The interior of the ruin is divided into a number of inclosures by
partitions at right angles to the front wall, fastening it to the face
of the cliff. This I have lettered, beginning at the extreme right
inclosure with _A_. The inclosure has bounding walls, built on a
bowlder somewhat more than six feet high. It has no external
passageway, and probably the entrance was from the roof. This
inclosure communicates by a doorway directly with the adjoining
chamber, _B_. The corner of this room, or the angle made by the
lateral with the front walls, is rounded, a constant feature in
well-built cliff houses. No windows exist, and the upper edge of both
front and lateral walls is but slightly broken.
The front wall of inclosure _B_ bulges into bow-shape form, and was
evidently at least two stories high. This wall is a finely laid
section of masonry, composed of large, rough stones in the lower
courses, upon which smaller, roughly hewn stones are built. It is
probable, from the large amount of débris in the neighborhood, that
formerly there were rows of single-story rooms in front of what are
now the standing walls, but the character of their architecture is
difficult to determine with certainty. Their foundations, although
partially covered, are not wholly concealed.
The front wall of inclosure _B_ is pierced by three openings, the
largest of which is a square passageway into the adjoining room, and
is situated in the middle of the curved wall. A wooden lintel, which
had been well hewn with stone implements, still remains in place above
this passageway, and under it the visitor passes through a low opening
which has the appearance of having been once a doorway. Above this
entrance, on each side, in the wall, is a square hole, which
originally may have been the points of support of floor beams.
Formerly, likewise, there was a large square opening above the middle
passageway, but this has been closed with masonry, leaving in place
the wooden beam which once supported the wall above. The upper edge of
the front wall of inclosure _B_ is level, and is but little broken
except in two places, where there are notches, one above each of the
square holes already mentioned. It is probable that these depressions
were intended for the ends of the beams which once supported a
combined roof and floor.
On the perpendicular wall which forms the rear of inclosure _B_, many
feet above the top of the standing front walls, there are several
pictographs of Apache origin. The height of these above the level of
the former roof would appear to indicate the existence of a third
story, for the hands which drew them must have been at least 15 feet
above the present top of the standing wall.
The front of _C_ is curved like that of inclosure _B_, and is much
broken near the foundations, where there is a passageway. There is a
small hole on each side of a middle line, as in _B_, situated at about
the same level as the floor, indicating the former position of a beam.
Within the ruin there is a well-made partition separating inclosures
_B_ and _C_.
The size of room _D_ is much less than that of _B_ or _C_, but, with
the exception of a section at the left, the front wall has fallen. The
part which remains upright, however, stands like a pinnacle,
unconnected with the face of the cliff or with the second-story wall
of inclosure _C_. It is about 20 feet in height, and possibly its
altitude appears greater than it really is from the fact that its
foundations rest upon a bowlder nearly six feet high (plate CX).
The foundations of rooms _E_ and _F_ (plate C) are built on a lower
level than those of _B_ and _C_ or _D_, and their front walls, which
are really low, are helped out by similar bowlders, which serve as
foundations. The indications are that both these inclosures were
originally one story in height, forming a wing to the central section
of the ruin, which had an additional tier of rooms. There is an
entrance to _F_ at the extreme left, and the whole room was lower than
the floor of the lower stories of _B_, _C_, and _D_.
The most conspicuous pictograph on the cliff above Ruin I of Palatki,
is a circular white figure, seen in the accompanying illustration.
This pictograph is situated directly above the first room on the
right, _A_, and was apparently made with chalk, so elevated that at
present it is far above the reach of a person standing on any of the
walls. From its general character I am led to believe that it was made
by the Apache and not by the builders of the pueblo.
There were no names of white visitors anywhere on the walls of
Palatki, which, so far as it goes, affords substantial support of my
belief that we were the first white men to visit this ruin. While it
can not be positively asserted that we were the original discoverers
of this interesting building, there is no doubt that I was the first
to describe it and to call attention to its highly characteristic
architectural plan.
The walls of Palatki are not so massive as those of the neighboring
Honanki, and the number of rooms in both ruins which form Palatki is
much smaller. Each of these components probably housed not more than a
few families, while several phratries could readily be accommodated in
Honanki.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY