The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1884-02-09
Buchlng the ChInce Tiger.

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The Acknowledged Celestial Is a natt.
rel born gambler. OF course on n small
scale. a. IN everything clao he docsi but
the impression that our American quota
Of this race confines itself TO boiling
shirts and eating rico In peaceful retire.
mcnt Il u mistake. But John IL q sly
dog. You take him In his well-ordered
laundry establishment. Generally there
Is n narrow passage running through q
series OF apartments, divided OFT by
cheap curtains. seldom drawn. Here
John goes through the daily routine OF
sleeping, cooking and eating. But
when he draws himself into his she'll,
and the front lights are out, he pulls
forth his opium pipe and dabblos In the
amusements OF his people. No pale
face can intrude. lie Is In his castle.
Mott and Pcll streets are the Five
Points Of Chlnadom in New York. Here
are the mysterious pigtails who toll not.
They have little or none If the brisk
business way Of their laundry brethren.
For hours in the day they stand with
their hands rammed down into their
pockets, with their eyes on vacancy.
Now and then n small bunch will quiet
" collect at point or another. A
pigtail who has been in a deep soliloquy
ut the door of his den slowly moves
across the street, and after q short,
subdued ~chattering, the party moves
into one of the four-by-ten getaways,
or the Chinese stores with English signs.
where the Orientals Of the neighborhood
are supplied with groceries and tobae-
co. Here they consult with the deep
est interest n small. scroll-looking pass
book, all the while ~gcsticulating and
blinking their half-stut eyes. This
programme Is repeated all along the
Chinese quarter d Mott street. What
can il meanp The street is lined on
both sides with ramshackle tenemepts,
with here and there n low one-story
frame shanty. Except In the ono or
two stores no sign OF manual labor
nothing but smoking leungers. Nearly
every house Is adorned with n swinging
or stationary black sign covered with
cabalistic figures. which look equally
like a tea-chest bit Of literature or pre-
scription for the chills. Ask a pigtail
what II means and he draws himself
into his shell and says; ''No sabe."
Nobody "sabes'i anything. All this is
a dismal, %unmeaning blank when you
get down TO inquiries.
Who are those modest Mongolians
standing In front OF these shops with
the unreadablc signsp Back OF them a
partly open door win disclose o large
screen, unnecessary for the transaction
OF q laundry business, and semi-occa-
~sionnlly yon can see a small knot Of
them sauntcr up to the door-keeper and
pass on behind the screen into the mys-
FERROUS beyond.
Twice In twelve hours Mott street
will awake from It's slumber. Darling
from shop to shop. their faces rejecting
great excitement, can be seen tho self
same pigtails who have been so recently
lounging on n heavy scale. Evidently
business Of some kind has taken q sud-
den squirt and Chinadom has interests
TO watch. Tho reporter yesterday,
after long waiting. had his curiosity
rewarded. He found one den Of small
. dimensions not guarded rs closely from
prying American eyes rs the rest
Through an opening In the door he saw
knot OF about twelve smoking
! and excited Celestials gathered about a
small pine table. While one pigtail
| drew slips with characters on them the
rest looked at each move with bulging
eyes. M
II tell you.r said Police Captain
Petty. Of the Sixth Precinct. ''that yor
5 can't reach these pignils, They're too
a sly. w made a combined raid OF
them last summer TO clean out the poll
cies and the opium dens. Out Of abouI
thirty arrests there was not one convio
. ton. Smoke opiumP OF course thej
Q do. Got n right 10, Just rs much a,
Q YOU have TO smoke a cigar. / Ilade /
haul once Of seven pipes. inmates ant
q all the opium regalia. Couldn't con
Wet though. because We couldn't prov,
that the boss Of the den rented out hi
d pipes and quarters for profit, and unlesl
he does this. the law can't touch him
4 Some people suppose that the mer,
a smoking Of the drug subjects a man 4
d arrest. That's not So"
d 81 recall once" pursued the Captain
d "that q n arrest was attempted on
Chinaman. He lived in quarters nea
" as a pin. His wife. an Enellshwomnn
d had introduced she English style o
housekeeping. John was cook on n
A. ocean steamer. The men found hin
enjoying bis opium when they called
10 No den about that, and. Of course. n
case. SO Il goes. An through Mot
Or and Pell streets you can find Chinamol
10 packed Ia thick as sardines. The
smoke their opium. but are not disof
I. DERBY. and We have no more right I,
It. enter Chinese tenement without prope
process than 10 break Into q Fifth
avenue MANSION
I'd "And the lo,tericsp"
In "well, same thing there. We cal
ii never Ind any money down on m
~ tables In fact the pollcy-rooms arc ;
well supplied with spies that the warn
L. ing squeak Is given on the appearance
TO Of a white intruder. and when we rae
~ the spot nothing can be seen. How a
re We know they're gamblinrp II NAV b
| harmless National pastimc for raisinl
W fnnds for q joss House. How can "
d sayP OF course they clesc Ike a,
oyster on the witness stand. Might A
well pump adeaf and dumb victim.
You can see the dimculties In n
wsv.' said the Captain. with q laugh
~ They 60 all through this Chinese bsal
u ness But when vuu come right dew
& TO the fact. we have . very harmless
condition 81 Chinaman IN New Yort
ne No such 9Th and squilor In opium den
= a. they have IN San Francisco. some Z
I'd the pirtails married. Oh. yez. ID
y they pick mp fsRIish. Irish o. G<rms
" wives. hscsu>e their oountry
2 women don't come 20 America 1k
q laws Of China keep them q home.
- reu,embef ens eurious 60 Iorrs<-e
- osez tssay 3sass aeo. 1ks NJ
runIfx = Vnrw 60 -