50 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



architecture of which the l)asis is the puddled wall, or jiise, called by Spanish settlers 

 "cajon," the fourth house type of the arid region. Aboriginally, the earth used in 

 the structure W'as doubtless tamped between wattled walls, at first permanent and 

 afterwards temporary; certainly during later times the earth was built up in succes- 

 sive ledges between niovable screens of wattling so placed and braced as to form a 

 temporary trough for each ledge. The cajon structure was durable, and was suscep- 

 tible of development into communal houses of many rooms and several stories. As 

 in the primal type, the roof remained of earth laid on shrubbery supported by a 

 sheathing of canes or cactus staves and rafters of cedar poles; on one-story houses it 

 was a i>lace of temporary resort for the occupants, and with the gradual evolution of 

 parapets and the growth of these into higher stories the roofs became u])per floors. 

 Subsequently (probably after the Caucasian invasion) earthen bricks laid in mud 

 mortar w'ere sul)stituted, and this type of construction, known as adobe, w'as generally 

 adopted; and in the better buildings, both of cajon and adobe, the walls were coated 

 with a thin plaster or slip fixed by some form of soda or other earthy salt. Now, the 

 aboriginal cajon house type is admirably adapted to the present needs of the arid 

 region and is well worthy of consideration by Caucasian settlers. Properly con- 

 structed, cajon walls are much superior to adobe in homogeneitj' and strength, though 

 somewhat more expensive in labor. Their durability is sufficiently attested l)y Casa 

 Grande in the Gila Valley, which was a ruin of immemorial antiquity when discov- 

 ered by Padre Kino in 1694, and which is still standing despite vandalism as well as 

 natural weathering. Moreover, the cajon is readily susceptible of improvement by 

 the addition of lime or cement to the material in any desired quantity and by substi- 

 tuting a plaster of lime or cement for the simple slip. So improved, the native con- 

 struction would seem better adapted to the conditions and requirements of hal)ita- 

 tions in tho arid region than any imported models. The cost would be only that of 

 the lime and the handling of materials, while wood, burned brick, and even stone 

 are highly expensive. The thick walls would effectively equalize interior tenii)er- 

 atures despite the enormous diurnal range, which is the most serious obstacle to 

 residence in arid districts; and the general massiveness would lend itself to distinc- 

 tive and desirable architectural effects. Dr. Russell's researches extended also to the 

 lighter and more composite types of construction surviving among the Pima and 

 neighboring Indians, as well as to the attendant industries and food sources. Among 

 the latter the fruit of the cactus figures prominently, not only m modern customs 

 but in tradition and ceremonies, attesting the still more important place which the 

 fruit and its products occupied in the lives of past generations. Dr. Russell's mate- 

 rial has been so divided as to yield a special memoir on technology, designed for 

 early i^ublication in bulletin form, and a general monograph on the social organiza- 

 tion, mythology, and esthetology of the Pima tril)e and on the antiquities of their 

 habitat. 



During the year Dr. Albert E. Jenks revised the proofs of his memoir on "Wild 

 rice gatherers of the upper lakes," forming part of the Nineteenth Annual Report. 

 This treatise is deemed especially valuable in that it calls attention to a widespread 

 food source largely used by the aborigines and giving promise of great utility to our 

 citizens whenever the requisite attention is given to cultivation, milling, and prepa- 

 ration. In food value the wild rice ranks high among cereals, and its natural 

 haV)itat is such that by its means otherwise useless swamp lands may be utilized and 

 reclaimed, while it can not be doubted that with judicious cultivation it might be 

 adapted to an ever-widening range of soil conditions. liater in the year Dr. Jenks 

 resumed his researches concerning the birch-bark industries of our northern 

 aborigines. As noted in the last report, one aspect of the industries clustering about 

 the birch tree is of prime significance to ethnologists in that the birch-bark canoe 

 was the most effective agency of distribution of tribes and culture during early times; 

 yet it is well worth noting that the interest is a living one, since the bark canoe 

 remains a most effective device for transportation among white men as well as red. 



