The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1900-12-05
On MEMS FEAsTs.
or cHINAMEN SAID TO
'O0 n,rr IN CEMETERIES.
:. Is Reason to Believe How
,..r That Homeless M0rta's
tbe Largest Partakers.

F." AIC bN
.so thousands of bodies smol-
Among ,h potter'5 field OF this city
d'ring !. IN not ,s one of chinaman' says ss
there Ism w York Mail and Express: 90
/ the Ne" thp local Celestials OF the
'lou ,,o n.t that they permit no dead f f
bereai.pt trvmen to go to his rest IN as
=" cou There is something OF selfiShnes
Trace e, as we'll as altruism, for eacn reefs
ntnl', !'P his love for gambling, ana
ha' , "r.a uncertainty of fortune :,
lng ,. tD may die without money'anu
y if any one is allowed TO go 70 'H'
'lA '.o ;, field it may be himself
P0.''l rSiraman will die in peace II ne
.Sa assurance that his bones Will
h'' ' 5ar rest in the home LAND. inns
one u'9 - 90 home. even in the bone,
eassI .po bottom of all the charitable
AZ ' nf the.six Companies. That none
'oIA SOL o that his body is the object OF
ras .itr the Six Companies take care
cna,''@ .hotber rich or poor, and the
1'l' formalities are gone through
'an p ,,hateyer the fortune of the dead
man may be- non oro buried in
NEW enuoo5 or in Cypress Hill. In each
GreenWoo ou,,, y. "a plot is set aside
o. 'n lt9l, In Greenwood the plot IS OF
loF t .nT, an acre in extent. 1t is fenced
perH@po As one enters the gate he
s "l,l mon large marble slao some
t Grn feet high. 1t bears the names IN
aEG iC characters of the three socle-
Clt ttbat maintain the grounds. IL IS
s slSo '1, With little marble stones, d 1oot
l nan ,'n6 niqbt inches wide, each at the
t IAN Gn az crave and each bearing the
AV@u " a%a and date of death of de-
Man, Celestial. Most of the stones
pa other inscriptions that tell orleHy
s yT~l nathetic incident in the lie OF
S ,In ner.ol whose body lies below.
FEEDING SOULS OF THE DEAD.
Al the stones. and especially the
bg one. are stained with smoke OF IN
W. ao,o and with the grease of thousands
C ~ roasrpd chickens and pigs that have
SaaO left there to feed the souls OF the
lead in their long journey 10 the lana
~ tbo hereafter. These souls may
Tncor about the front gate of Paradise,
oven over if thew arrive from New York,
but thew may not enter until tney can
satisfy the gatekeeper that their bones
are in China
Every dead Chinaman has long
journey before him any way one looks
at n He lies in his grave for hve
Years or So and when the body Is
u Arid out or has moldered SO that 1T l,
q no menace to health it is taken up.
q The bones are scraped and sealed her,
meticaly ina tin box and shipped 10
China on some freight vessel, for there
is no hurry since the poor soul has
plenty of time to wait. Standing at the
81 graFes in either of the local cemeteries
81 one nav see ships from all chimes and
1ati0ns. One may see the NarroWs,
where all boats must pass, and 1t Is
supposed to be a consolation TO the
men under the sod to look out with
eyes not of flesh and see the ships that
one day will take them to their final
resting place. 1t is a very pretty bit
Of sentiment, and the Chinaman is
creature of sentiment to greater ex-
tent than he ever gets credit for.
But the roasted chicken and pigs
and boiled rice and incense make quite
another kind of picture. These foods
are cooked with the greatest care,
They are really better than the living
prepare for themselves. In the words
OF an undertaker's assistant, they are
good enough to eat. In fact, most OF
them really are eaten. 1t is said by
THIS man that no sooner does Chinese
funeral quit the graveyard than one or
more homeless men saunter up to the
chinese section and get away with the
meat and rice. Bottles of wine are of
Ten left by the friends, and this goes,
Too. This leaves the dead man in a
state Of famine, but there has never
oeen any protest 1t often happens
Ilat the mortal partaker of the food of
@e lmmortals sits on the grave and
eats the Celestial banquet, and render
slankS by wiping his greasy fingers on
Nne tombstOnes. This accounts for the
Solled conditiOn of some of the stones.