CLIFF-HOUSE AND CAVE ON DIAMOND CREEK, 



NEW MEXICO. 



By H. W. Henshaw. 



The mouth of Diamond Creek, a tributary of the Rio Gila, is not 

 far from Camp Bayard, New Mexico. On the first day's march up the 

 creek, when perhaps eight miles from its mouth, the attention of Mr. How- 

 ell and myself was attracted by a wall of cemented rocks, which evi- 

 dently had been raised to inclose a natural cavity in the rocks. The canon 

 at this point was very narrow, and the sides of volcanic rock rise perpen- 

 dicularly to a height of perhaps 600 feet. The wall, which was perhaps 30 

 feet above the valley, was 15 or 18 feet long, and composed of volcanic 

 debris plastered together with mud, and further strengthened and supported 

 by stout timbers, which had been cemented into the interior face. Two 

 principal openings had been left, one to serve as a doorway, through which 

 we entered by stooping slightly, the other, perhaps a foot in diameter, which 

 apparently answered the double purpose of admitting the light and serving 

 as a loop-hole for the discharge of arrows. The position and strength of the 

 wall indicated that the intention of the builders had been to provide a secure 

 retreat in case of attack. On entering we found ourselves in a small room, 

 about 14 feet long by 10 wide, out of which a second smaller apartment 

 opened, the two being separated by a wall similar in construction to the 

 first. The latter room had two small loop-holes or windows commanding 

 the pass below. 



To the right of this structure, which had the appearance of having 



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