Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at
http://gallica.bnf.fr)





[Transcriber's Note:
All brackets except those used with footnotes are in the original text,
as are asterisks indicating long ellipsis.]

       *       *       *       *       *


THE REPAIR OF CASA GRANDE RUIN, ARIZONA, IN 1891

                       BY

                COSMOS MINDELEFF


       *       *       *       *       *


CONTENTS

Introduction                                                         321
Description of the ruins                                             321
Condition of Casa Grande in 1891                                     323
Plans for the repairs                                                325
Execution of the work                                                326
Reservation of the land                                              330
Specimens found in the excavations                                   330

Exhibits                                                             333
    I. Contract for repairing and preserving
         Casa Grande ruin, Arizona                                   333
   II. Plans and specifications for the preservation
         of the Casa Grande ruin, Arizona, 1891                      335
           General requirements                                      335
           Clearing out the debris                                   335
           Underpinning walls                                        336
           Filling in openings                                       336
           Bracing                                                   336
           Wire fencing                                              337
           Roof                                                      337
  III. Plans and sections                                            337
   IV. Oath of disinterestedness                                     338
    V. Bids                                                          338
   VI. Indorsements                                                  339
  VII. Report of Mr H. C. Rizer                                      340

Supplement                                                           344
  Correspondence and report relating to the condition
    of Casa Grande in 1895, with recommendations concerning
    its further protection                                           344
        I. Letter of Reverend Isaac T. Whittemore, custodian
             of Casa Grande, to the Secretary of the Interior,
             recommending an appropriation for further
             protecting the ruin                                     344
       II. Indorsement of Mr Whittemore's letter by the Acting
             Secretary of the Interior                               344
      III. Letter of the Acting Director of the Bureau of
             American Ethnology to the Secretary of the
             Interior suggesting an examination of Casa Grande
             with a view of its further protection                   344
       IV. Letter of the Acting Secretary of the Interior
             to the Director of the Bureau of American
             Ethnology approving the suggestion that Casa
             Grande be visited with a view of determining the
             desirability of its further protection                  347
        V. Letter of the Director of the Bureau of American
             Ethnology to the Secretary of the Interior
             regarding the examination of Casa Grande by
             Mr W J McGee                                            347
       VI. Report of the Director of the Bureau of American
             Ethnology to the Secretary of the Interior on the
             examination of the condition of Casa Grande by
             Mr W J McGee, with a recommendation concerning
             its further protection                                  348


ILLUSTRATIONS

Plate CXII. Map of the Casa Grande group                             321
     CXIII. Ground plan of Casa Grande ruin                          322
      CXIV. General view of Casa Grande                              325
       CXV. Interior wall surface                                    326
      CXVI. West front of Casa Grande showing blocks of masonry      329
     CXVII. Plan showing ground-level erosion, tie-rods,
              limits of work, and lines of ground sections           330
    CXVIII. East-and-west ground sections                            333
      CXIX. North-and-south ground sections                          335
       CXX. South front of the ruin, showing underpinning
              and ends of tie-rods                                   337
      CXXI. View from the southeast before the completion
              of the work                                            339
     CXXII. Suggested plan of roof and support                       340
    CXXIII. Section through _A-B_ of roof plan,
              showing suggested roof support                         343
     CXXIV. Section through _C-D_ of roof plan,
              showing suggested roof support                         345
      CXXV. Map showing location of Casa Grande reservation          346

[Transcriber's Note:
In the original, all illustrations are full-page plates distributed
evenly through the text. Their exact position has not been shown in
this e-text.]


       *       *       *       *       *


         THE REPAIR OF CASA GRANDE RUIN

              By Cosmos Mindeleff


       *       *       *       *       *


INTRODUCTION


In March, 1889, an appropriation of $2,000 was made by Congress for the
repair of Casa Grande ruin in southern Arizona. This amount was
insufficient for complete restoration, but under the authority of the
act of Congress making the appropriation some work was done. Partly as
an aid to further possible work, and partly that there may be an
available record of what has been done for the benefit of future
students of American archeology, this report is presented.

A full description of Casa Grande has been given by the writer in a
published memoir[1] on that ruin, hence only a brief account will now be
necessary to aid in making the present report intelligible. Following
this description is a statement of the condition of the ruin in 1891 and
of the plans formed for its repair, the latter being necessarily
controlled by the amount appropriated. After this there is an account of
the work done, from the passage of the bill until the delivery of the
work to the agent of the United States who received it, and of the
reservation, of an area of land about the ruin by order of the
President. This is followed by a catalogue of the articles found during
the excavations in and about the ruin, which were subsequently deposited
in the National Museum; a transcript of the contract under which the
work was done, including specifications, plans, and sections, and the
report of Mr H. C. Rizer, who inspected and received the work. Finally,
there are appended the correspondence and report relating to the
condition of Casa Grande in 1895, with recommendations concerning its
further protection.

    [Footnote 1: Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
    p. 289 et seq.]

Casa Grande has occupied a very important place in the literature of
American archeology, a place which it doubtless will continue to occupy;
and as dates are frequently of importance an effort has been made to
make the present report as full as possible in that respect.


DESCRIPTION OF THE RUINS

Casa Grande appears to be the sole surviving remnant of an extensive and
important class of remains in the southwest. These remains occur usually
in large groups or clusters, and Casa Grande is no exception. The name
has been ordinarily applied to a single house structure standing near
the southwestern corner of a large area covered by mounds and other
debris; but some writers have applied the term to the southwestern
portion of the area, others to the whole area.

Probably no two investigators would assign exactly the same limits to
this area, as its margins merge imperceptibly into the surrounding
country. The accompanying map (plate CXII) shows the limits of the ruins
as interpreted by the writer. The surface covered by well-defined
remains, as there shown, extends about 1,800 feet north and south and
1,500 feet east and west, or a total area of about 65 acres.

Casa Grande ruin occupies a position near the southwestern corner of the
group, and its size is insignificant as compared with the entire cluster
of ruins, or even with the remains of the large structure which occupied
the north-central part of the area. The contour interval on the map is 1
foot, sufficiently small to show much surface detail. The depressions
are indicated by dotted contours.

Within the area shown on the map there are a large number of mounds,
more or less leveled by long-continued exposure to the elements. Some
appear to be quite old, others represent buildings which were standing
within the historic period, and many interesting features are presented
which can not even be alluded to here.

Casa Grande proper was one of the smallest of the house clusters, but it
is unique in that the walls are still standing to a height of more than
25 feet. While fragments of standing wall are not uncommon, either in
the area mentioned or in the valleys of Gala and Salt rivers generally,
no other example exists, so far as known, so well preserved as the one
under consideration.

For miles around Casa Grande the ground surface is so flat that from the
summit of the walls an immense stretch of country is brought under view
in every direction. In the whole southwest, where there are thousands of
ruins, many of which represent villages located with especial reference
to outlook, there are few, if any, so well situated as this.

A ground plan of the ruin is shown in plate CXII and a general view in
plate CXIV. The area covered and inclosed by standing walls is about 43
by 59 feet, but the building is not exactly rectangular, nor do its
sides exactly face the cardinal points, notwithstanding many published
statements to that effect. The building comprised three central rooms,
each approximately 10 by 24 feet, arranged side by side with the longer
axes north and south, and two other rooms, each about 9 by 35 feet,
occupying, respectively, the northern and southern ends of the building,
and arranged transversely across the ends of the central rooms, the
longer axes running east and west. Excepting the central tier of rooms,
which was three stories high, all the walls rose to a height of two
stories above the ground. The northeastern and southeastern corners of
the structure have fallen, and large blocks of the material of which
they were composed are strewn upon the ground in the vicinity.

The exterior walls rise to a height of from 20 to 25 feet above the
ground. This height accommodated two stories, but the top of the wall is
from 1 to 2 feet higher than the roof level of the second story. The
middle room or space was built up three stories high, and the walls are
still standing to a height of 28 to 30 feet above the ground level. The
tops of the walls, while rough and greatly eroded, are approximately
level. The exterior surface of the walls is rough, as shown in the
illustrations, but the interior walls of the rooms are finished with a
remarkable degree of smoothness, so much so that it has attracted the
attention of everyone who has visited the ruin. Plate CXV shows this
feature. At the ground level the exterior wall is from 3½ to 4½ feet
thick, and in one place over 5 feet thick. The interior walls are from 3
to 4 feet thick. At the tops the walls are about 2 feet thick. The
building was constructed by crude methods, thoroughly aboriginal in
character, and there is no uniformity in its measurements. The walls,
even in the same room, are not of even thickness; the floor joists were
seldom in a straight line, and measurements made at similar places (for
example, at the two ends of a room) seldom agree.

