THE CHINESE ENIIGRAN'I STARTING FOR AMERIC-A.-PI,
I
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I,ill' 
WIAND HO-.
4 I   I7C01
WHY THE CHINESE EMIGRATE, AND TH
MEANS THEY ADOPT FOR THE PUR     POSE OF REACHING AMERICA.
WITH
SKETCHES OF TR- VEL, 4MUSING INCIDENTS,
SOCIAL CUSTOMS, &c.
BY
RUSSELL IH. CONWELL.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAMMATT BILLINGS.
B0OSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
. NEW YORK:
LLE, SHEPARD, AND DILLINGHAM.
1871.
rpi'*t INS- h 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870,
BY RUSSELL H. CONWELL,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO.,
CAMBRIDGE.
, F
0 
TO
MY AGED PARENTS,
whose unceasing devotion to my welfare is deserving of a
greater reward than I can ever give, I would affectionately
dedicate this volume.
RUSSELL.
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PREFACE.
THE author's sole purpose in writing this book
has been to give to his friends in a readable
shape such facts and thoughts as have requited
his earnest, unbiassed investigation
T 
THANKS.
MY thanks are due to the following gentlemen
for much kind assistance during my tour in China,
and for many interesting facts, since obtained, for
this volume:   HON. FREDERICK F. LOW, United States Minis ter to the Court of Pekin; COLONEL N. G. GOULD ING, United States Consul-General at Hongkong;
HON. F. M. MAYERS, Her Britannic Majesty's Con sul at Canton; MR. H. O'HARRA, Agent of the Tudor
Ice Company, stationed at Hongkong; MR. HENRY
MURRAY, Grand Master of the Order of F. & A. M.
of China; REV. D. C. ALBEAU, D. D., recently of
Shanghai; MR. J. K. WALKEI, of Hankow; MR.
J. L. TORREY, Diplomatic Agent of the Government
of Borneo; MR. C. A. SAINT, Editor of the Daily
China Mail; CAPTAIN OLIVER ELDRIDGE, Agent of
the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., at San Francisco;
MR. JOHN B. RUSSELL, of San Francisco; CAPTAIN
DOAN, of the Steamer "America"; COLONEL ROLAND WORTHINGTON, of the Boston -Daily Evening
Traveller; MR. LEMUEL E. HARRIS, of Syracuse,
N. Y.; MR. CHARLES T. EVENS, of the Boston
Atheneum; MR. NVALTER W. COLBURN and the
REV. CHARLES M. SMITH, of Somerville, Mass.
:(
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CONTENTS.
PAGE
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INTRODUCTION'.. ~
WHY.
CHAPTER
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
CHINESE SUPERSTITION.
CHINESE CHARACTER..
THIRST FOR GOLD..
EARLY EMIGRATION..
A NEW CHAPTER OF HORRORS
A.IAMERICA AND CHINA.
THIE NEW GOD, "WARD".
XWHAT FOR...
HOW.
FIRST EMIGRATION.
THE COOLIE'S DWELLING.. 
THE COOLIE'S RESOLVE..
I
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.. 33
. 44
61
. 72
82
. 94
108
. 117
I i
xi.
xii.
125
. 129
140 i 
CONTENTS.
CONSULTING THE GODS
THE LoAN..
PACKING UP..
BURIAL INSURANCE.
THE SHIP...
SOLD FOR DEBT..
QUERIES...
SKETCHES.
A CHINESE SCHOOL UPON AN AMERICAN PLAN
JOKING CHINAMEN....
SCENE AT A Joss-HousE...
CHINESE AMUSEMENTS...
OUR WHTEELBARROW RIDE...
i
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iv
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
XVII.
xviii.
XIX.
. 157
176
. 197
203
. 212
224:
. 236
I.
II.
Ill.
IV.
V.
243
253
257
265
273 
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INTRODUCTION.
HEN  the peasantry of any nation abandon
their homes, and, in violation of established law, undertake a dangerous voyage across a
wide ocean, knowing full well that hardships await
them in the land to which they go, and confiscation of property in case of their return, there will
be found some powerful reason for their action,
aside from the hope of financial gain. Experience
as a State Immigration Agent acting in Germany
and Norway, connected with a careful investigation of the subject in other countries, has shown
conclusively, to my mind, that the vast number
of immiogrants which we are every day welcom ing to our shores is due more to their dissatis faction with the governments and customs at
home than to the advantages which our land
seems to offer. Thousands of the European im migrants know but very little of the United States 
INTRODUCTION.
when they start from home, and are not able
until after their arrival to understand our system
of government, or to appreciate its great bene fits. They have, of course, a vague idea of a
land without tyranny, but in what its plan of
government differs from their own they are too
poorly educated to understand. They look upon
any change as an improvement, and thinking that
they can return, should they be displeased, they
break all the old ties that bound them to their
homes, and face the stormy Atlantic with scarcely
a sigh of regret. Yet their social condition at
home is far from being a state of slavery. Even
the poorest European has rights which the sovereigns and officials are obliged to respect; and in
times of peace no restrictions are placed upon
his movements. He can hold property, and by
patient industry, with strict economy, may be
the owner of a little home.  An  Irish tenant,
bowed under the load of injustice which curses
that island, has, notwithstanding, less physical
than  mental  suffering.   It is seldom, indeed,
that they leave the land to which they are so
firmly attached for the mere purpose of gratifying their avaricious  desires.   Ireland  is op
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EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION.
pressed, and, having determined to leave the
land he cannot save, the laborer seeks a home,
like the old one, away from the oppressor. The
United States offers him the best terms, and he
comes, hardly realizing that he is indeed to be a
free man. Did the nations of Europe recognize
the sublime principle that "all men are created
equal," our forests would wait much longer for the
axe and our prairies bear many more crops of wild
grass than present appearances would seem to
indicate. Not but that there are some adventurers who enter this new country for the purpose
of cheating, swindling, or picking up by the way
a fortune of "princely proportion,"- (and I am
sorry to say that some are not disappointed,)but they form a very small class compared with
the honest, hard-working millions that take their
homes from the public domain. The fact is that
the masses are not drawn away by the great
prize which really does await them here, but
are rather driven away by the evils that are in
store for them at home.
This is the case with the European peasantry,
who, with their many privileges, feel that they are
oppressed, and leave their native soil to avoid fur
B
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INTRODUCTION.
ther suffering. What, then, shall be said of the
Chinaman who, under severe penalties, emigrates
from a land dearer to him by far than Europe is
to the European, and, leaving his family behind,
crosses the Pacific with no hope of citizenship
when he shall have arrived at his destination?
Is it oppression at home, or the mere love of
gold? Let us see 
.q
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WHY.
CHAPTER I.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT.
The Code of Laws. - Patriarchal Government. - Competitive
Literary Examination. — System  of Espionage. -The  Con dition of the Coolie. -  His Desire to leave. - Consequences
of Rebellion.
HE  Chinese system of government has been
declared by many able writers to be "the
most perfect scheme of human government ever
adopted by man," and that "for three thousand
years it has answered all the practical purposes of
that great Empire, and is still working harmoniously, although four hundred millions of people
are now brought under its sway." Without accepting this statement entire, I would add my
hun-ble testimony to that already given with regard to its magnitude and stability. Gigantic and
wonderful it must be, one would think, to keep
in subjection such an enormous territory! The
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WHY.
very thought of four hundred millions swayed
by a single mind, - made rich or poor, miserable
or happy by the nod of a single man,- fills the
.cl(e with awe and astonishment. Spread over
a country more than double the size of the United
States, with the capital city away in one corner, and
three fifths of the people uneducated, it is no wonder that lookers on from without should suppose
any system "perfect" that could hold it together.
This respect for the system is not lessened by
the discovery of a code of laws wonderfully just
and practical.   Any  student, after reading  the
Chinese Code as published by Lei-Kuei two thousand years ago, with its several supplements, will
be ready to declare the laws of China to be
worthy of the greatest judicial minds of the age.
This code certainly has the merit of being simple, concise, easily understood, and, with the exception of the penalty for treason, scrupulously
just.
A Chinaman who undertook the translation of
some sections of it for me remarked incidentally
that it was "fit for the government of heaven";
and I felt like applauding the remark as I read,
one after another, those excellent provisions for
public safety, private freedom, and the general
welfare of the people. It did seem to be a "perfect" system. But I could not understand why
there was such a great discrepancy between the
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BAD EXECUTION OF THE LAWS.
perfect state of society for which the laws provided
and the deplorable condition of the people whom
I saw all about me. While the Code of Laws
seemed to be perfect, the execution of it seemed to
be very, very imperfect.
Where the law provided for plenty, there was
scarcity; and where by the code there should be
entire freedom, there were tyranny and slavery.
Nothing in the appearance of the people or country
would suggest to an unprejudiced observer the existence of such equitable laws as are found in that
code; nor would any person acquainted with Chinese society, and the disintegrating elements of
which it is composed, account for the stability of
the Empire by a reference to the code.
On inquiry of a mandarin whose business it was
to execute the laws in his immediate locality, I
received this rather evasive reply: " You Amnericans have a holy code which you call the Bible,
and I hear that its precepts are excellent. But I
nev r have seen an American obeying those precepts literally, and I often hear that, in the ports,
they utterly disregard them. Now when you will
tell me why you pay so little attention to your
code, I shall be able to explain why we make so
little use of ours! No doubt it is an excellent
thing if we could only practise it."
The Chinese nation to-day appears, to the trav eller in the Provinces, like a conquered country
13 
WHY.
still under martial law. Every office, except those
occupied by a few petty village officials, is filled
by direct appointment from the Emperor, or, by
high officials, in his name. The will of every
official is law in the district over which he is
appointed, notwithstanding the existence of this
excellent code.
The Chinese annals give no account of the man ner in which this custom originated, and, with the
excep'      tr aditional fables,* nothing is
kno'wn6     But the present practical workings
of the government would seem to indicate that
the several provinces, while living, separately, under the patriarchal system, were conquered one
after another and placed under military rule. A
standard writer has stated it to be his belief that
the Chinese nation is the outgrowth of a single
family, and that it has through all its changes
and growth adhered to the "Patriarchal System."
Now that expression, by such an excellent authority, has puzzled me not a little. For, upon his own
testimony,t there is nothing patriarchal but in
the name. The Emperor is "king of the whole
world."  Hie is the "lofty one."  He renders sacred
everything with which he comes in contact, and
his word is divine law.  "Chosen of Heaven to
goern his people," is a favorite expression in
govern his people," is a favorite expression in
* Chinese Repository, Vol. III.
t Williams's "Middle Kingdom."
14 
Chinese literature, and instead of blaming hi m as
a child would a father * when he does not govern
wisely, the Chinese come to a far different conclusion, viz. that he is not the chosen of Heaven
at all, but rather a usurper, who ought to be removed that Heaven might appoint one who is
"chosen."  This has been the excuse made by the
insurgents in nearly every rebellion since the Europeans became acquainted with the Empire.
It is possible that the subjugation of the Chlinese by the Tartars may have made a change in
the form of the Chinese government greater than
has been supposed. But it is not within myprovince to make at present any extended inquiries
in that direction. The Emp( r (or rather Prince
Kung, who administers governmental affairs during the minority) is at present the supreme ruler,
temporal and religious. He can appoint new officers and create new  gods.  He can control the
spirits of men in the body and out. Hie owns all
the lands of the Empire, and all the propertyholders are his tenants-at-will.   The Governors
of the different provinces and districts know no
higher law than to do his bidding.
All the officers, chiefs, and subordinates are
also supposed to be governed  by  the "Code of
Laws," and to decide all legal questions accordingly.  They are the judges, in this "perfect sys
* Nevius's "China and the Chinese,"' page 67.
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POWER OF OFFICIALS.
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ter —' and in case a criminal is dissatisfied with
the decision of the subordinate he is presumed to
have the legal right to appeal from one to the next
higher, and so on even to the Emperor. But it is
a rare case indeed that is successfully appealed,
even one step up the feudal ladder.
I can see in the systematic, well-appointed ten ant system, taken in connection with the super stition of the people, a good reason why the
Empire has stood unmoved so long. As for the
equitable and just laws of the code, without denying but that they, at some time, have been better executed, and that they assist somewhat in
the administration of justice at present, by keeping a standard of right before the people; yet, as
far as my observation extends, they seem to be in
other respects a dead letter.
Omitting for a subsequent chapter some examples of the strange administration of justice
which came under my own observation, permit
me to (q tote a Chinese authority upon the administration of law in China. It was written as
a memorial to the Emperor from the people of
Quantung, and is given here the more readily as
Dr. Williams gives place to it in his book upon
tlw Chinese Empire.*
"First. In the department of police there is
great negligence and delay in the decision of ju
* "Chinese Empire," Vol. I. p. 396.
16
WHY.
I 
STATE OF SOCIETY.
dicial cases.  Cases of plunder are very eomnrmon
most of which are committed by banditti und er
the designation of Triad Societies, Heaven and
Earth Brotherhoods,  &c.  These  men carry off
persons to extort a ransom, falsely assume the
character of policemen, and in simulated revenuecutters pass up and down the rivers plundering
the boats of travellers and forcibly carrying off the
women. Husbandmen are obliged to pay these
robbers an indemnity, or else as soon as the crops
are ripe they come and carry off the whole harvest.
In the precincts of the metropolis, where their contiguity to the tribunals prevents their committing
violent depredations in open day, they set fire to
houses during the night, and, under the pretence
of saving and defending the persons and property,
carry off both of them; hence of late years calamitous fires have increased in frequency, and the
bands of robbers multiplied greatly. In cases of
altercation among the villagers, who can only use
their local patois, it rests entirely with the clerks
to interpret the evidene —- and when the magistrate is lax or pressed with business, they have the
evidence pre-arranged, and join with bullies and
strife-makers to subvert right and wrong, fattening theselves  upon bribes extorted under the
names of'memoranda of complaints,''purchases
of replies,' &c., and retarding indefinitely the decision of cases. They also instigate thieves to bring
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false accusations against the good, who are thereby
'lined uy legal expenses.  While the officers of
the government and the people are thus separated,
how can it be otherwise than that appeals to the
higher tribunals should be increased, and litigation
and strife prevail?
"Second. Magistrates overrate the taxes with a
view to a deduction for their own benefit, and excise
officers connive at non-payment. The revenue of
Kwangtung is paid entirely in money, and the magistrates, instead of taking the commutation at a
regular price of about $ 5 for each 150 lbs. of rice,
have compelled the people to pay $ 9 and over be cause the inundation and bad harvests had raised
the price of grain. In order to avoid this extortion the police go to the villagers and demand a
fee, for which the police will get them off from all
payment. But the Imperial coffers are not filled
by this means and the people are by and byforced
to pay up their arrearag,es, even to the loss of most
of their possessions.
"Third. There is great mismanagement of the
granaries. And instead of being any assistance
to the people in time of scarcity, they are only a
source of peculation for those who are charged
with their oversight.
Fourth.  The condition of the army and navy
is a disgrace. Illicit traffic is not prevented nor
can insurrections be put down.   The only care
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WHY. 
STATE OF SOCIETY.                19
of the ojcers is to obtain good appointments, and
'reduce the actual number of soldiers below  the
register in order that they  may appropriate the
stores. The cruisers aim only to get fees, to allow
the prosecution of the contraband traffic. Nor will
the naval officers bestir themselves to recover the
property of plundered boats, but rather become the
protectors of the lawless, and partakers of their
booty. Robberies are so common on the rivers
that the traders from the Island of Hainan and
Chau-Chau near Fuhkien prefer to come by sea.
But the revenue-cutters overhaul them under pre tence of searching for contraband articles and
practise many extortions.
"Fifth. The increase of smuggling is so great
and the evils flowing from it so multiplied, that
strong measures must be taken to repress it.
Traitorous Chinese combine with depraved foreign ers to set the laws at defiance, and dispose of their
opium and other commodities for the pure silver.
In this manner the country is impoverished. Every
evil arises. The revenues of the customs are di minished by the unnecessary number of persons
employed, and by the fees they receive for con nivance."
Thusit will be seen that, according to their own
testimony, the practical workings of their "perfect
system" was not at the time that memorial was
written as perfect as might be wished.  Since that 
20                     wHY.
time bribery and extortion have become so c,(
maon that they mark nearly every official acti-L,.
If a poor man commits robbery in China now, ai i
does not take something of sufficient value to 
vide with the magistrate, he will be punished t
the extremity of the law. But if he is rich, or obtains a large sum of money, he is freed at once b5
the bribed magistrate, and inferentially told to gc
and repeat the crime. If there is any probability
that the tale will reach the ears of the higher officials, the magistrate will exact a higher bribe in
order that he may divide with his superior. A
bribe is all potent. Judging by appearances and the
sad tales which come to any one who chooses to
inqtire into the condition of the laboring or Coolie *
classes of China, there is no temple so sacred, no
court so just, no official so honest, no priest so
devoted, but that a bribe will make them less so.
There seems to be no bonds of friendship or family ties that money cannot break; while there
are no punishments so severe, no cruelty so harsh,
no sorrow so deep, but that, in spite of a "perfect
code," they may be inflicted with impunity upon
such unlucky Coolies as have no money with which
to fee the magistrate. I was told by a Chinese
Merchant, who has long been in business in Can
* The word Coolie is derived from the Hindostani language,
meaning simply a "laborer," or "lower class," and is used in
this work in that sense only. Its common use has made it a
part of our language. 
OFFICIAL EXTORTION.
ton, that when a man falls below a certain level
in the financial world and afterward comes into
the possession of ally money hlie is taxed, accused,
or threatened with false prosecutions, until he!
again reduced to poverty or bribes the officials.
Even then he will often be imprisoned, whipped,
and perhaps beheaded because he has no more
with which to bribe a second time. A despotism
less accountable to law, or one more cruel, can
hardly be conceived: and all this in the face of
their boasted equity and justice! This state of
affairs is growing worse and worse each year, as
the tricks and deceits of foreigners are introduced.
It cannot therefore be long ere a great change will
appear in the "flowery kingdom."
What wonder is it, then, that the people rebel,
and attempt to throw  off all allegiance to the
boasted "King of the Heavens," when  they are
abused, cheated, sold and enslaved (much oftener
of late than in the years gone by) by the same
power that took the place of their patriarchal
fathlers, and which should be their kind and considerate protector.  Who could believe in the Emperor's "divine right," or w-ish to remain under his
rule when,- as a sorrowing Chinese in California
once said to Dr. 1). B. Clark,-" robbers are promotecs in China now, rapine and arson are winked
at, pirates are applauded, Coolie traders are assisted
ill their kidna)apping, property is confiscated with
21
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WHY.
out excuse, and the poor reduced by official exac tions to a state of wretchedness to which exile or
death are welcome alternatives!"
- There is another subject intimately connected
with this question of official dishonesty and the
oppression of the lower classes, to which I paid
considerable attention, and which shows better
perhaps than the courts of justice the sad, dark
way that the great Empire is treading. It is the
practice of competitive literary examination. This
has received encomiums from the whole civilized
world, and the scholars of America hailed with delight the proposition to introduce the scheme into
the United States.* By this means the pursuit
of education is supposed to be encouraged, and
the best scholars in the kingdom to be given the
highest political places, as a reward of their merit.
This is the theory, and, as the mandarin said of
the code, "it would be an excellent thing if anybody practised it." At present the literary examinations in the province of Quantung (and scholars
say that the same course is pursued elsewhere) are
so conducted that, by a small fee to the commissioners or to the official by whom the compositions
are examined, any person, of whatever attainments,
can obtain a diploma. Many are said to get certificates of scholarship who have not been seen by
* "The Civil Service Bill," introduced into Congress in 1868
by Mr. Jenckes of Rhode Island.
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LITERARY DIPLOMAS.              23
the commissioners, and who have never written
or submitted an essay of any kind.  They obtain
roese certificates from the committee for the pur pose of using them with applications for political
preferment. Some are said to hold the highest
degree who can do nothing more than write their
names. I was told at Hong Kong, that educated
men of high standing had refused to permit their
sons to compete for a diploma, because of the
notorious dishonesty of the commissioners. As
this is the surest way for influential men's sons
to get promotion, there are bribes enough to make
it worth the wlile of the government to keep up
the pretence of an examination, and some few
men of merit are yet examined, and pass, or fail to
pass, as the case may be. There is little chance
of their promotion, however, if a wealthy man's
son stands by with a bribe in his hand.
I made the acquaintance of a Chinese student
at Singapore who had not only prepared himself
for the Chinese examination, but had also made
considerable progress in English, and having ad dressed him a note asking if I could be present at
his examination, when I returned to Canton I
received the following reply:
g
Sir: It would please me to have you present at
the examination, but the commission who examine
are to have nobody in when we present our papers. 
24                   WHY.
They are more secret now, and some get through?
without an examination, and if I can escape  I
paying cash, I shall not be there myself.  Hoping
to see you when you arrive,
I am, sir, yours truly,
CHIN SING.
It is not the author's intention to convey the
idea that there is a lack of education among the
higher classes. For without doubt they are as
studious as any people in the world. Their literature is considered by the ablest scholars to be
without a parallel among the heathen nations;
and is certainly more readable than thousands of
volumes published in our own favored land. Education- i.e. reading- is also general, even among
the lower classes, owing to the fact that the ancestral tablets and government proclamations are
always before them in print; while every fan, jossstick, lantern, and ring, with almost every other
implement or ornament is covered with inscriptions, which their curiosity leads them  to study
out.
The customs are such that the Coolie must read,
for his own protection, but in only a few cases
do,the lowest classes get their knowledge at
school. WAVith the wealthy and influential there are
schools with prizes and other inducements, until
such time as the boy begins to feel a desire to rise 
SYSTEM OF ESPIONAGE.             25
into political office.  Then, if the "system " was
adhered to as it may have been in times past, his
advancement would be commensurate with his
knowledge.  But so uncertain has political preferment already become that the system of educated
office-holding is as useless as the code.* All the
affairs with which government officials have to do
seem to be less and less honestly conducted as
each year comes round; while the condition of
the lower classes - sad enough at the best - is
growing worse with each change in the administration.  The enmity existing between the Tartar
rulers and the governed Chinese instead of dying
out increases in intensity as foreign ideas creep
in, and such laborers as have nothing but their
hands to support them must enmigrate or die of
starvation.
The methods at present pursued by the government at Peking to remedy these evils does more
to undermine its own power and encourage injustice than anytlhing which inferior officials may do.
It has adopted a system of espionage, by means of
which the misdeeds of the inhabitants and officials
are supposed to be reported at the capital. For a
time it may seem to strengthen the power of the
goverlmen.t by making it dreaded.  But the cruel
* Nevius's  "China  and the Chinese,"  p. 60;  Doolittle's
"Social Life of the Chinese," Vol. I. pp. 428, 431; Witliams's
"Middle Kingdom," Vol. I. p. 451. 
WHiY.
ties and extortions to which it gives rise must
sooner or later arouse a spirit of rebellion that no
despotic power on earth can quell. Not only are
salaried men sent out through all the towns to as sociate with thieves and swindlers and to report
their doings, but rewards are offered to any person
who shall expose a criminal act, or be instrumen tal in bringing the culprit to justice.  Strange as it
may seem, this detective system encourages crime,
while it arrests, fines, and imprisons the inno cent.  Charg,es crowd the magisterial courts, made
against innocent persons, with the hope of getting
a reward, and as money is better evidence than
human testimony, the party that bribes the man darin will get his case. Detectives steal and rob
with impunity, and lay the charge upon some poor
friendless Coolie who has not the education or
means to defend himself, and he suffers for the
sins of the detectives, while the latter receives the
reward. All these official detectives, and many
other persons who make espionage their business,
are fast accumulating fortunes and are building up
a moneyed aristocracy, the founders of which are
taken from the most unscrupulous men in the
Empire. Ilow changed the state of society since
the time when the Emperor was conscientious, the
officials honest, and the people practised the benevolence of Boodah and the morality of Confucius!
Driving into exile their best friends, the Coolies, by
.26
V 
CONSEQUENCES OF REBELLION.
their own short-sighted dishonesty! The effect of
this bad policy is already apparent in the agricultural districts of China itself, and soon the officials
must call back the Coolie, and give him his rights,
or take his place at the plough and threshingfloor.  A writer from Nanking having an extended
knowledge of China, and who is the very best authority on this subject,* says, with regard to the
country overrun by the late rebellion, that the
present state of the country is a veritable wilderness. As far as eye can reach, the coarse annual
grasses, which in China invade so rapidly neglected
ground, extend sometimes for miles, and not a field
can be seen under cultivation. The roads are
broken up and almost obliterated, while beasts of
burden are scarcely met with. Looked at from an
eminence, long rows of villages are to be seen;
their brown  and moss-grown  walls  and roofs
scarcely contrasting at this season of the year with
the decaying grasses of last summer's crop. Yet
a nearer approach discovers towns wvithout inhabitants; their houses burnt or deserted: while a
few grovelling wretches, scarcely subsisting, struggle for existence in the midst of teeming soils. In
fact, we have a country here for all practical
purposes just as new as the Western States in
America, waiting only for the hand of man  to
snatch its riches. The story of its present deso
* European Supreme Court Journal, Shanghai.
I
27 
WHY.
lation is a short one: bad government and conse  quent rebellions have proved alike destructive to
innocent and guilty.  A RPomani Catholic mission ary who has labored among these scenes since the
establishment of Imperial authority speaks in sad
terms of the utter demoralization of the people.
Their old men and women ruthlessly slaughtered,
their young men pressed into the service of the
Taipings; their young women carried off and used
for the vilest purposes, while their children were
daily forced to see these spectacles of blood and
the most revolting crimes perpetrated under their
eyes; it is but natural that the few survivors
should have sunk in the scale of humanity. Fam ilies, he tells us, have been utterly broken up; husbands seek for wives, wives for husbands; parents
and children wander about unaware of each other's
existence.  Amongst his own flock he finds the
utmost difficulties; marriage, elsewhere amongst
the Chinese hedged in with so many forms, is held
in light esteem; often has he to refuse the rites
of the church, till proof of the legality of the ceremony can be adduced.
Such is the state to which a fertile and populous
country has been reduced by the shortcomings of
its government. When the Emperor Yaou, according to the Shoo JKiny, in his old age desired to appoint a successor on whom the labor of consolidating the new empire shoutld rest, Shiun, tliougih one
28 
NEEDED RECONSTRUCTION.
-of the lower orders, was chosen; his father was.obstinate and unprincipled, his mother insincere, and
his brother arrogant; yet amidst all these discordant
elements he contrived to live in harmony, and exercised over his relations an influence for good. The
moral of the tale has since been persistently misapplied by the government of China. As a paternal system it has ignored the duties it owes to its
subjects; forgetting that history, in recording the
elevation of Shun, has not sought to condone the
unprincipled conduct of the father, but to praise
the supereminent virtues of the son; who, as hav ing had a sad experience of the effects of ill con duct in the heads of a family, could not fail to ap ply to the affairs of the empire the wisdom he had
learned in his father's household. Let us inquire,
then, the course which the Chinese government
has taken to restore this country to its former con dition. An opportunity has been offered, rare in
the annals of the world, of founding anew an old
empire: the means are at hand; the fabric of gov ernment has not been so entirely disorganized as
to deprive it of the power of reform. Yet, with the
single exception of exempting from the payment
of the land tax for two years all new settlers who
shall undertake to cultivate plots of ground within
the district, nothing whatever has been done; and
it seems doubtful whether, in the absence of better
means of intercommunication, such a remission,
29 
WHY.
unaccompanied by more decisive action on the part
of Government, as encouraging the influx of pauper
settlers, may not have an evil tendency.
In suggesting a practical course to the Chinese
we do not fail to remember that the prosperity of
each rests on the well-being, of all.  We have
passed the day when it could be urged that foreign
interests were best served by the misfortunes of
China. The effects of political disturbances in
China and in the Far West, as well as the monetary panic of 1866, have been experienced by both
native and foreign traders alike, and in the present distressed state of trade in China we recognize
the natural results of the crisis of rebellion through
which the country has passed.
What is required in the devastated_districts
of China, as in all other new countries, is, in the
first place, labor and capital to prepare and till
the soil; next to these, if at all inferior, are the
means of transport.  It may almost seexa  a _ardox to afirn, thtat labor is scarce in  China, yet
all experience goes to prove it: hundreds of poor
wretches wander about or nestle in the large cities,
but most of these now bear the undeniable brand
of confirmed mendicancy. The features so easily
recognized among the followers of the Tien Wang,
win seldom be looked for in vain among a crowd of
Chinese beggars; the habits of rapine and cruelty
fostered in the Taiping, ranks were far too strong
i
i,
30 
a
CONDITION OF PUBLIC ROADS.
to be eradicated.  But even with a superabundance of labor the settler on the deserted soil finds
it impossible to bring his land under cultivation
without capital.  The old ties of family are broken
up; he finds he must pay for his daily labor as
well as for the seed to put in the ground.  Unless
he meet with some exterior support he rapidly
falls to the condition of a squatter, and such, in
fact, is the position of most of the inhabitants.
Few, if any, better roads were to be found fifty
years ago in Europe than that which connected
the cities of Nanking and Chinkiang; it possessed
all the features of a good road; the route was the
most direct possible, every care had been taken in
its engineering;  the levels were good, cuttings
having been made where hills were intersected,
and embankments in the open plains; the bridges
were substantial and well designed for traffic,
while the road for a width of 14 or 15 feet was
carefully paved with brick. In fact a coach and
four could readily have traversed the entire leng,th,
with less discomfort than would be met with on
many of the mail roads in England. At present
the condition of this road is a standing disgrrace to
the provincial authorities. Here and there indeed
some fragment displays the care taken by former
governments, but the greater portion has fallen
into the last stage of decay: the bricks have been
rooted up, the stones worn by the wheels of bar
31 
WHY.
rows lie in confusion; a day's rain renders the
track impassable and forces passengers to prefer
the waste ground at the sides, while repairs, where
attempted, have been executed in such a style as
renders the remedy worse than the disease. One
or two stones represent many of the bridges, and
in many places streams coming down from  the
hills form deep channels along the track. It is
scarcely passable  for the  pack-mules  in  fine
weather, at other seasons it is actually iinpracti cable.  When this is the state of the main road,
the condition of the inferior ones may easily be
guessed; in fact, at the best of weathers it is impossible for the wheeled vehicles of the country
to traverse them. Without navigable canals and
with impassable roads, it is manifestly impossible
for the harvests, however abundant, to be brouight
to market.  Even on the main road rice fetches
30 per cent less than at Chinkiang; in the iiiterior no market can be said to exist. Yet all this
occurs during the time of famine in the northern
provinces, whlen' the Peking government actually
sends down a Commissioner to Hongkong, to arrange for the import of foreign rices. No stronger
proof could be urged of its helpless imbecility.
With good roads intersecting the country, and
good crops coming in, with a moderate population
living in prosperous circumstances, how much of
the present discontent in China might be alleviated.
32 
1
CHAPTER II.
CHINESE SUPERSTITION.
Different Religions. - The strange mixture of Ideas. - The
&       (Coolies' Purgatory. -  Metempsychosis.- Fear of  pending
National Evil. - Its effect upon Emigration. - Remarkable
Letter from a Chinese Merchant in California.
A foxNG that class of Chinese who emigrate
to America  there is in reality no  establislhecl religion.  They are the laboring classes of
the Canton District, and have had but little time
or opportunity for study or reflection upon  religious subjects.  In fact, the tenets of the different religions are so intermingled that the priests
themselves have considerable difficulty in deciding which is Tauist and which is Boodist.
Boodism consists in the worship of a divinity,
which, in connection with inferior spirits, has
especial reg,ard for good works, and rewards those
who line virtuous lives with a happy or oblivious
hereafter.  Its devotees believe in the transmigration of souls, and in a former state of existence
when the present souls of men were the spirits 
WHY.
of beasts, birds, or reptiles. They believe also
in a kind of purgatory to which all souls go after
death to be prepared for their future existence as
earthly beings. During, their stay in purgatory
these souls have need of the "necessities of life,"
and the friends on earth must supply them with
money or they will suffer. Connected with this
belief are a thousand superstitions and fables, to
which reference cannot be made here.
Tauism is a kind of materialism, the devotees
of which believe that the earth, the planets, and
each separate thing upon them, is endowed with
an intelligent soul.  Connected with it is a belief
in the mysterious influence of the moon and stars
upon the destinies of men, and the idea that by
alchemy may yet be found a way of turning iron
or earth into gold or silver. There are in this,
as in the Boodist religion, any number of gods,
the greatest of which  is worshipped under the
name of Laoots, or "The Old Boy," ajnd the most
merciful of which is Lootyoo, the god of medicine.
There is another sect to which all the government officials ostensibly belong, which cannot be
called a religion, but rather the absence of relig,ion. The adherents of this doctrine claim to be
followers of the Confucian teachings, and practicers of those rationalistic theories to which his
precepts tend.  Confucius recognized no God, but
went about teaching morality, and advising peo
34 
I
ple to pmractise it for their own welfare on earth.
Perhaps I cannot do better than to quote a few
extracts from Dr. Legg's translation of the Confucian anlalects to show the manier in which his
teachings have been preserved.*
"The stable being burned down when he was at
court, on his return he said,'Has any man been
hurt?' He did not ask about the horses."
"When any of his friends died, if he had no
relations who could be depended upon for the
necessary offices he would say,'I will bury him.'"
"To any person in mourning he bowed forward
to the cross-bar of his carriage."
"The master said,'To go beyond is as wrong as
to fall short."'
"The master said,'There is Hwuy.  He  has
nearly attained to perfect virtue. He is often in
want.'"
"Yen Yuen asked about perfect virtue. The
master said,'To subdue one's self and return to
propriety is perfect virtue.'"
The master said,'In hearing litigations I am
like any other body.  What  is necessary is to
cause the people to have no litigations.'"
Beside the Boodist, Tauist, and Confucian sects,
which tnay be said to be the heathen religi6ns of
China, there is a large number of Mahometans in
the empire, and in some of the cities in the Prov
* Life and Teachings of Confucius, pp. 185, 186.
no 5
TEACIRINGS OF CONFUCIUS. 
WHY.
inces of Shensi and Shansi the mosque and the
Boodist temple  are said to stand side by side.
There is also a large number of semii-Catholics
-'vho have retained some of the doctrines preached
by the Catholic missionaries in Abbe Huc's time,
and combined them with those of one or the other
of the heathen sects. Beside these there are quite
a large number of fresh converts to the Catholic
religion, a few Jews, and still fewer Protestants.
To  the educated Chinaman, who, if hle  is a
scholar at all, is usually a great one, these relig    ions may have a distinct and separate significance.
But I am sorry to say that by a carefill inivestig,a    tion, assisted by missionaries and native scholars,
I have reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that
the laborers of China as a class have no clear idea
of any one religion.  The  sadder  is it, because
where there is no settled belief to assail there is
but little hope for the Christian missionary' Tile
belief of this Coolie class (if their faith may be
called a belief at all) is made up by a strange
combination of all that is unnatural and mysteri   ous to- be found in the faith of all of the several
sects.  They pay equal devotion to the gods of
each.  Boodist,  Tauist, Confucian,  Mahometan,
Jewish, Catholic, and Atheistic ideas, combined
with a superstition that makes every circumstance
in life to portend some evil or good, serves to make
up the faith of the class from wlience come the
36
it 
laborers for America.   There may  be sometlin(
.poetical abouot the mind that
Finds tongl,pes ill trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons ill stones, and good in everthing";
but the Coolies' belief that  trees, brooks, and
stones are endowed with real intelligence, and
call injure or benefit man as they may happen to
feel, is far from being a poetical one. It keeps
the soul in constant alarm and loads the mind
with care.  When combined with the other Coolie
ideas, that the heavens, the earth, the sea, the
sky, paradise, and hell are filled with wrangling,
fickle, avaricious gods, whose only occupation is
to fight over the disposition that shall be made
of man here and his soul hereafter, it becomes
doubly terrible. Then the beasts, the birds, the
fish, the reptiles, and the insects are supposed to
contain the souls of future generations, or'of the
generation that is past. To really believe that his
deceased grandmnother is a cow, his grandfather
an alligator, his little sister a codfishl, his father a
buffalo, and his mother in Hades wandering about
in starvation alone, because he has no meals to
purchase and burn "mock money" to supply her
necessities, is as terrible and  hlarassing  to  the
believer as  it is ridiculous to us.  His life is a
state of fear.   Blue devils  hold dire calamities
over his head  at night, and  vwhlite-robed imllps
repeat the threatenii,gs by day.  He will be pun
HEAVEN  AND  HELL.
37 
WHIY.
ishled by one god if he does an act, and scourged
by another if he does it not. All his time for
devotion is used in appeasing the wrath of the
angry gods. Yet if he pays any respect to one
and not the same to the others there will be a
jealous war in the abode of the gods, the result
of which will be a combined attack upon the
defenceless worshipper. Merit seems to have little or nothing to do with the question, and if the
devotee has nothing of his own with which to
keep these gods quiet he must steal something
to offer them, and after hlie has stolen the sacrifice
he is kept in constant fear lest the gods go and
tell the mandarin of the peculation and hlave him
punished.  This is the state of mind  in which
missionaries and other inquirers often find the
Coolie believer.  But as in our land there  are
thousands of ostensible Christians who in times
of prosperity are not Christians at all, so in China,
when the Benevolent gods prevail (and they are
supposed to be good without sacrifices) the Coolie
forgets his fears, and with a vague hope that he
will live and prosper many years, and be made a
lion when hlie dies, he goes and comes to his work
in the shop or rice-field carelessly happy.
