Show AS america created a sphinx A great concrete statue ue cemented into tho the solid rock on the i banks of the rock river near oregon ill has haa been built by lorado tatt taft the sculptor with every caro care that modern engineering gi can toko take to make it as permanent as the tha pyramids and other famous landmarks of tho ther ages agea by his method of applying the concrete mr taft bids fair to accomplish his purpose the statue erected to commemorate the american indian represents presenta re black hawk chief of tile tho sacs and foxes standing with folded arms looking down the picturesque valley of the rock river the figure Is bf at noble proportions being fifty feet in height and crowns the top of a bluff feet above the swirling waters of 0 the river the claim of tho the statue to tc famo fame rests in three things FIr first stany any one who runs even those who run in automobiles may read its mes message sago As those who are rushing by in autos and steam cars and motor boats stop or turn to look it inevitably recalls the form occupancy by the red men of the places th they eyare are now in then the statues great size places it on a scalp scale with the goddess of liberty in new pork harbor and the great statue of the pilgrim on oil tho the new england coast its third and greatest claim to tame fame Is that it Is built to bo be permanent and it Is believed I 1 that it will outlast the sphinx the pyramids and the erected by the druids druies it Is utilitarian concrete which it ts Is hoped will make the statue of black hawk overtake the sphinx in age by enduring after time nab hab effaced that grim figure the statue was three years in process of making maing and represents a new era in concrete con creto construction as applied to the art of sculpture while fountains and per golas and temporary figures for exhibitions have been made of concrete in the past nothing approaching in or purpose the present piece of work has over ever before been attempted with this material it was a labor of love with the sculptor who bore all the jahe expense himself dehond the building of the black hawk statue lies tin an interesting story A few years ago mr tatt taft was watching somo some workmen build a concrete chimney at the chicago art institute find and there came to him his great idea of the means for making an enduring statue with the process in mind it was not long until an adequate subject presented itself for fifteen years mr fr taft has had bad his summer home and studio at eagles nest camp near oregon the summer seat of the chicago art colony standing for the hundredth at the highest point of 0 the eliff cliff be never failed to remember that it was from here that black hawk was finally driven out of illinois so he decided to bring back the famous indian chief and now in concrete dlack black hawk again surveys his former domain with an air of immutable disdain as one artist has put ita it black hawk and his tribes fought on the english side in the war of 1812 ile he saw sooner than other chiefs that the whites would take all the tha indians hunting grounds from him ile he tried everything from war to treaties to check the whites advance As he grew old he became more attached to his home along the rock river and fought against removal to the rows iowa reservation by the government ile he even tried living in peace with the whites but he had bad achieved such a reputation that any depredations that any indians indiana committed were laid at his hii tepee door finally he and his people were driven across the by uncle sams soldiers after that as s an old man he petitioned the government that ho he might come back and view his old domains on the rock hock river many members of the tribe were brought with him and suddenly there was panic among the whites whether it was intentional from the first on the part of the indians or th the 0 result of suspicion a war was precipitated abraham lincoln and jefferson davis davia both fought with tho the whites and black hawk was made a prisoner it is characteristic of mr tatt taft that t when he went about what ho he hopes will be his most enduring work in a material way lie he started with as little fuss as if it were a small matter silently and surely the work advanced as befits beats in character the approach of an indian even the sculptor smiles at his work as it it were a conceit of the moment instead of the project of a lifetime and succeeds partly in hiding biding his pleasure in the work mr air taft did not study any one type X iw k S st M N xv P 4 X P 1 1 0 eswa ot at race of indians indiana in modeling the black hawk statue it la Is a composite of the fox and the sacs the sioux and the mohawks Mo hawks and was intended to represent tile the general indian personality sona lity all the usual indian trappings such as the feathers and the buckskin have been left off there la is even a suggestion of the old roman in the face which was waa necessary to make it suggest a spirit unconquered while still tho the conquered race the head and profile and folded arms appear in perfect detail as they are outlined against the sky and forest from many viewpoints around the country on a clear day when the leaves are oft off tb the trees the statue Is visible at a distance of twenty miles the exact site was selected after much experiments experiment first a rough twenty foot model was made and set up but it was found that the height an and distances were so great that the figure had to bo 0 enlarged and placed on a more prominent part of the cliff finally a light fifty foot structure was on a farm wagon and the wagon was waa drawn around until the proper location was established for the foundation fifteen feet of soil sell had to be removed before bodrock bedrock was struck here the top of a natural ledge edge of stone was reached the ledge thirty feet deep to Is formed of a succession ot of steps which havo have tho the appearance of being built artia bially I 1 RB they show on tho the river bluff many engineering difficulties had bad to be overcome inasmuch as a great concrete con creto status statue had never before been made the contains about two tons of twisted steel reinforcing and approximately cubic yards of con erbee twenty tons of which consists of pink granato screenings giving it the appearance f a granite statue moro than gallons of water was pumped up from tho the river tor for maintaining two steam engines and for mixing tho the concrete four hundred and twenty barrels of cement were ware used informing tho the mixture tho the first model was of plaster and only eight inches high the next was waa two feet high and the third six feet this last served as aa tho the working model and was enlarged by careful nicas fremant to a frame of around an elevator shaft when the tha whole figure ilauro had boon been trained framed lit in lumber lumbar wire netting was waa stretched over tho the ti timbers and this in turn was waa covered with wath burlap for a surface later tho the burlap was painted with plaster of paris to stiffen it and then subjected to a coat of clay water to insure its ita release from tho the mold later ater on oil meanwhile the head was waa mod in clay and cast by th the e usual 1 proc process cs ill tho piece mold being saved caved for use again in casting it the is concrete A A three inch mold was next marde over tho the figure about ten tons ot of plaster being used for this purpose with many henvy heavy timbers for support the scaffolding was then taken out and a steel reinforcing tower eight feet in III diameter was built in its iti place this tower ran the entire length of the body ending in a dome just juat below tile tho neck and was dell design ign ed ad to support the head and shoulders shou ldora of solid concrete con creto the final work of casting was done dona in the middle of winter ten days day being required for this work with two crews of fourteen men each working in day and night shifts when the mold was full heat was applied foi to two days and then the spirit of 0 dlack black hawk was left to the elements with the removal of this mold the tha following spring there emerged a per feet monolith concrete statue this statue Is in more senses thau than one the biggest birdest thing that mr air tatt taft has yet done the statue Is immensely simple the heavy folds of the blanket surrounding thu figure suggesting the mans body without following closely its outlines the dignity the tha stoicism and the bitterness of a vanquished leader are there an interesting feature of the unveiling ceremonies was addresses b by y dr charles eastman and affat laura af cornelius or wynnogene both full blooded indians indiana and direct do anta ants of black hawk |