The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1857-04-22
THE DAILY GAZETTE
WISeFIIAKEOAJS,
The Chinese.
roop--EvERYrHINe EATEN.

The Chinese, again, have no prejudices
whatever as regards food; they eat any.
thing and everything from which they can
derive nutrition. Dogs, especially puppies,
are habituaily sold for feod; and have
seen in the butchers shops, large dogs skin
ned and hanging with their viscera by the
side Of pigs and goats. Even to rats aud
mice the Chinese have no objection-nei-
ther to the flesh OF monkeys and snakes;
the sea slug is an aristocratical and costly
telicacy which is never wanting, any more
than the edible BIRDS nests, at A feast
where honor is intended to be done to the
guests. Unmatched ducks and chickens
are a favorite dish. Nor do the early sta.
qes OF putrifaction create any disgust; fish
ia the more acceptable when it has q stfong
fragrance and favor 10 give more gusto to
the rice.
BEVERAGES.
As the food the Chinese eat is for the
most part hard, course, and Of little cost, SO
their beverages are singularly economical.
Drunkenness il q rare vice in China, and
iermented spirits or strong drink ia seldom
used. Tea may be said to be the national,
the universal beverage; and though that en-
ployed by the multitude does not cost lore
than IRON I'd to Sd per NJ, an infusion OF
less costly leaves is commonly employed,
especially in localities remote from the tea
districts. Both in eating and drinking the
Chinese are temperate, and are satisfied
with two daily meals--'the morning nee
at about 10 A. NJ, and 'the evening rice at
or.M, The only re2ugnance | have OBJ
served in China is to the use OF milk--sh
extraordinary prejudice, especially eonsid-
ering the Tartar intiue ace, which nave been
long dominant in the land; but never saw
or heard OF butter, cream, milk or whey be-
ing introduced at any native Chinese table.
THE HARvEsrs OF pEATn-HoRKoRs-Is
TtcIpE.
While SO many elements OF vitality are
in a state OF activity for the reproduction
and sustenance Of the human race, there is
probably no part OF the world in which the
hsrvests OF mortality are more sweeping
and destructive than in Chins, producing
vods which require no ordinary appliances
TO All up Mulritudes perish absolutely
from want of the means of eIistence--iD-
unda,ions destroy towns and villages and
all their inhabitants; il would net be easy
10 calculate the loss Of life by typhoons or
hurricanes which visi, the coast OF China,
III WHICH Jubns o'c
iost by hundreds and BY thousands. The
late civil wars in China must have led to
the loss OF millions OF lives. The sacrifices
OF human lives by executions alone are
frghtiul. At the moment at which write
II Is believed that from 400 to 300 victims
fall daiiy by the hands OF the headsman In
the province Of Kwangtung alone. Rever-
ence for life there is Bose, as HE exists In
superfuous abundance. A dead body is an
object of SO little concern that 1t is some
times not thought worth while 10 remove II
from the spot where it putrijes on the sur.
face of the earth. Otter have / seen a
corpse under the table OF gamblers; o'lea
have trod over putrid body at the thren-
hold OF door, In many parts OF Chit
there are towers of brick or stone whera
,oothless--prneipally female children are
thrown BY their parents into hole made In
the side OF the wall. There are various
opinions as TO the extent OF inlantlcide IN
China, but that it is common practice in
many provinces admits Of no doubt. One Of
the most eloquent Chinese writer's against
inianticds, kwel Chung Flu, processes TO
nave been specially inspired by "the God
OF Literature to call upon the Chinese pee"
pie 10 refrain from the inhuman practice,
and declares tha, 'the God has filled his
house with honors, and given him literary
descendants for the recompense OF his ex'
ertions. Yet his denuncialions scarcely 60
farther than to pronounce it wicked in those
to destroy their female children who have
the means of bringing them up; and some
OF bis Arguments are strange enough: TO
destroy daughters he says is to make war
upon Heavens harmony Gin the equal nun
ber Of the sexes, the more daughters you
drown, the more daughters you W III have;
and never was il known that the drowning
OF daup h,ers led to the birth OF sons' he
recommends abandoning children to their
tate on the waysde, as preferable to drown
ing them, and then says, There are instan,
ces OF children so exposed being nursed and
reared by tigers where should we have
been,' he asks, If our grandmo.hers ana
mothers had been drowned in their infancy'
And he quotes two instances OF the punish
ment OF mothers who had destroyed their
infants, one OF whom had blood red SER
pent fastened to her thigh, and the other
her four extremilies turned into cows feet,
Father Ripa mentions that OF abandoned
children the Jesuits bapused in Ferkih
alone not less than 1000 yearly l nave
seen ponds which are the habl;lsI feeepta'
Gle OF female infants, whose bodies he hoat'
ing about on their surface.