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.