PARK AND CEM ETERY. 
21 
PRIMITIVE LIFE ON THE 
PALISADES. 
F. M. L. Tonetti, Sc. 
The old style freak monument that 
insisted on an exact and literal sym- 
bolism of the occupation of the de- 
ceased, is gradually passing from our 
midst, but an occasional example is 
even yet erected in the small country 
cemeteries where modern regulations 
or refined taste do not forbid. 
We have shown in these pages from 
time to time many of this class of tomb- 
stones, such as the literal reproduction 
of the engineer’s engine surmounting 
his monument; the marble reproduction 
of the carpenter’s house; the horse- 
man’s horse or the blacksmith’s anvil, 
that serve to lend a touch of variety 
and humor to the sober precincts of the 
cemetery. 
A Circus Tent in Stone 
One of the most novel of the recent 
freak monuments that have come to our 
notice is the Bedford stone reproduc- 
tion of a circus tent and pole erected 
by the Ringling Brothers at Wahpeton, 
N. D., in memory of three of their em- 
ployees who were killed by lightning. It 
will be noticed that the die of the monu- 
ment is an exact reproduction in min- 
iature of a tent, and the shaft of the 
center tent pole. Even the wrinkles 
and ropes have been carefully wrought 
FREAK 
MONUMENTS 
out on the tent and the mallet and pegs 
that hold the ropes are given place on 
the front of the die. The tent pole is 
shown as broken at the top and ropes, 
tackle and chains are wound realistically 
around it. 
A Nigger-head Vase Monument 
Another of our illustrations shows an 
odd piece of work which was construct- 
ed by W. L. Dye, of Marion, Iowa. It 
is variously called an electric fountain, 
flower vase, porch pier or monument, 
and 1 is made of the Iowa boulder, or 
nigger-head as commonly called. The 
base is 1-4 x 1-4 square ; the columns 
0-6 x 0-6 round cap 1-6 x 1-6 ; pedestal 
0-10 x 0-2, vase 0-9 at the bottom, 1-1 
at the top, and three inches thick. There 
is a hole through the center from the 
bottom of the vase to the bottom of the 
base, for water pipe and electric wires 
to be run through. There are 54 dif- 
ferent colored stones in the construc- 
tion, and approximately 5,000 pieces 
varying in size from the end of a finger 
to the largest piece which is 0-5 x 0-6. 
It stands 4-8 from the bottom of the 
base to the top of the flower vase. The 
CIRCUS TENT IN BEDFORD STONE; 
MEMORIAL TO RINGLING EMPLOY- 
EES AT WAHPETON, N. D. 
VASE-MONUMENT OF NIGGER-HEAE 
BOULDERS AT MARION, IA. 
date, 1911, the star, and the horse shoe 
are all cut out of the same kind of ma- 
terial as the rest of the fountain. All 
separate parts are re-inforced with iron. 
The Cliff Dwellers in Sculpture 
While scarcely to be classed as a 
freak as the ter-m is applied to the oth- 
er two examples shown here the re- 
markable piece of sculpture illustrated 
is so bizarre and daring in conception 
as to remove it from the conventional 
field of sculpture. 
This study of aboriginal life identi- 
fied with the rock walled banks of the 
Hudson River is a remarkable group 
of sculpture, called “Primitive Life of 
the Palisades,” just completed by Fran- 
cis M. L. Tonetti, the New York sculp- 
tor. The Hudson always had a 
strong hold upon his imagination, and 
he has a summer home on the west 
bank near Piermont. The group is 
twenty-feet in height. It represents a 
portion of the cliffs of trap rock, down 
which an Indian hunter with a deer 
thrown over his back is making his 
way, while at another point may be 
seen another of the copper skinned 
race drinking from a spring which 
trickles through the rock. The figures 
are of heroic size and are modelled 
with sculptural force and grace of line. 
