Autumn is the happiest season of the year for the people of the Mesa Verde. It is a season of tremendous activity for now they must reap the rewards for the prayers of springtime and the labors2 of summer. During the spring they were gay and happy but it was not the full unrestrained happiness of autumn. As the farmers planted their crops last spring they felt a certain helplessness. With each tiny seed they planted a prayer: that was the only aid they could give it. Then they were forced to stand by while the forces of nature; the sun, the rain and the earth, did as they pleased with the precious seeds.
Autumn has brought the rewards for their prayers and labors. There is no uncertainty3 about it. Nature has smiled, the fields have prospered4 and nothing can rob them of a bountiful harvest. The cooling weather is turning the fields yellow and a period of strenuous5 activity will soon begin. Every grain of corn, every bean, every squash must be carried down to the cave and stored safely away.
The fields are never left unattended. Ravens6, crows and jays try to get at the corn in the daytime and deer get into the fields at night unless they are guarded. All through the night 98 bright fires burn in the fields as the men and boys take turns protecting the crops. As they walk about the fields they gloat over the success of their farming efforts. The corn is higher than their heads and heavy ears bend toward the ground. The bean vines are full of fat pods and the fields are dotted with great yellowing squashes. It will be a wonderful harvest; the fields are full of song and laughter as the proud farmers rejoice over their success.
Even before the main harvest starts, the products begin to trickle7 down to the cave. There is an abundance of help for even the children and women join in. Each plant is given individual attention and when an ear of corn, a bean pod or a squash ripens8 too soon, it is picked and carried home.
As the first light frosts of October begin to bring color to the mesas the harvest is on. Everyone helps and from dawn until dusk the trails are full of happy carriers as the fields pour their products into Cliff Palace. Many of the fields are far off across the mesa tops and in a day’s time each person can make only a few trips.
A single, fat slippery squash is all that can be carried at one time and it takes only a few large ears of corn to fill a basket. Dozens of trips are required in harvesting even a small field. Early in the morning the carriers trot9 down the trails but as the day wears on the pace becomes slower.
Some of the corn is husked in the fields and only the ears are carried home but much of it is snapped off the stalks and taken home to be husked later. Sometimes the stalks are cut and the entire plant is carried down to the cave for the stalks, leaves, tassels10 and shucks are used in many ways. Beans usually are threshed in the fields. The dry pods are piled on a plot of hard, smooth ground and the women beat them with long sticks until the beans are freed. Then the whole mass of beaten pods is poured from baskets held high above their heads and the breeze blows the chaff11 away, leaving only the clean beans. Sometimes the beans are picked and carried down to the cave for threshing but that is more difficult for in the cave there is no breeze to blow away the chaff.
As the harvest progresses, Cliff Palace becomes a parade of color. Everything must be spread out on the roofs and in 99 the courts to dry and soon the people can scarcely move about. The corn is brilliantly tinted12; red, black, blue, yellow, white and speckled, and the city becomes a flaming riot of colors. Corn is everywhere. It is piled high on the roof tops, it is spread out in every court and long strings13 of brilliant ears hang from the ends of roof poles. Piles of rich brown beans and waxy14 yellow and green squashes add to the color and the confusion. The terraced houses of Cliff Palace are now solid banks of color and still the harvest continues.
Like busy brown ants the women and girls move about the throbbing15 city. From morning until night they are busy shucking corn, threshing beans, braiding strings of corn, turning the corn and beans each day so they dry properly, and finally storing them away in the bins16. The storage of supplies is always a responsibility of the women. While the things were growing in the fields they belonged to the men but now that they have been harvested and brought down to the city, they have become the women’s property. The women of each household, which is a group of families, store their foodstuffs17 in common and apportion19 them out to the various families as they are needed.
Some of the corn is shelled and stored in baskets but most of it is stored on the cob. The different colors are sorted out and the bright ears are stacked like cordwood. The beans must be stored in baskets and jars but the squashes can be piled anywhere. Many of the squashes are peeled and cut into long strips. After the strips have dried they are rolled up in bundles and stored away. In the winter, soaking will restore the flavor of the fresh squash.
