Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-05-20

body which required some six weeks.
The bandaging was the essential
thing for preservation of the corps.
1t was done with large strips of linen
about two inches wide. The bands
were put on close, accurate and smooth
"a perfect model of surgical dressing.
The first were put on wet and quite
tight. The first layers bandaged
infinitely every finger and toe. and
were generally from so to 200 in num-
Der. In some places the legs and arms
were bandaged separately but in others
they were first bandaged separately
and finally all bound in one roll like a
pillow in a pillow-case, however. some
Mummies were left with arms and legs
free. The shape of the body was ac-
curately preserved when the art of
embalming began to decay pitch, gums
resins were added to the bandaging
which destroyed rather than preserved
the Mummy. It took almost three
months to make a Mummy. The
Mummy was always taken to the grave
by water as the boats, writings and
pictures on the Mummies itself almost
always show. The only reason for
this is that convenience made it finally
a custom or rite as most Tombs were
made by some body of water especially
the Nile and it was easier to float the
coffin than to carry it. In the large
Tombs can actually now be seen in the
Berlin Museum little boats of wood
(representive Of the large one that
actually carried the coffin and Mummy
to its grave) and manned by little
wooden men holding rudders and in
the center on a catafalque is the little
representative cofin-alI painted in
gay colors.
Embalming or making Mummies
was distinct profession and carried on
mainly at the large cities of Memphis
and Thebes. There were probably at
Memphis 1000 dead bodies on hand
awaiting embalment. That no mistake
might be made the corpses were mark
ed SO that the right body or Mummy
would be returned to the friends.
The priests supervised the whole
profession Of embalming and prescrib-
ed all the funeral rites which we're
VoluminOUs.
The material for covering the Num-
mics began with linen cloth; it then
changed to kind of pulp made of
vegetable fiber similar to our pulp.
This was made in kind of paste and
put on the prepared corpse. 1t dried
and became as hard as board,
excluding the air. This shows in
Egypts history distinct decline in the
art Of embaIming. The last relic of
a ruined art was the use of tar, gums.
resins, pitch, &C., in the bandaging
Of the Mummy. This bIackened and
destroyed the skin on the Mummy and
besides at this stage the body was not
we'll prepared. At the beginning of
Greek and Roman times embalming
was essentially lost art.
The appearance of a Mummy is very
interesting to a student of history
one is at once brought face to face
with human being who lived several
thousand years ago. His dead eyes,
almost perfectly preserved gaze steadily
like Sphinx out of the night of his
toric ages. He may wear on a life-like
preserved face the Hippocratic grin
of deaths agony or the smile of
radiant life. His hair unchanged is
crisp, black and course. His hands,
just as he died, show how he earned
his bread, whether thin and delicate
from non-use or thick and strong from
labor. His skin is little darker than
an Indian s-darkened by the many
cycles of the sun. The Egyptians
forehead receded, his head was round
and his stature small. He had high
cheek bones and face which showed
a lively expression.