ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 25 



layers but more often forming a solid mass. No openings 

 that could be identified definitely as doors were found in any 

 of these walls; this fact, together with the comparative abun- 

 dance of circular stone slabs, leads to the belief that entrance 

 to the dwellings was gained through roof openings which 

 could be closed with the stone disks. Post holes in several 

 floors, with charred fragments of cedar logs, and masses of 

 clay bearing impressions of logs, willows, and grass, give a 

 fairly complete indication as to the nature of the roof con- 

 struction. Large timbers crossed in the direction of the 

 shorter dimensions, their ends resting upon the side walls of 

 the rooms; when necessary these were supported by upright 

 timbers. The roof beams in turn supported lesser timbers 

 with layers of willows and grass. Layers of clay, varying in 

 thickness from 1 inch to 6 inches with the unevenness of 

 roof materials, covered the grass, thus completing a truly 

 substantial shelter. 



Four small mounds, similar to those at Beaver City, were 

 excavated at Paragonah, in Iron County. These contained 

 one room only, but there are larger mounds in the vicinity 

 whose superficial indications suggest as many if not more 

 rooms than the group at Beaver. Twenty years ago, it is 

 reported, there were about 100 mounds in this vicinity; 

 to-day more than half of them have disappeared throigh 

 cultivation of the soil. 



A brief examination was made by Mr. Judd of several 

 house sites overlooking the Rio Virgen, near St. George, in 

 the extreme southwestern corner of the State. From this 

 village eastward to Kanab only a few movmds were noted, 

 although cowboys reported the existence of others in the 

 vicinity of Short Creek, on the Utah-Arizona line. 



From Kanab as a base, the mounds in Johnson Canyon 

 and the small cliff houses in Cottonwood Canyon were visited 

 and partially examined. From superficial observations the 

 former were judged to contain the remains of house structures 

 similar to those at Beaver and Paragonah, although the 

 availability of suitable stone for building puiposes has re- 

 sulted in its partial substitution for adobe, with certain 

 accompanying structural modifications. 



