The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-06-30
Some Things
About China
AS Described by Local Resident
Formerly Residing in that
Great Country.

During the years from 1899 to
1901 when the United States and the
great European powers were in full
activity pilfering one piece of land
after another from that great and
helpless Chinese Empire, | had the
best opportunity to observe some of
the most remarkable pictures and
customs of the Chinese race.
In the northern part of China,
where the English and Germans hold
theirnewly-conquered dependencies,
the native is drawn into almost any
kind of work and will make, after
careful training, an excellent ar t l.
san. When, for instance, the Eng
lish took possession Of Waiheiwa
and Germans, of Kiautshou in 1907,
these two governments found it nee
essary to import and employ Euro
pean artisans for the construction of
buildings. railroads, bridges, etc.
AS soon as these governmentse erect
ed schools to civilize and give the
natives better education, they soon
commenced to hold their own against
the imported artisans. II lroad
trains running from T ing u to
Kiautshou. thence to the interior are
particularly taken care of by Chinese
crews. In the great machine shops
and dockyards at Shanghai, Tsingtau,
Port Arthur and Kaluan you can
scarcely perceive any white artisans
with the exception of the foremen
and overseers. Even on board the
coasters, which are chartered for the
China coast trade and which former
ly gave work to many thousands of
American and European seamen, you
will observe none, but Chinese crews.
When / speak of the China coast
trade you must understand that the
same is incompatible and unsurpass-
able by any other coast trade in the
world. There are about twenty-five
different companies which participate
in this gigantic commerce and in
which the North G German Lloyd
Steamship Company alone partici-
pates with fortysix vessels. Every
Chinaman who is hired out to a coast
er receives on an average OF from ten
to fifteen dollars a month; out Of
which he is obliged to buy his own
food and pay certain percentage
to the cook and steward.
A large percentage of all Chinese
married seamen who live in the vicin-
ity of Iwatow and Annoy will as soon
they set out on a voyage fasten their
wives legs with different greaves SO
that they will be unable to walk avery
great distance. This is performed
by attaching splint n both sides
of the legs and then fastening the
same with two girdles, of which each
one is provided with lock. I h c
husband, Of course, keeps the keys
BY using this method the husbands
believe that they preclude any pos
sibility of their wives escaping with
other men.
Whenever junk leaves harbo1
north of Shanghai to go out fishing
the crews of all the remaining iunk'
will give the same farewell saluta
ton by playing on brass drums un
til the departing junk is out of sight
Just imagine being in the midst o
some hundred or more jun ks ant
listening to this unpleasant continua
sounding for an b our or SO, you
nervous attacks and complaints viii
surely come to standstill right there
The city of Canton which is situat
ed 100 milesnorthwestof Hong Kon.
on the river Yenesie is frequently call
ed the city of junks. All steamboat
which not carry Canton crey
for their destination are cOmpelle'
to lie over at Hong Kong to take o.
some fifty or more coolies. This
because the natives of Canton spea
adifferent tongue from those in Hon
Kong, Annoy and Shanghai, conse
uuently they absolutely re ( use