Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-08
BEFORE PYRAMIDS.
THE REMAINS OF PREHISTORIC CIVIL
ZATI0N on ARIZoKA's PLAIES
older than the Aztecs-Buried Cities Where
Once Lived a Peculiar Race
OF people.

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miles wide. The excavations are not
continuous, but have been made at
various points along the main street and
at the limits OF the town, the extent Of
which is clearly established Mr.. Cush-
ing acquired from the Zuni Indians,
among whom he has lived for some
years, the knowledge of customs and
traditions which enabled him to find the
buried cities OF the Salt River Valley.
The first one excavated is called Los
Muertos, the City of the Dead. Others
that have been partially explored are
Pueblo de Los Hornas, the City OF
Ovens; IL Ciudad de Les Pueblitos,
and FL Pueblo de Los Piedras.
OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS.
But these are only part OF the chain
OF cities that once covered the desert
There are nineteen buried cities in the
Salt River Valley alone. and Los Muer-
tos, which had a population of at least
ten thousand, is one of the smallest
The entire valley WAS once system OF
cities, with adjacent farms, and mp in
the mountains are sacriiiclal caves and
pueblos Of stone, many of which never
have been explored and are entirely I'M
known to the wandering tourist and
sight-seer. The people who lived
in these cities were not Aztecs,
as has been supposed. They
were Of the race that preceded
the Aztecs, and had upon this continent
civilization older than the pyramids.
This is proved by the human remains
and relics found in the houses that have
been dug out. chronological research,
prosecuted by Mr.. Cushing by the com
parative method, demonstrates that
jewellers of the plain were 1Oltecs, and
that they reached high state OF civili-
cation many centuries before the Aztecs
appeared. They were probably of Aslatic
origin, but not Mongoloid. The Indian
of the Pacific coast appeared to be Mon
eoloid and later immigrant from ASIA.
The age of the Toltec ruins is reckoned
in thousands of years.
MAKING THE DESERT BLOSSOM.
The Toltecs were agricultural people
and had the plain OF Tempe under a
high state Of cultivation. The climate
and character Of soil were apparently
the same as now, and vast system Of
irrigation was required to make the land
productive. The bitches dug by the
roltecs can be traced to-day, and the
maps made by the surveyor of the Hem
inway party show at least 300 miles of
the work. The plain appears to be level,
but in fact it slopes very gradually to the
southwest. The Toltecs were better
irrlgators than the farmers of to-day.
They were satisfied with a very slight
flow. and consequently We're able to
conduct water to every part OF
the plain of Tempe. The higher
ground, which is now a desert, is
reached by levees upon which
the water flowed. The bottoms Of these
bitches and levees, hardened by the
water flowing over them, have resisted
the leveling power OF the elements.
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 irrigating canal was
cut through the solid rock with stone
implements, and at Mesa City the Nor
mons are now using one OF these an
cient canals. The cost Of making that
cut to-day, with improved tools and ma
chinery, would be $4,000.
ENORMOUS ANCIENT bitches.
The manner of building the bitches
and keeping them in repair is indicated
by two parallel rows of stones along the
sides of the bitches. These stones are OF
diorite, and were used as chipping stones
to sharpen the stone implements with
which the digging WIS done. Most Of
them seem 10 have been worn out and
thrown aside. and probably they were
covered up with the earth thrown out as
the work advanced. The washing away
Of the banks by the rains Of centuries
has left them exposed. Many, no doubt,
we're used in repairing the banks from
time TO time. The natural inference is
that the bitches were maintained during
a long period Of time. The modern
canal system of the valley cost 81, 800,
600. The Toltec bitches were of great
er size and extent. no less than three
hundred miles of the main canal alone
having been traced that could not he
built to-day for less than $4,000 600.
No less than 100000 acres were cult
waited in the Salt-Lake Valley by means
of these ancient bitches.
A NUMEROUS RACE.
The Toltecs had no occasion to raise
more corn than they could consume, and
therefore the population OF the plain
may be calculated on the basis OF the
cultivation average. The 1000 Pima
Indians on the CHA irrigate 10000 acres,
support themselves and sell 100000
pounds of wheat yearly. 1t is within
bounds TO place the ancient population
at $50, 900, and the extent of the ruined
cities iustifes that estimate. That,
however, is only the population of the
plain of Tempe. The ruins still uncov-
cred, but traced by unmistakable
surface indications extend through
the foothills into the noun
tains over them and across the next val
ley and again across another range and
into third valley. In the mountains
the buildings are of stone, instead OF
adobe, and the fields are terraced ami
divided by low stone walls Mr.. Cush-
ing is satisfied that these ruins extend as
far north as Utah and Southern Colorado
and throughout all the plains and valleys
of Arizona, as far east Is the Rio Grande
and south into Central Mexico.
He even says privately, with the eau
ton of scientist, that he is quite GER
tain that the Toltec civilization can be
traced along the whole Pacific slope from
Alaska to Chill.
HOW THE TOLTEcs LIVED.
The ruins of Los Muertos are being
thoroughly examined because they are
~ pical and also because they have been
buried and therefore protected from the
ravages of time, tourists, and ranches.
Twenty-Five large blocks OF bindings
have been uncovered and three carloads
of relics have been sent to Boston. These
relics consist of pottery, implements, and
skeletons. One of the ruined buildings
measures 400 by 375 feet, another is 4SO
feet long, and many of the buildings
are 800 feet square, The adobe
walls are sometimes seven feet thick
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