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91. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Cliff Dwellers

THE CLIFF DWELLERS.–There were few more interesting exhibits at the World’s Fair than the home of the ancient Cliff Dwellers, shown in the imitation of Battle Rock Mountain, in the Mac Eimo Valley of Colorado. The curious structure was made of timbers, iron and staff, and stood near the Anthropological Building in the southeast corner of the grounds. The representation of the homes of the people whose history can be but guessed at was most complete, and, upon entering the structure through a cavern made to produce the effect of a canyon, it was difficult for the visitor to comprehend that he was not in the country of the people who, ages ago, peopled the mesas and tablelands of the Southwest. The houses, perched far up the cliffs in places apparently inaccessible, were reproduced on a scale of one-sixth their real size, but there were shown also portions of the genuine structures as they exist today. To all who had paid any attention to the discoveries made regarding these prehistoric Americans, who must have had dangerous enemies to guard against to have taken such extraordinary precautions, these houses possessed the greatest interest. ‘There was, in addition to the natural scene presented, a department of relics, showing remains of the Cliff Dwellers and specimens of their pottery, the implements they used and the weapons with which they armed themselves. Tortuous paths led to the summit of the mountain by which visitors might ascend and obtain a view of the surroundings. The exhibit ranked well among those which were not only curious, but taught something of the history of the continent.

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