The ruin of Sikyatki (plates CXV, CXVI) lies about three miles east of
the recent settlement of Tanoan families at Isba or Coyote spring,
near the beginning of the trail to Hano. Its site is in full view from
the road extending from the last-mentioned settlement to Keam's
canyon, and lies among the hills just below the two pyramidal
elevations called Küküchomo, which are visible for a much greater
distance. When seen from this road the mounds of Sikyatki are observed
to be elevated at least 300 feet above the adjacent cultivated plain,
but at the ruin itself this elevation is scarcely appreciable, so
gradual is the southerly decline to the arroyo which drains the plain.
The ruin is situated among foothills a few hundred yards from the base
of the mesa, and in the depression between it and the mesa there is a
stretch of sand in which grow peach trees and a few stunted cedars. At
this point, likewise, there is a spring, now feeble in its flow from
the gradually drifting sand, yet sufficient to afford a trickling
stream by means of which an enterprising native, named Tcino,
irrigates a small garden of melons and onions. On all sides of the
ruin there are barren stretches of sand relieved in some places by
stunted trees and scanty vegetation similar to that of the adjacent
plains. The soil in the plaza of the ruin is cultivated, yielding a
fair crop of squashes, but is useless for corn or beans.
Here and there about the ruins stand great jagged bowlders, relieving
what would otherwise be a monotonous waste of sand. One of these stony
outcrops forms what I have called the "acropolis" of Sikyatki, which
will presently be described. On the eastern side the drifting sand has
so filled in around the elevation on which the ruin stands that the
ascent is gradual, and the same drift extends to the rim of the mesa,
affording access to the summit that otherwise would necessitate
difficult climbing. Along the ridge of this great drift there runs a
trail which passes over the mesa top to a beautiful spring, on the
other side, called Kanelba.[102]
The highest point of the ruin as seen from the plain is the rocky
eminence rising at the western edge, familiarly known among the
members of my party as the "acropolis." As one approaches the ruin
from a deep gulch on the west, the acropolis appears quite lofty, and
a visitor would hardly suspect that it marks the culminating point of
a ruin, so similar does it appear to surrounding hills of like
geologic character where no vestiges of former house-walls appear.
The spring from which the inhabitants of the old pueblo obtained their
water supply lies between the ruin and the foot of the mesa, nearer
the latter. The water is yellow in color, especially after it has
remained undisturbed for some time, and the quantity is very limited.
It trickles out of a bed of clay in several places and forms a pool
from which it is drawn to irrigate a small garden and a grove of peach
trees. It is said that when Sikyatki was in its prime this spring was
larger than at present, and I am sure that a little labor spent in
digging out the accumulation of sand would make the water more
wholesome and probably sufficiently abundant for the needs of a
considerable population.
The nearest spring of potable water available for our excavation camp
at Sikyatki was Kanelba, or Sheep spring, one of the best sources of
water supply in Tusayan. The word Kanelba, containing a Spanish
element, must have replaced a Hopi name, for it is hardly to be
supposed that this spring was not known before sheep were brought into
the country. There is a legend that formerly the site of this spring
was dry, when an ancient priest, who had deposited his _tiponi_, or
chieftain's badge, at the place, caused the water to flow from the
ground; at present however the water rushes from a hole as large as
the arm in the face of the rock, as well as from several minor
openings. It is situated on the opposite side of the mesa from
Sikyatki, a couple of miles northeastward from the ruin.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY