Filled with a desire to tell others of their surprising discoveries they returned to the Wetherill ranch and spread the news of the great ruins they had found. Immediately John Wetherill decided to visit Cliff Palace. With three other men he set out and only four days after the discovery the men entered the ruin and began to excavate.

Near the south end of the ruin a kiva was in perfect condition except that the roof was missing. Stretching a piece of canvas over it the men moved in and for three weeks the ancient ceremonial room served as living quarters as they excavated the great cliff dwelling. This was the beginning of serious excavation by the cowboys. The discovery of the large ruins made them feel that the recovery of articles left behind by the Indians might be a profitable business. As Charles Mason stated later in referring to one of their expeditions, “This time we went at it in a more business-like manner. Our previous work had been carried out more to satisfy our own curiosity than for any other purpose but this time it was a business proposition.”

On this first expedition the men kept no record of what they found. In later years two things stood out in John Wetherill’s memory. Throughout the ruin they found a profusion of baskets and in the low room in the rear of the cave they found fourteen mummies.