The Placer herald., 1855-12-15
For the Placer Herald.
A Salt Water Bubble. mo. 3.
n Trip up Canton Rirer in ls4O.
BY DICK BELAY-THAT.

/ start ABOUT o CLOCK. a. Nj. LOT CaUlOut we pun
| through feet of smugler Hapca boats and Sand
| Pans to Wompoa Shoot into boston Jacks'-
| the American comprador-take drink, as we
| have long pull of fifteen miles before us. We
! leave Boston Jacks for town. On our left are
! the rice fields. and on right, rolling land and
green trees The tide has just turned in our favor.
On the flats. each side of the channel are Chinese
men, women and children. gathering the small
cookie shells, shouting and laughing during their
labors
| AS it is war time, we have the American flag
| 1ving to let the Chinese know are Americans.
There is the Josh house our right, that eighteen
of us got locked into last sunday and had to tie
our shirts together and lower our comrades
out of the window, to break the door and let us
out before the Mandarns came Now we sight
| cold Noah, as the sailors call him, an old man,
| long beard in an old boat and he has been there
q long time. We are about three miles from
Wampoa both sides Of the river banks level and
cultivated in rice fields An embankment is made
all along to keep the river from overfowing. and
on the embankments are alternately peach, banan-
ma and plum trees, as far can see. Once in
awhile we pass duck boat, with grateing down,
and the ducks swimming about in the river (as
the owner thnks,) too far. lie whistles and what
a squabbing there is among them to get in shore
The last duck into the boat, after the owner whis
ties always gets fogging, so you can judge they
hurry some.
Here comes Chinese Junk, with her two great
eyes, she is bound out. There comes Mandarin
boat, with her gongs beating. and the fire crackers
popping. As a Chinaman believes in a noise he
is making some towards his belief. Here we are
at "tdler's Ridge" a narrow passage, on account
Of there being Junks sunk and stone filled in, to
keep the English men of war from coming up the
river. Now we begin to meet more boats. One
old woman with oranges, and two children with
goards around their necks.
'3uy oranges? oranges"
| "No."
And away she goes in shore to wait for the next
| boat.
There are the "Boque Forts.' three of them,
and massive forts they look to be, mounting TWEEN
ty guns below. and many long matchlocks on
top. The large guns are lashed to blocks of wood.
Just above the forts in the river are the Chinese
nen-ofwar, about thirty of them, pulling about
! l50 oars each, standing about four feet out Of
ter. Our flag they know, and we pass them silent
ly.
| Here is barber in boat about eight feet long,
| and the wonder is how he floats her. Now we
get in among the smali-fry of the town of Canton
on the river: cook boats. BARRIERS, taors, market
men, fshmen, and all chaterng like parcel Of
magpies; and now the Junk yards come in sight
caulkiag, buidng, painting, guiding, blacksmith
| ing &c. carried on at s great rate. And there
are the houses Of the better class of Chinese. all
sizes, from ten by twelve to thirty by sixty feet
| All built on boats, plenty of paint and gold leaf
on them; and from what we can see, they are all
| furnished.
All, here is ''Dutch Folly on our right with its
| trees shadeng the wall and the inside. dutch
| Folly 80 called, was built by the Dutch when
| they had the sole trade of the Chinese They
wished for place to build hospital and this
ground was given them for the purpose. They
! built a large fort and were taking in their sup
plies of medicine. when one of their came
| down from the lighter by the run and burst out
rolled brass pill in the shape of eight poun-
der. "Twce-eye-Joh Ohm says the Mandarin, and
instead Of the Dutch taking Canton, as they ex-
pectcd they had to take to Holland. and the Chi
nese took the fort
Now the bowman ships his oar and takes his
boat hook, and we are in among the "Hapoa
boats" all are worked by the women, (such as you
see about Auburn, )and the bowman shoves this
and that one aside to get our gig through, you
better believe the boat-women bless him. and he
has to keep look out as they try to hit him.
! Here are. abreast of the factory. We haul
in to .'Old Heads" and he takes our boat under
his charge, away we break for Hog Lane" take
our "Samsu," eat some eggs drink a cup of coffee,
take a cigar two, and hurrah for round turn
in Canton. Outside the walls we are obliged to
keep together. as the Chinese cannot tell whether
we are English or Americans The Henry
Pratt's and "Cyntha 81 crews are in town. we
get together and start up Hog Lane" to "Shoe
Lane" ] want pair of shoes, tell my 'chum.' y
.'All right"
step into shop and try on a pair, which fit
we'll In comes my chum grabs my old shoes and
stands in the door clapping his hands saying:
'Cachee John, cachee john"
The lanes and streets are mostly very narrow.
and we are iosting and being iostled by ALL
Once in awhile there is a Robbery among the Chi
nese, fshman finds one Of his baskets slipped
off his bamboo by jack and his fish capszed.-
The rest of the Chinese laugh at the unlucky fish
monger.
Here we are. in old China street. The street is
wide, and here comes procession. First, are
four musicians with two fagoets and two gongs,
| then two lantern bearers, two more musicians, a
palanqun with a regular Chinaman, (white) more
music and lantern bearers. and now comes guild
ed palanquin, with looking-glass windows, all
closed tight.
"What is this boys? let us find out.'
We all fall in the procession The Chinese
laugh at us for it, but we will get the laugh on
them yet. We proceed down to the river to the
Chinese tune of "Rogue's March," for all that
know. Large boats are wanted and none at hand
and we come to halt. All, here is old Jenny
Good Tom, he will explain it all
~ say, Jenny, what is all ths?'
"Chinamen wedding. He wife in paanquin.-
He pay money. wife till catchee houseah
top 81 river. He catchee houseah, look, wife
no likee. send back wife. Fader no glib back mo-
ney. 'Spose look, fore catchee houseah, nc
likee. send back, catchee half money
"Ah, boys. this is wedding. l would like to
see the BRIDE"
And J." "and T." cried several voices