The Republican journal., 1903-10-22

lief in a future life cause these dead
Peruvians to be we'll equipped for their
Journey from this world to another.
One may find in their graves weapons
for war and for hunting, fishing tackle,
apparatus for cooking and weaving,
waterjugs, copper knives and other
utensils, cups and platters of gold, sill
yer and clay, spoons strings OF beads,
idols, combs, rings, in short every
thing supposed TO be required by the
spirits of the dead to set up their prim-
tive housekeeping anew III the Happy
Country.
Our poems dug down about five feet
in several different places, and unearth-
ed half dozen well-conditioned mum
ies-two of which will be shipped to the
| United States with their wrapplngs un-
disturbed. The most curious thingSswe
found were not the rings of beaten gold
encircling bony fingers, OF water-jars OF
quaint designs in nodded clay, or spin
/ dies with thread still on then, just as
| the weaver laid down her work some
centuries ago-but the petritied eye
balls which a careful digger may al
ways find. They are seldom inserted
in the face of the mummy, but appar-
emily fallen out among the wrappings.
| Modern science declares that the hui
man eye cannot be preserved, and 1t is
now commonly accepted theory that
| these were never human optics, but
| those of cuttletisb with which the
more perishable eyes of the subject to
be mumified were replaced. From the
| great number of them 1T would seem
that the friends wishing to make sure
| that the dead could see whatever accl-
dents might occur on the long journey.
added a handful of extra eyes to each
corpse They are very curious and
really beautiful things-hat on one side,
round and smooth on the other, bright
amber-like yellow, holding light as al
opal, and varying in size from the tip
of YOUR little finger TO the end of a
mans thumb. They are eagerly sought
for the settings of scarf pins, sleeve
buttons, etc, and are durable as most
Jewels. Everybody remembers tht
story that went the rounds of the pres:
a few years ago-how Tiffany, the New
York ieweler, was sent a number o1
these mummified eyeballs to be made
into a necklace for some fair lady; ant
how two or three of the workmen EN-
ployed in polishing them died before il
was discovered that their sudden de
mise was due to the fine dust whicl
flakes off from these relics of the tomb
The quality of the wrappings, ant
the various articles found in the graves
enables one to Judge with tolerabl
correctness what was the condition il
life of the occupant. Mr.. E. G. Squier
who spent long time searching thes'
Indian cemeteries, writes: ''In Peru
as elsewhere, the hewers Of wood ant
drawers of water met in death treat
ment corresponding to that meted out
to them in life. They were thrust int
cIevices of the rocks among the noun
tains, or into holes in the nitrous sant
of the coast, with such scant parapher
MALTA for their wanderings in futur,
world as their own limited means, OF
those of their humble friends, coul(
! supply Few and rude are the relics
J found with their shrivelled remains
a gourd, perhaps carved wooden cul
containing amuletS or charms, an i'm
plement of toll, a rude wooden idol
and few curious stones to the natura
peculiarities of which their supersti
tious minds rendered reverence" The
plebeian dead were buried in such shall
low graves that sometimes earthquake.
tossed them up to view, or winds un
covered them. In order to utilize al
the arabic lands, the ancient inhab
itants used to pile up the stone
that numbered the ground into grea
heaps. There are thousands of stone
piles all over the country, and ever.
pile holds its mummy. Mr.. Squier'
description of one that he uncovered
answers well for the rest. He says
''The dead man sat alone among th'
stones, wrapped in rustic cloth, will
some bean-pods and ears of corn press
ed between his breast and knees. A
his feet, enveloped in coarse cottol
cloth, were two objects of interest, oh
viously connected with his supersti
tions. The first was kind of mask
or idol, cut out of wood, bearing re
semblance to the carved idols brough
from distant Pacific Islands. It il
painted on the face and has holes on tn
top and side, through which thin cords