Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-12


Of Long Ago-Rich Silver Mines and
Mexican Methods Of Mining-Big Fort
unes Awaiting Americans Who WIN
Use Their Brains and Skill to Dig Them
Out-Crossins the Casas Grandes.
Copyrighted, 1881
IL THE FIELD, NORTHERN CHIHUAHUA,
MEXICO, March 90 1859.
Ole of the interesting pecularities Of the
numerous ruins in Northwestern Chihuahua,
that indicates'a once dense population liv
ing of the soil, is in the way that most OF
them seemed toshave met their fate When
ruined houseis dug into, all the skeletons
Gifts occupants are found in what might be
termed the combined kitchen and dining
roon-for these two rooms were in one
and always near fireplace. The postures
ofthese skeletons are as various as it is pos
sible for the human body'to assume. They
are found kneeling, stretched out, some
times with their locked hands over their
heads, on their sides, and again with their
children IN their arms, no two being alike,
at least in the same house, or series of
houses where they were united into
pueblo. Now In the whole study of sepul-
ture it has been universally found, even
among the lowest savages as well as the
most civilized, whatever form of burial
they adopt, no matter what may be the alb
surdity of it from our point Of view, that it
is always uniform in the main points, allow
ing, of course, some slight deviations for
caste or rank. The position of these skele-
tons in their own houses controvert this
theory and have led some to believe that
they were destroyed there by great earth
quake or other violent action of nature. I
had long talk with Mr.. Davis, superin-
tendent of the Corralitos Company, who
has made something of study of these
ancient ruins from having them almost
forced on him, and he not only believes that
they were destroyed by a violent earth
quake, but that this cataclysm caught them
at the evening meal. He infers this latter
from a ccnsideration,of the customs of the
present almost pure-blooded Indian race
here. called Mexicans, that must have de-
scended from the old race but singularly
enough know nothing of their ancient pro-
genitors.
While at Corralitos Mr.. Davis told me Of
q set of ruins about half way between his
hacienda and Casas Grandes near Barranca
visited it next day, and what l found,
coupled with his own researches, is about
the following: The first thing noticeable is
a weli-defned road leading straight up
hill to slight bench overtopped by a
higher hill at the end of the bench. Here is
an ancient ruin built of stone and looking
very much like a position Of defense. 1t
may have been sacrIfcial place, for other
wise / can not accout for the careful con-
struction of the road leading to it. Had it
been purely for defense the road would not
have been needed, especially SO well made;
but experience has taught me that when no
other reasonable explanation can be found
for doing, that superstitious Or religious
motives can then be readily introduced to
account for it.
On the top of the hill is a fortifica-
ton, probably, with wall about twenty
feet from the top, overtopped and al
most hidden by q hanging mesquite
bush. At the base of both hills is series
of mounds extending as far as the
eye can reach, and l almost feel afraid to
place an estimate On the number | saw.
More than that, am afraid to say whether
the mounds really represent buildings at
all. In all other mounds there is sign Of
the house-walls protruding through the
debris, but here there is none; yet they
closely resemble the other mounds in all
other respects Every thing goes to show
that these people were on the defensive,
and that defense was often necessary.
These ruins look very much older than any
others that have visited here, but much
If it can be accounted for, think, by the
sandy character of the district. Nothing
makes any abandoned building or other
work Of man look so very antiquated as
drifting sand piling up around it. This
town, therefore, may have been contem-
poraneous with the ruined towns of the
Casas Grandes valley generally, although
The latter look much more recent from
being built on more compact soil As l
nave already more than limited, all these
valleys along the foothills of the Sierra