San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-06-15


under the loose sand would come to hard
stratum of earth, through which my shovel
would break, and then on using the rod it
would go down to depth of four or five feet
or more, marking the spot as grave In
other places / could sound grave from the
surface, as there was nothing between me and
its occupant but sand. At another place the
rod would strike against some reed or wood,
thus indicating a rooted grave in which the
occupants are revealed surrounded with all
their worldly goods.
DANGEROUS DIGGING.
st was only by liberal pay and perquisites
that | induced the natives to work The
digging of graves there is certainly the
hardest work imaginable, besides being dan
ger to health and a risk of life. The graves
cave in, and when the wind blows the sand is
choking and binding and Produces peculiar
coughing disease. All the Inca burying
grounds west of the Cordillera are of arid
soil while those of Ancon are Of clear sand
which when stirred two or three feet below
the surface, rises and floats like smoke in the
air. The sandy graves sometimes go down
to the depth of fifteen feet. Occasionally
you will find a grave completely lined and
rCofed with adobeS, or sun dried bricks, and
others are lined with stone. The Incas Peru
Wins made no distinction with regard to rich
or Door in bUrying their dead | have found
the mummeS of those who mast have been of
high rank buried beside others who had moth
ing No particular point was chosen on the
compass for the bodies to face, but they were
always in a sitting posture with the EnecS
drawn up to the chin, the arms placed TO-
gc;hcr on the chest and dashed with weed
ropes or hide and wrapped in such articles Of
cloth as the individual possessed in life
Above the body would be a layer of weeds
covered with llama's hides and made secure
by rope netting. | found an average of three
pieces Of pottery to every mummy, consisting
of a cooking pot, containing remnants Of
cooked food; chica jug and a water croft.
! also found earthenware in the shape of
whistles, bowls, cups and idols.
mo matter how deep the grave the occu-
pant is no richer in relics than the occupant
of the average six foot grave. Sometimes
found a pummy only two feet below the sur
face, but these seldom possessed more than
their ordinary wrappings. Sometimes, again,
mummiCs We're found with their legs tied
backward from the knee joint The object
of bundiug the bodies into such small space
was undoubtedly to save space, as the llCas
utilized every available inch of ground for
agricultural pursuits. Another theory pre-
walls that the bodies We're carried first to a
rarefed air on the heights Of the Andes and
preserved, after which they were again
brought to the coast for burial, the packages
being necessarily small for the journey on
the backs of llamas, those animals then being
the only beasts Of burden il Peru Articles
of gold and silver are frequently found in
the graves and mounds along the coast, but
generally so oXidiZel as to have lost their
shape found some well preserved speci-
mems of necklaces, hair bands, bracelets, ear
rings, finger rings, breast ornaments, car
picks, tweezCrS, cups and idols. These We're
of gold. | also found many vessels of silver.
Gold and silver were much used, and the
metals we've beat out so thin and the edges
joined SO closely together that they baGled
the naked eye to detect the workmanship.
Silver idols of gigantic mold and small oO-
jects of heavy gold were found but rarely
LOST ARTS.
Copper was most extensively used in orna-
menting the person and for household uten-
sis, but its principal use was for battle axes,
idols and tools. found copper chiSel III a
mound near Callao which proved to be tom
pered to the hardness of steel. 1t was tested
on u railroad rail of iron and could have cut
it in two. The tempering Of copper is a lost
art. however, and was known to the Incas
only. Humboldt analysed one Of these
chsels and found it to contain "a per cent.
| copper and G,per cent silica. Despite the
discovery of these component parts all ex-
periments have failed to reproduce a similar
hardness. 1t is strange that tho Incas knew
nothing Of iron, as it abounds all over Peru.
Glass was likewise unknown to them. They
used quartz crystal in surgery, as the ire
pinned skulls have found showed traces of
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