Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-01-19

4 DEEPEST CANYONS KNowN.-A party
of prOspectors, thirteen in number, wen
from Williamson Valley in the Bill viii
Jams range, and thence to Pine Spring. u
small watering place surrounded hy pine
forest. Here they found every indication
of m old sea bed, the gravel and rock:
being round and smooth, similar to those
in the ocean he'd From Pine Spring the
party directed their course for the Ava
Supai village. which is reached by de-
scending from the table land down one OF
the rOughest 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,
deep, dark canyons 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
tho village, three of their number return
ing rather than run the gauntlet in pass
ing down into this awful 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 yellowish color
and mostly composed of sand; however,
it is said to produce good corn, pumpkins,
melons, beans, etc., With the aid of irriga-
ting water, of which they have an abun-
dance, and appropriate by means of good
ditch surrounding thoir farm They have
a peach orchard of $50 trees, which were,
on the first of April. loaded with small
peaches.
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 rude
manner, and thatched over with bear
grass and tule The only stock they have
are a few ponies.
The party ;L,tem pied to explore Cataract
creek to its conf irnce with the Colorado
but were unable TO do so from the fact that
they encountered precipice after precipice
from 100 to 200 feet perpendicular, and it
was in the fuolhardy attempt of d. w.
Mooney, of Williams Valley, to descend
one OF these perpendicular precipices 100
feet down, that he was dashed to a sudden
and rocky tomb, where he now rests as he
fell, his companio being unable 10 res
cue his body from thai awful and
abyssmal grave. Mr.. Mooney was i'm
plored by his companions hot to attempI
such an absurd undertaking; but all their
Importantly availed nothing. He took u
small rope hardly half an inch in diameter
and tied one end to bush, suspended it
over the brink, then taking hold of the
rope was soon dangling between the bright
heavens and the dark, dismal gorge below
Evidently cramps came in his arms or his
mind gave way, and he fell from almost
the top to his rocky and lonely grave be-
low. The party remained nearly two days,
devising means and plans to rescue the
corpse, but with failures, as no one dared
to risk a descent on the weak rope. The
Indians informed the party that no man
had ever passed through the canyon: that,
in fact, Il passage was only possible for
the birds OF the air or the spirits of the
dead.
The party retraced their steps and went
around Cataract creek to the grand cany on
of the Colorado, They took in this pe-
culiar freak of nature and described the
walls, which are about perpendicular, MS
being two miles from the apex to the
water. Where they beheld the grand
canyon the water is described as being 100
yards across; still, from the elevated view
of the explorers, the furious stream ap-
peared to be silver thread of only few
inches in width.