The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-27

ground ast rVund the base Of the hllI is
| covered With small broken stones. and
/ there are se>Slny Indications that these
/ stones werJA roWn from some primitive
weapons. 15NsbIy slings. IN defense OF
/ the fortified bill
| The largest structure in this cavern In
/ the upper canyon wall = seventy fsei
/ long and tuenty wide. IL f. three stories
| high. no story s. over seven feet nt9n-
/ There are several buildings. lsxZs feet,
/ adjoining. and also seven buildings l-x13
/ feet. All the roofs on these structure
| have crumbled and fallen f., but here and
I there are cedar beams that remain N
! place The hard stone steps leading 70
/ the upper focrE are worn deep WIN the
| footsteps of thousands of ab0TiEtres dur-
4 ing the many generations these uhconl-
| mon homes were undorbtedly occupied
| The larger dwellings are divided into
] rooms BY stone and wood partitions.
/ number OF the rooms are vel preserved,
/ having euau I0ophoIe windows. but no
! outer door. The buildings had dOubuess
/ been entered originally BY means OF iao-
1 ders that were drawn IN after the octu-
| pants The floors are of cedar. e4ch toG
/ a. large round as q mans leg, the spaces
| filed neatly by smaller poles and WE
! ana covered by a carpet OF cedar DARK,
| The ends Of the timber are bTulred aIla
| fraypd az II severed by a dull Instrument
n
yanced state Of ruin. but all SHOW ina
! tbey had been built a. 4 place of refuge.
where u would seem this strange peopie
! ussged wears OF doubt and fear. threaten
I - ~ famine within and by cruel persecu-
| ton and torture from besieging enemy
/ without.
Mummy Of Big Chief.
/ The week b4sore the exploration Of
! this cavern and its aggregation OF CHI
( dwellings was suspended. because Of the
cold weather and snow in the mountains
( the finest mummy found in any ciH
dwelling IN Arizona In some years was
brought 20 light one o. the expedition
was slowly shoveling away dust and
adobe debris that had accumulated on
the rock floor OF the large house. He
carelessIy dropped his pickax, and the
I hollow sound that the iron produced on
the rock floor gave him reason TO be-
leve there was something besides solid
granite below.
Bring a light and a crowbar. I've
struck sOmething big here called the
man, already excited at prospective
discovery OF a relic without price.
While all the members Of the party
helped, nine square blocks Of stone, each
eight inches thick and laid in a Pc
culiaT yellow cement. were slowly raised
When this was done a sepulcner SIX lert
long. three wide. and five deep was re-
Vealed 10 human gaze for the nrSt time
i'm probably several thousand years. This
tomb Il should be said, had been carved
in solid granite. How long the WORK
took and what a vast amount OF human
energy was spent in eXCaVatlng this by !
hand and with crude stone implements
are subjects that daZed the explorers.
At the bottom Of the tomb was a bun |
die Of yucca fiber and the explorers were /
wild at the knowledge that they had found !
a raFrav- rGfru
was In a sitting position. Slowly and ten /
deTlv the strange bundle was raised from |
the ancient tomb. Then in clear sunshine I
photographs were taken and the work of /
Uncovering the body began systematically 4
and studiously over the head and Shout /
dorS was 4 smaller basket-wOyen tray or /
yucca stems and fiber. and the limbs. |
which were drawn up against the trunk or |
the body and held there by cords. We're /
covered with q second tray. Beneath |
these and draw closely about the form |
WAS q woven robe or blanket Of yucca |
fiber aud alternate strands Of feathers /
and mountain lion fur sewn 10 the fiber |
strands. The body. which Is in superb /
preservation. has the brown, parchment /
like look to be expected. and Is that Of /
man apparentlv about fiftv years Of age. |
The dried flesh and skin which cling .
tightly to the bones and the size OF the /
latter show that I'm life the man evidently
was a chief or potentate OF power and
wealth TO have had sepulcher made by /
such tremendous labor and be buried with
such elaborate preparation OF the BODY.
