610 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 (ETH. ANN. 17 
extended eastward from the pueblo on the northern side of a level space 
or court, in which there were, either then or later, ceremonial chambers 
or kivas. The southern side of this open space was the site of the mis- 
sion, but was then unoccupied. This open space recalls the large court 
at Walpi, where the Snake dance occurs, but it was considerably 
broader, one side being formed by the structures which rose from the 
edge of the mesa. In course of time, however, the mission buildings 
were erected on this site, and a wall connecting the ridge of houses on 
the north and the outhouses of the mission was made, thus inclosing 
the court on all four sides. It was into this inelosure, through a gate- 
way, the buttresses of which still remain, that the assailants passed on 
that eventful night when Awatobi was destroyed. 
There is good evidence that a massacre of Awatobians occurred in 
the southeastern angle of the eastern part of the pueblo, just east of the 
mission. If so, it is probable that many of the unfortunates sought 
refuge in the outbuildings of thechurch. Suspecting that such was the 
case, | excavated a considerable space of ground at these places and 
found many human skulls and other bones thrown together in confusion. 
The earth was literally filled with bones, evidently hastily placed there 
or left where the dead fell. These bodies were not buried with pious 
care, for there were no fragments of mortuary pottery or other indica- 
tion of burial objects. Many of the skulls were broken, some pierced 
with sharp implements. While it is true that possibly this may have 
been a potter’s field, or, from its position east of the mission, a Christian 
burial place, as at Zuni, the evidence from the appearance of the bodies 
points to a different conclusion. According to the legends, the hostiles 
entered the pueblo through the adjacent gateway; their anger led them 
especially against those of the inhabitants who were regarded as powako 
or sorcerers, and their first acts of violence would naturally have been 
toward those who sought refuge in the buildings adjacent the church. 
Near this hated ‘“Singing-house” the slaughter began, soon extending 
to the kivas and the whole of the eastern section of the village. There 
was no evidence of murderous deeds in the rooms of the western section 
of the old pueblo, and the legends agree in relating that most of the 
men were in kivas, not far from the mission, when the village was 
overthrown. There is no legendary evidence that there were any Span- 
ish priests in the mission at the time of its destruction, and there is no 
record extant of any Spaniards losing their lives at Awatobi at the 
time of its destruction, although the fact of the occurrence, according 
to Bandelier,! was recorded. 
The traditional clans which inhabited Awatobi were the Awata 
(Bow), Honani (Badger), Piba (Tobacco), and Buli (Butterfly). The 
Bow people appear to have been the most important of these, since 
their name was applied to the village. Their totemic signatures, in 
pictographic form, may still be seen on the sides of the cliff under 
1See his Final Report, p. 372. 
