REPORT ON SULLYS HILL PARK, CASA GRANDE RUIN; THE
MUIR WOODS, PETRIFIED FOREST, AND OTHER NATIONAL MONUMENTS; TOGETHER
WITH LIST OF BIRD RESERVES.
SULLYS HILL PARK.
This reservation, set aside by Executive proclamation
dated June 2, 1904, under the act approved April 27, 1904 (33 Stat.,
319), contains about 780 acres. It is located on the south shore of
Devils Lake, N. Dak., having about 2 miles of shore line,
with its western boundary 1 mile east of the Fort Totten Indian School.
Inasmuch as no appropriation has been made for the care and protection
of this reservation, Mr. Charles M. Ziebach, in charge of the Indian
industrial school (Fort Totten), has been continued as acting
superintendent, and required to exercise the necessary supervision and control
over the park until appropriation is made therefor by Congress.
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.
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Map of Sullys Hill Park.
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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
archaeological 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 discovered
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 increasing, 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.
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Casa Grande Ruin Reservation, Ariz., embracing the NW. 1/4, the NE. 1/4,
the N. 1/2 of the SW. 1/4, and the N. 1/2 of the SE. 1/4 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.
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NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND PRESERVATION OF AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
GENERAL STATEMENT.
By the act approved June 8, 1906, entitled "An act for the preservation
of American antiquities,"1 the President of the United States
is authorized, "in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation
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:
1Text of this act is given on page 1109.
National monuments administered by Interior
Department.
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Name. | State. |
Date. | Area. |
|
| Acres. |
Devils Tower | Wyoming | Sept. 24, 1906 | 1,152 |
Montezuma Castle | Arizona | Dec. 8, 1906 | 180 |
El Morro | New Mexico | do | 160 |
Chaco Canyon | do | Mar. 11, 1907 | 120,629 |
Muir Woods2 | California | Jan. 9, 1908 | 295 |
Pinnacles | do | Jan. 16, 1908 | 2,080 |
Tumacacori | Arizona | Sept. 15, 1908 | 10 |
Mukuntuweap | Utah | July 31, 1909 | 115,840 |
Shoshone Cavern | Wyoming | Sept. 21, 1909 | 210 |
Natural Bridges3 | Utah | Sept. 25, 1909 | 12,740 |
Gran Quivira | New Mexico | Nov. 1, 1909 | 1160 |
Sitka | Alaska | Mar. 23, 1910 | 117 |
Rainbow Bridge4 | Utah | May 30, 1910 | 160 |
Lewis and Clark Cavern | Montana | May 18, 1911 | 160 |
Colorado | Colorado | May 24, 1911 | 13,883 |
Petrified Forest | Arizona | July 31, 1911 | 23,625 |
Navajo | do | Mar. 14, 1912 | 360 |
Papago Saguaro | do | Jan. 31, 1914 | 2,060 |
Dinosaur | Utah | Oct. 4, 1915 | 80 |
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1Estimated area.
2Donated to the United States.
3Originally set aside by proclamation of Apr. 16, 1908, and contained
only 120 acres.
4Within an Indian reservation.
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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.
Muir Woods National Monument, Cal.
Pinnacles National Monument, Cal.
H. Stanley Hinrichs, Federal Building, Salt Lake City, Utah:
Mukuntuweap National Monument, Utah.
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah.
Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah.
Benjamin H. Gibbs, Santa Fe, N. Mex.:
Montezuma Castle National Monument, Ariz.
Petrified Forest National Monument, Ariz.
Tumacacori National Monument, Ariz.
Navajo National Monument, Ariz.
Papago Saguaro National Monument, Ariz.
El Morro National Monument, N. Mex.
Chaco Canyon National Monument, N. Mex.
Gran Quivira National Monument, N. Mex.1
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.
1By 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.
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 purpose 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.
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Name. | State. |
Date. | Area. |
|
| Acres. |
Cinder Cone | California | May 6, 1907 | 15,120 |
Lassen Peak | do | do | 11,280 |
Gila Cliff dwellings | New Mexico | Nov. 16, 1907 | 160 |
Tonto | Arizona | Dec. 19, 1907 | 1640 |
Grand Canyon | do | Jan. 11, 1908 | 1806,400 |
Jewel Cave | South Dakota | Feb. 7, 1908 | 11,280 |
Wheeler | Colorado | Dec. 7, 1908 | 300 |
Oregon Caves | Oregon | July 12, 1909 | 480 |
Mount Olympus | Washington | July 6, 1911 | 800 |
Devil Postpile | California | Apr. 17, 1912 | 299,370 |
1Estimated area.
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National monuments administered by the War Department.
|
Name. | State. |
Date. | Area. |
|
| Acres. |
Big Hole Battle Field | Montana | 1June 23, 1910 | 5 |
Cabrillo | California | 2Oct. 14, 1913 | 1 |
1Set aside by Executive order.
2Set aside by presidential proclamation.
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Map showing location of national parks
and national monuments. (click on image for a PDF version)
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PERMITS FOR ARCHÆOLOGICAL 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 archaeological 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 archaeology,
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 Archaeology, Santa Fe, N.
Mex., to make explorations and excavations necessary for the making of
an archaeological report upon the district lying between the north
boundary of the Ramon Vigil Grant and the Guages Canyon, on the Pajarito
Plateau, N. Mex., and to collect specimens for the use of the Commercial
Museum, of Philadelphia, Pa., which institution collaborates with the
School of American Archaeology in this research work.
Permit was granted on May 20, 1915, to the
Smithsonian Institution to make archaeological reconnoissance of and, if
deemed practicable, to conduct excavations and gather specimens on the
public domain in Millard, Beaver, Iron, and Boxelder Counties, Utah,
such collections to be permanently deposited in the United States
National Museum.
On June 5, 1915, permit was granted Prof. Livingston
Farrand, president of the University of Colorado, to prosecute
archaeological research on public lands under administration of the
Interior Department in San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties, N. Mex., and
in a strip of country 15 miles in width crossing Montezuma, La Plata,
and Archuleta Counties (not, however, within the boundaries of Mesa
Verde National Park), and to collect specimens. This work is in the
nature of continuation of research under similar permit issued in 1914
covering territory contiguous to the above.
On June 10, 1915, permit was granted the University
of Arizona, at Tucson, Ariz., to prosecute archaeological research
within the territory south and west of Navajo Mountain and in the Sagi
Canyons in northern Arizona, east of the Colorado River, and to collect
specimens for use of the university, such work to be conducted under
personal supervision of Prof. Byron Cummings (formerly of the
University of Utah), and the territory within which explorations take place
not to overlap that covered by the above permit to Prof. Kidder.
Permit was granted on. July 26, 1915, to Mr. Charles
H. Robinson to gather archaeological specimens on the public domain
within the so-called "Spanish Diggings" country, located east of the
Platte River, in Converse, Niobrara, Platte, and Goshen Counties, Wyo.,
during August, 1915, such collections to be permanently deposited,
one-half in the McLean County (Ill.) Historical Society Museum,
Bloomington, Ill., and one-half in the Illinois State Natural
Historical Museum, at Springfield, Ill.
On August 17, 1915, authority was granted Dr. R. B.
Earle to collect not exceeding 100 pounds of specimens of silicified
wood from the Fossil Forest of Arizona (Petrified Forest National
Monument) for the museum of New York University, and similar quantity
for the museum of Hunter College.
DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This extraordinary mass of igneous rock, known as the
Devils Tower, is one of the most conspicuous and notable features in the
Black Hills region, and has been known and utilized, doubtless, from
time immemorial by the aborigines of the plains and mountains, for the
American Indian of the last century was found to be directing his course
to and from the hunt and foray by reference to this lofty pile. In their
turn the white pioneers of civilization, in their exploration of the
great Northwest, which began with the expedition of the Verendryes,
pathfinders of the French Colonies of Canada, in 1742, utilized the
tower as a landmark, and still later the military
expeditions into the Sioux and Crow Indian country
during the Indian wars of the last century carried on operations within
sight of the Devils Tower or directed their march by the aid of its
ever-present beacon, for the tower is visible in some directions in that
practically cloudless region for nearly 100 miles.
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Devils Tower National Monument. Wyo.,
embracing sec. 7 and the N. 1/2 NE. 1/4, the NE. 1/4 NW. 1/4, and lot
No. 1, sec. 18, T. 53 N., R. 65 W.; the E. 1/2 sec. 12 and the N. 1/2
NE. 1/4 sec. 13, T. 53 N., R. 66 W., sixth principal meridian; created
September 24, 1906.
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The tower is a steep-sided shaft rising 600 feet
above a rounded ridge of sedimentary rocks, about 600 feet high, on the
west bank of the Belle Fourche River. Its nearly flat top is elliptical
in outline, with a diameter varying from 60 to 100 feet. Its sides are
strongly fluted by the great columns of igneous rock, and are nearly
perpendicular, except near the top, where there is some rounding, and
near the bottom, where there is considerable outward
flare. The base merges into a talus of huge masses of broken columns
lying on a platform of the lower buff sandstone of the Sundance
geologic formation. Ascent can be made by the general public to the top
of the base which surrounds the tower proper; it is not possible,
however, for ascent of the tower to be made. The tower has been scaled
in the past by means of special apparatus, but only at considerable
risk. The great columns of which the tower consists are mostly
pentagonal in shape, but some are four or six sided. The average diameter
is 6 feet, and in general the columns taper slightly toward the top. In
places several columns unite in their upper portions to form a large
fluted column. The columns slope inward toward the top. They are not
much jointed, but are marked horizontally by faint ridges or swellings,
which give the rock some appearance of bedding,
especially toward the top of the tower. In the lower
quarter or third of the tower the columns bend outward and merge rapidly
into massive rock, which toward the base shows but little trace of
columnar structure. This massive rock circles the tower as a bench,
extending out for 30 to 40 feet. On the southwest face the long columns
curve outward over the massive, basal portion and lie nearly horizontal.
The rugged pile of talus extends high up the lower slopes of the massive
bench at the base of the tower and also far down the adjoining slopes of
sedimentary rocks.
The nearest settlement to this national monument is
Tower, in Crook County, Wyo., which is reached by stage from Moorcroft,
Wyo., a distance of 32 miles. Moorcroft is on the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy Railway. The tower may also be reached by conveyance from
Hulett, Wyo., which in turn is reached by stage from Aladdin, the
western terminus of the Wyoming & Missouri River Railway.
MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This national monument is situated in the
northeastern part of Yavapai County, Ariz., and contains an assemblage
of cliff dwellings, from the principal of which, known as Montezuma's
Castle, this monument is named. This structure is of very great interest
not only because of its picturesqueness but for ethnological and other
scientific reasons. It is strictly a cliff dwelling, with the added
importance that it is also a communal house. Although very small as
compared with the great ruins of Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelley, Mesa
Verde, the Mancos, and other localities of the Southwest, it is so
unique in location and structural design and so perfectly
preserved that it may be said to have no equal in the United States.
The character of the material used in the Verde cliff
ruins, adobe, rubble, and a soft calcareous stone, has rendered the
progress of disintegration and ruin somewhat rapid, though many
centuries must have elapsed since the passing of the race. The Mojave
Apache Indians, who occupied the valley at the advent of the white men,
have no tradition respecting the existence of the people who formerly
occupied this region. Montezuma's Castle, it is stated, is the only
single perfect specimen and type of the architectural skill of the
prehistoric cliff dwellers of this valley.
The monument embraces a prehistoric cliff-dwelling
ruin of unusual size situated in a niche or cavity in the face of a
vertical cliff 175 feet in height. The formation exposed along the face
of the cliff is a compact tufa or volcanic ash. About half way up the
cliff there is a bed of soft, unconsolidated tufa which has suffered
considerable erosion, leaving irregular-shaped cavities. The bed of soft
material is overlain by a harder formation which has withstood erosion
and thus formed an overhanging sheltering reef.
The cliff-dwelling ruin known as Montezuma's Castle
is situated in one of these cavities, the foundation being about 80 feet
above the base of the cliff. The unique position and size of the ruin
give it the appearance of an ancient castle and doubtless accounts for
the present name. Access to the castle or ruin is made from the base of
the cliff by means of four wooden ladders placed against the face of the
cliff and anchored thereto with iron pins.
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Montezuma Castle National Monument,
Ariz., embracing the NW. 1/4 NW. 1/4 sec. 16, the N. 1/2 NE. 1/4 and NE.
1/4 NW. 1/4 sec. 17, T. 14 N., R. 5 E., Gila and Salt River meridian;
created December 8, 1906.
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The structure is about 50 feet in height by 60 feet
in width, built in the form of a crescent, with the convex part against
the cliff. It is five stories high, the fifth story being back under the
cliff and protected by a masonry wall 4 feet high, so that it is not
visible from the outside. The walls of the structure are of masonry and
adobe, plastered over on the inside and outside with mud. The cliff
forms the back part of the structure, the front and outer walls being
bound to the cliff with round timbers 6 to 10 inches in diameter, the
outside ends projecting through the outer walls and the other end placed
against the cliff. These timbers serve as joists for the several
stories, the floors being made by placing small poles at right angles to
the larger timbers and covering with a thatch of willows,
on top of which there is a covering of mud and stones 8 inches
thick.
