Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 37.djvu/775

Rh broken down into room D of the second story. Metates and grinding-stones were of frequent use in its construction; this and other appearances lead us to the conclusion that this remarkable structure was not built at one time, but grew up gradually from successive building. The caves in the cliff were probably first inhabited and the casas subsequently erected.

When taking the dimensions of room G on this floor a singular incident occurred. Mr. Daniels, my assistant, discovered a stone axe lying between the two timbers which formed the lintel of the window, the latter having been splintered by a bullet, which also struck the axe and loosened it in its position. Thus a careless shot, aimed at the building by some passing hunter, put us in possession of an interesting relic.

The apartments of the fourth floor (Fig. 10) are rather neater in construction than the rooms below, but they are otherwise so nearly alike that a detailed description would involve a needless and tiresome repetition of details. The door-ways are neatly executed, each having four good-sized lintel-pieces.

The fifth story can only be reached by climbing up through a small hole in the ceiling of room O, similar to that in room A of the first floor. This, the uppermost story (Fig. 11), consists of a long porch or gallery, having a battlement in front and an elevated backward extension on the right, with two rooms (R and S) filling the corresponding space on the left. The two rooms on this floor are roofed by the rocky arch of the cliff, and are loftier than the lower chambers.

It is said that only a few axes, metates, and other stone implements, with broken vessels of pottery, were found in this building when first explored by the whites. Upon my first visit, in 1884, it was evident that nothing more than a superficial examination had ever been made. In 1886 I caused the débris on the floors to be shoveled over. This material consisted of a quantity of dust and broken fragments of pottery and stone implements, together with an enormous accumulation of guano from bats that inhabited the building. This accumulation, in the largest room of the top floor, was four feet in depth. As no one had ever disturbed it, the floor was found in exactly the same condition in which it was left by the latest occupants. In front of the entrance the remains of a fire was found, and a goodly bundle of fagots lay against the wall at a convenient distance. An earthen vessel contained food, and a small basket of mesquite-seeds stood hard by. On further search, a large spoon of sycamore wood and some gourd cups were found. A large metate and grinder, weighing upward of a hundred pounds, proved to be a troublesome acquisition to our collection; but the labor expended in getting it safely down to the ground served to increase our respect