News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-12-13
TRICKS OF THE JAPS.
Methods They Employ to Take in
the Unwary I'll ayeler.

In the tricks that signalize most al
! trades the "Japs'' are by no means with.
out their little devices, and when il
comes right down to an appearance oil
ingenious innocence" these artful
orientals can enact the role in a manner
that would completely eclipse even that
of q Maine prohibitionist.
OF the little devices they use to take
IN the ordinary stranger, OF thelr over
bearing pOlitCness in all business tran
sactions, aud their almost childlike in
nocence, apparently, in all matters OF
barter and trade, l will not speak.
will simply speak of two classes that
the foreigner first meets with on strik-
ing Yokohama OF any other Japanese
port. These are the boatmen and the
men who pull the ''iinrickshaws.
IN landing at Yokohama the steamer
anchors about a mile from shore, and
most of the travelling to and from the
ship is done in boats that are worked
something like gondolas. These crowd
around the steamer in swarms, he boat
men offering in very fair English to take
you to shore and back for 6 cents. L am
now speaking of passengers who only
stop at Yokohama en- route for some
other port. l engaged one of these boat
men, who seemed to understand English
very well, shortly after my arrival at
Yokohama some few months ago, agree
ing to pay him 6 cents for the round
trip. On my return l handed him a
Mexican dollar and demanded the
change, bat he had forgotten his Eng
lish since leaving the ship.
"No savvy," said he.
GGIIApo - Cay1 T SET ~o-n WON I'll nnI
you owe MI 81 cents change" 1t was no
use; no amount of argument could con-
vince the Jap, on make him understand
what [ wanted, and ~singularly enough,
no other Jap could act as interpreter.
This, l learned, was an old trick Of
theirs.
Another trick was to lose an oar over
board and charge 81 to jump over after
it. My experience in this, as III other
matters, was similar to that of every other
stranger on the ship. Hive the right
change, [ learned, or you'll suffer for 1t.
1 hired a "rickshaw" on landing, an
the Jap agreed to '"tote" me about for
90 minutes an hour. After l had ridden
for about five minutes another Jap
wanted to help the first one by pushing
the concern. 1 didn't want him, and
Sdlu SO, Out as L cOuluu u ny any IlGoho;
including profanity, mako him under
stand this fact [ had to give in, and
what is more, l had four of them attach
Ell to the cart before I had finished my
ride.
remained two weeks at Yokohama be-
foreI caught on" for after that, when
another man came up with n ''pnshee,
pushee' proposition I signified assent
and then quietly got out and walked till
the men had settled the matter between
them. As o o as my "ric.Ishaw" man
saw that [ 'knew the ropes" l was not
further molested. I got my right change
after that also, as 1 got it in advance Or
them the correct amount i'll the first
place. A boatman played the ''oar over
board" act with me the second time, but
he didn't get his 81, as l simply showed
him a revolver, as l had been told to DO
by n of the initiated. He got the oar
very quick when he saw the weapon.
The boatmen, as II rule, are powerful
fellows, SO that any physical argument
might be very Improbable. They are
afraid of firearms, however, and viii al
ways give i'll at the sight of a pistol
NeW York. Herutd.