Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-06-25
The Deepest Gorge.

A party Of prospeetors, thirteen IN mum
Der, recently procured the necessary pa
pers from General Wilcox allowing them
TO visit the Indian village on Cataract
creek, inhabited by the Ava Supais, a
tribe OF Indians numbering all told 200
souls. The party went from Williamson
Valley to the Bill Williams Range, aud
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 Supai village, which is reach
cd by descending from the table-land down
one OF the toughest trails ever travelled by
man for q distance Of fourteen miles, drop
ping 5000 feet. At places along the trail
we are told that IL is not over twenty inch
es wide, and winds around the perpendic-
ular walls OF sandstone that loom above
for hundreds Of feet while on the side,
deep, dark canOns 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 reach
ing the village, three OF their number re-
turning rather than run the gauntlet In
passing down into this awful yet marvel
Gus crevice in the earth.
The Ava Supais practice polygamy, eacl
male having about three wives. They
have 900 acres OF farming land, which Is
described as being OF yellowish colol
and mostly composed Of sand. However
Il Is said to produce good corn, pumpkins
melons and beans, with the aid OF irrigat
ing water, of which they have an abund
anee They have peach orchard OF 26l
trees, which we're at that time loaded will
small peaches about the size of acOrns.
The party were we'll received by thesl
red people, who stated that their creates
desire was to be left alone in the enjoy
ment Of their land and other property
Their houses are built with poles in rudI
manner and thatohed over with bear gras
and tule. The only stock they have are
few ponies. -
Cataract creek heads in the Bill William
| and San Francisco mountains, the stream
connecting some distance above the In
dian village. This stream empties int
the Big Colorado, fifteen miles below tn
| Ava Supai town, and a short distanc
south Of the junction Of the Little and Bi
Colorado rivers.
The party attempted to explore Cata
ract creek 10 the confluence with the Col
orado, but were unable to do so from tn
fact that they encountered preoipice afte
preeipice from 100 to 900 feet perpendiou
| lar, and IL was in the foolhardy attempt o
| ID. w. Mooney, OF Williams Valley, to de
scend one of these perpendicular precipices
| 100 feet down, that he was dashed to
| sudden and rocky tomb, where he no'
rests as he fell, his companions being un
able to rescue the body. Mr.. Mooney too
a small rope, hardly half an inch In diam
eter, tied one end OF 1t TO bank, suspend
ed II over the brink; then, taking hold o
| the rope, was soon dangling between tn
bright heavens and the dark gorge below
Evidently cramp came in his arms, or hi
mind gave way, and he fell from almos
the top TO his rocky and lonely grave be
low. The party remained nearly tw
days, devising means and plans TO rosou
the corpse, but with failure, as no on
cared TO risk descent on the weak rope
The Indians informed the party that n
one man had ever passed through th
canon; that, in fact, passage was onl
possible for the birds OF the air or the spin
its OF the dead.
The party retraoed their steps aud wen
around Cataract creek TO the Grand Cano
Of the Colorado. They took In this peeu
liar freak Of nature, and describe the walls
which are about perpendicular, as beinI
about two miles from the apex TO th
water. Where they behsld the Gran
Canon the water is described as being on
hundred yards across; still, from the ELI
yated view OF the explorer, the furiou
stream appeared to be silver thread {
only few inches in width. A canon tw
miles deep Is a grand wonder, which will
when the thirty-fiith parallel road is con
pleted, draw thousands upon thousands
! wonder seekers annually. Arizona Mine