This superstitious religion of the lower classes
places a great and dangerous power in the hands
of the rulers.  They may be never so cruel and
the ignorant Coolie will exculpate them from all
I
I
38 
ILL-WILL OF THE GODS.
blame and, still thinking the Chinese government
the best on earth, will attribute all his hardships
to the ill-will of some devil-god whom he has
ofended.  This has been the case for the past
twelve years. The tyranny of the rulers, shown
by the laxity in the execution of justice, hi,gh
taxation, and low wages, combined with a threatened famine, has awakened the fears of the Coolie
classes, and made them doubly vigilant in their
sacrifices to the evil  spirits.   This  feeling  so
strongly excited in 1853, and agrain in 1859, has
been kept up and increased each year by the
exactions of the government, until the religious
condition of many at present is a state of terror.
The hardships and tyranny continuing for so long
a time, superstitious stories creep into circulation
to account for the calamity that seems to have
befallen the laboring classes. Some said the Emperor was an impostor, and rebelled; some said
that it was because they paid all their money into
the national treasury, and had none left with
which to pay proper respect to the gods, and,
refusing to pay their taxes, were sold into slavery.
Taxes grew heavier, wages less, slaves more frequent, the necessity for destroying their children
more urgent; and, as they must account for it in
some way, they began to believe that the whole
nation had incurred the hatred of the gods, and,
until certain wonderful signs were seen, there
39 
WHY.
would be no relief.  Those signs have not yet
been seen, and while they wait, many leave for
other countries, hoping that the ill-will of the
gods will not follow them, and feeling that they
can return when prosperity is restored, and bribe
their way out of the penalties of the law against
leaving the country.* Miany are the superstitious
tales that are told in this connection, beside which
our legends of blood in the sky before the Revolution, and armies in the clouds at the beg,inning, of
the great rebellion, are Liliputian indeed.  These
dark omens and strange visions portending future
evil to the masses have received great credence
among the inhabitants in the vicinity of Canton,
and I was told by European officials in Chinese
employ that  these  superstitions were actually
driving a part of the people away from their
homes.   Seized with  an unaccountable fear of
coming, evil they determine to leave the country
for a season, and subsequent chapters will show
to what land they go.
It is with great pleasure that I give place to
a letter written by a Chinese gentleman of educa
* In the agreement made with  the Chinese  government
through Prince Kung, in 1866, by the English, French,  and
American governments, it was stipulated that "no obstacles
shall be thrown in the way of Chinese emigration."   Bntt no
change has ever been made in the local laws concerning it, and
ilu all the districts it is considered as great a misdemeanor inowv
to leave China as it was before that treaty.
40
pl — 
A CHINAMAN'S IDEA.
tion and position who has been in Europe and the
eastern part of the United States, and whose
testimony upon this matter of Chinese superstition is beyond question.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, JanUary 27th.
DEAR SIR,- It is with some doubt that I take
my pen in hand to communicate with you.  Your
kind note of the 15th found me full of business
for my countrymen, and I must beg pardon for
this long delay. I hope you don't mean to publish what I write, as I am a poor scholar in European, and would be not pleased to have you do so.
If so, do not say I write it.  MIy opinion about
the relig,ioni which you call "superstition" is found
in this: I think the people are poor, and as they
have little chance to grow in education in China
they believe what is told them. I have always
believed in Confucius, and am still. The difficulty
which our King (we call him IVoong tye in China)
has with this part of our people, in his governing,
is because they cannot understand. They think
they have bad time in China, and some Nykoos (nuns) tells them that there will come a
famine soon time and they frighten at it and say,
'Ilow can we live?  We  have much family and
no rice, no fish.'  Then they hear that they can
come to this country and get pay. So they come.
They think sonme time business will be better and
41 
WHY.
the famine gone. Then they will go back. They
don't all so think, and some that have been here
in Sacramento for a long time don't seem to be
anything in belief, but there in China they get
strange ideas that makes them uneasy and want
to go away. How bad I should feel, and I think
your people would if the things do happen that
my people speak about. They expect to see in
China all slaves and no rice at all, which would
be sad. They tell me strange stories about their
seeing Buddah with a great sword from horizon
to horizon, and  that they find blood  in the
clothes when they wash, and that they see China
sometimes in the sky with a great smoke under
it.  All much fearful, and so they don't go back
when ready.  They ask the Shang-shang (g,od)
and he won't say yes or no, so they think he don't
want to tell. You must not think anything of it,
for they are poor and not knowing. They would
know better if they could. I cannot think many
of them here came because they not liked China.
They want'money and a place where they do not
frighten. They like here and so do I. But we
will all go home some time when the Shang-shang
(god) thinks we become happy.   My countrymn.are in much business and they learn much
too. They are not so foolish as those who first
come. I don't know what I can say about your
question [more]. They were not wise who told you
i
I
42 
A REMARKABLE LETTER.
that my countrymen like not China. All of us
will go back when we get little older. China
suffers at this time and we weep too.
Please write me and say if you love this
letter.*
* A.money broker and rice merchant.
I
43
u 
CHAPTEP III.
CHINESE CHARACTER.
Various Opinions. - Pride, Fear, and Cunning. - An interest ing Incident of a Coolie's Shrewdness.- Policy of the Gov ernment. -  The  Affections. -  Imitative  Powers. - What
China might be.- The Coolie's Desire to be buried in China,
and the Motives which create it.- Burial in the East Indian
Colonies.
ERHAPS I cannot do better than to devote
one chapter to the discussion of those characteristics which distinguish the Chinese from
other races. It is a subject, however, upon which
there may be a variety of opinions, owing to the
different circumstances in which they are seen.
But if I err in my judgment it will not be because
I wish to treat the subject unfairly, or that I entertain any prejudice either for or against them.  It
must be borne in mind that I speak only of the
Coolie or laboring classes, and of them as a body
simply, without reference to individual exceptions.
Before givilng my own impressions of this class,
however, let mne give the reader a few quoted and
I
fl 
0 
l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i ~~~~~~~~ I!II
lI  II I
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I  Il
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~           -
I I: I I II~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,
;III:(I'II~~~~ -   _  1111 
I                 (III  III  I~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~I  II II II                                            ~;{II\iI;j;IjI —
i 
THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS.
able opinions upon the race in general.  The Rev.
John L. Nevius, in his book upon China, says: *  "The Chinese as a race are, as compared with
European nations, of a phlegmatic and impassive temperament, and physically less active and
energetic. Children are not fond of athletic and
vigorous sports, but prefer marbles, kite-flying,
and some quiet games of ball, spinning tops, etc.
Men take an easy stroll for recreation, but never
a rapid walk for exercise, and are seldom in a
hurry or excited. They are also characteristically
timid and docile. The oft-made assertion is probably true, that an army of ten or twenty thousand
Europeans could march without serious opposition
from one end of the Empire to the other. This
remarkable disparity is, however, due principally
to our knowledge of modern military science, and
our possession of better warlike implements.
Chinese well drilled, with confidence in their
leaders and in each other, and equipped with
modern fire-arms, would form an army which it
would not be prudent to oppose with  a force
very inferior in numbers; though I have no doubt
that with the same training and advantages they
would still be found inferior to Europeans as
soldiers.,
"But while the Chinese are deficient in active
courage and daring, they are not in passive re
* "China and the Chinese," p. 278.
45 
WHY.
sistance. They are comparatively apathetic as
regards pain and death, and have great powers of
physical endurance as well as great persistency
and obstinacy. On an average a Chinese tailor
will work on his bench, or a literary man over
books or with his pen, more hours a day than our
race can.
"Physical development and strength and lon gevity vary in different parts of the empire. In
and about Canton, from which we have derived
the most of our impressions of China, as well as
in most parts of the South, the people are small in
stature, but in the Province of Shautung, in the
North, men varying in height from five feet eight
inches to six feet are very common, while some of
them are considerably taller, indeed, almost giants
in stature. In this part of China I have known
laborers over seventy years of age working daily
at their trade, and it is not unusual to hear of
persons who have reached the age of ninety or
more.   Other  local  peculiarities, physical  and
mental, need not be specially dwelt upon.
"The intellectuality of the Chinese is made evident by so many obvious and weighty facts that it
seems strange that persons of ordinary intelligence
and information should ever have questioned it.
On this point it is better to state facts than individual opinions. We have before us a system
of government and code of laws which will bear
i
46 
INTELLIGENCE OF THE HIGHER CLASSES.   47
favorable comparison with those of Europeon nations, and have elicited a generous tribute of admiration and praise from our most competent and
reliable writers. The practical wisdom and foresight of those who constructed this system are
evinced by the fact that it has stood the test of
time; enduring longer than any other which man
has devised during the world's history; that it has
bound together under one common rule a population to which the world affords no parallel, and
given a degree of prosperity and of wealth which
may challenge our wonder. Notwithstanding the
rebellious and political agitations which have
marked the history of this people, such has been
their character and the vital and recuperative
energy of the ideas into which they have been
educated, that these disasters have been but
temporary impediments in the continuous growth
and development of the Empire. It is intelligent
thought which has given China such a prominence
in the East, and also in the eyes of Christendom.
She may well point with pride to her authentic
history, reachling back through more than thirty
centuries; to her extensive literature, containing
many works of sterling and permanent value; to
her thoroughly elaborated language, possessed of a
remarkable power of expression; to her list of
scholars and her proficiency in belles-lettres. If
these do not constitute evidences of intellectuality, 
WHY.
it would be difficult to say where such evidence is
to be found or on what basis we ourselves will
rest our claim to intellectual superiority."
After severely lecturing the Europeans in China,
and the Americans in particular, he speaks of the
morality of the Chinese in this wise: "I have met
with some of the most beautiful instances of affection, attachment, and gratitude in Chiina which I
have ever known. It has been my privilege to
form the acquaintance of not a few Chinese whom
I regard with more than ordinary affection and respect on account of the natural amiability of their
dispositions, their sterling integrity and thorough
Christian principle and devotion." *
The Rev. Justus Doolittle t says that "the Chinese at Foochau are shorter than the generality of
foreigners, mild in character, and timid in appearance. They are not as turbulent, bloodthirsty, and
daring as are the Chinese of some of the more
southern sections of the Empire.+'They indulge
oftentimes in angry scolding and violent quarrelliing in the streets, but seldom  come  to earnest
blows. They are proud, self-relying, and look with
disdain on foreigners."
* It will be observed that the writer refers to the Chinese in
geeral, which includes the higher and refined classes, from
whom he would naturally take his impressions.
q "Social Life of the Chinese."
++ Referring to Kwangtung and Fukieu, no doubt, from whence
came nearly all the immigrants in California.
48 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COOLIE CLASS.  49
Whatever difference of opinion may be entertained about their intellectual ability, or with
regard to individual integrity, there -can be
but little controversy over the statement that
Pride, Fear, and Cunning are the most prominent
features of the Coolie's character.   They pride
themselves on their ancestry, no matter whether
they were boatmen, mule-drivers, or beggars by the
roadside; and any reflection upon the high standing of these relatives would make a secret enemy
of the son at once. They pride themselves upon
their family with all the relations, and the quickest way to stop a domestic quarrel is to say something derogatory to one or the other of the contestants. They will then embrace and at once turn
their united forces upon the reviler. They pride
themselves upon their features, and any race that
differs from them is ugly and unattractive. They
pride themselves on their dress, and even the best
educated glory in a new gown or a new pair of
shoes with all the simplicity of a child. They are
proud of their nation, and while it abuses and
oppresses them they never speak ill of it. They
strut about with a haughty air when they have
overreached a foreigner, or have beaten him in
some competitive game, and arrogate to themselves
great importance upon the least occasion. Fortunately the early philosophers who gave to China
a standard of morality, and whose intellectual 
50 
ability and goodness of heart were wonderful for
that age, placed the standard high enough to make
it worth competing for; so that he who reaches it
in'practite may well pride himself upon his position.
The standard having been set and recognized by
'the natural teachings of the heart, this proud race
pride themselves on every act that tends toward
its. morality. Thousands, ay all, practice morality out of regard to the speech of men. It is a
feat to be moral in every respect, and to this idea
is due much of their integrity in business and in
keeping their plighted word.  If the Coolie in
China makes a promise to a neighbor he will try
to keep it " though the heavens fall." Should he
borrow money and verbally agree to pay it at a
certain date, he will sell everything he has, even to
his wife and children, to pay it.  If he finds that
he cannot pay, he will go and deliver himself up
to the creditor to be sold as a slave, that the debt
may be cancelled and no one have it to say that he
did not keep his word. If he hires out as a servant he prides himself on doing his work as well
as he has agreed to do, and a word of commendation for his honesty or integrity will make him
true in the future, if he has not been in the past.
Make him proud to serve you, and no truer servant ever entered a household. Of course there
are exceptions, and perhaps many of them, in European towns where "deeds of honor" are not
WHY.
a -- 
PRIDE AND FEAR.
looked  upon with such favor, but I speak of
them collectively as the  appear in China.  This
pride prevents any change in their habits of life.
They would be ashamed to undertake the introduction of a new custom and incur the ridicule of
so doing. The old customs are the best, and he
that can go through the old ceremony with the
most grace has the greatest reason to pride himself on his fashionable accomplishments.  When
their circumstances are such that they take little
pride in the practice of virtue, fear will serve to'
accomplish the same end. They are very timid,
and seldom get sufficiently angry to overcome the
fear of consequences. Fear, as has been stated
enters largely into their religion, and they sacrifice
often to the devil-gods and perform many arduous
ceremonies to insure that deity's good-will, while
they almost wholly neglect the benevolent and
propitious gods to whom they are indebted for all
their blessings. Their superstitions consist in a
great part of omens of evil that work upon the
fears. They dare not stir in defence of their rights
under their own laws, and suffer almost incredible
tortures rather than offend an officer of justice.
They are afraid of every person occupying a higher
station than themselves, and to all outward appearance would endure much privation rather than
transgress his slightest will. With all their disrespect for foreigners, they are afraid of them,
51 
WHY.
and the presence of a European bearing an official
character seems to strike them with something
like awe. I attribute their good order and laudable
desire to learn to read as much to their perpetual
fear of the Emperor's spies, whom they imagine to
be all about them and reporting both their good
and evil deeds directly to him, as to their personal
pride.
They are also a deceitful and cunning people;
and whenever they can transgress a custom or a
statute without exposure to ridicule or the penal ties of law, I think they would not hesitate to do
it, provided they were to gain anything by so
doing.  They dare not take much risk, and they
are cunning enough to know and weigh the
chances. If they contemplate any unlawful deed,
they will turn the subject over and over in their
minds and look at it from all possible situations,
before they make any move.  A  servant._.   a
friend of mine employed in Hongkong, determined to steal his employer's penknife, which
he saw one day lying on the writing-desk. Instead of taking it at once, he hid it under a bundle
o6f movable paper, where it remained for two or
three days.  He then pretended to find it, and
smilingly restored it to his thankful employer
without waiting for any inquiry to be made about
it; another time the servant took the knife from
his employer's pocket while he slept, and although
52 
CUNNING AND DECEIT.
the owner was sure he had the knife in his pocket
when he went to bed, yet he made up his mind
that he did not, when he saw it lying open on his
writing-desk the next morning. This was done to.
make him lose confidence in his own memory,
and the first act to give him confidence in the integrity of his servant. Soon after the knife disappeared altogether, and, never doubting the honesty of his long-tried servant, the loser made up
his mind that he had mislaid it as "he had done
once before." The knife coming into my hands
through a pawnbroker, it was recognized by my
friend, and its transfer was traced back through
several parties to the servant, and the whole story
confessed.
The- policy of the government in its intercourse
with foreign nations shows this same spirit of
pride, fear, and cunning. Had it been bold and less
proud, depending on the justice of its proposals
.Bather than on the secret policy which they cov ered, China, and I may say the whole world, would 
.4have been much benefited by our diplomatic in tercourse.
Not denying but that the Coolies have love, 
hate, patriotism, and all the other various passions
,wvhich characterize the human race, yet the three
peculiarities mentioned overrule and partially hide
the others. There are instances in which they
have shown the deepest affection for friends and
I
I
53 
WHY.
where they have been disinterestedly generous.
There are cases of bravery on record of which any
nation might be proud. But after a candid and
careful consideration I am obliged to consider
these cases as exceptions. They treat their women
as slaves, and have no regard for female virtue.
They show little or no real love for their children,
and act very much as I have seen some husbands
in huts equally dirty in the suburbs of European
cities. It may be that tyranny and privation have
made them brutish, and that in a healthier political atmosphere their expiring affections will again
burn bright. I hope so.
Their regard for their old mothers and fathers
has often been cited as an instance of remarkable
affection among these laborers, and it does at
first sight seem to be a commendable virtue. But
when we consider it as a part of their religious
duty which is enforced with threats of vengeance
from the gods, and understand how this superstitious fear is the only thing that can overcome
their pride and cunning, or make them rebel, we
can see a powerful motive for this show of respect, which takes away one half of its romantic
interest. For the honor, pride, and satisfaction of
having this respect paid her when she gets old, the
mother who would otherwise drown or strangle
her infant will tend upon it and rear it to womanhood. This strange lack of the finer feelings of
54 
DEGRADATION OF THE LOWER CLASSES.   55
humanity may seem unaccountable to the reader
who has known only the ways and thoughts of
civilized men, and somewhat startling perhaps to
the observer of the Chinese under their improved
conditions in California. For only in his own
land can the heathen be seen in his natural state.
Living an aimless life, possessing nothing but a
family, knowing little or no intellectual enjoyment, and like a beast of burden dragging, dragging,
dragging out the long dull days thinking only of
eating, sleeping, and clothing himself and family.
He has nothing to call out his higher instincts,
and it is not his fault if he is beastly in his ways
and appearance. It must be borne in mind that I
am writing of the classes who emigrate, and not
,f the middle, educated, or higher classes.  The
C-olie is but a broken, unseemly reflection of the
hijghr classes.  If they respect America, he will
never Show disrespect.  If they believe in tradi
tions, and'41 him of it, he will, in his rude way,
believe in them oo.  A kind of lower strata which
can only be raised vv taking it out from under the
oppressive layers that we-g?, it down. Who shall
do it?  That is a question for statesmen.
The Chinese seem to be wonderfully endowed
by nature, and I think owe their disposition and
present condition more to peculiar circumstances
than to any natural deficiency. In all departments
of labor they are able, after a very short tutor 
WHY.
age, to work at the side of any European. Their
patience and caution is as wonderful as their
ready wit.  Lacking an inventive mind,- owing
perhaps to the fact that there has been nothing in
China to encourage invention, - they are able to
copy or imitate anything which they have ever
seen performed. The stories about their making a
new coat and burning a hole in it because there
was one in the sample, and of breaking off a shoe nail in just the same place on the sole where they
saw their employer break one accidentally, as well
as their setting up of books and papers without
being able to read a word of print, are too old to
be repeated here, but show the whole tendency of
the Chinese mind. They print Bibles, make steamengines, or cook a meal with the same readiness,
provided they have seen it done. They must have
been inventive once, or whence came the knowledge of the compass, of gunpowder, of weaving,
and of water-clocks?  It would seem that just as
the nation was making most gigantic strides towards civilization it became-paralyzed; and for
the last two thoug — years it has been doing
not-h i-but living over the past; while within the
last twelve or fifteen years it has made a perceptible step downwards.
t 
"Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."
I cannot avoid picturing to myself what China
56 
BURIAL IN CHINA.
might be, with a liberal and civilized imperial
government. How with its rich unworked mines
of gold, iron, and copper, - its fertile valleys and
broad arable plains all improved,- its great waterfalls turned into manufacturing uses, - with a
people so shrewd and skilful to work them,- and
with a government strong enough to hold them
together while they learned to govern themselves,
it might be the greatest nation of the earth in
everything that makes wealth, power, or happiness.
But this will never be until the blinding religion
of Boodah and the rationalistic theories of Confucius are replaced by the cheering and enlightening, religion of Jesus Christ.
It has been supposed by many that they were
the most patriotic people on the face of the whole
earth. This idea has doubtless arisen from the
exhibitions of national pride to be found among
the higher classes, and the universal desire of emigrants to be carried back when they die and be
buried in their native soil. The latter fact, however, is owing much more to their superstition
than to their love for the land or its institutions.
They have an idea,- the Coolies more especially,
- that somehow the spirit lingers near the body
or flits back and forth between the grave and the
lettered tablet set up to be worshipped in the
kitchen of his relations. They also believe that
certain localities are'lucky and certain others un
57 
WHY.
lucky, and that a well-made grave with plenty of
burning joss-sticks will often ward off the evils
of an unlucky locality. If the body of a deceased
parent or relative is buried in a very fortunate
locality - one that is blessed by the presence of
an imaginary spirit of luck, called Fqtng Shwaythey believe that this propitious circumstance will
build up the fortunes of his family by making it
learned, wealthy, and numerous.   Great care is
taken in China in the selection of cemeteries, and
no burial will be made on a spot until some peculiar circumstance has indicated that Fung Shwuy
has a good opinion of it. As the Chinaman feels
that after death he will be dependent upon his
living relatives for "mock  money" to make  his
purchases while in purgatory, and that he will need
their intercession to secure his choice of bodies as
his next spiritual abode, he is careful to select a
burial-place which will give his descendants or
relatives good fortune, - malting the performance
of a filial duty serve a selfish purpose. In foreign
lands he has no choice of burial-places, and does
not feel sure but that, even should he select one
and be buried in a lucky locality, his body may
be removed by some heartless foreigner before his
spirit is clear of purgatory and consequent ruin be
brought upon his family and himself. The idea
that the whole family are participators in whatever good or ill luck the Gods vouchsafe to any
I
II
58
6 —
P, — 
SELFISHNESS AND SUPERSTITION.
one of them seems to keep families together, ani
to make them much more careful of each other
than would be the case did these relations depend
upon their dulled natural affections.
This selfish interest which each family has in its
members is the cause of their clannishness, which
in case of clan-quarrels results in such horrible
feuds and blood-chilling deeds. Bound for his own
safety to protect his relatives, and having more
fear of the Hereafter than of present suffering or
death, the Coolie, often through superstitious fear,
does deeds of valor that, in a land less fanatical
would pass current as the bravest acts ever
prompted by affection.  So that, while his strong
desire to be buried at home with his kindred and
ofi his native soil strikes us at first as being
prompted by love and patriotism, yet his action is
much more the result of his cowardly heathen
fears. Far be it from me to belittle their virtues
or to explain away any evidence which would in
truth establish their title to generosity or moral
worth. The public demand candid, unprejudiced
opinions, and such has careful afterthought established these to be. Those who have studied the
deadening influences of heathen religion on the
descendants of families once civilized, and have
marked heow tyranny kills the life of the affections,
and makes brutes of men naturally kind and generous, will pity the Chinaman rather than blame
59 
WHY.
im for his lack of refinement.   A good evidence
of the existence of other motives than that of
patriotism is found in the fact that it is seldom
the  Chinese in the  colonies  of Singapore  or
Penang send home the bodies of the dead. They
have secured from the English authorities a pernmanent title to a" lucky" locality, and, although they
claim to be Chinamen still, and are surrounded by
foreigners, yet deem it no hardship to be interred
there. The proximity of their family and the
propitious circumstances for which their strange
faith calls, is all they want, and the idea that they
think there is any special virtue in the soil or atmosphere of China is at once exploded. Surely
they are a strange people, exhibiting a remarkable degree of natural talent; which, however, is
so stunted, marred, and misdirected by custom and
religion, that, like the vine which climbs the barren and shady side of a rocky cliff, it twists into
the queerest shapes, - beats back and forth between wind and rock, battering its leaves and
destroying its fruit, - a gnarled, unseemly scrag.
60 
CHAPTER IV.
THIRST FOR GOLD.
Poverty of the Coolie.- Official Extortion.- The Effect upon
the Laborer's Character. - Lack of Avariciousness.- Behav ior in California.- Eating Rats and Dogs. - Selling Fe males and destroying Infants.
N  entire chapter has been reserved for the
discussion of the avaricious element in the
Chinese character, because of the almost universal
opinion that a natural "thirst for gold" has been
the only influence animating the hearts of voluntary imminigrants from China.   It is so natural to
suppose that others are moved by the same desires
and passions which animate us!  When we see
men treating their parents with respect and acting
kindly toward their brothers, sisters, and children,
it is almost a shock to be told that it is not done
as "a spontaneous outpouring of a loving heart."
We look from our lofty civilization down upon a
heathen race, supposing that they feel as we do;
not realizing that circumstances have cast them in 
WILY.
a different mould, nor that their springs of action
are founded on far different motives. So, we sup  pose, because we left our homes and all the luxu  ries of life, to endure hardships unnumbered, and
encounter dangers most horrid, with the hope of
enriching ourselves in the new gold-mines of
California, that the Chinese, who have no luxuries
to leave, must have come there for the same pur pose. The fact of their being found there, work ing diligently in the mines, is prima facie evidence
that gold-hunting was the sole object for which
they came; but it is by no means conclusive evi dence.
The experiences of the laborers in China would
seem to make the love of money (they have no
gold) much stronger in their breasts than in those
of other nationalities. Certainly there is no coun try, not excepting Syria, where the lower classes
suffer so much on its account. Reference has already been made to the governmental extortions
and to the universal system of bribery. Let me
enumerate further. The Coolie laborer in China
receives in the agricultural districts eight or ten
dollars a year, with his own board. Out of this
eight or ten dollars he must provide for his family
and clothe himself. If his family is large it will
cost six dollars to clothe them, and more than the
balance to board them. Only think of it! in a
family of six there would be but a dollar's worth
62
pl 
TAXES AND WAGES.
of clothing for each during the year, and about
sixty cents' worth of food. But wait! They do
not get so much as that.  His "per capita" tax is
eighty cents, and his tablets, &c. for regular worship will be a dollar, and his rent will be two dollars. This amounts to three dollars and eighity
cents. Then, if he gets ten dollars a year, and
avoids all extra calls upon his purse, he will have
only six dollars and twenty cents left for the support of his family and clothing himself during a
whole year. Now, if he injure or break an implement he will be charged for that; and it would be
strange if in the course of a year he escaped without a single accident! His relatives may die and
he be assessed for a share, if not for the whole, of
the funeral expenses. In cases of rebellion, - and
they happen nearly every year, - an extra tax is col     -
lected to defray the governmental expenses; while
he may, in case of drought, be thrown out of
work entirely. Carpenters and masons get about
twenty-two cents a day, boarding themselves, but
their taxes are sufficient to bring their income
down to an equality with the farm hands. Clerks
get twelve or fifteen dollar3 a year and their board.
It must be said, in justice to the employers, that
the Coolie usually gets his wages- such as they
are - promptly.   Sometimes  the  women  assist
somewhat in the support of the family, but unless
they are sufficiently robust to endure field labor,
63 
WHY.
their income will not be more than four or five
dollars a year, they boarding themselves. Now, in
order to live upon their wages and pay their taxes
and assessments, they are obliged to adopt a thou sand expedients for making palatable what would
otherwise be offensive, and to live on the very
coarsest food. In some districts they pay out two
thirds of their wages in taxes, in which case they
must find, beg, or steal their food for the whole
year. Now it would seem that these circumstan ces, if there was nothing more, would be sufficient
to give them an uncontrollable greed for money.
But the best part only of the story has now been
told. They seldom in these latter years escape
assessment to the full amount of their wages; if
not in one shape, it comes in another. They are
constantly getting in debt.  They are arrested for
fictitious misdemeanors and fined by the avaricious mandarin, and on stating their inability to
pay him, are given a  "week to make return," which
means go and steal it or be whipped and put in
the stocks. They are incited to quarrel by the
members of other families, for the purpose of furnishing an excuse to "capture" them and sell them
to Portuguese traders. They are bled by false
doctors, who want to sell the blood to alchemists.
Their teeth are pulled to make salable trinkets.
They are often punished, together with their whole
village, for the act of some man who has escaped.
II
64 
GREED OF MONEY.
They are accused of many crimes which their
superiors have committed and laid to their charge.
Often do they die of fatigue in the hot rice-fields,
live a lingering death, afflicted with loathsome
disease, or drown themselves in the creeks and
rivers, for the want of a few cash with which to
buy the necessaries of life.  "Money! money!" cry
the half-starved children.  "Money!" pleads his
wretched wife.  "Money!" call the spirits of discontented and poverty-stricken ancestors at the
bars of Hades.  "Money!" calls the village elder.
"Money!" demandsthelessee of his hovel. "Money!"
thunders the Emperor. "Money!" shouts the mandarian in the halls of injustice. If the Coolie work
day and night, the cash is called for many times before it is earned. He suffers all kinds of injustice
himself, and knows that his is the general condition of his class: lying, stealing, cheating, robbing, extorting, maimning, murdering, are going on
all the while within the circle of his limited acquaintance,- all for money.   He sees the elder,
the mandarin, the governor, and even the Emperor,
pardoning the perpetrators of these crimes, -all
for money. He hears the thunder of English guns,
sees cities burning and men and women torn,
bleeding,. and dying, that opium may be introduced, which will steal away what little humanity
there is left. What is it all for? Money. These
things, taken together with his belief that with
65
6 —
pl 
WHY.
money he could secure eternal bliss, not only for
himself but for all his family, ancestry and posterity, would in a European breast awaken such a
thirst for money that neither friend nor foe, hardship nor death would stand in the way of its pos
session.
Dr. Williams well understood the state of so ciety with relation to this matter as early as 1849,
when he wrote his excellent work.  It has grown
worse since. Hle said then that "one natural
consequence of such a state of society, and such a
perversion of justice, is to render the people afraid
of all contact with the officers of government and
exceedingly selfish in all their intercourse, though
the latter trait needs no particular training to develop it in any heathen country. It also tends to
an inhuman disregard of the life of others  and
chills every emotion of kindness which might
otherwise arise."
Let us turn from the result which might be if
the Chinese were like Europeans, to the result
which is. For, instead of creating such a "thirst for
gold" among the Coolies as we would most naturally expect, it seems to have lessened its value. In
the districts about Canton they seem to have lost
all care for anything more than mere existence.
This disregard for money would be interpreted to
be the result of so much hardship and so little encouragemenlt did it not slhow itself, though in a
. 66
W" 
WAGES AND STRIKES.
modified form -in the open ports. At present
there is a very large number of Chinese in Hongkong, where they are governed by the English
authorities, and nearly all employed by European
merchants.  There they have a right to their own
time and to make their own bargains.  Il some
departments there is a great demand for skilled
labor and but a small supply. Yet such laborers
work for nearly the same pay as those whose departmenlts are crowded. They might "strike,"as they sometimes do in the interior, and often
with bloody results, - but they show little disposition to do it in Hongkong. They get fair wages
and are satisfied. Not but that they would take
more if it came in their way, but their avariciousness does not make them uneasy with what they
receive. The usual result of raising a person's pay
in Europe is an expectation on his part that the
employer will repeat the action in a few days.
There have been "strikes" even among the welleducated workmen of America, resulting directly
from an advance made in their wages. They believe, and in some localities consistently enough,
that thle first advance is an example worthy of
frequent imitation. But the Chinaman works on
year afteryear for the same wages, perfectly contented unless some one offers him more. He lays
by what he can spare of his wages, and, be it little or more, is generally contented. Persons who
67 
WHY.
have had Chinamen in their employ at San Francisco tell me that two servants have worked for
months side by side, one getting sixteen dollars
and another twenty-five, showing no ill-feeling,and doing the same work. This was because the
employer did not wish for two servants, and would
not give the second one more wages to keep him.
Meantime no effort was made on the part of the
poorly paid servant to find another and more lucrative position. It is a noted fact that the Chinamen in the mines were perfectly content  to
work on poorly paying lodes close alongside of
the richest veins in the district. They worked the
mine, too, as long as they foun4 anything valuable,
and were not, like their civilized companions,
jumping about from claim to claim ill hope of
doing better.  In case they found a rich vein of
gold, and, as was rarely the case, were permitted
to remain on it, they were exceedingly pleased at
their good fortune; but it did not make them as
uneasy and important as the same luck did the
Americans. It was not often that they worked a
rich mine if they found it; for they were too much
afraid of the white miners to be seen where gold
was plenty, and cunning enough to perceive that
te too great accumulation of dust would result in
the loss of the whole by theft or robbery.  Yet
these things did not disturb their temper or industry; and they worked on, every day laying up
68 
0  
EATING RATS AND CATS.
something and in some cases getting to be very
wealthy.  This same spirit has characterized their
action wherever they have been employed. They
do not expect the same wages which an American
gets for the same work. They find no fault if it
is much less, provided the employer keeps his
contract. This is the general rule at present, to
wlich, of course, there are exceptions.
Connected with this subject is the statement
that the Chinamen live upon rats, dogs, vermin,
&c., in order to hoard up the money which decency
would oblige them  to spend  for proper  food.
While it is true that he is in the habit of saving, every particle of food which he does not need,
and seldom expends his money in confections or
pastry, it is also true that the Coolie provides
himself and family with wholesome food whenever he has the means to do so. To this there
may also be exceptions, but they are few indeed.
They take pride in living respectably, both in
reg,ard to food and clothing, and I have yet to
hear of an instance where the Coolie's pride, unchecked by fear, did not overcome any miserly
sentiments he had acquired.   The laborers in
California may' deprive themselves of the necessities of life in order to send money home to pay
their debts or provide for their families, as they
would more naturally take pride in so doing than
in having a costly table among the "barbarians."
69
pl 
WHY.
I have no doubt but that the poor, oppressed
Coolie in China often eats rats and dogs, and even
more disgusting food, for the very good reason that
hle would starve if he did not, although no such
food has ever been brought to my notice.   I have
tasted of some doubtful dishes at the table of
Chinese gentlemen, both in California and China,
and suppose the laborer to be even less refined in
his tastes. His condition would naturally make
him so. But it is evident that rats, cats, dogs,
&c. are never eaten from choice. In the colonies
and seaports, where the Coolie escapes the extortions of interior officers, and gets average wages,
such a thing is never known. Yet dogs are so
plenty as to be a nuisance, and as for the cats,
there would be a thousand thankful hearts if the
Chinamen would dispose of them and their horrid
night yawling, by eating or otherwise. Rats also
revel in luxury and security around the wharves,
warehouses, and dwellings in seaports, and I have
seen a parcel of Coolies having the liveliest sport
in trying to catch one which they had surrounded
in the middle of the street. But when they had
killed it they threw it off the dock into the sea
and went about their business as a crowd of Europeans would do under the same circumstances. I
have seen floating in the harbors the bodies of
cats and dogs which had been drowned by the
boatmen,- the lowest class of Chinese, - for
70
pl 
PURtITY OF CHINESE LITERATURE
the purpose of getting rid of them; owing to' the
animal's old age or the accidental fracture of a
limb.  If their love for money  was sufficiently
strong to cause them to eat such animals in the
interior, where to possess money is to be a mark
for every official extortion, they certainly would
practise it where this kind of food was plenty, and
themselves safe from robbery.
Two things at least in the Chinese customs I
have found worthy of praise. First, their neat
preparation of food; and second, the exemption
of their literature from every obscene word or reference. It has been shown, by the introduction of
paintings and vile pamphlets by unscrupulous sailors, that the sale of such works might be a profitabI)le business; yet no Chinaman would be seen engaged in it. His scruples, however, seldom extend
into practical life, showing that his pride in sustain ing a moral standard, although he does not pretend
to live up to it, is greater than this " thirst for gold."
The sale of girls for doubtful purposes, and the
killing of female infants, has been cited as an
evidence of their lust for wealth.  To which I
can only reply, in law phrase, necessitate non leges
(necessity knows no law); and adding simply my
opinion that  the cases  where  either is done,
without abject poverty for their excuse, are less
frequent amongc them than they are in civilized
communities, I pass to a more interesting, if not
more important, topic.
71 
CHAPTER V.
EARLY EMIGRATION.
Settlement of Borneo. -  The Colonization of Singapore. -  How
the Coolies obtained Wives. -The  Effect of Chinese La bor. -  Filthy Homes. - The City of Penang. - A Descrip tion of the Market Street.
HE Chinese are very far from being a migra      tory people. Their natural love for home and
country is stronger than that of any other race on
earth, and when they turn their backs upon their
native land, it is for a more powerful motive than
would be necessary to influence a European in
taking the same step. They have, nevertheless,
emigrated in small numbers from time to time, and
have established several flourishing colonies.
As early as the Chow dynasty (1100 B. C.) a body
of Chinese are said to have settled in Borneo, and
when that island was discovered by the Portuguese
(1526 A. D.) they were practically, though not
nominally, the rulers and law-makers. There is
no evidence of their making any great improvements, or of their undertaking such enterprises as
eV 
THE COLONY IN BORNEO.
distinguished their countrymen at home.  Their
natural shrewdness being far superior to that of
the Bujis and Malayans, they were able without
war to keep such a control of the island as to turn
its valuable productions into commercial account.
Pearls, diamonds, iron, copper, and tin, as well as
the fruits for which the island is at present noted,
were imported into China from these colonies as
early as 800 B. C. This Chinese colony consisted
of men who brought their families and permanently settled; practising there all the customs and
ceremonies which they had known in China.
