Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-10-29
WHAT L SAW OUT WEST.
By DAVID HILL

Dy nlSnG T0S0IuDlo cstCu OClCT HO ihoIo
than bird of Paradise resembles
black cat. In the daytime the streets
are all alive with the hustle and whirl
of business. The stores are all open,
and the windows and sidewalk are
covered with an innumerable variety
of goods. At midnight all this is
changed. The sidewalks have been
cleared, some Of the rooms transform
ed, and in many Of the windows where
gaudy trappfngs and knick knacks
were displayed, now sit fancifully
dressed and face painted women who
beckon you in by signs or brazenly
address you through the open blinds.
All Chinatown seems to be out of
doors. They pass you in the contin-
Gus drove ,go1ng,you know not with
er 1t is at midnight that Chinese sa
looms, joss houses, opium dens, gam
bling hells, and other places of amuse-
ment are all open. Midnight is their
gala time, and the whole population
turns out. Places that were safe be-
fore the sun went down now become
dangerous and you need a competent
guide to insure safety. The Chinese
as a general rule are towards, and
one good strong American can dispose
of half a dozen OF them; but they are
a. treacherous class and the way they
have of stealing out of some dark cor
ner and tickling a man in the ribs
with a dagger is far from being pleas
ant or agreeable.
As the Chinese theater closed at
midnight or a little thereafter, we
concluded to visit that first. A crowd
was around the entrance when we
reached it, and all of them seemed to
be pushing, and swging, and jabber-
ing like so many lunatics. We passed
up the stairs, in through a side en-
trance, and secured a position near
the stage. The house would hold over
two thousand people and every avail
able place was. filed. The main body
OF the building was occupied by the
men, and the gallery was occupied by
the women, who were fenced in by
themselves A single play lasts some
times over a week, and only single
act is played in a NIGHT, This act be
gins at O'Clock In the afternoon and
lasts until midnight, The stage was
without drop curtain. foot lights, or
stage properties, The band 8 eaupied
the center of ., the stage ana consistgd
of eight pieces. They, kept up con
tinual changing throughout the play,
and the actors were compelled to
raise their voices TO high pitch TO be
heard above them The characters
were all assumed by men. Their COS
tunes were superb, and consisted
principally of old brocade and cloth or
GOLD garments, gaily colored robes,
head dresses ornamented with pleas
ant feathers, and an abundance of
jewelry. l have DO praise for Chinese
acting and car, "a only describe yathe
whole thing as g. farce. The, spsetaa;TT
tor must imagine it all. For instance,
a girl was fleeing from her lover and
had to escape over stream of water
and a bridge. A wave of the hand
indicated the stream of water; a few
boxes and chairs, and a stout plank
composed the bridge, and all was in
open view OF the stage. At another
time she was pursued by an army.
The army consisted of nine men. a
battle was fought. This was done by
beating bamboo sticks in the air and
shouting. Then the heroine was sup
posed to escape upon horse. This
was done by throwing one limb into
the air as If up over saddle, and
she was mounted. The horse was inn
aginary. Such is a Chinese theater,
and when it closed we fled out on to
the street with the rest.
A short walk brought us in front of
large block that had all the appear
ances Of being deserted. The blinds
we're closed, the doors locked, and the
massive pile buried in dark shadows.
Those shadows were ominous of evil
and the silence foreboded no good.
Underneath that building, the guide
informed US, deep down under the
ground, was a dungeon, dark-dis-
NAL, mysterious. In that dungeon
human beings were confined. Hav-
ing once passed into it they were lit
orally dead; dead to home, dead to
friends, dead to the world: virtually
buried alive. Were they sentenced
for.any crime? No. they were the vic
Tins of black leprosy. One of the
most loathsome, disgusting, and in
durable diseases flesh was ever heir
to- Did we wish to visit them? We
did The detective took private
n