The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1912-12-20


Europeans and Americans; but the
most remarkable sight in Hongkong,
or Victoria. as the city is called, is
the superb view from the peak, OBJ
tanned by going up part way on very
steep incline railway, thence by sedan
chair: The top reached. 1000 feet
below, upon hundreds of billy islands
scattered over a blue sea everywhere
We locked. The panorama was o
symphony Of blues.
1t was evening when we left Hong
kong on the Pow An" en- route for
the blue city of Canton, ninety miles
up the Pearl river. Twenty thousand
Chinese are said to live in this har-
Dor entirely on boats, in sampans
where shrill-voiced women steer,
cook, scull raise families, drive bar
gains. 1t is a picturesque locality at
might. when there are hundreds Of
boats drawn up side by side, their
nasts gently raking the mir as they
lMaxeitz and down. their darf sails
slinging and Mapping agafhst tde RIB,
ging, the straining timbers and creak-
Ing tfllers adding q subtitle sense Of
action, while the arch Of each mat
forms cave of light. against which
the whole family is silhouetted as
they cluster about the low. round ia
BILE to bolt their rice. The light Of the
lantern falls on a circle of yellow
faces, casting strange shadows on the
roof, the black background broken
only by an occasional ray falling on
some piece Of china or brass. Always
outside the circle is the woman, a
weird black figure in the dark.
Guard Against Pirates.
From the hurricane deck we
watched the city lights and the moon
until the one dwindled to mere line
and the bleak headlands shut out the
other, leaving us only a narrow,
gloomy stream. Screened off from us
by heavy iron bars were the natives,
and firearms were stacked in conspic-
uous places, as protection against pl'
rates. The better class OF Cinnamon
sat around on chairs, or laid on mats
with their little bundles huddled up
beside them. The coolies occupied the
lower deck, thick as blackberries in
| August, but they were more suggestive
lof rats with their long, black queues
/ and scuttling, noiseless motions.
When reached the deck next morn
| ing we had passed Lintin island, ia
nous in 1880 as freebooters haven,
| and were steaming past an old Chi
4 nese fort in the Tigers Mouth. No
sentries saluted; the guns were COW
cred up; but the glorious yellow flag
with the dragon foated above. 1t was
here the Chinese had their Opium
Party" in 1841, when the English gov
| eminent tried to force them to admit
onium, and the ''heathen Chinee
dared to think he had right to drive
the,r ships out of Celestial waters.
The sun shone brightly on the
muddy river that morning, and on the
! numerous bits Of picturesque craft
/ (some man-propelled-men walking
m tread wheels; on the widespread
mo fields and shapely lochee trees;
The strange.looking pagodas fantas-
tn, hollow towers Of brick. about 900
foot high. adorned with numerous cir
o,,,ar terraces ornamented with trees
and hnshes). In that silvery, hazy
,;sat no one ever thought of pirates
nor That the little yellow rolls of mat
.ino nv the waters edge contained un-
we,come little girls left there to die;
hnt Il was sickening enough when we
chnrned up one as we were making
our landing at Canton. .
o have heard friends tell OF their
,onding at Joppa and at Pernambuco'
and have landed at Matras when II
~as necessary to beat the natives over
t na' head with strong clubs in order to
w. ITO the mesullah boats to De
81 eued TO shore; but at Canton the
TO- ,nar vas SO, crowded with sampans
I.s. .o seemed no place to land at ALL
.n ' a. Canton 100000 people live IL
~. boats. and these are lined up
from three to ten deep along so0's