Chapter II: Part 2

The ruin is rectangular in form, almost completely filling the whole of its shallow cave, and the walls of the rooms extend to the roof. A ground plan shows a central court 50 feet long and about 25 feet broad, flanked at each end with massive-walled buildings two stories high. The walls of these rooms are well constructed, plastered red and white within and on the side turned to the court. The white plaster is adorned with symbolic figures. The beams used in the construction of the ceiling of the lower room are missing, but the walls show clearly that the structure was formerly two stories high. No beams were used in the construction of the floors, the lower story having been filled in with fragments of rocks on which was plastered a good adobe floor.

The court or plaza was bounded by a low wall on the south side, the buildings enclosing the east and west ends, where there was a banquette. The north side of the court was formed by the solid rocks of the cliff, but on the lower part a narrow masonry wall had been laid up about head high, projecting from the cliff a foot and less on the top. The wall was formerly plastered red below and white above, triangular figures and zigzag markings recalling symbols of lightning on the line of the junction of the red and white surfaces.

In the center of the court on a well-hardened adobe floor there is a circular walled fire pit containing an abundance of ashes, and on either side of it are foundations of small rectangular structures. The function of the rectangular enclosures, lying one on each side of the fire pit, is unknown. The middle room of the lowest tier of rooms just west of the main court has a number of painted symbols and zoormorphic figures upon its walls. These paintings, in red, still remain in a fair state of preservation, and consist of five symbols, supposedly of fire, and many pictures of mountain sheep and other animals.

Just west of Fire Temple there is a group of rooms which were evidently habitations, since household utensils were found in them. One of these rooms has in the floor a vertical shaft which opens outside the house walls like a ventilator. The former use of this structure is unknown. Although the Fire Temple was not inhabited, there were undoubtedly dwellings nearby.

NEW FIRE HOUSE

A hundred feet east of the Fire Temple there are two low caves, one above the other. This cliff dwelling is called New Fire House. The rooms in the lower cave were fitted for habitation, consisting of two, possibly three, circular ceremonial rooms and a few secular rooms; but the upper cave is destitute of the former. The large rooms of the upper house look like granaries for the storage of provisions, although possibly they also were inhabited. In the rear of the large rooms identified as granaries was found a small room with a well-preserved human skeleton accompanied with mortuary pottery. One of these mortuary offerings is a fine mug made of black and white ware beautifully decorated. In the rear of the cave were three well-constructed grinding bins, their metates still in place.

The upper house is now approached from the lower by foot holes in the cliff and a ladder. Evidences of a secondary occupation of one of the kivas in the lower house appear in a wall of crude masonry without mortar, part of a rectangular room built diagonally across the kiva. The plastering on the rear walls of the lower house is particularly well preserved. One of the kivas, has, in place of a deflector and ventilator shaft, a small rectangular walled enclosure surrounded by a wall, recalling structures on the floor of the kivas of Sun Temple. The meaning of this departure from the prescribed form of ventilator is not apparent.

CEDAR TREE TOWER

Hidden in the timber about one-half mile east of the main entrance highway, and 1 mile north of Park Headquarters, stands a prehistoric tower. This ruin has been named Cedar Tree Tower because of the ancient juniper tree that grows adjacent to the north wall. The excavation of the tower and the area about its base led to the discovery that although it appeared to stand alone there were two subterranean rooms connected with its base. The larger of these rooms is a kiva, typical of the Mesa Verde cliff dwelling. Communication between kiva and tower was by means of a subterranean passage. This passage bifurcates, one branch opening through the tower floor, the other into a small square room. In the middle of the solid rock floor of the tower a circular hole, or _sipapu_, symbolic of the entrance to the underworld, had been drilled.

The masonry is excellent and the massive character and workmanship of the walls indicate some important use. No living rooms were found adjacent to the tower. The walls of the tower are uniformly two feet in width and they still stand to the height of 12 feet.

FAR VIEW HOUSE, A MESA VERDE PUEBLO

Archeological investigations have shown that the inhabitants of the Mesa Verde built compact pueblo-style structures on the open mesa land separating the deep canyons. Lacking natural protection of the caves and cliffs of the canyons, a closely knit and compact structure was necessary for defensive purposes. Not having to conform to the irregular contours of the cave as in the cliff-house type, the structure assumed a roughly rectangular shape in the open, with the kivas within protected by the adjacent outside living and storage rooms. The roofed-over kivas formed small open courts within the higher outside walls. Structurally, there is but little difference between the cliff house and the pueblo; undoubtedly they belong to the same culture and period.

Four and a half miles north of Spruce Tree Camp the park road passes near 16 major and many minor mounds. This is the so-called Mummy Lake group, a misnomer, since the walled depression at the crest of the slope above the group was never used as a reservoir, also since mummies are never found where the least dampness occurs. In the spring of the year water is still conducted to the depression by the drainage ditches which the early cowmen in the park constructed in their efforts to impound sufficient water for their stock.

The first unit of this group to be excavated was named Far View House because of the wonderful panorama of diversified terrain that is visible in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona from the walls of the ruin. At the beginning of the work, this mound appeared very much as any of the other adjacent major mounds, no sign of standing wall appearing above the even contour of the ruin. Heavy growths of sagebrush covered the whole area. Three months' time was devoted to the excavation in revealing the rectangular pueblo, 100 by 113 feet in size, now seen. The slow crumbling of the heavy dirt-covered roofs and the walls, together with the annual deposit of wind-blown sand from the San Juan country early each spring, gradually filled the rooms to the level of the standing walls, after which destructive elements and forces can little change the contour of any ruin.

