The Prehistoric World or Vanished races Part 32

We are finding abundant evidence that this section was once thickly settled. Going back to the triple-walled tower on the McElmo, Mr.

Jackson says of the immediate vicinity: "On the mesa is group after group upon the same general plan, a great central tower and smaller surrounding buildings. They cover the whole breadth and length of the land, and, turn which way we would, we stumbled over the old mound and into the cellars, as we might call them, of these truly aborigines." We believe, however, that no excavation for cellar purposes are found in the entire region covered by these ancient ruins.

"Starting down the canyon (the McElmo), which gradually deepened as the table-land rose above us, we found upon either hand very old and faint vestiges of the homes of a forgotten people, but could give them no more attention than merely noting their existence."

Mr. Morgan has shown the existence of regular large houses in the valley of Aminas River, east of the Mancos;<19> and he also speaks of the ruins at the commencement of McElmo Canyon as being large communal buildings.

We should judge from Mr. Jackson's report just given that these ruins were rather small cl.u.s.ters of houses of the same design as the ruins at Apache Springs.

Near the Utah boundary line we notice the Hovenweep Creek joining the McElmo from the north. The mesa, narrowing to a point where the two canyons meet, is covered with ruins much like what we have described already. The Hovenweep is appropriately named, meaning "deserted valley."

Ill.u.s.tration of Ruins in the Hovenweep Canyon.--------

Further west still is the Montezuma Valley. Mr. Jackson's party found the ruins so numerous as to excite surprise at the numbers this narrow valley must have supported. He says, "We camped at the intersection of a large canyon coming in from the west.... At this point the bottoms widen out to from two to three hundred yards in width, and are literally covered with ruins, evidently those of an extensive settlement or community, although at the present time water was so scarce (there not being a drop within a radius of six miles) that we were compelled to make a dry camp. The ruins consist evidently of great solid mounds of rock _debris,_ piled up in rectangular ma.s.ses, covered with earth and a brush growth, bearing every indication of extreme age--just how old is about as impossible to tell as to say how old the rocks of this canyon are. This group is a mile in length, in the middle of the valley s.p.a.ce, and upon both sides of the wash. Each separate building would cover a s.p.a.ce, generally, of one hundred feet square; they are seldom subdivided into more than two or four apartments. Relics were abundant, broken pottery and arrow-points being especially plenty. At one place, where the wash held partially undermined the foundation of ore of the large buildings, it exposed a wall of regularly laid masonry, extending down six feet beneath the superinc.u.mbent rubbish to the old floor-level, covered with ashes and the remains of half-charred sticks of juniper."

Lower down, the valley was noted for little projecting tongues of rock extending out into the canyon, sometimes connected with the main walls of the canyon by narrow ledges of rock, and in cases even this had disappeared, leaving detached ma.s.ses of rock standing quite alone.

"Within a distance of fifteen miles there are some sixteen or eighteen of these promontories and isolated mesas of different height, every one of them covered with ruins of old and ma.s.sive stone-built structures."

We have been somewhat full in our description of these ruins, yet their importance justifies this course. So far we see but very little to remind us of the pueblo towns. On the other hand, the buildings seem to be often single houses, or a few houses grouped together. In some locations they were built of stone, in others of adobe. It is to be observed, however, that the houses are very small--not larger than the rooms in the modern pueblos. We evidently have here quiet scenes of agricultural life. They of course had enemies, and guarded against their attacks by the watch-towers, of which an example is given in the McElmo ruins. The country must have been better watered than now, the soil productive the seasons kind; and who can tell how long these agricultural tribes held the land? Under these conditions, time must have been rapidly bringing them civilization. But we must now turn to a sorrowful chapter in their history, and trace the dispersion of these tribes, their unavailing attempts to hold their own against a savage foe, and the desperate chances they took before leaving the land of their fathers.

This brings us to a consideration of cliff-houses--that is, houses so placed that manifestly the only reason the people would have for putting them where found would be of a defensive nature; and, for a similar reason, we may be very sure they are of a later date than the majority of the ruins in the valley or in the canyons. People would never have settled in the valley in the first place if they had felt the necessity of seeking inaccessible places in which to build shelters as a resort in time of need. We can not do better than to refer once more to Mr.

Jackson's exploration in the valley of the Rio Mancos. We have already referred to it in reference to the larger ruins.

