FORTY THOUSAND MILES of WORLD WANDERING HELEN M.GQUGAR Illustrated YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY .Collection of Indiana Authors Gift of Isabel Parry WISTARIA BOWER— JAPAN. &Jl- FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING HELEN M. GOUGAR " A 11 travel has its advantages. If the traveler visits better countries \ he may learn to improve his own ; and if fortune carries him to worse, may learn to enjoy his own." "The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are." —Johnson it MONARCH BOOK COMPANY PUBLISHERS CHICAGO PHILADELPHIA Copyright, 1904, by Helen M. Gougar Published January, 1905 TO MY HUSBAND WHOSE LOVE OF TRAVEL AND DESIRE TO PROMOTE MY PLEASURE ANr HAPPINESS HAVE ENABLED ME TO VISIT MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD AND ENCIRCLE THE GLOBE THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED PREFACE In presenting this book to the public I have not presumed to record all that can be written of interest about the countries mentioned, for each in itself' would furnish material for a volume much larger than this. I have not consulted historians or writers on archaeology to any great extent. I have purposely avoided tedious minutiae. I care less for ancient history and ruins in stone than I do for the sights, conditions, and customs under which the human f amily is living at the present. I have aimed to give an ¦ accurate account of my daily experiences and the scenes I have witnessed, for the benefit of those who have not had the advantages of extensive travel, and to furnish pleasant diversion for those who look upon the world through my eyes ; for those who have been over the same ground, the pleasure of reminiscences of travel; for those who contemplate a tour of the world, such suggestion as will make their way among strange scenes and peculiar people less confusing and more instructive because they have followed me through these pages in my wanderings over sea and land. A tour of the world is so much time spent in going to school. The one great lesson I have learned is that the peoples of the earth are of one household, at the head of which is the great divine Master, and just to the extent His teachings are accepted are the children of men physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually happy. When these facts are universally recognized, then will the immense treas ure now expended in the armament of nations to promote the inhumanities of war be diverted into building homes of comfort, schools of learning and spiritual development, and the promotion of justice between man and man and among all the nations of the earth. Electricity, commercialism, and Christianity are making for the oneness of the whole world, in which glad time all will accept the great truth of the common brotherhood of man and the Father hood of God. Helen M. Gougar. Lafayette, Indiana. CONTENTS I. — Chicago to Yokohama pACE On Dakota Prairies — Among the Rockies — The Pacific Slope — In a Typhoon — Around the World by Rail - 17 II. — In Japan Yokohama — Street Scenes — Babies — Funeral Processions 25 III.— Tokio Seat of Empire — The Divine Mikado — Temples — Theaters — Floral Fetes — The Mikado's Birthday Party — Monastery Grounds of Sheba — Dwarfed Trees — Schools — Factories 33 IV. — The Japanese Home A Dinner Service — Marriage Customs — Works of Art' — New Year's Day — Wifely Duties — Progressive Women 42 V. — Travel in Japan Agricultural Scenes — Wages — Guides — Money — Railways — Porters — In the Fields — Legend of the Iris — Kamakura — Holy Enoshima — Mystic Apes — Arrows of Prayer — Nikko 51 VI. — In Southern Japan The Inland Sea — Nagasaki — Women Coal Steamer — Shanghai — Living on the Water — Pearl River - 66 VII. — Hong-Kong Chinese Fatalists — A Free Port — The Peak — Happy Hollow — Kowloon — Water Clan — Funicular Railway — Lights and Stars 74 VIII. — China's Millions Canton — Streets — Temples — Punishments — Treatment of Women — Girl Babies — Medical Treatment — Hall of Learning — Water-Clock — Silk- Weaving — Graveyards — St. John's Mission — Blind Girls — An Edu cated Chinaman 80 IX. — The Philippines Before Manila — At Quarantine — Custom-House Annoyances — A Govern ment Hold-up — Cattle from the "Home-market (?) " — Filipino Homes — Dress — American Free Schools — Cultured Filipinos — Theater and Actors — Address Filipinos — The Independent Church — Aglipay — Seven Millions to the Friars a Robbery — Chinese Contract Labor — A Visit to Aguinaldo — Resources — Self-government — The Flag and the Constitution - 90 7 8 CONTENTS X. — Singapore page People — Gardens — Drives — Lightning Express of the Orient — Monkeys — Mission Work — Sultan of Jahore 110 XI. — Java Batavia — Street Scenes — -New Year's Day — Hotels — Places of Business — Guides — A Stepdown — Markets — American Tradesmen 120 XII. — In the Interior Her People — Culture — Roads — Resorts — Buitenzorg — Botanical Gar dens — Plantations — Treatment of Natives — Sumatra Women — Boroboedor — Travel and Expense 133 XIII. — Ceylon The Harbor — Buying "Precious Stones" — Street Scenes — Colombo — Tipping in Hotels — European and Pettah Quarters — Peeping Toms — Priests — Temples — Botanical Gardens of Peridaneiya — Talipot Palm — Nuwara Eliya — Roads — Cultivation of Tea 150 XIV.— India Colombo to Tuticorin — Agriculture — Madras — Pettah Quarters — Public Buildings — Calcutta — Gardens — Great Banyan — Darj eeling — The Himalayas — Women Beasts of Burden — Strange People — Benares — Holy Ganges — Burning Ghats — Lucknow — Agra — Taj Mahal — The Fort — Bazaars — Tomb of Akbar — Delhi — The Durbar — American Flunkies — Peacock Throne — Muti Musjid — Bazaars — Personal Adornment of Women — Tomb of Nizamdin, King of Thugs — Jeypure — A Pink and White City — Maharajah's Palace — Elephants — Monkeys — Bombay — Parsees — Towers of Silence — Bazaars— Child- wives — A Miserable Nation - - 175 XV. — The Indian Ocean Arrival at Aden — The Red Sea — Suez — Port Said — Suez Canal — The Land of Goshen 222 XVI.— Cairo Attractions — Pyramids — Ascending and Exploring Cheops — Museum — Dancing Dervishes — Salutations of Arabians — Jugglers — Tourists 227 XVII.— The Nile Kasr-el Nil — Bedrashan — Donkey-boys — Ancient Memphis — Mastaba of Ti — Serapeum — Sakhara — Homes of Natives — Shadoofs — Treatment of Women and Girls — Benihasan — Temple-tombs — Assiout — Amer ican Missions — Bazaars — Dendehrah — Keneh — Luxor — Karnak — Tombs of the Kings — A Joke on Ourselves — Inside Egyptian Homes — Agriculture — Edfu — Assuan — Bushawari — Barrage — Phike — Abydos — Down the Nile - 232 CONTENTS 9 XVIII. — Foreign Missions in the Orient PAGE Japan — China — Martha Foster Crawford — Among Pilgrims — The Boxers — India — Ada Lee Missions — Zenanna Women — Darjeeling Disaster — Famine Children — Child-wives — Conditions of Women — Proverbs Relating to Woman — Beastly Priests — Caste — Bombay — Egypt — Asyut, American Missions — Luxor — Visit to Christian Homes — Cairo — Commercial and Patriotic Considerations for Support of Foreign Missions — The One Bright Spot 260 XIX. — From Egypt to Austria Adriatic Sea — Ionian Isles, Ithaca, Zanti, Cephalonia, Corfu — Brindisi — Trieste — Miramare — Semmering Pass — Vienna — Churches — Public Buildings — Statuary — Museums — Theater — Crown Jewels — House of Hapsburg — Annual Review of Troops — Revolution in Austria 284 XX. — Down the Danube From Vienna to Budapesth — Water-wheel Mills — Carpathian Hills — Ancient Castles — Budapesth — Capitol Building — The King's Palace — Museums — Libraries — Parks — People — Women — Education — Language 296 XXI. — Austria to Russia Granitza — Customs — Passports — Country Scenes — Warsaw — Churches — Ancient Palaces — Women Laborers - 303 XXII. — St. Petersburg First Views — Ever-present Military — Dress, Vehicles, Signs — Guides — Hotels — Espionage — Robbery of the Masses — Winter Palace — The Hermitage — The Tsar Liberator — St. Isaac's — Cathedral Saints Peter and Paul — Peter the Great — Priestly Impositions — Icons — Academy of Sciences — Imperial Library — A Gorgeous Military Dis play — Sousa's Band, an Amusing Incident — Tsarsko Selo — Peterhof — Beautiful Fountains — Nevski Monastery 311 XXIII.— Moscow A Poor Country — Poverty of the Agriculturalists — The Kremlin — Gate of the Redeemer — Bell Tower of Ivan — Patriarchical Cathedral — St. Saviour's — Iberian Mother — Robber Priests — Foundling Hospitals — Bazaars — St. Basil — Sparrow Hill — Trans-Siberian Railway — Inter nal Revolution 332 XXIV. — St. Petersburg to Stockholm Leaving Russia — Cronstadt — Most Beautiful Waterway in World — Gulf of Finland — Helsingfors — A Charming People — A Tragedy in Govern ment-— An Exiled Finlander — Insecurity Under Russian Rule — Uni versity, Libraries, and Churches — Stockholm — King Oscar — Museums — Churches — King's Palace — Norway — North Cape - - 348 10 CONTENTS XXV. — Denmark page Copenhagen — Museum of Thorswalden — Summer Resort — King's Palace — Pretty Children— Farms— Thrift of People — Germany— Hamburg — Bremen — Examination of Emigrants — Kindness of American Officials — Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse — Fourth of July on the Sea — Wireless Telegraphy — Play Pranks — At Home 374 XXVI. — Among Islands of the P/cific Across the Continent on Santa Fe Railway — On S. S. Sonoma — The Un-Pacific Sea — Honolulu — Avenues — Natives — American Civiliza tion — Amusements — Schools — A Den of Vice Broken Up — First Territorial Legislature — Rainbow Land — A Pretty Custom — Aloho - 385 XXVII.— Tituila A Beauty Spot — Natives — Huts and Customs — Military Rule — A Sa- moan Queen — A Beautiful Sunset — Four Days to New Zealand 395 XXVIII.— New Zealand Area — Climate — Grand Scenery — Beauty — Sources of Wealth — Auck land — Rotorua — Geysers — Thermal Region — Three Days in Stage — Fairy Bath — Lake Taupo — Wanganui River — Fernland — Over Mountains — South Island — A Fish Story — Government — Suffrage — Land Management — Postal Service — Age Pensions — Public Trust Office — Government Insurance — State Employment — Education — Purity of Government — Organized Labor — Christian Socialism — Fraternal not Paternal — A True Democracy - 400 XXIX. — Tasmania Original Home of English Convicts — A Fine Harbor — Hobart — Mt. Wel lington — Fine Roads — Brown's River — Cornelian Bay — Saturday Evening in Hobart — Size — Resources — The Land of the Sleepers — Launceston — A Trip on "Coogee" 421 XXX. — Australia Physical Conditions — Agricultural Difficulties — Melbourne — Ballarat — Adelaide — Sydney — A Great Auditorium — Hospital Saturday — Australian Women — Advanced Laws — Homeward Bound - - 427 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Frontispiece. Wistaria Bower (Color Picture) On Dakota Prairies - 17 In the Rockies 19 Fujiyama - - 22 Sampan 23 Jinrikisha 23 Getting Dinner. Shops Open to Streets - 26 A Japanese Cradle - 28 Carrying Loads 30 In View of Fujiyama - - 34 Japanese Buddhist Priest - 37 The Dwarfed Junk Pine - 38 Mamma Says, "Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil" - 40 A Dinner Service 43 Embroidering in Japan - 45 Bamboo Garden - 47 In the Rice Paddies - 49 A Japanese Village 55 Dai-Butsu. Gate and Temple op Buddha 57 Holy Enoshima - 58 Leading to Temples 59 Three Mystic Apes 60 Stately Cryptomeria - - 61 To Chuzanzi 62 Shinto Temple - ' - 63 Red Lacquer Bridge 64 Mount Nantai and Lake Chuzanzi - - 65 The Narrows - 67 Along the Inland Sea - 68 Nagasaki Harbor 69 Women Coaling Steamer at Nagasaki - 70 Homes of Water Clan on Pearl River 71 A Chinese Carriage - - 72 Traveling in China - - 72 Hong Kong - - 75 Hong Kong Harbor - - 76 Funicular Railway to Peak - 77 A Street in Canton - - 81 Crowding the Street with Trade - 82 Executing Criminals in China - 86 Hall of Learning, Canton - - 87 11 12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Casco on Pasig River Native Section in Manila Filipino Homes A Filipino Belle Filipinos Cathedral, Manila Free School for Filipinos Aglipay Filipino Cart Aguinaldo American Boys in Manila Cascoes in River at Singapore The Bund, Singapore Oriental Lightning Express In Singapore Climbing-Root Tree, Singapore Gardens Tonsorial Artist in Streets of Singapore Near Tandjon Priork. Java Between Tandjon Priork and Batavia Street Before Hotel, Batavia Entrance to Private Residence, Batavia "Yes, Please, Lady," in Center A Home in Batavia A Javanese Stepdown Javanese Musicians A Javanese Market "Washing Done Here" A Street in Batavia JavaAn Avenue in Buitenzorg Home of Governor-General, Java An Avenue in Solo Tonsorial Artist A Javanese Family Fruits of Java One View op Boroboedor View of Boroboedor from Hotel Carvings on Walls of Boroboedor Rekla ColomboThe Effect of Different-Sized Tips on William the Waiter - Pettah Quarters, Colombo Singhalese Children Singhalese Home Yellow-Robed Buddhist Priest Singhalese Group Buddhist Temple, Kandy - Where Serpents Hide Talipot Palm PAGE 9192939495969799 101 105109110112113114115 119121 122123 124125126 128 129130 131132134 135136137139141 142 144145 147 152153 154156157 158159 161 162163164 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Juggler, Ceylon In Ceylon Tea Plantation Tea-Pickers Singhalsee Mother and Child An Indian Farm-House Madras Hunt A Sacred Bull Wood Carrier A Basket of Babies, Inscribed to President Roosevelt Grass-Cutter Push-CartSweeperMadras Pariah In Streets of Calcutta Street Sprinkler The Great Banyan Darjeeling, Kinchinjunga Unclouded The Loop Kinchinjunga A Beast of Burden Bhutia Men Nepaly Weaver, Darjeeling - A Bhutia Family Bhutia Maiden Spinning in Street Prayer Wheel - Nepaly Mother, Darjeeling On the Ganges, Benares Consulting Priests on the Ganges, Benares On the Holy Ganges Which is more Intelligent? To the Burning Ghat - Oudh Palace, Gateway Moti Mahal, Lucknow - j The Great Fort, Agra i. The Taj from River Side - - -i n ,,,*• , Taj Mahal. Entrance Gate and Alabaster Screen -r>, ,, An Indian Carriage Making Bread in Street, Delhi a Hall of the Winds \ -I Zenanna Cart and Ekka - / -j i As Seen in Jeypure Drinking at the Depot Railway Station, Bombay Pahsee Lady (Color Picture) Facing Towers of Silence Completing Her Toilet Ascending Cheops - 13 PAGE 165 166171 172173 176177178179 180 181 181182183183184185186 187188 189190 190 191192 19.3194 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 202 203205 208 211212 213 215217 218 218 219220228 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Dancing Dervishes 230 Fallahin Family Outing 230 Kasr el Nil 232 Island of Rhoda 233 Bedrashan 234 Statue Rameses II., Memphis 236 On the Nile 237 Pylons for Pigeons 240 A Shadoof 241 Well Treated - 242 Excavated Temple, Benihasan 243 Assiout 244 Native Bazaar, Assiout 245 Water-Carriers on the Nile 246 Ruins, Karnak 247 Grand Temple, Karnak 248 Temple Carvings, Karnak 249 Temple of Luxor ¦ 251 Threshing in Egypt 252 Plowing in Egypt - 252 Striking a Bargain on the Nile 252 A Bushiwari Family 254 Bushiwari and Hut 254 Bushiwari Pair 255 Bushiwari on the Nile 256 Phil^e 257 A Section of Barrage 257 Bushawari Soldier 258 At Prayer in the Desert 259 Joshi-Gakuin. Miss Milliken. Miss Gardner - 261 Martha Foster Crawford 265 An Indian Mission School - 270 A Native School 270 Bible Women of Ada Lee Mission 271 In Time of Famine 272 A Famine Child Saved by Ada Lee Mission 273 Lee Children Lost in Landslide. Ada Lee and Youngest Child 276 Miramare - 285 The Ringstrasse 286 Marie Theresa Plaza - 287 St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna 288 Votif Church 289 In the City of Monuments 293 "Macht Zur See" 294 Budapesth 299 Coat of Arms and Capitol Building 300 A Magyar Picnic, Budapesth - 302 Main Street in Warsaw - - 307 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 15 PAGE Alexandra Cathedral, Warsaw 308 Shaft Sigismund III. Palace 309 Day Laborers in Poland 310 Palace of Polish Kings 310 Drosky - 312 River View of the Winter Palace 314 Front View Winter Palace 315 Greek Catholic Priest 318 St. Isaac's Cathedral - 320 Kazan Cathedral - 321 House of Peter the Great - 323 Icon in House of Peter the Great 324 A Cossack 325 Tsarsko Selo 328 Peterhof 330 Cascades Before Peterhof Palace 330 Russians at Home (Color Picture) Facing 330 Russian Village Scene 332 Russian Field Hands 332 Bird's-eye View of Moscow 333 The Kremlin 334 Gate of the Redeemer 335 Ivan's Bell Tower 336 Cathedral St. Saviour 338 The Great Bell of Moscow 341 Bazaa.r, Moscow 343 Church of St. Basil, Moscow - 344 The Red Square, Moscow 345 Senator Leo Mechelin, an Exiled Finn - 354 Street in Stockholm 357 Rhiddorholm Church - 358 King Oscar and Three Generations 359 In Norway 360 Only One of Many, Norway 361 Through which We Pass 361 As Seen en Route to North Cape 363 A Cariole 364 Government Road- 364 Raftsund 364 A Picturesque Fjord 365 Trondjhem Cathedral 366 Interior Trondjhem Cathedral 367 Torghatten 368 Tromso 369 Lapps at Home - 370 In Lapland 370 Hammerfest 371 The North Cape 372 16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Norwegian Carriage 373 A Denmark Farm - °' Bremen - 376 Plaza in Bremen - " "' ' Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse - 380 At Home - - 384 Honolulu from Harbor - 387 Hibiscus Hedge and Royal Palms 388 Moanalua Valley - 390 In Hawaii 393 Samoan Island Scenes - 397 Samoan Village. Gathering Coral 399 Otira Gorge - - - 401 Steaming Geysers, New Zealand 402 Looking Down into Treetops - - 403 Fairy Bath 405 Native Bathers, Lake Taupo - - 406 Lake Wanaka, One of Many - - 407 Maori Village, Wanganui River - - 408 Along the Roadway - 410 Beautiful Wanganui River - - 413 The Sunken Canoe - 415 Across Country, New Zealand 417 West Coast Road 420 In Suburbs of Hobart. Mt. Wellington - 421 Brown's River, Tasmania - 422 Tree Ferns, Tasmania - 424 At Launceston, Tasmania - - - 425 CHAPTER I CHICAGO TO YOKOHAMA Many trans-continental lines of railway invite the tourist with grandeur of scenery, skillful engineering, comfortable and elegant equipment, to start for a tour around the world from the western slope of the American continent, sure that a feast of entertainment will be furnished all along the way. The landscape bespeaks peace, plenty, and contentment for the thousands of homes that speck the land in Illinois, Wisconsin,Minnesota, and the Da- kotas, and the artistic sense is delighted with the bril liant autum nal colorings of tree and shrub on every hand in these north ern sections of our great country. We traverse the lake regions, upon which great herds of fat, sleek cat tle and sheep graze and drink of the unfailing sup- on dakota prairies 17 18 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING ply of fresh water the year round. Both man and beast are given ample room on these vast prairies that are kissed by God's sunlight, flooded by an air so pure and bracing that they only need to be tickled by the hand of man to yield of their abundance for the blessing of waiting millions. Wheat, oats, flax, and pasture grow prolific in this section, "the bread-basket of the continent." For two days we traverse treeless prairies. On the morning of the third day we come into cypress hills, where range great herds of cattle, horses, and sheep, that find ample shelter in the forest during the rigorous weather, and where irrigated lands furnish ample pasturage. The Bow River, fed by the everlasting snows from the mountains above, winds through these valleys not only enriching the land, but floating upon its rapid waters millions of logs to feed the numerous sawmills along its way. Coal in abun dance underlies this land, and at several stations natural gas is used for pumping water. Branch lines of railway bring gold, silver, copper, coal, and lumber to Calgary (altitude, 3,388 feet; popula tion, 6,000), one of the largest and most important stations on the route. Calgary is the distributing-point for a large trade with the great ranching country and the mountains beyond. Its newness is suggestive of pioneer life. Here we begin to ascend the foothills of the Rockies, and soon the snow-capped peaks top the sculptured heights, and we ride during the whole day between frowning cliffs whose white tops are crowned in the clouds above. Mists arise in the recesses of the mountains, under the brilliant morning sun, suggestive of the break fast fires of elves and fairies in their hidden mountain retreats. Gradually we creep up the mountain side and follow the tortuous lead of a wild mountain stream to the full enjoyment of the mag nificence of God's handiwork in the towering cliffs and great divides, where we can but admire the ability of man that can engi neer a railway and drive a train in safety along these dizzy heights. Grandeur and beauty crowd upon the attention without ceasing. Here and there are waterfalls, some like ribbons white, falling in a thin veil over the brown rocks from thousands of feet above, and others rushing torrents making haste, with mighty power, to join the stream at the bottom of the mountain gorge. It is in the Selkirk range, after we have left the Rockies, where the climax of mountain scenery is reached and skillful engineering is carried to a high degree of perfection and daring. We enter the CHICAGO TO YOKOHAMA 19 Hermit range of the Selkirks. The way lies in a narrow gorge, between enormous precipices. On the left, Mt. Sir Donald towers, one and one-half miles above the railway, in almost vertical height. It is so stupendous and near one is over-awed by its immensity and mighty grandeur. On the right, the line clings to the base of Mt. Hermit, which faces "Lord Sir Donald," and is almost as high. It is supposed that at one time these two mountains were joined, w*J3ll •<.¦•¦>¦. V* *" ^P^WWf? Iff JiWl'Kft H -''yRBr"-')1!1 "¦¦ ?? "•?bS:.'l;'r.V:: :.'. ---.'¦'*' ?'4v-r?'f IN THE ROCKIES and sundered apart by some great convulsion of nature. On the morning of the fourth day we are on the western or Pacific slope. To the mountain scenery is added that of the Thompson and Frazier rivers, flowing through mighty gorges, hemmed in by granite walls from three to four thousand feet high, at the base of which wild torrents rush on their way to the sea, chanting the requiem of power as they go. Three and one-half days from Chicago we reach Vancouver, B. C, a city of thirty thousand population, and but sixteen years old, the "bright young queen of the west, sunset door of the Do minion." She may yet be the New York of the Pacific. It is 20 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING worthy the ambition of a lifetime to witness the beauty and grandeur of nature as presented to the tourist in these few days of travel along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Lying at the docks is the royal mail steamship, Empress of India, upon which we are to embark for Japan. A TYPHOON AT SEA. AROUND THE WORLD BY RAIL Those who go down to the sea in ships should inform them selves as thoroughly as possible of the construction of the steamer on which they propose to take passage and the habits of so briety, or otherwise, of the captain and his leading officers. Tramp steamers, built without sufficient strength, with inferior machinery, manned by incompetent and dissipated captains and crews, too often are licensed to traffic on the ocean. Sooner or later they go to the bottom with all on board. A new name, paint, plate-glass, and glitter of interior finish can never make an old steamer safe. There should be a general overhauling by the governments of steamers plying on the Pacific, and many now doing business should be put out of commission, for the Pacific is a treacherous and stormy ocean. We selected the Empress line because of the stanchness of the three sister ships that ply this route. This, added to the spacious, elegantly equipped interior, and perfect service, insure as pleasant and safe a voyage as wind and wave conspire to permit. Chinese men servants, in long blue gowns, white socks, and slippers, with queues newly braided hanging down the back, moved with c,uiet alertness among the passengers and located bags and baggage. We watched with much amusement from the upper deck the stowing away of over four hundred Chinese who were going back to China for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, or to take the bones of their dead to rest in their ancestral graveyards. Our cargo consisted of carloads of beer, being taken to Manila to help "civilize the Filipinos," flour, which we export to Japan in great quantities, cotton, canned goods, trunks, etc. Among our passengers were twenty-seven missionaries — men and women, old and young— over half of them bound for China, having been driven out by the Boxers, but now returning to their deserted posts. Many were the tales they told of hair-breadth escapes from death as they fled from the fury of the heathen Chinese, who always thirst CHICAGO TO YOKOHAMA 21 after the blood of "foreign devils" as they lovingly, or otherwise, call all foreigners who invade their sacred territory. Others were bound for the more safe, pleasant, and desirable mission field of Japan. Insurance agents from America, and commercial travelers from America, England, Germany, France, and traders in silks, furs, straw braid, tea, teakwood, and pearl, exporters and importers, were much in evidence, bound for the Orient, all helping, with the aid of steam and electricity, to speed the day of the oneness of the world. A majority of the passengers were English, there being but fifteen from the States. Englishmen and Americans should never travel together in cold weather; the American, used to the comforts of a warmed house, has the steam heat turned on, only to have some Englishman, in coarse wool knickerbockers, dragging the inevitable steamer rug after him, squat himself in the social hall and call out, in nasal twang, "Boy, turn off the 'eat, I am hawt," leaving the American to shiver. The Pacific is a lonesome sea to traverse; a sail is seldom sighted; only an occasional whale or school of porpoises break the tedious monotony, and make the traveler forget, for the moment, its vast- ness. IN A TYPHOON For the first ten days out a head wind made a heavy swell ; then the waves rose higher and higher, the wind blew with the fury of demons, and soon we were in the grasp of the dreaded typhoon. The sea became grand and awe-inspiring beyond the power of de scription ; it was lashed into a white, fleecy foam, the misty spray apparently joining with the clouds, producing an outlook over the ocean much like a blinding blizzard of snow on a western prairie. The powerful waves striking the ship every few moments made her quiver and fall back in her track, and sound as if she were being bombarded with heavy cannon. For fifteen long hours the ba rometer continued to fall, and we were in a gale raging at sixty-five nautical miles per hour. The clouds that hung over us were of inky blackness. One moment the Empress would apparently sink into an awful chasm of water, and then climb up on waves literally mountains high, only to slip into another abyss of water that threatened to swallow her up in the eternal depths of the sea. She was finally compelled to heave to and merely move enough to 22 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING keep from falling back in her track, the only time in eleven years' sailing this route 'when this action has been necessary on the part of this ship. Her steel ribs kept the passengers from the nerve- racking sensation that is often experienced in lesser storms, and emphasized the wisdom of knowing somewhat of the seaworthiness of a vessel upon which one takes passage. Steadily and safely we rode through the gale, to awaken in the morning upon a sea as calm as a mill-pond. A typhoon at sea is a grand exhibit of the forces of nature, wonderful and fearful to experience, but once safely through we are glad to have witnessed it. The Pacific Ocean is misnamed. In three voyages across it we have experi enced the worst storms of ocean travel, and more severe than anything on the Atlantic or Mediterra nean. The journey from Vancouver, a distance of four thousand five hundred miles, is booked to be made in thirteen days, but is seldom done. The thirteenth day out we sighted land, and sailed nearly all day alongside the sacred island of Kinkwazan, off the Bay of Sendai, so near as to be able to see the temples among the trees on her green shores, and the flag flying from the lighthouse at the water's edge. "Land in sight!" rings around the deck, and every one is rejoiced. Passengers rush for their cameras, only to find a notice posted that a heavy fine or imprisonment awaits any one caught photographing in Japanese waters, or within ten miles of a fort. The next morning is calm and bright, and we are out at quar antine, and in an hour are "passed" and allowed to land. Fuji yama, the most perfect mountain in the world, a sleeping volcano, fourteen thousand feet high and forty miles away, was gilded with the morning sun, and presented herself unshadowed, her snow capped top reaching into the clouds. She is a veritable queen of ~*^*smr FUJIYAMA CHICAGO TO YOKOHAMA 23 land and sea, and seems to say to Yoko hama and western Japan, "Peace and prosperity so long as I am pleased to sleep, but death and destruc tion when I awake." Steam launches and sampans — little boats with the single white sail — manned with sampan picturesque natives, bare-legged and bare-headed, crowd around our steamer and solicit the privilege of transporting passengers to the docks, a mile away. On the morning of the fourteenth day out from Van couver we are landed at YOKOHAMA So far as dress, language, appearance of the natives and street scenes are concerned, we seem to have been suddenly dropped into a new and unknown world as we are wheeled in a jinrikisha along the Bund to our hotel by a bare-legged coolie, his head covered with a chopping-bowl hat, that bobs up and down, keeping time with his dog trot. We had been told of the plundering tariff of Japan, and that tourists with personal effects were not ex empt; how that kodaks and typewriters were especial prey for cus toms officers ; but found these state ments to be groundless. .riNHTKvsriA While much of fVk --¦;¦ .; Jf n .'i««*S*,K"-P.,: LVt. : Ort- ¦' ikVv ' w a^malamM Wi ~ A ¦rH^fl Vc— s }&. ¦ >'kn8s&L. - • r ^*^L _\ ' -'£ ¦ -->-... u*5as SU; • ¦ : » '¦v ¦:¦-¦¦ :» '-A lite*. Wk, m?