Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-09-01

Some of Its Peculiar Institutions.
Fran Shangae letter to the San Francisco Bull
letin.
THE 'tBABY TOWER"
In 1863, | wrote an article on the Shano-
hae ''baby tower" which was pronounced
by California critic tan unblushing piece
of fiction" | wish this would-be-wise in
dividual, when he comes to China, would
visit the place and see for himself the
slaughter of the innocents, less refined in
its way than their death in Christian coun-
tries when their mothers don't want them,
and resor. to 'fptal homicide" so Wig
orcusly denounced by Bishop Cox,
of New York. This ''baby tower
is NORMALLY intended for those
mothers who cannot afford to provide coffins
for the little ones "a coffin to q Chinaman is
the object of his daily care and thought,
and he often buys it years beforehand).
Really it encourages infanticide. and in
1861, 1862 and 1863 the most horrid and
disgusting sights were witnessed about
the town. In those old rebel days the
ties of humanity were utterly 10.
nored. An affair intensely ludicrous oc-
Cured the other night near this place.
Some female Buddhists live in the vicin-
ity, and about the witching hour of mid
night they were aroused by a curious noise,
and found that four men were attempting
to scale the nunnery walls. The sisters
stole out in the darkness with some friends
and as the Chinese were dropping down
the wall, they were seized tied tails to
hands, beaten with the bamboo, lashed
with vigor, and then sent to the French
Police Station. They did-these Celestial
virgins, young and oid-avenge the at
tempted invasion of their sacred ,,recincts.
WOMAN POWER IN CHINA.
Although woman is kept in frightfll
slavery in China, and are not supposed to
be Of much use, it is remarkable how the
men fear them. A cul ious instance of this
occurred the other day at the police court,
when big and lusty native merchant
charged two old women with stealing from
him quantity of gold and drilling. He
said under oath, that as he was passing
their house they seized him by the tail,
pulled him in, told him he was in
their debt, and robbed him. You will
observe how convenient this tail of the
Celestial is, and how often he gets into
trouble through it. 1t is really extraordin-
AIRY how the Chinese submit to it SO long
people so material, so shrewd and SC
commonplace, clinging to a custom be-
cause certain Iartars, two or three hundred
years ago, ordered that it should be so. /
wonder II you have any lottery or policy
shops IN San Francisco kept by women.
Another illustration of how women assert
their rights: q white man won S270 in a
lottery, of which Mrs. Acum was manager:
she concluded to go north, and, refusing to
pay the winner, was obliged to disgorge
THE TRAFFIC IN WOMEN WITH CALIFORNIA.
will drop testing on the woman ques-
ton and turn to a very serious traffic in
women, which the people of California are
working themselves into, ignorantly.-
Within the last two years, kidnapping has
been going on to a most frightful extent IN
the Tonquin Empire; the lowest estimate
is 10000; within one missionary district in
the Tonquin territory, during the last year,
600 women have disappeared no one
can say where they have gone; many
of these girls are taken by
Chinese eoolie scamps to Hong Kong,
and exported by them to California The
Chinese petty officials shut their eyes to this
most horrible traffic in human blood Your
papers are full of the scenes on the wharf
when China steamer arrives. You now
know where these women come from, and
what they are intended for Will you not
put vigorous stop to this prostitution and
prevent the United States flag from assum-
ing most horrible form of the slave trade
[ don't for an instant imagine or suppose
that our mail steamers go into that traffic
of their-own free will, but s'forewarned is
forearmed." / am indebted to the China
Mail, Hong Kong, for some of these facts.