16 



Figure 3 is given for the purpose of making clear the geologic condi- 

 tions that give shape to the cliffs as well as to show the relations of these 

 houses to the cliffs. The hard and massive beds of rock resist the 

 erosive agents; the soft and friable beds yield, hence the irregularity — 

 the overhanging cliffs, the niches and benches, a is a section of the 

 lower house, b of the upper. 



It has heretofore been supposed that the occupants of these houses 

 obtained water, either from the river below or from springs on the 

 mesa above ; but the immense labor of carrying water up these cliffs, as 

 well as the impossibility of securing a supply in case of siege, made me 

 suspect the existence of springs in fhe cliffs themselves. In three or 

 four cases these springs have been found, and it is evident that with a 

 climate a very little more moist than the present, a plentiful supply 

 could be expected. Running water was found within a few yards of the 

 group of houses just described, and Mr. Brandegee observed water 

 dripping down the cliffs near a group of small houses on the opposite 

 side of the canon. 



A.bout one mile farther up the caQon, I came upon the ruin photo- 

 graphed by Mr. Jackson in 1874, and minutely described by him as the 

 two-story cliff-house of the Eio Mancos. It is also in the cliffs of the 

 north side, about seven hundred feet above the river, and although 

 not so large or complicated in design as the houses just described, it 

 shows higher skill in construction and is in a better state of preserva- 

 tion. It is also exceedingly dififlcj^lt of access. It seems hardly neces- 

 sary for me to enter into a detailed description, as little can be added to 

 what has already been published ;* but for the purpose of having as much 

 of the matter together as possible I present plate VII, illustrating some 

 of the interesting features of this house. 



Figure 1 gives the ground-plan, and shows the position of the house 

 in relation to the floor of the niche. There are four small apartments 

 only; the front one, a, being 10 feet long by 6 wide. Of the back 

 rooms, one is 9 by 10 and the other 6 by 6 feet, while the apartment with 

 the curved wall is much smaller. The walls are about twelve feet high 

 and reach within from two to three feet of the overhanging roof. They 

 are built in the ordinary manner of stone and adobe mortar, and what 

 is rather remarkable are plastered both inside and out. This plaster 

 does not differ greatly from the common mortar, is lightly spread over 

 the walls, probably with the hands, and in color imitates very closely 

 the hues of the surrounding cliffs, a pleasing variety of red and yellow 

 grays. Whether this was intended to add to the beauty of the dwelling 

 or to add to its security by increasing its resemblance to the surround- 

 ing cliffs, I shall not attempt to determine. 



Another remarkable feature of this house is the consummate skill with 

 which the foundations are laid upon and cemented to the sloping and 

 overhanging faces of the ledge. The buttresses b, b, which have prob- 

 ably at one time supported a superstructure of wood or stone, now 

 totally obliterated, are most striking illustrations of this; and just here 

 is a fact that has an interesting bearing upon the question of the 

 antiquity of this structure. These wall -supports, or buttresses, have 

 originally been four in number, one evidently having fallen oft', and are 

 built in continuation of the front wall, on a smooth, sloping surface of 

 rock. Now the sandstone of which this rounded slope is composed is 

 rather coarse and soft, and hence easily disintegrated. It is here also 

 not greatly protected from the weather, since the cliffs above do not 



"Bulletin No. 1, second series, p. 20. 



