AMERICAN MUMMIES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1669, 6 December 1887, Page 4

AMERICAN MUMMIES.

The San Francisco correspondent of the Yoeßieobe Zeitung writes on tha Mth of June : —There is here a collection of newly-found mummies, forming one of the most remarkable discoveries made in America. The mummies differ from Egyptian ones in that they are generally quite naked, only a few having a loose covering, and they have eviden'ly undergone no process of embMming. The flesh is.to thoroughly dried that it resembles parchment, and the corpses are very light, The mammies were found by a party of American goldseekers in one of the numerous branches of the Sierra Marlre Mountains, near the Gila, in Arizona. One day the gold seekers discovered a cave, the entrance to which was closed with a kind of cement very hard to break. Forcing an entrance the men found themselves in a kind of ante-chamber, thirty feet long, hewn out of tho solid rook. This led into a large hall, in which were lying a number of corpses. The discoverers at once set to work to t ransport the mummies to the nearest railway station, in spite of the opposition of tho Apache Indians, who soon heard of the discovery, and considered the remains to be those of their gods. All the mummies were safely removed to San Francisco, where they excite great interest in scientific circles, The most remarkable among them is that of a mother with a child, which lie together in a loose covering. Another is the corpse of a woman with small feet, arched insteps, long, shapely hands, and the whole figure of a different type to that of the modern Indians. The hair of this mummy is long, black, and not in the least spoiled. The remains of its coverings was of a blue color, and quite different in material from the cloth that covers the other mummies. Very interceding is the mummy of a man in a sitting posture. It is of gigantic proportions, with broad and powerful chest. Tho gristly part of tho ears and nose are quite recognisable, and the head is covered with busby black hair. The eyebrows are sharply defined, and the dry and hard tongue protrudes between tho teeth, Tho members of the Scientific Society of San Franoiso > unanimously believe the mummies to be those of the ancient Aztecs. The corpses found of the women and of a young man show all tho physical peculiarities said to have distinguished that once numerous race—the high cheek bones and slanting eyes, thick akin, and black hair. Tho mummies will shortly be forwarded to the eastern States.