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diff --git a/14655-0.txt b/14655-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..79b3ce4 --- /dev/null +++ b/14655-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1953 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14655 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 14655-h.htm or 14655-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/6/5/14655/14655-h/14655-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/6/5/14655/14655-h.zip) + + + + + +BIG PEOPLE AND LITTLE PEOPLE OF OTHER LANDS + +by + +EDWARD R. SHAW + +Dean of the School of Pedagogy +New York University + +New York Cincinnati Chicago +American Book Company + +1900 + + + + + + + +PREFACE + +This little book is designed to meet the child's natural desire to +learn or hear of other people than those living in the part of the +world about him. + +It has been thoroughly proved in our newer pedagogical practice that +the child in the first school year is much interested in descriptions +of the Indian and the Eskimo. Whenever descriptions of the Indian and +the Eskimo have been given him, they have not only fulfilled their +purpose in furnishing material for reading and the interrelation of +several activities of expression, but they have revealed to him the +fact that there are other people in the world, who differ very much +from those he has seen. + +His interest in different peoples at this time is in their physical +appearance, their dress, their ways of living, their customs, their +manners, and it arises chiefly from the contrast which descriptions of +these afford to familiar customs, conditions, and physical +characteristics. + +The child is not interested, at that stage of his intellectual +development which falls in the first or the second school year, in the +situation of countries. It does not matter to him exactly where, +geographically, the people about whom he reads live. He is satisfied +if some general statement is made to the effect that they live far away +to the north, where the cold countries are, or in the south, where it +is warm and sometimes hot, or on the other side of the world. + +His desire, at this period, for new impressions and ideas gained from +descriptions and accompanying pictures is as keen as his desire for +sense impressions gained from the world of nature and activity about +him. This wider range of information and ideas, it is believed, he may +in some measure gain from this little book. + + +DRESDEN, July 15, 1899. + + + + +PEOPLE OF OTHER LANDS. + + +CHINA. + +On the other side of this great round world is a country called China. +When it is dark here, and we are going to sleep, the sun is just waking +up the children in China and telling them it is morning. When we get +up in the morning they are just bidding the sun good night. When it is +light here it is dark there. So they have day when we have night. + +Chinese children look like little men and women, for they dress like +their fathers and mothers. Boys and girls dress nearly alike. They +both dress in silk or cotton trousers. They wear over these long gowns +reaching nearly to their feet. They wear odd-looking shoes with thick +white soles. The boys' heads are shaved, except a small part on top. +There a lock of hair is left. This lock of hair is braided and hangs +down the back. A queer name is given to it. It is called a "queue." +Girls in China do not go to school, but all day long they are busy; +they help their mothers keep house; they tend the babies; they sew, and +help with the cooking. + +[Illustration: Chinese Women and Children.] + +The schools in China are only for boys. The boys make a great deal of +noise in school. A Chinese teacher thinks the boys are idle if they do +not study their lessons out loud. So each boy shouts as loud as he +can. When the boy has learned his lesson, he goes up and gives his +book to the teacher. Then he turns his back to the teacher, and shouts +out the whole lesson to show that he knows it. + +The boys are taught to count. They learn by using balls set in a +frame. The frame is like the frame of a slate. The balls slide on +wires. With the balls they learn to add and subtract. + +They also learn how to write, but they have no pens or pencils. They +write with small brushes dipped in ink. Each boy makes his own ink. +He puts some water on a stone and then rubs a cake of ink in the water. +This makes a fine black ink called India ink. Then the boy fills his +brush and begins at the top, right-hand corner of the paper. He writes +toward the bottom of the sheet. He puts one word under another instead +of beside it as you do. Then he begins a new line at the top, and +writes to the bottom again. + +[Illustration: Chinese writing.] + +Chinese books are printed in the same way. Where do you think a +Chinese book begins? A Chinese book begins where our books end. + +In China many girls and women have very small feet. When they are +babies their feet are bound up tightly. They sometimes wear iron +shoes. Then their feet never grow, but are so very small that they +can hardly walk. Poor parents know their girls will have to work hard, +and so do not bind their feet. + +Chinese girls make beautiful paper flowers. They paint pictures. They +sing and play. Some of them pick the snow-white cotton in the fields. +Some of them take care of the silk-worms that spin the soft silk. + +But they do not work all the time. They play many pretty games. +Chinese boys, too, have many kinds of games and toys. One game is +like battledoor and shuttlecock. They use their feet to strike the +shuttlecock. They do this so fast that the shuttlecock hardly ever +falls to the ground. The Chinese are fond of flying kites. Even old +men fly kites. They fly their kites in the spring-time. Chinese kites +are of all sizes and shapes. Some are like birds. Some are like fish. +Some are like butterflies. + +[Illustration: Chinese Kite.] + + There is no other such land in all the world +for lanterns as China. The lanterns there are made of paper in the +shape of balls, or flowers, or animals. Some of the lanterns have a +wheel inside. When the candle is lighted, the draft of air makes the +wheel go round very quickly. When the wheel begins to move inside, the +figures on the outside of the lantern begin to move. Then men are seen +fishing or fanning. Sometimes children are seen dancing. + +The Chinese are so fond of lanterns that every year they have a "Feast +of Lanterns." On that day and night lanterns are to be seen +everywhere. Bridges and houses and trees are covered with lighted +lanterns. + +They have fireworks, too, that look like stars and trees and flowers. + +A Chinese dinner begins in the wrong way. They have fruits and nuts +first. After this comes rice. They eat more of rice than of anything +else. Then they drink tea without either milk or sugar. They use +neither forks nor knives. Instead they eat with small sticks of wood +or ivory. These are called "chopsticks." They hold them between the +thumb and first two fingers. They use them to carry their food to +their mouths as you use a fork or a spoon. + +[Illustration: Chopsticks.] + +Do you know how they catch fish in China? + +They have a bird which swims and dives into the water. This bird lives +on fish. Every time he dives he catches one. He is trained to bring +the fish to his master. A tight ring is put round the bird's neck. +This is to keep him from swallowing the fish. When enough fish have +been caught, the bird is given some to eat. This bird is called a +cormorant. + +A Chinese fisherman lives in his fishing boat. But China is a very +crowded country. So other men as well as fishermen live on small +flatboats in the rivers near the big towns. Ducks and other fowls are +raised on these boats. The people on the water are as busy as the +people on the land. + +In China houses are one story high. They are built of wood. The roofs +slope, and are made of sticks woven together. The churches are called +pagodas. They are not like our churches, but are tall, like towers. +They are usually nine stories high. They have little bells hung all +around the roof. These bells ring when the wind blows them back and +forth. + +[Illustration: Chinese Boats and Pagoda.] + +Between the houses are narrow streets without sidewalks. There are no +wagons. If a lady goes to make a call, she sends for a sort of covered +chair. This has long poles on each side. The chair is set on the +ground before her door. After she gets in, men lift the poles to their +shoulders. In this way they carry her. Baggage and heavy articles are +also carried on the shoulders of men. + +[Illustration: Covered Chair with Poles.] + +But perhaps the most wonderful thing in China is the Great Wall. It +was built by kings a long time ago. They wanted to keep savage people +from coming into the country. The wall is built very high and very +wide. It is so wide in some places that eight horses can be driven on +top of it side by side. It is hundreds of miles long. The people of +China think it is very wonderful. They think there is nothing so +wonderful in all the rest of the world. + +[Illustration: The Great Wall.] + +China seems a curious country. Boys shout out loud in school. They +read and write backward. Men fly kites, like boys. Women have feet as +small as babies' feet. At dinner nuts and fruits are eaten first. Men +work like animals. There are many ways in which the Chinese are +different from the people in our country. + + + + +JAPAN + +[Illustration: Japanese Children.] + +How would you like to ride in a wagon drawn by a man instead of a +horse? That is the way people ride in Japan. Japan is a country a +long way off, near China. You would think that a man could not run +very fast drawing a wagon. But in Japan some men can run as fast as +horses. The wagon is like a buggy, but it has only two wheels. They +call this wagon a jin-rik'i-sha. + +[Illustration: A Jinrikisha.] + +The streets in Japan have no sidewalks. The houses are only one or two +stories high. They are built of wood. They have no windows or doors. +Strange houses, you will think. The walls outside and inside are made +like sliding doors. They slide back so that the people can go in and +out, and from one room to another. + +The Japanese have very little furniture in their houses. They have no +chairs. They do not need any, for they sit on cushions on the floor. +They also sleep on the floor. When it is time to go to bed, they +spread soft quilts on the floor, one over the other. The last quilt on +the top is the cover. These beds are very nice. But you could never +guess what kind of pillows they have. The pillows are blocks of wood +the size of a brick. You would not think them nice at all. But the +Japanese seem to sleep very well on their wood pillows. + +[Illustration: A Japanese Bed.] + +Many of the things in the houses in Japan are made of paper, They have +paper fans, paper lanterns, paper hats, paper cups, paper umbrellas, +paper napkins, and paper screens. + +They have no stoves. Instead of stoves they have boxes lined with +brass. In these boxes they burn charcoal to heat their rooms. But +they do not cook their