Wichita eagle., 1889-09-25
THE CASA GRANDE.
Special Agent MOrrison's Report on the
Prehistoric Ruins.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23.-Secretary Noble
has transmitted to the director Of the geo.
logical survey a report by Special Agent
Morrison on the condition of the Casa
Grande great house, ruins in Pima coun-
ty, Arizona with instructions that neceS-
sary steps be taken to repair and protect
the ruins under the authority granted I'M
der the act Of March 2, 1859, approprlating
=, COG for that purpose
Special Agent Morrison, who was sent
out to examine the condition of the ruins.
in his report states that the venerable relic
of prehistoric America stands IN great
plain about miway between the stations of
CaSs Grande and Florence seven or eight
miles from the ella river. He says that
the front of the main building measures
sixty feet and the width forty-three feet.
Tide height of the first story is thirteen
feet The second nine feet, and the
third and fourth stories each eight
feet The greater part OF the
upper story has disappeared. The
walls are between four and FIVE feet thick,
and the material of which they are con-
structed is almost indestructible concrete,
made of fine gravel, sand and cement,
closely resem bling the granite now used il
Washington. This was laid in the walls
in great blocks. One OF these measured
seven feet, three inches in length. four feet
two inches in width and three feet two
inches In height. The walls, both inside
and out were plastered with cement, which
clings to them with wonderful teaacity,
that on the inside being as smooth and
glossy as the hard finished interiors of the
present day. All the rooms, of which there
are four now intact, are Of uniform buff
color, which is very pleasing TO the eye.
The extreme height OF the building is
nearly feet The lower story is nearly
la ,lalt Iat1p po
drifting sand of the plain. The holes in
which the ceiling timbers were placed are
plainly visible, but every particle wood has
been carried away by relic hunters, and
the disintegration of the walls has been SO
rapid of late years that If measures are not
Immediately taken to strengthen them the
entire mass will soon fall into a shapeless
ruin.
The report SAYS that for miles around
the mysterious Casa Grande many great
mountains, now hardly diStinguishah}e
from the deserts and sands, bear indis-
putable evidence of having been at some
far remote period the abode OF busy indus
tries Mr.. Morrison saws that he is con-
WINGED that The Casa Grande was not used
for either religious or warlike purposes.
The superiority of It's architecture, it hav-
Ing outlived all the structures by which it
was surrounded, the numerous small
apartments into which it was
diveded aud the elegance of the
interior finish, all point to the
conclusion that 1t was the palace of the
king or chief who governed the primitive
Americans who inhabited these domains
ages before Aztec or To.tec. The most
ancient OF the traditions OF the Pimas and
Papagoes. who yet live here, where their
fathers have lived for centuries. allude to
them as 1.-The ruins"
The earliest historic record we have of
Casa Grande was given by the famous
Spanish cavalier and explorer, CaneZa
De Baca, who discovered it during
his journey across the continent
about 1881. a few years later the famous
explorer, Francisco De Coronado, governor
of New Galicia. who led the expedition
into New Mexico, describes the ruins as
being four stories high with walls six feet
thick. AS a proof of its great antiquity he
states that the Pima Indians then $3.50
years ago. had no knowledge of the origin
or history OF the town, which they believed
had existed there. 1t has always been Il
ruin to them and to their ancestors.
Fathers kIno and Mango, who visited there
in 1924 found the remains of the great
editice. They also gave an account OF
the twelve other ruins in the vicinity.
Father Pedro Fout in III, found them in
much the same condition. He describes
the main building as an oblong square,
facing the cardinal points of the compass
The exterior walls extended from north
to south 80 feet and from east 10 west go
feet. 1--WE thus see" says MIR. Morrison,
what havoc the storms of ITO years have
made and the necessity of immediate ac
ton TO save the remnant from complete
destruction. The ruins are regarded AS
one of the interesting remaing of the pre-
historic age to be found on this continent.