A shaft has been sunk one hundred and ninety-five feet deep,
where a strong flow of water was encountered in a bed of white
sand which temporarily stopped the work. A gasoline engine and
drill were procured and put in operation and the drill was driven
down forty feet further when it stuck fast in white quicksand.
It is the intention of the company to continue the work and carry
it on to a successful finish.
Nothing of value was found in the hole dug, but some of the
workmen in their leisure hours found on the surface two large
meteorites weighing one hundred and one hundred and fifty pounds
respectively, besides a number of smaller fragments.
The Meteorite Mountain is in a class by itself and is, in a
way, as great a curiosity as is the Grand Canon. It is little
known and has not received the attention that it deserves.
It is, indeed, marvelous and only needs to be seen to be
appreciated.
CHAPTER XII
THE CLIFF DWELLERS
In the canons of the Colorado river and its tributaries are found
the ruins of an ancient race of cliff dwellers. These ruins are
numerous and are scattered over a wide scope of country, which
includes Arizona and portions of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.
Many of them are yet in a good state of preservation, but all
show the marks of age and decay. They are not less than four
hundred years old and are, in all probability, much older. Their
preservation is largely due to their sheltered position among the
rocks and an exceptionally dry climate.
The houses are invariably built upon high cliffs on shelving
rocks in places that are almost inaccessible. In some instances
they can only be reached by steps cut into the solid rock, which
are so old and worn that they are almost obliterated. Their
walls so nearly resemble the stratified rocks upon which they
stand, that they are not easily distinguished from their
surroundings.
The cliffs are often sloping, sometimes overhanging, but more
frequently perpendicular. The weather erosion of many centuries
has caused the softer strata of exposed rocks in the cliffs to
disintegrate and fall away, which left numberless caverns wherein
this ancient and mysterious people chose to build their eyrie
homes to live with the eagles. The houses are built of all
shapes and sizes and, apparently, were planned to fit the
irregular and limited space of their environment. Circular watch
towers look down from commanding heights which, from their shape
and position, were evidently intended to serve the double purpose
of observation and defense.
In the search for evidence of their antiquity it is believed that
data has been found which denotes great age.
