lose sight of the table-land and its environing mountain-chain, when
turning into the ridges east of Manzanares. Vegetation, which has been
remarkably stunted until now, improves in appearance. However rocky the
slopes are, tall pines grow on them sparsely: the Encina appears in
thickets; _Opuntia arborescens_ bristles dangerously as a large shrub;
mammillary cactuses hide in the sand; even an occasional patch of Indian
corn is found in the valleys. It is stunted in growth,[91] flowering as
late as the last days of the month of August, and poorly cultivated. The
few adobe buildings are mostly recent. Over a high granitic ridge, grown
over with _pinon_ (all the trees inclined towards the north-east by the
fierce winds that blow along its summit), and from which the Sierra de
Sandia for the last time appears, we plunge into a deep valley, emptying
into the Canoncito, and thence follow the railroad track again through a
deep gorge and pleasant bottom, overgrown with pines and cedars, past
Glorieta to Baughl's.[92] It required all the skill and firmness of my
friend and companion, Mr. J. D. C. Thurston, of the Indian Bureau at
Santa Fe, to pilot our vehicle over the steep and rocky ledges. From
Baughl's, where I took quarters at the temporary boarding-house of Mrs.
Root (to whose kindness and motherly solicitude I owe a tribute of
sincere gratitude), a good road leads to the east and south-east along
the Arroyo de Pecos. In a direct line the distance to the ruins is
but a mile and a half; but after nearing the banks of the stream (which
there are grassy levels), one is kept at a distance from it by deep
parallel gulches. So we have to follow the _arroyo_ downwards, keeping
about a quarter of a mile to the west of it, till, south of the old
church itself, the road at last crosses the wide and gravelly bed, in
which a fillet of clear water is running. Then we ascend a gradual slope
of sandy and micaceous soil, thinly covered by tufts of _grama_; a wide,
circular depression strikes our eye; beyond it flat mounds of scarcely
0.50 m.--20 in.--elevation are covered extensively with scattered and
broken stones. Further on distinct foundations appear, rectangles
enclosed by, or founded originally upon, thick walls of stone, sunk into
the ground and much worn,--sometimes divided into small compartments,
again forming large enclosures. To the south a conspicuous, though
small, mound is visible. Immediately before us, due north, are distinct
though broken walls of stones; and above them, on a broad terrace of red
earth, completely shutting off the _mesilla_ or tabulated cliff, on
which the Indian houses stand, there arises the massive former Catholic
temple of Pecos.
[Illustration: PLATE VI
VIEW OF CHURCH, FROM THE SOUTH.]
The building forms a rectangle, about 46 m.--150 ft.--long, from east to
west, and 18 m.--60 ft.--from north to south. The entrance was to the
west, the eastern wall being still solid and standing. Plate I., Fig. 2,
gives an idea of its form: _a_ _a_ are gateways, each capped by a heavy
lintel of hewn cedar; _b_, carved beam of wood across.
The roof of the building is gone, and on the south side a part of the
walls themselves are reduced to a few metres elevation. The church may
originally have been not less than 10 m.--33 ft.--perhaps higher. It
had, according to tradition, but one belfry and a single bell,--a very
large one at that. The Indians carried it off, it is said, to the top of
the _mesa_, where it broke. It is certain that a very large bell, of
which I saw one fragment, now in possession of Mr. E. K. Walters, of
Pecos, was found on the western slope of the Mesa de Pecos, about three
miles from its eastern rim, in a _canada_ of the Ojo de Vacas stream,
towards San Cristobal. Mr. Thomas Munn, of Baughl's, took the pains of
piloting me a whole day (6th of September) through the wilderness of the
_mesa_, and showing me the place where this interesting relic was
finally deposited. I shall return to this by and by.
Mrs. Kozlowski (wife of a Polish gentleman, living two miles south on
the _arroyo_) informed me that in 1858, when she came to her present
home with her husband, the roof of the church was still in existence.
