The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-03-04
CIAinese WoIlcn's Feet.

a CnlmeSe "OhnCm'S Feet.
There are small footed ladies' at Hon
Kong who gain avery fair livelihood BY ez
: hibitng their pedal ex,remities to sea cay
t'ins and other curious Europeans, at
dollar head; but as so superficial an exam
ination Of this national peculiarly did no
satisfy me, / had recourse to some Of m
good friends among the missionaries. D
their aid ! obtained that some poor Chimes
woman should bring me complete gamu
Of little girls from the missionary schools
Many OF these female children probabi
owed their lives to the persuasion (aIded b.
opportune donations Of rice) fmy missionu
I ry friend and his lady, but their influence ha
been powerless to prvent the torture Of thei
feet. On the appointed day they were oil seat
ed in a row in my friends library and theiI
feet which sueps had undergone prepare
tory washing, were unbound by their nam
mas. The first was a child Of two year
old. Her penance had just commenced
When the bandage Of blue. cotton was taken
off, / found that the great toe had been left
untouched, but the other four had been fore
ed down undor the ball Of tho foot, and
closely bound in that posi,ion. The child
therefore, walked upon the knuckle joints O
her four toes. Ths toes were red and in
famed, and the ligature caused evident pain
In the next three children Gall of ages ad.
vancing at small intervals) the preparation
was only to the same extentj 1t was confn-
ed TO the four toes; gradually, however these
four toes, yielding TO the continual pressure
lost their articulations and their identity as
limbs, und became amalgamated with the
sole Of the foot. In the eldest uf the four
the redness and tho inAamation had entirely
disappeared; the foot was cool and poinIess,
and appeared as though the four toes had
been cut off by knife. The foot was now
somewhat the shape Of a trswel. ...
In the fifth girl | saw the commencement
Of the second operutioa-a torture under
whisheickly children frequently die. The
sole Of the foot was now curved into the
shape of bow, the great too and heel being
brought together us near as possible. Take
a jujube and double it till two points of the
lozenge nearly meet, and you will see what
I mean. This is done very gradually. The
bandnge is never slackened; month by
month it is drawn tighter; the foot inaames
and swells, but the tender mamma perse-
veres. As the bones aud the tehdons ac-
commodate themselves to the position con.
strained by the bandage, so it is drawn
tighter. At last the ball of the natural foot
fits into contact with the heel. The foot is
q shnpeless lump. The instep is where the
ankle was, and all that is left to 60 into the
slipper aud 10 tread the ground are the ball
of the great toe and the heel. This is the
small foot Of the Chinese womanj bit of
toe; and bit Of heel, with q mark, like
cicntrics lett after a huge cut running up
behind them. Two OF the girls were yet
suffering great pain, and their feet were hot
and inf I'm d; but in the eldest the operation
was complete. She had attained to the po.
sition of small. looted woman, and her feet
we're qlite COOL, had no corns, and were not
lender to the touch. One Of the mammas,
influenced perhaps by little liberality in
The article Of rice money, intrusted me with
. Chinese mystere de toilette. Som metimes,
i seems, when woman is expected to have
to do hard work, her heel and toe are not
irawn SO tightly together as to produce the
rue "small foot" To disguise this imper.
lection upon her marriage day, she has re.
sourse to art. A piece of cork, shaped like
IN inverted sugar.loaf is strapped on to her
loot and the small part goes into the slipper
aud passes for her foot. Thus are we poor
men deceived! !-Trapels in China.
An AsroNIsHED Cow.~-A man wss once
relating d story Of being on locomotive
hat struck COW standing on the track,
md threw her several rods into field,
where she lit squarey upon her feet, with
ler head toward the train, and, strange to
.ell, she wasn't hurt mite.
"But didn't she look scared" inquired .
listener. ID.
"Weh, I don't know whether che was
scared or not. but ole looked a good deal dis.
;Su'aged'" ~, *
--------------peNes---------
BANNIsTER's WIT.--"This tenement to
let. Inquire next door," The place was
in dilapidated wretched condition. Ban
mister, however, inquired the rent, &c.
These particulars gained, he asked.-- e
"Do yoa let anything with it,"
"No," was the reply; "why do you asks"
Upaeauae ~ aaid the wit afr vaai LAT II