The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1912-02-28
GRIM RELICOFL LONG AGO
FROM A PIRATES SKIN TO NEW
TONS TOOTH CAN BE PUR-
CHASED IN LONDON.

Theft of the Head of Guiteau, Assas
sin of President Garfield, Illus
trates Amazing Ambition to Pos
sess Criminal Relics.
In the old days the punishment fol
sacrilege was the awful one of being
f1ayed alive. On one of the doors OF
Worcester Cathedral may be seen q
small piece of withered, leathery ma
terial which, according to tradition
is part of the skin of Danish chief
fiayed for this particular sin. A strip
of skin that once covered the body
of famous pirate was recently sold
in a London auction room and fetch
ed no less than 81 rs Cd the square
inch, says Parsons Weekly.
The passion which some people
possess for gruesome relics is a very
curious one, but, as any auctioneer
will tell you, an article with a gen
uine record of horror or crime is GER
tain to fetch a good price if put up
for sale
The Inca warriors of the days be-
fore the Spanish conquest were ac-
customed to decorate their saddles
with the heads of their conquered
enemies rather in the same fashion
that the red Indian of later day
wore the scalps of his foemen.
But as mans head is large and
weighty object these heads were pre-
pared in a manner which made them
much smaller. All the bones were
extracted, and the head was soaked
in a certain embalming preparation.
The result may be seen in the Brit
ish Museum, where there is a speci-
men which is less than five inches
long from the top of the skull to the
neck, and yet preserves the Inca
ments with extraordinary perfec-
ton.
Some time ago three Of these
mummified heads were found in Ec
uador. Put up to auction they real
lied from &120 to $50 each.
The Naipo Indians of Northern
South America still retain the secret
of making these extraordinary num-
mics, and can reduce a human head
to the size of ones fist
Marvellous little human head with
beard and mustache turning gray,
from Central Mexico" SO ran the
description of Lot 237A in a sale of
curiosities at the auction rooms of
Mr.. Stevens, in King street.
The description did less than JUS
tice to this amazing curio, for the
head was no bigger than large
walnut, and yet the features were
perfect in every detail. 1t is proba-
bly, relic of a race of pigmies, but
nothing is known for certain The
reserve price put upon that lot was
$3.50.
Another amazing relic which was
advertised for sale in Lordon some
few years ago was a petrified man
found in the Tucapel province of
Southern Chile by two fishermen.
The body was apparently that of a
European, and had died from vio-
lence, for there were marks of the
wounds in the head. Also his arms
had been tied tightly to his sides.
1t was suggested that it might
possibly be Don Pedro de Valdavia,
an early Spanish explorer. The body
was most thoroughly petrifed, be-
ing in fact solid limestone. 1t weigh
ed no fewer than $50 pounds.
Teeth of famous people often
fetch high prices. So long ago as
1916 an English peer paid 70 gum
cas- for a tooth of Sir Isaac Newton,
which he had set in a ring and al
ways wore
Even such an object as the skull
of an unknown negro finds a pur-
chaser. A number of skulls of abo-
rhymes of New Guinea were recently
brought to London. 1t is more than
suspected tn t the bodies of theil
owners formed the piece de resist.
ance of a cannibal feast. These solo
at auction for about 80 shilling'
apiece.
AS illustrating the amazing ambi
ton to possess criminal relics it ma!
be mentioned that the skull of Gui
tea, who was executed for numbering
President Garfield, was stolen from