"W'. .r. HOFFMAN. AXTK^l'I'IlKS OF XK\V MEXKO AND ARIZONA. 109 



terraced from within outward, thus Ibnniiig- an inner coin-t and caus- 

 ino- the outer wall to be the highest, t'orniing an effectual defense 

 against surprise. On the contrary, we find the Pueblos of the ujodern 

 Indians to be constructed in pyramidal form, the roof of the outer 

 row of buildings being- the lowest, forming the pavement for the sec- 

 ond series, and so on upward to the most elevated point, so that, were 

 it possible to invert one type over the otlier. they would almost fit. 

 The estufas^ or council rooms connected with the ancient buildings. 

 are circular, while the modei'n ones are rectangular, with several ex- 

 ceptions,* which appear to have been ancient ones, but ivfitted so as 

 to save the labor of digging, as thev had been biiilt midero-round in 

 accordance with the custom of that period. 



The exactitude and neatness displayed in consti'ueting walls, or 

 sections of walls, with very small slal)s t)f stone, is marvelous,! and 

 this skill is detected in some of the better class of cliff-dwellings, 

 where the foundations were based u[)on the sniootii sl()])ing rock as 

 securely as if it formed part of the rock itself. 



In many localities these piimitive structures have become nearlv 

 entirely obliterated, presenting here and there but a heaj) (jf rubbish, 

 fragments of pottery, or an occasional dressed stone. That the in- 

 habitants of these communal dwellings were distui'bed by some exter- 

 nal hostile influence seems jn-obable from the fact that thev were 

 obliged to desert them for ])laces of g-reater security elsewhere. In 

 some f)f the best preserved Pueblos we find vessels and other house- 

 hold utensils in such excellent condition as would scarcely be the 

 case had a voluntary de]>arture been made therefrom. ( )f what na- 

 tion the enemy was composed, or from what direction tlie invasion, is 

 unanswerable from our present state of information ; though, that the 

 main point of attack was from the south seems evident from the fact 

 that the clift'-remains are nearly all northward ojj the res])ective groups 

 of pueblos to which they are most conveniently located. 



The cliff-remains consist of large dwellings, fortresses and cave- 

 Konses; watch towers and circular enclosures, usually situated u[)on 

 the summit of the cliffs, and semi-circular walls, the two termini of 

 which run out to the edge of the escarpment and directly over the 

 dwellings, affording communication with the level country above. 

 That the distance from the buildings to the summit, or to the valleys 



* At Santo Domingo, N. M. 



f For illustrations of this see Mr. W. H. Jackson's Report in the Tenth 

 Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Survey Terr, for 1876. 



