--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Anderson, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 17 number: 1 published: 1913-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Anderson, Joseph F., "Discoveries on the Colorado: The Agriculture of the Cliff Dwellers," *Improvement Era* 17, no. 1 (November 1913): 48–55.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1701unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1701unse start_page: 48 end_page: 55 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1913-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1701unse publication_year: 1913 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1913, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Discoveries on the Colorado: The Agriculture of the Cliff Dwellers Discoveries on the Colorado BY JOSEPH F. ANDERSON, MEMBER OF THE UTAH ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1913, FORMERLY PRINCIPAL MONROE HIGH SCHOOL / — The Agriculture of the Cliff Dzvellers That the inhabitants of our great Southwest have not always been nomadic savages, that the god of war has not always been their ruling deity, that their ambition and enterprise led them even beyond the quiet comforts of a pastoral life, is proved by the un- written history which the ancient occupants of the country have left for the archaeologist to read. It is the Cliff Dwellers to whom reference is made — the Cliff Dwellers, a peaceful, industrious, in- telligent, agricultural people who, perhaps nearly, or quite, a thousand years ago, occupied more than eighty millions of acres THE KITSIL CLIFF DWELLING, Containing 148 rooms, Sagi Canyon, Arizona of then fertile and productive land in southeastern Utah, northern Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. The Utah archaeological expeditions, led by Dean Byron Cum- mings, of the University of Utah, have discovered many facts con- cerning the life of this mysterious people. The expedition of 1913 has recently completed a most successful summer's work, resulting DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 49 in much additional information being gathered, particularly along the lines of the occupational, religious and social life of the people of whom we still know so little. To the Latter-day Saint the origin of the Cliff Dweller is satisfactorily explained ; to others it is still a problem, although ethnologists seem to be pretty well agreed as to the Asiatic origin of the Cliff Dwellers as well as the mod:rn Indian tribes. Why they came here, how they came here, and the details of their fortune subsequently, are explained only by the Book of Mormon. The archaeologist finds vague, indefinite traces of a great migration in this direction ; a con- quest here ; a fusion there, and an extinction yonder, but of very little of which he can be absolutely sure. The Navajo Indians, who now inhabit much of the country, have hazy legends of a great migration of their forefathers at a time out of mind. They have legends referring to a people in a far off land who^e brothers they are. They tell of a time when the two continents of North and South America were not connected and that the junction was brought about by the falling of the body of a large giant across the gap where it still re- mains. They point to the petrified rocks of Arizona as scattered pieces of the great giant's bones. In a country where game is scarce and wild fruits are not plentiful, man in order to survive must resort to agriculture. Such a country is the home of the ancient occupants of the western desert. When the Cliff Dwellers held sway, however, there must have been considerably more moisture for their thirsty crops than at present. It is evident that there was then a more extensive growth of forest trees than is now possible. Large, ancient cisterns and reservoirs have been found where now it would be impossible to fill them for lack of water. Further, large villages were then located near water sources that now yield barely enough water for a few persons to drink. Plainly, the Cliff Dweller was able to produce more prolific crops than the country in its present arid condition will produce for the Navajo, Ute, Zuni and Hopi. In all America there is not such another expanse of arid waste. It was thus when found by the Spanish explorers early in the six- teenth century. It was these gold seekers who gave the country the name Arida Zona (arid zone), from which name is derived the name of Arizona state. Before considering the agriculture of the Cliff Dwellers, let us take a superficial glimpse of their country as it appears today. Mummy of a Cliff Dweller with Rel- ics Buried with him. . 50 IMPROVEMENT ERA It is a land of mighty, wind-swept uplands, bewildering gorges, lofty mesas and a few broad valleys. On the mountains and tablelands are found dense growths of pinon, cedar, juniper, oak, birch and quaking aspen, with an undergrowth of chaparral and bushes of wild berries. On the lower levels, scattered tufts of grass, uncouth weeds, the ever-persisting greasewood and sage, the salt bush, the Spanish bayonet and the cactus, carry on a fierce struggle for survival. It is a land of many colors, and the Indians have aptly called it the painted desert. There is color everywhere — even in the air. The great rock cliffs have all of the hues of the spectrum. The desert sands are many-colored ; the sky is a deep, yet delicate blue ; the clear air acts as a prism and breaks the beams of sunlight into PREHISTORIC MASONRY color. The Arizona