and then. During seasons of war and invasion probably the women and old
the men, with the little ones, went thither for protection.

Mr. Holmes calls attention to one point bearing on the antiquity of this
ruin. The buttresses, which probably support a balustrade, noticed in
the figure on the house, were built on the sloping surface of the rock.
It would take but very little weathering of the rocks to throw them
to the bottom of the canyon; and, furthermore, the rock is a rough
sandstone, and hence easily crumbles; and it is not well protected by
the overhanging cliff; but no perceptible change has taken place since
the buttresses were first built. The thickness of a sheet of paper has
hardly been washed from the surface, and the mortar, almost as hard as
the rock itself, lies upon it as if placed there within a dozen years.
This structure is, evidently, not as old as the low mounds of crumbling
ruins we have heretofore described. It is more than probable that such
retreats as this were not provided until near the close of their stay in
the country.

A ruin further down the canyon, described by Mr. Holmes, is of great
interest, as it shows how necessary the people considered it to be to
construct an estufa. It will be observed that there are two houses.
So nicely are these hidden away that Mr. Holmes had almost completed a
sketch of the upper house before he noticed the lower one. They are both
overhung by the rocks above so as to be protected from the weather. The
upper house can only be approached by means of steps cut in the rock.
It appears to be in an unfinished state, and, when we consider the great
labor required for its construction, we can not wonder that they grew
tired before its completion.

The lower house is some eight hundred feet above the bottom of the
canyon, but is comparatively easy of approach. The interesting feature
about it is the estufa. It was situated near the center of the main
portion of the house. The entrance to this chamber shows the peculiar
importance attached to it by the builders. Mr. Holmes says: "A walled
and covered passage-way of solid masonry, ten feet of which is still
intact, leads from an outer chamber through the small intervening
apartments into the circular one. It is possible that this originally
extended to the outer wall, and was entered from the outside. If so,
the person desiring to visit the estufa would have to enter the aperture
about twenty-two inches high by t