Year: 1870

for debt, while the husband and father
was in California and perhaps cannot
do better than tell you about it, There
were five children-three girls and two
boys. We had passed them three times
in our chairs during the day as they
stood beside the road dressed in their
holiday attire of black. The silence
they observed whenever any person
passed, and their downcast looks crea-
ted curiosity on our part to know their
business there. Arr Hung, our waiter,
was called up and asked the cause of this
little parade "Why," said he, "the girls
and perhaps the whole family are for
sale" We stopped our chairs aud step
ped out to have talk with them, using
Arr Hung as interpreter. The mother
was wrinkled and gray, and hung her
head as if she were afraid to look US in
the face. But the children, with the ex-
ception OF the oldest girl, looked cheer
full, and were quite pleased with their
holiday attire, The oldest girl was six
teen and the Oldest boy fifteen. So said
the gruff old broker who had the party in
charge, and who seemed quite an1ioas to
dispose of his wares. After great deal
of 1uizzing and evasive answers. the
broker told us that the husband and fa.
ther was in California and had neglected
to pay Lis note given for his passage, and
that his family were now offered for sale
to pay the debt. lie hoped to be able to
pay the debt with the sale of the two old
est girls, but as yet had receive no offer.
He said that the family became security
voluntarily, and he never knew of case
where they did not voluntarily offer them
selves for sale if the note they securad
was not paid. In reply to oar question
he said that when customer bought a
child or person, the person was made az
once the owner of the child, body and
sonl. No Cinnamon would dispute the
purchaser sright to do whatever he pleased
with the human being he had paid for


The boys would make good ants, he
said, and in the course of a few years be


worth fortune to the owner The girls
would make good "armers'' Cor nurses, as
they are called in Ameriea.) He would
show US their physical beauty-would
make them sing and play tricks if we
thought of buying, How much would
We give? The oldest girl he would sell
for $500; the next one for 500, and
the little six year old for $50 The boys
he could not sell until the girls were dis
posed Of. We thought the price too high.
The market was glutted with saleable
girls, and he must not think of getting
over Sl0O for the oldest ard handsomest
while for the little one he must not expect
over $40. He sneered at that and said
the Englishmen always talked in that
way when they wanted to buy. While
we were talking, party of blue-robed
Chinese aristocrats came up and began to
inspect the family, they opened the mouth
of the Oldest girl, raped on her white
teeth TO see if they were sound, thumped
her ribs, laughed at her little feet told her
to sing. and to show them the triukets
which the fond mother had given her as a
parting gift. All the while the salesman
kept up constant jabber. in which we took
no interest. Time pressing, we passed
on, leaving the parties disputing about
the price, and discussing the probabilities
of their running away if taken to Hong
Kong. After making our call, we re-
turned the same way to ascertain the re-
suit of the sale. Only the mother and


the boys were left. The debt was only
$500, and $50 of it still remained unpaid


l have often been told by residents in
China that the parents would as soon sell
their children as COW. or pig And /
had begun to believe that such was the
case upon passing the group the first time


But the scene had changed. The girls
were gone, and now boy must 60 also
The mother sat in the dirt, with her arms
around the youngest, wailiug in the most
piteous manner, and as Arr Hung said,
cursing the men that sold her husband a
ticket to America for $500, which cost
them but $40. The broker went listless-
ly by, smoking his pipe and twirling his
cane, looking as if it was the smallest mat
ter Of business with him. The boys were
crying. and seemed very much afraid of
us. Now it was certain that one of them
must go. But we passed on and left
them in their misery. We never knew
whether the boy was sold to a childless
man to be treated as son, to Portu-
guese to be carried to the West Indies,
under nominal contract, or to native
landowner to become his slave But that
one of them was sold into servitude, for
the sum of $50, there can be no doubt.
The girls were doubtless purchased for
the vilest purposes, unless they had the
rare luck to fall into the hands Of some
native in search Of legitimate wife. l
am told that the price of girls has gone up
within few months owing perhaps to
the fact that lesser number Of emigrants