s turned into a veritable fort. These people were cunning. They cut seven room

s out through the east side and formed a
narrow passage
Course Resources
way through which e
veryone had to pass in order

to enter his home. They went from

• the outside of the pueblo through this narrow passage, dodging obstructions, un
• til they reached the huge inner court. And then they ascended to their respective dwellings
• by means of small ladders, pulling them to their roof-tops during times of danger. Leave it to the Tewas, "the li
• ttle strong people," to find ways and means of protecting themselves from lurking danger. I was once
• told a story by some San Ildefonso Indians about this Puwige hallway. Guarding the hallway was a half-circle barricade of stone and mud. It was several feet thick and bo
• th ends joined the walls of the main building. Through this circular wall was a small
• -opening. The wall must have stood six or eight feet high to have bee

n effective. N

• Course Overviewow the Tewas contend t
• hat at one time, long ago, a sentry was stationed day and night inside the circle. When Puwige wag attacked the alarm was given and a huge boulder was rolled in front of the opening. This was to slow down th
• e attackers. If they were fortunate enough to get by the boulder then it was intended that they stumble over a slab of basalt set edgewise in the passageway. It must have stood a foot or more in the air. If the attackers got by the stone without losing balance,, then they encountered numerous wooden posts bedded upright in the dirt floor of the long narrow passage. How confusing and prohibitive! Entrance to Puwige was almost imposs
• ible unless "the little strong people" desired it. For the villager, an Indian woman with a water jar on her head, moving along slowly, entran
• ce was easy, but for the enemyÑno. Warriors stood on housetops, high in the air, and shot sharp-pointed arrows at enemies. They threw rocks and pottery vessels. They fought with clubsÑanything they could get their hands on. Puwige was not easy to penetrate. Was this Puwige occupied by any particular group or were the people of the cliff houses allowed to scr

amble down

and hurry to th

• e" inside for protection? Was it a fort for the entire
• community or just for the people who lived here? The. cliff homes were being lived in at the same time as Puwige and might have been more effecti
• ve as defense units. There was only one side to protect in the cliff homesÑthe front. And who were
• the attackers; Navaho, Keres or other groups? Legend has it that the Navaho plundered the pueblos for years and years and history tells us so. They stole
• the hard-earned stores of food from the pueblos and ran off with the women

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and children whom

they made slaves. But it isnt likely that the Navaho, on foot during the days of Puwige,

cared much about penetrating the mountain homes. It would have been a chore to carry the loot back with them. The Navajo likely did not relish the idea of coming over the high range of mountains from the west for a few pots of "be

Those interested in becoming a trainer should contact EMRTCans and born. Would

• it not be more likely that
• the so- called "little strong people" might

have feare

d attacks during the night b

y the Keres to the south who had been driven from their Canyon homes? Tyuonyi was "the oasi

s of the