The external features of Far View House are apparent as we approach its walls; mounting to the top of the highest wall we can best observe the general plan. This pueblo is rectangular in shape, consisting of concentrated rooms with a court surrounded by a wall annexed to the south side. On its southeast corner, a little less than 100 feet away, lies the cemetery from which have been taken a number of skeletons with their offerings of food bowls and other objects, such as was the custom of these people to deposit in the graves of their dead.

At its highest point on the north wall the pueblo had three stories, but on the southern side there was but a single story. This building was terraced, one tier of rooms above another. In the corner of the interior of the highest room may still be seen the ancient fireplaces and stones for grinding corn, set in their original positions as used by the former inhabitants. There are no external windows or passages, except on the south side where midway in length is a recess in which was placed a ladder in order to be hidden from view. The inhabitants evidently used the roof of the lowest terrace for many occupations. A bird's-eye view shows that all the rooms, now roofless, fall into two groups.

In the center of this mass of rooms is a kiva 32 feet in diameter, and around it are three smaller kivas. The size of the large kiva is noteworthy. In the cliff dwellings the kivas were necessarily small because of the limited floor space, but in the surface villages, where unlimited space was available, they were often large. This arrangement of one large kiva and several small ones is common. It might indicate that each clan had a small kiva of its own but that in the major ceremonies, when all of the clans worked together, the large ceremonial room was used. The structural details of the large kiva are identical with those of the smaller ones. The only variation is in the size.

The rooms surrounding these circular ones vary somewhat in form but are, as a rule, rectangular, the shapes of those near the kivas being triangular to fill the necessary spaces. The contents of the rectangular rooms show that they were living rooms. Artifacts were found and indications of various industries as well as marks of smoke from their fireplaces appear on the walls. From the nature of this evidence there is no doubt that Far View House was once inhabited by the people living the same way as those who used the cliff dwellings.

The court added to the pueblo on its south side is enclosed by a low wall. Here were probably performed, in ancient times, the many religious dances and festivals.

Far View House is but one of the 16 pueblos in the Mummy Lake group, and at the period of maximum development could have housed a large population. To the north and east, where the two branches of Soda Canyon join, another large village or group has been located, and one can almost trace the trail across the west fork of Soda Canyon to the neighboring village and imagine the dusky visitors going from one to the other in prehistoric times. Each narrow tonguelike mesa of the Mesa Verde has its ruins of either isolated pueblo structures, or adjacent groups, denoting the widespread distribution of the mesa pueblo builders.

Pottery is the best index as to the chronological sequence of the ruins in the Southwest, and in examining the pottery of some of the mesa-type pueblos it is found that some contain pottery antedating that of the cliff-house culture, while others contain similar types. Undoubtedly, they were simultaneously inhabited, in part at least, and the transitory period was of long duration; but the period in prehistoric time when they were built and later deserted has not been determined. We cannot say from data now at hand when this took place, documentary history affording no help.

The aborigines who lived near these ruins when discovered in 1874 were Utes, a Shoshonean stock who disclaimed all knowledge of the people who constructed these buildings. They avoided them as uncanny and even now can only with difficulty be induced to enter them. They have dim legends of conflicts between the earliest Utes and cliff dwellers. Unfortunately, however, such legendary evidence is not reliable, as the general mythology of these people has been much distorted due to foreign contacts and the passage of time.

OTHER RUINS NEAR FAR VIEW HOUSE

During the season of 1922 excavation and repair work in the vicinity of Far View House was carried on simultaneously. Among the ruins excavated were Pipe Shrine House, One Clan House, Far View Tower, and Megalithic House.

EARTH LODGE A

In 1922 one of the Late Basket Maker pit houses was excavated on the mesa above Square Tower House. This structure is known as Earth Lodge A. Although it once had a mud and pole roof almost as high as a man's head, nothing now remains but the underground part of the house. None of these pit houses have ever been found that have not been burned, and only a few pieces of charcoal remain as evidence of the former roof. The pit is 30 inches deep and 18 feet in diameter. In the center is a fire pit. In the floor are also four holes, forming a large square, in which the roof supports once stood. The walls of the pit were formerly plastered with a thick layer of mud, but only a few patches of this remain. Around the edge of the room, at floor level, were a number of small storage bins made of thin stone slabs. No side entrance was located during excavation. In some of the pit houses evidence has shown that entrance was often made by means of a ladder through the smokehole in the roof.

This was a typical home of the Lake Basket Makers who were living in this region when the Pueblo Indians arrived about 700 A. D. These pit houses passed out of existence as soon as the masonry wall was perfected.

UNEXCAVATED RUINS

Of all the ruins in Mesa Verde National Park only 28 have been named and only 30 excavated. No survey of the unexcavated sites has been made, and the total number of ruins is unknown. Several hundred cliff dwellings have been discovered, and new ones will probably be found in the more remote canyons. The surface pueblos outnumber the cliff dwellings, and a careful search would reveal many that are now hidden by a thick growth of underbrush. The earth lodges of the Late Basket Makers are so common that hundreds will be brought to light by careful search. Dozens of them can be located in a half-hour walk over any of the mesas.

DATES FOR MESA VERDE RUINS ESTABLISHED
BY THE TREE-RING CHRONOLOGY[2]

Dr. A. E. Douglass, director of Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, established the tree-ring chronology for dating Southwestern ruins. This chronology is based upon the facts that solar changes affect our weather and weather in turn the trees of the arid Southwest, as else-where, and that such affects are recorded in the variation of tree-ring growth during wet and dry years. Thus the tree-ring record of living trees has been extended into the past by arranging beams from historic pueblos in their proper sequence so that the inner rings of one match the outer rings of its predecessor, and in turn match the rings of the living trees. After completing the series from living trees and pueblos, of known dates, the record has been continued through the cross-sections of prehistoric beams of fir and pine that were chopped with the stone axes. The continuation of this chronology is only limited by the finding of earlier beams than those used in the established chronology.

