davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
FRANK q. CARPENTER.
IMPORTANT TO ALL.

There is no doubt that some general pen
sion bill will pass Congress very soon. 1t is
impossible TO predict just what it will pro-
vide, but it will, beyond question, add a
large number of persons to the pension-roll
whose cases have not been covered by exist
ing laws. Indeed, during the present week
the Senate has already passed the Davis
bill, printed in another column.
When any new law shall be enacted, the
Pension Office will be crowded with extra
work, and it ID important TO get your claim
filed early.
Every veteran. veterans widow, and vet
GRAMS orphan, who has not been allowed a
pension, should write me at once answering
the following questions:
/. Name and address in full
2. Name of the soldier
3. Company and regiment.
A. When enlisted.
S. When discharged.
o. Cause Of discharge.
z. Did soldier ever apply for pensionr
8. If so, for what disability
8. Was claim rejected, or is II pending :?
Give number of claim.)
10. Date Of birth. Month and Year,
If the soldier be dead in addition to the
foregoing questions, answer the following:
IL. Relationship of inquirer to the soldier
IL. If widow of soldier, give her age.
Answers should DO sent at once, because
a bill may pass Congress and 20 to the
President any day.
The information sent in will be carefully
examined, proper action will be taken at
once, and delay in necessary prelminaries
will be thus saved without cost to the
applicant.
No charge is made for services unless sue
cessful, and then only the fee allowed by
law will be collected Answer by return
mail. Address,
GEORGE Il. LEMON,
Attorney-at-L Law,
Washington, ID. q
The National tribune., 1890-04-17


igable FOR big steamers for 800 miles from its
mouth, and between Shaugh and Hangkow, 8
distance Of more than 500 miles, the river has,
j avn told, an average breadth of several miles,
and yuu are often out of sight OF land upon IL.
The yellow River which cuts China few
hundred miles north of Yang Use hiang, is
more than 200 miles long, aud every other
year or So il overtl0ws IFS immense emhank-
meHts and browns millions. About three years
ago something ike 3O.01n 600 people lost their
homes 10y one of these river foundations. The
Pearl River, which flows through the southern
part oil China. hy Canton, is another mighty
STREAM aud the interior OF the Empire is tapped
by tile hundreds OF branches Of these great
rivers. Running from north 10 south through
China Is the grand canal which originally
formed the great trunk line af the Empire but
which, like everything else. is now going to
decay. China has a coastlne which must
measure. with its fluctuations, at least 5000
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
A sLIPPEE BOAT.

cap with button In the top over the roots Of
the cue, looked at the wretch as he lay In "A
heap upon tie stone floor aud commanded him
to confess. lie replied that he bad nothing 10
do with pirates aud that he was an honest
man.
Then string him up" said the judge In
Chinese. aud with that wooden Gawhorse,
with two holes in the top board, was brought
out aud stood OPP against pillar in the c0nrt-
room. The criminals thumbs were then
stretched behind him and tied 10 the arms Of
the saw-horse. To each of his big toes cord
was fastened, aud these cords were pulled up so
that lac rested with his knees on the floor aud
with his back against the frame Of the horse
His cue was now put through the hole in the
top, and it WAS pulled up 50 that his whole
weight rested on his knees Then a sharp
chain with links like knives was brought ont
lie was lifted up aud his knees were placed on
this chain. lie tainted as i looked. aud my
heart became 70 sick at the sight that was
forced 10 leave tho room. A few days before
this IL men had had their heads cut off
for piracy, aud this is one Of the most common
Of Chinese crimes The pirates often seize people
when they are going from one place to another
aud hold them for ransom, and Deacon Gray
says that "A merchant was carried of la 1867
aud held until $1,000 were paid for his ransom.
During the same year rich man was dining
On one Oi these llOReF-b0ats at Canton, when 30
pirates seized him and carried him away. IL
took 1000 % get him back. These pirates
often take goods from the jnnlls, and notwith-
standing tic terrible punishmcnts Of the Chi
nese they are not backward in numbering whom
they deem il necessary.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
y Oval Steel .
tp CADfoD

