Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-07-02
Pre-Historical Relics.

a snort Time ago Judge Metcau, Nv
ing at Sl5 Champa street, in Denver,
was hunting deer with a son in Mancos
or Santa Lucia valley, New Mexico,
about twenty-five miles east of Silver
City. While tracking deer over an
old Indian trail through canyon they
observed, about $50 feet above the
creek bottom where they were, an op-
ening or cave. apparently cut into the
steep side of the cliff. Climbing to it
with some difficulty, they found cave,
evidently the work of man, 100 feet
deep, % feet wide, and about IL feet
high. The floor of this cave was cov-
cred with the excrement of bats. While
resting after the hard climb young Met
calf thrust the ramrod of his gun into
the floor, and felt something rattle
against the end. A small portion of
the covering was then turned up.
They ascertained that the excrement
deposit was from one to three feet in
thickness. Beneath this was a de-
posit of what was afterward found to
be animal charcoal from ten to four
teen inches deep, and under this a
layer of ashes packed lightly down
from six to ten inches deep. 1t was
after penetrating the latter that they
made their most important discovery.
This was large number of relics of
various kinds, consisting of figures of
men rudely carved in wood, evidently
with stone tools, numerous represen-
tations of the rising sun made of splints
of wood sewed together with thread
made of the fibre of smole or soap
weed with the aid of avis made of
bone, some of which were found; a
representation of serpent with a
birds head cut out of wood, arrows
with flint heads, some of them very
small, bows of various sizes, stone axes
and hammers, large punches of thread
made from the soap weed fibre, also
cotton thread and cotton batting in
masses, basket work of every descrip-
ton including hampers, breast plates
adorned with shells and beads, and in
other forms whose use is unknown,
long strings oE beads, and long, slen-
der painted sticks tied in bundles, and
flat painted splints of wood, the latter
having characters upon them, but
whose purpose is a mystery, together
with a large number of similar articles
which Judge Metcalf has preserved,
Notwithstanding some flattering offers
which have been made by the Smith
sonian and other institutions.
The Judge thinks the cave was a
burial place, and that the deposit of
animal charcoal is the remains of a
wholesale cremation of the dead who
were probably killed in some great bat
tie. This belief is strengthened not
only by the opinion of several learned
professors, who have visited the spot
in his company, but by the actions of
small band of Indians whose medi-
cine or wise men he invited to his
house to see the relics. These Indians
were encamped short distance from
his house, and he sent an invitation for
the medicine men to come over, but
the whole band, to the number of forty,
came trooping over in manner that
at first alarmed him, making peculiar
cries. Upon bringing the various ar
ticles out in front of the house they
formed ring around them and Joined
IN solemn dance, uttering sort of
chant. Upon asking an explanation
from the interpreter he said they re-
garded the relics as sacred and thought
it sacrilege to remove them from the
place where they had been deposited.
A professor of the Smithsonian in
stitution who saw the cave says the
articles were placed there over one
thousand years ago, and bases his es-
innate upon the annual deposit cover
ing them. None of the Indians in the
neighborhood have any recollection or
legends of the people who lived there
at this remote age.
The numerous representations of the
sun which were found show that these
people were sun worshipers, and it is
well known that the Puehlos and Zunis
to this day go upon the tops of their
adobe house every morning and with
their faces turned toward the east
watch for the rising god of the day
DenUer NelOS.