Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1893 — A QUEER DWELLING. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A QUEER DWELLING.

the House Is Built of Sea-Shells Lal&ls Cement. U Arizona is literally covered with the ruins of strange habitations. Most of them are constructed of concrete or adobe, and the mystery about them is the identity of the people who designed them. How they could be built is not a matter of conjee* tore, as the materials are close at hand. But there is one ruin, although still in a good state of preservation, that is a mystery, no matter in what light it is considered. It is in the Huachuca Mountains, not far from the military reservation, in a northeasterly direction. Nothing is known of its origin, and t)i6 wonderful part is the material of which it is constructed. It is about 200 miles from the ocean and surrounded on all sides by hills of sand ana rocks covered with cacti. There is no water for miles, except the excuses for rivers that run in the rainy season, There is not even the suggestion of water, and yet the house is built of sea-shells laid in a sort of oement. Where the shells were obtained is a mystery that may never be solved. It does not seem possible that the builder of that house would carry the material Over hundreds of miles of desert when there were plenty of rocks near by that would answer the purpose just as well, even though they were not so unique. The house is built in the shape of the straw hdts of the Papago Indians and is about the same size. There is room inside foi five or six persons, but at present nol>ody occupies it, except, perhaps, some prospector who uses it for a temporary shelter in cold weather. There are a dozen varieties of shells to be found in the walls, and one over the door is of extraordinary

size. The age of building will never bo known, but there is little doubt that it is as Did as the oldest In the territory.

A HOUSE BUILT OF SHELLS