capital They are much pleaaanter to ride In
than n Venetian gondoln, and they are made Of
long thin panks Of beeehwood, finely finished
and deliberately carved. They have no seats
and the passenger has 20 sit very quietly mt tho
bottom. To move from one side to another is
almost a dangerous ms stirring about in II
canoe. They arorowed by long bearded Turks
and one gets over the ground in them at racing
speed. the fares arc very low and the only
thing necessary IL TO make bargain at tho
start. ! have ridden in them for many hours
in aud ont, under the windows of the palaces
which fringe the waters about Coustantinople.
and tho sights of Turkish life seen from one Of
them make up some of the pleasantest recol-
loctions of my tour.
FRANK O. CARPENTER
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

On another boat on which rode there was a
family Of six peOPle-a man. his wife and four
children. The boat formed their home, and when
got into it 1 noticed only the man, two little
girls, who helped row, and little hoy of three
who scrambled around with absolutely nothing
but his pgtail che 60 cover his nakedness. After
] had gotten abont mile from the shore heard
the cry OF a thrce-day old baby, and turning
my eyes TO the back Of the boat saw in a little
space cHriained of Chinese woman lying and
beside her a little morsel Of humanity whose
skin was still rosy with its remarkable youth.
My wife asked some questions regarding the
child and she was told in pidgc0n- English that
the baby had been born three days before. snd
the mother said for herself that she was doing
well.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

are hardly able to walk. and saw hundreds of
little canoes. each not more than foot wide
aud about as long ss II dining table, padded by
these little naked yellowskinned youngsters.
Each baby ats fiat in the stern Of the boat
while he paddles, and he is much at home as
though he was resting on a stone floor rather
than on Is feet of water separated from him by
a quarter of an inch of wobbing board. The
house, boats of Siam are somewhat different
from those Of China. They are better shaped,
aud the houses on them seem to be woven of
palm leaves, 80 that tho passengers crawl In
sort of "A hole shaped like n hornets nest, when
they are taken from one place to another. At
Bangkok, as ut Canton, the women do great
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

The honse-boats Of China form the chief
means OF interior travel 1t is wonderful how
comfortable one can be- in them. The boat in
which / sailed mp the Pieho River was not over
80 feet long aud not more than l. ieet wide.
Still. in this my wife and myself lived com
fortably for four days. and upon il We carried
five Chinese sailors, IA Captain and our cook. The
cooking was all done at the back of the boat 50
that wo got no smell. aud our own quarters
consisted of little space about II feet long in
the center of the boat In this space wc had a
sitting room about six by six, containing little
stove aud dining. table, and back Of this. on a
ledge was our sleeping apartment, which was
just big enough To crawl into aud lie at full
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
the number of workmen, aud they do not want
any labor-sayng appliances.

Speaking Of the Canton boats, IL is said that
there are $4,000 people who live upon them,
and the boat population of this mighty city is
peculiar 10 itself The greater part Of them are
not of Chinese origin, aud they are said TO he
the descendants of the aborgiues of China,
who were overrun by the Celestials during
their invasions. The pure Chinese do not like
them. They call them water fowls" and they
consider it a disgrace to iutermarry with them
They do not allow them TO enter tho literary
examinations. aud they have customs and
habits of their own. The women among them
arc better locking than the Chinese women
that / saw on shore, and shall not soon forget
the pretty girls that sculled the boats in tho
harbors of Canton and Hong Kong. When |
arrived at Hong Kong n black haired, rosy
checked girl with almond eyes the color of jet,
was the first of tho boat people TO reach tho
deck of our ship. She was, judge, about 16
years old, and was rs plump partridge and
as pretty as peach. In pidgcon- English she
asked me if ! would not 60 ashore in her boat.
i replied Yes" and pointed TO my baggage
which consisted of about 10 trunks, each weigh
ing nearly as much as brides Saratoga. She
said:
callee my sister, and we take tluukee
alice samee," aud q moment later in response
to her call very pretty girl of 10 came aboard
and the two carried those heavy trunks down
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

