The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-31
AN AMERICAN ST. PIERRE.
Buried City and Human skeletons
Found I'm New Mexico.

Santa Fe IN. M Letter.
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 Geronimo permitted
the cattlemen TO occupy the extreme west
ern part OF this Territory the cowboys have
been digging for pottery in the homes of
an extinct race of Indians that once lived
along the Rio San Francisco.
These homes were Observation-Disclosures
stone walls built into the second bank or
bench of the river valley. The pottery diff
fers from that of the cliff jewellers, and it
is very beautiful.
But when digging the dirt from the old
dwellings the cowboys Immediately noticed
that it was not like that in which the dwell
ings were dug. The soil of the bench
where many of the dwellings are found is
a broken-down granite, while that used in
filling the old homes was a soft, black loan
fit for a market garden. One had 10 travel
far down the valley to find such soil as
that. Then, as they climbed out the old
dugouts the cowboys began to find skele-
tons in queer positions. An old man had
been buried, apparently, while he sat lean
ing against a house wall with a pipe In his
mouth. Near him a papoose, wrapped and
tied on a piece of bark in Indian fashion,
had been standing against the wall.
Elsewhere a woman had been buried as
she knelt behind a metate, or corn-grinding
stone. One hand was on the stone and the
other In a bowl of corn-and the corn,
though blackened, was recognizable. Plain
ly this man with the papoose and the wom-
an 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 IL
there had been a rush for the house en-
trance when death entered.
Seeing the lava on the hilltops and mesas
round about the stream, il was easy to inn
agine that an outflow of suffocating gases
even though a hundred square miles of ter
ritory show certain proofs OF this remark
able slaughter. but the unsolvable mystery
was the fact that these old cellarlike homes
were filled with a kind OF earth not found
near at hand. II every one in the pueblOs
was killed-and that was plainly the case
who filed in the homes?
If Indians had come from other parts of
the Territory to fill them they would have
prepared the dead for burial in the usual
fashion. Moreover, no man could have
shoveled the dirt into the rooms and filled
them without disturbing the pose Of many
OF the dead, who beyond question had been
buried as they fell. But now everybody can
understand the matter. As at St. Pierre, a
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 filled
the valley full. When all that was over
the rains began washing out the valley. and
in the course of the years and centuries
since the mud has been cleaned from tho
old arid granite sand; but il remains. OF
course. in the cellarlike homes where a pre-.
historic race lived and made beautiful
things for everyday use. and were de-
stroyed in a breath as they followed their
usual course OF life. as were the people OF
ST. Pierre.