China and the West

Kipling, Rudyard. The letters of Rudyard Kipling, 1890-99 [ID D31422].
Letter from Rudyard Kipling to Margaret Mackail ; 11-14 Febr. 1889.
In another week I ought to be with the family at Lahore and on the 9th of next month the bows of my steamer ought to be pointing for Rangoon. I am coming home via Singapur, Hong Kong, Japan (where I spend a month in the inland sea) Frisco and America.

Letter from Rudyard Kipling to Georgiana Burne-Jones ; 31 May, 1889.
I could write you much of the beauties of Japan, the weirdness (vile word) of China and the tropical splendours of the Straits but that all my spare time is filled with writing and I am running a lady typewriter to enable me to catch up with the mass of work.

Letter from Rudyard Kipling to Edmonia Hill ; 23 June 1889. [Tacoma].
Well we saw scenery such as I cannot in any way describe – painted rocks, a cascade 890 feet hight, and Indian wigwams and remains of old time block houses, sturgeon 130 Ibs weight, wicked salmon wheels that caught the poor salmon, tossed him into a barge and kept him mthere, and canneries where Chinaman (ugh their fingers!) pressed the fish into cans allee same as we eat in the hot weather. Thas was very nasty…