River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1874-05-26
Ancient Ruins in Arizona.

A letter TO the st. Louis Republican
gives the following interesting account
of some ruins recently discovered in
Arizona
"a careful examination of some
rulns, found some miles east of Flor
ence, ON Cila river, has been made.
Lieutenant Ward wlis the first explorer
who came upon the desofatc remains of
Il once imposing architectural nile. 1t
has been deserted perhaps for more than
thousand years: and las been cruin-
bling away in the wilderness. The APP
ache even never pitched his tent upon
the spot so thickly strewn with frag-
meuts Of the work of persisted race.
The principal ruin Is parallelogram
fertilization, six hundred feet in width
by sixteen hundred feet in length. The
walls, which were built of stone, have
long been overthrow and are over
grown by trees and wild vines. In
many places a mere ridge indicates the
line OF the wall, the stone wall having
disappeared beneath the surface,
Within the enclosed area are the re-.
mains of greater structure 200 by 260
feet, constructed of roughly hewn stone.
In some places the walls remain almost
perfect TO the height Of some twelve
feet above the surface. On the east
side OF the granda casa there are two
openings of an oval shape which doubt
less served the purpose of windows.
On the inner sides of the walls of the
palace. for such it doubtless was, there
are yet perfectly distinct tracings
|of the image of the sun. There are
two towers. mt the southeast and south
west corners OF the great enclosures,
still standing, one of which is twenty
six, and the other thirty-one feet high.
These have evidently been much high
er, as the broken tops and the amount
of debris near their base Indicate A
few copper implements, some small
golden ornaments--one being an image |
OF the sun with a perforation in the |
some stone utensils, and |
two rudely-carved stone vases, much |
like those found at Zupetaro and Copan,
i'll Central America, are 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 in a small
plain, elevated nearly two hundred feet
above the bed of the ella. just west
Of the walls of the fertilization there is
a beautiful stream of water having its
source in the mountains, which crosses |
the plain, aud by series Of cataracts
falls into the Gild about two miles be.
low. The fragments Of pottery and
polished stone reveal condition of |
civilization among the builders of these |
ruins analogous to that of the ancient
Peruvian, Central American and Mexi-
can nations. The country III the vicin-
ity of this buried palace is particularly |
Wild, and unusually desolate. No clue
to the builder of this great fortified
palace, with its towers and moat, has
been or is likely ever 10 I've discOv-
cred. One thing, however, is appa-
rent, that this whole country was once
peopled by race having higher grade
of civilization than is found among any
Of the native tribes of the later ages.
But whether this race were the ances-
tors Of Pimos, or some extinct people,
is not, and cannot certainly be known,
The ruins on the ella are another un-
covered Palenque, another Copan, an
Allan exposed ut last to bewilder and
confound. 1t is understood that these
extensive ruins will be thoroughly ex-
plored during the present year