That this is the explanation of these ruins, we will cite the legendary stories given by an old man among the Moquis concerning some ruins in the canon of the McElmo, just over the line in Utah. At this point the canon widens out considerably, and in the center of the valley is still standing a portion of the old mesa, once filling the entire valley. It is now a mass of dark red sandstone, about one hundred feet high, and three hundred feet around, seamed and cracked, and gradually disappearing, as the rock has gone all around it. The top of this rock is covered with the ruins of some building; there are also ruins at the base and all around the immediate vicinity. There were watch towers and estufas, showing that this was a place of great interest.
The story is as follows: "Formerly the aborigines inhabited all this country as far east as the headwaters of the San Juan, as far north as the Rio Dolores, west some distance into Utah, and south and south-west throughout Arizona, and on down into Mexico. They had lived there from time immemorial, since the earth was a small island, which augmented as its inhabitants multiplied. They cultivated the valley, fashioned whatever utensils and tools they needed very neatly and handsomely out of clay, and wood, and stone, not knowing any of the useful metals; built their homes and kept their flocks and herds in the fertile river bottoms, and worshiped the sun. They were an eminently peaceful and prosperous people, living by agriculture rather than by the chase. About a thousand years ago, however, they were visited by savage strangers from the north, whom they treated hospitably. Soon these visits became more frequent and annoying. Then their troublesome neighbors, ancestors of the present Utes, began to forage upon them, and at last to massacre them and devastate their farms. So, to save their lives at least, they built houses high up on the cliffs, where they could store food and hide away until the raiders left.
"But one Summer the invaders did not go back to their mountains, as the people expected, but brought their families with them and settled down. So, driven from their homes and lands, starving in their little niches on the high cites they could only steal away during the night and wander across the cheerless uplands. To one who has traveled these steppes such a flight seems terrible, and the mind hesitates to picture the sufferings of the sad fugitives. At the 'Creston' (name of the ruin) they halted, and probably found friends, for the rocks and caves are full of the nests of these human wrens and swallows. Here they collected, erected stone fortifications and watch-towers, dug reservoirs in the rocks to hold a supply of water, which in all cases is precarious in this latitude, and once more stood at bay. Their foes came, and for one long month fought, and were beaten back, and returned day after day to the attack as merciless and inevitable as the tide. Meanwhile the families of the defenders were evacuating and moving south, and bravely did their defenders shield them till they were all safely a hundred miles away.
"The besiegers were beaten back and went away. But the narrative tells us that the hollows of the rocks were filled to the brim with the mingled blood of conquerors and, conquered, and red veins of it ran down the canon. It was such a victory as they could not afford to gain again, and they were glad, when the long flight was over, to follow their wives and little ones to the south. There, in the deserts of Arizona, on well-nigh unapproachable, isolated bluffs, they built new towns, and their few descendants, the Moquis, live in them to this day, preserving more carefully and purely the history and veneration of their forefathers than their skill or wisdom."22
Mr. Jackson thinks this legend arises from the appearance of the rocks. The bare floor of nearly white sandstone, upon which the butte stands, is stained in gory streaks and blotches by the action of an iron constituent in the rocks of another portion of the adjoining bluffs. That may well be true, but we believe that there are germs of truth in the story. Driven from their homes, where did the fugitives go? Some of them may have gone east, but probably the body of the migration was to the south. It has been the tendency of all tribes, but especially of the sedentary tribes, to pass to the south and east, and this is also the traditions among the inhabitants of still existing pueblos.23 We find that every available portion of New Mexico and Arizona bears evidence of having been once populated by tribes of Indians, who built houses in all respects like those already described. In northern New Mexico, Prof. Cope has described a whole section of country as being at one time more densely populated than the thickly inhabited portions of the Eastern States. He says: "The number of buildings in a square mile of that region is equal to, if not greater than the number now existing in the more densely populated rural districts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey."24
In one location he found a village of thirty houses, built of stone, and all in ruins. He found, over a large extent of country, that every little conical hill and eminence was crowned with ruins of old houses. We, of course, can not say that these ruins are necessarily younger than those to the north of the San Juan, and yet we think from Prof. Cope's description that they do not present such evidence of antiquity as do the crumbling ruins previously described. And then, besides, they were always located in easily defended positions.
The village spoken of was really a Cliff Village, being arranged along the very edge of a precipitous mesa, the only access to it being along a narrow causeway. Then again, although we have described many ruins near which no water is to be had, at least, in dry seasons, yet we have every reason to suppose water was formerly more plentiful and easily attained. But in this section it must always have been a serious question with them to obtain enough water for necessary purposes. They must have had to store away water in vessels of pottery, whose ruins are now so abundant. It is not such a country as we would suppose a people to choose for a place to settle in, only that they knew not where else to go.
It is also considered settled that all the inhabited pueblos, as well as those in ruins near the inhabited ones, were built by the descendants of these people whose houses we have described. This is proven by the similarity of pottery. Though some styles of ancient corrugated ware are found in the San Juan section not found near the inhabited pueblos, yet vast quantities of ware, similar to that now found in the inhabited pueblos, can be picked up all over the ruins to the north. Again, their religion must have been the same, as ruined estufas are common, in all respects similar to those now in use. In the modern pueblos we are struck with the small cell-like rooms, yet they are but little smaller than the ordinary single houses plentifully found over the entire field of ruins. All the Pueblo tribes are agricultural, so were these old people. In fact, all evidence confirms the conclusion that the remnants of the Pueblo people that we have already described, are also the descendants of the people driven by hostile bands from north of the San Juan.