High up in the back of the cave is a long, narrow crevice20 containing a dozen large storage rooms and throughout the town there are many more. They have been chinked carefully against rats and mice and each one is lined with dry corn leaves and tassels to protect the grain from dampness. One after another these rooms are filled and the doors are sealed.
When the harvest finally ends there are enough beans and corn in storage to last not only until the next harvest, but on through two or three years if coming harvests should fail. By carefully conserving21 the supplies the people could survive two or three seasons of drouth. That is the possibility for which 100 they must always be prepared, for normal harvests do not come every year.
All through the harvest the workers have watched for perfect ears of corn and when found they were put aside. These will be saved for seed and they are stored separately in the safest, driest places. Even though planting time is months away small ceremonies are performed over these precious ears.
Although the agricultural products are of first importance to the people of Cliff Palace, there are in addition countless22 wild products that they must gather and store away. Throughout the autumn, when they are not busy with their harvest, they search the mesas and canyons24 for these natural foodstuffs. Corn, beans, and squash would be a tiresome25 diet so meat, nuts, roots, fruit, seeds and berries are needed.
This year there is a splendid crop of pinon nuts and the women and children are busy gathering26 them. The early frosts have opened the cones27 and the ground under each pinon tree is covered with brown nuts that are scarcely larger than beans. Squirrels, chipmunks28 and Indians engage in a lively contest for them but there are more than enough for all. They are stored away in baskets to be eaten later in the winter. Usually they are cracked one at a time with the teeth and eaten raw but sometimes they are ground, shell and all, into an oily butter and eaten with corn bread. Pinon nuts are highly prized but they cannot be depended upon regularly. Sometimes several years elapse between crops.
In addition to pinon nuts many other plant products are gathered, dried and stored for the winter. Yucca pods, cactus29 fruits, berries, roots and seeds all have their uses. Medicinal herbs are also gathered as well as plants that will be needed for dying cotton cloth and buckskin. Bundles of drying plants hang on the walls of every house.
During the summer there was little hunting, for the deer and mountain sheep drifted north into the higher country. Now they are returning and as soon as the harvest is over, the men begin to lay in the winter’s supply of meat. Hunting parties vary in size from one man to all of the men in the town and there are always important ceremonial preparations. Prayer sticks are made, prayers are said and each man carries a tiny stone image of some animal, such as the mountain lion, which is a good hunter. When the organized town hunts are planned, the hunt society holds ceremonies in its kiva the night before the hunt begins. Unless these ceremonial preparations are made, a hunt cannot be successful. If a man were to neglect the ceremonies it would be worse than if he were to forget to take his weapons.
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Corn is husked and spread on the roofs to dry
The man who cut the log too short
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If one man or a small party of men goes out after deer or mountain sheep, they usually stalk the animals and shoot them with their bows and arrows. The men know the game trails and waterholes and by careful, patient stalking, they are able to get within shooting distance. If deer skins are needed for ceremonial purposes, the men run the animals down and choke them to death for ceremonial skins must not be pierced by arrows. When a deer finds that it is being pursued, it becomes too nervous to eat or drink. As the man follows it hour after hour he imitates the cries of coyotes or wolves and after a time the animal is frightened to the point of exhaustion30 and the man is able to catch it, throw it down and choke it to death.
Dates for the organized hunts, in which all of the men of the town take part, are set by the Hunt Chief and announced by the Crier Chief. When the large groups of men go hunting they either drive the game out on a high point between two canyons or form a large circle and drive the game to the center. The mesa south of Cliff Palace is an excellent place for a game drive for it is narrow and the cliffs are very high. When the Hunt Chief learns that deer or mountain sheep are on this mesa, a hunt is announced and early the next morning the men leave the town. Forming a long line across the mesa they drive the game toward the point. The cliffs are so high the animals cannot leave the mesa top and soon they are cornered on the point of the mesa with a solid line of men blocking their escape. The animals are killed with arrows and clubs and any that dash over the cliff are picked up below.
