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A. D. BLUE
Almost every China coaster was equipped to carry several hundred deck passengers, although ‘equipped' is too grandiose a word to use when describing the very modest preparations this entailed. Deck passengers were usually carried on the main deck and in the 'tween decks, wooden decks on most ships, but without beds, bunks, or any luxuries of that nature. Each passenger or family was simply allotted so many square feet of deck space, and supplied their own bedding, mats, and wooden pillows. As the weather was usually warm and mild, male passengers spent most of their time on the main deck, which was sheltered from the sun by awnings. Female passengers, however, often spent the whole passage in the 'tween decks, in semi-private enclaves constructed with their baggage. Washing and sanitary facilities may have been primitive, but were reasonably adequate for a voyage rarely lasting more than nine or ten days, and were probably superior to what the passengers were accustomed to in their native villages. Numerous taps provided fresh water several times per day, and on a well-found ship passengers could fill buckets and other receptacles to last them through the dry periods. Thus Conrad's "Typhoon" does not give a very accurate description of an emigrant ship: the Nanyang was not a regular emigrant ship, and even Captain MacWhirr's well-intentioned efforts cannot have secured his passengers a comfortable passage before running into the typhoon.
In the heyday of the trade, deck passengers were usually provided with at least two Spartan meals per day, whose main ingredients were rice with a little dried fish and vegetables, and bought any extras and luxuries themselves. The compradore's staff cooked the two meals and kept the decks clean; but the whole crew were financially interested in the deck passengers. Some ran food and drink stalls where a wide range of Chinese delicacies were on sale; others ran opium dens and gambling schools; while others again hired out their accommodation. Under such circumstances the passenger with money to spare could have a very pleasant passage. There were the occasional periods of discomfort during bad weather and typhoons, when it might be necessary to confine the passengers in the battened down 'tween decks for their own safety. During the late 1920s and the 30s on the Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, and Haiphong trades I saw very little real hardship, and few destitute passengers. Most