Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-04-04

E. Bear who went last summer as O mission
| airy to China. He is a son of Mr.. Christian
Bear, of Churchville, In this county. His let
| ter will be read with interest by many in this
country, as it will give them some idea of the
! mode of living in China:
CHINKIANG. CHINA,
December 23d, 1887.
| Mr. P. T. Burkholder,
Fishersville, Va,
Dear Sir-You requested me before I left
home to write you my opinion of things out
| here Well, China is a much better place to
| live in than had any idea of. missionary
might of course, make martyr OF himself If
he tried hard enough, but there is no need of it
whatever. for we find almost everything out
! here that can be bought in the United States.
Wheat, rice, barley, millet, corn, sugar-cane
| simmons oranges and chestnuts may be found
here. together with all the garden vegetables
The pears and apples, however, are OF tasteless
Chinese species, which we foreigners cannot
appreciate Foreign apples may be bought in
Shanghai for the modest sum of SOC per dozen.
AS to livestock, we find horses, cows, sheep,
goats, mules, donkeys chickens. ducks, geese,
&C., but no turkeys. see | have forgotten to
| mention hogs. the great national stand by for
m eat. Beef, you know, Is something the Chi
nese do not eat, and we foreigners beg to be ex-
cused from eating their pork; the very sight
of the hogs is enough to turn tender stom-
ach. They are black, with long ears. long
nose, and long lank body. While the Chinese
conscience does not permit him to eat beef
himself, he has no scrupies to Kill 1t Tor the
at the open ports.
The horses are very small, not even good sized
ponies, and the Chinese never use them ex-
cept for riding, and very little for tat. The
work animal is the water buffalo. This is one
OF the most ungsinly animals Imaginable; has
q large, dirty, mouse-c0lOred body, and long,
rough horns, which run backward like
sleeps. They spend most of their time in the
WAFER curing h the sumner moncns, am toid,
milk which may be churned into butter by
simply shaking in bottle. but the butter is as
= ~1a-
flavor. We prefer the foreign butter, howey-
er. which we get in one to flve-pound tin
cans from Europe. at so cents pound.
The dOnkeys are the principal riding animal
in our part of China. They are very small
do not average. think. more than tEree feet
in height. rode one not long since that was
SO small that could lock my feet together un-
der it. Its driver at least six feet tall. But
the Chinese have little sense of the comical.
Dogs and cats also abound. They have no
homes. no masters. and no certain means of a
livelihood, but plenty of vermin and disease.
1t is N eritorious to spare dogs life, but he
must hunt his own living. The cats have the
most grating voices 1 ever heard, and they are
exceedingly fond of exercising them. The
Chinese think a squally cat is possessed by a
spirit of disappointed women disappointed in
Ove) 1t may be so. but surely there must be
a lot of them in China, and most previously
disappointed at that
/ am sIatloned at Chin iang, which is one of
the open Tor treaty. ports of China and stua
ted on the Yangtsekiang river. $50 miles above
Shanghai. We have telegraph line and large
steamers making daily trips up from Shang-
hal.
the country around Is billy. and conse-
auently we have Il very healthy place. Chin
kiang is walled city of sons l5O.0uO or l15, 600
inhabitants, and is most excellent place for
mission work, as at this point the grand canal
which runs from the south to the capital, |
crosses the Yangtse river. Thus we have OPP |
portunties of reaching people from many and |
distant parts of China. The policy of our mis- |
sion is to work along the Grand canal and |
the bordering country, and large field we
have for work there. too.
"a uicit o:fr r,ft
perhaps $4,000 Inhabitants. situated 40 miles |
below here On the canal. On The way PASSED |
three large walled cities of ABOUT $50 COO people
each, and innumerabie villages, and in none
of them is there single Protestant missiona-
ry of any denomination. One has no idea how
thickly settled this country is On my way |
back from Soochow, owing to the low waters
in the canal, had to leave the boat and walk
some distance through the country. Little
villages were seen on every side. Once
stopped to count them, and found there were
eighteen in sight. 1t is rather a rare thing tel
see Chinese house off by itself in the country
The people seem 10 prefer living together in
little hamlets or villages. This is doubtless
owing to their superstitious nature. a ii times
during the night one hears fire-crackers and |
gongs and other noises made in order 10 drive
away the evil spirits. Even the Waterman, as
he makes his nightly rounds, keeps up hid
this is to drive off the spirits or give the
thieves warning of his coming, I have not
been able to determine.
1 shall not attempt to tell you of the nisera-
BILE Chinese language; II can't do j. justice"
You have heard something of its difficulties,
WELL the half has never been told that's all.
Before left Stanton young gentleman
kindly gave me a cash Ia piece of Chinese
money as curiosity; have 1t yet. '.ut alas,
cash is no longer curiosity to me No one
can appreciate st. Pauls calling mo- ey filthy
lucre" until lie has to handle this dirty Chi
nese cash aw lille. 1t is made. of brass or cop-
per and covered with Chinese characters. Chi
nese dirt and grease. and Tor all you know,
small pox germ or some worse disease. You
would have TO Sc e the Chinese al h ME before
you appreciate what say. 1t is more than
the Jews that wash their hands out here after
they return from market Mexican dollars
strange that Mexico should have succeeded in
introducing its coinage and getticg it es-
tablished here but here it IL. A Mexican dol
lar is worth about 1920 cash. The cash have
holes through them for convenience in string
ing, and 1t is no uncommon sight 10 see man
walking along the street with string of seg-
eral thousand cash hanging across his Shout
ders just as you would carry chain, or to
meet q cody carry Ing several baskets of the
stuff by means of bamboo pole across his
shoulders,
Some OF my friends were inconsolable be-
cause they thought should have TO sit on the
floor and eat with the chop-sticks the rest of
my life. Please tell such that 1t is the Japs and
and not the Chinese that sit on the floor. The
Chinese have chairs and benches just as we do,
and as to the chop sticks, as have no desire
to eat snaits, Chinese pork, onions green's and |
meal time and eat my ''rice' with ii fork like
q white man.
Remember me kindly to the family and to |
Mr.. Preston and his wife.
l shall be glad to hear from you at any time |
Letters are always 81 treat to us missionaries |
Address Chinkiang, China.
Yours sincerely,
JAS E. BEAR.