The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-28
THE COLORADO MuMMIEs.
America Is disappearing Even in the
Production of Mummies.

TACT that within the state or Colorado
are found the remains of a prehistoric
race, preserved by a system of embalm-
from that of the ancient Egyptians,
has proved equally effective In combat
ing the ravages of decay, Many know
that southwestern Colorado was, hun
dreds Of years ago, populated by a race
of cliff jewellers, and the ruins of their
homes on the Rio San Juan, near Man
cos, are annually visited by thousands
of inquisitive tourists 1t is not gener-
ally known, however. that these people
attained to such degree of perfection
IN the art Of preserving the remains of
their dead that even now, centuries af-
ter they were placed in the tomb, the
only indication of the lapse Of time is in
the withered and dried-up appearance
of the skin.
In the rooms of the state historical
society at the capitol building are four
Of these mummies, the most interesting
have read with interest the results of
the labor of psychologists in Egypt,
whose every discovery of this character
is discussed in the journals and maya
zines throughout the world, will be re-
paid by visit to the capitol building.
Were the history of this strange people
known and their records preserved the
four mummies in the rooms of the his
torical society might prove to be the re-
mains Of family equally royal and re-
nowned in their own country with Ra-
meses and Cleopatra in Egypt. That
they form family group is evident
There are the father and mother and
two children, the latter probably three
to five years of age. Not all the dead
of this race were thus preserved In
an adjoining cave are hundreds of hui
man bones, representing the remains
of those who died not rank high enough
in the cliff dwellers' world to be thus
carefully protected from the effacing
fingers of time. 1t is therefore not i'm
probable that this family was of royal
blood.
The extraordinary fineness of the en-
balming wrappings is a further evil
dence of this fact Unlike the ancient
Egyptians, this wrapping consists, not
of many folds, but a single garment,
carefully sewed to shut out the air. The
embalming robe in which the remains
are shrouded is composed of a ground
work of cord, made of the fiber of the
yucca plant, and closely woven. In
this are interviewer feathers, or rather
the finest down from some species of
bird Each feather is carefully woven
in an upright position, and so closely
are they placed that neither air nor wa
ter can penetrate the cloth. To make
one of these robes with the crude meth
DDS employed, all being done by hand,
must have been labor of years, and
it is probable that they were almost of
priceless value. Tens of thousands of
feathers would be required for each
robe. This feather cloth is evidently
indestructible, showing no signs of de-
cay. 1t is of a light brown color, with
occasional streaks of white.
OF the mummies, that of the mother
and child are the best preserved. The
woman's long black hair hangs down
over her shoulders and teeth and skin
are in perfect state of preservation.
But the most remarkable specimen is
that of one of the children, which APP
pears to have been about three years of
age. Were it not for the peculiar parch-
ment-like appearance of the skin it
would seem that the child had been
dead but few days. Even the lips
have not decayed and the fact that
the eyes are missing is not noticeable,
for the closed lids are still intact. Hair
and eyebrows are preserved seemingly
as in life. The frontal development of
the head of this child is most remark
able, bulging out over the eyebrows, a
quite unusual case with this people
The head displays every indication of a
more than ordinary intelligence.
Another remarkable specimen is that
of newborn infant, from which the
wrapping has been entirely removed
and in which there is not the slightest
trace of decay.
They were a diminutive race, the re-
mains of the two adults measuring not
more than four feet in length. These
remains were discovered in tomb cut
in the solid rock and carefully sealed al
the mouth. AS in the tombs of the roy.
al Egyptians were placed jewels and
articles of gold and silver, so in this
were buried evidences of the belief that
the dead would require in the future
state some of the things to which they
had been accustomed in life. The cliff
jewellers did not work In the metals, but
with these dead were inferred articles
of pottery and basket work and wal
implements of stone and flint to ai6
them in their journey to the unknown
About the burial places stone slabs are
set in the ground and arranged in cir
Giles or parallelogranls, and on these are
inscriptions chiseled or painted in tbs
picture language These appear upor
the walls of the tomb mentioned. Here
is an opportunity for the savants Il
unravel the secrets of the dead, and HI
who deciphers these inscriptions may
give to the world as startling and in
teresting story as ives ever unearth
ed by the most ardent archeologist whC
has labored in Egypt.
Who were these strange people? The
question has never been satisfactorily
answered. Some hold that they were O.
the Aztec race; others that there wa:
once a great Pueblo empire in the south
west, of which they were part Others
assert that the cliff dwellers were {
separate and distinct people, of whom
no posterity now survives. From thei
l-powIednra of the secret of tha rrecarya