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Show Ne National Monuments VO .... n 'fir A A" V, ' h A h-''''" - '" ; I j v.V . J-" '. '-r-;.; ' i"-"." -.-, ....... , f V v" V ' f - - - By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN nl ' 'v'K.Vi:i:i' Natl, mill .Monument .Mon-ument has been added to the I'nlted Slales Nil-tlonal Nil-tlonal park system and T?j-'V l'lilm t'anyoii National Vjj'A Monument has been well i sturled on Its wnv. Ilo-vK2 Ilo-vK2 venwerp lies tin both , shies of the boundary line betwivn Colorado and L'tuh near tho only spot In tho United States where four states touch, and Is reserved re-served because of Its prehistoric towers tow-ers and other Impressive masonry structures, l'aliu I'unyon Is In southern south-ern California and contains many tine Specimens of native American palms. r'rom now on much will appear In print about these two national monu-I monu-I inents which will be variously de-1 de-1 scribed us national parks, national forests, for-ests, national reservations and national na-tional monuments, with Indlscrim- lnate references to their control by , the national park service nnd the for-, for-, est service. So what follows seems i advisable In order to explain the com-i com-i plications w-hlrh congress neglects to j straighten out. j There are now nineteen national l parks with a total of ll,.'i72 square I miles. There Is one group of twenty-j twenty-j fix national monuments (Including the two new ones) containing about l.CHO : Kjuare miles. These i.ntlonnl parks I nnd monuments are "inder control of the national park service, a bureau of tiie Interior department. There are seven "national military and other" parks such ns Slilloh, Get-; Get-; tyshurg and Lincoln's Birthplace administered ad-ministered by the War department, which also controls two national monuments mon-uments I3Ig Hole Battlefield and Cabrlllo. There are the national forests, with an approximate area of too.lXJO.LMX) acres, under the charge of the forest service, a bureau of the Department of Agriculture. There Is a group of eleven nationnl monuments containing 510 square miles In charge of the forest for-est service. The national parks and the nntional forests are the exact opposite of each other. The national parks are wilderness wil-derness areas of majestic beauty set aside for purely recreational purposes public playgrounds for the people. The national forests are Industrial and commercial purely areas set apart for scientific lumbering for a profit and for grazing for a profit. Some day, It Is hoped, congress will straighten out the tangle by putting the national "military" and other parks," and all the national monuments monu-ments In charge of the national park service, leaving the national forests to the forest service. President Harding created the Ho-venweep Ho-venweep National Monument by proclamation proc-lamation March 2, under the act ot 190C for the preservation of American antiquities, and Dr. Hubert Work, the new secretary of the Interior, has now taken over the area In the name of the federal government. Hovenweep Is the Indian equivalent for "Deserted Valley," and contains about 300 acres. The Square Tower and the Twin Towers, Tow-ers, pictured herewith, can be comfortably com-fortably reached by automobile. Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, head of the bureau of ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, In-stitution, recommended the area to the President for a nntional monument. monu-ment. Doctor Fewkes says of the I area and Its prehistoric relics: "Hovenweep contains three groups of structures, the first group called the Square Tower cluster, Some of the finest of all the structures are In this group, the most picturesque of them being Hovenweep castle, the standing walls of which are over fifty feet high. A second group lies three miles to the north, In Holly canyon, and contains some of the most remarkable prehistoric prehis-toric masonry in the United Stales. v v v ' i eV--i x-f r ? Tho third group, situated on Cajon mesa, Is more difllcuit to reach. "The ruins In the Square Tower canyon can-yon may be described somewhat as follows: Itulns which have Indications Indica-tions of Inclosed circular klvas, with mural pilasters and banquettes, and closely approximated surrounding rooms. To this class belongs Hovenweep Hoven-weep castle, the Hovenweep pueblo and the so-called Unit Type house, the last named belonging to the simplest form of the pure type. Second, there are the ruins, the main feature of which Is the absence of a circular klva. The Twin Towers belong to this second or 'great house' type. "The largest of the ruins In this canyon Is Hovenweep house, situated at the head of the South Fork. Although Al-though many of Its walls have fallen, there still remains a semicircular great house with high walls conspicuous conspicu-ous for some distance. The ruin Is a pueblo of rectangular form belonging to the pure type, showing circular depressions de-pressions Identified as klvas, Imbedded In collections of square and rectangular rectangu-lar rooms, and massive walled buildings build-ings on the south side. The standing walls are remains of a conspicuous multi-chambered D-shaped tower. "Hovenweep castle, like Hovenweep house, has circular klvas compactly Imbedded In rectangular rooms arranged ar-ranged about them, Indicating the pure type of pueblo. The massive walled semicircular towers and great houses are combined with square rooms and klvas, Indicating that It Is distinguished by two sections, an eastern east-ern and a western, which, united, impart im-part to the whole the shape of the letter let-ter L. "Among the most Impressive buildings build-ings in Square Tower canyon are the Twin towers. They stand on the south side of the canyon on a rock Isolated by a cleft from the adjoining cliffs, the larger of the towers having an oval ground plan while the smaller Is horseshoe shaped. The pueblo known as Unit Type house Is one of the most Interesting ruins In the Hovenweep. It Is situated situ-ated on the very edge of the canyon of the North Fork, not far from where It begins. It Is the simplest form ot prehistoric pueblo of a pure type, made up of a centrally-placed circular ceremonial room. "In Holly canyon the towers may he approached on foot. The towers in this canyon show some of the finest masonry to be found on the reservation, reserva-tion, one of the finest of them, Holly tower, built on a great rock, its tip rising to a height level with the mesa. Then there is Holly House, which appears ap-pears to have been a pueblo of rectangular rec-tangular form. These are but a few of the historical structures that await the pleasure of the tourist. However, they are typical of the splendid relics thut are to be found In the Hovenweep Hoven-weep Monument." Palm Canyon National monument was created by act of congress with two strings tied to It. The act authorizes author-izes the secretary of the interior to set aside 1,000 acres in the county ol Riverside, California, "provided, that before such reservation and dedication dedica-tion as herein authorized shall become effective the consent and relinquishment relinquish-ment of the Agua Callente band of Indians In-dians shall first be obtained, eovejfcag Its right, title, and Interest In and n the lands herein described, and pays ruent therefor to the members of said band on a per capita basis, at a price to be agreed upon, when there shall be. donated for such purposes to the secretary sec-retary of the Interior a fund In an amount to be fixed and determined by him as sufficient to compensate the Indians therefor." That's the provision, verbatim et literatim. It certainly means that the promoters must raise the money to pay for the land. It apparently also means that the Indians shall willingly sell. Anyway, Uncle Sam isn't going to pay anything. It is said that a purchase pur-chase fund has been or will be raised. The Indians, however, are reportid to be unwilling to sell. Anyway, the area set aside wlut Its strings consists of three canyons With their desert approaches: Anditas, Murray and Palm. The center of things is the village of Palm Spring's, which is a flourishing winter and spring resort In "Our Araby" of the Colorado desert of southern California. Califor-nia. The purpose of the monument Is to preserve fine growths of a native American palm, the Washingtonlan fillfera. Palm canyon, most Impressive of the three, Is a pass rather than a canyon, about ten miles long, with Palm creek flowing through it. The palms are in groves. Fifty feet1 is their average height, with here and there one reaching reach-ing 70 feet. Andreas canyon also has its stream and Its palms with their picturesque "petticoats." Murray can-1 yon lies between the other two and Is much like them. j In early spring the Colorado desert here blossoms like the well-known rose, only more so in sand verbena, ' desert gold, lupine and primrose. "Keep off the desert" is the proper summer sign. |