The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-10-14

CHINESE CEREMONY DESCRIBED BY
AN AMERICAN DIVINE.
Table Eighteen Feet Wide and About
Half a Mile Long Loaded with
Meats and Fruits.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal
RICHMOND, Ind, Oct. 13.-The Rev.
Stephen Stanton Myrich, of this city. son
of Mr.. and Mrs. Reuben Myrick, is master
of the Anglo-Chinese boarding school at
Singapore, Straits Settlement, Asia. In a
recent letter the Rev. Mr.. Myrick gives
an interesting description of the Chinese
feast of the devils. He says:
'"Ten days ago / went to see the service
of the Chinese feast of the devils. i al
ways deem the latest ceremony the most
remarkable i ever saw. This feast was
elaborate. There was one continuous
table eighteen feet wide and just under
half mile long. winding around corners
from one crooked street to another. Nine
platters 1.-TWO feet in diameter) stood
abreast across the table in rows six inches
apart, for the entire length, except here
and there the platters were replaced by
deep bowls of food unfamiliar to me. but
most gaudy in color. These platters
groaned with cakes. fruits and meats.
counted only three kinds of meat proper
goats flesh, mutton and pork; the guam
tity of the latter may be gathered from
the fact that it cost $1,000. There was no
beef because devils cannot eat flesh bulls
"a II,
q hundred weight OF dried prawns and q
solitary fresh lobster. There were literally
thousands of ducks and hens boiled whole
the combs of the cocks being red with
cochineal and their beaks being open as
II Growing. The hens heads were In easy
attitudes, as if sitting on nests. Fine geese.
boiled white and tender, were much I'm evil
dence There were countless cakes of every
Va a nd
blue white is deep mourning and blue
secondary mourning) Sunset yellow and
niger red predominated. L greatly wish
! could at all make you see the fruits. /
counted thrty-five kinds. all of which had
eaten except one, 'tampine. i have since
sought to taste tampine, but as yet have
failed to lay hands on any. 1t is the size
of small turnip and brown as nut. II
Is imported and / shall proceed to mention
the other foreign fruits next. There was
watermelon. turkey red and pitifully wilt
ed 1t and some green ripe apples hail from
Australia. China furnished pears, liechees
and yellow-rind oranges: also pumpkins,
colored persimmons, large and delicious.
Liechees are the Chinese nuts we used
to get from the laundry. Cats eyes.
biryay and salak represented the Malay
peninsula. Cats eyes are tropical variety
the seed is unique. 1t is covered with what
might be called sort of forked excelsior.
Lalak means wicked Ii is covered with
brown scales like snakeskin.
z.
fruit. bread fruit. cocoanut. green-rined
oranges, finger oranges (so-called because
the rind is wrinkled until il looks like fin
gers), bananas with red skins. bananas
with golden flesh bananas with skins thin
as paper and bananas nearly a foot long
that are fried in cocoanut oil before eat
ing; tree melon, rose fruit, Queeny, chez
koo. nanka, jamboo. suntol. rambootan.
rambai. blazan, sursop, chimpreda. mangos-
teen. DURAN (king OF fruits.) The above
spelings are free hand.
had 1iffl fac
the tables were ablaze with lights. There
were quantities of opium and intoxicants.
There was an abundance of theaters, but
not a sound of fireworks, for firecrackers
scare away the devil The time was in
dicated by staid New England clocks and
melody discoursed by an elegant European
music box.
THE beauties of nature here are bound
less. The gentleness and politeness of the
boys Is ever refreshing. but the spectacles
are simply beyond imagining