Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-11

Mancos canyon from the north. The ru,,
is 10 feet long and occupies a cove in the
I'm ABOUT eighty feet high and about the
same In depth. Some of the rooms were
circular, some oval in shape. but most OF
tnem were rectangular, and In places the
STRUCTURE was at least three stories high.
access to the settlement could be had
| only from above, by the aid OF a series az
steps cut into the face Of the cliff Fight
mues above the mouth of the Mancos there
IN .S me runs or another large cliff village
IN Inns case the houses occupied two mar
row ledges in the cliffs, one about thirty
Feet above the other and at least 500 feet
above the canyon bottom
Inc ciiH villages always contained one or
more circular rooms, the use OF which 1xas
oouptless religious, for similar structures
are round In the valley ruins and In some
or .ne inhabited pueblos. where they are
known as estufas. In them are performed
many OF the most sacred ceremonies of the
tribe. Besides the cliff villages. however
there are hundreds of cliff dwellings In the
Mancos canyon and its branches ranging
In size from single rooms up to erouns 81
considerable Importance, in which no cir
GUAR rooms are found. Many of them are
on sites SO inaccessible that It seems in
credible that human beings should select
such places for homes.
A type closely related to the cliff dwelling
proper Is the cave dwelling. fine exampIes
or which are found in the Manoos can
yon and in other parts Of the region
These curious habitations are followed out
OF the cliffs by digging away the soft shaly
rock and then walling up the fronts. In
one place in the Mancos canyon a pic
turesque outstanding promontory is liter
ally honeycombed with these dwellings
which give one the impression that they
were constructed by a race of pyemies for
neither the outer apertures nor the open
lnSS between the rooms are large enough
TO permit a person of ordinary stature TO
pass through.
On the brink Of the cliff above these cave
dwellings Is the ruin of a circular tower
THESE towers are found throughout the
Mesa Verde country; in fact, there is hard
ly half mile without the remains of one
or more Of them. Nowhere else do they at
tain the same development. In size they
range from ten feet In diameter up to forty
or more, with walls one to two feet in
thickness still standing, in some cases to a
height OF over fifteen feet They are in
variably connected with other structures.
usually groups OF rectangular rooms, and
in the finest examples the circular walls
are double and even triple the spaces he
tween them being divided into apartments
1y partltlon walls of lighter construction.
The masonry Is of the highest type the
stones being dressed on the outside OF the
curve by pecking with stone implement
md laid neatly in mud mortar.
1t has been suggested that the circular
towers were In some way connected with
the peculiar rites of serpent worship. and
perhaps were the repositories for the snakes
used In the sacred ceremonies In the
Moki villages. to the south, where the
OF the ceremony which precedes the public
exhibition takes place in the estufas. and
II the same rites prevailed in the Verde
country. as seems likely, IL il probable
that they were performed in the circular
towers.
Throughout the whole Of the Verde re-
gion, In favorable localities there are
dozens Of Photographs both pecked into the
rock and painted upon it. That many OF
these were executed by the people who
built and lived in the houses now in ruins
there can be no doubt. The figures are en-
graved or cut into the face of the rock.
which has been Clipped out to a depth of
a quarter Of an inch or more One of the
most striking groups Is about six feet long
and consists of a procession of men. birds
ana beasts, general movement to the
right being shown. The figures appear to
be tied together in continuous line, with
smaller figures. perhaps representing dogs.
above and below, while a number or men
are stationed on either side as IL to keen
the procession In order Doubtless the art
list Of long ago. who must have devoted
months to his work. sought to represent
some event of the highest Importance to
his tribe. perhaps a migration or a victory
over some other people.