When a surround hunt has been announced the men go north on the mesa to areas where game is especially plentiful31. The easiest way is for them to split into two parties and move up two canyons which are parallel. When a signal is given the men swarm32 up out of the canyons and form a circle which at 104 first may be a mile in diameter. With much shouting they move toward the center and soon all the deer, mountain sheep, foxes, coyotes, and rabbits which were in the area are surrounded by a tight circle of men. As the frightened animals try to dash out of the circle they are killed with arrows and clubs.
When hunting parties return the game is turned over to the women and girls. The animals are skinned and the meat is cut into long strips. Strings are tied to pegs33 in the house walls and to the ends of roof beams and soon the houses are festooned with drying meat. Almost every part of an animal is used. The meat and most of the internal organs are eaten, the hide is tanned for clothing, sinews are used for bow strings and for sewing and the bones are made into tools. All through the late fall, hunting continues and for weeks the cave reeks34 with the strong odor of drying meat.
Throughout the fall the harvesting and hunting activities occupy the people of Cliff Palace. When evening comes they are tired from their labors but they are happy as they sit around the fires which have been lighted to drive off the chill. They face the winter with light hearts for the walls are bulging35 with the supplies of food that have been stored away.
It is the same all over the Mesa Verde. In every cliff dwelling36 there is contentment. This has been a good year for the entire tribe and the people are enjoying the reward that has come from their labors.
Even though the strenuous harvest days are over the people are still busy. A cold winter is coming and preparations must be made for it. When December and January come there will be snow and ice. Bitter winds will sweep across the mesa and the shadowy depths of the cave will be cold. An abundance of warm clothing will be required if the people are to enjoy any comfort during the winter.
The most important articles of clothing are the feather blankets. Weaving them is a slow, tedious task but they are splendid protection against the cold. In making a feather blanket only two things are used; small, fluffy37 turkey feathers and heavy, yucca cord. The feathers are split down the middle and wrapped in a very tight spiral around the cord. A soft, fluffy feather rope results; hundreds of feet are needed for a single 105 blanket. When enough of the feather rope has been made, it is woven into a blanket that is as soft and warm as a fur robe. The men who make these blankets are busy making new ones and repairing old ones. Each person will need one when cold weather comes.
Other men weave new cotton blankets and some of the boys are sent off to the south for more cotton. Cotton robes are not as warm as those made of feathers but they give added warmth when they are worn next to the skin under the feather blankets. When a feather blanket is old and worn some of the feather ends loosen and a cotton under-blanket is needed to prevent scratching.
Deer and mountain sheep skins are tanned into soft white leather. By using bone awls and needles the women sew the skins together with yucca fiber38 or cotton string and make large robes. A few sleeveless slip-over buckskin jackets are made but most of the people prefer the loose robes. Yucca fiber sandals are worn throughout the year but in the winter grass and juniper bark are sometimes bound to the foot by the sandal lacings and extra warmth is provided. Short leggings, made from buckskin or woven of human hair, are often worn by the men when they leave the cave.
As winter draws near and the threat of cold weather comes close the people check their clothing needs carefully. Each man, woman and child will need certain things so the weaving and sewing continue until everyone is well supplied. With the bountiful supplies of food, an abundance of fuel, and a good stock of clothing the people are able to face the dreary39 months of winter with less dread40. They hate to see winter come for there will be suffering and sadness. But only winter can lead to spring so they must accept it.
In the late fall, when the rush of harvest is over and the preparations for winter are well under way, the men begin to think of ceremonies. This is the season for the greatest ceremonial activity and the men are often busy carrying out the rituals that are prescribed by their elaborate ceremonial calendar.
At almost any time of the year a ceremony of some kind is going on in Cliff Palace. It may be only a simple bit of ritual occupying a single medicine man or it may be an elaborate 106 ceremony that occupies an entire religious society for many days. The priests of each society have a ceremonial calendar and as the seasons roll around they perform their ancient rituals. When, why and how those ceremonies originated they do not know. They learned them from their elders and they will pass them on to the younger men who will succeed them.
