El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-19

We skirted French China, went by the
Gulf Of Siam and then coasted the Ma
lay Peninsula, whose palm trees could be
seen Quivering in the hot breeze We
passed wooded islands and entered a
sapphire sea surrounded by green
archipelago at the back OF which Sin
gapore lay like a picture before US. It
was afternoon and heavy black clouds
hung over the palms. The mighty steam
ers coming in and going out left trails
of smoke behind them, and as we ad
vanced the storm broke and a peal of
thunder gave Us royal salute. Then the
air cleared and we could see Singapore
rising almost straight up from the wa
ter.
Singapore's Shipping.
Big business blocks extend along the
shore for a mile or more. The city has
about five miles of docks and the har-
Dor is one of the busiest of the world.
The wharyes are so built that ships can
steam right up to them, and scores were
al anchor discharging or taking on car
GO My ship was one of the P. and o.
line, and We had to go to the upper
end of the city before we came to the
pier. We passed vessels going out on
their way 10 Australia. great liners COM
ing in from Ceylon and a royal Dutch
packet vessel bound for Borneo, the Ce
lebes and New Guinea.
AS we neared our anchorage we could
see the Chinese coolies working on the
new docks. Tens of millions of dollars
have already been spent to improve the
facilities for handling cargo, and the
government is now laying out millions
more Within the past two years it has
entered upon a scheme of expansion
which comprises about 100000 gold
dollars, and the work of carrying this
out is now under way. Included in il
is a dock for repairing vessels winch
will take in ships almost 900 feet long
and accommodate the largest steamer
afloat.
Scenes at the Wharves.
But come with me for a walk along
the wharves, and see how the freight is
managed in one of the biggest ports Of
the orient. The laborers are of every
shade of black. yellow and brown. There
are hundreds OF Chinese whose cream
colored skins have been turned to old
gold by the tropical sun. They wear
little more than breechcIoths around
their waists, and carry great loads up
on their bare shoulders. They load and
unload the coal, and do the heaviest work
of all kinds. Here is a ship taking on
fuel. A platform has been built from
its deck to the wharf. It is an in
clined roadway, with an angle of 40 de-
grees; but up and down it, as busy az
ants, the yellow laborers trot. They
work in twos, each couple carrying a
great bag Of coal. slung to a pole which
rests on their shoulders There are So
600 tons of coal in those warehouses al
the back, and a ship can be loaded in
two hours. That coal comes from Eng
land, and it has trayersed over S000
miles TO the Strait of Malacca.
: Among the other workmen are Kings,
las black as coal and as straight as pine
trees 1t is they who drive the bullock
carts from wharf to wharf, or back into
the city. They are lean, why fellows,
with long hair on their chests and limbs
and straight black hair coiled around
their heads. They have regular features
and their lips are as thin and their fore
heads as high os our own. They dress
in white cotton, a single sheet Of which
forms a whole suit. There are hundreds
of their race in the city. They are noted
for their thrift, and many of them are
although their daily dress costs less than
81. and they sit half naked on the boxes
in which their money is kept.
The cart that man is driving is pull
ed by TWO bumped cattle, like the sacred
bullocks of India. The animals are as
white as snow. and as clean limbed~ as
Jerseys They walk like aristocrats and
were thSN III I1OiS IShdieS- On Inc DdnkS
of the Ganges, they would be fed daily
upon rosebuds and garlands of flowers.
Down here the god Mammon rules, and.
yoked to great carts, they drag the
bales of cotton, bricks of tin and bum
dies of rattan over the roads
Medley of Humanity.
Going on into the city, we see strange
characters at every turn. Each street is
a spectacular extravagan composed of
every tribe and strange costume. We
pass Malays in velvet caps, short jackets
and gay-figured sarongs, the latter a
strip Of bright-colored cotton which
falls from the waist to the feet and is
fastened at the top in a knot. The Ma
lays walk with a swagger, and they in
variably smoke cigarets. They are too