What was the cause for their expatriation can
only be conjectured. Some say, "hope of gain
in a commercial view"; others that they were pirates, who made the island a rendezvous; while
the most consistent view which I have heard is
taken by Father Bado, a Catholic missionary, who
states that they were guilty parties who, with their
families, were banished for life. At present they
have a much less pleasing figure in the eyes of the
traveller than the Cantonese, and in some parts of
the island have so far amalgamated with the native races that no person of pure Chinese blood is
seen among them. Several other islands off the
coast of China, including Formosa and Celebes,
have been visited from time to time by Chinese
colonists; but they were either exterminated by the
natives, returned to China, or, as has happened,
f
I
73 
VHIY.
amalgamated with those barbarous, bloodthirsty
pirates, whose deeds have been a terror to the navi gators of Chinese waters for the last five hundred
years.  No colonies, however, whose history has
any direct bearing upon the question now agitatir.g this country were established until 1824 or
1825.* Then a large number of Chinese were
induced by the English merchants of Singapore
(Malacca) to make that island their temporary
home, and engage in the manufacture of rope mats,
&c., for the China market.  Their industry and
skill obtained for them permanent employment,
and as the town grew in importance the number
of Chinamen was augmented. Finally, a part of
the city site was given them for building,-spots.
When the number had increased to several
thousand, a ship-load of prostitutes was brought
down from Macaow as a matter of speculation.
These were followed by others, until "Chinese
town" was filled with them. The attention of the
English authorities being called to the subject, and
the Chinese fearing the removal of their mistresses,
took them in marriage according to the custom
of China.  The laws of their own country forbids
marriages that have not been arranged by the parents, but do not make invalid such a marriage
after it is made.  So these Chinamen, although
some of them doubtless had one or more wives in
* Mongolia and Manchuria are not properly Chinese colonies.
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74
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WIVES OF COLONISTS.              75
hina, were nevertheless legal husbands, and their
wives exclusively their own. As for the character
of the woman it has no weight with a Chinaman
of the laboring class, as virtue in woman seems to
be of no consequence to him. From these mllarriages sprung up a generation of children  who
have since intermarried among themselves, and
who know no other hlome.
It was stated to me by priests who had resided
there for twenty-five years, that not a single legal
wife from China had ever been brought to Singapore. If so, the law against the emigration of
wives must be more strictly enforced than is that
against the departure of men.  A wife being considered a piece of property, to be used for profit
or pleasure, and even sold at the will of the husband, he would most assuredly attempt to obtain
her, if by so doing he did not incur too great a
risk. However that may be, there are plenty of
women now in the colony, and, judging by the
number of dirty children seen running about, one
would suppose the prospects of growth to be ex cellent indeed. They already number over thirty
thousand, and by their labor the Europeans have
built one of the finest cities in the East. They
cut the timber, make the brick, and build the
houses. They lay out and pave the streets and
quays. They man ships, transfer cargoes, and cul tivate twenty-five thousand acres of adjacent land. 
WHY.
They sell many thousand dollars' worth of pepper,
cocoanuts, pine-apples, nutmegs, mace, cloves, gin ger, fruit, and sugar.  They charm the poisonous
serpents, kill the tigers, porcupines, and wild-cats.
Act as street inspectors, clerks, bookkeepers, shoe makers, tailors, barbers, merchIants, compradors,
money-changers, hackmen, footmen, cooks, house servants; and one, whom I saw before a lazy set
of native Malayans, was preaching the Gospel of
Christ. The Malayans do considerable work and
a great deal of stealing and cheatilng, so that the
advantage of their labor is counterbalanced by the
disadvantage of their duplicity; while the Clhi nese, more perhaps on account of their hereditary
respect for authority and fear of the law than
their love for truth or honesty, are faithful in the
fulfilment of contracts and careful of their employers' interests. This view of their character
gives to the Chinese colonist an attractive air,
which his countrymen at home possess only in a
much smaller degree.
There is another characteristic which makes a
far different impression. They take good care of
their own persons, but their houses, children, cats,
and dog,s are filthy in the extreme. The stench
about their dwellings is almost unendurable to
a European, and the cesspools and slimy ditches
in their backyards would breed the cholera in the
most salubrious climate in the world.   While the
76
i
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A
I 
TIlE COLONY OF PENANG.
Chinaman is cleansing the house of his employer
and removing every particle of dirt with scrupu  lous care, his family at home are living in the
most slovenly quarters, where vermin of a hundred
species revel in luxurious nastiness. How they
can go from neat stores or fine drawing-rooms
where they are employed, to eat and sleep in those
foul quarters, is a mystery which I have yet to
hear explained.  Notwithstanding their neglect of
tidiness at home, they are a valuable, and in that
locality an indispensable, part of the population.
Europeans could not do the labor in that hot cli  mate, and the logy Malayans would not.
The colony at Penang, on the Prince of Wales
Island (Malacca), originated some years later, but
in about the same way as did that at Singapore, and
was made permanent by nearly the same means.
It numbers about sixteen thousand, and occupies
a town separate and apart from the English settle   ment. Here they are allowed to conduct their
own affairs without fear of interference from the
European authorities, unless they should see fit to
organize a raid or a rebellion, in which case the
English troops would be called out. They have
their own officers, settle their own difficulties, and
maak their own contracts.
A visit to their village was one of the most in    teresting episodes in my recent "trip around the
world." It is situated about a mile from the Port,
I
77 
W IHY.
and the main road leading to the celebrated Pe nang waterfalls forms the principal street. Thle
houses were built of brick and wood, with dark
red tiles for roofing, such as are found everywhere
in China, and in some European cities. They
were a story and a half high, and all built to gether, so that the gable-end of one house an swered the purpose of two, and was also the par tition between the apartments of different owners.
The first story of each having the front room en tirely open to the street, gave to the town the
appearance of long rows of sheds.
Over and about them, almost hiding the roofs,
and arching the street, hung the luxuriant foliage
of a tropical forest, like a loosely braided mat of
green from which stared huge bunches of green
cocoanuts and long clusters of yellow bananas.
Mangoes and mangosteens lay partially hid under
the great leaves of the palm, while the perfume of
orange-blossoms and cinnamnon-buds sweetened the
air until each inhalation seemed to be a draught
fit for the gods.  Flowers! 0, such colors! They
hung on the roofs, peeped out of cracks, sprang
up about the door-way, filled the pots which the
merchant placed on his show-case or platform,
and shone in the sunlight among the leaves and
vie-covered branches of the nutmeg-tree.  Nearly
every front room was used as a shop, for the exposure and sale of merchandise. The bunches of
78
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DESCRIPTION OF PENANG.
bananas and grapes, cocoanuts and figs, apples
and cherries of the fruit-dealer hung in artistically
arranged rows over his head, while melons, berries,
peaches, dates, and a dozen strange varieties of
tropical fruit lay in the show-boxes, on the platforms around him.  The dealer in vegetables in
the next stall was barricaded with cucumbers,
yams, sweet-potatoes, pumpkins, onions, garlic,
short pieces of sugar-cane, ginseng, gourds, tomatoes, and plantains, - piled up before him in tiny
heaps, and hung in bamboo-tied bunches all about
his head. Next comes a dealer in wild animals,
which he keeps in unpleasant proximity to the
street, and behind  treacherous-looking bars of
chestnut and bamboo. The presence of a stranger
arouses the monkey and his companion,- the wild
man from Borneo,- and they screech and scratch
until they arouse the tiger, and bring an ominous growl from the box where can be seen the
half-exposed paw of a lion. Then begins an awful
din from a dozen boxes in the farther apartment,
where the leopards, dogs, foxes, and great snakes
are confined, and the European beholder, unless he
is very anxious for a trade, will scarcely wait for
new exhibitions of their rage.
NVt the bird-shop with its discordant jangle of
parrot whistles, nightingale chirrups, canary peeps,
hen chuckles, and lark twitters, calls us in as far
as we can get to see the bright plumage of the
79 
WHY.
birds of India and China. So we go; along the
street, around the rice, maize, and barley boxes of
the grain-dealer, by the piles of cotton and rolls
of silk and fine shawls exposed by the dry-goods
merchant, stopping to see the money-changer
count his cash by means of big sliding beads hung
on a stick, and hurrying past the tailors, the weavers, the blacksmiths, the shoemakers, the temples
of Boodah, to visit the gardens which are said to
be hidden by the trees. What a change it is! to
go from the tidy, well-swept street in front to the
dirty, rubbish-encumbered back yard! How bad
the filth might appear, were it not for the rich
foliage of the trees overhead that attracts the eye,
or how offensive its odors milght seem, did not the
spice-trees drown it with sweetness, I will not
venture to say.  Away through the trees by the
hencoops and dog-kennels we go, until a brilliant
light ahead shows us the opening.
There are the gardens! How  the stall-keepers -
in Fulton or Quincy markets would stare to see
these immense cabbages and bursting onions! Corn
above one's head, carrot-tops knee high, peas and
potatoes that look like pumpkin-vines, and turnips that appear, when pulled, like squashes with
tots! I have visited boasted gardens in the South
and West of the United States, seen prize productions in many European lands, but this Chinese
garden leads them all. Not a weed or an un
80
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k 
CHIIINESE GARDEN.
thrifty plant. Everything trained and proppedl to
keep it in harmony with the general design.  But
neither the visitor nor reader can tarry long, so we
hurry back through the trees,- into a back room,
where a Chinese mother on a mat is teaching a
little girl to sew,- out through the toy and curio
shop, into the street, which has filled with longcued, blue-gowned gentry, anxious to see the carriage.  With  a cheerful "To-tsa Ni-tso-shan,""Many thanks; good morning to you! "-we shoot
along the smooth road, -  out of the village,- into
the cocoanut forest, - toward that sheening, leaping waterfall so much like Yosemite.
As far as the Penanag and Singapore colonies are
concerned, there can be said to be but little difference between the habits, customs, or religious faith
of the Chinese there and in China. They live at
peace with the Malayans, Indiamen, and Europeans, provide for their own poor, and appear to be
getting rich. They seem, however, to have lost all
inclination to return to China, which proves to my
satisfaction that the desire for return or for burial
in China, strong as it is, can be entirely overcome under auspicious circumstances.
I 
CHAPTER VI.
A NEW CHAPTER OF HORRORS.
The Beginning of the "Coolie Trade." - The first Cargo. - How
procured. - Wholesale Man-stealing.- Interference of civil ized Nations.- Regulations to prevent Kidnapping. - Table
of the Number of Coolie Slaves.- What has become of the
immense Number taken to Cuba and Peru.
ARLY  in the spring of the year 1847 a
square-rigged vessel of eight hundred tons
came into the port of Macaow, China, with a cargo
of groceries and specie. She was a Portuguese
craft named "Don Pedro," and hailed from the
port of Lisbon. It was the intention of the captain to exchange the incoming cargo for tea and
silk, which he supposed to be awaiting his arrival.
He found, however, that he must wait several
weeks for the cargo, as the crop of tea had not begun to come in.  This was a little annoying to the
impatient skipper, and in expressing himself rather
strongly one day in the counting-room of the assignees of his cargo, he was reproved by a senior
partner of the firm, and a quarrel with blows en
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THE FIRST CARGO.
sued. This cost the captain his charter, and he
was obliged to look about for some other merchandise.  While canvassing for a cargo, he fell in
with a Spaniard, fresh from Peru, who had come
over to settle some long-standing, accounts between himself as a sugar-dealer and a number of
the firms in Macaow. The Spaniard was surprised
with the cheapness of labor in China, and incidentally wished that he had a thousand Chinese in
Peru. This led to the discussion of the expediency of taking the Chinese to Peru, and finally
to an attempt on their part to load the "Don Pedro" with Coolies. This they did under the pretence of shipping them for Java; but whether any
contracts were made with these men is not at
present known.   They obtained three hundred
Coolies, for whose passage the Spaniard became
responsible. Near the first day of June the "Don
Pedro" sailed out of the port of Macaow with
three hundred as happy men as ever trod the
planks of a ship. Believing the falsehoods that
had been told them, and expecting, soon to return to
their homes wealthier men, they looked back upon
the disappearing shores, sighing only for the time
when they should see them again. It is doubtful
if any one of them has yet seen their native land,
and as doubtful that any of them ever will do so.
After one hundred days of storm, exposed to cold
and heat, with half rations and but little water,
83 
one hundred and seventy-five were landed at a
port near Callao, to be treated even worse on land
than they had been on the sea. The Spaniard
swore to his own story, and no one could under stand the Chinaman's complaint, if he had any to
make. They were put on a plantation in the in terior where they could not run away, and the ex periment of Coolie labor tried for the first time in
that state. It was satisfactory to the contractor,
and another cargo was sent for. Coming to the
ears of planters in Cuba, who knew that in a few
months they must part with their slaves, they also
sent ships to bring over the Chinese. The story
of the successful Coolie traffic soon spread over the
Spanish and Portuguese dominions, and Peru, Australia, Surinam, and the Indian Archipelago vied
with Cuba in the traffic of human labor. But it
was not to be expected that many cargoes of voluntary emigrants could be procured when it was
found that the time for the return of the first shipload had passed, with no news from the husbands
and fathers who left in the "Don Pedro." Besides this, rumors began to be afloat that the Coolies
were taken to "the other side of the world" to be
enslaved for a series of years and finally murdered.
When the ships which followed the "Don Pedro"
on her second visit arrived at Macaow, the Chinese were too much alarmed to be induced by any
offers to go on board. Then began that system of
84
Wily.
I,
I 
kidnapping, purchasing, chaining, starving and, as
it may appropriately be called, murderinq, which
for twenty years shocked the feelings of all humane persons and cast a dark blot upon the lortuguese and Spanish escutcheons that can never be
expunged.  Fathers and mothers sold their sons,
fugitives  bargained  away  themselves, banditti
brought in their male and female prisoners and
sold them in lots to the traders, for which sums
never exceeding ten dollars  per  person — ere
thankfully received.   The market being ill supplied with purchasable human beings, the traders
organized bands of night-thieves, whose business it
was to steal into the cabins of the laborers and carry
on board the ship the father and sons, and sometimes the whole family. Although these bands
were numerous, and Coolies were captured by the
thousand, still the demand increased beyond their
kidnapping capacity.   Then  ships called "Lorchas" were manned and armed as if for war, and
sent up the bays and rivers to fall suddenly upon
the unsuspecting inhabitants of some rural district.
This was a great success.   In the face of the
navies of the civilized world these pirate vessels
carrying the Portuguese flagc would enter some
towns unperceived and capture whole cargoes at a
single swoop.  Old men were seized in the ricefields, boys in the school-room, young men in the
shops, and carried by force to the suffocating holds
85
KIDNAPPING COOLIES. 
WIlY.
of the vessels at Macaow. The province of Quan  tung was filled with orphan children and  the
mourning-white was seen in nearly every house iiolcl. Soon other ports followed the baleful ex ample, and in the year 1853 Hong,kong, Swatow,
Canton, Amoy,  Whamnpoa,  Cumsing,-Moon,  and
several other smaller ports, harbored vessels await ing cargoes of these slaves.
It carried civil war into a hundred villages of
Quafltung. Rival clans and families took up arms
against each other, and carried off the prisoners,
to be sold to the Peruvian and Spanish traders.
No better evidence of the inefficiency of the Chlii nese government need be presented than the behavior of the officials during the most prosperous years
of the Coolie trade.  The mandarins and village
elders not only connived at the wholesale robbery,
but for a small fee sent their personal attendants to
assist in the capture and chaining of citizens belonging to their own town. If they had an enmity
against any one, or felt that any man was a hindrance to their extortions, they took great care that
-he should be captured and sold to the slave-dealers
in port. In 1854 the enormities committed by the
Coolie traders came to the ears of the British government, and measures were immediately taken to
prdvent the further traffic in the port of Hongkong.   British and German  vessels were soon
forbidden by their own governments to en(gage in
86
I
I 
TRPEATMENT OF COOLIES.
the barbarous trade. The treatment of the Coolies
on board ship and after their arrival at their destination seems, however, to have had more to do
with the action of those powers than the force used
in their capture. Such numbers were stowed into
the vessels and such poor food given them that,
notwithstanding their hardy manner of life at
home, hundreds died on the voyages. After arriving, at the Chincha Islands, or wherever else
they were taken, they were treated in every way as
slaves. They were tasked and whipped, made to
work night and day, and given only sufficient food
to sustain life, with no prospect- until after the
interference of other nations - of ever being
liberated.  Many stabbed themselves with pieces
of wood, or hung, themselves to the masts of guano
ships, while three hundred, in 1856, drowned themselves in the ocean during a single day off the
Guano Islands near the coast of Peru.   Out of
the one hundred and fifty thousand taken to the
Spanish and South American colonies, before the
year 1865, it is doubtful if five hundred ever re
turned.
Sometimes it happened that the Coolies mutinied on board before the arrival of the vessels in
port, and, failing  to overcmne  the crews, they
threw themselves overboard in a body. Several
ships Cave been captured by Coolies, the crews
butche'\d and the vessels sunk or abandoned near
87 
8WHY.
some island shore. One cargo of Coolies in 1857
murdered their captors, and knowing nothing of
navigation cruised about until two hundred starved,
and the vessel with the remainder grounded on
the coast of the Feegee Islands. Several success ful mutinies have occurred recently.  In one case
in 1867 the Coolies in their rage cut the bodies of
the officers and crew into mince-meat, and are said
to have eaten some of the pieces to allay their
hlunger.  Three vessels with Coolies have never
been heard from, four have been captured by the
Coolies, and eight terribly bloody mutinies have
been successfully quelled since 1852, of which there
is record. How many more there may have been I
cann6t tell. Yet this dreadful traffic still goes on.
The action of civilized nations has, however, confined it to a single port (Macaow), and even there
they are making some effort to "regulate" it.
The present traffic at Macaow consists of prisoners taken in the clan fights, which are of constant
occurrence in the western districts of the Province
of Quantung,, and who are sold by their captors to
Chinese or Portuguese man-buyers upon the interior waters,- of villagers or fishermen kidnapped
along the coast by the lorchas still kept in, the
traders' employ, - and of Chinamen  who, after
having been enticed into the gambling-houses, sell
themselves  "as in honor bound"  to pay  their
losses. There are established Coolie-brokers in the
88
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PRESENT COOLIE TRAFFIC.
city who have a depot or private jail in which
they put each Coolie as they get him until they
have a full cargo, when they sell them "in bulk"
to the highest bidder. They usually command a
price varying from $ 10 to $ 27 per man, according
to their physical strength.
During the years 1864 and 1865 there were
nine thousand and seven hundred sold to Cuban
traders at Macaow, and nearly three thousand at
the port of Canton.  How many  were taken to
that island as voluntary emigrants from other ports
I could not ascertain from official sources. All
these Coolies, voluntary and involuntary, are forced
to sign a contract to labor for a term of years, and
these agreements are sold at auction when the
Coolies arrive in Cuba; usually bringing from
$ 350 to $600, for eight years' service; during
which time, and usually years after, the Coolie is
entirely at the disposal of the purchaser.
It may be interesting to the reader to know
what were the means adopted at the other ports
for the prevention of this slave traffic, and below
I give a condensed summary of the regulations at
present in force at the port of Hongkong, from
whence come nearly all the emigrants for Amerita.  -
First. The harbor-master or commissioner shall
by an interpreter question every Chinese emigrant
to ascertain if hlie is going of his own free will.
89 
WHY.
Second. The name and occupation of every emi grating Chinaman shall be entered in the register,
and sufficient time be given him between the re,g istry and sailing of the vessel to visit his home
and returnl
Third. If the Coolie sees.fit to remain at home
he can do so by paying any advance-money that
may have been given him and the cost of his food
in port.
Fourth. No person under twenty-five years of
age shall be allowed to emigrate without the con sent of his parents or guardian.
Fifth. The ship-masters or agents must guarantee to the Coolie all his legal privileges in the land
to which they take him, and shall pledge themselves
to afford him the facilities for writing or of sending money to his friends.
Sixtiet. Persons detaining a Coolie against his
will are subject to heavy fines.
Seventh. The captain of every vessel carrying Chinese passengers must make a detailed report to the
authorities before he sails of the size of his ship,
the accommodations for passengers, the quantity
and kind of provisions he has on board, and the
course he intends to take to reach his destination.
,Eighth. Every such ship must have a surgeon
and a sufficient supply of medicines.
Ninth. The owners or agents of the vessel shall
be under bonds to deliver the Coolies at the port
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I 
THE NUMBER CARRIED AWAY.
for which they are shipped, if not prevented by
bad weather, accident, or sickness.
Under these regulations, which seem to be carefully observed, it is now a very difficult thing to
carry away a Coolie without his consent. But his
consent, as will be shown in a subsequent chapter,
does not always indicate an entire free will in the
matter.
The following table, which, owing to the lack of
official records in some ports, and to the fact that
vessels often take on large numbers from the shore
after leaving the harbor, has been made up in part
by careful estimates after an examination of all the
official records that have been preserved, and will
serve to give the reader some idea of the number
of Chinamen taken away by force or fraud between the year 1847 and 1870. This does not include voluntary emigrants, nor any of the number
taken to India, the Sandwich, or smaller Philippine
Islands.
Having submitted these figures to a number of
gentlemen who have had more or less to do with
the Coolie trade, as some say they are too high
and others too low, I venture to let them stand
as they are. Several ship-loads are said to have
left Shanghai and Foochow in 1853 and 18514,
but finding nothing definite about them, I have
omitted them from the table.
l 
From
Destination.                Where Shipped.         1847 to
1850.
Cuba........              Macaow....  1,200
do....            Ports  about Canton.      ],000
Total..........  2, 200
Java...     Hongkong and Whampoa....
do.....  Canton.
Total.....
.
Peru, the Chincha Islands,
and other South Ameri  can Colonies...  Swatow
do... Macaow....
do....  Canton, Amoy,  and Hong                               kong.....             3,000
do...    Whampoa and Cumsing-moon.
Total..............                        3,000
Indianii Archipelago and Aus-  Macaow and Ports  about
tralia....    Canton.....
Cuba.            Peru, &c.
Grand Total..            130,900            197,000 
WHAT BECOMES OF THEM.
It may be a matter of interest to the reader to
know what has become of this immense number
of unfortunate Chinamen.  Statements, not very
trustworthy however, have come to me from Havana, declaring that there were less than seventyfour thousand Coolies on that island January 1st,
1870. I cannot readily accept this account, because it does not seem possible that so large a proportion as one half have died since their arrival.
Certain it is that few have ever escaped from the
island, and if there are but seventy-four thousand
left, the cholera, yellow fever, and the cruelty of
their task-masters, have been more destructive
the last five years than during the previous ten.
In Peru and the adjacent islands the mortality
has been much greater than in Cuba, owing to the
unhealthy atmosphere of the guano islands, the
total disregard of the Coolies' health by task-mas ters, and the enormous number of suicides. Some
few have escaped from Peru and Chili by smug gling themselves on board ships bound for the Pa cific coast of the United States, but the number is
very small.  In view of all this evidence, which
would seem sufficient to condemn the world, I
hold these nations engaged in the traffic to be
giilty of deliberate cruel, wholesale murder; and
feel as I shudder at their deeds, many too awful to
be recorded by me, that an eternal "reward for the
deeds done here in the body" would be eminently
just and proper.
93 
CHAPTER VII.
AMERICA AND CHINA.
Respect for America. -The Chinese Belief that the United
States and China are to be united. - Settlement of Chinese
in Mexico.- America known to the Chinese for Ages.-  Mar vellous Tales.- The Reports given by returning Emigrants. The Action of the United States upon the "Coolie Trade." The Missions of the Hon. Caleb Cushing, the Hon. William
Reed, and the Hon. Anson Burlingame.- The Honors paid
the latter.- American Literature in China.
HE great respect which the Chinese of all
classes have shown for the American nation
has long been a matter of surprise.  Abused by
drunken sailors attached to American ships, and
often deceived by wily speculators claiming to
be citizens of the United States, they nevertheless
continue to reverence the flag and honor the
nation. English travellers have noticed this fact,
and accounted for it by saying that it was owing
to our being so far away and so little known. One
writer, who did not sign his name, stated in the
North China Herald" that he had found in the
provinces of Honan and Hupee "a superstitious
II
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SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT AMERICA.
notion" that the American and Chinese nations
were some time to be united, and says that one
man declared that he saw in a vision "an immense bridge over to the United States." This
"superstitious notion," taken by itself, seems almost too absurd to be repeated, and would not
have been in this place but for some strange
corroborative facts which have recently come to
the writer's knowledge.
Ensign Charles Foster of the United States
Navy, writing from Shanghai in June, 1857, states
that, while they were discussing the propriety of
joining with the English navy for the purpose of
bringing the Chinese government to better terms,
the vessel was visited by a native army officer.
Upon being questioned about the indications of
war and the idea that the American nation might
take part, "He told his interpreter to say to us
that the American and China nations are broth ers. We could not fight China. The gods had
commanded the shot of Chinamen to go over the
'Melicans,' and the shot of our guns would go
harmlessly over Chinamen. He firmly believed
that a war with America was impossible, on relig ious grounds." How they obtain these ideas has
never been explained, nor to my knowledge has it
ever'been attempted; although for some years the
fact of their predilections in favor of Americans
has been universally acknowledged. I have no
95 
WHY.
hope of establishing, beyond controversy, a reason
for this feeling. But it is my intention simply to
introduce the subject in order that other writers
may follow it to its conclusion, and that any
new facts coming to light which have a bearing
upon the subject may be recorded and preserved
by those who come after me. The following incidents may have some relation to the subject,
and are given to the public for its careful consideration.
In a letter dated January 9, 1867, written by a
Frenchman named Anthony Baillet, who seems to
have been well acquainted with the social customs
of the Chinese, and whose letter was sent to the
Royal Society of Antiquarians, there is a rather
remarkable statement, from which I venture to
make an extract:  "There is a curious tradition in which the present generation of Tingchauese scholars express the
most implicit belief. I have heard it in several
different localities and with but slight variation.
It is in substance nearly as follows.  There was a
great family called Tooloong, which lived in the
land of Fukien and became rich. When a great
conqueror came from the North, and the Emperor
Hia was not able to protect his children, Tooloong
and his family joined themselves with some barbarian Jews (or Assyrian) from the West, and
abandoned their homes in grief. They gave them
96 
EARLY CHINESE IN MEXICO.
selves into the hands of the Gods.   The great
Dragon watched over them by night, and Yu-wangshangty by day.  This poor family were hungry,
and the Dragon brought them rice and garlic.
They were thirsty, and Lwe-Koong sent them
showers of wine. For more than a thousand days
Tooloong wandered northward and eastward, until
the icicles grew on the skirts of his garments; still
the Dragon said'Go on,' and Tooloong's heart was
stout. Then they found a great bridge, as white
as the summer cloud, and very strong. The barbarians hesitated, but Tooloong was brave. They
all crossed over. On the other side was a new
China,nvhere no one lived. The trees were beautiful, and the beasts kind. Tooloong wondered. But
they kept on till a land of flowers was seen in the
distance. The barbarians said,'Let us not go farther, it will burn us.' But Tooloong said,'I stop
not till the Dragon stop.' So they entered the land
of flowers. Here they were blessed. The Gods
were very kind. Tooloong,, wanted a pagoda, and
one came up from a cabbage. He wished for a
house, and great blocks of the stone mountain
came and arranged themselves into a dwelling.
Tooloong, built great cities in the flower country,
and died. Then some of his children tried to come
back to China. But the great bridge was gone.
So they all, with the exception of Nung yang, were
sent back to the flower country by the Gods. He
97 
INTRODUCTION.
flew over on a cloud and told his kindred of the
great things Tooloong had done."
M. Baillet states that "the Americans, whom
the Chinese hear of as living in a great country
to the North and East," are believed to be either
the descendants of Tooloong, or in some way connected with them. Whether this tradition has anything, but a local circulation among the people of
Tingchau he does not state. But be it local or national, it is a remarkable tradition, when taken in
connection with the great mystery that shades the
early history of human life in this country. If it
have any foundation in fact, it must be a reference
to the manner in which America was first peopled.
"The North and East" would very consistently
refer to the direction of Behring's Straits. The
bridge might have been ice, or an isthmus covered
with snow, which has since been submerged, or
simply a fabulous way of accounting for the passage about which little was known. The barbarian
Jews may have been the "ten lost tribes of Israel," and the "flower country" a symbolic term
for the land of Mexico.  Then the "great pagoda"
and the self-moving "blocks of stone" would consistently refer to those wonderful structures the
sins of which at Palenque and Uxmal astonish
the antiquarian, and whose gigantic pillars, neatly
carved decorations, and deep-hued frescos compare favorably with those of Egypt and Syria. It
98
I 
OPINION OF AMERICA.
seems the more curious, as the tradition was found
in the interior and not on the sea-shore. It is also
a singular fact that the images of gods which are
manufactured in the vicinity of the Bohea, or tea
hills, near which Tingtchau is situated, are the exact
counterparts of the idols found in California, New
Mexico, and Mexico, and to be seen in nearly every
American museum.  Another point is that the tradition was found in one of the two provinces from
which come nearly all the emigrants for America.
What influence it may have had upon the action of
these emigrants, directly or indirectly, cannot now
be determined. There are also books and essays
written ages ago which describe America with singular accuracy under the name of Fusang.* It is
said by Chinamen returning from California, that
they find a race of people (Indians) in America
who talk their language, which goes to corroborate
the Chinaman's idea that America was first settled
by their ancestors, and it cannot fail to influence
their ideas of our country and people. How well
their traditions agree with the evidences found
upon this side will be seen at once by all who
have given the subject any thought.
Another cause for the favor with which Ameri ca is regarded among the lower classes, may be
found in the superstitious stories about this coun try, circulated in connection with those touching
* "Yeuen, Kian Lui-han," Vol. XXXI.
*,::..-;
99
I 
WHY.
the sad condition of the people at home, to which
reference has already been made. Astrologers de clare to the Coolie who comes to have his fortune
told that the good stars are travelling eastward,
and if he would prosper he must follow them.
The alchemists have revelations telling them that
the chemical for turning stones into gold is to be
found inll the United States. Tales of buried treasures on the Pacific shores of the New  World,
which can be discovered only by observing certain superstitious ceremonies, are circulated and
told by nearly everybody in the vicinity of Canton. Some believe that certain of their guardian
spirits have been seized with the "emigration
fever," and have gone to California in search of
gold. A few take the broad view that the Emperor, being the "son of heaven and the ruler of
the world," his kingdom must include America;
and as he holds possession of the spiritual, if not
of the temporal powers, America, spiritually at
least, must be governed by him. Wonderful stories, partly true and partly fabulous, are in constant circulation with regard to the Chinese in this
country. Each returning Chinaman, like Marco
Polo, favors these tales, by making doubly marvellous such incidents in his experience as would be
t
sufficiently wonderful if told in truth and simplicity. As yet these superstitions are confined to
the vicinity of the ports, and cannot by any means
-. 
100
I
lii 
CHINESE IDEA OF AMERICA.
be said to be universal in all of them. But they are
gaining ground every day, and who can tell what
influence they may have when time, with increased
excitement, shall carry them into the interior?
I was told by an enthusiastic admirer of the
Chinese character, that when he asked a Chinese
sailor on board of an American steamer what was
the wisest saying of the greatest philosopher in
the United States, he received in reply a perfectly
accurate quotation from the Declaration of Independence, stating that "all men are created equal
and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among which are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness." If he did receive such
a striking reply, - of which I am free to say I
entertain some doubt,- the sailor must have been
a rare exception to the general rule. I do not believe, from what I have seen of them in California
and in their own country, and from the testimony
of men who have had the very best of opportunities
for observation, that the great mass of returning
Chinese have any correct idea of our system of
government. Certain it is, that the rumors which
they put in circulation about it are very far fromn
the truth. It is also evident that these falsehoods
have had a greater influence in accelerating emnigration than the same number of truths would have
had.  Strange as it may appear, when we consider
that the returners are usually men who can see
101 
WIlY.
but little gain by staying here, the exaggeration is
almost always on the favorable side. Their report
is snatched up by eager imaginative gossips, and
by the time it gets a general circulation it has
grown from a statement of men, money, and work,
to be a fable of gods, luxury, and ease; forming a
very different picture from the leg,ends in circula tion about local and governmental matters. Should
the Coolie declare, upon his return from California,
that he had been abused, cheated, robbed, andl
finally sent home penniless, nobody would believe
him. His friends would accuse him of telling a
falsehood to avoid making them presents, and the
authorities would arrest him for trying to cheat
the government out of its legal taxes. He had
much better say that he has property, and try in
some way to make his presents and pay his taxes,
than to incur the disgrace and risk of a denial.
All of which prevents the circulation of the truth,
and increases the weight of the fabulous stories
already believed.
Another most powerful reason for their faith in
America is founded on the prompt action of our
government officers in China in the suppression
of the Coolie trade. WVhen the lower provinces
of China were wild with terror; and when fathers,
brothers, sons, and daughters were being killed,
maimed, or kidnapped by the traders, and the
gods seemed to have given the poor laborers
102
l 
UNITED STATES LAW.
entirely into the hands of fiends and devils, the
agents of the United States were the first to cry
out against it, and practically the first that came to
their relief. When the whole world beside seemed
to be leagued for their destruction, and reckless
adventurers from our own shores were found vile
enough to deal in human misery, the consuls of
tlhis nation, for which they had ever entertained a
profound respect, arose as a body to cry out against
it; unfortunately for the Coolies and shamefully
for the government at home, the United States took
no special action as a law-maker, until 1862, when
the following law was passed and subsequently
enforced: -
" First. No citizen or citizens of the United States,
or foreigner coming into or residing within the same,
shall for himself or for any other person whatsoever, either as master, factor, owner, or otherwise,
build, equip, load, or otherwise prepare any ship or
vessel, or any steamship or steam vessel registered,'
enrolled, or licensed in the United States, or any
port within the same, for the purpose of procuring
from China, or from any port or place therein, or from
any other port or place, the inhabitants or subjects
of China known as " Coolies" to be transported to
any foreign country, port, or place whatever, to be
disposed of or sold, or transferred for any term of
years, or for any time whatever, as servants or apprentices, or to be held to service or labor; and if
103 
WHY.
any ship or vessel, steamship or steam vessel belong,ing in whole or in part to citizens of the
United States, and registered, enrolled, or otherwise
licensed as aforesaid, shall be employed for the
said purposes, or in the "Coolie trade" so-called,
or shall be caused to procure, or carry from China
for the purpose of transporting or disposing of
them as aforesaid, every such ship or vessel, steamship or steam vessel, her tackle, apparel, furniture,
and other appurtenances, shall be forfeited to the
United States, and shall be liable to be seized,
prosecuted, and condemned in any of the circuit
courts or district courts of the United States, for
the district where the said ship or vessel, steamship or steam vessel, may be found, seized, or carried.
"Second. Every person who shall so build, fit out,
equip, load, or otherwise prepare, or who shall send
to sea or navigate as owner, master, factor, agent,
or otherwise, any ship or vessel, steamship or
steam vessel, belonging in whole or in part to citizens of the United States, or registered, enrolled,
or licensed within the same, or at any port thereof, knowing or intending that the same shall be
employed in that trade or business aforesaid, con- 
trary to the true intent and meaning of this act,
or in any wise aiding or abetting therein, shall be
severally liable to be indicted therefor, and on conviction thereof shall be liable to a fine not exceed
104 
CONCERNING COOLIE TRAFFIC.
ing two thousand dollars, and be imprisoned not
exceedcing, one year.
"Third. If any citizen or citizens of the United
States shall, contrary to the true intent and meaning, of this act, take on board of any vessel, or receive or transport any such persons as are above
described in this act, for the purpose of disposing
of them as aforesaid, he or they shall be liable to
be indicted therefor, and, on conviction thereof,
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand
dollars, and be imprisoned not exceeding one year.
"Fourth. Nothing in this act hereinbefore contained shall be deemed or construed to apply to or
effect any free and voluntary emigration of any
Chinese subject, or to any vessel carrying such person as passenger on board the same;  Provided,
however, That a permit or certificate shall be prepared and signed by the consul or consular agent
of the United States, residing at the port from
which such vessel may take her departure, containing the name of such person, and setting forth
the fact of his voluntary emigration from such
port or place, which certificate shall be given to
the master of such vessel; but the same shall not
be given until such consul or consular agent shall
be first personally satisfied by evidence produced
of the truth of the facts therein contained."
Connected with this action, in the Chinese mind,
is the noble behavior of the Hon. Caleb Cushing,
105 
WHY.
who, as minister from the United States to Pekin,
in 1844, made a treaty with the Emperor, ill which
it was especially provided that the United States
would not protect or encourage the terrible opium
trade. In 1856 the United States sent the Hon.
William Read as a peacemaker to mediate between
China and the allied forces of the English and
French, and in 1868 the treaty was made which
recognizes China as being in every respect entitled to the same privileges as other nations, and
offered the assistance of the United States, in all
national enterprises tending toward a better civilization. This treaty has another merit, which to
the Chinese mind is even greater than the text,
viz.: It was drawn and negotiated by the Hon. Anson Burlingame.  Whatever difference of opinion
Europeans may have had upon the mission and
statesmanship of that most noble representative of
America, the Chinese looked upon him as a being
almost perfect. Much to the honor of the man
and the nation who sent him as its minister, their
confidence was in no wise misplaced. By his generous interest in their history and literature, his
straightforward manner, and admirable social and
diplomatic qualities, he won their entire confideuce, - something which no other foreigner has
ever done. So great was their respect for him
that, after his death while representing them at
the Court of St. Petersburg, they gave him a tab
106
o
I 
BURLINGAMIE. - AMERICAN BOOKS.
let in the Temple at Peking, and prepared the way
for subsequent deification.  His life, treaty, and
death has given the Chinese a confidence in our
nation which, of itself, is sufficient to bring them
unhesitating,ly to our shores.
