Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-09-09
PREHISTORIC RUINS.
The Temples and HabitatiOnS oil thi
Salt River Valley.
HOMES or An ANCIENT PEOPLE.


Dali hlNtI NAiN1t Aila uAi uNWhIut OF
three hundred years ago, tney were
surprised TO nnd everywhere vast
evidences Of an old civiliz zion, the
remains Of people who, through long
periods, hal grown aud developed,
Il urishei, aud passed away. On
every hand were the ruins OF their
houses, temples and forts, reduced by
the action Of the elements, during thv
long ages that had passed nUcu their
abandOumsnt, 10 mere heaps U. ostth,
on whiou wtro growing the mrsquit
brush anu around which stODd the
great cactus trees Ills solemn sentlnels,
ns u Keeping guard over the graves Oi
the ancient people. In every difec.
ton ran the ancient canals whioh IN
former times had enliveued the desert
and given life to the fields Of green
that spread like mantle over the
plain. When asked regarding the
ancient people, the wild lnuians shook
their meade. Their traditions had be-
come silent concerning them. since
that time there has been little change
10 the condition Of tue ruins. Tue
t1pn u tne mounds are crusted aHI
baked until now the raioiall hss little
effect upOn them; indecd we bel owe
that they are still capable OF enduring
Tor many hundreds Of years to come
without material chang /, that Ia 20 far
~ the elements age concefnedj but
modern civilization In making infOaus
upon them SOU lnsi celebrating them
iiOm the face Of .ho earth.
This hist canal vas taken ont u Salt
q. a a..
Nurir, aud skiiiing ,liu uaso %, Supsl-
stition mountain Il rau III southwsrls
towards the ella, n distance II unity.
fve mile. Or more. From that Ioiut,
at intervals Of lew miles ali tue way
down the valley TO the mouth Of tho
HaHsayRmpa crtek,a distance VI nearly
eighty miles, are traces of the anolcut
canals. Then, too, the waters u the
ICED for iTrlgating purposes, as Ia
Httestod by The old canals iUund along
their banks. The waters OF the ella
were diverted ut convenient points
and canals carried far out into the
Grande now stands.
10 not think II would be an exag.
geration 10 say that there was more
land irrigated by the ancient people
IN this part Of Arizona than IN today
cultivated In all Utah. Aud when l
consider the prfductlvoneHs Of the
soil here, and the advantages Of the
climate, L believe the country could
sustain, and did sustain, more than
twice the present population Of our
fair Territory.
The combined length Of these old
canals would be more lhan 1000 miles,
10 say nothing OF the thousands VI
small canals anu bitches Tadiating In
every direction, distributing the
waters 10 every part OF the plain.
The ruins OF the Villages and cities
are found alm0sl everywhere, anu In
that olden time when the buildings
were intact aud Inhabited the people
must have been Ia easy call OF each
other from one END OF this great valley
| to the other. The ruins OF large build.
ingr, which are usually believed 10
have been temples or places OF wOr.
shlp, aTe found distributed among the
other ruins nt distances OF from three
10 flye miles apart, ali over the val
/ ley.
One OF these buildings visited ia
| just north Ol MesA city. IL stands on
u iovol plain aud Ia surrounded on all
sides ny hundreds OF smaller mounds.
IL IL rectangular, being four hundred
feet long anu about sixty feet wide,
ana about twenty feet nish. On the
eastern side was AN apron or open
court the came sizo as the building,
and which was enclosed by wall ten
or twelve feet high. The entrauCo "a
the epclOsuTe WAS In the center VI the
enst wall Of tho court. The building
COrrebpOndsd ~ nearly 10 the cardinal
points as II would be possible fOr OuI
best engineers b. make IL today. Judg.
ing from the vast amount Of rubbish
that OccupipR the site OF h building
anu which at one lime formed a ar
OF ita walls, | Incline to tuu UpiuluU
a at IL was from three 10 four stOfiei
high anu must have been a cOnsplcu'
Gus object on the plain. There are q
great many OF these temples In tn,
valley, anu while they infer som,
little In plan OF building they all were
constructed Of the same material knt
have the same air OF antiquity AbOu
them.
The dwellings Of tho people mr.,
every where. You find them thicke-
on the edge OF the mesa along tui
river, and away out on the plain theS
are grouped around the temples. Bul
II SCENE that there was nothing Il
prevent the inhahilaut from buIldiui
where ho chose, as you Will Hui rum.
OF houses along the canals aui seal
tered about over what must nave been
the cultivated iands, | have no d1uh
but that men built their houses whrr,
they would DO convenient TO ihril
work. The man whose duiy II Whs iu
watch aud Keep the nal In reYail
lived there; the farmer lived con
venient ~ MS lAndt; nut the Tuihr
testify that the most favored place u
dwtll was Ia tue vicinity Of Tho tenn
pie.
There seems 10 have been ~ Wide n
difference between the dwellings OF
this strange people an there IL win u-
~ the present time. Men built house,
According to thrir requirements AMI
| their wealth. You viii hnI small
mOundi, mere heRus Of earth, that ~.
aicAte tuut tU,ra once stood tue hua-
bic Ouv-TyOm abode OF some poor
! mortal. Ia another place not lar away
are larger remains, house ~
many rooms, where no doubt Hvol
man OF wealth, rolling ia al tn
Luxury ui thosU primevd times. ~
| w1uiu bo diliCult t1tay definitely ju 9
| what was the arrigu ul ttuse HnvIn {
nuodcs, but aitor mailing careful
study Of them ueileye they were not
very unlike the b1X.shaped, mud.
! rooted Mexican house Of the pItsout
time. That siyle Of a b Hiding isy fy
! pouulnr IN this oOuutry; iudeud lr1m
/ 81 "a