Dotted comparatively thickly over the valleys below the mesa are heaps of ruins, which must have been originally stone buildings, varying in size from one small room to immense structures, covering an acre or more of ground. In the larger of these are still to be seen walls ten feet high, while others are simply a mass of broken stone without form.

It is near the smaller and isolated ruins that the graves are found. Invariably they are located from fifty to sixty feet. southeast of the piles of stone, and are to be distinguished by a slight mound of earth covered with broken pottery. Some graves are shallow, while others are from four to six feet deep. The skeletons show that the bodies were buried in a sitting posture, with the knees drawn up under the chir. Surrounding the skeletons are dishes of various patterns; some glazed; some rough; some decorated and some plain, but there are many graves which contain no pottery at all.

Many of these smaller mounds are in two parts, the northern one being always the larger. In one of these double mounds, which I excavated slightly, I found quite a quantity of charred ears of corn. First was a layer of earth and débris about a foot thick; then came a layer of slag, such as might have been the product of a blast furnace. This slag was about eight inches in thickness and completely covered the corn, of which there must have been several bushels. It is now charred and amalgamated into a compact mass, although the ears still retain their form and the kernels can be separated from the cobs. It is certain that the corn could not have been there when the slag was in a molten condition, and the only explanation I can suggest is that this was the inside of a large furnace, or possibly a pottery kiln, and that after it had ceased to serve its original purpose, for some reason-possibly sacrifice-the corn was burned there, and the walls afterward fell inward.

Climatic conditions must have been far different then, fer all the cliff-houses I have seen contain corn cobs and husks, many of the former being imbedded in the walls. It would now be impossible to grow corn within twenty miles of these houses, as the nearest water supply for irrigation is that distance away. Neither does it seem possible that they could have transported water sufficient for the erection of their buildings and to supply the number of people who must have inhabited them.

The more I study the ruins and their location the more intricate the problem becomes, until it seems as if I must solve the mystery of this lost people.

Very respectfully,

Corley, Colorado, April 6, 1900.

C. N. CROTSENBURG.

EDITORIAL.

THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF CHINA.

The attention of the world has been directed toward China and the strange people who dwell in that ancient land, and who call their government the "Celestial Empire," a name which seems to be at the present time a travesty and a burlesque. There is no denying the importance of this nation among the nations of the earth, for it is, perhaps, the largest and most numerous in the world, and, unlike other nations, is contained in one solid body, without a range of mountains, or a sea, or any other geographical feature to separate the different parts.

There are two other nations which, like the Chinese, are gathered into a solid body--the Russians, and the people of the United States; but the Altai Mountains separate the eastern from the western portion of Russia, as the Rocky Mountains separate the eastern from the western part of the United States, the capitals of the three great nations having been all situated at the extreme side of the country.

There have been several dynasties previous to the present; the earliest having a date as ancient as either Egypt, or Assyria, or India, and much earlier than either Persia, Greece, or Rome. The following are the dates, according to Bancroft's recent book: the Dynasty of Hia, 2205-1766 B. C.; of Shang, 1766-1122 B. c., and of Chow, 1122-255 B. C. Then came Chanchi, who built the wall. The dynasty of Ching, whence the name China came, began 255 B. C. and continued until A. D. 149; that of Ham, A. D. 149-618, covering 469 years, the period when Buddhism found its entrance. During the Tang dynasty (A. D. 618 905) poetry and the drama arose. With the Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1278), philosophy. The Mongol dynasty (A. D. 1260-1341) marks the coming of Kublai-Khan, by whom the Grand Canal, 700 miles in length, was completed. Next was the Ming dynasty, extending down to 1644, during which the Manchus, a Tartar tribe, formerly dwelling northeast of the great wall, came down. The Manchus form the present dynasty, and the present emperor is the seventh one of this line.

China first came into notice through the travels of Marco Polo, who made known the "marvels of Cathay," and his book led Columbus to plan his voyage to this land, which led to the discovery of America. Previous to Marco Polo, was the Buddhist missionary, whose travels in 399-414 A. D., are described in THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN for January-February, 1899.

The journeys which followed Marco Polo are too familiar to need mention here, so we will merely give the dates: Sir John Mandeville and the Moor, nicknamed the "Traveller,"

1325; Friar Oderic, 1330; Portuguese Raphael, 1516. The voyages that took place after the discovery of America were made first by the Portuguese, next by the Spanish, who conquered the Philippines in 1543, and made an attempt to enter China in 1575. Russia sent agents to Peking in 1567. The Dutch opened commerce in 1622. The first English vessel anchored off Macao in 1605. Commodore Anson arrived in 1742. Trade with Americans commenced in 1704. The Opium War occurred in 1840. Such, in brief, is the history of this remarkable country.

