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.
Florence, Arizona,
July 25, 1895.
HonorableHoke 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?
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Very sincerely, yours,
Isaac T. Whittemore,
Custodian Casa Grande.
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.
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, thatprovision 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 Bureaumake a special examination of, and report on, the ruin during the autumn.
I have the honor to be, yours, with great respect,
WÂ J McGee,Acting Director.
TheSecretary of the Interior.
Department of the Interior,
Washington, September 12, 1895.
TheDirector 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.
Smithsonian Institution,
Bureau of American Ethnology,
Washington, October 18, 1895.
Sir: Pursuant to your request of September 12, 1895, Mr WÂ 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.
TheSecretary of the Interior,
Washington, D.C.
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 WÂ 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.
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I have the honor to be, sir, yours, with great respect,
J. W. Powell,Director.
Secretary of the Interior.
1. Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 289 et seq.
2. 25 Statutes, p. 961.
3. 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 MrWÂ J McGeein the supplement to the present paper.