IN HONG KONG HARBOR

Hokitika Guardian, 23 August 1921, Page 3

IN HONG KONG HARBOR

As dawn broke the Taiyuan threaded e her way among bold and reelient is- h lands of dark volcanic roek so devoid of ( soil that only in rare meagre patches of v coarse grass had their nakedness been g draped by any covering. Hongkong lies a close to the mainland, and is so com- w passed round by sister islands that its a harbour is practically landlocked. It si is a small island, and one can skirt it t a in an hour or so in a motor car. It p.re- j h sents a long straight front, hut almost , L immediately shoots upward until it h culminates in “The Peak,” nearly 2000 o feet high. The business area, is on flat tl reclaimed giotmd. while the steep snipe fi behind is dotted with fine buildings— oi the University, colleges, churches, d schools, hospitals, military establish- tl ments, handsome bungalows, and, to o crown nil, the Peak Hotel (accessible b by steel-rope railway), and the rcsi- fl denco of the governor. The first sight tl of the sea frpnt is uninviting. It eon- f< sists of a mile or more* of narrow four- r< storied tenements, which apparently, g' have never received a, coat of paint d since the foundation of the colony 86 °i years ago. The ground floors arc oc- c< copied by gloomy dens filled with a si heterogeneous merchandise, while the tc upper are residential. A colonnade b shades the shops, while the flats almve ai have each a projecting balcony. From railings and windows flaunt long stream ti ers with Chinese characters in red, yol- w low and blue, while’poles project from *1 which hang garments of every shade and every degree of wear, which have j been laundered within. In front runs a wide street along which pours an in- 11 oessant traffic. Chinese by thousands, a Europeans by hundreds. But there are 11 no horses. Riolishas and Sedan chain, b trams and motors abound, but owing L to tin- limitations of tin- level land, k horses are of little use. In dragging v: heavy loads coolies arc harnessed to U lorries. Further along is the European commercial quarter, a succession of stately blocks in granite and marble. On tl the water the scene is animated. Apart 11 from trans-oceanie or coastal liners the 11 harbour swarms with smaller craft, t< There are quaint three-masted junks— s; each mast out of plumb—with tattered 1 ( sails of matting, clumsy lighters, and sl small boats propelled by oars, or with a perhaps, a single sail, and known as h sampans. But on every one, small or " largo, a family resides. A fire is al- 11 ways burning, rice and fish are always tl heing cooked, and seemingly someone is 11 always eating. Children sprawl all h over the deck, the toddlers tethered by " cords so that they may not fall into the insatiable jaws of the waller dragon. 6 The sampan which haa no baby nhoa-’ S is regarded ns accursed. Nearly every >■ boat has its little ooop of fowls, its 11 miniature garden, its cat and dog. At the prow is a bundle of gaudy rags, J' which scare away devils, while every 11 morning salvos of crackers are fired to i 1 terrify any bolder demons who have h 1 iurked around during the night. 'Hie predominant note is work, incessant “ work. The. women are, if anything. n more industrious than the men. They 0 wield the long heavy oars standing far- p< ing the direction in which they row. On ( ‘ the mother’s hack is swung the inevit- J 1 aide infant. so that the parent can " work without restraint. Even little s ’ girls of six or seven are always busy J at. some kind of work. T sometimes ' saw little boys playing with toys, the girls never. Unremitting toil is their p j nortion; there is always a tiny tot to mind, fish to Cut up, boiling rice to , • r: stir. THE LANDING. e As our steamer came to anchor hundreds of sampans converged towards j. her. They lined a dozen deep, forming a continuous mass on either side. Each was well-filled with Chinese who yelled and gesticulated and waved aloft long coloured streamers like theatrical “dodgers” on which were printed cabalistic 0 characters. Those men were runners from native hotels and hoarding lioiis--s. fc and their energy nnd wild excitement y disabused one of the idea that the Chinese are unemotional. They would ! nil and push one another out of the uav to get in front, and some, recognising old friends or patrons, would hold highpitched colloquys with them. For some time no one was allowed to hoard the ship, and ever louder came the shouting of the “barrackers,” and more violent their gesticulating and the waving of their gaudy posters. In the meantime the Chinese passengers 1 aboard were almost excited. They had ( donned their best garments, and gathered their impediments round them. ( They carried great quantities, and their excess luggage must bo a delight to the steamship companies. Not only portmanteaux, but baskets, and bilge packing eases, swags, fruit, pot plants, and pet birds were heaped up on! the deck. Suddenly the signal was given. A hoarse dull ,ronr rent the air ns every man on every sampan dashed from boat to boat with one impulse. Many carried long bamboo poles with books attached. , These they crooked on to anything 1 which would afford a hold—stanchions, bulwarks, port-holes, or precarious ledges—and man after man in unbroken sequence scaled the bull. Each side was a moving muss of men, nnd their shouts and yells were defoaning. As a spectacle it would delight a movie ope- i rator; reproduced on the stage it would ■ make the “big scene” of a. Drury Lane melodrama. ()nco aboard the bigger these descendants of old-time pirates made short work of their victims. Incredibly soon every man bad been irresistibly seized by predatory bands, bustled over the side, and hurtled from sampan *o sampan like a bale of goods. The baggage also disappeared with kaleidoscopic rapiity. Whether it foil owe its , owners is very questionable, and 1 sns- . pert that many a home-coming Coles- - tial found himself in a “joint” li<> had 1 not intended to patronise, and that ‘ much sorting out of men and theirbelongings bad to be done on shore. 1 Even confidence men are alleged to be ’ ready to “take down” by stories of r mysterious estates near Canton unsopv liistricatcd fellow-countrymen who have amassed a competence beyond the sens r by the production and purveying of '■ cabbages and lettuce. THE DRAGON FESTIVAL, i My stay synchronised with the cole bration of the Festival of the Water n Dragon, which is held on the fifth day ' of the fifth moon each Chinese year, lo The Dragon, as readers of Professor Elliott smith’s learned work are aware,

