Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. IN AMERICA, FROM THE STEAMER TO CHINATOWN, SAN FRANCISCO. r I '''HE arrival in San Francisco of a Pacific -1- mail steamship from China presents one of the most novel sights seen in America. As the steamer comes in through the Golden Gate and steams up the bay to the wharf of the P. M. S. S. Co., the Chinese passengers, who have spent their time for the most part during the passage, dozing in their narrow cots, now begin to swarm about like bees in May. They have a great time over their wardrobe, the most of which they take ashore on their backs, putting on one suit above the other, the new and clean ones generally outside. In this way the new-comer often looks cleaner than he really is. It is amusing to see the piles of clothing which some of these fellows will bring ashore on their backs. This getting ready to go ashore makes quite a busy time in that part of the ship occupied by Chinamen, especially where there is a large number of Chinese passengers. A thousandmen, each with his personal baggage, huddled together, in a space not large enough to make five hundred persons comfortable; all getting ready in excitement and hurry to go ashore, in a new and strange country; washing and combing, talking and laughing, looking and wondering, scolding and quarreling, pushing and crowding; concealing opium in one part of their clothing, and silk handkerchiefs in another; determined to run a chance of losing all in hope of gaining a little— all this presents a scene quite unique, and not soon to be forgotten by those who have once witnessed it. When the steamer reaches the wharf, the European and American passengers debark first. After a few preliminaries, begins the swarming on shore of the Chinese passengers. They pour out in crowds like people from a theater ...