Richard Wetherill

Richard Wetherill (1858-1910), a member of a prominent Colorado ranching family, was an amateur explorer in the discovery, research and excavation of sites associated with the Anasazi or Ancient Pueblo peoples. Richard Wetherill is credited with the discovery of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde and was responsible for initially selecting the term "Anasazi", Navajo for "ancient ones," as the name for these ancient people. He also discovered Kiet Seel ruin, now included, along with Betatakin ruin, in Navajo National Monument in northeastern Arizona. "Slightly smaller than Cliff Palace, Kiet Seel possesses qualities that, in the eyes of some, lend it greater charm and interest." [Frank McNitt, "Richard Wetherill: Anasazi," Albuquerque, 1966, p. 82.] Wetherill became fascinated by the ruins and artifacts and made a career as an explorer, guide, excavator and trading post operator.

The Wetherill family's good relations with local Indian tribes, including the Utes, allowed them access to many canyons on Ute controlled land. The family maintained a guest house at their ranch, offering tours and helping people obtain collections of artifacts. Although modern archaeologists are appalled at the damage done by early explorers like the Wetherills, preservation of the sites was not a concern for early explorers and scholars, who were more interested in either experiencing the curious ruins and relics or collecting artifacts for museum and university display than understanding the people and culture that created them. It is fair to say that, had Richard Wetherill not discovered and popularized the ruins, others would have.

Mesa Verde

On December 18, 1888, Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason, cowboys from Mancos found Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, having spotted the ruins from the top of the mesa. Wetherill gave the ruin its current name. Richard Wetherhill, his father, brothers, extended family, and their neighbors explored a number of the ruins, dug, knocked down walls and roofs, and gathered artifacts. The Wetherills sold part of their finds to the Historical Society of Colorado but kept a still larger collection.

Among the people who stayed with the Wetherills and explored the cliff-dwellings was mountaineer, photographer, and author Frederick H. Chapin who visited the region during 1889 and 1890. He described the landscape and ruins in an 1890 article and later in a 1892 book, "The Land of the Cliff-Dwellers", which he illustrated with hand drawn maps and personal photographs. The Wetherills also hosted Gustaf Nordenskiöld, the son of polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, in 1891. Nordenskiöld continued excavations begun by the Wetherills on the impressive Cliff Palace, unfortunately doing considerable damage as he dug and gathered artifacts. In 1893, Nordenskiöld published an illustrated account of his investigations called "The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde."

Chaco Canyon

The ruins of Chaco Canyon have been known to the outside world since the 1850s, when a military survey project passed through the area. The location was so remote, however, that formal archaeological work did not began until 1896, when a party from the American Museum of Natural History began excavating in Pueblo Bonito. This "Hyde Exploring Expedition" spent five years in the region, sending collections back to New York and even operating a series of trading posts.

In 1901, Wetherill, who had worked for the Hyde family in Chaco Canyon, homesteaded land that included Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Del Arroyo, and Chetro Ketl. While investigating Wetherill's land claim, General Land Office special agent S. J. Holsinger made a report which strongly recommended the creation of a national park to preserve Chacoan sites. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed "Chaco Canyon National Monument" on March 11, 1907, as Wetherill relinquished his claim on several parcels of land he held in Chaco Canyon.

Death

Richard Wetherill remained in Chaco Canyon, homesteading and operating a trading post at Pueblo Bonito until his controversial murder in 1910. Local Navajo Chiishch'ilin Biy‚ charged with his murder (by gunshot), had served several years in prison, but was released in 1914 due to poor health. [National Park Service - http://www.nps.gov/archive/chcu/briefhis.htm] Wetherill is buried in the small cemetery west of Pueblo Bonito. The cemetery lies just over a hundred meters west of Bonito behind a wooden fence, and also contains the burial of his wife Marietta and her uncle Clayton Tompkins. [ O'Niel, Zora "Moon New Mexico." Avalon Travel, 2007]

Footnotes

References

* Chapin, F. H. "The Land of the Cliff-Dwellers." Appalachian Mountain Club, W. B. Carke and Co., Boston, 1892.
* Cordell, Linda S. "Ancient Pueblo Peoples". St. Remy Press and Smithsonian Institution, 1994. ISBN 0-89599-038-5.
* McNitt, F. "Richard Wetherill: Anasazi". University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1966.
* Nordenskiöld, Gustaf. "Ruiner af Klippboningar I Mesa Verde's Cañons", Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & Söners, 1893. Translated by D. Llyod Morgan as "The Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde, Southwestern Colorado: Their Pottery and Implements." Norstedt and Soner, Stockholm and Chicago, 1893. Reprinted in 1979 by the Rio Grande Press, Glorieta, New Mexico.
* Wetherill, B. A. "The Wetherill's of Mesa Verde. Autobiography of Benjamin Alfred Wetherill". Edited and annotated by Maurine S. Fletcher, Associated University Press, Cranberry, New Jersey and London, 1977.
* O'Niel, Zora "Moon New Mexico." Avalon Travel, 2007