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Title: El Morro Trails
El Morro National Monument, New Mexico
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: July 21, 2021 [eBook #65891]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
Produced by: Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EL MORRO TRAILS ***
_El Morro Trails_
EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW MEXICO
PRICE: 50 CENTS IF YOU TAKE THIS BOOKLET HOME
[Illustration: _Inscription Rock, El Morro National Monument_]
Introduction
In the year 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado came up from Mexico with
some 350 Spanish soldiers and crossed southeastern Arizona to Zuñi, a
pueblo 30 miles west of El Morro. Breaking up into several groups, they
went eastward 70 miles to Acoma Pueblo and thence to the Rio Grande. At
least one of the groups probably passed El Morro enroute.
The first known historical mention of El Morro is found in the journal
of Diego Pérez de Luxán, chronicler of the Espejo expedition of 1583.
Luxán stopped here for water on March 11 of that year.
For some 300 years, hundreds of Spanish soldiers and priests, enroute
between Santa Fe and Zuñi, and the Hopi villages farther north, passed
El Morro. Many left names and notations about themselves carved into the
soft sandstone.
After 1849, American soldiers, emigrants, freighters, and adventurers
camped here because of the never-failing waterhole. In 1906, El Morro
was set aside as a National Monument and additional name carving was
prohibited.
The name “El Morro” simply means “the headland” or “the bluff,” and
refers to the appearance of this mesa-point from a distance.
KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL
_El Morro Trails_
INSCRIPTION ROCK TRAIL
The trail begins directly behind the Monument headquarters, and climbs
gradually toward the rock. Just follow the arrows and _do not hurry_. It
is 7,200 feet above sea level here, and the altitude may bother some of
you. The hike past the inscriptions and back to the office normally
takes from 30 to 40 minutes.
After viewing the inscriptions, you may, if you wish, continue up over
the top of the rock and visit two large prehistoric Indian ruins. This
extra hike will take you another 1 to 1½ hours.
Starting near the base of the mesa the trail has been marked with
numbered stations which match the numbered paragraphs in this booklet.
Read and enjoy yourself as you walk.
No one has ever been bitten here, but watch along the path for
rattlesnakes.
Please leave the Monument as neat as you found it.
1. If you look closely at the rock, about 12 feet above the ground,
you will see some notches cut into the sandstone. These are footholds.
Probably most Indians came to the pool by the long, safe way, but
others, caring more for their thirst than their lives, came down from
the mesa top through the high notch to the right and above you.
Do not, under any circumstances, try coming down this short way—the
rock is extremely slippery. If you go to the top, stay on the marked
trail.
2. Now you see why travelers stopped here. There is no spring; the
pool is fed largely by rain falling in July, August, and September, and
by melting snows. When full it is about 12 feet deep and holds about
200,000 gallons of water.
DO NOT THROW ANYTHING INTO THE POOL!
If you look closely around the walls at about eye level, even on the far
side, you can see names carved into the rock. Most of these date from
1850 to 1900, and were the work of emigrants and soldiers.
How did they get over there? In the early days, there was probably a
sandbank around the edge, and people could ride or walk around the pool.
In 1942, a heavy rock fall filled the waterhole. When the sand and
rubble were removed, the old dam was reinforced and lined with concrete.
Do not write or carve on the cliff, and please don’t touch. Touching
the inscriptions causes them to wear away more rapidly.
The mud formations on the face of the rock above the pool are the nests
of cliff swallows. These birds come to El Morro each year to nest and
raise their young.
[Illustration: _The waterhole_]
3. Along the base of the mesa are examples of the predominant types of
trees found in the Southwest. From left to right these are:
(1) One-seed juniper (_Juniperus monosperma_), which can be used for
fenceposts and fuel.
(2) Pinyon pine (_Pinus edulis_), noted for its edible nuts which are
harvested in the fall.
(3) Ponderosa pine (_Pinus ponderosa_), which provides excellent wood
for construction and building purposes.
