The Great Round World And What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 22, April 8, 1897 | Page 6

was no work too bad or too wicked for him to undertake.
Among his other crimes he bribed juries, and had a whole regiment of witnesses ready to swear as he wished.
The See Yups knew all about this, and so, when a case was coming into court against any of their members, they would go to Little Pete, and hire his witnesses to swear for them,--well knowing that if they didn't do this, Little Pete would have them there to swear against the See Yups.
By these means Little Pete grew very rich, and was as much hated by his enemies of the See Yups, as admired by his friends of the Sam Yups.
Time passed on, and Little Pete, full of his power, began to make the tax on the See Yups a little heavier than they could submit to. They appealed to the Consul. He took no notice of them. They went to Washington, accused the Consul of being in league with the Sam Yups, and asked that he be dismissed.
The Minister would have nothing to do with them, and they went back to San Francisco, vowing vengeance on Little Pete.
With the Chinese, murder is very lightly regarded, and Little Pete never doubted that his enemies of the See Yups would try to murder him when they got back from Washington. For weeks he went about wearing a coat of mail, and followed by two sturdy Sam Yups, his hired guards.
One night he went into the barber's, and, feeling safe, sent his guards away. The See Yups were watching for just such an opportunity, and rushed into the shop and killed him.
Every effort was made to find the murderers. Several men were arrested, but it was not possible to show that they were connected with the crime, so nothing could be done.
The news of the murder was sent on to China, and there the matter should have rested but that the two rival societies declared a boycott on each other.
The Consul got tired of this, and insisted that it be stopped. The See Yups obeyed, but grumbled, and gave the Consul a great deal of trouble.
The quarrelling still kept on, and finally the Consul sent the fatal letter, accusing the ten See Yups of treason.
The See Yups declare that they can prove that the Consul is in league with the Sam Yups, and that he has made this false accusation against them to oblige the Sam Yup society.
Their only hope is that the Minister, who returns to China very shortly, may straighten matters out for them. If he will not help them they will have to choose between going back to China and having their heads cut off, and allowing their innocent relatives to be punished for them.
* * * * *
It will interest you to know that this is Maple Sugar time, and that all through New England the manufacture of the delicious Maple Sugar is in full swing.
The way Maple Sugar is made is very interesting.
In the spring-time, before the trees begin to bud and blossom, the sap rises and works its way up into every bough and branch and twig of the tree. Sap is a liquid which flows through the tree much in the same way that blood flows through our veins, and the sap is the life-giving element of the tree, just as the blood is of the body.
In the maple tree this sap is sweet, and it is from the sap that the Maple Sugar is made.
To obtain it, the tree is tapped by being bored with an augur. The sap flows through the hole thus made and is caught in vessels placed for the purpose.
When the tree has yielded a certain amount of sap the holes are plugged, and then covered with wax, to stop the sap from flowing. If this were not done it would continue to flow until every drop was exhausted, and the tree would practically bleed to death.
Maple trees are only tapped once in two years, so that they may have time to recover from the loss of sap, and thrive and grow into fine healthy trees, for the tapping of the trees by no means kills them. There are some maples in New York State that have been producing sugar for nearly one hundred years, and show no sign of decay, though they are still tapped when their season comes round.
When the sap has been drawn from the tree it is generally boiled down until it crystallizes or sugars; it is then poured into moulds, and hardens; this is the favorite way among the farmers for keeping Maple Sugar.
In former times no woman took part in the maple-sugar manufacture. The men used first to tap the trees, and then boil the sap over wood fires that they would build