REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 23 



southern part of the Territory to the greeu hills and magnificent pine 

 forests of this vicinity was a. marked aud welcome one. The tempera- 

 ture here at that time was also cool and very pleasant. For several 

 weeks after my arrival here my health was unusually jwor, owing to the 

 debilitating effect of the heat experienced earlier in the season, but 

 recovering from this, I passed the remainder of the fall in making hunt- 

 ing excursions in various directions from Springerville as a center, for 

 the purpose of securing a series of deer and antelope skins for the Na- 

 tional Museum. 



"Although the mountains about here have been noted for the abun- 

 dance of large game in them during past years, yet all kinds of large 

 game were remarkably scarce during the past season. Such being the 

 case, it required much longer hunting and more work to secure the de- 

 sired game than had been antici])ated. 



" Bear were not to be found at all, and elk were so scarce that only a 

 single fresh track was seen during several weeks in the woods. Al- 

 though the cattlemen have invaded this district in force, yet they have 

 only touched the pine country at widely separated places, and I am un- 

 able to account for the scarcity of large game. 



"The mountains of this range are well watered by creeks and springs, 

 and from 6,500 feet altitude up to timber line they are covered with a 

 fine growth of pines, with aspens, and other trees common to high alti- 

 tudes in this region, intermingled on the higher ridges. There is 

 scarcely any undergrowth but a dense mat of grass and flowers in these 

 forests, and beautiful mountain parks are found at frequent intervals. 

 These parks vary in size from the tiny glades a few yards across to 

 broad savannas miles in extent^ and the country would appear to be a 

 sportsman's paradise were not the game unaccountably absent. 



" While at Springerville some time was devoted to examining va- 

 rious old ruins in the vicinity, along the valley of the Little Colorado 

 Eiver. The sites of old stone-walled houses, frequently showing the 

 outlines of several rooms, are common, but only fragments of broken 

 pottery, with an occasional mortar, are found lying about them. Two 

 rooms were cleaned out in one ruin, but the results were discouragingly 

 meager, as only a bone awl, a hammer-stone, and a shell ornament re- 

 warded two days' hard \vork. 



"Along the base of th(? lava bluffs bordering the valley occur masses 

 of huge, angular blocks of lava, lying as they fell from the cliff" in 

 rough masses, and among which are large crevices, frequently leading 

 into irregular chambers and sheltered nooks among the rocks. In these 

 were found much broken pottery, and by careful search nearly all the 

 fragments of several pots were secured. Some old bows, arrows, and 

 other sticks, with the paint still bright upon them, were found in dry 

 spots. 



"An old cave in the sandstone on the river, about 15 miles below 

 Springerville, yielded an old pot, some reeds prepared for arrows, a war 

 club, and some spear and arrow-tips. This cave had a great mass of 

 bows and arrows stored in it, when found by the Mexicans some years 

 ago; but the finders fired the pile, and nearly everything was reduced 

 to ashes. Another cave, located about thirty-five miles west of Spring- 

 erville, is a long, forked passage in the lava rock at the far end of which 

 the discoverers secured a fine lot of pottery a couple of years ago. At 

 the time of my visit nothing remained except traces of a fire where the 

 pottery had been found. The bottom of the cave is covered with a layer 

 of fine clay, such as the pottery was made from. 



