Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1902-05-03
PREHISTORIC CIVILIZATION
Order Issued for Protection Of Relics
Of Ancient Race m Arizona.

cspuud"nt UIItus Go OBJ, EI
Iaso News. from phOouIN. ArIs. SAYS.
Tho government finally awakening
10 th" necessity Of steps t1 ufplDuf
III" utter ruin ul remains of a urpbIs.
tortc civilization .u tho southwest. has
ISSUED orders for the protection ol the
ancient relies scattered through Ari.
iona.
The surveyor general OF the terri
tory ls prouarIuG report ON AN tracts
Of public land which contain natural
wonders. ancient ruins. cor other OBJ
Jcrts ul srlcut.N, interest
Work has already ha,u begun i'm the
guarding from thu roUcsc,t.r aud the
Naudal tho great piles of ruined build
inrs scattered about the Salt river val.
Icy. tho Casa. Graudo remains near
Florence. aud the great clin dwellings
100 hc mountains 10 the north
Scientists asI'D that tho valley OF
the salt river and the adjacent country
Once supu,.tob an immense uumtoI ~
people of superior Intelligence.
Fifteen miles southeast of Phoenix
lies the most important pueblo. named
Los Nurrtus roughly "City uf the
Dead. 10y FrauH Hamilton Cushing,
Who spent several years uI arrua,uIOp.
zeal research loo the valley. iu th, lat.
SOS Gushing believed that o.. pueblo
Of Los Nuortoa undoubtedly had Ncon
IN" cDutr"l one in the southwest.
Within taius. covered concrete walls he
found much to confirm hls belief aud
much that told of the customs aud
identity Of the tribes long departed. 1t
was made plain that the government
of the ancient jewellers was thcOcrat-
&C.. that they possessed a high grade OF
intomgoucc. that they were alu,ul.
turists filling the earth U- nm, aid OF
water brought through artificial works
of magnitude from the salt river They
were not AZtccS Uut uJ the TOltpC
period of antiquity far more remote
The greater number of the dead were
,rCmatod ana Che asho. buried In Jars
in broad. yet closely packed ccmetcr.
les Some. pro. ably of the priesthood
cult Wor, inferred within tho houses
in ccmoutcd ,rypts that often must
have been used as diyans by disCousO-
late relatives The skeletons thus SO
cured ar, mainly those of large stature
ana superb crdnial formation. in al
most ail respects equal 10 TN, host eau
casiar typos OF today
Nearer to Phoenix is tho great ruin
In the Tempe road five miles east.
near the railroad Here. under the au-
spices of the Antiquarian society Of
Arizona have been begun systematic
cNca' atoms that are bringing To light
triukots and pottery The building
seems almost a common hillock and
NO photograph can convey a sugges-
zion of an cditi"c But. within the
talus are m, walls of a structure far
greater ia size than oven the famed
and better preserved Casa Graudc
near Florence sixty miles TO the east.
ward The building is $50 feet in oN.
tromo length. by $50 feet IN width. It's
original height can only he conioc.
turod. hut at least three stories remain
standing II is hoped 10 clear away
about nalf OF the huilding that within
it. under a protecting roof may be es,
tahlishcd a museum OF southwestern
archaeology Probably within tho
building will hc housed slabs and
rocks from the Salt river mountains
south of Phoenix "A few miles whore
the artists of old have loit on huuldris
and cliffs, quantities of Photographs OF
of exceeding interest yet of unknown
meaning.
On the extreme eastern line of Mar
icopa county, is group of The finest
clin dwellings in the southwest Tho
ruins are in two groups on either sid
of PERCEPTIONS canyon The walls
are Of good concrete without outside
doors, entrance being made from the
top 10y means of ladders One fortress
wen filled = shclllikc cave. tao feet /
long 10y forty feet in extreme depth /
and thirty feet in extreme height The T.
building is threo-hoorod even nov !
There yet remain many of the floor .
jolsts. small, red cypress logs, rough
hcwn with obsidan or stone axes
In the valley of the Verde, also may
interesting ruins no found one of /
them, near the mouth of Doadman can /
you, fifty miles northwest of Phoenix /
Is of white stone with three stories /
still standing