CHAPTER 4 



Animals and Plants of the Region in Relation 



to the Aborigines 



The Carlsbad Cavern was once the center of a large 

 Indian population, as is shown by dozens of mescal pits 

 (Fig. 11) in the immediate vicinity, five of these being 

 at the very mouth of the largest entrance to the cave; 

 also by grinding-holes (Figs. 13 and 14) at the entrance, 

 by flint chips, broken arrow points, and bits of pottery 

 scattered over the ridges, by bones in burial holes in 

 the mouth of the cave, and by human skeletons buried 

 in the deep guano deposits, far back in the cave. Un- 

 doubtedly the Indians used the great sheltering dome 

 of the entrance, where a hundred or more individuals 

 could cook and sleep in the warm cave air, completely 

 protected from storms and out of danger from enemies. 

 That they had free entrance to the great rooms of the 

 cave, either along narrow shelves of rock, or by ropes or 

 ladders, ismore than probable, but any extensive occupa- 

 tion of the dark chambers would have left more evident 

 traces. Apparently the throat of the cave was their 

 main retreat for shelter, comfort, defense, and burial. 

 However barren and inhospitable the surrounding 

 country may appear to the general observer, it was a 

 region of abundance and even luxury to the aborigines. 

 The climate was mild, and with the protection from 

 winter storms and winds afforded by the cave, the 

 inhabitants needed little in the way of houses or cloth- 



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