The literature of China, which is the pride of
the higher classes, has received many popular
additions from the libraries of America.  Geographies, readers, plhilosophies, arithmetics, and grammars have been translated for the use of students,
and novels, histories, and travels for general reading. But the most influential work ever rewritten from Ameriean authors is the Life of George
Washington, as published by the Governor of Fukien a few years ago.  It has had an extensive
circulation in the provinces, and must go far toward giving a favorable opinion of the country
of the "flowery flag."
American missionaries and hospitals have also
done their share in the formation of public opinion, and counteracted in a measure the bad im.
pression which the behavior of drunken sailors
and early unscrupulous traders must have made.
Other causes, one of which is mentioned in the
next chapter, have been at work, and more are
now being brought to bear, so that soon China
will, as far as the Chinese belief is concerned,
"virtually include America."
-107 
CHAPTER VIII.
THE NEW GOD, "WARD."
Sketch of Ward's early Life.- First Appearance as a "Fili buster." - His daring Deeds in Central America and Else where. - His Appearance in China. - His disciplined Troops.
- His Death.- Burial.- Deification.
N an obscure town in the United States was
reared a boy, who in his extreme youth was
considered to be one of the brightest children of
his class.* Later, however, bad associates and the
loss of friends turned the current of his mind, and,
instead of becoming an intellectual leader in all
that was refined and good, he became a physical
leader in all that was coarse and bad. WTith an
unquenchable ambition for glory, and filled with
the tales of heroes and adventurers, which unfortunately is the first kind of literature to which
our youth are directed, he fought imaginary duels
with the gods, and real ones with men, with a
recklessness which was as odious as it was aston
* Sketch of War('s life l)y Yeuenkan.
A 
WARD THE FILIBUSTER.
ishing. As a farmer he neglected his crops,' as a
clerk he bullied the customers, as a sailor he
was feared for his physical strength and hated for
his overbearing disposition. He thought himself
born to be a ruler among men.  His unscrupulous
ambition was his only god or guide. Hence, there
was no adventure too hazardous for him if booty
and praise were to be found in case of escape. In
the proper channels of life his mind would have
been a power almost irresistible. As it was, he
either bore off whatever obstacle appeared in his
path, or shrewdly cut his way around it, dodging
about in his zigzag course to deal a blow or grant
a favor. In fine, he was a generous, reckless daredevil.
This man would appear in all sorts of places at
most unexpected times. A street riot in New
York, the deck of a man-of-war, a political meeting, or a church, is said to have been all the
same to him. Such was his versatility of character and aimlessness of purpose, that it has
caused him to be much misrepresented, many
people thinking they knew and understood him
well, when perhaps they had no acquaintance
with his desires, or with many of his strange
actions.  Following to its natural sequence  the
bent of his uneasy disposition, he leagued with
AValker in the wild undertaking of conquering the
Nicaraguans and forcing upon them a democratic
109 
WHY.
government which they did not want.  In  this
connection he was first known as "Ward the Filibuster."  His adventures in Central America in
connection with Castellon's rebellion, his narrow
escapes and deeds of valor, would fill an octavo
volume of a thousand pages.' For two years
and a half * he was the terror of Grenada and
Costa Rica, and if one half the tales of midnig,ht
attacks, secret expeclitions, open battles, and murderous exploits which the people of Central America still circulate are true, he must have possessed almost supernatural powers of endurance
and been wholly regardless of human life. True
it is, that with his assistance Walker became dictator, and, but for the interference of the American and other governments, might have been at
present the ruler of a flourishing  empire.  In
May, 1857, the last of the filibusters left Nicaragua, and it was supposed that the disastrous
restult would deter them from any further undertaking of the kind. It is said that Ward went to
San Domingo and to Cuba with the hope and
expectation of inaugurating there a filibustering
expedition of his own. However that may be, he
gave the Pierce and Buchanan administrations
mnch uneasiness lest he should embroil the
United States in a war with the European powers. It is stated as characteristic of him, that he
* 1855 and 1856- 57.
110
t 
-' I
DISAPPEARANCE OF WARD.
kept a copy of President Pierce's proclamation
against filibustering * in his pocket and read it to
his followers, saying that he wanted no one with
him who would not fearlessly brave all the conse quences. In 1858 he disappeared. After which
there was an ominous silence in the filibustering
world.   So  surprising was this quiet that the
Boston Post, one of the wittiest of the American
dailies, began an article with the words, "What
are the Filibusters after now?" For two years
little or nothing was heard of him, and his sudden
disappearance was accounted for in various ways;
some saying that he was in the slave-trade; others,
that he was in the Mexican civil wars; while a
third party circulated the story of his death "by a
hundred bullets" in the Sandwich Islands. At
last, in 1861, he was heard from, and, as might
have been predicted, in an entirely unexpected
quarter. He was in China, and filibustering still.
Strange to say, however, instead of taking the
democratic side of the question in China, which
would have been more in spirit with his American
education, he espoused the cause of the Emperor
against the Ti-ping rebellion.
Lovers of Chinese history will remember that
the Ti-ping rebellion was not only a revolt against
Imperial tyranny, but also embodied  a vigorous
movement in favor of the Christian religion. At
*December 8, 1855.
111
t 
WILIY.
the time Ward entered the service
this rebellion had grown to such p
conducted  its wars withl such  ex
and such lhumanity, that a disinte
would have declared the  overthrow
rial army to be inevitable.  The sca
ing in the balance, with justice,
and  Christianity against cruelty,
rance, and idolatry,- the formner 
the ascendant.   Christian  menl
breathless interest at a struggle
which seemed likely to Christianiz
millions of people  and bring freed
two millions of slaves.   The Timanifestos indorsed the Christian
ished slavery, encouraged education
their soldiers against the brutal or
ment of prisoners.*  Their army in
the greatest scholars of China.  Th
lad conquered when Ward went to 
the richest and best fortified part o
The Emperor fearing the entire c
government, caught at anything i
likely to help him in such an emer
gladly accepted WAVard's offer of ass
was the fhist foreign officer ever cl
the Glinese army.  Immediately
ing into the compact he selected
* Lin Lees's " Ti-ping Revolut
gency, ano most
sistance. Ward
ommissioned in
upon his enter-'
a body of five i
i
LLes'4Tp Rltion."        f
:S I
112
I
I. I
, III.1 I,
I
i 
DISCIPLINED NATIVE TROOPS.
hundred Chinese and endeavored by them to introduce the discipline and tactics of European
armies.  As far as his own regiment was  concerned he succeeded to such an extent as to
make them almost irresistible in open battle, but
no other branch of the army followed his example.
This disciplined battalion under Ward's command,
besieged cities, defeated armies, scaled high walls,
made destructive raids, and one writer states that
in two years they killed at least fifty thousand Tipings, or an average of one hundred to each man.
Ward was obliged to lead, however, in every assault, and at Nanking had but twenty men at his
back when he entered the city. Yet the rebellion
gTew.  For every city that Ward  captured the
regular Imperial army lost at least two, and for
every hundred men and women which his followers butchered a thousand came to take their
places. The spirit of liberty was sweeping over
the land and tyranny well might tremble.  The
people were rising to right the wrongs of two
thousand years. The world was in sympathy with
them, and the action of Ward called down curses
on his head, and from no nationalities more
emphaticaly than from the English and French.
They even went so far as to set a price upon his
head, and to send gunboats with detachments of
soldiers under Admiral Hope to effect his capture.
Soon there came a change.  And such a change!
113 
WHY.
The Emperor  feeling his  helpless condition
more deeply, since Ward's successes did not make
his hold upon the government much stronger, sent
to the English and French authorities special
envoys asking for their assistance. With this request he stated, as a consideration, that he would
open his ports to trade and would do all in his
power to forward the financial interests of those
countries. They accepted the proposition at once.
The spirit of Mammon was abroad, and when did
he ever fail to conquer? All sympathy with justice and Christianity fled at once before the moneygod's magic wand, and the English and French
fleets were instructed to attack the forts held by
the Ti-pings and to co-operate with the Chinese
army in the capture of cities. Ward, who the day
before was a felon and an outlaw, was surprised
with an offer of alliance from the same Admiral
who had the day before been searching for him for
the purpose of hanging him to the nearest tree, or
shooting him in the presence of the army.* Soon
he was offered a command under the English, and
from that time forth he was the acknowledged
ally of both France and England. Then came
scenes of bloodshed that appalled the civilized
world. Christian nations using all their power to
stop the advance of civilization and the propagation of the religion of Jesus Christ!  But Ward
* February, 1862.
114
k
f
I 
DEIFICATION OF WARD.
never lived to see the end. In a little skirmish
near the village of Tse-kie on the 21st day of
September, 1862, he was hit by a Ti-ping bullet
and mortally wounded. Three or four days after,
at Ningpoo, this daring man closed his earthly
career, after having requested a burial according to
the Chinese customs.
Soon after his death his body, which had been
placed in a beautiful sarcophagus, was taken to
Soong-Kong,, the scene of his earliest exploits, where
it reposed for several years. In 1869 it was removed to the enclosure about the temple of Confucius, and a tablet in the temple itself erected to
his honor, by order of the Imperial Government.
Later it is said that he has been deified, and that
the people are taught to respect America through
the person of one of their own deities.
The deification of heroes is an especial prerogative of the Emperor, and every person receiving
this honor becomes at once one of the gods of
China. If the Emperor has received any especial
service from an individual for which he has much
reason to be grateful, he takes this way of showing
his gratitude; having always in view the influence
which it will have in binding more securely to
him such persons as may desire to receive those
honors' for themselves. It is easy to see a deep
and cunning purpose in thus raising an American
to the dignity of a god. It serves to confirm in
0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
115 
the minds of the people the idea that America is
the friend of China and a strong supporter of the
present rule. It sets an example before the people and indicates the reward that awaits such as
die in his service. It creates a "God of Military
Discipline," for the army to worship; the teachings
of which will make its devotees more efficient.
For these reasons, then, rather than the great service
he was to the Emperor in putting back, perhaps
for centuries, the civilization and Christianization
of a great heathen people, Ward, the American
filibuster, becomes ONE OF THE GODS OF CHINA.
116
IVHY.
a,
.1 
0 
__ _ _ 2: _ __ ~11~
— p __ __         ~  _'&\!_'I_-~
____      ____ ______    j    ___    __
~                      
DEPARTURE OF THE EMIGRANTS. -Page 2iI.
He tu El"
1 
CHAPTER IX.
WHAT FOR.
Chinese going Home.- Why they left California. - And why
they return. - What drove them from China.- Their Treat ment in California. - Their Emigration voluntary.- Pro spective Immigration.
ARLY  one morning in the month of March,
as I was standing on the forecastle of one
of the finest steamers that has ever been built,*
and looking with no little anxiety for the bluffs of
the China coast near Foochow, which the captain
had said we were nearing, a large company of
Coolies came up from the steerage for the purpose
of getting the first sight of land.   It was to be
the first glimpse of their native shore after a long
absence in California, and I scrutinized them carefully. Imagining how I should feel if I had been
absent from home the same length of time, and
with what joy I should hail the first glimpse of
America, I had expected to see in these simpleminded men demonstrations of delight, and per
* Pacific Mail Steamship, 1870.
I
A 
WHY.
haps some strange exhibitions of what one writer
has called "uncontrollable patriotism"  But there
was nothing of that kind. I thought that I saw
tears in the eyes of one or two, when the great
gloomy mountains first showed their outlines
against the sky. And several smiled when, in answer to their inquiry, I said, "It is China."  But
cold, stoical, undemonstrative, the others listlessly
walked the deck or sat themselves down by the
wheel-house and indulged in a quiet chat. Nearer
and nearer came the great cliffs, clearer became
the atmosphere and brighter the light of dawning
day, but the same careless look was on their faces
and the same unconcerned air about their movements. Even when the junks in the bays and the
cultivated spots on shore were near enough to see
the Chinamen at work in them, these returners did
not show in their faces any desire but that of idle
curiosity. Some came up and glanced around the
horizon very much as a farmer does in the morning when, querying in his mind about the probabilities of rain, he takes a moment's survey of
the clouds from his door-step. They then went
below to engage in a game of dominos, with a
forfeit of twenty-five cents on each game. Some
came so far up the gangway as to show their heads
above the deck for a moment, and then turned
back to take a pipe of opium in the steerage smoking-room. Yet they were going home! Going to
118 
GOING HOME.
the land of their birth, to their families, old acquaintances, old scenes, and old customs. "Have
they no emotion? or have they such a command
over their features and movements as to hide any
feelings of pleasure they may have within? I
will try and ascertain," thought I, and proceeded
at once to question such as seemed in a talkative
mood. The Chinamen are especially reticent upon
their own affairs, and seldom mention anything in
connection with themselves, unless pressed to do
so. Fortunately I found two that were communicative, and to them I put the following questions,
with the following replies in substance:  Q. How long have you been in California?
A. Nearly eight years.
Q. Are you coming home to see your families
now, or on business?
A,4. We come to see our families. But we do
.not know where we will find them. When we
left them they were in a village near Canton, but
we have not heard from them since we saw a man
who emigrated from there five years ago.
Q. Do you expect to see them all alive?
A. We hope so.  We have not heard of any
raids or famines, and they were generally healthy.
The police do not know that we are out of the
country, and will not treat them harshly on our
account.
Q. How do you hope to escape the law against
leaving the country?
119
I 
WHY.
A. By going home quietly at night and keeping
matters to ourselves.
Q. What would you do if discovered?
A. Just as we have done before.   Pay the
police and run away.
Q. Is it pleasant to go home under such circumstances?
A. No, it is not; and we shall go back again
as soon as we can.
Q. Do all who return expect to go back to
California again?
A. Not all. But nearly all.
Q. Why do you come home yourself, instead of
sending for your family?
A. We must pay our debts, must provide for
our aged parents, and know that our families do
not suffer. The law will not let the wife come to
us. Besides, if we could bribe them to let the
family go, it would cost too much for insurance. 
Q. What insurance?
A. Of a burial in China. It costs seven dollars
per person.
Q. If you feel it such a duty to take care of
your relatives, why did you leave China instead
of attending to their wants at home?
A.  Because we could not stay athomne.
Q. Were you driven out of the country?
A. In one sense we were. The police kept
arresting us for nothing we had done, the tax
collectors took our rice and clothes, the land
120
I
i 
WHY THEY CAME TO CALIFORINIA.
lords reduced our wages, and we were afraid the
government was going to take us for soldiers.
Q. Do you love China?
A. Yes. But we mean to live and die in California.
Q. But are you not ill treated in California?
A. Yes, sometimes, but not so badly as we were
at twme, and we earn more money.
Afterwards I conversed with others on the
steamer, and they nearly all said to me, as many
others have said since then, that they left China
"because they could not stay"; and liked California because they were treated better there than
at home.  They "could not stay" in China because the officers of government abused them, because they feared some calamity at home, and
because their gods in a singular combination of
circumstances said they must go, and spoke with
a voice too stern to be disobeyed. They chose to
come to America instead of going elsewhere, because it was the easiest of access, - their superstitions told them that here they could be happy,
-and they had such confidence in this nation, owinog to tradition and the deification of Americans,
as to believe what was told them of the wages
and Wealth which they would find here. I do not
think they camle to find liberty, in its true sense,
as they can have no idea what it is. They do not
come to be citizens, or to enjoy the rights which
121 
they know the Americans possess. Not but that
our duty to ourselves demands that they be treated
justly, whether they expect it or not. Neither do
they intend to adopt any of our customs nor any
part of our religion. They do not intend to take
any interest in the public affairs of the nation,
though they should stay here for life.  What they
may   think after being acted upon by the enli,ghtening influences which circulate in this free atmosphere is another matter, and nothing to do with
this book. As long as the present government of
China is in power they will come here, if left
to their free choice, in fast illcreasing numbers
every year; and, although China is by no means
crowded,* yet millions might come without being
missed at home.t (God only knows what we
should do with them all!) But a liberal change in
the Chinese national affairs, by which the Coolie
might enjoy the fruits of his labor, would- in
spite of our gold- not only stop all emigration
from China, but would call home every individual
of them which adhered to the Boodist, Tauist, or
Confucian religion.  In fact, then,-at least as
far        as the Chinese are concerned, -America is
truly what it professes to be,
AN ASYLUM FOR THE OPPRESSED.
* See p. 30.
t The time has passed when persuasion is necessary to induce
immigration, as is shovn by the numbers crowding into the seaports of China awaiting an opportunity to obtain a passage.
122
WHY. 
j
'A' 0 11
a 
0 
H O W.
CHAPTER X.
FIRST EMIGRATION.
The first Visit of Chinamen to California. - Slaves from Peru. -
The first Chinese Miners. - No stolen Laborers landed.
TIHE popular idea that the first Chinamen who
visited California were " gold-hunters" is
now said to be a mistake. They came from Peru
in two vessels that put in at Callao for repairs
while en route from New York to San Francisco
in 1848 or 1849. They were fugitives from their
masters in Peru, and by pretending to have worked
out their contracts secured employment as sailors;
while others, by the assistance of these, stowed
themselves away until the vessel was too far at
sea to put them back on shore. There were about
twenty of these men in all, and they were employed for some time at the rickety old wharf in
San Francisco discharging the cargoes of sailing
vessels which began to arrive at that port. One
0 
or two vessels riom China with Chinese cooks and
servants happening into port soon after, these
wharf-men induced their countrymen to remain
with them. In this way the number increased to
a hundred or more, before they ventured out into
the mining districts, - not one of which had ever
heard of gold in California before their departure
from China.
An old miner of my acquaintance once gave
me a very graphic and homely description of the
scene when the first company of Chinese made its
appearance among the huts of the miners.  He
said that he was standing close beside the low
door of his old bark hut, filling his pipe with tobacco, when he heard a succession of loud shouts
and hoots "down toward the fiats."  He thought
it might be that a party of Indians had come
in, and the crowd of rough miners were enjoying
themselves at the red-man's expense. The noise
grew louder as it grew nearer, and everybody ran
out of their cabins, some half dressed, some with
frying-pans, others with kettles, which, as they
contained the owner's dinner, could not be lost
sight of, for fear of theft; and still others, with
rifles and revolvers, ready for deadly encounter.
IU said that he snatched his old no-brimmed hat
from the stake and joined in the general rush for
the locality where the shouts and cries were loudest. From this point I will let him tell his own
126
HOW. 
I
CmINESE PIONEERS.              127
story.  "The fellers hed made a rush to a spot
behind an old Mexican cookin' ranch, and hed
filled in all around it so tight that it was fifteen
minutes before I cum to a view of the cause o'
ther muss.  Some of the chaps hollered,' A ring!
a ring!' and when they began to spread out, there
in the middle, lookin' mighty skeered, was a lot o'
fellers with long tails to their heads and short
trousers, besides great broad-brimmed wooden hats
and a pole like a neckyoke over each shoulder.
They were queer-lookin' chicks, and no mistake.
The chapq";round made a big ring and yelled and
hooted, a I finally begun to throw things at'em
to git'el mad, but old Dick Losha stepped out in
front or em, and, with the revolvers in his hands,
said,'Look o' here, fellers, these ere chaps haint
done no harm and don't know our talk, so yer see
we don't want ter abuse'em. They've been sent up
here to work, and there's more a-comin'. We can
hire'em cheap when we want'em, so let'em stay;
they're better nor the cussed Injun anyhow.' All
the fellers said,'All right, old boy,'  Let'em come,'
and sich things; so they went off, and I did n't see
more on'em for a week. The fellers hated'em
arter a while, though, an' I reckon they were mighty
glad to leave for up Dutch Flat way."
It seems that the escaped Coolies from Peru,
notwithstanding the temptation of gold, were more
anxious to return to China and the families from 
a
which they had been stolen, than to stay in the
mines, and they improved the first opportunity to
get a passage home, either by work as sailors or the
purchase of passage tickets. Their story of the
gold-mines and of the freedom which they found
in California induced many emigrants who were
going in other directions to change their minds
and come to America. Soon others returned home
and repeated the tales, with many additions, inducing their friends, and all who heard the stories,
to take measures at once for the pilgrimage to
America.   Glad news indeed for the afflicted
poor of China! How they improved the opportunity will be the subject of the subsequent chapters.
I can find no confirmation of the rumor that
ship-loads of stolen or purchased Coolies were
landed at San Francisco in 1854. There may
have been cargoes obtained by misrepresentation,
and it would be hard to find a ship-load that has
not some duped ones among the number; but no
laborers were ever brought into San Francisco, as
far as I can ascertain, who were either salable
slaves in China or intended to be such after
landing in California.
I
128
HOW.
11
T
I 
CHAPTER XI.
THE COOLIES' DWELLING.
Searching for the House. - The Stench. - The Hut. - The
Description of the House.- The Dinner. - Tree God. -
Wives. - Children. - Superstitions.
OU   will not find it on the highway!   So
don't try. It is the dwelling of the poor
man we are looking for, not the owner of lands
and slaves. Come along, then, and we will go
down this narrow path toward the sea-shore. We
will be sure to find one about here. These fields
of garlic, cauliflower, and wheat, as well as the
ruddy rice-beds we see stretched along the plain,
are all the work of the Coolies' hands. Here in
China we have two growing classes, - the rich
and the poor, i. e. the official and literary, with
the laboring and ignorant. The official has a
whole block of houses for his residence, built
around so as to enclose a square piece of ground
for a garden, and he has a great many apartments
in the building. Some for his wife, some for the 
HOW.
boys, some for the girls, some for the slaves, some
for the Coolies, some for visitors, and some for
smoking, eating, sitting, and reading, with a spare
one or two for beggars.   He has furniture, too,mattresses, chairs, mirrors, tables, dishes, &c. But
the Coolie has no such mansion; no such rooms,
and no such furniture.
You must look sharp or you will fail to see it
here in this bamboo thicket. Stand on tiptoe! Do
you see a large tree anywhere? "0 yes, there is
one. It looks like beech from this distance, but I
presume that it is China oak." Let us go around
this clump of bamboos and along the border of the
rice-patch, toward that tree; for the laborers worship trees, thinking there is a spirit in them, and
they like to build their dwellings near by one so
that the tree-spirit will protect the family and
building. Yes, there it is, just in front of the tree,
by that little patch of wheat! Now we will see
how he lives, so that we can tell it to our friends
when we get back across the Pacific. Look out
for the mud and be careful about the ditches.
There! stop! don't you smell it?  I do, and
would turn back now if I were not obliged to go
on. What a horrid stench it is, to be sure! I
can't see how they live in it. Perhaps they get
used to such things and do not mind them. Ho!
There it is - the house- in plain sight now. That
long hut with four doors. It is the dwelling of
130 
THE HOME OF THE COOLIE
four families, each having one room. I wonder
what they do with all those children when night
comes? Twelve little cueless ones, three old
enough to wear that awkward appendage, and
the others in the field, probably. Take out your
diary now and set down what I say, for reference,
in case you should ever wish to write about it.
The houses are built of bamboo matting and of
mortar. The matting is fastened to the poles
which make the corner-posts, one sheet on the
outside of the pole and another on the inside, leaving a space between the two sheets about four
inches wide. This space has been filled in with mortar and beaten down so that when the matting
decays there will be a hard cement wall left to
support the roof. These walls or sides are about
seven feet high. Have you got that written?
Well; then say that the roof is of the old-fashioned
"hip" style; two sides, running up to a ridge,
and is made of bamboo poles covered with a thick
thatch of wheat straw, the eaves of which project
over the side walls about a foot. The door-ways
are about two and a half feet wide, and are open
from the roof to the ground. The door is a thick
piece of matting, which is kept rolled up under the
roof during the day and let down at night. There
is but one window, and that is nothing more than
a square hole cut through the back side of each
room, with a groove-sliding board to close it in bad
131
,i 
HOW.
weather.  Don't set this down as "a hovel" either,
for it is one of the best Coolie dwellings in the
district. Some are nothing but a tent of straw
matting about four feet high. This you see has
no chimney, for they never use fire inside, and
have no floor, as you will see when we pass the
door-way. Their door-yards are always like these,
filthy and miry, and ever as thick with pigs and
chickens. See that old hog, lying directly in the
door-way of the second house. There comes the
woman of the house. See! how she climbs over
him, as though he had as much right there as she.
I presume that he is treated better than she is by
the master of the house.   Notice the stagnant
pools of dirty water all about, and that pile of
rubbish in the edge of the thicket. No wonder
we smelled the place when we were so far away.
We will step in at this door and see what they
have inside. Notice these door-posts; how they are
pasted over with red paper, on which are curious
Chinese characters; while here near the ground is
a little niche in the wall about three inches square,
with two joss-sticks burning in it. They burn so
slow that you can see no smoke; but these little
pieces will hold fire for many hours yet. That is
the way this people worship their household gods,
anJ keep away calamities. One would think that
a little cleanliness would be better than joss-sticks
for the latter purpose; but we must bear in mind
132 
THE APARTMENTS.
that they are heathen, and do the best their education and circumstances permit.
Ho, ho! Nobody at home! They must all be
out in the field at work, so we will walk in unbidden, and if the neighbors do not trouble us
we will have the whole room to ourselves. Here!
Let us drive these pigs and chickens out before
we look any farther. There! now we can get
along much better. Write now, that the only
room in the Coolie's dwelling is but eight feet
square, with the earth beaten down hard for a
floor, and the rafters overhead for a ceiling. Little pieces of clothing are hung about on the bamboo
walls interspersed with scraps of red paper pasted
up as "tablets" to some spirit.  Do you see that
narrow shelf with that little comical image on it?
See! How they have arranged the little bundles
of luck-sticks, which look like bunches of toothpicks; and here are some more burning joss-sticks
in this broken goblet. That is the god of the
kitchen, and these little pieces of melon and ricecake near the joss-sticks is an offering to him.
When the children come home and find that the
little image does not want his dinner they will
fall to and eat it themselves. He never wants it,
and I, suppose that they make calculations upon
that when they place the dish before him. Here
in this corner is a three-legged stool, and over
there is a rough table about one foot wide and
133 
HOW.
four feet long. Beside these, and a little bunchof straw near the door, there is nothing for comfort or convenience.
You don't see where they all sleep? Neither
do I, unless they all wedge in together here on
the dirty floor. Then no doubt they have the
pigs and hens inside too, to keep those domestics
from running away in the night or being stolen
by the unscrupulous neighbors. Just think of it,
eight persons, four pigs, and seven hens all sleeping together in a damp room eight feet square!
Chinamen jabbering, babies crying, hens cackling,
pigs grunting and squealing, - really, what a noise
there must be when they wake!
Where are the cooking utensils? They must
have a place somewhere for the purpose of cooking. Let us get out of this unhealthy place and
go around to the backside. Here! Don't go that
way! for if you do you will have all those dirty
children after you. Why don't the parents wash
their infants? Because the parents believe that
in case they use too much water the god of that
element will cut off their spiritual ears when they
get in Hades, and pin their bodies to the wall of a
fiery furnace for ten years. And, as they don't
know how much wateP the god will allow them,
they get along with just as little as possible. But
here is the cooking apparatus - as I told you - at
the backside of the house. Some of the family
134 
COOKING APPARATUS.
must be about here, for the fire is burning and the
iron kettle is boiling most furiously. Now write
down the description of a Coolie's kitchen. It is
situated at the back of the house in the open air,
and consists of a few brick laid uip so as to keep
the burning pieces of bamboo in place, while the
cooking utensils consist of a kettle which sits
directly on the fire, two sieves that fit in the top
of the kettle one above the other, and a wooden
bowl for a cover. Take off the cover and we will
see what there is under it. Yes, that is vermicelli
in the first sieve. Steaming is the best way to
cook it anywhere. Lift up the sieve of vermicelli
and see what is in the lower one. Ah, of course;
that is rice! They steam that too. Lift up once
more and see what is in the water beneath. Pork?
So it is.  Pork, rice, and vermicelli! This will
make their dinner to-day, and I venture to say
that the same material composes more than three
hundred and fifty of the dinners of the year.
NVhen they come to dinner to-day they will take
the sieves and set them here on the ground, and,
after being seated all around, will slice the pork
into the rice and vermicelli, and all eat out of the
wooden bowl, using their fingers and those little
chop-ticks, which look like pipe-stems, instead
of knives and forks. Look! The other families
have their dinners cooking in the same way. They
never have any fire in the houses, and in cold
135 
HOW.
weather try to keep themselves warm by putting
on more clothing. They have very large and
heavy cloaks made of braided straw, - all fringed
on the outside,- which in winter gives them the
appearance of being thatched.
Here is the tree we saw, and here the paper
tablets pasted on the south side of it! See the
joss-sticks around the roots, and the pieces of half burned paper. It may have been two hundred
years since the ancestors of these families began
to worship the spirit in this tree; and, although
they have suffered meantime for food and clothing,
they have doubtless burned many a hundred dol lars worth of paper "mock money" and joss-sticks
to keep the good-will of this god.  They very sel dom let these sticks go out, and when the thunder
god sends a rain, the poor people cover the sticks
with pieces of clothing or matting to keep them
dry and burning. These four families are all relatives and must join together in bearing the expense of this tree-worship, each paying his share.
Here come the children! what a disgusting set
of little vagabonds they do appear to be! All
dressed in frocks so much alike that you cannot
tell the boys from the girls. Sore feet, sore eyes,
sore hands,- poor little things! How I would
like to souse you in the sea-water until you were
clean, and having dressed you like children in
America, exhibit you to your heathen father in
136 
MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER.
a state of Christian tidiness and comfort. The
hens and pigs are your companions, and, alas!
seem to be the society in which you are the most
fitted to appear.  Where is your mother, my little
man? See him run away from us as though he
was afraid to have us take any notice of him; and
there, all the others go after him. They don't understand our language, and think perhaps that we
have come to steal them. We will walk around
and see the mothers. Do you see that woman in
a frock and long pantaloons, cutting bamboo-leaves
for matting? She must be the wife of one of
these Coolies. See that bag she has on her back,
which makes her lean over as if it was heavy.
That contains her little baby. If we should go
out where she is, we would see its little head sticking out at the mouth of the bag and lopping back
and forth as it tries to sleep as if its neck was out
of joint. Sometimes it cries with the cramp, but
the mother does not mind it, as she has to work
hard to get enough to eat. When she gets an
armful of bamboo-leaves, she will come back and
see that the dinners are cooking as they should.
Here by this door-way is one of the grandmothers, seated on a stool and braiding the bamboo-le,ves into coarse mats.  It looks like the
coarse basket-work we sometimes see in America.
She will earn four or five cents to-day, if it is
pleasant and she can sit out in the light. How
137 
gray her hair is! Notice her thick shoes, short
dress, and strings of beads. She tells the fortunes
and reads the signs of the family; and is almost
a holy one in the eyes of the youth. They reverence their grandmothers more than they do any
other member of the family.
Here is another one of the wives. Hear how
she scolds at the children, and see how she has
tried to powder and paint her rough face. Her
hair as you will notice is combed straight back
from her forehead and arranged in a curious waxed
coil on the back of her head which resembles the
ornamental handle of an old-fashioned pewter
tea-pot. Her feet are not very small; for Coolies'
children are seldom allowed to compress the feet
and thus unfit themselves for the life of labor that
must come. Women having the smallest feet cannot walk alone. This woman, you see, has very
coarse clothes, homely features, rough hands, and
big feet, yet she is foolish enough to think that she
is handsome, and I have no doubt she was driving
away those dirty children for fear that we would
think they belonged to her.   She is evidently as
proud as she is poor. If so, her husband has
met with a calamity in marrying her which all
Vie gods of China cannot mitigate.   See how
proudly she stalks back into the hovel as we approach; for the purpose of showing us that she
knows the airs of high life, where women are not
138
HOW. 
THE COOLIE'S WIFE.
to be seen by strangers. She had much better be
attending to her husband's dinner, for which he will
soon be leaving the rice-beds. But let us hurry
and get away from this stench, which grows sensibly worse as the sun gets up, or we will have no
appetite for the currie and rice that await us at
the "Parson's," in Canton.
139
N
ma_
a 
CHAPTER XII.
THE COOLIE'S RESOLVE.
Tales of America as told by returning Chinamen. -How an
Americanized Coolie behaves.- Its Effect upon his Country men. - Emigration Circulars. - Central Pacific Railroad. -
Copies of Advertisements, &c.
NY returning adventurer who has been gone
from his native village for several years
feels that he must ponder upon the kind of a
story which he will tell when his old associatesfriends and enemies- gather about to hear of his
exploits. The nearer he draws to the port the
more important does this part of his duty appear
to him. There will be many an anxious ear
waiting for his story, and it behooves him, in view
of the important position which he holds, to so
prepare his tale that he may do his hearers and
himself great credit. Even the pleasure-traveller,
who takes only a short excursion to Europe, and
who feels that he has seen nothing of the adventurous kind, will no sooner find himself comfortably housed on board a returning steamer.
.,. 
0 
_ P  -_    ____                                _
$  \\~/ F{j\ \ j~~ \    \!
~>~~~
SOLD FOR DEBT. -Page 224. 
WANTED! - A  STORY.
than his thoughts run quickly homeward to'the
loved ones, and as speedily return with the query,
" \Vhat have you to tell us?" They seem to say,
as each landless morning returns, "Prepare yourself, for the gown and slippers are ready, the
ashes are brushed up around the hearth, and the
chairs are all set for that magic circle to which
you must tell your adventures." The traveller
from China, Japan, and India, where marvellous
things are said to happen, is in still greater perplexity with regard to the story he shall tell and
the embellishments which it may need to make it
interesting to children and old folks alike.  So
much of an object does it become to some men
that they rush into all kinds of danger, endure
serious hardships, and incur fabulous expenses
for the satisfaction of having a "good story to
tell" when they reach home  again.  Some few
conjure up imaginary adventures, and try to tell
them with the same spirit with which they would
relate real ones; but these are even more ex pensive than the true ones, as they impoverish
the moral and most valuable part of man's nature,
and leave him no satisfaction when told. Better
to risk his life on one that is real than to venture
eternity on one that is false. This is the feeling
among Christian and civilized men. How is it
with the heathen?
Do the Chinamen after a long absence in foreign
14 
I tOW.
countries feel any of the longings and responsi bilities which we feel? Have they those sensa tions of anxiety in reg,ard to the account which
they will render of the time the gods have given
them in America? I am satisfied that they have.
Human nature is the same  everywhere, subject
only to the shades which circumstances give to
it. The Chinaman in his childish pride must be
even more anxious than are Europeans to tell to his
credulous audience at home a thrilling and fascinating tale of adventures.  But upon his imagination or invention are put none of the restraints of
civilized Christianity, and no fears of a reckoning
in eternity will disturb him in manufacturing a
story of this kind. Given four solitary weeks of
dreary sea life, when to possess something uponI
which to ponder is a coveted happiness,- with an
uncertainty about the lawfulness of his return
that keeps his home perpetually in his mind, the
Coolie maps out his tales and lives over his California life with Aladdin-like additions. His hearers will expect something strange and wonderful,
and it is far from his proud intention to give them
any disappointment.  Many times his tale is all
he possesses when he reaches his home, and that
usually grows in proportion as his cash becomes
less. If he starts from San Francisco with a fortune in his pocket there is but little probability
of his reaching home with it. I do not believe
jL42 
GAMBLING.
that, out of a thousand Coolies who return, more
than two ever get to their destination with a
casth in their pockets.
All the Coolies that have come to the United
States, with only a very few individual exceptions,
have come from what is called the "Canton D)istrict," and all of them upon their return are landed
at Hongkong.   If, in  their gambling  among
themselves on board the ship, they have not lost
their money, they are almnost certain to do so in
the hideous gambling-dens which  the  English
government licenses in the Colony of Hongkong.
Sharpers are always on the watch for them, and
if they have never before had any inclination to
gamble, their belief in chance as a dispensation
of the gods will cause them to listen to the wily
arguments  of  their  Chinese  tempters.   Their
arrival on the soil of China, and being so near
home, together with the pretended friendships
which suddenly seizes upon a set of native swindlers, and their own desire to show their wealth
and importance, leads them into all kinds of extravagance, and gives to the thieves around them
a most desirable chance to cheat or rob them of
their money.   If it should  happen that they
escape the claws of the Hongkong vultures, they
will be pounced upon by the officials at Canton,
or in the interior, under cover of the law against
emigration, and fleeced of all they have, in the
-143 
HOW.
shape of bribes and fees, paid to escape the
prison or headsman. If they should slip through
the hands of one mandarin, by bribing him, that
same official would send a courier ahead of the
victims to tell the next mandarin of their coming,
and lhowv much money they have left.  Notwithstanding these reverses, which are sure to greet
the emigrant upon his return. and through which
he is fortunate to escape with his personal liberty, he still rehearses his wonderful stories of
the United States, for the exhibition which he
has never for a moment abandoned. It has never
been the writer's privilege to witness the return
of one of these emigrants to hlis native neighborhood, but he has heard many an incident relating
to the sensation which such an event naturally
causes in the ignorant and gossiping Chinese
communities.
