Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1876-08-24
Helena, Montana, Thursday, August "a, 1876.
The Smallest Feet on Record.
San Francisco Correspondent of the Louisville Cour
ier-JOurnaL]

san Francisco Correspondent of the Louisville Cour
ier-JournaL]
The other day heard that Chinese lady
| of rank had lately come with her husband
| On visit to Santa Barbara, and that her fee
were only u inches long: Making inquire:
| of our Laundry boy, All FOy, as to where tht
Chinese lady with little feet could be seen
he told me her husband was cousin Of Sine
Lee, proprietor of a wash house in town, anC
she was staying there Sing Lee courteously
conducted US throug b the dark wash house.
where men were beating clothes with BAN
| boo sticks, scrubbing them in the suds with
| bamboo brushes, and Chinese boy was
| cooking dinner in big pot over little fur:
mace, to a range berths like those of ocean
| steamers, and, lifting the curtain of the bed,
introduced US to the lady by saying, ''This is
my cousin. The lady Immediately rose from
the bed on which she was sitting and extend
ed her hand to each of us, saying: "How do. u
Her husband was sitting by her side holding
a boy year old he was also very pleased at
our visit, and proud of the notice we took of
his boy, who was already dressed in trowsers
and gown, and wore red silk turbin cap on
his head. The wife was more elegantly dress
ed than any Chinese have yet seen. Her
hair was elaborately dressed, and fastened up
in puffs and coils by long dagger-shaped pins
Of gold. Her gown or robe was loose, ex-
tending to the knee, and had big, loose sleeves,
distended by hopes. Her robe was of dark
blue silk, embroidered with yellow and red
silk. Her arms had several bracelet orna-
ments her hands were small and we'll form
ed and covered with rings. She had pretty
face, oval-shaped, large eyes, small mouth
and dimpled cheeks. She smiled frequently
T h,,<
part in the conversation. I think she could
only speak few sentences. When said
that we wanted to see her foot she evidently
understood, for she laughed and put out her
tiny, pointed slippers. got on my knee and
took her foot in my lap and examined it
closely and measured it. The foot and leg
were bound tightly in white satin, apparently
sewed neatly around the limb. There were
bands of gold around her ankles; her an
kle measured ten inches in circumference at
its smallest place; her foot was two and
three-quarter inches long, two inches broad
in the middle, and one inch at the toes; over
the white satin band or stockings she wore
blue satin slippers embroidered in silver. The
slippers came almost to point at the toe.
She could only walk by aid of her cane, which
was on the bed beside her. Even with its
aid her walk was limping and painfully slow.
The doll-baby foot, so elaborately decorated
in blue and silver, hanging to the big ankle,
which was, of course, disproportionately,
large, looked anything but handsome, ac-
cording to my standard of aristocratically
moulded limbs and feet. Her legs looked
like sticks of wood whitfield down to point
for her feet But she was evidently very vain
of her deformity. Her baby, one year old,
had feet five inches long, but he was boy
and entitled to masculine freedom of limb.