The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 6, 1898, Page 20

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1898. STRANGE HORSE WITH THEIR QUEUED. TRANGE and diverse are the experiences of a young woman missionary in China, according to Miss Mary L. Ostrom. Miss Ostrom has been laboringamong them for years. Her experiences are unique in the m y line because | she labors independent of any societ defraying her expen: by speaking and by private philanthropic contribu- tion. Her method of work is to begin with the establishment of Industrial | schools for w girls in the | province of Quong in South- ern China, among what is called the Haka people, with whose dialect she | is perfectly familiar. Her theory is that the higher industries may bemade potent in lifting a m: of women from their pre t existing state of degradation. In telling about the brutalized con- dition the lower classes M Os- | trom tells of a case coming under her notice where a woman gave into the hands of mother new-born iaughter, her with a instructions to kill it against the corner of the house. “The inhuman grandmother was with difficulty persuaded to desist,” said Miss Ostrom, “but at last con- | sented to give the child awa; “On anothe occasion 1 saw two iskets upon carrying- d of fowls or vegets b contained four or your infants, which had them and w 3 s hich they were ma S 1y puppie: hungry the lowered 4 the men, with the tips of their fing thrus a pastelike mixture into their waliling | is queer traffic of baby selling | is not without patrons, and women | with sons frequently purchase the female inf: to rear as daughters- | i guardians arrange 1 ween ve: g chil- | dren, and these engag are sel- | dom broke notwithst the in- | terested parties often ¢ a strong dislike if red fc each other | . when - the a of young man and| ¢ womanhood is d hopel is the future to Chinese girls | that we have known those who be- | came converts to make the matter a | King their f to join them in pe tioning the ther to deliver them from marriage with the husband of their parents’ choice. “In one of our mission schools were two children of perhaps 8, who had been thus betrothed though hating each | other with all the strength of the young hearts, a condition of affairs which seemed greatly to amuse their playfellows, Who were constantly teas- ing little An Lan and Fook Sing about | their future union. ‘It does no good to hate each other,’ they would say, ‘for youw'll be husband and wife one day “On one oc )n a woman sent wor to me that she shed the missionaries | to take charge of her son. I went to learn her object, thinking she wished a | small boy taught or a youth employed | as a servant. 1 found her in one of the | steep hillside graveyurds, so common | in this country, engaged in drying | grain upon the flat stone surface of one | of the projecting tombs. | “Informing her that I had come from ‘ | subject of p at the missi the mission to learn her wishes regard- ing her son, she inquired, ‘Are there ng (unmarried women) n?’ “When I answered yes she said, ‘I | have never yet arranged a marriage for my son, but as he wishes to travel | in foreign parts I thought it possible | that one of those misslonary woman | might take him for a husband, and | thus he could go abroad.’ “Much amused, T inquired, ‘What is | the age of your son?" | TO PRESERVE FO : Every historical society in the country is interested in the preservation of old The Colonial Dames of this State have added their mite of influ- ence to the movement now on foot toward this end by passing resolutions favoring the Introduction of a bill in the present Congress to provide funds for the purpose. The old ruin of Ticonderoga at present cons and almost daily relic hunters are carrying off w is done it will be but a short time before the old fort Is obliterated entirely. Fort Ticonderoga. ‘The descendants of the heroes of the ties of Sons of Colonial Sires and the Coio & more limited membership, are very influential. ties that never fail to manifest an active toric reminder that may serve to awaken and bring foreibly to mind the herolc men and women sho during the Colonial and Revolutionary period sacrificed all for their country’s future greatness and glory. No one who recalls this fort, around which cluster so many notable events of the French and Indian war, as well as of the Revolution, or her power to preserve what is left of such a ruin, the Mayflower landed that Champlain’s battle with the Indians in 1608 took place on the lowlands near the fort. The French named it Carillon, and on the 8th of July, 