Indians of the Mesa Verde

by Don Watson

It was a strange month the four cowboys spent in Cliff Palace in that winter of 1888-89. In the midst of a silent snow-covered wilderness they lived in and explored an ancient city that was unknown to the civilized world. Centuries earlier it had sheltered the Indians. Now it sheltered the newcomers. Untouched by wind and snow they pried into the secrets of the ancient people.

Within a short time after discovery the great ruin received its name. Some of the early writers gave Richard Wetherill credit for christening it but in later years John Wetherill gave the credit to Charles Mason. In all probability we shall never know who deserves the credit but we may feel sure the name indicates the feelings those early explorers had about the greatest of all cliff dwellings.

Cliff Palace was the name they gave it, an inspiring name for the greatest structure the Mesa Verde people ever built. It is not especially appropriate for the great ruin was never a palace. Instead, it was a small city, the dwelling place of hundreds of people. But the name was the choice of the men who first explored it and it reflects their feelings toward the ancient structure.

Now we must pause for a moment. The story of the discovery of the cliff dwellings would not be complete if we were to go further without admitting that there are some uncertainties. Many years after the events we have just witnessed were a matter of record, other men came forward with claims that they had seen Cliff Palace before 1888. Even the various Wetherill brothers did not agree entirely in their stories about the discovery of the ruins. As a result, there is a certain amount of confusion concerning the events of those early days.

But the two events we have just witnessed can be accepted without the slightest doubt. Jackson was in Two-Story Cliff House in 1874, and Charles Mason and Richard Wetherill were in Cliff Palace in 1888. No one has ever questioned the claims of these men.

Jackson was travelling with a scientific party sent out by the government. He photographed Two-Story Cliff House and other small cliff dwellings in the Mancos Canyon and in the following year published the pictures and descriptions of the ruins in a scientific report. So to Jackson goes credit for the discovery of the first small cliff dwellings of the Mesa Verde. If John Moss, who was Jackson’s guide, or other early explorers were in the ruins before 1874, no record has come down to us.

It is equally certain that Charles Mason and Richard Wetherill were in Cliff Palace in 1888, for they announced their discovery immediately. The account which has been given here has come directly from written records left by Charles Mason and John Wetherill, and from personal interviews with the two men.

In 1935, Mason visited the Mesa Verde for the last time. In spite of his 74 years he was active and alert and the events of the early days were clear in his mind. We drove along the canyon rims and without hesitation he pointed out the cliff from which he and Richard Wetherill had first seen Cliff Palace. For an hour we sat in the sun as he recalled the events of that day, December 18, 1888, when he and Richard had sat there on their horses, gazing in amazement at the great ruin.

“We had heard of Cliff Palace before we saw it,” he said. “A Ute Indian, named Acowitz, had told us about it and we had always hoped to find it. The Utes were afraid of the ruins because of the spirits of the old people that they believed were in them. If we wanted to keep the Utes out of our camp we just put a skull up on a stick and they wouldn’t come near.”

Remembering the problems they had with their cattle, he added, “Hunting cattle in those days was no easy job. They were as wild as deer and the country was rough. Once we spent a week chasing them and all we got back to town was an old cow and her calf. We shot lots of them like deer and packed the meat out.”