Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-10-10

uoo g uoeq eAeQ lsnm SuIAeeM EFT.
SUI 10 UetuoM 9Ql Suome lInsIud 11our
'"'eu towns prove beyond Question
people. Copper AIDES show that carv-
Ing was a trade in vogue. and a couch
mas oeen found in Illustration of this
art with finely carved bulls Iass
1heSe people We're a nation of hand
workers, for while vases of Stone and
other materials have been found i'm
great abundance, none of them shows
'he sushtest sign of the turning wheel
OF the lathe. This fact in itself Is sur-
nclent to distinguish completely III.
inAno"n race from the Egyptian.
among Whom the wheel was Wen
SHOWN. All the workmanship thus far
discovered, however, is exquisite Tho
vases especially are beautifulIv
Wrought and every kind of material
from aIabaster to granite. was Used
POTTERY, indeed, must have been the
favorite art among them. The dis
covererS declare the variety, fineness
ana quantity of 1t to be surprising.
| Few graves were opened that did
| not contain from two to twelve vases,
and IN some We're found as many as
! eighty. Many were of the coarsar
KIND, merely used for containing the
ashes of the great funeral fire, Bodies
SO far as can be told were never
burned among these people. but 4
great burning was made at each fu-
neral, and the ashes thereof were care
rully taken and preserved. sometimes
IN as many as twenty to thirty large
! jars.
In this custom of constructing an
especial funeral pyre, not for the
burning OF the dead, but simply for
the making of ashes to be buried with
the dead, there is important proof that
tnese people were related to the Amor
ties and were of their stock. if, in
ueed, they We're not after all branch
OF the Amorites themselves For this
custom rs an exceedingly curious and
Strange one. Nevertheless, in at least
tnree places in the Bible it is MON
tloned IN connection with the Amor
| ties.
Second Chronicles, xvi, IA. SAYS:
And they buried him in his own
SepulchreS which he had made for
Amself IN the city of David. and laid
MN in the bed which was filled with
sweet odors and divers kinds of snices
prepared by the apothecary's art. and
they made a very great burning for
MN" Second Chronicles, xxi. 10, saws.
ana 1t came to pass that in process
OF time after the end of two wears his
DoWeis fell out by reason of his sick
ness, so he died of sore diseases and
his people made no burning for him
like the burning of his fathers" Jere-
mlah, XXXiv., 8, says: "But thou shalt
Gle Ill peace; and with the burnings of
tDy fathers, the former kings which
were before thee, so shall they burn
doors for thee, and they will lament
thee, saying, All, Lord! for / have pro-
nounced the word saith the Lord"
Unique and interesting, many speci-
mems being unlike anything as vet un-
earthed, is the collection of pottery
that has been collected from the
graves. Experts and connoisseurs will
be glad to know some of the details.
The varieties so far discovered have
been the polished red hematite facing.
the red with black tops and the light
brown with wavy handles, like the
Amorite pottery. A later variety was
of coarSer brown and of much altered
form, copying somewhat from Egyp-
tan types of the old kingdom. Animal
shaped vases and vases with designs
OF many curious sports are to be found
IN the red-faced potteries. Besides
these forms three other sorts have
been unearthed-buff vases. initiating
stone, with red spirals and figures of
animals and men; red polished vases,
with figures of animals and patterns
in white, and black bowls with in
cised patterns, most like the earliest
Italic pottery
Strange and decisive, as distinguish
ing these people definitely from the
Egyptians of any dynasty whatever,
is the fact that though a great variety
Of signs, marks, pictures, and designs
are scratched on the vases, bowls, and
Jars, there is not one solitary indica-
ton of an Egyptian hieroglyphic nor
anything even remotely resembling it.
1t is more than likely, moreover,
that the discovery of this race, which
has hitherto been without record in
the pages of history, will lead to the
focusing Of many important sidelights
upon the customs and manners of the
ancient dominion of Egypt. Already,
though the excavations so far are no.
where complete, one minor Egyptian
mystery has been satisfactorily tx
planned. A very puzzling class of OBJ
jects long known in Egypt areothe
slate figures of birds and animals,
rhombi, squares, etc. These now prove
to be the toilet palettes for grinding
malachite, probably for painting the
eyes, as among the Egyptians Of the
fourth dynasty.-New York World.
HARDY BRANDY SATJCE