EXPLORING UNKNOWN CORNERS OF THE "HERMIT KINGDOM' 



of India or the Malay Peninsula, and 

 range among the bitterly cold mountains 

 of China, Korea, and Manchuria, far up 

 into Siberia. 



DRINKING HOT BLOOD. AS A TONIC 



On the first day's hunt at Hozando a 

 deer was shot. The bullet, passing 

 through both lungs, filled the thorax with 

 clotted blood, and as soon as the animal 

 was opened Paik, my Korean gun-bearer, 

 plunged his face into the half-liquid mass, 

 drinking and eating until the last drop 

 was gone ; then removing the steaming 

 red liver, he cut it into slices, swallowing 

 them as fast as possible. 



I was tremendously surprised, but 

 learned afterward that the Koreans be- 

 lieve the blood of a deer or any wild 

 animal, if drunk when warm, to be a 

 splendid tonic. Tigers' claws, whiskers, 

 bones, and teeth are especially valuable, 

 and preparations made from these ma- 

 terials were often given to soldiers before 

 a battle or any especially hazardous enter- 

 prise, since they were believed to incul- 

 cate great bravery. 



AN IMPOSING CAVALCADE 



When we returned to Musan to pre- 

 pare for our trip into the wilderness, 

 trouble began. It was almost impossible 

 to procure horses and men, because of 

 the fear of the Chinese robbers, who were 

 said to range along the borders of the 

 forest. My party were demoralized, and 

 had it been possible to procure any "tiger- 

 bone tonic," they would have been given 

 a liberal dose ; but none was to be had, 

 and it was only after strenuous and forci- 

 ble efforts by the gendarmes and myself 

 that we finally got away, with six horses 

 and five ma fits (drivers), besides my 

 cook, interpreter, and gun-bearer. We 

 made rather an imposing party, but the 

 hearts of the Koreans were heavy and 

 their spirits at lowest ebb. 



Our objective was the little village of 

 Nonsatong, just at the edge of the unex- 

 plored wilderness, 40 miles away. The 

 first portion of the journey lay over the 

 picturesque hills above the Tumen River, 

 which forms the northeastern boundary 

 line between Korea and Manchuria, and 

 when we were well noon the mountain 

 slopes the view was magnificent. Far 



below us were oat and millet fields and 

 villages of tiny, dirty huts, about which 

 white-garbed natives lounged in the sun- 

 shine, smoking their long pipes, or per- 

 haps lazily drove a pair of huge bulls 

 back and forth across a field, dragging 

 after them the primitive wooden plow 

 used by the Koreans of the north. 



THE) CURIOUS KOREAN WATER-HAMMERS 



Everywhere the log water-hammers, 

 made for pounding grain, were rising and 

 falling ceaselessly like things of life. The 

 hammer is constructed from a 12-foot 

 log, one end of which is hollowed deeply, 

 the other being weighted with a heavy 

 post set at right angles to the shaft. The 

 log is so placed that its concave end will 

 rest under a stream which has been di- 

 verted to flow in the desired direction. 

 and a tub for the grain is sunk deep 

 into the ground, where the post will fall 

 within it (see page 37). 



When the concave portion is filled 

 with water the log rises and the water is 

 tipped out ; the opposite end then becomes 

 heavier and the pestle falls into the tub 

 beneath it ; thus the hammer alternately 

 rises and falls so long as the water flows. 

 This invention probably came from China 

 and is not found in the southern or cen- 

 tral parts of the peninsula. 



We had our first sight of forests in 

 Korea when we reached Nonsatong, or 

 Nojido, as the Japanese call it. This is 

 the last settlement on the edge of the 

 wilderness and consists of 10 or 12 small 

 and very dirty huts strung out along a 

 branch of the Tumen Valley. 



The inhabitants had never seen a white 

 man, and the curiosity with which we 

 regarded each other was mutual. At first 

 they were inclined to be somewhat shy 

 and contented themselves with standing 

 silently, watching my every movement : 

 but, after learning that I was not averse 

 to being examined, they crowded about 

 for closer inspection of the strange per- 

 son who had suddenly appeared among 

 them as if from another world. 



NATIVES MARVEL AT THE BLUE-EYED 

 STRANGER 



They were most interested in the fact 

 that my eyes were blue, and not black, 

 brown, or dark gray, as were their own 



