USA > Arizona > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 26
USA > New Mexico > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 26
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493
MR. STEWART.
most singular and stupendous of her many eccentric archi- · tectural designs.
Rousing myself by an effort from the dreamy, unconscious state in which I was lying, I was soon aware that it was the form of Mr. Stewart, sitting barc-headed and in his shirt-sleeves, and looking, in the pale morning light, far more wan and sad than ever before, as he vainly strove to obtain some heat from the warm ashes over which he was bending.
Knowing that exposure to the damp, chill air of the early morning would be anything but beneficial to him in his weak physical and mental condition, I quietly rose, and while replenishing the fire, ventured to suggest that he should try and obtain a little more rest, as we were intending to start in a few hours for the Rio Grande, and the fatigue incident to the journey might prove too much for him without a proper amount of sleep.
'Journey ? journey ?" said the old man, looking up in a bewildered manner; "they have gone on a long journey, and they sleep, but I can't." Taking from his pocket the little box he had brought with him from the valley of the - Chiquito, he said, as he opened it, "Can you see there a wife and eight children? Yet they are , all there; to me they look like desolation."
I endeavored to cheer him by assuring him that he was among friends who would see that he was comfortably provided for, and who would not leave him until they
494
A MORNING VISIT.
had procured transportation for him across the plains as far as Westport in Missouri, which was scarcely a day's journey from his old home. He interrupted me by declar- ing that he had no home, no friends, - nothing but ashes.
Referring to the son whom he had started to join in Cal- ifornia, I asked if he would like to go to him. "Yes," said the old man, brightening up, "can you send me to Parley?" I promised him that if, upon reaching the Rio Grande, he should still desire to do so, I would take him with us to La Mesilla, and send him through to Los Angeles by the overland mail, as soon as the doctor should pro- nounce him able to endure the fatigue of the journey. This promise seemed to afford him so much comfort, that he permitted me to throw a blanket over his shoulders to protect him from the damp air.
After a little further conversation, I left him, and pro- ceeded to wake the doctor, with whom I paid Jimmy a morning visit. We found him fast asleep, and looking like anything but the fresh, ruddy-checked Irish boy of the week before. Perhaps the doctor and myself both experi- enced some compunctious throbs at the sight of his pale face and sunken eyes, but they were speedily dissipated by the reflection that we had used our best endeavors to put that "tartar" where it would do the most good, and this thought went far towards quieting any twinges of remorse that assailed us.
495
WE LEAVE ZUNI.
In an hour we had completed all our arrangements for an early start. Before breakfast was over, our old friend the cacique made his appearance in camp with a couple of attendants, who brought with them a fine fat lamb nicely dressed, together with a generous supply of fresh vegeta- bles for our trip, which the old man begged us to accept, with his best wishes for a safe and pleasant journey.
As we had been told of some singular ruins that existed on the very top of El Moro, we desired to take an early start in order to visit them. The cacique informed us that they were so ancient the Zunis knew no tradition concern- ing them.
It was about eight o'clock when we shook hands with the cacique, and bade him adieu, reluctantly turning our backs upon Zuni, and its kind, generous, and hospitable governor.
In consideration of Jimmy's recent illness, he was per- mitted to get into the wagon, and to ride with Mr. Stew- art, while the doctor and myself mounted our mules, and followed Don Rafael, who was already some distance on the road. Indeed, we were very glad, by making this con- cession to Jimmy, to have him leave Zuni, and its many charming attractions, without causing us any further trouble, or even entering a protest against our so ruthlessly tearing him away from the "objict ov his affictions."
We had been some hours on the road before Jimmy
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496
JIMMY SEEKS CONSOLATION.
ventured a word; then he asked Dr. Parker if he thought it would "be a lang time intirely before he recivered frum thi thryin' ordael he'd bin passin' thru wid so racently ?"
The doctor assured him that a day or two would put him all right.
"Aal right in a day or two," responded Jimmy; "don't I kno' that thi intire cauz ov mi sickness wuz thi thort ov bein' partid frum thi objict ov mi affictions, an' thi attimpt to bring mi mind to the siperation? It's a heart-rindin' thing, docther, fur a mon wid all the sinsible, dilikit, and complaycated falins like miself, to part wid two ov the swatest, tinderist craythurs in thi world, in thi thryin' manner that's bruk mi heart intirely," to which statement the doctor's only reply, as he rode away from the wagon, was, "You're a fool, Jimmy, and I don't want to hear any more on the subject."
