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FROM
GOLDEN GATE -
THROUGH |
SUNRISE LANDS.
A TRIP THROUGH CALIFORNIA ACROSS THE PACIFIC TO
JAPAN, CHINA AND AUSTRALIA,
BY
EDWARD A. RAND.
AUTHOR OF “PUSHING AHEAD; “ROY’S DORY;†“BARK CABIN;†“TENT IN THE NOTCH,â€
ETC., ETC., ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
THE ORIENTAL PUBLISHING CO.
COPYRIGHT SRCURED
Le BY
J. B. JENKINS,
1804.
‘CON DENTS.
CHAPTER. Pace
J. Wuo THEY WERE rs ; 6 ° ° ° e ° » 33
II. WersTERN FREAKS sees ‘ . ° ° ° ° + 23
III. At San FRANCISCO . : ‘i ° . ° . ° - 42
IV. At SEA ; ; aise . : ° . GS)
V. DISCOVERIES . ‘ . : ; ‘ . . eas . 60
VI. LIGHTHOUSES. ; 5 : , : ; ‘ , : Ro ont
VII. Jack BopsTay SPINNING YARN. : . . : a - 276
VIII. Sunrise Lanp at Last : . . . . . . - 94
IX. In YoxouaMa : 3 ; 6 5 ; . . - 202
X. EARTHQUAKES AND RAILROADS . : a ° e 3 DEO
XI. SIGHTSEEING IN TOKIO A " . . 6 6 . 118
XII. Ricx’s Fans : 5 : . . . ° ° . + 132
XIII. AsourT JAPANESE RULERS . . : . ° ° ° - 138
XIV. JapaNEsSE TEMPLE— AND A STORY . 9 ope ened her neL A
XV. CHILDREN AND CHILDREN’S SPORTS . : 3 “4 K . Ist
XVI A SHortT TRIP . So ‘ ; i ; : F Bass
XVII. A JinRIKisHa JOURNEY . . : : . . ° - 107
XVIII. Oxa anp MurRASAKI . 6 ‘ : _ ; 6 . » 190
XIX. Japan TEA . : ; : : é . . ° ° » 195
XX. Mourners aNnD RELicious FaITHs . : ° . . + 200
XXI. Tue Cat anp THE Fox : " Fi Heras . . + 209
XXII. Tue Bamspoo, Rain Coats, AND BLIND MEN . : : vee 207
XXIII. THE Rain . 226
XXIV.
XXV. ,
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXII.
XXXIV,
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVIL.
XXXVIII.
KXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII.
XLII.
CONTENTS.
SPREADING CANVAS FOR AUSTRALIA . °
THE ANTELOPE
THE WIDE SEA
MAN AT THE WHEEL AND MAN
ABOUT TELESCOPES é %
CoraL IsLanps anD CORAL
NEw ZEALAND Z
AUCKLAND
Maoris.
THROUGH Cook’s STRAIT
AUSTRALIA, BY Rick RoGERS
SYDNEY 3
THE Storm , : f ;
“GoLtp! GoLtp!†, . ;
A Bic SHeep Farm
A QUEER CouNTRY . .
THE INTERIOR oF AUSTRALIA
CHINA aT Last . : .
CANTON . sda te .
OLD FRIENDS ASAIN . e
IN THE Moon .
24
247
251
256
262
266
275
278
- 283
286
299
308
319
327
342
353
374
382
LIST
OR ME US Aeni@inis:
PAGE,
All-aboard Boys. Lrontispiece.| The good Woman . ;
Sunrise Boys : 12| How the Voyage may erd .
All Aboard — Initial . 13|Joe. :
- Concord Bridge 14 | Sunset at Golden Ge and Fort Point
She interceded with the ore 15| The City of Tokio .
Nurse Fennel at home 17 |In high Northern Latitude .
The Suspension Act . 19 | Phases of the Moon
The Barrel Act . . . 1g} Under full Steam ;
Grandpa Roger’s Home in Sunimer . 20] Funny Ways of Making a Hire
Echo Rock 23|/A Bell Boat . : SEV
Lower Cajion of the ans 24) First class Light Ship on steam
The Grand Cafion looking West from fog Whistle ?
Toro Weap : 25 | Mt. Desert Lighthouse .
Gunnison’s Butte at the foo of ca. Fourth order Lighthouse at pentnele
Cafion . ; 27| L. I. Sound
Climbing the Grand Ciscn 28 | Lighthouse at the “Thimble Shoals,†ee
Bird’s-eye View of Terrace Cafions 29| Hampton Roads, Va. . :
_Winnie’s Grotto yuk 31/A modern Style of Lighthouse .
Interpreter and his Family . 32|How Uncle Nat spent his leisure
Marble Cajion 33| Hours .
Gate of Lodore . 35 | Walrus
Running a Rapid . 36| A Vessel turning into an eee
Island Monument Glen Canon 37|A Sleeping-bag .
Marble Cafion 38| Bound for the Ship
Buttes of the Cross in the eo Pid Icebergs on every Side
Wu-near Tur-weap . 39| A Kayak
Indian Village 40] On Snow Shoes
- Camp-Fire at Elfin Water Packer 41 | Jack when spilled out
Standing Rocks on the Brink of Mu-av Life Basket .
Cafion . 42 | Sending help through ine Ne to ne
How the Voyage neh, 43| Nancy Dee
Cape Horn : 43| Life Boat . :
Woodward’s Garaen 45 | A Greenland Whale
The Minute Man . 47 How many Waves there seemed to be
48
49
51
53
55
57
59
60
67
68
69
72
73
75
76
77
80
81
82
83
85
86
88
gt
g2
ia)
8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Ship Ahoy! .
Fujisan, the highest iseanewat in japan ;
The Sun as viewed from the Planets
A View in Tokiyo .
Dreamland
A Style of Dress
On a comfortable Sofa
Street in Yokohama
Daimiyo in Court Dress . ‘
The Way the Mikado careileds in
Japanese Fashion
New England Coasting . el
Reconnoitering for an Earthquake
The round Moon ae:
The Mikado on a Journey in Fare:
pean Fashion
The seven-stroked Home
Nihon Bashi :
The champion Oarsman .
Grandpa’s Clock
Pagan Temple in Japan .
A Sintoo God— the God of Longevity
Japanese Shops peer
Storks .
Rick’s Fans .
Young America pemnde a Japanece
Fence Cea en he eee
Our Japanese Luxuries on a_ hot
August Day j
A good Friend to Japan
Japanese Story-Teller
A Group of Japanese Mothers ond
Children : :
The last of the mesons : ;
Torii at Entrance to Shinto Temple.
Too Late .
A Doll Maker
Japanese Sport .
A Japanese Decorator
A Cemetery . :
A donely Meal for the fopanes: Wome
PAGE.
93
94
95
98
IOL
102
‘
103
104
106:
107
10g
IIo
Ii12
113
118
121
123
124
128
129
131
132
133
134
136
138
139
I41
145
149
152
153
156
158
159
163
One of the old-time Archers
Japanese Woman and Child
Kindness to the Birds
Making Tea .
Won't you take a Cup of Tea ae us?
Having a social Time
Out for a Walk .
Stretched out for the Nien
A Poetess :
An Old Japan See ; ; :
“The Frog Band is out serenading
Somebody â€.
First Chop
Bond of Union .
Japanese Mourners :
Beating the Temple Drum . ;
The Excursion of Tengon by Water .
A Japanese Mischief Maker
A Yankee Kitsune up to his Fun .
Mad because receiving Tails
Kitsune leading astray an innocent
young Creature :
The Sabbath of the Foxes
Japanese Boy
Rain Coat — :
Eastern Straw Goods .
Japanese Birds .
Eleven bare-headed hea Men .
A handsome Object
Bob Gray laughed at her 3
The Landlord’s Daughter nel oanine
on the Koto Seer
Chopsticks for one .
An interesting Time— A Marsan.
Trying to get a Crab off the Rocks
Mark of Respect
Over the fair blue Waters ae Boston
Harbor .
Uncle Nat’s favorite inmicctal
Entrance to Suwo Nada .
A Celebration by the Spider Hamat.
BAGE
» 167
170
171
175
£79
183
185
188
190
191
197
195
200
201
205
206
209
210
211
213
215
217
218
219
221
223
226
227
228
230
233
237
239
240
241
244
245
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Bound for Australia
What for Dinner :
On a Hogshead to see me ae ; ;
The Fishes taking Bumble-bee’s Leav-
ings . :
The Chronometer .
A volcanic Country in Winter
On the Ocean Wave
Telescope at Cambridge *
Telescope at Washington
What the Waves cover
Coral d
“Suthin’s Comin’
Came
A Lagoon
Siah’s Cousin
The famous Planet
Painting the Lion’s Head
A marine Flower Pot .
A Fan handsomer than’ te in
Japan .. -
Meduse or Jelly gh :
Young Jack Bobstay
Old Jack Bobstay .
Rick : :
A Trap for the cayeees ; ee
One Proof that the World is round
A Song of Home
What occasions the Tides
In Cook’s Strait :
Wiser than a whole ier of Owls é
The aspiring Rooster
A Source of Wealth
The Calm of Sunset
Sydney
Ralph leaning over the chil s Rail
“Glorious†to be a Sailor
Trying to carry a plate of Soup
Not so glorious to he a Sailor .
After the Storm
Hobson’s Bay Railway rie
â€_and “ Suthin’
PAGE,
247
249
251
254
256
259
261
262
263
265
266
267
271
272
273
275
276
279
280
281
282
283
284
286
289
293
295
296
298
299
302
393
306
» 308
309
310
311
313
9
i PAGE,
Bourke Street, Melbourne, 1880, look-
ing East ; 310
Public Museum and leben 318
I wonder which way Home is . 319
Group of Aborigines 32)
A Dog ran up and barked at ine 327
Prize Australian Sheep 329
Not much Wool on them . 332
The Keeper of the Sheep fast eo 335
A Cousin to your Boundary Rider 337
Wake up, Rick 341
Bees! Lees! . : 342
All Aboard for cuneee land 343
On the jump . 344
The Black Swan 345
Lyre Bird ; 347
A familiar Creature . . . . . * 348
The Bower Bird 348
Hammock Bird. . . . 5G 349
A big Bird stalking toward hin ; 349
Through the Wilds of Australia . . 352
Trading with the Aborigines + 353
Christmas in Old England ESC
Kangaroo and Baby ass
Christmas in Australia 359
Chinese Artist : 362
On and across a Sea of elt : 363
Chinese Junk : 365
Chinese Rick and the Lamp 366
Out:door Scenes in China ; 369
An old Citizen of the Flowery Dance) 371
Hong Kong Woman saves 372
A young Celestial 373
Image of Confucius 374
Image of Buddha 376
A cheap Umbrella 378
Lord of the twenty-four Ueeiiee 379
Umbrella Procession . 380
Chinese Girls 381
Joe Pigtail 382
Rick’s Dream 384.
\\
\\ \
\
\N
deep.)
200 feet
THE COLORADO. (6
GRAND CANON OF
Pea An@ ars
ALL ABOARD! Wherever one may have a chance to take the cars for
the West, we invite them to meet us in San Francisco and join in this
proposed trip. It will cost but little; nothing for meals, or lodgings, or
extra clothing, for steamboat or railroad fare. The only thing needed is
the possession of the book itself, and a leisure hour under a garret-roof
that the rain is tapping, or by a blazing fire in winter, or out in a swinging
hammock when summer comes.
Are there not boys who like adventure, a fire and a chowder on the
beach, a climb, too, up a sand-hummock, though vicious gusts and pelting rain
may follow? Then all aboard for Sunrise Lands! Are there not some who
are shut upin sick rooms? We feel for you,and this trip is for you also.
We have spoken to the “clerk of the weather,†who has promised sunny
skies. There will be, though, one storm, but not a raindrop shall reach
you. And the girls—do we leave them out? They are all welcome. Plenty
of room for everybody. The Antelope is to be built in part of a new
material— iron and rubber. She will last, and yet she will swell to the
size of any desired passenger-load. All-aboard !
We would here express our indebtedness to the Rev. D. Crosby Greene,
D. D. of the Japan Mission of the American Board, and one of the transla-
tors of the Japanese New Testament, for timely suggestions as to Japanese
customs, and also acknowledge the courtesy of Messrs. E. W. and L. E.
Page of New York city, whose experience in Australia and elsewhere in
the Pacific has been a valuable one. And we want to be able to thank
every one, the young and the old, for going with us. We want all to know
Uncle Nat, Ralph and Rick, Jack Bobstay —but the last bell is sounding!
All aboard! E. A. RB
ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
CHAPTER I.
WHO THEY WERE.
< LL ABOARD for Sunrise Lands! All
aboard!†And wasn’t it the merriest
voice in the world saying this? Then it
must have been Uncle Nat who gave the
above invitation, for he had that kind of
voice. He was calling out to his enterpris-
ing nephews, Ralph Rogers and his brother,
Rick, as they took the cars at a California
station for San Francisco. Ralph and Rick
were Massachusetts boys whose home was in
Concord. Their father had long been dead,
but their mother still kept up the old home. “It’s good blood, what is
in you, boys,†the mother would say. “You know the Concord woman
in Revolutionary times, when Major Pitcairn aad his British troops came
to town. The court house had been set on fire, and it threatened to |
burn her house. She interceded with the major, her water pails in her
hands, and got him to put the fire out. She belonged to our family
Blood tells, boys. Don’t forget.â€
“No, mother, but blood won’t put out fires. There has got to
13
14 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
be a man behind it, and mind makes the man here in America,â€
said Ralph, “one day, threatening to swell to the size of a Fourth of
July speech.
“ But it is in’em, the blood after all,’ the mother said to herself.
“Their ancestors fought at Concord Bridge.â€
Ralph was about fourteen, and Rick three years and a half younger.
Rick was just the sort of boy to get into a scrape, enthusiastic and
impulsive, and Ralph who was a bit cooler, would sometimes prove to
be the very boy to get Rick out of a scrape. Rick had a face for-
CONCORD BRIDGE.
ever on the smile, his blue eyes laughing, and his mouth also, except
—look out for such moments! When Rick looked sober, and talk-
ing excitedly, said, “See—see, R—Ralph! Look-er here! Couldn’t
you and Iâ€â€â€”his mother did not need to hear the rest.
“Oh, dear, what is Rick up to now?†she would exclaim.
Rick’s soberness meant that the mischievous thought laughing out
of his eyes and mouth, had shaped itself into a plan, and would
si
NNWN
ny
i i WAY
AAAS
and \
WHO THEY WERE. “17
soon be heard from. Ralph’s face was more quiet and subdued,
and his eyes were of a softer hazel, but there was the same kind of
family-smile— their father had it before them—making its sunny
home in the corners of both his eyes and mouth. They were gen-
erous, big-hearted boys, though inheriting from our common father,
Adam, a good share of human infirmities, liking fun and their own
way more than was always convenient for their mother.
“Oh, dear,†she would sometimes say, “I don’t know what Rick is
coming to, and there is Ralph who is more steady, but he surprises
me also, now and then. But there, I mean to do the best I can,
and ask God to do the rest.†In all this she was very sensible.
An unwelcome guest, the scarlet fever, came into the house one
day, and when it had gone out again, it spitefully left Ralph and
Rick very “weak and mizable†as old Nurse Fennel said. Rick’s
round face, whose eyes and mouth were the hiding places of con-
stant and roguish smiles, looked quite narrow and sad, while Ralph
-stepped feebly as if his next request would be for a crutch.
“ Yes, mizable, jest mizable
them boys are, and you jest
need, Miss Rogers, to give
them a change of hair. A
change of hair is what will
fix ’em,†triumphanily said
' Nurse Fennel. She had
thought this out one day while
busily knitting, at the same
time offering to her tame
squirrel a home in her pocket.
She had lived in England in
her earlier days, afterward coming to Yankee-land. Consequently, the
NURSE FENNEL AT HOME,
18 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
peculiarities of dialect of the old and the new country had fastened
themselves upon her like the barnacles encrusting the piers of an old
wharf. “A change of what?†asked Mrs. Rogers, fancying that the
old lady wanted the boys’ locks to be removed. “Oh, I see now! But
they take the air and walk out every day.â€
“T mean a journey, marm.â€
“A journey?†thought Mrs. Rogers. “Where can it be?â€
There happened along, that very week, Uncle Nat Stevens. God
bless the Uncle Nats with which he has sprinkled the world like
plums in a pudding. This Uncle Nat was a man past forty, and a
sea-captain. He had a stout body and a big head, a rosy face, brown
eyes and a brown moustache to match them. He had much energy
of manner, and he was a thorough seaman. He had helped himself and
gone up rapidly from post to post, but he was ready to help others,
and an old sailor said, “the cap’n was a regular chicken at heart if any
one might be swamped in a rough sea and need help,†for his heart
matched in size his head.
The day after his arrival in Concord, the captain and Mrs. Rogers were .
talking about family-matters. “The boys are pretty well, but they do
need a change,†affirmed Mrs. Rogers.
“Hillen Maria,†the captain replied in his bea rapid way, “you say
your lambs need a change, and I don’t wonder, for they look thin as a
potato-skin. Now see! You know I am said to be one of those folks
always along just in time to put their foot into everything.â€
So he was, but it was a most excellent foot he brought with him.
“Now, let me tell you what kind of a cruise I shall be up to this
year. I am going to San Francisco, and there taking steamer, shall
run over to Japan. At a Japanese port, I expect to find my old |
ship, the Antelope. She has been in other hands the past year, but
when she reaches Japan, the owners wish to make a change, and
WHO THEY WERE. 19
want me to take her again.
Then I slip down through the
Pacific to New Zealand, across
the water to Australia, then up
to Hong Kong, and afterwards
I may go to India and Kgypt,
through the Mediterranean, home.
Look here, Ellen Maria!†Ellen
Maria looked.
“Now I am going to make a proposition,
and that is, to let me take your two boys
with me.â€
Ellen Maria’s eyes went up and her hands
aa aE went down. “Massy!†she ejaculated.
“JT am in earnest, sister.
thing, for they are all pe-
tered out. They have lost
their vitality, or whatever
you call it. What a dif
ference between to-day and
the last time I visited you!
They are quiet as lambs
now, and sol called them
that. There, the last time
I was here, I remember one
of them got caught in an
apple tree back of your
sitting-room window. It
was hardly a case of inani-
mate suspension, but the
You must see that your boys need some-
THE BARREL ACT.
20 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
very reverse of it. The time before, when I was at home, one of them
tumbled into a barrel, and two of his young friends came to the
rescue and fished him out. To-day, their vitality seems all gone.
Now you let me have those boys and I will take the best care of them
while away, and bring them back to you safe and sound. Won't they
pick up while gone, and won’t they learn a lot also!â€
GRANDPA ROGERS’ HOME IN SUMMER.
“That is splendid in you, Nat, but how can I spare them? Don’t
whisper a word to them.â€
Those enterprising boys, “quiet as lambs,†got hold of the plan in less
than an hour, and five minutes after knowing it, presented themselves to
their mother in their best suits, carrying an old leather trunk between
WHO THEY WERE. 21
them, and in each unoccupied hand a travelling-bag, saying they wanted
to bid mother good-bye before starting to find the sunrise!
That settled the matter, and in a few days, it was decided that
they might accompany Uncle Nat on his trip.
“We must go to grandpa’s first,†said Rick.
Dear old grandpa! Like a stream coming down from a mountain-
top and watering many fields, is the influence of loving grandparents
over the generations below them. Grandpa Rogers lived in a house
approached by one of the prettiest, and most leafy walks of summer.
The trees were bare now, but the home itself was lke an old oak
covered with the foliage of many tender and beautiful associations.
When grandpa had been visited, Uncle Nat and his nephews left
New England.
The trip to California was made, and a visit also to some California
friends, the Peters. The Peters were sorry to have their Hastern
visitors leave, and the boys’ departure was especially regretted by a
colored youth on the premises, Josiah, or Siah, as he was generally
called. Siah was a stout, black boy caught up by the wave of some
colored exodus from the South, and carried West by it. He had no
father or mother, but had left an old aunty behind who sent after
him the prayers she could not personally follow. She sent also her
most dearly prized earthly treasure, a little pocket Bible. Asking
her minister to pick out passages appropriate to a young person,
she then drew with her own hand a big pencil-mark about them.
They were admonitions after this style: “My son, if sinners entice thee,
consent thou not.â€
As Siah could not read, he did not know just what precious stones
might be in these caskets, but their nature in general, he understood,
that it was “something bery good fur young folks,’ and it had its
influence. Certain stains, too, he knew were aunty’s tear-marks, and
22 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
this touched him. Aunty’s Bible and a certain amount of self-respect
had kept Siah, amid all his migrations, from that carelessness and
coarseness so incident to such a life. He was at work now on the
farm of Mr. Peters, Uncle Nat’s host, and he and the Rogers boys
“were excellent friends.
“J wish I could go wid ye,†said Siah. “Pears to me as if I must.â€
There was no way opening itself to him, and to Siah’s great re-
gret, he was not able to jom in this “hunt fur de sunrise,†as he
called it. He followed them though as far as the door of the train
that was to bear them away, and when the engine began to sneeze
and grunt, he joined in the start, and grinning, raced as far as he
could, beside the track. Ralph and Rick turned to look at him once
more, and they caught a glimpse of his face, the smile gone, his big,
mournful eyes watching the vanishing train.
“There, boys, we are off at last,†said Uncle Nat, “and we shall
be in Oakland in three hours. San Francisco is not far from the
sea on a bay, and about half a dozen miles across the bay from San
Francisco, is Oakland. We get out at the latter place and are ferried
across the bay to San Francisco.â€
It was evening when they took the ferry-boat for San Francisco.
All about them stretched the waters of the bay, one mass of black- _
ness, but before them flashed the lights of San Francisco, multi-
plying as they neared the city, brightenmg and sharpening, till they
seemed like the many camp-fires of an army resting on the slope
of a hill. .
CHAPTER Il.
WESTERN FREAKS.
OME one was making a
sound like a locomotive
whistle.
“Oh-h-h-h! Isn't that
steep? That’s like them.â€
It was Rick. Hs was look-
ing at a book of pictures lymg
on a table in the parlor of the
San Francisco hotel where Uncle
Nat was stopping. When he
said, “That’s like them,†he
meant pictures of cafions, a fea-
+
‘ture of scenery the boys saw
Ae in California.
“Do you want me to tell you about the pictures? I have been all
through that country.â€
This interrupting voice was a very pleasant one, and it sounded
directly above Rick’s head. He looked up and saw a man’s face over
him.
“Oh —is—this your book?†asked Rick.
“Qh that is all right. Now if you would like to hear about those pic-
tures you get that boy over there in the corner, for I guess he is
your brother, and I will tell you both about them.â€
23
24 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS,
The stranger meant Ralph. |
“Ralph,†said Rick, approaching his brother, “a man is going to
tell you and me about some pictures. It is a country that uncle said
he was sorry-to skip on his way here.â€
“That man?†he asked. “I know him; that man’s name is Greene,
for I saw him write it in the register in the office,†he whispered.
LOWER CANON OF THE KANAB. (3000 feet deep.)
“Yes, and this will illustrate the whole
who is Uncle Nat?â€
subject.
The stranger
was very social.
“T want to tell
youabout the won-
derful cafions we
have in the far
West. Did you
ever see a cafion?â€
“We saw one
on our way, sir,
and Uncle Nat
promised some
time to tell us the
reason for it,†re-
marked Ralph. “ It
was here in Cali-
fornia among the
mountains, and
Uncle Nat has
seen big, big ones
in the Yosemite
Valley.â€
And Uncle Nat,
THE GRAND CANON, LOOKING WEST FROM TORO WEAP,.
“He is here, and at
of the group.
The stranger turned
and levelled a pair of
big eyeglasses at the
late arrival.
“Nat Stevens!â€
“« Bill Greene!â€
“Where did you
come from?â€
“‘ And where did you
come from?â€
“Boys, this is Mr.
Greene, with whom I
used to go to school
years ago.â€
“Didn't I say it was
Greene?†whispered
Ralph in a tone of tri-
umph.
When the two old
school-mates had ex-
pressed their mutual
pleasure at the meet-
ing, and explained to
one another their
courses of travel, Mr.
WESTERN FREAKS. 27
your service, sir,†said some one in the rear
~ F
GUNNISON’S BUTTE AT THE FOOT OF GRAY CANON, (2700 feet high.)
Greene resumed his talk which had been so pleasantly inter-
rupted.
“TI was going to tell the boys what caused the cafions. some of which
28
ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
CLIMBING THE
GRAND CANON.
you have seen. Hither one of you
know, boys?â€
“A drop of water,’ promptly
replied Ralph.
“Pooh!†exclaimed Rick.
“But, Rick, your brother is
nearer right than you would think
for. These rocky valleys down
through which rattle the moun-
tain streams, may have been af-
fected by convulsions of the earth’s
surface, but drops of water have
certainly been at work, cutting
and wearing away.
“A stream sweeps from the
mountains down into the plains,
and as it rolls on, it cuts like a
wheel into the earth. By-and-
by, the groove becomes very deep.
The river Colorado has hollowed
out a cafion over a thousand miles
of its way.
“‘ Here is what we term Terrace
Cajions, and you can see the deep
groove back through these steps
or terraces. At the foot of the
first terrace or step, we see the
water on whose surface drift
the boats of travellers of some
kind. In the Grand Caiion,
Ss
eS
—_
AFT
<=>
BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF TERRACE CANONS,
o
ae
WESTERN FREAKS.
see what magnificent amphithea-
tres have been hollowed out in the
rock. The traveller finds traces of
volcanic action, the lava pouring
into the river-bed, and the water
cutting through the lava. It is
no trifling thing to go through
the Grand Cafion, where a fellow
is boxed between these high walls
of the river, and on he must go,
over bad places in the way, where
the water sweeps down and rushes
and whirls. Then you may come
to smooth water, one surface of
glass stretching from shora to
shore save as some long, wind-
ing ripple breaks it. It looks
pretty calm in the Gate of Lo-
dore, does it not?â€
“Oh-h! oh-h!†broke out
Ralph.
His eyes were fixed on a deep
mountain-cut, and he began to
read: ‘“ Winnie’s Grotto, a side
cafion, walls two thousand feet
high.†Not only were the walls
high, but there were profiles cut
out in the outlines of the rocky
walls, faces that scowled at one
another over the deep, gloomy pit,
ad
WINNIE’S GROTTO.
(2000 FEET.)
3t
ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
ana the boys amused themselves by tracing their hard, stern lmeaments.
“One beautiful cafion is Marble Cafion,†‘said Mr. Greene. “At
least two thousand five hundred feet high, are the lofty walls of marble.
INTERPRETER AND HIS FAMILY.
The shades of “marble are varied, and where the water has rubbed and
smoothed them, they are charming. Marble Caiion is sixty-five and
a half miles long, and starting with a height of two hundred feet,
this. is increased to three thousand five hundred feet.â€
MARBLE CANON,
WESTERN FREAKS. 35
GATE OF LODORE,
“See that woman in black!†called out Ralph.
“That is a place,†remarked Mr. Greene, “which is called Islana
Monument, and it is one of the curiously-shaped rocks you will find.
36 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
They way “eke the form of domes, pinnacles, alcoves, sculptured cathe
dral lis.â€
RUNNING A RAPID.
“Tt would take a pretty good climber to go up some of those walls,â€
remarked Uncle Nat.
WESTERN FREAKS. 37
“Yes if he will try, he had better borrow a pair of wings to scale
certain places.â€
Mr. Greene went on to say, “One statement I made, I want to fill
out. I spoke of the action of
water.in the forming of cafions
and referred to other agencies.
There have plainly been the lat-
ter. One day, I noticed in the
Colorado, masses of lava-rock,
some of them low, and yet others
rose up to a height of a hundred
feet and more. After a while, I
came to an old dead. volcano on
the right of a fall in the river.
From the mouth of this volcano,
immense lava-streams had been
discharged into the river, and it
looked as if in all, a mass twelve
or fifteen hundred feet deep had
been poured out. Then the water
cut its way through, and you can
see in some places .a line of
basalt on either side. Here isa
question that might be asked.
In the forming of caiions, why
did not the rivers run round the
mountains rather than through
them? Water when it meets an
ISLAND MONUMENT, GLEN CANON.
obstacle is apt to avoid it, but here the river flows through the mountain.
One might say the water found a split in the mountains and poured
38 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
through the split, but examination shows the water has been cutting
its channel. There is one theory which will stand till the next one
comes along, for science, as the
farmer said of his steer, is ‘an
uneasy crittur.’ We will suppose
the river to be running across
the country, its surface not espec-
ially broken, when one of those
changes may have taken place of
which we have evidence, a wrink-
ling of the surface through ‘the
contracting or shriveling of the
earth†The wrinkle may be along
one but not high enough to turn
the river from its course, which
chafes against this little elevation
and rubs its way through it. What
now if that process goes on, the
‘wrinkle’ rising, but no faster
than the water can cut its way?
At last, you have a mountain-
range going across the country,
and a river flowing in a deep
mountain-cut or cafion. Prof. Pow-
ell says:
“¢The mountains were not
thrust up as peaks, but a great
MARBLE CANON.
block was slowly lifted, and from this the mountains were carved by the
clouds — patient artists, who take what time may be necessary for
their work. We speak of mountains forming clouds about their tops;
WESTERN FREAKS. 3
the clouds have formed the mountains. Lift a district of granite,
or marble, into their region, and they gather about it, and hurl
their storms against it, beating the rocks into sand, and then they
carry them out into the sea, carving out cafions, gulches, and val-
leys, and leaving plateaus and mountains embossed on the surface.
“The action of the elements in this western country is marked.
A butte is a peak or elevation too high to be a hill but too low
for a mountain. We have some fine ones among or near the Colo-
“BUTTES OF THE CROSS IN THE TOOM-PIN WU-NEAR TUR-WEAP.
rado cafions. It is thought that the meeting of two lateral or side-
cafions will account for this, and the water has thus cut out these
buttes with their terraces and towers. Prof. Powell speaks of those
near Labyrinth Cafion, each one ‘so regular and beautiful that you
can hardly cast aside the belief that they are works of Titanic
art.
“¢Tt seems as if a thousand battles had been fought on the plains
40 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
below, and on every field the giant heroes had built a monument, com-
pared with which the pillar on Bunker Hill is but a mile stone. But no
human hand has placed a block in all those wonderful structures. The
rain drops of unreckoned ages have cut them all from the solid rock.â€
“You saw a pretty old river, Mr. Greene,†said Ralph.
“Yes, that I did.â€
“Did you see any Indians?†mquired Ralph.
J.MINTON.
INDIAN VILLAGE.
“Yes, we found it quite handy to have those who could interpret.
for us.
“ Sometimes, journeying alcng, we found arrow-heads, or flint chips, or
Indian trails, and then we might come to an Indian garden. When
WESTERN FREAKS. 41
we had them in our company at our camp-fire one night, they told
us a famous story though a pretty long one.â€
“What was it about?†asked Rick, eagerly.
CAMP-FIRE AT ELFIN WATER POCKET.
