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PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION
PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION
Because of the completion of a new driveway along the Rim of the Grand Canyon, and of a new trail to the Colorado River, a second edition of this book is deemed necessary. These improvements, which have recently been made by the Santa Fe Railway, are known as Hermit Rim Road and Hermit Trail. The first, said to be the most unique road in the world, is nine miles long on the brink of the Canyon, and the other, a wide and safe pathway down the south wall. The contents of the volume has been revise
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CHAPTER I. The Grand Canyon Of Arizona
CHAPTER I. The Grand Canyon Of Arizona
Only One Grand Canyon. The ancient world had its seven wonders, but they were all the work of man. The modern world of the United States has easily its seven wonders—Niagara, the Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Natural Bridge, the Mammoth Cave, the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon of Arizona—but they are all the work of God. It is hard, in studying the seven wonders of the ancients, to decide which is the most wonderful, but now that the Canyon is known all men unite in affirming that the greate
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CHAPTER II. On The Grand Canyon Railway To El Tovar
CHAPTER II. On The Grand Canyon Railway To El Tovar
History of the Grand Canyon Railway. The Grand Canyon Railway leaves the main line of the Santa Fe at Williams, Arizona. It is an integral part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System, that operates its own lines between Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Though surveys had been made years ago from Ash Fork, Williams and Flagstaff, it was left for the Tusayan Development Company of New York, who owned a group of copper mines located twenty miles south of the head of Bright Angel
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CHAPTER III. El Tovar And Its Equipments
CHAPTER III. El Tovar And Its Equipments
Location of El Tovar. The West has several unique and picturesque hotels, but I question whether it possesses one more so than that bearing the name of the gallant Spanish cavalier, Coronado's lieutenant, the Ensign Tovar. Built upon the very edge of the Canyon, in latitude 35 degrees 55 minutes 30 seconds, it is the arc of a rude curve of an amphitheatre, the walls of which are slightly higher than the elevation of the hotel. Its location affords the most intimate views of the great gorge, attr
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CHAPTER IV. The Grand Canyon At El Tovar
CHAPTER IV. The Grand Canyon At El Tovar
If guests at the Canyon will take this book in hand and, line by line, read this chapter, just as they would listen to the talk of a friend in whose knowledge they confide, they will leave the Canyon with fewer erroneous conceptions than are quite common now. El Tovar Amphitheatre. The first thing to be observed is that El Tovar rests in the centre of the curve of a wide crescent, named El Tovar amphitheatre, the arms of which extend out into the heart of the Canyon, and shut in the scenery from
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CHAPTER V. Three Ways Of Spending One Day At The Canyon
CHAPTER V. Three Ways Of Spending One Day At The Canyon
There are many who can take only a hasty trip to the Canyon. This is to be deplored, as the Grand Canyon is one of the sights that cannot be fully comprehended in a day; and yet, if one has but a day, to get merely one good long glimpse at it is worth all the effort and expense that it may cost, even to the least wealthy of its visitors. And while it cannot be too strongly urged that all who come prepare themselves to stay at least a week—a month is far better—I offer a few practical suggestions
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CHAPTER VI. How To Spend Two To Five Days At El Tovar
CHAPTER VI. How To Spend Two To Five Days At El Tovar
Suggestions for Two Days. Suppose the visitor to the Canyon arrives in the morning on an early train and must leave the next night; how can he best fill in his time? In the morning of the first day he should take the popular drives to Yavapai and Hopi Points, and the afternoon can be spent in driving out on the Hermit Rim Road to the head of Hermit Trail, with a stop, returning, to view the sunset from Hopi Point. The second day can be well spent in going down Bright Angel Trail. Suggestions for
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CHAPTER VII. How Fully To See And Know The Grand Canyon Region
CHAPTER VII. How Fully To See And Know The Grand Canyon Region
Advantages of Camping Trips. The suggestions in this chapter are mainly for the strenuous and strong, though this by no means excludes members of the gentle sex. Many women and girls—some who have never before been on horseback—have made these extended trips, even those that have required weeks of rough camping. For detailed particulars of the scenery, those interested are referred to the various chapters devoted to the respective trails. The transportation department at El Tovar is under the co
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CHAPTER VIII. From El Tovar Down The Bright Angel Trail
CHAPTER VIII. From El Tovar Down The Bright Angel Trail
