Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-07-06
DRY BONES VALLEYS
PLACES WHERE DEAD BODIES ARE
PRESERVED BY THE CLIMATE.
I'm Chile, For Instance, the AIR 4. SO
Dry That "a Is Almost Impossible
For an Cnburied Body 90 Decom-
pose I'm the Ordinary Manner.


For an Cnburied Body 10 Decom-
pose I'm the Ordinary Manner.
Among the most curious things In
this queer old world perhaps the weird
est is the valley OF dry bones" which
continually crops up i'm various parts
Of both hemisphcres.
In Chile. for instance. the air is so
dry that IL is almost impossible for
body TO GccompoSc in the ordinary
way. Here and there I'm the mountains
or ON the plains one may discover a
body that has been clay for several
years. but has no more returned TO
dust than TO life.
There is literally n valley OF dry
bones" not far from Valparaiso where
n battle was fought during the Balma-
ceda troubles. Here may be seen today
bodies OF men and horses scattered
among the rocks that are like nothing
so much as Egyptian mummies, shriv-
eled by the fierce sun and embalmcd
10y the natural dry atmosphere.
This is not. strictly speaking. n val
ley Of dry bones" but that there is
real one in Ceylon no one who has Wis
meut. IL is a peculiar fact aud one
which is borne ont by the testimony OF
the English planters i'm Ceylon that
when an elephant feels its last hour
approaching "a viii If permitted 10 Go
50 escape into The jungle to die once
the sick elephant gets away il is never
seen again. Where they 20 TO is the
problem.
II is absolutely certain that they
must 40 somewhcrCy and therefore as
they vanish 50 mysteriously i'm the
hour of death one cannot bat give
crcdcnce to tle tale which is often
brought down from the hills lay the
Tamils and CingalcSe
According o. these people. there is a
valley OF dry bones" near Talawakcle.
which is about twenty-five miles south
Of Handy. The old capital OF the Is
land This valley. TO be correct. is
said TO he "a vast underground tunnel
with numerous but difficult 10 find en-
/ frances and exits. such places are
common in Ceylon. but the particular
cave where tlic elephants 20 10 die has
never been discovered. though numcr-
Gus expeditions have sought for g.
I'm view of the fact that tie Gle
plants Go disappear when they arc
about TO dis &c seems probable that
some such pls,e does exist on The IS
land. for 60 is certain that the great
unwicldy beasts do not swim across
the gulf OF Nanaar The person who
finds this elephant sepulchcr Will prob
ably reap n fortune in ivory
real valley &C dry bones" I'm the is
land OF jamaica. West Indies. OF
course there is a legend attached TO it,
but here are the hard facts and an
actual description OF the valley itself
Ii is situated near the Cunacuua zap.
in the Maroon country. az the eastern
extremity OF the island. This region is
clothed in primeval forest and the fact
that rain fails ON an average twelve
hours a day al. the year round gives
the Jungle a luNuriant green vegeta-
ton not To bc found elsewhere. But
this valley. though situated right I'm
the heart of tho 'wet country is bare
OF leaf and life
The limestone rock is white and hot.
Giant trees that seem TO have been
bllghted suddenly stand up an gaunt.
white and dead. The valley is sheltered
from the wind AMI the first force Of the
rainstorms As consequence this
strange ravine is silent, unmolested
and quite dry.
The weird feature is that although
vegetation seems TO have been dense
here in former years. nothing viii
grow now. Nature has come 20 COM
plete standstill. During the hot season
the temperature OF the valley is almost
unbearablc. and il is visited by seismic
disturbances that cause the dead trees
and dry hot stones 10 rattle like dry
bones; hence the name the valley has
acquired
The legend of this valley OF dry
bones" can hardly be taken without a
pinch Of salt, but let us be nothing IL
not complete. Many years ago. says
the negro story teller. n woman lived
on n plantation in Cuba. She was no
torious for her cruelty to her slaves.
She used 10 throw cayenne pepper in
their eyes and afterward stick cactus
needles into their bodies just for sport.
One night the slaves revolted and
burned the plantation house TO the
ground. The woman managed TO es-
cape in an open boat 10 jamaica.
where she sought refuge from her enc
mics in the heart OF the Jungle
Here she developed a mania for col
lecting all sorts and conditions OF cats.
When she had procured n multitude OF
the feline tribe she amused herself by
torturing them. The legend has il that
every night the demoniacal shrieks of
the woman and the cries Of the cats
We're TO be heard even in the Maroon
villages. But one night n severe Garth
I quake came and swallowed up the
cats, their tormentOr and her home
( New York Herald
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