The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-12-07

glimpse Of a painted face at the heavily
barred windows, although as soon as lie
slow eyes detect US the face disappears.
Sometimes the plaintive touch of a Chi
nese guitar and a queer little song in a
high falsetto float through the bars. It
is one OF the many brotneis where hun
dreds of slave girls are imprisoned. and
these places are the field where the mis-
sionaries do their greatest work.
Up three. four, sometimes five fights
OF winding stairs brings US to the sky
garden. Here the fat roof extending
perhaps half dozen buildings, is covered
with soil. and fourishing. with their
feathery heads nodding and happy in the
sun and wind. are hundreds of chrysanth-
enuns and sometimes lilies. Perhaps
from this height we can see on the roof
in the next block a hundred OF so of
fish. split and stretched on boards TO dry
in the sun
These high roofs. so closely connect
ing are often used by escaping fugitives.
This is the method of the willy yellow
man in getting away from the police.
After a Highlander ARRAY, the offender
skips up one of these narrow stairs 10
the roof; here he takes a plank. making
a bridge over which he crosses. Taking
Up his plank he crosses TO another roof,
always carrying the bridge with him.
Finally down he gees, perhaps to an IN
derground cellar, then up to the side
walk full Quarter-miie from the crime;
he saunters leisurely and innocently past
the police, smiling in his sleeve at the
bIuecoat whom he left on the roof shak-
ing his fist at the yawning chasn.
About four o'clock in the afternoon all
Cinnamon eat their dinner They break
fast at ten. dine at four. and eat a soup
or some similar dish at about seven
O'Clock at night. During dinner time the
Chinese streets are picturesque with the
walters bearing trays of assorted bowls
all tightly covered, balanced on their
heads. They pass hither and thither
with the dinner Of merchants who cannot
leave their shops. Boys with compart-
ment pals scurry along. Little girls with
painted faces swaying along on tiny feet
in wooden shoes are also bearing parcels
of hot steaIning pork. or perhaps a roast
duck or chicken. Many or most of the
meats are purchased piping hot all ready
to serve.
Nearly all Of the Chinese homes are
provided with balconies, always gayly
decorated in many colors o. paint. gen
eraily green and red. and are filled with
potted plants. If there are no balconies
they hay 1dow gardens. Conspicuous
among the floral favorites is the Chinese
lily. the harbinger Of good luck and much
JOY when it becomes healthy.
New York Chinatown is really Ameri-
canized. as the following viii prove: For
the Chinese funerals held in Frisco. the
hired mourners, all clad in white weep
and wall and wiring their hands before
q bier set on the street in front of the
dead mans residence A wagonload of
roast pig, rice, wine. pastries, etc. fol-
lows the funeral cortege to the grave
and is left for the feast Of the spirit. In
New York the funeral is conducted in the
house; the feast is confined to hot roast
duck and a bowl OF rice wine There
long professions of carriages. from the
windows of which are flung little red
scraps of paper to drive away the devil
follow the hearse. Here the devil tags
along, If he wants to.
Although New Yorl1's Chinatown is in
teresting and has its fascination for par
ties Of Americans who enjoy the novelty
Of dining upon the really delicious cook |
ms to be found there, the San Francisco /
Chinatown would TO them be revela- /
ton. For there. with its forty thousand |
or more Chinese. it is a replica Of a corner /
If Canton or Pel5in, with every natural /
Characteristic and detail as it would be /
found in China.-THarriet Quinby in the |
New York Evening Posi-