Foiled in his attempt to draw the doctor into a discussion of the matter which lay so near his heart, Jimmy turned to Mr. Stewart, and for the next hour regaled him with a lengthy account of the "thrials an' sufferin's ov two fond hearts," to which dissertation the old man apparently paid but little attention, and Jimmy was afterwards heard to remark, that he "detisted a mon who couldn't apprayciate the thrials and throbles ov another person who suffered aiqually wid himsilf."
497
GAME.
It was some time after we had forded the Rio de Zuni, and while we were threading the little canon of black met- amorphic rock through which it ran, that we heard the sharp ring of Don Rafael's rifle, and in a short time we saw him coming towards us, bearing before him upon his saddle one of the finest specimens of the wild turkey I ever saw; its plumage was perfectly magnificent, and its body as fat as the pine buds could make it. The exclamations of delight at sight of this beautiful bird caused Jimmy to slip from his seat in the wagon, and before we were aware of his presence he was by our side, and saluted us with the remark, by way of reply to the unqualified admiration with which both the doctor and myself were regarding it, "It may be a foine bird fur this counthry; but bedad, in ould Ireland, in thi County Cork, they have wild tarkeys ez big ez two ov 'im."
While Jimmy was engaged in this rhapsody upon the wild turkeys of "ould Ireland," I dismounted, and telling him to take charge of my mule, took a seat in the wagon by the side of Mr. Stewart. Jimmy was evidently much disconcerted at this arrangement, and gave me a look so full of sorrow and disappointment that I was half tempted to abdicate in his favor, but consideration for the poor old man at my side de- cided me to remain where I was, and thus give him a respite from the volubility of Jimmy's tongue.
It was nearly half-past three o'clock in the afternoon before we arrived in the shadow of El Moro; and here we
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498
THE ASCENT OF EL MORO.
made our camp in close proximity to the beautiful spring which I have described in a previous chapter, and beneath the shade of the giant pines and cedars that for so many years had sung their mournful requiem for the departed glories that formerly crowned the summit of this mighty rock.
Don Rafael immediately started to ascertain if any path or means of ascent to the top of the rock could be found, while the doctor and myself prepared for the undertaking, leaving Jimmy and Mr. Stewart to get supper and pro- tect the camp during our absence. Our guide soon returned, and reported that on the eastern side of the rock he had found a very narrow, but he thought accessible path or es- carpment which led to the top, though he much doubted if with my broken arm I should be able to accomplish it. The doctor expressed himself favorable to my making the attempt, however, and we started, notwithstanding the fact that I had solemnly promised myself at Zuni to abandon all attempts at ascending until I could learn to descend with some degree of propriety.
The path was very steep, and exceedingly slippery, but after half an hour's hard toil we arrived upon the summit of El Moro. IIere our eyes were regaled by a sight which repaid us for the labor and fatigue of the ascent.
To the north and southeast, stretching into illimitable space, lay the magnificent Sierra Madre range, its base effectually
499
THE VIEW FROM ITS SUMMIT.
concealed by a long line of foliage, and surmounted by snow- clad peaks, that seemed to resemble fleecy clouds reposing upon lofty, rocky islands which rose from out a sea whose dark-green waves, gracefully undulated by the summer breeze, appeared to lovingly embrace and kiss their rugged sides as they stretched far away in the distance. To the south, extending as far as the eye could reach, peaks, mounds, and mesas rose one above the other, over which the beautiful purple haze had thrown a veil so filmy and light, that while it toned down and tried to conceal the rugged barrenness of the country, clothing it with an indescribable charm and nameless beauty, it magnified and brought into . bold relief every cañon, every gorge, every rocky ridge, in delightful contrast to which appeared here and there charm- ing bits of prairie, their bright green surface dotted with the sombre foliage of magnificent cedars and spreading oaks.
