Chapter II: Part I (2)

[42] Acoma is always described with particular care by the older Spanish authors. Antonio de Espejo, Carta, 23 April, 1584, in _Documentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias_, vol. xv. p. 179: "Y hallamos un pueblo que se llama, Acoma, donde nos parecio, habria mas de seis mil animas, el cual esta asentado sobre una pena alta que tiene mas de cincuenta estados en alto," etc. Juan de Onate, _Discurso de las Jornadas que hizo el Campo de Su Magestad desde la Nueva-Espana a la Provincia de la Nueva-Mexico, Documentos Ineditos_, vol. xvi. pp. 268, 270: "A quatro de Diciembre [1598?], lo mataron en Acoma, los Indios de aquella fortaleza, que es la mejor en sitio de toda la cristiandad ..." "dieron el primer asalto al Penol de Acoma ..." _Obediencia y Vassalaje a Su Magestad por los Indios del Pueblo de Acoma, Documentos Ineditos_, xvi. p. 127: "Al pie de una pena muy grande sobre la qual en lo alto della esta fundado y poblado el Pueblo que llaman de Acoma, ..." dated 27 October, 1598. Fray Agustin de Vetancurt, _Cronica de la Provincia del Santo Evangelio de Mexico_, trat. iii. cap. vi. p. 319. "Al Oriente del Pueblo de Zia esta el Penol de Acoma, que tiene una legua en Circuito de treinta Estados de alto." _Menologio Franciscano_, p. 247. Both references are taken from the edition of 1871. Furthermore, in the anonymous _Relacion del Suceso de la Jornada que Francisco Vazquez hizo en el Descubrimiento de Cibola_, ano de 1531 (should be 1541), in vol. xiv. of the _Documentos del Archivo de Indias_, we find Acuco (_east_ of Cibola), "el cual ellos llaman en su lengua _Acuco_, y el padre Marcos le llamaba _Hacus_:" now Hacus forcibly recalls the proper name of Acoma, which by the Qq'ueres Indians, to whose stock its inhabitants belong, is called "Ago."

[43] _Carta_, 23 April, 1584, _Documentos Ineditos_, vol. xv. p. 182.

[44] _Discurso de las Jornadas, etc., Documentos Ineditos_, vol. xvi. p. 274. _Obediencia y Vassallaje a Su Magestad por los Indios del Pueblo de San Joan Baptista_, id. vol. xv. p. 115. That the "Mohoces" were the Moqui is evidenced by Padre Geronimo de Zarate Salmeron, _Relacion de todas las Provincias que en el Nuevo-Mexico se han visto y sabido asi por Mar como por Tierra, desde el Ano de 1538, hasta el Ano de 1626. Documentos para la Historia de Mexico_, serie 3, vol. i. p. 30.

[45] Castaneda, i. cap. x. pp. 49, 50. Melchor Diaz reached the Rio del Tizon, starting from Culhuacan and Sonora. This river emptied into the Gulf of California, and he found there traces of Fernando de Alarcon. The latter went up the Rio Colorado, and learned many details about Cibola from Indians living along the river. _Relation de la Navigation et de la Decouverte faite par le Capitaine Fernando Alarcon, Voyage de Cibola_, Ternaux-Compans, Append, iv. cap. i. p. 302: "Nous y trouvames un tres grand fleuve dont le courant etait si rapide, qu'a peine pouvions nous nous y maintenir," cap. v. pp. 324-326; cap. vi. p. 331. Herrera, dec. vi. lib. ix. cap. xi. p. 212. Fray Juan de Torquemada, _Monarchia Indiana_, lib. v. cap. xi. p. 609, ed. of 1723. While Alarcon was endeavoring to meet Coronado by sailing or boating up the Colorado from its mouth, the latter sent Garci-Lopez de Cardenas to explore a river which the Indians of "Tusayan" had mentioned to Pedro de Tobar; and he reached this river after twenty days' march. It is described as follows by Castaneda (i. cap. xi. p. 62): "After these twenty days' marching, they indeed reached this river, whose shores are so high that they thought themselves at least three or four leagues up in the air. The country is covered with low and crippled pines; it is exposed to the north, and the cold is so severe that, although it was summer, it could hardly be supported. The Spaniards for three days marched along these mountains, hoping to find a place where they could reach the river, which, from above, appeared to be about one fathom in width, while the Indians said it was wider than one-half league; but it was found to be impossible," etc. This is a fair picture of the canons of the Colorado River of the West, the only one emptying into the head of the Gulf of California; and Castaneda adds (p. 65): "This river was the del Tizon."

[46] _Carta, Documentos Ineditos_, vol. xv. p. 180: "Una provincia, que son seis pueblos, que la provincia llaman Zuni, y por otro nombre Cibola. Richard Hackluyt, _The Third and last Volume of the Voyages, Navigations, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation_." _El Viaie que hizo Antonio de Espeio en el Ano de ochenta y tres_, pp. 457-464, has "dieron con una Provincia, que se nombra en lengua de los naturales Zuny, y la llaman los Espanoles Cibola, ay en ella cantidad de Indios ..."

[47] Castaneda, i. cap. xii. pp. 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73.

[48] Jaramillo, pp. 370, 371. Castaneda, p. 69.

[49] Castaneda, p. 71.

[50] _Coronado's March_, pp. 333-336.

[51] _The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico_, cap. xxiv. p. 185, note I; cap. xxv. p. 198, note I; also p. 199. I attach particular importance to the opinions of Mr. Davis. He visited New Mexico at a time when it was still "undeveloped," and his writings on the country show thorough knowledge, and much documentary information. It is to be regretted that he fails absolutely to mention his sources in any satisfactory manner, a defect which might deprive his valuable book of much of its unquestionable reliability and importance. The attentive student, however, finds, after going seriously through the mass of material still on hand, that Mr. Davis has been so painstaking and honest, that he is very much inclined to forgive the lack of citations.

