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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1906)
ON TRAIL num.HljJIlE ' ' " 4 A Among the y ' By William 'T. Ellis. ' ' V CoprrJht. 1SU6, br Joerpb B. Bewtea.) KARUIZAWA, Japen. Exactly . how a mloelonary ttoe about J Introducing- his teachings to ! .-t" "heathen" community which knows absolutely nothlna about Chrls tlanlty is, an Interesting point seldom msde plain. Now, I have seen it done, end the procedure is worth describing. ' This trip to a large Interior town, where missionaries and Christianity are un known, with the Incidents which befell by the way, was the. .most Interesting Japan.. In -, several features ' this particular preaching expedition was abnormal. It was made in connection with an excur sion to the famous hot kprlngs-e'f - Ku taatsu by a party of missionaries who - r are spending their - vacation in Kami "aawa. the largest summer resort for for elgner in Japan. . There . were eight " young American missionaries, two Jap- anese teachers or evangelists, and my self, In the party which started, early ' one morning for the J5-railf walk over the mountains tn KnaalBU, , Ttwaaworih while to get this Intimate view of mis sionaries, for three days of hard travel Trader these cenHtlonawaitnougnlo jeveal tbLjri'Wrdnes of a man's na ture, i ... . .. - i Just Like Ordinary Mortals. .-.i.. And 1 must say that I did not find these ' men especially . different from ' any ether crowd of educated young men. , They told stories by the hundred, made '' oed puns.' "played horse" with one an 1 other, and altogether behaved like " schoolboys out 'on a lark. There waa not enough preacherly dignity In the . crowd, after the first hour, to make a . cassock . vest. Their good nature and . animal spirits struck me as remarkable. At ine end or the rirnt zo miles I saw one missionary ciiase another, up a , . mountainside, at a dead run, for some praetteeJ-T-oke that Hd been played. Perhaps the picture that I am drawing may not please eome pious folk over the seas, who think that the missionary . should be forever eheddlng tears over : the benighted people to whom he has .'gone, but for my part I thought it eml- nently sane and creditable, and really an argument for the fitness or the mis. slonary. - s ,. i .. A Twenty-Five Mile Tramp. The men, ail clergymen, were typical, : I think, and all except two were .under t SO. The American board waa repre sented by Hilton Pedley and B. 8. Cobb, the Northern Methodist "by A. D. Perry, : K. T. Iglehsrt and C, S. Davison, and the Northern Presbyterians by Arthur P. Vaughn. A. K. Relschauer and J. E. Hall, the last en ex-Cumberland Pres. byterlan. Two sre the sons of mls- stonaHea. having lived In Japan prac tically all their Uvea, except when being educated In America. . -' The long tramp to KunatKO waa amid :- beautiful mountain scenery, past the famous active volcano Asama, over the high park tends where are the imperial horse farms. atone auIni.acfoa a long suspension bridge made of telegraph wire, and through small native villages where silk culture Is carried on, until, . under the shadow of . Bhirane. another active volcano, the sulphurous vlllaee - of Kusatse was reached at f o'clock in the evening. On the way many pilgrims were passed, some Jinrlklshss, some In chalr-Uke arrangement slung on a pole over the shoulders uf two coolies, and eome on peck saddles, orten two per sons to a horse, one In a pannier-like pest en either side. Escaping from the five runners from the one eo-called European hotel, who besieged us at various points along the lJttter half of the journey, and despite assurances from apparently disinter ested persons that all the native Inns were full, the party, by on exercise ef its Japanese speech and western per sistence, found an eminently satis fsctory Japanese hotel,-where all the missionaries were at once at home. . being quite accustomed to eating and sleeping on ths floor. At once the na tive teachers set out to arrange for a religious service by the foreigners. The Preachers and the Police. ' einon the kindly paternalism of the Japanese police was eacountered. ; 1m pxtllRtcly upon reaching their inn. the f.irlgiere ha1 been obliged to register ir-elr nemi's and ages and occupations. u'ir' itmy nnr from, .whither tljey v. ere gti.g and how log they Intended t ... Thin If part f. trie marvel rtily W lete e.i.ien whereby the l..licv 'ietrim'nt'' keeps a recorl ot 11 w , "M ji.ni n -ri'-mtflirtlitlt n' i'r itrlfs miiimnrM imm- , isiiiS ' THE OF MISSIONARY Strange Gods. every foreigner within the borders of the empire. Soon the Japanese