The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-05-30
THE CLIFF DWELLE ERS.
Interesting Theory to Account for
Their Lofty Homes.

Protected Against FIoods-Warned by tho
Destruction OF Their People, ti,s
Survivors May Have Chosen
tho Cllfra Tor Safety.
Important explorations, which are all
the time going on in Colorado, Arizona
and New Mexico, in connection with
tho remarkable structures known IA
''clif dwellings," have not yet resulted
in any discoveries concerning the rca-
son why they were built and inhabited.
These cliff dwellings,, says the New
York Herald, are found in very largo
numbers in the rock bluffs that wall
in tho principal canyons Of the territory
where the Colorado, Manc0s and other
rivers make their way toward the sea.
The most important Of these situations
is the Mesa Verde, Il plateau extending
through southwestern Colorado and
New Mexico, and rising to II height Of
from one thousand to two thousand
feet from it's base, which is, again, sew
en- thousand to eight thousand feet
above the sea level. 1t was very we'll
described four or five years ago by DR..
w. II. Birdsull in u scientific Dublicn-
ton. The area investigated for cliff
dwellings, is about three hundred square
miles.
This mesa, or tablcland, is covered
with scrub oak aud ccdurs, and broken
by perpendicular canyons, SO that it
looks as though the ground had been
split into innumcrablc assures. In
certain spots the ovcrhanginm rock,
which seems to run in lnvprS hos unoLn
GailcrlrS, varying between II few feet
III extent ana as much as a thousand
lrct III length and fifty III width. On
.nesc narrow lcdgrS the cliif dwcllcrS,
ike swallows, fastened their stone
houses ana the question Is often asked:
why old they build SO hiGh?'
INC only answer that science vouch-
safes IS the simple one that "thcy built
where they found cavcrns in which to
build That this answer Is insufficient
is shown by tho fact that the base Of
these canyons has, from time to time,
afforded cave accommodations for diff
ferent races, while more than Il thou
sand square miles, not far from this
very locality, but ON the lower lands,
show signs Of occupancy at some time
pV hundreds OF cities and towns, pre-
histor.i and forgotten. The answer
given is, therefore, not sufficient to
satisfy the mind.
And certainty it mNSt have taken
some powerful motive to induce the
prehistoric races {" climb 50 high for
awclllnE place, whom tnii could have
ocen onlamcd at In" expense of SO
'',"on 'eeS 'ro"n'c and danger, by
'h,'S '''cnl Si'hPlH Whcrc ten" and
,.'N , W." VI '"'"n'''"" "io aO some
1~' -" VI 'htcc .'looSaiio lreI lower
l." ''c'''iS 'iie reaHoh lor lhclr
Ivy "o'''s 81 WIS .haI thcy hVcd ana
- "'i,' - '.' " pcriot lar ahlGrlof 10 THAT
o,,';'. .a' a"u "hch inc cNistlng
r,,,>''t .i'o navy "ec,i "iacly dll-
,nGt f.,. ~, 'icsc loe' MUGS are
,.n,r,,, - ~, w. :i''" oi "c"H' o'.
f,,..h ,,,.,+,, .,t .l,'', "''c'ie' ol
mrltnd snn,,, ,,,.,, ~, t,', .,' ',nI ,'', ana
yn,r j., tln rnnI:s 'f' N' ~ ''''''"S
W;nd;n,, ,ro,,,,d t,, ,,,,n
wall hv norrn,v 1,I,,o. ,,l i, ", n''ee.
1nnutb o,,nn. ,,,>l,,,n % ,,',,. IN GU
;no ur,v,rI Lnroa,7, .o"
1cInes brIn,v ,,;sn tln ,,,;,,s "" ,:n, ,:,w
,,v,n ,rho,, - g. ,., i,1
;ncc ,,rn.nrt 90, ,,,,,on wy -
,,,,;nt, :, ,ru,,, .I 1:,.I W ''n'i,''
rnr,, v,l;,l, n,,;,1a,t,, fa,,,>1n', 80 -. '''o
of tho ln,vnr ,I,ssae: at,,n~ ~" t,'. 'lo''c'
rnmn1ot, str,,nt,,ro.,o ,,to',o .a, .'ioo s "ie'
thn rlin. ,hnvn ,nd .,,'',,1 '"','' >, t, s.",''
;,,ol i,,,, s,I.t,t:.,, ,,,. w
70 od,nt thrm.rlvc. "a ,Ln .hn,,,, 80 't',tno ,'n
caves and ,n 1hr 1;r,i,,ti,n.. lf ~ '',na" VIZ
In some ;n.,,,,n,a ,,,n ,,:', 'i,''1o ri
buil1inrs ind;c,tn ,n,,,,,'. ,,,' w. '''."1
honscs Of l,rrr ovtn,,, wv, >',i"''I, "a,
hnilt of hlc,I.. ~ .a,,I,'t,,> 1" a." "'i
cut into regular forms, laid in an adobe
cement, and the crcviccs between filled
IN with stone chips Where curvci in
the gallery existed the walls were also
curved, or anglcd, to ntiliz" the space
Anyone who will take The trouble to
read and cOllato the existing Writinr;