Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-10
BURIAL OF A CHINAMAN.
How the Devil Was Kept az q, Dis
lance While the Souls Dinner Was
Eaten.

How the Devil Was Kept az d Dis
lance While the SOULS Dinner Was
Eaten.
While the gatekeeper at the railroad
crossing near the entrance to the Ever
green's Cemetery, Brooklyn, Yves quietly
reading the days news, says the New
York San, funeral procession dashed
past at q rate that made him spring to
his feet, drop his paper, and open his
eyes to their widest. The string of car
riages were following a handsome hearse,
through the glass sides of which a costly
casket was seen. The coffin held the
body of the late Lee Wan, Mott street
grocer.
On the hearse, beside the driver, sat a
pale, gaunt Chinaman In a gown of
white silk, with strip OF white linen
tied around his arm and white porce-
lain bracelet on his wrist, who ct inter-
walls Of every 200 or 300 feet scattered
half-dozen slips of blank paper in the
road, In order, 1T was afterward ex-
planned, that the devil, who is believed
to pursue the dead, might be detained
by his curiosity to examine these papers,
until the deceased man could be put IN
der ground out OF his reach. The dozen
carriages following the hea1se were occu-
pied by Cinnamon.
The coffin having been removed, not
by friends of the deceased man, but by
| two or three drivers, it was lowered by
couple of grave-diggers. The China
! men, to the number of about fifty, drew
near and threw earth upon the coffin.
Then they gathered in groups to talk in
their peculiar sing-song fashion, while
q half dozen of their number unloaded
from basket the dead mans clothing,
several red candles, largo bunch Of
slow matches, and box containing vict-
uals. The clothing was rolled into
bundle and burned. The candles and
slow matches were set firmly In the earth
at the foot of the grave and lighted. The
box was then opened, and three bowls Of
| rice, a broiled chicken, and a plate of
lean meat, produced therefrom, were
placed beside the freshly-heaped mound,
that the disembodied soul might feed
upon them preparatory to taking its
flight. The chop-sticks were not seen
to move, nor was there any perceptble
diminution in the quantity of the viands,
| yet the Cinnamon seemed to firmly be-
1ieve that the spirit Of Lee Wan passed
that way and partook of the banquet.
The tramps In the neighborhood, who
had been attracted by the oddly of the
procession, eyed the dishes in way that
caused an aged, opium-smoking China
man to arouse himself from his dreamy
condition, and, ere the procession went
back at the same swift pace at which it
came, to thrust the souls dinner into the
tea box, and make off with it.
After mat had been spread beside
the grave the mourners went up In twos
and threes, and, standing or kneeling on
this mat, saluted Lee Wan for the last
time. The salute consisted of raising
and dropping the clasped hands three
times, accompanying each movement
with q nod of the head, then dropping
on all tours and ducEing the head three
times more, the face almost touching
the earth. Each person, after finishing
his salute, emptied upon the ground
tiny cup of weak tea that had been
poured from blue-and-white pot, of
design calculated to craze 3 bric-a-brac
hunter.
An intelhgent-looking Chinanan, with
the face Of a Tartar, but the clothes of
an American citizen, said that the can
dies and matches were burned for the
same reason that Christians sprinkled
holy water on graves to keep the
devil off" Where priests we're available
it was customary to employ them to re-
cite prayers over the graves but
there are no priests in New York, ho
said, and therefore the burial devolved
entirely upon the friends of the dead
man.
After the saluting was over, cigars
were distributed among the Cinnamon,
and they re-entered their carriages. The
place was deserted few minutes later,
and nothing but the fragrant blue smoke
of the slow matches, rising in the hot
air, and small boy lettering near to
steal the candles indicated that heather
burial had taken place.
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