Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-03-26

Peru was furnished when the Bank of
| Peru and London announced that all
current payments would be made in
sterling or Peruvian pounds. This is
the only South American republic now
under the gold regime
AQUATIC LIFE AT CANTON. CHINA.
Pearl River and It's Picturesque
Boats
! The Pearl river, crowded with boats
OF many different shapes and sizes
some stationary, others moving, is
highly picturesque. Most conspicuous
are the great Enthusiastically carved and
painted junks, with high stern and bic
eyes staring on the bow, for, as the
Chinese express it in pidgin English:
Suppose no got eye, how can see?
suppose no can see. how can walkee ?''
Very snowy, too, are the mandarins
houseboats Of dark, vanished wood
made gay by floating flags and dang
ing lanterns; the joss pidgin boats car
rylng decorated affairs and long-robed
attendant priests, their banners and
lanterns always suitable in color to the
special service held On day when
prayers for the dead are recited, these
are blue and white, but if some Joss
pidgin, to insure the happiness of a
newly married pair, is performed, All
are scarlet. On the famous flower boats.
or floating restaurants, through the
cabins wide doors, one catches as they
pass a glimpse Of deliberately embrold-
lered hangings, and beautifully-dresse
paint-bedaubed sing-song girls, trained
entertainers, who, together with the
boat, are hired for the day or evening.
In addition to these restaurants the
river boasts of plenty of hotels, which
however, always remain anchored.
These are very necessary, for if travel
ers arrive at night after o'clock. when
the city gates are closed, they are not
allowed to enter Vast numbers of odd
looking craft bring natives from the in
/ terror to China's Paris, for, as canals
1 ",
While all roads are atrocious, little
travelling on land is done Noticeable
among this class are fast slipper boats.
and others with immense copper-col-
ored sails, looking when outspread like
the wings of some gigantic butterfly
And from time to time shoots rapidly
/ a long, narrow, sharp-bowed revenue
boat, bristling with spears and pixies
carrying on either side row of shields
painted with tigers heads, floating a
yellow-dragon flag, and rowed by so
men, Fishing boats of many different
kinds, also pass, and duck-boats, on
which big outstanding platforms house
at night the quacking cargo.
Then crowding both sides of the
river, as we'll as all adjacent creeks
are boats on which thousands of the
poorer classes spend their lives These
remaining permanently moored, form
regular sheets; and it is easy to step
from the high platform on the stern of
one boat TO that of it's next door neigh
Dor. The occupants of these aquatic
! homes argue that boat, while cheaper
to build than a house, is quite as COM
| Portable, pays no ground rent, and runs
less risk of being burned or robbed.
| Many, indeed, most of them, contain
three, generations Of family, and the
toilets of all, as we'll as various other
domestic operations, are publicly per-
formed
! It rather astonishes one to find tha.
among these very poor people, not only
do the men hire barber, but all the
women as we'll employ hair-dresser.
However, although this hair-dressing
is job occupying fully one hour and
half, the artist only demands a few
cents in return for her services. and
the elaborate hirsute construction vul-
carly called teapot when finished and
coated with vegetable gum, lasts
week or more. Then the chow-chow c
these people, at least as regards guam
!tity and variety, seems really rather
luxurious. Each person has a private
bowl containing rice, and III the center
stand 10 Or II others, nee to all chop
sticks, and filled with bits of raw fish,
boiled cabbage, pickles and queer-look-
ing, queerer smelling messes.
The babies on these boats being kept
firmly strapped on the backs of their
elders, run no danger OF unpremeditat-
ed baths, but the little more largee
piece chilo," or larger child, frequent
ly falls overheard All, however, have
by way of life-preserver a large gourd
tied to the jacket, while always at hand
lies long hook kept for fishing them
out of the water.
To provide for the wants of all boats