the grand canyon of arizona-第42章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


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