teacher returned to say that the police, while quite willing that the . visitors should hold a preaching service In the public square, advised that it be very - short and simple, leat there be trouble with the rough clement Ini town. Later, there came a second' message, oouched In politest terms.' suggesting that the meeting be held In the hotel,' where the honorable gentlemen lodged, at the ip per end of the village. Bo it waa arranged. Shortly after S per lanterns which the Inn supplied, we proceeded to the public square, along side of a steaming pool whoie sulphur ous fumes suggested . the opposite ol things heavenly. In fact Kusatsu Itself is a good place for preaching. Its very exiatence Is , baeed . largely ' upon the consequences of Immorality. The per manent population Is about 1.500 persons, all living off the visitors, who number between t.000 and 4,000, more . than score of whom are Europeans. Theet hot sulphur baths for centuries the most famous In Japan, while effh-aplons in rheumatism and gout, are more gen erally used for the most loathsome skin diseases; By far the largest number ef visitors go to Kusatau aa a penalty for their own or their parents' transgres sion of the moral law. - Lepers and Bad Bvddhists. " " " As t watched the people on the street and In the baths the next morning, t thought that the most appropriate scrip ture tor that community too appropriate, perhaps, for politeness would be, "Be sure your sin will find you out." Even yet I cannot determine which was the aadder sight, the squada of decrepit old men In the baths, or the larger compa nies of youths. The very fact of the pur pose for 'which these hot springs are used, and the further fact that the ex istence of the unnaraeable disease, both here And throughout Jspan, Is not even regarded as a reason for shame, would seem to argue the need for some new mora) teachings. .Certainly Buddhism ofers no remedy; I learned at Kusatau that next month "Is the time for the visit of the Buddhist priests who suffer from the malady most commonly treated at the aprlngs! Evidently Buddhism as practiced 'in Japan Is different from. Buddhism as -preached In Boston. At the lower end of the town is the general bath where the lepers bathe. Here cne may sights sufficient for a life time, although the baths keep the flesh of the victims In better condition- than Is common with lepers. The lepers, aeveral hundred of them, of ell ages, and maimed In every con ceivable manner, are not at all quar antined, but wander freely about and en gage. In the normal occupations . of the other townspeople. Including a hop keeping. Old and New in Competition. , But to return to the party of mis sionary visitors In the center of the vil lage. The simple presence of so many. foreigner apparently, ln-gond , health, 1 attracted attention, when the older of the two .Japanese preachers an nounced, holding aloft his lantern, that the foreigners would speak and ' sing that night, -beads began to appear on ell idea; Therr-the missionaries', - all of whom speak Japanese, gathered about their one hymn book and began to sing a Japanese translation of a familiar hymn. In the meantime the native evangelist Was busily accosting Individ uals, inviting them to the service and giving them tracts. 'Two hymns were sung, the announce ment waa repeated, and the procession wendod Its way down near the leper bath, with natives bringing up the rear. Another halt was made and a similar procedure adopted: and -again, further up the village, a third stand was made. This was a short distance fceyond where two native story-tellers were entertain ing large crowds with sing-song. - -recitals, after the ancient custom. The missionaries considerately "removed to a distance before singing, lest tthey should disturb these eudienres, but they nevertheless got a considerable follow ing from the fringes of the latter. At a slnw pace to accommodate Hie lame end the halt, the crowd moved cn to he appointed meeting place, having cre ated-a sensation In. the town. , Freth Sensation for the Jaded. Curiosity, and the desire of the blare for a new sensa'lnn, was largely re sponsible for, the etteitlve company of stx-ut id Japanese which gathered when the meeting opened. Outside the room. OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND, SUNDAY THE, GRAT DISMAL SWAMP OF VIRGINIA .; . , ' U ,' : - , 'if .' By Jefferaon Myer. t'BINO h course of 4 2-mile drive to historic Yorktown and Jamrmown Inland, the cradle of - the Amertcao nation, the iMttcr ofhlch places I visited by starlight, ,t a ins other points of Interest In this won derful old state of Virginia THBd the- extreme goud fortune to make the trip under the guidance of Dr. Lycn O. Tyler, president of William and Mary .college at Williamsburg,' to whose father, while president of the Vnlted States, my native state of Oregon owes a great debt of gratitude. , " As we passed through this beautiful and romantic cduntry, the conversation turned on the great Diurnal swamp of Virginia, and ao interesting were the facts and snucdotes I heard concerning this weird -and remarkable region that I felt that I could not be satisfied to return to my western home until I had seen some of Ma wonders with my own VM- rfrt.fllfiTlif I .u ff.rl v m iinnt .,1 She Invitation of A.'l Sutton.