“The final tragedy of the cliff dwellers probably occurred at Cliff Palace. There is scarcely room to doubt that the place withstood an extended siege. In the entire building only two timbers were found by us. All of the joists on which floors and roofs were laid had been wrenched out. These timbers had been built into the walls and are difficult to remove, even the little willows on which the mud roof and upper floors were laid were carefully taken out. No plausible reason for this has been advanced except that it was used for fuel.
“Another strange circumstance is that so many of their valuable possessions were left in the rooms and covered with the clay of which the roofs and upper floors were made.... It would seem that the intention was to conceal their valuables so that their enemies might not secure them.... There were many human bones scattered about, as though several people had been killed and left unburied....
“It seems to me there can be no doubt that the cliff dwellers were exterminated by their more savage and warlike neighbors, the men being killed and the women being adopted into the tribe of the conquerors, though in some cases migrations may have become necessary as a result of drouth or pressure from outside tribes.”
Mr. Mason did not realize how near the truth he was when he suggested that, “migrations may have become necessary as a result of drouth or pressure from outside tribes.”
Cliff Palace
When the cowboys entered Cliff Palace on December 18, 1888, the great ruin did not look as it does in this picture. This view, taken from the south end of the ruin, shows its present condition. In 1888, the courts, passageways and rooms were deep with the rubble of fallen walls and collapsed roofs. This debris was removed in 1909, and only the standing walls remain today.
THE DISCOVERY OF SPRUCE TREE HOUSE
After discovering Cliff Palace the two cowboys decided to separate and search for more ruins. Mason rode off to the north while Wetherill went more to the west. After riding a short distance Wetherill came to the rim of a small canyon. Riding around the head of the canyon and looking back under the eastern cliff he saw another great cliff dwelling, pictured below. Since it was late afternoon he did not enter the ruin but returned to the camp near Cliff Palace.
While not as large as Cliff Palace, this second cliff dwelling, which they later named Spruce Tree House, was in a better state of preservation. Many of its walls still stood at their original height, touching the roof of the cave. Several of the rooms had their original ceilings. Spruce Tree House has since proved to be the best preserved large cliff dwelling in the Mesa Verde.