Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 305, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1919 — Mummies Found in Steam-Heated Cave; Vault Kept Warm by Volcanic Fires [ARTICLE]

Mummies Found in SteamHeated Cave; Vault Kept Warm by Volcanic Fires

The mummified remains of 13 Aleutians were found in a steam-heated cave on Raganil island recently, and 11 of them have been taken to the National museum at Washington. .The cavern that served as a burial vault was kept warm by volcanic fires. The mummies were wrapped in skins and nets, and were completely dried up. It is supposed that the ancestors of the present island natives mummified their dead because they did not wish to part from them, and not for any .religious reason; Their method was to wrap the bodies in the skins and intestinal membranes of sea mammals, place them in a squatting attitude on wooden trays, and hang them up in dry caves. Many of them found are undoubtedly very ancient, but of the origin and history of the race little is known. The Aleutians spoke the Russian language When the islands passed into the possession of the United States, along with Alaska, in 1867.. Then until 1884 they were left to govern themselves. Thej’ have now forgotten the Russian tongue, and are becoming Americanized. Most of them live In clean wooden houses and weat American clothes. The women weave wonderful fabrics of grass, so finely plaited that they resemble silk.