Evening star., 1927-11-13

was still determined to discover
an untouched pueblo, however. ana
one morning. after a night ram, the
air was clear as a bell and l went up
the CANYON. With my glasses l couio
detect the most obscure dwelling III
the cliff tons. Walking slowly and eX-
amining at all the likely looking
lodges, I discovered two white specks
almost at the top of one OF the cllits.
With the naked eye they looked IKE
two white pigeons, but through the
glasses they appeared to be two OF
series of cliff dwellings built in ledge
of rock beneath an oVerhanging cllH.
They seemed of a very rude construc-
ton. which would make them pueblos
of the most primitive era but were
unbroken, and smaller patches OF
white. which | judged 10 he tombs,
were built along the farthest reaches
of the ledge and gave no eViGSnce OF
having been molested. Surely L had
discovered a new pueblo. rich in tur-
uuoise and silver.
Because of the unusual height OF
the puehlo-it seemed at least 900 feet
above the floor of the canyon-I first
thought it advisable to climb to the
mesa top from some accessible route
several miles down the canyon ana
then walk up to this point and de-
scend to the ledge that held the dwell
ings, but careful survey of the cliff
showed this to be impossible. The
pueblos had been built beneath an
oyerhanging cliff that extended hum
dreds of yards on either side and then
1ropped a sheer 1000 feet to the can
yon bed. To reach the ledge l would
have to climb.
Rv walking along the base of the
wall l discovered a series of tiny toe
holds about the size of tablespoon
and worn dangerously smooth and un-
safe by erosion. Six hundred years
ago they might have been of use to
me. but now they were steps to an
ultimate fall to death.
THE greater part of this wall, from
l. the base, looked to be a sandstone
incline of perhaps 50 degrees, almost
vertical in places. broken up with
ledges and deeply sliced by creVaSses.
Toward the top, just below the great
cleft where the cliff dwellings stood,
the wall seemed perpendicular. Ii
seemed impossible to scale. but | was
confident that when l reached il /
would find a way up.
By means of cracks and Juts of
sandstone 1 managed to work my way
up, forcing myself upward between
narrow crevasses by bracing my body
between the two walls, and pushing
downward with my bare feet. l made
latch leaps from footholds an inch
wide to another from II to 16 inches
above my normal reach. slipping
Of the sand beneath my feet, or be-
meath my clutching fingers on the
ledge above and / would have dropped
back and down 500 feet.
There were places where it seemed
humanity impossible to ascend farther.
Rounded surfaces of cliff, without
footholds of any kind. made it difficult
to begin an ascent, and | often
thought of descending to find a better
way up. Then, however. | found it
worth my life to do so, for, as every
one knows, it is much harder to de-
scend than to ascend. for gravity and
the body's weight pull one past his
mark, and his feet have not the agility
nor the intelligence of the hands.
Thus 1 considered it impossible to
descend. and thought my salvation lay
in reaching the cliff dwellings. Once
there. / was sure / could find another
way out. There might be a passage
over the top of the cliff that had not
shown up through my glasses. Ger.
| tainly the cliff dwellers had not taken
! this terrible climb each time they
wanted to reach their pueblo.
At a tiny ledge / paused to roll a
cigarette and rest my nerves and
body. My horse. hobbled and feeding
among the dried weeds and grasses
below, looked about as big as a beetle.
and the stream bed was but a narrow