THE CLIFF DWELLERS-A FORGOTTEN
PEOPLE AND THEIR RUINS
Homes of a Pre-Historic Peoplc
Lived on the
Special Correspondence of The Courier.
It was with the keenest and bitterest
disappointment of my life that
turned back from the Cliff Dwellers
ruins and bonght a ticket for the
east.
To me there is nothing in this
wonderland of the southwest that
hits so great a fascination as the
abandoned homes of this people we
know not of this people of the dim
days of the past-Hnr accestors, who
uvea in caves, 'lived moon like
beasts, wore only the skins of of ani
mals; lived for thousands of years,
for all we know, came from where
we do not know, and departed
whence we do not know.
Bat I am ahead of my story.
have left mr disappointment with-
ont any reason offered for same, and
gone cliff nnnting.
I saved the Cliff Dwellers and
community houses for the finish of
my trip, well knowing I could find
little to interest me after I had seen
these ruins ruins older than fire.
And I saved them too!long, I saw
them, some of them, but under cir
cumstances that cannot do half jus
tice.
I suppose I should have informed
myself that what little winter New
Mexico has comes the latter part of
February and the first of March, and
had I done so, 1 should have
gone first to these ruins, and then
to Old Mexico. But I didn't take
the pains, and lost out.
But 1 saw the Cliff ruins, despite
the deep snow and howling moun
tain blizzards. I saw them and
climbed up into them, inspected par
lor, bed room and conservatory, sat
. there on the floor in the dust of ages,
sat cross-legged as some cliff-dweller
had sat in the same place thousands
of years ago sat there and looked
across the gorge from the door way
of this pre-hi8toric home, and into
my eyes came a picture
But into my toes came the frost,
and into mv ears came the hail of
the driver below and that picture
of a forgotton past faded, faded be
fore 1 could catch the colors.
Did you ever try to get sentiment
al in a "blizzard? Try it. Did you
ever try for poetry or the muses when
the thermometer was about ten be
low and a freezing driver yelling.
Don't try it nothing to it.
What of the Cliff Dwellers? You
tell. We Americans Know little of
them, and the more I learn of them
the less I know.
Through Arizona and New Mex
ico are hundreds of their ruins. We
know people, human beings, once
lived in them, and that is about all
we do knew. Anybody here can tell
you who they were, where they came
from and where they went to, but
no one will tell you anything that
has even a Bpeaking distance con
nection with what the other fellow
explained, so I read what little I
can find about them, bear a whole
lot of what everybody can tell and
then guess.
I realized what the Buffering and
danger might mean to visit these
ruins in the face of a blizzard and
deep snow, but I could no, come
home without seeing something of
these homes of an extinct people.
So we drove it, wrapped up to the
ears in Navajo blankets and our feet
on foot warmers.
And I saw some of the hojaes of
this vanished people some of the
cave monuments of the men who
populated this Bio Grande valley
and whose history has gone from the
face of the earth.
Under favorable conditions
couldn't a man write his head off
with these surroundings? Sitting
in the homes of these mysterious
people, in the crumbling ruins of
what were once the only human
habitations of this great country of
ours, sitting in the dust of ages and
thinking of the first Americans
who lived, loved and labored here
where wouldn't this pencil run to,
if it were only spring time, if the
frost would stop wrecking my trains
of thought by his yelling that we
must hurry back.
Three hours only in this greatest
of all great museums!
. Three hours only from the cen
turies before a white man's foot ever
touched American soil to the days
of Joe Cannon, 1910. '
I can't attempt a story. . It is all
" to great, so awesome, so mysterious.
Jy pencil is so small.
But it ws fortunate we did not
stay longer. , As it was we were un
able to return to our starting place,
and I was never able to gtt back to
the station, where I left my grip,
'and it was weeks after that I re
. aeived it, sent to me at Salamanca,
N. Y. . ' '
I had planned miles .and miles and
days and days among these rains,
and only had three hoars.