1758, Abercromble atacked the outworks of the fort. Dr. Joseph Cook in his history of Ticonderoga says: ‘“‘Around the walls of Ticon- deroga, along the shores of Champlaln and Horicon (Lake George), were the _school In the French war Providence prepared the colonies to grounds of the Revolution. endure the war for liberty. around Ticonderoga against battles for freedom. Events Prescott and marque, who was in command, according magazine before reterating to Crown Point. When the English came Into_posksession of the fort General Amherst and greatly improved It. &and equipped a fleet. several of whom had preceded us this field of work. One day while | traveling I alighted from’ my chair | ily for; | | are in the habit of demanding a writ- | | | along, and in certain places drawn by | sake of my work, I once accepted the the French, were formed to gulde &nd conquer in the connected with the soll of Ticonderoga largely untélded the elements and found the agents of the war of the Revolution.” On the 22d of July in 1759 General Amherst besieged the fort and General Boule- Until 1775 the British held the fort; then it was captured br, Ethan Allen; later General Gates occupled the fort 5 it NTURES oF 53, the Chinese woman re- plied, with dignity. “Before our arrival few of the peo- ple had ever seen a white woman, and | to them we were objects of terror as | well as curiosity. The women with whom we at first tried to converse shrank from us as though our touch was pollution. “Others took us for Catholic priests, in and was walking past a house when | a woman, sobbing and making the | sign of the cr.ss, ed out. Falling | upon her knees before me she began to mention several sins of which she had been guilty. “I stopped her confession and ex- | plained that I was not a priest. She | hastily arose, and with perfect com- posure told me if I was not a priest, only a woman, I had better re-enter my chair and go on, as it would soon be dark. “In the locality where my labors lay | we journeyed either in these cedan | chairs resting upon bamboo poles | borne by two men, or by boat. While | traveling in chairs I have suffered nu- merous accidents through the carriers falling upon steep hillsides or slipping in the paddy fields, which would result fn my being thrown out amid broken poles and general wreckage. To avoid these accidents I have frequently fol- lowed my bearers through vast rice plantations barefoot, as with shoes it is impo: ble to stand upon the slimy ground. “Traveling by water is often unpleas- | ant, though in the beauty of waving | bamboo brakes and changing scenery | along the shores, one may momentar- | et discomforts. hiring a boat, “In the missionaries nt from the Sho Son Shon | Tehn, or ‘boat .lord,’ as to the price paid for the boat and also that no opium shall be smoked during the voy- age, under penalty of forfeiting a cer- tain amount of the sum agreed upon ten agreem for the use of the boat. “Instead of a cabin, these boats are provided with a covering. along the | which, like the sails, is made | roven bamboo, and in shape the old-time prairie schooner These boats are poled center, of the plains. ropes, which are held by people upon the shore, and a swarm of men, women and children all tugging at the ropes of one boat is no uncommon sight. “To be the guest of a zealous convert over night is not the most desirable ex- perience in the world, although, for the pressing invitation of a Christion Chi- nese woman whose home lay in a rural district. To reach this from the city we were compelled to cross a swift, deep river upon a bridge the width of a single narrow plank. When the house was finally reached we encountered a new terror in a fierce looking, sharp horned water buffalo, which had taken its station beside the entrance door. As soon as I was safely inside my hostess, with kindest intentions, set to work and prepared for me a dish of antique ck's eggs, scrambled in water, the e of which lingers with me still. Iy talk that evening to the women of the neighborhood, who my enter- tainer assured me were all relatives of hers, lasted until 11 o’clock, prolonged by the numerous questions by which we were usually met. - When the last inquirer departed I was informed that there were only sleeping accommoda- tions for the woman and her two adopted children, who, by the way, she destined should in time become | husband and wife, and that one of her | relations was expecting me. “This woman, anxious to make me | comfortable, had heated water for a | bath, which, with the conveniences of | civilization, would have been - most | grateful after