Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-07-28
SCENES IN CHINA.
A visit Last Month to Great Chinese Men.
astery.

If not, says writer in the BOSTON
Transcript, let me take you through
the water-gates into beautiful conn
try, and up to the great Tien Dong
lTemple in the blue-tinted hills. En-
barking at Shanghai, the steamer
round up" of the far East, we sailed
out of the mouth of the Yangtze, on n
lquiet May afternoon. The steamer re-
minded one of the boats on the BOSTON,
Portland run, though she had a greater
lcarrying capacity. Six hundred pas
sengers were aboard. We were verv
comfortable in the big cabins. and on
the ample decks. The course was
shaped among the islands of the coast
In the bright moonlight we passed the
famous Chusan Archipelago, which the
British navy has long coveted. and at
early dawn we drew up to the Ningpo
Ijetty The foreign settlement with the
| great and ancient native city in the
background, seemed gray. sombre and
forsaken. l and my companion were
walking up and down it's ''bund" as
the red sun burst over the hills.
Ningpo is said not to be so sleepy as
it looks. Much trade is conducted with
this port by the Shanghai importers
|
to Shanghai to make his selections.
Foreigners have found it impossible to
establish branch houses in Ningpo to
deal first hand with the native trader.
I remember no foreign settlement in
China. unless it be Swallow. that pre-
sented such a listless. Hfeless APPEAR
ance.
In Ningpo there lives the Major"
| This is his fulI and SnH;c;o,,+
ton. He fought in the TAPPING Rebel
lion along with Chinese Gordon. and
| boasts of twoscore years and more in
China. out of the Majors beautiful
rose garden we went into one of the
Majors households. The boat was
equipped with beds, folding table
chairs, dishes. charcoal stoves. and had
three well-mannered boat hands. We
took our eatables our cook. and our
blankets. and put out into the strong
moving stream.
The country about Ningpo is a per
fect garden intersected with water
roads: while over in the distance
stand the high hills. with snowy valley
IN their midst. and the chain of lakes
at their feet
Our boat was soon drawn up out of
the river into canal. by means of a
man propelled windlass. The locks on
a chinese canal are toboggan slides: all
poats are flat-bottomed, and the pas
sage from one level to another is ac-
companied by hauling up the boat on
one side and letting it slide down on
the other into the water again
After SAILING along the broad, flower
sirdled canal for an hour or two, we came
to rest near group of farmers pough1ng
their fields for the spring seeding-the
winter crop having been harvested A
| thlnese plough is as curious as il is sim
pie 1t has but one handle. its share is
shod with iron, but it has almost no bla de
and the beam is part of a young hard
wood tree. Throughout mid China. the
COW is the plough OK We saw new.
red-painted plough lying near the path.
the owner of which appearing, we tried
TO negotiate for the same. He asked five
dollars We offered one. He looked dis
| turbed; his neighbors smiled. He came
! down TO three; We went up to one and a
han; But there the negotiations hung
untii our skipper quietly informed us
that he could buy all the ploughs we re-
The plough man shoulderei his handy
looi and walked away. rejecting. no
doubt that he had almost done" us in a
trade" to use Yankee expression.
After a five hours sail after we had
thoroughly elucidated the pros and cons
OF the Boer war. and after breathing the
ozone of this garden land we reached the
head of the canal on which we were jour-
neyinS. and came to anchor for the night
You Will never know how good canned
Columbia river salmon is until you make
a breakfast of ii before sun-up in the
morning, seven thousand miles from
home. Breakfast over, We started across
country. fifteen Ii. TO the noted Tien Dong
Temple. Although were not members
of the Appalachian club yet we prepared
TO do our mountains on foot rather
than in chairs. Not far ont, we crossed
the emhattled pass which the Chinese had
fortified during the japanese war. the
masonry of which soldiers We're now re-
laying. Along the paved highway we
ating rather elaborate meal. and smok-
ing their long tobacco pipes. One of us
flint. steel, musk and tobacco pouch
which these workmen use in default OF
matches to ignite the tobacco. He felt
very seif-satistied over his find. until the
other one of the party purchased the
same combination at roadside shop for
/ exactly half the price.
A length we came to a stately avenue
Of trees belonging to the family of the
California redwood. We wound ur
through it's tortuous length. past the
rushing stream, the Slinting lakelet, the
everglade of ferns and bamboos; and
then, bursting on our view the great
houses of the gods. The steps ana APP
proaches were lively with pilgrims
though the set pilgrimage had not yet
begun. 1nto the first great cod-room We
went with the moving tide of clean, We'll
dressed. better-class natives. In addition
to the inevitable brass Buddhas. there
were four gigantic figures. two on either
side. impersonating the deities of the
north. east south and west. we sal
down in a shaded nook and watched the
! earnest worshippers. How could one
laugh. even though he saw men. probably
his equals in social standing and in posi-
ton in their land. drawing lots with pam
boo sticks to find out whether their pray
| erS to Buddha were to nave fdVorapit
answer or not? 1t did not make one
mirthful. but it made him heavy hearted
as he looked from the kneel1ng deNo-
tee up into the smirking, licentious race
of the brass god.
| Attracted by the sound OF many voices
we assembled to the second temple ana ell
tered the assembly hail. where four nun
| bred Buddhist priests were chanting ID
cred formulate to the clink of brass pen
dants and the beating OF mu1hed uruil
The service over. We tried to purchase =
kneeling cushion and the priest through
whose agency this unusual request Ma'
granted proved to be an interesting per
son He took US to his private apart
meutS and seated us at the nead oI M
dining table. A servant first brought II
cups of tea and then an Oriental iae
! quered tray with compartments anu az
embossed cover in red and gold. IN eaci
compartment of this tray we iound ue