FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 13 



situated by a promontory at the north, there is also a meager seepage 

 of water which was developed incidentally into a considerable supply. 

 In the cliff above this water is a large cave in which was discovered 

 the walls of a kiva <^f the second type, but the falling of a large block 

 of rock upon it — which occurred subsequent to the construction of 

 ♦ his kiva — led to its abandonment. This cave is extensive enough 

 for a cliff-hou.se as larae as Cliff Palace: but for this accident it 

 might have developed into a formidable rival of the latter. 



RECENT HISTORY 



It is remarkable that this magnificent ruin (pi. 1) so long escaped 

 knowledge of white settlers in the neighboring Montezuma valley. 

 Cliff Palace is not mentioned in early Spanish writings, and, indeed, 

 the first description of it was not published until about 1890. 



Efforts to leam the name of the white man who discovered Cliff 

 Palace were not rewarded with great success. According to Nor- 

 denskiold it was first seen by Richard Wetherill and Charley Mason 

 on a " December day in 1888," but several residents of the towns of 

 Mancos and Cortez claim to have A'isited it before that time. One of 

 the first. of these visitors was a cattle owner of Mancos, Mr. James 

 Frink, who told the author that he first saw Cliff Palace in 1881, and 

 as several stockmen were with him at that time it is probable that 

 there are others who visited it the same year. We may conclude that 

 Cliff Palace was unknown to scientific men in 1880, and the most we 

 can definitely say is that it was first seen by w^hite men some time in 

 the decade i880-1890.« 



While there is considerable literature on the cliff-dwellings of the 

 Mesa Verde, individual ruins have not been exhaustively described. 

 Much less has been published on Spruce-tree House than on Cliff 

 Palace, which latter ruin, being the largest, has attracted more atten- 

 tion than any other in the Park. As every cliff-house has its peculiar 

 architectural features it is well in describing these buildings to refer 

 to the ruins by names. This individuality in architecture pertains 

 likewise to specimens, the majority of which in museums unfortu- 

 nately are labeled merely " Mancos " or " Mesa Verde." A large 

 number of these objects probably came from Spruce-tree House and 

 Cliff Palace, but it is now impossible to determine their exact 

 derivation. 



The first extended account of Cliff Palace, accompanied with illus- 

 trations, which is worthy of special mention, was published by Mr. 

 F. H. Chapin, and so far as priority of publication is concerned he 



"It is generally slated by stockmen and others who claim to have seen Cliff Palace 

 " years ago," that the walls of the buildings were much higher in the early eighties than 

 they are at present. 



