The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-07-29
THROUGH The AIR.
PeriIOuS Method Used by Pro-
fessor Libby
In Reaching the Top Of the En-
chanted Mesa.
LEGEND SWEPT AWAY.
No Indications That the Rock
Was Ever Inhabited.
A Large Collection of Speci-
mems Was Made.

Albuquerque, July 29.-Professor Libbey
of Princeton college and those who ac-
companied him to the enchanted mesa
have returned. The party reached the
foot of the enchanted mesa at Lagune,
sixty miles from this city last Wednes-
day morning. Every preparation had been
made for the ascent there were great
kites and balloons ready for use, but it
was decided to throw a line across the
top of the mesa with gun, borrowed for
the purpose from the United States life
saving service.
The first shot fired was too low. The
second, carrying a steel wire, went over
the summit, but took two days to draw
the cord which was attached to a longer
rope over the rough rocky surface of the
spot described by Coronado in his report
to the King of Spain nearly three centur-
les ago as being the strongest natural
fertilization in the known world.
When the ropes were made fast a block
was arranged, and a great chain of
boards, twenty feet across, was fastened
to it. A huge rock was sent to the sum-
init without tipping, and then Professor
Libbey made the ascent. It was danger
Gus, exceedingly so. AS the professor
came close to the summit he had to hang
on by one hand, while with the other he
disengaged the ropes of the chair, which
had caught in the rough rocks. The re-
mainder of the party then made the as
cent, and were assisted the surface by
the professor.
Next a great difficulty presented itself
in the form of a gaping chasm. This was
crossed on the ropes, and the ten acres
of the surface of the rock were explored
by the daring scientists
They spent the entire day there, search
ing for the evidences of the village, said
to have existed 500 years ago, but there
was nothing to indicate that it ever had
existed in reality. There were nonu-
ments of rock such the Indians built
in the ages that have gone by, but that
was all.
There some pools of water that
had collected, but whether they were
by the action of small particles of
rock carried by the winds or whether
they were in reality constructed by the
Acoma Indians in the centuries that have
gone down into the silence of the past is
not known.
Search was made for the bones of the
human beings which the legend of the
haunted rock describes having been
starved to death there, but they We're not
found.
1t is assumed by botaEists that this
great rock, which rises over 700 feet rom
the surface of the desert sand protruded
out of the ancient sea that covered this
section of the world in the distant past,
and that the flora is the same today
it was in those days, when the world was
young and of which history has no ac
count. Specimens, such there were.
were collected, but whether they belong
to this day and age or to the realms of
the prehistoric world is not known.
This rock, enchanted or haunted, it
has been called by the Acoma Indians,
has been the center of scientific interest
for years. Numerous attempts have been
made to mount it, only to be doomed to
failure.
The legend of the Indians is that the
summit of the rock was once reached by
a natural ladder in a pillar. On this
place the old and decrepit were kept to
shield them from the attack of hostile
foes, while the men were in the valley at
work. Once a great torrentiaL rain came.
like cloudburst, and ate away the sandy
foundations of the pillar, and the inhabi-
tants on the rock, several hundred in
number, starved to death.
1t had even been asserted that the place
was inhabited and the ascent by the Lib
hey party was made to set at rest the
rumors and determine once and for all
whether or not the stories as told were
true
Professor Libbey started out with the
theory that this legend probably had
some basis in fact. In case he were right
in this surnise, it was reasonable to sup
pose that the summit held treasures of
the rarest archaeological value. Recent
developments had led Professor Libbey to
suppose that traces of the old Aztec civ
ilization would be found on the plateau,
or, if not that, of a similar civilized peo-
pie. Owing to the fact that the mesa is
| in the heart of the gold country, it was
thought not improbable that quantities
of the precious metal would also be
found. AS the sound of running water
was to be plainly heard from the base
of the cliff. it supposed there must
be a lake of considerable size somewhere
on the summit.
An effort was made to scale the cliff
twelve years ago, but the Indians sue
| ceeded in driving off the little band of
| curious whites who made the attempt.
Professor L.ibbey's party was prepared
| to successfully face the Acomos. now re-
! duced to about 600, and was looking for
| ward to the real difficulty of the under
| taking in the scaling of the cliff itself.
They had several plans for reaching the
| summit One was to use Eddy's kites
| and attempt to carry line over the cliff
| by this means. In case that failed, they
| intended to use rockets, such are en-
| ployed by the lffe-saving service, to get
| a line over the summit. Once line was
| got over the mesa. stronger lines and
| eventually a cable equipped with a block
| and tackle were to be secured that
men and even horses could be hoisted to
| the summit of the cliff. The latter meth
| Cd was the one that proved successful
1t may be that new specimens of fora
| have been found that existed in the pre-
! historic world, but sufficient examination
| has not yet been made to determine this
| fact. The Mesa Encantada is said to be
| the only spot on the face of the globe
where the flowers of the period of long
/ ago can exist without the contamination