The interior of the ruin is divided into a number of inclosures by partitions at right angles to the front wall, fastening it to the face of the cliff. This I have lettered, beginning at the extreme right inclosure with A. The inclosure has bounding walls, built on a bowlder somewhat more than six feet high. It has no external passageway, and probably the entrance was from the roof. This inclosure communicates by a doorway directly with the adjoining chamber, B. The corner of this room, or the angle made by the lateral with the front walls, is rounded, a constant feature in well-built cliff houses. No windows exist, and the upper edge of both front and lateral walls is but slightly broken.
The front wall of inclosure B bulges into bow-shape form, and was evidently at least two stories high. This wall is a finely laid section of masonry, composed of large, rough stones in the lower courses, upon which smaller, roughly hewn stones are built. It is probable, from the large amount of débris in the neighborhood, that formerly there were rows of single-story rooms in front of what are now the standing walls, but the character of their architecture is difficult to determine with certainty. Their foundations, although partially covered, are not wholly concealed.
The front wall of inclosure B is pierced by three openings, the largest of which is a square passageway into the adjoining room, and is situated in the middle of the curved wall. A wooden lintel, which had been well hewn with stone implements, still remains in place above this passageway, and under it the visitor passes through a low opening which has the appearance of having been once a doorway. Above this entrance, on each side, in the wall, is a square hole, which originally may have been the points of support of floor beams. Formerly, likewise, there was a large square opening above the middle passageway, but this has been closed with masonry, leaving in place the wooden beam which once supported the wall above. The upper edge of the front wall of inclosure B is level, and is but little broken except in two places, where there are notches, one above each of the square holes already mentioned. It is probable that these depressions were intended for the ends of the beams which once supported a combined roof and floor.
On the perpendicular wall which forms the rear of inclosure B, many feet above the top of the standing front walls, there are several pictographs of Apache origin. The height of these above the level of the former roof would appear to indicate the existence of a third story, for the hands which drew them must have been at least 15 feet above the present top of the standing wall.
The front of C is curved like that of inclosure B, and is much broken near the foundations, where there is a passageway. There is a small hole on each side of a middle line, as in B, situated at about the same level as the floor, indicating the former position of a beam. Within the ruin there is a well-made partition separating inclosures B and C.
The size of room D is much less than that of B or C, but, with the exception of a section at the left, the front wall has fallen. The part which remains upright, however, stands like a pinnacle, unconnected with the face of the cliff or with the second-story wall of inclosure C. It is about 20 feet in height, and possibly its altitude appears greater than it really is from the fact that its foundations rest upon a bowlder nearly six feet high ([plate cx]).
The foundations of rooms E and F ([plate c]) are built on a lower level than those of B and C or D, and their front walls, which are really low, are helped out by similar bowlders, which serve as foundations. The indications are that both these inclosures were originally one story in height, forming a wing to the central section of the ruin, which had an additional tier of rooms. There is an entrance to F at the extreme left, and the whole room was lower than the floor of the lower stories of B, C, and D.
The most conspicuous pictograph on the cliff above Ruin i of Palatki, is a circular white figure, seen in the accompanying illustration. This pictograph is situated directly above the first room on the right, A, and was apparently made with chalk, so elevated that at present it is far above the reach of a person standing on any of the walls. From its general character I am led to believe that it was made by the Apache and not by the builders of the pueblo.
There were no names of white visitors anywhere on the walls of Palatki, which, so far as it goes, affords substantial support of my belief that we were the first white men to visit this ruin. While it can not be positively asserted that we were the original discoverers of this interesting building, there is no doubt that I was the first to describe it and to call attention to its highly characteristic architectural plan.
The walls of Palatki are not so massive as those of the neighboring Honanki, and the number of rooms in both ruins which form Palatki is much smaller. Each of these components probably housed not more than a few families, while several phratries could readily be accommodated in Honanki.