There is some question as to what ammunition was used.
Many were armed with "old flintlocks or hand cannons, which had to be supported on the shoulder of one man while another fired." Their weapons were not the only antiquated part of their gear ― their ammunition pouch was "often the skin of the head of a crane, the beak being kept closed by a ring till a bullet wanted."Ī tiger killed at the American or French gold mines in northern Korea. These men were highly respected by Koreans and foreigners for their bravery. When the tigers became too much of a nuisance, professional hunters were summoned. There are even claims (probably exaggerated) of tigers stalking Seoul's gloomy, unlit streets ― the silence shattered by the screams of their unwary victims fighting a losing battle for their lives. In 1893, at least one tiger was reported to be prowling about Gyeongbok Palace ― probably hunting the tame little deer kept there. These tigers often preyed on woodcutters and firewood merchants traveling to and from Goyang city ― especially at Muakjae Pass. Some of Korea's most dangerous and ferocious tigers were those that dwelt on the slopes of Inwangsan, just outside the Seoul city walls. Somewhat miffed but wiser, on the next outing, he declined the "privilege" and insisted ― much to "the distress and uneasiness of white-robed guardians" ― on staying in the center. Later, he discovered it was a common belief that tigers always stalked and attacked the last person in the line and, "for this reason always deem it advisable, when they have a foreigner in their company, to let him have that privilege." He could not understand why they insisted on keeping him in the rear. While exploring outside Seoul's city walls, he noticed his porters and Korean traveling companions always managed to keep him at the very end of the traveling procession. In the early 1890s, one Western visitor experienced the unpleasantness of not being in the know. Sometimes they kept their superstitious beliefs to themselves ― not out of fear of being ridiculed but as a form of self-preservation. If they were compelled to travel at night (through the promises of more money or threats of violence), they did so with great caution, brandishing torches, striking gongs, and relying on superstitious beliefs. Their depredations in the desolate regions were so severe that porters and horse-handlers refused to travel at night ― even in fairly large groups. Less than a century ago, tigers and leopards prowled the Korean peninsula and ruled the hours of darkness.
Courtesy of Robert OechsleĪccording to an old Chinese saying, "The Korean hunts the tiger six months in the year and the tiger hunts the Korean the other six months." Robert Neff Collection
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