170 
THE SCIENTIST. 
Written f»r the Scientist. 
Engravings on the Rocks of 
Natural Fort, Colo. 
By E. Butts. 
The cut below represents one- 
sixth the natural size of an inscrip- 
tion copied from the rocks of 
"Natural Fort," in Larimer county, 
Colo., in the spring of 1882. 
Natural Fort is located on Lone 
Tree Creek near the line between 
Colorado and Wyoming- about one 
mile and a half east of the Colorado 
.Central railroad; it is a sandstone 
formation full of crevices and ledges, 
covering about one acre of ground 
and has an elevation of about twenty- 
five feet above the general elevation 
of the surrounding country. Seen 
from half a mile distant it very 
much resembles the ruins of an 
ancient castle standing alone on the 
prairie. Other engravings were on 
the rocks, but they were eroded to 
such an extent as to make their out- 
lines uncertain. 
The Fort — so-called — evidently 
has been used as a receptacle for the 
dead by the Indians, as quite a quan- 
tity of white and blue beads were 
found associated with human teeth. 
However, the burials must have 
been made years ago as there were 
no other traces left of human exist- 
ence excepting the carvings, teeth 
and beads to be found. 
Written for the Scientist. 
Mexican Pottery. 
By 8. J. Hare. 
One of the first arts attained by 
man was the manufacture of pot- 
ter}^ The remains of his earthen- 
ware vessels are scattered over the 
entire world, wherever he has lived. 
This pottery varies in composition, 
color, ornamentation and shape. 
From a study of the types from the 
various countries we readily see the 
degree of civilization reached by 
those early inhabitants, for art is 
the index to civilization and the 
early man could only display his art 
in the embellishment of his utensils. 
From a study of the North Amer- 
ican pottery v\"e at once conclude 
that the early inhabitants of Mexico 
had gained the highest rank of civil- 
ization, for their pottery is far supe- 
rior in design and ornamentation. 
