American Antiquities: Corroborative of the Book of Mormon (24 September 1859)

… North-east of the main building is a third one, smaller than either of the others, but in such an utter state of decay that its original form cannot be determined. It is small, and may have been no more than a watch-tower. In every direction, as far as the eye can reach, are seen heaps of ruined edifices, with no portions of their walls standing. To the north-west, about 200 yards distant, is a circular embankment from 80 to 100 yards in circumference, which is open in the centre, and is probably the remains of an inclosure for cattle. For miles around these, In all directions, the plain is strewn with broken pottery and metates, or corn-grinders. The pottery is red, white, lead-colour, and black. The figures are usually geometrical and formed with taste, and in character are similar to the ornaments found on the pottery from the ruins on the Salmas and much farther north. Much of this pottery is painted on the inside—a peculiarity which does not belong to the modern pottery. In its texture, too, it is far superior. … The origin of these buildings is shrouded in mystery. They were found much as they now appear by the earliest explorers of the country, who were told by the Indians that they had been built 500 years before. One thing is evident—that at some former period the valley of the Gila, from this min to the western extremity of the rich bottom lands now occupied by the Pimos and Coco-Maricopas, as well as the broad valley of the Salinas for upwards of forty miles, was densely populated. The ruined buildings, the irrigating canals, and the vast quantities of pottery of a superior quality show that, while they were an agricultural people, they were much in advance of the present semi-civilized tribes of the Gila. But this civilization extended far beyond the district named. From information given me by Leroux, it appears that ruins of the same sort exist on the San Francisco or Verde River; and Captain Johnston and Major Emory both saw similar evidences of wide-spread population far above the district in question. … The ruins of Casas Grandes, or Great Houses, face the cardinal points and consist of fallen and erect walls, the latter varying in height from five to thirty feet, and often projecting above the heaps of others which have fallen and crumbled away. If the height were estimated from their foundations, it would be much greater, particularly of those in the central parts of the building, where the fallen walls and rubbish form a mound twenty feet above the ground. If, therefore, the highest walls now standing have their foundation on the lowest level, they have a height of from forty to fifty feet; and as these ruins have stood exposed to the elements for more than three centuries, they must originally have been much higher. Indeed, the thickness of the walls, some of which are five feet at their base, would indicate that they must have been much higher than they now appear. … The outer walls of the Casas Grandes are only to be traced by long lines of rounded heaps parallel to or at right angles with the walls now standing, while here and there a corner of the original wall may be seen, or where it was intersected by a transverse wall which tended to support the other and bind them together. These corners often retain their erect positions long after the other portions have fallen. So with the higher and more massive walls of the interior, which are five feet in thickness at their base: the sides or longer walls have fallen, while the comers, with a few feet on either side, still tower far above the other parts, resembling at a distance the isolated columns of a ruined temple. In so ruinous a state are these buildings that it is extremely difficult to trace their original form. … Garcia Conde also mentions a second class of ruins which are very numerous along the margin of the Casas Grandes and Janos rivers for a length of twenty leagues and a breadth of ten. At a short distance, he says, they uniformly have the appearance of small hills or mounds; and in all that have been excavated there have been found jars (cantaros), pitchers, ollas, etc., of pottery, painted with white, blue, and scarlet colours, corn-grinders (metates), and stone axes, but no instrument of iron. … Many beautiful articles of pottery have from time to time been found here, the texture of which is much superior to that made at the present day by the Mexicans. This pottery has chiefly a white or a red ground, ornamented with a variety of angular figures; those on the white ground being black, red, or brown; and on the darker material, black. I made inquiry for any relics that had been found, and was successful in obtaining a few. One of these was a small black jar; another, a vessel in the form of a tortoise, of reddish pottery; and the third, a beautifully sculptured stone pipe. Such relics are eagerly sought for by the people of Chihuahua and other large towns, and when perfect command a high price. … The whole valley and plain for miles about these ruins are strewed with fragments of pottery. I collected a number of specimens exhibiting various patterns, in order to show the taste of the makers in ornamental design, as well as for the purpose of comparing them with the pottery found at the Gila and the Salinas. … On the summit of the highest mountain south-west of the ruins, and about ten miles distant, there was pointed out to me an ancient fortress of stone, from which the whole country for a vast extent can be viewed. It is attributed to the same people who erected the Casas Grandes, and was doubtless intended as a look-out. … I shall not enter into any particlars as to the great number and variety of mines in the State of Chihuahua, as the subject is too extensive to be treated of in a work like the present. I have, however, collected much information respecting it, which may hereafter be given to the public. At present I will merely say that the mineral wealth of Chihuahua is not surpassed, if equalled, in variety and extent by any State in the world. Silver is the most abundant; but there is also gold, copper, lead, iron, and tin, … An idea may be formed of the extent to which mining operations were formerly carried on here from the immense heaps of scoria and dross which lie about the city, and particularly near the bed of the creek as it is approached from the north. So imperfectly has the silver been extracted from this ore, that a regular business is now carried on in working the scoria over again, which is said to pay.”

(To be continued.)