Her husband tore it down, and used it for building out-houses; he also
attempted to dig out the corner-stone, but failed. In general, the
vandalism committed in this venerable relic of antiquity defies all
description. It is only equalled by the foolishness of such as, having
no other means to secure immortality, have cut out the ornaments from
the sculptured beams in order to obtain a surface suitable to carve
their euphonious names. All the beams of the old structure are quaintly,
but still not tastelessly, carved; there was, as is shown in Plate VII.,
much scroll-work terminating them. Most of this was taken away, chipped
into uncouth boxes, and sold, to be scattered everywhere. Not content
with this, treasure-hunters, inconsiderate amateurs, have recklessly and
ruthlessly disturbed the abodes of the dead. "After becoming
Christians," said to me Sr. Mariano Ruiz, the only remaining 'son of the
tribe' of Pecos, still settled near to its site, "they buried their dead
within the church." These dead have been dug out regardless of their
position relative to the walls of the building, and their remains have
been scattered over the surface, to become the prey of relic-hunters.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New Mexico has finally stopped such
abuses by asserting his title of ownership; but it was far too late. It
cannot be denied, besides, that his concession to Kozlowski to use some
of the timber for his own purposes was subsequently interpreted by
others in a manner highly prejudicial to the preservation of the
structure.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII
INTERIOR OF BUILDING A, FROM THE SOUTH.]
What alone has saved the old church of Pecos from utter ruin has been
its solid mode of construction. Entirely of adobe, its walls have an
average thickness of 1.5 m.--5 ft. The adobe is made like that now used,
wheat-straw entering into it occasionally; but it also contains small
fragments of obsidian,--minute chips of that material and broken
pottery. This makes it evident that the soil for its construction must
have been gathered somewhere near the _mesilla_; and the suspicion is
very strong on my part that it was the right bank of the _arroyo_ which
furnished the material.[93] It is self-evident that the grounds which
were used for that purpose must have antedated, in point of occupation,
the date of the construction of the church by a very long period. I have
measured all the adobe bricks of the church that are within easy reach,
at various places, and found them alike. They all measure .55 m. x .28
m.--22 in. x 11 in.--and .08 m.--3 in.--in thickness. They are laid as
shown in Plate I., Fig. 4.
The mortar is, as the specimen sent by me will prove, of the same
composition as the brick itself.
The regularity with which these courses are laid is very striking. The
timbers, besides, are all well squared; the ornaments, scrolls, and
friezes are quaint, but not uncouth; there is a deficiency in
workmanship, but great purity in outline and in design.
To the south of the old church, at a distance of 4 m.--13 ft.--there is
another adobe wall, rising in places a few metres above the soil; which
wall, with that of the church, seems to have formed a covered
passage-way. Adjoining it is a rectangular terrace of red earth,
extending out to the west as far as the church front. A valuable record
of the manner in which this terrace was occupied is preserved to us in
the drawing of the Pecos church given by Lieutenant W. H. Emory in 1846.
It appears that south of the church there was a convent;[94] and this is
stated also by Sr. Ruiz. In fact, the walls, whether enclosures or
buildings, which appear to have adjoined the church, extend south from
it 74 m.--250 ft. Plate I., Fig. 2, gives an idea of their relative
position, etc.: _c_ is 4 m.--13 ft.--wide; _d_ is 21 m. x 46 m.--70 ft.
x 156 ft.; _e_ is 25 m. x 46 m.--82 ft. x 150 ft.; _f_ is 24 m. x 46
m.--78 ft. x 150 ft.
The divisions are not strictly marked, and I forbear giving any lengths,
since there is great uncertainty about them.
The foundation walls, where visible, are generally about 0.60 m. to 0.75
m.--23 in. to 30 in.--wide, and composed of three rows of stones, set
lengthwise, selected for size, and probably broken to fit.[95]
[Illustration: PLATE I
GENERAL PLAN OF RUINS OF PECOS.]
Looking northward from the church, a wall of broken stones, similar to
the one we already noticed at the south, meets the eye. The _mesilla_
itself terminates east and west in rocky ledges of inconsiderable
height, and the wall stretches across its entire width of 39 m.--129 ft.