The emigrant usually calls first on his aged mother or grandmother, to receive her congratulations,
and then goes to the residence of his own family,
if he is the fortunate possessor of a wife.  Whatever
changes may have occurred in his religious opinions while in America, he usually returns ostensibly a more devoted idolater than when he went
awN.ay, and his first thllought, after beicng restored to
his wife, is of an offering to the gods in honor of his
return. This is performed by the Boodist priests,
and the whole family, including such friends as he
144 
THE PRODIGAL'S PRIDE.
chooses to invite, join in the ceremony. This celebration serves to spread the news of his coming;
provided the ready mouth of gossip has not already
made the "wanderers return" well known to all
that ever were acquainted with him. After this,
if he keeps clear of the officials, he will be called
upon by old and young, hailed by the urchins in
the streets, and be a kind of living prodigy among
all classes. He will receive invitations to every
feast, where the lower classes are admitted, and
will be made the especial subject of sacrifice on
the next regular day for temple-worship. He is
naturally willing to believe that the people's ideas
of his nobleness is by no means false; and, in the
enjoyment of his temporary glory, does everything
he can to show his greatness.   He walks as they
walk in California, holds his head as they do in
San Francisco, talks down in his throat like the
miners, and acts in many respects as some foolish
American women do just upon their return from
the foppish city of Paris. He talks about "mnuchlee
dollar," and "me catchee pidgeon," with all the
dignity of a San Francisco banker. He slides his
skull-cap over on one side of his head, gloats in
high boots and a shirt collar, and otherwise astonishes ifis less-favored associates.  He rehearses his
prepared tales to the wondering multitude with
a pompousness that astonishes even himself. He
tells of gTeat mountains of gold, where all a man
145 
HOW.
can lift is had for the taking. He gives it as his
opinion that a piece of gold the size of a thumb nail is worth ten thousand million of cash.  He
says that the Chinese gods rule in California and
give to him whatever he asks for.  He goes into
particulars; and devotes an hour to the description
of the big blue, black, and white devils he has seen
in America, and the great battles he has witnessed
between them and the gods.  The joss in San
Francisco is said to talk with men and rebuke the
barbarians who come in to abuse him.  He says
that the Celestial inhabitants of the Pacific Coast
are applauded by Americans for their parentage,
and feared because of the great Kingdom from
which they came.  Hie himself has been offeredthe superintendence of a mining country where
there were millions of people and any number
of great palaces. Wine and all kinds of food to be
had for the asking, and little or no work. He has
been head comprador of a princely establishment
where he had a thousand American servants.
Soon, he begins to tell lariger stories, and contin2
ues to increase the size of his tales until they are
too much even for the heathen, and by " overleapin, himself" falls to the ground.  There is much
mnre danger lurking around the person that is too
popular than threatens the man that is too much
hated. And I am told that the emigrant, after a
few weeks of vainglory, is glad to escape the ridi
146
I 
UNDECIDED.
cule that begins to be thrown at him by such as
would hail his downfall with envious joy.
Whatever may be the Ultimatum of the emigrant's experience  as  an exponent  of Chinese
life in California, his stories do have an astonishing effect upon his old acquaintances. They may
ridicule and sneer, yet they feel convinced that
there is something in the fables which they have
heard.   They  contrast  the  emigrant's haughty
bearing as compared with that he wore when he
left them, and, seeing that he has better clothes
now than he could formerly afford, they form an
opinion at least favorable to America. The poor
Coolie goes to his hard, uncomfortable hut, after
hearing of the free California, with a discontented
feeling. He gTows uneasy as he resumes his
accustomed task, and thinks of the happy life in
the United States about which he has heard.
He has a vague idea that he would like to go
and see for himself. Weeks pass, and he hears of
gifts for the gods from Chinamen in California,
and of presents to a family from their friends
across the Pacific. Tales of rich Chinamen in the
United States begin to multiply, and under their
influence the Coolie's discontentment gradually
and steadily increases. He chafes under restraint,
gets disgusted with his family, despises his work,
hates his landlord, quarrels with the tax-collector,
and makes himself and everybody about him
generally miserable.
147 
tlOW.
No such fables were ever introduced or credited
about any other country. Nearly all the Coolies
for the colonies of East India go from the open
p)orts of China, where they have had more or less
contact with foreigners, and know exactly what
they are going to do when they arrive at their
destined  habitation.   The  proximity to China
also takes away a great deal of the romantic and
marvellous, while with those who have frequent
intercourse the affairs of the colonies are an everyday matter of fact. None but skilled workmen are
wanted or accepted, and consequently but very few
of the very lowest classes ever find their way there.
Not so with the United States. To these ports
everybody is encouraged to go, and much better
inducements are held out to the Coolie or laborer
than to the skilled workman.  The idea the most
dwelt upon by emigration agents is that the
United States is glad enough to get anybody, and
that the ignorant or partially educated Coolie is
just as welcome and as likely to obtain employment as are the  merchants  or higher classes.
"Equality" is the most potent doctrine used to
induce them to go.
These ideas the Coolie turns in his mind from
day to day, not daring to mention his thloughts to
any one lest he should be considered as an
offender against the laws and suffer accordingly.
The idea suggests itself, perhaps, that he is plot
148 
EMIGRATION CIRCULARS.
ting something unlawful, and it would  not be
surprising should his conscience, if he has any,
upbraid him and make him the more uncomfortable. Just at this time, perhaps, comes a circular
sent out by some ship-owners or contractors
through the Chinese brokers, informing him that
a vessel is taking Chinese passengers for California or New  Orleans.   It also states, among
other inducements, that the laborers shall have
$ 30 a month after their arrival in America, and
a comfortable passage across the Pacific Ocean.
These circulars are always couched in language
easily understood, so that if a man can read at all
he can easily master the contents. Everything
is explained as far as can be, including the value
of $ 30, and the cost of a ticket, in Chinese currency. Suggestions are also made about the most
speedy way of disposing of property and getting
into Hongkong, from which port all American bound emigrant vessels take their departure.
A copy of a circular issued in the Chinese lan guage, and sent into the country around Canton
by a Chinese broker's establishment in Hongkong,
was translated for me, from which I make the
following extract:   "Americans a very rich people. They want
the Chinamen to come and will make him very
welcome. There you will have great pay, large
houses, and food and clothing of the finest descrip
149 
150
tion. You can write to your friends or send them
money at any time, and we will be responsible for
the safe delivery. It is a nice country, without
mandarins or soldiers. All alike; big man no
larger than little man. There are a great many
Chinamen there now, and it will not be a strange
country. China god is there, and the agents of
this house. Never fear, and you will be lucky.
Come to Hon-kong, or to the sign of this house
in Canton, and we will instruct you. Money is ill
great plenty and to spare in America. Such as
wish to have wages and labor guaranteed can
obtain the surety by application at this office."
No sooner does the discontented Coolie read
this, if he is able to decipher it, or hear it read,
if he cannot, than he feels that the time for the
move which he has contemplated has come. Here
is a chance for the poor man to escape tyranny
and want and become independent and happy.
His forefathers have said that America was a
happy land, and he has heard that a Chinese
family first settled on its flowery domain, and
now the gods seem to point to it as a way for
him out of his trouble. Who knows what thoughts
fill his brain and quicken his heart as he lies
down upon the cold damp ground of his hovel
the night after the receipt of the circular, resolved
to emigrate to Amnerica!
While the agricultural Coolie is making his
iiow. 
MISREPRESENTATION.-PACIFIC RAILROAD. 151
resolve there are thousands of others who arrive
at the same conclusion at nearly the same time.
Circulars and runners often misrepresent the condition of the Chinaman in America, and, for the
purpose of filling a ready vessel or making out a
contract within the stipulated time, give reasons
for their haste which are not sustained by the
truth They offer to the laborer, whether he be a
weaver, carver, tailor, hatter, or farmer, a lucrative
situation in America where he will be employed
at his own trade.  They say nothing about the
cost of living in the United States, and leave it to
be inferred that it will be no more expensive than
it is in China, while the wages will be twenty
times as much. They even go farther, and most
grossly misrepresent the accommodations on board
the ship, the food that will be furnished them,
and the reception they will be likely to meet
when they arrive in America; as will be seen by
the appended copies.
Although brokers and other interested parties
have been in the habit of publishing circulars
upon the subject whenever a cargo of Coolies was
wanted, yet the first occasion, as I am told, on
which they met with any definite return was at
the-time of the great demand for laborers to build
the Central Pacific Railroad.   The construction
and equipment of that road was one of the most
important projects ever undertaken, when con
I 
sidered in a national point of view. Some men
are foolish enough to believe that America owes
its present unity as much to the construction
of that track as to the armies under General
Grant.  However that may be, it was very neces sary to the government and to civilization that
the road should be completed at the earliest pos sible moment. All that the constructors asked
for from the national council wvas granted without
hesitation.  Money and acres were given.away by
the million and much treasure squandered that
would have been saved by a little delay. But no!
California was in the balance, and nothing but some
great enterprise undertaken in her behalf by the
national law-makers would keep her men and gold
in the Union.  The Pacific RPoad was that enterprise.  How gigantic it seemed, and with what
wonderful speed it traversed the deserts and encircled the mountains is well known; and the astonished nations of the earth have not yet ceased
to wonder. At that time the isolated State of
California was not sufficiently supplied with laborers to carry on its own liberal enterprises, and consequently was ill prepared to undertake the grading of a thousand miles of railroad, which must
mount to the snows, descend to the blooming valley, and bore through rocky ridges, again and again
before it reached the great basin of Salt Lake. In
this exigency an appeal was made to the China
152
HOW.
I 
ANSWERING THE SUMMONS.
men.  "Come over and help us!" echoed across
the Pacific. "We have money to spend, but no
one to earn it," said the despatches to Hongkong.
Then the brokers began to print their circulars, the boardinghouse keepers to rearrange their
rooms for temporary lodgers, while the aanlmorfli't
entered upon fresh expedients for preventing anything but free emigration.   Meanwhile couriers
scoured the country from Swatow to Liuchau, and
from Yangkiang, to Nanngan, scattering the invitations everywhere and proclaiming to the wonderstruck Coolies that a great nation had need of
them. These couriers went into the hovel and
told of fine houses, into the rice-swamps and spoke
of healthier occupations, into the workshops and
ridiculed the pay, and lost no opportunity, so long
as the officials left them free, to sow discontent in
the already desponding hearts of every laborer's
family. Men who had heard of America only as
a land of fable, where none but the good were
allowed to go, heard it then for the first time in
connection with themselves.
They came. Every valley and mountain in
Fukien, every plain and river in Kwantung, con tributed to the army of labor which was to give
to the Union peace and prosperity.   So many
came to the ports that there were not ships enough
to take them; and years passed before all had left
Hongkong who came there to answer the invita
153 
HOW.
tion sent by the Pacific Railroad.  Since that call
there has been but little difficulty in obtaining
ship-loads at any time for America. For the result
of the investigation of the subject at that time,
corroborated by such as have returned, gave the
people O Cho heard of it great confidence in America and its people. So much has this continent
eclipsed the countries of Asia and the islands of
the Pacific, that it is with the greatest difficulty
laborers can be found for ally but North American
ports.  Ships have been in Hongkong harbor for
weeks, and the owners have spent large sums of
money in advertising for Coolies to be taken to
the Sandwich Islands, without getting a dozen
men.   Yet  all the Chinese  boarding establishments were in the mean time filled with Coolies
waiting for the departure of the Pacific Mail Company's steamer for San Francisco. This "emigration fever" steadily increases, and it may be safely
estimated, that, from this time forth, if no measures are taken to prevent it, the number of Coolies
comilng to this country during any one year will
be doubled during the subsequent year.
Translated copy of a circular issued in 1862 by a
comprador in Hongkong, who contracted to load
an Oregon vessel with emigrants.
"To THE COUNTRYMEN OF ARR CHEAU! There
are laborers wanted in the land of Oregon, in the
154 
COPIES OF CIRCULARS.
United States, in America. There is much inducement to go to this new country, as they have
many great works there which are not in our own
country. They will supply good houses and plenty
of food. They will pay you $ 28 a month after
your arrival, and treat you considerately when
you arrive. There is no fear of slavery. All is
nice. The ship is now going and will take all
who can pay their passage. The money required
is $ 54. Persons having property can have it sold
for them by my correspondents, or borrow money
of me upon security. I cannot take security on
your children or your wife. Come to me in Hongkong, and I will care for you until you start. The
ship is substantial and convenient.
(Signed)               "ARR  OHEAU."
Another circular, issued in 1868, read as follows: -
" GREAT PAY.  Such as would be rich and favored by Shan, come to the writer for a ticket to
America.  The particulars will be told on arrival
(Signed)               "SHOO MING."
One issued in April, 1870, contains the following
most extraordinary statements:
"All Chinamen make much money in New Orleans, if they work. Chinamen have become richer than mandarins there. Pay, first year, $300,
155 
HOW.
but afterwards made more than double. One can
do as hlie likes in that country. Nobody better nor
get more pay than does he. Nice rice, vegetables,
and wheat, all very cheap. Three years there will
make poor workmen very rich, and he can come
home at any time. On the ships that go there
passengers will find nice rooms and very fine food.
They can play all sorts of games and have no
work.  Everything nice to make man happy.  It
is nice country. Better than this. No sickness
there and no danger of death. Come! go at once.
You cannot afford to wait. Don't heed any wife's
counsel or the threats of enemies. Be Chinamen,
but go."
Several other translations of these advertisements have been put in my hands by friends, some
of which state the plain truth, and contain trustworthy information upon the manner of conducting business in America. But the larger part of
them use the most extravagant and, in some instances, outrageously false expressions, and can be
excused only on the plea that exaggeration is the
habit of Asiatics, and that whatever is said or
written is understood to be true only to a certain
extent. I am sure, however, that many people
reading the statements that there was "no sickness in America," believed it and acted upon it
when nothing else could have moved them.
156
I
I 
CHAPTER XIII.
CONSULTING TIIE GODS.
Expectations.- Obligations to  Boodah.- Inquiries  of the
Kitchen God.- Dreaming on the Sea-shore.- Methods of
Consulting the Deities. - Spiritualism in China. - The Inter view with a Medium.- Farewell Ceremony by the Priests.  Preparing the Spirits of Ancestors for the long Absence of
the Coolie in A.aerica.
W HEN  we left the Coolie in the last chapter
he had just made up his mind to emigrate.
How he was to reach Canton or get from that
city to the rendezvous in Hongkong was, perhaps,
a perplexing enigma.  If he felt as other races
feel on the eve of such important events, he must
have passed the night in restless tossings, building
and rebuilding air-castles of the most chimerical
material. He would think of his family and what
they would do without him.  He would imagine
how tleased his children would be and how proud
it would make himself, to come back with  a
princely fortune and astonish his old neighbors.
Then the harrowing thought returns of his present
ih -
AF) 
H-OW.
poverty, and the doubt there is of his being able
to pay his fare to San Francisco. He feels that
he must go, to escape the awful suffering in the
shape of mental and physical toil which he is
daily enduring, because there is no hope in rebel lion. His children will be like him in circum stance and prospect, unless he does some such
bold thing to relieve them. He must go. But
how?
After exhausting his own expedients, and find ing nothing feasible, he turns to the supernatural,
as man is apt to do, and determines to make in quiry of the spirit-world. He has been educated
to believe that communications can be carried on
with the spirits in heaven or hell, if the questioner
will only comply with certain conditions, and that
it is a meritorious action to make such inquiry
in times of distress. He feels that the subject is
of sufficient importance to be taken before the
image of Boodah, which sits in a little tile-covered
shed that stands on a hill several miles away, and
is called a "temple." If he had the time to go
there, and the money to lay out in offerings, he
would cast lots in the presence of the god to get
the answers he requires. But as he has neither
of the requisites for obtaining the evidence of the
greatest god, he must be satisfied to take uip with a
lesser divinity; just as the idolatry in some Christian churches gives to the rich man the highest seat
158
I
l 
CONSULTING THE KITCHEN GOD.
wBith a waste of religion, while in the back pews by
the "gloomy corner" there are men and women
suffering for the crumbs which the rich man spoils.
For it is a state of society bordering on idolatry,
vwhlere the rich man, in the eyes of men, is a fitter
candidate than his poor neighbor for the honors of
eternal life. The Coolie, in his poverty, feels this
privation, and, bclieviny that he has no such opportunity as the wealthy official to secure a happy
hereafter, adds it to the long list of grievances which
he has already made out against his China home.
Thrown upon the lesser spirits for the replies that
Boodah should give, he determines to inquire first
of the kitchen god, which chubby image even the
poorest hovel in China could not be without. So,
in the absence of room to perform his ceremonies
in the overcrowded hut where his family are sleeping, he arises noiselessly from his hard cot, and,
taking thie little image and his straw cloak, steps
out with them into the damp and starlit night.
Over the -uitch into the rice-fields goes the poor
devotee of a false religion, carrying in his hand
the image or being which he considers to be pos sessed of divine power and wisdom.   Strange,
strange infatuation!  Soon he emerges from the
muoky swamp, covered to his knees with the black
mud of the paddy-field, and walks hastily clown
to the sea-beach. Here he will find a roomy bed
for himself and a rocky pedestal for the image.
j
1 a- 9 
]HOW.
Hie has made up his mind to dream out the answers to his unsolved problems, and will ask the
god to guide his visions. He places the god carefully upon a sand-covered stone, in an upright
position, and in accordance with his local superstition, takes all the cash he has in his pocket and
places them in little piles of sevens on the sand
before the idol. Then, retiring a little way lihe
swings his clenched hands up and down, and, making three low bows, falls upon his knees.  Then
placing his forehead on the ground he makes many
promises to the god; among which are money and
rice, when he returns from California. To bind
the bargain he begs the deity to take the cash
already offered. In consideration of all this, he
pleads for a dream, the interpretation of which
will show him some way to get a passage to San
Francisco. Then rising to his feet and looking
about to assure himself that no one sees him, he
wraps his coat of thatch about him and lies down
upon the sand to dream. The dull, eternity-like
ocean comes with its crystal, life-like bubbles, and
lau,lghingly breakls them on the beach below, while
the thirsty freedom-seeker looks up at the stars,
and longs, and listens, and sleeps, and dreams.
II, when the morning breaks and he takes his way
with the image back to the hovel, he has had any
dream of a certain road or of certain men hlie will
be safe in concluding that the god had answered
160
i 
COXSULTATION BY THE STRING AND STICK.  161
his petition. In which case he would be very
likely to take advantage of the suggestion at once.
But if his dreams were fitfutl, unconnected  and
hard  to remember,  as, in his disturbed  state
of mind, would most likely be the case, hlie will
make up his mind that he has taken the  wrong
method to obtain an answer. For the sake of continuingr the subject we will suppose that the state
of his mind is in accord with the latter proposition,
and follow him to the next ceremony which his
superstition requires him to perform.
If he has sufficient time before the beginning of
his hour of work to consult the god in other ways
he will drive the family out of the hovel, and
after replacing the god on its accustomed shelf
and returning the cash to his pocket, will take a
short piece of bamboo-rod and drive it into the
floor or prop it in an upright position with bricks
or blocks of wood.  From the top of this short
piece of rod to some object on the other side of
the cabin hle will stretch a stout piece of cord, taking care that it is slightly at an angle with the
shelf on which the idol sits.  Having done  this
he selects a small chip of wood and balances it on
the cord about half-way between the rod and  the
other'fixture. Having, gone thus far with his preparations, he presents his petition by repeating it
three times, and prostrating himself for a few
moments before the image; always being careful
I
I 
HOW.
to so word his request that it can be answered by yes
or no. He then takes a stick, and, striking against
the upright rod beneath the string, causes the latter to give a sudden jerk throwing the chip into
the air. If the chip falls on the side of the string
next to the Coohlie, his petition is answered in the
affirmative; if it falls upon the other side, the
answer is in the negative. The Coolie's first question would naturally be, "Is it best for me  to go
to America?" The chip falling on his side shows
the reply of the god to be "Yes."  "Shall I get
much money?"  "Yes."  "Would it be well for
me to go now?"  "No."  "This year?"   "No."
"Next year?"  "No."  Here is a dilemma, and
the Coolie goes back to ask the first question over
again.  This time he gets "no" for an answer and
immediately suspends the ceremony, as a "yes"
and a "no" answer to the same question are supposed to show the idol's unwillingness to answer
any more queries.  This not only stops inquiry by
the "string method," but by all others; and the
Coolie, who, but for such a result would have questioned further -by tossing up a piece of money
with heads for "yes " and tails for "no," or by
drawing at random a numbered stick out of a
bunch, the number of which refers to some of the
classified sayings of the sages on the affairs of life,
- is now forbidden further consultation. These
hlaving failed, through the obstinacy of the god,
162
i
1.
11,
I 
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
in this case, the Coolie must seek other sources of
information if he would go to the golden land of
America.
I wonder if the spiritualists of this day in New
Engiland ever think that their belief is "nothlling
new" either in theory or practice; or that it has
been known and believed in China for more than
twenty-three hundred years? Not only do the
Chinese spiritualists believe in the same  agencies and the same results which distinguishes the
sect here; but they also practice all the methods
adopted in this country for spiritual commnunication, and a hundred others that do not seem to be
known here. By this means they determine what
their deceased relatives are doing, - how they
live and what they eat,- what are the troubles
and pains of purgatory and what is the remedy.
They believe that the land of purgatory is like this
earth socially and politically, with the exception
of the absence of work and wages. The spirits are
supposed to eat, drink, sleep, quarrel, fight, sing,
dance, &c., just as they did on earth. But as life
is as expensive there as here they can have but
little joy unless the relatives on earth send them
money enough to pay their expenses.  During the
stay of the spirits in that nether world, which is
but temporary, they are possessed of certain powers, by means of which the gods expect them to
make their wants known to men.  They can rap
163 
HIOW.
on chairs and tables, and move the kitchen furniture with the permission of the kitchen god; they
can make noises ill the air, play on musical instruments, show their footprints in the mud  or
sand, sprinkle water on the face of the dead, pull
the hair or clothes of the living, take possession
of human beings, and after putting them into a
trance, talking through them; and, in a thousand
other strange ways, show their presence and desires. The most common method pursued by the
Chinese is that of the medium, or "talking with
the human mouth"; and to such a source will the
Coolie go for the information which the kitchen
god has refused to give.  With a few cash in his
pocket to make the medium a present hlie hurries
to the hut of a neighbor whose wife, son, or
daughter is possessed of the  articulatory organs
which the spirits like to use in their communications with men.  Among the wealthier classes, he
would not be permitted to see, and much less to
communicate with, a woman belonging to another
family, no matter whether the spirits took a liking
to her or not; but he and his neighbors are too
poor to stand on points of etiquette in matters
where the other world is concerned.  So he visits
te female medium in the hut by the sea-shore
with perfect impunity, and with little regard for
etiquette makes known his wants together with
the present he has brought. The medium is a girl
16-1
II 
~
t l l
CHINESE SCHOOL ON THE AMERICAN PLAN.- Page 245. 
I 
THE MEDIUM.
about eighteen years old, who wears short hair, a
man's hat, bone rings on her ankles, and otherwise
distilng,uishes herself by strange decorations and
wild manners.
At once upon his making his request, and giving
her a piece of paper on which is scrawled the
name of the ancestor whose spirit he wishes to invoke, she seats herself upon a stool in the centre
of the room, and, closing her eyes, waits patiently
for the appearance of the spirit.  It sometimes
happens that the spirit called for is too busy withI
some affairs of his own to be drawn away by the
ordinary means, in which case he sends another
spirit in his stead. The applicant is sure to get a
communication from some one, and in cases where
the spirit called for has left Hades to take up his
abode in the body of another man  or in some
beast, one of the "seven" come to speak for him.
These "seven"  are the jailers or overseers  in
Hlades, and have entire control of the souls of deceased mnen, and when one has so conducted himself there as to gain their good-will, they permit
hini  to go back to the earth again, in the shape
of a wolf, bear, buffalo, or child. They ever after
hold him in kind remembrance, and are always accommod'ating, when any of his relatives have questions to ask of them concerning worldly gain.  All
spirits, however, make the same impression upon
the medium when they begin to take possession
165 
IIhOW.
of her body. Their presence is indicated by various
starts and nervous twitches, with an apparent inclination to sleep.  When these symptoms appear,
the Coolie prostrates himself before the medium
with his face to the ground and waits with anxious
suspense for the awful words which the spirit uses
at the beginning of her communications.  With a
series of mumblings and exclamations, which the
devotee supposes to be something wonderful because they are unintelligible, the mnediulm lifts up
her head, shakes herself, and with closed eyes announces her readiness to answer any questions
that the Coolie sees fit to ask. At this point lihe
lifts his head and seats himself "tailor fashion"
on the ground. Then putting the palm of one
hand on top of his head begins his inquiries:  "Is this the spirit of my ancestor?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what I come here for?"
"Yes."
"Will you tell me how I can get to America?"
" Vith money."
" How am I to get any money?"
"Borrow it."
"Wrho will lend it to me?"
"Anybody."
" WVhat security can I give?"
"Your wife and family."
"Who will take that security?"
166
,I 
INTERROGATING TIlE SPIRITS.
"You will find it if you search."
"Who will I ask?"
"The elders of the next village."
"When must I start?"
"At once."
" Will I come back very rich?"
"Yes; richer than a mandarinl."
"Will my family be safe and will they continue
the worship of my ancestors?"
"Yes."
"Will they all live till I come back?"
"Yes."
"Is America such a nice country as the printed
paper said?"
"0 yes. It abounds in every luxury and is
free from pain and sickness."
"Are all my ancestors willing that I should go
to America?"
"Yes; but you must send them large sums of
money before you start, and keep them supplied
afterwards."
"Must I go to the priests and ask them to
appease Boodah?"
"Yes."
"Will my family be willing that I should go
to AnTerica?"
"Yes, if you tell them that I, their great ancestor, advise it. Have you any further questions?"
"1No."
167
II 
HOW.
Here the Coolie prostrates himself again, while,
after various sighs and twitchings, the medium
opens her eyes and declares that the spirit has
gone and she will take the cash.
The light-hearted Coolie, fully satisfied that he
will find a way out of his perplexities and return
from California wealthy enough to be free, hastens
back to his hut to tell his family.
One would suppose, judging by the exhibitions
of human nature in our own land, that his wife
and children, together with all the other near relatives, would be much grieved at the idea of parting with their friend and protector. If they are so,
they do not show it. The wife - a slave to husband and employer -  has no word of discouragement when her husband has decided to go, and
is too superstitious to interpose her will against
that of the deified ancestors. Some of the children may cry, if they have not reached that age
where cruelty and privation prune away the buds
of human affection. The wife trembles at the idea
of becoming security for a debt which accident or
inclination might so easily make her responsible
for; but she is too well trained in the harness of
servitude and too faithful a believer in spiritualism
to interpose the slightest objection.
Having, thus arranged all things to his satisfaction, and having not the least doubt but that,
when he asks the elders of the adjoining village,
168
I
I 
MONEY FOR DECEASED FRIENDS.
they will fulfil the promise of the spirits, he proceeds at once to prepare his relatives in the other
world for his long absence. They must have
money with which to buy spiritual food and
clothing, and his family will, in his absence, be too
poor to supply them, until after money has been
received from him.  So he prepares enough to
keep the spirits with strict economy until he has
time to reach the United States, earn money and
send it home. This spiritual money is prepared
in many ways. The Rev. Justus Doolittle speaks
of tinfoil and certain kinds of paper as being used
for this money at Foochow, and the Rev. Dr.
Albau at Teinsin, of pieces of skins and scraps of
bark used for the same purpose. In Fukien, this
money is made of almost any available material
which can be marked with ink, -paper, bark,
bamboo-leaves, tinfoil, cloth, and various other
things having been seen in use.  The Coolie, who
has no money to purchase expensive material, will
strip the dry leaves from the bamboo-bushes near
his dwelling, and, with the assistance of the family,
will cut them into little square blocks and cover
them with writing, or with strange marks which
look to him like letters. Little garments are also
cut out and marked for the purpose of supplying
the spirits with clothing. Each piece is prepared
with such care that the manufacture is really a
very slow process. It will take him and his
169
i
I 
HOW.
family many spare hours to make a sufficient
supply to last the spirits during the nine months
or more which it will take for a return of money
from America.  But when it is finished, and, by a
consultation with the kitchen god, he learns that
the spirits will be satisfied with the amount, he
encloses small bunches in little paper boxes prepared for the purpose, and marks upon the cover
the ancestor's name for whom it is intended. One
of these boxes is placed before each ancestral
tablet,- which is usually a piece of paper pasted
up with the ancestor's name upon it,- and there
burned to ashes, while the Coolie prays the ancestor to accept his "meagre gift."  Some  of this
money is also burned for the benefit of the kitchen
god; and the tree at the back of the house comes
in for its share. Food, in the shape of rice-cakes
and vegetables, is then offered to the gods and to
the ancestors by setting it apart from the food of
the family for a short time, joss-sticks are lighted in
various places, and the ignorant Coolie supposes
that his ancestors are provided for.
One more duty remains to be performed before
the Coolie has completed his superstitious tasks,
which consists in a sacrifice to the "three greatest
gods." This is done to obtain the personal goodwill of those divinities as well as to secure their
protection in case the Coolie should be threatened
with the vengeance of any of the ten thousand
.-.......
170 
SACRIFICE TO BOODAH.
other gods with which his imagination peoples
the heavens and the earth. This is to be a sacrifice which will cover all the other offerings that
his poverty obliges him to omit.  I am not able
to decide whether these "three greatest gods" are
the three forms of Boodah, or the "pure ones"
spoken of in published works on the Tauist faith;
neither do the laboring classes understand the distinction between them. This ceremony is often
performed, however, among them in the interior
townships of Quantung when any great undertaking is to be inaugurated.  The Coolie collects
all his available cash, and going to one of the
"work priests" who dresses, lives, and labors like
the common people, makes as close a bargain as
he can for the ceremony required.  This priest
associates with himself two others of the same
class, or, as has been stated, gets one of the gowned
and shaven priests from an adjoining temple or
monastery, and proceeds with them to the house
of the Coolie. Before their arrival everything has
been cleared out of the little square room, and the
whole place, outside and in, swept with the greatest care.  The family all put on new clothes, if
they have any, and wash the old ones if they have
not, ald the children even go so far as to wash
their faces.   A  quantity of tempting rice and
vegetables is prepared and the neighbors invited,
so that the ceremony will be imposing and the
171 
HOW.
dinner well attended. All the hopes which the
family have of future prosperity, and all their
native pride, is centred in this ceremony, and
they spare no pains in making it as genteel and
interesting as possible to both gods and men. It
begins with the appearance of the priests, who are
met a little way from the dwelling by the Coolie
and his oldest son, who kneel before these officials
and in that position receive their blessing. Then
the father leads the way to the house while his
son follows behind the priests; and upon their
arrival, the whole company about the door-way
bow nearly to the ground and remain in that
position until the priests have passed in. The
Coolie and his family then kneel about the threshold with the invited guests, and continue in that
position during the performance of the idolatrous
rites. The priests unroll a large sheet of paper,
upon which is painted the figures of three men
seated side by side, supposed to be the "three
great gods," and fasten it to the wall of the room
near the window. Underneath it they place the
narrow table, and arrange upon it a row of waxcandles and a bundle of joss-sticks. After repeating a verse from some religious writer, and bowin, toward each other, they pass several times
around the room bearing a gong, a bell, and a
wooden box, upon which they tap in slow and
measured beats. Whenever they pass before the
i
I
172
AL
-4 
PETITIONING THE GODS.
picture of the idols they make a low bow and rap
their foreheads, reminding the European looker-on
of Catholic worship. The candles are afterwards
lighted with great ceremony, and the march around
the room resumed, while the priests keep time to
the beats of their gongs, with a medley of strange
words, supposed to have much influence with
the "three great gods." This continues for a halfhour, after which the gongs, etc. are laid aside
and the candles carried around and around, - the
priests lifting them up and pulling them down
with a jerk, on each emphatic note in their meaningless chant.  When the ceremony has lasted an
hour or more, the priests ignite the joss-sticks,
and then, with more chant and much more gong
music, the good-will of the gods is supposed to
be gained. Now comes the request for protection.
Small round rice-cakes, cups of vegetables, and
heads of wheat are set before the pictures, and
after a chant and a prayer the priests leave the
hut for a few moments, to give the gods time, if
they should wish it, to partake of the dinner
unobserved. On returning they declare that the
gods are not hungry, and will be much more likely
to answer the Coolie's petition than if they had
been-hungry and ill-natured. They then take a
fresh bundle of joss-sticks, and, setting them before
the gods without lighting, take away the burning
ones and extinguish them. These partly burned,
173 
HOW.
sticks are then carefully mixed with a fresh bunch,
and, after being tied, are presented to the Coolie
with instructions to draw one. The ends which
are shown to the Coolie are those which have not
been charred, while the blackened ends are concealed in the hands of the priest. If he draws a
fresh one, the reply is in the negative; but should
he select one that has been charred, the reply is in
the affirmative.
Sometimes the priests choose to let the Coolie
ask his own questions while the joss-sticks burn.
If so, they give him two pieces of wood which
look like a round wooden ball sawed into two
equal pieces.  These he puts together, and after
a chant, lets them fall to the floor. If the round
sides come down, the gods will not notice his
case. If both round sides come up, he has received
"No" for his answer.  If one round side and one
flat side comes up, he has received an affirmative
answer to his petition.  The reception of this
reply closes the religious ceremony. The priests
then tie up their gongs, bells, etc., roll up the
picture of the "three great gods," put out the
candles and joss-sticks, and join the waiting company gathered around the dinner-kettle at the
back of the house. The sons of the Coolie assist
him in setting out the trays of rice, wheat, and
vegetables, while he extends a pressing invitation
to all present, and offers a meek apology for a
174 
SACRIFICIAL DINNER.
dinner which he knows to be one of the best.
Each guest comes supplied with chop-sticks; and,
with many good wishes for the Coolie's safe return, they show by their present action how well
they will enjoy another dinner when he shall be
rich enough to invite the whole township.
175 
CHAPTER XIV.
THE LOAN.
The old "Contract System." -  How the Chinese were deceived.
- The Action of the United States Congress.- Pledging Wife
and Children for a Ticket to America. - The Coolie's Thoughts
on leaving Home.-  Village Elders and their Election. How they assist the Emigrant.- The Miandarin's Fee. Swindling a poor Man.- Signing the Bond.
N  order to understand the reasons which lead
the Coolie to his next step, we will divert the
attention of the reader for a moment with a reference to the "Contract System," which, so far as
North America is concerned, the law of the United
States has destroyed. When the moral and legal
power of all the civilized nations, with the exception of Spain and Portugal, was brought to bear
against the "Coolie Trade," it did not put an end
to the heinous traffic, as all noble-minded men
expected, but only served to restrict it to certain
ports, and to cause its promoters to adopt a new
name for the same crime. They called it the
"Contract System."  Through this nomen they
-~~~I' 
THE CONTRACT SYSTEM.
sought to convey to the world the impression that
the Chinamen whom they carried away were
persons who had entered into contracts to pay
their passage-money after arriving at their destination.  These contracts bound the Coolie to pay
so much per month, or to work a certain length
of time, as a consideration for his passage across
the water. But as the duped Coolies could not
read the contracts, and usually signed the papers
before the blanks were filled out, it left the shipowners, or the planters to whom they transferred
the contracts, with no restrictions whatever. In
cases where the fare for the passage was only
fifty dollars, the laborer was made, without his
knowledge, to sign a contract for eight or ten
years' work. The fact that the vessels would not
receive a Coolie who wished to pay his fare in
advance is sufficient evidence of their evil intentions. The gentleman whose generous statesmanship prompted him in framing the United States
Law upon the "Coolie Trade" doubtless had these
facts in view when he so worded it as to forbid
the use of American vessels in the transportation
of Coolies under the contract system. By it* a
heavy fine as well as a term of imprisonment was
imposed upon every individual who voluntarily
aided in procuring or transporting such laborers.
None but voluntary emigrants were allowed in
* See page 103.
177 
HOW.
American vessels, or in foreign vessels bound to
American ports. No Chinaman would be considered a voluntary emigrant unless he paid his
fare in advance, and was unbound by any contract
to labor after his arrival in the destined port.
This law is in force still.* At the time it was
passed it may not have been thought how much
* Congress, in 1864, passed an "Act to Encourage Emigration," which created the office of Emigration Commissioner, and
made valid contracts with emigrants in foreign countries in the
following language  "All contracts that shall be made by emigrants to the United States in foreign countries in conformity
to regulations that may be established by the said Commissioner, whereby emigrants shall pledge the wages of their labor
for a term not exceeding twelve months, to repay the expenses
of their emigration, shall be held to be valid in law, and may
be enforced in the courts of the United States or of the several
States and Territories; and such advances, if so stipulated in
the contract, and the contract be recorded in the recorder's office
in the county where the emigrant shall settle, shall operate as a
lien upon any land thereafter acquired by the emigrant, whether
under the Homestead Law when the title is consummated, or
on any property otherwise acquired, until liquidated by the
emigrant; but nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
authorize any contract contravening the Constitution of the
United States, or creating in any way the relation of slavery or
servitude." This law has never been applied to Chinese emigration by the commissioner, and would be of no avail if he
attempted to do so, as the Chinaman seldom acquires any propertyrupon which the contract would be a lien, and the only security the lender of money could have, as he has no control
over the nwvements of the borrower, would be simply the word
of the Coolie, which for many reasons no European business
man would take in such circumstances.
