ANIMALS. 123 



dry and so cold at Cusco, that flesh dries there 

 like wood, without corrupting ; and he is of opi- 

 nion, that they dried the body in snow, before 

 they applied the bitumen. He adds, that in the 

 time of the Incas they usually dried the flesh 

 which was designed for -the use of the army ; and 

 that when they had lost their humidity, they might 

 be kept without salt, or any other preparation. 



It is said, that at Spitzbergen, which lies with- 

 in the arctic circle, and, consequently, in the 

 coldest climate, bodies never corrupt, nor suffer 

 any apparent alteration, even though buried for 

 thirty years. Nothing corrupts or putrefies in 

 that climate; the wood which has been em- 

 ployed in building those houses where the train 

 oil is separated, appears as fresh as the day it 

 was first cut. 



If excessive cold, therefore, be thus capable of 

 preserving bodies from corruption, it is not less 

 certain that a great degree of dryness, produced 

 by heat, produces the same effect. It is well 

 known, that the men and animals that are bu- 

 ried in the sands of Arabia, quickly dry up, and 

 continue in preservation for several ages, as if 

 they had been actually embalmed. It has often 

 happened, that whole caravans have perished in 

 crossing those deserts, either by the burning 

 winds that infest them, or by the sands which 

 are raised by the tempest, and overwhelm every 

 creature in certain ruin. The bodies of those 

 persons are preserved entire ; and they are often 

 found in this condition by some accidental pas- 

 senger. Many authors, both ancient and mo- 



