Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-24
ADVENTURES IN CHINA.

There is hardly an American boy 12 years of age who does not feel himself match for any Chinaman he may happen to meet in this country. "John" is generally looked bpon as a duffer, and is held in more or less contempt on that account Just one thing makes Chinaman seem to be a coward when living among us. He has a positive | terror of the law, and he understands so little or the English language that he must be hard pressed to go into court. Public opinion first and now the law makes him an inter- loper. His employment is always menial. He is an outcast among men, He has nc | packers and few friends. Therefore it is policy ln him to put up with sights, insults and abuse and seem to be coward.
 [ If, however, you take him on his own na- tive heath you will discover that the aver | age Chlnaman is as brave as the average man Of any other nation. He will resent an in- suit just as quickly, and he will fight with all the ferocity of a tiger. The Chinaman and the Russian are especially alike in some things. You can't move them in their re- hg1on. They are as abject as slaves to their superlors. They are abusive and tyrannical | among their equals. A Chinese desperado l who will defy mob and defend himself to 1 the last, will, when taken out for execution under sentence of court or official, follow the executioner as quietly as a lamb, and will kneel and bare his neck without thoupht | of resistance
 AS one ot the agents of an English tea svn- dlcate, spentSnearly four years in the most | Populous districts of the Celestial empire. ana had every opportunity to study them, they may make all the treaties they care to. anu pho eII Iperor may issue 2 new manifesto every week ln the year, but the true China C0nflnna tn ho%o "a, Co wish nm the worst of luck. All white men are barbarous in the eyes of n Cb;no- man. You may be ever so learned and rreat ana you may place them under ever so many obligations, but you still continue to be the scum ot the earth in their eyes. Nine ont of ten would regard 1t as a religious duty to SUCK Knife into your ribs, and the only reason they don't do it is the fear of creatinp trouole tor government officials The masses know that treaties exist, and that the mur- der Of foreigner would be made a state matter, and they obey the supposed wishes of thelF own government rather than the pro- Vlslons and clauses of treaties.
 one thlng always struck me as very curl ous' NO Chlnaman ever sets out to despoil a 1olelsner without calculating to take his life aiSo' ln cases where they could rob and es- cape with their booty, they refuse to accent
 
 crime While I say no Chinaman. mean Of course, none of the criminal class, have slept Ill hundreds of Chinese houses. and gwen the families every opportunity to plum uer ana XII, but my safety was not even plotted against. Several attempts were. however, made by members of the criminal class, and some of them may interest the reader
 While at Ping Shan, on the Yanctse- hlang river, made shooting and fshinp excursion on the river in company with a French civil engineer and an English tourist. We had boat about thirty feet long. pro- ylded with both sail and oars, and a cabin att which would hold six or eight people. As we were to be gone four or five days, we had bunks rlgged up in the cabin, and we took along all our firearms and plentiful s,1nnlv pf ammunition. We chartered the boat and its crew of six men, together with our keep, for sixty cents per day. We sailed and rowed to the east, and were presently in a very wild and unsettled locality. At that tlme there was not even O village of 200 in habltants along the stream to the east for 25O miles, the land being sterile and broken and the forests very heavy. Such a thing as danger from the natives never entered our heads,
 We had been out three days, and were lying at anchor in bend of the stream, and the hour was 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when there was sudden commotion aboard was fishing over the stern of the boat, while the Frenchman was forward, and the Englishman had gone off with one of the men In canoe to inspect some rocks I heard shouts and yells, and turned just as our crew, one after another, plunged over board and struck out for the shore. We had been boarded by a solitary native, who had come off in his canoe from the other bank. The firearms were in the cabin, and as I turned to see what the uproar meant the native cut the Frenchnan's head almost clear off by blow from short, heavy sword.
 did not know why the fellow had come, nor his intentions, but as the Frenchman fell I retreated to the cabin to arm myself. Tho native made rush and I shut and hooked the door. He began chopping at it with his sword, and from little side window fired upon him with a revolver and wounded him in the side. He thereupon retreated out of range but took up his station in such man. per that he could cut me down if attempted to come out. The uproar had reached the Englishman, and he approached in the canoe. He had gone off without weapons, and now he dared not board the boat There was one small stern window, and he dropped the canoe down and called to me and explained matters. The fellow holding the deck was a desrerado. He had come off single handed to rob us, but must also have our lives. He was entirely alone, and prob ably would not be joined by others. While he was explaining matters I lashed a revol- yer and some ammunition to 0 board used as 0 life preserver and lowered it to the water As it fioated down, the Englishman secured it. The robbers canoe was alongside and I instructed my companion how to secure it. I did not propose to let the fellow get away after his bloody work. I heard him cursing and growing as he discovered what was go- ing on, but he did not leave his station. He was bent on having my life, and the wound I had inflicted had worked him up to 6 furious degree.
 The craft was a light one, and the cabin was little better than thatch. After the