Thomas County cat., 1889-11-28
WAS LOWERED BODILY.


the appearance of having been ,carelessly
thrown down in q corner, for it was lying on
its side.
1 went up to it to examine it. 1t was well
made, but perfectly plain cedar wood
not an inscription, not solitary god on it.
''Never see one like him BEFORE" said ALI.
"Bury great hurry, he no 'matish,' no
'fneesh.' Throw HIN down there on side"
looked at the plain case till at last my
interest was thoroughly aroused. I h.d
been SO shocked by the sight of the scattered
dust of the departed that 1 had made up my
mind not to touch the remaining cofil-but
now my curiosity ovcrcame me, and we set
to work
Ali had brought mallet and cold chisel
with him. and having set the )ffin straight he
began upon it with all the &c II of an expert
enced tom5-breaker. And then he pointed
out another thing. Most mummy cases are
fastened by four little tongues of wood, two
on either side, which are fixed in the upper
half, and passing into mortises cut to re-
ceive them in the thickness of the lower
half, are there held fast by pegs Of hard
wood. But this mummy case had eight
such tongues. Evidently it had been
thought well to secure it firmly At last,
with great difficulty, we raised the massive
lid, which WIS nearly three inches thick.
and there, covered over with q deep LAYER
of loose spices IA very unusual thing), was
the body.
Ali looked ut it with open eyes-and no
wonder. For this mummy was not as other
mummies are. Mummies in general lie
upon their backs, as stiff and cain as
though they were cut from wood; but this
mummy lay upon Its side, and, the wrap
pings Notwithstanding, its knees were
slightly bent. More than that, indeed, the
gold mask, which, after the fashion of the
Ptolemaic period, had been set upon the
, face, had worked down, and was literally
pounded up beneath the hooded head.
1t was impossible, seeing these things, to
avoid the conclusion that the mummy be-
fore Us had moved with violence since it
was put in the coffin.
Him very funny mummy. Him not
'maish' when him so in there" said Ali.
"Nonsense" l said. "Who ever heard
of live mummy
We lifted the body out of the coffin.
nearly choking ourselves with mummy
dust in the process, and there beneath it,
half hidden among the spices, we made our
hrst ind. 1t was roll of papyrus, care
iessly fastened and wr pped in q piece of
mummy cloth, having, TO all appearance,
been thrown into the coffin at the moment
Of closing
All eyed the papyrus greedily, but
seized 1t and put 1t in my pocket, for it was
agreed that l was to have ali that might be
discovered. Then we began to unwrap the
body. 1t was covered with very broad.
strong bandages, thickly wound and rough.
- tied, sometimes by means of simple
KNOTS the whole work bearing the appear
ance OF having been executed in great haste
and with difficulty. Just over the head was
large lump. Presently the bandages cov-
cring II were of, and there, on the face. Law
asecond roll of papyrus. Iput down my
hand to lift 1t, but it would not come away.
1t Itappeared to be fixed TO the stout. seam.
less shroud which was drawn over the
whole body and tied beneath the feet. a
farmer ties sacks This shroud, which was
also thickly waxed, was in one piece. being
made to flt the form like a garment. I took
acand!e and examined the roll. and then I
saw why 1t was fast The spices had con.
geaied and glued 1t to the sack-like shroud.
IL was impossible to get it away without
tearing the outer sheets Of papyrus.
AT last, however, wrenched il loose and
put 1t with the other in my pocket.
Then in silence we went on with eur
dreadful task. With much care we ripned
loose the sack like garment, and a. Last the
oooy OF man lay before US. Between his
knees was third roll Of papyrus. Ise-
cured 1t, and then held down the lights and
looked at him. Being . doctor, one glance
At nis face was enough to tell me how he
had died.
This body was not much dried nm xvi
IDENTITY it had not passed seventy d.v. In
natron, and therefore the expression and
likeness were better preserved than h
Usual Without entering into particulars,