Casa Grande is often referred to as an adobe structure, but this use of
the term is misleading. Adobe construction consists of the use of molded
brick, dried in the sun, but not baked. The walls here are composed of
huge blocks of rammed earth, 3 to 5 feet long, 2 feet high and 3 to 4
feet thick. These blocks were not molded and then laid in the wall, but
were manufactured in place.

Plate CXVI shows the character of these blocks. The material employed
was admirably suited for the purpose, being when dry almost as hard as
sandstone and nearly as durable. A building with walls of this material
would last indefinitely, provided a few slight repairs were made at the
conclusion of each rainy season. When abandoned, however, sapping at the
ground level would commence and would in time bring down all the walls;
yet in the two centuries which have elapsed since Padre Kino's visit to
this place--and Casa Grande was then a ruin--there has been but little
destruction from the elements, the damage done by relic hunters during
the last twenty years being, in fact, much greater than that due to all
causes in the preceding two centuries.

The building was well provided with doorways and other openings,
arranged in pairs, one above the other. There were doorways from each
room into every adjoining room, except that the rooms of the middle tier
were entered only from the east. Some of the openings were not used, and
were closed with blocks of solid masonry, built into them long prior to
the final abandonment of the structure.


CONDITION OF CASA GRANDE IN 1891

The south and east fronts of Casa Grande seem to have suffered,
particularly from the weather, and here rainstorms have probably caused
some of the damage. The outer faces of the walls are of the same
material as the wall mass, all the masonry being composed of earth from
the immediate site. In the construction of the walls this soil was laid
up in successive courses of varying thickness, whose limits form clearly
defined and approximately horizontal joints. The northeast and southeast
corners of the building have entirely fallen away, and low mounds of
their debris still show many knobs and lumps, parts of the original wall
mass.

The destruction of the walls was due mainly to undermining at the ground
level. The character of this undermining is shown in many of the
illustrations to this report, especially in plate CXVI, and its extent
is indicated on the accompanying ground plan (plate CXVII) by dotted
lines within the wall mass. Although the material of which the walls are
composed is very hard when dry, and capable of resisting the destructive
influences to which it has been subjected for a long time, yet under
certain conditions it becomes more yielding. The excessively dry climate
of this region, which in one respect has made the preservation of the
ruin possible, has also furnished, in its periodic sandstorms, a most
efficient agent of destruction. The amount of moisture in the soil is so
small as scarcely to be detected, but what there is in the soil next to
the walls is absorbed by the latter, rising doubtless by capillary
attraction to a height of a foot or more from the ground. This portion
of the wall being then more moist than the remainder, although possibly
only in an infinitesimal degree, is more subject to erosion by flying
sand in the windstorms so frequent in this region, and gradually the
base of the wall is eaten away until the support becomes insufficient
and the wall falls en masse. The plan shows that in some places the
walls have been eaten away at the ground level to a depth of more than a
foot. Portions of the south wall were in a dangerous condition and
likely to fall at any time.

Visiting tourists have done much damage by their vandalism. They have
torn out and carried away every lintel and every particle of visible
wood in the building. After the removal of the lintels a comparatively
short time elapses before the falling in of the wall above. Apparently
but a small amount of this damage can be attributed to rainstorms,
which, although rare in this region, are sometimes violent. There is
evidence that the present height of the walls is nearly the original
height, in other words, that the loss from surface erosion in several
centuries has been trifling, although numerous opinions to the contrary
have been expressed by causal observers. The eastern wall has suffered
more from this cause than the others; a belt on the northern half,
apparently softer than the remainder of the wall, has been eaten away to
a depth of nearly a foot. The interior wall faces are in good condition
generally, except about openings and in places near the top.

Evidences of the original flooring are preserved in several of the
rooms, especially in the north room. The flooring conformed to the
pueblo type in the use of a series of principal beams, about 3 inches in
diameter, above which was a secondary series smaller in size and placed
quite close together, and above this again a layer of rushes with a
coating of clay. All the walls show evidences of the principal series of
beams in the line of holes formed by their ends where they were embedded
in the walls. In the south wall, in parts of the east wall high up on
the level of the upper roof, and in parts of other walls a few stumps of
floor beams remained. These specimens of aboriginal woodwork have
survived only because they are not in sight from the ground, and their
existence therefore was not suspected by the tourists. Evidence of the
other features of the floor construction can be seen on the walls in
places where they have left an imprint, as described in the memoir
previously cited.

No single opening remains intact, as the lintels have been removed from
every one of them. This is particularly unfortunate, for openings at
their best are an element of weakness in a wall, and here each opening,
after the lintel was removed, became, as it were, a center of weakness
from which the destruction of the wall mass gradually proceeded further
and further.


PLANS FOR THE REPAIRS

The plans for the repair of the ruin and its preservation included the
reservation of the area covered by remains and, if possible, its
inclosure, for within that area are exhibited all the various degrees of
decay and disintegration which clearly link the comparatively well
preserved Casa Grande with the numerous almost obliterated ruins along
the Gila and the Salt, whose vestiges will become even less distinct as
time passes and cultivation increases.

It was deemed necessary to remove all the rubbish and debris within the
building and from an area measuring 10 feet from the outer walls in
every direction. Plate CXVII shows the extent of this area, and six
sections are shown in plates CXVIII and CXIX, three on east-and-west
lines and three on north-and-south lines. The lines along which these
sections were made are indicated on the plan, plate CXVII. The ground
level was determined by excavation, and is of course only approximate.
The sections show the estimated amount of debris which was to be
removed. Aside from other considerations, it was necessary to uncover
the walls to the ground level in order to do the necessary underpinning.

It was planned to underpin the walls, where erosion at the ground level
had weakened them, with hard-burned brick laid in cement mortar. Plate
CXVII shows in a measure the extent of this erosion. The brick surface
was to be set back an inch or two and faced with that thickness of
cement mortar. Plate CXX shows the south front and plate CXXI the south
and east fronts when the brickwork was completed, but before it was
plastered, and will illustrate what was planned better than can a
description.

This treatment, it was believed, would give a surface capable of
effectually resisting atmospheric influences and the destructive action
of flying sand, and at the same time would not disfigure the ruin by
making the repairs obtrusive.

The broken-out lintels of openings were to be replaced, and the cavities
above them filled in with brick faced with mortar similar to the
underpinning.

The south wall, which was in a dangerous condition, was to be supported
by three internal braces, as shown in the plan, plate CXVII. The longest
brace or beam was necessarily of wood, as the wide range of temperature
in this region, even between day and night, would produce so much
expansion and contraction in an iron rod 60 feet long that without some
compensating device the wall would be rocked on its base and its rapid
destruction necessarily follow.


EXECUTION OF THE WORK

Appended to that portion of the sundry civil appropriation act approved
March. 2, 1889,[1] in which certain expenses of the United States
Geological Survey are provided for, is the following item:

  Repair of the ruin of Casa Grande, Arizona: To enable the Secretary
  of the Interior to repair and protect the ruin of Casa Grande,
  situate in Pinal County, near Florence, Arizona, two thousand
  dollars; and the President is authorized to reserve from settlement
  and sale the land on which said ruin is situated and so much of the
  public land adjacent thereto as in his judgment may be necessary for
  the protection of said ruin and of the ancient city of which it is a
  part.

    [Footnote 1: 25 Statutes, p. 961.]

On the 12th of April, 1889, there was a conference between the Secretary
of the Interior and the Commissioner of the General Land Office looking
to the execution of the law, and on the 16th of that month the
Commissioner submitted a statement on the subject, calling attention to
the fact that the appropriation would not be available until July 1
following, and suggesting that a special agent should be sent out to
examine the ruin. This suggestion was approved, and on April 27, 1889,
Special Agent Alexander L. Morrison, of the General Land Office, was
instructed to proceed to the ruins for the purpose of investigating and
reporting as to what method should be adopted for their repair and
protection. Mr Morrison was further instructed to report "all the facts
obtainable as regards said ruins of 'Casa Grande,' in order that
appropriate action may be taken by the Department for its preservation."

On May 15,1889, Mr Morrison submitted a report to the Commissioner,
describing his journey, the location of the ruin, the ruin itself, and
other ruins in the vicinity. He stated that danger to the ruin was of
three kinds--(1) by vandalism, (2) by elements, (3) by undermining. He
recommended the construction of a roof and an underpinning of stone for
the walls. Finally, he gave some historical notes, and closed with a
peroration.

