ew of the Bay and
its islands and the magnificent landscapes to the east, valleys and
hills running up to the heights of the Sierras. The locality is
bounded by Jackson, Pacific, Dupont, Commercial, and Sacramento
streets, and embraces some eight squares; and within this space,
crowded together, are the twenty-five or thirty thousand Chinese who
form a part of the population of the city. There are Chinamen here and
there in other parts of San Francisco, but nearly all live here in
this quarter which we are now approaching. Here there are the homes of
the people who came from the land of Confucius, here the famous shops,
the theatres, the Joss-houses where heathen worship is maintained. As
soon then as you set foot within the area described you feel that you
are in a strictly foreign country; and if this is your first visit,
the place is to you a sort of terra incognita. You will need a guide
to take you through its labyrinths and point out to you its hidden
recesses and explain the strange sights and interpret for you the
language which sounds so oddly to your ears. If you have not some man
to conduct you, a dragoman or courier, you will be likely to make
mistakes as ludicrous as that related of an English woman. Sir Henry
Howarth, the author of the "History of the Mongols," a learned and
laborious work, was out dining one evening. It fell to his lot at his
host's house to escort a lady to the dinner table; and she, having a
confused idea of the great man's theme, surprised him somewhat by the
abrupt question, "I understand, Sir Henry, that you are fond of dogs.
Are you not? I am too." "Dogs, madam? I really must plead guiltless. I
know nothing at all of them!" "Indeed," his fair questioner replied;
"and they told me you had written a famous history of mongrels!" It
is best then always to take a guide, and you will have no trouble in
finding one, who will charge you from two to three dollars an hour. If
you go with a small party, which is best, all can share the expense.
It will take about three hours to explore the town thoroughly and
study the life. The writer went through Chinatown on two evenings
at an interval of a few days, and saw this Asiatic Quarter of San
Francisco to great advantage. The first time was with a licensed guide
of long experience, and the second time it was under the direction
of a police-detective. Some five friends were in the party; and we
started on our tour of exploration about half past nine