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Show 179 npon the rocks above the side of the canon. The ascent to the rock upon which it is-built was by two pieces of wood about 10 feet loug, with notches cnt for steps and forming a rude ladder. There were six rooms, some nearly perfect, the walls of rongh stone and roof made of pieces of cedar stretched horizontally and covered with earth ; patches of plaster remained upon the walls, but much of the roof had fallen iu; the ceilings low, not more than 7 feet above the grouud; doors very small; broken pieces-of crockery seen scattered about. On the next day ( September 17) I visited another of these ruins, making the ascent of the rocks with considerable difficulty. Several small dwellings were found, nearly covering the space upon the rock, which descended very abruptly on every side. In one of these houses, just above a tire- place, and upon sticks stretching across the room, supported by being embedded in the wall on either side, I found the leg- bones of a mail's skeleton; the remainder must have been carried away, as I could not find any of the other parts. Near the dwellings were several cavities* iu the rocks suitable for holding supplies of water, although they seemed to be natural formations. The rubbish on the floor was an inch or two thick. In the Canon Largo, a few miles from its junction with the San Juan River, we found a curious mound in the valley, that had every appearance of having been constructed by man, from the heterogeneous substance that composed it as well as it* shape, rooflike, with sloping euds, being about 100 feet long by 50 feet wide at the base, and 25 feet high. At either end were little circles of stones, and digging down through the sod, a quantity of black earth was found as though the place had been frequently used for tires. The most extensive ruins met with were on the right bank of the Las Animas River, about twelve miles above its junction with the Sau Juan. I had been previously informed of this, my informant stating that he had counted 517 rooms in one pueblo. On visiting the ruins we found what had once been, apparently, quite a town, with two main buildings and numerous small ones about them. One of the main buildings, situated nearest the river, extended to and was built into a bluff separated a few hundred yards from the river by a flat. The plan was rectangular with a small court on the south side, the court flanked on either side by two circular rooms or towers at the corners of the building; two more of these rooms at the other corners, and three through the center and parallel to the longer side of the building; the walls supporting the towers on either side of the court were square- cornered, but had re- entrant angles. The remainder of the building was divided into rectangular compartments apparently of three stories, the two upper ones nearly in ruins, on two sides of the building, which was about 150 by 100 feet; the wall was quite perfect aud in places 25 feet in height still standing. ( See Plate IX.) Cutering a room nearly altogether in ruins, it was found connected with an interior one by a door- way 4 feet 4 inches and 2 feet 4 inches, cased with nicely- dressed soft sandstone about* the size of an ordinary brick; the walls were 2 feet 4 inches thick, many of the stones beiug marked with crosses, ( + ) & c, and some with inscriptions, though these latter were nearly obliterated. The interior room was 14 feet 4 inches by 6 feet 4 inches,- aud the roof fallen in. An entrance was found to a lower room, apparently one of the lower story, through a door of about the same dimensions as the other mentioued; the lintel was composed of small round pieces of wood well cleaned, fitted, and bound together with withes; the dimensions of the room 14 feet 4 inches by 6 feet, and 7 feet high; the walls had been well plastered, and remained nearly intact, though covered on all sides with curious figures and signs scratched upon them. The floor must have been of earth; the ceiling was supported primarily by clean pine or spruce beams about 6 inches in diameter, and 30 inches apart; these were crossed by smaller ones of the same kind, and across these lalter were split pieces, small and half-round, and fitting closely together, supporting the earth above. The room was in good condition, though sand had washed in and partly covered the floor. No entrance could be found to the numerous other rooms constituting this floor, except in oue case where an interior wall was found broken through. This room was like the other, but higher and without plaster, the floor covered with dt'bris fallen from above. Near the center of the building was a rectangnlar shaft about 8 feet by 6 feet. Through a hole already broken in the roof and by means of a rope I descended this about 12 feet to a flooring, the beams supporting which had given way and only part remained ; a little below loose earth filled the shaft, but whether resting ou another floor, or the ground, I could not tell. No connection was found between this and any of the rooms. I regretted that I could not reach the bottom, as I had here hoped to find entrances to those rooms which appeared to have none from the outside. Holes, as if for ventila-tiou, but not large enough to admit a man, and now filled with dirt, seemed to extend through the exterior walls of the building in places. The other main building, which is thelnrgerof the two, is about 200 yards to the west of this, and quite remarkable in plan. What was probably the principal part is ou the north side, the roof fallen in and much dvbri* about the exterior. We found a number of much larger rooms than in the other building, aud interior walls at least |
