Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-11-19
QUEER OLD oAnToz.
Strange Sights In the Most DewlldeSingay
Old -Fnsliloned CITY In the World.

Old-Fasiloncd CITY In the World.
lam sure that Canton is the queersst
The most wonderful and bewlldcrlngly
Jld city under the sun. II certainly has
more strange sights to the square yard
than any other city / ever saw, and |
am willing to back itagainst all the rest.
Even now, when l try TO recall the
strange scenes and sounds / encoun-
tered on that memorable visit it makes
my eyes ache and my brain whirl, just
as it did then.
Well, well, well! What n wonderful
old city it Isl How bewildering, and
how interesting at every step! This IS
no more like the Chinese quarter of
Hong Kong than an old bill is like u
new Silver dollar. However, very dif-
ferent from what We had expected 10
see! Compared with the substantial
newness and Europcanncss of Hong
Kong, this is veritable fossil, a relic
of the past, with nothing of the nine
teenth century about II to save the Euro
pcan quarter and tho steamer on the
river. The city is ali on the ground, or,
at tho very most, 1t VIII not average
more than story and half in height.
Where the shops are thickcst zach
square Is an unbroken succession OF
wide doorways; for in every shop the
whole end next 10 the street
is taken out bodily. From one
street corner to the next there is
only II succession of opcn-ended rooms
and partition walls, with dark, narrow
passages thrown in here and there.
There is no architecture visible, for tho
houses are so jammod together that it is
impossible to single out any one in par
ticular without climbing on the roof to
see how much il covers.
II this is not n street in Wonderland
ii might as well be. 1t is only about
'ght feet wide, and many are less. The
caves of the houses on each side project
a quarter or third of the way acros,
the street, and the remaining third in
the middle is very often loosely covered
over with boards placed crosswisc
When ths sun is sh ming the streets art
Light enough, but in rainy or cloldy
weather they are very dark and gloomy
and the peculiar twilight effect only
adds another element of slrangencss t
the scene. Thank goodness, the street
are well paved with smooth granite flag
stones. one foot by three, and being
kept very clean there is no mud to ploc
through, even when it rains. Pedes
trianism is the order of the day. Ther,
are no carriages, carts, drays, b {
freight wagons, omnibuios, or stree
cafs to run over you if you fail to &C
out of the way, for all the freight j
carried by coolies.
Now and then, however, your wool
gathering is disturbed bya stir and lou'
shouting down the street, and you sc
the crowd parting TO right and left
Then you know there is a sedan chai
coming. and you take shelter behind
sign.board, or in friendly doorway, o
ilatten yourself against II wall until tn
peripatetic nuisance has gone by. Blu
the streets arc 50 narrow that chairs ar
not very often u.ed. They move to
slowly; it takes too much shouting +
clear the way, and when two men meC
in a narrow thoroughfare one has to b
side e-tracked before the other can go by
The use of the chair, therefore, is cou
fined to lazy merchants and officer,
weak women and swell Europeans. Fo
| my part, Iwould not do Canton in
sedan chair If | could have q whole st
for nothing,
l But there isone drawback to pcdestr
Rnism. As you pass along you n
obliged to be on the alert to keep frol
coming into collision with hnlf-nakc
coolies, carrying all sorts of loads. A
loads arc carr cd in the same way; ever
school boy knows it, so Iw'll not stop I
describe II. No matter where you g'
you may be certain that every fc
minutes one of these coolies will con
pulling and shufliing along at do
trot, shouting every few steps to tho,
in front of him to ''clear the track" " h
load springing up and down, and h
bamboo lathee creaking rhythmically ;
every step. - Cosmopolitan.