The place where I visited was
where our unknown ancestors had
bnilded their homes many feet up
- - A Vansihed Race, that Once
Rio Grande. .
the side of the cliff dug them back
into the lava rock. It is said that
in the early days when these homes
were dug out, that certain strata
were soft , and that pieces of glass
like lava formation in the hands of
these pre-historio men, served as
chisels to Bcoop out homes, and that
the making was easy. They were
independent of lumber trusts or
nouse lurnisniag cumuioauuiu,
When a voane Cliff Dweller wanted
a home he hunted a soft stratum up
the sidelof a cliff. Me burned off
cedar tree, and used it for a ladder
to climb up, and then he scooped
out a residence. As time wore on,
and doubtless several little Cliffs
showed up, then pa dug out a kitch
en at the back or rather dug out
an extension.
But most of the houses are one
room, built from a shelf of the Cliff,
many feet from the bottom They
ran along like streets, following the
soft strata, and they ran one above
the ether that is they are parallel
streaks of what was once no doubt,
hard and soft strata, the hard stra
ta forming the roof of the dweller
underneath and the floor of the flat
above.
The rooms are small, something
like ten feet square, and from five to
eight feet high. In many of them
one cannot stand erect, and in the
one I occupied I had to stoop when
standing. Very few have loop boles
for windows, and the doors are very
low and just wide enough to squeeze
in. It is evident that doors served
as chimneys also; and I wonder how
Miss Cuff ever squeezed through
without getting her shirt waist
sooty.
These homes were certainly built
for protection. They were built
high so that owners could pun up
by their rope ladders and pull them
after them, and the small doors and
absence of windows plainly indicate
that these were strenuous days and
the Dweller who lived long was he
who had his ladder up and his bow
strung.
When and how they got water is
to me the one weak joint in their ar
mour, and it seems to me all the
enemy would have to do would be to
lay siege to the stream at the foot of
the Cliffs, and kill off the Dwellers
when they came down to fill their
pottery.
My driver had planned a trip ror
me to some of the ruins where he
said probably not a dozen white
meu's feet had ever entered, and
where I could dig for hours with
none to stop me. He sail that he
knew of homes that he did not be.
lieve had ever been explored, and
where one could find no end of pot
tery, relics and the bones of these
our unknown ancestors.
Do you wonder at my disappoint
ment? I looked out of the door
from the Cliff House looked up
thiough the blinding snow at where
there should be a sun, and if ever a
man hoped for a rift in the clouds,
it was the man pushing this pencil.
But there was no hope. The trip
must be abandoned, and in despair I
dug into the dust in the lloor of thd
house, dug into the accumulations
of centuries of solitude, looking for
some little relic of the day when
these myserious people were alive,
and looked from this Cliff House as
I now 1 joked.
But I am going back to these
ruins, going back to live days and
nights in these houses, fgoing back
to raise blisters on my hands in dig
ging for relied. And I am going at
a time when there are no snow storms
in the early days of fall, to chase
out the rock squirrels, and find out
more of these forgotten people.
And then I am going farther west,
into Arizona, and visit the buried
cities there, and the mummy caves.
Yon don't know anything of them,
do you? I did not until I got into
this wonderland, and found that just
a bead of me, no matter how far I
went, were more strange and wonder
ful ruins and sights ruins that to
the utter shame of an American peo
ple are practically without supervis
ion because they are outside the
tourists' path, because they are hid
den in places difficult to get t be
yond the steel highways. '
And there is the Petrified Forest
the Grand Canyon, , the Community
ruins, Death Valley, the Mountain
lions of Cochili all these and many
more of our country's odd spots
and strange corners I hope to visit.
As I look through my note took,
representing a few of the most inter,
esting weeks I ever passed, I note a
variety of notes, little matters of in
terest, crowded out of these letters
by the bigger stories. Next week I
will clean up the book and close the
series of southwest articles. ".
If they have been interesting to
yon at second band, tbey have been
far more so to me, and with the
knowledge I now have of our conn
try's museum, and with the location
Danger In all Liquora.