food in these brass boxes. They cook in little +ovens made of clay. + +When it rains in Japan the people look very funny. The men wear rain +coats made of rice straw. They also have big straw hats and paper +umbrellas. + +[Illustration: A Rain Coat.] + +They wear blocks, three inches high, fastened to the soles of their +shoes. These keep their feet dry. So on a rainy day everybody looks +three inches taller. + +In Japan they do not wear shoes in the house. When they go into their +houses they take them off. Their shoes are made of wood or straw. +Some of the people have shoes with gold braid. + +[Illustration: Japanese Shoes.] + +Perhaps you would like to know how they dress in Japan. Boys and girls +dress very much alike. Both wear long gowns, like skirts, of blue or +gray cotton or silk. These gowns are open at the neck. A sash is worn +around the waist. The girls tie their sashes in a bow at the back. + +The children of Japan are very strange looking, not at all like you. +They are like the Chinese. Their skin is yellow, and their eyes are +slanted. Their hair is black and straight. + +You will wish to know what they eat in Japan. The food is much the +same as in China. They eat a great deal of rice. They have fish, and +they drink tea. They use chopsticks in eating, as the people in China +do. + +The people in Japan are very fond of flowers. Every house has a garden +around it. The boys and girls walk and play in these gardens. + +[Illustration: Interior of a Japanese House.] + +Boys and girls in Japan have many nice toys. One of their toys is a +little oven with real fire in it. Peddlers go round with these ovens +and with sweet dough to bake in them. For five cents the boys and +girls can get the use of an oven, and dough enough to bake little +cakes. They often make cakes shaped like animals. The peddler makes +the letters of the alphabet in dough. Then he bakes them in the oven +for the boys and girls. With these cake letters they often learn their +a, b, c. + +The boys in Japan, like the boys in China, are very fond of kites. But +in Japan they have fighting kites. They mix broken fine glass with +glue, and rub it on their kite strings. When the strings become dry +they are hard and sharp. Then the boys fly their kites. One boy tries +to cross and cut the string of another boy's kite with the string of +his own. The boy who cuts down a kite gets it as his prize. + +In Japan they have a day like our Flag Day. On this day the boys have +toy soldiers with swords and guns. They form these soldiers into +armies, and have battles. Then the parents and teachers tell the boys +about the great soldiers of their country, and the great battles they +fought. + +The girls have a day for themselves. They call it the "Feast of +Dolls." Every girl has a set of dolls. On that day they take out +their dolls and doll houses. Then the girls play with them, and show +them to one another. + +[Illustration: Japanese Girl and Doll.] + +They have schools in Japan just as we have. The boys and girls must go +to school until they are ten years old. Some of their lessons are very +hard. They have forty-seven letters in their alphabet, instead of only +twenty-six, as we have. Don't you think it must be hard for the boys +and girls to learn to read? + +They go to school very early in the morning. Before they enter the +school they take off their shoes. When the teacher comes, they bow +down their heads nearly to the ground and draw in their breath. This +is their "good morning." The teacher also bows to the boys and girls. + +Then the children sit on the floor. They put their books on their +knees and begin their lessons. They have no pens or pencils. They use +little brushes instead. They write in lines from the top to the bottom +of the sheet of paper, instead of across from side to side as we do. +This is the way, you remember, they write in China. The books in Japan +are also like the books in China. The last page in our books would be +the first page in books in China and Japan. So their books begin at +what we would think the end. How queer this seems to us! + +There are newspapers in Japan, but they are not much like ours. The +lines run up and down just as Japanese writing does. They read back +from what we would call the last page. + +[Illustration: Japanese Carpenters at Work.] + +A great many things that we use in America come from Japan. We get +silk from Japan, and beautiful vases and mats and screens and basket +work. The boys and girls in Japan help to make these things. For they +are bright and learn quickly how to do very nice work. + + + + +ARABIA. + +Have you ever heard of the Arabs? They are people with brown skin and +dark eyes. They live in a country called Arabia. It is a very warm +country. There is never any snow in Arabia. A great part of it is +covered with sand. For miles and miles you would see nothing but sand. +Often the sand is so hot that you could not walk on it in your bare +feet. Those great tracts of sand are called deserts. + +[Illustration: Arabs.] + +In many parts of Arabia water is very scarce. It rains very seldom, +and in some places there are no rivers. The people get water out of +wells. They carry the water, in bottles made of leather. Glass +bottles would not do. The heat is so great that it would go through +the glass. Tins would make the water warm. But the leather bottles +keep the water cool. + +[Illustration: Arab Water Carrier.] + +Some of the Arabs live in towns. They have walls around their towns. +At some parts of the walls there are towers. Both walls and towers are +made of earth. + +In every large town they have an open market place with shops around +it. In most of the shops they sell food. In a few of the shops they +sell cotton cloth and other dry goods. Many of the shops are kept by +women. + +The streets are swept every day. Every family sweeps the street in +front of its own door. + +The houses in the towns are made of stone. They have flat mud roofs +and small windows. The Arabs have no chairs or beds in their houses. +They sit on mats or carpets spread on the floor. They also sleep on +mats. + +The chief room in an Arab house is the coffee room. It is a large room +with a furnace or fireplace at one end of it for making coffee. + +Many of the Arabs live in tents. They move about from place to place. +Sometimes they cross the desert to come to the towns. They must often +cross it to find water and grass for their horses and camels and sheep. + +[Illustration: Arabs and Tent.] + +The camel is very useful to the Arabs. Perhaps you have seen a camel. +It is much larger than a horse. It has a great hump on its back. It +has large feet with broad, flat soles; and it can walk or run over the +sand without sinking. + +The camel can carry a very heavy load. It gives milk which is good to +drink. Its hair is made into cloth. Its flesh is good meat. It can +bear thirst and heat far better than a horse can. It can travel and +carry a load in the desert for three or four days without drinking. +This makes it very useful to the Arabs. + +[Illustration: A Camel.] + +But the Arabs have horses also. They are the finest horses in the +world. An Arab is very proud of his horse. He loves him almost as +much as he loves his children. + +Did you ever hear the story that is told of Hassan and his horse? +Hassan was an Arab who had a horse which he loved very much. And the +horse loved Hassan very much. + +One day Hassan was riding on his horse in the desert with some other +Arabs. They were met by a party of men called Turks, who made them +prisoners. The Turks tied the feet of Hassan and his friends with +leather straps. They tied the horses also. They planned to carry them +off next morning. + +During the night Hassan heard his horse neighing. He crept up to him +and said in a low voice: "What will become of you, my poor horse? You +will not be happy with these Turks. Go home to my tent. Tell my wife +that she will never see me again. Lick the hands of my children with +your tongue, as a token of my love." + +He then bit off with his teeth the cords that tied the horse, and set +him free. The horse looked at his master for a minute or two. Then he +caught him with his teeth by the belt and ran off with him into the +desert. On and on across the sand he ran. He never stopped until he +had laid Hassan down beside his wife and children. Then, worn out with +his long run, he dropped dead at his master's feet. + +All the people around wept when they heard the story. Arab poets made +songs about Hassan and his horse. + +The Arabs do not eat very much. Their chief meal is supper. They have +supper in the evening. They are very fond of coffee. Did you ever +hear of Mocha coffee? It comes from Mocha, a town in Arabia. Most of +the Arabs take their coffee without sugar or milk. + +They always make their bread in thin cakes. Then they bake the bread +on hot iron plates or in an open oven. They also have ground wheat +cooked with a little butter. Arabs who are rich have mutton or camel's +flesh, and also rice. All eat vegetables and fruits of various kinds. + +There are many kinds of fruit in Arabia. But the greatest and best of +all is the date. This grows on the date-palm tree. The date palm +grows very high. The Arabs are very proud of it. Every part of it is +of use to them. Its fruit is the chief food of many of the people. +You have seen and perhaps you have eaten dried dates. They are not +nearly so sweet or so good as the fruit when taken off the tree. The +trunk of the date palm is good for making furniture. Its leaves make +roofs for houses. Parts of its branches make firewood. From some +parts of the tree cords and ropes are made. + +The Arabs do not wear very many clothes. They do not need heavy +clothes, because the weather in Arabia is almost always very warm. The +men wear long light dresses like shirts. They have a belt, or girdle, +around the waist. They wear a handkerchief on the head. This is tied +around with a band or string. On their feet they wear sandals. Do you +know what a sandal is? It is a shoe with only a sole, and straps going +across the foot and round the ankle. The Arab women also wear a long +shirt. Over it they have a large, wide piece of blue cloth. This blue +cloth covers them from head to foot. + +[Illustration: Arab Woman and Child.] + +[Illustration: An Arab Sandal.] + +But what about the Arab boys and girls? What do they wear? Most of +the boys run around without shoes or stockings. But some of them wear +little red shoes turned up at the toes, and others wear small sandals. +They also wear loose trousers and jackets and little red caps. The +girls commonly wear cotton dresses that are made very plain. Sometimes +they have veils over their heads. In the country places the girls do +not wear veils. + +[Illustration: Arab Girl with Veil.] + +Only the boys go to school. Before they enter the school they must +take off their sandals. They have no seats in their schools. They all +sit on the floor. Their lessons are not like your lessons. They have +only one book. It is called the Koran. The Koran is the Arab Bible. +The Arab boys must learn the Koran by heart. At school, they all shout +out together when