HIGH-RISE APARTMENTS FOR INDIANS

Two cowboys turned their horses and galloped after a runaway calf that
was escaping from a herd of cattle. They found not only the calf but
also a deserted building clinging to a cliff. That happened in the late
1800’s.

You can see that same cliff house, known as Cliff Palace, in Mesa Verde
National Park in Colorado. Scientists say that it

was built by the Indians hundreds of years ago. \”Mesa Verde’ is Spanish
for “green table.’ And that’s what the flat-topped hills, or mesas, in
the park look like.

The Indians built their cliff house to protect themselves from enemies.
It was so big that nearly four hundred Indians lived in it.

No one knows for sure why the Indians moved away from Cliff Palace.
Maybe it was because of a war, or lack of rain, or just because they
were restless and wanted to move.