| Show f r y mW A 5 iv J j aS- aS A fr frA A yv bs t 5 i I aV s s vr Vi Vill M ll tV w- w tl i Al A r THE RUINS Of THE At ANCIENT CLIFf DWELLERS AT MESA VERDE IN IX STONE SIONE FOUR STORIES HIGH AND ANT LONGER THAN TITAN A DELTA TOWN TON BLOCK TELL O OF ANCIENT LIFE LnE BEFORE COLU COLUMBUS mus LANDED LANDEn ON CONTINENT CONTINE l Turkeys Raised for Feathers A Thousand Years Ago and Dimpled Brown rown Babies Fla Play in ill Sun as Mother Works A DAY WITH THE TILE MAX MAN or OF LONG AGO One December morning in 1888 Dick We Wetherhill rode up to the rim of the canyon where this photo was kc taken and was astonished to see a great ancient ruin tucked under the over-hanging over wall In his enthusiasm enthusIasm enthusiasm enthus enthus- he thought it a veritable palace pal pal- ace aoe of r r. mighty king and n named med it Cliff CUff Palace It was rather a great communal house wherein room Joined room and family rubbed el elbow elbow elbow el- el bow with family and neighbor Jostled jostled jostled jost Jost- led neighbor but there was neither king nor palace autocracy nor e epiro em em- pir piro but but rather the first purely democratic series of settlements Inthe in inthe inthe the Now World with a governor elected elected elected e- e yearly and a to which the people submitted with def def- def j The first question that is always asked Is When was It occupied And that in the hardest question to answer Much conjecture has been written many staggering and wonderful wonderful wonderful won won- ventures on probability or plausibility near have been essayed but th the careful scientist trained in i ethnology evades a direct statement pinning the age of this ruin to any period other than broadly to the cultural period of the Cliff CUff Dwellers Dwell Dwell- ers or early When the Spaniards Spaniard came in 1540 this and a great many others buildings of like kind were then already abandoned How long before that they were occupied occupied oc oc- oc- oc is as s yet in the lack of direct and specific knowledge uncertain But those who put forward a tentative tentative tentative ten ten- suggestion subject to revision upon better information say It is very likely that had a person person per per- son Ion been boon standing on the same spot where Wetherhill discovered this ruin at a time say a thousand years before he would have seen actual people working In it busy at their various tasks And as to how much earlier or how later that occupancy continued evidence Is as yet too uncertain uncertain uncertain un un- un- un certain to try to establish Writers of authority think It highly high high- ly probable that say to 1300 A.D. A.D. A. A D D. D this building may have been oc oc- pled TSo when Richard he of the Lion Heart was living Cliff CUff Palace may have been occupied The word may is la used purposely for although it is thought so yet it Is not surely so known As AB to the limit lim lim- limit it at the other end when Charlemange Charlemange Charle- Charle mange was fighting the hordes of ot barbarism and building a Christendom Christendom Christendom Christen Christen- dom Cliff CUff Palace may mayor or may not have havo been begun When Joan of Arc was burned at the the- stake its occupancy occupancy occupancy pancy may mayor or may not have ceas ceased d. d B But w reasonable safety it is on g B thorny hority thought that some I time durine durine- the period of from to 1300 1301 A A. D D. it w was s occupied Had a p person been standing on the spot from w li h th the photo was taken takena a thousand years ago he might have seen as folli 73 Just before dawn signs of uneasIness uneasiness uneasiness uneas uneas- iness n irit t movement and long before sun sun up up men arise take to the trails trans leading out some to go to Sun Temple clone cloie bv by there to discharge their duties as i sun priests to meet th the sun with mayor note his course and make supplications for the good goodof of the tribe For they were ardent sun worshipers Ts T's holding four things In nature worship hip prominent prominent- Our Sun Father r Ou Our Earth Mother Rain and Corn Cur UI Sun Father was the source of all activity the male principle principle principle prin prin- ciple of nature the giver of strength and all material blessings Our Earth Mother Iother the female the Thus this primitvo man embodied the thee powers of N Nature in his gods and andI I made worship worship- to th them m. m By the time the sun rose a crier had mounted the inside stairway of the Speaker Chiefs Chief's House and from rom that point of vantage simultaneously simultaneously with the first peep of tho sun announced to the people the activities activities activities ties of the d dv v much as during New England times the town crier made similar public utterances He Fie mt it have told them A rain rain- sing will be he held bold in Kiva thirteen to supplicate supplicate- Those Above to send the blessings of or water to our parched crops the members m of the Corn Clan will repair to Kiva 7 and rehearse the dance dance- drama dance procession we are areto areto areto to present publicly on the summer solstice and PO fO o on with the oth other r announcements by which the community community community com com- v waa given givel an outline of the activities of the day That observer s E stationed there would have seen seEm a hunter lE leave ve quite early earlyon on his task Gushing Cashing that Incomparable Incomparable incomparable parable ferret Into tho the Inner recesses of the Indian Indin heart says that the hunter wen went to the Keeper of the Images Images Images Im Im- Im- Im