OUR NATIONAL PARKS 
563 
above the tops of the pines of the sur- 
rounding forest. 
Their branches are not swayed nor are 
their trunks bent by the fiercest wind ; 
they stand calm, silent, and majestic — 
hoary hermits of the forest — unmoved 
and unaffected by the puny actions of 
the youthful world surrounding theix'. 
In the Yosemite Park the principal 
groves are the Tuolumne, the Merced, 
and Mariposa. In the last-named grove 
the road extends through the base of 
one of the trees, and a coach and four 
are regularly driven through this tunnel 
without danger or discomfort to the 
traveler. 
In the General Grant Park there is 
only one grove, but it is in the Sequoia 
Park that these trees are found in the 
greatest number. There are 12 groves 
in this park that contain altogether about 
12,000 sequoia greater than 10 feet in 
diameter. In the Giant Forest Grove 
there are 5,000 such trees, in the Muir 
Grove 3,000, and in the Garfield Grove 
2,500. _ 
A bill was introduced in the last Con- 
gress providing for enlarging Sequoia 
Park so that it would extend to the 
northern edge of the watershed of Kings 
River. In this area the general topog- 
raphy is similar to that in Yosemite. 
The streams cut deep gorges through 
the sierra, great masses of rock stand 
sentinel-like on the edges of the narrow 
valleys, and everywhere are forests of 
pine, fir, and cedar, and wild flowers, 
ferns, and mosses of superb beauty. The 
boundary proposed is a natural one, be- 
ing the ridge line of numerous mountain 
•chains. 
Practically all the new territory that 
would be acquired is public land of little 
value commercially and of great value 
for park purposes. Its natural beauties 
are great and varied ; it forms a natural 
game preserve, and within its borders 
are some of the finest trout streams in 
world. 
the; mesa VERDE NATIONAE PARK 
In southwestern Colorado the dwell- 
ings of the extinct race of cliff-dwellers 
are preserved in the Mesa Verde Na- 
tional Park, established by the act of 
June 29, 1906. In the 42,376 acres in- 
cluded in this park there are about 400 
cliff-houses of varying size. The period 
at which these clifl: dwellings were occu- 
pied and the cause of the depopulation 
are unknown, but there is no doubt that 
ti.e buildings are prehistoric. 
Unfortunately, much of the valuable 
and interesting pottery and other relics 
were carried off from these ruins before 
the park was established. Since the cre- 
ation of the park three of the greatest 
of the ruins — Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree 
House, and Balcony House — have been 
repaired and the rubbish of centuries 
has been removed. The tottering walls 
have been braced and reinforced with 
steel and concrete, the underground 
chambers have been cleaned out and re- 
paired, and drains have been built in 
order to carry off the storm waters and 
prevent further erosion. 
The most impressive ruin in the park is 
Cliff Palace, a structure about 300 feet 
in length, built under the roof rock of 
an enormous cave. This ruin contains 
146 living rooms, including numerous 
large chambers used for assembly rooms 
for the purpose of worship or council. 
Spruce Tree House is the next largest 
ruin. The curved front wall of this 
structure measures 218 feet and the ruin 
is 89 feet deep. The ruin contains 114 
secular rooms, eight subterranean kivas, 
and a roofless kiva, sometimes called a 
warrior's room. 
Many of the dwelling chambers are 
three stories high, several filling the in- 
terval from the floor to the roof of the 
cave. It is estimated that the population 
of this ruin was 350 persons. Balcony 
House is a smaller ruin, containing about 
25 rooms. 
Little is known of the vanished race 
that dwelt in these inaccessible canyons. 
That they were small-sized is shown by 
the dwarf-like mummies that have been 
found in their dwellings. They evidently 
lived in communities for mutual protec- 
tion, access to their dwellmgs being ob- 
tained by following narrow trails along 
the cliffs or by small tunnels cut through 
the rock. 