From the appearance of the walls now standing, the
structure originally contained 25 rooms, 19 of which are now in fairly
good condition. Besides the main building, there are many cave chambers
below and at each side of the castle. These small chambers are neatly
walled up in front and have small doorways.
The rooms average about 6 by 8 feet in size and are
about 7 feet high. They are connected by small doorways, and the outside
rooms have small peepholes, from which a view of the outside can be had.
These were probably used for portholes through which arrows could be
shot.
The timbers in the building are hacked on the ends
and were doubtless cut with stone axes. They are in a good state of
preservation, no decay having set in owing to the dry climate. The main
part of the structure is sheltered by the overhanging cliff, and the
walls, thus protected from storms, are in good condition. The front part
of the structure is not so well protected and the walls are wearing away
and crumbling.
The method employed by the public in reaching the
castle is principally by automobile from Prescott, a small city on the
Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railroad, a branch of the Santa Fe
system, 54 miles to the west, or from Jerome, Ariz., on a branch line of
the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railroad, 27 miles distant from the
monument. A fine automobile road has recently been constructed from
Prescott to Camp Verde, a small settlement 3 miles west of the castle,
and the trip from Prescott to the castle and return can now be
comfortably made in one day. The castle can also be reached from
Flagstaff, a station on the main line of the Santa Fe Railway, 58 miles
to the north. The roads, however, are very heavy, and the trip can not
be made via automobile without considerable difficulty. Tourists
frequently make the trip from Flagstaff by team, as it affords an
opportunity of going through the large pine forest lying to the south of
Flagstaff. There are two garages in Prescott making a specialty of
taking parties to the castle. Each furnishes a driver who acts as a
guide.
EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
A feature of great historic interest and importance
is the so-called El Morro or Inscription Rock, some 35 miles almost due
east of Zuni Pueblo in western-central New Mexico.
El Morro is an enormous sandstone rock rising a
couple of hundred feet out of the plain and eroded in such fantastic
forms as to give it the appearance of a great castle, hence its Spanish
name. A small spring of water at the rock made it a convenient camping
place for the Spanish explorers of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
eighteenth centuries, and the smooth face of the "castle" well adapted
it to receive the inscriptions of the conquerors of that early
period.
The earliest inscription is dated February 18, 1526.
Historically the most important inscription is that of Juan de Onate, a
colonizer of New Mexico and the founder of the city of Santa Fe, in
1606. It was in this year that Onate visited El Morro and carved this
inscription on his return from a trip to the head of the Gulf of
California. There are 19 other Spanish inscriptions of almost equal
importance, among them that of Don Diego de Vargas, who in 1692
reconquered the Pueblo Indians after their rebellion against Spanish
authority in 1680.
It is not too much to say that no rock formation in
the West or perhaps in the world is so well adapted to the purpose for
which this table of stone was usedat least history does not record
any collection of similar data. Here are records covering two centuries,
some of which are the only extant memoranda of the early expeditions and
explorations of what is now the southwestern part of the United States.
On these smooth walls, usually under some projecting
stratum, inscriptions were cut by the early
conquerors and explorers, which have made this rock one among the most
interesting objects on the continent.
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El Morro National Monument, N. Mex.,
embracing the S. 1/2 NE. 1/4 and N. 1/2 SE. 1/4 sec. 6, T. 9 N., R. 14
W., New Mexico meridian; created December 8, 1906.
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Here, in this remote and uninhabited region, in the
shadows of one of Nature's most unique obelisks, wrapped in the profound
silence of the desert, with no living thing to break the stillness, it
is hard to realize that 300 years ago these same walls echoed the clank
of steel harness and coats of mail; that with the implements of Spanish
conquest the pathfinders in the New World were carving historical
records upon the eternal rock.
Locally Inscription Rock and El Morro are known as
separate and distinct monumental rocks. The latter, translated The
Castle, is the rock standing out in bold relief to the east, while
Inscription Rock is the name applied to the formation to the west, which
is a part of the mesa. On the south side, in the angle formed by the
two, one extending east and the other south, is a great chamber or
cavern, a natural amphitheater where secure refuge from storm or human
foe could easily be secured. It is here, too, that the only spring
within many miles wells up as if to make the natural fortification
doubly secure. Upon these walls are many of the best preserved Spanish
inscriptions, although there are quite a number 200 feet east, under the
shadows of a stately pine tree and on the north side of El Morro. Most
of them are as plain and apparently as legible as the day they were
written; especially is this true of the older ones, carved during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The existence of extensive, prehistoric ruins on the
very summit of Inscription Rock is another feature of interest. On the
top of the rock a deep cleft or canyon divides the western end of the
formation. On each of these arms is the remnant of large communal houses
or pueblos. Some of the walls are yet standing and the ground plans of
the structures are well defined. That on the south arm, and almost
overhanging the cavern and spring, is approximately 200 by 150 feet.
Some of the buildings must have been more than one story in height.
The remarkable natural defenses of the site and the
existence of the spring doubtless induced the builders to select this
odd location. At some distant day it may be desirable to excavate these
ruins and thus add to this historic spot attractions for the scientist
as well as the general public who are interested in scenic and natural
curiosities.
This monument is usually visited from Thoreau or
Gallup, N. Mex., the points from which access is most easily had. These
points are on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railway, and the visit to the monument is made by team and camp outfit.
The trip is made in four days, in five for better comfort, and the cost
for team, mountain hack, and driver, not including cost of provisions
and feed of team, is from $6 to $8 per day. Good livery may be had at
both of said points.
The main (Chicago to San Francisco) line of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway is the only railroad through
the district, and one would have to travel hundreds of miles overland to
reach the monument by any other railroad. The monument is approximately
40 miles by stage from Thoreau, N. Mex., and 55 miles by like
conveyance from Gallup, N. Mex.
The country traversed in a visit from Gallup or
Thoreau is a high, rolling plateau of fair scenic beauty. Plenty of
water holes are present along the road and firewood can be had in
abundance at most any place. Some forest is encountered on the road from
Gallup. The monument can be visited at all seasons of the year, the
summer, of course, being the most delightful time. The winters in the
section are not cold or severe, and visits could be made at that time
comfortably. A visit to this monument can be enlivened by incorporating
with it a trip to the Pueblo of the Zuni Indians, there visiting the
United States Indian school and village. This visit can be made without
detouring any extent while going to the monument. The village mentioned
is spoken of in the records of the visits of the first Spanish explorers
to the region in the latter part of the fifteenth and first part of the
sixteenth centuries, and is the oldest continuously occupied Pueblo
Indian village in existence so far as is known.
CHACO CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT.
These remarkable relics of an unknown people embrace
numerous communal or pueblo dwellings built of stone, among which is the
ruin known as Pueblo Bonito, containing, as it originally stood, 1,200
rooms and being the largest prehistoric ruin yet discovered in the
Southwest. Numerous other ruins, containing from 50 to 100 or more
rooms, are scattered along Chaco Canyon and tributaries for a distance
of about 14 miles and upon adjacent territory to the east, south, and
west of Chaco Canyon many miles farther. The most important of these
ruins are as follows: Pueblo Bonito, Chettro Kettle, Arroyo, New Alto,
Old Alto, Kin-Klet Soi, Casa Chiquita, Penasco Blanco, Kin-Kla-tzin,
Hungo Pavis, Unda Vidie, Weji-gi, Kim-me-ni-oli, Kin-yai, Casa Morena,
and Pintado.
But little excavating has been done upon this
monument, and what has been done was done for the most part more than 10
years ago.
The ruins of the monument therefore are in good
condition. These ruins are the principal features of the monument; in
fact, it might be said are the only features thereof. The fact that but
little excavating has been done in them leaves the monument in
condition for preservation of the ruins practically in their entirety
for such historical purposes as imparting ideas of the life of the
peoples who inhabited them, their development, etc.
The monument can only be reached by team, mountain
hack, and camping outfit from Farmington, N. Mex., on the Denver &
Rio Grande Railroad, 65 miles to the north, and from
Gallup or Thoreau, N. Mex., on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railway, 75 miles and 65 miles, respectively, to the south. This service
may be procured at from $6 to $8 per day, with driver, exclusive of the
cost of feed and subsistence.
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Chaco Canyon National Monument, N. Mex.,
embracing secs. 7 and 8 and 16 to 29, inclusive, T. 21 N., E. 10 W.;
secs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 to 14, inclusive, and 17, 19, 20, and 30, T. 21
N., R. 11 W.; S. 1/2 sec. 12, T. 20 N., R. 8 W.; SE 1/4 sec. 32 T. 21
N., R. 12 W.; SE. 1/4 sec. 28, T. 17 N., R. 12 W.; SE. 1/4 sec. 17, T.
17 N., R. 10 W.; New Mexico principal meridian; created March 11,
1907.
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There are no accommodations for the public at or near
this monument, and visitors must resort to camping.
The trip by team and camp outfit is suggested, and
such a trip from the points mentioned will consume from two to three
days on the road each way. On such a trip the driver arranges for
camping at certain water holes at night, and after arrival at the ruins
there is not much trouble to find water. Wood is scarce on the ruins,
but coal may be gotten from a mine 4 miles distant from Pueblo Bonito,
providing one is equipped to dig the same, The country traversed is a
high, rolling, and broken plateau, carrying with it the scenic beauty
and attractiveness of immense waste of land.
MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT.
On December 31, 1907, the Secretary of the Interior,
for and on behalf of the United States, accepted from William Kent and
his wife, Elizabeth Thatcher Kent, of Chicago, Ill., in accordance with
the act of Congress approved June 8, 1906, entitled "An act for the
preservation of American antiquities," a deed conveying to the United
States the following-described land, situate in Marin County, Cal.:
Beginning at a stake, A. 7, driven in the center of
the road in Redwood Cañon and located by the following courses and
distances from the point of commencement of the tract of land which was
conveyed by the Tamalpais Land and Water Company to William Kent by a
deed dated August 29th, 1905, and recorded in the office of the county
recorder of Marin County, California, Book 95 of Deeds, at page 58, to
Wit: North eighteen degrees thirty-two minutes, east two hundred
thirty-two and sixty-four hundredths feet, north sixty-six degrees
thirty minutes, west one hundred and sixty-seven and thirty-four
hundredths feet, north eighty-six degrees twenty-five minutes, west
ninety-eight and sixty-two hundredths feet, north seventy degrees no
minutes, west two hundred and forty-one and seven hundredths feet, north
fifty-seven degrees twenty-nine minutes, west one hundred seventy-eight
and three-hundredths feet, north forty-six degrees twenty-two minutes,
west two hundred thirty-five and thirty-nine hundredths feet, and north
twenty-four degrees twenty-five minutes, west two hundred twenty-five
and fifty-six hundredths feet; thence from said stake, A. 7, the point
of beginning, south fifty-four degrees nineteen minutes, west fourteen
hundred eighty-two and seven-tenths feet to Station A. 8, from which
Station 4 of the survey of the tract of land conveyed to William Kent as
aforesaid bears south fifty-four degrees nineteen minutes, west three
hundred ten feet distant; thence from said Station A. 8 north
forty-seven degrees thirty minutes, west twenty-six hundred eighty feet;
thence due west six hundred fifty and eight-tenths feet; thence north
fifty-two degrees thirty minutes, west eleven hundred feet; thence north
nineteen degrees forty-five minutes, west ten hundred fifty-eight and
four-tenths feet to Station A. 12, from which Station 16 of the survey
of the tract of land conveyed to William Kent as aforesaid bears south
eighty-three degrees forty-two minutes, west three hundred ten feet
distant; thence north eighty-three degrees forty-two minutes, east
thirty-one hundred nine and two-tenths feet; thence north fifty-five
degrees twenty-eight minutes, east fifteen hundred fifty feet to an iron
bolt, three-quarters of an inch in diameter and thirty inches long,
Station 14; thence south seventeen degrees eighteen minutes, east
twenty-eight hundred twenty and nine-tenths feet; thence south four
degrees ten minutes, east nine hundred thirty feet to a stake, A. 16,
driven in the center of a graded road; and thence south-forty-five
degrees seventeen minutes, west two hundred ninety-eight and five-tenths
feet to said stake A. 7, the place of beginning. Containing an
area of two hundred ninety-five acres, a little more or less.
On January 9, 1908, the President, by virtue of the
power and authority vested in him by section 2 of said act, declared,
proclaimed, and set apart the lands described as a "national monument to
be known and recognized as Muir Woods National Monument." The Secretary
of the Interior had, prior to the date last mentioned, withdrawn the
lands from entry or sale.
On September 10, 1908; the department prescribed
regulations as follows for the government and protection of said
monument:
The following rules and regulations for the
government of the Muir Woods National Monument, in the State of
California, set aside under the provisions of the act of Congress
approved June 8, 1906, are hereby established and made public pursuant
to the authority conferred by said act:
1. Fires are absolutely prohibited.
2. No firearms 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.
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Muir Woods National Monument, Cal., in
T. 1 N., R. 6 W., Mount Diablo meridian; created January 9, 1908.
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While the sundry civil act approved May 27, 1908 (35
Stat., 317), was pending before Congress attention was called to the
fact that no provision was made for the salaries of custodians or for
other protection of national monuments, as recommended in the estimates
for these services, and that the department would be embarrassed in its
efforts to protect monuments from vandalism and unauthorized exploration
or spoliation because of a lack of funds. The department had
recommended an appropriation of $5,000 for these purposes. No
appropriation, however, was made by Congress for the purpose. On July
11, 1910, Andrew Lind, of California, was appointed custodian of the
Muir Woods National Monument, at a salary of $900 per annum, payable
from the appropriation "Protection of public lands and timber," and he
is still in charge.