This statement may give false impressions, however. The traditions of the Pueblo Indians, of New Mexico, are to the effect that they came from the north, and also that their ancestors formerly lived in the small houses we have described. But we do not mean to say that all the small houses and pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico are later in date than the cliff-houses. The pressure has always been from the north to the south. Neither would we be understood as saying that all the sedentary tribes, both ancient and modern, belong to the same stock of people. There are several different stocks of people even among the present Pueblos.25
In the valley of the Rio Chaco, about midway between the Rio Grande and the San Juan, we meet a group of ruined pueblos whose style of masonry is thought to indicate a greater antiquity than the inhabited pueblo towns; these probably indicate another settlement of these people. As these are really remarkable ruins, we must briefly describe them. In the Chaco canon, as indicated on the map, within the space of ten miles are the ruins of eight larger pueblos. Another is located at the very beginning of the canon, and two more on the edge of the mesas just outside of the canon. These are large communal houses of regular pueblo type, and, theoretically at least, they should be later in date than the majority of ruins throughout the area represented on the map. We think the development has been from small, separate houses, to a closely connected cluster, with a central citadel, which finally drew to itself all the other buildings, and became the communal building we call a pueblo.26
We give a restoration of, one—the Pueble Bonito—one of the largest and most important of the ruins. We can not doubt but what the restoration is substantially correct. It shows the open court, the terraced structure, and the system of defense. The circle itself is not as near a half-circle as we would imagine. The ground plan shows that it was really a many-sided building. This pueblo must have presented a striking appearance when it was in a complete state.
By comparing this structure with the views of some of the present pueblo towns, we will understand the remarks made earlier, as to the different styles of pueblo structures. This building must have had not far from six hundred and fifty rooms. "No single edifice of equal accommodations has ever been found in any part of North America. It would shelter three thousand Indians."27 This pueblo will compare favorably with some of the structures of Yucatan; though not so ornamental, yet for practical convenience it must have met the wants of the builders fully as well. This may be given as a fair example of the entire class.
The evident plan on which they started to build their structures, is shown in the following plan of the pueblo. But some of them were not fully completed. Two of them had but one wing. In the restoration the court is seen to be closed by a straight row of small buildings, but in most cases the wall inclosing the court was more or less circular. In one case the court was left open. We will only give general descriptions. It is now believed that these great structures were built only a part at a time; perhaps the main body, or a part of it, first. Afterwards, as the number of inhabitants increased, a wing would be added, and then the other; and so, many years would elapse before the pueblo would assume its completed form.
These structures ranged in extent from about four hundred to twelve hundred feet in external measurement and could furnish a home to from two hundred to eight hundred or a thousand Indians, and, in one case at least, many more.
In the next cut we have represented the different styles of masonry employed in the pueblos of this valley. It varied all the way from careful piling of big and little stones, and of alternate layers of such materials, to very good masonry indeed. Speaking of it, Mr. Jackson says, "It is the most wonderful feature in these ancient habitations, and is in striking contrast to the careless and rude methods shown in the dwellings of the present pueblos. The material, a grayish-yellow sandstone, breaking readily into thin laminae, and was quarried from the adjacent exposures of that rock. The stones employed average about the size of an ordinary brick, but as the larger pieces were irregular in size, the interstices were filled in with very thin plates of sandstone, or rather built in during its construction; for by no other means could they be placed with such regularity and compactness. So closely are the individual pieces fitted to each other that at a little distance no jointage appears, and the wall bears every indication of being a plain, solid surface."
Besides these important ruins, there are a great many others not especially different from those previously described. We can not state positively that these ruins are of a later date than those of the North; we think they are. From the character of the structures, we are more inclined to class them with the great pueblos of the Rio Grande, Puerco, and Zuni. By examining the map we see that the Rio Chaco would afford a convenient route for them in their migration from the San Juan Valley.
It may be of some interest to notice one of the rooms in this pueblo. Simpson says it is walled up with alternate layers of large and small stones, the regularity of the combination producing a very pleasant effect. Mr. Morgan thinks this room will compare not unfavorably with any of equal size to be found in the more imposing ruins of the South. We must notice the ceiling. The probabilities are that the Rio Chelly, further to the west, afforded another line of retreat. Some ruins are found scattered up and down the river or canon, which we will not stop to describe. Off to the south-west are the inhabited towns or pueblos of the Moquis, who, as we have seen, have a tradition that they came from the north.
There are some ruins found in the south-western part of Arizona which must be described in a general survey of the ruins of the Pueblo country. The river Gila, with numerous tributaries, is the most important stream in that portion of the State. It is in just such a section as we would expect to find ruins, if anywhere. Coronado, as we have seen, invaded the country about three hundred and fifty years ago. At the time of his visit this was then a ruin, for his historian describes one ruin as "a single ruined and roofless house . . . the work of civilized people who had come from afar."28 This gives us a point as to the antiquity of some of the ruins in the Gila Valley. As we shall see, there is every reason to suppose that this section was at one time a thickly inhabited one.
From the similar character of the remains, we conclude the original inhabitants to be of the same race of people as those we have already described, but what was the exact relation between them we can not tell, but we think a study of the ruins will only confirm the general truth of the traditions of the Pueblo tribes. In any one tradition there is doubtless much that is distorted. One form in which the traditions find expression is: "That they proceeded from the north-west to the upper waters of the Rio Colorado. There they divided, portions ascended by the San Juan, canon De Chelly, or the more easterly branches of that stream towards the center of New Mexico. Others, passing over the waters of the Rio Verde (see map), descended its valley to the Rio Gila."29
One hundred and fifty miles southwest of Zuni we notice the Verde River flowing into the Rio Salado, and the latter into the Gila. Besides those streams, there are other smaller ones, not marked on the map.30 Mr. Bandelier found near the canon del Tule an improvement on the irrigating ditches, that was a lining of concrete; and in this section also was noticed the ruins of both pueblos and the small houses. Near Ft. Apache he found the ruins of the largest villages discovered in Arizona, but we have no details of it. The valley of the Rio Verde and Salado seems to have been a favorite resort.
