The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-11-16
A MYSTERY ON THE ANDES.
FHE DESERT OF ATAC, lt A CEMETERY ABovE
GROUND.

Among the Andes Jung near the sou1h
| vest corner OF Bolivia and at u height of
'o'uI tour thousand feet, is 4 plateau call d
q Desert OF Atacama. of which \. II
5rown gives this account in the New York
Independent
Tue surtac- consists of q caicareous earth,
Whlca lnnumcrable particles Of salt. NJ, re-
Wv are shining with such glare, under lie
avs on the torrld sun AS % make it paIufnt
T." 'ooN around Not u plant grows b re
I3i Dird or insect or any ',ihe form ct ant
"'' we Is % he seen. he ~ti inesS ofdeiIh
'F'2h8 everywhere, exc pt Tor the moaning
- ne VINO winch carries from place to place
ne powdered sa ID aud Jime
the Only evidence that tlrn li;,ye eyer, !, ON
U re IS that human bodies, as well as hose
y macs ana horses are seal er d ab ,ut anon
ne Waste-not reduced 10 dlsipnted lrar
'n'Hts, ouJ d"led aud strIveled 10 mummIes
height
Day alter day the thirsty traveller purspes
aIs 1nrney over such IL sol and amid such
objects iii be reaches Calama n settlement
II The midst OF an immense moraSs, where ne
rests a ilJtie 10 refresh himsrit aud his itded
mu|cs rms mOraoS with us Drackrsh and
InWboleSom" waller, is the source ola small
fiY"r, called Leo, which at length becomes
he boundary nctWern his portion OF viva
tnd Peru. L. Is 50 highly lmpregnated with
ne 'Imc and other subs tnces whlt h are held
IN solution fh"t the coarse hu,rualeS Of The
uetS and irrnchGS iOr draining are soon filled
up 10y he same d post
Two days Journey trom CaiHma, over he
dazz ing sand and through The stlnng dust,
0'ln9S he Traveller to Cam Cain an ancient
Peruvian burying place, sCill within the
pounds Of AtecAma
And here IN reserve iOr HIM isa spectacle
winch one mlghI afey affirm has not its like
upon The face OF the ear h. L. IS called
cemetery, by which we generally understand
p ace TOR the nGerlntnL OF The dead. But
here dead are not buried Seated in large
~emi-elrcle, one beside another, are the mum.
mled remains of an assemblage OF human be-
ingS men. women and chlIdren-tO the num-
b + OF five or TX hundred, all apparently IN
he places and att. ude5 which tney first Oc-
cupied. and which they have kept perhaps
or ages. They sit IN he sand, lmmOvaOie,
as IN solemn council, gaZtEg Vacautly, with
sunken aud dried eyebai S into the arid waste
before them Nearly AL are in the same pc.
eitlon, though some are fallen down and part
~ covered With sand. The hot, dry air has
preserved them as I'M perlshahiy as the en-
bdlmlng art Of the bodies Of Egypt.
What is the explanation of so strange
scene? Who are these that now constitute
thus CHASTITY company? Where, and how and
why did they first take places in this vast
semi cuclr?
thousand questions may be asked, but
few answered. The icnabIants of he coun-
| try who live nearest TO the spot have no
| knOwl dye on the SUBJECT. Some think that
he bodies were brought hither and placed IN
his position after dark, and tina such dep IS
il was TO serve the purpose OF burial But
where could the people have lived VINO
brought their dead TO this spot? There is no
habitabe region at any convenient distance
and no place Of similar design is koOan to
exist, l. prove that it was the custom COM
mon 20 the aboriginal population.
Others believe that this may have been the
remnant of native tribe hunted aud pursued
10y enemies, and driven to a deSpei ate choice
between two impending evils die by their
own act Or by the weapons Of their foes.
There are mothers with infants in their arms
among the mummies and it is even thought
hat the dried and shrunken cOuntenancrs re-
tain sufficient expression TO indicate that
some griGvous calamity had Overtaken or
was about to befall them. 1t may be their
fancy but travellers aver that grief and de-
spair may be traced upon these shrivelled
features, and they are ready to believe that
their pOSseSSOrS might have been retreating
before the cOnQuerOr OF their country Cper-
haps from PzarrO himselD, and that sooner
than submit tamely to the 1apaclOuS and
cruel invaders, they preferred to hide them
selves in this dreary and inaccessible spot,
and to suffer he ag0nes Of a voluntary death
sustained by such comforts and hope as their
own simple faith could afford.
We cannot tell but there is spot on the
border OF this desert called Tucuman, which
in the Indian language means " Ali is Lost"
Perhaps the name cOmmemorates the heroic
resolution OF those hunted people as they
sought the desert for self-lmmoatiOn
II is said 700, by those who have studied
the religious ideas OF the ancient Peruvians,
that they believed in self-sacrlflce for their
country; that, thus dying, they would be
speedily removed to a better land toward the
west.