| Show G DESCRIBES NATURAL WONDERS AND ANDI i I SCIENTIFIC TREASURES OF SAN JUAN REGION t e d hd J 1 mm I E F CF t y k i q C a aY Y 1 i S g I t 4 4 f a YV r y x a J i j axi Ut yr 4 t tn x t W w t t a r ae w r T 1 y ii t tr G t j Y r v q m ax axt n nr nt r t vh t 1 w 3 f oa a Hf x ty a a a af 4 x x f p u F u t r 1 dt t I d s rr a x eC d dr d a r a r 1 C 8 t fig k y t t k kt t 4 rt f o x aW aWN N a il ily y ar M 2 d f y Lk 1 tk k ki t J i 1 t ax e ebE bE t Si s an St C W Wi y Aa J i jl a c Xi a Ml t Jt q Ro j Y l r rj t u v N J r t d x rY b a aa aa Fc r t 3 a i r 3 a O t rr Jy ic N Ni x x i l i 1 f y Y wo yb J a E A Ai ay Yay V pot S1 r c f r a s r v W 1 x 4 1 r Ef 5 2 7 y t W x 0 a 2 3 r itt w t WS k 4 Nt c q aJ 5 C y a a E r i M Y I q i H tt I t Lofty Loft Y Mesas Irresistible ble in Grandeur and Weird Relics of 1 i l III Prehistoric tofic Race Hold Fascination for Explorers BY BYRON CUMMINGS t I i t i Ii I I I Ve have often ixon i cen n asked Rk d this um n or what hat we w found lit In Il the San an Juau Juan I desert Bert to bring us back fur for In the th heat h qC of o summer what i sita v V s 9 ther tb r n this remote region t tr M G r r F I il Cl tW us from the tho alluring coolness ot of o oi 4 I i tho Wasatch and load lond us across dusty dusl J 3 I l through treacherous i and nd into Mt this deep l Ii box bor canyons that n like lIk ovens Ui In n Hie he hot days of July U id d August From one who has evor i i th tIt 5 an Juan count country there will wilt willbo o i bo be b only one fine answer the in f auty ar art ard l in form aril ami coloro color c lor lorI I t o these the e lofty loft mesas separated s by br t r drop dOl jagged serums an and l cracks racks which i e call cun canyons an ons and the burled buried burl cd mys mrs j try t of or p v people who vho once up un and down lown over ocr these those steep st p cliffs t hilt nili the th agility of mountain sheep and k dotted the little v and the th rich n nic Je uis s with tl th their ir i kl of alo corn aid apet l vines vins I c i r semiarid s tracts stretching for tor fori i and miles along alon either side of It If Ift t S the th San Juan Junn river once supported I quite Q an nn extensive population and andt am t v th tho development of the science of or I 1 arid grid farming and the tho th industry Ind and ard a ando o P of or the tho pioneer are arc ties des titled to again apin blossom forth in many man mant i t t r large l rl trees ff and supply fruit and grain for f r th markets of the world Then ly Instead of there small I hamlets sepa separated se ser separ i rated r tedd by b miles and miles of waste vaste aRt aRti 4 i and there thoro will bo be thriving towns c filled with a prosperous and happy happ people opte instead of shipping out a fe few feiT V r thousand th usand cattle and sheep for some someone someO one O otia else to prepare r pure for tot the th market and anda a 11 Yew few tev thousand thou d hides and pelts they will Ill export toads carloads of tanned hides I and tl of ot dressed beef beer and i The Th habitants of today are 1 i only beginning b to get a glimpse of 0 the tha th Ti S of ot this oc desert country Its perpetual sunshine Us lis t balmy winters minters and Its pure bracing nit air otter offer health and peace to many man a I weary elry brain und and body bod and its great I i natural n beauties and wonders wonder as the I natural bridges and Monumental val ral at I r ley l make It If a veritable playground d 1 i for f r the nations II s Treasure House of Science t I i i I ifo TO the student of or mineral mineralogy mine I Iob t I ogy ob and archaeology this region Is I 1 Ii i truly tt ly a treasure house a mine of wealth and wonder In which he can dive repeatedly ly and at every ee turn 1 i bring o light slime s me fact of scientific I T and Interest Were It bet bettor bette er S known this region re lon would b bt be extensive extensively ly J visited by b scholars and people wh i t i R y t love to study sudy nature In all the th r r grandeur and an simplicity she sho manifest Y 4 I when she stands out fresh and bold boldi i ae as aff left by he hands of o the th divine art ar architect t Her nature has hRs scattered h t I pages edges pig S so profusely and Inscribed her lur x t characters so plainly plaint that even een th the e ob casual observer stops In delight and Ss d r astonishment 1 t From the beginning of the human r race the of or man out into a t I IT stronger light lIht and a larger ar er a i y t and his struggles les In the development t i I ny of a more mora complex life Ute and greater greate S q 1 U Wt y t I J J comfort have han ben been b n an interesting r and aai subject of study tudy Individual learns from his hiL hi successes and his failures to become b master of the tho forces force forc about him and marshal them then to con eon contribute tribute tr to his well being so collective man builds tho to t o structure of progress SS by using the tho solid blocks of the tho ex cx experiences of oC We e glory inthe In Inthe the greatness G of Q his achievements to tolay toJ tolay lay J but we can understand tand and ap all te them thein well U only as ire are e become acquainted 2 with rith the th long sHIes series of struggles Js by bJ which litch hr hf has mounted stop step by b step tep to the present plain