they are learning their lessons. + +[Illustration: A School in Arabia.] + +But the Arab boys learn many things at home. They learn to read and to +write. They also have plenty of time to play. They play ball. They +fly kites. They ride ponies. Often they play with old guns and +swords. Thus they learn to be soldiers. + +The Arab girls do not go to school. But they do not play very much. +They must help their mothers do the work at home. The mothers grind +corn to make bread. They spin and weave cloth for clothes. They grind +the corn with two flat stones. One of these stones is placed on top of +the other. There is a hole in the middle of the upper stone. They +pour the corn into this hole. The upper stone is then turned round by +a handle. So the corn is ground between the two stones. The girls +often have to turn the stone around. They must also take care of the +baby. They help to carry home water from the well. They carry the +water in earthen jars. + +[Illustration: Arabs Grinding Corn.] + +You will say, then, that the Arab girls have a hard time. But they do +not work always. They have some time for play. They have very funny +dolls. Would you not laugh if some one gave you two sticks joined like +a cross, and told you it was a doll? That is the kind of doll the Arab +girls have. And they are very fond of their dolls. They dress them, +and take great care of them. + +The Arabs are very fond of tales and stories. Perhaps you have heard +of a book called the "Arabian Nights." It is full of wonderful stories +about kings and giants and witches, and other strange things. This +book came from Arabia. When you are older you will read the "Arabian +Nights." In it you will learn many more things about Arabia and the +Arabs. + + + + +KOREA. + +What funny hats they wear in Korea! + +But, you will ask, where is Korea? It is near Japan, a country you +have read of in this book. + +The people of Korea look a little like Chinamen. They have yellow skin +and slanting eyes. Their hair is long, straight, and black, and they +wear it in a very strange way. The boys and girls wear their hair down +their backs in braids tied with ribbons. The men and women have their +hair in little topknots that stand straight up. + +[Illustration: A Korean.] + +But I must tell you about the strange hats they have. Some of the men +wear hats that go down over their shoulders. This is the kind of hat +they wear when they are in mourning, after the death of a father or +mother. Some wear hats made of straw. These hats look like large +flowerpots turned upside down. Some have hats made of horsehair. + +But the hats made of straw and the hats made of horsehair do not keep +the rain out. So they have umbrellas. Their umbrellas are as funny as +the hats. They are made of oil paper, and have no handles. They look +like fans. When it rains, the people open their umbrellas and tie them +on top of their hats. + +The boys in Korea wear loose jackets, and wide trousers which go under +their stockings. The stockings are padded with cotton, and are tied at +the ankle. The girls wear very pretty little jackets, sometimes red, +sometimes pink, and sometimes green. + +The shoes they wear in Korea are of many kinds and shapes. Some are +made of leather. Others are like the wooden shoes the Chinamen wear, +which turn up at the toes. The funniest shoes they have are made of +paper. The paper is very thick and strong, and so their paper shoes +last a good while. But the shoes that are worn by most of the people +in Korea are made of straw. They are like sandals, and they are worn +so that the large toe is not covered. + +The people in Korea have a strange way of keeping themselves cool in +hot weather. They have something like a basket made of rods of bamboo. +This basket is round and long, and open at the top and bottom. They +put their heads through this basket, and it hangs downward from their +shoulders around their bodies. Then they put their clothes over it, so +that the basket is inside. It is next to their skin. How would you +like to have such a summer dress? + +The boys in Korea go to school when they are very young. The girls do +not go to school. They stay at home to help their mothers. But girls +whose parents are rich have teachers at home to teach them reading and +writing and other things. + +In school, the teacher sits on a straw mat on the floor. The boys also +sit on the floor on straw mats. They say their lessons out loud. They +write their lines from the top to the bottom of the page. The people +in China and Japan, as you know, write in the same way. The boys of +Korea learn to count on a _chon-pan_. The chon-pan is much like the +counting box they have in the schools in China. It is made of little +balls on a frame of wires fixed in a box. The boys also learn by heart +the wise sayings of great men. + +The boys in Korea have some very nice toys. But the best playthings +they have are their kites. They make their kites fight battles in the +air, just as the boys do in Japan. Every boy tries to tear down every +other boy's kite. This is done by pulling the strings across one +another. Sometimes the sky is full of beautiful kites, which jump and +dash about as if they were alive. + +The boys also have fine, large pinwheels. They make these pinwheels +whirl around in the wind. The boys also spin tops, and they play +"seesaw," and jump the rope. + +The boys in Korea are fond of fishing. Nearly every boy has a fishing +rod and goes fishing whenever he can. Sometimes the boys have great +fun going around dressed like their fathers. They wear wooden swords +and little bows and arrows like soldiers. They make straw figures of +men, and with their swords they strike off the heads of these straw men. + +But the boys have to work as well as play. Many of the peddlers in +Korea are boys. They sell candy and other things. The girls do a +great deal of work at home. The first thing they learn to do is to sew. + +Would you like to know how the women iron their clothes? They wrap +each piece around a stick and lay it on the floor. Then they sit down +and beat the piece on the stick with wooden clubs. In this way they +make the clothes as smooth as a Chinaman makes the linen which he irons. + +[Illustration: Korean Girls Ironing Clothes.] + +The houses in Korea are one or two stories high. They are made of wood +or clay, and sometimes the roofs are of straw. The windows are high, +and the doors are often so low that the people have to stoop down to go +in. The rooms are very small and have hardly any furniture. There are +no chairs. The people sit on mats on the floor. The walls between the +rooms are made of paper, and the floor is made of stone. + +[Illustration: Korean Houses.] + +They have a strange way of heating their houses. They have no stoves +or fireplaces. But under the floor they have a cellar like an oven. +In this cellar a fire is always kept, and the rooms are sometimes so +hot that the people can hardly walk on the stone floors. + +People who are poor sleep on mats on the floor. They sleep in their +clothes. People who are rich have mattresses. The mattresses are laid +on the floor at night, and are taken up in the morning. + +The people of Korea eat a great deal of rice. But they have other +kinds of food. They have meat and fish and eggs and also fruit. You +would think that they would use a great deal of tea, as they live so +near China. But they do not drink tea. They drink rice water instead. +The rice water is water that rice has been boiled in. + +At their meals the men always eat first and the women wait on them. +When the men have eaten as much as they want, then the women and +children eat. + +The tables they have are very low. It would not do for them to have +high tables, as they sit on the floor. + +They have no knives or forks. They eat with spoons, and they use +chopsticks, as the Chinamen do. + +They have no water-pipes in their houses. In the towns men carry water +in pails. They have no gas. For light at night they use candles. + +They have only one kind of coin. It is a small piece of copper. It +has a square hole in the middle. They put these coins on strings and +carry them around their necks. It would take many such coins to make a +dollar. + +[Illustration: Korean Money.] + +There are farms in Korea, where they grow wheat, rice, rye, tobacco, +cotton, watermelons, and many kinds of fruit. + +If you were in Korea, you would think it the strangest country in the +world. They do many things very unlike the way we do them. With us +bright-colored things are worn by women. In Korea the men wear bright +colors. They have a funny way of selling eggs there. They place ten +eggs end to end in a row, and put straw around them. Then they tie +strings around the straw between the eggs. This is called a stick of +eggs. When people go to buy eggs, they ask for one or two sticks, or +as many as they wish. One stick of eggs costs less than five cents. + +[Illustration: A Stick of Eggs.] + +Instead of a president they have a king. The king lives in the largest +town. There is a thick, high wall all around this town. There are +gates in the wall, and these are shut at night. After the gates are +shut, no one can get in or out until they are opened in the morning. + +The people show very great respect for the king. When they go to speak +to him they throw themselves down on their faces before his throne. +The people love their country very much. They think it is the most +beautiful country in the world. + + + + +INDIA. + +How would you like to go to school at six o'clock in the morning? That +is the time many children go to school in India. India is a large +country in Asia. The children stay in school till nine o'clock. Then +they go home for breakfast, and go back to school at ten. At two +o'clock they go home for dinner. They go back again at three to stay +till evening. You will think that this is a long time to be at school. + +[Illustration: Hindoo Children at School.] + +In some of the schools they have no desks or chairs, but the boys and +girls sit on the floor. In other schools they have long tables instead +of desks. + +They do not learn their letters as we do. The teachers write five +letters in sand on the floor. Then the boys and girls write the +letters in the sand. They write the letters many times, until they +know them well. Then the teachers write five more letters, and so on +until the children know all the letters. When they can make the +letters in the sand, they next learn to write them on palm leaves with +pens made of wood. The last thing they do is to write them on slates +and on paper. + +[Illustration: Native Children of India.] + +In some of the large towns they learn to read and write English. But +English is not the language that most of the people speak. They have a +language of their own. + +[Illustration: A Hindoo Family at Home.] + +The people of India are called Hindoos. They have dark skin, dark +eyes, and dark hair. + +It is so warm that most of the people wear very little clothing. Many +of the boys and girls wear no shoes. The girls are very fond of +jewels. No matter how poor a family is, they try to buy some jewels +for their girls. So the