The Start. Leaving El Tovar promptly at 8:30 A. M., fortified with a good breakfast, and suitably clothed, the trail party in a few minutes reaches the head of Bright Angel Trail near Bright Angel Camp. For three-quarters of a mile this trail descends, zigzagging back and forth until the top of the cross-bedded sandstone is reached. Faulting in the Sandstones. Here the visitor should not fail to observe the faulting in the sandstone, there being a difference in the two sides of about two hundred
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CHAPTER IX. To Grand View And Down The Grand View Trail
CHAPTER IX. To Grand View And Down The Grand View Trail
To Grand View. One may go by regular stages or by private conveyance from El Tovar to Grand View. The distance to the hotel is fourteen miles. The drive is through the glens and winding roads of the Coconino Forest, with junipers, pines, sage-brush, atriplex and the beautifully flowered Cowania Mexicana, or mountain mahogany, commonly known as the quinine tree, abounding on every hand. Though comparatively close to the Canyon, one seldom catches a glimpse of it, for the country slopes away from
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CHAPTER X. A New "Rim" Road And Trail Into The Scenic Heart Of The Canyon
CHAPTER X. A New "Rim" Road And Trail Into The Scenic Heart Of The Canyon
Large corporate bodies do not always move with the same rapidity as do personal enterprises where one man controls. Many minds and many interests often have to be consulted. When, however, the way is clear, a corporate body, with its vast power, can accomplish in a short time what individuals could never compass in several successive lifetimes. These remarks are exemplified in the action of the Santa Fe Railway Company at the Grand Canyon. It has taken several years for things to properly shape
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CHAPTER XI. From El Tovar To Bass Camp And Down The Bass Trail
CHAPTER XI. From El Tovar To Bass Camp And Down The Bass Trail
Bass Station and Bright Angel Wash. Leaving El Tovar (elevation six thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet), the road winds for over, five miles through the Coconino Forest, mainly following the railway track until Bass Station appears (elevation six thousand four hundred and seventeen feet). The road now enters a narrow defile known as the Bright Angel Wash, giving one a fine opportunity to learn the singular drainage system of the Canyon plateau, which, as has been explained elsewhere, is a
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CHAPTER XII. Across The Grand Canyon To Point Sublime
CHAPTER XII. Across The Grand Canyon To Point Sublime
Point Sublime. Point Sublime is one of the most important promontories on the north rim. It was here that the geologist-poet, Clarence Dutton, wrote many of his descriptions of Canyon scenery. He says: "The supreme views are to be obtained at the extremities of the long promontories, which jut out between the recesses far into the gulf. Sitting upon the edge we contemplate the most sublime and awe-inspiring spectacle in the world. The length of canyon revealed clearly and in detail at Point Subl
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CHAPTER XIII. How The Canyon Was Formed*
CHAPTER XIII. How The Canyon Was Formed*
* This chapter, while in manuscript, was read by Dr. Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and formerly Director of the United States Geological Survey, and also by Professor Matthis, of the Survey. It may therefore be accepted as a fairly accurate and authoritative presentation of the geological conditions existent at the Canyon, with their explanations, as accepted by the leading scientists of to-day. The beginning of land. In the long ago centuries, when the world was "
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CHAPTER XIV. The Canyon—Above And Below
CHAPTER XIV. The Canyon—Above And Below
The Canyon Rim. There are several rather remarkable and surprising points of difference between the Canyon on the rim, and the Canyon in its depths. Above, the whole Canyon region, save during the rainy season, is waterless, and while not barren, owing to the growths made possible by winters' snows and summers' rains, it is a veritable desert as far as water, whether in streams, creeks, rivulets or springs, is concerned. Drainage of the Canyon. On both sides of the Canyon, all the surface water
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CHAPTER XV. The Hopi House
CHAPTER XV. The Hopi House
The Harvey Collection at El Tovar. In the Hopi House, opposite the El Tovar entrance, is installed one of the most interesting Indian collections of the world,—a collection that would grace the National Museum of Great Britain, France or Germany. The more intelligent the visitor to the Grand Canyon, the more he will find he can learn in this wonderful storehouse provided for his instruction and recreation. The Hopi House. The building itself is a perfect model of a block in the village of Oraibi
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CHAPTER XVI. Visiting Indians At El Tovar
CHAPTER XVI. Visiting Indians At El Tovar
It is seldom that the traveler will find less than three Indian tribes of distinct family represented at or near El Tovar. In the Hopi House, as is shown, there are Hopis and Navahos, and in their camp near by,there will generally be found a band of Havasupais from Havasu (Cataract) Canyon, making baskets or dressing buckskin. To most people an Indian is an Indian, yet there is such a wonderful difference between these three peoples, in features, language, habits, religion, social customs and li