These lands consist of one of the most noted redwood
groves in the State of California, and were held in private ownership by
Mr. Kent. The tract is of great scientific interest, contains many
redwood trees which have grown to a height of 300 feet and have a
diameter at the butt of 18 feet or more. It is located in a direct line
about 7 miles from San Francisco, Cal., and is in close proximity to a
large and growing suburban population.
In Mr. Lind's report for the year he states:
During the fiscal year 1915 the amount of $960 was
expended from the appropriation for "Protecting public lands, timber,
etc., 1915," on account of the Muir Woods National Monument, this amount
being expended entirely for services of the custodian and his
assistant.
The custodian and his assistant have been engaged
exclusively in patrolling the park, enforcing the rules and regulations
governing national monuments, and in removing fallen trees, branches,
etc., from the roads and trails.
It is estimated that approximately 25,000 people
visited the park during the year. The bad weather experienced during the
first five months of the calendar year 1915 has resulted in a reduction
of the number of visitors.
The condition of the roads and trails in the park
remains unchanged, except that in the Ocean View trail, along the east
side of the park, the brush has grown to a considerable height. The
brush in the fire lanes has also grown considerably.
It is recommended that the sum of $500 be expended
for cleaning the existing fire lanes and for removing brush from the
Ocean View trail. Attention is respectfully invited to the fact that
these fire lanes have not been cleaned since July, 1912; in their
present condition they are practically no protection to the
monument.
PINNACLES NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This national monument, created by proclamation of
January 16, 1908, embraces 2,091.21 acres of land, of which
approximately 1,900 acres is under governmental control, a small
portion having been patented to private ownership prior to creation
of the monument.
The name is derived from the spirelike formations
rising from 600 to 1,000 feet from the floor of the canyon, forming a
landmark visible many miles in every direction. Many of the rocks are so
precipitous that they can not be scaled. A series of caves, opening one
into the other, lie under each of the groups of rock. These caves vary
greatly in size, one in particular, known as the Banquet Hall, being
about 100 feet square with a ceiling 30 feet high. The caves are entered
through narrow canyons, with perpendicular rock walls and overhanging
bowlders. One huge stone, called the Temple Rock, is almost cubical in
form. It stands alone in the bottom of the canyon and its walls rise
perpendicularly to a height of over 200 feet. There are also several
specimens of "balancing rocks" in each of the groups. The pinnacles,
domes, caves, and subterranean passages of the monument are
awe-inspiring on close inspection, and are well worth a visit by
tourists and lovers of nature in its primitive.
There are two groups of the so-called Pinnacles
Rocks, known locally as the Big Pinnacles and the Little Pinnacles. The
general characteristics of the two groups are similar. Each covers an
area of about 160 acres very irregular in outline. There are springs
of good water in what are known as the Chalone and Bear Creek gorges.
There are no stage lines to the monument. The best
means of reaching the monument is by private conveyance over private
roads from either Soledad or Gonzales, in Monterey County,
Cal., stations on the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway distant,
respectively, 12 and 14 miles; or from Hollister, in San Benito County
(also on the Southern Pacific), distant 35 miles. There is a good public
highway from Hollister to within about 6 miles of the monument, from
which a private road runs through several ranches for about 4 miles that
is passable for automobiles. Between the end of the private road and the
main gorge of the monument a road passable for teams leads, up the bed
of Chalone Creek. The route from Hollister is the most direct, as it
leads to the east side of the pinnacles, where the gorges and caves are
easily accessible, while the routes from Soledad or Gonzales lead to the
west side and necessitate a journey, either by foot or saddle horse, to
the eastern side to reach the caves and gorges.
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Pinnacles National Monument, cal.;
embraces parts of Tps. 16 and 17 S., R. 7 E., M. D. M.; created January
16, 1908.
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TUMACACORI NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This monument embraces 10 acres of land in Santa Cruz
County, Ariz., about 57 miles south of Tucson and 17 miles north of
Nogales, relinquished to the United States by a homestead entryman for
the purposes specified in the act of June 8, 1906. Upon the tract is
located a very ancient Spanish mission ruin, dating it is thought from
the latter part of the sixteenth century, built by Jesuit priests from
Spain and operated by them for over a hundred years.
After the year 1769 priests belonging to the order of
Franciscan Fathers took charge of the mission and repaired its crumbling
walls, maintaining peaceable possession thereof for about 60 years. In
the early part of the nineteenth century the mission was attacked by
Apache Indians, who drove the priests away and disbanded the peaceable
Papago Indians residing in the vicinity of the mission. When found by
the Americans, about the year 1850, the mission was in a condition of
ruin.
The ruins as they stand consist of the walls and
tower of an old church building, the walls of a mortuary chamber at the
north end of the church building, and a court or church yard, surrounded
by an adobe wall 2-1/2 feet thick and 6 feet high.
The walls of the church building are 6 feet thick,
built of adobe and plastered both inside and outside with lime mortar 1
inch thick. The dome over the altar and the belfry tower are constructed
of burned brick, this being one of the characteristics of the
architecture of the mission, in which respect the construction differs
from other early Spanish missions. Inside the dimensions of the church
are 18 feet wide by 75 feet in length. The part used for the altar is
situate at the north end. It is 18 feet square, surmounted with a
circular dome, finished on the inside with white plaster decorated or
frescoed in colors. The plaster and decorations are in a good state of
preservation, but the altar is entirely gone. On the east of the altar
room there is a sanctuary chamber, 16 by 20 feet, 20 feet high, covered
with a circular roof built of burned brick, supported in the center by
an arch. This is the only part of the mission which is now roofed over.
In the south end of the church there was an arched partition which
formed a vestibule. This partition has been removed. The outside wall of
the north end of the church building is decorated with white plaster
studded at regular intervals with clusters made of fragments of broken
slag and broken brick.
About 25 feet north of the church building, and in
the center of the churchyard, there is a circular mortuary chamber. The
wall is 3-1/2 feet thick by 16 feet high, built of adobe, surmounted on
the top with a row of ornamental cornice brick (made of burned brick).
The chamber has one entrance. The walls were originally decorated on the
outside with white plaster studded with fragments of red brick.
The entrance to the church is at the south and has an
arched doorway. The arch has partially broken out and the wall above
thereby weakened. To the east of the entrance there is a room, about 18
feet square, with a winding stairway inside leading up to the belfry.
The stairs, however, are gone, only the adobe walls on which the stairs
were built being left. Access to the belfry is gained by means of this
old stairway. This room is surmounted with the belfry tower, which is
constructed of burned brick. The walls supporting the tower are adobe,
and are rapidly wearing away. The support under the southwest corner of
the belfry is now gone, and the brick work is overhanging with no
support and liable to fall at any time. Through action of the elements
the church, appurtenant buildings, and inclosing walls are in a very bad
state of ruin, most of the roofs having long since fallen in and
portions of the main building having become undermined. No preservative
or restorative measures have been taken, and until funds become
available therefor much further deterioration is to be expected.
On March 19, 1915, the department appointed Mr. W. E.
Balcom, of Tubac, Ariz., custodian of this monument. Mr. Balcom has for
the past seven years lived on a ranch immediately adjoining the
monument, and has done important service in protecting the ruins from
vandalism.
The State highway between Tucson and Nogales passes
the mission and is a good automobile road. The Tucson-Nogales branch of
the Southern Pacific Railway passes within a mile of the mission, the
nearest railroad station being Tubac, 3 miles to the north.
The best means of travel for the public in reaching
the monument is by auto mail hack which leaves Nogales, Ariz., every
morning except Monday, arriving at the ruin at 10 a. m., and leaving by
the same automobile for Nogales at 5.30 p. m. The round-trip fare is
$3.
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Tumacacori National Monument, Ariz.,
embracing the E. 1/2 NW. 1/4 SW. 1/4 SE. 1/4 and the W. 1/2 NE. 1/4 SW.
1/4 SE. 1/4, sec. 30, T. 21 S., R. 13 E., Gila and Salt River meridian;
created September 15, 1908.
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MUKUNTUWEAP NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Mukuntuweap National Monument, Utah, embraces the
magnificent gorge of Zion Creek, called the Mukuntuweap Canyon by the
Powell Topographic Survey of southwestern Utah, Kanab sheet, and the
same is of the greatest scientific interest. The canyon walls are
smooth, vertical, sandstone precipices, from 800 to 2,000 feet deep.
These walls are unscalable within the limits of the boundaries of the
reserve, except at one point about 4 miles from the southern and 6 miles
from the northern extremity. The North Fork of the Rio Virgin passes
through the canyon, and it is stated that the views into
the canyon from its rim are exceeded in beauty and
grandeur only by the similar views into the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado.
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Mukuntuweap National Monument, Utah,
embracing secs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 26, 27,
28, 33, and 34, T. 40 S., R. 10 W., and all of the Mukuntuweap canyon in
T. 41 S., R. 10 W., Salt Lake meridian; created July 31, 1909.
|
At intervals along the west wall of the canyon are
watercourses which cross the rim and plunge into the gorge in waterfalls
800 to 2,000 feet high.
The monument is best reached by way of the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad, through the town of Richfield to Marysvale,
in central Utah, where the train is left and either stage or private
conveyance taken. This route will take the tourist through the towns of
Junction, Panguitch, Glendale, Mount Carmel, and Rockville to
Springdale. The mileage by this route by horse or automobile is about 135
miles.
The latter part of this routefrom Mount Carmel
to Rockvilleis rough and a hard road to travel, although it is
being driven by autoists every season.
Travelers desiring to visit this monument may obtain
accurate information, without cost, by writing the passenger department
of the railroad company named, addressing their communications to the
city passenger agent, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Those desiring to make the trip by automobile may
obtain detailed and definite information concerning roads, hotels, oil,
gas, routes, distances, etc., by writing the "Publicity Bureau,
Commercial Club, Salt Lake City," or from the Utah Automobile
Association, at Salt Lake City.
SHOSHONE CAVERN NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Shoshone Cavern National Monument embraces 210
acres of rough mountainous land lying about 3 miles east of the great
Shoshone Dam, in Big Horn County, Wyo. It was created by presidential
proclamation of September 21, 1909. The cavern entrance is located at
the summit of a reef of rocks at the head of a canyon upon the north
face of Cedar Mountain, about 4 miles southwesterly from Cody, Wyo., on
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway. The ascent to the entrance
from the foot of the mountain is somewhat arduous. From the entrance the
cavern runs in a southwesterly direction for more than 800 feet if
measured in a direct line.
The best method of reaching the entrance is by means
of the canyon leading from the foot of Cedar Mountain to the southwest
of Cody on the east side of that mountain and which descends its eastern
slope. It is possible to go by automobile or team to the foot of the
mountain, a distance of about 2 miles from Cody, and then by a graded
road about one-third of the way up the mountain. From the end of this
road it is possible to go by foot or on horseback to within 100 feet of
the entrance of the cave.
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Shoshone Cavern National Monument, Wyo.,
embracing the SW. 1/4 SE. 1/4; W. 1/2 SE. 1/4 SE. 1/4; SW. 1/4 NE. 1/4
SE. 1/4; S. 1/2 NW. 1/4 SE. 1/4; and SE. 1/4 SW. 1/4, sec. 5; the NW.
1/4 NE. 1/4 and NE. 1/4 NW. 1/4 sec. 8, T. 52 N., R. 102 W., sixth
principal meridian; created September 21, 1909.
|
Entering the cave one proceeds for some distance,
possibly 500 feet, where it is necessary to descend a steep rocky wall
by means of a rope. Continuing, another declivity is encountered, and it
is necessary to descend by rope about 30 feet. Advancing farther,
possibly 3,000 to 4,000 feet, room after room is encountered, some of
which are at least 150 feet in length and 40 or 50 feet in height. Some
of these rooms, especially in the extreme interior, are beautifully
incrusted with limestone crystals. Here and there as one proceeds through
the accessible part of the cave can be seen small openings,
evidently leading into larger openings, but which as yet have not been
explored.
The passages leading through the cavern are very intricate, and twist,
turn, double back, and descend in other rooms, so that trip through the
cave should not be attempted without a competent guide, with supply of
ropes, and lamps. Guides can be employed in Cody.
NATURAL BRIDGES NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This monument is located in the vicinity of Bluff, San Juan County, in
the extreme southeastern portion of Utah, and was created originally by
presidential proclamation of April 16, 1908. It
embraces three separate tracts of land, the largest
containing the three great natural bridges, viz: The Sipapu, known
locally as the Augusta Bridge; the Kachina, called the Caroline; and the
Owachomo, given the local name of the Little Bridge.
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Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah,
embracing a subtriangular tract in unsurveyed Tps. 36 and 37 S., R. 17
E., and two smaller tracts, one each in T. 38 S., R. 19 E., and T. 39
S., R. 20 E., Salt Lake meridian; created September 25, 1909.
