most of my tin)e in
sketching and buying curiosities, of which I have got a lot,
value £2 12s., whicli 1 mean to send home at once. On Mon-
day, 'Jth, S. and I went off back to Fujikawa, when we got into
peraniltuhitors and ran to Enoshima. That is an island with
quaint trees, temples, and a village inhabited by human seals.
On Tuesday we took boat and went to see the giant image of
Jiuddlia, forty-four feet high, of bronze. Thence to a great
temple dedicated to llatchiman, who plays tlie piirt of
Hercules. Then we got into jierandjulators, and returned
here last niijiit. 1'. and O. came in later by carriaye.
V. comt!,- back to-n'ght, I believi'. 1 am now going to Sir
Hairy Parkes's, and after that I shall decide what to do next.
MacVean, son of the Free Cliurch minister in the IJoss of
i\Iull, and head of the Ordnance Survey here, has asked me
to stay at Ids house in Yedo (Tokio), and I certainly mean to
acce»)t. 1 shall stay with him, and possibly I may travel
with him if he goes 0)i an expeiUtiou. 1 am vastly annised
in this stiange wild country. It is so utterly uidike any-
thing 1 ever saw or dn.an.ed of. The peo[ile are the most
j)olite. The laiidlord goes down on all fours and knocks his
Jioddle on the ground and grins aiul gives a parting gift to

184

MV (JlI{Crr,.\H NOTKS.

Oiicli guest. Tlie fiirls who wait are tlie most cliarniing seals
that ever were. jNIuch have 1 heard of their beauty ; little
have I seen. 1 constantly think of Lapps and Sanioyedes, and
North American Indians, and Esquimaux. They are all
alike, with fat pug noses and long (\yes tm?ied up at the
corners, with black hair and hair-pins and tjuTnt en, tunes.
lor all the world they are like their portrait f ii iM - an.'s
book, but tlieir manners are gi'aceful and charuni'g. When
they dance the fan-dance it is something to see.

"We got three girls to play horrible music for us on guitars,
and sing to one who waved a I'au, and toddled about and <lid
the fan business with great skill and dexteiity. They were
])iofessional ladies of the theatre royal, and we entertained
them with a banquet of lish aiul sea-weed and sake, which is
a weak strong driidv. Then we all bowud and SiudSn tana ro,
and then the performance ended with ])ayment in paper notes,
each wrapped in pajter, which is the necessary ceremony in
presenting a gift.

Truly the inanrLirs and customs of these amiable seal; aio
wonderful. I have some sketches, but really I have L'UU
time ij do anything but rush about, autl ga])e open-mouthed
!it everything and evei'ybody like a fresh-caught greenhorn.
There goes the luncli-gong, so no more at present.
12th. — I have your letter nf August li^rd. Jt has followed
me ever the Pacilic. 1 seiid a bill of lading and ihree boxes,
which are to go inside ««i' one. 'J'he cont"nt,s are cr ,iou.s
things from ^lianoshta, there manufactured by the p.>;v. .iit.s.
T paid elevi'n dollais I'oi' the hit, and now 1 have paid .S!>. y;'
freight, and some export <luty. Tlie whole cost in round
numbers is about £4. 4.s-. Tiiey ^'ad beMi r take out the things,

A SKCOND-SIGHT VIEW.

185

if ever they arrivo, which seems problematical. To-morrow
I go to Ycdo, Avhich ought to be called Tokio,— the capital of
Japan. J- ^- ^'^

Saianaua Dama.

Log.— The worst of seeing a great deal that is new, in a
very short time, and in company with very pleasant comrades
who are in a huriy, is that memory is the only possible log.
Japanese letters of tlie Cliinese variety are forms which
r(![)re.sent tilings and ideas — not merely sounds which recall
things with the voice, or words wliich letters spell. I
know not how other people remember, but I think in pic-
tures; — with or without language. jVIy metaphysical Ego
sets his machinery to weave tapestry which Ego can see by
second sight at the place where his eyes enabled him to see,
and he there hears again what his ears let in to his compre-
hension, lie hears tunes, and sounds of waves, and the
voices t)f beasts and birds, as well as words and languages,
unknown or understood. He hears anil sees tlu; past; but
so far as 1 know my Ego cannot see far ahead. He dreams
only of things which he remembers, and generally makes a
muddle of real things when he is not wide awake. A medi-
cal student takes the cover oil' a dog's head and tries to play
upon his brains. He is like a baby playing a grand piano.
The dog's Ego cheated by false electric telegrams, and being
master of a damaged engine, sends messages without meaning
to his tail, which wags ; or to his lungs, which howl, or
growl ; or to his legs, which try to run, under the false ins])ira-
tion of batteries and foreign bodies. His small weak loom
does weave images of hares when the dog dreams with llio

186

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

cover on liis unfortunate brain, and without the insjjiration
ol" a knifo and galvanism. Tlio dreaming dug talks in liis
sleep the language in which he shouts liis war-cry wlien
• ''•.e, and his legs keep time to the hunter's chorus in a
i- .lal fashion, which a reasonable man can understand
wiinout spoiling the engine by taking the top off. Having
the natural cover on, and being awake, I ciinnot by the aid
of my loom for weaving thoughts believe that the dog's hare
or my Japanese pictures are hung up inside of us for any-
body to see that chooses to cut us up living or dead. I let
sleeping dogs lie, and think for myself when I tlnnk about
thinking, and hear others argue dogmatically and doggedly
about dogs. Our tapestry webs are Moven over and over
again with the same threads. We get into a way of weav-
ing the same ])icture as nnisicians get to play the same tunes
easily. The same types will print many books, and the same
brains think many thouglits, while Ego is there to work
the engine. ^Many pictures can be thrown upon one white
screen out of a magic lantern while the ligiit is lit and a man
is there to work that engine. Ihit tlic light being out tlie
screen is os blank as the jiagcs of my scra])-book are here-
abouts, ^ly lamp being still alight, and the lantern in work-
ing order, I lieing a year older, can travel again through Japan.
At my will I can weave Japanese tapestry, and this sheet of
paper becomes a screen whereon to write Japanese characters
for other eves to convey to other Euos. That much I can
do — more I cannot. Something I know, the rest " Ao sabc."
It has been gravely asserted and firndy believed that the
eye of a nuudered man, being microscopically examined, was
found to retain a portrait of the murderer, which, being pho-

THINKING ABOUT THINKING.

187

tngraplied :— by the process of A15, was produced iii court and
convicted the culprit. A ^'reat many spiritual photographs
have also been taken to take people in. It is remarkable
that mediums who furnish so much knowledge of this kind
should themselves be ignorant of the intentions of a vendor
of buyer; of the contents of his piivate note-book, or his
instructions to his agent. .Such knowledge is not worth
greenbacks. I have examined the eyes of butchered cattle,
and never found a portrait of the butcher. No medium
has ever told me anything worth knowing, but many have
told me twaddle. If my top is taken oil' a great deal may
be fouml indde of my works that I know nothing about ;
l)ut nothing about mv travels can be carved out of my eyes
or brains, living or dead, if I be elsewhere. Others may be
able to make me play for their entertainment, but I know
that I am the only passible player of these Japanese tunes.

t hope not to be (;ut up alive for thinking aloud about
thinking for myself. I was set a-going by a metaphysical
.society, nf the three black graces: Divinity, Law, and
rhvHc; by mediums in a land of second sight, and by
seeing a bal>y ]>laying a grand piano. All my second sight
I take to bo memory. All the mediums I ever met and
examined were cheats. So nmeh by way of extending log
from memory ami pictorial notes.

Were it worth while I could iill in many landscapes from
outlines in letters i'rom not^s, and from words, which are
as keynotes to recall tunes. T.ut cid lorn I The region
about Yokohama is best known to strangers, least Japanese,
and most described. There is a printed English guide-book
to the lions. It seems beat to leave old letters to tell

188

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

so much of the story as was thought worth telling to
friends at home at the time, and to give memory as little to
do as possible.

A man with a long name, a long time ago, the best artist
in Japan, sat on a hill hereabouts to draw. He threw away his
brush in despair when he looked over Enoshima and the
sweeping bay at Fuji-no-yama. He was artist enough to know
that he, with paper and brushes, could not co])y nature.
1 know that pens and ink cannot describe the faint fading
image which I can weave for myself when I recall a very
beautiful landscape ; but those who live near Tacoma on I'uget
Sound, or near the rocks of the Sirens at the toe of the
Italian boot, or near Naples, or Reykiavik in Iceland, may
see something of the kind, and understand the beauty of
volcanic Japanese nature. I have photograplis, but I prefer
to look at rude symbols traced by my own hand. They help
memory to paint images of the truth for me. The photo-
graphs are out of drawing, and lack colour and life. I find that
my own journal is best ill\istrated when I can shut my
eyes and look at the screen of my own magic lantern
alone and in the dark. Like the Japanese artist, I throw
away my pencil and look over Enoshima at Fiiji-no-sau
from Argyllshire. A man who has lived a long time in a
given place gets so accustomed to it that he could never
describe it for a perfect stranger. A perfect stranger
in a new place can best describe it for another stranger of the
same sort. If I wanted to know what part of England is
n)ost unlike Japan I should ask a Japanese what struck him
at fiist. So wishing now to convey some notion of Japan to
English readers, the best thing I can do is to notice that

\' a

I o
i o

a:
ca

a
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JAPAXKSK T1I(JL'(;HTS.

189

a
o

wliicli first atlTiictcd me as now and strange — us I can now
remember it from catchwords.

Jinn/xishn, man-power carriages, being utterly new, asto-
nislied me. Home eiglit or nine years ago great men, and
small men wlio could afford it, were solemnly carried about
in various kinds of "Sedan" chairs or palan<|uins, or in
daitfuiese "norimons" and " cagos." People also rode upon
lioi'ses, liut, so far as appears from records and pictures and
sculptures, nobody ever had seen a wheeled carriage in .Tajian.
Some ingenious Englishman got a pair of wheels and an arm-
chair, and hired a coolie to haul Inm about after the manner
of a ])orter in a " ])ath " chair. But this Yokohama peram-
bulator was the seed of a great invention, which, having
fallen in the right place at the right time, sprang into being
and grew with the rapidity of a bamboo, till the whole
country of Japan was overrun with jinrikishas.

There had been a great political revolution. Feudal barons
with armies and with men in armour and morions and
tabards, and all that pomp which belongs to our Lord ^layer's
Show and the middle ages, had suddenly given way with
a crash. There was nobody left to carry about in state.
]>ut there were vast numbers of people who M'ere labourers
out of work. Further, there were a great many farmers who
had not dared even to ride their own b rses, who suddenly
found legions of sworded men who had lorded it over them,
longing for work, in order to earn rice enough to keep lil'e in
their liealthy, hungry bodies.

When the French broke out in 1848, one of the lirst things
the mob diil was to ride in king's coaches. They had out all
the state-coaches and horses and all the king's men, and took

lOO

MY CIRCL'LAR NOTES.

a drive. Gulliver's Travels turn out to 1)C propluitic. Tlio
driven drive tlie drivers in Japan ; tlie old arm-cliair ^'ave
birth to a Avliole swarm of neat carriages, adorned Ly the
clever liandsof the artists who lacquered and gilded the state-
chairs of Dainiios. IJuined gentlefolks and soldiers and
coolies jint themselves into tlie .diafts, the farniei-s got insidi;,
and for forty miles w\) and down the Tokaido (I'^ast Coast
roatl), I saw, for the first time, yahoos, where T had been used
to see horees. I saw men in armour disarmed and harnessed,
and got " a wrinkle on my horn." The peo]de wlio can chaiige
so ra])idly will l»e a])t to go ahead. The jncturc which I have
beibre me is not a single man hauling about an old woman
with a bundle of greens going to market. I see again what
I saw ; on forty miles of very good road, with houses in sight
on both sides all the Avay, as thickly peopled as a r.tmdon
suburb, with all the peoph; working in the open air in any
dress that happened to suit them, or in no dress at all. All
along that busy road full of living pictures, I see country
folk in man-power carriages trotting about their avocations as
if they had all been raised for that S})ecial ])urpose, and
taught that sjiecial employment from childhood. Yet all thi.>^
began to grow in Ja[>an some eight or nine years ago. It is
the apotheosis of an old arm-chair which was a Tycoon's
throne and is a post-chaise.

A Coolii: — I see a lady in full dress — gown, veil, gloves,
bracelets, and parasol — gravely seated in a peranibidator at
Yokohama, going out to visit another lady as calmly as if
her yahoo were a horse. She does not see the grotesque in-
congruity which makes me stare. The man is clad according
to police regulations, but the old man of Japan is strong within

CLOTIIKS AND NO CLOT 1 IKS.

101

liim aud his garments llutter loose. He is a coolie adorned
witli pictures ; — an illustrious illustrated edition of a civilized
man, whose civilization is harely covered by Eur()i)ean loi.-iis.
Such a man takes uk; out for a drive and strips to his work,
and becomes a Ja])anese (ireek athlete by folding up his
garments and stufling them under my seat. His hide is
a galleiy of Japanese art; serpents coil about his legs, a
tortoise is on one arm, an eagle Hies on ihe other, or. a
dapaiuise Lady smiles at me from between his shoulders in
some theatrical pose. Therii is no indecency in nudity ; there
is none in the style of art ; but this particular Japanese
phase of Eastern civilization is new to a traveller who
comes westward from England over America, through another
phase of European life. The East and the West in a jinrikisha
are utterly astounding and grotesque to an amateur artist.
I throw away the pencil ; I can remember astonishment, and
look at such marvels when I shut my eyes ; but I cannot
make anybody in England see what everybody in Yokohama
sees every hour of the day with the utmost placidity. T can
run away to the Vatican, or I'omj^eii, or i;p to the middle of
Finland, and realize the magnitlcence of the human form
and the ugliness of all manner of clothes ; but clothes and no
clothes in one carriage tend to laughter.

I'he Postman. — As 1 sit writing I see a (juiet, well-dressed,
common-place mortal, with a bag and a bumlle of letters,
walking uj) to the door, and ])resently I am reading the Times.
1 shut my eyes, and there is a paved road with great stone
stei)s leading up hill and down. A couple of pictured coolies
with embroidered bare skins for sole attire, are carrying me
because my own blisteied feet cannot carry me.

m a

cago

102

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

A third, with ii long bamboo stafi', walks in front, 1 iini in a
cage of bamboo, slnng on a big bamboo as thick as a small
fir-tree and as light as a bird's leather would be if the Eoc
were a fact. We pause for a moment, and my pole rests
upon a couple of bamboo sticks. The bearers change shoul-
ders, and off we go up-stairs sidelong, like a curious crab
carrying off a curious creature. Tlie trees are strange, tlie
fields are strange, the rocks are strange. We pass a group of
stone images stranger than all tlie rest. We ])iiss stones set
up like stones, which I can look at lu-re or in Argyllshire,
stone pillars at the two ends of a long regiment of megalithic
monuments, Mho.se wings are at the extremities of the old
world. We call them " I )ruidical " ; here they iire " Buddhist."
Nobody living kncws anything about them. Chinese civiliza-
tion is old ; the Pyramitls of Egyi)t are old ; but who is to say
where this custom of setting uj) memorial stones first began ?
or who were the builders of Carnac in France, or of C<)lund)a's
stone pillars out in Donegal ? I am taught tliat Turaniiiu.'^
were megalithic. I see that Japanese are. But the ])ost.
A rush of some dozen light, active lads, Avith straw liats and
fccraw sandals and waistcloths, suddenly Hit noiseles.sly past
my toiling bearer.^, each with a light baml)oe pole balanced
on lu° shouldor, and a couple of ))aper ])arcels neatly folded in
oiled paper pjung one at each end. With the grace of L(5otard
and die action of young rope-dancers, a scattered cloud of
running postmen, bearing the impei'ial mails, skip up the
stone stairs of the Tokaido, and dro])down a steep, slipj)ery
red brae. They da.sh lightly over a bridge of banibooos
planted lightly on the rolled stones of a mountain bum, and
they are gone over the hills and f.;r away in less time than I

CAIRNS AND CCSTOMS.

103

can write tliis ]ien-.sl<etch from the vivid picture ^vhi(;h
1 can weave at \\ill. Once more 1 throw away tlie
pencil. No artist ever has jmiduced a picture that runs
and eliang'es at every instant, tliat i:^ niany dnys and mnny
miles Ioul;, that can he woveti in a momcTit, to make rnoTu
in an instant for another at tlie antipodes. A liuddhist
tells me that my life and I do n(.t helon^f to tin's hody,
and that wc; shall go (in — that we have he(;n going on to-
gether. I don't rememher anything heyond four years old.
" ^^o Suhc"

An illustrated hook is a very poor production to a mental
journal ; that's a tact. I threw aside my pencil and my pen
as soon as ever I saw Ja[)anese characters aiul the haste of
my comrades.

Cdlrus. — There they ai'e, familiar Scotch cairns. A man
was drowned in my youth in a ditch. ]\[any a stone have I
thrown on his cairn. Here is a stone Ihiddha with a cairn
of stones in his lap. The children of the place throw the
stones, and one who had heen half round the world exjilained
that each stone meant a prayer to l>uddha to help their dead
parents and friends ipiickly out of the r)uddhist lindio into
some future Letter state. Each stone cast is an act of merit
which will help tlie youug cairn-huilder to rise in his next
life, accoi'ding to the heathen. Not very long ago near
J)undallv, in Ireland, T saw a megalilhic najnutiicnt, duhhed
" C'uehulliu's grave." A great round- hacked stone stands on
tliree tall stone })illais, which would pu/zle engineers to raise,
and on the to]) of tlu; stone is a "airn. "They will lie throw-
ing stones u]i tlicre, and 1 tell them that they will he married
if they can make the stone stop up," said an old Irish dauu'.

VOL. I.

194

MY CIIICULAR NOTES.

Still later, at Mariposa, in California, I saw tho necks of
bottles peering out of a liole in the globe-trotter's bottle tree.
" They throw them there to see if they can make them stick,"
said a prosaic waiter who had ridden up there with a pretty
houseiiaid in a hat and feathers to have a picnic beside a
spiiiig. It is a human custom to make cairns, Americans,
Easterns, and Scotch still are great cairn-builders. It is a
human custom to account for such customs. Here within
my experience are "memorial cairns," of which one was built
to record the gathering of ferns in ]\Iull, cairns unexplained,
sepulchral cairns of my own time, matrinumial cairns, frivo-
lous bottle cairns, serious ]>uddhist cairns in Japan, and
pyramids in E!,ypt. I read that the pyramid is but the
improved sepulchral cairn of megalithic Turanians civilized.
" Xu Sale"

I can make nothing of cairns, and I can see no pyriimids in
Japan. A stone is beside a great tree near the temple of
Hatchiman at Kamacura, where is a well, and people there
cast stones wliich have made a cairn ; Hatchiman was a
general, and is the etpiivalent of Hercules in Japanese
niytJKjlogv. I .su]t]K)se that cairn-building was a human
instinct, and has been turned to various uses by those who
swayed men for their own ends. In Ireland it is an act of
worship to add a st(»ne to a holy cairn near a ])illar-stone
on which a cross has l>een carved. So it is in Japan. I
know that I performed the act Vvl'cn I was a child becau,s(!
{;n older kilted person did it when he taught me the meaning
of " Clach 'ad charn." I know nothing about the origin of
cairu-building, and throw away the pen.

Ifvt irater. — The Jai)s are always bathing in hot water.

ik ^i: i;'!': ! iiPl;

%«-V-'i"^'^-^V:l|2'r?

"'■'ite::,:s-if:t*F'':,3

HOT WATKIl ANM) FIUH.

105

H
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a
'A

Wo all ^'Ot into hot water at the \y\\\\9> at Afiaiioshta. " \
want to find out how they licat these baths," said one of
Tny comrades. I had never tliou.i^'ht of tliat question, so we
n;ot an interpreter, and asked. The water eame in hainboo
pil)es. We foUowed the ])ii)es and got to a rivuUit, and
beyond that cohl, i)retty, dashin,-4' inountain-streaiu we found
a liot si)i'in,n- in the water-course. We never found out how
the water was heated. But higli ui) on a hill-side we
saw steam blowin;j; oil", and learned that a jj^reat many hot
sprinifs were there. Some energetic youths walked over the
hills to a bi!4 lake, where more hot water comes from the foot
of " the beautiful." Thoui^h the beautiful Fuji is at rest, a
snudler cone was smoking' out in the sea when we arrived
from the other side of the racitic. There, in Oregon, and
about the Yellow stone ; in Iceland, ami elsewhere, more hot
water is boiled liy the same tire. There is a good deal to
be discovered about hot water, and there was a great deal
about Mianoshta tliat was new.

Shampo. — The common Jajjanese luxury of being kneaded
and punched like dough by a baker was new to me. A
tired friend, who had walked far, sent his Japanese servant
to fetch a celebrated operator. Two old wonuni came. One,
practitioner took the patient, the other, unasked, took me.
Iloth were wrink'ed, i)lain-lieaded, brown female persons,
with carefuUy-blaciamed teeth and shaved eyebrows, to prove
their entire respectability. I had somewhere seen a horrid
picture of Britaunia drained of her life-blooil by a vampire
bishop. I think it was an If. 1*. of 18;'0. It horrilied ami
haunted me, and rose up unbidden when I saw my prostrate
comrade on. the ilat of his back, and this terrible old black-

o 2

19G

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

toothed being clawing liis tlirout and the phice wliere his
heart ought to be and his dinner was. I tried to sketch
them, wlien my own hift leg was grasped, and down I went
beside my friend. Up one leg and down the other, np arms
and down, travelled the talons of that terrible old anatomical
witch with all the skill of a surgeon bent on vivisection. Every
muscle seemed to be familiar to her fingers as strings to a
harper. Each in turn was pulled and rolled, and stretched
and replaced exactly where it ought to go. The knee-pan
was rolled about and eased ; the soles of the feet w^ere
slapped, and the ancles arranged. Every bit of the l)ody
that would have suffered from hard -sNork was treated with
the skill of a dressmaker folding rumpled clothes. " Arigato,"
said I, when properly smoothed out: " Thank you." " Ari-
gato," said my comrade, who was a private secretary in the
Gladstone ministry ; and then we presented coins in paper to
the operators, and compared notes.

" Do you like it ? " " Well, not much."
" How do you feel after it ? " " Much as I felt before." " So
do I."

Some thirty and odd years ago I was tired and dusty, and
took a Turkish bath at Napoli di Eomagna in sunny Greece.
A vevy muscular old Greek shampooed me, and I never shall
forget him. I can see him now in a haze of steam. He
cracked every joint in my body. The last thing he did was
to cross my arms on my chest, kneel on them, put a hand
under my back, and give a sudden wrench, which made
something about my shoulder-blades crack like a whip.
Since then I have read the "Water Poet's description of
breaking a man on the wheel. The Japanese proceeding is

TIIH LUXURY OF BEING CRACKED.

197

the least unpleasiint of these three ; but I don't seem to care
much about being shampooed again. The usual effect is
narcotic, and the result the abstraction of loose coin. The
artists generally are blind men.

Art. — The blacking of teeth and the shaving of eyebrows
may be fashionable, but it is not ornamental. I prayed an
otherwise beautiful lantUady to permit me to examine her
teeth more closely. They were beautiful, sound, regular
teeth, that might have been called pearls for lustre ; but the
pleasant smile of that amiable and very well-bred and most
respectable Japanese matron was dark, horrible, and cavernous,
because of her black teeth.

Handet might have spoken his speech over that living
death's head. Tlie strange part of this matter is that all the
women with black teeth brush them carefully, and keep
their mouths wide open and draw back their lips, and grin so
as to make the most of the ornament.

Other kinds of ornamental art on «svords, bronzes, and
such like, had my special attentiou on this cruise, because
the objects are authentic, of known date, and historical.
I took rubbings and mental notes, and returned to Yokohama
more determinetl than ever to buy nothing there. The
moderns liave broken out in shams, to catch globe-trotters.
The shopkeepers lay prices on for their fleecing.

Vaiboots. — The ritual at Buddhist churches made me stop
and comrades fume. I w;i,r5 comparing the service performed
for my edification last year at Astrakhan by the most western
of Jiuddhists, with the performance of daily service near
JJaibutsu. Great bronze Buddha, 500 yeai-s old and forty-four
feet high as he sits, looking out over the ocean as far cast us

i;i8

MY CTPiCULAR NOTEP.

his religion could go. An altar, very like a Eonian Catholic
altar, adorned with vases and flowers and candlesticks ; a
priest in vestments chanting in front of the altar; drnms and
noisy instruments keeping time ; an old woman on her knees
with a string of heads rubbing her palms, and praying
earnestly Avitli her whole heart. That and a franu; of bam-
boos waving near a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a distant
volcano, is part of n)y Jajianese picture-book. Beside it is
the chapel at Astrakhan, and near these extremes of Buddhist
worship is an old Irish dame on her knees with her beads
praying earnestly, and rising to pace sunwise round a grey
pillar stone in Donegal.

Enoskima is linked to islands near Najdes. Ilocks, waves,
houses, great green pines on the to]i, quaint streets, shops full
of marine treasures, shells and shell-work, baskets, corals, all
built tip to catch customers, like Brighton or Margate wares ;
but with a dill'erencc. Heaps and ]iiles of gorgeous shells
thrown away as men cast out buckles and oyster-shells
where I was raised. If diamonds and gold were common
(>nough, they too would be somebody's rubbish. Here they
are : incredible crabs, and marvels of the sea that are ex-
hibited in glass cases in England, common as dirt, matter out
of place, fish out of water, sea-shells on shore, rubbish in
heaps about Enoshima.

A cave with an arm of the racific in it, like many a wild
western sea-cave that I know well. Away over the rocks to
darkness ; then to a flickering speck of a lamp ; then to in-
scriptions and a shrine close to a tiickling rill of water;
priests and boys and tips ; a drink of water from the holy
well welling out of the stone, and 1 have done the shrine of

'iiiK si:a-snakk maidkx.

IDO

ii divinity wlio took tlio form of a snake and liaunted tiiis
regidii. Melusina, myth of tlie Middle Ages, tlie Sea-maiden
of my own country, Seal-maidens of the Orkneys, Sea-lions at
the (Jolden Gate, Siren of Tlysses, Henteu : — here they
all are a reality in the minds of men. Snake-men and
women objects of adoration to a tribe of living women very
like Seals.

"JIail you fellow, come along, do. What are you doing
all this time ! "

Hush, clatt(!r, stumble, plump into a sea-pool up to the
knees. Old habit strung the nerves to resist cold ; they re-
laxed, ibr the sea-water was hot. There is the hurrying
liriton chafing in the boat; there the energetic Turanian
doing his work.

Pi/f/rims. — Down from steep cliffs of geological interest, by
a steep path from amongst shrines and temples and trees,
pace a group of pilgrims. I'lieir heads are shaven save
the national pigtail tojj-knot, their sleeves look like blue
wings ; tli'^ir girded loins and black tights, and Avooden clogs
with white strings, and all about them are new, genuine,
wild, living pictures of life in Japan. A flat folded paper,
prayer, or relic a foot long hangs from the neck of each,
I'rossing the breast like erosstrees on a mast. They wear
swoi'ds and have the bearing of gentlemen. Steadily, quietly,
slowly, in a i)urpos(!like fashion, they cross the tidal rocks
l)elow the cliif, and disap])ear into the shrine of llenten to
worship Melusina, the JNIermaid Snake divinity, who is Purity,
and has been converted to Buddhism, and is a fact for these
pilgrims of the brine.

" 1 say, you fellow, we shall never luive time to do it all

200

MY CIUCULAll NirrKS.

and got back to dinner. Come along, do." — " (live us u light ;
then iind let's smoke."

Buddha — there ho sits, figured in bronze, the .ip .dieosis
of absence of mind ; a gigantic nonentity thinking of not'iing ;
but a very grand work of human art, fit to rank witli those of
Egypt. There he has sat cross-legged for 500 years, till the
tide of life has ebbed from the place and left this magnificent
image of an idea which has entered into the being of millions
between tlie Volga and the l*acific.

" There '' ."est for tlio weary,
Tliere is rest lor me."

Here is personified rest from troubling, that gr-and aim of
all these toiling millions, the endless repose of " not to be." It
is a grand statue, very grandly expressing passionless re]iose
perfect stillness, a dead calm, absence of mind. A lively
pleasant shaven priest, who smiles and sells .photographs and
keeps an album for signatures, leads the Avay, and we go
inside. It is empty, it is vacant vacuity. Tluire is nothing
in it but a few wreaths of sweet curling smoke rising from
smouldering joss-sticks stuck in a blacken' d U. ■■'•' shiliashi.

"To be or not to be? i\v

liicstiou."

Is all this struggle for life to em, n s' ke ? are all the
efforts of men to get on and go ahead an(i win prizes to end
in getting to the end of a tiresome journey, and to sleep : —
perhai)s to dream ? Can we m'Iio dream now, ever forget the
philosophy of cor/ito ergo sum, even as he who has attained
Nirwana, and now is an empty image of absence of mind at
the edge of the ocean ?

nVlUXY AND REST.

201

c.f

Mlt

lis

"Onward, Christian, onward go!" "I say, you fellow,
come on ; it's getting late."

" Tlicre's no rest for the wicked,
Tlicre'H no rest for me."

Clood-byc to iratcliininn and Hercules, Bcntcn and purity;
trees iind serpents ; pillars and wells ; holy stones and hot
water; sand, sea, and volcanoes; cairns and ruins; .shells
and ruhbish ; lUuldha and contemplation of nothing at all.
There is no rest, but much work and little time. Are we
not all 'Can-do" philosophers bound to go aliead ?

" Go along, you disciples of ]5uddha in harness, and haul me
home. Tell them in Japanese that I'll give them a dollar
each if they gcjt us in before dark. Hurrah for Old l!lngland
and Yankeedoodledom, and the great Aryan races who make
others run. Go along, my hearties ! " And so tliey ran and
we rode, and we got to the Grand Hotel in Yokohama and
the delirious activity of real life.

" II scgrcto par cascr fclii'C."

" "What's the Japanese for beer ? "
" Boy ! beer sake chodai."
" Beef, arimasta '? Arimasta."
"Then fetch me a beefsteak."
" Arimasen."

" What ' not got a beefsteak ? Oh ! yes, I see, it's roast
beef. No. 3. 'San,' 'chodai,' 'pan,' 'bread.'"
" ' Arigato, yorashi.' Thank you, all right."
" Hulloa, old friend, where do you come froni ? "
" I came out of iniinite space upon an aerolite."
" Eubbish ! where are you going to ? "
" Smoke."

PaciftoM. W. H-:^^-

PROViN

AL. LiBr^ARY

VICTOBIA, B. C.

202

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

" Bosh ! what are yoii tliiiiking ahout ?"

" Philosopliy."

" Scherzo e rido la sorte."

" ].)otc, hcra o^fi san ? "

" Atchera. ITerc he is."

" Wlio the deuce do you call the old gentleman ? "

" By all that is comical that little Jap, ])ialjlotiu, in black
tights, calls nie the old gentleman."

Republican familiarity never went so for.

And so A\e feasted high and merrily ; a pleasant party of
clieery globe-trotters, Avhose sole defect in my eyes was tluit
superfluity of Aryan energy which would not allow five
minutes for tlic contemjilation of great Buddha contem])lating
the Pacific Ocean in dreamless repose. T am a slow coach,
but fate lias always harnessed my steady wheelers to human
steam-engines. So I went a long way in a ."short time; my
notes are catcliwords ; and memory has to see this part of
Japan by second sight from Argyllshire.

Knrnnhcr 11, 1874. — Tahj — The liacrs. — Yolcoliama. — Bic-
t vires are .short-hand notes for those who can read them.
Here is a picture made on the sjiot, whir-h starts into life and
colour when 1 look at it after eleven months. It is my log. It
is a bright clear day. The bay is blue, and the boats are swarm-
ing out to the horizon like white flies. I'ptlie narrow path 1
wander past the barracks of the French and Englisli, rising a
hundred feet or so from the toAvn by the shore to a plateau.
Tiie way is crowded for a mile or two with all that i:; (piaint,
grotesque, eastern and strange, western and out of keeping.
A very handsome Italian lady in a carriage, with smart
horses driven by a Southern French silk merchant, is led at a

111

black

•I

party of
was tluvt
low live
iiil)lating
w coacli,
liunian
ime ; my
s part of

na. — rio-
jad tliein.
life and
nylog. It
,re swavni-
ow jiatli I
li, rising a

a plateau.

i:: (piaiiit,
)f keeping,
vitli smart

is led at a

.1 \>^^^^

£h. ^^,

■

I III II \( 1.^, 1iiK( III WIA

p 'm:,. \uI I.

TIIK RACES OF MEN AND HOUSES.

2fi3

sharp run by a " betto." lie is tlie run]iiii<f footman of
Japan. Witli his crested pigtail and shaven crown, and horns
of hair, his black tiglits and loose sleeves, he flits noiselessly
along at the rate of eight or nine miles an honr, making way
for the (quality. lie is a remnant of the Daimio's procession ;
bis followers are liis leaders now, and they are all racing to
the races. I5y the wayside squats a disciple of Ijuddha, with
nothing eartlily on but a hat, a waistcloth, and a pair of straw
sandals, cntemplating the crov^d. ]Ie is nothing uncommon ;
he is only a country man, a market-gardener, taking a rest
in a posture that would tire a western more than a day's
labour. A shout and a scratnble, and clear the way for the
favourite — a wiry pony, led by a following of bettos, who
might be the troops of the S})ectre jNIonarcli at Astley's
Am}iliitheatve. Hurra! here comes Jack tar in a jierambu-
lator, drawn at a fast run by a little Jap imp half his
size. A I-"rcnch marine follows in his gig. A liussian, a
Uraziliiiii, a canny Scotchman, two Chinese baidcer's clerks
in blue, drawn by a little bantam cock of a Jap, warranted to
tliiasli tliem botli into lils iji no time. Here are all the races
and .lapan going ahead of them all and hauling them all to
the races. Here is a herald in a Tabard, there Venus in
Iransiltt, sriambling up a liill on ]iatt(nis w ith Cupid on her
back. There is the grand stand, there the ling, and the
(ipera-glasses, and the costumes of Taris, Glasgow, Vienna,
Xi w A'ork, and Frisco. Tliere in a carnage sit the ladies of
.lapan, all embioidery, tortoise-shell hair-pins, paint, silks,
and laaveries. liut their beauty cannot withstand that
brilliant Eurasian grand stand. They are but civilized
ISanioyedes.

I J-

204

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

" I am so glad to make your acquaintance. Come and see
the lions. Ain't these beautiful creatun.'S ? "

" Can't say I see it, but they certainly are very picturesque,
and I'll come to your studio. Thanks. I'll stay here in tlu^
crowd. I don't like getting amongst the quality. Good-bye."

And so he went his way, and I stood amongst the crowd,
and laughed with them when the dog ran over the course,
and a hi'j, bearded marine ran after him in vain. Then
back to the grand hotel and gas and a good dinner, and the
smoke-room and long chairs.

" Have you been to see the photographs ? " " I have. I
saw one of a lot of criminals who were crucified close to that
racecourse not many years ago."

" Have you heard the story of the Ilalcodadi consul ! '
" No. Let's liave it."

" A very few months ago a Japanese of the soldier class,
entitled to wear two swords I believe, was sent for to join the
army and go to China. He did not choose to go. His neigh-
bours said he was afraid. Like Yankee Hoodie of tlie poet —

" When liis conimissioii lie liail got,
He tiiriK'il sucli a ci)v\;i'il,
lie wouldn't y,c m v-u.iinln,
For feiir of being devouieil.

"He said he was not a coward, and that ho would prove it,
He felt that tlie advent of foreigners had coinciiled with the
ruin of his class, and turned the gentlemen into coolies. He
Avent to tlie Jiearest open port frecpiented by foreigners, and
walked about as it were on the walk beside the sea here,
where we were walking last night. In the dusk he met a
quiet consul who was strolling heedlessly on, where he liad

and see

uresque,
e in the.
od-bye."
e crowd,
! conrse,
u Then
and tlie

prove il.

with the
dies. 1 le
'ners, and

sea liere,
he met a
re he had

have. I I
}. to that

consnl : '

ier class,
) join the

IS neigii-

le poet-

H All. WAV 11 mi; lAltl.i; \u|M.|| \\| V

1' Jll.'., Mil 1

THE MAN WHO WAS NOT AFEAID.

