El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-30

IDENTIFY built for defense, and the living
rooms were entered from an inner court
by ladders to the roof and then through
hatchways and by ladders descending
into the interior Direct access 10 the
court was practicable only by single
passageway on the east side, SIX 1eet
wide which was plastered with adobe,
the outer opening being provided with
a double system Of barbados On the
outside was stone wall, partly closed,
which could be made at brief notice TO
shut the entrance entirely
Several hundred Of the ground floor
rooms, whose walls still remain in
fair state of preservation, have already
been uncovered by DR.. Hewitt Twenty
rewa indians experienced in work, are
doing the digging, under the auspices
of the School Of American Archaeology
at Santa Fe. the necessary money nav
ing been appropriated by the legisla-
ture OF New Mexico. 1t is an immense
labor. the contemplated task, which Will
occupy q number of years, embracing
the uncovering of cliff dwellings and
other remains over wide area OF the
formerly populous region
Pueblo of Stone Lions
Six miles in a straight line south Of
the great circular town is the pueblo
OF the Stone Lions. where Dr. Hewitt is
also making excavations 1t gets its
name from a remarkable shrine con-
sisting of a stone stockade enclosing
the effigies of a pair of pumas, or
mountain lions, which lie extended at
full length. side by side, carved in high
relief from a great tufa bowlder- Casts
have been made from these sculptured
beasts, which appear TO have been
idols.
mountains and the Rio Grande valley
was anciently covered by blanket of
volcanic material, which in the course
of ages was gashed into thousands of
fragments by torrential erosion BY
such means II was cut up into detached
masses, which were further sculptured
by the winds into fantastic shapes, the
cliffs, sometimes 500 feet in height, be-
ing adorned above with castle like bat
Elements, and honeycombed below with
natural caves Fossil remains of three
tOed horses and several kinds Of extinct
dogs, as well as mammoths and masto-
dons, are plentiful
Cave Villages
But the most interesting feature of
the archaeological remains is a series
Of cave villages extending along the
canyon of the Rito de los F'rijoles- One
of these was a continuous house. from
one to four stories high, and stretching
along the base of the cliff for a dis
lance of 700 feet, which must have az
forded accommodation for at least 1000
families. 1t is evident, however. that
the natural caves were geatly enlarged
by digging-the material of the vol
canic tufa, originally composed of
gravel and sand. being friable and easy
to excavate. Thus whole suites OF
rooms. in many cases somewhat extern
sive, in the very living rock, were occu-
pied by these human burrowerS-
The quarters thus provided, how
ever, were supplemented TO an impor-
taut extent by houses of adobe built
in front-a fact. made manifest by nu-
merous holes, remaining to this day.
which were evidently made to support
the ends of poles unfolding the roofs
One is able, therefore. to obtain a pref
ty fair notion of the conditions under
which these prehistoric people lived. 1t
may be that each Of the villages along
the canyon of the rito was the abode |
of single clan of the tribe, bGt this |
is merely a matter of guess.
Some Pecui;a- Manners.
One of the villages following this |
theory has been called by DR.. Hewitt |
the House of the Moon symbol: an |
other, the House of the Turkey People. |
another. the House of the Sun People; |
and yet another. the House Of the Snake |
People At the upper ED Of rhs rito. |
$50 feet above the hed OF the creek, is |
a great ceremonial cave. which is one !
OF the most striking and picturesque |
objects of archaeological interest in the /
southwest. 1t has recsntIy been made !
accessible to visitors by building sol
feet OF ladders and cutting 200 feet of |
stairway and trail in the rock.
Perhaps the most important object of |
the work now being carried on Is 10 !,
preserve the ruins No attempt is TO he !,
made to restore" them By reconstruc- |