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CHAPTER XVII. The Navaho And Hopi Blanket Weavers
CHAPTER XVII. The Navaho And Hopi Blanket Weavers
What a marvelous art is that of weaving, and how much the human race of today owes to the patient endeavors of the "little brown woman" of the past for the perfection to which she brought this,—one of the most primitive of the arts. Blanketry was a necessary outcome of basketry. The use of flexible twigs for baskets readily suggested the use of pliable fibres for textiles; and there is little question that almost simultaneously with the first rude baskets the first textile fabrics made their app
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CHAPTER XVIII. Pueblo And Navaho Pottery And Silverware
CHAPTER XVIII. Pueblo And Navaho Pottery And Silverware
Primitive Processes. The primitive industries of a primitive people are always interesting to the student. They are more; they often reveal more than appears at first sight. We, with our present knowledge of improved mechanical methods, stand and watch an Indian silversmith or potter, and we laugh at the crudity of the methods employed, naturally comparing them with our own. But this is not the proper way to look upon the work of the aborigine. Rather let the gazer imagine himself without any of
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CHAPTER XIX. The Hopis And Their Snake Dance
CHAPTER XIX. The Hopis And Their Snake Dance
A Hopi Religious Rite. Interesting among Indians, because of their unique houses on the summits of high mesas, reached only by precipitous trails, the Hopi of northern Arizona always have possessed peculiar fascination on account of their thrilling religious rite, known as the Snake Dance, an account of which follows.* * This Sacred Dance and the life of the Hopi Indians is more fully set out in the author's larger work "The Indians of the Painted Desert Region". The Painted Desert. The region t
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CHAPTER XX. An Historic Trail Across The Grand Canyon Country
CHAPTER XX. An Historic Trail Across The Grand Canyon Country
The Old Hopi Trail. One of the most noted aboriginal trails in the western United States, is the old Hopi (generally called Moki) trail, leading from the seven villages of the Hopi and their agricultural offshoot, Moenkopi, to the Canyon of the Havasupais. This was the trail followed by Lieut. Frank Hamilton Cushing—the noted ethnologist when he visited these Kuhne kiwes while he was living at the interesting pueblo of Zuni, in New Mexico. I have made the whole trip from Hopiland to the Havasupa
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CHAPTER XXI. The Navaho And His Desert Home
CHAPTER XXI. The Navaho And His Desert Home
The Navaho Reservation. To see the Navaho in the Hopi House making silverware, or watch his wife weaving blankets, is one thing. To see him on his native heath in the heart of the Painted Desert—is another. With the conveniences of travel now made possible by the excellent equipments of the El Tovar transportation department, any visitor who is not afraid of a strenuous trip may now visit these people with the minimum of discomfort. Indeed, the Navahos and Hopis may be seen together, on the one
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CHAPTER XXII. From El Tovar To The Havasupai Indians And Their Wonderful Cataract Canyon Homes
CHAPTER XXII. From El Tovar To The Havasupai Indians And Their Wonderful Cataract Canyon Homes
Havasu Canyon. The Grand Canyon has two important tributary canyons. The most important of these is the Havasu Chic-i-mi-mi (canyon of the blue water). This is where the Havasupai Indians live. First White Visitor. The first white man to visit the Havasu, as far as we know, was Padre Francisco Garces, of whom I have written in another chapter. Four times he made long journeys into the interior, visiting a large number of Indian tribes. Among these were the Wallapais and the Havasupais. Garces' D
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CHAPTER XXIII. The First Discoverers And Inhabitants Of The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXIII. The First Discoverers And Inhabitants Of The Grand Canyon
A Barren Waste of Rock. While the Grand Canyon, its vast system of tributaries, and its plateau were being uplifted from the primeval ocean, it consisted of nothing but a wild, barren waste of rock. Not a tree, not a shrub, not a flower, not a blade of grass relieved the monotony of the wilderness of rocks which emerged from the great Eocene sea. Not a lizard, horned toad, centipede, tarantula, chuckwalla, campamouche,* frog, tree-toad, turtle or snake was to be found on the long stretching area
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CHAPTER XXIV. El Tovar And Cardenas And The Modern Discovery Of The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXIV. El Tovar And Cardenas And The Modern Discovery Of The Grand Canyon
The Spanish Conquistadores. Few romances are more fascinating than the history of the early exploitations of this continent by the Spanish conquistadores. Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, Narvaez, Coronado are names to conjure with. The wonderful successes of Cortes naturally excited the jealous envy and cupidity of his compeers. In his earlier experiences, Cortes had aroused the anger of Velasquez, Governor of Cuba. Cortes, in one of his many acts of gallantry, had betrayed the sister of Velasquez's mi
