Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-11

the most dangerous kinds Of labor, and are
often mutilated. Mr.. Bennett learned that
as soon as Chinaman gets an arm or leg
broken he is regarded as useless, and his
brethren waste no time on surgery, but kill
him at once, boil the flesh from his bones
and ship them to China. While crippled
live one is regarded as of no use. great
veneration is paid to his bones, whether
from the same motive that made the
Egyptians worship their ancestors, or
for their value as fertilizer, is per-
haps not = so well defined as
some ethnologists think. A superintendent
of an electric light company in Los Angeles
states that there is but one one-legged China
man in California. He had his leg crushed
in machinery and begged of some Ameri-
cans not to allow the Chinese to take him 70
their quarters There was a savage fight,
but the Americans carried the injured man
to a hospital, where his leg was amputated,
and he was in time furnished with patent
one of approved kind on which he soon
learned to walk well. He then abjured his
religion, had his queue cut of, allowed his
hair to grow all over his head and has since
kept out of the way of his countrymen, and
is in quite prosperous circumstances. A
MANNED Chinaman, like a surplus baby, is
regarded as burden and is sent to the bone
boiler as soon as the breath can be beaten
out of him. And yet they are not entirely
destitute of natural affection, but ideas of
utility are paramount, they resembling in
this respect the Patagonisn Indians.
AN EXCEPTION as TO PHYSICIANS.
But pathology and therapeutic ability
are held in high repute. though surgery. is
despised, and some doctors and druggists
are highly prosperous. Seeing q Celestial
get prescription filled Mr.. Bennett had
his conductor get the same duplicated for
him. He hasn't yet learned to read it, but
hopes to do SO sometime. Here it is, though
not given in the pharmaceutical lingo COM
mon here: "One dried lizzard, four locust
shells, four dried caterpillars and two big
bugs, in appearance like the cimex lee
tularis, but, unlike it, does not give an un-
pleasant aroma to the decoction." The
whole is directed to be made into tea, but
no Pittsburger has yet tried its efficacy as a
cure for the grip. The whole costs two
"bittee," 25 cents.
Regarding gambling, the Chinaman
should Re judged leniently. He is no more
addicted to it than is the American, and he
has this advantage in his favor, that even
his religion does not discountenance, but
smiles on it. Before going into any ven-
ture he enters his joss house and, taking in
his hands two semi-circular pieces of wood,
fat On one side and oval on the other, places
the ends together and after bowIng three
times before the god, tosses the disks into
the air. If both fall on the fiat side the
issue of the event proposed is considered
certain to be prosperous. If both fall on
the round side it is abandoned, but il one
lsn.bk do 4l,ao fhar ho al
it is a stand-of and private judgment is al
lowed to determine. Mr.. Bennett tried his
luck, but it was a case Of "splits.
There is q trace of devil worship in their
religion. In tine joss house there are six
josses, two principal and four inferior, or as
sociate. The principal good god is an i'm
age. of a ine-looking, full-bearded man,
bearing a strong resemblance to the sup
posed portraits of the Christians Mediator.
His associates are inferior in appearance
Beneath this trinity are placed the three
malevolent gods. All are literally fur
nished with three kinds of ardent spirits,
several kinds of meat and other food. It is
probable these viands are consumed by the
priests during the absence of worshipers.
Anyhow, they disappear daily, or nightly,
and the gods show no signs of dyspepsia.
The good gods are worShiped, and the evil
ones propitiated.
NOT AMERICAN PRoTECTIoNIsTs.
The San Franciscan Chinese are not en-
ambred with the rather prevalent American
idea of protection. They import everything
they can from the Flowery Kingdom, from
edible birds nests TO poultry and eggs, every |
thing save thelatter being jerked, or dried. |
Ducks, an especial favorite with them, are
killed, dried and stretched out until they |
are almost as thin as parchment, and spread |
on bamboo. Dried oysters come on strings,
as American housewives 40 years sgo
strung quartered apples to dry, or schnits,
as the Pennsylvania Dutch call them. The
canning industry has not caught on in |
China. Eggs come iHcased in black mud, |
dried, which seems impervious to air, and |
they are kept fresh-fresh enough for Chi |
nese taste, at least-an indefinite time. |
This food must be very cheap in China to |
stand cost of freight and duty and compete
with California cheapness.
Their patriotism extends to everything |
and the historical plays at their own theater
prevent their being Weaned away by false |
gods, and they exhibit no liking Tor En-
glish drama, but, of course, they cannot be
expected to understand it. Mr.. Bennett at
tended one act of play in Chinatown.
There were 80 acts, each extending over one
nights performance. The admission fee for
a Chinaman or woman was 10 cents, for a
Melican man tour ''bittee," 30 cents, but he
was allowed to sit on the stage with the
actors There were 5000 Chinese present,
and as there is no elaborate or costly scenery
the patronage was remunerative. There
we're no drop curtains, no change of scene
and all went on in plain sight of the audi
enee. The sexes sat apart, and there were
no demonstrations of applause. The whites
because they did not know where
the applause came in, and the celestiaIs
evidently felt that as they had
10 pay for the entertainment they
we're not under obligation to
praise. They were, however, liberal in
of dissent, and when an ac-
TOR (there were no actresses) made break
hey jeered him numerically. Though the
act was long and tiresome to an American,
here was no going out on the part of the
Chinese to ''see man" or "get Glove"
Their tonsorial artists are very expert,
with the razor, not with the tongue, and a
shave is an elaborate affair. Not only is
The face shaved, but the head, all except the
Jueue, the eyebrows, eyelids, the inside and
outside of the nose and the ears, and evil
1ently all hair is regarded as superhuous,
except the queue. The ears and nostrils are
also skillfully cleansed, and the victim is
inally given a course of massage treatment
hat makes his flesh tingle for days. 1t
costs no more than an American shave, not
70 much as one gotten in an ultra-fashion-
lble shop. DoUTHITT.