Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1888-05-02
LOS uUERTOS.

LOS 1UERTOS.
 The Ancl0nt Ro0lo0, Unoxploeod
 Caves. Etc. Found by lloutonane
 Cushing in AaasIoopa County. Recent discoveries in Arizona have proven that a number of under ground cities have existed in that territory. There are nineteen buried cities in Sal, River valley alone. and Los Muestos. which was populated by at least 10000, is one of the smallest The entire val ley was once asystem of c,ties with adja- cent farms. and up in the mountains are sacri6cial caves and pueblos of stone, many of which never have been ex- plored and and entirely unknown to the wandering tourist and .sightseer. The people who live in these cities were not Astecs as has been supposed. They were . race that preceded the Aztecs, and had on this continent civ- ilization older than the pyramids. This is proved by human remains and relics found in the houses that have been dug out. Pathological research prosecuted by the comparative method demonstrates that the dwellers of the plains were Tol- tees, and that they reached . high state of civilization many centuries before the Aztecs appeared. They were probably of Asiastic origin, but not Moneolion. The Indians on the Pacific coast appears to be Mongolion and latter immigrant from Asia The age in the Tolsecs is rsckoned in thousands of years
 The Toltecs were agricultural people, and had the plain of Tempe under high state of cultivation.
 THE CLIMATE AND CHARACTER OF SOIL were apparently the same as DOW, and a vast system of irrigation was required to make the land productive. The ditches dug by the Toltecs can be traced to-day and maps made by the surveyors of the Hemenway party shows at least 300 miles of this work. The plains appear to be level, but in fact they slope sradu- ally southwest The Toltecs were bet ter irrigators than the farmer ot to-day. They were satisfied with . very slight flow, and consequently were able to con- duct water to every part of the plain of Tempe. The higher ground. which is now a desert, vas reched by levees upon which the water flowed. The bottoms of these ditches and levees, hardened by the water flowing over them. have resisted the leveling power of the ele- ments. The banks have disappeared, leaving the bottoms elevated slightly above the plain, and these hardened surfaces are now used as roads all over the valley. In some places the irri- gating canal was
 CUT THROUGH THE SOLID ROCK
 with stoneimplements, and at Mesa City the Mormons are now using one of thtse ancient canals. The cost of making that cut to-day, with improved tools and ma chinery, would be $2o.ooo.
 The manner of building the ditches and keeping them in repair is indicated by two parallel rows of stones lying along the sides of the ditchea These stones are diorite, and were used as chip ping stones to sharpen stone instruments with which the digging was done. Most of them seem to be worn out and thrown aside. and probably they were coverd up with earth as the work advanced. The was hing away of the banks by the ruins of centuries has left them exposed. Many no doubt were were used in repairing the banks from time to time. The natural inference is that the ditches were maintained long time. The modern canal system of the valley is only 4I miles in extent and cost $1.soo,oee. The Toltec ditches were of greater size and extent. no less than three hundred miles of main canal alone having been traced, and could not be built to-day for less than $a.5ooo,- 900. No less than 45o,ooo acres were cultivated in the Salt River valley by means of ancient ditches.
 DESTROYED BY EARTHQUAKES
 It is evident that these cities were de- stroyed by earthquakes. In most cases the roofs have fallen in and the sids walls have fallen outward. Time has the adobe block. and the rains have spread the material so evenly that the buildings are indicated only by slight irregularities in the surface. The work of excavation is simply to clear away the surface material. That the cities were suddenly overthrown is proved by finding skeletons under roofs and walls in positions indicating violent deaths. One skeleton shows that the man was caught under the falling root was thrown upon his face. His chest was pushed forward by the weight, and right hand stretched out as he fell, is crushed and aattened. The large num- Der of bodies found proves that the | was widespread and complete.
 At Durango, Colorado. the late city