Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1905-08-09
AN ANCIENT
PUEBLO
A Remarkable Discovery of Pre-.
historic Ruins Made Just
West of Santa Fe.
C0CHITI STONE LIONS
This City Should Build q Road to the
Most Interesting Part of the
Psjarito Reserve.

| Each day seems to add to the at.
fractions of Santa Fe as a tourist
center. Photographer A B. Cray
craft who has just returned from
visit to the Stone Lions of Coehiti
and the Painted Caves, thirty miles
west of Santa Fe, reports the discov-
cry of pueblo ruins larger than those
of the famous communal building of
the Puye, and which thus
aar have been neither map
ped nor explored. Professor
Edgar l.. Hewett of the chronological
Bureau will undertake their explora-
tion this summer. When 1t is remem-
bered that the communal building of
the Puye, which is thirty miles north
west of Santa Fe, has 1,200 rooms.
then it will be realized what an at
tractive feature for tourists this new
discovery will be eventually The
ruins are fairly we'll preserved and
the burial ground near them is un-
touched by vandals or relic seekers
and therefore should yield rich treas
ures to Professor Hewett In the CEN
ter OF the reservoir basin, which ap-
parently supplied the pueblo with
water, Mr.. Craycratt found growing
the largest cedar tree he had ever
seen, measuring more than five feet
in diameter. The pueblo lies on a
cliff, three-fourths of a mile south of
the Lions of Cochiti and two miles
from the Rio Grande River. About
half mile from =, are extensive and
well preserved cave dwellings and
about it are lesser Pueblo ruins. Pho
tographer Craycraft added consider
ably to his fine collection of views
on ,..e Pajarito Reserve during his
last trip, including splendid pictures
of the Stone Lions and the Painted
caves. The Indians hold the lions
in great veneration and hesitate about
taking white men to them. III hired
for that purpose, Lney generally man
age to lose" themselves when ap-
proaching these venerable and weird
monuments of an early civilization.
which of late years have been badly
mutilated by vandals. Mr.. Craycraft
had the same experience and although
within hundred yards of the lions.
the first day returned to camp
without seeing them. The next day
he separated from his Indian guide
disgust of the Indian, who before
leaving made a votive offering to the
lions.
Professor Hewett, who is at Albu-
querque at present, has asked Mr.
Craycraft to join him next week In
the exploration of the pueblo and 10
take views of it, He advocates the
building of road from Santa Fe to
his part of the Pajarito Cliff Dwellers'
Reserve, which is even more interest
ng than the northern portion now
reached from Santa Fe by way of the
Santa Clara Canon. Such a road
would cut across the mesa from .Agua
rria. from where good road runs
as far as the crater fourteen miles
southwest of Santa re and which In
itself is worth a trip. Eight miles
further west it strikes White Rock
Canon, offering view of steep banks
and declivlties rivaled only by the
Grand Canon. 1t Is ..ere where the
only difficur road building would have
to be done, but as Professor Hewett
says it is worth while and would CIV"
Santa Fe another famous road, Sec
ond in interest neither to the mag
nificent Scenic Highway nor the pic
turesuue road to the Puye Cliff Dwell
ings via Tesuque, San Ildefonso. San
ia Clara and Espanola. With convict
labor, Mr.. Hewett believes that the
cost of the road will be very slight
and would be repaid to Santa Fe the
very first year if properly adver-
tised. by increase in tourist travel.