2(J5

Loeu wont to ruminate. Out flashed the famous sword of
Japan, and down fell the consul. His b(jdy was found
hacked fearfully, with sixteen or more gashes in it, each
Ijig enouji,h to let out his life. The man who was not afraid
and came to prove it, left his foreign victim, and went to the
authorities and denounced himself according to the code of
-Tapanese honour, which also was the Icelandic code, as
described in the Njal saga. He was not of sufiicient rank to
have the privilege of suicide, I suppose. Accordingly he was
beheaded. The operator, not being professio;>al, slashed his
shoulders, and made a mess of it, but he got Us head off.
And so the story ends. That A\as a few weeks ago. Think
of that when you smoke tobacco. It is all very line to go
to the races, and talk English to Japanese gentlemen in
black clothes, hats, boots, and wide-awakes, and think that
you have got it all your own way here in Japan. No, sirree.
1 reckon them little chaps are not going to be beat by any
race on the face of the earth. They'd cut you down, and
chop you up ; and so I guess you'd better be very polite in
Japan, and keep your fists and revolvers out of sight, together
with your opinion of yourself, and otlier valuable properties.
Let 's liquor. Boy-ee, cocktail, chodai. San cocktails : three
of them. No. Cocktails all round. I'll stand drinks. Xow
sir, which is it going to be ? ' Ilule Britannia,' or ' Yankee
Doodle Dandy,' or 'God save the Emperor,' or ' ]\Iourir
pour la Patrie,' or a Japanese dance by the characters ? After
the Derby Cromornc. I am going to bed. Good night."

jVorcmhcr 1;{, liailivai/ Tiiiw-tabh:. — Tliere is anotlier page
from my picture writings. A Buddhist priest, whose duty it
is to do nothing at all, with his head shaven as smooth as a

206

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

melon, is standing on his wooden pattens with a courier's
leathern bag outside of his blue Ja{)anese coat, spelling out tlie
time-table, and wide awake. It is printed in Japanese and
in English. He is going to Tokio ; I to Yedo ; and we are
both going to the same city by rail from Yokohama. When
that railway was opened in form by the heaven-born emperor,
the Mikado, not very long ago, a great number of Japanese
swells and belles were invited. They came, and they got
into tli ' irain, and were as pleased as children with a new
toy. Now it is the custom in this land of clean mat floors to
kick off sandals, shoes, pattens, clogs, or any other walking
foot-gear that nuvy have been worn outside. They enter a
dwelling barefoot or in split white socks with a thumb end,
as neat as gloves. All the well-bred, polite Japanese people
who got into the first and second class carriages for the iirst
time stepped out of their clogs and left them on the platform
in rows. The engine snorted and the train moved. Then a
mingled cry of woe and laughter burst from the passengers
as they realised the fact that they had left their old clogs in
the lurch, and that regrets were bootless as they were. Being
a very practical people they have taken to wearing boots,
and they suffer horribly, ibr their feet are not as Aryan
feet, and their boots being imported pinch.

Half an hour or so and I am in Tokio. To make that journey
a few years ago was a feat and an adventure. Armed to the
teeth with pistols and weapons of all sorts and sizes, the Aiyan
stranger who had got leave mounted a steed and rode with a
strong escort of sworded men — not mere guards of honour,
but faithful soldiers told off for duty. They guarded the
stranger on the right hand and on the left from the rowdy

OLD BOOTS AND NEW WAYS.

207

retainers of duiiiiios as proud and hard to deal with as a
niediu;val baron in a romance. At any moment a samurai,
elevated with love and sake, or anxious to prove the temper
of his sword, might rush out of a suburban iaa-yarden and
cut down the stranger who was riding to the capital to see
some besieged representative of his foreign country there.
So that journey was described to me by men who rode to
Tokio about the time that Olipliant wrote his description of
life in Japan. A revolution bred a railway and a telegraph,
and the old ways of Japan turned to new ways. The Budd-
liist priest put on a courier's bag, and the court-dress of the
Mikado's Court became the republican black coat and white
tie which American citizens wear in Europe. The ]Mikado,
heaven-descended, escaped from his own castle, put on the
tweed suit of tlie T. Cr. and Globe-trotting Towrow, furnished
by some foreign clothing establishment, lit his cigar and drank
champagne and enjoyed life like a christian gentlemen. Here
we are, all going ahead, but where ?

Itchi Yamiti Yashiki, you Jinrikiska man. Here ; take
a hold of my luggage. Put it in. I'll walk. ()ff we go
somewhere right through the heart of the capital of Japan,
a wild herald all over patterns on his tabard drawing my
goods and leading me to the barrack and palace of a de-
throned diiimio. In there it has pleased the Japanese
Government to lodge the liead of their survev, Colin Mac
Yean, son of the Free Church ^Minister in the IIoss of IMull
" Failte." I'resently we are jabbering Gaelic like pen-guns.

" The world's my pillow, and hero's my boil."
Here, look at it. The wool of it was gown at Ardmor in

208

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Trflay ; the thread of it was spun at Ardfenaig, in the Ross
of jNIull ; tlie web of it was woven in luna ; and these are
records of all the places that have come under my plaidie
since Long- John made me a present of it in September, 1870 : —
Chi i\Ii thallad an Ardmhor. Ach m'an d'thig an saoghal gu
crioch bithich I mar a bha. An eilean muilleach, an eilean
aluin, 1870, Bha mi aig banais a'm baile In'iraora, August,
1871. " I'm afloat, I'm afloat, and the rover is free." Tha Sgeul
beag agam air Fionn, 1872. Scandinavia, Archangel, Astrak-
lian, Daghistan, Caucasus, Crimea, Stamboul, Greece, Italy,
France, came under my plaidie, 1873. And here we are in
Japan. I prefer having my plaid embroidered to having my
hide pricked with needles. Let's find an end)roiderer. We
found one, and got Nikko and Tokio recorded on the plaid.
At Kioto a Japanese dragon and a long-tailed tortoise Avere
added in 1874 A Chinese butterfly was put on at Canton.
in 1875. In August an old friend embroidered Taclidiir mara
's tir agus sith Clioimhear.stach Mull 1875. JSr OUiriscaris.
The Children of the Mist, September, 1875, completed the
record on the mystic plaid of the circunmavigator. (Jot home.

That's where I was going and got to safe and sound with-
out adventure, unless it be that the human pony who hauled
my luggage to the house of my Japanese mull man de-
manded ni 1)00, whereas his fare was ni shi. A Loiulon
cabman could not have charged a stranger two shillings
instead of sixpence with greater presence of mind.

Then out for a walk. It woiild cost a ream of foolscap
and a large sketch-book to make a journal of that which
memory retains of that first quiet, enjoyable, dawdling stroll
in a place which is utterly strange and unlike anything that

MY ()]A) I'l.Ain AND NKW rEOI'I.K.

20(t

these eyes ever Icioked upon ])etbiv There is a ^'rated buiUlini,',
from which coiikss a clatter ot cheery voices conversing
amicably. It is the public bath, and it is bi'imfull of hot
water and (;iti/ens of all sorts and sizes, sexes and ages,
bathini^ and conversing as people do elsewhere in clubs and
reading-rooms. Someh(nv they suggest a ilock of ducks
s(|uattering. "You mustn't look in there. They don't like
strangers to stare at them. Some few years ago these baths
were open to the streets, and they all bathed in the same
bath. Now, since foreigners have come, the baths are closed,
and there is a bamboo rail betwcm the men and women.
Thev have learned that we think all this strange, and thev
dt)n't like ns to laugh at them. Come along." So we went.

" There's a fellow cutting wood blocks for ])iMiting. They
are capital artists in that line. They use pear-wood, and the
softness gives that peculiar soft touch to their woodcuts
which is so dilVercnt from our liard lines. That fellow is
making a block-book, and very well he does it. I have
watched good artists in England engraving my own drawings
on wood, and I know that these little Jap imps are doing
real artist's work in that open shed in the fresh air."

" There's a rag-shop. Stop a bit. Why, there's a bit of
a mandarin's dress all over the dragon-myth. Ikura ? How
much ? Tell him I'll come to-morrow."

" There's an old curiosity-shop. Why it's brimfull of
sedan-chairs and norimons. Ikura 1 Ni ju rio. What,
twenty dollars f<jr a Daimio's state conveyance, with lacquer
and gilding enough for a small lord mayor's coach ! If I were
a householder, or a rit;h banker, or if I knew what on earth
to do with that, I'd buy it. 1 say, McVean, if I were

VOL. I. P

210

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

to get cavried to dunrli in tbat, out in the lius'^, \vliiit would
the minister say ? "

" What the deuce is that felUnv doinf,' ?"

" That's a fortune-tcUer. There's hits of them. That one
is tell iny fortunes after the Chinese fashion, lie is roUin;^'
a sheaf of sticks in his hands while these two worthy women
look on with intense interest and firm faith, lie will read
the chnraeters which are inscribed on sticks which will come
out of the bundle, and consult his books, and give the
oracle. That is the Asian equivalent of the American
Jledium and the llighhind Seer. These fellows sit here day
alter dav and earn their living, and do their duly to th(!ii'
neighbour, and do him and his wife." Are they humbugs?
" Well, that's not easy to answer. The last tinu; 1 was in the
Itoss of Mull ill 1870 1 discour.sed a worthy old man over a
wall, and he prophesied to me, with the most iierfect air of
conviction about liim, and without tin; remotest idea of pay-
ment, and 1 shook hands willi my I'riend and departed with
the firm conviction that lu,' was nu/ tiying to humbug me.
That which he said was dreamed l)y another man in 1(S47 ;
and it was said to me a third time by a very old woman
who lived out on a point in the Atlantic, and had the reputa-
tion (d' being uncanny, and a witch. All three seemed to be
firmly persuaded that Ihey wen; looking into futurity, and
that tliev saw me a ureat heir and landowner. 1 have this
world or my pillow in i'act, and hope to inherit in the next.
They all liked me, and they all hojied, and the}' seem to
have get to expect, and finally to believe, in their own
imaginations. Kow that worthy over there may believe in
his sticks as firmlv as these wuiiicii believe in iiim, and other

SIWKDOM AND SKCOXD SKiHT.

211

Wduu'ii ami iiu;ii bflicvu in inediiuiis. In tlio name of tlio
IM'uphel kit's book liini us u poculiiir vaiit;ty of homo mjiicuN."
So liu was booked in ii note-book, and by the ma^^ic of
iiienioiy 1 look at liini, and see and bear and think over
a,L;ain thoii;^ht.s that run alonj:;side of t\v(j '\\'est bi^hlanders in
till' i'ar cast— seeis 1»y inheritance; by experience pliih,»-
sniihers of tlie Try and Can-do class, who want proof oi
tliin}i;s improbable like si)aedom with sticks.

Tlierc, in front ol us, rose the ^reeii ji;narled, U'(l-stemmed
])ines, who jicca' over the walls at Shiba, tlie tonil)S of the
Shoj4uns. There are the C(jh)ured <^ates which make pictures
in the sun and sliade of the i^reen trees ; there are ths stvan^'c
si^ns of the tea-houses and eatin;^-shops of the quarter; the
stranj,feJapananese croak of theeiusteru crows ; the squeaking
of kites wheelin,n' in the bri.ulit air ; the crowing of phea-
sants ; the clatter of drums at a temple : — the endless stream
(jj' bright, strange, foreign things goes Hitting before us, ami
ever and anon comes the second-sight of niemory : the boom
of the sea on lln' rocks of lona, and St. ( 'olumba ; and histctry
(Jailic songs and dragon legends, all demanding notice in
Tokio capit;il of Japan, liaces indeed !

" Thf bliuk liorse and tin.' liidWii,
ISoiiii ri lioiui,
i<\vilt('r is tlic lilitck horse
Than tlic brown."

lluui ijeat Thor wlu'n thev raced, and I'll bet mv monev
on memory to beat the I'avourite at the ne.\t race. 1 run
away from having no taste that way.

" Come away home and take a glass of toddy." So we
toddled hom(.' to the Yamiti Yashiki ; and a whole gathering

P 2

tl2

MY CIUCULAR NOTES.

of Scotchmen and Kii'^lislimeii lield a meeting,' in tlie Duiniio's
great grounds under the roof of my liigldand friend, v.dio lias
a head to ludp his strong limhs to cliiiih. In the early morinng
we rose and had porridge for hn^akfast and milk, and so we
were happy. "■ Nc olliviscaris. Fklufi amicis. I'errjLmareJide.
Sd on." So say heralds.

On one of these nights in Tokio two English gentlemen
■with their wives dined with a Jai)ai\ese prince and princess.
As the stranger ] had the honour of sitting next to our
ho.stess, who was "f/rmufr (/caiir," richly but very ([uietly
dressed in her own picture.s<ine attire. A numher of young
gentlemen of the family, retainers, who had travelled since
the revolution, interpreted and served their jn'ince and his
guests at dinner, dressed in the evening dress of European
society. The prince's own painter came in, and, being re-
buked t'or .some misdemeanour, fell on his knees and knocked
his forehead on the carpet. After dinner we passed froin ,i
house furnished in die Europ(iiin fashion to .i Japanese
house furnished in the way of the countiy. It was lighted
with paper lanterns, ;: id devoid of any furniture except thc^
national mats, but i was the very perfection of neatness.
Jieturned to the drav 'iig-rooiii, to our chairs and glass chan-
deliers and argand h ups ; the iiainter drew pictures for our
entertainment, crouched on llic, flour. With a brush of Ids
(jwii invention he prodiiicd a bamboo on Chinese paper with
half a dozen touches. Next morning the drawing and a
photograjjhic iiortriit (»!' the ])iince went delivered to me,
with a bit of dry sea-weed tied up in a paper cover with a
lacquered string. That is Jajianese. W'a were all po(n'
tishermen at lirst, let us never forget that, even when we

IIKKI.S (AKR '.IKAD.

213

give gifts iuul accejjt them joyfully us I did. Lacquer tables,
inlaid with gold, a state sword shnip as a razor, [)olisheJ as a
mirror, a gentlesnan's wea[)Oii lit for a soldier to wield,
touched only with covei'ed hands hy the clan. These and
such like ornaments in tlie drawing-room savoured of the
genuine nobleman who had \vit to march with th.e tin>*^s, and
1h(! good tast(; to adhere to his national customs. If I nam^
I'rince varuda I know that he will foi'give me for taking,
that liberty, and this opjiortunity of thanking him in a book
for his distinguished hospitality to me — a n;.'mbcrof ih-ooks's
t'lub and a ^V!iig b} inheritance. 1 V)0 liave .seen gentle-
men serving tables in tlie house of their Chief out in the far
west, and so T can understand this grand old dethroned
Japanese daimio s}»ortsman, who is a liberal conservative,
making the best he can of an altered Morld. ^Men of his
class must come to the top.

J.ofj. — A straw thrown up sliow< which way the Nvind
blows. A small incident sliows more than a political treatise
))ow and then. Atti.-ndcd by my interpreter, whom 1 have
named Solomon f .■ his excc^eding ^cupidity, and accompanied
by a young gcnlleniiin who is very well versed in Japanese,
1 went to Shiba one line morning to sketch a gate. The
point oi view was ii\ a st-.eel, aiul there was nothhig there to
sit upon. J hirctl n jinviki-h.i ami ]»ut th" 6i)afts on a re!>t
and got in and sat tiiere. 'J'lie boys of the (puirter gathered
about me, anil ])assengers stop])cd to see the foreigner draw.
'J'lie foreigner, well used to crowds, showed them hi.s ma-
terials, grinned, and worked away, and found himself an
object of kindly interest. Students of French, German, and
Knglish, with lesson-books, stopped and said a few well-chosen

214

MV CIlICCLAl! XoTKS.

phrases, and passed on, sniilin,!; ;in(l Iiowinu'. ]\Iany a crowd
has gatheretl about this sketchcv in many a stran,u,(' land, hut
such a strange crowd as this ncvci- l)('fon\ The smaller
urchins liad their liair carved into stran.ujo pattci-ns, looked
like inijis at the play, and behaved like ani^ds of politeii'ss
and decorum. At last the artist _unt intercstrd in his work.
and for;;ot all about the place and the people. The excel-
lence of the jinrikisha consists in its superior b.st.mcc. It
rests on the axle like the Ix'ain of a scale. Ti)! ■ ^iie, so
restin<4' and supported in fi'ont, was stcndy as nn arm-chaii'.
Hut in a moment of forget fid ncss the seated pcrsoii leaned
back. The gate seenaMi to br hinking down into the eai'tli,
the shafts reared up, and it was all u]> ith e(juilibriuni, and
all over. It woidd liaAe been su]»remely ridicn' 'is to i»reak
a nock in this fashinn. So, instead of falling stdmiissively,
tb" falling body wriggled sideways, iind managed to come
down on line shoulder withdiil damage. ]iut the sketch-
book went Hying through the air, the water described cni'ves,
and tlu/e brushes scattered all over the phice. Now the riylit
thing in Japan is to laugh when any misfoiiune happens to
yourself. A capitil walk<i who was walking over a very
rough hill-road nciu- .Mianoshta in wooden dugs and \n the
dark, going with an Knglish walker in good conditi(»n and
hobnailed lioots .<>trid« Utr stride, tripped and ^vent over like
a shot rabltit, luftin;,' hijiis»d hard knu ks. lf<' laugheil as
if it were the pleasante-t of cuNt-'inary jvastimes. So I.
having learned that le?«st,)i, laughed v^htn I went heels ovtsr
lu;ad backwards into t}ie middle <>| u crowd of street boys
and jinrikisii: men in T«il:jo. Jbit in -Ja]);iu it is not the
right thing to laugh :ii tnfortUK"'e pertph;. That 1 had to

DAItK .\N'(iKI.S.

2\i

learn |)ractic;illy. 'J'licri' was ikjI a smile on tli(3 I'aco ol" a
spoctaliir. 'riici'c was a luok of ^rcat concern and sorrow
and kindly s^•nl])atlly : one angulic imp with iiairy liorns on
his sliaviMi poll lirouglit a lirush, another a paint-hox, another
a cake ol' paint, yet another lirushed the dust olf the coat ol
the stranger in a strange land ; and liy the, united ei'l'orts of
all tile gamins and their pet curious creature he was got into
his seat again and linished tlu; sketch.

It' straws thrown up show wliicli way tiie wind blows, a
man thrown down in this ahsurd lashion shows the teiiper
of the penplu amongst wlioni he has fallen; and 1 having
experience of many l)oys IVomtheilays of Mton duwnwarils,
jironounee my henediction upon the boys of Japaii. They
are angels tliough they are not Christians, and wear black
hair, and are the antipodes of thesi! angelic golden Anglo-
Saxons, of w hum thi; saying was tirs^ said. If a Chinaman
liud been si)ilt in any Aryan city of my aecpiaintance, the
boys would have jmlh'd his tail olf before tiiey helped him.
It has b(en s;iid that .lajian is th(^ paradise of little babies.
I never saw one bullied, and I do not reniemb.'i- to have seen
one child crv nr maltreat another or hurt a lien. ' She is a line
leddy, Miss ( Irace," said an ol<i Sci'wdi wife. " Slie wadna
hurt a f<n." Tiu-y are line leddies and laddies these imps of
Japan,

Lof/- Wr(fiirs(fifi/, IS. —For the lirst time in my life ilined
VMth a Japanese gentlenuui in company with a lot of
foreigners. VV'e are tiie Jashion idearly. Cur liost had some
curious old Dutch pictures, whicii may lie (jf \alue, andhis
tabh' was a table served in Kuropean fashion. His waiters
were neat niuslime — pretty little women in their picturescpie

216

MY CIHCTLAI} \OTKS.

(Ivcsscs, wlio li.T.ided dislios ^vitll the skill and dexterity of
practised artists. The <irand event was a joint of l)eef, which
our host carved as if he had lieen a J>riton. It really was as
neat a little entertainment as any En^^lish lady could sit
down to. After dinner, wine, and tea, we inspected a
curious collection of ohsolete Japanese coins in '^()\d and
silver, and then took to the natioual evenin,L>' pastime. An
inkstone and hrushes and j^ilded paper were laid out, and tlie
j^entlefdlk wrote verses and jj;ave them to each other. ^ly
gift is like the outside of a tea-chest for all that 1 can read,
but being interpreted it is said to nu'aii, —

" 'I'lic stvciuii knows iicitlicr diiy nor iiif^lit,
So nature's constant hiw is rii^'lit."

The old CIn'nese poet and Tennyson had the san'.e notions
of a river as it appears. Tliey saw that it ran.

There never were a people so polite and so apt to Icaiji as
these little Japanese gentlemen. All I could do in return
was to quote Duins on a gilded card : —

" Some liacincat tli.at cannti oat,
And some can eat that want it,
15ut we liae meat ami wc can cat,
And sae the Lord be thauket."

That and some caricatures, a vast amount of l)ows, and
genuine hearty English thanks to my host the great banker,
made a pleasant little evening party. A carriage and ~ viir
and a betto safely conducted us home.

A I, \lil>l,NI.II AT TiHilll

I' UI7. M.I 1

FINK ri.oWKKS.

;i7

No. XXV.

Ykdo,
,V/(,('/'(^/, Xociiahrr litt/i, 1.S74.

Mv iiKAi; HdijTK ri;rri;isT,

'I'liu iiiclusfd bciiutiCul |iictiiri' represents ;t crysnn-
llu'iiiiiiii siidW" to wliirli 1 \\i lit ycslcnlay with my host,
^Ir. ]\[e\'ciui, and iilhur hilks. The hody of e!i(di tiuuro is
iiiiuh' uiMifa jiilldw, and tlic head is a mask; all tlu; rest of
till' de\ire is a mass nl' llowci's ///'"'■///'/, hilt si» ai ranged as
to make up the dres- or the real cnluiu' nt' the tiling' repre-
sented. I'he tiist thiiiLT I eanu' upon was a white cockatoo,
ahoiit t<'n feet hi^ii, with a ycdlow crest; his Iclts, on a jiercli,
were carvuil, nil the rest of him was crysantheiiiiiiu llowers
as close to e;ieh otliel' as llu'y could stick. The stalks weie
tr.iiiied on a iVaiiie < 'i s]ilit himhoos, and the roots were some-
where beiiiinl the frame, coven.'d in straw. Tiial was the-
'■/irf d'aKrri' ul' the ;_;'aril<iier. His garden (;on>i^ted of old
dwarf trees in d;ipanes<' pot< of ravi-liiiiL; heaiiiy. Small
lihinls were irrowinii in eeral, and in old fossils, and in larLre
.-hells. The Avliole sii^ee^ted more art than nature, hiil it was
Very pi'etty. The next de\iee was a lady and a lover. Jt
w as i^ctt ini.; dusk, and I had to ask lea\c to step over the
liamlioo rail and uct near to make out what was (loth and
what was crysantheiiiiim. The nexi was an old sea e,,,!.
And so eiii h j^aii'eu was ii repel il ion ol' the l,i>t as to rockery,
••■lid |xittery, and old trees, hiil each with a efam' t'lysaii-
Iheimim lay-IJeure a.s Iar^,'e as life, or larger a great deal, as
ill the case of the i oekatoo. The liist garden we went to
\\a- that o\' the Minister of Slate, Kedo. It con.sl.slcd

218

MY CIUCL'LAll .\OTi:S,

cliifrty of a pond and its banks; l)nt on a place not nuich
biijLror than inv inonkov-ijrcen in London tlicve wero road-^
and rocks and caves and waterfalls as bi^' as a bottle, and
bridgos and <rold llsh for all the world like a Chinese plate.
The colour wiis ,i;iven by niajdo and other red shrubs ;
tiie greenery was made of canielias. The gardener I
have in my l)Ook; lie wore a wadded coat and petticoat,
and bare feet and elii,L;s, and his a])p(!arance was staid
and venerable. The wife brought us roasted acorns, and
tea grown in the. garden. The liv.st came off an evergrei'U
oak of large size, 1 bi.dieve. We sat undiu* it and shook
(lown the fruit and ate all manner of quaint things. It has
beat me to get ]\rr. Kramei', the vendor of bulbs; he is all
over the place, and 1 can't catch him. I must to breakfast.

Failth.

No. XXVI.

ToKio (Yi-DO), Xorcmbr.r \~ih, and o/Iirr dufr.-i to lOl/i, 1871,

^'.\^HTI Vashiki,
C/m Ml!. McVi'.AN, son of the Fm- Church Minisli-r,
Mull, Head of the. Sanrij hen:.

My dear Cr.,

You may as well have this bit of my journal. 1 camo
here on Friday 13th, bag and baggage, and here I stay till I go
to Nikko on Thursday 10th. It is (juite out of all question to
give you or any other boily a notion of this queer town. It
is about as big as London so far as breadth is concerned, but
wild ducks and geese, cormorants and cranes abound in it,
and foxes and martins, kites, pheasants and crows. A crow
is talking Japanese croaks outside now. We look down fiom

IlnlMMIU.K HISToIIK'Ar, DIIA.MA.

'2\'.)

•^

ii b.iiik nvor ;i wildcnit-ss of \vi)Oilon roolH to tlui sea tlirouu'li
II j^'rcciicry nf ,f;ipaii I'laiils. W'lit'ii I <r() down into tliat
wildcnii'ss I lind ruiins llial would drive tlic lector aiiil C
ciMzy. I lioiiL^lit a suit of aiiiioin', plaU' and cliaiii, yustci'dny
ill a lio\ for loiir sliilliitjj;^, simpl}' liccau.se it was so al)SUi'dly
clica]).

Miiaiucls, ( arvcil wood IVoin tciiiiilfs, croclaMy, cvfry sort
of lliiiiu' tlial you ornaiiicnt rooms with in [.omlon here is in
till! slio|i> I'ur iic\i to iiotliin^-. The couiilry lias liccii rcvo-
liitioni'rd, and the oM clothes of centuries are rags in this
market. I can't send you home a suit oi' clothes, Ijut I do
send you a j:arden of llouers. ^'ou put one iu watei' and
watch the result. I lioii^ht the lot for sixpeuc*! in the street
yesti!rdav, 'i'lies'Iav.

One day we went to the play. The suhject was historical,
and consec^ui'iilly horrihle. a |)aimio conspired to kill the
heir to tlu; Shoguu l>y lettinu a roof fall on his head. The
carpenter aeeonn)lii:e lietrayeil the jilot. The Daiiiiio ti'ied
the carpenter, kicked and heat him, and finally crucified him
on the sta'^-e. There he stood on his cross with spears thrust
through him, and slreanis of hlood ]iourin,L,f out of him, till
the ])aiiiii() solemnly stuck a sword into his throat. Then
much more hlood ran down the man's naked hreast, he
gajieil and gasped and died, ,ind that act ended. After
many mori' acts the ghost came and vanished, and there waa
much fire, and many tears. Then the wicked Daimio "drew
his skian duhh and siu(d< if in his bowels." He miule a face,
and died — like a gentleman.

^Meantime we had been eatuig fish and eggs with chop-
sticks, and drinking .so/.v, which viands (•ame in lacijuered

<>^,

t>.

^0^

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

s> .%

'<S

*<° w^.

I I.I

11.25

l^|2£ 12.5

1!^ 1^

■^ 140

2.0

1.8

U il.6

.^^

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

2S WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

(/.A

220

MY CTRCULAR NOTES.

work-boxes with trays in thein. Tlien we went off to a tea-
house wliere three professional ladies, hired for the piirpose,
pLiyed us a concert, and danced the fan and other national
prances. Then Mr, McVean and I went home to G.30 dinner
and to ^Irs. McVean,

Next day I spent anion^'st the tonihs of Shibii. These are
the tombs of kShogims (Tykoons) of divers ages. They
stand among tall trees under a bank, with wild weird pines
in front tossing branches over the r ad. The gates are red
and gold with d.ark tile roofs, and nmch enrving. The temples
and shrines are carved and finished as a Japanese cabinet is of
the very best kind. Black and red and gold lacquer houses of
considerable size, all over alto-relievo cocks and ciysan-
■hemums, gold pheasants, and monsters, and fastened with
gilt bronze and enamel, are things to look at more than once.
They really are marvels of art of their kind. Lastly, on the
hill stands a simple solid bronze or stone urn, in which is the
body or bones of the Shogun. Formerly a priest and a re-
tainer in armour knelt all day on the steps. Kow nobody
seems to kneel or to care much for Shinto or Buddhism,
Formerly foreigners were only admitted to the outer gate
and that rarely, Now I wandered in and out, and did just
as I pleased, on paying tlie few priests left a small fee of
sixjjence or a shilling But the place is ruined. The gov-
ernment ordered all Biuldliist temples to be turiunl into
Shinto, which is the old Japanese religion, and consists chiefly
in adoring ancestors. The enraged Buddhist priests burned
the best temjde on the day of the change.

Yesterday I went back again and sketched, and wandered
about gaping. To-day we are going about making ready for

"AND HK PUT ON HIS KH/IV

221

a start to Nikko to-morrow moriiin;,'. There are j,'raiiiler
temples, I'or which see the Taks of Old Japan by IMitforJ.

Now we are going to a Japanese party of swells. Last night
McVean put on his kilt and gave a dinner. The chief guest
was Caruda a Dainiio, who used to have an army of 30,000
men, and a province to govern. The foreign office lives in
his Yashiki (palace) now. He has a large income, and
spends his days in duck-hunting and hawking. He certainly
a[)peared to be a great gentleman, but I could not talk to
him, alas ! Instead, I sang him (jaelic songs and danced
the sword dance. He was pleased. We had a pleasant party
and a pleasant evening.

I shall not write for ten days.

J. V. C.

No. XXVII. TuKI.., I., V.VMIT., Y.VSIIIKI,

Xovinh.:r -IWi, 1871,

('hez Mi^Vkas.

My dkau Mother,

This is part of my journal, as I cannot be bothered to
write the .«ame thing twice. Ten days ago we «> ;t out from
here for Xikko, whitdi the Japanese call Kekko, beautiful.
The party consisted of McVean and I, Katata, a young
Japanese gentleman, 'J'sune, my Japanese servant, and two
jimikishas loaded with luggiigc; and grub. Very few foreigners
have been on this cruise, and it was very good fun. On the
lUth we had got into a regular muddle, having hired two .sets
of men. We had at least two dnzen coolies in the yard, and
two master job-masters, all jawing at once. When these
last spoke to Katata, who is a gentleman of good family,

222

MY CIKCUI.All NOTKS.

they squatted on tlieir heels, nibbiMl tlit-ir shins, and hent
theiv heads iii reverence. 1 cannot describe, and I couhl not
dra'v the curious scene of coniusiun. There they were men
half stripped, shaped hke A))t)llinos, men clollicd in (jucer
garments, and men half clad, with lacquered red lined per-
ambulators, wandering iip and down, and cliallci'ing like a
Hock of gulls over a heriiug slu)al. Hals like mushrooms
or small straw ])ar!isols, blue legs, black legs, bare brown
legs; shaven crowns, sti'aw sandals, coats like a herald's
tabard in white and blue; liare lirown backs, all over ])at-
terns in colours, tatooed, women, dragons' scrolls — every sort of
device worked on human skin have I seen, and, above all,
feel and legs that would have shamed old K. ; and now
in ^IcVean's yard examples of all kinds danced and jab-
bered, till ^Irs. M., with woman's wil, suggested the car-
riage. In a trice we were in, luggage and all, and ofl'wilii a
]{etto running ahead to clear the ^\ay,^so we, drove and ran
about ten miles to the other side of Tokio (Vedo). lUit there
^ve found three of our bo^s iK'ton; us. 'lliey had dragged
jierambulators faster than the carriage. AVe jiicked up ]\Ir.
Yoshi, one ol' the ^Mikado's I'ourtiers, and ^Ii'. Oijiua, a
st)rt of naval secretary of state, who were going to Nikko,
like us. l)Ut they changed men along the road ami they were,
presently out of sight. "Wi; hired three moie men and vehicles,
and ofl' we set along the load to be Avheeled ninetv miles. 'J'lie
country on each side of us was swam])ed in water, and rich
with rice. At every mile or two was a village. Cranes, gi-ese
and other wild birds ilcw about and waded in the paddy liehls,
and through all this a little lad ran with lue at live or six
miles ail hour I'rom HaKjuia to ^W.« where we lunched.

EASTHIIX WAYS AND WKSTKliN.

22, i\

Tlicncc "\ve ran on till iioav fliirk, and slept at KaMcahe.
'J'liL'se wonderful boys ran nine ri = twenty-three miles, and
came in as IVesli as ])aint. 1 ke])t no notes, and have a
^^eneral imj)ression of old market vonien, of horses in straw
sandals with red lacquer crujjpers and curious liurness, of
boys and girls willi their heads shaved into the most hideous
})attei'ns with black hair for frin^ie. ])hiying for toys. A
rej^adar movin<;' ])anorania of life in .bqian.

I saw the (juern at work on rice as I have seen it in
Iceland and in Scutland — "Two women grindin;.,' at a mill,"
bnt the stick was l)and)oo. I saw a man ploughing with the
old Highland rascrciii, the very same foot plough of which I
have a sample in my den at home, 'riiedid'erence was in the
better material here used, and in an e.\tra .shoulder on which
to turn the lever. I saw old women winnowing rice on mats
in the wind, as I have seen their kind \\('rking at home;
and near them were regndar fanners copii'd from foreign
models and found to be nseful. In shoit, 1 saw the early
arts of the far West out in the far East, and ]ieo})lc like La])ps
and Samoydes, and some kinds of native llebridian.s, and 1
came to the conclusion that the same ])eo))le were at the
extreme ends of the old woild, — '■' ]\lelanocroids," black-haired
jieople, with certain arts Icai'ued before the yellow-haired fair
Aryans got to them. Tlay oidy got here <iuitc lately, for there
was not one i'air-haired person on our whole cruise. The lan-
guage, so far as I can gi-t at it, is related to Lap]) and Finnish
in form, and in a lew words. Hut il is not ]iossible for me, an
old crittur, to learn in the same ha.'^te as I nscd, and there
is viTV little to help memory in Japanese. It is not Aryan.

As 1 said wc slejit at Kashhuhc, and this was the manner

224

MY CrUCULAU NOTES.

of our sleeping tlicre and elsewliere. The jimikishas ran
up to the door, and everybody cried, " Ohio, Ohio daiiia
Arigato " — thank you ; liail doniine. We stepped out and
pulled oft" onr boots and walked on shininj^ boards and
beautiful clean mats, to one part of a great shed. J>amboo
screens with j)aper on them slid round us in grooves ;
we sat on a mat, and Me were housed and roomed and
furnished. Presently a bare-footed girl bnaight tea on a
tray, sugarless and devoid of milk, and then a bronze
box full of glowing charcoal. Then she sat on her knees,
and on the soles of her crossed feet, with her back to
the door, and served out sour jdums with chopsticks and
dexterity. 15y this time our luggage had come in. Then
after a few smokes, as many square tables, three inches high,
as men to be fed came in and set themselves in front of us,
with neat little lacquer bowls and covers on them full of hot
soups of sorts, and a china bowl full of rice. Chopsticks
to eat with came in j)aper on each table, and fud-e, and
a great round drum-shaped box full of hot rice. A loaf ot
bread came out of our stores, and the girl said to her help,
" Koori i)an " — there is bread. Such a thing had not been
seen there bei'ore, as I believe. Sometimes we got tish and
laver, and iced omelette with aspic, and all manner of queer
good things, which we all ate with chopsticks, having nothing
else handy. Now it really is not easy to pick up rice as a
bird does with a long l»ill, and at Jirst I sull'ered the torments
of Tantalus ; but practice has iiiade me as dexterous as a
crane, and I ended by feeding like a Japanese gentleman
without soiling the mats; but I never shall sit on the soles
of my feet, and \\\y knees ached. Dinner over, we smoked

MINK EASK aT MINK INN,

225

ran

lama

and

mboo

iibout the fire-box, till the girls brought in a pile of cotton
<|uilt.s, and of wadded cotton robes to roll us in, with little
lacquer stools, each with a roll of clean paper on top for
pillows. I got into my skin ]»esk, of Archangel origin, and
laid the hood with my head in it on a car])et bag, and there
we three snored on the mats till cock-crow. Meantime
Mooden shutters slid out of a box outside of the paper
screens, and despite of the cold, we were snug, at least I was.
MacVean has a bald head and no nightcap, and he shivered.
In the morning tubs of hot water were ])rovided in a bath-
room, and thither we went and bathed. The other travellers
did their bathing at iii^^ht with 0])en doors, in the dress of
Adam and Kve. My modesty suffered, but I got callous after
a few days. Then come tootli-})o\vder, tooth-brushes and
tooth-picks; and, by the time we were ready, breakfast Wiis
on the tables, and the tables on the mats, and then we were
ready for a start. Each house has a garden, which consists
chiefly of mud and stepping stones ami (piaint dwarf trees,
with a big stone lantern in the middle. The top is like a
great nmshroom, as big as a carriage umbrella ; tlie light is an
oil glim, and the stand a great s<piare or round construction,
curiously shaped and carved. Into the garden go sweepings
from the rooms, old tooth-brushes, and rubbish. I wanted to
draw but there was never time, and I made nothing of it.
,So we shufll'ed to the street, put on our .shoes, got into our
perambulators, and started amidst a chorus of Sainnnra,
(irif/ato. Good-bye, thank you, for about a couple of shillings
ahead. The second day was like the first; our wonderful
boys ran thirty-seven miles. We stop])ed at a tea-house and
fed as before, and we stopped at another tea-house, and slept
VOL. 1. y

22G

MY CIRCULAR NOTES,

there. We got out of the paddy liehls to a pheasant countiy,
with fine coverts of Japanese trees, diy fields, and groves of
pine and cryptomoria. A great {iveniieslieltered tlie road a'ul
the j)anoratna, which streamed past us. Two-sworded pulky
Saniurai passed us, and we passed tlieni. A funeral met us :
the body Wcas in a square box .slung on a pole of l»amboo; the
procession of priests, and country folk, and horses was a
picture. Great snowy mountains came nearer, peering over a
range of foot-hills glowing in sunshine, coloured Avith autumn
tints, rich in woods, .strajige in form. Everything in the land-
scape was A^olcanic, the general outline like the Italian hills.
"We passed old women, spinning with quaint wheels, reeling
the cotton and weaving it, and men dyeing it in vats, f bought
a sample of toMcls, blue groun«l with white figures of men, ami
plants and birds.

