Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-08-23

The CLIFy- HOUSES on SOUTHWESTERN COL
oEADo At places where the trail ran high
up. near the more precipitous portion of the
bluff. remnants were found of stone walls. i'll
closing spaces Of from five to twelve feet in
length in the cave-like creyices running
along the seams of the rocks. They Were
pretty well demolished-the stones undressed
and imbedded in mud mortar In many
places little inches or crevces in rock had
been walled up into cupboard-llle places Of
about the size of bushcl basket Some
miles deeper into the canon one little house
at the extremity Of n ledge fully 500. if not
more, feet from the face of the bluff, caused
the greatest amaZomcnt at the temerlty of
the builders. The first 30 feet of the ascent
were over a long steep slope of debris over
grown with cedar then came alternate per-
pendiculars and slopes. Directly below the
house was n nearly perpendicular ascent Of
fully one hundred feet which, for q while
was q puzzle, but finally it was surmountsd
by finding cracks and crevices into which
fingers and toes could be inserted, From
this, little lodges were occasionally found,
and by stepping shoulder above shoulder and
grasping tufts of bushes, these lodges, one
after the other, were surmouuted and, in
time, slope, smooth and steep was reached.
In this slope there had been cut q series of
steps. now wcatheIed away into a series of
undulating hummocks, by which II was easy
to ascend, and without them almost an utter
impossibiity. The pelpcndiculars of the
house were foand to be well regarded and
ths pneles carefully squared. About the cor
neYs and windows considerable care and judg
ment were evident in the overlapping Of the
Joints so that all were firmly held together.
All the intersticcs between the stones We're
nicely clinched in with small chips of the
same material Most peculiar, however, in
the dressing of the walls of the interior, was
the thin layer Of firm adobe cement, colOred
to a deep maroon red, with Il dingy white
band, eight inches in breadth, running around
floor, sides and ceiling. Ruins of half n
dozen other houses We're found on lower
lodges, some crushed by the oyerhanging
| wall falling upon them, and others had lost
their foothold and had tumblod down the
precipica Striking the canon of the ST. FL
mo, the ruins of great massive structure of
| some kind was found, its exterior dimensions
| being about 100 feet square, n portion only
| or the wall upon the northern face remaining
in its original position. The debris of the
| ruin formed a monstrous mound from - to
| 20 feet in height, oyergrown with brush, but
showing clearly its rectangular form, adjust
| ed approximately to the four points of the
| compass Inside this structure was circle
about 60 feet in diameter, deeply depressed
| in the centre. The space between the walls
and the circle appeared to have been filed in
solidly with n sort of rubble masonry, and
the stones of the outer wall were found to
have been dressed in uniform size and finish.
Another point of remarkable interest was
Battle RoclA with its little nests of stone,
perched 40 feet up from the ground, and its
larger buildings, doubtless intended for bar
racks set in the jagged juts of the monster
rock, and standing still, though centuries
have passed since mans hand placed the
stones in their beds of cement.-LiOcky Noun
! tain Tourist.