The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-11-29
In Chinatown.

ter of Keir Hardie, published in
the London Labor Leader:
Here, within a comparatively
small area, are herded, some say
$4,000 Chinese, utterly regardless
of the most ordinary sanitary pre-
cautions. Some ideas of the way
the Celestial ignores the require
ments of air space may be gathered
from the fact that in one building,
erected originally for hotel purposes
to accommodate $50 Europeans, are
now packed some 200 Cinnamon.
One night at IL O'Clock, we start
ed out accompanied by guide,
which is a necessity for more rea-
sons than one, and saw sights which
a thousand years would fail to
efface. First we did
THE JOSS HOUSE,
or John Chinaman's st. Paul's
Cathedral. Here Samson was the
chief God. The strong one was
represented by a huge carved figure
sitting high up behind the altar,
and before his wooden majesty a
constant stream of worshipers pass
from sunrise to midnight, prostrat-
ing themselves and offering pres
ents of rice, chicken, alcohol, and
other daintieS dear to the China
mans heart.
One peculiar feature of the China
mans religion is the consideration
which is given to the devil. His
Satanic Majesty bulks big in theo-
logical circles. In fact, it may
safely be said that the whole of the
Chinaman's religious exercises
seems to be based upon desire to
dodge the devil.
The worshiper, when he enters
the joss House, performs as follows:
He makes q bee line to the right
hand corner, where is fixed up a
big drum and a large bell. upon
both of which he performs most
industriously with large bone.
The object of this musical overture
is to drive the devil out of the
temple, who has followed the wor-
shipper in. Having by the aid OF
a double tattoo frightened "Old
Sam" out into the lobby, the wor-
shipper next runs (eyery movement
is done quick so as to confuse the
deviD to the altar front, drops on
his knees and proceeds to pound
his head on the floor, and the more
religious he is the harder he knocks
his head ON the floor.
By this time the devil has begun
to recover his ordinary impudence,
and there, the worshiper rises and
runs in great hurry to solemn
looking gentleman who sits behind
sort of counter on the left of the
altar, and from whom the now per-
spring devotee purchases ''prayer
papers"-sOme little paper squares
upon which strange looking chal
acters are written-and supply of
of fire crackers, and now the wor-
Shipping Chinaman is match for
the devil once more. Out in the
lobby, where he was driven by the
beating of the drum and bell, the
devil is waiting; he must be driven
into the street. The Chinaman,
still on the run, proceeds toa round
iron cage about eight feet high, and
in go the crackers, fixing and
popping like a. gala night in Eng
land on the fifth of November.
This demonstration of fire and
noise, of course, attracts the whole
attention of the devil, and this
enables the Worshiper to say
his prayers without interference,
which he proceeds to do by
setting fire to the "prayer papers,"
and throwing them into an oven
built into the wall, the door being
slammed to before the devil can
settle up with the fire crackers.
Now the worshiper proceeds to
try his lack, which he does with
the assistance of
THE HOLY POT,
a round vase in which are placed a
number of flat sticks, upon which
are written a number of characters.
The pot is held in both hands and
shaken until one of the sticks flies
out upon the altar, and this is
carried to the old gent behind the