The National Geographic Society tree-ring expedition took, in all, 49 beam sections from ruins within Mesa Verde National Park. During 1932 and 1933 further tree-ring research was carried on in this area and additional dates have been secured. Presuming that the year of cutting the timber was the year of actual use in construction, the following dates have been established for the major cliff dwellings:

Mug House, A. D. 1066 Long House, A. D. 1204-11 Cliff Palace, A. D. 1073-1273 Square Tower House, A. D. 1204-46 Oak Tree House, A. D. 1112-84 Spruce Tree House, A. D. 1230-74 Spring House, A. D. 1115 New Fire House, A. D. 1259 Hemenway House, A. D. 1171 Ruin No. 16, A. D. 1261 Balcony House, A. D. 1190-1272 Buzzard House, A. D. 1273

Since considerable tree-ring material from these ruins remains yet to be examined, the dates given above are not final. On the basis of present evidence, Cliff Palace, the largest and most complex cliff house within the park, shows an occupancy of 200 years.

It is an interesting fact that all of the dates fall just short of the beginning of the great drought, which the tree-ring chronology shows commenced in 1276 and extended to 1299, a period of 24 years.

DISCOVERIES OF RECENT YEARS

In 1923 Roy Henderson and A. B. Hardin discovered the largest and finest watchtower that had yet been found. The tower was circular, 25 feet in height and 11 feet in diameter. Loopholes at various levels commanded the approach from every exposed quarter.

During the winter of 1924 the north refuse space of Spruce Tree House was excavated. Two child burials were found, one partially mummified, the other skeletal only. With one was found a mug, a ladle, a digging stick, and two ring baskets that had held food. Several corrugated jars were found, together with miscellaneous material. A layer of turkey droppings a foot thick indicated the space had been used as a turkey pen.

During January and February of 1926, when snow was available as a water supply, excavations were carried on in Step House Cave, by Superintendent Jesse L. Nusbaum. In 1891 Nordenskioeld had found many fine burials in this cave and it had suffered greatly from pothunting. The cliff dweller refuse at the south end of the cave had not been thoroughly cleaned out, however, and it was under this layer of trash that the important discovery was made. Three of the Late Basket Maker pit houses were found, giving the first evidence that these people had used the caves before the cliff dwellers. Very few artifacts were found because of the earlier pothunting. In 1926 also a low, deep cave opposite Fire Temple was excavated, and a small amount of Basket Maker material found. Most interesting were two tapered cylinders of crystallized salt that still bore the imprint of the molder's hands. While bracing a slipping boulder in Cliff Palace, Fred Jeep found, in 1916, a sandal of the Early Basket Maker type that indicates a former occupancy of the cave by the first group of Agricultural Indians in this region.

In 1927 Bone Awl House was excavated. A series of unusually fine bone awls was found that suggested the name for the ruin. Much miscellaneous material was also found. Another small cliff dwelling nearby was cleaned out. One baby mummy and an adult burial were found, as well as some pottery and bone and stone tools. This ruin is reached by a spectacular series of 104 footholds that the cliff dwellers had cut in the almost perpendicular canyon wall.

During March of 1928 and the winter of 1929 restricted excavations were conducted in ruins 11 to 19, inclusive, on the west side of Wetherill Mesa.

Several burials were found, all in poor condition because of dampness. Outstanding was an unusual bird pendant of hematite with crystal eyes set into drilled sockets with pinon gum. Forty-two bowls were reconstructed from the sherds found.

In the summer of 1929 Mr. and Mrs. Harold S. Gladwin and associates of Gila Pueblo, Globe, Ariz., assisted by Deric Nusbaum, conducted an archeological survey of small-house ruins on Chapin Mesa and in the canyon heads along the North Rim. The survey covered 250 sites. One hundred sherds were collected from each site and studied to identify the pottery types, the sequence of their development, and their relationship to pottery types of other southwestern archeological areas.

The forest fire of 1934 revealed many hitherto unknown ruins. Two splendid watchtowers were found on the west cliff of Rock Canyon. In a small area at the head of Long Canyon 10 new Early Pueblo ruins were located and no doubt scores of others will be found upon more careful search. In the heads of the small canyons many dams and terraces were noted.

In the stabilization program that was carried on in 1934-35 a number of artifacts were found. A certain amount of debris had to be moved in order that the weakened walls and slipping foundations might be strengthened and varied finds resulted. Axes, bone awls, sandals, pottery, planting sticks, and similar articles were most common, but a few burials were also found.

In August 1934 the undisturbed skeleton of an old woman was found on the bare floor of a small ruin just across the canyon from the public campgrounds. This skeleton, of particular importance because of fusion of the spinal column, had apparently remained exposed and undisturbed through more than seven centuries.

Because of the fact that no detailed, comprehensive survey has ever been made of the archeological resources of the park, the findings of new ruins, artifacts, and human remains are more or less regularly reported at the park museum.

PREHISTORIC INHABITANTS OF THE MESA VERDE

The so-called "Mesa Verde cliff dwellers" were not the first of the prehistoric southwestern cultures, nor were they the first human occupants of the natural caves that abound in the area of the park. Centuries before the cliff-dweller culture with its complex social organizations, agriculture, and highly developed arts of masonry, textiles, and ceramics, it is thought that small groups of primitive Mongoloid hunters crossed from the north-eastern peninsula of Asia to the western coast of Alaska. The Bering Strait, with but 60 miles of water travel, offered the safest and easiest route.

Just when these migrations to the east had their origin and how long they continued cannot definitely be said, but it is thought the earliest Mongoloid hunters were in northwestern America about twelve to fifteen thousand years ago. When Columbus "discovered" America the continent was inhabited from Alaska to the Strait of Magellan and from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts.

