universe became as it was at birth, and the souls of the dead returned into the same bodies in which they had lived, provided that the body remained free from corruption, and that sacrifices were freely offered as oblations to the manes of the deceased.  Considering the great care taken to preserve the dead, and the ponderously solid nature of the Egyptian tombs, it is not surprising that this theory has obtained many believers.  M. Gannal believes embalmment to have been suggested by the affectionate sentiments of our nature—­a desire to preserve as long as possible the mortal remains of loved ones; but MM.  Volney and Pariset think it was intended to obviate, in hot climates especially, danger from pestilence, being primarily a cheap and simple process, elegance and luxury coming later; and the Count de Caylus states the idea of embalmment was derived from the finding of desiccated bodies which the burning sands of Egypt had hardened and preserved.  Many other suppositions have arisen, but it is thought the few given above are sufficient to serve as an introduction to embalmment in North America.

From the statements of the older writers on North American Indians, it appears that mummifying was resorted to, among certain tribes of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Florida, especially for people of distinction, the process in Virginia for the kings, according to Beverly,[29] being as follows: 

The Indians are religious in preserving the Corpses of their Kings and Rulers after Death, which they order in the following manner:  First, they neatly flay off the Skin as entire as they can, slitting it only in the Back; then they pick all the Flesh off from the Bones as clean as possible, leaving the Sinews fastned to the Bones, that they may preserve the Joints together; then they dry the Bones in the Sun, and put them into the Skin again, which in the mean time has been kept from drying or shrinking; when the Bones are placed right in the Skin, they nicely fill up the Vacuities, with a very fine white Sand.  After this they sew up the Skin again, and the Body looks as if the Flesh had not been removed.  They take care to keep the Skin from shrinking, by the help of a little Oil or Grease, which saves it also from Corruption.  The Skin being thus prepar’d, they lay it in an apartment for that purpose, upon a large Shelf rais’d above the Floor.  This Shelf is spread with Mats, for the Corpse to rest easy on, and skreened with the same, to keep it from the Dust.  The Flesh they lay upon Hurdles in the Sun to dry, and when it is thoroughly dried, it is sewed up in a Basket, and set at the Feet of the Corpse, to which it belongs.  In this place also they set up a Quioccos, or Idol, which they believe will be a Guard to the Corpse.  Here Night and Day one or the other of the Priests must give his Attendance, to take care of the dead Bodies.  So great an Honour and Veneration have these ignorant and unpolisht People for their Princes even after they are dead.

It should be added that, in the writer’s opinion, this account and others like it are somewhat apocryphal, and it has been copied and recopied a score of times.