Ill.u.s.tration of Two-storied House in the Mancos Canyon.----

This cut gives us a general view of the first cliff-house discovered in this valley. This was far up on the cliff. Mr. Jackson says, "We had no field-gla.s.s with the party, and to this fact is probably due the reason we had not seen others during the day in this same line, for there is no doubt that ruins exist throughout the entire length of the canyon, far above and out of the way of ordinary observation." Subsequently Mr.

Holmes proved this supposition to be true. The sides of this canyon have nearly all their ledges occupied by these houses.

Every advantage was taken, both natural and artificial, to conceal them from view. "Cedars and pines grew thickly along the ledges upon which they are built, hiding completely any thing behind them. All that we did find were built of the same materials as the cliffs themselves with but few, and then only the smallest, appertures toward the canyon, the surface being dressed very smooth, and showing no lines of masonry.

It was only on the very closest inspection that the houses could be separated from the cliff."

Ill.u.s.tration of View of Cliff in which the House is Situated.--

To ill.u.s.trate the singular position in which this house was located, we introduce this cut. It is seven hundred feet above the valley. "Whether viewed from below or from the heights above, the effect is almost startling, and one can not but feel that no ordinary circ.u.mstances could have driven a people to such places of resort." As showing the difficulty an enemy would have to approach such a house, we give Mr.

Jackson's account of his climb to it:

"The first five hundred feet of ascent were over a long, steep slope of _debris,_ overgrown with cedar, then came alternately perpendiculars and slopes. Immediately below the house was a nearly perpendicular ascent of one hundred feet, that puzzled us for a while, and which we were only able to surmount by finding cracks and crevices into which fingers and toes could be inserted. From the little ledges occasionally found, and by stepping upon each other's shoulders, and grasping tufts of yucca, one would draw himself up to another shelf, and then, by letting down a stick of cedar or a hand, would a.s.sist the others."

"Soon we reached a slope, smooth and steep, in which there had been cut a series of steps, now weathered away into a series of undulating hummocks, by which it was easy to ascend, and without them almost an impossibility. Another short, steep slope, and we were under the ledge on which stood our house." By referring to the first cut, we see that the house stands on a very narrow ledge, and that the rocks overhang it so as to furnish a roof. It will also be noticed that the ledge is rounding, so that the outer walls of the house rise from an incline.

Piers, or abutments, had also been built along the ledge, so as to form an esplanade.

Ill.u.s.tration of Plan of the House.-------------

The house itself was only about twelve feet high, but this had been divided into two stories. Whether it ever had any other roof than the overhanging walls of rock is doubtful. The plan is shown in the preceding cut. The curved apartment at the right is a reservoir, capable of holding about five barrels. A series of pegs were inserted in the wall, so as to form a means of descent from a window to the bottom. A number of doorways are seen in the plan; a cut of one is presented in this figure.

Ill.u.s.tration of Doorway of the House.----------------

We are, however, warned that the artist has represented the stonework a little too regularly. The support for the top of the doorway is not clearly shown; a number of small beams of wood were laid across, on these the stones. This cut gives us a view of the front room. Looking in from the end window, we can see where the second story commenced. The doorway we have been describing was not a very handy mode of entrance.

Its builders, however, did the best they could in their limited s.p.a.ce.

The house displays perseverance, ingenuity, and taste. It was plastered, both within and without, so as to resemble the walls of the canyon, but an ornamental border was added to the plastering of the interior rooms.

Ill.u.s.tration of Room of the House.--------

This cliff house could only have been used as a place of refuge in a time of need. We must observe the care with which it was hidden away. The walls were plastered on the outside, so as to resemble the canyon-walls. Then we must notice what a secure place of retreat it afforded the people. No invading party could hope to storm this castle as long as there was any one to defend it. This house, with its four small rooms, could give shelter to quite a band of Indians. Then, besides, it was not alone. Ruins of half a dozen smaller houses were found near by. Some had been crushed by the overhanging walls falling upon them, and others had lost their foothold and tumbled down the precipice.

It needs but a glance to satisfy any one that only dire necessity would have driven a people to such resorts. When we consider how much labor it must have required to convey the materials to the almost inaccessible place, the many inconveniences the people must have been put to when they were occupied, we may imagine how the people clung to their old home. It is altogether likely that such resorts would be only used now and then. During seasons of war and invasion probably the women and old the men, with the little ones, went thither for protection.

Mr. Holmes calls attention to one point bearing on the antiquity of this ruin. The b.u.t.tresses, which probably support a bal.u.s.trade, noticed in the figure on the house, were built on the sloping surface of the rock.