Its distance from the church is 10 m.--33 ft.; and it thus forms, with
the northern church wall, a trapezium of 10 m.--33 ft. This enclosure is
said to have been the church-yard.[96] Beyond it the mesilla and its
ruined structures appear in full view; and from the church to the
northern end, which is also its highest point, it has exactly the form
of an elongated pear or parsnip. Hence the name given to it by Spanish
authors of the eighteenth century, "el Navon de los Pecos."[97] This
fruit-like shape is not limited to the outline: it also extends to the
profile. Starting from the church, there is a curved neck, convex to the
east, and retreating in a semicircle from the stream on the west. At the
end of this neck, about 200 m.--660 ft.--north of the church, there is a
slight depression, terminating in a dry stream-bed emptying into the
bottom of the Arroyo de Pecos south-westward; and beyond this depression
the rocks bulge up to an oblong mound, nearly 280 m.--920 ft.--long from
north to south, and at its greatest width 160 m.--520 ft.--from east to
west. At the northern termination of this mound the _mesilla_ curves to
the north-east, and finally terminates in a long ledge of tumbled rocks,
high and abrupt, which gradually merges into the ridges of sandy soil
towards the little town of Pecos.[98] Pl. I., Fig. 5, gives a tolerably
fair view of the _mesilla_. Pl. I., Fig. 1, is designed to exhibit its
appearance as seen from below, the highest elevation above the stream
being nearly 30 m.--95 ft.
The rock of the _mesilla_ is a compact, brownish-gray limestone. It is
crystalline, but yet fossiliferous, very hard, and not deteriorating
much on exposure. Its strata dip perceptibly to the south-west;
consequently the western rim is comparatively less jagged and rocky than
the eastern, and the slope towards the stream more gentle, except at the
north-western corner, where the rocks appear broken and tumbled down
over the slopes in huge masses.
From the church-yard wall, all along the edge of the _mesilla_,
descending into the depression mentioned, and again rounding the highest
northern point, then crossing over transversely from west to east and
running back south along the opposite edge, there extends a wall of
circumvallation, constructed, as far as may be seen, of rubble and
broken stones, with occasional earth flung in between the blocks. This
wall has, along its periphery, a total length of 983 m.--3,220
ft.--according to Mr. Thurston's measurement.[99] It was, as far as can
be seen, 2 m.--6 ft. 6 in.--high on an average, and about 0.50 m.--20
in.--thick. There is but one entrance to it visible, on the west side,
at its lowest level, where the depression already mentioned runs down
the slope to the south-west as the bed of a rocky streamlet. There a
gateway of 4 m.--13 ft.--in width is left open; the wall itself thickens
on each side to a round tower built of stones, mixed with earthy
fillings. These towers, considerably ruined, are still 2 m.--6 ft. 6
in.--high, and appear to have been at least 4m.--13 ft.--in diameter; at
all events the northern one. At the gateway itself the walls curve
outward,[100] and appear to have terminated in a short passage of
entering and re-entering lines, between which there was a passage, as
well for man as for the waters from the _mesilla_ into the bottom and
the stream below. But these lines can only be surmised from the streaks
of gravel and stones extending beyond the gateway, as no definite
foundations are extant. Pl. I., Fig. 3, is a tolerably correct diagram
of this gateway.
[Illustration: PLATE IX
VIEW OF GATEWAY OF CIRCUMVALLATION, FROM THE EAST.]
The face of the wall at each side of the gate is 1.3 m.--4 ft.--wide.
Whether there was any contrivance to close it or not it is now
impossible to determine; but there are in the northern wall of the gate
pieces of decayed wood embedded in and protruding from the stone-work.
For what purpose they were placed there it is not permitted even to
conjecture.