“The name was So-kus Wai-un-ats, told by To-mor-ro-un-ti-kai, and
the first word in it was Tum-pwi-nai-ro-gwi-nump.â€
“Oh dear me!†thought Rick. “Guess that will do.â€
The others were laughing.
“Oh I know Bill Greene of old!†said Uncle Nat. “He is joking.â€
But he was not joking.
CHAPTER III.
AT SAN FRANCISCO.
LL his friends knew that
Uncle Nat was an intelli-
gent traveller—who read as
he travelled.
The next day after the ar-
rival in San Francisco, he said
to Ralph and Rick, “I have
bought you some books, and I
want you to read.them. They 7
will tell you about many of |
the places we shall visit on your
journey.â€
“Do you remember, uncle,
about the people coming here
for gold?†asked Ralph. .
“Yes, that began in 1848.
Gold for a long time was known to be here, but what started the
STANDING ROCKS ON THE BRINK OF MU-AV CANON.
great excitement was the finding of a piece of gold when they
were digging for a millrace at Coloma. That was in January,
1848, and people began to gather here that year. It was in 1849,
in the spring, that a big wave of emigration Swept over vur land
towards California. Some went over the plains, and others by the
Isthmus of Panama, and others still by the long route around Cape
42
.
AT SAN FRANCISCO. Ae
Horn. What the Cape Horn route may be, some poor fellows have
found out to their sorrow. The vessel starting out in hope may end
a wreck. The journey over the Isthmus of Panama in those days,
was no agreeable thing,
amid summer-heat, and
the way over the plains
was very tedious. How-
ever, many went to the
Land of Gold.
“T was a boy then,
and I remember how
high the gold fever ran
in my New England town.
A lot went off in an old
whaler called the Ann
Parry. I remember go-
ing down to the wharf to see the party off. All the place swarmed
with spectators, and those on board the whaler seemed thick as bees.
They had a long voyage before them, away round Cape Horn, the old
way, but who cared for that? Iremember one young fellow who had
been a tailor, but
HOW THE VOYAGE BEGINS.
he concluded to
change the first let-
ter of his occupa-
tion, and become
sailor. He started
to go up the shrouds,
and for a while thi
2 : tyro did very well.
CAPE HORN. But he showed that
44 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
he was a bungler, for his foot slippéd. Fortunately he did not tum-
ble. The people saw it, and laughed at the man who if a Jack Tar,
was plainly just out of the tar-pot. Well, a great many came here to
California from every quarter, and California became a famous place.
A big, fine city has grown up here.†|
Frequent excursions were made by Uncle Nat and his nephews from
their hotel. They visited the Presidio, Seal Rock, Woodward’s Garden,
Lone Mountain Cemetery, Golden Gate Park, and climbed the ao
hills that wall off the city from the Pacific.
“O uncle, take us to the Chinese quarter!†besought Ralph.
“Chinese quarter, Ralph? All right, I will,’ and Uncle Nat took
them the very day he was asked. They saw the little shops where
the butcher sells his pork cut in such queer pieces, displaying also
his chicken and fish, where the tea dealer peddles his choice herb, and
the clothier his funny tunics or blouses.
“ And—what is that?†asked Rick. “My!â€
“That’s a joss-house,†said Uncle Nat.
“ Joss-house? What do they call it that for?â€
“The Portuguese for God is deos, and De imperfect pronunciavion OnLy
this by the Chinese gives the word joss.â€
They looked inside. It was some festival-day, for many people were
there. On the walls of the house were queer decorations, and near the
door, was a big bell that a Chinaman struck. There were ugly images
to represent the good and the evil powers, also the man cast out of
heaven, and before these, sandal-wood tapers were burning.
“The Chinese,†explained Uncle Nat, “believe in two powers, good
and bad. The good, they reason, will be friendly any way. It is the
‘bad that will harm them, and must receive -special attention and be
propitiated. Consequently they try to keep the latter quiet and well- .
disposed. Knowing how powerful is the influence of a good dinner,
WOODWARD’S GARDENS, CALIFORNIA.
AT SAN FRANCISCO. 47
they offer food of various kinds, and this explains the dishes you will
see in a joss-house. Then they have a certain course of life which
they feel they must lead, that they may secure peace hereafter, provided
the evil one does not inter-
fere. But that they may not
be expelled from the Chinese
heaven hereafter, they keep
in the joss-house the image of
the man that was cast out of
heaven, as a reminder.â€
After the visit to the joss-
house, Uncle Nat stepped into
a store to make a purchase,
leaving Rick and Ralph on the
sidewalk. With their custom-
ary impulsiveness, they decided
it could do no harm to go
ahead a little way, and having
inspected the neighborhood they
could then return to Uncle
Nat.
“What's that?†asked
Ralph, as they turned a corner.
In the street was a young Chi-
naman in a blue tunic and
baggy blue trousers. He was
carrying a basket that must
have contained a heavy article,
for he often shifted the basket
from hand to hand as if it hurt
THE MINUTE MAN-
48 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISK LANDS.
him. He passed a group of street urchins, who evidently began at once
to plot mischief. Soon a boy ran up to him, and giving his tunic or
blouse an energetic pull, rushed to the other side of the street. When the
young man turned to face his aggressor, a second boy from an opposite
quarter rushed up unnoticed and gave a second fierce pull. Like a vane
shifting about on a very squally day, and
obeying the new current that impels it, the
Chinaman turned ‘to notice this new invasion.
But then a third
side of the first
assailant came up on the
attack, pulling and jostling
—a fourth arrived and a
fifth even —the young
man struggling in their
midst like a hen with a
parcel of hawks. He did
not dare put down his
basket even for a moment,
aware that the harpies
would have immediately
clutched it, and his reten-
tion of his property made.
resistance all the more diffi-
THE GOOD WOMAN,
cult. Ralph and Rick were
?
boys living in a town that had a statue of the “ Minute man†of revolution-
ary daysready at a moment’s notice to fly to arms and resist Britain’s
overshadowing power, and they were not going to see the weaker side
in a fight—be it Chinaman or freedman— crowded under foot.
“Come on, Rick!†shouted Ralph.
Rick generally went off at a bound any way, but if he saw Ralph
ahead, he would spring all the quicker. And away he went after
HOW THE VOYAGE MAY END. 49
AT SAN FRANCISCO. 5r
Ralph, rushing and shouting. Ralph grabbed a boy who had seized
the basket, and repeating an old trick which he had practised on
almost every one at home till they were about crazy, he neatly inserted
his foot between the boy’s legs and tripped him up. There was now
a fresh uproar. Round a street corner came a reinforcement of three
street Arabs longing for an opportunity to stretch their idle muscles.
Matters threatened to be come very seri-
ous for Ralph and Rick. A Gi Suddenly, Un-
cle Nat appeared. His big, brawny form
rose above the assailants
threateningly, as a broom
- over a cloud of mosquitoes.
“Away with ye,’ he
shouted, seizing a couple of
boys by the collar at once.
Was it a giant-torpedo ex-
ploding in their midst? It
certainly had the effect of
one. The hornet swarm
broke up immediately, leaving the young
Chinaman alone with his defenders.
“Look here, boys!†said Uncle Nat to
his enterprising nephews. “ Don’t stray off
so. Just wait for me and then when we see
any of the enemy about, we will charge on
them all together and rout them gloriously. g
There goes Joe Pigtail!†JOE.
“Is that his name?†asked Rick, looking wonderingly at the boy.
“No, Rick, but that will identify him to us. What grateful bows
he gave us! Let’s follow him.â€
52 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
When the newly named Joe Pigtail saw that they were following him,
he stopped and waited for them.
“We wanted to look about Chinatown,†said Uncle Nat to Joe.
“ Chinee-town ? Goodee. Me showee,†and he kindly led them to
quarters they had not seen and to other queer shops, finally stopping:
before a house that had a laundry look.
“ Me— me!†he said, intimating that he stopped there, and beckon-
ing them in.
In the outer room. there were three men busy with laundry-work,
and through an open door a fourth could be seen occupied with some
kind of cooking in his shadowy cubby-hole. In the outer room, every- -
thing was very plain, and though there was an abundance of chances
to stand up, there was none to sit down unless one literally took the
floor. A side door into a yard had been swung back and looking across
this yard the boys could see into the next house where a middle-aged
American lady was seated beside a Chinese boy teaching him out of a
book. |
“She goodee woman —like you!†said Joe to Uncle Nat in compli-
mentary tones.
“Uncle Nat ain’t a woman,†whispered Rick to Ralph.
When they left the place, turning to look back, they saw Joe stand-
ing by a laundry table and gazing thoughtfully upon the retreating
party,
CHAPTER IV.
AT SEA.
HE City of
Tokio, a
vessel belonging
to the Pacific
Mail Steamship
Co., was lying at
her wharf. Men
were hurrying
about, giving or
obeying orders.
The last trunks
Se aE were going on
SUNSET AT GOLDEN GATE AND FORT POINT. :
board.
People
were saying good-bye, while the fizz of escaping steam that could be
heard, plainly said, that the leviathan was impatient to be off. Every-
thing was ready at last. Every fastening was released and one Sat-
urday in early spring the steamship gracefully, majestically moved
away.
© Hurrah!†shouted Rick enthusiastically, as he stood among the
passengers watching every movement.
“ Hurrah!†shouted Ralph.
“ Hurrah!†responded Uncle Nat and the other passengers, while
¢ group of enthusiastic boys on shore joined in three ringing cheers.
53
54 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISK LANDS.
In a few moments the pilgrims for the Sunrise were moving rapidly
down the bay.
“There are some sailing craft ahead, boys. They look slow, don’t
they, boys, old-fashioned and behimd the times, beside this craft. This
is the nineteenth century,’ observed Uncle Nat.
Just then the City of Tokio blew her whistle and she seemed to
shriek, “ Yes, ’'m the nimeteenth century and I'll beat and cross the
Pacific, see if I don’t.†She said this in one long breath, gasped and
said no more.
“There is the Golden Gate!†exclaimed Uncle Nat. “What a
pretty sight!â€
Between two ridges of land stretched the waters of the Golden
Gate, and outside was the broad and shining sea.
“This is the entrance to the bay of San Francisco, boys; and there
is the Pacific we must cross. Can’t you say the lines you repeated
at the hotel the other night?â€
Ralph was proud of his accurate memory, and he recited the lines
he had recently seen among Bret Harte’s poems:
“Serene, indifferent of Fate
Thou sittest at the Western Gate.
Upon thy heights so lately won,
Still’ slant the banners of the sun,
Thou seest the white seas strike their tents,
O warder of two continents?
And scornful of the peace that flies
Thy angry winds and sullen skies,
Thou drawest all things small or great,
To thee, beside the Western Gate.â€
The boys were so much interested in their new surroundings that
THE CITY OF TOKIO. 55
AT SEA. 57
they were sorry to see the sun sinking toward the western rim of the sea.
“T would
like,†said
Ralph, “to
have that sun
catch on some
peg in the
clouds, and
hold on
awhile. Ok,
Uncle Nat,
didn’t you
once say you:
saw the sun
keep up above
the sea and
not go down
at night ?â€
“ Yes, and
it was so
“AGALILVI NUYFHLUON HOIH NI
strange to
have the
watch say
eight, nine,
ten, eleven,
twelveo’clock
at night, and
stil see the
sun shining,
shining in the w
58 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
itude to accomplish the feat. In any Arctic country, it must be strange
to a person from the Southern land to see the sun day after day wheel
round the heavens. In Greenland, the sun is always above the horizon
in June and July, and then there are days where his absence is only
long enough to give him a little dip below the horizon and up he comes
again. While it is summer in Greenland, and that season exceeds four
months only in few places, vegetation makes great advances.â€
When night came, they were out upon the bosom. of the Pacific.
The big steamer steadily made its way over the lonely, darkening waters.
The stars brought forward their tapers one by one and lighted up the
windows of the sky. The wind came in chilly breaths. The dull,
heavy swash of the waters about the vessel could be heard. Our three
pilgrims were fairly afloat, gomg west as Uncle Nat said, to find the
east; moving toward the sunset to search out the sunrise lands.
The boys saw the moon rise above the water.
“Uncle Nat,†asked Rick, “why are there so many moons, a family
of moons with different faces, and not one thing looking the same all
the time?â€
“Come into my state-room.â€
In the state-room, Uncle Nat took a book out of his trunk and
showed the boys a picture of the sun, the earth, and also the moon at
different points in its journey about the earth.
“There in that outside circle is the moon as it appears to the sun,
now showing a bright surface. But in the inner circle is the moon
at different points as it appears to the earth. Take when the moon is
between the earth and the sun, and we have the moon’s dark side
turned toward us, or we get no moon at all. But a little farther
along, we catch a bit of the moon’s bright side like a crescent, and fayr-
ther along —†)
~ “Oh, I see!†choad Rick. “It is easy enough now, after you
AT SEA. | 89
know. And when the moon is round on the side opposite where you
started, we get the whole of the bright side, cr it is fullmoon. Goodie,
goodie!â€
“You have got
it now, Rick,â€
said Uncle Nat,
smiling at his
nephew’s enthu-
slasm.
“Ralph, do you
understand ?â€
Ralph nodded
his head but
looked glum ; “T
—I—don’t feel
right — here,â€â€™
and he laid his
hand on his
OF THE
stomach.
“ Ah, 2¢ is com-
ing on, I see.
Well, I will put
you right to bed,
and fix you all
nice.â€
The mysteri-
ous “it†soon
made Rick put
his hand to his stomach. and Uncle Nat had his hands
GHAPTER V.
DISCOVERIES.
EOPLE on board a
_ steamer easily be-
come acquainted, and
Ralph and Rick were
disposed to know
everybody. Recover-
ing from their “ touch
of seasickness,†as Un-
cle Nat termed it (“a
touch heavy enough
to knock a feller over,†Rick thought) they were continually mak-
ing exploring expeditions. They would take a peep at the engineer, then
look at the furnaces, then at the cook’s quarters, finally mounting to
the saloon. After a while, back they would go, nodding once more
at the engineer, and then fetching up near the furnaces. The third
afternoon out, Ralph had circumnavigated the steamer several times,
and finally stopped 40 watch the furnaces. Only one person seemed
to be at work there, and he was shoveling up the big lumps of
coal preparatory to a feeding of the red, angry furnace-mouths.
The shoveling ceased, and now from a dusty corner, Ralph heard a
series of noises, a rat squealing, a cat mewing as if hungry for the rat,
and then a dog growling as if hungry for cat and rat both. At the
same time, what did he see? A lump of coal that had flashing
60
DISCOVERIES. 61
eyes, open mouth and white teeth? There were several appearances
and disappearances of this kind, and Ralph thought that it went
ahead of any “magic exhibition†that the Rogers brothers had
ever given in the old barn at Concord. “It is gone!†said Ralph.
“No, there it is!†Agam, he saw the face, and heard a lion
roaring as if in full pursuit of dog, cat and rat. Ralph had seen and
heard enough in this magic-haunted spot and turned to leave it, when
a familiar and pleasant voice said, “Chile, don’t you know me?â€
“Siah!†exclaimed Ralph. “It’s Siah! It’s Siah!†he shouted.
It was indeed the rollicking, laughing Siah who came out of the
shadows in the corner, at the same time that he took down his coal-shovel
screening his face. He came forward with a funny air of self-importance
as if he were the ruler of Soudan showing himself to his subjects.
“Don’t you see it is your ole frien’, Siah?â€
“Yes, but how did you get here?†asked Ralph.
“Well, I couldn’t get here without doin’ some walkin’, sartin
sure. So much to begin wid. You see after you left it was awful
lonesome roun’ de place, an’ I jes’ axed Massa Peters ef he couldn’
spare me.. An’ he said, he hated to hab me fur to go, but ef I
couldn’ be contented, I might go. So I trabeled on—â€
“Not all the way on foot?â€
Yes, the ardent Siah had footed it to San Francisco.
“J felt like takin’ a-sea-viyage wid my frien’s, I tole de boss
—dat’s Massa Peters—an’ trab’lin’ here, J foun’ out de steamer
dat was gwine, an’ I knew from what you said which one it was,
an’ I jes’ hired out as one ob de han’s. You know I want fur
to see de worl’, an’ ef I do I must begin early. Den it gibs me
a chance to see you and your libely bruder.â€
And so Siah was following his friends to Japan. What he
would do when arriving there, he had not considered.
62 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Dat question,†he told Ralph, “am too many days off. I might
be dead “fore den, an’ de question not hab any importance. So I
won't raise de question till I get dar.â€
“It’s Siah! Siah! It’s Si—ah, Rick!†shouted Ralph.
A hurried sound of feet was heard in a moment, and two men
came rushing up.
“‘ Where, where?†they asked.
“Where is what?†said Ralph.
“Fi—re? Quick!â€
“ Oh it’s Si—ah, I said.â€
“Nonsense! The next time you holler, take your dinner out of
your mouth,’ and the men retreated in disgust.
“Et he had some dinner in his mouth, he’d be more pleasant.
Guess he’s hungry,†said Siah.
Rick now appeared, and together he and Ralph ea over their
treasure found once more.
“Uncle Nat,†said Ralph, “Siah told me a lot about the fire-
room and the fires there, and it was real interesting.â€
“Did he tell you anything so interesting as the kindling of fires
when you have nothing to light them with?â€
“Nothing to light them with, Uncle!†exclaimed Rick. “That
is not very likely.â€
“The savages do it though. Capt. Cook found a drilling process
common among the Australians, where they took a stick of dry,
soft wood, and setting it on another piece, twirled it between their
hands, the friction producing fire in less than two minutes. The
Sandwich Island method is the same in principle, and also that
among the Gauchos of Buenos Ayres, though the last place one
end of the rubbing-stick against the breast as a carpenter would
his bit. The Esquimaux, an old navigator said, pointed his stick
ate Hit,
Swiss pump-drill,
Method in use among the Gauchos of
Buenos Ayres,
Sandwich Island Method. Blunt stick
run back and forth in groove.
FUNNY WAYS OF MAKING A FIRE,
63
DISCOVERIES. 65
' with stone, and twirled by means of a strip of leather, in this
way boring into stone even. In Switzerland, an apparatus has been
used called the ‘Pump-drill,’ the hand bringing a cross-piece down
that unwinds a cord and sends the spindle round. When the hand
is lifted, the cord is rewound and so on. The Troquois used a sina-
ilar instrument.â€
When Siah was told of this, he said, “Smart folks in dis world,
honey.â€
It was Rick’s turn to make a discovery the next day. He had
strayed among the Chinese passengers on board, and some of these
were moving a quantity of heavy freight in that part of the
Steamer.-
“A —hoo—hoo!†shouted a celestial to Rick who was wn
pleasantly near a rolling barrel. Rick did not hear. His mouth
open, a smile sweeping over his face and wrinkling it, he stood
watching one of the Chinese who was ticklmg the ear of a sleeping
country-man with a chip. The barrel was quite near the unconscious
Rick when a Chinaman rushed forward and seizing him drew him
aside. Then Rick’s friend stood grinning and bowing as if an old
acquaintance.
“Why, Joe Pigtail!†said Rick. “You here?â€
“Me — ee here,†answered Joe. “You go—ee over to my
‘coun — tree?â€
No; dam going to Japan.â€
. “Me see you.â€
“Yes, I hope so, and I will tell my brother and ‘Uncle Nat.â€
Siah and Joe Pigtail on board! How the attractions of steamship-
life were multiplying! Now if they could make the acquaintance of
a sailor and get him to ‘spin some yarns,†happiness for the Rogers
brethers would be complete. But-where could they find “him?†They
66 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
investigated the merits of several candidates. One though was pro-
nounced “dirty.†A second had a “squeaky voice,’ an infirmity not
generally favorable to yarn-tellng. “Crosser than pison,†was the
comment on a third. The fifth day out, Rick said mysteriously to Ralph,
“JT have found him; Come!†Rick led Ralph away and pointed out a
grizzled via tar who was coiling up a rope, his back tured to the boys.
“ Ain’t he chuncky?†whispered Rick.
?
Suddenly, the “chuncky†sailor tuned. He had a big head, or as
Ralph told Rick, “He spread a good deal of sail in his face.†The
lower part of his face was fringed with a gray beard, and he carried at
the neck a black kerchief, with immense ends. Under the heavy eye-
brows of gray, there were two kindly lights that twinkled. “Blue
lights,†Ralph called them, “like those that a feller in trouble on the
water at night would be glad to see. Something like a lighthouse.â€
“ Hullo, boson!†the sailor sang out to Rick. “ You here again?â€
This title, “boson,†tickled Rick.
' “Ves, sir; and here’s my brother Ralph.â€
Ralph held out his hand; “‘ How do you do, Mr. †he hesitated,
not knowing what to call this big lump of salt pork.
“ Bobstay! Jack Bobstay, that’s my name for young folks, and Jack
is glad to see you.â€
“ And what is it for old folks?†asked Rick. :
“ Ah, no matter about them. In this case they are not to be taken
into account. What my name may be, don’t make the difference of a
button on a mermaid’s best go-to-meeting gown. Jack Bobstay at your
service!â€
Here the old sailor made a low bow.
Ralph and Rick were delighted with Jack Bobstay, and they eagerly
introduced him to Uncle Nat, Siah and Joe Pigtail. The Rogers brothers
felt that their circle of acquaintance was widening.
CHAPTER VI.
LIGHTHOUSES.
Bue said Uncle Nat, after
supper one evening, “if you
will come into my state-room at
once, I will show you some pict-
ures of lighthouses, and tell you
all I know upon the subject.â€
The invitation was accepted
eagerly, and there were two pair
of bright, searching eyes turned
toward the pictures. that Uncle
Nat pointed out.
‘Tn the first place, where rocks
or shoal water may be, we have
beacons or buoys if they will an-
swer. We make beacons of stone
and then again of wood or iron.
A BELL BOAT.
A very common kind of bouy is
simply a spar anchored at one end, and that we calla spar-buoy. Buoys
may be of iron, and-in that case are made hollow and will float. I know
of dangerous rocks off Boston Harbor called the Graves, and a horn-buoy
has been put there. The sea, when uneasy and moving, forces the air
into this horn, and what a solemn groan it has! Then a bell-boat may
be used, and the motion of the waves will keep the bell dismally sound-
67
68 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
ing. We must have something in such places, for the risks are great
and a wreck is an ugly sight for the sailor.
FIRST CLASS LIGHTSHIP WITH STEAM FOG WHISILE.
‘Sometimes a lightship is used as in this picture. Such a vessel must
be strongly built, one too that will swing easily at anchor, and be in
readiness to meet any emergencies arising from her perilous position.
You can see the chain-cable that moors this one, and she has a steam
fog-whistle with which she keeps piping away in the mist. The light
‘she shows at night is carried at the mast-head. You notice the uneasy
throw of the waters around her, showing that shoal sea is close at hand.
Off in the distance is a steamer, and a sailor with a spy glass is trying
to make her out. Now we come to the lighthouse, and this picture is
one on Mt. Desert. It is of the ordinary kind, a tower built on a
MT. DESERT LIGHTHOUSE, 69
fre Rees
f ees
ae
a
ads
2
Bie
irae
feats
=
LIGHTHOUSES. a1
good strong foundation, and it is doing excellent service with its
warning beams. Near by, tossing in the angry “waters, is a fragment
of a mast, and the moonlight shows a vessel away off, that looks as
if in a ticklish position. A structure like this is common, but here
is one that is simply a house on a solid base of stone-work, and in
the cupola of the house is the lantern. It is a Long Island Sound
light. Rather a lonesome home that would be for you, boys.
FOURTH ORDER LIGHTHOUSE, AT PENFIELD L. 1. SOUND.
«
ened by braces. This is a picture of the lightaouse at Thimble
Shoal, Hampton Roads, Ya. On one side, there is a ladder de-
72 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
scending to the sea, and on the other, they hoist and lower their
boats. In Boston Harbor is a light that makes you think of this,
called Bug Light. At a distance, you fancy it is a beetle crawling
over the water toward you. I can testify that this beetle has bright.
eyes on dark nights.
“The modern style—many-legged or centipede style as I call it,
LIGHTHOUSE AT “THE THIMBLE SHOAL,’? HAMPTON ROADS, VA.
will do unless the sweep of the water is like that at Minot’s Ledge,
near Boston, and then they had better substitute something else.
Minot’s Ledge is a few miles from the entrance of Boston Harbor,
an ugly stretch of ledge out into the sea. It is a bad place in
LIGHTHOUSES.
a gale, and the waves
thrust up their ragged
white arms as if to tear
the lighthouse down.
When I was a boy, a
sli
Te
et OuoCUOUOUN TIER
structure was put up that
rested on piles of iron, and
it did very well for a time
but a fearful storm came
up that raged terribly
along the New England
coast. I remember I went
epee
from school, my green
satchel in my hand, down
to the old wharves at
home to see the great
tide in that storm. I
never saw such _ tides
there, before nor since.
_I remember they rose up
and swept clear over
wharves supposed _to be
high enough out of water
always. In that storm,
the fancy piece of pipe-
stem on Minot’s Ledge
went over, the iron piles
snapping like dry pine
twigs. The waves were
so strong that they rolled
A MODERN STYLE OF LIGHTHOUSE,
74 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
ashore _stone weighing one or two tons. The keepers, poor fellows,
went with the wreck. When Minot’s Ledge was occupied again, they
gave up the pipe-stem style and built of stone, tier upon tier, solid
and true. As you can only work upon the ledge at a certain stage
of the tide, it took several seasons to prepare the foundation and lay
a few courses of granite. But it was finished at last, and a splendid
pile of granite it is.†;
“Uncle, what is it they light up the lantern with?â€
“Do you mean, Rick, how they do it? Let me go back some way.
There is at the mouth of the river Garonne in France, a lighthouse
nigh three hundred years old, and it is a fine structure. For a light,
at first they burnt pieces of oak in a chauffer or small furnace. That
was a common mode, and long practised. It seemed a wonderful ad-
vance, when over this little bonfire up in the lighthouse tower, a
rough reflector in the shape of an inverted cone was suspended and
prevented the upward passage of the light. In 1760, Smeaton, the
famous engineer of the LHddystone lighthouse, used wax candles.
In 1789, in the old Garonne lighthouse, a Frenchman, Lenoir, put
mirrors or reflectors near Argand lamps introduced into the lantern.
The Argand lamp has a circular wick and chimney. By-and-by,
in the present century, came Fresnel who made extensive improve-
ments, introducing what is called the lens principle. A lens is any
substance that will let the light through and refract or bend it.
For instance, when a piece of glass is convex as we say, or when’
it bulges out, that will so bend the image of an object as to enlarge
it. In telescopes and microscopes, we take advantage of this mag-
nifying principle, and the big lens in the lighthouse tower is so
constructed that the light of a lamp comparatively small is mag-
nified into the shining of a mammoth ball of fire, till it seems
like a new-risen sun above the dark surface of the sea. I have
LIGHTHOUSES. 75
gone by Minot’s Light in the night, and how thankful I have been
for that big torch away out in the dangerous sea.â€
“ What a lot Uncle Nat knows!†said Rick to Ralph when they
were by themselves. “ Yes, said Ralph with a wise air, “and I will
tell you how it happened. Mother says when Uncle Nat went to sea,
he would spend his leisure time reading. That is the way boys ought
to do,†he added, exercising an older brother’s privilege and annexing a
suggestion intended for the benefit of the careless and ignorant youth,
Rick. “That is the way to rise in this world.â€
==
————
HOW UNCLE NAT SPENT HIS LEISURE HOURS.
CHAPTER VII.
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARNS.
OW would you like to have
me unwind a skein of yarn?â€
asked Jack Bobstay one day, his
“blue lights†twinkling.
“ A story?†replied Ralph.
Jack nodded his head.
“QO just let me get Rick and see
if Siah can’t come too,†pleaded
Ralph.
WALRUS. There was an abundance of help
in the care of the furnaces, and Siah was granted a brief fur-
lough. Rick was always ready for any promising digression.
In a short time Ralph and Rick were curled up inside a big
coil of vope, making two round lumps, like two pumpkins in a
basket. :
On one side of this coil, squat upon the deck, was Siah, and on
the right was Jack Bobstay.
Jack began: “I have followed the sea more than these thirty
years, but the toughest weather that I ever saw was on a whalin’
voyage.†;
“You been to the North Pole?†asked Ralph.
“Pretty well up, my boy, but not jest to the peakit end. of it,â€
‘replied Jack.
| BG
et
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4
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=
jen}
Zz
x XN
SAA,
—-
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN. 79
“Did you ever see a Greenlander?†asked Rick.
“© yes, I have seen ’em shooting seals and sea lions ‘round among
blocks of ice.â€
“Did you use to go a-whalin’ much?†asked Siah.
“Whalin’? I have seen more whales than you ever dreamed of,
boy,†said Jack with an expression almost like contempt.
“JT don’t know as I eber dreamed ob any,†said Siah in a subdued
way.
“You have forgotten your dreams, maybe;†replied Joe, dis-
posing of dreams and dreamers with a wave of his hand.
“How far north did you ever go?†asked Rick. “Did you
say you got on top of the North Pole?â€
Joe disliked to own that he had not achieved anything possible or
impossible. He now merely said that he must have gone “pretty
near it,†for he remarked with impressive dignity, “I went chuck into
the jaws of the ice and snow. I have been in one or two explorin’
expeditions.â€
“ You have?†said Rick in tones of positive admiration.
“ Sartin!†declared Joe with great dignity, thoroughly aware of
the important place he occupied in their regard. “It is a tough
position “to be: in; sometimes awful skittish! You see it is pretty
uncomfortable to be sailin’ in a vessel where masts, rigging, shrouds
and sails may be covered with ice. The spray freezes as it falls, and a
vessel looks at last as if she was turnin’ into a big icicle. I was in one
ship that went after Sir John Franklin.â€
“What, the man that never came back?†inquired Ralph.
“Yes, in one of them ships,.for though not so thick as sandpeeps on
a summer beach, still there were more than one of ’em, upward of
twenty going in eleven years. You know Sir John Franklin went off in
1845, with two vessels, the Erebus and Terror, to find that humbug-
0 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
place, a nor’west passage. He expected to be back in 1847, but he was
never seen after July, 1845. Well, they hunted and found traces of
Franklin’s party on King William’s Land. The Esquimaux had seen
‘some of ’em, but what the savages had to tell, only proved that Franklin’s
party was at last swept away by death. I was in one of the expeditions
that hunted for Sir John. You see his wife, Lady Jane, could not give
him up, and when it was. useless to think he could be found alive, then
she spent her money trying to get some information of his fate
and recover his body. When I went, I thought I might never
come back myself, and then what Lady Jane would have hunted for
poor Jack Bobstay? At one time, our cap’n concluded to send some of
bis men ahead to see what the prospect was. We had two boats, and
‘contrived to get ahead some way, when we were caught in the sudden
closing of the ice. There we were a number of miles from the ship, in
two open boats, with few provisions beside our water-kegs. We drew
our boats up on the ice and waited for the next thing, and that was the
dark. Luckily, we
had some sleeping
bags.†.
“What are
those?†asked Rick.