For perhaps several thousand years following the first migrations little of great significance developed. There undoubtedly was cultural progress, but it was slow, and in the long perspective of time its evidences are hardly discernible. With the knowledge and benefits of agriculture, which was probably developed first in Mexico, hunting gave way to husbandry, nomadism to sedentary life, and there followed a great period of change and advancement. The introduction of corn or Indian maize into what is now the southwestern United States may be called the antecedent condition for all advanced cultures of the area.

Evidence has not yet been established that the first of the maize-growing Indians of the Southwest were permanent occupants of the Mesa Verde. Nevertheless, in the Cliff Palace cave, well below the horizon or floor level of the cliff dwellers, archeologists have found a yucca fiber sandal of a distinctive type which is associated only with the first agricultural civilization. From this evidence it would be reasonable to assume that the caves of Mesa Verde at least offered temporary shelter, if not permanent homes, to the people of this period.

The earliest culture so far definitely identified as having permanent habitation on the Mesa Verde is the Basket Maker III or the Second Agricultural Basket Maker first found in Step House cave on the west side of the park below the debris of the latter cliff-house occupation. Recent excavations and archeological surveys furnish conclusive evidence that the second agricultural people were most numerous in the area now included in this national park, and they constructed their roughly circular subterranean rooms not only in the sandy floor of the caves but also in the red soil on the comparatively level mesas separating the numerous canyons. Late Basket Maker House A, formerly known as Earth Lodge A, is an example of this early type of structure. Up to this time excavations have failed to uncover a single house structure of this type not destroyed by fire.

These early inhabitants made basketry, excelled in the art of weaving, and it is believed were the first of the southwestern cultures to invent fired pottery. The course of this invention can be traced from the crude sun-dried vessel tempered with shredded cedar bark to the properly tempered and durable fired vessel.

Then followed a long development in house structure, differing materially from this earlier type. Horizontal masonry replaced the cruder attempts of house-wall construction; rectangular or squarish forms replaced the somewhat circular earlier type; and gradually the single-room structures were grouped into ever-enlarging units which assumed varying forms of arrangement as the development progressed. The art of pottery making improved concurrently with the more complex house structure. This later period represents the intermediate era of development from the crude Late Basket Maker dwellings to the remarkable structures of the "Cliff House Culture."

During this period of transition new people penetrated the area. The Basket Makers throughout the course of their development were consistently a long-headed group. The appearance of an alien group is recorded through the finding of skeletons with broad or round skulls and a deformed occiput. These new people, the Pueblos, took over, changed, and adapted to their own needs the material culture of the earlier inhabitants.

The Pueblos were not content with the crude buildings and earth lodges that sufficed as homes during the earlier periods. For their habitations they shaped stones into regular forms, sometimes ornamenting them with designs, and laid them in mud mortar, one on another. Their masonry has resisted the destructive forces of the elements for centuries.

The arrangement of houses in a cliff dwelling the size of Cliff Palace is characteristic and is intimately associated with the distribution of the social divisions of its former inhabitants.

The population was composed of a number of units, possibly clans, each of which had its more or less distinct social organization, as indicated in the arrangement of the rooms. The rooms occupied by a clan were not necessarily connected, and generally neighboring rooms were distinguished from one another by their uses. Thus, each clan had its men's room, which is called the "kiva." Each clan had also a number of rooms, which may be styled the living rooms, and other enclosures for granaries. The corn was ground into meal in another room containing the metate set in a stone bin or trough. Sometimes the rooms had fireplaces, although these were generally in the plazas or on the housetops. All these different rooms, taken together, constituted the houses that belonged to one clan.

The conviction that each kiva denotes a distinct social unit, as a clan or a family, is supported by a general similarity in the masonry of the kiva walls and that of adjacent houses ascribed to the same clan. From the number of these rooms it would appear that there were at least 23 social units or clans in Cliff Palace.

Apparently there is no uniformity or prearranged plan in the distribution of the kivas. As religious belief and custom prescribed that these rooms should be subterranean, the greatest number were placed in front of the rectangular buildings where it was easiest to construct them. When necessary, because of limited space or other conditions, kivas were also built far back in the cave and enclosed by a double wall of masonry, with the walls being spaced about two and a half to three feet apart. The section between the walls was then backfilled with earth or rubble to the level of the kiva roof. In that way the ceremonial structure was artificially made subterranean, as their beliefs required.

In addition to their ability as architects and masons, the cliff dwellers excelled in the art of pottery making and as agriculturists. Their decorated pottery--a black design on pearly white background--will compare favorably with pottery of the other cultures of the prehistoric Southwest.

As their sense of beauty was keen, their art, though primitive, was true; rarely realistic, generally symbolic. Their decoration of cotton fabrics and ceramic work might be called beautiful, even when judged by our own standards. They fashioned axes, spear points, and rude tools of stone; they wove sandals, and made attractive basketry.

The staple product of the cliff dwellers was corn; they also planted beans and squash. This limited selection was perhaps augmented by pinon nuts, yucca fruit, and other indigenous products found in abundance. Nevertheless, successful agriculture on the semiarid plateau of the Mesa Verde must have been dependent upon hard work and diligent efforts. Without running streams irrigation was impossible and success depended upon the ability of the farmer to save the crop through the dry period of June and early July.

Rain at the right time was the all-important problem, and so confidently did they believe that they were dependent upon the gods to make the rain fall and the corn grow that their prayers for rain probably developed into their most important ceremonies.

