Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-03-22
THE CLIFF JEWELLERS
A Visit to the Interesting Santa
Clara Ruins By An Arch
aeologist.
ARE WONDERFUL REMAINS
Thousands of People Inhabited the Cliff
Dwellings, At One Time Ruins Of Pre-
historic Stone Houses--A Civil
lied People,


his article, unable to practice his pro
fession by@reason of growing deafness
has for the last thirteen years made {
study of archaeology. During that time
I have investigated practically every
thing of note east of the Mississippi, in
GLIDING the shell mounds of Florida; al
so in Europe, North Africa and Mexi
co. AS l follow this pursuit solely TO
my w pleasure and instruction, l have
always Stunned rather than sough
publicity. My experience here at Santt
Fee, however. has been so surprising ant
astounding to me that l feel it a dut!
to give my impressions to the public
All the more as the people of Santa F.
themselves seem to be ignorant Of thu
nature of the region in which they live
NOT PLANNED AT FIRST.
1t was not a part of my winters pro
gram to visit Santa Fe, lying as it doe'
1000 feet high and off the beaten track
Having spent practically two winters il
Mexico or on it's borders. l thought thu
sight of a few adobe huts more or les!
not worth the discomfort of the cold fol-
a whole month.
A HISTORICAL CITY.
came to Santa Fe from Ell Paso sole
ly to see the collection of New Mexico
archaeology owned by the Hon. L
Bradford Prince. ex-governor of the ter
ritory, the fame Of which had reached
my ears even in that far-off city. Thu
excellent but badly arranged collection
of the Historical Society I had never
heard of. That there were any cliff
dwellings within 500 miles Of the place
1 did not dream. / have learned thai
during the last month that, historically
for it's magnificent mountain scenery
and, above all. for it's archaeological
interest, it Is one of the chief cities o.
all the world. ranking equal to anything
in Mexico or Europe, and hardly yield
ing in interest to Egypt or Pompeii.
THE CLIFF DWELLINGS.
When l was told there were some cliff
dwellings, near Santa Fe, up at Santa
Clara. l debated whether they were
worth the bother of a visit. Nobody
could or would give me any definite in
formation as to their extent, etc. I reat
Mrs. Wallace's pleasant book, 1.-THE
Land of the Pueblos," while in Ell Paso
I cannot now recollect whether they are
the same seen by her or that she def
nitely located them, but l do remember
strongly her theory that they coult
have had no other reason for being Their,
than the desire of secrecy and to escape
observation by enemies. Accompanied
by your townsman, A. L. Morrison, Jr.
I went to see them. I expected in som
narrow gorge or crevice in the noun
tains to see a few holes dug into the
rocks about like bear dens made by
frightened fugitives to escape from
powerful enemies, the smoke on the
walls about the only thing to prove they
had ever been occupied by human be.
lllSc, L jill NV "oAN VA lIlIlfLlAlo ~
a great people, the shell of a great city
as thrilling in interest as the ruins OF
Rome or Carthage, or the buried cities
of Africa or the pyramids Of San Juar
or Cholula, in Mexico. I will describe
them as they appeared to me-. Espanols
is a little American village of about 1Ot
inhabitants, on the Rio Grande river
about twenty-eight miles north of San.
ia Fe.
SANTA CLARA.
Two miles from that place is the pop.
ulous Indian pueblo of Santa Clara
Near it the little stream of water called
Santa Clara river runs into the Ric
Grande. I would hardly call it's valley
miles wide a canon, although there are
deep canons enough in the neighborhood
worthy of the name. Nine miles up that
valley from Santa Clara village are the
cliff dwellings. The mesa on both sides
Of the valley is probably about $500 feet
above the level Of the Rio Grande.
A GREAT TABLELAND.
At n time the cliff dwelling region
was n great tableland of soft sand
stone. Outside of that region of sand.
stone there are no cliff dwellings. The
flight of millions of years has worn a
broad, gently sloping valley, for the
most part about 700 or 800 feet deep. in
to that sandstone, leaving at places
perpendicular cliffs, at others great fiat
topped tables Of whitish yellow sand
stone of about that height. The tops of
those great tables are Is fiat and level
as a billiard table. Those cliffs ranged
usually In narrow terraces, are honey
combed with the abodes of human be-
ings, looking at = distance Of miles pre-
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