We passed wells on the old ])lan — a stick and a weight and
a bucket on a pole. AVc passed country people threshing
rice with flails, and pulling off the grain with iron corn! is
set upright. We drove through layers of mats, with i-ice
spread out to dry ii the sun, and with marvellous Cochin Chinas
and Bantams walking about, pecking and crowing among
groups of children with other brats on their backs. We
passed A^Uage bells on high double poles, with cross-spokes ti •
mount on. When they tolled, their tone was like Big lien,
but softer and sweeter. We passed stone shrines ; with
flowers in pots beforf^ i.>hijito temples of unpainted wood ;
Buddhist shrines, all red and gold and black, and carving
with tent-like roois and tiles and Torri gates. AVe passed
groups of stone idols : Buddha and his disciples, each with a
cairn of stones deposited in his lap by wayfarers. Paper

THE ROAD TO NIKKO.

227

jirayers, Inaig on strings, fluttered in tlie air from the tcm])le-
gatcs. A serpent-skin at one place indicated serpent worship.
At anotlier a gieat tree or a hig stone was sacred and adorned.
A string of ]iack-liorses, with flags lluttering fiom the loads,
came through the llickering sunlight and l»road shade of the
great avenue which seemed never to end, and every now and
then the great mountain of Nantai, with its snow-cone, came
out through a gap and finished the landscape. I tied my
pedometer to one of the boys, and we had thirty-seven miles
of moving Japanese life between 8.30 and dark. Then
we had our tea-house night, and off again. On the third day
we took a leader to each carriage, and went up a finer avenue
than ever, through the foot-hills over a very rough road,
up nearly a thousand feet, and by dark we had made out
ninety odd miles and Nikko Kekko — the beautiful Nikko to
which we were bound. It was dork then, and it is dark now,
so I must finish this to-morrow.

29///. — I went to church this morning in a Buddhist temple,
with a roof painted in panels with Hying-birds, and with all
the paraphernalia as it was left by the priests. Buddhist
service was going on under the same roof. There was an
earthquake before breakfast. I thought it was some one
walking heavily in the passage and shaking the dooi-s and
windows. I am told to expect many more. I have promised
to dine to-morrow at the St. Andrew's dinner in Yokohanui,
and next day here with the parson who preached in the
temple. When I shall get out of this I cannot say and I
cannot see, so halt. Last Sunday, 22nd, was a very fine day,
so we took a walk. Our procession included four kagos,
bamboo chairs carried by two men, with two to change. A

Q 2

228

MY CIRCULAR XOTKS.

couple of them shouldered me, and, with long hamhoo poles
in their handd, stepped out, singing a kind of "hi ho, hi ho
arlo," mingled with gasps. At ten j'ards they rested the pole
on the stick, and changed shoulders. But T had such a
cramped position, and I was so ashamed of heing carried on
a fine fresh morning, that I got out and walked five and a
half miles to the first halt. MacVean walked, and my servant
sat in stjite, till I found him out and made him walk too. The
road was uj) a glen — full of trees of sorts, and lined with houses
and temples and groves. All the people in the houses .seemed
to he engaged in making lacquer tea-trays. Our halt was in
the hed of a torrent, where a tea-house stands amongst a
ruin of lava boulders spread far and wide by the torrent. We
lunched there, and then zig-zagged among the stones, over
bridges, up and down the burnside, to the base of a steep pull.
Then we zig-zagged \\\) a mountain-road with seats to rest on,
and pagodas, and all manner of .shrines all the way up for
nearly 2,000 feet in all. The sides of the gorge were basaltic,
bedded with pummice, the vegetation was Japanese. Wiiat
more can I say ? We met stags carried on horselmck, shot
by hunters, whom we met with matchlocks returning from tjie
hill. At one place we found a stone, on which stood a metal
pagoda twenty feet high. The stone turned the compass, and
an iron cash (coin) stuck to it. ]'elow, in tlie river-bed, is
a mine of gold or copper, but this was lodestone. I could
find nothing glacial anywhere, but much water-sculpture
on porphyry, and old lavas of sorts. At eight and a
half miles we got to the top of a famous waterfall, which shoots
750 feet over the edge of a bed of ba.salt into a deep gorge.
Tlie bottom we coidd not see for trees and hills. It is called

NIKKO KKKFn'O.

221»

JCaini/i/on, which [ l)eliove to be the SpiUiisU word canon. Wo-
neath tlie basalt a softer, povous bed of rock filters water,
which spreads iu a fan of small fulls. These Oi course
undermine the basalt, and the whole thing will eat l»ack to
the great lake, which is ai»out 300 or -400 yards from the top
of the fall.

The woods were full of bamboo grass, growing among
snow-patches. Tlie trees were relations to birch, and Japa-
nese whom I did not know at all. H(>w K. would have
rejoiced ! Mr. .Smith, secretary to the Yokohama Club, with
a staff of Japanese gardeners, went up with a horse, and
returned with a load of rhododendmns and rare plants. The
lake is large, about ten miles by rive, surrounded on all sides
by wooded hills, with the cone of Xantai above it, and a
village and temple, abandoned for the season, by the side of
it. It is an ohl crater 1 think, or a volcanic subsidence. It
is not glacial. AVe found one tea-house, and then went home.
I walked down to the river-bed, and was carried home with
the cramp in all my legs, anil two paper lanterns hung oppo-
site to my eyes, so I saw little. Torhaps it was as well, for
the wayside was lined with naked people washing themselves
in the frosty air at their doors.

On Monday we went to the tomb and shrine of the lirst
Sliogun. These are the finest buildings of their kind in
Japan, and the most wonderful work I ever saw anywhere.
One railing has si.\ty panels carved in alto-relievo, representing
pheasants, peacocks, wjots, cranes, trees, leaves, llowers, rocks,
&c. ; each is about four feet by two ; all are coloured, and
each is extraordinary. Single feathers in the pheasant's
tails stand out si.\ or eight inches iu front of flowers two

280

MY CIHCULAU NOTKS.

or three inches dt'op. I'y meiusure, tlic cai'vinga are from
eleven to fifteen inches deep of iiiako wood. The whoh»
gate and screen, is a mass of bhick lacciuev and gilt copper,
witli green and vermilion all glittering in a brigiit sun in
a frame of dark-green pines of vast size, which vise on the
hills to the tomb which is on the top. Lions, chphants, apes,
thnvera, diapor-W(trk on gold ground, copi)er tiles, gold-ridge
poles, make a confusion of harmonious colour whieh beats
description or coi^ying. On each side of " the month-gate,"
so called because it takes a month to admire it, are gilded
lions, one Avith a mane and tail of enierahl-green, the other
smalt blue. Outside sit two Hgures with bows and arrows
guaitllng the gate. AVithin is the shrine, all lac(pier and
colour and carved wood, hung with gold brocade and bamboo
screens, with golden bronze lilies and vases, six to eight feet
high, with bronze cranes as l)ig as the lilies, and screens of
])recious wood, carved and pai.aed and finished like a hue
box. But all was so dark that I could hardly see inside. T
came away, gaping with wonder, walketl down a broad avenue
of steps a quarter of a mile long, crossed the river, and fell to
Avork buying cheap lacquer as hard as 1 could.

On Tuesday we went to the shrine of the third .Shogun.
The gates are guarded by six giant figures in pairs. The first
two are vermilion in splendid dmperies, carved and painted
to imitate flowered silk. The second pair are red and green,
and stand on human monsters crouched on the ground. The
third pair represent Thunder and Wind inside the gate. Wind
is green, with crystal eyes, and a wild, demoniac, Japanese

face.

Round his neck he carries a bag of wind like a

horse-collar. He stands on whirling patterns to represent

TlHJXDKIl AM) WIND.

231

'oin

)er,
ill

iho

ifS,

uats

clouds and rains, .viiul, ruck.s, ami iiiotintaiiis. Tlie whole is
aliout ten foot lii},'li. Tliuiulor is rod, with purple hair on
end in locks like fhiiiie. Hound his head is a glory of ton
drums, with the crest in gold. In his hands are duiub-hell
drumsticks of gold. I'nder his feet are clouds ;'rd darts of
golden lightning above hills and rocks. All iirwmd him
stream tags and ribbons of gold and dress, waist -cloths, and
neckties, and drapery. The whole figure is :. strong acti'^^i,
and cxce.dingly well carved. In i'ront of each figure is a
•reat bronze tub and Lotus plant, veiy 'veil ( xecuted, and
about Hve feet high. Thunder is Ifai-gin : ruin, Fu-gin.
Xext come Ditaia-ya-.shan-no-odegari, nnd Kindara-ya-shan-
no-odegari. Red and gveen peo]jlti witli spears, who stand
(jue on each side of the next gate ; their puse is natural and
•[uiet and graceful, their features terrible, their dress mag-
m'ficent and well carved. Abatsee-ma-ya-Shamiyo, with an
axe on his shoulder and wild-boars' lieads for greaves on his
knees ; and Maralvo-ma-ya-Shamiyo, with bows and arrows
iind with ehiphants' heads for knee-caps, guard the inside of
the gate. The first is white, the second blue. The four
represent North, South, East, and West. All these are copieil
from Japanese faces, but all liave long eye-teeth, for which
peculiarity, vide Darwin on Expression. They are meant to
l)e terrible, and they certainly are grim guardians of the gates
of the Shoguns' tombs. Inside the temple is a maze of lacquer
screens, anil gold and bronze and gold brocade, and mats and
incense-vats and ornaments. Qui ^de everywhere are groves
of lanterns of stone and bronze fit to drive a curio hunter
wild. Two in particular came from Corea, and I believe
them to be good Italian cinque- cento bronzes, twelve feet

232

MV CIUCl'LAR NOTKS.

high ; Eomaii numerals are stainpoil at joints. The majority
are Japanese. I sat me down to draw at one place, and gave
it up as I'opoless, and went back to the town and honglit
curios. I bought no end of teu-trays. Then I found the
black Inoquer and gold bronze doors of a l)urned temple,
Avhich I bought to make a screen. I believe 1 shall buy the
rest of the lot.

Tell any of the family who have houses to consider wliether
they want enough of black lacquer to surround more than two
.sides of our dining-room in black and gold. I bought two
screens of bamboo silk and silvered copper work, which hung
in front of the Tycoon when he came to pray in the temple.
They are magnificent. I bought vestments of gold gauze. At
la?t I had spent all my money, so I could buy no more.
Then the priests heard of us, and sent down things from their
treasury. jMarvellous pictures, luncheon-boxes of lacquer, a
table, box, and inkstand of gold lac([uer, the finest that ever I
saw any where, for £G() the set. Paintings by Chinese emperors,
china, spears, a SAvord GOO years old, a set of mouth-organ ])ipes
for which the Tycoon pays a yearly stipend to the keeper,
valued at £G0, worth ijitrinsically 15f/. In short, we miglit
have emptied the Nikko treasury. Uut I had no ready coin,
and I have no house wherein to stow such Japanese treasures,
so I hardened my heart and bought no more. On Thui'sday
it rained and snowed ; we waited till noon, and while we
waited temple treasures were brought to tempt us. At one
we set off in the rain. At six on Saturday we landed here.
The same three boys ran us the whole way out and in 180
miles. Three others ran about 100. Part of the way 1
doubled the team. But on Saturday our boys ran forty-three

ciu:rch plunder.

233-

miles iu ten hours and a half, with several stoppages
amounting to two liours. They did not seem a bit tired,
and ran up the last liill yelling like schoolboys out ou the
spree. They sang and danced and drank sake all the time
we were at Nikko. Their legs and feet are like those of
Greek athletes, the Discobolus, for example, and I doubt if
their nmtches could be found out of Japan. And so ended
the trip to Nikko on Saturday at G p.m. ; and so ends this
long letter, which I will post iu Yokohama to-day.

J. F. C.

r>y a letter received Decendjer 15, 1875, from my host in
Japan, I learn that the trij) t<» Xikko has become a common
excursion, but tliat veiy few travellers have yet been allowed
to go inland from Osaka. " A year is a very long time in
Japan," he says ; a few more years, and all that belongs to the
])ast will have been swei>t awity like rubl)ish. Many magni-
ticeut carved figures have been chopped up for firewood
already and i)agodas lile those which 1 saw have been pulknl
ilown and sold.

No. XXV'lir. 1, Va-mhi, V.vsiiiKi, ToKio,

December '3nl, 1874.

M\ DKAii ]\IoTiii':a,

In a short time a whole lot of rubbish will be
sent off, When the boxes arrive, open them n ul unpack.
In one box you will find four bits of old brocade which will
make you that dressing-gown. I got nt> more, and this comes
I'rom the temples at Nikko, that sacred place in the middle of
Japan of which I wrote you in my last letter. In another
box you will find an old flowered crape dress. It will give

234

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

you the shape of a Japanese dressing-gown. With the ch-ess
are three bits of the same kind of stuff, wliich were worn
in some grand festival at Nikko. The white stuff' is the
crest of some Shogun (Tycoon). I should think that some
garment might be made out of these. There are no dressing-
gowns like yours in Japan. People sleep in wadded stongs
with large sleeves, and velvet or satin collars, made of
cotton, shaped lilce a giant's black dress coat. But the shape
is not fit for European people. I can't wrap the tail round
my legs. Failing this garment I bought all the silk I could
get, and send it to execute your parting commission.

1 have letters to the 4th, and your Times advertisement of
the 1st October. I will write soon again. I only write now
because it is a wet day, and I am full of my ciiriosities. J

had great fun hunting them.

J. F. C.

Monday, Nov. 30. — A i)arty drove from the capital of Japan
liy railroad to the treaty port of Yokohama, and there we
dined. Our bill of fare is opposite. On Tuesday December
1st we returned from Europe abroad to Japan at liome in
Tokio. A very few years ago this would have been a difficult
and a dangerous adventure, ^lany Knglishmen were nnir-
dered on the evpedition from Yokohama to Enoshima and
Daibutsu.

TEMPOHA MUTANTUK.

235

1874.

ST. ANDEEW'S DAY.

GRAND HOTEL, YOKOHAMA.

gi(( of ^im.

DINNEIJ.
Caller Oil.

SOUPS.

Cock-a-leekie. Hotch Potdi.

FISH.
Cod's Heed and Shoulders,

Sjjey Saumout

ENTREES.

Sing't Sheep's Heed. Minch'd Collops.

Mutton-chops, wi' diappit Taties.

Shepherd's Pie. Noix de A'eaux aux petits pois.

JOINTS.

Brisket of Beef, \\i' Greens. Gigot of Mutton, wi neeps.

Bubbly .lock, wi' dorty brie. (iusty Hani.

Boast Beef. Boast Saddle of Glutton.

HAGGIS.
GAME.

Piieasant.

Snipe.

Wild Duck.

VEGETABLES.

Taties, Smashed, Boiled, Chappit and Baked.
Bow-kail, Neeps, Peas, Carrots.

PASTRY.

Minch'd Pie:*. Carse oCJowrie Aipples. Blin' Jock.
Green Tairt, Oat Cakes. Short Bread. Jellies. &c., &c.

DESSERT ASSORTIS.

236

MY C'lUCULAR NOTES.

XXIX.

IMy dear

TuKio, Japan',

Decevibcr 4th, 187 1.

I got your letter at Yokohama on tlie oOth, and, aftei-
reading it, dined with tlie Scotchmen on St. Andrew's Day,
and drank deep, sang and danced reels. We began at seven,
and finished about four A.M. on the 1st of December. I need
not tell you that a public meetin.g of fifty witli speeches,
was like the rest of its kind elsewhere. But it was part of
the ways (jf that world which I came to see, and therefore
interesting. MacYean, my host here, and Cargill from Etlin-
bui'gh, the heads of survey and railway, wore kilts. I
had a sprig of heather from the banks of Clyde given to me
by one of the ladies, and wore that in my button-hole. I
sang Giclic songs ; sat on the right of Sir Ifarry Parkes as
second guest or third, and generally I was treated with
civility and consideration and greatly ap})huKled for songs.

I got a letter from on the same day; send her this to

thank her, and tell her to send it on to your mother.
This is Friday, and I really still am miserable from that
dinner on Monday. On Tuesday I came back here and
hunted curiosities all the way home. 1 don't know whether
you have the family taste as strongly as I have, but I shall
be ruined if I stay much longer. (_)n Wednesday 1 went
prowling all over the town again in parts unfreipiented by
Togin baslii (foreign fools). 1 got rid of £5 in less than two
days, and never in all my curio days did I see such room for
planting coin. The country has been revolutionized; the
Shogun has ceased to be a ruler; the Buddhist religion has

FASHIONS CHANGE,

237

(leased to be tliat of the state ; the dress of the better classes
lias turned European, consequently every second shop has
some old cast off thing to sell, and the big ones are museums.
I suppose that T saw a hundred swords in one shop all
battered, but magnificent. Everylwdy wore two, now it is
rare to see one " two-sworded man " in this great sprawl-
ing city of slieds and slio]is. The tjiinples were dismantled ;
some wei'e burned, consequently I find great carved beiims,
and gilt dragons and idols and images fit to make cornices
of, going for a dollar or two. I could furnish a house with
temple spoils and priest's vestments. Plain armour sells for
iive dollars a suit ; I bouglit one for one dollar in a box.
Fancy four shillings for a suit of armour ! I IxMight a dress
for one-and-six. {It was valued at £8 vjJien it got Itomc) For
forty shillings I have bouglit two-and-half pounds of silk
which costs forty shillings a pound raw. ily silk is woven
into flowers and ])atterns of brocade with all the floss silk
threads ])assing on the outside of the stuft'; I have eight
yards a foot and a half widi;, and think that I have done
well. I bought a box of moss agate mounted in ormolu and
made in Europe, rather smashed but mendable for sixpence,
liave bought no end of small old bronzes, having learned
what to 1 my l)y looking at ancient temide furniture; I have
not bought large things, for to send them home is costly and
] can't afford it, but had I a house and coin, or a commission
from somebody ; or a taste for traile I could fill a large house
with bronzes and enamels, and china and pottery, for every
liack street is a museum. 1 have bought six double folding
black screens of lac(pier with gilt mountings, just as they
came from the temiile of which they were foldiiig-do(trs ;

238

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

also quaint bamboo screens wliicli hung in front of the
Shogun's soat in the temple, Avhen he went there to visit his
deceased ancestors. But with all this buying, I am spend-
ing much coin ; I don't like to exhaust my travelling credit, so
I must stop and get out of this. Tell K. that I have I'ailed to
find Kramer, and get his seeds. Yestei-day I sent a letter to
the Legation to try to find the man and the Lillium Kramerii,
but Scott, secretary of the Yokohoma clul), who does business
in plants, tells me that this one must be propagated from
bulbs, and that seeds are no good. How to send bulbs I
know not, so I fear that connnission will fail.

My own great entertainment is in the streets. On "Wed-
nesday, 2nd, I stopped my running coolie and stood for half an
liour on a heap of stones watching a street juggler; he did a
great many tricks that I never saw before, and right well : aj.,
he swallowed a tobacco-pipe all alight, drank water and fanned
his stomach, and smoked at the mouth and nose. Then the
pipe came out of his mouth and went in again, and was
followed by more water, and more smoke followed. A great
ring of children and grown people, men and women, stood
round the performer, and then came tricks which I will not
describe. Thence we went on to Asaxa, a (piarter about six
miles from this house. There we saw a regular child's fair
at the door of a great temple surrounded by grand trees.
Then we went Lo a flower-show. There were a dozen groups
of men, women, and children ; and ghosts, and junks, and
Chinese sailors, and snow men and women all made up of
living chrysanthemums chosen to suit the coloured figures.
Only faces and har'^s and small bits of the figures were
masks and models, and these were exceedingly clever. The

BLOSSOMS. BEAUTIES. AXD BmS,

23<)

)

man, frightened at the ghost, cowered in terror under a cloak
of blossoms set close together as flowers on my silk. The
snow man had a face to match and was a hall of M'hite
blossom at least ten feet high. Xear him was a child
dressed in a dozen colours, rolling a ball of blossoms about
three I'eet high. The junk M'as fifteen to twenty feet high,
and ten yards long. The sails all made of blossoms, and the
crew dressed in them. I thought of K., and determined to
make liis mouth water. Then we went to a tea-house, and
had a capital Japanese dinner with hct sake to drink, out of
cups, and with chopsticks to eat with. This art I have
learned and will practise when next I eat with you. Then
we went to see the archeiy. There sat solemn parties
solemnly shooting arrows at a drum target which sounded
each hit. Beautiful damsels sat at each booth, entreating us
to walk in. Some really were pretty girls, and their get up
was gorgeous, Imt I am too old to shoot, so I went to the
fair and priced a doll, and was called a Tojin Papa (Chinese)
by a small imp. I made a face at him and gained his
affection. Then we took to serious shopjiing in back slumg.
At each shop a serious g.ave crowd gathered round us,
men, Momen, and babies, and now and then a policeman, with
a long stick, drove them away. But nobody showed the least
incivility or unkindness. Ten years ago men rode these streets
escorted by soldiers, and murders and outrages abounded.
There has been a revolution. At dusk we came on a ^hop
devoted to making and mending family shrines. There they
were from ten feet high to six inches, and down to half an inch,
carved gilded, lacquered, elaborate devices, models of temples,
snakes, Buddha, all the Japanese Pantheon going for five

240

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

pounds the largest. I boiiglit two divinities for three
sliillings, and tliey are packed for home. Then, as I coukl
see no more, we liailed three jinrikishas and as many
coolies to draAV them, and were run home for three shillings,
about six miles. — This is foreign travel indeed ! If I could
but talk T should be happy.

I am now going to a duck-hunt with Yo-shi and Katata, a
mikado's chamberlain, and a prime minister to a daimio, his
son, who has travelled. When I get back I will tell you
how I got on. Ten minutes past the hour Noon. Waited
till three; and then came my friends, Katata and Yoshi.
We walked to the house of Kawamura, sub-minister nf
marine, and there dmnk tea and smoked. Then six of us
got into two carriages, and drove two miles to a cross-road,
where we walked up a bamboo-lane. Presently we came
to a man squatted at a gate, with his hands in the attitude
of prayer, who was tlie game-keeper. Then we went
into a house and sat over a fire, smoking and drinking tea
till a bamboo rattled. Then everybody ran out, and two
Japanese with magnificent hawks came to the front. We
went pas de loup to a bamboo-screened ditch with a turf bank
on each side. Then the hawkers struck an attitude. Then
two teal rose, and two hawks were cast off with strings tci
their legs, and in a jiffy the teal were clutched and gasping in
the road. Then we went back to the fire. IMeantime the
men ran round the grounds, peeping through holes into
ditches, and presently they pulled a string and rattled our
warning. This time everybody carried a net on a long
forked bamboo. Three teal rose. Two were netted, and the
hawks settled the third. Then we went back to the fire, and

w;
A

DUCK-IIUNTING AND DRAWING,

241

Iff 111

a long

.smoked till next signal. About dark we had nine teal, and
went home in state. But first I had a peep into the big
])()n(l, wliich was Idack witli birds. The manner of the sport
is thus : the big pond, surrounded by tall bamboos, is uever
disturbed. Great geese and decoy ducks live in it, and wild
teal come there to rest in the day. All round are grassy
ditches, with bamboo screens to peep through, and these are
baited witli seeds. Hungry ducks come tliere, and when they
do tliey die. Tliis morning, Mon(hiy 1st, McVean, Joyner,
their wives and I, went to another duck decoy, wliich be-
longs to an old daimio called Karuda. His whole soul
is devoted to sport, and lie spends his days in duck-hunt-
ing. Before the revolution, he ruled a province and kept
up an army, and lived in a yashiki in this town of Tokio.
Now he is a private gentleman of good fortune, and a
very polite, good-looking old man. His doctor and his
apothecary, his cooks and hawkers, were present, and the
sport was the same^ and tame. We were there soon after
seven. About ten I went to help !Mr. Black, the news-
paper editor, to photograph the sun, and on the 9th we
hope to do the transit. Yesterday ]\rr. Joyner had nie in
to see an artist paint. He finished four panels in a couple
of hours, each as big as a door. He covered them with
wild geese and eagles, bamboos and pines, with marvellous
case and rapidity. He drew no outline, but worked two
])rnshes like chopsticks in one hand, while he drank tea
with the other. The doors lay on the floor, and the man
walked over them, and drew upside down or any way.
After that he drew figures on Japanese pa])er till darl . 1
went away to the exhibition. There I saw samples of Japa-
VOL. I. R

242

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

nese and foreign art, and boasts living and stnffcd, till my
cyos ached and my head swam.

To-night T dine with Prince Karuda, who has a lot of inter-
preters. Yesterday young Harry I'lack and his hawk cap-
tured three white storks and a mallard out in the fields in
fair flight. !Now I can see no more, so good-night.

J. F. C.

On one of these mornings Mr. Harry P.lack conducted me
to the office of the Japanese newspaper, of which his father
is editor. We walked to the Buddhist tem])le, in which the
Jupiter of Tokio lodges, and walked thence through the main
streets. IMy guide earned a magnificent hunting hawk on
hiswri. '. It had no hood, and gazed about composedly at
the sun and the crowds of people. The falconer followed.
He was a Japanese gentleman, and looked like it. We were
seeking u professional story-teller. He was off his beat,
so we went on, hawk and all, to the editor's room, and the
equivalent of the Queen's Printers. Tlie compositors were on
the floor, and they were all gentlemen of the soldier class in
their national dress. They were Samurai, well-educated men
of good family, employed about literature. The Japanese
characters in use amount to thousands, and their number
grows continually. When first the newspaper was started
the editor asked a Japanese gentleman if he wished to have
the paper sent regularly. " Xo, thank you, I have a copy,"
said the gentleman of the old school. The idea of a news-
paper had not then entered into the popular mind, though
all Japan is literary and proud of knoM'ledge. Now the
jtress is started, may it soar like the falcon and strike abuses.

TIIK KDITOR AND THE TORIES.

243

The Conservative municipality could not a^ree to let a foreigner
live in the city outside of the established bounds. The
editor and the priests had agreed to lease the temple, but
the equivalent of the lord mayor refused permission. No
foreigner ever had lodged in the quarter. The liadical
Government solved the difficulty by taking the temple them-
selves, and they put their editor into it. There he makes
photographs for his very interesting publication, The Far
East. May his readers increase and multiply. " Sir," said
a Japanese official to a public servant, " can you survey the
Venus ? " Tlie Ordnance Survey did it ; and this is the
description of tlie proceedings, which appeared in the English
part of the most Eastern newspaper in the world : —

The Japan Gazette.

"The Transit of Venus, so long, so anxiously, and so
universally looked forward to by the astronomers and
scientific men of all civilized nations, made its appearance
true to its time, and has become a thing of the past. In
Yedo and Yokohama the day was happily everything that
could be desired, and as our readers have ah-eady been told
of the observations successfully made at Yokohama and its
neighbourhood, by various observers, so we now relate that
Japan did not allow the occasion to pass without having her
observers at work at Tokei.

" Unfortunately she made no preparations until within the
last fortnight. Magnificent instruments of the necessary
kind had, however, just been received from home, for survey
purposes. They are of the very best kind made- for such
uses ; and though probably not quite so powerful as would
be especially prepared for such important observations as

u 2

244

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

that to which tlioy were applied yesterday, yet they wore
8ufliciently so to iiiakt! oliservutioiis which will he of j^rcat
value, as the contrihution of Japan to the cowjirsi^ of scientists,
to whom will be suhinitted all the ohservations taken every-
where, for the <,'rand calculations of the distance between the
Earth and the Sun.

" Although so short a time was left in which to make pre-
parations, Mr. ^[cVean, tlu; head of the Survey Department,
whilst ofiicially notifying the (Jovernment of the great dis-
advantages they would labour under, as compared with those
who had taken time by the forelock and got everything in
order long before, yet set to work with gi-eat energy. Mr.
Scharboo, who has been engaged for upwards of twenty years
in the Meteorological Department of the liritish Admiralty,
and who has been specially engaged for similar duties in
Japan, also exerted himself, and, assisted by Messrs. Klasen
and Cheeseman of the Survey Department, nuinaged to get a
temporary observatory erected, good solid granite foundation
blocks placed, and the necessary instruments levelled and
well adjusted on them. The Japanese oflicers were equally
anxious to forw ird the operations, ind thus evinced the true
spirit in whicl Japan seeks to take her place among the
nations. It w; too late to have any proper apparatus fixed
; the transit, but two da\s before, Mr. Black
tested to give his aid in this way, had
iOund, and took the sun at intervals of from
two- and-a half 1 j ten minutes, taking, in all, seventy images.

" The instruments used were a twelve-inch theodolite and
a transit instrument; at which were, respectively, Messrs.
Cheeseman, Scharljon, and Klasen. Mr. E. Stewart attended
at the chronometer. The observations taken by them were
confined to the exact moments of contact of the outer and

for photographi
having been re
cameras on the

A LKADING ARTICLE.

245

inner edges, both in the ])as.sage of the pliinet on and off
the sun's disc ; this date we hope to be able to present in
a few days.

"A most iidmiraljle picture of the transit, througliout its
entire course, was tlirovvn by means of a telescope on a sheet
of double c!«.phant paper, stuck on a Japanese door. This
was suggested and entirely carried out throughout the day
by Mr. Campbell of Islay, who, as a traveller round the
world, happens to have been staying with Mr. McVean in
Tokei for some days. The telescope was on a stand placed
on a box about six feet high, and the door with the white
paper was in a little dark chamber about six feet s(|uare, made
of a I'ramework of bamboo covered with black paper. The box
standing in front of the chamber, the eye-piece of the tele-
scoi)e was admitted into the latter through a slit in the
covering, and being i)roperly focussed, a beautiful image
of the sun, fully three i'eet in diameter, was thrown upon the
white paper, and the planet, when fully on, was like a round
black wafer about an inch in diameter. At the first moment
of contact Mr. ^IcVean, Mv. Joyner, Mr. Campbell, and Mr.
Mee, the latter a native gentleman connected with the Survey
JJepartment, were watching ; and tliey saw the first contact
some time before it was shown by the instruments, thus
evidencing the advantage of size in such observations. The
appearance of the planet as shown by the instruments was
only about one-tenth or one-twelfth the diameter as shown
on tlie paper. It was a fortiuuite thing for all visitoi's that
Mr. Campbell was present, and had the forethought on the
previous day to suggest the erection of this little " peep-show,"
as he humorously called it. To the numerous Japanese
visitors who during the day arrived on the ground it gave
at once a clear conception of what \vas going on, without

246

MY CTKCULAR NOTES.

the trouble of applying their eye to any instruments what-
ever ; altliougli most of those who did present themselves
were permitted to see what was to Lo seen with the more
scientific appliances.

"His ^Majesty the ^likado, who was expected, did not
visit the observatory; but His Highness Sanjo Daijin arrived
about noon, and was evidently very much interested in the
proceedings. As ^Ir. Mozer (who had kindly accompanied
Mr. Bhick, to help in the photograpliic operations) was about
to take a picture of the observatory for the ])ecember number
of the Far East, Iiio Highness very kindly seated himself in
front, with a number of otlier Japanese gentlemen and others
connected with the day's doings, and the i)icture was taken.

" Tiiroughout the day, ]\rr, Mozer prepared the wliole of
the plates, while Mr. Black exposed them and took the time.
The images are very small ; ])ut, if enlarged, from their con-
tinuity tiiroughout the entire day, from the commencement to
the close, they shoidd be valuable, as showing precisely
the course taken by the planet."

So here is Japan fairly started with growing railroads,
and telegraphs, an ordnance survey, and an observatory ;
steand)oats, a newspaper, and a national debt. A most
ingenious set of mortals are ])lanted in one ol' the best com-
mercial situations in the whole world, watched by all the
great powers. They nud<e one ol' the most interesting of
jtolitical studies, and are the (pieerest mixture of tragedy and
comedy that a spectator can look at from outside.

Gralluch. — Not long ago a lot of consjtirators attempted to
murder a regent in open day, and in the most frequented o})en
space in the ca])ital. The regent leajied over a low bridge

GRALLOCII AND MUSIC.

247

into a moat aud escaped deatli. Tlie guards pursued the con-
spirators. One, the cldef ol' theni, seeing that lie could not
escape, and being a gentleuian oi" high birth aud properly
educated, stopped aud prepared to die. The pursuers, seeing
■what he was about, paused. They respected hun, and waited
widlst he solemnly and deliberately, and according to all the
rules of the soldier's ancient code, put himself in the right
position, and performed harikari — that is to say, he cut a
cross iu his own stomach, and gralloched himself like a noble
lloman. That is the story that was told to me in Tokio,
with many others of the same kind. That is the scene which
J saw acted on the stage. A man who has made up his mind
to die performs the gralloch ceremony. If he can, he sticks
a sharp knife through his neck, exclaims " Now 1 die," pushes
the edge forwards, cuts his throat, aud dies accordingly.

Anybody who wants to know how these men live iu
Japan, and how they think, had better read a Japanese
novel which is translated in the Far East.

Matters municipal, military, aud sanitary, may be learned
from that book. 1 had too uuich to do with Blue-books at
hon:u to look at .Air. Black's serious works abroad. It was
better to hear liini sing ohl iScutch songs like a born
musician, and jingle Japanese ditties on a piano and
denounce them.

Music. — Mut being a taught nuisician, I caimut say mucii to
the purpose about .Japanese music. It is a cultivated science.
Shops are devoted to the sale of the national musical instru-
ments, and a whole class of girls are j)rofessional singers,
musicians, and dancers carefully taught and paitl at iixed
rates. 'J'hey come when sent for, play and sing, and dauce.

248

MY CIHCULAll NOTES.

They stick a liglited joss-stick in tlie sliiliaslii (fire-box), and
when that lias burned away an idle hour, a I'resh tune ])efj;ias
with a new joss-stick. These are the equivalents of ])rofessional
singers at lionie — well-mannered, polite, ])ro])er y<-)ung per-
sons ; l)ut with a leaning towards sake and sugar-plums and
fast parties. They would a]»])ear as " ]*)oheniians" in a
modern novel. I never noticed anything disagreeable about
a Japanese voice, and I heard country folk carolling sweetly.
I)Ut these instructed students of the Tokio schools of nn-
tional art are tauuht to iini^le and twani-de and catterwaul in
strange falsetto, quavering trills which did not delight but
rather pained my ignorant Aryan ears. This was not natural
music; it was a veiy artificial, carefully-taught, unnatui'al
false performance. At Frisco the Chinese actors invaiiably
squeaked. At Tokio the Japanese tragedians intoned in the
same false key. The men who acted women at the theatre
squeaked like mice ; and the women who sang professionally
all over the city squeaked like shrill shrew-mice at the to])-
most tone of their voce di tcnta. I thought Japanese nnisic
detestal)le. The nuisicii.ns were amiable, beautiful, charming,
polite, well-bred, well-taught, well-behaved, admirable young
persons, whom I greatly admired. Nevertheless it M'as re-
IVeshinu to hear that Scottish Lion of the Press roariu"

" Soots wha h iV' wi' Wullacf blud "

after tlie transit of Venus.

