The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1893-09-16
CHINESE SERVANTS.
They Are Invaluable In tho California
Household.


Household.
A California woman in speaking of
he Chinese as household servants, uni
versally employed in the cities of Cali
fornia, said: "They are the most faith
full and efficient help employed although
they command salaries ranging from
twenty dollars, that being the lowest
amount, to thirty-five dollars a month,
and then refuse to do the family laun-
dry. But, barring this fact, they are
in every respect preferable to any other
class of servants, one Chinese accom-
plishing more work than two other
people together. They are excellent
cooks, do the cham Der work, and act
as walters with the ease of Delmonico
waiter. and withal are SO noiseless that
one is hardly conscience of their pres
ence in the house,
Most of the Chinese who act as pri-
vate servants in California have held
similar positions in their own country,
and are, therefore, not as ignorant of
the requirements of servant as many
of the green girls who immigrate to
America for that pu rpose. Although
the mode of housekeeping and cooking
is vastly different here from what the
Chinaman has been accustomed to, still
they are observant and initiative, and
readily see into and practise what
ever they are told, rarely having
to be instructed in the same thing
twice. The Chinese are most amusing
as servants, and as long as the Califor-
mia people have employed them in their
houses, they still find a fund of amuse-
ment in their daily life. This woman
te lis how one day her servant Jim was
preparing chicken for dinner, and be-
fore cooking it had entirely skinned it
His mistress told him that chicken was
never skinned, in fact, that was a very
good part of it. This impressed Jim
very much, for he could not understand
how the skin of anything was good to
eat. Nevertheless, If his mistress said
SO. that settled it in his mind; so, not
long after, watermelon was served and,
going into the kitchen later. the mis-
tress observed Jim eating all the rind.
In fact, most of the entire rind of the
melon had disappeared. why, Jimr'
she exclaimed, what are you doing?
Do you want to kill yourself?" Jim
replied: "Misie say chicken skin good,
so good nellie skin"
One after noon a man drove to the
door to take the daughter of the house
for drive, and Jim, as was his in
variable custom whenever the young
woman left the house, ran to the draw
ing-room window and peeped through
the blinds to see her depart. Just as
the couple were seated in the carriage
she dropped her handkerchief, and, of
course, he got out, picked it up, and
handed it to her. This was too much
for Jim to stand, and he ran through
the house trying to find his mistress,
that he might tell her what he had
seen. When he found her he said:
my glacious, that man Miss Allie go
liding with is big fool. Miss Allie dlop
her handkerchief, and he get out and
get it for her. Mclean girl belly lazy"
The Cinnamon believe firmly In the
presence of personal devil, and are in
continual fear that they will encounter
one in q dark room, or In the hall, or
on the stairs. Not long ago Jim went
up to the fourth story Of the house and
opened the door Of an unused room
that was some what darkened, and the
first thing he saw was stove that had
been placed there for the summer
and as to the Chinaman the
devil assumes al manner of forms, Jim
thought he had surely encountered him
this time; he ran screaming out of the
room and did not wait to walk down
the stairs, but slid all the way down
the various balustrades into the lower
hall, where the terrified family were
awaiting him 20, misie," he said,
when he could speak, 1.-THE debil in
dark loom; / just got down on my
knees and said: %, debil. excuse me
for coming in here" The Chinese are
arrant towards, and can be frightened
into anything but the betrayal of each
other. That they will never do. As
they are tractable and really
afectionate. On almost all the ranches
they are employed as pickers They
drink little while at work, even in the
warmest weather, and then only quench
their thirst with cold unsweetened tea,
which they carry in jugs.
Far down in southern California
some of the pickers employed are
sort of low half-breed Mexicans. but
they are vicious and most unreliable,
and there have been instances when
they have became mutinous and tried
TO attack the planter and his family in
their house, so that pistols and shot
guns became necessary for safety, and
, goodly number of the Mexicans were
shot down Negroes as piclers are
likewise unreliable, for they will only
work just SO long, and then disappear
1T the most critical time, probably
when in view of coming wind storm
The trays Of fruit have to be hastily
placed under cover for safety. Thew
are also wofully lazy, the excessive
heat of southern California, which
rates at los and 107 degrees.
being COndncivo -, <Ao<