As early as 1854 attention was called to ruins in the Rio Verde. Mr. Leroux reported to Mr. Whipple that the "river banks were covered with ruins of stone houses and regular fortifications, which appeared to have been the work of civilized men, but had not been occupied for centuries. They were built upon the most fertile tracts of the valley, where were signs of acequias (irrigating ditches) and of cultivation. The walls were of solid masonry, of rectangular form, some twenty or thirty paces in length, were of solid masonry, and yet remaining ten or fifteen feet in height. The buildings were of two stories, with small apertures or loop-holes for defence, when besieged."31
Mr. Bandelier confirms this account as to the number of ruins. The entire valley of the Verde is filled with ruins of every description. From the account of the valley itself, we can see how well suited it was to the needs of village Indians. Mr. Leroux speaks in high praise of its fertility. Wood, water, and grass were abundant. In the neighborhood of Fort Reno Mr. Bandelier discovered a new architectural feature of great interest to us. This is a raised platform, on which the buildings were supported. This raised platform is a very important feature, as we shall learn in the ruins of Mexico and Central America. We have already seen how it was employed by the Mound Builders.
In other words, the detached houses are seen to form villages, with a central stronghold, and the tendency is observed to raise an artificial foundation for this central house, which draws into itself the surrounding houses. This is but another modification of the same idea which, in other sections of this area developed into the communal pueblo. Near Tempe a still more significant arrangement was noticed. Here was a four-sided platform, three hundred and forty feet long by two hundred and eighty feet wide, and five feet high, supported a second platform measuring two hundred and forty by two hundred feet, and six feet high. Elevated platforms, as a general rule, were not very distinct. Mr. Bandelier thinks that, owing to the peculiar drainage of the country, these artificial foundations were required to preserve the buildings from being swept away by a sudden torrent. The settlement of the sedentary tribes in this region cluster on the triangle formed by the Rio Verde, Salado, and Gila Rivers. "This is a warm region, with a scanty rainfall, and but little timber, and the soil is very fertile when irrigated, and two crops a year can be readily raised. Mr. Bandelier regards it as exceedingly well adapted to the wants of a horticultural people, and even traces in it some resemblance to Lower Egypt."
A very celebrated ruin on the Gila River gives us a fair idea of what this central stronghold of the village cluster, sometimes supported on a raised foundation, was like. This cut is a view of the principal ruin in this section, which, however, is only a portion of an extensive settlement, covering some five acres in all. The building is not very large, only fifty by forty feet, and four stories, of ten feet each, in height, with a possibility that the central portion of the building rose ten feet higher. The walls are built of adobe, five feet thick at the base, but tapering slightly at the top.
This house was surrounded by a court-yard which inclosed about two acres. Shapeless mounds, presumably the ruins of houses, are to be seen in various parts of this inclosure. "If the ground plan of this great house," says Mr. Bandelier, "with its surroundings of minor edifices, courts and inclosures is placed by the side of the ground plan of other typical ruins, the resemblance is almost perfect except in materials used." This settlement was separated into two divisions. In one place was noticed a large elliptical tank with heavy embankments, nearly eight feet deep.
As to other ruins on the Gila, Mr. Bartlett tells us: "One thing is evident, that at some former period the valley of the Gila was densely populated. The ruined buildings, the irrigating canals, and the vast quantities of pottery of a superior quality, show, that while they were an agricultural people, they were much in advance of the present semi-civilized tribes of the Gila." Speaking of the ruins of the Gila east of the San Pedro River, Emory says: "Whenever the mountains did not infringe too closely on the river and shut out the valley, they were seen in great abundance, enough, I should think, to indicate a former population of at least one hundred thousand; and in one place there is a long wide valley, twenty miles in length, much of which is covered with the ruins of buildings and broken pottery. Most of these outlines are rectangular, and vary from forty to fifty feet to two hundred by four hundred feet."32
It is, however, necessary to be very cautious in judging population by the number of ancient ruins. Prehistoric people were naturally of a roving disposition. The multitude of ruins in Western New York is not regarded as evidence of dense population, but they were occasioned by the known customs of the Indians in changing the sites of their villages "every ten, fifteen, or thirty years; or, in fact, whenever the scarcity of firewood, the exhaustion of their fields, or the prevalence of an epidemic made such a step desirable."33 Doubtless a similar remark may explain the difference of opinion as to the numbers of the Mound Builders.34 And, finally, Mr. Bandelier concludes that the great number of ruins scattered through New Mexico and its neighboring territories is by no means evidence of a large population. The evidence of tradition is to the effect that a large number of villages were successively, and not simultaneously, occupied by the same people.35
We have about completed our survey of the Pueblo country. We might state that the large communal houses, known as pueblos, are found as far south on the Rio Grande as Valverde. Clusters of separate houses occur as far south as Dona Ana. A range of low mountains lies to the west of the Rio Grande; between it and the headwaters of the Gila evidences of ancient habitations were observed on the small streams. Though these occur sometimes in little groups, the court-yards are not connected so as to form a defensive village. Small inclosed surfaces, with no evidence that a house ever was connected with them, were also observed. Mr. Bandelier could only surmise that these were garden-plots, something like the ancient terrace garden-plots in Peru.
Take it all in all, this is, indeed, a singular region, and the Pueblo tribes were a singular people. Their architecture shows us a people in the Middle Status of Barbarism. That they practised agriculture is shown by the presence of old irrigating ditches. Corn and corn-cobs are found in the rubbish-heaps of old settlements. Mr. Morgan thinks that the valley of the San Juan and its numerous tributaries was the place where the Indian race first rose to the dignity of cultivators of the soil.36 Cotton cloth has been found in the ruins on the Salado River. "At the time of the Spanish conquests the Pueblo Indians along the Rio Grande used cotton mantles."37
As we have devoted considerable time to the pottery of the Mound Builders, we must see how it compares with the pottery of this region. Fragments of pottery are very numerous all over the field of ruins. All explorers mention their abundance. Mr. Holmes on one occasion counted the pieces of pottery that by their shape evidently belonged to different vessels that he found in an area ten feet square. They numbered fifty-five, and we are led to believe they were not more numerous here than in other localities.
