and towns, stone bridges, constructed with an arch and of good masonry, are built. The islands in the river near the capital are inhabited by fishermen, who pay their taxes in fish. Another large stream which joins its waters with the Han, within a few miles from its mouth near Kang-wa Island, is the Rin-chin River, whose head waters are among the mountains at the north of Kang-wen, within thirty miles of the newly-opened port of Gen-san on the eastern coast. Several important towns are situated on or near its banks, and it is often mentioned in the histories which detail the movements of the armies, which from China, Japan, and the teeming North, have often crossed and recrossed it. Naturally, we expect to find the military geography of this province well studied by the authorities, and its strategic points strongly defended. An inspection of the map shows us that we are not mistaken. Four great fortresses guard the approaches to the royal city. These are Suwen to the south, Kwang-chiu to the southeast, Sunto or Kai-seng to the north, and Kang-wa to the west. All these fortresses have been the scene of siege and battle in time past. On the walls of the first three, the rival banners of the hosts of Ming from China and of Taikō from Japan were set in alternate succession by the victors who held them during the Japanese occupation of the country, between the years 1592 and 1597. The Manchiu standards in 1637, and the French eagles in 1866, were planted on the ramparts of Kang-wa. Besides these castled cities, there are forts and redoubts along the river banks, crowning most of the commanding headlands, or points of vantage. Over these the stars and stripes floated for three days, in 1871, when the American forces captured these strongholds. In most cases the walls of cities and forts are not over ten feet high, though, in those of the first order, a height of twenty-five feet is obtained. None of them would offer serious difficulty to an attacking force possessing modern artillery.