To the west stretched an unbroken line of high cliffs, elevated mesas, volcanic peaks, and desert solitudes, over
which the foot of civilized man never yet trod, while occa- , sionally could be seen the grayish-white surface of an alkali plain, upon some playa of which, the descending sun cast its glittering light, reflecting back its rays with a faithfulness and intensity that made it resemble a huge mirror quietly reposing in its rough setting, or some silvery lake whose waters were undisturbed by a single ripple; the whole scene forming a picture never to be forgotten.
500
RUINS UPON EL MORO.
After admiring for a time the beautiful view around us, we commenced our search for the ruins upon this acrial ele- vation. The top of the rock itself we found an almost flat surface, upon which lofty pines and cedars were growing, some of them centuries old. The ruins were discovered after a little search, near the southern portion of the mesa; and judging from their extent and general character, they once formed the home of a large and industrious population.
There are two distinct sets of these ruins existing here, standing about a quarter of a mile from each other, and sep- arated by a large fissure or cañon in the rock itself. These towns had evidently once been precisely alike, showing now the same form, as well as construction and material used. Their sides conform as nearly as possible to the four cardinal points, and are in the form of a rectangle three hundred and twenty feet in length, with two sets of rooms on three sides of the rectangle, and were evidently three stories high.
The walls are faced with a hard, close-grained, gray stone, varying in thickness from three to eight inches, and about twelve inches in length; the back or filling being a kind of rubble masonry, strongly cemented with mud mortar.
The general style of the masonry is similar to that found in the ruins of the pueblo Pintado, although they lack much of the finish and general beauty of detail ascribed to those ruins. I should imagine that there could be hardly an ex- isting doubt but that they were erected by the same people
501
SINGULAR CUSTOM.
and about the same time as those found in the Cañon de Chaco.
The growing lateness of the hour warned us that we had but little time to spare for further explorations if we would reach the plains below us that night, and neither of us had any particular fancy to spend the night on the top of El Moro.
Before leaving, however, we found some very pretty spec-
A DRINKING VESSEL FROM ZUNI.
imens of pottery-ware, beautifully painted, and entirely dif- ferent in style and color from anything we had yet seen. One thing that struck both the doctor and myself as being particularly worthy of note in connection with these ruins, was the immense quantity of broken pottery we found here. The earthen-ware from a dozen pueblos seemed to have been collected at this point and broken, there being huge
502
WHAT IIUMBOLDT SAYS.
piles of it scattered over the mesa, in proximity to these ruins.
Of the many questions that this sight suggested, not one could we answer in a manner satisfactory to ourselves. What could have induced this people to have sought so lofty and almost inaccessible a site for their town? IIow did they procure water, and could they have depended entirely upon the rain for their supply ? From whence came the large quantity of broken pottery with which the ground is strewu in all directions, and for what purpose was it thus broken? Who should answer these and many other questions that suggested themselves ?
Humboldt, in his celebrated "Essays on New Spain," locates the residence of the Aztecs during the twelfth century as being "between the thirty-fifth and thirty-seventh par- allels north latitude, and the one hundred and ninth and one hundred and twelfth degrees west longitude." If this location is correct, all doubt as to the builders of these ruins is at an end In any event they discover, not only in design and material used, but also in their superior workmanship, a style of architecture far beyond the capacity of the pres- ent inhabitants of New Mexico, either Indian or Mexican.
Gregg, who was the first to call attention to these ruins, in his work on "The Commerce of the Prairies," refers to the ruins of the Casas Grandes near the Gila, and to those of the Canon de Chaco and Rio de Chelly, as being the work
503 '
PRESCOTT'S CONCLUSION.
of one people; boldly announcing that the assertions of the . historian Claverigo are correct when he says that "all the ruins existing in New Mexico and Arizona are of undoubted Aztec origin."
On the other hand, Prescott, in his "Conquest of Mexico," says, "It is true that these remains discover a race of men superior to the natives of New Mexico of the present day, but where are the evidences of the very high stage of civil- ization to which the Aztecs are said, by historians, to have obtained in Anahacu? Where are the evidences of a me- chanical knowledge equal to that which must have been ex- ercised in the construction of the temple of Xochicalco, or the palaces of Tescotzinco, and the colossal calendar stone in the capital ?"
In a word, Prescott seems to think that all of these ruins are of Toltec rather than Aztec origin, or are the work of their contemporaries, the Tezcucans.
