Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1899-03-04
SHANGHAI.
The Greatest Maritime City of
China.

China.
DEAR NEws:-The White Line mail
steamer, "Coptic," on which we en-
barked for San Francisco, lifted anchor
and sailed out of Hongkong harbor at
l O'Clock p. M, January 9Th, 1899, her
first objective point being Shanghai,
the most important maritime city Of
China.
Leaving the harbor, we found the
China Sea still rough-it is always
rough from one monsoon to the other
but the Coptic being very large
steamer, the sailing was much smoother
than on the Esmerslda from Manila
20 Hongkoog. The Coptic is one of the
largest and best boats Of the White
Lima. 1t has capacity for l,l00 cabin
and Storage passengers, exclusive of
crew OF over 100 and carries 2,744 tons
OF freight.
The sailing capacity is an average of
Is knots an hour, or about 800 nautical
miles every "a hours. From Hongkong
to Shanghai is $40 miles, and we an
chored near the city Sunday morning,
January 9Th. When we left Manila
we were in white uniform: when we
reached Shanghai We were in our
heaviest winter clothing. At Manila
the thermometer had never dropped
below 20, at Shanghai it must have
been near the point for snow and much
snow.
Shanghai is said to be the most i'm
portant commercial city in China. 1t
is situated on the left bank of the
WoOsung river, II miles from where it
empties into the Yangtse Kiang river,
and where the large steamers are forced
to anchor. 1t has grown to its import
Rnce as an emporium of commerce
within the past % years. Before that
time it was thirdrate city. The part
of the city in which the natives live
Is surrounded by wall three miles in
circumference with six gates opening
to extensive suburbs. 1t is built on a
low alluvial plain, intersected by many
creeks which always keep the ground
damp if not muddy. This part is poorly
built and very dirty. The buildings
are all low, not raising above the wall
which surrounds the city. The tenn
ples--the most attractive of all the
buildings-differ but little from the
regular Chinese temples of other cities.
Shanghai is headquarters for the
Methodist missionaries in China. The
Sunday we were there, Bishop Wilson,
of the NJ. E. Church, South, preached
at II o'clock in the morning, and Bishop
Cranston at $50 p. m. The evening SER
vices in all Eastern cities are held
about that hour instead of 5 o'clock D.
m., as in America. An American Epis-
copal Bishop was also in the city that
day.
The river front Of the city, like the
harbor at Hongkong, is lined with iuuks
and sampans in which natives live and
have their continual earthly being. 1t
lisa cherries, comfortless way to live,
but it is the best they can do, and so
they make the most of it. The climate
extends to extremes. In the summer
1T is very hot and in the winter it il.
damp, cold and disagreeable. The pop
ulation of the city is about $50, 900, OF
whom 5000 to 10000 are foreigners.
The foreign trade with this port l.
very large and the freights are taken
to and from the large steamers in
kiang river, II miles away, in small
boats and junks.
Shanghai is great silk market and
all foreigners stopping there a few
hours hunt up the silk stores for invest
ments in articles ready made and to be
made from the superior quality, which
Is offered in that market. Handker-
chiefs, plain and embroidered. are so
cheap that any one should be punished
who is caught with an old or soiled one
in his pocket. Dealers in China goods
and curios visit all steamers that an
Choir in the river and give better bar
gains when the steamer is making
ready to sail than can be gotten in the
city. Here we increase our passenger
list by 200 Chinese who go to San Fran
cisco. After stay of "A hours we sail
for Nagasaki, Japan. of which we will
write you in our next letter.
Aboard Steamer Coptic, Jan. 10, '99.