From Dr. A. E. Douglass's tree-ring chronology the earliest date so far established for the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings is 1066 A.D. and the latest date 1274 A.D. While it should not be imagined that these are the all-inclusive dates representing the total time of the cliff-dweller culture, it is interesting to note that this same tree-ring story tells us that a great drought commenced in 1276 and extended for a 24-year period to 1299. It may logically be presumed that the prehistoric population was gradually forced to withdraw from the area as the drought continued and to establish itself near more favorable sources of water supply.

The so-called "Aztec ruin", which is situated on the banks of the Animas River in northwestern New Mexico, substantiates this hypothesis of the voluntary desertion of the cliff dwellings. In this ruin is found unmistakable evidence of a secondary occupation which has been definitely identified as a Mesa Verde settlement.

It is thought that certain of the present-day Pueblo Indians are descendants, in part at least, of the cliff dwellers. Many of these Indian towns or pueblos still survive in the States of New Mexico and Arizona, the least modified of which are the villages of the Hopi, situated not far from the Grand Canyon National Park.

FAUNA AND FLORA

The fauna and flora of Mesa Verde should be particularly interesting to visitors. A combination of desert types from the lower arid country and mountain types, usually associated with regions of greater rainfall, occur here. The desert types are highly specialized to cope with their environment, particularly the plant and smaller animal life.

Rocky Mountain mule deer are perhaps the only big game to be found abundantly in the park. They are often seen. Their numbers in the park, however, vary greatly according to the season. It is hoped to reintroduce the native species of Rocky Mountain bighorn as soon as range sufficient for the needs of this species has been added to the park. Occasionally a black bear is reported.

Cougars, or mountain lions, and bobcats are part of the wildlife of the park and, strange to say, are occasionally seen in broad daylight. In other national parks these animals are rarely seen even by rangers. Coyotes and foxes are not as numerous as they once were on the mesa. As a result of the reduction of the predators, many of the smaller animals, such as rabbits, porcupines, and prairie dogs, have greatly increased. Rock and ground squirrels and the Colorado chipmunk are present in great numbers.

More than 200 varieties of birds have been recorded. The species range from the majestic golden eagle, the largest bird, down to a variety of dainty humming birds.

Game birds are represented by the dusky grouse. No wild turkeys are now to be found in the park, although it is believed that they were once here. The cliff dwellers domesticated the turkey, and their bones, feathers, and droppings are found in all the ruins. At present the reintroduction of wild turkeys to Mesa Verde is under consideration.

Among the interesting animal residents of Mesa Verde are the reptiles. The lizards are represented by the horned lizard, the western spotted or earless lizard, the collared lizard, the striped race runner, utas, rock swifts, and sagebrush swifts. Among the snakes are found the bull snake, the smooth green snake, the western striped racer, the rock snake, and the prairie rattlesnake. The latter, the only poisonous species on the Mesa Verde, lives among the rocks in the lower canyons.

Mesa Verde receives considerably more rainfall than true desert areas, and vegetation typical of the upper sonoran or transition zone is moderately luxuriant. This heavy cover of vegetation accounts for its name, which means "Green Tableland." The dense forest consists of pinon pine, juniper, Douglas fir, and western yellow pine. The north-facing slopes and moist canyons contain quaking aspen and box elders, with willows and cottonwoods growing along the Mancos River. The heavy covering of scrub oak and mountain mahogany over the higher elevations of the park makes this region a most colorful one during the fall months.

Among the fruit-bearing shrubs and trees are the service berry, choke cherry, Oregon grape, and elderberry.

An abundance of wild flowers, varying in color with the growing season, include principally the Mariposa lily, Indian paint brush, pentstemon, lupine, wild sweet pea, and a great variety of the compositae family.

HOW TO REACH THE PARK

BY AUTOMOBILE

Mesa Verde National Park may be reached by automobile from Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and other Colorado points. Through Pueblo one road leads to the park by way of Canon City, from where one may look down into the Royal Gorge, the deepest canyon in the world penetrated by a railroad and river. This road passes through Salida and on through Gunnison and Montrose, and then south through Ouray, Silverton, and Durango. This route passes through some of Colorado's most magnificent mountain scenery. Another road leads south from Pueblo through Walsenburg, across La Veta Pass, on through Alamosa, Del Norte, Pagosa Springs, and Durango, crossing Wolf Creek Pass en route. Both roads lead west from Durango to Mancos and on into the park.

Motorists coming from Utah turn southward from Green River or Thompsons, crossing the Colorado River at Moab, proceeding southward to Monticello, thence eastward to Cortez, Colo., and the park.

From Arizona and New Mexico points, Gallup, on the National Old Trails Road, is easily reached. The auto road leads north from Gallup through the Navajo Indian Reservation and a corner of the Ute Indian Reservation. At Shiprock Indian Agency, 98 miles north of Gallup, the San Juan River is crossed.

BY RAILROAD

Mesa Verde National Park is approached by rail both from the north and from the south: From the north via the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad main transcontinental line through Grand Junction, and branch lines through Montrose or Durango; from the south via the main transcontinental line of the Santa Fe Railroad through Gallup, N. Mex.

The lines of the Denver & Rio Grande Western System traverse some of the most magnificent scenery of the Rocky Mountain region, a fact which gives the journey to Mesa Verde zestful travel flavor. Two main-line routes are provided to the Grand Junction gateway.

The Royal Gorge Route goes through the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas, now spanned by an all-steel suspension bridge, 1,053 feet above the tracks in the Royal Gorge. This route crosses Tennessee Pass (altitude, 10,240 feet) and follows the Eagle River to its junction with the Colorado River at Dotsero, thence to Grand Junction.

