The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-07-14

is now worse than useless and how
UNNECESSARILY richer and grander the
West would be if this could be made
to blossom as the rose.
Just before night on the 2lst, after
passing Winslow, we crossed the Can
yon Diablo, Tor DEVILS Canyon), one
of the most remarkable freaks of nature
witnessed so far. 1t looks like an i'm
mense fissure or crack in the earth, and
has the appearance of having been the
bed of an ancient river, cut through
the solid rock. 1t is about 100 miles
in length, 800 feet wide and 24S feet in
depth at the point where the railroad
crosses it on a strong but dangerous
looking trestle. The sides or walls are
almost perpendicular and very irregu-
lar, the course of the canyon being
quite angular. The sides are level
with the plain and there is nothing to
show the existence of the canyon until
its very brink is approached. A few
miles further was another and smaller
one in size, and at Flag Staff and Will
liams, which places were passed after
dark, we crossed Grand Canyon, which
l was told suppasses Diablo in size and
extent and rivals it in grandeur and
the picturesqueness Of its phenomenal
character.
We cross the Colorado river and
enter California at The Needles, so
called on account OF the peculiar tall
needle shaped spurs of mountain here,
which with one exception is the hot
test place in the State. From Peach
Springs, at an altitude of ALSO feet,
ITO miles distant, we descend to All
above sea level at The Needles, and 90
up again 2,575 feet at COTS, a few
miles further on. Situated in small
valley, right in mountain hollow,
surrounded by tall peaks, the very
nature of things suggests warm place
in country where it never rains and
no trees grow. And it is warm. At
O'Clock p. m. the day before we
passed there about 2 O'Clock in the
morning, l was told that the thermom-
eter registered ia degrees in the
shade. Nobody but railroad people,
and not many Of them, live there. This
is the place where it is said the good
housewives have to feed cracked ice to
the hens to keep them from laying
hard boiled eggs. do not vouch for
the truth of this but give it as the con-
ductor told it to me. "That's pretty
good one, and will do to make note
Of" said. That's nothing to what
. it is down at Yuma,' was the reply.
There it gets SO hot the inhabitants
declare they can taste sulphur and
birthstone in every breath of air, so
close are they to the Internal regions of
his Satanic Majesty.'' And then he
told me this story: Some years ago a
man went out there from Pennsylvania
to live. After he had become thor
oughly acclimated he died, or to all
appearances at least he passed into the
spirit world. 1t was his request that
his body should be taken back East
and cremated. In Difference to such
wish friends took the body on and pro-
ceeded to carry out instructions. After
it had been prepared for incarceration it
was placed in the crematory furnace,
and having been in the usual length of
time required to reduce it to ashes, the
door was opened for the purpose of
CttNlu9 GilOll1 OuC W NC pldCCu III dill Jill
for preservation by the family. The
man was not dead but had been in a
trance, and struggling his shoulders
and drawing his coat collar up tight
around his neck, exclaimed ''Jerusa-
lem, shut the door and keep that draft
OUT He had been accustomed to a
warmer climate than that and the sud-
den change had brought him around
again all right.
We pass through very much the same
sort Of country from here on via Bars
town to San Bernardino, when the
scene shifts from sandy deserts and
stunted sage brush to fertile valleys
and fields of wheat, orange groves,
fruit orchards and lovely flower
gardens. Pasadena, a beautiful and
prosperous city, impressed me favor
ably. This is only 10 miles from Los
Angeles, which place we reached about
l:3O p. M, Sunday, May 22nd.
And here l will leave our readers
until next week, this article being al
ready too long to speak of the beauty
and character of this one of the love-
liest and the second city in size and
commercial Importance on the Pacific
coast, as l wish. There is no more
delightful place to be found and instead
of stopping there week or more my
self my only regret was that l had to
be content with half day.