The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-03-03

The Doom Of Sing Low.
Chinese Tale of Love Vengeance Of "1he Sons
the Silver =

Twenty years ago Sing Low had been
thin, meek Chinese coolie, toiling in
the rice fields of the Soo-Chow province.
Insufhciently clad and insuficiently fed,
he had many times been weary of life,
and but for the vows Of his secret So
c1ety forbidding would have put sum-
mary end to it-a double quantity of
opium In the pipe Is an easy way! But
Sing Low had persevered and starved I'M
til one day there was an exodus of many
OF his own society (now renamed "Sons
OF the Silver Land'') to the western coast
OF Mexico. With them journeyed Sing
Low and his newly married wife, Fay
Lee, for there was demand for Chinese
colon1sts, and the promoters told it loud
~ that there was plenty of money to be
made In the "silver land" For once the
truth had been spoken by promoter
Had you ten years after the exodus
known the Chinatown Of Madre de Dios,
ana the restaurant and 'tea place" Of
sing Low you would better appreciate
the fact. For the Chinese colonists had
MADE unto themselves q place of their
own In the western part of the city, out
beyond the marshes; many narrow streets
were filled with the shops of the Chinese
who were no longer colonists, but full
fledged citizens r
IN the very center Of the Chinese CIV
lilzat1on, and fronting view of hot. blne
gun WATER sing Lows name was blazon-
ed IN gaudy Chinese script over a tea
snop and opium den, while uptown. where
Mex1cans and mining men most did con-
gregate, another building, made Of vel
~" aooDe and pine boards, bore the
lesend: Chinese Restaurant of Sing
Low American Pies In front of this
restaurant generally sat Sing Low. but
not the Sing Low of the Soo-Chow rice
nelds-far from it. This was a. very fat
ana important Sing Low, in full and fow-
Wound I aboSf garments s7aa pigtail neatly
ana sllkshod feet thrust into Tapping en-
oroloered slippers. A large gold Ameri-
can watch dangled from his sash and
yelio" Mexican diamonds glittered on his
paogy hngers-truly had Sing Low, head
VI tne sons OF the Silver Land" prosper
eo ana Waxed fat in a far land.
inside the restaurant MANY Ch,nesa
walters and cooks rushed about. servine
all sorts and conditions of men at the
manta covered tables. For Madre de
Dlos was a steamer town. whence hides
and silver and bullion were shipped ia
Lower California and even San Francisco
ana many men Of many sorts ate chill
con carne' and torttllas, and "Amer;can
PIES III the restaurant of Sing Low.
There were dirty greasers and swa -eer
ins' oearmed Mexicans, who drank bot
Ties upon bottles of fiery mescal. and
calm deliberate, mining Americans. who
consumed untold numbers of pies and
american canned beans, while Sing Low
smiled from afar, with a keen eye upon
collectlons. For twenty years had he
saved and toiled, but another wear would
see the end. Then, with Fay Lee, who
was now old and fat, and the 10000 Mex
lean dollars that they had made he would
go 10 San Francisco. Back to China?
NO! Fay Lee had once timidly proposed
it-for she had no children, and her heart
was sick for her native dand-but Sing
Low said a decided mo" He had not
yet forgotten the rice fields And, be-
sides, IN these American lands even a
coolie Of low birth could be as mighty as
mandarin; he, Sing Low, had been of
no import in China, nor would even his
S2O, 900 make him a mighty man there In
other words, better to reign in hell than
to serve in heaven, or ones native land.
To all Of which poor Fay Lee had to
consent. Of course, Sing Low being a hus-,
ticularly when aided with a bamboo
stick. And he hesitated not to chastise
the wife Of his bosom when occasion
needed, for did not even the laws of the
Christians say: wives, obey your hus-
bands in the Lord? Not that it often
became necessary to impress this latter
fact upon Fay Lee, for she loved the
fat, pompous Sing Low now, in the midst
Of his prosperity, even as she had once
loved humble Sing. Low Of the rice fields.
1t is the way of many women. And,
though there were few friends, and no
children for her to caress with affection,
she was content to live the life that her
husband babe, ernbroidering his costly
garments and waiting on him as though
she We're his bonded slave, instead Of his
wife. And during the long hours that he
spent in the opium house or in the secret
lodge Of the "Sons Of the Silver Land"
she conso,ed herself with many cups Of
tee. and admiring thoughts Of the brave
figure that her honorable lord" was at
that moment of surety making as the
head Of his society. Poor Fay Lee!
I say poor Fay Lee with a purpose,
as you will find. For, even as the best
laid plans of mice and men go astray, SO
did the plans and hopes of Sing Low and
his wife vanish into naught-through the
fault of the man, Of course. Sing Low,
to make a long story Short fell In love
one bright day. 1t is thing that Celes-
tails are not given to-, for which reason
OIIlS LOW Uldu6 Edu mess OIL II, anu
loved far more desperately than any other
Chinaman on record-at least, so his sigh
ing protests to the lady in the case ran.
Not that he could be blamed over much,
for Felipa was the prettiest girl, out
and out, who had ever been seen in Madre
de Dios-as we'll as one Of the naughtiest.
Her brother "a gambler from Mazatlan)
had used her many months as lure,
and more than one hapless Mexican had
come to grief for her sake, but Sing Low
was the best game that she had ever
caught.
There is a Spanish proverb setting forth
the same sentiment expressed in our own
There's no fool like an old fool" and
never was there an old fool so deeply in
love as Sing Low, who soon became the
laughing stock of the entire very mixed
population Of Madre de Dios. Fay Lee
of course, knew nothing, and supposed
that her lords frequent absences were
due to secret society meetings. To be
sure, All Toy, the sprightly young wife
of Sam Lung, had considered it her duty
to go to the deceived and neglected wife
with full description of the doings and
misdongs of the faithless one But Fay
Lee had first laughed uproariously at
what she considered a joke, and later,
believing the tale q malicious lie, had
turned her sister Celestial out of the
house, with calmly expressed convictions
as to the fate in store for liars and scan
dalmongers who could lift tongue against
such an honorable and noble man as her
lord and husband, Sing Low Wherefore
An Toy had departed, giving expression
70 many naughty words and tearfully
saylng-1ust as civilized woman might
nave done under similar crcumstances-
The next time she meddled in the at
q do 0f1,>l