The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1889-02-21
From MOnFOVia.
MoNRovIA, CAL, Feb. 4, 1889

Mr.. EDITOR Here we are again
with our budget of nonsense. We
are still at Monrovia, and don't know
when we will leave here for the eli
mate is so enticing and we are getting
so lazy we don't feel much like pack
ing our traps. But if Mrs. Bowman
gets scared any more like she did yes.
terday you may expect us back most
any time. She was taking her morn.
ing walk and got out of the usual way
and went through vacant lot where
there were bushes and weeds, and all
at once there appeared great mon
ster before her; whether it was wild
cat or mountain lion she knew not,
(there being plenty OF them in the
mountains here) If she ran she
thought it will "catch me" so al will try
and make it run and as she advanc-
ed it began to retreat and moved off
as if it had been wounded. So she
passed on and inquired, and found
that she had only met a jack rabbit,
which is quite common occurrance
in these parts. Well, Mr.. John Chi.
naman had quite time the night of
the 90 and day of the 80 of January,
the 80 was New Year with them back
in China, and so those here celebrated
the day also. They have big display
of fire works always on such occasions
They believe the more they shoot and
the greater noise they make the more
devils they scare away. Would that
devils would scare at such things, if
so we would have better chance to
get some of them out of Johnson City.
Mr. John don't do any work during
that day but devotes his entire tine
to having a good day 1T. After all
he is not such bad citizen as we peo-
pie in the East are taught-outside OF
his religion he seems to be a good cit
izen-works well and tends strictly to
bis own business. The laboring class
here condemn him, but they will not
90 the work he does, for he does the
hardest and most burdensome work
and never murmurs; while the Amer
leans are always grumbling and ours
ing the Chiaaman for his meanness
and working for low wages. ! find
this is not the case. By talking to
men who hire them | am informed
that they are the best hands to be had
and do their work better and more of
it. To show you they don't work
cheap I will give you prices farm
hands, $100 to Sleeper day; on rail
roads, same as other section men; on
public works they get little more.
They are well dressed and clean as
any set OF men who do similar work
in our country in fact are dressed
better ond cleaner. ] don't believe
they are as dirty as it is said | saw
in some Of their houses and stores
which seem to be clean. I think the
trouble is that they don't require but
little room and their manner of living
is different, and it seems, to great
many, they are dirty when they are
not. Their houses have a peculiar
smell about them which, some say, is
the stencil from their filth, but such is
not my observation The odor must
come from opium, as most of them
like to smoke opium, and in smoking
it their rooms get full of it and every
thing takes up the smoke just as to-
bacco smoker perfumes things where
he goes. don't see what the farmers
(ranChmen, as they call them here,)
would do were il not for them, and in
fact all others who have to hire. The
Spanish and Mexicans here are worth
less So far as working is concerned.
Eastern lahorers are continually strik-
ing and wanting better wages, but
John is satisfied so long as he can get
his $100 day, and is attentive to bus
mess, patient and generally good
humored, Whenever he appears on
the street he is clean and invariably
has on clean white socks, these, with
his Chinese shoes look real nice
Don't understand me to say that | am
in love with John, for, no doubt, we
would be better off as a nation il he
was not among us; but since he is
here let us do him justice. Last Sat
urday we had a dust storm, as they
call them here. The night before
there was a sand storm on the desert
and the dust from it came over to sec
us All day there was what appeared
to be a cloud south of the valley SC
we could not see the south side noun
tains. Here in Monrovia it was not
so bad, but bad enough for me. This
place is well situated just at the fooi
t of the mountain, so the wind is brok
: en- off from all sides except from the
ocean, and from there they never have
anything like storm, only gentle
t breeze. This is indeed a splendid