The marvellous country, or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico.: Containing an authentic history of this wonderful country and its ancient civilization ... together with a full and complete history of the Apache tribe of Indians .../ By Samuel Woodworth Cozzens. Illustrated by more than one hundred engravings.

A IVONDERFUL S TA1IRCASE.
is undoubtedly the "Acuco" mentioned in Coronado's
report, to which reference is made in a former chapter.
Our route during the first day lay through a wild and
desolate region, inhabited only by coyotes, black-tailed
deer, and antelope. About two o'clock in the afternoon
we came in sight of Acoma, which is a city much the same
in appearance as Laguna. It stands upon the top of a rock,
at least three hundred and fifty feet above the surrounding
plain, and seems from its situation to be almost impregnable. This pueblo can be reached only by means of a staircase, containing three hundred and seventy-five steps, cut in
the solid rock. At the upper end of this, is a ladder eighteen
feet long, made from the trunk of a tree, in which notches
have been cut for the feet. Corn and other cereals, together
with peaches and apricots, grow near the foot of the rock,
their thrifty appearance showing a degree of knowledge in
the cultivation of the soil which greatly surprised me.
Here also we found cisterns or tanks built of stone, and
thoroughly cemented. These were used for holding rainwater, and their capacity was perfectly immense.
This town is composed chiefly of blocks, containing sixty
or seventy houses each, generally three stories in height,
and built after the same style as those of Laguna. The
centre of the town has a plaza, in which stands a once
respectable but now neglected Catholic church, upon whose
walls haiio several very fair paintings. The people seemed
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