! saw hundreds Of boat children at Canton.
They play all over the boats, aud now and then
one is tied by string 10 the mother or TO the
mast Of the boat 10 prevent il from drowning
should il fall overheard / saw one of their
boys tied in this way, and ! am told that the
women in five eases out of six would as leave
have their girl babies die as live. At any rate,
they take no steps 10 prevent IL. Many of the
boys have gourds or little drums or floats tied
to their backs, IN order that these may keep
them up should they tumble into the water.
] saw plenty Of girls. but none of them had
life-preserYers, aud there is a superstitous OBJ
lection among the Chinese to saving people
from drowning. When a child falls overheard
the only chance Of being rescued is from its
parents. The average Chinaman believes that
the spirit Of the person who has been drowned
hovers over the surface Of the water until il
has been able TO cause another's death by
drowning. The spirit Of the new dead then
takes its place and it is Free The risk from
such spirits is too great to make man who has
no interest ia baby jump overheard after it.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
Cb,2e3e Jo2k

length. This space was covered by roof IL
had walls nc tho sides with windows Of creased
paper in them and the front Of 10 was 40 ar
ranged that IL could be closed up during the
night time Our sailors slept In tho open air
or crawled down into the hold Of tho boat. We
had q mast and a sail, bot the chief means Of
locDnoinn were the sailors, who. with long
rope fastened TO the boat. pulled away in single
file as they walked along the hanks Of the
river. Where the water was low they pushed
tie boat along by means OF long poles, which
they thrust into the mud. We moved along at
about tie rate of three miles an hour, and
under the bright skies OF North China with
our checks famed by the purest of country air.
Gun assure you the trip was delightful.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

The women do great deal Of the work on
these Chinese boats aud the fact that they have
children does not seem to impede them in the
least. ] saw n score Of women ut Foochow,
each OF whom had n little baby strapped 10 her
back, and with this burden rowed or scnlcd
boats all day long The babies did not seem 10
mind tie heat Of the sun, aud they made less
noise than the average American article Of the
same age The flower boats Of Canton are water
restaurants. They are beautifully decorated,
and the sides OF some OF them are covered with
gliding. They arc from 30 to 40 feet long. aud
are wide enough for big room fitted up within
them Of stiI Chinese furniture. They are
floating cafes or concert halls. aud they usually
have a number of Chinese singing girls who
play. sing aud dance for the amuscmcnt Of their
guests. Dinner parties are often given IN such
boats, aud the character Of the girls employed
upon them is very questionable.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

Outside Of China the greatest water popuIa-
ton Of the East is found In Siam. / have do
scribed the City Of Bangkok in which there
are iO0.0 900 floating houses aud where nearly half
million OF people live upon the water These
houses arc anchored TO piles. Their sides are
made OF bamboo aud their roofs ARE matched
with palm leaves. When Il man gets tired of
living IN one spot all he has To do is to unite
his house and float down the river to another,
and babies rocked 10 sleep by the rise and
fall Of the tides. These Bangkok houses are
very small. do not think they will average
more than 10 feet in hight and they look for
all the world as though two good.sized dog
kennels had been tied together and were float
ing on the water. Each house has a little ye-
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

randa in front Of it, and these siamese human
water-rat swarm from this veranda and down
ON the steps leading into the water. They are
the greatest bathers in the world and nasmuch
as they do not use soap they take several baths
every day. At all hours you may see women
and men, babies and gray haired maidens of 90
standing waist-deep in the water, on the steps
of their floating homes and spIashing them
selves. The women do not regard such expos
urc Of the person as indecent The clothes Of
the poorer classes consist of q little more than
single sheet, and they unwind this AS they
step down into the stream. Some of them
keep their clothes on, and when they get out
after their bath they dress themselves ON the
steps, unwinding the wet cotton cloth while
they put dry one in its place.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