[52] From Bernalillo or Sandia, the easiest way, and the one which Alvarado, by Coronado's order, must certainly have taken, is south of Galisteo. This would have led him to Pecos, either by the Canon de San Cristobal or, as I presume, to the lower valley, and thence up the river to the Pueblo. Castaneda (ii. cap. v. p. 176) speaks of abandoned villages along the route. There is a ruin at the place called "Pueblo," one at San Jose, and another at Kingman; all along the line of the "Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad." I presume, therefore, that he took this route. At all events, he went _south_ of the Tanos, else he would have struck the villages called later San Lazaro and San Cristobal, both then occupied.

[53] The belief has been expressed to me at Santa Fe, by authority which I have learned to respect, that on the site of the present city there stood the old town of Tiguex. This belief has been strengthened by the popular tale, that the old adobe house, of two low stories, adjoining the ancient chapel of San Miguel, was an ancient Indian home. Personal inspection has, however, satisfied me of the fact that this building, while certainly very old, is certainly not one of an Indian "pueblo." It forms a rectangle: _Met._ 20.71' from east to west, and 4.80' from north to south. Its front has five doors, and the upper story as many windows. It is entirely of adobe, and may indeed have been an Indian house, but built after their old plan, when Santa Fe had already been founded. There is no notice of any pueblo on this site. Besides, documentary evidence regarding the establishment of Santa Fe absolutely ignores the existence of any Indian settlement at that place in 1598. Juan de Onate, _Discurso de las Jornadas que hizo el Capitan de Su Magestad desde la Nueva-Espana a la Provincia de la Nuevo-Mexico_, in _Coleccion de Documentos del Archivo de Indias_, vol. xvi. pp. 263-266. _Obediencia y Vasallaje a Su Magestad por los Indios de San Joan Baptista._ Id., Sept 9, 1598, pp. 115, 116: "Al Padre Fray Cristobal de Salazar, la Provincia de los Tepuas (_Tehuas_) con los pueblos de Triape, Triaque el de Sant Yldefonso y Santa Clara, y este pueblo de Sant Joan Batista y el de Sant Gabriele el de Troomaxiaquino, Xiomato, Axol, Comitria, Quiotraco, y mas, la Cibdad de Sant Francisco de los Espanoles, que al presente se Edifican."

[54] _Obediencia y Vasallaje a Su Magestad por los Indios de Santo-Domingo._ Id., p. 102. July 7, 1598. _Obediencia, etc., de S. Joan Baptista_, pp. 112, 115, "los Chiguas o Tiguas."

[55] _Apuntamientos que sobre el Terreno hizo el Padre Jose Amando Niel, Documentos para la Historia de Mexico_, 3a serie, vol. i. pp. 98, 99: "Estan pobladas junto a la sierra de Puruai que toma el nombre del principal pueblo que se llama asi, y orilla del gran rio." There were then three pueblos: San-Pedro, "rio abajo de Puruai;" Santiago, "rio arriba." Puaray was destroyed and in ruins in 1711. It was here that Father Augustin Ruiz was killed in 1581. Fray Geronimo de Zarate Salmeron, _Relacion_, etc., p. 10. Fray Agustin de Vetancurt, _Menologio Franciscano_, pp. 412, 413. Jean Blaeu, _Douzieme livre de la Geographie Blaviane_, Amsterdam, 1667, p. 62, calls the Tiguas "Tebas," and says they had "quinze bourgades." Vetancurt, _Menologio_, but principally _Cronica de la provincia del Santo Evangelio de Mexico_, gives the Tiguas, before 1680, the following stations and pueblos: Isleta, Alameda, Puray, and Sandia, pp. 310-313.

[56] _Relacion_, etc., p. 10.

[57] A. S. Gatschet, _Zwoelf Sprachen aus dem Suedwesten Nord-Amerika's_, Weimar, 1876, p. 41.

[58] Castaneda, i. cap. xix. p. 116.

[59] Simpson, _Coronado's March_, pp. 336.

[60] Castaneda, i. cap. xiii. p. 76.

[61] _Spanish Conquest_, cap. xxiii. p. 180, note 5, p. 181, note 6.

[62] Castaneda, p. 76.

[63] Isleta is probably a modern _pueblo_, that is one erected since 1598 and previous to 1680, and I shall treat it as such till I am better informed. The description by Vetancurt ("_Cronica_," etc., trat. iii. cap. v. pp. 310 and 311, as in the year 1680) is characteristic: "Formase un rio de la nieve que se derrite, que con el rio Norte cercan un campo de cinco leguas ... Es el paso para las provincias de Acoma, Zunias, Moqui ..." In a straight line, the distance from Bernalillo is about twenty-five miles.

[64] p. 76. "Le general remonta ensuite la riviere, et visita toute la province jusqu'a ce qu'il fut arrive a Tiguex."

[65] p. 76. "Ils apprirent qu'en descendant la riviere ils trouveraient encore d'autres villages."

[66] Castaneda, ii. cap. iv. p. 168.

[67] Cap. vi. p. 182, part ii. In looking at the map, it will be seen that Bernalillo is, indeed, a central point. Along the Rio Grande it is almost at equal distances from Taos at the north, and Socorro at the south, whereas it is little further (in an east-westerly line) from Bernalillo to Zuni, than from Bernalillo to the plains. The accuracy of Castaneda becomes more and more wonderful, the closer his narrative is studied and compared with the country itself. His distance exceeds the bee-line regularly almost by one-third; a very natural fact, since he computes the lengths from the routes taken.

[68] These facts are taken from the following passages of Castaneda: i. cap. xviii., ii. cap. vi., Queres; i. cap. xxii, ii. cap. vi., Hemes and Aguas Calientes; ii. cap. iv., Acha; i. cap. xxii., ii. cap. vi., Braba; i. cap. xviii., Cia; ii. cap. v., Ximera; and i. cap. xxii., ii. cap. vi., Yuque-Yunque, perhaps Cuyamunque.

[69] Santo Domingo, Cochiti, San Felipe, Santa-Ana, and Cia are the Queres pueblos near the Rio Grande still remaining. They all then existed in 1598. _Obediencia, etc., a S. Joan Baptista_, p. 113.

