[7] Pueblo And Cliff Dwellers Of The Southwest.

Records of the Past, December, 1902.

Contemporaneous with the cliff dwellers there seems to have lived a race of people in the adjoining valleys who built cities and tilled the soil. judged by their works they must have been an industrious, intelligent and numerous people. All over the ground are strewn broken pieces of pottery that are painted in bright colors and artistic designs which, after ages of exposure to the weather, look as fresh as if newly made, The relics that have been taken from the ruins are similar to those found in the cliff houses, and consist mostly of stone implements and pottery.

In the Gila valley, near the town of Florence, stands the now famous Casa Grande ruin, which is the best preserved of all these ancient cities. It was a ruin when the Spaniards first discovered it, and is a type of the ancient communal house. Its thick walls are composed of a concrete adobe that is as hard as rock, and its base lines conform to the cardinal points of, the compass. It is an interesting relic of a past age and an extinct race and, if it cannot yield up its secrets to science, it at least appeals to the spirit of romance and mystery.

Irrigating ditches which were fed from reservoirs supplied their fields and houses with water. Portions of these old canals are yet in existence and furnish proof of the diligence and skill of their builders.

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