Reading Notes A, Week 7, Eaton

In the Land of the Free, by Edith Maud Eaton, takes place in San Francisco. A Chinese couple were living in the San Francisco, the wife, Lae Choo, returned to China to give birth to their child, The Little One. Her husband, Hom Hing stayed in San Francisco and continued to work as a merchant, he owned a store and they lived above it. Lae Choo and her son had stayed in China longer than they expected because Hom Hing’s parents were ill and she needed to take care of them. Hom Hing had never met his son, who was 20 months old. Lae Choo and The Little One arrived under the Golden Gate bridge aboard, Easter Queen. Hom Hing met his son and as they were leaving the ship the family was stopped by two men with the intials U.S.C. on their caps. The Little One did not have any papers and none of the papers about Lae Choo had mentioned anything about a child, because he was not born when the papers were filed. Against the parents will they had to hand their son over to the men, until they could get approval from the government to let the child in to the US.

The next day Hom Hing when to get his son, when he returned home, he did not have his child. Lae Choo was devastated.

After 5 long months, Lae Choo was withdrawn from everyone, and Hom Hing felt his wife would die if she did not get her son back. “Her food she takes only when I bed her and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. He eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits.” Pg 326 A young man, who was a lawyer, brought a letter from the government but it said the same as before. The young man said he would go to Washington to get the needed papers for Hom Hing to bring his son home, but it would cost him $500, he would not take anything less and the couple had no money. Lae Choo gave him all of her jewelry in exchange for her son.

After 10 long months Lae Choo was able to get her son from the missionary where he was taken care of. She was so happy to see him but he did not know who she was when he saw her. “But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman’s skirt. “Go ‘way, go ‘way!” he bade his mother.”pg 329