Watch for black sage (_Artemisia tridentata_) along the right side of
the trail. This is the purple sage of western fiction and is recognized
by the silvery down on the leaves and the purplish color of the shaggy
bark. The strong aromatic odor of sagebrush is especially noticeable
after a rain.
4. In the desert varnish, the darker colored rock, note particularly a
sequence showing hand prints, foot prints and a zig-zag trail going to a
hole in the cliff. This could mean, “Follow the hand and foot trail to
the pool of water.”
The signature of Mr. Long is the most impressive one on the rock. It
appears to have been carved between 1850 and 1862, probably with a knife
after being sketched. Just to your right around the corner, note “Mr.
Engle” in block print and “Mr. Bryn” in script. Engle was Beale’s
second-in-command and Long and Bryn were members of Beale’s company.
5. There is a good account of Mr. P. (Peachy) Gilmer Breckinridge from
the Virginia Historical Society. He graduated from Virginia Military
Institute, and as a young man rode across the continent to California.
In 1857 Lt. Edward Beale was in charge of an expedition testing camels
for use in the American deserts. Breckinridge was in charge of the 25
camels used by Beale when they passed El Morro.
Remaining there only a short time, he rode back to Virginia just in time
to get into the Civil War. He was killed in a skirmish at Kennon’s
Landing, Virginia, in 1863.
[Illustration: _E. Pen Long inscription_]
6. Here you observe a number of very faint Spanish inscriptions which
have never been completely studied. Note the word “año” (year) 1646. To
the right is a lamp-blackened inscription reading “paso por aqui Miguel
Alfaro.” (Passed by here, Miguel Alfaro). A date is not given, nor is
the man yet known to us. Scholars, dating the inscriptions by letter
style, say it was done about 1700.
The round black discs along the bottom of the rock are section markers.
Each one is lettered and they divide the face of the cliff into sections
so the inscriptions can be easily located and recorded.
7. In Spanish, this inscription says: “A veinticinco del mes de junio,
año de 1709 paso por aqui para Zuñi—Ramon Garcia Jurado.” Translated, it
reads:
“On the 25th of the month of June, of this year of 1709, passed by
here on the way to Zuñi—Ramon Garcia Jurado.”
[Illustration: _Ramon Garcia Jurado inscription, 1709_]
You can find Señor Jurado’s name in old Spanish documents. In 1728 he
was the “alcalde mayor” of the Keres district, not far south of Santa
Fe.
To your right is a blackened inscription which reads, translated, “By
here passed Pedro Romero on the 22nd of August, year of 1751.” Little is
known about this Spanish gentleman.
8. “By here passed Andres Romero, of the year 1774.” This Spaniard is
unknown. The date is important because it is apparently the last Spanish
inscription before the coming of the Americans in 1849.
9. Notice the petroglyphs here, in particular the four mountain sheep
and what appears to be a bear paw. These are, of course, far older than
the Spanish inscriptions above them.
The Spanish inscription reads:
“Pasamos por aquí el Sargento Mayor y el Capitan Jude de Archuleta y
el Ayudante Diego Martin Barba y el Alferez Agustin de Ynojos año de
1636.”
Translated, it reads:
“We passed by here, the Sergeant Major and Captain Juan de Archuleta
and Adjutant Diego Martin Barba and Ensign Agustin de Ynojos, the year
of 1636.”
The “Sergeant Major” was not an enlisted man, as now—he was the officer
in direct command of the troops. The ensign was the standard bearer,
corresponding in grade to a second lieutenant.
Barba and Archuleta were accused of aiding a rebellion during one of the
numerous civil disturbances that plagued the Spanish in New Mexico. In
1643 they were beheaded.
10. Here is the oldest and most famous inscription at El Morro. It was
done by the first governor of New Mexico, Don Juan de Oñate, in 1605, 15
years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
In 1604, Oñate rode south with 30 men to the Gulf of California. On his
return the next year, he made his inscription, which reads:
“Paso por aquí el adelantado Don Juan de Oñate del descubrimiento de
la mar del sur a 16 de Abril de 1605.”
