Iron County register., 1880-02-12
Curious Chinese Observance of the
Recent Eclipse in California.

Curious Chinese Observance of tht
Recent Eclipse in California.
Regarding the eclipse the reporter
found vast variety of opinions among
the Cinnamon interviewed. One man.
clever merchant, said that the cause
of the dark space on the sun was because
the moon was behind it. He tried hard
to make the reporter comprehend this
theory for some time, and then suddenly
seized a piece of smoked glass from a
friends hand and said: "Alle same
this. No smokee, see through; smokee,
no see through. Sabe?" After con-
siderable of an object lesson and further
smoked glass demonstration, the report
er was made to understand that in the
| Chinaman's' opinion the sun is hole
through which a glowing light beyond
shines down upon the world, and that
at that time the moon had slid in behind
the sun in some irregular manner and
thus obscured portion of the light by
blocking up portion of the hole. The
Chinese listeners to this explanation all
grunted their assent, and the reporter
moved on to portion of Chinatown
where the lower and more ignorant class
live.
Here, for a wonder, the Cinnamon
were found with their eyes actually
wide open. This proved that the eclipse
was matter of stupeadous wonder to
them. One Chinaman there explained
that the sun and moon were having 4
quarrel, and the evident conclusion was
that the sun had got the worst of it and
came off with a black eye. The reporter
carried a small piece of smoked glass
with him. One amazed Chinaman looked
hard and long at the reporters use of the
glass, and then asked to have it. He was
given it, and after viewing the sun with it
a moment, delightedly passed it over to a
friend, who clapped it to his eye with
the smoked side toward him. When he
passed it to friend in turn, his eye was
discovered to be completely BACKED,
and Mortified shout went up, for it
was thought that the action of the eclipse
had caused the fellows eye and cheek
to discolor, and not one of the affrighted
crowd could be induced to look through
the glass again.
In the Chinese theater the tragedy
which has been in course of production
there for some months was proceeding
as usual when the growing eclipse made
the inside of the theater inconveniently
dark. At about quarter to o'clock
a solemn-faced gas man came upon the
stage from the dressing room, and, pay
ing not the slightest attention to the
gyrations of a dozen excited tragedians,
coolly proceeded to light the footlights.
The occurrence of the gas man in that
unusual manner did not excite the
slightest attention from any of the
numerous actors or the band which ac-
companied them.
1t is the custom in China upon the oc
casion of an eclipse to beat gongs and
play the sweetest (meaning the loudest)
of their wind instruments. In one of
the back alleys the reporter found a
patriotic crowd who were carrying out
this custom. The favorite instrument
was reed affair, compared to the tones
of which the segregated squeals and
squalls of the bagpipe are as the trill of
a Patti compared to the excellent roar
of fog-horn. The favorite belief of
the Chinese in relation to eclipses is that
there is huge dragon which is kept Sc
curely fastened, only being released
once year. On that occasion he al
ways attempts to swallow the sun.
They explain partial eclipses by saying
that he was forced to relinquish his at
tempts; but on the occasion of a total
eclipse they affirm that he was success
full, but was compelled to yield up the
morsel-San Francisco Chronicle.