El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-20
MUMNIES ARE
FOUND IN
CLIFFS
Government Restores and
Protects Ancient Ruins Of
Prehistoric City.
INTEREST IN ORIGIN
OF CLIFF JEWELLERS
One Theory Is That They
Came From Asia by Way
Of Alaska.

Santa Fe, n NJ, april 2O-AmOng
the mystic measas OF the arid south
west has been established a govern
ment reservation Of strange and fas-
cinating interest In the high and al
most inaccessible recesses Of the cliffs
which border the cavernOus canyons
Of the san Juan and the Rio ManCCss
near the common corner OF Colorado
Ctah, Arizona and New Mexico, are
found the lOng abandoned homes OF
the ancient and extinct inhabitants OF
this now deserted country. the Cliff
dwellings Of race OF prehistoric
men Of the stone age
Little is known az to the extca era
OF the cliff dwellers' existence The
archaeoIogtsts tell US that the cliff
cities were In ruins at the time OF tina
coming Of the Spaniards and place =
cent date OF occupation in the lOcaIf-
Jles described The cliff dweIIers
themselves were small of stature as
SHOWN Dy the uudersIzed and dwarf
IKE mummles found in their dwellings
me lived IN communities for mutual
protection, all evidences pointing to q
peaceable and Industrious people who
unaDle TO wage successful defensive
ulans on the south, fortified them
selves in their cliff houses far M in
the rocky walls Of the CANYONS.
Reached Only by Narrow Trails.
Access TO these lofty fortresses is
OBTAINED only by following narrow
trans along the face Of the cliffs in
places reduced TO merely hand and
foot holds. carved in the shaa- -
pice, and through tunnels emf in rocI-
barely large enough to admit the an
rance OF the QlmlnuI1ve cliff dWeller
IRON some Of the structures the roc
-oiL-aI4OnS which permitted entrance
nave caved away. leaving them fsr.-
1aleO on hlgh Lodges and balconies in
CHRIS inaccessible and unexplored
Lived IN Stcne Era
On the level mesa above the cliffs
these ancient people cultivated the soil
ana raised their crops Here are found
the quaint and prehistoric mounds
arrow heads, grinders for grain NOT
terry and other objects of peculiar in
terest- The absence OF any metal from
their abOdes shows beyond doubt thar
their age was a stone era. the attrac-
tive decoration OF their pottery and
their geOmetrical photographs fndfcafe
1lgn state OF artistic development.
and the masonry of the cliff houses
ueInonstrates an advanced stage OF
architectural and engineering skill
i nat Jne cIlIt jewellers were not in
dams IS the latest archaeoIogical
word on the subject The mummfes
or the clffmen are narrOw-headeF
while the netghbOring Pueblo indians
are brOad-headed. The hair OF the
nlumInles IS Of fine texture; not coarse
IKE indian hair One theory OF their
origin which is gaining wide but by no
means universal acceptance assumes
that they were Asiatics. who came to
this continent by way Of the AIeutfan
Islands, Alaska. and thence south
ward
The Cliff Palace.
The principal and most IMPRESSIVE
ruin l. the Mesa Verde National park
Is the Cliff palace. an imposing sTruc-
ture approximately 800 feet in length
built under the rock roof Of an enor-
nous cave, which rises in an arch
above the ruin
Cliff palace contains over 200 Iiv-
ing rooms, with numerous larger
chambers, called kivas. used for as
sembling places for the purpose of
worship, ceremonies. councils and the
like The structure is thanked with
parapets and crowned with towers
turrets and bastions, like a castle OF
but none the less interesting ruins.
are scattered throughout the ada
cent canyons, 375 cliff houses having
completed tOp0srGP hicsl map OF the
been located and noted on the recently
completed typographical map OF the
park
Is Vow IN National Park.
The region described is now included
in the Mesa Verde National park. Gre
ated by the act OF congress approved
June %, 1906, and placed by that legis-
latOn under the Jurisdiction and con
troll Of the secretary OF the interior.
The park was established for the pro-
fCourFurraT IN Nv