The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-02

drink. had been abundant and OF the best
quality.
The foregoing account i derived from
our investigations. BY the kind aid OF
Mr.. Bourne. as already stated. other and
exceedingly interesting facts are here ad-
ded to complete cur present knowledge Of
these remarkable ruins. The following
notes by Mr.. J. F. Moreau of Scott City.
q gentleman very much interested In the
geology and science Of the plains:
81 visited the ruins on Beaver creek
about March. 1885. ana dug In them.
found a half ear of corn about four
inches long. and also about eight inches
OF charred corn. resting upon the cement
floor. The building contained about four
rooms, with thick walls At one time. /
found pottery. quite a number ef flint ar
row heads. one quite small. about three
quarters OF an inca IN length made OF
agate and very perfect found also a
good deal Of colored pottery. and a half
OF a clam shell about two inches by four
inches which had apparently been cut or
sawed"
I'm hunting for other ruins found two
stones. lying six feet apart. which would
indicate a grave. In excavating we found
the soil very hard. and at a depth % about
eighteen inches discovered charcoal and
burned sticks These were on a small
mound at some distance from the build
ing described.
Just south OF Big Springs we found the
ruins Of another building, the west wall
Of which We thought TO have been an old
altar. This altar appears to have been
cut from the rock while in its original po-
sition. At its base we found what was
thought by DR.. Bond to be a part OF a
human femur. but the bones were 50 bad
ly decayed that Il was impossible 10 say
just what they were. They seemed to
have been partially burned. This build
ing was apparently constructed in much
the same way as the other. This building
was nine by eleven feet in size. the walls
about two feet thick. with one doorway
The stone at the end was eight feet high
by five feet in width"
The following are extracts from a letter
by L. r Starr OF SaIina:
'All that I know Of the ruins on the
Beaver Is what Harris Hathaway told me.
He and Mr.. Stromer while hunting ante
that the prairie dogs had brought TO the
surface kernels of charred corn. 1 never
heard Of there being metallic Instruments
or tools found there. ! do not know OF
any graves having been discovered there
Some one told me that Roack's folks had
found beads and crosses there. South of
the Big Springs. II one will dig down two
or three feet. he will md charcoal and
ashes, indicating a long time for that
amount Of soil TO accumulate over them"
These last mentioned charcoal and
ashes might have been made long before
the building of the structures. inasmuch
as the springs must have been ustd by the
Indians for many years. A letter from
Mr.. G.. ". Hathaway. a gentleman living
few miles north on the Beaver, states
that he first saw the ruins IN January.
lSS2. nd he thought that there were Ave
rooms in them. He knows OF nothing
ever having been found in them except
charred corn and pottery.
How old are these ruins? have spent
the larger part of six seasons on the
plains OF Kansas. since ls7A / have late
~ seen a sod structure that was aban-
doned In the sixties. have seen many
sod houses that have been abandoned
from ten 10 fifteen years. have studied
the effects Of erosion on the various ma
ter.als in this part OF the state. In con-
sideration OF all Of the evidence thus pre-
sented to me have not the slightest hest
tation in saying that the structure ex-
amined could not have been built within
the past seventy-five years, and I do not
think within the present century. The
surface OF the mound examined By US
presents 20 the ordinary eye no evidence
Of structure. The partly disinteEra,ed
masses of stone. largely covered with
buffalo grass. are out % place IN the val
ley away from their outcrops. and mus,
first have attracted attention 20 the
mound. II was the charred kernels az
corn brought 10 the surface by the prairie
dogs which first led TO investigation OF
the ruins
Who constructed these house,? The
inhabitants OF the vicinity have the theory
that they were built by early Jesuits. and
that here was the site Of an early Jesuit
mission. This would explain their origin
admirably; the roomy weli-built dwelling
and a small chapel near by would have
served the purpose a a mission well. Tn
fortunately a gentleman well acquainted
with these matters tells me that there q
no history OF any such mission IN 1vevtsrn
Kansas. and, as 81 - well known. the
JesuitH kept moet faithful histories OF an
their early missions. without such his
toricai evidence the Jesuit theory must
fall fat
Was IL the habltatlon ~ early trappers7
/ think not. The size # the building
shows that il vas the hsbliatson OF a
considerable number Of persons. ana tran
pers and hunters o. the esrfeE days were
not gragarious. u the smaller building
Was really chapel. q r.. Of course. quite
evident that the persons VINO built Il
were not trappers Or hunters.
Was II a colony % Pueblo Indian,- 7
think not. A email number q the Pueh-
los would never have dared % venture
on the grounds OF their more Easlike eye
mica
believe that the structure vas made bv
white men. AMI tia; q was built AZ leas,
a. early as the beginning % the present.
Century. II may have b~sa Coronado
who was here. bul that e q conjecture
II beads and crosses have certainly been
found here. ore ned not hesitate IN a.
oT'blng tas structure 20 Evanlar3a. u7s-
ever they may have been
Whoever 8; Wss Who buB; thes. dwell
inEs ard lived here - long aga. R IS.
think. verr evident that they are TIE o,s-
est sol houses q tss plains. here IN. fiat
place In Kansas where irysgst.onaI arr
culture was prsctced- I b-iisrs hat
ih9rouEh investigation All finally eeesas
Ehs CONTRACTED the tzIlalnEs. % far
but very n;ils has been done. I sail -
very slad = his preliminary sescsipi5oa
c. ne ruins shan ia6Bcs oshsrE % uzde--