Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-23
A CITY ON A MOUND.

The Strange Location Of the Pueblo q
Acoma in New Mexico.
From Pearsons Weekly
The pueblo Of Acoma, situated ninety miles
west OF Albuquerque. is one of the most re-
markabie communities in the world. To reach
1t you take the Atlantic and Pacific railroad tc
McCarthys station, and then transfer to 9
pony and ride eighteen miles, south BY east
when near your journeys end you descend
almost imperceptibly into a valley six miles in
width, In the middle of which stands huge
mound, and on the top of this is Acoma. Eight
hundred people are living in this place, and
they and their ancestors have gathered theil
possessions there for nearly three centuries.
This mound is one of many that are the re-
mains Of range of hills which has been worn
away by the erosion of the ages, and survives
only in hat-topped elevations here and there.
The valleys between are fertile, and untold
generations OF men have seen them covered
with grain and focks of sheep. Some time in
the seventeenth century the 1aguno or Valley
Indians made war upon the Acomas for the
possession Of the country, and the latter, being
the weaker, occupied this mountain as n posi-
ton believed to be impregnable. The height
above the valleys is nearly 400 feet, and the
walls in several places nearly perpendicular.
There are two means of ascent, one by fight
OF steps cut into the face Of the wall and rising
at an angle of AZ degrees. and the other by a
assure In the rocks leading up into the heart
OF the mountain. Both WAYS have been trodden
oy human feet until the steps are followed out
like shallow troughs. Either one is exceed
ingly difficult; neither is tolerably safe. We
choose the one along the assure. With all the
danger and fatigue, it is laughable sight to
see person-some other-make the ascent.
One has to stride over the assure, one foot on
the right-hand side and the other on the left,
M at tft.,n IA IA
nately against the rocks for support An In
dian viii throw a live sheep around his neck
and go up quite rapidly without touching the
rocks with either hand, but l am satisfied /
could never do it. They told US Of q pathetic
incident that occurred on the outer stairway
each with sheep on his back. When nearly
10 the top the sheep carried by the foremost
man became restless. and the shepherd in try
ing to hold 1T fast lost his footing and in fall
ing swept MS companions over the precipice,
and they all fell on the rocks in a lifeless heap
The Indians have carved a representation Of
the incident on a rock near where it occurred
winch 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 honeycombed with rooms at the
other the church and graveyard. and near the
center pond of pure water thirty feet in
oeptn ana 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 around us. Al
night approached a number of the men who
had been at work in the valley came up. bring
ing delicious peaches and grapes, which we
were glad to accept We slept In the church
wrapped up in our Navajo blankets, and never
felt more secure or happier in our lives.
When the dawn appeared through the little
mica window panes il revealed great root
beams more than a foot in diameter and thirty
or forty feet long, and bell that was cast in
l1l0. How these immense timbers and tins
bell were got up 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 timbers are there, however.
as 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,
when King George was on the throne. The
adobes-or the earth of which they were made
were brought up from the valley also, for the
top OF the butte was bald rock in the begin
ming. And the earth for the graves came the
same way, requiring forty years, the priest
said, to complete the graveyard.