Coolidge, Arizona.
January 1, 1939.

The Director,
National Park Service,
Washington, D. C.

Dear Mr. Director:

The Condensed Report for the month of December, 1938, follows:

*Estimated

Favorable weather, which was general throughout the Southwest during the first part of the month, was probably offset by poor approach road conditions at the most popular monuments with the result that travel showed a decrease from that of November but a considerable increase over that of December, 1937. Tumacacori was the only area where accurate figures could be kept that showed an increase over the previous month.

000 GENERAL

010 Matter of Unusual Importance or Interest

Arches: By presidential action on November 25, the area of this monument was increased by the addition of 29,160 acres giving it a total of 33,680 acres (see p. 499.)

Chaco Canyon: The custodian's annual survey of ruins shows many on the monument suffering and badly in need of stabilization. The custodian is alarmed at the steady movement of Threatening Rock and suggests immediate action (see pgs. 489-90).

El Morro: Well drilling operations have taken the hole below water carrying formations and drilling was stopped (see p. 498).

New Mexico Monuments: Plans for an extensive program to celebrate the quarto-centennial anniversary of Spanish settlement are well under way (see pgs. 458-468-470-498). Need for considerable additional personnel at several monuments is foreseen (see p. 471).

Saguaro: Crown gall is reported by the University of Arizona Plan Pathology Dep't. as prevalent among the giant cacti (see p. 487).

Walnut Canyon: What is reported to be the first crow bone found in a Southwestern prehistoric site was recently unearthed (see p. 489).

020 Weather

Normal winter weather has prevailed through the Southwest with clear days during the first part of the month and stormy conditions general during the last part. The drouth, which adversely affected southern Arizona, was broken. Gran Quivira and Capulin report exceptionally cold weather.

100 ADMINISTRATIVE

123 Park Service Inspections and Visitors

Aztec Ruins: C. Steen, A. E. Underhill, G. Vivian, Ronald Lee, L. T. McKinney, J. Diehl, E. Reed, and A. Neasham.

Bandelier: Doc. Ruhle, J. Hamilton, L. McClatchy, A. Rinehart, C. Richey, Ronald Lee, A. Neasham, J. Diehl, D. King, and E. Reed.

Canyon de Chelly: H. Maier and J. Haile.

Casa Grande and Headquarters: J. Haile, G. Philp, C. J. Smih, Jesse Nusbaum, H. B. Chase, W. E. Austin, Ronald Lee, H. Maier, M. Christiansen.

Chaco: R. F. Lee, A. Neasham, J. Diehl, D. King, C. Miller.

Chiricahua: J. Haile and D. Egermayer.

El Morro: C. N. Gould, J. Diehl, E. Reed, A. Neasham, R. Lee, D. King.

Montezuma Castle: H. Maier and J. Haile.

Pipe Spring: N. Dodge.

Tonto: C. Steen and D. Jones.

Tumacacori: J. V. Lloyd, H. Bill, and A. T. Bicknell.

Walnut Canyon: C. Carter, J. H. Tovrea, J. W. Brewer, C. Doty, J. Haile, N. Dodge, H. B. Hommon, and J. Diehl.

Wupatki: J. V. Lloyd.

140 Labor Situation

Chiricahua: More men have gone to work in the mines (see p. 477).

Montezuma Castle: Guest ranches report business poor (see p. 495).

150 New Equipment, Destruction of Old

Bandelier: Four oil heaters for Operator's Development (see p. 475).

Headquarters: Twelve Flame cabinets were received (see p. 481).

Montezuma Castle: A number of hand tools arrived (see p. 495).

180 Circulars, Placards, and Publicity

Headquarters: Naturalists gave seven talks contacting 160 people (see p. 504).

Tumacacori: Custodian reached 200 people in three illustrated talks (see p. 485).

White Sands: A well illustrated booklet about the monument has recently been published by the custodian (see p. 509).