[70] The Jemez or Emmes, in 1598, contained nine "pueblos," or rather places of habitation. _Obediencia, etc., de Santo Domingo_, p. 102. Niel, p. 99, mentions five.

[71] Castaneda, i. cap. xxii. It is unmistakable. Compare Simpson, _Coronado's March_, p. 339. Vetancurt, _Cronica_, etc., p. 319. "Este es el ultimo pueblo hacia el norte." Jean Blaeu, _Geographie_, etc., p. 62.

[72] This is equally definite. Castaneda, ii. cap. v. p. 177. "Between Cicuye and the province of Quirix, there exists a small very well fortified village which the Spaniards have named Ximera, and another one which appears to have been very large." This shows that the Spaniards went from Pecos by the San Cristobal canon.

[73] To-day Tezuque, Nambe, Santa Clara, San Juan, San Ildefonso, Pojuaque, and, besides, Cuyamunque in ruins.

[74] The Piros were totally dispersed during the intertribal wars of 1680-89. Niel, p. 104. Senecu, near Mesilla, is a Piros pueblo, founded by Fray Antonio de Arteaga in 1630. Fray Balthasar de Medina, _Chronica de la Provincia de S. Diego de Mexico de Religiosos Descalzos de N. S. P. S. Francisco de la Nueva-Espana_, Mexico, 1682, lib. iv. cap. vii. fol. 168. Vetancurt, _Cronica_, p. 309. It is therefore a Spanish "colony," and not an original pueblo.

[75] Castaneda, i. cap. ix., ii. cap. iii. iv. p. 183, vii. p. 188. Fray Marcos de Niza, pp. 274-276, Jaramillo, pp. 368, 369.

[76] Antonio Espejo, _Viaje_, etc. Vetancurt, _Cronica_, etc., pp. 302, 303.

[77] Vetancurt, _Cronica_, etc., trat. iii. cap. iv. pp. 302, 303-305, cap. vi. pp. 324, 325.

[78] Espejo, _Viaje_, etc.

[79] _Coronado's March_, pp. 336-339. Don Jose Cortes, _Memorias sobre las Provincias del Norte de Nueva-Espana_, 1799. MSS. of the library of Congress, fol. 87.

[80] Coronado, Letter of Oct. 20, 1541, p. 354. Castaneda, ii. cap. viii. p. 194, Jaramillo, pp. 376, 377.

[81] He went from Santa Fe N.E. and E.N.E., and struck the "Escansaques:" might they have been the "Kansas?" Geronimo de Zarate Salmeron, _Relacion_, etc., pp. 26, 27.

[82] Zarate Salmeron, p. 29.

[83] I append a valuable description of these ruins from the Surveyor-General's office at Santa Fe, communicated to me by Mr. D. J. Miller. (See p. 30.)

[84] This is made probable through the statement of Father Jose Amando Niel (p. 108), to the effect that the Yutas warred against the Pananas and the Jumanas. The latter were about Socorro, therefore the Yutas must have descended east to below Pecos. Their arrival east of the Sierra Madre is placed, through the reports of the Pecos, about 1530. Castaneda, ii. cap. v., p. 178.

[85] _Obediencia, etc., de S. Joan Baptista_, p. 113, "todos los Apaches desde la Sierra Nevada hacia la parte del Norte y Poniento," p. 114; speaking of the Jemez, "y mas, todos los Apaches y cocoyes de sus sierras y comarcas."

[86] In a subsequent paper, I hope to continue this "Historical Introduction," in the shape of a discussion of the various expeditions into New Mexico, and from it to other points north-west and north-east, up to the year 1605.

II.

A VISIT TO THE ABORIGINAL RUINS IN THE VALLEY OF THE RIO PECOS.

About thirty miles to the south-east of the city of Santa Fe, and in the western sections of the district of San Miguel (New Mexico), the upper course of the Rio Pecos traverses a broad valley, extending in width from east to west about six or eight miles, and in length from north-west to south-east from twenty to twenty-five. Its boundaries are,--on the north and north-east, the Sierra de Santa Fe, and the Sierra de Santa Barbara, or rather their southern spurs; on the west a high _mesa_ or table land, extending nearly parallel to the river until opposite or south of the peak of Bernal; on the east, the Sierra de Tecolote. The altitude of this valley is on an average not less than six thousand three hundred feet,[87] while the _mesa_ on the right bank of the river rises abruptly to nearly two thousand feet higher; the Tecolote chain is certainly not much lower, if any; and the summits of the high Sierras in the north rise to over ten thousand feet at least.[88]

The Rio Pecos (which empties into the Rio Grande fully five degrees more to the south, in the State of Texas) hugs, in the upper part of the valley, closely to the mountains of Tecolote, and thence runs almost directly north and south. The high _mesa_ opposite, known as the Mesa de Pecos, sweeps around in huge semicircles, but in a general direction from north-west to south-east. The upper part of the valley, therefore, forms a triangle, whose apex, at the south, would be near San Jose: whereas its base-line at the north might be indicated as from the Plaza de Pecos to Baughl's Sidings; or rather from the Rio Pecos, east of the town, to the foot of the _mesa_ on the west, a length of over six miles. Nearly in the centre of this triangle, two miles west of the river, and one and a half miles from Baughl's, there rises a narrow, semicircular cliff or _mesilla_, over the bed of a stream known as the Arroyo de Pecos.[89] The southern end of this tabular cliff (its highest point as well as its most sunny slope) is covered with very extensive ruins, representing, as I shall hereafter explain, _three distinct kinds of occupation of the place by man_. These ruins are known under the name of the Old Pueblo of Pecos.