Service was inaugurated in June 1934 via the new James Peak Route of the D. & R. G. W., utilizing the Moffat Tunnel (altitude at apex, 9,239 feet), 6.2-mile bore which pierces the Continental Divide 50 miles west of Denver. This route follows the Colorado River from Fraser, high on the west slope of the continent, through Byers Canyon, Red Gorge, Gore Canyon, and Red Canyon, thence over the Dotsero Cut-off to Dotsero, where it joins the Royal Gorge Route. The new line saves 175 miles in the distance from Denver to Grand Junction.

MOTOR TRANSPORTATION

The Rio Grande Motor Way, Inc., of Grand Junction, Colo., from June 15 to September 15, operates a daily motor service from Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and Mancos, Colo., to Spruce Tree Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park. This motor bus leaves Grand Junction at 6:45 a.m., via the scenic Chief Ouray Highway, stopping en route at other places mentioned, crossing beautiful Red Mountain Pass (altitude, 11,025 feet), arriving at Spruce Tree Lodge at 7 p.m. The stage leaves the park at 7 a.m., when there are passengers, arriving at Grand Junction at 5:40 p.m. The round trip fare between Grand Junction and the park is $18.65.

Entrance to Mesa Verde from the south through Gallup, N. Mex., via the Navajo and Southern Ute Indian Reservations, is growing constantly in convenience and popularity. Hunter Clarkson, Inc., with headquarters at El Navajo Hotel, in Gallup, operates two-day round trip light sedan service, leaving Gallup at 8 a.m. and returning to Gallup at 6 p.m. the second day. This service permits the visiting of ruins in the park, in accordance with regular schedules, on the afternoon of the first day and on the morning of the second. The round trip fare per person (360 miles) is $25. A minimum of two passengers is required. Fare for children, five and under twelve, is $12.50. Meals and hotel accommodations en route or at the park are not included. El Navajo Hotel, operated by Fred Harvey, offers excellent overnight accommodations at Gallup.

The Cannon Ball Stage operates bus service from Gallup, via Shiprock and Farmington, to Durango, where arrangements may be made with the Rio Grande Motor Way, Inc., for transportation to and from the park.

The Cannon Ball Stage bus leaves Gallup each day at 11:30 a.m., arriving at Durango at 4:45 p.m. Returning it leaves Durango at 8 a.m. and arrives at Gallup at 1 p.m. The fare from Gallup to Durango is $6 one way and $10.80 for the round trip. The round trip fare to the park from Durango via the Rio Grande Motor Way, Inc., is $7.50.

ADMINISTRATION

The Mesa Verde National Park is under the exclusive control of the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior, which is authorized to make rules and regulations and to establish such service as it may deem necessary for the care and management of the park and the preservation from injury or spoliation of the ruins and other remains of prehistoric man within the limits of the reservation.

The National Park Service is represented in the actual administration of the park by a superintendent, who is assisted in the protection and interpretation of its natural and prehistoric features by a well-trained staff. The present superintendent is Jesse L. Nusbaum, and his post-office address is Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.

The park season extends from May 15 to October 15, complete lodging and food accommodations and automobile stage service being available from June 15 to September 15. Informal lodging and meal accommodations are provided during the remainder of the park season.

Exclusive jurisdiction over the park was ceded to the United States by act of the Colorado Legislature approved May 2, 1927, and accepted by Congress by act approved April 25, 1928. There is a United States Commissioner at park headquarters.

Telegrams sent prepaid to Mancos, Colo., will be phoned to addressee at park office. The post-office address for parties within the park is Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

Educational service, carefully planned to provide each visitor with an opportunity to interpret and appreciate the features of the Mesa Verde, is provided, without charge, by the Government. This service is directed by the park naturalist, who is assisted by a group of ranger naturalists.

GUIDED TRIPS TO THE RUINS

During the season visitors are accompanied from the park museum to the various ruins by competent ranger naturalists. These men, well trained in the social and biological sciences, make it their duty to help the visitor understand the natural and archeological features of the Mesa Verde. Because of the need of protecting the ruins and the somewhat devious trails by which they are reached, no one will be allowed to enter any ruin except Spruce Tree House unless accompanied by a ranger naturalist.

CAMPFIRE TALKS

Each evening at 8 o'clock informal talks are given at the campfire circle near park headquarters. The superintendent, the park naturalist, and members of the educational staff give talks on the archeology of the region. Visiting scientists, writers, lecturers, and noted travelers often contribute to the evening's entertainment. After the talks six of the best singers and dancers among the Navajo Indians employed in the park can usually be persuaded, by modest voluntary contributions on the part of the visitors, to give some of their songs and dances.

PARK MUSEUM

The park museum houses very important and comprehensive collections of excavated cliff-dweller and basket maker material, as well as restricted collections of arts and crafts of modern Indians of the Southwest. These collections have been assembled through the conduct of excavations within the park and through loan or gift of materials by park friends or cooperating institutions. This material is arranged in a definite chronological order.

By following through from the earliest culture to those of the present time a clear and concise picture of the former material cultures of the Mesa Verde and surrounding regions may be obtained.

One room has been set aside for natural history exhibits exemplifying the geology, fauna, and flora of this peculiar mesa-canyon country.

REFERENCE LIBRARY

A part of the museum is given over to an excellent reference library and reading room. This library consists of books on archeology and related natural history subjects pertaining to this interesting region. Visitors have access to these books on application to the museum assistant who is in charge. These books may not be removed from the reading room.

FREE PUBLIC CAMPGROUNDS

The new public campgrounds are located in the pinons and junipers on the rim of Spruce Canyon only a few hundred feet from Spruce Tree Lodge and park headquarters. Individual party campsites have been cleared, and a protecting screen of shrubbery contributes to their privacy. Each site is provided with a fireplace, a table with seats, and a large level place for a tent. Good water has been piped to convenient places, and cut wood is provided without charge. Toilet facilities, showers, and laundry tubs are also provided. A ranger is detailed for duty in the campgrounds.

