Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 May 1910 — A CURIOUS ESCORT. [ARTICLE]

A CURIOUS ESCORT.

Not long .ago there was burned, opposite the temporary tomb of the late Empress Dowager of China, a great boat which, together with the car on which it was placed, formed part of the funeral procession of that deceased woman. This imitation boat cost more than thirty-five thousand dollars, and the Chinese belief is that, as it burns, it ascends to heaven in its own smoke, and there becomes available for use. The ceremony is an imposing one, and is only performed at the death of an emperor or empress. But other funerals of the Yellow Ration are accompanied by picturesque and strange details which are also costly. Mrs. Archibald Little gives the fob lowing account of the funeral procession of Prince Yung-li in “Round About My Peking Garden.” The prince was the successor to Li-Hung Chang. “After the soldiers and wardens in picturesque costumes came falconers carrying beautiful" hooded birds, and a retainer leading the dead master’s hound. Then followed the prince’s titles on colored boards, borne by men in palace livery, long green gowns with disks of red or yellow. “Next were many dogs, does and stags made of green bushes, and ten dogs constructed of gold and silver paper, their heads wagging comically as they were carried. Then a long train of flags and umbrellas, and hundreds of plants in full bloom, the best made of paper, but planted in real pots. “All manner of insignia were woven out of greenery; lines of Mongol lamas were splendid in brocades; great white banners waved, and professional mourners smoked cigarettes. “Yung-li’s own cart, sedan chair and particular charger passed empty; mock horses made of paper were carted on wheels, adorned with real manes and tails. Then a whole lot of personal possessions, and then the catafalque itself, covered with red brocade.”