638 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [BTH. ANN, 17 
southerly decline to the arroyo which drains the plain. The ruin is 
situated among foothills a few hundred yards from the base of the 
mesa, and in the depression between it and the mesa there is a stretch 
of sand in which grow peach trees and a few stunted cedars. At this 
point, likewise, there is a spring, now feeble in its flow from the 
gradually drifting sand, yet sufficient to afford a trickling stream by 
means of which an enterprising native, named Tcino, irrigates a small 
garden of melons and onions. On all sides of the ruin there are barren 
stretches of sand relieved in some places by stunted trees and scanty 
vegetation similar to that of the adjacent plains. The soil in the plaza 
of the ruin is cultivated, yielding a fair crop of squashes, but is useless 
for corn or beans. 
Here and there about the ruins stand great jagged bowlders, reliev- 
ing what would otherwise be a monotonous waste of sand. One of 
these stony outcrops forms what I have called the ‘ acropolis” of 
Sikyatki, which will presently be described. On the eastern side the 
drifting sand has so filled in around the elevation on which the ruin 
stands that the ascent is gradual, and the same drift extends to the 
rim of the mesa, affording access to the summit that otherwise would 
necessitate difficult climbing. Along the ridge of this great drift there 
runs a trail which passes over the mesa top to a beautiful spring, on 
the other side, called Kanelba.! 
The highest point of the ruin as seen from ‘the plain is the rocky 
eminence rising at the western edge, familiarly known among the 
members of my party as the “acropolis.” As one approaches the ruin 
from a deep gulch on the west, the acropolis appears quite lofty, and a 
visitor would hardly suspect that it marks the culminating point of a 
ruin, so similar does it appear to surrounding hills of like geologic 
character where no vestiges of former house-walls appear. 
The spring from which the inhabitants of the old pueblo obtained 
their water supply lies between the ruin and the foot of the mesa, 
nearer the latter. The water is yellow in color, especially after it has 
remained undisturbed for some time, and the quantity is very limited. 
It trickles out of a bed of clay in several places and forms a pool from 
which it is drawn to irrigate a small garden and a grove of peach trees. 
It is said that when Sikyatki was in its prime this spring was larger 
than at present, and I am sure that a little labor spent in digging out 
the accumulation of sand would make the water more wholesome 
and probably sufficiently abundant for the needs of a considerable 
population. 
The nearest spring of potable water available for our excavation 
camp at Sikyatki was Kanelba, or Sheep spring, one af the best sources 
of water supply in Tusayan. The word Kanelba, containing a Spanish 
element, must have replaced a Hopi name, for it is hardly to be sup- 
posed that this spring was not known before sheep were brought into 
1 Kanel = Spanish carnero, sheep; ba= water, spring. 