+Leave your campsite clean when you have finished with it.+

+Do not drive cars on, or walk over, the shrubbery.+

The campground facilities at Mesa Verde have been greatly improved and expanded through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Provisions for campers are obtainable at reasonable prices in any of the nearby towns. Groceries, gas, and oil can also be purchased at Spruce Tree Lodge.

HORSEBACK AND HIKING TRIPS

Visitors who view the Mesa Verde from the automobile roads gain but an inkling of the weird beauty and surprises that this area holds for the more adventurous. Horseback and hiking trips along the rim rocks and into the canyons lead to spectacular ruins not seen from any of the roads. Such great ruins as Spring House, Long House, Kodak House, Jug House, Mug House, and Step House, as well as all of the ruins in the more remote canyons, can be reached by trail only. Each turn of the trail reveals entrancing vistas of rugged canyons, sheer cliffs, great caves, hidden ruins, distant mountains, tree-covered mesas, and open glades.

In making these trips it is important that the hiker prepare himself with proper footwear, as the trails are very precipitous in places.

HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL SERVICE

There is an excellent hospital at park headquarters where medical and surgical service is provided to care for all emergency cases. Prices are regulated by the Secretary of the Interior.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND EXPENSES

At Spruce Tree Lodge, situated among the pinons and junipers over-looking Spruce, Spruce Tree, and Navajo Canyons, cottages may be rented at prices ranging from $1.25 to $2 a person per day and comfortable floored tents at 50 cents to $1 per day. Meals table d'hote are served at the following reasonable prices: Breakfast, 50 cents to $1; luncheon, 55 cents to 85 cents; and dinner, 75 cents to $1.15. A la carte service is also available. Children: No charge under 3; half rates from 3 to 8. The official season for Spruce Tree Lodge is from June 15 to September 15.

The company also operates, for visitors who do not care to use their own cars or are without private transportation, automobile service to various ruins for $1 each round trip. A special evening trip to Park Point to see the spectacular sunset from the highest point in the park is $1.50 per person.

OUT-OF-SEASON ACCOMMODATIONS

From May 15 to June 15 and from September 15 to October 15, cabins may be rented from the caretaker of Spruce Tree Lodge at the regular rates. Meals, with breakfast 50 cents, and luncheon and dinner 75 cents, may be had at the Government dining hall. In nearby towns, less than an hour's drive from park headquarters, accommodations are also obtainable.

PACK AND SADDLE ACCOMMODATIONS

Saddle horses, especially trained for mountain work, may be rented from the Mesa Verde Pack & Saddle Co. For short trips the rental is $1 for the first hour and 50 cents for each additional hour. For short 1-day trips for three persons or more the cost is $3.50 each; two persons $4 each; one person $6. Longer 1-day trips for experienced riders are available at $2 per person more than the rate for the shorter 1-day trips. All prices include guide service, and a slicker, canteen, and lunch bag are provided with each horse. Arrangements should be made the evening before the trip is taken.

PACK TRIPS

Nonscheduled pack trips to the more remote sections of the park may be arranged (2 days' notice is required) at prices ranging from $9 a day each for parties of five or more to $15 a day for one person. This includes a guide-cook and furnishes each person with one saddle horse, one pack horse, bed, tent, canteen, slicker, and subsistence for the trip. Three days is the minimum time for which these trips can be arranged.

REFERENCES[3]

CHAPIN, F. H. The Land of the Cliff Dwellers.[4] W. B. Clarke & Co.,
Boston, Mass. 1892. 187 pages.

DOUGLASS, DR. ANDREW ELLICOTT. The Secret of the Southwest Solved by
the Talkative Tree Rings, in National Geographic Magazine,
December 1929.[4]

FARIS, JOHN T. Roaming the Rockies. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., New
York. 1930. Illustrated. 333 pages. Mesa Verde on pp. 193-203.

FEWKES, J. WALTER:

Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Spruce Tree House.[4]
(Bureau of American Ethnology Bull. 41, 1909. 57 pages,
illustrated.) (Out of print.)

Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace.[4]
(Bureau of American Ethnology Bull. 51, 1911. 82 pages,
illustrated.) (Out of print.)

Excavation and Repair of Sun Temple, Mesa Verde National Park.[4]
(Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 1916. 32
pages, illustrated.) (Out of print.)

A Prehistoric Mesa Verde Pueblo and Its People.[4] (Report of the
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 1917. 26 pages.) (Out of
print.)

Prehistoric Villages, Castles, and Towers of Southwestern
Colorado.[4] (Bureau of American Ethnology Bull. 70. 1919. 79
pages text, 33 plates.)

GILLMOR, FRANCES, and WETHERILL, LOUISA Wade. Traders to the
Navahos.[4] Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston and New York. 1934.
Illustrated, 265 pages. Describes discovery of cliff dwellings by
Wetherill brothers.

HOLMES, WILLIAM H. Report on Ancient Ruins in Southwestern Colorado
Examined During Summers of 1875 and 1876. (Geological and
Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden), Tenth Report,
1876, pp. 381-408, illustrated.)

ICKES, ANNA WILMARTH. Mesa Land.[4] Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston and
New York, 1933. Illustrated. 228 pages. Southwest in general. Mesa
Verde, pp. 100-101.

INGERSOLL, ERNEST. Reprint, first article. Mancos River Ruins, New
York Tribune. Nov. 3, 1874; in Indian Notes, vol. 5, no. 2, April
1928, pp. 183-206, Museum of American Indian, Heye Foundation, New
York.[4]

JACKSON, W. H. The Pioneer Photographer.[4] World Book Co., 1929.