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A second proclamation, issued by the President
September 25, 1909, includes, besides the three bridges originally
reserved, a much more extended territory, but within which, along the
walls of the canyons in the vicinity of the bridges, are found many
prehistoric ruins of
cavern and cliff dwellings. There are also two cavern
springs containing some prehistoric ruins, which are located
approximately 13 and 19 miles southeast of the bridges, respectively.
These cavern springs are included within the Natural Bridges Monument.
They are located upon the ancient and only trail to the bridges from the
south, and are important way stations in the desert surrounding this
monument. They are believed to have been originally excavated and used
by the prehistoric inhabitants of the vicinity.
In order to reach the various points of interest in
this monument it is necessary to use a pack train, with guides and
complete camp outfit. The natural bridges spring from the high
walls of White Canyon, through which part of the journey is taken, and
are the result of remarkable and eccentric stream erosion. These bridges
are understood to be among the largest examples of their kind, the
greatest of the three having a height of 222 feet, being 65 feet
thick at the top of the arch. The arch is 28 feet wide, the
span is 261 feet, and the height of span 157 feet. The other two bridges
are only a little smaller. All three are within a space of about 5
miles.
There are two routes by which this monument may be
reached, one by way of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, detraining
at Dolores, Colo., thence by team to Bluff, Utah, via McElmo, Colo., and
Aneth, Utah. This necessitates travel over a fairly good road for a
distance of approximately 80 miles before Bluff, Utah, is reached. The
bridges are about 45 miles northwest of Bluff, thus making a total
mileage to be traveled by horse of about 125 miles. The springs lie
between Bluff and the bridges and can be visited without making any
side trips. Most of this route may be traveled by autofrom
Dolores, Colo., to Bluff, Utah. Pack animals and guides are necessary
from Bluff to the monument.
The second route may be taken by leaving the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad at Thompsons Station, Utah, thence by stage or
team to Moab and Monticello, Utah, a distance of about 95 miles; thence
to the monument (bridges), a distance of approximately 50 or 60 miles.
At Monticello tourists should outfit for the trip to the bridges.
Competent guides, with pack horses, etc., including all necessary
equipment may be hired there at reasonable figures. This second route is
the better, as roads and trails are better than from any other
point.
Tourists coming in through Colorado may, after
reaching Bluff, Utah, go north via Grayson to Monticello, a distance of
about 50 miles, and proceed to the bridges from the latter point. As
stated, Monticello is the best outfitting point in that section of the
country and the best guides are to be found there.
GRAN QUIVIRA NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Gran Quivira has long been recognized as one of
the most important of the earliest Spanish church or mission ruins in
the Southwest. Near by are numerous Indian pueblo ruins, occupying an
area many acres in extent, which also, with sufficient land to protect
them, was reserved. The outside dimensions of the church ruin, which is
in the form of a short-arm cross, are about 48 by 140 feet, and its
walls are from 4 to 6 feet thick and from 12 to 20 feet high. Enough of
the walls of this main building are present to show that originally it
was at least three stories in height. The altitude at the ruins is about
6,800 feet and the ruins themselves are built upon an eminence visible
for a great distance, commanding a vast expanse in all directions. These
ruins are extensive and cover an area of probably 80 acres.
The Gran Quivira National Monument is located 1-1/2
miles outside of the exterior boundaries of the Manzano National Forest,
and is remote from the headquarters of any officer of this
department.
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Gran Quivira National Monument, N. Mex.,
embracing unsurveyed N. 1/2 of N. 1/2 sec. 3, T. 1 S., R. 8 E., New
Mexico principal meridian; created November 1, 1909.
|
On September 12, 1910, the Interior Department
requested the Department of Agriculture to assume temporary charge of
patrol and protection of this monument, in view of the better facilities
at the disposal of the Forest Service in the Manzano National Forest,
inasmuch as the monument is remote from location of any field officer of
the Interior Department; and this charge was accepted by the Department
of Agriculture. A ranger of the Forest Service of that department visits
the monument every few weeks.
The Business Men's Association of Mountainair, N.
Mex., is very active in preservation of the monument and in prevention
of vandalism, the site being visited (except in winter) by some member
of the association at least once every two weeks.
On account of the altitude of the monument the region
is subject to heavy snows between the middle of December and the latter
part of March, so that visits to the monument during those months are
not practicable. At other seasons the monument is best reached by stage
or automobile by a good road from Mountainair, which is 24 miles distant
on the Santa Fe Railway. Service of both classes may be obtained in
Mountainair at any time, the parties operating automobiles for benefit
of tourist traffic having established a schedule, so that parties of
four people can visit the monument for $12 for the round trip; and
parties of three persons or less, $10 for the round trip. There are no
accommodations at the ruins, but water can be found along the route. The
automobile trip occupies one day.
Other points of exceeding interest to tourists are
located in the immediate vicinity of Mountainair and the Gran Quivira
National Monument, though not upon Federal reservations. These are the
ruins of Montezuma, of a nature similar to the Gran Quivira and some 8
miles to the northwest thereof; the region of Abo and the Painted Rocks,
having a rather interesting geological origin, showing geologic studies
in highly colored formation for a thickness of some 4,000 feet; the
ruins and ancient Mexican villages of Cuarai, Punta, and Manzano, as
well as Tajique and Chilili. These points are approximately the same
distance in a northerly direction from Mountainair and have ancient
ruins of churches and community dwellings, and are some of the best
examples extant of the original plaza villages of the native Mexican
population, the villages dating back to the very earliest Spanish
settlement of this country, and showing the native life as it has always
been, without alteration.
SITKA NATIONAL MONUMENT, ALASKA.
This monument reservation, created March 23, 1910,
under the act of June 8, 1906, embraces about 57 acres of comparatively
level gravel plain formed by sea wash and by the deposits of Indian
River, which flows through the tract, and is situated about a mile from
the steamboat landing at Sitka. Upon this ground was located formerly
the village of a warlike tribethe Kik-Siti Indianswho, in
1802, massacred the Russians in old Sitka and thereafter fortified
themselves and defended their village against the Russians under
Baranoff and Lisianski. Here, also, are the graves of a Russian
midshipman and six sailors who were killed in a decisive battle in 1804.
A celebrated "witch tree" of the natives and 16 totem poles, several of
which are examples of the best work of the savage genealogists of the
Alaska clans, stand sentrylike along the beach.
The following is from a letter dated August 31, 1913,
from Arthur G. Shoup, member of Alaskan Legislature, to J. W. Lewis,
special agent, General Land Office, and now part of General Land Office
files:
The great natural beauty of this park
is extolled by every tourist who has ever visited Sitka, and it is
partly on account of the exceptional opportunities that it affords for
visitors from the States to see at once the timber growth, wild mosses
and small verdure, and mountain streams of Alaska that our Government
has so carefully guarded this reservation.
Referring briefly to the historical
features of the Sitka National Monument, or Indian River Park, as it is
called: It was here that the Russians under Baranoff in 1802 fought and
won the "decisive battle of Alaska" against the Indians and effected
their lodgment in southeastern Alaska that placated the then very active
attempts of Great Britain to get possession of this part of the country.
The Russian title thus acquired to the Alexander Archipelago was later
transferred to the United States, and because of this battle ground
being in the Sitka National Monument it is of great patriotic interest
to every Alaskan.
Another interesting feature of this
park is that it is the place where the natives used to conduct their
weird trials and executions for witchcraft. The tree where the victims
were hanged still stands as an object of awe to the descendants of the
old schamen and a subject of curiosity to the whites.
Estimate in amount $1,000 was submitted by the
governor of Alaska (as part of estimates for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1917, for administration of that Territory) for protection and
preservation of the Sitka National Monument, including repair of the
ancient totems and other historic relics, and same has been included in
the departmental estimates as forwarded to the Secretary of the
Treasury.
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Sitka National Monument, Alaska,
embracing a tract of land which includes the mouth of Indian River and
adjacent territory near Sitka; created March 23, 1910.
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RAINBOW BRIDGE NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This natural bridge is located within the Navajo
Indian Reservation, near the southern boundary of Utah, a few miles
northwest from Navajo Mountain, a well-known peak and landmark, and
spans a canyon and small stream which drains the northwestern slopes of
this peak, and is of great scientific interest as an example of
eccentric stream erosion. Among the known extraordinary natural bridges
of the world, this bridge is unique in that it is not only a symmetrical
arch below but presents also a curved surface above, thus
presenting, roughly, the character of the rainbow, for which it
is named. Its height above the surface of the water is 309 feet and its
span is 278 feet.
The existence of this natural wonder was first
disclosed to William B. Douglass, an examiner of surveys of the General
Land Office, on August 14, 1909, by a Piute Indian, called "Mike's boy,"
later "Jim," who was employed in connection with the survey of the
natural bridges in White Canyon, Utah.
The best and easiest way in which to reach the
Rainbow Bridge National Monument is to outfit at Monticello, thence
travel to the Natural Bridges Monument, thence south and west down
the Grand Gulch and the San Juan River. In order to reach
Monticello tourists should leave the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at
Thompsons, Utah. This will necessitate travel by team and pack
outfit of 220 miles, approximately. While this may seem a very long
trip, yet the scenery, cliff dwellings, prehistoric caves, vast canyons,
etc., located between the Natural Bridges Monument and Rainbow Monument
are worth the labor, time, and money expended.
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Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah,
embracing 160 acres of land in square form, the southeast corner of
which bears from one hundred and seventy-ninth mile corner on the Utah
and Arizona boundary N. 60° 25' 13" W. 7 miles 67.87 chains distant;
created May 30, 1910.
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LEWIS AND CLARK CAVERN NATIONAL
MONUMENT.
The feature of this monument is a limestone cavern of
great scientific interest, because of its length and because of the
number of large vaulted chambers it contains. It is of historic
interest, also, because it overlooks for a distance of more than 50
miles the trail of Lewis and Clark along the Jefferson River, named by
them. The vaults of the cavern are magnificently decorated with
stalactites and stalagmite formations of great variety in size, form,
and color, the equal of, if not rivaling, the similar formations in the
well-known Luray caves in Virginia. The cavern has been closed to the
general public for some time on account of depredations by vandals.
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Lewis and Clark Cavern National
Monument, Mont., embracing lot 12, sec. 17. T. 1 N., R. 2 W.; Montana
principal meridian; created by proclamations of May 11, 1908, and May
16, 1911.
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The cavern is located about three-quarters of a mile
northeasterly from Cavern, a post office in Jefferson County, and a
station on the Northern Pacific Railway about 45 miles southwest from
Butte, Mont. It is situated in a massive deposit of what is known as
Madison limestone, which at this place dips steeply to the southwest.
The various chambers in the cave as far as explored extend for a
distance of about 700 feet horizontally and 350 feet vertically, but
there are many openings and passages that have never been explored. The
chambers and passages seem in general to follow the dip of the
formation. The cavern is best reached by following the railroad track
easterly for about a quarter of a mile and then following a circuitous
road or trail about 1-1/2 miles. The mouths of the cavern are 1,300 feet
above the railroad, and the climb requires about an hour and a half. Its
two entrances, which are about 100 yards apart, are upon the walls of a
deep canyon about 500 feet below the rim.
The second proclamation establishing this monument is
as follows:
Whereas the unsurveyed tract of land
containing an extraordinary limestone cavern and embracing 160 acres,
situated in township one north, range two west of the Montana principal
meridian, Montana, and which was created the Lewis and Clark Cavern
National Monument by proclamation dated the 11th day of May, 1908, has
recently been definitely located by an official survey thereof, made
under the direction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and
such survey having determined that the tract in question lies wholly
within the limits of the grant of the Northern Pacific Railway Co., but
has not yet been patented to that company;
And whereas by its quitclaim deed the
said Northern Pacific Railway Co. relinquished unto the United States
all its right, title, and interest to lot 12, section 17, township 1
north, range 2 west of the Montana principal meridian, Montana, the same
being the original tract proclaimed a national monument for the purpose
of maintaining thereon the said Lewis and Clark Cavern National
Monument, under the condition that the instrument of relinquishment
shall become void and the premises immediately revert to the grantor
should the monument no longer be maintained.
Now, therefore, I, William H. Taft,
President of the United States of America, by virtue of the power in me
vested by section two of the act of Congress approved June 8, 1906,
entitled "An act for the preservation of American antiquities," do
hereby set aside and confirm as the Lewis and Clark Cavern National
Monument the said tract, embracing one hundred and sixty acres of land,
at and surrounding the limestone cavern in section seventeen, township
one north, range two west, Montana, subject to the conditions set forth
in the relinquishment and quitclaim deed No. 18129E, dated February 14,
1911, of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, the said tract being in
square form and designated as lot twelve in the survey and deed, with
side lines running north and south and all sides equidistant from the
main entrance of the said cavern, the center of said entrance bearing
north forty-nine degrees, forty-two minutes west, fifty-three and
thirteen hundredths chains distant from the corner to sections sixteen,
seventeen, twenty, and twenty-one, as shown upon the diagram hereto
attached and made a part hereof.
Warning is hereby expressly given to
all persons not to appropriate, injure, or destroy any of the natural
formations in the cavern hereby declared to be a national monument, nor
to locate or settle upon any of the lands reserved and made a part of
said monument by this proclamation.
In Witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this
sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred
and eleven, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred
and thirty-fifth.
COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This area was set aside as a national monument by the
President's proclamation of May 24, 1911, and is situated near Grand
Junction, Colo., from which that portion of the monument known as No
Thoroughfare Canyon is reached by wagon road. Other parts of the
monument are reached by foot trails. The site is in a picturesque
canyon, which has long been an attractive feature of that portion of the
State. The formation is similar to that of the Garden of the Gods at
Colorado Springs, Colo., only much more beautiful and picturesque. With
the exception of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, it exhibits probably
as highly colored, magnificent, and impressive examples of erosion,
particularly of lofty monoliths, as may be found anywhere in the West.
These monoliths are located in several tributary canyons. Some of them
are of gigantic size, one being over 400 feet high, almost circular in cross
section, and 100 feet in diameter at base. There are also many caverns
within the monument which have not been explored. There are many fine
springs in the park, which furnish water to visitors. During the winter
hundreds of deer come down into the park.
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Colorado National Monument, Colo.,
embracing parts of Tps. 11 and 12 S., Rs. 101 and 102 W. of the sixth
principal meridian, and part of sec. 32, T. 1 N., R. 2 W. of the Ute
meridian, Colorado, containing 13,833.06 acres; created May 24,
1911.
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Mr. John Otto, of Fruita, Colo., has acted as
custodian of this monument since June 7, 1911, and has single handed
surveyed and built several good roads and trails and has carved
steps in the monoliths which form the chief scenic features of the
monument. Mr. Otto spends practically all of his time in the monument
and is continually at work in making the monument more attractive and
accessible.
By order of February 19, 1915, the President modified
the proclamation of May 24, 1911, to the extent of authorizing the
Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to the town of Fruita to
occupy and use certain lands in this monument in township 11
south, range 102 west, sixth principal meridian, for construction,
operation, and maintenance of a conduit and related works for municipal
water supply and power development.
PETRIFIED FOREST OF ARIZONA.
The Petrified Forest of Arizona lies in the area
between the Little Colorado River and the Rio Puerco, 15 miles east of
their junction. This area is of great interest because of the abundance
of petrified coniferous trees, as well as its scenic features. The trees
lie scattered about in great profusion; none, however, stands erect in
its original place of growth, as do many of the petrified trees in the
Yellowstone National Park. The trees probably at one time grew beside an
inland sea; after falling they became waterlogged, and during
decomposition the cell structure of the wood was entirely replaced by
silica derived from sandstone in the surrounding land. Over a greater
part of the entire area trees lie scattered in all conceivable positions
and in fragments of all sizes. The localities where the petrified trees
are found are known as the First Forest, Second Forest, and Rainbow
Forest.
The First Forest lies 6 miles south of Adamana, a
station on the Santa Fe Pacific Railway. In this forest there are not as
many large tree trunks as in the other forests, the chief object of
interest and perhaps the most prominent of all the scenic features of
the region being the well-known Natural Bridge, consisting of a great
petrified tree trunk 60 feet long spanning a canyon 45 feet in width,
and forming a footbridge over which anyone may easily pass. The ends of
the tree trunk are embedded in the surrounding sandstone, the canyon
evidently having been formed after the tree had silicified.
The Second Forest lies about 2-1/2 miles south of the
First Forest and contains about 2,000 acres covered with fragments of
petrified wood and tree trunks up to 4 feet in diameter. The wood is all
highly colored and beautiful specimens are in abundance.
The third or Rainbow Forest lies about 13 miles south
of Adamana and 18 miles southeast of Holbrook, Ariz., also on the Santa
Fe Railway. In this forest the tree trunks are larger than elsewhere,
more numerous, and less broken. There are in this vicinity several
hundred whole trees, some of which are more than 200 feet long, partially
embedded in the ground. The color of the wood is deeper and more
striking than in the other localities. The main traveled road from
Holbrook to St. Johns passes through this forest.
The First and Second Forests are reached by team and
wagon from Adamana. The Third Forest can be reached from Adamana, but it
is a long drive and is seldom made; the better method is by either team
or automobile from Holbrook. The roads to the First and Second Forests
from Holbrook are too sandy for automobile travel and the distance is
too great to make the trip comfortably by team.
Prof. Lester F. Ward, of the Geological Survey, has
stated that
There is no other petrified forest in
which the wood assumes so many varied and interesting forms and colors,
and it is these that present the chief attraction for the general
public. The state of mineralization in which much of this wood exists
almost places them among the gems or precious stones. Not only are
chalcedony, opals, and agates found among them, but many approach the
condition of jasper and onyx. The degree of hardness attained by them is
such that they are said to make an excellent quality of
emery.
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Petrified Forest National Monument,
Ariz., embracing secs. 1, 2, 11, and 12 and E. 1/2 secs. 3 and 10; T. 16
N., R. 23 E.; secs. 4 to 9 and W. 1/2 secs. 3 and 10, T. 16 N., R. 24
E.; secs. 34, 35, 36, T. 17 N., R. 23 E., secs. 3 to 10, 15 to 22, 27 to
33, and W. 1/2 secs. 2, 11, 14, 23, 26, T. 17 N., R. 24 E., Gila and
Salt River meridian, containing 40.04 square miles, set aside by
proclamation of the President July 31, 1911.
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Dr. Walter Hough, of the Smithsonian Institution, who
visited this monument, states that
In the celebrated Petrified Forest,
which is some 18 miles from Holbrook, Ariz., on the picturesque Santa Fe
Railroad, there are ruins of several ancient Indian villages. These
villages are small, in some cases having merely a few houses, but what
gives them a peculiar interest is that they were built of logs of
beautiful fossil wood. * * * The prehistoric dwellers of the land
selected cylinders of uniform size, which were seemingly determined by
the carrying strength of a man. It is probable that prehistoric builders
never chose more beautiful stones for the construction of their
habitations than the trunks of the trees which flourished ages before
man appeared on the earth.
This wood agate also furnished
material for stone hammers, arrowheads, and knives, which are often
found in ruins hundreds of miles from the forest.
Mr. Chester B. Campbell, custodian of the monument,
reports that while the general condition of the monument is good, the
natural bridge has become badly cracked and requires support, which
could best be effected by installing a steel beam running the entire
length of the bridge. About 700 visitors per month go to the forests
from Adamana.
NAVAJO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Navajo National Monument as originally created by
proclamation of March 20, 1909, embraced approximately 600 acres within
the Navajo Indian Reservation, which was reserved tentatively and with a
view to reduction to such small tract or tracts as might thereafter be
found to contain valuable prehistoric pueblo or cliff dwellings, when
the extent of the same could be determined by an examination on the
ground and their locus definitely fixed by traverse lines connecting
them with some corner of the public survey. Both of these conditions
having been fulfilled, the monument was reduced by proclamation dated
March 14, 1912, to three small tracts aggregating 360 acres. Within two
of these tracts are located, respectively, two interesting and extensive
pueblo or cliff-dwelling ruins in a good state of preservation and known
as Betata Kin and Keet Seel, and a third cliff-dwelling ruin called
Inscription House.
The new boundaries of the Navajo National Monument
under the latter proclamation are shown in figure 2.
The Betata Kin ruin gets its name from the fact that
the buildings are situate on the steep sloping sides of a cliff, Betata
Kin being the Navajo words signifying "sidehill house." They were found
August 8, 1908, by J. W. Wetherill and Prof. Byron Cummings, a Navajo
Indian having informed Mrs. Wetherill of their existence.
This ruin is situate at an elevation of 7,000 feet,
in a crescent-shaped cavity 600 feet wide by 350 feet high, in the side
of a soft red sandstone cliff which forms the walls of a small canyon.
The location is about 2 miles west of Laguna Creek, 8 miles north of
Marsh Pass, and 18 miles northwest of Kayenta, a post office and trading
post on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
An inspection of the walls of the ruin indicates
that there were originally 106 houses or rooms. The walls of 51 rooms
are now standing, 17 of which have well-preserved roofs. The walls of
the houses are constructed of sandstone blocks, held together with mud
and mortar. The roofs are made of spruce timbers, placed crosswise to
form joists, the ends projecting through the outer walls. Smaller poles
are placed at right angles with these and then covered with a thatch of
willows and mud, which forms the roof. Inside, the floors are plastered
with mud; and in nearly every room there is a small circular or square
hole about 9 inches deep, which was evidently used for a fireplace. The
rooms have doorways or openings in the roofs and sides, the largest
opening noted being 18 by 30 inches. The average size of the rooms is 6
by 6 by 6 feet.
The Keet Seel (Navajo for "broken pottery") ruins
were discovered in March, 1894, by Richard Wetherill. They are situate
at an elevation of 7,100 feet, in a crescent-shaped cave 400 feet long
by 150 feet high, near the base of a soft red sandstone cliff on the
west side of Laguna Creek, 12 miles north of Marsh Pass and 24
miles northwest of Kayenta.
These ruins are very much similar in construction to
the Betata Kin ruins, but are in a much better state of preservation.
This is doubtless due to the fact that the overhanging cliffs protect
the buildings from the action of storms. In the ruins
there are several 2-story buildings and 2 circular-shaped rooms. There
are 47 rooms with standing walls, the roofs having fallen in, and 56
rooms covered over with well-preserved roofs. The construction of the
roofs in these buildings is similar to those in the Betata Kin ruins.
The rooms are about 7 by 7 by 5 or 6 feet high. The openings or
doorways are 18 inches by 30 inches, set about 2 feet from the floor
of the structure.
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Navajo National Monument, Ariz.,
embracing all cliff-dwelling and pueblo ruins between the parallel of
latitude 36° 30' and 37° north and longitude 110° and
110° 45' west from Greenwich, with 40 acres of land in square form
around each of said ruins, as originally created March 20, 1909.
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The ruins are difficult to reach, it being necessary
to scale a steep sandstone cliff for a distance of 30 feet in order to
reach the base of the ruins.
Inscription House Ruin is located on Navajo Creek,
about 20 miles west of the Betata Kin Ruin. This ruin is regarded as
extraordinary, not only because of its good state of preservation, but
because of the fact that upon the walls of its rooms are found
inscriptions written in Spanish by early explorers and plainly dated
1661. It is located about half way up the side of a steep cliff in a
crescent-shaped niche or cave 15 to 50 feet in depth by 500 feet in
length and about 75 feet in height. There is very little sheltering
cliff over the ruins, and they are in places easily reached by
storms.
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Navajo National Monument, Ariz.,
containing 360 acres, embracing the Keet Seel and Betata Kin ruins,
located in two small tracts of 160 acres each, along Laguna creek, and
Inscription House ruins, on Navajo Creek, in a 40-acre tract, all within
the Navajo Indian Reservation, as reduced by proclamation of March 14,
1912.
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These ruins differ from the other ruins in the
material used in their construction. The walls are constructed of mud
bricks made by rolling bunches of straw in mud and then molding into
shape. The bricks are about 4 inches square by about a foot or more in
length and are laid into the walls with mud mortar. The walls thus
formed are tough and rigid and are free from cracks. Several of the
rooms are made of reeds and tules, set vertical and
plastered over and filled in with mud. The roofs of the buildings are
made of the mud bricks placed on a framework of small poles covered over
with reeds and tules. There are 64 rooms, 30 of which are roofed over.
The rooms are small and mostly single story. Two of the buildings are
two stories high. The doorways are small and are built with a small
niche at the bottom.
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Papago Saguaro National Monument, Ariz.,
embracing the SE. 1/4 of sec. 33, T. 2 N., R. 4 E.; W. 1/2 of W. 1/2
sec. 3, all sec. 4, NE. 1/4 and E. 1/2 of SE. 1/4, sec. 5, W. 1/2 and W.
1/2 SE. 1/4 sec. 10, N. 1/2 N. 1/2 SE. 1/4 and NE. 1/4 of SW. 1/4 sec.
9, T. 1 N., R. 4 E., all east of Gila and Salt River meridian,
containing 2,050.43 acres.
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The ruins can be reached only by saddle horse and
pack outfit over a very rough trail from Marsh Pass or Kayenta. Kayenta
can be reached by team from Flagstaff, Ariz., via Tuba, or from Gallup,
N. Mex., either point being about 125 miles distant. At Kayenta pack
horses and guides can be secured to make a trip to the ruins, two or
three days being required to visit the Betata Kin and Keet Seel Ruins,
and at least three days more to visit the Inscription House Ruin. The
Inscription House Ruin can best be reached from Tuba, via Red Lake, a
distance of about 60 miles, over a rough mountain trail. The Santa Fe
Railway is the nearest and most accessible railroad from which to reach
the ruins.
An interesting description of this national monument
and vicinity is contained in Bulletin No. 50 of the Bureau of American
Ethnology, which comprises results of explorations by Dr. Jesse Walter
Fewkes, of that bureau, in 1909 and 1910.
These ruins are in an excellent state of
preservation, their condition not having changed in the past 35 years.
The houses are protected from the elements by the overhanging cliffs,
and deterioration is very slow. No vandalism has occurred, as
practically the only inhabitants in the vicinity are Indians, who
refrain from molestation of the ruins in any manner.
