Major J. W. Powell, in his journal of
explorations, writes that when he and his party reached the mouth of the
Uinta River, they went up to the agency of the Indians of the same name.
While visiting the Indians, and noting their fertile, irrigated farms, he
found many evidences that "this beautiful valley has been the home of a
people of a higher grade of cultivation than the present Utes. On our way
here yesterday, we discovered, in many places along the trail, fragments of
pottery, and wandering about the little farms to-day I find the foundations
of ancient houses and mealing stones that were not used by nomadic people,
as they are too heavy to be transported by such tribes, and are deeply
worn. The Indians, seeing that I am interested in these matters, take pains
to show me several other places where these evidences remain, and tell me.
that they know nothing about the people who formerly dwelt here. They
further tell me that up in the Canyon the rocks are covered with pictures."
Ancient Dwellings. When Powell and his party reached the junction of the
San Juan with the Colorado, they might have found a large number of ancient
dwellings in the cliffs not far away from where Bluff City now stands.
Further on, when the Bright Angel was discovered (the beautiful stream and
canyon on the north side of the Canyon directly opposite El Tovar), the
story of which is told in a separate chapter, Major Powell went up a little
gulch, just above Bright Angel Creek, about two hundred yards from their
camp on the Colorado, and there he discovered the ruins of two or three old
houses, which were originally of stone, laid in mortar. Only the
foundations were left, but irregular blocks, of which the houses were
constructed, were found lying scattered about. In one room he found an old
mealing stone, deeply worn, as if it had been much used. A great deal of
pottery was strewn around, and old trails, which in some places were deeply
worn into the rocks, were seen.
Ruins of a Village. Between the foot of what is now the Bright Angel Trail
and Bass's Cable Crossing, Major Powell discovered another group of ruins.
"There was evidently quite a village on this rock. Again we find the
mealing stones, and much broken pottery, and up in a little natural shelf
in the rock, back of the ruins, we find a globular basket, that would hold
perhaps a third of a bushel. It is badly broken, and, as I attempt to take
it up, it falls to pieces. There are many beautiful flint chips, as if this
had been the home of an old arrow-maker."
Old Gardens. Later, when white men began to go down the trail now known as
the Bright Angel Trail (the one near to El Tovar), the remnants of gardens,
with irrigating ditches, in which small pieces of Indian pottery were
scattered about, were discovered. The place is known today as Indian
Garden, and is seen from the upper porch of the hotel.
Stone Huts. In his account of Powell's second expedition, Dellenbaugh tells
of ancient ruins found below Labyrinth Canyon. "Small huts for storage were
found there in the cliffs, and on a promontory, about thirty feet above the
water, were the ruins of stone buildings, one of which, twelve by twenty
feet in dimensions, had walls still standing about six feet high. The
Canyon here was some six hundred feet high, though the top of the plateau
through which the Canyon is carved is at least fifteen hundred feet above
the river. We discovered the trail by which the old Puebloans had made
their way in and out. Where necessity called for it, poles and tree-trunks
had been placed against the rocks to aid the climbers. Some of our party
trusted themselves to these ancient ladders, and with the aid of a rope
also, reached the summit." These Indians had tilled a small piece of arable
land in an alcove near by.
An Old Indian Fortress. Hance found a number of cliff ruins and the
remnants of old houses on and near his trail, and on the Red Canyon Trail.
It was the discovery of an old Indian lookout fortress, located on the very
edge of the Canyon where Bass Camp now is, that led Bass to hunt for the
trail into the Canyon. This fortress is about fifteen feet square, outside
measurement, and consists of one room, twelve feet square, with a lookout
in the eastern wall, which is still to be seen. Remnants of the walls still
stand, and at one corner are fully ten feet high. About a mile below this
fortress, were discovered two large native water-storage tanks or
reservoirs, which, when cleaned out, were capable of holding many hundreds
of gallons of water. Further down, on the plateaus beneath, several large
pits for the cooking of mescal were discovered.
Cooking of Mescal. This mescal is the succulent and sweet inner leaf of the
agave deserti, which is found in large quantities in this region. The
Indians still prepare it in the same manner as did their forefathers. The
larger thick leaves are taken from the plants when they are full of sap.
Great pits are dug and lined with rocks. Into these pits dry wood, roots,
pine cones, etc., are thrown and set on fire, until the whole oven is
thoroughly heated. On the hot rocks are then laid the pulpy stalks of the
agave; over these is placed a layer of wet grass; then more agave or mescal
leaves, more grass, and so on, until the pit is full. Then the oven and its
contents are banked over with earth, and allowed to steam and cook for
three or four days. The woman in charge is an expert in determining when
her "bread is baked." She thrusts stalks of the agave into the heart of the
pit before it is finally closed up, and when she deems "time up," she pulls
forth one of these stalks.
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