Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-03-26
Yos Sugelts Aersla.
A BOHEMIAN DREAM.

~. Cy VUN"NW Cy""N'"''
A BOHEMIAN DREAM.
The Inside History Of the Ohm PAX Kwai
Sensation How Two Reporters Put their
Hsads Togsthsr to Hoax tho world-A
8chems Which Would Have Required More
Cheek than Capital.
From tho Virginia City Chronicle,
March 2l.l
The Chan PAX Kwai sensation.
which is now agitating the press
from San Francisco to Chicago, has
been written up quite extensively
In the San Francisco papers, and
they give what purports to be o
s thorough expose of the whole affair.
It was charged by the San Fran.
cisco papers that q reporter OF this
paper waa one OF three in plot to
send = spurious Chinese lecturer
East TO influence public opinion In
favor OF the Chinese on this coast.
SAM DAvIs's STATEMENT.
Mr.. Davis. gives the following
version Of the affair, which may be
relied upon as the only correct ac-
count yet published: When Mr..
Davis was in San Francisco last
Nav attending the Musical Festi-
val, be met chester Hull, a reporter
connected with the Chronicle. Hull
and Davis we're old chums, and
when both were employed upon the
San Francisco press some years ago,
IL was q favorite pastime with them
TO concoct hoaxes by which the
New York papers might be sold.
Hull was particularly ingenious in
this sort of work, having devised
and carried out
THE CARDIFF GIANT HUMBUG,
Which for a while was sensation
in both continents. Hull broached
to Davis the idea Of the two putting
their heads together and getting
up grander sell than had yet beer
accomplished. After Davis's re-
turn to Virginia the two men cor
responded for several months rela
tive to getting up q hoax founded
on the agitation of the Chimes
question. Hull originated the ides
Of taking an educated Chinamar
East and palming him off as {
member OF the royal family o
China, exiled for political offensel
In his youth and educated at some
American college. Hullthen wrote
some serious lectures on the IRE
suits of the Burlingame Treaty
and other kindred topics, which ht
proposed to teach to some China
men. He ransacked the 'Chines'
s1uuarter for such man, and at las
found one in the person OF
sCHAN PAX KwAI.
Some two months were tbeI
spent In teaching the celestial th'
speeches, which he recited like |
parrot more than anything else.
man named Hansbrough, report
er OF the Chronicle, was also takel
into the scheme, rs he had been II
the theatrical business and was con
sidered . good advance agent. Da
Wis agreed to raise the necessary
capital In Virginia City, and Ger
tain parties agreed to advance the
money. Davis then telegrapheC
to Hull that he had found partie.
4 with $4,000 ready to go into thu
scheme. Hansbrough hearing o
this began to lay plans to supplan
Hull, and wrote a long letter to Da
Wis, telling him that he could als'
raise 81, 500 In San Francisco, ant
the best thing that could be don,
was to throw Hull overheard an,
slip off without him. Davis, feel
ing a proper contempt for person
hIc ~ oo fraaoh rono nrono
sition, sent his letter to Hull, who
seeing at once that his pretended
friend was ready to undermine hin
at any opportunity, kept his owr
counsel and began to study means
TO get him out of the way.
NEW HUMBUG PROPOSED.
1t was next proposed TO reorgan'
ize the hoax on an entirely new
basis, and the work began In earn
est. Hull aud Davis were to dis
guise themselves as Chinese noble.
men, and travel East together in
all the style possible. A special
palace car was to have been char
tered to New York, decorated Oh
the outside with Chinese inscrip-
tions, scenes In the Celestial EN-
VkI0g 0uu du AfhtuCboC dlRSOh l1Sy
the emblem of the Celestial Empire,
was to be raised whenever the car
reached a town or came to halt.
The preparations for the costumes OF
the two pletters were quite exten.
sive. The costliest silk robes that
money could buy, together with
swords, feathers and all sorts oi
royal Chinese ornaments were ia
be in the makeup. The two men
were to shave their mustaches and
heads, tint their faces and hands 0
pale olive color, allow their fingel
nails to grow and act and appear al
all times as nearly as possible lik,
genuine Cinnamon.
EACH HAD A PART TO ACT.
Hull was to pass as scholarl,
Mopgolian who had been educatel
in America, and Davis was to as
sumo the role of a Chinaman VIII
had been but few years in tn
country, and his conversation wa
Z to be at all times in the broker
English which one hears at
wash-house. Hull was to assum,
afreezing dignity of mlen and occa
sionalIy check Davis's frivolity
when the latter began to joke will
strangers. In short, Hull was to b,
the high.toned member Of the com
bination, and Davis chattering
careless fellow, whose exuberanc,
OF spirits would help while away
the time with strangers and reliev,
the monotony of receptions. Char
PAX Kwai was to go with the part,
to talk with real Cinnamon whel
they called, and inform them tha
the high Moguls were indisposed
Leach, the well-known delineato