The tourist who, in order to reach Santa Fe from the north, takes the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad at La Junta, Colorado,--fascinated as he becomes by the beauty as well as by the novelty of the landscape, while running parallel with the great Sierra Madre, after he has traversed the Ratonis at daybreak,--enters a still more weird country in the afternoon. The Rio Pecos is crossed just beyond Bernal, and thence on he speeds towards the west and north: to the left, the towering Mesa de Pecos, dark pines clambering up its steep sides; to the right, the broad valley, scooped out, so to say, between the _mesa_ and the Tecolote ridge. It is dotted with green patches and black clusters of cedar and pine shooting out of the red and rocky soil. Scarcely a house is visible, for the _casitas_ of adobe and wood nestle mostly in sheltered nooks. Beyond Baughl's, the ruins first strike his view; the red walls of the church stand boldly out on the barren _mesilla_; and to the north of it there are two low brown ridges, the remnants of the Indian houses. The bleak summits of the high northern chain seem to rise in height as he advances; even the distant Trout mountains (Sierra de la Trucha) loom up solemnly towards the head-waters of the Pecos. About Glorieta the vale disappears, and through the shaggy crests of the Canon del Apache, which overlooks the track in awful proximity, he sallies out upon the central plain of northern New Mexico, six thousand eight hundred feet above the sea-level. To the south-west the picturesque Sandia mountains;[90] to the west, far off, the Heights of Jemez and the Sierra del Valle, bound the level and apparently barren table-land. An hour more of fearfully rapid transit with astonishing curves, and, at sunset, he lands at La Villa Real de Santa-Fe.

Starting back from Santa Fe towards Pecos on a dry, sandy wagon-road, we lose sight of the table-land and its environing mountain-chain, when turning into the ridges east of Manzanares. Vegetation, which has been remarkably stunted until now, improves in appearance. However rocky the slopes are, tall pines grow on them sparsely: the Encina appears in thickets; _Opuntia arborescens_ bristles dangerously as a large shrub; mammillary cactuses hide in the sand; even an occasional patch of Indian corn is found in the valleys. It is stunted in growth,[91] flowering as late as the last days of the month of August, and poorly cultivated. The few adobe buildings are mostly recent. Over a high granitic ridge, grown over with _pinon_ (all the trees inclined towards the north-east by the fierce winds that blow along its summit), and from which the Sierra de Sandia for the last time appears, we plunge into a deep valley, emptying into the Canoncito, and thence follow the railroad track again through a deep gorge and pleasant bottom, overgrown with pines and cedars, past Glorieta to Baughl's.[92] It required all the skill and firmness of my friend and companion, Mr. J. D. C. Thurston, of the Indian Bureau at Santa Fe, to pilot our vehicle over the steep and rocky ledges. From Baughl's, where I took quarters at the temporary boarding-house of Mrs. Root (to whose kindness and motherly solicitude I owe a tribute of sincere gratitude), a good road leads to the east and south-east along the Arroyo de Pecos. In a direct line the distance to the ruins is but a mile and a half; but after nearing the banks of the stream (which there are grassy levels), one is kept at a distance from it by deep parallel gulches. So we have to follow the _arroyo_ downwards, keeping about a quarter of a mile to the west of it, till, south of the old church itself, the road at last crosses the wide and gravelly bed, in which a fillet of clear water is running. Then we ascend a gradual slope of sandy and micaceous soil, thinly covered by tufts of _grama_; a wide, circular depression strikes our eye; beyond it flat mounds of scarcely 0.50 m.--20 in.--elevation are covered extensively with scattered and broken stones. Further on distinct foundations appear, rectangles enclosed by, or founded originally upon, thick walls of stone, sunk into the ground and much worn,--sometimes divided into small compartments, again forming large enclosures. To the south a conspicuous, though small, mound is visible. Immediately before us, due north, are distinct though broken walls of stones; and above them, on a broad terrace of red earth, completely shutting off the _mesilla_ or tabulated cliff, on which the Indian houses stand, there arises the massive former Catholic temple of Pecos.

The building forms a rectangle, about 46 m.--150 ft.--long, from east to west, and 18 m.--60 ft.--from north to south. The entrance was to the west, the eastern wall being still solid and standing. Plate I., Fig. 2, gives an idea of its form: _a_ _a_ are gateways, each capped by a heavy lintel of hewn cedar; _b_, carved beam of wood across.

The roof of the building is gone, and on the south side a part of the walls themselves are reduced to a few metres elevation. The church may originally have been not less than 10 m.--33 ft.--perhaps higher. It had, according to tradition, but one belfry and a single bell,--a very large one at that. The Indians carried it off, it is said, to the top of the _mesa_, where it broke. It is certain that a very large bell, of which I saw one fragment, now in possession of Mr. E. K. Walters, of Pecos, was found on the western slope of the Mesa de Pecos, about three miles from its eastern rim, in a _canada_ of the Ojo de Vacas stream, towards San Cristobal. Mr. Thomas Munn, of Baughl's, took the pains of piloting me a whole day (6th of September) through the wilderness of the _mesa_, and showing me the place where this interesting relic was finally deposited. I shall return to this by and by.

Mrs. Kozlowski (wife of a Polish gentleman, living two miles south on the _arroyo_) informed me that in 1858, when she came to her present home with her husband, the roof of the church was still in existence. Her husband tore it down, and used it for building out-houses; he also attempted to dig out the corner-stone, but failed. In general, the vandalism committed in this venerable relic of antiquity defies all description. It is only equalled by the foolishness of such as, having no other means to secure immortality, have cut out the ornaments from the sculptured beams in order to obtain a surface suitable to carve their euphonious names. All the beams of the old structure are quaintly, but still not tastelessly, carved; there was, as is shown in Plate VII., much scroll-work terminating them. Most of this was taken away, chipped into uncouth boxes, and sold, to be scattered everywhere. Not content with this, treasure-hunters, inconsiderate amateurs, have recklessly and ruthlessly disturbed the abodes of the dead. "After becoming Christians," said to me Sr. Mariano Ruiz, the only remaining 'son of the tribe' of Pecos, still settled near to its site, "they buried their dead within the church." These dead have been dug out regardless of their position relative to the walls of the building, and their remains have been scattered over the surface, to become the prey of relic-hunters. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New Mexico has finally stopped such abuses by asserting his title of ownership; but it was far too late. It cannot be denied, besides, that his concession to Kozlowski to use some of the timber for his own purposes was subsequently interpreted by others in a manner highly prejudicial to the preservation of the structure.

