s 
 
 University of California Berkeley 
 
.The. 
 
 Cliff Dwellers 
 
 '. ; 
 
 . Jay Smith^Exploring Compenv 
 
 WORLD'S 
 
 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION 
 
 1893 
 
'HE H. JAY SMITH EXPLORING COMPANY desire 
 
 i 
 
 to acknowledge the many courtesies extended to 
 the Cliff-Dwellers Exhibit by Prof. F. W. PUT 
 NAM, Chief of Department of Ethnology, W. 
 C. E.; the valuable assistance of MR. FRANK 
 HAMILTON CUSHING, in describing and iden 
 tifying specimens, and the services of Mr. W 
 K. WETHERILL and his sons, as well as 
 those of ]\fR. CHARLES C. MASON, for their 
 pioneer work in exploring the Mancos region. 
 
rn 
 
 If 
 
 An extinct race, leaving no history by which modern 
 investigators may arrive at a definite knowledge of the age in 
 which they lived, or their pursuits, the " Cliff Dwellers " form 
 an interesting and puzzling subject of conjecture for ethnol 
 ogists, fascinating for its very illusiveness. 
 
 They are the earliest examples of civilization on the 
 American continent, contemporary with the ancient Cave Dwell 
 ers of Europe and Lake Dwellers of Switzerland, and are by 
 far the most highly civilized representatives of the " Stone Age," 
 antedating the Aztecs and the Toltecs, and exhibiting almost as 
 high a degree of civilization. 
 
 The time at which, they lived has been variously fixed at 
 from fifteen hundred to three thousand years ago, but there is 
 nothing more definite than conjecture. Some of the ruins have 
 trees growing through them, which are doubtless hundreds of 
 years old, but how many ages elapsed before those trees sprang 
 into life is unknown. They are a mythical race, exhibiting in 
 the relics found, rare powers and refined tastes at variance with 
 the common idea of aborigines. 
 
 (1) 
 
RUIN CANON, UTAH. 
 
 DOUBLE HOUSES, RUIN CANON. 
 
3 
 
 The most perfectly preserved relics are those of the Canon 
 of the Colorado, where a succession of villages remain almost 
 intact, showing very clearly their method of building, and where 
 many valuable remains have been found, which have thrown 
 great light upon the lives of this far-distant people. Through 
 New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona are scattered villages in a more 
 or less perfect state of preservation, but those of Colorado have 
 proved of the most value to explorers and investigators. 
 
 Their building is peculiarly advanced for such primitive 
 people, balconies and towers, windows and doors showing evi 
 dence of an architectural instinct far better developed than in 
 many subsequent races. Great stone walls, in some cases as 
 much as a hundred feet high, formed almost unsurmountable 
 barriers against invading foes, and betray their great ingenuity 
 and foresight. Everything is indicative of their having been 
 in constant danger from the depredations and invasion of some, 
 to us unknown, enemies, as they built no stairs, cut no steps, 
 simply hollowed out slight foot and hand holds, by means of 
 which and ladders they ascended and descended to their dwell 
 ings. The walls were strongly built of stones, cemented 
 together, and in some cases balconies made of logs and covered 
 with bark and adobe projected over the cliffs. The doors were 
 odd "T" shaped openings so built to admit easy entrance to 
 the large carrying paniers in which all their provisions were 
 brought to their homes. The living rooms are in most cases 
 circular, with a low stone seat running about the sides, fitted 
 with hollowed-out stone closets, and having fire-places in the 
 center. Under separate ledges of rock are small, unlighted rooms 
 where grain was stored. 
 
 From bones and mummies found in the ruins it is proved 
 that they were a large, well-developed race, fully equal in size 
 
THE HIGH TOWER. 
 
5 
 
 to the men of to-day. The heads were well formed, and 
 denote a more than ordinary degree of intelligence, with rather 
 refined faces, fair skin, and fine hair, often light and totally 
 different from most of the modern Indian races now known, 
 excepting, perhaps, the Zuni Puehlo Indians the most remark 
 able living representatives of the native tribes of America, of 
 whom they are claimed to be, and that, with great possibility, 
 the direct ancestors. Their homes were fortresses, where they 
 lived secure and tilled a living from the rich soil of the table 
 lands above them. Corn, beans, pumpkin and squash seeds 
 found in the houses show their chief articles of food, while 
 the many implements used and their granaries indicate their 
 agricultural spirit. They had water reservoirs and irrigating 
 canals, crude but clever provision against the dry climate of the 
 country which requires heavy irrigation to perform the duty of 
 rains in other locations. 
 
 Though undoubtedly agriculturally inclined they cultivated 
 only small gardens, yielding sufficient sustenance for absolute 
 necessity. Probably their time was too fully taken up in defend 
 ing themselves against their enemies to admit of their engaging 
 in extensive out-door work, and with their primitive implements 
 it was impossible to cultivate a great amount of ground. It 
 must have been a great hardship for them to live in their 
 almost inaccessible homes, and farm the land above them, 
 necessitating carrying all implements and products up and 
 down the steep cliffs. 
 
