Arizona republican., 1902-12-21
Historical Arizona.


drought, by famine, by other and more warlike races by disease, or some mighty cataclysm Of nature, there would have been more evidence of their dead. True, bodies have been un- earthed. but in no such numbers as would be justified apparently by the size of the cities they have left.
 So far this question has not been answered with any very great degree of certainty.
 Who built these ruins?
 That these ruins, of every class, were built, and by the ancestors of the present Pueblo Indians of the south west, has been established beyond doubt.
 That they came up from Mexico. there is no doubt; so they must trace back to some of the many tribes who inhabited the country around Mexico before Cortez and his followers swooped down upon it.
 It is customary to call them Az tees," but I believe scientific research has proven that they were in no sense of the word Aztecs.
 The first investigator to establish the relationship between the present pueblos and the builders of these ruins was Mir. Frank H. Cushing. Several years living among the Zunis famil- iarized him with their legends and folk lore, all of which pointed to the south as their origin and told of their pill grimage and wanderings. Acting on this theory. Cushing determined to 1 test it by careful research in some ancient ruin far to the south.
  Tempe and about on the lower line of the ruins. he determined to dig. and over 10000 articles taken by him from the mounds near Tempe demonstrated beyond doubt that the forefathers of the present Zuni people built these ruins and lived and died there.
 Since then Bandolier. Fewkes. Men derliff and other careful investigators have added to our fund of knowledge until today we have a very fair idea oi the migration of these people and know beyond question that MT. Cush- ing's theories and the pueblo legends are correct. Of all the pueblo families that of the Hopi is the most interest ing. and they probably exist today very nearly as their forefa thers did in prehistoric times, they having lost very little by contact with the white races. Unlike the other villages. they were almost entirely overlooked by the early Spanish friars. owing probably to their inaccessibility across leagues of desert country and their more war like nature
 put one effort was ever made to ob- tam toothold among the Hopis by the Spanlards, and that was at a Dlaco called "Awatobi." where the padres erected church, which was burned and destroyed in the insurrection of l6SO when not only the Spaniards but all Of their converts were ruthlessIv
 Tn 1885 Dr. Fewkes excavated this ruin and found traces of the old church and of Spanish occupation, hence if may be called a connecting link he tween the modern and the prehistoric pueblos
 Ihls same year Dr. Fewkes carefully eNcaVated another village which was a rum when CorOnado's lieutenant le;t the trlars at "Awatobi'' early in 16OO Tn this ruin he found countless articles establlshing the fact more clearly than ever that It was once inhabited by the loretathers of the present Hopis. The iulhs or the Little Colorado valley are eSPecidIIy rlch In pottery. The Hopi
 -@ ON4iCi puCDlOS today make pottery. put It IS not to be compared in any way with that which is taken from the an cient ruins
 LIT. FeWkes excavated a ruin in the Little Colorado valley near Holbrook from which he took wagon loads of per- feet specimens of ancient pottery which had been buried for many hun dreds of years and on which the coIors. decorations and glazing were as per rect as the day it was made. The pottery makers of today among the pueblos cannot put the glaze and finish on their pottery that is on this ancient pottery, but the old men of the tribe can read almost at once the symboIicaI decorations that are on them all.
 On this ruin where work began was a pine tree over three feet in diameter which had grown up after 1t had be- come ruin, for the roots were inter laced with the stones of the ruin. The decorations on all this pottery refer to legends and clans which are in exist ence among the Hopis today and it is extremely interesting to note how very little they have changed in all these hundreds of years.
 To sum up. the prehistoric people of