the weary day. But the bathroom of these Chinese houses is ge i. 1 RT TICONDEROGA. s of only a few crumbling walls t little is left of them. If nothing war of, 1812 are numerous and the socle- nial Dafnes, although they have naturally Theése are but a few of the socle- interest in the preservation of every his- in the coming generations true patriotism ould hesitate to do.all in his for it was eleven years before began to construct the fort in 1786 and Stark, Pomeroy and Putnam, as rangers to orders, fired the fort and blew up the enlarged and here General Arnold built BABIES ARE CARRIED ABOUT IN BASKETS AND - SOLD JUST LIKE VEGETABLES, THE PRICE ASKED FOR THE LITTLE T0 FIFTY CENTS. HOW THOUSANDS OF CHINESE INFANTS ARE BLINDED. merely a narrow closet, with a mud floor, in which one must stand upright and dash upon themselves the water from a medium-sized bucket. “This question of bathing is always uppermost with them when in our pres- ence. ‘How do you white people take your bath when at home? all the wo- men will ask. “It is never wise to visit Chinese wo- men unless they call for and accom- pany you to their hcmes. This is an assurance that you will be welcomed by all the members of a family. If call- ing through a mere casual invitation the men of the household are apt to treat the visitor with great rudeness, and will not hesitate to order her from the premises, even throwing missiles to enforce their commands. HOW SIMPLE FTER a long and tiresome ex- perience with slatterniy girls, and studiously inclined Japs, my relief and joy can well be imag- ined when a rather gorgeously attired celestial, Li Chung by name, duly recommended as to general excellence, relieved me of the cares of kitchen and household generally, It must be confessed I was rather taken aback when one day I found Chung making, with a rice mat, tar and raveled rope, a basket in which he intended to put the baby ‘“all same 0 Q ';;jg SUPERSTITIONS /CONFESSION.” OF THE CHINESE WHICH KEEP THE MISSIONARIES IN TROUBLE, AND OFTEN NECESTARY TO FACE DANGERS OF THE GRAVEST KIND. “Men hostile to white strangers have grasped me by the arm, and, shaking me violently, have uttered a volley of terrifying threats. At Kayinchu I was once quietly walking along the street when men upon the city’s wall, the height of which is from twelve tofifteen feet, hurled stones down upon_me and shouted all so-ts of epithets. I hastily took refuge in the house of a friendly woman and escaped with a few bruises. “At another time I came near bring- | ing about serious consequences to the | young son of a missionary, as well as { myself, by violating all traditions of the locality ‘regarding women riding | horseback. Horses are not common in that province. Ome of the German mis- sionaries had kindly loaned me his own riding animal, while my companion, a Moses.” T gently dissuaded him, but was not surprised to find him at an- other time clothed in a coat of many colors; so that, as he expressed it, “I| | be all same king some day.” His faith was not to be weakened, and his appli- cation of the biblical stories was most gratifying to me. All this time Chung continued to be a4 most excellent servant, and I was | hoping that the same condition of | things would continue indefinitely, when one sad day he informed me he “must go China, fader, mudder velly ollo—pretty soon die.” Grieved as I LI CHUNG WAS CONVERTED. boy of sixteen, had hired a lean, sorry pony from a native. At that time the city was full of students, and the un- usual sight of a woman riding brought them after us in crowds, laughing and Jeering. “They used their queues as lashes, which they plied upon our horses amid a storm of abusive epithets, and to im- pede our progress laborers threw their carrying poles and baskets across the street, directly before us. “Had we been unable to speak their dialect, it is impossible to say how far their indignation might have carried them, and to have appealed to their sense of justice would have been use- less. So, using their own flowery em- bellishments of speech, I assured them that in our land such conduct would be was over the prospect of losing him, I could not but admire his filial devo- tion, and, to further the good work, I gave him a Bible, duly inscribed with name, date and the donor's signature. “0, lady!" Chung exclaimed, “noth- ing so good you can give me! the sweet book!” and he pressed it to his heart, his eyes cast upward full of religious devotion. ‘“Lady, I talkee you,” he con- tinued. “I go China. I takeum good book you give me. I teachum my fader, mudder, my lille sisters, allo my cous- ins. I tellum how you good lady teach me ’bout dear Lord an’ giant Goliar, THERE'S NO ACCOUNTING FOR TASTES. JENU JO rthe Klondike overlander)—Heligh! keep away from th' hubs o’ this cart, ye red varmint! D'ye heart WEARY RHODES (partner in harness~What was he after, Jo? JERU Jo—Axle grease, of course; it's one o' them Injuns' favorite delicacies, durn 'em!