Arizona republican., 1899-04-01


 ! his Tertiary History Of ahe Grand Canyon District" it's tit.e has been
 pirated for application to r& 'atiVely in 1 significant canyons i'll dis I51rts of l the country, and thousands of tourists 1 have been led to believe that they were viewing the Grand canyon when, in fact, they looked upon a totally differ ent scene between which and the real Grand canyon there is no more com parison than there is between the Al leghanies or Trosachs and the Hima- layas."
 There is but one Grand canyon. No where in human experience can it's like be found.
 It lies wholly in the northern part Of Arizona. It is accessible from the north only at. the cost of weeks of ar duous travel necessitating a special expedition with camp outfit and pack animals. On the south it is easily
 reached in a single days journey by stage from the town of Flagstaff, an important station on the Atlantic and Pacific railroad, which is division of the Santa Fe route. There is no other railroad within a distance of several hundred miles.
 Tn May. 1892, a tri-weekly stage line was permanently established betwee Flagstaff and the Grand canyon. The entire distance is SiXty-fve miles, and it is covered in less than twelve hours, by the aid of three relays. The route is nearly level, traversing the platform district which, taking name from the river, is known as the Colorado pla- teau. The excellence of the roadway needs no other testimony than the fact that the journey consumes So little time. For long stretches it is as hard and smooth as a boulevard. The stage leaves Flagstaff in the morning, reaches a comfortable dinner station at noon. and deposits it's passengers at permanent camp on the rim of the most impressive portion of the canyon before nightfall. The canyon camp is a tiny tent village, picturcsquely To- cated in a park of tall pines. Each tent is fioored, and furnished with bed, table. chairs and other articles of com fcrt. Excellent meals are regularly provided. Pending the construction of more pretentiouS accommodations, which are in prospect, no more satis- factory provision for the needs of the visitor could be desired Elevated more than 1000 feet above sea level, the air is pure and exhilarating, and
 
 aCteristic of the region, together with the charming environment of the pine forest, wouId make a weeks stay at the canyon camp 2 delightful and prof itable outing, even were there no Grand canyon at hand.
 The stage returns from the canyon to Flagstaff every other day enabling tourists who are pressed for time. or u snscOntinental travellers on business intent, to obtain a view of this inc0m- parable spectacle at the cost of little delay. If it is necessary to be satis- fed with few hours inspection, one may return the following morning af ter arrival. and thus see the Grand can y0n in but two days absence from Flagstaff. While so superficial a view will reveal only 8 fraction of it's pro tcan splendors. it will prove an ever lasting memory.
 The journey to the canyon is greatly diversified in interest. Plunging at orce into one of the parks that are pc culiar to Arizcna-forests of pine free from undergrowth streaked with sun light and seductively carpeted with grass-for many miles the road closely skirts the splendid San Francisco peaks, emerging into open stretches where prairie dogs abound, again winding through rocky defiles, on past volcanic vent-h0les, in whose subter- ranean recesses tho cave dwel1ers made their primitive home and where the hill slopes are thickly strewn with fragments of pottery; past bare noun tains of black Cinder striped with red slag; over broad ranges where sheep 1 and cattle browse and the tents of the l herders gleam from the hillside where | the infrequent spring pours out its flow; threading the notcheS of slopes | regularly set with cedar and pinon; across gentle divides from whose sum | mits the faint rosy hues of the Painted | Desert may be seen in the northeast. | and in the north the black jagged lines | ot mountain ranges indefinitely far l away; then once more into the pines | and down a short, steep descent to the | terminus in a romantic glen near John 1 Hance's cabin. some fifteen miles west | of the confluence of the Little Colorado | with the main river.
 In all the i0urney nothing has been | that could prepare the 1 mind for transcendent scenery, save | that in the last half mile two or three | glimpseS of what were guessed to be | pinkish cliffs far to right and left were | shadowed faiptly through the trees. ilU Ger IdIuly there Is HOUulIlS GudC DJl- tends the heroic in the sylvan scene | where at last the traveller quits the | stage. Small Eerbage and flowers of every hue grow at the foot of the pines, | among pretty rock fragments of varie- gated color. Save fCc a single crag, whose gray crest barely tops the north ward slope of the glen a hundred yards | away, there is no hint of any presence foreign to the peaceful air of a wood | land glade. denizened by birds and ! squirrels, innocent even of the runner of such thing as the Grand canyon. The visitor slnitten with a sudden fear | Of bitter disappointment in store. strides eagerly up the slope to put the | canyon to the test. Without | an instant's warning he finds himself | upon the verge of an unearthly spec