Real or a just a real 'Good Mystery'?
The main thing they
had going for them -- and
working against them -was that they were generally the hardest of workers
for the lowest of pay.
Though boon to businesses, this was a cause of
much resentment from
white laborers, who felt
the Chinese were "stealing" jobs and causing
unreasonably low wages.
Almost immediately,
animosities developed
from the whites and local
papers -- more gossip
sheets than sources of
news then -- began printing rumors about the mysterious people and their
strange customs.
The Chinese, like most
everyone else, found little
luck in the search for
gold, and eventually
secured other employment
as woodsmen, railroad
workers, ranch hands and
servants. Many eventually
settled into niches as
cooks, gardeners and
cleaners. Soon, they were
famous for their abilities to
build stacked stone fences
-- many of which still
stand today -- for which
they were paid roughly
one cent per foot of finished fence.
A photo from 1966, taken by
Susan Boer, shows a door
and steps to a subterranean
area of Lang's Appliance, at
617 Walnut Street. Some
speculated that this may
have led to Chinese tunnels,
but was more likely the
entrance to a fruit cellar.
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October, 2013, Tehama - the Magazine 15
