Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-06-14
THE AGE OF CLIFF JEWELLERS.
Important Discovery BY Denver Scen-
fists

That the civilization of the Cliff Dwell
ers must be among the oldest in The world
has been shown by the researches Of Il
party of Denver scientists, headed by
Rev. c. NJ. Cobern. The party drove
southwark from Durango, Col, through
the mountainous desert district, twenty
two miles to Gallup, y. W.. and every
whore found traces of the mighty popu-
lation that once inhabited the now desc
late waste. Great wide roads were traced
running over the hills as straight as mod
ern engineers could survey them Foun-
dations of once vast buildings were found
to contain immense blocks of stone as
large as any cut in this age. OF the dis
coveries at one of the ancient ruins eN-
cavated, DR. Cobefn says.
THE work and design was just the same
as in an old city of Palestine 400 years
before Christ, which | helped to dig UP.
Beneath this house, which was a large
one of 425 rooms we dug down twenty
seven feet and all the way were signs Of
human habitation. But Prof. Cutler de
clared that all these layers, first of char
coal and then of gravel, had been laid in
order by water showing a period of oc-
cupancy far greater than that shown by
the similar accommodations in Egypt which
are not nearly so thick"
Il am entirely converted" says Or. Co
bern, from the theory / neld that the
cliff jewellers dated back only 800 years or
so. The date may have been anything
beyond 1900 years back. l am prepared
to recognize any revision Of these esu-
mates back to 900 years before the Chris
tian era When we were a Aztec, n. NJ,
We discovered one indication OF the great
age of the ruins which had been hitherto
overlooked. 1t was a road, running as
straight az any modern engineer could
have run it, from the great cliff palac"
to the stone ouarries, miles away. 1t has
been so long since that road was used
that on the side of the mesa the river
has changed its course, and the valley
has been worn away, so that for space
the road is lost, reappearing consider
able distance beyond the point at which
it vanishes. That geological change must
have taken an immense stretch of time.
"But the ruins at Aztec were far young
or than others that | saw. In those
houses the wood is sull in place as floor
beams and supporting the roofs; In fact,
the timbers are in such good shape that
the settlers have taken them out and are
using them. On the Montezuma Mesas
we found a house made of finer stone
than that at Aztec, blocks as large as
those used in a stone house now, not
dressed on all faces and set up accurately,
tier on tier, never varying hair :
breadth. In this house every trace of
wood had disappeared. Not a fibre APP
parently remained, and We We're about to
give up. when in a trench along one of
the walls we came upon pillar. which
had been set into the wall, stone on three
sides of it and plaster on the other. Seal
ed as it was, it had shrunk until 1t was
an inch away from the plaster, leaving
on the surface of the plaster. however,
the Impression of its grain. There was
only about five feet of it left, and every
silver in the building not so protected had
absolutely disappeared. We spent long
time looking into the claims Of Professor
Swan of Las Vegas that he had proofs
that the cliff dwellings dated back to the
tertiary age, but We were unable to ind
any proof that was conclusive enough to
bring US to the support of his theories. "