MECCA TO FIGTREE JOHN 175 



wells in other parts of the desert where formerly 

 there were large Indian settlements, but have failed 

 to find one remaining in tolerable condition. I am 

 told that these Indians, the Cahuillas, are the only 

 tribe known to have solved the water problem by 

 digging wells. 



At the foot of Santa Rosa Mountain, a short dis- 

 tance from Martinez, there is an Interesting relic of 

 aboriginal times that is fairly well preserved, though 

 it must be of very great age. A number of years ago 

 there appeared In a Los Angeles paper an account 

 of the discovery of remains of a prehistoric city in 

 this locality. The story had all the marks of a mare's 

 nest, but I fancy that this that I refer to may have 

 been Its foundation. The object Is hard to find, being 

 indistinguishable until one is on the very spot, and 

 even then it might be overlooked. Yet It is as un- 

 mistakably man's handiwork as the clifT dwellings, 

 when once the eye grasps it. In a little recess or bay, 

 perhaps three hundred yards wide, at the foot of 

 the mountain one sees a curious arrangement of the 

 stones that litter the slope. They seem at first to be 

 grouped In circular formation, as If they marked the 

 outlines of small round huts. The circles are not 

 complete, however, but are like horseshoes, with the 

 openings on the upper side. The slope Is covered 

 with continuous lines of these horseshoes, nearly 

 touching one another, the rows extending almost 

 from side to side of the recess. The diameter of the 

 horseshoes Is six or eight feet, and there are several 

 rows, one above the other, like terraces along the 

 foot of the slope. 



