The Heathen Chinee.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3281, 13 August 1889, Page 2

The Heathen Chinee.

(From the Catholic TimosJ A great fuss is being made bfsorno oi the Home and Coloniel papers ovor the feat of a Danish engineer, who, assisted by Ohinose "unskilled" labor only, recently stretched a sevenstrand steel-wire cable of 4,700 ft over a Chinese river. We suspect the Danish engineer had very little to do with the matter, further than informing the" unskilled" laborers what he desired done. Tho Chinese cannot bo beaten at simple mechanics. They can for instanco lift enormous weights by means which appear to the European utterly inadequate for the purpose, and they probably acquired tho art centuries before the Christian era.

The writer remembers on one stftftsion having to put a mast of a Lo?dia (Portugese built, but Chinese rigged; of some 250 tons burden, Tho mast an enormous stick of some peculiarly hard and heavy Chineso wood, was towed "alongside. 'On board the schooner wore neither blocks norropes at all approaching in pa-libjre .those, which a European would deowtffoessary for hoisting aboard and stepping such a mast. Moreover, spars to use as sheers wero not available, and had they been it was extremely doubtful whetbov the deck would have carried their weight. Tho writer endeavoured to got over these dillicultieß by evory device lie had dvu- heard or reid of, and his Chinese crew watched his futile attempts with that lofty but unobtrusive wntompt with which every Flowerylander regards the proceedings of tho outer-barbarian. Several European mamtime acquaint; ances also dropped on board' mil freely parted-iVith muc]j v'SijjaJila but impracticable advice, At noon a spoil was called to consider tho position and the mast still proudly the bosom of tho ■ waters, masters the position. { r

Tlion the Chinese lowdab (pilot) stepped to tho front. If tho" Capting" would not interfere, and not say anything nutil the mast wasßtepped, and go and sit aft, he (the lowdah) would get the mast m—Chinese Atybioh; He, (tW serenely," English llaThioa too muchec suoiig (strong'), 1 -pbl Cjiin.ee 'ilashion too muchee handsomd go lahP'To tho shame of the' Western science be it'said that in twtf h'piirii that mast was stepped and Jho rigging sot up. Tho lowdah commenced operations by coiling upalt the Europe ropes and putting tho below, Then, with pieces of Chinese string—it would be incorrect to cf lllicm ropo -and by ajd ofall sorts of cunning but idiotic-looking purchases, and with much smoking of foul .smelling tobacco, and terrific jabbering and of Cliinose profanity—he went to work, got the mast aboard and hoisted it into its place. Severil Europeans watched the progress respectfully from 'alar; each declaring the WMj could not possibly-bo:' placed! methods used; each looked small mean when it was stepped, and not a man among tho crowd could remember how the feat of mechanics was done after it was) done. Thereto a good many' move things in ihu'fjjilpsophy 'of the' Heathen Chineo'thaii jria wliito' 'Jbru'dder" js disposed Jo adnifc