What alone has saved the old church of Pecos from utter ruin has been its solid mode of construction. Entirely of adobe, its walls have an average thickness of 1.5 m.--5 ft. The adobe is made like that now used, wheat-straw entering into it occasionally; but it also contains small fragments of obsidian,--minute chips of that material and broken pottery. This makes it evident that the soil for its construction must have been gathered somewhere near the _mesilla_; and the suspicion is very strong on my part that it was the right bank of the _arroyo_ which furnished the material.[93] It is self-evident that the grounds which were used for that purpose must have antedated, in point of occupation, the date of the construction of the church by a very long period. I have measured all the adobe bricks of the church that are within easy reach, at various places, and found them alike. They all measure .55 m. x .28 m.--22 in. x 11 in.--and .08 m.--3 in.--in thickness. They are laid as shown in Plate I., Fig. 4.

The mortar is, as the specimen sent by me will prove, of the same composition as the brick itself.

The regularity with which these courses are laid is very striking. The timbers, besides, are all well squared; the ornaments, scrolls, and friezes are quaint, but not uncouth; there is a deficiency in workmanship, but great purity in outline and in design.

To the south of the old church, at a distance of 4 m.--13 ft.--there is another adobe wall, rising in places a few metres above the soil; which wall, with that of the church, seems to have formed a covered passage-way. Adjoining it is a rectangular terrace of red earth, extending out to the west as far as the church front. A valuable record of the manner in which this terrace was occupied is preserved to us in the drawing of the Pecos church given by Lieutenant W. H. Emory in 1846. It appears that south of the church there was a convent;[94] and this is stated also by Sr. Ruiz. In fact, the walls, whether enclosures or buildings, which appear to have adjoined the church, extend south from it 74 m.--250 ft. Plate I., Fig. 2, gives an idea of their relative position, etc.: _c_ is 4 m.--13 ft.--wide; _d_ is 21 m. x 46 m.--70 ft. x 156 ft.; _e_ is 25 m. x 46 m.--82 ft. x 150 ft.; _f_ is 24 m. x 46 m.--78 ft. x 150 ft.

The divisions are not strictly marked, and I forbear giving any lengths, since there is great uncertainty about them.

The foundation walls, where visible, are generally about 0.60 m. to 0.75 m.--23 in. to 30 in.--wide, and composed of three rows of stones, set lengthwise, selected for size, and probably broken to fit.[95]

Looking northward from the church, a wall of broken stones, similar to the one we already noticed at the south, meets the eye. The _mesilla_ itself terminates east and west in rocky ledges of inconsiderable height, and the wall stretches across its entire width of 39 m.--129 ft. Its distance from the church is 10 m.--33 ft.; and it thus forms, with the northern church wall, a trapezium of 10 m.--33 ft. This enclosure is said to have been the church-yard.[96] Beyond it the mesilla and its ruined structures appear in full view; and from the church to the northern end, which is also its highest point, it has exactly the form of an elongated pear or parsnip. Hence the name given to it by Spanish authors of the eighteenth century, "el Navon de los Pecos."[97] This fruit-like shape is not limited to the outline: it also extends to the profile. Starting from the church, there is a curved neck, convex to the east, and retreating in a semicircle from the stream on the west. At the end of this neck, about 200 m.--660 ft.--north of the church, there is a slight depression, terminating in a dry stream-bed emptying into the bottom of the Arroyo de Pecos south-westward; and beyond this depression the rocks bulge up to an oblong mound, nearly 280 m.--920 ft.--long from north to south, and at its greatest width 160 m.--520 ft.--from east to west. At the northern termination of this mound the _mesilla_ curves to the north-east, and finally terminates in a long ledge of tumbled rocks, high and abrupt, which gradually merges into the ridges of sandy soil towards the little town of Pecos.[98] Pl. I., Fig. 5, gives a tolerably fair view of the _mesilla_. Pl. I., Fig. 1, is designed to exhibit its appearance as seen from below, the highest elevation above the stream being nearly 30 m.--95 ft.

The rock of the _mesilla_ is a compact, brownish-gray limestone. It is crystalline, but yet fossiliferous, very hard, and not deteriorating much on exposure. Its strata dip perceptibly to the south-west; consequently the western rim is comparatively less jagged and rocky than the eastern, and the slope towards the stream more gentle, except at the north-western corner, where the rocks appear broken and tumbled down over the slopes in huge masses.

From the church-yard wall, all along the edge of the _mesilla_, descending into the depression mentioned, and again rounding the highest northern point, then crossing over transversely from west to east and running back south along the opposite edge, there extends a wall of circumvallation, constructed, as far as may be seen, of rubble and broken stones, with occasional earth flung in between the blocks. This wall has, along its periphery, a total length of 983 m.--3,220 ft.--according to Mr. Thurston's measurement.[99] It was, as far as can be seen, 2 m.--6 ft. 6 in.--high on an average, and about 0.50 m.--20 in.--thick. There is but one entrance to it visible, on the west side, at its lowest level, where the depression already mentioned runs down the slope to the south-west as the bed of a rocky streamlet. There a gateway of 4 m.--13 ft.--in width is left open; the wall itself thickens on each side to a round tower built of stones, mixed with earthy fillings. These towers, considerably ruined, are still 2 m.--6 ft. 6 in.--high, and appear to have been at least 4m.--13 ft.--in diameter; at all events the northern one. At the gateway itself the walls curve outward,[100] and appear to have terminated in a short passage of entering and re-entering lines, between which there was a passage, as well for man as for the waters from the _mesilla_ into the bottom and the stream below. But these lines can only be surmised from the streaks of gravel and stones extending beyond the gateway, as no definite foundations are extant. Pl. I., Fig. 3, is a tolerably correct diagram of this gateway.

The face of the wall at each side of the gate is 1.3 m.--4 ft.--wide. Whether there was any contrivance to close it or not it is now impossible to determine; but there are in the northern wall of the gate pieces of decayed wood embedded in and protruding from the stone-work. For what purpose they were placed there it is not permitted even to conjecture.

