The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1888-12-01
ADVENTURES IN CHINA
Desperate Encounters with China
men Desperadoes.
John Chinaman in His Own Country L
Brave and Ready to Resent an In
suit Robbers Invariably Want
Life as Wei as Doodle.

There is hardly an American boy
twelve years of age who does not feel
himself a match for any Chinaman he
may happen to meet in this country.
John" is generally looked upon as a
duffer, and is held in more or less con-
tempt on that account. He has posi-
tive terror of the law, and he under
stands so little of The English language
that he must be hard pressed to go in
to court. Public opinion first and now
the law makes him an interloper. His
employment is always menial. He is
an outcast among men. He has no
hackers and few friends. Therefore
it is policy in him to put up with
Sights, insults and abuse, and seem
to be coward.
If, however. you take him on his
own native heath, you will discover
that the average Chinaman is as brave
as the average man of any other nation.
He will resent an insult just as quick
ly, and he will fight with all the feroc-
ity OF a tiger. The Chinaman and
the Russian are especially alike
in some things. You can't
move them in their religion. They are
as abject as slaves to their superiors.
They are abusive and tyrannical among
their equals. A Chinese desperate,
who will defy mob and defend him
self to the last, will, when taken out
for execution under sentence of court
or official, follow the executioner as
quietly as lamb, and will kneel and
bare his neck without thought of resist
ance.
As one of the agents of an English
tea syndicate, spent nearly four years
in the most populous districts of the
Celestial Empire, and had every op-
portunity to study them. They may
make all the treaties they care to, and
the Emperor may issue new manifes-
to every week in the year, but the
true Chinaman will continue to hate a
foreigner, and to wish him the worst
of luck. All white men are barbarous
in the eyes of Chinaman. You may
be ever so learned and great, and you
may place them under ever so many
obligations, but you still continue to be
the scum of the earth in their eyes.
Nine out of ten would regard it as a re-
ligious duty to stick knife into your
ribs, and the only reason they don't do
it is fear of creating trouble for gov
ernment officials. The masses know
that treaties exist, and that the murder
of foreigner would be made state
matter, and they obey the supposed
wishes of their own government rather
| than the provisions and clauses of
treaties.
One thing always struck me as very
kcurious. No Chinaman ever sets out
to despoil a foreigner without calcu-
Aating to take his life also. In cases
Ehere they could rob and escape with
heir booty, they refuse to accept the
privilege, but wait to add murder to
he crime. While l say no Chinaman,
mean, of course, none of the Grim
4lal class. have slept in hundreds
pf Chinese houses, and given the fami-
lies every opportunity to plunder and
kill, but my safety was not even plot
&ed against. Several attempts were,
pwever. made by members of the
iminal class, and some of them NAV
terest the reader.
While at Ping-Shan, on the Yanptse-
- ang river, / made a shooting and
hing excursion on the river in com,
Nv with French civil engineer and
English tourist. We had a boat
a hut thirty feet long, provided with
111h sail and oars, and a cabin aft
which would hold six or eight people.
we were to be gone four or five
Re had hunks rigged up in the
ID we took along all our fire.
a plentiful supply of ammu-
e chartered the boat and it's
pen, together with our keep,
nts per day. We sailed
the east, and were pres
h wild and unsettled To-
time there was not
hundred inhabitants
to the east for two
miles, the land being
zen, and the forests
a thing as danger
eever entered our
three days, and
y bend of the