TIbe Conservative * 9
land" were mingled in one , and above
it all I heard these dying notes :
"O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave. "
And how well I remember that after
noon , when I went ashore on the Victoria
wharf. A big crowd of Chinese coolies
with little carts came running tip yell
ing "rickshaw ? rickshaw ? " andas every
white person was taking one , I followed
their example. How foolish I felt riding
down the street palled by one man , bnt
then as everybody else was riding I for
got how it looked and began , to think it
very nice and quite proper. But I will
never forget that day , for I saw a large
woman , very stout , and whose weight I
should judge was about two hundred
and fifty pounds being carted by a little
coolie not more than one-fourth her size.
If you have never visited the Orient
you cannot understand how one feels
when there for the first time , and if you
should walk down the Queen's road in
Hong Kong I know you would be very
much surprised. You would 'Jass '
through a city built on the mountain
side with the summit three thousand
feet above. The narrow streets are
made of rough stone ; tall buildings on
both sides ; little by-ways where the sun
never shines , having a musty smell as if
the same air had been there for
centuries ; figures of Chinese writing
that yon will never be able to decipher ,
and then you will pass a Chinese money
changer's shop , where one can see whole
bushels of gold and silver coin , and you
feel very much like picking up a basket
and walking off. The streets are full of
rickshaws , and their human horses are
all the time shouting "whang" which
means "look out. " The side avenues are
seething with long-tailed celestials
Next you watch a crowd of tourists go.
by in sedan chairs , each occupant carried
by two coolies , and then you look above
at the windows where pretty orientals
look down upon you , their cheeks pow
dered up in gorgeous style , their lips
very red. They are dressed in greener
or yellow jackets , and yon begin to think
a person could live here and enjoy him
self after all. Very soon you will see
some women with tiny feet go by.
Others whose shoes have the heel in the
middle , and a great many more with
dainty black and white slippers , their
hair done up on the left side of their
heads with a silver buckle attached.
In the evening you can take the tram
way and go up the steep ascent to the
Peak Hotel. To the right is a low stone
building and they will tell you it con
tains one hundred million rounds of
ammunition for Gre&t Britain's army
and navy. Then you look down into
the harbor. All the past and present
steamers and sailing ships , steel monitors
wooden cruisers , and Chinese junks
like the ones of the time of Confucius
-with their uneven sails like the wings
of a bat.
Happy Valley.
One morning a few days later I hired
a rickshaw and started for Happy Valley ,
an American resort on the east side of
the island. On the way over I stopped
at a Japanese restaurant. Sitting by
the table was a pretty little creature
close to twenty years , I should judge.
Her hair was done up in typical Japan
ese fashion , tied in a bow knot at the
back of her head. Her face was
powdered and her lips painted red. She
wore a loose fitting garment of gypsy
silk. As I stepped from the rickshaw
she bowed very low and said , ' 'Ameri
cano , " and without looking up contin
ued : "roast pork I have got , baked duck
I have not got , fried fish I have got , ice
cream I have not got. " I could not
keep from smiling and then I told her I
preferred only what she had. Then she
Looked up and I understood she wanted
to show me her knowledge of English
I stayed there more than an hour
talking in that quaint bamboo house ,
and then I went away thinking of China
as a future home.
That night I stood in the bar-room of
the Hong Kong hotel. Standing by the
bar was a typical , worn-out American
sailor , the kind we all have read about.
He had spent his best days inUncle
Sam's navy. What was left of barrels
of good Scotch whiskey shone from his
yellow eyes.
Gloss after glass disappeared without
any visible effect upon the old salt tar.
All at once ho lifted his hand and said :
"Didn't we send the loggerheads to the
bottom in twenty minutes at Manila
bay ? They are going to feel us over
here yet. Let me tell you that , lads , the
time will come when these people will
take off their hats and say : 'There
goes an American. ' Its coming , but I
don't expect to be here then. It will
not be long before I am stowed away in
Davy Jones' looker. " Then , holding his
glass high , he shouted. "Here's to
Tommy Atkins , between us we will
have this old world going side ways
yet. " One of the men stepped to the
bar and said : "Here's to the Yankee
sailor who hit us hard in 1776 and agafn
in 1812 , and he opened the eyes of all
Europe bnt a year ago. I am English ,
bnt let me tell you , the American mau-
of-wars-man is the best sailor who ever
sailed the high seas. He loves his rum ,
but look out for him when behind the
gun" .
We heard a great racket , shouting and
scuffling as if many men were running
We all went to the door. A battalion
of infantry went past , "column left ,
double time , march. " They turned the
hotel corner running towards the wharf.
Then several shots rang out from across
the harbor , and a bright light shot up
into the heavens , and I could see a great
crowd of Chinamen running here and
there.
( TO BE CONTINUED. )
AN OLD QUESTION.
It was settled long ago that Omaha
was to be the chief town of Nebraska ,
yet today the inhabitants of that city
are aghast and in deep woo at the news
from the census department in Wash
ington , allowing her bnt a poor hundred
thousand inhabitants ; and an ancient
doubt may be allowed to show its head
again , as to the wisdom of the decision
that made Omaha the metropolis of this
section.
What was it that gave Omaha the
advantage over Nebraska City , Bellevue
and other river towns of the early days ?
The railroad. Who located the railroad
there ? President Lincoln and his
advisers. Why did they so determine ?
Because many of the leading citizens of
Omaha were in political sympathy with
them.
If Governor Burt had lived a few
days longer Bellevne would have been
the first territorial capital instead of
Omaha. He died , and Omaha secured
by skillful management , that great
advantage over her better-located neigh
bor. There remained only the rivalry
between the North Platte , centered
henceforth at Omaha , and the South
Platte , represented by Nebraska City.
And the main difference distinguishing
these towns was that the former was a
settlement of northern men , while the
latter was occupied largely by south
erners. It resulted from this state of
things that the South Platte flourished
during Buchanan's administration , bnt
that the North Platte's day came with
the inauguration of President Lincoln.
The hostility between the two sections
of the state is a matter of open knowl
edge , and it may be taken for granted
that any political weakness on the part
of either was urged to the utmost by its
opponent , during its turn of favor at
Washington. And it may be of interest
to recall the fact that Nebraska City
was rather conspicuous as a slaveholding
ing community ; at least she allowed
herself to be advertised quite freely in
that light. There is abundant evidence
of this in the newspapers of the day , as
preserved in THE CONSERVATIVE'S
unique files.
The most noted case was that of two
female slaves , who fled from the house
of bondage in the latter part of Novem
ber , 1858 , and were pursued by then :
owner , S. F. Nuckolls , to Chicago ,
where his efforts to recover them caused
a popular tumult , which attracted wide
spread attention. Mr. Nnokolls was , in
fact , mobbed on the street , being res
cued from a rather unpleasant predica
ment by Mr. Hiram Joy , on whose
advice he forsook his enterprise and
returned to Nebraska City.
This town was a station on John
Brown's underground railway , which
made trouble between neighbors where-