The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-06-11
THE DEEPEST GORGE IN THE
WORLD.

WORLD.
The PeriIOus Descent of a Party OF
PrOspectOrs into Cataract Canon.
Colorado.
From the Arizona Minerl
In March last party OF prospectors,
thirteen III number, procured the pec-
essary papers from Gen. Wilcox al
lowing them to visit the Indian village
on Cataract creek, inhabited by the Ava
Supals, tribe of Indians numbering
all told 200 souls. The party went from
Williamson valley to the Bill Williams
range and thence to Pine Spring. Here
they found every indication of an old
sea bed, the gravel and rocks being
round and smooth, similar to those in
the ocean bed. From Pine Spring the
party directed their course for the Ava
Supal village, which is reached by de-
scending from the table-land down one
OF the toughest trails ever travelled by
man, for distance of fourteen miles,
dropping 5000 feet At places along
the trail we are told that it is not over
twenty inches wide, and winds around
the perpendicular walls of sandstone
that loom above for hundreds Of feet,
while on the other side dark, deep can
ons exist; hundreds upon hundreds Of
feet deep, where, by one false step or
move, man or beast would be sent to
eternity. With great care and good
luck ten of the party succeeded in
reaching the village, three Of their num-
Der returning rather than run the CANT
let IN passing down into this awful yet
marvellous crevice in the earth.
The Ava Supais practice polygamy,
each male having about three wives.
They have 1000 acres of farming land,
which is described as being of yellow
ish color and mostly composed Of sand.
However, it is said to produce good
corn, pumpkins, melons and beans, with
the aid OF irrigating water, of which
they have an abundance. They have a
peach orchard of $50 trees, which were,
on the LIST Of April, loaded with small
peaches about the size Of acorns.
The party was well received by these
red people, who stated that their greatest
desire was to be left alone in the enjoy
ment Of their land and other property.
Their houses are built with poles, in a
rude manner, and matched over with
bear grass and tule. The only stock
they have are a few ponies.
Cataract creek heads in the Bill Will
Jams and San Francisco mountains, the
streams connecting some distance above
the Indian village. This stream emp
ties into the Big Colorado, fifteen miles
below the Ava Supai town, and a short
distance south of the junction of the
Little and Big Colorado rivers.
The party attempted to explore Cata-
ract creek to its confluence with the Col
orado, but were unable to do so from the
fact that they encountered precipice
after precipice from 100 to 200 feet per-
pendicular, and it was in the foolhardy
attempt Of d. w. Mooney, of Williams
valley, to descend one of these perpen-
dicular precipices, 100 feet down, that
he was dashed to a sudden and rocky
tomb, where he now rests as he fell, his
companions being unable to rescue the
body. Mr.. Mooney took a small rope,
hardly half an inch in diameter, tied one
end to a bank, suspended it over the
brink; then, taking hold of the rope,
was soon dangling between the bright
heavens and the dark gorge below. Evi-
IDENTIFY cramp came in his arms, or his
mind gave way, and he fell from almost
the top to his rocky and lonely grave
below. The party remained nearly two
days. devising means and plans to res
cue the corpse, but with failures, as no
one cared to risk a descent upon the
weak rope. The Indians informed the
party that no one man had ever passed
through the canon that, in fact, a pass.
age was only possible for the birds of
air or the spirits of the dead.
The party retraoed their steps and
went around Cataract creek to the Grand
canon of the Colorado They took in
this peculiar freak of nature, and de-
scribe the walls, which are about per-
pendicular, as being about two miles
from the apex to the water. Where
they beheld the Grand canon the water
is described as being 100 yards across );
still, from the elevated view of the ex-
plorers, the furious stream appeared to be
a silver thread of only few inches in
width. A canon two miles deep is a
grand wonder, which will, when the
thirty fifth parallel road is completed,
draw thousands upon thousands of won