The translation reads:
“Passed by here the Governor Don Juan de Oñate, from the discovery of
the Sea of the South on the 16th of April, 1605.”
By “Sea of the South,” Oñate meant Gulf of California, an arm of the
Pacific Ocean. He was not the first Spaniard to see it, of course.
This was not Oñate’s first visit to El Morro—on December 13, 1598, he
passed here from Zuñi with a group of Spanish soldiers, enroute to the
Rio Grande via Acoma.
[Illustration: _Juan de Oñate inscription. 1605_]
Below the Oñate inscription, partly hidden by the yucca plant, is an
inscription that reads:
“By here passed the Ensign Don Joseph de Payba Basconzelos, the year
he brought the cabildo of the realm at his own expense the 18th of
February, of the year 1726.”
What Basconzelos actually meant is not clear to us.
11. Continuing along the cliff, among the many inscriptions and
petroglyphs you will be able to locate a church, stars, crucifixes, a
little cavalry guidon (flag) and the prominent inscription of R. H.
Orton, who was the Adjutant-General of California after the Civil War.
You may also be able to locate the names of Simpson and Kern (but more
about them at post #21.) The Indian Petroglyphs are higher on the rock
because, through the centuries, erosion lowered the ground level.
12. Begin here with the highest set of inscriptions. The ground level
was higher then, as shown by this tree, which surely did not begin
growing on top of a mound! Done by one of New Mexico’s most famous
frontier governors, this inscription reads:
“Aqui estuvo de General Don Diego de Vargas, quien conquisto a nuestra
Santa Fe y a la Real Corona todo el Nuevo Mexico a su costa, Año de
1692.”
or:
“Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy
Faith, and for the Royal Crown, all of New Mexico at his own expense,
year of 1692.”
Twelve years earlier, in 1680, the Pueblo (Indian) revolt had taken
place. Many Spanish were killed and the remainder fled to El Paso. In
1692, de Vargas returned to re-establish Spanish control of the pueblos.
He was later imprisoned for 3 years in the governor’s palace and when
released, restored as governor. He died in Bernalillo in 1704.
Below the de Vargas inscription are three names, “Williamson,”
“Holland,” and “John Udell,” all with the same date of 1858. These men
were members of the first emigrant train to try this new route to
California.
A good account of the trip can be found in the _Journal of John Udell_,
a Baptist preacher who, with his 64-year-old wife, decided to visit his
children in Sacramento. The party, consisting of 40 families and their
equipment, finally reached the Colorado River, only to be attacked by
the Mojave Indians. Several of the group were killed and practically all
of their equipment stolen or burned.
The survivors, including the elderly Udell and wife, returned to
Albuquerque, walking most of the way. They passed El Morro enroute,
arriving in Albuquerque, nearly starved, in November 1858. Remaining
there for the winter, Udell and some of the others again started for
California in 1859 in the company of Lt. Edward F. Beale, famous for his
camel caravan of 1858, which also came west by way of El Morro.
They had no difficulty reaching California, and finding their children
in Sacramento. Mr. Udell is known to have died in the Golden State, a
very old man.
13. The first emigrant train (mentioned in station 12) was led by Mr.
L. J. Rose. He was born in Germany and moved to New Orleans in 1830. He
later moved to Iowa where he became wealthy in the dry goods business.
Rose was wounded by Mojave Indians in the attack mentioned by Udell.
After recovering from his wounds he went to Los Angeles and became one
of its leading citizens.
14. Some of the high carvings have the letters “U. P. R.” written
after them. In 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad ran a survey through
here, but the project was never carried out. The development of the
Santa Fe Railroad 25 miles to the north effectively ended the use of El
Morro as a stopping place.
There is good reason to believe that practically all of the names you
see here on the point date _after_ 1850.
Looking west along the rock, you will note that the inscriptions end
about where the small juniper is growing. Probably the rough surface
beyond the little tree discouraged carving.
