Mystery of the sprouting ‘cairns’ at Suicide Cliff

Have you been to Suicide Cliff these past few months? If not, a visit to this historic spot is in order, not just to reacquaint one’s self with the panoramic view this promontory affords but to share in the mystery of small cairns that have been sprouting along the road leading up to the site.

Seemingly out of nowhere, these odd stone monuments made of small rocks and arranged into some kind of monoliths or mounds began sprouting in the area some months ago and are now most numerous in the last two-mile stretch going up the site.

Long-time island resident Ruth Tighe said the small cairns or mounds of stones are built along the pathway up to the historic site by individuals who just happen to go there on their walking exercise routines—not by government or any group and at no cost.

One such regular morning walker is credited for most of these stone creations. “I’m not even an artist. I do it primarily to make people wonder about them,” he said.

To perpetuate the mystery, this “small cairns builder” has asked that he not be identified in this story. “Of course, people who see me putting those know what I am doing,” but for those who don’t, especially new visitors, “they would wonder and think about them in a different way.”

This Colorado native, whose father came from Scotland to the United States, has been on Saipan since 1981 but “I’ve only been doing this for the past four months. I walk up there in the morning with my dogs.”

“Cairns are built as landmarks in Scotland but this is something that I didn’t even do in Colorado. I just thought of doing something that would make visitors think why these [cairns] are there,” he said.

“It’s good to know how people will interpret it and I know they will think about it in a different perspective. They may even see it as a religious thing or part of the local culture. I don’t know how they will react to it,” he added.

Though not Stonehenge by any stretch of imagination, the stone formations are quickly apparent as deliberate, precarious sculpture pieces that add a hint of mystery to the deserted stretch of road leading up to Suicide Cliff.

“At one point, there must be 15 or so all in view at the same time. They are intriguing; they look different depending on the angle from which they are viewed, and the time of the day and angle of the sun. They make a wonderful tourist attraction, as well as a welcome diversion to people slogging up the hill for their daily exercise,” according to Tighe in an e-mail.

But for the builder, “when I look at them I like the balance. You can see irregular shapes from different angles at different times of the day.”

“I don’t look it as art. I just do it for fun. So it’s better not to put my name in the newspaper. Don’t you think that this would add to the mystery of it?” says the cairn builder.

He is just glad that the bush cutters and green machine operators who regularly mow the grass in the area make sure that they don’t destroy his creations.

Tighe says the most important aspect of these creations is the beauty and the enhancement they bring to the surroundings.