VISIT TO OLD ZUNl.—RUINS AND ANTIQUITIES. 
69 
enacted. Beyond this place, upon the sandy slope, were orchards of peach trees. Although 
the soil appeared dry, and there was no means of irrigation, they looked flourishing. Above, 
the projecting summit of the cliffs seemed inaccessible, and as Indians were here gathering fuel, 
we endeavored to engage their services. They were young men, and evidently fearful of show¬ 
ing us the way, lest they might offend their elders. At length an old man, crippled by age, 
took our money and pointed to the road. The young Indians then led, and leaving our mules 
we followed a trail which, with great labor, had been hammered out from seam to seam of the 
rocks along the side of the precipice. At various points of the ascent, where a projecting rock 
permitted, were barricades of stone walls, from which, the old man told us, they had hurled 
rocks upon the invading Spaniards. Having ascended, according to our estimate, one thousand 
feet, we found ourselves upon a level surface, covered with thick cedars. The old man had been 
left far behind. Our young guide, who understood no Spanish, led us to the opposite side of the 
mesa, and pointed to the stone pillars, which we recognised as the reputed statues of the pair 
that had been sacrificed at the flood. They were isolated columns of sandstone, about five 
hundred feet in height, and remarkable enough in appearance to perpetuate a legend among 
this singular people. Imagination could easily trace a resemblance to human beings of colossal 
size. The top of the mesa was of an irregular figure, a mile in width, and hounded upon all 
sides by perpendicular bluffs. Three times we crossed it, searching in vain for the trace of a 
ruin. Not even a fragment of pottery could he found, and we were about to give up the vaunted 
pueblo as a fable, when the old Indian, to our surprise, made his appearance at the top of the 
cliff. He probably gave the guide permission to conduct us, for he led us immediately to a spot 
which, on inspection, showed traces of art. A few very small fragments of pottery were lying 
upon the ground, and with some difficulty we could distinguish the remains of a thick wall in 
the figure of a V. But the guide hurried us on half a mile farther, where appeared the ruins 
of a city indeed. Crumbling walls, from two to twelve feet high, were crowded together in 
confused heaps over several acres of ground. Covering every mass of rubbish were vast 
quantities of tall cacti, opuntia arborescens, tipped with bright yellow fruit, that gave the place, 
at a little distance, the appearance of a flower garden. The Doctor was particularly delighted, 
as this opuntia had not been seen before west of the Del Norte; and, by a direct comparison with 
it, he has proved another variety growing in the valley to be new. Upon examining the 
pueblo, we found that the standing walls rested upon ruins of greater antiquity. The primi¬ 
tive masonry, as well as we could judge, must have been about six feet thick. The more recent 
was not more than a foot, or a foot and a half, but the small sandstone blocks had been laid in 
mud mortar with considerable care. Having taken a few specimens of painted pottery, abund¬ 
ant as usual in such places, and an obsidian arrow-head that was found, we again followed the 
guide. Entering a forest of cedars, a secluded nook presented a scene the most interesting of 
all. It was a Zuni altar, such as Pedro Pino had previously described to us. An oval basin 
had been scooped from the ground, seven feet in length. Near one end stood a vertical shaft, 
two feet high, neatly trimmed with feathers, and a circular net-work of cord. Symmetrically 
placed upon the other side was a cedar post, about two and a half feet high, quaintly carved, 
as represented in the accompanying sketch. Shells were suspended from the centre, and below 
was inserted a grooved horizontal piece, decorated with beads and shells. Between and around 
them was a forest of feathered sticks, ranged generally in rows, and united by twine. Behind 
these stood a thin board, two or three inches wide and three feet in height, with seven angular 
notches at the top; while in regular order below were representations of a star, the moon, the 
sun, a T, and two parallel lines. Back of all lay a flat rock, apparently intended for an altar, 
though there were no appearances either of a fire or a sacrifice. Upon this rock were piled a 
great number of sticks, cut precisely like those before described, all partially decayed, and some 
in the last stage of decomposition. It was evident that they had once in their turn occupied 
places in the basin. Judging from the soundness of cedar ties at El Moro, some of these rem¬ 
nants of carved pieces of wood indicated great antiquity. Although many sea-shells and 