* * * * *

Having thus sketched, as far as I am able, the topography of the _mesilla_, and described its great wall of circumvallation, I now turn to the ruins which cover its upper surface, starting for their survey from the transverse wall of the old church-yard, 10 m.--33 ft.--north of the church, and proceeding thence northward along the top of the tabulated bluff.[101]

Sixty-one metres--200 ft.--north of our point of departure we strike stone foundations running about due east and west and resting almost directly on the rock, since the soil along the entire plateau which I have termed the neck is scarce, and has nowhere more than 1 m.--39 in.--in depth. The eastern corner of this wall, as far as it can be made out, is 12 m.--39 ft.--from the eastern wall of circumvallation. From this point on there extends one continuous body of ruins, one half of which at least (the southern half), if not two-thirds, as the ground plan will show, exhibits nothing else but foundations of small chambers indicated by shapeless stone-heaps and depressions. The northern part is in a better state of preservation; a number of chambers are more or less perfect, the roofs excepted,[102] and we can easily detect several stories retreating from east to west. About 9 m.--30 ft.--from its northern limits a double wall intersects the pile for one half of its width. The ruins beyond it, or rather the addition, is in a state of decay equal to that of the southern extremity. The western side is, generally, in a better state of preservation than the eastern, especially the north-western corner. Along the eastern side upright posts of wood, protruding from stone-heaps, often are the only indications for the outline of the structure. Along the north-west, however, such posts are enclosed in standing walls of stone, at distances not quite regularly distributed, but still showing plainly that here, at least, the outer wall presented an appearance similar to Pl. II., Fig. 4.

At the place where I measured, the upright posts stood at about 1.39 m.--4 ft. 6 in.--from each other; the projecting wall was 2 m.--6 ft. 6 in.--long, and 0.63 m.--2 ft.--thick; the retreating wall 1.40 m.--4 ft. 6 in.--long, and 0.33 m.--13 in.--thick. The posts themselves were sometimes, but not always, backed, or even encased in adobe sheaths, built up like little chimneys in the wall itself. This mode of construction was possibly peculiar to the western side alone, and gives it a slight appearance of ornamentation, as well as more strength, the projecting walls acting like buttresses.

The whole structure, taking the sides of the _debris_ as they are now scattered, extends nearly north and south 140 m.--460 ft.--and east and west about 16 m. to 26 m.--50 ft. to 80 ft.--thus forming a rectangle of 140 m. x 20 m.--460 ft. x 65 ft. To determine the exact size of the building I proceeded to measure each compartment for itself, judging that the total number of these apartments, adding to their sizes the thicknesses of the walls, would finally give, within a few decimetres, the exact length and width of the house. On the ground plan I have numbered this building B.[103]

Beginning at the north-west corner, I ran my line almost due east to within 10 m.--33 ft.--of the circumvallation, where I found the north-east corner indicated by a broken post of wood. Along this line I met the following sections from west to east: 2.92 m.--9 ft. 6 in.; then a gangway, 1.55 m.--5 ft.; chamber, 3.22 m.--11 ft.; gangway, 1.21 m.--4 ft.; and three chambers, 2.09 m., 2.72 m., and 2.72 m.--7 ft., 9 ft., and 9 ft.--respectively, thus giving, adding to it eight walls of a uniform thickness of 0.33 m.--13 in.,--a total width of 19.07 m.--63 ft. Its length was easily found to be 8.56 m.--28 ft.; the northern appendix, therefore, forming a rectangle of 8.5 m. x 19 m.--28 ft. x 63 ft.,--and containing, as the ground-plan shows, ten rooms and two corridors, the latter running through the structure from north to south. It will also be noticed that the two middle rooms are the largest, measuring each 4.28 m. x 3.22 m.--14 ft. x 10 ft. I must also advert, here, to the fact that this structure is extremely ruined, and that the east part of it exposes the surveyor to dangerous errors.

The line _a b_, and its continuation eastwardly to _c_, appears to form the main northern wall of the whole structure. Here the annex, just described, terminates. This wall is of unequal thickness. In the north-westerly projection from _a_ to _b_, a length of 8 m.--26 ft.,--its thickness is 0.63 m.--2 ft.; from _b_ to _c_, on the eastern line, it is only 0.33 m.--13 in.--thick. This inequality indicates also a division of the structure to the southward, as far as the line _d d d_, into two longitudinal sections. The western one, whose four corners are respectively _a_ _b_ _d_ _d_ in the diagram, contains eighteen rooms of equal size, measuring each 3.71 m. x 2.25 m.--12 ft. x 7 ft.; it is consequently, inclusive of the rear wall and the sides, 24.24 m. x 8.08 m.--80 ft. x 27 ft. The eastern division, comprised within the area _b_ _c_ _d_ _d_, has fifteen rooms, or five longitudinal rows of three, whereas the western has six rows of three. The rooms east must therefore be larger than those west, and we see that they measure from east to west respectively, 2.25 m., 2.28 m., and 2.28 m.--7 ft., 7 ft. 6 in., and 7 ft. 6 in.: from north to south, 3.60 m., 5.07 m., 4.43 m., 4.13 m., and 3.43 m.--12 ft., 17 ft., 15 ft., 14 ft., and 11 ft. It is a rectangle, or rather trapezium, 22.31 m. x 7.81 m.--70 ft. x 25 ft.,--consequently the width of the building _B_ is somewhat less on the line _d d d_ than on the line _a b c_. The cause of this singular contraction I have found, and shall afterwards indicate.

Then follows a transverse section (_d d d e e_), containing two rows of six rooms each, or twelve in all, of very unequal sizes, as the ground-plans show. This entire section appears to be trapezoidal. The line _d d d_ is 15.89 m.--52 ft.--long; the line _e e_ 16.33 m.--53 ft.; _d e_ measures 7.42 m.--24 ft.--along the west, and 8.04 m.--27 ft.--along the east. Rooms marked _II_ and _III_ are particularly irregular, having, as the diagram shows, not less than six corners.

