the outer openings nor the
apertures that communicate between the caves are large enough to allow
a person of large stature to pass, and one is led to suspect that these
nests were not the dwellings proper of these people, but occasional
resorts for women and children, and that the somewhat extensive ruins of
the valley below were their ordinary dwelling places."<20>

Illustration of Caves used as Houses, Rio Mancos.-------

On the San Juan, about ten miles above the mouth of the Mancos, is a
significant combination of cave-dwellings and towers. In this case,
about half-way up the cliff, which is not more than forty feet high,
excavations had been made in a soft bed of shale. They are now quite
shallow, but were probably once deeper and walled up in front. Directly
above these cave-openings, on the very brink of the cliffs, were the
remains of two circular towers, in each case double-walled, and probably
divided by cross-walls into partitions. The towers were probably their
council chambers and places of worship. The caves, directly below, down
a steep bank, were their fortresses, whither in times of danger they
could flee. The little community, by means of ladders, could freely pass
from their cave resorts to the towers and back.

Illustration of Ruins in the San Joan Canyon.----------

The San Juan River does not seem to be as rich in ruins as some of its
tributaries. Yet near the mouth of the Montezuma we came upon a ruin
which shows considerable analogy to the pueblos. Mr. Jackson says upon
the top of the bench (fifty feet high) overlooking the river are the
ruins of a quadrangular structure of a peculiar design. It is arranged
very nearly at right angles to the river. We see from the plan that we
have the ruins of a larger building arranged around an open court--at
least, Mr. Jackson could detect no trace of a wall in front. We must
notice the seven apartments, arranged in the form of a semicircle, back
of the court. Extreme massiveness is indicated throughout the whole
structure.

In the immediate vicinity of this ruin were found a number of little,
cave-like dwellings. They were so small that doubts were raised as to
whether they were suitable for human habitations, but the majority of
them bore ample evidence in smoke-begrimed walls that such was their
use. Twelve miles below the mouth of the Montezuma this group of ruins
was discovered. These were situated in a cave that was almost exactly a
hemis