The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1865-08-12
Chinese E'i:essle.,. .

The Chinese are the oldest of civilized
nations. and have great mechanical l9-eneI-
u, but many of heir social arrangements
are Of tn. most primitive character as "it-
ness the method Of eXtinggishing b fire, rs
describ-d below:
To-day we met a Chairman wi'h sort
Of han5-drum. beat n after the fashion Of q
child's ;ov. With this he WAS making a great
noise. and while we were speculaiIng what 1t
meant. som flames were seen on the opposite
side of the canal near the French quarter,
n number of mcr coming d0wh the opposite
bank in line. with white flags and black let
ters on them:
We concluded they were connected with
the police, aud that the flags were d Indicate
the direction Of the fire. which the beating oi
the drum was intended TO announce to the
ncighborho0d. We according Y followed The
direction of the flags aad soon reached the
fire. which had settled on a cluster OF houses,
up a narrow haze, IN which. iortunat teiy, close
to the burning houses. there WAS vacant
space. We had hardly got into l. before
number Of men hearing gaudy flags aud
standards arrived, followed in rapid success
sion by eight fire engiues-odd looking mi-
chimes with gilt inscriptions on them, each
carried on the shoulders of four men by
4
engines consist of forcing pump, worked by
II double lever, the jet OF water being pro
iec,ed through brass nozzle about six feet
long, working on a sw vel from the uppe.
portion OF the pump.
They haze no hose. Yet a very effective Jet
was projected some distance. The gr at
fault seem ID to be the rapitity with which
the supply of water was exhausted. In
short tire The inclosure waS hiied with tiagi
of ali colors and devices, drums, tomtoms.
pongs. etc. the noise and confusion which
prevailed battling description. Some sailors
from a Russian gunbnat, frozen IN not far
OF, aud a number OF French soldiers. were
actively employed on the roofs of the houses.
detaching the matching and other donibusti
bic material Fresh engines cont nued to
arrive, and without needing the direction,
the moment they got into the op4n space,
they commenced di<chargirg their contents
towards the flames. One engine snw play
ing right on the Russians ahd the French
men, with the thermometer twenty degrees
below freezing. They seemed. however. not
to mind IT, but continued To work away with
right good Viii.
As darkness began to creep on. the effect
of the line of flags and laierns WAS very PEE
.uresque- taken altogether it was ode Of the
gayest sights have ever seen IN China, and
not unlike a gigantic teetotal precision at
home. The Tientsn Fire Brigade appears
to cons 81 of several secrlons, each of which is
a uniform and Distinctive colored flags. The
engines were supplied with water from the
Grand Canal, close to its junction with the
P.ibo. carried in buckets slung in the ordin-
ary way, from the ends of a bamboo support
ed across the shoulder. In this way 1t was
brought up from different parts of the canal,
where the ice had to be broken for The pur
pose. The system of lighting by anterns
was very perfect, and altogether the Arrange
ment gives us the idea of being won derfulv
complete: more especially the rapidity with
which the different sections of the IRE brig
ade we're on the ground with their. engines.
-Rcnnie's Ctina and Japon