Ruins testifying to the former greatness of these people are scattered around them. Three miles to the east of the present pueblo of Zuñi, on the bluff seen in the cut, are the ruins of a larger pueblo, which is called Old Zuñi. Mr. Whipple, who explored this field of ruins, thus describes his visit: “The projecting summit of the cliffs seemed inaccessible. . . . We followed a trail which, with great labor, had been hammered out from seam to seam of the rocks along the side of the precipice. At various points of the ascent, where a projecting rock permitted, were barricades of stone walls, from which the old man7 told us they had hurled rocks upon the invading Spaniards. Having ascended one thousand feet, we found ourselves upon a level surface, covered with thick cedars. . . . The top of the mesa was of an irregular figure, a mile in width, bounded upon all sides by perpendicular bluffs. . . . The guide hurried us on half a mile further, where appeared the ruins of a city, indeed. Crumbling walls, from two to twelve feet in height, were crowded together in confused heaps, over several acres of ground. . . . Upon examining the pueblo, we found the standing walls rested upon ruins of greater antiquity.8 The primitive masonry, as well as we could judge, must have been about six feet thick. The more recent was not more than a foot or a foot and a half, but the small sandstone blocks had been laid in mud mortar with considerable care.”9
The descriptions of ruins have so much that is similar that repetitions become tiresome. We will not, therefore, delay much longer with Zuñi. A few miles east of Old Zuñi we come to Pescado Springs, near which are the ruins of several pueblos. “This spring bursts from a broken point of the lava bed, and at once becomes a pretty stream, glittering with great numbers of the finny tribe, which gives name to it. The circular wall which once inclosed the fountainhead is now partly broken down. Upon each side, and almost tangent, are ruins of pueblos so ancient that the traditions of present races do not reach them. They are nearly circular in form, and of equal dimension. One measured three hundred and fifteen short paces, about eight hundred feet, in circumference. They were of stone; but the walls have crumbled, leaving only a heap of rubbish.”10
Following up this stream, other ruins were found. It seems, then, that in the pueblo of Zuñi we have left a pitiful remnant of a numerous people. When the Spaniards first appeared on the scene they were apparently prosperous. The rapid decrease of the Pueblo tribes was owing to several causes. In 1680 they made an attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke. At first this was successful. But inter-tribal warfare at once set in. At this time also the inroads of the Apaches and Navajos became so troublesome that the Pueblo tribes could not successfully cultivate their land. At this time also a succession of dry years set in, and famine was the result. Their customs and manners we will describe in another place. There are many reasons for supposing that the country had been inhabited for a very long period, even before the Spaniards invaded it. Some places must have been even then in ruins, or, if inhabited, it is very strange that the Spanish records do not mention them. Such, for instance, is Inscription Rock, about fifteen miles east of Old Zuñi, which the Spaniards must have passed when on their way back and forth to Zuñi.
The small mesa here ends with a bold front of white sandstone rock, rising almost vertically two hundred and fifty feet high. This cut gives us a view on the top of the table-rock. We see here the foundations of two old buildings. A deep ravine nearly divides this little plateau into two portions. As we have said, this rises with a bold, precipitous front from the plain. At one place this front is completely covered with inscriptions. Here the Indians, unknown years ago, made their strange hieroglyphics which, presenting to our eyes only a senseless combination of forms of animals and men and meaningless figures, may have conveyed to them knowledge of important events. A great many Spanish inscriptions have also been carved on the rock. Whipple calls attention to the fact that though Spanish inscriptions placed there nearly two hundred years ago, seem but slightly affected by atmospheric action, still some of the Indian hieroglyphics are “almost wiped out by the fingers of time.” A number of centuries have probably rolled away since they were inscribed.
It may be interesting to know the reading of some of these old inscriptions. A translation of one of the earliest and longest is here given, with the exception of a few words which could not be made out: “Bartolome Narrso, Governor and Captain-general of the province of New Mexico, for our lord, the king, passed by this place on his return from the pueblo of Zuñi, on the 29th of July, of the year 1620, and put them in peace, at their petition, asking the favor to become subjects of his majesty, and anew they gave obedience; all of which they did with free consent, knowing it prudent as well as very Christian, . . . to so distinguished and gallant a soldier, indomitable and famed; we love . . .”11
It is somewhat strange to meet thus in the interior of the United States with the record of a military expedition some months before the Puritans landed at Plymouth. There seems to be nothing especial to describe about the ruins. Both Simpson and Whipple notice that the masonry seems to be unusually good. As it must have been very difficult to procure water, the location must have been chosen solely for the protection it afforded. The early Spanish accounts contain the names of one hundred and twenty-six pueblos. Some are, however, mentioned two or three times. Mr. Bandelier has succeeded in identifying every one. The Rio Puerco Valley was never a very prosperous one, and the river is scarcely a permanent one. At present a few ruins at Poblazon, for instance, are to be seen, and the valley looks poor and barren.