576 THE CLIFF VILLAGES OF THE RED ROCK COUNTRY. 



its inhabitants and those of Walpi, which was then situated on foot- 

 hills to the west of the mesa, not having yet been moved to its com- 

 manding position on the summit. The outcome of many disputes 

 between the two pueblos brought on a tragic destruction of the place, 

 after which such of the hostile element as escaped fled to Awatobi, then 

 a flourishing village, 15 miles away; the remainder were incorporated 

 with the population of the victorious town. A sanguinary story of 

 adventure is woven into the legends relating to the causes of this 

 destruction of a whole village. One of the youths of Sikyatki, disguised 

 as a dancer and wearing a mask, killed a woman spectator while a 

 ceremony was in progress at Walpi. He escaped from the town, ran 

 along the cliffs, taking off his mask and boasting of his deed. These 

 taunts inflamed the Walpians to vengeance, and when the men of 

 Sikyatki were occupied in the fields their warriors fell upon the town 

 and destroyed it. There is no way to prove the truth of this legend 

 but there can be little doubt that Sikyatki fell many years ago. It is 

 interesting to remember that iu those old days Walpi was probably the 

 oidy other Tusayan town at the East mesa, and therefore the only 

 rival which Sikyatki had near by. The Tanoan people, whose descend- 

 ants now inhabit Hano, the nearest village, had not migrated from the 

 Rio Grande, and" the little town Sitcomovi, midway between Hano and 

 Walpi, had not been built on the mound covered with flowers which 

 gave it its name. 



As one crosses the plain following the road from the entrance to 

 Keams Canyon to the modern Moki settlement near Isba or Coyote 

 Spring, the main water supply of Hano, he sees far to the right, on 

 the mesa top, two conical mounds, which are conspicuous for miles. 

 These teocalli-like elevations are called Kukiitcomo, and are circular 

 ruins, possibly contemporaneous with Sikyatki, of which they were 

 defensive outlooks. They are situated just above the mounds which 

 mark the ruins of that village on the foothills beneath, and were no 

 doubt wisely chosen for defense against the Walpians. Between them 

 and the present towns the mesa narrows, and what was once a strong 

 defensive wall can still be traced, crossing the mesa at its narrow 

 point. Sikyatki lies among foothills, surrounded by stretches of sand, 

 elevated a few hundred feet above the plain. Elsewhere than in 

 Tusayan its site would be regarded most desolate, but an enterprising 

 Indian, claiming the ruin from the relationship of his wife, still har- 

 vests from these barren sands a considerable crop of melons and 

 squashes, planting his vines where the plaza once was. Other Indians 

 claim the stunted peach trees which grow near by. Not a trace of the 

 walls of ancient Sikyatki stand above the mounds, although the outlines 

 of houses can be followed everywhere on the surface. Since the village 

 became a ruin roofs have fallen in, drifting sand has blown into the 

 chambers, and the sagebrush and other desert plants have taken root 

 in the covering debris, forming a succession of mounds of rectangular 



