The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-06
AN AMERICAN ST. PIERRE.
City Buried by a Volcano Discovered
In Western New Mexico.

The destruction of St Pierre has
solved a mystery for the cowboys Of
the Rio San Francisco valley, in New
Mexico. Ever since the capture of Ger
onimO permitted the cattlemen to &C
cupy the extreme western part Of this
ging for pottery in the homes Of an
extinct race of Indians that once lived
along the Rio San Francisco.
These homes were dugOuts-cellars-
with stone walls built into the second
bank or bench of the river valley. The
pottery differs from that Of the cliff
jewellers, and il is very beautiful
But when digging the dirt from the
old dwellings the cowboys Immediately
noticed shat 1t was not like that in
which the dwellings were dug. The soil
o. the bench where many OF The dwell
ings are found is a brOken-doWn gran
lite, while that used in filling the old
homes was soft. black loan, Mt for
market garden. One had 10 travel far
down the valley 10 find such soil as
that.
Then, as they cleaned out the old
dugouts the cowboys began 70 find
skeletons in queer positions An old
man had been buried apparently while
he sat leaning against q house wall.
with pipe in his mouth Near him a
D
bark in Indian fashion, had been stand
ing against the wall.
Elsewhere a woman had been buried
as she knelt behind a metate. or corn
grinding stone One hand Nas on the
stone, and the other in bowl Of corn
and the corn, though blackened, vas
recognizable. Plainly, this man with
the papoose and the woman had died
suddenly. and Unexpectedly. Other
skeletons were found, showing that
death came so swiftly that no move
could be made. while some were piled
up as if there had been A rush for the
house entrances when death occurred.
Seeing the lava on the hiIt0ps and
meSas round about the stream, IL VAS
easy 10 imagine that an outflow OF SUI
locating gases from some volcano had
killed the Indians, even though 100
square miles Of territory show certain
proofs of this remarka bic slaughter.
but the unsolvable mystery was the
fact that these old ceilar-like homes
We're filed with a kind Of earth not
found near at hand. II every one in
the puebIos was kiIIed-and that was
plainly the case-who filed the homes
If Indians had come from other parts
Of the territory TO ill them. they would
have prepared the dead for burial in
the usual fashion Moreover. no man
could have shOveied dirt into the rooms
and hlled them without disturbing the
pose Of many Of the dead, who. be
yond question, had been buried as they
fell
But now everybody can understand
the matter AS at St. Pierre, q blast
Of gases struck dead every soul in the
valley Of the Rio San Francisco A
tremendous flow of mud came next, and
il flooded those homes, and very likely
filed the valley full When all that
was over the rains began washing OUT
the valley, and in the course OF years
and centuries since the mud has been
cleaned from the old. arid granite sand,
but il remains. OF course, IN the cellar
like homes. where q prehistoric FACE
lived and made beautiful things ~.
everyday use, and were destroyed in
a breath as they followed their usua-
course of life, as were the people "
St. Pierre.