The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1879-12-04


THE CLIFF: 5;;EELERS.
A Race Lost to Memory Centuries Ago.
New York Post.
=, Among the recent additions to the
American Museum Of Natura, history
are many casts of curious "cave
houses" or cliff dwellings. discovered by
the Hayden Geological survey. These
structures are of such evident on
tiquity that a new epoch is formed
which carries the existence of man in
this country to SO remote period that
the "Mound Builder" of whom we
know comparatively nothing, appears
comparatively modern. Only these
stony ruins remain to tell the story of
once powerful and semi-cultivated
people. The first discoveries of these
houses were made by Mr.. A. D. Wilson,
of the Hayden survey, and later
special survey were detailed under Mr..
w. III. Jackson, who returned with tho
first authentic reports. According to
Mr.. lngersol most of the ruins are found
around the edge of the desert track
formed by the triangulation Of the
rivers Rio Mancos, La Plata and Rio
San Jaun. The San Juan and La
Plata have q width of bottom land be-
tween their banks, but the Rio Nance
runs like brooklet along its narrow
path, shut in by walls thousands of
feet high. On the terrace of the more
open canons are multitudes of pictur-
esque ruins; in the bottom lands are
the remains of towns; in the wilder
canons the houses are perched upon the
face of the chasm. In an encampment
one thousand feet above the valley OF
the Rio Mancos are single houses in
groups of two and three mud villages,
according to the width CT the shelf which
they occupy. They are so high that
naked eye can distinguish them merely
as specks. There is no access to them
from above on account of the rocks that
project overhead, and no present way of
reaching them from below, although
doubling paths and footholds in the
rocks show where the way was trodden
of old by human feet. II the reader
will imagine the Palisades three times
higher than they are, with midway
shelves between the top and bottom
eaten out by the weather, on which are
erected stone huts, to and FROM which
the owners found their way by paths
scarcely a foot wide, he will have some
idea Of these ancient abodes, whose
counterparts in miniatu=e can now be
seen st the museum.
Tho o1;H, -, oov,, - ,oo ~ o~o 1;,oo os%o,>
but most frequently sandstone, with al
ternatlng strata of shales and clay. The
softer layers are followed out, leaving
caves whose solid stone lodges serve as
the floors and roofs of the cliff dwellings.
A few houses have two stories, and one
shows four stories, Division walls
are built from the reas If the opening
and running outward to the front of the
cave, which is so neatly walled by ma
sorry Of the prevailing stone that the
artificial work is scarcely noticeable by
q casual observer. Upon the SUBMITS
Of some Of the loitier battlements are
placed at irregular intervals round stone
towers. The GU rye of the aborig-
inal masonry is perfect. AS to the hab-
its Of these jewellers we know almost
nothing. Near the ruins calico Hoven-
weep castle no bones or signs of graves
have been found; only heaps of ashes
are left, mingled with charred wood,
which tell the story of FIRE worship. It
is assumed that the present. Pueblo In
dams are the descendants Of these peo-
pie, from the fact that their huts to-day
resemble the ancient cave houses. The
al qn rs In, &c of o9t
completed or unfinished gives rise to
the opinion that they were peaceful
race. Near some of the cities thousands
Of flint arrow heads were found sticking
in the clif-all pointing toward the
city showing that some strong Invader
had attacked them.
According to Mr.. Jackson tho most
remarkable remains are those found in
New Mexico, and some of the buildings
equal any in the United States, if we
except the capital. One of these {shown
in the cast by Havden). the "Pueblo
del A'roya. "bcs wings 1870 feet in length
ard the We stern wall Of toe court has
farce stories. Ano'her, the "Pueblo
Chettro Kettle, " is 40 f:et long ard
ESQ feet wide, and presents the remains
of four stories; the logs forming the
second floor extend through the walls =
distance Of feet, and probably at one
time supported a balcony on the shady
side 81 ;chs house. Mr.. Jackson esti-
,rates that in the wall running around
three sides of the building 925 in length
and 40 feet in height, there were
'nore than 100000 pieces
of stone for tho outer surface Of
the outer wall alone. This surface null
,iplicd by the stones of the opposite sur
f*ce, and also by the stones of the int:
rior and transverse lines of masonry,