ngdom owing to the lack of gold and silver coins;
but to the Corean mind to make coins out of gold and to let them go out
of the country amounts to the same thing as willingly trying to
impoverish the fatherland of the treasures it possesses; wherefore,
although rich gold-mines are to be found in Cho-sen, coins of the
precious metal are not struck for the above-mentioned reason.

[Illustration: COOLIES' ARRANGEMENT FOR CARRYING LOADS]

So much for Corean political economy. The coins used are of different
sizes and value. They range, if I remember right, from two _cash_ to
five, and an examination of a handful of them will reveal the fact that
they have been struck off at different epochs. There is the so-called
current treasure coin of Cho-sen, one of the more modern kinds, as well
as the older coin of Korai, the Ko-ka; while another coin, which seems to
have been struck off in the Eastern provinces, is probably as old as any
of these, and is still occasionally found in use. The coins, as I have
said, are strung together by the hundred on a straw rope; a knot is tied
when this number is reached, when another hundred is passed through, and
so on, until several thousands are sometimes strung to one string. As
curious as this precious load itself was the way in which it was carried.
It is, in fact, the national way which all Corean coolies have adopted
for conveying heavy weights, and it seems to answer well, for I have
often seen men of no very abnormal physique carry a burden that would
make nine out of ten ordinary men collapse under its heavy mass. The
principle is much the same as that used by the porters in Switzerland,
and also in some parts of Holland, if I am not mistaken. A triangular
wooden frame rests on the man's back by means of two straps or ropes
passed over the shoulders and round the arms. From this frame project two
sticks, about 35 inches in length, on which the weight rests, and by
bending the body at a lower or higher angle, according to the height or
pressure of the load, a perfect balance is obtained, and the effort of
the carrier considerably diminished. For heavy loads like wood, for
instance, the process of loading is curious. The frame is set upon the
ground, and made to remain in position by being inclined at an angle of
about 45 deg. against a stick forked at the upper end, with which every
coolie is provided. When in this position, the cargo is put on and tied
with a rope if necessary; then,