Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1888-02-03
IN China.--CuriouS Sights Seen
by Chicago's ex-Mayor.

he has seen in that country. He
says:
In Henkow, kieikiang and Swa.
tow hogs abound in the streets. They
are the scavengers. have seen men
in shops, gathered around their little
tables, taking their noon day meals.
while SOW and pigs were walking
among them to pick up anything they
might throw away. Ia one OF these
places, under the counter OF sort of
notion stora. | saw SOW with a
large litter OF 2day-old pigs. Pigs,
dogs aud chickens are thick in the
streets, and have free ingress into the
shops, and seem 10 cause no annoy
ance so long as they do not actually
get 10 the way. Travellers all speak
and write OF the film aud horrible
smell of Chinese cities. We did not
fnd sweet odors very abundant, ex-
cept when passing shop where fresh
wood was being worked into collins
or pals and tubs; nor did We iiud
anything so offensive as 10 make our
walks disagreeaole-nothing half as
disagreeable as one finds in many IA
hotel in Continental Europe or on the
old narrow streets of London
We found narrow streets, from six
to twelve feet wide--eight about the
average. Most of these narrow
streets are covered with bamboo mat
ting, and ali are deuselF iiled with
people The shops are a!l wide open
to the street-no doors-but each
shop rather a recess running back
from the street with counter cover
ing say third of the store front. All
kinds of work is done in open view
shops of embroidery and silks; shops
with fish of every size and kind; shops
of all sorts of groceries In baskets on
the floor and counters aud hanging to
the walls; blacksmith shops. in which
half naked men sat hammering before
their furnaces; shops in which collins
are made; crowds buying and eating
in and before the cook-shops; masses
going to and fro, some in chairs, the
carriers yelling for room; men with
heavy loads swinging from the ends
of strong bamboo balanced on the
shoulder; carriers Of water in pals,
now aud then splash dropping near
one's feet; carriers of garden vege;-
ables; pigs damurs as saints granting
along, often the streess so packed that
all had keep step with all others; ped
dlers crying their wares, carriers cry
ing for pedestrians to make way and
all making way good humoredly; now
II pig porker squaliDg as he swung
from pole carried between two men;
dogs barking at Us foreigners. and
then yelping AS q native would give
them kick for thsr lack of hospital.
ity.
Cook shops abound in all Chinese,
and hanging in and before them were
many delicacies tempting to the Chi
nese palate. Whole roasted pigs.
fowl, hares, games. etc. The pigs
head is cleaved from under the jowl
and then spread so as to exhibit the
porker in his entirety-thas, too.
when weighing hundred and more
pounds. Ducks and game have the
head and feet. and sometimes the tail,
feathers or hair is stuck in or pulled
over the tail bone. In the cat and
dog cook shops the claws and feet are
all left on. By the way, fat young
puppy makes beautiful roast. The
cat looks like huge squirrel, These
are only eaten in Canton as far as |
could learu, and | anu led TO believe
it true, for in every other city the
dogs were q nuisance and have
mortal hatred of a foreigner. They
would discover Us By scent before we
could be seen, and would commence
barking furiously and seemed desir-
Gus of testing our flavor. But, like
oil wolf dogs, they are great towards,
and nearly all Chinese dogs have the
Siberian or covote characteristics.
In Canton we were barked at by
only one dog. and he got furious
kick from a native. | have suspic-
ion that the ours know they are good
for the dish as well as for their bark,
and are very we'll behaved. l could
meet no Chinamen who confessed to
eating cats and dogs. All said they
were only cooley food, but | found
that they cost more than like guam
tity of pork. | therefore have sus-
picion that others eat them, but on
the sly, and why not? 1t is not the
NANCY cur and starveling cat that is
eaten. They are fattened before kill
ing, and all we saw roasted were fat.
They are only offered at special
markets and prepared at special cook
shops. At one Of these shops saw
a number of coolies eating from a
large bowl of stew | suspected the
leaner ours and purrers were stewed
and not roasted, and were cheap.
We visited the place OF execution.
There was oDe head in al basket, cut
off some weeks before, and around
were many copper pots nearly three
feet in diameter filed with heads and
cemented down. The body is buried,
but the State holds on to the bead.
For ten cents the eXecutioDer showed
the sword and solemnly went through
the motions of taking off caput He
said be had cut off good MANY hun
dred, but admitted that he would
have to strike hard to sever my neck
with single blow; the Chinese neck
was small and he rarely had to strike
twice. The sword was about two
feet long in blade and not over two
or two and one half inches wide. BY
the way, these people have very small
necks. 1t is little singular that the
exc cution ground is used for drying
earthen ware for the kiln-a veritable
Potter's field.
The temples of China are far from
and greatly inferior to
those of Japan. Two guild halls. one
at Hankhow and one at Canton, are
deserving of close attention as exam
Piles of rich, forid Chinese architec-
tGre. The tiIing of the roof, the elab-
crate wood carving, the rich shrines,
and gold carved gods at Hankow are
very fine. Indeed, it would seem the
design was to see how much gilt and
carving could be gotten into given
spaces. The one at Canton, though
very fine, is much less elaborate