Produced by Annie McGuire
[Illustration: HARPER'S
YOUNG PEOPLE
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY.]
* * * * *
VOL. I--NO. 29. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.
Tuesday, May 18, 1880. Copyright, 1880, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50 per
Year, in Advance.
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[Illustration: LOADING AT SINGAPORE--[SEE SERIAL, "ACROSS THE OCEAN," ON
NEXT PAGE.]]
[Begun in No. 19 of HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, March 9.]
ACROSS THE OCEAN; OR, A BOY'S FIRST VOYAGE.
A True Story.
BY J. O. DAVIDSON.
CHAPTER XI.
AMONG THE "COOLIES."
They found the city one blaze of lanterns, banners, and many-colored
fire-works. All the ships in the harbor were gay with brilliant bunting,
and the air echoed with the boom of cannon and the snapping of
firecrackers, in honor of the Chinese New-Year. In fact, it was quite a
Fourth-of-July celebration; and at night there began such a burst of
sky-rockets and fire-balloons that the whole town seemed to be in
flames.
Early next morning the _Arizona_ opened her ports to receive cargo; and
Frank, being told off to assist, saw for the first time one of the most
picturesque sights in the world--a gang of coolies at work. On the other
side of the "entering port," beside which he was posted, stood a Parsee
merchant, whose long white robe, dark face, and high black cap made him
look very much like a cigar wrapped in paper. Along the quivering line
of sunlight that streamed through the port came filing, like figures in
a magic lantern, an endless procession of tall, sinewy, fierce-looking
Malays, and yellow, narrow-eyed, doll-faced Chinamen, carrying blocks of
tin, rice sacks, opium chests, or pepper bags, and all moving in time to
a dismal tune, suggestive of a dog shut out on a cold night.
Each man shouted his name in passing, and the merchant then handed Frank
a short piece of cane. These canes were the "tally sticks," their
different colors indicating the nature of the articles counted. At every
tenth entry the Parsee cried, "Tally," and Austin, reckoning the sticks
in his hand, and finding them correct, answered, "Tally."
Our hero soon found that these were not the _only_ sticks employed. A
rice sack burst suddenly, and all the coolies stopped their work to pick
it up to the last grain, it being thought far too sacred to be wasted.
They were not quite brisk enough about it, however, to please the worthy
merchant, who, seizing a stout bamboo, with a shrill yell of "Bree!
bree!" (hurry up) laid about him as if he were beating a carpet, till
the hold echoed again.
"You take 'tick too; give 'em whack-whack," cried he, offering Austin
another bamboo. "Dey no work proper widout 'tick; dat 'courage 'em."
"Hum!" thought Frank; "I don't think it would encourage _me_ much."
The remedy seemed to answer, however, for the coolies at once quickened
their movements, grinning as if the whole thing was a capital joke. But
it was not long before Frank had to exercise _his_ stick upon a fellow
whom he caught in the act of dropping a package overboard, to be fished
up and rifled later on--a common trick with the natives, who are most
expert thieves. What with all this, and what with the constant counting,
he found it very tiring work, and was not sorry when the gang "knocked
off," and he went to hand in his accounts to the Captain.
"Very good, my boy; you've done capitally for a first trial. After this
I'll rate you as supercargo, and give you a state-room on the officers'
deck."
This was promotion indeed, and our hero, tired as he was, "turned in"
with a light heart.
Next morning the work began again. Bags, boxes, chests, crowded so fast
upon each other that Frank and the Parsee were soon forced to shift to
one of the six huge barges that lay alongside, piled high with spices,
pepper, and bundles of rattan. Two native servants stood by to fan them,
while two others shielded them from the burning sun with huge umbrellas;
and this group, together with the long file of black or yellow skinned
figures below, pouring into the ship with their burdens like a stream of
ants, and still chanting their strange, monotonous song, made a very
curious picture.
About two o'clock (the sailors' dinner hour) the gang had a short rest,
which the Malays employed in squatting about in groups, and chewing
betel-nut. A piece of the nut was folded between two green leaves, and
munched vigorously, the result being to cover their mouths with a red
froth, which, as Frank thought, made them all look as if they had just
had two or three teeth out.
