162 VOYAGE TO THE 



I afterwards received concerning the manner in which 

 the dead were disposed of, namely, that the flesh is 

 allowed to decay before the bones are placed in jars 

 in the cemetery. 



From this place we ascended a hill covered with 

 tombs, which were excavated in the rock in a manner 

 very similar to those near Canton ; they had almost all 

 of them niches, wherein bowls of tea, lamps, and cups 

 were placed, and appeared to be kept in good order, as 

 they had a cleanly and decent appearance. We wan- 

 dered among these some time, without finding any 

 open, but at last we came to one of an inferior kind, 

 in which the door was loosely placed before the en- 

 trance ; it consisted of a large slab of red pottery, 

 pierced with a number of holes about an inch in dia- 

 meter. Having removed this, we saw about twenty 

 jars of fine red pottery covered with lids shaped like 

 mandarins' caps ; the size of the jars was about 

 twenty inches deep by eight in the broadest part, which 

 was one-third of the way from the mouth ; they were 

 also perforated in several places with holes an inch in 

 diameter. We did not remove any of the lids, as it 

 seemed to give offence, but were told that the jars 

 contained the bones of the dead after the flesh had 

 been stripped off or had decayed. On putting the 

 question whether they burned the bones or the flesh 

 off them, it was answered by surprise, and an inquiry 

 whether we did so in England ? Therefore, unless the 

 custom has altered, the account of Supoa Quang, a 

 learned Chinese, who visited Loo Choo in 1719, is 

 incorrect. 



After visiting the grave of one of the crew of the 

 Alceste who was buried in this island, we were satisfied 

 with this tour of the tombs, and turned off inland. 



