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68 BU1NS IN THE CHAOO CANON. 



three miles below, are seven or eight other ruins, equally well-preserved, 

 on the cliffs above; these were, apparently, watch-towers. 



South of the Chaco the country rises to a table-land, presenting on its 

 southern and western slope, for about 30 miles, but two places to descend 

 the cliffs, which are about 300 feet nearly vertical. On the southern face, 

 probably 120 feet above the valley, with no visible way of getting- up, nor 

 could we reach them from above, we found several smaller buildings, 

 probably coeval with the larger ruins, built under the overhanging- walls of 

 the cliff rocks. 



On the level surfaces above were found numerous cisterns from 2J to 

 8 feet deep, hollowed out in the rock by the action of water, possibly aided 

 by the hand of man. 



Descending from the table-land, we camped on a small drain, tributary 

 to the Chaco from the south. A mile north of us was the mesa Fachada, 

 an isolated mass which looks like a grand old church and marks the outlet of 

 the canon Chaco. On another drain just west of this we found another ruin 

 similar in the main features to the others, but differing in that it had a tower- 

 like room running clear to the top, inclosed in rectangular walls, so that the 

 perimeter of cross-section was a square on outside and circle internally, 

 the segments where the wall was thickest being filled up by rubble- 

 masonry. The ruin was on a slight elevation above the valley. From 

 opposite the face of the former ran a built wall of earth, with stone revet- 

 ment across the drain, possibly a roadway with bridge, more probably a 

 dam, 10 feet across the top, 5 feet high, and 15 feet across the base. Here, 

 as at the other ruins, was found much broken pottery. In one of the ruins 

 on the main Chaco drain, the topographer entered a room now almost under 

 ground from debris of the falling walls. It was entirely destitute of furni- 

 ture or tools of any sort, but was very interesting in that it showed the 

 manner of making the floors; also that the interior walls were plastered 

 with a mortar containing but little lime. In the walls were small square 

 recesses, as if for shelves. The ceiling, which was the floor of the room 

 above, consisted, first, of heavy poles about 5 inches in diameter placed at 

 intervals of about 3 or 4 feet; on these, transversely, were placed smaller 

 poles, and again across these in juxtaposition were laid small square poles, 