%y**^^3 24 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING the baggage was opened, showing that the rule of gold instead of the golden rule obtains between nations, ours was promptly chalked, without opening, when we stated to the officer, with whom we could converse in English, that we were American trav elers. The greatest courtesy and promptness were exhibited in the dispatch of the customs, and many were the expressions of admiration by Americans for the manner in which the work was done. Travelers need not dread entering Japan on account of her customs duties if they are honest in statements as to effects. A RAILROAD AROUND THE WORLD But why all this uncomfortable sea voyage for the sake of a trip around the world? There should be a railroad built to some point on Behring Straits. It is no impossible feat for engineering skill to climb or penetrate mountains, to cross streams with the iron rail, or to drive a train of cars safely over mountain passes. Amer ican enterprise should set about this work. She can tunnel, if she cannot ferry, Behring Straits* for a distance of less than fifty miles, and land her passengers in Siberia and make connection with an extension of the Trans-Siberian railway, on which one can now travel from Peking to Moscow, thence to Paris, sail or tunnel the English Channel, and land in London from New York with less than one hundred miles of ocean travel. Japan could be reached in less than two days from the Korean coast, and ocean travel would be necessary only between the smaller islands of the sea for those seeking to visit remote parts of the globe. It is not too much to expect that the child is now living who can make a tour of the world by rail. *Since writing the above. French and English financiers have formed a company for tunneling the English Channel; another company is also planning for a railway along the west coast of America to Behring Straits. CHAPTER II IN JAPAN Yokohama, the chief port of entry of Japan for American traffic, has a population of a quarter of a million, crowded into a low, flat valley open to the bay, and encircled by high bluffs, wooded with pine and bamboo, and brilliant with green shrub, palm, and vine the year round. The climate is semi-tropical. Upon the Bund, the street facing the water, with sea-wall on one side, are the leading hotels, clubs, and consulates, structures by no means imposing in architecture. The bay is alive with sailing craft of every des cription, from the monster battleship to the tiny sampan. Off the Bund the streets are narrow and crooked, many being mere paths between small wooden buildings from one to two stories high. The little Japanese build lower stories and shorter doors than we do, and on a daintier scale; frequent earthquakes discourage high buildings, even for business purposes; their black- tiled or straw- thatched roofs, with pagoda corners overhang the fronts to form a sort of porch; the irregularity with which the buildings are set, no two being of the same height, gives the streets a ragged and ramshackling appearance; they are constructed without taste, symmetry, or architectural design, and paint is seldom used. Buildings are numbered in the order of time in which they are constructed; thus, number two may be a mile or more away from number one, if it is erected at this distance from the first structure. All the shops, except a few of the better class, are open to the streets, and the whole stock of goods is on display to the passerby. Work of all sorts, sewing, making, mending, embroidering, forging, car pentering, tea-serving, dressing children, is carried on in full view of the public; the street is the back yard, workshop, and play ground. There are few sidewalks; shops are set even with the street, and without raised foundations; floors raised a few inches above and a little back from the street are neatly matted and used as counters for display of wares. Purchasers are not expected to "step inside"; a low stool beside, or a bright cushion upon the edge of the platform is furnished the customer upon which to sit 25 26 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING as he examines the goods; he is waited upon by clerks who sit on the matting in front of him on their knees and heels while they transact their business, and all the clerks, no matter how many, who are not otherwise employed, take part in the sale. Tiny cups of tea are served to the customer while he ex- amines the goods ; nobody is in a hurry, and tea is al ways ready in Japan. A low bow, the head nearly touch ing the mat ted floor, is made by the clerk as he rocks his body forward from the heels and smiles, as he replies to any question pro pounded, sev eral of the polite saluta tions being given in return for the slight est purchase. The patience and courtesy for which the Japanese are justly proverbial seldom desert them; no matter how much time is taken, or whether purchases are made or not, the bows are as low and smiles as kindly, trade or no trade. It makes one feel mean to turn away from such treatment without parting with a few sens at least, so that frequent looking at artistic productions in the shops soon invite the tourist to a state of financial bankruptcy. There arc American, English GETTING DINNER. SHOPS OPEN TO STREETS IN JAPAN 27 and other foreign settlements or sections in Yokohama where there are wider streets and more pretentious buildings, and there are shops with glass doors and windows into which one can walk, but the vast majority are the small shops with open fronts, closed at night with sliding doors made of open wooden slats. As one looks down these narrow, winding streets through the flutter of flags and draperies, used as signs, and made attractive by high coloring, or white Japanese or Chinese lettering on blue or black hangings, everything seems queer, mysterious, and elfish. The streets are of beaten clay, gravel, or broken stone, not paved, muddy and unsightly when it rains, but swept with brooms and kept clean when dry, for every man must keep clean before his own door. Horses being so rarely used, the streets are easily kept in good condition. All drainage is surface, and the smells of Japanese cities once experienced will never be forgotten. The open stone ditch used for drainage runs just in front of and close to the shop, and not two feet from the floor or platform before which the purchaser sits. The brilliant colors of the readymade kimonas and garments, the vase of flowers, the little dwarfed pine- trees, and potted plants that adorn these shops, the bright colors worn by babies, carried on the backs of women, men, and children, give an artistic and pleasing effect, and make the tourist feel that he has been taking a walk in a mimic theater with live dolls as actors. One wonders how all the myriad shopkeepers live off each other, or live at all, from their small business. It is asserted that the Japanese can get more comfort, happiness, and contentment out of a small amount of money than any other people on the face of the earth, and appearances justify the belief. The majority must be desperately poor, but of all the swarms of humanity, few are ragged or dirty; no woman's hair is other than carefully and artistically dressed, and all go bareheaded. It is no place for milliners, but hairdressers thrive. None are so poor as to forget to be clean, polite, patient, gentle, and dignified. The poor are as clean as the rich; public bath-houses are provided in all the cities for the populace, and they are used, even the riksha men taking advantage of the bath several times each day. A Japanese crowd is the sweetest smelling on the earth, if met with out of doors, but they smoke one out at theaters, in cars and cafes, men, women, and children being slaves to the cigarette habit. In the same stream of water may be seen natives washing their feet, bathing 2S FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERIN their children, washing their clothes, cleaning their teeth or veg etables, and dipping up water for their tea, showing a lack of fastidiousness not in harmony with outward appearances. BABIES Strapped on the backs of women, little girls, boys, and old men literally swarm everywhere in Japan. These nurses with their burdens turn out in the streets early in the morning and wan der night and day; the babies are dressed in kimonos, cut the same pattern as those worn by their mothers, and in the brightest red and yellow com binations of color, white never being used on the children of Japanese only by the higher classes that adopt foreign cus toms; their little black bare heads are left to bob around as best they can, and it is a wonder that the heads of the whole race are not on "'hind side before," when we note how their necks are twisted when infants in the attempt to sleep or rest on their peripa tetic cradles. Rain or shine, hot or cold, their heads are seldom covered or protected. Their little black eyes twinkle like beads as they peep over the shoulders of their nurses, and they are rarely heard to cry, and impatience is rare on the part of mother or nurse. The Japanese are proverbially kind and gentle with children. Their children have no bands to squeeze them, no pins to jag them; they enjoy plenty of fresh air; so that the lot of a heathen Japanese baby is far happier than that of the banded, pin-jagged infant of Christian society. Children old enough to walk and too young to lie in school swarm in the streets; they frolic like kittens, and when they get in the way of the trotting riksha men, a sharp "Hi! Hi!" A JAPANESE CRADLE IN JAPAN 29 warns them, and they scamper like rats out of harm's way. Little girls strap the babies to their backs, and their dolls on the backs of the babies they are carrying. The heavily wadded kimonos worn in the autumn days by nurses and children are suggestive of animated bed-comforters clogging through the streets. A con stant source of entertainment for the stranger, from the moment anchor is cast to the day of departure, is the dress and undress of these little people. The men in dark blue cotton blouses with narrow bands of white sewed on in fantastic ideographs of the native language are walking signboards for tradesmen. These designs are put on the back between the shoulders, and are worn to adver tise the business followed by the workmen; pantaloons are in every state of evolution; some are gored in the back of the leg, which makes them fit as tight as the skin; others have them cut off half way between the hips and knees; others adorn one leg, leaving the other bare, an economical arrangement, as the legs can take turns in appearing in public, thus doubling the time a wardrobe can last. Many are bare-legged, especially the riksha men, who, with their rows of wheeled chairs, wait patiently in their places to be called into service. The kimono as generally worn is cut alike for men, women, and children; it is a long, straight, narrow garment, with wide flowing sleeves used for pockets; the collar folded back from the neck, and the skirt so lapped in front as to prevent showing the absence of undergarments, if carefully adjusted, which is not always the case; the feet are either bare, or merely protected by straw sandals held on by a strap passed from the instep and over between the great and second toes. Some wear the taba, a black or white digitated gaiter. To raise the feet from the ground, a thin board set on two strips of wood about two inches high, held on the same as the sandals, is used, and into these the feet are slipped. The narrowness of the kimonos and the hampering clogs cause the feet to be shuffled instead of raised; and for this reason the race is pigeon-toed and hobbling. From their habit of squatting on knees and heels the lower part of the legs are undeveloped; this in great part accounting for the short stature of the race. The court-dress and that of all officials is American. In variety, mate rial, and color the dress of the masses exhausts the attempt of the kodak to snap-shot, and would require volumes to describe. When Japan becomes thoroughly Americanized in dress, she will lose much of her picturesqueness and that time is to be regretted. The 30 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING kimono, sandal, and clog form a distinctively national dress, unlike that of any other people. The variety of dress, the numerous little shops, the riksha men with their large mushroom hats bobbing up and down and overhanging their shoulders, the "at home" appearance of the occupants of the wheeled chairs, make one's first ar rival in Japan a memory pic ture not soon to be effaced. It is altogeth er different from that of any other country. The pull ing and push ing of carts by men who do the work that is done by horses in A m e r i c a awaken our sympathies,until it is noticed how easily and sys- tematically everything is done. In Yokohama there are over twenty thou sand men licensed to run jinrikishas, and about as many to run carts. If a horse or bullock is used to a cart, the man walks in front leading the animal by a rope, seldom using lines, and never allowing the beast to pull him, no matter if the cart is empty, or what the distance is to be traveled. Light loads are carried in baskets or tubs suspended on a bamboo pole balanced on the shoulders. Men are surely beasts of burden in these Oriental CARRYING LOADS IN JAPAN 31 lands. Lines for electric cars are laid out, and some are in opera tion in all important cities. At night the long, narrow streets, lighted by paper or glass lanterns hanging out from the low fronts of the numerous shops, each marked with ideographs, rikshas running hither and thither, with paper lanterns fastened to the shafts and bobbing like fire flies, make at first a weird and uncanny impression. Riding in the evening through the large cities soon becomes one of the most enjoyable sources of entertainment for the stranger. In Tokio electricity is largely used for street lighting. Small dealers in every conceivable article of merchandise sit on the outer edge of the sidewalks or in rows on the street, each having a tiny coal-oil lamp with which to illuminate his stock. With nightfall come thou sands of these dealers, who range themselves in their accustomed places, waiting for trade until late. Everybody is good-natured; there is no boisterousness, drunkenness, unseemly crowding, or discourtesy. The throngs on the streets in a Japanese city, night or clay, are the quietest and best behaved to be found the world over. Beggars are rarely met with in the cities of north Japan. If street scenes are picturesque under a warm sunlight on a clear day, they are still more so on a rainy day; the thousands of yellow, oil-paper-many-rattaned umbrellas bobbing in and out among the black hoods of the jinrikishas that are pulled up to cover the occupants, the strips of floor matting hanging from the shoulders of the poorer people, for want of something better, the straw coats worn by many, give a distinctive, bedraggled appearance to a rainy day, and emphasize the apparent poverty of the masses. The streets are a sea of mud and slush, through which the throngs splash, clog, and shuffle, there being nothing nastier than the streets of a Japanese city on a rainy day. Most grotesque is a funeral procession; the corpse is carried through the streets in a curtained sedan chair suspended on poles borne on the shoulders of four coolies; it is placed in a tub, as the Japanese idea of comfort is sitting, not lying down; these tubs are carried to the crematory, after the bodies have been taken to a temple for the rites of purification, where the accumulations of the day will be burned at night. The processions are made up of men dressed in high colors and fantastic styles, carrying banners, trays of confections, and im mense bunches of flowers raised high on their shoulders. They 32 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING march before the sedan chair, following which is the priest in a jin rikisha, with tall pointed hat of gorgeous color, his body covered with white kimono, on his lap a tray of offerings to appease the evil spirits; seated in wheeled chairs are the mourners; first the wife and concubines, wearing high, pointed headgear, draped from head to foot in thin white cotton or silk; they hold on their laps small trays filled with tea and confections as offerings to the gods on behalf of the departed friend; and then comes the motley crowd. The most successful mardi-gras never equaled in variety of make-up and grotesqucness a heathen funeral procession in Japan as it winds its way through the narrow, crooked streets to the temple among the trees on the hill or mountainside, thence to the crematory, to which Japan requires all her adult dead to be consigned. Music is seldom heard in Japan, and never at native funerals. CHAPTER III TOKIO. SEAT OF EMPIRE. THE DIVINE MIKADO. TEMPLES AND THEATERS Tokio is the seat of the empire. The palaces of the royal family are located in a wooded park containing about a thousand acres just on the edge of the city, and surrounded by walls fully fifty feet high, with moats three hundred feet wide, filled with running water. These walls and moats are chiefly interesting because of the great expense and labor necessary for their construc tion. Two drawbridges and two towered gateways defend the entrance. Here the emperor and empress, with their retainers, live. The mikado is so sacred a personage that he can be seen only on the rarest occasions, and through great formalism. Japanese believe him to be the divine, legitimate, heaven-descended child of the goddess of the sun. He must never be "looked down upon." When he makes a tour of the streets no one is permitted to stand on elevated places, upper porches, or upper rooms, lest he be so sacrilegious as to look down upon the Son of Heaven. This idea formerly was carried to such an extent that when, a few years ago, the mikado was conveyed through the streets of Yokohama fine old shade-trees along the route were cut down lest even the birds should look down from their lofty perch on this divinity ! Not many years since an empress died. How was she to be buried without some one looking down on her coffin? The problem was solved by dressing ninety men up to look like crows, and these performed this last rite for the royal dead. This national belief in the divinity of the mikado is one of the greatest hindrances to the adoption of the Christian religion. If they believe Christ to be divine, then their emperor must be only human. The Japanese are too loyal to be led into any such heresy. Minister Buck said to me, "There is not a coolie in Japan who would not yield up his life at any time for his emperor, so great is the universal loyalty." The Japanese never question his acts or his policy. There arc no government factions; all are intensely loyal, which fact accounts largely for 33 34 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING the strength of Japan in her wars with other nations. The em peror has one lawful wife, and more than a dozen concubines, one of whom is the mother of the crown prince, who is spoken of, however, as the son of the empress. With this domestic example of a supposed divine ruler it is difficult to establish monogamy among the people. The crown prince, however, is setting a good example in this matter. He married a woman of his own choice, was married by a religious service, which is unusual, and is out Wht &8LJBi. IN VIEW OF FUJIYAMA spoken against concubinage. He has one son, and is said to be happy in his home relations. He is a natural-born reformer, having adopted European dress, home furnishings, and customs of living. The religion of the royal family is Shinto, or ancestral worship, the teaching of which is, "Follow your desires." FLORAL FETES The Japanese have a beautiful custom of ushering in the bloom ing of certain flowers by fetes and festivals. The chrysanthemum is the royal flower, and is used for decorations on the emperor's birthday, a national holiday observed in all parts of the empire and by all classes. In Tokio a royal ball is given at the largest TOKIO. SEAT OF EMPIRE 35 hotel, which is attended by members of the royal household, the diplomatic corps, military and naval officers of every nation, and visitors who are fortunate enough to secure invitations. It was our good fortune to attend one of these functions. The emperor never appears in person at this gathering; the emperor and empress were represented, however, on this occasion by four princes and four princesses. The Japanese minister of the interior and his wife were selected to do the honors of the occasion. The receiving party, princes and princesses, were attired in' European costume. The dainty little women were dressed in French-made robes, elegant in material and in the height of fashion. Only their walk was out of harmony and grace; their use of sandals and clogs in native dress causes them to shuffle instead of raise the feet, so in trailing gowns they have the appearance of being club-footed. At nine o'clock the doors were thrown open, and the reception committee took their places in line. The exceedingly polite man ners of the Japanese become good clothes. Three bows, each a little lower than the one preceding it, was the formal homage paid, though some foreigners grasped the hand of the ladies as if they intended to take them away in their pockets (I mean the hands, not the ladies). In the pageant that passed before the receiving committee were army and naval officers with epaulettes and gold braid in glittering array, the dark-hued Russian minister with beetling brows, the handsome French, Italian, and Mexican minis ters and their wives, tall Chinese in long silk gowns and velvet jackets richly embroidered, long pigtails and skull caps, the Bud dhist priest in yellow silk robe, and last but not least came our own representative, General Buck and his wife, with their glory of white hair crowning good, sensible, intelligent American faces; the other notables were too numerous to mention. Two thousand people in all attended this royal gathering. Bountiful refresh ments were served in an apartment erected for the purpose ad joining the dancing hall. The dance was opened by the royal representatives of Japan, after which the floor was free to all. The apartments were profusely decorated with greens and chrys anthemums, no other flowers being permissible. The royal flower was in every conceivable shape and color; electric lights peeped out through glass flowers; the corridors were lined with potted plants, and mottoes wrought in chrysanthemum ideographs adorned the walls among the flags and bunting of all nations. 