There arc many boat people in the waters of
Burmah, and about Ceylon and Alden, in Arabia,
found large numbers of men who made their
living off the water. The Japanese are great
fishermen, and they are hotter sailors than tho
Chinese. found little boat ifo in Corea, and
in Egypt tho only boat-people / saw were the
heather who surrounded tho ships at Alexan-
dria and tried to carry the passengers bodily off
to the shore. The Greeks are one of the great
seafaring nations They have as good ships as
you will find in the world and they make
more money by commerce than by farming.
The Turks have thousands of boats about Con-
stantnople aud tho long caique of the Golden
Horn il one of the prettiest things that floats.
There are 10000 of them on the waters of the
Bosphorns and the Golden Horn, and they may
be hired like hackney coaches in an European
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
A PASSENGER BOAT.

deal OF tho work upon the boats, and saw great
barges rowed by strudy Siamese maidens, each
as strong as Diana aud as straight as the ANA
IONS who guard the harom of the King Each
girl was naked to the waist and her plump
frame had been turned by the sun Of the
tropics from light yellow to n rich mahogany
brown. Many of these maidens are peddlors
and they move about with their boats from
floating house to floating house selling betoI
nuts little piles of onions cabbagos and other
vegetables They do not measure out their
wares by weights, pints or peelIs. Each article
is divided up into piles, aud the price is so
much per pile. The purchasers get neither
string nor paper with what they buy, but their
merchandise is handed over to them in a green
palm leaf, which, If they wish, Is wrapped
around the article and fastened together with
a wood toothpick like pin.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
This Is especially so where babies are plenty,
aud they can be bought for 10 cents apiece.

We have nothing in America like the duck
boats OF China. The Chinese arc tho greatest
poultry raisers of the world and they have got
ten artificial incubation down to fine point.
Ducks eggs are Matched by the thousands in
their hatchories and tho little duckiings are
sold to duck farmers, who keep them on long
hatboats to feed them off of the low swamp
banks Of the rivers. Some of these boats con-
tain n thousand ducks, aud they mind their
masters so well that one man can manage them.
He has a long whip which makes a sort OF
whistle as it goes through the mir, and no pushes
his boat up to the shore and puts out board
for tho ducks to run out upon the muddy bank.
After allowing them TO feed for an hour or two
on the worms and suails and other insects which
they find i'm the mud, he whistles to thom aud
every duck raises its head Mt tho first whistle.
They make rush for tho boat and in single
file they trot with loud quacks up the gang
plank. The last duck is always given strike
with stick, aud IL may be that this Ia the rea-
son that they are in such II hurry to obey. !
have never tasted better roast duck than did
in China, aud | found ducks by the hundreds
in every Chinese market | visited. The Chi
nese have great duck-salting establishments,
where the flesh of ducks is packed down and
sailed. 1t seems TO bo pressed and dried aud
you sec great quantities of it for sale in this
shape. When the duck farmer has Cotton his
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

The interior commerce Of China Is carried
on almost entirely ia junks aud small boats
The Chinese would not allow a system Of steam
launches 10 be introduced into their interior
and the Chinaman who would begin 10 do
business with such launch would find bis
boiler smashed aud his enterprise sunk Among
fbe thousands Of small boats at Canton / only
saw which worked with a paddle wheel
end these paddie-Rheels were turned by men In.
stead Of By steam. The Chinese have the great
eat labor organizations in tie world. They are
down ON anything that would appear TO reduce
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
BOAT PEOPLE.
How Millions are Born. Live and Die
Upon The Wafer.

