The herald., 1913-02-06
The CHINESE JUNK
A Curious Craft 1t Is, With Eyes
Painted on Its MastS.
SOME TOPSY TURVY METHODS
The Crews Quarters Are Aft, Not For
ward, and John BIandIy Sets His
Course East South and Tells You the
Wind is Blowing From West North.

course East South and els you TN
Wind is Blowing From West North.
The origin of the ancient old wOrl,
junk, like all things Chinese, is in
vOlved in some Obscurity, but its frs
model seems to have been a Chimes
conception of some huge marine mon
ster. The Ieeth which are usually
shown in all the terrOrS of ferOcity OI
the bow denote the mouth. Lon.
boards running aft from the bow, boti
TO port and TO StarbOard. represent tn,
awe inspiring jaws. The sails are fins
while the tail waving alOft, an appen
dix which all properly constituted
| dragons of the sea must certainly have
is denoted in the high stern. But mOst
| of these characteristics have lost mucl
| of their significance in recent years
with the one exception of the eyes
which are always painted on the masts
| Captain John is loath to part with
them, for, as he warily exclaims:
NO have eye, no can see; no can see
no can 60"
John Chinaman. shipbuilder. when
he takes notion to build one of his
| junkS does not bother himself much
about plans and specifications. Give
him the model. Then he will lay his
lines off on the floor or on an open
space of ground and build his ship as
he goes along by the simple rule of
. h., hn.
attained he is no doubt convinced of
the superiority of his method over ev-
cry other. Fir. teak and pine are the
woods he uses in his construction.
The seams of the hull are caulked
with rattan shavingS and 'payed" with
cement of oil and gypsum. The
whole of the hull Is well tarred, while
the upper works are smeared with
wood oil. Then comes n final coat of
paint-green, blue, white, red-in fact.
any color but yellow. which must be
reserved for the many flags the com.
pleted ship will carry to proclaim her
nationality.
When ii comes TO equipments, they
seem antiquated compared with the
ones we employ. The windlass is an
elongated, barrel shaped roller extend
ing across the broad bow, on either
side of which is arranged a series of
fixed spOkes bearing a strong reSem-
blance to a wheel without a tire. From
this is hung great teakwoOd anchors
with iron bound flukes and cables of
coir or bamboo rope. This ingenius
contrivance is capable of being oper-
ated by either hand or foot.
In the way Of sail the style depends
on whether you are in north or south
China. Among the northern Chinese a
long mainmast carrying short lug sails
Is found. In the southern country the
sails are generally Of woven mat strips
sewed into Il single sheet and provided
with yards at the top and bottom. The
bamboo ribs crossing 1t serve to keep
the hoops on the mast in place and en-
able the bOatmen to haul the sail close
on the wind. This mainsail is the chief
dependence, though sometimes a
driver" is placed on the taffrail and a
small sail near the bow. But bowsprits
are not considered at all necessary by
John Chinaman.
In the matter of rigging we find John
quite familiar with everything he re-
quires. Halyards. sheets and braces
are used as with us. His blocks, though
larger. are not as shapely and are
fewer in number. Clumsy as the rud
der appears. it is so contrived as to re-
quire little effort to manipulate it, for
willy JOHN has understood the principles
of q balanced rudder and centerboard
for centuries. The inboard end resem-
bles just What it is intended to repre-
sent-a huge oar handle-and is so cum
ningly rigged with guys and whips that
1t makes our own stiff jointed wheel
and short helm poor alternative.
His compass card is stationary. The
needle swings on its pivot and points
contrarily to the south pole. With
twenty-four divisions and some 1000
minor points or degrees on this faith
full guide, John insists on referring to
his course as E. s. or the wind blow
ing from the w. n. How he would dis
arrange such complex compass bear
ings as E. by N. q E. or N. w. by N. u
n. can be left to an imagination suff1- !
ciently vivid to embrace such a calam-
ity.
In the arrangement of his ship John
again exhibits his consistency by be-
ginning wrong end foremost-that is,
the matter from our view
point. His provisions are carried |
above deck and aft instead Of for
ward and below. The crew eat and |
sleep near the stern. The passengers |
are accommodated in the forward end |
In China there is no Plimsoll mark |
and no government inspectoH ready to |
check off the number Of passengers !
as they go aboard. Neither is there |
any instance upon such requirements |
as life belts, fire appliances and life |
boats. When everything is ready John |
starts forth on his voyage feeling safe |
In the happy possession of his pratique
or clearance papers, whereby he is |
to refrain from many prac-
tices. These include about everything
from smuggling to the carrying Of |
stinkpots. This pratique also COM
mends his soul to the gods and bids |
him an affectionate farewell and
wishes for a safe passage.-Norman |
W. Browne In New York Post.