Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-06
CLIMBING TO THE ENCHANTED
MESA.
BIZ Frederic .. HaskIn.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6.-The Enchanted
Mesa, out in New Mexico, was recently climbed
for the third time, so far az the records show.
and for the first time without any other APP
paratus than a rope.
The Enchanted Mesa is one of the many mys-
teries Of the Southwest. II stands a few miles
from the pueblo of Acoma in n vast stretch
of semi-arid wilderness-a country OF gently
rolling hills timbered with pinon and cedar.
Many mesas-that Is, plateaus-rise above the
level of this country, but the Enchanted Mesa
ia different from the others. IL LIS, In TACT, a
thing unique. 1t rises to a height of 430 feet
above the surrounding country, and has a
perfectly flat top about the size OF a large farm.
place where an ascent has even been attempted,
and there a sheer cliff forty feet nigh must De
scaled. This singular rock stands up out OF the
desert like a great ship from the sea- out-toppihg
everything for miles around.
But the thing which awakens most interest
in it is the existence OF traditions. supported by
hits of pottery. ak heads and other remains
found on and about the mesa, that many years
ago. before white men came to America, there
was a primitive city of Pueblo Indians on the
top OF it. This desoate rock was once the
Gibraltar of the Southwest. IL was an impreg-
nable stronghold from which the sedentary IN
dams, who were on the way to a civilization OF
their own, the ancestors of the present Puebios'
defed the Navajos, Apaches and other nomads.
In the primitive warfare of that day. the I'm,
never be taken except by starving the inhabi-
tants out.
A Laborious Life.
They paid a heavy price in labor for their
safety, however. Every drop of water used had
to be carried up over 400 feet in jugs on the
heads of women. 1t Is probable that wells OF
were made on the crest. where enough
water could be stored to resist a siege. All OF
the corn and beans and other food OF the IN
dams was raised in little valleys several miles
and this, too, had to be carried TO tne
top of the mesa, and enough of 1t stored there 10
make the inhabitants safe in case OF attack.
All this is conjecture. of course, and the flaw
in the whole theory lies in the fact that there
is at present no trail to the top OF the mesa at
all. The Indian belief Is that a tran once ex-
listed, and that a landslide wiped 1t out, making
the abandonment of the mesa necessary. inc
top of 1t has been swept by WIND ana ram 50
long and so thoroughly that 1t is now very din-
cult to find a vestige of the life that once
crowned the mesa; but when it was assembled IN
1897 by DIR. w. T.. Hodges. of the Bureau OF
Ethnology, he found bits of pottery, ax.heaas
and other ~artifacts which seemed to prove con-
the truth OF the Indian bellef tnat the
mesa once was Inhabited.
The first ascent of which we can ma was
made in 1895 by Professor William Libbey OF
Impressed by the steepness and
height of the mesa this gentleman providea
himself with a life-saving apparatus, including
a mortar, with which he shot a rope clear over
the mesa and pulled himself and his party 70
the top. DR.. Hodges did not believe sucn eiaDa
crate apparatus was necessary. He took 10 the
ground a long ladder in several sections anu
reached the top without much trouble. .
nothing but a rope was used. and that the
was initiated by women, three oi
whom reached the top.
A Daring Climb.
Misses Hicky and Ferguson are two young
women of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who make
a profession of conducting parties about the
explaining to them its historical anu
scenic interest. Their motto is to take any one
.whe he wants to go, so that when some
one suggested the top of the Enchanteu Mesa as
a destination, they Immediately agreed TO make
the attempt. They enlisted the aid or Rlcnaru
p. Woodson, a young Albuquerque business man,
who is addicted to attempting the unusual ana
has a reputation for nerve and agility. he is INC
only man who has ever navigated the iio
Grande in a canoe. and now he adds to TINS the
distinction Of being the only man VINO ever
climbed the Enchanted Mesa bare-handed. ne
surveyed the face of the cliff. for a rev MIN
utes, and then started up, climbing a nssure
by cutting toeholds as he went. There was one
point at which the spectators thought a tail was
inevitable, and Woodson says that ne, at one
time agreed with them. but he finally reacneo
the top, carrying a rope. All OF the parry, ~
Guiding three women, assembled by this rope.
They were accompanied by one Indian from
Acoma. named Henry Johnson, who had never
in sight of it. He had always regarded the as
cent as impossible.
Such a feat by women is not as unusual IN tne
Southwest as it would be considered IN tne Eas..
Down in that country women seem TO nave TAX
en- all outdoors as their province. IL Is naruts
an exaggeration to say that when you get OUT,
side the towns, which are few ana smali, heaiis
half the women you see have on trousers. r'iu-
ing breeches and puttees have become an az
most conventional garh for womef, IN the VIZ,
They ride, fish, tramp and camp out just as tne
men do. 1t is surprising how the women 'dhe "
the hills and to horseback.
Some scientists say that women are more
primitive and closer to nature than men; inns
would seem to be borne out by the fact tnat oI-
fen women from the East adjust themselves 10
the outdoor life more easily and seem 10 ike II
better than their men folks. Woman.s place
and has pep, she certainly does enjoy getting
out OF 1t.