Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-07-24

| q small pot containing specimen %OI
camellia japonica in flower. knew
the school children were in the habit Of
making presents to me in this furtive
misunderstanding their own nosegays of
roses from their parents gardens-but
I also knew that this exotic was too
rare to come from them. remembered
that See Yup had Chinese taste for
gardening and a friend, another China
man, who kept large nursery III the
| adjoining town. But my doubts were
set at rest by the discovery of small
roll of red rice paper containing my
washing bill, fastened to the camellia
| stalk. 1t was plain that this mingling
of business and delicate gratitude was
clearly See Yup's own idea. AS the
| finest flower was the topmost one, l
| plucked it for wearing, when I found,
to my establishment that it was simply
wired to the stalk. This led me to look
at the others, which found also wired !!
More than that they seemed to be an
inferior flower and exhaled that cold,
earthly odor peculiar to the camellia,
even, as I thought, to an excess. A
closer examination resulted in the dis
covery that, with the exception Of the
first flower I had plucked, they were
one and all ingeniously constructed Of
thin slices, of potato, marvelously cut to
initiate the vegetable Weakness and for
mality of the real flower. The work
showed an infinite and almost pathetic
patience in detail, yet strangely incom-
hensurate with the result, admirable
as it was. Nevertheless this was also
like See Yup But whether he had tried
to deceive me or whether he only wished
me to admire his skill, could not say.
And as his persecution by my scholars
had left balance Of consideration in
his favor, sent him a warm note Of
thanks and said nothing of my discovery
AS our acquaintance progressed, be-
came frequently the recipient Of other
small presents from him-a pot of pre-
serves of a quality could not purchase
ii shops, and whose contents in their
srafty, gingery discrimination so defied
definition that l never knew whether
they were animal, vegetable or min
eral; two or three hideous Chinese
idols, 'for luckee,' and a diabolical
firework with an irregular spasmodic
activity that would sometimes be pro-
longed until the next morning. In re-
turn l gave him some apparently hope
less oral lessons in English and certain
sentences to be copied, which he did
with marvellous precision. I remember
one instance when this peculiar faculty
of imitation was disastrous in result.
In setting him a copy had blurred a
word which promptly erased and then
traced the letters more distinctly over
the scratched surface. To my surprise
See Yup triumphant]y produced his
copy with the erasure itself carefully
initiated, and, in fact, much more neat
ly done than mine. ....
In our confidential intercourse never
seemed to really get nearer to him. His
sympathy and simplicity appeared like
his fowers-to be good humored i'm
itation Of my own. l am satisfied that
his particularly soulless laugh was not
derived from any amusement he actually
felt, yet l could not say it was forced.
In his accurate limitations l fancied he
was only trying to evade any response
bility of his own. That devOlved upon
his taskmaster! In the attention he
displayed when new ideas were present.
ed to him there was slight conde-
scension as if he were looking down
upon them from his 1000 years of his
tory. -
Don't you think the electric tele-
graph wonderful?'' asked one day.
"Velly good for Mellikan man," he
said, with his aimless laugh "Plenty
makee him jump!' -.
I never could tell whether he had
COMPOUNDED it with electro galvanism
or was only satirizing our American
haste and feverishness. He was capable
of either. For that matter we knew
that the Chinese themselves possessed
some means Of secretly and quickly
communicating with each other. Any
news of good or i'll import to their race
was quickly disseminated through the
settlement before we knew anything
about it. An innocent basket Of clothes
from the wash, sent up from the river
bank, became in some way library Of
information. A single slip Of rice paper
aimlessly fluttering in the dust Of the
road had the mysterious effect Of diverg-
ing a whole gang of cody tramps away
from our settlement.
When See Yup was not subject to the
prosecutions of the more ignorant and
brutal, he was always a source of
amusement to all, and I cannot recall
an instance when he was ever taken
seriously. The miners found diversions
even in his alleged frauds and trickeries,
whether innocent or retaliatory, and
were fond of relating with great gusto
his evasion of the "foreign miners
tax" This was an oppressive measure
aimed principally at the Chinese, who
humbly worked the wornout "tailings"
of their Christian fellow miners. 1t was
stated that See Yup, knowing the diff
culty-already alluded to-of identify
ing any particular Chinaman by name
| conceived the additional idea of confus-