The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-06-13
DIGGING FOR MUMMIEs.
AN HOUR IN THE SANDS OF AN
GENT DAYS.
Not In Cieopatra's Historic Land, but
Down In Old Poru-Dolis OF Long
Ago-Petrined Eyebalis--
Uncanny Things.

line Oh VorQure, u cluSUer Oh mOuefn
built houses, a rather handsome church,
and long mole-the latter piled high
with bags, bales and boxes, and crowd
ed with merchants. cargadores, sol
diers and civilians. This is africa, tho
famous port. Behind the town, sweep
ing back from the MORO, is great
windrow of yellow sand, which forms
kind OF amphitheater, unrelieved by
tree or shrub or blade Of grass. All
this ridge, and the desert for miles
around it. is one vast cemetery of the
ancient inhabitants, crowded with the
dried-up bodies of those who once
fished from their balsas in the bay or
cultivated the narrow valley on whose
borders they were buried.
1t seems strange thing to deliber-
ately set out on grave-robbing ex-
petition; but in this part of the world
1t is fashionable to go manipulating.
We went out on horseback, about five
miles from africa, having sent some
poems ahead with shovels.
Our poems dug down about five feet
deep in several different places, and
hummelshine, of which l afterward
shipped to the United States with their
wrappings undisturbed. The most
curious things we found that day were
not the rings of beaten gold encircling
bony fingers, or water-jars of quaint
designs in nodded clay, or spindles
with thread still on them. just as the
weaver laid down her work some
hundreds Of years ago-but the petri-
fed eye-balls, which careful digger
may always find. seldom inserted in
the face OF the mummy but fallen out
among the wrappings. Modern science
cannot comprehend how these eyes
were preserved but it is now a COM
monty accepted theory that they were
never human optics, but those OF
cuttle-fish, with which the more perish
able eyes Of the subject to be mummi-
fed were replaced. But they are none
the less curious, and are really beauti-
full things-nat on one side, round and
smooth on the other. bright, amber
like yellow, holding light as an opal,
and varying in size from the tip of
your little finger to the end of mans
|. thumb. They are eagerly sought for
the settings OF pins, sleeve-buttons,
ETC., and are durable as most jewels.
Everybody remembers the story that
went the rounds of the press few
years ago-how noted New York
jeweler was sent number of these
mummified eye-balls to be made into o
necklace for some fair lady, and how
two or three of the workmen employed
in polishing them died before it was
discovered that their sudden demise
was due to the fine dust which flakes
off from these relics OF the tomb.
The plebeian dead were buried in
such shallow graves that sometimes
earthquakes tossed them up to view or
winds uncovered them. In order to
utilize all the arabic land the ancient
inhabitants used to pile up the stones
that encountered the ground into great
heaps. There are thousands of stone
piles all over the country, and nearly
every one holds mummies. Mr..
Squ;er's description of the one that he
uncovered answers we'll for the rest.
He says: "The dead man sat alone
among the stones, wrapped in rustic
cloth, with some bean-pods and ears OF
corn pressed between his breast and
knees. At his feet, enveloped in coarse
cloth, were two objects of : interest,
obviously connected with his super
s.itions. The first was kind of
mask or idol, cut out of wood. bearing
resemblance to the carved Idols
brought from distant Pacific islands.
1t is painted on the face and has holes
on the top and sides. through which thin
cords, still remaining in place, were
passed. as Ii to attach them in front of
some object. A projection beneath
the chin, apparently designed to fit
into a socket, suggests the possibility
that it was carried surmounting pole
or staff. There was also a wooden
bowl, carved with border represent
ing birds running around its rim,
packed full of variously colored alpaca
and vicuna wool, in perfect preserva-
ton. Between each layer pebbles
werc deposited that bore some faint
likeness to animals, a little strength
ened by art. There were fragments of
crySteiiZcu qudrJl, anu u very Goou
carving Of an ear Of corn"
In the cemeteries around Lima the
mummies are sometimes put in layers
OF tombs one above another three or
four deep. Perhaps the most interest
ing one which Mr.. Squier opened-in
the second layer down. ind evidently
belonging to family in middle cir
cumstances- about four feet square
three feet deep and walled with adobes.
1t contained five bodies: a middle-aged
man, full-grown woman, a girl of
about IA years, n boy some years
younger and an infant. The baby was
placed between the father and mother;
the boy by the side of the man, and
the girl cuddled up close to the wom-
an. Each was enveloped in a braided
network Of coarse grass, bound close
ly around the body by cords Of the
same material.
The girl mummie was seated on a
box OF braided reeds which was eight
teen inches long, fourteen inches wide
and eight inches deep, and had q cover,
hinged on one side and fastened on the
IA ~