178 
EFFECT OF THE UNITED STATES LAW.   179
it would affect our own country, or what its consequences might be in China. The traffic with Cuba
and the islands of South America was at that time
the exciting theme, and was made of greater consequence just then by the complaints of other nations, who declared that the greater part of that
terrible trade was done in American ships. Its
only effect upon the trade with Cuba and South
'America was a transfer of the lucrative traffic
from American vessels to the ships of other countries.  But  its effect  upon  emigration to this
country was great indeed. Before that, a Coolie
who had no money or available property with
which to pay his passage could make a contract,
either with the man in California who needed his
services, or with a native "Society" or brokerage
establishment in that State, by which he would
receive his ticket, or the money with which to pay
for it, in advance.  In that way he contracted to 
pay only the face value of the ticket, and was sure
that in a country like the United States no Cul)an
system of swindling or enslaving would be coun tenanced or permitted. In a land where, accord ing to the rules of its fundamental law, all con tracts must show "a consideration," or, upon
application, be declared null and void, there is
little danger of an overcharge for a passage-ticket,
or of an underration in the value of the laborer's
wages while paying for it.  This the Chinaman is 
HOW.
shrewd enough to understand, and he would gladly
enter into contracts to be fulfilled in the United
States when nothing could tempt him to make
the same bargain to be carried out in India, Spain
or Portugal. But this law cuts off all negotiation
with regard to the payment in this country of debts
contracted in China; so that, for the last eilght
years, the Coolie has had no choice but to pay his
fare in advance. If he cannot do this, no shipmaster would run the risk of taking him on board.
Out of the large number that left Hongkong
ill the year 1869 for the United States, nearly one
third belonged to that class of coolies who own
no property and who can scarcely live from day
to day in China on their wages. The others belong,ed to the next higher class, who may be the
owners of cabins, pieces of land, or other prop'erty sufficient to secure a passage, and yet be far
from the danger of want or even of starvation in
case of any accident. Among the higher or partially educated classes money can be borrowed of
friends with or without security, so that if a man
is poor himself, his wealthier relatives may advance him the necessary funds. Of this class few
ever emigrate; as they consider themselves well
situated in China. Of the very highest classes,
none ever go out of their native country. The
lower classes are consequently the onily persons
affected by the United States law, or who would
180 
CHINESE SLAVERY.
be benefited by any change. They are the most
anxious to emigrate, and yet must undergo the
greatest hardships to get out of the country.
Beingc, a little better than slaves, they do have a
few recognized rights, and among these is the right
to sell themselves or their families.  This property
rig,ht in one's family is recognized by all classes,
although in some localities no free person can be
sold into slavery by parents without his or her
consent.
Chinese slavery is said to be less irksome than
was African slavery in America. Yet, as the
buyer has an exclusive and entire ownership,
and as human nature in China has the same
coarse features that it has in other countries, I
venture the opinion that slaves in some localities
in China see hardships that the African seldom or
never saw in America. Chinese slavery is not,
however, strictly hereditary, and when a Coolie
sells his son or daughter, he is not supposed to
convey any right to the services of his unborn
great-grandchildren.   This right to sell also in eludes the right to mortgage; and the Coolie who
has no other goods or chattels to offer as security
in the payment of his passage across the Pacific
Ocea,n, may pledge the life-services of his daugh ter, his son, his wife, or of the entire family.
Understanding thus much of Chinese cus tom we will follow the Coolie in his search for
181 
HOW.
money. He has been told, as it will be remem bered, that by an application to the elders of the
next village he will ascertain how he can procure
a ticket for the United States. This advice, how ever, was wholly unnecessary, as the first thing
which the Coolie himself would think of doing
would be consulting with the elders. To these
petty officers go all the lower classes in cases of
trial or perplexity, and as these men are elected to
office by a vote of the freeholders, they usually listen gravely to every petition, with an eye perhaps
to a future vote. In fact, they are the only officials to whom the laborers can apply. Every other
officer in the nation is appointed and removed by
the Emperor; and, apparently for fear that his
officials may loose their dignity or make local connections which would be dangerous to the government, the Emperor seldom keeps them in one
locality over three years, and does not permit
their wives or children to live in the same town
with them during their official term. Such appointees, like military post commanders in civilized countries, have no interest in the locality,
and care too little for the people and too much for
their own personal' comfort, to be pestered by the
ordinary grievances of their subjects. Nothing of
a private nature would receive their slightest attention, unless a fee in the hand, or prospective, was
shown as a retainer. The Coolie knows full well that
182 
CONSULTING THE ELDERS.
he is attempting to break a national law while making an effort to leave the country, and hence he is circumspect and wary.   He knows also, as every one
-niust know, that the law in China is not supposed
by any of its executors to apply to such violators
as have the cash with which to make a bribe.
He therefore provides himself (not always honestly we fear) with a liberal fee, and with a bamboo neck-pole and baskets, -the former for the
elders and the latter to deceive the police, - and
starts across the rice-plats, over the creek, and
around the grave-covered hill toward the village,
where, to his narrow mind, is concentrated all the
wisdom of the known world.
If we were inclined so to do, we might stop
awhile to speculate upon the Coolie's thoughts as
he trudges along intent upon the great undertaking
which he has before him. Tyranny, superstition,
and fear of unexplained and flexible laws may have
stunted his higher moral and intellectual faculties,
and developed the baser part of his nature; yet man
in the lowest state is susceptible of some emotion
when about to part with familiar scenes and faces.
The Coolie may not be an exception. He does
not own the cabin he is leaving, and he has noth  in,g about it which he may truly call his own.  So
much trouble with so little of civilized refinement
may have made his family a burden to him in  stead of a joy. Nevertheless, he has formed at
183 
HOW.
tachments for the locality in which he has always
lived, that he will not feel until the act of parting
strains and breaks them. He is conscious of these
strange emotions this day, perhaps for the first time
in his life.
He looks back at the cabin whlere his mother
and his children can still be seen gazing after
him, and wonders how he will feel when, in
America, the mornings come and go, with no
wife to prepare his meals, no children to hail his
coming, no aged parents to give him counsel, and
no old neighbors with whom to play at dice, or
to gossip away the stolen hours. He looks at the
rice-fields, notices the ditches he has dug, the furrows which he has so often trod, and the growing
weeds that he has so many times destroyed; and
he tries to realize at present what his feelings
must be when he shall see them no more, and
questions whether they will wear the same appearance when he is away. He sees before him a
hundred graves upon the hillside, among which
are those of his ancestors. The broken earthen
pots which once held the bones of men, with their
contents, lie scattered and neglected, the joss-sticks
before the still unbroken receptacles have been
wet,by the rain or broken by the wind, and the
fire, like the love which lighted them, has long
gone out. The graves of such as have not yet
been exhumed for lack of earthen pots to store
184 
PARTING WITII FAMILIAIl SCENES.
their bones, or because no recent death in the
same family had made their removal necessary,
are overgrown with weeds, fern, and brier-vines.
Sacrilegious hands have broken the pots, and ruthless feet have trodden the graves, yet the locality
is none the less dear to him.  His superstition
and religion teach him that the ground is sacred.
The mysterious influence of Fitg# Shay has inparted such miraculous power to the soil that the
burial of an ancestor beneath its surface guarantees prosperity to his descendants.   There  lihe
hopes to be carried when his soul, goes down the
dark road which leads to Hades. Hie believes thlat
unless his body shall at his death lie within the
limits of that cemetery, his soul, homeless and
foodless, and perhaps headless, will wander a beggar and an outcast through the by-ways and slums
of an eternal purgatory.  Such are the teachings
of his superstition, and believing in themn as sincerely as he does in the existence of Boodahl, lhe
trembles at the thought of a possible burial in a
foreign land.  It may be that he thinks the voice
of the brook is sweeter on this eventful day than
it has ever been before. It is possible, too, that
the trees seem greener, the rice-drills more attractive lban they were before he entertained a
thought of leaving them.  And, who knows but tlhat
he often pauses in that short journey and consults
with himself whether it would not be better to
is 
HOW.
turn back at once and abandon forever the idea of
emigration? He experiences, perhaps, the sensation of dread which we sometimes feel when we
undertake enterprises of a dangerous and uncertain character; undecided whether it were not
better to
"bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of."
But when he recalls his years of labor, the
wages for which were long ago spent in procuring
the necessaries of life, and remembers the insult ing words of the landlord,-  the damp walls of the
prison-house into which he was thrust by the tax collector, - how one of his children was sold to
pay a debt and how another died for lack of medicine or acceptable gifts for religious sacrifice, - how
he has toiled for land, yet owns not a foot, - how
secret spies are dodging his steps to arrest him for
breaking laws the existence of which is still a
matter of doubt with him,- how the graves of his
family have been desecrated and the bones carried
away by the law-breaking followers of some moneyed enemy, he no longer hesitates.  For all this
the gods now seem to have provided a remedy. In
America he can earn, according to the terms in the
cirular, thirty dollars per month, which will soon
make him rich enough to buy the cabin that lihe
has so long occupied and the adjoining rice-plats,
as well as to repair and decorate the family graves.
186 
ELECTION OF ELDERS.
This, with a round sum laid secretly by for the
purpose of bribing the officers of law and justice,
as becomes a Chinese gentleman, is all that he
asks or expects. By means of these possessions he
and his family may reach the summit of human
happiness.  Who could hesitate long with such
darkness behind him and such brightness ahead!
The dignitary toward whose office the inquiring
Coolie directs his steps has been called by previous
writers "the elder," although there is little analogy between the church or civil elders of civilized
communities and these officials. Chinese elders,
as the native word seems to signify, are but little
more than superintendents of police and municipal
judges combined,   " local fathers," whose duty it
is to chastise the evil-doers and settle such quarrels as are not of sufficient magnitude to affect
the affairs of state.  These "local fathers" are
elected by the people of the village to which they
belong, and are supposed to represent the popular
choice. They are the only officers not appointed
by the Emperor, and their term may be long or
short, - for a year or for life, - according to the
vote of the people at their election. At first
thought, one would suppose that this right of
electing their own municipal officers was  a redeeming feature in the government, and one which
would be likely to prevent crime and official extortion. But in those provinces whose inhabitants
187 
HOW.
have many representatives in the United States
tl;is right of election is nothing but the "present of
a halter with which to han,g themselves."  Hlaving
this voice in the municipal affairs, the imperial
officers expect good order and firm loyalty from all
the people, and where they do not find it they
hold all the people of the locality responsible and
punish them all alike.  If one man  steals, the
whole village is often fined. If one murders and
escapes, the whole village must suffer a fine. The
principle is, that the people have the power to
prevent crime, and if they do not the Emperor will
call them to account.
In China, as in every other country, there are
always two or more parties at each election, but,
unlike the parties existing in democratic governments, they usually bear each other a deadly
grudge. The bad execution of the laws leads the
people to organize in their own defence, and when
a member of a family is accused of a misdemeanor, all the relatives try to save the honor of
the house, by a united effort to get him acquitted.
Of course the friends of the injured party are
equally anxious that he should be condemned.
This leads to hostilities between the friends of the
accased and the accuser, in which the other citizens of the village usually take part, exercising,
however, a choice of sides. Soon the whole community joins in the melie, and the two clans often
I.I
0 
CLAN FIGHTS.
temporarily settle their difficulties by mobs, street
fights, grave robbing, and other acts of lawlessness.
Nearly every village has its two principal clans,
between which there is perpetual war; and these
include  numerous  clannish subdivisions which
circumstances make of importance or otherwise.
The war between the principal clans is carried into
the municipal elections, and the clan having the
largest number of adherents is sure of carrying
the election, and of placing men in office as "elders" who will clear the innocent and the guilty
alike of the dominant party and condemn every
person whom they accuse. When this is accomplished it behooves the  defeated  partisans  to
"change the color of their politics" and join the
successful party, or they run the great risk of losing
their property and of being sold into slavery or to
Coolie traders, through the connivance and villany
of the opposite party. On the extermination of
one party another arises within the fold of the
successful one, cutting it into contending factions
vwhose difficulties will not be healed until another
election or a bloody street fight shall place one
greatly in the ascendant.  Thus an "elder," instead
of being an upright judge and a careful superintendeut of the police, is simply the leader of a
faction. His police are all selected from the most
rabid of his electors, and as, like nearly all the
petty officers of justice in the Empire, these offi
189 
HOW.
cials work without pay, and depend upon their
plunder and the bribes tley get in concealing crime
for their support, one can imagine how far this
right of election tends toward public peace or domestic happiness.  It makes petty tyrants of the
elders, and if they happen to be agreed upon a
general plan of conduct they will hold great sway
over the cowardly people. In any event, they will
be feared if not respected. To such an individual
does the Coolie apply for instruction.
At the entrance to the elder's office, which is
usually in some narrow, dirty street, the Coolie
meets a number of policemen. They look in his
empty baskets, scrutinize his dress, ask him his
name, and what he is there for, and otherwise annoy the rustic with their impertinence and officiousness. In the enltranilce-way where he leaves
his baskets he finds servants or sentinels who
follow or precede him until he is almost lost in
the crowd which hurries him on toward the "awful
presence." At the door of the apartment, used by
the elder as an office, he is told to enter Ily a
policeman whose business it is to guard the person
of the elder, and who stands eying the Coolie
from the door-way during the entire interview.
Tlie Coolie's first business is to pro(luce his cash
and say that he wishes  for somie information,
which the spirit of his ancestors, through a medium, had told him that the elder possessed. The
190 
BORROWING MONEY.
sight of the cash, together with the compliment
which the ancestor has seen fit to pay the elder,
can scarcely fail to make him      good-natured and accominodating, and he declares in the politest terms
his readiness to serve the Coolie to the fullest extenlt of his power. The Coolie then makes knolwn
his errand, by speaking of his poverty and the
prospect there is of riches in America, and asks
tile elder to show him a way to procure a ticket.
:The elder of course knows all about it.  He has
1.had many cases before, and some of them he has
since learned have gotten rich.  Has the Coolie a
family? and if so, has he any robust, healthy girls,
or well-behaved, industrious sons of a salable age?
The Coolie thinks that he has. Well, then it can
easily be arranged. Give security on them and
borrow the money.  But who has the money to
lend?  The brokers in Hongkong of course.  But
how is the Coolie to reach them? 0, the elder
will arrange all that, and will get the ticket for
the Coolie just as soon as he can draw up and execute a bond on the Coolie's family. The Coolie
is overjoyed. How much will a ticket cost? The
elder cannot tell until he gets it. There will be
some cost besides the p-ice of the ticket, but it will
make little or no difference to the Coolie, who can
earn so much when hle gets to America.   Nihen
the time for the execution of the bond has been
fixed for some day in the subsequent week, and
191 
HOW.
the grateful Coolie has expressed his thanks, the
elder escorts him out by the sentinel with a word
of caution about expressing his intentions in the
presence of government officials. Once by the
disagreeable policemen in the entrance-way, the
Coolie shoulders his baskets, and with a light
heart goes singing and smiling back over the hills,
to the old cabin by the rice-beds, feeling that the
fates, spirits, and gods are now for the first time
all on his side.
The elder doubtless smiles too. If he does not,
his abstinence cannot be attributed to the lack of
a good reason for so doing! He has not only received a good fee and placed it securely in his
strong box, but there is a fee in prospect to which
the one received is but the veriest pygmy. I havo
no doubt that the august elder deemed the poor
Coolie's prayer for assistance of so much importance that he straightway left culprits in prison
waiting for the dispensation of his justice, and
even refused to hear cases in which prominent
members of his own clan were interested, in order
to attend to the procuration of the Coolie's ticket.
His first business is with the mandarin. For, in
an undertaking where even an obsolete law is to
le violated it is well to know how the higher
officials will interpret the action, and, besides, the
elder has neither money nor credit to loan the
Coolie for so long a time; while it may be that the
192 
FEEING OFFICIALS.
mandarin has. Possibly the mandarin's office is
in the same village, or at least in the next one,
and thither repairs the petty official, feeling as
much trepidation at the idea of enteriing into the
audience-room of the mandarin as did the Coolie
swhen visiting him. But the prospective fee finally
urges him to the necessary steps, and he soon finds
himself in the " hall of justice," confronted by the
surly manchu manaldarin.   To this personage the
elder tells his story, and requests the assistance of
the manidaria in procuring, the ticket, at the same
time suggesting that they could charge an advance
on the original price, and the mandarin should
have the larger share.
0 most potent fee'  How like a tyrant thou
enterest into cottage, hall, or palace, saying unto
the inmates "Do thou," and they unhesitatingly
obey.   Like that many-formed god of Grecian
fable, you change your shape upon every new occasion! But whether in the form of friendly gifts,
servants' hand-money, Arabian "backsheesh," Coolies' "cumshaw," or miandarin's "squeeze," your
power is still the same. Men swear falsely in
your presence that never falsified before.  Judges
see innocence thlrough an adamant wall of guilt,
legislators change their views upon matters of
public interest, nations forget their obligations to
humanity upon thy slightest bidding.   Hearts
harden and melt, riches come and go, and the
193 
HOW.
understanding clears, or thickens, at the merest
indication of thy will! He that has thy goodwill is possessed of a greater power in the world
of reality than was imparted by Aladdin's lamp
in the land of fable!
The mandarin's face lights up at the idea of
the prospective fees, and with a cordiality that
astonishes even the avaricious elder the mandarin
accepts the proposition, and tlhanks him for submitting the case so generously. Then, with smiles
and bows, good wishes, and renewed invitationis to
call again in similar circumstances, the elder leaves
to the mandarin the work of carrying on  the
scheme for assistilng, a Coolie to break the law
of China.
Straightway a swift-footed messenger leaves the
office of the mandarin, armed with a bundle of
papers, and under instructions to proceed at his
liveliest pace to the distant city of Canton. He is
a government messenger, recognized by his dress
and gait; and toll-gates open, ferryboats hasten,
pedestrians give him room, and sedan-chairs turn
out, that he may be able to give his important despatchles into the hands of the ticket-broker inCanton. This in due time is faithfully done, for a
foe has been promised him upon his return. The
broker finds in the bundle of papers an order for
a ticket to San Francisco, for which the mandarin
promises to pay, with a high rate of interest, in one
194
I 
DRAFTING THE BOND.
year.  There being no better security than a mandarin's word, the ticket, or the broker's promise to
give it upon the application of the Coolie, is properly made out and given to the messenger, while
the mandarin's letter is carefully filed away and
marked "'payable one year from date, forty dollars,with broker's fee, ten dollars and interest."
Upon the return of the messelngler, the mandarin
addls fifty per cent to the fifty dollars which hlie is
]low bound to pay the broker, and sends a note for
"seventy-five dollars * with interest payable ten
imonths from date," asking t',e signature of the
elder.  To this note the elder signs his name, and
shortly after receives the brokler's ticket.
The next transaction is by bond, and a lawyer
must be called to draft one.  These semi-learned
pettifo,gg,ers are as plenty in China'as in America, anl( are as prompt to respond to the call of
a fee.  Therefore it requires but a short time to
write a bond, by means of which the Coolie acknowledges an indebtedness to the elder of one
hundred dollars with interest, and to secure the
payment of which hle pledges the persons of his
wife, his three sons, and his two daughters.  If he
should fail to pay the amount in nine months from
date, either at the Cli'llese banking,-house named
in iSan Francisco, or at the office of the mortgagee,
* I speak of dollars, as to estimate it in cash would only
puzzle the American reader.
i
1.0 
HOW.
then the family may be sold forthwith; together,
if they will bring money enough to cancel the
debt, and singly, if no one person can be found to
buy them all at a reasonable price. This done,
the Coolie is sent for. He has no knowledge
of the first cost of the ticket, and if hlie expresses
astonishment, upon his arrival, that the price is so
high, he is told that with thirty dollars a month
in America he can pay it in less than half the
time named in the bond.   Unhesitatingly he then
signs his name, or instructs another person to do
so, takes the ticket, and, scarcely dreaming that a
failure of payment is possible, returns as oayly as
before to his family to rejoice with them in the
delightful prospect which the possession of that
ticket gives them all, and to prepare for his long
and perilous journey.
ilvb
u 
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
CHAPTER XV.
PACKING UP.
Preparing to leave Home.- Assistance by the Neighbors. An amusing Incident. - What the Family think the Laborer
needs in America.- The Perplexities arising from too many
Assistants.- Going to the Seaports in Wheelbarrows with
Sails.
NE  would suppose that very little prepara  tion is necessary where  a poverty-stricken
Coolie like the one we follow is about to start
upon a journey. Nevertheless, there is nearly as
much work attending his departure as there is
employed in moving a whole civilized family,
household goods and all. I witnessed some of
these ceremonials at a Coolie's cabin on the Island
of Victoria, and the bustle, fuss, and gabble made
such an impression on my mind that I always involuntarily call up that scene whenever any reference is made to the subject of Chinese emigration. The Coolie was endeavoring to arrange his
personal effects and at the same time to take leave
of friends, so that both duties should be accom 
HOW.
plished before the departure of the Pacific Mail
steainer at noon. Little boxes of wood and paper
lay about the door, while the only spare suit of
clothes which the Coolie possessed was hanging
on a pole near the cabin dripping with the water
of a recent wash.  The bamboo shoulder-pole, with
the two baskets pendant, was balanced over the
end of an upritght stick near the door-step, while
the load which the Coolie and his friends were
piling into them was divided into parts of equal
weight so as to preserve the equilibrium.  There
were at least twenty persons, including his wife and
children, hard at work about the cabin, bringing
pots, kettles, vases, boxes, scraps of paper, or cloth,
and in fact everything they could find that was
movable, adding much to the Coolie's apparent
perplexity with their constant cries of "Take this "'
"Do you want that?"  "Shall I pack this in?"
&c., &c.   Ieantime the puzzled emigrant looked
first at one thing and then at another, and before
he could fully decide whether he wished to take
one article his attention was called away by the
introduction of several others, keeping him always
busy, and yet accomplishing nothing. His officious relatives would fill the baskets with trash
that he could never use, and when he discovered
that all his baggage room was thus occupied he
would scold at a furious rate, and with unmistakable gestures command the instant removal of the
I'
198 
PREPARING TO EMIIGRATE.
undesirable rubbish. Old shoes that the family
had long before thrown aside as useless were carefully wrapped in clean paper and placed near the
baskets, as if the assistants thought that old clothes
could be worn in America which had been discarded in China. These bundles the Coolie was
obliged personally to undo before he knew what
they contained, so that much of his time was employed in taking off the wrappers and indignantly
throwing away such useless and worthless articles
as the busy family exhumed from the dark and
unfrequented corners of the cabin. At one time
he had a barber shaving his forehead, a friend
braiding his long, cue, his wife darning a hole in
his loose pantaloons, and was himself trying to
pack three quarts of rice-flour into a single quart
box. The barber spattered the lather and pulled
his hair, the wife pricked him with her needle,
the flour flew in every direction, while the motion
of his head made an interminable snarl of the
hlalf-braided cue. Everybody attempted to talk at
once, each person shouting at the top of his voice;
until there was such a din as to drown even the
voices of the squalling children. Their grief, however, was sufficiently apparent in their contorted
and tear-streaked faces. The pigs squealed and
dashed recklessly back  and forth thlrough  the
crowd, the hens cackled and flew upon the roof of
the cabin, while one venturesome old cock stood
I
199 
HOW.
upon the ridgepole and crowed as if he was sound ing a fire alarm. At last the Coolie escaped fromin
the barber, and, out of patience with his hindersome neighbors, he overturned the baskets and
dashed their contents on the ground. Meal and
flour packages, papers of salt, and bottles of various liquids, broke by the fall and melting into
each other, formed a compound more difficult of
analysis than the famous life-preserver of Doctor
Van Erkin. His bewildered looks, as he beheld
the ruin his haste had caused, were even more
strange than the compound at his feet. For a
moment he gazed as if he was unable to realize
the exact condition of things, and then in another
outburst of anger he further demolished the curious heap by  giving it several powerful kicks.
Here the friendly assembly interfered, and each
one caught up some of the flying packages and
preserved them from impending demolition.   The
Coolie grew a little calmer, and, replacing the pole
upon the balance-stick, began his preparations
anew, this time unassisted by his offended
neighbors.  Placing each soiled bundle in a new
wrapper, he packed them carefully away in the
baskets, economiziing every inch of room, until he
had,crowded them almost to bursting. Still there
were many things left.  Bundles of joss-sticks, and
little piles of sug,ar-cane, bamboo fans, and ebony
chop-sticks, tin platters and porcelain teacups,
i
i
200
.r 
GOING TO HONGKONG.
with innumerable parcels of clothing and eatables,
called for transportation and there was no room.
Finally, after discarding a book to make room
for the dice-box, and, leaving behind a fan in
place of the dominos he took, he discarded the unpacked goods and tied a paper over the baskets.
IHis wife then took down the partially dried clothes
and tied them in a bundle for the Coolie to carry
under his arm. The preparations were then complete; and after patting the cheeks of his wife and
children, and bowing low to all his friends, he
shouldered his burden and hastened toward Hongkong.
The Coolie in the interior who makes the same
preparations and experiences the same perplexities
has seen only the lightest part of his labor when
the baskets are packed.  Hie has a long, journey
before him through a country without stages, carriages, or cars, and where banditti lurk in every
corner to rob or carry away the defenceless traveller. If, as we have supposed, his cabin is situated
on the shore of a long river-like arm of the sea, he
may manage to secure a boat to take him a part
of the way on his journey. But, even then, unless
hie occupies many days in sailing around the peninsuls, he will have a walk before him, which,
with his heavy-loaded baskets, will put his
strength to a severe test.  In the northern provinces they use a kind of one-wheeled cart or
201
r 
HOW.
wheelbarrow, to which they attach sails, and trimming, them to the wind manage to make the air
push the load along while the Coolie walks behild and steers with the handles, just as he would
without the sail.
This kind of a sail-wheelbarrow is sometimes
seen in the lower provinces, especially when a
laborer has a heavy load to carry a long distance.
An instance where an emigrant rigged up a
wheelbarrow after the European pattern and put
it under sail was related to me by some of the English residents of Swatow, and so striking was its
originality that I have made it the subject of an
illustration.* The Coolie travelled four hundred
and twenty miles with the wheelbarrow and sail,
hlaving on board over two hundred pounds of baggage, a part of which he was obliged to sell after
his arrival at Swatow to secure his passage to
Salem, Oregon.
But whether the Coolie about whom we write
is obliged to carry his baggrage with pole and
baskets, stow it away in a wheelbarrow with sails,
or takes it to the port by boat, we will not stop now
to inquire; but will suppose that he accomplishes
the task unmolested by robbers or government officer,s and will leave him, at the end of this chapter,
just entering the English colony of Hongkon,g.
* Frontispiece.
I
202 
CHAPTER XVI.
BURIAL INSURANCE.
Secret Societies in China. - Opposing Taxation. - Organized
"Strikes."- The Effect of Strikes in China. - Insurance
Associations.- Insuring to Members a Safe Voyage, and
a Burial in China. - Embalming the Dead. - Returning
Bodies from the TUnlited States. - The "Companies" in Cali fornia. - Their Objects, &c. - The Coolie's Last Respects to
Boodah.
THE  Chinese as a people have a special liking
for mysterious rites and strange ceremoniials,
and this feeling has given rise to a great many
secret societies, clanls, and brotherhoods, in which
candidates for initiation are passed through severe
tests and symbolic manceuvres. Like the Free
MAasons and Odd Fellows of the United States,
these societies have no connection whatever with
government, although the object to be attained
by the Chinese associations is far different from
that o, the American societies, or lodges.  The
former are for the purpose of mutual protection
against oppression or for united aggressive movements of an immoral kind, while the latter aim at 
HOW.
the inculcation of the soundest principles of morality and brotherly love. There are a great many
associations in China which are not secret, although
they are exclusive, and many of them have a
noble object; such as the promotion of the arts
and sciences, and the perfection of members in the
literature of the Empire.   These, however, are
confined to the wealthy and literary classes, whose
education and easy circumstances incline them
toward the discipline of the mind. Among the
laboring people- between whom and the wealthy
there is such a great gulf - there are but a very
few organizations that have not for their object
either the protection of their property or members
or the fraudulent possession of their neig,hbor's
goods.  Sometimes the Coolies band together and
resist the tax-collector or sheriff, and as the government dare not provoke rebellion by punishing
so many evil-doers at once, the Coolies usually
accomplish the double purpose of venting their
spite upon an obnoxious officer, and escaping the
payment of reasonable taxes, which at first they
had been willing to pay. The clans that capture
so many of the prisoners who are sold to the Portuguese " Coolie traders" are usually a kind of
secret family organizations, the purpose of which
is to exterminate the family of some enemy. The
fact that they roam about in the light of day, killing and destroying without the interference of the
204 
STRIKES.
authorities, shows the inefficiency of the government and the carelessness of the people. Another
kind of a secret society is that entered into by
laborers to induce an advance in their wages.
This is in every way a counterpart of the organized
"strikes" of the Crispinlls, miners, printers, &c. of
America, and shows the natural independence of
the Chinese mind. But they seldom accomplish
aniything permanent.  Perhaps a continued secret
annoyance, or a threatened calamity from a body
of men, the numbers and character of which is
unknown to him, may induce the capitalist to
raise their pay for a few weeks in order that lihe
may get his money out of the business, and invest
it elsewhere, but beyond that nothing has been
done; of which the present low rate of wages is
good evidence. For two thousand years the laborers have been "striking," burning, murdering,
and otherwise misbehaving themselves, yet they
are as much oppressed as ever, and the rate of
wages now is not over five or six cents a day.
The capitalists have become too much afraid of
"strikes" to invest in manufacturing enterprises,
and high and low, rich and poor, suffer in con sequence.
Manetmen or merchants dealing in the same
articles often combine, and in secret conclave
resolve the price up or down, at the same time set ting afloat such rumors, or adopting such deceitful
205
r 
behavior as will create a demand for their merchan dise. Thus it will be seen that the Chinese were
"Crispins," " Sons of Labor," &c., and formed trade
combinations and monopolies a thousand years or
more before America was discovered. Insurance
associations, by the terms of which assistance is
rendered to any member in case of accident, either
to his property, fanily, or himself, are often found;
and even among the very poorest population such
associations are flourishing and beneficial. They
are, however, usually under the directorship of
some wealthy or educated person, who attends to
the duties of the company for a fixed and liberal
salary. They insure each other's crops, animals,
and clothing, and unite in the expenses when a
relative of any member dies.  It is said that they
insure poor young  men  a happy marriage, and
take risks on the sex of an unborn child, each
member paying his share of a loss, on the "mutual" plan.
Since the emigiration to America became so active, a variety of societies have been organized for
the purpose of insuring to the emigrant a successftil trip, sound health, or a safe return. These, it is
said, did a great business at one time, but owing to
thedifficulty of collecting premiums from  members, or dues from the company in case of loss,
they have nearly all died out. Out of these has
sprmlg, another, which, as it is founded on a much
206
iiow.
r.. 
BURIAL INSURANCE.
firmer basis than its predecessors, may enjoy a
longer and more prosperous life. It is called by
Europeans the " Burial Insurance Company." Just
how a candidate for membership is initiated, or on
N what terms he is admitted, is not known outside,
owing to the secrecy of the proceedings.   Its
members are so bound by oaths or contracts that
they have been known to deny the very existence
of the society, the benefits of whose care they
shortly after received. Enough is seen of it, however, to know that the body of any member who
dies abroad will be brought home at the expense
of the society, and buried with his ancestors.
The agents of the company make it a part of the
contract, when procuringt passage tickets for menibers, that, in case of death on board, the shipmaster shall embalm and send home the body.  It
is supposed that each member is the authorized
agent of the company, in case of a death, and all
of his expenses in attending to the transportation
of the body on land or water, with the cost of embalming, is paid promptly upon the receipt of his
bill in Hongkong. This society also cares for
the bodies of men who are not members, and has
made a contract with the steamnships and other
vessels that ply between San Francisco and Hon,gkong, the terms of which place the captain and
sur,eon of each ship under obligation to embalm
and bring to Hongkong the body of every China
207 
HOW.
man who dies upon the ship. The usual price
paid for this service is twenty-five or thirty dollars.  AVhen the body of a man is received who
has no certificate of membership, the company
pays the charges, and, adding its fees, sends the
bill with the body to the town where live the
friends of the deceased. The party having charge
of the body is instructed not to deliver it until
the bill is paid or ample security given for its
future settlement.   As  the  secretary  keeps  a
record of all who emigrate from that port, with
the address of their relatives, hlie cannot fail to
find the family; and as the friends would make
any sacrifice rather than suffer the spirit to curse
them for the neg,lect of the body, they manage in
some way to pay the company's account, and bury
the remains according to their superstitious customs.
It often happens that the Coolie has not sufficient time between the hour of his arrival at Hongkong and the departure of the vessel to secure
the benefits of this insurance, or it may be that
he sails from some other port where "burial insurance" is unknown.  Such being the case, he accomnplishes the same purpose by joining one of the
cQmnpanies" in California.  Althou(gh the objects
of these companies are manifold; being a warehouse for storing baggage, a bank for the deposit
of gold and silver, a hotel and assembly hall, as
208
F. 
CALIFORNIA COMPANIES.
well as a charitable institution to such as are
needy, and hence a membership would be desirable even to the previously insured, yet one
of its most prominent objects is the guaranty to
its members of a grave among their ancestors.
The Coolie who pays ten dollars as an initiation
fee, and keeps his yearly dues to the company
settled in advance, will not only be protected in
his rights, during his stay in America, but in case
of death will be carried by the agents of the company to his old home in China, and there interred
with all the ceremonials of his superstitious creed.
It has been stated that these companies were immoral, intriguilg political institutions, organized,
like many in China, to shield criminals from the
penalties of crime, or to put money in the pockets
of the members without regard for honesty or huminanity. Others have enthusiastically leaped at
the conclusion that they were charitable institutions, and consequently placed a high estimate
upon the charitable tendency of the Chinese character. The fact is, however, as I have ascertained
from its officers and members, that these "companies" were instituted by a few of the educated
classes who came over to make money by looking
after the welfare of their less informed countrymen. The plan was a shrewd and a wise one, as
the benefits they confer and the profits they return have long since established.  Whether the
209 
HOW.
originators, who are the officers, receive anythiing
more than their salaries - a hundred dollars a
month or less- I have not been able to ascertain,
although the company has an income which must
largely exceed the expenses. The establishment
of such institutions for financial gain does not in
any way detract from their general usefulness,
and I presume that, as a reputation for charity
increases the business of the company, the officers would be glad of an opportunity to show that
feature of their enterprise in its strongest light.
If, as it very seldom happens, a Coolie dies in
California or Oreg(on, who does not belong to
either of the "companies," the members or officers of the nearest one, usually undertake the
task of sending the body home, with the hope of
obtaining pay of the friends, in the same way that
the insurance society of Hongkong collects its
bills.  But if it should happen that the deceased
comes from a part of the Chinese Empire that
has not a sufficient number of representatives in
California to make the organization of a "company" profitable, he will be buried by the org,anization whose members come from the district nearest
to his native province, and the expense, should the
deceased be poor, will be charged in the general
expenses.
But little is known of these companies, among
the unsophisticated Coolies in China, who are just
210 
DEPARTURE FIROM CIIINA.
starting for America, and as they cannot stop for a
singl,e night at any of the Hong,kong boardinghouses, without meeting with the runners of the
company, we will suppose that the Coolie we
have followed thus far goes through the initiatory
ordeal, and comes out of the office well assured
that his body will be looked after, should his
spirit abandon it in the wilds of America. Hiis
next step will be toward the furniture shop of
Lei-Sing or Chee-Ling, where he purchases a straw
or grass mattress, provided the ship does not.furnish
it, for his bunk in the vessel, and provided he has
money enough left to do so. This he orders to be
sent with his baggage on board the ship, or leaves
it at the shop until his return, and goes down the
"Queen's road," through a part of "China town,"
to pay his last respects to Boodah. In a "temple,"
or other shed covered with carved dragons, of
hideous designs, behind a highly ornamented altar,
sits the idol in a dusty cloud of paper drapery.
Before it the Coolie prostrates himself, and prays
for a prosperous voyage. Then rising to his feet,
pulls out a joss-stick from the bundle near the
throne of the idol, and, finding it a lucky, or affirmative one, hle cheerfully dons his umbrellahat an4 marches back to the steamboat wharf.
211 
CHAPTER XVII.
THE SHIP.
A Pacific Mail Steamship.- The Coolie's Surprise at the Accom modations.- Examination before the Consul. - Departure
from Hongkong. - Games and Gambling. - The Food. Smoking Opium.- Deaths on Steamers.- The Refusal of
Sick Chinamen to take Medicine.- Incident where the Rela tives of an Invalid attempt to frighten away the bad Spirits. -
Sailing Vessels.- Deaths from bad Food and Ventilation. Arrival in San Francisco.- Meeting with old Friends.
NE  who has seen those palace steamships
owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, plying between Hongkong, Yokohama, and
San Francisco, can form some idea of the astonishment with whlich the Coolie first walks their
decks. Never, perhaps, having seen a European
steamer, and having pictured in his imagination a
vessel a little larger and very similar to the native
junks which plough the inland waters with such
ludicrous awkwardness, he will look with wonder
wli'en, for the first time, he sees the trim masts,
broad decks, glisteniing machinery, and comfortable
cabins of the American steamers. Used to the
6
h. - 
0 
~~)L >             __ _
"NO MUCHEE WALKEE."-Page 256. 
