The morning call., 1892-09-10

the side of the trench. which has now been
cut into the very center of the mound.
His old father, whom l have come TO be-
lieve is a real philosopher in disguise and
hard luck, says something in Spanish, doffs
his coat and follows the first digger into
the depths of the trench.
1t is very early in the morning. Before
you are out of bed, perhaps, for diggers
must be up with the birds.
BY s O'Clock the first fad is made.
/ knew something had happened. for sud-
denly the old man stops heaving up the dirt.
and presently long volley of Spanish
comes up out of the trench.
What is it?' l ask.
My father says it's hard, like flint" re-
plies Thomas Arada.
''Dig it out carefully"
Carefully, gingerly they dug.
Here it is, says Thomas Arada.
He hands up big stone mortar. Inside
is the pestle, glued there by the hard soil
and dlsiDtegratlng shells
Ii stands thirteen inches high and is about
four feet at its largest outside circumfer-
eDce.
Inside the diameter at the top is little
over twelve inches.
1t is solid piece of stone apparently. and
little scratching and scraping shows that
the appearances are not deceptive.
The walls of the mortar are very thick,
and though perfectly smooth in the inside
are very dLu uneven
The pestie-which was easily loosened
from the imprsoning dirt and shells-is a
clumsy contrlvance, long piece OF very
hard, tlnty stone like that of which the
mortar is made.
At the bottom the peste is smooth, while
at the top, where the hand of the grinder
must have grasped il, the stone is Jagged
and would cut your hands or mine till the
blood came.
Yes, this is a rich find. The Aradas agree
with me tLat the digging is successful.
And IL goes on and on, but now In more
horeful mood the diggers work.
And in a more laxative one, withal.
my father says that's mortar or grind
stone. lie says the Indians ground their
coin in that" says Thomas Arada
Ask him how lie knows thst?" / say.
HE says il is written in the books so.
He says Columbus found those things at
San Salvador many years ago. He SAYS
Columbus was the first white man who ever
came 10 this country" replies Thomas.
And then the philosopher and his SON
the two Aradas-dig harder and harder and
deeper and deeper.
Now the sun is out. and alasI there is no
shade.
The elder Arads draws his hat closer over
his eyes, but the hardy son minds the fierce
rays not at all.
"My father saws he wishes his head was
as cool as his feet" presently says Thomas
Arada.
Then there is another pause in the con-
versRtion, for i have no consolation to Offer
Snapl Bangl
Again the shovel has struck something
harder than prehistoric shell.
II is flint arrowhead.
Two of themi
Another, and still another!
Seven in all are unearthed.
Some Of them are perfect In form, others
cracked little or having corner or point
corroGed.
Near the arrowhesls is more of the red
adobe. Huge Jumps of IL are thrown up.
And below the adebs come more bones.
This time ii is perfect skeleton, or at
least as perfect one as your bones will
make when they have rotted for maybe 200
years.
Again the greatest possible care is en-
plOyed in excayatlDg the bones, but again
they crumble into dust and not more than
one-half of them are taken out whole
The vertebIa and ribs are best preserved,
but time and the black organic soil has
Redeemed them.
They are copper-colored, even like the
skin that was once stretched over them.
But it was not the color OF the epidermis
that gave those bones their hue. Yours
will one day be the same.
Is it sacrilege to take these bones from
their resting-place?
Hardly. since they are but inanimate
things which differ only in shape and very
slightly in material from the myriads Of
shells and sea animals about them.
But IL is CHASTITY job.
Yes; one would scarcely care to under
take 1t at night.
Tie sun is hot. but it makes cheerful a
scene that would otherwise be only too
gruesome.
Yes; the Aradas and myself are glad that
the sun is shining, for our work would not
be pleasant in the dark
In The afternoon more bones were un-
earthed-more skeletons laid bare to the
glaring daylight.
Tenderly, reverently we handled them.
Then We packed them in basket, and
before the sun went down took them far
away from their resting places.
The spirits they once inclosed are now In
the Happy Hunting Grounds May they
look down upon the decorators OF their
bones with Indulgence and forgiveness.
Tomorrow norning-Saturday-w will
dix again, we three, Michael and Thomas
Arada, and l. j. III. GRIFFEs.