36 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING Thousands of Japanese lanterns were strung on the outside and in the spacious grounds of the large Imperial Hotel, making both outside and inside a brilliant affair. The streets of Tokio were gay with bunting and lanterns, few buildings being without elaborate, brilliant decorations. It is a poor child indeed that has not a new kimono for this day, and the brighter the colors in the garment the better. The swarms of babies and little girls on the streets looked like huge human bou quets , in their brilliant robes. The populace were cleaner, there were fewer bare legs and unsandaled feet and shirtless men than usual on the streets, for all knew it was the mikado's birthday, and they must be loyal and dress up for the occasion. It was our good fortune to meet while out riding many offi cials of the government and others, in full dress, going to pay homage to the emperor at high noon, the appointed hour. Many were decorated with medals ; their cocked hats with waving plumes and their brilliant uniforms set off their dark skin as in stately dignity they sat in jinrikishas behind the little white-shirted coolies who pattered over the muddy streets on to the royal palace, where the emperor received his guests. In the midst of all this rush and display came a solemn procession behind a white sedan chair in which reposed the body of a man whose course had been run ; the contrast was so sudden, so great, that I said in my heart, "What matters after all, high or low, emperor or coolie, must take this last ride alone when life's fitful fever is over." Interest in this imperial city centers in the fine old monastery grounds of Sheba, that are now a public park. Here are the mor tuary tombs of the shoguns under the shadows of the century- old pines and towering cryptomeria. Rows of stone votive lan terns line the avenues inside the yard, there being many hundreds of them, moss-grown and time-eaten. The temple gates and edifices are marvels of wood-carving and lacquer, and have been splendid in color and gilding, but now are ^dust-covered and neg lected. Priests with shaven heads sit within crooning prayers, serving tea, or playing a mournful minor tune on a small flute. Worshipers come, clap their hands three times, bow, drop a few sens on the matted floor, and in this way satisfy the worshipful spirit that is in every breast. We climb flights of moss-grown, granite steps into a park deep with shadow and gloom to visit the tomb of a son of a shogun, surrounded with numerous stone lanterns TOKIO. SEAT OF EMPIRE 37 that sit in rows in all these temple grounds. We jump into our rikshas, and the coolies speed away two miles through narrow, crooked streets into a broad avenue that leads into Yueno Park, with its wide avenues, giant trees, half-hidden temples, rows of lanterns, its moss-grown, neglected tombs, its lotus pond, and annual chrysanthemum display. Here are life- sized figures of men and women, whole groups of actors in a play, dressed in blooming chrysanthe mums. The kimono is of one color, sleeves, lin ings, and obie of other colors, and the whole made of small flowers skillfully cultivated and arranged so as to bloom at the same time in this artistic manner. The flowers are dwarfed to the size of a nickel or less, and drawn through fine wire netting to form the apparel in place and color. These shows last for weeks, and are visited by immense crowds. Chrysanthemums adorn every shop, house, table, and people carry them in great bunches through the fete season, even confections being made to represent the flower. There is not a shack so poor, but a touch of the artistic is given, at this time, by a few of these royal flowers. The cherry-blooming season is the greatest floral f§te celebrated by Japanese; trees are kept for their blossoms alone, the fruit not being edible; trees from one to three hundred years old are shown in some gardens, and are objects of reverence, and almost worship. The wistaria is another favorite flower, and is reproduced in the fine embroideries on kimonos, wall JAPANESE BUDDHIST PRIEST 38 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING pieces, screens, and fans. Frames with lattice-work on top support the vines, and when in bloom the long bunches of flowers are pulled through the lattice and hang down a perfect fringe over the heads of those who sip tea in these floral bowers. One realizes the beauty of this flower only when seen trained and blooming in this manner. In one of the suburbs of Tokio is a florist's garden famous for dwarfed trees. Here are oak-trees a century old and not more than eight inches high, and pines from one to three feet high that are three and four hundred years old; these are objects of interest because they stand for "long life," which is the prayer of all Japanese, and to which wish many of their temples are dedi cated. These dwarfed plants grow in small pots, and the knarled trunks look like old, decrepit men. These sell for fabulous prices, none less than one thousand dollars, gold. To dwarf a tree does not add to its beauty, but it is a triumph of art to accomplish it, and in this art the Japanese excel. THE DWARFED "JUNK PINE" A JAPANESE THEATER "If you want to see a Japanese theater wait until you go to Tokio," was the advice of one experienced in Japanese ways. So it was that on a rainy clay we amused ourselves with this rem nant of heathenism among this progressive people. It so hap pened that Donijero, the greatest Japanese actor, was on the TOKIO. SEAT OF EMPIRE 39 boards, much to our delight, in anticipation. All plays are given in daytime; they begin at ten in the morning and run on until six o'clock in the afternoon, short intermissions being given at noon for tiffin. At two o'clock we entered the low, broad doors of a somewhat pretentious building; stacks of straw sandals to which were tied oil paper umbrellas were piled in the foyer, and how one knew his own was a mystery, for none seemed to be tabbed. Before we could step inside our boots were covered with cotton slips tied around the ankles, and noiselessly we ascended a flight of stairs ; a sliding door was pushed back, small chairs brought, and we found ourselves in a box about five feet square and one foot deep, in the dress circle; later on it was a mercy to us that the door to our box opened on a corridor that admitted fresh air, for all around and below us men and women were smoking, for they all smoke. Each party was supplied with a small charcoal brazier with its cone of live coals, from which they lighted their cigarettes, held in slender stems. The main floor was divided into small, shallow pits or boxes which are entered by walks extending along the top of the boxes, down into which the occupants plunged and slipped on their knees and heels and at once began smoking; boys and men ran back and forth with trays and edibles and tiny tea-pots and cups, supplying the people with tea, which Japanese must have on all occasions and wherever they are. The audience was quiet, well dressed, and well behaved. The actors robe themselves in the rear of the audience room and walk the whole length of the theater in sight of the people to enter upon the stage. The music was nerve-racking. It consisted of a cracked drum, a three-stringed banjo, and a board raised a few inches above the floor, which was whacked by a man with two mallets. When a door or gate was to be shut on the stage this board was struck. In addition to this form of torture a man crooned a minor strain from some place behind the scenery. The whole musical venture was without time or tune; the drop-curtain was flaming red cotton covered with black or white ideographs and worked by a boy who ran across the stage pulling the flimsy rag after him from end to end. A water fall was represented by rows of cotton batting hung from a bamboo pole on the back of the stage, and where the liquid was supposed to strike the stream below rapidly revolving ropes wound with the same material did the work; when it was necessary to drown a man a trap door was opened in the floor of the stage and he was pitched 40 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING down head first. It is surprising that a people so artistic in many ways should be so utterly devoid of artistic sense and arrangement in theatrical matters. Here is a field for our brilliant Americans George Ade and John McCutcheon to do needed missionary work. Judging from the effect upon the audience, the players were of a high order, for they moved them to tears or laughter at will. Women take no part in Japanese plays; male mothers did the weeping for their lost babes, and they made about the success of it that a rooster would in trying to cackle. The only thing about the whole affair that was Amer ican was the price of admis sion, each ticket costing three yen, or one dol lar and a half, but for one ad- mission we could attend this theater all day, if we de sired to fit our selves for the in sane asylum or for suicide. The whole affair was crude indeed, and is one of the things that has not been improved among this peculiar people, who are in the transition stage between the heathenism of the past and present-day progress. Every traveler should see a Japanese theater once, but no one will try a second sitting. We remained three hours, and witnessed but one-third of the play, which was carried over into the next day, to its finish. Tokio has over a million souls, which swarm in her narrow, crooked streets. She is beginning to manufacture extensively; her smoke-stacks loom up over the tiled roofs in many sections of the nine miles square which she occupies bordering on the bay, which is too shallow to allow ships of any considerable size to enter. There are fine schools and universities, museums and libraries, MAMMA SAYS, HEAR NO EVIL, SEE NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL" TOKIO. SEAT OF EMPIRE 41 hospitals' consulates, government buildings, and some good business houses, but the structures are low, on account of the frequency of earthquakes, to which the city is subject. The United States owns the ground on which there is an inferior frame structure used for ministerial business. It is not creditable, either in utility or appear ance, and it should be replaced with a structure more in keeping with the wealth and taste of our country. Tokio and Yokohama are but eighteen miles apart. Railway trains run between the places every half-hour, and there is much business and social intercourse between the two great cities. Better hotels would induce one to tarry longer than he is inclined to do at present in such inferior hostelries as they now have; however, their charges are not exor bitant. Rikshas can be hired for twenty cents an hour, and this is the perfection of locomotion. At the end of a journey the coolie doffs his chopping-bowl hat, grins, and asks for a few sens for chow, for "Missus so big." He gets what he expects and we have then had the best end of the bargain. No lines, no "get up" or "go long," no anxiety lest our steed run away with us. All we have to do is to sit and enjoy the sights until the points of the shafts are laid down at our destination. In selecting a coolie, one not too long or too short in leg is best for comfort of position in the chair. Tokio has many suburban retreats of interest for the tourist who desires to spend a season of rest and recreation in this section of the country. CHAPTER IV THE JAPANESE HOME. A DINNER SERVICE. MAR RIAGE CUSTOM One of our pleasant experiences in this country of little people and charming manners was an invitation to dine at a high caste Japanese home. Promptly at seven o'clock, the hour we were bidden, our riksha men wheeled us through the large gate, open ing from the street into a small court, and dropped the points of the shafts of their vehicles upon the outer doorstep. The wide, low front door was pushed back and the master of the house stood to receive us, bowing very low in recognition of our presence. Hand shaking is not a custom of the country. He was neatly attired in black pantaloons, same as worn by Americans; instead of the conventional evening coat his tidy, graceful, and slight form was draped in the loose flowing sleeved kimono, made of rich dark silk, so folded back on the shoulders as to show the bare neck ; it reached nearly to the ankles, and was held in place by heavy white silk cord and tassels extending from the inside shoulder seam and crossed over his breast; his feet were covered with the white taba. His dress gave him the appearance of a gentleman at home in the ease of a dressing-gown, though his was full dress for a Japanese recep tion. His maid servant sat upon her knees and heels at the side of the open door and welcomed us by bowing her head to the floor, continuing in her kneeling position. But we must not step into the room until our boots are removed, for it would be as impolite and boorish to have done so as for one to enter an American home, mount and walk across a dining-room table, for the floor of a Japa nese house is used to sit, eat, and sleep upon, so it must be kept scrupulously clean. Thus it is that on the outside of the doors of a Japanese house will be found a pair of straw sandals for as many pairs of feet as are inside the house. Homes, shops, theaters, tea houses, or temples can only be entered by unsandaled feet. Two bright, soft cushions were brought, and we rested one foot at a time on these until our shoes were removed, for we must not step on the upper step even, until unshod. The lacings were puzzles to the 42 THE JAPANESE HOME 43 kneeling servants, so the host assisted in removing the offending foot gear. When we were unshod, the wife, our hostess, appeared and welcomed us by bowing three times very low. The host took our wrappings, pushed back a sliding door, laid them on a shelf, pulled the door to, and there we were. Not a chair, stool, table, hall-tree, hook, mirror, musical instrument, curtain, drapery, nor furniture of any kind was visible; we felt as if we had just "moved in." We stood upon an exquisitely fine matted floor, so soft that we seemed to be walking on beds of down, laid on springs. The low-ceiled house, made for small people, as all Japanese houses are, gave us the sensation of being in an attic story. Rooms are sep arated by slid ing screens made in slen der latticed wood and cov ered with thin white rice- paper, that lets in the light, but shuts out the draft of air and the eye of the curious. It is not so expensive or durable as glass, but far more artistic, and is easily renovated. No oil, paint, or varnish is used on the interior finish of woodwork in a Japanese house. We were ushered into the double parlors, the only furnishings being two costly screens, and a small char coal brazier, which gave out just sufficient heat to take the chill from the room, though we might easily have taken it for a child's toy box and pushed it aside. Three cushions, about three inches in thickness, made of bright, plaid cotton goods, were brought by the host and we were invited to sit. With the incomparable bow of the Japanese, of which there is nothing like it in the polite world, our host slid down with his knees on a cushion and sat upon his heels. Reader, if you think this an easy thing to do, just lay aside this book and try it, and then do it gracefully and before company ! Add to this experiment the desire to do one's country honor as A DINNER SERVICE 44 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING Americans abroad, and we will doubtless have your profound sym pathy before you have accomplished the feat. I could not do it, so I said to my host "I will just sit down as I did when I played with dolls"; and with a low bow and gentle laugh he replied, "So-So!" The maid soon brought two extra cushions and placed at the back of Mr. Gougar, who being slim of limb could sit on his heels, like one to the custom born. He adroitly slipped his unshod and usually cold feet under these cushions, and accepted the tiny arm rest placed under his right elbow as an instrument of mercy, and the peculiar situation with becoming grace THE HOSTESS, Modestly attired in dark-colored kimono, with obie (scarf) of lighter shade wound around her slender form, sat apart from the company, and about three feet away from and a little back and to the left of her husband; she sweetly smiled and bowed when addressed by me, but spoke not a word, though she could speak English. Courtesy made it her duty to alone observe that her maid served the dinner properly. When new dishes were to be brought in the husband spoke to her in a gentle tone, bowing low as he made his requests, to which her response was a bow to the floor, and to which he responded by the same polite recognition, when she sprang to her feet with perfect ease and grace and with noiseless and quick step disappeared to give orders to the maid, after which she returned and took her apparently humble position. Strict Japanese etiquette required the host to sit a few feet apart from his guests in an adjoining room, if connecting and open, and to refrain from conversation, but our host said: "Not being used to our customs I thought it might be pleasant for me to sit with you and converse through the dinner ceremonies." I replied, "Will our hostess not dine with us? Is it not the custom when ladies are guests that she shall dine with the company?" "No," he replied, "it is the rule in Japan for the wife to eat apart from her husband at all times, for she is to see that he is served to the best of her ability, as it is her duty to direct her maid and domestic affairs and please her husband before all else; even when ladies are guests she never oversteps this custom." Japanese women never sit at banquets with men. Had strict Japanese etiquette been observed on this occasion I would not have dined with the gentle- THE JAPANESE HOME 4.5 men. A Japanese wife is the servant, hot the equal, of her husband. About the only difference between her position and that of a maid servant is that the wife cannot be dismissed without consent of the court. A man may add as many wives as he can support, and each one must be received by her predecessor with kindly spirit. As usual in such countries, a woman can have but one hus band; a lapse from virtue on the part of a wife is punished by im prisonment at hard labor of from two to five years, but a man'may '^pJUi, EMBRO DER'NG IN JAPAN lapse as often as he pleases and suffer no punishment, not even in public estimation. Evidently there needs to be a general "woman's rights" movement in Japan. SERVING THE DINNER The little maid first placed on the floor before each of us a small lacquered tray, on which were bits of confection and tea in tiny china cups, set in silver holders. She soon returned with square trays, on which were bowls holding delicately prepared soup, vege tables, and meats, but, alas for habit! there were no knives, forks, dr spoons, only two polished chopsticks. How were we to eat soup with a pointed stick or with two sticks? Our host solved the riddle by raising the bowl to his lips, saying, "If in your country one raised his soup-bowl to his mouth it would be unpardonable, but we drink 46 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING our soup and eat the solids with the chopsticks." It was an easy matter for us to eat soup with sticks when we once knew how it was done. The menu consisted of smothered snipe, boiled mashed chestnuts, egg omelette, macaroni with mushrooms, raw fish dressed with a pungent sauce, salad, rice, and fruits. A choice brand of sake, rice wine, the native drink, was served, merely as a sample of Japanese production, but our host assured us that he was a total abstainer from all intoxicating liquors and tobacco. The little maid sat upon her heels in front of us and smiled and laughed in a childish manner at our want of grace and success in using chopsticks, and occasionally adjusted them to our hands. Neither bread, butter, milk, nor sugar are served at a Japanese meal ; there is an entire absence of table-cloth, napkins, or linen of any kind. All the time we were enjoying the novelty of the feast our host chatted on Japanese art, ancient and modern, laws and customs, of his and our country, evincing a well-informed, liberal, and broad mind. He was reared a Buddhist, but his wife is a convert to Christianity, having been educated in a Methodist missionary school. He said, "We desire peace and comfort in our home, and a simple moral life. I am an agnostic, but my wife will rear our children as Christians, for I believe the morals of the Christian religion to be better than that of any other religion, and our people will not much longer worship idols of stone and bronze set up in temples; they may adopt the morals of the Christian faith, but not the whole belief. So far as the Christian religion promotes the humanities we will accept it, but no farther; we want its prison reform, its care of dependents, and education, but fear its priestcraft." It was an appropriate motto which hung over the entrance door of this charming home, "Peace of mind and contentment of spirit." Two costly and ancient screens were the art decorations of this newly appointed house, one in each room. No matter how many works of art a family may possess, but one, or two at most, will be displayed at one time. It is a duty owed to a work of art that it be studied and appreciated, if it is worthy of exhibition at all. Once each month the art treasures are put aside, deposited in godowns (storehouses), and new ones brought out, a delicate tribute to the creator of such works. Flowers in their season are used in profusion for decorations, but blossoms out of season are never seen in the home of a family of culture and taste. The kitchen was THE JAPANESE HOME 47 as simple in furniture as the parlors. There was a small steel brazier on which all cooking is done, there being no oven or other provision for baking, a few utensils, a small cupboard and table, the whole appearing more like a child's playhouse than a family kitchen. Let it be remembered the Japanese are a diminu tive people, and their belongings partake of the same characteris tic. With all this simplicity it required four servants — a nurse, for there were two small children, a cook, and two housemaids — to do the domestic work in this home, so great is the division of labor in Japan. The floors of houses are made of heavy padding of rice straw covered with fine mat ting, making a soft, noiseless floor. The bed is made by throwing down a heavy tick or comfort on this soft floor at night upon which the people sleep, either in the clothes worn during the day or in a padded kimono especially used for nightdress and comforts combined. The men sleep without pillows, but the women, in order to preserve their artistic hair arrangement for as long a time as possible, use for a pillow a round log padded with rice straw and covered with bright cotton goods, which they slip under the neck at night when they lie down to sleep. The gar ments of both men and women are entirely free from starch,' stays, or bands, so that sleeping in their clothing is not uncomfortable. They brand our spring-beds, soft pillows, corset, stays, starched shirts and collars, as abominations of torture. The whole family sleep in one room not only at home, but when traveling. Japanese tea-houses, as their hotels are called, expect all guests traveling together to sleep in this communistic manner. The floors and every thing about the interior of their little homes are so scrupulously clean that one only needs to dread the swarms of fleas which hide in the straw floors and insist upon making your body a playground and living off of you in the warm season. Those who are not expert flea-catchers are put in oil paper bags tied closely around BAMBOO-GARDEN 48 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING the neck and at the wrists, leaving the head alone for a flea pas ture. When we asked our host if the Japanese would not soon change the manner of house furnishings, now that they are adopt ing so many European customs, and adopt bedsteads, instead of sleeping on floors, use tables and chairs, knives, forks, and spoons, he replied, "I am sure not, for we desire a simple life. We keep many servants, and the majority of our people are poor; if we introduced these things our example would be followed, and the people could not afford them. We sit upon our heels to keep our feet warm, for we cannot afford fuel, and we wear warm clothing, so the char coal brazier to take the chill from the room is economical and suffi cient. I think household decoration in America very burdensome and unnecessarily expensive. You will soon simplify it." At the end of two hours' sitting on the floor we had finished the dinner and our rikshas were at the door, the coolies puzzled with the strings of our shoes, when we were obliged to sit down on the door step, show them the intricacies of an American boot, which they could not unravel without our assistance, and with the host and hostess bowing low, and the maid sitting on her heels beside the door bowing her head to the floor, we departed, into the narrow, crooked, un- lighted street behind the bobbing heads of the riksha men. When we had straightened out our cramped limbs, my husband, who had sat on his heels for two hours, irreverently exclaimed what every American who has tried dining in Japanese style at least thinks, "Golly, I am glad I have had the experience once, but I do not care to try it again!" There is springing up in some parts of America a society for the promotion of a simple home life. I commend the members to the study of the simple furnishings of a Japanese home. These people seem to have all that is necessary for comfort, and they would have things no other way, no matter how much wealth is at their disposal. Japanese women are proverbially tidy in their homes, for few are expected to have their attention distracted by other entertainment or labor; every girl of position must become an ex pert seamstress, and must learn to serve tea, after the elaborate ceremonial of polite society. New Year's is a great fete day of the year. If all matting has not been moved and every part of the house thoroughly cleansed and renovated before this day it is a neighborhood scandal. On this day men masked to represent animals, in groups of twos or THE JAPANESE HOME 49 fours, enter every home and hotel room, dance, clap their hands, and make hideous noises to propitiate and drive away all evil spirits, receiving a free-will offering for their services. The house cleansed and the evil spirits propitiated, the