290 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1901. 



neighboring pueblo of Linden; wood was rather a burden, cold, clear 

 water welled beneath their town walls, the rich cornfields required no 

 irrigation, the forest was full of game; manzanita berries and the 

 sweet mescal agave were plentiful. It is not surprising, therefore, 

 that in this favoring environment pueblos of large size were developed; 

 the cause for wonder is that in this region the pueblo dwellers have 

 not persisted to our day. 



Tundastusa ruin (Plates 3 and 4) is located on a low elevation 

 between two washes coming into Forestdale Creek from the north, on 

 land claimed by Skidi, a prominent Apache, who has his cornfields 

 near the mouth of the washes where there are springs. 



At the highest point is a circular acropolis 160 feet in diameter, giv- 

 ing the area of 1 acre, the walls 2 feet thick and 8 feet 2 inches from 

 the surface to the foundation course, the circle cut up into rooms by 

 narrower walls. At intervals down the slope below the acropolis 

 toward the creek and wash are ^ve or more walls, forming segments 

 of circles concentric with the acropolis circle. Across these segments 

 run radiating lines, showing from a distance as windrows of stone from 

 the fallen buildings. The only plaza in this section of the ruins is a 

 small one on the southeast side. Attached to the acropolis on the 

 west are quadrangular house masses, the general ground plan being 

 irregular or stepped and extending down the slope. Beyond this sec- 

 tion of the pueblo to the west is a long L, two rooms deep, containing 

 104 rooms. On the inner side of the north limit of the L is a parallel 

 row of houses, also two rooms deep. These house rows thus flank 

 two sides of a plaza 1 acre in area, and bounded on the south by a low 

 wall. At the east end of the inner house row a sunken depression 25 

 feet square probably indicates a kiva, though excavation revealed 

 nothing. (Plate 5.) A curved wing wall closes the opening between 

 the acropolis and the detached quadrangular ruin. This portion of 

 the Forestdale ruin is easily traced. The ruin is estimated to show 

 300 rooms on the ground floor and perhaps originally contained 1,000" 

 rooms. In area, it covers 7 acres, and its present appearance is that 

 of chaotic heaps of earth and stone, with no walls standing above the 

 surface. (Plate 6.) There are no trees on the ruin. The phm of For- 

 estdale ruin shows three house masses, which strike one immediately 

 as having been constructed at different times. There is no doubt on 

 this point concerning the rectangular ruin some distance to the west; 

 but in order to determine the relation of the house mass attached to 

 the circular ruin the walls at the junction were cleared and it was found 

 that the wall abutting the acropolis rested on 3 feet of rubbish, which 

 had accumulated from the older pueblo. The walls of the middle 

 pueblo are likewise of inferior masonry, not as good as that of the 

 rectangular house mass. It is apparent that the circular ruin is older 

 and formed the nucleus of subsequent accretions. As has been stated, 



