The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-01-11

A"AAntiSioSp ~ SVtunsVu AZ SoHsss - sOuo
wildly depicted, in Ill ito horrors, b q
recent traveller. Buryins an infant aliv,
b horrible thing ; yet how soumoa Il I
among the Celes.ia!s: o..
The Pagodas. 10 ofteo mentioned h -.
counts Of the Chinese empire, appear &c
be more numerous in the mouotainoul
districts. where they add greatly to The
picturesque charm Of the scenery, and an
believed to be connected with the religious
ceremonies of the people. In the fat
country around Shanghai they are not 70
DO met with-at least it was not our for.
tune to see any during our brief stay. Ths
only structure like = tower, it We except
the tuifets on the city walls and watch
towers erected within the past few pears,
when the Tas Pings have threatened the
city, is = tall, white monument. rising q
the height Of twenty feet, and without ia.
scription or distinguishing mark Of any
kind. 1t looks like 6ne, white tomb.
higher. and more ambitious than usual, and
truly it is "whited sepu.chrew Baby
Tower, it is called by the foreign residents.
tor It is filed with the bones Of infants
not such a. have died natural death, -
Bayard Taylor a>serls. but which have
been thrust into this horrid monument Of
hea,hen cruelty when but few hours old.
Humanity shudders At the thought These
dazzling white baby towers, with theie
mockery of purity, their object known to
oil men, and openly inviting, - It were,
the most unnatural and heartless Of nus.
ders, are among the most hideous spectA.
cles to be be met with in . heather land.
True, = river or pond will be pointed out
to you in other parts Of China, or in India.
where babies are daily drowned like pup
pies or kittens; but they do not affect the
mind with such horror IS these palpabls
structures, erected with the best skill Of
their architects for this express purpose.
The water closes over the murdered infant,
and no trace Of the crime remains; but
here is tower-a high tower with deep
foundations, filled with the bones Of mur.
dered babes tha, have been accommodating
for generations.
No wonder that Christian mothers, resi-
dent in the east, cannot speak Of them or
see them without a shudder, and never
willingly pass them in their drives. Who
knows but they might hear, il they ap-
preached the tower, the vail Of some poor.
infant just thrown in, or meet its father 70.
turning from his cruel errandl ...
At Shanghai the Baby Tower stands on
the southwest side of the city, without the
walls. but at Foo Chow, where the crime of
infanticde Is still more prevalent, they use
no baby tower, but have provived ponds
for this express purpose. II is the saddese
part Of this great national crime Of the
Chinese, that 1t is sanctioned by the man.
darins, and viewed IS disagreeabls neces.
sity, not as crime. ..,~
1t has been the fashion Of late years TO
deny the existence Of this abomination-
the doubters, wise in their own conceit.
insisting that the crime Is too great for hu.
man nature.
Human nature, unfortunately, has proved
but fraM barrier to crime Of this charkcs
ter in all parts Of the world, and the facts
of Chinese infanticide are indi>putable.--
The witnesses ate too numerous, the crime
Is too public. and the evidence Of it too no.
torious to deny its existence. The child.
rem destroyed are girls; the most coinmon
methods Of destroying thsm are: list, by
drowning n tub Of wster; 81, by throwing
int, some running stream: 3d, by buryinR
alive. The last. named mode Is sdopted
under the hope and with the superstitious
belief that the next birth will be . boy
The excuse is that it is too expensive to
educate girl, but il some friend will take
The child TO bring up a. wife for little
boy, the parents will sell or, give away tho
infant rather than destroy it. The regular
price is two thousand copper cash, or -,
FOR every year Of their lives; for sometimes
I. girl will he saved Cor year or two, and
then sold for wife or slave. Many in.
stances have come to the notice Of mission.
aries where large families of girls have
been destroyed. There is one woman nov
employed as nurse in Q missionary's
family at Foo Chow. who says that her
mother had eight girls and three boys, and
that she was the only girl permitted By
her father to live. We never heard of a
instance of boys being destroyed at birth.
here is village about fifteen miles from
Foo o-Chow, which is swarming with boys,
'ut where girls are very scarce. The peo.
pie account for it themselves by alleging
he common practice Of killing the girls At
birth. practice which is INDUCED in by
he rich as we'll As by the poor.