* * * * *
Having thus sketched, as far as I am able, the topography of the
_mesilla_, and described its great wall of circumvallation, I now turn
to the ruins which cover its upper surface, starting for their survey
from the transverse wall of the old church-yard, 10 m.--33 ft.--north of
the church, and proceeding thence northward along the top of the
tabulated bluff.[101]
Sixty-one metres--200 ft.--north of our point of departure we strike
stone foundations running about due east and west and resting almost
directly on the rock, since the soil along the entire plateau which I
have termed the neck is scarce, and has nowhere more than 1 m.--39
in.--in depth. The eastern corner of this wall, as far as it can be made
out, is 12 m.--39 ft.--from the eastern wall of circumvallation. From
this point on there extends one continuous body of ruins, one half of
which at least (the southern half), if not two-thirds, as the ground
plan will show, exhibits nothing else but foundations of small chambers
indicated by shapeless stone-heaps and depressions. The northern part is
in a better state of preservation; a number of chambers are more or less
perfect, the roofs excepted,[102] and we can easily detect several
stories retreating from east to west. About 9 m.--30 ft.--from its
northern limits a double wall intersects the pile for one half of its
width. The ruins beyond it, or rather the addition, is in a state of
decay equal to that of the southern extremity. The western side is,
generally, in a better state of preservation than the eastern,
especially the north-western corner. Along the eastern side upright
posts of wood, protruding from stone-heaps, often are the only
indications for the outline of the structure. Along the north-west,
however, such posts are enclosed in standing walls of stone, at
distances not quite regularly distributed, but still showing plainly
that here, at least, the outer wall presented an appearance similar to
Pl. II., Fig. 4.
At the place where I measured, the upright posts stood at about 1.39
m.--4 ft. 6 in.--from each other; the projecting wall was 2 m.--6 ft. 6
in.--long, and 0.63 m.--2 ft.--thick; the retreating wall 1.40 m.--4 ft.
6 in.--long, and 0.33 m.--13 in.--thick. The posts themselves were
sometimes, but not always, backed, or even encased in adobe sheaths,
built up like little chimneys in the wall itself. This mode of
construction was possibly peculiar to the western side alone, and gives
it a slight appearance of ornamentation, as well as more strength, the
projecting walls acting like buttresses.
The whole structure, taking the sides of the _debris_ as they are now
scattered, extends nearly north and south 140 m.--460 ft.--and east and
west about 16 m. to 26 m.--50 ft. to 80 ft.--thus forming a rectangle of
140 m. x 20 m.--460 ft. x 65 ft. To determine the exact size of the
building I proceeded to measure each compartment for itself, judging
that the total number of these apartments, adding to their sizes the
thicknesses of the walls, would finally give, within a few decimetres,
the exact length and width of the house. On the ground plan I have
numbered this building B.[103]
Beginning at the north-west corner, I ran my line almost due east to
within 10 m.--33 ft.--of the circumvallation, where I found the
north-east corner indicated by a broken post of wood. Along this line I
met the following sections from west to east: 2.92 m.--9 ft. 6 in.; then
a gangway, 1.55 m.--5 ft.; chamber, 3.22 m.--11 ft.; gangway, 1.21 m.--4
ft.; and three chambers, 2.09 m., 2.72 m., and 2.72 m.--7 ft., 9 ft.,
and 9 ft.--respectively, thus giving, adding to it eight walls of a
uniform thickness of 0.33 m.--13 in.,--a total width of 19.07 m.--63 ft.
Its length was easily found to be 8.56 m.--28 ft.; the northern
appendix, therefore, forming a rectangle of 8.5 m. x 19 m.--28 ft. x 63
ft.,--and containing, as the ground-plan shows, ten rooms and two
corridors, the latter running through the structure from north to south.
It will also be noticed that the two middle rooms are the largest,
measuring each 4.28 m. x 3.22 m.--14 ft. x 10 ft. I must also advert,
here, to the fact that this structure is extremely ruined, and that the
east part of it exposes the surveyor to dangerous errors.
