Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-12
some COLORADO MUMMIES.
ROYAL REMAINS FROM THE VALLEY
OF THE SAN JUAN.
Well Preserved bodies Of q Man., q
Woman and Two Children, He
leved to He N Royal Fam
lily of Cliff DweIlers.

Few people. perhaps. are aware of the
fact that within the state of Colorado are
found the remains OF a prehistoric race,
preserved by a system of embalming
which. while somewhat different from that
of the ancient Egyptians. has proven
equally effective in combating the ravaseS
of decay. Many know that Southwestern
Colorado was. hundreds of years ago. pop
ulated by a race of cliff jewellers. and the
ruins of their homes on the Rio San Juan,
near Mancos. are annually visited by
thousands of induisitive tourists. 1t is rot
generally Known. however. that these peo-
pie attained to such q degree of perfec-
ton in the art of preserving the remains
OF their dead that even now. centuries at
ter they were placed in the tomb. the only
Indication OF the lapse of time is in the
wttEered and dried-up appearance OF the
skin.
H. the rooms Of the state historical So
ciety. at the capitol building. Denver. are
fcur OF these mummies. the most Interest,"
Ing specimens yet discovered. Those who
have read with interest the results of the
labor OF archaeologistS in Egypt, whose
every discovery OF this character is dis
cussed in the journals and magazines
Throughout the world, will be repaid by a
VISIT to the capitol building. Were The
history of this strange people known and
TIER records preserved the four mummi-
In the rooms of the historical society might
prove to be the remains of q. family euual-
ly royal and renowned in their own coun-
Try with Rameses and Cleopatra in Egypt
That they form a family group is evident.
There are the father and mother and two
Children, the latter probably 3 TO ; Years
OF age Not all the dead of this race were
thus preserved. In an adjoining cave ara
hundreds of human bones. representing the
remains of those who did not rank high
enough in the cliff dwellers' world TO he
thus carefully protected from the effacinR
fingers of time. 1t is. therefore. not i'm
probable that this family was of royal
blood.
The extraordinary frmness of the en-
balming wrappings is a furtner evidence 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 embalminS robe in
which the remains are shrouded is COM
posed of a ground work Of cord. made OF
the fiber Of the yucca plant. and closely
rather the finest down from some species
OF bird. Each feather is carefully woven
In an upright position. and so closely ara
they placed that neither air nor water can
penetrate the cloth. To make one Of these
robes with the crude methods employed.
all being done by hand. must have been
they were almost of priceless value. Tens
OF thousands of feathers would be re-
qUired for each robe. This feather cloth
is evidently in~destructible. showing no
signs of decay. 1t is of a light-brown COL
or. with occasional streaks of white.
OF the mummies. that of the mother ard
CiIliu are tne DtSI preserved Inc wOman'S
long black hair hangs down over her
shoulders. and teeth and skin are In a per-
fect state of preservation. But the most
remarkable specimen is that of one of the
Children, which appears to have been about
3 years of age. Were it not for the
peculiar parchmentlike appearance Of the
kin 1t would seem hat the child had been
dead but a 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 eyebrGGws
frontal development of the head Of this
child is most remarkable. bullying out over
the eyebrows a quite unusual case with
dication Of a more than ordinary intelli-
gence.
Another remarkable specimen is that Of
a newborn infant. from which the wrap
ping 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
mere than four feet in length. These re-
mains were discovered in a tomb cut in
the solid rock and carefully sealed at tho
Egyptians were placed jewelry and articles
OF gold and silver. so in this were buried
evidences OF the belief that the dead
the things to which they had been accus-
toned in life. The cliff jewellers did not
work in the metals. but with these dead
were inferred articles Of pottery and bas-
ket work and war implements Of stone and
flint. to aid them in their journey to the
unknown. About the burial places stone
slabs are set in the ground and arranged
in circles or parallelograms. and on these
are Inscriptions chiseled or painted In the
picture language. These appear also upon
the walls of the tomb mentioned. Hero
is an opportunity for the avant to I'M
ravel the secrets of the dead. and he who
%deciphers these Inscriptions may give To
the world as startling and interesting 4
story as was ever unearthed by the most
ardent archaeologist who has labored in
Egypt.
Who were these strange people? Tho
question has never been satisfactorily an
swered. Some hold that they were of the
Aztec race: others that there was once a
great Pueblo empire in the Southwest. Of
which they were a part; others assert that
the cliff. jewellers were a separate and dis
tinct people. of whom no posterity now
survives. From their knowledge of the
secret Of the preservation of the dead.
however. supposed. until these discoveries.
to be peculiar to Egypt. it Is not an in
credible supposition that they are a branch
of some race which, by some means,
crossed the seas to this country. When
this migration occurred. If ever. cannot he
intelligently guessed. as the best authori-
ties are unable to determine whether the
cliff jewellers fiourished only centuries ago
or We're contemporaneouS or a~ntedated the
oldest races of the Old World.