Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-05-10
rNDER GROUND.


rhe chinese i'm SAN Franchise Ehe la
S.warmas OF the MOngolfan ~
Quarter
!, N. stoddard i'm san Francisco Chronicle. q,
50 far. we have but nibbled the h.
hell az this hardest of nuts to crack. I'll
1nen sesame! Shades of special Of CT
Seara protect us! Back of the highly OF
brick buildings on the m
sonfh side of Sacramento street there Ii
are pits and deadialls innumeraDlei G.
and over all il the blackneSs OF dark ID
ness. for these moles can work the ii
earth faster than the ghost OF the Il
murdered Dane. From the nOlsome n
yats three stories under ground 10
fhe hanging gardens of the fish- Z
drivers on the roofs, there is neither 9
nook nor corner but is pOpulous
with Mongolian mongrels. Inc pet
tor class have their reserved quar-
tiers. With them there is at least :
snaee to stretch ones legs without
barking the shins of ones nelghDori
Int from their comparative comfort !
10 the condensed discomfort OF the I
imDoyerished coolie is but step. !
Between brick walls we thread our
way. single file, and begin descend
inc into the abysmal darkness. The
ta1ers- without which it were inn
nnssibie to proceed with safety, burn
feebly in the double night of that
suhterranean tenement. Most OF
the habitable quarters under the
grade are like so many pigeon
houses heaped together Endiscrlml-
nately. If there were sunshine
enough down yonder to drink up |
the
SLIME THAT CLOSES EVERY |
PLANK,
and fresh air to sweeten the mil
dewed kennels, this highly eccentric
style of architecture might charm
for a moment by reason of its nov
elty. There is, moreover, a suspl-
cion ofthe picturesque lurking about
the place-but heaven save us, how
If smells! We pass from one black
hole to another. In the first there
ia a kind of bin for ashes and Goals,
and pots and grills-it is the kltch-
en-! A heap of fine kindling in one
corner. a bench or stool as DlacK
as SCOT can paint it, a few bowls, a
few bits of rag, few fragments OF
food and a cOolie squatting over a
fire-a coOlie that rises out OF the
dense smoke like the evil genie In
the Arabian tale! There Is no
chimney: there is no window; there
il no drainage, We are in cubic
sink in which we can scarcely STAND
erect. From the small door pours a
volume of smoke, some of 1t stale
smoke which our entry has iorceu
ont of the corners. The Kitchen
will hold only so much, and we
have made havoc among the cubic
inches. Under foot the thin planks
sag into standing pools, and there
is the glimmer of blue just along the
the foot of the walls. Gentlemen
thousands feed at these troughs
The next apartment, smaller yet
and blacker and bluer and more
slipper and Shiny, is
AN UNCOVERED CEss-POoL,
from which a sickening stencil arises
and pervades the quarter and mere
are chambers, opening upon marrow
galleries that run in various dlrec
fions- and sometimes bridge on
another i'm a marvellous and lngen
iOus economy of space that Outwlt
the invention of a mere white man
The majority of these chambers ar
lust long enough to lie down In, AM
broad enough to allow space Tor IN
narrow door to swing in betWee
two single beds. with two sleeper
in each bed. The doors are close
and securely bolted. Our specials
nv authority, demand admittanc(
There is no response from within
groom of coolies who hive in tn
Immediate vicinity and have TO
lowed close at our heels ever slnC
our descent into the under wOrlC
assure us, in broken English, thu
there is no one within. We suspec
and persist in our investigations
still no response. The door is force
nv the SDecials, and behold! fol
of the seven sleepers packed in
this alright compartment, ana J.
sensible to the hearty greeting
offer them. The air is absolute
oVerpowering. We hasten from Il
DIace, but are arrested in our tig
hy the Specials, who lead us to Il
gates of the catacOmbs, and bid
follow them. / know not to VIII
extent
THE EARTH HAS BEEN RIDDLI
under the Chinese quarter; prot
bIy no man knows save he VINO n
burrowed like a gopher from o
living grave to another TO esca
taxation and the detective. Kn'
that have threaded dark passaE
cut i'm the earth so narrow that t
of us might not have crossed traC
so low that | often crOuched at !
doorways which intercept pursuit.
unexpected intervals. Here
thief and the assassin seek sane
ary- 1t is city OF refuge Ior !
souls. They know the fOrbldo
lows of hell in that blackened sep
chre. Dante and Virgil might lt
with sorrowful eyes into the bow
of the earth over which we
daily and hourly and behold h
rors not less appalling than Gro
the pages of the "InfernO." E'
above ground there are secret w
that elude the eyes of the most
liant. The numerous gambling n
are so cautiously guarded that o
the private police, who are said
be in the pay of the Chinese autI
tiles, can ferret them out. ~
mon door is shut against you
some ingenious panel Is slld acI
your path, and you are unconscl'
ly spirited away through other
enueS, and
THE SECRET SIGNALS
that gave warning of your appro
caused a sudden transformation
the ground plan of the estabi
ment. You were fooled, my g
sir, and in the most ingenious 4
ion. Gambling and Opium-smoE
are the ruling passions among
Chinese. A cOOlie will pawn q
thing and everything to OBJ
means with which to indulge
these infatuating games of cha
There are many games played
liclv, at.the restaurants and in
retiring-rooms of the mercar
establishments. Not only ca
dice and dominOes are common,
sticks, straws, brass rings, ETC.,
thrown in heaps upon the table
the fate of the player hangs Liter
: upon a breath. ''Tan," or 81
TAM literally meaning "the fl
spread out" is a popular game
sembling faro. Among the
people in China it is the custo