Show Famed Mastodon Pictograph Blasted From Face of Cliff 1 j 1 I I I i I 1 J Indian Picture Drawing That Attracted Interest of Scientists the World Over Destroyed by Vandals The famed pictograph of a mastodon carved high on the canyon anyon walls waIls by a cliff dweller or r Indian Jn n the past ages and located about five miles mUes below Moab in the Colorado river can can- yon yen ron is no more It has been blasted lasted into bits by some fiend who probably considers himself a i man but who unquestionably is i lower In mentality and principle principle prin- prin ciple than any beast of the jun jun- gle le Discovery of the dastardly act was made Monday when Harry arry Reed Moab photographer photograph- photograph er r and Ra Ralph ph A. A Badger retired re- re tired red broker and amateur photographer pho pho- of Salt Lake City hiked liked down the river to photograph photograph photo- photo graph raph the famous hieroglyphic Arriving at the cliff which is isome some ome distance above the bed of ofle the le river they were amazed to find nd that the drawing had been obliterated by a charge of ex ex- plosive The entire face of the cliff iff had been blown away alWay and anda a large hole blasted into the thede side de of the rock wall where the drawing had been Only a pile of f rubble marked the spot that had lad once been a shrine for sd- sd and students of prehistoric oric man Tracks Iracks near the scene indicated indi- indi the explosion had occurred oc oc- since the heavy snow of six ix weeks ago and before the thelast thelast last ast rainfall two weeks ago aga Sheriff J J. J B. B is gating g and it is hoped will uncover un un- cover over a clue due as to the identity of the he guilty party or parties The pictograph has aroused an n immense amount of specula specula- tion among paleontologists and archeologists and had been visited visited vis vis- by some of the leading scientists scientists sd of the nation It had been photographed hundreds o of ot times tunes The mastodon a species of prehistoric elephant became extinct extinct ex ex- approximately Y years ago and this fact gave rise to speculation as to the age of the pictograph Since most western hieroglyphics and pictographs pictographs pic- pic are arc believed to have been the work of ot Indians in the past one thousand years the question arose as to how the aboriginal aboriginal ab ab- ab original artist got his idea for forthe forthe forthe the drawing Dr tL Lwrence en-ce en B. B Gould at atone atone atone one time with the geology department department de de- de- de of the University of Michigan who is a famous explorer ex cx- and is now president of Carleton college Minn was one of the first men mento mento mento to visit visit the pictograph He wrote an art Interesting article on the subject that was published in hi ina hia a scientific magazine and later appeared in pamphlet form fonn This article aroused a great deal of scientific interest Why any person should be so depraved so utterly devoid of civic prude and common decency decency de de- de as to destroy this remarkable remarkable remarkable remar remar- kable example of the handiwork handiwork handi handi- work of an ancient people is beyond all comprehension Usually Usually Usually Us Us- when a crime is commUted committed committed commit commit- ted there is a motive that can an anbe anbe be understood But in this case one cannot conceive of a mind so debased as to think of perpetrating perpetrating per per- this damnable act of hoodlumism |