-chief of the "department-of-press and-publllty of the Jamestown exposition, and his friend, -Charles Frederick Stansbury, a well-known Writer, to accompany them and a.Dttfliy' of others on a two days' trip to Luke Drurrtmond, in the heart of the Dismal awamp. On a small yacht we left Norfolk at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of a perfect November day. The air was clear, brac ing and balmy, and our craft cut swift ly through the waters , of the south hrnrirli nf thn FJI?a,ftfth rtvee . I ob served that the water of the river was tinctured with, red to the bright hue of dllutedMBret. TMsr-l -whs told,- was due to the overflow from the Juniper end cypress , infusion that constitutes the waters ot the swamp," Past the, Navy'Yardsr i We passed the Norfolk navy yard, where Dewey's flagship, the Olympla, the old unprotected cruiser San Fran cisco and the traintng-shlpa Richmond and Franklin were seen, surrounded by fleets of torpedo-boats and destroyers. We traversed the serpentine river called Deep creek and soon came to the lock at' the town of Deep Creek, where he waters ef ' the Dismal swamp connect with those of the Tidewater and Hamp ton Roads., Here we were courteously received by J. B. Baxter, superintendent of the Lake Drummond Canal A. Water com pany, and hia assistant. A F. Boynton, from whom we received valuable infor mation regarding the Dismal awamp. Our boat had been raised In the lock to an elevallon of about 12 or 14. feet above todewater, and we were now tn the waters of the Dismal awamp eanal. When we left Deep Creek and our boat was plowing the dark waters of the which In the convenient fashion of the land, was enlarged by removing two of the walls, was a border of wonder ing women and children. Inside were the men. sitting on their knees, accord ing to the native code of politeness; after the Introductory address, one of the auditors spoke up and with pro foundest apologies for the - rudeness, asked If the, men might not be ao Im polite as to sit cross-legged, the more comfortable poeture, alnce they were most of them Invalids, With msny mutual bowings to live In Japan in sures abundant exercise for the mus cles of the bsck the request was of course granted by the missionaries. ptftynaTf tir tioni,-I ootireA. knew the art of Sitting on their knees; I found the ordeal of alttlng cross-legged for more than an hour quite severe enough. '.The meeting was the first Christian service aver held In that ancient com munlty, the official "-aM, although I Inter learned that when Revs. T.' M. McNnlr end- E. K. Miller spent a vaca tlon In Kusatau a score of yeara ago. t-hev also conducted Christian services. Naturally It was as Interesting to me aa to these Japanese who naa never seen a missionary before"., : . They were alert to note every word and action of the visitors. The opening was delayed somewhat as. In the confusion of assembling, somebody nnd stolen " the one Japanese hymn . book. It wes re turned the next morning, whether from the efTecte of the preaching or because It wna found unmarketable, did not appeal1. After a hymn In English, sung from memory, and an Introductory address and prayer by the native preacher who, by the way, recently refused an Increase In. the ' ten-doUnr-a-month salary which a Pennsylvania church pays him, bemuse- he-sald the work elsewhere needed the money more than he Mr. Hall spoke In Japanese. There wss a vein of humor In his address, wnlch abounded In Illustra tions, and caused the audiencs to utter the' Japiineso equivalent for "Hear! herr!" Throughout the meeting, strangely enough, the addressee snd their telling points were applauded by hand-clapping. fDf ' ,: . '.. wTOv I I I I 1 ' , t- , -7 4A - ' ; wxx a mm -mm wm - . r . . f 0Slll.lk.iIIfM 1 . . ..ZVW11111W"TM1JXW n w 4 t ) .OLD LOCKS IN FEEDER canalTr reflected That 1 was traversing the waterway .surveyed by - General George Washington, and going Into a region