We recall that the ornamentations on the vessels of clay made by Mound Builders were either incised lines or indentations on the surface of the vessels. And, still further, the clay vessels themselves were frequently molded in the shape of animals or heads of animals. In this plate we have fragments of indented and corrugated ware, from the San Juan valley. This ware is only found under such circumstances indented and that we are justified in considering it very ancient. The ware made at the time of the conquest was always painted.
At Zuni and some of the other pueblos, at the present day, they make vessels in the form of various animals and other natural objects. This is, however, a recent thing. Only one vessel is known that was found under such circumstances that we are justified in thinking it very old. That was molded into a shape resembling some kind of an animal. This was found on the Rio Gila, in New Mexico; and even that has some peculiarities about it that renders its age uncertain. Mr. Bandelier says: "No vessel of ancient date, of human or animal shape, has ever been found." This is a most important point for us to consider, when we recall how numerous were animal-shaped vessels among the Mound Builders.
In this plate we have specimens of the ordinary painted ware from the ancient ruins. The most of these are restorations, but so many fragments have been obtained of each vessel that we have no doubt of the accuracy of the drawings. They decorated their pottery by painting. Even in many cases where they were further ornamented by indentations they still painted it, showing that painting was regarded as of the most importance. We notice that the ornamentation consists almost entirely of geometrical figures, parallel lines, and scrolls. Over the entire field of ruins the body of the vessels is of one of two colors; it is either white or red. The color employed to produce the ornamentation is black. There is almost no exception to this rule, though sometimes the ornamentation is of a brownish color with a metallic luster. Along the Rio Grande and the Gila some changes are noticed. The ornamentation is not strictly confined to two colors. Symbolical representations of clouds, whirlwind, and lightning are noticed. The red ware has disappeared, and a chocolate-colored ground takes its place.
All have noticed the superiority of the ancient pottery over that of the present tribes. Says Prof. Putnam. "A comparison of this ancient pottery with that made by the present inhabitants of the pueblos shows that a great deterioration has taken place in native American art, a rule which I think can be applied to all the more advanced tribes of America. The remarkable hardness of all the fragments of colored pottery which have been obtained from the vicinity of the old ruins in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, and also of the pottery of the same character found in the ruins of adobe houses, and in caves in Utah, shows that the ancient people understood the art of baking earthenware far better than their probable descendants now living in the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona."38
We have learned that the remnant of an aboriginal people, now living in the inhabited pueblos of the West, present us, in their primitive usage, with the fading outlines of a culture once widespread in the section of country we have examined. Many of the early sedentary tribes have vanished completely. Traditions state that other tribes have moved southward into regions unknown. "The picture which can be dimly traced to-day of this past is a very modest and unpretending one. No great cataclysms of nature, no wave of destruction on a large scale, either natural or human, appear to have interrupted the slow and tedious development of the people before the Spaniards came. One portion rose while another fell, sedentary tribes disappeared or moved off, and wild tribes roamed over the ruins of their former abode." At present but a few pueblos are left to show us what the people once were. But the fate of the Pueblo of Pecos hangs over them all. The rising tide of American civilization is rapidly surrounding them. Before many decades, possibly centuries, the present Pueblo tribes will yield to their fate. They, too, will be numbered among the vanished races of men.
REFERENCES
The story is as follows: "Formerly the aborigines inhabited all this country as far east as the headwaters of the San Juan, as far north as the Rio Dolores, west some distance into Utah, and south and south-west throughout Arizona, and on down into Mexico. They had lived there from time immemorial, since the earth was a small island, which augmented as its inhabitants multiplied. They cultivated the valley, fashioned whatever utensils and tools they needed very neatly and handsomely out of clay, and wood, and stone, not knowing any of the useful metals; built their homes and kept their flocks and herds in the fertile river bottoms, and worshiped the sun. They were an eminently peaceful and prosperous people, living by agriculture rather than by the chase. About a thousand years ago, however, they were visited by savage strangers from the north, whom they treated hospitably. Soon these visits became more frequent and annoying. Then their troublesome neighbors, ancestors of the present Utes, began to forage upon them, and at last to massacre them and devastate their farms. So, to save their lives at least, they built houses high up on the cliffs, where they could store food and hide away until the raiders left.
"But one Summer the invaders did not go back to their mountains, as the people expected, but brought their families with them and settled down. So, driven from their homes and lands, starving in their little niches on the high cites they could only steal away during the night and wander across the cheerless uplands. To one who has traveled these steppes such a flight seems terrible, and the mind hesitates to picture the sufferings of the sad fugitives. At the 'Creston' (name of the ruin) they halted, and probably found friends, for the rocks and caves are full of the nests of these human wrens and swallows. Here they collected, erected stone fortifications and watch-towers, dug reservoirs in the rocks to hold a supply of water, which in all cases is precarious in this latitude, and once more stood at bay. Their foes came, and for one long month fought, and were beaten back, and returned day after day to the attack as merciless and inevitable as the tide. Meanwhile the families of the defenders were evacuating and moving south, and bravely did their defenders shield them till they were all safely a hundred miles away.
