The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-13
MESA UAs INHABITED.
Professor Ltbbey Was Mistaken About the
 Enchanted Tableland.

Washington, Sept. 12,-Mr. r. w. Hodge of the bureau of ethnology, Smithsonian institute, has just return ed from an expedition to the enchanted mesa of New Mexico, which has eXcit- ed the interests of scientists and the daring of exploring parties. It was brought into prominence a few months ago by the expedition of Prof. William Libbey of Princeton university, who took pe-throwing mortars, huge kites, balloons and tons of apparatus to scale this hitherto inaccessible table land. The purpose of the investigations has been to determine whether the summit of the mesa was at one time inhabited by the prehistoric Acoma Indians. Prof. Libbey reported no evidences of early occupancy. MT. Hodges explora- tions have brought good results, how ever, for after sealing the Mesa he spent some time on the summit, found number of fragments of pottery, ar rows, shell bracelets, stone axes, etc., establishing conclusively that the top of the Mesa was at one time in habited.
 | Mir Hodge was sent by the bureau of ethnology to examine 8 series of ruins in western New Mexico and to attend the snake dance of the Mold Indians. This done, he was directed to proceed to the Mesa Escanada and scale it's precipitous walls in any way he saw | fit
 He procured an extension ladder com prising six sections of six feet each, to- gether with an amply supply of rope, and proceeded to the mesa on Septem- Der 3, accompanied by Major George H. Pratt, deputy United States surveyor at Laguna, New Mexico, who is famil- far with that section. MT. A. c. Vro- man of Paradena, Sal, who acted as photographer of the expedition, MT. H. c. Hoyt of Chicago, and two Laguna Indians.
 The mesa was deemed to be 431 feet from the western plain to the top of the highest pinnacle, and the talus at the base of the cleft PA feet above the plain. The climb was without any seri- ous difficulty, until the party reached a great sand stone. The ladders were hauled section by section to this point by means of the ropes, then fitted to- gether and raised against the cleft. Mr. Hodge ascended to the top, and climbing over the slope immediately above succeeded in flashing the top of the ladder to a huge bowlder that had fallen from above and lodged on the terrace some twenty feet from the sum- init. The ladder was then ascended by the remainder of the party and the top l bn to init took exactly two hours and quar- ter.
 The explorers had not been on the summit of the mesa five minutes be- fore Major Pratt picked up fragment of ancient pottery, which indicated clearly that the mesa had been visited at any rate, in former times and that Prof. Libbey was mistaken in his con- clusions.
 During the afternoon and the next day MT. Hodge examined the ground carefully, while Major Pratt made a survey of the mesa and Mir Vromar secured a number of photographs. Sev- eral potsherds, two stone axes (broken) fragment of shell bracelet, and a stone arrow point were the chief evi- | dences or former occupation or the crest.
 All vestige of the ancient trail as cending the talus, and continued thence to summit by hand and foot holds ir the solid rock, have been obliterated but some traces of the holes remain This verification of an Indian tradition notable for inherent evidence of accu- racy is peculiarly gratifying to students of anthropology.
 Prof Libbey's ladder was discovered still lashed in place above the crevasse MT. Hodge researches will arouse great interest among American ethnologists and archaeologists inasmuch as they are said to show that Indian tradition should not be dismissed as merely my thical after only casual exploration.