Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-09-10
THE MANCOS CLIFF DWELLIN is.
Rains cisiraop



dwellings gained go to u M. la a
mystery. Approach from above Be-
impliribie On account q the over
hanging clln. From below. uue may
now gain access only BY sklituliy
throwing a long iaFso over n stump
ani climbing o. hand over hand. Paw1
Of ihfsc walls have fallen into decay,
the buiidlns material lying In a pile OF
broken dlbria
our progress now became excessively
difficult our only trail was the dry
course Of the torrent. aud this had been
entirely dcnudcd 81 soil. huge bouiders
only remained. The constant process
Of stepping from one Of these toan1lhcr
and the str0ng EFFORT required 90 climb
twenty feet or more 60 the top 81 mnn-
Htrous rocks, began 60 tell on our
strength. And the thiraU We had had
no water from the day before. and the
heat WIS consuming us. But We were
spurrcd on b. the hope that two or
three hollowH m the rulioy of which
our guide told ~. might Ttili hold lit
Tie uncvapurutgd ruin-wutcr. soon the
thirst began 60 produce faintncss. We
were unable TO walk moro than hun
drcd yards withou, lying down and
painting. ~ this point Tor the bcnc-
~ ~ science. l began 20 record the an
fcrcnt stages In the development Of In.
tense thirst recorded the following.
!, Intense longing Cor water, imaTin-
alton ~ all the pleasant drinking one
Il accustomed 20. IN my cuHo lemon.
AIDE, milk. water. soda water. tuo hecr).
2, extreme nervousness. 4 dlmneas and
uncertainty ~ vision; 8. floating spcckH
before the eyes, G. feeling " utter
encouragement ana despair. NJ we
passed cavity after cavity and found
no water. ~ length We came 90 the
nothing there but soft. fresh mud. The
situation wuH desperate. There seemed
10 be nothing 90 do but TO hasten 60
the ruins We were In search Of. explore
them. and then make that weary four
mile marvh down the canyon, 60 the
brackiah waters % the Manc1a river
II even We had been able 90 reach that
point. IN our exhausted condition. there
n no doubt that We would have drunk
% deeply Of the water az 10 cndanrrr
our lives. The scientific record was
/ progressing most Interestingly. But
unfortunately Tor science our guide. In
his anxiety 60 IND water missed the
way 10 the ruins and led W about for
~ rods too far NJ the canyon. There
W. found. In an almost Nat rock under
an ovcrhnnFlnE cllff. an abundance of
water. II was not very cool. and not
very Inviting. ana bugs were sporting
In u. but II wnH wet Sacrificing our
scientific ambitions We lay down and
drank deeply from our providence
we'll" New life Instant, returned 10
". and We wandered around with con-
siderable alacrity until we found tho
spur % the canyon leading " the great
ruin
Access 10 II IL very dificult The on.
~ way 20 reach u II 60 chamber over
the almost smooth surface Of clin.
whore a false step would mean SURE
death In the gorge below. A. the mos,
difficult point notohes for the fingers
and toes have been cut IN the surface
OF the rock. but these have been oil
most oblkcrnfrd by the action of the
elements. Upon our reaching the top OF
this elif. the ruin burst upon our view.
20 near and 10 Imposing na 60 be al.
most startling. That II has been nptiy
named the "Clln Palace" will be- np.
parent even from the following impor-
feet description.
The recess Of the canyon In which
the ruin stands extends toward the east
from the main gorge, 90 distance OF
about n furlonE. Al ita farthcst ex-
rcmity 10 a most magnificent natural
arch, or uvcfhauEing cllff It, form
cannot be better Understood than BY
imagining the tabernacle roof cut down
the middle from end Ca end. and one
| half OF ~ removed The approximate
dimensions u this monster cave are
/ $50 feet from buirrHF % buffeaa 100
Tot from bottom 81 gorge 10 top o. elm
and 100 feet from front 10 back This
forms three sides and roof for the
great building, The general eaniour "
which IA In tho form Of crescent.
The walls are built ~ liEht-hrown
sandstone. cut into blocks OF about the
size Of an ordinary adobe These
stones are laid ~ Ia adobe mud. which
would rapidly disintegrate IN rain, but
rain under this arch n impossible
one would judge that the building
was erected a. much FOR a fertilization
as for residence purposes This o.
| shown ny me engineering ns we'll No.
the architectural skin manifested In it,
erection. 10 N ~ arranged that even
point on the face commands a direct
View OF the one avenue ~ approach
Furthermore, the front wall 10 relieved
by round ana square towers, provided
with portfolios, In addition 10 the open
Windows Then a tower. erected on the
north side Of the gorge, about hun
drcd yards from the large building
commands view Of a portlon Of tn
main canyon, and u provided with
| portfolios. doubtless 10 enable tn
watchers 20 warn the Inhabitants OF the
main building, OF the approach OF foe
The mason work u very sklllfuL In
erectness OF wall. squareness Of cor
nerz, regularity " outlines, and
amoothncss % pointing, the work COM
parea fayOrahly with our modern stone
masonry This skin il most apparent
IN the circular architecture. The
circles are perfectly regular, and In
some Instances squares are 20 inserted
In the circles o. 20 show some ac-
quaintance with Feometrlcal principles
/ In passing. the remarkable fact may
be mentioned that the walls ~ nearly
an the circular apartments are black.
ened with smoke. while In one OF them
II what appears 10 be an altar. with a
basin below II, rs n 10 catch the blood
OF the sacrInclal victim.
II Is impossible 10 ten how many
rooms or stories there were In tn
building originally, This Ia due 20 thu
fact that the upper portion o. the house
has fallen down, and tho tons OF debris
have not only formed huge land
slide into the gorge, but have done
much toward nlllng up the lower par,
OF the building. Even In the present
| dllapldated condition u the ruin. IL
rooms have been discovered ana ex-
plored. and ID does not require "a
stretch OF the Imagination 20 believe
that the edifice must have consisted
originally OF fully COO rooms Every
] available cubic foot under the great
arch has been utilized In the building.
Tho crumbllnp OF the main walls has
LETT exposed few pieces " rude
masonry, high up IN the back roof Of
the cave: and In the small rooms thus
formed, buzzards and other scavenE-
ing birds Of prey md refuge, These
places can bo reached only by means
d H.