Account of a voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea, and the great Loo-Choo IslandHall, Basil
History
Account of a voyage of discovery to the west coast of Corea, and the great Loo-Choo Island
Hall, Basil
Korea -- Description and travel; Ryukyu Islands -- Description and travel
We rowed directly across, and landed at the southern side at the foot
of a wooded range of hills, which forms the southern boundary of the
lake. As no road was observed, it was resolved to go directly up the
hill, and, in about an hour, after a good deal of scrambling amongst the
bushes and long grass, we gained the top, where we found a neat pathway
with a ditch on each side, and a hedge growing on the top of the mound,
formed of the earth from the ditch; it resembled not a little an English
lane. Without knowing where this might take us to, we followed it, in
the hope of meeting some of the people, but in this we were
disappointed. Yet this place must, at times, be frequented, as we
observed a number of similar paths leading to the right and left.
The trees on this range of hills are low, and of no great beauty; the
fir is the most common, but we did not know the names of the rest. After
walking about a mile, our path took an abrupt turn down the brow of the
hill, and appeared to lead to a large village at some distance. The view
from this elevation was very satisfactory, as it enabled us to check our
rough eye draught of the harbour and coast. The road down the hill was
so steep that it was just possible to stand upon it, being inclined, as
was conjectured on the spot, at an angle of 45º. At the foot of the hill
there was a little cottage, consisting of two parts, made of wattled
rattans, connected by a light open bamboo roof, so covered with a large
leaved creeper as to afford a complete shelter from the sun. The
cottage, which was thatched, was enveloped in creepers, encircled by the
usual rattan fence at two or three yards distance. One of the wings was
occupied by goats; the other, which was dark, seemed to belong to the
people, who had deserted it on our approach. There being only a small
hole in the wall to admit light and air, and to allow the smoke to
escape, every thing inside was black and dirty. Two spears hung on one
side, which, upon enquiry afterwards, we were told were for striking
fish.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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