In the New Mexican valley of the Chaco, one degree or more north of
Zuni, are ruins of what some suppose to have been the famous "Seven
Cities of Cevola." In 1540, Spanish cupidity having been strongly
incited by tales of the greatness and vast wealth of Cevola, Coronado,
then governor of New Galicia, set out with an army to conquer and rob
its cities. The report in which he tells the story of this conquest and
of his disappointment is still in existence. The Cevolans defended
themselves with arrows and spears, and hurled stones upon his army from
the tops of their buildings. But resistance was of no avail; Cevola was
conquered by Coronado, and immediately deserted by all its inhabitants
who escaped death. The conquering buccaneer, however, did not find the
treasures of gold and silver he expected. Three hundred and thirty years
or more have passed away since this expedition of the Spanish marauders
was undertaken, but the "Seven Cities of Cevola" (if they really were
the "cities" whose remains are found in the Chaco Valley), although much
dilapidated, are still sufficiently well preserved to show us what they
were.
There are seven ruins in the Chaco Valley, all of the same age, from one
to three miles apart, the whole line along which they are situated being
not more than ten miles in extent. Coronado said of Cevola, "The seven
cities are seven small towns, standing all within four leagues
together;" and "all together they are called Cevola." The Chaco ruins
show that each of these "cities" was, Pueblo fashion, a single edifice
of vast size, capable of accommodating from five hundred to three
thousand people. They were all built of stone, around three sides of a
square, the side opposite the main building being left open. Figure 23
represents one of these buildings restored, according to Lieutenant
Simpson. Figure 24 is a ground plan of this structure. The outer faces
of the walls were constructed with thin and regular blocks of sandstone;
the inner surfaces were made of cobblestone laid in mortar, and the
outer walls were three feet thick. They were four or five stories high,
and the only entrances to them were "window openings" in the second
story. Above the canyon inclosing the valley containing these ruins, at a
distance of thirteen miles, are the remains of another "city" of
precisely the same kind. Its walls are at present between twenty and
thirty feet high, their foundations being deeply sunk into the earth.
Lieutenant Simpson, who explored that region in 1849, says it was built
of tabular pieces of hard, fine-grained, compact gray sandstone, none of
the layers being more than three inches thick. He adds, "It discovers
in the masonry a combination of science and art which can only be
referred to a higher stage of civilization and refinement than is
discoverable in the work of Mexicans or Pueblos of the present day.
Indeed, so beautifully diminutive and true are the details of the
structure as to cause it at a little distance to have all the appearance
of a magnificent piece of mosaic."
[Illustration: Fig. 23.--Pueblo Building, restored.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24.--Ground Plan of Pueblo Building.]
Other ruins have been examined in this northern part of the old Mexican
territory, and more will be brought to light, for the whole region has
not been carefully examined, and new discoveries are constantly
reported.