“Just what I say,
A SLEEPING-BAG.
bags, to sleep in. There is a chance for you to get into them —
and they are made nice and warm—and when inside, you button
yourself in.
“We went to sleep, and as things were no better, the next day we
‘concluded to abandon one boat and drag the other over the ice to open
water, if we could find it. We began to strip one boat, and I re-
member it fell to me to roll along the water-keg. Tom Savin took
the sleeping-bags. Another man took the oars, and so on. Then
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN, BI
we fell to and helped work along the other boat. It was no easy
job, but we managed to worry her along, now and then findin’ a
leetle water that would help us, and finally we struck a channel
that led us down to the neighborhood of the ship. It was good
to set foot on her deck once more, but we were not out of all
trouble yet. ‘We soon fell into bad company, that is, got among a
lot of icebergs and driftin’ floes of ice. Them icebergs were
glorious, on both sides of you, boys, rising up like mountains and
towers, and meetin’-houses! That was one way to look at them
things, and the other was, what if their cold, white jaws should
close on you and nip you up for good? We got out two boats—and
we were ‘mazin’ spry, I tell you—and riggin’ up a tow-line, rowed
our craft out of danger. We all took a long breath when we had
cleared that spot.â€
82 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
ICEBERGS ON EVERY SIDE.
Jack’s breath.
less auditors now
indulged in the
same luxury.
“Did you
make any ac-
quaintances up
there?†asked
Rick whose
social nature
“abhorred a
vacuum †like a
desert place.
“Any ac-
quaintances? It
is not a very
social place up
there, and you
couldn’t reason-
ably expect to
find large settled
‘towns up in the
snow and_ ice,
and have people
row out to youin
the stream and
ask you ashore to
take dinner, and then pass the night,†answered Jack with a laugh.
“‘ But. some folks must be there,†persisted Rick.
“Must be some Skim-mer-hose,†observed Siah learnedly.
| JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN. 83
“Esquimaux? O you see them now and then, but scatterin’-like
you know. You may be sailin’ along and you'll see ’em paddlin’
about in their boats. They are master-hands for a boat, or kayaks
as they call ’°em. A kayak is intended to carry only one person,
and is sixteen feet long say, not over a foot deep, sometimes but
nine inches, and in the middle it may measure eighteen inches or
A KAYAK,
two foot across. The frame of one that I saw was made of light
wood and was entirely covered with tanned sealskin.â€
84 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Cubbered all ober?†asked Siah. “Whar do der Skim-mer-hose
get in?â€
“Tn the centre is a hoop of bone that is big enough to let a
man’s body through, and the proprietor sits there. In the boat I
inspected, he seemed to be laced in, the lower edge of his jacket
being laced to the rim of the hole. Then the water is kept out.
The feller had one oar about six feet long, broad like the blade
of a paddle at each end, and how they managed that ticklish boat
without a keel you see, I couldn’t understand, but manage they
did. They would go shootin’ over the waters, when the spray was
flyin’ and the sea rough.â€
“But that is not the only kind of boat they have there,†observed
Ralph. “So I have read.†|
“Not the only one? Of course not,†promptly replied Jack who
did not mean to be found napping on the subject of Arctic navigation.
“They have what they call an oomiak, and that is a woman’s boat,
sometimes twenty-five feet long and a third as broad. It will carry
‘wenty people then. Sometimes they have a sail for the oomiak.â€
“A sail?†inquired Siah. “Where dey git de clof?â€
“Inside the walrus, boy. The walrus is one of their factories for
furnishin’ cloth. You heard me say they covered their kayaks with
seal skin, and now the walrus is another factory. I think the Esquimaux
are excellent boatmen, but I don’t know as I like to see one of ’em
flyin’ along over the water in a kayak, though interestin’, ‘any better
than an Indian skimmin’ over the ground on snow-shoes,†observed
Jack skilfully changing the subject and temptingly inviting his auditors
to the consideration of another subject.
“Snow shoes!†cried Rick, his eyes peaduy enlarging. “Did you
_ ever see an Indian on snow-shoes?â€
How he envied Jack!
JACK BOBSTAYV SPINNING YARN. 85
“Plenty of ’em,†remarked Jack with the air of one used to these
wonders and taking them as a matter of course. ‘One winter I was
up in Canada, away up, spendin’ the season in a loggin’ camp, and
some Indians came pretty near us. They were out huntin’ and wore
snow-shoes.â€
“JT saw a picture,†said Ralph eagerly, “where an Indian was on
snow-shoes, and he had just let an arrow fly at his game and had—had—â€
“Pegged it;’? imterposed Jack. “That is what an Indian hunter
is quite likely to do. Snow-shoes are simple things, the curve bemg
something like that of anegg. For the frame, white ash makes a good
wood, and then strips of hide make a firm ‘light nettin’ on which to
plant the foot. The foot is secured to the shoe at the toe, leaving
the heel free to play up and down, and that lets the snow-shoe slide
right along the ground.â€
Jack’s knowledge of the snow-shoe was almost exhausted and he
86 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
was endeavoring to call up another subject for the delight of his
auditors, when the wondering and almost worshipping Siah spoke up;
“T ’spose you've been in de water?â€
“Of course, sartin! We sailors don’t make more of that than
you land folks make of stepping out on the ground,†replied Jack with
an almost contemptuous air. “But,†he prudently added, “we have
our preferences about the quantity of water we take and when and where
we get into it. Once I was jest home from a whalin’ trip, and as I
had been through almost everything, I naturally felt that I was
equal to any water-ventur’ at home, and I took a common sail-boat
intendin’ to enjoy a little trip down our river, and then out to sea a
mile or two, and so home
again. I got along very
well till I reached the
mouth of the river when
one of the worst squalls
I ever knew blew for
about twenty minutes. It
blew all ways at once,
nor-west, sow-west, nor-
east, sow-east, so it seemed
to me, and the sky was
black as the bottom side of
the cook’s b’ilers. Well, I
got into a place, a bad
place, where the tide and
eddy meet, and over I went!
There I was spilled over
JACK WHEN SPILLED OUT. about as entirely as a man
could be. Didn’t things look dark? The waves broke lively over
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN. 87
the rocks at the mouth of the harbor, and jest above the water was
a strip of white light that made the sea and sky look all the blacker.
Well, bare-headed, I paddled round till I was tired, and the squall
too, and pilot-boat comin’ along, they fished me up and took me
home.â€
“Did— did you let the sail go when the squall— squall struck
you—you? That’s the way we do on Concord River,†said Ralph
eager to impart information.
“T did it every time, every time, boy, but you see I was in a bad
place where tide and eddy meet. People joked me when I got back,
about my knowledge of the sea, but I told °em they were welcome to
the laugh as long as I had saved my skin. Things though did not
look so bad as when I was in the Nancy Dee.â€
“De Nancy Dee, a woman?†inquired Siah.
“A love-scrape? Massy, boy, I hope not. Jack Bobstay has not
been captured yet. A ship, a ship, I mean, and a wreck, a true one,
a live one.â€
“© tell us about that?†pleaded Ralph.
Jack’s “bluelights†twinkled, and he was evidently delighted to
unwind one more yarn.
The boys now crept closer to this magnetic son of the sea who
began the fascinating tale of Jack Bobstay and the Nancy Dee.
“We were nearin’ the coast of England when a fearful storm
struck us. It howled all day and then it blew all night. What
a night that was, black and roarin’, tossin’ and ravin’, and toward
mornin’, we struck! What it was then, we did not know. As it
neared toward day-break, we could make out somewhat where we
were. . We were not far from as ugly and black a set of coast-
rocks as I ever see, and we knew we were on some kind of a
ledge. I’ve been north, south, east, west, but I never see an angrier
8% ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
sea. You know when folks are mad, they sometimes grow white in
the face, and that is the way it was with that sea, white in its
anger. Nothin’ but bilin’ foam between us and the shore, a kind
of immense snow-drift all broken up into feathery flakes and flyin’
toward the shore! I don’t know but what the light we did have
came more from that big batch of foam than from the day itself,
for the sky in the east was black as if in mournin’. We were
in a bad fix. We had been cuttin’ away the mainmast and the
mizzen mast, and in fallin’ they took away part of the foremast.
We looked ragged enough, and how the seas did sweep that deck!
What was to be done? No boat could live a minute in that sea,
and what headway could a swimmer make? Now when I was in
the river, that time I told you about, I felt tol’ably easy for I
could keep a-goin’ till help came, but in this sea it seemed as it
the billers would chop a feller up less than no time. All at once,
something bright went over our heads! It was a rocket! Guns!
we couldn’t hear it whizz, but we could see its trail and that was
jest as comfortin’, and it went like a comit through the air! I
have seen fireworks, but never did I see any that did me so much
good. That rocket, you see, came from some people on the shore,
high up on the rocks, and at last we could
make out two men. Then by-and-by, there
were more. Another rocket came, and this
time it fetched a rope that fell right across
our ship. We knew what it meant. Finally
there came a life-basket. This is suspended
from a rope that goes from the ship to the
shore, and slides along this rope, so that it can
be filled at the ship and then pulled ashore.
It is sometimes very difficult to reach a wreck with a life-boat, and
SENDING HELP THROUGH THE AIR TO THE NANCY DEE, 89
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN. gt
a life-hasket when it can be orought into play, is much better. As
for us, you may be sure that we filled our basket ‘repeatedly, and in
this way we all escaped from the Nancy Dee, that threatened to
become a good-sized
coffin for us all.â€
The audience gave
an exclamation of re-
lief at the release of
their beloved idol
from danger. It
would have been a
congratulatory shout
if he had revealed the
fact that he was the
last man to leave the
ship and take his turn
ata basket-ride. His
modesty might have
been overcome, had
he not suddenly
looked off upon the
ocean and then toss-
ing up his head, ejac-
ulated, “Whew!
There she blows!â€
Saying this, he | LIPEboar,
sprang to his feet. What could be the matter? “A whale, boys, a
whale!†Off in the distance, they saw a white mass rising into the air.
“A whale, sartin! Don’t I wish I was nearer and had a good
harpoon in my hand?â€
92 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
They went no
nearer though,
for the steamer
went on its way
sending up a
column of black
smoke, and the
whale as if in
emulation sent
up a jet of foam-
ing water and ,
then pushed on
his way.
Osher:
Bobstay, do tell
us about
whales?†asked
* Ralph.
eS Ge ee “ Do you wish
OE SSIES en
me to?†replied
the old salt with
a complacent grin. “Well, I guess I will, some of these fine days.â€
But all through the
steamer’s voyage, that
“some day†did not ar-
rive. Hither Jack was
A GREENLAND WHALE.
busy, or Siah was needed
at the furnaces, or Ralph
and Rick could not come
at the appointed hour.
HOW MANY WAVES THERE SEEMED TO BE!
JACK BOBSTAY SPINNING YARN. 93
Meantime, the ocean behind them was growing bigger and the
ocean before them was growing smaller. The steamer’s engines cease-
lessly panted night and day. The great hull kept rising and falling
with the sea, yet ever going forward, and the Land of the Sunrise,
so long a dream, promised soon to become a fact before the pilgrims’
eyes. “Every wave takes us nearer,†said Ralph; but how many
waves there seemed to be!
CHAPTER Vila.
' SUNRISE LAND AT LAS®.
FUJISAN, THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN JAPAN.
ATIENT-
ly did the
engine of the
steamer toil
away,and every
minute, Rick
and Ralph
were coming
nearer to the
Sunrise Land.
‘*We have
been out so
many days that
we have gone between four and five thousand miles, and to-morrow we
ought to see Yokohama,†said Jack Bobstay.
“And all this time,†moaned Ralph, “I have not seen the sun rise.â€
“Haven't you? Come on deck to-morrow morning early and see it.â€
That evening, Uncle Nat and his nephews watched the sun go
down into the sea. They saw him floating a moment upon the water,
and then gradually sinking like an immense coal of fire.
“There, boys, the sun looks pretty big, but if we could stand upon
the planet Venus, he would appear larger still.â€
“Why?†asked Rick.
94
SUNRISE LANDS AT LAST.
“Because Venus is nearer to the sun.â€
“And I have studied at school that from Mercury the sun must
be vastly more
huge.â€
“Yes, Ralph,
because Mercury
is still nearer the
sun », and so
merged in the
glory of the sun,
that without a
telescope it is no
easy thing finding
Mercury. The
great astronomer
Copernicus never
saw Mercury,
though it is true
he had no teles-
cope. While the
sun appears so big
from Mercury,
from the farthest
planets he must
shrink to a very
humble size.â€
Uncle Nat,
when in his state-
room, showed the
of the sun when viewed from different planets.
95
boys the accompanying picture of the different sizes
96 ALI ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
Ralph declared that “the sun, big as a ginger-snap when seen from
Mercury, was only a pin-head from Neptune.â€
Ralph was out of his bed at an early hour, the next morning, and
came upon deck rubbing his eyes.
“Ho, there you are!†sang out Jack Bobstay. “Have you got
your sealegs on? You -may find the deck wet and_ slippery,
for we had a heavy dew or something else last night.â€
Ralph turned to the east. It was very early and the clouds were
just beginning to light up. Between the steamer and the horizon, the
sea was one vast surface of jet, as if a fire had gone over and blackened
this prairie-like area and had then been swept beyond the rim of the
sea into a deep, deep furnace that shot a warm glow up among the
clouds. Ralph came again in a little while. The east was full of
sharper light, the clouds stretching one above another in gold and
red and orange strata, while higher up swept and towered broken,
fugitive masses of mist, like smoke from a vast. prairie-fire. The sea
had now brightened from black to gray, and stretched toward the
east like a great ashy hearth. But where was the fire itself? Was
it still beneath the sea sending up that sharp, intense light, every
moment burning sharper and intenser? Suddenly, away over on the
edge of this hearth, appeared a bright, shining little coal! How pure
and golden! :
“But it grows!†said Ralph.
Yes, this tip of a fire-brand steadily enlarged, flashing, sparkling
dazzling, till it hung a huge ball of fire above the sea, and thousands
of little waves stirred and glittered as if consciously to lift and offer
some crown to this king of the day.
“Ain't she a beauty?†said Jack Bobstay looking silently over
Ralph’s shoulder and watching the same scene. “Now turn and look
westward ! â€
SUNRISE LANDS AT LAST. 97
Ralph swung round and what did he see? On the edge of the sea
‘was a glorious pyramid of snow. Was the earth rising up to do early
honor to this king of gold, and holding up a fair, white crown for his
“wearing ?
“What is that?†asked Ralph in tones of surprise and admiration.
“That is a famous mountain on this side of the Pacific,†said Jack
gently patting Ralph’s shoulder, “grand old Fujisan, and it is the
pride of all Japan.â€
“Then we are near Japan?â€
“Sartin’. Run and tell Boson.â€
Ralph hurried away and speedily brought Rick who finished dressing
himself as he came along. The two boys were in ecstasy.
“Let's have Uncle Nat up,’ said Rick.
Uncle: Nat was forced to leave his warm nest and come up to
see the sights. One excellent thing about Uncle Nat was, that he
could enter thoroughly into a boy’s feelings, and he said “My!†and
“Pshaw!†and “ Look-er-there!†as many times as his enthusiastic
nephews desired.
“Tt will take us some time yet to get to harbor, boys, for you
can see old Fuji some way off.â€
“But we shall get there to-day. We are coming, Sunrise Land!â€
said Ralph.
And the steamer’s engines groaning all the way across the Pacific,
now seemed to change their tune, and said with every piston-stroke,
“Com -ing! com—ing! com-—ing, Sun-rise Land!â€
At last Jack Bobstay could say to the boys, “We are passing
Cape King, and that is at the entrance of the bay leading to
Yokohama.â€
“And is it Japan on both sides of us?†asked Rick, eagerly
looking around.
98 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Yes, Boson. We are going by the pint, and there is the light-
house. We are about a dozen miles from Yokohama.
A VIEW IN TOKIYO.
UA
times these sails were made of matting or bamboo.
There is a
big city, To-
kiyo, the capi-
tal, up th e
bay.â€
The morn-
ing breeze
went like a
broom over
the bay, stir-
ring it into lit-
tle ripples.
Now and then
the steamer |
rushed by an
island, and
again it shot
past an odd-
looking Jap-
anese junk.
This was
very high in
the stern, but
low in the
bows, and car-
ried wide sails
wollen by the
wind. Some-
Amidships, it
SUNRISE LAND AT LAST. | 99
looked as if a house with a pitch bamboo-roof had been built.
The cargo was stored uuder this roof. Rick saw birds skim-
ming the waters of the bay, and at a distance the birds and the
junks resembled one another. Vessels were passed, at whose mast-
heads floated the colors of European nations.. There were steamers
from Shanghai, steamers from Marseilles, steamers from Hong Kong,
steamers from Southampton. There were store-ships too, and coal-
hulks. Back of the shipping in the harbor, were the tiled roofs of
Yokohama and still farther in the rear was a swell of land called
the Bluff, and dotted with houses. The Bluff is a quarter occupied
with many handsome residences of Europeans especially. Outside of
all, rose the hills, swelling like waves from the sea that did not
know when and where to stop, but continued to roll back from the
shore till petrified by some resistless edict.
At Yokohama, there were no wharves, and consequently the pas-
sengers were dependent on boats for transportation. Boats were not
wanting, by any means. The moment the steamer let go her anchor,
she became a target at which boats began to shoot from every quarter.
Their occupants were muscular men, and had stout arms well-
adapted to their work.
“ They look queer,†thought Ralph. “They have a dingy yellow skin,
and my! their heads are shaven in the middle, and a top-knot sticks up.â€
Ralph watched the Japanese boatmen as they sculled their boats
rapidly along. The oar they used was in two parts, securely fastened
together. Resting on the gunwale of the boat, this oar is held there
by a pin, and then worked as in sculling, the sweep at the handle
of the oar being about two feet. Ralph heard one singing as he
sculled.
“© see them scull, Rick!†cried Ralph.
The scullers were lively enough, writhing away till they reached the
aco ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
steamer, and then they did not use the muscles of their arms but their
mouths, yelling away as enthusiastically as the starter of an American
horse-car at a railway station. Some of the steamer’s passengers were
preparing to go ashore, and among these was our party. Rick had
taken a sorrowful leave of Siah and Jack Bobstay, but he had not yet
said good-bye to Joe Pigtail, and was it strange if he found it hard to
part from pretty Amy Clarendon, a little girl whose acquaintance he
had made on board the steamer? This last agony struck deep into
Rick’s tender heart.
“Good-bye all,†said Uncle Nat hurrying off, and then he added
in his cheery way, “may we meet again! Come, boys, come!â€
“Me see you again, may be!†exclaimed Joe.
Amy Clarendon was waving her hand, and Rick thought she never
looked prettier. The stoical Ralph had said his good-byes, and went
off promptly, but Rick moved with hesitating steps, for his heart
was full. He must have one more look at—Joe— Pigtail, and he
fell behind Uncle Nat and Ralph. Allowing his eyes to rest on
Amy’s sweet face, he was saying, “God —bless—dear—Joe—â€
“Look here, youngster, hurry along! My valise almost went
down your throat then,†saida passenger who had a very disagreeable,
jerky style of speech Rick thought. “Let ‘dear Joe’ go and move
on, please!†a
Rick moved on, but with a breaking heart.
The next morning, Uncle Nat happened to see under Rick’s pillow
these limes of newspaper poetry, and as he rather liked poetry he began
to read the first stanza:
“How oft, alas! thy charming face,
Will shine athwart my dreams!
In such a moment, darkest night
Like brightest moon-day seems.â€
SUNRISE LANDS AT LAST.
“That will do!†said Uncle Nat—‘“ Nonsense! A bad case of the
measles!â€
Measles! It was something far more romantic, for Rick’s pillow-
companion had. sent him, the night before, into dream-land, and there
he and somebody else wandered away ’mid groves and flowers and
birds and ‘streams and—so forth.
CHAPTER IX.
IN YOKOHAMA.
A! ho! ho!
huida!â€â€™
What was that?
It was a strange, dis-
mal sound that came
to Ralph and Rick
as they went with
Uncle Nat into the
Japanese quarter of
Yokohama. In the
RSS oe aaah foreign section, there
were features re-
minding them of home. There were handsome stores with fine
stone-fronts. There were hotels and banks. There were street-
lamps. Foreigners abounded.
In the native quarter of Yokohama, one saw sights and heard sounds
peculiarly Japanese. The place abounded in novelties. And now up
from the street came this low, hoarse cry, “Wa! ho! ho! huida!â€
It was a series of groans and grunts. Stepping out doors, they saw
a native cart well loaded with bales of goods. The cart had two
wheels, and the motive power was not that of horses but men.
Between the shafts and at the same time behind a cross-bar, two
men were propelling. Then at the rear of the cart were two more
102
IN YOKOHAMA. 103
men steadily shoving. All four were humped and bowed as if working
prodigiously, and lost to everything but the occupation of cart-shoving,
but whoever did the shoving, the two men in front were dismally
groaning, and those behind replied, and a grunting time they had
of it. There were many of these man-carts in the streets, conveying
goods. There was a scarcity of horse-flesh, and the boys missed the
clattering of hoofs, and also the rumbling of heavy carts making
Boston-streets so noisy.
Ralph went back to his room at the International Hotel, saying
he must look up something on
Japan. Throwing himself back on
a comfortable sofa, he began to
read a book that Uncle Nat gave
him. When Ralph and Rick reached
Concord again, they arranged for
a lecture on Japan in their barn.
Rick took the tickets, five cents
for adults, two cents for boys of
ten, and half of the latter price for
still younger children. Three empty
soap-boxes piled one upon the other
made a lecturer's table whose
height of four feet was about as ain-
bitious as would accommodate the ocean aentcces
lecturer, and behind his barricade
stood Ralph reading from a manuscript. A barn-lantern suspended
from the roof shed a very, very thin light upon the audience, and
gave the lecturer only a tenth of a chance to read his manuscript.
The audience consisted of Gus Freeman, Joe Simes, Tom Eaton and
Billy Blaney, who for the consideration of two cents had been admitted
To4 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
to “an exhibition of Japanese Curiosities, also a Performance of Jap-
anese feats, to be preceded by a lecture from Ralph Rogers, Esq., re-
cently from Japan.†Gus Freeman as an intimate friend was passed
in free, a dead-head. This entertainment had been advertised on
posters as extensively as the surface of the garden-gate would permit.
A portion of what Ralph said that afternoon came from his reading '
on the sofa in the International Hotel, and other items he gathered
through those faithful gleaners, the eyes and ears. As Bridget Mahoney,
STREET IN YOKOHAMA.
the servant, put up her head above the barn-chamber stairs, at Mrs.
Rogers’ request, to see what was going on, it enabled Ralph to say,
“ Ladies and Gentlemen: —Japan is a very interesting place. It is, as
has been said, our next-door western neighbor, that is of any special size.
It is well therefore for us who are young men to-day,†(applause from
Gus, Joe, Tom, and Billy,) “to get. some idea on the subject. Japan ‘is a
spot in the temperate zone, or spots rather, for it is an empire of islands, the
principal being Hondo, Kiushiu, Yezo and Shikoku. It is claimed to have
three thousand eight hundred islands in all. Put all its miles together and
IN YOKOHAMA. 105
they would not make a country equal to France, which our republic can
swallow at least fifteen times.
“The people number about thirty-five millions, and are quite bright, and in
“some things cannot be beat, even by a Concord-boy. (Applause.) Every
country has its savage wild people, who are thought to be the first settlers.
These in Japan are the Ainos. They live in houses that are made of reeds
†fastened upon a wooden frame-work, and these have a sharp, high roof.
~ The ridge-pole is decorated. The people are inferior to the J apanese. Japan is
quite mountianous, and has a bad way of shaking sometimes, but the people do
not seem to mind it. There are hundreds of dead voleanoes, and over
twenty are still alive and kicking. The crack mountain of Japan is Fujisan,
, Which is about thirteen thousand feet above the ocean, and for a hundred miles
away can be seen. For nine months at least in the year, its peaked top is cov-
ered with snow. The Japanese have a map of twelve provinces from which it
can be seen. The people hold it in sacred awe, and travel hundreds of miles
that they may reach its top and there worship. If any of my audience should
honor Japan with a visit, they will see Fujisan as they near the coast, and it is
a very handsome sight, as my companion, the Hon. Richard Rogers, will tes-
tify. (The Hon. Richard Rogers about this time was staining his face that he
might take the part of a Japanese juggler in the coming feats.) The Jap-
anese are very. nice workmen in fancy goods, and they get up some cunning
things in gardening, like dwarf trees and plants. They are introducing Amer-
ican and European ideas, and in some places are adopting them quite rapidly.
“The old-style Japanese dress is a kind of gown or long frock called the
kimono, and around the waist goes a girdle or sash, the women wearing it
broader than the men, and the ends the ladies tie behind as a bustle. Besides
the kimono, a shorter garment is often worn over it called the haori. Many of
the men, the younger ones, wear hakama or big trousers over the kimono,
letting the haori stay outside. The women like to fix up their hair in bows
and bunches, and go bare-headed. The girdle is a very convenient place to
stow away things in, and the sleeves in the Japanese dress are so big that they
become famous store-houses. The aristocracy afford themselves silk, but the
lower classes have plainer stuff like calico and linen.
106 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“There was a class of troublesome nobles called the daimiyo, that have now
been set aside. Their old court dress must have given them a look like a full-
blown snap-dragon, and I guess the government found them all that. The
new-style dress is the for-
eign one of coat and pants,
and is coming into use
pretty fast in some places.
You will see government
officers wearing it, and it
is the fashionable evening
dress, but some ‘people
don’t look as if they felt at
home in it. The emperor
rides out in a European
carriage, and dresses in the
European style. The
houses are apt to be rather
low and they build them of
wood generally. But in
some places like Yoko-
hama, they are beginning
to build more solid.â€
_ (Here Gus and Billy be-
gan to be drowsy, as the
auditorium was rather
“close,†and Ralph re-
sorted toaruse. “Fire!
Fire!†he shouted. Billy
and Gus started, and be-
gan to gaze about wildly)
“J was only going to remark,†resumed the lecturer, “ that they have had some
_ fearful fires in J apan, because the houses are so generally of wood and so lightly
built, but as I said they are building more solid. The head of the Japanese goyv-
DAIMIYO IN COURT DRESS.
THE WAY THE MIKADO TRAVELLED. IN JAPANESE FASHION,
ee : a
As
IN YOKOHAMA. 109
ernment is the Mikado, and he hasan army and navy, into both of which foreign
“ideas have made their way. The Japanese flag is a red sun on a white ground.
The climate is what you might expect in the temperate zone. They have winds
that blow pretty hard and come pretty quick. Around Yokohama, the snow is
seldom seen deeper than two or three inches, but then there are other places
where it comes heavier, sometimes in mountain-valleys accumulating to a great
depth, and I think I could stand a little more than they have at Yokohama.â€
If the eloquent lecturer had said, “a little more light,†it would
have been more appropriate. The barn-chandelier threatened to fail
the lecturer, as the light began to sputter. It soon shamefully went
out altogether, leaving Ralph in a predicament. At first, he attempted
to extemporize, but m a moment he was ominously pausing and
“hem-hemming.†He saved himself however by fiercely declaring
that he would rather live in old Concord than m Yokohama, for on
the hills at home, winter did give a boy a good chance to coast.
Giving way now to a “noted Japanese juggler,†the lecturer was re-
warded by the enthusiastic applause of the audience for this com-
pliment to New England coasting.
CHAPTER X.
EARTHQUAKES AND RAILROADS.
RECONNIOTERING FOR AN EARTHQUAKE.
ICK awoke the next
night and was start-
led to find himself tremb-
ling. Was the trembling
inside of him or outside of
him? He could hardly
determine the point. The
agitation came again. Still
more thoroughly frightened
now, he was conscious that
while his heart within was
thumping, the bed without
was shaking.
“Ralph!†exclaimed Rick in a hoarse whisper.
No answer.
“Ralph!†Another shaking; floor, walls,
furniture — all trembling.
Had the evil spirits of the Japanese come into the house ?
The sleeper stirred and said, “ What is
“Did you hear that, Ralph?â€
““ No — Yes.â€
It 7â€
“Something awful. Let’s get out of bed and speak to Uncle Nat.â€
They both sprang out of bed and started for “dear Uncle Nat,â€
as Rick said in his heart, dearer now than ever.
IIo
EARTHQUAKES AND RAILROADS. LIT
“Uncle Nat!â€
No reply but a snore.
At Uncle Nat’s bedside, there stood in the moonlight, two trembling
boys, each face colorless as a sheet.
“Uncle Nat!†called Rick. “Uncle Nat!â€
His sleepy relative groaned. 7
“Did you hear that?â€
“ Y—e—s—â€
“What was it?â€
“ You — hol — ler — ing.â€
“No, but the shaking.†é
“ Oh — it’s oa aes
“ Yokohama ?â€
“Yes, she’s—got—the shakes.â€
“Got what?â€
“A fit —of oe
“What?â€
“ Earthquake, child! go to bed.â€
“Oh uncle!â€
- Rick almost expected to see a great mouth yawning beneath him,
swallowing him and. Ralph up. No mouth opened. But what was
that noise? It was Uncle Nat snoring again. Plainly, he was not
afraid. The brothers went to the windows and looked out.
“Tet’s see if we can‘see anything,†said Ralph in a hushed
voice.
No earthquake was visible, nor was any disturbance anywhere
manifest. The white moonlight rested like a fresh fall of snow
on all the house-roofs. The boys crept back to bed, and cuddled
down beside one another, directing two sober faces and four big
eyes toward the moonlight. A late comer was heard to open the
TI2 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
hotel door, then his footsteps sounded on the stairs, and finally the
boys caught the rattling of a key in the lock of an adjoining door. -
All was now still. Ralph fell asleep. Two eyes were left staring
at the moonlight, but Rick began to be drowsy and one eye ceased
its watch. At last the snowy moonlight was searching everywhere,
but not an eye was open to follow its progress over |the floor.
The next morning, Rick said to Uncle Nat: ‘“‘ Were not you afraid?â€
“Afraid? No, they
have earthquakes too often
for that.†-
“ But don’t they do harm
Uncle Nat?â€
“ Well, yes, sometimes ; I
heard a man at the break-
fast table say that years
ago, there was a very
malicious earthquake. It
shook and shook and shook,
and it brought down heavy
roofs of tiles, and sixty
thousand people were
= _ crushed to death. I un.
THE ROUND MOON.
_ derstand there was a heavy
one recently, a great chimney-tumbler. There are generally three —
shocks and the second is the worst.â€
The next night, the earthquake came again. Uncle Nat in the
meantime had changed his room, and when Ralph and Rick, aroused
by tos chock, left their bed to slip on their clothes and hunt fer Uncle
Nat ir fis new quarters, they stole along the entry guided by the
moonlight, only to find and enter — whose room ?
=
THE MIKADO ON A JOURNEY IN EUROPEAN FASHION
EARTHQUAKES AND RAILROADS. 11g
'
“Oh Uncle Nat, she’s come again
“ Another earthquake, Uncle Nat! It’s me and Rick,†said Ralph.
The two boys were pressing into the room half-lighted by the moon-
beams, when out of the curtains enclosing a bed, the face of an old
man was protruded, a long scalp-lock and a sharp nose projecting
into the light that the round moon at the window shed so liberally.
“‘ Show, show!†said a thin querulous voice. “Little boys musn’t
be up making a noise at this time of night. You must go right to
your room. Now go!†_
And they went.
Rogers brothers thought they would rather live in New England
even if there they could not get some things the Japanese had. But
by nine o’clock, the next morning, the subject of earthquakes was
entirely forgotten, as the boys were full of anticipation of a railroad
ride from Yokohama to Tokiyo, the capital.
“Will not Dr. Walton go with us?†asked the boys.
“T gucss so,†replied Uncle Nat. “We might ask him.â€
Dr. Walton was a physician from Boston, who had been in Japan
a number of years. Boarding at the International, he had made the
acquaintance of Uncle Nat and his nephews. The boys took to him
decidedly. He was about thirty, rather tall and rather stout. His
complexion was very clear, taking on a blush almost as readily as a
baby’s, and his eyes were like handsome black cherries.
“ Yes, I do like Dr. Walton,’ declared Ralph.
“And so do I,†responded Rick.
When dressing for an evening walk, the doctor threw over his
shoulders a student’s cloak whose folds drooped with a peculiar grace,
the boys’ admiration was enthusiastic. It was then they thought they
would rather stroll with him than with the mikado himself. When
- Dr. Walton said he would go to Tokiyo with them, they knew that
116 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS. —
on account of his long Japanese residence he would make a valuable
companion. The party took the cars at the fine railroad station of
stone in Yokohama. Everything was now ready, and the engine
commencing to spit and cough. as if to get cinders out of its throat,
the cars rumbled away.
“Oh see,†said Ralph looking’ out of a car-window, there’s a —â€
“ Jinrikisha,†said the doctor.
“Jim Ricker’s Shay?†asked Rick. “Who’s he?â€
“It isn’t a boy—it’s a carriage,†said Ralph chagrined at the
younger Rogers’ ignorance of Japanese facts.
“A jinrikisha is for riding purposes, and it always seemed to me
like an American baby carriage. One man draws, and another pushes
behind, when a long distance is to be travelled, but in short journeys
a single man draws. It goes faster than a baby carriage, I can assure
you, for the men propelling it are strong fellows. You can travel
forty miles a day, and more even in the jinrikisha—style. One
day, I went seventy-two miles, riding from five in the morning to seven
at night, changing men. The jinrikisha moves at about the rate of
an American horse-car. We rely on them a good deal for riding pur-
poses, and while there are hundreds of jinrikishas in Yokohama, in
Tokiyo there are thousands. It is cheap riding, only two cents for a
short distance ; and for ten cents you can keep your jinrikisha an hour,
and for fifty cents all day. The motion in this carriage is a little
peculiar, but you get used to it.â€
After this statement by the doctor, Rick made up his mind it must
be splendid to ride in “Jim Ricker’s Shay†and resolved to try it at the
first opportunity that offered.
Looking out of the car-windows again, they saw a cart in a road
near by. The cart was heaped high with vegetables. In front, pulled
w man, and behind the cart was a woman who pushed with docility.
EARTHQUAKES AND RAILROADS. 11>
The vehicle halted, and the man and his female-assistant stared at the
passing, rattling train.
“There, don’t you suppose they envy us, derice ae
“Yes, captain, and perhaps they hate the foreign mnovation. When
the telegraph wires were put up, the farmers were so hostile that when
one was stretched over their fields, they said the evil spirits would not
favor their crops, and they — not the evil spirits but the farmers, though
the latter acted like them — cut the wire and then tried to smash the
glass insulators of the poles! It was a mystery to them how a message
could go over the wire, and they would watch curiously a long while
to see the news travel! When this railroad was opened less than ten
years ago, I was present. They had a big time, and the big officials
including the mikado, or emperor, were present. One very marked
thing was the presenting of an address to the emperor by a deputation
of four merchants. That was a great thing in Japan, when the mer-
chant-caste, which does not stand high, thus approached and saw the
mikado, a being once bottled up and kept in the dark, so to speak, like
phosphorus.†é
« What is that man doing?†asked Ralph calling the doctor’s atten-
tion to a person who seemed to be stopping at the side of a road they
passed. The stranger was intent on work he held in his lap.
“ That must be an artist,†answered the doctor, “and he seems to
- be sketching something. The Japanese, you know, are very fond of
drawing and painting. Some of their sketches are ugly and grotesque,
but very original certainly. And they show genius of a certain kind.
Here is a horse,†and the doctor showed a picture he had with him.
“This horse certainly is full of fire and yet the artist executing it did
it in seven strokes, adding a few brush-sweeps for tail and mane.
The Japanese have peculiar skill in outline drawing. They will dash
vff the form of a bird, and the whole thing is very spirited.â€
CHAPTER XI.
SIGHT-SEEING IN TOKIYO.
a the capital of Japan, interested the
boys very much, and in the company of
g Uncle Nat and the doctor, they started out
to see what they could find.
“What is this street?†asked the
inquisitive Rick.
“This is the Tori, a prominent
street in the capital. You
see how many people are
here. All sorts of
craft sail into these
quarters,†answered
the doctor.
Rick was interested
in the conveyances
there. There were
THE SEVEN-STROKED HORSE. (See page 117.)
the man-carts for mer-
chandise, the jinrikishas for passengers, and there was the kago, a
vehicle that offered foot-sore pedestrians a ride if they would get
into a ccvered basket suspended from a pole borne’on men’: shoul-
ders, but this last vehicle is one seldom seen in Tokiyo. There was a
great, busy throng in the street, and side by side walked Old Japan
118
SIGHTSEEING IN TOKTYO. 11g
and New Japan. There were those still clinging to the Japanese dress,
and some that wore the coat and pants fashionable beyond the seas.
There were police who like American police wore uniforms. A
horse and carriage went past the boys. And the shops, who could
count them? ‘Their style was peculiar, their roofs being heavily cov-
ered with black tiles. Where these tiles were jointed, they showed nar-
row white strips of mortar. ia
“O see, Uncle Nat,†cried Rick. “See that man selling goo:s.â€
It was a Japanese not actually selling to a purchaser, but w citing
for one. He sat on a floor that had been covered with matting, and on
either side were piles of his goods offered for every one’s inspection, the
front of the store having been entirely removed.
“Tf you would like,†said the doctor, “we will look at some of the
streets about here. You will find special lines of goods in those we
visit, and the array is interesting. Let us go to the Dyers’ street.â€
Here were dyed goods, and one readily detected the odor of the
vats for the immersing of articles to be colored. In another street
there was nothing but bureaus and cabinets.
“See,†said Ralph, “there’s a man sawing and he pulls the sav
toward him rather than pushes it from him as we do.â€
“The teeth are not set the same way as ours but the reverse,â€
replied the doctor.
In a third street, they found goods that had come across the seas.
“The old beer bottles!†exclaimed Rick who was a total abstinence
boy. “Must these things come over too?â€
They went into Bamboo street where the shop-keepers sold bamboo
poles. One street the boys called pretty, as folding screens were
there, and upon these, pictures had been sketched and poetry written.
“We have plenty of streets in Tokiyo,â€â€™ said the doctor. “Some
are named after the occupations of the people in them, such as
i20 ALE ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
Blacksmith and Cooper. There are those named after trees or
flowers like Cedar and Chrysanthemum. Plum. Orchard street may
be found, also Wheat and Indigo streets. There are those pore
fanciful names like ‘ Abounding Gladness.’ â€
They had been looking at the signs displayed by different stores.
A goldbeater announced his presence by huge spectacles, substituting
gold for glass. The kite-maker was advertised by a cuttle-fish, and
a trader in cut flowers showed the sign of a little willow tree. Every
spiked white ball—and these would average eighteen inches in
diameter — threw the boys into a pleasureable excitement, for the
white ball meant a candy shop. Still strolling about, Ralph suddenly
exclaimed, “There is water, doctor!â€
“ Yes, that is a canal, very handy in carrying goods Anan ‘and we
jave many canals in Tokiyo.â€
“Couldn’t we have a boat-ride, Uncle Nat?â€
“Oh yes, I would like to have a ride myself. Here, here. Take
us round, won't you?†said Uncle Nat, calling to a boatman who
brought his craft to the bank at once. “Don’t you see, boys, how
he understood me.’ Hither I talk good Japanese, or he knows good
English. Step aboard! â€
The craft was one that carried what the boys called “a cunning
cabin,†a little house in the centre, and through its windows. they
could look and see what was passing, as the boatman. polled it
along. There were the skiffs of fruit sellers, and boats loaded with
merchandise, or fishermen sculled along their crafts while boys on
the banks took their first lesson in the piscatory art, and into the
canal dropped their lines “for a bite.â€
“We go at a pretty good rate, don’t we, Rick? Almost as fast as
you did, last summer, when you tried to make that boat go,†said
Ralph.
NIHON BASHI.
T2I
> re 4 ) n
SIGHT-SEEING IN TOKIYO. 123
«What was that, Rick?†inquired Uncle Nat.
Rick was blushing. He did not recall that exploit with satisfaction,
for it was one day when deeply in love with a very young lady at
a summer resort, he attempted to give her a boat-ride on an adjacent
pond, and in his excitement had forgotten to untie the rope!
Ralph very kindly spared the champion oarsman any further morti-
fication, and the subject
was dropped.
Another day, they went
to the famous Nihon Bashi,
a bridge, and from it looked
off upon the tiled roofs of
the city and upon the
snowy cone of Fugisan.
Before them, too, were the
towers of the famous cas-
tle of Tokiyo. This castle
was also visited. They
saw its walls of stone, the
deep, wide moats without,
extending eleven miles in THE CHAMPION OARSMAN.
all. That day, one other
noteworthy place was reached, a. palace belonging to the emperor. Beau-
tiful grounds measuring a hundred acres adjoined this palace.
“This is a big place,†observed Uncle Nat “ this city of Tokiyo.â€
“Yes, captain, and so the old emperor Iyeyasu was right when
he believed the city would be something, and in making bounds
for Tokiyo, he went far beyond the settled quarters and set up towers
and gates without any connecting walls, believing that’ some day
they would be erected. People laughed at his work, but he was
124 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
right. We have seen to-day some-of the better parts of the city.
This will do for to-day, I guess.â€
“No,†thought Rick, “it won't do. I have not ridden in a ‘Jim
Ricker’s Shay’ yet. I
will, if Uncle Nat lets
me, this very day.â€
That afternoon, while
Uncle Nat and the doc-
tor were away, Rick and
Ralph were in their room
at the hotel.
“T wonder what time
it is, Ralph.†|
“T don’t know, Rick,
for we have no clock.â€
“‘ Oh dear,†sighed the
younger brother in his
heart. “I wish a clock
was as handy here as at
grandpa’s.â€
That clock at grand-
pa’s, how Rick when
younger would watch it!
But he was thousands
of miles away from
GRANDPA’S CLOCK. . grandpa’s -and nothing
like a clock was in the room. He went down to the hotel office to
learn the hour. Passing the outer door, he looked through and saw
a jinvikisha waiting by the sidewalk. Its runners wore big bow]-like
hats, and were dressed in blue shirts and blue tights. A thought came
SIGHTSEEING IN TOKIYO. 125
to him ; why not take this jinrikisha and go down to that store where
Uncle Nat and the doctor said they were going?
“The shopkeeper’s name is Inu and I can write it, I guess,†con-
cluded Rick.
Uncle Nat, however, had not said that the man’s name was Inu.
Rick had asked for it, and Uncle Nat answered, “I knew, but†—
That moment he was called out of the room. Rick caught the “J
knew,†he did not hear the “but.â€
“ Ah,†thought Rick, “it is Inu, which is a Japanese word.â€
It happens that the word means “ dog.†:
Uncle Nat had told the boys to pick up all the knowledge they could,
and they had been practicing on a few Japanese words and Rick could
write “Inu.†He put “Inu†on a slip of paper, pointed in the supposed
direction of the shop, and as he handed the slip to the bearers, with
a lordly air mounted the jinrikisha. The men took the paper, read
it and threw it away. Then they turned to Rick, smiled affectionately,
and trotted off with their princely burden. One runner would have
been enough, but Rick meant to go im a style as ostentatious as
possible.
“How intelligent the Japanese are,†said Rick, “and, what a good
knowledge I have of the language. I shouldn’t wonder if I could
find my way all over J apan myself without Uncle Nat and the doctor.
Nice, knowing people, these Japanese.â€
The men had said to, one another, “Inu! It means that he has
lost a dog and wants us to find it. We will do what we can.†Away
they went.
He soon noticed that they stopped and made inquiries, a fact which
he could not understand, for he supposed that every one knew where
“Mr. Inu†kept. The men wheeled into various streets, occasionally
halting and apparently asking questions.
126 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Look here!â€â€™ Rick shouted. “ Why don’t you go to Mr. Inv’s?â€
The men smiled blandly and nodding went on. Once they stopped
and patting a dog, made signs to Rick. He was in disgust.
“Lazy fellers!†he bawled. “Don’t stop to fool with that dog.
You don’t half earn your money. Don’t you know Mr. Inw’s place?â€
“Tt is not his dog and. we must hunt farther,†they said and
till smiling they trundled forward their small load of a volcano.
Rick was now furious. .
“Tt is [-nu,I-nu! Must I spell it, [-n-—u! Don’t you under-
stand, boobies ?â€
On they went, stoppimg now and then to speak to people. Rick
thought to himself, “How hateful these men do look!†The day
‘was quite warm for spring, and these intelligent Japanese had laid
aside their hats, and their half-bald heads went bobbing up and
down like gooseberries rolling over pebbles. Rick thought of Charley
Ross, the Philadelphia boy, and conjectured that these men must
have been poor Charley’s kidnappers, and what if they should kid-
nap him too!
“Stop!’ he yelled.
The men now were not so smiling, for they were tired of the
game. They again stopped, and, began to jabber away at Rick
like parrots. He in his turn was thoroughly vexed, and was spitting
out his anger at them. He began to doubt whether it would be so
easy to get through Japan if all the people were such boors as these,
and how he longed for Uncle Nat. A crowd had now collected,
and things looked squally.
In the mean time, Uncle Nat and the doctor had returned to the
hotel and there were inquiries at once made for the missing Rick.
A servant reported that Rick had been seen in a jinrikisha moving:
off from the hotel-door.
SIGHT-SEEING IN TOKIYO. i 127
“Moving off?†repeated Uncle Nat. “TI guess it is time for me to
move off also, and hunt up that young traveller.â€
The doctor offered to accompany him. ‘They hunted and hunted
but in vain. At. last, they saw in the street a crowd, and in the
midst of this, was the lost Rick, screaming away at his runners, they
heartily screaming back.
“Ship ahoy!†shouted Uncle Nat making his way through the
crowd. Glad enough was Rick to bring his independent travels in
Japan to an end and return to the hotel with Uncle Nat. He
tried to tell his uncle how it had happened, but Uncle Nat was
greatly puzzled to understand the course of his remarks.
“Took here, young man,†said Uncle Nat, “the next time you want
to make a trip, you had better know just where you are gomg, how
you are going, and if you don’t get there, whether you can get back.â€
Rick thought so too.
The next day they all went to a noted spot in Tokiyo, Asakusa.
“Why it looks like Boston Common on the Fourth of July,†said
_ Ralph. They had reached rows of booths making a showy display
of goods. There were shops too for the sale of toys, of ladies’ hair pins,
and smokers’ comforts. Then came booths where one could buy little
idols or amulet bags or incense burners. This showed they were
nearing the more sacred part of Asakusa. When they reached the
temple, they found a motley collection of idols, some of the figures
being hideous. There were gardens too in which grew the azalea,
camellia, lotus and chrysanthemum.
Everywhere were people. Some were trading at the tobacco booths,
or drinking out of little cups at the, tea-booths. There were men
saying their prayers . before the temple-shrines, and robed priests
were bowing in their services. It was a queer mixture to the boys,
“a great gala day,†as Ralph said, “and some praying thrown in.â€
128 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
a
At E
ll A
“Oh, see thas,â€
exclaimed Rick,
1 ei
KAMLMAADD
Before Binzuru, a
/medicine-deity, was a
girl who rubbed a leg
of the god and then
her own.
«That means,â€â€™
said the doctor, “ that
she has hurt her leg,
and is transferring vir-
tue from the god to
her limb. For gen-
erations they have
rubbed the poor god
so much that his face
is decidedly worn.
PAGAN TEMPLE IN JAPAN.
~ Nose and ears, you
~see, have all gone.â€
The travellers that
day saw also Shiba,
a collection of tem-
ples and tombs. In
* Shiba sleep some of
the old Japanese sho-
| Lie
gunsor military rulers:
<=
| eee ||
ea HK iN TS eee ne ee of the dead:
i ‘Cl
=
( “thy bell a famous resting-place
:
That night the doctor showed the ie % Pichune of the god of
Longevity
A SINTOO GOD—THE GOD OF LONGEVITY. 129
SIGHTSEEING IN TOKIYO. 131
“You see he is riding contentedly on a stork, and the stork is
very calmly sailing above a flood.â€
“T should think, doctor,†said Ralph, “he would scare the life out
of a man, rather than put life mto him.â€
JAPANESE SHOPS.
CeHeAG PE aban Xe Tole,
RICK’S FANS.
ON’T you think, doctor, that the Japanese
people are funny, to have so many fans?â€
asked Rick, running in from the street.
“Tt might seem so, but then†— here the
doctor looked at the little fellow who was trying
to carry a quantity of fans in his hand— “but
then somebody else seems to like fans also.
Where did you get so many?â€
“Oh, I picked ’em up in the street. Some I
bought, you know, for they are so cheap. I am
going to give them away to my friends.â€
- Here Rick arranged them in order, as shown
in the illustration.
“There, that first one, a sort of half-round one, is for Aunt Mary;
“the next, that opens and shuts, is for mother; the round one is
for Nurse Fennel, and those three others are for my three cousins— Aunt
Mary’s girls. The one with the long handle is Uncle Thomas’, because
—bhecause he has short arms, but a long neck, and has some way to
reach up. The little one at the bottom is for a baby in the next
house.â€
“But, Rick, you have not disposed of all the fans.â€
Lay
RICK'S FANS. 133
Rick blushed. He had kept one for Amy Clarendon, if he ever met
that beloved object.
“ Why, doctor,†said Rick, anxious to change. the subject, “I saw a
man giving a piece of money to a beggar, and
he put it on a fan.â€
“And I heard of a poor fellow of pretty high
rank who was sentenced to death, and his fate
announced to him by presenting him with a fan.
There are all sorts of fans, as you will find out.
The other day, I was pretty warm, and a gen-
tleman, at whose house te called, handed me a
fan that you could dip in water. Its material
was waterproof, and the water on the fan as it
evaporated would cool
‘the breeze it wafted upon
you. You will find all
kinds of pictures on fans,
‘SNVA SHOU
and various inscriptions,
also. Some are very
pretty and ingenious. A great man may stick
his autograph on .a fan. Here in Tokiyo, they
make some elegant fans.â€
“Don’t you think Japanese artists are queer?
I mean, they have an odd way of painting.â€
“Tt seems to us so, Rick. They have an appre-
ciative sense of what is funny; and then, they
rather enjoy the horrible. It is worth while to
notice some things on fans, for they are emblem-
atic. You are apt to see on fans the bamboo and
sparrow, or the willow and swallow, and these are sions of domestic
134 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
happiness. As for the matter of
emblems, it is worth while to no-
tice those on all kinds of articles.
Sometimes, certainly, they are very
significant and appropriate. For
instance: When a little gown is
given to a baby, you will be likely
to see on it the pine-tree and stork.
These mean long life.
“The stork is a favorite bird
in Japan; and when it comes to
art they love to reproduce the
bird, with his long legs and long
bill.â€
It was Ralph’s tum the next
day to bring in something curious,
and his article was a dwarf tree,
given to Uncle Nat by a friend.
It was growing in a small pot, and
YOUNG AMERICA BEHIND A JAPANESE FENCE.
for a pigmy, it looked very vig-
- orous.
“That is a pine tree, Ralph.â€
“A pine?â€
“Yes; the Japanese are won-
derful gardeners, and while we at
home like to see how big a flower
-we can get, they delight most in
seeing how little a thing they can
produce. They like to raise pines only a few inches high. And
then, they like to bring their growing things into all kinds of
RICK'S FANS. 138
shapes. You may see a vegetable cat staring at you out of
the evergreen you notice; or, it may be a European wearing a
hat, and wrought out of the same material. You may see hens, or a
rooster, or a Japanese junk under full sail. They trim, also, the larch
in this way. One flower, that is a kind of national blossom, is the
chrysanthemum. It is adopted as the Emperor’s crest, and it
appears about government offices. Flowers are exceedingly popular,
and in every house they try to have flowers on New Year’s day.
When the plum blossoms in February or early March, the cherry
in April, the lotus in July, the chrysanthemum in autumn, and the
camellia in winter, there are multitudes of admirers ready to appreciate
these beauties. With certain kinds of blooms are sure to come excur-
sions of the Japanese, to rejoice over them.â€
Uncle Nat heard the conversation between the doctor and his nephew,
and pulling out his pocket-book, he said: “ Perhaps, doctor, you will be
so kind as to tell me the meaning of these pictures, which I found
on some bank-bills.â€
The doctor took up the bills and remarked: “The J apanese are
very proud of their history and love to preserve it in their sketches.
Here is a bank-bill modeled after our American bank-bills, and this
picture has an interesting story connected with it. Over five hundred
years ago Go Daigo was emperor. There was an opposition to him,
and falling before it he was sentenced to banishment. On his way
to exile, a young nobleman, Kojima Takanori, tried to rescue his sov-
ereion; but, mistaking the road, he and his followers were too late to
accomplish their purpose. His followers would not go farther with
him, but he determined to proceed alone. For several days he tried
to reach the sovereign’s side, and say in private sczse word of hope ;
but the emperor was so closely guarded, there was no chance to bring
this about. Kojima then thought of this stratagem. Stealing into
136 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
the garden connected with the
quarters where the emperor’s jail-
ers were passing the night, Kojima
found a cherry tree. Scraping off
its bark he wrote on the white sur-
‘face inside two lines, which, trans-
lated, mean:
Oh Heaven, destroy not Kosen
While Hanrei still lives!
“The emperor’s guard the next
morning saw the scraped tree and
the characters there, and wondered
what had happened; but it was a
fortunate thing for the emperor
that they could not read the lines.
They showed them to him, and he
saw the meaning at once. The
OUR JAPANESE LUXURIES ON A HOT AUGUST DAY,
reference was to Kosen, a Chinese
king, who, cast down from his
throne, was elevated again by a
faithful vassal, Hanrei. The signifi-
cance of it was at once appreci-
ated, and Go Daigo was secretly
comforted. He-knew that he could
not be friendless; and Kojima kept
his word, ‘afterwards bravely fight-
ing for him. Here is another bank-bill, having a picture of a famous
archer, whose bow the efforts of four men could not bend. ‘The
RICK'S FANS. a
old Japanese archers were pretty good at their work, doubtless; but
I like a gun, Ralph. What does a bow amount to before a gun?â€
“ Bow before gun? Why, it amounts to bow-gun, doctor.â€
At the doctor’s request Ralph repeated these lines, inscribed on a
fan, written by Pan Tsieh Yu, a lady of the Court, presented to the
Emperor Cheng-ti, of the Han Dynasty (Chinese) B. c. 18. They have
been translated by Dr. Martin:
Of fresh new silk, all snowy-white,
And round as harvest moon,
A pledge of purity and love,
A small but welcome boon.
While summer lasts, borne in the hand
Or folded on the breast,
Twill gently soothe thy burning brow,
And charm thee to thy rest.
But al! when autumn frosts descend,
And autumn winds blow cold,
No longer sought, no longer loved,
"Twill lie in dust and mold.
This silken fan, then, deign accept,
Sad emblem of my lot —
Caressed and cherished for an hour,
Then speedily forgot.
CHAPTER XIII.
ABOUT JAPANESE RULERS.
OR one day, at least, the
subject of fans was the
great and pressing one be-
fore the minds of Rogers
Bros. The next twenty-
four hours there was some-
thing else to engross the
boys’ attention. They soon
1. Silk Worm. 2. Cocoon. 3. Chrysalis. 4. Moth, found out that the children
A GOOD FRIEND TO JAPAN. °
were a very important ele-
ment in Japan life. . Rick and Ralph came hurrying to Uncle Nat, their
cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Oh, Uncle Nat, what do you suppose we saw?â€
“TJ don’t know; but something funny, Rick, I don’t doubt.â€
“Yes; a lot of boys and girls round a man, who seemed to be telling
a story, for he kept talking away, and they were listening and laughing.
And what do you suppose he did ?â€
“T couldn’t guess, ’m sure; but I'd just say that he stood on
his head.â€
“He—he—went round getting money; and I rather think he
stopped in the middle of his story on purpose, and wouldn’t tell the
rest unless they paid him.â€
138
ABOUT JAPANESE RULERS. 139
“Rick is probably right in his guess,†said Dr. Walton, “for that is
a way a story-teller may have. They will work up the children to a
hot stage of interest, and then will not cool them off until the cash
comes in. The Japanese like to tell stories, and the children like to
hear them. The better class of story-tellers have places where they
narrate their stories, and charge an admission fee. I remember once
I was travellmg im the country, and as I passed by an open door I
heard voices. As I looked in I saw a man, who, I think, was a father
sitting on the floor, and two children were in his lap. He held a bowl
in his hand, and while one of the children was pouring something into
it, he seemed to be telling them a story; laughing away as he
went on. There are some funny stories, the Japanese story-tellers
recite.â€
“ Doctor,†asked Uncle Nat, “does not Japanese history go back a
long way? You tell us, and we three boys will listen.â€
140 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“The Japanese themselves claim a credible history for twenty-five
hundred years, but we outsiders get into the fog a few centuries after
Christ, when we are trying to deal with Japan’s history. The Japa-
nese can count up a list of over one hundred and twenty rulers,
called mikados. Some of these have been very famous, and eight
rulers, by the way, were women. There was an empress, Jingu Kogo,
who became famous, though she was not formally declared the sov-
ereion of Japan. Japanese mothers have shown some brave qualities.
“Yes,†said Rick, “I met some this morning, and they looked real
pleasant.â€
“Jingu Kogo, I imagine, could look fierce as well as pleasant. She
conquered Corea. An order she gave her soldiers is worth remembering
by young people who have obstacles in life to meet: ‘ Neither despise a
few enemies, nor fear many.†It was her son, Ojin Tenno, who did
an excellent thing when he sent to China to find out about silk ;
' obtaining, also, some one from Corea to teach his people concerning
silk. The silk-worm has been a good friend to Japan. He also intro-
duced Chinese characters, and a better breed of horses. If I gave the
long string of queer Japanese names, you could not remember about
the rulers; but I want to speak of one way Ojin had for finding out °
a wrong-doer. He was told by the brother of his prime minister that
the latter was plotting against the government, and the emperor made
the informant and the minister both run their arms down into boiling
water, to see who was guilty. It is said that the brother could not
stand it, and was therefore judged to be guilty, and was executed.â€
“When was it the Roman Catholics came to Japan?†asked
Uncle Nat.
“Tn the sixteenth century the Romanists came to Japan, and for a while
they prospered; but Catholicism was almost entirely trampled out under
the bloody foot of the persecutor. It should be said, though, that the
Ly 7
/
IB ve
CUSTOM HOUSE,
| i eS wD
= | = Ht ) E
bipr Fil
re ct
ey
ic — i
i
ie
i. i I) HAS
\
ABOUT JAPANESE RULERS. 143
Japanese had had some reason to complain, as all the methods for
diffusing Christianity can not be approved. The Japanese showed that
they could torment as successfully as Western persecutors. Nobly,
though, did Christian converts prove their sincerity. Some were burned
to death. Thousands were thrown down from the rock of Pappenberg,
in Nagasaki harbor. Cheerfully did they let their persecutors hurl them
into pits, there to be buried alive. The government for many, many
years prohibited Christianity. All over Japan was set up the kosatsu,
or edict-board, forbidding the religion of Christ. I have seen a famous
one near Nihon Bashi. It plainly said: ‘The evil sect called Christian
is strictly prohibited.’ That day, though, has passed away. You will
ask how it is that the hated foreigners have been allowed to come again
in such numbers, bringing their hated religion.
“The Dutch for a long time previous to this century had certain
privileges of trade allowed them. In 1853, our Commodore Perry
came here with several bull-dogs or war-ships, treating amicably with
Japan, and yet the Japanese saw that the bull-dogs could growl, if
_ necessary. Japan now agreed to open some of its ports to foreign
trade. Foreign nations pressed closer upon Japan, Americans, English,
Russians, French and Dutch treating with Sunrise Land. In 1868
came a civil war in Japan. For six hundred yearsa set of military
rulers called shoguns were in existence. They lived at Yedo, as Tokiyo
was formerly called, and though inferior to the emperor, yet they had
such a military power in Japan that the mikado must oftentimes have
been a kind of big, invisible, shut-up nobody at Kiyoto, the other capital
and Japan’s sacred city. The shogun or tycoon, as he has been
called, had been signing foreign treaties, and not the mikado; and
dissatisfaction followed such abuse of privilege. People cried: ‘ Honor
the mikado, and expel the barbarian!’ At last, war broke out between
mikado and shogun. The result was that the mikado came to the
144 ALL ABQARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
top of the heap, his rightful place; and to Yedo, whose name became
Tokiyo as a part of the change, he went, as Japan’s lawful ruler. But
now, what did the mikado party do but espouse the cause of the ¢ bar-
barian;’ and lo, the new Japan! There were men wise enough to see .
what was best, and seeing, obeyed their convictions. Foreign ideas
are making Japan over; and among these ideas is the blessed religion
of our Saviour.â€
“Rick,†whispered Ralph.
The youngest of the “three boys†had gone to sleep over the
history of Japan, and Ralph gently punched him. Rick rubbed his
eyes, then opened them. ;
“Rick, the doctor knows a lot about Japan. Let’s get him to tell
a Japanese story,†whispered Ralph.
A story! Rick was wide-awake at once.
“Doctor, can’t you tell us a storv like what the Japanese story-
tellers tell?â€
“ Ha, ha, Ralph! Do you want me to mount a chair, and begin
in style?†:
“Oh, yes.â€
“And pass a hat?â€
The boys who had spent all the money allowed for that day,
looked aghast. A thought helped Ralph out of his corner.
“Pass it for the benefit of two penniless boys from Concord! Oh
yes, doctor.â€
- “We will compromise, Ralph, and not pass any.
shall it be? Whew! my!â€â€”The doctor had here pulled out his
watch. — “ Boys, my time is up, I am sorry to say. I will tell you
a story to-morrow, for an engagement takes me off now.â€
N
| "
Yh ‘ y)
S ey
Wan
x =
THE LAST OF THE TYCOONS. 145
CHAPTER XIV.
