They get their living by carrying people to the ships, and by fishing.
They have a place in the bottom of the boat, where they sleep at night;
and, in cold weather, they shut themselves up in it to keep from
freezing. I went out in one of these boats a few days ago. The water was
very rough; and I was quite astonished, after being out some time, to
see a pair of bright eyes shining from below, through a small crack,
nearly under my feet.

Coming back, it was not quite so rough; and the owner of the bright
eyes--a little girl four years old, with a baby strapped on her
back--came "up topside," as they call up above. When the baby was fussy,
the girl would dance a little; and so the baby was put to sleep in this
peculiar fashion.

It is a very common sight to see a boatwoman rowing the boat, with her
baby strapped on her back. The child likes the motion, and is very
quiet. It must be very hard for the mother; but the Chinese women have
to endure more hardships than that, as I shall show you in future
numbers of "The Nursery."

In cold weather, these people must suffer very much, they are so poorly
clad. They put all the clothing they have on the upper part of their
body; and their legs and feet are hardly covered at all. Fortunately for
them, it is not very cold in this part of China.

[Illustration]

In Canton, there are many more boats than here; for the floating
population there is the largest in the world. I have seen as many as ten