Mr Morrison's plans were found impracticable, as their execution would
require an expenditure of many times the sum appropriated, and on
September 23, 1889, all the papers in the case were transmitted by the
Secretary to the Director of the Geological Survey, "for appropriate
action under the clause of the act referred to, as being within the
province of your Bureau." It was ordered that the work be commenced
without the least delay, and November 27, 1889, Mr Victor Mindeleff, of
the Bureau of Ethnology, was detailed by the Director and ordered to
proceed to the ruin and report on the best means of repairing it and
protecting it from further destruction. He was also directed to make
other investigations in the vicinity, which have no relation to the
present case.

On July 1, 1890, Mr Mindeleff submitted a report. He described the ruins
of which Casa Grande is the type, and also Casa Grande itself. He also
made a statement of the condition of the ruin and suggested that the
main destruction "was due to the undermining of the walls, and stated
that much damage had been done by tourists. He recommended (1) that an
area about the ruin be fenced in; (2) that a man be located permanently
on the ground to watch the ruins; (3) that the ruins be cleaned out; (4)
that the walls be underpinned with brick instead of stone, as previously
suggested; (5) that the tops of the walls, after removing several inches
to afford a good bearing surface, be treated with a coping of cement. It
was regarded that this plan, if carried into effect, would afford
sufficient protection against the weather, but a plan for a roof was
submitted should such a structure be deemed desirable and practicable.
Mr Mindeleff also recommended a number of tie-rods and beams, the
replacement of the broken-out lintels, and the filling of the cavities
above.

This plan was approved in its general features, but the means provided
for its execution were found insufficient. A further complication arose
from the fact that a few months later Mr Mindeleff severed his
connection with the Bureau of Ethnology and his knowledge became no
longer available.

November 20, 1890, the writer was ordered to proceed to the ruin and
inaugurate the work of repair, following, so far as practicable, the
plans already approved. He left Washington soon afterward and reached
the ruin late in December. It was found necessary to make a detailed
survey of the ruin and of the group of which it forms a part, and to
make plans and sections showing the probable amount of excavation for
the use of those who were invited to bid on the work. Furthermore, the
amount appropriated was so well known to be inadequate that great
difficulty was experienced in obtaining bids, and it was only through
the efficient cooperation of the Reverend I. T. Whittemore at Florence
and of Mr C. A. Garlick at Phoenix that success was finally achieved.
Two bids were received from the former place and one from the latter;
but this was not accomplished until March 17, 1891, the date when the
last bid was received. In the meantime the writer, having completed his
work at Casa Grande, so far as he could, had entered, in January, on an
archeologic investigation of the valley of the Rio Verde, in compliance
with his orders to that effect.

It was found impossible to execute all the work deemed requisite for the
preservation of the ruin within the limits of the appropriation. A
selection of items became necessary, therefore, and those which were of
most importance were chosen. Even in this, however, it was found that a
maximum limit on the amount of work to be done on each item must be set,
and this limit was considerably below the amount of work estimated to be
necessary.

The first thing to be done was, of course, the clearing out of the
rubbish and debris. The item next in importance was the underpinning of
the walls with brick wherever it was needed. The third item was the
restoration of the lintels and the filling of the cavities above them.
The fourth item was the tying in of the south wall, or of the several
parts of it, with braces. This was the only feature of the plan which
would appreciably disfigure the ruin, but some such device was deemed
essential for the preservation of the south wall.

These four items consumed practically all of the amount appropriated,
and the other items of the original plan were therefore omitted. The bid
of T. L. Stouffer and F. E. White, of Florence, Arizona, covering the
four items, was accepted, and a contract was made with them, under date
of May 9, 1891, for the execution of the work for the sum of $1,985.
This contract, together with the specifications, plans, and other
drawings which formed part of it, accompany this report. It was
transmitted to the Director of the Geological Survey, and by him
approved and forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior June 6, 1891. It
was approved by the Acting Secretary June 20, 1891. Finally, on July 20,
1891, it was placed on file, together "with the bids, proposals, and all
the original papers."

A time limit of two months was made in the contract, expiring August 20,
1891, but it was changed to four months from July 1, 1891, expiring
October 31, 1891. Before the time expired, however, Mr H. G. Rizer, then
chief clerk of the Bureau of Ethnology, was ordered to proceed to Casa
Grande ruin to examine the work done and, if in accord with the terms of
the contract and the specifications, to certify the amount due the
contractors. He submitted a report, under date of November 24, 1891,
which is appended hereto. He also obtained six photographic negatives of
the work as it stood a short time before its completion, and two of
these (reproduced in plates CXX and CXXI) have been utilized in the
preparation of this report.

Mr Rizer found that a considerable amount of work had been done by the
contractors in excess of that authorized, and also that not sufficient
work had been done to render the repairs permanently effective. Under
the terms of the contract, no amount in excess of that stated ($1,985)
could be paid, and payment of this amount was made late in 1891. On
January 7, 1892, the contractors filed a claim for extra work on the
ruin amounting to $600.40. The work was actually performed, but the
terms of the contract were clear, and the claim was therefore
disapproved January 28, 1892.

It would have been desirable to have had a supervisor of the work, but
as the contract consumed practically all of the amount appropriated no
provision could be made for one. It is fortunate, therefore, that the
Reverend I. T. Whittemore, who had in the meantime been appointed
honorary custodian of the ruin, generously undertook to look after the
work without compensation, and on its conclusion the small sum remaining
($15) was turned over to him, thus exhausting the appropriation. In the
sundry civil appropriation act for the year ending June 30, 1893,
provision was made for a salaried custodian of the ruin, and Mr
Whittemore was appointed to this position. Similar provision has been
continued from year to year to the present time.

It is to be regretted that the necessities of the case, imposed by the
limited amount appropriated, compelled the fixing of a maximum amount of
work so far below the amount necessary that the repair of the ruin is
incomplete. Had it been possible to carry out the plans, it is believed
that the ruin would have stood unchanged for many decades, if not for a
century. Should further provision be made for the continuation of the
work, it should include an item for the fencing of the area covered by
the ruins or of the reservation, and possibly an item for the
construction of a roof.

It is not clear that a roof is absolutely necessary, but it is certain
that it would be very undesirable. The region where this rain occurs has
probably less rainfall than any other part of the United States, but it
must not be forgotten that while rainstorms are infrequent they are
sometimes violent, and what damage they do may be done in a few hours.
All the items for the repair of the ruin, except that pertaining to a
roof, were so devised that the ruin was not materially disfigured or
changed, and were they fully carried out the ruin would present much the
same general appearance as before. It is important that this appearance
should be preserved as far as possible, but it can not be maintained if
a roof is erected over the walls. As four years have elapsed since the
completion of the work, it should be possible now to determine whether
atmospheric erosion has played a material part in the work of
destruction.[1]

    [Footnote 1: See the letter of the Director of the Bureau of
    American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the
    examination of Casa Grande by Mr W J McGee in the supplement to
    the present paper.]

In the original plans and in the specifications which formed part of the
contract (although this section was not operative) a plan for a roof was
included. Such a structure, if erected at all, should be made as
inconspicuous as possible and should be supported entirely from within
the building. The system of framing employed might safely be left to the
contractor if he were made responsible for the strength of the completed
structure.


RESERVATION OF THE LAND

The final step in the execution of the law quoted was taken June 22,
1892. On that date the recommendation of the writer to the Director of
the Geological Survey, referred by him to the Secretary of the Interior
and by the latter to the President, was finally approved, and it was
ordered that an area of land sufficient for the preservation of the
ruin, and comprising in all 480 acres, be reserved under authority of
act of Congress approved March 2, 1889. This area is shown on the map
reproduced in plate CXXV, the base of which is a map accompanying the
report of Mr H. C. Rizer.

The letter of the Secretary of the Interior recommending the reservation
of the Casa Grande tract, with its indorsement by the President, is as
follows:

  Department of the Interior,
      _Washington, June 20, 1893_.

  Sir: I have the honor to recommend that the SW. ¼ SW. ¼, SE. ¼ SW.
  ¼, SW. ¼ SE. ¼ section 9, NW. ¼, NW. ¼ NE. ¼, SW. ¼ NE. ¼, NW. ¼ SW.
  ¼, NE. ¼ SW. ¼, and NW. ¼ SE. ¼ section 16, all in township 5 south,
  range 8 east, Gila and Salt river meridian, Arizona, containing 480
  acres more or less, and including the Casa Grande ruin, be reserved
  in accordance with the authority vested in you by the act of March
  2, 1889 (25 Stat., 961), for the protection of the ruin.

  The Director of the Bureau of Ethnology requests that the
  reservation be made, and the Acting Commissioner of the General Land
  Office knows of no objection to such action.

  Very respectfully,
      John W. Noble,
          _Secretary_.

  The President.
      [_Indorsement by the President_]
          Executive Mansion, _June 23, 1892_.

  Let the lands described within be reserved for the protection of the
  Casa Grande ruin as recommended by the Secretary of the Interior.

