Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-07-23
THREE VISITS.
VISIT TO CHINESE COLONY. AND Co.'S
vEHT-rIRE PATROL HOUSE.
Becoming a Nun-Eov Chinese Live
Lie Of a Fire Patrclnlan In
San Francisco.
SAN Francisco, July q, 1851.


Chinese house.servant living next door. 1t
was dark night and It was an odd ad-
venture. We had sailed out to make
visit to the Chinese colony at the Aission
Wooden Mills. When we had reached
the corner Of Seventeenth and some other
street, which was at any rate very far
from the bay, we came upon an old ware
house, which doomed up in the dark ike
email fort. Vessels used to haul up by it,
for the water, once upon a time, came to
It's very feet, and from that spot on to
where the salt water now washes up to the
land is all made ground. That is just the
way here; the water Is continually beng
pushed back and pushed back to make
way for more land, and when an earth
quake comes how that made ground does
culver! Suppose the bottom of II should
fan out some time. On! where would all
the folks and houses go to? There is
ONE GREAT SWAMP
Out Mission way, you know, and several
lesser ones, and into these large sewers
have emptied open mouthed, and miasma
and mosquitoes have risen year after year,
but in spite of all, the people out there
have thriven and grown fat, and land has
increased IN value, and the spot, because
it is the emily belt of warmth IN the city,
is called the little italy of San Francisco.
Bat the swamps are being filed, and the
sewers rapidly regulated, AID il 1t Is Italy
now. when these are done 1t will be Naples
itself. Besides there IS a tannery, and
while you can't exactly look upon II as an
uucorked bottle Of Lubin, still they do
say tanneries are healthy. OF course, IN
the nature of things people ought to die OF
sewer gas and swamps, but by accident
we moved into house once that had no
traps in the pipes, and on inquirng back Tor
a good many years not a death had occurred
an that house I remember for about three
miles we rode in the cars through aswampy
suburb OF Chicag o-houses everywhere;
and I saw stagnant water on either side
the very streets of Portland, further north
than this, and yet people live there and
seem to die no faster than in other regions.
Well, as I was saying, We reached the end
of firm ground at the old warehouse, cor
ner of Seventeenth, then we turned, but to
which point Of the compass | could not
guess in so much Of dark, but we finally
frod path laid with old oil cans, then
climbed a fence, walked a plank, Rugged
another fence, In preference to treading
water that gurgled somewhere, and by and
by went up some steps. Then the dogs
broke loose, yelping and creeping about
everywhere, one dog to every Chlnaman
that clustered about US. a great chatter
ing arose; remarks were freely made. /
am afraid they INDUCED in criticism IN
our very presence. Now and then single
exclamation like an explosion made itself
listened to above the rest, and then the
voices merged as the noise Of cur frecrack-
ers is lost IN tho rattle of the whole bunch.
We
COULD NOT DODGE THE DOGS,
yellow ones, black ones, white ones, spot
ted ones, each one barking his prettiest, but
the boots and curses of their owners kept
them Just out Of reach of US, while we re-
signed ourselves to be nabbed any minute.
We were ushered up a pair Of rickety stairs
without any railing, and out upon long,
narrow balcony on which the doors and
windows Of sleeping apartments opened.
Up the sides of the little rooms were hunks,
some containing occupants, some empty,
while Cinnamon sat on stools everywhere
talking, laughing. smoking, and strong
Chinese odor stole from every door. IL
was more deadly and sickening than the
tannery which then was smelling from atar
off. Il may as well be told that we had
come to take cheerful farewell, If we could,
OF a China boy who had become insane
while in the service Of one of the
ladies, aud she had brought him
plum-cake to eat on bis way back to China.
We went In one Of the rooms, and the men
sat about smoking with their little round
hats on. porcelain kettle in wicker
basket stood on the table, and one and
another came to gaze curiously, took lit
tie drink of tea, and retired. Others came
from the outside, leaned their elbows on
the window sill, and gazed in their turn,
then retired, giving place to others again.
The women received no attentions what
ever. Tea and cigar were offered our
masculine attendant but nobody said tea
to US. Some merry fellow few doors of,
with ig in his elbow, was tumning away
on q fiddle funny little strain OF two bars,
then pause and repeat the two bars ad. lib.
"He very happy; make plitty good
moosic." remarked one, very devoted to
us and tire teapot, evidently priding him
sell on his English. The poor fellow who
had lost his mind was sunk IN melancholy.
Hecameand stood before us-the picture of
despair-the tears streaming over his face,
lust as if he had been white. He said he
was "luny." and confessed that the devil
had him. He remarked that he tried to be
good, but
srrrr Dr.Jrr nan MN
I felt ike saying, "Why, poor Sing,
that's some times the way Sith all of us.
As we left. jibbering again arose. Each
dog sprang from his hiding place, and
suarled and yelped again at US. Sud
denly voice, attuned IN the twanging
Chinese treble, shot over our shoulders
into the midst of the barking pack
So - you," it said in the very
plsinest of English. The dogs departed
right and left, and so did we very hastily,
while the merry fellow kept jigging his
elbow behind us, and we said to each other
the smell was so bad it tasted in our mouths
like copper. One day afterward l was told
that if l wanted one moment made up OF
thrill must go to the Underwriters
FIRE PATROL,
Down Ecker street, the little thoroughfare
which cuts the Grand Hotel in two The
establishment is kept up by the insurance
men, and the employees hold themselves in
readiness at any hour of the night or day
to rush TO FIRE, no matter how large or
how small it may be, and to keep in prac-
tiee everything leaps into Running order at
precisely l2 o'clock every day, the signal
coming by electricity. That one signal
has dozen duties to perform. 1t turns a
little switch which strikes the horses
smartly on the TANKS; it rings bell to
wake the iremen it registers the box
from which the alarm of fire is given; it
opens trap,door for the men to spring
through it turns up the gas to full force,
and some say it takes the men by the ears
land lifts them out of bed. As to the
horses, they have become so accustomed to
I. -