girls in India always have jewelry to wear. + +They have no Christmas in India. They have what they call the "Feast +of the Cakes." At the Feast of the Cakes they have three holidays. +Then they have cakes of all kinds. + +The boys are very fond of swinging. They are also very fond of +swimming. In some places they have diving wells. The boys plunge from +a high bank down into the water below. + +[Illustration: A Tiger.] + +The rich people have very fine houses, with gardens and flowers and +fountains. There are carpets, cushions, and tables in the houses, but +no chairs. They sit on cushions on the floor. + +The beds are very low, and the legs are often of silver or gold or +ivory. They have no sheets or pillow cases, but covers of velvet or +satin. + +The people who are poor live in houses made of dried mud, with roofs of +bamboo poles and straw. They have hardly any furniture. They sleep on +mats made of palm leaves. + +[Illustration: Cobras.] + +In many of the houses they have no tables. They eat off of leaves on +the floor. Their food is mostly rice. All the family do not eat +together. The father of the family always eats first. When he has +eaten, the mother and children sit down to eat. + +The women do most of the work. So the girls have to learn to work. +But the men and boys do all the sewing. How queer this seems! + +[Illustration: An Elephant Piling Lumber.] + +There are a great many wild beasts in India--tigers, leopards, cobras, +and crocodiles. The tigers are very fierce. They sometimes come into +villages at night and carry off men, women or children, and kill and +eat them. There are logs. They do work of many kinds. An elephant is +much stronger than a horse. He can carry a far heavier load. +Sometimes all the family ride on one elephant's back. + +[Illustration: Riding on an Elephant.] + + + + +LAPLAND. + +Jingle! jingle! jingle! Where does the merry sound come from? It +comes from a sleigh drawn by a reindeer. The sleigh is called a +"pulk'ha." It is made of birch wood. It has no runners. It goes on a +little keel like that on the bottom of a boat. The sleigh is very low. +It is pointed at the front like a rowboat, and is flat at the back. +There are no seats in it. The driver sits in the bottom. The reindeer +draws the sleigh, and goes very fast. If the driver is not very +careful the sleigh may be upset. + +It is in Lapland that you may see this kind of a sleigh. The people +who live there are called Lapps. They are short and stout. You would +think the men and women were boys and girls. + +It is very cold in Lapland. The summer is short, and the winter is +long. So the Lapps have to wear warm clothes most of the year. + +The men and women and boys and girls in Lapland dress much alike. In +the winter they wear a long outside coat called a _kap'ta_. It +reaches below the knees. It is made of reindeer skin with the hair +left on. Under the kapta they wear warm clothes made of wool. + +[Illustration: A Lapp's Tent.] + +Their shoes are also made of reindeer skin. They wear two pairs of +thick woolen stockings. When they put on the stockings, they wrap +their feet in dry grass. Then they put on their shoes. The grass +helps to keep their feet warm. They also wear two pairs of mittens at +the same time. One pair is made of wool. The other pair is made of +reindeer skin. Their hats or caps are also made of reindeer skin. +They are lined with eider down. Perhaps you do not know what eider +down is. It is the soft, fine feathers of a bird called the eider +duck. A great many of these ducks are found in Lapland. Their down is +very soft and warm. + +Sometimes the Lapps have to go long distances in the snow. Then they +put on skees. If you saw a pair of skees, you would think that a +person could not walk with them. They are flat pieces of wood, four or +five inches wide, and very long. Some skees are six feet long. Some +are ten or twelve feet long. They are turned up a little in the front. +In the middle of each there is a hollow place. The shoe is strapped to +the foot there, as you see in the picture. When the Lapps go on skees, +they do not raise their feet from the ground. They slide along, one +foot after the other. They have a long pole, or staff, in their hands +to beep themselves from falling. They can go very fast in this way. +Sometimes they go ten or fifteen miles an hour. + +[Illustration: Skees.] + +In some parts of Lapland the people live in houses made of earth and +stone. Each house has only one room. The Lapps have no carpets. They +have no tables or chairs. They cover their floor with twigs of trees. +They eat and sleep on skins spread on the twigs. They burn wood for +fires. The fire is made on the ground in the middle of the floor. The +smoke goes out through a hole in the roof. + +[Illustration: A Lapp Family at Home.] + +The Lapps do not all live in the same way. Some of them are called +mountain Lapps. In summer the mountain Lapps live in tents among the +hills. Their tents are made of reindeer skin. They have a great many +reindeer. + +The reindeer is very useful to the Lapps. It gives them milk. It +draws their sleighs. Its flesh is good to eat. They make clothes of +its skin. They make knives and spoons of its horns. + +In summer the reindeer eat the soft shoots of shrubs and trees. In +winter they feed on moss called lichen. They get the lichen +themselves. They would not eat it if it were gathered for them. In +winter they dig down through the snow with their feet to get at the +lichen. They dig first with one fore foot and then with the other. +The snow is often so deep that the reindeer has to dig a hole so large +that its body is almost hidden. + +The reindeer are not put in stables. They like to be out in the cold +and snow. They are able to take care of themselves. + +The Lapps eat a good deal of meat. Their meat is the flesh of the +reindeer. They are very fond of fat. All people who live in very cold +countries eat a great deal of fat. It helps to keep them warm. The +Lapps also have milk and cheese. They eat rye bread and fish and +berries. They drink coffee. + +[Illustration: A White Bear.] + +In winter they have to melt snow in a pot over the fire to get water. +The rivers and lakes are all frozen. + +The Lapps cook their food in a large pot over the fire. They sit +around the fire to eat. The father takes a piece of meat out of the +pot. Then he serves a piece to each. The Lapps use no forks. They +use their fingers instead. + +In some places they have a funny way of storing their food. They make +a little log house on the top of a post. They have a ladder to go up +to it. In this little house they store cheese and milk and other +things. Then wild animals cannot reach them. + +[Illustration: A Lapland Wolf.] + +There are bears and wolves and foxes in Lapland. These animals are +sometimes very fierce. They would come into the people's tents and +houses at night, were it not for the dogs. Nearly every person has a +dog. Even the hoys and girls have dogs. The dogs are very brave. +They are not afraid to attack wolves or bears. + +But you will wish to know about the children in Lapland. You have +heard about the old woman who lived in a shoe. The Lapp baby has a +cradle shaped like a shoe. It is made of a single piece of wood. It +is lined with moss and other warm things. The mother often carries it +in her arms. Sometimes she carries it on her back, slung from her +shoulders. The baby plays with strings of buttons or glass beads. + +When a baby is born in Lapland they give it a reindeer. If the +reindeer has any young ones, they keep them for the baby until it is a +man or woman. They also give a reindeer to the person who is the first +to find that the baby has cut a tooth. + +The Lapp boys and girls have very few toys. The toys they have they +make themselves. The boys make willow flutes and play on them. When +the boys go on the water they have long, narrow boats like canoes. +Some boys also make sleighs. + +Many of the boys and girls go to school. They learn to read and write +and count. + +There are towns near the sea and by the rivers and lakes. In these +towns they have schools and churches. + + + + +GREENLAND. + +Very strange people live in Greenland. They are called Eskimos. +Greenland is a country very far north. It is always cold there. So +the children need warm clothing. Their stockings are made of birdskin. +The soft feathers keep their little feet very warm. Their shoes are +made of sealskin. + +An Eskimo girl does not wear skirts. Her clothes are like her +brother's. Her trousers are made of white bearskin. Her jacket is +made of fur. When she goes out sleigh riding, she puts on fur mittens. +Do you know what a fur boa is? This little girl wears one around her +neck. It is made of the tail of a fox. The strings to it are made of +long pieces of skin. + +[Illustration: An Eskimo Girl.] + +Perhaps you think the Eskimo children are white. No, they are brown. +Their faces are round and fat. + +Our babies ride in carriages, but an Eskimo baby rides on its mother's +back. The mother wears a coat with a pocket on the back of it. The +pocket is lined inside with soft reindeer skin. This makes a nice warm +nest for baby. + +[Illustration: Eskimo Mother and Baby.] + +In Greenland all the boys and girls have sleds. The runners of the +sled are made of bone. The top is made of strips of sealskin. It has +a back for the boy or girl to lean against. Dogs draw the sled across +the snow. But the Eskimos also have sleds made of ice. I think you +would like an ice sled. Oh, how fast it runs over the snow! The boys +and girls have fine fun with these sleds! + +They play a nice game in the snow with their sleds. I will tell you +about it. Do you know what a reindeer is? It is like a deer, but it +has long, branching horns. The horns are called antlers. When the +Eskimos kill a reindeer for meat, the boys and girls get the antlers. +They set these antlers up in the snow on a hillside. They leave spaces +between the antlers. Then the boys and girls get on their sleds and +slide down the hill. They must go between the antlers, but must not +touch them. Sometimes the boys and girls have bows and arrows. They +try to hit the antlers with their arrows. This is very hard, but it is +great fun. Do you think you could do this? + +The boys have boats made of long, thin bones covered with skins. These +sail very well on the water. The boys use paddles to move the boats. +A paddle is like an oar. The boys sometimes go in their boats to help +their fathers catch fish. + +Eskimo children cannot read or write. They do not go to school, for +the Eskimos have no schools. They are very fond of stories, but they +cannot read them in books. So their mothers tell them stories. The +mothers cannot read, either. The stories they tell are what they +heard from their mothers. Are you not happy that you can read stories +for yourself? + +Perhaps you think the Eskimo children are unhappy? Oh, no! Though +they cannot read books, they play all kinds of games. There is a funny +game they play in the house. All the children get on their knees in a +ring. Then they hold their toes with their hands and move along by +jumps. The one who goes