                Benj. Harrison.

The limits of this reservation are laid down on the plat of the survey
of said township in the General Land Office, and the reservation is now
under the control of the Secretary of the Interior.


SPECIMENS FOUND IN THE EXCAVATIONS

In the course of the excavations a number of specimens of archeologic
interest were unearthed. These were all preserved and on the conclusion
of the work were forwarded to the National Museum in Washington, in
compliance with the terms of the contract. Following is a list showing
the collection number and also the Museum number.


National Museum number
        |
        |Bureau of Ethnology number
        |     |
        |     | Article             | Number of specimens
        |     |                     |
        |     |                     |      | Remarks
--------+-----+---------------------+------+-----------------------------
        |     |                     |      |
 155088 | 595 | Fragments of large  | Lot. | Plain red on both sides.
        |     | earthenware vessel. |      |
 155089 | 596 | Large bowl.         |   1  | Red outside; black, polished
        |     |                     |      |   inside; restored.
 155090 | 597 | Large vase.         |   1  | Decorated outside; restored.
 155091 | 598 | Pottery fragments.  |  14  | Decorated.
 155092 | 599 | Pottery vase (toy). |   1  | Small, dark brown.
 155093 | 600 | Pottery bowl (toy). |   1  | Small, black.
 155094 | 601 | Pottery disk or     |   4  |
        |     |  spindle.           |      |
 155095 | 602 | Pottery toy         |   1  | Dark brown.
        |     |  (mountain goat).   |      |
        | 603 | Adobe.              |   2  | Lumps; 1 showing impression
        |     |                     |      |   of cloth, the other of a
        |     |                     |      |   human foot.
        | 604 | Small shells.       | Lot. |
        | 605 |  -- do --           | Lot. |
        | 606 | Small shells(lonus?)| Lot. |
        | 607 | Small shells (cut   | Lot. | For use as pendants.
        |     |  and perforated).   |      |
        | 608 | Small shells, beads,| Lot. | 1 string and 2 fragments.
        |     |   and pendants.     |      |
        | 609 | Bone awls.          |   3  |
        | 610 | Bone fragments.     |   6  | Partly charred.
        | 611 | Chalk, obsidian     | Lot. |
        |     |  chips, and brown   |      |
        |     |  adobe.             |      |
        | 612 | Charred wood, 2     |   4  |
        |     |  nuts, and a        |      |
        |     |  corncob.           |      |
        | 613 | Charred textiles,   |   2  |
        |     |  cloth.             |      |
        | 614 | Wooden joist        |   3  | 3, 6, and 9 inches long;
        |     |  fragments.         |      |   4 inches diameter.
        | 615 | Reed.               |   1  | 12 inches long.
        | 616 | Stone axes.         |   7  | And 3 broken, grooved.
        | 617 | Pounding stone and  |   2  | Of sandstone, with
        |     |  fragment.          |      |   ring-shaped handle.
        | 618 | Stone pestles       |   2  | One 12½ inches long, 1¾
        |     |                     |      |   inches diameter; one 9½
        |     |                     |      |   inches long, 1¾ inches
        |     |                     |      |   diameter; also a fragment
        | 619 | Stone mullers.      |   4  |
        | 620 | Stone hammers.      |   6  | 1 pitted.
        | 621 | Stone mullers, flat.|   6  | 5 broken.
        | 622 | Stone mortar, flat. |   1  | 6½ by 12 inches; 2 inches
        |     |                     |      |   thick.
        | 623 |  -- do --           |   1  | 13 by 22 inches; 6 inches
        |     |                     |      |   thick.
        | 624 | Stone, polished.    |   1  | 22 inches long, 6½ inches
        |     |                     |      |   diameter; restored.
        | 625 | Stone hoes or       |   2  |
        |     |  chopping knives.   |      |
        | 626 | Limestone ornament. |   1  | Carved; fragmentary.
        | 627 | Small stone vessel. |   1  | Serpent carved on the
        |     |                     |      |   outside.
        | 628 | Stone arrowhead.    |   2  | 1 of obsidian, very small,
        |     |                     |      |   and 1 of flint; also a
        |     |                     |      |   broken specimen.

  Specimen number 627 B.E. was not obtained from the ruin itself, but
  was found in that vicinity by Mr Whittemore and presented by him.




EXHIBITS


I. CONTRACT FOR REPAIRING AND PRESERVING CASA GRANDE RUIN, ARIZONA

_This contract_, made and entered into this ninth day of May, eighteen
hundred and ninety-one, between Theodore Louis Stouffer and Frederick
Emerson White, both of Florence, Arizona, as principals, and Augustine
Gray Williams, of Florence, Arizona, Andrew James Doran, of Florence,
Arizona, as sureties, of the first part, and the United States of
America, by Cosmos Mindeleff, acting for the Secretary of the Interior,
of the second part:

_Witnesseth_, That the said parties of the first part do hereby contract
and agree with the United States of America, as follows: That for the
consideration hereinafter mentioned they will at their own expense and
risk perform and execute the work upon the Casa Grande ruin, described
and specified in the specification hereto annexed and forming a part
hereof, in the manner and with the conditions specified, items of said
work to be as follows:

Item No. 1. Clearing out the débris: To excavate and remove 350 cubic
yards of earth and débris, or less, as specified, amount of excavation
not to exceed 350 cubic yards.

Item No. 2. Underpinning walls: To underpin the walls as specified,
requiring 750 cubic feet of brick masonry, or less, amount of masonry
not to exceed 750 cubic feet.

Item No. 3. Filling in cavities: To fill in cavities and openings as
specified, 500 lineal feet of 2 by 4 inches squared lumber and 800 cubic
feet of masonry, or less, whole amount of filling not to exceed 825
cubic feet.

Item No. 4. To brace the walls as specified in the annexed plan and
specifications.

Items numbered five and six of the specifications hereto annexed,
together with the plans, specifications, and conditions pertaining
especially and only to them and not to the other items, are omitted.

The said parties of the first part further contract and agree to deliver
over the work, completed and finished, to such person as the Secretary
of the Interior may designate, within two months after receipt of notice
that this contract has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

_It is further stipulated and agreed_, That should the parties of the
first part fail to complete the work within the time specified, or
should they deliver work which is not in accordance with the plans and
specifications hereto annexed, only such sum shall be paid for the work
as may be agreed upon by the said parties of the first part and the
Secretary of the Interior; and it is further stipulated and agreed on
the part of the parties of the first part that if the work is not
completed in the time specified and according to the specifications
hereto annexed they will pay to the United States a sum not exceeding
fifty dollars for each and every week after the time specified, such
payments to be deducted from the amount due for work done: _Provided_,
That the Secretary of the Interior, or such person as he may authorize
to do so, may extend the time for the completion of the work.

_And the United States of America_, by the said Cosmos Mindeleff, acting
for the Secretary of the Interior, do hereby contract and agree with the
said parties of the first part that for the aforesaid work, performed
and executed in the manner and under the conditions aforesaid, there
shall be paid to the said parties of the first part the following sums:

For item No. 1. For clearing out the débris, as specified and as above
limited, sixty cents ($0.60) for each cubic yard.

For item No. 2. For underpinning walls, as specified and as above
limited, one dollar ($1) for each cubic foot.

For item No. 3. For filling in cavities, as specified and as above
limited, one dollar ($1) for each cubic foot, including lumber.

For item No. 4. For bracing walls, as specified, two hundred dollars
($200). _Provided_, That payments for the work here contracted for shall
be made only after the inspection and approval of the work by such
person as the Secretary of the Interior shall designate.

It is an express condition of this contract that it shall have no force
or effect until it is submitted to and approved by the Secretary of the
Interior.

It is a further condition of this contract that no Member or Delegate
to Congress, or any other officer or agent of the United States, either
directly or indirectly, himself or by any other person in trust for him,
or for his use and benefit, or on his account, is a party to or in any
manner interested, in whole or in part, in this contract, or in the
enjoyments, benefits, profits, or emoluments arising therefrom.

    (Signed)    Theodore Louis Stouffer. [SEAL]
                Frederick Emerson White. [SEAL]
                Augustine Gray Williams. [SEAL]
                Andrew James Doran.      [SEAL]

Witnesses as to Stouffer, White, Doran, and Williams:

    (Signed)    Frank C. Kebbey,
                  _Clerk District Court, Second Judicial District,
                  Territory of Arizona_.
                Cosmos Mindeleff,    [SEAL]
                  _Acting for the Secretary of the Interior_.

Witnesses as to Cosmos Mindeleff:

    (Signed)    Jeff Hunt.
                Chas. B. Eaman.