Throughout the year many ceremonies are held but the important ceremonial season comes in the late fall and winter. The work of spring, summer and fall is over and the men now have ample time for the involved rituals that keep them in tune41 with the powers that control the universe. These powers, or gods, are many and varied42 and strangely, they are both good and bad. The effort of the priests, then, is to call upon the good gods to help the people and to influence the bad gods to leave them alone.
Most important of all the powers is the Sun, who is the Father, and closely allied43 is the Earth Mother. In addition there are gods who control rain, growth of plants, fertility, the flow of springs and countless other things. Added to these are innumerable lesser44 supernatural beings who can help or harm the people. All nature is full of powers and it is the business of the medicine men to keep the whole complicated system in tune. It is not so much a worship of the forces of nature as a recognition of these forces. If they work smoothly45 together, life flows evenly and properly. If there is discord46 among the natural forces the people suffer. To them it means that some god is not pleased. The result is drouth, pestilence47, famine, or any of the other curses that occasionally fall upon them.
In order to explain all of the acts of nature which influence the people, there is a tremendous mass of legends and myths. The origin of the universe and the origin of all life, including the people themselves, is contained in these myths. For every condition or act of nature there is an involved mythological48 explanation. The medicine men must keep this legendary49 background in order and they must faithfully carry out the yearly program of ceremonies. One of their most important duties is the training of the younger men. Just as they themselves received the myths and rituals from their elders so must they in turn pass them on to the men who will follow them.
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In each generation a certain number of the men are concerned almost entirely50 with religious matters. They are the medicine men, or priests, to whom is entrusted51 the responsibility of the delicate adjustments between man and the forces of nature. Each religious society has one or more full-fledged medicine men and a number of younger men who are learning the profession. In addition, all of the other men of the society know a great deal about the mythological background and the ceremonies. Consequently, the men spend a great deal of time in religious work.
Cliff Palace has twenty-three kivas and a large number of secret religious societies. All of the societies have the same general beliefs and background but each society splits off from the main mythological stem and has certain phases of the religious work to carry out. The function of the various societies is to control the weather, bring rain, promote fertility and crops, assure successful hunts, control the sun and the seasons, cure sickness, combat witches and promote the general welfare of the people.
When a boy is twelve or fourteen years of age, he is initiated53 into one of the societies, usually into the one to which his “ceremonial father” belongs. This “ceremonial father” is the uncle who was chosen to be the boy’s adviser54 and sponsor and it is natural for the boy to follow him. The uncles on the mother’s side are in many ways closer to a boy than is his own father. The father belongs to a different clan55 and while he lives with his family, in his wife’s house, he spends a great deal of time with his own clan group where he may be the “ceremonial father” of one of his small nephews. Since marriage cannot take place between two members of the same clan the father is, to a certain extent, an outsider who has little to do with the religious training of his sons. Maternal56 uncles take the father’s place in this matter.
During the fall, the initiation57 ceremonies take place and the training of the boys begins. They must learn the legends, the rituals and the endless chants so they can bear their share of the ceremonial work. The few boys who are selected to be medicine men will do little else but sit at the feet of the older medicine men for a score of years. When their teachers die, they will be able to step into their places.
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The initiation and the training take place in the kivas. Night after night, through the fall and winter, the great cave resounds58 with the chants of the priests as they perform the ceremonies or teach them to the newly initiated members. Much of the legendary material is in the form of endless songs and the men never tire of them. Hour after hour they sit around the kiva fires, eyes closed, chanting softly the musical prayers and legends. Often the chanting continues through the night: now that the season’s strenuous work is over the men are able to spend the nights with their ceremonies and rest in the daytime.
Most of the activities of a society take place in its kiva, which is a ceremonial room, work shop, club room and often, a sleeping chamber59. During most of the year it serves as a club room for the men. When the time for a ceremony arrives it becomes a sacred, religious chamber. After the conclusion of the ceremony it is again a loafing place and work room. Women usually enter the kivas only on occasions when they take part in the ceremonies, or are invited in to witness them.
