Free Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco by Judy Yung Page A

just going to see Grandma and be right back." And that worthless father,
my own father, imagine, had every inclination to sell me, and he sold me
on the ferry boat. Locked me in the cabin while he was negotiating my
sale. And I kicked and screamed and screamed and they wouldn't open
the door till after some time, you see, I suppose he had made his bargain
and had left the steamer. Then they opened the door and let me out and
I went up and down, up and down, here and there, couldn't find him.
    She was later taken to San Francisco and resold to a brothel, where she
worked as a mui tsai:
    [My owner] used to make me carry a big fat baby on my back and make
me to wash his diapers. And you know, to wash you have to stoop over,
and then he pulls you back, and cry and cry. Oh, I got desperate, I didn't
care what happened to me, I just pinched his cheek, his seat, you know,
just gave it to him. Then of course I got it back. She, his mother, went
and burned a red hot iron tong and burnt me on the arm.
    Fortunately for Tien Fu, someone reported her situation to Donaldina
Cameron at the Presbyterian Mission Home, who subsequently rescued
her and brought her to live at the home. She told about the rescue:

    They described me much bigger than I was so when they came they didn't
recognize me. And then the woman who had reported to the mission
said, "Why didn't you take her? She's the girl." They said, "She looked
too small," and then they came back again. But even then, they weren't
sure that I was the one, so they undressed me and examined my body
and found where the woman had beaten me black and blue all over. And
then they took me to the home. Oh, it was in the pouring rain! I was
scared to death. You know, change from change, and all strangers, and I
didn't know where I was going. Away from my own people and in the
pouring rain. And they took me, a fat policeman carried me all the way
from Jackson Street, where I was staying, to Sacramento Street to the
mission, Cameron House. So I got my freedom there.
    With the help of a benefactor, H. C. Coleman of Morristown, New Jersey, Tien Fu was able to attend the Stevens' School in Germantown,
Pennsylvania, for four years, and the Toronto Bible School for another
two years. She saved enough money to return to China, but, unable to
find her family, she returned and devoted the rest of her life to the goals
of the Mission Home, assisting Donaldina Cameron in rescues, interpreting for her in court, and taking charge of the nursery department.
She never married but remained Cameron's constant companion even
after she retired from mission work in 119511. When Tien Fu passed away
in 11975, she was buried beside Cameron, who had predeceased her in
11968.
    As in China, mui tsai were pivotal in defining women's social status
in Chinatown. At best, a mui tsai could hope to be married to a man
who would provide for her; at worst, she could be resold into prostitution. Until she became of marrying age, she was at the mercy of her
owners, who could abuse her at will. In this sense, merchant wives, who
held control over the fate of their mui tsai, were in a position similar to
that of Chinese madams vis-a-vis their slave girls. As it was for prostitutes, life for mui tsai in America proved to be a double-edged sword.
Far away from China, they lacked the protection and support of family
and kin, but there were more avenues of escape available to them. Along
with the Mission Homes, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children looked after their interests and offered them help.86 The lack
of accurate statistics makes it difficult to gauge the number of mui tsai
in San Francisco or their outcomes. Given the small number of merchant
families that could afford mui tsai, and the large number of prostitutes,
the nineteenth century probably saw more Wu Tien Fus than Quan Laan
Fans. After all, it was more profitable for owners of mui tsai to satisfy the demand