of his CS C and acquainted especial especially ly frith the beginnings of or that I ae I ho he h was groping TOping about in the dark dank chill chili of fear tear superstition and ignorance c Forts and Towns In the San Juan corner of our state such a primitive people have h c let left their record behind them Hero Here they the built their homes beneath the cliffs or out outon outon on the mesas a little way wa back from the Uie head of some canyon canon or fork where here spring sent forth Its stream and about the rimrock reared forts and towns of defense Here they sunk their thel kivas khas or 01 ceremonial l cham chambers bers bere beneath the surface and each clan cia gloried In Its Us own religions religious rites and the wealth and md strength of or Its members Here they the burled buried their dead deat beneath the th sands of or the meas mes me as or tucked them away a wn In the caves cues and recesses of the cliffs cUffs Here they tilled the soil established permanent homes home and led a life lIte of comparative peace until one day da some force some some power wafted them away and the places that had nd known them so long were left and abandoned mute records of ot their joys jOS and successes Whither did these people go why wh did lid they the leave the homes for tor which they thc had tolled toiled for generations and where wh re are arc their descendants d now These questions press upon you O for so su solution solution lution as you ou examine the evidences jf Jr f their skill in building In stone Implements Implement and In textile and andi i ceramic manufacture These questions may ma never be answered to the full satisfaction of everybody Some say they the were driven out by b repeated raids II on the part of or more powerful tribes s sI who came into the country count perhaps s I the ancestors of the Utes and Xava Nava sos Jos os but more mor probably these ancient I p people K were ware forced to abandon their Gelds and their homes because of or a aI great drought dro brought brou ht on by a series I of ot dry seasons e ons Such a condition dries up the thc springs and nd the lack of or water I and the use Ue of poor water develops I disease which sweeps off hundreds and andI I thousands of a people living lilting under conditions without sanita sanitation I flow tion Within the memory of or the pres present present I ent generation three dry seasons in succession wrought great havoc among the Navajos Their ponies their sheep shep she p and their goats perished by the hun bun hundreds reds and they were forced to aban abandon abandon don their homes camp C J p along l ng th the bed td of ff f the San Juan river r which was en entirely n dried d up on the surface and dig t j t a J a aM r E JM at E sa d a oa oar r y 1 L J i k A Aw Ai w v i t Y Y s 0 Y t r w 1 a it h 1 Tourist party exploring an old Cave Cliff dwelling In White canyon San Juan JU n county Utah 2 Ed Edwin win natural bridge 3 The gateway of the Grand river at Moab 4 Towering weing cliffs In n northern norther n Arizona 5 A pinnacle In Monument valley 6 Turret cliffs and Poverty flats near Moab 7 Looking 9 Glass rock on the road to Monticello SA aA 8 A cliff cUff house on the 9 A scene in the oil fields o oSan of ofSan ofSan f San Juan wells ells in its sands to get enough water wat r to save themselves and the remnant of or their stock Thus we five can readily understand un understand understand that thata a few dry seasons Sn in I succession might plight reduce a primitive primitivo People to such that i they would never be able to t recover recover l whet their Bonner strength or o occupy cupy the thc homes they the once had budded and en enJoyed enjoyed enjoyed Joyed What of the Descendants D But such conditions would rarely it if ever exterminate a race roce made up of ot many quite widely scattered tribes There would always be some some who would surmount even these difficulties and survive the greatest physical hard hardships hardships hardships ships What hat has become of these Where are their descendants des found to today today today day Visit the HopI and other pueblo tribes of northern n Arizona and New Herr Mexica observe their religions and customs c toms and ceremonies and the man manner manner manner ner of ot their living and we will be convinced that In the veins of at these tribesmen flows the blood of f the braves who were the leaders of the clans among the prehistoric men of ot this region There has no doubt been a mingling with the tribes who later came In and occupied these regions but here we probably find the living representatives in part at least of or these ancient people The homes fortifications fortification andt and store storehouses storehouses storehouses houses of or this prehistoric race have long ago fallen Into ruin a dry air all and the protecting shelter of cliffs have bave saved many from the complete annihilation annihilation lation which have taken place In Ina Ina a more inore more moist climate and a more exposed ex exposed posed region Had it not been for tor the fr I destruction wrought by bv mummy and andI relic hunters in recent times mes who ho have I thought nothing of tearing down clown walls and destroying much instructive material ma material mai i If only they could find a mummy or a few pieces of or