The line _a b_, and its continuation eastwardly to _c_, appears to form
the main northern wall of the whole structure. Here the annex, just
described, terminates. This wall is of unequal thickness. In the
north-westerly projection from _a_ to _b_, a length of 8 m.--26
ft.,--its thickness is 0.63 m.--2 ft.; from _b_ to _c_, on the eastern
line, it is only 0.33 m.--13 in.--thick. This inequality indicates also
a division of the structure to the southward, as far as the line _d d
d_, into two longitudinal sections. The western one, whose four corners
are respectively _a_ _b_ _d_ _d_ in the diagram, contains eighteen rooms
of equal size, measuring each 3.71 m. x 2.25 m.--12 ft. x 7 ft.; it is
consequently, inclusive of the rear wall and the sides, 24.24 m. x 8.08
m.--80 ft. x 27 ft. The eastern division, comprised within the area _b_
_c_ _d_ _d_, has fifteen rooms, or five longitudinal rows of three,
whereas the western has six rows of three. The rooms east must therefore
be larger than those west, and we see that they measure from east to
west respectively, 2.25 m., 2.28 m., and 2.28 m.--7 ft., 7 ft. 6 in.,
and 7 ft. 6 in.: from north to south, 3.60 m., 5.07 m., 4.43 m., 4.13
m., and 3.43 m.--12 ft., 17 ft., 15 ft., 14 ft., and 11 ft. It is a
rectangle, or rather trapezium, 22.31 m. x 7.81 m.--70 ft. x 25
ft.,--consequently the width of the building _B_ is somewhat less on the
line _d d d_ than on the line _a b c_. The cause of this singular
contraction I have found, and shall afterwards indicate.
Then follows a transverse section (_d d d e e_), containing two rows of
six rooms each, or twelve in all, of very unequal sizes, as the
ground-plans show. This entire section appears to be trapezoidal. The
line _d d d_ is 15.89 m.--52 ft.--long; the line _e e_ 16.33 m.--53 ft.;
_d e_ measures 7.42 m.--24 ft.--along the west, and 8.04 m.--27
ft.--along the east. Rooms marked _II_ and _III_ are particularly
irregular, having, as the diagram shows, not less than six corners.
From _e e_ to _f f_, another transverse section, this time of four rows
of six each, or twenty-four cells in all, those of each row being of
equal length, to wit 3.65 m.--12 ft.; and in width from east to west,
respectively: 2.25 m., 2.78 m., 3.18 m., 2.63 m., and 4.40 m.--7 ft., 9
ft., 10 ft., 9 ft., and 14 ft. (the last measure being the aggregate of
the two eastern compartments, the longitudinal partition being nearly
obliterated). To the south of _f f_ a further slight change occurs,
inasmuch as the three eastern rooms, instead of being respectively 2.68
m., 2.20 m., and 2.20 m.--9 ft., 7 ft., and 7 ft.,--now become 2.25 m.,
2.33 m., and 2.32 m.--7 ft., 8 ft., and 8 ft. From _f f_ to _g g_, the
southern limits of the structure, the whole structure is badly ruined;
and while the rooms can be counted, measurements are possible only in a
few places. Still I am satisfied that no great error lies in the
assumption that they were, taken longitudinally, all equal to the six
rooms contained in the transverse row south of the line _f f_, that is,
3.65 m.--12 ft.--from north to south; and in width, counting the cells
from west to east, respectively, 2.25 m., 2.78 m., 3.18 m., 2.25 m.,
2.33 m., and 2.32 m.--7 ft., 9 ft., 10 ft., 7 ft., 8 ft., and 8 ft. The
section, _f f g g_, which forms the southern and largest portion of the
house (_B_), contains, therefore, twenty-two transverse rows of six
chambers each, or one hundred and thirty-two apartments on the
ground-plan; and it forms a rectangle running from north to south and
east to west respectively of 80.30 m. x 15.11 m.--260 ft. x 50 ft.
The general dimensions of this building (_B_), therefore appear as
follows:--
Length from north to south, east side 133.81 m.--440 ft.
" " west side 134.92 m.--442 ft.
Width of northern appendix 19.07 m.-- 63 ft.
Width along line _a b c_ 19.07 m.-- 63 ft.
