The identity of the nomadic tribes which warred on the people of the Mesa Verde region is not known. It has been suggested that the early Apaches or the early Utes may have entered the area at that time but there is little positive evidence. Further research may provide an answer to the problem but it is possible the identity of the “enemy people” will never be known. The Great Pueblo period came to an end just before 1300 A.D., and that is the time when the Pueblo Indians moved away from the Mesa Verde, never to return. As was mentioned in an earlier chapter the Pueblo Indian occupation of the Mesa Verde came to an end during the great drought of 1276-1299 A.D. Rainfall was deficient during this period of twenty-four years and before normal weather returned in the year 1300, all of the people had drifted off to the south. Nothing has been found to indicate that the Mesa Verde region was ever occupied by farming Indians after the drouth. Since the area was deserted during the drouth it is only reasonable to assume that this period of abnormally dry weather was the cause of their leaving. There is much, however, to indicate that the drouth was not the sole cause. During their long occupation of the Mesa Verde the Indians had survived many long periods of drouth. Dry years were not a new experience and they were wise in the ways of existing through unfavorable periods. It is doubtful whether the drouth, severe as it was, would have caused complete abandonment of so large an area. We may feel sure that during the Great Pueblo period a very real danger threatened the people. They moved to the caves, certainly because of a need for security, and the population diminished. Before the drouth came the people were already moving to the south and it is probable that the abnormally dry period simply hastened a movement that was already underway. While the final, complete desertion of the area may be blamed on the drouth it appears that the danger which had threatened for more than a century had much to do with the abandonment of the once populous area. When normal weather returned in the year 1300, there were no Pueblo Indians in the Mesa Verde. All had perished or had drifted away and the villages were empty and silent. Slowly the centuries paraded by. Drifting earth and vegetation crept over the mesa-top pueblos and the leveling forces of nature caused the once proud cliff dwellings slowly to bow their heads. Then suddenly the silence of six centuries was broken and the emptiness was gone. Men of a new race came upon the scene and the modern world learned of the glorious past of the Mesa Verde. Transcriber’s Notes —Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication. —Corrected a few palpable typographical errors. —Transcribed some text from illustrations, for the sake of the text versions.