200 MAINTENANCE AND NEW CONSTRUCTION

210 Maintenance, unusual

Aztec Ruins: Repairs to the pump and pump house were made (see p. 470).

Bandelier: A broken pipe line was repaired and work was necessary on residence canales and fireplaces (see p. 475).

Canyon de Chelly: The pump and pump house required repair (see p. 483).

Chiricahua: The laundry room was painted and two tents removed from the campground (see p. 478).

Gran Quivira: General cleanup was carried out (see p. 468).

Pipe Spring: Considerable plaster repair needed in the fort (see p. 472).

Tonto: Interior of the residence-museum was calcimined and the roof of the storage shed repaired (see p. 473).

220 Improvements

Aztec Ruins: The trail for visitors was re-routed (see p. 469).

Casa Grande: All equipment has been moved into the new shop (see p. 501).

Montezuma Castle: Trees and vines were planted (see p. 495).

Pipe Spring: Twelve more poplar trees were set out (see p. 472).

Tumacacori: Considerable work was done in the museum to facilitate maintenance activities (see p. 485).

230 New Construction

White Sands: Foundations were poured on the Operator's residence (see p. 465).

231 CCC Construction

Bandelier: Only the installation of heating apparatus is necessary to make the Operator's Development 100 percent complete. Cabin units A. and B. are complete except painting and decorating. The Operator's Residence is practically complete, and the Comfort Station is ready for painting. Furniture making and rock quarrying were continued through the month. Fuel oil distributing system was brought to virtual completion and the hot water system ready to be hooked up. Landscape work is keeping up with construction (see p. 477).

Casa Grande: The shop was wired and plastered; interior painting was commenced in the warehouse; the oil house is ready for interior fixtures; a general monument cleanup was made; power line change-over was completed; the walls of the equipment shed are up to lintel height and some of the beams were placed. (see p. 481-2).

Chiricahua: Materials obtained in sloping 1,050 square yards of banks were used in grading and landscaping. One half mile of Bonita Highway was re-surfaced. Grading of walks at the administration building was completed and painting of the building continued. Carpenter and quarry work was continued (see p. 479).

Walnut Canyon: Work has started excavating for the administration building and for the water system (see p. 506).

Wupatki: The custodian's residence and water system projects were commenced (see p. 489).

300 ACTIVITIES OF OTHER AGENCIES

310 Public Safety Service Contractors

Chaco Canyon: S. Tanner sold out his trading post to A. J. Lavender (see p. 491).

320 Cooperating Agencies

Navajo: Two very useful sets of maps were donated to the ranger by the Soil Conservation Service (see p. 467).

Pipe Spring: Roads were worked by the Indian Service (see p. 471).

350 Donations and Accessions

Bandelier: A prehistoric vessel found by CCC boys and a set of aerial photographic maps were acquired by the museum (see p. 475 and 505). One book was donated to the library.

Headquarters Library: One hundred twenty two publications were received during the month (see p. 504).

Navajo: Topog, and aerial-photos maps were received (see p. 467).

400 FLORA, FAUNA, AND NATURAL PHENOMENA

410 Ranger, Naturalist, and Guide Service

All Monuments: Guide service records are shown on a statistical table on page 507.

Aztec and Tumacacori: Vacancies in ranger positions make complete service difficult and work a hardship on custodians (see p. 458).

Bandelier: A strong effort to prevent people from visiting ruins without a guide is meeting with encouraging success (see p. 474).

Headquarters: Research on visitor movements show definite travel routes through the Southwest and preliminary studies point to valuable information to be obtained in investigating these routes preparatory to planning museum displays (see article page 522).

422 Museum Service

Casa Grande: The display depicting pot and basket making methods was revised and improved (see p. 481).

Montezuma Castle: Improvements of museum displays continued (see p. 517).

Navajo: Plans are under way for the establishment of a nature trail (see p. 467).

Saguaro: A contact station has been established and the "Cactus Trail" put in use (see p. 487).

