The Red Cloud chief., 1880-05-13

fhe ulsese In NsW yert City.
THn grea, obstacle in the MAJ II the
growth a the Chinese population of
New York CITY ~ preseu, t. the did,
Guilty they have IN procuring buildings
for hsbaiafions and business purposes n
any desirable part % the town They
are now scattered IN all s.ctsons 1t the
ciiy. by twos, threes. and hall dozens.
in The laundry business. but their quar-
ter i the loser end Of Mott street.
There their peculiar Institutions -four
ish; there their stores arr; there their
tire-eackers and teaches; lingo s
Haunted glaringly upon rel paper 8; a.
most every door. Be; the lowcr sad
of Mott street - 81 unSarory locality.
disagreeably close Ia associations of
vice. crime. and poverty, By rcAson f
which the Chinese are u~nius;iy bui nsi-
uraliy compelled by mere proximity. IN
bear a worse reputation than they de-
serve. Yet even here landlords e.
pecially IRISH property owner. srr be-
coming more and more unwilling 10
rem, houss, Ia them. Negotiations are
nov in progress with = gentleman who
owns several large houses on Eleventh
street near Third avenue. and also with
another who owns some tenemenis
near sixth avenue. = little distance b.
low Greenwich enu In u or the
other 81 those localities n Chinese col
ony will probably be established ere
long. AID in course of time Mott street
will, in all likelihood. be abandoned by
them. But they insist primarily upon
low rents. and are ayersc To living nj
any great distance from their work.
which. in the case Of most - them. IL
In downtown establishments. They
are not unreasonable In the matter OF
requiring large accommodations for
small rent. More II them will get
along comfortably in a given space than
OF any other human beings alive. In
San Francisco they not only cut up or
binary sized rooms, IN leased buildings,
into the most diminutiye apartments by
partitions, but where there are extra
high ceilings they not infrequently run
in intermediate floors. So. in the az
gregate, the rental Of a building devoted
10 them would doubtless be- high, Yet
the pressure Of il upon individuals ex-
t-erIely low. One recommendation in
their favor. IL Sa:: Francisco landlords
are TO be believed. is that they pay their
rent; but the offset tn that, on the sam.
authority, is that after they have in
habited a house for some time II be-
ONE SD impregnated with the scent
of opium smoke and the s;ih worse
odor of 4 peculiarly smelling tobacco
which they use, that IL is uninhabita-
bic by anybody but Mongolians.
Here in New York there is not, as
yet. any such overcrowding as in san
Francisco. yet the manner in which
they utilize space is really remarkable.
Take Wo-kee's store. for example. IL
j. the principal Chinese store on Mott
street. consequently the leading n in
New York. 1t contains apparently
somewhere near a million different
things of the most incoDgruous charac-
ter. There are an infinity Of diminu-
tive pasteboard boxes filled with Chi
nese mcdicines-gigantic pills, roots,
herbs. barks, seeds, and such like.
There are incense sticks, jade brace
lets; strange evolutions Of Celestial
fancy in the way Of characterization. like
gloritied valentines; quaint and pretty
tea services. dried sharks fins, looking
like tangled strips of amber-tinted glue;
dscks split, baked in peanut oil. and
flattencd out dry. so ~ 10 look like
strange caricaturcs Of dragons; sweet
meats in infinite variety, nuts that no.
body but a Chinaman knows the name
IF, dried mushrooms, opium and pipes
for smoking il, tobacco. teas OF many
kinds. some of them exquisite and
much more expensive than any Amer
lean store sells; silks. fungus-looking
black Jumps, of which it is guaranteed
that q small bit will make the drunkest
man Immediately sober; sandals and
Chinese clothing. In short. il Is gro
Gerry. dry goods store, jewelry shop.
drug store, curiosity shop. and twenty
other things. and yet Is all comprised
in the space of a small front parlor.
with a narrow branch into n back room,
necessarily small. SO As to leave space
for a well-patronized lodgings depart
ment. There is a little open space in
the center of the store. just enough for
three or four customers to stand in, but
beyond that not an inch is wasted. On
a little table near the window stands
the inevitable teapot and a number Of
little cups. preparation for a hospitality
that the Chinese merchant extends TO
every one. Behind the narrow little
counter is WO-kee himself, bland.
courteous. deft in running up sums
with the buttons of his Chinese abacus.
artistic in his manipulation Of the
camel's-hair brush with which he paints
the mysterious symbols of his account
books, graceful and exact in the weigh
ing out by his ivory and thread balance
ION the steelyard pattern) of the minute
quantities of opium constantly in de-
mand by his customers.-N. 7. Sun.