—Judge. | WAS A PRIEST AND MADE: HER regarded as extremely impolite, which had the effect of causing them to dis- perse, though sullenly. “A stranger to that land cannot es- timate the discomforts met with as we go from village to village on our round of work. We send word that we wish to hire a room in a certain vil- lage and the chances are that it will be hardly habitable when we arrive. At one place I became the occupant of a room that I discovered adjoined an- other used for housing a water buffalo, while the room upon the other side eon- tained a dying leper. “The majority of houses are built about a court in which ducks, geese, pigs, water buffalo and children indis- criminately mingle, and the doors are often insufficient to keep out any crea- ture wishing to stray into one's apart- ment. At one place I was much an- noyed by a huge rooster who acted as though he had a prior claim to my room. I expostulated with the woman of the house, but she begged me to al- low him the privilege of roosting there, as it would make him quite uphappy to be removed. At this place I sat for half a day beside my bed, under the shelter of a raised umbrella, with the rain beating fiercely in at the entrance. “In China one must carry his own | bedding while traveling; for although many have finely carved beds in lieu | of a mattress they use a strip of mat- ting, while a block of wood forms the pillow. They have comfortables made of cotton batting held together by a net of cords, and when new the fleecy cotton and bright cords form a pretty covering, but their condition after a sea- son of usage in wrapping people who sleep fn their daytime garments can be imagined. “‘Cooking is done upon a brick plat- form built against the kitchen wall, perhaps a foot and a half wide and some three feet high. Round holes are made at intervals in the masonry, and in these jars of coarse earthenware are set. These jars contain still a smaller round jar with perforations at the bot- tom for ventilation, and a narrow slit in the side. These will hold a few | handfuls of fine coal,and the cooking is | done in other earthen jars of various | sizes with wooden covers. In coaxing | the coal to burn a long handled (an‘I is used upon the slit side, and this they | call ‘frat foe,” or fanning the fire. | “They have no way of warming their houses, and in cold weather fire bask- ets are universally used, and one soon grows accustomed to the sight of men and women seeking to warm their chilled bodies by carrying small wicker baskets up their wide sleeves. “A common mode of salutation from female strangers met upon the street | is the query: ‘How many sons have | you? When a single woman replies, ‘None, I am not yet married,’ the other persists, ‘Why are you not; would you marry one of our men?’ “The stereotype reply, if interpreted, 4 would be, ‘I am not worthy that honor.” The Chinese matron, however, may un- derstand it to mean, ‘Not for the world.” “The blonde stranger will often hear the remark, without regard to her presence: ‘She’s .certainly 80. Look how time has faded her hair and eyes.” “Another superstition exists regard- | ing people with blue eyes—it is that | they are gifted with the power of see- ing into the depths of the earth, and can discover minerals or hidden treas- | ures. - “These Chinese are extremely sus- picious, not only of our motives in com- ing among them, but of our practice | of the principles which we teach. They frequently start absurd rumors regard- | ing us, and do not hesitate to'express their theories to our faces. “It is their custom to deprive fever patients of both food and drink. And a | case came under our notice where a | man was in this way literally starved | to death, although great bowls of rice | | ary’s wife once told me that she | tion of suffering by purchasing were placed about the court of the & [ g = = A 3 ! \\ \ il HOW THEY SCRUB ) i dl il house to propitiate the evil spirits. he had been an attendant at our mee ings, the wife of a missionary visit him a few days previous to his d h, and the rumor soon spread that she had hoped to obtain his eyes and heart with which to make medicine. “A married missionary had a board floor laid some two feet above the damp cement one of his house. The Chines; looked at the proceeding with cion, saying 'He tells us he has but ona wife. He has several, and has built this place in which to conceal them.’ ‘‘Pathetic as well as ludicrous inci- dents occur where converts try to emu- late the spirit of the nr naries. One poor girl had received as a present from her brother a string ¢ 00 cash, whose whole value in American coin be but 10 cents. She imm brought it to the president of sion, supported by a pros s terian board, telling him a heard him remark that his home were in need of funds, sh brought the string of cash, hoping would at once send it to the relie his people in America. *‘As the accent determines the mean- ing of many Chinese words, missionar- fes who possess but a small knowledg of the language often make laug mistakes. A newly arrived mis ordered her cook to make a cak ting two eggs into it. He seemed n amused and her husband hastene explain that wrongly accent. order had conveyed the idea cake was to be made containing girls. “And a New York worker laugh told the story of the sermon Lord in Heaven. Now, tshu, either Lord or pig, accordir accent, and unfortunately the m ary had given the wrong accent. At the sermon’s close a member of the congregation, who afterward became a zealous Bible woman, soberly informed him that she should do her best to reach that place, so filled with pigs, as she was very fond of pork. The lot of the Chinese woman of the lower classes is a hard one, but to those afflicted with blindness it is in many cases most deplorable, for sk is comsidered a burden to her fami and treated with great contempt @ cruelty. So far as possible the mis sionaries try to alleviate their cc h the to girls and rearing them at the mis to lives of peace and usefulness. For many years the prevalence of blindness among the Chinese has been a matter of some surprise. So com- mon is it among the lower classes that it seems like a natural affliction of the race, due to degeneracy. Miss Os- trom has made a careful study of this strange affliction and finds that it is due to natural causes and can be pre- vented if the mothers could only be made to understand the cause. It {s a common practice among the women of the lower classes to carry their babies on their backs, much af- ter the fashion of the American In- dians. But instead of carrying the | babe with its head looking back from the mother, as the Indians do, they reverse the child and place it so that its face is up against its mother's neck. If the child would remain that way all would be well. But it doesn't. As soon as it becomes tired the poor little thing’s head drops back so that it gazes at the sky. If the sun hap- pens to be shining it beats into the child’s eyes, and the fact causes no concern to the parent, who will often leave it in that position for hours. The result is that the intense heat soon destroys the child's sense of vision Miss Ostrom, while admitting the many discouraging circumstances at- tending her work, speaks of it with enthusiasm. She intends, if possible, to model her industrial schools in the south of China after those established for the same race of people upon the Hawaliian Islands, where the venture has proved eminently successful. : [P — =l Lo 7 - Ao SN S d i FLOORS ‘IN PARIS. an’ how no more stealum, lie nor any- ting. Then my fader, mudder, little sis- ters an’ my cousins allo go up high, me too, an’ see all the glories of the heaven—amen—" Chung paused for breath, and then went on: ‘“More, lady. Sometimes I talkee my fliends, allo people. Man hit me, killee me, no matter. Deep as my regret was at losing him, it was only human to congratulate my- self on his conversion and the pros- pective conversion of his friends and relatives, Well, we parted with what seemed real tears on Chung’s part, and the ter- rors of kitchendom again possessed my soul. I was too faithful to Chung's memory to employ so soon another Chi- naman, and decided on a girl to fill his place. So, calling in the services of & charwoman, we proceeded to remove from his room all evidences of China- man—for you know, even if they are converted, they are ‘“smelly.” I was surprised to see how much litter and trash Chung had left, but my grief and dismay was boundless when, from amid the veriest rubbish, tucked in behind his cot, the scrubwoman drew thaj “‘sweet book,” over which so lately I had heard such sentiments of religious faith and devotion to its teachings. I hadn't the heart to tell the family, and though they often ask me to get ‘“one of those,good Chinese cooks like ghuns again,” I haven't the heart to o so. |