The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-18
Four-Foot Street
Wendell Mclaughlin Tells of
a Queer Oriental Town.


Steamship Coptic, Yangste Kiang, Rive,
Jan. g. 1870.
Dear Maud.-Would you Ike a little ac-
count Of what trip on the Orient is ike?
Ny intentions were to write to you from
every stopping place, giving you an ami
mated, highly coloured and approximately
truthful account of all the sights, scenes
and happenings Of the voyage But
really didn't have time. I know that is
not an original excuse, but it is a valid
one when you are aboard ship week after
week with not a blessed thing to do.
We left the city as you know on the
unlucky thirteenth Of last month. and
have had a most exceptionally pleasant
trip for this season of the year. In due
tine We arrived at Honolulu. where,
much TO everyone's regret, We couldn't
90 ashore, because a Chinaman or two
had died Of the plague there shortly be
fore, but had 70 content ourselves looking
from the harbor at the city nestled among
the palms on the sloping hiIlsides. This is
the most beautiful har6or in the world;
so are a dozen others that 1 know Of,
and I've only been half way around.
We had just fairly got started at the
Hawaiian Islands, although they are
something over two thousand miles from
san Francisco. We kept pegging along
knocking OF from three hundred to three
fifty mics a day. and Sitting our watches
back correspondingly about twenty-five
minutes. We crossed the Is0th meridian
Christmas but the captain was kind ard
dropped Saturday instead Of Monday, and
We had a pig time-out I told you about
that before.
There are quite a number OF people
aboard going TO Mania, most Of them
being officers wives. Manila viii evi-
IDENTIFY be America nized very rapidly 1
might tell you long string OF stuff des-
criptive Of life aboard ship, but I won't;
there are things more interesting. We
had some six hundred Asiatics in the
steerage-we have them yet, in fact, all
but few Japs who got OF a Yokohama.
We unLoaded the last Of the missionaries
at Shanghai this afternoon, and every
body expects good weather from now on
Talking about missiOnaries-but no, don't
let me get started on that subject or I'll
nevr get through. Enough to say that
no one after having Travelled in the East
contributes 10 foreign missions. There
was a little missionary sat next to me
at the table for a while that reminded me
Of l. b only sd is lots more 50.
She says she has a cali" TO convert the
Chinese. But forgot; wasn't going TO
talk about them.
Not a sail did we see for nineteen days
Except at Honolulu h4roor) until We
reached Yokohama. We arrived at that
port Monday morning. New Years Day.
I had heard the Japs celebrated the day,
and hoped they couldn't De got 10 load
ship 50 we would have longer stay.
Ny wish was more than gratihed- New
Years with the japanese is no trifting
matter; il lasts a week. and everybody :
has to get drunk. The consequence was /
we didn't get a way until Thursday morn |
ing Which the same to me was very /
pleasing.
But now to tell you about my visit to
the 8Iikado's country. really don't know 1
wnere 10 begin or how to 60 ABOUT it to /
give you anything approaching q proper /
idea of the Impressions 1 received. I was /
delighted. charmed enchanted. II was
like the realization Of fairy story that
yoI read about when you weer young. I
expected every once IN a while 10 wake
up and find myself back in California, Or
even in Kansas. Well. after the fussy,
ofFicious Jap doctors had boarded Us and
examined the steerage passengers, we
steamed into the haroor and came TO
anchor a little ways off the Bund. The
Bund is a park Ike street along the
water front. and is always the princip;-.
street Of the foreign quarter in these
cities OF the East. Sampans are curious
uncouth little boats that swarm around
the ships in all these ports and carry
passengers ashore al twenty. sen per. We
got ashore We mount jtnrikshas. Ny
man says, Where 90 Anywhere" I
said. Traversing the foreign settlement
in a few minutes. I soon found myself
in sure enough Japan. Imagine a street
not wider than an alley. lined with one
story japanese houses or shops, scrupu-
lousy clean. no sidewalks, swarming
with people. mostly women and children
seemingly. dressed in al the coI5rs of the
rainbow. many OF them PLAYING batued5re
or shuttlecock. all good natured and smll-
ing; no loud noise, no rudeness, the
Musical accompl Iaiment 10 the scene
being Jhe click Of the wooden shoes On
the ground. the same sounding for all the
world Ike a lot Of xylophones. I babe my
'rickshaw man halt at the intersection Of
TWO streets and sat there wondering
whether these people were really engaged
IN the serious business Of life, or whether
they were making this scene for my
special delectarion- II was wonderful,
but / discovered soon that it was bug a
side street. and that there was a city II
half million people there. with street
after street just ike it only more 80.
Theatre street was particularly gay, e.
peciaIly at night. Until eleven or twelve
O'Clock at night it was thronged with men,
women and children. and 'ricksl3Es dart
ing through the crowd
Did I take any pictures? Yes. q few.
But I didn't have fins enough Every
thing was a picture. You couldn't look
up or down the strees without seeing
one. Children playing tais game o. battIe-
deere. 5areheaded women with their eXag-
gerasei coiffures bellies IL their dHsry
riding IL 'rickshaws. the ba-e-legged rick
shaw men themselves, young childish
iooking mothers with round-head5d babies
hanging on their backs. the quaint one
story houses with roofs turned up AZ the
corners and sides n rice paPer-every-
thing vas a picture. It was enought to
drive a kodak man distracted. The hrst
two days the sun scarcely shone. and
it was very cold, but the next day il was
3 little better. and / got a fsE good
shots
Tuesday We went up 70 Toxic, the capt.
tai Of the empire. a city of a million and
a half Of people. II : about eighteen
miles up tbs country by rail- There's