The tract is well wooded and has an ample supply of water and many rugged hills, among which, on the western boundary, lies what is known as Sullys Hill. In the southwestern part is a small body of water known as Sweet Water Lake, west of which the surface is generally level and the soil good. The acting superintendent in his report for 1915 states: No appropriation has ever been made for the maintenance of this park, and no improvements have ever been placed in it other than cutting out a few trails through the timber for roads and cleaning up a small tract near a fresh-water lake in the park for picnic grounds. Nothing as yet has been done toward making permanent roads or otherwise beautifying the grounds. The natural beauties of the park and its popularity as a picnic ground have drawn an aggregate of about 1,000 people to the place for a short time. A very small portion of these people have spent a single night in the park, and none, as far as known, have camped in the park for a longer time. Appropriations aggregating $10,000 have been made by Congress for the establishment and maintenance of a game preserve in this park, and it is anticipated that if such improvement is made as is intended by these acts, and a game preserve established it will draw more people to the place and eventually become one of the most attractive beauty spots in this State. There should be some permanent roads built in this park, so as to make it more accessible to the public. A dock should be built on the lake shore, so that launches could draw up to it for a landing. The beach on the shore of Devils Lake is one of the best bathing beaches on the lake. Some bathhouses should be built and other minor improvements of this character made. A suitable residence should be constructed for a caretaker, and one employed. An appropriation of about $10,000 would improve this park so that it would be accessible to the public, and would make it one of the most noted resorts in the State. CASA GRANDE RUIN. This reservation is located near Florence, Ariz., about 18 miles northeast of Casa Grande station, on the Southern Pacific Railway, and contains about 480 acres. It was set aside by Executive order dated June 22, 1892, under the act approved March 2, 1889 (25 Stat., 961). By presidential proclamation of December 10, 1909, the boundaries of the reservation were changed by the elimination of 120 acres on which there were no prehistoric ruins and the inclusion of a tract of 120 acres adjoining the reservation on the east on which are located important mounds of historic and scientific interest. Casa Grande is an Indian ruin of undetermined antiquity, which was discovered in 1694 by Padre Kino, a Jesuit missionary. This great house is said to be the most important ruin of its type in the Southwest, and as such it has strong claims for archæological study, repair, and permanent preservation. It is built of puddled clay molded into walls and dried in the sun, and is of perishable character. The main building was originally five or six stories high and covered a space 59 feet by 43 feet 3 inches. The walls have been gradually disintegrating, owing to the action of the elements. A corrugated iron roof has heretofore been erected over this building to protect it, so far as practicable, from further decay. Surrounding Casa Grande proper is a rectangular walled inclosure or "compound," having an area of about 2 acres. In this inclosure, which has been called Compound A, excavations conducted under the Bureau of American Ethnology have resulted in the uncovering of a number of buildings or clusters of rooms, and others are known to exist, but have not been excavated. Two other compounds were dis covered and designated, respectively, Compound B and Compound C, but the latter has not been excavated and is still in the form of a mound. These three compounds together constitute what is known as the Casa Grande group of ruins. As a result of this work, conducted under the Bureau of American Ethnology, the points of interest to visitors have been materially augmented. The ground plan of the ruin was increased by some 58 rooms, a number of plazas and surrounding walls, making the total number of rooms now open on the ground floor 100. Mr. Frank Pinkley, the custodian, who resides on the reservation, reports that the number of visitors to the ruin is constantly increas Reservation boundary CASA GRANDE RUIN RESERVATION Casa Grande Ruin Reservation, Ariz., embracing the NW., the NE. 1, the N. of the SW. 1, and the N. of the SE. of sec 16, T. 5 S., R. 8 E., Gila and Salt River meridian; set aside by Executive order of June 22, 1892, under act of March 2, 1889. ing, owing to the ease with which the ruin can be reached by automobile. No injury has been done during the year by vandals, but some erosion is taking place, for which funds are needed for repair and protective work. NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND PRESERVATION OF GENERAL STATEMENT. By the act approved June 8, 1906, entitled "An act for the preservation of American antiquities," the President of the United States is authorized, "in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation 1 Text of this act is given on page 1109. historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments." Under such authority the President has created the following monuments: National monuments administered by Interior Department. Originally set aside by proclamation of Apr. 16, 1908, and contained only 120 acres. The following regulations for the protection of national monuments were promulgated on November 19, 1910: 1. Fires are absolutely prohibited. 2. No firearms are allowed. 3. No fishing permitted. 