Within a short time after the discovery of the major ruins a large number of men were digging in the cliff dwellings of the Mesa Verde. The Wetherills were able to sell several collections, one for $3000, and word spread that digging was profitable.

That the ruins suffered greatly from the work done during the early years is everywhere evident. Below is Long House, probably the saddest example of what careless excavation did to the ruins. Long House was, without doubt, the second largest cliff dwelling in the Mesa Verde, rivaling Cliff Palace in size. Now little remains standing. But careful study of foundations, broken bits of masonry and the outlines of rooms on the cave walls indicates that the cave was once full of high structures. The great mass of stones that can be seen sliding down into the trees all across the front of the cave is an indication of the amount of masonry that once stood in the cave. Tales have come down to us indicating that dynamite was used by some of the early explorers in opening up the ruins. Dynamite fuse found in Long House lends support to these stories.

The work of some of the diggers was careless and ruthless. They had no consideration for the ruins for their only thought was of the sales value of the artifacts recovered. An indication of this can be seen in the fact that a banker in a nearby town “grub staked” men to dig in the ruins. Supplying them with food and equipment he received a percentage of their profits from the sale of artifacts.

The vast wealth of material taken from the ruins was widely scattered and much of it has disappeared. Of all those who excavated in the Mesa Verde during the early years probably only the Wetherill brothers kept records on what they found. Most of their collections were sold to museums and the Wetherills were encouraged by the museums to keep careful notes. These collections, even though they may now be in distant parts of the world, have value because of the records the men kept.

In 1889 and 1890, a writer named F. H. Chapin spent several weeks in the Mesa Verde traveling with the Wetherills. The extent of their excavations is indicated by some of the statements in his famous book, “The Land of the Cliff Dwellers.”

“Up to March 14, 1890, they had examined in all one hundred and eighty-two houses.... They visited one hundred and six houses in Navaho Canyon alone....”

The thoroughness with which the ruins were excavated can be seen by a statement made by Charles Mason in writing about one of their collecting trips. “In spite of the fact that all of the cliff dwellings had been worked two or three times, we succeeded in making a very good showing.”