AFFIDAVIT OF CONTRACTORS

Territory of Arizona, _County of Pinal, ss:_

Augustine Gray Williams and Andrew James Doran, subscribers to and
sureties in the contract hereto annexed, being duly sworn, depose
and say, each for himself, that he is worth the sum of two thousand
dollars over and above all debts and liabilities which he owes or
has incurred, and exclusive of property exempt by law from levy and
sale under execution.

    (Signed)    Augustine Gray Williams. [SEAL]
                Andrew James Doran.      [SEAL]

Sworn to and subscribed before me this ninth day of May, A. D. 1891.

    [SEAL]    (Signed)    Frank C. Kebbey,
                _Clerk District Court, Second Judicial District,
                Territory of Arizona_.


Territory of Arizona, _S Ct:_

I, Joseph H. Kebbey, associate justice of the supreme court of the
Territory of Arizona, certify that I am personally acquainted with
Augustine Gray Williams and Andrew James Doran, sureties, and that
in my opinion they are good and sufficient to the amounts in which
they have bound themselves in the foregoing contract.

Florence, Arizona Territory, 9th May, 1891.

    (Signed)    Joseph H. Kebbey,
                  _Associate Justice Supreme Court, Arizona Territory_.


II. PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE CASA GRANDE
RUIN, ARIZONA, 1891

(_Attached to and forming part of contract_)

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

All the work upon this ruin is to be carried out in such a manner as to
interfere as little as possible with the present condition and
appearance of the building, and the contractors will be held responsible
for any injury to it.

The work is to be carried on under a supervisor, acting for the United
States, who shall have power to reject any materials it is proposed to
use in the work which are not in his judgment equal to those specified,
and he shall have power to have torn down any work done which he has
reason to suspect is not such as required by the specifications, but if
such work shall prove upon inspection to have been well done the
contractor may make a charge of the amount which would have been allowed
for that part of the work had it passed inspection.

When the work is completed it must pass the final inspection of the
supervisor, or such person as the Secretary of the Interior may
designate for the purpose.

1. CLEARING OUT THE DÉBRIS

The débris now filling up the interior is to be removed down to the
floor level, or the original ground level. The débris covering an area
measuring 10 feet from the exterior walls of the building in every
direction is also to be removed. This work is to be carried on in
conjunction with the underpinning of the walls, and is to be dependent
upon the progress of the latter, the work being done as required by the
person holding the contract for the underpinning. All proper precautions
must be observed during the progress of the work to prevent any injury
to the building, the walls being properly braced and supported before
excavation is commenced. The contractor will be held responsible for any
injury to the building. Any objects found of archeologic or other value
properly belong to the United States and must be deposited in the
National Museum. The material removed from the building and from the
area about it is to be removed to a proper distance, not less than 100
yards from the building. Proper drainage channels must be provided to
keep the excavated area permanently clear of water.

2. UNDERPINNING WALLS

The walls where eroded at the ground level are to be underpinned with
hard-burned brick, laid in good cement mortar and extending to a depth
of at least 12 inches below the original ground level. This work must be
carried on gradually and very carefully in conjunction with the clearing
out of the débris. The under surfaces of the overhanging walls must be
carefully trimmed to afford solid horizontal bearings against the
brickwork. The face of the brickwork is to be set back at least 1 inch
and not more than 2 inches from the face of the wall, and the brickwork
is to be plastered with a coating of cement mortar, 1 to 2 inches thick,
bringing it out flush with the outer wall.

3. FILLING IN OPENINGS

The broken-out lintels of openings are to be replaced by wooden lintels
composed of squared lumber, 2 by 4 inches in size, laid side by side
across nearly the whole thickness of the walls, with not more than 1
inch space between the boards, and of the same length as the original
lintels. The broken-out walls are to be trimmed to afford solid resting
places for the new lintels, which are to occupy the same horizontal
planes that the old ones did. The openings above the lintels are to be
filled in in the same manner as the underpinning previously described,
the tinder wall surfaces being carefully dressed to afford solid
horizontal bearings, the brick work being set back 1 inch from the wall
surfaces and plastered with a coating of cement mortar to bring it out
flush with the wall.

4. BRACING

One wooden brace and two iron braces are to be put in, as shown upon the
plan hereto annexed. The wooden brace is to be of one piece, or of two
pieces well bolted together, of selected lumber, free from knots and
other imperfections, squared, and measuring 6 by 8 inches in cross
section. The iron braces are to be of 1 inch diameter, best quality
wrought-iron rods. The bearing plates, four to each rod, are to be not
less than 10 inches in diameter, of sufficient strength, and securely
and permanently fastened to the braces.

5. WIRE FENCING

Such area as may be determined is to be fenced with the best quality of
galvanized iron barbed wire, strung upon posts placed 20 feet apart. The
posts are to be of mesquite, not less than 3 inches in diameter and of a
reasonable degree of straightness (not varying more than 5 inches from a
straight line). The posts are to be at least 6 feet 6 inches long and
are to be planted perpendicularly with 4 feet 6 inches clear and at
least 2 feet below the ground surface. Three lines of double wire are to
be stretched upon and securely fastened to the posts, the first at a
distance of 2 feet from the ground, the second at 3 feet, and the third
at 4 feet from the ground. Two gateways are to be provided, at such
points as may be directed, the side posts to be of squared timber, 6 by
6 inches in cross section, and the gates to be made of sawed lumber 1
inch by 5 inches, hung upon good iron hinges, and leaving a clear space
of not less than 12 feet when open, the whole to be executed in the best
and most workmanlike manner.

6. ROOF

The building is to be crowned by a roof of corrugated iron, supported in
the manner shown in the accompanying plan and sections. The uprights are
to be of selected squared lumber 1 foot square, each in a single piece,
the lower ends planted at least 3 feet below the original ground level,
and to be braced and tied to each other, as shown in the plan. The tie
pieces are to be of selected squared lumber, 4 inches by 6 inches in
cross section. The roof is to be framed and braced in the ordinary
manner, and this framing is to extend beyond the outer wall 6 feet. The
covering is to be a good quality of corrugated iron roofing, securely
fastened to the framework, and painted with three good coats of the best
quality of roof paint. The whole to be constructed and executed, in the
best and most workmanlike manner, of good materials throughout, and to
be of a strength sufficient to withstand the windstorms to which it may
be subjected.


III. PLANS AND SECTIONS--PRESERVATION OF THE CASA GRANDE RUIN, ARIZONA.
SCALE OF ALL THE PLANS AND SECTIONS. 0.1 INCH = 1 FOOT

Plans and sections accompanying specifications are as follows:

  Plan showing tie-rods, limits of work, and lines of ground sections.
    [Plate CXVII of this report.]

  Three east-and-west sections to show estimated amount of excavation
    necessary. [Plate CXVIII of this report.]

  Three north-and-south sections to show estimated amount of excavation
    necessary. [Plate CXIX of this report.]

  Plan showing roof support. [Plate CXXII of this report.]

  Two sections showing roof support. [Plate CXXIII and plate CXXIV of
    this report.]


IV. OATH OF DISINTERESTEDNESS

  I do solemnly swear that the copy of contract hereunto annexed is
  an exact copy of contract made by me personally with Theodore Louis
  Stouffer and Frederick Emerson White; that I made the same fairly,
  without any benefit or advantage to myself, or allowing any such
  benefit or advantage corruptly to the said Theodore Louis Stouffer
  and Frederick Emerson White, or to any other person or persons; and
  that the papers accompanying include all those relating to the said
  contract, as required by the statute, in such case made and provided.

      (Signed)    Cosmos Mindeleff.

  Sworn to and subscribed before me at Washington, D.C., this 18th day
  of July, 1891.

      [SEAL]    (Signed)    Jno. D. McChesney,
                              _Notary Public_.


V. BIDS

I

  Bid for repairs on the Casa Grande ruins, in Pinal County,
  Arizona, bidders to furnish all labor and materials according to
  specifications:

  Item No. 1. Cleaning out débris, 60 cents per cubic yard.
  Item No. 2. Underpinning walls, $1 per cubic foot.
  Item No. 3. Filling in openings, $1 per cubic foot.
  Item No. 4. Bracing walls, $200.
  Item No. 5. Wire fence, 3 cents per foot complete.
  Item No. 6. Roof, $2,000.

      (Signed)    T. L. Stouffer.
                  F. E. White.

      Florence, Arizona, _January 28, 1891_.

II

  Bid for putting a roof on the Casa Grande ruins as per plans and
  specifications furnished, $3,000.

      (Signed)    C. D. Henry.

III

  Bid for fencing in the Casa Grande ruins: Furnishing the posts and
  barbed wire, for 100 feet of fence, $7 per 100 feet.

      (Signed)    C. D. Henry.

