Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-12-13
CHINESE BOARDING HOUSE.
How a Great Majority of the China'
men in New York Live.

| a very large maJOriIJ VI ~ 49,
namen in the neighborhood OF New iori
live in boarding houses at a cost WINCH
to an American would seem insignificant
Their economy is proyerbial, and II
nothing is this shown more consplcu
ously than in the arrangement OF th'
clearinghouse. 1t is however, intelli
gent thrift; and although American O.
average habits, yet they enjoy a fan
share of the comforts Of life for an aver
age price of about so. so week. There
are places. however, where the boarders
paw as little as 81 q week, and some, oil
the most expensive kind, where the ex-
pense is SO head.
In location everything is sacrificed to
economy. The cheapest floor in the
| cheapest house that can be found is selec-
ted. Usually it is the basement or one
of the upper lofts of an old house orlglI-
nally private dwelling, in some local
ity now hopelessly degenerated. The
proprietor, or, as is usually the case, the
firm OF two or three members who run
the boarding house, fence off little
room with boards for a private apart
ment for themselves, and o ten two or
three other small rooms will be made IN
the same way for boarders who are will
ing to pay little extra for privacy, but
the rest of the floor is one large room,
which serves for sleeping, cooking, and
eating, and is used for general sitting
room as well.
These rooms are furnished scantily.
There are rows of hunks along the walls,
large table in the middle of the room,
a og1l-s,,s. .,t.N % o,,1 MI
Der of stools. For ornament there is
commonly boquet of gold and silver
tinsel flowers attached to the wall, and
in tho boquet there are usually two or
three tiny images of man and a woman
and sometimes a child. For devotion
there is q sand bowl either under the
table upon the mantle piece, III which
the inmates put their joss sticks to burn
whenever the occasion calls for prayer.
On the stove there is always kettle
filled with boiling water, and on the Ia
BILE are two teapots kept always replen-
ished, one with cold tea, the other with
hot. The latter is kept hot by being
enclosed in q sort Of basket lined with
felt or cotton an inch or two inches
thick. This entirely surrounds the tea
pot so that only the spout protrudes,
and keeps the tea hot for hours. The
Chinese very seldom use water as a
beverage and drink only black tea.
They consider the green only fit to sell
TO outside barbarians.
The hunks resemble those on ship
board. Sometimes they are single, but
arc often made broad to accommodate
two or even three sleepers at once. In
one place in Park street there are twelve /
hunks in one room, accommodating
twenty-foHr men. In another place ON
Mott street there are twenty hunks for |
thirty men. The hunks are generally /
built In tiers, sometimes three, but gen I
orally only two. Little knees of wood |
On the upright posts form sort of lad /
Ter for climbing to the upper rows. In
stead Of mattresses, each bunk is pro- /
'ided with earpeting of Canton mat
ing, and the pillows are of wood, either
og-shaped or made of board like foot
tool, The bedclothing is sometimes of
blankets, but the Chinese who have not
yrown accustomed to American ways
prefer coverlet stuffed with cotton.
They also take advantage of the fact, SO
veil known and so seldom utilized by
americans, that paper is an excellent
of heat, and they fire.
Iuently line their bedclothes with il.
over each bunk is small shelf, on which
he boarder is expected to place his bed
lothes on arising. There the clothing
emalns during the day in neat cylin-
rleal roll. Some person Of the house.
old washes the mating and woodwork
ally, for the Chinese are, MS rule, ex-
clearly. They use lavelle wa.
pr or chloride Ct lime in this washing,
? keep away vermin and to destroy
doris and possible germs Of disease.
On the stove three daily meals are
repaired. The Chinese are very mo-
crate eaters, but are fastidious about y
he quality of their food, rs well as the q
tanner OF ITS preparation. They use I
lckory or oak wood almost altogethet
n fuel; seldom or never coal. For
renkiast their favorite dishes are rice. =
ape, fish, and meat balls, but they may
said to live principally on rice. a
hinaman will eat, on an average, pro-
ably half pound OF this day. They
'ok 1t so that it is very dry, and each
srnei is distinct and separate instead /
being part OF pasty mass, as rice is !
1t to be on an American table. The
lpe is chopped up and stewed. The i
III is prepared in dish that is half J
lowder. The meat balls are steamed. l
I'd are generally made of chopped G
,rk. They ent no bread at any meal.
The midday meal is the dinner. IL 4
insists of rice, pork, fish and usually s
me Chinese vegetable stewed with q
eat or poultry, and soup, which is !
rived last. The pork is seasoned by ?
ing soaked or picked in strong sauces s
re Worcestershire, and the fish is com !,
only dried. All food is cut into con. :.
nient morsels to be picked up on chop c
cks, for the Cbinaman will not do AZ ii
BILE the work OF carving, which. he in h
its, belongs to the kitchen. The sun I,
7 is very light, consisting of the ipeyi- !.
ole rice and one or two small portions Il
meat
There is little or no drunkenness among :
3 Chinese: that is from ,lr;nl-;,o