Arizona republican., 1904-09-23
CHINESE SUPERSTITION
Two Days in the Year When IL Is
 Against Their Religion to Die.

against AeAE ASllBlOn 70 D1Ss
 The Chinese are not a very senti- mental race of people and in this coun- try, at least, they make little demon stration. But when they believe a thing they are certainly in earnest about it and they don't care to have anybody present arguments to tear down their faith, however supersutiOus or unreasonable it may be. And just how superstition they are about some things was illustrated here yesterday by the passing of one of their number. Foe BenO. to the great beyond.
 Between l o'clock and 2 o'clock yes trday a Phoenix undertaking firm re- ceived a hurry-up call from Chinatown and responded a s quickly as the horses could be hitched up. Arriving, the un- dertaker was informed that Fee Beuo had slipped over the divide a few min utes before and it was very desirable that he should be laid away instant CT to all of which the undertaken made
 no protest, for from his point of view the quicker the job was finished the
 better it was for him. But he could
 not easily handle a corpse alone. so he asked some of the dead mans country [ E Beno to the dead wagon.
 Not Chinaman moved though there
 were a score or more sitting around on i their launches, smoking their pipes as though they were getting wages for 1t, and seemingly oblivious of the fact that they were in the presence Of either death or his right bower the uudertak-
 CT. The undertaken repeated his re- quest which stlu remained unbeaded except by one elderly GIongolian who finally volunteered to help. A third re- quest stirred the willing Chinanan and | he tried his best to persuade the eth CTS to assist but not a man of theln
 would move. The body was finally l placed in the wagon when the under taSer inquired the reason of the almost | unanimous refusal of the Chiuar men 10 1 help. He asked if the dead man had | been a particularly hard character. CT | If he was universally disliked by lis | own race, or what other reason there 1 could be for such strange conduct. In relpy he was told that Foe Beno was q | heap good man" but that it was | heap bad day" Various Chnamen
 were interrogated in the same way ard | they all replied in the same manner,
 acknowledging the personal worth Of | the departed. but empha sizing the fact !
 | Orders were then given that Foe 1 Beno should te buried just as soon as ! possible and q rush was made to the 1 health officer for a burial permit and | by o'clock Foe Beno was sleeping in
 the Lcosley cemetery.
 It is customary on the occasion Of a | Chinese funeral here for all the coun- | trymen of the dead man to attend the
 funeral in carriages, and as a general thing all smoke cigars on the way to | the cemetery if they are given to
 smoking at all. It is also a custom to paper the line of march of the funeral
 procession, with little pieces of red rice 1 paper on which something is printed in Chinese characters. But yesterday only | two Chinamen attended the funeral
 and four or five white men were se-
 cured to go along and assist the under 1 taker. After the interment yesterday | one of the Chinamen gave the under | taker and each of the men who helped
 him five cent piece. They declined | to accept the gift at first but the Chi
 naman was insistent, saying It was
 very necessary that they take the of
 ferng. not because of it's money value but as an assurance of good luck | Whether it was a charm to keep some terrible fate away from those who udluiGu lle O6aQ man or WnELHer the | charm was in the interest of the dead,
 was not made plain.
 It was an unusual proceeding, as the Chinese generally make more demon
 stration over a funeral than anything
 else except their annual New Years l celebration. One Chinaman who talks | good English was interviewed and he
 gave the information that though the
 dead man had led an exemplary life he was not a Mason. He did not seem to i imply. though, that that fact should
 be any reason for a lack of proper re- spect, for he immediately said, like all | the others, that it was a "heap bad
 day." and it certainly was, for Foe
 Beno. Asked why yesterday should be considered verse than any other day he said he did not know, only that 1 there were two bad days every year
 and yesterday was one of them. Yes terday chanced to be the autumnaI equinox and it is possible that that
 fact was what made 1t such an inop- perfume time for the passage of the soul of Foe Beno. It is sincerely hoped that his voyage across the Styx was
 marked by no more stormy weather
 than prevailed in Phoenix all day yes | terday, the only unusual occurrence
 being few clouds that threatened rain.
 Foe Beno was 62 years old and had