The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-09-08
An Arizona Wonder.

Very few of our citizens are aware of
the existence of natural bridge in
Arizona which, in grandeur and beauty
of structure, fully equals and perhaps
surpasses the great natural bridge in
Virginia. Yet such a bridge exists, and
may be reached by journey of less than
one hundred miles from Phenix. The
trip is an easy one, for the wagon-road
runs within two miles of the bridge,
and the tourist who turns his steps in
that direction will consider himself well
paid for his trouble.
During a recent trip through Tonic
Basin and its numerous tributary val
leys found myself within seven miles
of this great natural curiosity, and of
course awaited myself of the oppor-
tunity to visit. We were at the Gowan
Mine, and, saddling our horses one lazy
afternoon, we soon left seven miles of
mountain trail behind us, and found
ourselves on the summit of cypress
crowned mountain, whose steep eastern
slope descended abruptly 500 feet to a
cozy little valley hemmed in on the OPP
posite side by an abrupt precipice of
still greater Aeight. Descending with
difficulty we find ourselves on large
flat, with an area Of probably sixty
acres with cultivated fields, in which
corn was sprouting and potatoes were
already well grown.
We stood on the crown of the bridge
and did not know it, for this beautiful
garden-spot is fringed on all sides with
shrubbery and graceful trees, and one
has to go 100 yards south and descend
into precipitous canyon before he is
aware of the huge tunnel which Nature
has cut through the solid rock beneath
his feet. This bridge was discovered
three years ago by Mr.. John Gowan,
who still lives on it.
We found in Mr.. Gowan an untiring
guide through the wonders of the
bridge beneath, and, being sincere
lover of Nature and very close OBJ
server, he added greatly to the pleasure
of our trip by pointing out various
curiosities and freaks of Nature which
might pass unnoticed by the careless
eye. We ascertained the next day, by
the aid of long fish-line, that the
spring is 1913 feet, and the span is
eighty feet. Its total width up and
down the creek is $50 yards. About
eight feet from the southern edge, ex-
actly in the center of the arch, is a
natural hole cut into the interior, and,
by looking down this, bird s-eye view
is obtained of the bed of Pine Creek
below at a perpendicular depth of sixty
eight feet. But a full idea of the
grandeur of this arch is not obtained
until one stands beneath it and
looks aloft. The stream which winds
among the huge powders that strew
the bottom lies here and there in dark
pools of unknown depth, and the preci-
pitious sides are pierced by caves and
grottoes whose numerous windings and
alleyways lead one far into the bowels
of the mountains. Many of these have
been explored, and many more have
never been trodden by the foot of the
white man; though from arrow-heads,
pottery, and scraps of mating, mixed
with bones and charred wood, we can
see that our Indian brother has long
been acquainted with these retreats.
These grottoes are all hung with beauti-
full stallactites, which take all imagin-
able forms; and any article, whether
of wood or other soft substance, if
placed beneath the streams which con-
stantly trickle from the roofs of these
caverns, will in u short time become
petrified We gathered several petri-
fled pine-cones and branches of trees,
which were as hard as rock and as
perfect in form and outline as if they
had lately fallen from the trees
AYfzonG Gazette.