owing clearly, however, its rectangular
structure, adjusted approximately to the four points of the compass."
This house, from its massive walls, must have had an original height of
at least forty feet. "The walls seem to have been doubled, with a space
of seven feet between; a number of cross-walls at regular intervals
indicate that this space has been divided into apartments, as seen in
the plan." Two low lines of rubbish cross the square, probably partition
walls.

Surrounding this house is a net-work of fallen walls, so completely
reduced that none of the stones seem to remain in place. Mr. Holmes
was at a loss to know whether to call them a cluster of irregular
apartments, having low, loosely built walls, or whether they are the
remains of imposing pueblos. In the group of ruins to the left of the
spring are two well-defined circular estufas. Below the main mass of
ruins, connected by low walls of ruins, is another great square, nearly
two hundred feet in dimensions. One wall seems to have consisted of a
row of apartments; the other walls served to simply inclose the square,
near the center of which was another large estufa.

Several important conclusions can be drawn from a study of this
locality. The spring, now dry, was once evidently the source of a
considerable stream. Whether the group of low ruins were collections of
small houses, or remains of imposing pueblos, we need not doubt that
the walls of the square inclosures were composed of pueblo houses. The
estufas were probably in all respects similar to those of the present
inhabited pueblos. The country around, now so dry and barren, must once
have supported considerable population. As to the period of abandonment,
we have nothing to guide us. Being an agricultural settlement, it
was probably abandoned at an earlier date than the cave-dwellings and
cliff-houses of the canyons of the vicinity. The reason for this will
appear subsequently. The site of this ruin, as well as for a long
distance around, is covered with pieces of broken pottery. We notice
that the spring has only lately gone dry. This illustrates the changes
now taking place all through the country. It is drying up, and this
process has been in operation for a long while.

Illustration of Ruins in the McElmo Canyon.-------

Many groups of ruins are now in localities where the people could not
hope for subsistence. About six miles to the north of these ruins, about
a mile from the McElmo, i