Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-01-14
BURIED CITIES OF ARIZONA.
Ruins of Civilization Said to Ante'late
the PyrnMitl

Ruins OF q Cly1l1Z0IlOn Sliu W ahLe'i"ec
the Pyramids.
Tho Hemcnway expedition, under the di-
lection of Franz; Cushing, has been at work
for several months and has excavated the
ruins Of city three miles long and two miles
wide. Tho excavations are not continuous,
but have boon made ut various points along
the main street and ut the limits of tic town,
the extent of which is clearly established.
Mr.. Cushing acquired from tho zuni
Indians, among whom he has lived Tor
some years, tho knowledge OF customs
and traditions which enabled him to
find the buried cities Of the Suit River val
lev The first one cxclvated is called Los
Lluertos the city Of the dead. Others that
havo been partially explored arc FL Pueblo
do los Hornas, the city of ovens; El Ciudad
de los Pueblitos and FL Pueblo de los Piedras.
But these are onlya part Of the chain OF
cities that once covered the desert. There
are nineteen buried cities in the Salt river
valley alone, and Los Mucrtos, which had
population of ut least 10000, is one of the
smallest. The entire valley was once q sys-:
ten of cities with adjacent farms, and up In
tho 3nountnip ms arc saeriil caves ana
pueblos of stone. many Of which never have
beef explored and IRE entirely unknown to
the wandering tourist and iightseer.
Tho people who lived in these cities were
not Aztccs, as has been supposed. They wcrs
of the racc that preceded the Aztecs, and had
upon this continent civilization older thnn
the pyramids This is proved by tho human
remains and relics found in the houses that
have been dug out chronological research
prosecuted by Mr.. Cushing by the compare
two method demonstrates that the dwellers
Of tho plain were Toltccs, and that they
reached high state Of civilization many
centuries before tho Aztecs appeared They
were probably of Asiatic origin, but not
Moncolod. Tho Indian of the Pacific coast
appears to be MonSoloid and later ilnini-
grant from Asia The age of the Toltec ruins
is rcckoncd in.thousands Of years.
The ruins Of Los Muertos arc being thor
ouGbly examined, because they arc typical,
and SO because they have been buried, and
therefore protected from the ravagcs of time,
tourists and ranchers Twenty-Five large
blocks OF buildings have been uncovered. and
three car loads of relics hnvo been sent to
Boston. These relics consist of pottery, i'm
plemcnts and skeletons. One of the ruined
buildings measures 400 by 3715 feet, another
is $50 feet long, and many Of the buildings
are 300 feet square. The adobe walls are
sometimes seven feet thick and two stories
high. Connected with each building is a
pyral mound, around the base OF which are
tic funeral urlis containing the ashes of ere
mated Toltecs. Entrance to the buildings
were sometimes through doorways and some
times through holes i'll tho roofs. Each
building was=divided into q great number
of small rooms, indicating largo popula-
ton to each block. Tho roofs were of con-
crete, supported by timbcrs, and most Of
them have fallen in. Hero and there the
concrete remains in position, retaining an
impression OF tiinbers that have disappeared
utterly.
1t is evident that these cities were destroyed
by earthquakes. In most cases the roofs
have fallen in and the side walls have fallen
outward. Time has disintegrated the adobe
blocks, md the rains have spread the
material so evenly that the buildings are in
dicated 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 the finding of skeletons under the
fallen roofs and walls i'll positions Indicating
violent deaths. One skelcton,' photographed
as found, shows That tile man was caught
under the falling roof and thrown upon his
face. His chest is pushed forward by the
weight, and his right hand, stretched out rs
ho fell, is crushed and ilattened The large
number of bodies found proves that the
calamity was widespread and complete
Cor New York Sun.