the fastest wins. + +The Eskimo boys play a game like the game of "cup and ball." They have +two pieces of bone. One is flat, with holes in it. The other is long +and sharp like a pin. Both are joined by a string about a foot long. +The flat piece is tied to one end of the string, and the pin to the +other end. The pin is held in the hand, and the flat piece is thrown +into the air. The game is to catch the flat piece upon the point of +the pin, by one of the holes. + +[Illustration: Eskimo Children.] + +Eskimo boys play another game with a ball and a stick made of bone. It +is something like shinny, one of the games yon play. They also play a +game with a sealskin hall about as big as a baseball. They strike the +ball with their hands and try to keep it in the air all the time. The +Eskimo boys play football very well. They think it great fun. They +never touch the ball with their hands; they only kick it. + +The girls have dolls made of wood, with fur clothes. The dolls look +like the little girls themselves. + +Perhaps you would like to know about the houses the Eskimos live in. +They have summer houses and winter houses. The summer house is a tent +made of skins. The winter house is made of stones and earth covered +with snow. It is not much higher than a man. They have a strange way +of getting into these houses. A long, narrow passage leads from the +door on the outside. They must crawl on their hands and knees along +this passage. Then they go through a small opening into the house. +The long passage keeps out the cold. + +[Illustration: A Winter House.] + +There is only one room in the house. Everything is done in this room. +They sleep and eat and cook in it. The beds are of sealskins, and are +made on a bench along the wall. There are no stoves in the house. The +Eskimos use lamps to keep themselves warm and to give them light. They +cook their food, too, with lamps. The lamps give great heat, and the +houses are quite warm. + +When the men kill a bear they have a party. At the party everybody +sits around the lamp The bear is cut up and every one gets a piece. +Then the children sing and dance. The Eskimos eat a great deal of +meat. They kill seals and bears and birds for their meat. They also +eat berries and seaweed. + +There are no tables in Eskimo houses. A large dish is set on the +floor. The family sit round it and eat out of it. They cut their meat +with knives made of bone. Their cups are made of sealskin. + +Do you know what a seal is? It is an animal with thick fur. Sometimes +it lives on the land and sometimes in the water. The people in the +North kill it and make clothes of its skin. Its fur is very warm and +makes fine jackets. The Eskimos eat the flesh of the seal. They make +knives and other things of its bones. + +[Illustration: Seals.] + +Eskimo boys and girls have a funny kind of candy. It is the red skin +of a bird's foot soaked in fat. You would not care for this. But the +Eskimo children eat it and like it. The cold weather makes them like +to eat fat. + + + + +RUSSIA. + +"Your nose! your nose, sir!" This is a cry often heard in the streets +of Russia. + +Russia is a very large country. Part of it is in Europe. A great part +of it is very cold. When a person in the cold part of Russia goes out +riding in winter, he has to cover his face, all except the nose and +eyes. Sometimes his nose gets very cold, and would freeze if some one +did not cry out, "Your nose, sir!" Why? When one's nose gets so cold, +it becomes numb. It has no feeling. One would not know that it was +freezing if some person did not cry out. The cold nose must then be +rubbed with snow. You would think this a strange way to keep it from +freezing, but it is the best way to take out the frost. + +There are many kinds of houses in Russia. The houses have to be made +very warm. So they are built with double walls. In rich people's +houses they have stoves like ours. But in the poor people's houses the +stoves are built of brick. They always burn wood, for coal costs too +much in Russia. The stoves are sometimes built very high. Often they +are as high as the ceiling. Sometimes people lie on top of the great +stove to keep themselves warm. + +[Illustration: A Russian Carriage.] + +In most of the houses in the country, they have no beds. There are +benches along the wall, which they use both for chairs and beds. In +some houses the children sleep on the floor on pieces of felt. + +Most of the people in Russia are farmers. They raise a great deal of +wheat. The people in many other countries get wheat from Russia. + +[Illustration: A Russian Farmer and his Family.] + +The children have to wear very warm clothes because it is so cold the +greater part of the year. Their coats are lined with fur. In winter +the children in the towns have great fun on the ice hills. Ice hills +are made in all the towns. + +First they build a high tower, and down from the top of it they make a +steep hill. Blocks of ice are laid on this hill and water is poured +over them. The water freezes, and thus the ice hill is made. On one +side of the ice hill there is a place to draw up the sleds. The boys +and girls start at the top, and down they go with merry laughing and +shouting! So you see they have fine sport on their ice hills. + +When the children are not playing on the ice hills, they go skating or +sleighing. + +In some parts of Russia they have funny ferryboats. When the rivers +are frozen over in winter, the boats cannot sail on them. Then the +people use chairs instead of boats. There are warm covers on the +chairs, and men on skates push them across the ice. It costs less than +one cent to ride across a river in one of these chairs. + +In St. Petersburg they build an ice palace every winter. St. +Petersburg is the largest city in Russia. It is the place where the +emperor lives. The Emperor of Russia is sometimes called the Czar. + +They make the ice palace with square blocks of ice. They put the +blocks together and pour water between them. When the water freezes, +the wall is solid like a wall of brick or stone. Everything inside the +palace is made of ice. There are ice stairs and ice tables, and ice +chairs, and beautiful flowers made of ice. Warm rugs of fur are put on +the chairs so that people who sit on them may not be cold. Often there +are grand balls and parties in this beautiful palace of ice. + +[Illustration: A Russian Family.] + +In summer, too, the boys and girls in Russia have a good time. The +boys have wrestling matches, for they are strong. + +The girls have a game like ring-around-a-rosy. They also have a game +much like our seesaw. A girl stands on each end of a board. Then one +girl jumps up and comes down on the board. This sends the other girl +up, and in her turn she comes down on the board and sends the first +girl up. And so they play on, going up and down. This is not an easy +game to play. It is some time before the girls can do it well. Some +girls are so skillful at this game that they can keep jumping a long +time without falling. + +Some people in Russia have very queer cradles for their babies. One +kind of cradle is a basket which hangs by ropes from the ceiling. +Another kind of cradle is made of cloth sewed to a wooden frame. This +cradle also hangs from the ceiling. + +In some places in Russia the nurses who take care of the babies wear +dresses to show whether the baby is a girl or a boy. If it is a boy +the nurse wears a blue dress. If it is a girl the nurse wears a pink +dress. + +There are not schools in all parts of Russia, but in some places there +are good schools, and the children learn to read and write. + +I must not forget to tell you of the great bell in Russia. It is the +largest bell in the world. It is in Moscow, a very old city of Russia, +and it is called the great bell of Moscow. But it has never been rung, +for it was cracked in the side when it was being made. It is nearly +twenty feet high, and is now used as a chapel. + +[Illustration: The Great Bell at Moscow.] + +The next largest bell in the world is also in Moscow. This bell is +hung up in a church; and when they ring it, the sound is heard all over +the city like the rolling of thunder. + + + + +SWITZERLAND. + +Switzerland is a land of mountains and hills and valleys and beautiful +lakes and streams. Every year many people go from all parts of the +world to see the beautiful Swiss mountains and valleys. + +Sometimes large masses of snow and ice, mixed with earth, fall or slide +down the sides of the mountains with a loud crash. As they slide, they +tear away rocks and trees, and bury houses and villages beneath them. +These masses of snow and ice are called avalanches. + +[Illustration: An Avalanche.] + +Snow falls all the year round on the tops of the mountains in +Switzerland. As the snow falls, it packs down hard and changes into +ice. At last it becomes a great mass of ice, and slides very slowly +down the sides of the mountains into the valleys. These masses of ice +are called glaciers. They move so slowly that you cannot tell they are +moving by looking at them. But by driving a stake down, you can see, +after a long time, that the ice has moved a little way. + +A great many of the people in Switzerland live by keeping cattle and +sheep and goats. Their houses are in the valleys. But in spring, when +the snow begins to melt and the grass begins to grow, the men drive +their flocks up the mountain sides to feed. There they stay till the +end of summer. The men take with them a supply of food, and they sleep +in huts on the mountain side. + +There is a kind of goat in Switzerland called the chamois. It lives +high up in the mountains. It is very hard to hunt the chamois, for it +can go into places where a man cannot follow it. It can leap very +nimbly from one rock to another. It can go up and down a rough +mountain side. + +[Illustration: Chamois.] + +In the summer the chamois feeds on herbs and flowers. In winter it +eats the shoots and buds of pine trees. It is very fond of salt. +There is a kind of stone in the mountains that is partly made of salt. +The chamois licks these stones to get the salt. + +The chamois feed together in herds of fifteen or twenty. One of them +is always on the watch to give notice if anybody comes to hunt them. +When it sees any one coming, it stamps on the ground with its fore feet +and makes a sharp cry. Then all start off. They leap from crag to +crag till they are far out of danger. + +The skin of the chamois is very soft. It is made into a fine, soft +leather. This leather is called shammy leather. Have you ever seen a +piece of shammy leather? The flesh of the chamois is very good to eat. + +The people in Switzerland use a great deal of milk and butter and +cheese for their food. They also have potatoes and bread and fruit. +They eat very little meat. + +The Swiss houses are made of wood. Stones are often put on the roofs. +The stones keep the shingles from being torn off by the wind. The +Swiss are very neat and clean. On every window sill there are +flowerpots, for the Swiss are very fond of flowers. + +[Illustration: A Swiss House.] + +In every village in Switzerland there is a school. The Swiss have very +good schools. The