Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-10-07

uttulla or the unenfthlhE OF the teinplt'
at Ninevch and the explorations at
Babylon and Thebes have little or ma
knowledge concerning the remains Of
prehistoric communities In the West Of
their own country. In the ella and
Salt River valleys Of southern Arizona
are relies OF mysterious interest which
hafic Investigation. and they arc be-
inE hacked to pieces and carried away
piecemoni. because Americans know IT.
Gle about them and the government
does not care They have been morn
rRwdiy cffacod during the last dozen
years than IN the previous century.
The fnnchman and the farmer are
clearing the land Of prehistoric walls
ana excavations 10 sow wheat and al.
faifa crops. Modern irrigation systems
are demUllshlnF aboriginal masterpieces
OF masonry. aud curio hunters are
hacking tn pieces mural works and
dlrging Into ancient tumba. merely 10
Eet something uncommon 90 keep OF
teu. Every curio store IN the south
west has for sale great heaps OF relies
from Ariaora'a buried cities.
on n broad slipping plain beginning
at the confluence OF the Giln aud salt
rivcrl. furty-two miles from PhmulE.
nrc the Ercatost ruins % the pruhis-
toric towns. Some men Of science say
these towns were
BUILT IN THE STONE ACE
Others nay they existed 1000 years ago.
There are outlines % two towns among
the sandy wastes that must have had
populations OF 5000 ana 90 900 each.
while there nfc e. half dozen other
ruined towns NJ 10000 population.
Their builders had high dcErco NJ
engineering skill. Huge trees were
transported % them from forests sixty
miles away. great masses of stone were
brought from fnr-on qunrrlca. For
about ninety square miles the CHA
Valley IL an aggrvgation OF ruins. IT..
the civilized world. are found through
out the region. These waterways were
built with cxactnees and skin. The
largest hns been sadly torn 90 pieces IN
the last few years by the ranchmen.
but ID etill shows the wonders OF its
construction. II has an average width
OF seven feet, Il IL sixty miles LONG and
u terminates in u reservoir n mile long
By half mile wide. Think ~ the cnor-
nous labor n constructing such % cnn-
al and reservoir with stone implements
and Of carrying the cxcnvatsd earth
away In wicker bnakctHi nut that ~
only one uf seventeen distinct prehla-
torlc irrigation systems In the ella
Valley
The size Of these canals gives some
idea uf the scale On which these people
conducted their agricultural operations.
They constructed an artificial river 90
supply the water which their crops re-
CURED. They grew great quantities of
corn, and they also raised beans nG
well as two or three varieties ~
Equnahcs. Prof MCGEE OF the Slmth-
eonlan Institution thinks q probable
that they kept tho Eunnnco In domcati-
cation, and evidences are found which
INDICATE pretty certainly that they had
turkeys. One may walk Tor miles In
this region and ind every foot NJ the
sandy surface more or less mixed with
pieces of broken pottery. The paint ~
rtill on them. and II not In the least
faded. though they have lain exposed
for centuries.
In the nelFhborhood OF Tempe an
overflow from the ella 81 some distant
period washed against the ruins until
thoy orumhled and were spread out
level with the country. Back ten miles
from the ella river the ground II high
or ana was once tho site OF city. Por.
tionH Of the buried city wall by which
II was protected are atill standing. more
than twenty feet In thickness Inside
are the
MouND-LIKE RUINS
OF the houses, which, being less durn-
Bile, have crumhled. The buildings
must have been very large. for In some
instances the mounds are 900 feet In
length by 200 IN width and twenty In
height. Much Of the country n very
little higher than the present bed u
OF that stream must have flowed Into
basin which formed "A natural r'Hor-
Noir, There was a rise OF about ten
feet AZ one point between the basin aud
che river. and the sandstone formation
shows unmistaknhlo signs OF having
been cut by artificial means perhaps
with tho idea Of assisting the entrance
OF the water by pnlnrglnr the passage,
Five canals lead out of the basin. all on
the south and west, which confirm the
belief that Il was once reservoir
20 store water against the periods OF
drought
The late Edward Bottuino. who
cnme from Albany. n. Y, na poor
drug clerk IN 1865 and made "a fortune
OF several hundred thousand dollars In
the ancient silver mines near Hermoall-
10, Mexico, did more than any one In
the West 20 reveal the wonderful treas
ury OF nnthropological ana archaeology
cal material In these prehistoric
mounds for scientific dlacOvcrora. Mr.
Bottume became an enthuainnt Ia Aztec
lore while he was mining IN MUxico.
and. when he was rich. ho spent many
the vast Held ~ American buried cities
varying from 10000 TO 10000 population.
southwark from Casa Graudc, across
the burning desert OF today 10 the
boundary line between the United
States and Mexico. Unfortunately Mr..
Bottume fell ~ and died before he had
finished his plans Tor dcYoUng half OF
his wealth 90 "a vigorous lnYcAtlEatlon
OF prehistoric remains,
The expedition that worked during
the winters OF iseG-pi-0N under the pat
ronago Of Mr. Hottumc. in the neighhor-
hood OF Mesa, a little town IN the east
srn part OF AlurlcOpu county. revealed
vast possibilities for scientific invchu-
cation In those buried communities.
The site Of the Investigations was what
s. known as the Mesa Grande, or big
upland. between the two principal rlv-
era IA southern Arizona, the ella and
the SAT-. whose combined current finds
vent Ia tho Rio Colorado nc Yuma, one
OF the seven buried cities there is
known as Las Accqulas. II covers an
area nearly two miles and a half
square, and probably once had about
$1,000 people. Exploration shows that
the
GREAT ARTIFICIAL CANALS.
which were It's arteries OF commerce
and agriculture, We're deliberately ter
rnced. Millions OF cohbloatuncs We're
used TO retain the canal banks. An ar
my OF thousands OF men and women
must have spent months, perhaps years,
in carrying loads of stones In wicker
baskets on their backs from the dis
tant places 20 the banks The largest
canal leading to Las AcpqualH consist