Philadelphia Record. '
At the regular weekly conference
of the Clerical Brotherhood yester
day morning, at the Church House,
ut. juattnew wood delivered
vigorous address against the use
of intoxicating liquors. After
speaking of the various instruments
recently invented for the observation
of the effects of alcohol upon the
numan system, he said:
"xne accuracy of such ex pen
ments has been corroborated by
many observers. It has bee a
shown that the most temperate use
or alcohol, the glass or two of that
'fine German beer' daily, which Von
Moltke said was a 'more dangerous
enemy to Germany than all tbe
rrencn army, diminishes the work
ing capacity of laboring men. : Tbe
mechanic who drinks even moder
ately can exceed himself from 12 to
20 per cent when abstaining from
anna.
' tares itwi Mae's Life.
The very grave seemed to yawn before
Robert Madsen, e! Weat Burlington, Iowa,
when, after seven weeks in the hospital .four
of the beet physicians gave him up. Then
was shown the marvelous curative power of
Elvctrio Bitters. For. after eicht months
of frightful suffering from liver trouble and
yellow jaundice, getting no help from other
remedies or doctors, hve bottles of this match'
less medicine completely eared him. Its
positively guaranteed for Stomach, Liver or
Kidney troubles and never disappoints.
Only 50c at J. T. Underwood, next door to
Bank of Randolph.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. W.J
Armfield, Jr., of Asheboro, N. C,
who have been visiting their grand
parents here, returned home today.
cntt savs that be came to see the
circus. High Point Enterprise.
Smith-Jones.
Mr. L. H. Smith, of Birmingham,
Alabama, formerly of Liberty, N. C,
was married to miss margaret Jones,
of Walnut Cove, on May 5.. Imme
diately after the wedding, Mr. and
Mrs. Smith, started on a bridal tour
through the South.
Mr. Smith is a son of Mr. Louis
Heniy Smith, of Liberty, and a
brother of Mr. J. Rom Smith, a
member of the House of .Representa
tives in the General Assembly, and
is a prominent young man. Mrs
Smith is a popular young lady hav
ing many friends in Walnut Cove,
ureensboro, and other towns.
Itching Eczema Washed Away
Is 't worth 25 cents to stop that
awrul, agouzing itchr burely you
will spend 25 cents on your drurg
gist's recommendation, to cool and
heal and soothe that terrible ltuhing
eruption?
By arrangement with the D. D. D.
Laboratories of Chicago, we are able
to make a special offer of a 25-cent
bottle of their oil of wintergreen
compound, known as D. D. D. pre
scription. Call, or write, or tele
phone to Standard Drug Go.
We absolutely know that the itch
is stopped AT ONCE by D. D. D.
prescription, ahd the curps all seem
to stay permanent.
Death of Mrs. Woudell.
Mrs. Hannah Woodell, wife of
Mr. Alvis Woodell, died at her home
one mile east of Asheboro, on Thurs
day evening, May 5, after au illness
of only a few hours of paralysis.
Mrs, Woouell was the daughter of
Nathan Moore. She was 68 years
of age, and had been married three
times; firBt, to Mr. William Burrow;
next, to Mr. Jesse McDowell; and
last, to Mr. Alvis Woodell. . Mrs,
Woodell, is eurvivediby hr husband,
onejbrother, Mr. Abner Moore, of
Asheboro; three sisters, Mrs, John
Stoat, of Grant township; Mrs.
Richard Crouch, of High Point; Mrs
Louis Smith, of near Winston-Salem;
two sons, Messrs. Nathan and
Orlendo Burrow, of Asheboro; and
one daughter, Mxi" John Curtis, of
Ore Hill; besides several grand
children. The burial was in old Mt. Tabor
cemetery May 7th. Mrs. Woodell
was for many years a consistent
member of the Primitive Baptist
church, 8he was a good, kind
hearted, unassuming woman, and
had many friends who will sympa
thize with the bereaved husband and
other relatives. " - .
