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Glimpses of our National Monuments

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  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-10717.jpg
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  • 60 OUR NATIONAL MONUMENTS ancestors of the man who raised it, as these Indians w?ere in the habit of burning their dead. The bones were first wrapped -in a new blanket and then incased in the poles. The Hydahs did not burn their dead but buried them, usually in the butt of a great cedar tree raised on end. Sometimes, however, the burials were made at the base of a totem pole, and when some of the poles now in the monument were removed from their original locations the remains of several persons were discovered. Several of these totem poles are unequalled as relics of the work of the savage genealogists of the Alaskan tribes. They are of red cedar, gayly painted. The Interior Department is making every effort to preserve the poles, having the carvings restored by Indian workmen where vandalism has occurred, and repainting them as nearly as possible in their original colors. Another interesting feature of the monument is the witch tree, an object of awe and veneration to present-day Indians. It was here that the Indians of other days held their weird trials for witchcraft, and on this tree the victims were hanged. The monument contains some beautiful forests, and upon entering it the road plunges at once into the shadows of the trees. Sitka National Monument is reached by road from the town of Sitka, a mile away, which is the port of call for steamships from Seattle. Peter Trierschield, located in the town of Sitka, is custodian of the monument. TUMACACORI NATIONAL MONUMENT This monument embraces 10 acres of land in Santa Cruz County, Ariz., about 49 miles south of Tucson and 19 miles north of Nogales. It was created September 15, 1908. Upon the tract is located a very ancient Spanish mission ruin, dating it is thought from the latter part of the seventeenth century, built by Jesuit priests from Spain and operated by them for nearly a hundred years. The most authentic information is that this mission, known as the Mission San Jose de Tumacacori, was founded by the Jesuit priest, missionary, and explorer, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino about 1691. After the year 1769 priests belonging to the order of Franciscan Fathers took charge of the mission and repaired its crumbling walls, maintaining peaceable possession thereof for about 60 years. In the early part of the nineteenth century the mission was attacked by Apache Indians, who drove the priests away and disbanded the peaceable Papago Indians residing in the vicinity of the mission. When found by Americans, about the year 1850, the mission was in a condition of ruin.
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