St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-06-28
to observe. We vers eroaeching along
over kneadad human forms!

a very -esfa1eo spectacle, which
seemed to NJ An embodied nightmare
under tho excitement Of that awful
journey. ! think was almost delirioua
No scene recurs to my memory nov
more fresh and striking than that black
cave. with . slender glow of candle.
light here and there, and the half.
naked figures glistening with perspira-
tion stretched out above pavement oi
heads and limbs Many Of the faces
had been gilt, and they shone flicker
ing here and there upon the dusky mass.
we could not get any explanation oi
the extraordinary mangling. The Arab
said things had been 20 ever since he
could recollect. 1t must Be supposed
that these were-mummies of priests and
attendants buried with the sacred rep
tiles in their charge-great personages,
some Of them, evidently. Their fami-
lies had been laid with them; for there
were as many women perhaps IS men,
ana great number Of children. Every
one had been stripped end torn to
pieces-all Of those Oh the surface at
least, for hurried examination
failed 70 show how deep the serried pills
ef bodies lay. Mingled with them were
sheets and strips Of cloth. fragments of
sarcophagi and quantities OF women's
hair On scalps-wigs possibly. On the
other side of'this vault lie the hinder
most battallions or the crocodile host =
innumerable.s. Standing on the human
pavement there is just space enough
sbOve and in front to observe the man
nor Of their disposal, for the topunost
layer or two has been pulled down. II
1t we're not certain for other reasons
that the present entrance is not that
formerly used, the arrangement Of these
crocodile mnnmies would prove it
They filled. the space completely from
foor TO arch and side to side until the
upper ones were removed neatly
aligned, tail to head, head to tail, with
palm leaves laid between and the inter-
stices filled up with countless multi.
tudes Of young eggs, these latter tied
mp in bundles and wrapped each one in
. strip of cloth. Since every layer was
piled to the roof, IL is manifest
that Those who arranged them
must have worked backwards; and
since it would be as easy to
drag IN elephant through those pass
ages IS to drag the superb specimens
here -unequalled in my experience-of
alligatOrs and crocodiles-thcy must
needs have been brought from the other
side. The demonstration Is complete,
for we had EXTREMIST diniculty in draw
ing behind US two heads chosen among
the snaller ones. Moreover. it is un-
likely that the bats used that long sub
terfanean outlet; they are probably
acquainted with . better and nearer
route. fancy that the enormous blocks
Of stone upon the floor Of the second
chamber had been put there after ek-
cavation, out OF the way. No one can
formIan idea how far the caverps ex-
tend. Aemoving Che top layers - they
went and crawling beneath the roof,
Arabs, we were told, had explored .
vault beyond thissana found more croc-'
odileS still on the farther side. The
mountain, they said. was stuffed with
thens and II Is possible. Assuredly the
pits,are mine Of nitrate: and this .ex-
peeehtion Of wummies for manure may
eject one gpod thing # least By Oavsibg
them to be emptied TFe0ureA may lie
beyond the, vaults where those myriads
Of crocodiles are stored. st. James Go
voftn l-.Rsss. 49,. l.l..a - 3