NOTICE OF A RUINED PUEBLO AND AN ANCIENT 

 BURIAL-PLACE IN THE VALLEY OF THE 



RIO chama:* 



By H. C. Yarrow, Assistant Surgeon, U. 8. A. 



An interesting discovery was made of an ancient pueblo and burial- 

 ground in the valley of the Rio Chama, about three miles east of Abiquiu, 

 on the top of a mesa, rising probably 100 or 150 feet above the level of the 

 river. This mesa lies at the foot of the Jemez range of mountains, and has 

 the appearance of a high foot-hill from the valley ; seen from above, it is 

 simply a promontory of land in the shape of a trapezoid, or frustrum of a 

 cone. At its base in each side were the only means of approach — two nar- 

 row, steep canons, worn away by the streams of water from the mountains 

 above. In case of war, these approaches could have been easily defended. 

 The front of the mesa is a sheer precipice, allowing of no ingress to the 

 town in that direction, and it would appear that the builders of it chose this 

 spot with a considerable degree of sagacity, and with a view to a good 

 defensive position, although we were unable to determine where, in case of 

 a protracted siege, the inhabitants could have obtained water. The Rio 

 Chama flows through the valley at the foot of the mesa, the road running 

 alongside of it. There are two arroj^os, or ditches, in the sides of which 

 graves were found. These ditches were formed in a similar manner to the 



"This account is an abstract only of portions of Dr. Yarrow's General Itinerary for the Field- 

 season of 1874. Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1875, Appendix LL. 



362 