part of which he owned, and In all of which he took great Interest There is, In fact: a canal In tbe heart of the Dismal swamp, five miles long, knqwn ss the "Washington ditch." which Is said to have been surveyed and cut under the direction of the '-father of his country." The Dlsmsl dssamp Canal Is SO feet wide, end Its banks were ornamented with luxuriant verdure, late as was the season. The canal Is about 40 miles long, and connects Deep Creek, Virglna. with" Elizabeth City, North Carolina, thus uniting the waters of the Chesa peake with those of Albemarle sound. It is of great commercial and industrial value and many thousands of vessels laden with all sorts of produce, the principal cargoes, however, being lum ber, pass through It annually. Jt coat many millions of dollars and very many years to complete; the value of It will become more evident as thV years roll by. . About II miles -below Deep Creek, we pass Wei lace ton, a fertile' 12,000 . Mr. Davidson followed In a familiar, colloquial talk. Illustrated by quota tions of Japanese poetry and proverbs, which brought quick response. Then Mr. Pedley Interpreted for one ef the other men of the party. Mr.- Podlev Is one of .the missionaries In J pan noted for hia mastery of a language which no foreigner ever acquires com pletely, although the Japanese have said that certain missionaries use better Japanese than do the natives tlieta selves. The ease and smoothness With I I hi which the language was employed by the speakers on this occasion was a marvel to me, and also. I thought, to the Japanese hearers. Most foreigners In Japan acquire only enough ef the . laagua ge to enable tham Ui-lnatriml their servants. After the address the men reached fortn eagerly for the Japanese tracte and scripture portions that were given away, the policeman who had been deputised to attend the meeting being a delighted recipient of one. Several persons tarried to talk with the preachers. i ' , ; . Swimming in a Volcano. ' ' Despite the lateness of the hour to which this meeting had teen prolonged, the party wna astir almost at daybreak, and on -a tour of the town watching the bathers. Whoever . will may see these; for the Japanese know nothing of the American interpretation of modesty. Then an- early ' star,t was made for Shlbu, more then 20 mile distant, by way of Shirans, an active volcano 1.600 feet high. This tramp Is enough to test the religion of anybody, even a missionary, for It Is entirely over mountains, nnd the road Is super latively bad, though the aeenery Is superlatively beautiful, rivaling Colo rado's best. - ' . tfhirnne Is a tall grey peak amlflsl scene ef Jdesolatlon, caused by ths eruption of 1182, which blasted the trees for miles around, so thst now they stand like gray, gaunt skeletons heuntlng a Meld of death. The crater Is moat satlsfactory-to visit. In that one mny descend Its depthr and piny with the echoes which dwsll In Its walls or dig sulphur from Ihe bottomless pit. Since the smaller eruption ot 1H01 the creter.-wblclt. Is 1,000 yards long, con MQKNING. DECEMBER 2, It f . I if CANJVL. JtEAl?, "L?iKL D"RUKMOND. t5lS"MA"L tSWWP. acre farm, wrung from the morass-By Captain John a. Wallace, thepxesent owner and bis father, a brave and In telligent pioneer of this region. A short distance below Wallaceton, - we- turned Into the "Feeder," which runa Into the canal at right angles, . connecting it with Lake Drummond, four and a half miles away. As our yacht waa far too large and heavy to be carried or lifted Into the upper waters f the - canal above, we had concluded to" make our central camp at this point, and reach Lake Drummond and its inlets by means of small boats, some of which we carried with us and some of which we hoped to obtain from the quaint old lock keeper, "Captain Jack," a famous character of the swamp. ' As evening was fast approaching, the bulk of our party decided to remain at the camp for the night, end make their observations snd tours of Inspection early on the following day, but having seen this much of the Dismal Swamp and the environs of Lake Drummond. my imagination had become ao inflamed and my curiosity so excited that I de termined. If possible, to pay a visit to the lake at tilghU . Accordingly; set tains two large lakes. One Is of hydro chlnrlc acid, and when diluted and sweetened trmkes lemonade, na the mis sionaries found. The other lake is filled with bulling,, hissing, steaming sulphur. These young missionaries were not content with drinking from the lemonade lake; they even , went swlmmnlg in It! The Polite Police ' y 1 " lanniui Japanese prcacncr neu o"mltta""Th"e