Page:Houses and House-Life of the American Aborigines.djvu/223

 in its original condition, this fine pueblo must have made a very striking appearance.

Immediately under the walls of the cañon, and about a quarter of a mile below the last pueblo, are the ruins of the still greater Pueblo Bonito, Fig. 35. This edifice is, in some respects, the most interesting of the series as well as the best preserved in certain portions Its exterior development, including the court, is one thousand three hundred feet. Its corners are rounded, and the east wing, now the most ruinous part of the structure, appears to have had row upon row of apartments added, until nearly one-third of the area of the court was covered "Its present elevation," General Simpson observes, "shows that it had at least four stories of apartments. The number of rooms on the ground floor is one hundred and thirty-nine. In this enumeration, however, are not included the apartments which are not distinguishable in the eastern portion of the pueblo, and which would swell the number to about two hundred. There, then, having been at least four stories of rooms * * * there must be a reduction * * * of one range of rooms for every story after the first, which would increase the number to six hundred and forty-one." No single edifice of equal accommodations, it may be here repeated, has ever been found in any part of North America. It would accommodate three thousand Indians

One of the best of its rooms is shown in the engraving. Fig. 36. It will compare, not unfavorably, with any of equal size to be found at Palenque or Uxmal, although, from the want of a vaulted ceiling, not equal in artistic design. The nice mechanical adjustment of the masonry and the finish of the ceiling are highly creditable to the taste and skill of the builders. "It is walled up," says Simpson, "with alternate beds of large and small stones, the regularity of the combination producing a. very pleasant effect. The ceiling of this room is also more tasteful than any we have seen, the transverse beams being smaller and more numerous, and the longitudinal pieces, which rest upon them, only about an inch in diameter, and beautifully regular. These latter have somewhat the appearance of barked willow. The room has a doorway at each end, and one at the side, each of them leading