From _e e_ to _f f_, another transverse section, this time of four rows of six each, or twenty-four cells in all, those of each row being of equal length, to wit 3.65 m.--12 ft.; and in width from east to west, respectively: 2.25 m., 2.78 m., 3.18 m., 2.63 m., and 4.40 m.--7 ft., 9 ft., 10 ft., 9 ft., and 14 ft. (the last measure being the aggregate of the two eastern compartments, the longitudinal partition being nearly obliterated). To the south of _f f_ a further slight change occurs, inasmuch as the three eastern rooms, instead of being respectively 2.68 m., 2.20 m., and 2.20 m.--9 ft., 7 ft., and 7 ft.,--now become 2.25 m., 2.33 m., and 2.32 m.--7 ft., 8 ft., and 8 ft. From _f f_ to _g g_, the southern limits of the structure, the whole structure is badly ruined; and while the rooms can be counted, measurements are possible only in a few places. Still I am satisfied that no great error lies in the assumption that they were, taken longitudinally, all equal to the six rooms contained in the transverse row south of the line _f f_, that is, 3.65 m.--12 ft.--from north to south; and in width, counting the cells from west to east, respectively, 2.25 m., 2.78 m., 3.18 m., 2.25 m., 2.33 m., and 2.32 m.--7 ft., 9 ft., 10 ft., 7 ft., 8 ft., and 8 ft. The section, _f f g g_, which forms the southern and largest portion of the house (_B_), contains, therefore, twenty-two transverse rows of six chambers each, or one hundred and thirty-two apartments on the ground-plan; and it forms a rectangle running from north to south and east to west respectively of 80.30 m. x 15.11 m.--260 ft. x 50 ft.

The general dimensions of this building (_B_), therefore appear as follows:--

Length from north to south, east side 133.81 m.--440 ft.
" " west side 134.92 m.--442 ft.
Width of northern appendix 19.07 m.-- 63 ft.
Width along line _a b c_ 19.07 m.-- 63 ft.
" " _d d d_ 15.89 m.-- 52 ft.
" " _e e_ 16.33 m.-- 53 ft.
" " _f f_ 15.24 m.-- 50 ft.
Width of line _g g_, approximated 15.70 m.-- 51 ft.

From the appearance of the ground-plan, as I have been compelled to give it, it would result that the "first floor" contained two hundred and eleven cells, or rooms. Such is, however, not the case. The builders of this extensive fabric had not the means of preparing the hard rock foundation by removing it wherever it protruded over an average level. While giving a uniform height to their structure, they accommodated its ground-plan to the sinuosities of the rock. Out of this accommodation the irregularities noticed in the construction have mainly arisen. Pl. II., Figs. 1, 2, 3, will illustrate this statement.

Pl. II., Fig. 1.--Cross-section of _B_ along the line a b c, north end; _a b_, actually visible top-line; _c d e f g h_, rock; _i k_, top of probable highest story, now destroyed.

I have every reason to assume that this cross-section holds good for the entire division (_a b c d d_). From _d d_ on to _f f_ the distance between the rim of the _mesilla_ to the east and the house is greatest; the top-rock bends also to the west about _e e_, and there the irregularities noticed on the diagram about the chambers (_II_ and _III_) come in. They evidently result from an effort to conform the general plan to both the lateral and vertical deviations of its base. About the line _f f_, while the same number of chambers (six) remains in every transverse row, there is but one story below the general surface to the east. I may safely assume that south of the line _f f_ all the rooms of the first floor were on the same level. Pl. II., Figs. 2 and 3 will illustrate this point. As far as I could detect, the line _e e_ can be admitted as the one where one of the two lower stories disappears, and but one remains on the east side lower than the rest.

I have everywhere assumed _four_ stories. It is at least certain that there were not less than four. When Coronado visited the pueblo in 1540, he found "the houses with four stories."[104] Sr. Mariano Ruiz told me that "they all were of three stories;" but then he mentioned, below, the "casas de comodidad," thus indicating that the lowest story was used for store-rooms. It is very apparent from the ruins that, as I have indicated in the cross-sections, the western wall was unbroken, whereas from the east the stories rose in four retreating terraces. The western wall already mentioned was given additional strength, by means of the buttresses, of which I have given a small outline. The winds blow very fiercely over the _mesilla_, especially from the north-west; there is no tree to be seen on or about it, not even a cedar-bush, higher than a couple of feet at most. Against such blasts the solid wall was necessary, while the many intersecting partitions inside gave additional strength. It was a very solid structure as against winds, notwithstanding the comparative thinness of the walls,--0.63 m.--2 ft.--being their greatest width, and 0.33 m.--13 in.--their average.

With reference to the cross-sections, it now becomes possible to approximate the total number of chambers, apartments, or cells, contained in the entire building; a point impossible even to estimate from the ground-plan alone.

Leaving aside the northern appendix, about whose elevation I have not even means of conjecture, it becomes evident that the section whose four corners are marked respectively _a_, _c_, _d_, _d_, had the following number of compartments, starting with the lowest story, and remembering that, as above stated, one longitudinal row had six, and the other five, rooms:--

Lowest story 5
Second story 5
Third story 3 x 6 + 5 23
Fourth story 3 x 6 18
---
Total 51 rooms.

_Brought forward_ 51 rooms.

The section _d d e e_ had probably the same
arrangement, and therefore, there being but two
transverse rows, it contained in all 18

Section _e e f f_ contained on lower story 4
Second Story. 5 x 4 20
Third story. 4 x 4 16
Fourth story. 3 x 4 12
-- 52

Section _f f g g_:--
Lower story. 22 x 6 132
Second story. 22 x 5 110
Third story. 22 x 4 88
Fourth story. 22 x 3 66
-- 396
----
Total number of rooms contained in building _B_ 517

These rooms are very nearly of equal size, the largest one being _III._ 2.85 m. x 4.78 m.--9 ft. x 16 ft.--on one side, and 3.71 m.--12 ft-on the other, with an entering angle; the smallest room adjoining to it measuring 2.25 m. x 2.70 m.--7 ft. x 9 ft. The entire structure, therefore, presents the appearance of a honeycomb, or rather of a bee-hive, and perfectly illustrates, among the lower degrees of culture of mankind, the prevailing principle of communism in living, which finds its parallel in the lower classes of animals. Tradition, historical relation, and analogy, tell us that this house was used as a dwelling,[105] and that consequently it was, to all intents and purposes, a communal house.