ROCOCO.

240

No. XXX. YoKoir.\MA,

December Ut/i, 1874.

My deau J.,

You have beeu a great deal in my head of late, and
your letter of the 12th October reached me to-day. You
know tlie proverl). I thou;ilit of wanderings in the back
shuns of London (1845), of a (jueer green Dutch glass bought
for a shilling, collared and carried off, and the despairing cry
of the vendor, " Oh, do tell me what is that [ have sold ! " I
thought of all these things, because I, bitten by you, and of
that same kin, have sjtent foi-tunes in rubbish since I came
here. I have just de])osited a pile of Ijoxes at the shijiper's
oflice, and home Avill go a miscellaneous lot as ever you saw.
Nothing that 1 can write will ever give you the wildest notion
of this country. It has been famous for curios for centuries,
and now it is famous for fine modern wnrk of all its own
kinds of art. ]')Ut it has gone through a great revolution.
Tiie Shoguns or Tycoons, who nded the country in the name
of the Mikado, were abolished. The Daimios, who were
governors and nobles, lived in state iu tlie capital. They
were carried in state sedan-chairs, guarded I)y men in armour
bearing ilngs and banners, and pipes and pikes, and gear of
lacquer and Japanese make. Tliey bad armies of soldiers in
quaint uniforms, and the whole ]>lace v.'as like a scene in the
Arabian Nijlitfi. No foreigner could live in safety then, and
none can nujve now without a riovernment pass, liut the
Daimios and all their grandeur were abolished. Then the
IJuddhist religion and all its paraphernalia vanished too,
I'agodas, hundreds of years old, and 100 feet high, were
pulled down and sold for a song. Inuiges were sobl for tire-

2W)

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

■wood, and there was a change to European ideas and dress,
and hats and breeks, and then the old fittings went into the
curio-sliops. In this town is a whole street, and several back
streets, full of rubbish. In the capital, where I spent ten days
of late over an area about as big as London, are scattered
shops in hundreds, full of old rubbish, I could have gladly
spent more coin than I can spare. One shop I found full of
piles of shrines, each fit to make your mouth water, gold, and
lacquer, and bronzes, and images, and all going for a song. I
went ninety miles up country to the tombs and temples
and shrines of the Tycoons at Nikko. There I bought gold
cranes and geese and fish on lactpier trays. Then the
godowns (warehouses) and treasuries of the temples began to
open, and things poured out in heaps. I'ictures painted by
Chinese emperors, swords GOO years old, pictures, tables,
screens, bagpipes, things without name or use, curious be-
yond price. J5ut what could 1 do ! I left them there. What
I bougiit you shall see — old copjjcr pots and pans, kettles and
candlesticks, that would furnish Wardour Street.

Oh, my beloved instructress in bric-a-brac ! if you had been
here with me, we might have made a fortune, or lost one.
No wonder 1 thought of you.

Now I have got my pass, and on Sunday morning I am off
again to travel oOO miles right through the heart of Japan,
wliere globe-trotter never set foot before. 1 go by the
Nakasendo road through the highlands, attended by a Japanese
boy who speaks English, and otherwise all alone. We are
here as far south as Gibraltar, but now the weather inland is
cold. Japanese houses are all sheds, with sliding screens of
white paper and bamboos for walls, and with wooden shut-

ASTRONOMY.

251

ters which slide in grooves outside at night. The floors are
mats set in frames, and in the floor is a square hole lined
with stone, in which is a fire of charcoal. We sit on the
mats and eat rice and soups and stews with chopsticks. A
heron's bill is the nearest implement that I can think of, and
with it I pick up grains of rice and swallow them. The food
comes in lacquer bowls, and the bowls make room for pads,
t)n which we sleej) on the floor. In the morning a tub is
l)reinircd in un outhouse, and there we bathe. Nobody cares
about nudity here, and I am getting used to the dress of
Kden. Our carriages ai'e drawn at a fast run by men who,
when they get hot, strip nearly quite. Then out come pic-
tures tattooed all over their healthy brown hides. "When we
get in the coolies strip entirely, and bathe with open doors in
the tea-house ]>assages. I saw a man and his sou in a tub
the other day. A whole family were found in another bath,
and one of our party stripped and joined them. Oh, but this
is a queer country !

On the 9th 1 joined the surveyors, and rigged up some of
my optical dodges to see the transit. 1 had an old telescope,
with a luiper umbrella at one end, and a bovver of bamboos
and black pa])er at the other. Within the bower was a
screen of white paper, and thereon was an image of the sun
about two-and-a-half feet wide, with the star on it as big as
a sixpence. The minister of public works and the prime
minister came into my bower, and the !Mikado was coming.
J)Ut some Yankees rigged him a telescope in his garden, and
he sat there all day instead.

l)y another of my dodges, Mr. Black, the Delane of Yedo,
took about lifty j)ictures of the transit, and I am to have an

252

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

imperial gift of lacquer for my services I hear. What I
care most about was that I saw tlie whole transit, beginning,
middle, and end, to perfection. But it was queer to Ije shut
up in a paper bower with all these little great men who made
the revolution which unmade so much, and '-ave so many cui'ios
to the market and to me at cheap rates.

Sir Harry I'arkes offered to-day to present me to the
Mikado. I declined, because 1 want to start ai"^ see the public
of his country, and the interior of it.

If I get out of it some fortnight hence, the result will go home
in another letter, and you may see that by a])plying at home.

Give my love to all friends who care for

J. V. C,
The Globe-trotter and Vagrant.

No. XXXI.

Yokohama, Japan,

Ihrxinhr Utii, 1871.

E., MY Dear,

I got your letter at the tail of your gramlmother's of
October 4th this morning. So here are my thanks, and a
story. I passed through a village some time ago, which was
all hung with rows of lanterns, on which was the device
I asked what it meant, and was told that it meant the

» <

story of three heads. Once on a time a tyrant daimio ordered
one of his retainers, who was a good and faithful man, to be
beheaded. That was dt)ne, and the head was ])ut into a
boiling pot. lUit the retainer had a faithful friend and com-
rade who cut off the tyrant's head, and put it into the pot
with the other. Then the two heads fous-ht a terrible titiht
in the pot, and the retainer's head was wellnigh van([uished

NURSERY TALES.

2f>n

by tho tyrant's knob. Then the faitliful friend cut off liis
own liead, and (h-opped it into the pot, and tlie two overcame
the tyrant. The dots I suppose are the lieads, and tlieir
tails ]ii<ftails, and the border is the pot I presume. Tlie whole
is the crest of somebody I believe, and the illumination was
a festival. This is the queerest country I ever was in.
Letters of this date will tell you what T liave to say when
they get to your grandmother,

I dine with Sir Harry Tarkes to-morrow, and next day go
back to Yedo or Tokio, thence to start for Kioto, 300 miles
off, by an inland road, called the Xakasendo.

Oh, that I could speak, whafc fun I should have in this
queer country ! I send some dresses home, which will
astonish you,

My love especially to A , of the wandering tastes, and

to your stay-at-home mother, and the rest of you.

J. F. C,
Story-teller to the Family.

Z(i(/. — ExUndal notes. — December 9. — Transit of Venus. —
The Sun's image on the screen measured roughly, Om. 63.50.
the star, Ora. 0200. According to various watches and
records in my tent, the following were the times : —

Entrani'fi.

JIcVcHU

nil. 7' 0"

111

1. 32' 2.')"

2.0' 25"

Joyrier ...

11 2 30

2() 38

24 8

M«e

11 9 30

29 30

Sf'liiirltJill

25 10"

Duration.

Kxit.

... 3h. 23'

3h. .-il' 4"

28' 1"

4li

. 44' 4"

... 3 16

5 45 30

28 43

... 3 24

3 47 45

23 13

•I

48 15

25 42

254

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

The manner of taking those observations was to say the
least of it remarkable. An old telescope on a stand
was borrowed from somebody. On the 8th, we drove off
with it in three jinrikishas, and on the way to the hill from
which we were to " Survey the Venus," I bought a black
paper umbrella. The end of the glass was poked through,
and the tube was made fast to the bamboo stick, with a
string. A big deal box was pressed into the service, and on
it this novel astronomical instrument was placed. There
was no screw for moving the eye-piece. By dint of some
trouble the sun was shot, and an image cast on a sheet of
paper. The thing could be made to work, but the light was
so strong outside that we had to keep the image small, and
bright, A Japanese carpenter was got and by the aid of
interpreters and pencils he was told what to do. No work-
man could be more "gleg at the uptak." In a very short
time a bundle of bamboos appeared with a lot of black
paper; and a dark chamber was set up in a trico, exactly
M'here it was wanted. Inside of it, a Japanese sliding door
was propped ;ip, with a large slicet of white paper, and
thereon the sun's image was cast. The contriver of this
popular observatory took charge of the end of the telescope,
and managed after some practice to keep the image on the
board and in tolerable focus. But lie could not see clearly and
work the glass, and move the screen as the sun moved ; nor
could he read the time. Therefore friends came into the
camera obscura, and crouched there watching the board,
watch in hand. The hill was near the railway and trains
shook it ; the place was crowded and people tramped about
and shook the ground. The box got severe knocks ; once

A PEEP AT VENUS.

or,

!)i}

somebody ovorturned the umbrella telescope. The liand
which held it .got tired, and shook; and moi-e than all the
atmosphere over this low, marshy, hot plain was boiling. Wo
could see the waves of air passing over the sun's disc in
various directions making the edge of the disc of light bend
and quiver, and wave. I had photographed the sun often,
and we saw what a difficult job it must be for the observers
at the legitimate telescopes. They shot sitting, we were taking
flying shots. But our sun was so big and pale that we coulil
all look him in the face without blinking and with both eyes,
and so we saw remarkably well, all things considered.

At the expected time the observers began to count one —
two — three — and we inside the paper house began to quake
and shake with keenness, " I see it," said one. " No." " Yes."
" Yks." " YES." There it was beyond a doubt, a growing stalk
t first iind then a mouthful bitten out of the cake. " Take
the time ! " " Bij Gcortje vx saw it lona hcforc the other fdlows^'
whispered one. Then the counting outside stopped, and
everybody gasped ; and then began the palaver. ^Meantime
T was watching for the oidy thing that 1 ho[)ed to see, and
])resently I saw a ring of light outside the star, and knew
that there was a clear atmosphere about the opaque planet.
We had seen the dark stalk grow, as the atmosphere of
Venus apj^roached the Sun, we saw irregularity on the junc-
tion of the two curves, now I saw the bright ring outside of
the advancing circle, and I was content. I'etter men were
taking times, to calculate withal ; I had got my fact packetl
in the paper box all safe. There is an atmosphere about
Venus, which refracts light and behaves as a clear glass
bottle filled with any opaque matter does when in the same

256

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

position. On that fact those wlio will may build theories.
" No sabc." I don't know \vhether people live up there, liut
the atmosphere makes it m<»re probable.

The photographic dodge was often used while striving to
make solar scales for the Light- 1 louse Commission, and for
divers purposes. See vol, ii.. Frost and Kire. Tt served well
to record the progress of an eclipse. A photographic camera is
stopped till the sun's light is greatly reduced. It is aimed
at the sun, focussed for parallel rays, and fixed. A prepared
plate is placed, and the cover of the lens is moved and
replaced as swiftly as possiltle.

After waiting till the earth has turned the camera an
angular distance suflicient to clear the siin's ap])arent diame-
ter, the cap is again moved and replaced. Two images are
thus impressed, and ten or a dozen can be made on the same
plate, even of wet collodion, thus — oooooooooooo.

From the 5th to the loth, according to the Kautlral
Almanac, the sun's ajjparent dianuiter was 32' 24". It was
found practically that images taken at intervals of two
minutes touched. Therefore the pictures were taken by
Mr. lilack and his helps at longer intervals. Tlio negatives
were taken with an old. ricketty camera, eked out with
Japanese boxes to lengthen the focus and enlarge tlie image.
This was the plan which I used July loth, 1800, to produce
the specimen plate which was carried abroad this time in
hopes of getting some record of the transit made Ijy this rude
plan somewhere.

Mr. Black's negatives showed the star on the sun. I have
yet to see how the prints turned out. As the old saw says —
" Dou Furnando cannot dj more tlian he can do."

BEKF AND STARS.

257

iJici 'iilnr 10. — MeW'Uii, .'^(.'liuiliuo, iiiid I, WLiit to Yuko-
liaiiKi, and culled at the Mexican observatorv. Sefuir Diez
showed photo^n'aphs taken with a good telescope and camera
as large and sliarp as tliose wliicli are taken at Kew with a
similar instrument. As the Jajjanese Ciovernment only asked
tlieir officers to photograph the transit three days before the
event, it was impossible to lit cameras to telescopes, so my
makeshift was the only resource at Tokio. The j\rexican
observer during the transit cast an imnge from his Inrge tele-
scope on a sheet of paper, and admitted a largo number of
Jajmnose spectators, who saw and were greatly interested.
My audience included the prime minister and the minister of
public works. What a lot of beef and beer we did consume
at the (Irand Hotel when we hud done Avith the stars.

As the Chinaman says, " C;ui do." 'J'here be things that
mortal men can do, even with very imperfect helps. Ac-
cording to my ]»hilosophy, it is best to do them as well as
possible Ijy honest eflort, and leave the " Cannot." There is
an atmosphere about Venus ; and, so i'ar as 1 can see, there

is none about the moon, but " \o sa!

le.

I never shall know

hetl

ler either or

nt'ither is iidiabiled. One side of the

vexed question may seem more probalde to uien who have

lun

us ^\

hich

ed air, but there nuiv be creati

nvs

that

live in suidiuht on the moon who would be drowned in air

as men are

drr

)v,aea m tne sea

sane.

Therefore, let

us feed grossly on beef and beer, and suffer ignorance,
philosophically, like IJritons and Don Fernando.

Friday, 11///.. — Making up temperatures with diagrams,
writing letters home, and sending off boxes of curios. (Some
of these letters never got home at all.) The steamer was in

VOL. I. 8

2fi8

MY CJHCULAK NOTES.

the l»;iy j,^()iii_ii; south ; the wcathci' hxikctl aiiytliiii;^' but
t'iivonnihle for ii trij) into tlio mountuiiis all iih)iu'. " (.'an do "
and " Cannot " licld a council of war and " Try " had it. The
stoanjor saih'd, and I stayed to dine with Sir llariy I'arkcs.

Saturday, Villi. — Ht' had ^^ot me a pass Iroin the Govern-
ment, and T was free to make the best of my way by either
of two roads to Kioto. I liad found a servant, and as he was
a very f^ood hid, here is his name — Sagamoto jNIassanao. lie
may be heard of at tlie embassy wliere he is known.

Sir Harry and Loch liad a rough time of it in (.'hina, as all
will) know history must romend)er.

"I am not in the habit of (,'arrying aims; I have none;
do you advise me to buy revolvers before \ start?"

"If you are not in the habit of carrying arnis, I don't
think you need begin now," said his ]']xcellency. "Her
Excellency has travelled the same road with me."

That was enough. The only danger to be guarded against
was a drunken Samurai. Such a man might suddenlv draw
a sword and cut at a straiig'i Therefore, keep on the left-
hand side of all swordctl men, and look out foi- squalls.
Sir Harry I'arkcs was p'''.;ectly right, as he commoidy is on
Eastern subjects. \Vhile the count ly was closed against
foreigners, the people, in obedience to orders, took up those
who oll'ended by landing on the shores and carried them to the
authorities. If they cairied them in cagos, they must have
been cramped as I was. There are footpads and broken
men and enthusiasts in Japan as elsewhere ; but, taking them
all round, nobody -w its to hurt anybody. If a stranger goes
off the prescribed line of country he is quietly stopped by
the nearest municipal swell. j\Ir. Smith, whom we met at

EVKKVW'IIKIJK LOOK AHOliT.

2:/J

Nikko, nm uuL ul' bounds in sijan;li of plants, and was found
nut by his liospitiiblu (intcrtainur, a pmvost or the equivalent
liolcnlaU'. His enin,t;' slejjs were gently },aiided into the
rij^dit path, and I found liini at the club lauf^hing over liis
adventure. All who '^o to ]\liano.slita nnist have a medical
certilicate that hot baths are needful for their health. In
short, -lapan is not open to the public. V>y a rapid change,
the old school are learning that something is to be gained by
joining the rest of the world, and so with rails and telegraphs
the ways of Japan arc mending fast. Tlie head of the Ord-
nance Survey cannot yet go a step outside of the city bounds
without a spi'cial (Icn'ernnient permission. Therefore, my
thanks, due to his E.x.cellency, are once more tendered. I
owe him a great deal for hospitality and kindness, and good
counsel. xVbovc all 1 have to thank him for a Japanese
document. Here is the translation : —

PA-SISPUKT.

" Xumlter 501.

"K.M;I..\NIi, 11. M. HoiLRKFOUD,

J. F. C.vMi'mcLL.

" This person everywhere look about. From Yokohama
starts. Either Xakasendo or Tokaido travels, and Kioto to
get, and lake Jliva to, and Xara if wish to go, and from
Knglisii minister to foreign ollice writes. Therefore give
pas.sport. Must pass whon shew this passport. Don't light,
don't trouLle.

" JUth of i2th month, 7tli year of Meije."

Foreign Ollice seal.

Copied and translated by IMassanao, my man, on a rainy
day at Shimonoshua.

o 9

260

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

With tliis 1 was free to travel. It was to be restored to
the Consul, and returned to the Foreign OlHce. IMy squire
had a similar document from the authorities at Yokohama ;
and so, thanks to our able minisU-r, we were launched. I have
said it before, and repeat here, that the " press gang " are the
most amusing fraternity with Avhom to converse in foreign
lands. It is their business to know everything ; to get, to
give, to buy and sell, exchange and barter knowledge. To
a file of the Jaimn Mail and other Japanese newspii[)ers I beg
to refer all who want to know the atmosphere of Ivistern
liistory in which we lived at Yokohama. Headers of the
Times and other English pajiers can see all about the row
between China and Janan which was then coming to an end.
The Japanese authorities infoi'med themselves of the pro-
ceedings in England on the return of the expedition from
Ashanti, and tried to give their mei< a similar i'ecei)tion.
I (I'd not see it ; but I heard that all the para]>henialia of the
ancients were brought out of the nuiseum, and paraded ; and
thrd Tokio went back to her medieval times twenty years
ago, and had a magnilicent proces.sion. j.,i.' ., Lord Alayor's
Show, it was parti}' new, partly old, entirely pictures(|ue, and
exceedingly quaint. The main \w'\\\i was that the dwarf h;i.d
beaten the giant as usual. Japan, which got civilization
from China long ago, ha<l gel better civilization from JMU'!)[)e,
in the shape ol' artilh;ry and lireech-loaders and tactics,
and being full o!' ])lu(;k and self-suiiiciency, as all litth;
people .seem to lie, .Japan pitcheil into China and won. The
favourite national heraldic game-cock, who is carvrd and
painted eveiywhere, thereupon crowetl with .all his might and
main, lie was ready to fight anything.

THE PRKSS GANG.

261

to
To

IL 80 fell out thiit OIK! of our lot went to see a review in
Tokio. Ho got into tlie cntwil, and being of Aryan stature,
had a good view in a good place. Tie was opposite to the
Mikado, wh') was in European-Japanese uniform. The
inarcli past began. A gun drawn by a lot of wiry ponies
like those which ran at tlio Yokohama races, came up to the
saluting point, and there a pony jibbed. Obstinate as a mule,
he absolutely refused to move another step, and there he and
his fellows, drivers, gun and all, stuck fast in front of the
I'hnpenu'. There was kicking and thrashing, and the whole
inarch past stuck. The ponies were taken away, the gun was
shunted, and the rest of the army, blowing bugles, pranced
and strode ])ast the Heaven-born. Parades at Windsor are
not nuich for size, but tiie ([uality is good. The nuizzles of
all tlu! guns go }»ast iis if they were hard and fast on a luled
line. At a single bugle call, (U- a signal IVom tlie general in
counuand, horses scoui' over the greensward like racers,
men unlimber, iire rounds, retreat, advanc, take up posi-
tions to circunixcnt eni'iuies, and generally show what a
Jhitish army may be like. The Ashanti [)arade was some-
thing to see, ;'oi' it was real. They had won a hard fight. Ihit
that parade Ww, a small matter to tlu; game at war played
daily at St. Tetersburg. The Jap' tight with China was
something real too, and showed the metal of this wonderful
l)eople. I>ut the ne.xt topic in the .settlement press was a row
between dapan and Itussi;, about the ownersjiip of Saghalien,
whicli is a long frosty, grassy coal-bearing island in the
Kortli. It may lie found vtn the map of Asia, by those
asti >no;iu IS who care for jiolitics. 1 dou'l. Tlu' end of that
row was that IJussia uol the island, hw astronomers saw the

262

MY rrRruLAR notes.

transit, and the Japs sent a coninnssioncr to St. I'etersl)urc,'
to arrange iibout u tele<frai»li tlironfih Xortliern Asia. T went.
up the Ued Sea Avith luni. Tt is the business of I'orcinu
ministers to talk of anythiii.t;- in tlie world but ])olitics. Tt in
the bonnden duty of their guests to avoid such topics. IVIy
Ijost carefully told mo notliinijf. But the "press ,!.,^an,n'' \\\
Yokohama and my own eyes and ears told mo that thi; isln.i'ls
of Japan afford excellent harbours, and must grow to be " .t
big thing," as they say on the opposite coast.

My passport, whicli was returned to the Japanese Foreign
Office with my signature, says, ^'])on't fight, don't trouble."
Dr. "Watts sang : —

" Let (l(i,i,'s (Iclif^Iit to iKuk .iiiij liiti'."

Ill accordance with tliis sentiment, the Japjincso govern-
ment requested the foreign soUliers, I'rench and English, to
go away ; and promised to take care of the foreigners at
Yokoliama thcmselvt'S ; and the foreign soldiers went away
accordingly. Tliey also allowed this ]ierson " everywhere to
look about," and took goeil care of him, and so he returns
thank,", to the gentleiricn wlio hon(>ureil him with their ]ir!'-
sence in tlie camera-obscuj-a at Tokio, wlien we siir\-eyed the
Venus together, and at(! riee-eakes, shrimps, and sea-wee(l on
the top of a knoll, and draidc bittei' beer. In retuiii for tliat
hospitality, I venture to renrulc that it is safei' to bite a
Chinese philosopher than a In'g lirowii bear.

Start. — VMh J)crci,ihrt\—'>-\". — At noon started by rail and
went to visit McVean while my luggage and squire went to
" Say-you-can." That is the Aryan version of the name of
a Japanese eating-house conducted on European p!inei[)les,

RTAUT AND " \Vf).'

2G3

Avhere beef is largely consumed by Buddhists. It is much
frequented by travelled Jaji.s. Foreigners do sleep there,
but contrary to the municipal code: my little squire informed
eveiybody that his knight-crnuit was an ofllcer of high rank,
employed by Government, so my bed was pre[)ared. V>y
great good luck my French IVicnd Faul Carry came to get
the correct latitude and longitude of .some point in Tokio,
from the liead of the sui'vey. On cijmparing notes at Yaniiti
Yashiki wo found that we were going tlie same way on the
same day, so we agreed to join forces. After dinner, and a
cordial farewell to my numerous kind friends, my host put me
into a jinrikisha, and olf 1 sit in the dark. The Japanese
language is very ditlicult ; at all events my stock of it was
very s)iiall. " Say-you-ran made'' — to the place wanted, was
ipiite sullicient to start my pony, and so we starteil with a
paper lantern at a fast run. r»nt [)resently I di-sccnieil
through the darkness that I was in a new countiy, going at
gjiced between dee}) ditches, out in a mar.sh.

" Dochcra Say-you-can ?" where is the place wanted ? was
-ill V(;ry well as a (piestion, but when the ]>ony pulled iip,
ar I mani.j.jtly knew nothing ab(uit the place he had got to,
lu was vain to hope for an intelligible n'ply. A man with an
intelligent cab-horse cannot say much, it's S;iy-yuu-can't. \\\'
were right away in the marshes, and in the tlark, and I con-
fess that 1 began to (pustiou the w isdom of being unarmed
and to plan my battle airay if it came to a fight, and 1 was
turned over into a Uiuddy ditch. On the whoh; 1 thought I
could whop my Neddy, so 1 cried 'gee wo" in .bq>anese and

said " vualc

A pa

ssmtr

lanti

rn showed a traveller in las carnagi

2C4

^lY CHlCrLAlI XOTKS.

" Dochn-a Say-you-Ccan ? " " Jabber, jabl icr, jabber," came the
answer, and my Xeddy caiiu; up ami went along till wo
pulled i.ji at u polic,^. station, or at the head-quarters of a

ref^inien' > ' 'ewheie j^rand. A very polite little oflicer came

out, and \\\k ]y b}' dint of Vnrltrrn, ILild, EiKjlinhman, and
other disjointed worib, the matter was explained, and Neddy
trotted off through ;iie ditch country till he got to streets,
and then to a biek door. S(ii/-i/oi(-c((ii 1 Ilch. Vurashi !
Atchcrn. Yes. All right luire.

So there I was in tlie dark, at the place. A few weeks
l)efore the si)ace in front of the house had been a dry,
bare, dusty waste. The Jaj)' gardener had moved a garden
bodily into it, and there in the darkness 1 stundded about
amongst tall shrubs and small trees. The benevolent night-
porter helped me to a verandah, a light appeared, my S([uire
awoke, and presently T was stretched on an iron bedstead
wia]i]K'd in my plaid with my head ou a bag dreaming. A
very little language goes a long way, and that little " Say-you-
ean" gave me good night's (puu-ters.

CI ul liver learned to converse with his sorrel mare when he
retiu-ned from his travels. J conversed with my pony in
Tokio. lie said, " Arlyalu ;" when I paid him; 1 said
" Saianara" and he trotted cheerfully off.

" If I liiul !i donkey wot wniildii't f^d,
Do you think IM walloii liini, oh no, no !
I'd givu liini sonic hay and rry, gee wo,
C'onn' nil Neddy.''

Bagu.vok— il/a/v7<. 1-i. — Up befor(! daylight, '61'. Hoar frost
and bright. Hard frost at night. CliuiateS; according to the

TIIK ARMY.

265

I'ccords shown to me, differ j^voatly at sliort distances. At
Yokoliama, near the warm sea, the air was soft and balmy.
At Xikko it was far cohk-r tlian at Tokio wliile we were
away, and at Yokdliama far warmer all the time. With this
Isiiowledjfe, I h /I come providcsd with a deer-skin, Sanioyede
smockfrock, with a hood, liouyht at Archangel, and there
usually worn as a winter garment. Afier a good European
ieed, started as the sun was rising, with three jimukishas,
my boy, myself, and my trai)s. ])y the way, ti.cre are 250,000
jinrikishas in Tokio ; 22,8'''0 were built in the city in
January, 187."). ]\ly Freneh friend was ready at Mr. Ohl's
house, but somt! of his trans had not arrived. I made a
pencil-sketch.

The bridge leads into the castle over a moat. The wall
is made of great stones, which face an earthen mound ; on
it grow strange gnarled traiui'd Iri-es, exactly like those
which are commonly dej)icted and cai'ved by Japanese artists.
The house is the giitti-liouse. Inside is an outer cinde, with
houses and barracks; within is the inner wall, the inner
circle, and the state prison, in which it ])leased the Daimios
and the Shoguns to (.'onceal their heaven-born Emperors, the
Mikados, before the i'(!Volution. That freed the Divinity, and
humanized him, and [»ut him in uniform at the head of an
army on lutrseback. All this tnu' bright frosty morning I
had been driving through that army, going out to exercise,
tootle-ti-tooing bugles, a »lozen at once in dilferent keys,
marching and counter-marching, and bu.stling about like a
.swarm of ants in blue uniforms. There was something
intensely comical in the whole thing. A couple of small,
bandy-legged privates meet and recognise each other. They

266

MV (TRCULAR Nf)Ti:S.

bow double, and nod and i^rin, and vub tlicir shins and tlieir
hands, and make specclics in the triu; national manner, tor
they are polite jrentlemen.

There is nothinj^^ ludicrous about these pretty nianucis
when the gentlemen are dressed as Japanese ; but when ;i
couple of tiny brown boys in French uniform perform these
ceremonies, it is hard not to laugh. The soldiers are as boys
at school, but tlieir souls are the souls of lions. Tlie Fri-neh
gentleman's house was Japanese, adoriujd in excellent taste
with Japanese ornaments, iind with enough of European
furniture to make it a charming residence. The owner was
slightly indisposed, anti I did not see him. From the door
of the garden, at H.'M) A.M., we started, drawn by single men,
who had bargained to run all day. As verv practised athletes,
they went at ii good paci; till dark. First, we ti'otted meri'ily
through the streets, admiring the wild birds on the moats,
the market people hauling in their stuff from the country,
the trees of the castle, and the (puiint Japanese crowd which
had become fiimiliar. ()iie grove oi" pines ii a "rookery '' of
coruiorants. Then we got to the old sea margin, which is
everywhere conspicuous hereabouts, and walked up the short
ascent to the sloping iilain, which extends about eighty to
ninety miles to the hills. Over that we travelled all day
through a rich cultivated country, well watered and thickly
peopled, on excellent roads. A 'bus with a pair of horses
met us. In a few years horses will take the place of men,
and these roads will be crowded with carriages. That is

anifest. Most of the swells have European broughams and

such like carriages, manag(?d by Japanese coachmen, who
have learned to drive, and by bettos who run. lUU we had

NAMES AND WHICIITS.

2r,7

" man-power " cirritige!?. Prosontly <i tandem passed us, '^nlu'^
at a very fast run, the men yelling, "Clear the way" in
choice -fapanese. " That's our minister," said my comrade :
"lie is going to shoot pheasants." Fancy a gentleman in
correct Parisian costume, with gnu and gaiters, tearing along
hehind a couple of acrohats from the; nearest circus in the
linis de Boulogne. "That would astonish the ladies," said
1. "This would astonish them still more." There is my
friend's baggage. lie was no greenhoi'u, my French friend,
but a regular good traveller and sportsman, lie had beeu
something big to a fur company, and he had S(>en a great deal
of Xortli American wild travel with trappers and Indians.
Ife had lived where every man met might be an enemy, and
(ivery night's rest was in a guanled camp. Arrows had come
out of the darkness to his firesidi'. His gun had been his
caterer, and his own hands had served the dinner which
they cookeil and caught. lUit this old hunter had kind
Aryan i'riends, as I had, in Tokio; and he was laden with
gifts of grub, as I had ln-en on my first start. There was
the hand-cart going steadily on ahead, drawn by men, at-
tended by the Japanese cook and the little interpreter, wlm
spoke Japanese-French, and wore Japanese clothes, and was
a gentleman student.

Here are our respective weights, ascertained later: —

J. F. C. 208 lbs. (101 lbs. when the journey ended).

Dr. \'idal 20M ,, (a French gentleman).
Carry 18.'! „ (a sturdy, well-grown Frenchman).

' '0 .. (a verv biij Jai)anese (

Kangaiama 121 „ (small interpreter).
Massanao 110 „ (my s(piire).

2<;8

MY ClUCULAR NOTES.

j\Iy s(i\\hc and the French squire were average samples of
the rank-and-file of the army which thrashed the Chinese ;
though the Chinese on hoard the steamers and in AVestein
America were quite as big as Aryans. Here were the Ijan-
tams ])itted against the Cochin Chinas. Here were little
wiry imps hauling men twice their weight, and dragging cart-
loads about, as if they were ponies, instead of polite litth?
warlike ingenious men. The sooner tliey find fitter woik
the better. Wt halted at KonossK. The tiui-lumse people
would not take us in, for we were strangers and I'oreigners,
under the old law, and out of bounds. " Ah ! " said the
Frenchman, "they counselled nu) to send for the mayor if
anything 'I' this kind occurred." So we went to the mayor.
He or the provost came with our passports in hand, and
bowed. " 1 am always civil to these people," said Carry,
and he bowed. I also always strive to be exceedingly civil,
so 1 bowed, and then we all bowed, hat in hand and hands
on hearts, and the end of it all was that we kicked oil' our
shoes, walked in, and camjied on the tea-house mats. The
mayor asked for our cards. My conu'ade had contrived a
bamboo stretcher on cross-legs ; lu; had a watei'proof sheet
and a tub of his own, so he took a long time to get to bed. A
plaid, a bag, a pesk, and a " stong," served me; and the
national hot-water tub of Japan was ready ev(;rywhere. I
had positively refused to cany any ibreign food, so my bag-
gage was very light, and 1 generally was sound asleep long
before the travelling gear was half I'igged. The greatest bore
in wild travel is comfort, uidess it be luxui-y. This night
our house was full of travellers coming from or f'oing to town.
Each set was divided from the nearest by a sliding bamboo

OMBRES CIIIN0I8ES.

269

screen covered with white paper. The black shadows stalked
about our walls. The house found all in stonj,'3 and food.
Stoiii^s arc cotton dressing j^owns, thickly (^uiited wiili cotton,
which travellers sleep in. I slept on them and under tJieni
in my own garments. Once for all, nobody suffered from
any of the numerous pests that make foreign travel de-
testable elsewhere. House, people, garments, and food,
were clean and neat and natty as a bandbo.x: full of dolls
newly painted, with a toy-dinner cooked for fairies to eat.
All was chatter and good humour in our suburban retreat
while wc kept awake, and the whole floclc bad fled before
dawn. The llrst night was a fair sample of the series of
nights spent in '^apan.

I)n: 15, 3G'. — Up before daylight and started 7.25 a.m. with
single men. Travelled all day at slow rates till about 4.30.
Halted at ShimasM. Tea-house clean and quiet. Approach-
ing distant mountains, over a well-cultivated, rich, well-
watered plain country, dotted about with clumps of wood in
which were temples and farm-houses, and apparently houses
that may have belonged to men of a rich class, like country
gentlemen. It was precious cold, and every now and then
we got out and walked. One notable set of people on this
(lay's march were country coolies. They were nearly naked
and walkiid in parties, each man carrying a pair of pails or a
l)aniboo pole. These were rice-farmers going to fertilize
their lields. "We could wind them half a mile off, and so
we got to windward of these agricultural processions when
we coulil. As diet, rice seems to make strong hardy men.
Oil or fat is supposed to be needed to keep the tire burning
in human engines exposed to cold. These men eat rice and

270

MY CIRCULAU NOTES.

Leans, a very little dried fish, and sea-weed. Yet here they
are scarcely clad, in a hitin;,' mountain wind, doini,' very liurd
work, and in grand condition. An Kni^lish traveller came
down from Yeso in great cold, and lived on rice and brown
sugar for some weeks, lie came in looking hrown, hardy, and
strong, and in excellent healtli. 1 tried the ])rescriptiou and
it suited me. We met trains of C(jolies coming from the
hills to the town, each man carrving his merchandi/.e on the
sjiringy pole of the country. The muscles on the shoulder
were marvellous, and the men models of strength done up in
small parcels. The weights carried were as wonderful as
the pace, which was good five miles an hour, iuid a kind (if
trot. Straw sandals, clogs, lacquer ware, rude crockery, t(jys,
cakes, dried fish, sea-weed, charcoal, radishes, packages of
uidcnown merchandize^ horse loads and man loads of silk,
all manner of articles of ti-ade and barter were cairied up
and down this middle mountain road of Japan. "We had
nothing to do but to sit and watch tlie stream and compare
the men to ants for industry, and to V>eavers for carpentiy.
AVe Mere getting clean away from Kuroi)ean influence, as it
ajjpoarcd.

I give no distances here. Tiun-e are many Japanese maps
lithographed on their excellent paper, or printed from wood
blocks. On these all the statitms and distances on the
main roads are given in a tabular form. My Sipiire had
general orders to manage the travelling, ^fy comrade agreed
to share the food and halve the cost, and each in turn })aid.
The squires kept the accounts and got the " squeeze ; " we
knew it and laughed.

Squeeze is an institution, and the amount was nothing

HQUKEZE.

