Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-29
CLIFF DWELLINGS
i TO Be PRESERVED
EthnoIogy Bureau to At
tempt to Save Remarkable
Prehistoric Ruins.

The Bureau of American Ethnology
will make an effort this Summer 70
have preserved some of the most re
markable remains of prehistoric Amer
ica-the great cliff dwellings of the
Canyon de Chelley and the Canyon del
Muerta. in New Mexico.
In the heart of the Navajo country,
seldom visited by white men. these
great structures with SIS or 80 rooms
look out over their narrow valleys. Ihey
were the strongholdS of a vanished race.
These canyons represent the same
thing in relation to the cliff jewellers,
said DIR. j. Walter Fewkes, "as the
famous Pueblo Bonita represents IN re-
lation to the pueblo dwellers.
There are literally hundreds OF these
ruins The hand of time which has
been withheld for so many hundreds of
years now is falling heavily upon them.
A man was sent into the Canyon de
Chelley this Winter to save one of the
largest of the cliff dwellings, which was
becoming undermined by water He re-
ported that the structures were in con-
SAINT danger Dr. Fewkes hopes to have
at least part of this area set aside as
a national monument so that its pres
ervation will be in the hands of the
Government.
Fewkes to Visit Ruins.
DR.. Fewkes himself is one of the few
who have visited the ruins He hopes to
pay another visit this Summer. They
have never been adequately studied. The
only scientific investigation was made
by the Bureau of American Ethnology
more than 25 years ago, and the report
now is difficult of access.
The explanation for the obscurity
which has covered this fantastic
country is its wildness The canyons
with their great heaps of loose rock 8
would be very difficult to enter on
horseback and 1t is practically neces-
sary to go in with pack mules, on
foot. Until within the past few years
the Navajos have not been very
friendly to white trespassers. They
regard the land as essentially their
own, ruins and all, although they
probably have slight Relationship
with the vanished race which built
the structures. number of con
templated expeditions have been told
to keep out.
Canyons Hard to Find.
The canyons are not easily found
unless one has a good map of them
Canyon del Muerta, the Canyon oil
Death is practically hidden by the
peculiar nature of the terrain The
explorer must come directly upon the
entrance before seeing it.
The Canyon de Chelley is notable
as one of the most fertile stretches
OF land in the Southwest Stretching
for miles under the towering, ragged
rocks, it is a strip of remarka BILE
verdure. 1t contains thousands of
peach trees, which, when in full
blossom in Spring, constitute one of the
most beautiful sights in the entire
country. was at first thought that
these had been planted by the pre-
historic Indians, but later researches
have established the fact that the
peach was introduced into the South
west by the early Spanish mission
aries. The trees spread rapidly and
have now run wild. Indians flock into
the canyon from miles around when
the wild peach crop is ripe.
The original cliff jewellers were
evidently an agricultural people
Their elevated apartment houses CAV.
them IL splendid defensive position
over the valley. The probability is
that the old Indian farmers moved
their homes and temples onto the bar
rem rock walls largely as a matter OF
defense.