Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-22
CHOW TOOK. THE HIoHBINDER.


six Priests 1t His Funeral and Mosrnsrs
Wal for Ten Hours.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
Chow Fook, one Of the hardest characters Of
Chinatown. died the other day and yesterday
he was buried. He kept in Baker alley one Of
the worst Of Chinatown's houses of ill-fame.
Chow Fook was . member Of the Hop wah
Society, and was rich. old. ugly and villain to
the core. His death has left . great void in
highlander circles.
"Chow Fook baily Itch, b,ily blave." ex-
planned the round face keeper Of the little res
taurant on Dupont street, near the alley, when
questioned yesterday.
He was professed Taoist, and, being rich,
he was given . costly funeral. and being
largely attended. Very few Of the Chinese fu-
neral trains yet seen in San Francisco have
been SO imposing As Chow Fook's.
From early morning yesterday until the fu-
neral cortege was formed, about O'Clock, six
Iaoist priests were present in the little room
where the dead highbin Ter lay in state. Charms
and images were strewn around the apartment
and richly colored hangings adorned the walls.
The black-robed churchmen kept up q contnu-
Gus appeal to the innumerable gods Of their
wild and fanciful religion, now ringing bells to
propItiate the evil deities then reciting in con-
cert passages Of the TAO Teh King" and anon
giving praise to Yu Wang Shang Ii (god. the
perfect king) with the loud clangor Of brazen
cymbals
They have . strange way Of accounting for
the name Of the founder of their religion. these
Taoist priests. The Old Boy" they call him.
He was supernaturally conceived, they say, and
his mother bore him for eighty-one years be-
fore he was born. When his birth came his
hair was hoary with age. and he was thence
forth called. because of his aged appearance,
Luao-tsze, or The Old Boy."
All through Saturday night the cooks at the
bagnio Of the deceased Chow Fook were busily
engaged at preparing the funeral meats.
hog was roasted whole. and dish after dish
esteemed by the celestial palate was carefully
cooked for the morrow.
After the coffin lid had been screwed down
yesterday afternoon the porker and all the
other delicacies were thrown into the alley.
"Nebba eat pawk or anything apta cousin die"
said one OF the Tsoists. And it is so. The
funeral baked meats" are thrown away in &C.
cordance with az ancient superstition.
The dead Chow Fook was borne in hearse
to the Chinese cemetery. The cortege was led
by hackload of celestials whose Office it was
to scatter sacred paper along the way.
why do they scatter paper?" repeated an
educated Chinese. when questioned last even
ing at the Chinese Church on Stockton stree:
near Clay. We'll, because Of old notion
that if the bits Of paper we're not thrown along
the route the demons would make the corpse SO
heavy that it could not be borne to the grave"
Chow Fook. despite the weight of his SINS
must have been very, very light yesterday, IL
the Taoist rule held good. for paper galore lit
tered the entire way from Baker alley to the
vault in which the form was laid.
Following the men who appeased the demons
came the hearse and then the mourners. These
mourners were clad in garments Of white, that
being the mourning color among the Chinese.
The priests followed the mourners, Changing
their cymbals and reciting their liturgles, and
after them came long line of carriages filed
with "fens'
The body will b sent to China by the next
steamer which sails for Hong Kong.
Toward dusk the priests returned and the
mourning commenced in earnest. Six mourn
their station on the floor Of the room in which
the corpse had been during the forenoon. They
sat huddled close together and set up a low
moaning. accompanying their droning cries BY
movements Of their bodies-now swaying in one
direction and then in another. The priests sat
upon O raised platform. They were robed in
black and had curious headdresses, some having
peacock feathers in their hair These priests
made most unesrthly din, chanting bits Of
Taoist invocations and making discordant
sounds on Chinese cymbals and with shrill-
voiced bells. Gathered around were as many
celestials of both sexes the room would hold
while the adjacent apartments were uncomfort-
ably thronged. Incense of sandal wood loaded
the air and q CHASTITY light was thrown upon the
scene by candles burning in colored lanterns.
1t would be hard to conceive anything more
weird.
The uncanny ceremonies continued until 4
o'clock this morning.