The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-15
CHINESE sUPERsT1zIoNs.
Blue Devils With Warnings at Sea
and Bad or Benedcent Tigers Ashore.

CE1N ESE 81 PERSILA1ONS
Blue Devils With Warnings at Sea
and Bad or Benedcent Tigers Ashore.
From the New York sun.
During the recent visit to Washington
of DR. Edward S. Bedloe, the famous ra-
conteur of the Philadelphia Glover Club
and late consul to Annoy, he RECALLED his
friends with many strange tales Of Chi
nose beliefs.
Some years ago" said he, "the
steamer Nam-CnOw sailed from Singapore
in the straits for Annoy. She carried
several hundred Chinese as passengers.
ON the second day out the captain, from
his position on the bridge, saw a great
COmmOJiOn among his Chinese passengers
forward and sent the mate to find out tn @
cause of the disturbance, which arose,
seemingly, without reason, ana grew
with each moment. The mate shortly re
turned from his mission with a look of
mingled perplexity and amusement on
his Oronzed and weather-beaten face.
Captain said he, this is the rum
NEST lot of heather l have struck yet.
Blow me If l can make them out. The beg
gars have a yarn and they all stick to it
like lot of sea lawyers lying under oath.
They say that just before the rumpus be-
gan what they call a "blue devil" came
down on deck right out OF the smoke from
the stacks and walked up to them. The
whole b'ilin of 'em declare they saw him
and that he said that the steamer was 60
ing to be wrecked and nearly all on board
lost. He said, so they gave it, that there
is just one honest Chinaman on board,
and that for his sake he came to give
them warning. They say that the blue
devil' got through with his palaver he
gave an awful grimace, walked backward
into the smoke, and disappeared And
now they are as crazy as March hares,
and every mothers son of ems in blue
funk with fear that the Nam-ChOw will
go to Davy Jones' locker in the next
hour
1.-The captain was visibly annoyed, but
he said little He had sailed too long in
Chinese waters to be thrown OF his balance
by any queer freak on the part of a lot of
Chinese deck passengers, but his Scotch
blood was too full OF belief in second sight
not TO give him a feeling of relief when
the harbOr of Annoy was reached in safety.
Within week the cargo was discharged
and the vessel was ready for her return
trip to Singapore. But. though the Nam
Chow usually took several hundred Chi
nese deck passengers, not one was booked
or could be induced to go. The native
cooks and walters had also deserted the
ship, leaving their wages with the purser.
The story of the blue devil haG got
around, and not a Chinaman would put
his foot on the steamer for love or
money. The captain was in a quandary,
but shrowdly set to work to find a way
out. He consulted the local authorities,
and in a few hours he had every Chinese
priest in Annoy down on the steamer,
beating tOm-toms, burning JOSS sticks,
and raising a general hullabaloo to scare
OF the blue devil and exercise his evil in
fiUence. When this had been done to the
satisfaction of the priests they pronounced
the vessel safe, and inside the next TWEEN
ty-fOur hours the missing members of the
crew and the normal passenger list put in
an appearance, and the Nam-Chow
peller shaft broke pounded a hole in the
bottom of the stcamer-it was at night
and OF the four hundred odd souls aboard
only thirty-tive were saved.
" The Chinese continued DR. Bedloe,
ARE great believers in the reconsideration
Of souls, The dogs in the street may con
tain the spirits OF ones departed ances-
tors and they treat all animals with the
greatest circumspection.
II once went with party on a tiger hunt
several days journey into the interior. We
arrived at last in the tiger country. and
made inquiry at a village il there were
any tigers in the neighbornood. The
head magistrate, q shrcwd OLD Monaghan
declared in the Tost positive terms that
there were none nor had there been, he
affirmed, in many years. We had been
informed otherwise, but could learn moth
ing, and so proceeded further into the
country We had proceeded but a few
miles before a runner came from the viii
llga we had just left with a message from
the magistrate He begged our most
hum6le pardon. but would the illustrious
and most benevolent gentleman be 50
kind as to return at once. He had been
mis- aiken in saying there were no tigers
in the neignGorhOod There was one
Just after our departure it had entered
the village, sized young woman. and
made oil wilh her into the jungle. Would
we lie so COudcsccnding as TO hunt up the
tiger and Kill him,
we returned, got on tho track of the
tiger, ana with a Strong force o. balte-s
succeeded in killing him after on four
hours OF cautious hunting We tn n re-
turned TO the village, leaving o 0 lr at
tendants the task of skinniug he tiger
anu bringing in tine hide, The OLD magis-
trate could net abase himself enough for
the ia senOod be had told US, but his
apology was the most remar6a bic feature.
lie gave Us good meal Of currIed
chicken, bamboo sprouts fish and some
excellent tea, and as we ate told US the
following story
"Oue cannot be two careful about ami
mails said he. They may be very good
animals, and ones own parents might
have passed into them Think how sad
it would be if one should kill a relative,
thinking it was a tiger. This tiger which
you killed to-day never did us any harm,
only taking goat or a dog once in a
while. and we thought him a good tiger
until today, when he seized the daughter
of Sung 1saO. We had a bitter expert
ence in this village once which shows the
truth of what l say. Our city has been
guarded for many years By a GOOD tiger
He gave warning Of his first visit by stop
ping outside OF the village and roaring, TO
give us time 10 get into our houses ana
out of the way. Then he came in leisure
~. looked around. and selling a goat.
made OF. We knew at once that he was
a good tiger, and did not attempt TO drive
him away. Once or twice a week he