The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-03-15
MoY KeE AS A BOY.
4 Chinese Talks OF His Childhood in the
Old Country.

'When I was boy" said Moy
Kee, tea merchant, laundryman and
interpreter. at 216 North Delafare
street, "I went TO school in my native
village of Shin. King, eighty-seven
miles from Pekin. / was seven years
old when i started TO school and, of
course, the teacher was a man. Now
there are women teaching in China,
Chinese women, but that is a new
thing. We sat on stools with desks
lefore us and studied aloud. At ten
years old 1 could write very well, and
had to learn every word of long les
son by heart. The teacher had q
stick, and sometimes, but not often,
he would punish u boy, either by
striking him on the hand or on the
seat of his trousers.
"There are no bad boys in China
as there are here in this country. The
boys are respectful and polite to all
who are older than themselves, and
while they have their plays and their
fun they do not think it fun to hurt
any one.
"You have seen boys place n pack.
age on the sidewalk and when per-
son stoops to pick it up you have seen
that package flor there is a string tied
to it, and a boy at the other end OF
the string) move away under crack
in the fence. That is an old trick i'll
China.
"The boys here in America do not
know what long school hours are. /
went to school early in the morning,
before the birds began to sing. After
that we went to breakfast and then to
dinner and in the evening to supper.
Those were long, long days. the boys
here would say, but we Chinese boys
did not say anything about it. We
Just sat on our stools and sung out
our lessons all at the same time as
loud as we could.
Vacation came along in the har-
vest time when the rice was gathered.
Then we played at flying kites. We
did not, rs boys do here, fly kites any
time. No, there was season for it,
and we flew them at no other times.
The boys in China walk on stills just
as boys do here, and play at blind
fold, hide aud seek and leap frog, but
all in different way from here.
'We had great sport fighting bee.
ties. We would find these in the
fields and train them to fight and we
would lay wagers on which would win
just as you do here on prizefighters.
"No neighborhood in China can af-
ford to have bad boy iu it. Sup
pose Chinese New Year, when we
are all shooting fire crackers, some
one would shoot a revolver. There
would be great trouble. Not only
would the one who shot the revolver
be punished, but his relatives and
neighbors and the magistrate of the
district would be punished or repri-
manded, because in China such
things must not happen. A stranger
could walk through my village day or
night with no one to hurt him. He
would be safe all the time. 1t is not
so in this country.
''We had great sport in shooting at
sparrows with bow and arrow, and no
body ever shot Mt persons, as some
boys do here with airguns. The boys
in China laugh Il great deal, and
laugh very loud sometimes. but they
have plenty of sport without hurting
eny one.
''When ! was nine years old my
mother died and my father gave me a
stepmother. When L was twelve
years old my uncle, tea merchant in
San Francisco, brought me to this
country. Twenty-eight years ago Il
am now fifty-three years old) L went
back to China and got wife. My
father and my stepmother found a
wife for me. did not know her. [
did not see her until we were mar.
ried, but she is good wife and came
to America with me. She is the only
Chinawoman in indianapolis, and 1
think the only one in Indiana. L have
been back to China leighteen times,
but / am a naturalized American citi.
zen, and vote at elections Indian.
apolis News.