"The besiegers were beaten back and went away. But the narrative tells us that the hollows of the rocks were filled to the brim with the mingled blood of conquerors and, conquered, and red veins of it ran down the canon. It was such a victory as they could not afford to gain again, and they were glad, when the long flight was over, to follow their wives and little ones to the south. There, in the deserts of Arizona, on well-nigh unapproachable, isolated bluffs, they built new towns, and their few descendants, the Moquis, live in them to this day, preserving more carefully and purely the history and veneration of their forefathers than their skill or wisdom."22
Mr. Jackson thinks this legend arises from the appearance of the rocks. The bare floor of nearly white sandstone, upon which the butte stands, is stained in gory streaks and blotches by the action of an iron constituent in the rocks of another portion of the adjoining bluffs. That may well be true, but we believe that there are germs of truth in the story. Driven from their homes, where did the fugitives go? Some of them may have gone east, but probably the body of the migration was to the south. It has been the tendency of all tribes, but especially of the sedentary tribes, to pass to the south and east, and this is also the traditions among the inhabitants of still existing pueblos.23 We find that every available portion of New Mexico and Arizona bears evidence of having been once populated by tribes of Indians, who built houses in all respects like those already described. In northern New Mexico, Prof. Cope has described a whole section of country as being at one time more densely populated than the thickly inhabited portions of the Eastern States. He says: "The number of buildings in a square mile of that region is equal to, if not greater than the number now existing in the more densely populated rural districts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey."24
In one location he found a village of thirty houses, built of stone, and all in ruins. He found, over a large extent of country, that every little conical hill and eminence was crowned with ruins of old houses. We, of course, can not say that these ruins are necessarily younger than those to the north of the San Juan, and yet we think from Prof. Cope's description that they do not present such evidence of antiquity as do the crumbling ruins previously described. And then, besides, they were always located in easily defended positions.
The village spoken of was really a Cliff Village, being arranged along the very edge of a precipitous mesa, the only access to it being along a narrow causeway. Then again, although we have described many ruins near which no water is to be had, at least, in dry seasons, yet we have every reason to suppose water was formerly more plentiful and easily attained. But in this section it must always have been a serious question with them to obtain enough water for necessary purposes. They must have had to store away water in vessels of pottery, whose ruins are now so abundant. It is not such a country as we would suppose a people to choose for a place to settle in, only that they knew not where else to go.
It is also considered settled that all the inhabited pueblos, as well as those in ruins near the inhabited ones, were built by the descendants of these people whose houses we have described. This is proven by the similarity of pottery. Though some styles of ancient corrugated ware are found in the San Juan section not found near the inhabited pueblos, yet vast quantities of ware, similar to that now found in the inhabited pueblos, can be picked up all over the ruins to the north. Again, their religion must have been the same, as ruined estufas are common, in all respects similar to those now in use. In the modern pueblos we are struck with the small cell-like rooms, yet they are but little smaller than the ordinary single houses plentifully found over the entire field of ruins. All the Pueblo tribes are agricultural, so were these old people. In fact, all evidence confirms the conclusion that the remnants of the Pueblo people that we have already described, are also the descendants of the people driven by hostile bands from north of the San Juan.
This statement may give false impressions, however. The traditions of the Pueblo Indians, of New Mexico, are to the effect that they came from the north, and also that their ancestors formerly lived in the small houses we have described. But we do not mean to say that all the small houses and pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico are later in date than the cliff-houses. The pressure has always been from the north to the south. Neither would we be understood as saying that all the sedentary tribes, both ancient and modern, belong to the same stock of people. There are several different stocks of people even among the present Pueblos.25
In the valley of the Rio Chaco, about midway between the Rio Grande and the San Juan, we meet a group of ruined pueblos whose style of masonry is thought to indicate a greater antiquity than the inhabited pueblo towns; these probably indicate another settlement of these people. As these are really remarkable ruins, we must briefly describe them. In the Chaco canon, as indicated on the map, within the space of ten miles are the ruins of eight larger pueblos. Another is located at the very beginning of the canon, and two more on the edge of the mesas just outside of the canon. These are large communal houses of regular pueblo type, and, theoretically at least, they should be later in date than the majority of ruins throughout the area represented on the map. We think the development has been from small, separate houses, to a closely connected cluster, with a central citadel, which finally drew to itself all the other buildings, and became the communal building we call a pueblo.26
We give a restoration of, one—the Pueble Bonito—one of the largest and most important of the ruins. We can not doubt but what the restoration is substantially correct. It shows the open court, the terraced structure, and the system of defense. The circle itself is not as near a half-circle as we would imagine. The ground plan shows that it was really a many-sided building. This pueblo must have presented a striking appearance when it was in a complete state.
By comparing this structure with the views of some of the present pueblo towns, we will understand the remarks made earlier, as to the different styles of pueblo structures. This building must have had not far from six hundred and fifty rooms. "No single edifice of equal accommodations has ever been found in any part of North America. It would shelter three thousand Indians."27 This pueblo will compare favorably with some of the structures of Yucatan; though not so ornamental, yet for practical convenience it must have met the wants of the builders fully as well. This may be given as a fair example of the entire class.
The evident plan on which they started to build their structures, is shown in the following plan of the pueblo. But some of them were not fully completed. Two of them had but one wing. In the restoration the court is seen to be closed by a straight row of small buildings, but in most cases the wall inclosing the court was more or less circular. In one case the court was left open. We will only give general descriptions. It is now believed that these great structures were built only a part at a time; perhaps the main body, or a part of it, first. Afterwards, as the number of inhabitants increased, a wing would be added, and then the other; and so, many years would elapse before the pueblo would assume its completed form.
These structures ranged in extent from about four hundred to twelve hundred feet in external measurement and could furnish a home to from two hundred to eight hundred or a thousand Indians, and, in one case at least, many more.
In the next cut we have represented the different styles of masonry employed in the pueblos of this valley. It varied all the way from careful piling of big and little stones, and of alternate layers of such materials, to very good masonry indeed. Speaking of it, Mr. Jackson says, "It is the most wonderful feature in these ancient habitations, and is in striking contrast to the careless and rude methods shown in the dwellings of the present pueblos. The material, a grayish-yellow sandstone, breaking readily into thin laminae, and was quarried from the adjacent exposures of that rock. The stones employed average about the size of an ordinary brick, but as the larger pieces were irregular in size, the interstices were filled in with very thin plates of sandstone, or rather built in during its construction; for by no other means could they be placed with such regularity and compactness. So closely are the individual pieces fitted to each other that at a little distance no jointage appears, and the wall bears every indication of being a plain, solid surface."
