FEWKES] 



ABANDONMENT OK LITTLE COLORADO RUINS 



21 



Some years ago two Mormou towns were built not far from the pres- 

 ent site of Winslow, and contiguous to llomolobi. These towns, Brig- 

 ham and Sunset, were j)rosiX'rou.s foi- many years, and their inliabitants 

 cultivated extensive farms, which were irrigated from tributaries of 

 the Little Colorado. The remains of one of their acequias can still 

 be seen skirting the river side of llomolobi, and many of the stones for 

 the walls of the towns are said to have l)een obtained from the Indian 

 pueblo. The Mormon town is itself now a picturesque ruin, having 







Fl<;. 1. Map of Anrient Tiisfiyan. 

 I Itinerary indicated by dotted lines.) 



been gradually abandoned. One reason for the desertion of Sunset 

 is said to have been the alkalinity of the soil, which irrigation had 

 developed. If this explanation accounts for the failure of the Mor- 

 mon farmers, it might also applj' to their Hopi predecessors. The 

 failure of crops ma.y have led the Indians to seek other localities 

 better suited for fainiiing. However that may be, at the present time, 

 1896, the river valley opposite llomolobi has been turned into a profit- 

 able farm by a Winslow farmer, and when the author worked at 



