142 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



House? These names are most misleading and give the that the smoke from the numerous family tires found its 

 stranger the impression that the ruins are but the remains only outlet by flowing along the surface of the roof, it 



of an occasional dwelling rather than those of a vil- 

 lage of 400 souls. 



The largest group of ruins in the Park, and perhaps 

 the largest known to have been built by this strange race 

 of people, is the one so unhappily yclept '"Clifif Palace." 



Pkotvyiaf'b by Mark Daniels 



SPRUCE TREE HOUSE 



This is located near the upper end of a spur of Spruce Canyon. It was given the 

 name becavise of the large .spruce tree in the foreground. The park ranger 

 station and tourist headquarters are directly across the canyon on the opposite 

 rim. From there this and other fine views of the ruins may be had. 



Here again the responsibility of a misnomer 

 should bring the pangs of regret to the committee 

 on names. It lies in an eastern si)ur of Cliff Can- 

 yon and is an enormous ca\ein with roof arching 

 nearlv a hundred feet above a floor which is sev- 

 eral hundred feet above the bottom of the can- 

 yon. From the terraces of the ruins one may look 

 toward the west across the canyon and see on the 

 top of a great promontory the fallen stones which 

 once formed a pueblo. There is an example in 

 Cliff Palace of a four-storied structure which 

 was, in all likelihood, used for living quarters. 

 It is the furthest square tower shown in the 

 photograph and lays claim as the predecessor of 

 the modern tenement. Whether the choicer 

 rooms were considereil tlinse on the upper fldors 

 or not cannot be said, l)Ut in light of the fact 



is more than probable that the upper floors fell into the 



class of our present "fifth floor back." 



There are three distinct terraces which are readily 



recognizable by the different levels of the Kivas. These 



Kivas were the ceremonial rooms used by the dift'erent 

 clans of warriors, or at least, such is the con- 

 tention of those who have studied the subject. 

 It is presumed that in a city of the size of 

 Cliff Palace, which probably accommodated 

 in the neighl)orhood of one thousand people, 

 there were a numl)er of clans, the warriors 

 of which preferred to meet in the war cham- 

 l)er I if their own particular clan. It is certain 

 that if aiu'thing Ijut the most amicable relations 

 existed between the members of the various 

 classes not many of them could have been housed 

 111 one Ki\a without the certainty of a fight. 

 These Ki\as are of peculiar construction and al- 

 ways built along the same lines. They are circu- 

 lar in form and contain a fireplace with a stone 

 slab for baffle board, which deflected the smoke 

 and regulated the draught. Some Kivas have a 

 small hole in the floor, presumed to ha\e been 



Pholotjrapli by Mark I'auir 



BALCONY HOUSE 



Fhotoiiral^h by Mark Daniels, 



A SUBURBAN COTTAGE 



TCo doubt when the village became filled some were forced to taUe up their abode 

 elsewhere, and so preempted these small crevices near the main cave. The means 

 of access was the pole, on which enough of the branches had been allowed to 

 remain to give a foothold for the clambering owner. 



This is the only example of the use of balcony construction found among the ruins 

 of the Cliff Dwellers. From the parapet wall tiiere is a sheer drop of several 

 hundred feet to the floor of the canyon below. Even at the present time the 

 village is accessible from one end only, and that by vntue of the crumbled walls. 



iisi.'.! in religiiiii> rites for a communication with 

 the underuorlil. The roofs of the Kivas were 

 co\ered with cedar beams and adobe floor above 

 aii<l formed part of the area way of the terrace. 

 In most Kivas access was secured through a 

 hole in tlie top. While the Kivas are of interest 

 in all (if the ruins, to my way of thinking, the 

 most fascinating bit of structure in Cliff" Palace 

 is the Sjjeaker Chief's Tower, as it has been 

 named by someone with imagination. It is at 

 the northern end of the village and overlooks 

 the entire arrangement from a quite command- 

 ing position. ( )n the second floor level is a 

 landing which may have been used by the chief 

 of the tribe to address the warriors of his city. 

 The outer face of the Tower proper is circular 

 in form, above which are a series of loopholes, 