" " _d d d_ 15.89 m.-- 52 ft.
" " _e e_ 16.33 m.-- 53 ft.
" " _f f_ 15.24 m.-- 50 ft.
Width of line _g g_, approximated 15.70 m.-- 51 ft.
From the appearance of the ground-plan, as I have been compelled to give
it, it would result that the "first floor" contained two hundred and
eleven cells, or rooms. Such is, however, not the case. The builders of
this extensive fabric had not the means of preparing the hard rock
foundation by removing it wherever it protruded over an average level.
While giving a uniform height to their structure, they accommodated its
ground-plan to the sinuosities of the rock. Out of this accommodation
the irregularities noticed in the construction have mainly arisen. Pl.
II., Figs. 1, 2, 3, will illustrate this statement.
Pl. II., Fig. 1.--Cross-section of _B_ along the line a b c, north end;
_a b_, actually visible top-line; _c d e f g h_, rock; _i k_, top of
probable highest story, now destroyed.
I have every reason to assume that this cross-section holds good for the
entire division (_a b c d d_). From _d d_ on to _f f_ the distance
between the rim of the _mesilla_ to the east and the house is greatest;
the top-rock bends also to the west about _e e_, and there the
irregularities noticed on the diagram about the chambers (_II_ and
_III_) come in. They evidently result from an effort to conform the
general plan to both the lateral and vertical deviations of its base.
About the line _f f_, while the same number of chambers (six) remains in
every transverse row, there is but one story below the general surface
to the east. I may safely assume that south of the line _f f_ all the
rooms of the first floor were on the same level. Pl. II., Figs. 2 and 3
will illustrate this point. As far as I could detect, the line _e e_ can
be admitted as the one where one of the two lower stories disappears,
and but one remains on the east side lower than the rest.
[Illustration: PLATE II
PLAN OF SECTIONS OF BUILDING B.]
I have everywhere assumed _four_ stories. It is at least certain that
there were not less than four. When Coronado visited the pueblo in 1540,
he found "the houses with four stories."[104] Sr. Mariano Ruiz told
me that "they all were of three stories;" but then he mentioned, below,
the "casas de comodidad," thus indicating that the lowest story was used
for store-rooms. It is very apparent from the ruins that, as I have
indicated in the cross-sections, the western wall was unbroken, whereas
from the east the stories rose in four retreating terraces. The western
wall already mentioned was given additional strength, by means of the
buttresses, of which I have given a small outline. The winds blow very
fiercely over the _mesilla_, especially from the north-west; there is no
tree to be seen on or about it, not even a cedar-bush, higher than a
couple of feet at most. Against such blasts the solid wall was
necessary, while the many intersecting partitions inside gave additional
strength. It was a very solid structure as against winds,
notwithstanding the comparative thinness of the walls,--0.63 m.--2
ft.--being their greatest width, and 0.33 m.--13 in.--their average.
With reference to the cross-sections, it now becomes possible to
approximate the total number of chambers, apartments, or cells,
contained in the entire building; a point impossible even to estimate
from the ground-plan alone.
Leaving aside the northern appendix, about whose elevation I have not
even means of conjecture, it becomes evident that the section whose four
corners are marked respectively _a_, _c_, _d_, _d_, had the following
number of compartments, starting with the lowest story, and remembering
that, as above stated, one longitudinal row had six, and the other five,
rooms:--
Lowest story 5
Second story 5
Third story 3 x 6 + 5 23
Fourth story 3 x 6 18
---
Total 51 rooms.
_Brought forward_ 51 rooms.
The section _d d e e_ had probably the same
arrangement, and therefore, there being but two
transverse rows, it contained in all 18
Section _e e f f_ contained on lower story 4
Second Story. 5 x 4 20
Third story. 4 x 4 16
Fourth story. 3 x 4 12
-- 52
Section _f f g g_:--
Lower story. 22 x 6 132
Second story. 22 x 5 110
Third story. 22 x 4 88
Fourth story. 22 x 3 66
-- 396
----
Total number of rooms contained in building _B_ 517