JAPANESE TEMPLE— AND A STORY.
a NA Fs HE doctor took Uncle Nat and his nephews
al AF off into the country for a pleasure-trip, the
next day.
The boys had passed a number of gateways,
_ around which were clustered arching trees, and
they noticed that these gateways were approaches to
certain buildings beyond, whatever their character
“might be. They were entirely willing to have the
jinrikishas halt at such a gateway, that a live boy’s
curiosity might be gratified. Alighting from the jinrikishas, the
boys shook the sleepy feeling out of. their legs, and then
looked eagerly about them. They saw two columns of stone, thirty
feet high, and from one to the other went cross-beams. In the centre
of these was a tablet, bearing an inscription. Before the gateway was
a structure like an arched bridge, and two Japanese stood upon it
talking busily, their heads bare to the sun’s rays that fell in clear,
shining light. There was a grove of trees beyond the gateway, and
through the foliage the outlines of a temple could be obscurely traced.
“There,†said the doctor, “the Japanese like to notice and beautify
prominent places in nature by a Torii or Sacred Gate. It is touching
to see the religious spirit of the people mixed up with a good deal
147
148 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
that is irreverent, superstitious and idolatrous. They are not a rich
people; and yet they have lavished many gifts on their temples.
“ See those poles running through the trees before the gateway! On
festival days, you will see flags and mottoes flapping from those poles,
and wreaths, also. The little houses you notice are occupied by priests.
When the priest is wanted, he comes out, hears the business of his caller,
and, careful to receive his fee, gives the help that may be needed. If
his prayers are wanted, and if it be a Buddhist temple, he may turn
to a prayer-wheel, and set that to revolving.
“Tt is well to notice the accompaniments of a temple. Near it isa
vat, where, with holy water, worshippers may purify themselves. You
can find, also, in the neighborhood, a cup of tea or saké; and conven-
iences for lighting your pipe, if you are a smoker. On great days
you would think you had come to a show.â€
When they had taken dinner, on their return from this trip, the
boys reminded the doctor about the promised story, and he began
immediately :
“ Well, once upon a time there was a man, and the man had a wife.
The man was very absent-minded, and so forgot himself at times as to
cut up very queer capers. His wife wanted him to go to a certain
temple, and beg a favor of the god; and like a good, obedient husband,
he promised to go. Of course he must take an offering to the god.
Gods can’t be expected to do things for nothing, especially when they
are made of wood, paper and paint. I think you would have to do
considerable for such a god, to get anything in return. The woman was
thinking what to send. Under the floor of her house was a jar, and
in the jar was a rush-bag, and in the rush-bag was some coin. She
took out a hundred cash and set it aside with a lunch-box for her
husband. In the morning, what did the absent-minded booby do but
leave the lunch-box and take, instead, what they call a pillow: a set
minnie
TORII AT ENTRANCE TO SHINTO TEMPLE,
149
JAPANESE TEMPLE— AND A STORY. 151
of drawers containing things for a woman’s toilet — her hair-pins, and
so on. Off he started!
“On his way to the temple, thinking the matter over, he concluded it
would not be necessary to get from the god a blessing worth a hundred
cash, but a ten-cash blessing would do, and the ninety cash he could
have for a bottle of liquor and a jolly time after his temple visit! So
he made two piles of the money —a ten-cash pile and a ninety-cash pile
— intending to give the god the smaller heap. But, absent-minded as
usual, he threw into the treasury of the god the ninety-cash heap! He
felt like gnashing his teeth, when he found out his mistake. There
was no help for it, though, as the god never rectified any such mistake
as that, but grabbed all he could get. There was one consolation,
though, for the man, as he thought. There was the lunch that his
dear, dutiful spouse had fixed for him, and he could enjoy that; but
to his amazement when he opened the package, he saw hair-pins, hair-
oil and the like; but there was nothing he could eat! However,
there was the ten-cash pile, and was he not a lucky man to keep a
little money for himself? He resolved to go to a cake-shop and buy
something to eat.
“He saw there a large, round object, which, in his absent-minded-
ness, he thought would make him a lunch; and he bought it for
five cash. This was a fine opportunity ; and so cheap! He thought
the shop-girl must have made a mistake. Fearful that she might
discover it and want to rectify it, he posted off. I dare say he
hurried away to so good a distance that he could not easily re-
tur to mend the matter. He finally stuck his teeth into the
_ magnificent purchase, or at least endeavored to do so, but found
it was plaster of Paris— something made merely for show and to
attract custom, probably! He felt mad enough. It was dark when
he reached his house, as he supposed, and he was hungry
152 ALL ABOARD FOK SUNRISE LANDS.
and sore and tart. He was absent-minded, as usual, and it
was not his house really, and it was not his wife, also, that
he saw lighting a lantern. But he thought it was his wife;
and, mad and hungry, he went up to her and soundly cuffed his
supposed spouse on the ear! He must have satisfaction out of
something, you know. She screamed, and out came the true hus-
band, and away went our booby,
about running his legs off to
get away! When he reached
his own home, he forgot him-
self again! His wite appear-
ing, he went up to her and
begged her pardon for cuffing
her ears!â€
The boys thought this was
capital.
“Why, I suppose the poor
man was so hungry he did not
know what he was about, when
he acted so!†said Ralph.
“No doubt he was hungry
enough, and he seemed to have
tried hard to get something to
eat; but he was about as suc-
cessful as the three dogs in this
ee
picture which I have. There
was food on a shelf, and that they well knew; but a cat and two
kittens had got ahead of them, and only mocked at their frantic efforts
to reach the shelf and rout the invaders,†replied the doctor.
“Oh—h—h!†said Rick.
CHART ER | XV:
CHILDREN AND CHILDREN’S SPORTS.
ALPH and Rick were
exceedingly interested
in the child-element of.
life in Japan, and wished
they could see a Japanese
school. The doctor drew
some papers out of his
pocket, and from among
them produced a picture:
«This represents an old-
time school; and yet not
A DOLL MAKER. so very old, as the change
has come so_ recently
Look at this picture! You see the teacher and scholars are squat
upon the floor, and the teacher has laid his book on a book-rest.
There are the scholars scattered about.
“You notice the heads of the boys,—the hair shaven off,
excepting a tuft over the forehead and over each ear. There is
a child wearing about its waist the girdle, or obi. You see the
children’s sandals on the floor. One boy is wearing a foot-mitten
that has a separate place for the great toe, as a hand-mitten has
for the thumb. There is another boy who seems to wear foot-
mittens. Among those scholars some confusion has been introduced.
153
154 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
A forward scholar is pulling by the tail a four-legged visitor.—In
Japan, a cat with a tail is considered a curiosity.— This amusement —
provokes a good deal of attention and also attracts the master’s
stout ruler. In an old-time school they would learn the Japanese
signs, and after a while would, with a brush and Chinese ink,
make words, finally trying their hand at sentences. Some idea of
drawing was acquired. The boys were taught to write Chinese
characters, and knew something of the Chinese classics. Among
other things, girls were required to be able to say a verse from
each one of a hundred poets. Nowadays, the children are perched on
benches before desks, and you will see them using slate and pencil,
and you may find some American school-books on geography and
other branches. The teacher chalks away at a blackboard; maps
hang on the walls, and modern ideas are fast establishing them-
selves. It was told me that there are between. five and six millions
in Japan of a school-age; and that one-half of these, probably, are
in school. Among the teachers there are many ladies at work. At
one time, I know, they numbered eight hundred, and probably there
are more now.â€
“ That will fix woman’s position in Japan,†said Uncle Nat. “She
has been an inferior being here, kept under by the masculine will;
but where the teachers of a nation are mostly women, woman will
have her deserts, sooner or later.â€
“Woman’s Rights!†whispered the doctor to the boys.
“Call it what you please,’ replied Uncle Nat, reddening good-
naturedly over a favorite subject. “It is only the fair thing for
woman that I demand; ‘equal rights,’ and nothing more.â€
“That’s so,†said Rick, who was a very aged champion of the fair
sex. “Qh doctor, didn’t I hear you say that some of the scholars wore
swords to school once?â€
CHILDREN AND CHILDREN’S SPORTS. 155
“Yes; to wear two swords was the privi-
lege of a class called samurai, who were both
soldiers and scholars. These gentlemen were
very ugly about bowing to foreign ideas,
but they came under at last. There are
many in the police force, and they make
good officers.â€
“Oh Uncle Nat,†said Ralph, “Rick and
I have seen such heaps of children in the
streets; and there are people who get their
living by pleasing the —â€
“Yes, Uncle Nat,†eagerly interrupted
Rick, leaving Uncle Nat to guess the con-
clusion of Ralph’s remark; “we saw a man
telling stories; another, who would take a
*“LuOdS ASANVdVE
sort of paste, and hed make it up into
~ all sorts of funny toys, and then we saw a
man eat fire-balls —and, and—â€
Rick was out of breath, and Ralph came
to the rescue. -
“ And we saw, Uncle Nat, a doll. maker.
He was sitting squat on the ground, his
head shaved a good deal, and he had that
funny topknot, you know; in his hand was
a doll he was making, and he did not seem
to notice us one bit.â€
=
“You would be much interested, boys,†i
said the doctor, who was present, “in the Feast of Dolls. At a
daughter’s birth, dolls are given her, and these the mother keeps very
choice; and then at the Feast of Dolls they are brought out and
156 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
exhibited. They are nicely dressed. There are other toys made ta
imitate cooking apparatus or toilet articles that a lady might need.
In this assortment of mementoes you will find dolls representing the
emperor and court-personages. The celebration includes a feast, and
there is a happy time, all rejoicing. Dolls may be kept from one
generation to another. They are as diminutive as a few inches, and
then they are two and a half feet high. The week before the feast
there is a great trade in dolls here in Tokiyo.â€
“You ought to see the girls play battledoor and shuttlecock,†said
Rick.
«And you ought to see the boys spin tops and fly kites
Ralph.
“ Japanese boys love kites,†said the doctor. “The frame is of
1»
exclaimed
bamboo, and strong paper is pasted over it. Many are rectangular,
some I have seen being five feet square; and indeed they are of all
shapes, and are made to resemble birds sometimes, or men, or animals ;
and on some there are pictures. Across the top is a very thin strip
of whalebone, which makes a musical hum in the wind.â€
“Oh yes,†said Rick, “I—I-—TI heard the humming overhead and
-could not make it out, at’ first.â€
, “The boys,†said the doctor, “sometimes have kite-fights. They
glue pounded glass to the string below the kite-frame, and then crossing
strings they will make one saw through another. The kite that falls
goes to the other side as victor. The boys, too, have a good deal of
fun and exercise on long stilts. I know you would enjoy, boys, the
Feast of Flags; for the day brings its games and toys. You will see
figures of heroes, soldiers, wrestlers, or a daimiyo’s procession. In-
doors they have a merry time, and out-doors they hang from a
bamboo pole a large paper fish that the wind fills and buoys up. Some-
times the fish is six feet long and even more, and is a sure sign that
CHILDREN AND CHILDREN’S SPORTS. 157
there is a boy in the house displaying it. It is the carp that is put to
this use ; for this fish, good for making headway against a stream and
jumping waterfalls, reminds the boys that before difficulties they must
do likewise. When snow comes the boys are sure to improve it.
They roll up funny images of an old character called Daruma, who
was a follower of Buddha. He spent so much time squat in religious
meditation that he lost the use of his legs, and couldn’t go when he
wanted to. You will see his image in some of the shops, and he is
a character the boys like to set up. In this picture I have here there
is a snow-man, and it is Daruma, probably. One of the players has
peen knocked over by a missile, and it seems to amuse the others.â€
“The Japanese young people seem to be of a pretty good sort,â€
said Ralph.
«“ Well, they have human nature here in Japan same as elsewhere.
It has been said that the Japanese children are more obedient to parents
than American children are, but I think you will find a good quantity
ot self-will and human nature in young Japan.†;
There was silence for a few moments.
CHAPTER XVI.
A SHORT TRIP.
ee doctor finished his story, and then Uncle Nat informed the
boys that he had planned for a short trip out of the city.
One interesting spot they visited was a Japanese cemetery.
“The Japanese pay much attention to the resting-places of their
dead,†remarked the doctor. “They are neat, and they try to make
them beautiful, also. Here come some women.â€
These, as the doctor spoke, came forward, and taking old bouquets
out of bamboo flower-holders on the pedestals of the tombs, put fresh
ones in their places. | The monuments in the cemetery were of various
- shapes Some were simply square stone pillars, and others ege-shaped.
“Don’t they sometimes burn their dead bodies?†asked Uncle Nat.
“Yes; what we term cremation is often practiced, and is the most
common way of disposing of the dead. Afterwards, their ashes are
collected, deposited in an urn, and this is placed in the cemetery, and
a stone erected above,†replied the doctor.
“And do people have a new name given them after death?â€
asked Ralph; “I have read so.â€
158
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i ie a :
i =e i ’ a Cy =e Nf SSS
AN
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A CEMETERY,
hh
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A SHORT TRIP. 16r
“Yes; on those stones are the names now bes’. wed upon the dead.â€
Uncle Nat was silent, but thought of the passage in Revelation,
where it says: “To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the
hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
“new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that re-
ceiveth it.â€
As the party pushed on still farther, their attention was often
called to some novel feature. People were pursuing their trades,
working in their gardens or shops.
“And that is the sign of a barber,†said Uncle Nat to his nephews,
pointing in the direction of a certain shop.
“ See,†exclaimed Ralph, “the barber shaves the head of his customer,
and it is a little boy.â€
The boys, according to the old Japanese custom, must have their
heads wholly shaved for three years after birth. Then, three tufts
of hair are permitted to grow; one at the back of the neck, or on
the top of the back of the head, and one above each ear. At ten,
they only shave the crown, and the boy wears a forelock. At fifteen,
a boy is supposed to take on the burdens of manhood, and he may let
his hair grow like a man’s. That is the old Japanese style; but now-
adays boys, especially in the larger cities, are beginning to wear
their hair in ‘European style, and some of the men also.
The noon of that very day, Uncle Nat said to his nephews, “Do you
want to start for Australia to-morrow? You see we must be going
soon, for my ship will be waiting for me at Kobe.â€
Both the boys’ faces began to fall; but “ship†is an object
that will revive a lively lad’s drooping spirits, and this was the objeet
reconciling Rogers brothers to.a journey away from Sunrise Land.
“You see we take the big national road, the Tokaido, leading off
into the country, and connecting Tokiyo with the ancient capital,
162 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
Kiyoto. Thence we journey to Osaka. We finally reach Kobe, and
there we take the finest ship out, the Antelope. And now I have
special news. Guess—guess, if you can, who is going with us to
Australia!â€
The boys made all sorts of wild, reckless guesses, but Uncle Nat said:
“You are wrong every time; for it is Dr. Walton!†—
“Dr. Walton!†they screamed.
“Yes; for some time he has been thinking of a return to America,
and has concluded to go by way of Australia, a country he was never
in. So he travels per Antelope.â€
“ Good, good, good!†shouted Rick.
“ Better, better, better!†shouted Ralph; and Uncle Nat not to be
outdone, said “ Best, best, best!â€
The boys thought the event ought to be celebrated.
“And how can we celebrate?†asked Rick.
“Let’s get the doctor to tell a story, for that’s the best celebration,â€
suggested Ralph; and they hunted up the doctor at once.
“Ha, boys, you have me there,†said the doctor. “Well, I'll give
you a short story, one about a Japanese judge that the poop think
highly of, and a book has been written about him:
“ There was once a young mother who had a little daughter. The
mother was very straightened in her means, and was obliged to go
away from home to work; and in the meantime she left her child in
the care of another woman. By and by the mother was able to return
home, and she did so joyfully, expecting to have her child back again,
and be hers all the time. But what did the other woman do but
refuse to relinquish her, claiming her as her own child! The true
mother was heart-stricken, and took her case to Judge Oka; but what
could he do about it? Nobody had a word to say, excepting these two
women, and their testimony butted against one another like the heads
A LONELY MEAL FOR THE JAPANESE MOTHER. 163
A SHORT TRIP. 165
of two enraged animals. At last the judge thought of this plan:
“* Rach of you take hold of that girl,’ I imagine him saying. ‘Now
pull! Who is the stronger of you two shall have her! Pull! Pull!
I say!’
“ Both women seized the girl, but the true mother handled her child
gently, and when the latter cried out, on account of the pulling, the
true mother ceased, not being willing to hurt her child. The other
woman had been straining like an anaconda on an ox. The friends of
the mother thought she had better pull again, and the lying contestant
defied her to do it; but the mother’s heart said, ‘I can’t pull and
- hurt my child’ Judge Oka saw at once that this was the real mother,
and gave the girl to her. The other contestant went home, probably
looking sour as a pickle, but the spectators were full of praise for
the judge.â€
“T am glad,†said Rick sympathizingly, “ that the woman got
her daughter, or there would have been many a lonely meal for
the poor Japanese mother.â€
_ “The story,†said Ralph, “makes you think of what Solomon did
with the two mothers claiming the same baby.â€
“So it does. Stories, like folks, may travel from one country to
another. And in their travels, their aes may be changed like oo
of the new people they happen among.â€
“Oh another story!†cried Rick.
“Yes, yes! Do, please!†added Ralph.
“Doctor, you are in for it.â€
“Tam afraid I am, Capn. Well, let me think! Hum! Let
me think !â€
He sat with bowed head a minute; then raised it.
“T have something now. Do you remember about our American
story of Rip Van Winkle?â€
166 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“ That mossy old’ character?†asked Ralph.
“Yes; and they have a man as old and mossy in Japanese
stories. What makes it more interesting is that the story first
came over from China, but is kept up by Japanese story-tellers ;
so that China and Japan both have a Rip Van Winkle. This one’s
name in the story is Lu Wen. He was a wood-cutter, and back
of his house was a big mountain, on whose shaggy sides were the
woods where Lu Wen used to swing his axe; and many a pile
he hacked out for the big, roaring fires on ‘the cold winter days.
One day, in a time of beautiful weather, he had gone into the
woods carrying his beloved axe. He thought he knew the paths
very well, but this time he lost his way completély. The flowers,
though, were beautiful and the day lovely, and as his poverty did
not allow him to indulge in many romantic walks, probably he
rather enjoyed this excursion and wandered on. Hark! What was
it he heard? Something was going through the woods and _ step-
ping on the twigs of the bushes. He looked again. There was
a fox. You will find out that the fox is a witchy kind of being
in Japanese opinion, and Lu Wen might have guessed that harm
was ahead. If he had only been one of the famous old-time
archers and shot the fox dead, how lucky! The fox ran, Lu Wen
following, and at last they came to an open place where Lu Wen wit-
nessed a sight that made him forget the fox and also lose his senses ;
for there were two very beautiful ladies squat on the ground, playing
checkers. How handsome they were! Lu Wen stared, and stared, and
stared, the ladies not seeming to notice him at all — the rogues!
‘What a nice game that is, and I wonder who will beat?’ he must
have said to himself. He kept watching the play and the players also ;
but he finally remembered that it would not do for him to stay
longer — especially, you know, as neither of the beautiful witches
ONE OF THE OLD-TIME ARCHERS.
A SHORT TRIP. 169
had: asked him to sit down and have a gime with her. As he
tried, however, to go away, what was the matter with his legs and
with his hands? He felt stiff all over. The handle of his axe
suddenly began to rot and crumble. He bent to pick up the pieces,
when, to his surprise, he saw dangling from his once shaven chin,
and hanging upon his bosom, a long hoary beard, white as the
snow on the mountain in winter! What had happened? He dared
not think, I imagine, but concluded that he would go home—a safe
place to retreat to in trouble. So with his stiffened limbs he went
hobbling along, hobbling along, and came down the mountain to
the neighborhood that had been his home. There were the houses,
but a new set of people was in them, and everybody was greatly
exercised over this strange old white-bearded, hobbling man. The
dogs barked at him and the children poked fun at Lu Wen. Iu
Wen’s heart sank within him. Did no one know him? He asked
about his family, and then the neighborhood concluded he must
surely be a fool, as no one knew anything of such a strange family.
By and by up tottered a venerable lady who testified that away
back in the history of her family there was a man by the name
of Lu Wen, but that was six generations before her day. I
seem to hear her say, ‘He was my great, great, great, great, grand-
father !’. It must have. frightened him to hear the old lady, for he
turned away, — went back to the mountains, —and was never heard
of again.â€
CHAPTER XVII.
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY.
JAPANESE WOMAN AND CHILD.
hich. Little boys were at
T was a fine spring morning in
Japan, and four jinrikishas were
all moving along the great public
road running from Tokiyo, the
new capital of Japan, to the old
capital, Kiyoto. There was a jin-
rikisha for each traveller ; one for
Uncle Nat, a second for Dr. Wal-
ton, a third for Ralph, and a fourth
for Rick. What happy boys!
On either side were tall, solemn
old pines overshadowing many
homes, and in the distance were
the glorious heights of Fujisan,
witite as a marble watch-tower.
The travellers were often passing
people; the same strange, yellow-
skinned men and women, some
comfortably and others poorly
dressed, and they were walking on
clogs about two or three inches
their play. Some of these had bare,
170
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A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY. 173
shining vcalps bobbing up and down and sporting those queer little
top-knots that amused Ralph and Rick so much.
“Oh, see!†called out Rick to Ralph.
The latter looked and saw several white-robed men under their
broad hats. In one hand they carried a little tinkling bell, and
in the other a walking-stick.
“Who are those men?†called out Rick to the doctor, whose jin-
rikisha was quite near.
“ They are pilgrims, bound for) some temple; and on such walkine-
sticks I have seen paper prayers, and those bells jingle and sum-
mon the gods to notice their petition. It is my opinion that
those gods will need quite an arousing.â€
They soon passed temple-grounds, and the doctor promised to tell —
the boys about such places. Sometimes the road ran through
villages and towns, and then it stretched through the open country.
Stopping at various tea-houses or restaurants, they had an _ oppor-
tunity for several lunches, each halt attracting a throng of ambitious
sight-seers.. Several women gazed curiously from their homes at the
strangers. One of these female inspectors carried a child upon her
back—a common fashion in Japan—and the tired mother looked
as if she would be very glad when this child could walk.
“What makes the women black their teeth here im Japan,
doctor ?â€
“T don’t know, Ralph. It can’t be because it makes them hand-
some. I only know that in some regions it is a sign of marriage.
Young unmarried women may do it, but according to my way of
thinking, they would never catch a husband with that bait. Married
women too remove their eyebrows. Female customs, though, as well
as male, feel the influence of European ideas. The empress Haruko,
‘I know, did discourage this tooth-blacking, eyebrow-shaving custom.â€
.
174 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“The women are kind to the birds,†interrupted Rick, that defender
of the female sex, desirous to say all he could for them.
“Oh yes. The Japanese: are, as a people, kind to animals,†replied —
the doctor. ‘Many Buddhists are in Japan, and their religion empha-
sizes kindness to animals.â€
“Buddhists believe in the transmigration of souls; that mankind
after death may pass into animal kind, do they not?†asked Uncle
Nat.
“Yes.â€
- “Then I can see why one should be careful about hurting a cow,
lest he injure some old ancestor.â€
Ralph and Rick were anxious to see the inside of a real Japanese
house; one that had not been invaded by any foreign ideas.
“There is a house with an open door,†suggested the doctor, after
a lunch-halt. “Let us go there.â€
The four jinrikishas halted at the open door, and as half a dozen
bare-headed children came rushing out of the house, and stared at
the strangers, the latter concluded that the desire for sight-seemg was
mutual. A Japanese woman met the party, and smilingly acceded
to the doctor’s request in Japanese for a look inside.
Before entering the doctor called the boys’ attention to the way
the house was built without. :
“ There, you see this is a pretty light affair. The frame is of wood,
and while in.Tokiyo and Yokohama we saw many roofs that were
tiled, this one is of straw-thatch. Now we will take off our boots
and shoes —that is the custom, you know—and step inside.â€
The floor was covered with straw-matting, and the walls were only
partitions of paper, and there were paper windows with paper shut-
ters. In the centre of the floor was a little furnace or brazier, filled
with glowing charcoal, on which was a tea-kettle boiling furiously.
MAKING TEA. 175.
a
e
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY. 177
“ Here,†said the doctor, “the cooking is done. Sometimes you
will see a fireplace in the middle of the floor; the smoke escapes
through a hole in the roof.â€
_ “Where are the chairs?†asked Ralph.
“The floor is chair.â€
“And haven't they any sofa?â€
“The floor is sofa.â€
“Haven't they any beds or tables i
“We will find out.â€
The doctor then went up to one of the partitions, and the Japanese
woman who had followed him and comprehended his desire, courte-
ously slipped forward and pushed back the paper wall. The boys
then saw that the partitions were arranged to slide backward and
forward. In the second room thus revealed, they saw a wooden
block and a little cushion on top.’ Near it were several quilts.
“The floor with the matting is the bedstead, boys, and these quilts
are the bedding. You see the furniture is very simple. Sometimes
you will see a little lacquer table in a room. I have seen in houses a
room with a recess and raised platform for vases, flowers, and various
ornaments; and the surrounding walls are decorated with pictures.
Generally in houses you see a god-shelf; perhaps in the kitchen or
the family sitting-room.â€
“Tcan see after inspecting this house,†remarked Uncle Nat, “why
fires are so destructive in Japan, the houses being just wood and paper
so often.â€
“T was going through a town once,†remarked the doctor, “and
I noticed the sounding of a firealarm. A man mounted a ladder
and bawled to the people, and they responded and pulled down the
louse that was on fire. That probably was the best thing they
could have done. The building was a cheap affair, and it was of
178 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
more consequence to prevent the spreading of the fire than to save
the house. People in Japan do not live in palaces, by any means.
- Some of these must be places of positive discomfort in cold weather.
Japan is not that fairy-land of pleasure and luxuries that we might
imagine from the talk of some.â€
“No,†said Ralph ;“I meet people every day thin and bony, who
look as if they envied me every mouthful of food I took.â€
“ Japan has its share of poverty,†said the doctor, “ while the people
as a whole seem comfortable.â€
In the house last visited Rick executed a piece of mischief. He
wanted to see how thick might be the paper in the partitions, and
he pressed against it and pressed through it! Frightened, he left
the house without an apology to its mistress. |
“That won’t do,†he said to himself. “I am backing out in
a mean way. Besides, I have lost my sleeve-button. It is in the
road probably, and I had better hunt it up. No; I will go into the
house first.†|
He turned, and entering the house again drew its mistress up to
the ruptured partition. As he showed it, he pulled some money
out of his pocket and offered it to her. She Jaughed, and shook her
head. |
“Oh yes; take it,†persisted Rick.
She shook her head again and jabbered out a quantity of Japanese
words. Then laughing, she put her hand into the sash about her
waist — the obi—and pulled out Rick’s sleeve-button! She stooped
to the floor and signified thereby that she had picked it up there.
Rick, as he received the button, again pressed her to take the money ;
but she declined. Then he put it into the hand of a baby on her back,
and running out to his jinrikisha, was rapidly borne away.
It was in the first day’s journey that the doctor said: “There is a
[SN
Gi.
YAO
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wy
|
179
>â€
i'r ITH US?
’? YOU TAKE A CUP OF TEA W
© WON'T
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY. i LALO
curiosity I want the boys to see, if agreeable to you, captain. I mean the
famous Buddhist idol, three miles from Kamakura.â€
“We will certainly go,†replied Uncle Nat.
_ Arriving at the designated spot, the sharp eyes of the two boys
were turned in every direction, and their mouths were full of questions.
The big idol, Dai Butzu, interested them exceedingly.
“This idol, boys,†said the doctor, “is a big bronze image of Buddha.
You see he is squat in a gigantic lotus-blossom.â€
The. god’s eyes were shut and he appeared to be enjoying a nap, his
hands resting in his ample lap.
“Oh-h-h!†said Rick.
“There he is! The man whose religion is that of Buddhism
believes that the final and desirable state of the good is one of un-
conscious rest, and the god, you see, is in that condition. Look at
his head! It is covered over with shells —the shells of snails. An
old fable runs that when Buddha came up from the sea, these snails
travelled at a wonderful pace, for them, and clustered upon the head
of his sacred majesty, making a kind of shield against the sun. Then
it is also said that the shells represent the god’s wavy hair.â€
Rick and Ralph were on the hunt at once for adventures. They
found a chance to get inside the image, and they saw a number of
shelves there ‘supporting little images. Coming out again, the boys
‘looked over the idol once more.
“He has big ears,†said Rick, “and oe is a good sign; for they
say that folks with big ears are generous.â€
‘The last thing that the boys desired to do was to climb up and
perch on a thumb of the god.
When they started to leave, the doctor said: “ You will find many
temples in Japan, and some are very rich in their style of arrangements
within. I remember one that I saw the past season. Its roof was
182 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
very heavily tiled. Before the temple-steps stood four men, their
heads reverently bowed. The sight touched me, though the men
were idolaters;.and made me long for the time when the light of
a better day would come to them, and show them the Saviour.†3
When twilight came they stopped the jinrikishas at the door of
a public house, or yadoya. The landlord met them when entering, and
prostrated himself, bowing his shiny scalp, and with his forehead
touched the floor several times. The building was quite large.
“Slide back all these paper walls about us, boys, and you would
get an immense room; a plan they resort to. in Japan when they
want plenty of space,†said the doctor.
“Supper most ready?†asked the captain, as they paeted into
an inner room. :
“ Almost, I guess,†replied the doctor. “I noticed in the kitchen
that things seemed to be in the condition of a lively bake or a
lively boil.â€
They all sat down upon the mat- sere floor, and supper was
brought in and placed on little low tables.
_ “What have we here?†asked Uncle Nat. “Jack Bobstay has
been in Japan, and we ought to have him here to give his opinion,
boys. But here comes the doctor, and he will tell us.†|
Blessed old Jack Bobstay! How Ralph and Rick wished him
there. The doctor, who had been out of the room, now returned, and
gave his opinion about the dishes furnished for supper.
‘«Tet’s see! Here are egos, and here is rice, and here is tea,
and here is—give it up!. It is some mysterious Japanese vegetable
compound. Ah, here is some fish!â€
_*“T can’t say I like Japanese living as well as I do the roast-
beef style,†said Uncle Nat; and it was the opinion of all.
Supper over, Ralph and Rick clamored for a story.
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HAVING A SOCIAL TIM&,
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“A story? Hold on
‘a minute or two. I
think it would be a
good idea to have a
little fire, and I will
ask our landlord to let us
havea brazier of coals,â€
replied the doctor.
A little furnace
of hot coals, known
as the hibachi or fire-
brazier, was soon sur-
rounded by a group of
listeners squat upon the
floor and anxiously
awaiting the doctor’s
story. Ralph looked
about him. There were
the floor-squatters in
that strangely fur-
nished room, neither
chair nor lounge be-
neath them, the brazier
before them, paper
walls lighted by a Jap-
~ anese lamp about them.
“This lamp,†said
the doctor, “has a
saucer filled with rape-
seed oil which feeds a
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY.
