The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-02-12
Miscellany.


tt~ 9uecr Occupant.
Probably the most startling discovery
Ia the history of these searches for
mound-buildcrs' relics was stumbled
upon accidentally by workmen cNcayat-
Ing or ihe blua at Second street. One
of them. Thomas Maley. who lives on
Wet Twenty-second street. encountered
something that offered determined re-
sistancc to his pickax while he WAS dig
ging near the edge of the bluff. After
lew vain efforts Go dislodge the OBJ
struction he called 90 his fellow-worl<-
men. among whom were John Ed
wards. also Of Twenty street,
and Edward Wakeman, of Wyandotte.
The united exertions of three of the
mcn caused the clay at this point TO
loosen from the bank and fall down the
side OF the bluff. As il cr,imbled to
pieces there WAS a substance about two
feet square that remained intact. Think
ING il strange that a stone of such regt-
lar proportions should be found in a bank
of pure clay and Mt "A depth ten feet from
the surface, Thomas Maley followed it
down the cmbankment and struck il
with his pick-aX. To his astonishment,
il crlmbled to pieces under the blow.
and then he observed that instead of
stone the foreign substance was 4 kind
of cement He called the attention of
his fellow-workmen TO the discovery,
and while they were all standing around
the pile of crumbled cement, crushing
piece, in their hands, one of them
noticed Il crouching figure in the pile.
He at first started back. but seeing that
il was motionless he reached forward
aaa picked il up. Ii proved TO be the
mummied body Of diminutiye man
monkey II was doubtless embalmed
and buried in the cement tomb shortly
after its birth by the ancient mound
builders. who surprising it to be some
supernatural being. had worshiped il as
a god. When if,dely disturbed by the
worsmen this morning, after its quiet
rep0Se for centuries. The mummy was
badly shrunken by its immense age.
When embamed it was doubtless an in
FAINT half foot long, but now ii is
shrlnken TO much smaller Dimensions.
The little creature is n light as cork,
and its brown skin is drawn tightly
over lis frame 1t was found in the po-
sition of prayer, as it had probably been
arranged ~ the. superstitious mound
builders, who thought it some super
natural thing. Its hands and feet are
drawn tightly up under its chin and its
head is bent forward. while its long
kony tail is curved over its back. The
creature has high forehead, large eyes
and prominent chin.
The workmen, not approaching the
Importance of their discovery, continued
their work. only laying the mummy
aside. The traces OF the ancient sep
ulchcr were soon eflaced and its crum-
blcd ruins buried under bank of clay.
Thc aboriginal occupant might soon
have shared the fate of its tomb, had
not DR.. III. G.. Baker Glanced to drive
by Noticing the crowd of curious
spectators he drew near and heard the
strange story from the Workmen, and
SAN the little mummy. Offering the
workman who claimed the antiquated
little stranger triile for his prize. the
doctor easily obtained possession. With
IN y few hours AL the scientists and an
nquarians in the city were examining
the relic and giving their theories as to
it, character.
The general impression appeared to
b. HAT the mummy was the offspring
OF some aboriginal who, terrified at its
long tail and animal appearances, had
ii ~mothered in the tomb of cement.
The workmen were visited. and from
them a description of the ruined tomb
wa obtained One of them said that
10 the best of his observation he thought
the subterranean sepulcher had been
formed by digging a square hole in the
clay. filing it with soft cement, and
then pressing a square block of wood oil
straw in the center to make the hollow
spScc 10 be occupied by the mummy.
When this block was removed, and the
mummy inserted the tomb only needed
iis upper layer of cement to impriSon
the mummy in what. to all practical
PURPOSES. was solid block of stone.
The scientific gentlemen welcomed the
littIs dried up stranger rs visit
or ssom the ages when the great
undiscovered America had yet to
hear the first Indian war whoop. Tho
discovery of this mummy Is only
sequel to other discoveries of mound
builders relics ut the same point.
few months ago eXcnvatOrs at the point
turned up stone hatchets and other
relies of an extinct race. The scientific
gentlemen in Kansas City have not
only taken an active interest in the
discovery, put tneY are ALREADY pre-
pairing to send description of it to thu
scientific society in ST. Louis. Tn,
case will undoubtedly attract the at.
tention of thc scientific world, for il i,
the only one of the kind in all the his
tory of researches of antiquarics. 1t j:
probable that further inves tigation:
will be made about the bluff where the
tomb was gnearthed and .still moro
IL l..
effort has been made 10 secure the
mummy for exhibition in the Dime
museum. but il is likely TO be reserved
for scientific purposes. Before its inn
mediate future Is determined upon, how
ever, it will be on exhibition at DR..
Bakers eilice, where curious people
can see it Monday morning. - Kansas
Civ Star.