The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-11-18
The CLIFF JEWELLERS.
A Race Lost to Memory Centuries
Ago.
New York Post.I

American Museum of National History
are many casts of curious "cave houses"
or cliff dwellings, discovered by the Hay
den Geological survey. These structures
are of such evident antiquity that a new
epoch is formed which carries the exist
ence of man in this country to so remote
a period that the "Mound Builder" of
whom we know comparatively nothing.
appears comparatively modern. Only
these stony ruins remain to tell the story
of a once powerful and semi-cultivated
people. The first discoveries of these
houses we're made by Mr.. A. D. Wilson,
of the Hayden survey, and later special
survey were detailed under Mr.. W. H.
Jackson, who returned with the first
authentic reports. According to Mr.
lngersoll 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 Juan.
The San Juan and La Plata have width
of bottom land between their banks, but
the Rio Nance runs like brooklet along
its narrow path, shut in by walls thou
sands of feet high.
On the terraces Of the more open
canons are multitudes of picturesque
ruins; in the bottom lands are the re-
mains of towns; in the wider 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 of the shelf which they occupy.
They are so high that the naked eye can
distinguish them merely as specks. There
is no access to them from above on ac-
count of the rocks that project overhead,
and no present way Of reaching them
from below, although doubling paths and
footholes in the rocks show where the
way was trodden of old by human feet.
If the reader will imagine the Palisades
three times higher than they are, with
midway shelves between the top and bot
tam eaten out by the weather, ON which
are erected stone huts, to and from which
the owners found their way by paths
scarcely foot wide, he will have some
idea of these ancient abodes, whose coun-
terparts in miniature can now be seen at
the museum.
The cliffs in some part are limestone,
but most frequently sandstone, with al
ternating 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, but generally they are
not higher than a mans head. Division
walls are built from the rear of the
opening and running outward to the
front of the cave, which is so neatly
walled by masonry of the prevailing
stone that the artificial work is scarcely
noticeable by casual observer. Upon
the SUBMITS of the loftier battlements
are placed at irregular intervals round
stone towers. The curve of the alb
original masonry is perfect. As to the
habits of these dwellers we know almost
nothing. Near the run called Hoven
weep castle (the castle of the deserted
Valley no bones or signs of graves have
been found; only heaps of ashes are LIFT,
mingled with charred wood, which tell
the story of cremation, and probably of
fire worship. 1t is assumed that the
present Pueblo Indians are the descend
ants of thee people, from the fact that
their huts to-day resemble the ancient
cave houses. The absence of implements
of warfare, either completed or unfinished,
gives rise to the opinion that they
were a peaceful rlce. Near some of the
cities thousands of flint arrow heads
were found sticking in the clif-ali
pointing toward the city-showing that
some strong invader had attacked them.
According to Mr.. Jackson the most re-
markabIe remains are those found in New
Mex co, and some of the buildings equal
any in the United States, if we except
the Capitol. One of these (shown in the
cast by Hayden), the "Pueblo del Ar.
roya," has wings 1870 feet in length. and
the western wall of the court is 268 feet
Facing the center Of the court are three
stories in height. Another, the "Pueblc
Chettro Kettle" is 40 feet long and 25(
feet wide, and presents the remains Of
four stories, the logs forming the second
floor extend through the walls distance
of feet and prooably at one time sup
ported a balcony on the shady side of the
house. Mr.. jackson estimates that ii
the wall running around three sides Of
the building, 925 in length and 40 feet il
height, there were more than 2,000,00(
pieces of stone for the outer surface O
the outer wall alone. This surface mul
tiplied by the stones Of the opposite sur
face, and also by the stones of the inte
rior and transverse lines of masonry
would give total of 80, 1000, 900 pieces il
$4,000 cubic feet of wall. These millions
of pieces had to be quarried and put intt
position; the timbers were brought from
a great distance and, considering th'
vasiness of the work and the amount O
Labor and time that must have been ex
pended, these buildings may well be com
pared with the most famous works 0
what is SO wrongly called the Old World
Among the caves of the Rio de Chelle.
were found some of the most beautiful,
tinted arrow heads ever discovered; ais
numbers Of large earthen jars of Ova
design, In large three-story house wer