The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1891-11-28
IN CHINA.
Primitive Methods Employed by tn

SNLI-WOHNS IN CHINA.
Primitive Employed By ths
workmen.
During a late journey to the north
Of our city 1 traverscd the district CON
tanning the salt and gas wells for which
Sz-chuan is noted. and when the in
evitable question came: do you have
such things vel your foreign-side?",
n could not bet overlook the implied
sarcasm, IN genuine admiration Of the
achievements which the Chinese have
made with, or in spite of their cum
brous, time-consuming methods This
region of the salt wells named ''Tz-liu-
ling 1.-THE ~self-dowiIg welI) Is famed
throughout the empire. In q valley
some n hundred and twenty miles
northeast from Sui-fu. one comes upon
q scattered unwailcd town lying upon
both banks of a clear, greenish stream
said to be- strongly impregnatcd
with salt, and literally covered
with boats There Is an air of busi-
ness actirity in the place that COM
birea with the heavy smoke lying on
all around, brought more wildly to mind
the manufacturing districts Of our own
land, than any other place have seen
in China The most prominent objects.
in the city are the huge clumsily-con-
structed wooden derricks reared on the
hillsides, among the honses, and, in
fact, in almost all available places
The houses appear to be built to accom-
MEDIATE the derrick, rather than other
wise. Every derrick mean q well. :.
Blythe courtesy of the owners we ara
allowed TO inspect the whole process of
obtaining and evaporating the salt
The well is a small circular opening in
TO the ground, perhaps eight or ten
inches in diameter. A large stone at
ted with a mouth of the size Of the
we'll covers the top. and through
the opening a bamboo cylinder,
perhaps thirty feet in length. shod
with iron at the lower end. is let down
into the well until the bamboo has
become filed with water, which Is then
drawn up and emptied into an adjoin-
ing reservoir. The apparatus for low.
ering and raising this cylinder is of the
crndest description. In a low, straw.
matched shed about twenty feet from
the well, is a huge wooden wheel
around which is coiled the w~ell-rope.
This rope is fastened to the bamboo
cylinder and then passed over o rude
wheel at the top of the derrick. When
all is ready the large wheel on which
the rope is coiled. is set In motion, and
gaining velocity - it turns, just whirls
around till the bamboo reaches the
bottom of the well, and there ID no
more rope to pay out.
Now comes the task of raising the
few gallons of water in the bamboo.
Sometimes water buffaloes are hitched
to the wheel and the thing set In mo-
lion. Very often. a number of men
and boys, in all conditions Of de-
cay, as to apparel, and need
rs to food, are hitched up OF
the wheel, and the procession
starts. counted between twenty and
thirty boys on one wheel, but had not
heart or patience to stay till they had
hauled in the three thousand feet of
rope at the end of which dangled per-
haps five gallons of dirty salt water.
The process is slow and expense. II
the Chinese were not so violently clan.
nish and afraid of the foreigner they
could well be taught an easier method.
That is but half the process.
When the RESERVOIR is filed the water
is either carried away in fiat-boats or
buckets on mems shoulders to the place
where it Is e~vaporated and the salt
finally secured. There are two methods
One in which soft coal is used, and an
other in which the heat is supplied by
natural gas, which abounds In certain
The gas is conveyed to the
spot bs means. of bamboo pipes
fitted together as well as the Chinese
know how, and then bound round
with braided straw. The fac
tory is a roughly built shed having par
allel rows Of east iron pans beneath
which.the gas is burning and the evapor-
alton constantly going onday and night.
For lights during the night shifts, there
are naked gas lights of sufficient guam
all about the place. These arc
never extinguished apparently. and ]
Judge a great waste takes place because
Of inability to control the gas. The
place, however, is noted for its
wealth, and one may see violent con-
traSts between the rich well-fed nabobs
who ride in chairs with four men to
carry them, and pitiful, hungry crowd
Of starvelings who huddle together in
their poor quarters less cared for than
that perish. Apart from the
merely natural interest attaching to
spot, for us it had a fascination far
in its character. Crowded togeth-
er in a few square miles of ground are
mounted thousands of human souls
'itiful alike in their need and ignorance.
w. NJ Cpcraft, in Standard.