The Colorado statesman., 1924-07-19

Montezuma Castle Arizona. 1906. prehistoric cliff
dwelling. 100
Chaco Canyon. New Mexico. 1907. numerous pueb-
los and cliff dwellings, 20,629 acres.
Navajo, Arizona, 1909. prehistoric pueblos and
cliff dwellings. $50 acres
Hovenweep Utah Colorado, 1928, prehistoric tow
pueblos and cliff dwellings. 2S6 acres.
t Tumacacori, Arizona, 1908. ruin of Seventeenth
century Franciscan mission. 10 acres
Gran Quivira, New Mexico 1909. ancient pueblo
and early Spanish mission. 100 acres.
Casa Grande Arizona, prehistoric relic 4s0 acres.
Yucca House. Colorado. 1919 prehistoric relic. 10
Aztec Ruin. New Mexico 1928. prehistoric pueblo
Pipe Spring, Arizona. 1928. old stone fort and
spring of pioneer days 40 acres
Muir Woods. California 1903 fine redwood grove.
Pinnacles. California. 1908. many spreliiSe, rock
formations 600 to 1000 feet high. 2,653
Natural Bridges Utah, 1908. three very large
natural bridges 27to acres;
Rainbow Bridge Utah. 1910. height 309 feet. span
PTS feet. 100 acres
stka Alaska. 1910. park of historic association.
Colorado Colorado. 1911, wonderful example of
erosion. many lofty monoliths 1888 acres.
Papago Saguaro, Arizona, 1914 chara cteristc des
Lewis and Clark Cavern. Montana 1908. immense
limestone cave 100 acres.
210
Dinosaur. Utah. 1915. deposits of fossil remains.
so acres.
fossils. $50
capulin Mountain. New Mexico. 1916 cnder
of Geologically recent formation. 6S1 acres.
Ilatmai Alaska, 1918. volcanic phenomena includ
ing valley of Ten Thousand Smokes" 1910
Verendrye, North Dakota, 1917, includes Crow
high Butte from which the famous French
plorer first saw territory, 253 acres
Scotts Bluff Nebraska 1919. point historic
interest in winning OF the West 2,053 acres.
Pages of interesting matter could be written
about these national monuments. Take for ex
ample. those of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado
They Illustrate the history of the American South
west from the prehistoric times of the cliff dwell
ers down through the many years of frantic
searching for gold by the Spanish soldiers and
the coonizng and proselyting by the Spanish
priests. Cortez conquered Mexico for Spain in
1519-21. 1t soon looted. The Spaniard then
turned his search for gold toward Peru-which is
another story-and toward the unexplored wilder
to the North The air full of northern
treasure myths-El Dorado the gded man, and
whole people clothed in gold; the Seven Cities of
Ciboa, with their golden domes Quivira the city
gold. Side by side soldier and priest invaded
the desert. Each despised the other; each used
the other. Coronado's expedition from Mexico in
1910 that penetrated far Kansas is of
the most romantic in all history.
Gran Quivira was the hourishing pueblo
city Tabira, believed to be Quivira by the Span
inrds 1t discovered in 1881 by Francisco
Banchez de Chamuscado. Francisco de Acedevo
founded the mission in 1928. The Apaches wiped
II out about 1910. The ancient pueblo held about
1500 The great stone church built in 1914.
Both still stand in this ghost city of the long
Montezuma Caste is one of the relics of the
prehistoric people called cliff dwellers and is very
old 1t is a communal house of % rooms, built in
a shallow cave in the face of lofty cliff
Casa Grande (Great House) Is prehistoric mys-
terry. 1t was already ruin when Fray Marcos
discovered it in 1899. 1t is II large building of n
natural concrete called cueche, smoothly plastered
within. 1t stands in large compound of outlying
buildings enclosed in n rectangular wall
Aztec Ruin presented 60 the nation by
Archer NJ. Huntington of the American Museum of
Natural History. 1t is being extensively excavaed
and restored. Centuries before Columbus one of
the richest of prehistoric civilization was
the valley of the Amimas river in northwestern
New Mexico. There within the radius of single
mile vast mounds of earth and fallen stone mark