208 ABORIGINAL REMAINS IN VERDE VALLEY. [eth.ann.13 



ridge of a hill some 200 feet above the river. On the west and south 

 the hill descends abruptly to the river ; on the southeast and east it 

 slopes sharply down to a broad valley on the level of the mesa bench 

 before mentioned, but the valley is cut by a narrow and deep canyon 

 marking the east side of the hill. This cluster is shown on the ground 

 plan, plate xvii, though not in its proper position. Northeast of this 

 cluster and perhaps 200 yards distant there are traces of other rooms, 

 but they are so faint that no plan can be made out. As shown on the 

 sketch map, figure 284, the hill is a long narrow one, and its western 

 side falls rapidly to a large triangular area of flat bottom land lying 

 between it and Beaver creek, which it overlooks, as well as a large 

 area of the valley up the river and all the fine bottom lands north and 

 east of Verde and on the northwestern side of Beaver creek. As 

 regards outlook, and also as regards security and facility of defense, 

 the site of the small cluster is far superior to that of the main cluster 

 of rooms. 



About a quarter of a mile sovith ai^d east of the main ruin, on the 

 opposite side of the little valley before mentioned, a mesa bench simi- 

 lar to the one last described occurs ; akd on a point of this, extending 

 almost to the river bank, there are traces, now nearly obliterated, of a 

 small cluster of rooms. A short distance east of this point there is a 

 large rounded knoll, with a peculiar terrace-like bench at about half its 

 height. The entire summit of tiiis knoll was occupied by rooms, of 

 which the walls are much broken and none remain standing. This 

 knoll, with the ruins on its summit, is shown in jilate Xix, which also 

 gives a general view from the north of the small cluster southeast of the 

 main ruin. The character of the valley oi" the Verde at this point is 

 also shown. The sketch map, figure 284, shows the location of these 

 ruins in reference to others of the group. 



The main cluster, that ijortion occupying the crown or summit of the 

 butte before described, exhibits at the present time some fifty rooms 

 in the ground plan, but there were at one time a larger number than 

 this ; and there is no doubt that rooms extended down the slopes of 

 the hill southward and southwestward. The plan of this main cluster 

 is peculiar ; it differs from all the smaller surrounding clusters. It tells 

 the story of a long occupancy by a people who increased largely in 

 numbers, but who, owing to their hostile environment, could not 

 increase the space occupied by them in proportion to their numbers. 

 It will be noticed that \yhile the wall lines are remarkably irregular 

 in arrangement they are more often continuous than otherwise, more 

 fretiuently continuous, in fact, than the lines of some of the smaller 

 villages before described. The rooms are remarkably small, 10 feet 

 square being a not unusual measurement, and built so closely together 

 as to leave no space for interior courts. The typical rooms in the ruins 

 of this region are oblong, generally about twice as long as broad, measur- 

 ing approximately 20 by 10 feet. 



