Iron County register., 1899-12-21
RUINS OF CLIFF DWELLERS.
New and Interesting Discoveries of
the Extinct Race i'm Southern
Colorado Hills.

More remains of the cliff dwellers
were found recently in southern Col
orado by Cecil A. Deane, a United
States deputy surveyor. I'VE found"
he said, extensive ruins of the cliff
dwellers and of prehistoric peoples, and
| doubt if ever before they have been
visited. 1t is in locality where the
scientists and relic hunters never come
and | have no doubt that they will
prove entirely new to the scientific
world. In one locality west of the La
Plata river we found an area of some
5000 or 1000 acres in one body that
was dotted with the ruins of a people
that doubtless subsisted by agricnl-
tural pursuits solely. The land was
literally covered with the ruins of stone
houses. While the original inhabitants
of this vast tract subsisted by means of
farming, yet no evidences of irrigation
were found, and the nearest water at
present is the La Plata or Mancos river.
IN other localities we found similar
evidences of prehistoric race and un-
der the same conditions, indicating that
if they did their farming by means of
irrigation all traces have long ago van
ISI1eU VI clSc tItIc w ICk
than at present. 1t may be possible, too,
that in the past generations there was
more rain in that section and that it
was not then, as it is now. an arid re-
gion.
''The surface is now covered with
dense growth of sage brush and of
pinon or cedar trees. In parts it is al
most impossible for man to make his
way. In surveying dense forest was
discovered the ruined walls of one
house that originally must have been
several stories high. The walls were
massive, indicating that it was more
than a single story. The stone that
has fallen out of its place forms Pile
over ten feet in height and is strewn
about everywhere.
This house must have been one a.
great Importance to the people of that
day. 1t may have been one of their
great temples or it may have been
community house. 1t is. of course, en-
tirely speculative as to its use, but it's
immense size would indicate that it
vas not an ordinary dwelling. In places
parts of the wall are exposed, just rs
it was builded by the people who long
ago passed away, leaving only the re-
mains of their buildings to indicate to
the present generation that they have
lived. 1t is probable that a system.
attic and careful search in the vicinity
of these ruins and an exploration O.
the ground would bring to light many
evidences of the people that would shed
much light on their modes of life and
on their history. We, of course, had no
time for this work, as we were taken up
entirely by surveying.
"Inside of the walls to the house of
which I have just spoken large pinor
trees are now growing, which is another
indication of the antiquity of the ruins.
Large cedars, too, are growing within
and all about the ruins. The forest
where we found the big house is dense,
the trees being large growth, and is
practically inaccessible.
"In another locality we found the
homes of the cliff dwellers. They were
built of stone and perched, eerie-like.
on the beetling cliff, hundreds of feet
above the bed of the canyon, and they
can only be reached by means of ropes
reaching down from the top of the
almost vertical iffs."-Denver Repub-
lican