The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-05-15
THE N NAY Is. 1895.
it was -,tarcned TOO stiff.

1usEEE7
it was atarcned too stiff.
Yet these were nothing compared to
the Chinaman's cakes and puGlin@>.
His loaf cake was never known to fall:
it rose de!iantly ana kept on rising.
NOTHING. not even a blast Of air from
an ice factory. could have prevented it
1t rounded up in the center and broke
open: it did everything that -four and
baking powder could make il 90: it
looked like q poem. but before il was
cold it was nearly IS dry as hard tack.
But the buildings reached the climax
Of culinary art. Cinnamon seem to hold
a secret veneration for buildings. espe-
cially celatine and bread buildings. A
friend who boasted quite a superior
cook. and who INDUCED freely in lunch
parties. y in the habit Of finishing
off the luncheon with a most delicate
charlotte russo. At this her cook re-
monstrated. contemptuouslv calling it
'.foth." and asked to prepare the
luncheon DeXt time himself. She con-
sented. It's courses were well chosen
anu wei ScE' ~ III IL IL W
dessert it was nothing more o less
than bread pudding. guiltiess Of any
havoring whatever. In Chinese esti-
nation. bread pudding is the sine qua
non Of a trst-class dinner, only excelled
by snow pudding. which appears on
festal occasions. Snow pudding. skill
fully tinted and lost in l%abyrinths OF
stately frosting. is ushered in with
great ceremony on Christmas and New
Years day. One might imagine
that the gelatine jelly would have
trembled like an aspen under such ex-
element: but 10. there was not a trace
of vacillation. 1t had to be literally
carved to be served up at all. as aspoon
made no impression on it. 1t tasted
| like frosted gristle. wholly devoid Of
seasoning, but it looked superb.
! In this day of spec ialties, it is diff
cult to secure a Cninaman who is will
ing to undertake the general care OF a
house. 1t is only when isolated from
other Cinnamon that you find out his
versatility. 1t is when off on the desert,
cway from provision stores and con-
v%eniences to work with. that the China
man rises to the occasion. Empty tin
! cans serve in lieu Of saucepans: a stray
piece Of sheet iron suffices for a fry pan;
given a lard pail and a Ratchet he will
MAKE a steamer; a small brad and a
hammer and he will manufacture a
grate-: a piece Of baling wire and he
will twist YOU a broiler. He knows
how to butcher and dress a beef: he
will shoot ard prepare game, even
cultivate your garden patch for you, II
it be worth while to plant one. He Is
no less adaptive in cooking. He is
wholly independent Of recipes; if n
ingredient is gone, he will substitute
another. This repeated substitution
of ingredients sometime results in q
strange similarity of dishes made from
wholly different recipes, but one al
ways has the assurance that when
meal time ONES the Chinaman will
have something in readiness. We're his
PROVISIONS restricted to a ham bone.
Like every human species, the China
man can be watched to a. vantage. and
it required no SMALL amount of agility
On my part to keep pace with him.
was measuring out the ingredients for
spice cake one morning, and a cup II
raisins was called for; Charlie Lee
could only find half a cup. l insisted
there were plenty in the cellar
and l must have a full cup. left the
room for a moment. Quicker than a
flash he went to the tea kettle aud
poured in enough boiling water to
make the raisins swell and I'll the cup.
| returned in time to spoil his little
scheme, much to his amusement.
"Oh, you catchee Shollie; yon heap
sabe me-" and then he grinned like
the Cheshire cat. l could not appear
angry, though tried my best. But
every n knows the Chinaman's fault;
he can shirk work in a hundred ways
and his cunning is proverbial; but
when you have said all against him,
you can teach him to do almost any
hin .ou wish. He chatters,
and an emergency he is invaluable.
If I =, Z, to rough it in a mining camp,
or 6 1T on a survey, Or summer IN
a min. canon, l would choose a Chi
naman every time as my aide-de-camp
The Impress.