“MIVM V Yor INO
185
186 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
lighted wick. People are using kerosene lamps in many places.â€
The. boys thought it would be fun to listen to a story seated around
a Japanese brazier. The doctor began :
“Tt is claimed that the authentic history of Japan goes back to
the seventh century before Christ. It is not easy to give precise
dates, but when we think of Rome’s long existence, we must remember
that Japan is at least as ancient a country, and probably has had a
longer life. The history of Japan is full of exciting deeds, bristling
with strife, a great many heroes figuring in the contests.
“Japan makes me think of England, in some things. They both are
islands, and both have been jealous of foreign interference, and both have
had civil wars. Just as England had its war of the Roses, so Japan had
its war of the Chrysanthemums, that flower representing a kingly
line. Then England, you know, had its Spanish Armada; that big,
burly collection of old scows coming to overthrow English power.
So Japan was threatened by a Chinese Armada. There were one hun-
dred and seven thousand Chinese, Tartars and Coreans in thirty-five
hundred junks. It is now six centuries almost to a ycar that this
big flock of evil birds, their wings outspread in an evil flight, came
toward Japan. The birds folded their wings off the city of Daizaifu.
Now the Japanese are brave. The children are trained to despise
death, and to have a very delicate sense of honor, which is sometimes
very foolish and very bloody.
“The Japanese sailed out in their lighter craft, showing their spunk
-and daring; but though they annoyed the enemy and did valiant
deeds, they accomplished nothing substantial and decisive. They lost
many lives, as the Chinese junks carried catapults or machines for
throwing stones, and they cruelly pelted the Jupanese navy. The
Chinese finally swung an iron chain from one vessel to another, to
intercept the attacks of the Japanese. The Chinese also sent parties
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY. 187
to the shore, but the Japanese routed them; and they built earth-works
along the sands, to keep off the invaders.
_ “A Japanese officer, Michiari, was pleased to see this Chinese inva-
sion, as he had prayed for this very thing. Writing his prayers on
pieces of paper and then piously committing them to memory, he
finally set the paper-prayers on fire, as that is supposed to be a quick
way of getting a message to a god.’ The ashes he swallowed! That
process must have touched the heart of a wooden god, even.
“ Michiari now packed two boats with daring men, and off he went
to the Chinese fleet. His pigmy craft were despised by the Chinese,
for the Japanese were apparently unarmed.
“¢He is coming to surrender himself,’ said the Chinese concerning
the Japan leader.
“But the latter had no such idea. He threw out his grappling-
hooks, seized a junk, and then his band with keen swords attacked
and overpowered the crew. Burning the junk, they left for the
shore. The whole nation was fired by such heroism, and help came
from every quarter. All over the land, too, there was a going up
of prayers at the temples. The emperor wrote out a prayer and sent
it by a messenger to a temple, and the story runs that when the mes-
senger reached the shrine and presented the prayer, a bit of cloud
was seen that grew. into — what ?
“Into one of the cyclones, so well known in that part of the world ;
and it burst upon the Chinese fleet. How it raged—that awful
storm ! |
“Tt reminds one of the terrible gale destroying the Spanish Armada
off the English coast. In that Japanese cyclone, the Chinese junks
were swept helplessly upon the terrible shore-rocks, and many men
were drowned. The survivors reached Taka island, intending to
build boats there in which they could sail to Corea; but the Japanese
188 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
SEN
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ee
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i te He
ae
be
a
Ad
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\
thought it just the time to improve his
STRETCHED OUT FOR THE NIGHT.
came upon them, and,
overpowering them,
left only three to
carry home the tidings
of the sad disaster on
the shores of Japan.
“That was an aw-
ful catastrophe. Al-
though it happened
hundreds of yearsago,
it is by no means for-
gotten, and to-day
you may hear a Jap-
anese mother refer-
ring to that great
Chinese Armada, as
she tries to quiet her
child with the ques-
tion :
“
the Mogu (Mongols)
are coming ?’â€
After the telling of
this story, the doctor
and Uncle Nat went
out to make- some
arrangements for
their journey on the
morrow, and Rick
‘opportunity !
A JINRIKISHA JOURNEY. 189
He heard a noise on the other side of the paper-walls.
~ “Tt sounds like a man snoring,’ he said. “I wonder if I
can’t take a peep! Let me see; I just take hold of this thing, shove
a little, and slide it—back!â€
Te his gratification the paper screen moved back, and allowed him
a chance to thrust in his inquisitive head. He saw the snorer stretched
out for the night in Japanese fashion, and near him was a_paper-
shaded lamp, its mild lustre falling over the room. At one side of
‘the room, the partition was decorated with a picture of Fujisan,
storks and vines.
While Rick was enjoying this view, he surprised himself and others
by yelling in pain; “Ow-w-w!â€
The next moment he was seen rushing back into his room, holding
on to a badly nipped nose. He had thrust his sharp little nose just
far enough forward to be caught between the paper partition and its
neighbor, if any hand might force them together, and that hand had
been furnished by Uncle Nat’s coming mto the room, and noticing at
one end of the partition that it was not in place; he failed to look
~ at the other end and see who was there; and Rick had the benefit of
Uncle Nat’s ignorance.
“Poor fellow!†said Uncle Nat; “1 won’t do it again.â€
«“ And I’m sure I don’t want you to,†blubbered Rick.
SS SS —— ee
A POETESS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
OKA AND MURASAKI.
NE more story!†was the ape of the boys to shee doctor
the next TOTRIDE:
“Please, one more,†they cried.
“Qh have mercy, boys! You will wear the doctor out,†said
Uncle Nat.
“T will put my hand in the bag and pull out one more story,â€
said the doctor good-naturedly; ‘and this shall be about Judge
Oka. One day a case of theft came before him, and the par-
ticulars were these: There was an old man, very rich, but he
kept on selling pickled vegetables—his business—for it brought
199
AN OLD JAPAN SCENE.
OKA AND MURASAKI. 193
him the gold he loved so dearly. But where could he safely keep
his gold, when he had it? He thought of a curious place at last.
Among his pickled vegetables was a vessel of radishes. These
were kept in a mixture of various things—salt, radish-juice, and
so on, which, in the course of time, evolves an abominable odor,
strong enough to knock a horse over, but not a miser. There, in
the dark bottom of the radish-vessel, the skinflint kept his gold.
It chanced, though, that a neighbor found out this precious fact.
Perhaps he was looking through a window at night that had not
been shut, and he saw Old Nipper—my name for him— making
a wry face, as he plunged his hand down among the radishes,
then showing a very happy face, as he fished up a shining piece
of gold. This neighbor—alas for the old pickle-dealer! went into
the shop during Nipper’s absence, and putting his hand into
the radish-dish left the radishes, but took the gold. What a face
the old pickle-dealer made now, when he examined his beloved
collection of radishes! He flew to Judge Oka and told the story.
What was to be done? Did the judge scratch his head, look
grave, and wonder, and then scratch again? If he did, something
came of the scratching, He summoned before him Nipper’s neigh-
bors, and afterwards locked the doors. Then he went from man
to man, and made them present their hands. What was the
judge up to? He was up to this—a smell; for he went from
man to man, and so came to a hand that carried the abominable
smell of the radishes. It was the hand of the thief, and he owned
up and received his deserts.â€
The boys sougoe that Judge Oka was the “smartest judge out.â€
“T ’gpose,†said Rick, “the Japanese have story-books, as well as
story-tellers.â€
Oh yes; the Japanese are very literary, after their fashion.
194 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
They have a great many books, and not only the men, but the
women, have cultivated a literary taste. There is a book highly
esteemed in Japan which was written by Murasaki Shikibu, a
lady. She was asked to write some sketches, as the mother
of the emperor wished for a fresh book; and Murasaki resolved to
attempt the task. ;
“ Asthefamous Chinese author, Shomei, when he wished to execute
some literary work, put up a lofty building and then shut himself
in it, she determined to imitate his example. At Ishiyama, from
which one looks down upon the waters of Lake Biwa, a very high
retreat was built for her. In ‘the moonlight, the waters glistened
like glass, while the mountains rose up stately and grand. Murasaki
retired to the spot, and there, alone with the moonlight, the water,
and the mountains, she was so fired by a literary fever that in
one night she wrote two chapters of the Genji Monogatari, a Jap-
anese classic; and the whole work she finished in a few weeks.â€
“Do not the Japanese have a great many maxims?†said Uncle Nat.
“They certainly have some ingenious sayings, and they like to
trot them round. Such are these: ‘Don’t trust a pigeon to carry
grain ;’ ‘You can not rivet a nail in potato-custard;’ ‘In mending
the horn, he killed the ox; ‘Live under your own hat;’ ‘A cur
that bravely barks before its own gate;’ ‘You might as well
scatter a fog with a fan’ A blind man walked confidently near
a deep hole, and I heard another say, as he rushed up and pulled the
fellow out of danger, .‘A blind man does not fear a snake.’â€
The boys then looked at the picture of a street-scene the doctor
showed them. There were ladies, a kago and bearers, an official
on horseback, and “two-sworded gentlemen,’ as the doctor called
them. “But the day of the latter,’ he added, “has passed by, and
this is an old Japan scene.â€
CHAPTER XIX.
JAPAN TEA.
WANT,†said the doctor one
morning, “to show the boys
something new to-day.â€
«AJ right. Anything to in-
terest those lively youths,’ re-
plied the obliging Uncle Nat.
Where the road passed through
a farming region the deter cried out:
“Let’s stop here!â€
The jinrikishas came to a halt, and the party alighted; the doctor
led them into a field dotted with bushes that seemed to be magnets
attracting several young women, and these seemed like very busy
birds pecking at tempting fruit.
“Huckleberry bushes!†shouted Ralph, springing away, and fol-
Icwed by Rick.
“Oh pshaw!†exclaimed Ralph. ‘1 forgot it was spring! But what
are they?â€
“Bring on your huckleberries, boys!†called out Uncle Nat. The
doctor was roaring.
“Sold! sold!†exclaimed Uncle Nat.
The boys were of the same opinion, as their look of chagrin showed.
‘ 195
196 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Well, what do you call them?†asked Rick.
“Oh I know,†said Ralph. “I remember, now, that I saw a picture
of them once. They are tea-plants, doctor.â€
“Yes, these are tea-bushes; and, as you see, they grow to be pretty
stout. They are now picking the new leaves on top—the tender
_ growth; they gather older leaves also, but the nicest teas come
from the tender tips of growth in the spring. What is sold generally
in our home is the older leaf-growth, and some of it, as I remeraber
the taste, was pretty old indeed. And do you want to see the next
step in this tea-business? Come this way.â€
They followed one of the tea-pickers who was now carrying a basket
filled with leaves, and she entered a building where several men were
at work. The leaves were then steamed a little while and softened.
The next stage in the process was the drying; and the boys watched
it intently. The leaves, still moist, were placed in pans, and heat
applied. Beginning with the hottest pans, a Japanese then worked
the leaves over, and after a lengthy rubbing and rolling, the dried
leaves were gathered in baskets.
“There is one other thing to be seen,†said the doctor; and he led
Uncle Nat and the boys tc a house where the leaves were sifted and
picked over. Everything of a refuse nature was thrown away, the
nicer leaves put by themselves, and also the coarser growth.
“The last process I guess you all smelt at Yokohama. Do you
remember any tea-odor in the street after your landing?â€
“Oh yes, doctor,†said Uncle Nat; “and I wanted a cup of tea at
once.†,
“ At Yokohama the tea is re-fired, as they call it; heated and worked
over and prepared for a sea-voyage to distant markets; and the most
of this, they tell me, is colored to suit foreign customers.â€
The jinrikishas were now resumed, and the journey continued.
me
ae
JAPAN TEA, 199
When they stopped at a hotel that night, Rick, who had put his
legs to a very frequent use during the day, dropped mto a profound
slumber at once; but Ralph lay awake. He saw where the soft
light from the paper-lamp fell upon the paper-walls. Then he thought
how queer it was to be in that room without bedstead, without table,
without chair, without washstand. Hark! He raised himself on his
elbow.
“Frogs!†he said. “The frog band is out, and serenadiig some-
body! That makes me think of home.â€
Then his thoughts wandered far away to old Concord. He imagined
himself passing into the house. He went into the sitting-room. He
climbed the stairs leading to the chamber where he and Rick
had many mornings contended in such obstinate pillow-fights, sure
to be followed by a nap from which mother’s voice would with
difficulty arouse them. What heavy sleepers! So drowsy when
she called; and she called now. Then he slowly crawled out to the
barn-chamber —so quiet ; no one there! Then he went out into
the garden under an old pine, where the wind made such sleepy,
sleepy music, and then he went—went—went—to the Land of
Nod!
CHAPTER XX.
MOURNERS AND RELIGIOUS FAITHS.
N the morning the jinrikishas
moved off briskly. The way led.
past farm-houses and fields; through
villages; amid varying features of
Japanese life and scenery. There
were man-carts, and jinrikishas and
kagos — pilgrims, policemen, farmers ;
but everywhere it was Japan, .
and everybody was Japanese. There
were the same yellow-skinned,. dark-
eyed people, wearing their obi and clogs; not so thrifty im their
looks, so well-to-do, as a New England people, and yet always
civil and pleasant. Our travellers were tired, and early halted for
their nightly rest. After their supper of tea, fish, and rice, Ralph
came to the doctor, whispering, “I guess somebody is dead in the
next house.â€
“Why so?â€
“YT. went to the door to see if any children might te there,
because I thought they would like to have some of the picture
papers I had.â€
“Some you brought from horse ye
“Yes; that was Nurse Fennell’s idea. She said she couldn’t be
200
MOUCRNERS AND RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 203
a missionary to the heathen, but she could send ’em papers; so
she begged a lot with pictures, and Rick and I—when we don’t
forget — give them round; and, doctor, children like to look
at them.â€
“Oh yes. They see the picture and get some good idea from it,
unless Nurse Fennel sent them a bad assortment. But you didn’t
tell what you saw.†e
“Well, I saw people bowing on the floor, and they seemed to be
in a great deal of trouble.â€
“You are right, Ralph. Some one had already told me that a
death had taken place there. Did you see a screen turned upside
down, and a kind of table near it; and was there any light on
the table; and did you see dishes?â€
“Oh yes.â€
“Well, behind the screen was the dead body, the head turned
to the north —for the Japanese are very particular about the direction
of the head. Near: the body, probably, were the chop-sticks
and eating-tray the deceased had used; cups and saucers also. Food
too doubtless was there.â€
“They seemed to be in terrible trouble,’ said Ralph sympathet-
ically.
The journey was delayed next day, and. the boys saw a funeral
procession move along the road. A platform resting on two poles
that four bearers uplifted, supported the coffin. The coffin was
covered with a white cloth, and the bearers wore a white dress.
In the procession were priests wearing their robes; and there were
the bearers of lanterns, which were of white paper.
“White seems to be the color of mourning more than black,â€
thought Rick. Something else he noticed; and he asked the doctor
about it.
204 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“T saw the lanterns in the procession. They seem to use them
for almost everything.â€
“Yes; that is one of the features in Japan a stranger is sure
to notice. The lanterns are sometimes very large. Those used in
the temples are ten or twelve feet long, and they will measure
three or four feet through. They may be only a foot long and four
or five inches wide; and such lanterns are carried about. They are
of various shapes; sometimes like fans or fishes, then circular, or
perhaps square or oblong.â€
When they halted that noon, the boys asked the doctor to tell
them about the religions of Japan.
“There are three religions. The oldest is the Shinto. In the
Shinto temples you will find special honors paid to the departed heroes,
whom this religion deifies. It teaches that the mikado is a divinity.
It has been policy for the government to keep up this old faith, whose
special distinguishing feature is the worship of Japanese heroes.
“Buddhism is another religion observed in Japan, but it was some-
thing imported. Its founder lived in India in the sixth century before
Christ, and was the son of an Indian king. His name was Siddhartha,
but he was also called Gautama (a family name) and Sakyamuni (the
devotee of Sakya; another family name). His title of honor was
Buddha, meaning ‘the sage. There have been various Buddhas,
Gautama being the last; and he declared that another would in the
future appear.
“The Buddha receives divine honors, and is thor ught to be the
supreme ruler of the present period of the world. In his images,
he is generally represented as seated, his legs crossed, apparently
lost in contemplation. This state of mind is thought to be a great
virtue, and an excellent way of getting to the Buddhist heaven.
According to Buddhism, the soul at death passes into a new form
MOURNERS AND RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 205
of existence, higher or lower — perhaps. a superior being or a disgusting
animal; according to one’s merit or demerit.
“The Buddhist heaven, accessible only after many transformations,
much living and dying, suffermg and purifying, is called nirvana; a
state of unconsciousness, rest, apathy, and some say it means extinction.
Anyway, it must be a queer kind of know-nothing-ness. The founder
of Buddhism is claimed to have three hundred millions of followers
in the world, and he has been allowed four hundred millions even. In
Japan he is very popular. He himself exacted of his disciples a
life of self-denial, and insisted upon good morals; but Buddhism has
cf ‘i
Ny ui
get ny. Eb
BEATING THE TEMPLE DRUM.
degenerated, and as we find its followers to-day, there is imperative
need of a great and radical change.â€
“There seem to be a good many Buddhist temples in Japan,â€
remarked Uncle Nat. .
206 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Yes; and in these temples you find the worship of various Japanese
deities, such as deified old heroes, so that Buddha is not the only one
receiving special honor. Buddhism has been adapted to Japan.â€
“ Doctor, why do they beat drums in the temples?†asked Rick.
THE EXCURSION OF TENGON BY WATER.
“In that way the attention of the god who is supposed to be in
a state of apathy, is called to the prayers of suppliants. In some
countries the idea prevails. also that evil spirits may hinder one’s
prayers from reaching Buddha, and the drum-beating scares away
the spirits. Besides these faiths, Oonfucianism has its followers in
Japan. Confucius was a Chinese philosopher, and his teachings pertain
to practical matters of duty, rather than to spiritual things. -
MOURNERS AND RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 207
“The Japanese do not seem to object ‘to all these differing styles
of religion. They like many temples, and they fancy festival days.
There’s a celebration at Sinagawa in honor of the god, Tengon. The
priests take the shrine of the idol into the water, but the fishermen
are accustomed to gather and generally obtain possession of Tengon,
and away they go, giving the god an excursion by water.â€
“Doctor,†asked Uncle Nat, “do we find God in Buddhism ?â€
“No, sir; not as I understand it.â€
“Do we find it in Shinto?â€
“No, sir.â€
“Do we find it in Confucianism?â€
“¢No, sir.â€
“That settles the case of each one of these systems then.â€
“She situation of tne people of Japan is one to interest every
man who thinks below the surface of things,†said the doctor. -“ They
have begun to accept foreign ideas, and are throwing aside their old
notions. Their religion may go too, and what have we to offer in
its place? A new and better influence must come into play, to move
upon, steady and guide them. Then, certain Japanese qualities need
overhauling. They are not as pure a people as they might be—a
thing, I believe, that some of their leading men are regretting, and
are trying to put away from the people. And there is not, also,
that truth-telling we would like to see in a nation. But Japan will
improve, and it has already begun to improve.
“Now, let the gospel of Christ come in to do its great
work. The gospel was once offered, but not in a pure form. It
was misunderstood, condemned and exiled. You remember I spoke
of the persecution of Roman Catholics, and although. the bloody
work has been supposed to have been so thorough, yet I am told
there were many survivors, and that at the time of the late advent
208 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
of foreigners there were twenty thousand Christians still living in
Japan. Their religion had been secretly kept up all these weary
years. There are thought to be thirty-five hundred Protestant converts
here, the Greek Church claiming eight or nine thousand adherents,
and the Roman Catholic thirty thousand. There are in the Protest-
ant missions about sixty male and thirty female workers. These
figures, remember though, are for to-day. Iz. a year — three years, five
years, ten or twenty— what changes may take place, and how rapidly
the work go forward !
“But that Japan may be speedily conquered, Christians have need
to emphasize their differences as little here as possible, and unite
heartily where they can agree. And the blessed bond of union for
them ail is the Cross, and the story of the Uross is the agency
tuat wii save Japan.â€
CHAPTER XXI.
THE CAT AND THE FOX.
oe] ae boys had al-
ready declared that
the cats of Japan were
“ queer.â€
“ And they most all,â€
said Ralph, “have no
more tail than a rab-
bit!†fs
“The cat is one of
the animals that the
lively imagination of
A JAPANESE MISCHIEF-MAKER.
the Japanese connects
with many superstitious stories,†said the doctor.
“Oh tell us one! Tell us one!†screamed both Ralph and Rick.
“Ha—ha! It is’ not safe to say ‘stories’ to you. Let me see
if IT have one handy. I will look into my story-bag.â€
“He has, I know,†whispered Ralph to Rick.
The doctor made a great pretense of inspecting and overhauling his
coat-pocket. | Then shaking his head he declared that nothing was in
the story-bag.
“Oh I see somethmy,†said Ralph, picking a piece of paper out
of the doctor’s inverted pocket.
209
210 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Ah! What is that?†asked the doctor, pretending to read from
the scrap. “Osode and the cat. Hem! I guess I will tell that.â€
“Good!†shouted the boys.
“In a Tokiyo family, there was a female servant, Osode by nama.
A YANKEE KITSUNE UP TO HIS FUN.
THE CAT AND THE FOX. azz
One evening, when she was busy with her sewing, she heard her
name called. Turning to learn what it might mean, only the family-
cat could be seen. Of course it was not the cat calling; but then
her name was again and again called, and Osode concluded it must
be the cat calling. Thereupon’ Miss Puss begged a favor —the loan
of a handkerchief. Osode granted it, and the cat, thanking her,
told her if at night, when the moon was shining, she would take a
peep out into the garden, she might see something interesting.
“Qsode was a woman, and of course could not refrain from taking
the suggested peep. How her eyes opened! ‘There were all the
cats in the neighborhood, each robed in a handkerchief, and executing
a lively dance. :
‘The next morning Osode dutifully told her master what was
going on, and, as it was manifest
that mischievous spirits were about,
it was arranged that the next time
Miss Puss wished the loan of a
handkerchief, the master should rush
in and look after the matter.
“But when at Miss Puss’ visit, the
master came flourishing a lance, she
had gone! Noticing a queer-looking
place in the road, he valiantly lanced
it. Lo! on the lance’s point ‘he
raised Miss Puss!â€
“What queer cats!†exclaimed
Ralph. “ Would they behave better
‘ if they had tails? I guess. itâ€
would make ’em mad!†How they all laughed! The doctor
continued; “The thunder-god or thunder-drummer, called Raiden, is a
MAD BECAUSE RECEIVING TAILS.
212 3 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
kind of cat, with a human face. Over his head is an arch of
drums, out of which the thunder-cat. gets all the music that people
wish for.
“The old Japanese idea is that it is the thunder-cat that springs
on a person when the lightning strikes.
“Then there is the wind-imp, that is half cat. He has an ugly
human face. Sometimes he will have a place near the temples,
and the thunder-cat will be there also. The wind-imp carries on
his shoulders an immense sack of confined air. He grasps the sack
by the ends, and if he should relax his grip, the air will rush out
and you will have wind. When he still holds on to an end, but
with a relaxed grip, you may expect a vigorous blow; but if he
should entirely take his hand off, then look out! Hold on to your
hat, make secure all house blinds, and don’t walk too near a tall,
slim chimney! A violent storm will now rage and tear over the
ground.
“This spirit has a bad reputation for flying into travellers’ faces
and scratching them with his cats’ claws. Here is another animal
that plays an important part in the grotesque fancies of the
Japanese |†3
Here the doctor, taking lead-pencil and paper, sketched a fox
stealing along — dark as a shadow in the moonlight.
“Foxes are continually supposed to be playing their tricks on
people; and one trick is said to be this: To induce people to
fancy that a buckwheat-field in flowering time is a river, and that
they will have to strip and wade through it. There is a Japanese
god, Kitsune, a prankish sort of a creature, that takes the form of
a fox. He deilghts in cutting up all kinds of capers; leading
travellers astray and carrying off young girls.
“Tt is Kitsune that often brings sickness upon the children, and
‘THE CAT AND THE FOX. 213
when a child dies the stricken mother’s shadow on the wall is
thought to have the fox shape. Fox-stories are very popular.
“A young man on a stormy day met a beautiful lady out in the
imecss
Ne Ling “Se |
Is NSN WA
KITSUNE LEADING ASTRAY AN INNOCENT YOUNG CREATURE.
rain. He gallantly offered her his umbrella, but he noticed that
she did not wear a rainy-day suit, but an elegant party dress; and
the rain had not dampened it in the least. He suspected something
evil, and drawing his sword and strengthening himself by a prayer,
he aimed a fierce blow at her. Then he took to his heels and ran
home, returning, though, with others, to find a handsome fox that he
had severely wounded! Fearing consequences, he went and made
some temple-offerings.
“There is a funny fox-story of a man who boasted that he could
fool a fox; and when he saw one he addressed it as his sister, and
214 | ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
told it to come along. The fox followed, assuming the form of
the man’s sister. He invited it to a restaurant, where they had
a splendid lunch. The man excused himself awhile, and sent his
servants into the room, who found no woman, but an immense fox
rapaciously devouring the good things there! A rush was made
for the animal, but it made off. The man came back and boasted
of the joke he had played on the fox, supposing it had been captured
or killed. Instead of either result, the fox was gone and a big
bill left behind for the man to pay.
“On the night preceding the day Kitsune is to be worshipped,
the foxes are said to have their Sabbath gathering around a scraggy
old tree, in the midst of an ugly marsh, and strange lights flash
and flare about them.†S
THE SABBATH OF THE FOXES. 215
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BAMBOO, RAIN-COATS AND BLIND MEN.
NCLE NAT had made occasional di
gressions from the Tokaido, and, reach-
ing a picturesque neighborhood, now turned
off again, hoping to find some object of
interest. The road that he took wound
between hills bordered by rice-fields. There
was one valley they found that had an
enclosure of the beautiful bamboo, and
at the head of the valley rose hills shaggy
with forests of pine and fir.
“The bamboo is a very useful tree here
in Japan,†said the doctor; “ very useful indeed.â€
“ And a pretty tree, too,†replied Uncle Nat. “It looks so feathery
waving in the wind. In the East I don’t know what they would do with-
out the bamboo. When it is just beginning to shoot, you can eat it like
asparagus. The grains are eatable, and, mixing these with honey,
the Hindoos regard the compound as a, delicacy when roasted.
Then how many uses the bamboo-stem, so straight and jomted, can
be put to!
_ “Bamboo-joints can be used for bottles, and in Borneo, among
the Dayak’s, serve as cooking vessels. Then the tree is extensively
used for building; for masts of vessels, also. Baskets are plaited
217
218 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
RAIN-COAT.
from thin bamboo strips,
and there is a paper
made from this source
in China.†*
“And Uncle Nat has
a bamboo handle to his
umbrella.â€
The jinrikishas halted
for a few moments.
“ Look at that house,â€
said the doctor. “The
outside wall is of bam-
boo wattles on a wooden
frame, filled in with mud.
Bamboo is a good ser-
vant.â€
“ Who—who is that ?â€
asked Ralph. “A straw-
man coming ?â€
There was reason for
this question. A peas-
ant was passing them
who wore a_rain-coat.
The straw wisps had been
ingeniously arranged into
a garment that fell over his shoulders, and hung down about his
person. A bamboo-hat was on his head, and he carried a bamboo-
pole over his shoulder.
Coarse, thick socks were on his feet, and
bound to these were rough, heavy clogs of wood.
“He goes on little crickets, doesn’t he, Ralph ?†whispered Rick.
ft
iy
EASTERN STRAW GOODS.
. there are these
THE BAMBOO, RAIN-COATS AND BLIND MEN. 221
“Yes, and it
must be handy;
for he can take
off his crickets
when he is tired,
and sit down on
them.â€
“Straw goods
are very popular
with some peo-
ple,
the doctor, * and
a9
observed
they manufacture
straw shoes for
men and for
‘SdUIG DSANVave
horses also. Then
straw rain-coats,
like the one that
man wears, and
there are straw
rain-mats. In
Niigata they make
_&@ great many
clogs, and one
street is almost
entirely devoted
to their sale.â€
On their way back to the Tokaido, Uncle Nat called the attention of
the boys to some birds over in the fields:
222 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“See, boys, those storks! and there is a heron.â€
“Those are the birds we see painted so much,†said Ralph.
“Yes; on Japanese ware you will see those birds frequently intro-
duced. They are much admired for the grace of their flight in the air,â€
said the doctor. ;
ee Japanese birds, I notice, don’t ‘sing much, doctor.â€
“T know it, captain. I can hardly tell why, but they don’t seem
to have been made with a piano in the throat.â€
“Here comes something that will. interest you, boys,†called out
Uncle Nat, when they had regained the Tokaido. “ There is a
- whole string of ’em coming.†It was indeed a “string of ’em.â€
Eleven bare-headed blind men with long sticks were poling their
way over the road. Some of them stooped very much. One man
seemed to be improving his opportunity and had thrust his hand
into a little bag that his neighbor carried. At the same time he
had turned his head away and was making a queer face at the
sky, as if saying, “What a ninny is this blind man next me! .
He doesn’t know what is going on.†All their heads were shaved,
_ their legs and arms were bare, and as they poled their way along
they cracked their jokes and laughed, occasionally whistling in chorus.
“What do blind people in Japan do for a living?†asked Rick.
“‘Well, one thing is to shampoo people,†said the doctor. “When
one is tired, his jomts sore, a blind man may come up, whistling
through a reed, and that means that he offers his services as a
shampooer. By rubbing, he takes the weariness and soreness out
of the body. Some of the blind are musicians. There are blind
men who are money-lenders. It might seem a wonder to you
where they could get money; but they pick it up, and lending it,
get a big interest. When a blind man is anywhere near you will
be likely to hear a shrill whistle from him, if a shampooer.â€
aa
Ri
A>
Y
ros i
Pa
z
L ei,
GH, :
ELEVEN BARE-HEADED BLIND MEN.
THE BAMBOO, RAIN-COATS AND BLIND MEN. 225
The blind men had heard the jinrikishas,and were now scattering
like a flock of sheep at the coming of a big dog. They were
speedily left behind.
Ralph thought of a visit he made the winter previous to the
Institution for the Blind at South Boston, Mass. There he
saw the sightless pupils bending over their books, with their finger-
tips feelmg their way along the curiously raistd letters into a
larger knowledge, — “a bigger place to think and live in,†as he said.
He saw the work-shops where the blind were trained to an acquaint-
ance with various useful occupations. He recalled one lady who,
guided by her finger-tips, read for him several verses out of the
blind folks’ Bible. Remembering these things, Ralph could but hope
that everywhere the blind might receive an education, and above
all the Gospel. :
CHAPTER XXIII.
A HANDSOME OBJECT.
THE RAIN.
AM afraid it was a bad omen,
seeing that fellow in the rain-
coat. The rain must be coming, for
the clouds look dark and watery
enough,†called. out Uncle Nat.
Word was passed to the jinrikisha-
bearers to hurry up; and away the
went rapidly.