After night-fall the work went on by lamp-light, and a very picturesque
sight it was. Tired as they were, the men worked with a will, and by
midnight the last package was stowed, the last receipt signed, and the
_Arizona_ all ready to sail the next day.
After his hard day's work, Frank slept like a top; but he was aroused
soon after sunrise by a knock at his door, and in came a venerable old
native in a long white robe, crimson girdle, and hat exactly like a
stove-pipe, minus the rim. Shutting the door as carefully as if he were
about to confess a murder, he opened a small silk bag, and flashed upon
Frank's astonished eyes a perfect heap of precious stones of all sorts
and sizes; then holding up the fingers of both hands several times in
succession, he uttered the one word "Rupees."[1]
But the price, though low, was far beyond Austin's means. He shook his
head, and the old gentleman bowed himself out as politely as if Frank
had purchased his entire stock. Five minutes later came a second tap,
and another native entered, with a basket of delicious fruits, answering
our hero's "How much?" by pointing to a pair of worn-out shoes, and
saying, "Can do." Before Austin could recover from his amazement at the
idea of a country where men preferred old shoes to hard dollars, the
fruit merchant had made his "salam" (bow), and departed with his prize.
He was hardly gone, when a third trader turned up, with a splendid
collection of shells and coral, and the same scene was repeated. This
time the "Can do" referred to some ragged old flannel shirts and pants
that hung on the wall, in exchange for which the dealer handed over the
entire contents of his basket. Frank, more puzzled than ever, went to
old Herrick for an explanation.
"Well, lad," said the veteran, "these _natyve_ fellers, d'ye see, are
divided into so many 'castes,' one above t'other, like men and officers
aboard ship, and the lower castes have got to pay toll to the higher
'uns. Now the high-caste crowd are too great swells to touch a
furriner's clothes or shoes, though they'll touch his _money_ fast
enough; so them two chaps'll be able to keep all you gave 'em, whereas
if you'd paid 'em in dollars, they'd ha' had to go halves with the
'upper crust.'"
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The rupee is the standard coin of British India, and worth
about fifty cents.
EASY BOTANY.
MAY.
May brings so many wild flowers that the mere _names_ would easily fill
all the space I can have.
But the young flower-hunter must get an idea of some of the flowers sure
to appear in May, and those who will notice the habits of plants will
soon discover where these fair friends dwell, and will learn which
selects the valley, which the hill-side, finding that as a general thing
they may be looked for with the certainty of being found in their
favorite haunts.
Botanical authorities have arranged all known plants in _families_, and
each plant belongs to some floral family, the members of which possess
certain qualities in common, making it suitable to class them together;
for instance, all the buttercups, anemones, clematis, hepaticas,
larkspur, columbine, and many others, belong to the _Crowfoot_ family--a
large family, all possessing a colorless but acrid juice, which is, in
some of them, a narcotic poison, as hellebore, aconite, larkspur, and
monk's-hood. Others are quite harmless, as the marsh-marigold, so well
known as cowslips, or the "greens" of early spring. Others have a
delicate beauty, as the anemones, hepaticas, and others.
Another family, the _Poppy_ family, takes in all the poppies, the
bloodroot, celandine, and others. These have a milky or colored juice,
often used medicinally, and from one species of poppy opium is made.
The _Crucifers_, or _Mustard_ family, have cross-shaped flowers, and
abound in a pungent, biting juice, with which we are familiar; and thus
we could go on enumerating the distinctive qualities of one hundred and
thirty families.
In every month are to be found some peculiarly rare and interesting
plants, and May can show a fair array. In cold bogs and swamps of New
England the genial airs awaken many a blossom that seems too lovely for
such dismal surroundings. But bogs and swamps and wet pastures are well
worth exploring, and are justly dear to the botanical heart; for here,
springing from a bed of soft black mud, may be seen the pink Arethusa,
fair as a rose leaf, the rare Calypso, the singular trilliums, the
graceful adder's-tongue, and several species of the remarkable
Cypripediums, or lady's-slipper. The beautiful spring orchis, the only
orchis blossoming early, of most delicate white and purple tints,
flourishes in damp, rich woods, and the Cornus, or dogwood, lights up
the shady nooks with level sheets of bloom.