But don’t stop here! Some of the best of the early Spanish inscriptions
await you up the path.
15. Slightly to your left, several miles away, is a multi-colored
mesa. It is composed of the same material as El Morro, was formed about
the same time, and is approximately the same height. The brighter colors
are caused by thin films of iron oxide around the sand grains, which are
not conspicuously present in El Morro. Lack of water kept the early
travelers from stopping there.
16. As the saying goes, the writer of this inscription “counted his
chickens before they hatched.” He tells us:
“Year of 1716 on the 26th of August passed by here Don Feliz Martinez,
Governor and Captain General of this realm to the reduction and
conquest of the Moqui (Hopi) and (in his company?) the reverend Father
Friar Antonio Camargo, Custodian and ecclesiastical judge.”
[Illustration: _Don Feliz Martinez inscription, 1716_]
Governor Martinez found the Hopis unwilling to accept Spanish
domination, and after about 2 months of quarreling, (mostly with words
and fist-shaking) the expedition returned, quite unsuccessful, to Santa
Fe.
Now continue on up to the next landing.
17. Because they were written on the same day and seemingly in the
same handwriting, we presume that this inscription and the one to the
west were written by the same man. The first one says:
“The 28th day of September of 1737, arrived here the Bachelor Don Juan
Ignacio of Arrasain.”
The second reads:
“The 28th day of September of 1737, arrived here the illustrious Señor
Don Martin de Elizacochea, Bishop of Durango, and the day following,
went on to Zuñi.”
The good “Bachelor” was a Bachelor of Laws, not necessarily a single
man. The event records one of the first visits to this territory by a
Bishop from Durango, Mexico.
[Illustration: _Don Martin de Elizacochea inscription, 1737_]
[Illustration: _Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Niéto Poem, 1629_]
18. Inscriptions on the north side are difficult to photograph,
because the sun shines around here only a couple of hours per day during
the summer. Here is the only poem on the rock:
“Aqui (llego el Señor) y Gobernor
Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto
Que lo imposible tiene ya subjeto
Su brazo indubitable y su valor
Con los carros del Rey Nuestro Señor
Cosa Que solo el puso en este efecto
De Agostos 5 (Mil) Seiscientos Veinte Nueve
Que se Bien a Zuñi pasa y la Fe lleve.”
The poem, of course does not rhyme when translated into English.
“Here arrived the Señor and Governor
Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto
Whose indubitable arm and valor
Have overcome the impossible
With the wagons of the King our Lord
A thing which he alone put into this effect
August 5, 1629 that one may well to Zuñi
pass and carry the faith.”
19. If you are an enlisted man, you’ll appreciate this one. The first
two lines of the inscription read:
“The 14th day of July 1736 passed by here the General Juan Paez
Hurtado, Inspector.”
The second two lines, no doubt added when the good general’s back was
turned, read:
“And in his company, the Corporal Joseph Trujillo!”
We wonder what ever happened to Corporal Trujillo!
20. You are now looking at the longest and one of the most interesting
inscriptions on the rock, supposedly done by Governor Eulate:
“I am the captain General of the Providence of New Mexico for the King
our Lord, passed by here on the return from the pueblos of Zuñi on the
29th of July the year 1620, and put them at peace at their humble
petition, they asking favor as vassals of his Majesty and promising
anew their obedience, all of which he did, with clemency, zeal, and
prudence, as a most Christian-like (gentleman) extraordinary and
gallant soldier of enduring and praised memory.”
The word crossed out appears to have been “gentleman.” Somebody who knew
the old boy apparently took exception to all this highflown praise.
(That the erasure was done before 1849 can be proved, see Simpson,
next).
21. Lt. J. H. Simpson, an engineer for the army, and Mr. R. H. Kern, a
Philadelphia artist who rode around with the army drawing pictures, were
the first English-speaking people to make a record of Inscription Rock.
