The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-10-15
An Inaividual Town.

An individual Town.
In the first place. Chinatown is real
~ a little city by itself, town swarm
ing and bristing with these weird, Gu
rious folks who in ceaselessly running
hither and thither remind enc of moth
ing Sc much as an army Of black beetles,
hurrying about, disappearing suddenly
in the ground and as suddenly bobbing
up again. There are 10000 of these
black beetles III Chinatown, and every
one Of them is out after nightfall You
step from the crowded modern Ameri-
can streets of San Francisco straight
into bit OF heathendom The transfer
nation is so sudden it feazes you for
time. Down narrow streets filled with
tracksters' shops, chicken coops, tenn
porary pig pens, fish stalls, wood piles,
baskets and dirt you go, holding your
nose. The flare of burning peanut oil on
little braziers eliminates the gaudy
josshouses, the deafening crash of TOM
toms and bang Of cymbals from the the
alters torment your ears, the mournful
Celestial gibbsrish everywhere resCunds,
dark, evil faces glare in yours for an
instant and are gone, only to be replaced
by more dark, evil faces-this is China
town. These streets center in dismal
open courts, rocking in filth and sur
rounded by rooms scarcely bigger than
ratholes wherein the black beetles bur
row. ''Chinks'' thrive best and huddle
closest where sunlight cannot come.
Quite Oriental.
Tho barber shops are never failing
sources of amusement You stand be-
fore them perfectly fascinated by the
performances going on therein. The
sign is a four legged frame, the legs
painted green with scar let knobs on top
Inside the BARRIERS are industriously
shaving with razurs CT triangular shape.
about two inches long, an inch wide at
one end, hollow ground and weighing
about two ounces. Other artists are ,,p-
plying delicate instruments to the cleans
ing of the eyelids Tie refined PROCESS
Of swabbing the ears and pulling hairs
cut of the nostrils Is also i'll full blast.
The walls are decorated with false cues.
When Chinaman Is sent to prison his
cue is shaved off. Of course this is q
terrible disgrace. When he comes out,
the first thing to be done is to get cue
and braid it in with the remains of his
former glory. This is the way police
officers discover jaiIbirds. In making an
arrest they grab at tho cue. IF it comes
of, they know they have man with a
| pasta cute way OF discovery, in fact.
1t is mark of great disrespect to wear
| the cue coiled in the presence of superb
ors. The smartest cue I saw IN China
town was on the head of one of the most
notorious highbindeas in the quartet It
was at the entrance 10 Cum Cook alley,
or Murderers' row, where more murders
are committed than in any other street
| in Chinatown. "Look behind you quick
"" whispered the detective. ''There is
one of the worst characters among the
highbinders. :" I turned and looked at
him. He was a dandy, that one-sleck,
trig, jaunty, with wicked, bold eyes, a
stare of insolent defiance and a don t.
give a-d-n air. He was exquisitely IT,
dy in his dress, and his pigtail almost
touched the ground. He nodded 60 Glen
non, eyed our party contemporary
and strutted by like pompous young
peacock.
At the Theater.
The theaterl All, there was the fun
The price of admission varies with the
time of entrance. We went in about 1C
O'Clock and Paid flour bits, as they
say there, or so cents apiece. Chida-
men go in early in the evening for %
cents and later for 10 cents, If the play
stops one minute before midnight the
audience can demand and get its money
back No women are allowed on the
floor of the theater. They sit in the box
es, while visitors go upon the stage ano
sit with the players. 1t is certainly 6
trial for ones nerves and risibilities.
There are no curtains, no flies, nc
wings The musicians sit at the bach
Of the stage with their coats off, keep
ing up din with gongs, tomtoms, i'd
dies and cymbals which is simply infer