PACIFIC STEAMSHIP.
yells, creaks, and gongs of the native barks, he
will be almost oppressed with the silence that
reigns on board of those well-ordered vessels.  Instead of the mere chance to lie down upon deck, or
the little dark corner into which he may crawl in
very stormy weather, he is shown through a long
corridor of neatly kept sleeping,-apartminents, and is,
at last, much to his surprise, shown one in which
lie is expected to make his bed. Such a sleepin,groom as the one he is given not even a mandarin
or a governor on shore could ever exhibit!  With
a light heart he deposits his baggagae, and, thinking
what a beautiful country America must be, if its
ships are any index of the dwellings on shore, he
wanders up and down the deck through the byways and avenues of that floating city, greeting
old acquaintances or making new ones among the
thousand other Coolies which are to keep him company.  Then- if he has not already passed the
ordeal at the harbor-master's office on shore -
comes the doctors, consuls, and local officials, to test
his health and prove his "free will," as well as to
secure to him plenty of room, with food and care.
In long rows the Chlinamenl file by the examining
surgeon, who, if he sees an unhealthy Coolie, about
whose sate passage there is any doubt, he orders
him ashore to await the healing of his wounds or
the termination of his disease.  Then appears the
first official representative of the "flowery flag"
213 
214
which the Coolie has ever seen, in the' person of
the United States Consul.  And before this august
personage he is stopped by the local officials, and
through an interpreter is requested to respond to
the following questions:  "What is your name?"
"Arr Sing."
"Where do you come from?"
"Shanking."
"Where are you going?"
"To the United States."
"What are you going, for?"
"To work."
" Who induced you to go?"
"No one."'
"Why do you go? "
"Because I wish to get higher wages and be a
free man."
"Who sold you your ticket?"
"The elder."
"Did you sign any contract to work in America
in payment for the ticket?"
"No."
"Have you made any agreement with regard to
your labor after arrival in California?"
"No.,,
"Then you declare unqualifiedly that you are
under no obligations whatever to any person or
persons, which will bind you to labor for any particular party in the United States?"
IVHY. 
AMUSEMENTS.
"I do."
One after another his countrymen file by and
answer these queries, and, while he stands wondering why the "Melican" is so anxious that he
should be free before he leaves China, there is a
sudden stir and bustle on board, the bell sounds a
warning, the visitors and officials hurry down the
side, the harbor boats pull away from the eddy of
the wheels, and with a slight tremor the great
puffing, flag-decked leviathan  swings from the
buoy and glides down the harbor, bound for America.
During those long dull days which follow, when
there is but a barren "waste of waters" without,
and a tedious routine of eating, walking, sleeping,
within, the Coolie occupies nine tenths of his
time in thinking and planning what he shall do
with the remaining one tenth.  His love for games
of chance brings out the dice, dominos, cards, and
numerous other gaming toys which the European
looker-on has never before seen. Owing to the
crowded state of the deck, but a small proportion
can play at one time; and with a polite regard for
each other's feelings, they often exchange. Scarce
a day passes without an opportunity being given
each Coolie to lose or win a dollar or two in play.
The game is usually played upon the floor of a
lower deck, with the participants seated around in
a circle, and with a crowd of spectators standing
. 215 
HOW.
by, eager to censure or praise each move or throw
of their champion. Sometimes the spectators become so interested in the game that hundreds neglect their meals in order to see it finished, and
often sit in the dark on the edge of their beds,
long after retiring hours, discussing what  milght
have been if Too Ling, or Arr Hoo had made such
and such a move.
Their meals are composed almost exclusively of
rice; although, if they should desire it, the steward
would supply them with meat and vegetables.
They eat as they play; seated upon the floor with
a huge pan of rice before them, out of which
"a division" of ten or twelve skilfully extract
enough to appease their appetites by means of
those puzzling substitutes for the knife and fork,
- the chop-sticks.
Some few smokers, whose sensibilities have not
become so dulled as to prevent their securing a passag,e, pass the tedious hours in the steerage smokingroom, taking in the deadening fumes of opium.
This smoking-room is simply a large iron box, fireproof, and almost air-tight. It will hold several
persons when packed full, and is situated in the
centre of the forecastle deck, with plenty of room
for promenading upon either side.  It is supplied
with candles or torches, and sometimes with pipes
and opium. There, in that dark prison where the
uninitiated would suffocate in a few minutes,
II) 1 6
A-,
a,. 
SMOKING OPIUM.
these devotees of opium stretch themselves out
upon the shelves, place a drop of the narcotic
liquid in the long, pipe, and, holding the bowl in
the flame of the candle, puff themselves into blissful insensibility. It often happens that a poor
inconsiderate inebriate inhales a drop too much,
or the state of his system is such that hlie drowses
beyond the time to which nature limits him, and
then he is found pale and lifeless by some official
or friend who goes to wake him.  The drug-dreamer
is dead, and out of the world which has no attraction for him. WNVell might humanitarians rejoice
if he was the only one concerned. But when his
embalmed body,- its veins filled with the surgeon's "preservative," - shall be carried with its
swollen features into the old hovel, where the
family are, upon whom he gave a mortgage to secure his passage, what will be their feelings?
Deaths on the steamers are not very frequent,
as none but healthy persons are allowed to go
on board; yet if a Coolie is taken sick with any
serious disease he is almost sure to die. He will
never take a dose prescribed by the ship-surgeon,
or by any European physician. WVhen told that
he must soon die if he does not take the prepared
draugt14, he will smile in derision, as much as to
say, "How silly you are to suppose that your
draught will circumvent the decree of the Gods!"
Sometimes a Chinaman is seized with the cramp,
217 
HOW.
or some spasmodic ailment which a simple draught
of stim?)ulus would instantly dispel, but he prefers
the excrutiating pain and a horrible death to the
life-giviing potion which he is urged to accept.
I once witnessed an attempt of some inexperienced Coolies to cure a sick person who, owing
to his stubborn refusal to take medicine, had been
given over by the surgeon of the ship; and, althoug(h the ceremony was a torture to the patient,
it seemed so much like a burlesque that I laughed
in spite of myself. The sick man was afflicted with
the colic in connection with an attack of the erysipelas, and was on his side lying doubled up, with
his knees under his chin, and the side of his swollen
face upon the cold, damp deck. He had been advised
by the physician to apply a warm poultice to the
face, with a very warm internal dose of whiskey
and cayenne-pepper. But positively refusing to
take the prescription, the sufferer, between his
groans, expressed a desire that his countrymen
would drive away the bad spirits that were afflicting him. It might be that the souls of some
enemies, or of some relatives whom the invalid had
failed to supply with spiritual money, had taken
this method of showing their spite or dissatisfactiop. They could be frightened away if the crew
and passengers would only make noise enough.
So the superstitious Coolies gathered up all the
bamboo hats, pieces of board, tin plates, pans, and
218 
CURING THE CRAMP.
iron kettles that could be found, and, led by a
sailor with a gong, they formed a circle around
the colic-stricken Coolie and began to thump
upon them with chop-sticks, canes, and belayingpins. Such a din! It would have made an invalid of the least indisposed, and its effect upon a
man with a severe head and stomach ache was
doubtless torture to which the rack would have
been a pleasure. Yet he bore it with remarkable
fortitude, while the players applied themselves to
their thumping  with an earnestness  that bade
fair to give them the colic, cholera, or cramp, as a
result of over-exertion and consequent perspiration. They rattled away until the captain, at the
request of the deafened passengers, ordered them
to stop; and then they anxiously inquired of the
patient if the bad spirits were gone. His answer,
half shriek, half roan, with contortions and kicks,
would convince the most sceptical that, whatever
the influence which was giving him such misery,
it had not been scared away. So they began to
run around him and beat the air with their sticks
and pans, in the hope that their random thrusts
might happen to punch the ribs, or their unresisted
blows fall on the heads, of such devils as happened
to be hovering around.  This striking and thrusting, they kept up for a half-hour, when, seeing that
the spirits still kept hold of the sufferer, they re sorted to other methods. Securing a number of
219 
HOW.
glass goblets of the steward, they placed them in
two rows around the sick man, and placing three
or four burning joss-sticks in each, they began to
chant some formula in a monotonous tone, keeping
time with the clapping of their hands.   They
had hardly begun this ceremony, however, before
a pang more acute than usual seized the patient,
and with a sudden kick and a roll he overturned
the clinking goblets, and scattered the joss-sticks
in every direction. This was considered as an ill
omen, and gathering up the glassware, and stamp ing out the fire of the sticks, these idolatrous
physicians took up the man and carried him to
the cabin; where it was said they made offerings
to the gods, in the shape of plates of rice, and
then left him to die. His body was afterward embalmed and taken ashore at Manilla.
In the well-regulated Pacific Mail Steamships
such exhibitions are rarely permitted, and if the
friends of a sick person wish to drive away the
"bad spirits," they usually attempt it in some
quiet way which does not attract the attention of
the "barbarians."  In fact, the number of deaths
on the Eastward passage is astonishin,gly small,
when we consider the immense number who are
brought over by the steamers of that company.
The' accommodations and sanitary regulations are
so perfect, and the room for deck exercise so
ample, that the Coolie is in a much healthier con
220 
SAILING-VESSELS.
dition, usually, when he arrives in San Francisco
than when he leaves Hongkong. This is not always the case with the sailing-vessels which
make a business of importing Coolies, and, in
some instances, a large percentage have died from
the effects of bad food and insufficient ventilation. The law of the United States has so regulated the emigrant traffic, that a United States
Consul will not clear a vessel that is crowded beyond a healthy and comfortable limit. But many
sailing,-vessels after obtaining a clearance from the
Consul-General at Hongkong, heave-to in the
straits below that city and take on board a large
number of Coolies, sent down in small boats for
that purpose. The Coolies have no thought of
disease, and willingly crowd into the vessel as
long as the officers will receive them. It is in
the interest of the owners of such ships, that the
false circulars, elsewhere referred to, are sent into
the country, while the food and accommodations
which the passengers get may be said to be in an
inverse ratio to the alluring promises made to
them in the placards.
But whether in sailing-vessel or steamer, in a
dark hold or in a cheerful cabin, it matters not to
the Coolie, when he has arrived safely at the
"Golden Gate" of San Francisco harbor.  There
the Coolie shows an eagerness to reach the shore
which does not characterize his action when return
221 
HOW.
ing to China. The great dreaded ocean is passed,
and the land of freedom and of gold lies just before him. He imagines that now the hopes long
cherished are about to be realized, and it is with
great impatience that he waits for the mooring.
MIany of his too impatient countrymen leap into
the water in the narrow straits and strike out for
the shore, or for the boats of relatives alongside',
while in some ships the whole load has disappeared before the slow vessel has thrown its hawsers to the wharf. This ungovernable desire to
stand on American soil, and to begin the work
which the Coolie truly believes is to emancipate
him from all ills, is often an advantage to the
owners of an overcrowded vessel, who wish to
avoid the penalties that the government officers
would attach to the ship for their disregard of the
United States law. Their ships always go into
the dock with a less number than they had on
board when the consul gave them clearance papers; meantime the happy Coolie, the fresher for
his bath, and the happier to see shore, because of
his hardships on board, is taken in hand by the
agents of the "Chinese Companies," and sitting
down at the club-house, in a large circle of friends,
who wish to hear the news from home, he eats
his rice, sips his tea, and tells of the circulars,
the answer of the gods, the visit to the elder,
the reception of his ticket, his packing up, the
222
I 
LANDING IN AMERICA.
journey to Hongkong, and the voyage across the
Pacific; and when the sands of his story, with
those of the hour-glass, have wholly run out, he
turns upon his listeners and anxiously INQUIRES
FOR WORK
223
v 
CHAPTER XVIII.
SOLD FOR DEBT.
Chinese Slavery. -Difference between a Free Coolie and a
Bondman. - Treatment of Slaves. - The Sale of Men,
Women, and Children.- Infanticide. - Sale of Daughters
for doubtful Purposes. - The  Coolie's Failure to pay  his
Note.- The Mortgage on the Family Foreclosed. - How the
Sale  is conducted. - Frequency  of these Sales. - Selling
Children to buy Passage Tickets.
T has often been stated by writers upon China,
that slavery in that country was a very "mild
form of servitude "; and their conclusion is usually
reached by a comparison of the Coolie in a state
of slavery with his condition before he became a
bondman. This would be a correct inference if
the previous condition of the Coolie was a state
of freedom. For the status of a slave in China is
but a very little lower than that of the lowest
class of free Coolies, while in some instances the
former condition is far preferable to the latter.
To be a slave is to be the property of some rich
6
07
L 
THE SLAVE.
man, who, although he has absolute control of the
laborer, will take some little care to provide sufficient food and clothing to keep him in a working
condition. To be a free laborer is to be subject to
the same conditions which hamper the action of a
slave, while with the wages he receives, he cannot
provide himself with the necessities of life, nor
obtain the smallest portion of the care which is
bestowed upon the slave. Such being the case
the state of absolute slavery is but a single step
downward, and has advantages which make it
"mild" indeed. But when we consider the condition of the higher classes, whose sons have the
advantages of schools and social training, and to
whom all the best offices in the Empire are open,
and afterward glance down at the degradation
which marks the features and behavior of the
slave and his children, we will conclude that, instead of being  a "mild" state of slavery, it is
the very worst. I do not think that it is so severe
a blow to the happiness of a person to be sold
as a slave, in a country where there are middle
classes, the gradations of which fill the wide gap
between entire bondage and entire freedom, as it
would be in a nation where there are only two
classes, - the bond and the free. But this does
not make it any the less degrading in its effect
upon the physical and mental constitutions of
those concerned. The slave in China is whipped,
225 
HOW.
branded, put in stocks and pillories, and otherwise
maltreated as often as were the African slaves in
the Southern States of the American Union. They
have as hard tasks to perform, as little of the
luxuries of life, and are nearly as often separated
from their families as were the bondmen in the
English colonies.   There was supposed to be a
certain code of morality and Christianity which
governed the actions of American masters in their
dealings with slaves, and so there is in China; but
one is followed at present with just about the same
fidelity as that which marked the actions of the pretended practisers of the other. In China it is not
considered respectable for a master to sell a husband away from his whole family, although the girls
may be sold at any time. Neither is it fashionable
to keep a male slave after he is thirty years of
age without purchasing a wife for him.   But if
native evidence is trustworthy, the observance of
this moral law is the exception rather than the
rule. The male slave is a valuable piece of property, and the heathen master is more apt to use it
in the way which will return the greatest dividend,
without regard to morality or suffering, than is the
slave-owner in civilized lands.
He worst features of Chinese bondage is seen
in the dealings with females.   The women in
China, among all classes, are at the best but a
low order of slaves. They are salable things, and
226 
SELLING GIRLS.
the circumstances of the parents always determine
their value. If the parents feel at the birth of a
daughter that there will not be a demand for girls,
owing to the preponderance in the neighborhood
of male children, they do not hesitate to strangle
or drown the helpless human being who was so
unlucky as to be born a female.* In their best
estate the girls are uneducated, and consequently
immoral; and are treated like useless, intruding
dogs until they become grandmothers, when, in
accordance with some strange superstition, they are
treated with much reverence and generosity. But
when a daughter or wife is bought and sold, and
simply tolerated as a necessary evil, even in her
highest state of freedom, what must be her condition when she becomes a slave? All wives
are purchased from their parents, and among the
higher classes, are kept in the closest confinement,
lest in their ignorance and innocence they become
a prey to the arts of some man not their husband.
But the female slave, unless fortunately bought
for a second or third wife, is not only a concubine
or mistress, but also a field-hand, house-servant,
and a general drudge. While the wife can only
be sold to be the wife of another man, the slave
can b%, and is, sold for any purpose however vile,
* See verification in Doolittle's "Social Life of the Chinese,"
Vol. II. p. 203; "Williams's Middle Kingdom," Vol. 11. p. 98;
Nevins's "China and the Chinese," p. 253.
227 
HOW.
and has no chance to choose her master or her
place of abode. Houses of prostitution are found
in every town and village, however small, and city
bawdy-houses are almost numberless. These are
usually filled with daughters whose fathers sold
them into slavery, either on account of poverty or
on a mere speculation. The vast number of these
houses and the astonislhingly low price * which
the girls bring in the market is conclusive proof
of the great prevalence of this kind of female
slavery. No statistics of the number of females
purchased for servitude or prostitution have been
gathered by Chinese authority, so that all writers
have been left to judge by private information, some
having placed the number as high as ten per cent
of the female population, and others as low as one
per cent. But they all agree that in late years
it has been surprisingly on the increase.  If this
is a "mild form of servitude," when compared
with the freedom, education, virtue, and refine
* A handsome girl sixteen years of age will command a price
varying from twenty-five dollars to fifty dollars. In case they
are sought by Europeans, the price is advanced to accord with
the known means of the purchaser. Women with small feet
bring more in the native markets, where the buyer wishes
for a wife or a mistress, because it is a mark of gentility "to be
scarcey able to walk." But as few families of the Coolie class
are able to bring up a girl without her assistance, it is a very
rare thing to see a Coolie woman with "stunted feet "; and
when one is seen, she has been thus maimed merely as a matter
of speculation.
228 
HUMAN  CHATTELS.
ment which characterize the female masses ill
civilized lands, then I have yet to hear of servitude in a malignant form. It would seem to me
to be far more "mild" if the persons bargained
away for such labor, or for such vile uses, were the
people of an inferior or conquered race, instead of
being their own legitimate sons and daughters.
Some idea of it can be formed by supposing that
Americans should sell their children into bondage,
or should, in neighborhood quarrels, exercise a
right to sell into slavery all their captives, as is
now done in the lower provinces of China. It
must be borne in mind that the selling of children,
except to be the first wives of neighbor's sons, is
confined to the lower classes, and that these slaves
are the result of poverty and a lack of refined
education among the common people.  The care
and good training, as well as the ample provisions
for the freedom and comfort of their children
among, the higher classes show how  susceptible
the Chinese mind is of cultivation, morally as
well as intellectually; and that, when left untrammelled, the affections of the Chinese are as
strong as those of other nations.
Let us now return to the family of the Coolie
whom &e left to toil their way through privations,
until such a time as he should be able to pay up
his indebtedness and send them money. D)ays,
weeks, months pass away and they hear nothing
229 
HOW.
from him. Every morning they all repair to the
rice-field and every evening return to their hard
couches, waiting, hoping that each hard day's work
will be their last.  Meantime the Coolie fails to
get work, or, having found employment, receives
much less wages than he expected; or, perhaps,
loses his money by accident or robbery; and cannot meet his note, which has been sent for collection to the office of some Chinese broker in San
Francisco. It is said that the Chinese in California and in other colonies gradually become more
generous and affectionate toward their relatives,
and it would seem to be the natural result of an
escape from the soul-breaking servitude which enthralled them in China.  If so, then he must feel
a grief, which is not allied with pride or superstition when the day draws near - comes - and
passes- on which the note should be paid and he
knows that his family are to suffer for his failure.
Perhaps a few days after he gets the money, and
hurrying to the office finds that the note was protested and sent to China by the last steamer, and
any remittance to China by the following vessel
would be too late to prevent the threatened disaster and too small to redeem them and pay the
areat's expenses for so doing.  So he abandons the
present hope and goes to work with greater zeal
and closer economy, determined to go himself at
some future time and carry money enough to buy
them all back.
230 
MORTGAGE FORECLOSED.
Three weeks later the mandarin who purchased
the Coolie's ticket before the latter left China receives a formal note from the office in Canton,
stating that the Coolie has failed to make payment
at the San Francisco office, and consequently the
broker at Canton declares the mandarin's note to
be due and unpaid. This causes that official to rejoice; for, to the fifty per cent already charged, he
can now add another fee, according to his contract
with the elder. He therefore sends the money at
once and pays the note which he gave for the
ticket, together with the interest, and, having made
out a bill of heavy fees for this "trouble," notifies
the elder that, as the latter's note is now two
nmonths overdue, it must be paid at once, with the
fees just added. This the elder also welcomes as
a matter of good luck, as he can also make a heavy
charge for his "time," and makes all possible
haste to pay the mandarin according to his agreement. Now it becomes his turn to collect, and the
family is notified of the Coolie's failure and the
consequent liability on the bond. As the note is
already three months overdu(e, the elder can proceed to collect or sell at once, and without previous
notice; but should he dislike to take the trouble
or have-the name of being uncharitable, or thinks
that the family will not sell for a sufficient amount
to settle the whole bill, he gives them a certain
time in which to pay the note, and if he sees any
231
i
i 
HOW.
way in which he thinks that they may realize
the money he makes the suggestion: Perhaps they
have clothing or ornaments which they can pawn
or sell; perhaps their employer will advance them
money rather than lose their labor, or they may
have relatives who are able to assist them: under some circumstances the members of the vil lage clan with whom the Coolie is associated will
unite in a subscription for the release of the family, and sometimes the priests solicit gifts for the
same purpose. But supposing the Coolie to live
in an agricultural district where clans and associations are uncommon, and where no clan feuds bind
the members of a family together, - all these
means fail, and at the end of the stipulated time
the elder sends a police-officer with orders to sell
such a number, beginning with the girls, as will
satisfy his bill and pay the charges of the sale. If
the total amount for which the family is liable be
over three hundred dollars,- as it is very likely to
be, if the cost of the ticket were forty dollars,- it
will doubtless be necessary to sell the whole family. But should the police-officer conclude that
the price of the girls would be sufficient, he will
either bring customers to the house and endeavor
to.make his bargains there, or he will take the girls
into the village, and, placing them in a conspicuous
location, post a placard upon their persons de claring them to be "for sale."
232 
SELLING INTO SLAVERY.
This is often done with the whole family; and
in some cases, whenii a sale cannot readily be effected in the native village, the officer marches
them to the nearest seaport and endeavors to dispose of them to "Coolie traders" or other Europeail purchasers.  In Canton there are one or two
companies who make it their entire business to
purchase girls at forced sales and keep them until
they can dispose of them at an advance. These
companies have "runners" or agents, who are
usually old women, in the cities of Hongkong,
Swatow, Amoy, or Macaow, who find European
customers and "guarantee satisfaction." Sailors,
and members of the low class which are to be found
in every commercial city often purchase such girls,
and after a few months or weeks abandon them
and go to sea or send them away to give place to
others whose faces and ways are more pleasing.
The sale of a family in Canton in the month of
April, 1870, will well illustrate what may become
of the delinquent Coolie's family in case of a sale
under the bond. This family lived in the town of
Tsunghwa, and were mortgaged to a broker in
Canton, tlhrough the mandarin, for the price of the
Coolie's tickets and a few unpaid debts left behinid. -His failure to pay made a foreclosure necessary, and consequently a sale.  The vendors having
made repeated attempts to sell in Tsunghwa, finally
brought the family - mother, two sons, and one
2 3 "j' 
HOW.
daughter -to Canton and exposed them for sale
near one of the gates. They were there nearly a
week before the first sale was made, and that only
included the disposal of the girl to the keeper of a
brothel in Hainan for thirty-three dollars and seventy-five cents. Two days after, the youngest son,
twelve years of age, was sold to a silk manufacturer
among the foreign population of Canton for sixty
dollars. The same day the older son, who was
eighteen years of age and quite intelligent, attracted the attention of a sea-captain, who, out of compassion, gave seventy-six dollars for the boy and
put him on board a vessel loading with Coolies
for the southern ports of North America. The extiaordinary low price received for the children made
the sale of the mother necessary, and, as no Chinaman wanted so old a woman for a wife or mistress,
she was purchased by a speculator, and afterwards
"let out" to European families as a nurse; and it
was from her and the captain that I received the
story of the family's misfortune.
Several instances have been known where such
families have been purchased by the agents of
ships that were waiting for a cargo of Chinese, and
sent to America under a written contract to work
for the purchaser a certain length of time after
their arrival in America; but they were instructed
what to say to the Consul, and of course answered
in the negative when asked by him if they were
under any contract to labor.
234 
AVOIDING A SALE.
These sales for debt, in cases where the Coolie
pledges his family for the price of his ticket, can  not be said to be very frequent, although they are
much more so now than they have been in past
years. To be in danger of separation and slavery
usually excites a mortgaged family to great effort,
and by begging, working, and stealing they will
-J many times pay off the whole or a part of the debt
- before the foreclosure; while some Coolies, rather
than run the risk of losing the whole, sell some
of the children, in the absence of other property,
and with the proceeds pay for their tickets in
advance.   The  sales, however, by emigrants to
America form but an infinitesimal portion of
the great traffic in human -flesh, made necessary
by poverty and two thousand years of supersti  tious tyranny.
235
a 
CHAPTER XIX.
QUERIES.
Growing Desire to reach America.-  How many there are com ing.- What Classes will soon come.-  Why married Women
are not brought to the United States. - The Prejudice against
Foreigners.
OW  MANY ARE THERE COMING?
Until recently it has required considerable
urging on the part of interested foreigners to induce the Chinese to undertake a journey to America; and even as late as 1869-70 circulars and
travelling agents were necessary in order to obtain
a full cargo of passengers within a reasonable time.
This was not owing to the absence of a desire to
escape the hardships at home, or, as has often
been stated, to a prejudice against the people of
our country. This is sufficiently evident from the
alacrity with which they responded to every special
call, and the activity they displayed in taking advantage of sugglestions and means of escape which
American contractors gave them.  Their habitual
subserviency and deference to the laws and offi 
INCREASED EMIGRATION.
cials of China, their uncertainty with regard to the
truth of the representations made to them, as well
as their natural pride ill everything connected withl
their own country, caused them to hesitate and
often to reject the offers of passage and work when
conming from the most trustworthy establishments.
But the opening of China to foreign trade, with the
consequent contact with the agcents of American
commercial houses, has a tendency to enlighten the
working people upon the subject of emnigration.
The establishment of a steamship line, reducing
the length of a passage more than two thirds, and
the influence of its many well-treated employees,*
has also done much toward breaking the old ties
and expanding the ideas of the serving classes.
The wholesome fear with which the government
officials regard the American navy, and their consequent hesitancy in interfering with any traffic
in which American vessels are engaged, gives the
Coolie an opportunity to leave the country in United States vessels, when he could not go in those
of Spain or Portugal.   These fresh inducements
and opportunities, combined with those to which
reference has been made, have at last turned the
scale; and now, instead of shipmasters searching
for passengers, the passengers are searchingi,  for
shlipmasters.
* The common sailors on the Pacific Mail Steamshlip CoIpany's vessels are all Clliese.
2'a) 7
pl 
HOWV.
To those who have watched the course of events,
the steadily decreasing prejudice of the laboring
classes has been a matter of much interesting
study.  At first it was almost impossible to obtain
a Coolie for this continent, by fair means; and it
was necessary to go with weapons of war in order
to get a full cargo for Cuba. Afterward promises
of riches and comforts were made, which were as
astonishling, no doubt, to the contractors as to the
Coolie; but even with such prizes before them,
very few could break through their crusted custom
and accept the offer, which they all believed to be
made in good faith. Later, such promises were
accepted, and the Coolie trade grew in spite of the
rumors that the Chinanian had been enslaved.
Still later, the national prejudices were so far
overcome that a large number were found willing
to emigrate, with the prospect only of reasonable
wages and the comforts of life, and now they be gin to crowd into seaports, and patiently wait for
the departure of ships, having endured many privations, and run many risks to get their tickets
all without even an offer of work when they shall
arrive in the United States.  This is a very different
spirit from that displayed twenty years ago, and a
contemplation of its future effect upon our country
leads us into a labyrinth of perplexity out of
which we cannot at present see our way.  All
these years the circulars, "runners," rumors, and
2'0'8 
AWHAT CLASSES WILL COMIE.
returners have been exercising an almost imperceptible, but yet powerful, influence upon the opinions
and behavior of the Chinese; and now it appears
as if the necessity for such agencies for the I)urpose of inducing emigration has entirely ceased.
At present it does not require anything but a
notice that the American-bound ship will leave
the port at a certain time to fill its spare space
with anxious Coolies.   If this feeling of  confi(ldeice, which it has taken so long to substitute
ill the place of narrow prejudice, shall continue
to increase year by year, until confidence shall
quicken into a desire to come as great as at first was
their aversion to such a removal, then we may have
as many million a year coming across to us from
China as there are tens of thousands now.
The higher classes will never come so long as
the present form of government remains as it is.
They possess more wealth, have more privileges,
and it may be a better education, than they would
enjoy in America.  For they not only have all their
own rights, such as they would claim  under a
democratic form of government, but  also. the
ri(ghts which in justice belong to the poorer and
lower classes.  AVitllin twelve months there has
been a,large emigration from among the middle
classes, - such as merchants, clerks, writers, moneychangers, and stock-brokers,- and in a few years
America may get some of the litercati, provided
239 
l4OW.
that the flood continues. But the governing peop)le, who furnish China with her wonderful laws,
histories, schools, &c., and fromi whom nearly every
official visitor gets his good opinion of China, will
stay where their prosperity is so great, until some
revolution amongi the oppressed masses shall send
them into exile.
AVWHY DO NOT THE MIARRIED WOMNIEN COME TO THE
UNITED STATES?
The laws of China, or rather the will of the
officials, will not permit a wife to leave China
under any conditions. If any succeed in escaping firom the interior to the loadiig vessel, they
do so at the risk of severe punishment, and a life
of slavery; and even should the mandarin  or
elders be willing to connive at their departure as
they do at the exodus of the Coolies, their husbands might be obliged to use them as security
for borrowed money, or perhaps could not afford
to bear the expense of two tickets. If a man
should bring his wife to the United States, all the
profit she would be to him  must accrue from her
labor, and that is exceedingly uncertain, while if
hlie brings his slave or mistress he can sell her, or
"bind her out" for any purpose, should his necessities require it.  The men come to America
simply to get money and escape present ill, and
not to live as they would at home; and they consider their stay too limited to warrant the transfer
of a family even if they could do so.
240 
PREJUDICE AGAINST FOREIGNERS.
WNVHY DO THE CHINESE ENTERTAIN SUCH A PREJUDICE AGAINST FORIEIGNERS?
Their rigid adherence to customn and their great
pride lead them to look with disrespect upon any
person, Chinaman or European, who does not behlave or believe as they do. Added to this is the
very bad record which foreigners have mnde in
the Chinese ports, with regard to honesty and humanity.  So much have the people been swindled,
and so often have they been maltreated by Europeans, that they would begin to hlate them, had
there been love before instead of prejudice. To
this Americans seem to be considered as exceptions, however little they may deserve it.
Among, the ruling class there is a feeling that the
presence of foreigners, vwhlo hire the lower class,
is giving the latter too much independence; and
knowing that the growthl of this spirit bodes the
overthlrow of their rule, they lose no opportunity
to feed the Coolie's prejudices, and, with their
tyrannical power, set him upon deeds of blood for
which they themselves dare not be responsible.
Oftentimes this lhatred is said to be " general,"
-when perhaps it is confined entirely to some mandarin who commands a cringing and thoughtless
populace.
4
241 
0 
SKETCIIES.
a 
0 
SKETCHES.
NUMTBER ONE.
A CHINESE SCHOOL UPON AN AMERICAN PLAN.
E  had seen Chinese schools in which all
the children chanted their lessons aloud,
without regard to unison or harmony; but none of
these institutions were conducted on the "American plan." They were purely, awkwardly native:
they lacked the democratic and thinking qualities
that characterize the schools of America. So we
looked forward with great interest to our contemplated visit to a school the teacher of which
was a returned California miner, and who prided
himself upon the introduction of the " AMelican
plan."   His school was in the second story of
a long row of rickety buildings in the northeastern portion of Hongkong; and while attempting to find it we blundered into the markets,
kitchens, sitting-rooms, and pantries of several
Chinese tenements, whose half-dressed occupants
i 
SKETCHES.
eyed us with suspicion, and sometimes with anger.
But happening to see several urchins who had
the thoughltful air of students enter a groceryshop, carrying Chinese books rolled under their
arms, we followed them into the store-room, and
thlrough it to a dark, narrow staircase in  the
farther corner. We knew that the school held its
session over this store by the awful din which we
had heard without,-  rising and falling at intervals
like a powerful church-organ. But so obscure and
narrow was the staircase we sought that we could
not see it, even when we followed close on the
heels of the gaudily attired urchins. They disappeared in the dark, and so did we. Walkin,g " bv
faith and not by sight" was intended to apply
solely to spiritual matters, as we were ready to
declare, when, after creeping along the stairs, we
crushed our hats against the ceiling and barked
our shins against projecting beams.  For a while
the little patter of clo,gged feet above us indicated
the direction which we should take; but at last the
noise ceased altogether, and wve were left, without
a guide, to grope along the darkest and most irregular staircase that it was ever my lot to climb.
The roar of the school voices seemed farther away
tin ever, and beginning to think that we had
made a mistake, we stopped to discuss the propriety of proceeding any farther.   Just then  a
wide door but a few feet from us swung suddenly
246
il — 
A CHINESE SCIIOOL UPON AN AIMERICAN PLAN. 2947
OI)ell letting into the passage a blinding flood of
light, and all almost deafening jargon of children's
voices. It was some seconds before we could see;
but when our eyes became a little accustomed to
the light, we found ourselves near the highest
stair, and gazing point-blank into the school-room
for which we had been searching. The door had
been opened by one of the scholars within to
admit those whom we followed, and the little
usher stared with astonishment to see two Europeans rising into the lighted door-way like shadowy
ghosts from Hades.  " Hoy ts(c! Hoy tsac!" (Pirates!) screamed the startled boys near the door,
attempting by gesticulation and shrieks to call the
attention of the master. But it would have been
utterly useless to make gestures or utter the shrillest screams in a place like that, even were the
house on fire.
The room was about twenty feet square, and
ceiled at the sides and overhead with planed
boards, after the style of some European houses.
But the w-alls were blank and bare, save where
some "Americanized" youngster had daubed the
walls with grotesque images in crayon.   Little
mats of bamboo dotted the floor, upon which the
scholars sat or stood and repeated their lessons,
while a class of little philosophers stood in a row
near the centre of the room reciting to the master.
As the general appearance of the school was similar
a_ 
SKETCHES.
to that of others which I had seen, I began a close
scrutiny to discover any traits or indications of
the boasted "American plan." Several very small
boys were engaged in whisking their little cues
about each other's heads, by standing back to back,
and, jerking their heads from one side to the other,
snapping the cue about like a teanmster's whip.
Two near the door had tied these appendages
together, and were pulling with wonderful fortitude to see which would drag the other. One
great awkward fellow was rolling up paper balls
to fling at the heads of the studiously inclined,
while another was cutting a picture of the master
in the floor with the aid of a Yankee jackknife.
Some were lying flat upon their breasts with a
sheet of brown paper before them, upon which
they-were drawing Chinese letters, and others
had manuscript rolls, or books from which they
learned to read. But whatever their occupation,
-in mischief or out,-  standing or seated,
they kept up the constant and boisterous repetition of their lessons, combining study and play
in a manner of which American scholars never
dreamed.
The master, a large bony-framed man, whose
grax cue dragged upon the floor, had so far Americanized his ideas as to wear enormous spectacles,
and "beat time" with a bamboo rod which he
held in his right hand.  When  we first saw him
248
r 
A CHINESE SCHOOL UPON AN AMERICAN PLAN. 249
he was standing before the class, with one foot
upon the only stool (or little bench) which the
place afforded, holding his book in his left hand at
arm's length, -somewhat higher than his head,
- and gazing intently at it under his spectacles
and swinging his baton with threatening vigor.
With proud tossings of his head and emphatic
stampings with the foot upon the stool, he growled
out his sentences in the coarsest bass, to which
the class responded with the most piercing treble.
How he could hear the responses to his questions,
or understand what he was saying himself in that
uproar, was a mystery. But I suppose he had
become so accustomed to the noise that it did not
interfere at all with his hearing.  His dress was
in keeping with his manners.   His long blue
frock, that fell below the knees, was patched in
the sleeves, and shorter on the left side than on
the other, while the right leg of his loose pantaloons came but little below the knee, making a
strange contrast with the other, that almost hid his
left foot. On one foot he had a very large Europeanmade boot, and upon the other a tiny Chinese slipper.
His appearance seemed the more awkward from
the comparison which the spectator would naturally make between his dress and the neat little blue
or black frocks and flowing pantaloons of the
scholars.
At the time we entered he was too busily en
r__
I 
SKET-CIIES.
gaged with the lesson and too intent upon it to
notice us, and we stood for some moments spreading terror among a score or more of pupils, before
his eyes wandered far enough from the book to see
us. When he did become conscious of our presence, however, he hastily pulled off his spectacles
and placed them under his arm, and, advancing
through and over the crowd of boys, shook hands
with us and invited us to a seat upon his footstool.
