Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-06-07
LIFE IN CANTON.
fhe People and the Castosns Of r.me0
Chinese City.

Cntnese Cuys
There are Europeans at Canton, but
they live in a settlement outside tho
native city. Their influence, like their
place of abode, is merely upon the out
ermost edge of the community. Cur
ideals Of civilization have not touched
the people. They are today as they
have been for centuries past. They
sncsr at our institutions and consider
themselves in every way superior to the
white barbarian. Casual visitors tn
the crowded city visit the various points
Of interest BY means of sedan chairs
They are accompanied by a native
guide, who emscientiously goes through
a long catalogue Of things, wonderful
er horrible, in English, which Is fluent
ly spoken but imperfectly understood
by those to whom 1t Is addressed. The
guide Is very attentive TO those In his
care, very polite in his manners. and
often possessed Of o fair amount Of hu.
NOR.
The streets of the city are Of n pattern
Of immemorial antiquity. None is more
than ten feet wide The houses lean lit
ward from the base and almost meet
overhead, shutting out all but the mar.
towest strip Of daylight. Signboartls
are hung perpendicularly outside every
house. They are deliberately carved and
gayly decorated with abundance Of gold
leaf and scarlet or black lacquer. The
mystic looking symbols inform the curl
Gus that one particular shopis Prosper
ed by Heaven" another has Never
Ending Good Luck" while yet another
is The Market of Golden Profits ''-the
said profits. be it known, going into the
pocket of the dealer.
Among the most interesting sights of
this Interchangeable city are the pawn.
shops They are often great. square.
solid granite structures, which look
more like old border keeps than the
residences of accommodating "mcles +"
The pawnshop fulfills double pur-
pose 1t advances money at an interest
varying from 20 to 30 per cent, and it
stores i'll safety within its massive walls
those articles Of finery and adornment
which are only required ut special times
and seasons On the flat roofs of these
| citadcls are piles of stones and jars Of
vitriol, ready to repel any attack that
| may lie made 10y thieves, whose methods
OF plumber are less refined than those OF
the pawnbrukers
| In the jade stone market we meet
| with the Chinese parallel To the western
| diamond The best stones are very val
u;ble and are brought from Turkestan,
the only place in the world where mines
Of this stone are worked. Every well e.
| dc Chinanan wears Il ring. brooch OF
bracelet of jade, and the poor. who arr
unable to purchase the real article, wear
ornaments of glass, which are colored
III imitation of the more expensive Jade
Shaggy dogs with coal black tongues ar,
| disposed of in another market. Fried raj
and boiled frog, not to mention fricas
seed puppy, tempt the hungry into tn,
| III tive restaurant. The LEGAL .'medicin,
man, adhering to the prescriptions a
his ancestors, makes pills and potions,
OF which the chief ingredients are wax,
dcers' horns pctrified bones, pctrified
crabs, snakes, scales of the armadillo
tiers bones and lime When the medi
zines do not cure, they kill, and whether
tie patient lives or dies he does S,
Knowing that at any rate no hated for
eigner has had anything to do with tn,
strength or quality of his medical 6iet
I-European Magazine, London.