Besides these important ruins, there are a great many others not especially different from those previously described. We can not state positively that these ruins are of a later date than those of the North; we think they are. From the character of the structures, we are more inclined to class them with the great pueblos of the Rio Grande, Puerco, and Zuni. By examining the map we see that the Rio Chaco would afford a convenient route for them in their migration from the San Juan Valley.
It may be of some interest to notice one of the rooms in this pueblo. Simpson says it is walled up with alternate layers of large and small stones, the regularity of the combination producing a very pleasant effect. Mr. Morgan thinks this room will compare not unfavorably with any of equal size to be found in the more imposing ruins of the South. We must notice the ceiling. The probabilities are that the Rio Chelly, further to the west, afforded another line of retreat. Some ruins are found scattered up and down the river or canon, which we will not stop to describe. Off to the south-west are the inhabited towns or pueblos of the Moquis, who, as we have seen, have a tradition that they came from the north.
There are some ruins found in the south-western part of Arizona which must be described in a general survey of the ruins of the Pueblo country. The river Gila, with numerous tributaries, is the most important stream in that portion of the State. It is in just such a section as we would expect to find ruins, if anywhere. Coronado, as we have seen, invaded the country about three hundred and fifty years ago. At the time of his visit this was then a ruin, for his historian describes one ruin as "a single ruined and roofless house . . . the work of civilized people who had come from afar."28 This gives us a point as to the antiquity of some of the ruins in the Gila Valley. As we shall see, there is every reason to suppose that this section was at one time a thickly inhabited one.
From the similar character of the remains, we conclude the original inhabitants to be of the same race of people as those we have already described, but what was the exact relation between them we can not tell, but we think a study of the ruins will only confirm the general truth of the traditions of the Pueblo tribes. In any one tradition there is doubtless much that is distorted. One form in which the traditions find expression is: "That they proceeded from the north-west to the upper waters of the Rio Colorado. There they divided, portions ascended by the San Juan, canon De Chelly, or the more easterly branches of that stream towards the center of New Mexico. Others, passing over the waters of the Rio Verde (see map), descended its valley to the Rio Gila."29
One hundred and fifty miles southwest of Zuni we notice the Verde River flowing into the Rio Salado, and the latter into the Gila. Besides those streams, there are other smaller ones, not marked on the map.30 Mr. Bandelier found near the canon del Tule an improvement on the irrigating ditches, that was a lining of concrete; and in this section also was noticed the ruins of both pueblos and the small houses. Near Ft. Apache he found the ruins of the largest villages discovered in Arizona, but we have no details of it. The valley of the Rio Verde and Salado seems to have been a favorite resort.
As early as 1854 attention was called to ruins in the Rio Verde. Mr. Leroux reported to Mr. Whipple that the "river banks were covered with ruins of stone houses and regular fortifications, which appeared to have been the work of civilized men, but had not been occupied for centuries. They were built upon the most fertile tracts of the valley, where were signs of acequias (irrigating ditches) and of cultivation. The walls were of solid masonry, of rectangular form, some twenty or thirty paces in length, were of solid masonry, and yet remaining ten or fifteen feet in height. The buildings were of two stories, with small apertures or loop-holes for defence, when besieged."31
Mr. Bandelier confirms this account as to the number of ruins. The entire valley of the Verde is filled with ruins of every description. From the account of the valley itself, we can see how well suited it was to the needs of village Indians. Mr. Leroux speaks in high praise of its fertility. Wood, water, and grass were abundant. In the neighborhood of Fort Reno Mr. Bandelier discovered a new architectural feature of great interest to us. This is a raised platform, on which the buildings were supported. This raised platform is a very important feature, as we shall learn in the ruins of Mexico and Central America. We have already seen how it was employed by the Mound Builders.
In other words, the detached houses are seen to form villages, with a central stronghold, and the tendency is observed to raise an artificial foundation for this central house, which draws into itself the surrounding houses. This is but another modification of the same idea which, in other sections of this area developed into the communal pueblo. Near Tempe a still more significant arrangement was noticed. Here was a four-sided platform, three hundred and forty feet long by two hundred and eighty feet wide, and five feet high, supported a second platform measuring two hundred and forty by two hundred feet, and six feet high. Elevated platforms, as a general rule, were not very distinct. Mr. Bandelier thinks that, owing to the peculiar drainage of the country, these artificial foundations were required to preserve the buildings from being swept away by a sudden torrent. The settlement of the sedentary tribes in this region cluster on the triangle formed by the Rio Verde, Salado, and Gila Rivers. "This is a warm region, with a scanty rainfall, and but little timber, and the soil is very fertile when irrigated, and two crops a year can be readily raised. Mr. Bandelier regards it as exceedingly well adapted to the wants of a horticultural people, and even traces in it some resemblance to Lower Egypt."
A very celebrated ruin on the Gila River gives us a fair idea of what this central stronghold of the village cluster, sometimes supported on a raised foundation, was like. This cut is a view of the principal ruin in this section, which, however, is only a portion of an extensive settlement, covering some five acres in all. The building is not very large, only fifty by forty feet, and four stories, of ten feet each, in height, with a possibility that the central portion of the building rose ten feet higher. The walls are built of adobe, five feet thick at the base, but tapering slightly at the top.
This house was surrounded by a court-yard which inclosed about two acres. Shapeless mounds, presumably the ruins of houses, are to be seen in various parts of this inclosure. "If the ground plan of this great house," says Mr. Bandelier, "with its surroundings of minor edifices, courts and inclosures is placed by the side of the ground plan of other typical ruins, the resemblance is almost perfect except in materials used." This settlement was separated into two divisions. In one place was noticed a large elliptical tank with heavy embankments, nearly eight feet deep.
