Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-05-31
Remarkable Ruins Discovered in Col.
OraIo. 8F #

Prof Hayden has given Southwestern
Colorado new interest by discovering
and describing the ancient ruins in that Sec
tion and in Southeastern Utah. The stories
told about these ruins are very interest
ing. The fertile valley of the Animas
was densely inhabited and highly Guilt
vated by an enlightened race Of people
centuries ago. The ruins Of the houses,
corrals, towns, fortifcations, bitches, pot
terry ware, drawings, non-interpretable
writings, ETC., show that many arts were
cultivated by these prehistoric people
which are now entirely lost. Their houses
were built of most every kind of stone,
from small boulders to the finest sand
stone. T9G&4 s2a2
The finest Of these ruins, and the near
est perfect, are situated about thirty five
miles below Animas City, in large valley
fifteen miles long by seven wide, on the
west side of the river. This valley has
been covered with buildings of every size,
the two largest being 300x6, 600 feet, and
about 800 feet apart. They are built of
blocks of sandstone, laid in adobe mud,
the outside walls being four feet and the
inside walls from a foot and a half to
three feet thick. In the lower story are
found portfolios foot square. There are
rooms now left and walls for about four
stories high still stanoing. About the
second story, on the west side, there was
once balcony along the length of the
building. No signs of door are visible
in the outer walls, and the ingress must
have been from the top, in the inside
there being passages from room to room.
Most of them are small, from Sx10 to
12x14 feet, the doors being 2x4 feet. The
arches over the doors aud portfolios are
made of small cedar poles two inches
wide, placed across, on which the
masonry is placed. The sleepers sup
porting the floors are of cedar, about
eight inches thick and from twenty to fifty
feet long, and about three feet apart. A
layer Of small round poles was then
placed across the sleepers, then layer of
tninly- split cedar sticks, then about three
inches of earth, then layer of cedar
bark, then another layer of dirt, then a
carpet of some kind of coarse grass. The
rooms that have been protected from eX-
posure are whitewashed and the walls
are ornamented With drawings and
writings. In one Oh these rooms the I'M
preston of hand dipped IN whitewash
on a joist is as plain as if it had been
done only yesterday In another room
there are drawings Of tarantulas, cent?
pedes, horses and men.
In some OF the rooms have been found
human bones, bones of sheep, corn-cobs,
goods, raw hides, and Ill colors and vari-
eties of pottery waIe. These two large
buildings are exactly he same in every
respect Portions of tie buildings plain
ly show that they were destroyed by fire,
the timbers being burned off and the
roofs caved in, leaving the lower rooms
entirely protected. The rock that these
buildings were built Of must have been
brought long way, as nothing to COM
pare with it can be found within radius
of twenty miles. All he timber used is
cedar, and has been bought distance of
twenty-fiv miles. Old bitches and roads
are to be seen in every direction.
The Oavajo Indians say, in regard to
these ruins, that their forefathers came
there five old mems ages ago 600 years.,
and that these ruins we're here, and the
same then as now, and there is no record
whatever of their origir.-Lake Ci.y (C0z9
| Cor. NJ, Y. San. '---z-f'.