The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-12-08
ON A MUDDY RIVER
Shanghai's Water Front
Is Unsightly.
Silk One of The Cheapest Articles.
Horses Rarely Seen In
City.

EDITOR p. G.. Ave had but two
hours to spend in this place, as there
was nothing to detain the vessel be-
yond that time We anchored off the
to the anchorage till 6 o'clock. One of
the principal articles in our cargo was
a quantity of silver, great ingots, about
300 in all, and it was slow work handl-
ing these ponderous blocks Of the white
metal that has dropped so far below its
former currency value Even China
rates it so low, that the value of COM
modities is steadily rising as this
cheap money is dumped upon the
market
At a. m. the tug boat came along
side, and after two hours steaming
landed us at the floating dock in front
OF the Bund. The passage of the river
was undressing The Yang Use
Kiang is broad muddy river, giving
its distinctive name and color TO the
Yellow Sea. Shanghai is on branch
Of it at the head of navigation for
light draft ships. We passed the e.
S. S. Olympia at anchor and coaling.
On the launch which came out to meet
us was the young officer whom we had
met at Yokohama, who delivered an
oral message to some one on board,
and dashed back again to the Olympia
The rivers banks are low, and seem
to be crumbling away on one side to
be built upon the other There were
few signs of habitation to be seen from
the steamers deck. Occasionally.
boat was to be seen on the stocks, as
if boat building was the principal in
dustry
We met many Chinese junks, ruder
and dirtier than the Japanese, with
bamboo rods across the sails. Each
one had a huge eye painted on the
bow. The sampans that we passed
were ornamented in Chinese fashion
with incompatible colors, red bows,
green sterns, blue cabins. Sampans
abound as at Nagasaki where each one
was fitted with a cabin, whose roof
slid back as on our vessels. Cargo
boats abound, also. Soon we deserted
the smoke rising from huge chimneys,
for silk and cotton factories, with
modern machinery, have been intro
duced, and Shanghai is becoming an
important manufacturing centre, as
we'll as the commercial emporium for
large extent of back country. Silk
is one of the principal articles of COM
merce, and one of the stores which
most of our fellow tourists visited is
remarkable for the cheapness of it's
goods, sold at one price plainly marked
and just what they are represented to
be in material and quality.
The long Bund is made attractive by
a grass grown park extending it's whole
length. 1t has been gradually formed
by deposition of soil on the river bank.
1t would long since have been utilized
for warehouses, but for the fact that
there are three claimants that can
come to no agreement among them
selves, the general government, the
municipality and the lot owners back
of this frontage. The buildings are
substantial, and the streets full of
HuSIllUS CTOWuS. we TUue dlOuS Tie
Bund, and then back Of it into the
Chinese quarters. But I defer any de-
tailed account of Chinese sights, till
we have seen more in Hong Kong,
Canton and Macao. The first impress
sion is of greasiness and smokiness as
in the Chinese quarter in San Fran
cisco.
The strangest sight is the wheel
barrows, on which all draying is done,
all bundles or open barrels being tied
on the platform each side of the wheel.
They are also used for vehicles, con-
veying one or two passengers, as the
case may be- 1t was comical sight
to see husband and wife, riding to-
gether one on each side. Horses and
carriages also abound, but the speci-
mems of driving that we saw made us
afraid to risk our safety in such
wildly driven vehicles. We were con-
tented with jinrikishas, drawn by
coolies in faded and patched and dirty
blue calico blouses, but who were care
full. and told us me savoy Ingleese.
H.