New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-23

co lrtiers might have fled in barbaric ponp to
siluto the Rocky Mount ain King. II Is merely Il
Tremendous mud house. on which the centuries
nave spent their strength III vain, standing iii the
m.ns. There is nothing pictnres4u" aboat II. No
friendly iichcn, running crceper trailing ivy can
live in this dry dewlcss air and with tender yerdure
Ci0the the nakcdncsS Of the ragged structure.
AGAINST the sand blast no wrcathing vine cling.
and III its embrace soften the mass Of uglincSs
llarshy outlined against Che bare and brilliant
sky, Undecided by cloud o. shadow. Our spirits
went down down before the legendary Palace of
Mon.cZuma we hal far to Sec For this we
had strained Over lava beds. through the sunbumt
ways OF the Wilderness, across valleys OF sand,
desert. ANA @rcase-Wo0d plain, breathing, eating,
urnNing aikall ana wearing ITS aust like a dingy
travelling suit! Instead of poetry here was GER
talnty
The mountain rim was u rcfrcshment to the
vision. l~erc the aerial hues, like the stuff
which dreams are made of, gave the only ideal
to"ch to u scene iorbiddmg!y real. No hint of
beauty or excellence of workmanship is found III
near view Of The casa. which is entitled to adinirl
ton only ON account OF ITS age. and to hold on
fancy because its Origin and unknown.
Desoate and isolated now, t1c was when it was
encirclcd by similar buildings grouped in villages
scattered broadly the wide plateau In every
direction are broken lines Of fallen walls oblong
heaps crumblcd down to the dust whence hey
sprung: and the extent of irrigation must have
made the valley cultivated garden, or iied of
corn large enough to sustain vast population.
But there was little time for sentiment. Our sur
veys must be made in haste. The walls are entirely
adobe IN no portion is there amy stone used: IN
stead Of the modern Spanish American adobcs
moulded to about six times The size OF our ordinary
bricks, this aboriginal ",palace" is built Of large
feet or more iii length by two feet in width and
| thickness. They are of irregular size, indicating
that II box or mould was used IN the manufacture
ito Which thc mortar was east where 1t was to re-
main IN the walls and as il dried the
moved along. recent chemical analysis of the
concrete shows the secret of its durability under the
wasting and wearing of ages in II structure
tainly II ruin for three hundred years, and with u
prc-Spansh existence of q century and perhaps
more seventeen per cent Of the mortar is car,
mixed with the sand and gravel of the country,
which contains n very adhesive clay, tough and
lasting
DESCRIPTION or THE INTERIOR.
The walls perpendicular within, slightly
tapering without four feet thick. facng The ear
dinal points of the compass almost the true mcrid-
ian. The building was hfty-eight feet long and
forty three feet wide the highest point of the stand
ing wall being thirty-iivc feet. 1t originally four
five stories high being about gh feet from floor
! to ceiling. In the centre of each wall were narrow
doors for entrance into tho main compartments,
three feet wide five feet high. and growing mar
rover at the top except the one III the west front,
which is two feet by eight. Over each
door is port hole whose Dimensions am unable to
give. The Indians love of dark houses IL apparent
| here; the only light admitted into the SINAI
numerous rooms was through these holes in the
deep walls. The central room, with only one OPEN
ing, must have been as dismal a dungeon. 1t has
| been surmsed that this sort of watcht0wcr.
eight or ten feet higher than the outer stories prob
ably ono story above all the rest when the casa was
entire. Some of the port-ho"s have been filled in
with mortar AZ though the window, if window it
| was. admitted too much light.
Father Font, who visited this ruin in 1876,
writes IT ia percrptbc the cdiiicc had three
stories The indians say it had four; the last
pose of giving light to the nothing is but
| the doors. ana some round holes in HE middle of
| the walls which face to the east and west and the
Indians said that the Prince. whom they called the
| Bitter Man, used to salute the sun through these
holes (which are pretty large at its rising and set
ting All the roofs burnt out except that of one
| low room, in an adjoining house which had beams
| apparently cedar. small and smooth and over
| them reeds OF eqnal SIZE and n layer Of hard mud
and mortar. forming very curious roof or floor"
| The different stories are easily identified by the
| ends of beams remaining III the walls by tho
| holes into which the beams projected They are
round raiters OF cedar, or sabine supporting the
! half foot apart. The nearest mountain bearing
| such trees Is many weary mlie away. The
charred ends of beams prove that the interior WAS
DESTROYED by fire. hut the massive four foot wall
suffered no change by flaming floor, raftcr roof.
The trees were hacked by blunt tool, probably Il
stone hltchet; evidently IRON was unknown 70 the
architect of Casa Gran de. The lndgenc substituted
for 1t tempered copper and tools of wrought obsdan
| 4 few bone avis. Takers. for making arrow
| heads. have been dug ont of the gravel and II
metate, or corn grinder, hrokcn jars and "A toma-
| hawk of flint. have been found. but there is no
| traccry made by iron.
TOTAL DESTRUCTION TuRrArrNrD
| Adobe walls wonderfully durable in this dry.
eqnablc climate, and with slight repairs last a
thousand years. Dsintcgration begins at the base
where moisture gathers and the walls. scanned and
| furrowcd the earth by the action of heavy
| yearly rains, are held together merely bv their
great thickness. Their inner surface is smoothly
! pastcrcd with lime cement, little wrinklcd marks
standing as they appeared when first dried after
the finish was laid on. There is sign of stairway
and ascent was probably made outside on scaling
ladders rs the Pueblos go up their terraccd domi-
| Giles throughout New Mexico and Arizona. The
| rough coating without is faxed OF in some places
| by the continuous action of warning winds which
| carry sand. Even more than rain, thi, iuccssant
| agent Is operating on the oil dun-coorcd adobes.
! and unless repairs are made IN the SCARED and
furroWcd foundations, this most interesting of anti
qutIes must before long become IA shapccSS wreck
There can have been no considerable shock OF
earthquake III the period during which it has been
| known to us; even IA slight trcmbc would bring
the time worn fabric down to hopeless destruction
Standing on the mesa, the traveller secs in every
| direction heaps of RUNS of which the Casa Graude
| was the ccntre and prlnrlpai About two hundred
| ruin 1t is supposed TO have hccn II corral tor
| cattle. which, unless, ~ some assume 1t was used
| rs n menagerie, would make ii OF recent date
| as the Indians were without domestic animals be-
| fore the conquest. Architectural remains have
| been well called the balance wheels of tradition
| After actual sight and touch there is room for
| dreams and Visions Temples and towers proclaim
worship, sculptures hint of refinement. wealth and
frcscOcs like those of Pompeii and Etruria are illl
minated BOOKS of Chronicles.
This antique pile Is expressive of II low condition
| of art. It's size is Impressive when consider
that it completed without the aid of domestic
animals or iron, but by hand labor alone The only
idea left in the mind of the visitor is that il was
designed to accommodate great numbers of persons
above ii by which to da.e the passage of Years :;
and the ccascleSs dclving of the Archaeological has
failed to find key accepted by all rs the true one
to the ana purpose OF remarkable building
Excavations made ON an appropriation by the
| Legislature OF Arizona resulted in nothing. citi-
Of Florence reports finding piece of gold re.
seInbling coin in the debris and it is said that n
| hollow sound has been heard by those Jumping on
the floor of the inner room. Part of the walls have