[Illustration: _Eulate inscription, 1620_]
[Illustration: _Simpson and Kern inscription, 1849_]
They spent 2 days copying the inscriptions, and stated that when they
were here, not a single English inscription could be found on the rock.
Recall the word “gentleman” crossed out back at Stake No. 20? Mr. Kern’s
drawing faithfully shows the word X’d out just as you saw it.
The Spanish inscription below was done by one of three Spanish soldiers
left to “guard” 2,000 Zuñi Indians in 1699. It reads:
“I am of the hand (that is, written by) of Felipe de Arellano on the
16th of September, soldier.”
In 1700, the Zuñis apparently thought the odds in their favor were good,
so they killed the three Spaniards.
To the right of Arellano’s inscription is a marvel of Spanish
“shorthand.” A good scholar translated it for us. Here it is in both
Spanish and English:
“Se pasaron a 23 de marzo de 1632 años a la venganza de muerte del
Padre Letrado.—Lujan”
The translation reads:
“They passed on the 23rd of March, 1632, to the avenging of the death
of the Father Letrado.—Lujan”
About the year 1629, Father Letrado built the earliest mission chapel at
what we call today Salinas National Monument (near Mountainair, New
Mexico, southwest of Albuquerque).
He was transferred to Zuñi in February of 1632 and was killed just a
week later. On hearing the news in Santa Fe, Lujan and a party of
soldiers reached Zuñi in remarkably fast time.
[Illustration: _Lujan inscription, 1632_]
This is the end of the inscription part of our trail. You may retrace
your steps back to headquarters, or, if you wish, you may continue your
hike on up over the mesa top, past the ruins, and down to headquarters
by the return trail on the other side.
Please stay on the trail
TRAIL TO THE TOP OF THE ROCK AND RUINS
The first stake is some distance along the trail, so keep walking and
watch for it.
1. The cave-like depressions in the side of the rock are created by
water. Rain falling on the top of the mesa enters cracks in the rock,
runs down the cracks (called joints), and comes out of small openings on
the side of the mesa. The water seeping out of the opening gradually
wears away the rock. The freezing of the water in winter and thawing in
summer helps to weaken the sandstone.
The tall trees in the vicinity of this stake are ponderosa pine (_Pinus
ponderosa_). They are readily identified by the needles, which grow two
or three to a cluster. These trees grow in well-watered, protected areas
within the Monument. The larger ones are somewhere between 200 and 300
years old.
2. Here you can stop and catch your breath before beginning the steep
climb. Look at the top of the mesa, to your right, just below the
railing. You can see very clearly two different formations of rock. The
lower is the sandstone called Zuñi formation and the higher is the
Dakota formation. The line between these two formations represents a
time interval of between 25 and 30 million years. More about this later.
Behind the numbered stake near the base of the rock, you will see a
Gambel oak (_Quercus gambelii_). It is commonly associated with
ponderosa pine and is the most abundant oak of the low mountains and
plateaus of the Southwest. It is characterized by its deeply-lobed
leaves, and its habit of growth. It ranges from a shrub to a tree in
size, and is often seen in dense stands, which give it the name of
“scrub” oak in certain localities. Deer and livestock browse this tree,
and small animals use its acorns for food.
3. The policy of the National Park Service is to keep the parks
looking as natural as possible. Since it is natural for dead trees to be
in a forest the ones you see in this area will not be cleaned up. When a
tree falls in a National Park Service area it will lie where it fell and
eventually will decay and supply nourishment for future trees.
4. Take a break here and look at the valley between the multicolored
mesa and the higher parts of the Zuñi Mountains. This valley was formed
by water gradually wearing away the softer rocks of the Chinle
formation. The harder sandstones of El Morro and the adjacent mesa on
the southwest and the sandstones and limestones of the higher slopes
resisted such erosion.
