The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-06-17
An American Travellers Experience In
Chinese Jfnriksha.

o CnlneSe J1nrlkSn6s
THERE are all kinds of conveyances
here, writes a correspondent of the San
Francisco Chronicle, in Shanghai; the
fashionable barouche dog drawn by
smart Tartar ponies; there is the sulky-
looking sedanchair, and there are hun
dreds of Chinese, both men and women,
being hauled about in the primitive Shang-
hal wheelbarrow. This irregular mode OF
conveyance, which is peculiar to the dis
trict is perhaps the most original in ex-
istence The machine is built after the
fashion of wheelbarrow, with a seat on
each side and with small upright frame
work to lean the back against 1t has only
one wheel, which is placed in front, and
it is wheeled along in the ordinary way by
man from behind. When two persons
ride on one of these conyeyances they sit
dos dos, with their legs dangling over
the sides; but if only one gets up the
wheeler has to cant himself on one side as
he goes along to counterbalance the
weight. These trange-looking carriages
go along with heavy, rumbling sound,
and their jolting motion is well calculated
to cast out any loose teeth man may have
in his head.
The "iinriksha," lately introduced from
Japan, Is also favorite mode OF con-
veyance in Shanghai 1t is small car
riage, built after the style Of cabriolet,
with a hood to it which can be raised or
lowered at will, and is just large enough
for two persons to sit in. 1t has light
pair of wheels and light pair of shafts,
but it is not drawn by horse nor by a
donkey, but by man who bitches HIM
self to the shafts by means of his hands.
The streets are full of these strange-look-
ing vehicles, and they stand about dozen
deep at the corner OF every road and at the
door of every hotel. They are, no doubt,
very convenient to those who object to
walking, and who do not object to be per
ambulated about in this manner. Nor
can say much for the look or bearing OF
the bipcd steeds who gain precarious
subsistence by drawing their fellow-creat-
ures about at the rate of ten cents an hour.
The jinriksha man is generally of the low
est coole class, and is dressed in all kinds
of garments, from top-coat made of bull
rushes to the cast-off garb of the courtly
mandarin His legs, however, are gen
orally bare to the knees, and as he dashes
through the mud, with perhaps two pom
derous Britons behind him, he looks like
man reduced to the level Of brute and
the picture of abject misery. l was deter
mined to have a ride in one of these fash
ionable carriages, so | got into one oppo-
site the Shanghai Club. Iwantedto go to
the American settlement, which lay east
ward from my point ofdeparture, but, be-
fore even | was seated, my steed-no
doubt anxious to show his staying" pow
ers-slewed around with a terrific twist
and headed toward the west. / shouted
out for him to turn, but he only went the
faster, and, boiling around the first turn
ing, headed at the rate of five knots toward
the north. l shouted to him again, but
he only looked around for an instant and
grinned horribly. l caught his eye once
more, looked daggers at him, and shook
my fist in his face, when he seemed to re-
cover his senses and shunted abruptly on to
the side of the road, nearly pulling the
whole fixing and myself into heap.
l got out, patted him affectionately on
the back, took him by the ear and headed
him in the direction in which l wanted
him to go. | got in again, but he was
off before l could right myself My feet
went from under me and came down
with laundering crash upon the seat.
He looked round, smiled pleasantly, and
darted off at full gallop along the bund.
He passed everything on the road, but
when he came to the foot of steep bridge
in the vicinity Of the British Consulate he
slackened his speed and blew like a por
poise He drew me slowly up to the apex
of the roadway, but as soon as he had
reached the center he just snufted the air
for an instant, put his head down, drew
his shoulders up, thrust out his off-side leg
and darted away at a break-neck pace
down the steep incline. Just at this mo-
ment well-appointed carriage, drawn by
tlashy pair of bays, was coming over the
bridge in an opposite direction. Now,
whether the two bays were frightened at
my horse, or whether my horse was
frightened at the two bays, is one Of those
things | shall never know; but certain it
is that just as we neared each other the
bays SHE'D, gave terrible bound in the
air and swerved to the right; my spirited
biped SHE'D also, gave terrific bound in
the air, and swerved to the left; then he
brought his foot down upon a sharp stone,
bounded clear out of the shafts, and was
propelled stern foremost about ten yards
by the force of his own internal momentum.
Up went the jinriksha in front, and down
it went behind and up l went into the air
as if shot from ottapult turned com
plete somcrsault, but only came down on
the back of my head, which, being thick,
was not stove in; my carriage went off at
a tangent and brought up with immense
velocity in a neighboring creek. l never
saw my biped steed again-I never even
inquired after his health. l have never
ridden in a jinriksha since. l look upon
them as internal machines invented to
break honest mems necks.