Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-07-29
AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY.
Minister Cox Sends . Fine Specimen to .
Relative In Washington.

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Mr.. w. V. Cox. chief clerk OF tho
National Museum, has received q fine
mummy. as a pleasant souvenir, from
his uncle. Hon. S. S. Cox, United
States Minister at Constantinople. The
remains arrived at the National Mu.
scum recently, and were at once pre-
sented to the museum by Mr.. w. v.
Cox. Minister Cox, In his letter 10
his nephew. simply stated that he had
secured the deceased in the Upper
Nile region during his recent visit to
Egypt 1t is supposed that the Min
istsr had good reasons for not being
more explicit Some years ago. owing
to threatened exhaustion OF tho stock
Of mummies, already depleted by Me-
hemet Ais reckless use Of them as
fuel for his locomotives, the Egyptian
Government prohibited the expectation
of mummies from the country. 1t Is
assumed then that Minister Cox So
cured the mummy now lying in state
at the National Museum either by clan
destine expedition into some burial
place, or through some neatly planned
diplomatic intrigue. In either case.
Of course, he would not desire to cx-
/ plicitly state how il came into his
possession. The mummy was brought to
this country OH the steamship Aurania.
went through the New York Custom
House without paying duty, and ar
rived in excellent condition, after its
long journey, at the museum. 1t is on
exhibition in one of the halls of the
museum. Prof. .. Il. Mason. the
curator of the department of ethnology.
spoke of it TO a reporter as being an
unusually fine specimen. one of the
best in the country. The beauty OF
this mummy is that the linen bandagcs
with which it is swathcd have never
been broken open. The mask and the
cartoons or painted shields placed
about the bandagcd body arc perfect
Persons who have fondncss for mum.
.mies or Egyptian antiquities will find
much TO interest them in this speci.
men. The mummy case is OF acacia,
or locust wood, the exterior painted q
dark color. The wood is wonderfully
well preserved. The mummy case is
carved out Of logs, and when closed
has the shape Of mummy. Upon
this case is carved and painted face
with long, pointed beard. The in
terror was followed ont with an adze.
so that the mummy when placed in Il
exactly tits it. This nice measurement
Indicated that the mummy case was
made to order and not bought ready
made. This fact and other indica.
tons about the remains lead to the be-
lief that the deceased was a well-to-do
citizen. though there are no insignia OF
official rank. The mask is painted
and gilded. The colors arc still vivid
and the gold leaf bright Covering tho
body, from the chin down 10 the feet
are painted panels or sections OF q ma
terial of papier machc. formed by COM
pressing layers of linen together. These
panels form sort of painted shroud.
The colors used by the Egyptian artists
are still bright. A peculiar sort of ce-
mcnt or stucco. the secret Of which
was carried TO the tomb with the last
of the old Egyptians, was smeared over
the surface of these panels and the
artist painted upon the stucco. which
took the colors and has aspreserved them
in this case for about twenty-five hum
dred wears. Four of these little Sec
tions. about the size of ordinary play
ing cards, lie upon the breast OF the
mummy. Upon each is painted the
figure of the mummicd Osiris. These
cards look so much alike that some ir.
revcrent attaches OF the museum call
them the "four jacks" and speak OF
the dead gentleman rs holding aPretty
good hand. The other panels beneath
the four jacks are highly ornamented
and bear representations of various de-
tiles and funeral emblems. The GEN.
trsl figure is that of Isis, with out
stretched. overshadowing wings. Un-
fortunately, there was no coiiin-plate
on the mummy-case, so the identity OF
the remains has not been established.
1t is considered as settled by the cut
of the beard carved upon the wooden
face of the case. and the general indi-
cations, that the bercaved family spared
no expense in fitting out the mummy,
that the deceased was q man OF wealth
and Importance in the community
| WASHINGTON Star.