An unmarried boy, after being initiated, often sleeps in the kiva of his society. His mother’s house may be crowded with younger children so the warm, underground room is much more pleasant. Married men very often sleep in the kiva, too, but for different reasons. When a man marries, he goes to live with his wife in the midst of her clan relatives. Often he remains60, in a sense, an outsider. While he prizes his family and his home, he prizes, also, his kiva sanctuary61. When his house becomes too full of words, he can retire to the peace and quiet and good fellowship of this club room which protects him from family troubles.
A typical kiva is a circular, subterranean62 room, twelve to fourteen feet in diameter and seven or eight feet deep. Its walls are faced with stone to hold back the surrounding earth. At a height of about three feet from the floor the walls are stepped back so there is a ledge52 or shelf, at least a foot wide running entirely around the room. Resting on this ledge are six small masonry63 pillars, evenly spaced around the room, that support the roof. These pillars divide the space above the ledge into six recesses65, the one to the south usually being deeper than the rest. The tops of the pillars are a couple of feet below the ground level and this space is built up with a cribbing of logs 109 on which rests the roof of logs and adobe66. The only door is a small hatchway in the center of the roof.
The kiva is entered by means of a ladder which rests on the floor and extends up through the small door. This door is also the smokehole for directly below it in the center of the kiva floor is a firepit. Fresh air is brought into the room through a small, vertical67 shaft68 back of the deep recess64 on the south side of the kiva. The top of the shaft is a small opening in the courtyard while the bottom opens into the kiva just above the floor. As the smoke and hot air rise through the doorway69 fresh air is drawn70 down the ventilator shaft. Between the ventilator opening and the firepit is a small masonry screen, or deflector, that keeps the fresh air from blowing across the fire.
On the other side of the firepit, opposite the deflector, is a small hole in the kiva floor, three or four inches in diameter and only slightly deeper. This small opening is of extreme importance to the priests. It is the sipapu, the symbolic71 entrance to the underworld. Many of the gods live in the Mother Earth and the prayers of the medicine men reach them through the small opening. The hole is merely a symbol. It represents the opening through which the Indians feel they themselves and all other living things emerged from the Earth Mother.
The people believe the Sun is their father and the Earth their mother. After the union of the two, the people and all other creatures first came into being in a dark cave in the center of the earth, the world of darkness. After a time they climbed up to another cave where there was a little light. This was the world of twilight72. For a short time they lived in this twilight world, then they climbed to another cave with still more light, the world of dawn. Finally, they emerged through a small hole in the earth, Sipapu, and were in the present world. All other creatures emerged just as they did; all life came from the Mother Earth.
The little hole in the kiva floor is merely a symbolic sipapu, representing that original Sipapu through which the people emerged from the Mother Earth. It is a symbolic entrance to the spirit world below. During the ceremonies, offerings are placed in the hole or around it and the priests send their prayers 110 through it to the gods who live in the underworld. And when a person dies, his spirit goes back through Sipapu to a pleasant afterworld within the Earth Mother.
When a ceremony is in progress, the kiva is sacred to the members of the society. Food is brought to them by the women and they eat and sleep in the kiva, leaving it only to perform ceremonial errands. Day and night they follow the sacred ritual, preparing their paraphernalia73, recounting legends, chanting endless prayers, making offerings to the gods and performing the various ceremonial acts that are prescribed.
In some of the ceremonies the costumed priests emerge from the kiva and perform public dances or rituals. The villagers gather on the roofs surrounding the dance court and watch with serious reverence74. They know these ceremonies are necessary if the delicate adjustment is to be maintained between the people and the mysterious powers which affect them.
At the end of the ceremony the kiva becomes a club room and workshop again. Paraphernalia is stored away on the ledges75 or in small niches76 in the kiva walls and normal life resumes. A kiva presents a varied scene, for any activity carried on by the men may be performed there. Undisturbed by outsiders they work, loaf, gamble, gossip, trade and sleep in this room which is their most prized possession. Since the women own the homes the kiva is the only bit of real property the men can call their own.
