﻿ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES. 
  399 
  

  

  Notes 
  on 
  some 
  Aleut 
  Mummies. 
  

  

  BY 
  W. 
  11. 
  DALL, 
  U. 
  S. 
  COAST 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  previously 
  given 
  the 
  Academy 
  some 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  method 
  

   of 
  mummifying 
  their 
  more 
  distinguished 
  dead. 
  Many 
  tales 
  are 
  current 
  among 
  

   the 
  Aleuts 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  particular 
  cases 
  of 
  this 
  practice, 
  and 
  among 
  others 
  one 
  

   has 
  been 
  frequently 
  related 
  to 
  me 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  some 
  mummies 
  preserved 
  in 
  a 
  

   cave 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  volcanic 
  islands 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  " 
  Four 
  Craters," 
  or 
  " 
  Four 
  

   Mountains." 
  When 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity, 
  in 
  1873, 
  vsre 
  were 
  unable 
  to 
  land 
  and 
  test 
  the 
  

   truth 
  of 
  this 
  history, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  bad 
  weather 
  and 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  any 
  harbors. 
  

   More 
  recently, 
  however, 
  this 
  has 
  been 
  successfnlly 
  done. 
  The 
  Alaska 
  Commer- 
  

   cial 
  Company 
  has 
  a 
  standing 
  order 
  to 
  its 
  agents 
  to 
  collect 
  and 
  preserve 
  objects 
  

   of 
  interest 
  in 
  ethnology 
  and 
  natural 
  history, 
  and 
  the 
  cabinet 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  

   bears 
  witness 
  to 
  the 
  generosity 
  of 
  the 
  company 
  and 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  

   material 
  thus 
  acquired. 
  Captain 
  E. 
  Henuig, 
  of 
  the 
  company's 
  service, 
  with 
  the 
  

   company's 
  schooner 
  Wjn. 
  Sutton, 
  being 
  employed 
  in 
  removing 
  some 
  hunters 
  

   from 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  the 
  Four 
  Mountains, 
  he 
  was 
  enabled, 
  after 
  seven 
  unsuccessful 
  

   attempts, 
  to 
  land 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  cliff, 
  where 
  the 
  fallen 
  rocks 
  form 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  

   cave, 
  and 
  was 
  directed 
  by 
  the 
  natives 
  to 
  the 
  e.xact 
  spot. 
  Here 
  he 
  obtained 
  twelve 
  

   mummies, 
  in 
  good 
  condition, 
  besides 
  several 
  skulls 
  of 
  those 
  which, 
  being 
  laid 
  

   near 
  the 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  cave, 
  had 
  become 
  injured 
  by 
  the 
  weather. 
  There 
  was 
  

   also 
  a 
  moderate 
  number 
  of 
  carvings 
  and 
  implements 
  found, 
  though 
  some 
  natives, 
  

   less 
  superstitious 
  than 
  the 
  rest, 
  had 
  appropriated 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  weapons 
  (reported 
  

   to 
  have 
  once 
  been 
  there) 
  for 
  use 
  in 
  hunting. 
  The 
  island 
  being 
  volcanic 
  and, 
  in 
  

   fact, 
  still 
  active, 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  still 
  warm, 
  and 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  of 
  the 
  cave 
  was 
  quite 
  

   hot, 
  which 
  accounts 
  for 
  the 
  extremely 
  good 
  preservation 
  of 
  the 
  remains. 
  Most 
  

   of 
  the 
  bodies 
  were 
  simply 
  eviscerated, 
  stuffed 
  with 
  grass, 
  dried, 
  wrapped 
  in 
  furs 
  

   and 
  grass 
  matting, 
  and 
  then 
  secured 
  in 
  a 
  water-proof 
  covering 
  of 
  seal-hide. 
  

   Two 
  or 
  three 
  had 
  much 
  more 
  pains 
  bestowed 
  upon 
  them, 
  and 
  were 
  of 
  course 
  of 
  

   much 
  more 
  interest. 
  The 
  story 
  of 
  their 
  deposition 
  is 
  too 
  long 
  to 
  be 
  given 
  here, 
  

   and 
  is 
  not 
  particularly 
  interesting, 
  but 
  it 
  includes 
  the 
  fate 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  chief 
  of 
  the 
  

   Island 
  of 
  the 
  Four 
  Mountains 
  and 
  his 
  family, 
  all 
  of 
  whom 
  were 
  buried 
  in 
  the 
  

   cave. 
  Among 
  the 
  others 
  was 
  a 
  female, 
  who 
  died 
  when 
  with 
  child 
  from 
  a 
  pre- 
  

   mature 
  birth, 
  brought 
  on 
  by 
  an 
  accident, 
  and 
  the 
  essential 
  correctness 
  of 
  the 
  

   tradition 
  is 
  attested 
  by 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  a 
  little 
  mummy 
  of 
  the 
  still-born 
  infant. 
  

   The 
  date 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  interment 
  is 
  very 
  well 
  fixed, 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  old 
  chief 
  

   died 
  the 
  autumn 
  before 
  the 
  spring 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  Russians 
  made 
  their 
  first 
  appear- 
  

   ance 
  at 
  the 
  Four 
  Mountains 
  ; 
  and, 
  consequently, 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  bodies 
  are 
  much 
  

   over 
  100 
  years 
  old. 
  Hence, 
  they 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  confounded 
  with 
  the 
  ancient 
  

   pre-historic 
  remains 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  formerly 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  Academy's 
  Proceed- 
  

   ings. 
  

  

  The 
  mummies 
  of 
  real 
  interest 
  were 
  few 
  in 
  number. 
  The 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  

   was 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  chief. 
  I 
  am 
  informed 
  that 
  this 
  body 
  was 
  enveloped 
  in 
  furs, 
  

   dressed 
  in 
  the 
  usual 
  native 
  attire, 
  and 
  furnished 
  with 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  wooden 
  armor, 
  

  

  