The sun. (Wilmington, Del.) 1897-19??, 1901-02-04
1 GREWSOME FIND.
Four Hundred Skeletons Discovered
in Arizona Cavern.
remains of CIin Dwellers Unearthea
by Sergeant Price Of the Seventh
Cavalry in the White
Mountains.

A strange story of the suffocation o.
an entire village of cliff jewellers abou'
1900 years ago is told by Sergt. George .
E, Price, of the recruiting station, al /
Denver, to the Evening Post, Of tina
city.
In picturesque Arizona, among tht
White mountains, not far from For
Apache, the peculiar race of litth
climbers once reigned supreme. Among
the almost inaccessible cliffs of rec
sandstone they lived like fugitives, IL
natural fortresses. The caverns they
once inhabited are to-day as they wer.
centuries ago, and in many cases hav'
apparently never been trodden by hu
man foot since the death of their an
cient inhabitants. The petrified re
mains of 400 prehistoric little peoplt
were found by Sergt. Price in vas
cave. The Apache Indians, who nov
inhabit that district, regard the cav
ern with superstitious dread, and can
not be induced to enter its gloomy por
tails. No white man had ever set foo
there before Sergt. Price and he fount
its contents undisturbed.
During the spring of 1899, when hi
was with troop G. Seventh cavalry
and stationed at Fort Apache, in hi
researches about the country tn,
young soldier discovered the great
cave village, with its strange legend
A few miles east of the fort, on tn,
White river, rise some immense cliff
of red sandstone. From the glistenins
stream the cliffs rise almost perpendic
ularly to a sheer height of 300 feet
Crevices and little edges of rock form
the only footholds for daring climbers
While fishing for trout one day, Sergt
Price noticed high up on the cliff
black hole.
Believing It to be cave, he at onct
determined to scale the cliff, and sew
eral soldiers volunteered to accompany
him. The ascent was exceedingly haz
ardous and difficult, but after long
climb they reached the hole. Juttins
out from the face Of the cliff was nat
ural shelf, about eight feet wide ant
twice as long.
Just back of the ledge was the en-
trance to the ancient cave. Under the
sergeant's leadership the party en-
tered the cave with torches and Ian
terms. They explored over four and
half miles Of passages and corridors
Many people had once inhabited the
winding passages of the cave village
The soldiers penetrated into the fur
thermost recesses and found big
council chamber far back in the in
terror of the cliff. AS the Pickering
light of the torches pierced the gloon
of the large room the grewsome seen,
was revealed.
Huddled together on the cold damn
floor Of stone as If for mutual sym
| pathy and protection, lay the ghastl.
skeletons of over 400 little cliff dwell
ers, petrified by their exposure durin!
ages past. A short distance apart from
the others lay the frame of the chief
tain, leaning against the wall opposite
| the entrance to the room. His skull
was resting upon his breastbone, jus
as he had died. It seemed to the dis
coverers that he, perhaps, had diet
last of them all, and before his spiri
fled had taken final look at his PEG
Pile. Then his chin sank upon hi
breast, and the people Of White Rive
lions have shown that these peopl
lived about 1000 years ago.
Sergt. Price began systematic
questioning Of old Indians, and a
length adroitly secured the legend o
the cavern. Many, many hundred
years ago, he was told by the red
skinned sages-and to express thei
idea Of the number they tossed vi
handfuls of sand into the air : tn
small men lived in the cliffs. They wer
at war with other small men who live,
at some distance. Battles were FIRE
quent, and the tribe which occupie,
the White River cliffs was worsted.
Many Of their best warriors wer
slain by the clubs and arrows of tn,
enemy. Retreat finally became neces
sary, and the defeated men hastil,
scaled the beetling cliff to their HON,
near the summit. Once within thu
great cave they felt themselves secur
from further attacks. They carried
with them such scanty supplies a
they could quickly gather, and the,
hoped that in case of siege their corr
would last until the siege was raised.
Swarming up over the ledge to tn,
entrance to the cave came their enc
mics. Several they killed, but wer
soon driven back from the entrance
Wonderingly, they crouched within it
portals. The assailants brought III
quantities of wood and piled it high vi
about the hole in the cliff. Then the,
kindled huge fire and never suffere,
1t to abate in fury.
Days passed on and the flames still
cleaned brightly on the side of tn
vast rock. For fortnight the vigi
lance never slackened. At length tn
revengeful army retired, leaving
great pile of ashes on the ledge. NJ
one dared to enter the cavern, and, hay
ing accomplished their grim mission
they departed from the section. VIVA
agonies the cliff jewellers must hav
suffered as the pangs of starvatio,
grew keener and keener and Away
at the only exit they saw the blaz
ing pilel
Familiar with Law.