Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-12-14

of these unfortunate people, short description of some of the principal ruins they left behind them is here ap- pended,
 First among these prehistoric relics, both in extent and state of preserva- ton, is the famous Casa Grande, It is situated in the valley of the Gila, about five miles south of the river and six miles below the town of Florence. The ruins were first discovered by Cabeza de Vaca in his journey across the con tient, of which mention has heretofore been made, and was thoroughly ex- plored by Coronado when he led his famous expedition northward two years later. It was then Q54O) four stories high, with walls six feet in thickness. Around it were many other ruins, with portions of their walls yet standing, which would go to prove that once existed here. AS showing its great antiquity, it is mentioned that the Pima Indians, who then as now were living in the immediate vicinity, had no knowledge of the origin or his tory of the structure or the people who built it. It had been a ruin as long as tradition existed in the tribe, and when or by whom erected was as much a mystery to the Pimas as to their European visitors. Fathers Kino and Mange visited the Casa Grande in 1894 and gave a detailed description of the ruins as they then appeared.
 They found the remains of great edifice, having a large room in the middle, four stories in height, with walls six feet in thickness. They also give an account of twelve other ruins in the vicinity. Father Pedro Font visited the ruins in 1777 and found them in the condition they were when seen by Kino and Mange. He de scribes the main building as Gan ob long square, facing to the cardinal points of the compass. The exterior walls extend from north to south 42( feet, and from east to west 260 feet
 The interior of the house consists O
 five halls, the three middle ones being of one size and the extreme ones long
 CT. The three middle ones are twenty
 six feet in length from north to soutf
 and ten feet in breadth from east t(
 west" This was Casa Grande ove
 100 years ago, but the rains and wind
 of century have left their mark oi
 it's crumbling walls. The building stood
 upon slight eminenee, and was pt
 doubt the main structure in the cit, which once existed here. The wall
 were composed of concrete, made o mud and gravel, held together by hard cement. This concrete was mad in large blocks, which were put il place and firmly cemented together
 The inner surface was coated with thi peculiar cement, and is as hard an 1, smooth to-day as when it dried unde the hands of the ancient builders.
 The dimensions of the ruin sti
 standing are about fifty by thirty fee , Each succeeding year sees gradua diminishing, and 1t is only questio of a short period when Casa Grand will be an undistinguis sable mass ( {, , mud and gravel, like tfwiil sunds ths surround it. The Van On ar standin . show round holes i4 winch are foun pieces of cedar poles which supporte
 the floors. The ends of these pole
 show that they were cut with son :. blunt instrument, and as a number 10 stone axes, bone awls and other impl ', ments of the stone age have been e, y cavated from the ruins, it is evidel # the people who built these remarkab /. structures had no knowledge of tl = use of iron. In the immediate vicini ? the traces of an immense irrigatir T canal have been followed to the Gi ' river, forty miles distant This can no doubt brought water to the ci
 and irrigated the rich valley whl' st surrounds the ruins in every directio s. Casa Grande is one the most intt
 esting remains of the prehistoric a