Wfceoplas; Coagk.
This is a more dangerous disease than is
generally presumed. Ji will be a surprise
to many to learn that more deaths result
from it than from scarlet over, Pneumonia
often results from it. Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy has been used in many epidemics
of. whooping cough, sod always with tbe best
rr suits. Delbert MoKeig of Harlan, Iowa,
ays ef it: "My boy took whooping conga
when nine month old. He had it in the
winter.- I got a bottle of Chamberlain's
Cough Remedy which proved good. I can
not recommend it too highly," For sals by
all druggists. !-'. , I , .
of the hidden places of greatest in
terest, I hope in my next visit, in
the coming November, to make tbe
letters of far more interest, and to
give th readers of your papier seme
descriptions and stories dug from
mines little known of.
Barranca, N, M. , M. J. B. ,
Thousands Ha?e KHJnej
Trouble and Never Suspect it
How To Find Out.
Fill a bottle or common glass with your
water and let it stand twenty-four hours;
a brick dust sedi
ment, or settling,
stringy or milky
appearance often
indicates an un
healthy condi
tion of the kid
neys; too fre
quent desire to
pass it or pain in
the back are also symptoms that tell yon
the kidneys and bladder are ont of order
and need attention.
What To So.
There Is comfort in the knowledge so
often expressed, that Dr. Kilmer's
Swamp-Root, the great kidney remedy,
fulfills almost every wish in correcting
rheumatism, pain in the back, kidneys,
liver, bladder and every part of the urinary
passage. Corrects inability to hold water
and scalding pain in passing it, or bad
effects following use of liquor, wine or
beer, and overcomes that unpleasant ne
cessity of being compelled to go often
through the day, and to get up many
times during the night. The mild and
immediate effect of Swamp-Root is
soon realized. It stands the highest be
cause ot its remarkable
health restoring prop,
erties. If you need a
medicine you should
have the best. Sold by
druggists in fifty-cent
ana one-aoiiar sues. hoo.
You may have a sample bottle sent free
bymaiL Address Dr. Kilmer & Co., Bing
hamton, N. Y. Mention this paper and
remember the name, Dr. Kilmer's Swamp
Root, and the address, Binghamton,
N. Y., on every bottle.
Davidson Dispatch.
Mr. Zeb Ray, of Yadkin College,
whose leg was broken last October
while he worked in a glass factory at
High roint, underwent an operation
here last Wednesday which was ne
cessitated by the failure of the bone
to knit. Drs. Hill and Hill, of
Lexington and Dr. Rditzel,of High
foint. performed the operation
Davidson Dispatch.
0&Md
Buyers
Succeed when everything else fails.
In nervous prostration and female
weaknesses they are the supreme
remedy, as thousands have testified.
FOR KIDNEY, LIVER AND
STOMACH TROUBLE
it is the best medicine ever sold
over a druggist's counter.
Welcome Now.
(From the Louisville Courier Journal.)
"Better dodge dat town. Weary.
Tramps ain't popular in towns."
"weain t tramps now: were popu
lation. Don't yonse know de census
i3 being took?"
ice to the Public!
I have purchased the famous Black
Spanish Jack, which bas formally stood in
New Salem, by Mr. Wood, and will stand
him at his stable one mile East of Olenola.
He is a largo and a very fancy jack.
Weiclit about 1000 pounds, aco 7 venrs.
Disposition, kind and centle. Qualities are
of the best. Noted for fine colts.
A. J. SPENCER.
DR. FRANK A.HENLEY
DENTIST
Office in front rooms
over Post Office in
Granford Building,
ASHEBORO, - - N. C.
There are Two Honest Ways
in which a poor man may become
wealthy. One is by saving a part of
his income regularly and putting it
into the bank until it amounts to a
comfortable fortune. The other is by
Having his money tnd investing it in
profitable enterprises. In either case
the bank Is s neceweity. And which
ever way yon try, this bank is glad to
hold out a helping hand sod assist
you in every way possible. Have an
account with us become oae o( our
patrons and see.