Professor Bell, an English writer, who travelled through a portion of this country, in his work on "North America," devotes considerable space, and discusses to some length the question as to who were the builders of these ruins. Ile considers the town-building Indians as the skirmish line of the Aztec race when it was united and in the full plenitude of its power. Ile says: "The rich bottom-lands of the Gila were occupied and placed under irrigation; the valley of the Rio Verde, Salinas, and other streams, were taken posses-
504
SPECULATIVE.
sion of, and the Apaches driven into the mountains; these savages were undoubtedly driven into the mountains by the Aztecs as barbarous hordes, whom they found it impossible to subdue, who continually harassed them and obliged them to invent means to protect their settlements against sur- prise; thus they introduced the art of building houses of stone and adobe; they chose the most commanding positions upon the summits of the mesas, overlooking large tracts of fertile bottom-lands, and added story to story in such a man- ner that a few resolute defenders could keep almost any number of assailants at bay."
IIe thinks that these town-builders gradually pushed their way north, until they were stopped by the immense cañons of the Colorado and Flax (Colorado Chiquito) Rivers, thence striking east they established the kingdom of Cibola, and pushing still farther into the wilderness of what now is the Navajoe country, they built the large towns in the Cañon de Chaco, and in the valley of the Rio de Chelly, and then by following up the head-waters of the San Juan, finally came to the beautiful valley of the Rio Grande.
IIere they found such unusual facilities for their settle- ments, that they crowded in, in great numbers, gradually working their way down from the north, until the valley became so densely populated that they found it no longer necessary to live in fortified towns for mutual protection. If this be the correct theory, the fact that no such struc-
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A PUEBLO RESTORED BY LIEUT. SIMPSON.
505
THIE DECAY OF THIE AZTECS.
tures as we have described are to be found in the valley of the Rio Grande, is thus easily accounted for.
The Abbé Domenech is of the opinion that many of these ruins show an undoubted Toltec origin, and that they were built before the invasion of their land, some time about the twelfth century. IIe says :-
"All these towns are so ancient that no Indian traditions of the present races make any mention of them. The banks of the Rio Verde and Salinas abound in ruins of stone dwellings, and fortifications which certainly belong to a more civilized people than the Indians of New Mexico. They are found in the most fertile valleys, where traces of former cultivation and of immense canals for artificial irrigation are visible. The solidly-built walls of these structures are twenty or thirty yards in length, by forty or fifty feet in height; few of the houses are less than three stories, while all contain small openings for doors and windows, as well as loopholes for defence from attacks."
Ilis theory in relation to the disappearance of the immense population that formerly inhabited the country is, that it was owing in a great degree to a wonderful change in the configuration of the soil; moist and fertile valleys becoming barren solitudes, thus forcing the inhabitants to emigrate to other regions.
After indulging in many theories and much speculation regarding these wonderful ruins stretching over the vast
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506
CAUSES WIIICHI LED TO IT.
extent of country, from the Cañon de Chaco on the north, to the Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, on the south, the Abbé says :-
"These vast monuments. of New Mexico and Arizona are known to but few travellers; consequently, but few writers have speculated about their origin. Certain it is that all the pueblos of this wilderness are of an incontestable, homoge- neous character; they are the work of a great people, of an . intelligent nation, whose civilization was far superior to that of the actual tribes. But the question is, what became of this vast population who have left the land covered with such numerous and wonderful constructions ?
"It is known that all agglomerations of men and families, on settling in a new land, build their dwellings in wooded parts, or near streams, in order to ensure these indispensable elements. Many of this population were suddenly deprived of wood and water.
"Perpetual droughts followed the clearing of the woods, compelling the inhabitants of high plateaus to emigrate into the plains; when rain failed, the wells and cisterns dried up, and the horrors of thirst drove the people from their abodes. Both rivers and their sources dried up. I have known a multitude of rivers in both Texas and Arizona which have ceased to flow; some for centuries, others only within a few years, and the banks formerly gay with verdure, plants, flowers, and trees, have now disappeared under heaps of sand,
507
DECLINE OF MONTEZUMA'S EMPIRE.
and present a scene of desolation. The springs and rivers of the plains always flow over a pebbly bed, never over a muddy one; the waters are capricious, and often intermit- tent, appearing and disappearing from the soil, to appear and lose themselves again; many alter their course, or cease to flow altogether, while others suddenly rise in the midst of a desert land.
