The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-05-15
A FEW HOURS IN SHANGHAI.
Letter Written by D. M. Dunsmore, Jr.,
to D. M. Dunsmore, Sr while Enroute
from Wusung, China, to Olongapo, P. l.

l., Sunday, March "a, 1907.
This being my day off and having
nothing in particular to do, l thought l
would write, even II we are at sea.
Upon our return to Wusung from
Nankin we we're given twenty-iour
hours liberty and l shall remember it
always as one of the best | ever made.
We left the ship at 900 a. m. and after
bucking an awful tide for about an hour
and half, we reached the landing at
Wusung Forts. There is nothing there
but a railway and signal station and
some Chinese forts. We embarked on
an English train, or rather the engine
was built in Glasgow, and rode up the
river to Shanghai, IA miles. Shanghai
is an immense city, 10000 larger than
Boston. 1t is divided into two parts,
the Walled City, or native quarters,
and the Foreign City, where everything
is more civilized. The Foreign City is
subdivided into the American, English,
French, German and Italian quarters.
Each Of these are policed by policemen
Of that nationality, with some Chinese
police under them. The English have
Sikhs (Sikes), an East Indian tribe, for
police, and they certainly have the
Chinese bluffed. The general mode of
conveyance is the rickshaw. There are
also cabs and some gorgeous private
vehicles owned by consuls and the like.
The city is intersected in many places
with canals, on which are numerous
houseboats in which thousands of
Chinese must live. Some of these boats
are quite comfortable looking. Shang-
hal did have trolley line: the tracks
are still there. Why it was removed is
more than / know. The currency there
is Mexican, the dollar being the stan
dard its value huctuates from 40 to go
cents of our money. If an article was
worth 25 cents, you would say it cost 30
cents Mex" or 20 cents gold Upon
first arriving at the city | went to the
English Hotel Metropoles and had
fourteen course dinrer for dollar
Mex" then started sight seeing.
The chief sight of Shanghai is the
native city. We went as far as the
wall in rick-shaws and there disem-
barked as the streets inside are too mar
row for conveyances. We we're met by
guide and led through an ancient
gateway, surmounted by some muzzle-
loading cannon. The streets are very
narrow and in some places are rooted
over. The shops are all open In front
and at night shutters are put on Our
guide first took us to an opium den. 1t
was so dense with smoke one could
hardly see the other side. In smoking
they dip little thing, looking like a
hat pin, into tiny pot of opium and
hold it over flame, where it bubbles
into sort of pill and then laid on the
top of regular opium pipe and drawn
into the mouth as the pill cools. Only
the high class Chinese or mandarins in
dulge in this as it is rather expensive.
After leaving there we went to tea
house out on little lake. The bridge
leading to it was zigzag like rail fence
and the whole thing was certainly pic
turesque, We had cup Of tea without
milk or sugar, but nevertheless excel
lent. Gave cory looking beggsr, who
was beating his head on the pc soement
to excite pity, couple Of coins with
square holes in them. The beggars of
China certainly are beggars. You could
not possibly imagine what sight they
are until you saw one. Our next sight
was mandarin's tea house and gardens.
There was not much to see there except
for the richness of the furnishings.
Leaving the tea house we proceeded to
large barred door, where, after giving
the keeper some "kum-shaw" or aims,
we were admitted. 1t proved to be
joss house or heather temple. In it
were gods of all descriptions. There
was one great god which we could
hardly see for the smoke of burning in
cense. Our guide was very devout, and
In fact the Chinese all around were kow-
towing to it. was rather alarmed for
fear they might resent we foreign
devils" Passing row of four hideous
looking images we went to another
temple where gods, symbolical OF many
different things, were. These many
gods represented war, peace, marriage,
different animals and in fact every
thing. Our guide told us that when
chinaman wants something they wor-
ship that particular god. It's a won
der some Of them don't worship the god
of money little; l guess it is not be-
cause they don't need it. That visit to
the Chinese temple / will always re-
member as the strangest sight 1 ever
saw. We visited Chinese Catholic