271

•Qod
tlie
l.ad

)ai(l.
we

inig

to cither ol' us. I can see tlio ^'uoil-liuiiiourcd iii'dicd
cycbnnvs, luul sliru^-urd sliouldtiis, and out-s]iivad palms of
my conimde vlicii lu; twinkled his eyes and explained his
views of "s(|ueeze." We had just detected a landlady pre-
sentinjjj two boos to Koiti his cook. "We hud })aid her about
eiL'ht shilliu'fs a niidit for the whole lot nf live hunijrv men.
" My faith, he is U'^reat rogue, K(jili, my cuok, but he is the
best of them all, and to me it is well e(|ual." J translate, for
wo spoke Fren.ch, or we spok(j l-lnglisli, and my comrade's
English was nearly as good as his Parisian Fri'nch. Now
let me explain our view of " sipiueze," for it is an institution
all over the Asian coast of the Paeiiic and may spread. If
a man goes to a sho]) with an interpi'etei', and liuys anything,
the interpreter goes back to the shoii and has a squeeze out
of the })rice paid : — just as much as he can squeeze. If he
scjueezes too hard he may sjioil his own market. If the
shopnuin, on the other hand, objects, the combined inter-
l)relers refuse to conduct customers to that shoj), and take
the strangers in elsewhere. If auvbodv brings merchandize
to domicile the servants get the S([uet'ze. In this case the
person S([ueezed is the sti'anger, who i)ays high for che'^i'
goods. If a man travels with a servant, the servant tells d.c
landloril what to charge, and squeezes the landlord, who takes
in the guest; so we were scpieezed. If a man wants a mili-
tary or factory contract he must submit to be S(]ueezed and
bribe if he wishes to succeed ; to live, he must S(|ueeze the
num who eats the rations for which lu; contracts. It is good
measure squeezed before the rice of the contractor arrives at
the inside of the consumer, and he has to tighten his girdle and
squeeze liimself, because there is riobody else left to si^ueeze.

272

MY CIRCULAIl NOTKS.

So .S(iuof'Z(' extoiids all u]) and dn-wii tlic ladder (tf I''astcni
life, Fioni the rice cuiisuuier, to Iho rict' ifrowoi' wlio i;ro\vs
taxes and must S([iiL'eze his own i)auncli, cvoryhody squeezes
the national haj^s. If you anywhere enter a bank fondly
hoping to get coin of the country, as you do in Europe,
you iind a complication which is not easy to coiii])rehend.
The exchange is quoted at taels, or at so many ]\rexican dollars
per pound sterling, or so numy for francs. lUit Mexican
silver dollars are merchandize ; and they are of various sorts
and values. No l*!urop(!an can count Eastern coins, as I wf
told, therefore a Chinaman or a Eurasian, or some otl
curious being, called a " comprador," sits in every hank
talking pigeon-English glibly, and counting on a small grid-
iron strung with b(,'ads. To the comprador the customer of
the bank is sent, with a note of nominal dollars, or taels, due
to him, say for a cii'cular note, sold.

" ITow nmchee catchee ? What you wantchee ? No. 1
dollar ? Can do."

Then the comprador does a little suiu. He sells to the
customer of the bank in which he sits, for the bank's order
which has just been given for a home bill, a certain amount
of money at a market rate, and with that eipiivalent for a
circular note, or bill of exchange, the customer goes away
wondering at this method of double entry. The conq)rador
of the next branch of the same bank has refused to take my
No. 1 dollars, served out as such by his brother comprador
a few days before. That is "squeeze." These are Eastern
in.<titutions Avhich are incomprehensible to "Westerns. " No
sabe." lUit by induction and inspection of the wardrobe
and condition of many Eurasian and Chinese compradors, I

MONEY CHANGERS.

273

have come to the coudusion that they must somehow turn
an lioiicst penny even witliiu tlie sacred walls of Aryan banks,
in Constantinople the money-changer sits in the street. In
.Terusalein of old they sat in the temple. In the Hast they
sit in the banks. Tn Japan our servants sat on their heels
over a shibashi, wanned their fingers and Sipieezed nie and
Carry my friend. " liy my fiiith, I don't care," so long as I
am fairly mulcted. Tliat is a short account f>f the Eurasian
institution of s(pu'e/ie alnrnt which we held a consultation
on(! frosty night in December 1S7-4:.

The Japitn Mall of April 21, 187r», has the following
article, which will serve to illustrate the excellence of that
clever and amusing publi(!ation, and the ineunvenience of
excessive squeeze in banking: —

''A terrilile tragi.'dy has taken place in the midst of the
comnnmity. On Monday morning last two of the (dorks of
the Comptoir d'Kscomi)te, W. S. Swabyand V. Cantelli, were
not at their usual jxists. Suspicions were aroused, the strong-
room was opened, and a considerable sum of money (8->7,O0O)
at once found to be missing. Warrants for their apprehen-
sion, and for tiiat of a man named Adds, formerly a billiard-
mark(!r at the (Irand Hotel, were issued, and it soon transpired
that all throe had taken flight in a schooner which they had
bought and ])rovisioned last week through Adds. The
schooner had been well-armed, aud as resistance appeared at
least possible, a steam-launch in charge of an officer and six
men fnuu H.M.S. Thalia went in chase. The schooner had
only got under weigh at five o'clock in the morning, imd the
wind having fallen, she lay becalmed in Kaneda Bay, not
many miles from the port. As the steamer came alongside
Swaby and Cantelli went down into the cabin, rejtorts of

VOL. I. T

274

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

fire-arms were heard, and the former fell dead witli a ball
through his heart ; the latter, who lingered a few hours, with
one through his head. At the inquest on the body of Swaby
a verdict of fdo de se was given l)y the jury. The result of
the process on Cantelli's body at the Italian Consulate has
not been announced, but it can hardly be fn.v different. Adds
is m gaol, and Withers, the captain of tlie schooner, on bail
pending the iuquirj' vi/hicli will be made sliortly into the
complicity of one or both of them iu tlie robbery. It is said
that the Comptoi.' will recover ^20,000 of tiie money carried
off, but it is probable that their loss will be greater than it
was at first estimated. The two men were in receipt of good
salaries, but losses iu the betting^ring ami in gamliling-houses
were their ruin. The occurrence has given a dreadful shock
to the settlement."

TOKTUTtE. — The same paper explains why ])asspoi'ts are
still needed. Under the head of "Loafers," and "H.15.M.
Consular Courts," and " U.S. Consular Courts," and such
like, I see once moni the loose fish of low society, the
"gamblers" of Frisco, and the scum of tlie whole eartli,
drifting .about the treaty port^, and hardly ke[)t out by
dims. Then rises up the trial of the carpenter in the ])lay.
How they kicked and beat iviid tortured the witness to make
bin '^poak truth ; and then I am back at Nikko, holding a
paia\ ?r on torture, as now practised in Japanese courts of
law.

Our rarliamont was liehl in a matted room of the usual
kind, and Lliu language chielly spoken was English. JMac
Vean provided a bottle of whisky and our host Sfdcc-cwpfi.
My Japanese fellow-passenger, Katata, who had l)ecn to

dc
cai
W;

\V(

ol(

LEGAL TORTUr^E.

275

America, sat on one side ; a Japanese gentleman, who had
l)een to the Vienna Exliibition as commissioner, sat near
liini ; a Welshman, who had turned American, and couhl
speak Welsh iluently, sat as best he could on his heels;
Mr. Smith, secretary of the club at Yokoiiarna, was there ;
and, so far as I can remember, Mr. Yoshi, a court official of
Jiigh rank, who had just been round tlie world and spoke as
much Englisli ha I spoke Japanese ; with him, his friend.
Three Celts and one Saxon, and three travelled Japanese,
and a great official, drank tea and toddy, and talked as hard
as ever our toTigues could go for several hours. At least four
languages were going. One man was out collecting plants,
another was sent out to report on the capabilities of the
grazing country. He had calculated the value of the avenue
of trees, their age, aiu. increase of value per year, and the
advantage of planting. He thought well of mountain pasture.
A China tire-stand was brought for sale ; the commissioner
in'onounced it to be " emailic," a sample of wave made in
•Japan at a particular date, at a particular }«lace, and rare.
" I'ut a top on it, and you may sell it for 50/. in London,"
siiid the commissioner. AlcVean bought the china. Then
came politics, and social science, and torture, and then began
a curious argument worthy of European middle ages.

It is the Japanese custom and practice to torture a con-
denmed prisoner till he acknowledges his guilt. Xo man
can be legally executed till he has confessed. The argument
was ably conducted lor and against legal torture, and cases
wcM'c (juoted on both sides. As Ijarrister, 1 sin. ply stated the
old practio*' and modern o})iii[ n vl' 7*'nrope. As travx'ller, I
learned a gieat deal. Later on, I gut to see what a mess

T 2

276

MY CIRCULAR XOTES.

niifi;lit grow if a foreign ruffian sliould conimit some criiiK^
beyond the consular jurisdiction, and, being subject t(»
Japanese hwv, suffer torture before execution by cruufixiou
or decapitation, with or witliout benelit of "gralhx'li "
or "liarikari." All the bears and lions and eagles of Aryan
heraldry would pounce upon the Japanese game-cock
and gobble him up prepara'ory to following his lead in
valuable China. China might be broken to ])ieces, and tlic
commerce of Asia go eastwards to Oregon and California by
way of Puget Sound and the (rolden Gate, if some ])atriotic
loafer would only murder somebody, and get u]) a Japanese
war. ITaving learned this local view, we felt ilattercd liy
the Foreign-Office recognition of respectability, and behaved
accordingly. "We did not want to be tortui'od. "We had no
wish to cause a Japanese war. We wanted to go ([uictly
through the Japanese world, and so we went, repeating
occasi(jnally at stec}) places —

" ( 'lii v:i ])iiuii) vii sano,
( lii viv siino va iDiitiiiio,
(.'hi va IbrU^ va a la iiioitc"

I cannot remember half of the curious argument about
torture, but here is the gist (if the whole from the Jajinn
Mail of three months lat(!r. I suspect that the writer was ai
our convivial parliament at Nikko, No', 'uber 24, 1874: —

'loilTUKK.

(Mi'rioku Znshi).

"There is not a greater evil uialer the sun than torturing
men on examination. The aiicicTit an<l wicked emperors of

A JAPANESE ON TORTURE.

277

China, such as Ketz or Chu, committed great crimes, but
these were not so bad as torture, because they were com-
mitted only in person by the emperors tliemselves. But
torture may be iiitlicted In' a hirge Tmnib(;r of ollicials, and
cause continucnis sullering to numbers of people. Though
ci'iminals ai'e usually very common jieople, and their deeds
are bold, they are arrested by ilif orders of the ^Mikido, and
when so arrested they are tried before magistrates, the ]iei'-
sons M'ho are li'ied iind those wlio tiy them being of very
different ranks. Under tliese circumstances, even although
men remain untortuied, tlieyare so terrified that they become
beside themselves, and liave n(»ne of that freedom which
lawyei's exhibit in talking about money stolen, lent, oi' the
like, so that the innncent are (iftea jainished. Jhit if the
innocent are tmtureil, iliey will easily .admit that they have
been guilty of some crime, which is truly liorrible.

"Assistant-judge Tamano, wiio coincides with me in this
o]iiiiion, is also di'sii'ous of abolishing tortuie, and says, 'It
Would not 1)0 a task of great dillieulty to make ollicials of the
highest rank, or ollicers of the army and navy, to coid'ess to
ail}' ''rimes by means of toiture.' This shows that thi' injury
done by toriui'c is ten'iblf. ThouLih a jx'rson may be inno-
cent, he will linally say be is guilty, because; he thinks it
better to die than to undergo torture 1

"The llin.alayas ai'e the highest mountains in the world,
and are situated in the ceiitie of Asia. South and west of
the I is Jndia and the (lermanic race: and over the ocean,
Westwards to America, the same (lerman race. Ibit north
and east of tliese mountains are the Mongols and Chinese,
and ovei' the ocean again eastward there is the same race in
America. Mow, the Germanic race adnuls no torture, but
the iMongolian cannot escape it. Oh, Himalayas! What

278

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

manner of mountains are ye ? Why do ye make of your-
selves symbols of the distinctions of races ? Why do ye make
the Germanic race iiappy, and pass by tlio uuhapjjy Mongol
race? Hath not God made all mankind of one flesh and
blood ?

" In my middle age I passed through the Indian Ocean, and
saw many islands iuliabited by Malays, but I tliiuk that they
are only modihed Mongolians. But they were under the
power of England or Holland, and therefore not subject to
torture. The Africans are a black race, but those of them
under European rule escape torture. Is tlie (question of toi-
ture, then, one of difference of race or dilference of knowledge ?
Neither in ancient nor in mcdern times is tliere anything
worse than torture. Why cainiot it be al^olished ? It must
cease, or we never can claim an equal civilization with I^urope
and America. Nations will not form tnjaties on a basis of
equality with us, so long as the custom exists, nor will it b(^
possible for us to acquire juiisdiction over foreigners."

So we sat under our national flags, ))rotected b} all the
grandeur of France and r)ritain. Who's afraid ?

With a charcoal-tire in a square liole in the middle of the
matted room, with a frame of wood over that, and a cotton
quilt on top of all, my comrade and 1 used to sit with our
legs under the quilt, sipping tea and coffee, and smoking
Japanese toliacco, till it was time to break uj) our evening
talks. Then he and his attendants laboured for their night'.s
rest, while I stretched myself on the mats, and slept with as
little trouble as a Samoyede.

Silk. — Wcdncsda//, IG. — 35". — Water, frozen in the garden :
up at daylight. Start at nine. After driving a short way,
turned from the main road to the left, and followed a cvoss-

SILK.

279

and

road to Tamicka, where we took up our abode in tlie house
of the French director of tlie Government silk factory. My
comrade liad an order from his cf)untryman at Yokoliama to
use his liouse, and we were welcomed by his people and by
Dr. Vidal, He lias charge of 500 "raoshmes" (Japanese
damsels), many of good family, who work in this silk-winding
steam factory. Tliest, girls earn six shillings — a dollar and a
half — a month, and they are fed by a squeezing contractor.
We walked most of this day's march, nine miles over foot-
hills and the dry beds of torrents. In these were pebbles
and rolled stones of quartz, niica-schist, porphyry, and hard
slate. They indicate old rocks in the high grounds. Tl»e
I'ocks near the road were s<jft and modern, dipping northerly
towards the hills. Jn front of the house, N., 62" W., is the
smoking snow-cone of Asamayama. It is always blowing off
stean), and spitting ashes and dust, but it never has over-
sowed with lava since men remember. It seems to be a
com]>leted cone, like Vesuvius before the last eruption broke
down one side.

Thursday, 7. — My comrade was very busy all morning
l)reparing to observe the North Star, and ascertain the varia-
tion of the comi)ass. Dr. Vidal was busy with his mail.
We visited the factory, and saw 300 Japanese girls in one
room winding silk from cocoons by the hel]> of a steam-
engine and hot water. Neat, fresh, well-clad, pretty damsels
they were, bright-eyed, rosy, luid healthy. There were few
in hospital. They were under strict discipline of stern
matrons and a line olu .la])anese gentleman superintendent.
Sacks in warehouses full of cocoons smelt of shrimps. After
leaving the paddy -grounds of the alluvial plauis, we had

280

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

passed through fields of bare bushes, about as big as goose-
berry-bushes. These were mulberries, aud tlie wliole region
is devoted to fostering silk-worms, which nw boiled by the
damsels, who unwind their silken castles. The whole in-
tlustry has newly sprung up, or has been greatly increased,
and is under GoverniiMiut, superintended by Frenchmen.
The whole was a bit of Europe planted at the foot of the
Japanese hills, and ii credit to all concerned except the
contractor, who starveb these ])retty girls, and deserves the
fate of the silk-worm.

^Modern Japanese silk fabrics are flimsy. ^lany articles
sold at tlie ports as Japanese are said ti> be European shams.
T bought none. The old fabrics are narrow and very rich
and hen vy brocades, woven in narrow Ja])anese looms before
Europe got into the country nud the market. Samples of
this old silk bi'ocade were to l)e found occasioiudly about
temples and in rag-sho]is. Tiie ^likndo and his ministers
still give ])resents of rolls of silk brocade to honoured per-
sons, and these are (|uite as good as anything manufactured
of old. The skill and taste of the genuine silk labrics wen-
greatly admired by good judges in England. Here the energies
of all concerned were devoted to winding I'aw silk grown in
the country.

After a very e.Kcellent European dinner, with a "tai " fresh
from the sea to begin with, and good claret at the end, we
sallied forth in the frosty aii', and did some astrontuny. An
azimuth compass placed on a stiind, a cat-gall<»\vs with a
plumb-line, and a bull's-eye lantein, made the observa-
tory. My (hity was to throw light on the string. " A
little higher ! " " A little lower ! " " That \\ill do ! " " Trh

THE NORTH STAR AND THE PLOlJfHI.

281

lien!" "Mcrri !" Then we stuck po,^s in tlio ;4rnuii(l, and
markod tlie factory wall, and next iuornin<f we were able to
point to the North. 1 suggested tliat we nu'i^ht walk about
till the lightning conductor was on the North Star, but that
])lan was astronomically objectionable, so I bowed to the
godson of La Place, and worked his lantern till T sliivered in
the frost. From that night till we parted we diil tliis astro-
nomical business. Lot nic state the result. The variation
is very small, and sei'ins to be affected by the volcano. It
seemed to me possible that the friction of steam in the crater
may set u[) currents of electricity. Magnetic iron ore in
lodes m\v also have some elfect on the needle. The instru-
ment was not of the best, but the astronomer and his
assistant did idl they could. The result will bi; comiiiuiii-
cated through tlie French minister to the (iovei'nmciit by my
comiade, who told me all h'' knciW. Alter luncheon our
party widlced twelve miles to SliiiDdnitd, a mountain village.
It was a l)('aiitiful walk up a gli'u between stee[) hills, with
groves of trees and tem[iles on their sides. Till ihe law was
changed, these last were privileged. AVe crossed a steep eol,
and lookeil down into a curious gully, and at strange hills of
unusual shape. T made a rapid pencil-note, and understood
the meaning of Japanese landscapi\s, wliich seemed untrue to
nature. The nature of these rocKs, and the action of heavy
rains on soft and hard beds together, ])roduee conical bare
mounds, capped on the toj) by big trees, whose roots and
ibliage shiiller the ground, and hold it. The landscape is
strange, weird, and fantastic.

For the second time T found a countryman working amongst
nmlberry-bushes with the foot-plough. It is the very same

282

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

implement which is used in the Western Isles of Scotland
by the "Gaidheal" there; and, so far as I know, it is used
nowhere else. Here is a note of the Japanese farmer, using
the very same action as a Skyeman, and the very same
agricultural contrivance, only better made. This is the " cas
crom," or bent shank of the West in the far East a strange
bond of union between the extremities of the old world.

We walked on to a very pretty village, and saw our traps
and servants installed in a capital tea-house. Then we went
out to see the shops. In one, exposed for sale, was a red-
laced ape, with a rope round his neck. I thought he looked
vicious ; he was dead, and grinning defiance. Ueside him
was a wild boar, and we secured pork-steaks. Ne.xt hung a
great flying-squirrel nearly two feet long, brown, with a
long brush, and I believe a nondescript. His body was
shaped like a conical bullet. Dr. V. bought him to skin and
cut up and stuff and make a skeleton of for his native
French museum. Followed by a lot of cheery ix)lite Japa-
nese boys and girls, we went on to a bridge and a burn ;
there I found slates, schists, and old altered rocks in situ.
So far as I could make out in the dusk, the strike was N.E.,
and the dip N.W. towards the hills. In the street, raised on
stone pedestals, were 'jeautiful miniature temples, carved in
wood, — one figure with a stag at his feet, we set down for
" St. Hubert." We were told that he was a Kami of som^e-
thing. I suspect that he was a disciple of Buddha, but the
plain wood seemed to mean " Shinto." Waters, the engineer
of a mine which we had come to see, came to our quarters.
The house was full. At night the floor was thickly covered
with sleepers, liefore they slei)t they bathed. An old lady

SINBAD'S IRON MOUNTAIN.

283

splashed like a seal in a cauldron of hot water close to me
when I was conducted to my hot tub. She did not mind ;
neither did I. A lot of jolly children made me very proud
by playing tricks to the " Togin Bashi " (Chinese fool, or
foreigner). They were quite tame, and rather like the de-
ceased ape in the shop outside.

Iron. — Friday, 18. — Shimonita to Matsiiida, 12 miles.
— First we walked with Waters, engineer of the mine, to the
works. We scrambled up a very steep hill-side to a boss of
magnetic iron ore, which projected southwards from the hill,
in a wood, A pickaxe whirled round and stuck fast in a
cleft. My hannuer stuck fast, and l)ccame a magnet, being
steel. The compass wheeled round in all sorts of directions,
as if bewitched. A string of keys stood on end and fixed
themselves on the side of a narrow split. When men sit
there, watches stop. Generally this was very like the Iron
Mountain of Sinbad the Sailor. A worthy priest came there
not long ago to oflei' rice to the " Kam\," the genius or spirit
or divinity of the rock. The rock pulled the ii-un lid off the
rice-pot, which clattered against the natural magnet and
stuck there. The priest Hed in terror. I longed to get at the
story, but I had got to practical men. Here was an iron-
mine, and money to be made. So here were men quarrying
the crop of the bed, and a smelting furnace was at tlie way-
side, just ready to begin work with charcoal to be made out
of the forests which make these hills pu pictu:"sque. Eleven
months aft'>r tb.at, in Lanarkshire, I saw what happens to a
country where iron is smelted and dug. The legal pi-oprietor
of this Japanese estate was a cheery country gentleman, with
whom his English engineer had learned to converse. Here

•284

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

was auotluT bit of Europi! in Japan. Silk aiul iron and
gold aLjiiinst niytlii^; Venu^, Vulcan, and Plutus aijaiiist
Kami. We look leave of J)r. Yi.lal and walkeil on u]) tlin
waterside, in a xi'vy pretty glen with very sle(>p sides, with
fantastic rocks ahead. After six-and-a-half miles we "ot to
a col, and there rested auil tested the in.strnments. "We went
down, and saw that we had got round a considerahle moun-
tain, separated iVom the main range. The surface was a masr*
of yellow pumice and ashes, tlii'own over the whole country
.about sixty years ago Ijy Asamayama. In the hill-sides are
the edges of beds of basalt, overlaid Iiv yelinw Vdhtanic beds.
■J'he general sha])e of this country is due to wearing by
streams ; the result, fanta-tic needles, p(,'ak's, and sierras, of
which some rise nearlv 20(i0 feet above the vidley. Looking
N.K. along the distant range where snow Liy in I'ni'rows, the
geological structure seemed to coincide ^\•ith the dip and
strike of the old beds iVnuxl in th<' rivei-. 'i'he I'ange seems
til lie en the X.E. strilce with a X.W. dip, witli the nlde-^t
beds cropping out n-xt to the jihdn. The gi-eat volcanic
mountain jUMbab'y U on a fault, and ranges with Nantai and
Fuji San.

INfy comrade and his attendant carried sporting tools, hi
the evening the iiheasanfs came out into tlu; piiddy-fields.
There was a chasse, and a pheasant fell wounded into a
clump of brush. 1 lit my pijie, and the huntei's hunted in xain.
I'assengcfrs stopped to ask what was up. I answered, " I'lu'asant
— bird," and that had t(j suHice, for I knew no more. The in-
terp:»-.'ter got so keen, that we left him hunting the ])heasant
in a bank of bnishwood and walked on till we got to a larger
river, to the Nakaseudo, and to a big town. There with

USUI TONGE.

285

some trouble wc found tlie rest of onv people, iuid ^'ot Indeed
in a iimguifieent ten-house. 1 1 was nmcli freiiuenlcd by
Diiiuiios in tlie old times some ten ycirs iv^o; now pait of it
is a scliool, and the rest was all our own l\>v the nit^lit. All
day long the road was hard frozen, and 1, liaviuLj a blistered
foot, limped on the casts of i'oi-mer pedestrian sandals.

Sdlardaij, 19. — MutsuUla to Kalriud(iv:a, 14 miles; 27.10
l\;et up, and oOi) feet down ; .'ii)' at 8 ; everything frozen
hard.^ — Started at i). — Tlie cuiious jagged rocks passed
yesterday, and tlie hill which we had nxHuitly gone round,
Avere to the left, more than L'OOO feet high. Walked uj»
beside a considerable stream, six miles, to SuLdinofo, where
lunched, T."*!) feet u[). ^My gaiiu! lo(tt, and shoes devoid of
nails, kept me on the ]Kitli. My comrade's boots and his
liuntiug habits carried him olf to hill-sidrs. Old ex]!erience
of such hills taught me to expect tliat which ]iresently hap-
pened. The sportsman returned io tlie path, lie had got to
cross g'.lllies with excO(M;iiigly steep sides, matted with
bamboo brush. Those who know tlie dells of Lanarkshire,
and the fun of shooting thei'e, may undovstaiid what Japanese
walking is like, if they imagine every briar a liamboo as
tough as a, hempen cable, and as stiff as a small larch. There
were no ])]ieasaiits so near the rond. I spent niv- sjiare time
in sitting by doors drinking tea. At Solm/tolo we had a
better luncheon, ami then jnit " the simit heart to the stae
brae." At 2(ir>0 feet abovii Yeilo wc began to mount the
Usui Tongc. In a mile and a half we mounted {^7,{) fuet, and

' On tcstiiic; niy <,'l;iss iit lioitin it was found to read a dcgruc and a liall'
too liifrh. I f^'ivi' till' readings wliicli I took, and leave readiM to fjiiu their
own ostiniale of clinuito.

280

MY CIIICULAII NOTRS.

lialted to smoke. In ono and tlivec-quartor miles we had
mounted ll')0 feet in an liour. That makes the top tea-
house about 3200 feet above the sea. At the foot of tlie pass
facinj^ tlie sun it was warm. Snow Lay here and tlicro, hut
camelHas in full bloom made the houses and ^^ardens beautiful.
I longed to draw, I lonj^'ed to be a botanist, but there was
nothing for it but E.xcelsior. At the tea-house were liung
up a deer, a bittern, and a magnifiecnt mountain pheasant.
He had a long, liglit-coloured, barred tail, white and brovSii
spotted back, and a fire-coloured ne ;k' which was grey in
some lights. Our larder was replenished, and we drank more
tea. Tlie way rose gradually along a ridge to the first snow-
patch, which we reached at 2.45 p.m. The glass gave 2750
feet rise since morning, 4000 feet above the sea. We got to
the top of the pass and a small village 4000 feet above tlie
sea, 3200 feet from MaUvlda, 2550 feet from Sakamoto, at
the foot of the Uavi Tomjc — all by aneroid Itarometer un-
checked. "We had just passed the most renowned jilace in
all Japan. It is a wooden shanty of a tem])le, witli tlie usual
slirine, and witli paper ])rayers fluttering about tlie fi at oi
strips of wliit(^ ])a]tor. Two giant red figure' »• in-

habitants. Tliey were under r(!j)air, and their , .nls wcie

set in one place side by side, looking out o\^ the i 'ain.
Their bodies and legs and arms were laid on the grou; i, and
generally they looked in need of that mending which they were
awaiting. There was something grotesque in tlir grave; air
of the two bald, red Japanese faces, looking towards Tokio
and the sun. The slirine, as explained by the French boy,
is that of the Kami of the cultivators of the soil. All this
day we were passing shrines and great stones set up, with

WINTER AND FIUE.

287

inscriptions carved (tn tliein. One was read, "The niorninj^
I>rayer for liuddlia." Another recorded that some one had
tliere seen the moon. The pass is the rrute througli which
j^'enerations of men have crossed from one side of Japan to
the other, and the stones and cairns are memorials of their
thoughts. One prayed ; anotlier, being a i)oet, quoted or
composed ; anoDier set up a group of stone hgnres and an
altar to Buddha and his favourite disci])les, or to some Shinto
Kami ; and then passengers thing stones to record their
prayers, and made a cairn. On the top was the temple, with
a grated bo.x for cash, which more generous passengers toss
in after their prayers liave been said. The cash are alms for
the priests, and good works. The stones re] (resent at least
the labour of throwing them; the altars and insciilied stones
all are good works ; and good works, according to Buddhism,
will themselves promote the workman in his next life. So
this main road of Japan is lined with good works in stone,
and wood, and paper. When the weather is clear, the view
over the plains must be something like that which I saw
from Tike's Peak at the verge of llie Jiocky ^Mountains.
Having drank tea and .s-rtZr, and having devoured bean-cakes
at the mountain tea-hou.se in the snow, we rattled fast down
to our halting-i>lace. On the way we met an old man with
two grand cock ])heasauts on his back, of a different sort
irom any which I have seen, so far as I could make out. His
gun was a smooth bore, and carried ball. It was a match-
lock. The great smoking cone was to our right. In front
was a cold, grey, cloudy, snowy landscape, that might have
been in Lapland. We had got to the upland on which the
cone grew. The dark-purple and indigo clumps of trees in the

288

MY CIllCULAIi NOTES.

hiu.y evening, tcilliiiL;' against the cold, grey snow, fadud into
grey clouds, so that it was hard to tell where sky hegan and
hills ended. It looked cold, cheerless, and dark. Yet this
was Japan. 'J'he undergrowth was banihuo grass, and tlic
trees and slu'uhs quaint and strange. I'resently we came to
a stone figure with a su[)erlluity of arms, and I was puzzled.
I have since got to understand that Ihuldha converted lieaven
and eai'tli, so that all the Indian I'antlioon were added to his
disciples l)y his disciples. In like manner, as it a])pears, all
the Japanese Kami, and all that was Shinto, heeame lUiddhist
till the revolution reformed Shinto and made; Ijuddhisiii
heresv. I'^ven Christian ima'^es mav he convci'fi'd.

A hit of central Asia and a hit of India were i)lantod in
Japan of old, not far from two new hits ol' juactical Mni'oiic'iu
IMutocracy, tlu; worship of Iron and (Inld. .Vll day. long we
met or ri'ossed crowds ol' travellers, and (.hapnn'n and traders.
Some were coolies carrying (h-y sea-weed and hsh and cakes ;
some were genthnnen carried by two hearers in cagos. Tliei'e
were trains of pack-horses in siraw slioes; Samurai with lon^
swords countrymen, ])easants, women, and hahes. In sliorl,
it was a living Japanese ]iunorama of native industry, plea-
sant to look upon, and a maguiiicent day's walk. We dined
as l)est wi' eould on eggs, soup and chickens, potatoes, rice
and cakes, tea and sake, and orange-peel. Massanao Xan-
gaiauia and Koiti did their duty and earned thi'ir S([ueeze.
We sle[)t under ])iles of quilts, with tlu; therujonu.'ter at
freezing in our pa[ier- house, after observing the position ol
the North Polo and the aspect of the Great Bear,

Sundai/, 'KUh. Drmnhrr. — Js'ii/ruidcira. — My comrade
wanted to slaut I io write and look about, so halted for

h(
a

si(

I"
a

III

sti

IDOLS.

289

the day. Tn the iniddlo of a matted room with paper screens
is a square liole lined with stone, full of burning charcoal,
over that a cage of wood, over that a cotton quilt. With
feet nndei- the (piilt, and book on the cage, wrote up log.
(Jrey, darlc, shady-looking morning, and precious cold. Two
hunters came, and there •\vas a granu palaver tlirough the
interpreters. It was agreed that tliey were to have a shilling
each (one boo) and half the game, and a sum for any pheasant
shown on the wing. They said that the top of their volcano
could be made out in a walk of about twelve hours, but that
now it is so cold up there that a man could not speak. The
snow is dec]), and covers holes in the ground. I thought so,
and did not try the mountains. Sir Harry Parkes, who made
tlie ascent, described tlie crater as very interesting, — a wide
shaft polished by the continual escape of steam.

As this is a curious [)lace, went out ])rospecting for idols.
Found a rustic shrine in a field. Tbe central stone figure,
sitting on the heels, has a yellow cotton nighteai), and a yellow
cotton shawl on the shoulders, four damaged lacquer cups are
hung round the neck with a string, and some cash at the
foot of the statue. I have seen many similar offerings about
holy wells in Ireland aud in Scotland. In the lap is placed
a votive offcn-ing sculptured in black volcanic st(>ne. On each
side are two dra[)ed ornamented figures in an attitude of
l)iuyer, standing on peck'stals of which tlie tops represent
a lotu'-'. A large stone lantern is beneath a ruined tree. The
three chief figures an; under a Sliinto sited, that is to say, a
structure of unpainted wood. A double Hue (jf stone images
of lUiddha and his discii)les guards a paved path which leads
to a small bridge over a streamlet The whole struck me as

VOL. I. U

290

MY CIIICULAR NOTES.

a curious bit of living worship, showing the mixture of Shinto
and Buddhism with tlie worship of otlier powers. Near the
place, by the side of tlie highway, is a mound with a large
inscribed stone set up on it. It was "the morning ])ray(.!r for
Buddha," said one of the boys. Tiiere I sat, and witli very
cold fingers made shift to sketcli Asamayama. As I iinished,
tlie hill vanished in clouds and mist. Walked back by the
road anil looked at a tall stone idol set iij) near a stream. It
is drai)ed and upright, has three heads and six arms, and two
legs. Two arjns are in the attitude of prayer, the rest hold
various endjlems. 'My knowledge of Hindoo idols did not
suflice to identify this one, but manifestly it is of Hindoo
origin. I found out its luime later. Went back to our
village and through it, and then with still colder fingers nuide
a rough pencil-.sketeh of a stone inscribed. (!reat numbers
of quiet civil peo{)le passed me; countrymen with pack-
horses as usual, two-sworded Samurai, and travellers on foot
and carried in cagos.

I noticed this day, and throughout my Japanese rambles,
that Megalithic structures abound. I saw no stone circles
anywhere ; but single stones of large size are very connuonly
set up in conspicnous jdaces, and they are generally stei)ped
in a hollowed block of stone like the blocks in which stone
crosses are planted in the Scotch Isles. Something in the
nature of stef)s, or a rude square inclosuro, generally surrounds
the stone, and it is conimoidy inscribed. I could linil no one
about the settlements or in the ('ountry to give me any de-
finite explanation of all these idols and endilems and memo-
rials. I did all I could to set men on tliis trail. I suppose
that many of the idols are remnants of the old religion of the

ill

lb'
th
H.
"I,
tit

RELIGIONS.

291

1)1" Lho

Japanese, ujtoii wliieli Ijiiddliisin, as iuijMiited from China, was
eiij,frafte<l.

"Shinto" v.-as declared to be tlic- religion of the state not
h)ng a;4o. I eould find no one to explain to nuj what Sliinto
is. lUit so far as I was able to get at the ideas of my inter-
preters and servants, it seemed to be the worsliip of the
powers of nature and, above all, of ancestors. The Mikado
ri!i»resents a sacred familv said to be "heaven-born." Shinto
is his state religion, and the people still consider him to be a
divine ])ersonage whose ancestors aie Kami, iratchiman is an
historical character, whose history is ivcorded in Japanese
works. He was a great general who died st)me few liuiKh'eds
of years ago. ]>ut this mortal has act[uired the attributes of
Hercules. Many temples are dedicated to him, and many
]iilgrin)s resort to them. In some are deposited the swords,
I10SV.S, and armour of famous warriors of later date. The right
thing to do is t*; drink .sale at the tt'mi)h', to make the votary
strong and c(turageous. Feats of strength perfoinied by
votaries wh(_) lilte<l great stones, are recorded on tlie stones,
which arc; set up as a memorial. A mcidicine-box lias the
hgure of Hatchiman carved on it ; and that figure is com-
m(»nly painted on lacquer-ware medicine-boxes which arc
slung to waist-belts.

Mine is a grim gentleman, with moustache, ami a kind of
Phrygian cap ol liberty, <lresscd like a Daimio contemi)l;!ting
nights of retreating cranes. In short he is the a[K)theosis of
that whiih would be called muscular (.'hristianity in England.
lie was a strong, brave, healthy man, and he has become th(!
" kami " of strength, jduck, and health. lUit as these quali-
ties existed before this particular worthy, 1 suppose that

U 2

292

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

other older worthies of like character have been promoted in
like manner elsewliero. Grettir, the stron;^^ man of Iceland,
according to this Japanese set of facts, is not " the sun," but
was a strong man, like " Ilatchiman." So, T suppose, were
Hercules, and all tlic other strong characters in mytliology,
and in national epics. If Buddha, wlio M-as a real man,
has come to represent absolute Eepose, tlie other ancient
worthies and ancestors have come to represent active (juali-
ties which raise men in human esteem, and raised them to
honour after deatli in tlie woi'king world. Hatcliiman repre-
sents action, Buddlia rest. But as ancestors are worshipped
they rise in the estimation of their descendants to the rank of
kami, and to rule the powe*.^, of I'l'.tr.re. Amongst the giant
figures wliicli guard the entrance to the tomb of the sixth
Shogun at Nikko I have descrilied tlie Kami of Tlnuider.

