Show CUFF CLIFF DWELLERS OF ARIZONA A fine collection of at belles showing their uto life anil and habits professor albert S bickmore the superintendent perin of tho the american museum of natural history at seventy eighth street and eighth avenue the other afternoon showed a reporter an exceedingly interesting collection which was avas received rAce ived at the museum within a few days it is an assortment of over 2200 distinct sa s1 specimens c illustrating tile tho mode of life a and n d 0 of f death of the ancient pueblo indians ind 1 ms the collection was m made ade and donat donated e d to the museum by dr edgar A mearns assistant surgeon in the united st states ancs army a now stationed at fort verde A T here he lias has been for nearly three aln eo years and has occupied himself ith searching for and exploring the wonderful cliff dwellings and other ancient remains mains so common in that region the collection which he has sent on oil to the museum is exceedingly fine and interesting it am embraces braces articles illustrating the art of war as carried on by these aboriginal 1 I inhabitants of america their various domestic manufactures their manner 0 ot hunting and the food upon which they lived from tho the great depth at which the articles were found the immense lapse of time since these villages were iu in active operation and teeming with life may bo be estimated some of the articles were found at deptris ranging from two to six feet in the caves they were covered with dust and guano formed by the millions of bats which inhabit these dreary recesses while out in the open plain they were severed with volcanic dust and scoria washed down from the neighboring I 1 heights the caves are situated far up I 1 sometimes hundreds of feet on the sides I 1 of f the can canyons T ons in which all tho the streams of that region are found they are i ably artificial and were made by the ancient inhabitants as protections against wild beasts and their human enemies among the most interesting specimens specimen in the collection just received are se seen ea large lava or sandstone mortars called instates nic ine tates by the indians of the present day they w ere and are still used by tho modern modem mexicans for grinding corn maize preparatory to making it into cakes the method of grinding was exactly similar to that of the common common mortar ind and pestle but tile chier interest attaching to them is their great size ize several being one and a half or two feet in len lenth length th and a foot in thickness thic knes also the unusual depth to which they have been hollowed or scooped out this jepth shows the unremitting toil energy and patience of this primitive race who with but another stone as a tool too gradually hollowed out by hours and days of labor I 1 a block of stone of the liar hardest dost kind to a depth of several inches each mortar is accompanied by several pestles ilso made of lava sandstone and some if df greenstone a variety of lava another exceed exceedingly ingli interesting set of specimens are the axes of which there is i 2 large number of examples among them are a few which professor bick moro states he considers to bo be probably unique these are stone battle axes with a pointed end like an awl instead of the usual flat edge in the collection is an a assortment amt of cloth fabrics and among them is a needle found in a piece of the cloth this unlike our modern modem needles although yet very sharp is of wood being nothing moro more or less than the sharp needle like leaf of a member of the pine family of trees the thread is still in position just as it was left by some aboriginal lady of fashion long since dead and gone besides beides these articles already noticed tile the collection includes pieces of wicker and basket work almost as it came from the liand land of the maker specimens of corn grains and cobs ends bone awls and pins stone arrow and spear points fashioned both from splinters of obsidian volcanic glass and from chalcedony hammers bam mers arrow sharpeners sharp eners stone knives and many other articles made both from fraint stone and bone whose uses are sometimes not wholly clear even to the skilled archaeologist among the various tools there is a small round piece of wood which professor bickmore explained was evidently in tended ended to produce fire A soft pithy tick stick being inserted in a hole in the first piece aliece of wood and quickly twirled backyard backward and forward tho the rapid motion soon sets it afire besides tho the corn and seeds the food of the lie ancient pueblos is also shown by a large arge assortment of bones some whole some orne fractured and some mere splinters when found they were in such a position md and condition as to show that they were the lie remains of feasts other bones such as s those of man have also sometimes become acome mixed them some of tile the animals whose bones can be recognized are re tile the ell elk mule doer deer antelope beaver and gopher both species of at turtle snake turkey cottontail and ack rabbit mouse musquash and many new york evening sun |