Little Falls Herald

MUMMIFIED BODIES IN CAVES

Scientists Expect to Find Much of Interest Through Discoveries in South Africa

Recently unearthed mummy cave in the Koster district, west of Pretoria, South Africa, are situated in a wild country 25 miles from railways, and the entrance to them lies at the bottom of a forbidding hole in the ground 60 feet deep, for the descent of which a rope tied to a tree trunk is necessary.

Several hours spent in the caves failed to give any estimate of their size, as passages extend for long distances, possibly for miles. The work of exploration was not without danger on account of the pitch darkness, the insecure rocks, and the risk of falling into crevices.

The explorers saw in a fissure high up in a rock on the side of the cave the mummified body of a huge buck, on top of which, also wedged in the rocks, was the body of a large tiger with its jaws fiercely extended. Two members of the party attempted to get the horns of the buck, but a fall of rock compelled them to abandon the effort.

Under the bats' dung which covered the floor of the cave were found the mummified remains of a monkey measuring six feet from head to toe, in an excellent state of preservation. On the floors were a large number of bones and chipped flints, while the bats' dung looked as though it had been accumulated for centuries.