Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1900-06-10


 scient tist to visit the ruin for pur- poses of scien tific discovery, and he only explored two rooms of the an cient pueblo. The cliff on which the unexplored and unnamed ruin stands, rears it's lofty head 1000 feet above the surrounding country. Four hundred feet up this cliff and between ledges, are also the habita- tions of ancient Cliff Dwellers, built no one knows how many centuries ago. Io the soft pumlce stone they burroWed homes for their families. Room after room was hewn out un- til the rooms were four or five deep. As population increased the Cliff Dwellers climbed to the top Of the mesa, upon which they built a com munal home of elaborate propor- tons, 400 feet above the shelf upon which thelr caves opened. This mesa is nearly a mile wide and mile and half long. On this pla.. form of solid rock stand the runs of d building 240x300 feet. It was built of adobe and blocks of stone, quarried several miles from the pue- bio and carried by human hands up the sides Of the cliff distance of l 1000 feet. The rooms were rcofed with timber, and it is believed that the pueblo was three stories high, built much in the same mauner as the many ancient puebos that stand intact today and have stood for cen turies. These pueblos are veritable "houses of lofts. They are built in tiers with terraces, each story being a little narrower than the lower one, and tapering off to the top, the intervening space being used for a porch or balcony. The first story is not occupied, and has no opening, except from the top. 1t is used as storeroom, and is inn pregnable. The top of the first story is reached by ladder. In times of danger tbe ladder is pulled up, the sides of the wall can not be scaled. and the pueblo becomes an l impenetrable fortress at least 10 ancient methods ot warfare.
 Dr. Cole estimates that the un known pueblo near Espanola had not less than 1600.rooms in the main building, with population of 5000 to 5000 dwelling in the immense pueblo, in addition to those who dwelt in the cliff caves.
 Today the ancient structure is a mass of ruins. It has vanished llke the hundreds of others of which there are only traces. Whether it's walls have been blown down by storm, or shattered by earthquake, or aoan- doned to the ruthless and pitiless elements of time, no one krows, or I perhaps will ever know. Even the Indian tribes that dwell ia the vi. cinity know nothing even ty tradi- tion of the cliff dwellings,, and the Cliff Dw ellers are gone and forgot. ten race, who have only left their foot prints in the sands of time"
 Thousands of visitors who are largely ignorant of the attractions and wonders of their own country, mage annual pilgrimeges to Europe and spend millions of dollars Tn the Old World every year. Some go for pleasure and instructions others because 1t is fashionable. Even American archaeological! and eth biological societies are spending much time and money in explora- tions in Europe and Egypt countries that have been ex plored for hundreds of years while almost at their very doors, with no ocean to cross, lie ruins as ancient aud antique, and as full of interest and information as the ruins of Egypt.
 Arizona as we'll as New Mexico con tains many relics aud ruins of prehistoric race. There are the Moqni pueblos, the i'Seven Cities of Cibola,o Casa Grande Gan ancient city of the deadA and the buried ruins of the salado valley where a huge city once thickly inhabited, lies buried in the sands Of centuries For natures natural wonders the Old World can present nothing to 1 IL ! L.