The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-12

3 u Tune, causing this OASIS 10 really
| convert a worthless spot into a real
land of milk and honey contentment.
After partaking of a, good supper and
getting rest here during the night,
with breakfast in the morning, he is
ready for the Monticello stage ride of
so miles farther south to his deStina-
ton. This route follows the Grand
valley on a slight upgrade for dis
lance of Is miles, all the while near
a beautifully colored stratified canyon
wall of several hundred feet in height,
near the top of which one can fire.
questly see the ruins in varying stages
of disintegration of the homes of the
pre- historic races which at one time
inhabited the valley. About Is miles
UP this valley from Moab a low di-
vide, heavily studded with a growth of
pinon trees. is crossed, entailing a
travel of some five miles from base to
base, when Kane springs, cool beau
tiful. clear body of water bubbles up
through the sand of an apparently dry
wash. This spring is shaded by a high
column of iron-Stained unStratified
sandstone and seems to be the homes
of many birds which may be seen to
go in and come out of the numerous
round holes of various sizes which
penetrate the exterior of the rock. A
ranch at this spring furnishes meals, if
desired. After leaving this spring the
road passes over barren sandy plain
for a distance of ten miles to a very
interesting object known as Looking
Glass rock, which is a sandstone boul-
der isolated from the other rocks pro-
jecting out of the sand for a height Of
about 100 feet, by length of twice its
height and a thickness of rs feet, and
near the top of this rock a hole, large
enough to drive a Concord coach
through and yet have room to spare,
seems to have been cut through from
side to side by the action of wind and
sand blast. Leaving this rock behind
the stage rolls on past or around box
canyons for distance of ten miles to
Batch wash, where water is to be had
at all seasons of the year.
After leaving this wash and mount
ing a low divide, one begins to descend
into the beautiful Dry valley, where
isolated rocks of immense size and of
various shapes jut up out of the sand
and which are simply grand in their
natural shapes, each being named after
its counterfeit shape, as constructed by
man. One of these rocks looks like a
magnificent castle, another has the
appearance of a church, while even
the shape of the tabernacle in Salt
Lake City has not been forgotten by
nature in both size and shape, even to
its low columns and indentations for
doorwayS, While depresSions in these
rocks furnish ample water.
After passing through this natural
wonderland, which one regrets is SO
short, the foot of Peters hill is reach
ed, this being the only steep grade
on the route, consisting of a dug
way along the side CT a canyon for a
distance of a couple of miles, in or
der to reach the top of the mesa,
some 500 or 900 feet higher than the
level of the valley. On reaching the
top of this hill one is greeted with the
sight of a large spring of cool water at
the roadside on the Hatch ranch. From
this point to the end of the journey the
road is loamy soil and the country is
level, while the large Carlisle ranch,
with its 500 acres of green fields, fur
nishes a rest to the eye after travelling
over 40 miles of sandy desert, which,
after all, is perhaps the most interest
ing trip one could hope to take in a
country of this character.
To sum up, we have here good roads
and easy distances, with both nearby
and distant scenery, the grandest TO be
found on the continent, While the Won
ders of the canyons and the large iso-
lated rocks furnish food for conjecture
for the balance of ones life, while only
a. short distance TO the east of the road,
in Dry valley. Nipple buttes, resem-
bling woman's breast, come prom
inently into view.
These mountains have been used as
grazing grounds by cattle and sheep
raisers until within the past four years
and no prospecting Of moment has
been done here on that account and
also for the reason that the Pine River
Utes of Colorado claimed it as their
ground. while the interior department
really held it from settlement until one
wear ago AZ which time ii was decided
by the government not to locate an In
dian reservation in this locality. Since
its recent opening to the public, much
good development has been done and
good results have rewarded the pros
pector.