PREHISTORIC RUINS IN SOUTHERN COLORADO. 667 



through the middle of this desert country, fertilizing a narrow belt 

 along its course. 



In the region drained by this river there is little water. Of the 

 branches which enter it from the north, there is but one stream west 

 of the La Plata which succeeds in reaching the main river. This is 

 the Rio Mancos. All the others, and they are numerous, start from 

 the mountains as large, clear, beautiful streams. They reach the pla- 

 teau ; the water becomes discolored, alkaline, and in a few miles dis- 

 appears. The dry atmosphere and the parched earth have absorbed it, 

 and a dry canon alone remains to mock the thirsty traveler. Reaching 

 the edge of one of these caiions, five hundred or pei'haps a thousand 

 feet deep, with precipitous sides, one experiences a feeling akin to 

 superstitious fear when, after descending to the bottom, and fully 

 expecting to hear the rushing of a torrent of crystal water, he finds 

 only a stream-bed of hot, glistening sand. The feeling is the same 

 which one has on seeing any other monstrosity. Why this great canon 

 carved out of solid rock ? Where is the agent which has produced 

 such stupendous effects ? 



Doubtless in the early spring, when the snows in the high moun- 

 tains and on their lower slopes yield to the power of the sun, these 

 stream-beds are for a short time — a week or two, perhaps — each filled 

 with a rushing torrent ; but, like the people who once dwelt near them, 

 the perennial streams, which in time past cut these gorges, have dis- 

 appeared. Throughout this vast region, with the exception of the 

 streams mentioned, the only water to be had is in springs and in 

 water-holes, where rain-water, protected from the ardent rays of the 

 sun, remains for a time. The sources of supply are precarious, and, 

 without a knowledge of their location, one might travel for days with- 

 out finding water. 



Scattered over the region are the remains of a long-forgotten peo- 

 ple — a people which, judging from the few relics left for our study, 

 possessed a far higher degree of civilization than the wild tribes now 

 roaming the country, higher than the Moquis and Pueblos of the pres- 

 ent day, yet resembling them in many respects. We find the remains 

 of their homes, their houses of stone, in various places and of various 

 kinds : some, the homes of a happy, contented people, in full security, 

 leading a pastoral life ; others, mere houses built for shelter and de- 

 fense in stormy times, as protection from the invader, for concealment, 

 and for open defense. The general outline of their history is written 

 in characters of stone all over the country. 



The northern limit of their settlements seems to have been near 

 north latitude 38°. Farther north than this no evidences of their oc- 

 cupation have been discovered, although exploring parties have exam- 

 ined the country thence to the Grand River. Toward the south and 

 west their dwellings have been found in Utah, throughout Arizona, 

 and in New Mexico as far east as the Rio Grande. But here, on the 



