Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-11-28
what 1t Costs to Feed Cew.

furniture are COHsumcu hJ tne Iuuel-
ais of rich men.
Dien is the ordinary sacrifice at the
three great deceased ancestor feasts
The dien, or money for the dead, is n
substitute for sycee. 1t is thin rice-pa-
per, coated over with tinfoil, and got
up in the form of sycee. Richer peo-
pie havo it gilt, and the poor use in.
stead coarse yellow paper cut into the
shape of cash. At the festival of Ching
ming and tho ether public charity
solemnizations, immense quantities of
dien are burned all along the streets,
the rivers, canals, on the bridges, at
crossroads, jungle-paths, jetties, and in
fact everywhere where it is possible
that destitute spirit NAV be wander
ing in want of money to support him
in the world of darkness. This an
cestral worship has complete hold on
the Chinese mind. If the Tauist re-
ligion has not actually sprung from
reverence for the dead, it is at least
now its most fervent supporter, and
the priests of that faith make much
profit by meditating between the living
and the dead. The Buddhist BONES,
in self-defense, have adopted the same
tactics, and the filial piety taught by
the followers of Confucius certainly
does not tend to weaken the practical
working of the doctrine of Precipitation
of the dead. In China, therefore, we
have the most elaborate form of this
Precipitation of the dead; but it is not
only there that it exists. Ancestral
worship is the most obvious charac-
teristic of the religious notions of the
American Indians. 1t formed, prac-
tically, the state worship of Peru. The
living meas worshiped their dead fore
fathers. The village communities do
reverence to the first founder, or to
some famed warrior or dreaded sorcer-
er, and individual families seek for
peace of conscience in making offer
ings to their remotest ancestor, and
hoard up dried corpses for the pur-
pose of taking them round to see the
crops. Dead corpses, growing crops,
and pious agriculturists all derive
much benefit and peace of mind from
the proceeding. The method and phi
losophy Of the Chinaman are wanting,
but the idea is the same.
1t might be supposed that with these
views ancestor worshipers would be a
chary of taking life as the most rigdr.
Gus of Buddhists. This is, however,
very far from being the case. There
is no more Systematically b)Oodthirsty
fighter than your spirit-fearing China
man. He SCOTS at lily-lvered western
soldiers who rather prefer wounding q
man to killing him. That is not the
Chinese idea of carrying on war at all.
When he has a man down he makes
sure of him and cuts his head off. Now
this, in view of the orship of the
dead, is a most risky proceeding. There
is no surer way of getting into trouble
in the kingdom OF darkness than APP
pearing there without any head. On
the face of it this suggests misbehavior
above ground, and the rulers below
make such newcomer q coolie, or a
boatman, or even, if he seems to be a
particularly bad character, q police
man. Thus you have SO many uneasy
spirits created to vex living humanity
to the fullest extent of their sense of in
jury. Their remains above ground are
probably tossed about anyhow, and
not silver of diem comes their way
once in twelve-month. There can
not be, therefore, any doubt that such
victims of the good old rule will do
their utmost to revenge themselves for
their i'll treatment on folks in the world
of light And, as a matter of fact,
they do make them pay pretty penny,
which, however, goes into the pockets
of the Tauist priest, and not to the sole
benefit of the headless goblin. If a man
gets fit of Indigestion, or if loose
window-pane rattles at night, on a
beam creaks, he forthwith imagines n
hungry demon devising mischief, and