1 882.] Mexican Caves ivith Human Remains. 307 



In the spring the center or crown of the agave was roasted, 

 when it became a nutritious article of food, and in summer the 

 mesquite beans are ripe. After the flood of waters had subsided, 

 annual plants, like the sunflower, would produce abundance of 

 seeds, which the inhabitants could return and gather. 



As to the dead found in the caves, they had their knees drawn 

 to their chin, also the hands, and so encased in their robes, and 

 so securely bound with bands made of net-work, that they formed 

 a convenient bundle for handling. Some had but one wrapping 

 around the bones, others two; these during life were clothing 

 and bedding, one worn round the waist and fastened by a belt; the 

 other, worn over the shoulders, was fastened by two strings, at- 

 tached thereto for that purpose. Those with only one wrapper, 

 which was worn on the shoulders by day, wore around the waist 

 in two parts appendages made of fringe or cloth; sometimes 

 feathers were attached to the fringed ends to make the fringe 

 longer and more showy ; one division was worn behind the other 

 in front. The heads of the dead were variously cared for. One 

 had drawn over it a worked bag, another had a cap of net-work 

 to which was fastened a profusion of feathers; this head rested in 

 a collar of braided cat-tail rushes ; other heads were placed in 

 round pads that are usually worn on the heads of females to sup- 

 port the jars of water while carrying them. Sandals of various 

 qualities were used, made of agave fibers. The ornaments worn 

 were seeds of plants, vertebrae of snakes, roots of medical plants, 

 pieces of shell, bone or stone cut into suitable shapes. 



Caves as depositories of the dead were very suitable, and saved 

 the labor of digging graves in the earth. In the caves the dead 

 were laid therein without any earth being placed over them. 



Raw materials for clothing was supplied main!) from the differ- 

 ent agaves and yuccas ; in fact, all the fabrics and sandals found 

 with the cave dead were made from the fibers or leaves of those 

 plants. Skins of animals seem only used to a limited extent for 

 clothing, these plants furnishing a cooler and more durable fabric 

 for hot climates. 



The remains found in the cave have their hair done up in one 

 bunch behind, and bound very tight by cords ; they are very 

 short in length, very unlike the hair of many of the Indians of the 

 United States, whose hair hang down to and below their waists 

 done up in two bundles, one on each side, larger than the bunch 

 found with the cave dead. 



