Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-05-30
TERMS s1.5O PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.
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 exten-
sive ruins, found some miles east of
Florence, on the Gila river, has been
made. Lieutenant Ward was the first
explorer who came upon the desolate
remains of once imposing architectu-
raj pile. 1t has been deserted perhaps
for more than a thousand years, and
has been crumbling away in the wilder
ness. The Apache even never pitches
his tent upon the spot so thickly strewn
with fragments Of the work of perish
ed race. The principal ruin is paral
Telegram fortifcation, six hundred feet
in width by sixteen hundred feet in
length. The walls, which We're built of
stone, have long been overthrow and
are overgrown by trees or vines. In
many places a mere ridge indicates the
line of the wall, the stones having dis
appeared beneath the surface. Within
the inclosed area are the remains of a
greater structure 200 by 260 feet, con-
structed of roughly hewn stones. In
some places thewalls remain almostper-
feet to height Of some twelve feet
above the surface. On the east side of
the Qranda 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, for
such it doubtless was, there are yet per-
fectly distinct tracings of the image of
the sun. There are two towers, at the
southeast and southwest corners of the
great enclosures, still standing, one of
which is istwenty-six and the other thirty
feet high. These have evidently been
much higher, as the broken tops and
the amount OF debris near their base
indicate. A few copper implements,
some small golden ornaments-one be-
ing an image Of the sun with perfora-
tion in the middle-and some stone
utensils, and two rudely carved stone
vases, much like those found at Zupe-
taro and Copan, in Central America, are
all the works of art yet discovered. No
excavations have been made as yet to
determine fully the extent and charac-
ter Of these ruins.
The ruins are situated in a small
plain, elevated nearly 200 feet above
the bed Of the Gila. Just west of the
walls Of the Notifications there is a
beautiful stream of water having it's
source in the mountains, which crosses
the plain, and by series of cateracts
falls into the Gila about two miles be-
low. The fragments Of pottery and
polished stone reveal condition OF civ.
ilization among the builders of these
ruins analogous to that of the ancient
Peruvian, Central American and Mexi-
can nations. The county in the vicinity
of this buried palace is particularly
wild and unusually desolate. No clue
to the builders of this great fortified
palace, with it's towers and moat, has
been, or is likely ever to be discovered.
One thing, however, is apparent, that
this whole country was once peopled by
race having higher grade of civil
zation than is found among any of the
native tribes of the later ages. But
whether this race were the ancestors of
the Pimos, or some extinct people, is
not, and cannot certainly be known.
The ruins on the Gila are another un-
covered Palenque, another Copan, an
Allan exposed at last to bewilder and
confound. It is understood that these
extensive ruins will he thoroughly ex-
plored within the present year.