The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-01-02
SOME EGYPTIAN TRACES
RECENT DISCOVERIES OF A MUM.
MY IN ARIZONA.
It Ts the body of "A Little Child and
Came From "A Chamber in the
Solid Rock.


larger cities, and carried on agriculture
on an extensive scale, burned their dead,
has made 1T almost impossible for stu
dents OF ethnology and anthropology to
ma remains enough of the aborigines
upon which to build satisfactory informa-
ton concerning the kind Of men and wo-
men the redmen were who "evoluted" the
nrst eiviization In American soil, ages
Deiore Columbus was born, says a cor
respondent Of the Boston Transcript.
while It is believed the valleys and
mountain sides of Arizona and New
Mexico were occupied in Aztec days by
not less than 100000 people, less than a
dozen monuments have been found erect
ed to the dead Of those races, and no:
more than seven mummihed remains
nave been discovered. These, too, have
Deen found In poor state of preservation
ana are not to be compared in the
thoroughness Of the work with those from
PeFu and Egypt. Hundreds of urns have
been found all over the territories con-
tanning ashes of aborigines, and there
are thousands more urns still remaining
sealed In the granite walls of the mount
aims and canyons or buried deep in the
adobe soil and covered by boulders, where
they were placed with extreme labor long
before the days of Montezuma
Upper 6siIa River.
SeVern scientists connected with the
Smithsonian Institute at Washington
have been busy among the remains Of the
clim-dwellers on the Upper ella river, in
Graham county, for weeks Recently they
came across what they believed is the
most important discovery in the field of
archaeology In the southwest in some
years. The find is the body of a little
child. It came from one of the chambers
cut In solid rock away up on a perpen-
dicular mountain cliff, some 200 feet high,
and at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea
level 1t is thought the child was about
four years old. The dried remains were
taken from the rocky chamber, wrapped
tightly, similar to Egyptian mummles,
with bands Of cloth, and bound to a block
OF wood several feet long. AS the bands
were removed, baked peanuts and mes
quite beans rolled out. They were In as
good state of preservation as If placed
there but a few months before. A child's
plaything-a curious bone affair three
inches long and one inch wide, with holes
through 1t with pieces of animal hide
dangling from twas found placed be-
tween the arms of the body. The color
Of the dry, parched skin was similar to
that of an Egyptian mummy. The little
thin hands were clinched about bits of
mesquite wood, and thick mass of raven
black hair, much finer than that of any
modern Indian, covered the intantile head.
The legs were drawn, In the position Of
child creeping, and the forearms were
raised so that the hands were near the
shoulders, with the palms toward the
front, similar to all Peruvian mummles.
teeth intact. The nose ears and eyes
were gone and the skin was broken on
the right knee and one Of the wrists, ex-
posing bones, sinews and dried flesh.
Scientists believe the child's body has lain
among the ruins of the clim-dwellers for
at least $50 years, and possibly for over
$50, s'7~-~~-.
The home in which this mummy was
found was one of a large number in the
region OF the Upper ella valley, all made
In the granite cliffs which oYerhang the
valley. Many Of these chambers have been
explored, but they are difficult of access
and many remain untouched, even by the
most reckless Adventures. Some Of these
tombs are so high that they can not be
reached by ladders, and are protected
from above by the Overhanging rocks,
so that they can not even be reached by
means OF ropes. How the prehistoric UNI
dertakers reached these sepulchres is
problem which will be solved, perhaps,
some day when the pulverized dust inside
the charnel houses rises zap on resurrec-
ton morn and explains. The clifG-dwell-
ers. as a rule, did not resort to mummlfy-
ing their dead, but preferred the more |
aesthetic mode of burning the remains |
and depositing the ashes, together with |
some household utensils, or perhaps a |
gew-gaw or fetish beloved by the wearer |
while Ia life. These people had their pas
slons and their love affairs very much |
the same as other members of the Adam !
family, and IN no way was their love and |
esteem shown for each other more !
forcibly than In the crude embellishments, |
which, nevertheless, represented some
times years Of labor. that were made
upon the tombs OF the departed
The Papagoes of northern Arizona and
western New Mexico in burylng Ell ect used
a corral OF rock some two or three feet
high, with roof. The body is then placed
inside In a sitting or reclining posture,
together with saddles, brides and similar
objects belonging to the deceased Then
the funeral rites Of the tribe are INDUCED,
lasting sometimes a week. By this time
the dead Indian Is thought to be well on
his way to the happy hunting grounds,
and all save the widow Danish melancholy
In their native drink, twsIn. But the
widows are always widows so long as
they live. Unlike in our advanced stages
OF civilization. they do not menace the
happiness Of the duslZy debutantes. They
can not marry again. They can not even
hirt. They are supported from the COM
mon fund and are the common drudge
81 an. Husband poisoning IL. as q con-
sequence, a lost art.
Ip fthe mountain districts sepulchres