The magistrate sent a number of presents to us ere we left--a box of cigars, though we were not smokers, another of candied Chinese ginger, honey, flour, beef, vinegar and potatoes. These were articles which they found by diligent inquiry from our attendants that we were fond of. They scoured the country for potatoes, though except in the mountains, where rice will not grow, few Koreans cultivate or eat them. On leaving Kangai we could either take a long road around the mountains, well known and much traveled, or a short cut through and over them, much less frequented, but which the magistrate assured us was now quite safe, as he had recently passed through there himself and believed that everything was now quiet and orderly. The locality had a bad reputation, being off the main lines of travel in the recesses of the mountains, where escaped criminals were wont to hide, and where a band of robbers were said to have made their lair. But time pressed, work was urgent, the magistrate’s statements were reassuring, and we decided to take the shorter road. We were provided with a police official and a soldier, who, our host told us, would be respected and feared, and our entire safety would thus be assured. [Illustration: CARRIER OX. PAGE 54] [Illustration: THE OX-CART OR TALGOOGY. PAGE 197] Our road on leaving Kangai passed directly over the mountains, through a region more sparsely populated and more wildly beautiful than anything we had yet seen. There were a few stray farms where sparse crops of potatoes were raised, but the mountains hemmed us in closely on all sides. They were covered with magnificent trees; here and there a woodcutter was seen or heard, but the evidences of human life were few. We had noticed with interest through the mountain districts a large number of people for these sparsely settled regions who were afflicted with goitre.