Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-06-02
ANCIENT RUINS IN ARIZONA.

A letter to the St. Louis Repu bican gives the
following interesting account OF some ruins re-
Gently discovered in Arizona: A careful ex-
animation OF SOME extensive ruins, found some
miles east Of Florence, on the Gila river, has
been made Lieutenant Ward was the FIRST ex
plorer who came upon the desolate remains OF
u once imposing architectural pile. 1t has been
deserted perhaps for more than thousand
years, and has been orumbling away in the
wilderness The Apache even never pitched
his tent upon the spot SO thickly strewn With
fragments Of the work ofa persisted race The
principal ruin is parallelogram fortlhcatlon.
walls, which we're built Of stone, have long been
overthrown, and are overgrown by trees and
viues. 10 many places mere ridge indicates
the line of the wall the stones having disap.
peared beneath the surface. Within the in.
closed area are the remains offs greater struc-
ture, 200 feet by 260 feet, constructed Of rough
iy.hewn stones. In some places the walls re.
main almost perfect to height OF some twelve
feet above the surface On the east side of the
grauda casa there are two openings OF an oval
shape which doubtless served the purpose of
windows. On the inner sides of the wall of
the palace, tor such it doubtless was, there are
vet perfectly distinct tracings of the image OF
the sun. There are two towers, at the south
east and southwest corners of the great inclo-
sures. still standing, one Of which is twenty-six
and the other thirty one feet high. These
have evidently been much higher, as the brok-
en- tops and amount of debris near their base
Indicate. A few copper implements, some small
golden ornaments, one being an image OF the
sun with q perforatiou in the mlddle-and
some stone utensils, and two rudely carved
stone vases, much like those found at Iupetaro
and Copan, 10 Central America, ale all the
works OF art yet discovered. No excavations
have been made as yet to determine fully the
extent and character of these ruins. The ruins
are situated 10 a small plain. elevated nearly
TWO hundred feet above the bed of the Gila.
Just west of the walls Of the fortifcation there
ia beautiful stream of water having its source
by the mountains, which crosses the plain, and
BY series of cataracts fall into the Gila about
two miles below. The fragments Of pottery
and polished stone reveal condition OF civili-
zstion among the builders of these ruins ana
logous to that of the ancient Peruvian. Cen
trail American and Mexican nations. The coun-
try in the vicinity of this burieb palace is par
ticuarly wild, and unusually desolate. No
clue to the builders of this great fortified palace
With its towers and meat, has been, or is likely
ever to be discovered One thing, however is
apparent, that this whole country was once peo-
pied by q race haviug2 higher grade Of civili-
zaton than is found among any OF the natlve
tribes of the later ages But whether this race
were the ancestors Of tha Pimos or some ex-
tsnt people, is not and cannot certainly be
knovn. The ruins on the Gila are another un-
covered Palenque another Copan, an Allan
exposed at last to bewilder and confohnd. 1t
is understood that these extensive ruins will be
thoroughly explored within the present year.