In some cases in Zuñi where drains discharge from the roofs of upper terraces directly upon those below, the lower roofs and also the adjoining vertical walls are protected by thin tablets of stone, as shown in [Fig. 44]. It will be seen that one of these is placed upon the lower roof in such a position that the drainage falls directly upon it. Where the adobe roof covering is left unprotected its destruction by the rain is very rapid, as the showers of the rainy season in these regions, though usually of short duration, are often extremely violent. The force of the torrents is illustrated in the neighboring country. Here small ruts in the surface of the ground are rapidly converted into large arroyos. Frequently ordinary wagon tracks along a bit of valley slope serve as an initial channel to the rapidly accumulating waters and are eaten
away in a few weeks so that the road becomes wholly impassable, and must be abandoned for a new one alongside.
Fig. 44. Zuñi roof drain, with splash stones on roof below.
The shiftlessness of the native builders in the use of the more convenient material brings its own penalty during this season in a necessity for constant watchfulness and frequent repairs to keep the houses habitable. One can often see in Zuñi where an inefficient drain or a broken coping has given the water free access to the face of a plastered wall, carrying away all its covering and exposing in a vertical space the jagged stones of the underlying masonry. It is noticeable that much more attention has been paid to protective devices at Zuñi than at Tusayan. This is undoubtedly due to the prevalent use of adobe in the former. This friable material must be protected at all vulnerable points with slabs of stone in order quickly to divert the water and preserve the roofs and walls from destruction.
[ LADDERS AND STEPS.]
In the inclosed court of the old fortress pueblos the first terrace was reached only by means of ladders, but the terraces or rooms above this were reached both by ladders and steps. The removal of the lower tier of ladders thus gave security against intrusion and attack. The builders of Tusayan have preserved this primitive arrangement in much greater purity than those of Cibola.
In Zuñi numerous ladders are seen on every terrace, but the purpose of these, on the highest terraces, is not to provide access to the rooms of the upper story, which always have external doors opening on the terraces, but to facilitate repairs of the roofs. At Tusayan, on the
other hand, ladders are of rare occurrence above the first terrace, their place being supplied by flights of stone steps. The relative scarcity of stone at Zuñi, suitable for building material, and its great abundance at Tusayan, undoubtedly account for this difference of usage, especially as the proximity of the timber supply of the Zuñi mountains to the former facilitates the substitution of wood for steps of masonry.