_Violets_, more than twenty varieties, come on in April, May, and June;
but I can specify but one--a charming species of pansy-like beauty,
found at Farmington, Connecticut, with the two upper petals of the
finest violet tint, and of velvet softness. In moist woodlands in
Western Connecticut the staphylea, or bladder-nut, attracts attention by
its drooping racemes of white flowers, and later in the season the rich
brown seed-vessels are as handsome as the flowers in the spring. All
around on the rocky road-side banks and in dry fields the airy wild
columbine and pretty corydalis blossoms nod in every breeze, and the
ravines on the hills are fringed with the softest frills of exquisite
leaves and odd flowers of the Dutchman's-breeches and squirrel-corn,
whitish and pinkish, and with the scent of hyacinths.
One other must not be forgotten, though so well known as hardly needing
to be named. Who has not searched in dim New England woods, under solemn
pines, for the sweet, shy, waxen clusters of this dearest of all the
flowery train, hiding under old rusty leaves, but betraying itself by
that indescribably delicious fragrance which perfumes the wood paths?
Surely all the young hands have been filled with the pilgrim's-flower,
the epigaea, the trailing arbutus, the beloved May-flower of olden and of
modern time.
In the Middle States many plants are found which New England does not
furnish. New Jersey is famed for woodland treasures; not only Orange
Mountains, but the pine-barrens, show many a charming blossom, and the
dweller at the West finds on the flower-tinted prairies a profusion
which the Eastern fields can not approach. On the hills of Pennsylvania
may be seen the brilliant flame-colored azalea and the North American
papaw--a relative of the tropical custard-apple--and the pink blossoms
of the Judas-tree, and several varieties of larkspur, and in low
thickets are found the white adder's-tongue and the dwarf white
trillium. At the West, the interesting anemone called Easter or Pasque
flower, from its blossoming near Easter; and another beautiful Western
flower is the American cowslip, called also the shooting-star, which is
found in Pennsylvania as well as on Western prairies. The following is a
list of _some_ of the flowers of May, with the localities in which they
are most abundant:
FLOWERS OF MAY.
COMMON NAME. COLOR. LOCALITY, ETC.
Adder's-tongue Bluish-white Thickets, banks; N. Y., Pa.,
West.
Adder's-tongue Light yellow Low copses and fields; New
England.
American cowslip Pink, white,
violet Rich woods; Pa., Western
prairies.
Arbutus, May-flower Pink, white Rocky banks, under pines; New
Eng.
Arethusa Bright rose Cold bogs; Maine, N. J., South.
Azalea Flame-colored Pennsylvania mountains, and
South.
Azure larkspur Uplands; Pa. and West.
Barberry Yellow Open fields, dry banks; New
England.
Bellwort Pale yellow Damp woods; New England, West.
Bladder-nut White Western Conn.; woods. Rare.
Blue cohosh Deep, rich woods; West.
Bulbous buttercup. Bright yellow Pastures, meadows; New England
and elsewhere.
Calypso Purple, pink,
yellow Swamps, bogs; Northern New
England. Rare.
Chickweed White Fields, door-yards; everywhere.
Columbine Scarlet, yellow Dry, sunny, rocky banks. Common.
Common buttercup Golden yellow Hills, fields. Common everywhere.
Dandelion Bright yellow Fields, road-sides; everywhere.
Dark purple clematis Rich soil; Middle States,
Southwest.
Dwarf trillium White Shaded woods; West. Rare.
Easter flower Pale purple Western prairies.
Flowering dogwood White Rocky, open woods; Middle States.
Fly honeysuckle Greenish-yellow Rocky woods; Mass., Pa.
Gay wings Rose purple Light soil; New England and
South.
