Four Short Stories By Emile Zola
FOUR SHORT STORIES By Emile Zola CONTENTS: NANA THE MILLER'S DAUGHTER CAPTAIN BURLE THE DEATH OF OLIVIER BACAILLE NANA by
AUG. 24TH, 1815.
Dear Sir: I offer you some observations on a curious piece
of American antiquity now in New York. It is a human body:
found in one of the limestone caverns of Kentucky. It is a
perfect desiccation; 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 probably the earthy matter of these
excavations contains a good proportion of calcareous
carbonate. Amidst them drying and antiseptick ingredients,
it may be conceived that putrefaction would be stayed, and
the solids preserved from decay. The outer envelope of the
body is a deer-skin, probably dried in the usual way, and
perhaps softened before its application by rubbing. The next
covering is a deer's skin, whose hair had been cut away by a
sharp instrument resembling a batter's knife. The remnant of
the hair and the gashes in the skin nearly resemble a
sheared pelt of beaver. The next wrapper is of cloth made of
FOUR SHORT STORIES By Emile Zola CONTENTS: NANA THE MILLER'S DAUGHTER CAPTAIN BURLE THE DEATH OF OLIVIER BACAILLE NANA by