﻿320 
  EEPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  evenly 
  covered 
  with 
  scrubby 
  trees. 
  To 
  find 
  which 
  way 
  the 
  wash 
  leads, 
  

   the 
  best 
  plan 
  is 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  reeds 
  and 
  plants 
  in 
  the 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  

   water-course, 
  and 
  see 
  which 
  way 
  they 
  are 
  bent. 
  Another 
  peculiar 
  

   question 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  subject 
  is 
  this 
  : 
  how 
  have 
  tliese 
  wide 
  washes 
  

   been 
  formed 
  ? 
  The 
  side 
  walls 
  are 
  vertical, 
  with 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  rock 
  scat- 
  

   tered 
  between, 
  but 
  generally 
  the 
  bottom 
  is 
  covered 
  with 
  sand. 
  Thei'e 
  

   can 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  but 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  or 
  spring 
  great 
  floods 
  of 
  water 
  

   flow 
  down 
  these 
  almost 
  interminable 
  water-courses, 
  but 
  with 
  the 
  slight 
  

   fall 
  which 
  they 
  have, 
  no 
  great 
  amount 
  of 
  erosion 
  seems 
  possible. 
  

  

  In 
  our 
  march 
  through 
  this 
  region, 
  soon 
  after 
  we 
  crossed 
  over 
  to 
  the 
  

   second 
  wash, 
  we 
  saw 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  ancient 
  towers 
  i^ercbed 
  on 
  the 
  project- 
  

   ing 
  points 
  of 
  sandstone, 
  far 
  above 
  the 
  valley. 
  Oue, 
  which 
  was 
  about 
  20 
  

   feet 
  square 
  and 
  two 
  stories 
  high, 
  was 
  built 
  on 
  a 
  little 
  promontory 
  over 
  

   100 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  wash. 
  This 
  was 
  well 
  preserved, 
  the 
  walls 
  

   intact, 
  and 
  the 
  rooms 
  quite 
  perfect. 
  The 
  lower 
  floor 
  was 
  the 
  natural 
  

   soil 
  tramped 
  solid 
  by 
  use. 
  In 
  oue 
  corner 
  the 
  stone 
  was 
  much 
  blackened 
  

   by 
  fire, 
  marking 
  the 
  fire-place, 
  but 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  pegs 
  driven 
  over 
  it 
  to 
  

   hang 
  kettles 
  on 
  looked 
  decidedly 
  modern. 
  The 
  whole 
  air 
  of 
  the 
  place 
  

   was 
  Mexican, 
  all 
  except 
  the 
  building 
  itself, 
  since 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  taken 
  

   much 
  labor 
  to 
  collect 
  the 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  stones 
  and 
  cut 
  them 
  for 
  the 
  

   walls. 
  All 
  who 
  are 
  acquainted 
  with 
  the 
  settlers 
  of 
  New 
  Mexico 
  will 
  

   appreciate 
  the 
  force 
  of 
  the 
  argument 
  that 
  the 
  great 
  labor 
  necessary 
  to 
  

   erect 
  these 
  buildings 
  points 
  to 
  an 
  origin 
  other 
  than 
  Mexican. 
  In 
  this 
  

   house 
  no 
  relics 
  were 
  found, 
  but 
  the 
  general 
  appearance 
  made 
  it 
  seem 
  

   very 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  place 
  had 
  been 
  recently 
  occupied 
  by 
  Mexicans, 
  

   probably 
  shepherds, 
  while 
  herding 
  their 
  sheep 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  during 
  the 
  

   early 
  spring, 
  when 
  water 
  is 
  abundant. 
  The 
  location 
  of 
  this 
  building 
  

   makes 
  it 
  admirably 
  adapted 
  for 
  a 
  lookout, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  improbable 
  that 
  

   the 
  original 
  builders 
  may 
  have 
  used 
  it 
  for 
  some 
  purpose 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  

   of 
  the 
  present 
  Mexicans. 
  In 
  this 
  vicinity 
  we 
  also 
  noticed 
  towers 
  on 
  the 
  

   edges 
  of 
  high 
  tables, 
  hundreds 
  of 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  wash. 
  In 
  one 
  place 
  

   just 
  beside 
  the 
  trail, 
  a 
  circular 
  tower 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  feet 
  across 
  was 
  built 
  

   on 
  a 
  rock 
  that 
  had 
  rolled 
  from 
  the 
  bluffs 
  above. 
  The 
  walls 
  were 
  standing 
  

   four 
  or 
  five 
  feet' 
  high, 
  but 
  whether 
  they 
  were 
  ever 
  higher 
  I 
  cannot 
  tell. 
  

   This 
  again 
  had 
  a 
  decidedly 
  modern 
  appearance; 
  the 
  stones 
  did 
  not 
  show 
  

   much 
  weathering. 
  In 
  the 
  vicinity 
  the 
  grass 
  is 
  abundant, 
  but 
  water 
  is 
  

   wanting. 
  Fifteen 
  or 
  twenty 
  miles 
  east 
  of 
  this 
  we 
  came 
  to 
  some 
  Mexi- 
  

   cans 
  with 
  flocks 
  of 
  sheep 
  and 
  goats. 
  The 
  alkali 
  water 
  seemed 
  to 
  ruin 
  

   the 
  mutton, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  very 
  dry 
  and 
  stringy, 
  although 
  the 
  country 
  was 
  

   covered 
  with 
  good 
  grass. 
  After 
  having 
  traveled 
  about 
  60 
  miles, 
  count- 
  

   ing 
  from 
  the 
  San 
  Juan 
  River, 
  we 
  camped 
  at 
  a 
  spring 
  of 
  good 
  water 
  

   draining 
  eastward 
  into 
  a 
  basin 
  running 
  north 
  and 
  south, 
  in 
  which 
  were 
  

   a 
  number 
  of 
  lakes. 
  Along 
  the 
  road 
  we 
  passed 
  several 
  hi^h 
  dikes 
  

   running 
  in 
  a 
  northerly 
  direction. 
  Making 
  another 
  march 
  of 
  30 
  miles, 
  

   we 
  reached 
  Tierra 
  Amarilla, 
  on 
  the 
  Chama, 
  having 
  traveled 
  about 
  90 
  

   miles 
  through 
  the 
  desert 
  region. 
  On 
  our 
  last 
  day's 
  ride 
  we 
  found 
  a 
  

   change 
  in 
  the 
  formation 
  from 
  sandstone 
  to 
  quartzite, 
  indicating 
  the 
  

   approach 
  to 
  the 
  volcanic 
  rocks. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  we 
  reached 
  the 
  latter 
  we 
  

   found 
  the 
  water 
  free 
  from 
  alkali. 
  We 
  found 
  the 
  New 
  Mexican 
  town 
  

   located 
  in 
  a 
  deep 
  depression, 
  on 
  a 
  table 
  of 
  considerable 
  extent, 
  on 
  the 
  

   east 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Chama. 
  A 
  few 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  it 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  mount- 
  

   ain-range 
  appears 
  faced 
  with 
  high 
  precipices. 
  To 
  the 
  east 
  the 
  mount- 
  

   ains 
  fall 
  far 
  below 
  the 
  timber-line, 
  but 
  are 
  still 
  quite 
  rough. 
  To 
  the 
  

   south, 
  the 
  Chama 
  runs 
  through 
  a 
  rough-looking 
  country, 
  much 
  cut 
  up 
  

   by 
  caQons, 
  while 
  above 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  distance 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  pretty 
  high 
  

   mountains 
  may 
  be 
  seen. 
  On 
  the 
  west 
  the 
  country 
  already 
  described, 
  

  

  