The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-01-12
AN AMERICAN POMPErI.
Discovery of n Great Ruined Indian CITY
In the West.

/ AN AmEURNAN IOMfEIls
Discovery of Great Ruined Indian City
| In the West.
The ancient ruined towns and villages
OF the far West have been objects of In.
terest for years and years, and the recent
| explorations under the direction of Mr..
James Stevenson, who has been ut work
under the auspices of the Sn. .hsonian
Institute. have been fruitful - good re.
suits. he has within q short time COM
pleted his work for the past summer, and
his report is replete with important i'm
formation about the pre-. historic races of
the West aud their descendants, illustra-
ting their life, manners and habits. A
great many articles Of pottery, of stone
and wood were picked up among the
tribes, the members of which know moth.
ing OF their origin, but the most interest
ing information has been gathered by an
examination Of the ruined ~. ages and
towns Themselves. The Pueblo or village
Indians are scattered over an area IN
New Mexico and Arizona 500 miles in
length and 400 miles wide. Within this
area there are about thirty four inhab-
tied villages. There are also the ruins
of thousands of ancient villages and
towns situated in the valleys of the
streams, on the SUBMITS of the Mesas,
and many high up in the sides of the
cliffs and the walls of canons, being
carved out like swallows nests. The
ruins already known are sufficient in
number and extent to furnish homes for
at least half million persons, and were
probably occupied by twice that number.
One noted instance of carved out city
is described by Mr.. Stevenson which
must have been the abode of at least
1OO,O 900 souls, and which these explorers
are believed to have first brought to the
knowledge of the civilized worlG. Mr..
Stevenson first heard of it from an cid
Indian chief with whom he sat chatting
in Spanish one evening. The old man
was apparently somewhat disinclined to
be communicative, but finally, as if to
put OFT further inquiry, said: This cliff
city is thus described. For sixty miles
along the face of the winding cliff, ex-
cept where the elements had cut them
away, these ancient cave dwellings ex.
tended two, three, four and sometimes
i've rowe one above another. Mr.. Ste-
venson examined this deserted city du-
ring several days, personally visiting
portions distant forty-five miles from
each other, and discovering with his glass
that the excavations extended fifteen or
twenty miles. further on. By far the
greater number are inaccessible, but
many of the old paths, worn many inches
deep by the feet of the ancients who
dwelt there, are intact, and by them the
explorer mounted to the old dwellings.
inere was marked similarity in the
form and construction of these excava-
AVxl.v
which served for door, window end chin.
neey. The single room had an oval roof,
which bore the grooves made by the
flinty adzes or axes of the excayators,
The method OF digging or carving out
these caves was disclosed by the FORM
and direction Of the grooves, which were
usually parallel to each other, and sew
eral inches apart, while between. as
shown by the rough surface of the stone.
the remaining substance had been broken
off. There were fire-places at the rear.
but no place of exit for the smoke ex.
cept the single aperture in front. Many
OF the dwellings haG side or rear excaya-
ticns of small size, within some of which
corncobs and beans were found, evident
ly left by chance inhabitants of o later
period. Near the roof of many of the
caves there were mortices, projecting
from which in some instances there were
discovered the decayed ends of wooden
sleepers. These were of kind of wood
not recognizable as present growth of
the locality and unknown to the ex.
plorers. Specimens were brought away
to be examined and classified by natu.
ralists. In the sides of some dwellings
there were found small recesses, evident
ly used as cupboards for the household
| utensils of the family. The substance of
the clift was tuffa, volcanic ash quite
| soft and easily worked by the rude i'm.
plements of the old builders.
Upon the top of the Mesa or tableland
above these caves there were found large
circular structures, now in ruins bnt with
walls to the height CT ten or twelve feet
still standing: They were evidently pla-
ces of worship. They were built of
square stones of nearly uniform size,
about twenty inches in length and four
in thickness, cut from the cliff Meas
urements were made of two of these
| structures, one of which was 100 and the
| other 200 feet in diameter, and might
| have held from 1000 to 1000 people.
The inference that these were places of
worship is drawn from the fact that Inc
Pueblos of the present day. who are fire
and sun worshippers, have similar tenn.
| Piles. No remains of altars were found.
which fact is doubtless to be explained
by the exposed situation and the soft
materials probably used in the construc.
tion of such furniture. The southern
end oil this cave city, which seemed to
have been the most densely populated
| presented many evidences of art and in
dusiIy. This iocniiiy is more broken,
and offers better chance for successful
resistance to the assaults OF an enemy.
There were found many animal forms
carved out of stone. In one place there
were two life.sized mountain lions. ami
mails which are still peculiar to that re.
gion. There are also to be seen many
smaller animal forms, so much worn away
that it cannot be determined what they
were designed to represent. Upon stan.
ding walls in this neighborhood are many
hieroglyphIcs, which from their resem.
blance to the picture-writing of the liv-
| ing Pueblos, may, Mr. Stevenson thinks,
be partially, if not entirely, deciphered.
| The great age of this city is proved by
! Inc vast accumulation of debris from
/ the upper portion of the cliff, which
| covers its base. In places where noun
tain brooks have cut their way through
the existence of one and sometimes Two
rows of cave dwellings below the surface
of the debris is disclosed. Mr.. Steven.
sou thinks that several centuries have
passed since this dead city was in its
prime.
= The Hon. Cassius NJ. Clay, OF
Kentucky, has written letter urging the
| nomination of Hon. Samuai r Tildan