The Washington times., 1901-10-20
SOME QUEER OCCUPATIONS
Strange Methods of Making Il Liy-
ing Not Generally Known.
The PTnyer MeTchnnt-Stcerers for
Quacks-Eride Carriers and Skill
ed Mouracrs-RnzOr S,vappers and
Schadc Vacations

| a Chinese hailed into court for selling
lottery tickets few weeks since testi-
fled that his occupation was solicitor foi
an undertaken" 1t raised a laugh IL
court at the time but the Orieutars state
ment OF his vocation was correct lie is
! literally the drummer for the largest un-
dertaking firm in Chinatown. His meth.
| DDS are original He has a list, to which
! he is adding constantly, of the sick and
/ ailing people in the Chinese quarters He
keeps an eye on them. and when one is
/ likely to die he tackles the victim while
he is still of sound and disposing mind
sets before him the advantages of his
| firm. in price, respectability, and strictly
| up to-date funeral accessories. and gets
his order before it is too late. The bust
ness has paid this man so well that the
other Chinese firms have followed the
| lead. and competition among the sick of
Chinatown is especially keen. The pro-
cess is not unknown among the Caucas-
ian undertakers. but they are usually
more guarded about it. and this is prob
ably the first time that it has ever been
registered as a profession.
The incident recalls the fact that there
are dozens Of curious vocations being car
ried on in San Francisco, occupations
that are never listed in the city directory,
and that only bob up now and then
through just such an incident as this of
the arrest of the undertaker's drummer.
The names of most of the professions and
trades comprised under this head would
convey but little meaning to the average
reader. Here are some of them, just for
example: Bride-carrier. mourner, widow
consoler, schadcham, tenth man, razor
swaPper steerer for quack doctors, and
prayer seller. All these are now being
conducted in San Francicso. and all are
making some one a living.
OF course. the most singular of these
are Chinese, and of these perhaps the
queerest is the trade of bride carrier.
There are three women following this oc-
cupation in Chinatown and making a COM
Portable, if spasmodic. income. The ex-
cuse for this trade Is the Chinese custom
of making the bride an idier on her we'd
ding day. forbidding her either to walk
or stand and requiring her to be carried
from her household to that of her hus-
band by some one of her own sex 1t
would perhaps be permitted that the
brides mother or some of her female rel
atives should perform this delicate atten-
ton, but of late this is considered not at
all swell among upper-class Chinese
and their imitators The real fashiona BILE
thing to do-and the lucky one as we'll
is to have regular professional with
reputation for luck and a correct and in
side knowledge of the ceremonies to be
observed. And when a Chinese family
wishes to put on little extra dog" over
the marriage of a daughter, all three of
Chinatowns professionals are hired.
The leading light OF this profession in
Chicago is a middle-aged woman, who has
lived In Chinatown and practiced her vo-
cation for the past decade. She is the
fashionable member of the trio. and it is
her boast that she has carried for the
most exclusive families. These women
have practically a monopoly as they are
the only Chinese in the city who are con-
sidered really expert on all the ceremonies
concerned in the carrying of brides They
charge according to the station and
means of the families who employ them,
and in the case of wealthy families the
fee is sometimes considerable, even when
measured by our standpoint
Another band Of old Chinese women,
also connected with an undertaking es-
tablishment, carry on the trade of pro-
fessional mourner. This profession is
better known than that of the bride car
rier. but it is doubtful If it's fun scope is
rightly understood in San Francisco. The
business Of the mourner is not solely to
mourn. They are instructed in all tue
rites and houors that should be paid the
dead: they prepare the house against evil
spirits: see that the windows are sealed
against devils, and finally console the be-
reaved family. The head of the band in
Chinatown is a woman with a reputation
for consoling widows and IL the family
can afford the luxury she remains in the
house for several days administering con-
ISOLATION.
These people, as the name implies, help
out with the mourning at the time of the
funeral. sobbing and lamenting as though
the deceased were their nearest and dear
est. and throwing in by way of gratuity
elaborate grimaces and postJres of grief
borrowed from the theatre. The profess
sion is said to be a paying one. 1t re-
quires real technical knowledge. and the
supply is small. Those who handle or
have to do with the dead foHl the lowest
class among the Chinese, a degraded
caste below even the actors. To take /.
up therefore. means ostraclsm. They
know their value and have labor union
AS with the bride carriers, their rates are
made to suit the people for whom they
work, the scale being governed by the
cost of the funeral and the means of the
bereaved.
These, however. are not the queerest |
,arners of bread to the Chinese them
selves. The most singular profession in
San Francisco, judged by the Chinese
70 &c of , ba
orming at the Jackson Street Theatre.
;he is the first Chinese woman in America,
md perhaps in the world who has ever
Jared to 20 on the stage Formerly the
emale parts in Celestial drama have been |
,layed by boys or young men. This new |
wrinkle. invented by the cnterprising man |
cement, is on a par with the introduc-
ion of Lord Hope on the American stage, |
II the craze for the actOr-pugilist. 1t is a |
ensation that has nothing to do with art
Whenever she appears to say her few /
words a hum of wonder ripples across the
udience and her few lines. although far /
rom comic, bring a hearty laugh-it Is
uch good joke to see a genuine woman |
citing on top of the stage.
Then there IS a prayer store in upper
Delaware Street, where three or four Chi
ese make a good living selling guaran-
ced prayers and charms to the religious
nd sLperstitious among their cOuntrymen.
Prayers for any purpose and any occa-
ions can be purchased there; enough to |
insure the eternal felicity of the most
sinner can be obtained for a
Ollar or two. In addition, as the man at
he counter will assure you, there is not
device of the devil that cannot be met
V some of the wax paper charms that |
ley have displayed for sale. one of their
lumber makes it a regular business to go
)rth and vend prayers of every descrip-
III hi. L...i ~. |