Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-04-26

oeHccs Vi u sctnt-cISliiLcu race. Tn tu'
sides of the rugged terraced rnouatain,
and III the open canyons there are pic
turesque ruins and remains of towns
Far rp among the cliffs are clusters o.
stone houses, some of which are Of Iarp,
dimensions, containing II number o.
rooms. Some of the walls of solid ma
sonry and archways are still III a gooc
state OF preservation; even the plaster
ing, As hard as the rock itself, in places
yet remains. In digging among the de.
bris large earthen vessels with hewr
stone lids were found: also rush mat
tings and tissue manufactured from she
bark of trees. Hewn steps lead from
the valley far up the houses VIII ch are
perched upon tho shelving rock cliffs
Some of the buildings give evidence OF
fire having been used in them.
/ here Is evidence that some of these
buildings were eqaal in size t. any III
the United States some having wings
one hundred and thirty five feet long
and court walls from two to three hun
dred feet III length. 1t was estim ated
that one wall, raining aroun1 three
sides OF the building, was nine hundred
and thirty-tive feet IN length and forty
feet i'll hight. There were more than
two million pieces of stone in the outer
surface of one wall alone. This sur.
face, multiplied 10y the stones of the
opposite surfaoe. aud also by the stones
OF the interior transverse lines Of ma
sonry, would give total of thir,y Y mil
lion pieces in three hundred and fifteen
thousand cubic feet OF wall These
millions Of pieces had to be quarried
and put IN position; the timbers were
brought from a great distance; and. con
sIaeriug the vastness of the work and
amount Of labor aud time that must
have been expended, these buildings
may we'll be compared to the NEST fam
Gus works Of what is 30 wrongly called
the old world
Among the caves of the Rio de ChelIv
were found some of the most beautifully
tinted arrow heads ever discovered; also
numbers of large earthen jars of oval
design. la large three story house
were found many Instruments of do
nestle use, representing the stone age.
Among them were large grindstones aud
hammers. The walls were pias.ered
with cement of stuoco like finish. That
it WAS spread on the walls by human
hands Is evident from the marks of the
pores of the skin to be found Oh the
surface. Occasionally the whole im-
print of the hand has been left. One
woman's slender fingers are thus pre-
served for the people Of the nineteen Ii
century.
AS To the date of these structures but
little can be determined at present. The
M"qui towns are now in precisely the
same state of preservation AS they were
when described by the invading Span
iards nearly four hundred years ago
Assuming the Moauis 10 be lineai de
scendants of the cliff dwellers. how vast
a time the old canyon castles must have
been deserted when even the NJ u1uis
have no knowledge of the grand homes
OF their ancestors, Regarding the age
of the Puehlos, they were sand by Coro
nado at the time of the conquest to look
very old. Castenado records that the
inhabitants told him that the Pueblos
were older than the memory of seven
hundred years. That the 80 ruins were
known to the Spanish invaders We have
proof in the Journal of Don Antonio de
Olermln, written III 1861, where mention
Is made that eighty leagues distant from
their camp there We're Casas Grandas.
Gallatin speaks of them and nscribes
them to the " Azteques.' Perhaps time
and no. ext Lded sesearci. may reop' II
the history of these people. who have
be, II swept away from their grand cIti. s,
leaving nothing but the stone walls of
their houses and castles To tell the tale
of their pre- Columbian greatness. But
this W. know. that these aud other to-
kens tell Us that III reality America Is the
old world, and that thousands of years
ago races hourished hete Ill "A high state
Of barbarli culture.
Durango Is a place of considerable
tcade for miners. stock men and ranch
men. Like all the towns III these west
ern mountain districts, there are here
all grades of society, good, bad and
indifferent.
Pueblo IL growing Mt n marvellous rate
New buildings are going up all around
Truly II Is coming to the front as the
Pitt-burg of Colorado. Iron furnaces
smelters. steel works. nail works. rolling
mills and various other enterprises art
III tlourishing coalition. II Is alst
quite railroad center. Capitalists
from PENNSYLVANIA and other Easte I
States are coming here to invest large
sums of money and build mp TIE city
Iron. coal. gold. silver and oil are all II
close proximity. making su cess IN trade
and manufactures douhly sure. Their
| are two Wells from which valuable min
| eral water flows continually. lGe cit,
| for many years had very unsavor,
reputation as TO the character of th
| class of people who we're found here
/ but of late there is marked improve
nent i'll this respect. Law and order
| lnore the rule now than the exception
| A fair and prosperous future awaits thi
city, the second IN the State i'll point o
Importance. j. $. +.