feet. These he believed to be traces of an ancient trail. Stimulated
by the announcement of this discovery, Professor William Libbey, of
Princeton College, in July, 1896, made the ascent of the Enchanted
Mesa by means of a life line fired over the mound from a Lyle gun.
Stout ropes having then been drawn over the cliffs and made secure,
the adventurous aëronaut was actually hauled up to the summit in a
boatswain's chair, as sailors are sometimes pulled ashore from a
sinking ship. On his descent, however, he declared that he had found
nothing to indicate that the crest had ever been inhabited, or even
previously visited. Nothing daunted by this statement, a few weeks
later Mr. Hodge again attempted the ascent in which he had failed the
year before. This time he was successful, and scaled the cliff by
means of an extension ladder and several hundred feet of rope. But
very different were the conclusions reached by him as to the probable
authenticity of the tradition; for after having been on the _mesa_
only a short time, he found a piece of ancient pottery, and, during a
search of twenty hours, not only were several more fragments of
earthenware discovered, but also two stone ax-heads, an arrow-point
of flint, and part of a shell bracelet. Moreover, a little monument
of stone, arranged with evident design, was found on the edge of the
cliff. Mr. Hodge and his party concluded, therefore, that beyond a
doubt the Mesa Encantada had once been inhabited, and that the legend
of the destruction of its last occupants may be true.

[Illustration: LOOKING THROUGH A CREVICE OF THE ENCHANTED MESA.]

[Illustration: THE LYLE GUN AND ROPES.]

[Illustration: MAN IN BOATSWAIN'S CHAIR.]