KJeeUly Zntnava American
VOL. 12 JULY 8, 1910. NO 52
A Pueblo Village,
"There is no more weird and strange
place in the world than Acoma," said a
sunburned traveler who haunts the out'
of-theway place? in the southwest, ''In
the first place hardly any tourist are
ever seen there, It is off the beaten
trail, and though only a half day's jour
ney from the pueblo of Laguna, which
is on a transcontinental line of railway.
Acoma is as remote from-eivillzation as it
was when discovered 300 years ago. I
suppose that not over a dozen white men
call at Acoma in the course of a year.
"Tt is a hard trip over there across the
hot desert, and the Acomans, who b long
to the Queres tribe, are none too hospit
able to the stranger within the gates.
Unless yon have a pull with the 'gober
nador' or governor and general pooh bah
of the pueblo, you might as well make
Up your mind to say frooe.bye as soon a
on have paid hello, because you'll be
given to understand, and very plainly,
that von are not wanted
"There's n'H much of anything of in
terest before you reach Acoma. You are
beginning to nod in the wagon, when
suddenly you are aware there has seem
ed to shoot up out of the plain a Won
derful mesa, on the top of which is a
town, looking not unlike a sprawly sort
of castle, The mesa is in the southwest
corner of a huge basin, four miles
wide and 10 miles long, and open from
the northwest only. The general alti
tude of the basin is about 7500 feet, and
the mesa shoots up from 200 to 250 feet,
right out of the desert, the sides being
either vertical or overhanging. The top
of the mesa consists of about 300 acres of
denuded rock, and what induced anyone
to build a town there is one of those lit
tle "mysteries that even the archeologist
will have a hard time making clear to
you, But in ail probability the pueblo
was built there for purpose of defense.
"As you approach the mesa you un
derstand how easy it would be for the
Acomans to defend themselves against
any attack that might be made upon
them. The main trail is plainly defined,
It winds across the desert and brings
you up against the ba?e of the mesa be
tween a couple of big groups of sandstone
200 feet high, guarding the pass like
giants. The trail slopes toward these
giants, and mules and horses can make
the ascent to the top. There are two
(Continued on page 8.)