The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

FIRST VIEW OF YOKOHAMA. 79
Frank had his eye on a- sampan that was darting about like an active
tisli, iirst in one direction and then in another. It was propelled by a
single oar in the hands of a brown-skinned boatman, who was not encuni-
l>ered with a large amount of superfluous clothing. The oar was in two
pieces—a blade and a handle—lashed together in such a way that they
did not form a straight line. At first Frank thought there was somethingwrong
about it ; but he soon observed that the oars in all the boats were
of the same pattern, and made in the same way. They were worked like
sculls rather than like oars. The man kept the oar constantly beneath
the water; and, as he moved it forwards and back, he turned it partly
around. A )-ope near his hand regulated the distance tlie oar could be
turned, and also kept it from rising out of the water or going too far
below the surface.
Nearly every boat contained a funny little furnace, only a few inches
square, where the boatman boiled his tea and cooked the rice and fish that
composed his food. Each boat had a deck of boards which were so placed
as to be readily removed ;
but, at the same time, were secured against be-
ing washed away. Every one of these craft was perfectly clean, and while
they were waiting around the ship, several of the boatmen occupied them-
selves by giving their decks a fresh scrubbing, which was not at all neces-
sary. The Doctor took the occasion to say something about the cleanli-
ness of the Japanese houses, and of the neat habits of the people gener-
ally, and added, "You will see it as you go among them, and cannot fail
to be impressed by it. You will never liesitate to eat Japanese food
through fear that it may not be clean ; and this is more than you can say
of every table in our own country."
The steamer was an- ^
chored nearly half a mile - - ~ _ -^^
from shore. English, ^ =^
French, German, and oth- _ ^_ _
er ships were in the har-
bor ; tenders and steamlaunches
were moving
about ; row - boats were
cominir and o-oino-; and,
altogether, the port of
Yokohama presented a
lively appearance. Shore-
JAPANESE GOVEUN5IENT BOAT.
ward the picture was interesting. At the water's edge there was a stone
quay or embankment, with two inner harbors, where small boats might
—