!
IN THESE days of advanced travel
it seems strange to record the dis
covery of a gorge crowded with
natural wonders within a few
hours’ motor ride of a busy city, says
London Graphic. Yet such is the story
of Red Rock canyon, in southern Cali
fornia, an enchanted spot, so rich in
its unique beauty, and of such scien
tific import that the president of the
United States is asked by some of
the leading men and organizations of
the Pacific coast to set it apart as a
national monument. This romantic,
rainbowT-hued gorge contains a wealth
of amazing structures reared and
carved and even painted by the ele
ments, and yet comparable only to the
classics of ancient and modern archi
tecture. Its fossil beds, practically un
touched, give promise of paleontolog
ical treasure, and recent finds in its
caves Interest ethnologists.
The canyon is a gash in the south
ern end of the Sierra Nevada moun
tains. Its mouth opens upon the
northwestern edge of the Mojave des
ert. It is 126 miles from Los Angeles.
For nearly a century the prosaic pio
neers who passed that remote way paid
no heed to its vivid charm. It was
the decision to extend the state high
way from Los Angeles to Bishop that
led to the discovery of the beauties
of this gorge. Until the surveyors re
turned and reported the existence of
strange and wonderful rock formations
no one knew of their presence. This
1s all the more remarkable when we
remember the American’s love of
travel, and that these are the days
of railways and motorcars. Shortly
now the canyon with Its many win
ders will be on the main trail of civ
ilization, and tens of thousands of
tourists and others will soon admire
it with rapture and astonishment. The
new roadway approaches to within 50
feet of the scenic marvels which the
government is petitioned to protect and
preserve.
Miracles ot i-orm ana color.
That section of the canyon which
•contains the Inspiring works embraces
a little more than four square miles, is
several miles removed from the desert,
and lies at an altitude of 8,000 feet.
On approach from either direction a
turn brings the walled-in miracles of
form and color suddenly into view—an
entrancing picture; pillars and col
umns, plain and fluted and chased;
pilasters and colonnades, tiny and ti
tanic, tier upo^ tier, mile after mile,
far skyward ; arcades, balustrades, cor
ridors; temples, castles, cathedrals,
towers, domes, spires, sphinxes, gar
goyles—all perfectly molded and ex
quisitely adorned by the lord of crea
tion. |
i Moreover, they are untouched and
unma#f*ed as yet by the blundering
vandal hand of man; a buried city,
an acropolis, and scores of other fan
cies become realities. On an eminence
at the canyon’s head stands the Tem
ple of the Sun. an ijnpressive gray
pile, 125 feet high, approached through
a series of terraced entranceways,
with partially crumbled walls forming
an elliptical inclosure approximately
150 feet in diameter—an ideal amphi
theater. Those who look upon this
temple And it difficult to believe that
it is not human handiwork. Near by,
dominating the mystic region, rises the
massive Sentinel Tower, imposing
rather than beautiful. It is apparent
ly harder and more substantial than
Its neighbor. Geologists say it has
held its commanding bulk aloft for
thousands of centuries. The walls are
pinkish gray, and the ponderous flinty
-capstones a brilliant red. A mile di
agonally opposite is the colossal pile
known as the Acropolis. This Is, per
ihaps, the crowning feature. More than
450 feet high and 1,000 feet long and
isolemnly aloof, it has been likened to
<ithe Athenian Acropolis because of a
marked resemblance, and as well to
the mammoth temple ruins of Baalbec
in northern Syria. Seen from any angle
it is mysterious, awe-compelling, cer
tain to leave a lasting imprint on the
mind of all observers.
The Closed Cathedral.
Still is another masterpiece In the
Closed Cathedral, a study in magnifi
cent coloring, so gorgeous and yet so
softly harmonious that no wielder of
the brush dares hope to equal it. It
is of tremendous size, with an en
trance 25 feet high and 15 feet wide,
solidly blocked at a depth of 12 feet.
Pure white, deep blue, ' yellow, red,
green, and all the intervening shades
figure in the decorative scheme, and
in places give the suggestion of
stained-glass windows. The whole as
pect is of antiquity, enhanced by a
crack or fault diagonally through the
front—evidence of a slide before the
processes of erosion began. The ca
thedral effect is so realistic that one
Involuntarily listens for bells to In
tone the hour or call to prayers.
The Buried City, where masses ol
burned clay broken up like common
bricks have crashed down and crushed
and covered some of the best examples
of pagodas, is a somewhat melancholy
sight, reminiscent of Pompeii. But
there remain rare pagodas and dainty
sculptures, and a gracefully curved
parapet on the churchlike rock in the
foreground. The Buried City occupies
six or eight acres. At this point the
wall Is 500 feet in height. The slide
came on the under side of the top
stratum.
