The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-01-12
ARIzoNA's BURIED CITY.
Lieut.. Cushing Describes the Relies OF Nc
Past Unearthed ut Los Mtfertos. q


Lieut.. Cushing Describes the Relies OF Ms
Past Unearthed at Los Mtrertes.
''In to-night's lecture" said ussu*
Frank. Hamilton Gushing Mt ssecisf
meeting of the Academy OF Science. n
will detail, first, the circumstances whaei
led up to Icy discovery of ancisnt Los
Muertos, or the City OF the Dead, in the,
Salt River valley OF Arizona, and tlieal
show the relations of the characteristics
of this city to these of the modern L,asI,s
and vice versa.
cat an early age / contracted nae habis
of wandering about the woods Of westesse
New York and discovering fossils, cu-
rious stones, ETC., and from their rssufsArs
blance to living forms had iseep Btfie8
to formulate some theory as 10 tllehs
origin. These. theories, l subsaluentsy
found, harmonized very wonderfully wik,>
those entertained by u whole people,as n
religious belief I refer to the .Zullis. L
began to ponder whether there was any
system observed by these people in this
matter, and was led to Observe eharSc-
teristics of soil and topography witch re-
companied the occurrence OF q camp she
among the Indians"
After minutely describing his eeurse ef
training in this respect. and showing.
how, even in plowed fields. traces "a
former human occupation had been dis~
covered. Professor Gushing referred to
the five or six ye:srs he had lived Mia
the Zunis, and said that the narration Sf
his experiences and discoveries had so in-
terested New England lady naaed Nus
Hemingway that she organized the Aenf-
imgway Southwestern EthnoloGicai exs
pedition to carry out the line of his ex-
plorations, and this led to the diseoveyy
of Los Muretos.
"A number of like mounds, coDs
tinued the speaker, happened TO met1
my gaze, and hidden away under tfSa
mesquite forest | saw unmistakahle sigrs
of an ancient Indian village. Art he
mains-fragnents of pottery and other
peculiarities precisely similar 10 those
found in Zuni-were discovered. AftSr
several feet of excavation hadbeen ma,fs
the walls of veritable city more tlaaSn
three miles in length were hid bare.
From deductions made from all the sur-
roundings concluded that the Bewlw
discovered city was about twentS tines
the size of the modern Zuni The arcia>'
lecture may be characterized se cons
posed of terra Gotta.
sThirty three blocks OF houses kava
already been excavated. The .po,lplaton
Of Zuni being 1,600 souls, that OF E&gf
Muertos may be estimated at that abon0
eleven centuries ago, when it was ,tbaE-
doned. The most interesting character
istic which proved that the city had been
overwhelmed by succession of earth,
quakes was that the walls opened up, as
it were, as though they were on hihgcss
at the bottom. Similar peeuliarities baWs
been observed during the recent earth
quakes in Mexico.
''On account of the suddena,ess Of ths
catastrophe the inhabitants had no tiule
to remove single article and, therss
fore, all that could withstand tire e{Ie, 3
of time are scattered about rs iii tho davs
of their use, such as ancient Jars, mills
and axes. The latter bunches, with their
handles burned off, lie on the ground as
| they fell.
"a most interesting discovery was
made" said the lecturer, respecting the
| pottery in this ancient village. The
water jars contained an appaFWitly arti-
| tificial break in the continuity'W an or-
namental band on the exterior and $40
| food jars ON the interior precisely similar
| to those of the Zunis, SO that | am led to
believe from this and other peculia1ftiee
that the inhabitants OF Los Muertos wers
the ancestors of the Zunis. These hands.
/ found, while living with the latkFe
| people, were not caused accidentfy, and
possessed a deep meaning.
Il endeavored 10 learn the unmanly
art Of making pottery, for the womds
| Il. "a 4
them molding some clay, | cornIneuceH
to whistle softly. The women rose IN
horror and exclaimed; 'Childi child r
l was amazed, but an old woman lell mo
aside and said You must never whistle
or sing or make any sound that wouigs
awake an echo in the canyon while maJ5-
ing pottery, for if you do the voice wiLt
| 60 out while it is burning asi tho pot
terry will crack
| "Al savages, / found, beloved thso
everything that has motion, heat or souE,r
of itself must have life. The Zlnis hapo
| observed that whenever h vessel brealsa
or becomes useless, in other words When
it dies, it gives loud t~ang, espceiaAr
| during the burning process and thss6
| think vessel is initiative like the cello.
| Furthermore, they think when a vessel is
put ON the fire that it sings, and they be-
lieve that the vague existence they give to-
| the vessels has something TO do with thd
good qualities of the food taken froIS
| them.
"They would not Let me whistle be.
cause they believe the sound of my teic9
w<uld enter tho clay and break itNvhen it
was subjected to heat. These ideas giva
q more rational aspect 10 the superstithFss
feeling the savages bear towards them
fctiches and idols.
Il supposed there were no Ztmi rliina
west of the center Of Arizona, bat horos
much further in that direction than !
could ever have imagined, i found thjs
marvellous city of the dead. The Zasgaf
consider their households as entities, aIsA
by a natural course OF reasoning tllayf
have been led to believe that their holtsey
hold articles should take ttleir IAaeB
among their gods. Yhs HuslisS coHcsp-i
ton Of the soul is vssy oarieue~ fefs
supposed that the priests Of heredisy haSa>
also by heredity power over their oNzl
souls. which enables hhem m greet Go
casions to separate thon souls from th<ss'
bodies, and at death thee Dc sot req1Ss.S
any ceremonial or sacrifice, IKE os6t,nTy
mortals. San Francisco RxaniaeF