boys and girls must go to school when they are six +years old. They learn all that we learn in our schools. There are +also schools where the boys are taught trades. The boys and girls go +to school only eight months in the year. So they have four months' +vacation. + +After school, the boys help to take care of the sheep and goats and +cattle. The girls help about the housework. All find plenty to do. + +But the Swiss boys and girls have some time for play as well as for +work and school. They often have holidays. One of their greatest +holidays is the day that the men come home from the mountains with +their flocks. The boys and girls go out to meet them. They sing +songs. The bells ring, and flags wave. Everybody is merry and happy. + +The children in Switzerland have a great many pretty toys. Some of +their toys are made to play music. The Swiss make all kinds of music +boxes. + +In Switzerland, instead of a king, they have a president, as we have. +And in past times they had brave men who fought to make their country +free. One of their great men was William Tell. The Swiss love his +name as strongly as we love the name of George Washington. + +[Illustration: Swiss Dog Cart.] + + + + +HOLLAND. + +The people who live in Holland are called Dutch. + +There are many canals in Holland. In some of the towns they have +canals instead of streets. There are bridges across the canals for +people to go from one side of the street to the other. In some of the +streets they have no sidewalks, and nothing between the houses but +canals. + +[Illustration: Canals in Holland.] + +In most of the houses they have no carpets. They scatter white sand on +the floor every morning. They keep their houses very clean. In their +kitchens they have open fireplaces, with fires blazing brightly. Near +the fires they have footstools made of cork. In some houses they have +fire boxes for warming their feet. They can carry these boxes wherever +they like. In cold weather they take their fire boxes to church. + +Wherever you go in Holland you see windmills. When you see them far +off they look like giants with their arms stretched out. The arms are +shaped like ladders. The arms have sails on them to catch the wind. +It is the wind that makes the arms go round. With these windmills the +people pump up water, and grind corn, and saw wood. The land is very +flat and low. There are no swift running streams to turn the mills. +So the people build windmills. + +[Illustration: Windmills in Holland.] + +The great wonder of Holland is the dikes. Holland is near the sea, and +so dikes are built along the beach to keep the water out. The dikes +are strong walls made of earth and stones. They are very high, and so +thick that on the top there is a road to walk and ride on. In some +parts of Holland there are houses also on the top of the dikes. If it +were not for these dikes, the sea would flow in on the land. Then it +would cover the houses and towns, and drown the people. + +Did you ever hear the story of the little boy and the hole in the dike? +The little boy's name was Hans. He lived near the great dikes along +the sea. One day his mother sent him on an errand. + +When he was coming home, he saw water flowing from a small hole in the +dike. He knew that the water came from the sea. Then he said to +himself, "If that water is not stopped, the hole will get larger. Then +the sea will break in, and we shall all be drowned." + +So Hans went up to the dike and put his hand against the hole, and +stopped the water. This was very hard to do. But the little fellow +held bravely on. + +When night came and Hans did not come home, his father and some of the +people who lived close by went to search for him. After many hours +they found him at the dike, keeping the water back with his hand. Then +his father took him home, and the men stopped up the hole in the dike. +Everybody praised Hans for what he had done. + +The little children in Holland are very pretty. They have round, fat +faces, golden hair, and blue eyes. The boys wear wide trousers and +little round caps. The girls wear jackets and skirts and little caps +with gold braid. + +Both boys and girls wear wooden shoes. And what a noise they do make +with their wooden shoes when they run around! They have great fun +playing their shoes are boats. They sit on the sides of the canals and +take off their shoes and sail them on the water like little boats. +They tie strings to the shoes so that they can draw them in whenever +they like. + +[Illustration: Dutch Girl with Wooden Shoes.] + +Dutch children do not wear shoes in the house, but wear slippers. When +they go home after playing or from school they take off their shoes. +They leave them outside the door. Would you not think it strange to +see rows of little shoes outside the doors? + +Every Saturday the children clean their shoes. But they do not shine +them as we do. They wash them with soap and water, and dry them at the +fire. If the sun shines, they hang them on a bush to dry. When they +are dry, they are almost as white as snow. + +Winter is a very merry season in Holland. Then all the canals are +frozen, and there is great fun skating. Everybody has skates, even the +little children. And how merry and happy the boys and girls are, +skimming along on the ice! + +[Illustration: Skating in Holland.] + +The men and women go to market on skates. Those who do not wish to go +on skates go in sleds or chairs with runners on them. The chairs are +pushed by skaters. + +But the best fun of all is on the ice boats. The ice boats have sails, +and can go very fast on the smooth ice. + +The first day of skating every year is a holiday. There is no school +that day, and everybody goes out skating, or riding in sleds or ice +boats. How glad the boys and girls are when Skating Day comes! What +fun they have! And of course they have sleigh riding, for every family +has a sleigh. The sleighs are made like shells, or boats, or swans. +When the people go sleigh riding at night, they carry lighted torches. + +The greatest holiday the Dutch have is Santa Claus's day. It is on +December 6. All the stores are made pretty on that day. Santa Claus +is in the windows. He is dressed in red with white fur, and rides a +large horse. The streets are crowded with boys and girls to see all +this. They have Santa Claus cakes, and gingerbread made like chairs +and tables and fishes and horses and many other things. + +At night Santa Claus rides on the roofs of the houses, and drops nice +things down the chimneys for good children. And the boys and girls +leave their shoes near the fireplace for the things to drop in. + +But they do not find many toys in their shoes, for Santa likes better +to give them cakes and money. The Dutch boys and girls have not many +toys, but they play for hours with their shoes. They use them for +boats, baskets, dishes, or beds for their dolls. + +They have fine schools in Holland, and the boys and girls go to school +and learn the same things that we learn in our schools. + +Some Dutch girls go to market to sell milk or cheese. They have +donkeys to carry the milk or cheese. Sometimes, the girls ride on the +donkeys' backs. + +Some Dutch girls also go to market to sell fruit. They carry the fruit +on a pole across the back of their shoulders. A basket of fruit hangs +from each end of the pole, as you see in the picture. The boys sell +milk. They carry it about in little wagons drawn by dogs. They are +very kind to the dogs. They do not make them draw too heavy a load. + +[Illustration: A Dutch Milkmaid.] + +When a baby is born in Holland, some one hangs a silk ball outside the +door. If the baby is a boy, they hang up a red ball; and if it is a +girl, they hang up a pink ball. Is not this a good way to let their +friends know they have a new baby? + + + + +PATAGONIA. + +Have you ever seen a man with pictures on his body? Perhaps you have +seen a sailor with a picture of a ship on his arm. In Patagonia nearly +all the men and boys have pictures on their bodies. Patagonia is in +the southern part of the world. It is winter in that country when it +is summer here, and summer there when it is winter here. + +Patagonia is a very flat country. There are very few hills and no +large trees or fine flowers there. But there is plenty of good grass, +which sometimes grows very tall. + +The people in Patagonia are Indians. They have red-brown skin, long +black hair, and small eyes. The men are very tall. Some of them are +seven feet high. They paint their faces red and black, and tattoo +their arms. They do this with a needle. They put the needle into dye, +and then prick the skin with it. + +The men wear a piece of cloth around their waists and a large cloak of +fur. They sometimes wear boots made of the skin of horses' legs. The +women wear gowns fastened at the neck with a pin. They also have +cloaks like the men. + +[Illustration: Patagonians at Home.] + +The boys and girls wear no clothes until they are four years old. +After they are four years old they wear the same kind of clothes their +fathers and mothers wear. The young girls wear their hair in braids. +If their hair is not long enough, they make it longer by tying +horsehair to it. + +The houses in Patagonia are tents made of skins. There are rooms in +the tents, and each grown-up person has a room. The fire is made +inside the tent on the floor. + +The people in Patagonia eat gua-na-co and ostrich meat. Some of the +people drink a kind of tea made from the leaves of a plant. The leaves +are first crushed fine, then put into water. They drink this tea +through a small tube with many holes in it. The holes are so small +that the pieces of leaves cannot come through. This tea is very good +to drink. It makes the people very strong. + +[Illustration: Guanaco.] + +The women do all the work about the house. They make the clothes, +carry home the wood for the fire, and bring water from the streams or +wells. + +The men do nothing but hunt. They hunt the guanaco and the ostrich. +The guanaco is nearly as large as a cow, and has a head like a camel. +Its flesh is good to eat, and the people make cloaks of its skin. + +[Illustration: Hunting Ostriches.] + +The ostrich is the largest bird in the world. Its legs are very long, +and it has a long neck. It cannot fly, for its wings are too small, +but it can run very fast. It can run faster than a horse. It is hard +for the hunter to catch it. He rides on horseback, and catches the +ostrich with a bo'las. A bolas is a rope with a stone, a metal ball, +or a lump of hard clay fastened to each end. The hunter swings one end +of the bolas round and round his head, and then hurls it with great +force at the ostrich. It strikes the ostrich or catches it by the legs +and throws it down. Then the hunter runs up and kills the ostrich with +a knife. The hunters also hunt the ostrich with dogs. Sometimes an +ostrich will spring suddenly up from the long grass almost in front of +the hunter and his dogs. Then the dogs can easily catch it. + +The ostrich makes a hole in the ground under a bush for its eggs. This +is its nest. The eggs are very large, and they are good to eat. Its +flesh is also good to eat. Of course