The Days of a Man 1900 



hameha the Great, King of Hawaii, drove the people 

 of Oahu over the cliff and down to their death on 

 the rocks a thousand feet below. 



First im- It was on a sullen, drizzly day (June 24) that we 

 had our fi rs t glimpse of Japan. Entering the harbor 

 of Yokohama, we looked down on warm, sloppy 

 water full of white jellyfish; on either side appeared 

 low shores, dimly seen, backed by dark pines, and 

 in the foreground brick warehouses and gray hotels. 

 At the wharf jinrikisha men waited with their 

 little vehicles, called in Japanese kuruma, "wheel," 

 while all about swarmed the people in costumes 

 familiar from Japanese lanterns and fans. Selecting 

 my man, I gave at once the magic order, " Sakana; 

 ichi ba" ("Fish; market-place"), and off we sped 

 through the foreign concession by way of well- 

 kept streets lined with English-looking brick houses, 

 a green cricket field and a pretty park, then over 

 rough and narrow lanes to our destination. The 

 great market consisted of open stalls, the dealers 

 squatting above their wares, a generous variety of 

 fish in baskets or alive in troughs of water. Among 

 them was a huge swordfish, a species never before 

 recorded from Japan; this, like the black-tailed sole 

 at San Diego, 1 we regarded as a good omen. As I 

 went on a round of inspection, one young lad, appar- 

 ently much impressed, gave my leg a polite pinch 

 and shouted as he ran away: "He's real, he's real!" 

 Having satisfied my first curiosity, I was next 

 impressed by the variety in men's costume, anything 

 from a towel to flowing robes of silk seeming to serve 

 the purpose. Especially conspicuous were the large 



1 See Vol. I, Chapter ix, page 203. 



C 6 3 



