The mere occurrence of adobe here is evidence of the occupancy of this site at a period subsequent to the sixteenth century—we might almost say subsequent to the middle of the seventeenth; but its occurrence in this way and in such intimate association with the stone walls indicates that the occupancy was continuous from a time prior to the introduction of adobe construction to a period some time subsequent to it. This hypothesis is supported by other evidence, which will appear later. Attention may here be directed to the fact that there are four chimney-like structures in the lower ruin, all of adobe, and all, except the one which pertains to the kiva, attached to adobe walls.
On the western margin of the ruin, and nowhere else within it, there are traces of another kind of construction which was not found elsewhere within the canyon. This method is known to the Mexicans as "jacal," and much used by them. It consists of a row of sticks or thin poles set vertically in the ground and heavily plastered with mud. At present not one of these walls remains to a height of 6 inches above the ground, but the lines of poles broken off at the ground level are still visible. The ground at this point is but 3 or 4 feet above the general level of the bottom. The ground plan shows the occurrence of
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 methods 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 the rock. 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 Blanca 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 inch 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 XLVII]. 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,
etc. The buttress shown in the illustration is of stone and the front wall that it supports is slightly battened. A close inspection of the illustration will show that this wall rests partly on horizontal timber work, a feature which is repeated in several walls in the main cluster of the ruins.
The use of timber laid horizontally under a wall is not uncommon, and as it will be discussed at greater length in another place, it may be dismissed here with the statement that as a rule it failed to accomplish the purpose intended. But the use of the buttress is an anomalous feature which it is difficult to believe was of aboriginal conception. Its occurrence in this ruin together with so many other unaboriginal features is suggestive.
The walls of the principal room and of the rooms immediately in front of it are constructed of stone; all the other walls in the upper ruin are of adobe or have adobe in them. The two rooms on the east and two walls of the room adjoining on the west are wholly of adobe, about 7 inches thick and now 3 and 4 feet high. In the southeast corner of the second room from the east there is an opening through the front wall which may have been a drain. It is on the floor level, round, 5 inches in diameter, and smoothly plastered. In the fourth room from the east there is a similar hole. Both of these discharge on the edge of the cliff, and it is difficult to imagine their purpose unless they were expedients for draining the rooms; but this would imply that the rooms were not roofed. Although the cliff above is probably 500 feet high, and overhangs to the degree that a rock pushed over its edge falls 15 feet or more outside of the outermost wall remains, and over 70 feet from the foot of the cliff, still a driving storm of rain or snow would leave considerable quantities of water in the front rooms if they were not roofed, and some means would have to be provided to carry it off.