Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-01-13
ADOR|G|NES
 IF SONORA
gierra Madre Mountains Was the Home of Mysterious and Diminutive Race Which Lived Among the Cliffs-In- teresting Ruins in Existence.

Between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua on the Carretas river and about twenty-odd miles eastward of Bavispe, an adobe town on a river of that name and high up in the Sierra Madre mountains can new be found the remains of the ancient cliff dwell CTS homes The place where these ancient dwellings of an ancient and diminutive race of people, now extinct, is on the bluffs of deep canyon about $500 feet above sea level. There are two or three of the dwellings in exist enee, with walls evidently built of mud and about three stories high, one cham Der built above the other. The rooms are about ten feet long, eight feet wide and five feet high The entrance is through the little doorway one and one half feet wide. Remains of tiny little fire places not more than ten inches long by six inches deep can be seen to the present day A hole in the upper side of the rooms is still visible where the smoke escapes. At the front of these ancient dwellings a tree about eight inches in diameter at the base was placed with limbs on it. Up this the little men and women climbed to enter their apartments. The tree is there yet with the limbs nearly worn through by the tramp of the little folks feet. It is evident that these ancient people had some knowledge of agriculture, for in ,E fn,,nI bushels of corncobs with the pith part gone; the shell only was left. The re mains also of deer antlers and bones almost gone to decay were found. Not sign of bone of the inhabitants of these little homes could be found any wnere The spot where these dwellers existed is almost inaccessible and from beneath the ruins flow a sparkling stream of water from a spring The timber in these houses, if such they can be called, is red cedar and juniper and the Sane is black with age, thougl sound. It was evidently cut with fire because in every place where it was ex amined it showed charred remains Not a sign or veStige of a tool of any kind could be found with which the timber could have been cut The largest piece of timber found that had been burnt through was perhaps five inches in di ameter A grown man cannot stand erect in the rooms, and it is tight squeeze to enter the little doOrways In several places across the small streams dams are yet remaining. The conjecture is that these tiny people brought in soil and filled the space above the dams and there raised theiI corn and other produce if any, because there seems to be no available soil ir the vicinity that could be used. The dirt was evidently packed in for the purpose indicated. The place where these cliff dwellings exist is about six teen miles southeast of Chitehuaca mountain, an extinct volcano.
 The place was discovered only re gently by white American prospector and was absolutely unknown to the Mexicans in the vicinity. Several mel of rePute have since seen these house, and examined them. Awe and wonder ment fill the mind as one gazes upor the ruins. Who were these little peO plel When did they live9 Why diC they make their homes in such out-of the way and inaccessible places9 Tn, same class of ancient habitations arc still in existence in Arizona, but tn, history of them is eonjeetural.