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Show ! !I LLATS OF LONG AGO p I ! , Abode o I The C I I I f U w e I I e r e J 1 'J I3PECIAL COHREBPONDENCEI I I Ti.r irt American Hat Iwellrra I lived from three to live centuries be- fore Coliiniliiis lauded on the shores of lh" new world In Arliuiii, New .Mexico nnd Colorado Colo-rado here is a region covering mure than square miles which Is thickly rprpio.h-,1 with the nrehllccltlrnl in -Ins of these ancient castle builders. To cue them that till... imloid. Is by ho means 1'intqir.qirlcli'. Inasmuch ns ninny nf Hie i,ig,.r edifices erected hy ttietn and built entirely of stone wero crowned with massive lowers nnd defended de-fended by formidable battlements, behind be-hind which n garrison was well pro-ten. pro-ten. -d against a besieging enemy. Kurh buililiiius. in la. I. did Kcrvo as fori reuses mi frequent occasions, l'n-rter l'n-rter ordinary rlrcim dunces they housed wh.de communities, providing a- iri. I, - . Typical Cliff Dwelling, shelter for a large number uf fumillea, like a modern apartment bouse, but when danger threatened they wore convertible at a moment's notice Into defenalblo works, and every Inhabitant, Inhabi-tant, without regard lo age or sex, was called upon to help In repelling the foe. The fnrllflod flat dwellings were erected on broad rocky sholvea of the canyons of the Han Juan, the Mancoa, the I -a lJlata and other rivers. Home of thorn wero more than 1.000 foot abovo the streams that ran below uplifting their battlcniented walla In almost Inaccessible hollows of the cliffs. Hut In many cases the build-Ing.i build-Ing.i were more properly to 'he do-iwiribsd do-iwiribsd aa 'wnlledtonua. wjille In . some instances they worn merf groups of stono huts, artfully conceni d from hostllo eyes by giving to tbeui a likeness like-ness to the surrounding rocka. Tho people who built these casllea and towns on the ahelves of tho can-yons can-yons ;avo passed away, but It la far from correct to refer to them aa a "lost race," innsmnch as their descendants de-scendants surlvii even nt tho present day, and uro recogtil.atilo under tho names of Mokl and Zunl two tribes peaceful In thaructcr and semi-clvtl-Ized, which now, as erstwhile, are flat dwellers, occiip)ing towns which aro, t j ull Intents and purposes, glgun-tlo glgun-tlo apartment houses, being merely clusters of rooms constructed beehive fushlon. It should be renllzed that the an clont flat dwellers, though pre-Columbian, were very fur from being sav-agna. sav-agna. They wero a sedentary race, tilling tbe fields and raising corn and beana with tho help of an excellent aystem of Irrigation. Hlieep they kept In large corrals, and they are known also to have domesticated tbe dog and tbe turkey. For the latter they found a variety of uses, eating Its llesh, employing Its feathers aa a material for burial garments, gar-ments, and trulnlng the bird to run races. Traces uf race tracks for turkeys tur-keys havo actually been found In the neighborhood of sonie of thu prehistoric prehis-toric towns. Such a building as bus been here described must havo furnished living quarters for as ninny as l.iNn) persons. It waa built entirely of stotio, and waa three or four stories In height, Of Two Modern Cliff Dweller, surmounted hy towers whteb were doubtlcsB designed for keeping watch. For the penccful cliff dwelleri lived In continual dread of tha raids which wore niudo periodically hy the warlike war-like and ferocious Apaches. On such occasions they wero driven to seek aafety in their Inaccessible retreats lo tho rorky fares of the cuuyon wnllB, whence thev must have watched wllh grief and d'-spali' ih destrui Hon o. melr crops am! Hie carrying nit of their livestock by the snvngo foe. The people of iho cliffs nlways kepi on hand large stores of corn and le ans, but It Is dltlleiilt to see how. for lack of water, they could have resisted a long siege. Their fortresses were prsetlrnlly Impregnable, the miter walls being commonly creeled tlush wllh the lac. i.r the cllll and wit bout disirs Kntruucp inuld only be had through windows and by means of rope ladders, which were drawn up when notice of danger was given. In surh a situation a mere handful of deteiideis could keep off a whole army nf asHiilluuls merely by dropping rocks. Tho amount nf labor expended In Hie construction nf the eastlca and walled towns described must havo li.eu enornioiis. All of the material had In bo broiii'lit, plero by pleco, up Iho voi Ileal rlltt for a illsiuuru of Mu feet or mi re In aomn rases. Tho sinus fur tho outer wells was cut and dressed, and finally a layer nf plnster was spread both uutslde and Inside. Women and children mixed and spreud tho plaster, and In many cases tho clear linpressli ns nf slender fingers fin-gers and chubby llttlo bauds show bow they did It. Tho flnt dwellers knew no bolter weapon than tho bow nnd arrow. They madu pottery and flno bnskots. as well ns mats, and tho pots they painted beaut trnlly. Their dead war wrapped in mats and mantles of turkey tur-key feathers, and sotuei lines wero walled up In thn houses. The air waa so dry that tho corpses did not decay, but wero converted Into mummies. In tho dark bark rooms toward th rock fuco fowl was stored, and In the nilddlo wns Iho common kitchen, when" sheep wero roasted In a pit. Tho Honrs were of cedar logs, with small polea luld across them and covered cov-ered with a carpet of cedar bark. Just how It came ahout nobody knows, but a time must hav arrived when life and property became more safe In that part nf the country. Tho pcnplo of the cliffs wore enabled to abandon their eyrlea, moving down Into the valleys and building their towns on the plains, Ilka the pueblo of Ziinl, Sometimes, for greator protection, thoy built on the elevated mesaa, aa In tho rase of Walpl, which stand V-" ... ; J y - l. m . rtew Dancing Rock at Walpl. upon a lofty table uf rock aurroundod by precipitous cliffs. Hut even to th present duy tho ancient beehive method meth-od of construction Is followed, a Zunl or Mokl town being to all Intent and purposes a vast apartment house. I.lko tbelr prehistoric forbears, th I'ueblo Indians of to-day are flat dwellers, and their bablta and cue-touts cue-touts are niurh llko thoso of their pre-Columbian pre-Columbian ancestors. |