IV

  Bids for restoring the Casa Grande ruins:

  First. Removing débris from interior of the ruins, 320 cubic yards,
  more or less, $1 per yard; 140 cubic yards from exterior of the
  ruins, at 60 cents per yard.

  Second. Eight hundred cubic feet of brick masonry underpinning, more
  or less, at $1.30 per cubic foot.

  Third. One thousand cubic feet, more or less, of brick masonry to
  fill in cavities, at $1.40 per cubic foot.

  Fourth. Bracing walls, as per plans, $120.

  Fifth. Five hundred lineal feet of 2 by 4 square timber at 8 cents
  per foot, lumber measure.

      (Signed)    C. D. Henry.

V

  Phoenix, Arizona, _February 11, 1891_.
      Cosmos Mindeleff, Esq.,
          _Tempe, Arizona_.

  Dear Sir: I hereby submit for your consideration, in reference to
  the plans and specifications for the preservation of the Casa Grande
  ruins of Arizona, bids upon the following propositions, to wit:

  First. "Cleaning out the débris." For the removal of 470 cubic yards
  of material, more or less, at $2.65 per cubic yard.

  Second. "Underpinning walls." For 800 cubic feet of brick masonry,
  more or less, laid and plastered as specified, at $4.25 per cubic
  foot.

  Third. "Filling in openings." For filling in cavities in walls and
  restoring lintels of openings, as specified, 1,000 cubic feet, more
  or less, at $2.25 per cubic foot.

  Fourth. "Bracing walls." For bracing walls, $85.30.

  Fifth. "Wire fencing." Twenty-five dollars and twenty-five cents per
  100 feet of completed fence.

  Sixth. "Roofing." As per specifications, $4,722.

  Respectfully submitted.

      (Signed)    M. E. Clauton.


VI. INDORSEMENTS

_Contract for the repair and preservation of the Casa Grande ruin,
Arizona, 1891_

  Department of the Interior,
      U. S. Geological Survey,
          _June 6, 1891_.

  Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior, recommending
  approval.

      (Signed)    J. W. Powell, _Director_.

      Department of the Interior,
          _June 20, 1891_.

  The within contract is hereby approved.

      (Signed)    Geo. C. Chandler,
                    _Acting Secretary_.

June 30, 1891. Transmitted by J. W. Powell, Director, to the Secretary
of the Interior for file in returns office.

July 1, 1891. Returned for oath.

July 20, 1891. J. W. Powell, Director, transmits amended contract, with
bids, proposals, and all original papers attached.


VII. REPORT OF MR H. C. RIZER

  Smithsonian Institution,
      Bureau of Ethnology,
          Washington, _November 24, 1891_.

  Honorable J. W. Powell,
      _Director of the Bureau of Ethnology_.

  Sir: Complying with your order directing me to proceed to Florence,
  Arizona, to witness the closing up of the work under contract for
  the preservation of Casa Grande ruin near that place, and to report
  to you the amount and character of the work accomplished, certifying
  the amount due the contractors under each item, I have the honor to
  submit the following report:

  I visited the ruin first on October 20, and found the work well
  advanced. Steady progress was made from said date until October 31,
  the limitation expressed in the contract for prosecuting it.

  In order to ascertain the exact location of Casa Grande ruin and to
  aid me in the determination of the amount of work performed by the
  contractors, I employed Mr Albert T. Colton, a civil engineer and
  the official surveyor of Pinal county, Arizona, within the limits of
  which the ruin stands. From actual measurements made by Mr Colton,
  based upon official notes in his custody, he informed me the ruin
  was located in the northeast corner of the northwest quarter of the
  southwest quarter of section 16 of township 5 south, range 8 east. A
  congressional township plat on which Mr Colton has marked the exact
  location of the ruin is filed herewith, marked Exhibit A, and made a
  part of this report [plate CXXV].

  On October 29 Mr Colton at my instance took measurements of the
  brickwork in underpinning and filling in cavities in the walls and
  of the excavation done by the contractors. His estimate, based upon
  these measurements, was submitted to me in writing. It is filed
  herewith, marked Exhibit B, and is made a part of this report.

  I find from these measurements that the contractors excavated and
  removed to a point 100 yards from the ruin 570 cubic yards of
  débris, 271 cubic yards of which were removed from the interior and
  299 cubic yards from the exterior walls of the building, within an
  area of 10 feet of said walls.

  I also find the amount of underpinning done by the contractors to be
  919 cubic feet, and the amount of filling in openings to be 1,161
  cubic feet. The underpinning is done with hard-burned brick laid in
  good cement mortar extending to a depth of 12 inches below the
  original ground level. The face of the brickwork is set back from 1
  to 2 inches from the face of the wall and plastered with a coat of
  good cement mortar, making it flush with the outer wall.

  In filling in cavities more than 500 lineal feet of 2 by 4 inch
  squared lumber was used to replace broken-out lintels and laid side
  by side across nearly the whole thickness of the walls, with not
  more than 1 inch space between the boards. They occupy the same
  horizontal planes as the original lintels, and the walls are trimmed
  to afford solid resting places for them. The openings above the
  lintels have been filled in the same manner as the underpinning,
  with hard-burned brick set back 1 inch from the wall surfaces and
  plastered with a coating of cement mortar, bringing it out flush
  with the original wall.

  I further find that the contractors have placed one wooden brace and
  two iron braces as designated in the specifications. The wooden
  brace is constructed of two pieces of good, clear, squared lumber 6
  by 8 inches in cross section, well bolted together, secured by
  plates of boiler iron three-eighths of an inch thick and 14 by 18
  inches square. The specifications provide for this brace to run from
  the south side of the south wall through the center room with a
  plate on each side of the south wall and one on each side of the
  wall on the north side of the center room. The contractors have
  deviated from these requirements in having extended the said brace
  through the entire length of the building and placed the plates that
  were specified for the north wall of the center room on the
  respective sides of the extreme north wall of the building. While
  this deviation adds nothing to the security of the south wall, it is
  doubtless as effective as it would have been had it been placed as
  contemplated in the plan. It may in some degree strengthen the north
  wall, and I recommend that it be accepted as in compliance with the
  terms of the contract. The two iron rods called for in the
  specifications are of wrought iron 1½ inches in diameter, secured by
  boiler-iron plates three-eighths of an inch thick and 12 inches in
  diameter, securely fastened as required in the specifications. There
  was a necessary deviation from the plan as to the place the rod
  nearest the east side of the building should be placed. Early in the
  prosecution of the work a portion of the debris in contact with the
  eastern wall was removed. During the night following this a section
  of the south end of the east wall fell, carrying with it that
  portion of the wall between the south and east rooms to which the
  plan required said rod to be attached. In consequence the
  contractors placed the rod so as to connect it with the portion of
  the wall still intact. As a brace to the south wall it is placed
  advantageously. In excavation, underpinning, and filling in the
  contractors have exceeded the limitations prescribed in the
  contract, and have therefore performed an amount of work for the
  remuneration of which there is no provision. The following table
  shows the amount of work authorized in each of the four items with
  reference to which the contract was drawn and the amount actually
  performed by contractors:

 Item                 |1. Excavating and clearing out débris.
                      |           |2. Underpinning walls.
                      |           |           |3. Filling in cavities.
                      |           |           |            |4. Braces.
----------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+
Maximum authorized    | 350 cubic | 750 cubic | 825        | 1 wood    |
                      | yards     | feet      | cubic feet | and 1 iron|
                      |           |           |            |           |
Performed by          | 570 cubic | 919 cubic | 1,161      | 1 wood and|
 contractors          | yards     | feet      | cubic feet | 2 iron    |
                      |           |           |            |           |
Excess                | 220 cubic | 169 cubic | 336        |           |
                      | yards     | feet      | cubic feet |           |
                      |           |           |            |           |
Contract Price        | 60 cents  | $1 per    | $1 per     |   $200    |
                      | per cubic | cubic foot| cubic foot |           |
                      | yard      |           |            |           |
                      |           |           |            |           |
Maximum allowances    |    $210   |    $750   |      825   |    200    |
  under contract      |           |           |            |           |
                      |           |           |            |           |
Amount contractors    |     342   |     919   |    1,161   |    200    |
  claim to have       |           |           |            |           |
   earned             |           |           |            |           |
                      |           |           |            |           |
Excess of contractors'|     132   |     169   |      336   |           |
  claim over amount   |           |           |            |           |
  authorized          |           |           |            |           |
----------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+

  From this it will be observed that, taking the rate of compensation
  provided for in the contract as a basis, the contractors have
  performed work in excess of that authorized to the amount of $638
  [$637]. They are fully advised that there is no provision for the
  payment of this excess. The requirements of the contract are, in my
  opinion, fully met in the quality of material used and the work
  performed.