As to other ruins on the Gila, Mr. Bartlett tells us: "One thing is evident, that at some former period the valley of the Gila was densely populated. The ruined buildings, the irrigating canals, and the vast quantities of pottery of a superior quality, show, that while they were an agricultural people, they were much in advance of the present semi-civilized tribes of the Gila." Speaking of the ruins of the Gila east of the San Pedro River, Emory says: "Whenever the mountains did not infringe too closely on the river and shut out the valley, they were seen in great abundance, enough, I should think, to indicate a former population of at least one hundred thousand; and in one place there is a long wide valley, twenty miles in length, much of which is covered with the ruins of buildings and broken pottery. Most of these outlines are rectangular, and vary from forty to fifty feet to two hundred by four hundred feet."32
It is, however, necessary to be very cautious in judging population by the number of ancient ruins. Prehistoric people were naturally of a roving disposition. The multitude of ruins in Western New York is not regarded as evidence of dense population, but they were occasioned by the known customs of the Indians in changing the sites of their villages "every ten, fifteen, or thirty years; or, in fact, whenever the scarcity of firewood, the exhaustion of their fields, or the prevalence of an epidemic made such a step desirable."33 Doubtless a similar remark may explain the difference of opinion as to the numbers of the Mound Builders.34 And, finally, Mr. Bandelier concludes that the great number of ruins scattered through New Mexico and its neighboring territories is by no means evidence of a large population. The evidence of tradition is to the effect that a large number of villages were successively, and not simultaneously, occupied by the same people.35
We have about completed our survey of the Pueblo country. We might state that the large communal houses, known as pueblos, are found as far south on the Rio Grande as Valverde. Clusters of separate houses occur as far south as Dona Ana. A range of low mountains lies to the west of the Rio Grande; between it and the headwaters of the Gila evidences of ancient habitations were observed on the small streams. Though these occur sometimes in little groups, the court-yards are not connected so as to form a defensive village. Small inclosed surfaces, with no evidence that a house ever was connected with them, were also observed. Mr. Bandelier could only surmise that these were garden-plots, something like the ancient terrace garden-plots in Peru.
Take it all in all, this is, indeed, a singular region, and the Pueblo tribes were a singular people. Their architecture shows us a people in the Middle Status of Barbarism. That they practised agriculture is shown by the presence of old irrigating ditches. Corn and corn-cobs are found in the rubbish-heaps of old settlements. Mr. Morgan thinks that the valley of the San Juan and its numerous tributaries was the place where the Indian race first rose to the dignity of cultivators of the soil.36 Cotton cloth has been found in the ruins on the Salado River. "At the time of the Spanish conquests the Pueblo Indians along the Rio Grande used cotton mantles."37
As we have devoted considerable time to the pottery of the Mound Builders, we must see how it compares with the pottery of this region. Fragments of pottery are very numerous all over the field of ruins. All explorers mention their abundance. Mr. Holmes on one occasion counted the pieces of pottery that by their shape evidently belonged to different vessels that he found in an area ten feet square. They numbered fifty-five, and we are led to believe they were not more numerous here than in other localities.
We recall that the ornamentations on the vessels of clay made by Mound Builders were either incised lines or indentations on the surface of the vessels. And, still further, the clay vessels themselves were frequently molded in the shape of animals or heads of animals. In this plate we have fragments of indented and corrugated ware, from the San Juan valley. This ware is only found under such circumstances indented and that we are justified in considering it very ancient. The ware made at the time of the conquest was always painted.
At Zuni and some of the other pueblos, at the present day, they make vessels in the form of various animals and other natural objects. This is, however, a recent thing. Only one vessel is known that was found under such circumstances that we are justified in thinking it very old. That was molded into a shape resembling some kind of an animal. This was found on the Rio Gila, in New Mexico; and even that has some peculiarities about it that renders its age uncertain. Mr. Bandelier says: "No vessel of ancient date, of human or animal shape, has ever been found." This is a most important point for us to consider, when we recall how numerous were animal-shaped vessels among the Mound Builders.
In this plate we have specimens of the ordinary painted ware from the ancient ruins. The most of these are restorations, but so many fragments have been obtained of each vessel that we have no doubt of the accuracy of the drawings. They decorated their pottery by painting. Even in many cases where they were further ornamented by indentations they still painted it, showing that painting was regarded as of the most importance. We notice that the ornamentation consists almost entirely of geometrical figures, parallel lines, and scrolls. Over the entire field of ruins the body of the vessels is of one of two colors; it is either white or red. The color employed to produce the ornamentation is black. There is almost no exception to this rule, though sometimes the ornamentation is of a brownish color with a metallic luster. Along the Rio Grande and the Gila some changes are noticed. The ornamentation is not strictly confined to two colors. Symbolical representations of clouds, whirlwind, and lightning are noticed. The red ware has disappeared, and a chocolate-colored ground takes its place.
All have noticed the superiority of the ancient pottery over that of the present tribes. Says Prof. Putnam. "A comparison of this ancient pottery with that made by the present inhabitants of the pueblos shows that a great deterioration has taken place in native American art, a rule which I think can be applied to all the more advanced tribes of America. The remarkable hardness of all the fragments of colored pottery which have been obtained from the vicinity of the old ruins in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, and also of the pottery of the same character found in the ruins of adobe houses, and in caves in Utah, shows that the ancient people understood the art of baking earthenware far better than their probable descendants now living in the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona."38
We have learned that the remnant of an aboriginal people, now living in the inhabited pueblos of the West, present us, in their primitive usage, with the fading outlines of a culture once widespread in the section of country we have examined. Many of the early sedentary tribes have vanished completely. Traditions state that other tribes have moved southward into regions unknown. "The picture which can be dimly traced to-day of this past is a very modest and unpretending one. No great cataclysms of nature, no wave of destruction on a large scale, either natural or human, appear to have interrupted the slow and tedious development of the people before the Spaniards came. One portion rose while another fell, sedentary tribes disappeared or moved off, and wild tribes roamed over the ruins of their former abode." At present but a few pueblos are left to show us what the people once were. But the fate of the Pueblo of Pecos hangs over them all. The rising tide of American civilization is rapidly surrounding them. Before many decades, possibly centuries, the present Pueblo tribes will yield to their fate. They, too, will be numbered among the vanished races of men.