The body was photographed dozen
times while II was being freed from its
tomb wrappings. Measurements were
made of the body and skull and all were
recorded. The mummified remains are
six feet one inch long. The forehead Is
large and well developed. There is
broad nose, a massive chin, very high
cheek bones, and deep eye-sockets. The
remains Of what has been handsome
head of hair adorn the dried and drawn
scalp. Through the tGhtlV-draWn liDS is
shown row OF strong teeth. A turquoise |
was found in one ear Orifice. Three
pCunches of skin were found buried with 4
the body. The first contained a quantity
Of dried herbs, the nature of which a
number of scientific men and pharmacists /
have been unable to decide. In the sec
Ond pouch was found a pipe-the bowl of |
OF onyx and stem OF jet-handSOmelV
carved and polished, and showing unusual
sKlll ana intelligence in its maker A
smaller pipe Of wood, with a stem of reed
was in the same pouch. In the third |
pouch was charm or amulet OF highly |
polished wood. followed, and containing
q fine substance like powdered ashes and
a lump of gummy material, lookirg z much
j he the dried juice of the pOppy, or some
similar plant Close to the left shoulder
was a jar of flint arrow points and a heap
uL 6iuHl stone hammers, such as were
used IN the chase. Two stone pipes Law
close by the hand of the mummy. Near
the feet Of this body was found the dried
carcass OF wild turkey from which the
ieatherS had been plucked and the head
removed, but II had not been drawn At
me bottom and OF the sides Of the grave
were great quantities Of cedar bark in
which the body had evidently been hurled
SItfr S.!it1 peing swathed in robes and covered |
with basket work. Clearly. this Is tba
Dody OF a very important cliff dweiIer
4 Mummifi-d Family.
Search ptbny
moor or the cavern began the next dsv
and four more tombs were onenad aFta,.
hard work and some sickness. because
Of the dust in the throat and lungs of
the explorers. The most Interesting
mas Was in family tOmb-a perfectly
square excavation four feet deep. Here
were She mummies Of a FANNY. eyjdentl.-
the father mother, and a little girl and a
baby boy. The family had 10 doub; been
na0obs in the community of cliff dWelers
ana the remains had been laid away after
vast labor in preparing the tomb and put
ting the bodies in condition for tbafr
Preservation for years
An engineer in the expedition reckove5 |
lA-l more than two Years of daily toil
were probably spent by several men heur-
iIs tne burial chamber SIX feet deep and 1
Two feet high into the solid flint rock
he bodies were wrapped tightly in robas
or yucca fber ard wolf skin interviewer
ana covered With basket travs and cedar
bark. All We're in sitting position. with
ne limbs drawn tightly against the bodv
no uJenS Is and but few articles OF nor
Sonal use we're found in this grave. vim
Ihe exception Of several bracelets of tur- |
guoise beads strung Oh strings of Yucca
nber, wonderfully made battle ak If
bas1lt and small pouch OF skin con-
tanning threads OF yucca fieT, and two
llnely pointed bone pTiCkers discovered
within the SWathings OF Ihe WOmaD's
body. The father in this family graya
wore mask Of wood. Ike those fOurd 7
In the graves OF the famous mumrlies ef
Guatemala, and the flesh was So perfectly
preserved IN its tomb Of solid rock thar
even some faint tatteoing was retained |
IN the shoulders. Al the foot OF the man
ana woman We're found small hags of skin /
as large as a hens egg, ana n these were |
bits OF turquoise ana bonr--breCiselv as
bits OF gold and silver are found in nearIv
AL OF the aboriginal tombs in Peru and
Central America. The cliff dHeIIrr. as
We'll as the Inca, was provided with sufi-
clent means 10 pay his way into the other
world There were TWO jars filled with
corn and mesquite beans, which were no
doubt intended 10 be the food Of these !
dead people on their wsy 10 celestial
realms. The body of the little girl in the