, 1888-01-07
ARIzoNA's BURIED CITY.
Lieut.. Cushing Describes the Relies of the
Past Unearthed at Los Muertos.

VIII ueIdl, HISl, lne circumstances winch
led up to my discovery of ancient Los
Muertos, or the City Of the Dead, in the
Salt River valley Of Arizona, and then
show the relations of the characteristics
of this city to those of the modern Zuni,
and vice versa.
''At an early age | contracted the habit
of wandering about the woods of western
New York and discovering fossils, Gu
rious stones, etc, and from their resem-
blance to living forms l had seen l tried
to formulate some theory as to their
origin. These theories, l subsequently,
found, harmonized very wonderfully with
those entertained by a whole people as n
religious belief. / refer to the Zunis. l
began to ponder whether there was any
system observed by these people in this
matter, and | was led to observe charac-
t]crlstics of soil and topography which ac-
companicd the occurrence of n camp site
among the Indians
After infinitely describing his course of
training in this respect, and showing
how, even in plowed fields, traces of
former human occupation had beer dis
covered. Professor Cushing referred to
The five or SIX years he had lived with
the Iunis, and said that the narration of
his experiences and discoveries had so in
terested "A New England lady named Mrs.
Hemingway that She organized the Hem
ingway Southwestern chronological ex-
petition to carry out the line of his ex-
plorations, and this led to the discovery
OF Los Muretos.
"a number of like mounds" con-
tinucd the speaker, '~'happened to meet
my gaze, and hidden away under the
mesquite forest l saw unmistakable signs
of an ancient Indian village. Art re-
mains-fragments of pottery and other
pcculiarities precisely similar to those
foundi in Iuni-were discovered. After
several feet of excavation had been made
the walls of n veritable city more than
three miles in length were laid bare.
From deductions made from all the sur
roundings l concluded that the newly
discovered city was about twenty times
the size of the moderu Zuni. The archi-
lecture may be characterized rs COM
posed of terra Gotta.
''~Thirty-three blocks of houses have
already been excavated. The population
of Zuni being LOCO souls, that of Los
Mucrtos may be estimated at that about
eleven centuries ago, when it was aban-
doned. The most interesting character
istic which proved that the city had been
y "a ~ - pAi'NfsoioAA Vi "a II
quakes was that the walls opened up, as
it were, as though they were on hinges
at the bottom. Similar peculiarities have
been observed during the recent earth
quakcs in Mexico.
son account of the suddenness OF the
catastrophe the inhabitants had no time
10 remove n single article, and, there
fore, all that could withstand the effect
of time are scattered about as in the days
of their use, such rs ancient jars, mills
and axes. The latter lunches, with their
handles burned off, lie on the ground as
they fell.
"A most interesting discovery was
made, y said the lecturer, respecting the
pottery in this ancient village. The
water jars contained an apparently arti-
tificial break in the continuity of an or
namental band on the exterior and the
food jars on the interior precisely similar
to those of the Zunis, so that / am led to
believe from this and other peculiarities
that the Inhabitants of Los Muertos were
the ancestors of the Zunis. These bands,
l found, while living with the latter
people, were not caused accidently, and
possessed a deep meaning.
81 endeavored to learn the unmanly
art of making pottery, for the women
always make it, and while sitting among
them molding some clay, l commenced
to whistle softly. The women rose in
horror and exclaimed: Child Childl'
l was amazed, but an old woman led me
aside and said: You must never whistle
or sing or make any sound that would
awake an echo in the canyon while max
ing pottery, for if you do the voice will
go out while it is burning a2i the pot
terry will crack
a savages, / found, believed that
everything that has motion, heat or sound
of itself must nave life. The Zunis nave
observed that whenever a vessel breaks
or becomes useless, in ether words when
it dies, it gives n loud twang, especially
during the burning process, and they
think n vessel is initiative like the echo.
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 tho
good qualities of the food taken from
them.
They would not let me whistle be-
cause they believe the sound of my voice
would enter the clay and break it when it
was subjected to heat. These ideas give
n more rational aspect to the superstitious
feeling the savages bear towards their
fetiches and idols.
Il supposed there were no Zuui ruins
west Of the center of Arizona, but here,
much further in hat direction than l
could ever have imagined, l found this
marvellous city of the dead. The Zunis
consider their households as entities, and
by n natural course of reasoning they
nave been led to believe hat their house
hold articles should take their place
among their gods. The Zunis' concep-
ton of the soul is very curious. 1t is
supposed hat the priests of heredity have
also by hercdity power over their own
souls. which enables them on great &C.
c]asions TO separate their souls from their
bodies, and ut death they do not require
any ceremonial or sacrifice, like ordinary
mortaIs. San Francisco Examiner.
,ialn Field of Education.