The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-02-25 00:00:00

THE MUMMY FROM ICHABOE

\Ve some months ago noticed that the remains of a man,
in the mummy wat- of preservation, had been discovered
amongst the guano on the island of Ichaboe, and that it
was intended to bring it to this country, which, as we
recently announced, was done by the captain of the ves-
sel (now here), one of the crew belonging which chanced
to find it. We have since seen it, in a room attached to
the counting-house of Messrs. Jones and Abbinet, the
extensive yacht and boat builders, in Mason- street,- and
we must say that it is a great curiosity, though by no
means, as may naturally be expected, a pleasing specimen
of the " complexion " to which, under peculiar circum-
stances, "we may come at last." It will be remembered
by such of our readers as saw our first paragraph, that a
stave of a cask was found close upon the body. having
rudely carved upon it " Christopher Delano, died 1791" ;
and it was concluded, as the Portuguese almost exclu-
sively at that time occasionally frequented the coast of
Southern Africa on the Atlantic side, that he was a ma-
riner from Portugal, and had terminated his mortal career
probably by disease at or near the shore where he was
interred. The body, as we saw it, was deposited under a
handsome glass case, and rested on a crimson velvet
cushion. It has an earthy and somewhat mottled colour,
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even stature, of the deceased. It has, in fact, the
appearance of hard and discoloured sole-leather, the out-
ward integuments forming a close casement to the mus-
cles below. This exhibits, considering the period of in-
humation in the soil, the remarkable tanning, or preser-
vative, qualities of the modern manure termed "
The length of the body is now about 5 feet 8 inches; but
as the sternum has dropped, and there appears to be an
arch or curve of the spinal column from the back towards
the pelvis, (probably the effect of pressure of the material
in which it was deposited,) it is not unlikely but that the
deceased in life was some inches taller. He was evidently
a muscular man, the calf of the right leg especially being
yet comparatively thick, and the sinews and muscles well
developed. The arms have also all the appearance of
having been powerful, and the hands large and bony.
The tongue, dried up to a thinness, and protruding, bears
the marks of the pressure of the teeth on the upper sur-
face; and the upper teeth are still perfect, and approach-
tog to whiteness. The jaw was tied up with a cord, which
we deemed superfluous, from the apparently rigid state
of the whole mass; but in this we were mistaken, as a
gentleman present opened up the glass case, and showed
that the jaws and tongue moved simultaneously by the
simple touch of the finger—opening and closing, or the
latter partly protruding, at the will of the operator. We
were told that all the joints were comparatively equally
limber, which is certainly surprising. The hair, of a red
colour, and made up in a tie or pigtail behind, was still
very perfect.

The body was found in the guano at a depth of 6 feet
3 inches from the surface ; but as sailors' graves are usu-
all, made (on such emergencies) only 3 feet deep at the
utmost, the probability is that the extra depth was caused
by the accumulation of the guano since 1791 by the fee-
-1 tiered depositors—namely, a height is 53 years of upwards
of 3 feet over the previous level of the island. The stave
bearing the inscription was not, at the time we saw the
mummy, at the place, but is, we believe, in the captain's
oessession. The body had before interment been fas-
tened up into a hammock, the canvas of which was, when
found, to a great degree perfect—thus further showing
the strong preservative powers of the guano.

The mummy has since been sent to Manchester, where,
being prized as a chemical cariosity, it is, we learn, to be
exhibited at one of the museums.

The body was found in April 1844, and the stave bear-
ing the inscription was lying across the breast. The
sailor who found him was digging the guano with a pick,
when it struck against something which, on partially
looking at it, he took to be the carcase of a seal. Find-
ing he could not readily get it out, he dug away the guano
f om one side and under it, and that above, giving, the
mummy, to his no small astonishment, rolled out at his,
feet. Jack was not, however, at all alarmed, and ex-
dairned, with sailor-like nonchalance, " What !is it you.
that has given me all this trouble ?" After being thus
dtsinterred, it was again buried for a period of six months,
and was afterwards exposed to the atmosphere for five
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remainedwhether e
entire,
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dida the sufficientcan
vas hammock in which it had been enveloped, and was
brought to this port in the ship Colchester.