"In
time I got to know a number of the most picturesque characters in
the quarter (SF Chinatown). Some of them were denizens of the dark
who seldom came out into the light of day. One was a miserable skeleton
who had been smoking opium for many years. He practically lived on
it. The use of opium had not then been officially forbidden, and
no effort was made to keep it under cover. The old man's only source
of income was the few nickles given him by the guides who brought
tourists to his shack to see a smoker in action. His only friend
was a cat, who sat on his chest purring contentedly as it inhaled
the fumes from his pipe. A woman sightseer reported him to the Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The cat was taken to the
animals' refuge where, refusing to eat, it almost died of starvation.
Another woman who had been in the tourist group, indignant at
the attitude of her companion, had followed up the case. When she
found out what had happened, she appealed to the higher authorities.
The cat was returned to its master where, snoozing peacefully on
his chest, it lived happily ever after."
As
I Remember
. . . the Autobiography of Arnold
Genthe
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