Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1914-12-08
ROYAL HAND IS I'D:
ILLINOIS TROPHY
Peoria Couple Confident Part
of Mummy is That of
Princess Thermutis.
the GIFT OF her BROTHER
"as Much az My Head 10
WORTH"

PEORIA Ill.-Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Petherbridge, Of this city, are confident
that they have in their possession the
hand that Spanked oses," the prophet
who led the children of Israel out Of
Egypt. ed.
It is the right hand Of mummy,
said to have been severed from the
mummified body of Thermuthis. or Ne
fer-ari. a daughter Of Rameses II, who
was supposed to have been the oppres-
sor of the Hebrews referred to in Bible
history.
The hand, which is in glass case
and kept in safety deposit vault
when the family is away from home,
came into the possession Of Mrs. Peth-
erbridge upon the death of her brother.
DR.. James Bastow, who got the hand
while travelling in the land of the Nile.
Just how he got the hand is story
that he never told, but he said to his
sister that it cost him "as much as his
head was worth"
was invited to accompany a party Of
British Psychologists who had organ
lied an expedition for the purpose Of
locating the tombs Of the PharaOhs.
The excavators were successful in un-
earthing the tombs Of ancient mon
archs and the mumm yof Thermuthis
was found. 1t has not been explained
how the right hand came to be severed,
but DR.. Bastow came from the Prin-
cess.
Four years ago Mr.. and Mrs. Peth.
erbridge made trip around the
world. They visited the Egyptian Mu.
scum in Cairo, in which the bodies Of
Rameses IL and his daughter Their.
muthis are preserved. The visitors
tried twice to find out whether the
body of the Princess was minus a
hand. but the casket WAS 50 arranged
that only the head and feet were Wis.
ible and the guide would not permit
them to make a close investigation
They did not tell him that they had
the hand of the Princess in safety
deposit vault in Peoria.
They were much disappointed but
left the Nile confident that the hand
in their possession belongs to the an
c1ent mummy Of the Princess.
The hand is of normal size and is so
artistically wrapped that the lines of
the finger nails can be seen through
the cloths. Each finger is wrapped
separately and this indicates that the
body is that of some royal person.
Mrs. Petherbridge says. Exposure to
the air for rs years has caused the
bandage to turn brown In spots. In
the palm of the hand the fiber has
shrunk slightly, leaving the bone of
the thumb prominent through the ban
dage
Only a portion of the Egyptians were
permitted to embalm their dead In
this group were three classes. The
lowest class wrapped the bodies from
head to foot in one long bandage. The
middle class of the group were allowed
to wrap the arms and legs separate
from the trunk but only royalty
fingers and toes separately.
The story Of the adoption of Moses
by the daughter of Pharaoh is fami.
lier to every Sunday school pupil. She
is not named in the Bible story, but
historians have agreed that she was
daughter of Rameses II, |
who generally has been identified as
the Pharaoh who ruled from 1900 to |
1880 B. G. He was the son of Seti or
Sethos and was the third king of the
nineteenth dynasty. He was famed
rs warrior and builder. His great
war was with the Hittites, whom he
defeated in the great battle of Syria.
He fortified the east of Egypt by erect
ng great wall from Heliopclis to
ranis. ..y
In his reig nhTebes became the lead
ng city of Egypt. Here he erected the
emple known as the Ramesseum with
sitting statute of himself so feet
Ugh. He was the father of Menepha-
hat, under whose reign the exodus Of
he Hebrews took place. His mummy
vas discovered near Thebes in 1881
nd placed in the museum at Cairo.