The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-06-14

the immediate neighborhood. An
other peculiar feature was now noted.
To the right the long slopes Of pro.
truding strata and derbis formed prom
ontories eXteading out into the
canon. Upon these, and not more
than fifty feet above the stream, fire.
Quent indications are found of their
having been occupied by some sort OF
works, the foundations of which, in
every case, were circular, with deep
depression in the center, and generally
occurring in pairs, side by side.
ranging from ten to twenty feet
in diameter. No masonry of any
kind was visible, but, thickly strewn
all about, any quantity of broken pot
terry. Above were marked indications
of habitations in the face of the cliff.
Jackson made the explorations of the
ruins of Southwestern Colorado his
special study, and one can ponder for
| days over the tiny presentations he
has made of them. The Professors
account of the incidents OF the tour
reads almost like romance. He as
| serts that the evidences of civilization
displayed in these groups of ruins are
far beyond that OF any of the present
inhabitants Of Colorado or adjacent
| territories, though this, of course, must
| be taken with due grains of allowance
Tor the enthusiasm OF an ardent student
Of antiquities. One Of the most pecu
liar features which he describes is the
system of cave dwellings that prevailed
among these ancient mortals At first
the existence of these cave dwellings
was unknown to the party, buI one OF
them, sharper eyed than the others,
suddenly deserted, away up near the
top Of the bluiT, fully thousand feet
from their base, perfect little houses
sanCwiched in among the creYices OF
the horizontal strata of the rock OF
which the bluffs were composed. At
the peril of his life, one of the party
scaled the precipice, and, letting him
self down into one of the houses, found
the masonry as firm and solid as when
first constructed, and SO smooth and
even that the casual observer from the
canyon below would not notice the diff
ference between it and the rock itself
once IN fifty times passing. But
neglected finishing Jackson's de-
scription of the massive structure
found in the McElmo, or rather, I did
not tell you all regarding the surround
ings. Upon the same level as the ruins
of the immense building, with itS
monstrous walls and inner circle, and
extending back some distance, were
grouped, line after line of foundations
aud mounds, the great mass OF which
was stone, but not ono remaining upon
another Below these groups, some
fruN 10 III
munlcating by indistlnct lines of de-
space of two hundred yards or more
square. Only small section Of this
wall was we'll enough preserved to pei
init anything like accuracy in judgITg
its character and dimensions, tho
greater portion consisting of largo
ridges, fattened down to such an ex-
tent as to measure some thirty feet
across the base aud five 10 six feet in
height. The better preserved portion
standir 6 was about fifty feet in length,
seven or eight feet IN height, and
twenty feet thick, the two exterior
surfaces Of we'll dressed and evenly
laid courses, and the center packed in
solidly with rubble masonry of entirely
different charter than the rooms filed
with Debris, though it was difficult to
assign any reason for its being so mas
sively constructed. The city built
ssPaEe, sP9Rte thGfi hAGfie Ina ottee te' efddf
ing buildings in the center, while all
about were scattered and grouped, the
smaller structures comprising the sub
urbs. And people talk about going
from their own country to find ruins,
hoary-headed as it were with age, p4c-
turesque in detail, and above all,
favored with superstition. But Ihave
given you barely hint of one half the
wonders Jackson revealed in my chat
with him. Indeed, it would take
book to do it. His description OF Man
cos Canyon was peculiarly fascinating,
many of the ruins there rivaling in IN
tense interest those OF McElmo. The
Cliff House, in the Mancos, was one Of
the wonders of their discoveries, it be-
ing first seen one evening just as the
sun was sinking behind the western
walls of the canyon. Perchcd in its
little nook, like a swallows nest, the
Cliff House was found to be two stories
in height, and evidently an edifice of
considerable distinction, as its upper
windows command an extended view
down the canyon, and its position gem
orally that of pre-eminence over the
entire section thereabouts.
The interior was found to be ar
ranged far more elaborately than in
any other building yet explored; the
windows encased in wood, neatly fash
ioned, the sill and lintels still showing
evidences OF having been stained in
imitation of dark woods, and most Of
it in remarkable fair state OF preserva-
ton. Some distance from this build
ing, and ulon other ledges, the ruins
of quite a number of smaller buildings
were found, and all of them ranging
from seven hundred to thousand feet
from the bottom of the canon below.