The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1893-02-12
Many Mummies
At The Fair

More than a hundred South American
mummies, carefully wrapped In stra"
and sewed UP In heavy canvas bags arg
now stored In warehouse "a" at tina
worlds fair grounds. This distinct ad-
dltion to the foreign colony now located
at the park was made last week. Tne
mumn,ies came in unobserved and We're
removed from o red freight car withou'
attracting SO much as a passing notice
They are piled up In long rows In ths
warehouse, and will remain there several
weeks. Mt the end OF which time they
viii be taken from their straw and can
vas wrappings and removed to the an
chronological building, as Professor Put
nam calls 1t. Professor Putnam is chiei
OF the department Of ethnology ana arch-
aeology at the fair. For several Year,
past he and number of assistants nave
been ransacking the earth for just sucn
things as came In the other day In the
red freight car. The platoon OF mummies
hat arrived last week is only the advance
guard. Many more are coming. The iats
arrivals will hail from the regions of the
cliff dweller and perhaps from several
South American countries that abound
in mummles and instructions
George A. Dorsey. young man re-
Gently graduated from Harvard univers-
ity. unearthed all the mummies now a
jackson park Mr.. Dorsey Is an assistant
to Professor Putnam. He fills the chair
of ethnology and archaeology at Harvard.
besides attending to corresponding de-
partment at the fair. When was de
mar IN thinQg
for the fair, Professor Putnam put Mr.
Dorsey in charge Of the Peruvian expe-
dItion. Tuesday Mr.. Dorsey told an IN
teresting story Of his quest for mummies'
1--WE selected Peru" he began, be
cause mummies abound there. Along the
Pacific coast. between the Andes and the
ocean. a barren desert stretches the ful
length of the country. The sand Is highly
charged with saltpetre, and this preserve
for centuries bodies buried in the sol
Mummy hunting Is quite fad anon
the American tourists who visit. Peru
They 90 out and dig open grave OF two
uat as they visit the vatican when !
Rome or Pere la Chaise In Paris. hav
never heard OF American tourists carry
+, ing away mummies. They seem to b
satisfied with digging them out of tn
ground and perhaps taking away som
Of the trinkets found in the graves.
,The first to do In hunting mummies
10 get In section OF the country wher
they abound. Any OF the natives can te
YOU that although II is scarcely nece'
aary to consult them. for the old town
Ancon is known to be the best field. A
ter you pick the field you intend to woI
lsa ta Troy Of
rod. mach like the ramrod Of n muske
This you press into the sand. and II
strikes any obstruction you know yS
have found o grave and one or mo-
mummies. went out every day for ST.
teen months, and In that time opene
100 graves, getting more than 200 bodle
OF these, number were so thorough
dried that they were broken in being r
moved from the graves. / brought ba'
about 1875 In good condition.
.erhe natives OF that country bury the
dead In a peculiar manner" Mr.. DORIS
continued. 1.-THE hands OF the dead pc
son were spread over the face and q
arms pressed against the chest. Then Z
knees were drawn up until they almo
touched the elbows, The body was tn
nrepared for burial. Usually It W
wrapped In peculiar cloth made Of hb'
win leaves or other vegetable grow
stuffed IN to make a compact packns
After this the bundle. was inclosed In
sack Of heavy material
"a formality peculiar to these peor
was the sewing OF a small bag on the q
81 the package In which the head reste
q'hla bag was decorated to wear q ru
resemblance to the human face The nos
mouth. eyes and ears were all represer
"a. sometimes the eyes were indicated
ee,Qing shells on the bag and IN 9th
cases the entire face was worked o
Win rude embroidery. Then the boz
,Ssa sleposited in the sand. sometimes
grave eight or ton feet deep, but mo
freo,,sntly near the surfaee Occasional
4 roof. formed OF woven twigs, was bu
over the body before the sand W
,t-o..n on. That completed the Ger
,nonv. except in the case OF person
.'o,,,s nrominence. Then number
.,ttle lars or pots. containing food q
,,ouids. we're placed In a TOW In fronts
~ corpse. In one Of the graves foul
s,v ~ these pots. one nlled with parch
.nrn another with something like ris
end he others filled with similar roc
There was also . pQs N'e' "Hu %
f.lled with LIQUID
eocasfonally we found gold images a
ne in,Dilments used BY she natives. a
,.,sere an our excavations we
te". -. aehlne town. and hundre