By And By Jealousy And Envy
Prompted Theft, And Then Strife Began.
Strife spread and grew, until war in
all its horrors became the normal condition.
In self preservation, these
peaceable, friendly, hospitable peoples were compelled to be warriors. But
their foes were many and crafty, skilful in war, wary in attack and
retreat. Their harassments became more than could be borne, so, in their
desperation, the peaceable people retreated to the cliffs and walls of the
Canyons, where surprise could be guarded against, where a small supply of
water could be reasonably sure, and where, not too far away, when permitted
to do so, they might cultivate a small piece of arable land.
Compelled to Wage War. Think of the state of affairs! A state of perpetual
siege and watchfulness, of readiness to fight at any moment, of keeping
lookouts on the alert day and night, of working in the fields with one hand
on the implements of peace and industry, and the other on the implements of
war. The night attack, murder, rapine, fire and bloodshed became common
experiences, and the discovery of many bodies, the skulls crushed with
battleaxes, of skeletons of men slain with the deadly arrow, of bodies
twisted by torture and charred by fire, reveal what a reign of terror and
dread that epoch must have been in the land of the cliff-dweller.
Houses Became Fortresses. For how many decades or centuries this lasted, we
do not know. Somewhat uncertain tradition is all we have to rely upon. But
ultimately the pressure became less severe. In some cases, hostilities
largely ceased; in others, they became less constant. So the pueblos we
find in existence to-day slowly began to arise. One by one, the bands of
cliff-dwellers dared to leave their wall fortresses and to build in more
congenial places, nearer to their fields and springs or water-courses. But,
taught by past experience, they made their homes into fortresses. The
houses were massed together, largely for protective purposes; there was no
means of easy entrance to the bottom story (they were built from two to
seven stories high), the only way provided being by a hatchway and ladder
from the roof. The rooms of the second story were thrust back a little, so
that the roof of the first story formed a kind of courtyard for its
inhabitants. Ladders that could easily be removed afforded ingress and
egress, and the doorways could be guarded by flat slabs of rock. Numerous
loop-holes afforded outlook points, and also opportunity for the shooting
of poisoned arrows upon an oncoming foe.
Buildings in Inaccessible Places. In some cases, as that of the Hopi
villages, Acoma and old Zuni, the new towns were erected upon almost
inaccessible mesas, the steep trails of which could be securely guarded
against an army by a handful of hidden men.
Arrival of Spaniards. This was the state of affairs when the Spaniards
marched into the country (after the reconnaissance of Fray Marcos), under
the leadership of Coronado and his lieutenant, the ensign Tovar.
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