JEFFERS, LE ROY. The Call of the Mountains. 282 pages, illustrated.
Dodd, Mead & Co., 1922. Mesa Verde on pp. 96-111.

KANE, J. F. Picturesque America. 1935. 256 pp., illustrated.
Published by Frederick Gumbrecht, Brooklyn, N. Y. Mesa Verde on
pp. 121-124.

KIDDER, ALFRED VINCENT:

An introduction to the Study of Southwestern Archaeology.[4] 300
pages, illustrated. Yale University Press, 1924. Mesa Verde on pp.
58-68.

Beautiful America--Our National Parks. 1924. 160 pages pictorial
views. Beautiful America Publishing Corporation, New York City.
Mesa Verde views pp. 58-68.

MILLS, ENOS A. Your National Parks. 1917. 532 pages, illustrated.
Mesa Verde National Park on pp. 161-174; 488-490.

MORRIS, ANN AXTELL. Digging in the Southwest.[4] Doubleday Doran
Co., 1933. Readable account of the trade secrets of a southwestern
archeologist.

NORDENSKIOeLD, G. The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde.[4] 1893. 171
pages, illustrated.

NUSBAUM, DERIC. Deric in Mesa Verde.[4] 1926. Illustrated. G. P.
Putnam's Sons. Knickerbocker Press.

ROLFE, MARY A. Our National Parks.[4] Book One. A supplementary
reader on the national parks for the fifth and sixth grade
students. Benj. H. Sanborn & Co. 1927. Illustrated. Mesa Verde on
pp. 221-234.

YARD, ROBERT STERLING:

The Top of the Continent. 1917. 244 pages, illustrated. Mesa Verde
National Park on pp. 44-62.

The Book of the National Parks. 1926. 444 pages, illustrated. Mesa
Verde National Park on pp. 284-304.

WHAT TO DO

+Things to See on Way from Park Entrance to Headquarters+

3.5 miles--Top of first grade--Mancos Valley and La Plata Mountains.

5 miles--Knife Edge Road--Montezuma Valley and Sleeping Ute Mountain.

10.5 miles--Scenic road to Park Point, highest elevation within Mesa
Verde National Park, 8,572 feet above sea level; 2,200 feet above
the Montezuma Valley. Views into four States--Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

16 miles--Pueblo III ruins on top of mesa--Far View House Ruin, Pipe
Shrine House Ruin, Far View Tower Ruin.

18.5 miles--Cedar Tree Tower Ruin--road branches off to left.

20 miles--Park headquarters. Park ranger will meet visitors' cars and
give information.

+Things to Do While on the Mesa Verde+

_Motor caravans to ruins--Daily. Use your own car. No charge for
ranger service_

8 a.m.--Earth Lodge A, Square Tower House, Little Long House, Sun
Point, Fire Temple, Sun Temple. Return 11:15 a.m. Distance
6 1/2 miles.

10 a.m.--A shortened trip of morning route to accommodate late
comers. Return 11:15 a.m.

1:30 p.m.--Cliff Palace, Rim Drive, Balcony House. Return 4:15 p.m.
Distance 7 miles.

3 p.m.--A shortened trip of the 1:30 route to accommodate late
comers. Does not go through Cliff Palace but views this ruin from
the top of the mesa. Return 4:30 p.m.

_Motor caravan to park point--Daily. Use your own car_

6:30 or 7 p.m.--Departure is timed to arrive at Park Point to view
colorful sunset. Ranger in charge will discuss the flora, geology,
and scenic points. Distance 21 miles.

_Campfire lecture--Daily_

8 p.m.--Campfire circle at park headquarters. Archeological story of
the Southwest followed by Ceremonial dances by Navajo Indians at
about 9 p.m.

+Things to Do--Not on Regular Schedule+

Museum--Open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A splendid collection of
material from the cliff ruins and other sections of the Southwest.

Community building--A display of cut wild flowers. Porch, with
comfortable chairs, overlooks Spruce Tree Ruin. Open at all times.

Spruce Tree Ruin--Below park headquarters. May be visited at your
leisure without guide. Ranger on duty in this ruin for
information.

Nature trail--The path to Spruce Tree Ruin has been prepared with a
series of signs explaining the flora and rock formations.

Horseback trips--Splendid trails lead in all directions. Large,
unexcavated ruins, magnificent canyons and mesas off the beaten
path unfold the charm of this primitive region. Rates are very
reasonable.

Hikes--To any section of the park can be arranged for with the park
naturalist. If sufficient numbers enroll for such hikes, a
naturalist guide will be provided.

+Accommodations+

At park headquarters, 20 miles from entrance. SPRUCE TREE
LODGE--Cabins, tents, meals, beverages, campers' supplies,
and curios. FREE GOVERNMENT CAMPGROUND--Firewood and water
furnished.

* * * * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Approximate dating. Exact dating by the methods
of tree-ring chronology is yet to be accomplished.

[2] The Secret of the Southwest Solved by Talkative Tree Rings,
by A. E. Douglass: National Geographic Magazine.
December 1929.

[3] For complete bibliography apply at the park museum or
write to the Superintendent, Mesa Verde National Park.

[4] Copies in Mesa Verde Museum Library.

* * * * * * *

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

With the exception of the following items, the text presented here matches the printed booklet which may include some inconsistancies with modern usage that were left unchanged:

A. Rearranged Text:
Footnotes moved to the end of the text.

B. Typographical Corrections:
Page ii - missing period after "(4,192 feet)"
Page iii - missing period after "Visitors"
Page 2 - comma moved out of quotes "The Mesa Verde region",

C. Emphasis Notation:
_Text_ Italics
+Text+ Bold + Italics

End of Project Gutenberg's Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, by Anonymous

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