The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-09-24
A CITY ON A MOUND.
The Strange Location Of Acoma
in New Mexico.
a visit to the Homes of an Indian Tr.l,o
VINO 1.-Two Mt AN Altitude of Four
Hundred Feet In the
Air.

The pueblo of Acoma, situated ninety
miles west Of Albuqucrquc, is one of
the most remarkable communities in
the world, says Il writer in Pcarson's
weekly. To reach it YOU take the At
lantic " Pacific railway to McCarthy's
station, and then transfer to IL pony and
ride eighteen miles, south by east.
When near your journeys end YOU de-
scend almost imperccptibly into val
ley six miles in width, in the middle of
which stands u huge mound, and on the
top OF this is Acoma. Eight hundred
people arc living in this place, and they
ana their ancestors have gathered their
possessions there for nearly three cen
turics
This mound is one of many that ere
the remains of Il range of hills which
has been worn away by the erosion of
The ages. and survives only in the flat
copied elevations here and there. The
valleys between are fertile, and untold
generations of men have seen them COW
cred with grain and nocks of sheep.
Some time i'll the seventeenth century
the Laguno or Valley Indians made war
upon the Acomas for the possession of
y
weaker, occupied this mountain as q
position believed to be impregnablc
The height above the valley is nearly
four hundred feet, and the walls IN sew
cral places nearly perpendicular. There
arc two means of ascent, one by Il flight
OF steps cut into the face of the wall
and rising mt an angle of ~ degrees
and the other by Il tissurc in the rocks
leading up into the heart of the noun
tain. Both ways have been troddcn by
human feet until the steps are followed
out like shallow trouGhs. Either one is
exceedingly difficult; neither is tolcr-
ably safe. We choose the ono alontr the
hssurc. With all the danger and fatigue,
it is IL laughablc sight To see Il person
some othcr-mallc the ascent. One has
TO stride over the tiSsurc, one foot on the
right-iland side and the other on the
lett, and at the same time press the
hands alternately against the rocks for
support. IN Indian will throw live
sheep around his neck and go uD quite
rapidly without touching the rocks
with either hand, but am satisfied I
could never do it. They told us of &.
pathetic incident that occurred on the
Several men started up, each with IL
sheep on his back. When near the top
the sheep carried by the foremost man
became restless, and the shepherd in
trying to hold it fast lost his footing,
and i'll falling swept his companions
over the prccipicc, and they all fell on
the rocks i'll Il lifclcss heap The In
dians have carved Il representation of
the incident on II rock near where it oc-
Cured, which scarcely serves to steady
the nerves of those who go by that
route.
The top of the elevation is level and
contains an area of sixty or seventy
acres. At one side stands the pueblo, a
blunt pyramid of adobe and stone
honcycombcd with rooms, at the other
the church and graveyard, and near the
center Il pond of pure water thirty feet
deep and several rods in extent. The
priest was made acquainted with the
object of our visit, and the ringing of
the church bell brought the inhabitants
of the village round us. As night ap-
preached Il number of the men who had
been at work in the valley came ND,
bringing delicious peaches and grapes,
winch We Ncic Hidtl 10 icccpU we
slept in the church wrapped up in orr
Navajo blankets, and never felt more
secure or happier i'll our lives
When the dawn appeared through the
little mica window pancs it revealed
great roof beams more than i, foot in
diameter and thirty or forty feet long,
and Il bell that was cast in ITO. How
these immense timbers and this bell
were got to the top of this cliff no one
living knows. The Indians shake their
heads and the priest shakes his, but no
one ventures an opinion. The timbcrs
arc there, however, rs witnessed, and
morning and night, as the seasons come
and go and generations pass away, the
bell speaks for itself in the silvery tones
that pleased its founder in far-off Spain.
The adobes-or the earth of which they
We're madc-wcrc brought up from the
valley also, for the top of the butte was
a bald rock in the beginning. And the
earth for the graves came the same
way, requiring forty years, the priest
said, to complete the graveyard.
a ropulous Country.