The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-02-06

elegantly chased. ard kept In position by
rodf OF the same metal. At each cerner on
the rnausoleum rises covered pyrafn{dal
column. surn,ounted by caps that are IN
misfakabiy Doric.
ON two sides of the room are tornbs Of
humber design. They are side by sides uni
form size, and twenty In Dumbers ten on .
side Like the mausoieum, they are earye.
out of the solid rock and embeiiished with
bas reliefs. On the front Of each Is raised
scroll, covered with writtens characters
similar to those on the panels Of the mau-
soleum. On the wall OF the reotn. opposite
to the entrance, are painted twenty-five
faces. They are faded and blurred, but still
distinct enough to he Ceeipiaered. The coi0rs
used are red, yellow, black, and white. and
were mixed with oil. The portraits are exc
cuted in superior manner. and the anatonii-
cal proportion OF the features is preserved to
an exact degree.
The explorers opened one of the small
tombs. 1t contained splendidly preserved
mummy, swathed in cloth covered with a
thick varnish, which emits pleasant aroma
tic odor, not unlike balsam of fir. The mum
my measures nine feet one inch in length,
and the cloth with which it is wrapped, al
though of course texture, is Skiilfuily woven
One of the party cut the wTappings from the
face, but did it SO elumsily that the head
crumbled into dust. Portions of the hair re-
mained sticking tote cloth, and your cor
respondent has som. iof il before him while
this article is being written. It Is black,
curly. and Of fine texture. Besides the
body of the giant, tie tomb contained a spear
head, q batchet. two lanees, three mattocks,
or hoes, spade, cup, two plates, and
small urn, all of copper. The smallest cup
and one of the laaces have been shown your
correspondent. These wonderful people
understood the secret OF hardening copper,
for an ordinary file viii barely scratch the
lance, and the edge of a cold chise turns UP
like lead when struck against it. The cup is
of softer metal, and beautifully engraved
with trailing vines and wreaths. A square
package at the head of the tomb, wrapped
in the vanished CLOTH contained book of
one hundred leaves of thin copper, fastened
loosely at the top, and crowded with finely
engraved characters similar to those already
described.
The Sun representative visited the cave
and examined it thoroughly. The upper
cave was evidently the cellar of a house
above ground, and used for domestic pur-
poses, or as place of retreat in case of an
attack by enemy. In the first two cham
bers and in the last Eve are many curious
blocks of stone shaped ike tables, and bricks
which have heretofore been thought of
! natural origin. The marks of chisel and
/ pick are found on them, however, and these
artificial agents formed the whole cavern.
I The irreguarity of the limestone chamber
/ is due TO natural causes. In all probability
/ this room was Gry when the Nonferful Peo-
/ pie who designed and buiit ft<5ere alive.
The stalatites and staiagmites have formed
4 since. / measured one OF the largest of the
I former 1t was FIVE feet six and one-half
/ inches from base to apex Allowing that it
heightened at the rate of one inch every fifty
! wears, which geological friends tells me is
1 very rapid growth, it would have been 3 ,325
years reaching It's present length. Con-
( lecture alone can fix the date of the last oc-
/ cupancy of the cave 1t must have been
years before the staiactites began to form.
! The owner OF the farm on which the cave
1 is situated has associated with himself sever
4 al gentlemen of capital, and they Intend
opening the torfbs and the big nlausoieun,
I cuTiosities and throwing the cave open to
! the general public Hr. Grooms is anxious
to have the cave. examined by an expert, and
( an account of the discoveries, together will
the engraved book and the tools found in the
tomb, will be at once forwarded 70 the
Smithsonian 8nstitution.