| Show WITH ARIZONA MUMMIES the mausoleums of the egyptian pharaohs Phara were more pretentious than any found in arizona yet their magnificence represents no more pains nor hardships than the simple monuments of the humble hum tile people of our own deserts says a tucson correspondent of the san francisco chronicle many of the indian tribes both now and in prehistoric times cremated their dead and ad such left no monuments of their eats existence after the cremation process was complete the ashes were deposited in urns of strange fashion and curious workmanship these were placed in crevices of the rocks or in some instances in caves hewn with infinite toil out of sold cliffs others were buried deep in the earth and covered with rocks to keep out the prowling coyote and badger in the great work now going onto on to reclaim these barren acres to their pristine fertility relics of this class are constantly being brought to light and the dust of the neolithic men and women in fancy jars adorns many a mantelpiece in arizona homes not many days since the remains of a child were found in one of the chambers supposed to have been inhabited by the cliff dwellers on the upper gila river in graham county the body was in an excellent state of preservation and was that of a child about four years old when found it was wrapped in cloths claths and bound to a stick of wood about two feet in length bengt h the legs were drawn up about in the t h position oi of a child creeping and the fore arms were raised so that the hands were near the shoulders with the palms toward the front the fists were tightly clinched the body was very tight the skin having shrunk and become thoroughly dried on the bones the body closely resembled an egyptian mummy except in color the skin was light brown per estly smooth and distinctly seen T the he finger fingernails nails were perfect and the teeth intact the nose ears and eyes were gone and the skin was broken on the right knee and one of the wrists exposing bones sinews sinews and dried flesh the head was covered with fine black hair about four inches long but was exceedingly small in proportion to the body not being larger than that of an ordnary ordinary infant ot of three months the chamber in which this mummy was found is one of a large number in that vicinity all made in the granite cliffis which overhang the gila throughout its upper course many of these chambers have been explored but they are difficult of access and many remain untouched even by the most reckless adventurers in fact some of these tombs are so high up that they cannot be reached by ladders and are protected from above by the overhanging rocks sd that they cannot even be reached by means of ropes how the prehistoric undertakers reached these sepulchers is a problem which will be solved perhaps s some day when the pulverized dust inside the charnel houses rise up on resurrection morn and ex plans the i cliff dwellers as a rule did not resort to mummifying mummify ing their dead but preferred the more esthetic mode of burning the remains and depositing the ashes together with some household utensils or perhaps a gewgaw gew gaw or fetish beloved by the wearer while in life these peo pie had their passions 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 sometimes years of labor that were made upon the tombs of the departed the Pap agoes in burying erect a corral of rock some two or three feet high with roof the rhe body is then placed inside in a sitting or reclining posture together with saddles bridles and similar ob objects acts belonging to the deceased then the funeral rites riles of the tribe are in indulged lasting sometimes for a week by this time the unfortunate or as we believe the fortunate indian is well on his way to the happy hunting grounds and all save the widow banish melancholy in their native drink 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 dusky debutantes they cannot marry again they cannot even flirt they are supported from the common fund and are the common drudge of all husband poisoning is as a consequence a lost art in the mountain districts sepulchers are found built of rough but carefully hewn rock and placed layer upon layer stair sm step fashion each step contains a row of deceased warriors while the female population were given a kirk yard near by under loose piles of cobble rock these burial places while not so ancient are yet bey beyond 0 nd the memory and traditions of the indians of the present day As they are few and occur only in insolated insulated inso regions and on fortified points p eints they may possibly be the remains remain ss of a wandering band of savages from the north or east the most wonderful monument in all the southwest maybe in in all the country is a black barren butte on the lower gila river some fifty miles east of yuma it is not wonderful from any architectural standpoint there are no marvelous hieroglyphics nor immense pieces of engineering work which baffle the minds of modern scientists it is only a plain bald rocky point uglier and plainer for its sharp contrast against the clear blue sky but it is wonderful because upon its aerial heights which look down over the green vegas and rolling potreros ros are the white and bleaching bones of a band of people who fought the last fight for existence no one knows when this battle was given nor who were the besiegers or the besieged there are evidences of a mighty conflict and the little mesa which tops the mountain bears witness to the fearfulness of the struggle baits by its carpet of human bones this point which is is known locally as la lorna loma de muerte buerte or the hill of death is a prominent landmark throughout this whole r region gion it is shunned by indians and superstitious ious mexicans as well the main highway from tucson to yuma leads by the base of this hill and pious catholics who have occasion to pass along the route invariably cas cast t a rock upon the pile which has thus accumulated into a considerable mound not a very costly shrine but built with sincere hands the casa grande indians undoubtedly buried their dead but so faithfully has the secret been kept through succeeding generations that not a hint of their cemeteries ever reaches the ear of curiosity hunters john walker who died in the insane asylum at napa last summer was thought to be in possession of the plans of their ancient burial mounds but he was averse to making them public in the early day it was thought these indians who claim direct relation I 1 with the aztecs azteca were in possession of r knowledge knowledg e which would lead to the finding 31 0 of aztec remains and with them quan quantities quantity titi les of precious jewels and stones many a weary mile has been traversed by pros prospectors pec tors and many tons of rock loosened in a vain search for these buried treasures not a sestos ever came to light these people valued the simple product of the field more than gold and silver the tribe in in the northern portion of arizona and new mexico have more elaborate funeral rites and ceremonies than any other tribe of indians on the north american continent the death of a prominent personage is followed by days of dancing and waiting wailing and nights of incantation these services sometimes extend over a period of a week or a week and a half before the co corpse se is is finally laid away in its granite bet bed and the soul permitted to start out on its long journey to the sun the bogins the zunis and the ancient pimas aimas were all it sun worshipers wor shippers and their modes of burial natu naturally fy differed from the other tribes as they differed in advanced stages of civilization many of the southwestern indians had no belief or knowledge of a hereafter when they tell fell in m battle or succumbed to disease they had reached the end As a consequence no extra amount of care was taken with their remains and the only reason for removing them at all was dire directed acted by sanitary instincts on the northern border of mexico or near the border are found the first pyramidal tombs they are the exact 6 counterpart counter part of the egyptian monoliths save in size and perfection of make yet they indicate a near connection between the early builders on either side of the big water these pyramids have inside vaults and were doubtless intended for tombs though no remains have heen been found in the few scattering structures brought to light 4 A large portion or north central mex mexico ico has not yet been trod by civilized feet it may be when this country is better known some wonderful archaeological discoveries will be made and a new and more interesting chapter added to that 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