Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-05-19


duced to enter them, or aver to 20 in
their vicinity after dark; and lastly, the
skulls are shaped nor like white mems.
The best preserved of the mummies
was found in what on that account was
named "She House." 1t is a CHASTITY
thing, this woman, who may have been
young andi beautiful, the belle
of the region in which death
found her centuries ago. Per-
haps the object of idolatrous love
and admiration, she is now a thing of
curiosity and aversion. People of many
chimes and tongues will gaze upon her,
and in a White City whose wonders
J would stagger her. Yet she could tell
the mystery of her people, who lived so
long ago that moderns must eveu name
them, could tell it in a breath, If only
she had breath to expand. Perhaps by the
next great exposition,some evoluted Edi-
son will have arisen who can shock dead
tongues and ears, those monographs of
a generation, so that they will repeat
sounds which will make many things
clear, for the Bible saith, "There is
nothing hidden which shall not be re-
vealed."
This mummy was found with a child
beside her, sealed up by a wall in an
unuced corner of the house. The body
was 5 feet 10 inches tall, with rather
small hands and feet, and fine, soft
brown hair. 1t Is doubled up, and the
swollen tongue protrudes from the
mouth. Evidently as long ago as her
agony was, it was great while 1t lasted.
The body was in good preservation when
discovered, but outer air is playing
havoc with it. All the todies are cover
ed with a microscopic insect which pro-
duces an intolerable itching on the
hands and face. "She House" has the
best preserved estufa discovered. It
will be reproduced in stone, in fac
simile, dimensions and all, fireplace,
tiny closets, and the grave in which this
mummy was found, in the "Battle
Rock" cl,ffdweller exhibit. The "She
House. group is built in a ledge of rock
which forms an arch 300 feet long and
$50 feet high. The only water at hand
(D is 1000 feet below the canon bed.
Since no signs of wings have been noted
on the mummles, I suggest that some
anatomist examine the stomachs to see
if they are built on the camel plan. In
the cliff, and down the principal house
is a huge crack where some day will
chip of a great slice of rock. The
house is o fairly topping, awaiting
the "ready" of one Of Mother Earth's
frequent housekeeping days.
A dead cllffdweller seems to have beer
a dead dog.The corpse was left as it dice
and rolled in feather robe, probably thu
one worn in life, the foundation of yucc,
fibre, the top of turkey feathers-the.
domesticated turkeys in their houses
Next the body was wrapped in an ole
piece of mating, the worst obtainabl'
was good enough, and lastly this bundl
> of mortality was done up in a covering
of reeds. Sometimes a fourth unde
wrapper of cotton was used. Then til,
bundle was thrust into an unused corner
the soil slightly scooped and light.
. spread over it, and it was walled up
Sometimes in the room the person occu
pied in life it was placed, the stone doc
, was cemented, and the body was left til
the resurrection, though explorers hav'
anticipated it's advent. So sealed from
damp and changes of temperature, tn
bodies did not decay, simply dried int
the mummies you may gaze upon at tn
Worlds Fair. There are many of them
all as large as ourselves, thus explodin,
: the preposterous theories of some librar,
Archaeological that the cliffdwellers wer,
dwarfs. AS if dwarfs could either hav
built or reached the large, solid, almos
inaccessible houses which perch lik'
eagles nests upon the crags. A! head o
one man has side whiskers, quite English
you know. One is that of a small chill,
with a really piteous expression. Whel
}, the relics we're being put in position,
dear old lady who had someho,
wandered in, said in a deeply sympa
thetic tone: "Poor little fellow, he look
' like a really sick child" Well, all thing
Q considered, it would be strange if tn
clitfdweller small boy should look req
ruddy and joyous. The teeth are al
we'll worn, some almost down to tn
!, gums. The principal reason for this i
8 that their food was largely grain
pounded on stone and seasoned with
Q hard sauce of sand. Few are decayet
but one I noticed had a huge cavit
, which was just the place for a jumpin
. toothache, which has been eased fo
many centuries, just as all our presen
woes will some day be-.
In all countries and all times the liz
ing seem to feel that the dead need still
The cliffdwelle-s were like the anclen
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