“Hold on!†shouted Uncle Nat.
“Put on your night-caps!’’
Ralph and Rick knew what that’
meant.
The runners stopped, and chattering
away, raised a hood of oiled paper that
went with each jinrikisha, securely
covering their passengers. A chilly
spring rain was now slanting down
in heavy, sweeping lines. Ralph and
Rick for awhile enjoyed a ride under
their “night-caps,†but as they were obliged to alight several times,
either for lunching or consultation about the way, the chillmg rain
was disagreeably felt by them. When they stopped for the night,
226
THE RAIN. 224
Ralph said, “Rick, if we could only get to a good warm stove-fire,
and not one of those little brazier things, wouldn't it be nice? If
we have a rain at home, we can warm up good. Oh Rick, do you
remember Nan Smith we saw in the rain near our house, when the
wind took her umbrella and turned it inside out, and Bob Gray
laughed at her?â€
Did Rick remember?
He had not ceased to laugh
about it to that day,
and Ralph’s words set him
to giggling again. x
“Oh we had the fun at XN
home, didn’t we, Ralph?â€
“Yes, Rick,†said the
shivering Ralph. “And
didn’t they have nice
stoves in Concord, too?
Good, I tell you.â€
The boys were decid- .
edly out of sorts with BOB GRAY LAUGHED AT HER.
Japan and its little braziers.
“T ’spose, Rick,†said Ralph, “we must go into a paper-walled
room and sit down on our legs like a Japanese, and hold out our
hands over a few coals, and try to catch a little heat in them.†_
“Have a kotatsu, a kotatsu, boys?†inquired the doctor cheerily.
“ What’s that, doctor, the Japanese for cigar?†asked Ralph.
“The Rogers brothers never smoke.â€
“TI am glad they don’t; but they sometimes get chilly and there’s
‘a remedy for it. Come this way, please.â€
“Does ko-ko-tadstool mean a cup of tea?†inquired Rick.
228 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Come this way, Rick. Ralph may take his in this room, but
you can take yours in the next room.â€
“ Flis what?â€
' The boys were very curious. A servant girl entered, bringing in
one hand a shovel of hot coals, and in the other a wooden frame
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THE LANDLORD'S DAUGHTER PERFORMING ON THE KOTO.
and quilt. She lifted up a piece of matting in the floor, and there.
was a bowl lined with stone. Emptying her shovel of coals into
this bowl, she set the frame over it, and then laying down the quilt
she left the room. |
“Now, Ralph,†said the doctor, “we are all Peay: ,
“Going to bake me?â€
“Not quite; only warm you up.â€
“Oh, it’s what you told us about; cremation?â€
THE RAIN. 229
“You'll see.â€
Ralph now prepared himself for this “oven,†and taking a seat
on the frame, wrapped the quilt about him.
“There,†said the doctor, watching the gratified look on Ralph’s
face ; “‘isn’t that first-class ?â€
“Oh it’s bamboo-nice. Get you a ko-stad-stool, Rick!â€
Rick was speedily enjoying his turn, and as they were in
adjoining rooms, the paper-walls were slid back, and the boys could
talk with one another from their “ovens.†America. was now for-
gotten, and also old Concord, with its glorious associations. What
was it the boys heard —music ?
“ Hear that, Rick! The band is out.â€
“Doctor Walton said our landlord’s girl was a musician, and I
guess she’s agoin’ it, Ralph.â€
The landlord’s daughter was indeed “agoin’ it.†She was playing
ona Japanese instrument, the koto, her fingers thrumming the strings
of waxed silk stretched above a sounding-board of hard wood.
They were soon ready for supper, which they enjoyed thoroughly.
“T wish I could get used to Japanese chop-sticks, but I can’t,
doctor,†said Uncle Nat; “there’s nothing like home-tools after all,
so I have brought out knives and forks as usual, from my bag;
but it is encouraging’ to know that practice makes perfect. I read
of a man somewhere in the East who had broken a law, and this
was the penalty: to sit in a cask, fastened there, only his head and
hands sticking out. His wife had come up to feed him. On her
back was a fat little baby with a curious long top-knot. That wife
would run a pair of chop-sticks into a little bowl of rice, and then
run them into that rogue’s open mouth, with a good deal of
~ celerity.â€
After supper, while seated around the brazier, the soft light of the
230 ALL ABOARD FOR S UNRISE LANDS.
evening lamp falling over the stork-decorated walls, the boys peti-
tioned for a story. a
“Tl tell you three, boys. The first is about a famous Japanese
CHOP-STICKS FOR ONE.
hero, Nitta Yoshisada. As he was a captain, he was asked to aid
in a rebellion against the mikado; but he refused, and left with his
men. ‘Then he raised all the forces he could, and lifting his banner
against the rebels, resolved to attack a coveted place, Kamakura.
The-road to it passed near the ocean, and the evening before the
intended attack, Nitta made a speech to his. men by the sea-shore.
Taking off his helmet, he reminded them that their master, the mikado,
had been driven away into exile, and that he had gathered forces
to chastise the rebels. He then made a prayer to the god of the
sea, asking him to look into Nitta’s heart, and bid the tide flow
back and open a path for his army. Then he bowed himself. Seizing
THE RAIN. aa
his sword, he dedicated it as an offering to the gods, and cast it into
the tumbling surf. The water swallowed up the golden-hilted
sword.
“The next morning, as the story goes, the water had flowed back,
and the army with Nitta at its head tramped on, reaching Kamakura,
and attacked it to conquer it. The story has been a favorite one
for illustration by Japanese artists and on bank-notes Nitta has
had a place. The truth probably is that Nitta was favored by a
very low tide and ‘so reached Kamakura. It is a little suspicious
- that he did not find his sword, when the tide went down so far at the
god’s bidding.
“Now here’s a story about a Japanese god; only a little
story, to tell what the god of food did when summoned to bless
the earth at the time of fitting it up. Facing the land, he
breathed, and his breath became boiled rice; looking towards the
sea, he breathed again, and lo! the fish came. Then he turned to
the hills and breathed, and there appeared four-footed creatures,
some with coarse hair, like bears, and some with fine hair, like
rabbits. The god was doubtless pleased with the results of his
puffing; but when some of them were presented, they were not
acceptable to a fault-finder, Tskiyomi. The latter, not liking them,
killed the enterprising but unlucky god of food. But this food-god
when dead even, could not seem to stop his work of creating; for
it was found that his head had become horses and oxen. From
his forehead grew millet; silk-worms were coming from his eye-
brows, sorghum from his eyes, rice ‘from his bosom, wheat and
beans from his loins. What could you do with such a manufac-
turing machine? And now may I tell you a temperance story?
“ Sosano, famous in Japan myths, when going through a forest
was met by an old man, an old woman and a young woman.
232 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
The young woman was crying sadly. Naturally, it attracted Sosano’s
attention. A Japanese lady richly dressed— her hair looped and
bowed — in her long robe and her big obi, sporting her fan and-
her umbrella, gay as a gaillardia-blossom, is quite a handsome
object anyway ; and when a woman cries, who can stand it? Sosano
could not. He learned from the old people the nature of the
trouble: that the young woman had been appointed to be a sacrifice
to an eight-headed serpent. Sosano at once offered his aid, if the
reward of victory could be the young woman herself. All consent-
ed. He filled eight big tubs with that fiery drink, saké. On wriggled
the eight-headed monster, but when he saw the eight tubs he smelt
the saké and stopped Then he dipped a head into each tub and
drank up every drop—the greedy creature! He became so drunk—
so boozy drunk —that Sosano easily killed him. So Sosano saved a
life and earned a wife. He gained something else, also. When cutting
up the big snake, Sosano found it difficult to cut through the tail ;
and what did he discover when he succeeded in splitting it, but a
Oh, I
can’t pronounce it,â€â€™â€” and the doctor stopped hopelessly in the
wonderful sword that had a wonderful name, muraku
middle of the name.
“Tf,†said Ralph, his eyes flashing, “if they would just put rum
to that use, — kill snakes with it, I think it would be a good thing.â€
“So do I; and this story is the first instance I ever knew where
any good came from stuff like whiskey, when taken just as a drink.â€
“The Japanese have some very funny ideas, doctor,†said Uncle
Nat.
“Yes, some interesting ones, certainly.â€
“Oh,†exclaimed Ralph, “I wish I could see that mat—the
shing you spoke about to me to-day.â€
“ Matsuri ?â€
“AN INTERESTING TIME†—A MATSURI. 233
THE RAIN, 235
“Yes, sir.â€
“That is an interesting time —a festival. A matsuri-procession I
- once saw was several miles long. Gay banners were displayed in
the procession, musical instruments sounded, and I saw a legendary
character represented. The people turned out in holiday-clothes to
admire the show.â€
It was a bright spring day when Rogers brothers neared Kiyoto.
_As they journeyed on they heard the notes of a bell —rising, falling,
then rolling away in soft, tuneful echoes.
“That reminds me,†said the doctor, “that there is a big temple-
bell here in Kiyoto that I want the boys to hear. Then there are
shops and factories to be seen. It is a big place, and its situation
is one of much beauty. The mikado once had his residence here. It
is known as the sacred city, and the Japanese are proud of it.â€
A lot of sight-seeing awaited the travellers. Silks, fans, and fine
porcelain are turned: out in large quantities, and the Rogers-eyes
must necessarily look into these things.
“That bell, doctor!†said Rick the second day. -
“Oh, I won't forget it.â€
The doctor led his companions to a oan where they saw an
immense bell. It was struck by a heavy beam swung against it
by a row of men..
“There, boys,†said the doctor, “I could stand inside that bell,
and Uncle Nat stand on top of me, and we could each afford to
wear our tallest hat, I guess.â€
When struck, what tones issued from it, the echoes rolling far off!
They visited another temple, and Ralph noticed a peculiarity needing
explanation.
“What are those spit-balls stuck all over the idols?â€
“ Spit-balls! Oh, there are prayers on those papers. People have
236 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
chewed written prayers rolled them up into a ball, and then thrown
them at the god. He is freckled all over with them; but he seems -
to be no worse for it, and the worshippers feel all the better, for
they are sure then that the prayers have reached him.â€
“Don’t you think, Rick,†asked Ralph, “it would be a good
idea to give a god an immense ear and let the balls drive at that?
He would be all the surer to get the prayers.â€
“Oh Ralph, his ear would soon be all filled up, and he’d be deaf
as a haddock. I guess what the doctor said was the way is the
best: to freckle him all over.â€
Lake Biwa, not far from Kiyoto, was visited. It is a beautiful
body of water, and an attractive spot for excursionists.
The next city seen by Uncle Nat & Co. was Osaka, and the steam
cars carried them to it.
“We leave Old Japan for the New,†said the doctor, “riding by cars.â€
“ And the exchange seems good,†declared the captain.
“We have a railroad between Tokiyo and Yokohama, and one
in this neighborhood joming Kobe, Osaka, Kiyoto and Otsu; only
seventy-six miles in all. They are extending this last railroad.â€
Rick sent his mother a letter telling her what he thought of
Osaka. ;
“ This is a big place, I tell you, mother, and I guess as many as three hundred
thousand people must live here. There is a river and there are canals
and there are lots of bridges, and the doctor, he knows a lot I tell you,
he says there are heaps of wickedness here. We went down to a place
and saw some children playing in the water and trying to fish. I saw a
crab on the rocks that they tried to get off. My! If I ain’t glad I was
brought up in Concord and didn’t have my head shaved! After we had
seen Osaka, we came to Kobe where we are now. It is not so big as
Osaka, only forty thousand people counting in Hiogo, the native quarter,
but there are many of our folks here and so it seems quite natural. This
TRYING TO GET A CRAB OFF THE ROCKS, 237
THE RAIN. 239
is one place where foreigners (like me and Ralph) have a chance to trade
and live. There are only seven of these places. Lots of tea and silk
are brought here to be sent to the people outside, and perhaps I saw in
the street to-day a chest of tea that will get to Boston and you may buy
a pound out of it. There are good many vessels here, and some American,
English and French men-of-
war. Wesaw a man-of-war, . / Gh |
and a boat was alongside of i
Cir
her and the sailors were
holding up their oars. That — J fal = hh i\ at pofak
: / A Hun Et =
is a mark of respect to some- &
body, and Ralph said it was il Hk | (
to us who were near there e eadie f) eal lw
in a boat. Funny, isn’t it, | —
to be in a sea-port and not 2 fp : | | |
have any wharves like Bos- = i | || i | Mh
ton? They have to carry SS IG Greg "IL
goods ‘off to the ships. Then — Wh.9¢ Net nee
to carry people, they have little boats —(igt net Fee
that we foreigners call sampang and they —~ i £5 ST =
only asked ten cents to carry our party ¥ = fuss
out to see a vessel! Realcheap. Don’tI wish — vais —
you and Nurse Fennel could have a ride! To-
morrow, we are going on board Uncle Nat’s ship, gee Ne ge
the Antelope. I think I shall like it, but I know I shall miss Siah and Jack
Bobstay and Joe Pigtail†(here especially to the memory of Joe Pigtail
from whom parting had been so painful, Rick gave a deep sigh, deep, deep as
the lowest button on his jacket). ‘Oh I believe I am about through, mother.
Oh I want to say something more about those children I saw fishing. I
hope you will let me fish when I get home, all I want to. You know I used
to make believe last summer, sitting on a bank and holding a pole over
Boston Harbor. If there had only been a hook and line on my
stick |â€
240 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“The idea!†said his mother, when she had gone through Rick’s
scrawl, putting in the punctuation marks somewhat as they stand
above. “If I had known that, I could not have had a moment’s
peace.†And she tried to picture to herself how Rick must
have looked suspending a stick over the fair blue waters of Boston
Harbor!
UNCLE NAT’S FAVORITE JINRIKISHA.
CHAPTER XXIV.
SPREADING CANVAS FOR AUSTRALIA.
epee the Antelope, boys,†exclaimed Uncle Nat enthusiastically ;
and he stood up in the sampan carrying them, while its tanned,
bony-armed proprietor stopped sculling and looked off with the others
to enjoy the sight of that swift sea-runner.
“There she is, boys, doctor, and the old flag is up too! ‘Doesn’t
that look good?†asked Uncle Nat.
241
242 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Three cheers for the Antelope,’ shouted Rick. “ Hun
“Three cheers,†shouted Ralph, “for the flag. Hur—â€
“ Three cheers,†shouted the doctor, “for the brave captain of
the Antelope. Hur —â€
“Three cheers for the distinguished passengers,†shouted the cap-
tain. “Hur—â€
“Three cheers for us all,’- modestly inserted Ralph; and these
were given.
The bare-headed sculler of the sampan shared: in the jubilee as
well as he could, and when the others lifted their hats, Uncle Nat
saw him involuntarily raising his hand to his head, but forgetting
the destitution of a hat, he grabbed the first thing handy, and gave
his top-knot such a vigorous’ pull that the expression of his face
changed from joy to disgust. The extra fee that Uncle Nat con-
siderately gave him was like the application of a very soothing plaster
to the sore spot on his scalp, and he bobbed and chuckled excitedly.
“And this is the Antelope,†said Ralph, preparmg to mount the
vessel’s side. But whom was Ralph looking at? His face was directed
toward the bows of the vessel. Was some one standing there and
nodding to him?
“ My, Rick, if that ain’t Siah and Jack Bobstay !†exclaimed Ralph.
Returning Ralph’s gaze, and coming now toward the ship’s gangway,
were the two old acquaintances met on board the City of Tokio.
“Halloo, Siah! That you? And halloo, Mr. Bobstay!†shouted
Rick.
In about three seconds more, Ralph and Rick had climbed the
Antelope’s ladder and were advancing toward Siah and Jack.
“‘Siah, where did you come from?†:
“Oh, Ts-dropped down kind-er-easy.â€
“And how did you get here?†asked Rick, addressing Jack Bobstay.
SPREADING CANVAS FOR AUSTRALIA. 243
“Oh, I fetched up here and anchored all right. You ask your
uncle, the captain.â€
Uncle Nat was jubilantly walking about the deck, exclaiming:
“There, this is something like! I like to feel something solid under
2
me;†and he stamped with his foot. “I would give more for two
feet of ship’s plank—just enough to stand on—than for all the
Jim-Ricker-Shayses between here and Cape Cod. This is my style
of carriage ; my favorite jinrikisha. What did you say, Ralph? You
want to know how I got your two friends here? That was a secret
and surprise for you two boys I have been keeping all the way
from Yokohama. I told Siah and Jack when we left them there
that I expected to turn up eventually in Kobe, and my ship would
be there; and if they wanted a job, that I would give them one.â€
_ “And here we are,†replied Jack, “turning up all right, like a
new ship with masts in, and sails bent, and jest about ready for
sea.â€
“Oh, ain’t this splendid!†said Ralph to Rick; “Siah here, Jack
Bobstay, the doctor and Uncle Nat.â€
“We will go soon,†said Uncle Nat; “I want my mail.†That
came from Yokohama.
“Japan has a postal service,†explained the doctor, “and summer
before last it was reported that over forty-seven millions of letters
and other pieces of postal matter, including almost ten millions of
newspapers, had been sent through the post the year before. The
post office savings banks did number about three hundred, and there
are more now probably.†|
Two days from that time, the Antelope that had for the past
fortnight been loading under the supervision of Uncle Nat's first
officer, was ready for sea; and receiving Rogers brothers and friends,
she weighed anchor. Leaving behind her the men-of-war, the merchant
244 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
vessels, the clumsy junks, the little sampans, the Antelope steadily
pushed her way out of harbor. The boys watched awhile the retreating
houses and lessening shipping of Kobe, the hills of green that walled
in the spot and now began to dwindle, and then they turned to
ENTRANCE TO SUWO NADA.
look in the direction of the water. Uncle Nat was busy at his
post, giving directions in his energetic way; but the doctor was withy
the boys, to answer any questions he could.
“If we had the time, Ralph and Rick, we might go from here across
the Inland Sea. It is encircled by many islands of Japan, and is
more like a big lake than a sea.â€
“ How big is it?†asked Ralph.
“Tt is not far from two hundred and fifty miles in length, and it
is from ten to thirty miles in width. There are many islands in
the Inland Sea. The most of them have good soil and are well
cultivated. In a voyage across the sea, my attention was specially
called to one island, that must have been from five hundred to a
thousand feet high ; and it was terraced for crops. The Japanese are
SPREADING CANVAS FOR AUSTRALIA 243
good farmers and know how to use their land to advantage. On
that island they probably were cultivating rice—what they call
the upland variety; and barley also. Many people live on the
shores of the Inland Sea, and I think it has a coast seven hundred
miles long. It has been called the Mediterranean of Japan.â€
“What is the Suwo Nada?†inquired Ralph.
“That is apart of the Inland Sea.â€
“JT wish we could cross this sea,†said Rick.
“We are going to Australia, and must bear away in a southerly
A CELEBRATION BY THE SPIDER-FAMILY.
direction, going through the channel of Kii into the Pacific ocean.â€
“Tt must be pleasant sailing in the Inland Sea,†said Ralph.
“Yes.†said the captain, joining the party; “I can testify to
246 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
that, and yet the Inland Sea has its trials. A mischievous little
creature makes its home in this sea; some kind of mollusk, and he
has a borer and will bore holes in timber a third of an inch in
diameter. If any mollusk should be in these parts, the Antelope is
in no danger. She is well sheathed.â€
No, neither mollusk below or storm above seemed to be menacing.
Under the quiet sunny sky of Japan, there stretched out one placid
surface of silver.
Ralph and Rick, tired of sight-seeing, went into the cabin of the
Antelope and began to look about them.
“A mollusk!†shouted Rick.
“Nonsense! It’s only a spider.â€
“Only! There is a number of them up in that corner-web kit king
about.â€
“Kicking about! Well, it’s spring, and they probakly feel like
celebrating ; same as their brothers and sisters on land.â€
BOUND FOR AUSTRALIA.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE ANTELOPE.
lea boys were very enthusiastic over the Antelope, and as soon
as Uncle Nat was at liberty, he showed them about the ship.
Theré was much to be learned; for the boys’ previous visit to the
Antelope had been very hurried, and they had obtained little knowl-
edge of this courier bound for parts farther south.
“The cabin seems like a. house right upon the deck,’ said Rick.
« Certainly, Rick; and one name for it is that of the after house.
It is for the captain and any passengers we have, and sometimes
the officers. Now look around. You sce this little house is divided
into two rooms. First, one comes into the forward cabin, and in
the rear, is the after cabin. There, in the after cabin, are our
quarters.†|
“ Ours, uncle ?â€â€™
“Yes; and there will be passengers in the two empty state-rooms.â€
“ How nice it is!â€
It did look pretty, for Uncle Nat had ordered it to be newly painted
and furnished for the voyage. A bright Brussels carpet was on the
247
a48 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
floor, and as its prevailing colors were scarlet, gold and black, it
was a showy affair. On the starboard side of the cabin, was a lounge
covered with scarlet rep. There were also a few chairs, and a cir-.
cular table that had a white marble top. On one wall was a looking-
glass, and opposite was Uncle Nat’s trusty barometer. Overhead,
was a sky-light, and swinging down from it was a lamp; and up
in the sky-light, secure to its frame, was also a clock.
«“ What is the clock up there for, Uncle Nat?â€
«When you are on the house, you can look down and see it.â€
On the house! Rick knew where he would spend his time. “Up
on its ridge-pole too,†he said, “if it has one.â€
“T should think the waves would break in the sky-light, uncle.â€
“So they would, Ralph, if wed let ’em; but we have shutters
with which we cover the windows, and then the water may smash
upon it all it pleases. We generally have a motto up in the cabin,
and I guess I will get it now. See here! Come into my clam-shell!â€
Uncle Nat’s “clam-shellâ€â€™ was a state-room just beyond the scarlet-
covered lounge.. It was larger than the other state-rooms, having
a bigger berth, under which were drawers. A desk of black walnut
was there also.
“ Here is our motto, and I will take it out and hang it now.â€
Rick read the motto in its neat gilt frame: “God bless our
ship.â€
“That is a good one,†thought Rick.
“And now do you want to see your clam-shell?†asked Uncle
Nat, opening a stateroom door. Ralph and Rick sprang delightedly
forward, Rick exclaiming: “Isn’t it cunning?â€
It contained two berths, one above the other. In one corner was
a stand for a wash-bowl, and on the wall was a little looking-glass.
On the floor was.a strip of carpet like that in the cabin. Above
THE ANTELOPE. 249
the upper berth, was a little window allowing the light to come in,
and allowing a passenger to look out.
“ And we eat out —â€
“In the forward cabin, Ralph. That is not so important as the
question whether
we have anything
to eat.â€
“Ah, Il risk
Uncle Nat for
that.â€
“T don’t know
about that. The
dining-table is in
the forward cabin,
and let us take a
look at it. Are
you hungry,
boys?â€
The boys con-
fessed they were
a littl. They
had taken an early
WHAT FOR DINNER?
breakfast ashore,
and by this time were longing for dinner. Going into the for-
ward cabin, they saw a long dining-table of black walnut, with strips
about a foot apart running its entire length.
“What are those strips for, uncle?â€
“ Those, Ralph, are to keep the dishes in their places. When the ship
is uneasy, away would go our dishes to right and left if we did not
fence them in. Then overhead is that rack, and there after dinner, we
250 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
- can set our eastors and tumblers — fitting into those holes, you see.
Halloo, the cook has been in, and begun to set the dishes on for
dinner. I wonder what we are going to have! Probably bean soup,
salt horse, and some kind of pie.â€
“Salt horse, uncle?â€
“You ask the cook, Rick; †ae Uncle Nat here Poniced his eye
mysteriously.
« And what is this mast?†asked Ralph, pointing to a stout mast
coming down through the cabin.
“That is the mizzen mast, boys. You must learn the names of the
masts. This is the mizzen mast toward the stern, and then comes a
mainmast; and the one toward the bows is the foremast. And now —
Uncle Nat here went to a door in the corner of the cabin, and opening
it, added: “Do you want to see our pantry? Below, you see lockers
where we stow our stores, canned goods, and so on. Above, are shelves
for the crockery; and you see we have to fence it in, like the dishes on
the table. We hang our mugs on that row of hooks along the edges
of the shelves. In that corner, you see a cupboard. Now, instead of
looking at dishes, you shall have what goes in the dishes;†and Uncle
Nat led them out into the cabin, where dinner was now ready.
Every hour the Antelope was making good progress.
“‘She is stretching her legs,†said Uncle Nat.
“Only instead of putting her legs down into the water, she puts
them up into the air, and goes that way,†replied Rick.
Every hour he grew more and more fond of the ship; patting the
vessel’s side that afternoon, he whispered, “Dear old Antelope!â€
Feet up-or feet down, the Antelope seemed to sniff the cool sea-
breezes blowing across the water, and raced still harder.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE WIDE SEA.
ALPH and Rick —
poth had a touch
of sea-sickness; and
Ralph said he felt as
if the Antelope were in-
side of him, tossing and
pitching, rather than
outside. But the at-
tack soon passed away.
eS | Rick set out on an ex-
ii
ae
ploring expedition, and
.
i A :
a \\\\ | to hunt up the sailors’
quarters. They were
this time he proceeded
in the “forward house,â€
near the bows of the
vessel, and correspond-
ing with the cabin.
““ What’s here?†ask-
ed Rick, spying a door
“ON A HOGSHEAD, TO SEE ME OFF.â€
open.
He put in his head, and saw the quarters fitted up for the officers,
251
252 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
resembling the state-rooms in the cabin, but fitted in plainer style.
“ And what next?†asked the explorer.
In the rear of the officers’ quarters were open doors, from which
escaped a warm savory smell; and while the ever-hungry Rick was
enjoying it, a dark face suddenly popped out. Popping out, it then
popped in again, as if the owner had taken a sudden look at sea and
sky to ascertain the weather, and then had retired to private life again.
Tt was a funny head; both black and bald, save where two little woolly
knobs of white hair projected back of the ears.
“That must be ‘Old Bumble-bee,’ the cook,†thought Rick; and he
retreated. :
The cook’s real name was Solomon Bumble; but the crew preferred
to call him “Old Bumble-bee.â€
“You can launch that name easier than t’other,’
)
explained Jack
Bobstay to the boys; then he said in a whisper, “Jt is also in accord-
ance with the facts; for the old cook has a stinger, which he knows
how to use.â€
Uncle Nat had also told the boys that the cook was “a bit testy,â€
and he would not keep him, “but ‘Old Bumble-bee’ gets nice messes
for the table; andthen you see, boys, we have to put up with some-
thing in everybody, and with a good deal in ourselves, which I some-
times forget; but I certamly want to remember it.â€
The cook having once examined the sea and sky, had now put his
head out again. Giving one look at Rick, he retreated into his palace
a second time, shutting the door. Rick now went to find Jack
Bobstay.
«And is Boson glad to be at sea again?†asked the old tar.
‘Oh yes.â€
“T remember my going off in a ship my first voyage. My aunt was
there, and she stood her younger son on a hogshead to see me off. I
THE WIDE SEA. 253
can see him waving his hat now. Are you goin’ to make a sailor?â€
“T don’t know.â€
_ Judging by appearances, it would seem as if Rick intended to be
a cook, so persistently did he haunt “Bumble-bee’s†quarters, trying
to get in.
“Jolly!†thought Rick the next day; “that door is open ;†and into
the mysterious sanctum he triumphantly stole. “Now I am going to
see what things are like in such aplace. Long and narrow; but then,
it must be snug and warm, on a cold day. Two doors too; one on
each side.â€
Rick continued to look about and talk to himself.
“Here is the stove; and what a-big black one! It has got an iron
railing all round the top; that’s to keep the pots and kettles from
sliding off. And there’s a sink next the range, where ‘Bumble-bee’
must wash his dishes; and on the other side there seems to be a locker
9
for dishes and so on;†and he opened the door and peeped in. “ Oh,
there’s a seat opposite the range, where a fellow can sit down. And
here’s a door open. What’s here?â€
It was a smoky little room, on the same side of this retreat as the
seat, and it contained a single berth, whose bedding testified to long
and frequent occupancy. Here, Rick heard a footstep approaching.
“Which door shall I run out of? I guess I will take this one,â€
and out he popped into “ Bumble-bee’s†arms! The meeting was very
affectionate at first, but “Old Bumble-bee†recoiled.
Rick then saw that he was smoking — vigorously smoking —and it
seemed as if the cloud of smoke rolling up from his pipe had whitened
his knobs of hair.
“Ugh!†he growled; “I don’t ‘low nobody in dar, ’cept de cap'n
orders it.â€
Rick humbly retreated.
254 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
en
to let the boy stay.
“T must be gwine
now, and lock up!â€
“T am hungry,â€
said Rick pitifully.
“You must wait
for your supper.â€
“Don’t you have
anything left over
when we have eaten
dinner ?â€â€
“T gibes it to de
fishes ; dat. is, de leay-
in’s.â€
That closed the last
| H “Sides, it will be gettin’ hot 7
in here and might roast ye.â€
: | “Oh, I can stand considera-
i ble, Mr. — Mr. — Bumble-bee.â€
eu Rick, in his anxiety to “ mis-
ter†the cook, had forgotten to
call him by his right name.
“Who tole ye to call me
dat way?†he asked testily.
“Oh —TI mean Mr. Bumble.â€
tH “Dat sounds more ’spectful.â€
ac
a
a
aM
LH Bumble-bee, though propi-
tiated, did not feel inclined
1
4
x i
a A ++]
e UA TEE
= La]
a +E
ss
a
Zz
Q
oO 1
z
ical TH
= i
& Hi
3
By
wn
a 2S
e a
5 (@® 1
a \
2
TUN To ae
door of hope, and Rick moved out of Bumble
THE WIDE SEA. 258
bee’s dingy palace, and began an investigation in the unvisited portion
of the forward house. To the explorer’s delight, he found an open
door near the bows of the vessel.
“Tt must be the forecastle,†exclaimed Rick; and he thrust in
his inquisitive head. “Who is that so chunky sitting on a chest?â€
he thought.
The “chunky†sailor turned and sang out merrily, “Ho! Boson, you
bere?â€
“And you here, Mr. Bobstay ?â€
“Of course. Come in and see Old Neptin in th» forec’stle.â€
“This is the for- for - castle ?â€
“Yes; don’t you see the sleeping-places ?â€
There were twelve berths round the dusky little hole.
“Well, where do you sit? Don’t you have chairs?â€
“ Saltpetre! what a boson. We sit on these ere kids,†and Jack
slapped the battered blue chest he occupied.
Rick saw three little windows, admitting a kind of twilight into
the forecastle ; and a funnel-hole above showed that a stove had been
there some time.
“And this is all?†asked Rick.
“All? Yes; did you expect more?â€
Rick did not answer, but inquired for Siah.
“Siah? There is his berth, but I don’t know where the occupant
is.â€
Rick here took out of his pocket a brilliant little picture of a forest
in autumn, and pinned it to the dingy wail.
“.There! Doesn’t that look better?â€
“Boson goin’ to brighten and fix up this old hole?†Jack Bobstay
laughed at the idea. Those dirty walls, the blackened funnel-hole,
the disorderly berths, did seem so forlorn!
