The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-04-07
Sent BACK
A Steam Ship Load OF Dead
Chinaman Shiped
FROM new YORK CITY
Eight Thousand Dead Celestials who
Died in This Country Carried in
Boxes Back to the Celestial King.
dom to Be Laid to Rest Be.
side Their Ancestors.

side Their Ancestors.
New York, March 31.-The larg-
est number of passengers that ever
sailed from New York on one steam
er left last week on board the Shine
sa, bound for the Orient. They num-
bered nearly 5000 despite the fact
that the Shimosa is a comparatively
small steamship-not much bigger,
in fact. than the average coastwise
tramp"
The 5000 passengers, however,
did not object to the seemingly over
crowded condition. In fact, not
word of complaint was heard from
any one of them. 1t should be
known, however, that every one Of
the passengers was dead and that
fact doubtless accounts for their 81
lent acceptance of conditions which
would not be tolerated on a slave
ship. They were all placed between
| decks several days before the steamer
sailed and not until the Far East
is reached will they be permitted
to come on deck.
1t is not generally known, but
every ten years the Chinese in all
parts of the world gather up their
dead for shipment to China and final
re-interment in the soil Of the Flow
cry Kingdom. Unless Chinaman
is buried in his native soil his chanc-
es of getting into heaven are about
as slight as poor mans unances OF
getting into the Four Hundred. AT
least. he believes they are, and con-
sequently he makes extraordinary ef-
forts to die in his native land.
The next best thing to dying at
home is being buried there and 50
the bodies of nearly all Cinnamon
who die in foreign lands are taken
70 China for burial.
During his lifetime every goot
Chinaman in foreign lands pays {
small sum weekly or monthly to E
society which guarantees him burial
in his native soil. Of course. II
would be too expensive to ship home
each Chinaman as soon as he died
so the American branch of the So
ciety waits until there are severa
thousand to return and then send!
them back at comparatively low
cost.
In the past ten years some 5000
Cinnamon have died and been buried
: in America east of the Mississippi
river. These bodies have been dug
up and are now on board the Shimo
sa. bound for their final resting
places in the Flowery Kingdom
Laundrymen and rich merchants lii
side by side in perfect harmony, ant
scores who were deadly enemies dur
ing their lives, members of riva
''tongs," are making the trip withou
: the slightest fear of not arriving il
the same condition in which the.
stared.
Although the 5000 passengers ar
slowed between decks, and as deat
as the proverbial doornail, they ar
not making the trip without some
thing to eat. The Chinese believe
that dead man must never be sen
on his last trip without frst-clas
meal, and consequently every China
man on board the Shimosa has roa:;
pork, chicken and rice in his coffin
The Shimosa does not carry ply
sician. She does carry Chinest
crew, however. And for this reason
1t is one of the Oldest superstition
among sailors that a corpse On hoare
a ship brings bad luck. That is ONT
reason why those who die on hoard
are nearly always buried at sea.
If one dead man on board
4 shiu brings bad luck
always buried at sea. If one dead
man on board a ship brings bad luck
it is easy to figure out that with
5000 dead Cinnamon the shimoss
is doomed. Chinese sailors, however
are not up in this particular super
stition, and consequently they will
sail the Shimosa as cheerfully as il
she was laden with chop suey.
On her arrival in eastern waters
the Shimosa will touch at the princi-
pal Chinese ports and unload hel
passengers who will be buried in
their native provinces under the SUI
pervsion of the agents of the SO
ciety.