The beaters disappeared, making a détour of some li, to beat up the many crooked twists and turns which the drive took. Hours passed while we, hot, hungry, and athirst, lay hidden in the rank bush awaiting a sight of the quarry. For the first hour no sound broke the serenity of the valley; presently, however, the cries of the beaters came to us, wafted from below or floating lazily from the surrounding heights. At first only a distant moaning, like the sobbing of a storm among the trees of a forest, broke upon our ears. The strange sounds created much restlessness among the wild wood-pigeons, the cooing doves, and the cheery, chattering magpies. Red-breasted storks rose with disdainful elegance from the shallows of the trickling stream and soared towards other pools. The mists of night rolled away from the valley; the dew disappeared from the matted undergrowth; the sun mounted; the day grew warmer. The blood coursed through our veins as we peered hither and thither, scanning the opposite face of the valley with the keenest vigilance. The beaters were ascending. The harsh cries of their raucous voices broke upon the air. The air vibrated with eerie noises; a spasmodic howling arose from the depths of the valley, where an isolated beater lashed himself into a fever of vociferous discord. Hoarse shouts boomed above us, and echoed against the crags of the gorge. On either side of us, the valley resounded to the labours of the beaters, who, gaining the extreme crests, had now descended, driving everything before them. They approached rapidly, joined by the native hunters, who had now taken up positions upon the rocks which overlooked the place where we were hiding. Our own moment had arrived. Each man fingered his rifle, peering forward as the concluding effort of the beaters burst forth in a hurricane of clamour. We looked and waited, until the conclusion was forced upon us that the bear had already long since broken through the lines of his pursuers.
Hunting in general is considered a servile occupation by the Koreans, and the pursuit of the deer, the bear, and the tiger is not a favourite sport among the young bloods of the kingdom. Nobles, except those who belong to a few impoverished families in the extreme northern provinces, and who are reduced to the pastime to supplement their resources, never indulge in it. It is, nevertheless, free to all. There are no game laws, no proscription of arms, and few preserves. There is no interdicted season in any part of the country. The one creature which it is forbidden to destroy is the falcon, whose life is protected by most stringent enactments. The hunting-grounds are almost solely confined to the mountainous districts, and the hunters are a class apart throughout the country. They shift their grounds rapidly and constantly in search of game, living at the expense of any village where they may temporarily lodge in return for the protection from wild animals which their prowess assures to the local population. Their chief weapon is the flint-lock, imported from Japan. The barrel is inlaid with silver, and bound with thin silver bands or strips of tin. This weapon is loaded with iron bullets, similar in size to those contained in a seven-pound shrapnel shell. The charge is ignited from a coil of plaited straw-cord, which is kept alight during the progress of the hunt. The stock is short and light. When the gun is fired, the butt of this curious and antique weapon rests against the cheek-bone. The faces of many of the hunters, who accompanied us, were scarred below the right eye.
Their dress is characteristic, and they are further distinguished by their boldness, fearlessness, and independent bearing. They adopt, as a uniform, a blue canvas shirt, to which is added a blue or green cotton turban, which is coiled twice through the hair, the torn, frayed end hanging over the forehead. Coloured beads are entwined in this head-dress, and a necklace of similar beads encircles the throat. Chains of seed-beans hang across the breast, to which are fastened the many ingenious contrivances of their calling. The hunters imitate the sounds of various birds and animals very cleverly, particularly those of a pheasant calling to his hen and a doe crying to her calves. The pheasant-call is made from a disc of iron about the size of a sixpenny piece. It resembles the stone of an apricot and is pierced. The decoy used for deer is made from a split bamboo stalk.
Bird-hunters never shoot their quarry upon the wing. They disguise themselves in skins or feathers, bringing down their game from some well-concealed coign of vantage. Deer are hunted during June and July. The hunters form into small parties, and beat up the mountains for several days until their prey is within gunshot. The horns are sold to the native physicians, or exported to China and Japan. When in pursuit of the bear, hunters are more than usually careful to delay firing until the effect of their shot is certain. Good prices are fetched by the various parts of a bear. In addition to the proceeds from the pelt, the flesh, fat, sinews and gall of a bear, supposed to possess certain medicinal properties, sell for their weight in silver. The one royal quadruped associated with Korea, as the white elephant is with Siam, the dromedary with Egypt, the bison with the United States, is the tiger. Unlike the Indian species, that delights in the tropical jungles, this animal is found in Korea in the snow and forests of the north, and as far as the fiftieth parallel. In the mind of the Korean, the tiger is the symbol of fierceness, an emblem of martial pomp and glory. The tiger hunters affect to despise their noble game, and upon occasions they even attack them single-handed with a lance or short sword, assisted by trained dogs. Tigers are sometimes caught in pits, covered with earth and bushes, and filled with stakes. In this condition it is easy to kill them. The hunters eat the meat, selling the skin and bones.
A SUMMER PLEASAUNCE
Tiger hunters are exceptionally courageous. Their services are requisitioned by their Government upon occasion in the defence of the Empire. Armed with matchlock, spear and sword, they defeated the French, under Admiral Roze, in 1866, and heroically resisted the advance of the Americans in 1871. In 1901 they were assembled to protect the northern frontier from the incursions of Manchurian bandits.
CHAPTER XIX
The monks and monasteries of the Diamond Mountains—The Temple of Eternal Rest—The Temple of the Tree of Buddha—Buddhism