Telegram-herald., 1889-06-29
DUST FOR MANY AGES.
ghs Industrious Cl3r- Dwelers OF
S0Erhern Colorado
kslzes ~ fssess~l k.es ~ Nee roeed
A<sozS the n lsswsr Caves ~
s.sstss-s. S.a.fs, ssL-wby
Ghsy B~~@sss Exe21oI

/ =
no7s Sc tas sk.lls sn3 h4adi~ork " laen
aad ~ozasn Of pre- historic u2s. The caves
81 the eA1Swe4srs o. ths MaRoos, of
noztheTn Ce.sr4cS. h.ys beez oEcs more
catered by Yslla-s, bit his tame ooiy r-ta
sud the dat ~ aSP@rteS centuries were -
/ DC found
Tie existsnoe of tAeSs caves has hong
/ been kaosa. Bat 20 thorough ex.I1lnatssn
W.s ever L-z1e gDtu . fec months sgo,
| when Charles NSLoye, a prospoctor aud
/ 0lloeg Of the San 4ss, suc fur coInp4u ions
roncs u1ed that u would ss st least q lars 10
/ t0o6 iat. tbs abandoned dwellings. A writer
I Ia the beaver Republican describes the re
/ slls q tAeir fnvsstsgatinns- No csnniie
| idss Of secsriug cellcsiios was thought Of,
tgt -fter w&sdrrlnx from Que ruin 10 an
ether On the tap II The e.lrs, and where the
t4nd could be- made fertile, they commenced
| exploring tho caves Among tho rrst
catered little II interest WAS Go De found,
sat they nHAiy came 70 place that was a.
/ ulost inaccessible Ga the mesa above a
| large reservoir was 10 De seen, and II Is the
| cpluion OF tho explorers that this great
| tract Of ground was Oace titled BY the pe0-
| Pc aho lived n the caves below. But now
| pinon trees of great age are standing Oh all
slses. and how many of them have sprung
| up, lived Iaelr DAYS, dec8yed and then have
/ been succeeded by othsrS. no man living to
day knows-it may have been hundreds, IL
may have been thousands OF years ago.
M. McLOyd says that the dwellings In
| N0ntezaEa County were found on the sides
| Of walls Of the canyon Of OF the Mancos and
its tributaries ia windworn caves or crey-
ices caused by falling water, and were so
completely protected from the elements
that many Of their effects were found in Il
| perfect state Of preservation. AS "a rule,
these caves are IN almost inaccessible
| places. When inhabited they were reached
| quite frequently BY notches cut in the rock,
| and at oil her TINES rope ladders must have
been used
! Quite = number Of the houses found were
| u pretenuous dimensions, the largest being
a building Oh the ground floor Of which are
li2 rooms. and 20 IN the upper stories. This
| building was four stories in height with "a
tower, and was built Of dressed stone and n
| cement made of the surrounding soil
mixed with substance now unknown, and
The arc chitocturo now would be called that
Of the Roman period
The race which inhabited II is thought TO
have been related 70 the Zunis, Moquis and
Pueblos, and IL is supposed was the an
| u,
SIMPLY supposition, and is based on the for
nation of the skulls and the relics Of differ
ent kinds left
The race, according to the theory advanced
by the Smithsonian Institute, existed about
| ten thousand years ago. This theory is
based upon the idea that the people lived
, and farmod on the banks of the Salt river be-
| fore the bed of that stream was changed
1 of in bn
| ruins.
The adjoining natives, the Navajos, are
the only race that have any tradition con-
cernIng these people, and theirs is that the
clIff-dwellers became extinct by being over
| come by numbers. and, preferring death by
drowning rather than at the hands of the
| enemy, jumped into the water below their
| homes and, instead OF drowning became
| FISH. The cliff dwellers were a quiet, in
offensive race, judging from the lack OF in
| struments of war and the many articles
that were used in their crude method Of
farming.
| Phrcnologically speaking, they were quiet
and peaceable, the back part of the skull be-
ing very flat and often depressed, while the
| front part was well formed and denoted
some intelligence.
Among the skulls in the collection is one
that consists Of one piece only, and shows
no trace of a seam between the three parts,
as is usual in the human skull. The bones
found would Indicate that they were peo-
pie OF medium height and well formed, hav-
ing small hands and feet. the hair black and
finer in texture than that of any known race
of sava~es. There is no sign of any dOnes-
| tica.ed animal or fowl with the exception
| of the turkey; it was utilized in many ways,
specinens of dust brushes, bone needles,
etc, having been found. The agricultural
| products found consisted of corn, beans and
pumpkins. for articles Of food, and the
yucca for that Of clothing Their textile
fabrics consisted Of mats and cloths made Of
cord OF the yucca plant interviewer with
the down from the turkey or fur Of some
animal, ald is soft and flexible. Ii was used
evidently only in the burying Of their dead,
who were wrapped in this cloth.
There were discovered near the cities OF
| these people large reservoirs for holding the
water that came down from the mountains
| These reservoirs were made with stone
walls. There Is one still perfect, Il bein z
situated on top OF the mesa verdi" or foot
hills, and is $50 feet in diameter, walled
with double walls and contains from ten TO
fifteen feet OF water. All their farming was
! carried on in the valleys above the canyons
/ and was accomplished by hard labor and
( with the crudest Of implements, nothing
/ having been found Of this nature except a
| sharp pointed stick OF hard wood. which
was used 10 tear up the ground for planting
! Their household utensils consisted of
( pottery Jars and casks made of fibcr and
/ covered with a substance resembling mod
! ern vaTnish Both were made in coils and
Z are light in weight and Of course very dura-
bic
Their knives we're made from the bones
Of the deer, highly polished and yery sharp.
I There is nothing TO indicate that they were
scquaiu ed Ia any respect with the uses ~
any kind of metal. They used both wood
and coal for heating and cooking purposes,
and had their hrepiaCes Just outside the
+ door ia the same 2. .snner that the MeXicaDs
Go today. The sandals used, unlike those
+ worn by savage tribes Of the present,
were made Of vegetable fhors and rot q
ssins. ard there - nothing % show that the
cIT veliers were in any way Proficient in
/ the at - hunting. ~ only ARROWS of hard
/ wood snd cane are found. and thoy could
I not be u-cd ia killing large game, boIug r
/ so fr8Ci . nature. They had but few or
/ Hauenf f-, winch were made 1oe'iy,f tar
KY bones and nuts resembling the hickory
/ nat. ard Il which TO other specimens are
( extant There arc. hcrverer. Few made
+ o. camel coal. u.a.I with ivory 4 some
snd
Th5sraee was one evidently that On &C.
7 crr.nt fh.,r peaceful ustlres were driven
( from rlacs 20 lace ia The valley. and finally
toes ref e. and built homes IN these almost
I fna-reez.r.e places. sud were ~ lass over
zone and persisted in defense &C tae.r
4 hogves. 80 the Ut finished wals f-urd rdi-
4 cate tst they were sad6eniv Interrupted
I In the uat3st 4 Their usasl occupations aa1