THE MUSEUM. 



descent, twice he was unable to go on. 

 No doubt the ancient inhabitants 

 thought nothing of that hair-raising 

 descent. 



Once attained, the bench on which 

 the palace stood, was found of no 

 great extent. The precipice dropped 

 away so suddenly that it seemed one 

 could throw a stone into the canyon 

 bottom, 700 feet below. No trace 

 was fouud of any means of exit from 

 the platform except the path. 



It is surmised by Dr. Cole, however 

 that the natives had ladders of yucca 

 rope by which, in emergergency, they 

 could descend to the valley. 



The "Cliff Palace." It is most im- 

 pressive, standing in lonely state on 

 the high cliff bench in the shadow of 

 the arched rocks. A a tall watch- 

 tower stands near the entrance path- 

 way, and behind is a tangle of unroof- 

 ed buildings, the walls still massive. 



Behind the walls are chambers hewn 

 from the rock. On a higher level are 

 visible the earlier cliff dwellings — mere 

 burrows in the precipice. All food 

 had to be carried from the mesa above 

 or the valley below. 



Dr. Cole made a curious find, which 

 strengthens the theory that the Cliff 

 Dwellers were a distinct race. 



In excavating at the newly discov- 

 ered ruins near Espanola he uncovered 

 skeletons buried in a sitting posture 

 with face to the rising sun. Every 

 skull had a complete set of double 

 teeth. There was not a single incisor 

 to be found. At first he thought that 

 the teeth might have been worn by 

 eating hard food, but skulls of individ- 

 uals of both sexes and different ages 

 all showed the same peculiarity. 



The skulls were shown to anato- 

 mists. They knew of no existing race 

 which shows the peculiarity. The 

 front double teeth were shown to be 

 different from the incisors of ordinary 

 men, and characteristically molar. 

 The explanation was that these skulls 

 had belonged to a race of grain-eaters. 



The story of the finding of the skel- 

 eton us. Three years ago a 



prospector stumbled upon the cliff 

 dwellings. His curiosity aroused, he 

 scaled the canyon wall, and found 

 himself on a tableland a mile and a 

 half long by three-quarters of a mile 

 wide. At its edge stood a granite 

 watchtower. Back a little way rose a 

 mound scarcely more than fifteen feet 

 high in any place, with broken walls. 

 It was the ruins of an aboriginal city, 

 a vast communal dwelling, measuring 

 240x300 feet, which must have con- 

 tained 1600 rooms, and perhaps 2000. 

 Between five and six thousand people 

 may have dwelt in the building. Fur- 

 ther back stood the ruins of a still old- 

 er pueblo. 



The prospector went away and al- 

 most forgot his adventure. To a few 

 acquaintances he spoke of his discov- 

 ery, and the story came to the ears of 

 the antiquarians. 



For three years they hunted for the 

 prospector, but he had dropped out of 

 sight. Prof. Hodge talked with him, 

 but never guessed who he was, and 

 probably doesn't know what he over- 

 looked. Dr. Cole was more fortunate. 

 He found the prospector and secured 

 his guidance to the ruined city. 



The climb was difficult. A thous- 

 and feet had to be surmounted. Many 

 cliff caves were passed on the way. 

 The summit gained, the party found 

 themselves close beside the watch 

 tower. It was all of granite blocks. 

 The nearest granite deposits are at a 

 considerable distance, and every block 

 must have been carried with incredi- 

 ble labor across the valley and up the 

 face of the cliff. 



The great pueblo came next. Dr. 

 Cole reached the conclusion that the 

 stone walls rose two stories and were 

 surmounted by a story of adobe. In 

 the centre was a court, a common 

 kitchen. From the court radrated an 

 immense number of rooms twelve deep 

 and in three tiers. They averaged 

 fourteen feet square. It is believed 

 that, as in the modern pueblos en- 

 trance was gained only by climbing on 

 ladders to the roof. Entrance to the 