PAPAGO SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This monument was created by proclamation of January
31, 1914, and embraces approximately 2,050 acres of rocky and desert
land in Maricopa County, about 9 miles east of Phoenix, Ariz. Within the
tract is found a splendid collection of characteristic desert flora,
including many striking examples of giant cactus (saguaro) and many other
interesting species of cacti, such as the prickly pear, Cholla, etc., as
well as fine examples of the yucca palm, all of which are of great
scientific interest and grow in this monument to great size and
perfection. The saguaro is that variety of cactus which grows in a
cylindrical form to a height of 30 or 35 feet, with from one to a dozen
branches of the same character from the main stalk, generally near the
top. There are also within the tract prehistoric pictographs which are
found upon the faces of the rocks, adding to the interest of the
reservation and to its ethnological and archaeological value. Through
the center of the tract, running northwest and southeast, is a ridge of
low hills rising from the flat desert to a height of 150 to 200 feet.
The rocks in the ridge have been worn considerably by the elements,
resulting in numerous caves and a few openings extending entirely
through the rocks. One of these openings, known locally as
"Hole-in-the-rock," is an aperture some 15 feet high and 25 feet long
with an amphitheater approach to the hole on each side. These approach
rooms are about 30 feet square, with the overhanging rock for a roof in
each case. The monument is visited by several thousand people each year
as a picnic ground, as it is readily reached by automobile or team,
over good roads, from Phoenix or Tempe, Ariz., distant respectively 9
and 3 miles. Phoenix is reached by rail by the Santa Fe, Prescott &
Phoenix Railroad, a branch of the main line of
the Santa Fe Railway from Ash Fork, Ariz. Phoenix and
Tempe are also reached by the Arizona & Eastern Railroad, which
branches from the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway at Maricopa,
Ariz. The monument is well located to be viewed in connection with a
trip over the great irrigation system of the Salt River Valley better
known as the Roosevelt project of the Reclamation Service.
DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This national monument was created by proclamation
dated October 4, 1915, and embraces 80 acres of land situated in Uinta
County, northeastern Utah, east of Vernal, the same being the NW.
1/4 of the SE. 1/4 and the NE. 1/4 of the SW. 1/4, sec.
26, T. 4 S., R. 23 E., Salt Lake meridian. By this proclamation lands
are reserved upon which is located an extraordinary deposit of
dinosaurian and other gigantic reptilian fossil remains, of the
Juratrias geologic period, which are of
great scientific interest and value, the object of
creation of the monument being to prevent their unauthorized excavation
and removal.
CINDER CONE NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Cinder Cone National Monument was created by
proclamation dated May 6, 1907. It is situated within the Lassen Peak
National Forest, and with the adjacent area, embracing a lava field and
Snag Lake and Lake Bidwell, is of scientific interest as illustrative of
volcanic activity, and is of special importance in tracing the history
of the volcanic phenomena of that vicinity.
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Cinder Cone National Monument, within
Lassen Peak National Forest, Cal., embracing part of T. 31 N., R. 6 E.,
Mount Diablo meridian; created May 6, 1907.
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This monument may be reached by old secondary roads
from Fall River Mills, on Pit River, or from Susanville, on the
Fernley-Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific Railway. The best
route is by road from Red Bluff, Susanville, or Westwood, on the
Southern Pacific Railway, or from Keddie, on the Western Pacific
Railway, to Drake Hot Springs (now known as Drakesbad). From this point
a good trail leads to the Cinder Cone National Monument, distant 12
miles.
Hotel and camping accommodations are furnished at
Drakesbad in summer, and the round trip by saddle horse can easily be
made in a day to the Cinder Cone, taking in Twin Lakes and Snag Lake
enroute.
LASSEN PEAK NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Lassen Peak National Monument was created by
proclamation dated May 6, 1907. It is situated within the Lassen Peak
National Forest and marks the southern terminus of the long line of
extinct volcanoes in the Cascade Range, from which one of the
greatest volcanic fields in the world extends, and is of
special importance in tracing the history of the volcanic phenomena of
that vicinity.
This monument covers sections 34 and 35, township 31
north, range 4 east, Mount Diablo meridian, and takes in the summit of
Lassen Peak, now an active volcano.
The monument may be reached from all sides, but the
main trail goes up the southwest shoulder of the mountain. The mountain
may be reached from Red Bluff on the Southern Pacific Railway, via Red
Bluff-Susanville Road to Morgan Springs and thence 10 miles up the Mill
Creek trail; or one may go on to Drake Hot Springs and thence 11 miles
by trail up Kings Creek to the summit. Morgan Springs and Drake Hot
Springs may also be reached by auto or team from Keddie, on the Western
Pacific Railway, or Susanville or Westwood, on the Fernley-Lassen Branch
of the Southern Pacific. Morgan and Drake Springs have hotel
accommodations in summer.
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Lassen Peak National Monument, within
Lassen Peak National Forest, Cal., embracing part of T. 31 N., R. 4 E.,
Mount Diablo meridian; created May 6, 1901.
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GILA CLIFF-DWELLINGS NATIONAL
MONUMENT.
The Gila Cliff-Dwellings National Monument was
created by proclamation dated November 16, 1907. These cliff-dweller
ruins are neither very large nor very important, but are located in a
district in which few prehistoric ruins are found.
The ruins are situated approximately 50 miles
northwest of Silver City, N. Mex., and about 4 miles northwest of the
Gila Hot Springs. The best way to reach them is by wagon and trail from
Silver City via Pinos Altos.
The ruins are located in the mouth of a deep, rough
canyon, known as the Cliff Dwellers Canyon, flowing into the West Fork
of the Gila River from the south. They occupy four natural cavities in
the base of an overhanging cliff which is about 150 feet high and
composed of a grayish yellow volcanic rock.
The largest cavity is nearly circular and about 50
feet in diameter. The arched rock forming the roof is about 10 feet
above the center of the floor. In one corner is a small room 6 by 8
feet, built of rock and adobes and provided with a small entrance
window. Natural archways lead into two smaller tributary cavities. These
are divided into a number of small rooms by walls built of adobe and
small stones which are in such a good state of preservation that finger
imprints made in the adobe when the walls were built, can still be
plainly seen. Above the small doorways and windows, pieces of timber
were used which are perfectly preserved. In some of the higher walls
holes can be seen where timbers which undoubtedly formed the joists for
a second story have been burned out.
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Gila Cliff-Dwellings National Monument,
within Gila National Forest, N. Mex., embracing NE. 1/4 of sec. 27, T.
12 S., R. 14 W., New Mexico meridian; created November 16, 1907.
|
A fourth cavity, separate from the others, contains
the walls of small rooms in a good state of preservation. There is still
another cavity, high on the face of the cliff, which has never been
explored. As the cliff overhangs, it is impossible to enter it by means
of suspended ropes. It can be entered only by means of a ladder.
Part of the outer wall, which at one time evidently
closed the openings into these cavities, is still partially preserved.
The remainder shows that it was intended for defensive purposes, as
small windows are the only openings.
When these cliff dwellings were first discovered by
prospectors and hunters in the early seventies, a number of relics in
the shape of sandals, baskets, water vessels, cooking utensils, spears,
etc., were found. Corncobs can still be found in numbers. Some of the
walls have been destroyed by vandals.
A mummy was found here a number of years ago which
eventually was placed in the Smithsonian Institution. Another mummy,
found in 1912, also was forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution.
TONTO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Tonto National Monument was created by
proclamation dated December 19, 1907, and is located in Gila County,
Ariz. Situated only 1 mile south of the ocean-to-ocean highway, 80 miles
east of Phoenix, 40 miles north of Globe, Ariz., and about 4 miles east
of the Roosevelt Dam, the Tonto National Monument is one of the most
easily accessible ruins of the vanished race of cliff dwellers. From the
main road between Globe and Phoenix, Ariz., automobiles may be driven
over a good branch road to within half a mile of the nearest of the
groups of cliff dwellings.
|
Tonto National Monument, unsurveyed sec.
34, T. 4 N., R. 12 E., Gila and Salt River meridian, Ariz., containing
640 acres; created December 19, 1907.
|
The southern group of dwellings is located in a
cavern formed by the peculiar weathering of argillite rock, which forms
a perpendicular or overhanging wall, with a steep talus slope below, so
plentifully studded with cholla cactus as to suggest their having been
planted there by the cliff dwellers as a defense against their enemies.
This natural cavern is about 125 feet across and the ledge upon
which the dwellings are built is 35 feet wide at the
widest point. From the outer edge of the footwall to the overhanging
roof of the cavern the perpendicular distance is 30 or 40 feet. The
dwelling, evidently communal, contained originally about 15 chambers,
each from 12 to 16 feet square and 6 feet in height. Ten chambers are in
a fair state of preservation, and most of these are two or three
storied, depending upon whether or not the inhabitants lived in the
space between the second artificial roof and the cavern roof above. The
construction of the dwellings shows careful planning and no mean
knowledge of the art of masonry. The walls are of flat rocks cemented
together with a gravelly adobe. The ceilings are cleverly constructed of
wooden poles with their ends deeply embedded in the side walls. A solid
layer of fibers from the Sajauro or giant cactus rests transversely upon
the poles, and upon them is spread about 4 inches of adobe, forming the
floor of the chamber above. Small openings, or doors, generally about 2
by 4 feet, provided communication between chambers on the same level,
but in only one instance (noted in the northern group of dwellings) is
there an opening in the ceiling of a chamber to allow egress to the
chamber above. There are occasional small holes in the side walls of the
inner chambers, apparently for the purpose of ventilation, lighting, or
communication, but so-called "arrow holes" in the outer walls, through
which the beleaguered inhabitants are popularly supposed to have shot
arrows at storming parties of their enemies, have every appearance of
being simply apertures left by the removal of the roofing poles.
Fragments of metates, or primitive stone utensils for grinding corn, and
even corncobs, are to be found among the ruins.
The northern group of dwellings includes two caverns.
One contains about 12 rooms in a better state of preservation than those
of the southern group, although badly vandalized. One large interior
chamber is in a perfect state of preservation. The other cavern of this
group contains eight single-storied chambers, poorly preserved.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT.
A considerable portion of the area set aside by the
proclamation creating this national monument is covered by three
different proclamations, one of which created the Grand Canyon Forest
Reserve, one the game preserve embracing that part of the national
forest north of the river, and the third the monument proclamation. The
monument now comprises a tract of 800,000 acres lying within the
Tusayan and Kaibab National Forests, and is partly coextensive with the
Grand Canyon Game Preserve. It is believed that the most wonderful
portion of the canyon is contained within the present limits of the
national monument and game preserves.
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado was discovered in
the year 1540 by Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, a captain under Coronado.
The pioneer work in its scientific exploration was done between the
years 1869 and 1882 by the late Maj. John Wesley Powell, United States
Army, and formerly Director of the United States Geological Survey. In
1902 it became accessible by railroad and is now visited by 100,000
people each year.
All experienced travelers, with one accord, have
given the Grand Canyon a high place among the great wonders of the
world. It consists of a mile-deep gorge cut through a hundred
miles of high forested plateau, and is principally remarkable for its
brilliant and variegated color effects and the extraordinary sculpturing
of its interior by ages of erosive action. The lateral canyons contain
many cliff dwellings. While the main canyon is more than 10 miles wide
at all points, the river itself runs through an inner chasm of solid
granite and contains many rapids which have claimed a number of lives
and have not been often successfully navigated. A cable ferry crosses
the river at one point.
That part of the Grand Canyon National Monument south
of the river, which is the part most often visited, is administered by
the United States Forest Service as part of the Tusayan National Forest.
The forest supervisor's headquarters is at Williams, Ariz., and the
local forest ranger is stationed at Rowe Well, 3-1/2 miles southwest of
the railroad terminal. To preserve the scenic value of points along the
rim, especially thorough protection is provided against forest
fires.
The easiest way to reach the Grand Canyon is by way
of the Santa Fe Railway, which maintains a branch line extending from
its main transcontinental line at Williams, Ariz., to the south rim of
the canyon itself. At this point first-class hotel facilities and livery
service are afforded, while excellent roads and trails lead into the
canyon and to points along the rim in either direction.
Transcontinental motorists are also visiting the
canyon in increasing numbers. Good branch roads lead to the canyon from
the main ocean-to-ocean highway.
Under the protection given by the Forest Service,
under the authority of the proclamation establishing the Grand Canyon
National Game Preserve, game animals have steadily increased. The
preserve is now estimated to contain 10,000 head of blacktail deer and a
large number of bighorn or mountain sheep. Mountain lions and other
predatory animals are systematically destroyed by forest officers.
Steps were taken to create a national park of the
Grand Canyon of the Arizona, and a bill (H. R. 6331) providing for such
purpose was introduced in Congress April 20, 1911. The bill, however,
did not become a law. The Association of American Geographers has
recommended that the above-mentioned park be designated as Powell
National Park, and the Geological Society of America has approved the
naming of the national park in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado after
its explorer, Maj. John Wesley Powell.
