MORGAN.] RUINS OF PUEBLO BONITO. 163 
in its original condition, this fine pueblo must have made a very striking 
appearance. 
Immediately under the walls of the canon, and about a quarter of a 
mile below the last pueblo, are the ruins of the still greater Pueblo Bonito, 
Fig. 35. This edifice is, in some respects, the most interesting of the series 
as well as the best preserved in certain portions. Its exterior development, 
including the court, is one thousand three hundred feet. Its corners are 
rounded, and the east wing, now the most ruinous part of the structure, appears 
to have had row upon row of apartments added, until nearly one-third of the 
area of the court was covered ‘Its present elevation,” General Simpson 
observes, ‘shows that it had at least four stories of apartments. The num- 
ber of rooms on the ground floor is one hundred and thirty-nine. In this 
enumeration, however, are not included the apartments which are not dis- 
tinguishable in the eastern portion of the pueblo, and which would swell 
the number io about two hundred. There, then, having been at least four 
stories of rooms * * * there must be a reduction * * * of one 
range of rooms for every story after the first, which would increase the 
1 No single edifice of equal accom- 
5 
number to six hundred and forty-one.” 
modations, it may be here repeated, has ever been found in any part of 
North America. It would accommodate three thousand Indians 
One of the best of its rooms is shown in the engraving, Fig. 36. It 
will compare, not unfavorably, with any of equal size to be found at Palenque 
or Uxmal, although, from the want of a vaulted ceiling, not equal in artistic 
design. The nice mechanical adjustment of the masonry and the finish of 
the ceiling are highly creditable to the taste and skill of the builders. “It 
is walled up,” says Simpson, “ with alternate beds of large and small stones, 
the regularity of the combination producing a very pleasant effect. The 
ceiling of this room is also more tasteful than any we have seen, the trans- 
verse beams being smaller and more numerous, and the longitudinal pieces, 
which rest upon them, only about an inch in diameter, and beautifully reg- 
ular. These latter have somewhat the appearance of barked willow. The 
room has a doorway at each end, and one at the side, each of them leading 
'Simpson’s Report, p. 81 
