The daily sentinel., 1902-07-12
SEEING CHINATOWN
Mr.. Jay Tours the Opium Dens
and Has Some Conclusions and
Interesting Gossip to Impart.

Interesting Gossip to lmpart.
Editor Chinatown covers
an area OF twelve blocks in the center OF
san Francisco and has population of
10000. With a competent guide l saw
it above and under ground. In the the.
ater l could not understand word, and
the acting was SLOW and not Interesting
There was fair audience of Cinnamon
and few whites. They have all kinds
of stores, IN which all things are pecul
iarly Chinese, even the vegetables in
their markets being different l saw
Chnaman play American music upon
his peculiarly constructed instruments.
l saw them roll, cook and smoke their
opium. We were taken through the
dark labyrinuhs far below ground where
many we're seen under the influence OF
opium and where there was no light
from the sun and no ventilation. They
have Il peculiar light burning In an open
bowl. The guide said it burns always,
emits no gases or smoke and costs but
very little. They want no ventilation;
in fact, they want the doors closed in the
the smoke from the opium.
The rooms underground were small
and had two lines of hunks around the
wall. Many Cinnamon occupy one of
these rooms. When out, took conso-
lation that they are not of the Caucasian
race. Yet, when upon the streets OF
San Francisco, l saw many drunk and
many with black eyes l realized that
there was much depravity in all races
Iu San Francisco in 1894 great Mid
Winter Fair was held Many things
were moved here from the Worlds Fair
at Chicago for this fair, and from there
into a museum now in the Golden Gate
park. This museum is the most inter
esting part of the park, and that which
most peculiarly attracted me was the
great contrast between things ancient
and modern. In the British museum
there are many things that cannot be OBJ
tanned for other museums. So here
they have many actual reproductions
from said British museum. In this mu
scum | looked at the great bones of pre-
historic animals and at the Siberian
mammoth. 16 feet high and 26 feet long,
found in 1899 frozen in the ice banks at
the mouth of the Lena river. | won
dered if men lived in those days and il
they were giants | saw the relics OF
the stone age; their implements Of mo
tive power a stone AK or hammer; and
then l went to the great power house
that generates the electricity which runs
all the electric cars in and about San
Francisco.
| saw the stem, about s feet long, of
the brigsntine Natalie, the vessel which
carried Emperor Napoleon from Elba
to France. Then out on the bay | saw
the Shawmut, the biggest freighter that
sver passed through thu Golden Gate,--
sos feet long, 5S foot beam and height to
bridge just 70 feet, and with 5000 tons OF
coal upon it. 1t was still so high out OF
the water that it looked as though it was
just comfortably ballasted.
| saw printing press that was
brought around Cape Horn, and upon it
was printed the first newspaper issued
in California. AS | looked at it |
presses OF today.
| saw the head and footwear OF the
10Th century, ancient Roman and Greek
coins, Egyptian and Assyrian harps and
, hurdy-gurdy, Egyptian mummies, and
the lid of a sarcopnagus, reproduction
Of the original in the British museum.
| saw many images or idols and repre-
sentations OF faith, from so many bar bar
GUS tribes. l realized that in every
tribe or nation, civilized or barbarous,
there was an innate desire to worship
some power out Of and above that of
man This to me was an argument in
favor OF the immortalit OF the soul,
In the Colonial room | saw the old
spinning wheel for wool and fax, the old
loom and candle molds, and remembered
that | had seen my mother use them;
and there, too, was the old fireplace and
it's cooking utensils. And that which
brought vividly to my mind my boyhood
days was an old froe: for many days have
[ seen my good old father rive shingles
with one OF them. God bless the men,
ory OF our boyhood days.
Then | went over to the Mark Hop
kins Institute OF Art, and saw the large
collection of paintings and sculpture,
and the interior of those large rooms
richly finished with rare iulaid woods.
and | wondered il | had done my duty
in keeping pace with the progress OF
this age.
| know not-and leave it with Him who
counts the sands,
And holds the waters in His hands;
For with Him / know H lasting record
stands
Inscribed against my name.