Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-24
JUNKS IN FRISCO BAY.
Curious Crafts Built and Sailed by
Chinese

From the San Francisco Chronicle
or all the craft that plough the waters of
San Francisco bay none are more curious or
more picturesque than the Chinese junks.
Probably few people are aware of the exist
ence within the portals Of the Golden Gate
of fleet of these strange little boats, built
on almost precisely the same lines that
Monaghan marine architects made fash
ionable many long centuries ago. They
frequent the byways rather than the high
ways Of the harbor One might visit the
busy water front section every day for a
month and not be rewarded with the sight
of a junk.
The greater part of this oriental fleet In
occidental waters Is employed in the shrimp
fishing 1ndustry-a branch of human ac-
tivity which In this city is almost exclu-
sively In the hands OF the Chinese. A few,
indeed, journey among the townships To-
Gated around the bay and collect old horse
shoes, kelp and broken glass-the latter
utilized in the manufacture of sandpaper
Others are used fishing smacks
Many of them, it Is said, are available
when there is a chance to smuggle a little
opium. From vessels arriving from the
east parcels of the drowsy drug with floats
attached, have been dropped overheard,
and a keen-eyed junk captain has generally
been near enough to secure the valuable
contraband. But the vigilance Of the Gus
toms authorities has pretty well put an end
to this practice. and the junks are now
perforce engaged in legitimate business.
The other Is too risky.
The Chinese junk is in itself an illustra-
ton Of the characteristic Celestial imper-
yiousness to all change. 1t is built along
lines that have remained practically un-
altered for hundreds Of years. Yet, though
apparently a relic of past ages, this craft
Is not to be despised as useful boat for
bay purposes. 1t Is a very fast sailor, is
capable of resisting sQually weather and is
easily handled.
The laws of Uncle Sam take no more
cognizance Of the average Chinese junk in
this harbor than Of a floating log Of wood.
The vessel is rule forty feet long by
80 feet high. The crew of a shrimp boat
comprises six men.
The unmistakable distinctive earmark of
the junk Is its sail. 1t is typically Chinese
"a huge, nearly square thing, measuring
perhaps twenty-five feet by thirty feet.
Nothing is more odd about this sail than
the fact that 1t is stayed or Slated with
cane sticks at regular intervals, three or
four feet apart, over its whole length. The
effect is something on the lines of a We
netian blind, stiff instead of limp, like the
everyday European and American sail This
is another very old idea, carried down to
these modern times by Chinese conserv-
atism. The purpose of the Stats is not
clear. Probably they are meant to obviate
the necessity of carefully furling and fold
ing the sail when 1t is down. The junk
sail is run up and down by pulley instead
of by means of a ring. When lowered 1t
remains where 1t falls, does not become
tangled and may be hoisted again instantly
and without trouble.
A junk is built on the beach by Chinese
shipbuilders. During last summer new
one was constructed at Hunters Point. 1t
took three months to put 1t together. The
builder charged $3.50 for 1t, inclusive Of labor
and materials.