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the grand canyon of arizona-第42章

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d hold perhaps a third of a bushel。 It is badly broken; and; as I attempt to take it up; it falls to pieces。 There are many beautiful flint chips; as if this had been the home of an old arrow…maker。〃

Old Gardens。 Later; when white men began to go down the trail now known as the Bright Angel Trail (the one near to El Tovar); the remnants of gardens; with irrigating ditches; in which small pieces of Indian pottery were scattered about; were discovered。 The place is known today as Indian Garden; and is seen from the upper porch of the hotel。

Stone Huts。 In his account of Powell's second expedition; Dellenbaugh tells of ancient ruins found below Labyrinth Canyon。 〃Small huts for storage were found there in the cliffs; and on a promontory; about thirty feet above the water; were the ruins of stone buildings; one of which; twelve by twenty feet in dimensions; had walls still standing about six feet high。 The Canyon here was some six hundred feet high; though the top of the plateau through which the Canyon is carved is at least fifteen hundred feet above the river。 We discovered the trail by which the old Puebloans had made their way in and out。 Where necessity called for it; poles and tree…trunks had been placed against the rocks to aid the climbers。 Some of our party trusted themselves to these ancient ladders; and with the aid of a rope also; reached the summit。〃 These Indians had tilled a small piece of arable land in an alcove near by。

An Old Indian Fortress。 Hance found a number of cliff ruins and the remnants of old houses on and near his trail; and on the Red Canyon Trail。 It was the discovery of an old Indian lookout fortress; located on the very edge of the Canyon where Bass Camp now is; that led Bass to hunt for the trail into the Canyon。 This fortress is about fifteen feet square; outside measurement; and consists of one room; twelve feet square; with a lookout in the eastern wall; which is still to be seen。 Remnants of the walls still stand; and at one corner are fully ten feet high。 About a mile below this fortress; were discovered two large native water…storage tanks or reservoirs; which; when cleaned out; were capable of holding many hundreds of gallons of water。 Further down; on the plateaus beneath; several large pits for the cooking of mescal were discovered。

Cooking of Mescal。 This mescal is the succulent and sweet inner leaf of the agave deserti; which is found in large quantities in this region。 The Indians still prepare it in the same manner as did their forefathers。 The larger thick leaves are taken from the plants when they are full of sap。 Great pits are dug and lined with rocks。 Into these pits dry wood; roots; pine cones; etc。; are thrown and set on fire; until the whole oven is thoroughly heated。 On the hot rocks are then laid the pulpy stalks of the agave; over these is placed a layer of wet grass; then more agave or mescal leaves; more grass; and so on; until the pit is full。 Then the oven and its contents are banked over with earth; and allowed to steam and cook for three or four days。 The woman in charge is an expert in determining when her 〃bread is baked。〃 She thrusts stalks of the agave into the heart of the pit before it is finally closed up; and when she deems 〃time up;〃 she pulls forth one of these stalks。 If it is not done to her liking; she allows the process to continue; otherwise the banked up earth is removed; and the contents of the pit withdrawn and placed upon adjacent rocks to dry。 It now looks like large cakes of brownish fibres; thoroughly saturated in molasses。 In taste it is sweet and fairly palatable; though the fibres render it a food that requires a large amount of mastication。 It has great staying qualities; contains much nutrition; and will keep for months; even years。 I have eaten pieces of it that were sweet and good over three years after it was made。

Unlimited Fragments of Pottery。 In my own wanderings of nearly twenty years in the Grand and Havasu Canyons and their smaller tributary gorges; I have discovered scores of these cliff…dwellings。 Ruins uncounted are to be found scattered along the rim; within five to ten miles of the Canyon; and thousands of pieces of pottery of old design have been picked up by the visitors of the past fifteen years。

On the Shinumo; opposite the Bass Trail; are several cliff…dwellings; and as late as the summer of 1908 a young couple camped there for a month on their wedding trip; excavated and discovered a fine stone axe; numbers of pieces of pottery of three different kinds; several pieces with holes bored with the primitive drill of flint or obsidian; a fine spearhead of flint; and a number of arrow points。

Similarity of Cliff Ruins。 The whole region of Arizona; New Mexico; Southern Utah; and Southern Colorado abounds in these cliff ruins。 The likeness of their appearance; and the fact that everything excavated is of a similar kind; seems to indicate a relationship; both in time of occupancy and in the peoples who built and tenanted them。

The questions now naturally arise: Who were these people? What was their life? Whence did they come? Whither have they gone?

The Race of the Cliff Dwellers。 In the earlier days of America's serious researches into her own archaeology; those who led our thought on the subject; though personally they had not seen the cliff…dwellings; declared them to be the homes of the Aztecs; one of the Mexican races found by Cortes below the City of Mexico。 Hence today we find people talking about the Aztecs and their ruined homes in Arizona; New Mexico; Colorado and Utah。 We used to read of the wonder of the discoverers of these dwellings; at finding them so small。 The doorways were small; the rooms themselves less than six feet in width and length; and the ceilings so low that a five…foot man could not stand upright in them。 It was reasonable therefore to infer; said these discoverers; that the builders and inhabitants of the cliff…dwellings were an exceedingly small people; dwarfs; as in no other way could the rooms be occupied。 And thousands of people who have read about these ruins still hold to the idea that they were inhabited by dwarfs。 But who the dwarfs were; or where they have gone to; no one seems to have the remotest idea。 But by and by; such men as Bandelier; the Mendeleffs; Stevenson; Cushing; Fewkes; Hough; Hodge and Hewett; began to investigate。 They took the field; and carefully explored hundreds of ruins。 Then; some of them with a profound knowledge of the Spanish tongue; went through all the records and diaries of the old conquistadores and the padres who accompanied them。 They found out all that the early Spaniards had discovered and conjectured。 In the meantime; they began to study the languages of the Indians of the regions nearest to the ruins; and question them as to their myths; legends; and traditions bearing upon the ruins; and their researches speedily bore fruit。

Storage Houses。 First of all they classified their discoveries。 Though scores of skeletons were found; there was not a single dwarf specimen among them。 This seemed to be a death blow to the dwarf theory。 Stone slabs were used as doors。 Necessarily these were comparatively small; since even though large slabs might have been found; they could not have been moved by the cliff…dwellers; on account of their weight。 This; in itself; accounted for the size of the doorways。 It had long been noticed that these small dwellings were scattered profusely where there were larger dwellings; and finally it became known that the small dwellings were not used for habitations at all。 They were merely storage houses for corn and other edibles; farmed by the inhabitants of the larger dwellings。 On one occasion; some years ago; I was exploring one of the side gorges of the Havasu。 We had seen scores of the cliff dwellings; perched high in the walls of the canyons; until at length one particularly well…built; though exceedingly small structure attracted my attention。 My guide was the most intelligent and communicative of the Havasupai Indians; and he immediately responded to my query by crying out: 〃Meala…hawa! Meala…hawa!〃 (Corn house)。 Further inquiry revealed the fact that all the small dwellings were but storage houses for corn a
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