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Second Wav of Immigrants
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Leaving China
I escaped from China because I didn't want to catch famine, I wanted to escape drought, poverty, te Taiping Rebellion, and the government. I came to America because of the promise of jobs, to be with my husband, and the California Gold Rush. I come with only four pots, two pairs of clothes, and a family airloom that has been in the family for generations. I come to be with my husband who has finally found land to mine gold on. -
No Money
I had brought my life savings, $12.55 to America. While on the boat $6.78 of the $12.55 was stolen while I was sleeping. It was one of the most ill-filled moments I have ever felt in my life! -
Finally Arrived
When going through the immigration process, I was chalked. At first I had no idea why, but when I walked into quarentine I realized why I had been chalked. It was because I looked "weird", or "different". There, standing in the room were other chinese immmigrants such as myself. I was later let go. -
What is Wrong with me?
I felt this way everywhere I went. People stared at me, their eyes filled with hatred and disgust. The discrimination against my race was so terrible. I wasnt just stared at, once i was even spit on. I always wondered what was so worng with me for these people to look and treat me the way they did, they didnt even know me. Even to this day I wonder what is/was wrong with me. -
Goodbye Chinatown, Hello West
The reasons I wanted to leave chinatown, and the east was because I was strongly discriminated against, I earned lower wages than anyone else, and the living arrangements were terrible. I lived in a tenement, a run-down and overcrowded apartment house, especially in the poor section of a large city. I didnt just want to move to the west to get out of there, I wanted to go to join with my husand, get land, mine gold, and the discrimination wasn't as bad. -
I Don't Want to Leave
This was the toughest time I had ever had in America. Even through being starving, getting my money stolen, and being chalked. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had finally arrived and it showed no mercy. All Chinese immigrigrants were suspended for ten years. -
Rest in Peace
Afte rmoving to the west, we had been living there only four months before my husband was killed. My husband was a miner for gold, we were earning minumum wage and were very fortunate mine collectors. My husband was killed in a mine explosion, and all our gold was stolen by greedy, ruthless criminals with no hearts. -
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
Since my husband was killed in the mine explosion, and he was the backbone of money in our household, I had to come up with a new way to make money. So I decided to cut my hair, deepen my voice, and wear men clothing. I did this to get a job as a miner. I worked for 12-14 hours a day, and i was even paid less that $1 a day, it was a rip-off but atleast I was supporting myself now. -
What's the Hospital Bill?
I guesss I wasn't very highly trained in the art of mining. A few months after I started as a miner I was in a fatal mining accident. I was hospitalized for two months and in a world of hurt with my bills. I needed to get smart with money, and settle down. While in the hospital I met one of the doctors, not only was he that, but he was also my future husband. -
Goodbye Life
I later died with my second husband, and two baby girls by my bedside. As I laid dying, I reflected on all that I had come through, traveling to America, working as a man, watching my husband get murdered, meeting my new husband, and watching my two baby girls grow up.