It would take but very little weathering of the rocks to throw them to the bottom of the canyon; and, furthermore, the rock is a rough sandstone, and hence easily crumbles; and it is not well protected by the overhanging cliff; but no perceptible change has taken place since the b.u.t.tresses were first built. The thickness of a sheet of paper has hardly been washed from the surface, and the mortar, almost as hard as the rock itself, lies upon it as if placed there within a dozen years.

This structure is, evidently, not as old as the low mounds of crumbling ruins we have heretofore described. It is more than probable that such retreats as this were not provided until near the close of their stay in the country.

A ruin further down the canyon, described by Mr. Holmes, is of great interest, as it shows how necessary the people considered it to be to construct an estufa. It will be observed that there are two houses.

So nicely are these hidden away that Mr. Holmes had almost completed a sketch of the upper house before he noticed the lower one. They are both overhung by the rocks above so as to be protected from the weather. The upper house can only be approached by means of steps cut in the rock.

It appears to be in an unfinished state, and, when we consider the great labor required for its construction, we can not wonder that they grew tired before its completion.

The lower house is some eight hundred feet above the bottom of the canyon, but is comparatively easy of approach. The interesting feature about it is the estufa. It was situated near the center of the main portion of the house. The entrance to this chamber shows the peculiar importance attached to it by the builders. Mr. Holmes says: "A walled and covered pa.s.sage-way of solid masonry, ten feet of which is still intact, leads from an outer chamber through the small intervening apartments into the circular one. It is possible that this originally extended to the outer wall, and was entered from the outside. If so, the person desiring to visit the estufa would have to enter the aperture about twenty-two inches high by thirty wide, and crawl, in the the most abject manner possible, through a tube-like pa.s.sage-way nearly twenty feet in length."

"My first impression was that this peculiarly constructed way was a precaution against enemies, and that it was probably the only means of entrance to the interior of the house, but I am now inclined to think this is hardly probable, and conclude that this was rather designed to render a sacred chamber as free as possible from profane intrusion."

This ill.u.s.trates the peculiar regard in which it was held. Even when sore pressed by their enemies, and obliged to flee to inaccessible heights, they still constructed their sacred place.

Ill.u.s.tration of Cliff-town, Rio Mancos.------------

These cliff-houses, of which we give ill.u.s.trations, are quite common in the Mancos. Our frontispiece shows an interesting group, about ten miles from the foot of the canyon. These are situated only about forty feet above the bed of the creek, but still in a secure position. Here a bed of shale had been weathered out of the sandstone, leaving a sort of horizontal groove four feet high and from four to six feet deep. In this a row of minute houses had been built. They had been made to occupy the full height and depth of the crevice, so that when one reaches it at the only accessible point he is between two houses, and must pa.s.s through these to get at the others.

Besides the cliff-houses, the explorers found that these people had made use of little cave-like openings in the cliffs, and, by walling up the openings, had converted them into houses. These were very common in the Mancos, and of all sizes. Some were evidently merely little hiding places, in which to store away provisions or other articles. In some places the cliffs were literally honey-combed with these little habitations. Sometimes the walls were quite well preserved and new-looking, while all about were others in all stages of decay.

"In one place in particular a picturesque outstanding promontory has been full of dwellings.... As one from below views the ragged, window-pierced crags, he is unconsciously led to wonder if they are not the ruins of some ancient castle, behind whose mouldering walls are hidden the dread secrets of a long-forgotten people; but a nearer approach quickly dispels such fancies, for the windows prove to be only the doorways to shallow and irregular apartments hardly sufficiently commodious for a race of pigmies. Neither the outer openings nor the apertures that communicate between the caves are large enough to allow a person of large stature to pa.s.s, and one is led to suspect that these nests were not the dwellings proper of these people, but occasional resorts for women and children, and that the somewhat extensive ruins of the valley below were their ordinary dwelling places."<20>

Ill.u.s.tration of Caves used as Houses, Rio Mancos.-------

On the San Juan, about ten miles above the mouth of the Mancos, is a significant combination of cave-dwellings and towers. In this case, about half-way up the cliff, which is not more than forty feet high, excavations had been made in a soft bed of shale. They are now quite shallow, but were probably once deeper and walled up in front. Directly above these cave-openings, on the very brink of the cliffs, were the remains of two circular towers, in each case double-walled, and probably divided by cross-walls into part.i.tions. The towers were probably their council chambers and places of wors.h.i.+p. The caves, directly below, down a steep bank, were their fortresses, whither in times of danger they could flee. The little community, by means of ladders, could freely pa.s.s from their cave resorts to the towers and back.

Ill.u.s.tration of Ruins in the San Joan Canyon.----------