Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-06-07


81 made by Jesse Walter Fewkes re-
81 garding the treatment of the ma
tional reserve created In northern
| Arizona by order of former President
| Roosevelt under the name of the Ma
/ vaho National Monument, in which
many important prehistoric ruins are
| to be found. DR.. Fewkes was sent by
the bureau of American ethnology to
| examine these dwellings of the
ancients, and his preliminary report,
which is now being published. sug.
| gests:
That one of the largest two cliff
dwellings in the Navajo National
Monument, either Betatakin or Kit
siel, be excavated, repaired and pre-
served as a type ruin" to illus
trate the prehistoric culture of the
aborigines of this section of Arizona.
That this work be supplemented by
excavation and repair of Inscription
House, an ancient cliff dwelling in
West Canyon.
That one or more of the ruins in
! West Canyon be added to the Navajo
National Monument and be perma-
nently protected by the government.
| DR.. Fewkes describes in detail the
three routes by which the cliff dwell
ings may be reached, tells where wa
ter may be had for men and horses
and outlines improvements that would
make the road more passable for tour
| lists.
Find an Instructive Specimen.
| One of the most instructive speci-
! mems collected In the Navajo Nation
| al Monument was found by w. B.
Douglas in a ruin designated as Cradle
| Hoase. This object is a cradle made
Of basketware, open at one end and
continued at the opposite end into o
biped extension to serve for the legs.
! II is decorated on the outside with an
archatic geometrtc ornamentation.
This specimen may be regarded as one
| of the finest examples of prehistoric
! basketry from the southwest; more
over, with one exception, 1t is the only
known cradle of this form. A pair of
| Infants sandals found with the cradle
| leaves no doubt as to its use, while
the character 2n5 symbolism of the
| decoration ,efer it to the ancient cliff
! house culture. The design suggests
| that which characterizes certain speei-
mems of the well-known black-and.
white pottery found in the San Juan
| drainage Evidences of long use and
repair appear, especially on one side,
| Unfortunately the specimen, although
entire when found. later was broken
across it's middle.
The only other known cradle of this
ethnologIsts by DR.. w. ]. MCGEE when
in charge of the anthropological ex-
hibit at the st. Louis exposition. This
was found in San Juan county, Utah.
1.-THE Navajo National Monument"
writes DR.. Fewkes, contains two
kinds of ruins, cliff dwellings and
pueblos. The architecture of the cliff
dwellings Is characteristic, their walls
being constructed of stone or adobe
built against, rarely free from, YER
tical faces of the cliff
Two Types Of kIvas.
There are two types of kiyas, one
circular and subterranean, allied to
those of the Mesa Verde; the other
rectangular, above ground, entered
from the sides.
THE masonry of these northern
ruins is rude, resembling that of mod
ern Walpi The component stones are
neither dressed nor smoothed, but the
walls are sometimes plastered. There
Is great similarity IN architecture.
No round towers relieve the morntony
or impart picturesqueness to the build
ings. The walls of ruined pueblos in
this region and the ceramic remains
closely resemble those at Black Falls,
on the Little Colorado. A prominent
feature of the walls is jacal construc-
lion in which mud is plastered on
waiting between upright poles. The
ends of many of these supports project
high above the ground. constituting a
Characteristic feature of the ruins.
This method OF wall construction is
unknown 1T Black Falls or at Walpi,
but still survives in modified form In
one or more Oraibi kivas and in one
at least Of the Mesa Verde ruins.
Naturally the questions one asks
in regard to these ruins are: Why did
inhabitants build these cliffs? Who
we're the ancient inhabitants? When
were these dwellings inhabited and
deserted?
1T is commonly believed that the
ares were chosen for habitation be-
cause they could be better defended
than villages in the open. The
ancients chose this region for their
homes on account Of the constant wa
ter supply in the creek and the
patches OF land in the valley that
could be cultivated. This was a de-
sirable place for their farms. Had
there been no caves In the cliffs they
would probably have built habitations
Ir the open plain below.
May Have Been Hsrassed.
They may have been harassed By
marauders. but it must be borne in
mind that their enemies did not come