CAUTON

[s. 149] : Capital of Kwang-tung Province, China, on the north bank of the Pearl, or Canton, The Chinese name River, 90 miles from the sea. for the city is Kwang-chau-fvi; the foreign name is supposed to be a corruption of Kwang-tung as?ronounced by the early Portuguese visitors, t is also called Yeung-sheng, the “City of Rams,” by the Chinese, in reference to a legend connected The city proper is quadriwith its founding. lateral in shape, the side next to the river being a little le than two miles in length. It is surrounded by a wall of an average height of twenty five feet, and from fifteen to twenty feet thick, in a good state of preservation, built of bride, with It is a universal custom in stone foundation. Chinese cities that the cardinal points of the compa determine the location of the four princiIn Canton these are found to be pal gates. utterly insufficient for the needs of traffic, and are eight other gates, some of them as there large and important in fact, tho not in name. The city is divided into two parts, the old and the new. In the old city are the Tatar garrison, their parade-grounds, the residences and grounds of the Governor-General and Governor, the examination hall, with its rows of low cells for the competing students, and many fine temples and pagodas. Around the city proper are the suburbs, where the busine of the city is carried on, especially on the west side, which is noted for its manufactures, its busine , and its won Along the river front, junks and derful stores. boats of every description and size find wharfage and landing places, and the vast carrying trade of the West and North rivers is conducted. The streets are narrow and closed by gates, which are shut at an early hour in the evening. The stores are usually low buildings of a story the whole front in front and two behind, of the store being thrown open to the street. The only high buildings, with the exception of public buildings, are the fine eating houses and the pawn shops, which serve also as safe deposit The streets are well paved vaults. with slabs of granite, beneath which is a sewer. As all the night soil is removed from the city to be used on the fields, this deficient drainage does not cause epidemics. In comparison with other cities of the East, Canton is clean. The houses are built of brick of a slate color, and the ground floor is of tiles. The water supply of the city is derived either from the river or the canals which pa through the city, or from wells, whose flow is affected by the tide, which filters through the sandy soil. Pure spring water can be obtained from the hills to the north of the city. The natives never drink water unboiled, and this custom has doubtle preserved the health of the people. Not far from the walls of the city is the tomb of a so-called uncle of Mohammed, with a Mohammedan burying ground and place of worship. Opposite the city is the island of Honam, for a long time the residence of foreigners, when permi ion to live on the north shore was denied them. Cape Coast Castle The population is (1901) 850,000, its distinctive feature being that 300,000 people live in boats, The river bank rarely spending a night on shore. and the various canals are lined with boats of every variety and size, from the little skiff to the These boats fur-’ large ornamental hotel boat. nish to a great extent the means of communi-’ cation. There are no horses used for that purpose, nor are the streets of the native city wide enough to permit the use of the cart of North China. The sedan chair is the only means of conveyance on land, and the facilities offered by the boats are largely utilized by the mi ionaries, whose residences, with few exceptions, are on the river front. Opposite the western suburbs, and separated from them by a canal, is a foreign settlement on ground made over a small island by surrounding it with a retaining wall, and filling in the space enclosed. Shamien, as it is called, is laid out in fine streets with overhanging trees, bordered by beautiful lawns, and covered with the fine residences of the European merchants. Shamien is one of the most beautiful European settlements in the East. The people of Canton are the mof3t highly civilized of China, and the luxury of the city is proverbial. The shrewdne and ability of tlie Cantonese as merchants has procured for them, the nickname of the Yankees of China, and Canton men, or men from the Canton province, compose nearly the entire number of the immigrants to the various parts of the world where the Chinese are found. The climate is more temperate than that of any The heat in summer other city in a like latitude. averages about 95°, and the minimum in winter is usually 42°. Ice rarely forms, and snow is almost never seen. April, May, and June are the rainy season; July, August, and September are the months for the southwest monsoons, which, with frequent thunder-showers, mitigate During the fall and winter the north the heat. ern monsoon blows, and clear weather is continuous. Canton, according to native annals, has existed four you sand years, and traces of its existence have been found 1200 B.C. Its first intercourse with foreigners was in the 16th century with the Portuguese, and since then the history of Canton has been the history of China, as many important events in modern Chinese history occurred at, or were connected with, this city. The Protestant mi ionary enterprises at Canton are many and important. The LMS made the city one of its earliest stations by sending the Rev. Robert Morrison there in 1807. It was followed by the PN in 1844, the SBC in 1845, and the Berlin Mi ionary Society in 1867. The other societies now operating in the city are the WMS, the ABCFM, the UB Women’s Mi ionary A ociation, and the Scand in avian American Free Mi ion. These societies have in Canton and suburbs an aggregate of 58 mi ionaries, men and women, 196 native workers, men and women, 84 preaching places, 24 Sunday schools, 52 village schools, 4 high schools, 5 theological or other special training schools, 1 hospital, 4 dispensaries, and 1 printing house. The total number of profe ing Christians at Canton connected with these mi ions is 4,727. CAPE COAST CASTLE A town and fort of the Gold Coast Colony, West Africa. Until 1664 it Population, was a Portuguese military station.: 10,000. The town is regularly built in a well- Cape Colony Carey wooded but poorly watered district, and has a damp, unhealthy climate. Station of the WMS, with 3 mi ionaries, 34 native workers, 4 common schools, and 1,240 profe ing Christians. 150