Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-10-10
ANCIENT AMERICA.
Races ofMen FI0urishing Here a Thou
sand Years Ago.

A correspondent OF the New York Herald
accompanying the Hayden survey in Arizo-
ma says:
The limits ofthe section ofcountry abound
ing in prehistoric remains seems to be we'll
defined, for when the first ri ned Hiding s
observed many more are found in the mme-
diate vicinity; and so through the Whole
country occupying the eoujunetlve corners of
Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico
Will be found scattered, more or less iekly,
these evidences of q former greatness. until
finally, convrrging from this barren waste,
the las ves tage has been passed.
On the McEeno some twenty miles from
the Sau Juan River ruins were found of which
I the writer relates:
Just North Of our camp, scarcely quarter
OF "a mile distant, stood a collection of the
most complicated and ext nded ruins we had
yet seen. The general shape OF the group
was semcircle, running from the Nor ii
around through the West to the South OF
where they commenced. The entire lengi n
was some 275 feet. In the ection of their
durabl lie structures no definite plan seemed to
have been followed by the architects, al
though, for all we can tell, they may have
had distinct purpose In every popularity of
design. The outer walls of this fortress lfor
everything Indicated that it had been used
as such) stood on a solid layer of rock, or
series OF houlders hundred feet above the
creek, while the walls OF the interior of the
arc stood on the level ground below, thus
forming two successive stories to lhe build
ing, the higher of which was undoubtedly
approached from the top of the lower by
all roughly cut or trimmed into rectangular
and cubcal blocks and plastered together
with the hands of the workmen. 1t is a
matter of fcertainty that in all or most of their
housebuilding these people employed no
masons or builders tools, for the prints of
the fingers, knuckes, nails and and whole
hands are i.tinctiy impressed in the mud,
which is now as hard as the rocks which ii
Joins togethee. The very veins and finest
lines on the skin of the fingers is visible ev-
erywhere on the edges OF the mortar. We
cannot imagine the amount of labor in cut.
ting stone, carrying 1t from the hillsides and
building 1t into thousands of cubic feet OF
wall that is represented in one such produc-
tion of those ancient people. Perhaps thon-
years, although many things suggest the
idea Of rapidity in the erection OF such
strongholds.
y - II
Some time, about the sixth or seventh cen.
tnry, A. D. a race of people appeared on the
Western Continent called The Toltecs. Wheth.
er they were autochthones, springing from
the soil, or whether they migrated to this
country from another is not settled, and II
is a matter Of much conjecture; but the lat
ter supposition seems the most probable. for
their sudden appearance can be accounted
for in no other way. They may have come
over from Asia and penetrated Southwark to
Central America, for their manners customs
and modes of living so far as we can ascer-
tain resembled closely those of the Orientals
They were an industrious, harmless peaceful
fine arts, and in some parts of Central Amer
lea mighty edifices of stone, carved and pol-
ished and built In fantastic shapes repre.
sen1iflng st1i huge se%rpents % and imaginary beasts.
ment OF the times and the proficiency of the
architects. Alb ut the twelfth century q race
OF people known as the Aztecs, fierce, bar
barous and uncultured, came down from the
Northward and conquered and subjugated
the Totec race. Fora time they ruled and
made slaves OF the .vanquished people, but
sprung up suddenly aud as quickly disap-
peared, for We lose all trace OF them after
they once sunk into oblivion. Not so how
ever, the rotecs. Until lately there seemed
TO be a wide gap In time between those an
cient races and the Indian race of to-day.
The connecting link seems to be the modern
Moquis, who SO undoubtedly decended from
the builders of the ancient ruins we arc now
inves igating, and they in heir turn were in
all probabllitI remnants CT the subiugated
Ioitec race, capped from bondage. The
builders OF tnese ruins seem 10 have. come
from The south and built Northward, and
w.re then driven back step by step; for gener-
ally the lowermoSt uins are the most per-
fectly, preserved and evidently The most re-
cent, becoming more complicated as their
creators retired Southwark. For time this
scattered people seem to have regained their
freedom, p osperad and multiplied, spread
ing heir towns and secreted communities
throughout most all OF tho canons of the
tributaries OF the an Juan, and thence West
IT'S far as tee Colorado river. But presently
another foe, as relentless and prosecuting as
the Azlecs, appeared on The acene These
were the ncien Ute Indians, who were a
strong, bloody tribt., iuhabiting section of
country North OF the san Juan. We have
lhis FACT rom the traditions, both ofthe pres
ent utes and the Moquis; and, although mere
Indian traditions are not data on which to
base facts, still they help to establish truths
when taktn in connection with other facts
which areindisputable. All The Utes at the
present day will tell the traveller through
this country hat these ruins are "Moquitchn
remains. We made 1t a point to ask the
question whenever we had the opportunity
and invariably received the same reply.
Showinga party of Utes one day collection
ofpottery which we had gathered, we inquir.
Ell OF them whether 1t was Ute pottery and
wer answered "Moqulteh," )" with u point of
the finger Sputhward. AS we were digging
in one of the old graves at another time q Ute
passed by, who informed us thatit was
Nj aqQiteh cache" We have been repeatedly
told that the walls of houses In the vicinity
were tn se of "Moqutehn honses, and it. is
certain that this idea prevails among the
Navajo Indians ay well as the Utes, that the
Moquls once inhabited all this country many
years ago, beyond the recollectioes OF their
grandfathers. The Ute traditions which have
been handed down from one generation TO the
next for centuries, give accounts of war
with this race long ago. In which the Moquis
were driven from the country. We know
that between three and four centuries ago
the seven Moqui towns occupied their pres
ent positions on the mesas of Arizona, and
we therefore conclude that these ruins pos
sess still greater antiquity. 1t Is quie GER
tain that the present Moqui towns were not
built until after the tribe had been driven
South and took their last stand there, where
they have since remained undsturbed for
many hundred years In regard TO the an
tQuity OF the ruins great diversity of opin-
ion exists. Some writers give them an an
tquity of nearly Il thousand years, while
others set them down as being not far from
three hundred. 1t is not probable, however,
that they have been standing, as near as 1t Is
possible to eOnjecture from the external evil
dences which they present, for time in the
neighborhood OF 500 or 600 years. Many of
the crumbled moulds of stone and clay could
not possibly have become decomposed to
such an extent as we find them in less time
ay the ordinary action of the elements, and
especially in such u dry, equabe atmosphere
as characterizes the whole ruin country
Whatever the genealogy or origin OF these
people. there can be not the sha Ie OF u doubt
that they were the ancestors OF those present
InOffh hnSive industrial tribes living In NnIy