pottery potter that they could turn into i to paltry dollars donars we would have the life of or this thin people still laid open before us in very readable pages However it Is not for us to sigh over oer what might have been n but It is our duty to take what we still have and make the most of It it There is still much valuable material materia hidden away awa here and there and there are still some places pl es that have escaped the notice of or the vandals that are treasuring up definite Information in regard to the life Ufe of this people An Historical Museum Knowing this the Utah Archaeological ical society at the beginning of Its or organization organization felt that it owed a duty to the state A number of the leading museums of 0 the world have valuable collections gathered from the canyons of ot San an Juan county while we the cit citizens of the state slate have not taken suf sur sufficient clent Interest in the tho records left by prehistoric man in our own territory to see to it i that there was a collection owned by b the state which would give any data about the life of or this ancient people The society feels that tha the there should be in the possession of o the state e and accessible to all aU a museum collection collection tion which will adequately set forth fort h the history of the inhabitants of or its territory both historic and prehistoric The intelligence education and general genera l culture of the tile people demands a mu museum museum seum scum of art archaeology an and history I We stand high In education among th the e states and d do not wish to be behind the other states tes In the main malt of those Institutions lI ns that pro o duce culture and give an al uplift With this in view the society socie ty has been g on investigations n Is each season for the last three summers summer v Two years ago the secretary made a trip into the region of ot Ninemile can car yon endeavoring to determine how far f ar north this people pene pen e One year ago ao through the aid al d of Colonel E A Wall the first pres pr sl i dent or of the th society a more extended extend ed expedition into the San Juan country coun was wa undertaken n this expedition we had the ac active ve assistance of or the Ame Amer r lean of Archaeology which ch sent its oi of or American archa e Professor Edgar L Hewett to take charge of our our work Under his h is wise Rise guidance nc two to things were TOW acco tn pushed The Tho T e canyons In Utah north of the San s n Juan were explored and at d mapped and most of t the located ed e and White canyon and the region of ot the natural bridges were wr explored sur su r ced and mapped ma ped Upon this latt latter er data was based a report to the depart depa rt ment meat of or the Interior which furnished furnish ed the information H epa rt ment before they could could nd that they be set aside and preserve a 1 The result resul as already chronicled in these page pages was that these great e l nat f ural wonders onders of Utah have been e 1 made ma do Into l ments en n fiat n aria a B pr e the th g The present pr summer summer through the tb ti e continued generosity of Colonel E Eo Ea A o a Wall another expedition into southeastern south southeastern s uth eastern castern Utah was undertaken Professor Pro Professor Professor fessor Hewett again planned the worK but hut his absence in Europe during the Yh early summer ummer prevented his being with us until late In July However er erand A Y V v Kidder a graduate of Harvard and an d a student of archaeology Joined us at atthe atthe atthe the beginning and took charge of the scientific work of our expedition Party Makes Camp Two weeks reeks w ks were spent in exploring the canyons leading into nto Montezuma canyon on the west namely Long Devils DevIl Ruin and Alkali canyons ca and deciding where we wI had best conduct the excavation co of a ruin Many very ve promising places were found but many man could not be thought of or because of the absence of water and pasturage p The season Was aas as very do dry d and it was as dUn ditt difficult cult to find green grass and water where last lut year year they existed Isted In abundance abundance abundance dance Finally it to uncover un uncover cover a part of ota a very ve large targe pueblo on au Alkali Ridge at the head h d of Ruin canyon can canyon canon yon on Alkali Ridge Is a sandy sand rise of or ground covered with cedar and pinon and an occasional open oP Jn park of grass and extends about north and south be between between tween twe n Montezuma and Alkali canyons By Bj going across the ridge to the rim of ot Alkali canyon miles mUes from the ruin we made a good camp near an excellent spring and about miles mUes from Monticello our base of supplies Here we were ere Joined j a little later by b bIr Mr Ir De Da Fritsch and Mr Parsons pa sons two Harvard anard students from New ew York City who assisted n Mr Jr Kidder in col collecting collecting collecting data da and classifying specimens as the work progressed With the aid aidor of or seven even workmen the north wing or section of or this extensive pueblo or vil village village lage was uncovered and the living rooms room and storerooms with their as associated associated lavas l as were cleared out This Tilts proved to be a very old vein Th |