Ac Balgone, in East Lothian, are two bron/es, which were
sent to a treaty port iorsale, by a Daimio, who then wanted
funds for a war witli a neiglibouring Daimio. An oHicer who
saw them unpacked, bought them and sent them home. They
are the best samples of that sort of Japanese art that T ever
.s.'iw. The two vases of l)ronze are a!)out three f'"^*' ' !gh.
The stands represent rocks overgrown with small plants, like
the stands upon which shrines are commonly placed in
Ja])anese towns ; on these rocks are small models of J;i])auese
houses, and they mean a mountain, somewhere. The ba.so of
each vase is supported by ojien work of the foliage of j)ino.s
and plum-trees, iiiid the usual subjects of Japanese art
Above that is a bronze rail, like the wooden rails which sur-
round tem])les. The body of each vase is encrusted with
o[)en-work of leaves, more than four inches deep. On one

A BRONZE MYTH.

293

side sits an eagle by a waterfall, beautifully worked, with the
conventional waves and spray of the Japanese artists. On the
opposite side are figures. One is a man in Japanese armour,
with the usual sandals, but with a conical basket-work
helmet of unusual shape. He is pointing a lighted torch at
the snout of the conventional Japanese water-dragon, whom
he has vanquished, ile has horns and the long beard of
some .Japauese lish, ears, scales, a mane of spikes, and all
tile usual trailiug folds and curves of the favourite water-
diagon of Japan. He seems to be a cross between an alli-
gator and tribes of I'acific iishes.

Hercules slew a hydra in a marsh ; I have been in the cave,
close to tlie source of a stream which starts fi'om many strong
Innestone springs, or " well heads," in recce. This Japanese
worthy is doing the work of Hercules.

A live-sided star-lisli, .sui-rounded by live leaves and as
many double curves, frequently repeated, probably make the
heraldic device of the llunily to whom these vases belonged.
The "key pattern" occui'S on the rim, above and below.
The companion vase is a similar composition of land.scape,
foliage, birds, and ligures. The human iigure is in a ruder
dress, ajjparciutly a dress of skins, and he has conquered the
Kami of Tliunder.

He has the same wild demon face and flowing hair as
Thunder at ]S'ikko : he holds the same dumbl>ell drumstick in
his hand, and near his head is part uf a glory of Drums, like
the ten which surround the head of the A'ikko image, and,
like them, aduined with some heraldic device. Tiie vases are
wonderful works of art, for they are bronze castings ; 1 saw
nothing to eijual them in dapan. lUit my point i.s that some

294

MY CIRCULAR NOTKS.

hero has ovorcoinc the God of Thunder in this hronzo myth,
while another has vanc^nishod the water-dragon with a torch.
Tlie giant has beaten Jnpiter ; Inch'a lias beaten Ahi ; the man
has overcome nature. My reading of this myth is that these
ancestors, promoted like Ilatchiman, would, by one more
step in promotion, become the equivalents of .Jupit(!r or Thor
and govern thunder, and that Jui)iter was an ancestor before
he became Jove or Indra. These Japanese idols and oll'er-
ings seem to explain the growth of myths simply and
naturally. Holiness, abstinence, wisdom, swiftness, strength,
and all manner of human qualities which men admire, come
to be represented, either by an ancestor who was promotctl
to be a Shinto Kami, or by one of IJuddha's disciples. One
of these who had a long head, and could remeiidjer his
master's sermons, became a delinite shape, and is the a])0-
theosis of ^Memory in Ibiddhist Japan. I have often .seen
his image in London shops. 1 only learned his story on the
Kakaseiido.

1 had worked hard ;it cuiii])arativ(! mythology wiiile collect-
ing the popular tales of the West IJiglilands ; 1 never could
trace the descent of the sun to earth by degradation, till
he became a iVog, or a jicbblc, or I'xxjts, or Aladdin. 1 Ibund
iu all Aryan mytlis lliat the weak and desjiised rise; that
the youngest, — Doots, AskoHs, Cinderella, Ahuldin, tin; black,
rough-hided ])casaiit drudge of the West Highlands, and
(;lrimni's little (u'rman tailor — all rise to be Princes; and now
in Japanese art 1 found the very same idea iu tli(3 jiromotion
of a Trince to b(! J)ivine, in the promotion of a (lenei'al to
be a Kami, and iu the coiapiest of the Kami of Thundtu-
by a man in rough clothes. Augustus Cajsar had divine

PILGRIM PARSES PAGAN.

295

lionoiirs, and even Napoleon the Great has become a myth in
France.

" There arc sermons in stones."

Sucli-like were my Sunday co<.iitations out in the cohl,
at the foot ot Asamayama, amoiij^st these rude stone idols
of many heads and many arms, and strange forms planted on
mounds, in groves, ])y trees, and streams, and rocks and
stones. I seemed to have got into the nursery of myths
•(vhicli T had gathered on the other coast of the old world.
1 seemed to he in the den ol" Heathendom, with the ancients.

My comrade shot five beautiful jiheasants, and saw
nearly a hundred. The Tuen showed him the birds on
the wing according to contract, and seemed exceedingly
entertained at tlie absurd idea of shooting in the air. lint
when the sjxtrtsinau really did floor the birds, they did all
they could to scare them away, and finally leil this terrible
foreigner out of their preserves into the roatl. I su]i]ioso
that the snow had driven the birds down into the flats at the
foot of the hills. Koiti had his M'ork cut out for him, and
we feasted.

Monday, 21. — When we rose at daylight nine inches of
new snow coviMvd earth, trees, grass, houses, and path. It
was a white wdrld. ]\Iy landlord brought some sword knives,
and crystal balls and other curious things, and we had a deal.
Then somebody gave me a beautiful sugar cake in a box
worthy of Taris. It really was a work of art, with a land-
scape, trees, ;ind a waterfall on the crust. It got broken to
bits before it got f;ir on its way, but here was " a Christmas box."
I put on heavy boots, and we marched ten and a half miles to
Odai^ a small place, where we camped in a tea-house. Wo

296

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

halted for " tiffin " at Oiwakc, wliicli is a large villa-fe with a
magnificent tea-house ornamented for Daimios ; painted,
papered, and carved.

We got in at 3.30. The day's march gave ns a good view
of the volcano. The cone has a smoking, steaming, roaring,
crater at the to]). To the west are two remnants of old
craters, in the position of Somma to Vesuvius. Tlie iinier
fragment is nnich Airrowed by streams, the outer anil older
still more. The cone, which was in eruption ahout si.xty
years ago, is hardly furrowed at all. Deep ravines near tlie
road give sections of yellow volcanic ash, which was largely
thrown out, and to a great distance, within tlie memoiy of
grandfathers. The mountain, covered deeply witli last
night's snow, and with its wliite plume of steam, was
beautiful. We descended about 600 feet, and the cold was
far less. Our luggage travelled in jinrikisiias. The men
ran nearly naked. One had a loin cloth, a handkerchief
round his head, and a pair of straw sandals. lie skipped
through snow halfway to his knees, di-agging his carriage,
grinning at the fun, and defying frost. Truly these little
imps are grand, hardy men, worthy of better work.

Tuesday, 22.— Start at 9.30; 30° •27'100.— Camped at a
poor tea-hous(! nuich against the will of our men and to the
detriment of Scpieeze. Fed like kings on pheasants and eggs,
and tea and salic. Carry made the variation nil. The road
turns the base of Asamayama. The long sloi)e, mucli broken
by torrents, is to the S.W., as is usual in tlie northern
hemisphere. I counted eiglit points on the slope;, like small
Sommas. I could not make out whether tliese are broken
rings or one long .slope cut into by torrents. The morning was

MYTHS.

297

bright iiiul cold. At Eiccuiuirata — ii small Daimio's town, with
a stone rail at each end — 1 made pencil-sketches, which I
washed with colour to save them at Mozizuhl,\\\\QVii wc halted
early, at o.oO. ^Valked eleven miles on very dirty, sloppy
roads.

^Iyi'IIS. — Let me l»eg readers to accept what T say about
.hijjanese myths and mytlio](»<i;y with caution and benevo-
lence. It had cost me more than fifteen years to collect the
popular myths and ballads of my own country, where I know
the language, and where I am known. In Japan I did not
know the language, and my interpreters knew my stock of
languages very imperfectly. 1 had all the usual dilliculties
to surmount, in striving to jiersuade these people that I was
not laughing at them, but honestly seeking to learn their
ideas and their legends. Such small knowledge as I had
gleaned from books could be of suinll value iu a country
which was closed against the rest of the world till it was
( \^;ned with big guns a lew years ago. Above ull, the ideas
of niountaineeas on such a new track were so dillicult to
glean in the midst of other work, that my Jnjiane.se harvest
of stories may turn out bad grain wIkmi threshed.

In the Japan Mail of April 24, 187o, in a budget of
Jiijiuiicse notes on JUuldliist mythology, I find information
for which 1 vainly asketl in l)ecember, 187-1. The foundation
of a classical dictionary of extreme interest to comparative
inythologists is laid.

For example : " Mari-shi-ten is the great patron of all per-
sons young or old, learning writing, reading, dancing, siuging,
or a trade. The connuon form of this idol is a iigure standing
on the back of a galloping wild boar. It has si.x arms and

298

MY CincrLAR XOTI'S.

three faces. The boar beinr the hi.st of the twc^lvc zodiacal
signs, and preceding the first sign, Xe, on ro])etition inii)li(^s
before the beginning — tlie three faces and countenances
tend in all directions. The six hands denote dexterity
at all work. The day of the boar Innhi is the day
observed in his honour. The Nichiren scsct c.hielly affect
this deity."

This appears to be the draped stone personage whom T
found on a hillside on this pass, and did nut know.

" Shirhiwm (Seven -lieac^'d Sei])ent;. — iVt ^linobnsan in
Koshiu, Nichiren-sho-nin canonized this monster. Sick
peo])le or petitioners for good fortune visit tlu; numerous
shrines that are erected throughout these islands on the
model of the above. AVater and earth ficni the small arti-
ficial lakes always to be .seen in the tcmjde-grounds are
considered certain cures for all ills ; tlu; water as internal
and the earth as external medicines. Only the Nichiren
followers believe in the eflicacy of these things."

Jlere is the dragon r>f western po])ular tules; " Shesha
Ni'igii" of Southern Asia : the benevolent seven-headed cobra
of "old Deccan days" ; one of the chief characters in Indian
epics; one of the chief subjects of sculpture in Ceylon and
elsewhere in Eastern Asia. I sujipose that he is " Ahi "
whom Indra slew in the JV/r/-;. lUit according to Japanese
mythology the hero who slew the serpent was not the Sun
personified. At page 121 of Japan Il/ustraii'd I find — "The
sun is the GMesi da (ighicr of Izanaghi et d'Izanami, and from
her descend the !Mikados, of whom the first reigned OliO B.C."
Nowhere in print have I yet found the Japanese dragon-
slaying story, Miiich nevertheless I found to be commonly

SIIUIXKS, ALTARS, GROVKS.

299

known to everybody in Japan. The sun is a w.juian, in tlio
Edda.

" Sun tluit wist not

Wlii'i'o .•.'/('■ licr hall had,
Moon that wist not
Wiiat power /('• hail."

(Iyi.ki's Morkivj, p. 9.

"Tlic man wlio is named Mundilfiiri had two children;
they were so fair and free lliat lie called one of them (the
son) Milni (^loon), but his daughter S(')l (Sun), and gave her
to th(! man hight Clenr," &e. {Ihld., p. 11, Dasent's transla-
tion, 1 842.)

In (laelie also the. sun is feminine, and fippears to be the
shining lady who is won in popular tales by a human hero.

1 have read and thought a great deal about Aryan mytho-
]o«rv and solar mvths, and 1 hav(> arrived at the conclusion
that we all have a great <leal to learn. Some day T may
repeat the lesson which I have learned, for correction by
other scholars in this school, which lacks a master able to
teach evervthing.

SKETCH or A BrDDHTST siiRixr:.
This shrine is a sami)le of the kind which we pass con-
tir.ually ; but all differ, and each is a ])icture which I long to
paint. Generally a mound, or a rock, or some rising ground l)y
th(^ wayside, is crowned by a group of (piaint, picturescpie
old trees, or by a large grove, lip the slope rises a flight of
Btone stei)s. At the more important .shrines these are con-
siderable works. At the top are lanterns and pillars and
rude inseribeil stones, and some idol or other sits in the
middle, flanked by figures in the attitude of prayer, or by
inscribed stones. I am constantly reminded of " high places "

MY CIHCITLAR NOTES.

and " j^ruvo.s." liut with till tliis niuUituilc of sliriiies iiiid
idols, I liav(3 not seen one siu^^de woi'sliipix'r siiice 1 left
Tokio. I sujtpose tliat the " jfroves " and " liij^'h jdaces " were
sacred first. Si^qis of tlie worsliij) uf trees aliomid. Fuji San
is a sacred "liigli place " still, for the mountain is a place of
pilgriniaj^'e. All round Naniai are teinj)h's on liij^h places.
The graves of the .Siio<,'uns at Nikko nnd Sliiba are on higli
places. Xantai itself is a sacred mountain, and there is
a higli ])lac'e where unlu"ky swords were solemnly thrown
away. There they still rust— a curious i)ile of bloody re-
cords, cast away as their owners hoped lo cast away the evil
of tlieir bad works. Then, as I sujijjose, the religion of
I'uddha, introduced from China, took uj) the ground of the
older atid wilder religion, and priests and votaries planted
images in the groves and high jilaces where the old Kand
wore supposed to become lUiddhists. Then came the late
revolution. The liuddhism of the Shognns fell with them ;
Shinto of the ]\Iikado was declared to be the religion of the
State, and the State took the Luddliist temjjles and turned
them into schools, wherein to t''ach the secular wisdom
of the West. In 1841-2 I saw churclies in IJome crowded
with worshii)pers. In 1S7.'3 I saw the same churches em]»ty.
There had been a revolution — a rebellion against ])riestcrait,
and a swing towards general disbelit'l', whicli ajipeared every-
where in Italy. So in Japan the stone im;ig(!S, which are
not worth anything in the mai'ket, are left out in the cold,
while many bronze idols and decorations were sold to be
melted into tempos, and used to buy guns and nniforms, to
build railroads, and go ahead. The advent of the foreigner
awoke Ijuddha, and levelled a great deal. It remains to be seen

^•i.'».

GAUTAMA, lUJDDlIA, PUI'K, AN[) PAGAN.

sot

what .slructuH} is to ho raisiul on tluiHc. ruins. Somctliin<f
must grow out ol' tlie Italian revolution ; and out ol' the
Japanese sniasli.

liUDDllA. — Meantime there sits Buddha carved in sumo,
with his Itack to tli(! .ui'eat wlute volcano in its rol)e oi" snow,
with the ]ilum(! of steam lacin<^ the noonday sun at the
western end of a Daimio's town, in Avlneh there is no Daimio
left.

The sacred imaj^o is on a sacred lotus, holding a lotus in
his liand, contem])hUin,n-. Tie is raised on a square structure
of two stone ste|ts. Stone lanterns are thereto hold liglits,
and a stone ])illar inscribed. Carry, my French friend, was
testing his azimuth compass by the head of Buddha ; and
Japanese travellers, in the blue and white striped cloaks of
the country, waded through the snow on their way through
their fields to tlunr farms. They scarcely noticed the foreigners,
and took no notice of Uuddlia at all. Now what does this
stone image mean ? From all that I have read and gleaned
it means shortly this: Some hundred years iw. a jnunce de-
termined to abandon his rank and turn j)reachor, monk, and
mendicant. He saw that old age, disease, and death, were
the lot of mortal man. lie felt in the tropics that action was
an evil, repose a gr(>at good. lie went out into the world,
and preached anew religion. He taught that men were not
mortal. When their bodies died they lived again, and they
rose or fell in the scale of creation according to their deeds
done in each successive body. The lowest man by good works
might be born again a [)rince ; the prince might die to awake
a "Nat"— an inhabitant of a better world. The "Nat"
might rise to be a " Ih-ahma," or to anything higher, if

Pacific N. W. History Dept,

PROVINCIAL LIBRARY
VICTORIA, B. C.

302

MY CIRCULAR XUTKS.

aiiytliin^f was lii;^flnjr iu any I'antlicou. DuL the crowiiiiiL;
steji ill promotion by good works was to Ix; boni on earth " a
IJutMha," and to die and attain " Niuwana." Tiiat was rest
after work magnified totht.; utmost. So I'ar as I can (h's(M)ver,
that means liual llest — Death in Life. On t!ie other hand,
had works condemned the evil doer to descend in the scah',
and dragged him down by tlieir weight. Tlie ]»rince who had
done ill miglit be born an elepliant groom, or he might lUe to
awake a demon. The demon cr the wicked man miiiht uet
into a great seething cauldron, where he boiled for thousands
or millions of years like a grain of rice. At long, long inter-
vals, his head comes out loii'^ enougli to utter three words of
a i)rayer four words long, but till all the evil was boiled out
(tf him the end of that [)rayer could never be said. Once
said, tile purilied evil-doer got out of this infernal rice-kettle
by his own exertic's and had a fresh start. Ihit so far as I
can discover [Knn Iiooks and talks, the greatest evil in this
system of piiilosopliy is Lii'e, and the greatest good, Death, or
a Dii luulesi-. Trance. There sits Ihuldha figured in !>loiie,
turning his back tu the volcano, w 'ich may have been taken
for the infernal chimney, facing th ; noon-day sun, with lights
burning before liim at night. 1 at the idea intemU'd and
expressed in all the images of J iddha that (;ver I saw at
Astrakhan, in Ceylon, in (,'liiua, and Japan, is entire alisence
of mind ; the perfect repose of death in life, the " Nirwana "
of doing nothing, wanting nothing, caring for nothing, being
nothing. Surely this is tliti dream of a lotus-eater, or an
amiable (;ater of poppy-heads, or the votary of soma or sale,
or some other soothing narcotic. It is the philosophy of ;i
hot climate. That being near about the ])rinciple of lUuldhism,

KKST AND GO AlIKAD.

.'503

as exi)laim'(l Ity iiieii who Imve studied the philosophy of
tlie subjeet, and as understood '.v' me, it I'eniaincd to see liow
it worketh I'or tliat end I j^ot a h)t of hooks lV(jm tlie Indian
Museum, and read Buddhist stories to see wluit works were
considered gooih The ;,dvin.Lf of alms to a pi'iest ajj[)eared at
every turn. Tlie filliufj of a mendicant'o bowl with rii'c was
suRicient to promote an evil-doinj,', low-caste man, to lie a
great Uijali. It was a meritorious act to abstain from the
seven deadly sins, but the man who had committal llwut *11
might outweigh the evil by easting ''ice into a jiriusl's Iiow!.
Over and over again tliis chief virl.ie shorn; through the
inciih'nts of Budilhist legiMids, with i\\o. op]>'>siti' vice. One
ill deed done to a ])riest outweighed a lifetini!; of virtue.
In all this philosophy 1 niiVcn' could lind a lf..-\v.;rdfr or
I'unishcr. Tlie man's own acts degrade him, or proumte
him to be ^i I'-uthlha, who attains Xirwana by living uut his
last holy 111.'. There have been at least \\\r biindn-d
Buddhas, and a new Buddha may be liorn any d;iy. Hxjierts
will know him by marks. So \'-\v as 1 t an make '-ut a full-
blown lotus ilower ought to be figured on tlie sole., of his feet,
and something of tlie kind on the palms <>f iiis iiands. So
far as 1 can lind out thei'e is ntjilhcr Ix ginuiu'4 nor r ni in
this svstem of Buddhist cosmogony, ih-void of theology, and
ending in eniUess re])os(.'. It seems pure matcriahsm. A>i
tending to ]»romote vi"Mie and iliscourage vice, this is a grand
philosophy in pi'incii)le. Practically, it seems to have
degenerated into a tax on industry I'oi' ihe support of idle-
ness. A practical age abolished monasteries i.i Italy; an
echo t)f the deeds of the Wi'st rang thrmgli Japan ; Buddha
I'ave place to Shinto, and Buddhist [uies^s burned tem[»les

:W4

MY rrnrn.AR \<yrES.

to preserve them from desccriitiun. There was no persecu-
tion. The passive mood liecame active, and the workinij
world passed the stone images, and left them when; T saw
thom, out in the cold. The taxpayers liad enough to do in
paying for all the no\v-fang1c(l activities which danced into
being wlien the change tonk i)la('(! ; the rice-farmer has to
tighten Ins girdle ari'l work hai'der tlian (n'ei", to Ijiiild factories,
telegraphs, railroads, sliips and steamboats, and to ])ay
soldiers to thrasli the Chinese. He has no f;i-Ii to spare for
priests, and monks, and tuins, and i)rivik'ged temjiles ; ,so
priests are forgotten, and the images of Ihiddlia have no
worshippers in these .Ta|)aiii-^(' hills. It is not always so.
At certain seasons festivities are celebrated atcei't;- shrines,
and then there is something like an Irish pattern men cone
to pray and stay for a jolliticalioii.

At one village hereabouts wc inspected a t.iiij'le of
Hatchin»:t»i A lorn: paviid alley, and several gates beauti-
fully Cir-ved, led to a carved temple which was a niarvellons
bit nf \v()..d-wn; i Dragons abouiuled, and folinge. In
wooden cages, oiu; at etch side of the inner gate, are two
carved images, larger than llJ<*, of courtiers in grand attire,
with the u^uid Daimio faces. Tliey have high .shaven fore-
heads, loiig eyes tuMiing upwards, well-formed noses, mouths
expressive i f proud, giim di^'lar nf everylhirig and every-
body. They seeii'ed the ;ii>«itlie<.-i[s <>f tv. (pifditir.s which
l)ecame unbearable — I 'ride, Cruelty, Taxation I found their
nanu'S later. Piefore the revolution .-. farmer did n-.t hire to
ride on his own horse, and u.i; liaM- to any out/,.ge that a
Daimio's retainer, a gentleman and -t«orded soldier, chn.so to
inflict. The world went round, anA dm Same- d went down.

IIATCIIIMAN OUT IN TIIP: COLD.

306

There was a kind of TiiiM Jaofpierio. Tlie ])eaKant mounted,
and tlie inountuin ;_'entl<'nien liid llieir jcide in small villaf^ea,
wliere many work iind -tai .e pioiully still. Hatchiraan the
soldier, like lUiddlia the sa^'e, ftdl in public esteem, and so we
found the usiiiil weird jtine-trees, a few paj)er prayers flutterin;^
iiitlie sneli wind : solitude, and uiitrcddi'n snow at the Temple
doors. Nit a cn-ature had been near the phice since snow
lie>.ran to fall. We camp<'d at MdrhizuLi. after a very amusing
walk of twelve mi]e.s.

23?v/. — Mii(hi:iiki. — 2<'»'. — This was a very ^rand tea-house.
As Usual we kicked off our -lnie< in the street, and then
wa.she<l our feet in tubs of hut watei'. Tlitii we passed in on
a I'aised ])atli ihi-ouirh the i-ookint^ dcpaitmeni and shelter for
coolies, and throujjh courts. Lrardens. and jiassa.L'es, to a grand
ro«(tn overhxtking a j>retty burn adoined wfth j)ines and
Itarnhoo. AVe were in a kind of veranda on an upper floor,
and the veniiida was common to other travellers. Pre-
sently one of these, a fine statiu'srpie gentloTuan with the
uiiual shaven crown an<l topknot pigtail, walked out through
his sliding jumel of paper and bandioo, and stood there with
the air of a I»aimio in (iie pc»se of a (ireek statue, as naked
as he was born. He had just bathed in the bath-ro(Mn beside
the ganlen. Tlie glas«- marked L'fl', and, as it lead too high,
the air must have been .s. .mew here about 24°. After sur-
veying llie land- 'ape for a few minutes the gentleman re-
turned to his own bandbo.K.aiid presently he was dining there
with his family while we ditietl on tiie other side of a narrow
])!iper j)assage. How my fingers were nipped by the frost
that night while holding the bull's-eye lantern for my
iij^t-ronomical chum I will not pause to say. I slept like a

VOL. I. X

306

MY CIRCULAR N )TES.

dormouse in my Archangel pesk. Tlie morning was bright
and sunny, 26° ; rising barometer, 28,000. Wu walked
twelve miles to Ouiada between 0.10 and o.lo J'.m. First we
mounted 750 feet in five-and-a-half miles to a Tchaya (tea-
house), where a man keeps a book lor autographs. All the
European names that I could find were under half-a-dozen,
and most of them belonged to the Dritish eml)assv. I made
him a picture of a Highlander. 27"2r)0. Then we walked
down to a river where we liad "tillin" in a Tchaya and
bought a manilarin duck for the larder. Then we walked
up a narrow gorge, one of several brandies, all of the same
V pattern, all seamed and scored l)y torrents, each with
a narrow river-plain at the bottom made of rolled .stones.
Bamboos like larch-trees, pines, pa])er mulben-ies, I'ice in
patches, mills without end, villagcss with heavy stones on the
roofs like chalets, ici(!les. sunshine, and snow; these were the
features of the day's march. Distant views oi' Asamayania
right behind us gave a good excuse tor an occasional halt.

Mills. — It has struck me several times that within tlie
last few months 1 have sisen tlie whole. ])vogi('s,s of the
invention of a mill. This day 1 saw a new step, or one that
was new to me. .Ston(>. ini])lenu'nts, found eveiywhero, jjrove
that the greater ]»art of th(3 woi'ld has been ]ieo|iled by men
who used stone tools. It seems to me that tlujre are cei'tain
mechanical principles which any creature with intcdligence
may discover and apply. ^laiiy a timelia\-e I seen a lioodie
crow using gravitation to get I'ikmI. Tii'; bird, having round
a large mussel closed, too strong tor his beak to open, lifts the
shell and Hies uj) into iIk; air anil (lro]i.stlie mussel repeatedly
till it falls on a stone ami bi(;aks. Then he g. bbles up the

■■?i

>ll!»M.- I'MlvhlNi, \Mi .,i;lNI>lN(i.

p :lilit, Vol i

?:nginrs with drivers.

307

sIiell-fiHli. A \v(i()<lpecker hammers at a tree and uses his
neck as the liaiidle of liis hamjuer. Some pliilosopliers hold
that the lower animals are automata ami machines constructed
hy tlieir maker to work within certain bounds. Others hold
that tliese machines have drivers of m(j(lerate intelligence.
The Buddhists hold that they may become Buddhas. If pro-
verbs be the wisdom of nations, popuLir tales contain a great
deal of sagacity, and these attribute some kind of wisdom
to hoodie crows. For example, an old crow once instructed
a y<jung one, and said, " If you see a man going along tlie
road with a bent thing with a flat end under liis arm, fly
away as fast as you can ; that is a bad man witli a gun, and
he may shoot you."

" Yaw caw," siiid the young crow,

" If you see a man with nothing under liis arm, and he
stoops, fly ; lie is })icking up a pebble tt; throw at you."

" Caw," said tlie i)upil.

" If you set' a man going straiglit before him, looking
neitliei' to the right nor to the left, you need not nund him,"
said the mother.

"But if tli(! man has a pebble in his pocket?'' said the
young crow.

"Vou may go," said the mother; "I iiecd not tcacli you
any niDrc."

The story is founded on {\\r habits (if real crows, Th"y
seem to know their enemies and read t'l 'ir iiilenlious, young
and old. I have S('' * tlu-m defy a ki'(|iL'r and keep well out
• >t' mUi4, I have sirn them .sitting on a iu<<iiud williiu leu
yards of mc bowing, blowing out tlieir thi«>ats, and setting up
their cri'sts, and seeming to know so nuieh tlia' men have

X 2

.'{0«

MY CIIMJULAR NO'I'KS.

made tlieiii sootlisayers all ovor tjie woihl. Mimifcstly tlic
ciovvs learn one use of gravitation where they liav(! need of
knowing how to bi'eak \n<^ mussels on a soa->;oast. S<ini(' of
the family leai'n to talk better than any panut, l)Mt they do
not seem to understand what thoy say in human speech.

No one, so f'iir as I l-;ni)W, has yet asserteil that he is him-
self a mere niaeliine. IJodiciS are engines, Imt there is an
(Uigineer in every human body, able to IciMii me(;hanies.
The I )i'jLrcr Indians about the Sieri'a Nevada are eomnionly
])liiced very low in the scale of humanity. In llie Yosemite
Valley, in August, 1 saw an Indian woman bi'eakin<^ rf)aste(l
acorns with a [lebljje. 1 have seen a monl<e\' do as nnich in the
Zoological (lardens. Crow, woodpecker, moid<ey, and woman,
had enough of intelligence to use the me(dianical ])rin-
ciple of a hanuncr — a weight and a handle. Hut the savage
ha.s more intelligence; his engin(!ei' is eapabh! of greater
works of art. 1 saw these Digger Irnlian women making
acorn-meal with a jiestle !uid mortar. Holding a long stone
with round ends in both hands, using the arms ior handle
and the shoidder for ])ivot, they hammered away till they
made pits in a granite block, and theiein they wert; pounding
and grinding. 1 have seen a iM'eiieh rook of su]ierior skill
performing the same act in ])re])aririg a dinner foi' epicures ;
and I h.ave seen a very small Highland boy ponnding shells
in a ro(;k-ciip to make bail for lish. I have scimi a doctor's
apprentice at like work. Later 1 saw half-naked women in
Java beating rice with a hmg, heavy stick. It seems that all
sorts of human creatures are capable of inventing a pestle
and mortar. IJut, so far as I know, the wisest of apes has
never got beyond a peiible for cracking nuts. In -lajian

MFI.I.S AND MILLERS.

not)

liuiiiaii iiitelligt'iice, left alone, lias invented an iin])r()V('(l
[(onnding-lianinier. All alonj^ the road to Nikko, and all
along the Nakasendo, in Tokio, and in villaf'es, I have seen
the people ]ioundin^ grain in a large mortar, about three feet
wide, with a heavy w(»oden hammer. It is the Digger'.s
peljl)le, with a haft long enough to givi; a longer .stroke, heavy
enough to give a heavy blow. The workman heaves up the
jiestle by the handle, and lets it drop. They had got the
li'iiglh of stroke doubled. That step is beyond the power of
any Icnver engineer. No moid<ey of my acquaintance ever
put a hafl to his hammer. The Diggers may in time ; mean-
lime tiiey have not got beyond the long pebble held in both
liam's at arm's length.

The Japs being intelligent went on engineei'ing. 1 saw
a few days bel'ore a beautifully-made brown-skinned lad,
straight lindied as a bronze Ap(dlino, holding Ity a cross bar,
and raising a very heavy wooden tilt-hammer, set on a much
longer handle, by using his own weight at the end of a lever
with a fulci'um. He stepped up on the end and stepped olf
iiis tieadmill, and the pestle fell into a larger hole with more
uraiu in it. 1 afterwards saw the same eniiin(> in full work
at many other places ; the men working with the regulaiity
(if clocks, and displaying extraordinary mu.scles specially
enlarged by practice.

This day 1 saw another step, and a great stride, in the mill
invention, and next day I sketched the contrivance. it
looked strange out in the deep snow covered with icicles,
rising and falling there all alone eight times in a minute. It
was precisely the same engine as the last-named tilt-hammer,
but instead of muscular force to lift a human weight, the

310

MY CIRCL'LAR NOTES.

Japanese cn,i,'ineer had ap])lie(l Avater ])OW('r. The rays of the
sun raised his weij^hts, and the eartli's ifravitnlion worked
the pounding machine. A small slrcnm, led through a
bamboo, fell into a wooden vi^ssel, shaped like; a boat's scoop,
made fast to the end of a pole. When the scoo]) tilled, the water
weight, at the short end of a lt;ver, lifted a hammer, curiously
constructed of wood and bamboos and pegs and stones.
The water ran out of the scoop, and the tilt-liammer fell into
a large hollow full of rice and straw. It was a Ja]>anes«j
threshing mill. Not far off, under a shed, another tilt-ham-
mer of the same species was crushing buckwheat. 1 saw no
more of these engines in other districts of Ja]»aii. I never
saw the contrivance anywhere else, so 1 assume that this is
a native discover}' in engineering.

They did not sto]» when they had harnessed the sun.
Some days later I found time to sketch that which I take
to be the natural grctwth of this water-iiammer into a mill
which is neither over-shot nor under-shot. 1'he first samples
T saw had two square boxes, opposite to each other, at the
end of long spokes, stuck into an axle, so .is to turn it on the
pivot. The water ran into the box when both arms were
horizontal. There was considerable resistance, but when the
weight was sulhcient the whole engiiu; made a half turn,
suddenly, so as to lift and let fall a lunivy stam]> inside tlu^
house. This was the Jajjanese form of a stam])-mill, and, as
I never saw the contrivance anywhere else, 1 suppose it
is the Turanian form of that invention. The sample which
I drew was another step in advance; it had four l)uckets,
and made quarter turns. The best stamp-mill machinery is
worked by better-made mill-wheels, which keep a row of

SOT.AR FORCE.

311

stamps goin^', Ity turning continuously without jerks. T saw
thoui crushing quiiitz in Nevada, and in California, close to
the Diggers, who had only made the first step in the invention
of a stamp-mill.

]?ut I had seen more growing mechanics. All j)eople who
use a pestle and mortar grind as well as pound. Uoring
mollusks use tliat mechanical action to grind holes in stone,
and men and l)oys do it naturally. At some stage in civiliza-
tion every savage trilx-, seems to contrive a quern. To that
stage the Diggers had not arrived in August, 1874, though
they had learned to speak English, Spanish, and other tongues
in the much frofi'ientcd valley of the Yo.semite. Our Celtic
ancestors had hit upon the plan of making the pestle turn in
the mortar, which is the princii)le of a quern.

So had most of the peoi)le who used stone imy)l(>ments all
over the old world. The Japanese had got to the hand quern,
and being conservative radicals they nae the liand quern
which I have seen used in Minglay, near l>urra Head. JUit
they have gone a step further. They work the ver}^ same
mechanical contrivance which I have seen at work in Iceland.
A large stone is turned in a large stone cup, with a longer
handle, of which one end is in a pivot iii a beam overhead.
One woman turns small mills of this kind. 1 have seen
larger ones whirled rapidly by three or four Japanese, who
swing the stick from hand to hand and do right good work
with the improved hand qm>rn. A horizontal mill-wheel is
the next step. T have seen one a])plied directly to turn a
quern in the Faroe Isles and in Scotland. Stones used as
pivots are found in Tiree. I never fell in witli that con-
trivance in Japan. The Turanians seem to have arrived at

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312

MY CIRCULAR NO'IKS,

thcii' own jerking vertical water-wheel, witli i^|i«'>k.<M on the
axle to work tilt-hanuners ; v.liile theij <>\ti/*mU'. Aryan
neighbonrs got to a horizontal wheel ou tJic axifc of the
quern. Now the wliole lot have got to jijj]>r«j»v<:r4 inachinery,
to tlie last contrived by engineers, and sent Ut iSii*; ends of the
earth. But all this time tlie Diggers hava it(4 j^'A ixtyoud the
" cnotag," which little boys use for making \mi out in the
far West. Very few monkeys have leari3<.'<l Xo cj-Ac.k nuts
with a stone. Are men improving in ni'^cliauk-stl -ikili '.

So far as engines for grindiug and }<*<>undEiig reconl
progress from the drift ])eriod of Kurojxi onift'ard.^, mills and
querns show a gradual advance in human iiilKjlIigftiice. It is
"lard to believe that men in Kuroj)e, Asia, Africa, America,
Australia, and Java, all descended from n kriowledge of
mills, to querns, and to ]»el>bles wherewit!* Uf (K/uml. It
seems proved that civilized water-uiills luiyt^ j^rown out of
.savage querns, ami ruder stone-hammerhs by ilic' successive
efforts of the mechanical engineers who dri*<" the engines
which are healthy hunuin bodies and bidins m gmwl working
order. Men have impi'oved in practical utn^.-lianics by the
philosophy of " Try " and " Can do."' Th*ir(i(*m:, a.s the song
says —

" Work, boys, work, and hi- fjut^-jslwl.'*

There is time enough to sle(i]> ai'ter work, sutd the harder we
work the sounder the sleep, according io l>u<MI)3.

