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The Chinese Junk

The Chinese Junk image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
July
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

If a Pacha of three Uüs weie ío mates a descent in Broadwny all flying in Pull costume lie could not excite more curiosity iban this long ëxpected visiler f rom China has done throughout the City. The Stalen Island ferry-boafs have been crowded with passengers ever sincé her arrival enger to get a sight even of lier exterior, and all have made up their minds that she is worthy of the farnous country from vvhich slie comes. On the way up firétn Coney Island on Saturday Caotain Power of tho American Eagle varied from his cout'so, and in common wilh some two hundred other passengers, we could not help lnughing as we sailed past her unwieldy huil, and saw the comical popping up of Chinamen's heads along her bulwarks. The yellow rascáis seemed to enjoy the fun quite as well as any of the spectators,and shouted and laughed and banged away on two or three gongs to the great delight of all their áudience. Afterwai'd we had the pleasure of going on bonrd the junk and of inspecting her, bothship and cargo, under Ihe polite guidance of Copi. Kelletand hs second officer Mr. Rivett. VVe spent two othree hourson boardj and had our curiosity fully grniified. Tlie Keying, named after a high officer of thé Celestial Empire, wh o hds tried his skill n diplomacyj not without success, against tho ambassadors of the outside Barbarians, arrived here, as most of our readers know, after a passage of 212 days from Cantón, havingtouched at St. Helena on the 23d April last, where she was an object of great curiosity, and was overrun with visitera during her stay of seven days. She is built throughout of teak wood, is nearly new, and was bouglit by Caplain Kellet for $17,000. She is shaped like a whals boat, is one hundred and fifty feet long,twenty-five feetbeam nnd twelve feet deep in the hold. She was originally a war vessel, and still retains some of the peculiarities of that character. - Exteinally she is pairned white, with a black waisi as far as the foremast, then red to the stern. On eacli side of her bow is pa'nted an immense Eye, while a spread eagle flourishes on her stern. - Her bow is flat, like that of a scow, with no bowsprit, but ip the place usually occupied by the bowsprit is an opening n. bout as wide asa barnyard gate, after the fashion of a Brooklyn ferry boat, to give a cliance fot working the anchors, which are also made of teak wook and hung by cables of twisled bamboo. At the bow are also fastened two Inrge cables, which run tlie whole length of the ship, and form the only hanging of the rudder, a delimite affair of teak wood, weighing some dozen tons( wheh fully immersed being twenty-threc feet in the water, and when hoistec! up twelve. To manag;ïhis contrivance it takes some t'n irty men nnd a siout windlassi The maill cabin is thirly feet long, ten and a half high nnd twenty-thfee wide, and is adorned wilh a groat variety of figurfs in fresco, among which are dragons, engles and tigers as large as Iife andtwicc as ferocious. In this cabin we saw many pieces of beautiful Chinese furnilure, vvhich might well be copied by odr cabinet makers, togeiher with other curiositie-, arnong which the most prominent was a great dol ur ''Josh" carved from a single block of wood and gilded. This divinily bas eighteen nrms and four eyes nnd was broughl or. board the ship with the greatest revcrence by its Chinese bearers. ' Above, in a little recesson the poop, stands the regular "Josh" of the .ship, beforc which a light is kept censtantly burniug, and to which the Chinamen have religiously resorted Wheil the junk was threatened by bad weather. - VVe undeislood, however, that their spirit of devotion had declined very grcatly since sailing. At first they were precise to Chin Chinrting tlie ido] every moriiing, but latterly they have not performed that service more than once a week. Afler taking a view of the wbolc, ve accepted Capt. Kellett's invitaiion to take a liitle Chote chow (cbaw-chaw dinnerj with htm. The dinner, ihough served on board the junk, was nol composed of Chinese disbes, not a single rel or joint of a young puppy being on lie table. - Having completed this important ceremony.we enjoyad a few minutps' conversation wlth Hesing, a Mandarín of (he Red Button, wfco cnrne out as passenger with Capt. Kellet, and exerekes a soit of paternal authority over the fortyof his countrymen on board. Mr. ITosing is n man ofsome inteltigonce, and commurricaled to us' a varity of nforrrrntion relating to Chinese mnnners and customs. He told us he jj the husbarrd of three wives " no can cathooe more, costee too mucltee dollar." On nquiring what couise' lis ptrrsued on occasion of too lifely domestic difficulties nmong ihe vtlneis of his afFection, he replied with perfect grav il y, " hwse whippee.1' A Chinese artist squaüed on his haunerres painting a dragon, Hesing informeel us was the happy proprietor of two wives and when in answer to his queries we nssured him that in this coun'.ry 'no can catchee' more thnn one wife, he politely expressed a feeling which was not admiralion lor our instilutions. We underslnnd that the junk will be brouglil up lo llie city on Tuesday or Wednesday and maored at Castle Garden, tlirough whicli the public Vill have access to her. Tlie general desire to behold this greaf curiosity can tiien be fully gratified. 'the Chinese Junk costs as sho stands, cuiiosities and all, $75,000, and is the property of Capt. Kellett and some parües now in London. - Tribune. (tr" We are indebted lo the Publishers for a copy of the Phrenological and Physiological Almanac for 1848 by L. N. Fowler. It is full of interesting matter, and contains likenesses and notices of Harriet Martineau, Dickens, Horace Greely, Thos. Wildey, father of Odd Fellowship, Gen. Taylor, Abby Hutcinson, Prof. Morse, TomThumb, Dr. Sewell, Dr. Olin, and Patrick Hénry It is the most interesling Almanac we know of. It will doubtless atlain an immense eirculatipn

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News