Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1899-01-25
THE CLIFF-DWELLERS

THE GLlff-DWELLERS.
promised to tell you something about
the cliff dwellers W hose homes, empty and
silent, are everywhere about me. But really
there is little for me to tell. The most
eminent psychologist wanders in a laby
rinth OF doubt vi hen discussing this singu-
lar race of beings, as much as does the I'M
lettered neophyte. They have no anthem
tic history, and when the story of the past
is invoked in their. behalf, even the voice
of tradition is dumb. No data of their
time can be found, so the period of their
existence, their habits, and the race to
which they belonged, are merely matter
Of conjecture.
The perfectly rectangular room carved
or drilled many feet into the perpendic
ular face of solid mountain, five hundred
feet or more from the bottom of it, the
door way of exactly the same shape but
hewn in the centre of the front elevation,
specimens of pottery, the art of whose
painting and carved ornamentation is lost,
scattered everyw here over the floor, the
obsidlan arrow heads-all these, though
vo.eeless, point to a superior race of be-
ings that lived many, many centuries pre-
historic to our time of civilization.
There are evidences also that they We're
physically powerful, though diminutiye.
Their pottery, specimens of which are
NOW before me, are SO painted that the
pigment stains far into the wall of he yes
sSl and seems to be entirely for orna-
mental purposes, for though the figures
be heroglyphics, 10 language known to
linguist, has ever been translated there
from. The most of these vessels seem
made for ter-carriers, though many OF
them are Tor purposes unknown to US
Possibly they We're used at the sacrifice,
for their sdcriticial affairs are still seen IN
all their rock hewn and darksome caves
In far corner of their houses may be
found evidences OF nre for their comfort
but no provision is made for the egress of
smoke, and the smudge ON the wall may
antedate the time of the elia-dwellers
take ii for granted that most people know
that fire and its uses are, when compared
to the primordial genus homo of compar
ative recent discovery and utility.
You observe how perfect in sy' ,uetry,
is this obsidian arrow head that | send
you, now delicately the power OF graylta
ton Is measured and balanced in il, ther, :
by adapting it to maintaining velocity
and duration of flight at the maximum ,
by what exact precision each corrugation
and furrow and indentation is made; how
nice the edge on every beard like barb
and jay, and the direction toward which
they trend Ask your most accomplished
matchmaker i'll Ellsworth if, with the
most delicate and recent instruments at
hand, his ingenuity would not be sorely
tax, d TO make one like it. Remember
that in those days there were no instru-
ments of iron or steel, for the Iron Age"
was many centuries after the time of the
iff-dwellers.
1t is difficult even now to say where
they obtained this obsidian, for the near
est point that l know is on the west line
of the National park-more than 1900
miles from here, but | remember there is
large mountain not far from Mammoth
geyser there, though Prescott in his Con
quest of Mexico speaks of its being found
in the scoria and cooled lava of Popocate-
petl Obsidian, though scarce and OF sin
gular appearance, is not OF much value, be-
cause, | suppose, the uses to which it is
now put are so limited. 1t is black OF
color, and, except when found in thin
splinters, is opaque. 1t is composed OF
silica mica and other granite substances
chemically annealed, and forged into
huge masses and there vitritied by the in
tense heat of the volcano.
You will notice how symmetrically the
furrow is cut near the base of the arrow
head, which is the point of vantage by
which it is fastened to the shaft of the
arrow and is made, 50 it is said, by fast
ening a thin rawhlde thong horizontally
across between two upright posts with a
half hitch in the thong Into this loop
the end of the arrow head is slipped and
thus with rapid movement to and fro,
together with endless patience and mus
cular WEAKNESS, is the sulcus worn to the
required depth The above story seems
somew hat apocryphal, I'll admit, when
we consider that in some places these ar
row heads are found by the thousand, but
we must remember these little people were
as numerous vyv4 ,i.is sast 4vs ivI. 40
"leaves in Vale Am brosia'
Look at TIE arrowhead again and con-
template, if you can, though the brain
reels with the task, how many long, long
centuries have come and gone; how many
dynasties have risen, waxed to their eli
max of tinsel glory and gone down to
dust and oblivion, how many times the
whole earth has been used for sepulture