Golden corydalis Rocky banks; Vt., Pa. Rare.
Gold-thread White Bogs; throughout the States.
Green hellebore Green Damp places; Long Island. Rare.
Ivory plum Bright white Cold bogs; Maine woods. Rare.
Jack-in-pulpit Stripes of green
and white Rich woods; North and South.
Jersey tea, red-root White Woods and groves; N. J. and
South.
Judas-tree, redbud Purplish-red Rich woods; N. Y., Pa., and
South.
Lady's-slipper Greenish-white Bogs and swamps; N. Y., Pa.
Rare.
Large climbing
clematis Light purple Rocky New England hills. Rare.
Meadow-rue Yellowish Fields and woods; Northward.
Mountain heath Drooping purple Rocky hills; White Mountains, Vt.
Mountain holly White Damp, cold woods; North and West.
Mount. honeysuckle Yellowish Mountain woods and bogs; Mass.,
West.
N. American papaw Lurid purple Banks of streams; Pa. and South.
Pepper-root White Rich woods; Middle States. Rare.
Puccoon Yellow Shady woods; N. Y. and West.
Red bane-berry Rocky woods. Common Northward.
Red sandwort Sandy fields; sea-coast. Common.
Rheumatism-root White Low woods; Middle States, West.
Rhodora Rose-color Damp, cold New England woods.
Scarlet corydalis Dry woods and fields; Northeast
and West. Common.
Sea sandwort White Atlantic coast, N. J. to
Labrador.
Small buttercup White Under water; Maine to Texas.
Small honeysuckle Dull purple Rocky banks; Northward.
Spring beauty Pink with deeper
lines Sheltered fields; Middle States.
Spring orchis White, purple Rich woods; New Eng., West,
South.
Squirrel-corn White, purplish Rocky woods; Canada to Ky.
Common.
Star flower White Damp, shady New England woods.
Straw lily Straw-color Cold swamps; Me. to Pa. Common.
Sweet viburnum White Cold swamps; New England woods.
Trillium Dull purple Rich woods; Northward. Common.
Tulip-tree Yellow, green Southern New England, Middle
States, West.
Umbrella-leaf White Wet pastures; West and South.
Violets (many) Blue, white,
yellow Fields, meadows, hills; Me. to
Fla.
Wayfaring-tree White Cold swamps; New England woods.
White bane-berry Rich soil; North and West.
Wild pink Red, with white
spots Sandy plains; N. J., West, and
South.
Wild hyacinth Pale blue River-banks, moist prairies;
West.
Withe-rod White Cold swamps; New England woods.
Wood-rush Straw-color and
brown Dry fields and woods. Common.
Wild strawberry White Fields, meadows; Maine to Texas.
Yellowish clematis River-banks; Pa., N. Y. Rare.
Yellow-root Dark purple River-banks; N. Y., Pa., and
West.
[Illustration]
CONSTANCY.
BY S. B.
Little Ruth looked at her dolly one day,
Said: "Dolly, they wish me to give you away;
They say you are old, and I know it's quite true;
But, dolly, dear dolly, I can't part from you.
"Your color has faded, your nose is quite gone,
Yet I love you as well as the day you were born;
You've great cracks on your face, and scarcely a hair,
Yet, dolly, my dear, to me you are fair.
"Though you're hurt, darling dolly, too often, I fear,
But you are so brave that you won't shed a tear;
And although you've one arm, one leg, and no nose,
You're dearer to me because of your woes.
"But what was the hardest and cruelest sting
Was that father once called you a horrid old thing:
He said, 'What a battered and wretched old fright!
Do take her away, pray, out of my sight.'
"And, dolly, he said that a new doll he'd buy;
To find me a nice one he really would try;
She should have two legs, and more than one arm:
I am sure that papa did not mean any harm.
"Pray what would they all say if I asked mamma
To go out and buy me a nice new papa,
Because father dear is old, bald, and gray?
I should like very much to hear what _he'd_ say."
[Begun in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE No. 24, April 18.]
THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
BY EDWARD CARY.