Hemlock Canyon, north of the road from Gallup to Crown Point, has
the general features of other canyons in this neighborhood. At its
mouth there are fertile fields, and a good spring which a Navaho has
appropriated by building a hogan and fencing off the entrance. About
a half mile from this spring following the right bank of the arroyo,
which rarely contains water, there is a house (pl. 11, _a_) built in a
recess of the cliff about 10 feet above small scrub trees which here
grow in abundance. Its foundation is about 6 feet long, and the wall
is slightly curved and well constructed, showing a doorway shaped like
the letter T. This house is not regarded as a dwelling, for it is too
small for a family, and no household implements have been found within
the enclosure. It belongs rather to a type of cave-house called “ledge
rooms,” many examples of which occur near larger dwellings. It was
probably a storeroom, although possibly a retreat where priests retired
to pray for rain, as was once the custom among the Hopi. The people
to whom this house belonged probably dwelt near their farms a short
distance from the base of the cliff. There is a similar room known to
have been constructed by Navahos a few feet off the road from Gallup to
Crown Point, which is still used for a granary, indicating the probable
use of the small building here described.