The Indianapolis journal., 1884-11-15
A CITY IN THE AIR.
Visit to the Wonderful Pnebso of Ancien
Acoma, in New Mexico.

Acomas in New Mexico.
Santa Fe Letter ia Lawrence .Kan.) journal.
The pueblo of Acoma, situated ninety miles
west OF Albuquerque, is one OF the most re-
markable communities in New Mexico the
United States. TO reach it. take the A tantir &
Pacific railroad to Mccarthy station, and then
transfer to an Indian pony and ride eighteen
miles south by east When near your Journeys
end, you descend almost ilnperceptibly into the
valley six miles ia width, in the middle of
which stands a butte, and the top of this is
Acomo. Eight hundred people are living there,
and they and their ancestors have gathered there
the sum of their possessions for nearly three
centuries This butte is one of the many that
are the remnants of a mesa that has been worn
away by the erosion Of the ages, and survives
only i'll fat-topped mountains here and there
The valleys between are fertile, and untold gen
eratiOns of men have seen them covered VITA
waving grain and fiocks OF sheep
Some time in the seventeenth century the La
guno, or valley Indians, made war upon the
AcomaS for possession OF the country. and the
latter being the weaker occupied this butte as a
defensive position believed to be impregnilble
Their Judgment has been abhndantly Indicated
1t has proved a Gibraltar of strength and safety.
The comparison is not inappropriate, aiTd in ap-
preaching it from the north was struck with
the resem blance to the pictures / haye of
that grim fortress that frowns over the straits to
the Mediterranean. The height above the valley
Is nearly 400 feeI and the walls in several places
nearly perpendicular. There are two means of
ascent, one 10y flight of steps cut into the wall
aud rising at an angle of forty five degrees and
the other by fssure in the rocks leading up into
the heart of the mountain Both ways have
been trodden by human feet until the steps are
followed out like shallow troNGhs. Either one
is exceedingly diflicult and neither is tolerably
safe We chose the one along the fssure. To
give an idea o. the laboriousness of the task i'm
aglne Gs stairway starting at Mr. II:
the spire of the Methodist Church. then
continuing on an easier angle for 100 feet and
then rising again by a sleeper grade than ever to
an elevation higher than the weather vane on
the university and this stairway ppeearious
footing along the sides of cash in rugged
mountain, and You may know how we reached
Aeomal With all the danger and fatigue, it is
a laughable sight to see a person--so1ne other
person-Inake the ascent. One has to stride
over the assures, foot the right hand side
and the other the left, and at the same time
press the hands alternately against the
rocks for support An Indian will throw
live sheep around his neck ana go
up quite rapidly without touching either
hand TO the rocks; but / am satisfied L could
never do it.
They told us of a pathetic incident that oc-
CURED on the outer stairway several generations
ago Several men started up, each with sheep
on his back. When nearly to the top the sheep
carried by the foremost man became restless,
and the shepherd ia trying to hold it fast, lost
his footing, and in falling swept his companions
over the precipice, and they all fell the rocks
carved representation of the accident on a
rock near where it occurred, which scarcely
serves to steady the nerves of those who go by
that route.
The top of the elevation is level, and contains
an area of sixty or seventy acres At one side
stands the pueblo, a blunt pyraIn of adobe and
stone honeycombed with rooms, at the other the
church and graveyard, and the center a
pond of pure water thirty feet in depth and seV-
ersl rods ia extent.
The priest made acquainted with the Oh
ject of our visit and the ringing of the church
bell brought the Inhabitants of the village around
When they understood that the title to
their lands was an question and we had come 10
take testimony they showed great interest, aud
discussed the various points involved with re-
markable Intelligence, considering their limited
opportunities for knowledge of law As night
fall came on nun bef of the men who had been
at work in the valley came up, bringing delicious
peaches and grapes, which Were glad to &C
eept in view Of the meager preparations for sup
per. We slept in the church, wrapped up ia
our Navajo blankets. and never felt mors secure
or happier in our lives. When the gray
dawn peered through the little mica
window panes it revealed great roof
beams more than foot in diameter and
thirty or forty feet long, and through the
open tower a bell thai was cast ia 1710. How
these immense timbers and this bell were
brought up to the top of this cliff one living
knows. The Indians shake their heads and the
priest shakes his, but no one ventures opin-
ion. The timbers are there, however as wit
nesses, and morning and night, as the seasons
come and go and generations pass away, the
bell speaks for itself in the silvery tones that
pleased its founder in far off Spain when King
George was the throne. The adobes- or the
earth of which they were made-were brought
up from the valley Also. for the top of the butte
was bald rock in the beginning And the
earth for tine graves came the same way reauir-
ing forty years the priest said. to complete the
graveyard. 1t is the only completed graveyard
|
happy in the charge of his flock and his flock
seemed happy in possession of him.
When the time tor our departure came there
was handshaking and handshaking and gra-
cious blessing from the old man and a message
to Father De Fouri. and we climbed down from
the city in the air and rode back in silence to
the railroad