Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-10-22
EMPORIUM TO MANILA.
Continued from first Page.

turing city in China. With this information
you can perhaps fancy my feelings, single
American entering such city, what would be-
come of me. How was it possible to pack so
many people into such II small place, for most of
the buildings are only one story high. was
however to be somewhat enlightened. We en-
tered the city and presto all is changed. We en-
tered what supposed was little passage way;
soon, very soon we would get into the street, out
we went on and on, shooting out OF tins passage
way into another turning this corner at rlght
angles, that corner at another angle ana SO on
and on everywhere little shops without door or
window right in the passage way, everywhere
streams of Chinese all busy carrying something.
1t may be basket with pigs or crate with
ducks or chickens or wood or silk coal or
slops, always something; my coolies dodghg
here and there, continually calling to others
to move out of the way, sometimes nearby other
chairs and then often we had time to get pass
ed each other Everywhere shops ana VOTE
rooms BY this time it began to dawn upon me
that was in the regular streets Inc mo
chance that offered, l ask my guide, VINO INFORM
ed me- we were on the regular streets anu '"at
the streets were mostly six feet wide, while there
were O few that were ten feet wide out theS
were very wide streets At last we rested before
a larger shop than usual. We entered the ShoP
which was holy pawn shop, manufacturing io'
silks. We could not but admire the beauthul os-
signs in pillow covers, d0ilies, etc. ana alter
few purchases we again took up our journey ana
next visited jewelry shop, the chief manutac-
turing here was silver jewelry the colorihg oe-
ing done by using peacock ana klhghshe's
feathers The cooring was most exquisite the
Chinaman using such small pieces of feathers
= ann
see them. | would here state, all the workmen
had no clothing on, except very thln pair ol
trousers here again we bought sample OF their
jewelry and passed We next visited SIX
factory, in which were two old, very old crude
hand looms, covered with cobwebs, one China
man operated the machine by foot pedal, he
also threads the bobbin or shuttle; boy up
above manipulated the warp; yet on this old
filthy loom, a dirty floor, man and boy dirty ana
the prespiration falling from them in big drops,
they were making exquisite silk, beautiful pat-
terms and the silk clean as possible. This mans
wages was ten dollars Mexican silver a month or
about al so in our money and the boys half as
much. I may here say the family in all cases
live in the shop. At last on we went along the
narrow street elegant signs both carved and
painted; almost every shop had a joss altar with
lamps burning inscense spires burning at the
altar and at the doors to keep the devils away
We visited n great many shops, all the parties
busy at their trades aud smell something fearful
ane seemingly getting worse the further we
penetrated into the city. saw one old chinese
woman take mp handful of small dried fish and
smell them and put them down. If the fish had
a worse odor than the street, pity the fish. At
last we came to the head Buddhists Temple of
the city called the Temple of the 500; in it were
five hundred idols, all shapes and descriptions.
We first visited the idols of Medicine; then enter
ed the main temple and walked around and
looked at the different gods; all the time two
priests were chanting prayers in sing song sort
of manner, beating drums and ringing bells and
looking at me. At last we stopped before differ
ent looking idol than the rest, my GUIDE INFORM
ed me this idol represented an Italian, who four
hundred years ago was wrecked on an island
and the ship sunk, but in thirty minutes queued
the typhoon and afterwards did other wonderful
things, so he was made god; from this we visit
ed the executing gods. will try to relate the
horrors of a Chinese execution, The men are be-
headed, the women cut to pieces but not behead-
ed. Burglary is sufficient cause for decapitation
in China From here we visited the water clock,
it is over 500 years old and is composed of five
Jars, one above the other, the upper one is filled
to the other until it falls into the bottom one, in
this one there is float and attached to the float
is brass rod about an eight of an inch thick and
one and halfinches wide; on this rod is mark
ed off the minutes and hours. This was the only
way the Chinese had to tell the time until
China was opened up now the American clock
is everywhere; saw scores in small shops this
clock is on one of the highest points in the city
SO at 10 n
clock hangs board outside the tower with the
hour on it and by this means all parties could see
the time. I was informed the clock now keeps
fairly good time. 1t was simple but crude. We
next visited the socaled city or house of the dead
l found large one story building surrounded by
trees, containing a great number of small rooms;
most of these rooms contained q cofin the
mains of some wealthy Chinaman or his wife and
under each coffin quick lime; always an altar and
idol and inscence burning. 1t is the custom of
the more wealthy Cinnamon to rent room in
this place, paying for each room according to
size and location, ETC., ETC., from ten dollars
month up. The body is conveyed to this room in
as elegant coffin as can be afforded, many
Chinese bankrupt themselves at weddings and
funerals. The CONN generally remains here
long time, often several years. When the hus-
band, wife or friends, in time find a suitable
place for final burial, the remains carefully
taken away, the bones scraped and the bones
buried in large earthen pot. There was one
coffin there / saw, costing fourteen thousand
dollars. Mexican; it contained the remains of a
rich Chinamans mother, from Hong Kong We
were now six miles from the steamer had
been in the chair for five hours and with the
jolting on mems shoulders and the different
smells and sights was rather tired and desired
to go back to the steamer. My guide asked ifI
wished to visit the prison. told him no. had
seen enough to satisfy me for one day. so we
started back, outside the city wall. These four
frail looking Cinnamon, with not even pretense
of a shoe on their feet carried me back through
the British settlement without even taking rest
apd did it in little over an hour. say British,
for Britain here rules also at least protects
her subjects and have strip of land on the river
front perhaps third of mile long and about
two hundred yards wide, separated from the
city by q canal. You only enter this concession
through iron gates. What contrast between
this strip and the city. Here all order and clean
ness, beautiful bungalows or houses, nice lawns,