VI 
PREFACE. 
believed they belonged to a race wholly 
extinct, and with no direct or indirect 
living representatives, at least on the 
North American continent. Even when 
the first living cliff dwellers were found 
in Mexico I believed they were isolated 
cases of depraved savages having acquired 
ancient dwellings, as the very lowest 
order of our own people occasionally seek 
similar habitations on the outskirts of 
towns and cities. But I was certainly 
not prepared to believe that this singular 
and savage race was so extensively dis¬ 
tributed and so distinct from all others in 
its characteristics; and this belief was 
undoubtedly universal, as shown in the 
comments elicited by the discovery. 
Whether there are any relations exist¬ 
ing between the extinct cliff and cave 
dwellers of our own country and those 
