The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-30
THE COLORADO MES.
America is Self Supporting Even in the
Production OF Mummies.
Denver correspondence of the Globe
Democrat.

(Denver correspondence of the Globe
Democrat.)
Few people, perhaps, are aware of the
fact that within the state of Colorado are
found the remains of a prehistoric race,
preserved by system of embalming
which, while somewhat different from
that OF the ancient Egyptians, has proved
equally effective in combating the raw
ages OF. decay. Many know that south
western Colorado was, hundreds of years
ago, populated by a race of cliff jewellers,
and the ruins of .heir homes on the Rio
San Juan, near Mancos, are :. annually
visited by thousands of inquisitive tour
lists. 1t is not generally known ,Ehowever,
that these people attained to such a de-
gree of perfection in the art Of preserving
the remains of their dead that even now,
centuries after they were placed in the
tomb, the only Indication of the lapse of
time is in the withered and dried up ap-
pearance of the skin.
In the rooms of the state historical So
ciety, at the capitol building, are four of
these mummies, the most interesting
specimens yet discovered. Those who
have read with interest the results of the
labor of psychologists 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
their records preserved the four mummies
in the rooms of the historical society
might prove to be the remains of a
family equally royal ana renowned in
their own country with Rameses or Cleo
patra In Egypt. That they form a 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 pre-
served. In an adjoining cave are hun
dreds of human bones, representing the
remains of those who did not rank high
enough in he,clitf dwellers' world to be
thus carefully protected from the effacing
fingers of time. 1t isl therefore, mot i'm
probable that this family wasasof royal
blood.
The extraordinary fneness of tho en-
neutrality-suspicious. lis aafurther evidence
of this fact. Unlike the ancient Egyp-
tlans, this wrapping consists, not of many
folds, but "a single garment, carefully
sewed to shut out the air. The embaln-
ing robe in which the remains are shroud-
ed is composed of a groundwork 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 care
fully woven in an upright position. and
so closely are they5placed that neither air
nor water can penetrate the CLOTH To
make one of these robes with the crude
methods employed, Gall being done by
hand, must have been Elabor Of years
andiit is probable that they were almost
of priceless value. Tens of thousands of
feathers would besrequired for each robe.
This feather cloth is evidently indestruc-
table, showing no signs of decay. 1t is of
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 a perfect state of preservation.
But the most remarka BILE specimen is that
of one of the children, which appears to
have been about three years of age. We're
it not for the peculiar parchment like ap-
pearonce OF the skin it would seem that
the child had been dead but few days
Evensthe lips have not decayed, and the
TACT that the eyes are missing is not
noticeable, for the closed lids are still in
tact. Hair and -eyebrowss are preserved
seemingly as in life. The frontal develop
ment of the head of this child is most re-
markabIe, .bulging out over the eyebrows.
quite unusual case witha this people.
The Lead displays every Indication of a
more than ordinar intelligence.
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 g diminutive race, the re-
mains of the two adults measuring not
more than four feet in length. These re-
mains were discovered in tomb cut in
the solid rock and carefully sealed at the
mouth. AS in the tombs Of the royal
Egyptians were placed j3wels 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 athey had been accus-
toned in life. The cliff dwellers 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 ar
ranged in circles or parallelograms, and
on these arc inscriptions chiseled or paint
ed in thespicture language. These appear
upon the walls of the tomb mentioned.
Here. Is an opportunity, for the sayants to
unravel the secrets of the dead, and he
whoJdeciphers. Neutrality-suspicious. mayfgive
TO the world as startling and interesting
story as was ever unearthed by the most
ardent archeologist who has labored in
Egypt.
Who we're these strange people? The
question has never been satisfactorily an
swered. Some hold that they were of the
Aztec race; others that there was once o
great Pueblo empire in the Southwest, of
which they were5a part; othersssassert that
the cliff jewellers were a separate and dis
ttnct people, Of whom no posterity now
survives. From their knowledge of the
secret Of the preservation of the dead.
however, supposed, until the discoveries,
to be peculiar to Egypt, it is not an in
credible Imposition that they are g branch
of some race which, by some means.
crossed the seas to this country. When
this migration occurred, If ever, cannot
be intelligently guessed as the best au-
thorities are unable to determine whether
the cliff jewellers dourished only centuries
ago or We're contemporaneous or antedated
the Oldest races OF. the old world
GOLD