MUMMIES— KENTUCKY. 39 



saltpeter and other caves of Kentucky, and it is still a matter of doubt with 

 archaeologists whether any special pains were taken to preserve these bodies, 

 many believing that the impregnation of the soil with certain minerals 

 would account for the condition in which the specimens were found. 

 Charles Wilkins* thus describes one : 



* exsiccated body of a female * * * was found at the 

 depth of about 10 feet from the surface of the cave bedded in clay strongly 

 impregnated with nitre, placed in a sitting posture, incased in broad stones 

 standing on their edges, with a flat stone covering the whole. It was en- 

 veloped in coarse clothes, * * * the whole wrapped in deer-skins, the 

 hair of which was shaved off in the manner in which the Indians prepare 

 them for market. Enclosed in the stone coffin were the working utensils, 

 beads, feathers, and other ornaments of dress which belonged to her." 

 The next description is by Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill.f 



[A letter from Dr. Mitehill, of New York, to Samuel M. Burnside, Esq., Secretary of the American An- 

 tiquarian Society, on North American Antiquities.] 



"Aug. 24th, 1815. 

 "Dear Sir : I offer you some observations on a curious piece of Ameri- 

 can antiquity now in New York. It is a human body J found in one of the 

 limestone caverns of Kentucky. It is a perfect exsication ; all the fluids 

 are dried up. The skin, bones, and other firm parts are in a state of entire 

 preservation. I think it enough to have puzzled Bryant and all the 

 archaeologists. 



"This was found in exploring a calcareous cave in the neighborhood 

 of Glasgow for saltpetre. 



" These recesses, though under ground, are yet dry enough to attract 

 and retain the nitrick acid. It combines with lime and potash ; and proba- 

 bly the earthy matter of these excavations contains a good proportion of 

 calcareous carbonate. Amidst these drying and antiseptick ingredients, it 

 may be conceived that putrefaction would be stayed, and the solids preserved 



•Trans. Anier. Antiq. Soc, 1820, vol. 1, p. 3C0. 



t Trans, and Coll. Anicr. Antiq. Soc., 1S20, vol. 1, p. 318. 



t A mummy of this kind, of a person of mature age, discovered in Kentucky, is now in the cabinet 

 ol Hi.' American Atiquarian Society. II isafemale. Several human bodies were found enwrapped 

 carefully in skins'aud cloths. Tiny were inhumed below the floor of the cave; inJiumed, and not lodged 

 in catacombs. 



