Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-03-29
BENEATH CHINATOWN.
Among the Opium Dens and SMALLPOX Manu-
factories.


factories
TFron the San Francisco Examiner.l
The recent arrival in this city of sew
eral thousand Cinnamon of the very low
est grade has had the effect of filling up
that portion of the city known as ''China-
town. to overtiowing. With a view of
letting In some light on very important
sanitary subject, q representa- tive of the
Examiner was dispatched on a tour of
observation In the subterranean dens of
that portion of the city. The trip was
made under the guidance and direction
of Health Inspector Ed. Drum, who is
necessarily well posted upon the subject
of dens and dives beneath that portion of
the city. Chinatown above ground and
Chinatown beneath the surface are very
different affairs. People who walk
through that pestilential portion of the
city and merely take a superficial view
Of the exterior of the buildings and
brief glance within the stores do not see
Chinatown. To do this one must obtain
the services of a well-informed guide,
brave the dangers of infectious disease,
procure a handkerchief saturated with
aromatic vinegar and, armed with
lantern and supply of matches. start
forth and explore.
The first place the Examiner reporter
visited was three-story brick house on
Washington Street, facing the Plaza.
Lighting candle, the inspector led the
way up stairs. At the head of the stair
way closet was discovered, the stencil
from which was overpowering. In this
space, say six feet square, several dozen
Cinnamon do their cooking. This wa
ter-closet, choked and running over, is
used as kitchen, the smoke of dozen
fre-pots being allowed TO find its way up
the stairways TO the upper floors and
through broken windows into the air.
1t was noticeable In each and every
building that no chimneys are used, the
smoke apparently causing no incon-
yenience to the crowded inmates. La
this place, which Health Inspector Drum
termed a heightened clearinghouse,
women and children were found crowded
IN with dozens of newly arrived Mon
golians, all breathing the same impure
noxious atmosphere.
Crossing WashingtonStreet and enter
ing narrow courtyard, another class
OF Chinese was discovered. The head
quarters of colony of garbage
gatherers was explored. About forty
filthy, wretched beings were found pick
ing over rags, sorting paper, cutting up
band-boxes, and packing old Junk OF all
kinds. Some Of these appeared to be
recent arrivals from Asia, and were clad
IN the most wretched garments, while
their LARS were III dry goods boxes or
chicken coop affairs built with the
efuse planks from the streets or
yharves. In one of these coops four
men were sandwiched in together, all of
hem dead drunk from the fumes of
opium. The culinary apparatus here,
as III several other places visited, was in
a water-closet. No stoves were noticed
in use IL any part of Chinatown. The
customary cooking apparatus is stack
OF bricks built up as high as an ordinary
cooklng-stove or blacksmith's forge. 4
square coal oil can half-flled with earth
or ashes forms the individual cooking
range. A dozen or more of these i'm
proyised cooking-stoves might be seen
upon every brick base. No ch1mnevs are
used, the smoke being allowed to get out
of the building as best it may.
Leaving the rag pickers IN their filth
and confusion, the health inspector led
the way into the rear entrancesCi what
had formerly been a large store-room.
A long, narrow, dark passage gave en-
trance to number of dark, windowless
dens, IN each of which, although it was
daylight IN the open air, small coal-oil
lamps were found burning. The rooms
or dens are about six or seven feet
square and five or six feet high. The
only furniture they contain is a platform
upon which piece of straw mating is
laid. These boxes were found occupied
by Cinnamon who sleep during the day
and work at night, when the box is occu-
pied by factory hands who have worked
during the daytime. Thus there is a
constant occupancy Of all these day dens.
They are built tier upon tier to the cell
ing, only small space being left at the
end Of the dark hallway for culinary pur-
poses. The doors of several of these
places were opened in obedience to the
command of the health inspector, and in
nearly all of them the inmates were
found to be smoking opium, as the lay
upon their dirty platform couch. In
several places four or five Cinnamon
were found lying side by side either
6tupld 1TOn VIC tunes Oh opium or en-
gagged IN smoking. The stencil from
these dens was sickening in the extreme.
CHOW be careful said the health
officer, as he lighted his candle at the
entrance to a dark stairway leading
down into the cellar of a densely popu-
lated house on Washington Alley.
"Here is where you will see something
which will surprise you. Here is where