MINDELEFF] DETAILS OF CASA BLANCA 109 
these wall remains on the western edge of the site. They are all 
outside of but attached to what was formerly the exterior wall on that 
side. 
There are remains of four Navaho burial cists in the lower ruin, at 
the points shown on the ground plan. These are constructed of stones 
and mud roughly put together in the ordinary manner, forming thin, 
rounded walls; but these can not be confounded with the other meth- 
ods of construction described. Three of the cists have long been in 
ruins and broken down; the one on the east is but a few years old. 
Access to the upper ruin can now be had only with much difficulty. 
In the western end of the cave there is a single room placed on the 
cliff edge, and between this and the end of a wall to the right a small 
stick has been embedded in the masonry at a height of about 2 feet 
from therock. The cliff here is vertical and affords no footing, but by 
throwing a rope over the stick a man can ascend hand over hand. 
During the period when the houses were occupied, access was had in 
another and much easier way, through a doorway or passageway 
nearly in the center of the ruin and directly over the point where the 
lower village was four stories high. The roof of the lower structure 
was less than 4 feet below the floor of the cave; yet there is no doubt 
that a doorway or passageway existed also at the western end of the 
cave, as the western end of the wall on the right of the stick is neatly 
finished and apparently complete. 
The principal room in the upper ruin is situated nearly in the center 
of the cave, and is the one that has given the whole ruin its name. 
The walls are 2 feet thick, constructed of stone, 12 feet high in front 
and 7 feet high on the sides and inside. The exterior was finished 
with a coat of whitewash, with a decorative band in yellow; hence 
the name of Casa Blanea or White House. West of the principal 
room there is a smaller one, which appears to be a later addition. The 
walls of this room are only 7 inches thick, of adobe on the sides and 
back and of small stones in front. The top of the wall is about 2 feet 
below the top of the wall on the east. The coat of whitewash and the 
yellow decorative band are continuous over both rooms, but the white 
coat was also applied to the exterior western wall of the main room. 
In the main room there is a series of small sticks, about half an ineh in 
diameter, projecting 8 inches from the wall and on a line 3 or 4 inches 
under where the roof was. 
The small room in the eastern end of the cave was located on a kind of 
bench or upper level, and was constructed partly of stone and partly 
of adobe. The stone part is the upper portion of the eastern half. On 
the west there is a small opening or window, with an appliance for 
closing it. It is probable that this room was used only for storage. 
In the western end of the cave there is another single room, which is 
clearly shown in plate xtvu. The front wall is 11 feet high outside 
and 5 feet high inside. The lower portion is stone, the upper part and 
sides are adobe, and the side walls rest on nearly 2 feet of straw, ashes, 