family is ready to begin its round of duties for another year. The life of a Japanese wife is abso lute servitude to husband, child, and mother-in-law; she must serve and smile, smile and serve, no matter how burdensomethe task; the patriarchal idea still pre vails in family life; when a son marries he does not set up a separate establish ment, but takes his wife into his own family, where • she becomes the absolute slave of her husband'smother, whom she must please before all others; she may have modern ideas and her mother-in-law may be ancient and exacting ; she must sink her individuality, accept her crosses and bear them, sure of relief only when the elder lady is gathered to the crema tory; then if she be the wife of the elder son she becomes the head of the family and can exact service and obedience of the wives of other brothers who are members of thjs same house- IN THE RICE-PADDIE3 50 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING hold, or of the wives of her own sons when they marry. A girl has no choice in marriage; this is arranged by go-betweens of the parents of both, and she must accept her appointed fate, no matter how much she may dislike the arrangement. So between the en forced marriage, usually at no later than sixteen years of age for a girl and under twenty-one for the boy, and the necessity of pleas ing a husband who is an entire stranger and a mother-in-law who is often a tyrant, it is no wonder that Japanese women show age early, and seldom attain long life. The young women and men are ignorant of moonlight walks and rides, the fear of the family dog and pater familias, nightkeys and lockouts, of the sparking days of American youths; they meet but once, and this usually at some tea-house, and after marriage arrangements have been made for them. The marriage ceremony consists of a feast, to which the families are invited, the bride being taken to her future home before the feast, at which she is not expected, by the go-between who has arranged the match, her wardrobe, boxes, and bedding having been sent before her; she must be provided with kimonos, toilet articles, needles, pins, thread, paper, pens, and ink, and some spending money, for she is not expected to ask her husband for the slightest expenditure for months or years, if not absolutely necessary, after marriage. No religious or civil rites are observed in the marriage of a Japanese man or woman. It is claimed that this matter-cf- fact manner of union leads to as much happiness and fewer divorces than the customs practiced by Americans and Europeans. There are signs of revolt on the part of progressive Japan against the present conditions of women, and some are espousing woman's rights, with the usual unpopularity of such reforms ; however, they are making themselves felt, and there are many Japanese women of talent and education moving in all matters pertaining to bettering the conditions of their sex. The home life of the people who are so rapidly changing from the heathen past into the civilization of the present will also undergo a change in harmony with more modern ideas. CHAPTER V TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES The American should leave home so as to arrive early in Septem ber. This will allow two months in which to travel over the coun try at a time to avoid extreme heat, vermin pests, and get away before the damp, cold season sets in. Sufficient English is spoken along the usual routes of travel to enable tourists to get along with out great annoyance. Uniformed porters wait upon the traveling public, at the depots, under a good system, and there are fair hotels in the leading cities, kept by Americans or Europeans. Names of all stations are given in both Japanese and English, thus greatly aiding the foreign traveler unacquainted with the Japanese lan guage. Newsboys sell papers, confections, and boxes of rice at the depots, and all first-class cars have a tea-kettle, tea-pot, and cups furnished with drawings of tea all placed on a low table in the center of the car and furnished free for the comfort of the guest in lieu of water, as in our country. Hot water is sold at stations. The clatter of the clogged feet of the immense throngs that board the trains is at first deafening and confusing to the stranger. It is quite as easy to travel in this country, when one cannot speak- the native language, as it is in France, Italy, or Germany. Good guides can be had in any of the leading cities, but care should be exercised in the selection. Many of them speak English so imperfectly that they are guides to baggage only; they exact one dollar and twenty-five cents per day and second-class car-fare. They will lead the tourists into shops, in an apparently disinterested manner, but be not deceived; they get ten percent on all pur chases, and many of them draw regular salaries from the shops they advertise. Money is on the decimal system, making it easy to exchange from American into Japanese. A yen is their dollar, and is equivalent to fifty cents U. S. money. One hundred sen make one yen, and ten rin make one sen. Thus one of the chief annoyances of foreign travel is reduced to a minimum when traveling in Japan. There are over three thousand miles of railroad, leading to all parts of the 51 52 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING country, over which one can travel first class at about two cents per mile, the second and third class being correspondingly cheaper. The road-beds are of medium gauge, and are equipped with European compartment cars. The second and third class cars are packed with people, men, women, and children, all smoking cigarettes, mak ing it disagreeable for a decent American to travel other than first class. Even then one is not exempt from the everlasting nuisance of tobacco smoke, for it is not considered out of good manners to smoke in the face of a woman. Believing that as an American woman I had a right to some spot where I could be exempt from the sickening stench of tobacco, and as we had payed first-class fare, a polite request of men would cause all but the tobacco-soaked English boor to lay aside their smokestacks or take another car. Englishwomen are largely to blame for this boorishness of the men, for they allow them without protest to smoke in their presence. Americans make up so large a percentage of tourists they have a right to demand some spot where they can get a breath of air untainted by the stinking weed. It is getting difficult to find such a spot on cars, boat, in. dining-room, or corridor. Tobacco is a great annoyance to non-users of the weed who travel in Japan. Her railway managers should arrange smoking-compartments in her cars where tobacco worms can swarm by themselves. Nearly all the railways are owned and operated by the imperial government; no foreigner can own stock, and only Japanese are per mitted to work on them or administer their affairs. There are ex cellent roadways if one desires to tour the country by private conveyance, a charming way to see Japan. The populace swarms at country stations to see the trains pass by; at one I took a snap-shot at the crowd, among which there were twenty-nine women and girls with babies strapped to their backs. Railway employees are uniformly courteous, and make the way of the tourist as pleasant as possible. English is rapidly becoming the commercial language of Japan, and each year it be comes easier for the American to travel within her borders. The total expense of travel is about the same as first class in America. The same clothing worn in autumn days at home is suitable for September, October, and early November in Japan. Thirty years ago there was not a mile of railway nor a smokestack in all Japan; now her iron bands the land, and smoke belches forth from her forest of stacks in every city, Osake' alone having over three hundred TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES 53 great factories. These little imitative people are not only manu facturing largely for their own wants, but for the wants of the Orient and America. They send their silk, china, lacquer work, ivory, and wood-carvings, and exquisite embroideries, along with their tea and rice, to America and take in return millions of pounds of American flour, cotton cloths, and canned goods. Japan is just learning to eat bread. Now she has discovered she can raise wheat in abundance in her island of Yeddo, and the importation of Amer ican flour is threatened with diminution. She took American electrical supplies in great quantities until recently, but now a Yokohama firm manufactures for this demand. A dealer in hard ware from New York told me he had come to introduce his goods into the country, but said he, "These Japanese use different im plements from ours; their saw-teeth are set directly opposite to ours; they pull the saw and plane toward them instead of away from them, and by the time we get such goods as they use introduced into their country they will begin manufacturing, and with their skill and cheap labor drive us from the market." They are keen imitators, skilled workmen, industrious and enterprising to an eminent degree. The government has recently granted a subsidy to a concern to begin the manufacture of plate-glass. The Japanese government takes American leaf tobacco, increases its price by one and one-half, and sells it to the American Tobacco Company, which employs over five thousand people in its Japan factories, in one of which fifteen million cigarettes are turned out every day; the wages paid average from three to eight dollars, gold, per month, upon which the operative must live. This American trust furnishes the Japan market with cheap labor goods and the enor mous consumption pays a handsome tribute to the government treasury. The cost of living and taxation have greatly increased since the country went to the gold standard. The government has issued bonds to the extent of its credit, and is looking about for new means of increasing its treasure, while the people live on an income that no one but a Japanese would consider sufficient to keep soul and body together; wages have increased somewhat, but not commensurate with the increased cost of living incident to the gold standard. There is no mistaking the fact that the vast ma jority of the Japanese are desperately poor. An American resi dent complained to me about the increase in wages for domestic work. "Why," said she, "when we came here a few years ago I 54 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING could get a good cook for two dollars and a half per month, and he or she found his or her own chow, now I must pay five dollars per month, and they steal their chow from my pantry." My reply was that American servants would steal more than chow under such wages, and no one could blame them. Japan must find markets to the west of her if she maintains the mad pace of manufacturing upon which she has entered. Her landed resources are developed to the fullest extent, and are limited at best, only one-eighth of her soil being capable of cultivation, the other seven-eighths being mountains of rock covered with some good but much small timber and chaparral. Her ocean fisheries give employment to a large number. Upon these limited resources Japan must support her population of fifty millions. The small, level valleys, hemmed in by mountain ranges jutting to the sea, are most carefully cultivated. The fields are cut into small, ir regular beds, from one to three rods in extent, and divided by low, irrigating dykes, the tops of which are used for paths between patches; there are no fences, and a dumb brute is seldom seen. Rice paddies are mixed up with beds of vegetables, buckwheat, tea, and mulberry groves, every foot of ground being utilized. The care fully cultivated valleys of Japan are among the most beautiful agricultural scenes of the world. From early morn until late at night the heads of men and women can be seen bobbing up and down in the fields, as they wade in the rice paddies, for no one seems to be idle and lazy in Japan. They pull the rice and hang it up in sheaves tied to the trunks of fruit-trees or on long bamboo poles, for the whole crop must be hung up to dry. Women comb and winnow the grain by the roadside or close up to their doors, and spread the shelled grain on mats to dry in the sun. The flail is used to thresh with by men and women, for there is no work done by men which is not done by women in Japan. Mothers strap their babies to their backs while they wash, cook or work in the fields, and seem unconscious of their additional burden. Occa sionally a horse or bullock is used to break the ground, but most usually this is done by a long mattock, after which the ground is pulverized by a square wooden frame set with iron teeth in the bottom cleat and swung back and forth by a man to break the heavy clods. Farming implements are of the most primitive kind. There is a succession of crops, four a year being raised, rice being the staple, but in the southern part sugar TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES 55 cane, tea, inferior cotton, bananas, oranges, persimmons, dispute its supremacy. The gardens occupy terrace above terrace on the mountain-sides and make a pretty agricultural picture, especially when the women tea-pickers, with white kerchiefs tied over their heads, with babies in bright colored kimonos tied on their backs, arc at work in these deep green fields. The peo ple live in communities; the houses are made of bamboo thatched with straw or leaves, and are set down closely together without any idea of order, the back door of one against the front door of the other. The ridge poles of these shacks are often decorated with wide beds of bloom ing iris. It is a legend, that Japanesewomen used the powdered root of this flower for the face, when a priest, who desired to check the seeming van ity of the women, pronounced a curse upon the flower, and declared "it should no more grow on the face of the earth." The vanity of women proved too much for the wit of the priest, so ever since they have grown their favorite flower on the tops of their houses. Some vil lages have almost every ridge pole planted with this pretty lily, the beds extending the whole length of the roof, and about two feet wide. Horses or bullocks used to haul heavy loads are shod with straw sandals tied on with strings around the hock joints, a much more humane method of protecting the feet of a dumb brute than that of the iron shoe put on with nails. Pack animals shorten their walks by taking cut-offs up flights of steps or over rocks with as much ease as the men who follow them. Nothing, however, is done by a dumb brute that can be done by the strength of men. Land is owned in small tracts, largely by those who till it. It is sold in tracts six feet square, instead of acres as with us. No A JAPANESE VILLAGE 56 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING alien can hold land in Japan, except for consular purposes. Farm hands get about fifty dollars per year for services that extend, from sunup to sundown, the people being proverbially early risers. The sweet, musical lispings of the little children we pass on the roadways call to us "Ohio," which means not "good" but "early" morning. Swarms of children line the roadways in the morning on their way to school, for Japan compels all her children to attend school until fourteen years of age. Her chief industry, raising rice, is undesir able work. It must be cultivated in water, and all bloodsuckers thrive in the mud, and fasten themselves on the bare limbs of those compelled to work in the paddies. Little alligators sun them selves on top of the narrow dykes and burrow in the mud. Every spire of rice must be transplanted from its original bed and con stantly irrigated. Loss of the rice crop means famine for the peo ple, so that the most careful cultivation is practiced. Mulberry groves feed the worms from which Japan reaps a rich income in silks, their care being the especial work of women. Simple temples sit high up on the wooded hill or mountain-sides whither the coun try folk wend their way to cast a handful of rice or a few rin into the contribution-box, clap their hands together, and tinkle- the string of bells to attract the attention of the gods, bow three times, and thus pray for good luck and bountiful harvests. Everybody takes a day out from Yokohama to pay a visit to Kamakura, a mean hamlet of little thatched homes with grass or iris with purple flowers growing on the roofs. This is all that remains of the ancient seat of Yaritomo's capital city of over one million souls. Frogs croak and fishermen lounge where prayers were wont to be uttered in numerous and stately temples before the conflagration of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Here sits the colossal bronze image of the great Buddha on a bronze lotus-leaf in the grounds of an ancient fane. It was cast in 1252 A. D., to carry out the pious desire of fulfilling the dying injunction of a Japanese woman. It was once under cover of a monastery, which has been swept away by earthquake and tidal wave. Not withstanding the ravages of time and the fury of the elements, it is in a state of excellent preservation. No matter how many pic tures one has seen of this, he is entranced with its mystic charm when in its presence. Its repose, its dignity, its child-like gentle ness, typify all that is tender and beautiful in the soul of Japan that has produced it. Its great bronze eyes seem to follow us all about, TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES. 57 and if danger should confront us when in its presence, we would involuntarily rush into its broad arms for protection. It is about fifty feet in height; ninety-eight feet in circumference; the length of the face is eight and a half feet, of the eye four feet, of the ear six and one-half feet, and of the nose three feet and eight inches. The breadth of the mouth is three feet, two and one-half inches; the length from knee to knee thirty-six feet, and the circumference of the thumb three feet. You can enter into the statue through a small orifice in one side of the bronze lotus-blossom seat. Inside is a little shrine of Kwan- non, the goddess of pity and mercy, the goddess with a thousand hands and a thou- GATE AND TEMPLE OF BUDDHA sand face;;. One can ascend by a ladder into the shoul ders of the image, and from small windows get a glimpse of meadow, grove, and sea surrounding it. We pass through the temple gate that always guards the entrance to temple grounds, and ascend a flight of broad stone steps, and stop before the open door of a Shinto temple; the only furnishings are a large square box for receiving contributions of rice or money, a chain or cord sus pended from a cluster of small bells, and a round mirror that is supposed to reflect the soul. Worshipers drop their contributions for the benefit of the clean-shaven, yellow-robed Buddhist or white-robed Shinto priests, who lounge around these places, and live without toil, for priests must perform no labor. The office of priesthood is the lazy man's heaven in Japan. This temple site is in a grove of ancient cedars and pines mixed with the graceful bamboo and trees of tropical verdure and beauty. Just before sunset we took rikshas and followed the seacoast road over sand dunes, past miserable huts, over wooded hills, past holy 58 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING Enoshima, a foliage-covered island, a quarter of a mile from the mainland, and sacred to the goddess of the sea and beauty. When the tide is out it can be reached on foot. At the end of twelve miles we were put down at a tea-house, where we drank tea from tiny cups set before us on low benches covered with red cloth, the usual sign of all tea-houses. Here we waited and watched the simple natives until the motor cars came to bear us to Yokohama in another half-hour. Japan has many of these great bronze Buddhas which are in a state of neglect and decay. Musical memories that will ever re- main with those who have visited Japan are the r e v e r b e r a- tions of temple bells. All bells arc hung low from great beams, usually holy enoshima under pagoda roofs; they are rung by means of heavy, swinging, round logs or beams suspended from the roofs by chains, and moved like battering-rams. One stroke of the bell sends forth a peal of musical thunder, deep, rich, sweet, that rolls away and away to the wooded hills, that send back the waves in echoes again and again, each reverberation growing sweeter and sweeter until it dies away, the single stroke continuing to sound for at least twelve minutes. At Kyoto we were wakened every morning at sunrise by the prayerful cadences of the mighty bell suspended in the grounds of the great Jodo temple of Chion-in, just at the entrance of the park of the Yaama hotel, from the win dows of which we could see the monster musician of the morning air as it called the vast population to remember their gods. This bell was cast in 1633. It weighs seventy-four tons, and requires twenty or thirty men to ring it with its full power. The bell of the Diabutsu temple in Kyoto is next in size, and weighs sixty- TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES 59 three tons, and is the one oftenest heard. In this temple is another bronze Buddha, larger than the one at Kamakura. The most revered bell of all Japan is in the great temple park of Nara, near the temple Todaiji. It weighs thirty-seven tons, and was cast in 733. Visitors may sound it once by the payment of one cent, Another huge bronze Buddha sits in this temple. There are five hundred acres in this ancient park at Nara, shaded with stately LEADING TO TEMPLES cryptomeria, that keep watch over numerous temples that are rich in carvings, lacquer work, and votive lanterns. Hundreds of sacred deer roam in this park, and follow visitors for the little cakes that are sold for the purpose of feeding them. These little four-footed beggars are very cunning in singling out those who have purchased cakes, paying no attention to those who have not bought the coveted confections at the entrance gate. Arrows of prayer are seen everywhere sticking up amidst the green and ripening rice. They are made by splitting a small bamboo pole, into which slit a bit of white paper is slipped after a prayer has been written upon it, asking that the gods may pre- 60 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING serve the fields from blight, birds, locusts, and other enemies that may decrease the harvest of the careful, patient toiler. So numerous are these arrows of prayer scattered through the fields that they are easily mistaken for white flowers growing among grain. Around many of the little rice patches is a miniature fence of bamboo rods, to which a cord is attached. On this cord is hung a fringe of straw interspersed with the same bits of white paper with prayers written upon them for protection from blight, birds, and other pests, the pious idolaters having great faith and much comfort in these symbols to ward off evils. A like fringe usually hangs over gateways and over doors to Shinto temples. THREE MYSTIC APES This is the shimenawa, sacred emblem of Shinto. Where these symbols appear Buddhas disappear, and in their place is the Shinto deity, the lord of roads, whose presence is revealed by the statues of the "Three Mystic Apes," his servants, miniature carvings of which tourists bring away with them. These are Mizaru, covering his eyes with his hands that he may see no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears with his hands that he may hear no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth with his hands that he may speak no evil. Surrounding these temples are rows of votive lanterns with square holes, into which those who come to pray toss small pebbles, sure that if these fail to lodge in the hole aimed at the prayers will remain unanswered. Wire screens surrounding the figures of their gods are filled with spit-balls of white paper used for the same pur pose as the pebbles. Penitents seem to be lost in adoration as they toss the pebbles or bits of paper into the holes or meshes, and watch them lodge or fall to the ground. TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES 61 NIKKO Is famous for its temples, its magnificent groves of cryptomeria, and its avenue of twenty-five miles, lined on either side with these immense trees, leading into the grounds and surrounding the most famous temples in all Japan. Temple-builders selected the most romantic spots on mountain or hill sides for their places of worship, STATELY CRYPTOMERIA where they now sit under the dense shade of century-old trees. It was late in October, and the trees were in most gorgeous autumn coloring, mingled with the evergreen of pine and cryptomeria. We ascend a flight of wide,, moss-grown stone steps, and stop inside the Shinto gateway to buy a few beans to feed the sacred pony that is in a comfortable stall at the entrance. He gulps them down like any other horse, but we have parted with a few rin, and this is what the priests who lounge about want, so we pass on only to be halted to witness the sacred priestess dance for the amusement of the spirit of Ieyasu, whose body lies in these shady temple grounds. The priestess drapes herself in red or white with her hair hanging clown her back. Her dance consists in stepping back 62 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING and forth on the raised platform and in raising the toes of her bare feet in time with the fan that she holds in one hand and the bunch of tinkling bells in the other. Several of these hags are kept about these temples for the pleasure of the lazy old priests, and to satisfy the curiosity of tourists. There is no profanity in the Japanese language, and there is no Sunday or day of rest in their religion. The Japanese language is too polite to admit of cuss words. As a witty American has said, TO CHUZANZI "In Japan they never kiss or cuss." There is no need for scientific dissertation on the kissing microbe, and the kissing bug is nil in this land of serious people. In all my travels in Japan I seldom heard a native laugh, sing, or whistle. It was a charming ricle in a sedan chair to Chuzanzi, a lake sur rounded by high mountains. It was far more delightful for me than for the six coolies that tugged and perspired with their load as they picked their way over the steep and rugged pathway. The sides of the mountains were ablaze with frost-tinted foliage that knit together over