During the last few million years, while the Zuñi Mountains were being
gradually pushed up to their present height, more than 10,000 feet of
sedimentary rocks have been removed from what you see. This has been
done by running water and wind, carrying away the rocks a few particles
at a time. Before that, about 100 million years ago, this entire area,
as far as you can see in any direction, was under the water of an
ancient ocean. Forty million years before that, the sands of El Morro
were accumulating on a broad, desert-like plain, built up by sand
deposition of sluggish, wandering streams, and re-sorted by wind into
large dunes.
Before continuing along the trail, you will notice many small trees
around you which are called pinyon (_Pinus edulis_). These pine trees
have two needles to a cluster and are never tall like the ponderosa
pine. They are usually less than 35 feet in height, and have a rounded,
compact crown. Pinyons are seldom found growing in pure stands but are
associated with various kinds of juniper. Because of the nature of their
growth, heavy stands of pinyon and juniper are often called pigmy
forests. The pinyon produces edible nuts which are abundantly used by
local residents as well as marketed commercially elsewhere in the United
States.
5. Here you can see at close hand the difference between the dark,
upper layers of ocean sands and the light color of the lower and earlier
stream and dune sands. Look here at the cliff above you and a little to
the right. The lower is Zuñi sandstone, of the Jurassic period, and
forms the bulk of El Morro. The upper is Dakota sandstone of Cretaceous
period, representing beach deposits of the ancient sea which covered all
the area. The contact surface between these two units represents a time
interval of between 25 and 50 million years when erosion instead of new
deposition was taking place.
6. Look on the left side of the trail and a little behind you. You
will see a dark green stake that marks one of the four corners of the
unexcavated ruin. Let your eye follow along the top of the incline to
your right and you will see another green stake, another corner. As you
follow the trail on this side of the box canyon, look to your left for
the last two stakes and you can tell how big this ruin is. Please do not
leave the trail.
This village was possibly two or three stories high, but after the
Indians left, the roofs collapsed and the walls fell in. Then the sand
blew in, weeds began to grow, and you see the result.
7. Looking at the cliff wall across this little box canyon, you can
see a definite horizontal line about half way down. The materials above
and below the line were laid down about the same time, but the line
represents a layer of softer material which has weathered away faster.
The reason for the unevenness is that stream channels cut into the
underlying sandstone, and then, as the land slowly settled to allow the
sea to encroach, the channels filled up with sand. The sands were
reworked by waves on the beach and the tops smoothed out and leveled.
Small lagoons and swampy areas formed along the coastline. As you climb
the steps at No. 11, you will cross a small seam of coal-like material
which was formed from one of these swamps.
[Illustration: _The geological disconformity described at Stake 7._]
If you look across the box canyon, on the horizon you will see the ruins
of another village. It was occupied about the same time as the one on
this side of the mesa.
Across the top of the mesa, the trail will be marked with two parallel
lines. Please stay between the lines.
STAY ON THE TRAIL
8. The boulders of mixed colors topping the pedestals of Zuñi
sandstone are the Basal Conglomerate of the Dakota formation. This
involved erosion and reworking of the old surface (Zuñi) plus the
deposition of new materials. Thus some of the light colored particles in
the Dakota are Zuñi sandstone.
The steps cut in the rock were constructed by the National Park Service.
They are not the work of prehistoric Indians.
9. The line, to the left of the post, extending through the rock on
both sides of the mesa, is one of the principal causes of the
development of the box canyon. After El Morro was buried by several
thousand feet of younger rocks, some 60 million years ago, it was
subjected to great pressures from the weight of the overlying rocks and
the movements which caused the Zuñi Mountains to project so far above
sea level. These pressures caused the sandstone to crack into the long
openings which we call joints. As running water and wind gradually
removed the overlying rocks, the waters were able to run down into the
joints and, alternately freezing and thawing, broke up the rock into
small fragments which could be washed away.
If you stand on this line and look down the box canyon to the west, you
can see that each steep canyon wall is simply one side of a joint, while
the material on the other side has been eroded away. If you look
eastward towards the headquarters area, along this joint line, you can
see how El Morro maintains its vertical walls by breaking into blocks
which fall away from the main mass of the sandstone and leave a vertical
joint face. This joint line is different from the others which you may
have noticed in climbing over the rock because it goes so far and cuts
through the rock so deeply.
