MORGAN] HOUSES GRADUALLY CONSTRUCTED. 1A 
houses, after attaining a sufficient size, became overcrowded with inhabit- 
ants, it is probable that a strong colony, like the swarm from the parent 
hive, moved out, and commenced a new house, above or below, in the 
same valley. This would be repeated, as the people prospered, until 
several pueblos grew up within an extent of twelve or fifteen miles, as in 
the valley of the Chaco. When the capabilities of the valley were becom- 
ing overtaxed for their joint subsistence, the colonists would seek more dis- 
tant homes. At the period of the highest prosperity of these pueblos, the 
valley of the Chaco must have possessed remarkable advantages for sub- 
sistence The plain between the walls of the canon was between half 
a mile and a mile in width near the several pueblos, but the amount of 
water now passing through it is small. In July, according to Lieutenant 
Simpson, the running stream was eight feet wide and a foot and a half deep 
at one of the pueblos; while Mr. Jackson found no running water and the 
valley entirely dry in the month of May, with the exception of pools of 
water in places and a reservoir of pure water in the rocks at the top of the 
bluff. The condition of the region is shown by these two statements. 
During the rainy season in the summer, which is also the season of the 
growing crops, there is an abundance of water; while in the dry season 
it is confined to springs, pools, and reservoirs. From the number of 
pueblos in the valley, indicating a population of several thousand, the 
gardens within it must have yielded a large amount of subsistence; the 
climate being favorable to its growth and ripening. 
