Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-05-18
ar 4 CHINESE Inn.

ar, 4 CHINESE INN.
uo,o Travellers Are Lodyed by a country
Iaud,ord-Omeer Companions.
New Haven Register.]
The first night we stopped at first
class" country inn. Our cook said to
me: "Tree class hotel in China; num-
Der one, number two, number three
This first class-no sleep with the
mules" This establishment consisted
of two large blocks (city size OF land
with narrow roadway between.
Each block is surrounded by ten-foot
wall of sun-dried brick plastered all
over with plaster made of earth with
cut-up straw mixed into it instead OF
hair. Earth taken up anywhere IN
China with cut straw will make good
sun-dried brick or mortar, if the walls
are not put up too fast to allow the
mud mortar to set and dry, and that
never happened with Japanese or Chi
nese wages. Our "first-class hotel"
grounds were both entered through a
wide doorway in the walls opposite
each other on the narrow roadway.
One of the blocks was occupied at the
farther side by the landlord owner. a
large farmer, with his family, but
walled off from the remainder of the
same block, which remainder was de-
voted to the purposes of lodging trav.
elers, whose animals were lodged in
the block across the road. We rode
through the doorway into the yard,
around which are low, one-story build
ings for the lodging of travellers; our
litters were lifted from the saddles, the
mules led across the road to their
sheds, and we went to our room, or
building. The floor was of brick; the
ceiling overhead was the black roof. 1t
had a door, but no latch or fastening
to it except small string that we could
fasten to nail at the side. The win.
dow glass was paper, and therefore no
curtains were necessary. The furni.
ture consisted of small rough table,
two clumsy stools, and wooden
candlestick with nail instead of 6
socket to hold our candle. We Dor.
rowed brass wash basin and buckle,
of water. No plumbers had been there
to poison us with bad drainage. Each
guest throws the dirty wash water in
the yard. We had plenty of compan.
ions in the pretty acknowledged fel.
lows two inches long, brown and shiny,
running across the floor, up the wall,
hiding in the crevices, or flying across
the room. They are scavengers anu
destroy the little insects, if they can
catch them, and do no particular harm
to man except to gnaw his shoes, but
are useful in trimming his whiskers
and hair and in eating down the dead
skin, if any, around the toenails or fin.
ger nails, without waking the sleepers
All hotel lodging-rooms in Northern
China have kong to sleep on. A kong
is brick floor, raised On fues about
thirty inches above the floor of the
room. Our room was thirty feet long
and fifteen feet wide. The kong, as
usual, was built across one end Of the
room, and was seven feet in length and
fifteen feet wide. In front of the kong
is square hole or furnace sunk into
the ground and connected with the
fiues on which the kong brick floor is
laid. In winter weather little fire is
kept burning in the furnace, and the
smoke and heat pass through the tiues
into the chimney, keeping warm the
brick floor of the kong. 1t would moi
be considered crowding to sleep sever
men on one kong, seven feet long and
fifteen feet wide. Every traveller must
carry his own mattress and blanket o,
kong. The inn supplies nothing hut
the room have described, hot
and cold water, and the privileges OF
cooking over the fires of the inn, ex.
cept that where there is public res.
taurant on the premises traveller car
join in the crowd and eat q bowl Of
boiled rice, plain or seasoned with
onions, seaweed, or garlic, and fish
of cut.up meat, but if he is over-fas.
tidious he had better carry his own pri.
vate chop sticks