56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY -[BULL. 65 
steep, rough, pinon-clad face of the Black Mesa; the rise of the 
northwestern escarpment is much more gradual and its total height 
considerably less; it consists of tilted sandstone strata, sparsely 
wooded with the inevitable pinon and cedar. Along the base of these 
slopes are mounds. and hummocks of sandstone, some bare, some 
drifted over with dune-like accumulations of sand. This whole 
northern side of the Marsh Pass Valley, with its warm southern and 
southwestern exposure, abundant water holes, and broad sweeps of 
good adobe soil for corn culture, must have been well situated for 
the homes of the ancient agriculturists, and the remains of their vil- 
lages are scattered thickly along the edge of the flat land, from the 
lower gorges, where Sagi enters, to the point 3 miles above, where 
our exploration closed.! 
Our camp at Marsh Pass was made on the rock slopes about 24 
miles above the mouth of Sagi Canyon. Directly opposite a reddish 
butte stands in the valley near the foot of the Black Mesa, and just 
behind us opened a narrow, gorge-like canyon, in which was situated 
the cliff-dwelling that we intended to excavate. 
Ruin 8 
This house was visited by Dr. Fewkes in 1909, while on’ his way 
to the ruins in Sagi Canyon, and is described and figured by him in 
his “Report on the Ruins of the Navaho National Monument” 
-under the name of “ Cliff-house B.” Dr. Fewkes’s description of 
the house and its surroundings is quoted entire: 
This picturesque ruin occupies the whole floor of a narrow, low cave situated 
in an almost vertical cliff forming one side of a canyon which extends deep into 
the mountain; the entrance is between low hills on the left, where the road 
ascends [sic] to Marsh Pass. The ruin can be seen for a long distance, but as 
one approaches the canyon in which it lies the site is hidden by foothills. The 
accompanying view [see our pl. 18, a] was taken from the opposite side of the 
canyon, it being impossible to get an extended detailed view of the ruin from 
above or below. Beyond the ruin the canyon forms a narrowing fissure with 
precipitous sides; its bed is covered with bushes, stunted trees, and fallen 
rocks. No flowing water was found in this canyon, but in the ledges near its 
mouth, below the ruins, there are pockets and potholes which contained con- 
siderable water at the time of the writer’s visit. 
This cliff-dwelling is difficult to enter, the walls of the canyon, both above 
and below and on the sides, being almost perpendicular. A pathway extending 
along the side of the cliff on the level of the cave approaches within 20 feet of 
the ruin; from its end to the first room of the ruin this trail is continued by a 
series of footholes pecked in the rock, making entrance hazardous at this point, 
Although the walls of this cliff-dwelling are more or less destroyed and their 
foundations deeply buried, there still remains standing masonry of a square 
tower (?): reaching from the floor to the roof of the cave. One corner of this 
1 Consult Fewkes, 1911, for ruins observed by him farther to the west. 