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CHAPTER XXV. Fray Marcos And Garces, And Their Connection With The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXV. Fray Marcos And Garces, And Their Connection With The Grand Canyon
Hotel and Stations Named for Spanish Priests. At Williams, the gateway to the Canyon, the Santa Fe Railway Company recently has erected a typical Mission style hotel, to which the name of Fray Marcos has been given. Here Canyon visitors who stop off between trains find excellent accommodations. At Needles, California, on the Colorado River, is another reinforced concrete building, named after another Franciscan priest, Francisco Garces. Both Fray Marcos and El Garces are managed by Fred Harvey,
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CHAPTER XXVI. Powell's And Other Explorations Of The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXVI. Powell's And Other Explorations Of The Grand Canyon
In the chapters on Tovar and Cardenas, Fray Marcos and Garces, I have given some idea of the history of the Spanish explorations of the Grand Canyon region. In this chapter is presented an account of the brave work done by later explorers, until now the Grand Canyon and the whole canyon system of the Colorado River is as well known as the course of many a less dangerous stream. Early American Trappers. Who can know whether any of those daring souls, the trappers of the earliest days of American
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CHAPTER XXVII. Indian Legends About The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXVII. Indian Legends About The Grand Canyon
Legendary lore is generally interesting. It reveals the mental qualities of the people who make and believe it, and also shows how the child mind of the race acts. For the aboriginal makers of legends are the child minds of the race in active operation. There are many legends attaching to this great Canyon. One is told by Major Powell in his "Explorations" as follows: Legend of the River's Birth. "Long ago, there was a great and wise chief, who mourned the death of his wife and would not be comf
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CHAPTER XXVIII. The Colorado River From The Mountains To The Sea
CHAPTER XXVIII. The Colorado River From The Mountains To The Sea
Perhaps no river in the world has so remarkable a life-history as has the Colorado. It is formed of two great streams, the Green and the Grand. Both have their rise in the far-away mountains, in banks of virgin and purest snow. Hence the waters of the Colorado at their source are pure and sweet. Yet such is the vehement force of this river, such its haste to reach the ocean, that it cuts down and carries with it millions of tons annually of sand and silt, rock debris and dirt until, when it reac
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CHAPTER XXIX. Climate And Weather At The Grand Canyon
CHAPTER XXIX. Climate And Weather At The Grand Canyon
Difference between Rim and Canyon. The climate at the Grand Canyon refuses to be defined in a paragraph. What is true of the country along the rim is not true of the banks of the river itself. The midway region, half-way down the trail, likewise has a climate all its own. For as you go down in summer, the thermometer goes up; and as you come up, in winter, the thermometer goes down. The difference of nearly a mile in altitude between the surface of the Colorado River and the rim of the Canyon is
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CHAPTER XXX.The Grand Canyon For Pleasure, Rest And Recuperation
CHAPTER XXX.The Grand Canyon For Pleasure, Rest And Recuperation
Unchanging Value of the Canyon. Many people think of the Grand Canyon as a show place, which, once seen, does not need to be revisited. Never was there a greater mistake, for its resources are inexhaustible, even though one visit it annually for a lifetime. The business man invests in stocks and bonds. A panic may wipe out their values and ruin follow in a night-time. But a visit to the Grand Canyon is an investment that yields interest manifold and compounded, as long as the faculty of memory r
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CHAPTER XXXI. The Story Of A Boat
CHAPTER XXXI. The Story Of A Boat
The Utah. Near the rim of the Canyon, at El Tovar Hotel, is a steel boat, sixteen feet long, scarred and battered, showing signs of the roughest usage, named the Utah. Here is its story: Loper Plans to Explore the Canyon. For ten years after Galloway's first trip was made, no one was found venturesome enough to risk the dangers of the Canyon journey until the man who built the Utah and his two companions resolved to "dare and do." These men were Charles S. Russell, of Prescott, Arizona, Edward R
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CHAPTER XXXII. The Grand Canyon A Forest Reserve, Game Preserve And National Monument
CHAPTER XXXII. The Grand Canyon A Forest Reserve, Game Preserve And National Monument
Made Forest Reserve in 1893. For several years prior to 1893, the author and some of his Grand Canyon friends sought to have this scenic masterpiece preserved from desecration as far as possible. In that year President Harrison issued a proclamation declaring it a Forest Reserve, and outlining the boundaries to be included. Homesteads. It is interesting to note that, up to the time of the issuance of this proclamation, any citizen of the United States might have located a homestead on one hundre
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