MiNDELEFF] ADDITIONAL REPAIRS NECESSARY 329 



work had been done to render the repairs permanently effective. Under 

 the terms of the contract, no amount in excess of that stated ($1,985) 

 could be paid, and payment of this amount was made late in 1S!)1. 

 On January 7, 1892, the contractors tiled a claim for extra work on the 

 ruin amounting to $000.40. The work was actually performed, but the 

 terms of the contract were clear, and the claim was therefore disap- 

 proved January 28, 1892. 



It would have been desirable to have had a supervisor of the work, 

 but as the contract consumed practically all of the amount approi)ri:ited 

 no provision could be made for one. It is fortunate, therefore, tliat the 

 Eeverend I. T. Whittemore, who had in the meantime been appointed 

 honorary custodian of the ruin, generously undertook to look after the 

 work without compensation, and on its conclusion the small sum remain- 

 ing ($1.5) was turned over to him, thus exhausting the appropriation. 

 In the sundry civil api)ropriation act for the year ending .June 30, 1893, 

 provision was made for a salaried custodian of the ruin, and Mr Whitte- 

 more was ai)pointed to this iJosition. Similar provision has been con- 

 tinued from year to year to the present time. 



It is to be regretted that the necessities of the case, imposed by the 

 limited amount api)ropriated, compelled the tixing of a maximum 

 amount of work so far below the amount necessary that the repair of 

 the ruin is incomplete. Had it been possible to carry out the plans, it 

 is believed that the ruin would have stood unchanged for many decades, 

 if not for a centiuy. Should further provision be made for the continu- 

 ation of the work, it should include an item for the fencing of the area 

 covered by the ruins or of the reservation, and possibly an item for the 

 construction of a roof. 



It is not clear that a roof is absolutely necessary, but it is certain 

 that it would be very undesirable. The region where this ruin occurs 

 has probably less rainfall than any other part of the United States, Init 

 it must not be forgotten that while rainstorms are infrequent tliey are 

 sometimes violent, and what damage they do may be done in a few 

 hours. All the items for the repair of the ruin, except that pertaining 

 to a roof, were so devised that the ruin was not materially disflgurecl 

 or changed, and were they fully carried out the ruin would present 

 much the same general appearance as before. It is important that 

 this appearance should be preserved as far as possible, but it can not 

 be maintained if a roof is erected over the walls. As four years have 

 elapsed since the completion of the work, it should be possible now to 

 determine whether atmospheric erosion has played a material part in 

 the work of destructi(m.' 



In the original plans and in the specifications which formed part of 

 the contract (although this section was not operative) a ])lan for a roof 

 was included. Such a structure, if erected at all, should be made as 



*See the letter of the Director of the Bureau of American Etlinology to the Secretary of the Interior 

 regarding the examination of Casa Grande by Mr "W J McGee in the supplement to the present paper. 



