National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-01-22
ALEUTIAN MUMMIEs.

Egypt Rivslsd in the Art Of Preserving the
Dead by the North American Indians in
Alaska.
The San Francisco Bulletin Is responsible for
the following details concerning the hndInE Of
mummies In AlRIka;
The schooner William Sutton, belonging 10 the
Alaska Commercial Company, has arrived from
ned aims OF Indians who lived on aniSIand north
OF Ounnlhskl one hundred and atty years ago.
This contribution to science was secured by Capt.
Henntng, an agent Of the company, who has long
resided at Ounalnska. In his transactions with
the Indians he learned that tradition among tho
Aleuts assigned Kagamale, the island In ques.
known % hnrkhnynhouchak, Last year tho
Captain was In the neighborhood OF Kagamale.
In quest Of sea-otter and other furs, and he bore
up fos the island with the intention OF testing tho
truth Of the tradition he had heard. He had
more dimculty In entering the cave than In fad
Il, bis schooner having TO beat on and of shore
for three days. Finally, he succeeded In efectng
landing, and clam6ering up the rocks he found
family and relatives. The cave smet strongly Of
mGmmiss were removed aHd an great saTs the
taken away.
In all there are eleven packages Of bodies. Only
two or three have as yet been opened The body
OF the chief Is tnclOsed in a large basket-IIke
structure, about four feet In height. Outside the
WrapplnRS are Of nnely-wrOught sea-grass mat
ting, exquisltely close In texture and skins At
the bottom is broad hoop or basket Of thinIy-
OuL "OOus anu In6 Co0ber portions
pieces OF body armOr composed OF reeds bound
together. The body Is covered with the fine skin
OF the sea-otter, always mark Of distinction in
the tnteTments Of the Aleuts, and round the
whole package are stretched the meshes Of q sh-
net made OF the snews Of the sea lion, also those
OF bird-Ret. There are evidently some bulky
articles tnclosed with the chiefs body, and the
whole package differs very much from the Others
which more resemble, in their brOWn-grass mat
ting, constgnments OF crude sugar from the Sand
Wieh Islands than the remains Of human beings
The bodieSOf q pappoose and OF very little child
which probably died at birth or soon after it. have
sea-OtteT skins around them. Ono Of the feet Of
the latter projects, with a toe-nail visible The
remaining mummies are of adults
One Of the packages has been opened, and It re-
Teals mans body in tolersble preservation, but
with large portion of the face decOmpOssd. This
and the other bodies were doubled up at death
by severing some OF the muscles at the hip and
knee joints and bending the limbs downward hOrf-
zontaly upon the trunk. Perhaps the most Pc
culiar package, next to that Of the chief is Oue
which ineloses in single mating, with sea-liOn
tion also embraces couple OF Skulls male and fe-
male, which have still the hair attached to the
scalp. The hair has changed its color to q brown
ish red. The relics obtained with ths bodies in
clude few wooden vessels scoOped out smoothly;
piece of dark, greenish fat stone, harder than
the emerald which the Indians use to tan skins;
a scalp-lOck of Jet black hair; small rude fgure,
which may have been very ugly doll o. an Idol;
two orthree tiny carvings in ivory Of the seG-lOn,
very neatly executed; q comb; q necklet made Of
birds claws inserted into another and several
specimens of little bags, and cap plated out OF
sea-grass and almosJ Water-tlght.