jACKSON.l RUINS OF SOUTHWEST COLORADO, &C. 415 



could we but find any trace of human remains among the bits of charred 

 wood. 



Scattered over the whole surface of this mesa were a great many flint- 

 chippings, from among which we picked up a number of very beautiful 

 arrow-points. As the summit commands a wide sweep of country, it is 

 not unlikely that sentries of old beguiled their tedious watch with arrow- 

 making. 



From the camp at the Pueblo, Mr. Chittenden, of Mr. Holmes's divis- 

 ion, rode up the Hovenweep some eight miles, to where it divided into 

 two equal branches, and upon the point between these forks he found the 

 remains of a round tower, commanding an extended view down the main 

 caiion. No other ruins were noticed. 



The parties, under the guidance of Mr. Gardner, camped one night 

 near the head of the Hovenweep, and found there an important group 

 of ruins, described as follows by Mr. Adams : 



"Tlie first of these we met are situated at the upper edge of the side 

 of the caiion, about one-third of the distance from the top, on a ledge 

 about 300 feet long and 50 wide. On this small space were crowded 

 some 40 houses, as well as we could judge from the ruins. The general 

 plan of structure was circular, varying in size, but generally from 10 to 

 15 feet in diameter. The stone was dressed to three times the size of 

 an ordinary brick and in the same shape. * * * The whole arrange- 

 ment of the little town was for defense ; perched up high above, on the 

 summits of bowlders, were little watch-towers, which commanded the 

 plateau above." 



Between the Montezuma and the Hovenweep is a high plateau, run- 

 ning north and south from the San Juan to the Dolores ; the southern 

 portion is a level sage-covered plain, while the northern is undulating 

 and covered with junipers and piiion pine. Upon this we found the 

 remains of many circular towers, generally occupying slight eminences, 

 and, with but one or two exceptions, as far as we observed, they were so 

 demolished that not one stone remained upon another. In one of these 

 exceptions, about half the circumference of a tower remained, 15 feet in 

 height and of average masonry. Broken j)ottery was but sparingly 

 scattered about, showing them not to have been occupied as much as 

 the very similar remains in the valleys below. This mesa, averaging 

 500 feet in height above the surrounding country, does not contain a 

 spring or drop of water, except such as may remain in the holes in 

 the rocks after a shower. The soil is thin and sandy, blown off clean to 

 the bed-rock in places, yet what there is is well grassed, and sage-brush 

 flourishes luxuriantly. As cultivation was out of the question, and per- 

 manent residence improbable, it is very likely these towers were lookouts 

 or places of refuge for the shepherds, who brought their sheep or goats 

 up here to graze, just as the Navajos used to, and as the TJtes do at the 

 present time. Eude huts of a later day are now found scattered over 

 its surface by the side of the washes, where water would be likely to 

 collect after showers. 



RUINS OF THE RIO SAN JUAN. 



In travelling down the San Juan, from the mouth of the McElmo, there 

 are not within the first 10 or 12 miles any ruins that would claim atten- 

 tion during a rapid reconnoissance. Indistinguishable mounds of earth 

 frequently occur along the bottom-lands, surrounded by the ever-present 

 fragments of pottery, showing them to be the sites or the remains of 