THE BANK OF RAMSEUR,
RAM3EUR, N. C.
DIRECTORS. ,
HUGH PARKS, Jr.
J. M.CAVINK88
X.B.LEONARD -BETHUBL
COX
! S. C. W ATKINS
H. B. CARTER
1. 1. CRAVEN
OFFICERS,
W. H. W ATKINS, President
HUGH PARK. Jr.. Vtce-Pretlden "
' 1. F. CRAVEN, Cashier.
H. B, CARTER, Assistant Cashier.
' Hundreds of Jews were massacred
by the Russian peasantry, in Bnch
arest, Ronmania, on April 28.
H. B. Hiatt, M. D.
Physician and Surgeon
. Office over Johnson's Store
McDot-eli Building
AiArtoro. V. C ;
BOYS'
We are still selling Boys'
Suits at greatly reduced
prices and will be gladto
tit you out in this line.
G. W. ELLIOTT'S,
The Big Store . Ra.ndleman.-N. C.
A RECORD ORDER FOR TYPEWRITERS IS
GIVEN THE,
Victor Typewriter Co. for
7,500 Victor Machines.
The Victor Typewriter Company has recently received an order from
the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for
7,500 Victor Typewriters to be delivered to them as soon as possible.
The International Correspondence School has also entered into agree-..
ment with the Victor Typewriter Company to use the Victor exclusively .
in all its offices and among its students. For several years the above
mentioned company has endeavored to find a typewriter suitable to their
needs and after a careful and exhaustive examination of all typewriters on
the market, they decided that the Victor machine fills the requirements of
typewriter users, is better constructed, and possesses more up-to-date prac
tical features than any other machine on the market. A f ter giving the
matter due consideration, they placed the above mentioned order with the
Victor Typewriter Company, and also entered into the above mentioned
agreement. When the high character of the International Corre
spondence Schools is taken into consideration, both with respect to
financial standing and its business methods, this transaction is certainly
the highest testimonial for excellence the Victor machine could possibly
have.
State Agent
Ramos Typewriter Comp'y
Phone 1134.
401 Southern Buildinsj.
PATlT.TITrilT
ARE EIRE PROOF
npHEY will not burn. Will not split or curl like wood shingles;
x Will not crack and roll off like slate. Will not rip at the seams
like plain tin. Neither will they rattle during: high wind storms.!
They never need repairs and last as long as the building. And last i
of all, they make the handsomest roof and are not expensive.
McCrary-R dding Hardware Co., Asheboro, N. C.
4,000,000
Peach Trees.
The J. C. Hale Nursery Co.,
Winchester. Tenn.
Exclusive Growers Peach Tree
Jane bads a specialty. No agents travel
ing, bat sell direct to planter at wholesale
pnoas. Absolutely free from all diseases
and true to name. -
Write aS for catalog and prices before
placing your order elsewhere. We gnaran
tee oar stock to be true to name. Largest
peach nuraerr in the world.
J. C. HALE, Prop.
Winchester, ... , , Tennessee.
Hammer & Company.
Fire, Tornado, Health and
Accident Insurance.. The .
? best: companies Also
Real .Estate, leased,
bought and sold.
Next Doer on Street Wsst of Lawyers
r Building,
Asheboro. ' - N. C.
SUITS.
P. O. Box 54.
Wiilmington, N. C.
METAL
SHINGLES
Wm. C. Hammer R. G. Kelley
HAMMER & KELLY
Attorneys at Law
Office Second Door From Street in
Lawyers Row. '
The
BANK of RANDLEMAN
Randleman, N. G.
Capital and Profits $18,Mt.
4 Per Cent Interest
Paid on Time Deposits,
v-j ...... '
S. BRYANT, N. N. NEWLIN,
President. Vlce-Pree,
J. H. COLE. Cashier.
N. PCOX,
Jeweler
Asheboro, N. C