you know ostrich feathers are +pretty for ladies' hats. The feathers for hats are taken from the tail +and from the ends of the wings. But the feathers of the ostrich in +Patagonia are not so fine and pretty as the feathers of the ostrich +found in Africa. + +There is an animal in Patagonia called the puma. It is like a cat, but +it is much stronger. Often it kills and eats the guanaco. + +[Illustration: Pumas.] + +The boys and girls in Patagonia have very few toys, but they are merry +and happy. As the boys grow up, they soon learn to hunt; and then they +go out with their fathers to hunt the guanaco and the ostrich. + +THE PYGMIES. + +Perhaps you have read in fairy tales of very little people called +dwarfs. There are old stories which tell us about very small men who +lived a long time ago in Africa. They were called pygmies. They were +only one foot high, and they built their houses with eggshells. They +lived in holes in the ground. They had goats and sheep which were much +smaller than themselves, and they had corn which they cut down with +axes, as we cut down trees. + +This is what we are told about them; but, of course, those stories are +fables. There never were men so small as one foot high. + +But there are real people in Africa called pygmies. They are very +small. The men and women look as if they were boys and girls. The men +are about four feet high. + +There are a great many large forests in Africa. It is in the forests +that the pygmies live. The forests are so dark in many places that one +could not see to read at noonday. Only a few white men have been in +the land of the pygmies and seen them. They are shy, like children, +and hide their faces when spoken to. + +Some of the pygmies are black and some are red. They do not wear much +clothing. They do not need much, for the weather is always very warm +in the country in which they live. The men and boys wear only a strip +of cloth around their loins. + +Many of the pygmies have no houses. They wander from place to place, +and sleep on the ground under a bush. But some of them have little +houses, or huts, built in the shape of beehives and about four feet +high. They are covered over with long leaves. The door is only about +a foot and a half high, just high enough for the pygmies to creep in. +Their beds are made of sticks stuck in the ground with other sticks +across them. + +The pygmies live by hunting. They do not shoot with guns, as we do. +They use bows and arrows, and they are very quick and clever at +shooting. A pygmy will shoot off three or four arrows one after the +other so quickly that the last is flying away before the first has hit +the mark. + +The pygmies are also very smart in making pits to catch the animals +they wish to kill. They dig large holes and cover them with sticks and +leaves. The animal comes along and falls into the pit and is caught. +The pygmies can kill elephants with their bows and arrows. They first +shoot at the elephant's eyes until he is blind. They then keep +shooting at him till he falls dead. + +[Illustration: A Village of Pygmies.] + +The pygmies eat the flesh of some of the animals they kill. They sell +or trade the fur and skin and ivory for arrows and knives. They also +get tobacco and potatoes for their furs and skins. + +They are also very good at fishing. They can catch large fish with a +piece of meat fastened to a string. + +The pygmies do not dig the ground or plant or sow anything. Bananas +grow in Africa, and the pygmies are very fond of them. Often they come +out of the forests to get bananas from the trees on which they grow. +If a pygmy sees a good bunch of bananas that he would like to have, he +shoots his arrow into the stalk. When the owner of the tree sees the +arrow he knows how it came there. So he leaves the stalk until the +pygmy takes it away. Sometimes a pygmy pays for the bunch of bananas +with pieces of meat. He wraps up a piece of meat in grass or leaves, +and fastens it to the stalk where he has cut off the bananas. + +A pygmy can eat twice as many bananas as the largest white man. He can +eat as many as sixty at one meal. + +Though the pygmies are small, they are very brave, and all the other +people who live near them are very much afraid of them. + + + + +THE INDIANS. + +Long, long ago, before Columbus found America, the Indians lived where +we live now, There were no cities or houses then, such as we have. +There were no farms or gardens or fences or roads. A large part of the +country was covered with trees. The rest was great grass plains and +swamps. + +The Indians built their houses where they pleased, beside the rivers or +near the mountains or on the wide plains. What sort of houses did they +live in? They lived in tents made of skins. The Indian tents were +called wigwams. + +[Illustration: An Indian Wigwam.] + +There were many tribes of Indians. Each tribe had a great many men and +women and children. Some of the tribes lived in the north, some in the +south, some near the sea. In nearly every part of the country there +were Indian tribes. Often some of the tribes went to war with other +tribes. They fought with bows and arrows and tomahawks. The tomahawk +was a sort of hatchet. The head of it was made of a stone with a sharp +edge. + +[Illustration: Indian Bow and Arrows.] + +[Illustration: Tomahawks.] + +The Indians were very cruel in war. When they killed a man, they cut +the skin and hair off the top of his head. This was called scalping. + +When about to go to war, they painted their faces to make themselves +look very fierce. They also wore a band around their heads, and in +these they stuck some long feathers. + +There are Indians still in some parts of our country, and many of them +live in wigwams. They sleep in these wigwams, but they cook their food +outside. They have no coal or stoves or fire-places. Instead of coal +they use wood and dried grass. They make their fire on the ground. +Their food is very simple. They have meat and fish and berries, and +cakes made of corn. The meat they eat is the flesh of the deer and +other wild animals. + +[Illustration: An Indian Chief.] + +The Indians are of a copper color. They are sometimes called "Red +Men." They have high cheek bones, black eyes, and straight black hair. + +The Indian men spend their time hunting and fishing. They do not have +bows and arrows now. They shoot with guns as white men do. + +The Indian women do all the work. They cook the food, make the clothes, +and plant the corn. They also put up the wigwams and take them down. +For the Indians do not live always in the same place, but often move +about. + +An Indian woman is called a squaw, and an Indian baby is called a +pa-poose'. You would wonder if you saw the Indian baby's cradle. It +is a bag made of skin fixed to a flat board. It is just large enough +for baby to fit in. The little papoose is wrapped up warm and put into +the bag. The mother carries the baby on her back in this cradle. +Often she hangs the cradle up on a branch of a tree. Then the little +red baby swings while its mother is cooking or working in the field. + +[Illustration: An Indian Baby.] + +The men, women, and children wear clothes made of skin. They often +wear blankets as shawls are worn by white people. Their shoes are made +of deerskin and have no soles. They are called moccasins. + +[Illustration: Moccasins.] + +In many places the Indians now have schools, and the little Indian boys +and girls go to school every day. Our government has sent teachers to +teach them. They learn to read and write and count. + +But the Indian boys and girls learn a great many things at home. Their +fathers tell them about birds and beasts and trees and rivers. And +they teach the boys to hunt and fish, and train them up to be brave in +war. + +The Indian boys and girls have a great many games. The boys play with +bows and arrows. They play "blindman's buff," and "hunt the slipper," +and handball and football. The girls take part in the football. One +of their games is the "stick and ring" game. The ring is made of skin +and is sometimes covered with beads. Each boy has a stick, and he +throws it at the ring while it is rolling along the ground. The game +is to send the stick through the ring. Every boy tries to strike every +other boy's stick to stop it from going through the ring. + +The Indian boys sometimes play at fighting battles. They form +themselves into two armies, and one army fights against the other. +They fight with balls of wet clay. Often the battle lasts two or three +hours. + +Indian girls have dolls, and they dress them and sing them to sleep. +They play "house," and often have doll-house moving. + +[Illustration: Indian Girls.] + +Indian men and boys are fond of swimming, and they are very good +swimmers. They are also fond of sailing in their canoes. The canoe +is made of the bark of the birch tree. The Indians paddle their +canoes. They can make them go very fast. + +Many of the Indians now live in houses and have farms the same as white +men, and they raise corn and vegetables and fruit. They have horses +and cows and sheep as other farmers have. And we may hope that before +long the Red Men will live in the same way as white men, and be as well +off and as happy. + + + + +THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. + +The Philippine Islands are far away on the other side of the earth, +near China. There are a great many of these islands. Most of them are +small. But some of them are large islands, and many people live on +them. The largest of the islands is called Luzon. The largest town in +this island is Manila. + +Many tribes of people live in the Philippine Islands. Each tribe has a +language of its own. + +It is very warm in these islands. So the people need but little +clothing. Their houses are not very high. The highest house is only +two stories. In some parts they have strange windows in their houses. +The panes are not made of glass, as in our houses. They are made of +oyster shells. But they are not like our oyster shells. They are very +thin--so thin that the light can come through them nearly as well as +through glass. The shell is made square, and fits in the window like a +pane of glass. Sometimes the sides or walls of the upper stories are +made of frames, with oyster shells for panes. The people can slide +these walls back, so as to let the cool air into the rooms. + +[Illustration: A Philippine House.] + +There is one tribe in the islands called the Moro tribe. The people of +this tribe have very strange houses. They build their houses in the +water near the shore. They build them on the top of long poles. The +first stories are high above the water. The people use ladders to go +up to them. These houses are built of bamboo. + +The bamboo is very useful in the country where it grows. It is a kind +of reed, and grows very tall. It has joints like the joints of a corn +stalk. It is not solid like a corn stalk, but is hollow inside. It is +so thick and strong that the people make houses of it and all kinds of +furniture. + +[Illustration: Bamboo.] + +The Moro men are good sailors and swimmers. They are also good divers. +They dive into the water for pearls and coral. They