The height of the various stories it is almost impossible to determine. I have measured walls which appeared to be perfect, and they gave me an average of 2.28 m.--7 ft. 6 in.--elevation. Should such be the rule, the western wall of the building, at its greatest height south, would have risen about 11 m.--36 ft.

The northern appendix I have ignored in the above computation, because its whole appearance gives no ground for definitive statements. It seems really to be an annex, and in fact the whole building seems to have progressed, in its construction, from south to north, in point of date and time.

The southern portion of the building--the one which appears to have been erected on a plane surface--was, in all probability, the one first built. The northern portions were added to it gradually as occasion required. This is further shown by the fact that in these northern sections, along the line _a, b, c_, parts of the third story wall are patched with regular adobe bricks, about half as large as those in the church, but still made by the same process.[106] The rest of the structure is exclusively composed of stone.

It is to all intents and purposes a stone house. Two kinds of rocks predominate among the material; a slaty, gray and red, sandstone,--highly tabular, easily broken into plates of any size,--and a sandstone conglomerate, containing small pebbles from the size of a pea up to that of a small hazel-nut,--the whole rock of a gray color. When freshly broken or wetted, this conglomerate becomes very friable, and so soft that goats have left the impression of their feet on scattered fragments. When dry it becomes hard, and is always very heavy. Both kind of rocks are found in the vicinity of the _mesilla_. Besides these, loose pieces of stone from the bluff itself, boulders from the creek, of convenient size, enter into the composition of the walls. Sometimes the latter consist exclusively of slabs of sandstone superposed; again there are polygonal fragments of rocks piled upon one another, with courses of tabular sandstone, forming, so to say, the basis for further piling; the foundations are usually boulders and the hardest rocks, also of greater width. There are no walls of dressed stone, but the rocks are broken to a suitable size, as may be done with any stone maul or sledge, or even by smashing with the hand and another rock. In fact the whole stone-work must be termed, not masonry, but simply judicious and careful piling.[107] In performing it, great attention has been paid to having the vertical surfaces as nearly as possible vertical; but this end could be reached without the use of the plumb-line, and with the aid of mere ordinary eyesight, for the rooms are so small, and the partitions so thin, that anything not "true" could, and can yet be, "shoved" into position by a mere steady, slow push; carefully watched on the opposite side. The same applies to the angles, although they are tolerably accurate. As a general thing, the transverse walls appear to be continuous, and the longitudinal partitions to have been added afterwards, but there are also instances of the contrary. In this respect the sinuosities of the rocky foundation seem to have determined the mode of action. To fill up the gaps between the stones, and to coat them with a smooth surface within the chambers what appears to be earth from the surrounding bottoms has been flung into the crevices, thus forming a natural mortar, and at the same time a "first coat" of plaster of varying thickness. This in turn is covered with a thin white layer (now of course turning into gray, yellow, and flesh-red) much resembling our plaster, but whose composition I am unable to determine. (Specimens of the mud, containing small gravel and minute particles of mica, are sent with the other collections, also fragments of the white coating for analysis.[108])

The woodwork proper appears not to have had any connection with the strength or support of the walls, but simply to have been erected within and among the walls as a scaffold for the ceilings, which are also the floors of the higher stories. Upright posts of cedar and pine, stripped of their bark, but not squared, are, as I have already shown, set inside of the stone wall, at more or less even distances. As far as I could ascertain, these distances are regulated by the size of the rooms. These posts are coarsely hacked off at the upper end, and over them other similar beams are laid longitudinally, sometimes fitted over the posts with chips wedged in. Such is the case in a room in the northern wing of the building marked _A_, of which I shall hereafter speak.[109]

On these longitudinal beams other ones rest, laid transversely, and imbedded in the wall on the opposite side. On these again longitudinal poles are placed, also at intervals varying according to the dimensions of the chambers, and on them transversely, a layer of brush, or splinters of wood, closely overlapping each other; and the whole is capped by about .20 m.--8 in.--of common clay or soil. Pl. III., Fig. 1, is a front view of the wooden scaffold in a lower story room, and of the ceiling which it supports.

_a_, clay and lower seam of brush or splinters.

_b_, transverse poles or beams, in case the beams are lacking.

_c_, longitudinal beam.

_d_, upright posts.

In most cases, however, the beams are transverse and the poles longitudinal, and this is where the beam (_c_) is lacking, as in the interior apartments, where the ceiling appears as in Pl. III., Fig. 2: _a_, clay; _b_, brush or splinters; _c_, poles; _d_, beams; _e_, wall.[110]

The diameter of the upright posts is, on an average, 0.28 m.--11 in.,--but even sometimes as great as 0.33 m.--13 in.,--the longitudinal and transverse beams are scarcely less thick, whereas the poles are about 0.05 m.--2 in.--across. The splinters seem to have been obtained by splitting a middle-sized tree, and tearing out thin segments.

Pl. III., Fig. 4, is a ground plan of the floor of room marked _I_ on the diagram. This room is on the eastern row of the third floor, therefore an outer room.

_c_, longitudinal poles.

_d_, the end of the transverse beams projecting from the other room.

_e_, the transverse beams, resting in the wall on both sides.

On the latter rested a thin layer of brush and a compact mass of clay, 0.20 m.--8 in.--thick. The clay, or rather soil, is very hard and was probably stamped or pounded.

As far as I have been able to detect, the upright posts are not found inside of the house, except, perhaps, on the rear wall of the outer chamber, as in one room of building _A_, to which I shall hereafter refer. If this is the room, then the skeleton of the wood-work (upright and transverse posts and beams) would present nearly the appearance shown in Pl. III., Fig. 3, when viewed from the side, and admitting the house to be four stories high.

_a_, horizontal beams.