The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-25
Frederic Hasbin's Letter
Brand-New Antiquities.

Colorado Springs. Colo. Aug. %.
The great and only industry in
Colorado Springs Is the entertain
ment Of tourists. A few bricks and
brooms are made somewhere with
in the city limits. but such small
enterprises fade into insignificance
beside the large and highly organ.
lied business Of selling nature to
the public.
Colorado Springs itself is not
spectacular, but 1t Is attractively
located at the base Of the noun
tains; is famous for its healthful
climate, and is the most comforta-
BILE habitat in the Pixies peak re-
gion, which also includes Colorado
City, Manitou and . vast stretch OF
gorgeous scenery. Where the orig
inal supply of scenery runs short.
moreover, . new supply has been
provided by various scenic produc-
ton companies, SO that there il
enough to keep the sight-seer busy
as long as his money holds out.
Among the principal points Of In
terest in this region, for example.
are the historic ruins OF the an
cient Cliff jewellers, located at
Phantom Cliff canon, at Manitou.
These are not original. In scat
tering out southwest with their
mysterious dwellings. the ancients
failed to foresee the future tourist
demand OF this particular area and
neglected to build here. But few
enterprising goth century business
men have. They have reproduced
as accurately as possible the cliff
dwellings of the Mesa Verde Ma
tional park, at an alleged cost Of
500, 900, and are now gathering
large returns on their investment
by exhibiting the new-made ruins
at the price of 81 glance.
Upon climbing the steep road
leading up the canon, either by mo
tor, burro or foot, the tourist first
beholds an adobe Indian dwelling
Of the type built by the present
day Pueblo Indians. 1t consists G.
two floors, connected not by stair!
but by crude wooden ladders. The
first floor contains the inevitable
curio shop, with some unusually
interesting Indian relics, and tn
! second floor is occupied by Pu
eblo Indian family, which ia EN-
ployed by the scenic production
company to Indianize the atmos
phere and amuse the tourists.
Here the visitors are organized
into sightseeing parties. if the.
are not already SO organized, an
conducted by guide-a young lad.
of pedagogical appearance, carry
ing a small switch for a pointer
to the nearby cliff dwellings, bull
under the overhanging ledge o
Phantom cliff. There are eigh
curious houses in all, connected
with small, crumbling passageway
and perforated with tiny. myster
ious windows and doors. They ar
built of stone. According to tn
guide, the only difference between
these modern ruins and the an
cient ones is the plaster USED o.
the walls. The ancients used som
sort Of an adobe mixed for NOR
tar, which could not be anaiyze'
tby the reproducers, so they wer
compelled to use cement. .
The Guide Holds Forth.
1.-THE cliff dwellers," says tn
guide, holding up the expedition
for brief historical spiel, "wer
a prehistoric people whose origi
is unknown. They left these trace
LOT their existence in Colorado
, Utah. Arizona and New Mexico
Archaeologists have solved many @
the leading mysteries concerning
this long-vanished people, bu
many battling features are still t
be explained.
Notice the small size of tn
doors and windows. These lead u
to believe that the cliff dweller
were a pigmy people. probably nc
more than two and half or tire
and a half feet in height-an as
sumption which has been born
out by several skeletons recent
excayatsd.
/ "On the wall OF this first roor
you will see an example Of thei
ancient hierogiyphics. These hav
never been translated. The roc
containing them. by the way.
original. having been brought her
with the rest of the materials.
This" continued the gIiie. a
she led the party through a smal
passageway. "is the milling room
where they ground their meal. Yo
will see by the specimens or tn
floor that they used stone imple
ments. living in the stone ag'
over here is a niche in the wal
evidently used TO hold their imple
ments. showing that they wer
orderly"
Again the party lowered it's head
in proceeding to the next room
which contained one of the eli
dwellers' curious T-shaped doors
"The Hopi Indians also used thl
same T-shaped door in their dwe,
ings," explained the guide. Her
is q strange stone box. Scientis,
fh{nk that II uas 1iraDJaco n,