The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-02-11
Aleutian MnmmieS.

The schooner William Sutton, belong
ing to the Alaska Commercial Company,
has arrived from the seal Islands of the
Company with the mummitied remains of
Indians who lived on an island north of
Ounalaska $50 Years ago. This cOntribu-
zion to science was secured by Capt. Hen
ming. an agent of the Compaxy, who has
long resided at Ounalaska. In his trans
actions with the Indians he learned that
tradition among the Aleuts assigned ka-
gamale, the island in question, as the last
resting-place of great Chief, known as
karkhayahOuchak. Last year the Captain
was in the neighborhood of Kagamale, in
quest of sea-Otter and other furS, and he
bore up for the island with the intention
of testing the truth of the tradition he had
heard. He had more difficulty in entering
the cave than in finding il, his schooner
having to beat on and off shore for three
days. Finally, he succeeded in effecting a
landing, and clambering up the rocks he
found himself in the presence of the dead
Chief, his family and relatives. The cave
smelt strongly of hot sulphurOus varOrS.
With great care the mUmmies were re-
moved, and all the little trinkets and Orna-
ments scattered around were also taken
away.
In all there are eleven packages of bod
les. Only two or three have as yet been
opened. The body of the Chief is inclOsed
in a large basket like structure, about 4
feet in height. Outside, the wrappings
are of tinely-wrOught sea-grass mating
exquisitely close in texture and skins. At
the bottom is a broad hoop or basket of
thinly-cut wood, and adjoining the center
portions are pieces of body armOr COM
posed of reeds bound together. The
body is covered with the fine skin Of
the sea otter, always mark of diStinc-
ton in the interments of the Aleuts, and
round the whole package are stretched the
meshes of a fish net made OF the sinews of
the sea-liOn. also those Of a bird-nct.
There are evidently some bulky articles
inclosed with the Chiefs body, and the
whole package differs very much from the
others, which more resemble, in their
brown grass mating, cOnsignmentS OF
crude sugar from the Sandwich Islands
than the remains of human beings. The
bodies Of pappOOse and of a very little
child which probably died at birth or soon
after it. have sca-otter skins around them.
One of the packages has been opened, and
it reveals a mans body in tOlerable pre-
ServatiOn, but with large portion of the
face decompOScd. This and the other
bodies were doubled up AZ death by sever
ing some of the muscles at the hip and
knee joints, and tending the limbs down
ward h ,rizontally upon the trunk. Per-
haps the most peculiar package. next To
that of the Chief. is one which inclOSeS in
single mating, with sea-liOn skins. the
bodies of a man and woman. The collec-
ton also embraces a couple of skulls, male
and female, which have still the hair at
tached to the scalp. The hair has changed
its color to a brownish red. The relics
obtained with the bodies include few
wooden vessels scOOped out smoothly; Il
piece of dark. greenish fiat stone. harder
than the emerald, which the Indians use
to tan skins; a scalp-lock of jet black hair !;
a small rude figure, which may have been
a very ugly dolly or an idol; two or three
tiny carvings in ivory of the sea-lion, very
neatly executed; comb necklet made
of birds claws inserted into one another;
and several specimens of little bags, and
cap plated out of sea-grass, and almost
water-tight.-San Francisco Bulletin.