ages the night before got a fetich of the mountain lion who was lord of the hunt Iwas was blessed to his task by bythe bythe bythe the keeper and consecrated crated to the duty of providing food for himself and the community and then the next morning early was in the haunts of the gamp game at work For he believed In the power of the fetich which magic potency he Inhaled by deep breaths into his own lungs from rom the image thereby charging himself with tho the spirit of it until he was In fact a veritable mountain lion keen on the tho trail cunning in the hunt Incomparable incomparable incomparable parable in iu stalking the quarry and if the efficacy of the fetich were duly gotten by m and prayer he let returned returned successful w with h a deer slung over his shoulder Or If a rabbit hunt were planned the women wore seen busy rummaging ing through the dark rooms to find their section of the rabbit net of sinew sinew sin sin- ew ow and yucca fiber which should be bo joined to other sections owned by other women and form Corm a great net network network network work cross an arc of the plain into which the men would drive the rabbits rabbits rabbits rab rab- bits by forming two long lines way out in the tho open and gradually draw in and in contracting and driving the game Into the tho nets Then with clubs deftly thrown hundreds were wore This kind of rabbit hunt was WIlS called a surround As the sun warmed up the big hive dimpled brown children naked played played played play play- ed in the sun here a lad with tiny bow and arrow ruthlessly slaughtering slaughter ing imaginary game or slaying enemy enemy enemy ene ene- my by the score or there thero a girl with witha a cottonwood stick draped with a abit abit bit of rag for tor they were weavers I were our Indians of or the then the same saDle as they are now and good enough enough enough e- e nough was a Do stick draped with a turkey turkey turkey tur tur- key feather feather human human nature has deep I roots and man tho the destroyer destroyer shows his tendencies early but not earlier than his tiny sister practices mother mother- hood During the day our observer would have seen the tha women mold strips of wet clay like long ribbons onto I Iother other strips and pinch and weld until untila a pot a e. bowl an olla or other clay vessel would have been shaped Into form Whon when duly sun dried that article article article ar ar- would bo be fired for permanency The herd of turkeys eys must be watched watch watch- ed cd driven out for f feed ed and at night nightfall nightfall nightfall fall herded back to the perch within the pueblo And during each of these tasks a sharp eye eyo must ever be kept for tor the enemy in the bushes gilding gilding gliding gild gild- ing noiselessly sly from clump to clump for ever was that dread scourge the enemy raider a pall over this peaceful peaceful peace peace- ful loving home-loving agriculturist All this would our observer have havo seen from the rock rim-rock for he would have been looking down upon an assembly assembly as as- of say to souls men women women and children who are actuated actuated actuated act act- as as s you and I are and and driven even as are we by the stern necess necess- ties fUes the unending t tasks tasks' h having ns do we their hates their their exultations their sorrows Borrows Imagine Imagine Im Im- agine if you will ONE-HALF ONE o of all Delta huddled up in one big apartment apartment apart apart- ment mont house as high as any building in town and longer than from Joe Mercers Mercer's past the Bonneville Lumber Company Surely an onlooker would see the life enacted before him of all tho crafts supporting such a population tion tion-tho tion tho food problem the smith making tips Ups the clansman In tho the kiva busy making the doll for tor the return of tho the ancients or orthe orthe orthe the w weavers avers plying their tasks task at which they had no Inconsiderable I skill And so the tasks ran mn interminably But primarily this settlement our imaginary watcher is observing was religious A constant series of dance dan dramas processions rites magic magic- to influence Implore or direct the powers of nature nature- were constantly going on Hardly a a. month but had its special festival The fhe people were kept busy The sun was invoked to give warmth and bring wins jains the earth mother was prayed to to be fer fer- tile ar the material needs of man might be supplied with corn and other othor oth oth- or er eatables eat tho magical rainbow youth was bailed balled with delight for his appearance 3 so sC they thought was wasa a promise h t he would return again with the blessing of rain And you may rest assured that rites rHes of welcome welcome welcome wel wel- come were given him which would make tho the return of this half cal half between sky and ea earth th a pleasure to him and cause causo hie bh visits not to be too far be be- tween Th This s and more of Of Its kind were enacted a thousand years ago for relics ore Ira found mummies wrapped wrapped wrapped wrap wrap- ped in fr fea titer ther cloth burial burfal coverings so well preserved that the eye lashes can be bo distinctly seen metates manos manos manos ma- ma nos stones rub-stones hide scrapers scrapers scrap scrap- ers era and ill alj sorts of ceremonial objects objects objects ob ob- which by a studied perusal bring t tie tle te man of the long ago into the tive of the now The ruins ruing I speak so 80 Imbued are they with the personal personality ty of the man who made madeI them in the long ago I To b be c continued In an early issue Frank Beckwith |
