West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1892-08-11
MINES or MUMMIEs.
Digging Up tho Dead Regular In
dustry In Peru.
a Rniniess Region Where Flesh Dries
without Decomposition Queer Finds
Among the Tonrbs of EIn-
baimcd Ancients.

~'' shhtANhtAs
Just north Of the Moro is n low line
OF vcrdure, modern built houses ctis.
tered In rows around rather handsome
church, and long mole, the latter
pied up with bags, bales and boxes.
and crowded with soldiers. merchants
and cargadores. This Is africa. port
OF considerable consequence. because
being the outlet To Tacna and rich
mines beyond, and the "key" To the
still dcbatablc territory Notwith.
stcnding its mole. writes n correspondent,
OF the Pittsburgh Dispatch, steamers
must anchor away out in the bay, and
passengers be rowed ashore in canoes.
However, they no longer have 20 be
carried through the surf on the backs
OF men. as during the Peruvian regime
Behind the town a great windrow OF
yellow sand sweeps back from the
MORO. forming n kind OF amphitheatcr.
unrclievcd by tree or shrub or blade of
grass This ridge, and all the deser,
for miles beyond. is n vast burial
ground, which must once have
beer OF much greater extent. for
IL is known that during the last hun.
dred years the ocean has made consid.
cradle inroads few years ago. when
wortnen were digging up the sand TO
I'LL Arica's pier, and opening track for
tho railroad that leads 10 Tacna
1.-THE important city of the district, forty
miles inland), they found murninics
everywhere; not only humble fisher.
men, wrapped in their nets. and lowlv
ullors of the soil in shrouds Of braided
rushos, but the shrivecd bodies of
chiefs and other persouages Of conse-
quence, developed in fine cloth and thin
layers OF beaten gold. These aristocrats
OF a bygone age Jared worse than their
brother plcbeians-for, while the latter
were left comparatively undisturbrd.
los llicos, now grim and CHASTITY as the
poorest, were stripped 10y rude hands
and their crumbling bones tossed. nm.
covered, by the wayside. Our party
went mummy hunting on horseback,
striking straight across the desert 10
point about five miles south OF Africa.
we were accompanied by several peones
(laOorers) and Il suitable escort; for n
is considered unsafe for strangers TO go
ont unattended, as highwaymen are
ABROAD In the land and the peones might
DC tempted to make new mummies il
anything OF value were unearthed.
However, people bent on such blood.
curdling errauds as disturbing the dead
are not likely TO hunt alone, hut natu.
rally prefer company TO keep their spir.
its up
Dig anywhere and you cannot 70
amiss of grave. The spades Of other
inquisitive persons have scratched the
desert here and there, but the rrcat
bulk of il is entirely undisturbetI excent
by dtful winds that whirl the sand into
crescent-shaped mounds; and doubtless
II VIII remain so until, in the LAPSE of
ages. the slowly-encroachinr Puci6c
shall swallow it all. Nothing can decay
protected by the magnetic dust of this
rainless region. and the contents OF the
to'nos look as II they were put there
yesterday There is no consuming
worm or insect. Flesh dries without
decomposition; wood and vegetable
matter pctrify from the absence of
moisture, while fabrics and articles in
stone and clay keep forever.
Our worSncn dug in several different
places to the depth of five or six feet
and brought up dozen woll-ccnditioncd
'Cncicnts"-two OF which have
shipped TO the United States with their
wraPpings intact. The most curious
things we found that day were not the
rings Of beaten gold or silver cncircling
oony fingers, nor clay watcr-jars mold.
cd IN quaint designs. ncr bone spindIcs
with thread still in them, lust MS the
weaver laid down his worl; some cen.
turtles ago, but the pctrihcd eyebaus.
which a 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 pre-
served; the commonly accepted theory
is that they were never the visual or
ganS OF human beings, but those Of cut
tIetsh. with which the more pcrishable
optics OF the subjects 70 be mumInido6
were replaced. But they are not less
curious, and are really beautiful things
fiat on one side, round and smooth on
the other, ember-lilSe yellow i'm color.
holding light as an opal. and varying In
size from the tip OF your smallest lnper
% the end 81 mans thumb. They are
eagerly sought for the settings Of pins.
sleeve buttons, ETC., and are durable "a
most jewels.
The early Pe1uvians preserved their
dead something after the manner of Tho
Egyptians, except that the mumrnics OF
Peru are always In n sitting posture.
with knees drawn up % the chin and
hcnds claspcd in front OF the knees.
The head and all is FIRST cnveloped in
dyed cotton cloth, bound with ropes OF
braided llama wool (similar TO the ropes
made to-day by Andean Indians); tho
whole uncanny bundle inclosed within
another netting Of ropes. or a basket
like case of braided rushcs. Remove
the cloth and the hair. always long
black and glossy, will be found olaho-
rately braided, perhaps gold or silver
earrings in the ears, and a necklace OF
tho same metal depending upon the
breast The features are well preserved,
even 20 their expression. which is usual
" one Of extreme terror and mental
agony confirming the assertion II his
torians that those about % die were
placed by their obliging relatives in
what was considered the correct posi-.
ton for mummy, and firmly bound
with ropes before tho breath had left
tho body and death stiGcned the mus
clcs.
Medical Training IN Tndia.