. Bulletin. Ethnology. hough] ANTIQUITIES OF GILA-SALT VALLEYS 31 meter, and the roofs were entire on some of the rooms. Round beams with the hark peeled off were in a good state of preservation. The diameter of these beams varied between and meter (3 to 9i inches). The roof which these beams supported was of the ordinary pueblo pattern and ;. meter (9 inches) thick. The doorways were nearly square, and low. Air holes, T- shaped and of unusual size ( by 1 meter), opened upon the outside in several places. These buildings occupy four caverns, the second of which toward th
. Bulletin. Ethnology. hough] ANTIQUITIES OF GILA-SALT VALLEYS 31 meter, and the roofs were entire on some of the rooms. Round beams with the hark peeled off were in a good state of preservation. The diameter of these beams varied between and meter (3 to 9i inches). The roof which these beams supported was of the ordinary pueblo pattern and ;. meter (9 inches) thick. The doorways were nearly square, and low. Air holes, T- shaped and of unusual size ( by 1 meter), opened upon the outside in several places. These buildings occupy four caverns, the second of which toward the east is 10 meters high. The western cave communicates with the others only from the outside, while the three eastern ones are separated by huge pillars, behind which arc natural passages from one cave to the other. The height of the floor. Fig. 1. Cliff-dwellings, West fork of the Gila. above the bed of the creek is 55 meters, and the ascent is steep, in some places barely possible. To one coming from the mouth of the cleft the caves become visible only after he has passed them, so that they are well concealed. But while it would be difficult for an Indian foe to take the place by storm, its inhabitants could easily be cut off from water or starved. The southern slope, fronting the caves, is steep, but covered with forests, and the cleft is so nar- row that a handful of men, armed with bows and arrows and posted behind the tall pines, could effectively blockade the cave dwellings. With all its natural advantages, therefore, this cave village was still extremely vulnerable. Among the many objects taken from these ruins I mention particularly sandals made of strips of the yucca. It may be remembered that similar foot- gear was found at the Tze'-yi (Chelly). I have been informed that the Tara- humares of southwestern Chihuahua still wear the same kind of sandals. In. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for re
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectethnolo, bookyear1901