10. The dark colored splotches are lichens. A lichen is composed of
two different organisms, an alga and a fungus, living together and
supporting each other. The fungus furnishes the moisture for the alga,
and the alga the food for the fungus. This coexistence is known as
symbiosis.
As you walk from No. 10 to 11, you will pass several potholes that
become pools of water after a rain. Some of these were artificially
enlarged by the Indians who lived on the mesa top, to serve as
supplementary sources of water.
11. The dark color here is caused by carbonized remains from the
plants which grew in the ancient swamps. Coal is formed in much the same
way, but there is too much inorganic material in this seam to produce
coal. This is the coal-like seam mentioned at No. 7. On the very top,
the dirt is from the Mancos formation of Cretaceous age, and is composed
of marine shales deposited in the ancient sea which covered the area. It
was originally much thicker, and is younger than any of the other rocks
exposed here.
Immediately ahead and extending to the right for nearly 300 feet is the
ruin called _Atsinna_, a Zuñi word referring to the “writing on rock.”
12. Atsinna, the larger of the two ruins, is approximately 200 by 300
feet, the size of some city blocks. Like the other village, parts of it
probably were three stories high, mainly along the north side. It was
terraced down toward the south, thus providing a southern exposure. You
are standing on the second floor level about ten feet above the original
ground level. The first floor was filled with debris from the collapse
of the upper stories.
The Indians obtained most of their water from the pool at the base of
the rock, as did the later Spanish and American travelers, but they also
caught as much water as they could on the mesa top.
13. This round room, is called a _kiva_. Kivas were built primarily
for religious ceremonial reasons, but had other purposes, just as the
large halls in cities today are used for exhibits, concerts, lectures,
and other activities. In addition to religion, these rooms were used for
workrooms, playrooms, general meeting places, fraternal society
meetings, etc.
[Illustration: _A portion of Atsinna. Part of the square kiva is
shown at lower left_]
Now contrast this round kiva with the square kiva across the trail
toward the northeast. Both kivas served the same functions, but they
represent two different architectural styles or traditions in use at
approximately the same time.
[Illustration: _The box canyon as seen from its eastern end looking
west_]
[Illustration: _Looking out over Inscription Rock from the south_]
Atsinna was occupied during the 13th and 14th centuries. The reason for
the abandonment of this site is not definitely known. Perhaps the
Indians found that the growing seasons were too short at this elevation
and they had too many crop failures. Apparently these people moved to
the west, where they founded the several Zuñi villages known in historic
times. There, around the present pueblo of Zuñi, the growing season is
slightly longer and irrigation can be practiced, and possibly the soil
is more fertile.
The prominent peak on the horizon to the south is called _Cerro Alto_,
which is Spanish for high mountain. This peak is a volcanic cinder cone.
14. The stones you see at this station were used for grinding corn
after it had been dried and stored. The corn was placed on the large
stone called _metate_ and ground with the smaller stone called _mano_.
15. The trail now descends from the mesa top back to the Monument
headquarters. We hope that you have enjoyed your trip over Inscription
Rock. Should you have any questions, the ranger on duty will be happy to
be of assistance.
PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BY
SOUTHWEST PARKS AND MONUMENTS ASSOCIATION
221 NORTH COURT
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85701
[Illustration: SOUTHWEST PARKS AND MONUMENTS ASSOCIATION • NATIONAL
PARK SERVICE]
Southwest Parks and Monuments association was founded in 1938 to aid and
promote the educational and scientific activities of the National Park
Service. As a nonprofit organization authorized by Congress, it makes
interpretive material available to park visitors by sale or free
distribution. All net proceeds support the interpretive and research
programs of the National Park Service.
21st Edition—10M—8/92
[Illustration: Back cover]
Transcriber’s Notes
—Silently corrected a few typos.
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
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