276 THE ENCHANTED MESA 



fantastically carved sandstone cliffs. The summit of ]\Iesa En- 

 cantada is visible for several miles ere the vale of Aconia is 

 reached, and as one enters the valley proper he cannot fail to 

 appreciate the wisdom displayed by the natives in the selection 

 of the beautiful, grassy, mesa-dotted plain that has been their 

 home for so many generations. 



The next day was spent in the village witnessing that curious 

 anomal}^ of paganism intermixed with Christianity, known as the 

 Fiesta de San Estevan, On the morning of the 3d an early start 

 was made for Mesa Encantada, which lies three miles northeast- 

 ward from the pueblo, just within the eastern boundary of the 

 Acoma grant, in latitude 34° 54' N., longitude 107° 34' W. 



The remainder of the forenoon was employed in making camp 

 in the little grove of cedars at the base of the cleft near the south- 

 western corner of the height, in unpacking apparatus, and in de- 

 termining the altitude of the mesa above the western plain. The 

 observations of Major Pradt show that the elevation of the foot of 

 the great talus slope above the plain is at this point 33 feet, the 

 apex of the talus 224 feet above the plain, and the top of the 

 highest pinnacle on the summit of the mesa overlooking the cleft 

 431 feet* above the same datum. (PI. 32.) 



The start from camp was made at noon. The ascent of the talus, 

 in which the potsherds had been observed in such considerable 

 quantities two years previously, was made in a few minutes, the 

 ladders, ropes, and photographic and surveying instruments 

 being carried with some effort, since climbing, heavil}^ laden, at 

 an altitude of 6,000 feet, in a broiling sun, is no trifling labor ; but 

 the real work began when the beginning of the rock}^ slope of the 

 cleft was reached. One member of the party, taking the lead, 

 dragged the end of a rope to a convenient landing place, where a 

 dwarf piiion finds sufficient nourishment from the storm-water 

 and sand from above to eke out a precarious existence. Fastening 

 the rope to the tree, the outfit was hauled up, and the other 

 members of the party found a ready means of ascent. The next 

 landing was several feet above, at the base of a rather steep pitch 

 of about twelve feet. This wall, although somewhat difiicult to 

 scale, may be climbed with greater or less safety by the aid of 

 several small holes in its face. These holes were doubtless made 

 artificially, but as the narrow pathwa}^ at this point is now a drain- 



* These elevations were determined trigonometrieally by means of an engineers' 

 transit, using a base-line of 660 feet measured opposite the cleft, the observations from 

 the northern end of the line giving 430 feet and from the southern end 432 feet ; mean, 

 431 feet. 