our heads. Just one month before the day of our ascent an earthquake had moved the end of a great moun tain, one mile across and three thousand feet high, down the valley, through the deep gorge of a wild mountain stream, the course of SHINTO TEMPLES. NIKKO 63 64 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING which was changed by the flood that carried everything before it as it tore its way past Nikko, twelve miles distant. Here it swept away the famous Red Lacquer Bridge, so sacred that none but the mikado or royal prince was permitted to cross it. It did other serious damage, and was so powerful in its might of destruction that the people who heard the thundering noises thought the world had come to an end. Our way skirted the precipice and yawning RED LACQUER BRIDGE chasm made by this fearful throe of nature. The coolies carried us along the broken way now on a narrow path with overhanging rocks that looked as if the weight of a bird might send them crashing down upon us, now crossing the raging stream on stepping-stones or huge boulders or on temporary bamboo bridges that threatened to move down stream with us while on them. If going up was hazardous, coming clown was more so. Our coolies trotted, ran, chattered, and jolted us unmercifully all the way down. Nearing Nikko they stopped to allow us to count the row of stone Buddhas that stood on the opposite side of the river bank, so alike and close together that no two people can count them and make the same number; first I made three hundred, then four or more hundred, TRAVEL IN JAPAN. AGRICULTURAL SCENES. WAGES 65 although many had been swept down the stream the month before. This is an interesting puzzle in gods. Immense sums of money have been spent in Japan in carving stone votive lanterns and Buddhas and in erecting rich temples in lacquer carvings and gold and silver ornamentation. These structures are made of wood, usually cedar, and are seldom painted, except the carvings in the elaborate cornice. LAKE CHUZANZI In all the legends of Japan, and there are many, there is much sweetness, reverence, and polite tenderness, which speak charm ingly for the "bushedo," or soul of Japan, though the temples and gods appear to Christians like idle dreams, albeit they satisfy the worshipful spirit of this interesting people. CHAPTER VI IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. THROUGH THE INLAND SEA. SHANGHAI For a journey through the Inland Sea we start from Kobe, a city of about two hundred thousand souls, too foreign to be Jap anese, and too Japanese to be foreign. Kobe is located in a narrow valley hemmed in by high hills and small mountains, upon the terraces of which are perched the better homes, some schools, and imposing university buildings. It has the narrow, crooked streets, lined with small shops in which business is largely done by Chinese. It is the center of the tea trade of southern Japan, and its china- shops extend for miles, and are enticing to the traveler. The Bund facing the sea is English in architecture, and makes one regret the time when Japan shall lose her native ways and become Europe- anized. When this day comes she will cease to be interesting to the tourist. The English are in Japan "with both feet," if the homely expression is allowable. About all in which America leads is in insurance, life and fire. Kobe has many beggars, who, in broad-brimmed or huge chopping-bowl hats and rag-tag, fan tastic dress, accost one on the streets, tinkle the bunch of bells they carry in the hand, and in the professional whine ask for alms. Late in the afternoon a small, rocking steam launch bore us to our Empress steamer, that was standing two miles out at sea, for Japan will not allow other than native ships to dock in her waters. Boarding steamers out at sea from one of these rocking launches, which ships water and drenches passengers, is one of the most unpleasant experiences of Oriental travel. We sail out at midnight to awaken in the morning and find ourselves on THE INLAND SEA, On our way to Nagasaki, at the south end of the island. The journey can be made by rail down the coast line, crossing the Nar rows in a ten minutes' ride on a ferry. The bright, clear, early morning found us in this land-locked sea, the surface of the water 66 IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. SHANGHAI 07 as calm as a pond. For four hundred miles we sail in and out among evergreen islands, great and small; villages line the shores, and temples are perched on the sides of the mountains in groves, above which gardens and rice-fields rise in terraces to the very summits; the water all about us is alive with sampans, fishing junks, and launches that ply between the numerous islands, and larger steamers on their way to the open sea. It is a veritable water Arcadia. Just before sunset our steamer picks its way THE NARROWS through hundreds of water-craft that huddle in a narrow water way, and we pass slowly through the Narrows, so close to the bold promontories on either side that we seem to almost touch them. These points of land have evidently been joined at one time and parted by some great convulsion of nature. The green mountains tower above us, casting deep purple shadows as we sail out at the setting of the sun, that gilds the heavens with streaks of red and gold mingled with the darker shades of approaching night. We leave behind the many islands that dot the sea as we sail out of this charming ocean-river on to Nagasaki, where we find our boat at anchor when we waken in the early morning. The Inland Sea is one of the most beautiful waterways in the world, and a trip through it is a fitting finale to a tour through picturesque Japan. 68 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING Numerous pointed barges range beside our ship, for she must take coal from the mines that lie just back in the mountains at this point. Over three hundred men and women are ready with their little flat baskets to do the work; they range themselves in double rows from the barges up the side of the steamer, and pass the baskets from hand to hand, from one platform to one above it, and thus dump the coal into the hold of the ship. This work lasted about six hours; the women were dressed in blue cotton with white kerchiefs tied over their heads; after depositing their babies on the backs of small girls these mothers worked and ALONG THE INLAND SEA chattered and acted as if coaling a steamer was a great holiday with them, as it is; farmers' wives and daughters come from the country to earn a few sens and enjoy the sociability incident to the work. The women earn twelve and the men twenty cents a dav for this arduous toil. NAGASAKI Is situated picturesquely at the base of an irregular mountain range and rises in gardened terraces one above the other to the top of the peaks. Her business streets are the same crooked, ill-smelling thoroughfares lined with little open shops found all over Japan. Our day was delightfully spent in taking a ride in a riksha over the ridge of mountains to Moji, a fishing village, eight miles distant from Nagasaki, and located on an excellent harbor. The road IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. SHANGHAI 69 was good and followed through gorges shaded with bamboo groves and towering cryptomeria that have kept their silent watches over these avenues for centuries. Thatched shacks are the homes of the people, who eke out an existence on small patches of ground or by fishing. American occupation of the Philippines has left millions of dollars in Nagasaki, and the city has grown in size and enjoys an unwonted degree of prosperity on account of it. The Japanese NAGASAKI HARBOR and the British are much in favor of our war in the Philippines, and they tell us, with broad, sarcastic grin, "You are dropping millions of money into Japan and Hong Kong," which is an un pleasant fact. Army and naval officers and their families overrun the hotels in their outings from the oppressive heat of our new possessions, while an increasing army of globe-trotters add much to the exchequer of the people. Commercial men from America visit her to introduce their wares, and insurance agents infest the country like locusts, and warrant to insure the natives from every thing, from a fire to an earthquake, excepting only to insure them a seat in the celestial kingdom. There is no other country that presents more that is artistic, 70 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING novel, and entertaining than Japan for the amount of money and time necessary to see her in her varied life. Sixty hours from Nagasaki we anchor in the yellow, muddy waters of the Yangstze River, before Wosung, the entrepot of Shanghai, located sixteen miles up the river. Here we catch our first glimpse of the large pop ulation that lives on the water in China. Mothers with babies strapped low on their backs and their other small children tied to some part of the boat to keep them from fall ing overboard scull their boats and skill fully wriggle in and out among the maze of junks and other sailing craft that fill these waters. WOMEN COALING STEAMER AT NAGASAKI Our Steamer is soon sur rounded by a score or more of little boats; mothers stand on these dancing homes and hand up to our decks small baskets brown with age and use, attached to long poles, and in a beggar's whine ask for alms. Their group of slant-eyed children crawl in and out of a small hole between floors in the bottom of the boat; they sleep and live between these two floors, that are only about eighteen inches apart. They know no other home. These families are large enough to satisfy even President Roosevelt. IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. SHANGHAI 71 Passengers are transferred to launches, for large steamers can not go to Shanghai, and we pick our way through the busy waters of the river between low banks. The land on either side is one vast hummocked graveyard. As we near the city a great surprise awaits us in the large num ber of factories that line both sides of the waterway. There are cotton and sugar mills, oil refineries, immense foundries, and ship yards. One of the most prominent signs is "The Standard Oil Company," which has a great refinery here. HOMES OF WATER CLAN ON PEARL RIVER We land on the Bund, a wide street fronting the water, on one side of which are beautiful gardens, on the other handsome struc tures used for consulates, banks, club-houses, and hotels, sur rounded by semi-tropical trees and shrubs. This is a foreign settlement, a concession, which creates a fine first impression of Shanghai when approached from the sea. Rikshas and wheel barrows contend for passenger and baggage traffic; tall policemen from India, dressed in white, with scarlet silk turbans rolled high above their swarthy countenances, add to the picturesque street scenes. These latter are employed because the Chinese are afraid of their brutality. All styles of dress and equipage, and every nationality im- 72 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING aginable, make up the motley throngs on the streets. Shanghai is two distinct cities in one. There is the old city, with its narrow, crooked streets, with fetid air and dense population of Chinese behind high walls, and the new city, the foreign settlement outside of the walls. The contrast is so great that any but Chinese would realize it, and change their mode of living and habi tation. Curiosity takes many travelers through the old city, at the risk of their lives, for disease is reeking on all sides, and it is a mercy if they escape some contagion when they venture in these quarters. Guides will assure the stranger that it is perfectly safe, but it is never safe, and it should be avoided. A ride out Bubbling Well Road leads to a well that does not bubble, but the avenue is lined with handsome villas and leads to the Episcopal Mission Post of St. John, and a little beyond into a graveyard that extends as far as the eye can reach. Where in A CHINESE CARRIAGE TRAVELING IN CHINA IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. SHANGHAI 73 other countries gardens would be cultivated, in China the ground is occupied by graves of ancestors and becomes sacred soil. Shanghai is one of the world's great commercial centers, with a population of over one million. The day the steamer waits in the harbor is sufficient to see all that is of interest to the tourist, so we cheerfully board our vessel and sail at nine o'clock in the evening out beyond the twinkling lights of the great city, three days distant across the China Sea, for Hong Kong. During a large part of this voyage we are in sight of the coast line of China on one side and numerous islands that dot the sea on the other side, until we arrive at the smallest British- colony, Hong Kong. CHAPTER VII HONG KONG. CHINESE FATALISTS Who can describe Hong Kong? It is unlike any other spot on the globe, the only one that bears the least resemblance being parts of Genoa, Italy. Arriving from Shanghai, we leave the open sea, and wind in and out among groups of islands before entering her harbor, a land-locked sheet of water having an area of ten miles square. It is shut in by rugged mountain peaks, upon the sides of which the city rises abruptly on terrace above terrace to the peak, nineteen hundred feet above the sea. White stuccoed buildings, surrounded by open-arched verandas, hang on the sides of the mountains. The architecture is Moorish, adapted to climatic conditions. These bungalows are approached by narrow, winding, concrete paths, on which no horses or wheeled vehicles of any kind can be used. Sedan chairs and walking are the modes of loco motion through her staircase streets, around her terraces, and through her arcades. The ascent of the Peak can be made on the funicular railway that lies on the side of the mountain at an angle of forty degrees. When seated in the car and ascending begins we are puzzled to know whether we shall lie down or sit up until the top is reached. Instinctively we hold on to the back of the seat in front to prevent falling backward and alighting on our head. The views of the bay and islands, jagged with volcanic moun tains, as seen from the Peak, are most beautiful. Her mountain slopes are covered with pine-trees interspersed with bare, rocky precipices besprinkled with granite boulders. During the rainy season ribbon-like cascades falling from the heights above add much to the beauty and grandeur of the landscape. Many miles of concrete paths furnish ample entertainment for pedestrians for a month's stay; they wind around the mountains, and at every turn some new and enchanting picture of land and sea is presented. The elevated places are occupied by the homes of the better classes, clubs, hotels, and observatory, and the British fort com manding the harbor. Great Britain has spent millions of dollars 74 HONG KONG. CHINESE FATALISTS 75 in improving this, her smallest col ony. Hong Kong, or more prop erly speaking Victoria, as the city is named, is a hub of the com mercial world, and one of the great distributing centers of trade and commerce, which, like spokes in a wheel, radiate in all directions on the globe. She is a free port of entry. There are no tariff search- ings, nor holdups, no hours of delay for tourists or tradesmen, and no questions asked, not even "Have you ever been in prison, and have you thirty dollars in your wallet?" Victoria enjoys marvelous growth and prosperity, and these facts are well worthy of American considera tion. In her harbor are anchored ships flying the flags of every coun try. Men-of-war of many nations make her mountains reverberate with their salutes. At night elec tric lights reaching from the harbor to the Peak describe a perfect am phitheater and mingle with the stars above, making an enchanting picture. "Happy Hollow," her cemetery, is located in a valley shut in on three sides by overtowering peaks that magnify the silence, peace, and appropriateness of the place by their dark shadows. This little colony is located on an island eleven miles long by two to five miles wide. Her population of three hundred thousand are Chinese, except about five thousand foreigners, mostly British. There 76 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING are fair hotels that charge exorbitant prices for such entertain ment as they offer. Her banking buildings are among the largest in the world, as banking in this import and export center is a paying business. The climate is semi-tropical, and at times she is much afflicted with bubonic plague, cholera, and other epidemics. The British have secured from China a tract of land across the bay which formerly gave shelter to lawless hordes and made head quarters for pirates. Kowloon, as the place is known, is now reduced HONG KONG HARBOR to an orderly and law-abiding community, though Chinese still. Sampans and junks ply in the bay between the two cities, but a record is kept by vigilant police at the docks of all persons who take passage on either side after dark, and the boat man or woman is obliged to account for his or her patrons, lest the piratical spirit which still lingers in the breast of this water-clan robs and casts the victim overboard under cover of night. A large population lives on the water in junks, cascoes, and sampans. These people are so liable to become a disturbing element to the peace and good order of Victoria they are required to quit the docks at night and skurry out on the water and remain there until daylight, Typhoons and storms make sad havoc at HONG KONG. CHINESE FATALISTS 77 times, drowning hundreds before they can reach shore for pro tection. Women with babies strapped low on the small of their backs scull the boats and clamor for patronage quite as much as men, and perform the most menial service and live in the most degraded conditions imaginable. Nearly all the business of the city is done by Chinese in the narrow, crowded, fetid streets. These unspeak ably filthy people huddle like rats into close quarters, and seem to abhor space. Their buildings are of solid brick, well FUNICULAR RAILWAY TO PEAK constructed, and their streets are paved with granite or con crete; many of their busiest streets are merely staircases lead ing through arcades. The Chinese are much better builders than the Japanese. One of the pretty sights of Victoria is the flower market, which occupies the sides of one of these staircase streets. The discipline and presence of English soldiers make it possible for the small colony of foreigners to live in the city with its large Chinese population, every one of whom hates "foreign devils," the pet name they hurl at us, when we appear in their streets. It is a mercy that so few understand the Chinese lan guage, for they would hear so many things said that they would not endure Chinese insults without some practical protests. The 78 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING Chinaman does not want to be disturbed by any sort of civilizing presence or teaching. Nothing but fear of consequences keeps him from being a pirate, or from wreaking his vengeance upon those not of his blood. ALL FATALISTS I had an opportunity to converse with a Chinaman of unusual intelligence, having good command of the English language, and asked him what he thought of the work of the Christian mission aries in China. He replied, "They do some good, but they do more harm than anybody else, though they are doubtless well-inten tioned." I asked what harm they did. He replied, "They want us to change our customs; they ask us to cast aside our ancestral tablets and cease worshiping them; they get low, criminal China men to profess conversion, give them shelter, and uphold them, and then these native Christians ask to have our laws changed and we want no' change. Your people are able to have photo graphs of your dead, and keep blooming flowers before them as they hang on your walls. We are too poor to so remember our dead, so we keep a lamp burning before our ancestral tablets, and your Christian missionaries want us to put out our lamps."' A look of deep indignation at the thought of such a change over spread his countenance, and his voice trembled with emotion. The Chinaman has a deadly hatred for the Chinese Christian con vert. I then told him of a case in which the American consul at Shanghai had deeply interested himself, and one in which a change in Chinese law would do credit to his government. By his reply I learned an important lesson on the power that the Chinese belief in fate has upon the race. Chinese are fatalists, and insanely super stitious. The case in point was that of a little boy two and one-half years old, who, when playing with his mother, accidentally hit her on the temple and caused her death. Under Chinese law this boy must be kept in prison until he is fourteen years of age, when he must suffer death by being sliced up alive, thus pro longing his torture as long as possible. There was no forgiveness on account of his babyhood. American Consul Goodenough be came greatly interested in saving this child from its awful fate, but to no avail. Fearing that the child might escape punishment, the authorities took his life at nine years of age in this brutal HONG KONG. CHINESE FATALISTS 79 manner! I asked the Chinaman if, in such cases, it would not be better for his people to change and act more in harmony with the humanities of the age. His reply was, "Certainly not. We are a law-abiding people. 7/ that child had not committed the crime at two and one-half years of age, he would have done it later in life, and would have to suffer the penalty of this law some time. It was his fate. He was born to it." To such extreme brutality does the fatalism of Chinese belief drive them and make it almost impossible to effect reform in such a people. No one can come in contact with Chinese at home without realizing that it is the duty of the civilized world to com pel the race to modify some of its customs, though it be clone by conquest and the overthrow of such a government. A Chinese husband has absolute power of life and death over his wife (or wives, for he can have as many as he wants) ; she is his servant and slave if he desires to make her such. Few women of the race have any education. A woman is honored only in the capacity of the mother of sons, and in this they pay her sacred reverence. England is doing good service to humanity by holding the Chinese within her colony under the laws of modern civilization. If she would compel ample use of soap, carbolic acid, and adopt modern sanitation in the Chinese quarter of her little possession, it might kill or cure a goodly number of her now miserable subjects. It would at least improve the Chinese quarters of Hong Kong. The reservoir of Tytam, which furnishes the colony with water, is supplied by the rains from heaven descending into a catchment area of about two thousand acres, and is the greatest work of engineering that has been attempted in the Orient; nevertheless, the colony is often without ample water supply. With her unique location, her picturesque scenery, her fine paths, her mixture of races with their varied dress and manners, Hong Kong (Victoria) will ever remain in the memory a distinctive picture in the kaleidoscope of a tour around the world. CHAPTER VIII CHINA'S MILLIONS. CANTON. STREETS. TEMPLES PUNISHMENTS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE A daily boat service from Hong Kong conveys one along Pearl River ninety miles inland to Canton, a Chinese city of over three million population. Here we find the Chinaman at home in all his poverty and wealth, mostly poverty, witness his peculiar habits, visit his shops and temples, and gasp for a breath of fresh air as we endure the awful stench of his narrow, crowded, filthy streets. We made the journey from Hong Kong on the night boat, which is appointed like a first-class American river steamer, painted white, and kept clean and comfortable. We were awakened early in the morning by the shrieks of junk men and women who live on this river and clamor for patronage as they range their pointed boats against the sides of ours. One-quarter million people are born, live, marry, and die on this river. This water clan inter marry, and are considered to be lower than any class of people living on the land. They drink the water of the filthy river, use it for all other purposes, and set at defiance the usual theories of health and sanitation, yet they live and thrive in health better than those who occupy the crowded quarters of the city. Pro fessional guides, in long silk or cotton gowns, made after the style of a sacque nightdress, eyes shaded with gold-rimmed spectacles, hands with long, slender fingers tipped off with nails a half-inch long, board the boat and chin-chin for employment. One must be employed, for no American could thread his way with safety to life and limb through the crowded streets of Canton. A sedan chair and a guide are necessities. "Missee must have four coolies," so the bargain is struck, though "Missee" does not weigh more than the guide, who is carried by two instead of four. Chinese hate foreigners, so that it is considered a good joke for the guide to seat himself in the finest curtained and tasseled chair and be carried in front in a procession of foreigners seated in any old chairs. We two followed meekly and were conducted from shop to tem ple between rows of jeering Chinese, who called us names, which our 80 CHINA'S MILLIONS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE 81 ignorance of their language proved a blessing. The granite-paved streets are mere slits, three to five feet wide, between rows of high brick walls, divided into small, alcove shops, in which all kinds of goods are displayed and industries carried on. Skylights over the back end of the better shops show the shelves of goods to advantage. Above the shelves are artistic decorations in gold lettering on black, crimson, or green background reaching to the ceilings. Numerous long signboards with the same brilliant colors A STREET IN CANTON hang above the heads of the swaying crowds. Many of these streets are wonderfully beautiful as the eye looks through the long vista of hanging boards decorated with the bold ideographs of the Chinese language. These signboards are very costly, and are often dedicated by ceremonials invoking the good offices of the gods of good luck. Crowds of half-naked people bearing their burdens on bamboo poles, on their heads, or in sedan chairs, patter barefooted in one solid phalanx, a moving