dently considered by the Indian who pointed
them out to me as having been made by some bird.[46] It is probably
from these footprints, which are elsewhere numerous, that the two
ruins called Kuekuechomo ("footprints mound") takes its name.

JEDITOH VALLEY RUINS

As one enters Antelope valley, following the Holbrook road, he finds
himself in what was formerly a densely populated region of Tusayan.
This valley in former times was regarded as a garden spot, and the
plain was covered with patches of corn, beans, squashes, and chile.
The former inhabitants lived in pueblos on the northern side, high up
on the mesa which separates Jeditoh valley from Keam's canyon. All of
these pueblos are now in ruins, and only a few Navaho and Hopi
families cultivate small tracts in the once productive fields.

The majority of the series of ruins along the northern rim of Antelope
valley resemble Awatobi, which is later described in detail. It is
interesting to note that in the abandonment of villages the same law
appears to have prevailed here as in the other Tusayan mesas, for in
the shrinkage of the Hopi people they concentrated more and more to
the points of the mesas. Thus, at East Mesa, Sikyatki, Kachinba, and
Kuekuechomo were destroyed, while Walpi remained. At Middle Mesa,
Chukubi and Payuepki became ruins, and in Antelope valley Awatobi was
the last of the Jeditoh series to fall. There has thus been a gradual
tendency to drift from readily accessible locations to the most
impregnable sites, which indicates how severely the Hopi must have
been harassed by their foes. It is significant that some of the oldest
pueblos were originally built in the most exposed positions, and it
may rightly be conjectured that the pressure on the villagers came
long after these sites were chosen. The ancient or original Hopi had a
sense of security when they built their first houses, and they,
therefore, did not find it necessary to seek the protection of cliffs.
Many of them lived in the valley of the Colorado Chiquito, others at
Kishuba. As time went on, however, they were forced, as were their
kindred in other pueblos, to move to inaccessible mesas guarded by
vertical cliffs.

Of the several ruins of Antelope valley, that on the mesa above
Jeditoh or Antelope spring is one of the largest and most interesting.
Stephen calls this ruin Mishiptonga, and a plan of the old house is
given by Mindeleff.

The spring called Kawaika, situated near the f