The weekly Butte record., 1867-10-19


the feet sat devotee and brother Of
the deceased, who were constantly light
ing joss and frankincense sticks. About
every FIVE minutes they would take pa
pers from the large box. First, a long
piece of paper rounded on two corners,
and having in the center beautiful
gold leaf character /; then folded red
piece; then some in the shape of a
damaged razor-strop; then smaller pie
ces, then larger, until there would be
some four or FIVE layers. These were
lighted, and while burning, were waved
with kind of circular motion towards
the deceased two or three times; then
they were carefully laid in the pan of
dirt, turned and stirred with the rem
nant of a partially burned joss-stick,
until the whole were consumed. This
operation went on for about twenty
four hours. The amount of paper, joss
sticks and frankincense sticks used,
was considerable. There were over
two hundred remnants when the corpse
was removed.
The coffin, or rather square box,
y feet long, the corpse about 81
Next came the boxing up of the Celes-
tial. A relative first dropped in a
piece of money to pay the ferriage over
the river Styx; he then strewed the
bottom with the large paper having the
gold leaf character in the center, and
any quantity of smaller pieces of pa
per, over which an elderly Celestial
had said some kind of prayer, unin-
telligible to every one but Chinaman.
The corpse was then raised, and put in
the coffin, being neatly dressed in his
best blue nankeen suit, with hat, shoes,
etc. then commenced the piling in of
all his new clothes, consisting of three
new suits of wearing apparel the lid
of the coffin was then temporarily tack
ed, until they would arrive at the grave.
The cortege then started, preceded
by the brother, who carried in one
hand an oyster can suspended by piece
of wire, half filled with rice, and num-
Der of smoking frankincense sticks; al
so a relative with more than thousand
strips CT paper, which he was continu-
ally dropping; then followed about
thirty mourners. each one having a
white strip of muslin for badge, tied
on without much regularity then came
another with keg of brandy and a
huge barrel-shaped jar; another with
two common water buckets filled with
rice, pork, sugar, cakes, etc., and a
third with the old clothes belonging to
deceased. Previous to starting. how
ever, everything which a few moments
before seemed most sacred, lamps, pans,
boxes containing hundreds of the stumps
of joss and frankincense sticks. all, in
Guiding planks, bed, everything which
had even touched the deceased, were
cast into the Greek, en- voyage to meet
the deceased when he lands from the
boat of the ferryman, Charon, who will
safely carry him across the Styx, on
his Journey to the Flowery Kingdom.
One would naturally think that after
these solemn ceremonies, John China
man had ended his career on earth !;
not so, be has several gallons of brandy
to drink, besides immense quantities of
pork, rice and other good things, which
are at stated periods taken and left
about his grave by his relatives. These
good things he devours in the night
time when he feels like coming out and
having jolly good time, when he is
hep dry and belly hungry" When
he has rested some ten or eighteen
months, he is gouged out Of his grave,
divested of his wearing apparel, ripped
open from head to foot, every bone be-
longing to the human system is scrap
ed, sacked up and sent to San Francis
CO, and shipped from there to the Flow
cry Kingdom for his relatives to weep
over, and then to receive a second bu-
rial. The remainder of John is left at
his grave for flies, carrion crows and
.buzzards to feed on. And this ends