The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-06-15
DRY BONES VALLEYS
PLACES WHERE DEAD BODIES ARE
PRESERVED BY THE CLIMATE.
In Chile, For Instance, the Air Is So
Dry That IL Il Almost Impossible
For an Unburicd body to Dccopi-
pose In the Ordinary Manner.

pose In 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 In various parts
of both hemispheres.
In Chile, for instance, the air is so
dry that 1t is almost impossible for
body to decompose in the ordinary
way. Here and there in 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 a "valley of dry
bones" not far from Valparaiso where
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 embalmed
by the natural dry atmosphere
This is not, strictly speaking "a val
ley of dry bones," but that there is a
real one in Ceylon no one who has WIS.,
ited that island can doubt for mo-
ment. 1t is n peculiar fact and one
which is borne out by the testimony of
the English planters in Ceylon that
when an elephant feels its last hour
approaching it will If permitted to do
so escape into the jungle to die. Once
the sick elephant gets away it is never
seen again. Where they go to is the
problem.
1t is absolutely certain that they
must go somewhere, and therefore as
they vanish so mysterously in the
hour of death one cannot but give
credence to the tale which is often
brought down from the hills by the
Tamils and Clngalese.
According to these people, there is a
"valley of dry bones" near Talawakele,
which is about twenty-five miles south
of Handy, the old capital of the is
land. This valley, to be correct, is
said to be vast underground tunnel,
with numerous but difficult to find en-
frances and exits. Such places are
common in Ceylon, but the particular
cave where the elephants go to die has
never been discovered, though numer-
GUS expeditions have sought for it.
In view of the fact that the ele-
plants do disappear when they are
about to die it seems probable that
some such place does exist on the is
Iand,- for 1t Is certain that the great
unwieldy beasts do not swim across
the gulf of Manaar. The person who
finds this elephant sepulcher will prob
ably reap fortune in ivory.
Aontbar etropOa pIoca axfctc n
real "valley of dry bones in the is
land of Jamaica, West Indies. OF
course there is legend attached to it,
but here nre the hard facts and an
actual description of the valley itself.
1t is situated near the Cunacuna gap,
in the Maroon country, at the eastern
extremity of the island. This region is
clothed in primeval forest, and the fact
that rain falls on an average twelve
hours q day all the year round gives
the jungle luxurant green vegeta-
ton not to be found elsewhere. But
this valley, though situated right in
the heart of the "wet country" is bare
of leaf and life.
The limestone rock is white and hot.
Giant trees that seem to have been
blighted suddenly stand up all gaunt,
white and dead. The valley is sheltered
from the wind and 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 will
grow now. Nature has come to COM
plete standstill. During the hot season
the temperature of the valley is almost
unbearable, and it is visited by seismic
disturbances that cause the dead trees
and dry hot stones to rattle like dry
bones; hence the name the valley has
acquired.
The legend of this "valley of dry
bones" cap hardly be taken without
pinch of salt, but let us be nothing If
not complete. Many years ago, says
the negro story teller, woman lived
on plantation in Cuba. She was no
torious for her cruelty to her slaves.
She used to 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 to 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 multitude of
the feline tribe she amused herself by
torturing them. The legend has 1t that
every night the demoniacal shrieks of
the woman and the cries of the cats
were to be heard even in the Maroon
villages. But one night severe earth
quake came and swallowed up the
cats, their tormentor and her home
New York Herald.
Forbidden Fruit.
A request was once made to the au-
a