Thuraday, 2Uk. — We iialted at Uuda, n •<utM town in the
jaM's of a glen. Jn the morning the iuniJtnwiuU read '.V.f,
•27M)0 at 9.30 a.m. Tiie roads were jH>axbe«l by the f(!et of
men and horses, and a mess of mud aiid saow. In .six-and-

UADA TONGE.

313

tliree-quurter miles we inouiited 2,100 feet lo a iiioiuitain
Tcluiya, wliere we halted to feed. As we rose tlie ground
dried, and we got to frozen snow and icicles and a cloudy-
sky with a snell wind. Then we went over about 400 feiit
more in ten " cho," over a ridge and down to another moun-
tain Tchaya, where we halted after making nine miles over
the Uuda Tunge. The whole of the day's march except the
start was over snow, on a narrow track, beaten hard by
baggage trains and pedestrians.

After the last Tchaya we got to a strong cutting wind,
a considerable snow fall, a tliick mist, and tierce cold. The
baggage ponies, thiee in number, could not keep on the
beaten snow, but slid off into three or four feet of soft sludge.
The men, with great pluck, unloaded them and carried tlie
loads over the ])ass. They too fell and were lifUid, ro.se and
struggled, and helped each other, and got and gave help to
others in tlie same plight. I too full and slipped and
slithered. A man in a cago ])assed ; 1 .stepj)ed into the
snow to let his bearers keep on the jtath, which was a snow-
ridge three or four feet high. The traveller said " i'hank you,"
in good English ; 1 answered, " Yorashi," all right, and we
grinned. Then a herd of loaded bullocks barred my way,
and I had to make room ; then came a string of patient pack-
hor.ses, quietly sinking into the snow and struggling out of it.
Then caine the iierccst snowdrift that 1 ever encountered,
a storm of ice-needles that pricked my hands and forced me to
shut my eyes, and 1 lost the jmth and was left in the lurch
by my squire, who had trotted otf into a cloud. A jnan
overtook me, and we hit upon Koiti, the Japanese cook, who,
with great presence of mind, had wrapped himself in my

314

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

waterproof. Then we trotted down hill by a zigzaj^ path, and
found a lot of our horse-boys, with part of the luggage, in
a shed. By that time my beard was heavy with ice, and my
clothes crusted with frozen snow. In short, for half an hour
I got such a dusting as I never got elsewhere, though I have
travelled much in northern regions, and amongst high hills.
The height of the pass I made about G,000 feet above the
sea ; but it is not possible to measure heights accurately with
a pocket aneroid, especially when there were no sea-level
observations to check the mountain readings.

My chum, with his interpreter, would not stop at the first
Tchaya, where I halted to study the ways of the place and
people and drink tea. From the shelter near the top we
trotted down at a siiart run to a kind of grunting song
" Hai-yo-ho, Ilai-yo-ho, Hai-yo-ho," till we got to a mountain
tea-house, with a fire burning in the porch. There I found
my comrade all right. There we dried ourselves, waiting for
luggage. As it did not come and rain did, and thicker mist,
and evening, we got a fire made in a room, the room made
snug by sliding paper walls into place, and there we camped
under a stong, and smoked and steamed till dark. "When the
luggage came we dined, and then slept like the cobbler " who
lived in a stall, which served him for kitchen and parlour and
all."

In such places and cases national character comes out
strong. It was once my fate to l)e upset in a cariole one
dark, rainy night in Norway. The road was crowded with
market-people walking and riding, and nobody would lend
me a hand. When asked to help the answer was, " Jey bar
ikke tid " — I have no time. In Western America I remarked

MEN AND HOUSES.

315

to a fellow traveller, " It's every one for himself and God for
us all, here, I see."

" Do you think I care for auy of that superstitious stuff,''
said the other, who was a central European.

" Well, then, it's devil take the hindmost," I said. And so
it was generally in these Christian lands. Here, up in the
snows of this terrible Tonge, I found a nation of good Sama-
ritans, all helping each other, and these little Japs rose high
in my esteem. Not one cross look could I detect, not one
blow fell on the hide of a pack-beast. When a horse
floundered they pulled him up by the tail, and he did not
kick. As the Scotch proverb has it, "A guid man's guid to
his beast."

HousKS. — Having nothing to do but smoke I thought over
Ja])anese architecture, and Lapp tents, and tlie nmnuments of
])rehistoric men in Britain. These Japs closely resemble
Lapps in nuiny ways. Tlieir hair is invariably black and
straight ; their eyes turn up at the corners, they have scanty
beards, or none at all ; their stature is small, they are sturdy
and strong, and hardy, and tend towards liandy legs. Gene-
rally the make of them, and the look of them, reminded me
continually of the people who wander about the country
l)etween the Lofoten Isles and Archangel. It is not a very
great w.ay from Archangel to Saghalien, and I am strongly
impressed with the notion that all these northern })eople
are of one stock. So far as I know their characters,
Lapps and Japs are alike, in that they are cheery, hearty,
good-humoured, excitable little beings, ready to pick up
knowledge, and use it ; ready to trade, ready to work, and
fond of play. Supposing these to be in fact civilized Lapps

niG

MY CIRCULAU NOTES.

and Samoywk'S, it is curious to uotico liow their civilization
lias grown.

A camp-fiie is the foundation of all human d\vellin;4s. A
fire in a ring of stones and a shelter of branches built over
it was the home of the Digger Indians. 1 have seen a Lapp
hang his shirt l)y the sleeves to a couple of bushes, and sleep
under that shelter from troublesome mosijuitoes in hot
weather. That was a tent.

The Lapp tent for rough work is thus made : Four or five
growing birch bushes are selected, their tops are woven to-
gether, so as to form a roof, the ground is cleared in the space
covered by the trees, and there the bed is made. A cloth or
skin thi'own outside mnkes a capital room in a very few
minutes. The Tana boatmen commonly made such struc-
tures when 1 was fishiny; there. I thouLrht of Gothic catlie-
drals when I looked at the stems, and blanches bound at the
top. The next step is to contrive and carry a roof and walls
big eiiouoh to cover a couj)le of men. A couj)le of strings
tied to a couple of bushes makes the ridge of this jjortable
house; a few wands keep (jut the walls, and the men sleep
with the curtains tucked unJ';r them, on a bed of branches.
The string ridge curves. The ends rise and tlu! nuddle droops
because of laws which govern mechanics. The form occurs
ill Turanian buildings.

The next step is the family tent. It is a conical structure,
built with jjoles, which are carried about on the backs of deer.
The frame is covered with skins, or sadcloth. The door-way
is triangular, and the door is a bit of cloth sha^ied like a jib,
crossed with battens of wood to keep it still'. The lire is
made in the middle of the tent, and is surrounded with a

FIRE, TENT HOUSE.

317

rinfT of stones. The smoke escapes tlirou^li tlie wooden
frame at the top of the cone, which is left uncovmeil. From a
cross bar han.i^s a hooked stick with contrivances for raisin^'
and lowerin;^' it, and tlie family kettle han;L,'s on the hook
over the lire, in the ring of stones. The p(M)ple .sleep with
their feet to the fire, in their clothes, and the " Atchi," or
father of the family, sleeps " ayont the fire," oi)posite to the
door.

The next step is the "kota." That is a permnnent house
constructed upon the lines of the laniily tent. Tlie dilference
is in the materials. J5irch bark is next the IVaiiie, in regions
where birch-trees grow ; skins and cloth coverings are re-
placed by turf and earth, sometimes by slabs of stone, where
slabs are common. Sometimes half of tliis jirimitive hou.se
is dug out of a bank so as to give more head-room, and keep
out the cold more effectually. Tn this sta;j;e tlie house is
round, with upright sides and a conical roof, buch houses
abound in Iceland of all sorts and sizes, and they abound in
the Hebrides and in North America. In Cape P.retun I
sketched an Indian conical wigwam made of poles and birch-
bark, exactly like cotas which I have sketched in Lapland.
Tliey were the very same structui'cs, and the people who
lived in them had a family likeness. Beside the Indian
wigwam was a house constructed by a Celt, who had crossed
the Atlantic with his own notions of architecture. One end
of this house was round, and made of turf and rolled stones,
on the model of houses which abound in Tiree and in Ming-
biy, and in all the western Scotch isles. Hut because this
Celtic nomad was capable of adaptation, and of learning by
experience, the rest of his house was built of cheap sawn

318

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

planks. Tlie camp-fire is covered with a conical round tent :
that becomes a " kota," and the kota when raised is a round
house.

The round house of the ancient Celts grows to be an
oblong structure with round ends. The tent becomes a coni-
cal roof; the roof rises upon upright walls, the circular plan
changes to an oblong ^>^th round ends, and these semicircles
get squared. There architecture stopped in the Hebrides and
in Iceland. The largest dwellings there, constructed by the
people, are only a series of houses joined together so as to
make a number of rooms.

Such houses left to them.selves speedily disappear. In 1849
I pitched my tent on the Tana, and sketched in a cota which
our men used. Last time I was there a ring of stones marked
the site of my camp, and all that I could find of the earthen
cota was the ring of stones which marked the hearth, and a
circular space of grass somewhat greener than the rest. The
Japanese house clearly is an im})roved tent. The ridge poles
are so constructed as t > imitate the natural curves of the Lapp
portable l)ooth. The whole roof is an imitation of the forms
of bootlis. Walls there are none. The roof is lifted on
squared posts, and the fioor is raised so that the simple
structure is like a British four-post beilstead. Instead of
curtains the slceping-])lace is sheltered by sliding structures,
made on the plan of a Lav j> tent-door, in that a linip material
is stretched by a frame. The Japanese being ingenious,
handy, constructive creatures, invented a very su])eri()r article
in the shape of nmlberry-bark paper, and having abundance
of intelligence and bamboo, and good taste, they make beau-
tiful frames, on which they paste their paper with exceeding

ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE.

ol9

neatness ; but the Lapp door is the first stage in the inven-
tion of a Japanese wall. It is a movable structure, a limp
fabric stretched on a frame. The beautiful Ju^ . "3e mats,
which fit into the floor, are stuffed with straw, and clearly are
but improved beds of grass. The fire in the hewn stone
hearth is but the tent fire, and the fire in the huts and houses
of Lapps, Hebrideans, Icelanders, and North American Indians.
It is the camp-fire in the stone ring which trappers, lum-
1)erers, gold-diggers, tinkers, and travellers, make all over the
world. S the Japanese house is an improved tent. Q.E.D.

A great Japanese gentleman once asked me to join him in
a duck hunt. Like all such proceedings, from a plieasaut
battue to a picnic, or a tea in the woods, this was playing at
savages. I found my host surrounded by his i)eople in a
shanty, with a fire on the floor, and a great iron tea-kettle
hanging over it from a hooked stick black with smoke. The
kettle was so made as to look as like a bit of rock as possible
liut the structure of the bamboo hook in tliis Tokio hunter's
liut which boiled my tea on the 7tli of December, 1874, was
nearly identical witii the structure of the birchen hook from
which my potato dinner dangle'd in tlie Isle of Minglay, near
Barra Head, on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of September, 1.S71.

The arts of the cooking animal, as well as the architecture,
have grown in the same direction at the extremities of the
old world. So far it remains an open (piestit)n whetlier
human intelligence does or does not hit upon the same
mechanical contrivances naturally with or witliout instruc-
tion. Any beaver of ordinary sagacity can build a house and
make a dam. I saw their structures in Newfoundland, and
heard stories there which seem to ])rove that within their

320

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

own limits beavers can reasdii. I'ut there is a limit to
beavers' architecture, beyond which that tribe have never yet
gone, and never will, I suppose, while they continue to be
beavers. The Japanese, left to themselves, and shut out
from the rest of the world for ages, advanced to houses
stnndin<,' on stones, with walls of bamboo and ]taper Then
they got to movalde outer walls made of sliding ))anels of
slabs of wood set in frames. There they stopped, for their
temyiles are but larger houses, built on the lines of booths.
The onlv architectural advance that I could discover about
temples was to a panel turning on a hinge to niak(! a
folding door. The y)rin(nple of the hinge is of the simplest.
It is that of the old Highland gate, in which the entl of a
pole is stepjied in a hole in a stone, aiul the upper end is
lield in position by a forked branch built into a wall. In
the large towns framed warehouses are made with firef)roof
clay walls, and clay doors which turn on similar hinges.

The Japanese architects have just begun to build stone
edifices. It is therefore interestingto watch how they began. I
have somewhere read that some Indian structure is " very good
carpentry, but very bad masonry." All the stone-work that
1 have seen in Jajian is pure carpentry — that is to say, it is
a very close imitation of Ja[)anese structures in wood. At
Shiba and Nikko are rails hewn out of solid granite, and
beautifully cut, but they are so exactly like wooden rails
that I had to go near them to make sure of the material.

At all Shinto temples, and at many of other denominations,
it is the practice to set up a perch for sacred birds, which is
called " Torri." It consists of three sticks or beams or logs;
two upright, and one morticed to the others horizontally.

MASONIC CAUl'KNTUY.

321

whidi curves like a stretched rope, with a fourth straij^ht
heaiu hc'low to keep the structure firm. It is a ^allows,
in fact. At many of tlie karj^or temples these gates are
carved in stone, so well that 1 have repeatedly been puzzled
as to the mat(;rial. Some of these are covered with bronze,
but the sha]io of the wooden perch is preserved. About
some of the more important temples are stone bridges of
hewn granite, excellent masonry in all that has to do with
the work, but pure carpentry as to form. The bridge in the
willow-jiattern ])lates may serve to explain what I mean.
A large bridge at Nikko is first-rate carpentry; l)ut it is the
very same as Norwegian structures of the same kind. It is
built of logs. Without a drawing T cannot describe it. It may
be that some Norse sailor taught this art to the Japanese.
But no foreign mason ever could have taught them to make
the stone tondts of the Daimios Mdiich are at the back of
Shiba. The doors of these curious structures, of which I
have found no mention in any book, are two great slabs of
granite, carved into the semblance of panelled wooden doors,
turning on granite hinges, made after the pattern of a Celtic
gate. I believe that the very same structures still exist in
the ruined cities of Bashan. The gates open into a court,
and beyond that is a stone house for the dead, adorned with
Japanese heraldry. So far as I can discover, the Japanese
develo2)ed this stone idea for themselves within the last few
centuries. The only other stone structures that I saw were
lanterns. They suggested cups and saucers, posts, and wood

carvings.

I saw no masonry in Japan but Cyclopean walls. They
are but great drystone dykes, like those which men build in
VOL. I. Y

322

MY ClUCir.AIl XOTKS.

Scolliiiid to I'vucii licMs; nv liku those ^'"oiit lity walls in
ancient Greoco, at Myccni! and (flscwlion^ wliic^li j^'o back to
unknown antiquity. Uut these JajMuese foitilications only
(late from the time of the Shojfuns. Tt ai)|)ears that Japanese
masonry has been developed out of Japanese carpentry, l»y
the in;4enuity of Jajianese men shut out from all the world
and leCt to their own Turanian devices. I then-fore lean
t<twards the oi)inion that any .savaj^e may, without instruc-
tion, discover certain iiuichanical laws, and apply them
usefully; and that many ^cneratiotis inay increas(! the
common stock of inherited knowled^'e, learn from eldens,
and by experience improve. The poundinj,'-stono of the
I^igger Indian in America and of the tisher-boy in Scotlaiul
might bo invented by any human luiin^f with iiitelii;^'(in(!0
equal to that of an ape; and may develop into a mill,
aiul thence into a steam-en<j;ine, or sonuithiuii; better. The
shelter of bushes tied together rt top Tuight be invcuttid
anywhere by any man with the i.itelligence of a tailor-bird
or a sjtider. liut the Gothic cathedral, which seems to have
grown out of that primeval bower, took a long time to de-
velop in Western Europe. The change from a booth to a
temple is manifest in Japan ; what more they might have
evolved out of their ingenuity can never now be known,
for the stranger is here with his ideas of the fitness of things,
and his rules of beauty and his fetters of art ; and the school-
master abroad has settled in Jaj)an.

" The Japanese house is but an improved tent, and the
temple is but a bigger house : all the stonework that T see
is pure carpentry, but this will appear when next I get a
chance. Now the cold of sunset is cramping my fingers

TITXR AND KKY-XOTK.

82d

tlirou^'li a thin >sl rf' i.. jiapcr, and tlie glass marks .30° at
Tt P.M." That wn;-! tlio keynote. This is the result of feeling
what Japanese architecture is near the top of the Vada
Tonj^'e, out in the coM.

It plainly appears that Japanese liunianily is cajjahle of
instruction as well as of self-culture. Some tinn; a^^o the
jfoverninent acquired a steamhoat, and, like childpii with a
new toy, the peojiU' determined to work it The v n«j;inee'';j
thoni>ht that they knew all nhout it, and off tl.ey went.
I'ut w'ii^-A it came to Ktop]tiii'.', the learners Im'ke down,
'''he jii'lnce had ,!j,(it on the llyiiif,^ horse, and the horse had
tlown away with him. The engineer could not slop the
steamhoat. T.ut those are a pciople fidl oi intelligence.
"They may dcte for want o' moat, hut they'll no dee for
want o' wiles." They knew how to steer lioats well enough,
So they made their hoiit go round and round where the
water was deeji. They knew well enough that the power
was in the fire, so they drew the fires, and walt/.ed till the
engine stopped of its own accord. They are ready for any
emergency, and ([uite ready to "try" anything; so they
"can do" a great deal. Japanese engineers are running
Jiipanese steand>oats and railway engines all over the jdace.
.Japanese embroiderers are running sewing-machines. In a
very short time they may begin to Iniild stone houses ;
meantime they prefer band-boxes, and if they be content
therein, so was I with a pleasant comrade and something
to think about and to argue out in alternate English and
French.

i'ViV/^y, 25.— Christmas Day.— 39^: r.aromctc' 25-G0(), fallen
a tenth only. — Rain, mist, and rapid thaw. The bill for two

Y 2

324

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

masters, three servants, three coolies, and a horse, was six
shillings and sixpence. The old woman was caught present-
ing two boos to our men as a Christmas box, or a squeeze.
Consequently the bill was four and sixpence. T believe it
ought to have been about half that modest sum. We walked
and slipped down frozen snow, glazed with water, to 20750
(1,150 feet) in six and three-qimTter mi\es,to SJnmonosJtnrt.
So far as T can make out, we had crossed a " Tonge," which
divides the waters which flow to the Pacific, east of Fuji San,
from those which flow to that ocean west of the great
mountain. My next march was to be over the l)ack-bone of
Japan, to waters which flow into the Yellow Sea. My
conu'ade was to go to the Pacific, and observe in a valley
where few foreigners had been. He too was " everywhere
lo look about," but here we were to look different ways.
We passed a sportsman going out a shooting with his
dog and his gun. It was quaint to see a man in Idue
cotton striding along in the snow on clogs, with his bald
head and pigtail protected by a cotton handkerchief tied
under his chin. It was quaint, but not absurd ; for these
men walk very well on their clogs, and stand rough
weather in cotton clothes, like true mountaineers. On the
way down, I noticed many large stones, which set me
looking for ice marks. The watercourse near the halt is
dug through an old boulder deposit, which may be a delta,
and might be a moraine. The rocks are metamorphic ;
gneiss, conglomerate, and green slates, with basalt. The
dip is S.E., strike S.W. We seemed to have got ft' the
area of recent volcanic action, which is about the region
of Asamayama. AVe had got to a lake, and so I locked for

il'w;il';li'li;lri'niik!',

CHRISTMAS, 1874.

325

glacial marks. I found none, and ascribed the transport
of tliese large smooth gi-anite blocks to local floods.

At the entrance to the town, which is considerable, and
beautifully situated, is a fountain. The water flows into a
stone hali'-basin, from the mouth of a stone dragon's head
with stag's horns and curious ears. The whole was ex-
ceedingly well carved, and so managed as to suggest tluit
the monster was creeping out of a tuft of growing baml)oo,
beside a great flight of stone steps, whicli led up to a series
of shrines and to a big temi)le. It I'ained so that I could not
(haw then. About the middle of the town is a hot spring.
The water is gathered into a huge sfpiare bath, open to the
air. In it was a naked man, with a Ijroad sti'aw hat on, to
keep off the sleet and rain. Every now and then he got out
to cool, and sfpiatted on the bi'ink, panting ; manifestly he
could hardly endure the boiling. A dozen damsels were
washing clothes in this same pool. " Tluise persons every-
where look about." I tried the water, and feared to break
my glass at 11;")°. I could hardly bear my linger in the
bath. We walked on through the town to a grand Shinto
temple. The Torri, or bird -perch gate, is covered with thick
bronze i)lates, inscribed witii the names ol' all who helped
to raise this monument. Jt is a grand work. It re})resents
large logs, and is stone, covered with Iironze. Metallurgy
and masonry coi)ied carpentry. A great flight of stone stairs
leads lip to a plateau, on which grow tall old trees. Amongst
them, in a [)aved court, is a stage for sacred " X(.) " dancing
on festivals. JJeyond that is the Sliinto temide of uii])ainted
wood, beautifully carved, adorned here and there with gilt
bronze fasteninu's of the usual kind. That is a bit of Jhiddhism.

32G

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

Under a slied are several ])ictures on wood ; one of two stags
had real horns stuck on the hoard. The other I knew at
once for the Japanijse version of the " Dragon myth." I
was wet through, and the tea-house next to this temple did
not look flourishing; my st^uire and comrade returned to the
town prospecting, and I draidv tea. Presently one came to
summon me, and we got housed. It was raining cats and
dogswitli a strong inclination to freeze and snow. We were
to part, so we agreed to rest for a few days. Op])osite to our
door, in the middle of the town and in the main street, is a
structure like the market-house ov weighing-house of an
English country town. An oi)en slied, u]ion big posts, roofs
a steaming pool, fed by another hot spring. The pool was
full of men, women and children, hoys and girls, walking
about and chattering. Two creatures as naked as Adam
and Eve walked quietly up the street on ])attens, under a
paper uml)rella, towards their homes, which were at the other
end of the street as it seemed. Supposing tliis to be the iinio-
ceut costume of the country, and this Eden, the weather
was certainly very cold.

"What do you thiidc of tliat, monsieur?"
"That to me is well equal," said my phijosopjiic comrade.
So we got boiling tubs into our garden, and followed the
fashions, and dressed for dinner.

The Dhagon Myth. — This is the story of the ]>icture as
told to me l)y Massanao, my squire at Shimonoshua. A man
with long black hair and a hooked nose, and a long sti'aight
Bword, loose red trousers, a flowered white cloid<, and curled-
up shoes, like those of the Mikado and Eaplanders. Eight
round china vases, breaking waves and the sea ; a, weird tree,

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THE DUAGON.

327

ami ii storm )1" wind and rain driving at the man ; eiglit
lieads, like the lunid of tlic dragon of the fountain. A woman
crouched in a cago, beiiind tlie warrior, dressed in Japanese
drajjcries ; a great deal of unpainted wood to make the back-
ground of this curious old sketch by a very clever hand ; a
lot of Ja])anese writing, and a black frame which had reui-
nants of gilding. That was the picture. The whole was
nuich weathered and battered and in a bad light. It is at
least three hundred years old. This was the Legend : A man,
the hero of the story, came to a house where all were wee2)ing.
He asked the cause. An old- man said that he luid had eight
daughters. A terrible dragon hail eaten seven in succession,
in seven years ; all but one. The eighth was now to go to
the sea-shore to be eaten. The hero's name was Sosano no
Nikkoto, and he was the brother of Ohiru me nt) Nikkoto, who
was the niulhcr of the iirst ]\Iikado ; his name was Jinimu-
tenno. I'he girl was called Inadahime; her father was
Tenaiiiu ; her mother Ashiuad. My squire was very particular,
and took paius to get all these personages properly identified.
1 spelt by ear. Tlie man (SosanoJ said tiiat he would tight
the Dragon. The father (Tenadiu) was afraid. The man got
eight ])ots full of sake, and set them by the shore, and the
girl behind them. lie hid himself behind a rock. The
J)ragon came out of the sea, and put a head into each saJx
pot and drank till he was drunk. When he was drunk the
man came and cut oif all the eight heads. Then he clio])ped
up the dragon ; five inches (here my scpiire measured with
his thumbs) was the biggest slice left when he had done.
When he cut the tail (obseive, he had but one tail) he found
a long sworil which is called Anmno-mura-ku-mo-no keng

328

MY CIIICULAR NOTES.

(sky-black-cloucl sword). " Plenty black cloiul when Dnigoii
come out ; when killed go away. Therefore name." The
thirteenth ^Mikado's son, Kekoteiino Yamato dii ke no
Nikkoto, took the sworil to war, and made burn the grass
with the sword ; from that time called Sananinoken (grass-
mowing sword). That sword every ]\Iikado keeps ; also a
looking-glass ; also a jewel — a curious stoiio, top red, bottom
white, like a pear. The stone belonged to the mother of the
first Mikado (Emperor), namely, Oshiru, sister of the hero
Sosano. The man who killed the iJragon (Sosano) married
the girl (Inadahime), and they became the " gods " of all
married peo])le. They are called Emmusubino kami. Their
temi^le is in Oyashiro, in Tdzumo province, in the nortli-west
of Japan — north-west from tliis ])lace. Tlie iirst Emperor
began to reign 2,r»;54 years ago. lie did not kill the Diagon ;
he killed men and women.

That is the legend as I got it from a very smart lad, and
everybody seemed to know all about it.

St. George killed his dragon later. His exploit is recorded
on English coins, but I had no idea that the state legend of
Japan is, in England and Russia, fathered iipon a Cliristian
knight, till I found him pictured at Shimonoshua on Christ-
mas day 1874.

The Dragon myth was one of my points, and here I scored
one.

If any reader will look to a school globe, and mensure
with a string from IJarra Head in Scotland to Oalle in
Ceylon, and to the extreme east of Japan, something like an
equal-sided triangle will be inclosed by lines which join

THE MYTH.

329

these points. About midway is the Centi'al Asian " Aryan "
and " Turanian " ccjuiitiy about lake " Lob," Tartary, Tuikes-
taii, Tibet, &c. In j^fathering the pojiuhir tales of the West
Highlands 1 had fallen upon so many versons of this Dragon
story, lliat I look some seventeen of them and translated
them, incident by incident, till I had got all my incidents
into one story. Tlie ne.\t step was to read all the versions of
this legend in all the languages that 1 knew, and in all
the translations avaihd)le. Any new incident was added in
notes to the mended (Jaelic talc of the Dragon. From jiojiular
tales I went to national ejtics and classics, and so back to
the Vcihis. i\lr. Fei'gusson's liook on 'free and Scrjxrnt U'oi-
sJiij) carried me to the iirst chapter of (lenesis. I5efi>re 1
ventured to ])rint anything on such a lai'ge sul)ject, I tliought
it wise to take a look at the other two corners of " Euiasia,"
if 1 may use that newly-coined Eastern Avord for the world
outsideof Africa, America, and the South Sea Isles. 1 had now-
got two jioints ; the next point was Ceylon ; the next side <-'!'
my triangle the coast of Asia. I wanted to lind out if I
could what this Dragon mytli moans.

1st. Here was the dragon witii red eyes, in a rain-eloud,
and coming out of the sea once more a fiery water-dragon.

2nd. I had found in his tail tlie " Wiiite sword of light,"
of the Gaelic tales, nuuiifestly int(Mided to be liglitning in
Japan.

;>rd. With tins pro^jerly of the giants and enchanters of
the West Highlands I had found the jewel "leug;" the
talisman wliich takes so many ibrms. And

4th. Tlie looking-glass which the lad always wins from
the niauy-headed people whom he overcomes, in m_^ Dragon

330

MY CIUCULAU XOTKS.

myths. Tliiit property specially beli)nj,'.s to llenten, the
Japanese suake-woniaii of the sea. Is she the sun !

5th. Here was an intoxicating drink in the power of the
human being who conquers the dragon. It was sakx here.
In Norway it is alo ; in the stin-y of St. George it is re.sins
steeped in wine. Some feiniented drink belongs to the
Dragon story, and many Vedic Iiymns are addressed to
" Soma" juice.

(itli. The Ja[»ane."je foe is adored as a divinity with seven
heads. Here lie liad eiglit heads and one tail.

The next thing was to see how he was rejn-esented at tlio
remaining corner of Eurasia; I have got him booked in the
far east and in tlie far west.

When I <jot to Cevlon I found the Dra«f(m a friend of
man. His figure is scul{)tured about lUiddhist tenij)les of
great age ; his image I found upon an altar on which weio
ofi'erii'gs to the sacreil lio tree, which is worshi]»i)ed at Ana-
radhai)ura by^ crowds of pilgrims. He has one tail and many
heads. It would take a small volume to tell all tliat I had
learned about tliis Dragon myth, and to give evidence on
which to found a theory. Sometime or other that may l)e
done, meantime tliis must suffice. If Jai)anese, this myth
cannot mean a Solar hero, the sun compiering the clouds ;
for the Japanese solar divinity is a woinan.

The round mirror of Japanese regalia and altar furnitiu-e is
said to represent purity. In Shinto temples it stands in the
centre of the altar and is the sole ornament. There are no
artificial lights, and no flowers there. I believe it to represent
the sun. The sun is the heraldic device of Japan, the crysan-
themum is another favoui'ite emblem, the Mikado's crest, and

A TIIROIJY

3;J1

a fit imni^o of the sun. The cock, tlio herald of moriiiiig, is
aiiolhev heniklic device, wliich l)ehMi^.s to high families, and
is everywhere can'ed and jtainteil. I'aking all that together,
Solar worslii]) is strongly indicated. 'J'he rain-cloud, the storm,
the sea, and the straight Hashing grass-burning sword of tiie
Japanese regalia, all indicate a meteorological origin for the
.Tai)ane.se version of the myth. The heaven-ljorn Mikado
ought to he a solar hero ; and the water-dragon the storm-
cloud. That is the exjtlanation given long ago to the Indian
myth of Tndra and Ahi. That myth, extracted from the VaJax,
and other Sanscrit records, existed in Central Asia al)Out the
district from which great rivers ])art, near the "Aryan"
country. In all natural history, and in all geological records,
there never has lived on earth a creature with eight or with
sixteen heads. 1 have shown by the growth of mills and
hou.ses that inventions are gradual, and that nciv ideas spring
from the union of older inventions. It would he contrary
to experience to su])po.se that a being of many heads sprang
I'cady made from the mind of an ancient seer, whose creation
has multiplied till the world of story is peopled with dragons
of many heads. Something real is wanted for a model on
which to found this unearthly shape. That something a])pears
in a river. The myth ap])eared early about the Eurasian water
parting. A "Serpentine" stream flows into the sea ; at the
mountains the streams "branch." The "head" waters are
many. They all came from the (douds. It seems reasonable
to ascribe the forui of the water- dragon to the form of the
Serpentine river with many heads.

To those who dwelt on the banks of the sacred " Serpen-
tine," the cndjlematic serpent of many heads would be a

r.;]2

MY CTRCFLAR NDTES.

iViciul. "Willi liiiii would be nssociatcd, uiiturally, the fortility
ol' the s()il,iui(l tile great sliacly liraiicliiiig frees wliicli .sheltered
men I'roiii the rays of the fierce sun. Tliere is nothing t(!r-
rible about a great })laiii river like the Claiiges, or the Yangtse-
kiang. ])Ut there is soniething terrible in the leup of the
water-dragon to earth from the sky in the mountain storm ;
or in the I'usli of ii tyiihoon out of the sea into which all the
rivci's run. li the water-dragon was diiivcd from a branch-
ing serjientine river, it is natural to find his home in a lilack
tlmnder-cloud, or in a great ocean. All the mythical dragmia
that 1 know are water-dragons, even though they may spit
fire. This now Jajtanesc ac(|uaintance is of the same breed,
and close to a lot of hot sjirings, jiouring water out of his
mouth for the good of inankind. The idea of sacrificing
damsels to the water-dragon may easily be tra(,'ed to facts.

The seriient worship of the ancients is scarcely hidden in
Jajian under Shinto myths. In Ceylon and in India serjient
worship and the worship oi trees goes on. lUiddha jtreached,
and Ijuddha's discii»les still worshi[» a slip nf the sacred Indian
I'eepid-tree under w' icli IJuddha died. Aljout it and about
ancient shrines in ^ ^ylon they carved the sacred col)ra of
seven heads, and ti Xaga men and women, who retain
their serpent hoods to 'low what they were — the underground
SMw/t't people of Singh ese mythology. For the sake of their
old objects of Avorsh », the deadly cobras are rarely killed
by natives in Ceylon. They sheltered Ihiddha from rain.

The mythological se(|uence takes this form : — 1. A wor-
ship of the powers of nature, in which the sun and the cloud
were opposed.

2. Hero worship, in which ancestors and ancient W(jrthies

MYTIIOLOGV,

33.5

Wen; proinotiMl to fioiK^ucr tlio jtowcrs of nature, or to pro-
side over human afliiirs. " Ilatchinian " was so proinotu.l,
and so were Sosano and Inadaliinic.

',i. The worsliip of hirds and i.^asts, onihlematie of certain
qualities, or tlie deviciis f)f families. The fox is worshipped
in Jai)an. IVrha])s ht^cause he di;4'3 holes, he and his Kami
are the patiuns of aj,n'i(,ulture. In any ease, in human form,
or as a fox, there he sits in temples, an object of woisliip to
many votaries, who offer him rice in cups and prayers on
paper. I have seen a neat little rockery in a Tokio tea-
house, with a toy fox's earth contrived in it, and small .svT/,y
cups full of rice there, offered hy the tea-maidens to their
domestic kami, Tnari Sama, who is " Jteynard the Fox." The
hadgcsr is another mysterious personaj^e, and now is a foe
dreaded )f men. His haliit is to take human shape, and
be^iile men. In his own shape he sits up and plays the
drum on his paunch, to the terror of Japanese mankind.

4. Buddhism came in, and, .as is the way of Buddhism,
the new faith adopted the old, by converting all that went
before. Tlie Nagas of Ceylon guard the doors of Buddhist
shrines. Two of them hold the sacred slip, cut from the
sacred tree, which became doubly sacred when Buddha had
died under it. ]>ut that Peepul was sacred in India long
before Buddha. Trees are sacred in Japan, and in the
Hebrides where ]^)uddha is unknown. All these ancient
objects of reverence continued to be revered by the dis-
ciples of Buddha, for their teacher had taught that the lives
of men migrated into the bodies of all beings that had life
in the universe. The whole Pantheon of the whole world
was embraced by this philosophy, Pjy this only can I see

3B4

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

nieaiiiug in the mixtnre of Shinto and Tjiuhlhism, wln'ch is
apparent in tliat Avorship of Japan Mliieli was reformed at
the revolution a few years aj^o. I find sun and clouds,
seasons and trees, snakes and dra^Lions, birds and beasts, men
and women, Buddha and his discii»les, all associated in daily
worship, and a round mirror (m an altar as the emblem of
the reformed Shinto faith of revolutionized Japan.

Tlie efforts of early ^[issionaries to introduce Christianity,
their ])ersecutions and sufferings, and martyrdom, are matters
of history, on which I will not enter. It was an o[kui
question after the re\vl«Lion what religion the State sliould
adopt, if any ; or what form of government, or whether the
language should be changed, or the form of writing, or the
court dress. There had been a complete solution of con-
tinuity. Tlie whole body corporate of Jajian had been
reduced to its elements ; and the question was what sort of
body the life that was loose should next assume. The point
about which this Japanese ])rotoplasni nucleated was the
Emperor, so the body corjiorate is the Eni])ire. It may be
a Republic or anything else if it breaks u]) again. The
Emperor was associated in the popular mind with " Sliinto."
The detliroued Shoguns and their i'ollowing of Daimios and
retainers were associated with I'uddliism, magnilicenc.'', dress
and decorations, incense and music, and ceremonial. With
the Emperor, Shinto revived ; with the Shogun, Buddhism
fell. Tlie men who made the revolution were fdled witli
European notions, but few of them were (Christians. It was
a question whether Christianity should not be adopted. It
was decided that Christianity and all other forms of belief
should be tolerated. Many Jai)anese are C'liristians, and

A DAY OF IIKST.

335

many Missionaries are doinj,' all tliey can to convert tlie
lieatlien, Slionld the old rulers get np again, many fear
that Cliristian ])ersecution may revive. Meantime Buddhist
priests and Christian congregations worshiji under tlie same
roof, in tlie same temple, at the same hour, in Tokio. All is
cliangi, toleration, and simplicity, in Shinto temples and in
court-dress. The body ])olitic of Japan is growing into shape.
The circidation is growing along roads and rails, and tele-
graphs are the nerves ; the infant mind is growing under tiic
culture of schoolmasters and Westerns, who may he Kami here-
after if this big Eastern baby grows uj) in his piesent Shinto
faith.

