Arizona republican., 1901-05-25
THE GRAND CANYON
An Argument In Support of the Lac
 ustrine Theory.

Especial correspondence of The Re- publican.)-It is only natural when one has studied a question closely enough to have formed theory upon it, that he should cling to that theory until some one happens along with evidence that shatters it to bits, so that there is no longer enough of 1t left to give him a hand holt" to cling to. A very prominent and also very accomp- lished .eologist decided twenty years ago that the Grand Canyon of the Colorado was formed entirely by ero- sion and corrosion, and he wrote a very charming book to prove his theory. Nevertheless l would have small diffi- culty in proving, especially to one on the ground. that this surpasslng result of seismic and meteorological forces was, at one time during the aeons of it's his tory, a beautiful inland lake, sixty to axty-five miles in length and ten to fifteen miles wide.
 This refers to the amphitheater. or Grand canyon proper. extending from the mouth of the Little Colorado west ward to Powelrs plateau. Above and below these points 1t is canyon in the true acceptance of the term, 5000 to 4000 feet deep, of scant width, and with perpendicular walls; but in the region referred to, which is also named the Kaibab division of the canyon, it has a striking It esemblance to a dry lake basin. Its thckly wooded and grace fully undulating shore line, advancing in sinuous curves into bold peninsulas or receding into deeply penetrating gulfs. show every evidence of lake ero- sjon and not of the corrosion of a run ming river. Where is there a river whooe shore thrust out peninsulas half way across the channel? A rapid river,
 such as this Is and was, would have quickly shaved them off.
 I have gathered many proofs, dur ing my explorations in and along the
 canyon, year by year, that the lacus- Urine theory is correct one; though l do not argue It here, except to men, ton one evidence which is of particu- lar intereot. The shores of this former
 lake were thickly inhabited by a race of people who have left no record ex- cept that they built stone houses. used
 stone hatchets, arowheads of flint and obsdian. and earthenware pottery, some of which was heavily glazed. There is scarcely mile on either side of the canyon on which there are not ruins, or relics of some such descrip- tion The ruins are exceedingly ancient; and many of them are 90 nearly level
 with the surface of the plateau that
 the unauspecting would pass them without guessing their character: but there are also many remains of house walls with mortare1 joints. that stand breast high or even higher. As for shattered pottery. one may gather 1t by the cartload (the servants of that age must have been phenomenally rare le:s), and during four years of explora- tion along the Rim have casually
 picked up hundreds of arrow and spear heads.
 Now. the point Is thl.. What did those large populations do for water? , Their dwellings are built on the very edge of the abyss; but tEe water of
 the Colorado Is 300 feet below and there
 were only five places in a distance of sixty miles where 1t is possible to descend. From the rim of the canyon the country slopes sharply away to the south for thirty-five miles; and there is no sign anywhere on the plateau of there ever having been per-
 manent water. The only answer Is an easy one. The canyon was a lake, and it's waters rpped within a foot or so of the surface of the plateau. There is nothing difficult to believe about that and to one who studies the sub
 jest on the ground, it will appear not
 only plausible but certain.
 I have been spending the last two
 weeks at the upper end of the canyon i the part that used to be visited from Fla Sstaff-and am more than ever filled with wonder and admiration at the ever changing panorama of this most satisfactory of all landscapes. In
 former years most of my visita have
 been to the central and lower stretches of the great amphitheatre: and I con- sidered the views and vstas there pre- sented to be all that could be desired. But there is nothing so good but that
 there is something better; and I now consider that he who visits this re- zion and departs without haveing en-
 joyed the magnifcent prospect to be seen from Points Bissell, Moran and Grand View will carry away with him mental picture of this "sublimest of all earthly ooectacles" which only tells one-ha,f of the truth. I thought l knew the canyon pretty well but now I see that did not know It. I have been here several tines before, during my first acquaintance but my vision had not been educated up to the proper point of appreciation.
 From this portion of tho rim the pros pect is much more extended than else where; for just below the mouth of the Little Colorado-whiHh is in plain sight, twenty-two miles 1istant-the canyon turna abruptly north, and Its eastern rim Is dropped three thousand feet lower than the observer on the south side, thus allowing the vision to sweep over the Painted Desert, shimmering with kaleidoscoplc tints, to the Echo Cliffs. forty miles beyond, and even Navajo Butte, at the mouth of the San Juan river, in Utah, 135 miles distant looms like a dark blue cloud in the northeast
 Near by, at ones feet, though on the opposite side of the muddy Colorado are some of the most beauteous and , ,,, n, ,-,oot enaoyy,apc af thn rac,,li,