Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-07-07

CHINESE suPgRsTlTloNa
esspssaassag sAs Evn splrsss aad TIE orsat
Dragon q Canton Rivsr.
In the ruined sort Of courtyard be-
low amateur photography was attempt
Cd but not . coolie could be made or
hired to stand up before the big camera
ON the tripod. Superstition Is one OF the
contradictions and Inconsistencies OF
Chinese character. and, shrewd ~ they
are In cheating and bargaining. their
acumen and penetration fail utterly
when they come to spiritual affairs. A
Chinaman's prayers and offerings are
ali to placate and appease the evil
spirits, his hard-headed logic working
out that the good spirits are bound
to look after and kindly help him, 30
that the averting of the schemes of the
evil spirits is the real thing for him to
look out He believes that photography
10 an invention Of the devil for stealing
away his spirit, and that when his Inn
age appears on the paper something OF
his real bodily self has been taken
away. They have the greatest terror
oflosing an arm or leg. or any part OF
themselves, and dissection otter death
10 the most awful thing a foreigner can
threaten them with. With all their
terror OF the devil and the machine
lions Of the evil spirits, they yet seem
tohave poor opinion Of the wits Of these
Internal ones, us they try to hoodwink
and deceive them by the most childish
and ludicrous devices. The reason Of
always putting a screen at the door
way il to prevent the devil from jump
ing in, and the round doors and win
dows, that are emblems Of the sun, are
supposed to keep back all spirits. none
being able to pass through one of these
magic circles. At the midwinter and
midsummer festivals all the supersti-
lions crop up. Dog meat, which Is Al
freely exposed in the markets as fish,
or long-necked ducks. and always with
the black tuft at the end Of the tai
left on to prove its superior quality
10 eaten at these times to promote
health for the rest Of the season. Ont
10 sure to partake of the qualities o
the animal whose flesh he eats, and o.
cat and dog meat make them tireless
brave and enduring, rat meat Is believes
to surely quicken the hearing and t
make the hair grow luxuriantly. Thi
theory is shared by all primitive an
. uncivilized people. and the America
Indian has the same belief. At tn
midsummer festival more noise is mad
than at any other time of the year.
the great dragon Of the Canton rive
has then to be propitiated. He ono
dragged fisherman down
watery depths and devoured hin
and his fiery eyes and phosphore
cent body are often seen prowlin
the river In search of another jui'
fisherman. The boat population tut
pandemonium loose in June and frigf
on the dragon Slt Of his appetite
their gongs and firecrackers. and to
upon tons of boiled rice and gallons
rice brandy are poured into the riv
Is substitute food. They have n rel
actual fear of the great water drago
and they scored a point on the scott
foreigners. who dread the horrib
three-inch-long, coal black. hoe
clawed Canton cockroach far mo-
when . deadly cobra was found
Shameen island. The cobra, or fol
long time the "what is il" was kno
to be on the island. but it lowered
closely about the clubhouse and ma
tested itself too late at night for
one to believe 1t more than the leg
mate dragon Of bottled spirits. ]
few night-owls who claimed to h
seen it cross their paths by moonlie
or to have hsd it coil itself around I'll
ankles, were treated rs people
treated at home when they tell Of
sea-serpent The American Consul
termined to settle the question. a
he had felt its coil, when he was en-
ing the clubhouse early one event
In due course of time the intrs
American caught his cobra, bottle
and sent it to the Hong Kong muse
and the Chinese shook their HI
wisely at the proof that the original
dragon was sending its young a
offenders 81. Louis Globe-Dt
cr01.