Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-09-08
Letter from Old MexlcO.
The Cascarone Custom. -Ball-room Frol- ios.-ImpOrtant Find" of Party of Miners. A Family of Embaimed Ashes-R- ceipts old and new.
 for Mummy y-making.
Especial CorrespondAnceJ

AHhtN-k- cetpts Otu ana new
 for my-making. Special CorrespondAnce.l
 CITY OF MEXICO, Aug. IT, 1888.
 The stranger in Mexico. especially l he be young and good-looking, IS lisbl' to be considerably surprised st hIs frs ball here. wien some pretty senorita whom he mas never seen before. trips uI 10 him with an engaging smile on hsl face and something that looks like sr egg in her hand, and suddenly smashei the latter over his crRnium. To ons not acquainted with the csscarone GUS tom, 1t is startling to ssy the least Luckily, however, the egg has beer robbed of its usual interior, the orIginal contents having been emptied through small hole at one end. The shell it then refilled with flnely-ehopped tinsel and colored paper, perhaps with the sd' dition of periumed sstohet-powder. oI some dainty trinket, after which the opening is neatly closed by bit Oi paper pasted over it.
 ln the good old days of the Spanish aristocrscy. the egg-shells to he used by proud grandees at swell fsndsngoes, were filled with gold and diamond dust Similar extrayagances are sometimes indulged in nowadays. but rarely, Occasionally small gold coins, charms. opals. or spjced candies are stuffed n with the chopped tinsil, making the de- virtisement rather expensive. They can buy very pretty csscarones, however, for about a dollar a dozen, and 1t is quite the correct thing pr belle or beau to go to ball armed with several dozens of them.
 Often the shells are hand painted or otherwise beautifully decorated. much like easter eggs in the north. Society matrons, who propose giving balls, dur ing the cascsrone season, have the shells of all the eggs used Tn the household carefully saved for the purpose: and many an hour is spent by herself and friends in filling snd decorating them.
 THE ART OF BREAKING A CAsCARoEE. On RuOther's head IS considered a com pliment 10 tue recipient, who feels in duty bound to return the honor at the first opportunity. Previous acquRin- tance is not essential, it being of itself a sort of informal introduction. Thus any Mexican lady may literally make s mash" on any strange gentleman who pleases her. and without offending her countrymen's extremely sensitive mo- tons ot propriety.
 It is intended to merely crush the shells Ia the hand and scatter their con tents over the person, but more frequent ly ID the haste and excitement of these mock battles-which generally occnr be- tween dances, the she'll IS knocked against the head, with more or less un- conscious force on the part of tue be- slower. When sCme adventurous maiden cracks the first csscsrone over the pate of the man of her choice, the contsgIon quickly spreads. and soon every body is pursued and pursuing, like northern schoSl-boys ID A snow-balling bou.
 Afew weeks ago a party of miners who were out prospecting among the Sierra Msdres, near the Gils river in Arizona. made grand dissoyery-nOt of gold, bat something more remarkable, h lonesome gorge of the mountains, where nothing indicated that man had ever been, theIr attention was attracted by a peculiar arrangement Of inc rocks. l. looked like nR- ;urs; but having thrust their picks into the creyices and disturbed the pile, 1t proved to be
 A eEPULCHRR,
 which had evidently been constru ,ted with care st some remote period. Inside the cairn were a number of mummies, m s wonderful state O preservation. and of 6 make supsTior to inst of Egypt. There were mummles of all sizes and both sexes, and so perfect had been the pro cess of their embslning that the hair IS inta-t gld the muscleI stIil stand out prominently. Each figure gss wrapped round aud round ID cloth tha, yet re- tains is UrIllISnt coloring. though sO ancient that the outer layers crumbled when touched,
 The features are unmistssesbiy O. tae Aztec type, and the dried-up faces shoS such decided family likeness that all b. .hlliers declare the tomb must nave been that of some Indian nOnrrch or ch..ftaia aud his immediate relatives. There wHs the king himself-s giant m gorgeous cloth which shows traces Of having been inwrought with feathers and embroidery, his neck huDg with TUws uEOn rows of shells aod perforated stones, strung upon iesthern s.rong-. Close besides hiu was little woman, in Srappings of tiner texture and softer coloring, with ornaments of gold and ribbon upon her breast and @ mummif d infant in her arms. The eight or ten other figures may have been the children of this pair, or their relatives or servants.
 But however great our curiosity, there is not even & heiroglythlc to tell the story, and the heshless lips keep well their secret. Inside the sepulchre were also found many ornaments, mostly of stone and shell, snd something in beaten silver having the appearance of rude marks, one for each mummy. In the immedist vicinity the remains of @ great number ot horses were scattered about. which, DO doubt, hsd been sacrificed during the funeral ceremonies. IL ia not unlikely that the chief died first. and his wife and the others were sent. per force, to accompany him to the lhppl Uuu lluk kAouHNo VI hAS-a sNS1'
 The relics were carefully packed and shipped to a local scientist iu San Fran cisco, who, it is 10 be hoped will place them ID some museum. Those who insist that the ancient Aztec civilization which the Spauiards destroyed sprsng from the pretestine AZiatic, can now strengthen their theories of
 COMMON ORIGIN
 with the Egyptian or Chsldsenis civili- z.tion by this new-found coh meeting link, Their literature, astronomy and religion indicate the same fountain head, as their mummies show common knowledge of the long-lOst art of oifect- usl embsiming.
 According to OsssIen, the Egyptians embslmed only because during the time of annual iuundstion DO intermeD.s could take place; but other writers st firm 1t was because they believed that SO long as the body was prevented from corruption, the soul remained in 1t, were the latter true, to what a horrible fate did those mistaken snclents consign their dead, imprisoning the unhappy souls for thousands of years ID those ghsstly coverings.
 NJ. Gsnusl believes embslmment to have been suggested merely by the sf- iectlous sentiments of our nsture-s AL .l 0f