4. Flowers, ferns, or shrubs must not be picked, nor may any damage be done to the trees. 5. Vehicles and horses may be left only at the places designated for this purpose. 6. Lunches may be eaten only at the spots marked out for such use, and all refuse and litter must be placed in the receptacles provided. 7. Pollution of the water in any manner is prohibited; it must be kept clean enough for drinking purposes. 8. No drinking saloon or barroom will be permitted. 9. Persons rendering themselves obnoxious by disorderly conduct or bad behavior, or who may violate any of the foregoing rules, will be summarily removed. Officers having supervision of national monuments. George Hayworth, New Customhouse Building, San Francisco, Cal. : Pinnacles National Monument, Cal. H. Stanley Hinrichs, Federal Building, Salt Lake City, Utah: Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah. Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah. Benjamin H. Gibbs, Santa Fe, N. Mex.: Montezuma Castle National Monument, Ariz. Ira Lantz, Helena, Mont.: Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument, Mont. Adelbert Baker, Cheyenne, Wyo.: Devils Tower National Monument, Wyo. Shoshone Cavern National Monument, Wyo. A. Christensen, Juneau, Alaska: Sitka National Monument, Alaska. Administrative conditions.-The supervision of these various monuments has, in the absence of any specific appropriation for their protection and improvement, necessarily been intrusted to the field officers of the department having charge of the territory in which the respective monuments are located. Administrative conditions continue to be unsatisfactory, as no appropriation of funds has yet been made available for this important protective and preservative work. Such supervision as has been possible in the cases of a few monuments only has been wholly inadequate and has not prevented vandalism, destruction of natural formations, unauthorized exploitation, or spoliation of relics found in those prehistoric ruins, whose preservation is contemplated by the passage of the act of June 8, 1906. An estimate in the sum of $5,000 for preservation, development, administration, and protection of these national monuments was submitted on December 15, 1913 (through the Secretary of the Treasury), by the Department of the Interior to Congress, and is incorporated in House Document No. 506, Sixty-third Congress, second session. Congress, however, did not act favorably upon this estimate. An estimate in similar amount has been included by this department in its general estimates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917. This fund is needed, not so much for the purpose of preserving by restoration the objects reserved in the national monuments as to prevent the removal of valuable relics and vandalism. Monuments suffering from these causes should be provided with a custodian or superintendent, and in this way a small general appropriation can be made most useful and its expenditure will be wholly in the interest of the public. The protection and preservation of the national monuments as public reservations are of great interest and importance because a great variety of objects, historic, prehistoric, and scientific in character, are thus preserved for public use intact instead of being exploited by private individuals for gain and their treasures scattered. These reserves should be administered in connection with the national parks, which they strongly resemble. It would be difficult to define one in terms that would exclude the other. The renewal of the estimate for a small appropriation has been made for the pur 1 By arrangement with the Secretary of Agriculture, the district forester of the Manzano National Forest, with headquarters at Albuquerque, N. Mex., has taken charge of patrol and protection of the Gran Quivira National Monument, as the Interior Department has no field officer in the immediate vicinity of the monument. pose of keeping this class of reserves intact until such time as Congress shall authorize the creation of some administrative unit which shall take over both the parks and monuments and administer them under a general appropriation. National monuments under other departments. The following national monuments are not administered by the Secretary of the Interior: National monuments administered by the Department of Agriculture. PERMITS FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION. The uniform rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and War, under date of December 28, 1906, to carry into effect the general provisions of the act for the preservation of American antiquities provide (par. 3) that Permits for the excavation of ruins, the excavation of archæological sites, and the gathering of objects of antiquity will be granted, by the respective Secretaries having jurisdiction, to reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, or to their duly authorized agents. On February 19, 1915, permit was granted by this department to Prof. A. V. Kidder, curator of American archæology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, to make examination and excavation of ruins in the Chinlee Valley and the tributary canyons which enter it below the Mexican Water and the canyons heading against the Navajo Mountain on its east and north sides, as continuation of explorations under similar permits granted by the department in 1913 and 1914. This locality is in the vicinity of the Navajo National Monument. Permit was granted on April 22, 1915, to Mr. Edgar L. Hewett, director of the School of American Archæology, Santa Fe, N. Mex., to make explorations and excavations necessary for the making of an archæological report upon the district lying between the north bound |