BULNS ON THE LAS ANIMAS. 347 



six rooms, some neai-ly perfect, the walls of rough stone and roof made of 

 pieces of cedar stretched horizontally and covered with earth ; patches of 

 plaster remained upon the walls, but much of the roof had fallen in ; the 

 ceilings low, not more than 7 feet above. the ground; doors very small. 

 Broken pieces of pottery were scattered about. 



On the next day I visited another of these ruins, making the ascent of 

 the rocks with considerable difficulty. Several small dwellings were found, 

 nearly covering the space upon the rock, which descended very abruptly 

 on every side. In one of these houses, just above a fire-place, and upon 

 sticks stretching across the room, supported by being imbedded in the wall 

 on either side, I found the leg-bones of a man's skeleton ; the remainder 

 must have been carried away, as I could not find any of the other parts. 

 Near the dwellings were several cavities in the rocks suitable for holding 

 supplies of water, although they seemed to be natural formations. The 

 rubbish on the floor was an inch or two thick. 



In the Canon Largo, a few miles from its junction with the San Juan 

 River, we found in the valley a curious mound that had every appearance 

 of having been constructed by man, from the heterogeneous substance that 

 composed it as well as its shape, roof-like, with sloping ends, being about 

 100 feet long by 50 feet wide at the base, and 25 feet high. At either end 

 were little circles of stones, and digging down through the sod a quantity 

 of black earth was found, as though the place had been frequently used for 

 fires. 



The most extensive ruins met with were on the right bank of the Las 

 Animas River, about twelve miles above its junction with the San Juan. I 

 had been previously informed of this, my informant stating that he had 

 counted 517 rooms in one pueblo. On visiting the ruins we found what 

 had once been, apparently, quite a town, with two main buildings and 

 numerous small ones about them. One of the main buildings, situated 

 nearest the river, extended to and was built into a bluff separated a few 

 hundred yards from the river by a flat. The plan was rectangular, with a 

 small court on the south side, the court flanked on either side by two cir- 

 cular rooms or towers at the corners of the building ; two more of these 

 rooms at the other corners, and three through the center and parallel to 



