38 ANNUAL KEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



to El Morro, or Inscription Rock, about 35 miles east of Zuni, for the 

 purpose of making facsimile reproductions, or squeezes, of the Span- 

 ish inscriptions there, which have such an important bearing on the 

 early history of the Pueblo tribes. El Morro is a picturesque emi- 

 nence of sandstone rising from the sand}*" valley, and by reason of 

 the former existence of a spring at its base, which is now merely a 

 seep, it became an important camping place of the early Spaniards 

 on their journeys to and from the Rio Grande and the Zuni and Hopi 

 pueblos. The inscriptions of these early explorers were carved near 

 the base of the rock, chiefly on the northern and southern sides of 

 the highest portion of the mesa, and in the main consist of the names 

 of the visitors with the dates of their visits, but in a number of cases 

 elaborated with a more or less full statement of the object of the 

 journey. 



The earliest of the inscriptions is that of Juan de Onate, the colo- 

 nizer of New Mexico and founder of the city of Santa Fe, who in- 

 scribed his name and the object of his visit in 160G, on his return 

 from a perilous journey to the Gulf of California. Others who 

 visited the rock and left a record are, in order of date: Gov. Fran- 

 cisco Manuel de Silva Nieto, who escorted the first missionaries to 

 Zuni in 1629; Juan Gonzales, probably a member of the small mili- 

 tary escort accompanying the same party, and bearing the same date 

 (1629) ; Lujan, who visited Zuni in 1632 to avenge the murder of 

 Fray Francisco Letrado, one of the missionaries who accompanied 

 Silva Nieto; Juan de Archuleta, Diego Martin Barba, and Agustin 

 de Ynojos, 1636; Gov. Diego de Vargas, 1692, the conquerer of the 

 Pueblos after their rebellion in 1680 which led to their independ- 

 ence of Spanish authority during the succeeding 12 years; Juan 

 de Uribarri, 1701; Ramon Paez Hurtado, 1709; Ju. Garcia de la 

 Rivas, Feliz Martinez, and Fray Antonio Camargo, 1716 ; Joseph de 

 Payba Basconzelos, 1726; Juan Paez Hurtado and Joseph Truxillo, 

 1736; Martin de Elizacochea (bishop of Durango) and Juan Ignacio 

 de Arrasain, 1737; and others of the eighteenth century. These in- 

 scriptions were all carefully photographed by Mr. Jesse L. Nusbaum, 

 with whose aid Mr. Hodge made paper squeezes which were brought 

 to Washington and transferred to the National Museum, where Mr. 

 Nusbaum later made plaster casts of the paper negatives, insuring 

 the permanent preservation of the inscriptions in this manner. This 

 work was accomplished none too soon, since deterioration by weather- 

 ing is progressing in some parts of the cliff face bearing the inscrip- 

 tions, while vandalism is perhaps playing an even more serious part 

 in the destruction of these important historical records, notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that El Morro has been created a national monument by 

 Executive order. 