The sundry civil act approved March 4, 1909,
appropriated $5,000 for the purpose of procuring and erecting on the
brink of the Grand Canyon in the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve (within the
limits of the Grand Canyon National Monument) a memorial to Maj. John
Wesley Powell in recognition of his distinguished public service as a
soldier, explorer, and administrator of Government scientific work, and
provided that the design for the memorial and the site should be
approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Thereafter the Secretary
designated as an advisory committee Dr. W. H. Holmes, Chief of the
Bureau of Ethnology, Dr. C. D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, and Col. H. C. Rizer, chief clerk of the United States
Geological Survey, to assist in determining the character of the
monument and the selection of the site. This committee
submitted designs prepared by Mr. J. R. Marshall, of Washington, D. C.,
and his plans were referred to the Commission of Fine Arts and have
received its approval.
Subsequently, in 1915, at the instance of the
Secretary of the Interior, these plans were revised in certain respects
by Mr. Mark Daniels, general superintendent and landscape engineer of
national parks, and Mr. Walter Ward, engineer of the Reclamation
Service, was placed in charge of actual construction work on the
memorial.
This work was commenced late in the summer of 1915,
and was completed on October 26, 1915.
|
Grand Canyon National Monument, within
Grand Canyon National Forest, Ariz.; created January 11, 1908.
|
JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT.
Jewel Cave National Monument was created by
proclamation dated February 7, 1908.
Jewel Cave, which is located 13 miles west and south
of Custer, the county seat of Custer County, S. Dak., was discovered on
August 18, 1900, by two prospectors, Albert and F. W. Michaud, whose
attention was attracted by the noise of wind coming from a small hole in
the limestone cliffs on the east side of Hell Canyon. In the hope of
discovering some valuable mineral and the source of the wind, these men
in company with one Charles Bush, enlarged the opening.
The cave, as far as known, is located in limestone
formation and is apparently the result of action of water. A prominent
geologist who visited this cave believes it to be an extinct geyser
channel. The main passage has been explored a distance of over 3 miles,
although it has been opened up for visitors only 1-1/2 miles, a short
distance beyond Milk River, which is a stream flowing through a white
limestone, which gives the water the appearance of milk.
|
Jewel Cave National Monument, within
Black Hills National Forest, S. Dak., Tps. 3 and 4 S., R. 2 E., Black
Hills meridian; created February 7, 1908.
|
The limits of the main passage and side galleries are
as yet unknown. Explorations have been carried in a northerly direction
and vertically 100 feet below the entrance.
On either side of the main passage are side galleries
and chambers of various sizes. The first chamber, or gallery, is
lithographic limestone and resembles the Gothic style of architecture.
About 500 feet from the entrance, the walls and roofs of a number of the
chambers are lined with a thick crystalline calcite and the floor is of
calcite and manganese.
Within the different chambers one may see different
colored chert. It varies in color, some having a peculiar light-green
tint, also dark green and bronze. The surface of the rock is smooth and
should take a high polish.
The chambers are connected with narrow passages
generally, although wide passages are sometimes found. The narrow
passages are very picturesque. The "box work" or honeycomb
crystallization is very attractive. The color ranges from a light brown
to a deep chocolate shade, and the boxlike cavities, covered with minute
crystals, stand in relief from the ground mass.
Geodes of various size and shape are found in the
walls and passageways, galleries, and chambers. The brilliancy of some
of these cavities is very beautiful.
The explorers have been careful observers of the
action of the wind within the cave. They have discovered that ordinarily
the wind blows in and out of the cave for regular periods, the periods
of blowing in and out being 15 hours each, although they have known the
periods to be of 72 hours' duration. Other wind passages have been
discovered in the vicinity of the cave.
The cave is a wonderful creation of nature and worthy
of many hours of study. As yet the cave has not been robbed of its
beautiful specimens. A good automobile road leads to the cave from
Custer, about 12 miles distant. Good spring water is plentiful near the
cave.
WHEELER NATIONAL MONUMENT.
Wheeler National Monument was created by proclamation
of December 7, 1908, and is located on the east slope of the divide
between the head of the West Fork of Bellows Creek on the south side of
the range and the head of the South Fork of Saguache Creek on the north
side of the range and about 1 mile southeast of Half Moon Pass, in
sections 17 and 20, township 42 north, range 2 east, New Mexico
principal meridian, Mineral County, Rio Grande National Forest,
Colo.
The tract lies on the southern slope of the ridge
which forms the crest of the Continental Divide. It is traversed from
north to south by numerous deep canyons with very precipitous sides, the
intervening ridges being capped by pinnacle-like rocks, making it
practically impossible to cross the tract from east to west, even on foot.
There are also many crevices cutting the ridges transversely, making an
intricate network of ravines separated by broken, precipitous ledges and
broken mesas.
It is probable that the formation found here is the
result of a succession of outpourings of lava and showers of volcanic
ash which have left a series of nearly horizontal strata of varying
degrees of hardness. Numerous pebbles and breccia of a
flint-like rock are embedded in the softer lavas which were probably
gathered up by the flowing lava mud from the original bedrock. The
formation is for the most part scoriaceous tufa and trachyte, with some
rhyolite. The effect of erosion on this formation has been to cut it
into sharply defined forms of many kinds. The harder broken rocks
embedded in the lavas have acted as veritable chisels, greatly
accelerating erosive action and making the lines and angles more sharply
defined than would be the case in ordinary weathering. This
erosion is still going on at a remarkably rapid rate, making the place
very interesting from the geological point of view.
|
Wheeler National Monument, within
Cochetopa and Rio Grande National Forests, Colo., T. 42 N., R. 2 E., New
Mexico meridian; created December 7, 1908.
|
The fantastic forms resulting from the rapid erosion
make this spot one of exceptional beauty. The numerous winding canyons,
broken ridges, pinnacles, and buttes form striking and varied
scenes.
From the most reliable data it is believed that the
ill-fated expedition of John C. Fremont, in 1848, reached this immediate
vicinity, when disaster came upon the party, compelling it to turn back.
Skeletons of mules, bits of harness, and camp equipage are found here,
lending force to the recorded data.
In order to reach the monument it is necessary to use
saddle horses from Wagon Wheel Gap or Creede, points on the Denver &
Rio Grande Railroad. From these places the monument may be reached by
two different routes; one by leaving the Rio Grande a short distance
above Wagon Wheel Gap and following the old wagon road into Blue Creek
Park, thence following the trail around to the monument by the way of
the head of East Bellows Creek. By this route the distance is
approximately 17 miles over a fairly good trail. The second route is to
follow down the Rio Grande on the north side from Creede to about 1
mile below Wason, or 3 miles below Creede, thence taking the Forest
Service trail, which is posted for the entire distance from where it
leaves the river bottom below Wason to the monument. This is a good
trail, and the distance is about 13 miles.
OREGON CAVES NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Oregon Caves National Monument was created by
proclamation of July 12, 1909.
The Oregon Caves, or "Marble Halls," of Josephine
County, discovered in 1874, are located in the Siskiyou National Forest
about 30 miles south of Grants Pass in Cave Mountain, a peak of the
Greyback Range that divides the headwaters of the Applegate and Illinois
Rivers and connects with the Siskiyou Mountains near the north line of
California.
Leaving the Southern Pacific Railway at Grants Pass,
a fair wagon and automobile road runs as far as the Stephens Ranch on
upper Williams Creek, a distance of 26 miles. From this point to the
caves the trip must be made on horseback or afoot over a very good
forest trail a distance of about 10 miles.
Cave Mountain, the peak which contains these caves,
rises to an elevation of about 6,000 feet and is of limestone formation.
The main openings around which the national monument has been created
are at an elevation of 4,000 feet, but the entire mountain side of 5 or
6 miles shows caverns of various sizes, and in all probability
throughout its interior is honeycombed like the portion that has been
explored.
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Oregon Caves National Monument, within
Siskiyou National Forest, Oreg.
|
These caves are more of a series of galleries than of
roomy caverns, though many beautiful rooms have been discovered, while
miles of galleries have been visited; but there are thousands of
passegeways leading in all directionspartly closed by
stalactitesthat have never been opened, and with the distant and
unexplored openings on the opposite side of the mountain the magnitude
of the Oregon Caves can be said to be practically unknown.
Many small streams are found at different elevations,
and larger bodies of running water can be heard in pits bottomless so
far as measured (by 300-foot line). This running water probably
accounts for currents of wind that in some of the galleries blow so hard
as to extinguish an open light at once.
The lime deposits take many beautiful
formsmassive pillars, delicate stalactites of alabaster whiteness
with the crystal drop of water carrying its minute deposit of lime, from
which they are formed, and broad sheets resembling drapery with graceful
curves and waves that were certainly made by varying currents of wind
during formation.
The Forest Service has rebuilt and improved the
trails leading to the caves from each side of the divide, in order to
more easily protect the valuable forest surrounding and to make the
caves more accessible to tourists.
DEVIL POSTPILE NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This national monument was created by proclamation of
July 6, 1911, and is located in the high Sierras a few miles west of the
main crest of the range in the northeastern end of Madera County, in the
Sierra National Forest.
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Devil Postpile National Monument,
Cal.
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The Devil Postpile consists of a spectacular mass of
hexagonal basaltic rock columns, about 2 feet each in diameter and
varying up to 50 feet in height, which are exposed on one side on the
face of a nearly perpendicular cliff. These are laid down in the form of
an immense pile of posts, and while there are similar formations in
different parts of the country this is especially prominent, being one
of the most noted of its kind on the continent, and said to rank with
the famous Giants Causeway on the coast of Antrim, in the north of
Ireland. A mile or so below the Postpile and within the limits of the
national monument is a beautiful waterfall, known as Rainbow Fall, in
the chasm of the upper Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. The fall,
while not so high, resembles in appearance the Vernal Falls of the
Merced River in Yosemite National Park, and one of the few of its kind
on the continent.
Within the national monument there is also a
picturesque meadow which affords a fine camp site for travelers and from
which the Postpile is in sight, while in the edge of the river near this
meadow is a hot sulphur spring which lends much interest to the
locality.
The national monument is surrounded by some of the
grandest scenery of the Sierra Nevada Range, while forests of fir, lodge
pole and mountain pine clothe the surrounding slopes. Its beauties and
wonders will well repay the difficulties which are imposed upon the trip
by the remoteness and relative inaccessibility of its location.
The Devil Postpile National Monument is most easily
reached over the crest of the range from the east. From Laws, on the
Southern Pacific, there is an automobile stage through Bishop to
Mammoth, which lies at the foot of the range, and from Mammoth animals
can be engaged for the trip by trail which takes only half a day over
Mammoth Pass to the national monument. The latter can also be reached
from Fresno, in the San Joaquin Valley on the west, either by automobile
stage to Northfork, Madera County, thence by a secondary road, passable
for automobiles for some 10 miles farther, some 30 miles to Granite
Creek, near the junction of the forks of the San Joaquin River, and from
thence by trail only some 25 miles additional, or by the Southern
Pacific and the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroads from Fresno to
Cascada (or Big Creek, as the post office is called), where animals can
be hired for the trip by trail over Kaiser Pass, or around the western
flank of the Kaiser Ridge, about a two days' trip each way.
MOUNT OLYMPUS NATIONAL MONUMENT.
This monument as originally set aside by presidential
proclamation of March 2, 1909, contained approximately 608,640
acres. It was created for the purpose of preserving many objects of
great and unusual scientific interest, embracing numerous glaciers, and
the territory has also been from time immemorial the summer range and
breeding ground of the Olympic elk, a species which is rapidly
decreasing in numbers. A bill was introduced in Congress on July 15, 1911,
providing for the setting aside as a national park the same tract of
land as was set aside by proclamation of the President creating the
Mount Olympus National Monument.
It was reduced by presidential proclamation of April
17, 1912, to 608,480 acres in order to permit certain claimants to land
therein to secure title to the land. By proclamation of May 11, 1915,
the monument was further reduced, and the lands eliminated thereby made
part of the Olympic National Forest, in order to permit of their
development, the area eliminated not being essential to the purposes for
which the monument was originally established. The present area of the
monument is 299,370 acres. The proclamation of May 11, 1915, reads:
I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the power in me vested by section
2 of the act entitled, "An act for the preservation of American
antiquities," approved June 8, 1906 (34 Stat., 225), do hereby proclaim
that the boundaries of the Mount Olympus National Monument as fixed and
defined by proclamation of March 2, 1909 (35 Stat., 2247), and as
modified by proclamation of April 17, 1912 (37 Stat., 1737), are hereby
further modified and established as shown on the diagram forming a part
hereof, and said national monument, as so modified and established,
shall be administered in accordance with the aforesaid proclamation of
March 2, 1909.
It is not intended that the lands
eliminated from the Mount Olympus National Monument by this proclamation
shall be eliminated from the Olympic National Forest, as established by
proclamation of March 2, 1907 (34 Stat., 3306), but such lands shall
continue subject to the reservation for forest purposes therein
made.
In witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this
11th day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and
fifteen, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred
and thirty-ninth.
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Mount Olympus National Monument.
|
There are a number of different routes by which the
Mount Olympus National Monument may be reached, all of which require
some travel by trail. The most convenient and quickest route, though not
the shortest in point of miles, by which a most excellent view can be
had of Mount Olympus and scenic surroundingsabout 6 miles air
lineis by way of Port Angeles and the Sol Duc Hot Springs, as
follows: Leave Seattle on a Puget Sound steamer about midnight, arriving
in Port Angeles about 7 the following morning. Take automobile stage for
Sol Duc Hot Springs, 45 miles, arriving about noon. Monument boundary
about 2 miles by trail up river, but close view of Mount Olympus not
possible until Soleduck-Hoh divide is reached, about 11 miles by trail
from Sol Duc Hotel.