sunset is gorgeous in its blended yellows, reds and purples. A bracing air is due to the altitude, which averages over six thousand feet. The days are scorching in the sun but delightfully cool in the shade and at night. Arizona nights are famous for their open, starry skies and exhilarating atmosphere, with the deep silence of the desert broken only by the hoot of the owl and the wail of the coyote. Only drouth-resisting animals live in the painted desert region, and for them the life struggle is often severe. They are peculiarly adapted to the desert. They must endure heat, thirst and hunger, or perish. All the desert animals know the meaning of a water famine. Even the water drinkers know how to get along with a minimum supply. The desert mustang will go fifty DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 51 miles and more for a drink, and return to graze three days before he takes another drink. The Navajo himself has demonstrated his ability to walk for four days in a scorching sun without a drink. Jack rabbits, prairie dogs and squirrels are known to live fifty miles from the nearest water — living absolutely without water and with only dry grass and sage leaves for food. The coyote, wildcat, lion, wolf, fox, antelope, mule-deer, white tailed deer, — all lead a lean, gaunt life. Many species of reptiles and venomous spiders, centipedes and tarantulas relentlessly pursue their prey. The hydrophobia skunk, the Gila monster, and the rattlesnake are among the most feared of the poisonous biters. Birds are scarce and oppressively silent. Species known to be noisy in the north are silent in the desert. Crows, buzzards, owls, eagles, hawks, wrens, roadrunners, jays, hummingbirds, mocking birds, larks, and woodpeckers sail almost noiselessly through the air. The Cliff Dweller, then, must have had an easier struggle for existence than the Hopi and the Navajo. But as the rainfall began to diminish, and the springs began to dry up, the corn and beans failed to mature, and the primitive tiller of the soil was forced to leave his cliff house and seek a new home in other lands or perish of famine. The few who may have remained probably met the latter fate or were absorbed or destroyed by the nomadic, warlike tribes of the north who later occupied the country. Thus probably ended the extensive primitive agriculture of those people who have left but a meager, unwritten history of their culture, in their time-ruined architecture, implements, weapons and hidden food supplies. Being an agricultural people ourselves, we have a lively in- terest in our ancient neighbors who lived by the same means, and we are eager to know of the progress they made in that line. According to discoveries made up to the present there is evi- dence that the Cliff Dwellers raised crops of corn, squash, beans and gourds, often of large size and superior quality. The Utah expedition found considerable quantities of these staple products stored in granaries or in large ollas (storage jars) buried under the floors of dwelling rooms. Without doubt they were stored either for food or for seed and were left because of enforced hasty departure, probably at the hands of an invading foe. There is also evidence that peaches, cotton, yucca, grasses and some ex- tinct plants were cultivated. Persistent attempts have been made to germinate these an- cient seeds but all have failed. It was found, however, that some of the beans would germinate and produce fine, large vines, but singularly enough, the vines would bear no fruit. Upwards of five hundred years is too long for the life germ of the ordinary seed to survive. 52 IMPROVEMENT ERA The varieties of corn found are the yellow and the red. The kernels are large and full and grew on fair-sized cobs. Some of the ears of corn are superior in size to the best that can be grown in the corn belt of America today. Corn stocks of very good size show careful culture and prolific growth. Large quantities of red beans, black beans and white beans were found, stored in ollas, or scattered in the refuse of the threshing floor. Only small quan- tities of squash and gourd seeds were found, but numerous squash shells and gourds made into utensils are to be found in almost every house. The only evidence we have that cotton was cultivated by the Cliff Dweller is that numerous pieces of cotton cloth, laces, cord and small bunches of raw cotton fiber are found in almost all cliff houses. But it is puzzling to observe that no cotton seed is found. Varieties of grass seeds were harvested and used for food as is shown by samples of bread and other foods found in the ruins. ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS"' HIEROGLYPHICS H*AVING AGRICULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The smaller seeds were not ground to meal, but were mixed lib- erally with the batter of corn flour or bean-meal. The yucca was perhaps the most valued of plants, for it bears a fruit fit for food, and the leaves furnished tough fiber which was the chief source of clothing. From the pounded fiber of the yucca, the Cliff Dweller made his robes, his sandals, his mats and his ropes. Whether or not he used the fruit as food is not certain, but we know that the modern Indians eat it with relish. Neither DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 53 is it certain that the yucca plant was cultivated. Today it grows wild over the whole southwest. It is commonly known as the Spanish bayonet and grows in the broad-leafed and narrow-leafed varieties. The root is often used by