Chinese Ships and ShIpping-A War Junk rs Big
rs che Great Rastern-The Boat Population Of
Canton, and The Respective Values of Girls and
no,A-Flewpr-Da Boats aud their RestauraHtS-Pi-
rncy On ChiHa-How n Saiier was Tortured In u
Chinese Court-room-nu oats and Durk-Farm-
inr Among the CelrStials-The HouSe-hoa;S OF
China, and Trip into the Inier0r-The Water
Peeple Of SEam--Sume CHrinns Facts about Bang
Aok. Together with a Large Amount Of Valuable
Information A. 90 One Of tile Most Curious Feat
ares Of Oriental Life.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

China is perhaps the only country in which
piracy still holds sway. There il danger from
pirates in most OF the Chinese waters. and !
saw a man tortured in the court 1T Canton 10
make him confess that he was a pirate. lie
vas brought into the court in "A basket 50 weak
that he conld not stand, and / was told that his
palcness aud sickness came from his torlures Of
the day before The judge. who had finger
nails as long as pcu-hoider, and who was
attired in long silk gown, aud wore black
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

II is said that there are
more boats in China
than In all the rest of
the world together. The
whole Of the Empire is
cut up by the rivers and
canals which incloSe it
like a net. and millions
upon millions are born,
raised, marry, live and
die upon the water.
Some Of the women do
not spend a night upon
the shore from their
births until tn cir
deaths. and for these
wCmen the boat forms
their only home. The
rivers of China are
among the longest
IN the world. The
~ -
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

the gaugway aud into the boat She had
very pretty sampan. and my wife and ! sat on
red cushions while she sculed us ashore, every
motion of her hand showing a shapely arm far
above the elbow.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

and to whom be makes offerings Of food. One
Of the most popular offerings 10 the water-gods
are chickens, aud a cock j. sacrificed before
them whenever there is great danger. During
my trip across the Pacific ] SAW the Chinese
sailors frequently throw strips Of gold paper
overheard ] asked why they did so. aud was
told that this was joss paper and that they
wanted 70 propitiate the gods Of the sea.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
RnsInesa Lalindr,men.

San Antonio special to the Globe Democrat
"Jay Gould was here ON Sunday aud yester-
day, and had some washing done, which
amounted to SCI. The clothes were taken to
the train too late, and the special had pulled
out, leaving the buds behind. The agent oiIer.
cd to send them on and collect, but tho laun-
dryman declined. saying that when he wished
to ride on one of Mr.. Gould's railroad he was
required to pay In advance. The Wizards
shirts are, consequently. still in hook"
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

The boat children Of Siam are superior in
their skill, in managing boats, TO the Chinese.
baby will scull his boat over the waters OF
the Menam River at an age when our children
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

During this voyage we passed many boats be-
longing to maBdarins. These were house. boats,
gorgeously decorated, vanished aud painted.
aud manncd 10y sailors IN uniform. We passed
many iunks hauled along by gangs Of men,
numbering in some cases as many as an hun
dred, and mingled with the boats carrying "A
trade as large as that which Is dragged be-
tween New York aud Chicago.
The National tribune., 1890-04-17
Badly Stuck.

Tt3S.I
Mortified husband, at ball, to his wife, who
has just come down from the dancing ROOM
For heavens sake, Matilda, slip up stairs again,
as quick at you can, and get your shawl on!
Wife. all in tlutter-Why, what is the mat
ter, George?
Mortified hnsband-You have put on your
low-necked dress and forgotten to take that
porous plaster off your back
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

Another class Of boats are lodging. house boats
which are much like the flower. boats. These
are paironizcd by travellers, aud the regular
charge for nights lodging on the bcst OF them
is from 30 cents TO 81. Many Of these have
kitchens connected with them. and they some
times act a. caterers for the other boats
The National tribune., 1890-04-17

THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE Is the onEv
champion the soldiers hare among the great pa
pers Of the country. The best way 10 help all
ueteraas is by getting 10 more Subscribers.