 Among their products was wild cotton, and this they wove 
 into cloth which they used for clothing and wrappings for their 
 dead. They dressed in coarse garments of yucca fibre, woven 
 together with feathers and hair, and encased their feet in rough, 
 sandals also made from yucca, bound with a stout twine made of 
 
_7 
 
 the twisted fibre. About their necks they wore ornaments ever 
 dear to the primitive heart, made of turkey bones, shells, and 
 small smooth pebbles, drilled through and strung together with 
 fibre. Some of their sandals were artistically woven in delicate 
 raised piitterns and in different colors; a most admirable product 
 of patience and handiwork when the coarseness of the material is 
 kept in mind. They carried their babies on their backs, strapped 
 to a baby-board similar to the ones now used among certain 
 tribes, made of bent wood, woven across with yucca fibre. 
 
 Their axes were of stone with edges of sufficient sharpness 
 for felling trees, bound about with flexible wood, twisted to form 
 the handle, but almost as indispensable were the paddles and 
 knee-boards used in beating and rolling the ever necessary yucca. 
 
 They ate with stone knives, and spoons made of bone, and 
 cooked their food in earthen vessels, which they made by twisting 
 a small roll of wet clay round and round in coils, then pinching 
 it down and shaping it into large vessels. They manufactured 
 other pottery in the shape of drinking cups, vases, and lamps, 
 some of them highly decorated in red and black, most of the 
 patterns being geometrical. A few bowls bear figure designs of 
 men and animals, but nothing which would throw any light upon 
 the characters or pursuits of the people, being merely roughly 
 drawn pictures. 
 
 They used needles of bone and thread of yucca fibre and 
 cotton, darned their clothing and mended their sandals in a very 
 civilized fashion. 
 
 They were not a warlike people their fighting was simply 
 done in defense. Arrows of reed, with hard wood or flint 
 points with strong bows of sinew, were their chief implements, 
 of war, and the small number of these found is indicative of 
 their naturally quiet and peaceable natures, which only rose up 
 
SPECIMENS OF LAMPS. VESSELS FOR HOLDING GRAIN, 
 
 DECORATED DRINKING VESSELS. 
 
 f 
 
 DECORATED VESSELS. 
 
 MORTARS AND PESTLES. 
 
9 
 
 to defend themselves against the attacks of thsir foes. Their 
 dead were buried in stone chambers, tightly sealed and protected 
 from the air. The bodies were first wrapped in skin or coarse 
 cotton cloth, outside was a wrapping of feather cloth, then mat 
 ting, and lastly a binding of reeds. Buried, as they were, in 
 the peculiarly dry earth and rarified air of Colorado, the bodies 
 are in a more perfect state of preservation than most mummies, 
 and give the strongest insight into the personality of this long- 
 vanished people. How and why, they became extinct is a puzzle 
 to all explorers. That they were quite a numerous race is evi 
 dent from the great size and number of their buildings, which 
 could only have been built by many hands. Some scientists 
 advance the theory that some dreadful plague broke out among 
 them, totally destroying the whole nation, but there is little if 
 any proof to substantiate this belief. Others think that an 
 opposing horde of invaders swept down upon them. It is, 
 however, advanced, with much to prove this theory, that the 
 remains of decimated bands found safety in emigration and 
 have become, under the influence of time, climate, and different 
 surroundings, the Zuni Pueblo Indians of to-day. 
 
WETMEWLL MAP OF 
 
 RIO DE LOS MANGOS 
 
 AD ITS 
 
 TRIBUTARY CANONS 
 
 EXPLORED BY THE 
 
 M JAY SMiTh PARTY- 
 
 ARIZONA 
 
"SHE," ONE OF THE FIRST MUMMIES FOUND. 
 
 THE CLIFF DWELLERS EXHIBIT 
 
 . AT THE . 
 
 WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 
 
 The exhibition of this collection is one of the first success 
 ful attempts ever made in bringing within the easy understanding 
 of the visitor one of the most interesting branches of archaeology. 
 
 Anthropology and its allied sciences have been heretofore 
 considered the domain of the scholar and scientist, and but few 
 persons have attempted to study the fascinating history of the 
 primitive man, his habits, his handiwork, his life. 
 
 (13) 
 
SPECIMENS OF POTTERY. 
 
 LADLE-SHAPED VESSELS. 
 
la 
 in the study of the Cliff Dwellers we find a special interest, 
 as they represent, no doubt, the earliest civilization of the Ameri 
 can continent. 
 
 The preparation of the Cliff Dwellers Exhibit was under 
 taken nearly two years ago by the H. Jay Smith Exploring 
 Company. Careful survey of the caiions of Colorado and Utah 
 and the collection of specimens from the ruins was carried on 
 with success for several months and the construction of the 
 building and arrangement of the exhibit required a long time 
 and the untiring labors of a skilled company of artists. 
 
