Assignment 10- Letter /Diary from the Railway

For this assignment we are suppose to write a journal entry or a letter from a perspective of someone in the 1880's when Canada's most amazing Railway was being built. It can either be a point of view from a Chinese worker, family members, and other people involved in building the Railway. For more information on this assignment click here and here.

Dear Sung, 1882

How are you? How is our daughter? She is probably two years old by now, oh how I miss you and I haven't even seen our daughter. She is probably as pretty as you are, perfect skin, enormously beautiful eyes and a very adorable mouth. I won't be able to see her until all this railway business is over. I don't even enjoy being here, we don't get payed enough compared to how tough the job is and I have to tell you it wasn't worth the trip to come here all the way from China. I get payed $1.00 per day, it is hundred times better then what my wage was in china ($0.07) but the work is also hundred times harder here. I am however, hoping to earn enough money to buy a land back in China, but it is really hard to save up because I need money to pay for my food, clothes, shelter, strong boots, taxes and the shovel I use for work. During the three months of winter when the work came to a standstill, they didn't pay us. So it is extremely hard to save up.

The work we do here is really hard and we have to be extra careful around the dynamite. People can easily die if they were not careful around it. Like a week or two ago, an Englishmen forgot that he was beside the dynamite and he shook the ashes out of his pipe. He unfortunately died with a few of my friends. Luckily, my job was no where near there. Actually my job is to move the rocks out from where they want to built the tracks. I grew muscles from doing this job, something I was trying to have since I was twelve and finally, I accomplish it.

Here everyone is so rude to me and all my other Chinese friends, whenever we pass by them, they stare at us as if we are some clowns doing a show. Last night as I was walking to my room, five Englishmen tripped me to the ground and were insulting me in every possible way. They insulted the types of food we eat, our height, and many other things. It hurt me really badly, I felt like killing myself. I mean I have never been insulted in that way.

Well enough of what happened here, I want to tell you some of my dreams for the future. I have earned $600 since I started working here but you know what i was only able to save up like $80 because I spend the rest on my needs. To make this railway it will probably take us like 3 or more years because our goal is to make a railway that stretches from Vancouver to Montreal and also several other major cities in a country which I don't think you have heard about but its called United States. We still have a long way despite the fact that there are so many workers and each worker works day and night. Hopefully it last for at least six more years because by then I will be able to earn enough to buy a land in either china or enough money to get you guys to come up here. If the railways are all built six years I might look for a job here or I can even start a business which you can also help me with. Here in Canada there are many beautiful sites such as mountains and lakes but there are hardly any people here. Since we are making the railways, life would be a lot easier because these railways will unify the country and so you can go around the country with no transportation problem. Do you think it will be a great idea to bring our little sweetheart up here. It might affect her life in many different ways as in she might not eat rice as much. You are gonna have to help me make my decision of what to do because i can have you enter this country, it cost $50 per person.

Take care my love.

P.S. If you write back sent a picture of my daughter, who i have not seen yet.

Love

Dong Yee

Interesting Information:

- After the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, the government gave them 25 million acres of free land but they did not thank them for all the hard work and effort the Chinese workers put into the Railway.

- About 5000 of the Chinese workers stayed in Canada after the completion of the railway because they could not afford to go back to China.

I got most of the information from the following sites and from a history book:

History of Chinese immigration.

Chinese Canadian Culture Online Project