CHAPTER XXVII.
MAN AT THE WHEEL AND MAN IN THE MOON.
HO is that steering?†asked Rick one morn-
ing, catching a ees of a man’s head aft
of the cabin.
“He is the man at the wheel,†said Ralph in
tones of pride at his vast nautical information.
“No, it ain’t. It is Jack Bobstay.â€
That magical name started up both of the
boys, and they flew along, taking different
sides of the ship, aiming, though, at the
===. same beloved object, Jack Bobstay, and
colliding with him in a style of so much
THE CHRONOMETER, wheel’? was almost knocked over.
emphatic affection that “the man at the
“Come, youngsters,†roared Jack good-naturedly, “you are wuss
than a squall of wind in the Bay of Biscay.â€
“ Fixcuse us,†said Ralph. “We were in a hurry to get to you.â€
“Good deal of the gentleman about them rough-and-tumble
youngsters,†thought Jack. )
_ “What’s this?†asked Rick, eying sone ae he did not understand.
It was a case fastened to the cabin-wall, and divided into lzttle
compartments. In one was a clock; in a second, a lamp; and in a
third, a compass.
256
MAN AT THE WHEEL AND MAN IN THE MOON. 257
“What is that? The binnacle, we call it. It is handy, you know,
when you are steerin’, night as well as day.â€
‘“ But I should think the sea in a gale of wind would wash into
those places and break the things.â€
‘Oh, there are little wooden slides—don’t you see em? We clap
"em right over the binnacle, and she’s tight asa ship right after the
ealkin’ and paintin.†Then you see that bell next you? Right over
the binnacle, I mean ; and you sometimes hear it a-goin’. Jam the one
when steerin’ to watch the clock, and strike the —â€
“Oh I know what that is,’ said Ralph, anxious to show that he
did know some things. “And I’ve seen a chromo —â€
“A chromo? Them were very fashionable last time I was at home.â€
“I mean Uncle Nat’s chromom—â€
“Oh chronometer! Yes, yes, you're right,†said Jack, kindly.
“ And Uncle Nat said he’d show it about this time,†affirmed Ralph,
rather glad to retreat, and take with him his chagrin at his mistake.
A rush for Uncle Nat was now made by Rogers brothers, and they found
him in the cabin bending over his chronometer. )
“Oh boys, you here? I believe,†he said, raising his eves to the
clock, “I said I would show you my chronometer about this time.â€
“Why, it is a big watch, uncle?â€
“Yes, Ralph, only it keeps time much better than watches generally.
Great pains are taken with it, and the intention is to have it as
perfect as possible. You see it is put in a good, first-class box, and no
matter how much the ship rolls, the chronometer is set so as always
to stay level.â€
Having seen Uncle Nat’s “chromo,†Ralph was now anxious to see
his spy-glass, and Uncle Nat very obligingly produced the shi\’s glass.
“Don’t you remember what you told us about the sun, when we
were in the steamer?â€
258 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Yes; Ralph.â€
“Well, I would like a good chance to see the moon through a big
glass.â€
“T hope you may have as good a one as I had once.â€
‘How did the moon look, uncle?†—
“Tt looked very rough, Ralph,forthere were spots all over it, and
some were bright and some were dark. It was once thought that
the shady spots were water, and names. were given accordingly;
one was called the Sea of Tranquility, for example. But those seas
seem to have all dried up now, or gone somewhere, for astronomers
have come to the conclusion that they are not seas, but great level
tracts, and the bright spots are mountains, because in the sunlight
they cast a shadow as a mountain would. I havea book,†said Uncle
Nat rising, “that gives you a picture of the surface of the moon.
Here it is; I’ve found it. See the mountains, how sharp some of
their tops are, and others are round and seem to be hcellow.â€
“Why, uncle, they look like a volcanic country in winter.â€
“Well, they are considered to be dead volcanoes. There is one
moon-volcano whose crater is over fifty miles across, and its sides
run up eleven thousand feet. You said ‘a volcanic country in winter,’
and that is what I guess the moon is; a kind of white, wintry icicle.â€
“A cold place for the man in the moon,†said Rick.
“But splendid when the sun lights it up,†rejoined Ralph.
“How do you know, Ralph,†asked Rick, “that the sun lights it
up?â€
“Guess I know what I’m taught at school, sir,†said Ralph proudly.
‘“‘Here, boys,†asked Uncle Nat, anxious to ward off discussions
about the cold moon, knowing them sometimes to be very hot,
“wouldn't you like to look through a glass big enough to show
you the moon like that?â€
SS sss
A VOLCANIC COUNTRY IN WINTER. 259
MAN AT THE WHEEL AND. MAN IN THE MOON. 261
“Where could we find it?†asked Rick.
A call for the “cap’n†came from “Bumble-bee.â€
“Boys, I will tell you about telescopes to-morrow,†said Unele
- Nat.
CHAPTER XXVIII
ABOUT TELESCOPES.
aes next day Uncle Nat
told the boys about
telescopes.
“There is a very fine
one at Cambridge, in Mas-
sachusetts. The object-
glass, and that is the
glass at the telescope-end,
next to the object looked
at, measures fifteen inches
|. across. Here is a picture
of it. You see that the
roof over it is shaped like
a dome, and a hole in the
dome allows any observer
to point this telescope at
the heavens. Then the
dome is made to turn by
TELESCOPE AT CAMBRIDGE, U. S.
means of machinery, so
that the telescope can be pointed at different parts of the sky.
Look at the chair, too, where the man sits; for that can be moved
about on rails you see encircling the telescope, and there is a con-
262
ABOUT TELESCOPES. \ 263
trivance for lifting or lowering the chair. There is a telescope in
Washington that has an object-glass measuring twenty-six inches
in diameter.â€
Rick thought it would be nice sometime to slip down from Concord
and ride in that “cunning chair†at Cambridge, while Ralph inquired
how they could “keep a telescope i
from wriggling.â€
“They are very particular
about the. support of the
telescope,†said Uncle Nat.
“In observatories often,
_ the telescope rests on a Me Me
solid tower built up from (!''/
the ground. That makes |
it very steady. If resting |
on the floor of a building,
it would shake with the
building. When a man is
AEE Etat,
TUTATCUVUE)
mma EN til
ce mt
Il
looking at a star, he can
not bear to have the tele-
scope jarred in the least.
One of the planets’ is
Saturn, and you do not
know what a beautiful . =
object it is when seen
through a telescope of
good magnifying powers.
ee
—
Soy
TELESCOPE AT WASHINGTON.
I will tell you about it sometime when I have a good chance.â€
After this talk with the boys, Uncle Nat went out to promenade
the deck with them. When they had strolled as far as the fore-
264 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
castle, seemg Jack Bobstay in the door, mending his pants, they
stopped for a little chat. ‘‘ Have you seen the latest improvement,
sir!â€
“No, I haven’t, Jack.â€
Jack pointed out Rick’s autumn-picture on the wall.
“You don’t know how that brightens things, cap’n.â€
“Y-e-s,†said Uncle Nat, as if occupied with other thoughts. He
was saying to himself: “Tf my nephew is doing something here, why
doesn’t the uncle ?†.
“Jack, this for’c’stle looks dirty, and I wonder if we can’t fix it
up? How would an oil-cloth look on the floor—bright and prety?
Would the men like it?â€
“Like it! I guess so; and I believe it would set us to improving
the place all we could.â€
“T would paint it, but it would make a dirty job for you now.
I might touch it a little overhead’â€â€â€” and he looked at the dirty
funnel-hole —“‘and when in port we will paint it gay.â€
“Cap'n, we will have a ‘For’c’stle Improvement Society,’ and do.
our best, sir.â€
The crew took a great interest in the plan. The floor was scrubbed,
bunks were scrubbed, walls were scrubbed; the captain sent a few
pictures from a lot he had in his stateroom, adding the oil-cloth
for the floor, and a paint-brush, “to touch up here and there,†and
putting in a cushioned settee, also.
“Amazin’,†soliloquized Jack Bobstay, as he faced Rick’s picture,
“what a little beginnin’ may lead to, and especially a beginnin’ | by
a child.â€
Uncle Nat was a Christian by name and at heart. He believed
in treating, a sailor as a man, and tried to sail his ship by the chart
of -the Golden Rule. Some sailors tried to take advantage
ABOUT TELESCOPES. 265
of this, but, as Jack said, “he was a cap’n, while a Christian.â€
. “The cap’n’s hand is on the helm, and he has a knack at makin’
a feller feel it; but he will do it in a gentlemanly way,†said Jack.
Uncle Nat was particular to keep Sunday on board his ship, and
he believed it had a good effect on the men. Every man off duty
was expected to attend morning service in the cabin. Assisted by
the doctor, Uncle Nat read certain portions of the prayer-book, the
men responding and joming in the singing.
“Rick and I have joined the choir,†Ralph wrote home after their
first Sunday. eh
That first Sunday! It was a day of much beauty; and after the
service, it seemed to Doctor Walton’s reverent nature as if the many,
many waves smiting together their restless tops, and the wind
humming, whistling, roarmg through the rigging, were all lifting
up their voices to God in one grand chorus, of praise.
WHAT THE WAVES COVER!
CHAPTER XXIX.
CORAL ISLANDS AND CORAL.
HE voyage
before the
Antelope was not
to be a short one.
Uncle Nat said,
“We are going
to Australia, but
New Zealand is
the land first to
be visited.â€
Day after day
they sailed in a
south-easterly di-
rection, passing
island after island
that gemmed the
Pacific. Some-
times they came
quite near some
coast of green
swelling out of
the water, only to subside again, and then melt like a gem of
266
CORAL ISLANDS AND CORAL. 267
emerald in a dissolving sea. Rick was puzzled about the equator.
“Won't we find it hot when we cross the equator, Uncle Nat?â€
“Oh, perhaps not. The sun may be clouded, you know. What
do you think the equator is, a kind of red hot line stretching through
the water, and sizzling all the way, Rick?â€
Rick could not say.
When his uncle told him one morning that they had crossed the
equator, he felt quite disturbed to think he had been ignorant of it,
and that the event had passed off so quietly.
“We did not melt, surely,†said Uncle Nat; “and on the other hand
-we had quite a cool wind to keep us company.â€
How the wind did blow a few days after that! Siah had occasion ~
to remember the uneasy sea that
came with it. He had been assist-
ing Bumble-bee, who was getting
up a special dinner—a chowder.
Rick took a fancy to it, and as he
said he could not wait for dinner,
being “awful hungry,†Siah with
the air of a grandpa, had told
him: “Chile, you shall have a
bowlful forehand.†= -
He filled a bowl and started
for the cabin. On the way he
heard Bumble-bee’s voice calling
him back. Settimg his bowl on a
little shelf outside the forward
house, and sniffing at its contents, he began talking to -himself:
“SUTHIN’S COMIN� — AND SUTHIN’ CAME.
“Jes say to de cap’n dar’s suthin’ nice comin’ to-day, Siah.â€
“Suthin’ -nice comin’,†he repeated, and was about reaching
\
268 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
up his hand after the bowl. At that moment the sea. gave an extra
pitch, and, as he was saying again, “ suthin’ nice comin’,†down tumbled
the bowl of chowder! Siah saw it on its way, and turning round
tried to dodge it, only to catch its contents on his dark Wc: now
covered with a savory but unwelcome cap.
“ Anybody lookin’ ?†thought Siah.
There was a roar from three or four dark woollen shirts near the
forecastle, and Siah was glad to steal away and wipe in secret the
new kind of hair-oil from his head.
That day Ralph and Rick both declared to Jack Bobstay that
they saw “ bushes†off in the water.
“ Bushes, boys! Those are coral’ islands.â€
“Oh, tell us about them.â€
“Well, I have been on them, and so know something about them ;
but if you want a full account, sure and reliable, you go to the
cap'n.â€
Uncle Nat acceded to the boys’ request fcr mformation; and that
afternoon they were all upon the quarter-deck, ready to take up the
interesting subject of coral and coral islands.
“May I not get Siah, uncle?â€
“Yes, Rick, if he is off duty.â€
“ And may I come too?†asked the doctor.
“Oh, certainly.â€
The captain was soon ringed by a circle of listeners, and no one
was, more attentive than Siah, who regarded Uncle Nat’s head as
a kind of book-case packed with volumes.
“You want to know something about these coral islands we occa-
sionally pass. Let us then begin with the coral itself.
“To produce coral a little animal is at. work, called a poly: a ticâ€
creature. having a mouth, having also a stomach, and that 1s apovt
CORAL ISLANDS AND C ORAL. 269
all there is to it. Around this mouth are long little feelers or tentacles
that play in and out, taking up and then expelling the matter. The
sea water leaves behind its caleareous or limy matter, which is de-
posited in very thin strips in the sack or body. The lime-matter left
behind is the coral which keeps increasing as the polyp begets children
‘in the form of buds; for these develop into coral-making factories,
and go to work very soon.
“The coral-buds are sometimes sprouted sidewise, and then the
coral branches out like a tree; or the polyps may take a notion to
arrange themselves so as to form a convex surface, and keep growing
that way, in which case you have a kind of dome. Coral is very
beautiful in some of its colors and shapes. Its forms have been likened
to fans and even flowers, but the gardens that these bloom in are at the
bottom of the sea. Sometimes coral is shaped like a vase covered with
a flower-like growth.â€
The captain paused. :
“ Well,†said Siah, who was quite a utilitarian, “ these are pretty; but
what good do dey do?â€
“In various ways they are useful, and here is one: What we call
carbonic acid in the atmosphere is very essential, but it may be ex-
cessive, and so the plants, trees, gardens and forests take it up. This
carbonic acid is in the‘rivers in the form of lime-salts, and that too
much may not get into the sea, it is thought that the little polyp has
its mission; taking up the limy water and retaining the lime as coral.
That, though, is only an opinion.†|
“And then they build islands, uncle, don’t they? They are useful
that way.â€
“Yes, many islands and reefs are built in that way. Off Australia is a
reef with occasional gaps, over one thousand miles long. Some are ring-
like, and the people of the Maldive Islands call them atolls. Matter will
270 - ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
collect on this coral-ring, seed and soil finally gathering there, and the
next thing to. be seen isa cocoa-nut tree; and then by and by a whole
grove is there. Outside these atolls roll the breakers, rushing violently
up the beach of powdered white coral; but within the atoll, the water is
smooth and placid. The color of the inside water is that of a bright
green.â€
“Sea-water! How can de sea-water get in? To le corals leab a
door open in de ring?†inquired Siah.
“ There is generally an entrance to these atolls, rings or lagoons, as
oe
A LAGGON.
they also are sometimes called, the water flowing in and out; and as the
entrance is on the leeward side, it is a smooth one. Whethersthe polyps
leave that gate open, I can’t say. It has been thought that they build
on the tops of sunken land, hills and the like, and the opening is that
natural one where the water among the hills once found its way out,
and the ocean-tides now keep it open. The polyps can not work at a
CORAL ISLANDS AND CORAL. “73
point deeper than twenty or thirty fathoms beneath the surface of the
water, but on the eminences of this sunken land they can easily build.
When the land sinks still further, it carries the coral formation down to
depths below the point where the animal can work; and this explains
why his work is found so far below the ocean’s surface.â€
“How is it,†inquired the sagacious Siah, “dat de openin’s ’mong de
hills fur de scape ob de water should always be on de leeward side?â€
?
“You must not ask too many questions,†said Uncle Nat laughing.
“They will upset any theory.â€
In the consciousness of an increase of knowledge, Siah had a new
strut all that day. He took it upon himself to attempt the enlighten-
ment of Bumble-bee, who rewarded him by saying that he had never
heard “sich a mess of nonsense in all his life. Dose polypusses de
cap’n tole about, is jest childish! Coral grows kase — it do! â€
Siah only wished that he had the books out of which he could confute
the ignorant Bumble-bee.
“Ef I could only read,†he sighed to Ralph in secret.
“Can’t you read?â€
Siah shook his head.
“Don’t you know your letters?â€
“Only as fur as pot-hooks,†and there came another mournful, de-
‘spairing shake. ‘
“ Pot-hooks? What letter is that, s?â€
Siah nodded. .
“Tl put you through, Siah, and don’t you worry.â€
Within twenty-four hours Siah was master of the alphabet. Ho
then prepared himseli to take up a-b, ab, and a-p, ap, declaring thai
he felt as proud as his cousin John C. Fremont, when some
“pusson at a ball stuck two posies into his hair.â€
Very soon Siah learned something else. He was near the boys
272 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS,
and Uncle Nat one evening, when Ralph exclaimed, “Do you
remember you said something about Saturn one day, when talking
about telescopes, and said it was a beautiful
object seen through a telescope?â€
“Yes, and I promised to tell you about
it. Do you want to see a picture of Saturn?â€
“Tf you please.†;
Uncle Nat brought a book from his state-
room and showed the famous planet to the
young people.
“There,†he said, “if you can, imagine a
body in volume seven hundred times
larger than the earth, encircled by
such rings. You see that there are
three; but the mnermost can only
be seen through a telescope of great
magnifying powers. ‘These rings are
regular in form, being concentric,
or, having the same centre., You can
imagine how magnificent — to a Sa- Seago aN:
turnian — must seem those vast arches sweeping above the planet. Then
Saturn has eight satellites or moons, the largest compaing with mercury
in size. Light up the arches, kindle up the moons, and the heavens to
a Saturnian must be marvelously grand.â€
The party now left the cabin, when Rick ‘said, “Oh, see that.
shooting star!â€
It flashed downward like an arrow of fire, quenched at last in
the sea. y
“Where do they come from, uncle?â€
“That is a question, Rick. Once people said they came from
CORAL ISLANDS AND CORAL. 273
the moon — out Of its volcanoes; but now the theory is that millions
of these fragmei ts are journeying about the sun, and sometimes the
earth cuts across
their path, and
then they come
showering down
through-the air.
In November
and August —
toward the mid-
dle—we see
more of them.
Sometimes they
burst, and their
fragments. are
scattered upon
the earth. You
will see accounts
in the papers of
meteors that
have struck the
earth and been
picked up. They
have been found
weighing over
one thousand
pounds in this
country, and a
large one is in
the Smithsonian
THE FAMOUS PLANET.
274. ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
Institute at Washington. South America boasts of one exceeding
all others in weight.â€
«What is in them?â€
“What are they composed of? Iron, mostly, nickle coming next;
phosphorus also, and other substances. They were known in ancient
times. Pliny speaks of one big as a wagon.â€
«How big was de wagon?†.
*Siah, you ask too many questions.†—
“What do they call shooting stars, uncle?â€
“ Meteors; meaning, in the air; or aerolites, air stones; or bolides,
meaning things thrown — balls.â€
Siah told Bumble-bee all about this wonderful subject. He was
disgusted, especially with the new names.
“Eber since I was a boy, dey call dem shootin’ stars; a plain
name, and well known in de fust circles. What was the cap’n’s
last name?â€
“ Bald — bald — bald-di-dese, I b’lieve.â€
And Bumble-bee was still more disgusted.
CHAPTER XXX,
NEW ZEALAND.
HEY were now
sailing near
the coasts of New
Zealand, which rose
in slopes of soft
azure ‘above the
rolling waters of
the Southern Pa-
cific.
“ Boys,†said Un-
cle Nat, “I have
something to pro-
pose. There are
books enough in
the cabin to help
you. I want that
you should learn
all you can about
Australia and New
Zealand. § Ralph,
you may take New
Zealand, and at
another time Rick may tell about Australia — write up an article, boys!â€
275
276 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
For these important papers, there was a good deal of preparation,
and for several mornings the boys’ heads were almost hidden behind
barricades of books. There was great interest manifested in the reading
of Ralph’s article, which antedated Risk’s production a number of
weeks :
“ The first European who visited New Zealand, was Skipper Tasman in 1642,
and being a loving Dutchman, he gave the place a name after a district at
home. It now belongs to England. The principal islands in New Zealand are
Stewart’s, South or Middle, and North. We are going to the North Island, and
hope soon to anchor in Auckland karbor. Im all, there are as many as a
hundred thousand spare —I mean square miles in New Zealand, and it would
take a line eleven hundred miles long to measure from one tip of New Zealand
to the other, and one of three thousand one hundred and twenty miles, to go
round the coast. It is not so very wide—the greatest width at any point
being two hundred and fifty miles. Next to Concord, it must be a pleasant
place to live in; for the thermometer doesn’t go up so very much in summer,
or so far down in winter, but stays about where one would like to have it.
When we have our winter, they are having their summer. Their winter
starts in June, their spring in September, their summer in December, and
autumn in March. That is a kind of turning of things upside down.
“Jack Bobstay who has been in New Zealand says there is fine land, big
forests, and lots of volcanoes; and some volcanoes that still spit fire. There are
springs, too, that spout hot water. There is gold, and there are lots of coal,
and there must be a half a million of people, and any quantity of sheep.
“The first inhabitants are called Maoris, and they have been a pretty rough
set, and are mostly in North Island. They did like to make themselves
hideous in war by tattooing; but tattooing is going out of fashion. Capt. Cook
did a good thing for the people by bringing here various vegetables, and among
them was the potato. He let loose some pigs, also, so that the New Zeal:
anders have plenty of pork, and as it runs wild in the forest, a man can get it
for nothing, provided he can shoot it.. I think Jack Bobstay is right when he
says New Zealand has a future before it.â€
CORAL ISLANDS AND CORAL. 297
A good word was said for Ralph’s effort, “for,†said Uncle Nat, “ it
is in a nutshell, and you can pick out the meat quick. I think, myself,
that New Zealand has a fine future before it, as you say Jack Bobstay
believes.†|
“Yes, uncle, Jack Bobstay has been round a good deal, and has a
pretty good knowledge of things.â€
The boys were always ready to say a good word for the honored
Bobstay. |
“Tf he had only had a chance, uncle,†said Rick, “he might have
made something handsome.â€
“ Well, that is true ; but if boys would only improve the chances they
do have, the world would fare better.â€
Jack always had a yarn ready for the boys. He told them that very
day about “touching up†the British Lion when in an English port.
“Tt fell to me, boys, to paint round the bows of the ship, the figure-
head, and so on. I tell you, youngsters, being a Yankee tar, I painted
that lion faithfully, and I couldn’t help putting a streak into that lion’s
eye to represent a scratch from the American eagle. I don’t know as
it was just the thing, but then a man must be true to his country.â€
CHAPTER XXXI.
AUCKLAND.
PLENDID!†said Uncle
Nat, and in the exact
sense of the word, was the
view splendid. A bright New
Zealand sun was shining down
on sea and land, as the An-
telope moved into Auckland
Harbor. A strong wind was
behind it, and before it were
the many little waves, each
foam-crested, as if they were
A MARINE FLOWER-POT.
hammocks of blue im which
white sea-gulls were sitting and swinging. On one side of the entrance
was Ranjitoto Island, lifting into the air three volcanic peaks, their con-
cial shapes suggesting three tents. On the other side was North Head,
carrying two more volcanic peaks. On either side was a deserted
encampment of fire-gods.
“ And that is Auckland, Uncle Nat?â€
“Yes, Rick, that is Auckland ; and she is a beauty!â€
The homes of almost thirty thousand people were massed on the
rising ground before them, while at its wharves tapered the masts of
vessels belonging to various nations. But Auckland is noticed in a
278
AUCKLAND. , 279
letter from Ralph to
Nurse Fennel. Hecom-
menced with a reference
to Uncle Nat, and the
information he gave his
nephews.
“You don’t know how
many things Uncle Nat
aud Dr. Walton tell ‘us
about. Uncle Nat tells
us more about the sea, and
Jast night he showed us
some queer but pretty
things in a picture book.
I shall have to go to the
‘book and get the name,
and here it is put down
as actinia or sea-anemone.
There isa kind of bag,
the bottom sticking to
the bed of the sea, and
then they keep what they
call tentacles shooting up
out of the mouth like
branches of a plant, and
the ® whole Uncle Nat
called a marine flower-p to
And if you will believe
it, what seem to be the
blossoms are the parts with which they seize their food. And Uncle Nat said
if they feel like walking, they upset themselves, stand on those long branches
or arms, and walk off!
a NVave NI ONIHLANV NVHL UYNOSANVH,, NVA V
280 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“Then he showed us what he called a fan, and said it was handsomer than
anything in Japan. It is really a kind of jelly-fish, and it throws out long,
delicate tentacles. Uncle Nat says he has been in places where jelly-fish send
out a light; he calls it phosphorescence —a bard word—and it lights up the
waters in motion, and he has told breakers that way.
He says the sun-fish that
come ashore in Boston Harbor, after a storm, are relatives of the fan-fish.
“But there, I was going to tell you about Auckland. If you put on your
MEDUS OR JELLY-FISH.
specs, you will see
Auckland on the map,
in the northern part
of North Island, New
Zealand, and it is nice
to get among our.own
people again. This
city is in a very nar-
row part of theisland
—not more than six
miles wide—so that
the city has two har-
bors,. and two seas
come tumbling into
them. About a mile
from the city is Mt.
Eden. It used to
spit fire all the time,
auntie, but it is
plugged up now, and
quiet asa lamb. Un-
cle Nat took us in a
carriage to the foot
nf the mountain, where we got out, and then. climbed for about halt
1 hour to the top. It was a splendid view down on Auckland, then across
to the sea, and then off on the mountains.
They call the hole where the fires
AUCKLAND. 281
come out of the mountain, the crater — and we went down into it. Rick felt
round with his hands to see if he couldn’t find a warm place, for he told me
rao , “
\
wl
YOUNG JACK BOBSTAY.
he thought if we did we might get a crowbar and drive it down and see the
fire spout. Ain’t Rick a great boy? It was easier getting down into the crater
than up out of it.
282 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
“There are some nice stores here in Auckland ; railroads that go off into the
country; gas lamps, paved streets, a botanical garden and the telegraph. It is
a smart, lively town, I think, and has some pretty places. The big Pacific
Mail steamers call here, so that itis quite handy, if you feel like coming out.
You know there is gold in New Zealand. They find it in places in the rocks,
and then they say there is gold on the sandy beaches, and the gold hunters are
called beach-combers, and they think the sea in storms brings the gold ashore,
but they say it really comes down the rivers, and so into the sea. I don’t care
where it comes from, if some would only get into my pocket.â€
Ralph closed his letter affectionately, and then went off to find Jack
Bobstay.
“TI have just written a letter to my auntie, Mr. Bobstay,â€
“ Your auntie?â€
“She is not really, only our old nurse.â€
“Tt is nice to have somebody you can call auntie, and I did have one
years ago.â€
Then Jack told ae about his boyhood, and the fishing village
where he lived with an aunt. He told
about the bluffs back of the beach, what
he did, how he dressed, his boat, and his —
dog Fido. He did it so graphically that
Ralph seemed to see a boy in a boat grasp-
ing the oars, a dog at his feet, a coil of
rope behind him, while drawn up on the
shore were several fishing-boats.
“That was when I was young Bobstay,â€
said the old tar, “and now I’m just old
: =e
OLD JACK BOBSTAY. Jack Bobstay. }
CHGAC DT a) op x Tels
THE MAORIS.
ho are those, uncle?†asked Rick.
Uncle Nat was riding out into the coun-
try with his nephews, accompanied bye Mr. Arden,
-a New Zealand acquaintance.
“Those, those are—†and Uncle Nat stopped.
“Those are Maoris,’ said Mr. Arden, answer-
ing for Uncle Nat.
“ Maoris? Oh, I remember Ralph told about
them,†added. Rick, “in his piece on New Zea-
land. They are the real natives.â€
The men in this group of Maoris were stal-
wart and tall; a little darker than Spaniards.
Two women were with them, dressed in dirty calico
RICK.
gowns and wearing ornaments of green stone. The
hair of these women was curly and long, and their eyes black enough
to go on a blackberry bush. One held a pipe between her teeth,
and tattooes were on her face. During this visit the doctor had
taken out his pencil and sketching paper, and he began to draw
the face of the elder woman. But the subject of the sketch was
not pleased with it, and told the doctor the reason; because he
had omitted the tattooing on her face.
“Oh, is that it?†said the doctor. “I always mean to be ac-
283
284 ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS.
A TRAP FOR THE SAVAGES.
commodating, and can easily fix this,â€
and as he spoke, he made some ugly
gashes across the pencil-portrait, and it
greatly pleased the old lady.
“Do they live in a_ village?†asked
Ralph.
“Yes, villages after their fashion,†an-
swered Mr. Arden. “Some of the Maoris
have sheep-farms, and some are soldiers
or sailors, or traders or mechanics, for
they learn quite easily. They feel that
they must yield before the English. They
call the white man Pakéha, and they
have this verse about him: .
‘As the Pakéha fly has driven out the Maori
fly,
As the Pakéha grass has killed the Maori grass,
As the Pakéha rat has slain the Maori rat,
As the Pakéha clover has starved the Maori
fern,
So will the Pakéha destroy the Maori.’
“They say of the advance of the English,
‘Can you stay the surf which beats on
Wanganui shore?’â€
“They are brave men and good fight-
ers,†said Ralph, who was proud of the
extensive knowledge of New Zealand affairs he had acquired.
“Oh, yes; “we English know that,†replied Mr. Arden readily.
“Tl tell you a good way to fix them!†How Rick’s eyes snapped.
THE MAORIS. 285
“You know—you know at home we had savages once; and a
man was out chopping wood one day, and he saw Indians coming — so
Nurse Fennel told me. He knew he must go with them as their
prisoner, but he first asked a favor. He was splittmg a log with
a wedge, and would they just put their hands imto the crack and
help pull open the log? They were very willing, and put their — their
hands in, and the man knocked the wedge out. Didn’t they yell
and kick!â€
“Do you think that really happened, Rick?†asked the doctor.
“Well, Nurse Fennel said something like that did happen, and
she wouldn’t tell a lie.â€
After the return of the party to the Antelope, Rick thought that
he had something of interest to say to Bumble-bee, the cook. He
was absent from the sacred kitchen, and Rick smelling a nice, savory
stew in the pot, ran a big long spoon down into it, and was ladling
out a generous taste, when he heard steps. Lookmg up, he saw
Bumble-bee coming.
“What yer-rup to here?†asked Bumble-bee.
Rick was silent, and clapped his spoon behind him.
«Ah, young man, I see de stew runnin’ out ob dat spoon “hind
ye. Dat’s. allers de way. Wrong doin’ leaves a tell-tale “hind it.
T’ll forgib you, but nebber forget dat a wrong will leave a track “hind
it dat will show you up some day.â€
The moral was excellent, but Rick was too absorbed in watching
Bumble-bee to think of anything else. Bumble-bee’s eyes were
rolling, and his face twisting into queer grimaces.
“Booh!†exclaimed Rick, when he was safe outside, “I know what
Bumble-bee is; he’s a Maori!â€
CHAPTER XXXIII,
THROUGH COOK’S STRAIT.
AILING away from
Auckland, the Ante-
lope was headed for Wel-
lington, the capital of
New Zealand; a hand-
some city on the south-
ern shore of North Is-
land. As they’ neared —
Wellington, Uncle Nat
said to the boys:
