As a result of this friendship, the Wetherills began to run their cattle in the Mancos Canyon. At last, white men were welcome in the vast stronghold of the Utes. Deeper and deeper they penetrated into the network of canyons. As they worked with their cattle the Wetherills began to notice tiny houses standing in caves on the faces of the cliffs. They even climbed to them and as they explored the little villages their interest and curiosity mounted. The houses were merely small stone rooms, evidently built in the caves for security. In the houses the boys found things the ancient inhabitants had left behind, even the remains of the people themselves. They speculated on the origin of their finds but there seemed to be no answers. The objects found seemed to have no actual value so they spent little time in the ancient buildings. Their cattle could not be neglected for the tiny houses in the cliffs. An interesting tale came to the Wetherill brothers’ ears when they became acquainted with a Ute Indian named Acowitz. In some of the canyons, he told them, were cliff dwellings that were much larger than any they had seen. There was one cliff dwelling that was the largest of all. When he showed them how large it was and how many rooms it contained they were quite sure he could not be believed. No cliff dwelling could be so large. Acowitz persisted in his claims. Time after time he told the Wetherills of the ruin that was the largest in the Mesa Verde. Dubious but interested, the boys began to watch the cliffs whenever their search for cattle took them into new canyons. At last Al Wetherill thought he saw it. He was following the bottom of a canyon in which none of the boys had ever been. Far above, in the highest cliff, he saw the arched roof of an enormous cave. Through the tops of the trees Al thought he saw houses; he could not be sure. Anxious to reach camp before darkness came he did not climb up to investigate. The boys began to consider the claims of Acowitz with less doubt. The cave seemed to exist; perhaps it did contain the largest cliff dwelling of all. The following winter two of the Wetherill brothers, Richard and Alfred, and their brother-in-law, Charlie Mason, were again in the Mesa Verde with their cattle. Day after day they watched them, often riding the high mesa trails in search of strays. As they rode they remembered the story of Acowitz and the cave Al had seen. Before the winter was over they intended to find it. One snowy December day in 1888, Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason rode their horses up out of the Mancos Canyon and began to follow the trail of some stray cattle northward across the mesa top. Snow lay deep on the ground. Soft flakes filled the air. Silently the two forced their way through the heavy growth of pinon and juniper trees. Only the thud of the horses’ feet and the creak of saddle leather broke the silence. Near the edge of a canyon the growth thinned out and they finally rode out into the open.