Many old examples are
seen in which the finish of the walls compares very favorably with the
American mason's work, though the result is attained in a wholly
different manner, viz, by close and careful chinking with numberless
small tablets of stone. This process brings the wall to a remarkably
smooth and even surface, the joints almost disappearing in the
mosaic-like effect of the wall mass. The masonry of Moen-kopi is more
than ordinarily rough, as the small village was probably built hastily
and used for temporary occupation as a farming center. In the winter the
place is usually abandoned, the few families occupying it during the
farming months returning to Oraibi for the season of festivities and
ceremonials.
CHAPTER III.
RUINS AND INHABITED VILLAGES OF CIBOLA.
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE.
Though the surroundings of the Cibolan pueblos and ruins exhibit the
ordinary characteristics of plateau scenery, they have not the
monotonous and forbidding aspect that characterizes the mesas and
valleys of Tusayan. The dusty sage brush and the stunted cedar and
pi?on, as in Tusayan, form a conspicuous feature of the landscape, but
the cliffs are often diversified in color, being in cases composed of
alternating bands of light gray and dark red sandstone, which impart a
considerable variety of tints to the landscape. The contrast is
heightened by the proximity of the Zu?i Mountains, an extensive
timber-bearing range that approaches within 12 miles of Zu?i, narrowing
down the extent of the surrounding arid region.
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