Because of the strange social and religious customs a man’s life is divided into three parts. His family life centers about his wife’s house for there live the wife and children whom he cherishes and for whom he provides. His social life centers about his mother’s home for there lies his clan affiliation77. His religious life centers in the kiva which belongs to his religious society or fraternity. These three interests do not conflict. They dovetail perfectly78, each taking its proper share of the man’s time and attention.
The life of a woman is much less complicated. Most of her activities concern the home and family and her full time is occupied with them.
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Interior details of the kiva
The kiva roof formed an open court where many activities took place
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Some of the most important religious duties of the men are concerned with a great ceremonial building which stands on the mesa top just across the canyon23 from Cliff Palace. It is a massive, D-shaped building which dominates a high, narrow point between two canyons. Near it are a number of cliff dwellings79 and the men from all these joined in constructing the building. On days when it is used, priests and men from all the villages come trotting80 up the trails to join in the performance of the elaborate ceremonies. It is a superceremonial structure where only the most important rites81 are performed.
When the building was constructed, the priests planned it very carefully. The main building is D-shaped, with the straight wall to the south. The outside wall is double and in the space between are a number of long narrow rooms, some without doorways82. In the court enclosed by the walls are two kivas. This part of the building is symmetrical, the result of the very careful planning of the priests. On the west end of the building is an addition consisting of a kiva and ten rooms, all added in such a way that the entire building is still D-shaped. The building has no roof and all of the walls are over a dozen feet high. Half of the rooms have no doors; they are deep, small rooms entered by ladders.
This building is open to the sun and the elements, in this respect being entirely different from the underground kivas. The thick, high, double walls and the location on the isolated83 point give the priests the secrecy84 they desire and in this unique building are held the greatest of all the ceremonies. Long ago the priests of the various villages decided85 there was a need for this community place of worship. By concerted effort they built it and through the cooperation of the many societies they have carried on the ceremonies. It is their supreme86 effort toward a perfect adjustment with the powers that control their destiny.
During the late fall and early winter the ceremonial season is in full swing and there is much festivity in Cliff Palace. It is a time for visiting and feasting and there is a trace of the carnival87 spirit in the air. The ceremonies are not entirely solemn, long-faced affairs; some have light, entertaining parts and there may even be clowns who convulse the onlookers88 with their antics. The underlying89 motive90 of a ceremony is serious and earnest but this does not prevent its being thoroughly91 enjoyable to the participants as well as the audience.
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Visitors are drawn to the ceremonies from far and wide. Their strongest desire may be to see an important ceremony but even more often the strongest motive is the desire to join in the festivities that accompany it. There is always a gay crowd, much talking and visiting and an abundance of good food. When the Crier Chief announces the date for a ceremony, the news spreads rapidly and the men of other villages come flocking in. It is a grand excuse for a visit to the big city to feast, gossip, trade, and incidentally, to witness a ceremony.
Although the women play only a small part in the religious work, they are always busy during the ceremonies for they must feed the participants and the visitors. The ceremony may last for as many as nine days and large quantities of food must be prepared. The women and girls are busy over the cooking fires day after day.
The basic food article is corn in some form; it is the backbone92 of every meal. Corn is by far the most abundant foodstuff18 and through the generations the women have devised many ways of cooking it to prevent its becoming monotonous93. The corn is ground by the younger women on the metates, smooth flat stones that are slanted94 into small bins. Under the lower end of each metate is a clean adobe basin that gathers the meal. The woman kneels at the upper end of the metate, places the corn on it, and grinds it with a smaller, flat stone, the mano, which she holds in her hands. Sliding the mano back and forth95 across the metate she grinds the corn until a fine meal results. This is slow back-breaking work but the women are forced to do it day after day. When a great deal of meal must be produced for a ceremonial feast, several of the women grind together. Often the young men sing for the grinders and a fast snappy tune not only cheers the women but causes the grinding stones to move much faster.
After the corn meal is prepared it can be cooked in a number of ways. The simple batter96 may be baked in small cakes on a hot stone. Juniper ashes may be added to make the cakes blue. The dough97 may be rolled in corn husks and baked in the ashes or large cakes may be baked in hot pits. If fine and coarse corn meal are mixed, rolled into little balls and boiled in a pot of stew98, tasty dumplings result.
