RED HEADED CHINAMEN.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1046, 21 December 1882, Page 3

RED HEADED CHINAMEN.

An Alta reporter, while visiting Ilia Coptic with the Quarantine Officer on her arrival in port, recently, discovered an out-and-out red-headed Chinaman. The hair and queue of this Celestial were of a doubtful shade, being as far as possible from violet. This ‘ sorrel-top ’ received most distinguished consideration from his countrymen. Instead of calling him ‘ Brick-top,’ ‘Red-head,’ ‘Ginger,’ etc., terms only two familiar to the ears of the red-haired Caucasian, the Chinese appeared to treat their red-headed countryman with special respect, reserving for him the choicest morsels of the meal and treating him generally as a superior. Yet he did not appear to be at all proud of his distinctive feature. On the contrary, he appeared co be engaged in a constant endeavour to hide it beneath a large but closefitting cap, as though he seemed to appreciate the oddity and inconsistency of one of his dusty complexion flaunting a blood red queue in the face of creation. Besides this Chinaman there was on board another, a China boy, aged about fourteen whose shiny black hair was compelled to divide the honors equally between numerous long and thick tufts of red hair. But this lad was not regarded with that esteem accorded to the other. The boy was looked upon somewhat in the light of a base imitation or counterfeit presentment. They were a strange pair, and are doubtless now the observeds of Chinatown.