mass of humanity. They shout in a sharp, rasping voice to clear the way, until the nerves of the sightseers are strung to the highest pitch of endurance. It is one ceaseless shriek from the time one enters the streets until 82 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING well out of them. It is not unusual to see a procession of a half- dozen or more blind girls with hands laid on the shoulders of each other groping their way through dangerous thoroughfares, the girl in the lead tinkling a bell; how they manage to thread their way in safety is a mystery, for it is a difficult task for one with two good eyes. Trade crowds out of the shops into the streets. Meat, curly-tailed dried rats, and sausage hang in bunches, tied up with bamboo strings, suspended from poles just at your side, and so close as to graze your cheeks if not protected by the cover of your CAiu^a^f au, iUt**cr CANTON STREET SCENE sedan chair; one looks down on the dried, smoked, flat duck with long neck which lies on the counters tempting the appetites of those who consider these dainties; meat is carried from the market un wrapped and tied by a string suspended to the forefinger. Here and there are men carrying canary birds perched on the forefinger, on a twig, or in a cage; these are Chinese dudes, taking their birds out for a walk; the bird takes the place of a lady friend, for should a man be caught walking out with wife, sister, mother, or lady, he would be jeered at by his companions beyond his power of endur ance, so the bird is the correct thing for the society man. Women carry heavy loads and do the work of beasts of burden, for there is no work done by men that is not also done by women in China; CHINA'S MILLIONS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE 83 others hobble along leaning on poles, their feet having been bound in infancy until they are mere clubs; the smaller the feet the more they are supposed to be like well-born ladies. Women are in the most shocking state of abasement. Only two per cent of the population can read or have any education, and few women are in this list. Girl babies are put out on the roadside to die in all parts of China — a merciful ending for the life of a female in this unspeakably cruel country. The temples show the depths of ignorance and superstition of the masses. These dingy, rickety, and inartistic buildings are dedicated to many gods, but behind all these are lessons to be im pressed that serve as restraints on the baser passions of men. In one temple, swine, as reincarnations of human souls, are pampered and sheltered and cared for by nasty, beastly priests. But a few years since Chinese would not eat meat of any kind lest they eat the beast that possessed the reincarnated soul of some ancestor. The Temple of Horrors, in Canton, is the realistic picture of the debased Buddhist hell. In apartments, separated by brick walls and screened by wire netting in front, are dust-covered and ancient stone carvings representing the conditions of men in the inferno who have done wickedly in this life. The man who abused his wife in this life must suffer being sawed down from head to foot for all eternity; others are boiled in oil, others flayed, and others have been transmigrated into animals with hoofs and horns. One look into this chamber of horrors would make almost any believer repent his short-comings and turn over a new leaf in life. The court leading to this temple is filled with fortune-tellers, letter- writers, menders, doctors, beggars, loafers, and thieves. Dentists advertise their business by long strings of their patients' teeth, which they swing almost in one's face. We gladly escape the untidy crowd that gathers about us at every stopping-place, jump into our chair, and away to the Temple of the Five Hundred Genii, where the crowds are shut out. Here are priests pounding gongs and mumbling prayers. Upon our approach they arise, pick up their incense kettles, from the bails of which are hung the bells they have been pounding; they laugh and allow us to pound the gongs as they repeat for our entertainment, "Amah, amah, amah," and grin when we repeat the words in the same minor drawl in dulged in by them. Five hundred dingy gilt gods sit in rows on high shelves ranged along the corridors; before each god is an in- 84 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING cense jar filled with the ashes of the incense sticks that have been burned by those who adore the traits or acts of their particular god. Chinese immortalize those men who have done some good thing 'for their kind, or have had great learning. Marco Polo, the for eigner, smiles from under his broad hat as the incense rises from the jar of ashes at his feet in honor of his great discoveries as he roamed the seas. This temple appeals to the ambitious and pro motes the humanities. The Temple of Medicine shows the dense superstition and ig norance of the people. Before a cheap, tawdry altar a lamp burns night and day; the patient is given a long, round vase filled with flat sticks, and upon the end of each one is an ideograph indicating a number. The invalid kneels before this altar, shakes the vase, and the first stick that falls out bears the number that indicates the prescription for his particular malady; he takes this stick to the priest, or "prescription clerk," who stands behind a counter near the altar; he notes the number, compares it with a slip of brown paper which has a few characters on it, and hands out a paper charm for a money consideration, always an important part of the devotions of a heathen Chinee. The charm is made of bits of red and yellow paper folded together, which the patient must take away with him to drive away the evil spirits of disease that have taken possession of him. Again kneeling before the' altar, the patient takes two stones about ten inches long, shaped like a split kidney, puts the flat sides together, and casts them to the ground; if both flat or both round sides come uppermost three times in succession, then he will have a long illness and bad luck; if one flat and one rounding side show up, tlipn he will soon recover, and have good luck after he recovers; if hens a good Buddhist he will make a money-offering to the priests ,for a continuation of health. I took a treatment, much to the amusement of the "doc tors." The ardent faith of the Chinese in this system of cures is an object lesson in mind cure, though the priests must smile in their dreams at the army of superstitious patients that they fleece every day. In a separate part of this temple scores of women worship before the god of good luck; the walls and a crude altar are covered with red and yellow paper devils about three inches long, rudely cut; a sum of money is given a priest and the ideograph representing the amount is printed on a slip of white paper, which is burned in the incense jar that stands before the altar; the smoke CHINA'S MILLIONS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE 85 of this paper furnishes the "devil" the woman has suspended, with food, and he goes hence never again to trouble the man for whom the woman prays, and whom he has possessed and caused bad luck. Hard times cause an extra rush of business in this section of the temple. There is another row of gods representing human life from infancy to old age. Before each one of the red, dust-covered images is a large jar in which clothing of the dead is burned so that the smoke may carry provisions for the soul in its journey from earth to heaven. There is a god for each age from one year to one hundred. All clothing burned here must be new and bought of the priests. We were privileged to witness a funeral procession; the coffin, sedan chairs, and paraphernalia were decorated with many-colored papers, red and yellow predominating; as the motley throng marched along a din of horns and bells was kept up to drive away the evil spirits that might be following the dead body. The Chinese believe that each man has three spirits; at death one remains in the house where the person dies, another around the tomb, and the third goes up to heaven. When a child is about to breathe its last it is carried out of the house and thrown on the roadway, street, or ash heap lest its evil spirit forever remains in the house where it dies. Graveyards are sacred places because of the presence about the tombs of one of the three spirits of the departed. From these temples we went to the magistrate's house, as the place for punish ment of criminals is called. Here we witnessed the methods of torture practiced on criminals; one poor fellow carried upon his shoulders a board about three feet square, through the middle of which his head protruded; he was doomed to wear this night and day through the weeks of his term of sentence; his second punish ment would be flogging with bamboo whips almost unto death. Three girls who had been caught stealing from a shop stood by the side of the place they had robbed with these boards locked on their shoulders, their term of sentence being three weeks; if they attempt to lie down their agony of fatigue is most cruel. Rude cages are used for hanging, the head being slipped through a rough board. The execution ground, where criminals are be headed or cut to pieces when alive, is a gruesome place. Men about to suffer this penalty are ranged in a line without being bound; one moves before the block, the axe falls, the next moves up and hangs his head without quiver or remonstrance, and so on to the 86 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING end of the line. One of the peculiar traits of Orientals, especially Chinese, is the philosophy with which they die. It would be difficult for fiends to concoct more inhuman methods of torture than are practiced by the Chinese on criminals, and it makes one hope that the day is not far distant when the civilized world will arise and wipe this miserable government off the face of the earth. The great masses, with their brown, bony breasts and care-worn faces, haunt us for days after we have made the rounds of this city. EXECUTING CRIMINALS IN CHINA We make our way to the Flowery Mortuary, a place where the rich deposit the bodies of their dead until a suitable burial spot can be found. The light, airy rooms are open to corridors lined with potted and blooming plants; a lamp is kept burning before the body as long as it lies in state. Here we saw a black Foochow lacquered coffin in which rested the body of the third concubine of the governor of Canton. This coffin cost two thousand dollars in gold, and was a marvel of artistic finish. One priest has made himself immensely rich by caring for his gruesome guests. He was much pleased to have me take snap-shots of his place and him self. He had the guide interpret all we said, when he folded his hands together under his chin and shook them, which is the polite salutation of the Chinese. CHINA'S MILLIONS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE 87 The Hall of Learning, where each year fully ten thousand stu dents come for examination and promotion in the schools, is a vast open area flanked on either side by rows of stalls numbering fully three thousand brick compartments, separated one from the other by partitions of solid walls, so that there may be no commu nication among aspirants dur ing examinations. Each stu dent is given a chair and table and in one of these stalls he must commune alone with his attainments when examined. The place is overgrown with weeds, and the whole arrange ment is a burlesque on the honesty of the student. Not withstanding this, the Chinese show the place with much pride as proof of their superior intelligence. The whole city of Canton seems old, neglected, and de cayed; there are no parks or breathing places for the vast, seething population that lives and swarms in the fetid streets; the filth of ages has here accu mulated. There is no under ground drainage; water is used from wells that receive surface drainage. Cholera, plague, and epidemics decimate the populace; against disease the people never quarantine, or disin fect, but let it go its way without hindrance. Thousands are carried away every year, but the Chinese are fatalists, and believe "what is to be will be, whether it comes to pass or not." We climb up steep steps to the Temple of Time on top of the old walls to see the celebrated water clock, that keeps time by drops of water falling into four jars set on shelves, one above the other; a brass scale on a float in the last jar tells the hour as it HALL OF LEARNING, CANTON 88 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING rises. Since 1321 A. D. every afternoon at five o clock the lowest jar has been emptied, the upper one filled, and the clock thus wound up for another day. We pay a visit to the silk-weavers, where with the most primitive looms work is done by hand that Americans do with the Jacquard loom, and for which labor the most skilled workmen get but forty-five cents debased currency per day, about twenty cents in gold. With this simple machinery the Chinese produce the beautiful silk brocades so much admired by women. It requires marvelous skill for the man who stands above the shuttle-worker to throw each thread so that it falls in its proper place in the delicate figure. In dark and dingy shops exquisite, ivory and sandalwood carvings are produced by these artistic workers, who have learned to do everything except to live like civilized beings. A climb to the top of a five-storied pagoda that sits on top of the old walls gives a splendid view over the tiled roofs of the old city, which covers over twenty square miles of solid buildings, beyond which lies the river like a ribbon hemming the city in be tween it and the walls. Just outside the wall lies the sacred grave yard upon the hills and low mountains extending far beyond the reach of the eye. No shafts mark the resting-places of the dead, only little mounds and beehive heaps of earth set off this park of the dead, where the Chinese men go twice each year to worship the spirits of their departed ancestors. This vast area open to God's sunlight and fresh air would invite the swarming millions out of the crowded city were it not for the fetish of ancestral wor ship. China pays dearly for her ignorance and superstition. Ten hours in a sedan chair, though carried on the shoulders of coolies, with the sights crowding the attention, and the shouting, noisy population, wear one to a frazzle in nerve and body. It is with a sense of relief that we cross the bridge over a creek, pass through guarded gates at either end into Shameen, the European quarter, leaving the old city of Canton with its smells and noise behind. The broad avenues lined with fine old trees, the beautiful villas surrounded with tropical gardens, give a sense of relief and contrast so marked that we seem to have passed from the inferno of a degenerate past into a heavenly present. Shameen is a living reproach to the life of old Canton. "Go into any part of China you may," said an experienced British traveler, one who had seen all parts of the empire accessible to man, "and you will find no CHINA'S MILLIONS. CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE 89 other city more characteristic of the Chinese than Canton." The tourist should see the old city once, but only the direst necessity would induce a second visit. The people live principally on rice and fish, eat with chopsticks, sleep on hard beds, eschew the bath, struggle for the barest pittance as a wage, live and die as they have for ages before. Do the Chinese want to change their ways? Would they accept better conditions if they could? These are questions that arise in the minds of all who mingle with and observe this peculiar people. What infinite purpose is there in preserving this nation intact through all these centuries, and in the face of the general progress of the -world? An educated Chinaman is a fine specimen of the genus homo; he is keen, shrewd, intelligent, dignified, a good con versationalist, and reads you at a glance. He is the silk merchant, bank accountant, and financier, accurate, usually honest, having high regard for his word; he is the university professor, and sin cerely interested in the education of his people. An educated Chinaman is a charming person to meet. The contrast between an educated and an uneducated Chinaman is as marked as though they were of separate races. The coolie class, to which the great mass belong, hustle, swarm, smoke opium, beg, and if they dare, browbeat those who employ them, work for the merest pittance, gamble, and live on the plane of brutes. Both educated and un educated are supremely superstitious. They know and acknowl edge their government to be most corrupt, but they have not the spirit to arise and resent it and better their conditions. The race can rise to no higher plane so long as women are brutalized as they are, and so long as men have absolute power of life and death over their wives, as they now have. Spiritless mothers must bring forth spiritless sons. Will the Chinaman change? No, not of his own accord. England, Japan, or Germany could take hold of the Chinaman with an iron hand, compel him to take off his long shirt, cut his queue, unbind the feet of his women, tear down his cities, widen the streets, plow up his graveyards, put him out on his millions of acres of uncultivated land, open up his mines, burn his temples that sit on top of the sacred mountains, and compel general education. It is a good thing for the civilized world that the Chinese millions do not know their power. Before coming to this knowledge they must be humanized. CHAPTER IX THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES. AMUSEMENTS It is sixty hours from Hong Kong to Manila. Curiosity led us to make the trip, though many who had gone before us advised, "Go once, you will not want to go again." No one can learn all about the Philippines in sixteen days, the time we spent on the islands, but one can see and learn much. The sea was unusually calm during the entire voyage. It was well, for the steamer on which we were obliged to take passage was so ramshackling that it would not weather a severe storm. Unless passage can be secured on some of the great liners plying between Hong Kong and Australia, the only choice left is one of these inferior boats, manned by Japa nese under a British captain. At eight o'clock in the morning of the third day out, we came in sight of the northern end of Luzon, and sailed by her side so close as to see the trees and huts on her green slopes. At three o'clock in the afternoon we anchored well out in the harbor before Manila and opposite Cavite, where Dewey sank the Spanish fleet. The bay is so extensive it is like the open sea, and subject to violent storms. Manila was just visible, and appears to lie lower than the sea as we approach. Though anchored so early in the afternoon we were delayed by the customs and the red tape of entering United States territory until after seven o'clock, although we had in our possession a "permit," secured at Hong Kong, to enter Manila. Our steamer carried over two hundred head of cattle brought from China to Manila to supply the "home market" we read so much about in imperialistic papers for the purpose of keeping the agriculturists of the United States from complaining of the burdensome taxa tion incident to American possession of these islands. The cattle had to be inspected for rinderpest before freed, and the passengers concluded that they must be inspected for the same offense, so tedious was the delay in landing. It was the only place in all our travels where cattle took precedence over human beings at quarantine and in landing. Finally a steam 90 THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 91 launch bore down upon us, which we were permitted to board, and we steamed across the bay up the Pasig River, to the docks, or as near them as we could go. It was pitch dark. No lights were pro vided, notwithstanding the passengers were compelled to climb over three cascoes loaded with rice, which stood between the launch and the docks. We landed with much danger to life and limb. Our hand satchels were unceremoniously grabbed from our hands by customs officers and thrown into a room screened by a gate CASCO ON PASIG RIVER that was slammed shut, and we were told we could have them in the morning. We made our way to a back entrance and demanded that these two parcels be inspected at once, so that we might have our necessary toilet articles. The demand was reluctantly acceded to. In no other country could we have been so annoyed by customs indignities. It is the universal expression of travelers that in no other part of the world are people so much annoyed and delayed as in American territory by customs laws and incivili ties. It is a disgrace to America, whether these incivilities are prac ticed in Manila or in New York, and the sooner changes are made and the public more decently treated the better. Our country loses millions of dollars from persons who would otherwise travel in our lands were they not annoyed by some of our unnecessary 92 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING customs. Not only must persons have a "permit" to enter, but one must be secured to depart from Manila, and to this extent our new possessions are thoroughly Russianized. Baggage must also be "permitted," for there is an export as well as an import duty. An indignant Britisher told me of his experience in a recent visit to Manila, and said, "Go to Manila, then compare your treatment there with your treatment at the free port of Hong Kong, and then write me which government is the freest, America or Great Britain." He had justifiable cause for complaint, as every traveler has. Our heavier baggage was held until the next day, and it took all day to get it away from the docks, though we were granted the special courtesy of non-examination. Although our tickets should have landed us on the Manila docks we were mulcted out of about five dollars each for the launch that took us from the steamer to the docks. This is a government graft for which the steamship company is not responsible. It cost one poor woman, a soldier's wife, ten dollars to land with a few parcels. This hold-up is practiced on every one who lands at Manila, and is an open-handed robbery of the helpless public; but it is only a part of a system of piracy prac- THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 93 ticed in almost every department of business in the city. Said one soldier's wife to me, "Would to God, some one would faithfully portray to the public, through the press of the United States, the actual truth about things in these islands." No officer is to be blamed for such treatment of the public, but the law that requires such service cannot be abrogated too soon. A soldier, who had served over three years in the army in the islands, and had lost his health, ordered a new uniform from San Francisco, and the duty was so heavy he sent it back to await his discharge and return home. The spirit of loot permeatesgovernment and business affairs to the exclusion of justice and honor. We were finally landed in the "best hotel," where disorder reigned, where mosquitoes presented long bills; ants little and red crawled over us as we sank to slumber with the chirp of ghecoes, the small house lizards that roost like flies on the ceilings and walls in these tropical lands. Manila is an old Spanish city, that has a general appearance of dilapida tion, though it is claimed to have improved materially since American occupation. Her streets are crooked, her buildings mostly two low stories, which paint and cleanliness would improve. Chinese shops and smells abound, for there is a large Chinese population. Much of the city lies lower than the river, and sea and underground drainage is impossible. It is built on a marsh and must ever be a pest-hole for disease and death. The Lunetta, a drive along the sea-wall outside the walled town, is the one attractive feature of the place. It leads to a park, in which a band discourses fine music several afternoons and evenings in the week, when the people assemble in great numbers and make a FILIPINO HOMES 94 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING brilliant display of dress and turnouts. Native thatched huts, set up on poles about five feet high, and bunched together in banana and palm tree groves, make up a large part of the city. Americans live in the suburbs in houses formerly occupied by the better class of Spaniards, who are now drawing large rents from Uncle Sam's servants of imperial ism. STREET SCENES American men dress in white duck, white caps and shoes, and ride about in vic torias drawn by small, shaggy- maned native ponies. With their Filipino drivers and foot men the American sitting back smoking his cigarette, taking his ease, is a striking figure. Many of these men were in positions little better than their Filipino mustacheoes when at home, and the manner in which they adjust themselves to these new conditions shows the wonderful adaptability of Americans to circumstances, even imperial manners. The American women are charming, in their light, airy garments, as they go forth bare-headed, as is customary in this climate. Filipino men dress in European style as a rule, and in their white garments their slight and tidy forms are not unattractive. They are as cleanly and gentle manly in appearance on the streets and in public gatherings as are the Americans. Filipino women have a dress peculiar to the country, one not seen elsewhere. It consists of a gored skirt that reaches to the ground; over this they draw a sarong, usually of black material, and wear a waist called the kamisa, made of stiff housi, woven from the fiber of the banana leaf; it is cut low in the neck, with straight flowing sleeves gathered full and high on the shoulders; a square handkerchief folded over the shoulders, and made of the same material, gives a pretty and A FILIPINO BELLE THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 95 artistic effect. Their ample coal-black hair is neatly combed back from the forehead and fastened in a coil on the back of the head, without distasteful attempts at ornamentation by bright pins or cheap jewelry, so much affected by other women of the Orient. Little girls wear the same style of dress as their mothers, which makes them look like little old women; Filipino women are more modest in dress than other Malays ; their feet are sandaled or set on low