of the elements, yet the remaining walls, which measure nearly three feet in thickness, are as firm as ever, and will in all probability thus continue for hundreds of years to come. In the distance, the great Mesa Verde (the green plateau) rises a thousand feet and stretches away for many miles to the north and east. It was from these cliffs that the blocks of stone in the neighboring ruins were cut and carried a distance of two or three miles. A short distance below these remains and in the dry arroyo or cañon, locally known as the Rio McElmo (or, more properly, the Rio McElmell) is noticeable, in passing along the trail in the valley, the lower portion of a dark-brown circular tower, built far up among the rocks of the neighboring bluff, on a large bowlder, at the brink of a sheer precipice, (Fig. 1). A very ancient path, now almost obliterated, leads up to the ruin. The structure, as well as the rock on which it stands, is about ten or twelve feet in diameter, and the walls of the former may still reach a height of ten feet. This was undoubtedly used as a watch-tower by its builders, and the situation chosen for it was an admirable one for overlooking the gulch many miles both above and below. From this point, signals could be telegraphed to distant stations, in times of danger, while the miniature castle itself was so sheltered by the surrounding trees and debris as to escape the notice of careless observers. The natural depression through which winds the parched bed of the Rio McElmo is particularly rich in all varieties of these architectural relics. In the vicinity of the ruins just described, and near the Utah border, is a peculiarly interesting cluster of fortifications. A mass of dark-red sandstone, a hundred feet in height, stands in the midst of an open plain, on the top of which the remnants of several walls are still visible. Around the base of the jagged butte are other indications of masonry, but the most perfectly preserved portion of the group is a rectangular apartment, built half-way up in the northern face of the bowlder, which has been named Battle rock or Legendary butte, because a legend exists amongst some of the tribes of that section relative to a great battle which had been fought there (Fig. 2). In the immediate neighborhood of Battle rock may be seen a series of diminutive cave dwellings or store-houses. The natural caverns of the crumbling sandstones, formed by atmospheric erosion, were utilized by the Ancient Puéblos as they retreated southward. Little hollows scarcely exceeding six feet in diameter, were walled up at the mouths and occupied possibly as dormitories, or, more probably, as magazines or caches, in which provisions were stored for safe keeping. Scores of these are found through all of the adjacent cañons, and in many instances they are situated hundreds of feet above the beds of the streams and were originally approached by niche-steps cut in the perpendicular cliffs, but which have been so worn away by time that they no longer present foot-holds for the adventurous climber. If we advance in a westward direction some fifteen miles, to the dry valley of the Hovenweep (the name signifying, in the euphonious tongue of the Utah Indians, deserted cañon) we shall discover another large ruined structure, built on a miniature mesa or plateau in the center of the valley, rising to a height of fifty feet. On this the walls of a fortress or community dwelling are heaped together, extending for a horizontal distance of two hun dred and seventy-five feet. At some points they still remain standing twelve feet in height, whilst at others they have entirely fallen away. Many of the external corners of the rooms were neatly and accurately curved, (see Fig. 14, Plate IV). In the plaster, the impressions of knuckles, finger-tips and nails are quite distinct, and in some instances, the very delicate lines of the epidermis are distinctly visible in the prints. We cannot doubt that a multitude of workmen were employed in masonic labor, for in order to construct such huge edifices, a great amount of manual labor would be required, in the transportation of stone for many miles, trimming it into blocks, laying it in the walls, preparing the mortar, cutting cedar beams and rafters, plastering the external or internal walls with a coating of adobe, etc., and these operations may have required, in many cases, years for the completion of a single building. When we consider the difficulties with which these pioneer architects had to contend, resulting from the imperfection of their stone implements, in the absence of any metal tools, we are filled with wonder and admiration in viewing the results of their patient labor. A remarkable cliff-house was discovered in the cañon of the Mancos river, a northern tributary of the San Juan, in the summer of 1874. Mr. W. H. Jackson, the photographist of the expedition, thus describes it: "Just as the sun was sinking behind the western walls of the cañon, one of the party descried far up the cliff, what appeared to be a house, with apertures indicating two stories, but so far up that only the very sharpest eyes could define anything satisfactorily, as we had no field-glass with the party. The discovery of this, so far above anything heretofore seen, inspired us immediately with the ambition to scale the height and explore it. The house stood upon a narrow ledge, which formed the floor, and was overhung by the rocks of the cliff. The depth of this ledge was about ten feet, by twenty in length, and the vertical space between the ledge and overhanging rock some fifteen feet. It was perched up in its little crevice like a swallow's nest, and consisted of two stories, with a total height of about twelve feet. The only sign of weakness was in the bulging outward of the front wall, produced by the giving way or removal of the floor beams. Most peculiar was the dressing of the walls of the upper and lower front rooms; both were plastered with a thin layer of some firm cement of about an eighth of an inch in thickness, and colored a deep maroon-red, with at dingy white band eight inches in breadth, running around floor, sides and ceiling. In some places it had peeled away, exposing a smoothly dressed surface of rock." (Plate IV, Fig. 12). Such are the outlines of a pen picture of an isolated ruin which has attracted, since its discovery, much attention, both at home and abroad. A number of clay models have been recently made of it, which have been placed in several of the most famous museums in Europe. It already figures in some of the standard works on the aboriginal inhabitants of North America, and is considered one of the most unique specimens of ancient architecture thus far discovered in this section. The illustration will give a general idea of the house itself, but in order to realize its position in the cañon, a vertical distance of 800 feet must be 1 lide Bancroft's Native Races of the Pacific States, Vol. IV, p. 721. |