The geography is, however, worthy of especial study. There are three zones, which are separated by certain geographical lines, and are distinguished by certain products, as

well as by distinct peculiarities. The northern zone extends from the Great Wall seven hundred miles, over a plain which abounds with grass and is very fertile, as the soil is composed of the loess, which is very rich. Millet and barley grow abundantly. The central zone stretches from the Yellow River to 260° latitude. Here the climate is warm and the soil is rich. Wheat, rice, tea, oranges, and sugar cane are raised. Silk is also an article of commerce. The southern district is somewhat mountainous, and separated from the seacoast by a range of mountains, so that commerce must go south to Canton, or north to Pekin.

The Grand Canal stretches from Pekin to Canton, a distance of 1,200 miles. It is mainly a series of abandoned river

beds, lakes and marshes, connected with one another by cuttings. This canal is one of the antiquities of the world, and can be compared only to the Great Wall of China. It was built long before the thirteenth century, and was utilized by Kublai-Khan, who made it the "River of Transport." It connects Hong Chan with Tien-tsin, and, by the river Pei-Ho, with Tung-chau and Pekin. The absence of cataracts, the cheapness of wages, and the small value of time, make it possible for the Chinese to employ this canal advantageously at present, though it is probable that if China should awake from her long sleep, railroads will be used instead of the canal, as there are portions of it which are already in need of repair and badly neglected.

The Yang-tse is the great water-course and artery for the Celestial Empire, It is navigable for 1,600 miles, 600 of them for large sea-going vessels, and 720 for light-draft vessels. The Ho-Hang-Ho, or the Yellow River, is called the "Chinese sorrow," for it is subject to overflow, and has once, at least, changed its channel for a length of 700 miles.

The population of China is supposed to be about 350,000,000. The population of the plain, in North China, 177,000,000. It is the most densely populated section of the whole world

The roads in China are the worst in the world. Rough boulders were originally laid loosely beneath the soil, for a foundation, but these have been undermined by rain, carried off by the people and put into their houses, and so, great chasms are left and isolated fragments, over which it is almost impossible for a carriage to pass. Donkeys will drag the carts, coolies will carry sedan chairs, others will carry freight with poles; but freight has to be carried for 1,300 or 1,400 miles over such a road as this on the backs of men, or by beasts.

The government of China is the most remarkable on the face of the earth. It is supposed to be based upon the family system. The emperor is supposed to be the father of the nation, as well as the representative of the divinity. The gov ernment is really a theocracy, and the emperor is the great high priest. The groups of families constitute villages which are self-governing. Villages are clustered into towns under respective heads, which are responsible; but the official hier archy begins with a district about the size of a county and is governed by a district magistrate. Next is a group of departments, or counties, which form a circuit, and is about as large as one of our territories. Each province administers its own affairs, and provides its own revenue and its own defense, but is under the rule of a governor, appointed from the capital.

As to the relative antiquity: it is supposed that the history of China began long before either that of Greece and Rome, and Asia Minor, and perhaps as early as that of Babylonia. Civilization existed here almost as early as it did in Egypt, though there has been very little progress.

In fact, several good authorities connect the Chinese with the old Accadians, a pre-Semitic people, who were the first inhabitants of Babylonia and were the earliest civilized people of the world. They are supposed to have given their civilization to the Semitics, and to have been the first to reach the art of writing. Their history, according to recent discoveries, may be said to have begun as early as 7000 B. C. The language of the Chinese is supposed by Rev. J. C. Black and others to have been derived from the Accadian.

The contrivances for cultivating the soil, for transporting freight, and reaching distant points of the empire are very primitive, though not any more so than are those which are seen in other lands of the East, especially in the Bible lands, for there are some attempts at making roads and bridges, while in Assyria and on the Tigris no such attempts are made.

The people there are still plowing with a crooked stick and using inflated bags for their ferry boats. Buckets attached to poles are used for raising water.

The cut will show the character of the bridges, though it is really one of the best patterns found in the country. The bridges in the western part of China, near Thibet, are exceedingly rude, made of logs, and yet they present a combination of suspension, cantilever, and abutment bridge.

It is the most remarkable peculiarity of China that, at a very early date, inventions were made which, if they had been improved upon, would have made them one of the leading nations of the earth. Among these were the invention of gunpowder, the mariner's compass, types made of wood and of metal; cantilever and suspension, as well as abutment, bridges, and boats and baloons; but their unprogressive character is