can stay under the +water for two or three minutes at a time. The children also are good +swimmers. They spend a great deal of time in the water. + +There is another tribe called the Man'gy-ans. These people live in the +mountains. They have black hair and flat noses. They are very strong, +for they spend most of their time out of doors. + +Some months of the year they do not live in houses. They sleep under +trees. But other months of the year it rains very much. Then they +sleep in houses. Their houses are made of poles with roofs of leaves. + +The Mangyan women and girls wear a very strange kind of dress. It is +made of cords coiled around their waists. The cords are narrow strips +of rattan braided together. Rattan is the stem of a plant which grows +to a very great height. It sometimes grows a hundred feet high. It is +as thick as a man's wrist, and it is very tough and strong. The people +split the rattan into thin strips. With these they make baskets, seats +of chairs, walking canes, ropes, and many other things. + +The Mangyan men are good hunters. They hunt an animal called the +tim'a-rau. It is like a buffalo. They shoot it with bows and arrows. + +There are a great many large forests in the Philippines, and there are +very fine trees in them. The most useful of the plants or trees is the +bamboo. I have already told you about it. The cocoanut palm is also a +very useful tree. The nuts give food and drink and oil. + +[Illustration: A Philippine woman carrying water.] + +On one of the islands there is a wonderful plant called the pitcher +plant. Its leaves are in the shape of pitchers. Some of the pitchers +have lids, and are large enough to hold a pint of water. + +In the Philippines they raise coffee, bananas, sugar, tobacco, and +cotton. One of their most useful plants is the plant from which they +get hemp for making ropes and cords. This plant is called "ab'a-ca" by +the people in the Philippines, and its hemp is called Manila hemp. + +There is a great deal of rice grown in the Philippines. Rice is the +food that most of the people live on. + +There are buffaloes in the Philippines. The people use them for riding +and for carrying loads. They have also deer, goats, and hogs. + +[Illustration: A Buffalo at Work.] + +In some parts of the islands they have a strange way of fishing. They +fill baskets with a kind of mixture in which they put poison. Then +they throw the baskets into the water. The fish become stupid after +eating the poison. Very soon they rise to the top of the water, where +the people catch them. + +Manila is a large town with strong walls and a deep moat, or ditch, +around it. There are eight gates in the wall and bridges across the +moat. + +The men in Manila wear trousers and shirts; but they wear the shirts +outside. The women wear skirts with long trains, and waists with very +full and flowing sleeves. They wear scarfs or handkerchiefs around +their necks, with two of the corners hanging down their backs. They +never wear hats. + +[Illustration: Women of Luzon.] + +In a few of the islands there are schools, and the children learn to +read and write; but in many other parts there are neither schools nor +churches. As the islands now belong to the United States, there will +soon be many more schools, and the children will be able to learn +everything that is taught in our schools. + + + + +BANGALA + +Far away in Africa, near where the pygmies live, there is a great river +called the Kongo. The land on either side of this river for many miles +is called the Kongo Valley. + +There are hundreds of miles of great woods in this valley. These woods +are not like our woods. They are very thick with vines and plants. +There are also a great many kinds of trees. + +In the woods are birds with very bright colors. There are birds called +sunbirds. Often green, yellow, scarlet, and purple feathers are found +on these birds. What a pretty sight it must be to see them flit about +in the sun! + +There are also many kinds of pretty flowers in the woods. These +flowers are as gay in color as the birds. + +Many tribes of negroes live in the Kongo Valley. They live in huts +made of mats. The mats are made of strong grass. The grass is first +twisted into cords. Then the cords are braided into mats. + +The people also use mats for their beds; but they do not put the mats +on the ground. They tie them to a frame raised a little above the +ground. + +[Illustration: Kongo Negroes at a Mission School.] + +These negroes also make baskets, bowls, pots, and wooden spoons. The +bowls and pots they make out of clay. + +It is very warm all the year round in the Kongo Valley. So the people +wear very little clothing. They rub their bodies with palm oil. + +They have a funny way of wearing their hair. While they are young +their hair is braided. Then it is twisted into all sorts of knots and +shapes. They do not untwist it, but keep it so always. They think +these queer knots and shapes are very pretty. + +[Illustration: A Kongo Village.] + +The women do all the hard work. They cook the food. They do the other +housework. They plant the corn and beans. + +[Illustration: Headdress of Kongo Women.] + +The men spend a great deal of time in fishing. They also hunt and kill +elephants to get their tusks for ivory. There are many elephants in +the Kongo Valley. They roam about in large herds. It must be a hard +task to kill an elephant! + +One of the tribes in the Kongo Valley is called the Bangala tribe. The +men are tall and strong and fierce. They are always fighting with +other tribes. This makes the other tribes very much afraid of them. + +The negroes of this tribe have a strange way of making friends with a +white man. They will do him no harm if he is willing to be their +"blood brother." + +This is the way they make a white man their blood brother. The black +man takes a limb of palm tree which has two branches. With one branch +in his hand, he falls on the ground before the white man. The white +man takes hold of the other branch. Then the black man splits the limb +into two parts with his knife. + +After this is done, an old man of the tribe comes to the white man and +the black man. He puts the white man's arm over the black man's arm. +When their arms are together, he makes a small cut in each arm. He +makes this cut to draw blood. Then the old man puts salt and the dust +of banana leaves into the blood, and rubs both arms together. The +black man and the white man are then blood brothers. + +These people have also a strange way of taking care of their canoes. +When they are not using them, they keep them under water. They say +that the canoes will last longer if kept under water. + + + + +THE AMAZON VALLEY. + +Perhaps you have heard of the Amazon River. It is the largest river in +the world. It is four thousand miles long, and more than fifty miles +wide where it flows into the sea. This river is in Brazil. Brazil is +far south of us. + +[Illustration: Amazon Indians.] + +There are great forests along the banks of this river. They run back +from the river for hundreds of miles. They are the largest forests in +the world. + +A great many kinds of trees grow in these forests. Some of the trees +are very high. Often the trees are covered with vines on which +beautiful flowers grow. + +Wax-palm trees, breadfruit trees, and rubber trees are found in these +forests. Wax is taken from the leaves of the wax palm. + +We make rubber from the rubber tree. A cut is made in the side of the +tree with a knife. From this cut a white juice flows. This juice is +like milk. It is caught in a cup. After a while the juice gets hard. +Then it is rubber. + +A great many strange animals and birds are found in these forests. +There is the sloth, which lives in the trees. It has hooked claws for +holding on to the branches. It hangs on to a branch with its back +downward. When it goes to sleep, it rolls itself up like a ball. It +moves very slowly, and that is why it is called the sloth. + +[Illustration: A Sloth.] + +These forests are full of monkeys and parrots. Perhaps you have seen a +parrot. I dare say you have not seen more than two or three parrots at +one time. But in these forests there are flocks of parrots. They fly +from tree to tree, and are very wild. + +[Illustration: A Parrot.] + +There are many kinds of them. Some are red, some are green, some are +blue, and some are all these colors. + +Monkeys chatter and parrots screech. What a noise they must sometimes +make! + +But besides the parrots and the monkeys, there are humming birds and +butterflies. You know that the humming bird is a very small bird, but +humming birds are found in these forests no larger than a bee. The +butterflies are the most beautiful in the world. + +The people who live in these forests are called Indians. They do not +often let white men come among them. Their skin is copper color, like +the Indians of our country. Their hair is black and straight. They +are not as tall as our Indians, but their bodies are finely formed. +They have large, full chests. Their hands and feet are small and +nicely shaped. + +They keep themselves very clean. The men and women, the boys and +girls, are all fond of bathing. The first thing they do in the morning +is to take a bath in the nearest river. + +Strange to say, some of them paint their faces and bodies. They take +the juice of a tree which will stain a blue black. They pour this +juice on their heads, and let it run in streams down their backs. They +also put red and yellow in large round spots on their cheeks and +foreheads. + +The men braid their hair, and wear it long, down their backs. They +part their hair and wear combs. But the women do not part their hair +and do not wear combs. They pull the hair out of their eyebrows. They +make holes in their ears. In these holes they wear, instead of rings, +a little piece of grass with feathers fastened to it. + +[Illustration: A Painted Amazon Indian.] + +Their houses are made of logs of wood set in the ground as posts. They +put other logs on top of these for a roof. Then they cover these logs +with palm leaves. There are no windows, and they use mats for doors. + +They sleep in hammocks. These they make of string. They make the +string by twisting the leaves of a tree. + +They have plenty of pans and pots, both large and small. These pans +and pots they make of clay. + +First, they soften the clay and knead it. Then they shape it into pots +and pans. It is then dried in the sun. When the pots and pans are dry +they are put in a hot fire. This makes them hard and strong. + +The chief food of these Indians is a kind of flour made from the root +of a plant. They also eat fish. A great many fish are found in the +rivers. These they catch and eat. They also dry fish and then smoke +them over a fire. The smoked fish keep good a long time. + +These Indians sail on the rivers in canoes. But their canoes are +heavy. They are not light, as the canoes of our Indians are. They are +not made of birch bark. + +These Indians make an entire canoe out of a single tree. The canoe is +made thick so as not to be broken by knocking against snags and rocks. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14655 *** |