clogs, usual ly without hose; they are cleanly, and we wonder, when we see the humble huts in which they live, how they can appear so tidy and well dressed. They wash their linens by hand, in the small est possible quantity of water, use no soap and never boil them, yet the clothes they hang out look white and clean. Like most Orientals they subsist largely on rice, fish, and native fruits. I had the opportunity to see thousands of natives as sembled on two occasions; they were well dressed and well mannered. Filipinos are by far the superior race of the Malays. An unpre judiced person must recognize much that is interesting and attract ive in the Filipinos as they are seen in Manila. The use of the cigarette is universal; men, women, and children smoke. I have seen the proud mother put the cigarette she was puffing to the lips of the infant astride of her hip to teach it to take its first whiff. The chief industry of Manila is cigarette and cigar making. It is claimed that they turn out fifty million cigarettes per day in Manila alone, and a large share of this production is consumed at FILIPINOS, MANILA 96 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING home or on the island. It is no wonder that the race is small, hol low-chested, subject to disease, and short-lived. It is like the tramp of an army when the operatives clog through the streets in the early morning on their way to their daily toil in the five great tobacco fac tories of the city; the operatives are largely women and children, who are paid from three to eight dollars, gold, per month, for ten hours work every day in the week. These factories are owned by En glish and Scotchmen, as is most of the best business in Manila. Indeed, American troops seem to be in the Philippines for the express purpose of W holding the natives in sub jection, that the English and Scotch may do the business of the country. Women carry their babes astride of the right hip, hold ing them in place by pass ing the arm around their little naked bodies; this custom and the two- wheeled caromatti are distinctive Filipino street features. There are many Roman Catholic cathedrals in Manila; some have been imposing structures, in their best days, but all are in a state of neglect and decay at the present time. The Protestant churches are few and inferior, services being usually held in private residences or small rooms. It is like hunting a needle in a haystack to find a Protestant place of worship in Manila. One would not be safe in following a procession of Americans on Sabbath morning expecting to be led into a church, for he would be more liable to be led into a cockpit. There are some fine schools largely attended, under the direction of the Roman Catholics. The American free schools are only fairly well attended, owing to the pronounced and aggress ive opposition of the Roman Catholic priesthood. The schools are the bright particular spots in Manila, and do American occupation CATHEDRAL, MANILA THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 97 most credit and honor. Here and there are large open structures with thatched roofs held up by long poles; these are the cockpits- cock-fighting being the leading amusement of the natives. Prize fighting was introduced by Americans, but soon prohibited by the civil govern ment, with a penalty upon those partici pating, also for the press ad vertising the sport. The bet ter class of Fil ipinos patron ize the theater. Through the courtesy of the author of a comedy and its translator into English I was privileged to witness a play written by a Filipino and presented by Filipinos. The large auditori um of the Na tional Theater, which is much like the great rink buildings at home, was packed on Sunday night, fully one thousand being present. The women were in evening dress, the kamisa being red, setting off a white dress or bits of red, or a flower tastefully disposed gr.ve touch of color. Men came with wives and children, and all conducted themselves with much decorum. Smoking was not allowed, even between acts. A full string band furnished excellent music. The Filipinos are natural musicians, and interpret with much taste and feeling. The stage scenery was appropriate and artistic and as well managed as any like play FREE SCHOOL FOR FILIPINOS 98 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING in our own country. The acting was most excellent, women taking an equal part with men; there was no lack of energy or rapid move ment; enunciation was clear and distinct. While I could not under stand a word that was spoken I followed the play throughout with perfect understanding with the aid of the translation in my hand; the dress of the actresses was modest, and it and the scenery artistic and appropriate. The play, "Walong Sugat" (Not Wounded), was to reproduce Filipino history, and arouse the passions of the people against the much-hated friars. Four of the Spanish padres were killed off during one act, when the audience went wild with cheering, and would not be satisfied until the curtain was raised and the friars killed over again. The play was to reproduce the cruelties of former Spanish rule and show how retribution from an outraged and long-suffering people was finally administered. The most gifted American actors could have made no more out of this play than did the Filipinos. It was an agreeable surprise to me, for I had heard and read so much unfavorable criticism of the ability, character, and undertakings of these people. This was the third public presentation of the play, and its author was justly flattered by its reception. Its principal merit to me was in showing the strength of hatred that is deep seated against the friars by the masses of the most intelligent Filipinos. In studying this people this matter must be taken into account. Many Filipinos are finely educated, have handsome, well-fur nished homes, are patrons of art, music, and literature. The women are agreeable, cultured, and well treated by their husbands. Many of these homes have suffered loss of works of art and fur nishings from looting by American soldiers. Many able men are holding positions of honor and trust under the civil government, which they serve with credit and ability. .All these things prove the worthiness of these people to be given self-government, under Amer ican protection from outside interference, and this at no distant day. A very urgent invitation was extended to me to address the Filipinos on social questions by the Independent Church and Socialist Labor parties which I gladly accepted. At 5:30 in the afternoon, the usual hour for public gatherings, a great audience of the better class of Filipinos assembled in the National Theater auditorium. The room was profusely decorated with the Amer ican flag. Upon the platform were General Lukebon, Aguinaldo's leading general; Doctor Lukebon, private physician to Aguinaldo; THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 99 and twenty or more other notables, men who had been leaders of the Filipino cause and in the army against the Americans. They are now loyal, believing and hoping that American rule is best. Several said to me, "We want America to stay with us until we are educated, united, and the jealousies of war forgotten, and we are capable and strong enough for self-govern ment." They are desper ately in earnest in throw ing off the control of the friars and the pope at Rome. Their demand is "An independent church for the Filipinos by the Filipinos." Archbishop Aglipay is the head of this movement, and counts his adherents by three mil lions. These Indepen dents are right, and the masses can never take their proper position in their country until this blight of the friars is removed root and branch. And here let me record my protest against the great wrong perpetrated on the American people, that hold their peace and let the "government" filch seven million dollars from them with which to pay these friars for the land to which they had no right or title, and never had more than temporary lease, and which already belonged to the American government, if the twenty million dollars paid to Spain for the islands bought land instead of men. The most astonishing part of all this is the silence on this matter maintained by the religious and secular press of the United States. It was a bold and high-handed robbery of the people for a most unjust purpose. It went to swell the coffers of the pope at Rome and in return carried a large vote for the political party that perpetrated the wrong. These people had never before ¦j&yf-fjzA1. ARCHBISHOP AGLIYPAY 100 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING heard a woman speak from a public platform. I invited Mrs. Faxon, Commissioner of the National W. C. T. U., to open the meeting with a prayer; although but few of the vast audience understood her words, heads were reverently bowed, even to that of the Filipino padre, in long, black gown and square cap, who sat on the platform. It was an affecting scene. These people so short time before shooting at Old Glory now decorating this hall with the flag and listening to the words of Americans with courtesy and respect. I explained to them the methods of educating the young in our free schools and urged them to send their children to the schools established for them instead of to parochial schools. I encouraged them to learn the English language, to read the Bible for themselves and follow its precepts. At this point they cheered enthusiastically, for one of the things the Indepen dent Church stands for is reading the Bible, which has hitherto been denied them by the friars. I entreated them to practice tem perance and virtue, educate their women and in every way make them equal and respected with men. I congratulated them on their outspoken and wise opposition to the scheme of Chinese contract labor, now so much a burning question among them, and to which the Filipinos are bitterly opposed. When I urged them to be loyal to the Flag and told them the Flag should be loyal to them, they arose and cheered with a vim. The padre followed me in a short address, in which he indorsed all I had said, urged the higher education "as advocated by the senora," saying, "Dead bodies, always drift downwards." Other Filipinos spoke in the same strain, every sentiment receiving en thusiastic indorsement. The conclusion. I reached from meeting the people in this capac ity was that if they are treated justly and with proper consideration they will be satisfied and loyal. The men who instigated this meeting are the educated, influential Filipinos worthy of considera tion in any proposition affecting their people and government. Great courtesy was shown me, many expressions of thanks and the hospitality of their club-rooms extended, and I came away impressed with the possibilities of a race that could produce such men as sat upon that platform and filled the great auditorium. THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 101 CHINESE CONTRACT LABOR There is a movement on foot, and it is in Congress with a strong lobby behind it, to impose on these islands, as well as the Hawaiian, the coolie or Chinese contract labor system. To this scheme the Filipinos are bitterly and fanat ically opposed, and justly so. These peo ple say that under Spanish rule they were never taught industrial arts or agricultural pursuits; that they have not had the op portunity to develop their country. That they have been taxed and robbed; that every noble aspiration has been discouraged by the blighting rule of Spain. These things are true. Now they argue that if Chinese contract labor is per mitted by the United States it means nothing, less than the poverty, degradation, and destruction of the Filipinos, and their enslavement. One leading man said to me: "If the Americans impose this upon us it will lead to revolution in which our people will be destroyed, for you are strong enough to whip us, but we may as well die before your guns as to become industrial slaves. We want a chance to show the world what we can do." It was a pitiful, patriotic appeal, and one that the United States should heed. If the imperialistic government of the Philippines shall lead to human slavery, though it be called "contract labor," God knows there should be insurrec tion at the American ballot-box against any party that would be guilty of making such a law. There is great danger of this law being adopted in this peculiar time, when dollars count more than FILIPINO CART 102 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING men. Congress has had a man, whose name would be recognized should I mention it, before it to make a report on the Chinese con tract labor of the Straits Settlement, and the man told me that his printed report, "A private document," was in the hands of Congress. This man has been in these islands for a large part of five years, and is a determined advocate of this measure, and a strong lobby is in Washington pushing the matter for these islands and the Hawaiian, and ex-Governor Taft is giving it his support, be it said to his everlasting shame. It would be a crime, not second to that of African slavery, if such a measure should be adopted for any of these islands. By my open opposition to this scheme I brought clown upon my head the imprecations of men who are in terested in buying up large tracts of land, as many are doing, in securing railway franchises, and promoting large business enter prises, while I was there, because in my public address I took strong grounds against coolie contract labor laws for these islands. I was visited and entreated, I received letters of abuse and was villified by the press, for opposing this scheme of human slavery. The arguments are, "That the Filipinos will not work," that "They like the shade too well," "That these islands are rich and must be de veloped as rapidly as possible." Then I ask, Why not put American men at work in these islands? Why not give the soldiers a chance to settle on these lands and develop them? The reply comes, "White men cannot stand such work in this climate. We do not want the soldiers to stay, they are largely renegades." Why not bring the colored men from America? and the answer is, "They are too cute, we do not want them." To be sure the whip of the slave-driver dares not play over the backs of those, white or black, reared in the United States, and as a matter of course exploiters of the islands prefer contract laborers. To the claim that the Filipinos cannot be had and will not work, a leading man of the race said, "I will pledge any contractor who needs workmen, who will pay living wages, that I can secure from one thousand to one hundred thousand men, all Filipinos, to work for him within a month's notice." I find that the man who is so deeply interested in the Straits Settlement Scheme, to be repeated in the Philippines by the government, represents an American syndi cate of capitalists who are interested in securing franchises for street railways, electric-lighting plants, waterworks, and railways for all the islands. These men want to sit in the shade while cheap labor THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 103 under the lash of contract laws, makes their per cents, no matter at what expense of human rights and justice. However, to hear them talk one would suppose them heaven-descended missionaries come to rescue these people from all manner of unfortunate conditions. Self-interest makes them eloquent pleaders for this pernicious propo sition. The people of the United States should see to it that these islands be developed only so fast as the Filipinos can do it for them selves under proper conditions. It is the old story of trying to govern tropical blood with temperate-zone energy. These carpet-baggers think they should get as much work in a day out of a man who works in the sun of the tropics as they can out of a man who toils in the ex hilarating climate of the temperate zone. It cannot be done unless under the whip of slavery; it is not necessary to do it, for the Almighty set the pace of energy in a man when he placed him in a certain zone, and no amount of spurring can change the natural law. It is true that the white man cannot stand great effort in the tropics; neither can he successfully govern a tropical people — one or the other must succumb. Every sentiment of justice, every iota of principle, demands that the United States govern ment shall not blot its fair name with this pernicious and hurtful law. Give these Filipinos a chance and they will make a fine race in education, arts, and industry, and will become capable of self- government in a short time. If we are unjust, care more for the dollar than for the man while administering affairs in the transi tion state through which these people are passing, then they will fall before the march of the white man as the Indian has fallen; and the white man, true to every experiment he has tried in the tropics, will become degraded and fall from his temperate-zone estate. If the Chinese are to come into the Philippines let them come as free men, work as free men, go as free men. Let there be no slave labor under the whip of capital, in any corner of the earth over which the stars and stripes wave their protecting folds. Shades of the recent Civil War ! What has come over the American people that such a plea is necessary to warn against enslaving any class of men? This last proposition is the legitimate evolution of the trust system of finance and imperialism in government. Let it apply to the islands of the Pacific, and how long before it will apply to the coal-fields, factories, and industries in the United States? Better that not a pound of sugar be raised in these islands, that not 104 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING a foot of railroad be laid, or that an electric light be strung, than to do these things under the whip of industrial slavery as proposed by the exploiters of these new possessions. It is easier to prevent the adoption of slave laws than it is to get rid of them when once adopted. Shall human slavery follow imperialism under the flag? Let the American people answer No, with no uncertain sound, for contract labor is the most degrading form of human slavery. Occupation of the islands by the United States has lowered the moral status of the natives and made them drunken with intoxicating liquors. The pernicious system prevailing at home of receiving a money consideration for vice and licensing it, thereby strength ening it, prevails wherever American men have gone. On a prom inent brick structure in the heart of Manila, painted in large letters, is "The only bar open when the American troops arrived." Now there are over nine hundred places in Manila where intoxicating liquors are sold, and the natives are rapidly taking on the habit of drink. The social evil is licensed for a price under the weekly inspection of women law, which is a burning disgrace to the civil government and to American occupation. Against this the women of the United States should wage unceasing warfare. Cheap men from the United States are drawing exorbitant salaries for services in the Philippines, and every possible method is used, whether honorable or not, to secure revenue. AGUINALDO I greatly desired to meet Aguinaldo while in Manila. I have always believed him to be the Washington of his people, fighting for self-government, and I am more convinced of the righteous ness of his demand since I have visited the islands. A personal friend of Aguinaldo made my opportunity possible. This was a courteous concession to me, for Aguinaldo sees few people outside of his personal friends. He desires to live in quiet retirement, and drop out of public notice. He feels keenly the loss of his cause in championing the independence of his people. By appointment four of us, one an interpreter, drove out into one of the best suburbs of the city at 5 p. m., where the fallen hero was staying in the home provided by his devoted friend Rosalie, a man of great wealth. We turned into the private entrance to the spacious grounds between rows of palm-trees and tropical shrub- THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 105 bery, in which a neat cottage, painted white and set on poles fully five feet above the ground, was embowered. We ascended a flight of steps that led into a corridor with open sides and with bamboo-matted floor. Four young ladies were seated around a center-table amusing themselves with games. We were at once admitted to a neatly furnished adjoining f ^ room, in which ; Aguinaldo was en gaged in reading. He came forward and received us cor dially, gracefully extending his hand to each one of the party. His slight form was attired in white cluck of ex quisite neatness and fit. He is at all times neatly dressed and exceedingly tidy; the one thing he requested when a prisoner of the United States was that he should be permitted a daily bath and clean clothing. The first impression made on meeting Aguinaldo is that we are in the presence of a cultured gentleman, possessed of much reserve force. He is plain and unassuming in manner, speaks de liberately, and appears to be weighing every word, at the same time observing those with whom he is in conversation with scrutiny and studious care. He understands some English, but will not trust him self to speak it, as he uses it imperfectly. He weighs one hundred and thirty-five pounds, but like his race, is slight in figure — the average weight of Filipino men being less than one hundred pounds. He has a large, square, well-shaped head covered with short, black hair, that stands up about an inch long all over AGUINALDO 106 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING his head. His complexion is clear yellow, features fine; has keen, piercing black eyes, firmly set lips, and a chin that de notes will and determination. He has Chinese blood in his veins. The expression of his face is one of kindness. One can readily see in his personnel why he gave the United States Army such a long and lively chase before his surrender. After the ceremony of introduction I asked for his wife, who, he informed me, was at Cavite with their two children, a son aged nine and a daughter eleven, who were attending school, that he was a guest of the home where we were meeting him. He informed me he was thirty-five years of age ; that his occupation before entering into war was that of an agriculturist; that he had only a high- school education, not a university training; and that he had never been a school-teacher, as reported. "Now, please tell me were you the leader in the Filipino revolt against the Spanish?" He replied, "I was not its leader, but I was one of its promoters." I continued, "Were you in possession of much territory when the Americans arrived?" He dropped his head, as if thinking in retrospect, and replied, "No, we had failed; many of our forces were shot and some of us escaped to Hong Kong, and we were there when the Americans came." "Did the Americans promise independence to your people if you would assist in taking Manila?" He replied, with marked emphasis, "They did. Mr. Pratt, of Singapore, and Mr. Wildman, of Hong Kong, sought me and others out. They promised to secure independence for the Filipinos from Spanish rule, and give us our country, if we would assist them in securing a victory over Spain. We gladly consented, for we believed that the people of the United States stood for self-government for others as well as for themselves. We had great faith and admiration for the United States, and trusted her promises." "Did the United States put guns into your hands on this occa sion?" He .replied, "Yes, they furnished us with one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine guns, but we furnished the money with which to buy them, money that we had captured from the Spanish and sent to Hong Kong. Mr. Wildman took sixty thousand pesos from us for which he never accounted, in excess of what he paid for the arms. He would never account for the money, but the poor fellow was soon after lost in the ship that was taking him home, so the money never did him much good," and as he said this his voice fell into a tender, pathetic tone. THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES 107 I then said, "Inasmuch as your people had suffered so long and grievously under Spanish rule, and your revolt had failed, do you not believe your country will be better off under American rule than under the Spanish?" He replied cautiously, "I cannot speak for my people, but for myself, I think we will." I then said, "I congratulate you on the daring and patriotic part you took in attempting to throw off the Spanish yoke. While your triumph did not come the way you planned and hoped, it came, and I believe time will show you that American rule is far more humane, pro gressive, and just than Spanish rule would ever have been. These great changes do not always come as we plan, but if results are obtained then patriots have not suffered in vain. I know it is the purpose of the people of the United States to finally ex tend to your country self-government, whether it is the purpose of the present administration to do it or not." Aguinaldo turned his searching black eyes quickly on me and remarked, "You are the first woman I have ever heard talk politics" ; as he said this a half smile played over his countenance. I told him that it is not unusual for American women to take interest in such matters, and how they take part in all political campaigns. He then gave his opinions of many public men in Congress and out, all of which showed he was keeping posted as to the friends and enemies of human liberty and justice in this country. He said, "We read about what is going on in the United States and keep our selves posted." I asked him, "Were you kindly treated when a prisoner of the United States?" To which he promptly replied, "Most kindly. I have no fault to find. I have been humanely dealt with as a fallen foe." "Have you a photograph of yourself that I may have?" He regretted he had none, but gave me the privilege of taking a kodak of him. It was time for us to depart. Our interview had been most pleasant and cordial. I said, "I congratulate you on the overthrow of Spanish rule. I hope that American rule will be so just, so unifying of the different tribes, so enlightening, that your people will be given self-government and be capable of administering it, and there will be established in the Pacific the first republic of the Orient. You know we Americans make history rapidly," and smilingly added, "Who knows but you, young as you are, may live to be elected president of such a republic?" Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled, and replied in broken English, "Hardly posseeble, hardly posseeble." 108 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING After meeting so many of the better class of Filipinos I do not hesitate to say that Aguinaldo and his compatriots are as capa ble of administering government as any Americans we may send among them. But it would be unwise to hand the government entirely over to them at present, for there are too few of them. They are impoverished and decimated by war; an old man is seldom seen among the natives. There are too many tribes, with diverse languages and customs, to be conciliated and governed for a hand ful of Tagalogs to govern successfully. The United States cannot withdraw now with honor and credit. But one thing is sure, a speedy declaration should be made that it is the purpose of the United States to do this in a stated number of years and under proper conditions. Such a declaration would do more to inspire peace and confidence than all the standing armies that can camp on Philippine soil. Such a declaration would do much to hold in check the would-be exploiters of these islands. In the mean time let roads be constructed, railroads extended, lands devel oped, forests felled, mines opened, and free schools, under compul sory attendance, be extended in one common language, the Amer ican. The un-American espionage now practiced over freedom of speech and press should cease; the prison doors should open for the speedy release of those men whose only crime has been that they have dared to arraign dishonest, drunken, and incapable officials before the bar of public opinion. These islands, like all the tropical lands, are exceedingly rich in resources, and capable of supporting millions more people than are already occupying them. In due time the people of the United States should utter no uncertain sound, that wherever the flag goes there goes the con stitution with it, then sedition laws and laws for the repression of free speech would have no place under the stars and stripes, and people would not go to bed under one set of laws and get up under another set of laws, as they now do under colonial imperialism in the Philippine Islands. One of the regrettable features of all the unfortunate complications in the government of these islands is the contempt for the principles of human liberty and self-govern ment which so many Americans assume. By our conduct in the Philippines we have brought down upon ourselves criticistm and charge of inconsistency by other governments because we have repudiated the principles on which our own government is THE PHILIPPINES. MANILA. FILIPINOS. HOMES. 109 founded. It is now too late to turn back, but we must do our full duty to the people we have wronged in so far as it lies in our power. If the United States fulfills her whole duty in the solution of the Philippine problem she has the opportunity to do the greatest missionary work that has ever been undertak en. She can es tablish a repub lic of enlight ened people in the Orient where millions are lit tle less than- slaves to dense ignorance and gross injustice in government. In the Filipinos we have by far the superior race of Malays with which to try the experiment. I hope that so young a man as Aguinaldo will live to see this happy termina tion of his patri otic revolt against Spanish rule. If America does her duty to the Filipinos the world has not heard the last of Aguinaldo. His patriotism, his keen and busy intellect, his indomitable spirit, will do much for the readjustment of affairs relating to the best interests of his people. It will be a happy day for the United States when she can pull down her flag and in its place put up the flag of a Philippine republic, the affairs of which shall be adminis tered by Filipinos for Filipinos, for all government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. AMERICAN BOYS IN MANILA CHAPTER X SINGAPORE. PEOPLE, GARDENS, DRIVES, AND SIGHTS OF SINGAPORE The tourist may return from Manila to Hong Kong, two days, thence to Singapore, five days, by sea, or he can take a steamer from Manila to Singapore across the China Sea, thus saving two davs' ocean travel. The latter route .is dangerous, on account of CASCOES IN RIVER AT SINGAPORE reefs and the absence of lighthouses, and inferior steamers that ply on this comparatively new line of travel. However, for the saving of time we took the risks, and boarded a British India steamship that took us in safety over a calm sea in a little less than five days from Manila to Singapore. No one can make a tour of the world without touching this island exchange of the universe. All the servants on our boat were Indians, black men who have a tread and air that 110 SINGAPORE. PEOPLE AND SIGHTS 111 seem to have come down to them from some ancestral nobility, this being a. distinguishing characteristic peculiar to the natives of India. No matter whether coolies or savants, they have a manner of superiority unlike any other of the races of the Orient. However, as servants on a steamship, a more liberal use of soap and water would much improve one's appetite for the meals they serve. The chief steward had ample white hair and whiskers, which, with the white turban wound around his head, set off his black face; his long, bare, black legs were accentuated by a white sarong and jacket, all of which made him a picturesque figure. His morning salaam was made by placing the palms of his hands together and touching the center of his forehead with the tips of his fingers, at the same time bowing very low. This is the "good morning" of the Indian serving class. He does this with such an air of condescension that it suggests the possibility of him being a transmigration from some ancestral rajah. All dish-washing and other such work is done on the floor of the dining-saloon or on the floor of the deck just outside. An Oriental must squat on the floor or ground, never standing or using a high seat if it can be avoided. English officers on a steamer treat their servants like dogs, com manding the most abject demeanor, but they claim this is necessary to secure prompt obedience to orders. The harbor at Singapore is landlocked by chains of islands that stand boldly above the water for nearly sixty miles before the city appears. The city sits on the low-lying island that is separated from the mainland of the Malay Peninsula by straits less than a mile wide. The island of Singapore is about fourteen by eleven miles in extent. Her harbor is filled with sailing craft of every kind, from the fisherman's sampan to the stately man-of-war. Flags of many nations are seen in her harbor as vessels come and go from all parts of the globe. Her population of nearly two hun dred thousand is made up largely of native Malays, who are several shades darker than those of other sections. They are slender bodied, with legs unusually thin and long in propor tion to their height, and are easily distinguished from the other dark races with whom they mingle on the streets. Tall men from India, their heads swathed in the scarf turban, their bodies draped in flowing garments, often set off with a touch of bril liant color, mingle with nude Chinese coolies and natives, and add to the variety of the scenes on the streets of this cos- 112 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING mopolitan center. The native oils his black body until it shines; his wardrobe consists of a simple cloth, of limited pattern, tied closely about his loins; this is usually made of bright red cotton, and occasionally the fellow is extravagant enough to hang a piece of the same bright stuff over his head, for a covering. If it rains, either to protect his elaborate wardrobe or to resist the indignity of an involuntary bath, he holds a section of banana or palm leaf over his head. In this outfit he is a pic turesque phase of street life in Singapore. Fully | j nine-tenths of the work ing people are naked ex cept for the simple loin cloth; children under ten years of age are usually entirely nude. Modesty is not an Oriental virtue. Twenty thousand Chinese riksha men of the city wear the chopping-bowl «£».'¦ * ¦* "A ^•lipei? F^ ] hRt anc^ l°m covering and run in every direction with their human burden in wheeled chairs. Their bare bodies are exposed the bund, Singapore to the beating rays of the tropical sun, and one wonders how the little fellows can endure such labor in such a climate, for Singapore is -but eighty miles north of the equator. The sarong is worn by both men and women, who go bare-footed and bare-legged, making it very difficult to tell the sexes apart. The shoemaker does not thrive, and the corn doctor is nil in these lands. People who can go bare-footed in this manner and satisfy the demands of their social set are to be felicitated, not pitied. Scant wardrobes in a tropical climate are no signs of suffering or poverty, comfort and habit largely regulating the matter of dress. Barbering by the coolie class is done on the streets in full view of the public. The victim sits on a high stool and submits to the trimming and shaving process at the hands of the itinerant SINGAPORE. PEOPLE AND SIGHTS 113 tonsorial artist, whose place of business is wherever he sets down his kit of tools or finds a customer. After the human oddities seen on the streets come the thousands of high, two-wheeled carts drawn by pairs of Siamese bullocks, by which means all carting is carried on in Singapore. When a naked native, with disheveled hair and red loin-cloth, is perched on the front of his load, driving his oxen with small ropes drawn through their nostrils and back over the long horns, of his team, he presents a picture that belongs more to the wilds of an untamed country ORIENTAL LIGHTNING EXPRESS than to a modern commercial city like Singapore. These slow carriers are the Lightning Express of the Orient. None but an Oriental community would endure the slow motion of such a sys tem of cartage. These oxen are usually white or cream colored, and their masters take especial pride in painting the large horns. with bright colors or tipping them in some fantastic manner; they often ornament the heads below the horns with strings of bangles or brass beads, in addition to the painting and tipping. The gharry, a small, four-wheeled, covered vehicle drawn by a shaggy-maned, balky, native pony, vies with rikshas in carrying the public. Rikshas cost twenty and gharrys sixty cents an hour, but at the end of the journey you are expected to give the driver a small gratuity. If you neglect this slight courtesy you will be reminded of it by the open palm of your coolie, who will poke his 114 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING finger into his mouth to indicate that he wants "Chow." The tipping system here, as well as all over the Orient, is a costly nui sance. The tourist should inform himself of the regular rates for such services at every place he stops, and insist upon paying only regulation charges and tips, for here, as all over the world, this class of servants of the public expect to fleece tourists. It costs enough, at best, even if regular rates are paid, for the slightest courtesy has its price in all these lands, and the coolies have no modesty in enforcing their demands. Contract labor is permitted in this colony, and the most one of these contracted coolies can earn is ten to fifteen cents per day for ten hours' work. This degrades all labor, until hotel- waiters, hack- drivers, and com mon laborers can earn no more than four dollars gold per month, only as they get tips; this is con sidered good wages for the working classes, so places where gratuities are liable to be had are much in demand and the tourist is the prey. Women are not seen carrying heavy loads, making beasts of burden of themselves, in Singapore as they are in many other places in the Orient, notwithstanding the natives have the appearance of being the most degraded of any we have met; their huts are thatched, sur roundings mean and filthy. No attempt is made to educate or uplift them, except the too limited efforts of the Christian missionaries. The business of the city is done largely by Chinese; they are the shopkeepers, bank accountants, and money-changers, and many are very wealthy. In every hotel a Chinaman sits behind a small glass case, in which he has money and coins of many nations, and he changes the money of tourists from that of one country into that of another, and such a holding is equal to a good banking business, simple and small as the business appears from the stand point of equipment. There are fair hotels; the Raffles, named IN SINGAPORE SINGAPORE. PEOPLE AND SIGHTS 115 after Lord Raffles, who captured Singapore for the English, has spacious apartments, and is finely located, overlooking the harbor with its maze of ships. It occupies three sides of an-open square, which is filled with tropical shrubs and flowers. Prices are mod erate, but tips to an army of servants make living expensive at one of these hostelries. Hotel-keepers are in league with the tipping custom, for in this way they need pay their servants little or nothing. Pig-tailed Chinese do all the work about these places. Hotel busi- CLIMBING ROOT-TREE, SINGAPORE GARDENS ness thrives in this city of exchanges for the wide world. Beware of leaving trunks or baggage long without unpacking and airing while in Singapore, for everything molds in a few hours' time. Shoes gather mold over night, as do all leather or woolen things, and kid gloves are ruined in a day unless sealed in bottles. Singapore, like all English colonies, has the best of roads and fine botanical gardens and drives. One can ride for miles on a brick-red, smooth, dirt road, shaded by double rows of tropical trees, the tops of which are knit together, forming a perfect canopy of shade. Monkeys look down from their leafy bowers in the trees above as much as to say, "Brethren, why come you here?" Here and there a "Flame of the Forest-tree" mingles its wealth of red blossoms with the deep green of luxuriant tropical growth, completing one of the most 116 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING charming pictures in the world. Her botanical gardens occupy many hundreds of acres, in which the waringin, jak, rain, and rubber trees grow to great size. Among the pretty sights for the lover of nature are the ferns and orchids that catch on these great trees and grow in rich luxuriance. Fronds of ferns fully fifteen feet long hang in fringe from the branches where they have taken root in the bark or moss, while here and there peep out from among them the marvelous-shaped bloom of orchids which crowd against the ferns, as much as to say, "Sit along, I want to grow on this limb, too." The ferns and orchids of these gardens well repay a visit to the parts especially devoted to their culture. One of the great cu riosities of tropical growth found in these gardens is the climbing root tree. From the top of this tree a large root, that much re sembles a grape-vine, grows and drops to the ground, along which it crawls until it comes to another tree, which it climbs, then drops and catches on tree after tree, forming a perfect network among the trees. These gardens are very creditable to Singapore, and make her special attraction to visitors. The better class of homes are one-storied bungalows set in large grounds, giving the city the appearance of being a vast park. In the afternoon, from four to seven o'clock, these drives and gardens are much frequented by Europeans and Chinese driving out in stylish equipages, with liveried attendants. Many Chinese men (they never appear with their wives or children), with Malay or Madras Indian attendants, gorgeously attired, are seen in this Sing apore Rotten Row afternoon outing. There are two distinct classes of people always in evidence in this city, those who wear clothes and those who do not. The latter do the work, while the former "ride in chaises." Singapore is especially free from beggars; nobody seems to lounge about; everybody is hustling. The tourist is no sooner located in his hotel until he is beset by all kinds of peddlers and solicitors. The ladies' tailor draws his goods samples from his pocket and solicits work, and the barber is on hand with his kit of tools to shave a man who may not want to go from his quarters in search of a ton sorial artist. The statement of price is quickly followed with the remark, "How much you give?" and unless you want the wares presented left on your hands, do not offer more than one-third the price first named for any article. SINGAPORE. PEOPLE AND SIGHTS 117 MISSION WORK The Roman Catholics occupy a pretty building with a university for boys, and the Sisters have an orphanage for stray, homeless chil dren. They take in about four hundred orphans per year. These are mostly girl babies of Chinese, who fling them over the walls, put them in the open drains, or are sometimes humane enough to put their babies in a basket, where they may be found and taken by these blessed angels of mercy. Four out of every five babies that find their way to the convent die within a day or two after they are admitted. The frightfully large mortality is due entirely to the singular prejudices of the Chinese, who object alike to girl babies and funeral expenses. ' Chinese only preserve enough girl babies to keep the race from perishing off the face of the earth. Owing to the inscrutable ways of providence, girl babies happen as often as boys, and this fact opens up an endless field for the ingenuity of Chinese in the matter of disposing of girls. It is unlucky to murder them, and if they are just permitted to die, the cost of burial is more than a girl is worth, according to Chinese notions. If, however, a Chinese half-starved baby be taken by the left leg and slung over the convent wall, she will fall with a thud on the other side, and probably survive long enough to insure to the Sisters the responsibility for its death and cost of burial. A vigorous application of the hangman's noose to the necks of some of these unspeakable Celestials who indulge in the wholesale de struction of girl babies as a national diversion would be a practical humanitarian work. The Sisters of Singapore should set the pace, now that they are put to their wits' end for means with which to carry on their beautiful charity. There is a fine English cathedral in which divine services are held on Sabbath at 7:30 a. m. and 4 o'clock p. m., the usual time for religious services in tropical lands. Methodists, Presbyterians, and other denominations are doing what they can with the limited means at their command. There are mission schools for Chinese girls and the children of the poorer classes who care to avail them selves of the opportunities offered for an education. This mission work appears to be about the only ray of hope held out for the enlightenment of the natives and Chinese, for the colonial govern ments of the Orient look upon the coolie class merely as beasts of 118 FORTY THOUSAND MILES OF WORLD WANDERING burden to be "governed." The first railroad on the island was opened for traffic January 1, 1903. It runs across the island to the straits opposite Johore, the Monte Carlo of the Malay Peninsula. It took three years to build and equip this line of but fourteen miles, notwithstanding cheap and plenty of labor. Their method of raising embankments by carrying dirt in half- bushel baskets accounts for the tediousness and delay in such an enterprise. Americans would have laid and equipped this road in three months instead of three years. This line is to be extended across to the mainland of the Peninsula into Siam and Burmah, the franchise having been granted. When this is com pleted it will add much to the pleasure and speed of travel through these countries, that can be reached now only by long and tedious ocean voyages. There is a splendid enterprise waiting capital that will lay a railroad from Canton, China, to Calcutta, India, thence into Persia, on to Vienna, making an important connecting link in the railway around the world. The pleasure of travel in the Orient would be greatly enhanced by such an enterprise. The sultan of Johore has given his consent for the railway to cross his bailiwick. This fellow is festive, rich, young, and much married. He is a tall, slender Malay, speaks English fluently, dresses in European garb, is thirty-five years old, and has four wives, all that a true Mohammedan, that he is, can have, though he may possess as large an assortment of concubines as he cares to support. He maintains each wife in a palace by herself, probably as a peace measure, else he might have a strike or two to settle. His front teeth are of gold. In each of the two upper front teeth he has two and one-half carat diamonds that glitter when he smiles. He rides an automobile that is driven by a professional French chauffeur at a speed of fourteen miles in twenty minutes. The festive sultan delights to get notables to ride with him as he says so he can "scare their wits out of them," as he clears the track before him. Unless he puts on the brakes he may find his diamonds sticking in the red mud of the English colony some of these bright mornings. His race-horses are on the Asiatic race-courses. His palace in Singapore is a storehouse of art and treasure, and is open to the public for inspection. The furniture and hangings are rare and costly. The curtains of the drawing-room are heavily embroidered red satin, much gold thread being used in the work. Twelve of these cost SINGAPORE. PEOPLE AND SIGHTS 119 over a million dollars. The prevailing color of this room is yellow. Rich tables of glass, marble, and pearl-inlaid work hold vases of the rarest cloisonne", while works of art in silver, gold, lacquer, china, glass, and bronze are disposed in all parts of the long corridors that surround the inner rooms. The bedding and draperies are of the most costly production of the silk-weaver's looms. The whole palace is furnished in good taste, and is equal to and superior to many palaces of the roy alty of Europe in store of treasure, beauty, and taste of arrangement. The only pictures displayed are photos and paintings of the royal household of Johore. The location of this palace is high and in the midst of a large park. From it a magnificent view of the island of Singa pore and surrounding sea can be had. It is one of the interesting places to be visited. Singapore is devoid of architectural beauty, ex cept her time-stained cathedral of handsome proportions standing in large, well-kept grounds in the heart of the city, looking out upon the harbor. She has good schools, a public library and museum, but her greatest at traction is the cosmopolitan character of her people. There are people of every color, style of dress and undress, and in a day almost every language of the globe can be heard on her streets and in her hotels. Three fairly good newspapers, in English, are pub lished daily, having cable news of importance from all parts of the world. A week can be spent with pleasure and profit in Singa pore. TONSORIAL ARTIST CHAPTER XI JAVA. BATAVIA. STREET SCENES. NEW YEAR'S DAY. TRADE A tour of the world is no longer complete without a visit to the beautiful tropical island of Java. On Monday, December 29th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, our tidy French mail steam ship, Le Seyne, of the Messageries Maratimes, steamed out of the harbor at Singapore for Java, forty-eight hours distant. As is usual at this time of the year, the sea was calm all the way. . About midnight the equator was crossed, eighty miles distant from Singa pore. The heat was uncomfortable through the night, though we had taken the necessary precaution to secure a stateroom on the weather side of the vessel. By noon on the next day we were in sight of the low-lying coast of Sumatra on the west, and the large island of Banka and many smaller islands that dot the sea on the east. The Dutch government has protected this narrow. and somewhat dangerous passage by erecting lighthouses on many of the islands and points of land to warn the mariner of numerous rocks, reefs, and shoals that beset this passage. It is only a few years ago that Chinese pirates amused themselves by putting out the lights on these points., then waited for a vessel to be wrecked, that they might rob and scut tle her. The Dutch government has made this a dangerous business by summary punishment inflicted upon the offenders, so that the danger of wreckage on this route from such cause is passed. Just before sighting Java the sea is dotted with "a thousand islands" lying only a little out of the water. Fishing smacks and an occasional large steamer are sighted en route. Before us the island of Java appears in the form of a perfect half -circle, Tandjon, the harbor, occupying about the center. We steamed into an ex tensive breakwater between a double row of war vessels, seven in number, to the docks. Hotel porters await signs from those on the decks, and as soon as the mails are removed passengers are permitted to fol low their baggage into the custom-house near by. We inform the officers that we are tourists, that we shall travel over the 120 JAVA. BATAVIA. STREET SCENES. TRADE 121 island,- then take all our effects away with us, and are then per mitted to pass without annoyance, being treated with the utmost courtesy, though Java is a high-tariff country. No further ques tions were asked, our bag gage was not inspected, and the bugaboo of having to pay tariff upon our arrival in Java, that so many writers and tourists tell us about, vanished before act ual experience. Almost naked natives, wearing the single cloth around the loins, their black skins shin ing with the oils with which they polish themselves, were on hand to act as porters, and for tips to re lieve us of the necessity of handling even the smallest parcel of baggage. We were soon on a comfortable railway train that was to bear us eight miles through a marshy, tropical jungle and cocoanut palm groves to Batavia, the seaport town. Good hotels seek guests and furnish accom modations at reasonable prices. These hostelries" consist of a series of one- story apartments or wings running back of the main building. They have wide porches extending the whole length of the line of bungalows, and opening out on parks shaded by abundant trees, orna- o2 p.x o -3 f]