THE PREHISTORIC RUIN OF TSANKAWI 



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mesa from the west still another, but 

 smaller, eminence is seen perched upon 

 the larger, probably a thousand feet 

 from its western extremity, occupying a 

 most commanding position and forming 

 a natural citadel. 



As one advances, the caves on the 

 sides of the mesa, created partly by ero- 

 sion and partly by human labor, become 

 more numerous, and upon reaching the 

 summit of the first mesa a well-defined 

 path is discovered, worn in places fully 

 one foot deep in the solid rock by the 

 constant tread of sandaled feet. To 

 have accomplished this, the wearing 

 process must have been carried on for a 

 long period of time by a population of 

 many hundreds — in fact, two of the most 

 remarkable features in connection with 

 these ruins are the enormous number of 

 the dwellings and the evidence of con- 

 tinuous occupation for a great length of 

 time. 



Following this trail, placing one's feet 

 in the depression made in those bygone 

 days, one is led to a great confusion of 

 broken rocks, which appear to have been 

 evidently shaken down from the sides of 

 the upper mesa. Proceeding closer to 

 the wall, the explorer is confronted by a 

 large and most forbidding group of 

 petroglyphs, or rock-cut pictures, repre- 

 senting human beings and animals in 

 threatening attitudes, the principal figure 

 having a substantial tomahawk in its 

 hand. There can be no question that 

 these rude carvings, which are cut to a 

 depth of an inch or more, were so placed 

 in order to frighten enemies away from 

 the narrow passage which is located but 

 a few feet further on, leading to the top 

 of the mesa. 



When one enters this passageway the 

 almost impregnable character of the nat- 

 ural citadel above becomes still more ap- 

 parent. The opening is about ten feet 

 high, two feet wide at the base, and three 

 feet at the top. Immediately after en- 

 tering the cleft, a slight turn is made to 

 one side, then several more turns in 

 quick succession, and after a climb of 

 perhaps twenty feet up a gradual incline 

 (there are no steps at this entrance) the 



top of the upper mesa is reached. Per- 

 haps nowhere in the cliff-dwelling region 

 is there a better evidence of this ancient 

 people's capacity for well-directed and 

 persistent labor than is afforded by this 

 very skillfully made passageway, hewn 

 out of the solid rock with their crude 

 tools — axes and hammers of granite, 

 flint, or obsidian. 



From the top of the upper mesa a most 

 magnificent view of the great Pajarito 

 Plateau, with its valleys, mountains, and 

 canons, is afforded, and one is still more 

 impressed with the appreciation of the 

 grand and the beautiful, which seems to 

 have been second nature with these prim- 

 itive people in the selection of sites for 

 their dwelling-places. Westward is to 

 be seen the Jemez range of mountains ; 

 far to the east is the Santa Fe range, 

 while much nearer may be seen portions 

 of the Rio Grande as it flows southward 

 to the Gulf; and in the immediate vicin- 

 ity are numerous mesas similar to that of 

 Tsankawi, with deep canons between. 

 The entire landscape, viewed in any 

 direction, is most impressive. 



From the upper extremity of the pas- 

 sageway a path leads to the eastward for 

 another thousand feet along the mesa, 

 which grows gradually narrower until it 

 suddenly widens out, and the ruins of 

 the great pueblo (or mesa dwelling, as 

 distinguished from the cave dwellings on 

 the sides below) are presented to the 

 view. Here the almost total destruction 

 of all evidences of habitation forces upon 

 one the conviction that the abandonment 

 of the Cliff Dwellers' homes was due to 

 some terrible calamity. Perhaps their 

 fierce and implacable enemies (for such 

 they must have been, considering the ex- 

 traordinary means taken for protection), 

 attacking in great numbers, overcame 

 the sentries at the several stairs and pas- 

 sageways, swarmed up to the stronghold 

 above, and massacred the inhabitants or 

 drove them over the cliffs to the larger 

 mesa below. Again, possibly an earth- 

 quake or volcanic disturbance forced 

 them to abandon the homes which their 

 forefathers had so firmly established 

 many generations before. 



