The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-03-05

We are kindly furnished the following, from
letter, quite minute in detail of the experiences
of Mrs. Lydia Davis, nee Lord, in her journey
through the "fiowery kingdom to her desti-
nation in the same, where she will engage in
her missionary work. Her many Ravenna
friends will be interested in its perusal written
as it is in the abandon of familiar home let
ter, to her parents, Mr.. and Mrs. E. Lord.
HOUSE BOAT, ABOUT ID MILES FROM TIEN-TsIN)
ON RIVER PE -H0 GOING TO PAS TING FOO,S
OCTOBER 26th, 1889.
Yesterday, about II O'Clock am, we left the
pleasant home of Mr.. Bostwick, in Tien- -tsin. for
our journey. e had purchased food supplies
of canned beef, salmon. pilot bread peaches. &C.,
also wash basin, candles and candlestick. and
took bottles of drinking water from Mr. Bost-
wick's.
Here we parted from DR.. and Mrs. Wagner,
and we felt sad to do SO. for we had beea asso
ciated SO closely with them. and had learned to
love them. They go ten days by river to Linch-
ing.
We took jinrikershias (something like the
baby carts at home. but heavier) and were soon
on the banks of the muddy Pei-ho. In our party
are four boats and about twelve boatmen Mr..
Price and family have one boat, Mr. Sheffield
one, DIR. Nurdock one, and Mr.. Davis and one.
The boats are some 80 ft. long and #. wide.
At one end the floor lifts up, and beneath. our
food which is packed in boxes. is placed. In
the middle is the house cabin. 1t rises above
the level deck of the boat about ft., and from
the level of the deck we step.down about #.
making it about z fG. high. This house is in the
middle of the boat. leaving about foot on each
side. just room for a person to walk from the
front to the back outside the house part. We
descend by stepping on stool into this cabin,
which is to be our house for about six days
This is room 7xs it.. and about7 ft high The
floor and sides are boards-the roof straw mat
ting, On one side is bench; underneath we
put our trunks and valises; ON the bench we
sit and have books and papers and two satchels
and our primeval candle and stick. and bottles
of water. On the floor is a little low able about
10 inches high, and 20X2s inches, which 1 sup
pose natives use when they travel. We how
ever, prefer our own kind OF table. The end
of this cabin where we enter is boarded up and
we can have the boards off in day time, and up
at night if we choose. At the other end of the
room, and separated by doors. which we can
have off or on just as we want, is our bed which
is called kong. This is simply wooden floor
elevated about two feet from the floor. We use
our own bedding which we have with us.
We sit by the light OF the candle and watch,
at intervals when we stop reading and writing
the cockroaches as they crawl upon the wall
We began a war of determination last night
but decided 1t was no use-ten came to the
funeral of one dead one. We them only at
night when the candle is lighted.
We eat in MIR. Sht fields boat. He has a cook,
and DIR. Mureock has boy with her. Our table
is not an antique oak with carved legs. but
board put from the bed to stool. Two kinds
of cotton cloth make a cover. Our plates and
all dishes were brought by Mr.. Sheffield. They
are granite ware, some silver knives, some
steel. He brought meat from Tien- -tsin; we
have had it every meal-beef steak warm chick
en-, cold beef-one kind every meal. We con.
tribute canned frui5.. and he has fresh grapes
and pears. We fare ever so well. Our boats
pull up gether for us TO eat.
OCT. 9th. 1889. This beautiful Sabbath morn
ing we awoke to find it cool but very sunshiny
and pleasant. We dressed in hurry; the boats
were near together and we went not into the
dining car, but into Mr. shefield's boat Here
morning and evening we have worship
We did not tr vel today but about 10 O'Clock
a. m. we went on to the bank and here we had
service in Chinese for the boatmen. We sat on
stools which we brought from the boats. and
they took bundles of rushes which were tied up
near at hand. and sat upon them. Mr.. Sheffield
took the 10th chapter of Luke, '7sh to 30th verse;
and talked to them abont it We sang-Mr
Sheffield and Chang sang the words in Chinese,
and we sang them in English; they did not jibe
exactly, but it sounded good 1t was Nearer
my God to Thee" Then We walked along the
path.
The people gather rushes which grow in the
river and look like corn alks They have
them piled in bundles by the river. There is
also rush with grassy like top upon it. which
make into mats.
We had bible reading in Mr.. Sheffield's boat
upon the same verses in Luke. and found it
profitable. In the evening MIR. Davis preached.
OCT 3Oth.-I wish you could see us! 1t is
evening; our bed is made up, and we are sitting
upon it, and there Is a space Of the floor left
where we haye foot stove in which we burn
charcoal. Mr.. Davis is reading, and Chang. a
Chinese friend who has come with us from Kobe.
sits on the edge of the floor and hangs his feet
off into his room, which is separated from our
room. Above us hangs the candle. which Mr.. |
Davis has hung up by attaching wire to the
candle stick. He took a nail and mode three !
holes in the candlestick. and put the wires in /;
then he drove nails at different parts of the |
room. and now we have a hanging candle in
stead of a hanging lamp.
Sunday evening it was quite warm; in the
night the wind blew just as 1t does at home in
the fall. and in the morning it was COLD. We
went to MIR. Sheffield's boat for breakfast; VIII n
we came back we sat and read with our wraps
all on awhile. then went over to DIR. Murdock's
boat and sat with her, three of us in a room at
the end of her bed; it was 6 f.. long. #. wide
and it. high. She had foot stove, and we sat
down on the floor, and Mr.. Davis read to us
article in the Century, and we were
IS happy and warm as if we were in a luxur-
Iantly heated parlor. Pretty soon the boats be-
gan to move; the wind had been blowing so all
lay that they could rot go, and there we were; {
we could not get back to our boat, but soon we !
heard confused talking among the boatmen.
One of the boats had run aground, and they de- 6
,ided that they would not move that day. They t
eleased the boat, and we went back to ours. i