New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-06

| to give up the image. For nearly -FOUR years ITO
retained possession of it, and doubtless would nave
kept il the rest Of his life, but one day, as ne
rested on his bed, he saw as If this god stepped
4 out from his holy shrine in the form OF goideh
sparrow-hawk he took his fight toward Egypt
| And the King Awolse lame and yielded TO the De-
mands of tho Egyptians which he had hitherto
stubbornly resisted In like manner after the
| New Mexican Court had decided that the picture
| of Saint Joseph must he returned from Laeuna 10
| Acoma il was found halfway between the TWO
| towns and I" TO this day the simple people believe
! that San jose knew he was now free, ana was IN
! such haste TO get back TO Acoma thai he star'eu
| out by himself The dim and tattered canvas
| hangs beside the altar in the great church AZ
| Acoma still, and will 80 long as shred i lei''
| II il be said that the two incidents belong 10 "a
| period Of undevelopcd Notwithstanding Una.
| no student of the Ramesdc period In Egyp. woui'
admit-it must be added that the legend OF hhonsu
was practically counterfeited when Ptoemy mr.
duced the worship of Scraps in Egypt ana Una.
was a time Of refinement, of technical skill ana OF
wire-drawn philosophical speculation sue" d '"e
| world has since rarely seen.
| Mr. Lummls also calls attention to the fact that
| in rude way the mummics Of Egypt are matchea
ny corpses preserved for long ages in the deserted
dwellings OF New-McXico. I'm corner OF the
Navajo country. says he is another CURIOSITY Oh
| which few Americans are aware catacomb of
| genuine mummcs This is the grim Canyon de
| Tsavee-ignorantly called 'du Chellc'-which is
lined along the lodges of its dizzy cliffs with the
prehistoric houses OF the so-called Clif DwelleTs
| These were not an unknown race at all, but our
own Pueblo Indians of the old days. when defence
| against savage neigibOrs was the first object In
life These stone houses clinging FAR up the
gloomy precipice were inaccessible enough at best,
and are doubly so now that their ladders have
crumbed TO dust. In them are many strange
relics OF prehistoric times, and in some the en-
bamed bodies Of their long forgotten occupants
There is still larger deposit, so to speak OF Amer
lean mummies in the wildly picturesque San Juan
country in the extreme northwest corner of New
Mexico and the adjacent parts Of Colorado ana
Utah They are in similar clih-bnilt ruins ana
belong to the same strange race. So we have one
of Erypt's famous wonders here nj home. Ii If
we'll known that similar superstition about the
preservation Of bodies prevailed to some extent
in Alaska There is characteristic story OF the
way o. United States official secured Of these
dried corpscs years ago. and how he was besieged
by the people who declared that he did not give
the mummy enough to eat, and since IL had lost
the feast of first fruits which used TO be spread
for il by its humble votaries, il had taken To
roaming about town in search of victuals at dead
of night Professor James has not forgotten this
in his curious poems on Alaskan life and legends,
| for he writes
on the rocks upon the seacoast.
Sometimes caves the sen has carven
Hold the sacred. crumbliDg mummy.
Egypt and North America are not alone in these
efforts TO preserve the bodies OF the dead. rs
the MARQUIS de Naidailac remarks, notable sight
in Upper Peru arc tonibs bull o; stone with clay
cement, in the shape OF the Old-fashioned straw
beehive, which contain each one more mummieG
in q crouchne position. The Gnanches OF Ten
erife supposed by many 10 be the historic rem
nant OF the vanished builders of doimen and
cromlech were accustomed 10 dry the corpse Of
the dead. paint them with thick varnish. and
finally wrap them in goatskins So far AZ the
wrap Of skins was concerned the Calcdonians pre-
served the custom down 10 historic times. Now.
if Brinton and Hale right in thinking that
the American race is an onshoot from Western
Europe and if IIrintOns additional hypothesis is
accepted that the ancient North Africans including
the main element in the population Of Egypt, were
identical with the Pscolithic and Nrolithc
people Of EUROPE. then il would rot seem an in
credible leap 70 the opinion that these similari-
ties OF custom in remote regions of the earth are
not merely accidental, but are % DO traced t.
the same origin. No one would care 10 press this
suggestion. but in the midst OF tho babel Of tongues
respecting the beginnings OF humanity, il is we'll
10 remember that those who believe in its unity
can scrape up u good many arguments when they
set about il. As was remarked BY one of the
speakers at the recent meeting Of Oricntalis,s in
London, with even more caution than was ncccs-
sary, There need not at first have been more
than human pair II is well 10 remcmbc-
this because there is much race-hatrcd the wor,,
cnlt 1-ica ct
votion to some improved hypothesis Of natural
science.
One Of the most interesting chapters Of Mr.
Lumms's book is his description Of the rattle
snake dance celebrated by the Snake and Antelope
Glars among the Moquis. The account is photo,
graphic in it's details But it fails as all nc
counts must fail for the present and perhaps for
years to come, 10 give adequate solution for
many OF the phenomena. The dancers are said
10 prepare themselves 10 Withstand the poison Of
the serpents by eating preparations OF cert1ir
| herbs and by smearng the body with an antidlt.
The performers are all painted black and white
and red, and they do actually receive the bites
OF the deadly snakes with indifference They
tumble the reptiles into heaps, and gathering them
mp sometimes half-dozcn at time dance fran
ticalv about the circle, and finally release their
playthngs outside Of the village unframed As
long as the used by the people 10 secure
immunity from the serpcnts remain unknown the
| narrative OF the dance can be of only mcaqre
scientific utility. The dancing cansmcn not in.
frequently carry the snakes in their mouths:
though they do rot eat them, Lane saw dcrvishcs
do with venOmous scrpents and scorpions I'm
Egypt. Lane however, remembered one case in
which the dervish was killed by the reptile with
which he played. The practice Of handling SCRIP
cnts and even eating them alive as part Of a
| 10
less 70 such custom that the informant of
Herodotus referred when he described the Tro
glodytae as tribe Of people who ate serpents
and lizards. AS with the snake-dancc, so with
the graphic descriptions Of the legerdcinain prnc-
tised by the Pucblos, scientific and rational