I suppose that he said he was glad to see us, and
made apologies for the appearance of the school, as
his lips moved and face smiled; but not a word
could we hear. Our presence seemed to have a
stimulating effect upon the whole school, for their
guttural thlgs and  chilling falsettos were more
excruciating than ever.  The master, too, assumed
his most dignified attitudes, and summoned  up
class after class with pompous wavings of his stick,
and, having heard - i. e. seen by the movements
of their lips - their recital of the lessons given
out the day before, would make them repeat after
him the sentences of the new lesson until they
could remember them. He then sent them away
to keep up the senseless repetition until school was
closed. His books were filled with extracts from
the,writings of Confucius and from Chinese history, with a few essays, written by himself or by
some of his friends, upon the filial duty of children; and the words were taught without expla
250 
A CHINESE SCHOOL UPON AN AMERICAN PLAN. 251
nation or discussion. He had a class in English,
but they were away at the time of our visit.
Before the close of the school my friend began
to fear that he should be called upon to make "a
few remarks" to the scholars, as this was supposed
to be an Americanized institution; and he thought
that it was an oversight to come there without
having previously written, corrected, learned by
heart, and practised a speech, with which to bore
the scholars when "surprised" by the teacher's
request. He wished to know how it would do for
him to say that he "expected to see all these boys
George Washingtons or Al)raham Lincolns," and
that, as the most mischievous schoolboys always
make the greatest men, he "would advise them to
pay strict attention to their studies" and avoid being bothered in old age with office and honors? But
the crack of the mnaster's stick against the wall and
the sudden rush of the children for the dark stairway quieted the fears of my comnpanion and gave
us a model example of thie way in which to close
a school. After the little cues and sparkling eyes
had all disappeared, we asked the master what difference there was between his "plan" and that of
other Chinese schools.   To which he answered,
after telling what he himself had learned in California, that he liked very much to make all "piecie
boy belong free," which means that he permitted
the boys to do just as they chose in school and out,
.ft —
PI - 
SKETCHES.
provided that they paid sufficient attention to their
studies to get their lessons. But he incidentally
added that it was also his intention to follow the
American standard farther and teach them to
"muchee big, talkee, and likee dat piecie dollar."
252
a 
NUMBEIPER TWO.
JOKING CHINAMEN.
T has been said that a Chinaman is not capable
of making or appreciating a good joke, but to
prove the contrary it is only necessary to begin
upon them in a situation where there is no fear of
consequences. It was my good fortune to have for
a travelling companion, during the greater part of
my stay in China, a rollicking, fun-loving, practical-joking,, dare-devil American by the name of
Lem.*  Nothing was too solemn for his witticism,
and no position too dangerous or important for his
caricature or hoax.  Everything that came to his
mind had a distorted and ludicrous appearance.
His eyes were like those laboratorial lenses, which
represent the bodies seen through them to be in
every position but the right one. Even his dreams
were of conundrums, quaint sayings, and funny
anecdotes.   Consequently such Chinamen as he
met had to stand, or run, before his volley of comical shot. Although he was perpetually annoying
* Mr. Lemuel E. Harris, of Scodunk, N. Y.
U — 
SKETCIIES.
them with some trick or caricature, they seldom
became angry or showed any disposition to resent
them, except by returning his jokes in the way
they were sent.
One day when wve were making  a short trip
inland from Shanghai, Lem placed a very small
American flag, in the apex of a chair Coolie's hat,
unbeknown to the wearer, and kept joking him
upon his "5Ielican (American) proclivities."   The
flag, being made of paper, was printed only upon
one side, leaving the other side clean and white.
The Chinaman soon discovered it, and took it
carefully down, without uttering a word to Lem,
who was so hidden by the close cover of the sedan
that he could not observe the Coolie's actions.
When the spare Coolie came uLp to spell him, the
possessor of the flag sat dowvn beside the path, and
with a piece of red clay drew upon the blank side
of the flag, a caricature of one of the Chinese
devils. He then hastened on and caught up with
us in time to take his turn at the chair. Before
relieving the other, however, he cautiously inserted
the flag-stick in the top of Lem's sedan, just over
his head, and left it to flutter there with the American colors upon one side and a dancing devil upon
the. other.  All this while Lem kept joking the.
Coolie, in a blind way, about the flag, supposing,
as he had heard no demonstration, that the Coolie
had not discovered it. To make the Chinaman's
254 
JOK1ING CHINAMLEN.
trick the mnore pointed, the inhabitants along, the
path seeingc the flag at a little distance, and supposilng  that some Chinese official was  passing,
flocked to the clair, and wonderin,gly looked in
to see the " )i,elican devil" supposed to answer to
the description without,   and to laugh when thley
found it only a "long,-whiskered barbarian."   All
of which was inexplicable to Leni until the presenlce of the gathering crowd caused the laug,hilg Coolies to set down his chair and tear up the
flag.
At another time Lem  had secured two  chair
Coolies who could talk pigeon Eng,lish, and he
kept thlem chatterilln  away just for the fun of it.
But they soon1  discovered that  hlie was making
"game" of them, and answered  only the most
direct questions.  All Chinamen  Twho can speak
pigeon English suppose it to be the real lagnguage
of England, and these chlair Coolies informed Lem
that thley were sure their  language was right
and that he "speakee no proper."  Lem lau,ghed
at them and said that if lie could not speak better
Eng,lish than they did he would "go and lhag,
himself"; whereupon they refused to talk at all.
Slhortly after we came to a stagnant pool or ditchl
in a rice-patch, over vwhich had been thrown a single log, or pole. This log was about fifteen feet
long, and had not been shorn of knots, while the
recent stripping of the bark made it slippery and
255 
SKETCHES.
unsafe. Twice the foremost Coolie started upon
the pole, at Lem's request, and fearing lest he
should fall into the stream and drop the chair, as
well as cover himself with mud, he withdrew, and
set down the chair in order to get another pole,
which lay but a short distance away. Lem
stormed and ridiculed them for their timidity, and
declaring that " an elephant could walk that log,"
leaped out of his chair and started upon a run
along the pole. His haste, big feet, and stiff limbs,
combined with the oily state of the pole, were
too much for his equilibrium, and when about
half-way over down he went- spvash- into the
slime-covered pool. The Coolies came running up
in affricght, and one wvaded in to assist him while
the other gathered tufts of grass with which to
brush his saturated and mire-covered clothes.
Lem was taken out safely, and was made as comfortable by brushing and washing as a man in his
circumstances could be, when one of the Coolies
who had been the proudest of his " English," stepping a little on one side, with his arms akimbo,
blew out a long, deep breath, and quaintly remarked: " fayhow Melican muchee talkee, but the
no m?chee walkee."
256
i
a 
NUMBER THREE.
SCENE AT A JOSS-HOUSE.
ID you ever pause for a moment in the porch
of a fashionable church, in America, to watch
the eddies of the incoming flood as it gurgles and
bubbles in through the outer door-way, whirls for
an instant in the hall, and then moves steadily on,
down the long aisle, to divide and subdivide into
the side-passages and pews? In it will be seen
the foolish fop, the gaudy miss, the gold-bedecked
spinster, and the proud old banker, pausing for a
moment in the entrance to arrange their gorg,eous
apparel, preparatory to a triumphal march down
the wide aisle to the distant pew.  Girls and boys,
men and women come pouring ill, all dressed in
their richest and gayest attire, as if they were
going to a festival or ball, instead of  attending
the wvorslip of a God who hates arrogance and
pride, and who cannot be deceived into the acceptance of a black or tainted soul, however much it
may be gilded.   Here and there are thoughtful,
I 
SKETCHES.
reverential ones, who seek the house of God for
instruction in the way of His  commandments;
and occasionally a mourner whlose broken, aching
heart will cease its painful tlrobbilngs only ill the
hlouse of prayer.  If you have ever thoughtfully
scainnedl such a tide you cannot soon forget the
lesson whicll it teaches.  For the gay apparel, personal ornaments, intelligent faces, carpeted aisles,
cushioned pews, philosophical sermonols, and words
of comfort, whetber the proud inconiers appreciate
it or not, are mionuments  to the value of the
Christian religion.  Even the most silly devotee
of fashion, who flaunts her jewels with shameful
defia(nce in the sanctuary of the Most High God, is
indebted to the religion whose house she desecrates
for all those ornaments and comforts.  The heathen do not possess them. In none but Christian
lands do we find comfort and happiness, as anll
outgrowth of the religion; anld how foolish it does
seem  for man to decorate himself in pride, and
mnarch  into  churlel, saying  by  his  del-ieanior,
Look at me, and see what I have done," instead
of sa.ying, as a reasonable being should say: " Look
at mle, and see what God hacs d,;gce.  The refiningi
and  enlightening  influence of  Christianity  has
taken  us literally out of mental  darkness, and
giv-en to us a thousand  pleasures of which the
heathen never knew.  We eat, drink, walk, ride,
sing, read, and sleep amid luxuries which the hea
258
P — 
SCENE AT A JOSS-HOUSE.
then could not appreciate if hlie possessed them.
AVe erect beautiful works of art, and with the aid
of God's natural laws adorn our dwellilngs, parks,
and higlhways in a way that would astonish the
dull senses of an unchristian people.   All this
beauty and pleasure, education and refinement is
the leg,itimate result of that personal and mental
freedom which the religion of Christ carries with
it wherever it goes.  Yet with all these facts before them men often enter the doors of the church
conscious only of their own importance.   They
even \venture to deny the divinity of Christ while
wearing his livery, and venture to speak ill of
him  lwhile disciplining, their minds by the light
vwhiclh hle has given.  How different with the heathlen! Althoughl their faith cannot quiet the fears
and pangs of the mourner, give instruction to the
ignorant, nor refine the manners or thoughts of
the tacit believer, yet they enter not into its courts
with pride, or show ingratitude when they find
themselves in comfortable circumstances.
Sitting by the gate of a Boodist temple one
evening, I watched the devotees as they came and
went, endeavoring to ascertain by their appearance what errands had brought them there.  Althoughtol it,was one of the finest temples which I
had seen in China, yet it was a far different place
firom the well-proportioned and beautifully decorated churches of America. The entrance to the
259
pl 
SKETCHES.
enclosure was through a ponderous gateway of
timber, from the top of which two hideous wooden
dragons frowned upon the visitors.  The fence
which, with the exception of the gate, entirely
surrounded the temple was made of rough splilnters, which were so decayed and broken that a boy
could leap over at almost any point. Within the
fence, and around the little hut or temple, the
ground was strewn with rubbish, or rooted up by
swine, and supported here and there a clumpy
growth of weeds and low brambles. The temple
was about twenty feet square, and was built of
wood, with the exception of the roof, which was
covered with long red tiles. It was about twelve
feet high, and was ornamented, or rather disfigured,
at the eaves and ridge with ill-carved dragons of
a repulsive design. The entrance was through a
narrow door in the side, which opened directly
into the idol-chamber, where the image of Boodah
was placed.   This chamber was a large square
room hung about with embroidered flags, paper
imnages, soiled tinsel, and tassels, without regard
for symmetry, while upon several richly carved
tables was to be seen little images of wood, bronze,
and stone, sitting, lying, or standing, as though
they had been scattered promiscuously about by
the armful.  Several large metal vases stood about
the room, some containing flowers, others josssticks and dried fruit. The idol, before which the
260  
OUR WHEELBARROW RIDE. -Page 278.
1   | i 
SCENE AT A JOSS-HOUSE.
long-robed priest chanted and bowed, sat crosslergged on a stand with his arms folded, his head
erect, and his back against the wall. His long
mustache streamed down to his shoulders, while
his ruddy cheeks, black eyes, and embroidered cap
gave him the appearance of a rollicking winebibber. Before him were burning bunches of little
splinters in goblets or on platters, and a number
of hanging,-baskets of bamboo and beads, containing garlic, rice, and cake. The floor was unswept
and filthy, while the dust from many feet arose in
little clouds and begrimed the tapestry, wall, and
idol in a most disgusting way.   The night was
dark and cloudy, but the gateway, enclosure, and
temple were so illuminated with Chinese lanterns
of gay design, that it presented a rather inviting
aspect, when seen from the dark and uneven pathway. It was not a festal day, but the death of
some noted man had recalled to their senses many
careless ones, and the stream of worshippers was
much larger that night than usual.   Merchant,
broker, farmer, and laborer came to renew their
vowrs, and stopped at the gateway, heathen-like, to
take off such unnecessary ornaments as they wore
upon their persons, lest the idol should be offended
at their pride.  If their long cues had been rolled
up during the day, they were now carefully taken
down and stroked into respectable smoothness, so
that the wearer might not appear in the idol
261
P — 
SKETCHES.
chamber in a plight that indicated disrespect or
carelessness. One old man appeared in the gateway light in whose short frock there was a rent
about the size of his hand. He was evidently in
great haste, and made a pause in the gateway to
regain his breath after a long and tedious walk.
While standing there, his gray hair shining in the
lantern light, and his limbs trembling, with fatigue,
he suddenly discovered the hole in his frock. His
countenance fell in an instant, giving to his face
an expression of disappointment such as children
sometimes assume when a cherished toy falls to
the floor and is shattered into fragments.   He
lifted his skirt and looked closely at the rent;
drawing it togethler with his thumb and finger,
as if endeavoring to ascertain how it would look
when repaired. He then placed the palm of his
hand over it and turned about to assure himself
that no one would notice it if he kept his hand in
that position. But the old look of disappointment returned when he found that his hand was
too small. He then tried to tuck it under, and
pin the fold with a wooden splinter, but the cloth
was too thick.  At this failure he seemed for a
while to be entirely at a loss to decide what
SCould be his next movement. He began at last
to unbutton the frock, and, pausing for a moment
to consider the propriety of appearing before the
God without an outer garment, he buttoned it
262
r, 
SCENE AT A JOSS-IIOUSE.
again.  Then turning from side to side he viewed
the fringed spot from all possible positions, and
finally deciding, with a sad sigh, that he was unfit
to appear in the presence of Boodah, he turned
sorrowfully away and disappeared in the darkiess.
Around the gateway, flitting in and out of the
fitful light, were a number of beggars whose filthy
and diseased appearance was a most blood-chilling
sight.  Crutches,  slings, bandages, patches  and
poultices disfigured their appearance, and the reckless exposure of wounds and sores made it painful
to look at them. Sometimes a well-dressed Chinaman would toss a cash into their midst as he
passed in, and the mass of human misery writhed
and tumbled about the spot, forgetful of pain in
their contest for a coin worth the one fifth part of
a cent.  One old woman broughlt her invalid son
upon her back, and leaving him at the portal,
through which her sex are not permitted to pass,
she stood gazing wistfully up the lantern-hung
pathway, while her sickly boy tottered up to the
temple and crowded in at its glaring door-way.
Several young men stopped in the reflection without to settle their quarrels and debts before entering the sacred precincts, while some paused before
the entrance to collect their thoulghts and determine what should be their confession and whlat
their request, and to adopt a method for making
263 
SKETCIHES.
them. One man paused, pulled off his wide hlat,
looked vacantly at the lanterns, moved his lips,
stamped with his feet, scratched his head, and
had a perplexed air about his movements, as if he
had some great request to make and was unable
to decide upon the way in which it should be
done. At last a happy thought comes to his relief,
and throwing up his head he walks cheerfully into
the gateway and joins in the shadowy procession
that hurries toward the "sacred presence." Thus
they come and go, appeariing from the gloom to
flit for an instant in the light and then disappearing in darkness; a fair symbol of the religion they
profess, which teaches them that an entrance into
the world is an escape from gloom, and an exodus
from it but the beginning of darkness and terror.
Hours pass, and the stream becomes smaller and
smaller, muntil there are only a few stra,ggling,, poorlydressed Coolies coming at long intervals; and
then the nasal chant of the priest is discontinued,
the great gong without ceases its roar, and the
keeper puts out the lights in the temple and gateway, leaving the spot, like the faith to which it is
dedicated, cheerless, chilly, damp and dark.
I
26-1
k&.
I
I 
NUMBERP FOUR.
CHINESE AMUSEMENTS.
F the tones of the gongs which deafen your ears
at each-dinner hour in your fashionable hotel
suit your taste for music, then perhaps you might
be able to appreciate a Chinese concert. But if
that offends your ear, then be careful, while travellilg in China, to go as far as possible from every
concert-hiall or temple. Such a noise! The roof
seems to shake and the earth to tremble with the
vibration, while the sensations of an auditor are like
those of a person standing close beside the track
when the engine of the lig,htning, express thunders
by. I attended one of the native concerts, and,
while I hold to my present determination, I shall
never go again. It was held in the hall of the
theatre, and was given to celebrate some religious
or national anniversary, the importance of which
depended'upon the prosperity of the nation during
the previous year. There were two classes of musicians, -  drummers and pipers; the former outnumbering the latter at least two to one. The
Z' 
SKETCIIES.
whole company numbered about sixty, and marched
around the stage without order or plan, and each
thumped or piped with all his strengthl.   The
pipes were made of reeds, in the ends of which
were inserted mouthpieces or whistles, while the
drums were nothing more than pans, kettle-drums,
and ordinary gongs, accompanied by "bones" and
wooden cymbals. There seemed to be no more
harmony or system to the vocal part of the performance than there was to the instrumental; for
each man beat his gong, blew his whistle, clapped
his cymbals, and yelled, without regard to tuine or
time, and paid so little heed to his steps, that
many a head was thumped and many an elbow
scarred before the performance closed.
They were all men, and were said to b- "professional performers on the gong and pipe."  But
if they were "professional," it must be a strange
performance indeed where amateurs are admitted
to the stage!   It was  but  a few  moments
that I could stay in the hall, so deafening and
chilling was the din, and while I was there the
only vocal sounds which I could detect above the
roar and rattle was a prolonged and oft-repeated
"Ya-a-a-e-e ya-a-a-e-e!"  Our interpreter stated
that the musicians were  "hailing the spring,"
and that they would keep up that drumming and
screaming for ten or twelve hours, with little or no
variation.
266 
CHINESE AMUSEMENTS.
It is a characteristic of the Chinese, that the
more they listen to musical sounds the coarser and
more boisterous must it become to suit their
"growing tastes."   Like those other  antipodal
customs which bid them wear white at funerals
and black at marriage, print books from right to
left, value the friendship of one who presents a
coffin, and condemn a thing when they intend to
praise - it cultivates coarseness instead of refinement.
More surprising does this seem to me, since
I listened to the song of "Tramp, tramp," as
rendered by some Chinese pupils of a missionary
in Singapore. For these scholars showed beyond
controversy an apt and discriminating  ear for
harmony and melody, and sang, that well-known
American song with all the parts, in the most
pleasing and artistic manner. But the missionary
declared that he had no hope of making  musicians of his classes, - he had found that the
more they practised the less appreciative they had
become.
Chinese theatres, with all their age and celebrity,
call scarcely be declared either amusing or instructive to the European or American spectator.
The plot is usually very simple, being a journey or
a marriage, or a fight without those complications
which make the plays of Western lands so interesting and exciting.  The actors perform upon
267 
SKETCIIES.
a platform without curtain or scenery, and have an
"operatic"  way of drawling or screeching the
vocal part and of wandering about the stage in
violation of all the rules which govern actors elsewhere. The men, boys, girls, priests, gods, and
demons which frequent the stage do not consider
themselves of any importance to the play, and if
they should happen to be ill, wish to smoke a
pipe, or eat a meal, they will absent themselves
without procuring substitutes, and the play seems
to go on just as well withlout them.  Everything
is left to the spectator's imagination; and, as it will
be more or less interesting as the auditor's imagination is fertile or barren, the success of a play in
China depends more on the audience than on the
actors. If a man is supposed to be in a ship, he
carries a pole with a sail attached and beats a
gong. If he wishes to act the part of a boatman,
he carries a pair of oars under his arm. Sometimes the  actors wear placards, i. e. when the
audience is dull and unappreciative,- upon which
are written,  "This is the god of good luck."
"This boy is a gardener," "This woman is the wife
of the money-broker," "This player is a good fellow," "This actor is a bad man "; all of which
assists the audience in "guessing out" the meaning of the play.  It sometimes happens, that the
spectators are mistaken about the intent of the
players, and go on imagining a tragedy, when per
268 
CHINESE AMUSEMENTS.
haps it is a comedy, or think that there is a thrilling love romance when it is all about thieves and
money-brokers. The actors play from early morning
until far into the night, and visitors come in and
stay an hour or more, and having imagined an act
go to their business until evening, when they come
again and imagine another act.  It sometimes
happens that a company more venturesome and
gifted than their class, play the parts with more
fidelity to nature, and make their meaning too apparent to be mistaken; but such plays are seldom
popular, and cannot, like the others, be played for
weeks without any decrease of interest. Several
attempts have been made to introduce scenery and
more appropriate costumes, but like all innovations upon established custom, they met with a
cold reception.
The Chinese love games of chance, and are said
to be acquainted with over one hundred different
methods of gambling. Old and young, male and
female, play these games, believing that the result is the decree of the gods or spirits, who control everything that is left to chance. Gambling
may be said to be the "national game" of China.
For al; the spare hours given to recreation are
spent in playing games with forfeits; and in
nothing do they seem to take so much pride as in
the possession of winnings. The usual mode of
269
r 
SKETChIES.
gaming now popular in the lower provinces is
that of betting on the number of coin contained
in a handful of cash. The betting is done by a
number of Chinamen, while a disinterested party
is selected to take out as many coins as his hand
will hold from a large pile, and to count them out
by "twos," "fours," or "sevens."  Sometimes parties bet that the handful will have a certain number of "fours," and others accept the wager, winning or losing on the count.   At  the regular
gambling halls, the bet is usually made upon the
number that will remain after counting out all the
"fours" in the pile. This is done by taking a
handful of coin at random from a pile, and placing
it on a table, after which a disinterested party
counts out the coin, four at a time. The number
of coin which are left after the last "four" has
been taken will determine the bet. If there are
three, or two, or one, or it comes out "ev-en," the
person staking his money on the lucky number
gets the whole of the amount wagered upon the
other numbers. If a Coolie states that he wagers
ten cents upon number "three," and, after all the
"fours" are taken away, there be three coins left,
he will get forty cents, while if there are none, or
one, or two left, he looses his stake, and it goes to
the party who bet on the winning number.
Bets are often made on the direction from which
the wind will blow on the morrow, on the side
270 
CHINESE AMUSEMENTS.
that will come up, when a coin is thrown in the
air and allowed to fall upon the ground, on the
number of grains in a quart of barley, on the sex
of an unborn child, on the year that a person will
die, on quoits, marbles, dice, dominos, and on a
thousand things which may be the subject of
speculation or risk.
lite-flying is a favorite amusement with old
men, and ball-playingc with children. Dolls, toys,
and pictures are manufactured in large numbers,
but are sought more by old people than by the
children.   Jugglery  and  legerdemain  are the
most exciting amusements aside from gambling,
and a successful performer will never want for an
audience in China. The favorite feat is that of
keeping eight wooden balls flying in the air, with
the hands, head, and feet; and so directing their
motions as to represent fountains, balls, wheels,
stars, &c.  The skill and agility displayed in that
feat does seem to be almost miraculous; yet the
juggler seldom acts as though it was a great task,
but will keep the balls flying for hours if the
auditors happen to desire it.
Another popular amusement is found in the
making and guessing of riddles.  At some seasons,
and especially "New Year's," the mandarins and
scholars have lanterns hung at their door, on
which are printed several of these riddles, and a
notice is given that whoever succeeds in guessing
271
pl 
SKETCHES.
either one will receive a certain reward or present.
But the making of riddles is not confined to any
class or time.   Even the Coolies on board ship
devote their attention to them. Here are two
which occupied the crowd a considerable time
before they were able to answer.
"When is it that the faster a man walks the
less progress he makes on his journey?"
" Ans. WVhen he walks from stem to stern on a
moving steamer."
"What is it that moves itself, without having
life or assistance, is flat and round, and will easily
carry a load which ten thousand million of Chinamen could not lift?"
" Ans. The ocean."
A Chinese money-broker in Yokohama, Japan,
propounded the following to a number of emigrants bound to California, who went on' shore
at that port while the vessel was taking in cargo
and coal.
"What kind of men sell a home to own it, leave
their families in order to live with them, go among
enemies to find friends, spend their money in
order to get it, and become prisoners to be free?"
With astonishing unanimity the crowd of Cooliesreplied, "The Emigrants to America."
i
272 
NUMBER FIVE.
OUR WHEELBARROW RIDE.
W E were homeward bound.  That is to say,
we were going to Cheefoo; from which
place, several days before, we started for the Tomb
of Confucius. A curious quartette we made - the
driver, interpreter, Lem and I- while lumbering
along over hills and ravines in one of the most
awkward carts upon which my eyesight ever fell.
'Our friends at Cheefoo had told us that we would
have trouble on the route, either at the Gold Mines
or at our destination; but little did we care.  The
greater the hardships the more meritorious the
pilgrimage.   Lem said that we were going "to
the tomb of some old fellow who lived several
years ago, but of whom nobody but antiquarians
and newspaper reporters had ever heard," and he
wanted something exciting to quiet his conscience
and furnish a reasonable excuse for such a foolhardy trip. However, we accomplished the journey, after passing many sleepless nights on filthy
mats and eating many half-cooked meals.
4
'A I 
SKETCHES.
We had been watched by government spies and
made to pay tribute to the Yen-chliow-foo descendants of ancient Philosophers. We had been told
how Confucius and Mencius had trod the paths in
which we were walking. How, according to the
most celebrated Chinese book, called Shoo Aging,
there was once a great flood there, and that later
there were great battles on the plains we were
crossing. We had seen the labyrinth-like temple
of Confucius at Keo-fu-han, with its tablets, carved
dragons, images of that philosopher and his disciples, vases of marble and bronze over three thousand years old; and its gardens of cypress, with
their massive gates and rustic bridges.  We had
entered the enclosures and looked upon that
mound, said to be the tomb of the great philosopher and moralist, and which is covered with a
growth of trees and partially hid by a huge slab
with Confucius's name and deeds engraven upon it.
We had wandered over the "sacred mountains,"
looked at the graves of old kings and great scholars,
saw where the disciples of Confucius sat and debated, and where they were buried; and we drew
inspiration from the romantic shades where the
greatest poets of China "loved and sung," and
where that great and good man, Yu, is said to have
worked such wonders.   Our guide had rattled
away at jaw-breaking, Chinese names and classical
quotations, until we were almost ready to order
274
F, 
OUR WHEELBARROW RIDE.
him to hold his tongue; and we had been stared
at and mocked by the natives until we wished ourselves "well out of old Chow's territory."
We had taken a somewhat circuitous course on
our return to look upon that "wandering river,"
which floods the country and finds a new bed and
a new mouth nearly every year.*   Natives had
teased us for presents, boatmen had quarrelled over
our passage at the ferries, and hotel-keepers had
vied with each other in furnishing us suitable entertainment. But nevertheless we had met with
no serious obstacle, and had seen scarcely enough
of adventure to relieve the dull monotony of such
a long cart-journey. But just as we were winding along the side of a steep hill, a short distance
from a town called Whang-han, the axletree of the
cart gave way, and Lem, myself, and the baggage
went headlong after the mule, which the accident
sent rolling down a stony declivity. The driver
and the interpreter, who were walking beside the
cart at the time, at once made a rush for the mule,
and managed to push him into a standing position,
while Lem gave vent to his rage in rather emphatic language, and assisted me to pull my bruised
limbs from under the pieces of lumber, bundles of
straw and provisions which came after us from the
overturned cart. What a fix! Nearly one hundred and fifty miles from the seaport, in a country
* Yellow River.
2 1'5 
SKETCHES.
infested with banditti, without a cart, with an
angry driver and a dissatisfied interpreter. What
was to be done? At first we had hoped to be able
to repair the cart and proceed as before, but it was
so broken by the fall, that, without a suitable piece
of lumber for an axletree, and the tools with which
to shape it, we could do nothing.
For a long time we stood about the wreck, discussing various expedients, and rejecting each as it
was made; and it was not until the decline of the
sun warned us to adopt something at once, that we
concluded to leave the cart, driver, and mule, and
proceed on foot. We were to stop at a tea-house,
the location of which seemed well known to the
driver and interpreter, and wait there until the
former had time to get assistance, repair the damage, and bring up the team. WVe had not proceeded far, however, picking our way along the side
of the hills, before Lem began to tire of carrying
his farge, crowded carpet-bag, and declared that he
could not walk "seven Li farther," which our guide
said was the distance to the tea-house where we
must stop. At least he "would rest," and suiting
the action to the word, sat down upon his carpetbag, and, as he himself has since declared, "sighed
foi Scodunk, New York."
He was just about to respond to our urgent solicitation to proceed, when his attention was called
to the little butterfly-looking wheelbarrow sails
2'1'6 
OUR WHEELBARROW RIDE.
which seemed to be skimming along the valley below us.  We had often noticed them before, but
never had seen as many, or looked upon a land scape of cottage, village, rice-fields, and stream to
which they seemed to add such a charm.  Slimmering into the trees or behind the houses and out
again, flitting from block to block of the drain-cut
plantations, and fluttering  strangely in the sun
when the owners let go the sail to "tack" or make
a stop.  "Why not hire a wheelbarrow?"  was
Lem's first question after we had gazed for a
few moments upon the varied landscape and
watched the zigzag progress of those "land sailboats."  "Why not?" echoed I, looking at our interpreter for an answer.  But he objected, saying
that they were dangerous vehicles.
"Why dangerous?"
"Because they would tip over."
Lem scoffed at the idea of tipping over, and sat
down  again determined  to wait until "doomn's
day," if the interpreter did not see fit to go down
and hire one of " them air things."  It was more
than a mile to the village, and I objected, telling
Lem that we were in danger of losing our guide or
of being attacked in his absence;  but he was imimovable. and I resigned myself to the fates, and
waited through an anxious hour for the appearance
of the interpreter with a wheelbarrow. At last we
saw him coming, slowly winding up the hillside
'-' 7 7 
SKETCHIIES.
accompanied by a Coolie with a wheelbarrow without a sail. Lem was quite displeased at the idea
of a wheelbarrow-ride without the assistance of
the wind, and swore that he would not ride in it,
and that Arr Choo should go back for another.
On the arrival of the clumsy conveyance, however,
we found that the sail had been taken down because it would be of no assistance in coming up
the hill. But the driver thought that it might
avail us in driving the wheelbarrow down the
declivities, when we were once fairly started. I
thought so too, and objected to its being set; but
Lem wanted it, "just for romance," and the fluttering,, ragged sheet was unfurled.  The wheelbarrow
had but one wheel, and that was so inserted that a
half of it was below and the other half above the
floor or bottom of the barrow.*   But the felly
was so wide that it was not a aifficult matter to
keep the barrow upright, under ordinary circumstances.  We had seen conveyances of this kind
several times before, since leaving Cheefoo, but
never after this pattern, and we found that the
protruding portion of the wheel, on the inside, was
going to be a great inconvenience. But the more
awkward the machine the better suited was Lem,
and he bounced into the barrow at the motion of
the owner as though he was very impatient for a
ride.
* See illustration.
278 
OUI  WlHEEILBARROW'llIDE.
Say! you there," said he after seating himself
on the side and trying to pull up one corner of
the flapping  sail.  "I say! you; cap'n of this
ere craft, can't yer take a reef in this ere ma chine?"
The Chinaman, who doubtless had never seen a
European before, nodded and scraped and smiled
as if he would have us believe that he understood
every word. Arr Choo repeated the question in
Chinese, and received the reply that the sail was
too little even now, and that it "no go fast."  After
a little persuasion I got into the barrow and sat
upon the side-board opposite Lem; for there was
scarcely room inside for our feet and Lem's carpet-bag, which, however, with some difficulty we
managed to cram into the corners away from the
dirt-throwing wheel.  "All right; go it!" shouted
Lem; and after the order had been repeated by Arr
Choo, the Coolie seized the lower corners of the
sail and quickly tying them to the cross-piece, ran
to the long handles and lifted them from the
ground. Just then Lem shifted his position, a
little puff of wind filled the sail, and in an instant over went the wheelbarrow, while we, illfated passengers, landed, as Lem afterwards declared,  with our heads whar our feet'd orter been."
The carpet-bag went in one direction, Lem's hat in
another, and the wheelbarrow with the Coolie in
another, and everything but Lem and I was very
279
pl 
SKETCHES.
much scattered. We fell together, and so mixed
were our extremities that Lem groaned out, " 0
my knee!" and afterwards made up his mind
that it was me who was hurt. After some persuasion and more cursing on the part of Lein, and
a little sly laughling on the part of Arr Choo, we
entered the wheelbarrow again.   Lem  id  the
mean time nursing his patience by singing the song
of Mother Goose, which says that
"The wheelbarrow broke, his wife had a fall;
And down came wheelbarrow, wife and all."
This time fortune and the wind favored us, and
away we went under the skilful guidance of the
Coolie, winding along the narrow path, now descending, now ascending; here near the edge of a
precipice, there through a narrow cut, until the
ride, which  at first filled us with fear, became
pleasing and comfortable.  The sail being fastened
only at the top and bottom, and even there to hoops
that would turn upon the mast, it always kept its
broadside to the wind, no matter in what direction the vehicle was turned.  The skill was displayed in keeping the barrow upright in the gusts,
and so turning in the selection of the path as to
keep the wind behind the sail.
Once he was obliged to take several "tacks"
before he could reach the top of a knoll, and he
did it by turning the wheelbarrow so as to receive
280 
OUR WHEELBARROW RIDE.
the wind fairly in the sail, and, after a great momeintticn had been gained, wheeling suddenly about
and pushing it as far as possible against the wind.
It was a most exhilarating ride: along the mountain-side, overlooking a beautiful valley, and fannied
by the little air eddies made in the sail. For more
than-an hour we rode on our way, sometimes as
fast as the Coolie could run, and at other times
very slow, and were beginning to think of seeing
the residence for which we were in search, when
we came out upon the brow of a mountain from
which another one of the most varied and pleasing landscapes of the world was presented to our
view. Here the mountain-side was an easy slope
while the path which led down to the valley was
nearly straight, and appeared from our station to be
even and'smooth. When we learned that we must
descend to the valley, Lem caught hold of the side
of the barrow, as if to brace himself, and shouted,
"Give him ther reins, mister?  Mfild yer bearins
and let'er rip."
I protested. But as everything must be translated, the Coolie, who understood Lem's gestures,
had started before my  commands reached him,
and it was too late then to stop. I would have
leape4 out, but I was afraid that such action would
upset my companion, so I held on the best I could
and determined to abide the consequences. The
wind was "a little abaft the beam," as the sailors
281 
SKETCHES.
say, and for the first few yards pressed heavily
against the sail, starting us off at race-horse speed.
We had not proceeded far before the wheelbarrow
outstripped the wind, and the sail flapped back
with a terrific bang against the mast and we were
nearly thrown from the wheelbarrow by the sudden check put upon our speed. With another
gust the sail again filled and on we sped as before.
Soon the path became stony and crooked, so that
the Coolie in his efforts to balance the vehicle
turned first one side down and then the other;
lifted the handles as high as his shoulders and again
let them down so low that they dragged upon the
ground, tipping us about in a way that required
our entire strength to hold on. The path grew
steeper and rougher, the wind grew fresher, Lem's
hold upon the side-board more insecure, and the
retroaction of the sail became more frequent and
forcible, until the ride was nothing but a series
of neck-breaking, jerks and dizzy oscillations.
Bumping over the stones, or throwing up clouds
of dirt, the wheel buzzed between our feet like a
circular saw, while the Coolie with a nimbleness
and a display of strength which would do a star
circus performer credit, threw himself into all manner. of attitudes, and still guided the barrow, although it would have required the entire attention
of any ordinary man to have kept his feet in the
path when proceeding at such speed, without be
282
i 
OUR WIIEELBARROW RIDE.
inag burdened with the care of such an uncertain
vehicle. At last the path became too crooked,
even for the skilled Coolie, and on being pressed
with a strong gust of wind at a sudden turn in
the track, he struck across the dry field, thinking,
to enter the path again at the next curve. But
Lem, who was getting nearly exhausted, and who
considered a departure from the path to be a
dangerous and foolish experiment, suddenly called
out in angry tones, "Look o' here, whar are you
going to, you old fool?"  The Coolie could not
understand the words, but the anger which he saw
in Lem's face seemed to disconcert him, and while
trying to hold back upon the handles, the barrow
gave a sudden lurch, and in attempting to prevent
an overturn in one direction he put forth too much
strength, and with a sudden swoop, just as Lem
screamed, "Thunderation! Hold on!" over came
the wheelbarrow and its contents, with myself at
the bottom.
Lem scratched his shins and groaned, forgetful
of his carpet-bag, half filled with sand, and his tall
hat crushed in the wheel, while I, until the arrival of Arr Choo, limped about, looking for a pool
of water with which to wash the sand from my
eyes and mouth. This fully satisfied us with landsailing, and ever after, when our carts failed us,
Lem and I demurely went on foot
Camnbridge: Printed by Welch, Bigelow, and Company.
2 8al
I 
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUMF
NATURE'S ARISTOCRACY;
or,
BATTLES AND WOUNDS IN TIME OF PEACE.
BY MISS JENNIE COLLIN&
EDITED BY
COL. RUSSELL H. CONWELL.
A THRILILING BOOK.
16M0......
NOTE.- It gives the publishers great pleasure to place before the
public sutch a valuable work as "Why and How," and so interesting a' volume as " Nature's Aristocracy," from the pen of COLONEL
RUSSELL H. CONWF.LL.   He is so well known  as an orator and
lecturer-having been styled by the leading journals of America
and England "the most fascinating word-painter of the day"that his writings will need no introduction to be appreciated by the
reading public.
LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers,
149 WASIIIONGTON STREET, BOSTON.
I~~~
I
P.RICE, $ 1 50.