"On the other hand, the soil of these regions is often cov- ered with agate, jasper, chalcedony, petrified trees, and masses of arenaceous lava, which, descending from the hills, absorb the water of creeks and their sources, fill up the beds of streams, and render lands barren and dry which at one time were watered and fertile.
"When these phenomena take place, the people that dwell in the country are naturally compelled to flee from these newly-made deserts, which become the abodes of sickness, famine, and death, and go to seek a more favored land. These compulsory emigrations must have been frequent, to judge from the traces the population have left behind, not- withstanding the ranks of the emigrants must have been fear- fully thinned by exposure, hardships, and misery.
"If to all these natural causes of dissolution are added in- testine war, the difficulty of forming new establishments, the decline of Montezuma 's dominion, and its complete annihi- lation under the Spanish sway, it does not appear necessary to invent a different nation to account for the works of art
508
INDIAN INSURRECTION.
and civilization of which the remains cover these solitudes of America, merely because their successors have less genius, energy, or enterprise.
"The Zunis and other tribes still dwell in pueblos similar to those we have described; and it is probable that to their ancestors the construction of these gigantic edifices ought to be attributed."
By the extracts here given, it will be seen that the origin of these extensive and really wonderful ruins found scat- tered broadeast, as it were, throughout this most marvellous country, is still a question of much doubt. No data exists among the archives of New Mexico calculated to throw any light upon the subject; all the records of the Territory pre- ceding the year 1680 were destroyed by the Indians in their successful insurrection against the conquerors in that year; and it was not until 1695, that the Spaniards again oc- cupied the country, although in 1692 Curro Diego de Bargas Zapata managed with a large force to penetrate as far as the pueblo of Zuni, but finding the Indians too numerous for him to retain possession of it, was obliged to again return to El Paso.
During my residence in the Territory, I spent much time in endeavoring to ascertain something more definite concern- ing the builders of these ruins and their fate than was afforded by the very meagre knowledge to be derived from people who were residents of the Territory; but so few persons had
509
REFLECTIONS.
ever visited them, or cared to brave the dangers naturally following an attempt to penetrate into the home of the bar- barous tribes who roam over this immense range of terri- tory, together with the fact that there is absolutely no scrap of written history to be found in existence, previous to the year 1680, made my attempts quite futile.
The whole subject is shrouded in an impenetrable veil of mystery, although upon an examination of the ruins them- selves, I became fully convinced that they were of undoubted Aztec origin. There is but little question that those found upon the Gila, and upon the Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua, are more ancient than the others described in this work, and were probably erected by the Toltecs or their contempora- ries. This opinion was founded more upon conjecture and speculation than upon any tangible proofs which the exami- nation afforded; nor have I ever, since my return, learned anything to cause me to change the opinion then formed. There they stand, magnificent, though decaying monuments of the energy, skill, and civilization of a mighty people who flourished but a few hundred years since, yet have now no history save the crumbling evidences of their works, to tell us of their rise and fall.
Does not the sad fate of these nations furnish us who to-day journey over the deserts which their civilization and industry caused to "blossom as the rose," ample material for reflection ?
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CHAPTER XXXI.
Juanita
HE next morning, just as the glorious beams of the rising sun were gilding the lofty turrets of El Moro, we resumed our journey towards La Mesilla.
Emerging from its beau- tiful valley, we commenced the slow and laborious as- cent of the western slope of the Sierra Madre range. For miles our road lay through a thick growth of stunted pines and cedars, until we finally reached the summit of the mountain range. Here we could but pause for a few minutes, to view the magnificent prospect presented from the lofty elevation of the Navajoe Pass; and then, urging our animals rapidly forward, we commenced the descent of the eastern slope, in hopes to reach the cool,
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511
OFF FOR THE RIO GRANDE.
sparkling waters of the Agua Frio * in season to make its banks our camping-place for the night. We were some five miles distant from our old camping-ground, when Don Rafael proposed that he should make a circuit through the forest in search of game, and join us after we should have arrived in camp. We willingly assented to his proposition, and he soon disappeared among the thick growth of pines at our left, while we drove on, reaching the camping-ground about an hour before sunset.
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