The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-03-13
THE BOATMEN OF SHANGHAI.

The Boston Post.
The floating population Of China is i'm
mense, and one is struck with this at
every port. To build and repair their
vessels is branch of industry | have
never seen described. but it must be enor-
NOUS. Millions. probably. of families
live in them and never go on shore. There
is no craft So small, not even the SAN
pam that attends Il foreign ship, but has
room for its idols or gods, before which
the owner burns his joss paper will
digreSs here a little to tell of the boatmcn
of Shanghai. They are mostly from the
distant seaports of Ningpo and Swallow,
being OF a harder race and better sailors
than the men of this province. BY some
mysterious telcgraphy they know when :,
slip is coming, and several lie watin.
for job at the red buoy" OUTSIDE,
Woosuns. Each one has the name o;
the ship he served last painted in a con
spicuous place aft. The one / engaged
had Halloween and his name, sam, -
underneath. Sam is co,nomen all
Chinese boatmen glory in.
His sa,npan, which is exactly like al
the rest, is about sixteen feet long. ana
about the shape of a half peach stone. y
couple of guards run around it, rs to one
of our little stern-wheel steamers. pro-
iarfinr al 1,n - a,,l hand
at the extreinities like the horn of ores
cent What this is for l cannot max,
out. The forward half is decked over
and under this deck Sam keeps lots
things. The midship section abaft TIN.
is not decked. but has a platform, and is
rooted over, the roof n bamboo and mat
ting arched from side to side. CndeI
this roof is the seat of honor. On tn,
floor is a rug. and over head are frescoes
from fdrpcr's Weekly, The Illustrated
London Meas or Illustrated Zeifung, or all
illuminated calendar many of the pic
lures upside down: all begged from the
different ships Sam has attended. Over
this roof is its exact counterpart made to
slide. and when we are seated Sam viii.
gently slide the whole thing over if ii
rains, SHOWS or the wind is raw and cold,
and give us wrap to cover our limbs
with. Uunder this ut light sam arran.cs
himself for sleep somehow or other and,
when religious worships his lares and
penates." Abaft the seat and roof. raised
a little, is the standing place for Sam, or
poop deck, where he propelS the boat
He unships this deck when hungry and
there are underneath his fireplace. kettle
and other domestic utensils, and there h,
cooks his rice and fish.
must not forget to tell how they pro
pei their boats. 1t is by sculling. The,
have a gigantic oar which they poise OH
the stern (nobody but Chinaman can d"
it). and by means of cord attached t"
the oar and the boat, they scull, or
"eulo, as they call it, at very rapid
rate. Vessels of a larger size are sculed
this way, by means of beams projecting
from the sides, to the end of which an
oar is attached The tides at Shanghai
run very swift, and the Winter winds are
furious and piercing; but these fellows
scull right along against wind and tide.
When all moored together at some wharf
for the night, they form large commu-
nifty. and discuss the events of the day or
gamble half the night. There is nothing
done within many miles of Shanghai. but
they know it before any one else.