  The preservation of the ruin is incomplete. There are six places
  where lintels have disappeared and not been replaced and a
  corresponding number of cavities that should be filled. Deep seams
  have been cut in the walls by the action of the elements, and unless
  far greater provision is made for its protection the work already
  done will be of small avail.

  At many places where the débris came in contact with the wall
  disintegration seems to have resulted. At a slight touch it
  frequently crumbles. Owing to this fact two sections of the wall
  fell during the progress of the work when the debris was
  removed--one from the east wall, described above, and one from the
  south wall near the west extremity. These breaches maybe observed as
  shown in two of the six accompanying photographs [plates CXX, CXXI].
  These photographs were taken ten days before the work was completed.
  There being no professional photographer in that vicinity I was
  compelled to take advantage of the kind offer of Mr H. H. Burrell,
  an amateur photographer, who happened to be there at that time. Thus
  the views I secured failed to show all the brickwork done. The
  coating of mortar was not applied until after the date on which the
  views were taken, in consequence of which the bare bricks are shown
  in the views.

  During the progress of work in removing the debris a number of
  articles of interest to the ethnologist were found at various depths
  and localities. They have been packed by the contractors and will be
  sent to the National Museum.

  The floors in the center, north, and east rooms were found to be
  about 8 feet above the ground surface. The material was similar to
  that of which the walls are composed. The west and south rooms
  appeared to have had floors at one time on the same level, but the
  surfaces had disintegrated, and there was a mass of loose earth,
  which was removed to a depth of 6.9 feet below the floors of the
  other three rooms, where another floor was found slightly less firm
  than those.

  Reverend Isaac T. Whittemore, who has been designated by the
  honorable the Secretary of the Interior as the custodian of the
  ruin, rendered me valuable assistance in the performance of my
  mission. He has manifested a zealous concern for the preservation of
  the ruin and has given time and labor to that end. There is no
  provision for his just compensation. I therefore recommend that if
  any funds be found available after the payment of the amount due the
  contractors the same be ordered paid to Mr Whittemore for his
  services.

      Very respectfully,
          H. C. Rizer, _Chief Clerk_.




SUPPLEMENT


CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORT RELATING TO THE CONDITION OF CASA GRANDE
IN 1895, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING ITS FURTHER PROTECTION

I. _Letter of Reverend Isaac T. Whittemore, custodian of Casa Grande, to
the Secretary of the Interior, recommending an appropriation for further
protecting the ruin_

  Florence, Arizona,
      _July 25, 1895_.
  Honorable Hoke Smith,
      _Secretary of the Interior_.

  Dear Sir: It is with great hesitancy that I write to add to the
  burdens of one so busy and burdened as I presume you to be. But it
  is not for myself but for others that I write, and will try to be
  laconic.

  Can you embody in your next report to Congress an appeal for an
  appropriation of $7,000 or $8,00[0] to roof the Casa Grande ruin, to
  fence 40 acres, and make excavations of all the mounds in the
  vicinity for the purpose of learning the history of the wonderful
  people who once lived here and erected the buildings and built
  canals?
      *   *   *   *   *
  Very sincerely, yours,
      Isaac T. Whittemore,
          _Custodian Casa Grande_.


II. _Indorsement of the Mr Whittemore's by the Acting Secretary of the
Interior_

  Department of the Interior,
      _August 7, 1895_.

  Respectfully referred to the Director of Bureau of Ethnology for
  consideration of so much of within letter as relates to the Casa
  Grande ruin, and such recommendation as the facts may warrant, and
  report.

  Wm. H. Sims,
      _Acting Secretary_.


III. _Letter of the Acting Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology
to the Secretary of the Interior suggesting an examination of Casa
Grande with a view of its further protection_

  Smithsonian Institution,
      Bureau of American Ethnology,
          _Washington, August 28, 1895_.

  Sir: Your request of August 7 for a report concerning a
  recommendation by Reverend Isaac T. Whittemore, under date of July
  25, that provision be made for further protecting Casa Grande ruin,
  near Florence, Arizona, by the erection of a suitable roof, has been
  under consideration.

  In many respects Casa Grande ruin is one of the most noteworthy
  relics of a prehistoric age and people remaining within the limits
  of the United States. It was discovered, already in a ruinous
  condition, by Padre Kino in 1694, and since that time it has been a
  subject of record by explorers and historians. Thus its history is
  exceptionally extended and complete. By reason of its early
  discovery and its condition when first seen by white men, it is
  known that Casa Grande is a strictly aboriginal structure; and
  archeologic researches in this country and Mexico afford grounds for
  considering it a typical structure for its times and for the natives
  of the southwestern region. Many other structures were mentioned or
  described by the Spanish explorers, but the impressions of these
  explorers were tinctured by previous experience in an inhospitable
  region, and their descriptions were tinged by the romantic ideas of
  the age; very few of these structures were within the limits of the
  United States, and nearly all of these situated in the neighboring
  republic of Mexico disappeared long ago; there is hardly a structure
  left, except Casa Grande ruin, by which the early accounts of
  Spanish explorers in North America can be checked and
  interpreted--none other of its class exists in the United States.
  Casa Grande ruin is, therefore, a relic of exceptional importance
  and of essentially unique character.

  Unfortunately this structure, like others erected by the most
  advanced among the native races in the southwest, is of perishable
  material; it is built of adobe, or rather of cajon, i.e., of a
  puddled clay, molded into walls, dried in the sun. Such walls would
  stand a short time only in humid regions; but in the arid region the
  material is desiccated and baked under cloudless sky and sun for
  many months at a time, and becomes so hard as to resist, fairly, the
  rare storms of the region. It is by reason of climatal conditions
  that cajon and adobe have come into general use for building in
  southwestern United States, as in contiguous parts of Mexico; and it
  is by reason of the same conditions that a few of the ancient
  structures remain, and the best preserved of all is found in the
  Gila valley, one of the most desert regions on the western
  hemisphere. Yet the best of the cajon structures is perishable; so
  long as the roof remains and the summits of the walls are protected,
  disintegration proceeds slowly; but when the projecting roof is
  removed, the rare but violent storms attack the walls, and they are
  gradually channeled and gullied by the storm waters, while the
  exterior surface gradually disintegrates and falls away under the
  alternate wetting and drying. Even in the most arid regions, the
  earth-built structures typical of the southwest are surely, albeit
  slowly, ravaged and destroyed.

  Several years ago Casa Grande ruin was brought into general notice
  throughout the United States in consequence of southwestern
  explorations; and in 1889, in response to a petition from several
  illustrious Americans, the Congress of the United States, at the
  instance of Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, made an appropriation of
  $2,000 for the purpose of undertaking the preservation of this ruin.
  This appropriation was expended in works urgently required to
  prevent the falling of the walls and final destruction of the ruin;
  they included metal stays for the walls, with brickwork for the
  support and protection of the walls at their bases. Subsequently an
  area of about 480 acres, including the ruin, was reserved from
  settlement by Executive order. A custodian was also appointed, and,
  as this office has been informed, has been continued down to the
  present. This action on the part of the legislative and executive
  branches of the Government can only be regarded as indicating a
  desire and continued intention to preserve the ruin for the benefit
  of the people of the United States.

  The expenditures thus far authorized for the preservation of Casa
  Grande ruin have been made in such manner as to meet the most urgent
  needs only, and without them the structure would probably have been,
  before this time, beyond the reach of preservation. The preservative
  works were undertaken as emergency measures, rather than as steps in
  carrying out a well-considered plan. From the outset it has been
  understood by architects and archeologists and others familiar with
  the structure that preservation can be insured only by throwing a
  roof over the entire ruin in such manner as to protect the walls
  from the fierce rainstorms which occasionally occur in the Gila
  valley. No lesser work will preserve the ruin more than a generation
  or two; and unless this work of roofing is contemplated and is
  undertaken within a few years, the emergency work will be of little
  avail and the money expended therein will be lost. Accordingly,
  assuming a desire and continued intention on the part of the
  Government to preserve this noteworthy relic, no hesitation is felt
  in recommending that a suitable roof be placed over Casa Grande
  ruin, at such time as may be expedient; and, in view of the rapidity
  with which destruction is now in progress, there is no hesitation in
  saying that the work should be undertaken at the earliest
  practicable date.

  It should be added that neither the Director nor any of the
  collaborators in the Bureau of American Ethnology have visited Casa
  Grande ruin for some three years, and accordingly that there are no
  data in this office to indicate whether there is especially urgent
  necessity for undertaking preservative work at this time; but much
  confidence is placed in the judgment of the custodian, Reverend
  Isaac T. Whittemore, who is known to several collaborators in the
  Bureau.

