The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished RacesAllen, Emory Adams
History
The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished Races
Allen, Emory Adams
Archaeology; Indians; Prehistoric peoples
Every advantage was taken, both natural and artificial, to
conceal them from view. “Cedars and pines grew thickly along the
ledges upon which they are built, hiding completely any thing
behind them. All that we did find were built of the same
materials as the cliffs themselves with but few, and then only
the smallest, appertures toward the cañon, the surface being
dressed very smooth, and showing no lines of masonry. It was only
on the very closest inspection that the houses could be separated
from the cliff.”
View of Cliff in which the House is situated. To illustrate the
singular position in which this house was located, we introduce
this cut. It is seven hundred feet above the valley. “Whether
viewed from below or from the heights above, the effect is almost
startling, and one can not but feel that no ordinary
circumstances could have driven a people to such places of
resort.” As showing the difficulty an enemy would have to
approach such a house, we give Mr. Jackson’s account of his climb
to it:
“The first five hundred feet of ascent were over a long, steep
slope of _debris,_ overgrown with cedar, then came alternately
perpendiculars and slopes. Immediately below the house was a
nearly perpendicular ascent of one hundred feet, that puzzled us
for a while, and which we were only able to surmount by finding
cracks and crevices into which fingers and toes could be
inserted. From the little ledges occasionally found, and by
stepping upon each other’s shoulders, and grasping tufts of
yucca, one would draw himself up to another shelf, and then, by
letting down a stick of cedar or a hand, would assist the
others.”
“Soon we reached a slope, smooth and steep, in which there had
been cut a series of steps, now weathered away into a series of
undulating hummocks, by which it was easy to ascend, and without
them almost an impossibility. Another short, steep slope, and we
were under the ledge on which stood our house.” By referring to
the first cut, we see that the house stands on a very narrow
ledge, and that the rocks overhang it so as to furnish a roof. It
will also be noticed that the ledge is rounding, so that the
outer walls of the house rise from an incline. Piers, or
abutments, had also been built along the ledge, so as to form an
esplanade.
Plan of the House.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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