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A real delicacy99 results when the corn bread is sweetened with saliva100. In making this sweet bread a portion of the corn meal is chewed by the women until the saliva changes the starch101 to sugar. When this chewed meal is mixed with the rest of the meal and baked in corn husks, a sweet bread results. If the chewed batter is rolled up in fresh corn leaves and boiled, the resulting dumpling-like balls are the sweetest food known to the people. The chewed foods are real delicacies102 and are made especially for honored guests.
In addition to the corn dishes, there is a great variety of other foods. Meat of all kinds is roasted, boiled or stewed103. Broths104, soups and stews105 are common. Boiled beans and baked squash are always part of a feast and any of these articles may be cooked in combination. In addition there are wild plant dishes; boiled greens, boiled or baked roots, stewed fruits, roasted seeds or ground pinon nuts.
Fall is the time when there is the greatest abundance and variety of foods and the feasts that accompany the ceremonies are sumptuous106 affairs. The finest dishes are passed down into the kivas to the priests. Guests eat in the open courts around the cooking fires and drowsily107 belch108 their gratitude109 for the food and hospitality.
In the evening the people gather around the many small fires that send dancing shadows across the roof of the great cave. From some of the kivas comes the chanting of the priests; from others come the more uncertain voices of the boys as they learn the endless songs. Some of the groups around the fires are also singing but most of them are quietly talking, gambling110 and sleeping.
The canyon is lighted by the bright rays of a golden harvest moon and the cliffs echo the voices of the singers, not only from Cliff Palace but from all the other cliff dwellings up and down the canyons. The great green mesa is filled with happy, thankful people and troubles seem far away. The gods are pleased with the efforts of the industrious111 Indians.
As autumn fades into winter the people of Cliff Palace face it with confidence. Winter is always an ordeal112 but they are well-prepared. There is an abundance of food and there is ample clothing. Great piles of wood have been gathered and the houses 116 have carefully been rechinked. There will be suffering and many deaths during the cold months that are ahead but spring is just beyond.
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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8
ripens
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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9
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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12
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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13
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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waxy
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| adj.苍白的；光滑的 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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bins
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| n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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foodstuffs
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| 食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 ) | |
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18
foodstuff
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| n.食料，食品 | |
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19
apportion
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| vt.（按比例或计划）分配 | |
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20
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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21
conserving
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| v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 ) | |
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22
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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23
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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24
canyons
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| n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 ) | |
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25
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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26
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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27
cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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28
chipmunks
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| n.金花鼠( chipmunk的名词复数 ) | |
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29
cactus
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| n.仙人掌 | |
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30
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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31
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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32
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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reeks
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| n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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35
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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36
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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37
fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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38
fiber
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| n.纤维，纤维质 | |
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39
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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40
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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41
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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42
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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43
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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44
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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45
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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46
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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47
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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48
mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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49
legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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51
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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53
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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54
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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55
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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56
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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57
initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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58
resounds
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的第三人称单数 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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59
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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61
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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62
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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63
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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64
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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66
adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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67
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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68
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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69
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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70
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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71
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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72
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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73
paraphernalia
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| n.装备；随身用品 | |
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74
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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76
niches
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| 壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位） | |
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77
affiliation
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| n.联系，联合 | |
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78
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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79
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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80
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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81
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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82
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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83
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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84
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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85
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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86
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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87
carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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88
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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89
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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90
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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91
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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92
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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93
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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94
slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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95
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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96
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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97
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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98
stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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99
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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100
saliva
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| n.唾液，口水 | |
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101
starch
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| n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆 | |
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102
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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103
stewed
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| adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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104
broths
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| n.肉汤( broth的名词复数 )；厨师多了烧坏汤；人多手杂反坏事；人多添乱 | |
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105
stews
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| n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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106
sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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107
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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108
belch
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| v.打嗝，喷出 | |
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109
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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110
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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111
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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112
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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