Show TRAVELING THROUGH SOUTHERN UTAH INTO ARIZONA EIGHTH while it is in the province of an archaeologist to throw a great deal ot of upon the history of an ancient people by bv making careful examinations of the remains they have left ke behind hind it is 18 a very difficult matter fur for h faun im to form any idea of dates thus when an 8 attempt is made to tell the time iame when a p people eople settled eel tied in ia a certain country and bow they bocc occupied aupied it an and d how many years have passed since they abandoned it the re bulte must be vague and uncertain probably there has baa not hot a simple archaeologist made a of the ruins ruin of central ent ral america and mexico who ass faaa not in his hie own mind formed some buea 08 a to the time that has basela elapsed al uce the tolteca first entered those regions ut of country atry and the ages that have passed since they abandoned them yet we find dd no DO two 0 mon md wh who D agree as to the length of 0 those periods period po while the differences feren does ces between them extend over centuries it will thus be seen many any alost while there are tui bugs that convey to us some idea of time such as we the ages of trees growing r ancient lent mounds and the geological charges abarge a that have taken place the abandonment dorment of the old cities we cannot 06 kunot form uny any balls satisfactory factory idea of time tiline or dates except by reference to written history sau anu when that is lack IDS the or ideas 0 ot f our oar best beat and most conservative student tj 1 area are very unsatisfactory anut when we try to lorm form an idea of the time when the ancient people first reached the valleys of arizona and alid the length of time they remal neu in of the country we find ourselves confronted with obstacles cled clig we cannot surmount it is clear to all ail who have studied the country that when abe old people came here they diu so io ia mail numbers that their growth and ud development in the ibe country wui was slow alow and gradual hey bey do ado noi DOL teem to tj have ouel the countley by any people and tue r ov c that aiLer destroyed deb troyed thein mut mu t bave cume conje into the country at a later period Every ining indicates a 8 long jred residence jence here afi o chure here the old cabals were cut through the bard rock the latter has baa been boru smooth by the action ot of the water on the black mee thirty five miles below the junction of the salt and oila rivers there is an old canal that crosses a mesa of hard volcanic rook and falls a distance of about fifteen feet to a lower mesa at the point where jt it leaves the upper anesa mesa the water carried by the canal has cut into the hard rook rock several inches smoothing and polishing it ina in a manner that has defied the effacing influences of time and the elements since the water has ceased to flow there ro io have accomplished this ibis even with a large body of water flowing rapidly mui t have required centuries it has not been many years since this country was settled resettled re probably twenty years at most yet in iii that snort short time trees have bee i planted aud aid sprung up ot of their own accord until now every canal everywhere is lined with them in the olden days it is very probable that the same thing oo oc burred it if 60 there must have been trees of immense size growing along sonae of the canals at the time lime when the people were destroyed and their cities abandoned time between that abandonment and the arrival of the first white men was so great that thai all traces oi 01 a broody growth along the the canals had bad disappeared aud it should be remembered that this country is so dry that timber would be preserved from decay for a long time tie te T ie more I 1 iury the ruins ruin and the history of the people the more convinced I 1 am that the cliff dwellers of anzona and were descend ALti of the old people who for meily inherited the valleys and who escaped the general destruction b by y fleeing to the mountains ains and who fur years eked out a miserable existence in the narrow valleys and deep gorges of 01 ebe colorado indeed it is not improbable able that the Moqui and zuni indians ot of the present day are degenerate descendants ot of the old race there are many points of similarity Biml larity between these mese people their pottery was designed sod aud decorated much the same friey used stone implements identical in shape aija finish they cultivated the ibe same kinds of grain and vegetables nd ad the same kind of tl few w Is IP the zuni and Ma Mario opa indians indiana of the day pre preserve seive their history by means ot of what might be called historic families there are families ut of this kind in every tribe it is the duty oi the head 0 the family to oali call his bis sons around him at stated times and retie rehearse to them the history ol 01 his people an aa it has been rehear rehearsed seU to him and his forefathers for many generations in this way I 1 under stand many things of importance con COD necked with the history of the people has been preserved prof cashing remained with the zanis eanls for some years studying their history and it is expected that when his book is published it will throw much light upon th ahn of that strange people I 1 was told wat that the Marlo Marleo opa ps indiana still preserve a tradition among thom them that at one time they lived in a country far to the he south that during their residence there the country was visited with a great drouth that dried up the rivers destroyed their crops and threatened the people with utter destruction during the drouth they sent forty of their men northward to look out another aluther and better country to which they could emigrate the party traveled northward a great distance and finally came upon a mountain south of the salt river valley and from which I 1 bey could see the valley spread out before them like a map covered everywhere with orchards and fields among which the many canals wound la in and out like threads of silver three of the party were selected to go down into the valley anti and reconnoiter while the 0 others remained on the mountain proceeding cautiously they discovered the valley to be inhabited by a white people who wore beards and by whom they were received and entertained kindly after three days they returned to their companions on the mountains again und and arranged that they should go back to their old home and collect all their people and return and take possession of the he rich valley while they would return tu to the valley anti and remain until the arrival or of the army arranging that a signal fire should be lit on a certain p ak to give them warning the program was carried carneu out the three returned to the valley and partook of the hospitality of the people while they spied out their strength and planned tor lor their after maguy days day the sig nal fire was seen on the mountain Thet rhe three bree hastened there aud and toulu all their people prepare ii tor for wai during the night bight they led th thul lanu ul into the valley where they fell usvia ui on the ui sus sue inhabitants find nd destroyed them for a while they fared well but they were md aimed to irrigation and allowed the canals to wo to decay and gradually the o country became parched and dry like abu abe our eur rounding rou desert up in the superstition mountain there lit is an ancient drawing upon a rock representing a group of men whose form and features show that they were intended to represent a race different from the indian india ii tyl tye e aronno their necks are ropes that extend back to another group of men whose form and features show plainly that they are indians it is supposed that bat this drawing was made to commemorate the be event preserved in the tradition given above the whole race seem to have cremated their bead and placing the charred bones and ashes in a large olla they buried themon them on the plain the Mario Mari opa cops indians indiana of the present day follow the same custom while theli neighbors the pimas aimas bury their beatt lea in a the usual manner it is to be regretted that we know so at little about the abe history of this ancient people still it if a careful examination was made of the mounds aud excavations were made luto them tham I 1 believe we would learn a great deal about them AS it to is at present there is comparatively no interest taken in either preserving the mounds or the pottery and stone implements fund found about them it if a man plows upa up an olla or vase be allows it to be broken and destroyed comparatively no value Is placed upon any of these things I 1 know of only two or three cabinets of curios in the valley there have bays been enough relies relics found around mesa city to make one of the finest collections of antiquity iu in the country yet I 1 will venture that today there even a small cabinet in the town the latter day Si saints pinta seminary there could riot not do a better work then than to encourage the preserving of relies relics of value found in abe vicinity now and aad then small slates tire ore found and some of them are covered coverer with written ebar actors I 1 was shown one that bat was covered ou on both sides eldes with characters and hieroglyphics such things ought to be preserved aney show us that the old people bau bad a written language and lead us to to hope that some time we may find and other records that will give us the history of the ancient people JOEL RICKS |