The recess in the cliff in which the ruin is situated is lower in the
middle than at either side, where there are projecting ledges of rock
which were utilized by the builders in the construction of the
foundations, the line of the front wall following the inequalities of
the ground. It thus results that rooms _g_, _a_, _b_, and a part of
_c_, rise from a foundation about breast high, or a little higher than
the base of rooms _d_, _e_, and _f_.
The front wall of _a_ has for its foundation a spur or ledge of rock,
which is continued under _b_ and a part of _c_. The corner or angle of
this wall, facing the round chamber, is curved in the form of a tower,
a considerable section of its masonry being intact. Near the
foundation and following the inequalities of the rock surface the
beginning of a wall at right angles to the face of the ruin at this
point is seen. A small embrasure, high above the base of the front
wall, on the side by which one approaches the ruin from the east, and
two smaller openings on the same level, looking out over the valley,
suggest a floor and lookouts. The large square orifice in the middle
of the face of the wall has a wooden lintel, still in place; the
opening is large enough for use as a door or passageway. The upper
edge of the front wall is somewhat irregular, but a notch in it above
the square opening is conspicuous.
The rear wall of room _a_ was the face of the cliff, formed of solid
rock without masonry and very much blackened by smoke from former
fires. As, however, there is evidence that since its destruction or
abandonment by its builders this ruin has been occupied as a camping
place by the Apache, it is doubtful to which race we should ascribe
this discoloration of the walls by soot.
On the ground floor there is a passageway into chamber _b_, which is
considerably enlarged, although the position of the lintel is clearly
indicated by notches in the wall. The beam which was formed there had
been torn from its place and undoubtedly long ago used for firewood by
nomadic visitors. The open passageway, measured externally, is about
15 feet above the foundation of the wall, through which it is broken,
and about 8 feet below the upper edge of the wall.
Room _b_ is an irregular, square chamber, two stories high,
communicating with _a_ and _c_ by passages which are enlarged by
breakage in the walls. A small hole in the front wall, about 6 feet
from the floor, opens externally to the air. The walls are, in
general, about 2 feet thick, and are composed of flat red stones laid
in clay of the same color. The cliff forms the rear wall of the
chamber. The clay at certain places in the walls, especially near the
insertions of the beams and about the window openings, appears to have
been mixed with a black pitch, which serves to harden the mixture.
Room _c_ is the first of a series of chambers, with external
passageways, but its walls are very much broken down, and the openings
thereby enlarged. The front wall is almost straight and in one place
stands 30 feet, the maximum height of the standing wall of the ruins.
In one corner a considerable quantity of ashes and many evidences of
fire, some of which may be ascribed to Apache occupants, was detected.
A wooden beam, marking the line of the floor of a second story, was
seen projecting from the front wall, and there are other evidences of
a floor at this level. Large beams apparently extended from the front
wall to the rear of the chamber, where they rested on a ledge in the
cliff, and over these smaller sticks were laid side by side and at
right angles to the beams. These in turn supported either flat stones
or a layer of mud or clay. The method of construction of one of these
roofs is typical of a Tusayan kiva, where ancient architectural forms
are adhered to and best preserved.
The entrance to room _d_ is very much enlarged by the disintegration
of the wall, and apparently there was at this point a difference in
level of the front wall, for there is evidence of rooms in advance of
those connected with the chambers described, as shown by a line of
masonry, still standing, parallel to the front face of inclosures _c_
and _d_.
Room _e_ communicates by a doorway with the chamber marked _f_, and
there is a small window in the same partition. This room had a raised
banquette on the side toward the cliff, recalling an arrangement of
the floor similar to that in the cavate dwellings opposite Squaw
mountain which I have described. This platform is raised about three
feet above the remainder of the floor of _f_, and, like it, is strewn
with large slabs of stone, which have fallen from the overhanging
roof. In the main floor, at one corner, near the platform, there is a
rectangular box-like structure made of thin slabs of stone set on
edge, suggesting the grinding bins of the Pueblos. Room _f_
communicates with _g_ by a passageway which has a stone lintel. The
holes in the walls, in which beams were once inserted, are seen in
several places at different levels above the floor. The ends of
several beams, one extremity of which is invariably charred, were
found set in the masonry, and others were dug from the débris in the
floor.
As a result of the curve in the front wall of the ruin at that point,
the shape of room _f_ is roughly quadrate, with banquettes on two
sides. There are six large beam holes in the walls, and the position
of the first floor is well shown on the face of the partition,
separating _f_ from _g_. The passageway from one of these rooms to the
other is slightly arched.
Room _g_ is elongated, without an external entrance, and communicates
with _f_ by a small opening, through which it is very difficult to
crawl. Its longest dimension is almost at right angles to the front
face of the remaining rooms, and it is raised above them by its
foundation on an elevated rock like that of _a_, _b_, and _c_. There
is a small, square, external opening which may have served as the
position of a former beam or log. The upper level of the front wall is
more or less broken down in places, and formerly may have been much
higher. Beyond _g_ a spur of masonry is built at right angles to the
cliff, inclosing a rectangular chamber at the end of the ruin which
could not be entered. Possibly in former times it was accessible by
means of a ladder from the roof, whence communication with other
portions of the structure was also had.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY