Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-09-30
ADVERTISING RATES.

ed alternately of dry and dreary deserts,
and of floods and arks, and when the
rain began to fall at midnight we be-
gan to make estimates of our abilities
rs swimmers, and thought with re-
gret of our neglect in the matter of life
preserves. But the water subsidized in
good time, and on the second day fol-
lowing we were able to move out again
upon the dry land-thankful to have
escaped desert and flood so far and
content to be conservative hereafter as
to their relative merits.
Sixty miles below the mouth of the
Rio La Plata the Rio Mancos joins the
San Juan. As We worked our way
steadily down we passed each day
more and more Of the remains of an
cient dwelling places, the relics of
prehistoric civilization. On the flats
were huge piles of debris, the remnants
of houses and temples. In the cliffs
that now began to develop on the river
banks-numerOus arched cavities once
occupied by the houses of cliff dwellerS
could be seen, and the half-decayed
walls of towers and fortresses appeared
on the escarpmentS above. Centuries
sgo these people lived and fOurished
in land now so desOlate; kept their
herds, cultivated their fields, and prac-
ticed the arts where now there is hard
ly support for the few half-starved
Savages that roam about like beasts,
and have no dwellings but their scanty
bush-lodge5. We knew but little of
them, to be sure. There is no record
but tradition, and tradition is not re-
liable, and in this case very meagre.
But here are their monuments, their
walls of hewn stone, their strong treble
walled towers and built with the skill
of an architect. Here are their inim-
liable cliff houses, built like swallows
nests into the faces of inaccessible cliffs,
and here their stone tools, and their
glazed and ornamented pottery that
speak for themselves. That they have
lived in the midst of war-like tribes;
that they have been driven, at times,
to the EXTREMIST measures of defense,
and that they have been annihilated or
driven from their county, is written as
plainly here as it could be in books.
But leave the description Of these re-
mains until more of them can be visit
ed, feeling deeply grateful to this un-
known people for having left objects of
such great interest in land that has so
little else 10 redeem it.
Having reached the mouth of the
Rio Mancos-which here is the most
contemplate stream, not large enough
to be called a creek, always muddy and
content to wander through all its lower
course in an almost impossible ditch
we turned our steps to the nOrthward.
Following the valley of the Mancos,
We found that it had cut its way en-
tirely through the mesa rerde from
northeast to southwest, and that for
forty miles it has one Of the most
marked and remarkable canons in
Southern Colorado. The walls are no
where broken down, and the vertical
escarpments that cap the steep slopes
are seldom less than fifteen hundred
feet above the river. Scattered all
along are the ruined towers, and cliff
houses, and heaps of debris, covering
acres, and indicating the former exist
ence of extensive towns. --.-
On the 18th we emerged from the
canon into the most beautiful rolling
grass land, fresh with the colOrS of
spring, and the odors of flowers; be-
yond this were the lofty mountains,
and the delightful air of the uplands
that came down to US was wonderfully
refreshing. Near the head OF the Man
COS, and in this very park, we expect
ed to meet familiar faces and receive
news from home, for here our
supply camp was to be stationed at
log cabin built some years ago by
miner. But we found no friendly faces
and no provisions. We found no one
awaiting US, not even word to eX-
plain the delay. Fortunately we had
Still weeks provision, and we turned
our backs upon the only house we had
seen for month, and took dim trail
into the mountains. In week we re-
turned and found all that we had ex-
pected and more. Here was Mr.. Al
drich in charge of the supplies, and
here, also, was Mr.. Jackson, our pho
tographer, and bundles OF letters and
papers from all parts of the east and
west.
Tomorrow we start on trip into
the strange, unknown region of South
west Colorado and Arizona. II.