Another route, and the most practicable in case a
trip through the monument from north to south is desired, is by way of
Port Angeles and the Elwha and Queniult, coming out by way of Queniult
Lake and Hoquiam. From Port Angeles to the Elwha River bridge on the
Lake Crescent road is a little under 11 miles, the morning stage
reaching that point about 9.30 a. m. Horse or foot travel must then be
resorted to over a mountain trail of more than ordinary steep pitches,
exasperating ups and downs, and, on the Queniult side, some very narrow
and rather dangerous grades for a total through distance to Queniult
Lake of about 70 miles. A side trip to the Elwha Queets divide at the
base of Mount Olympus would add 12 miles more. Other trail routes
approach close to portions of the monument, but do not lead through or
into the highest and most scenic interior, such travel being possible
only on foot and by merely picking one's way along rough snowcapped
ridges or through creek bottoms, along elk trails, etc. The two best
trails from the east, or Hoods Canal, side are up the Dosewallips River
and the North Fork of Skokomish River. The Dosewallips route is
accessible from Seattle as follows: Take steamship Potlatch from
Seattle at 9 a. m., reaching Brinnon about 2 p. m. A wagon road extends
up the Dosewallips River 7 miles from Brinnon, and quite satisfactory
horse trail continues to Sulphur Springs, 13 miles farther, which lands
one within 5 or 6 miles of the monument boundary. Travel beyond that
point is only possible on foot and with considerable personal exertion
and rough going. At least 30 miles of very rough travel would be
necessary to reach Mount Olympus, the highest point, 8,200 feet.
The North Fork Skokomish route may be reached from
Seattle as follows: Take steamship Potlatch from Seattle at 9 a.
m., arriving at Hoodsport about 4.30 p. m. Automobile stage to Lake
Cushman, 9 miles, same evening. A fair horse trail from the hotels at
that point reaches the head of the river a few miles inside the monument
boundary, a distance of nearly 20 miles, from which point an excellent
view may be had of the Mount Anderson country. Cross-country travel to
Mount Olympus is, however, impossible from this point, excepting on foot
and with unusually careful and tedious mountain climbing.
The only feasible route from the west side is up the
Hoh River over a horse trail, which is quite satisfactory in dry
weather, extending 40 miles from the settlement of Forks. Forks is
reached by automobile road from Port Angeles and from Clallam Bay, being
about 62 miles from the former and about 30 from the latter. The horse
trail on the upper Hoh ends at 4 or 5 miles inside the monument and
perhaps 10 miles by a rough and somewhat dangerous foot travel route
from the top of Mount Olympus.
BIG HOLE BATTLE FIELD MONUMENT.
This monument, which is under jurisdiction of the War
Department, was created by presidential proclamation of June 23, 1910,
by which 5 acres of unsurveyed land, embracing the monument, in
Beaverhead County, Mont., was reserved for military purposes for use in
protecting same. It commemorates a battle fought on August 9, 1877,
between a small force of United States troops and a much larger number
of Nez Perce Indians, which ended in complete rout of the Indians. The
nearest settlement to the monument is the town of Gibbons, Beaverhead
County, Mont., which is reached by stage via Wisdom from Divide, Mont.,
a distance of about 45 miles. Divide is a station on the Oregon Short
Line Railroad, some 25 miles south of Butte, Mont.
CABRILLO NATIONAL MONUMENT.
The Cabrillo National Monument was created October
14, 1913, at Point Loma, of a small tract of land containing 21,910
square feet which lies within the military reservation at Fort
Rosecrans, Cal., the same being of historic interest because of the
discovery of the territory now partly embraced in the State of
California, by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who at this point first sighted
land on September 28, 1542.
BIRD RESERVES.
All of the bird reserves have been created through
reference from the Interior Department to the President of forms of
Executive orders providing therefor. These reserves are regarded as in
all essential particulars reservations of public lands for public use or
other purposes, for which there are numerous precedents. The first
specific act of Congress providing for the protection of birds by bird
reserves created by Executive order was introduced by Hon. John F. Lacy,
of Iowa, and became a law on June 28, 1906. (34 Stat., 536.) This act
makes it unlawful to kill birds, to take their eggs, or to willfully
disturb birds upon the reservations, and it provides a fine of not
exceeding $500 or imprisonment for not exceeding six months, or both
fine and imprisonment, for each conviction secured. This law was
substantially reenacted in the new penal code approved March 4, 1909 (35
Stat., 1104), in the following language:
SEC. 84. Whoever shall hunt, capture, willfully
disturb, or kill any bird of any kind whatever, or take the eggs of any
such bird, on any lands of the United States which have been set apart
or reserved as breeding grounds for birds by any law, proclamation, or
Executive order, except under such rules and regulations as the
Secretary of Agriculture may from time to time prescribe, shall be
fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months, or
both.
The reservations now existing are 70 in number, of
which 68 are being administered under the direction of the Biological
Survey, Department of Agriculture. The Pribilof Reservation in Alaska
is administered by the Bureau of Fisheries of the Department of
Commerce and the Canal Zone Reservation, Panama, by the Isthmian Canal
Commission.
Bird reserves created.
|
Name of reservation. | Date. |
Location. | Area. |
|
Pelican Island | Mar. 14, 1903 | East Florida coast | 5.50 acres. |
Breton Island | Oct. 4, 1904 Nov. 11, 1905 | southeast coast of Louisiana | Unknown. |
Stump Lake | Mar. 9, 1905 | North Dakota | 27.39 acres. |
Huron Islands | Oct. 10, 1905 | Lake Superior, Mich | Unknown. |
Siskiwit Islands | do | do | Do. |
Passage Key | do | Tampa Bay, Fla | 36.37 acres. |
Indian Key | Feb. 10, 1906 | do | 90 acres. |
Tern Islands | Aug. 9, 1907 | Mouths of Mississippi River, La | Unknown. |
Shell Keys | Aug. 17, 1907 | South Louisiana coast | Do |
Three Arch Rocks | Oct. 14, 1907 | West Oregon coast | Do |
Flattery Rocks | Oct. 23,1907 | West Washington coast | Do |
Qulllayute Needles | do | do | Do |
Copalis Rock | do | do | Do |
East Timbalier Island | Dec. 7, 1907 | South Louisiana coast | Do |
Mosquito Inlet | Feb. 24, 1908 | East Florida coast | Do |
Tortugas Keys | Apr. 6, 1908 | Florida Keys, Fla | Do |
Klamath Lake | Aug. 8, 1908 | Oregon and California | Do |
Key West | do | Florida Keys, Fla | Do |
Lake Malheur | Aug. 18, 1908 | Oregon | Do |
Chase Lake | Aug. 28, 1908 | North Dakota | Do |
Pine Island | Sept. 15, 1908 | West Florida coast | Do |
Matlacha Pass | Sept. 26, 1908 | do | Do |
Palma Sola | do | do | Do |
Island Bay | Oct. 23, 1908 | Florida | Do |
Loch Katrine | Oct. 26, 1908 | Wyoming | Do |
Hawaiian Islands | Feb. 3, 1909 | Hawaii | Do |
East Park | Feb. 25, 1909 | California | Do |
Cold Springs | do | Oregon | Do |
Shoshone | do | Wyoming | Do |
Pathfinder | do | do | Do |
Bellefourche | do | South Dakota | Do |
Strawberry Valley | do | Utah | Do |
Salt River | do | Arizona | Do |
Deer Flat | do | Idaho | Do |
Minidoka | do | do | Do |
Willow Creek | do | Montana | Do |
Carlsbad | do | New Mexico | Do |
Rio Grande | do | do | Do |
Keechelus Lake | do | Washington | Do |
Kachess Lake | do | do | Do |
Clealum Lake | do | do | Do |
Bumping Lake | do | do | Do |
Conconully | do | Alaska | Do |
Bering Sea | Feb. 27, 1909 | do | Do |
Pribilof | do | do | Do |
Tuxedni | do | do | Do |
Farallon | do | California | Do |
Culebra | do | Porto Rico | Do |
Yukon Delta | do | Alaska | Do |
St. Lazaria | do | do | Do |
Bogoslof | Mar. 2, 1909 | do | Do |
Clear Lake | Apr. 11, 1911 | California | Do |
Forrester Island | Jan. 11, 1912 | Alaska | Do |
Hazy Islands | do | do | Do |
Niobrara | do | Nebraska | 114,640 acres. |
Green Bay | Feb. 21, 1912 | Wisconsin | 1.87 acres. |
Chamisso Island | Dec. 7, 1912 | Alaska | Unknown. |
Pishkun | Dec. 17, 1912 | Montana | Do. |
Desecheo Island | Dec. 19, 1912 | Porto Rico | Do. |
Gravel Island | Jan. 9, 1913 | Wisconsin | Do. |
Aleutian Islands | Mar. 3, 1913 | Alaska | Do. |
Canal Zone | Mar. 19, 1913 | Panama | Do. |
Walker Lake | Apr. 21, 1913 | Arkansas | Do. |
Petit Bois Island | May 6, 1913 | Alabama and Mississippi | Do. |
Anaho Island | Sept. 4, 1913 | Nevada | 247.73 acres. |
Smith Island | June 6, 1914 | Washington | Unknown. |
Dungeness Spit | Jan. 20, 1915 | do | 226.02 acres. |
Ediz Hook | &bsp; do | do | 183 acres. |
Mille Lacs | May 14, 1915 | Minnesota | Unknown. |
Big Lake | Aug. 2, 1915 | Arkansas | Do. |
|
BIRD RESERVES ENLARGED, REDUCED, AND ABOLISHED. |
|
Pelican Island | Jan. 26, 1909 | Florida (enlarged) | Unknown. |
Mosquito Inlet | Apr. 2, 1909 | do | Do. |
Cold Springs | Nov. 25, 1911 | Oregon (enlarged) | Do. |
Clear Lake | Jan. 13, 1912 | California (reduced) | Do. |
Minidoka | Feb. 21, 1912 | Idaho (enlarged) | Do. |
Niobrara | Nov. 14, 1912 | Nebraska (enlarged) | 115,253.7 acres. |
Deer Flat | Apr. 21, 1915 | Idaho (reduced) | Unknown. |
Klamath Lake | May 14, 1915 | Oregon and California (reduced) | Do. |
Blackbeard Island | May 25, 1915 | Georgia (abolished) | Do. |
1Approximate area.
|
As appears from this list, these
reservations are scattered between Alaska and Porto Rico. After careful
consideration, based upon representations made by this department, the
Isthmian Canal Commission secured an Executive order for the
protection of the native birds within the zone, which in its punitive
features conforms to section 84 of the United States Penal Code.
Jurisdiction over the Canal Zone Reservation is, however, retained by
the Isthmian Canal Commission instead of being placed with the
Department of Agriculture, as is the case in other Government bird
reserves.
The Niobrara Reservation, Nebr., which was created by
Executive order dated January 11, 1912, has been enlarged by a second
order, dated November 14, 1912, so as to include within its boundaries
about 614 acres, covering the old parade ground of the Fort Niobrara
Military Reservation, including a spring of fresh running water and
some of the military buildings and barracks which could be used for
stables and for residence purposes by a custodian. This additional tract
has been fenced and small herds of buffalo, elk, and deer, donated by J.
W. Gilbert, a citizen of Nebraska, have been permanently domiciled
therein, and it is believed that the climate and natural environment
will insure the healthful and rapid increase of all of these most
valuable of the larger native mammals.
Active administrative work by the Agricultural
Department upon all of the reserves within its jurisdiction, which in
the past have been in serious need of efficient warden service, has been
most satisfactory.
APPENDIX.
[PUBLICNO. 209.]
An Act For the preservation of American
antiquities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That any person who shall appropriate, excavate, injure,
or destroy any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object
of antiquity, situated on lands owned or controlled by the Government of
the United States, without the permission of the Secretary of the
department of the Government having jurisdiction over the lands on which
said antiquities are situated, shall, upon conviction, be fined in a
sum of not more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for a period
of not more than ninety days, or shall suffer both fine and
imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
SEC. 2. That the President of the United States is
hereby authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation
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, and may reserve as a part thereof parcels of land,
the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area
compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be
protected:
Provided, That when such objects are situated
upon a tract covered by a bona fide unperfected claim or held in private
ownership, the tracts, or so much thereof as may be necessary for the
proper care and management of the object, may be relinquished to the
Government, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to
accept the relinquishment of such tracts in behalf of the Government of
the United States.
SEC. 3. That permits for the examination of ruins,
the excavation of archaeological sites, and the gathering of objects of
antiquity upon the lands under their respective jurisdictions may be
granted by the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and War to
institutions which they may deem properly qualified to conduct such
examination, excavation, or gathering, subject to such rules and
regulations as they may prescribe: Provided, That the
examinations, excavations, and gatherings are undertaken for the benefit
of reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized
scientific or educational institutions, with a view to increasing the
knowledge of such objects, and that the gatherings shall be made for
permanent preservation in public museums.
SEC. 4. That the Secretaries of the departments
aforesaid shall make and publish from time to time uniform rules and
regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of
this act.
Approved, June 8, 1906.
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