climb up Shlrane and so he reached Shlbn, another village fa mous for Its milder baths, ahead of the main party of sunburned and footsore missionaries, who arrived at sundown. to-fln4-th4 tew n-esp test -ct a roeetUiav) all the preparations for which had born made. Several rooms on the first floor of the native Inn where the visitors spent the night, were thrown into one. making room for upwards of 100 per sons seated, while many more, could stand outside or sit in the house across the alley so nigh Is neighbor to neigh bor In the old Japanese villages. Word came from the police that Should this meeting plsce be too email for the foreigners' purpose, the police themselves would provide a larger room. But some 200 men, women and children crowded around when, the service began, and listened to the new teachings with on attention thnt could not be. surpassed In a Fifth avenue church. The ssme speakers took part although with different addresses. A considerable circle of young -men, mostly students, - gathered about Mr. Hall after the meeting, for further con versation. "At this service a native Christian woman, who had moved Into the village from another town, took a delighted part. One of the American Bible society's colporteurs was also present;, snd, 'In general, Shlbu seemed somewhat more familiar with Chris tianity than did Kusatau, although there are so Chrietlsn services held there.. . Where Religion Is Chesp. , Tn next morning the Americans, who were quite accustomed to creating a stir by' their appenrsnce In native villages, went to-.Nnganof, where Is. one of the most celebrated Buddhist temples In 1SC3. .1 i. forth with a companion, armed with a shotgun and necessary fishing tackle, as a preparation, for emergencies in case we should become stranded with out provision, and In a small, flat bot tom boat we rowed through the re maining half mile of the canal that con nects the lock with Lake Dstimmond. The star light was sufficiently bright to show the wlerd outlines of , the strange trees that line the banks -of the canal, while vague shadows of the forest behind, brought upon us a feel ing that was almost uncanny. As we followed the entrance to Lake Drum mond. Its dark waters reflected every where the radiance of the atars, while the giant junipers and cypress trees and huge knarled trunks of what had once been giants of that order, loomed vaguely marvelously distorted. Weird .Forms on the Lake. As we rode -out Open the bosom of this dark lake. It required no effort of the imagination to conceive the reason why it has been peopled with atrsnge forms by the poets who have written of it and why It has .been given lmmor- Japan, dating back to 670 A. D., al though the oldest portion of the present structure Is only six eenturles old. The high priestess of this temple la an aunt of the emperer. The temple -area Is crowded with statues and buildings of absorbing Interest. ' I noticed one bronxe Buddha of heroic else holding a baby, and some devotee had put a modern bon net, -of cheap calico, on the letter's head! On aeveral occasions I have seen Images thus Incongruously adorned. , Thousands of devout, pilgrims visit this temple, and the emperor himself has a sumptuous suite of apartments therein, although the Shlntolsts claim him as one of their number. In fact. he has rather impartially patrpnlsed wth-f atrherwnd ftheaisam jects do likewise. Ordinary pilgrims to the temple are kept outside ths wire ecreen before the altar, but the mis sionaries, by the application of the sll ver4Btey which unlocks doors the world over, were permitted to a closer view and a complete Inspection1. , The Keys of Paradise. They were even taken down through the absolutely dark underground par sage where the keys of paradise may be found, attached to a huge padlock. And assuredly those young Americans found them, and rattled them loudly enmigh for all the celestial doorkeepers to hear. This trip In the dark Is sup posed to purge the soul of sin, though, paradoxically enough, the priest who was our guide warned us that If w4 had any evil In our hearts when w entered we would come Out changed Into dogs, which Is the common belief. Of course this party emerged barking and growling like cars with tin cans to their talla. It must not he Inferred that the mis sionaries were disrespectful to the tem ple -njr its worshipers. They moved about, uncovered and unshod, and were genuinely Interested In the bewildering explanatlnnn of who's who In this sect of Buddhism. Among the more than 30.000 nn.