Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1898-07-02

- \. MINI he had cO1relVel /
the very original
idea Of bringing hack with him a rec
ord in actual photographs Of curions
sights and manners and customs which
he had seen in very remote parts Of the
celestial empire. In many OF the plae-
Is where Mr. Thomson went the ma
tiyes had never set eyes on a pale-faee
stranger, or foreign devil. as ne Was
termed.
The sights in the village were char
aeteristic Of quaint civilization Mr..
Thenson speaks OF -the red light OF
reed fires which glimmered from open
doorways, and sparkled in the oyster
shell windows" II seems that oyster
shells. greatly reduced in thickness till
they become semi-transparent. are stih
used in many parts OF China as sub
s1itute for glass. The shells are framed
in small squares and fxsd in the win
dows Of the houses. As Mr.. Thorn
sons boat glided up the YangtEe river.
he beheld on the banks huts made OF
pine branches, and on the river itself
pine RATS Of enormous size. carrying a
small village on their decks. Some
queer fishermen were also seen. They
fished vicariously. as II were, that
is to say. by means OF offers These
animals were attached 20 the boats BY
long cords. and they gently pushed by
/ their proprietors.
China, Mr.. Thomson says. swarms
I with beggars There are many grades
| OF course. but the worst class are tbs
outlaws who recognize no chief. and
who live in holes or novels about bar
fairgrounds. / came across some Of
| the fellows in a Chinese city OF the
dead, deposited temporarily in mortu-
lighthouses or tombs urtil suitable
place Of interment has been found.
These fellows had established a kind
OF begging firm or company. under the
control OF insty chief. who had just
concluded hearty meal. and who was
standing outside enjoying pipe They
had now laid aside their daily cOun-
terfeits Of disease and deformity. and
were laughing merrily and having a
good time generally The principal
jester Of the party was man who. in
the daytime. made a good thing Of IL
by posing as a man driving an az
into his head Which, needless to say.
vas the interest hnmbug"
On the great rock one can distinctly
see certain nscTiptions-C Chinese char
acters arranged in the usual long col
umns II seems that in and around
the harbor Of Annoy there are many
rocks Of bold and striking appearance
Strange to say. on the surface Of the
! most prominent Of these. inscriptions
OF all kinds are to be seen These In
scriptions usually relate to incidents
Of local interest or tradition.
The Manchus. like the Chinese. make
provision for their own decease when
they are advanced in years. In du,
time they decide what kind OF cofiI
shall carry their remains to the grave
J and. II they can afford It, they will
have one made OF Szechuan wood. cost
; ing as much as $500 Of our money
: Banners and other paraphernalia used
at a Manchu funeral. however. arr
quite different from the Chinese. The
: hired banner-men who take part in tn.
funeral procession are usually beggarI
: dressed up by the undertaken for tn,
purpose. In the event Of the under
! taker refusing to have anything to d.
with them they will actually rush OF
, ahead Of the cortege. and pitch them
: selves into the grave. declaring theil
readiness to be buried alive rather thar
: be done out Of job
Strangely enough, any man in Chini