EXTENDED NOTES (rontinu'd).

Satiii'daij, Dec. 'lC)f/i. — SJninono>iliua, near Lake Suuvi — lat.
30° 22' 40 N. ; long. i:;8° 32' 00' E. Barometer, 27'OoO, 42°
inside, 30' outside. — Ere-sli snow in the street. Below Uada
Tonge, say 2,000 fyet, above, Tokio, 4,000. In these eight
days walked eighty-three miles and a half In' pedometer, on
bad roads, in deep snow, in cold weather, and on one day in
heavy rain, ^fy geological result thus far is that the strike
of the older rocks corresponds to tlie long axis of the island,
N.K., S.W., or thereby. The general dip on the Pacific side
of the hills s(>enuKl to l)e N.W. Asamayama is placed on the
marine chart of 1870, 30' 22' 40" N. lat. ; 1 38' G' 00" E. long.
Exchanged knowledge with my comrade, and spent a plea-
sant morning in quiet.

Walked to the temple with the great bronze Torri, where I
copied th'. ancient i)icture of the Dragon myth. The artist
clearly meant to express a storm cloud, with the dragon's

336

MY CIRCULAIi NOTBfs,

lieads ill it, coming over tlie sea, witlj rtA gjitraiming fiery eyes
sinning out of the darkness. T\ih ujak'-* the dragon agree
with " Ahi " of the Vedas, as explairj*:^! hy comparative my-
thologists. A very ftivourite siihject ior An.\rfm(:m artists has
been a dragon, and he is ahnost always pamted as a cloud.
With the marvellous free touch of a ^k^^.-Sur Japanese brush,
a trailing cloud, winding aliout Fujisaij, or Asamayama, or
some conical mountain, is twisted into i\m sfiiafxi of a dragon
with or without wings or legs, with a ImrjL^ tail, and a horned
head, or many heads. The glaring fiery ttyt'A are so cleverly
indicated, that the unagination is set !<> fimwh the mystery,
and make the picture a dragon, oi- a clou'l, or V)th. ^Vhen it
comes to sculi)ture in wood oi- in hUmh, the artist cannot
sketch, and must finish ; the cloudy ruoiiKUT i-i solidified, hut
he is generally set to pour water into a fni-ntain, or he is
up in the top of a composition anji<3.i«t <r.')invf'ntional rolling
cloud-forms, or he is amongst conv<;iita<>iiial wave.s, or near a
waterfall or a running stream.

The association of ideas cannot be ini-^alif-rt in Japan. The
cloud and dragon, the rain, the wiixl, t]j<;Ili;_Pirning, the storm,
the water, the river, the sea, all are ih*tvn, TTie fiaclic word
for "a monsler" is Bcithir. A hitar, or a wild })fiar, is so
named in stories. The di'agdu of nja»v hfinsU which comes
out of the sea in western mytiis is uImji t^llli*r4 Jitithir ; a flash
of light:iing is called Bcithir thcinn.e — -a t\r».'^(m of tire, ^fani-
festly the dragons of the far east ajjj the. far west are de-
scended from th(! same idea which grew jjuilothft Vedic dragon
of the old Aryan land in Central A.sia, \\\.i was a storm.

Trifles often help to trace a fact. Tiix; \i*rii of this painted
myth has shoes with the toes turned up, 'W*: ancient court

SEVEN-LEAGUED BOOTS.

387

slices of the Mikiido were the same shape. But tliat is the
•shape of "comagas," wliicli are tlie boots of Lapps and Finns,
and of tlie " mocassins " of tlie North American Indians,
which have the same sliape. Tliey are all shoes shaped like
a boat, or a plough, with sharp toes, to wade through snow.
The shoes of the Japanese St. George point at snowy regions,
where are the sources of great rivers, about which the myth
of Ahi and Indra took shajse, a very long time ago.

Hut philologers tell us that a whole tribe of languages
called " Aryan," of which Sanscrit is the oldest known, had a
(;ommon ancestor in the same lofty regicju.

Ethnology, such as I know, tells me that certain black-
haired northern trilxis whom 1 have seen in Scotland and in
the north of Kur(i]»c', in North America, and in Japan, are
like each other, as im'nibcrs of a family are like. The non-
Aryan languages of India have n'lany words which seem to
liave relations in Celtic languages, which arc Aryan. 1 find
in Japan that the structure of the language corivsponds to
the structuiv ol'tiie Finnish and Lapp. (J ivat rivers now are,
and have been, guiik's and roads fi'(tni all timi'. If 1 take the
ma)), and follow a risei', a legend, a word, or a myth, or a
shoe, or the likeness of a man, or the colour nl' his hair, U]»
streams; all back tracks, Aryan and Turanian, lead back to
• 'ential Asia. Hut thciv a number of myths ]ilact' the origin
of mankind on the higlu'st habitable ground in the old world.
To til It ground llie lon;,f-tailed lieiy dragoii tif romance has
tried to carry me luany a time, but hitherto he has failed.
He is not up to n;y weight. lUit lighter and younger men
have gone there, and on their l)ooks of tra\t'l I leap to eon-
chisions iiom my own stejii>ing-stones. " lv\celsior."

VOL. t. Z

338

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

My studio was a queer scene. The j^rouud was covered
with snow, and it was very cold. A lot of polite children
followed me. It was the correct thin<T to pull ofl' boots before
stepping on the platform, and witliout so doing it was im-
possible to see the details of the ])icture. ]\Iy squire was
sent to the ])riests' house. The priests came with a fire in a
brazen shibashi, and as a sjjccial favour, in consideration of
the weather, foreign boots were allowed to tread the sacred
boards. The children looked on, and the priests; and when
fingers got too cold for more work, and noses had all turned
blue, the priests got a small donation, and a great many bows
and thanks, and that party broke up.

With the landlord and my boy, walked to a l)eautiful grave-
yard, neat and orderly, on a knoll overlooking the lake. The
water was smooth as a mirror, and dotted with fishing-boats.
Snow lay on hill and plain, and the landscape was beautiful,
but very blue and cold. The graves were marked by tall
stones, and stone lanterns, and stom; I>u<ldha's, disciples, and
kami presided over the family grave-yards. ^line ho.st seemed
proud of his ])lace in this city of the dead, and ])ointed out
the graves of his ancestors. They all seem to lo(jk on th(>ir
dead iis friends living elsewhen;. lUiddhists, Shinto, and
Christians have that much in common. They differ as to their
future world, lait so far as 1 can make out no heathen has vet
condemned his ancestors to l)e the ))ond-slaves of (|uacks.

With my very pleasant, polite following of childi'en and
m-own men, T walked back tlirou'di the town to the drawn
louutain. Jt belongs to a temple (lOO years old, and mani-
fi'stly suggested the heads in the ]iicture, which is but 3(H)
}ears old. While I sketched the fountains, half the town

OUR CARDS.

339

looked on ; all civil, polite, and interested in my work, which
they were pleased greatly to approve — " yorashi ! " When the
shadow fell on the fountain, I mounted 100 feet by stone
steps to the temple, which has magnificent unpainted wood
carvings about gates and elsewhere. Dragons abounded, and
secMued therefore to belong to Shinto anJ the seasons. Fint;
pine-trees and cryptomeria make avenues ; and the garden is
famous. I promised the hospitable priests to return, and
went out and looked at the sunset, and the lake, and the
snowy hills, while children in crowds looked at me. Then 1
Avalked back through the town, where half the population
were stark naked, in hot water, or out of it in the street.
Till past eleven I heard the bathers chattering, singing, and
making merry, clothed in hot water, naked as lish. 147°, 113",
113', are the temperatures taken by my comrade while I was
drawing. My landlord brought me a sheet of superfine
Chinese paper four feet long, which we stretched on a slide.
To please the worthy man, I covered his paper with all
manner of devices, in recollection of the pa.ss in the snow.
The landlord being much gratified, fuither asked for my
card. It is the fashion of tea-house keepers to hang up the
cards of their guests outside of their houses, to attract cus-
tomers. The cards are planks about three feet long, hung by
the end, with a name written from loj) to bottom. A favourite
tea-house has clusters of such boards hung about it. Some
are lac(juered and coloured ; the whole foliage looks very
imposing when the Avind blows, ami the boards swing. As
we were persons of great imp(.)rtance, and very rare exotics,
extra sized boards were procured, and our res})ective scpiires
were set to write our names on them in Chinese characters.

z 2

340

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

So far as I can make out, one of tlie royal family with the
title of H. M. Horseford, a "Kunji" of Enf^land, and one
of equal rank from France, had their cards hung up opposite
to the hot spring, for the information of bathers who leave
their clothes and clogs in the tea-house porch.

Sunday, December 27, 1874. — Shimonoahnn. — Raining and
disagreeable. Spent the morning in touching up the land-
lord's picture. It is to be solemnly moimted on a roll, like other
Japanese signed pictures, and is to be imrolled .d exhibited
in "the place for hanging pictures" when the proper time
and fit season come round for that ceremony. Carry went
out to look for game. He found none, but saw the spoor of
a small bear in the snow. He found the neighbourhood of
the lake thickly peopled and highly cultivated : game
creatures are higher up in tlie hills. Tlie hide and paws
of a brown bear hang in a slioji next door. I walked to the
old temple, and l)y the help of my squire, had a long chat
with the priests. Tliey were intelligent, educated men, with
the l)earing of gentlemen. We sat round a fire-box, smoking
and drinking tea, and dealing for curios brought Irom the
town and from the private stoi'es of tlie priests. (Jreat
drums, and war shells, and strange gear of many kinds
adorned the tem])le. The iUtar wjis set out with rows of
votive offerings, placed on a kind of pyramid of slielves.
They were thank-offerings, and olfei'ings in ho])e of a favour-
able answer to [trayers. The garden was n strange artificial
grouping of stones, lanterns, fish-ponds, trained trees, and
porcelain flower-pots, all planted on the liill-side in front of
the tem])le v(;randa. It was a l)eautiful place, but the dark-
ness and drizzle st(»})])ed the brush.

with the
and one
opposite
ho leave

ing and
ae land-
ike other
exhibited
per time
irry went
} spoor of
irliood of
1 : giime
ind paws
:ed to the
long chat
lien, Avitli
, smoking
iVom the
!. (Jreat
my kinds
I rows of
f sliolves.
a fnvour-
i artificial
-rees, and
1 front of
tlie dark-

PllIKSTS AND TEMPLES.

341

We bowed and grinned, and performed all the polite
gestures tliat we knew, and then trotted down stairs to the
road, and then down more stairs to a pure Shinto reformed
and restored temple near the brawling burn, which had
guided us from the Uada Tonge to the lake. The carvings
about this temple were as fine as any that I have seen in
Japaai, finer than any that I have seen elsewhere. The
dragons were magnificent ; one bamboo in full leaf carved out
of a thick, broad slab of wood, and set upright near an altar,
was worthy of any artist that ever sculptured wood. Tlie
lightness and variety of foliage are admiralile. This being
Shinto, there were no colours to disturb tlie eye.

The great stones in the burn are of gianite and other old
rocks, some of a beautiful compact conglomerate. I could
find none glaciated, in the burn or in a great wall built to
surround the Shinto grounds with a rampart. At this temple
great ceremonies are performed in spring. There was not a
human being about the place in December. Walked back to
the tea-house and wrote to Tokio and to Yokoliama, by the
regular post which has been established on European prin-
ciples all over -lapan. I was told that a regular report of
our doings went from the local authorities to ,hea(l-(piarters,
but I rather doubt the story.

Monday, 2S. — Parted from my very pleasant comrade with
a licarty shake of the hiiiid, a promise to write, and a strong
hope of meeting in Europe. Koiti the cook, and the little
French scpiire, and all tlie goods and gear of tlie scientific
naturalist, observer, and spoilsman, took one road towards
the Pacific ; 1 and a single Ijaggage pony, witli my small
sijuire mounted on wooden clogs, set oti' towards the China

342

MY CIRCULAR NOTES

Sea. But first we paid a formal visit to tlie gentleman who
rules this mountain town. Wo did not see him, as he was
not yet risen, but we saw his head clerk in blue, witli his
family arms embroidered on his shoulder as usual. " They
are very polite peo])le," said Carry, " they like to be politely
treated ; I always treat tliem pclitely." So, hat in hand, in
travelling attire, we bowed, and desired the interpreters to
express our sense of the nuiyor's protection, and our thank.s
for his extreme civility in reading our pas.sports and letting
us dwell in the tea-house. The oilicial rubl)ed his .shins and
smiled, and then we all said " Saiauara," and parted for
opposite ends of the world.

At 9.30 A.M. started.— 27-UOO. 37°.— At 11.30 a.m. got to the
top of Suiogiri Tonge, 800 feet ; four and a quarter miles. The
road was covered witli frozen snow. The first three mile.s
were over a combination of deltas, near the lake, which is
very shallow, two and a half miles long and a mile wide.
The hills all round are fluted with deep ravines and water-
courses, and the lake is rapidly filling with stuff washetl from
the hills. I suppose this lake to be the result of some large
delta washed into the course of the main river so as to make
a dam. It may possibly be an old crater, or the result of an
earthquake ; it certainly has no sign of glacial action about
it. From the top of the pass the view over the lake S. Vj.
was magnificent. A lot of sierras, jagged wild peai<s, rose
behind the town and behind the first range, with clouds and
snow on the hill-sides. To the right was a deep, dark-blue
hollow under a cloud-bank, in wliich Fuj; San was hidden.
In the other direction, ten yards over the crest of the pass,
was a panorama of hills and ravines, opening to the Chinese

THE UIDGE OF JAPAN.

343

Sea. As is usual in such views, tliere was the general
smooth, rounded outline of tlie hill country, furrowed hv
l)ranc]iing water-courses, growing in size and dei-ith as they
joined, till they entered a main stem, and became a winding,
ser})entine river with many heads, in a broad strath opening
to the i)lain. 1 have looked over the same kind of landscaj/e
in Scotland, in Norway, in Finland, in the Alps, in tlie
Caucasus, in the American Sierra Nevada, and elsewhere,
in all these mountain tracts, a rounded, swelling earth-wave,
like a well-made road or a ridge in a field, has been carved
into its present shape by water in the condition of glacier
ice or running in streams.

From the narrow y\-shaped ridge, at the parting of two V
lavines, I plunged down through snow and sludge and mud
upon frozen ground to a village, eight miles. The people here,
on the northern side of the hills, seemed to have a different
character of face, and they wear a different dress. Travellers
wore hoods and leggings and baggy trousers. In the village
halted at a tea-house, and had a good luncheon of fish antl
rice and soup. My boy got three jinrikishas, and we set off
at a good ])ace. But presently we got to deep snow in a wide
strath. I walked five miles to another village at the mouth
of a branch water-course. There, at the posting estiiblish-
ment, paid ten sens (about 4^d.) for tea and sake and horse-liire
to the next stage. Tliere halted at 4 o'clock, as the sun sets
about 5, and the next place is five miles away. Wiished my
teet in the street, while all the children in the place gathered
lo look at the foreigner. The landlord politely knocked his
head on the Hoor, I stepped in, a paper screen was drawn,
and I was installed. Here all about me, with my gooils

844

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

arranged in their order, are crests of swells on the slidiuL;;
doors of bamboo and paper. My feet are under a stong,
toasting at the charcoal fire in the Hooi-, covered by a stool.
Inside of my apartment are endless roonvs made of .screens,
and behind is the usual stone garden. Here I sit in the
middle of Japan, all alone in the snow ;nnringst the moun-
tains, after a walk of ten miles and a journey of fifteen, at
the end of my fifty-third year. If ever there was a time
fitted for dreams, or for ghosts, or for something uncanny to
happen to a wandering mortal, surely that M'as the time and
place for a " manifestation," or for something to evolve out of
inner consciousness. Solar myths, solar physics, and astronomy
had their share of my thoughts, with the eaith and geology ;
tUft powers of the air and meteorology ; the Dragon myth,
clouds and serpentine branching rivers ; branching trees and
tree worship, and reasonable botany ; animals and their
Avorship, beast-fables, and natural history; ancestors, Kami,
and dreams ; heroes and idols, and Shinto Kami ; a diviue
Mikado in a tweed suit; Chinese ]>hilo.sophy and paper
prayers offered to the sea ; Buddhist inertia, negation, and
repose ; material action, force, energy, assertion, and negation
of exi.stence ; the Koran, the book of Mormon, the spiritual
press, and such like. All the lessons of more than half a
century, scenes in the world's circh;, ])eo])le, and [daces, and
past times, kept me conii)any. The wind blew drearily,
sighing tlirough the wintry street ; and I smoked and
thought. I laid my head on a l>ag, aiid sle))t sound as a
child. That was " Nirwana," the peaceful rest that follows on
wiiolesome work and frugal fare. Not one quiver of mes-
meric inliuence came to me even from any part of this world,

A HALT AT A STAGE.

34.1

not even a dream. Yet T am called on to believe that I ouj^ht
to have been aware of " sympathy " with those who wern
thinking,' with me; an<l that I have only to interview a tal)le
or a medimu in order to converse with those who ilid not
visit me in my solitude, even in dreams. Of all the inven-
tions of humanity, surely that solemn IJoston spiritual sMncc
was my strangest e.\])erience in real life. What other notion
of a future state ever asserted that good spirits and bad, of
great men and good, small men and evil, neither rise to
worship nor fall ; but wait about JJo.ston to be called like
jinrikisha-men at a stand, in onler to inspire a medium with
twaddle ? The very thought was narcotic, and so I slept.

Tumlaj/, Deccmhn- 29, 1874 — Moloi/xma 32° inside ; 30°
outside. — 27'000. — Gave myself a birthday present of a
" Iiunic knot," or " Celtic pattern," here used as a teapot rest,
and made of bamboo. It cost a lialfi)enny.

Patterns. — Community of artistic design is commonly taken
as evidence of common origin amongst races of men. Western
tombstones, and manuscripts of ancient date, are adorned with
interlaced patterns which are called " Celtic art " and " Kunic
knots." Such designs also occur in Icelandic carvings, on
certain rare kinds of pottery, in Byzantine clnn-ches, and on
Persian bronzes. All these designs suggest basket-work. In
Japan I found basket-work patterns of tins sort, woven with
bamboo grass, cr with some kind of tough long fibre of even
tidckness. In this sample a circle is whipped with a long
tendril split, like the work on a cane chair. At seven points
on this hoop the lashing takes a double turn about a double
line, which makes an open basket-work pattern of interlaced
fibre. Two tendrils make seven double loops, and a seven-

846

MY CIRCULAR NOTES

sided figure in the middle ; and the ends overlap. The thiny
made is a Jajjanese kettle rest, but the (lesi<,'n corresponds tu
designs in illuminated Irish manuscripts, sui;h as the 15ouk ul'
Kells. I have got the design copied in «ilver.

In the nature of tilings it is jirohahle that this kind of
wooden weaving began where long lil)res grow abundantly,
and where ready-made vessels like ])ails and cups do not
grow. Cocoa-nuts, gourds, large shells, and such like ready-
made utensils do not grow in the North; but birch-roots,
ivy, honeysuckle, and other long fibres fit for basket-work, do
grow there. All manner of creepers abound in tropical
regions, but basket-work is best in the North. I have seen
the very same design woven to make a net bag of tree
roots, by Lap])S in the north of Sweden, and by Celts at the
Calf of Man.

Basket-work designs on pottery seem to recoril an early
stage in Ceramic art, and Ceramics have flourished most
north of the tro})ics. Even the Digger Indians weave
baskets, and so did all manner of savages. A basket lined
with clay makes the utensil lit for carrying water, which
grows ready-nuide in the tro;;jic3. A Gaelic popular tale,
known to old and young in the Scotch Highlands, ends with
the task of fetching water in a sieve. A crow bids the hero
stuff in moss and clay. Here in Japan I notice a constant
recurrence of interlaced foliage in the painted ornaments of
finished china-ware. Designs like basket work are on
ancient British pottery ; but I do not remember to have
seen anything of the kind upon the rude pottery of Southern
people. Community o design in basket-work, and in arts
derived from baskets, either point to community of origin

WEAVING " RUNIC KNOTS."

347

for Colts iind JajJimcsc, or to ii coniiiiou Tiiituns in Imniaiiity
whicli anivcs iiuk'iKiiuluiitly at the saiiio inventions by I'ol-
lowinjf the same ste[)3. A man in need of a jjail carves one
out of a block of wood in the North, till he has contrived
hoops and staves. In the South the man ])icks uj) a cocoa-
nut, and does not ne(;(l to make pails or baskets for daily
use. I looked at my kettle stand, and thou^dit old thoughts
about old designs copied from tombstones in forgotten church-
yards at the other side of the world.

Manifestly this is the same kind of design as those which
are carved on stones out in the far west. So these old crosses
were basket-work at first.

Breakfasted on a " masculine stew." An old cock was
caught, brought and paid for, but nobody would slay him or
touch him. ^Massanao executed and stewed hiui. AVaited for
the baggage pony till 9.15. Then walked otf up a glen on
the strike of old hard rocks, X. 20'' W., dip southerly, and
nearly vertical. A passenger seeing me at work with strange
tools, carefully examined the rock, and found nothing. Further
up I found the same strike, N. 2U° W., dip, 10° X.E., and the
same rock. This great rounded, swelling country, which I
saw from the toj) of the pass, was crumpled up like dough
before it was shorn over tiie edges of these disturbed strata.

Stopped at a village and bought four shillingsworth of
combs. They were beautifully nuule of wood, and I got
about a gross of them. The whole of this glen seems to be
a manufactory of combs. At 11.40 got to Aihjnawa up 200
feet in live miles; all on slippery frozen snow, with falling
sleet. My beard was frozen all day. Got two coolies to
carry my luggage, ami paid sixpence for their hire, at a grand

348

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

post-house. Labour is cheap here in these mountains of
Japan where men carry heavy back-loads up-hill for a good
hnig stage for threepence, and make ornamented combs at
four shillings a gross. Combs are mythical in popular tales.

At 1.30, 10 miles, 400 feet up, got to Narai at the foot of
a pass. It was snowing fast, and blowing hard, 30°, and
bitter cold. Got some beans and maccaroni and bought
venison. Started 2.15, got to the top 35, in fifty minutes ;
a mile and a quarter, 650 feet. On this day's march rose
1,550 feet to 4,850 above the sea, according to barometrical
r( adings. Ean down through the snow and halted at 4 o'clock
at Yahuharra, iowviQQn miles. The road all day was crowdeil
with pack-horses, and bullocks, and foot men carrying loads,
or walking empty. All the travellers were mutHed up to the
eyes, and prepared for cold. Dined on a stew of hamoshka,
the mountain goat whose hide and horns I bought below,
and whose hind-quarters I bought at Narai. Tea and sake
iuiJ dried prawns made my birthday feast. Torri Tonge is
the filth pass crossed in about 100 miles of road. Like the
rest, it is a mere knife-edge between V ravines. A curious
group of statues and stone lanterns, and a torri which stands
on a knob near the water-shed, account for the name. The
water sheds many ways from this pass, whicli is on the
divide between the Pacific and the Chinese Sea. So far it
seems that the mountains of Japan are like those of Oregon, a
range of high ground four to six thousand feet high, much
folded, and deiuuled and greatly worn by streams, with vol-
canic cones built on the older country. So far as I could see,
and so far as I could learn from others, the islands of Japan

have this same general structure.

Tlie age of beds which

NEW YEAR CUSTOMS.

349

are disturbed, their geographical position and economic value,
are as yet unknown.

Wednesday, December 30, 1874 — Yahuharra. — 32° inside;
28, outside. — 5G-700. — Blowing hard, dark and misty on the
tops. Started at 8.30, with a girl dressed in man's clothes to
manage the baggage pony. Black frost and bitter weather.
For lack of gloves put a pair of worsted socks on my hands.

Walked five miles down a deep glen to , on ice at

first, tlien upon a road frozen as hard as a stone, which had
been mud, and was rough with the spoor of wooden clogs,
straw sandals, and the feet of pack animals. Like every-
thing else in Japau this " spoor " is unlike anything of the
kind elsewhere. The clogs worn by everybody are soles of
wood with two cross boards on edge, about three inches high,
to keep the feet out of the dirt. These foot-boards cut two
lines thus

and when the road freezes the result is a strange pattern,
iiuvtful to feet in European shoes. At Mionickoshi, 200 feet
down, in the post-house I saw a lot of rice cakes prepared,
to l)e offered, on • to each " kami," on New Year's day. Some
were .shaped like Bath buns, others like French I'olls, a round
base with a dome. All were white, some were large. GriMt
lots oi' evergreens were stuck about the houses, shops, wares,
and wayside altiirs. I wa? not prepared to find this familiar
western style of decoration a Shinto custom in the miiuntuins
of Japan Few of those who decorate Christi?ui churches iit
Chri.'mas time susjiect that they ;ue performing a Turanian

850

MY CIRCULAR NT/TES,

Pagan ceremony. " Good wine needfs Uf» )m^h" proves the
antiquity of another English cuBtom. liat this aeenis to be
ohler than Shakespeare, for liere in .Jajjtfmm a hush imng over
a door means "sake for sale." " CJiich ad charn," a stone on
your cairn, is a Gaelic i)hrase meaning " for service done may
some one add a stone to your memojia! cann." Here sinaU
piles of stones are at the foot of tixery ii«aije and memurj d
stone, and on every altar by the vnymie. " Suppose a;io
(lead, children put up for fathers and ttnAh&fn. Jesu (a name of
Ikiddha) help thorn in next life." So sav* my .squire. Kags
are hung about wells in the far west I have seen a whole
grove of crutches and sticks plant'*?*! near a holy well in
Ireland, with votive rags fluttering it^fm them, offered by
])ilgrims to the well wliich some Ijoly tufm had blessed with
Christian prayers. Kags are liung on kishes about holy
wells aL over Scotland, and even in Wak-si. Here in the far
east I find strips of cloth, bits of roj^^:*, i^lJ|y* of paper, writings,
bamboo strings, flags, tags, and jjiav'-is hanging from every
temple. Now, at New Year's time, I tind the .streets and houses
decorated with evergreens, and the <^v<:'i'^iwms hung with slij)s
of paper flutterirg in the breeze like thfr votive rags of the
far west. The living custom exjilaius thft custom which has
lost mean'ng. Presently I met a 1<A of pilgrims returning
fri)m a distant slirine. One who wa* mck was carried in a
cago by two men, He was in a blax.k })«i)*iT box, slung on a
pole, to keep him waini. Each njan ^- -'' a fcaper parcel, about
two feet long, slung under hite chin atid crossing his breast
like a broad lath. It ctjntained a \/i(Auie of the kami to
wl\om the shrine visited is sacred, lit*: procession marched
up the glen, and my wandering fiincy <jinit:d me oT to many

EAST AND WEST.

351

;i distant place of pilgi-image in Europe, and to the olden
time, when Canterbury pilgrims were at home. These
Japanese islands have been closed to the world. 1 walk into
the hills, where western influence has been least felt, and find
all these old western customs, which are fading away at home,
in full force as real eastern habits and pagan customs; and
once more I am driven, by another road, to some common
origin in the old world, for all these human inventions and
customs.

At 12.30, at Kushi7na, after M'alking ten miles, stopped in a
considerable town to shop, and stare. Bought a string of
birds for the larder. Tliere were redwings, bullfinches, gross-
beaks, or their Japanese equivalents, and birds unknown to
me. I skinned one for his fe<atliers, wliile the landlady of
the tea-honse cooked a lot for tiffin. IVIeantime the baggage
went on alone in perfect faith and perfect safety.

My squire went to the post-house, got a horse and a man,
;,iid a bit of paper, and away went my box with about 100
gold coins in it, and sill my worldly gear, to be delivered at
the next stage on presenting the receipt. Nothing ever went
wong iii Japanese travelling. My luggage usually went
.istray when 1 came home and travelled liy rail in England.
I l)0oked and i)aid for my luggage, and took a ticket for
(ireenock and a place in a sleeping cari'iage, at Euston Square.
T was ])ut into the Edinburgh carriage, and got out of it in
time. My luggage was sent to IVrtli. 1 got to Greenock
and had to wait wliile telegrams went seeking the lost goods
iill over the kingdom. They came ])ro])erly ticketed. Travel-
ling is easier abroad than it is at liome, according to my
( x])e.ience.

352

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

The birds are caught in this fashion. A slender bamboo
joint is smeared with Japanese bird-lime ; 1 believe it is made
of rice paste. The bird-catcher, with his bundle of sticks,
sneaks i'cut the trecH till he sees a bird in the branches.
Then he j up his bamboo rod, till it is long enough to

touch the \n±'~ md he being touched is taken. 1 sat by the
inn door with ray feet in a sc^uare hollow near a blazing fire
of sticks, and all th j children in the neighbourhood gathered
to see me eat my roasted birds with a big knife and chop-
sticks. When I looked they fled, to return like the waves of
the sea. I dropped a chopstick into tlie ashes. The land-
lady picked it up, ran out to a water-spout, cashed it and
gave it back with the pleasant smile of a polite hostess. These
are the politest people in the world. Tlie whole street was
gay with evergreens, and the picture of Ja]ianese life in the
hills was charming. Walked on down a beautiful glen called
Kiso no tuni by the river Kiso nokaum. It was green, clear,
and rapid. Presently I came to granite boulders rolled ; then
to granite rocks, and then to an anteclinal axis of light-
coloured syenite, crossing the river and the glen. Strike K.W.
In this part of the country the folds in bent strata corresjiond
in direction to the long a.xis of the southern end of Ja])an.
The course of the rivers has nothing to do with this geolo-
gical structui'o. To the east towards the I'acific are tall
granite hills nmch waterworn. In this direction is Fuji Saii,
and the eastern corner of Japan. By the light of ]\Ir. Judd's
])ap(!r on the Secondary Kocks <tf Scotland, 1 took tliese to
be altered loeks, the roots of older volcanoes which have
been worn away. At 4 i\M. lialttid after a walk of sixiiH'u
miles due south, 27'-"() down about ridO lert. Camped in ii

NEW YEAR OFFERINGS.

353

■ !

small tea-house after some jaw, in which I thought that I
recognized the element of squeeze.

Thursday, Decemler 31, 1874. — Amyamatza ; 25° inside ;
20° in the garden ; 27300 ; about 3,500 feet above the sea.
My breatli froze on my fur pesk all night. My morning tub,
as usual, was Tij."ed on tlie boards in the garden. The water
spilt, turned to ice in a few minutes, and made the boards as
slippery as the butter slide of the pantomime. In good con-
dition once more, able to walk without fatigue, and to stand
the cold, and to enjoy this wild life beyond description. A
very fine, bright, clear day. The bells tolled magnificent
clear musical notes, as they do everywhere in this country.
Some are as fine as Big Ben, the last effort of English bell-
makers, yet this is a small mountain town. Started at 8.30,
and walked down the glen, rejoicing in the clear air and
brilliant fresh weather ; admiring the grand Japanese hills,
with their snowy sides, and evergreens, and bamboos, and
]»ines. Every step was a picture, every man a study. Found
some old rocks, and made the strike S.W., N.E., dip N.W.
Syenite was abundant. The growing river wsis worthy of
Norway. The bed of i^ was a wide wilderness of great rolled
stones, like those which line the banks of the great northern
rivers of Europe. The water was clear and green as Niagara.
Every house, and every stone altar, and stone, and image was
decorated for the new year. A couple of bamboos, or two
young pines, or two branches stuck upright with a straw rope
between, made the " torn * or perch for the birds, the frame
on which hung strips and sheets of white paper, bunches of
tliree straws each, green leaves, little conical bamboo baskets,
vith offerings of rice in them. Little paper ])ruyers, neatly
VOL. I. A A

354

MY CIRCULAR NOTES.

folded into squares like notes, were stuck in clei't sticks, and
hung up. These decorations were everywhere. The village
streets were like small boulevards, witli a " torri " of this
kind at each door as high as tlie eaves. The great inscribed
stones by the wayside had their decorations of green leaves
and red berries and white ])aper. Of these stones, one
recorded that, on the 23rd day of the moon, somebody had
there seen the nioou rise. It really was strange to see all
these " Ulu'istiiias-trees "' in Japan. In Yedo they are mort;
magnificent. They are taller and bigger, hung with fruits
and lobsters, and gay flags and colours, all offerings to the
Kami. My squire grew eloi^uent in describing the New Year
festivities of the capital, and 1 listened, and pondered, and
wondered why I had never heard of all these things, which
are common to the East and to the West, and may explain
so much that needs to be explained. I noticed a rack for
drying rice, exactly like those which are commonly used in
Sweden. It is a lofty grating, made of poles. A story might
travel from mouth to mouth, a missionary might suggest
something which his hearers might alter into some vague
resemblance to a Christian ceremony ; but all tliese various
practices, together with a foot-plough, a corn-rack, a quern,
a bush for signboard, and such like inventions, must have
come together with the people from somewhere to the Western
Isles, and to these Jaj)anese hills. The customs of Central
Asia ought to explain much. I bought half a pound of fine-
cut tobacco for seven sens {S^d.), and by the hel]) of my
squire had a long palaver with the merchant. At 11.45 at
Suarra, nine miles, 27800, 500 feet down; stopped. The
bright sun was warm, and the whole street gay with ever-

HUNTING AND SPOORING.

36.0

greens. Iloie we got a fresh pony, and walked on down thi.-^
magnificent glen. It is fifty nules long. Presently we came
to a skin merchant, and bought the teeth of a bear, and a
goat skin. A little further on we came to the house of a
hunter, with a newly-slain hind. There was no hurry, and
nobody to say, " Come on ; " so we walked in, and sat down,
and bought venison. The hunter in blue sat on his counter
behind the deer, carved from the haunch, and weighed out
collops. A brown foxy dog sat and 1')oked on, while the light
from the snow shone in, and made a Rembrandt. The fire
was made to blaze, the tripod stewpan was placed on the
hearth, and the hunter made a stew that lives in my memory
with one other meal eaten at Xeres. Venison and sake in
Japan, wild boar and sherry in .Spain, with health for sauce
in 1811 and 1874. We feasted together, and all interme-
diate feeds vanished. A " kamoshka " in his hide lay beside
the hind, and we bought five skins of this Japanese nonde-
script for five dollars. My hunter has a pipe, with which he
calls the deer. He blew a long wailing whistle, and some
notes. The goats go in parties of ten or twelve, and haunt
the tops. They have polished black hooked horns, like
chamois, black hoofs, and dark, shaggy, warm, furry jackets,
fit for cold lands. A white creature, of like shape and habits,
haunts the liocky Mountains in America ; and something of
the same kind I saw in the museum at Tifiis on the 10th of
October, 1873. Looking to natural history as one more
road to knowledge, it seems that a general resemblance can
be traced in the wild creatures of the northern parts of the
northern hemisphere. But there is no creature in Jai)an, so
far as I know, that is identical with the western variety ; and

35G

MY tlKCULAK NoTKS.

there is no crcutuie in Korth America that is exactly
the same as the equivalent in the old world. Kavens
are said to he the same everywhere. I never met a
Jai)anese raven, Lnt Japanese crows abound, and their
croaking and behaviour is Japanese. Voices, and langiiages,
and inventions, myths, machines, and creatures, all seem to
have had a common ancestry, though they liave varied in
travellhig from their common home round the world. 1
sketched my hunter with very stiff fingers, and coloured him
at camp. Full of old haccy and fat venison we saluted our
host, and walked on after the baggage, whicli we found at
Kojiri, 27-400, GOO feet down in 14 miles. At 3.30 p.m. as
no horse was to be had we halted. Wliile waiting I sketched
an old woman shaving the head and making up the tail of an
old swell, who sat in the evening sun at the door of his
house, surrounded by children. I coloured my pencil notes
and wrote up log till 5.30, with my feet under a stong, beside
a fire as usual. Then came a dinner worthy of an alder-
man, venison and tea ; and a cigar kept for a grand occasion.
The last day of 1874 was marked with a white stone. Grand
bells tolling, children singing, all was alive and cheery in
this far eastern glen on New Year's Eve, and 1 was merry as
they were, with my own far away people, ringing in the new
year, and singing out old years, and thinking, and drnkiug
tea. Man never is less alone than when alone. 1 wi.shed
everybody a ha]»py new year, and once more sought the
nirwana of sound sleep.

END OF VOL. I.

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