r eighteen
of these promontories and isolated mesas of different height, every one
of them covered with ruins of old and massive stone-built structures."

We have been somewhat full in our description of these ruins, yet their
importance justifies this course. So far we see but very little to
remind us of the pueblo towns. On the other hand, the buildings seem
to be often single houses, or a few houses grouped together. In some
locations they were built of stone, in others of adobe. It is to be
observed, however, that the houses are very small--not larger than the
rooms in the modern pueblos. We evidently have here quiet scenes of
agricultural life. They of course had enemies, and guarded against their
attacks by the watch-towers, of which an example is given in the McElmo
ruins. The country must have been better watered than now, the
soil productive the seasons kind; and who can tell how long these
agricultural tribes held the land? Under these conditions, time must
have been rapidly bringing them civilization. But we must now turn to
a sorrowful chapter in their history, and trace the dispersion of these
tribes, their unavailing attempts to hold their own against a savage
foe, and the desperate chances they took before leaving the land of
their fathers.

This brings us to a consideration of cliff-houses--that is, houses so
placed that manifestly the only reason the people would have for putting
them where found would be of a defensive nature; and, for a similar
reason, we may be very sure they are of a later date than the majority
of the ruins in the valley or in the canyons. People would never have
settled in the valley in the first place if they had felt the necessity
of seeking inaccessible places in which to build shelters as a resort
in time of need. We can not do better than to refer once more to Mr.
Jackson's exploration in the valley of the Rio Mancos. We have already
referred to it in reference to the larger ruins.

Illustration of Two-storied House in the Mancos Canyon.----

This cut gives us a general view of the first cliff-house discovered in
this valley. This was far up on the cliff. Mr. Jackson says, "We had no
field-glass with the party, and to this fact is probably due the reason
we had not seen others during the day in this same line, for there is no
doubt that ruins exist throughout the entire length of the canyon, far
above and out of the way of ordinary observation." Subsequently Mr.
Holme