Tumacacori: An illustrated talk by Father Stoner attracted 54 listeners (see p. 485). Two more rooms of the museum have been opened to visitors, and many expressions of great appreciation have been received by the custodian (see p. 486).

460 Birds

Bandelier: A flock of Merriam Turkey has made its winter range close to headquarters (see p. 516).

Casa Grande: Experiments with banded house finches show that some return transported some distance from locations (see p. 521).

Chaco: A loon was banded by the custodian's wife (see p. 514).

Chiricahua: What is thought to have been Mexican Thick-billed parrots were seen (see p. 515).

El Morro: Quail introduced last spring have increased (see p. 515).

Headquarters: Birds handled in banding operations total 177 (see p. 521).

Montezuma Castle: Betty Jackson's bird notes are on page 518.

Pipe Spring: In a re-stocking program, 65 Gambel Quail were released. Since September, 476 birds have been handled in banding (see p. 520).

Wupatki: Seventeen Gambel Quail were released. Several flocks were reported as resident by a local Indian (see p. 489).

470 Other animals

Capulin: An ever abundance of porcupine is reported (see p. 497).

Chiricahua: Ninety one mountain lions have been killed in the vicinity of the monument in the past eight years (see p. 478).

El Morro: The custodian has invented an effective device for ridding the monument of cats without incurring the wrath of his neighbors (see p. 514).

500 PUBLIC USE OF MONUMENT FACILITIES

510 Increase or decrease in travel

All areas: A general decrease from November records shows an increase in the quality of interest shown by visitors (see p. 457).

White Sands: Road construction on the approach to the monument is considered as contributory to the drop in number of visitors (see p. 465).

530 Newsworthy Visitors

Aztec, Bandelier, El Morro: Members of the New Mexico Quarto Centennial Commission visited these areas in the interest of the state wide program planned for 1940 (see pgs. 470, 476, and 498).

Saguaro: Bruno Lessing, American Airlines officials, and Dr. J. E. Holloway of New Zealand visited the monument (see p. 488).

600 PROTECTION

610 Police

Montezuma Castle: Initial carvers were reprimanded (see p. 494).

Saguaro: An undesirable visitor was taken to the sheriff (see p. 487).

Yucca House and Hovenweep: Due to snow and bad roads, patrols of these areas were impossible (see p. 469).

640 Destruction of Predators

Casa Grande: Three cats were killed during the month (see p. 519).

Saguaro: One dog was removed from the monument (see p. 487).

650 Signs

Chiricahua: Several temporary signs were placed (see p. 478).

Montezuma Castle: Approach roads are being signed by the Forest Service (see p. 495).

Saguaro: Several signs were installed (see p. 487).

Navajo: Plans for rustic signs submitted (see p. 467).

700 ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY, PRE-HISTORY

710 Ruins Stabilization

Aztec Ruins: Work on the Kiva is 75 percent complete and on the walls of of the newly excavated rooms is 50 percent complete. Drainage activities have been of great value (see p. 469).

Chaco: Weather has controlled the work with drainage and wall patching the major accomplishments; some wall support (see p. 491).

Montezuma Castle: Stabilization badly needed (see p. 495).

720 Discoveries

Gran Quivira: Large quantities of charred beans and corn were found in a ruin not located on the monuments (see p. 468).

Walnut Canyon: Screening has revealed 12 bird bones (see p. 489).

Aztec Ruins: Two rooms were excavated by Steen (see p. 505).

730 Historical Items

El Morro: Casting of inscriptions has continued. A new method of accentuating inscriptions for photography has been developed by the custodian with the use of stove polish (see p. 498).

900 MISCELLANEOUS

Arches: Prospects for an all-paved approach road and a suitable water supply are good (see p. 500).

Chaco: Threatening Rock continues to move (see p. 468).

Headquarters: S.W.M. Asso. bulletin #1 sent to publishers (see p. 504).

Tonto: The entrance road suffered its annual washout (see p. 473).

Cordially,

Frank Pinkley,
Superintendent.