is a mythical monster held in awe by many races, and by none more so than those which inhabit far Cathay. The chief feature was a regatta. This was held just outside the Typhoon shelter (to ho mentioned shortly) the outer wall of. which formed an admirable grandstand, lyhile hundreds of sampans and launches' lined the- course on the water. There were many races; as fast as one was rowed ofF, another was started. Each boat was supposed to be a dragon. It was. about eighty feet I long, just wide enough to accommodate two rowers side by side, and curved high at each end. Each crew consisted of from forty to sixty, according to the length of the boat. The men sat facing the direction in which they vowed. each was provided with a short paddle like that used in canoeing, and there were no rowlocks. In the centre of each boat stood a gigantic coolie, who hanged a big metal kettle-drum. Flo flourished two drumsticks and brought them down with all his strength about forty times a minute. These beats were regarded as the pulsations of Hie dragon’s mighty heart. As he hanged the drum ho emitted loud staccaTo yells to encourage the contestants. These become erazv with excitement. They shouted ami yelled in their endeavours to get ahead of the other five or sixboats which started at Hie same time, and soon their strokes became erratic. ‘Crabs” were freely caught. Sometimes. an especially enthusiastic man would stand up and tumble into 'he stream. He would Ire quickly rescued by some attendant sampan. : ' \ TYPHOON SCARE.

Hongkong has an unenviable position in the typhoon bolt. Most originate about the Island of Yap. which is thus not only a centre of political unrest hut also of meteorological disturbance In 190(> a typlton swept ever Hongkong and adjacent seas and caught the vast aequatic community unprepared. Tt is computed that about 18,000 lives were lost and for weeks the bodies were washed ashore. No wonder ..cm, that th(> word “typhoon” falls with ominous import on the ears of those humble my riads who live on the face of the waters. Nowadays there is an admirable system of warnings by signals and wireless. The authorities have also constructed at the head of L.e hnrlMur a large typhoon refuge, consisting of a hio-h breakwater. During my stay a warning went forth. The effect was remarkable. From being alive with craft the surface of the harbour became almost deserted in little more than an hour. The dreadful word “typhoona was passed from sampan to sampan, kelheks were hastily raised, everyone bent to the oars and made for the shelter. Soon the water-front, usually Guekly lined with boats, was almost deserted: all raced their hardest to the shelter. From the steamer deck one could see the thick array of serried masts within the protected area as sampans and junks lav closely together. The big steamers which had intended sailing deferred their departure, some moved to more protected positions, white all made everything taut and put down.j extra anchors. We awaited the expected storm with anxiety. Dark greenish clouds reflected an uncanny light, fitful wild gusts of wind blew from varydirections brief drenching showers succeeded each other at irregular intervals. There, was a general sensation as of something abnormal, something suggestive of “the gloom and earthquake of eclipse.” But luck.lv the typhoon was deflected and spent l * tfury harmleslsly on far-off seas. During the scare a few sampans continued "to plv. Their occupants were prepared to gamble with death for extra money. Instead of the usual half-dollar fare, the cry was “typhoona, two dollar.” As the alarm proved false, these adventurous mariners did well and were the envy of their less courageous competitors. But even the latter tried to make belated capital, and for n day or so after they ventured back thev would when engaged mysteriously shake their beads and mutter, “lynbonin wantee two dollnir.”