Arizona republican., 1896-01-08
THE MOUND OF DEATH.
An EthnoEogist Makes
 Some Discoveries.
Legend Of the Moqui Tribe of
 Indians.
Centuries Ago a Horrible Massacre Occurred or the Borders
 Of Arizona.

St. Louis Globe Democrat: Slaugh- terings in this country like those in Armenia; a Christian village wiped out in a single night and the people burned and tortured. The idea seems incredible
 Yet such a massacre, in which more than 600 people lost their lives, oc- cured in northeast Arizona in the year 700. The site of the martyr vil- lage is marked by a great heap, which is known to the Indians today as the Mound of Death" Up to now, how ever, nothing has been known defi- nitely about this mound The old Spanish records spoke of the destruc- tion of the town of Awatobi, at the period mentioned, by seven other MOqui towns that combined to attack it, but there was no other information, save such as could be derived from aboriginal legends But an investiga- tion set on foot by the bureau of eth nology has brought everything to light, and digging in the mound has revealed plenty of evidence respecting the tragic catastrophe.
 Ethnologist J. Walker Fewkes has just returned to Washington from the investigation. During the last sum mer and autumn he has been engaged in a general examination of ruins in the neighborhood of the present Moqui villages. There are seven modern vil- lages of these Indians who number about 2,O00 souls. Formerly they were much more numerous than at present, occupying perhaps one-fourth of Ari- zona. All around khem are mounds which are the remainss of towns de serted and extinct. Of'these the most remarkable are the ruins of AWatobi and Sikyatki
 Awatobi signifies Place of 4.he Bow People" According ito the Mouui legend it was destroyed because wiz ards lived there. The people of thA1 town welcomed the Spanish priests and accepted the Christian religion. From this cause arose much trouble. annoying things happened that the seven other villages decided to wipe out Awatobi. They combined in a night assault, when most of the men of Awatobi were engaged in religious exercises in a subterranean ceremonial chamber. The invaders, being ad- mitted by treachery through the gates surrounded the underground chamber and, having cut off all means of escape for the occupants, threw blazing flag gots down upon them. They also cast in quantities of red peppers to add to the tortures of the burning victims Most of the people in the town were massacred, though the children and a few of the women were saved.
 Dr. Fewkes made up his mind to dig into the mound of desth If there was any truth in the legend, he ought to find evidence He persuaded an aged Indian who, seemed to be well acquainted with all the traditions of the tribe, to accompany him to the ruins of Awatobi, and point out the approximate location of the 'k.ya.'' or ceremonial chamber, referred to in the story. Then, wih the assistance of a force of natives, digging was be- gun. To remove the debris and su- l perlncumbent sand of the mound was a big job, but the labor was well re- Warded, for the excavation at length disclosed the walls of the "kiva." It was room of large size and at ,ahe bottom were found great quantities of human bones, evidently representing scores of individuals. Many of the bones had been charred by fire. In short, it was demonstrated that ,.he legend was no idle tale Here, caught like so many rats in trap, perhaps nearly 100 men had met their fate under conditions the most horrible that could well be imagined Not far away, near the gate of the town, Dr. F'eWkes found evidences of another massacre, immense numbers of human bones forming ghastly accumulation. In this place, as in the ceremonial chamber, the bones were mixed up higgledy-piggledy, in such manner as to preclude the notion of mere burial. It was a case Of prcmiscuous slaughter, bloodthirsty and ruthless. Among the Moqui the dead are buried ordinarily with the most respect and even reverence, being laid in the graves with ceremonies as elaborate as those which prevail among Chris tians.
 Dr. Fewkes obtained 9 complete story of the massacre from an old woman of the village Of Walpi, whose maternal ancestor was one of the few that escaped destruction on that fatal night. She said that Awtobi was quite large town. In fact, according to the Spanish mission records, it had 800 inhabitants.