Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1900-10-04

From that time on Chinatown was as
full of life as wasp nest. The two and
three-story houses, constructed mostly
of dull red brick, were filled with Celes-
tials from basement to attic. In the
upper rooms are located the gambling
Gens. The Cinnamon will play any
thing that offers an element of chance.
Fan-fan and bungloo are their favor
ite native games, but poker and other
games with American. cards are en-
tered into with equal felicity. Other
methods being absent, a sporting
| Chinaman will wager his months in
come on the possible direction to be
taken by perambulating straddle
| bug. The first floors are occupied by
the shop keepers, and the Easements
are utilized for the opium hells, al
! though some of these places are con-
Quoted with little attempt at conceal
ment in the rear of the stores-only a
| scant curtain hiding the smokers from
| full view of the pedestrians in the
street. In one OF the little shops ! en-
tered-the merchant was a wholesale
| dealer and an importer of opium
saw, just back of the narrow counter, a
! Chinaman in a skull cap and loose
jacket reclining on couch indust tri-
ously hitting" an opium pipe. His
eyes were fixed and CLASSY, and from
the imbecilic expression on his face |
judged that he was about entering
that state of estatical bliss which the
victims of the habit say resembles a
ramble in the fields of Elysium. This
smoker could be seen plainly from the
open door. The dealer paid no atten-
tion to him, and in reply to a question
as to whether he had any opium on
hand exhibited without hesitancy a
box of the drug. and set price upon it,.
The police pay no attention to this
violation of the law. And yet within
! these reeking hells white women and
white men, farther down in the scale
of degradation than even the China
men, congregate nightly and enter into
this most loathsome species of de-
bauchery-so low and so vile that even
the filthiest of beasts could not be in
duced to enter into it. In the base
| ments row after row of hunks are
filled with men and women of all ages,
| of al nationalities. Gentle Jew. Turk,
negro. Cinnamon are cheek by jowl.
The people of all nations lie peace.
fully side by side. Their manhood,
their womanhood has gone forever.
Through the sitting atmosphere OF
smoke and noiSome odors may be seen
the -yellow-skinned fiends
-twirling the gummy drug with their
long-nailed fingers into little balls
which they cook in the flames of alco-
hol lamps and drop dexterously into
the bowls of the futeshaped pipes
constantly being thrust out to them by
the skeleton hands of the victims. One
by one the dwellers in the hunks drop
listlessiy back upon the hard mat
tresses. Their eyes are sunken in their
heads. Their brains are clotted with
the fumes of the death-dealing drug.
There are 10000 Cinnamon in New
York city. OF this number 1000 live
in Chinatown and the others go there
for amusement. 1t is estimated that
seven out of ten Mongolians are ad
dicted to the use of opium, ar.d that
. 10000 whites in this city a'e dope
tends.' All the opium Joints" are
not confined to the Chinese quarter
but the majority are located there.
FREDERICK BOYD STEVENSON.
A lion places its head near the
. ground when roaring.