REFERENCES
- The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Dr. C. C.
Abbott, of Trenton, New Jersey, for criticism. - Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 735, et seq.
- Ibid., p. 753.
- Whitney's "Geology of California," Vol. I.
- Whitney's "Geological Survey of California," Vol. I.
- Dr. Newbury’s "Geological Survey of California."
- Whitney's "Auriferous Gravels of California," p. 283.
- Cambridge Lecture, 1878.
- Cambridge Lecture, 1878.
- "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 698.
- In general, all about Sonora, in the auriferous gravels, are
found bones of extinct animals, and, associated with them, many
relics of the works of human hands. These are found at various
depths down to one hundred feet. (Whitney's "Auriferous Gravels,"
p. 263.) - American Journal of Science, Vol. XIX, p. 176,
1880. - "Auriferous Gravels," p. 279.
- Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 289.
- Dawkins, in Southall's "Pliocene Man," p. 18.
- Southall's "Pliocene Man," p. 19.
- Schoolcraft's "Archæology," Vol. I, p. 105.
- As bearing on the question of Pliocene man, we might refer to
the impression of human (?) foot-prints in the sand-stone quarry
of the State prison at Nevada. At one time this area was the
bottom of a lake, and we can plainly see the tracks of various
animals that came down to drink. A huge mammoth visited the
place; so also did horses and other animals. Among these is one
series of tracks evidently made by a biped. Some think they are
the sandaled foot of a human being. This question is still under
discussion. - "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 11. - Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 583.
- Putnam, in "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian,"
Vol. VII, p. 11. - Ibid., p. 18.
- "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 12. - "Prehistoric Times," p. 436.
- "Human Species," p. 147.
- The researches of Mr. Dall in the Aleutian Islands
demonstrate the long-continued occupation of them by a savage
people, and a gradual advance of the same in culture—though
this apparent advance may have been simply the inroads of more
advanced tribes. U.S. Geographical Survey W. of 100th M., p.
12. - Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 292.
- Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 108, note.
- "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 3. - Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, pp. 646, 647.
- "U.S. Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol.
VII, p. 12. - Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 591.
- LeConte's "Elements of Geology."
- Prof. Winchell, in his last work, "World Life," p. 363, et
seq., goes over the entire subject. As might be expected, no
decisive results are obtained. He sums up the arguments to show
that in this country the close of the Glacial Age is not more
than seven thousand years ago (p. 375). The student who reads
these pages and then Mr. Geikie's work, "Prehistoric Europe,"
will be sorely puzzled to know what conclusions to adopt. We can
not do better than refer to the chapter on Antiquity Paleolithic
Age. - Dana's Am. Journal of Science, May, 1875.
- Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 62.
- See Lockwood, in Popular Science Monthly for 1883, for
account of beaver dam built on a mastodon skeleton and evidence
of contemporaneity of Indians and mastodons. - "The Missouri was a stream thirty miles wide."
- "Hayden," p. 255.
- For the facts on which this paragraph rests, see Report of
Samuel Aughey, Ph.D., in "U.S. Survey of the Territories, for
1874," p. 243, et seq. - "American Assoc. Rep.," 1880, p. 720.
- "Illinois Geological Reports," Vol. III, p. 123.
- "Prehistoric Races," p. 69.
- Jones's "Antiquities of the Southern Indians," p. 293.
- Jones's "Antiquities of the Southern Indians," p. 295.
- Quoted by Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 3.
- Peet's "Archæology of Europe and America," p. 11.
- Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 27.
- Up to the present time (1884) Dr. Abbott has collected over
20,000 specimens of stone implements, and all his more recent
"finds" but confirm the opinion he expressed as to their
significance ten years ago. His collection is at the Peabody
Museum of Archæology, at Cambridge, Mass. (See last Peabody
Report.) - "Nature," Vol. XI, p. 215.
- Ibid.
- "Nature," Vol. XI, p. 215.
- Ibid.
- "Primitive Industry," Abbott, p. 506.
- Seventeenth Report Peabody Museum, p. 354 and note.
- "Primitive Industry," p. 551.
- "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 324.
- Ibid., p. 324.
- We believe that similar results will attend the careful
exploration in other sections. As bearing on this subject, it is
interesting to know that Paleolithic implements are reported from
one locality in Mexico. Our information in regard to them is very
slight. (Brit. Assoc. Reports, 1881; Pres. Address, Count De
Saporte, Popular Science Monthly, Sept., 1883.) - Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 540.
- "Geographical and Geological Survey," 1874, p. 254.
- Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 483.
- Abbott: "Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural
History," Vol. XXII, p. 102. - "Primitive Industry," p. 512.
- "Primitive Industry," p. 512.
- U.S. survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII, p.
12. - Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 520.
- Ibid., p. 519.
- U.S. Geographical Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region," Vol.
I, p. 102, quoted from "Primitive Industry," p. 519. - Popular Science Monthly, Jan., 1883.
- DeCosta's "Precolumbian Discovery of America," p. 69.
- Winchell's "Preadamites," p. 389.
- Brinton's "Myths of the New World," p. 23. Note.
- Prof. DeHass's "Paper" read before Am. Assoc., 1882.
- See chapter, "Cave-men," p. 113. Note.
- See remarks of Prof. Boyd Dawkins quoted earlier.
World History
