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Show ANCIENTS OF AMEKIC& RECENT DISCOVERIES IN OUR PETRIFIED PET-RIFIED FOREST. Trace of Four People Dr. Hough of the Smithsonian Institution Excavates Many Interesting Ruins Stone Stoves in the Houses. (Adamana, Ariz., Letter.) Ages ago the famous Petrified Forest For-est of Arizona was the home of at least four distinct groups of people who attained in some respects a higher degree of civilization than that of the present Pueblo Indians. This remarkable remark-able fact has just been established beyond be-yond all doubt by Dr. Walter Hough of the Smithsonian institution at Washington. In the interests of the institution Dr. Hough has just completed a series of excavations in the forest of what proved to be ancient ruins and graves of former inhabitants. He does not pretend to say how far they date back into the misty past, but asserts that he would not question a statement that the ruins are 1,000 years old. For tourists the world over the Petrified Pet-rified Forest has charms possessed by few other scenic attractions, and the fact that Dr. Hough as soon as he is able to solve a great deal of the mystery mys-tery that hangs about this enchanted spot will add materially to its popularity. popu-larity. The government has recently taken steps toward making it a public park. Furthermore the addition that has been made to science, anthropology and archaeology by the Hough expedition expe-dition is one of the most fruitful of recent years. Find Ruins of Camps. Dr. Hough started on his expedition last April, with a determination to ascertain as-certain whether the Petrified Forest had ever been inhabited. A few years ago he and Dr. Fewkes, an authority on the Pueblo Indians, saw what they thought were ruins of camps in the forest. Nothing was said publicly regarding re-garding the matter, as Dr. Hough wished to make explorations and excavations ex-cavations later. Spea'iing of his discovery, dis-covery, he said: "It has been determined beyond all question of doubt that a number of different dif-ferent and distinct peoples have dwelt In the Petrified Forest. I found evidence evi-dence of at least four groups which at different times have made this wonderful wonder-ful place their home. One of these groups was evidently of Zuni stock and another of Moki. A third was a people peo-ple possessing gray pottery ware and the fourth group I have thus far been unable to classify. I consider the find fine pieces of policed enalcedony ' which were buried with the dead. In this same region was found and examined ex-amined an ancient pueblo, but no excavations ex-cavations were made, because the ruins were badly washed away. Enough of them remained, however, to show that the village had been almost al-most one mile in length, but narrow and extending around the sinuosities of the bad lands. A most curious feature was the discovery dis-covery of stone stoves in the houses. Still another ruin near the petrified bridge was built around a conical hill of bad lands, and is most picturesquely situated. . It was named the Metate ruin, because of the fact that a large number of stone mills were found, some of which were set up on edge and were eight feet in' their longest diameter. diam-eter. Colossal TreeB Dat Up. On completion of his work In the Petrified Forest Dr. Hough went to Holbrook, where he was joined by P. G. Gates, also of the Smithsonian institution. in-stitution. Under the auspices of the institution and in the charge of Dr. Hough, the expedition proceeded to Linden.in the White mountains, where were discovered two ruins, one large and the other smail, and both built in terraces on a hillside. These ruins were evidently ancient, because in them were found colossal trees of the juniper and pine varieties. The pottery pot-tery found ran to decorative coil war, highly polished, and there were a few pieces of gray and red. The examples of oiled ware are remarkable and have) a decoration representing a herdsman tending a flock of curious animals. The masonry was more massive than is usually found in ruins in this region. re-gion. Dr. Hough stated that anthropologists anthro-pologists might in time be able to ascertain as-certain the race and affiliations of the people who dwelt here. Slassive Masonry Disclosed. In the Apache reservation near For-estdale For-estdale the expedition discovered a ruin covering seven acres with a dance plaza of one acre and an acropolis 170 feet in diameter filled with rooms. The masonry was more massive than that found in any previously excavated. The acropolis was surrounded by a circular cir-cular stone wall two feet thick and containing stones one yard long, two feet wide and two feet thick. On room, apparently a kiva, was excavated excavat-ed in one corner of the dance plaza. It was twenty-five feet square instead of being rectangular. Proof was abundant that during the more recent unpleasantness between rival factions of the tribe rifle pits had been made on this ruin commanding the beautiful and well watered valley of Forcftdale. Dr. Hough stated that these ruins are most ancient and that the culture is that of Salt river. Excavations show that rectangular additions had been made to villages and that the people practiced incineration as well as burying. This fact is shown by jars of human ashes which were dug up. Pottery Is Artistic. At Tusayan the expedition was joined by A. C. Vroman, of Pasadena. Pasa-dena. Excavations were made in the Jeddidoh or Antelope valley north of the Santa Fe railroad, where the ruins are immense, and were probably inhabited in-habited at the same time as AwatobL It may even be that they were a part of the seven villages of the ancient province of Tusayan, which Coronado found in the time of the Conqueror. The pottery unearthed is the acme of the ceramic art of the western hemisphere, hemi-sphere, according to Dr. Hough. In addition to the many things found by the expedition is a fine collection of dog skulls, showing that these tribes had domestic animals at the early date in which they lived. S. GLEN ANDRUS. DR. WALTER HOUGH. In the forest one of the most valuable scientific discoveries of recent years." New Species of Crocodile. Speaking of his find Dr. Hough stated stat-ed that he unearthed the petrified skull of what is evidently a new species of orocodile. Prof. Brown has examined it, and declares it to be a hitherto unknown un-known species, but he has not yet attempted at-tempted to say to what age it belongs. One of the most interesting discoveries discover-ies was that of a home made entirely of petrified wood. Whether the wood was in this condition before the house was built is, of course, a matter of speculation. "The camps that were found face northeast, and are rectangular in form. The houses excavated are frequently three stories hign, and the exposed walls show masonry that would do credit to a modern craftsman. The stones evidently were selected, present A regular appearance, and the workmanship work-manship is far in advance of that of the Moki villages. A remarkable fact is that many of these stones are eight feet square, which shows that these ancient people may have had improved facilities for hoisting. TJnearth Grave and Shrine. The many graves which were found and excavated showed that interments were deep. In one cist, which was laid in gypsum, were found twelve pieces of fine pottery, some beads and other objects ob-jects of ornamentation. The cists were unusually well constructed. In front of the villages were discovered shrines of red granite and petrified wood, and about thera were objects of shall and |