St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-31

for miles. In winter / nave known
him to rise every morning at o'clock
and thunner through the mud from 4
o'clock till to reach his work, and
dig and wheel mud till dark, and then
wade to camp, arriving at 10 o'clock;
and all day long the dark-stained pine
coffions were borne past him in which
were to be buried his rapidly dying
companions. But he ceased not his
shouts and songs. His voice was sell
dom still. All day he toiled with en-
thusiasm engendered by his own wild
songs, the consciousness of liberty and
present needs supplied keeping time
with his muscles to his noisy chorus
"Gwine away to leave you,
Hooray! HOOray!
Gwlne away to leave you,
Ho! H0! Ho
Amt you mighty sorry
HOOray! HOOray!
Amt you mighty sorry'
Ho! Ho! HO!"
| John rose and ate his morning meal
in doggcd silence. He slouched to his
work at the latest moment to escape
| the foreman's dock for tardiness. Not
song, not shout from him. His
constant study was how togo through
all the motions of apparent work with
the least physical strain. He was an
artful dOdger.
| And in tricks not all vain,
This Heathcn Chinese was perfection.
He watched the suns progress, and
| watched for the appearance of the fore
mans time-bOok. Count the numbers
| in the gangs any day and you would
have found some half-dozen missing
from each. The absentees were not in
camp, they were securing the conntry
for miles around, observing, taking
notes. | have known them to walk
twenty miles to study the machinery of
a rude saw mill in the mountain. Late
at night the committee of investigation
would come in laden with tobacco
leaves and chickens bought of the far
mers. They made cigars evenings and
sold them in the towns. All that they
reported was quietly discussed and re-
corded by competent scribes.
At night when John put his tools his
face for the first time lighted with i'm
aginatiOn, and he started for camp at a
dog trot. Mark this The weather was
never so wet or cold that on arriving at
his camp john did not only wash his
face aud hands, but gave his whole body
a sponge bath before he approached his
supper. How is that for Chinese
filthiness 2" Everything that he did
for himself was so much clear gain all
that he was forced to do to earn his six
teen dollars was so much loss, apparent
The negro pitched his tent carelessly,
he seldom took the trouble to ditch it
around. A few rails or cross ties were
his bed, and he built fire before the
door, which smouldered through the
| his barest necessities was to him a bore.
He loved the luxury of empty idleness.
johns camp was pitched with the
same scrupulous pains for weeks stay
as for winter quarters, Cooks and their
assistants served his lice (rice) in
formal style. His evening camp was
scene of quiet individual industry. They
made cigars, clothes baskets, patched,
mended and gaWbled but none We're
idle. There was no conyiviality, no
gatherings. John smokes his opium
pipe and takes his whiskey often, but
hilarity and amusement he defers to his
holiday seasons, and then he makes a
business of them. Life is real is ear
nest," to John, and tomorrow is more
valuable than to-day, and the value of
every to-morrowo must be Increased by
the untioggipg efforts Of each to-day, l
the least slovenly in person. Some of
their working clothes were "patch upon
patch and patch aall over" but always
whole and clean. In localities where
water was scarce, have know them to
commence their weeks washing at one
o'clock on Sunday morning at the only
spring. | deny that John is ever filthy
from choice.
He is astoic, and when necessity
compels he can eat rats and carron and
livelike so many herrings in a box, and
| he can submit to the hardship with ap-
parent content, but such conditions are
| never his choice. His instincts are for
fresh air, cleanliness apd order, and to
obtain them no labor is too servere, no
sacrifice too great. About his person
| and abode are odors which we can not
pronounce sweet, but they arise not
| from filth.
! One of his tents John converted into
a joss haHse. In one stood an odd sort
of shrine. upon which was an indescrib-
able nothing, made of cloth and differ
ent colored paper and tinsel. Before
| this were tapers and offerings of rice.
They had no religious days and no
regular priest, and could never discover
that they paid the Joss tent any atten-
ton or &iad any noticeable superstition.
once questioned ag interpreter closely
to learn something about their theory
of religion, but could gain only slrugs
and head shakes. At last [ asked
!" Did you ever hear of Confucius or
Fo?" A shrug and a shake. "What
good is your Joss arrangement if you
give it no attention ~ Tu-nar- mar
ma - Gan OATH he exclaimed, pefuieDt-
ly then. smiling" Chinanlan alice Sam
dam fool like Mellican man is something's.
Have to haye Joss house !; by and by
hop-di-io ldie) fndee out allee 'bout it;
spose by and by hop-di-lO and no more
savy anything-allee light" fright.
This dialogue was interpreted to
crowd of fifty or more moon-eyed lis
teners, who nodded unanimous assent,
as if its closing statements expressed
their sentiments exactly.
we found John perfectly honest. It
he ever stole anything be did it so ad-
Only one case of theft came to my
knowledge, and that was O peck af ap-
piles taken from the wagon of a drunken
cnuntryman who had insulted them.
We received no complaints of assault or
trespass. Gambling is their ruling pas
sion. With every facility for hcentious:-
ness around them, il any were addicted
to it, it was never known. SensnaHty
is not necessity of johns his brain
is to too busy. They smoked great
quantities of opium, but its effects we're
not visible in their actions, except In q
solitary case. Whiskey they used con-
tinually, but it's effects were no more ap-
parent than their tea. John believes in
enseVnsbt;=it!hs gpieyment Of making Ak
naturally grave he has little MUSIC and
no poetry in his soul. He is all business.
He has no time for foolishnes. He does