-etrnl tablets placed 'In one apartment, I noticed one that was sur mounted by the Harvard II. As souvenirs of this trip t hsve a written, token from Ihe high priest that ' j- " Ss PKRTYIN TfiF GREAT tallty by the famous ballad of "The Lake of th Dismal Swamp." written by Thomas Moore, after be had visited It In person more than a century ago. - At daylight next morning, we were astir, and I had the privilege of again 4-entflng. Lake Drummood - and ssslng- f-the sun rise over its- welrd-and pictur esque beauty. I skirted tbe shorts of the lake and Journeyed Into many of Ha Inlets. In spite of the suggestion of desolation, the scene wss one ef con stant and ever changing beauty. I found it Impossible to accustom my mind to the fact that I was sailing on and about a lake, the waters of which were blood red In color, and where even the spray thrown up by tbe wind was brown in hue. , While I was exploring the Iske and the interior region of the swamp, my companions were enjoying themselves In various wave, some of them fishing in the lake, which, notwithstanding tta strange, discoloration abounds in fish of many varieties. - Owing to the fact : that the season waa hot sufficiently ad vanced, we did net encounter any of the beer . or .deer or panther with, which the region abounds later, in the win ter, and we had therefore to eontent ourselves with such small game as came our way, which fact, in addition to the fish, added materially to the va riety of our cuisine. Later In the day, which had passed ell too rapidly, - we returned to our rendesvous at the lake, ' ere we ubserved fufa'tlnis ins is-11 bors of a gang of negroes, who were at work -under the direction of the en gineer In cutting a gigantic wood way, prior to the repairing of the lake. This work Is being pushed in order that the many thousands of visitors to; the Jamestown exposition next year, who ' may wish to see Lake Drummond, can . visit it without breaking their journey or Buffering any inconvenience. 'Before starting for Norfolk, I secured a bottle of the Juniper water from this famous lake, which, for more than two centurlee has been renowned for Its medicinal and keeping qualities to such an extent that formerly ocean-going vessels did not scruple to take great trouble In order to obtain a supply of it for their long voyage. Of the- vicious and frightful things -which the Dismal Swamp contains or Is said to contain, I saw but little, an the aeaaon when venomoue snakes and other reptiles are . in . evidence had passed. Of the natural beauties of t)ie Dismal Swamp. I cannot say too much. There Is nothing like it elsewhere on the face of the globe. It stands alone, ( and should be enumerated among the great natural wonders of this great continent. I have performed an early- morning de votion at a certain shrine, and have re ceived absolution from him in person although, as a matter of fact. It was nearly noon when we were In ths tem ple, and I never saw ths high priest. I bought the document from a priest In thev temple office for one and a half cents. Similarly, t have a brass charm from the imperial high priestess (whom I did not meet, 1 am sorry to say), guaranteeing protection to . my body from every kind jot harm, and all for the sum of s Cents. Religion comes cheap In Japan. I saw priests empty ing the money boxes which stand before each shrine, and - later stringing the I TV II tplnssctheixheaa are sji of.opie&..ll and or the loweet denominations, two sen, one sen-, half sen, rln and half rln. The lost two are the commonest, and are worth respectively, one twentieth , nnd one fortieth of an American, cent. These are now seldom used - in ' com merce and are called "temple money." The sen Is worth one half cent The elaborate and costly - Buddhist temple and Its ritual and priests wss In sharp contrast with the Impoverished simple services which theee ununl- formed missionaries had been holdings but the latter had a confidence and a vitality which made one foresee the pos sibility of the overthrow of Buddhism by ths plain gospel of tbe Nasarene, ' Bight Bide for the Sears. . From the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ' Teacher Johnnie, on which Side is the hesrtT - Johnnie On the right side, teacher. Teacher No. Johnnie. , It's on your left side. Johnnie Tea, ma'am: that's What I said. i Teacher What you said? Johnnie Yes. teacher; the left aide Is the right side for the heart. Mummer Is Over la ths oath. From the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser We suppose these cool mornings will cause the mosquitoes to fold their tents like Arabs and silently steal away,? or worda to that effect. The cold has Its uses, besides enrlohing the coal dealers. .