214 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



population had disappeared. But the Rito still sparkles 

 and tinkles as it goes through the Canon de los Frijoles 

 and makes music for the sleeping archaeologists in their 

 tents and caves. Would plain Bean Creek have been so 

 musical? 



The agricultural ants have dug their communal houses 

 and founded their little republics in this region, as well 

 as over the greater part of the elevated plains of the Far 

 West. One of the visitors at the school caught a large 

 centipede in one of the caves and thought he would test 

 the fighting capacity of these ants. 



The centipede was deposited upon an anthill, when the 

 experience of Gulliver was repeated. The many-legged 

 creature found that each of his formidable legs was an 

 additional handle for his little antagonists. In a short 

 time the centipede was dissected into choice cuts, one 

 joint to each cut, and was carried into the anthill to add 

 to the variety, and decrease the cost of living. 



The kiva is one of the most curious of the ruins of 

 these old pueblos. The first impression of a stranger 

 is that the kiva is an old cistern. In the Rita de los Fri- 

 joles there are some kivas in the solid rock, and one of 

 them in the ceremonial cave has been cleaned out, re- 

 roofed, and fully restored. 



In the plaza of the communal building in the canon 

 there are three small kivas, and twenty rods to the east 

 another larger one. 



These kivas are built upon the same stereotyped plan. 

 They are round and wholly or partially below ground and 

 roofed over, with no opening except in the roof, which 

 is entered by a ladder, the poles of which extend high 

 above the roof. 



There is an altar near the foot of the ladder and near 

 the altar is a chimney and opening like a fireplace. But 



