From all of these we draw the facts without further citation. Two and a half miles south of the Gila, on a slightly elevated plateau, stands the remains of the Casa Grande surrounded with a growth of mesquite trees. The ascent from the river bottom is so slight and gradual that its former inhabitants had constructed acequias between the river and the buildings. Mr. Bartlett found three edifices within a space of one hundred and fifty yards. The larger one only was in a fair state of preservation. Its four outer walls and most of the inner ones were standing. Three storeys were plainly marked by the ends of the beams remaining in the walls or by the cavities which they once occupied. No doubt the building was one story, at least, higher than this indicated, as the upper walls have crumbled away considerably and filled the first story with disintegrated adobe and a mass of rubbish. The central portion or tower furthermore rises eight or ten feet higher than the outer walls, and may have formed another story above the main building. At their base, the walls are between four or five feet in thickness, rising perpendicular on the inside, but on the outside tapering towards the top in a curved line. [Illustration: Ground Plan.] The material of the walls consists of blocks of adobe, prepared as in the Casas Grandes of Chihuahua, in position on the walls, probably in boxes two feet high and four feet long; after the mud had dried sufficiently, the box was moved further along the walls and refilled. Some difference of opinion has existed as to the color of the mud employed, though all admit it to be that of the surrounding valley. Mr. Bancroft gives some attention to this point, and observes that Bernal pronounced it “white clay,” and that according to Johnston it is also white with an admixture of lime from the vicinity. Mr. Hutton, a civil engineer who had thoroughly examined them, reported to Mr. Simpson that the surrounding earth was of a reddish color, but the admixture of pebbles with the mud gave the Casa a whitish appearance in certain reflections. Mr. Bancroft seeks by this argument to identify this building with Castañeda’s Chichilticale, which is described as having been built of red earth.[451] The outer sides of the walls were finished with a plaster similar to that which composed the blocks, but the inner side was covered with hard finish of such fine quality that when visited they still retained their polish after centuries of exposure. It is estimated that the edifice must have stood a hundred years at least prior to its discovery by the Spaniards. The inner walls are slightly thinner than the outer ones, and divide the building into five apartments, as shown in Mr. Bartlett’s ground plan. The building measures fifty feet in length by forty in width. The three central rooms indicated are each about eight by fourteen feet, while those at each end of the edifice are ten by about thirty-two feet. The