Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1920 — Beggars Who Float in Bowls. [ARTICLE]

Beggars Who Float in Bowls.

In various countries during past ages beggars have carried bowls, but China is probably the only country tn which bowls carry beggars. The ’bowls are boats, round in shape, and large enough to carry two beggars, one of whom maneuvers the craft beside an incoming steamship while the other, usually an aged Chinese woman, does the begging from the passengers, sometimes making it easier for them to contribute by reaching upward with a bag on the end of a long pole. The dexterity of the beggars in handling their seemingly Impossible boat gives entertainment in return for alms, says an exchange. The craft has no visible distinction between bow and stern, and the paddlers, coming out from the shore, sit, one might say, at opposite ends of the diameter, looking forward, and each paddling vigorously over his own side of the bowl.