The St. Johns herald., 1901-01-19

[ 1uIoF OC0aQ, IS not 6 QdSLl1y IOTuS( one. On the contrary, it is the out come of nearly three years of agita l tiop and education of the women o1 the state In October, 1897, Mrs. Nah | Ion D. Thatcher, then president of the 1 State Federation of Women's clubs 1 appointed committee of women who
 had for years been personally inter l ested in the protection of the states ] prehistoric heritage to act with the
 federation and clubwomen as a spe
 cial committee for the spreading o1 i knowledge concerning the ruins, the l collection and preservation of relics and the ultimate bringing forward into the light of to-day of the wonder. ful old ruins which have been so long shadowed by the cliffs in the Rio Man
 cos canyon. Since it's appointment the committee has had visions of work done by it which would present to
 the world antiquity of far greater in terest than any now known in the old world, and with a setting of deep
 canyons, rugged mountains, and great stretches of blue mesa land-a park containing 8 museum of unknown antiquity.
 The area of prehistoric ruins in the southwest covers a tract of 5000 square miles, extending from "the four corners'' into Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Therefore, the tract of land most valuable for a park has been a grave question at is- sue with the committee They have had an accurate and comprehensive map made of the section called Mesa
 Verde, the green tableland, in the southwestern corner of Colorado. It is their wish to include in the park that portion of the mesa and adjoin- ing canyons which contains the most ruins.
 It should be understood that Mesa Verde, the probable location of the future park, is a strikingly singular divide between the Mancos and the Montezuma valleys. Throughout its extent it is gashed and scanned by in- numerable deep canyons and ravines. The uplands are crowded with forests of pinon trees in such close array that one finds it difficult to pick a passage through them. Ruins of the houses of the mesa-dwellers are thick upon the plateau.
 The canyons, which split the divide into tongues and islands of precipit- ous rock, are lined with the houses of the cliff dwellers. The sides of the canyons are sheer walls of yellow sandstone, ranging in height from 500 to 1000 feet. As rule, the dwellings stand 50 or 100 feet below the rim of the heights, in sheltered recess over- hung by beetling masses of rock. In a great many instances it is impossi- ble to climb to the houses from the bottom of the canyon. Most of them have to be entered from the top of the cliffs. There are no definite roads or trails leading to them, and the diffi- cuIties to be overcome and the dangers to be dared in visiting the cliff houses are many. The difficulties and dangers only show how necessary it is to build roads and trails and rest house, so that people with great enthusiasm but little strength may visit the ruins.
 The Cliff palace and the Spruce Tree house are two of the cliff houses in- cluded in the tract set aside for the park. The Cliff palace is 45O feet long, 80 feet high, so feet broad, and con- tains f27 rooms on the ground floor, and accommodations for probably 1000 people. The Spruce Tree house is only short distance from the Cliff palace, and is one of the most finished specimens of prehistoric architecture yet found. A visit to one or both of these ruins would repay one for al- most any amount of fatigue, and the Colorado Cliff Dwellers association in- tends to be the pathfinder for the delicate enthusiast as we'll as for the brawny relic hunter.
 THROUGH LOVE TO LAUGHTER. Lead your child through love to laughter.