The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-10-31
THE FUNERAL OF GEN. Ii YU DOO.
Oriental obsequles Stop the Horse
Cars in the Bowey.
Two TalIy-Hos and Seventy-Two Car
rIages In the cortege.
Chine Sc New York Does Honor &c
the Dead Cell 1tIaI.

New YORK, Oct. 30.--Other curious funer-
ais there have been in New York city, but
never one so curious as that Of Ii Yu Doc,
the Chinese General. He was one of the
greatest and richest Cinnamon in the East,
he had led his countrymen in their rebellion
OF 1861, he had reached the SD degree, and
was Grand Master in Chinese Free Mason
ry; he had had two wives in China; Ihe had
been wealthy there, and he had made more
m oney here; he had become owner OF stores
In New York, Boston and Philadelphia he
had been brave, and wise, and popular. and
for all these things his fellow Mongollians
were bound to send him on his silent journey
to the Beyond with all the pomp and mortu-
AIRY splendor.
The great soldier Greathed his last on Oe-
tober 10, and in the nine days since then the
preparations for the funeral had been con-
stantly making; 40 men had been at work
con nstructing the emblems Of mourning, and
hundreds of dollars had been subscribed to
pay the bills. So the Chinese colony was
proud yesterday when all was ready for the
great event. The body had been embalmed
and was in Undertaken Naughton's shop at
o. Mott street. At a. m, 1t was taken from
the small room and put in the big stable. The
walls had been draped with black, and on
the ceiling a wide strip Of white cloth
crossed another strip Of black. running from
corner to corner like the letter x. All the
carriages had been taken out and the horses
stalls were hidden by hanging blankets. The
black cloth-coyered coffin was ON the saw
horses In the furthest corner. At It's foot
was big table, on which was the food that
the Chinese prepare for their dead to eat in
case they get hungry on the trip to the home
OF Confueius. There were a shoat and a
kid each cooked and ready for carving,
cone and candied paste, and some bowls of
rice. Then, lest Ii Yu Doc might be very
hungry and need more, there was another
table, on which were placed whole roasted
pig, some pots OF tea, some bottles of wine,
and high piles OF biscuits, lemons and or
anges. All around these things to eat were
chop sticks and little teacups, and big baskets
Of flowers sent by friends.
The dead man was dressed in the robes of
Mandarin of the dynasty of Ming. His
queue was wound around the top ofhis head,
and on his breast was Chinese paper money.
In his left hand were some gold pieces. On
ly those who put the gold there know how
much there was. They put that and the
paper money in the coffin, so that Ii Yu Doc
might have cash TO pay expenses on his jour
ney to the other land, and also to appease
the spirits that might molest him on the
way. On the tables furthest from the coffin
there burned seven lights. Two of the lights
were huge candles Of red wax, four were
smaller candles of white wax, and the
seventh light was bunch of joss sticks.
Early In the morning chief officers Of the
municipal government of Chinese New York
solemnly entered the chamber of death.
They wore bands Of black and white around
their left arms, and had on blouses and trOu-
sers Of white cambric. Proceeding to the
coffin they saluted the body, and then, step
ping to the farthest table they prostrated
themselves at the end where the candles and
incense tapers were burning. Each man
stood there In turn alone, and prOstrated
himself three times till his head touched the
toor. After these men had been performing
this service for an hour or more, a company
OF 100 members of the Lun Gee Tong, the
Chinese Free Mason Society, marched down
from their rooms at 10 Pell street, 90 the un-
dertaker's shop. They were dressed in blue
and white and yellow blouses and loose
trousers. They went through the ceremo-
nles that the municipal officers had begun.
At l O'Clock the police pushed the mob
aside, and made narrow lane down Mott
street. Then out came the men in uniform,
the body was put in a hearse, and the march
down the thoroughfare of Little China was
started. 1t crossed the Bowery to Oliver
street. and turned up Henry. While going
over the Bowery the horse cars and all traffic
were stopped for half an hour. Boys clung
to the crossbars on the elevated railroad
posts, aud even the roof tops were black
with people. Up Mott street you could see
the houses marked with Chinese signs and
pSecoIated with Chinese lanterns and black
In the procession were various Chinese
societies clad in the Ooriental magnifence of
Their regalia, followed by two tally-hos,
seventy,two carriages. and wagon loaded
with food for the dead soldier. Enough China
men followed i'll ordinary dress to swell the
number to over 1000.
There was a jam Of spectators all along
Henry and Grand streets on the way to the
Terry. 1t took five ferryboats to get the
funeral over the river, and then at Sd. m.
the march up Broadway, Brooklyn. was be,
gun. An immense crowd was waiting at
Evergreen. When it heard the mingled
music OF German and Chinese players 1t
scampered over the graves to the far away
have their burying plot. At 4.4O the coffin
mad been taken from the hearse and carried
through and avenue Of Cinnamon to the
grave. There were 1000 Americans ON the
nil, and they wouldn't give the Cinnamon
any chance until the policemen drove them
back. Then the coffin was lowered. The
banner Of the Lun Gee Tong was stuck at
the head and two huge lanterns Of the dead
planted on poles next to It, Tom Lee threw
the tne mist I,d soil M,, upon the resou1ding
that the other er'' cRinamssn snA' stripped IS1eS
themselves of all their funeral trappings,
sashes, blue and red and black blouses, ev-
erythlng that they had put on that had any
all up on the left of Ii Yu Doo's grave.
Then on the pile they put the mandarin um-
brela, the eight emblems of Tau, the poles
and banners, and when the pile was big and
broad and long they lighted it and stood to
one side to pray in silence. It was LII Yu
DOCS funeral pyre, and, though there have
been Chinese funerals in Evergreen before,
this was the biggest one ever burned there.
The last thing thrown ON it was his trunk.
1t was filled with his clothing and all his per-
sonal property. This was done so that ey-
erything he had in this world for daily use
might go out to him transformed in smoke
for use in the next. Another set of China
men placed two chickens, some bowls of
rice, and cups Of tea ON the grave. Then two
bottles OF wine were emptied on the mound.
and all that the living could do for the dead
was done. 1t was late when all was over.
and the sun had gone down so far that the
last thing it saw as it was speeding to make
day for LII Yu Docs native home was his