The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-14
LOST ART REDIsCOVERED.
Secret of Egyptian Embalming Found
by West Virginian.
Morgantown Letter in St Louis Globe-Dem-

John Hamrick of Barbour county. West
Virginia, has discovered the lost art of
Egyptian embalming. Hamrick is plain,
unpretentious mountaineer farmer, who lives
ten miles from PruntytoWn. He is pc
culiar man, but always receives visitors
with cordial politeness and takes pains to
make their calls both pleasant and profit
able His visitors number among the hum
dredS each year. many of whom come from
the large cities to see his queer museum of
human curiOsities and make him tempting
offers for his secret. But he will not give
it up, and is content to live in a plain but
comfortable way, with his wife as his sole
companion. He deVotes the whole of his
winters to embalming experiments.
Some of the facts about this man dis
covery have been published at random in
the country press. but the stories have been
disbelieVed because of their Vagueness. No
writer can do justice to the facts in any
description of the contents of this queer
mans home nor of his fascinating and in
StructiVe conversation.
His home is carpeted with the wildcat,
fox, coon and bear all embalmed. From
the time you enter the house you step
nOiselessly about from room to room upon
the skins of these beasts, which have been
preserved by Hamrick with his compound.
The furs retain their natural appearance,
being very smooth and glossy. The skin
remains soft and pliable. He says that his
treatment of an animal lasts only twenty
four hours, when it is then in condition
of perpetual preservation.
The first thing that greets the eye upon
entering the home is a magnificent pea
cock, with his brilliant plumage fairly SHIN
ing. This bird, with spreading tail ana
trailing wings, has not been stuffed, but
embalmed. Mr.. Hamrick said that by pour
ing a little of his fluid down the throat of
the bird decay has been arrested.
Many other birds and fowls adorn his
home, all we'll preserved. He has large
collection of snakes and other reptiles,
which have been on hand for years His
geological collection would make valuable
addition to any museum
A little negro boy baby ornaments the
parlor mantel-piece in this house. Mr.. Ham
hob hos hoe l.ll
more than three years. The body looks
plump and the features quite natural The
corpse was obtained at the county aims
house He has the bodies OF two women
who were raVing maniacS at one time. me
corpses were secured at the insane asylum
al Weston two years ago: Inc emoalmed
bodies of the two women lie side by SIDE on
q slab clothed in dark shrouds. The faces
are dark, but the skin is not shriveed like
the dark skin of the Egyptian mummles.
The hair and teeth are well preserved.
A large glass jar contains the head OF q
mulatto, who was executed at Cincinnati
wears ago. The spectacle is hideous, the
appearance of the head being much as 1t
was in life the eyes staring into space and
the lips drawn tightly away from the big
white teeth. as if grinning There are two
more bodies of infants on exhibition. also
two white men and white boy. Some OF
these corpses Mr.. Hamrick hae sitting up in
chairs apparently quite at home, but Ger.
tainly leaving a picture in the mind not
pleasant to recall in lonesome places.
There are some wild beasts and domestic
animals, a sheep. calf heads Of animals and
insects What Hamrick has failed to pre-
serve are fish and their kindred water asso-
ciates He says he has failed utterly to
preserve a fish and prevent more or less
wasting away.
While he carefully guards his secret. he is
by no means averse to showing the wonder
fuI fluid he employs to accomplish these
marvellous results He keeps it in a two
gallon glass jar, and it is so transparent
that at first glance the jar appears TO be
empty. However. it is almost if not fully.
as heavy as lead. and what makes it still
more interesting is Mr.. Hamrick's state
ment that all of the ingredients are found
upon or near by his farm.