  The subject of the preservation of Casa Grande, in many respects the
  most noteworthy ruin in the United States, is deemed important; and
  if the Secretary of the Interior desires more specific information
  concerning the present condition of the ruin, as a basis for further
  action or judgment, it will be a pleasure to have an officer of this
  Bureau make a special examination of, and report on, the ruin during
  the autumn.

  I have the honor to be, yours, with great respect,

  W J McGee, _Acting Director_.
      The Secretary of the Interior.


IV. _Letter of the Acting Secretary of the Interior to the Director of
the Bureau of American Ethnology, approving the suggestion that Casa
Grande be visited with a view of determining the desirability of its
further protection_

  Department of the Interior,
      _Washington, September 12, 1895_.
          The Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
              _Smithsonian Institution_.

  Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 28th ultimo
  submitting a report upon the recommendation made by the Reverend
  Isaac T. Whittemore, custodian, that provision be made for further
  protection of the Casa Grande ruin near Florence, Arizona, by the
  erection of a suitable roof.

  In response thereto I have to state that more specific information
  concerning the present condition of the ruin and the probable cost
  of providing proper protection for it is desirable in the
  preparation of an estimate to be submitted to Congress with a view
  of securing appropriation for the work. To this end the Department
  gladly avails itself of your offer to send an officer of your
  Bureau, at its expense, to make a special examination and report on
  the ruin during the autumn of this year.

  Very respectfully,
      John M. Reynolds,
          _Acting Secretary_.


V. _Letter of the Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the
Secretary of the Interior regarding the examination of Casa Grande by
Mr W J McGee_

  Smithsonian Institution,
      Bureau of American Ethnology,
          _Washington, October 18, 1895_.

  Sir: Pursuant to your request of September 12, 1895, Mr W J McGee,
  ethnologist in charge in the Bureau of American Ethnology, will in a
  few days repair to Florence, Arizona, for the purpose of examining
  Casa Grande ruin and determining the desirability of further works
  for its preservation. * * *

  In accordance with terms of preceding correspondence, it is of
  course understood that the cost of the work will be borne wholly by
  this Bureau.

  I have the honor to be, yours, with great respect,

  J. W. Powell, _Director_.
  The Secretary of the Interior,
      _Washington, D.C_.


VI. _Report of the Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the
Secretary of the Interior on the examination of the condition of Casa
Grande by Mr W J McGee, with a recommendation concerning its further
protection_

  Smithsonian Institution,
      Bureau of American Ethnology,
          _Washington, November 15, 1895_.

  Sir: Pursuant to a proposal made in connection with a report from
  this office relating to the ruins known as Casa Grande, near
  Florence, Arizona, under date of August 28, 1895, and to the
  acceptance of this proposal in a communication from the Department
  of the Interior under date of September 12, 1895, Mr W J McGee,
  ethnologist in charge of the Bureau of American Ethnology, has
  within a few days made an examination of Casa Grande ruin with the
  view of determining the need for further protection of the ruin by a
  roof or otherwise.

  There are in this office two series of photographs representing the
  ruin. The first series was taken in 1892 before the protective works
  authorized by the Congress were commenced; the second series
  represents the work in progress. In the recent examination the
  present condition of the ruin was carefully compared with the
  condition represented in the photographs.

  On comparing the profiles of the walls, it was found that in many
  cases the irregular upper surfaces retain the exact configuration of
  1892, even to the slightest knobs and rain-formed crevices; the
  correspondence being so close as to show that the injury and loss by
  weathering during the interim has been imperceptible. In some other
  cases, notably along the southern and eastern walls, the profiles
  are more extensively modified; some of the points and knobs shown in
  the photographs are gone, some of the old crevices are widened and
  deepened, and some new crevices appear; and in some parts it can be
  seen that walls are lowered several inches. On the whole the
  modification of the profiles of the walls is limited, yet such as to
  indicate that destruction is proceeding at a not inconsiderable
  rate.

  On comparing the scars and crevices on the sides of the walls, it
  was found that, while many remain essentially unchanged, most are
  enlarged and deepened. This is particularly noteworthy on the
  eastern and southern walls, which are most beaten by wind-driven
  rains, and which are also most modified in profile. It would appear
  that destruction is proceeding more rapidly along the sides of the
  walls than along the crests.

  On examining the walls with respect to apparent solidity and
  stability, it was found that nearly all are in fair or good
  condition. The only portion that would seem in special danger is the
  central section of the southern exterior wall. This section seems
  insecure, and might at any time be overthrown by a heavy wind
  following a rain storm. This section was not, unfortunately, braced
  or tied to the stronger interior wall when the protective works were
  carried out in 1892.

  On examining the structure to ascertain the effect of the protective
  works of 1892 in staying the destructive processes, particularly the
  undermining of the walls by spattering rain and drifting sand, it
  was found that in most cases the results have been excellent. On the
  inner side of the middle section of the southern exterior wall
  sapping is in progress at the ground level, and also along the rows
  of joist openings for the first and second stories, and in a few
  other places the protection seems inadequate; but in general the
  anticipations of the projectors of the protective works seem to have
  been realized.

  The most serious of the destructive processes was sapping, and this
  process has been nearly checked by the protective works. The second
  was the desurfacing and subsequent eating away of the walls by
  beating rains and frost, and this is still in progress at a moderate
  rate. The least serious process was the wearing away of the crests
  of the walls by rain and winds, and this is still going on at a
  perceptible rate. It is impossible to determine, and difficult even
  to approximate, the rate of destruction quantitatively, especially
  so since it goes on cumulatively, with constantly increasing
  rapidity, as the cemented surfaces are destroyed and the crevices
  widen and deepen; but judging from the history of the ruin, and from
  the rate of destruction indicated by comparing the photographs of
  1892 with the present aspect, it would seem safe to conclude that,
  if protected completely from vandalism, the ruin will be
  comparatively little injured during the next five years, and will
  stand perhaps half a century, without further protective works,
  before moldering into dust.

  In view of the slow yet ever increasing rate of destruction of the
  ruin, and of its great interest as a tangible record of the
  prehistoric inhabitants of this country, no hesitation is felt in
  recommending that the structure be further protected, and
  practically perpetuated, by a suitable roof, so designed as to
  shield the walls from rain and sun and at the same time permit an
  unobstructed view of the ruin from any direction.
      *   *   *   *   *
  I have the honor to be, sir, yours, with great respect,

  J. W. Powell, _Director_.
  Secretary of the Interior.




INDEX


Adobe construction, what constitutes                                 323

Burrell, H. H., Casa Grande photographed by                          343

Clauton, M. E., bid of, for repair of Casa Grande                    339
Colton, A. T., on Casa Grande reserve                                340
Contract for repairing Casa Grande                               333-335

Doran, A. J., affidavit of                                           335
  contract with, for Casa Grande repair                              334

Eaman, C. B., witness to Casa Grande contract                        334

Garlick, C. A., cooperation of, in repair of Casa Grande             327

Henry, C. D., bids of, for repair of Casa Grande                 338-339
Hoar, G.F., interest of, in Casa Grande                              346
Hunt, Jeff, witness to Casa Grande contract                          334

Kebbey, F. C., witness to Casa Grande contract                  334, 335
Kebbey, J. H., affidavit of                                          335
Kino, Eusebius, Casa Grande visited by                          323, 345

McGee, W. J.
  directed to examine Casa Grande                                    347
  examination of Casa Grande by                                      329
  examination of Casa Grande recommended by                      344-347
  report on Casa Grande by                                       348-349
Mindeleff, V., report by, on Casa Grande                             327
Morrison, A. L., report by, on Casa Grande                       326-327

Specimens found at Casa Grande                                   330-332
Stouffer, T. L., bid of, for Casa Grande repair                 328, 338
  contract with, for Casa Grande repair                              334

White, F. E., bid of, on Casa Grande repair                     328, 338
  contract with, for Casa Grande repair                              334
Whittemore, I. T., appointed custodian of Casa Grande,               329
  compensation of, recommended,                                      318
  cooperation of, in repair of Casa Grande,                          327
  judgment of, regarding Casa Grande,                                316
  on further protection of Casa Grande,                              341
Williams, A. G., affidavit of,                                       335
  contract with, for Casa Grande repair,                             334

       *       *       *       *       *

[Errors and Anomalies:

W J McGee
  _except in the Index, this name is consistently printed without
  periods (W. J.)_

Plate CXVII shows the extent of this area, and six sections are shown in
plates CXVIII and CXIX
  _text reads_ Plate VI ... VII and VIII (_as if numbering from I within
  article_)

Very sincerely, yours,
  _comma in original_

Indorsement of the Mr Whittemore's by the Acting Secretary
  _wording as in original_ ]