Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-01-16
Oar Western PalmyraS.


have been populous cities. We give a
large portion of the interesting article
The story told by Col. w. T. Rob
erts, and printed Dec 10 in the Den
yer Neus, is, we may observe, sub
stantially the same as that told by sew
eral explorers before. The reports
concur in declaring that in remote
parts Of Arizona there exists well-pre-
served and extensive ruins, which are
assumed to be those Of once populous
cities. Col. Roberts city covers about
three square miles. It is surrounded
by wall of sandstone, ''neatly quar-
ried and dressed" ten or twelve feet
thick, and eriginaIl y-judging by the
tolas fifteen or twenty feet high.
Within are the walls of houses, tenn
piles, and markets, all Of solid stone,
and showing excellent masonry These
walls bears numerous hieroglyphics,
cut deeply into the stone. The whole
of the ruins, like most of those Of the
Orient, and more especially those of
Arabia and Assyria, are more or less
buried in the sand. According to the
account, this city is some ninety miles
from the boundary between Utah and
Arizona, and an equal distance from
the Western Colorado line. It's situa-
ton can therefore be precisely deter
mined on the maps. By these it
proves to be close to the desert, and,
in truth, environed by extensive sandy
plains.
1t appears that the party Of Col. Rob-
erts were diamond-huuting, and had
lost themselves among the sandy wastes
when the city was discovered. Only
such al object as this would have
tempted people to penetrate to spot
so forbidding, since there is food fer
neither man nor beast, and water is so
scarce that at one time the wayfarers
were thirty-six hours without it. The
description of the city is almost iden-
teal with what various travellers have
given before; and we think there is
little reason to doubt its substantial
accuracy. The only difficult question
is, how far the love of the wonderful,
or imperfect observation may have led
to misrepresentation of the character
Of the ruins Until we have more
minute and authoritative description,
We must remain in doubt whether
these s'cities' belong to the class Of
"Casas Grandes,' such as are still
built by the ,Moquis Indians, or are to
be set down as relics of the ancient
Nahuatlecas, and as marking one stage
in the migration southwark Of the Sey-
en- Tribes incorrectly generalized as
Aztecs. This decision is very nice
and delicate one, and is altogether I'M
likely to be arrived at through the tes-
timony Of stray travellers. TO reach it
will require something like the COM
bined knowledge Of an Agassiz and a
Rawlinson. We may hope, however,
that such knowledge will sooner or la
ter be applied; that thus one Of the
most profoundly interesting enigmas Of
the Western Continent will be solved,
and with its solution, co-ordinatcI with
other discoveries made in the East viii
lead to additions cf considerable value
to our early history of the globe.
Tradition among the Indian, and all
existing Mexican records concur with
the early Spanish chronicles in describ
ing the Seven Tribes as having origin
ally wandered away from their parent
stock after an immense deluge, and
subsequent fresh distribution of
IF the Arizona cities were
indeed built by the Nahuatlecas> it is
in the highest degree probable then,
indeed morally certain, that the hierog-
lyphic5 on their walls commemorate
those great events. 1t may not be
possible as yet TO read them. a long
time passed after their discovery be-
fore we knew how to read the cunci-
form inscriptions of Persia, of Assyria,
and Of Babylonia, But Kawlinson
came, and the work was done. Only
the othef day has the modern world
been enlightened by a translation of
the famous Chaldean account CT the
Deluge. BY and by, when the inscrip-
tons Of Arizona are interpr etcd, the
two may be collated, and the Asiatic
origin Of the Azetec race clearly es
tablished Even if this were done,
however, it would not settle the prob
lem Of the first peopling Of America,
or demonstrate the superior antiquity
Of the old World for the Aztecs
were preceded by race called the
'sToltees, Of much higher culture and
broader civilization AMI the Toltecs
are held, BY the best authorities, to
have come from the South. Still, to
discover the origin of the Aztecs would
De a great point gained, and would
doubtless lead to other valuable knowl-
edge ; and, if the hieroglyphics of
Arizona contain further information
the Delugc and its conse-
1uences, the archaeological Importance
Of the discovery can hardly be overes-
timatcd. 1t may be worth while for
our Government to send out, at an APP
propriatc time, a competent expedition
to examine and report On the new
found wonders OF AriZona-wonders
that in their historic and chronological
relations may prove of greater impor-
lance than even the natural phenomena
which have lately gained for that Ter