142 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



House? These names are most misleading and give the 

 stranger the impression that the ruins are but the remains 

 of an occasional dwelling rather than those of a vil- 

 lage of 400 souls. 



The largest group of ruins in the Park, and perhaps 

 the largest known to have been built by this strange race 

 of people, is the one so unhappily yclept "Cliff Palace." 



Photograph by Mark Daniels. 



SPRUCE TREE HOUSE 



It was given the 

 ark 



Thii is located near the upper end of a spur of Spruce Canyon. 



name because of the large spruce tree in the foreground. The park ranger 

 station and tourist headquarters are directly across the canyon on the opposite 

 rim. From there this and other tine views of the ruins may be had. 



Here again the responsibility of a misnomer 

 should bring the pangs of regret to the committee 

 on names. It lies in an eastern spur of Cliff Can- 

 yon and is an enormous cavern with roof arching 

 nearly a hundred feet above a floor which is sev- 

 eral hundred feet above the bottom of the can- 

 yon. From the terraces of the ruins one may look 

 toward the west across the canyon and see on the 

 top of a great promontory the fallen stones which 

 once formed a pueblo. There is an example in 

 Cliff Palace of a four-storied structure which 

 was, in all likelihood, used for living quarters. 

 It is the furthest square tower shown in the 

 photograph and lays claim as the predecessor of 

 the modern tenement. Whether the choicer 

 rooms were considered those on the upper floors 

 or not cannot be said, but in light of the fact 



that the smoke from the numerous family fires found its 

 only outlet by flowing along the surface of the roof, it 

 is more than probable that the upper floors fell into the 

 class of our present "fifth floor back." 



There are three distinct terraces which are readily 

 recognizable by the different levels of the Kivas. These 

 Kivas were the ceremonial rooms used by the different 

 clans of warriors, or at least, such is the con- 

 tention of those who have studied the subject. 

 It is presumed that in a city of the size of 

 Cliff Palace, which probably accommodated 

 in the neighborhood of one thousand people, 

 there were a number of clans, the warriors 

 of which preferred to meet in the war cham- 

 ber of their own particular clan. It is certain 

 that if anything but the most amicable relations 

 existed between the members of the various 

 classes not many of them could have been housed 

 in one Kiva without the certainty of a fight. 

 These Kivas are of peculiar construction and al- 

 ways built along the same lines. They are circu- 

 lar in form and contain a fireplace with a stone 

 slab for baffle board, which deflected the smoke 

 and regulated the draught. Some Kivas have a 

 small hole in the floor, presumed to have been 



Photograph by Mark Daniels. 



BALCONY HOUSE 



Photograph by Mark Daniels. 



A SUBURBAN COTTAGE 

 .1 when the village became filled some were forced to take up their abode 

 \ so preempted ihese small crevices near the main cave. The means 

 was the pole, on which enough of the branches had been allowed to 

 itive a foothold for the clambering owner 



This is the only example of the use of balcony construction found among the ruins 

 of the Cliff Dwellers. From the parapet wall there is a sheer drop of several 

 hundred feet to the floor of the canyon below. Even at the present time the 

 village is accessible from one end only, and that by virtue of the crumbled walls. 



used in religious rites for a communication with 

 the underworld. The roofs of the Kivas were 

 covered with cedar beams and adobe floor above 

 and formed part of the area way of the terrace. 

 In most Kivas access was secured through a 

 hole in the top. While the Kivas are of interest 

 in all of the ruins, to my way of thinking, the 

 most fascinating bit of structure in Cliff Palace 

 is the Speaker Chief's Tower, as it has been 

 named by someone with imagination. It is at 

 the northern end of the village and overlooks 

 the entire arrangement from a quite command- 

 ing position. On the second floor level is a 

 landing which may have been used by the chief 

 of the tribe to address the warriors of his city. 

 The outer face of the Tower proper is circular 

 in form, above which are a series of loopholes, 



