Year: 1875

or by creeping up the perpendicular face by the assist
ance Of shallow weather-worn hoIlows niched in the
rocks Just beyond this we observed


ANOTHER GROUP OF RUINS


situated on high bIun beneath which we're etchings
cut the overhangng cliff and pictorial inscriptions,
which were undoubtedly produced by the origna
builders OF the surrounding dwellings Above this,
the highest point Of the mesa picked up a number
of stone implements and found extensive graveyard
marked off into Of about six feet by set
into the soil on edge Opening two OF these nothing
revealed but a quantity OF charcoal and some
white dust From foot and half two feet down the
solid bedrock appeared, that II was impossible for
anything to have been buried there. The only
clusion at which could arrive, then, that this
particular community practised cremation, either a
portion of their religion because OF the urgency OF
the times when their prosecutors were driving them
Qua of their country. We noticed particularly some
large circular mounds, which perhaps marked the rest
ing place of the ashes of some prominent personages
The McElmo joins the Hovvenweep these ruins
and they descend together 10 the San Juan In the alb
sence Of any trail we took this channel the most
available route by which TO reach the next water the
San Juan River This presented q wde smooth,
gradually descending road opening out occasionally into
extensive but dry Valleys winding in zigzag manner
around the points OF the mesas which utted and
dovetaled into each other. Thus we had TO travel





to examine side OF the channel where observed
some charcoal exposed to view We dug into the bank
for two feet and found what had been fireplace,
containing scorched and burned slabs Of limestone and
whole logs Of charred cottonwood There but
of two ways to account for ths-either the fire had
originally been built the surface and ten feet Of de-
posit had accumulated whe the creek eating
its way along its sde hole had been made ten feet
deep at the bottom OF which great Are had burned
But in either case il had ceased to burn many years
ago.


HOTTER BvEN YORK.


The rays of the shone down at a temperature Of
14o degrees and rebounded from the garng sand with
scorchng power. Nc. water TO be had anywhere
save what had in our canteens rubber bags and
this hot toward that scalded mouths
and seemed to puff out in steam when 1t was un
coked The shoes the feet Of the mules seemed TO
! warp and ratified loosely. A flask of whskey which
of the party had wrapped up in army overcoat
was uncomfortably warm that It almost i'm
possibility to swallow it. For all this extreme heat
and drought however we passed through some of the
| lovelest and vistas had
seen. Descending the dry wash of the
creek, the sandy bottom was hard and
! level a floor and the straight banks
! either side OF for eight ten feet
Above the great cottonwood trees the banks spread
their branches in arches across the path, and for
long distance galoped along this broad beautiful
aisle which nature had hidden far away from the
haunts of 1t was late in the afternoon when the
train camped on the banks Of the San Juan. We
close to it before saw its waters and nothing
grateful to tired hungry, thirsty, hot mortals
luscious shade Of the groves and the
flowing of the great On these banks
we expected to discover and photograph of the
most interesting Of these ancient ruins; and before
passing any further descriptions It may be we'll
to inquire who these obscure people who occupied
this country long before it was discovered by Coum-
bus Let go back to the early history of
try or rather refer to the prehistoric gmpses Of tho
| past.


Some time about the sixth seventh century, A D.,
race Of people appeared the Western Continent
called the Toltecs Whether they autocbthones
springng from the soil, whether they migrated TO
this country from another settled and is mat
of much conjecture the latter suppositon
the probable for their sudden appearance be
accounted for in no other way. They may have
over from Asia and penetrated southwark to Central
America for their manners, customs and modes Of lv
ing, far ascertain resembed closely those
Of the Orientals They INDUSTRIOUS harmless,
peaceful people, employing, to certain extent, the
fine arts and n parts OF Central America mighty
edhces Of stone carved and polished and built in fan
tatc shapes representing huge serpents and imaginary





fthe times and the proficiency Of the architects
THE TWELFTH CENTURY


OF people known the Aztecs, ferce barbarous
and uncultured, came down from the northward and
conquered and subjugated the Toltec race For time
they ruled and made slaves of the vanquished people,
but the Aztecs seem to have been tribe that sprung
up suddenly and as quickly disappeared, for we lose
all trace of them after they sunk into oblivion
Not however, the Toltecs Until lately there seemed
to be wide gap in time between those ancient
and the Indian Of to-day. The connecting link
to be the modern Moquis who most undoubtedly
descended from the builders of the ancient ruins
investigating, and they In their turn
in all probability remnants of the subju-
gated Toltec race escaped from bondage. The
builders Of these ruins to have from
the south and built northward and then driven
back step by step; for generally the owermost ruins
the most perfectly preserved and evidently the
most recent becoming more complicated as their crea
tors retired southwark For time this scattered peo-
pie seem to have regained their freedom prospered
and multiplied, spreading their towns and secreted
communities throughout most all of the canyons Of the
tributaries of the San JUAN and thence as far
the Colorado River But presently another foe
entless and prosecuting the Azecs appeared on the
These were the ancient Ute Indians, who we're
strong bloody tribe, nhabitinga section of country
north of the San Juan We have this fact from the ira
dtons both Of the Utes and the Moquis and,
although mere Indian traditions are not data on which
to base facts, still they help to establish
truths when taken in connection with
other facts which ndispuable All the Utes the
present day will tell the traveller through this country
that these ruins 'Moquitch" remains We made
it point TO ask the question whenever we had the
opportunity and invariably received the same reply
Showing party of Utes one day collection of pot
terry which we had gathered we inquired of them
whether it was Ute pottery, and answered ono
quitch, with point of the finger southwark AS we
were digging in of the old graves another time
Ute passed by, who informed that IL was a 'Mo-
quitch cache" We have been repeatedly told that the
walls Of houses in the vicinity were those
If