The Dickinson press., 1888-03-10
A PREHISTORIC CITY.
MR. FRANK cUsHlNG's DISCOVERIES
IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA.

1SCSeaTcIeS Among tnS ASulnS Ill SN1t Is1tSr
Iallcy-Thousunds of Skr!ct"ns-Well
Preserved Specimens of Pnttcry-Eclics
of an Ancient Race.
! Some Very important discoveries concern
ing prehistoric Races nave been male during
the past Year ly Professor Frank Gushing,
| who has charge of an exploring expedition
III southern Arizona. He was occupied in
the Salt river valley the past summer. The
Salt river valley is the Most fertile region in
/ Arizona. 1t lies about eighty miles north
vest ot Tucson. III either side of the Salt
river, rear where it joins the ella. Father
Keno made explorations there about ltl1,
when he Travelled through Arizona To cStab-
lish ,1ssui; missions. and he speaks of it as
having Il considerable population of Indians,
who nav" since become known as the Pimas
and Maricopas. But he discovered traces of
II heavy population that had existed long he
fore and that had become extinct. Among
the evidences We're Did irrisuting canals,
ruins of buildings and stone utensils, both
for war and domestic use.
Professor Gushing. it will Ike remembered
10y many. was for some time identified with
researches connected with the Zuni Indians
of Colorado. He lived nine years with the
bsalA4ss 'iiiA it,Nt' VI iltli XII
guagc, has written many interesting articles
about them, and has lad personal charge of
two delegations of them that have visited the
east. Mr.. Gushing has been ut work several
months on the ruins of Salt river valley, and
| had the pleasure of making him u visit in
the carly part of August. \. friend and | az
rived at his camp early in the morning. Mr..
Cushing is acting under authority of the
Smithsonian institution, and everything
about his camp had the appearance of being
prosperous and we'll cared for. We felt like
we had got back under the sheltering arms of
the government. The big black mules, tho
trim, Well built wagons. the white, strong
tents, tho abundance of food for both man
and beast, and the ever beautiful American
flag floating over all, made up n particularly
inspiring spectacle and gave lis a patriotic
impulse that one could feel only in such n
Wild, Wntroddcn region as Arizona. We were
welcomed most heartily 10y Mr.. Cushing and
his assistants. He carries quite u little COM
munity with him.. First is his wife and her
sister, two very charming looking ladies';
then an engineer, an amanucnsis, Il cook. two
ortErcog rooms and general workmcn and
quite n lot of people to do the digging for re-
mains of the lost tribes. One lone tent was
given up to the remains that had been found.
These We're being assorted, labeled and packed
away in boxes for shipment to the Smith
soniun institution.
His ann was at the edge of what had cvi-
IDENTIFY been q city of considerable size. and
about 800 yards away was the citadel or fort
ross of this city. w walked over to this
citadel and took Il general survey from that
point. 1t had evidently been n building of
considerable size and strength, probably sew
cral stories high, and had its foundation laid
deep in the earth. The material used in it's
construction was sundried clay, the same as
that used by the Mexicans of the lower and
middle classes, and before Mr.. Gushing be-
gan his explorations there was nothing to
mark its whereabouts, except sort of oblonr
lillock OF mound. Little of the walls above
the foundation were found intact, but the
ground plan could he traced in every detail.
as well us the lines of the outer wall. tle
rooms were Of different sizes, and seemed to
have been constructed with much nrchi-
%tectural skill. A number of tho smaller
apartments had undoubtedly been con-
structed for burial vaults, for
when they were opened up skeletons We're
found i'll them. the heads being Invariably to
the east. In one of these vaults was the
skeleton of a child. Mr.. Cushing was of
the opinion that the building had been q sort
of combined citadel and sacred temple, and
that the remains of those found there were
those of priests and their fumilies. He said
he had encountered many evidences that con-
WINGED him that the people who had inhabited
the city had reached the period in civilization
when the priest is superior in power. A
chief or king lived in the citadel, but he was
under the control of the priests. Just why
| Mr. C,1chirr tnpt thic vio,1. o,.Jl ~
clearly understand, unless it was because of
certain relics he had found in some of the
tombs.
The city extended out in all directions
from the palace or temple, and tho founda-
lions of many of them had been exposed,
many of them consisting of but a single
room; but now and then there would bc one
Of larger and more ample proportions, and
in most of these larger ones there had been
found burial vaults and skeletons. Two
thousand of these skeletons had been eS-
humcd when | was there. There was u gen-
eral burial ground where the dead seemed to
have been thrown in promiscuously, a sort
of potter's field, but the skeletons here were
SO broken up that no good specimens could
be obtained. The richer people buried their
dead in their houses, building air tight vaults
for the purpose, but the poor classe:; were
disposed of much as they are TODAY in our
larger cities.
Mr.. Gushing had found u great deal of
pottery in the tombs as well rs in and about
the dwellings. sawa number of pieces that
were we'll preserved and that had been
painted with much skill. AN the best spcri-
mems seemed to have been used for sacred
purposes, and this was one reason. no doubt.
MIR. Cushing had for believing these people,
whoever they were, had arrived at a period
III their national history when the priests
were at the head of affairs. These finer
pieces of pottery were of many different
shades, but were all of light color, with black
markings and figures, reminding one greatly
of ancient Egyptian pottery. The inferior
specimens look much like that made by the
Arizona Indians of today. and which one
may see brought into Tucson almost every
day for sale. No iron, copper or metal in
struments of any kind have been found.
but great quantities of stone axes,
stone pestles and mortars, bone needles
and knives and other such materials as be-
long to the Stone Age. But the skill witt,
which these articles were made was far supc-
rior to that shown by the Indians found in
America by the whites. These prehistoric
jewellers of southern Arizona were a people
OF very superior Intelligence. They built
cities that ranked with those found in Mex.
leo by Cortez, and were i'll advance of those
of the Colorado Zuni tribe of the present
day. Mr.. Gushing thinks they were mucl
the same people as the Zunis, and | may add
that he had two. very intelligent Zuni In.
dians with him when l was at his camp. He
mad sent for them, thinking they might
assist him i'll identifying the people into
whose remains he was making these explora.
tions.
l came away from Mr.. Cushing's cam,
!, profoundly impressed by the discoveries htt
had made and of the great Importance of hi
so rich in tho remains of prehistoric people
as this southern district of Arizona, and Mr.
Gushing has hardly made q beginning in hi
explorations. Tucson Cor. Washington Post
;. \ Treacherous Feline,
Among the patrons of an uptown rcstau
rant is one who has lost all faith in eats.
.s