Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-09-08
The Lost Races.

ia headlandS, near where the main
range enters New Mexico and takes
the name of Sierra Madre, Is a beau
tiful little park. 1t is not more than
twelve hundred yards in diameter at
its greatest width, and is almost as
level as floor At the southeastern
extremity of this park, where there
is a gentle depression, spring of
pure water comes up out of the noun
tains and flows in a southwesterly di-
rection down small canon where it
is soon lost among the rocks. In
this, however, there is nothing es-
= pecially remarkable, for the noun
tain ranges are full of parks as beau
tiful, and springs whose waters are
every whit as pure. But in the midst
of this park, in almost its geograph-
ical center, are the crumbling re-
mains of an ancient temple or place
of worship. This building appears
to have been of octagonal form and
fully one hundred and forty-four feet
at its greatest diameter, based on
crude measurement. The foundation
walls are in a fair state of preserva-
ton, but are so covered with crum-
bling rocks, debris and drifting sand,
as to render the character of the ma
sorry almost undeterminable. Out
de of this foundation, and at the
distance of twenty-four feet from it,
are the evidences of a circular wall
that must have enclosed entire the
inner temple. Around this outer
wall, at distances of twelve feet from
each other the crumbling ruin shows
the foundations of what must have
been towers of defense. These are
traceable in the entire circle, but no
evidence of their height or capacity
for defence is distinguishable in the
ruin that is left to mark the handi-
work of the race that wrought in these |
weird wilds ages and ages ago.
In the center of the inner court or
temple there is traceable the remains
of an altar or sacrificial stone, under
which there may have been, Judging
from surface indications, a pit or
| dungeon. The stone or altar, how
ever, is broken and it's parts scatter
| ed among the rocks that are piled
about on every hand. Under or in
the center of the ruin, among the
broken mass of rocks, is the lair of a
family of lynx, that beat hasty re-
treat at the approach of the exploring
party. But standing before this spot
one is filled with wonder and curios-
ity. Here human life may have been
offered up as sacrifice to some I'M
known god or genii of the mountains.
Awful orgies may have been enact
ed that would make the blood of a
nineteenth century devil freeze in his
veins, or his strong limbs quake like
an aspen in a storm.
AS to the character of the roof that
covered this wonderful structure there
are no means of determining. Wheth-
er it was arched with stone, or made
of wood of primitive architecture, no
one can tell. Under the shining sun,
where are wont to beat the shifting
SHOWS or rain in their season, lies the
crum bled ruin, unable to tell it's tale
of grandeur or horror.
Between the inner temple and the
outer wall we have said that the dis
lance was twenty-four feet. This
may have been court for those who
attended the peculiar worship, or
rallying place for the tribe in case of
war. At any rate there was room
for fully three thousand people to
stand with ease in this small space,
and in an emergency four thousand
could have been crowded into it.
That the outer wall was a defense
line in time of war, there are strong
grounds, however, for believing. {
While there is no sign of metallic
weapon to be seen, there are to be
found numbers of stones from the
size of hens egg up to the dimen-
sions of a twenty-four pound cannon
ball. These are as round as human s
skill can make them and are of COM {
paratively smooth surface. Doubt
less these weapons were made round |
to insure precision in throwing, the {
larger ones undoubtedly being to drop
on the heads of the enemy when in t
close proximity to the wall. A few
flint arrow heads were found in the
locality but the bow and arrow does
not seem to have been the usual 1
weapon of defense. Perhaps those
found were shot by an attacking t
tribe or were used in pursuit of game. i
All around the outer edge of the I
park, in what appears to be an exact I
circle, were evidently the haDltatIOnS '
of the tribe. These were also built
of stone, but are in greater ruin than
the buildings described in the center g
of the park, because not as massive {
in construction. The dimensions of |
these buildings are exactly alike,
about twelve feet square, built adjoin- |
ing each other, and were numbered
by the hundred-perhaps nearly L
thousand. But, as said, the park was t
about twelve hundred yards in diam
eter, which would give a circumfer- S
ence of 10, 800 feet, or room for nine v
hundred of such houses as those de- I
scribed. And there were not far