19 



four or five miles, of the same mouud-like forms noticed above, and 

 accompanied always by the scattered, broken pottery. Among them we 

 found one building of squared and carefully-laid sandstone} one face 

 only exposed, of three or four courses, above the mass of debris, which 

 covered everything. This building lay within a few yards of the banks 

 of the stream ; was apparently about 10 feet by 8, the usual size, as near 

 , as we could determine, of nearly all the separate rooms or houses in the 

 larger blocks, none larger, aud many not more than 5 feet square. The 

 stones exposed were each about 7 by 12 inches square and 4 inches 

 thick ; those in their original position retaining correct angles, but, when 

 thrown down, were worn away and rounded by attrition to shapeless 

 bowlders. Being so exposed to the elements, the cementing material 

 which bound the masonry together was entirely worn away upon the 

 surface ; but, upon pulling away a few courses, it was found binding the 

 rocks together quite firmly. I do not think, however, that it was any- 

 thing more than an adobe mortar. 



As we ])rogressed down the caiion, the same general characteristics 

 held good; the great majority of the ruins consisting of heaps of 

 debris, a central mass considerably higher and more massive than the 

 surrounding lines of subdivided squares. Small buildings, not more 

 than 8 feet square, were often found standing alone apparently; no trace 

 of any other being detected in their immediate neighborhood. 



We now commenced to note another peculiar feature. Upon our right, 

 the long slopes of protruding strata and debris formed promontories, 

 extending out into the caiion. Upon these, and not more than 50 feet 

 above the stream, we found vestiges of former occupation ; the founda- 

 tions in every case being circular, with a deep depression in the center. 

 They generally occured in pairs, two side by side, and ranging from 10 to 

 20 feet in diameter. Xo masonry of any kind was visible, but thickly 

 strewn all about any quantity of broken pottery. Above were indica- 

 tions of habitations in the face of the cliff, but not enough to warrant 

 further search. 



At those places where the trail ran high up, and near the more pre- 

 cipitous portion of the bluff, we found remnants of stone walls, inclosing 

 spaces of from 5 to 12 feet in length, in the cave-like crevices running 

 along the seams. They were pretty well demolished, the stones un- 

 dressed and imbedded in mud mortar. In many places, little niches or 

 crevices in rock had been walled up into cupboard-like inclosures 

 of about the size of a bushel-basket. We searched them eagerly, but they 

 had all been despoiled before us. jS'othingpf any greater importance 

 was found up to the time we made camp at nightfall. All that we had 

 seen during the day was of exceeding interest, but came far short of 

 our expectations. 



Our camp for the night was among the stunted piiions and cedars 

 immediately at the foot of the escarpment of the mesa; its steep slopes 

 and perpendicular faces rising nearly 1,000 feet above us. Quantities 

 of broken pottery were strewn from above down, across the trail, to the 

 edge of the stream; and, as ruins of some sort generally followed, close 

 attention was paid to the surroundings; but, with the exception of a 

 small square inclosure of rough slabs of stone, set in the earth endwise, 

 and indicating, possibly, a grave, nothing was found to reward our 

 search. Just as the sun was sinking behind the western walls of the 

 canon, one of the party descried far up the cliff" what appeared to 

 be a house, with a square wall, aud apertures indicating two stories, 

 but so far up that only the very sharpest eyes could define anything 

 satisfactorily. We had no field-glass with the party, and to this fact is 



