The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-06-11
THE ENCHANTED MESA
TRACES or nABITATIoN FOUND
ON TOP OF KATZIMo.


Mr.. Hodge Found Few shards and
stone Weapons, but the Rocky Mesa
top Has Been swept Hare BY Many
storms.
=. W. Hodge Of the chronological bu-
reau, writes for the current number 1
Of the Century an account Of his AS
cent Of the Enchanted Mesa. made last
September. Mr.. Hodge says: The
rocky floor Of the mesa-top had been
swep, and carved and swep, again by |
the storm-demons Of centuries since the |
"ancients" Of the fieetlng forms We saw
on the roofs In the moonlight Of the /
night before had descended the ladder |
trail In the early morn Of that fateful |
day Although the afternoon was :till |
young. I at once saw that the remain
ing hours Of daylight would not suf-
hce for thorough examination o. the
summit. Directing the two Lagunas
below 10 gather together our blankets.
and a sufficient supply Of provisions
for a couple Of meals. a reconnaissance
was begun. and in a few moments
fragment Of greatly weather-worn an
Client pottery was picked mp. The
storm Of the previous day. which drove
the Indians from their religious cere-
monies. and gave birth 10 the glittor-
Ing little pools In the yerdant valley
below. afforded facilities for obserya-
ton on the summit that otherwise
would not have been possible. Here
and there In the rocky floor "pot-holes"
had been eroded by wind and rain. and
were now filled with water: sut no.
where else on the entire summit had
the rain found resting.place. over the
brink II had poured In scores Of cat
aracts. carrying with II stones and
such earth as II managed 10 gather
from the scanty store yet remaining.
The mesa-top was once covered with a
fairly rich vegetation. pinyons and ce-
dars predomlnating; but most of these
now stand gaunt and bare. or lie prone
and decaying on the bleak surface.
their means Of subsistence having been
long washed away. few dozen more
storms. and the others must inevitably
perish But the examination OF the
surface OF Kaizimo was not essential
10 a determination Of the fact that Il
was formerly mantled with a thick
stratum Of earth, the talus had already
told the story that on the very site Of
their village the inhabitants Of Katzi-
mo had an abundance OF material with
which 10 make the balls Of adobe mud
described by one Of the Spanish chron-
iclers OF the sixteenth century. The
last remnants OF their houses. together
with the fragments Of their household
utensils. save such a. We found. passed
over the brink generations ago: but
one may still find an abundance OF the
latter scattered through the detritus
which In places Ia piled halfway mp the
mesa sides We built a huge hre
around one Of the gaunt specters that
stood about us with outstretched arms;
soon there was a mighty blaze. and a
shout OF approval reached us from the
two LAgunas below The next morn
ing. while aiding Major Pradt In max
ing a survey Of the mesa-top. was not
a little surprised to find three Acoma
Indians among US They were by ma
means friendly at first; for. having
seen our fire the night before. they
had come 10 the top by means OF our
ladders 70 learn the cause Of this I'M
usual burst OF fame from their an
cestral home site. and 10 Dust the In
truders from the height. The leader
who was the war chief Of the tribe. and
a medlelne-man. asked our business
We told him. The natives became In
terested and said that their people had
feared We we're after their land Belns
assured we had no desire to make our
future home on their dry sand-dunei
or dried mesas, but that We were mere.
ly looking for pottery fragments. tbs
chief expressed serious doubt that ans
relies could be found. inasmnch nj
many ages had passed since his PEG
pie lived on the great table. and he be-
lleved all evidences OF former occu
pancy had been swept or washed away
The interest OF the three Indians wal
quite apparent when showed then
the fragment OF pottery picked up by
Major Pradt the evening before. anS
they manifested no unwillingness I,
search for other potsherds when mad,
the suggestion. They were engaged II
! this quest only a short while when thel
returned with several fragments Of ex
, tremely ancient. greatly worn earthen
! ware, large projectlle-point. a por
ton Of a shell bracelet. and parts o
two grooyed stone axes. all llchen
J fiecked with age. and still mols, from
contact with the ground thorough!
satisfied with the outcome. decided
to bring the work to a close as soon a
the survey. the Photographic work
, and the examination OF the general iea
lures OF the mesas summit we're con
, cluded.
I Wine Aged In Few Hours.