 The outside of the building represents Battle Rock Mount- 
 .ain, a weird and solitary landmark in the desert of South 
 western Colorado. 
 
 The representation of this mysterious and legendary rock 
 has been admitted to be an excellent selection for the building to 
 contain the priceless mementos of a long vanished race. 
 
 Upon entering the gateway made to represent one of the 
 dwellings of the cliffs, one finds himself in the celebrated Mancos 
 Canon; rocks covered with the yucca plant and the sage-brush 
 rise on both sides to the height of seventy feet, and in the recesses 
 of the tumbling sandstone are reproduced on a scale of one-tenth, 
 the most picturesque ruins bearing the greatest archceologic 
 interest. Cliff Palace, which once harbored over twelve hundred 
 inhabitants, is reproduced on the left with its towers and build 
 ings in ruins, just as they were found by the exploring party on 
 its last visit to the canon where photographs, measurements, and 
 diagrams were made of all the buildings to be reproduced here. 
 On the right, Square Tower House rises to the height of ten 
 superposed stories of dwellings, while on the opposite side of the 
 Canon Balcony House is to be found, exhibiting one of the rare 
 and fast disappearing examples of the cedar balconies to be found 
 
STONE AXES AND HAMMERS. 
 
 CARVED STONE USED FOR HOLD 
 ING ROPE LADDER. 
 
 
 STONE KNIVES, DAGGER, ARROW POINTS. 
 
17 
 
 in the region. Further on is High House, one of the most 
 inaccessible refuges of the persecuted Cliff Dweller. 
 
 In an artificial underground cave panoramic paintings of 
 Ruin Castle, Spruce Tree House, Long House, She House, and 
 Cliff Palace may be seen. These excellent canvasses, the work 
 of a young artist, who joined the party and made careful sketches 
 on the spot, add great interest to the collection. Specially con 
 trived means of lighting add much to the reality of the scenes 
 depicted and give to the visitor a fair idea of the rarified and 
 clear atmosphere of Colorado. 
 
 Coming out of the cave, "estufas" and living rooms are 
 reproduced in exact size, and show the material, the construction 
 of the dwellings, assembly rooms, kitchens, graves, and granaries. 
 Beyond is the museum, where no pains have been spared to 
 arrange and exhibit upward of two thousand specimens bearing 
 directly upon the subject. "She," one of the first and best 
 preserved mummies found in the grave of the ruin called 
 afterward the She House is the centre of a rare and complete 
 collection of mummies. This department comprises mummies of 
 men, women, children, skulls and hair, burial robes, and wrappings. 
 
 The pottery exhibit is most complete, and comprises all that 
 could be desired from very large and beautiful specimens of 
 the coil-ware, used for cooking, to the decorated vessels, used 
 for drinking or storing grain; some of the vessels are most 
 ornate. On one vase a Cliff Dweller is seen hunting deer with 
 bow and arrows; on a drinking vessel the picture of a dancing 
 figure is represented, while on another turkeys ornament the 
 handle of a drinking cup. The interior of many vases are 
 decorated with geometrical patterns circles, squares, and lines 
 wreathes of leaves in black and red. In one case a small jug 
 is inlaid with square pieces of mother pearl. 
 
, 
 
-19 
 
 Their agricultural pursuits are represented by numerous 
 packages of seeds, beans, pumpkins and squashes, corn and corn 
 cobs, planting, sticks, and other implements. 
 
 Their knowledge of textile weaving is shown by pieces 
 of a loom, wild-cotton cloth of great fineness cloth, woven 
 from the fibre of the yucca plant, and pieces of garments, 
 probably used as leggings, made of Yucca fiber interwoven 
 with human hair; a piece of a burial robe shows a delicate 
 weaving of yucca colored in yellow, black, and probably white; 
 proving that in weaving, as well as in the art of the potter, 
 they had reached a certain knowledge of decoration and 
 arrangement of color. 
 
 The basket-making is also largely represented and shows 
 great dexterity in handling the rough fibre of the yucca. Over 
 ninety pairs of sandals show the diversity of manufacture from' 
 the rough sand shoe made of the full leaf of the yucca, to 
 finely woven and decorated sandals. 
 
 The remains of a ceremonial head-band prove that they 
 had religious rites of some nature, while a gaming-stick, 
 similar to the one used in the "Pachisi" game of India, and 
 the " Ta-sho-li-w6 " of the Zunis, show that gambling was not 
 unknown to them. 
 
 Several fine specimens of feather-cloth and buckskin gar 
 ments denote their fondness for ease and comfort, and the 
 rare stone axes, bows, arrows, and sling-shots found give 
 additional proof to their peaceful pursuits and may also give 
 a cue to the mysterious disappearance of this once great nation, 
 which was possibly annihilated by more warlike tribes sur 
 rounding it. 
 
F 
 
CLIFF CANON, COLORADO. 
 
La Monte- O'DonneU Co., Printers, Chicago 
 
 12 7601