Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-11

or twelve miles toward Acoma you come
within view of one of the most remarkable
freaks Of nature in all the world, known as
the Mesa Encantada, or the Enchanted
Mesa. as 1t is called, because of the legends
and traditions of supernatural phenomena
associated with it. mesa is a fat level
space, either of pasture or of desert. The
word means table" and is used to de-
scribe piece of furniture well as
plateau. The Mesa Encantada Is a table
land of seventy acres, almost level-a solid
rock 351 feet high-the largest rock in the
world, / am told. Its sides are almost per-
perdicular and 1t has been carved out of
the surface of the earth by the action Of
the water and wind. The river bottom. now
several miles wide, is enclosed between sim
liar walls of almost the same height and
the stream which. / have told you. eX-
lists only fifteen or twenty days in a year
has cut its way down through the sand
stone from the top of the plateau to the
level upon which the water now flows, one
of the most gigantic works of nature that
can be found. But such water courses are
common here The Grand Canyon of the
Colorado was made that way. Nowhere
else, however, has a great rock like the
Mesa Encantada been allowed to remain as
a sort of gauge or measure, to show how
great the action of the river has BEEN
The town of AcOma stands upon similar
mesa of about the same height but consid-
erably larger. Its surface is on about the
same level as the plateaus on either side of
the river.
Until a short time go the top of the En-
chanted Mesa considered inaccessible.
Its walls were supposed to be too steep and
too high to climb Prof. William Libby of
Princeton University came out here with q
car load of ladders and tackle and a squad
of professional climbers and made the as
cent with considerable eclat. He gave the
public an elaborate description of his
achievement and reported that he found no
signs to show that the mesa had ever been
occupied. A few months later DIR. Hodge
OF the bureau of ethnology at Washington
came along and climbed to the top with a
couple of ladders and some ropes borrowed
from Mr.. Marmon. the trader at Laguna
station DR.. Hodge camped on the top of
the mesa for several days and made a
thorough examination. He contradicted al
most everything Prof Libby had said. dis
covered foundations of dwellings and other
evidences that the mesa had been occupied
for centuries and dug up several graves
from which he brought pottery and other
articles such as the Pueblos usually bury
with their dead.
Since then several people have climbed the
rock, and our driver told us that only a
few weeks ago the ascent was made by Mr.
and Mrs. Morrison, bridal couple from
Boston. The ascent Is. however, very diff
cult and dangerous and the compensation
Is small You can see very little from the
top of the Mesa Encantada that is not
within view from the mesa upon which
Acoma is situated, three miles away.
"The City in the Sky"
They call Acoma 1.-The City In the Sky
and archaeologists go into rhapsodies over
1t. There is nothing like 1t elsewhere in the
shape of a human habitation, and 1t has
retained its primitive appearance and Gus
toms more than most of the nineteen pueb-
los. There are two or three others equally
interesting, but they are not so accessible
Imagine a great rock. rising $50 feet from
the surrounding country. with about 160
acres Of perfectly fat surface. partially
covered with village of mud and stone
dwellings, one. two and three stories in
height The sides of the rock perpen-
dicular except at one place where by a long
circuitous trail. a sure-footed horse may
be ridden up and down. But the usual way
of reaching the top Is through a narrow
fissure, where a crooked stairway has been
chiseled in the rock. 1t Is long, hard climb,
and yet everything and everybody entering
the village goes up that way. The men
and women also ave accustomed to carry
ing heavy loads on their backs. The wag-
ons and horses are left down at the base.
where there are several corrals and the
cargoes are "toted" to the top. The PEG
pie do not seem to mind the weight of the
packs; they are used to them. They have
been climbing up and down that stone
stairway all of Their lives. The children
climb it like many monkeys: but to
fat man who is not accustomed such per-
formances 1t calls for deal of eXertion.
Pueblo Peculiarities.
village-three streets of those curious adobe
houses, which are peculiar to the Pueblo
Indians The doors usually in the
roofs. The people climb up rude ladders to
the top on the outside, and then climb
down on the inside. The inner rooms are
lighted by holes cut in the walls. and you
will notice that several families have pro-
tected their homes from the weather by
sheets OF natural mica and gypsum. and
some have so far departed from the habit
window glass. Some of the more progressive
the ground into the lower rooms, and the
woodwork is neatly finished and painted.
On one of these doors / saw a Yale lock
showing that even Acoma is feeling the in
fuence of progress.
mesa. Every object you see animate and
nanimate. is the color of the soil Even
the hide of the dog that banks at you and
the hands and faces of the children who
follow you asking for pennies. The wom-
en- are always busy making pottery, weav-
ing blankets, cooking and sewing, and they
are very picturesque in appearance. Sew
eral of them talk little English. Two can
speak as we'll as we. for they are educated
at Carlisle, and seemed pleased 10 see us.
With infinite patience the Indians have
dug three cisterns in the surface of the
rock to store the little water that falls
upon their thirsty rock, and cutters have
been chtseled so that every drop that falls
will be drained into them. The water is
used In common by the animals az well an