Above was a second wall, rising from the first as one terrace rises from another, and surmounted by a third, which was also in terrace fashion.

The ground tier of this stair-like structure contained the storerooms of the Moquis, while the upper tiers were composed of their two-story houses, the entire mass of masonry being upward of thirty feet high, and forming a continuous line of fortification.

This rampart of dwellings was in the shape of a rectangle, and enclosed a large square or plaza containing a noble reservoir.

Compact and populous, at once a castle and a city, the place could defy all the horse Indians of North America.
"Bless me! this is sublime but dreadful," said Aunt Maria when she learned that she must ascend to the landing of the lower wall by a ladder.

"No gate?
Isn't there a window somewhere that I could crawl through?
Well, well! Dear me! But it's delightful to see how safe these excellent people have made themselves." So with many tremblings, and with the aid of a lariat fastened around her waist and vigorously pulled from above by two Moquis, Aunt Maria clutched and scraped her way to the top of the foundation terrace.
"I shall never go down in the world," she remarked with a shuddering glance backward.