Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-09-30

limestone which is found In the vicinity.
Puerta is one hundred and forty feet long outside witt
the walls nearly six feet in thickness 1t stands lopgitu
dinaly deg 81 with the great entrance in the east
ern end The altar in the western end. Like the
churches at Abo and Quarra it is constructed in the form
of the cross From the doorway at the foot Of the
to the transept II is feet inches
the transept it is feet six inches and from
thence to the head of the feet
inches; making the total length inside hundred and
feet eight inches The width Of the
feet the length inside OF the short arm o.
the thirty six feet gallery extended along the
body of the cathedral for the FIRST twenty four feet Some
Of the which sustained it and the remains of two
of the pillars that stood along under the end of 1t which
was nearest the altar still here the beams in
toeraby good state Of the pillars very much
decayed They of pine wood and very deliberately
carved There is also what perhaps might be termed an
entablaure supporting each side of the gallery and deep
| y embedded in the main wall OF the church This is
twenty feet long by say eighteen inches two feet
in width 1t is carved very beautifully indeed and exhi
bits only great skill in the OF various kinds Of
TOOLS bur exquisite the part of the workmen in
the construction of the figures These beams and entab
atures would be to any edifce at the
present day.
ave have cut one Of the beams into three parts to
take back with u.s. The entabatures are deeply set
in the walls are unable to procure piece OF them
The beams square and carved on three sdes the
| floor of the gallery rested on the fourth side.
"The stone of which the cathedral was built not
hewn roughly dressed but the smoothes side
of each piece laid to the surface with great We
length The mortar made from the ordinary soil
found the spot. affords but poor cement to re-
the action of the elements and the ordinary
| of time.
"The walls of the cathedral are now about thirty feet
in height 1t estimated from the great quantity Of
stones which had fallen down. forming sort Of taus
both with the walls and outside Of them that originally
this building all of fifty feet in height There is
small to tho right you enter the cathedral and
smother room which is very large and which communi-
Gates with the main body Of the building by door OF
III, lnrlnc o1c
ton between this large and the monastery,
TEN Of coisers which attached to the cathedral
The chapel is one hundred and thirty feet from the
cathedral This building is hundred and eighteen
feet long outside and thirytwo in width It's walls
three feet eight inches in thickness. IL is apparently
in better state of preservation than the cathedral but
yet none of the former wood works remain in 1t.
"a short distance from the chapel there enclosure
which we supposed was the ancient cemetery.
the remains of the town but heaps of stones with
here and there evidences of streets running
nearly east and west and north and south Through
these stones pieces Of beams and sticks to pro-
ject These indicate, by and otherwise that they
are of great antiquity. They are beached white by the
weather and deeply gnawed by the tooth of time.
| We deep pits which were circular and
walled around like wells We believe them to be the
mains Of csterns they were not deep enough for wells
Some have concluded they were estgfas Two hundred
and ninety feet north of the cathedral there evident
traces of estangue This, well the cserns,
probably made collect the rain water which from
the different buildings.
kept the ridge for few hundred yards and then turned
off toward the southeast where all further vesges of it
are lost in the sand Where it is the plainly mark
ed along the summit of the ridge large cedar trees
growing directly in the middle of it, These trees
lock to be very old indeed.
In every direction about the ruins found great
quantities Of broken pottery many specimens of which
have collected to take to Albuquerque. Some of it
handsomely marked and well glazed We also found
eral stones, which evidently used maates.
These mataes in use this day rub boiled corn
III III Kind NJ dong In hn
kneaded into cakes called toras We have selected two
which we shall take home with These proved to
that the ancient inhabitants of Gran Quvira knew the
use OF corn as article OF food.
There is sign that the ground in the vicinity has
been cultivated and mark whatever of irrigated
bitches. Indeed, acequia open aqueduct, could
not it believed have brought water to the Gran Quvi
for point occupied by the town appears to becon
siderably higher than the surrounding country.
ave are informed by at Mazana who had been
in their youth and had herded sheep in this
gon of country, that there is fine bold spring Of
the base Of the Sierra de las Gainas fifteen
miles from the ruins, and that they had hoard that
vira This could hardly have been possible, unless the
aqueduct closed pipe; because, from appearances
the country intervening between these two points is
siderably lower than either of them.
I'VE Indications that there had been such
| aqueduct, did any signs that wells had
been dgged the neghborhood From every feature the
country both within and without the surrounding sand
hills could but be lost in conjecture as to the method
adopted by the inhabitants to obtain water to drink
without taking into any all for purposes rr
CATION, unless they supplied by spring or
stream that has long since disappeared. The nearest
point where water always be obtained is the
spring which the pastores spoke Of being the base
of the Sierra de las GalliAas fifteen miles away The
Laguna de la Puerta is fourteen miles hundred and
seventy yards from Gran Quivrain nearly direct
ne but this is said to become entirely dry in of
great drought
AS at Aho and Quarra, were surprised at not find
ing in the cathedral and chapel Of the door and
windows surmounted by arch Had they been SO
originally, these buildings would be in better
of preservation The beams windows and doors in
giving to the weight above they became decayed,
made fair beginning towards letting down the whole
superstructure.
Many have supposed that the ancient Aztecs built
the efces Gran Quvira Abo and Quarra during their
migration from Aztlan towards Anahuac that the ruins
found in the Navajo country and the Cdsds Grand
which still to be along the Gln river built by
the same people and at about the period of time
Capt Johnston of the FIRST dragons visited the ruins Of
the ella river in November 1896 From his description Of
Of the Casas Grande 1.-THE largest and best Of any he
saw we can discover point Of resemblance between it
and these now before US. Capt, Johnston says:
After marching six miles, still passing plains which had
been occupied left the Casa de Monezuma
rode to it, and found the remains of the walls of four
buildings and the piles Of earth showing where many others
had BEEN One of the buildings is still quite complete
ruin the others had all crumbed but few pieces of low
broken wall The large Casa fifty feet by forty and had
been four stories high hut the floors and roof had long
been burnt out The chared ends of the cedar os
still in the WALL examined them and found that they had
not been cut with steel instrument The os round
sticks There four entrances NORTH south east ard
the doors about four feet by The had
the arrangement each story There sign of
place in the building The lower story was filed with
r,bhi md abr .lr N.