Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1900-09-19
TRUCKING TIL
EGYPTIANS.
BY n. QUAD.

Copyright 1900. by c. B. Levitt
When the firm of Haywood. Stne &
Co. of London established an agecy at
Cairo. Egypt. l was placed in carge.
Ny business was the buying ofrugs.
vases, arms. cloths and whateve else
might find sale in England. This was
what | may cali my general andlegit-
innate business. AS a side line was
to pick up bargains in mummies Up
TO the founding or that agency inCairo
only a few museums in Euroe or
America had been able to securespeci-
mems To get hold OF a mummy with
history required u couple of iears'
diplomatic correspondence between
governments. and the cost wou1 run
up as high as $4,000. Under the laws
Of Egypt IL was death TO distup the
dead without official permiSsiou and
death to any foreigner discovers try
ing to ship mummy out of the soun
try without special license In JEtice
to the old and respectable house thave
named / must say that they hae no
knowledge of my side line md n
partner in London who advanced the
money and shared the profits, When
| was ready TO begin business. we had
orders for 80 mummies.
Let me tell you that | had cHfty
part to play. In a way the branch
was under the supervision of the
Egyptian government. At the end of
each week l had to submit a list of
my purchases. All my shipments had
to pass the customs officials. My ware
rooms must always be open to Official
inspection. l was not told in SO many
words that all this watchfulness was
to prevent me from dealing in mum
mics. but Of course | knew that it was
My first step was to bride every Official
who could obstruct me. and | had to
move slowly in the matter and make
no mistakes. Then an agent must be
found TO look up and ship me the
specimens from points in the interior.
and he had TO be a nervy as wei as
an honest man. He In turn would
have to find faithful men. and taken
all In all it was a bit of business to
be handled with care. 1t was six
months before l got 1t under way. and
after once fairly In 1t there was not
discovery.
In most cases the burial places In
Egypt are easily to be got at Most of
our orders simply called for a speci-
men, and 1t made no difference about
the sex or whether there was a record
attached. There were a few museums
In want Of particular bodies. They
kings. queens. generals or
poets who had been dead from 5000
TO 5000 years. 1t Is perhaps unneces
Iary to Inform the reader that always
allied these orders After getting
into my warehouse | had
way of making 1t fill the bill and give
general satisfaction. My assistant
" no was a native antiquary. a native
DOCTOR and villain. was handy at IN
and rewrapping and carving
and manufacturing rel
cs. If there was fraud in 1t. l do not
seek to defend myself. l simply say
that II there is public demand for
The mummy Of Pharaoh 1t is the duty
II some agent to supply it as near as
and keep people good natured
In the course of two years l shipped
IS mummies safely out of Cairo and
anded them In London. and | am
rank to say that my dividends were
larger than those paid
asst year by the Standard Oil compa-
~ or the Carnegie Iron works. The
mummy business was booming. and |
vas filling orders for anything up to
5000 years old on demand when a
government official gave me hint that
ny business had been tumbled to. He
Exchanged his information for my $40
.oldpiece and went his way. and 1t
vas my business to put up q job on the
,hedive and square myself. | don't
now that any one had given me away
lirectly. but suspicion had somehow
'ecome aroused. and | was TO be put |
nder surveillance and caught red |
anded- My shipments suddenly ceas |
q. and the mummy market became |
ull After couple of weeks my as |
istant villain went up the Nile toward |
he ruins of Memphis 10 look for q |
nan. II was live man and a particu |
lr sort of man he wanted. and when /
g found him the sum of $50 changed |
ands Then the man died AT least /
e was swathed in bandages which |
ad come from the looms 1000 years |
cFO-., e->sooI IN Al |