Rising nearly 200 feet above the
level floor in a deep “pocket” of the
canyon is a stately columnar entrance,
lately christened the Royal Gateway.
It leads into a sculptured foyer’ex
tending back 600 feet, and having the
characteristics of a superb art gallery
in which almost any sculptured figure
sought may be found. In the center*
a considerable distance from the open
ing, stands a group of five columns
on a tall base, all white as marble.
Four hundred feet up on the hard, cor
rugated gray slope where the moun
tains rise beyond is perched majes- *
ticall.v a castellated lordly palace, the
Citadel, which the imagination swiftly
associates with some inaccessible old
world height overlooking sapphire
tides. It is a castle of dreams.
Pillars of Hercules.
The gigantic Pillars of Hercules,
dwarfing those of the Temple of
Bacchus, symbolize enduring strength
and defy time. Light gray and red,
with supporting half-lengths at regu
lar Intervals, each with Its ornate
abatus, they seemingly hold up the
Sierra. The White Chapel is what
the name implies. At each corner the
walls are buttressed like the old Cali
fornia mission. It resembles in gen
eral form some of Mexico’s ancient
churches. Unlike them, however, it is
dainty chased and decorated, with 1
many niches containing appropriate
ofo fll no
Geologically Red Rock—so named be-;
cause that color predominates—dates
back to the later Tertiary period, when
the canyon evidently was a swamp
teeming with fauna. Today it Is a fos
sil field virtually unexplored and likely
to yield abundantly. Cursory search
has disclosed remains of camels,
horses, elephants, mastodons and other
mammalia. At the base of the Tem
ple of the Sun William Mulholland,
chief engineer of the Los Angeles
aqueduct, recently picked up the pet
rified heel-bone of the largest sabre
toothed tiger ever found. Caves
abound, and in one of these was dis
covered a collection of Indian pottery
worth thousands of dollars. It con
sisted of 47 pieces, placed In orderly
fashion against the walls, and covered
inches deep with dust. Some of the
pieces were remakably thin and almost
glazed, pigments having been applied
before’ burning. The Shoshones and ;
Piutes were the Indian tribes that for
merly ranged here, but this pottery
now discovered is far superior to any
of their known work.
Visit Graves of Hero Dead.
The British church army has organ
ized a series of personally conducted
visiting parties to soldiers’ graves in
France. The sight of widows, fathers
and mothers, some bent with age, .
burdened with floral tributes to “the -
glorious dead” starting out from Char- *■
ing Cross or Victoria stations on their
sad pilgrimage is hardly less depress- <
ing than were the scenes attending the
arrival of tfie hospital trains in war
times. Through the Churcii artny, rela
tives of men who died in France, but
who may be unable to meet expenses
incidental to such a trip, are provided
free tickets.
Drowned Out.
“Is Chiggersville planning a civic
center?” I
“No,” replied Squire Witherbee.
“We haven’t gotten that far along yet,
but there was some talk of startin’
a community sing.”
“Didn’t the project go through?”
“No. The village basso, Sam Job
bles, who runs a fish market down on
Main street, sang so loud that every
body else got disgusted an’ quit, so
we sorter let the matter drop.”—Bir
mingham Age-Herald;
Wireless for Venezuela.
So great is the propagandist power
of the modern press that the wonders
of the wireless are commonly taken
for granted by the veriest child. Yet
the resolution of the Venezuelan gov-'
eminent to insfall a wireless apparatus
In the environs of Caracas, the capital
city, was of such tremendous impor
| tance and news value, that it occupied
! a good part of the first page of the
Universal on October 16, the account
being printed in large type and “fea
J tured.”
____ _4
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Regular Sailings Between • Seattle,
Ketchikan, Juneau, Cordova, Valdez,
Ellamar, Liscum, Latouche, Seward
FROM SEATTLE- SAILS SOUTH
FEB. 10. ALAMEDA . FEB. 18
FEB. 20. ALASKA .FEB. 28
FEB'29.«•— ALAMEDA .c..MARCH 8
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Frequent sailings of freighters carrying explosives.
This schedule subject to change without notice.
F. B. TRACY, Agent
|l—t ^PACIFIC STEAMSHIP r.OMPAMYn iT
(Alaska—Washington—Califernla ALASKA ROUTE
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OFFICE EMPRESS BUILDING j
WEST BOUND SOUTH' BOUND
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FEB. 15. WATSON .*.....Feb. 28
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Three Sailings per Week from Seattle for San Francisco, Los An
geles and 8an Diego. For further Information call
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Phones: Office 223, Residence 223—2 rings. „ |
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CALEB CORSER Superintendent
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