both whites and Indians as a substitute for soap. Wild peach trees are at present found, particularly in the Sagi-ot-Sosi country, but it is not certain whether they were brought there by the early Spanish explorers or cultivated by the Cliff Dwellers. The modern Indians cultivate them and eat the fruit always before it is ripe. They also eat their squash before it is ripe, showing the savages' lack of forethought and self-denial. The fact that Cliff Dwellers used the sunflower design on their pottery suggests the theory that they cultivated this plant for the purpose of feeding the seed to the turkey. The Cliff Dweller seems to have had no beast of burden to aid him in his agricultural pursuits. He has left no evidence that HIEROGLYPHICS FROM A CLIFF DWELLING IN SOUTHERN UTAH he had any domesticated animal other than the turkey. This useful fowl shared the home of the Cliff Dweller and was of o-reat economic importance to him. The flesh of the turkey was used for food ; from the bones were made awls and other tools ; articles of clothing and decoration were made from the feathers. The turkey feather robe, made from the fur of the feather ingeni- ously woven into a yucca warp, made a rich costume for the an- cient chief or priest. These robes were also used to enshroud the dead bodies of persons of distinction. Several such bodies have been found. 54 IMPROVEMENT ERA These primitive farmers used other by-products of the farm in various ways. They could afford to waste nothing that cost so much patient toil to produce. Corn husks were used to make mats and were sometimes braided into rope. The stocks of the corn were probably used for fuel and were also made into door screens. Charred corn cobs in the ash heaps lead to the conclusion that they were used for fuel. The Cliff Dweller was a smoker but he seems not to have cared for the corn-cob pipe. His pipes were usually made of clay, with a reed or a hollow bone for a stem. No tobacco has been found in his home but he probably used other plants native to the country. The modern Indians are fond of smoking several species of western plants. Gourds and squash rinds were put to various uses. They served very well as vessels for carrying water, as they were neither so heavy nor so fragile as clay vessels, which they also used. In the practice of irrigation the Cliff Dwellers seem to have been past masters. This knowledge was probably a heritage from their Israelite ancestors in the old world. Well defined reservoirs and canals can be readily traced in the valleys below their cliff homes where their farms once were. These ditches and reservoirs must have been built by almost infinite toil, for they had no steel plows nor steam shovels. They seem to have worked solely with implements made of hardwood, bone, horn and stone built for hand use only. No metals have been found in any of the cliff dwell- ings. It was the time of the stone age in western America. Very little, if any, plowing seems to have been done. Their tools indicate that they dug about their hills of corn with spades of horn hewn flat and fastened to wooden handles. Planting and weeding sticks, scythes, flails, sickles, spindles and many other tools were found in large numbers by the Utah expedition. The Navajos and other tribes of the Southwest use much the same farming appliances as were used by the Cliff Dwellers, but they are much poorer farmers. The Cliff Dweller was far ahead of the modern tribes of Indians in the scale of civilization. His architecture, his engineering feats, his skill in the pottery and textile industries, are things of wonder. The Indians are unable to give us any definite clue, through their legends, to the Cliff Dwellers and their culture. When the early Spanish explorers found the first discovered cliff dwellings, about the year 1550, they found them deserted and in ruins as they are now, but the Indians seemed to be as ignorant as the Spaniards concerning the people who occupied them and the time they were vacated. This was nearly four hundred years ago. How long beyond that date' the culture of the Cliff Dwellers ceased, can only be estimated. If we could discover some "Rosetta Stone" to aid us in deciphering the numerous hieroglyphics left by the Cliff DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 55 Dwellers we should undoubtedly learn many startling facts con- cerning the people who left them. ("Occupations and Social and Religious Customs of the Cliff Dwellers," will be the title of the next article of this series.) YOUNG WILDCAT ONE OF THE WARDS OF THE PAINTED DESERT "For the Strength of the Hills" BY PROF. J. C. HOGENSON, OF THE UTAH STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLECE "For the strength of the hills, we bless thee, Our God, our fathers' God; Thou hast made thy children mighty, By the touch of the mountain sod." Not for the strength of the hills in a mere physical sense, but for their strength in the sense of the rich treasures which they contain, for the rocks and soil which are yearly washed down into the valleys to replenish our already fertile soil. For these, O, Lord, we bless thee. "Thou hast made thy children mighty, by the touch of the mountain sod." Those who till the soil are truly made mighty. There are no soils in the world deeper or more fertile than the soils that yield so abundantly and readily to the touch of cultivation and irrigation in these mountain valleys. So the author of the above song said probably more than he knew, when the inspired words came from his pen. LOGAN UTAH